A Turning Point for the Islamic Republic’s Economy?

At the close of Tehran’s markets on Saturday Iran’s currency, the rial, stood at a historic low. According to the Islamic Republic Student News Agency (ISNA), it traded at 20,000 rial to the US dollar, 24,000 rial to the euro, and 30,000 rial to the British pound. While the currency has experienced a long decline vis-à-vis the US dollar since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, a fall of 6,000 rial to the dollar in less than one month represents one of the largest declines in recent memory.

The unpredictable fluctuations appear to be linked with rising uncertainty among the Iranian public about Iran’s economic future. On 31 December 2011, US President Barack Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains provisions that punish foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran’s central bank, Bank-e Markazi. Among other things, this provision is intended to make it difficult for other states to conduct basic financial transactions with Iran, including the purchase of Iranian crude oil. Petroleum products represent the overwhelming majority of Iran’s exports and a substantial proportion of the state budget. The most recent round of US sanctions were preceded by British sanctions which severed that country’s ties with Bank-e Markazi, and Canadian sanctions prohibiting financial transactions with Iran and expanding the list of prohibited goods to include all goods used in the petroleum section, among other things.

While Congress has given some leeway to the Obama administration in implementing the NDAA sanctions because of the effect a sudden withdrawal of Iranian oil could have on global oil prices, ultimately their scope and impact will likely rely on a number of factors. These include the implementation of the recent oil embargo by the European Union, whether China and others continue to import Iranian oil at current levels, and if Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other oil producing countries can and are willing to increase output to compensate for the loss of Iranian oil. The signs thus far are not positive for Iran. For example, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia may signal a shift in China’s energy strategy in the Persian Gulf, lessening its dependence on Iranian oil.

This profound economic uncertainty has caused Iranians to buy up other currencies, especially the US dollar, gold coins (which recently rose to a historic high of 10,000,000 rial), and any other valuable assets, such as real-estate, which could preserving their value in the face of a falling rial. The government has held on tightly to its foreign-exchange reserves for fear of the effects sanctions could have on the Islamic Republic’s ability to acquire foreign currencies, perversely stimulating demand for these currencies and accelerating the rial’s fall even further. What is more, a sudden inflow of investment into real-estate could also stoke a rise in property prices and rent. Thus far, the state has marginalized the role of sanctions and blamed black market currency traders and international gold markets for the fluctuations, claims that appear out of touch with reality.

The Islamic Republic has survived a number of crises since its inception, not the least of which were severe economic issues linked to the dislocations of the Islamic Revolution, Iran-Iraq War, US sanctions, and structural economic problems linked to government corruption, incompetence, and mismanagement. The avalanche of sanctions beginning at the end of 2011 are different however, and may represent a turning point in Iran’s economic situation with grave consequences for social tensions and ultimately the regime’s political stability. Even for the most optimistic observers of the Islamic Republic, the picture must look bleak indeed.


DCA - Isostore

Dynamic Control Atmosphere (DCA) - Isostore

The principle of “fluorescence”

In practice the level of oxygen within the storage rooms is lowered until the point where the software running the ISOSTORE system detects a higher signal of “fluorescence”. At this point the operator sets the oxygen level for the storage period to a slightly higher set value and the level of CO2 is set accordingly.

Fluorescence Signal

D.C.A. (Dynamic Controlled Atmosphere) enables you to create the ideal conditions for the medium-long term storage of any kind of fruit by allowing you to lower the oxygen levels in storage rooms to between 0.4%- 0,7% (for apples) without the risk of hypoxia and correlated physiological disorders. During the storage period using Isostore it is possible to set and adapt the values of gases in a dynamic manner based on the maturity, annual climatic variations, different origins and varying respiratory rhythms of the monitored fruit.

This technology is particularly suitable for organically produced fruit and is being used successfully in order to avoid post-harvest treatment with diphenylamine (DPA) or 1-MCP. D.C.A. has been shown to maintain all the organoleptic properties of the produce (firmness, juiciness, sugar content, acidity, flavour etc.), thus ensuring much longer storage periods compared with conventional C.A.storage and guaranteeing excellent quality of the product during the following “shelf-life” phase.
Another advantage of using D.C.A. is the ability to control scald which is a significant physiological disorder of many apple and pear varieties during medium-long term storage.
D.C.A. has also shown to be effective in the reduction of internal browning and rot during storage in varieties such as Braeburn, Granny, Pink Lady and Fuji.
As well as the important aspects mentioned above, DCA has in recent years established itself in the commercial sector mainly due to the “control of common scald” on numerous apple varieties ( Red.del, Granny S., Pink Lady, Jonagold, Elstar, Fuji, Idared, Maigold, ecc.) and pear varieties ( Anjou, Abate F., Conference, Bartlett, Rocha, etc.)

The imminent ban in Europe of post-harvest chemical treatments against scald such as DPA for apples and Ethoxyquin for pears means that DCA allows apple and pear operators worldwide to look to the future ahead with a certain degree of optimism.
Dynamic Controlled Atmosphere-Isostore® can therefore be defined as state-of-the-art technology in the Controlled Atmosphere sector and represents a significant improvement over conventional  CA storage systems which are based on maintaining pre-programmed and static values of gasses      in the storage room as opposed to the new Isostore® software which allows you to continously monitor the possible stress of hypoxia in real time, thus enabling you to maintain an optimal  “dynamic-adaptive” atmosphere in the room.
In order to simplify the concept one can say that the monitored fruit is now able to communicate its “distress” to us by using the common language of “fluorescence” and the operator simply has to act upon this.

The interest and success of every new system is normally endorsed by the achieved commercial results and in this regard Isolcell SpA can be more than satisfied with the results achieved up until now.
After the successful albeit justifiably cautious introduction in 2003 of ISOSTORE® technology in South Tyrol (Italy), to this day (2014) more than 1300 operational storage rooms are now to be found both in Italy than abroad (Argentina, Chile, Brazil, U.S.A., U.K., Germany, Poland, Austria, Swiss, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Israel, France, Spain and Portugal, South Africa and New Zeland).
 There are also 19 research institutes worldwide working with D.C.A. and the F.I.R.M. fluorescence sensor in order to implement this technology in the future not only to new varieties of apple and pears but also new and cultivars.

ISOSTORE® is recognized by leading industry experts as the most suitable biological and natural alternative to DPA and 1-MCP use for the conservation of apples and pears.


Sunkissed tourists sizzling on beaches, melted ice-creams and Vespa seaside adventures are some of the images that many of us relate to an Italian summer. The beach towns and cities abuzz with life as the long days melt into balmy evenings. However, the rest of Italy, especially cities in the north tell another story. One of solitude and creative activity in the near-empty streets and once busy transport hubs.
Faraway, so Close! portrays the solitude and underlying sense of loneliness that Alessandro Zanoni experienced wandering the abandoned Milan train stations, in the late evenings of August. As a tireless metropolitan traveler, his work focuses on finding unusual urban wastelands.

In this series, he focused on stations that routinely empty out in the evenings and are thereafter wrapped in silence. The title of the series, inspired by Wim Wender’s movie expresses the willingness to travel, but the inability to do it. A far off destination, unreachable despite the dynamic movement of trains on the run.


Python - Dividing line on point of intersection

Referring to: Python - Working with arrays

After getting help with the above problem, I’ve encountered my next one already.

My end goal is to split intersecting lines on the points of intersection, so 2 lines forming a T sections will turn into 3 lines and 2 lines forming a cross will split into 4 lines.

In the referred topic, I worked out the distance, I now want to make it so if the distance is within a set tolerance to split at that point.

I’ve looked at Curve.SplitByPoints but I don’t know how to format code to get it to do what I want.

I’ve looked at an If statement, such as

If distance > tolerance

but like mentioned before not too sure on how to turn that into code.

Thanks for the help.

like this maybe?

You can use ScopeIf+ from Clockwork like this:

If you need it in code you can use something like this:

(You can wrap the functions inside the codeblock if you want, I was just showing the format you need to use.)

Thanks, was trying it as a little python project to improve my skills in it. but since Its needed for work, il use this for now! thanks for the help

For experimenting with later (eg. processing more than one element set to intersect :wink: )

import clr

from Autodesk.DesignScript.Geometry import *

for c in c1:

OUT = y


Feedback Control Project

Robotics can be challenging. The code is perfect, yet the robot doesn’t perform the required task. Other times, the robot does too much, and unexpected results occur. In this case, a robot with only a single light sensor was able to perfectly navigate a difficult “zigzag” section multiple times, something of an unexpected result.

This robot uses a proportional-integral-derivative, or PID, control system to follow a black line with a white background. The general system calculates an error value by subtracting the measured value from the desired value. The prevalent system used for this model out of the P, I, and D is the I. This method uses the accumulated past values of error. If the current output of the controller is minimal, error will soon accumulate over time, and the controller will begin to output a stronger signal, resulting in stronger action. This allowed the robot to complete the course with relative ease and with little wobble.


Though we are not with any denomination, there are some fundamental beliefs that we hold to. They are listed below:

(2 Timothy 3:16-17; Peter 1:21, John 17:17)

(Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

(Hebrews 1:3; 3:1; 7:23-25, 1 John 2:1-2)

(John 16:7-11; John 3:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 14:16-17; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18)

(Acts 13:38-39; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10; Romans 8:1, 8:29-30; 38-39)

(Colossians 1:18)


The South African mining industry on Wednesday tabled a case for coal mining in the country, arguing that coal will continue to play an important role in the economy for the foreseeable future despite its declining profile and negative impact on the environment.

At the Mining Indaba on Wednesday, the Chamber of Mines published its report on the Coal Strategy for South Africa and also launched a collaborative approach by the South African coal producers called Coal Mining Matters initiative.

The Coal Strategy report outlines the challenges faced by the coal mining sector and provides some insight from different scenarios which could play out in the future depending on factors that could impact the demand for, and supply of coal.

Henk Langenhoven, chief economist at the Chamber, said that coal was not only instrumental in South Africa’s development, but for the broader industrialisation of the country.

Langenhoven said that coal remained one of South Africa’s most abundant and valuable resources as the country derived over 82 percent of electricity requirements from coal, and that its economic impact was far reaching, even on other industries such as the electricity, manufacturing, construction and finance sectors.

He said that for the year 2017, the coal industry employed 81,962 people, paid employees R22 billion in earnings, indirectly created and sustained 170,000 jobs outside the industry, paid R1.1 billion in royalties, and contributed R123.2 billion in sales.

“Negative views on coal and its impact on the environment have resulted in a precipitous decline in the use of coal by the major economies of the world. Many jurisdictions, including South Africa, have put in place strict environmental laws which have affected demand for coal. We have witnessed a total shift in demand for our coal from European markets to Asia,” Langenhoven said.

“Ensuring that South Africa remains competitive and able to meet energy demands in the context of a developing economy, while at the same time reducing the country’s carbon emissions will require close collaboration between all stakeholders including suppliers, users of coal and regulators. Coal is the most variable and valuable chemical of all mineral commodities. It should be protected, nurtured and used wisely.”

Langenhoven said that significant strides had been made in mitigating emissions arising from coal powered electricity generation, mentioning technologies such as high efficiency, low emissions drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 – African News Agency (ANA)


A Rational Argument to the People Who Hate Science and Evolution

The first step in demonstrating the truth of evolution is to make the claim that all living creatures must have a living parent. This point has been overwhelmingly established in the past century and a half, ever since the French scientist Louis Pasteur demonstrated how fermentation took place and thus laid to rest centuries of stories about beetles arising spontaneously out of dung or gut worms being miraculously produced from non-living material. There is absolutely no evidence for this ancient belief. Living creatures must come from other living creatures. This is called Biogenisis. It does no damage to this point to claim that life must have had some origin way back in time; this is referred to as Abiogenisis, perhaps in a chemical reaction of inorganic materials (in some primordial soup) or in some invasion from outer space. A highly probable theory is that life sprang into existence billions of times before one organism had the ability to reproduce and divide. That may well be true. But what is clear is that any such origin for living things or living material must result in a very simple organism. There is no evidence whatsoever (except in science fiction like Frankenstein) that inorganic chemical processes can produce complex, multi-cellular living creatures (the recent experiments cloning sheep, of course, are based on living tissue from other sheep).

To make the claim for the scientific truth of evolution in this way is to assert nothing about how it might occur. Darwin provided one answer (through natural selection). The above argument is intended, however, to demonstrate that the general principle of evolution is, given the scientific evidence, logically unassailable and that, thus, the concept is a law of nature as truly established as is, say, gravitation. The theory of evolution and the theory of gravity are both SCIENTIFIC THEORIES. Scientific theories are not your every-day "I got an idea" theories. These have been studied, tested, experimented, and are now accepted as NATURAL LAW. That scientific certainty makes the widespread rejection of evolution in our modern age something of a puzzle (but that's a subject for another essay). In a modern liberal democracy, of course, one is perfectly free to reject that conclusion, but one is not legitimately able to claim that such a rejection is a reasonable scientific stance. Science doesn't tell us what we WANT to hear. It tells us what is real, observable, and testable. And it has yet to tell us anything about a creator. Now, because I'm sure that a bunch of ignorant, bible-thumping, deductive logic lacking, fundamentalists are going to read this, I'll leave the comments on (unlike almost every single Christian/Creationist propaganda post, seriously, it is getting very annoying and hypocritical). This is a forum for discussion, not a soap box for NON-Science where nobody can call you on your BS. Discuss amongst yourselves.

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D. Modules 3 and 4

Criteria for Evaluating a Website

In Module 2 you learned about the parts of a web site. In Module 3 and Module 4 you will be learning about the criteria used to evaluate a website. The next nine lessons contain 9 topics used in web site evaluation.

Lesson Objective

By the end of  Modules 3 and 4 you will understand and be able to use the nine criteria used for evaluating a web site. The nine criterion covered are: Purpose, Authority, Objectivity, Appropriateness, Currency, Responsibility, clarity, Accessibility, and Hoaxes.

Module 3 lesson 1: Purpose

What is the purpose of a Web site? Web pages may be –
> commercial     > persuasive                                    > informative
> personal           > educational                                    > institutional
> entertaining      > a hoax

What does the URL (web address) say about the creator of the website and its purpose? By looking at the final syllable in the domain name, one can determine something about the type of site, and the information on that site. Some examples include:

.gov           Government agency: www.whitehouse.gov
.net            Internet service provider: www.comcast.net
.com          Commercial site: www.target.com
.edu           Higher education: www.csus.edu
.mil            Military site: www.navy.mil
.org           Organization / may be charitable, religious, or a lobbying group, among others: http://en.wikipedia.org

There are numerous top-level domain names, in addition to country names that appear as two-letter abbreviations in the domain name. More details on this can be found at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_domains

Module 3 Lesson 2: Authority

Authority defines the level of expertise of person, group, or organization that developed the web site. Some common questions to ask when looking at the web site include:

* Who is the author of the site?
* What are the credentials (professional background, education, or experience)
  of the person or group?
* Does this person or group have sufficient authority to speak on the subject and
  information on the web site?
* Is there contact information, preferably multiple options, such as name, address
  phone number, eMail address, FaceBook, or other options?
* Is there an organization or corporate sponsor, and what is their role?
* Is there a list of references?
* Is the page authentic, or is it a hoax page?

Module 3 lesson 3: Objectivity

Objectivity looks at whether there is bias to the informational content. Check if advertising and the information content are being supplied by the same person or organization. Keep in mind that many websites with excellent information are sponsored by commercial entities or take advertisements to finance the website.

* Does the content reflect a bias?
* Is the bias explicit or hidden?
* Does the identity of the author or sponsor suggest a bias?
* How does the bias impact the usefulness of the information?

Module 3 Lesson 4: Appropriateness and Relevance

Appropriateness & Relevance
Each web site is constructed to address and appeal to a particular age group, a range of age groups, and to provide information at a particular level of cognitive development. The ability of a user to understand the information presented, and to navigate the information on the web site generally depends on a combination of reading skills, familiarity with the types of page layouts commonly used, and a general level of knowledge about the subject(s) presented.

 * Is the content appropriate for the assignment?
* Is the reading level appropriate for the project?
* Is the content appropriate for the age or developmental level of the audience?
* Is the content accurate, complete, and well-written?
* Is the content relevant to your topic or question?

Module 4 Lesson 1: Currency

Currency relates to how up-to-date the web site is. Many web sites need to regularly add new or updated information, while others may contain facts that will be unchanging. If the web site connects to other web sites, it is important that the links on the site are regularly checked.

* Is the information on the pages up-to-date?
* Can you find information about when the page was last updated?
* Do all of the links on the pages work?
* Is there a difference between the date the information was created and when
  the page was last updated?

Look at these two sites and compare them using the questions listed.

Module 4 lesson 2: Responsibility

Responsibility shows what person or organization is directly tasked with ensuring that web site follows standards of professionalism with the web community, and the larger user community. It includes looking at such questions as:

* Are the authors of the web site up-front about their purpose and content?
* Is there a way to contact the authors who created and maintain the web site?
* Do the authors give credit for information used on the web site?
* Is there a list of references?

Module 4 Lesson 3: Clarity

Clarity looks at how the information is presented on the web site. A clean, well thought out web site makes it easy for a new visitor to navigate and find the information they seek.

* Is the information on the web site presented clearly?
* Is the text neat, legible, and formatted for easy reading?
* If there are graphics, do they add to the content or distract from it?
* If there are advertisements, do they interfere with the ability to use the page?
* Are the pages well organized?
* Are there mistakes in spelling or word usage?

Module 4 Lesson 4: Accessibility

A number of Internet users are visually-impaired or blind. In order to navigate a web site, these users need to have special instructions built into the web page so that they can access the information with screen readers and related devices. Built in components like screen magnification, and the ability to adjust the contrast, are also useful in many situations.

* Can you get to the site?
* Does the site load quickly?
* Can you move around the site easily?
* Is the site or page there after long lengths of time between visits?
* Is there a text-only alternative for the visually-impaired?

Hoaxes (Optional Lesson)

Hoaxes present a significant challenge to determine whether the information presented gives misinformation that the unaware reader may take to be real. To verify the authenticity of a site, the reader may need to compare the information with other sites of a similar topic. Look at the examples below that contain lists of hoax web sites to gain some experience in evaluating the information presented.

Students: the Journey Begins Here

Module 1 Pre-assessment

Module 2 - Details of a Web Page

Module 3 - Purpose, Authority, Objectivity, Appropriateness & Relevance

Module 4- Currency, Responsibility, clarity, Accessibility, Hoaxes

Module 5- Reading and Locating Information

Module 6- Post Assessment

Teacher Resources


Our Approach

Overall, PEP’s approach helps adults and children learn positive, respectful ways to belong and contribute to their families and, as they grow, to their communities.

We focus on the positive impact of a democratic style of parenting versus either a permissive or an authoritarian style. What sets democratic parents apart?

PEP’s philosophy, which is founded on the internationally acclaimed work of Alfred Adler, M.D., and Rudolf Dreikurs, M.D., is optimistic and pragmatic. It promotes:

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Planetary orbit simulation lab manual

Welcome to the interactive web model of the solar system, a simple astronomical simulator and predictor of planet orbits that displays dynamic view of the solar. Ap physics – virtual solar system lab the purpose of this exercise is to test and reinforce concepts regarding orbital motion such as kepler’s laws of planetary. A naive simulator of gravity, written in python then with just one (to show stable orbit, a merged planet is then created,. Learn kepler's three laws of planetary motion by examining the orbit of a planet around a star the initial position, orbital motion - kepler's laws html5. The solar system simulator is a graphical engine which will produce simulated views of any body in the solar system from any point in space.

View lab report - planetary orbit simulator lab answers from astro 101 at cal poly pomona name: kendall klyczek planetary orbit simulator student guide background. Lunar phase simulator student guide answers lunar phase simulator lab planetary orbit simulator student otc xd 350 manualpdf planetary orbit simulator student. Name: planetary orbit simulator – student guide background material answer the following questions after reviewing the “kepler's laws and planetary motion” and. Seasons the rotating sky motions of the sun planetary orbit simulator planetary orbits lab naap planetary mitsubishi lancer ce cg workshop service repair manual.

Planet orbit simulator - laspcoloradoedu. Orbit shapes interactive animation how does the orbit of pluto compare to the orbit of neptune, the 8th planet in order from the sun. Free ebooks naap planetary orbit simulator pdf science green stout taylor biol 1406 lab manual austin community college biofloc technology options for.

Astronomical simulator and predictor of planet orbits. Astronomynmsuedu. Manual sym orbit 125 service manual planetary orbit simulator answers lab answers naap planetary orbit simulator answers planetary orbit simulator. This site provides information related to the orbits, physical charateristics, and discovery circumstances for most known natural bodies in orbit around our sun.

With this orbit simulator, gravitation, motion, orbit simulation, planet simulation the aip style presented is based on information from the aip style manual. Astrophysical simulation software for unix and windows 95/nt as a part of our new astronomy lab manual, i have written some interactive software exercises that. This simulation models planetary motion by iterating through physics equations the satellite will orbit the planet in a perfect final mapi lab manual.

  • Gravity and orbits simulation in this simulation, students will learn the orbits of the earth and moon as well as gravitational forces.
  • 411 ex 41 planetary motion results using different simulation of earth orbit around the % based on 'computational physics' book by n giordano and h.
  • Astronomy 113 laboratory manual fall 2011 computer simulation software does remarkably well in recreating the bring to class this lab manual, your lab book,.

Click anywhere on the applet to place your planet clicking on show kepler's law will mark off the orbit in equal time segments for the next orbit created. Simulation kepler's law calculator lab the planetary orbit simulator linked to below uses javascript and html to generate a graph of a planetary orbit. A lab manual daniel v schroeder physical system is called a computer simulation you should have access to a computer lab with.

planetary orbit simulation lab manual Inside lab 3: kepler’s laws  in this lab you will become more familiar with the properties of ellipses and use a  planetary orbit.
Planetary orbit simulation lab manual
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Meditation Mastery

Engage the Highest universal mechanics, awakening connection to your Higher self, its path made clear, unfolding before you, flowing through its passage, enabling the developmental transformation that moves you to Enlightenment.

“I felt my entire mind and body become flooded with the most beautiful divine light and love…a being of infinite compassion and grace greeted me and acknowledged itself as my Higher Self!  I have been living in the most incredible state of ‘oneness’ – I feel as if I have come home to who I truly am! My relationships, my business, my home…everything in my world just seems to respond to this amazingly sublime state of being that I now am. I can see so much deeper into the world around me, I can see how events and energy affect the world around me, before they have happened and I just ‘know’ clearly how to influence my own reality and life.”

G Allen, Auckland, N.Z.

“Meditation Mastery” through concept, principle, Attunement and energy, coordinates your being such that it can engage the mechanics necessary for connecting with the entire spectrum of your multidimensional self, the Highest aspect of which is your Higher self.

Connection to your Higher self at any level of the dimensional formations which comprise your “consciousness” and “being” is the foundation for Enlightenment.  The reason for this is because the  insight, understanding and knowing given and experienced from this connection, awaken the Highest, illimitable and undeniable reasons, meaning and energy for attaining this goal.  When these specifics are given clarity as to your truest purpose,  they naturally unify and coordinate all the qualities and vehicles which comprise your being, enabling them to engage with the mechanics required for developmentally transforming towards your Highest potential with optimal refinement.  The process of developmental transformation when connected to your Higher self, as opposed to not, could be compared to the difference between driving a motor vehicle with the brakes on versus driving without unnecessary resistance.

As the actions are engaged, this being the practice, experience brings true insight, understanding and knowing, rather than mere intellectual conjecture and philosophy based not on experience but assumption.  As these qualities reciprocally inform and coordinate with your perceptual awareness, your ability to pass through subtler and subtler levels of dimensional formation increases.  Then by continually progressing through these cycles, a “tipping point” is reached, where inertial power shifts the balance such that continued developmental transformation becomes naturally inherent to all that comprises your being.   Passing through any and all “terrain” – obstruction, tether and bindings of all forms are released, movement is without restriction and eventually and inevitably origin is reached, then it too passed through.  Being no longer tethered to constructs and their binding illusions, enchantments, obscurations and limitations, the experience of true freedom, unconditional peace, clear understanding, authentic compassion and all encompassing love can finally be known.  Absent obscuring obstruction, pure unadulterated Light passes through us without hindrance.  Enlightenment has been attained.

For some the aforementioned will already have brought clear resonance, been recognized as such and known to be that which you have been seeking.  If this is you and you wish to begin as soon as possible simply contact the Guild to apply.   If you seek further intellectual information in order to more clearly sense, hear and engage your inner resonance greater detail has been included in subsequent pages.

Moreover, the universal mechanics engaged in Meditation Mastery are the foundations upon which the qualities and vehicles developed in “the Esoteric Warrior” and “Psychic Mastery” extend from.  As such, to gain deeper insight into both respective Activations the knowledge given in subsequent pages details the fundamental qualities, mechanics, Higher meaning and properties that “Meditation Mastery,” “the Esoteric Warrior” and “Psychic Mastery” all engage, in different ways or forms, yet in function, for unified, singular purpose.

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Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (English Audio)

Massive explosions mysteriously erupt all over the world causing a global panic. The reasoning behind such grand scale violence eludes all until Goku realizes that these attacks are solely aimed at assassinating him. And then what will he do?

Duration: 45

Release: 1992

IMDb: 8

Quality: HD


Importance of Education

Education is important to everyone. People go to school to earn the respect and recognition from other people. Having an education will give you better opportunities in life, like when finding a better job that will pay you more than the minimum wage. Education will also help you develop your full potential and will improve you as a human being. The more things that you know, the more chances that you will be able to face whatever life throws at you.

Education is one of the most important thing that a person can ever have. Every single person in this world needs to study. Through education, people will be able to gain knowledge and have a different view of the world. People will be more useful and polished if they are properly educated.

Secondly, education has an important role in the society that no one can imagine life without education. It doesn’t only help develop healthy surroundings, but also helps create a more advanced and civilized community.

Lastly, people should always remember what Bill Gates once said, As we enter the twenty-first century, it is clear that education is, indeed, the best investment that we can make, for an information economy depends upon a knowledgeable, skilled, educated workforce. The better educated our students are, the better we will perform economically.”

Top Reasons Why People Love Singapore

According to a survey by Mercer Cost of Living, Singapore is the the eighth most expensive city to live in in the world. It is the third most expensive city in Asia, after Tokyo and Osaka, but ahead of Hong Kong. Despite this, how come people still choose to live in this country?

Climate and Safety

Because of its geographical location, the island nation boasts of a tropical climate all year round climate. Singapore is also one of the cleanest countries in the world with very low pollution level. Aside from this, this country also has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. So you will not have to worry about your safety, pollution and severe weather anymore.

Trade and Commerce

Singapore is known for its trade and commerce. The country produces and exports their goods to the US, China and Europe, and have one of the busiest ports in the world. Most multinational companies have a representative or an office in Singapore. Also, it has an open market economy, corruption-free environment and high per-capita GDP, that’s why, despite the high cost of living, many people still prefer stay in Singapore.

Diversity of Cultures

Singaporeans are open with diverse cultures since most people living in the country also come from different cultures – Chinese, Malay, Indian, and many others, thanks to the huge expat community. The city is well-positioned in  Asia that it has become a major stopover point for long-haul flights.


Socialist Worker

Providing a revolutionary alternative

Issue No. 1751

Debates in socialist movement

Providing a revolutionary alternative

By Chris Bambery

THE SOCIALIST Alliance and Scottish Socialist Party's election campaigns have put socialism back on the agenda bigtime. In contrast, the Labour left weekly Tribune complains, "This election has probably witnessed the lowest ever turnout of committed party members. "Everywhere there are tales of many of the most committed people having left the party or becoming inactive."

Socialists have the best opening in 100 years to build a left wing alternative which has powerful support in the working class. In the time since the Labour Party was formed at the beginning of the 20th century, socialists have been pushed to the sidelines of working class politics. Although individual socialists and socialist organisations have at various times been able to make an impact, the politics of Labourism dominated political life in working class communities.

A pattern emerged in working class politics in the absence of a clear socialist alternative to Labour. When workers began to win economic battles they looked to their own trade union power to gain further concessions. But when strikes began to go down to defeat, workers looked to the Labour Party to achieve political change.

This dominance of Labourism was not inevitable. In 1893, when the Independent Labour Party was formed, socialists had a choice. They could join and try to shape the new party, keeping their socialist politics as distinctive as possible, or they could stand aside in sectarian isolation. Unfortunately sectarianism dominated the early British Marxists, and they withdrew from the ILP.

The dominant trend which developed within the new party was to drop any clear commitment to socialism and create a wider Labour Party in alliance with trade union leaders which was narrowly parliamentarian. So a strong left wing influenced by Marxist ideas never emerged in the early Labour Party. This was different to countries elsewhere in Europe, such as Germany and France.

Break to the left

For eight decades the possibility of creating mass socialist parties has been off the agenda. But today the decomposition of Labour's traditional support is under way, and it raises the prospect of serious forces breaking to the left. The growing global movement against capitalism is fusing with discontent with Blair.

Both flow from a common source-the global ruling class's championing of the free market agenda so beloved by New Labour. In this situation people breaking with Labour can keep moving left.

The Socialist Alliance has brought together increasing numbers of former Labour Party members and activists, as well as uniting existing groups of the far left. One of the greatest strengths of the Socialist Alliance is that it has brought together people from different political traditions and backgrounds. But debates about the way forward are also vital-as long as they are part of a united movement that fights and campaigns together.

Within the Socialist Alliance there are those who argue that revolutionary change is necessary, and others who in varying degrees argue that the system can be reformed. The Socialist Workers Party believes that we need revolutionary change and a mass revolutionary party.

Change from below

All real change has come from mass movements from below. The ruling class will use its control of the state to try and block such radical change. This is what happened in Chile in 1973 when the democratically elected left wing government of Salvador Allende was overthrown by a brutal military coup. That government made the fatal mistake of trying to push through change within the confines of the existing system, and did not mobilise the full power of the working class.

At the moment many of the parties and groups of the new left which is emerging in Britain and internationally have not committed themselves to a particular model of organisation. This openness and fluidity is normal, and indeed desirable. But in periods of political awakening like ours it cannot not last forever. In any great struggle there is a conflict between the old and the new. The old feeds off the ideas we have had fed to us from birth, defended by the Labour Party and the trade union leaders-slavish adherence to the capitalist constitution and laws.

The new flows from the gut instincts of workers who want to fight and win. The outcome of this battle between old and new will decide the outcome of major struggles, and ultimately of revolution. The 20th century saw a series of revolutionary crises where tragically the old won over the new, and the working class paid a terrible price as the ruling class reimposed "order" through bloody repression. Fascism in Italy was one product, Nazism in Germany another.

Parties which refuse to choose between reform and revolution can become paralysed or divided in moments of crisis. One of the tasks of revolutionaries within the new movements is to make sure that the working class does not have to undergo that experience again.

Revolutionary party

A revolutionary party centres on two things. Firstly, the revolutionary party adheres to firm principles, which at times involve it being a small minority within the working class. Secondly, it tries to build a close relationship with the greatest possible number of workers by providing effective leadership in every struggle that arises.

After the 1917 Russian Revolution its main leaders, Lenin and Trotsky, looked to build mass communist parties clearly committed to revolution across Europe. Such mass parties could not-and cannot today-be built simply by recruiting individuals, important as that was and is. It would involve what Lenin described as a process of "splits and fusions" within the existing mass organisations of the working class, Labour-type parties and the trade unions.

Lenin and Trotsky's aim was to create parties that would not simply make abstract propaganda about the need for socialism and contest elections. Rather, they would immerse themselves in the day to day struggles of workers in which they could argue for revolutionary strategy, tactics and ideas. In 1920 Lenin argued, "Propaganda and agitation alone are not enough for an entire class, the broad masses of the working people, those oppressed by capital, to take up such a stand. For that, the masses must have their own political experience."

Mass movement

Many of those now supporting the Socialist Alliance and the SSP, or considering switching support, will not agree with the need for such a revolutionary party. Over time and in practice revolutionaries have to demonstrate that their strategies, tactics and ideas are necessary to arm the working class. There are no short cuts. Simply passing a resolution is not going to convince tens of thousands of workers of the need for revolution.

The Socialist Workers Party wants to be part of a mass movement in which we can win a mass hearing for revolution. The main danger facing the left today is sectarianism. New movements and a new left are emerging, globally and locally. Revolutionary socialists cannot afford to sit on the sidelines, but need to be at the centre of the debate.

Article information

Sat 9 Jun 2001, 00:00 BST
Issue No. 1751
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Changing how runners' feet strike the ground can reduce knee pain

Increased participation in running has led to more injuries

Running has been steadily growing in popularity over the past few decades, and it is now one of the most popular forms of physical activity. To put this growth in perspective, more than 15 million Americans participated in running events in 2012, compared to only 4.6 million in the 1990s. But unfortunately, with the higher number of individuals involved in running has also come a greater number of resulting injuries. The most commonly reported running injury is a condition called patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), which is essentially a general term for pain that develops behind or around the kneecap. There are several treatment strategies available for PFPS, but one of the newest methods showing some promise is gait retraining. This intervention is basically teaching someone how to run with a modified pattern by changing things like knee position or how the foot strikes the ground during a running stride. More specifically, runners that strike the ground with the backs of their feet first-which is called a rearfoot strike (RFS)-have been shown to have a greater risk of sustaining an injury than those who use a forefoot strike (FFS). Therefore, changing from a RFS to a FFS may reduce injuries in runners, but studies evaluating this are lacking. For this reason, a powerful study called a randomized-controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to determine if making this change could benefit runners with PFPS.

Recreational runners assessed one month after retraining

Recreational runners who were dealing with knee pain from PFPS and who also described themselves as having a RFS were recruited for the RCT. This search led to 16 runners being accepted into the study and then randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Participants in the experimental group went to eight sessions designed to retrain their gait. During each session, the participant would run on a treadmill facing a mirror while a trainer provided guidance to run on their toes or the balls of their feet. If necessary, additional instructions were given on how to accurately perform FFS running, and researchers confirmed that each participant eventually started using a FFS. The control group also attended eight sessions and performed the same exercises, but did not receive any instructions while running. All participants were evaluated before the retraining began, then immediately after it ended and one month later for knee pain and other measurements on the way their body moved.

Participants who changed their striking pattern experienced greater knee pain reductions

After the study was completed, participants in both groups reported less knee pain overall, but the reductions were much more significant and lasting in the experimental group after the gait retraining. Pain was measured using a tool called the visual analog scale (VAS), which has patients rate their pain on a scale from 0 to 10. In the control group, the average VAS score was a 4.3 at the beginning of the study, which dropped to a 2.9 immediately afterwards, and then increased again to 3.9 one month later. In the experimental group, the average score started at 5.3, then dropped to 1.0 and remained there one month later. This shows that not only did the experimental group runners experience less pain after gait retraining, but these improvements lasted for at least one month. Runners who are dealing with pain around the knee that may be due to PFPS may therefore benefit from changing their gait pattern to a forefoot strike if they aren't already running with this style. Physical therapists are movement experts that can help runners understand their gait pattern and offer suggestions on how to change it, and runners with knee pain are therefore encouraged to seek out their treatment to address these problems.

- As reported in the June '16 issue of Clinical Biomechanics
March 9, 2018


Month: September 2016

Years Later: The Impact of 9/11 on Visitor Management

How has your understanding of safety and security changed since 9/11? Discover the primary elements of safety and security that have been adapted and altered over the past 15 years, and how they have improved various professional entities.

Creating a User-Friendly Visitor Management System

Discover various ways to create a user-friendly and efficient visitor management system that meets the needs of your business, including compliance and data management.

Make a Positive First Impression With Visitor Management

Why is a first impression so vital in the life of an enterprise? Discover the value of a first impression and how to use your visitor management solution to enhance company relations and enterprise branding.

Integrating Visitor Management into Your Business

How does visitor management play such a vital role in businesses? Veristream discusses the functions and purposes visitor management systems serve and why it is important to consider integrating one into your enterprise.

Guidelines to Enhance Security in Enterprises

Learn how you can assess and enhance your organization’s security with Veristream’s top 5 guidelines to enhance security in technology-centric enterprises.

Visitor Management Data Enables Business Objectives

How can a visitor management system optimize business success? Discover the most beneficial ways to use your visitor management system to further company objectives, now:

Mobility Improves the Visitor Management Experience

How can mobile visitor management systems benefit your enterprise? Discover some of the primary benefits of mobility in a visitor management system.

Branding Your Visitor Management Kiosk & System

In what ways are you creating a memorable experience for your visitors? Learn how Veristream can help you use your visitor management system to its fullest potential through branding and increased consumer awareness.

The Difference Between Visitor Management and Access Control

What is the critical difference between visitor management and access control? Discover the major elements that distinguish access control from visitor management and how they complement each other to create a complete, physical security plan.

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Hitting My Reset

Hitting My Reset

Lisa Gallate's Hitting My Reset: A Memoir on Grief

Anyone can see the place where her sister and partner died. It's near the sharp turn in the road, the place where the car flew across the river. They had to tell her before the newspapers published the headlines.

Life-changing, incomprehensible and devastating. That is how it felt.

She had never been truly aware of her own mortality until Zoie died. When she lost her husband to depression and suicide, and her family lost her brother to brain cancer, she realised how brutally short life could be. In anger, fear, sadness, grief and loneliness, she questioned, why was I still alive when they were not? Why had they died? If I was here, then what did that mean? She decided it must have meant something. Grief changes your landscape, but it does not define you.

Written after her mother's deterioration to Alzheimer's and her father's diabetic experience at death's door, her memoir style book is an unwavering account of how all sense of meaning in life can be lost, and how we can reshape our lives. We can live a meaningful life alongside grief, moving through it, rather than seeking to overcome it.

Hitting My Reset is an utterly compelling story of one woman's altered landscape. A book for grieving people, for those who love them, and each other.

Grief hurts. It's hard to go through, and painful to watch. This book will be relevant for many years to come.

Lisa Gallate is a senior commercial litigator and class actions lawyer with a top tier global law firm. She holds a Master of Laws from Cambridge University, England and undergraduate law and commerce degrees from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. She was a finalist for the Australian Women Lawyers' Association "Woman Lawyer of the Year 2015", and through her marathon running and fund raising, supported many charitable causes, including the Cancer Council, the Asthma Foundation and the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.

Lisa resides on the beautiful Northern Beaches of Sydney, with her husband and three children.

Hitting My Reset
Author: Lisa Gallate

Interview with Lisa Gallate

Lisa Gallate is the author of Hitting My Reset, a memoir on grief and how to make it fit your life. It is a stunning book exploring an intensely personal yet universal experience: on death, brain cancer, depression, miscarriage, dementia, diabetes, Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease"and a life, in good times and bad"that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a sister, brother, parent, husband or wife, or child.

She writes to inspire people who have been through their own challenges of grief, and shares some of the insights she has endured dealing with such a hard-hitting subject. She is an inspiration to many and all who know her.

The world death rates show that 55.3 million people are dying each year. The World Health Organization's Global Health Observatory reports that diabetes caused 1.6 million deaths in 2015. Deaths due to dementias more than doubled between 2000 and 2015, making it the seventh leading cause of global deaths in 2015. Injuries continued to kill more than 5 million people each year, with road traffic injuries claiming about 3,700 lives each day. These statistics are proof that the author is not alone in her grief.

Lisa is a powerful narrator with the skill of a lyricist. Her near incomprehensible experiences of personal heartbreak is expressed through her narrative"combining her knowledge of the craft"her writing invites readers into a literary world of understanding grief and life from a new perspective. She writes electric honest prose, for those of us who believe in the transformative power of the human spirit and for those of us who believe in love.


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Stats: Hat-trick man Kuldeep Yadav breaks multiple records

Aadya Sharma
2.27K   //    21 Sep 2017, 21:47 IST

Yadav became the first Indian spinner to take an ODI hat-trick.

On a two-paced wicket and in humid conditions, the Indians rolled their ODI juggernaut, completing another win against the Australians to maintain their lead in the series. The script did not go to plan during certain passages of the game, but the Indian team assessed and adapted to the conditions better, completing a 50-run win.

Kuldeep Yadav secured a hat-trick on the home ground of his IPL team, bowling the perfect delivery to Pat Cummins and inducing a sharp edge which carried to MS Dhoni.

Here are all the numbers from the second ODI at the Eden Gardens:

1 - Kuldeep became the first spinner to take a hat-trick for India in ODIs, and the first spinner to take a hat-trick against Australia in ODIs.

3 - Yadav became the third Indian to take a hat-trick in ODI cricket, after Chetan Sharma (1987) and Kapil Dev (1991).

4 - He also became the fourth player to take a hat-trick both at the U-19 level and the senior level: Damien Fleming, Abdul Razzaq and Jermaine Lawson are the others. Kuldeep took a hat-trick in the 2014 U-19 World Cup.

5 - Today was the fifth instance when Virat Kohli got out in the 90s in ODIs. The last time it happened was against the same opposition at Perth last year.

5 - Steve Smith became the sixth Australian to score 50 or more runs in his 100th ODI.

6 - MS Dhoni became the sixth cricketer to play 300 ODIs for India. He has played 303 ODIs in total, out of which three were for the Asia XI in 2007.

7 - Kuldeep became the seventh spinner to take a hat-trick in ODIs. The last one was Sri Lanka’s Wanidu Hasaranga, who took one against Zimbabwe earlier this year.

8 - This is the third time Virat Kohli has captained India to eight consecutive ODI wins.

10 - Australia have now lost their last ten matches away from home in ODIs. Their last away ODI win was in September 2016 against Ireland

11 - Virat Kohli became the third Indian captain after Mohammad Azharuddin (1998) and MS Dhoni (2009) to score 11 50+ scores in a single calendar year.

27 - Steve Smith became the 27th Australian to play 100 or more ODIs.

Topics you might be interested in:
Aadya Sharma
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JUST HOW DO Points Affect YOUR VEHICLE Insurance?

In this specific topic, points basically mean scores directed at drivers due to offenses or violations. DMV (Department of AUTOMOBILES) is the authorized organization to provide those points to drivers who are in charge of the against the law act. Major violations are awarded higher points, the rules or point system varies from state to convey. Generally, in most states, the utmost point is 11, which is often a build up of some minor violations. Some major offenses, however, simply bypass points and for that reason suspend your driver license. Any violation and the resulting point will be documented in your record.

Allied Insurance uses such record as a reference when estimating the insurance fees. The exact purpose of this aspect system is to help identify reckless drivers and penalize them in line with the amount of point. Nevertheless, Allied Insurance uses your record as a solid reference before they can sell some of their policies for you. Insurers can certainly see your record and make use of it to look for the insurance rates. When you have poor driving history due to minor or major violations, the firms could be more likely to charge higher rates. Even though you stay in a specific state or region that will not implement point system, any violation of traffic law it’s still well-documented by DMV; this includes speeding, reckless driving, DUI (Driving Under Influence) or dui, etc.

It will probably be worth mentioning that Allied Insurance checks your record mostly when you make an application for new plans. There’s also indeed some companies that the same procedure for each and every renewal, but it rarely happens. Generally, any history of traffic law violation and the idea will remain on your record for 3 to 5 years. If you are already insured and make an application for renewal, minor violations tend to be considered insignificance by insurance firms that they don’t charge to get more rates. However, major offenses creating considerable damages will likely arrive.

How to lessen record points?

If you’re applying or switching to Allied Insurance, the business will check your driving history to at least three years back. When there is any minor violation in the record, the insurance provider may improve the premium cost by up to 15 percent. Fortunately, there are a few ways so that you can prevent the increase including by firmly taking a defensive driving course or just wait it out. If defensive driving course option can be acquired, please talk with the DMV to start to see the related information. In a few states, the recognition is merely valid if issued by approved by certain organizations or schools. Easy and simple is, of course, to simply wait before the record is clear. It might take three to five 5 years with regards to the regulation in a state. However, it isn’t recommended because you may wrap up driving without a proper insurance plan.


Multiple Trash Containers

Q: We just completed a renovation of our cafeteria dining area and as part of the project an 8 container trash cabinet was built and installed in a separated area off of the dining floor. It is sprinklered and the containers are all 32 gallons. The cafeteria area is a separate smoke compartment. Is this allowed?”

A: Well, this is an interesting question. The answer is… it depends on the square footage of the trash cabinet and how it is constructed. I would say each individual 32 gallon trash container would have to be physically separated from all the others by a cabinet wall, which would create a small, individual room or area for the container. The reason for this is section of the 2000 edition of the LSC, which only allows up to 32 gallons of trash collection capacity in a given 64 square foot area. This means, if there are no physical separations between trash containers then I could see a surveyor or inspector citing you for having more than 32 gallons capacity in a given 64 square foot area. Since each individual compartment for the trash containers would presumably be less than 50 square feet in size, then you would not have any problems meeting the requirements of for hazardous areas. It is interesting to note that the exception to does allow more than 32 gallons capacity in a 64 square foot area provided the area qualifies as a hazardous area, but it is unlikely that an 8 container trash cabinet could do so. The key element in your question is the comment that the individual trash containers do not exceed 32 gallons each.


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Islamic dating traditions

Posted by / 17-Aug-2017 09:58

Hayri Abaza argues that the failure to distinguish between Islam and Islamism leads many in the West to support illiberal Islamic regimes, to the detriment of progressive moderates who seek to separate religion from politics.In contrast, Abid Ullah Jan, writes "If Islam is a way of life, how can we say that those who want to live by its principles in legal, social, political, economic, and political spheres of life are not Muslims, but Islamists and believe in Islamism, not [just] Islam." A writer for the International Crisis Group maintains that "the conception of 'political Islam'" is a creation of Americans to explain the Iranian Islamic Revolution and apolitical Islam was a historical fluke of the "short-lived era of the heyday of secular Arab nationalism between 19", and it is quietist/non-political Islam, not Islamism, that requires explanation.Compared to Western societies, "[w]hat is striking about the Islamic world is that ... Even if the Islamists never come to power, they have transformed their countries." Democratic, peaceful and political Islamists are now dominating the spectrum of Islamist ideology as well as the political system of the Muslim seems to have been the least penetrated by irreligion". Moderate strains of Islamism have been described as "competing in the democratic public square in places like Turkey, Tunisia, Malaysia and Indonesia.Moderate and reformist Islamists who accept and work within the democratic process include parties like the Tunisian Ennahda Movement.Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan is basically a socio-political and democratic Vanguard party but has also gained political influence through military coup d'états in the past.

Graham Fuller has argued for a broader notion of Islamism as a form of identity politics, involving "support for [Muslim] identity, authenticity, broader regionalism, revivalism, [and] revitalization of the community." The term appears in the U. The term "Islamism" acquired its contemporary connotations in French academia in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

islamic dating traditions-85islamic dating traditions-55islamic dating traditions-76


How complex environments push brain evolution

February 2, 2015

Neuroscientists created a Tetris-like game in which programmed artificial adaptive agents (“animats”) (green) have to “catch” moving blocks (black) of different sizes before the blocks reach the bottom — in the iterative process evolving intricate neural networks (credit: UWMedicine)

A recent study by neuroscientists offers clues about how increasingly difficult tasks have evolved the brain.

They created a video game similar to the old video game Tetris, in which programmed artificial adaptive agents (“animats”) have to “catch” moving blocks of different sizes before the blocks reach the bottom (in a game for humans, that might be done by pressing right or left cursor keys).

To play the game, the animats have been endowed with a rudimentary neural system made up of eight nodes: two sensors, two motors, and four internal computers that coordinate sensation, movement and memory.

The computers ran code that makes up the animats’ “DNA” — it determines the wiring between the parts of the “brain” and also allows for random mutations, some of which made the animats better block-catchers.

A hypothetical animat “brain,” comprising a logic-gate network with 2 sensors, 4 hidden Markov elements, and 2 motors (credit: Larissa Albantakis/PLoS Computational Biology)

The neuroscientists — at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University — watched as the animats played a video game in which they tried to “catch” falling blocks, learning to detect where they would land.

Then the scientists selected the best players of each generation and allowed them to replicate.

(If that sounds familiar, you may have experimented with self-evolving cellular-automata gliders and spaceships in John Conway’s addictive “Game of Life.”)

Some animats played simpler versions of the game, but other animats played more and more complex versions over and over. At the end of 60,000 generations, they all had evolved more complex wiring in their neural networks, but the animats that did well in more complex versions of the game had developed particularly intricate neural networks.

“This shows that by adapting to a more complex environment, the organism itself becomes more complex,’’ says Larissa Albantakis, the study’s lead author.

How the hand ax helped evolve intelligence

In a new book, How to Fly a Horse, entrepreneur Kevin Ashton proposes that the evolution of human intelligence started with the hand ax, which removed the need for big teeth and was superior to them. As he explains in this excerpt, “smaller teeth and weaker jaws begat big biological benefits: they left space in the skull for more brain cells, and changed the weight and balance of the head so that it became easier to stand erect. Hand axes changed our bodies, and also the course of human evolution. They are the reason we became brainy bipeds.” And able to handle increasing levels of information complexity.

More complexity in the environment requires the animats to develop more neural functions. But because the size of their brains was limited to the eight nodes, the animats adapted to complexity by creating more integration between the nodes.

Neuroscientists have proposed this as a strategy for brain evolution.

The Integrated Information Theory of consciousness

However, Albantakis says her study was more interested in the question of how the brain evolved to environments of different complexity and whether that evolution looks like what is predicted by Integrated Information Theory (IIT).

The animats were a simplified system for studying integration in the brain, albeit one that strains the ability of computers, given the need to analyze 60,000 generations of neural connections.

Albantakis is a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of the study’s senior author Giulio Tononi, professor of psychiatry in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, who has proposed IIT as a comprehensive theory of consciousness.

According to the theory, consciousness reflects a system’s capacity for information integration (quantified by a measure of complexity called Phi). The theory accounts for many experimental facts about consciousness and the brain, has led to testable predictions, and permits inferences and extrapolations.

The current study looks at how such systems with high Phi evolve. It found that over thousands of generations, the animats learn a larger number of concepts about the game and they integrate more of the information, but that their learning and integration depend on being presented with a more complex environment — for example, a more difficult level of the game.

“This shows that a rich environment is a driving force towards developing both complexity and integration,” Albantakis says.

The open access study was published in the online journal PLoS Computational Biology. Eminent neuroscientist  Christof Koch of the Allen Institute for Brain Science was also an author.

The study was supported by the Templeton World Charities Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the G. Harold and Leila Y Mathers Charitable Foundation, and a federal DARPA grant on physical intelligence.

UWMedicine | The animats “catch” falling blocks, which resembles an old video game.

Abstract of Evolution of integrated causal structures in animats exposed to environments of increasing complexity

Natural selection favors the evolution of brains that can capture fitness-relevant features of the environment’s causal structure. We investigated the evolution of small, adaptive logic-gate networks (“animats”) in task environments where falling blocks of different sizes have to be caught or avoided in a ‘Tetris-like’ game. Solving these tasks requires the integration of sensor inputs and memory. Evolved networks were evaluated using measures of information integration, including the number of evolved concepts and the total amount of integrated conceptual information. The results show that, over the course of the animats’ adaptation, i) the number of concepts grows; ii) integrated conceptual information increases; iii) this increase depends on the complexity of the environment, especially on the requirement for sequential memory. These results suggest that the need to capture the causal structure of a rich environment, given limited sensors and internal mechanisms, is an important driving force for organisms to develop highly integrated networks (“brains”) with many concepts, leading to an increase in their internal complexity.


Quazepam belongs to a class of drugs called benzodiazepines. These drugs ease anxiety and slow the central nervous system.

Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia. It is available with a prescription under the trade name Seroquel.

Rational emotive therapy

Rational emotive therapy (RET) is a psychotherapeutic approach which proposes that unrealistic and irrational beliefs cause many emotional problems.

Reactive attachment disorder of infancy or early childhood

In reactive attachment disorder, the normal bond between infant and parent is not established or is broken. Infants normally "bond" or form an emotional attachment, to a parent or other caregiver by the eighth month of life.

Reading disorder

Reading disorder is a learning disorder that involves significant impairment of reading accuracy, speed, or comprehension to the extent that the impairment interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily life. People with reading disorder perform reading tasks well below the level one would expect on the basis of their general intelligence, educational opportunities, and physical health.

A reinforcer is a stimulus that follows some behavior and increases the probability that the behavior will occur. For example, when a dog's owner is trying to teach the dog to sit on command, the owner may give the dog a treat every time the dog sits when commanded to do so.

Relapse and relapse prevention

In the course of illness, relapse is a return of symptoms after a period of time when no symptoms are present. Any strategies or treatments applied in advance to prevent future symptoms are known as relapse prevention.

Respite literally means a period of rest or relief. Respite care provides a caregiver temporary relief from the responsibilities of caring for individuals with chronic physical or mental disabilities.

Rett's disorder

Rett's disorder, which is also known as Rett's syndrome or RS, belongs to a group of childhood disorders known as pervasive developmental disorders(PDDs) or autistic spectrum disorders. It is classified by the mental health professional's handbook (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disordersor the DSM-IV-TR) as a developmental disorder of childhood.

Rivastigmine is a drug used to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In the United States, rivastigmine is sold as the brand name drug Exelon.

Rorschach technique

The Rorschach technique, sometimes known as the Rorschach test or the inkblot test, is a projective personality assessment based on the test taker's reactions to a series of 10 inkblot pictures.

Rosemary is an herb derived from an evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, related to the mint or Lamiaceae family of plants. Rosemary is a native of the Mediterranean regions of Europe and the Near East; Tunisia is a major modern-day source of the plant.

Rumination disorder

Rumination disorder may be diagnosed when a person deliberately brings food back up into the mouth and either rechews and reswallows it or spits it out.

Schizoaffective disorder

One of the most challenging mental disorders to identify accurately and treat appropriately is schizoaffective disorder. This condition involves both psychotic symptoms and conspicuous, long-enduring, severe symptoms of mood disorder.

Schizoid personality disorder

Schizoid personality disorder is characterized by a persistent withdrawal from social relationships and lack of emotional responsiveness in most situations. It is sometimes referred to as a "pleasure deficiency" because of the seeming inability of the person affected to experience joyful or pleasurable responses to life situations.

Schizophrenia is the most chronic and disabling of the severe mental disorders, associated with abnormalities of brainstructure and function, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations. It is sometimes called a psychotic disorder or a psychosis.

Schizophreniform disorder

Schizophreniform disorder (SFD) is a time-limited illness wherein the sufferer has experienced at least two of the major symptoms of psychosisfor longer than one month but fewer than six months. Hallucinations, delusions, and strange bodily movements or lack of movements (catatonic behavior) are all symptoms that may be observed.

Schizotypal personality disorder

Schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by an ongoing pattern in which the affected person distances him- or herself from social and interpersonal relationships. Affected people typically have an acute discomfort when put in circumstances where they must relate to others.

Seasonal affective disorder

Seasonal affective disorder, often abbreviated as SAD, is a type of mood disorder that follows an annual pattern consistent with the seasons. The most common course for SAD includes an onset of depressive symptoms late in the fall, continuation of symptoms throughout winter, and remission of symptoms in the spring.

Sedatives and related disorders

Sedatives are compounds that cause physiological and mental slowing of the body. They have many legitimate medical uses.

A seizure is a sudden change in behavior characterized by changes in sensory perception (sense of feeling) or motor activity (movement) due to an abnormal firing of nerve cells in the brain. Epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent seizures that may include repetitive muscle jerking called convulsions.

Selective mutism

Self-control strategies

Self-control strategies are cognitive and behavioral skills used by individuals to maintain self-motivation and achieve personal goals. Initially the skills may be learned from a therapist, text, or self-help book.

Self-help groups

Self-help groups—also called mutual help or mutual aid groups—are composed of peers who share a similar mental, emotional, or physical problem, or who are interested in a focal issue, such as education or parenting. Historically, people banded together to improve their chances for survival by pooling their social and economic resources; however, contemporary groups are more likely to organize around a theme or problem.

Separation anxiety disorder

Like many childhood concerns, separation anxiety is normal at certain developmental stages. For example, when a child between the ages of eight and 14 months is separated from her mother or other primary caretaker, she may experience distress.

Sexual aversion disorder

Sexual aversion disorder is a disorder characterized by disgust, fear, revulsion, or lack of desire in consensual relationships involving genital contact.

Sexual dysfunctions

Sexual dysfunction disorders are problems that interfere with the initiation, consummation, or satisfaction with sex. They occur in both men and women and are independent of sexual orientation.

Sexual masochism

The essential feature of sexual masochism is the feeling of sexual arousal or excitement resulting from receiving pain, suffering, or humiliation. The pain, suffering, or humiliation is real and not imagined and can be physical or psychological in nature.

Sexual sadism

Sexual Violence Risk-20

The Sexual Violence Risk-20, also called the SVR-20, is an assessment instrument used by mental health professionals.

Shared psychotic disorder

Single photon emission computed tomography

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is an imaging study that uses radioactive materials injected through a vein that will pass into the brain generating a high-resolution brain image.

Sleep disorders

Sleep disorders are chronic disturbances in the quantity or quality of sleep that interfere with a person's ability to function normally.

Sleep terror disorder

Sleepwalking disorder

Sleepwalking disorder, also called somnambulism, is characterized by repeating episodes of motor activity during sleep such as sitting up in bed, rising, and walking around, among others. The person appears to be awake because their eyes are usually open and they can maneuver around objects, but is considered asleep.

Social phobia

Social phobia is defined by DSM-IV-TRas an anxiety disorder characterized by a strong and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which the patient might feel embarrassment or humiliation. Generalized social phobia refers to a fear of most social interactions combined with fear of most performance situations, such as speaking in public or eating in a restaurant.

Social skills training

Social workers

Somatization and somatoform disorders

Somatization is a term that describes the expression of psychological or mental difficulties through physical symptoms. Somatization takes a number of forms, ranging from preoccupation with potential or genuine but mild physical problems to the development of actual physical pain, discomfort, or dysfunction.

Somatization disorder

Somatization disorder is a psychiatric condition marked by multiple medically unexplained physical, or somatic, symptoms. In order to qualify for the diagnosisof somatization disorder, somatic complaints must be serious enough to interfere significantly with a person's ability to perform important activities, such as work, school or family and social responsibilities, or lead the person experiencing the symptoms to seek medical treatment.

Specific phobias

Specific phobia is a type of disorder in which the affected individual displays a marked and enduring fear of specific situations or objects. Individuals with specific phobias experience extreme fear as soon as they encounter a defined situation or object, a phobic stimulus.

Speech-language pathology

Speech-language pathology is the treatment for the improvement or cure of communication disorders, including speech, language, and swallowing disorders. The term used to describe professionals in this discipline is speech and language pathologist (SLP).

St. John's wort

St. John's wort has been used as a popular herbal folk remedy for centuries.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB: FE) is a standardized test that measures intelligence and cognitive abilities in children and adults, from age two through mature adulthood.

Stereotypic movement disorder

Stereotypic movement disorder is a disorder characterized by repeated, rhythmic, purposeless movements or activities such as head banging, nail biting, or body rocking. These movements either cause self-injury or severely interfere with normal activities.

The 1999 report on mental health by the Surgeon General of the United States was regarded as a landmark document in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States. This was because of its straightforward identification of the stigma associated with mental illness as the chief obstacle to effective treatment of persons with mental disorders.

Stress is a term that refers to the sum of the physical, mental, and emotional strains or tensions on a person. Feelings of stress in humans result from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being.

A stroke, also called a cerebral vascular accident (CVA), is the sudden death of cells in a specific area of the braindue to inadequate blood flow.

There is no standard definition of stuttering, but most attempt to define stuttering as the blockages, discoordination, or fragmentations of the forward flow of speech (fluency). These stoppages, referred to as disfluencies, are often excessive and characterized by specific types of disfluency.

Substance abuse and related disorders

Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory

The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory is also referred to as the SASSI. Dr.

Substance-induced anxiety disorder

Prominent anxiety symptoms (i.e., generalized anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, or phobia symptoms) determined to be caused by the effects of a psychoactive substance is the primary feature of a substance-induced psychotic disorder. A substance may induce psychotic symptoms during intoxication (i.e., while the individual is under the influence of the drug) or during withdrawal (i.e., after an individual stops using the drug).

Substance-induced psychotic disorder

Support groups

Support groups are an informal resource that attempts to provide healing components to a variety of problems and challenges. An informal support outside of family, friends, or professionals often provides greater understanding, more similarity (from individuals experiencing similar life events), an opportunity for empathy and altruism, and a sense of identity for participants.

Systematic desensitization

Tacrine is a drug used to treat dementiaassociated with Alzheimer's disease. In the United States tacrine is sold under the brand name drug Cognex.

Talk therapy

Talk therapy is an alternate name for the various forms of psychotherapy that emphasize the importance of the client or patient speaking to the therapist as the main means of expressing and resolving issues.

Tardive dyskinesia

Tardive dyskinesia is a neurological disorder consisting of abnormal, involuntary body movements caused by certain medicines. It is usually associated with long-term use of medicines for treating schizophreniaand other psychotic disorders.

Thematic Apperception Test

Thioridazine is a potent antianxiety and antipsychotic agent. It is a member of the phenothiazine family of compounds.

Thiothixene is in a class of drugs called antipsychotics. It is available with a prescription under the generic name of thiothixene or the brand name Navane.

Tic disorders

Tic disorders are characterized by the persistent presence of tics, which are abrupt, repetitive involuntary movements and sounds that have been described as caricatures of normal physical acts. The best known of these disorders is Tourette's disorder, or Tourette's syndrome.

Token economy system

A token economy is a form of behavior modificationdesigned to increase desirable behavior and decrease undesirable behavior with the use of tokens. Individuals receive tokens immediately after displaying desirable behavior.

Transvestic fetishism

Transvestic fetishismis defined by the mental health professional's handbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision (2000), which is also called DSM-IV-TR, as one of the paraphilias. The paraphilias are a group of mental disorders characterized by obsessionwith unusual sexual practices or with sexual activity involving nonconsenting or inappropriate partners (such as children or animals).

Tranylcypromine is classified as a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor. It is used to treat serious depression.

Trazodone is an oral antidepressant. It is sold in the United States under the brand name Desyrel and is also available under its generic name.

Triazolam is a hypnotic drug. It is a member of the benzodiazepine family of drugs.

Individuals with trichotillomania repetitively pull out their own hair. Trichotillomania as an impulse-control disorder.

Trifluoperazine is a phenothiazine antipsychotic agent. In the United States, this drug is sold under the brand name Stelazine.

Trihexyphenidyl is classified as an antiparkinsonian agent. It is sold in the United States under the brand name Artane and is also available under its generic name.

Trimipramine is an oral tricyclic antidepressant. It is sold in the United States under the brand name Surmontil.

Undifferentiated somatoform disorder

Undifferentiated somatoform disorder occurs when a person has physical complaints for more than six months that cannot be attributed to a medical condition. If there is a medical condition present, the complaints must be far more severe than can be accounted for by the presence of the medical problem.

Urine drug screening

Urine drug screening, or toxicological screening, is a process of chemical analysis designed to test patients for drug abuse, or to insure that a patient is substance-free before undergoing a medical procedure.

Valerian is an herbal remedy derived from the dried roots of the valerian plant, Valeriana officinalis. The plant belongs to the Valerianaceae family.

Valproic acid

Valproic acid is an anticonvulsant (anti-seizure) drug. In the United States, valproic acid is also known as valproate, and is sold under the brand name Depakene.

Vascular dementia

Dementia is a decline in a person's mental capacities and intellectual abilities that is great enough to affect the person's normal daily functioning. Vascular dementia is dementia that is caused by disease of the blood vessels of the brain (cerebrovascular disease).

Venlafaxine is an antidepressant available in the United States under the trade name of Effexor or Effexor XR.

Vocational rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) is a set of services offered to individuals with mental or physical disabilities. These services are designed to enable participants to attain skills, resources, attitudes, and expectations needed to compete in the interview process, get a job, and keep a job.

Voyeurism is a psychosexual disorder in which a person derives sexual pleasure and gratification from looking at the naked bodies and genital organs or observing the sexual acts of others. The voyeur is usually hidden from view of others.

Wechsler adult intelligence scale

The Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS) is an individually administered measure of intelligence, intended for adults aged 16–89.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a severe memory disorder usually associated with chronic excessive alcohol consumption, although the direct cause is a deficiency in the B vitamin thiamin.

Wide Range Achievement Test

Wide Range Achievement Test, 3rd ed. or WRAT-3 is a screening test that can be administered to determine if a more comprehensive achievement test is needed.

Yoga is an ancient system of breathing practices, physical exercises and postures, and meditation intended to integrate the practitioner's body, mind, and spirit. It originated in India several thousand years ago, and its principles were first written down by a scholar named Patanjali in the second century B.C.

Zaleplon is classified as a hypnotic drug. These drugs help people sleep.

Ziprasidone is a drug used to treat schizophrenia. It is available with a prescription under the brand name Geodan.

Zolpidem is classified as a hypnotic drug. These drugs help people sleep.


The mental benefits of floatation therapy

If you want to learn more about the proven medical benefits of floatation therapy, just Google "Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy" ("REST"). REST is the term the scientific community uses to refer to floating in an isolation tank. There are hundreds of peer-reviewed medical journal articles touting the benefits of floating with respect to all sorts of health problems, running the gambit from chronic pain and other musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular conditions, psychiatric disorders, autism, smoking, weightloss, and more.

Furthermore, the mental peace that can be obtained with the aid of regular floatation outweighs the numerous physical benefits for many floaters. There is no lack of scientific evidence in support of the mental benefits of floating. Several articles speak of the benefits of floating with respect to anxiety, addictive behaviors, and other mental disorders. One such article concluded:

The characteristics of the REST experience that make it effective in treating addictions are discussed as follows: (1) the induction of a general relaxation response, (2) substance misusers find serenity and relief by nonchemical means, (3) internal refocusing to concentrate on personal problems, (4) disruption of habits through removal of trigger cues and response possibilities, (5) increased feelings of control over addictive behaviors, and (6) enhanced learning processes. REST is a versatile, cost-effective treatment modality with demonstrated effectiveness in modifying some addictive behaviors and promising applications with others.

Why would floating be useful in treating addiction? Perhaps understanding how addiction affects the brain would be helpful. In a recent article published online on the Public Library of Science, the mechanism for addiction is examined more closely. The author, Marc Lewis, sets for the proposition that addiction is associated with a dopamine response in the brain:

Lewis goes on to explain that "every experierience that has potent emotional content changes the NAC and its uptake of dopamine" and that these "[p]hysical changes in the brain are its only way to learn, to remember, and to develop." Thus, he concludes:

So Lewis essentially concludes that addiction acts on the brain in the same way as the mechanism for learning, albeit in an extreme form. It follows then that it might be useful to "unlearn" these behaviors in an environment that is particularly suited for learning: a floatation tank.

Of interest, many of our floaters report that floating increases their ability to learn and study, and that they obtain a peaceful, calm mental state after floating. One reason might be because floating encourages the brain to shift into lower frequency brain waves like those of the Alpha and Theta states. These frequencies are associated with meditation, increased mental clarity, creativity, problem-solving, and learning.

If you are predominantly interested in the mental benefits of floating (as opposed to the physical benefits), it is generally recommended that you float once per week.

We would love to hear from you and about your experience with the mental benefits of floating. Please comment below and share your experience!

Borrie, RA. "The use of restricted environmental stimulation therapy in treating addictive behaviors." Int J Addict. 1990-1991;25(7A-8A):995-1015.

Lewis, Marc, "Why Addiction is NOT a Brain Disease" PLOS blogs, <> (visited March 31, 2014).