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Ringworm is a common and easily-treated skin infection. Many years ago, it was believed to be caused by a worm present under the skin, but it's now known that the circular-shaped lesions-- hence, the name-- are the body's response to a fungus. In children, ringworm can appear as a scaly round patch on the chest or the side of the scalp, and there may be hair loss. It can be transmitted by contact with an infected human or animal, often a young pet, such as a puppy or kitten. It's also common among athletes, especially those participating in contact sports. Athlete's foot and so-called 'jock itch' are forms of ringworm. The condition causes intense itching, especially in warm weather. Scalp ringworm may be confused with dandruff or 'cradle cap,' which is a disease that occurs only during infancy. Ringworm can be treated using over-the-counter antifungal creams and sprays, prescription topical medications, or in severe cases, antibiotics. There's also a special shampoo that may be used by other family members to help prevent its spread. Ringworm can be prevented by making sure children avoid contact with anyone who's infected. Teach them not to share clothing, towels, combs, or brushes with others.	<urn:uuid:4eef03d0-8a5a-4f97-8459-fd565ef0e6c8>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.fox30jax.com/guides/health/general/story/Ringworm/UWN4rs72OEaZnlIM_MhP4A.cspx	2013-05-24T08:50:53Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.968205	268
Antenatal screens and tests For most women, nine months of pregnancy ends with a wonderful event - the birth of your healthy baby. For a very small number of women, the baby may develop with a serious, perhaps life-threatening, problem. Testing during the early stages of your pregnancy can help identify some of these problems and may help you come to an important decision about your baby. Having these tests is not compulsory and there are some women who choose not to take them at all. It's up to you. For those that are interested in being tested but aren't sure which tests to take, antenatal tests can be divided into two categories: - Screening tests - Diagnostic or invasive tests. Nuchal Transluency (NT) Scan In this test, the thickness of the fluid-filled space at the back of your baby's neck is measured. The test is performed during 12-13 weeks of pregnancy using an ultrasound technology. It is used mainly to test for Down Syndrome but is also helpful in detecting abnormalities related to the heart of the foetus. placental proteins(PAPP-A and free (Beta)hcg) Bio-Chemical Testing (NT-Plus)This test compares the results of the Nuchal Transluency scan with the levels of two PAPP-A and free (Beta)hcg) present in maternal blood and provides a good estimate of the risk of chromosome abnormality. Combined with the NT Scan results, it can detect up to 80-90 percent of babies with Down Syndrome. Triple Test or Maternal Serum Screening This test, done by analysing the blood sample taken from a pregnant woman, measures levels of alpha-fetaprotein, (hcg) and unconjugated estriol (a type of estrogen produced by the placenta. It has the capability of detecting around 80 percent of neural tube defects and Down Syndrome cases. Diagnostic or invasive tests These more comprehensive tests may be performed when: - The woman is over 35 years of age - A screening test has indicated that there may be an increased risk - The woman has had a previous child or pregnancy with some kind of chromosomal abnormality - There is a family history of genetic abnormality. Chrionic Villus Sampling This test is carried out between 10-12 weeks gestation by one of two ways. In some cases, a catheter is passed through the cervix, or, alternatively, a needle is inserted through the abdomen. A sample of chrionic villus tissue (the tissue that will eventually become placenta) is taken and tested. This procedure does come with a small risk of miscarriage which is less than 1 percent. For detecting Down Syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities, this is considered to be the most accurate test and is usually performed during weeks 15-16 of pregnancy. Under ultrasound guidance, a fine needle is inserted through the abdomen to withdraw a small amount of amniotic fluid for further testing. Again, there is also a very small risk of miscarriage - less than 1 percent. What are neural tube defects? Neural tube defects are serious abnormalities which occur in the development of the brain and spinal cord in about 1 in 500 babies. The cause is, as yet, unknown. The two most common forms are anencephaly and spina bifida. In spina bifida, the baby's spine does not form properly. Babies with spina bifida may have paralysis of the legs, lack of bladder and bowel control, and curvature of the spine. Hydrocephalus (too much fluid around the brain) can also occur. What is Down Syndrome? Children with Down Syndrome usually have a characteristic appearance. They have varying levels of intellectual disability. They may also have one or more medical problems involving their bones, heart, bowel and thyroid gland. Some may also have poor eyesight and hearing. When it comes to testing during pregnancy, your doctor will advise you of the best options for your specific circumstance but remember, the choice is always yours. If done at around 11-13 weeks gestation, the combined blood and ultrasound tests will detect around 85 percent of all babies affected with Down Syndrome. If done when you are between 14 and 20 weeks pregnant, blood testing and ultrasound scanning will detect over 95 percent of all babies who have a Neural Tube Defect, and about 75 percent of all babies who have Down Syndrome. Not all affected babies will be detected. This article was written by Claire Halliday for New Zealand's leading parenting resource, Kidspot. Sources include the South Australian Maternal Serum Antenatal Screening Programme and the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of South Australia Inc and the Down Syndrome Society of South Australia Inc. Last revised: Monday, 6 October 2008 This article contains general information only and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified health professional.	<urn:uuid:91e5ef9e-74c9-4edd-8d5d-e36c88eaf27d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.kidspot.co.nz/familyhealth/Pregnancy-Health-Antenatal-screens-and-tests+2254+152+article.htm	2013-06-18T22:31:58Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.947298	1,029
History of Sumi-e The 2000 year-old art form of Japanese brush painting is spiritually rooted in Zen Buddhism. Sumi-e's earliest practitioners were highly disciplined monks trained in the art of concentration, clarity, and simplicity. These early Zen Masters dedicated themselves to the art form with spiritual intensity through long years of serious reflection and strict discipline. Respect for Sumi-e's demands shaped their aesthetic direction. The monks adhered to a rigorous schedule of meditation in preparation for painting. Entering a deep contemplative state was at the core of the creative process: preparing the inkstone, grinding the sumi ink, loading the brush (fude), releasing the brush stroke on rice paper or silk scroll. Mastering the nuances of the black sumi ink was more difficult than painting with color and required consummate skill. Throughout its long and venerable history, Sumi-e has been held in high esteem and became a powerful way to inculcate the values of Bushido, the Samurai Code of Conduct. For the swordsman, composure on the brink of battle had its artistic parallel in the calm and tranquility essential before the fearless release of a brush stroke. Embodying the honorable ancient warrior codes, Sumi-e was a metaphor for the ephemeral world of the courageous Samurai swordsman. Today, becoming a Master Sumi-e artist requires the same investment of effort and time in rigorous training and discipline.	<urn:uuid:5360a4aa-6f73-455b-ab6b-c1e7abb5d0ed>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.drue.net/sumi-e-history.htm	2013-05-22T01:16:57Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700984410/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104304-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.948479	293
Immigration Status Summary - A national of the United States means a citizen of the United States, or a person, who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States. - An immigrant is a foreign born person who has been approved for lawful permanent residence in the US. Immigrants have permanent, unrestricted eligibility for employment authorization. Evidence of immigrant status includes, but is not limited to, a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, Resident Alien Card, Permanent Resident Card, Alien Registration Receipt Card and/or “Green Card”). - A non-immigrant is a foreign national who seeks temporary entry to the US for a specific purpose. There are approximately thirty types of non-immigrant classifications. A non- immigrant foreign national typically must maintain a permanent residence abroad and must qualify for the requested visa classification. Furthermore, non-immigrant status may or may not permit employment. - Immigration status is determined at the time of entry and is reflected on the foreign national’s Form I-94, but a foreign national may change his or her status subsequent to his or her entry into the US. A visa is a travel document issued by a US consulate abroad that allows the foreign national to travel to the US to apply for admission at a US port of entry. If a foreign national who should, but does not have a visa arrives at a US port of entry, the foreign national may be returned at the carrier’s expense to the home country or to the port of departure. Except for Canadian citizens who are visa exempt (with some exceptions), foreign nationals with Border Crossing Cards, and foreign nationals traveling on the Visa Waiver Program, all foreign nationals are expected to present valid visas for travel to the US which comport with the classifications under which they seek admission to the US for purposes of inspection by the Department of Homeland Security. US consular officers interview visa applicants to determine admissibility and whether the foreign national is eligible for the particular classification. Consular officers are particularly concerned with whether the foreign national has established that s/he will comply with the terms of his or her admission. As stated earlier, most non-immigrant foreign nationals must establish that they intend to remain temporarily in the US and will return abroad prior to the expiration of their period of authorized admission. However, because the law distinguishes among non- immigrant foreign nationals who may have immigrant intent (i.e. to remain in the US permanently), those who must have non-immigrant intent (i.e. to remain in the US temporarily for the purposes permitted under the admission classification), and those who may have dual intent (i.e. may seek admission for a temporary purpose while independently pursuing a related or unrelated purpose to remain the US permanently), determination of the intent of an foreign national seeking travel or admission to the US is an important issue. A foreign national in possession of a current, valid visa is not guaranteed admission to the US by virtue of having been issued that visa. At a US port of entry, the Department of Homeland Security will inspect the foreign national to determine admissibility and if appropriate, admit the foreign national in a particular non-immigrant category. The inspecting officer will also determine the period of authorized admission of the foreign national. Visa vs. Status There is a clear distinction between the visa validity period and the foreign national’s status in the US. First, the visa serves as a travel document to allow the foreign national to travel to the US and apply for admission into the US. The foreign national must apply for admission to the US during the validity period of the visa. The visa alone does not, however, confer any immigration status or employment authorization, and the validity of the visa does not control the period of time the foreign national is authorized to remain in the US. The expiration of the visa following the foreign national’s entry into the US does not necessarily affect the foreign national’s authorized stay in the US. The period of authorized stay is indicated on the Form I-94 issued to the foreign national and is unrelated to the period during which a consular officer has authorized a foreign national to apply for admission to the US under the classification indicated on the visa. The I-94 is issued at a port of entry following an interview by an immigration officer to determine whether the foreign national is eligible for admission in that particular non-immigrant category. The Form I-94 indicates the classification under which the foreign national is admitted and the period of authorized stay in the US under that classification. Although the period of stay is usually expressed with a beginning and ending date, for some non-immigrant classifications such as F-1 or J-1, the authorized period of stay may be expressed as “D/S” meaning for duration of status. Visa Exemption for Canadians and Mexicans With limited exceptions, citizens of Canada are exempt from the requirement to obtain visas to travel to the US as non-immigrants. Citizens of Mexico may obtain Border Crossing Cards in lieu of visitor visas. Border Crossing Cardholders are restricted to visits of 72 hours or less and within 25 miles of the border. Mexican visitors who wish to stay in the US for more than 72 hours and travel within any of the 50 states must obtain Form I-94 which is stamped at the US ports of entry. Visa Waiver Program Foreign nationals from certain countries may travel to the US without visas under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), presenting only their unexpired foreign passports and proof such as a roundtrip ticket of intention to depart from the US within 90 days. Visa waiver travelers are issued green Forms I-94 marked WB (Waiver-Business) or WT (Waiver-Tourist), which correspond to B-1 and B-2 classification, respectively. Although travel without a visa represents a convenience, visa waiver travelers are unable to change their status from within the US to other non immigrant classifications, and with very limited exceptions may not apply for permanent residence while in the US pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program. Extension of Stay and Change of Status Certain non-immigrant foreign nationals who are present in the US may extend their non- immigrant stay under the same classification or change their non-immigrant status (from one non-immigrant classification to another). Foreign nationals applying to extend or change their status must file the application with the USCIS before the expiration of current status and must establish that they have maintained non-immigrant status. This means that if an foreign national violated the terms of his or her admission (e.g. accepted unauthorized employment), the CIS will deny the change of status or extension of status. Notification that an foreign national has been granted extension of stay or change of status is provided on a Form I-797 Notice of Action that typically includes a tear-off replacement Form I-94 at the bottom of the Form I-797. This I-94 serves the same purposes as the original I-94, indicating the foreign national’s new period of authorized stay under the classification, and if appropriate, the new non immigrant status of the foreign national. Adjustment of Status Foreign nationals who are outside the US and seek permanent residence in the US apply for an immigrant visa at US consulates abroad and are then admitted into the US as lawful permanent residents. Under certain circumstances, some foreign nationals who are present in the US may become permanent residents without having to leave the US. This process, which is administered at the discretion of the USCIS, is called “adjustment of status.” It differs from the “change of status” process where an foreign national present in the US changes from one non-immigrant classification to another. In order to qualify, eligible foreign nationals generally must be in legal immigration status on the date of filing the permanent resident application and must have maintained lawful status since admission into the US. As mentioned in the “Permanent Residence” portion of this website, aside from meeting the requirements for adjustment of status, the foreign national must also qualify for the underlying permanent resident status. Eligibility for Employment Employers should be aware of the foreign nationals who are authorized to work in the US and whether such employment is restricted in any way. USCIS regulations establish three classes of foreign nationals who are allowed to work in the US: (1) foreign nationals authorized to work incident to their status, (2) foreign nationals who are permitted to work for a specific employer incident to their status, and (3) foreign nationals who must apply for and obtain permission from the USCIS in order to accept employment to the US. “Sponsoring” a Foreign National for US Employment Many people do not know how an foreign national may be “sponsored” for employment in the US. They often do not realize that there are many different non-immigrant classifications or that permanent residence based on US employment is possible. In addition, there may be no classification that fits the employer’s circumstances or only the more lengthy sponsorship process for permanent residence may be possible. Typically, the employment “sponsorship” process involves petitioning the USCIS for a determination of whether the job requirements and the foreign national’s credentials match the requirements for the classification requested. Some non-immigrant classifications do not require approval of a petition by the USCIS, and the application is made directly at the US Consulate abroad. Whether a petition is first filed with the USCIS, or an application is made directly at the US Consulate, admission to the US in a particular non-immigrant category is done at the US port of entry. Determining Which Classification May be Appropriate Depends on the Following: - Nature and requirements for the position; - The foreign national’s credentials vis a vis the position requirements; - The requirements of similar US employers for similar positions; - The duration of the petitioning employer’s need to have the position filled (this does not refer to the period of time desired by the employer for the foreign national to fill the position, but to the period of time during which the employer needs the position to be filled); - Whether the foreign national is inside or outside the US and, if in the US, the current status of the foreign national; - Whether the US employer has a parent, affiliate, subsidiary, branch, or joint venture partner abroad at which the foreign national has been employed; - The foreign national’s country of citizenship. *This material is largely based on the USCIS Office of Business Liaison’s Guide for US Businesses Hiring Temporary Employees from Outside the US. Copyright © 2005 Law Offices of Melissa Harms All rights reserved. The above discussion is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. Individuals should visit a licensed attorney to evaluate the legal circumstances surrounding their situation and to receive appropriate legal advice.	<urn:uuid:308e3780-d90d-4c5c-888f-5542cbc89243>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.harms-law.com/information/	2013-05-26T02:41:39Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.944655	2,244
Moon Light World Map The map below shows where the Moon is visible from the Earth, depending on weather conditions and moon phases. The white dot symbolizes the position of the Moon, and the yellow sun symbolizes the position of the sun. View Day and Night Map - The bright part of the map shows where the moon is over the horizon on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 04:30:00 UTC. - The Sun's position is marked with this symbol: . At this location, the Sun will be at its zenith (directly overhead) in relation to an observer. - The Moon's position is marked with this symbol: . At this location, the Moon will be at its zenith in relation to an observer. Note that the symbol is not showing the current phase of the Moon. Fraction of moon illuminated: 94% Position of the Moon On Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 04:30:00 UTC the Moon is at its zenith at these coordinates: \|Latitude: \|\|21° 43' \|\|South\| \|Longitude: \|\|38° 24' \|\|West\| The ground speed of the movement is currently 413.05 meters/second, 1487.0 km/hour, 924.0 miles/hour or 802.9 knots.The table below shows the Moon position compared to the time and date above: \|Time\|\|Longitude difference\|\|Latitude difference\|\|Total\| \|1 minute\|\|0° 14' 22.3"\|\|15.40 mi\|\|west\|\|0° 00' 00.3"\|\|0.01 mi\|\|south\|\|15.40 mi\| \|1 hour\|\|14° 22' 17.8"\|\|923.71 mi\|\|west\|\|0° 00' 12.3"\|\|0.24 mi\|\|south\|\|923.70 mi\| \|24 hours\|\|14° 50' 54.8"\|\|954.34 mi\|\|east\|\|0° 38' 19.3"\|\|43.94 mi\|\|north\|\|957.45 mi\| Locations with the moon near zenith The following table shows 10 locations with moon near zenith position in the sky. \|Vitória\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|255 km\|\|158 miles\|\|138 nm\|\| NW\| \|Niterói\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|502 km\|\|312 miles\|\|271 nm\|\| WSW\| \|Rio de Janeiro\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|512 km\|\|318 miles\|\|276 nm\|\| WSW\| \|Belo Horizonte\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|613 km\|\|381 miles\|\|331 nm\|\| WNW\| \|São Paulo\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|871 km\|\|541 miles\|\|470 nm\|\| WSW\| \|Salvador\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|968 km\|\|602 miles\|\|523 nm\|\| N\| \|Brasilia\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|1195 km\|\|742 miles\|\|645 nm\|\| WNW\| \|Recife\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|1553 km\|\|965 miles\|\|839 nm\|\| NNE\| \|Fortaleza\|\|Tue 1:30 AM\|\|1988 km\|\|1235 miles\|\|1073 nm\|\| N\| \|Asuncion\|\|Tue 12:30 AM\|\|2002 km\|\|1244 miles\|\|1081 nm\|\| WSW\| Related time zone tools	<urn:uuid:7c285ee8-5dc3-4f36-b1e9-7d771279d1b2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/light.html?iso=20120508T0430	2013-05-22T21:46:45Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.666363	716
Treatments for migraine, both for prevention and for alleviation during an attack, have been problematic because they have not been tailored specifically to the disorder. Recent understanding of the neurobiology of migraine and the way the medicines work is leading to the development of more refined compounds with fewer side effects. Such compounds could intervene at various sites (marked on the diagram with Xs) and work in several ways. iNHIBIT CORTICAL SPREADING DEPRESSION The wave of hyperexcitability called cortical spreading depression involves ion transfer from glia (a class of brain cell) to neurons, through a form of ion channel called a gap junction. Gap junctions allow calcium to flow between glia and neurons, which activates the neurons. Compounds currently in clinical trials close these cellular pores to stop the wave in its tracks. INHIBIT TRIGEMINAL NEURONS One of the ways that trigeminal nerves convey pain signals is by releasing the neurotransmitter calcitonin gene–related peptide (CGRP), which activates neurons in the trigeminal nucleus. A class of drugs called triptans alleviates migraine by blocking the release of CGRP. New treatments in advanced trials block the effects of CGRP. Illustration Credit: Tami Tolpa (top); Jen Christiansen (bottom)	<urn:uuid:f517425b-de06-40e7-bc24-c3575c2685d6>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-migraines-strike-treatment	2013-05-23T04:29:22Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.93371	275
A Concise Introduction to Heuristics Michael Anissimov :: June 2004 Already familiar with the basics of heuristics and biases? If so, please proceed directly to Cognitive biases potentially affecting judgment of global risks. Further information can also be found at Overcoming Bias. On with the introduction... When we humans use abstract reasoning to determine the solution to a given problem, say, opening a door that is stuck for some unknown reason, we are not reasoning using the real door. Our brains don't have enough memory to fit the precise physical description of a real door. Instead, we use representations, which are often trillions or quadrillions of times simpler than their physical counterparts. But they work, at least well enough to solve simple problems. Once you have a mental representation of a door, you can start reasoning about which classes of object or event have the potential to make one stuck or unstuck, for example. Human brains use a strict set of compression schemes for abstracting critical features of incoming sensory data. These compression schemes are not perfect, and often make errors - as we can see in studies of optical illusions. Many of these errors are invisible to introspection, as they are swept under the rug by higher levels of cognition. Relative to most animals, humans receive a massive amount of incoming sensory data - terabytes worth. Most is immediately discarded, ignored, or abstracted away by neurological machinery. The surviving data, an incredibly small percent, will be converted into symbolic format; connected to previous experiences and stored concepts in the complex associative network that is the human brain. When new sensory data is abstracted, converted into symbolic format, and archived in long-term memory, it is subject to certain biasing effects. Biases also operate when the symbols are invoked and manipulated for cognitive operations. The results are contradictory beliefs, anchoring effects, and a whole zoo of psychological "optical illusions". "Anchoring effects", for example, are a class of robust psychological phenomena showing that people adjust insufficiently for the implications of incoming information. We form beliefs around an anchor, and additional incoming data must fight against the intertia of the anchor, even when it is objectively irrelevant to the judgement at hand. For example, consider the product of the series: 9 x 8 x7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x3 x 2 x 1 = ? 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 = ? Experimental studies have indeed confirmed that estimates are strongly biased towards the initial values. In a study by Robyn Dawes that required participants to give their answers within 5 seconds, the average estimate for the first series was 4,200, and for the second series, only 500. The real answer is 362,880. Everyone radically underestimated the true answer. Why? Decision theorists chalk it up to another psychological effect that relates to anchoring - representativeness. Representativeness describes the phenomenon that people usually expect outputs to resemble their generating process. In real life, this is sometimes true. But, as in the case of the multiplication problem, sometimes it isn't, and this inevitably leads to human-universal biases that are very pervasive, robust, and disappointing. (In academic texts, decision theorists often skirt around the issue of interpreting these biases as "disappointing" - leaving the interpretation to the reader. But I suggest that pointing out the obvious is worth doing.) Representativeness and anchoring are sometimes known as heuristics - "rules of thumb" that humans use to perform abstract reasoning in cognitively economical ways. They are innate and human-universal because they emerge from the same species-wide design that is responsible for the fact that we all have two eyes, two ears, ten toes, and so on. Run of the mill, typical Homo sapiens sapiens design template. Standard issue. Heuristics save time and effort, but often fail utterly when presented with data outside of their "domain of expertise". These failures tend to difficult to notice, because 1) the thinking processes responsible for judging the overall quality of our thinking processes are plagued by these biases as well, and 2) they are so widespread and natural that few people notice them, and 3) decisions made based on heuristics feel good - they're intuitively satisfying regardless of their correctness. Decision theorists have isolated so many of these robust biases that, from the 70s onward, their study has developed into an independent respected field with many devoted followers in academia. This field, founded by professors Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, is known as "heuristics and biases". It has become very trendy in recent years, especially in economics, where its application translates into profits of millions or billions of dollars. Daniel Kahneman recently won the Nobel Prize for Economics. Amos Tversky died in 2000. Dozens of heuristics and biases have been studied extensively and experimentally verified, and hundreds or thousands have been hypothesized. The implications of such studies are extreme and wide-ranging. Traditional assumptions in psychology, ethics, rationality, epistemology, and philosophy are utterly uprooted by these shocking phenomena. To give the reader some idea of what I mean, I'll list some of the more prominent and well-studied biases and provide summaries and commentary: Availability. Availability is the ease with which a given instance or scenario comes to mind. When asked what we think of a given social group, we may give an opinion on the basis of what information is most available to us about that group - say, personal interactions with one group member. Vivid scenarios such as terrorist attacks are more available than objectively more dangerous problems such as colon cancer, and our probability estimates are skewed accordingly. The fundamental attribution error. One of the most pervasive and powerful of all heuristics. The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency of people to overweight the likelihood that humans are the causes of any given event, as opposed to situational or environmental factors. We are obsessively focused on each other, and often refer to environmental factors only when we are trying to avoid being blamed for something. When we are successful in some endeavor, we strongly tend to attribute that success to ourselves rather than inherent aspects of the situation. Base rate neglect. Another glaring, pervasive human-universal pathology. Many people behave as if the likelihood they will die in a plane accident exceeds the likelihood that they will die in a car accident, or that the likelihood they will be killed in a terrorist attack exceeds the likelihood that they will die of colon cancer. The "base rate" is the statistical background information about the frequency of given events. In intuitive human reasoning, it is often underweighted or ignored entirely. Contagion. This heuristic asserts, "once in contact, always in contact". Contagion is the reason why we won't drink beverages that have come into contact with a used flyswatter that has been sterilized. Contagion is where the idea of "cooties" comes from. As demonstrated by "cooties", contagion can correspond to social or moral qualities as well as actual contaminating substances. Contagion is responsible for our pre-microbial theories of disease transmission. The planning fallacy. Humans consistently underestimate the amount of time and effort it will take for them to accomplish a given task. Government, commercial, and personal projects are routinely completed late and over budget. This bias may be more obvious than many others, because its effects are so visible and striking. To avoid this bias, we should simply use conservative estimates when planning projects. Risk-aversion. One of the foundations of heuristics and biases that challenged the economic "rational actor" model of intuitive human reasoning, risk-aversiveness refers to the fact that losses loom larger than gains. A business or individual may take great pains to avoid small losses, while underfocusing on strategies to maximize long-term gains in spite of these losses. Homogeneity bias. The "law of large numbers" in statistics states that we can make confident assumptions about the qualities of a certain population if we study a sample that includes a large portion of that population. If we do a poll that shows that 90 out of 100 people in a given study group plan to vote for Bush, then we can expect the majority of that group to indeed vote for Bush. The problem is that people often apply the "law of large numbers" to small numbers; jumping to statistical conclusions without adequate sample sizes. We assume that populations are more homogeneous than they really are, and assume that large populations faithfully reflect small samples taken from them. Here's a list of some the heuristics or biases I've come across. I'm sure you've come across many of them in daily life. I really wish I could go over each one in more detail, but that would take a lot of writing. There are between dozens and thousands of published papers per heuristic or bias. Almost all have been experimentally confirmed beyond any shadow of a doubt, but there is more to discover about precise structure of each bias. In future theories, we may reduce currently known biases to multiple causes or sub-biases. \|above-average effect\|\|the widespread tendency to categorize oneself as "above average".\| \|accountability bias\|\|the tendency to form thoughts based on considerations of accountability to others.\| \|affect heuristic\|\|hastily judging objects or people by an immediate feeling of "goodness" or "badness".\| \|anchoring/adjustment\|\|failure to adjust sufficiently from initial anchors, even when the anchors are arbitary.\| \|anthropomorphism\|\|tendency to ascribe human motives or characteristics to nonhuman objects.\| \|availability heuristic\|\|salient memories override normative reasoning; most fundamental heuristic of all?\| \|base rate neglect\|\|neglect of background frequencies in favor of salient anecdotal evidence.\| \|biased evaluation\|\|double-standards in evaluation of evidence, attribution of hostile motives to critics.\| \|Barnum effect\|\|tendency of people to accept general descriptions as uniquely relevant to them.\| \|causal schema bias\|\|pervasive tendency to categorize salient events based on causal relations.\| \|certainty illusion\|\|an overweighted desire for 100% confidence or certainty.\| \|contagion/similarity\|\|"once in contact, always in contact", "stigma", "karma", other magical thinking.\| \|confirmation bias\|\|the bias to seek out opinions and facts that support our own beliefs and hypotheses.\| \|conjunction effect\|\|systematic overestimation of conjunctive probabilities.\| \|durability bias\|\|durability bias in affective forecasting.\| \|emotional amplification\|\|expect lots of emotion when an salient event's causes were abnormal or mutable.\| \|egocentric attribution\|\|attributing successess to oneself, failures to others (consciously or subconsciously).\| \|false consensus effect\|\|inclination to assuming that your beliefs are more widely held than they actually are.\| \|fundamental comp. bias\|\|tendency toward automatic contextualization (personalization) of problems.\| \|framing effects\|\|disparities in estimates when an identical problem is presented in a different way.\| \|frequency bias\|\|weakness with percentages, strength with frequencies.\| \|gambler's fallacy\|\|pervasive false beliefs about the nature of random sequences.\| \|groupthink\|\|the pressure to irrationally agree with others in strong team-based cultures.\| \|homogeneity bias\|\|exaggerated conclusions about large populations based on small samples.\| \|honoring sunk costs\|\|"throwing good money after bad", pouring resources into failing projects.\| \|isolation effect\|\|disregard of components that choice alternatives share, overfocus on differences.\| \|planning fallacy\|\|consistent overoptimism regarding completion times for a given project.\| \|reflection effect\|\|risk-aversiveness with respect to potential gains, risk-seeking with respect to losses.\| \|representativeness\|\|"like goes with like", the tendency to blindly classify objects based on surface similarity.\| \|selective recall\|\|the mostly accidental habit of remembering only facts that reinforce our assumptions.\| \|susceptibility bias\|\|optimism in assessments of personal safety and the effectiveness of precautions.\| Mental Contamination and Debiasing (from Wilson & Brekke, 1984.) Accurate debiasing purifies reasoning by isolating likely sources of bias and counteracting them. Awareness of a given bias does not entail its elimination from your thinking; it must be studied deeply and applied deliberately. Debiasing involves passing a decision process through a series of successive filters - filters serving to remove the mental contamination associated with individual biases. Filters are mental software designed by you and applied to your own decisions or to the decisions of others. Like computer software, some filter programs work better than others. Certain filters can work to eliminate contamination from multiple biases, whereas others may fail or even exacerbate certain biases. Any strategy for designing effective filters will rest upon a firm foundation in the literature relevant to specific biases. Heuristics and Biases, printable study cards Foundations of Heuristics and Biases Judgemental Heuristics and Biases An Intuitive Explanation of Bayesian Reasoning and Biases in Probability Judgement (notes) Dunning, D., Meyerowitz, J., Holzberg, A. (2003.) "Ambiguity and Self-Evaluation: The Role of Idiosyncratic Trait Definitions in Self-Serving Assessments of Ability." In Heuristics and Biases. Gilbert, D., Pinel, E., Wilson, T., Blumberg, S., Wheatley, T. (2003.) "Durability Bias in Affective Forecasting". In Heuristics and Biases. Kahneman, D., Tversky, K. (2000.) "Prospect Theory." In Choices, Values, and Frames. Miller, D., Taylor, B. (2003.) "Countefactual Thought, Regret, and Superstition: How to Avoid Kicking Yourself." In Heuristics and Biases. Stanovich, K., West, R. (2003.) "Individual Differences in Reasoning: Implications for the Rationality Debate?" In Heuristics and Biases. Weinstein, N., Klein, W. (2003.) "Resistance of Personal Risk Perceptions to Debiasing Interventions." In Heuristics and Biases. Yates, Lee, Sieck, Choi, Price. (2003.) "Probability Judgement Across Cultures". In Heuristics and Biases.	<urn:uuid:a373a0e2-5d02-4d96-8545-5a558323beac>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/works/heuristicsandbiases.htm	2013-05-23T11:27:48Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.917213	3,086
Authorities earlier had said the flu vaccine was 62 percent effective for adults and children. In the Thursday report, the CDC revised that to 56 percent. The new number, the agency said, is "not significantly different" and continues to fall within the confidence interval established earlier. But the lower number includes an additional three weeks of data and was adjusted for various factors, including age and race or ethnicity. "Both estimates indicate moderate vaccine effectiveness in preventing outpatient medical visits due to circulating flu viruses in most of the population," the report said. In addition, while this year's vaccine was considered a good match for the most common circulating flu viruses, it only provided 47 percent protection against H3N2, the main virus. "We simply need a better vaccine against influenza, one that works better and lasts longer," Frieden said. The Department of Health and Human Services as well as the private sector are working on such a project, he said. In addition, less than half of school-age children -- the population mainly responsible for spreading the flu virus -- got the flu shot, experts said. The CDC recommends the vaccine for those 6 months of age and older. According to the latest numbers released Friday by the CDC, "influenza activity remained elevated in the United States, but decreased in most areas."	<urn:uuid:dc277e6e-fe28-429b-8fc8-d22ac897f2c9>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.kitv.com/news/health/Flu-vaccine-less-effective-than-first-thought/-/8905204/19038110/-/item/1/-/12tr95w/-/index.html	2013-05-20T22:33:30Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.967536	267
Study results suggest this was the worst cold-related coral mortality on record. Before (top) and after (bottom) photos illustrate the January 2010 cold-water event's damaging effect on patch reef coral communities in the Florida Keys. Florida’s nearshore coral reefs are an important component of the greater Florida reef tract and home to a variety of marine species. These patch reef communities thrive in shallow waters near the Florida Keys and have demonstrated resilience to environmental stressors, including disease and temperature fluctuations. While widespread coral bleaching and mortality are commonly associated with warm-water disturbances, an extreme cold-weather event revealed these tropical species are also vulnerable to prolonged cold-water exposure. In January 2010, an intrusion of Arctic air across the southeastern United States and Gulf of Mexico caused one of the coldest 12-day periods on record in the Florida Keys. This historic event caused water temperatures in shallow, nearshore areas to drop below the lethal limit for many tropical species for several consecutive days, resulting in coral die-offs. In February 2010, FWRI scientists surveyed four patch reefs to assess the damage. Compared to observations from summer 2009, scientists discovered the unusually cold water temperatures harmed many coral and other bottom-dwelling species. Overall, they observed a nearly 50 percent reduction in cover of soft, fanlike octocorals and a nearly 40 percent loss of hard, stony corals. Scientists concluded sites with the longest exposure to extremely cold temperatures experienced the greatest coral loss. View before and after photos in the Florida Keys 2010 Cold-Water Event Flickr set. Unlike offshore bank reefs where temperatures are regulated by ocean currents, shallow-water patch reefs are subject to large variations in temperature. Since 1996, scientists working on the Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project have documented how large-scale and localized disturbances affect reefs in the Florida Keys. They believe the regular exposure to a wide range of temperatures increases patch reefs’ tolerance to fluctuating conditions; however, water temperatures during the 2010 winter event were far below the lethal limit for many coral species. The widespread mortality associated with the January 2010 event was especially alarming because patch reefs had survived numerous disturbances that caused extensive damage to other reef communities. As a result, scientists concluded this cold-weather event was one of the most severe on record. Patch reefs are regarded as critical to the resilience of the greater Florida reef tract because they provide habitat for various organisms, supply larvae to offshore reefs and have demonstrated resistance against previous disturbances. It is unknown whether these patch reef communities can recover from such a catastrophic event, and scientists will use the data collected at the four sites as a baseline from which they can monitor recovery. To learn more, obtain a copy of the full publication.	<urn:uuid:9e031600-1e94-448c-8528-bbec39894bcf>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://myfwc.com/research/about/outreach/research-spotlight/coral-cold/	2013-05-20T21:58:25Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.94657	558
Temporal range: Early to Middle Pleistocene – Recent The jaguar (pron.: // or UK //; Panthera onca) is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Apart from a known and possibly breeding population in Arizona (southeast of Tucson), the cat has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 20th century. This spotted cat most closely resembles the leopard physically, although it is usually larger and of sturdier build and its behavioural and habitat characteristics are closer to those of the tiger. While dense rainforest is its preferred habitat, the jaguar will range across a variety of forested and open terrains. It is strongly associated with the presence of water and is notable, along with the tiger, as a feline that enjoys swimming. The jaguar is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush predator at the top of the food chain (an apex predator). It is a keystone species, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of the animals it hunts. The jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats. This allows it to pierce the shells of armoured reptiles and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain. The jaguar is a near threatened species and its numbers are declining. Threats include loss and fragmentation of habitat. While international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited, the cat is still frequently killed by humans, particularly in conflicts with ranchers and farmers in South America. Although reduced, its range remains large; given its historical distribution, the jaguar has featured prominently in the mythology of numerous indigenous American cultures, including that of the Maya and Aztec. The word comes to English from one of the Tupi–Guarani languages, presumably the Amazonian trade language Tupinambá, via Portuguese jaguar. The Tupian word, yaguara "beast", is sometimes translated as "dog". The specific word for jaguar is yaguareté, with the suffix -eté meaning "real" or "true". The first component of its taxonomic designation, Panthera, is Latin, from the Greek word for leopard, πάνθηρ, the type species for the genus. This has been said to derive from the παν- "all" and θήρ from θηρευτής "predator", meaning "predator of all" (animals), though this may be a folk etymology—it may instead be ultimately of Sanskrit origin, from pundarikam, the Sanskrit word for "tiger". Onca is the Portuguese onça, with the cedilla dropped for typographical reasons, found in English as ounce for the snow leopard, Uncia uncia. It derives from the Latin lyncea lynx, with the letter L confused with the definite article (Italian lonza, Old French l'once). Taxonomy and evolution The jaguar, Panthera onca, is the only extant New World member of the Panthera genus. DNA evidence shows the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, and clouded leopard share a common ancestor, and that this group is between six and ten million years old; the fossil record points to the emergence of Panthera just two to 3.8 million years ago. Phylogenetic studies generally have shown the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is basal to this group. The position of the remaining species varies between studies and is effectively unresolved. Based on morphological evidence, British zoologist Reginald Pocock concluded the jaguar is most closely related to the leopard. However, DNA evidence is inconclusive and the position of the jaguar relative to the other species varies between studies. Fossils of extinct Panthera species, such as the European jaguar (Panthera gombaszoegensis) and the American lion (Panthera atrox), show characteristics of both the lion and the jaguar. Analysis of jaguar mitochondrial DNA has dated the species' lineage to between 280,000 and 510,000 years ago, later than suggested by fossil records. While jaguars now live only in the Americas, they are descended from Old World cats. Two million years ago, scientists believe, the jaguar and its closest relative, the similarly spotted leopard, shared a common ancestor in Asia. In the early Pleistocene, the forerunners of modern jaguars crept across Beringia, the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait and connected Asia and North America. These jaguar ancestors then moved south into Central and South America, feeding on the deer and other grazing animals that once covered the landscape in huge herds. The last taxonomic delineation of the jaguar subspecies was performed by Pocock in 1939. Based on geographic origins and skull morphology, he recognized eight subspecies. However, he did not have access to sufficient specimens to critically evaluate all subspecies, and he expressed doubt about the status of several. Later consideration of his work suggested only three subspecies should be recognized. Recent studies have also failed to find evidence for well-defined subspecies, and are no longer recognized. Larson (1997) studied the morphological variation in the jaguar and showed there is clinal north–south variation, but also the differentiation within the supposed subspecies is larger than that between them, and thus does not warrant subspecies subdivision. A genetic study by Eizirik and coworkers in 2001 confirmed the absence of a clear geographical subspecies structure, although they found that major geographical barriers, such as the Amazon River, limited the exchange of genes between the different populations. A subsequent, more-detailed study confirmed the predicted population structure within the Colombian jaguars. - Panthera onca onca: Venezuela through the Amazon, including - P. o. peruviana (Peruvian jaguar): Coastal Peru - P. o. hernandesii (Mexican jaguar'): Western Mexico – including - P. o. palustris (the largest subspecies, weighing more than 135 kg or 300 lb): The Pantanal regions of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, along the Paraguay River into Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. The Mammal Species of the World continues to recognize nine subspecies, the eight subspecies above and additionally P. o. paraguensis. Biology and behavior The jaguar is a compact and well-muscled animal. Size and weight vary considerably: weights are normally in the range of 56–96 kg (124–211 lb). Larger males have been recorded to weigh as much as 160 kg (350 lb) (roughly matching a tigress or lioness), and the smallest females have low weights of 36 kg (79 lb). Females are typically 10–20% smaller than males. The length, from the nose to the base of the tail, of the cats varies from 1.2 to 1.95 m (3.9 to 6.4 ft). Their tails are the shortest of any big cat, at 45 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) in length. Their legs are also short, considerably shorter when compared to a small tiger or lion in a similar weight range, but are thick and powerful. The jaguar stands 63 to 76 cm (25 to 30 in) tall at the shoulders. Compared to the similarly colored Old World leopard, this cat is bigger, heavier and relatively stocky in build. Further variations in size have been observed across regions and habitats, with size tending to increase from the north to south. A study of the jaguar in the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Mexican Pacific coast, showed ranges of just about 50 kg (110 lb), about the size of the cougar. By contrast, a study of the jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal region found average weights of 100 kg (220 lb), and weights of 136 kilograms (300 lb) or more are not uncommon in old males. Forest jaguars are frequently darker and considerably smaller than those found in open areas (the Pantanal is an open wetland basin), possibly due to the smaller numbers of large, herbivorous prey in forest areas. A short and stocky limb structure makes the jaguar adept at climbing, crawling, and swimming. The head is robust and the jaw extremely powerful. The jaguar has the strongest bite of all felids, capable of biting down with 2,000 lbf (910 kgf). This is twice the strength of a lion and the second strongest of all mammals after the spotted hyena; this strength adaptation allows the jaguar to pierce turtle shells. A comparative study of bite force adjusted for body size ranked it as the top felid, alongside the clouded leopard and ahead of the lion and tiger. It has been reported that "an individual jaguar can drag a 360 kg (800 lb) bull 8 m (25 ft) in its jaws and pulverize the heaviest bones". The jaguar hunts wild animals weighing up to 300 kg (660 lb) in dense jungle, and its short and sturdy physique is thus an adaptation to its prey and environment. The base coat of the jaguar is generally a tawny yellow, but can range to reddish-brown and black, for most of the body. However, the ventral areas are white. The cat is covered in rosettes for camouflage in the dappled light of its forest habitat. The spots vary over individual coats and between individual jaguars: rosettes may include one or several dots, and the shapes of the dots vary. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail, where they may merge to form a band. While the jaguar closely resembles the leopard, it is sturdier and heavier, and the two animals can be distinguished by their rosettes: the rosettes on a jaguar's coat are larger, fewer in number, usually darker, and have thicker lines and small spots in the middle that the leopard lacks. Jaguars also have rounder heads and shorter, stockier limbs compared to leopards. The black morph is less common than the spotted form but, at about six percent of the population, it is several orders of magnitude above the rate of mutation. Hence, it is being supported by selection. Some evidence indicates the melanism allele is dominant. The black form may be an example of heterozygote advantage; breeding in captivity is not yet conclusive on this. Extremely rare albino individuals, sometimes called white panthers, also occur among jaguars, as with the other big cats. As usual with albinos in the wild, selection keeps the frequency close to the rate of mutation. Reproduction and life cycle Jaguar females reach sexual maturity at about two years of age, and males at three or four. The cat is believed to mate throughout the year in the wild, although births may increase when prey is plentiful. Research on captive male jaguars supports the year-round mating hypothesis, with no seasonal variation in semen traits and ejaculatory quality; low reproductive success has also been observed in captivity. Female estrus is 6–17 days out of a full 37-day cycle, and females will advertise fertility with urinary scent marks and increased vocalization. Both sexes will range more widely than usual during courtship. Mating pairs separate after the act, and females provide all parenting. The gestation period lasts 93–105 days; females give birth to up to four cubs, and most commonly to two. The mother will not tolerate the presence of males after the birth of cubs, given a risk of infanticide; this behaviour is also found in the tiger. The young are born blind, gaining sight after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at three months, but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts. They will continue in their mother's company for one to two years before leaving to establish a territory for themselves. Young males are at first nomadic, jostling with their older counterparts until they succeed in claiming a territory. Typical lifespan in the wild is estimated at around 12–15 years; in captivity, the jaguar lives up to 23 years, placing it among the longest-lived cats. Like most cats, the jaguar is solitary outside mother-cub groups. Adults generally meet only to court and mate (though limited noncourting socialization has been observed anecdotally) and carve out large territories for themselves. Female territories, which range from 25 to 40 km2 in size, may overlap, but the animals generally avoid one another. Male ranges cover roughly twice as much area, varying in size with the availability of game and space, and do not overlap. The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and faeces to mark its territory. Like the other big cats, the jaguar is capable of roaring and does so to warn territorial and mating competitors away; intensive bouts of counter-calling between individuals have been observed in the wild. Their roar often resembles a repetitive cough, and they may also vocalize mews and grunts. Mating fights between males occur, but are rare, and aggression avoidance behaviour has been observed in the wild. When it occurs, conflict is typically over territory: a male's range may encompass that of two or three females, and he will not tolerate intrusions by other adult males. The jaguar is often described as nocturnal, but is more specifically crepuscular (peak activity around dawn and dusk). Both sexes hunt, but males travel farther each day than females, befitting their larger territories. The jaguar may hunt during the day if game is available and is a relatively energetic feline, spending as much as 50–60% of its time active. The jaguar's elusive nature and the inaccessibility of much of its preferred habitat make it a difficult animal to sight, let alone study. Hunting and diet Like all cats, the jaguar is an obligate carnivore, feeding only on meat. It is an opportunistic hunter and its diet encompasses at least 87 species. The jaguar can take virtually any terrestrial or riparian vertebrate found in Central or South America, with a preference for large prey. Unlike the Old World, occupied by its Big Cat cousins, the American tropics (which has some of the highest diversities of small animals) has relatively low populations and diversity of large ungulates which this genus favors, so the jaguar is often more of a dietary generalist that its Old World cousins. They regularly take adult caimans, deer, capybaras, tapirs, peccaries, dogs, foxes, and sometimes even anacondas. However, the cat will eat any small species that can be caught, including frogs, mice, birds (mainly ground-based species such as cracids), fish, sloths, monkeys, and turtles; a study conducted in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, for example, revealed the diets of jaguars there consisted primarily of armadillos and pacas. Some jaguars will also take domestic livestock, including adult cattle and horses. While the jaguar often employs the deep throat-bite and suffocation technique typical among Panthera, it sometimes uses a killing method unique amongst cats: it pierces directly through the temporal bones of the skull between the ears of prey (especially the capybara) with its canine teeth, piercing the brain. This may be an adaptation to "cracking open" turtle shells; following the late Pleistocene extinctions, armoured reptiles such as turtles would have formed an abundant prey base for the jaguar. The skull bite is employed with mammals in particular; with reptiles such as the caiman, the jaguar may leap on to the back of the prey and sever the cervical vertebrae, immobilizing the target. While capable of cracking turtle shells, the jaguar may simply smash into the shell with its paw and scoop out the flesh. When attacking sea turtles as they try to nest on beaches, the jaguar will bite at the head, often beheading the prey, before dragging it off to eat. Reportedly, while hunting horses, a jaguar may leap onto their back, place one paw on the muzzle and another on the nape and then twist, dislocating the neck. Local people have ancedotally reported that when hunting a pair of horses bound together, the jaguar will kill one horse and then drag it while the other horse, still living, is dragged in their wake. With prey such as smaller dogs, a paw swipe to the skull may be sufficient to kill it. The jaguar is a stalk-and-ambush rather than a chase predator. The cat will walk slowly down forest paths, listening for and stalking prey before rushing or ambushing. The jaguar attacks from cover and usually from a target's blind spot with a quick pounce; the species' ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers, and are probably a product of its role as an apex predator in several different environments. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels. On killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot. It begins eating at the neck and chest, rather than the midsection. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders. The daily food requirement of a 34 kg (75 lb) animal, at the extreme low end of the species' weight range, has been estimated at 1.4 kg (3.1 lb). For captive animals in the 50–60 kg (110–130 lb) range, more than 2 kg (4.4 lb) of meat daily are recommended. In the wild, consumption is naturally more erratic; wild cats expend considerable energy in the capture and kill of prey, and they may consume up to 25 kg (55 lb) of meat at one feeding, followed by periods of famine. Unlike all other species in the Panthera genus, jaguars very rarely attack humans. Most of the scant cases where jaguars turn to taking a human show the animal is either old with damaged teeth or is wounded. Sometimes, if scared or threatened, jaguars in captivity may lash out at zookeepers. Distribution and habitat It has been an American cat since crossing the Bering Land Bridge during the Pleistocene epoch; the immediate ancestor of modern animals is Panthera onca augusta, which was larger than the contemporary cat. Its present range extends from Mexico, through Central America and into South America, including much of Amazonian Brazil. The countries included in this range are Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica (particularly on the Osa Peninsula), Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, the United States and Venezuela. The jaguar is now extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay. It occurs in the 400 km² Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, the 5,300 km² Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, the approximately 15,000 km2 Manú National Park in Peru, the approximately 26,000 km2 Xingu National Park in Brazil, and numerous other reserves throughout its range. The inclusion of the United States in the list is based on occasional sightings in the southwest, particularly in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In the early 20th century, the jaguar's range extended as far north as the Grand Canyon, and as far west as Southern California. The jaguar is a protected species in the United States under the Endangered Species Act, which has stopped the shooting of the animal for its pelt. In 1996 and from 2004 on, wildlife officials in Arizona photographed and documented jaguars in the southern part of the state. Between 2004 and 2007, two or three jaguars have been reported by researchers around Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona. One of them, called 'Macho B', had been previously photographed in 1996 in the area. For any permanent population in the USA to thrive, protection from killing, an adequate prey base, and connectivity with Mexican populations are essential. On 25 February 2009, a 53.5 kg (118 lb)-Jaguar was caught, radio-collared and released in an area southwest of Tucson, Arizona; this is farther north than had previously been expected and represents a sign there may be a permanent breeding population of jaguars within southern Arizona. The animal was later confirmed to be indeed the same male individual ('Macho B') that was photographed in 2004. On 2 March 2009, Macho B was recaptured and euthanized after he was found to be suffering from kidney failure; the animal was thought to be 16 years old, older than any known wild jaguar. Completion of the United States–Mexico barrier as currently proposed will reduce the viability of any population currently residing in the United States, by reducing gene flow with Mexican populations, and prevent any further northward expansion for the species. The historic range of the species included much of the southern half of the United States, and in the south extended much farther to cover most of the South American continent. In total, its northern range has receded 1,000 km (621 mi) southward and its southern range 2,000 km (1243 mi) northward. Ice age fossils of the jaguar, dated between 40,000 and 11,500 years ago, have been discovered in the United States, including some at an important site as far north as Missouri. Fossil evidence shows jaguars of up to 190 kg (420 lb), much larger than the contemporary average for the animal. The habitat of the cat includes the rain forests of South and Central America, open, seasonally flooded wetlands, and dry grassland terrain. Of these habitats, the jaguar much prefers dense forest; the cat has lost range most rapidly in regions of drier habitat, such as the Argentinian pampas, the arid grasslands of Mexico, and the southwestern United States. The cat will range across tropical, subtropical, and dry deciduous forests (including, historically, oak forests in the United States). The jaguar is strongly associated with water, and it often prefers to live by rivers, swamps, and in dense rainforest with thick cover for stalking prey. Jaguars have been found at elevations as high as 3,800 m, but they typically avoid montane forest and are not found in the high plateau of central Mexico or in the Andes. Substantial evidence exists for a colony of nonnative, melanistic leopards or jaguars inhabiting the rainforests around Sydney, Australia. A local report compiled statements from over 450 individuals recounting their stories of sighting large black cats in the area, and confidential NSW Government documents regarding the matter proved wildlife authorities were so concerned about the big cats and the danger to humans, they commissioned an expert to catch one. The three-day hunt later failed, but ecologist Johannes J. Bauer warned: "Difficult as it seems to accept, the most likely explanation is the presence of a large, feline predator. In this area, [it is] most likely a leopard, less likely a jaguar." The adult jaguar is an apex predator, meaning it exists at the top of its food chain and is not preyed on in the wild. The jaguar has also been termed a keystone species, as it is assumed, through controlling the population levels of prey such as herbivorous and granivorous mammals, apex felids maintain the structural integrity of forest systems. However, accurately determining what effect species like the jaguar have on ecosystems is difficult, because data must be compared from regions where the species is absent as well as its current habitats, while controlling for the effects of human activity. It is accepted that mid-sized prey species undergo population increases in the absence of the keystone predators, and this has been hypothesized to have cascading negative effects. However, field work has shown this may be natural variability and the population increases may not be sustained. Thus, the keystone predator hypothesis is not accepted by all scientists. The jaguar also has an effect on other predators. The jaguar and the cougar, the next-largest feline of the Americas, are often sympatric (related species sharing overlapping territory) and have often been studied in conjunction. Where sympatric with the jaguar, the cougar is smaller than normal and is smaller than the local jaguars. The jaguar tends to take larger prey, usually over 22 kg (49 lb) and the cougar smaller, usually between 2 and 22 kg (4.4 and 49 lb), reducing the latter's size. This situation may be advantageous to the cougar. Its broader prey niche, including its ability to take smaller prey, may give it an advantage over the jaguar in human-altered landscapes; while both are classified as near-threatened species, the cougar has a significantly larger current distribution. Jaguar populations are rapidly declining. The animal is considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, meaning it may be threatened with extinction in the near future. The loss of parts of its range, including its virtual elimination from its historic northern areas and the increasing fragmentation of the remaining range, have contributed to this status. The 1960s had particularly significant declines, with more than 15,000 jaguar skins brought out of the Brazilian Amazon yearly; the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 1973 brought about a sharp decline in the pelt trade. Detailed work performed under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society revealed the animal has lost 37% of its historic range, with its status unknown in an additional 18%. More encouragingly, the probability of long-term survival was considered high in 70% of its remaining range, particularly in the Amazon basin and the adjoining Gran Chaco and Pantanal. The major risks to the jaguar include deforestation across its habitat, increasing competition for food with human beings, poaching, hurricanes in northern parts of its range, and the behaviour of ranchers who will often kill the cat where it preys on livestock. When adapted to the prey, the jaguar has been shown to take cattle as a large portion of its diet; while land clearance for grazing is a problem for the species, the jaguar population may have increased when cattle were first introduced to South America, as the animals took advantage of the new prey base. This willingness to take livestock has induced ranch owners to hire full-time jaguar hunters, and the cat is often shot on sight. The jaguar is regulated as an Appendix I species under CITES: all international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited. All hunting of jaguars is prohibited in Argentina, Belize, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States (where it is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act), Uruguay and Venezuela. Hunting of jaguars is restricted to "problem animals" in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, while trophy hunting is still permitted in Bolivia. The species has no legal protection in Ecuador or Guyana. Current conservation efforts often focus on educating ranch owners and promoting ecotourism. The jaguar is generally defined as an umbrella species – its home range and habitat requirements are sufficiently broad that, if protected, numerous other species of smaller range will also be protected. Umbrella species serve as "mobile links" at the landscape scale, in the jaguar's case through predation. Conservation organizations may thus focus on providing viable, connected habitat for the jaguar, with the knowledge other species will also benefit. Given the inaccessibility of much of the species' range, particularly the central Amazon, estimating jaguar numbers is difficult. Researchers typically focus on particular bioregions, thus species-wide analysis is scant. In 1991, 600–1,000 (the highest total) were estimated to be living in Belize. A year earlier, 125–180 jaguars were estimated to be living in Mexico's 4,000-km2 (2400-mi2) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, with another 350 in the state of Chiapas. The adjoining Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, with an area measuring 15,000 km2 (9,000 mi2), may have 465–550 animals. Work employing GPS telemetry in 2003 and 2004 found densities of only six to seven jaguars per 100 km2 in the critical Pantanal region, compared with 10 to 11 using traditional methods; this suggests the widely used sampling methods may inflate the actual numbers of cats. In the past, conservation of jaguars sometimes occurred through the protection of jaguar "hotspots". These hotspots, described as jaguar conservation units, were large areas populated by about 50 jaguars. However, some researchers recently determined, to maintain a robust sharing of the jaguar gene pool necessary for maintaining the species, it is important that the jaguars are interconnected. To facilitate this, a new project, the Paseo del Jaguar, has been established to connect several jaguar hotspots. Jaguar in the United States The only extant cat native to North America that roars, the jaguar was recorded as an animal of the Americas by Thomas Jefferson in 1799. There are multiple zoological reports of jaguar in California, two as far north as Monterey in 1814 (Langsdorff) and 1826 (Beechey). The coastal Diegueño (Kumeyaay people) of San Diego and Cahuilla Indians of Palm Springs had words for jaguar and the cats persisted there until about 1860. The only recorded description of an active jaguar den with breeding adults and kittens in the U.S. was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California prior to 1860. In 1843, Rufus Sage, an explorer and experienced observer recorded jaguar present on the headwaters of the North Platte River 30–50 miles north of Long's Peak in Colorado. Cabot's 1544 map has a drawing of jaguar ranging over the Pennsylvania and Ohio valleys. Historically, the jaguar was recorded in far eastern Texas, and the northern parts of Arizona and New Mexico. However, since the 1940s, the jaguar has been limited to the southern parts of these states. Although less reliable than zoological records, native American artefacts with possible jaguar motifs range from the Pacific Northwest to Pennsylvania and Florida. Jaguars were rapidly eliminated by Anglo-Americans in the United States. The last female jaguar in the United States was shot by a hunter in Arizona's White Mountains in 1963. In 1969, Arizona outlawed most jaguar hunting, but with no females known to be at large, there was little hope the population could rebound. During the next 25 years, only two jaguars were documented in the United States, both killed: a large male shot in 1971 near the Santa Cruz River by two teenage duck hunters, and another male cornered by hounds in the Dos Cabezas Mountains in 1986. Then in 1996, Warner Glenn, a rancher and hunting guide from Douglas, Arizona, came across a jaguar in the Peloncillo Mountains and became a jaguar researcher, placing webcams which recorded four more Arizona jaguars. On November 19, 2011, a 200-pound male jaguar was photographed near Cochise in southern Arizona by a hunter after being treed by his dogs (the animal left the scene unharmed). This is the last jaguar seen since another male, named Macho B, died shortly after being radio-collared by Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) officials in March, 2009. In the Macho B incident, a former AGFD subcontractor pleaded guilty to violating the endangered species act for trapping the cat and a Game and Fish employee was fired for lying to federal investigators. None of the other four male jaguars sighted in Arizona in the last 15 years have been seen since 2006. However, a second 2011 sighting of an Arizona jaguar was reported by a Homeland Security border pilot in June 2011, and conservation researchers sighted two jaguars within 30 miles of the Mexico/U.S. border in 2010. In September 2012, a jaguar was photographed in the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona, the second such sighting in this region in two years. Legal action by the Center for Biological Diversity led to federal listing of the cat on the endangered species list in 1997. However, on January 7, 2008, George W. Bush appointee H. Dale Hall, Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), signed a recommendation to abandon jaguar recovery as a federal goal under the Endangered Species Act. Critics, including the Center of Biological Diversity and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, were concerned the jaguar was being sacrificed for the government's new border fence, which is to be built along many of the cat's typical crossings between the United States and Mexico. In 2010, the Obama Administration reversed the Bush Administration policy and pledged to protect "critical habitat" and draft a recovery plan for the species. The USFWS was ultimately ordered by the court to develop a jaguar recovery plan and designate critical habitat for the cats. On August 20, 2012 USFWS proposed setting aside 838,232 acres in Arizona and New Mexico—an area larger than Rhode Island—as critical jaguar habitat. In mythology and culture In pre-Columbian Central and South America, the jaguar has long been a symbol of power and strength. Among the Andean cultures, a jaguar cult disseminated by the early Chavín culture became accepted over most of what is today Peru by 900 BC. The later Moche culture of northern Peru used the jaguar as a symbol of power in many of their ceramics. In Mesoamerica, the Olmec—an early and influential culture of the Gulf Coast region roughly contemporaneous with the Chavín—developed a distinct "were-jaguar" motif of sculptures and figurines showing stylised jaguars or humans with jaguar characteristics. In the later Maya civilization, the jaguar was believed to facilitate communication between the living and the dead and to protect the royal household. The Maya saw these powerful felines as their companions in the spiritual world, and a number of Maya rulers bore names that incorporated the Mayan word for jaguar (b'alam in many of the Mayan languages). The Aztec civilization shared this image of the jaguar as the representative of the ruler and as a warrior. The Aztecs formed an elite warrior class known as the Jaguar Knights. In Aztec mythology, the jaguar was considered to be the totem animal of the powerful deity Tezcatlipoca. The jaguar and its name are widely used as a symbol in contemporary culture. It is the national animal of Guyana, and is featured in its coat of arms. The flag of the Department of Amazonas, a Colombian department, features a black jaguar silhouette pouncing towards a hunter. The jaguar also appears in banknotes of Brazilian real. The jaguar is also a common fixture in the mythology of many contemporary native cultures in South America, usually being portrayed as the creature which gave humans the power over fire. Jaguar is widely used as a product name, most prominently for a British luxury car brand. The name has been adopted by sports franchises, including the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and the Mexican football club Jaguares de Chiapas. Grammy-winning Mexican rock band "Jaguares" were also influenced by the magnificent animal to choose their band name. The crest of Argentina's national federation in rugby union features a jaguar; however, because of a historic accident, the country's national team is nicknamed Los Pumas. The country's "A" (second-level) national team in that sport now bears the Jaguars name. In the spirit of the ancient Mayan culture, the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City adopted a red jaguar as the first official Olympic mascot. - Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 546–547. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. - Caso, A., Lopez-Gonzalez, C., Payan, E., Eizirik, E., de Oliveira, T., Leite-Pitman, R., Kelly, M. & Valderrama, C. (2008). "Panthera onca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 7 July 2011. 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The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Cengage Learning. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-1-4390-8476-2. Retrieved 11 December 2011. - Lockard, Craig A. (2010). Societies, Networks, and Transitions, Volume I: To 1500: A Global History. Cengage Learning. pp. 215–. ISBN 978-1-4390-8535-6. Retrieved 11 December 2011. - Christenson, Allen J. (2007). Popol vuh: the sacred book of the Maya. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 196–. ISBN 978-0-8061-3839-8. Retrieved 11 December 2011. - "Guyana". RBC Radio. Retrieved 2011-11-11. - Gutterman, D. (2008-07-26). "Amazonas Department (Colombia)". Fotw.net. Retrieved 2010-04-02. - Levi-Strauss, Claude (2004) . O Cru e o Cozido. São Paulo: Cosac & Naify. Retrieved 2011-11-11. - Welch, Paula. "Cute Little Creatures: Mascots Lend a Smile to the Games". la84foundation.org. Retrieved 2011-11-11. - Baker, W. K., Jr. et al.. Law, Christopher, ed. Guidelines for Captive Management of Jaguars. Jaguar Species Survival Plan. American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Retrieved 2011-11-11. - Brown, David, and Carlos A. López González (2001). Borderland Jaguars. University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-0-87480-696-0. \|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Panthera onca\| \|Wikispecies has information related to: Panthera onca\| - More pictures and information from Arkive - BBC videos on Jaguars - People and Jaguars a Guide for Coexistence - Felidae Conservation Fund - "Jaguar". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.	<urn:uuid:5851bfa0-d033-4195-b7d0-764b3fc08956>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar	2013-05-22T21:27:09Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.878504	12,415
Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter When it comes to our natural human curiosity, we want to know if there’s something new out there… something we haven’t discovered yet. That’s why when lunar rock samples were returned, geologists were thrilled to find very specific minerals – armalcolite, pyroxferroite and tranquillityite – which belonged only to our Moon. However, over the years the first two were found here on Earth and tranquillityite was disclosed in specific meteorites. Named for Tranquility Base, site of the first Moon landing, tranquillityite was supposed to be the final hold-out… the last lunar unique mineral… until now. Birger Rasmussen, paleontologist with Curtin University in Perth, and colleagues report in their Geology paper that they’ve uncovered tranquillityite in several remote locations in Western Australia. While the samples are incredibly small, about the width of a human hair and merely microns in length, their composition is undeniable. What’s more, tranquillityite may be a lot more common here on Earth than previously thought. Rasmussen told the Sydney Morning Herald, “This was essentially the last mineral which was sort of uniquely lunar that had been found in the 70s from these samples returned from the Apollo mission.The mineral has since been found exclusively in returned lunar samples and lunar meteorites, with no terrestrial counterpart. We have now identified tranquillityite in six sites from Western Australia.” Why has this remote mineral stayed hidden for so long? One major reason is its delicate structure. Composed of iron, silicon, oxygen, zirconium, titanium and a tiny bit of yttrium, a rare earth element, tranquillityite erodes at a rapid pace when exposed to natural environmental conditions. Another explanation is that tranquillityite can only form through a unique set of circumstance – through uranium decay. Rasmussen explains it’s evidence these minerals were ‘always’ located here on Earth and we share the same chemical processes as our satellite. “This means that basically we have the same chemical phenomena on the Moon and on Earth.” says Rasmussen. And one of the reasons it has taken so long to be found is, “No one was looking hard enough.”And exactly what does it take to locate it? More than a billion years old, the only sure way to identify tranquillityite is to subject it to a series of electron blasts. By exposing it to a high-energy accelerating electron beam, it produces spectra. From there “an elemental composition in combination with back-scattered electron (BSE) brightness and x-ray count rate information is converted into mineral phases.” According to Rasmussen’s paper, “Terrestrial tranquillityite commonly occurs as clusters of fox-red laths closely associated with baddeleyite and zirconolite in quartz and K-feldspar intergrowths in late-stage interstices between plagioclase and pyroxene.” While it has no real economic value, terrestrial tranquillityite is another good reason mankind should try to preserve pristine regions such as the northeast Pilbara Region and the Eel Creek formation. Who knows what else we might find? Original Story Source: PhysOrg.com.	<urn:uuid:3bbc24f4-f3ff-42c2-a7f5-d0099fbe8f40>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.universetoday.com/92441/tranquillityite-moon-mineral-found-in-western-australia/	2013-05-18T18:41:32Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382705/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.942689	713
\|Wednesday June 19, 2013 Home Topics Archives Speeches Authors Glossary Products\| Feedback A Critical Step In Learning by Speaking Tips \| December 8, 2003 Progress assessment is a critical step in any kind of learning journey. Public speaking involves acquiring knowledge and skills plus other intangibles such as gaining confidence, developing a persona and finding your inner voice. Skilled feedback validates your natural talents, recognizes your efforts and neutralizes your tendency to be overly self-critical. It lets you know when a simple course correction, like changing the order of ideas, can make your message more powerful. Feedback Versus Criticism Feedback is positive and constructive input. It aims to give an honest appraisal of how well your speech communicated your ideas. It affirms what the evaluator perceives as effective and often comments on how the speech architecture supports the speech objectives and audience's interests. It encourages growth in new areas such as adding humor or props. It may alert the speaker to distracting mannerisms (nose scratching, key jiggling, foot tapping). It validates the speaker's strengths and enriches self-knowledge by epitomizing the speaker's natural style. Good feedback assumes there is always room for improvement and not aimed at achieving perfection. It should be encouraging, instructive and insightful. In addition to being a vital step in presentations, it has broad applications in employee/management relationships such as orientation, briefings, training, motivation, and performance evaluations. By contrast, criticism is censorious in nature, often discrediting the person as well as their effort. It stress errors and faultfinding. It omits any reference to what was done well and provides no guidance on how to improve. Criticism is "gotcha" in nature and effectively undermines a person's confidence. Many people prefer to ask colleagues, friends or family members for input on speeches they are about to give. This is treacherous and can put you in a vulnerable position because co-workers, acquaintances and family are unlikely to have the listening skills required for feedback. They may lack free time or have difficulty understanding your presentation objectives and distinguishing between an effective presentation and one that is not. Frequently responses will be colored by personal bias towards you resulting in empty praise or attempts to discredit your efforts, leaving you feeling discouraged and, perhaps, angry. Where can you find reliable feedback to gage your presentation efforts? As we've said elsewhere, we strongly recommend joining your local Toastmasters club. Toastmaster International founder Ralph Smedly observed "Ours is the only organization I know that is dedicated to the individual. We work together to bring out the best in each of us and then we apply our skills to help others." Implicit in this philosophy is the notion that presentation styles are unique to each person. Thus members learn to "put themselves" into their speeches and appreciate that effective presentations are colored by personal talents, passions and reservoirs of experience. Toastmaster members prepare speeches from a series of manuals. Each assignment is focused on a specific objective. Immediately after the delivery, another member evaluates the performance. Did the speaker meet the objectives? (Speaking and evaluating assignments are rotated so members learn to both give and receive feedback.) Members also sometimes practice forthcoming presentations to an outside audience to get feedback on their delivery, content and organization before the real event. Members consider the constructive and supportive system of feedback input to be the most valuable part of the Toastmaster program. About the Author Speaking-Tips.com is one of the web's best-known resources for learning public speaking and presentation skills. Copyright © 2003-2013 BleedingEdge.net. All rights reserved.	<urn:uuid:8d27d866-7402-4961-9be5-68a6ae1824b7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://speaking-tips.com/Articles/Feedback-A-Critical-Step-In-Learning.aspx	2013-06-19T12:46:22Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.943126	744
Humans have been using cannabis for thousands of years for medical treatments, spiritual purposes, textile manufacturing, and other reasons. In recent history, chemists have isolated many cannabinoids, the metabolites in cannabis sativa, and have described some of their biological activities. For example, some cannabinoids have potent effects on multidrug resistant bacteria and others are effective against pain. The structures of known cannabinoids also inspire chemists to create synthetic chemicals to mimic certain aspects of their function, like pain reduction, while providing a powerful medical effect and avoiding negative side effects. Although a lot of work that has been done on cannabis, scientists have not identified every cannabinoid, so many research groups are continuing to identify and categorize the chemicals in cannabis. Samir Ross from the University of Mississippi led one such group in the discovery of nine new cannabinoids, and they published the structures and biological activities of these chemicals in an advanced article in the Journal of Natural Products. The researchers grew plants from high-potency Mexican C. sativa seeds and harvested the whole buds of mature female plants. They performed chemical extraction and purification procedures on the plant material to isolate the nine cannabinoids. They then determined the molecular structures of these new chemicals using a variety of techniques, including 1D and 2D NMR, UV, and HRESIMS (high resolution electron spray ionization mass spectra). After figuring out the chemical structures, it was crucial to know how useful these molecules might be in terms of medicinal properties. The first good news was that none of the cannabinoids were toxic to cells extracted from African green monkey kidneys, which meant that they have potential as drugs. Upon closer inspection, several of the compounds had respectable biological activities, as well. Compound 5 had potent antileishmanial activity, which makes it a possible candidate against leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that is spread by the bite of the sandfly. Compound 8 was effective at killing Staphylococcus aureus, a frequent cause of staph infections, and compound 7 had good activity against Candida albicans, a fungus that gives people oral and genital infections. The other cannabinoids weren’t as biologically active, but they all had some drug potential. For insistence, compounds 2 and 6 were mildly affective against MRSA, and compound 1 had some antimalarial activity. The identification of these biologically relevant cannabinoids will give natural product chemists new ideas for future drugs. Even the less active ones can turn out to be useful, as chemists can make modifications of the structures that are more potent. Journal of Natural Products, 2009. DOI: 10.1021/np900067k Images � ACS	<urn:uuid:82536fec-c71c-4aed-8bb6-e34a4e74976a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://arstechnica.com/science/2009/04/new-biologically-active-compounds-from-cannabis/	2013-05-21T17:47:27Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95841	545
Filed under: Beauty & Plastic Surgery Contact dermatitis is a kind of skin inflammation that occurs when substances touching your skin cause irritation or an allergic reaction. The resulting red, itchy rash isn't contagious or life-threatening, but it can be very uncomfortable. Culprits in everyday life include soaps, cosmetics, fragrances, jewelry, or plants such as poison ivy or poison oak. Some occupations involve exposure to substances that may cause contact dermatitis. Successful contact dermatitis treatment consists primarily of identifying what's causing your reaction. If you can avoid that offending agent, the rash usually resolves in two to four weeks. Self-care measures, such as wet compresses and anti-itch creams, can help soothe your skin and reduce inflammation. Want to know more about this article or other health related issues? Ask your question and we'll post some each week for CNN.com reader to discuss or for our experts to weight in. \|Most Viewed\|\|Most Emailed\|\|Top Searches\|	<urn:uuid:039b5a07-27ea-4ed8-a51a-c7e686e57c84>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/contact-dermatitis/DS00985.html	2013-06-19T13:34:43Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708783242/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125303-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.926245	213
Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are a relatively new class of materials that hold promise for many applications ranging from switchable windows to projection displays. These materials, which are simply a combined application of polymers and liquid crystals, are the focus of extensive research in the display industry. PDLCs consist of liquid crystal droplets that are dispersed in a solid polymer matrix. The resulting material is a sort of "swiss cheese" polymer with liquid crystal droplets filling in the holes. These tiny droplets (a few microns across for practical applications) are responsible for the unique behavior of the material. By changing the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules with an electric field, it is possible to vary the intensity of transmitted light. The following sections explain the principle of operation of PDLC devices as well as the techniques used to manufacture them. \|Preparation of PDLCs\|	<urn:uuid:3edb7bd1-2cf1-46ca-aee2-053cfa620fda>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://plc.cwru.edu/tutorial/enhanced/files/pdlc/intro/intro.htm	2013-05-18T18:49:38Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382705/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.913439	186
Jean-Baptiste Vanmour of Valenciennes stands out as an exception in this respect. His extended sojourn in the East provided Vanmour with access to areas that were prohibited to other Europeans. Vanmour’s genre scenes of the domestic interior, particularly the ones depicting the Turkish woman, were widely favored by enthusiastic admirers. Consequently, similar compositions were repeatedly produced in the artist’s studio in İstanbul. As the paintings centered on the domestic interior reveal, fortune-telling from coffee cups, smoking tobacco pipes, spinning yarn, embroidering, hosting –mostly overnight– guests, and frequenting the hamam were important pastimes in the daily life of Ottoman women. The harem women also enjoyed musical or theatrical entertainment. Practicing music was not confined to the women of the Palace; it was also a widespread pursuit in the palaces, mansions and seaside residences of state officials and Court circles. Life and the city Apart from the picturesque or panoramic views, İstanbul also presented intriguing scenes of daily life to foreign artists visiting the Ottoman capital. From the 18th century onwards, genre scenes began to emerge in the works of Western painters and gained further significance through the Orientalists of the 19th century. Venues reflecting the exotic Eastern atmosphere and Ottomans dressed in their original attires stood out as priceless subjects for the Orientalist painters who sought to immortalize the mystifying life of the East on their canvasses. Public areas such as coffee houses, courtyards of mosques, fountains, promenades, and bazaars were ideal sites to observe urban life. In this respect, women were the central focus in the genre scenes of Orientalist painters. As they were forbidden to observe Turkish women in the household, these artists found the opportunity to comfortably study and depict women as they were traveling on koçu carts or aboard the caiques, relaxing at excursion sites, or shopping at the bazaars. İstanbul’s distinctive geographical location also offered artists the prospect of juxtaposing life at sea against the city’s skyline defined by Ottoman architecture. The works of Western artists reflecting İstanbul life assumed their places in books illustrated with engravings that were published in Europe, enabling a number of local and foreign painters to produce oil copies of these engravings.	<urn:uuid:e6d133e0-20d4-40af-b228-79ee84936bfc>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.peramuzesi.org.tr/exhibitions/detail_collection_exhibitions.aspx?Page=LeCDLPager130057177146115274__3&SectionID=TbIz1RuHkzgarruFOGK6Uw%3D%3D&ContentID=ZTov0Er6KFNjTr5yBT4XFw%3D%3D	2013-05-25T19:56:23Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.967372	488
February 20th, 2012 \| Most of you will probably know the problem of visualizing more than two dimensions of data. In the past we have seen some solutions to this problem by using color maps, or pseudo 3D plots. Here is another solution which will just plot a bunch of lines, but varying their individual colors. For this we first define the colors we want to use. Here we create a transition from blue to green by varying the hue in equal steps. The values can be easily calculated with GIMP or any other tool that comes with a color chooser. set style line 2 lc rgb '#0025ad' lt 1 lw 1.5 # --- blue set style line 3 lc rgb '#0042ad' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 4 lc rgb '#0060ad' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 5 lc rgb '#007cad' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 6 lc rgb '#0099ad' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 7 lc rgb '#00ada4' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 8 lc rgb '#00ad88' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 9 lc rgb '#00ad6b' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 10 lc rgb '#00ad4e' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 11 lc rgb '#00ad31' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 12 lc rgb '#00ad14' lt 1 lw 1.5 # . set style line 13 lc rgb '#09ad00' lt 1 lw 1.5 # --- green Then we plot our data with these colors and get Figure 1 as a result. plot for [n=2:13] 'itd.txt' u 1:(column(n)1000) w lines ls n There the interaural time difference (ITD) between the right and left ear for different frequency channels ranging from 236 Hz to 1296 Hz is shown. As can be seen the ITD varies depending on the incident angle (azimuth angle) of the given sound. Another possibility to indicate the frequency channels given by the different colors is to add a colorbox to the graph as shown in Figure 2. Fig. 2 Plot of interaural time differences for different frequency channels, indicated by different colors as shown in the colorbox (code to produce this figure, data) To achieve this we have to set the origin and size of the colorbox ourselves. Note, that the notation is not the same as for a rectangle object and uses only the screen coordinates which is a little bit nasty. In addition we have to define our own color palette, as has been discussed already in another colorbox entry. In a last step we add a second phantom plot to our plot command by plotting 1/0 using the image style in order to get the colorbox drawn onto the graph. set colorbox user horizontal origin 0.32,0.385 size 0.18,0.035 front set cbrange [236:1296] set cbtics ('236 Hz' 236,'1296 Hz' 1296) offset 0,0.5 scale 0 set palette defined (\ 1 '#0025ad', \ 2 '#0042ad', \ 3 '#0060ad', \ 4 '#007cad', \ 5 '#0099ad', \ 6 '#00ada4', \ 7 '#00ad88', \ 8 '#00ad6b', \ 9 '#00ad4e', \ 10 '#00ad31', \ 11 '#00ad14', \ 12 '#09ad00' \ plot for [n=2:13] 'itd.txt' u 1:(column(n)1000) w lines ls n, \ 1/0 w image	<urn:uuid:6fce8f0c-0c1c-4324-99ff-0a9a5103d751>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.gnuplotting.org/tag/palette/	2013-05-26T03:31:07Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706578727/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121618-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.826192	893
Discussion of all aspects of biological molecules, biochemical processes and laboratory procedures in the field. 5 posts • Page 1 of 1 Can anyone explain to me how the helicase process in strand separation is possible as far as time? Are there several helicases taking each a portion of the DNA, or does one start at one end and split the entire strand? If the latter is the case, how does it separate 3 billion nucleotides in reference to time? Helicase is part of the protein complex that replicates DNA. DNA replication begins by a "bubble" forming in the molecule where the first few hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs are broken opening the DNA molecule for replication. From here Helicase works in both directions opening the DNA molecule. Many bubbles can form in a single DNA molecule which speeds up the process. The speed of Helicase depends on certain conditions such as temperature and other necessities as you would expect, if you look you can probably find an estimate for its nucleotide per second speed. I spit in the mouth of a god, who whispers in the minds of the children "The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is at all comprehensible" - Albert Einstein. How? Does it split in two, or are there more helicases that enter into the picture. The only thing I can find is that it makes a fork in the DNA and a really cheap animation. Maybe they don't really know in detail. Anyway it amazes me that one could handle 3b nucleotides before cell death. Here is a link to a free access on PubMed about several different kinds of helicases: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... d=18329872 In a human/eukaryotic cell, there are multiple origins of DNA replication. Helicases are part of the whole DNA synthesis initiation and elongation process. Using ATP, they are able to pull the base pairs apart from the SSB proteins that has "straightened out" the DNA helix for the helicase to do its job. Thus each initiation to elongation complex has the helicase on board working to pull the DNA base pairs apart. 5 posts • Page 1 of 1 Who is online Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests	<urn:uuid:c222cb6c-2563-4fac-b41d-acf45524f449>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/post-111329.html	2013-05-24T08:58:07Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.931767	473
There are many communities across the country grappling with limited access to affordable, fresh fruits and vegetables at a time when these same communities are fighting rising rates of childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other diet-related illnesses. The very definition of community—that inter-connectedness between residents, businesses, hospitals and schools—means that health or food issues that affect one part of the community can have a negative impact on the rest. At USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), we are examining food hub distribution models of all shapes and sizes–finding ways to compliment and supplement existing food systems as a way to overcome these challenges. Recently, I was asked to talk about food hub distribution models as part of a video about Common Market, a food hub serving the Philadelphia area. This opportunity gave me the chance to discuss the challenges we face in connecting farmers in rural areas with consumers in urban communities, and how food hub models can help us redefine the way food gets to our tables. A food hub model like the one being used in Philadelphia can work to everyone’s advantage, using the community as a whole to make the system viable. By leveraging the buying power of schools, hospitals, elderly care centers and corner markets to create consistent demand, you can then harness the growing power of local farms to create consistent supply. Costs remain low because less transportation and storage is needed to get the food to the community while it’s still fresh. By linking producers to communities, food hubs create a win-win arrangement where communities are getting greater access to healthy fresh food, and farmers are gaining entry to new markets that would be difficult or impossible to access on their own. As we research and explore new methods and models, we will share lessons learned, best practices and a list of available resources on our food hub website. To learn more about the work being done in Philadelphia, check out the full Common Market story on YouTube.	<urn:uuid:694ba463-3c0a-4623-bcf3-619f7385a1ed>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/01/27/good-food-for-all-people-food-hubs-at-work-in-philadelphia/	2013-05-23T18:39:10Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.945675	394
History of Cornish Chickens: Around 1820, Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert of Cornwall, England, developed a chicken breed he called the Indian Game using bloodlines from Aseel, Red Old English and Malay chickens. His goal was to breed a fighting chicken with the power of the Aseel and the speed of Old English Games. The cross didn’t work the way Raleigh hoped, but fanciers in Devonshire and Cornwall embraced the chicken breed as an ornamental, due to its unique appearance, and as a first-rate table chicken for its juicy, white breast meat. The American Poultry Association added Dark Indian Games to their Standard of Perfection in 1893, later admitting White, White-laced Red and Buff to the list of recognized varieties. In 1905, the organization renamed the breed Cornish Indian Game, and in 1910, simply Cornish. Conformation: The Cornish chicken breed is unique in that the APA lists the same conformation standards for male and female chickens. The breed has short, narrow, close-fitting feathers; a muscular body with an amazingly broad chest; a wide skull; and thick, short shanks with legs set wide apart. Standard Cornish cocks weigh 10½ pounds and hens weigh 8 pounds. Bantam cocks weigh 44 ounces and hens weigh 36 ounces. Special Consideration/Notes on Cornish Chickens: Cornish chickens are loud and active but friendly. They bear confinement well, though it’s best not to raise them in a mixed flock due to their inability to defend themselves. They are tasty, albeit slow-maturing, meat chickens but only mediocre layers of small, light-brown eggs. They are half of the hybrid Cornish Cross equation (White Cornish bred with White Plymouth Rocks), the most popular commercial meat chicken in North America. Prior to the Cornish Cross’ emergence, they were popular as 2-pound Cornish Game Hens when slaughtered at 5 weeks of age. The breed is listed in the Watch category of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List.	<urn:uuid:8723c2fd-997f-463c-984e-9df1eee5e986>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-breeds/poultry-profiles/cornish-chicken-2.aspx	2013-05-24T01:50:59Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.932023	434
Stonehenge, Ohio Hopewell sites might have focused on burials More science stories Local Stories from ThisWeek - Catering company moving to vacant Brewery District storefront - Gahanna mayor: Let’s cancel fireworks, Freedom Festival - District treasurer interviews: 'No point,' says White - Three sentenced in murder as range awaits fate Continuing research at Stonehenge has established that, in addition to being a place of ceremony connected with the sun and moon, it also was a center of mortuary rituals. University of Sheffield archaeologist Mike Pearson, recently interviewed on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation, said that it was, in fact, "the biggest cemetery of its time." Pearson said, "I think the key thing is that from the moment that Stonehenge is built -- this is very shortly after 3,000 B.C. -- they're putting in burials as well as the parts of the monument itself. And I think it's something that is going hand in hand with it." He referred to alternative theories, including Bournemouth University archaeologist Timothy Darvill's idea that Stonehenge was a place of healing, as in no way inconsistent with the site also serving as a cemetery. A place devoted to the ancestors naturally could have a variety of secondary uses, such as invoking their spirits to help with problems the community faced. The astronomical cycles encoded in the alignments of the stones could have been a way of determining the most favorable times for ceremonies as well as charging the monument with cosmic energy. What strikes me about these new views of Stonehenge is how remarkably consonant they are with our evolving understanding of Ohio's Hopewell earthworks. The Newark Earthworks, for example, consisted of a number of enormous geometric enclosures, including two circles, a square, an octagon and an oval. Each of the enclosures seems to have had its own special focus, such as the alignment of the octagon to the rising and setting of the moon. But they all were connected by a network of parallel-walled roads to an oval enclosure that surrounded a dozen or more burial mounds. So, like Stonehenge, although the site served a variety of purposes, the ancestors were at the heart of it all. Bradley T. Lepper is curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society.	<urn:uuid:fffe145e-7547-44c1-b119-6663c3e8c592>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2008/07/08/sci_lepper08.ART_ART_07-08-08_B5_1HAL6IU.html	2013-05-25T19:36:29Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.971718	491
A fairground organ is a pipe organ designed for use in a commercial public fairground setting to provide loud music to accompany fairground rides and attractions. Unlike organs intended for indoor use, they are designed to produce a large volume of sound to be heard over and above the noise of crowds of people and fairground machinery. As fairgrounds became more mechanised at the end of the nineteenth century so did their musical needs grow. The period of greatest activity of fairground organ manufacture and development is from the later 1880s through to the introduction of effective electrical sound amplification in the mid-1920s. The organ chassis was typically provided with an ornate and florid decorative case façade designed to be a further fairground attraction in its own right as with all fairground equipment. The ornate case façades frequently had different instruments such as the xylophone or drums that provide visual entertainment as they played. There were often ornate human figures such as a conductor whose arm moved in time to the music or women whose arms would strike bells. The mechanics to accomplish this motion was quite intricate and provided a pleasant visual experience in addition to the music. The organs were constructed so as to be able to produce the popular music of the period. Organs were designed to mimic the musical capabilities of a typical human band. For this reason they are known as band organs in the US. The motive force for a fairground organ is typically wind under pressure generated from mechanically powered sets of bellows mounted in the base of the instrument. The instruments, designed to be operated without a human performer, are keyboard-less apart from a few one-off examples. The organ is played mechanically by either a rotating barrel with the music pinned thereon like a musical box, a strip of card perforated with the musical data and registration controls called book music or interchangeable rolls of paper similarly programmed called music rolls. Fairground organs were used in many settings such as general fairground rides, static side shows such as bioscope shows and various locations in amusements parks such as ice rinks and the like. Like all mechanical instruments fairground organs come in a vast array of sizes and technical specifications made by a myriad of manufacturers all of which had their own trademark characteristics. As with all vintage equipment there is a strong preservation movement associated with these instruments and today new instruments and music are still being made. Early organs were designed to be compact and operated by an unskilled person or mechanically. These were hence played via an integral pinned barrel requiring no human input apart from to change the number of the tune being played. These had a fixed repertoire and, if it was desired to change the tunes, a complete new pinned barrel was required. To offer a more flexible choice of repertoire a system of robust interchangeable perforated carboard book music was adopted first by Parisian manufacturers Gavioli. Their system became widely regarded as commercially advantageous and other manufacturers followed suit. Book music offered a cheaper, more readily updated alternative to barrel music. Also used by many manufacturers including Gavioli was operation via paper music roll. These rolls were more compact and cheaper to manufacture than book music. Technically, they were more susceptible to poor handling but all systems experienced their own types of characteristic wear and tear during repeated playing. Both "book" and "roll" systems were manufactured with different operating actions which read the music either (a) via air pressure, (b) under suction, or (c) mechanically. To extend longevity, mechanically-read cardboard book music was typically strengthened with an application of shellac. Music rolls were typically fortified via the use of robust moisture-resisting paper stocks. All the functions of the organ are (apart from the smallest instruments) operated automatically from the music media. Larger instruments contain automatic organ stop register control and additional control tracks for operating percussion instruments, lighting effect and automaton figures. - NOTE: non-exhaustive list of builders, past & present \|Artizan Factories, Inc\|\|United States\|\|North Tonawanda, NY\|\| \|B.A.B. Organ Company\|\|United States\|\|Brooklyn, NY\|\| \|\|Converted European organs to the B.A.B. roll system\| \|Ignaz Bruder Söhne\|\|Germany\|\|Waldkirch\|\| \|Wilhelm Bruder Söhne\|\|Germany\|\|Waldkirch\|\| \|Chiappa & Sons\|\|England\|\|London\|\| \|Cocchi, Bacigalupo & Graffigna\|\|Germany\|\|Berlin\|\| \|Eugene de Kleist\|\|United States\|\|North Tonawanda, NY\|\| \|\|Expatriate German who trained at Limonaire Frères in Waldkirch. While running his own business in London, was persuaded by American fairground ride maker Allan Herschell to start production in North Tonawanda, New York. Founding the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory in 1892, he created the American Band organ sound. Bought out of the business in 1909 by then business partner Ruldolph Wurlitzer, after he was voted in as mayor of North Tonawanda\| \|Dean Organ Builders\|\|England\|\|Whitchurch, Bristol\|\| \|\|John Dean established himself as wheelwright and cabinet maker circa 1818 in Bridport, but it was his grandson, Thomas Walter Dean who moved the family and their business to Bedminster in Bristol, following his marriage in 1899 to the daughter of a local dealer, William Wyatt. Walter Deans son Edwin, moved his business to Whitchurch in 1939 and so established the present site where the retail shop and workshop are today. Under the direction of Edwin Deans son, Michael, the family turned its attention to the building of new traditional fairground and street organs. It was at this time that the company became known as Dean Organ Builders. The company introduced the 20 keyless book playing organ. The business continues in the hands of Richard and Sue Dean.\|\|\| \|Decap, Gebroeders (Decap Brothers)\|\|Belgium\|\|Antwerp\|\| \|\|Found in 1902 by Aloïs Decap, the name was changed when taken over by the four sons: Livien, Frans, Léon, Camille. Maker of dance organs (early years), mechanical pianos (limited production, early years), street and fairground organs (1920s-1930s). Leading maker of dance organs, 1930s-present. Business now runs by Camille's daughter Martha, her husband Louis Mostmans and son Roger under the name Decap Brothers of Antwerp.\|\|\| \|Frati & Co.\|\|Germany\|\|Berlin\|\| \|Carl Frei\|\| Germany \|\|Started in Waldkirch, moved to Breda via Belgium. Returned to Waldkirch post World War Two\| \|Gaudin Freres & Cie.\|\|France\|\|Paris\|\| \|\|Successors to Marenghi\| \|Gavioli & Cie.\|\|France\|\|Paris\|\| \|\|At one point, the largest organ builder in the world. Ceased trading in 1910, with patents, designs and brand sold to rival Limonaire Frères\| \|Jäger und Brommer\|\|Germany\|\|Waldkirch\|\| \|Johnson Organ Company\|\|United States\|\|Fargo, ND\|\| \|La Salvia\|\|Argentina\|\|Buenos Aires\|\| \|\|Founded in Paris in the 1830s by a group of brothers, the company went through various iterations before becoming the second largest producer of organs behind Gavioli. At their height from 1900–1914, they had factories in both Paris and Waldkirch, Germany. Bought the patents and what remained of rival Gavioli from administrators in 1910. German factory was confiscated during World War 1, and after return in 1921 sold to Alfred Bruder in 1924. Company ceased trading in 1936.\| \|Charles Marenghi & Cie\|\|France\|\|Paris\|\| \|Usines Theofiel Mortier\|\|Belgium\|\|Antwerp\|\| \|Nederlands Boekorgel Centrum\|\|Netherlands\|\|Hilvarenbeek\|\| \|Niagara Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.\|\|United States\|\|North Tonawanda, NY\|\| \|Emmanuel Odin\|\|France\|\|St. Rambert\|\| \|John Page\|\|England\|\|Milton Keynes\|\| \|\|Formerly Page & Howard\| \|G. Perlee Draaiorgels\|\|Netherlands\|\|Amsterdam\|\| \|\|son of Anton Pluer\|\|\| \|Pooker Organ Works\|\|United States\|\|Hawthorne, CA\|\| \|Andreas Ruth & Sohn\|\|Germany\|\|Waldkirch\|\| \|Stinson Organ Company\|\|United States\|\|Bellefontaine, OH\|\| \|van Steenput Frères\|\|Belgium\|\|Puurs\|\| \|\|Built and converted fairground and street organs circa 1890-1930\| \|\|Four generations of family members have built and repaired portable hand-cranked organs, street organs (including the world-famous Dutch street organ "The Arab"), fairground organs, and dance organs since 1884. Business names have included: \|Heinrich Voigt Orgelbau\|\|Germany\|\|Höchst, Frankfurt am Main\|\| \|Fritz Wrede\|\|Germany\|\|Kleefeld, Hannover\|\| \|Rudolph Wurlitzer Company\|\|United States\|\|North Tonawanda, NY\|\| \|\|After collaborating with Eugene de Kleist on the Wurlitzer Tonophone, bought into the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory business from 1897, and then bought De Kleist out completely in 1908. Moved all production of organs to the site, and began heavily investing. Organ production ceased in 1942, with the factory turned over to producing proximity fuzes. Post war, the factory produced various Wurlitzer lines, including radios and jukeboxes. The factory closed in 1973.\| See also - Bopp, Ron: The American Carousel Organ: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Grove, OK: Ron Bopp, 1998. - Bowers, Q. David: The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments. Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1972. - Jüttemann, Herbert: Waldkircher Dreh- und Jahrmarkt-Orgeln. Waldkirch: Waldkircher Verlag, 1993. - Jüttemann, Herbert: Waldkirch Street and Fairground Organs. Rufforth, York: A.C. Pilmer, 2002. (Revised translation of above) - Reblitz, Arthur A.: The Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments. Woodsville, NH: Mechanical Music Press, 2001. - Reblitz, Arthur A. and Bowers, Q. David: Treasures of Mechanical Music. Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1981. - Cockayne, Eric V. The Fair Organ — How It Works. UK, published by The Fair Organ Preservation Society	<urn:uuid:a8119cd4-3085-489b-88ed-6605b37c996e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_organ	2013-05-24T16:33:28Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704752145/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114552-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.904276	2,306
Q: How would I know if my pond has sufficient aeration? What would happen if my pond was “under” aerated? - Joe of Michigan A: The best way to test to see if your pond is sufficiently aerated is by taking the temperature of the water one foot below the pond’s surface as well as the bottom. If there is a difference of more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit, then the pond is not sufficiently aerated and you may need to add additional diffusers or relocate the diffuser that you have. Next, to answer the, “What would happen if my pond was “under” aerated?” question, lets compare a pond with no aeration, a pond that is under aerated and a pond with sufficient aeration. A Pond with No Aeration: With no aeration present, the water is stratified (aka has a thermocline). Meaning that the water at the top is warmer and full of oxygen while on the bottom the water is cooler, nutrient rich and contains no oxygen. This causes the fish to habitat towards the surface of the pond. As the seasons change from the hot summer to cold winter, the pond goes through a process known as “turnover”. This is when the cooler water at the bottom of the pond, mixes with the warmer water at the pond’s surface. Since the rising cooler water contains no oxygen, the chances of a fish kill are imminent. A Pond that is Under Aerated: When a pond is under aerated, the thermocline is not eliminated, only dropped further down towards the pond’s bottom. This can cause constant problems. As the bottom bubbler aerates, the bottom, nutrient rich water is lifted to the pond’s surface. These nutrients are now constantly available for algae to grow. More importantly, the water that is being lifted by the bubbler also contains no oxygen, thus increasing the possibility of creating turnover and killing the fish. A Pond with Sufficient Aeration: You may ask, “Since the nutrients are still being brought to the surface, won’t an algae bloom and turnover still happen even if a pond is properly aerated?” When an aeration system is initially installed, it should be started at a slow pace to prevent creating turnover (See blog “When & How to Start Your Aeration System” for more information). As for algae, initially, when the nutrients are pushed towards the surface, algae will have the chance to bloom. As time progresses, however, the thermocline will be eliminated, the nutrients will be flushed out and the fish may now habitat the whole body of water.	<urn:uuid:f7d479b9-6b93-4502-acad-d752427e0140>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://blog.thepondguy.com/2008/07/17/how-would-i-know-if-my-pond-has-sufficient-aeration-pond-lake-q-a-week-of-july-18th/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=4b5b0dc21b	2013-05-22T00:21:02Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.945661	557
Ocean Overrun With Gentle Gelatinous Salps Topics: Biodiversity, Biology, Blog, Environment What looks like a jellyfish but is closely related to humans? The answer is an oceanic animal called a salp, and right now the waters off California are teeming with unprecedented numbers of these creatures. Salps are essentially transparent jet-propelled tubes. Their life cycle alternates between solitary swimmers, each smaller than your hand, and aggregated colonies that can grow longer than a bus. As individuals, salps are innocuous. They don't sting. They don't hunt. They're gentle plankton eaters. But as populous blooms, salps can wreak havoc. So far this year their sheer gelatinous mass has shut down one nuclear power plant and destroyed two fishing nets. The NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz has surveyed the central California coast every spring since 1983, gathering information on individual fished species and on the ecosystem in general. The 2012 survey took the ship Bell M. Shimada from San Diego to Newport between May 6 and June 17. "We've had wild salp catches over the last few weeks," wrote research fishery biologist John Field in a message from the boat to colleagues back on shore. "No one from the survey has ever seen anything like it." Each time the scientists dragged a trawl net through the water, they caught an average of 30,000 salps. Prior to 2012, the maximum salp catch for a single trawl was 235 in 1999. This year, some hauls held over half a million. And that was when they could even use the nets. "For the first time in the history of the survey," wrote research fishery biologist Keith Sakuma, "both the primary and backup midwater trawl nets were ripped apart due to the sheer number of salps in the water." Often they had to cancel the trawls because there were simply too many salps. So what does such a freak salp bloom mean? It's tempting to dredge up the "jellyfish gone wild" hypothesis–the idea that gelatinous creatures are taking over the oceans because they can adapt to human pollution. But as MBARI scientist Steven Haddock has pointed out, historical data for most species isn't good enough to be certain of an increase in numbers or a significant tolerance for pollution. Furthermore, in the case of California salps, there's reason to believe shifts in abundance are driven by natural oceanwide changes. Over the course of decades, the Pacific Ocean alternates between "warm" and "cool" phases. During a warm phase from 1977-1998, salps declined in abundance; the trend reversed after 1998 with a shift to a cool phase. Yet none of the years since 1998 have shown salp numbers even close to the banner year of 2012. Scientists will surely be seeking further explanations and waiting to see how long the bloom continues.Tags: jellyfish, ocean, salp	<urn:uuid:828d332a-36aa-4dc0-bb8f-5681dcc175ed>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://science.kqed.org/quest/2012/07/03/ocean-overrun-with-gentle-gelatinous-salps/	2013-05-24T16:04:22Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.957216	612
Summary: An engaging introduction to statistics, the text provides readers with a tool for learning about behaviour without requiring a strong background in research methods. This comprehensive, yet conversational, text includes making sense sections to help relate and explain material that is often difficult for students to comprehend. The book provides instructions for using SPSS statistical software in each chapter with helpful examples and over 100 screen shots. ...show moreGregory Privitera takes a user-friendly approach while balancing statistical theory, computation, and application with the technical instruction needed for students to succeed in the modern era of data collection, analysis, and statistical interpretation. Key Features - SMaking Sense sections break down the most difficult concepts in statistics for students, review important material, and basically Smake sense of the most challenging material. These sections are aimed at easing student stress, and making statistics more approachable. - SResearch in Focus sections in Chapters 1 through 7 provide context by reviewing pertinent, current research that makes sense of or illustrates important statistical concepts discussed in the chapter. This feature prepares students to read research articles by providing examples on how a particular statistical method is reported. - SSPSS in Focus sections provide step-by-step, classroom-tested instruction using practical research examples for how the concepts taught in each chapter can be applied using SPSS. Students are supported with screen shot figures and explanations for how to read SPSS output. - Numerous opportunities for practice are found in the 32-38 problems at the ends of each chapter. These are divided into different kinds of problems (factual problems, concept and application problems, and problems in research) categorized for easier identification and flexibility of assessment by instructors. ...show lessEdition/Copyright: 12 More prices and sellers below.	<urn:uuid:7e08d615-23fa-4cea-b269-db6f6b873fcd>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.textbooks.com/Statistics-for-Behavioral-Sciences-12-Edition/9781412969314/Gregory-J-Privitera.php?mpcond=LikeNew	2013-05-26T09:44:37Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.888524	352
More than 400 rock paintings adorn the Canadian Shield from Quebec, across Ontario and as far west as Saskatchewan. The pictographs are the legacy of the Algonkian-speaking Cree and Ojibway, whose roots may extend to the beginnings of human occupancy in the region almost 10,000 years ago. Archaeologist Grace Rajnovich spent fourteen years of field research uncovering a multitude of clues as to the meanings of the paintings. She has written a text which is unique in its ability to "see" the paintings from a traditional native viewpoint. Skilfully weaving the imagery, metaphors and traditions of the Cree and Ojibway, the author has recaptured the poetry and wisdom of an ancient culture. Chief Willie Wilson of the Rainy River Band considers Grace's work "innovative and original."	<urn:uuid:eac60882-d0f0-48b8-b5f4-a2b846933050>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.amazon.ca/Reading-Rock-Art-Interpreting-Paintings/dp/155488473X	2013-05-22T15:37:48Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701910820/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105830-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.956607	168
Radiation Exposure During Pregnancy RadiationThere are two kinds of radiation exposure that pregnant women worry about. The first is called nonionizing radiation, which comes from household appliances such as microwave ovens and TV sets. The second is ionizing radiation and it comes from x-rays. Indoor tanning salons darken the skin with a course of ultraviolet radiation. This radiation can cause skin cancer, premature wrinkling, sun plaques, pigment abnormalities, and eye damage, all of which are bad. If you don't mind getting any of the above, the good news is this: Indoor tanning will not hurt your baby! The bottom line is this: Don't worry about radiation exposure from home appliances and communication equipment. The levels are so low, your baby will not be affected. These days it is impossible to avoid the radiation that comes from common appliances and communication equipment, such as microwave ovens, radios, televisions, radar, high-voltage power lines, certain burglar alarms, long-distance telephone and telegraph transmissions, electric blankets, heated water beds, taxi dispatch lines, satellite communications towers, video display terminals (VDTs), automatic garage door openers, and electric toys. There's just no way to avoid most of this. Some research on the effects of this kind of nonionizing radiation has raised a red flag on excessive exposure. High levels of nonionizing radiation in humans has been associated with (but not scientifically proven) to cause genetic damage, spontaneous abortion, and birth defects. But the tested levels have been extremely high, far above what we are exposed to normally. You can sit two inches in front of your TV everyday all day long during your pregnancy and not worry about radiation damage to your fetus (you should be more worried about your sanity). But to err on the side of caution, you can keep your fetus out of harm's way if you… - Sit at least five feet away from the TV set when it's on. - Stand at least three feet away and to the side when your microwave is running. - Test for leaks in your microwave by putting a paper towel in the door and shutting it. You should not be able to pull the towel out of the door. If you can, the seals are worn and should be replaced. - Avoid sitting too near the back of a computer screen. Most radiation is emitted from the rear; so if your workstation puts you behind your colleague's screen, you might want to move. But keep in mind that extensive studies cannot find a definite link between working on a computer all day and birth defects. - Although there is no evidence that copy machines are harmful to a fetus, be cautious and limit the amount of time you spend around these machines. Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth © 2004 by Michele Isaac Gliksman, M.D. and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. To order this book visit Amazon's website or call 1-800-253-6476.	<urn:uuid:8d931e24-9518-4ee6-b55d-b44f3b4c4a1e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://pregnancy.familyeducation.com/general-health-and-safety/things-to-avoid-while-pregnant/57529.html	2013-05-21T11:09:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699899882/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.927931	660
Climate and the Origin and Demise of Species: What are the roles played by warming and cooling in the history of life on earth? Medieval Warm Period Record of the Week This issue's Medieval Warm Period Record of the Week comes from Smreczynski Straw Lake, Tatra Mountains, Southern Poland. Subject Index Summary Land Cover Change (Effects on Climate): What are they? ... and how significant are they? Sea Level Changes of the Past: Portents of the Future?: What do prior sea level changes suggest about possible future changes? The Urban Heat Island of Mexicali, Mexico: How did it develop into what it is today? Forest Growth Has Accelerated as the Air's CO2 Content Has Risen: Where has it happened? ... and how significant is it? The Future of Malaria: Would a new spate of global warming increase the incidence of the dreaded disease? CO2 and O3 Effects on Two Silver Birch Clones in Finland: In the battle of the good and bad atmospheric trace gases over the productivity and wellbeing of earth's vegetation, which one dominates?	<urn:uuid:ac5c6290-e3f8-4a96-9edf-16677f9eefae>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.co2science.org/issues/v13/v13n15_co2science.php	2013-05-25T20:02:33Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.909257	226
Background Information on Plants in Bloom Many of the Garden's 850,000 annual visitors are interested in knowing what plants bloom when. Surprisingly, historic records are essentially unavailable. For prairie and glade species at the Arboretum, some information exists in the archival papers of Dr. Edgar Anderson. For the Garden itself, however, such information has apparently never been recorded. In response to this need, the Kemper Center for Home Gardening initiated in 1989 a Bloom Date Information project, in which Master Gardener volunteers record the data. In 1993, the project was expanded to encompass all public areas of the Garden. Plants in Bloom serves as a resource not only to the public, but also to Garden staff. The text and images here inform those Garden personnel who have infrequent opportunities to walk the grounds and observe the plants. Plants in Bloom also serves as an opportunity to increase knowledge of plant life cycles. The project now collects degree-day information based on the accumulation of heat units (measured by averaging the high and low daily temperatures). Temperature, moisture, and day length affect the life cycles of plants, insects, and other animals. The study of these is called phenology. To serve the community better, Plants in Bloom is available in several formats. For those who visit the garden in person, it is available at the Ridgway Center entrance as a printed document. The "At a Glance" segment of the document is also recorded weekly as part of our HortLine gardening information service.	<urn:uuid:3db66958-77c5-4287-98a7-9238b2899ea6>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Bloom/bloombkg.html	2013-05-26T03:03:26Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.934173	310
As obesity rates in children have climbed, so has the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, and a new study adds another worry - the disease progresses more rapidly in children than in adults and is harder to treat. One of the biggest threats to our children’s health may be underestimated. Obesity and the form of diabetes linked to it are setting kids up for runaway medical problems. “An obese child is potentially more at risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes, joint related problems, liver disease, gall bladder disease. That’s a big list,” says Lee Memorial Health System pediatrician Dr. Nancy Witham. With upwards of 30 percent of Florida’s kids weighing in as obese, pediatricians are intervening. “The first thing we would do is look at where the child is on a growth chart, take a good family history and find if there’s some of the things like the diabetes, high blood pressure, already present in the family which would put the child at increase risk,” says Dr. Witham. New studies suggest diabetes in children is harder to treat and it progresses more quickly, meaning they get sicker quicker. “Adults who are overweight may take 15 years before they develop diabetes. And in children that can be as short as a couple of years,” says Lee Memorial Health System pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Asjad Khan. Doctors believe the speed and severity may be linked to hormones. “Such as growth hormone and testosterone, estrogen. They are much higher in children in puberty. So these excess hormones, plus the overweight together, cause even more insulin resistance,” says Dr. Khan. In theory, people who develop diabetes as children may suffer complications much earlier in life than previous generations who became diabetic as adults. Type 2 diabetes is typically avoidable by improving diet and exercise. “It’s all about choices and making the appropriate choices,” says Dr. Witham. The best advice: eliminate the risk by preventing the problem.	<urn:uuid:c90d258c-ad31-46ea-813f-b338ea99cb75>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://leememorial.org/healthmatters/scripts/082712.html?lightbox[width]=550&lightbox[height]=500	2013-05-23T04:54:54Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.944701	431
The Nature Conservancy believes that forest projects designed to mitigate climate change should meet rigorous standards. To reach these goals, the Conservancy has contributed to the development of several project standards including those set by the Kyoto Protocol, the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) standards, the California Climate Action Registry (CCCR), and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), among others. Through these standards we work to ensure that forest projects designed to mitigate climate change are carefully monitored for the carbon they retain, and also increase regional biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods. CCB requires projects to meet 15 key criteria in these areas to ensure they provide these three benefits to the climate, communities and biodiversity. The CCB process evaluates projects in the planning or early stage of project implementation and a third-party evaluator determines whether the project meets its required objectives, which also include standards for permanence and leakage. The CCB standards are considered to be among the world’s best criteria for measuring climate change mitigation. In fact, some of the world’s most highly regarded project consultancies and investors, including and the World Bank and EcoSecurities, are applying the standards to their climate change projects. In addition, a recent survey by EcoSecurities of major carbon funds and private-sector buyers of carbon credits found that more than half of all survey respondents said they would prefer CCB-certified projects, and 40 percent of those said they would be willing to pay a premium for credits coming from such projects. A joint project between the Conservancy and Conservation International in Tengchong, China recently became the first project to be certified under the comprehensive CCB standards. The Conservancy is also conducting research around the world to measure the amount of carbon captured by forests. We maintain several climate action projects in which we are measuring carbon storage and facilitating the sale of carbon “credits” to governments and businesses looking to offset their carbon emissions. We design all our forest carbon projects to provide emission reductions that are additional, measurable, permanent and verifiable.September 28, 2011	<urn:uuid:ddb57b08-1de5-47b3-8301-fe8cf9b62ba8>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/how-we-work/holding-forests-to-a-higher-standard.xml	2013-05-21T11:16:58Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699899882/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.946786	430
Now here’s a project that actually hacks the Rapsberry Pi rather than just using it as an embedded computer. [Londons Explorer] figured out how to turn the RPi into an FM transmitter. For now it’s done entirely in the user space, but we’re sure it could be improved if someone wanted to drill down further into the hardware. For those wanting to give it a try he’s rolled everything into a simple python package. The technique requires nothing additional except a 20cm wire to serve as an antenna. The trick is to map GPIO pin number 4 to a position in memory. The clock generator is then used to toggle this pin at 100 MHz, which is the frequency to which your radio should be tuned. A fractional divider adjusts the frequency based on the sound file being transmitted. The proof of concept for this was able to reliably transmit at a distance of about fifty meters through several walls. The problem is that this technique is limited in the amount of data which can be sent. Right now it’s only about 6-bit audio. But descending deeper through the abstraction layers to put DMA (Direct Memory Access) to use may be able to improve upon this. [Thanks Owen via Reddit]	<urn:uuid:de7dd44f-e409-4c19-a2cc-f1f6f9512ca7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://hackaday.com/2012/12/10/transmit-fm-using-raspberry-pi-and-no-additional-hardware/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=104f7cb3e5	2013-05-22T07:55:50Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701508530/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105148-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.948182	259
Labor and Trade in Colonial America When textbooks discuss colonial labor practices, they most often associate the concept of labor with male work done outside the physical boundaries of the home—in fields; on docks; in warehouses; on ships. Labor is associated with creating goods for market, allowing men to participate in the "triangle trade"—a network of trade relationships in which raw materials flowed from the Americas to Europe, manufactured goods moved from Europe to Africa, and enslaved Africans were shipped back to the Americas. Yet this framing oversimplifies the complex history of labor in colonial America. It overlooks female labor as central, not peripheral, to the survival of familial and colonial economies alike. It ignores the fact that different patterns of labor existed in Native communities, and that non-Native opinions of Native labor practices influenced colonial Indian policy. It also oversimplifies the complex web of international trade relationships that wove together the Atlantic world. Commodities never flowed in one direction; goods, people, and services might depart from, and end their journey at, any number of Atlantic world ports. In the western contemporary world we are used to thinking of work as something done for wages outside the home. This distinction did not hold for the vast majority of laborers in colonial America. Colonial America was overwhelmingly rural, and North or South, households were made up of a dwelling place for a family (which often included servants and slaves), a garden, shelter for livestock, and fields for crops. While it was rarely their primary responsibility, many free women worked in the fields alongside their husbands, fathers, and brothers, as well as the household's male and female indentured servants or slaves. Some of the raw materials produced outside the walls of the family's dwelling place might go to market, but most came back into the home to be turned into clothing or food, or perhaps bartered for services with neighbors. Female labor stretched these raw materials into objects of greater economic value. Flax and wool might be turned into thread or yarn, woven into cloth, and turned into clothing (see Primary Source Massachusetts Law on Spinning ). Even when manufactured cloth was available, it was a woman's job to transform that fabric into wearable trousers, skirts, shirts, and coats. A colonial wife might make her own soap—boiled from fat and lye—and she was always responsible for washing clothes and bedding. Herbs grown in a garden or gathered locally constituted the basic materials for healthcare, and healing the sick was an overwhelmingly female task. Food came into the home in its raw form. It was female labor that turned wheat into bread, milk into butter, grain into beer, and meat into bacon. With few options for the long-term preservation of food, the survival of households through long winters depended on women's work in stocking root cellars, drying fruit, and salting meat. All of this labor enabled work outside the household to continue. Colonial bodies owed their function to the women who fed, clothed, washed, and healed them (see Primary Source Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams ). This labor was arduous; it was often done under duress, or compelled of those who did not have the freedom to refuse. It was the glue that held society together. That most men and women worked side by side did not mean they did the same tasks; that slaves and servants often worked beside those who could compel their labor did not mean all work had equal social value. Labor in colonial America was deeply gendered and racialized. Beyond custom and culture, one of the primary mechanisms by which labor gained its racial and gendered character was marriage. Upon marriage, a wife's legal identity was subsumed beneath that of her husband's. Except where protected by legal trusts, which were rare, any property a woman owned before marriage became her husband's once they wed. Legally, a woman could not control her own earnings, sue, make a contract, vote, sit on a jury, or be called into the militia—she depended upon her husband to do all these things on her behalf. This meant legislatures were male spaces, and only men could be lawyers, judges, or soldiers. Women's property, labor, and earnings offered a very real and meaningful economic foundation to men's dealings in business and law. This reflected the fact that marriage was not, for the vast majority of the colonial period, about love or affection, but was instead a contract for the exchange of economic services in a husband and wife's lifetime. Legal separations—also rare—were known as separations from bed and board, and thus explicitly recognized the economic roles of husbands (who provided shelter) and wives (who governed food). Yet not all individuals could marry. Slaves and indentured servants were judged legally incapable of consent because their bodies and labor belonged to someone else. This prevented them from legally creating families and controlling the labor of those to whom they were related (see Primary Source Advertisement for Slave Sale, Charleston, SC ). Their labor could be compelled by cruelty, and enslaved women could be required to undertake work—plowing, cutting cane, and wading in rice fields, at risk for waterborne disease—that few white women would be expected to do. Many textbooks marginalize the history of American Indian communities in this period, noting their presence only in times of war. Violence did occur; pitched battles were fought over land ownership and in defense of ways of life threatened by European settlers and disease. Yet there were many more neutral encounters between Native and non-Native people than textbooks would have us believe. In those encounters, many non-Native individuals were exposed to different ways of organizing labor—women as farmers, for example, and men who hunted to provide a family's sustenance, rather than for sport (see Primary Source John White, The Indian Village of Secoton [1585-86]). These practices frequently baffled Europeans who, armed with a need to defend their tenancy on lands that did not belong to them, often used them as evidence of Indian people's lack of "civilization." It quickly became a trope that Native women were drudges, that men were wasteful, and worse, beggars. These misapprehensions about some Native systems of labor organization fed into European settlers' own sense of racial superiority. It is important to understand that labor was not only about meeting the everyday needs of a family, or supplying a region's long-term economic health. It could also become the means by which people understood or misunderstood each other, and was used by settlers as a justification for land dispossession and violent confrontation. All this labor was tied to international trade. Most colonists headed to North America in the hopes of exploiting economic opportunity; slaves and indentured servants left, or were forced from, their homes in service of economic development. Fed and clothed thanks to female labor, colonists—and those whose labor they compelled—often created surpluses of raw materials that could be shipped outside their immediate locale. This trade was not neat, or triangular. Raw materials were exchanged between colonies in the North and colonies in the South; ships took materials from Massachusetts to the West Indies as much as to England. African slaves were shipped to the Americas (see Primary Source John Barbot, A Description of the Coasts of North and South-Guinea ), but raw materials were shipped back to Europe from the same ports, and ships might specialize in a particular route, or in carrying certain commodities rather than others. This created a web of trade networks that crisscrossed the Atlantic Ocean, globalizing the nature of labor on even the smallest farm. Textbooks, in addition to their analysis of the shifting dynamics of slave labor in America, the raw materials absorbed by empires, and the effect of taxation upon colonial infrastructure, owe us a more complex consideration of who labored in the colonies, where, how, and why. Women's labor must be understood as a vital component of each colony's economic health, and the legal structures that maintained gendered and racial divisions of labor should be more deeply explored. The labor patterns of American Indian communities should be studied for their own sake, and European opinions of the same weighed for their influence on diplomatic and military action. To do so is to more equitably assess the work of men and women, enslaved and free, colonists and Native communities alike.	<urn:uuid:e0cc38e5-b2ef-42fa-8b26-92c989c4d1ee>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/beyond-the-textbook/25456	2013-05-19T09:48:13Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.980029	1,695
- The human assistant mounts paper on a vertical surface or an easel, and the turtle paddles through the air on the assistant’s hand, pushing with the other feet on available parts of the hand (clarifying the direction of movement) and inclines her head to indicate a marker (usually black or red). - The turtle steers in the same way toward the paper and touches it with her beak to indicate the starting point for the first line. - The assistant marks the spot. - The turtle returns to the starting spot for the first line and each of the following lines and stretches out her neck, drawing her beak across the paper in a straight line or curve. - The assistant, keeping the hand steady, watches the direction and shape of each line and reproduces it with the marker. Only if the indicated line is stretching beyond the turtle’s neck reach does the assistant move the supporting hand in the direction the turtle is indicating. \|Eastern box turtle Diode pushes with\| considerable pressure against the paper. \|Diode and pancake tortoise Willow pose by two of the \| pumpkin faces drawn by them and the other chelonians of the lab, one feature per individual.	<urn:uuid:971239c2-75c5-4014-8b5d-d438502287e6>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://chelonianconnection.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-turtles-draw.html	2013-05-21T17:16:10Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.893013	257
Why Is Relapse Common? Addiction is defined as a “chronic relapsing disease,” because experts say long-term drug use alters the brain’s structure and function.1 (Click here for more on the definition of addiction.) These brain changes remain “months and years after the last use of drugs.”2 The long-lasting nature of the changes in addicts’ brains leaves them vulnerable to relapse long after they’ve detoxed. Remember that sobriety requires significant behavioral changes that are extremely difficult to make. It also requires a wholesale change in attitude — from viewing drugs as the solution to recognizing that they’re one’s deadliest problem. It’s very hard to be 100% successful at changing one’s long-held beliefs and years of habit all of the time. It’s easy to slip back into old patterns of thought and behavior. Many things that can contribute to relapse. Anger, resentment, hopelessness or other types of emotional stress, for example, can precipitate a cry for relief, which to an addict means alcohol or drugs to medicate away those intolerable feelings. Furthermore, “cues” or “triggers” associated with drug or alcohol use, like the sight of a syringe for a sober heroin addict or a beer commercial for a recovering alcoholic, can prompt intense cravings which can seem instinctive and nearly impossible to resist. Many addicts, myself among them, have to go through relapses as part of learning how to stay sober. As Dr. Alan Leshner, then the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, wrote in a 1977 issue of Science Magazine, “Viewing addiction as a chronic, relapsing disorder means that a good treatment outcome, and the most reasonable expectation, is a significant decrease in drug use and long periods of abstinence, with only occasional relapses.”3 Dr. Leshner also told Time Magazine, ”The occasional relapse is normal, and just an indication that more treatment is needed.”4 For more, click on Relapse Triggers. Click here to return to the Questions About Addiction Menu. 1. Addiction is a Brain Disease, and It Matters, Science, Oct. 3, 1997. 2. A Range of Research-Based Pharmacotherapies for Addiction, Science, Oct. 3, 1997. 3. Addiction is a Brain Disease, and It Matters, Science, Oct. 3, 1997. 4. Addicted, Time Magazine, May 5, 1997.	<urn:uuid:5703013d-2627-4df4-b9d5-4476adcf7ee1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.addictscience.com/why-is-relapse-common/	2013-05-22T08:19:01Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701508530/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105148-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.909171	536
THE aurora is not, as supposed by many, an accumulation of electricity, or magnetic force, around the poles; it is nothing more nor less than the reflection upon the clouds, ice, and snow of a burning volcano, prairie-or forest-fire in the interior of the earth. This fancy coloring, seen in many cases, may be caused in different ways. First, the burning material--of kinds too numerous to mention--might produce any and all colors. Then the light shining through smoke, dust, or colored material in the air --the same that produces colored snow--would reflect different colors. As the flames shoot up, and are sucked, whirled, or blown in all directions, they may produce the fanciful movement in the sky, and be re-reflected by the peculiar atmospheric conditions in the polar regions. The slightest motion of a magic lantern will send the light quivering and shimmering in many directions, or a searchlight, moved a few inches, will throw the reflection of the light many miles. All the changes in a great fire, then, roving and burning first one place, then another, shooting up anew, as fresh material is reached, now dying down, now exploding anew, must produce a wonderful effect, as all agree that the aurora does. Many have pictured the aurora as representing fire seen in the sky, and one would think that the theory that it is electricity would be rejected by all, as it was by many as soon as it was discovered that in many cases when the aurora was brightest the needle was not affected in the least. For thousands of years the aurora has been one of the most conspicuous mysteries to be solved. For that reason, considerable space will be given to the subject, mainly to show how it appeared to those nearest to it. They surely will not be accused of drawing on the imagination, or of coloring their statements in the least. When read in connection with the claim that the earth is hollow, and the aurora is produced by a burning volcano, an extensive prairie- or forest-fire,--in the interior of the earth,--a wholly different view of the aurora will be entertained; especially when taken in connection with what has been known for hundreds of years: that the surface of the earth or ocean can be, and is, reflected in the sky so correctly that whalers have long depended upon the reflection to tell them when open water, ice, or land lies ahead. Men who embark upon dangerous pursuits, such as hunting the seal, walrus, whale, and bear, never attempt to advance unless the conditions be favorable: that is always determined by what they see in the skies. If the sky acts as a mirror wherein can be noted the conditions of the ice, water, etc., would not a great fire, like the aurora, be reflected equally as clear? To call the fire an aurora, mock sun, or any other name, does not change the fact in the least. Suppose a hunter, accustomed for years to locating musk ox by the reflection in the skies, should see a herd of reindeer some morning in the same way. What would he do if he wanted a shot at them? Would he take his gun and start out to stalk them, or would he say: "What a strange. phenomenon! I wonder what it is!" then wind up by calling the reflection by some other name? No; he would know what it meant. The strangest thing of all is that the explorers and writers on this subject did not know what the aurora was when they saw it. Let us now take up the question of the Aurora Borealis, or the Aurora Polaris, as it is sometimes called. I contend that the aurora is nothing more nor less than the reflection of a burning volcano, prairie- or forest-fire, or fire of some kind, and that such is the fact will be proved by quoting from observations made by those who have spent considerable time on the verge of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The northern whalers, or those that seek game in that frozen country, look into the sky in order to tell whether the ice is frozen solid or whether there are openings. If the sky be a whitish gray, the surface reflected is covered with ice; if there be patches of blue, they indicate openings in the ice. Thus, they are able to tell the condition of the earth many miles away. If that can be done, and it has been proved it can, why cannot we, when we see what appears to be a fire burning in the sky, know that there must be a fire beneath? No reasonable person can doubt that the same reflection is as true in one case as it is in another. In Bernacchi's story of his Antarctic exploration, one reads: "Owing to the great reflection in those latitudes, flames appeared to dart across the horizon, and resembled a mighty conflagration. Higher and higher they rose, changing the color from dark red to every variety of shade." You note that he describes them as "flames that appeared to dart across the horizon, and resembled a mighty conflagration." That was just what it was. People visiting the location nearest the pole have experienced no great change compared with any other part of the world; the told, heat, wet, the dry, and the air are the same. Then why should electricity or falling stars be more prevalent there than elsewhere? There is but one answer: the exploding volcano produces both. On page 92, Bernacchi writes: "At nine o'clock in the evening of the 15th of March we witnessed our first Aurora Polaris during clear, calm weather, the temperature at the time being sixteen degrees Fahr. The light first emanated in a waving curtain from the southeast and went round to the southwest. The motion of the arrow-like beams, constituting the curtain, was rapid and at times would run along with an undulating motion, then suddenly shoot downward toward the earth. Seen for the first time, it was a wondrous sight, and to me appeared like some great searchlight directed towards the earth from the depths of infinite" (the italics the one who quotes). What could more convince one that there is a volcano burning in the interior of the earth? He adds: "This further display was very poor compared with some subsequently witnessed." Here we have another great proof that the aurora is not electricity; for it occurs in terrible storms, storms not so terrible, and in clear, calm weather. On page 129 Bernacchi again refers to the aurora: "At Cape Adare (latitude 71 deg. 185) the aurora was generally observed in the north, very rarely in the south, and it always manifested itself in exactly the same manner." If it were an electric display, as has been claimed heretofore, it would be as apt to occur at one place as at another, but it always comes in the same direction and in the same form. The author asserts, again, on page 130: "But what was of greatest interest in the observation of the aurora was the connection which appeared to exist between it and approaching atmospheric disturbances. A strong gale from E. S. E. and S. E. was almost invariably preceded by a most brilliant and rapid auroral display. This was not a mere coincidence, but a fact repeatedly observed." What would be the natural result if a tremendous volcano had exploded? Would it not force out strong wind?--just what he says did occur; if it had not, there would have been great cause for wonder. "At 10 o'clock in the evening of June 3d an exceedingly grand aurora was visible," continues Bernacchi; "it was a dazzling and incomparable spectacle, and first manifested itself in the usual manner by a luminous display in the north. This, however, was only a transient phase, for the flow of streamers gradually faded away, and the whole display lost its brilliancy and rapidity of motion in about an hour, leaving a glow in the sky like the dying embers of a great fire." The italics in this quotation, like in the one on a preceding page, are mine, but the matter therein is but one more instance of the general comparison of the aurora with fire. Yet, in almost the same breath, Bernacchi adds: "How little we understand the nature of its origin!" In this description he has recognized the fact that the aurora comes usually from the same direction, and he simply says, "in its usual manner by luminous display in the north." If he were looking south at a fire, it naturally would throw its reflections past him to the north. He speaks of it "leaving a glow in the sky like the dying embers of a great fire." It will be observed that this aurora manifests itself in the usual manner. If caused by electricity, is it not remarkable that it should always come from the same direction, and in the same form? One would surmise that there was a mammoth electric battery located at that place, and in a deep well, as he describes it, "like some great searchlight directed towards the earth from the depths of infinity." The description is right, but the conception is wrong. What he describes was an exploding volcano in the interior of the earth near the Antarctic entrance, and, as Poe says, "only that, and nothing more." We will now go to the North Pole for other descriptions of the aurora, and see what has been found there. Nansen states that the aurora was brightest in the south; just the reverse of what Bernacchi said when he looked toward the South Pole. If it was a fire, would it not have been exactly as those two men described it? To the one looking south, the reflection would have been in the north; to the one looking north, the reflection would have been in the south, which was exactly the case. I quote Hansen from another page, 394: "To-day another noteworthy thing happened, which was that about midday we saw the sun, or, to be more correct, an image of the sun, for it was only a mirage. A peculiar impression was produced by the sight of that glowing fire lit just above the outermost edge of the ice. According to the enthusiastic descriptions given by many Arctic travelers of the first appearance of this God of Life after the long winter night, the impression ought to be one of jubilant excitement; but it was not so in my case. We had not expected to see it for some days yet, so that my feeling was rather one of pain, of disappointment, that we must have drifted farther south than we thought. So it was with pleasure I soon discovered that it could not be the sun itself. The mirage was at first a flattened-out glowing red streak of fire on the horizon; later there were two streaks, the one above the other, with a dark space between; and from the maintop I could see four, or even five, such horizontal lines directly over one another, and all of equal length, as if one could only imagine a square dull red sun with horizontal dark streaks across it." Nansen imagined that he saw the sun, but afterward claimed that it was a mirage. What he saw was neither. I think it was the volcano itself; and, as he states, he saw it three days in succession, or the two following days. This proves that it could not have been a mirage, inasmuch as a mirage does not last three days. His ship had simply drifted far enough into the interior to get a glimpse of this volcano. You note that he describes it as being "just at the edge of the ice"--that is, looking toward the north. The sun, if visible at all, would have been in the opposite direction; it is never square, but always round. He describes what he saw as a square fire, and afterward says he could almost see it assume a round form. "Both to-day and yesterday we have seen the mirage of the sun again; to-day it was high above the horizon, and almost seemed to assume a round disk-like form." (Page 398.) I cannot imagine in what condition the fire was or how his eyes were. If this light was not the sun, what was it? A fire in the interior of the earth, possibly not very far in, but, nevertheless, in the interior. There is no reason why it should not have been half-way or one-third of the way in. Just when one is on earth or in the interior is difficult to determine, as the curve is so gradual; some may call one point the interior, while others call a point much farther in still on earth. It reminds one of the farmer who was asked how old a heifer is when she becomes a cow. He stopped to think for a moment, then said: "I don't believe I know, as one of my neighbors has a three-year-old cow, and another has a four-year-old heifer." The exact location of the dividing line will always be a question. When the needle points straight up it will be as near the dividing line as can be determined--near enough for all practical purposes, unless one nation should claim the earth, and another the interior. In that case, if it should appear that valuable mines are located at that point, some trouble might arise between the claimants. In Vol. I, page 280, Hall describes "an aurora with but slight coloring. Nearly all day on the 6th, beautiful auroral displays were seen. During the morning, luminous though faint clouds were observed in different parts of the heavens. At 3 p. m., the sky being clear and the breeze light from the south, these clouds, in the form of an arch, extended from northeast to southwest, enlarging toward the northeast and accumulating above the mountains. In half an hour they resumed their original shape, and appeared in the form of light-yellow and white bands. These phenomena were present during the whole evening, being seen in every direction. Fantastic forms of light came and went rapidly, and a .frequent appearance was that of a cirro-stratus cloud. On the morning of the 7th, a perfect arch extending from the north to south was observed. It consisted of uniform bands of yellow and white." Siemens says in his journal, Hall, Vol. I, page 281, that on January To, 1872, at five in the morning, "a bright arc was seen in the sky passing from the western horizon through the zenith to the east, parallel with the Milky Way, and distant from it about 12 degs. It disappeared about 6 a. m., leaving three clouds of similar brightness. This phenomenon, if electric, did not show itself in the needle." This, then, is another instance where the aurora does not affect the needle. Corroborative of this, Siemens adds, "This phenomenon, if electric, did not show itself in the needle." Take either horn of the dilemma: if it was not electric, what was it? If it was electric, why did it not affect the needle? Here follows a description, by Hall, page 297, of an aurora produced by a Click to enlarge There is nothing about this aurora, as described by Hall, that a great fire in the interior of the earth would not furnish a solution. great volcanic eruption, very different from the account just cited. "It may be said, in general, that the greatest disturbances occurred several hours before an aurora was visible. The following short description of the display is condensed from Mauch's journal: 'At 7 p. m., as I was returning to the ship from the observatory, I noticed the slaty appearance of the sky to the northwest and the occasional shooting up of luminous streamers. At 7:15 the horizon to the northwest was a blood-red color, while faint, white streamers sprang up in rapid succession, increasing in numbers, and rising from the west, north, and northeast points. They were all directed toward the zenith, and the exterior ones bending inwards gave to the whole configuration a dome-like shape. They then all vanished, and new ones began to rise slowly from a wider extent of horizon. At 8:30 new and very bright streamers advanced toward the zenith from all directions. At 8:45 they all gathered about the zenith and formed a perfect corona. They then all seemed to move toward the north, as new ones arose from the south.' Mauch watched the progress of these streamers while passing over some stars, and assigned to them a motion of between six and seven seconds to a degree. They moved from west to east. As the corona opened and moved toward the north, a beautiful curtain was formed, its colors being very intense and bright, between yellow and white." " 'At 3:30 p. m. I observed,' says Mauch in his journal, 'on the northeast, east, and southeast horizon, beams of luminous clouds. They soon accumulated and formed an irregular arch clue east which slowly moved, as if driven, in a southerly direction. At 4 p. m. a new arch extended from nearly due east to nearly due south. At 4:I0 p. m. three distinct arches, one above the other, were formed slowly in the southwest and south, exhibiting a very brilliant display, though fading very soon away. Those to the south were an intense straw-color, and formed a brilliant spectacle.' " Can any better refutation of the theory that the aurora is electricity be offered for the consideration of the man who thinks? Does electricity ever move through the heavens as if driven slowly along by some unseen agency? Who ever heard of electricity moving slowly, or being driven in the air? The eruption which caused this great agitation did not ignite at once to any extent, but threw out so much dust, dirt, and smoke, that it obscured the light for several hours. As the needle was most disturbed several hours before this aurora appeared, that is evidence that the eruption of the volcano which liberated the minerals and gases, and produced the shock, was what agitated the needle, and not electricity, as hitherto supposed; for there was no aurora when the needle was most affected. When the strong coloring, shown in the aurora, did appear, it was another proof that the coloring arises from the burning of minerals, gas, oils, etc. Taken in connection with the wonderful display, the beautiful coloring and the heavy clouds, everything points to one cause--a great explosion. If this was electricity, would it have risen slowly? No; electricity is anything but slow. This acted as a fire, dying down, then starting up over a wider extent. It is characteristic of a fire to spread if it can find anything to consume. This aurora lasted all night, and all the next day. Hall further asserts, on page 300: "At 5:30 p. m., on the 8th, I observed a very bright luminous arch of streamers some-what extending from the northeastern horizon to the southwestern. When I first saw it, it was a little to the northwest of the zenith, but the whole arch seemed to move, and at 6:30, it just passed the zenith, and then had a position southeast of it, where it gradually broke up. Its southwestern extremity just touched the twilight curve, where it vanished. At 6:30 the usual haziness of the sky after the occurrence of these, was noticed." I wish here to emphasize this point--one corroborative of my claim: "At 6:30 the usual haziness of the sky after the occurrence of these was noticed." Does electricity generally leave the sky hazy? Hall uses the words "usual haziness" as descriptive of the normal condition of the skies after those auroral displays. "When above my head, it seemed less than a pistol-shot distant. Indeed, it was near by. When I moved quickly, running up to the top of the hill by the igloo, making a distance of less than 50 fathoms, the arch of the aurora, that seemed stationary while I was by the igloo and in-transitive, was now several degrees to the southwest of me. I returned as quickly to the igloo, and the auroral belt was directly overhead. So small a base, with so palpable a change in bearing of the aurora, proved that it must have been quite close to the earth. A ball of fire fell during the display, and burst just before it reached the earth, throwing out prismatic scintillations in every direction." (P. 83.) Note what he says about the wind: "A smart breeze from the north was blowing nearly the whole night. This seemed to add to the briskness of the merry dancers as they crossed the heavens to and fro." Now if this reflection was caused by electricity, would the wind have added to its briskness? I think not; but if a fire caused the reflection, then a wind would produce the effect he describes: "When over my head, it seemed less than a pistol-shot distant," he says. So small a base, with such a palpable change in the bearing of the aurora, proved that it must have been quite close to the earth. Hall found himself unable to decide whether any noise actually came from the aurora. On asking the Innuits whether they were accustomed to hear noises during its displays, they answered, "Yes," one of them endeavoring to imitate the sound by a puffing noise from his mouth; this noise, says Hall, accorded remarkably with what he thought he had heard during the time of the most active display. I have quoted extensively from Captain Hall, as he has written a very fine description of the aurora. His description will enable anyone to form an opinion as to what the aurora is--electricity or the reflection of fire. Lieutenant Hooper, R. N., second in command of Lieutenant Pullen's boat expedition from Icy Cape to Mackenzie River, spent the winter of 1849-50 near Fort Franklin, on Bear Lake. "I have heard the aurora," wrote he in his journal, "not once, but many times; not faintly and indistinctly, but loudly and unmistakably; now from this quarter, now from that, now from one point on high, and at another time from one low down. At first it seemed to resemble the sound of field-ice, then it was like the sound of a water-mill, and at last, like the whirring of a cannon-shot heard from a short distance." Hooper admits that he heard the aurora many times, loudly and unmistakably. There can be little doubt that many people have heard the explosion, and the noise caused by the force of the fire. The light reflected in the skies could not make a noise, but its occurrence at the time of the explosion would, and as noise moves more slowly than light, it might have arrived, perhaps, when the latter was most brilliant. "There is no satisfactory evidence," says Professor Loomis, "that the aurora ever emits an audible sound. The sound supposed to have been heard has been described as a rustling, hissing, crackling noise. But the most competent observers, who have spent several winters in the Arctic regions, where auroras are seen in their greatest brilliancy, have been convinced that this supposed rustling is a mere illusion. It is, therefore, inferred that the sounds which have been ascribed to the aurora must have been due to other causes --such as the motion of the wind, or the crackling of the snow and ice in consequence of their low temperature. If the aurora emitted any audible sound, this sound ought to follow the auroral movement after a considerable interval. Sound requires four minutes to travel a distance of fifty miles. But the observers who report noises succeeding auroral movements make no mention of any interval. It is, therefore, inferred that the sounds which have been heard during auroral exhibitions are to be ascribed to other causes than the aurora." (Treatise on Meteorology, page 186.) The sound supposed to have been heard has been described as a rustling, hissing, crackling noise. Isn't that a pretty good description of a terrible fire at a distance? To me, it seems one of the best descriptions. Loomis further says that if the aurora emitted any audible sound, that sound ought to follow the auroral movement after a considerable interval. That would be correct if it had its origin in, or was caused by, electricity; but not if caused by the bursting of a volcano, as that would eject such an immense amount of smoke, dust, dirt, and rock that several minutes would elapse before the light or fire could shine through it; therefore the sound might reach the ear at the same time that the light reached the eye. The northern Indians give to the aurora what seems to us a curious name, ed-thin, that is, deer--from their having seen hairy deerskin emit sparks when briskly stroked. The southern Indians believe it to be the spirit of departed friends dancing. When it varies in color and form, they say their deceased friends are very merry. An impressive description of the aurora is given by Nansen on page 253: "Presently the Aurora Borealis shakes over the vault of heaven its veil of glittering silver--changing now to yellow, now to green, now to red. It spreads, it contracts again, in restless change; next it breaks into waving, many-folded bands of shining silver, over which shoot billows of glittering rays, and then the glory vanishes. Presently it shimmers in tongues of flame over the very zenith, and then again it shoots a bright ray right up from the horizon, until the whole melts away in the moonlight, and it is as though one heard the sigh of a departing spirit. Here and there are left a few waving streamers of light, vague as a foreboding--they are the dust from the aurora's glittering cloak. But now it is growing again; new lightnings shoot up, and the endless game begins afresh. And all the time this utter stillness, impressive as the symphony of infinitude." "Presently it shimmers in tongues of flame over the very zenith, and then again it shoots a bright ray right up from the horizon." He speaks of the dust: "They are the dust from the aurora's glittering cloak." When one reads that description, quoted twice from one who spent two years watching the sky for the reflection of open water, ice, or land, it passes comprehension that it did not occur to him that the aurora was nothing but the reflection of a great fire. One is reminded of Miranda in Shakespeare's "Tempest." "More to know did never meddle with my thoughts." On another occasion, Nansen saw a remarkable display of aurora about three o'clock in the afternoon. In a lengthy description, of which I cite briefly: "On the southwestern horizon lay the glow of the sun; in front of it light clouds were swept together--like a cloud of dust rising above a distant troop of riders. Then dark streamers of gauze seemed to stretch from the dust-cloud up over the sky, as if it cane from the sun, or perhaps rather as if the sun were sucking it in to itself from the whole sky." Here we have other mention of that ever-present and annoying dust. In an account by Greely of a remarkable aurora (page 183) there is further evidence of the correctness of my opinions. "The aurora of January 21st was wonderful beyond description," he writes, "and I have no words in which to convey any adequate idea of the beauty and splendor of the scene. It was a continuous change from arch to streamers, from streamers to patches and ribbons, and back again to arches, which covered the entire heavens for part of the time. It lasted for about twenty-two hours, during which at no moment were the phenomena other than vivid and remarkable. At one time there were three perfect arches, which spanned the southwestern sky from horizon to horizon. The most striking and exact simile, perhaps, would be to liken it to a conflagration of surrounding forests as seen at night from a cleared or open space to their centre. During the display Sergeant Rice exposed a sensitive dry photographic plate toward the aurora without any effect. but the experiment was a doubtful one from the shifting of the light. In general, the aurora was quite colorless, though occasionally red tints were reported. Despite the remarkable duration and extent of the aurora, the magnet was but slightly disturbed. During the display the new moon appeared, a narrow crescent which, strange to say, was exactly the color of blood." The reader will note that, despite the remarkable duration and extent of the aurora, the magnet was but slightly disturbed. This aurora was undoubtedly just what it seemed to be--a forest-fire in the interior of the earth. He does not speak of any storms or clouds such as would ordinarily accompany an exploding volcano, and, in addition, its length--twenty-two hours--makes it different from the ordinary aurora. The reader should remember this description of the aurora--a brilliant one, but almost color-less. Reddish tints were occasionally reported, but Greely saw none. This shows that the auroras that have so much color come from a burning volcano; and that the coloring is caused by the material being burned This was a prairie- or forest-fire --the same as we have on earth--and was reflected in the sky as truly as water, ice, and land. Does it not seem more reasonable that such was the case than that it was a different kind of electricity? This aurora was a plain white one, with the merest trifle of coloring, while the regular aurora has all the coloring of the rainbow. The difference is that one burned a vegetable matter, the other vegetable, mineral, oil, and everything else. Greely states that the needle was but little disturbed: a great explosion, in which large quantities of minerals, gases, and other matter are thrown into the air, might disturb the needle, but I am not sure. That would depend upon what was liberated by the explosion, and how near was the needle. Sir George Nares remarks that, "contrary to the popular belief, the aurora gives us no appreciable light." In Greely's experience, the light was considerable on several occasions, and during the aurora, the description of which is printed above, Greely saw his shadow, at a time when a brilliant display was in one quarter of the heavens only. Tromholt says that "the very greatest amount of light which the Aurora Borealis emitted, or which, in my case, I was able to ascertain during my entire sojourn in Lapland, may be compared to that of the moon two and a half days after full, when 25 degs. above the horizon and the sky is clear." It has been claimed that the aurora gives no light. If fire produces the aurora, it must give light. Greely also remarks that on January 23d, print, such as is used for leading articles (termed long primer by printers), could be read with some difficulty at noon. This test, however, was not satisfactory, owing partly to the presence of the moon, but more to the remarkably varying capacity of eyes for this work. A brilliant meteor was observed in the north about 7:35 a. m., which burst into fragments, all colorless except one, which was a brilliant red. No detonation was heard. "The Northern Lights were wonderful," says Nansen in Vol. II, pages 446, 447. "However often we see this weird play of light, we never tire of gazing at it; it seems to cast a spell over both sight and sense till it is impossible to tear one's self away. It begins to dawn with a pale, yellow, spectral light behind the mountain in the east, like the. reflection of a fire far away. It broadens, and soon the whole of the eastern sky is one glowing mass of fire. Now it fades again, and gathers in a brightly luminous belt of mist stretching towards the southwest, with only a few patches of luminous haze visible here and there. After a while scattered rays suddenly shoot up from the fiery mist, almost reaching to the zenith; then more; they play over the belt in a wild chase from east to west. They seem always darting nearer from a long, long way off. But suddenly a perfect veil of rays showers from the zenith out over the northern sky; they are so fine and bright, like the finest of glittering silver threads. Is it the fire giant, Surt himself, striking his mighty silver harp, so that the strings tremble and sparkle in the glow of the flames of Muspellsheim? Yes, it is harp-music, wild storming in the darkness; it is the riotous war-dance of Surt's sons. Again at times it is like softly playing, gently rocking, silvery waves, on which dreams travel into unknown worlds." Authorities too numerous to mention,--but some of them I cite--unconsciously confirm, by their vivid descriptions, that the aurora is not caused by electricity; that when it assumes any form that can be described it is likened unto a great conflagration, an exploding volcano, or the dying embers of an extensive fire, none of which in any form resembles electricity. When it cannot be described, it is more likely to be caused by the reflection and the re-reflection of the sun shining upon the ice, snow, and frost from the opposite pole. If in the mind of the reader a doubt still exists that the aurora is not caused by electricity, the following quotations are given him to ponder: "It seems to be the experience here that the magnet is undisturbed during the prevalence of colorless auroras, but shows marked disturbances during the vivid displays of color and sadden, violent, changes of form."--Greely, App. 13, November 16. " . . . an auroral display which remained continuous during the greater part of the day. It first appeared in dine patches, in the northwest about 15 deg. above the horizon, which gradually brightened and took the shape of a regular cone, which lasted for five minutes or more, while from its well-defined summit ascended luminous auroral clouds with a whorling or curling motion. These clouds emanated apparently from the summit of the cone, in the form of sharply defined, spasmodic puffs, such as are seen at times issuing from the smoke-stack of a locomotive. The clouds thus thrown out immediately diffused and disappeared without assuming any marked formation."--Greely. App. 13, November 19. "Magnetic disturbance again occurred, and five-minute readings were kept up from 5 p. m. Aurora appeared shortly after the disturbance of the magnet commenced."--Greely, App. 13, November 20. Extract from C. B. Henry, November 16, 1882. "I happened yesterday, while at work outdoors, to look toward Bellot Island, and saw a small, dim, auroral light appear, from azimuth about North 260 deg. East. which gradually became brighter and shot up to an altitude of about 20 deg. The best idea that I can give of its formation or movement is about like the smoke ascending and curling up from the crater of a volcano, being discharged in puffs and floating away in a luminous mass."--Greely, App. 13, November 20. Journal of D. L. Brainard, November 16, 1882. "The only display witnessed by me was this morning, between ten and eleven o'clock. A bright streamer sprang from the southern horizon, gradually approaching the zenith with a labored movement, closely resembling the spasmodic puffs of smoke arising from a working locomotive. Remaining in this position a short time, it was gradually dissipated and slowly Click to enlarge The Aurora Borealis, as seen and described by D. L. Brainard, November 16, 1882, in Greely's Appendix. After observing the above engraving, read what an authority says about it; then determine its origin. Will you call it electricity? If not, what was it? disappeared."--Greely, App. 13, Journal of C. B. Henry, November 17, 1882. "The aurora of this morning was a very low one, and we are, I think, the only party that ever could say we were in the midst of electric light. In fact, its alarming close proximity scared one of our members considerably."--Greely, App. 13, Journal of C. B. Henry, Nov. 17, 1 882. "The light emitted during the most in-tense brightness was fully equal to that of a full moon, and entirely eclipsed all but stars of the first magnitude. Objects in the landscape were plainly visible and abundant. The height which the display maintained above the earth was at no time at a greater elevation than of cumulus clouds, and apparently almost touched the ground, but no noise of any kind was audible."--Ext. from Journal of G. W. Rice, November 17, 1882. "Coming out of the dark quarters, all who observed it felt at first blinded; and the curtain at one time appeared so near above their heads that Gardiner and Israel speak of having unconsciously dodged to avoid it. Israel, who is a very close and intelligent observer, thinks that at times the aurora could not have been more than one hundred feet from the earth."--From Journal of D. C. Ralston, Nov. 17, 1882. "It appeared so low down at times that I raised my hand instinctively, expecting to bathe it in the light. The sky was entirely free from clouds, and the light of second-magnitude stars was eclipsed. The magnetic needle was violently agitated, and five-minute readings of the needle continued. The aurora visible all day long. Objects during the finest display were as plainly visible as by the light of the full moon."--Extract from Journal of H. S. Gardiner, November 17, 1882. "The whole heavens seemed one mass of colored flames, arranged and disarranged and rearranged every instant. The display was so close to the earth that we repeatedly put up our hands as though we would touch something by so doing. There was one person who was so much affected by the display at its grandest moments that he lowered his head and put up his hands as though to ward off a blow."--From Journal of D. L. Brainard, November 17, 1882. "In the northern sky there gradually appeared an intense vermilion color, which expanded for 10 deg. above the horizon, and remained for several minutes in this manner, its extreme brightness suggestive to the mind of a great conflagration. "A few minutes earlier than the time which I have recorded, Gardiner witnessed a display of unusual grandeur, and of which the latter is but a slight modification. It was of unparalleled brilliancy, and its light equal to the full moon. The prismatic colors were at one time discernible. Israel and Lynn also saw it when it was at its zenith of splendor, and both speak of its near approach to the earth, and the rapidity of its movements through the heavens." Were it not that the aurora has been the subject of thought for our greatest minds for thousands of years, so much space would not be devoted to it. Yet it is difficult to pass by without comment such descriptions of the aurora as Greely gives in his Appendix. Electricity is never found acting like the puffings of a stationary engine, or a burning volcano, its smoke rising and slowly drifting away. When one attempts to give the reasons why the aurora could not be the result of electricity, they multiply so rapidly and are so convincing that it seems a waste of time to give them all. Before concluding the chapter on the aurora, I wish to assign one more probable reason why the latter is seen more frequently in the Arctic regions in the winter, and brighter than in summer. The sun shines through the earth from the southern opening through the interior of the earth. The rays of the sun strike the ice, snow, and frost, and act as a mammoth kaleidoscope, re-reflecting the sun's rays many times, and sending forth a most dazzling effect. That reflection from the sun can appear only in winter, because summer at one pole is winter at the other. It is the only season, therefore, when the sun shines directly into the opening at the South Pole, and this condition would apply only when the interior of the earth was free from clouds, as they would shut out the sun in the same manner as on earth. The sun's rays are the same in the interior of the earth as on the exterior. One must understand that the position of the earth is much 'of the time moving with the poles or ends to the sun. In proof of that, there is the mid-night sun at the poles, or, in other words, during the winter the sun does not set in the Antarctic, and during summer (the earth having changed ends to the sun) it does not set in the Arctic Circle. That gives the interior of the earth the rays of the sun about eight months out of the twelve. This is another proof of the great wisdom of the Creator, as it does away with that long, dark winter so much dreaded at the poles, as they have two summers, and two short winters, to one summer and one winter on earth. This does not detract in any way from the claim that the Aurora Borealis is caused by exploding volcanoes, prairie- or forest-fires, but accounts for the increased frequency of the aurora in the Arctic regions during winter. When the reader takes into account the wonderful variety of the aurora, and then considers the various causes which produce them, does not the above reasoning seem more reasonable than to conclude that the different kinds come from one cause--electricity? Another reason why the aurora is brighter in the north than in the south, when produced by the sun's rays, is that the opening to the interior of the earth is much greater in the south than in the north. This is proved by the fact that the explorers have reached only within seven hundred and fifty miles of the supposed pole in the south and have passed the magnetic pole; while in the north they have been within five hundred miles of the pole, and also passed the magnetic pole, thus showing that the opening to the southern entrance to the interior of the earth is fifteen hundred miles in diameter, while it is only one thousand miles at the North Pole. That would make the sun's rays more powerful at the north than at the south. To illustrate the point, take a tin horn, and hold the big end to an electric light, then turn the little end to the light. The difference will be observed very quickly. It will be noticed that in almost every description of the aurora, the mind naturally reverts to fire. Writers describe it in almost every form of fire. Nansen's description of it as the reflection of a great fire, is magnificent. As that is what it was, there is no need of commenting on the subject. In submitting the question as to what produces the aurora, I merely ask that the reader use his common sense, apart from what his opinions on the matter have been. If, after reading the extracts adduced to prove the truth of my contention and my comments thereon, he still thinks the aurora electricity, let him tell why it is of such different coloring; why it always appears at the same place; why always at the poles. Electricity is universal. An electrical battery will work in one manner over all the world. Why, then, does electricity appear in the form of the aurora at the poles only? Why is the needle not always affected? Everything tends to prove that the aurora is not electricity. There is not a single condition, either form, color, or time, for which a fire in the interior of the earth does not furnish an intelligent solution. On the other hand, if the aurora were electricity, the coloring would be the same as the color of lightning, and as varied in location. The aurora appears by day or night, in stormy weather or in clear, wind or no wind, and sometimes it lasts ten minutes only; while at others it exists four or five days. Does that seem like electricity, or fire?	<urn:uuid:b139ebc1-9039-4f98-97d2-651d8e10d4c7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://sacred-texts.com/earth/potp/potp11.htm	2013-05-20T12:02:09Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.974363	9,435
March 11, 2011 is a day that Japan will never forget. Fukushima is a name that the world will never forget. On that day, and in that place, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered some damage from a major earthquake, and then was hit by a 50 foot tsunami. The enormous tidal wave flooded generators which shut down leading to a full meltdown in three of the six reactors. (One of the other reactors had been de-fueledand the remaining two were, thankfully, in cold shut down for maintenance purposes.) The disaster was eventually labelled Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), making it the worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl. The radiation leaked into the air was way short of that at Chernobyl, but radioactive material in significant amounts was released into ground water and sea water that was used for cooling the reactors. The disaster has led to endless discussion of what went wrong, could it have been avoided, could it happen elsewhere, should all nuclear plant be shuttered and so on. How countries respond to these questions could have immense impact on the planet. The impact on Japan has been tremendous with great hardship for those who were evacuated, and may never see their homes again, and for the economic well-being of the country, which is still rationing electricity. As a result some of its manufacturers feel compelled to explore the option of moving off-shore in order to have a reliable source of energy for their factories. But, is Fukushima still a threat? It seems that it is, and on a potentially devastating level. Mitsuhei Murata, who served his country as Ambassador to both Senegal and Switzerland, explained in a recent interview that far from the situation at the Fukushima Daiitsu plant improving, it is actually worsening in an alarming way: the ground beneath the plant's number 4 reactor is sinking. Mr Murata implied that the whole structure is on the verge of collapse. He wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations stating unequivocally that the fate, not only of Japan, but of the rest of the world depends on the No. 4 reactor. The cooling pool still contains more than fifteen hundred spent fuel rods. The collective power of these “spent” rods is 37 million curies. By comparison, the release of nuclear material at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania (an INES level 5 event) amounted to approximately 2.5 million curies. In other words, there are nearly 15 Three Mile Islands sitting in the severely compromised Unit 4. The ground beneath Unit 4 has sunk by about 31.5 inches already. Further sinking, or a minor earthquake could cause the entire structure to collapse, draining the pool and causing a meltdown of potentially catastrophic proportions. Some scientists predict that this would mean the ruin of Japan and a serious threat to the rest of the world.	<urn:uuid:1a97fdac-4e66-4921-a60c-12021090e7ae>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/headline_news/2012/10/19/4621.html	2013-05-22T07:54:44Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701508530/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105148-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.969642	572
Smoking – health risks Reviewed by Dr Patricia Macnair, GP \|Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances.\| You can eat five portions of fruit or veg a day and exercise regularly – but healthy behaviour means little if you continue to smoke. The message that 'smoking is bad for you' is an old one, so not everyone gives it their full attention. Below we list the health risks of smoking. Why quit smoking? Most people know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but it can also cause many other cancers and illnesses. Smoking directly causes over 100,000 deaths in the UK each year and contributes to many more. How do cigarettes damage health? Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances. When you inhale, a cigarette burns at 700°C at the tip and around 60°C in the core. This heat breaks down the tobacco to produce various toxins. As a cigarette burns, the residues are concentrated towards the butt. The products that are most damaging are: - tar, a carcinogen (substance that causes cancer) - nicotine is addictive and increases cholesterol levels in your body - carbon monoxide reduces oxygen in the body - components of the gas and particulate phases cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). The damage caused by smoking is influenced by: - the number of cigarettes smoked - whether the cigarette has a filter - how the tobacco has been prepared. Smoking affects how long you live Research has shown that smoking reduces life expectancy by seven to eight years. Did you know? On average, each cigarette shortens a smoker's life by around 11 minutes. Of the 300 people who die every day in the UK as a result of smoking, many are comparatively young smokers. Non-smokers and ex-smokers can also look forward to a healthier old age than smokers. Major diseases caused by smoking Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death due to smoking. Hardening of the arteries is a process that develops over years, when cholesterol and other fats deposit in the arteries, leaving them narrow, blocked or rigid. When the arteries narrow (atherosclerosis), blood clots are likely to form. Smoking accelerates the hardening and narrowing process in your arteries: it starts earlier and blood clots are two to four times more likely. Cardiovasular disease can take many forms depending on which blood vessels are involved, and all of them are more common in people who smoke. A fatal disease Blood clots in the heart and brain are the most common causes of sudden death. - Coronary thrombosis: a blood clot in the arteries supplying the heart, which can lead to a heart attack. Around 30 per cent are caused by smoking. - Cerebral thrombosis: the vessels to the brain can become blocked, which can lead to collapse, stroke and paralysis. Damage to the brain's blood supply is also an important cause of dementia. - If the kidney arteries are affected, then high blood pressure or kidney failure results. - Blockage to the vascular supply to the legs may lead to gangrene and amputation. Smokers tend to develop coronary thrombosis 10 years earlier than non-smokers, and make up 9 out of 10 heart bypass patients. The link between smoking and lung cancer is clear. - Ninety percent of lung cancer cases are due to smoking. - If no-one smoked, lung cancer would be a rare diagnosis – only 0.5 per cent of people who've never touched a cigarette develop lung cancer. - One in ten moderate smokers and almost one in five heavy smokers (more than 15 cigarettes a day) will die of lung cancer. The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, and the longer you've smoked, the higher your risk of lung cancer. Similarly, the risk rises the deeper you inhale and the earlier in life you started smoking. For ex-smokers, it takes approximately 15 years before the risk of lung cancer drops to the same as that of a non-smoker. If you smoke, the risk of contracting mouth cancer is four times higher than for a non-smoker. Cancer can start in many areas of the mouth, with the most common being on or underneath the tongue, or on the lips. Other types of cancer that are more common in smokers are: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a collective term for a group of conditions that block airflow and make breathing more difficult, such as: Chronic means long term, not severe. - emphysema – breathlessness caused by damage to the air sacs (alveoli) - chronic bronchitis – coughing with a lot of mucus that continues for at least three months. Smoking is the most common cause of COPD and is responsible for 80 per cent of cases. It's estimated that 94 per cent of 20-a-day smokers have some emphysema when the lungs are examined after death, while more than 90 per cent of non-smokers have little or none. COPD typically starts between the ages of 35 and 45 when lung function starts to decline anyway. Quitting can help Lung damage from COPD is permanent, but giving up smoking at any stage reduces the rate of decline in lung capacity. In smokers, the rate of decline in lung function can be three times the usual rate. As lung function declines, breathlessness begins. As the condition progresses, severe breathing problems can require hospital care. The final stage is death from slow and progressive breathlessness. Other risks caused by smoking Did you know? A single cigarette can reduce the blood supply to your skin for over an hour. - Smoking raises blood pressure, which can cause hypertension (high blood pressure) – a risk factor for heart attacks and stroke. - Couples who smoke are more likely to have fertility problems than couples who are non-smokers. - Smoking worsens asthma and counteracts asthma medication by worsening the inflammation of the airways that the medicine tries to ease. - The blood vessels in the eye are sensitive and can be easily damaged by smoke, causing a bloodshot appearance and itchiness. - Heavy smokers are twice as likely to get macular degeneration, resulting in the gradual loss of eyesight. - Smokers run an increased risk of cataracts. - Smokers take 25 per cent more sick days year than non-smokers. - Smoking stains your teeth and gums. - Smoking increases your risk of periodontal disease, which causes swollen gums, bad breath and teeth to fall out. - Smoking causes an acid taste in the mouth and contributes to the development of ulcers. - Smoking also affects your looks: smokers have paler skin and more wrinkles. This is because smoking reduces the blood supply to the skin and lowers levels of vitamin A. Smoking and impotence For men in their 30s and 40s, smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) by about 50 per cent. Did you know? The British Medical Association estimates that up to 120,000 men have ED because of smoking. Erection can't occur unless blood can flow freely into the penis, so these blood vessels have to be in good condition. Smoking can damage the blood vessels and cause them to degenerate: nicotine narrows the arteries that lead to the penis, reducing blood flow and the pressure of blood in the penis. This narrowing effect increases over time, so if you haven't got problems now, things could change later. Erection problems in smokers may be an early warning signal that cigarettes are already damaging other areas of the body – such as the blood vessels that supply the heart. Smoking and others There are many health-related reasons to give up cigarettes – not just for smokers, but to protect those around you. Babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are twice as likely to be born prematurely and with a low birth weight. The 'side-stream' smoke that comes off a cigarette between puffs carries a higher risk than directly inhaled smoke. Children who grow up in a home where one or both of their parents smoke have twice the risk of getting asthma and asthmatic bronchitis. They also have a higher risk of developing allergies. Infants under two years old are more prone to severe respiratory infections and cot death. For adults, passive smoking seems to increase the risk of lung cancer, but the evidence for an increased risk of heart disease is not yet conclusive. Thinking about quitting? As well as reducing your risk of getting a smoking-related illness, there are other benefits to quitting smoking. - General health improves – tiredness and headaches can be linked to smoking. - Your sense of taste and smell improve. - Your heart will be less strained and work more efficiently. Stopping smoking is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your health, but it's a difficult task. Smokers who are trying to kick their habit may be disappointed to find there's no single quit method that guarantees success. The weight of evidence suggests that smokers should set a date to stop, and do their best to quit completely from this point. On average it takes four to five attempts to give up, and there are a number of things that can help willpower. - Nicotine replacement treatment (NRT) in the form of gum, skin patches or nasal spray. - Zyban (bupropion) is a medicine that's licensed to help smoking cessation. - Champix (varenicline): a medicine that mimics the effect of nicotine in the body, and so reduces the urge to smoke and also reduces withdrawal symptoms. Varenicline can double your chance of successfully quitting - Behaviour modification programmes. - Alternative therapies such as acupuncture and hypnosis. Research shows that people who take part in a full 'quit smoking' programme, including behavioural therapies and medication, may increase their chance of successfully quitting from about 3 per cent on willpower alone to over 30 per cent. Other people also read: Smoking – cutting down or quitting: tackling physical and psychological addiction. Medicines to help you quit: medicines can double your chances of quitting. Based on a text by Dr Carl J Brandt Last updated 02.11.2011	<urn:uuid:5d380a97-db56-4704-b216-6e71c6fe9d9a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/smokehealth.htm	2013-05-23T05:23:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702849682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111409-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.937199	2,192
A rib fracture is a break in a rib bone. Bruised muscles and ligaments often happen with a rib fracture. With a rib fracture, the lungs and other organs can be injured. More than one rib fracture after a trauma can indicate serious internal injury. Rib fractures are caused by: - A direct blow to the rib - Crushing of the chest, such as in contact sports or a car accident - Severe coughing incidents that can occur with lung problems or at high altitude - Rib fractures in young children are often a sign of abuse A risk factor is something that increases your chance of having an injury. Risk factors for breaking a rib include: - Age: 65 years and older - Difficulty doing activities of daily living - Playing contact sports - Having weak bones - Having a chronic cough Extreme repetitive upper body activity (less common), such as in: - Throwing athletes - Basketball players - Weight lifters - Having an occupation involving a lot of overhead lifting - Having a history of rib or chest fracture - Pain in the ribs or upper chest area - Pain when coughing - Swelling and bruising in the fracture area - Severe local tenderness in the fracture area - Internal bleeding - Pain while breathing The doctor will ask about your symptoms and how the injury occurred. He will examine your chest, lungs, and back. Tests may include: Rest and do not do physical activity until the pain has gone away. Your doctor may suggest wearing a chest binder around your ribs to protect them. The binder will also help you breathe properly. It is very important to take some good breaths so that the lungs remain clear. Pneumonia can develop after rib fractures if you are not breathing deeply enough. If you play contact sports, you may need to wear a rib cage protector for 6-8 weeks when you return to playing. Your doctor may recommend that you take one of the following drugs to help reduce inflammation and pain: - Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) - Naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) - Acetaminophen (Tylenol) As your ribs heal, a physical therapist can teach you breathing exercises. The therapist can also help you maintain range of motion in arm and shoulder joints. Intercostal Nerve Blocks Special injections with local anesthetic can temporarily relieve pain. Sometimes a temporary epidural catheter is used to place anesthetic near the spinal cord and nerves. This can help severe cases. This is usually done for hospitalized patients. Hospitalization is usually only needed if there are complications such as damage to chest organs in the chest. Sometimes rib fractures cannot be prevented. To reduce your chance of fracturing a rib: - Reviewer: John C. Keel, MD - Review Date: 09/2012 - - Update Date: 00/92/2012 -	<urn:uuid:2f380801-53a4-4bbd-9034-3b7d26c921f6>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://coliseumhealthsystem.com/your-health/?/11591/sp	2013-05-19T02:38:14Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.90659	608
Did you know that you could improve your athletic performance with just a couple of breaths? Yes, there is more magic to your respiratory system than just keeping you alive. Not only does breathing help you relax, it also allows you to refocus, suppresses negative thoughts and makes you feel more confident. To reap these rewards, you need to learn how to take control of this involuntary reflex through this applied sport psychology method. Next time you are feeling physically and mentally drained, try circle breathing: 1. Begin by inhaling through your nose for three seconds 2. Hold your breath for two seconds, and then exhale through your mouth for four seconds. 3. Repeat a couple of times. Feel the difference in your body? To show how it relaxes you physically, take a long inhale through your nose and hold it, noting how your muscles tense. Now slowly exhale through your mouth. Your body should physically relax when you exhale. Make sure to count your breaths, because it directs your thoughts to something neutral so you mentally relax. When negative or distracting thoughts plague your mind, count out a couple of circle breaths until you are able to refocus on positive and productive thoughts. When athletes have a poor game or performance, they sometimes lose a sense of control. Circle breathing is a basic element of performance that you can control. Incorporating this applied sport psychology exercise into your pre-game routine can provide a boost of confidence. For example, a gymnast can take a circle breath right before making a challenging beam dismount, or a golfer can use one right before a critical putt. When you first start, it may take several attempts to feel the benefits. But the more you practice, the more effective circle breathing will become. Applied sport psychology is about enhancing your performance. We all have to perform on a daily basis, whether on the field, in the classroom or on the job. So everyone has plenty of opportunities to practice circle breathing! Photo credit: Athletesheart.com	<urn:uuid:6d8950b0-cd1f-405b-b940-bc4352942118>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.stack.com/2012/07/09/circle-breathing/	2013-05-22T14:47:43Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.931164	413
The shallow water is caused by a wide underwater plateau covering an extended area of 12,000 square miles (42,000 km²). Depths at the cap range from approximately 400 feet (122 m) to 2,300 feet (700 m). The Flemish Cap is located within an area of transition between the cold waters of the Labrador Current and warmer waters influenced by the North Atlantic Current. The mixing of the warmer and colder waters over the plateau produces the characteristic clockwise circulation current over the cap. The waters of the Flemish Cap are deeper and warmer than the Grand Banks. The 58,000-square-kilometre area may have served as an important refuge for marine species during the last ice age. The waters of the Flemish Cap are noted as excellent fishing waters. Halibut, swordfish, shrimp, scallop, yellowtail and other marine species may be found in abundance there. The Flemish Cap lies outside Canada's 200 nautical mile (370 km) Exclusive Economic Zone established in 1977, and is therefore in international fishing waters. Overfishing has become a serious issue in recent years. Cod and American plaice are particularly endangered here and the numbers of redfish have shown a significant decline. In recent years, Canada had made an effort to prevent overfishing in the region by use of provisions of the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement. - Overfishing:The Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap - Government response to the standing committee on fisheries and oceans' tenth report	<urn:uuid:5b355d24-dd66-4aac-a670-aa004f916969>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemish_Cap	2013-05-22T22:02:56Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.923849	322
188.688.01 GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY & HEALTH SEMINAR Students and faculty discuss the causes, consequences, and implications of key global environmental challenges that we are facing and that are likely to become more challenging over time. Specifically addresses how land use (e.g., patterns of urban growth and suburban sprawl), energy use, food production and distribution, water use, and population growth are causing climate change, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity losses, species extinctions, and other resource depletion, and how all this is in turn is a threat to human health as individuals, in communities, and globally. Focuses on discussion and not lectures and will utilize a mix of movies, guest discussants, and student directed discussions. This seminar will prepare students to: 1) Define the aspects of land use, energy use, food production and distribution, water use, and population growth that contribute to environmental degradation. 2) Analyze how peak petroleum (AKA "after peak oil"), political obstacles, economic interests, and federal indebtedness influence how we address these issues. 3) Define how the "drivers" in #1 above cause climate change, ecosystem degradation, species losses, biodiversity losses, and other resource depletions. 4) Begin to develop an analytic framework for how we should address these issues to prevent the major health risks they present. - Thursday 12:00 - 1:20 Global Environment and Public Health, 180.611.01	<urn:uuid:a78ff700-9a3f-4f21-9d1d-0103b863706f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.jhsph.edu/courses/course/188.688/01/2012/16292/	2013-05-22T07:48:14Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.900658	301
\|\|This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (September 2010)\| The Wapping dispute was, along with the miners' strike of 1984-5, a significant turning point in the history of the trade union movement and of UK industrial relations. It started on 24 January 1986 when some 6,000 newspaper workers went on strike after protracted negotiation with their employers, News International (parent of Times Newspapers and News Group Newspapers, and chaired by Rupert Murdoch). News International had built and clandestinely equipped a new printing plant for all its titles in the London district of Wapping, and when the print unions announced a strike it activated this new plant with the assistance of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union (EETPU). Although individual members of the National Union of Journalists went to work in Wapping and NUJ Chapels continued to operate, the National Union continued to urge their members not to work inside the wire unless there was an agreement covering the transfer to Wapping and the responsibilities taken on by journalists. Many NUJ members accepted this advice and refused to go to Wapping. During the dispute they became known as "refuseniks". For years Fleet Street had been living with poor industrial relations – the so-called "Spanish practices" had put limits on the owners that they considered intolerable. On the other hand, the company management team led by Bill O'Neill, was seeking to have the union accept terms that they considered unacceptable: flexible working, a no-strike clause, the adoption of new technology and the end of the closed shop. Despite the widespread use of the offset litho printing process elsewhere, the Murdoch papers in common with the rest of Fleet Street continued to be produced by the hot-metal and labour-intensive Linotype method, rather than being composed electronically. Eddie Shah's Messenger group, in a long-running and bitter dispute at Warrington had benefited from the Thatcher government's trade union legislation to allow employers to de-recognise unions, enabling the company to use an alternative workforce and new technology in newspaper production. Journalists could input copy directly, reducing the need for labour in the print halls, cutting costs and improving production time dramatically. Although individual journalists (many of whom were members of the National Union of Journalists) worked behind the wire, the NUJ opposed the move to Wapping and urged their members not to go without proper negotiations. Many members refused to go and became known during the dispute as "refuseniks". The NUJ was represented alongside the Print unions in the negotiations with News International which eventually led to a monetary settlement. Start of dispute Immediately after the strike was announced on Jan 24, 1986, dismissal notices were served on all those taking part in the industrial action, effectively sacking 6,000 employees. As part of a plan that had been developed over many months, the company replaced the workforce with members of the EETPU and transferred its four main titles (The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and the News of the World) to the Wapping plant. Murdoch had led the print unions to think that the Wapping plant was to be used for a new evening newspaper, the London Post. And so began what became known as the Wapping dispute. In support of sacked members, the print unions organized regular demonstrations outside the company's premises in Pennington Street, with six pickets posted on Virginia Street and marches usually converging nearby on The Highway in Wapping. The unions and leading members of the Labour Party also called for a boycott of the four newspapers involved. The demonstrations outside the Wapping plant were not always peaceful, although the Trade Unions maintained that they were committed to pursuing peaceful means to resolve the dispute. Like the miners' strike, large demonstrations were mounted to dissuade workers - in this case journalists and operators of the new printing process - from entering the premises, and a large police operation used force to ensure they were not able to physically stop the movement of lorries distributing newspapers from the plant. More than 400 police officers and many members of the public were injured, and more than 1,000 arrests made during the dispute. A large-scale police operation was mounted throughout London to ensure the Wapping plant could operate effectively, and the movement of local residents was heavily restricted. To ensure their safety, workers at the plant were often taken to and from work in buses modified to withstand the attacks they came under. The print unions had encouraged a national boycott of Murdoch's papers, and had been relying on the rail unions to ensure that they were not distributed, a problem Murdoch circumvented by distributing his papers via road haulage carriers instead of trains. Despite some public sympathy for the plight of the pickets, the boycott of Wapping's news titles was not successful, and not a single day of production was lost throughout the year of the dispute's duration. Collapse of strike News International's strategy in Wapping had strong government support, and enjoyed almost full production and distribution capabilities and a complement of leading journalists. The company was therefore content to allow the dispute to run its course. With thousands of workers having gone for over a year without jobs or pay, the strike eventually collapsed on 5 February 1987. With the restrictive trade union practices associated with the traditional Fleet Street publishing empires removed, the trade union movement in Britain was irrevocably changed. The actions of News International and Rupert Murdoch, together with the EETPU and the police were criticised — in particular the policing methods that were employed. People in Wapping were largely viewed by the police as sympathetic to the strikers, and were frequently denied access to their own streets and homes. The strike also coincided with the redevelopment of the Docklands, of which Wapping is a part, and saw the end of the traditional association of the area with the Labour Movement. By 1988, nearly all the national newspapers had abandoned Fleet Street to relocate in the Docklands, and had begun to change their printing practices to those being employed by News International. - L Melvern, "The End of the Street," Octavo/Methuen, 1986. - BBC News Report - On This Day - Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, 1987; Littleton, 1992; Pilger, 1998 - National Council for Civil Liberties, 1986 - Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, A Case to Answer? A report on the policing of the News International demonstration at Wapping on 24 January 1987, The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, 1987 - S Littleton, The Wapping Dispute: An Examination of the Conflict & Its Impact on the National Newspaper Industry, Avebury, 1992 - B MacArthur, Eddy Shah: Today and the Newspaper Revolution, David & Charles, 1988 - L Melvern, The End of the Street, Octavo/Methuen, 1986 - A Mintz et al., The Picket - National Council for Civil Liberties, No Way in Wapping, Civil Liberties Trust, 1986 - N Oatridge, Wapping ’86: The Strike that Broke Britain’s Newspaper Unions, Coldtype, 2002 - J Pilger, Hidden Agendas, Vintage, 1998 (Fortress Wapping - extract) - M Richardson, Leadership, Mobilisation and the 1986-87 News International dispute, Paper submitted to the Historical Studies in Industrial Relations and the Society for the Study of Labour History Joint Conference, 2002 - P Wintour, The Rise & Fall of Fleet Street, Hutchinson, 1991 - Mark Steel, "Reasons to be Cheerful" - Bill Bryson, Notes from a Small Island (worked as a journalist at The Times)	<urn:uuid:e7784f73-de79-41b3-8e0d-a0217c826353>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapping_dispute	2013-06-19T19:48:49Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709101476/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125821-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.967175	1,585
Argo Data Process A typical 10-day cycle begins with an Argo float at the sea surface (1). Fluid is pumped from an external bladder to the interior of the float. This reduces the float's buoyancy, which allows it to sink to the pre-determined depth of 1000 m (2) where it freely drifts for the next 9.5 days (3). Additional pumping of fluid from the external bladder allows the float to further sink to 2000 m (4). Next, fluid from the inside of the float is pumped to its external bladder, causing the float to rise while collecting temperature and salinity data. Soon after the float reaches the surface (5), it sends its data to a satellite, which relays the data to a receiving land station. Once the float receives confirmation from the satellite that all data were well-received, it begins a new cycle (1).	<urn:uuid:e56bd21a-767e-4e5d-97d9-20bda2e8a177>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/argo/info/process-eng.htm	2013-06-19T20:02:56Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709101476/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125821-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.91739	182
Scientists Ashore Assist In Discovery Of Tubeworm Colony Off Cyprus ‘Doctors on Call,’ public watch discovery live When a field of tubeworms was unexpectedly discovered on the side of a large underwater mountain 50 miles off the coast of Cyprus this summer, the finding was notable both for the discovery itself and for the process of the discovery. Found by a team of researchers led by marine explorer Robert Ballard, the tubeworms, in the genus Siboglinidae, have a symbiotic relationship with chemosynthetic bacteria; they both work together to metabolize warm, mineral-rich water that is seeping out of the seafloor. Numerous colonies of the tubeworms were found between 900 and 1200 meters deep amid crabs, sea urchins, deep sea corals and beggiatoa bacteria in a coldwater seep on the slope of Eratosthenes Seamount, an underwater mountain in the Eastern Mediterranean south of Cyprus. The next nearest known colony of the unusual animals is found 190 miles away on the Anaximander Mountains, an underwater mountain chain. The tubeworms were identified during a research expedition aboard Ballard’s ship E/V Nautilus, which was broadcast live, 24 hours a day, over the Internet, so thousands of people may have been watching the discovery as it happened. Equally noteworthy, a team of scientists ashore with expertise in a wide range of disciplines ““ called Doctors on Call ““ were called upon to assist in identifying the animals at the moment they were found. It was the first time the Doctors on Call program, created by Ballard for this expedition, and the live broadcasts were combined to make a scientific discovery. "The process worked exactly as I envisioned it would," said Ballard, a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, president of the Institute for Exploration, and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. "It’s impossible to have every expert you may need aboard ship when you’re exploring the oceans, so having them on call and able to view exactly what the shipboard scientists are seeing is the next best thing." "We were doing a visual transect up the slope of the seamount when we came upon an enormous cliff face with some orange staining and white fuzzy-looking patches on it," explained Katherine Croff Bell, a University of Rhode Island graduate student and National Geographic Emerging Explorer who was the expedition leader onboard. "The white fuzzy things turned out to be clusters of tube worms, and the orange stains were areas where fluid is coming out of the rocks, which is likely what the tube worms were living on." Scientists from Israel, Cyprus, and three universities in the United States ““ URI, the University of New Hampshire, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ““ assisted in identifying the biological communities where the tubeworms were found. The technology that made this discovery and collaboration possible includes high-definition video cameras on remotely operated underwater vehicles, high-bandwidth satellite telecommunications linking the Nautilus to the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island, and remote science consoles and Internet2 linking the Inner Space Center with the Doctors on Call and the general public. While the scientists were identifying and confirming the discovery of the tubeworm community, the public was watching and listening live in real time at www.nautiluslive.org and interacting about the findings via Facebook and Twitter. Thousands of people also watched the expedition throughout the summer at the Nautilus Live Theater, located at Ballard’s "Challenge of the Deep" exhibit center at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn. "WOW! I never knew how exciting tubeworms could be," wrote one observer on Facebook. "I’m so glad that I got to see this. It was so very, very cool!" wrote another on the Nautilus Live website. Educators aboard ship and in the Inner Space Center also communicated live with students and Boys and Girls Clubs about the experience. "This is the wave of the future for the scientific exploration of the oceans," said Ballard. "More and more ships of exploration will be wired with this technology enabling scientists ashore and the public to participate in all kinds of scientific discoveries in every corner of the world’s oceans." A summary of the expedition findings and the Doctors on Call program was presented today at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. On the Net:	<urn:uuid:ef7ec396-8371-4f49-b77b-c1958599d618>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1966465/scientists_ashore_assist_in_discovery_of_tubeworm_colony_off_cyprus/	2013-05-26T02:58:24Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.959625	932
From the time of Alzheimer’s first description of psychotic symptoms in a patient with Alzheimer’s disease in 1907, psychosis has been recognized as a major clinical syndrome in this illness. The consequences of psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease may be painful and costly for the affected individuals, those who care for them, and society at large. Psychotic symptoms have been linked to greater caregiver distress (1–3) and have been found to be a significant predictor of functional decline and institutionalization (4–7). Compared to patients with Alzheimer’s disease without psychosis, those with Alzheimer’s disease and psychotic symptoms are also more likely to have worse general health (8) as well as a greater incidence of other psychiatric and behavioral disturbances (9–11). Psychotic patients tend to have more frequent and problematic behaviors, including agitation (12–14), episodes of verbal and physical aggression (10, 15–18), and anxiety (11). Reviews completed before the early 1990s found that psychotic symptoms were common in dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (19–23). In their review of 21 studies, for example, Wragg and Jeste (23) found that approximately one-third of all patients with Alzheimer’s disease had delusions at some point during their illness, 28% had hallucinations, and nearly 35% had other psychotic symptoms that were difficult to categorize. Overall, however, the reviewed studies were compromised by sampling deficiencies and methodological problems. Wragg and Jeste’s review included studies with as few as nine subjects. Moreover, only five of the 21 studies had a sample size larger than 100 subjects. Other methodological problems included the use of unreliable or nonvalidated diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, samples included individuals with various types of dementias, and thus generalizability was limited, and findings as they related to Alzheimer’s disease specifically were obscured. Imprecise operational definitions of psychosis (24) and utilization of assessment methods with questionable reliability and validity also undermined these investigations. Moreover, all of the studies published before 1990 were cross-sectional or descriptive and thus did not provide data on the incidence or course (e.g., persistence) of symptoms. Since the early 1990s, research on psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease has advanced considerably. There have been improvements in the development of diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease and for psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease (25) and the development of more reliable measures of psychotic symptoms, including the Behaviorial Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale (26) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (27). Larger sample sizes have become available because of increased awareness of the disease and the establishment of Alzheimer’s disease centers. Longitudinal data from these centers have become available, and more investigators have undertaken prospective studies on this topic. We reviewed studies published from 1990 through 2003 that investigated psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease with the aim of providing a systematic overview of the current state of knowledge in this area. In so doing, we employed more stringent inclusion criteria than were applied in reviews conducted before the early 1990s. In this article, we summarize findings on the epidemiology of psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease. Delusions and hallucinations are also reviewed separately, and we include findings on other uncategorized psychotic symptoms. In addition, we examine the literature on potential risk factors for psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Implications of the findings for clinical practice and for future research are discussed. Computerized searches using PubMed and PsycINFO databases were performed for English-language articles published between 1990 and the end of 2003 with the keywords "psychosis and Alzheimer disease" and "psychosis and dementia." Additional articles were identified by using the "related articles" function in PubMed and by cross-referencing identified articles. Only empirical investigations reporting data on psychotic symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease were selected. If a given study included subjects with dementias other than Alzheimer’s disease (e.g., vascular dementia or mixed dementia), sufficient data on the Alzheimer’s disease group itself (e.g., number of subjects and a prevalence rate of psychotic symptoms) must have been provided. In addition, the study design, study setting, some description of the method of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease (e.g., National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria), and description of how psychotic symptoms were measured or defined must have been clearly stated. Target symptoms that could not be well categorized as delusions or hallucinations were considered "other psychotic symptoms." Using these methods, we identified 55 articles for review. Sample Size and Subject Characteristics The mean sample size in the 55 studies reviewed (t1) was 177 subjects (median=135; range 27 to 1,155). These findings represent an increase in sample sizes from those in the studies of psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease prior to 1990 that were included in a previous review (23). In that review, the largest sample size among 21 studies was merely 175 subjects, and the median sample size was 33. In the current review, the mean age of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease was 75.5 years (median=74.0, range=69–85), and the mean level of education was 10.7 years (median=12.0, range=6–13). Inclusion of education data was not possible for some studies because of the use of alternative scales of measurement (e.g., less than high school versus high school). Nearly two-thirds of the total subject sample were women (mean=64.2%), although considerable variability in gender distribution was noted across studies, with the proportion of women ranging from 28.8% to 83.4%. In general, subjects included in the studies tended to have mild or moderate cognitive impairment, as reflected by a mean Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (28) score of 15.5 (median=16.3; range 5–21), although there was considerable variability in this regard across studies as well. Relatively few studies provided data on age at onset or the mean duration of illness. These variables may be considered unreliable estimates because they are based on a patient’s or informant’s retrospective memory and/or perceptions. Although a majority of the reports (63.6%) were cross-sectional (8, 10, 12, 17, 29–60), 34.5% of the studies provided longitudinal data (9, 13, 16, 63–78). The primary settings for 72.7% of the studies were outpatient clinics, Alzheimer’s disease clinical centers, or Alzheimer’s disease research centers (8, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 29–32, 34–39, 43, 44, 48–50, 52, 53, 55, 57–74); relatively few studies included samples of inpatients (33, 41, 45–47, 56, 75) or a combination of inpatients and outpatients (9, 42). Even fewer reports (51, 54) included community-based samples, which are often more difficult to obtain. The setting was not clear in one investigation (76). Diagnosis and Measurement The National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria (77) were used most commonly for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (8, 10, 12, 16, 31–34, 36, 40–44, 48, 50–55, 57, 61–63, 65, 66, 71–75). Both those criteria and the DSM criteria were used together in several studies (9, 13, 17, 29, 30, 35, 37, 45–47, 50, 59, 63, 64, 67, 69). Autopsy results, specifically those that utilized criteria of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (78), were used infrequently. Numerous measures or tools were used alone or in combination to assess psychotic symptoms. Informal or semistructured interviews of patients and/or their caregivers (such as the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule , the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders , and the Initial Evaluation Form ) were utilized most frequently (15 studies), with an additional six studies incorporating other measures in addition to interviews. The Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, or both, were also used frequently. The median prevalence of psychotic symptoms (delusions or hallucinations) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease was 41.1% (range=12.2%–74.1%). The median prevalence of delusions was 36% (range=9.3%–63%). Delusions of theft were the most common type of delusions reported (50.9% of studies). Hallucinations occurred less frequently, with a median prevalence of 18% (range=4%–41%). Visual hallucinations were more prevalent than auditory hallucinations (median=18.7% and 9.2%, respectively). Between 7.8% and 20.8% of subjects (median=13%) experienced both hallucinations and delusions. Psychotic symptoms not categorized as delusions or hallucinations were reported by 3.6% to 38.9% of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (median=25.6%). Most often, this category comprised misidentifications (frequently considered to be a type of delusion, although it may be a separate phenomenon). Prevalence data are summarized in t1. Prevalence is affected by several factors, including the study setting and study design. A higher prevalence of psychotic symptoms tended to occur in inpatient settings (e.g., acute care hospitals, nursing homes, neurobehavioral units) (31.2% to 74.1%) (33, 40, 41, 45–47, 56, 75), whereas lower rates (12.2% to 65.2%) were noted in patients referred to outpatient memory or research clinics (8, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 29–32, 34–38, 43, 44, 48–50, 52, 53, 55, 57–61, 63–70, 72–74). Two studies included a community sample (51, 54), and one reported that 26.9% of the subjects experienced psychosis (51). Delusions among inpatients were present in 44.4% to 62.9% and hallucinations were present in 5.7% to 34%. In outpatient samples, 9.3% to 63% of subjects experienced delusions, and 3.8% to 41% had hallucinations. In the two studies of community-dwelling subjects, 21.8% and 22.7% had delusions, and 12.8% and 13.1% had hallucinations. The incidence of psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease refers to the percentage of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease who are initially not psychotic and who develop one or more psychotic symptoms by a specified end-point. No studies before 1990 reported data on incidence. In studies conducted since 1990, however, seven studies (13, 61, 63, 64, 66, 69, 73) reported data on incidence over observation periods ranging from 1 to 5 years. Paulsen et al. (69) reported a 1-year incidence of 20%. Levy and colleagues (13) reported a comparable incidence of 25% after 1 year. Over a 2-year period, Paulsen and colleagues (69) reported an incidence of 36.1%, and in the study by Caligiuri et al. (63) of neuromotor abnormalities and risk for psychosis, 32.5% of subjects developed psychotic symptoms over the course of 2 years. The latter rates are likely comparable because the samples from the two studies overlapped to some extent, given that subjects in both studies were drawn from the same group of individuals enrolled in longitudinal studies at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in San Diego. Delusions and hallucinations both seem to develop more readily within a 1-year to 2-year span, although these data are limited by the small number of studies addressing delusions and hallucinations specifically over more than two assessment points (60, 65). Incidence seemed to plateau after 3 years, as there was little difference between 3-year (49.5%) and 4-year (51.3%) cumulative rates for psychosis in the study by Paulsen et al. (69). In the study by Chen and colleagues (64), 29.7% of the subjects developed psychosis over an average of 5 years of follow-up. However, the authors pointed out that subjects were not evaluated the same number of times or at the same time points. The 14.9% incidence reported by Sweet and associates (73) was difficult to compare to the findings of other studies because the length of follow-up was not specified. Persistence of psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease refers to whether an individual experiences a symptom at two or more consecutive evaluations. Again, comparison of rates across studies is limited because variable follow-up periods were used by different researchers. In one study, subjects were evaluated every 3 months over 1 year, and 57% had psychotic symptoms on at least two occasions (13). In another study, a similarly high persistence of psychosis was found for individuals evaluated at baseline and 1 year later: 44% for delusions, 26% for visual hallucinations, and 45% for auditory hallucinations (61). Psychotic symptoms rarely seemed to persist after several months, however. Haupt et al. (66) reported that after 2 years, psychotic symptoms did not persist in any of 21 subjects who had delusions or in any of 11 subjects who had hallucinations at baseline. The results may have been affected by the small number of patients manifesting psychotic symptoms. Furthermore, the authors assessed symptoms at 1 and 2 years but reported persistence on the basis of the presence of a symptom at both time points. A low persistence rate over a 2-year period was also found by Devanand and colleagues (9), who reported that delusions persisted in only 12.8% of 180 subjects and hallucinations in only 5.6%. Rosen et al. (70) and Zubenko et al. (76) considered a symptom to be persistent if it was present on any two consecutive annual evaluations conducted over the course of the study (on average, 2 and 5 years, respectively). Using this definition, these authors reported that 86.7% and 84.6%, respectively, of the same subject sample had persistent psychotic symptoms. Seven studies examined the relationship between African American or black ethnicity and psychosis. Five found a positive association (8, 16, 31, 36, 52), and two found no relationship (9, 32). Bassiony and colleagues (31) reported that African Americans were significantly more likely to have hallucinations than Caucasians; the investigators did not report on other psychotic symptoms. Lopez et al. (52) reported that African Americans in the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer’s disease had significantly more psychotic symptoms than Caucasians in the same stages; the relationship between ethnicity and psychotic symptoms was not significant in mild stages, however. No studies reported associations with any other ethnic groups. Associations between risk factors and psychosis are summarized in t2. Severity of cognitive impairment (assessed with the MMSE or a similar global cognitive measure) showed a significant positive association with the presence of psychosis in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease in 20 studies (8, 9, 12, 13, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 40, 44, 45, 48, 52, 57, 65, 67–69, 74) and no association in 10 studies (10, 33, 39, 42, 47, 50, 51, 58, 62, 70). Overall, the prevalence of psychosis in general increased as cognitive impairment became more severe. Delusions tended to initially become more prevalent as cognitive functioning worsened but then decreased again as cognitive impairment became more severe in later stages of the illness. Hallucinations, like general psychotic symptoms, also increased in prevalence as cognitive impairment became more severe. When subjects were categorized as mildly, moderately, or severely cognitively impaired on the basis of MMSE scores (28), a similar pattern was observed. The median prevalence of psychosis was 25.5% (range=3.1%–50%) in mildly impaired individuals (MMSE scores 21–25), 37% (range=18.8%–56%) in those with moderate cognitive impairment (MMSE scores 20–11), and 49% (range=21.9%–79%) in severely impaired subjects (MMSE score 10 or below). Delusions were reported in a median of 23.5% (range=11%–50%) of mildly impaired individuals, 46% (range=13%–67%) of those with moderate cognitive impairment, and 33.3% (range=23%–57%) of severely impaired subjects. The median prevalence of hallucinations among those with mild cognitive impairment was 11.4% (range=9%–33%) and increased to 19% in those with moderate cognitive impairment (range=13%–48%) and to 28% (range=16%–44%) in severely impaired patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Other psychotic symptoms occurred in 5.9% and 16.7% of mildly impaired subjects (as reported in two studies), in 43.5% of moderately impaired individuals, and in 41.7% of those with severe cognitive impairment (one study). Overall, a statistical examination of the mean prevalence figures for psychotic symptoms and cognitive severity level revealed a significant difference only between the mean prevalence of hallucinations in mildly and moderately impaired individuals, with hallucinations being more prevalent in the moderately impaired than in the mildly impaired subjects. There were no other significant differences in mean prevalence of symptoms at any other levels of cognitive impairment. Education, gender, and family history of dementia or psychiatric disorder were weakly associated with increased risk for psychosis in the majority of reviewed studies. A majority of studies (76.5%) found that education level was not correlated with the presence of psychotic symptoms (10, 16, 31, 36, 37, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 56, 69). In contrast, education level was positively associated with delusions in one study (33) and negatively associated with psychosis in three (8, 32, 52). Gender was not associated with psychosis in 17 studies presenting these data (9, 10, 16, 31, 32, 36, 37, 44, 47, 48, 50, 55, 56, 68–70, 76), but it was associated with psychosis in seven. Of those seven, four found that women were at greater risk for psychotic symptoms (45, 51, 63, 65) and three found that men had a higher risk for psychosis (39, 42, 62). Of seven studies that investigated the association of family history of dementia and/or other psychiatric disorders and psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease (8, 10, 12, 31, 37, 48, 56), none found a positive relationship. However, lack of knowledge and diagnostic inaccuracy in diagnosis among family members could have obscured such an association. The relationships between psychosis and patients’ age, age at onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and duration of Alzheimer’s disease were generally equivocal. Older age was correlated with psychotic symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, or both) in 12 of 25 studies (8, 13, 17, 32, 36, 37, 40, 45, 47, 50, 55, 56) and was not associated with psychosis in the remaining 13 investigations (9, 10, 31, 42, 43, 48, 57, 59, 62, 69, 70, 75, 76). In 12 studies reporting on the relationship between age at onset of Alzheimer’s disease and psychotic symptoms, seven studies found no relationship (12, 16, 42, 47, 51, 68, 76), four found that the later the age at onset of Alzheimer’s disease, the more likely the individual was to experience psychosis (40, 45, 56, 75), and only one found that an earlier age at onset was associated with psychosis (62). Nine of 17 studies found no relationship between duration of Alzheimer’s disease and the occurrence of psychotic symptoms (36, 47, 51, 55, 56, 58, 68, 71, 76). The other eight studies, however, found that a longer duration of Alzheimer’s disease was correlated with the occurrence of psychosis (12, 17, 31, 32, 34, 37, 39, 45). Psychotic symptoms were significantly associated with more rapid cognitive decline over time in all nine studies that examined this relationship (13, 37, 40, 58, 62, 69–71, 74), supporting the notion that psychosis may denote a subset of patients with Alzheimer’s disease with a more aggressive course of the disease (see references 13, 69, 70). It is interesting to note that only two of these studies examined the relationship between the rate of cognitive decline and hallucinations or delusions separately, and each found that hallucinations, but not delusions, were significantly associated with more rapid cognitive decline (62, 74). Our review of 55 studies of psychosis in possible or probable Alzheimer’s disease revealed that a sizable proportion (median 41%) of individuals with the disease experience psychotic symptoms at some time during the course of their illness. Delusions occurred more frequently (median=36%) than hallucinations (median=18%). Other psychotic symptoms not categorized as delusions or hallucinations occurred in 25% of individuals. The incidence of psychotic symptoms seemed to increase with increasing follow-up intervals over the first 3 years. Psychotic symptoms tended to be reported in a majority of patients at least over a period of several months but often were not observed beyond 1 or 2 years. African American or black ethnicity and greater degree of cognitive impairment were strongly associated with a higher rate of psychosis. Psychosis was also associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline. Age, age at onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and duration of Alzheimer’s disease were associated with psychosis in approximately one-half of studies. Education, gender, and family history of dementia or psychiatric illness showed a weak or inconsistent relationship with psychosis in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The prevalence rate of psychosis in patients with Alzheimer’s disease found in our review was 41%. The median rate for delusions was 36%, which is comparable to the median rate of 33.5% reported in one of the only review studies of psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease published before the early 1990s (23). The rate of hallucinations found in the present review (18%) represents a decrease from the 28% reported by Wragg and Jeste (23). The fact that prevalence remains high in light of pharmacologic treatment may reflect increased awareness that these disturbances are consequences of Alzheimer’s disease, improved detection, or the use of better criteria and rating scales that allow for psychotic symptoms to be diagnosed with greater accuracy. As an increasing number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease are treated with cholinesterase inhibitors over the coming years, we might expect that the prevalence and incidence of psychosis would decrease, although findings for the efficacy of these drugs in reducing psychotic symptoms specifically have been mixed (see references 13, 82, 83). The fact that psychosis is persistent over a short interval of a few months may reflect the reasonable amount of time it takes to begin typical treatment for psychosis and to observe amelioration of symptoms. To assess the true persistence of symptoms, subjects would have to be enrolled in a placebo-controlled study in which some psychotic patients did not receive the typical treatment for symptoms. In the studies that were reviewed, it was more the exception than the rule that subjects would be excluded if they were taking an antipsychotic drug or cholinesterase inhibitor or that a drug washout period would be invoked. Furthermore, there were no means of determining whether the patients who were taking these drugs were being treated optimally, and the extent to which psychotic symptoms persist despite antipsychotic treatment is not known. Therefore, persistence values may reflect the experience of psychosis given current treatments rather than the true persistent nature of psychotic symptoms. Few equivocal associations with psychosis emerged from the reviewed studies. The association between African American or black ethnicity and psychosis is intriguing, although it is also limited by the fact that only Caucasian samples are available for comparison. Issues of acculturation and genetic influences are yet to be adequately examined, highlighting an area in need of exploration. Cognitive impairment and the rate of cognitive decline were also found to be strongly associated with psychotic symptoms. The findings of the present review suggest that psychosis represents a developmental feature marking the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or that it represents a distinct disease subtype marked by psychotic symptoms and a particularly rapid disease course. The fact that delusions, specifically, seemed most prevalent in patients with moderate cognitive impairment supports the hypothesis that a certain amount of neuronal integrity must be present for delusions to occur (see references 48, 84). Conclusions are limited, however, by a general failure to include severely cognitively impaired subjects in these studies. In addition, the association between psychosis and cognitive impairment and between psychosis and rate of cognitive decline may be influenced by medications, including antipsychotics and cholinesterase inhibitors, the former of which is recommended as a first-line treatment for dementia patients with delusions (85). Yet, a majority of the studies reviewed did not account for the potential effects of medication on cognition and simply reported that these effects were a possible limitation to their findings. A number of studies altogether failed to report what, if any, medications the subjects were taking. The importance of considering medication effects is illustrated in studies of antipsychotic use and cognition. The use of two atypical antipsychotics (clozapine and risperidone) in cognitively impaired patients was reviewed by Jeste et al. (86) and Gladsjo et al. (87). Jeste and colleagues found that the effects of clozapine on cognition were somewhat conflicting, which they posited was due, at least in part, to the strong anticholinergic activity of clozapine, which is likely to confound or diminish any enhancement of cognitive functioning. Berman and colleagues (88, 89) reported significant increases in MMSE scores in patients with schizophrenia or mild dementia treated with risperidone. Moreover, cholinesterase inhibitors have been shown to improve cognitive symptoms or temporarily reduce the rate of cognitive decline (90). Certainly, future studies should examine the potential influence of medication use, not only to examine any potential effects, positive or negative, on cognitive functioning but also to elucidate underlying biological mechanisms of psychosis in dementia. Furthermore, difficulties in diagnosing patients with Lewy body dementia may have led to their inadvertent inclusion in studies of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, thereby affecting the association between some psychotic symptoms and rate of cognitive decline, given that psychotic symptoms, and hallucinations in particular, may occur in nearly one-half of those with Lewy body dementia (30, 91). For many variables that were found not to be associated with psychosis, including age, age at onset, and duration of illness, small standard deviations likely affected the detection of associations. In the case of age and age at onset, few individuals who were younger than age 55 years or who had an early age at onset (age 55 years or younger) were included in these studies. Similarly, the range and standard deviation for illness duration were restricted (range=2.8–7.7 years, SD=1.33 years), thus limiting the potential to detect a positive association. In addition, many authors noted that age at onset of Alzheimer’s disease was inherently difficult to determine, because it was often an estimate that relied on the failing memory of those with Alzheimer’s disease or the recall and dating by others of behaviors that occurred several years earlier. The results of this review are also limited by problems in assessing psychosis. Despite more regular use of accepted diagnostic criteria, some researchers continue to use diagnostic criteria that are nonspecific to Alzheimer’s disease (e.g., DSM-III or DSM-IV criteria). Even when accepted criteria are utilized, inconsistencies in interpreting those criteria are evident. Presumably, the rates reported herein may underestimate the prevalence of delusions and hallucinations specifically, as evidenced by the fact that from 3.6% to 38.9% of psychotic symptoms remained uncategorized and were labeled "other psychotic symptoms." Conversely, as suggested by Devanand and colleagues (24), the lack of clarity may result in an overestimation of prevalence rates for symptoms such as delusions, as some symptoms are classified as delusions when they would otherwise be better classified as other psychiatric symptoms or as behavioral problems of Alzheimer’s disease. Clarity regarding the definition of psychosis and the categorization of symptoms such as misidentifications will be necessary to produce data that can be better compared across studies. Overall, the present review reflects improvements in sampling, study design, diagnosis, and assessment, compared to reviews conducted before the early 1990s. Subject samples were larger, providing a more accurate picture of the nature and frequency of psychosis. More studies were prospective in nature and thus used methods designed to answer a directed research question. Longitudinal data were more readily available, providing information on incidence that had not previously been reported and other insights into how psychotic symptoms affect the course of Alzheimer’s disease over time. More reliable assessment tools have also come into use over the past decade with the advent of measurements such as the Neuropsychiatric Inventory and Behaviorial Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale and the use of structured clinical interviews, as opposed to the previously employed methods of chart review and behavioral observation. However, future studies should continue to address the remaining shortcomings of the past 15 years. Research should use longitudinal designs to advance our understanding of the incidence and persistence of psychosis. Future studies should also develop or utilize appropriate diagnostic criteria and rating scales for psychosis in the Alzheimer’s disease population. By taking into account medication use (such as antipsychotics and anticholinergics) among subjects included in these studies, we may also learn about the relative benefits of various pharmacological agents in treating psychosis as well as the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses. Research since the early 1990s shows that psychotic symptoms affect a sizable proportion of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The incidence of psychosis in any sample of patients typically continues to climb during the first 3 years of observation and may persist for several months, pointing to the necessity for early detection and treatment. With recognition of how prominent and devastating psychotic symptoms may be, it becomes increasingly clear that research should continue to focus on the epidemiology of and risk factors for psychosis of Alzheimer’s disease. As Alzheimer’s disease affects a growing number of individuals over time, so too will psychosis as a syndrome. Systematic delineation of the epidemiology of and risk factors for psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease may clarify the biological underpinnings of these symptoms and direct indications for early interventions, facilitate patient management, reduce caregiver burden, improve patients’ quality of life, and open the door to discovering the nature of psychosis in other diseases. Received Nov. 29, 2004; revision received Feb. 1, 2005; accepted Feb. 22, 2005. From the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego; and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego. Address correspondence to Dr. Jeste, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 9500 Gilman Dr., Mail Code 0603V, La Jolla, CA 92093-0603; email@example.com (e-mail). Supported in part by NIMH grants MH-66248 and MH-59101 and by the Department of Veterans Affairs.	<urn:uuid:d379e510-e868-47cc-9fd2-bcbb2f85d965>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=177857	2013-05-19T02:39:41Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.954516	6,593
Evaluating the Use of Instructional Video Podcasts for Middle School Mathematics Students Save to My Collections Kay, R. & Edwards, J. (2010). Evaluating the Use of Instructional Video Podcasts for Middle School Mathematics Students. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2010 (pp. 3626-3629). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/35163. The use of instructional video podcasts (IVPs) in education appears to have increased rapidly with the advent of video-based websites like Kahn Academy© and TeacherTube©. Research on the impact of IVPs on student learning is limited. The purpose of the following study explore the impact of IVPs on 172 middle school mathematics students. Students rated the podcasts positively in terms quality of explanation, supporting diagrams and graphics, and impact on learning. Students also noted that they liked video podcast better than using textbooks. Student performance based on pre-and post-test increased significantly with a mean improvement of 64%. Significant gains were also observed for students with special needs. - Podcasting and Video Podcasting: How it Works and How it’s Used for Instruction - Vodcasts: Are they an effective tool to enhance student learning? A Case Study from McMaster University, Hamilton Canada. - Podcasts in Higher Education: What Students Want, What They Really Need, and How This Might be Supported - Teacher Video Production: Techniques for Educational YouTube Movies - Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Podcasting in Teaching and Learning - Screencast and Vodcast: An Experience in Secondary Education - YouTube Annotations: Reflecting Interactive, Web based Hypervideos in Teacher Education - Integrating Multimedia in Elementary Mathematics to Improve Mathematical Learning - How Multimedia Research Can Optimize the Design of Instructional Vodcasts - TeleVisions and teleReality - How to understand and use Internet video in education Comments & Discussion Comment on the paper above. You must be registered to participate. Registration is free.	<urn:uuid:636a4e27-383f-4e10-b7ad-6c26bcb96874>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.editlib.org/p/35163	2013-05-21T10:35:39Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.866789	427
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word The money had fallen out of a hole in my pocket. a trouser/shirt/coat pocket a top pocket (=on the front of a jacket) a back pocket (=of a pair of trousers) He slipped his wallet into an inside pocket (=of his jacket). She had put her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. The police officer asked us to empty our pockets. Our boss expects us to pay for the trip out of our own pockets. It's a company with very deep pockets. We have prices to suit every pocket. This is the British English definition of pocket. View American English definition of pocket. a part of an atom that moves around the nucleus (=centre) and has a negative electrical charge	<urn:uuid:ae8ba037-56e1-4c19-97e0-5541b2e20733>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/pocket	2013-05-22T01:17:55Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700984410/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104304-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.940553	172
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) Test Overview Back to top The human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test is done to check for the hormone hCG in blood or urine. Some hCG tests measure the exact amount and some just check to see if the hormone is present. HCG is made by the placenta during pregnancy. The hCG test can be used to see if a woman is pregnant or as part of a screening test for birth defects. HCG may also be made abnormally by certain tumors, especially those that come from an egg or sperm (germ cell tumors). HCG levels are often tested in a woman who may have abnormal tissue growing in her uterus, a molar pregnancy, or a cancer in the uterus (choriocarcinoma) rather than a normal pregnancy. Several hCG tests may be done after a miscarriage to be sure a molar pregnancy is not present. In a man, hCG levels may be measured to help see whether he has cancer of the testicles. HCG in pregnancy An egg is normally fertilized by a sperm cell in a fallopian tube. Within 9 days after fertilization, the fertilized egg moves down the fallopian tube into the uterus and attaches (implants) to the uterine wall. Once the fertilized egg implants, the developing placenta begins releasing hCG into your blood. Some hCG also gets passed in your urine. HCG can be found in the blood before the first missed menstrual period, as early as 6 days after implantation. HCG helps to maintain your pregnancy and affects the development of your baby (fetus). Levels of hCG increase steadily in the first 14 to 16 weeks following your last menstrual period (LMP), peak around the 14th week following your LMP, and then decrease gradually. The amount that hCG increases early in pregnancy can give information about your pregnancy and the health of your baby. Soon after delivery, hCG can no longer be found in your blood. More hCG is released in a multiple pregnancy, such as twins or triplets, than in a single pregnancy. Less hCG is released if the fertilized egg implants in a place other than the uterus, such as in a fallopian tube. This is called an ectopic pregnancy. HCG blood tests HCG blood tests can be used to see if hCG is present but they can also measure the exact amount of hCG in the blood. A blood test can be used to see if a woman is pregnant, to check for abnormal pregnancies, or to test for hCG related to certain cancers. The level of hCG in the blood is often used as part of a screening for birth defects in a maternal serum triple or quadruple screening test. Generally done between 15 and 20 weeks, these tests check the levels of three or four substances in a pregnant woman's blood. The triple screen checks alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and a type of estrogen (unconjugated estriol, or uE3). The quad screen checks these substances and the level of the hormone inhibin A. The levels of these substances—along with a woman's age and other factors—help the doctor estimate the chance that the baby may have certain problems or birth defects. In some cases a combination of screening tests is done in the first trimester to look for Down syndrome. This screening test uses an ultrasound measurement of the thickness of the skin at the back of the fetus's neck (nuchal translucency), plus a blood test of the levels of the pregnancy hormone hCG and a protein called pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A). This test is about as accurate as the second-trimester maternal serum quad screening. 1 HCG urine tests HCG urine tests are usually used for routine pregnancy testing. The test does not measure the exact amount of hCG, but it shows if hCG is present. Home pregnancy tests that show hCG in urine are also widely available. Health Tools Back to top Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health. \|Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems.\| \|Pregnancy: Should I Have the Maternal Serum Triple or Quadruple Test?\| Why It Is Done Back to top A test for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is done to: - See whether you are pregnant. - Find an ectopic pregnancy. - Find and check the treatment of a molar pregnancy. - See whether there is an increased chance of birth defects such as Down syndrome. The test is used in combination with other screening tests. - Find and check the treatment of a cancer that develops from an egg or sperm (germ cell cancer), such as cancer of the ovaries or testicles. In such cases, a test for alpha-fetoprotein may be done along with a test for hCG. How To Prepare Back to top If a blood sample is collected, you do not need to do anything before you have this test. If a urine test is done, the first urine of the day is generally the best to use because it has the highest level of hCG. A urine sample collected at least 4 hours after the last urination will also have high amounts of hCG. How It Is Done Back to top Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) may be measured in a sample of blood or urine. Blood sample collection The health professional drawing blood will: - Wrap an elastic band around your upper arm to stop the flow of blood. This makes the veins below the band larger so it is easier to put a needle into the vein. - Clean the needle site with alcohol. - Put the needle into the vein. If the needle is not placed correctly or if the vein collapses, more than one needle stick may be needed. - Attach a tube to the needle to fill it with blood. - Remove the band from your arm when enough blood is collected. - Put a gauze pad or cotton ball over the needle site as the needle is removed. - Put pressure to the site and then a bandage. If possible, collect a sample from the first urine of the day (this urine generally has the highest level of hCG). A urine sample collected at least 4 hours after the last urination will also have high amounts of hCG. - Place the collection container into the stream of urine, and collect about 4 Tbsp (60 mL) of urine. - Do not touch the rim of the container to your genital area, and do not get toilet paper, pubic hair, stool (feces), blood, or other foreign matter in the urine sample. - Finish urinating into the toilet or urinal. - Carefully replace the lid on the container, and return it to the lab. If you are collecting the urine at home and cannot get it to the lab in an hour, refrigerate it. How It Feels Back to top The blood sample is taken from a vein in your arm. An elastic band is wrapped around your upper arm. It may feel tight. You may feel nothing at all from the needle, or you may feel a quick sting or pinch. You may feel anxious while awaiting results of an hCG test done to check the health of your baby. There is normally no discomfort with collecting a urine sample. Risks Back to top Risks of a blood test There is very little chance of a problem from having a blood sample taken from a vein. - You may get a small bruise at the site. You can lower the chance of bruising by keeping pressure on the site for several minutes. - In rare cases, the vein may become swollen after the blood sample is taken. This problem is called phlebitis. A warm compress can be used several times a day to treat this. - Ongoing bleeding can be a problem for people with bleeding disorders. Aspirin, warfarin (Coumadin), and other blood-thinning medicines can make bleeding more likely. If you have bleeding or clotting problems, or if you take blood-thinning medicine, tell your doctor before your blood sample is taken. There is no chance for problems while collecting a urine sample. Results Back to top The human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test is done to measure the amount of the hormone hCG in blood or urine to see whether a woman is pregnant. HCG may also be measured to see whether cancer of the ovaries or testicles is present. The normal values listed here—called a reference range—are just a guide. These ranges vary from lab to lab, and your lab may have a different range for what's normal. Your lab report should contain the range your lab uses. Also, your doctor will evaluate your results based on your health and other factors. This means that a value that falls outside the normal values listed here may still be normal for you or your lab. \|Men and nonpregnant women:\|\| Less than 5 international units per liter (IU/L) Pregnant women, 1 week of gestation (about 3 weeks after the last menstrual period): Pregnant women, 2 weeks of gestation (about 4 weeks after the LMP): Pregnant women, 3 weeks of gestation (about 5 weeks after the LMP): Pregnant women, 4 weeks of gestation (about 6 weeks after the LMP): Pregnant women, 6–8 weeks of gestation (about 8–10 weeks after the LMP): Pregnant women, 12 weeks of gestation (about 14 weeks after the LMP): Pregnant women, 13–16 weeks of gestation (about 15–18 weeks after the LMP): Up to 200,000 IU/L None (negative test) None (negative test) Detectable (positive test) - If you are pregnant, very high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) can mean a multiple pregnancy (such as twins or triplets), a molar pregnancy, Down syndrome, or that you are further along in an early pregnancy than estimated by your last menstrual period (LMP). - In a man or a nonpregnant woman, a high hCG level can mean a tumor (cancerous or noncancerous) that develops from a sperm or egg cell (germ cell tumor), such as a tumor of the testicles or ovaries, is present. It may also mean some types of cancer, such as cancer of the stomach, pancreas, large intestine, liver, or lung. - If you are pregnant, low levels of hCG can mean an ectopic pregnancy, death of your baby, or that you are not as far along in an early pregnancy as estimated by your last menstrual period (LMP). - If you are pregnant, levels of hCG that are decreasing abnormally can mean a miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) is very likely. What Affects the Test Back to top Things that may affect the results of your test include: - Doing a urine test for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) very early in pregnancy (during the first week after implantation) or on a urine sample taken in the middle of the day. The test may not always show an early pregnancy. - Miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) or therapeutic abortion. HCG results may remain high (positive) for up to 4 weeks after a miscarriage or therapeutic abortion. - Getting an injection of hCG to treat infertility. This may cause test results to appear high for several days after the injection. - Having blood in the urine sample or soap in the collecting container, which may change the hCG level. - Using diuretics and promethazine. These medicines can cause false low hCG levels in urine test results. - Using heparin, a medicine to prevent blood from clotting (anticoagulant). - Using some medicines. These include hypnotics (such as Ambien), antipsychotics, and antinausea medicines (such as prochlorperazine and promethazine ). Be sure to tell your doctor what medicines you take. What To Think About Back to top - Home pregnancy tests that find hCG in urine are widely available. To learn more, see the topic Home Pregnancy Tests. - A blood test for hCG is generally more accurate than a urine test. If pregnancy is suspected even after urine test results do not show a pregnancy (negative results), a blood test can be done, or another urine test should be repeated in a week. - HCG results may remain high (positive) for up to 4 weeks after a miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) or therapeutic abortion. - A normal hCG value does not rule out the possibility of a tumor in the uterus, ovaries, or testicles. HCG is only one part of an overall evaluation when a tumor is suspected. - The level of hCG in the blood is often used in a maternal serum triple or quadruple screening test. To learn more, see the topic Triple or Quad Screening for Birth Defects. References Back to top - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2007, reaffirmed 2008). Screening for fetal chromosomal abnormalities. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 77. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 109(1): 217–227. - Fischbach FT, Dunning MB III, eds. (2009). Manual of Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests, 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Other Works Consulted - Pagana KD, Pagana TJ (2010). Mosby’s Manual of Diagnostic and Laboratory Tests, 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby Elsevier. - Wapner RJ, et al. (2009). Prenatal diagnosis of congenital disorders. In RK Creasy et al., eds., Creasy and Resnik's Maternal-Fetal Medicine: Principles and Practice, 6th ed., pp. 221–274. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier. Credits Back to top \|Primary Medical Reviewer\|\|Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine\| \|Specialist Medical Reviewer\|\|Siobhan M. Dolan, MD, MPH - Reproductive Genetics\| \|Last Revised\|\|April 4, 2012\| Last Revised: April 4, 2012 To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2013 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.	<urn:uuid:161bd2db-0cc7-406b-9c76-46e1716aa898>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.uwhealth.org/health/topic/medicaltest/human-chorionic-gonadotropin-or-hcg/hw42062.html	2013-05-23T19:06:57Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.880735	3,106
William H. Crawford was one of four candidates for President in 1824. Credit: Courtesy of American Memory at the Library of Congress. The presidential election of 1824 represents a watershed in American politics. The collapse of the Federalist Party and the illness of the "official candidate" of the Democratic-Republicans led to a slate of candidates who were all Democratic-Republicans. This led to the end of the Congressional Caucus system for nominating candidates, and eventually, the development of a new two-party system in the United States. In the election, Andrew Jackson won a plurality of both the popular and electoral vote. But John Quincy Adams became president. Four crucial elements of our election system were highlighted in the election of 1824: the nomination of candidates, the popular election of electors, the Electoral College, and the election of the president in the House when no candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College. According to James F. Hopkins (Hopkins, James F., "Election of 1824," History of American Presidential Elections, Volume 1. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Ed. 5 vols. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971, 349-350.): …After the War of 1812… the Federalist party was no longer an effective force in national politics, and all who wanted to succeed James Monroe in March, 1825, claimed to be Republicans. The issues between the old parties had disappeared or had diminished in importance, while new issues had not yet proven divisive enough to bring about the formation, on a national scale, of clearly defined, opposing political groups. Political competition now took place within the surviving national party. Factions clustered around individual leaders and tended to be sectional in nature although they were based to some extent on national questions like slavery, tariff, internal improvements, banking, and public land policy… Candidates might disagree with one another on specific issues, yet not one could claim that his stand on any matter of national importance was exclusively his. Each man represented what he thought to be the paramount interests of his own section of the country but if he expected to win a national election he had to cultivate support in areas outside his own. In the absence of an opposition party the Republicans felt no need to publish a platform. Each candidate stood on his record, without presenting the voters with a statement on the questions of the day or outlining a program for the future. John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay did develop some programs but not even Clay's "American System," conceived to serve the interests of both his section and the nation as a whole, constituted a formal platform in the modern sense. Furthermore, the views of other contenders coincided with some aspects of Clay's and Calhoun's policies. As they learn about the candidates, students can use the chart "Campaign of 1824: Candidates and Issues," (Page 4 of the Master PDF), or the Interactive version for recording candidate positions on slavery, tariff, internal improvements ("American System" for Henry Clay), banking, and public land policy. Help students as needed in understanding these issues. Two additional columns on the chart allow for collection of information on each candidate's political or other leadership experience and personal data relevant to the campaign. In 1824 there were still no national party conventions as we know them today; they began in 1832. Candidates were generally nominated by state legislatures, party leaders, or by gatherings of party members in Congress, known as a "caucus." Share with the class the sections "The Congressional Nominating Caucus" and "Decline of the Nominating Caucus" from the article Caucus on Grolier's The American Presidency, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website Internet Public Library. William Crawford was the candidate nominated by the Democratic-Republican caucus in 1824. His nomination by caucus was a campaign issue, as was his health. If desired, students can view and/or read the 1824 Anti-Caucus/Caucus Broadside, on the EDSITEment resource American Memory, in which appear, side-by-side, one declaration—signed by 22 legislators—claiming a majority of Republican congressmen were anti-caucus, and another announcing the time and place for the caucus. Editorial comments from the Washington Republican "congratulate the people of the United States on the different aspects presented by the two statements." Briefly introduce the five candidates for president in 1824. Share with students the following brief biographies from Grolier's The American Presidency, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website Internet Public Library. If desired, students can use the chart "Campaign of 1824: Candidates and Issues" to compile information concentrating on the candidates' stands on the issues. Because of the de-emphasis on issues in the campaign, students should expect that some sections of the chart will remain blank. However, within this lesson's secondary material (the biographies) and primary sources, all of these issues are mentioned. Crawford, William Harris 1772-1834, American statesman, b. Amherst Co., Va. (his birthplace is now in Nelson Co.). He moved with his parents to South Carolina and later to Georgia. After studying law he practiced at Lexington, Va., and served (1803-7) in the state legislature. In the stormy state political battles of the time, he was the leader of the upcountry forces and allied with the followers of James Jackson and later George M. Troup, leaders of the tidewater region. In a duel Crawford killed a partisan of John Clark, head of the opposite faction, and in another duel was wounded by Clark. In the U.S. Senate (1807-13), Crawford staunchly advocated rechartering the Bank of the United States. From 1813 to 1815 he was minister to France. He was then appointed Secretary of War by President Madison, but in 1816 he was made Secretary of the Treasury, a post he held through both of Monroe's administrations. He had strong support for the presidency in 1816 but disavowed his candidacy. In the presidential election of 1824, Crawford, a leading candidate, finished third in the voting. Since no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes, the election went to the House of Representatives, and John Quincy Adams was finally chosen. Crawford later served as a judge in Georgia. Now divide the class into three to six small groups. Students will review archival campaign documents from the top three vote-getters. What were supporters saying in the candidate's favor? What criticisms were opponents offering? What was the tone of the discourse in each? Before students begin working, spend some time discussing the strengths and shortcomings of using primary sources. The use of first-hand sources raises many questions. For example, how do we know that these documents offer a representative sample? Or, how confident can we be in generalizing and/or drawing conclusions from a few isolated documents? If desired, use the lesson Analysis of Primary Sources on The Library of Congress website, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory, as a guide to discussion. It covers the following: Help students understand, as well, how documents against a candidate can reflect issues and positions even when they are unreliable. If desired, students can use excerpted, annotated versions of the documents listed below, which are available on the handout "Excerpted and Annotated Campaign Documents" (see Preparing to Teach This Curriculum Unit for download instructions). To access the complete documents click on the links provided below. Unless otherwise specified, documents are from the EDSITEment resource American Memory. Some material from 1825 has been included to show how quickly the campaign for 1828 got underway, and because the key issues were similar. As groups report their findings to the class, have students fill in the chart "Analysis of 1824 Presidential Campaign Materials" (see Page 4 of the Master PDF). Students should be able to discuss the following: Have students read a modern account of the 1824 election, such as The Campaign and Election of 1824 on the EDSITEment-reviewed website The American President. What particulars in the account did the campaign materials support? Were there any additional issues that did not appear in the campaign material the class reviewed? Following the discussion outlined in the assessment section, ask students to write a short essay discussing the respective advantages of primary and secondary sources in the study of history. To support their ideas, they should make specific references to the materials presented in this lesson. 1-2 class periods	<urn:uuid:fd1fefff-7649-4341-91e9-546fc108160f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/election-house-1824-candidates-and-issues	2013-05-22T00:15:53Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.961609	1,756
There are different types of insomnia, most of which cause people to lay in bed awake, frustrated that they are unable to fall asleep or stay asleep. As a result, they toss and turn, and irritability increases. Insomnia can take various forms, including early morning arousal (difficulty staying asleep), sleeping latency (difficulty falling asleep), fragmented sleep (waking up multiple times during the night), and sleeping very lightly and waking feeling unrefreshed. Many people with insomnia want to avoid medicine because they are concerned about potential addiction, or feeling spacey or drowsy throughout the day. Finding the Causes of Insomnia Sleep-wake cycles are dictated by internal circadian rhythms. These rhythms are strongly influenced by light entering through the eyes, which signals the brain to regulate production of certain hormones, including one called melatonin. Circumstances that unnaturally diminish the entrance of light into the eyes can disrupt the natural circadian rhythm, the production of necessary hormones, and therefore, an individual's proper sleep-wake cycle. Such circumstances include blindness and failing eyesight due to aging. Traveling to different time zones and jet lag, as well as working the night shift, disturb the natural circadian rhythm as well. Insomnia can also be a sign of an underlying medical condition such as depression, an over-active thyroid, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, dementia, or pain disorders. Several lifestyle factors can contribute to sleep disturbance. Keeping a sleep-wake diary is helpful in identifying and modifying these factors, which include: - Use of stimulants, including caffeine, nicotine, and ingredients in common drugs such as cold and weight-loss medicines. Some people have difficulty falling asleep, others wake during the night. - Use of alcohol. While it may help you fall asleep, alcohol consumption is likely to produce interrupted sleep and is not recommended as an insomnia treatment. - Working night or rotating shifts. - Lack of regular exercise. - Exercising too close to bedtime - Eating too close to bedtime. - Excessive time on the computer or watching television. Treating Insomnia With Lifestyle Changes The most effective and frequently used conventional treatments to establish a restful sleep pattern are behavioral, not medicinal. These include achieving proper sleep hygiene, as well as making other lifestyle alterations. Good sleep hygiene includes: - Going to bed at the same time each night - Reserving your bed for sleep and sex - Watching television or reading in another room - Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes, especially in the afternoon and evening - Not laying in bed watching the clock. If you cannot fall asleep 15-20 minutes, get up and listen to calming music or read - Exercising often, but not too close to bedtime - Limiting naps - Sleeping in a place with very little light and noise distraction If nothing seems to be working for you , there are treatment options available. Consider trying: - Relaxation techniques—A multidisciplinary team, including medical doctors, specializing in sleep disturbances can train and guide people in such approaches as yoga, meditation, deep relaxation, biofeedback, hypnosis, massage, and/or guided imagery. Practicing one of these techniques within 30 minutes of bedtime may be helpful. Simple changes in bedtime routine may also be effective. These include taking a warm bath, listening to soothing music, and drinking warm milk. - Acupuncture—Positive effects of the use of this ancient Chinese practice have been shown; however, more proof is needed before it can be recommended as an effective treatment for insomnia. A typical protocol is to receive acupuncture treatments weekly until a normal sleep pattern is achieved, followed by maintenance sessions. However, a licensed and certified acupuncturist will determine the most appropriate treatment regimen for each individual. - Light therapy—For night-shift workers suffering from insomnia, light therapy may effective. This therapy involves using very bright lights in the work setting and then, when trying to sleep during the day, doing so in a very dark room while wearing sunglasses or a sleep mask. - Cognitive therapy—This behavioral method involves addressing misconceptions and unrealistic expectations about both insomnia and the nature of sleep. Some issues addressed during cognitive therapy include napping to compensate for poor sleep at night, anxiety about bedtime, fear of sleeplessness, beliefs about necessary hours of sleep, and attributing insomnia to age, ability to sleep, and/ or possible chemical imbalance. Treating Insomnia with Prescription Sleep Medications Long-term use of sleeping pills is not recommended, as addiction is possible, and more research needs to be done on safety and effectiveness. For temporary relief of insomnia, the following medicines may be prescribed: - Short-acting sedative-hypnotics known as non-benzodiazepines. Zolpidem (Ambien), Zaleplon (Sonata), and Eszopiclone (Lunesta) fall into this category. - Melatonin receptor agonists. - Benzodiazepines (tranquilizers). The National Sleep Foundation recommends that people taking sleep medicine begin with the lowest possible dose that is effective, use the drugs on a short-term basis, and take the drugs intermittently if they are using them on a long-term basis. Treating Insomnia With Herbs and Supplements While some cultures have a long history of using supplements and herbal remedies for the treatment of insomnia, such practices have only gained popularity over the last few decades in the United States and other Western nations. Check with your doctor before trying herbs or supplements to make sure they are safe. Some have serious side effects and others may mix poorly with medication you are already taking. Although herbal remedies may be helpful for some people, most scientific studies have been unable to prove them effective in treating insomnia. Some that may hold promise are: Treating Insomnia with Melatonin This neurotransmitter is secreted by the pineal gland and it regulates the sleep cycle. Melatonin is secreted at night, and the secretion is suppressed by bright light during the day. When melatonin secretion is not synchronized with the light-dark cycle, sleep disturbances occur. Frequently touted as a valuable supplement for insomnia, melatonin has shown only mixed results for insomnia in studies. Melatonin may be useful for temporary sleep disturbances from a change in schedule (daytime work to nighttime) or sudden disruption of the circadian rhythm as with jet lag. Speak with your doctor if you would like to try it, particularly because there are certain circumstances in which it should not be used until more information is available: pregnancy, breast-feeding, autoimmune disorders, leukemia, and lymphoma. Substances to Avoid In addition to caffeine, excessive alcohol, and particular medicines, certain herbs sold over the counter can induce wakefulness. These include ginseng, ephedra, yohimbe, and cola nut. The hormonal supplement DHEA may also contribute to insomnia. Putting Insomnia to Rest Insomnia is a common problem that results not only in personal frustration and discomfort, but also is associated with decreased work performance, lost productivity, accidents, and hospitalization. Treatment for insomnia must be specific to the individual to achieve optimal results. Prescription medicines (sleeping pills) may be used to achieve short-term results. However, nonprescription treatments are commonly recommended and inexpensive, and also are effective. Talk with your doctor about several strategies that may be combined to help you find relief from problems with sleeping, and to assist you in getting a restful, complete night’s sleep. - Reviewer: Brian Randall, MD - Review Date: 02/2013 - - Update Date: 02/07/2013 -	<urn:uuid:d3284fb7-d2ee-4d10-b36d-b87f0c7aff05>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://osceolaregional.com/your-health/?/13563/	2013-06-19T12:39:58Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.927237	1,601
The 20th Amendment 1923 - Senator George Norris of Nebraska proposes the 20th Amendment, moving the start date of Congress from March 4th to January 3rd. The Senate passes it 63-6. 1932 - After nine years of delays, the House also passes Norris' amendment, 336-56. 1933 - The 20th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified. 19 - Number of lame duck sessions of Congress since the ratification of the 20th Amendment. Prior to the ratification of the 20th Amendment, every second session of Congress from the first to the 73rd was technically a lame duck session. 10 - Number of these sessions from 1940 to 1992. 9 - Number of these sessions from 1994 to 2012. There was no lame duck session in 1996. 1 day - The shortest lame duck session, which took place on December 31, 1948. 58 days - The longest lame duck session, which took place in the Senate from November 7, 1940 to January 3, 1941. Noteworthy lame duck sessions	<urn:uuid:d763661c-40f5-4f07-9068-e45b23f5549f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.wptz.com/news/politics/By-the-numbers-Lame-duck-Congress/-/8869804/17599080/-/item/1/-/12c9tl6/-/index.html	2013-05-24T23:28:29Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705284037/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115444-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.964787	211
Task uvsector will flag a sector of visibility data with a given u-v position angle (or hour angle). While you can give the position angle of the sector to be flagged directly (via the angle parameter), it is more convenient to indicate the position angle indirectly via the stripe direction in an image. How do you specify a stripe direction? You do this by specifying a long, thin region in a image. Normally you will generate the region by using cgcurs (see Section 17.3 for more information on cgcurs). With cgcurs, you display a greyscale of the image, and then use a cursor to selection a long, thin, region containing the crest of a single stripe. The selected region is then written into a text file, cgcurs.region. While this may be a rather odd way to define a direction, it allows uvsector to use the interactive facilities of cgcurs. Typical inputs to use cgcurs are \|in=vela.icln\|\|Input image (probably CLEANed).\| \|range=\|\|Set the range to highlight the stripes.\| \|device=/xs\|\|PGPLOT device - Xwindows here.\| \|options=region\|\|Define a region of interest.\| The width of the sector that uvsector flags is given as an angle (in degrees) via the width parameter. Remember that 1 degree is equivalent to 4 minutes of observing time, so do not set it to any value larger than you need. Normally you would set this to a few degrees, based on your confidence in the accuracy of the stripe direction. The default is 5 degrees. As uvsector flags a sector, if your input visibility data-set contains multiple configurations, data within that sector for all configurations will be flagged by default. Generally this is not what you are likely to want. If you know which configuration contains the bad data, you can use the select keyword to ensure just that configuration is affected. Selecting by time is probably the easiest. The breadth of a stripe also contains useful information - a glitch in just the short baselines will cause a broad stripe, whereas a glitch in just the long baselines will cause a narrow stripe separation. A glitch in just one baseline will give a two dimensional sinusoid. Given the separation between stripes, you could make an approximate calculation of the corresponding u-v radius of the bad data. For a stripe separation (crest to crest) of x arcseconds, the corresponding u-v radius is \|vis=vela.uv\|\|Visibility data to be flagged.\| \|angle\|\|Leave unset if defining position\| \|angle by a stripe direction.\| \|in=vela.icln\|\|The image containing stripes,\| \|used only for its coordinate information.\| \|email@example.com\|\|A long, thin, region along the crest\| \|of a stripe.\| \|width=3\|\|Flag data over 3 degrees (12 minutes of time)\| \|select\|\|Leave unset to flag all data in the sector,\| \|select=uvrange(8,12)\|\|Flag data within the sector and between 8 to 12\|	<urn:uuid:9de28eaa-91a1-4716-9678-559dd0ecbf56>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.atnf.csiro.au/computing/software/miriad/userguide/node70.html	2013-05-22T21:44:52Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.757108	677
Diffuse versus Focal Injuries: “Contact phenomenon”, typically result in what is called a “focal” brain injury as opposed to a “diffuse” brain injury. The term “diffuse” is used to describe the situation where the pathology is spread throughout the brain. Focal Brain Injuries: Focal injuries are typically large enough that they can be identified “macroscopically” (meaning without the use of a microscope) and diffuse injuries are typically microscopic. Impact Phenomenon can result in the following focal injuries: - Contusions on the surface of the brain; - Hematoma, (a localized area of blood as a result of vessel leakage or bleeding); - Epidural (above the dura – a collection of blood between the dura and the skull); - Subdural (below the dura – a collection of blood between the dura and the brain); - Intracerebral (a collection of blood within the brain.) - The dura is the protective sheath around the brain, between the brain and the skull - or intracerebral. - Edema; Excessive water accumulation resulting in swelling.	<urn:uuid:fb287d5e-75b9-4119-b564-494fceedd16e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://tbilaw.com/blog/focal-brain-injuries/	2013-05-23T11:41:25Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.898056	260
Which came first? Test your invention smarts!The school bell rings and you take your seat in the comfy recliner in the family room. You hold your portable keyboard on top of your lap. You put on your headset and listen to your robot virtual teacher robot. You chat with your classmates who are actually sitting in their homes, just like you! At the touch of a button, you have a hologram right in your living room with an interactive exercise you have to complete. Time for a break! You take a bite of the turkey sandwich your personal robot assistant has prepared, just for you. Then it's back to the grind! While this may sound futuristic, this scenario is inches away from reality. Your grandparents only knew one basic tennis shoe. Technology changes everything In the past few decades, advances in technology have changed our daily lives. Technology influences how we communicate, how we work, and how we live. It's also created many new jobs and a need for more employees with technical skills. To put this in perspective, when they were your age: Your parents didn't dream of spending an evening playing games online with their friends. Computer games didn't exist. The World Wide Web wasn't introduced until 1991! Your great-grandparents never watched sporting televisions on TV because television was unknown. Computers, computer games, fancy athletic shoes, TV—things that are so routine in your lifetime—have all been created over the past three generations! It's anyone's guess, but the one certainty is that the need for technical workers will increase...	<urn:uuid:739b8c86-0762-451a-82f5-2a79d1c2e971>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://googolplex.cuna.org/12863/ajsmall/article.php?doc_id=1969	2013-05-25T19:56:56Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.963073	328
In 2010, nearly 50 million Americans did not have health insurance. More than 7 million of the uninsured were children. Insurance helps people pay for doctor visits, prescription drugs, hospital stays and other care. Some people get health insurance at a reduced rate through their employers. Others have to buy it, often at a high rate. The cost of health insurance continues to rise, and many people just can’t afford it. President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law March 23, 2010. It states that all Americans must have health insurance or else pay a penalty beginning in 2014. Supporters say the law will help make health insurance affordable for everyone. Critics say the law will cost insurance companies money and will raise health care costs. The issue of the high cost of health care and health insurance is expected be a highly debated topic this election season. Here’s where the presidential candidates stand on health care: * Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act makes health coverage available for everyone and works to protect consumers from insurance abuse. He believes that Americans should be allowed to make health insurance choices that work for them. Obama believes the act provides new ways to bring down costs and improve quality of care. Here are a few of the act’s provisions: -Give people with Medicare access to free preventive services to detect medical conditions early. -Allow young adults under age 26 to stay on a parent’s health insurance plan. -Stop health insurers from denying coverage to children under age 19 because of preexisting conditions, such as asthma and diabetes. * Mitt Romney believes that the federal government should not require citizens to have health insurance. He says he will repeal the Affordable Care Act. Here are some of his ideas: -Issue health care law waivers to all 50 states. -Replace the Affordable Care law with policies that give each state power to create its own health care reform plan. -Give consumers more choice in health insurance by allowing them to purchase insurance from a different state. -Expand benefits of individual medical savings accounts. * The candidates’ positions are culled from their websites and other primary sources.	<urn:uuid:4128988e-1c5e-4743-b94a-25d653942218>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.timeforkids.com/news/election-2012-health-care/44481	2013-05-22T00:36:35Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.959962	440
The "rustical alliance" in Silesia was credited with being the most important association of the rural population in the German revolution of 1848/49. A major share of the farmers and, in part, also of agricultural workers was covered by the numerous district and local unions set up within the setting of the Prussian province of Silesia. In October 1848, two months after its foundation, there were about 200,000 members registered in the alliance. This "rustical alliance" represented the interests of the peasantry vis-à-vis the landowners. It operated under the influence of the democratic party and shored up its political aspirations. The "rustical alliance was established in Mürschelwitz on August 27, 1848 (it is situated along the road from Breslau to Schweidnitz). The inaugural meeting attended by 400 persons from 18 Silesian districts, was chaired by the Schweidnitz democrat J.M. Petery. The most important demands put forward by the meeting were the rescission of the feudal loads without compensation, the immediate legal fixation of this demand and the refusal of all related services together with, ultimately, the elimination of the tax privileges for the landowners. At a congress on September 22 and 23 in Breslau, with almost all districts of the province being represented, the Silesian "Central Rustical Alliance" was formally constituted with the adoption of the statute and the election of a central committee. As chairman of the central committee was elected L. Schlinke, a former lieutenant of the territorial army and owner of a farmstead who had emerged from the democratic movement in Breslau; J.M. Petery was elected as his deputy. The congress demanded that the Berlin constituent assembly should decide that feudal services of any kind were no longer allowed to be collected. In the event of a rejection of this demand the congress announced the refusal to pay any taxes to the state. During the November crisis the "rustical alliance" supported the Prussian parliament in its resistance to the preparation for and carrying-out of the counter-revolution in Prussia by its participation in the tax refusal campaign and the call for the arming of the people. As the successor of L. Schlinke, who was forced to leave Prussia due to the threat of imprisonment, the congress of deputies convened in Breslau on December 20 and 21, 1848 elected the farmer Beck, the owner of a farmstead in Ernsdorf near Reichenbach. Compared with the isolated efforts to confine the activities of the alliance to the purely material interests of the peasantry, the alliance held on to the political orientation in the sense of a democratic movement. During the elections to the first and second chamber in February 1849 the "rustical alliance" supported the democratic candidates. The paper Schlesische Dorfzeitung published by the alliance since February 1849 re-printed the series of articles "The Silesian Billion" from the Neue Rheinische Zeitung written by Wilhelm Wolff in March and April, which criticized the enforcement of the Prussian agrarian reforms from a revolutionary and democratic perspective. In conformity with Wolff's articles the congress of deputies, on March 28, 1849, called for the revision of the entire redemption processes carried out under the old redemption laws. The last known provincial congress of the `alliance' was held in Neumarkt on June 2, 1849. Several district and local alliances continued to operate for some time. and, like the alliance in the county Glatz, played an important role in organizing the peasantry in the defensive battles against the farm owners once more insisting on the fulfillment of their demands. Bleiber, Helmut. "Rustikalverein in Schlesien 1848-1849." in Lexikon zur Parteiengeschichte. Die bürgerlichen und kleinbürgerlichen Parteien und Verbände in Deutschland (1789-1945). vol. 4, Leipzig 1986. Michalkiewicz, Stanisaw. "Pierwsza organizacja chopska na Slasku (1848 rok)" in Sobotka, 21 (1966). Schmidt, Walter. "Die schlesischen Rustikalvereine als Ausdruck revolutionär-demokratischer bäuerlicher Organisationsbestrebungen in der Revolution von 1848/49. in: Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Friedrich Schiller-Universität Jena, 14 (1965) vol II. jgc revised this file (http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~chastain/rz/silesia.htm) on October 25, 2004. Please E-mail comments or suggestions to email@example.com © 1997, 2004 James Chastain.	<urn:uuid:501a93a5-93a2-451e-82a1-5fb63e7570fc>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/rz/silecia.htm	2013-05-18T06:22:32Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.926683	1,026
For courses in K-12 Curriculum Development. Exceptional in relating curriculum to teaching strategies and methods, this text includes the latest in curriculum development, practice, theory, and instructional strategies based on research in how people learn. This book is designed to engage readers in understanding curriculum, reflecting upon it and carrying out their own role in curriculum making. Constructivist pedagogy is a central element throughout the text. I. THE CONTEXTS OF CURRICULUM MAKING. 1. Who Makes Curriculum? Roles and Levels of Decision Making. 2. Curriculum in the Context of School Reform. II. GIVING VOICE TO STUDENTS. 3. Constructivist and Activity Curricula. 4. Personal Development in the Academic Context. III. LABYRINTH OF CURRICULUM RELEVANCE. 5. Responding to Social Change. 6. Fomenting Social Change. IV. STORIES OF SCHOOL SUBJECTS. 7. The Humanities and Social Sciences. 8. Mathematics and Science in the School Curriculum. V. CREATING CURRICULUM IN THE CLASSROOM. 9. Curriculum and Planning. 10. Assessment in the Context of Constructivism. VI. CURRICULUM MATERIALS AS OPPORTUNITIES FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT. 11. Selecting Curriculum Materials: Technology and Textbooks. 12. Adapting Curriculum Materials.	<urn:uuid:25ffb6c6-31b3-4f55-a064-41b966e1dd05>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.pearson.com.au/student/university/product-listing-page/product-details-page/?isbn=9780130938046	2013-05-24T15:29:58Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.777806	324
I don't think it's too far from the truth to say that humanity is facing a number of simultaneous environmental crises, any one of which, if not addressed, could lead to dramatic changes to the quality of life for millions of people. One of those crises is energy. We can continue to use coal, gas, and oil for quite some time, but the cost is huge. The price of extraction is going up, the amount to be extracted is going down, and the emitted CO2 is dramatically changing our climate. With all of these downsides, an alternative is called for. One such alternative is the generation of fuels via solar energy, where we either burn hydrogen directly, or reform carbon dioxide and hydrogen into hydrocarbons to form a closed carbon cycle. If sufficient scale could be reached, solar fuels could be used to meet transport energy requirements in the future. But for this to work, we need to make a number of processes more efficient on a per-molecule basis. One of those is more efficient water-splitting. The problem actually lies with the oxygen side of the reaction. When we split water each molecule produces a single, highly reactive oxygen atom. This atom must combine with another oxygen atom to create molecular oxygen. Making that happen efficiently requires a good catalyst, and four charges with rather high energy. Recent work published in Nano Letters shows how this might be achieved. Haven't we being splitting water for ages? For a long time the big problem with water splitting had been that oxygen, even molecular oxygen, is highly reactive, so it tended to oxidize the catalyst, rendering it useless in a short time. A couple of years ago, however, a new class of catalysts based on cobalt were developed. These catalysts appear to be long-lasting and efficient. With this development, some of the focus has turned to the high-energy charges. Typically, the energy possessed by an electron is something close to the amount of energy used to free it up. In this case, where the excitation is due to light, that means that only photons from the ultraviolet part of the spectrum have sufficient energy to partake in the water splitting reaction. Luckily for us, the Earth's atmosphere does a pretty good job of absorbing ultraviolet light, but that means that solar water-splitting seems doomed to low efficiency simply because the number of photons is so small. There is, however, an alternative: surface plasmon resonances. A surface plasmon is generated through electrons moving back and forth in concert with an exciting light field. The point is that the energy stored in a plasmon can be increased simply by turning up the light intensity. The light drives the electrons to move further and faster, just as pushing on a swing drives it to ever larger amplitude swings and faster speeds—more precisely, the speed of the swing is faster when it passes through its rest position. Even though the individual pushes have insufficient energy to generate such a large motion, the swing stores and combines that energy with those from earlier pushes. Surface plasmons being able to store that energy is all well and good, but if you set yourself up to use that energy, then you usually damp out the swinging motion. Think of it like a shock absorber: the spring excites a bouncy motion every time you hit a bump. Given the chance, the spring will keep the car bouncing along, giving you motion sickness and reducing your control of the vehicle. The shock absorber provides resistance to the bouncing, extracting the energy stored in the spring and turning it into heat. That is very useful in the case of a car, but, for surface plasmon resonances, it tells you that if you extract the energy from the electrons efficiently, your plasmon is going to vanish. In other words: no high energy charges will be available for water splitting. A group of researchers from the University of California Santa Barbara have shown how to extract just the right amount of energy from the surface plasmons, so that efficient water splitting can occur. The surface plasmons are excited by light illuminating an array of tiny golden rods—the rods are 90nm in diameter, and around 200nm long. The rods are isolated at the bottom and top by a thin layer of insulating material (titanium oxide). The cobalt-based catalyst was attached to the gold nanorods around their middle. All of this was placed on a transparent electrode, which was connected to a platinum electrode, where hydrogen is evolved. So how does this work? The gold nanorod limits the motion of the plasmon and the plasmon reflects off the end surfaces and meets itself coming the other way. The resulting interference pattern generates a huge electric field near the ends of the nanorod. Physically, the electrons tend to repeatedly pile up at the ends of the nanorods and then spread along the length of the rod. The insulating cap prevents most of the electrons from escaping, unless they have sufficient energy to efficiently tunnel through the insulating barrier. And this is precisely what happens. The electrons tunnel through the oxide layer into the electrode, over to the hydrogen evolving electrode, where they provide the electrons necessary to produce molecular hydrogen. The loss of these electrons creates high-energy holes in the gold nanoparticle—a hole is the absence of an electron that behaves just like a positively charged particle—which get sucked up by the catalyst and given to the surface oxygen. The oxygen then comes off the electrode as a gas. The clever part of this strategy is the tunnel barrier between the plasmon and the electrode. By creating this, the researchers can ensure that only the highest energy electrons have a significant chance of making it to the electrode. This sucks some energy out of the plasmon, but does not damp it out completely, allowing the light to replenish the plasmon's energy. The plasmons themselves are most efficiently excited by light in the visible part of the spectrum, as well as wavelengths a little bit longer than that. This just happens to be where most of the light in the solar spectrum is—measured after passing through the Earth's atmosphere. A single photon cannot generate a single electron with the requisite energy, and the plasmon has some natural damping, so it takes at least two, and more likely three or four photons to generate a single electron, depending on the photon wavelength. Nevertheless, that's still better than having direct excitation by ultraviolet light. Am I going to get a gold solar cell now? The results are an interesting mix of nice and confusing. Most—around 80 percent—of the generated electrons contribute to the water splitting reaction. They show that with ultraviolet light only, the current density drops by a factor of five to ten. They also show that without the cobalt catalyst, the reaction rate is much poorer. This is in spite of the fact that the insulating material is also a catalyst (TiO2): it is ineffective compared to the cobalt catalyst. The general picture is that it is the catalyst and the plasmons that contribute to the increased reaction rate, rather than any particular component. There is, however, a very confusing result. In these experiments, the general procedure is to use a standard lamp—this is a lamp that, to some extent, mimics the solar spectrum. More importantly, it allows different solar devices to be compared, and to switch it on and off periodically. The changes between on and off parts of the cycle, combined with changes between different cycles, allow researchers to understand how the cell is performing. The researchers note that during the on-time, the current jumps to some high level, and then, instead of plateauing, it slowly increases by about a third. There is no explanation of this slower process. To give you an idea of why this is confusing: the electron processes that would allow the plasmon to reach equilibrium occur on the scale of picoseconds. Their interaction with the crystalline gold atomic cores should have stabilized in a few nanoseconds. The water and electrolytes take a bit more time to respond—call that a few seconds. After that, everything should be stable, so what is going on here? The researchers offer no comment at all. You might say that thermal processes mean that you are simply heating the cell up. This may very well be true. But for the visible and near infrared part of the spectrum, the processes described above are the microscopic description of thermal processes. That only leaves direct infrared absorption. It seems to me that they have filtered out the longer infrared contribution from the lamp, so where did the heat come from? This requires more explanation. What next? Get rid of the gold. Gold makes an excellent carrier for surface plasmons, but there isn't a lot of it around. This needs to be replaced with a more common metal, like aluminum or copper. If they can do that without a substantial decrease in current density, then they will have a winner. It would also help if the hydrogen was in a more useful form—hydrogen gas is hard to store efficiently—like a hydrocarbon. That will involve splitting CO2, which is much more difficult. Nano Letters, 2012, DOI: 10.1021/nl302796f	<urn:uuid:0b88b24c-b084-49af-8296-3999b5d50768>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/09/solar-cell-more-efficient-thanks-to-gold-electrode/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+%28Ars+Technica+-+All+content%29	2013-05-21T10:42:19Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699899882/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102459-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.947674	1,902
dandelion [Eng. form of Fr., = lion's tooth], any plant of the genus Taraxacum of the family Asteraceae (aster family), perennial herbs of wide distribution in temperate regions. The dandelion has a rosette of deep-toothed leaves (the name is usually attributed to this) and a bright yellow flower followed in fruit by a round head of white down, an adaptation for wind distribution of the seedlike fruits. The common dandelion ( T. officinale ) is native to Europe but widely naturalized. Although it is considered in the N United States chiefly as a lawn pest because of the easily dispersed seeds and the deep root, it is also cultivated both for medicine and for food. The young leaves resemble chicory and are used for salad greens and as a potherb, especially in Europe. The roots may be roasted and used as a coffee substitute. The flower heads are utilized for dandelion wine and are good forage for bees. In medicine the roots have been dried and used chiefly as a bitter tonic and laxative. The Russian dandelion ( T. kok-saghyz ) has been cultivated for the milky juice typical of the genus, as a source of rubber. Dandelions are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Asterales, family Asteraceae. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on dandelion from Fact Monster: See more Encyclopedia articles on: Plants	<urn:uuid:d95045f7-420e-41e0-8178-1b3542397ff5>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/science/dandelion.html	2013-05-25T20:04:32Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.934237	326
\|Syria Table of Contents During the first decades of the seventh century, Muhammad, a merchant from Mecca, converted many of his fellow Arabs to a new religion, Islam, which was conceived as the continuation and fulfillment of the Judeo-Christian tradition. By 629 the religious fervor and pressures of an expanding population impelled Muslim Arab tribes to invade lands to the north of the Arabian Peninsula. They called these lands bilad al sham, the country or land of Sham--the name Arabs often used to designate Damascus. The word sham derives from the Arabic word for dignity, indicating the high regard most Arabs have had for Damascus. Arabs, including Syrians, have referred to Syria by this name ever since, and call Syrians Shammis. In 635 Damascus surrendered to the great Muslim general, Khalid ibn al Walid. Undermined by Persian incursions, religious schisms, and rebellions in the provinces caused by harsh rule, Byzantium could offer little resistance to Islam. In succeeding centuries, Muslims extended and consolidated their rule in many areas, and by 1200 they controlled lands from the Atlantic to the Bay of Bengal, from central Russia to the Gulf of Aden. Wherever they went, they built mosques, tombs, forts, and beautiful cities. The ruins of such structures are found widely in Greater Syria, a heartland of Islamic and Arab culture. Muhammad made Medina his first capital, and it was here that he died. Leadership of the faithful fell to Abu Bakr (632-634), Muhammad's father-in-law and the first of the four orthodox caliphs, or temporal leaders of the Muslims. Umar followed him (634-644) and organized the government of captured provinces. The third caliph was Uthman (644-656) under whose administration the compilation of the Quran was accomplished. Among the aspirants to the caliphate was Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, whose supporters felt he should be the Prophet's successor. Upon the murder of Uthman, Ali became caliph (656-661). After a civil war with other aspirants to the caliphate, Ali moved his capital to Mesopotamia and was later assassinated at Al Kufah. Ali's early followers established the first of Islam's dissident sects, the Shia (from Shiat Ali, party of Ali). Those who had accepted the before and after Ali successions remained the orthodox of Islam; they are called Sunnis--from the word sunnia meaning orthodox. Source: U.S. Library of Congress	<urn:uuid:393c106d-0a88-4385-90e7-690316b7b00d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://countrystudies.us/syria/4.htm	2013-05-22T00:43:29Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.964188	523
Lichens are now considered to belong to the Mycota (fungi) kingdom and all British species are related to a group of fungi called the Ascomycetes. True Ascomycete fungi include the Morels, False Morels, True Truffels, Disc Fungi and Flask Fungi such as Candle Snuff and Dead Man's Fingers. However they are not usually studied my Mycologists (fungi specialists). Lichen specialists are a different 'species' and are known as Lichenologists. Very few people study both - I am a rare exception to this. Lichens are visible as all times of the year and most are fairly constant in appearance but they can shrivel somewhat or change colour in dry periods. They are mostly studied in the winter months, as there is not much other botanical interest at this time. Within lichen there are two types of organisms living symbiotically. In other words they live together to their mutual benefit. These organisms are a mycobiont and a photobiont. The mycobiont is the dominant fungal partner and it is an Ascomycete fungus (see above). It provides protection to the other partner from extremes of moisture, temperature and light levels and also provides minerals from the substrate. The photobiont partner is either a green alga, a cyanobacteria or, in rare cases, both together. This partner provides sugars to feed the fungal partner by means of the same photosynthetic process familiar in higher plants. Also without the presence of the photobiont the lichen would be just a shapeless mass. The fungal partner (mycobiont) makes up about 90 to 95% of the mass of the lichen and each lichen species contains a different fungal species. This is the reason why different, but closely related lichens, occur on different types of tree bark or rock. However the algal partner or cyanobacteria (photobiont) can occur in several different species of lichen. Each genus of lichens uses a particular genus of alga or cyanobacteria as a photobiont. The microscopic structure of lichens containing algae tends to be something like spaghetti bolognaise or even lasagne - with either algal cells forming discreet thin layers or embedded as clusters of cells embedded amongst the spaghetti like fungal strands (hyphae). If the lichen contains cyanobacteria then these cells are distributed evenly throughout the body of the lichen in a gelatinous matrix. In British lichens the photobiont is usually either of two types of green algae known as Trebouxia or Trentepohlia. However about 20% of British species contain a cyanobacteria, usually something called Nostoc. It is interesting to note that Trentepohlia can live independently when it consists of very many of tiny fluffy orange balls often turning the trunks of trees, such as ash, a bright orange colour. Similarly Nostoc can occur independently as dark green irregular jelly like masses about an inch or so across on bare, usually chalky, ground in wet weather. In contrast the fungal partner of lichens cannot live independently. Lichens reproduce sexually via spore production or in an asexual vegetative way. Lichen produce spores over a long period of time via fruit bodies that are either stalked potedia or disc-like apothecia. However some species rarely produce these bodies and rely on asexual reproduction. Vegetative reproduction usually depends on the production of structures consisting of a matrix of algal cells and fungal hyphae - these being known as either soralia or isidia.	<urn:uuid:f51840f6-8ce5-40ab-a2f6-63d366666f2f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://sotonnhs.org/lichen.asp	2013-05-19T10:59:26Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.935809	763
Zoos evolved at a time when travel for most people was impractical. Nowadays, wildlife watchers can hop on a plane to Africa, Australia, or Costa Rica for photo safaris or even stay at home and catch nature documentaries on television or view live Internet video feeds, which capture animals' natural behavior that is rarely, if ever, seen in zoos. Zoos once boasted attendance of more than 142 million people each year. Now, however, zoos are of declining interest to a public that has become much more knowledgeable about the needs and behavior of wild animals and is more aware of the toll that captivity takes on animals who are meant to roam free. There is no excuse for keeping intelligent, social animals in cages for our fleeting distraction and amusement. Habitat loss and other perils of the wild are not prevented by confining animals in cramped conditions and depriving them of everything that is natural and important to them. Zoos often separate bonded individuals, who are traded and shuttled from place to place to suit breeding programs, leaving their complex and multifaceted social relationships in tatters. Animal welfare typically takes a back seat to the bottom line. Precious financial resources, including taxpayer subsidies, are often squandered on gift shops and amusement rides instead of being spent to upgrade the exhibits. Most zoo exhibits provide animals with little, if any, opportunity to express natural behavior or make choices in their daily lives, and this can lead to boredom and neurosis. With nothing to do, animals in zoos sleep too much, eat too much, and exhibit behavior that is rarely, if ever, seen in the wild. Primates throw feces and engage in "regurgitation and reingestion"—vomiting and then consuming the vomit. Wide-ranging animals such as bears and big cats pace incessantly. Primates and birds mutilate themselves, and chimpanzees and gorillas become overly aggressive. Hooved animals lick and chew on fences and make strange lip, neck, and tongue movements. Giraffes twist their necks, bending their heads back and forth repeatedly. Elephants bob their heads and sway from side to side. Captive animals might show no interest in mating or, alternatively, become obsessed with sex. Marine mammals repeatedly swim in the same repetitious patterns in their tanks. Fish suffer too. A study conducted by the Captive Animals' Protection Society concluded that 90 percent of public aquariums studied had animals that showed stereotypic (neurotic) behaviors, such as interacting with transparent boundaries, repeatedly raising their heads above the surface of the water, spinning around an imaginary object, and frequently turning on one side and rubbing along the floor of the tank. Zoos know that nothing brings paying customers through their gates faster than newborn animals. But breeding programs—which often operate under the guise of species preservation—inevitably result in a surplus of adult animals who are less crowd-pleasing. So zoos routinely trade, lend, sell, barter, and warehouse adult animals they no longer want. Unwanted animals may be sold to dealers, who then sell the animals to dilapidated roadside zoos or traveling circuses. Some animals end up at canned hunt facilities, where they become targets for hunters who are eager to shoot "big game." From 2006 to 2009, Missouri's Dickerson Park Zoo handed over "surplus" giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, wallabies, and exotic antelopes to questionable entities including Buddy Jordan, a notorious animal dealer who is known to have sold animals to hunting ranches, exotic-animal breeders, dealers, and unaccredited zoos. New Jersey's Cape May County Zoo sold two giraffes, Twiggs and Jeffrey, to an animal broker who then sold them to a traveling circus. The exotic-pet trade has become saturated with tigers and other big cats because of the zoo industry's reckless disposal of exotic animals. Other animals are simply sold for slaughter. Each year, when baby animals who are exhibited in the Minnesota Zoo's farm display grow up and lose their appeal, the zoo sends them to livestock auctions, and from there, many are ultimately sent to slaughter. The following spring, more babies are born, only to meet the same sad fate at the end of the season. The chief of veterinary services at the Cleveland Zoo has even called on members of the zoo community to support the use of surplus zoo animals in medical experimentation. Not a single U.S. zoo has a policy of providing lifetime care for the animals who are born at its facilities, and many zoos breed species knowing in advance that the offspring—especially males—will be difficult to place when they mature. By their very nature, zoos leave animals vulnerable to a variety of dangers from which they have no defense or opportunity to escape. Animals in zoos from coast to coast have been poisoned, left to starve, deprived of veterinary care, and burned alive in fires. Many have died after eating coins, plastic bags, and other items thrown into their cages. Animals have been beaten, bludgeoned, and stolen by people who were able to gain access to their exhibits. A bear starved to death at the Toledo Zoo after zoo officials locked her up to hibernate without food or water—not knowing that her species doesn't hibernate. At the Niabi Zoo in Illinois, a 3-month-old lion cub was euthanized after his spinal cord was crushed by a falling exhibit door. Despite knowing that two Asiatic bears had fought dozens of times, the Denver Zoo continued to house them together until one finally killed the other. A kangaroo who was struck by a train running through the exhibit at the Cleveland Zoo was so severely injured that she had to be euthanized; she was at least the fifth animal to be struck by the train. A hyena at the Buffalo Zoo was crushed to death by a boulder in the exhibit. At the Saint Louis Zoo, a polar bear died during exploratory surgery, which revealed that pieces of cloth and a plastic trash bag had obstructed his digestive tract. At the National Zoo, dozens of animals have died in recent years, including two zebras who died of malnutrition, two red pandas who died from eating rat poison that was spread in their enclosure, and an orangutan who was euthanized because zoo officials mistakenly believed that she had cancer. In the event of natural disasters such as floods, wildfires, or hurricanes, animals are often left to fend for themselves. When wildfires broke out near the Los Angeles Zoo, officials admitted that they had no evacuation plan. And during Hurricane Katrina, most of the 6,000 aquatic animals at a New Orleans aquarium perished when the power failed and employees were forced to vacate the premises. The following are a few examples of how captivity adversely affects the well-being of various species commonly found in zoos. In the wild, great apes live in dense tropical forests where these highly social beings are constantly stimulated by their rich and diverse environment. They show love for one another, laugh, play, and grieve. Read More In captivity, however, some become neurotic while others may try to escape. At least 14 zoos have resorted to treating gorillas suffering from captivity-induced madness with medications such as Haldol, Prozac, and Zoloft. In 2004, Jabari, a young gorilla who was as curious and full of life as any human teenager, escaped from his enclosure at the Dallas Zoo, injured four people, and was shot to death by police officers. In 2003 at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo, a gorilla named Little Joe led more than 50 police officers and zoo staff members on a two-hour chase through darkened woods and along a nearby street outside the zoo. Gorillas are normally shy and gentle animals who are capable of selfless acts of compassion. In 1996, Binti Jua, a gorilla in Chicago's Brookfield Zoo, was sitting in an exhibit with her infant on her back when a human child fell into the exhibit's moat. Binti made a beeline for the boy, gently picked him up, and—with her own child still on her back—carried him to a spot at the back of the exhibit where a zookeeper could reach the child through the metal dividing door. Elephants in their natural habitats are on the move for up to 18 hours each day. In a single day, a herd can cover a distance of up to 30 miles. In addition to walking, elephants regularly dig, forage, swim, climb, rub on trees, take mud baths, and experience a variety of terrains and substrates, such as leafy jungle floors, grass, and sand. They live in matriarchal groups and share mothering responsibilities for the herd's babies. Read More In contrast, elephants in zoos are rarely afforded opportunities to meet their physical and psychological needs by experiencing similar activities. Even the largest zoo enclosures are inadequate to provide sustained and varied exercise, so captive elephants typically must endure long hours of standing on hard surfaces, often amid their own waste. These conditions are major contributors to foot infections and arthritis, the leading causes of death and euthanasia among captive elephants. In addition, elephants in zoos are subjected to manipulative breeding techniques, traded between facilities without regard for established relationships, subjected to frigid climates, and often dominated and controlled with bullhooks. Bears are long-lived animals, with life spans ranging from 15 to 30 years. In the wild, they live in diverse habitats, including tundra, alpine meadows, and forests. Their home range can cover thousands of square miles. They are opportunistic feeders who are always investigating and exploring their environment, digging up and raking through vegetation, debarking trees, excavating, lifting and turning over objects, and capturing small animals or insects. Read More In captivity, bears are especially prone to stereotypic behavior associated with poor welfare. PETA has documented cases of neurotic bears at zoos across the country. These frustrated animals spend much of the day pacing, walking in tight circles, swaying or rolling their heads, and demonstrating other signs of psychological distress. Some bear enclosures show not only a path worn by the animals' constant pacing but also the actual paw impressions in the soil where the bears step in the same spot repeatedly. These bears aren't just bored; they are in a profound state of despondency. Scientists at Oxford University have concluded that large, roving predators show stereotypical symptoms of stress when kept in captivity because they are unable to satisfy their instinct to roam. Given that the average tiger enclosure is about 18,000 times smaller than the animals' natural roaming range, it is simply impossible for these animals to express instinctive behavior such as staking out territory in dense forests, choosing mates, running, climbing, and hunting. When animals who have been denied their basic needs see opportunities to escape their dreary lives, they often take them. Read More Just as the San Francisco Zoo was closing for the day on December 25, 2007, a 350-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped and mauled three zoogoers. One person was killed before police shot and killed the tiger. One year earlier, a tiger named Enshala at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo escaped from an unlocked cage and ran loose for 50 minutes before the zoo director killed her with four shots from a 12-gauge shotgun. Captive breeding is irresponsible and makes a bad situation even worse. Every year, accredited sanctuaries have to turn away hundreds of exotic and wild animals made homeless by circuses, roadside zoos, and the pet trade. While a few zoos, such as the Detroit Zoo and Baltimore Zoo, have made the compassionate decision to provide refuge for animals who are truly in need, most zoos reject these animals. The zoo industry must transform itself from a prison to a refuge, where the rights and welfare of individual animals are given the highest priority. Let your local zoo know that the public will support such change by urging it to stop all breeding in order to provide greater space to fewer animals and to make room for wild animals who are confiscated from backyard cages, basements, circuses, and roadside menageries. Zoos will be forced to stop breeding and capturing more animals from the wild if their financial support disappears, so the most important way to help animals who are imprisoned in zoos is simply to boycott zoos and urge everyone you know to do the same. Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights? Read more.	<urn:uuid:c2fa7ae9-72ab-40ce-aac0-6276f09757b7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/zoos.aspx	2013-05-25T20:10:52Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.968426	2,628
The Hawai‘i State Department of Health's Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP) is the official state government program addressing tobacco control in Hawaii. It is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Comprehensive National Tobacco Control Program. This Plan serves as the principal guide in the fight to reduce the health and economic burden of tobacco use in Hawai‘i over the five-year period of 2011-2016. This Plan identifies and defines priority strategies, recommended community activities and targeted outputs, and provides key outcome indicators to measure progress, see HRS §328L-6 (d). Click HERE for the full DOH Tobacco Strategic Plan 2011-2016. (PDF file format, approx. 8 Megabytes) The purpose of the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program is to reduce tobacco consumption through a comprehensive multi-strategy approach that reflects prevention and education approaches, in order to reduce or eliminate the burden of disease and disability caused by its use. (A complete description of the TPEP goals and objectives is available in the Program Narrative). The program's activities are based on four overall goals: Prevent tobacco use initiation among youth Promote quitting among adults and youth Eliminate exposure to environmental tobacco smoke Identify and eliminate disparities among populations Community planning supports the four goals of the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP). These goals can be best achieved by increasing the number of organizations and individuals involved in planning and conducting community-level education and training programs; placing pro-health messages that inform, educate, and support local tobacco control initiatives and policies; promoting the adoption of public and private tobacco control policies; and measuring outcomes through surveillance and evaluation techniques. To achieve the individual behavior change that supports the nonuse of tobacco, communities must change the way tobacco is promoted, sold, and used while changing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of young people, tobacco users, and nonusers. Effective community programs involve people in their homes, work sites, schools, places of worship and entertainment, civic organizations, and other places. Read complete article. Youth Initiation Prevention and Cessation Prevention of the onset of smoking during the school year is a major focus of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPEP). Most people who start smoking are younger than 18, and many begin tobacco use before high school. It is critical to provide tobacco prevention education to students in elementary through high school because impressions about tobacco use are formed and developed during this period. TPEP blends its efforts to prevent youth initiation and promote youth cessation through school- based activities, community-based activities, services for teachers with the Department of Education, and tobacco-free policy promotion in the University of Hawai'i system. Read complete article. Although secondhand smoke (SHS) is classified as a carcinogen that is known to cause cancer, not everyone is fully aware of the risks of exposure. This is particularly worrisome with respect to infants and children, who are at highest risk of SHS exposure in the environment that should be the safest for them – the home. Read complete article. General Cessation and Youth Access Prevention Programs that successfully assist smokers, regardless of age, in quitting can produce a quicker and probably greater short-term public health benefit than any other component of a comprehensive tobacco control program. Smokers who quit smoking before age 50 cut in half their risk of dying in the next 15 years. In addition, implementation of moderately-priced, effective smoking cessation interventions would more than pay for these interventions within 3 to 4 years through cost savings from reduced tobacco use. One smoker successfully quitting reduces the anticipated medical cost associated with acute myocardial infarction and smoke, for example, by an estimated $47 in the first year and $853 over the next seven years. Smoking cessation is more cost-effective than other commonly provided clinical preventive services, including mammography, colon cancer screening, PAP tests, treatment of mild to moderate hypertension, and treatment of high cholesterol. Read complete article. The purpose of the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program is to reduce tobacco consumption through a comprehensive multi-strategy approach that reflects prevention and education strategies. This approach focuses on defining the tobacco use problem, strategic planning, coordination and implementation of tobacco use prevention and control activities among partners, mobilizing communities, programmatic actions addressing legislation policy, media advocacy and counter-marketing, data gathering, surveillance and evaluation. This approach focuses on: eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke; preventing tobacco use initiation and promote quitting among youth; promoting quitting among adults; identifying and eliminating disparities among populations counter pro-tobacco influences. Surveillance & Evaluation The functions and activities of each component of the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP) are supported by data collected and analyzed by the epidemiologist. Established sources of data include several national population-based health surveillance systems which include elements pertaining to tobacco use. Survey tools have also been designed and used by TPEP to collect more detailed or topic-specific data in order to meet program needs with respect to planning and evaluation. Read complete article. Resources & Data The Hawaii Department of Health, Tobacco Prevention and Education Program strives to use data to inform the program planning and evaluation process. Hawaii participates in several national population-based health surveillance systems which collect information on tobacco use. To supplement these, TPEP has participated in and commissioned additional surveys to collect more in-depth information about knowledge, attitudes and media exposure. Periodically, information from these various data sources are pooled to create and update fact sheets, and data monographs which are made available to the public for use and reproduction. In addition, this area covers all the printed materials designed and distributed by the Tobacco program including the Law's Brochure, Cessation materials, secondhand smoke materials among many others. Access detailed listing. 2008 Hawaii Tobacco Control Conference The overall goal of the 2008 Hawaii Tobacco Control Conference “After the Smoke Clears: Facing the Next Challenges in Tobacco Control” was to advance the knowledge of professionals and community members to increase their effectiveness in tobacco control in the context of health, cultural, and economic issues from global, national, and local perspectives. The theme of the 2008 conference focused on the challenges that remain in tobacco control after the smoke clears and our perspectives are sharper. Access link here. Hawaii's Smoke-Free Law On November 16, 2006, Hawai’i celebrated becoming the 14th state to go smoke-free and enact a comprehensive law that protects workers throughout the state from exposure to secondhand smoke. In a June 2006 report, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona issued the federal government's scientific report which concludes that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Act 295 prohibits smoking in enclosed and partially enclosed areas, within 20 feet of doorways and requires signage upon entry to buildings. Read complete article. Tobacco Prevention & Education Program 1250 Punchbowl St. Rm 217 Honolulu, HI 96813 Phone: (808) 586-4613 Fax: (808) 586-8252	<urn:uuid:d392afb0-208a-42cc-9147-7445f26fec62>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://hawaii.gov/health/substance-abuse/health/healthy-lifestyles/tobacco/index.html	2013-06-18T22:44:09Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.925639	1,467
Victoria (1819–1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901. Shortly after her accession to the throne, Sully decided to visit his native England. The Society of the Sons of St. George, a charitable institution in Philadelphia, adopted a resolution to have Sully paint the Queen during this visit. Victoria sat for Sully throughout March, April and May of 1838 and he painted a number of sketches including this one. After his return to this country, he painted a number of pictures based on his sketches. A version for the Society of St. George aroused controversy when the society sought unsuccessfully to have the rights for making copies of the work removed from the artist.	<urn:uuid:26cf4779-2398-4c9a-a128-c93e00974171>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/20013074?high=on&rpp=50&pg=1&rndkey=20120831&ft=*&where=North+and+Central+America&what=Paintings&pos=24	2013-06-19T14:34:18Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.979352	142
Curiosity Really Starts to Click Curiosity is on a mission to find evidence of life on Mars -- but scientists aren't expecting to find fossilized purple people eaters or anything of the kind. "If life did arise on Mars, and if evolution had the same pace on Mars as it did here on Earth, only single-celled creatures would have had time to evolve before Mars lost its atmosphere," explained James R. Webb, director of FIU's SARA Observatory. Nasa's Curiosity rover has begun satisfying the curiosity of mission scientists by sending high-quality images of Mars' surface back to Earth. Although it's only had since Sunday night to collect data, following its touchdown in the Gale Crater, Curiosity has sent a batch of snapshots that are already allowing the NASA team to garner a good deal of information. The rover's first pictures show where its hardware -- including the sky crane, a parachute, a heat shield and a back shell -- landed, giving scientists new insights about the Martian surface. "Next to the rover, you can see where the rocket thrust blew away some of the soil and revealed a harder material underneath," said Mike Malaska, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory solar system ambassador. "That tells us that the firm material layer might not be very thick." The rover wheel itself also helps scientists better gauge Mars' topography. "The wheel is resting on the surface -- it hasn't sunk in at all -- so the surface must be pretty firm," Malaska explained. "It looks like the materials are a pretty uniform size. That's also a clue that it has been geologically sorted -- maybe either by wind or water in the past." Images from Curiosity show a massive mound in the distance, dubbed "Mount Sharp," as well as dark dunes that scientists guess are made of volcanic sands. The plan is for Curiosity to explore the dramatic scenery as its mission progresses. Looking for Life Towering higher than Mount Ranier, Mount Sharp stores layers of rock and minerals that have accumulated over more than 2 billion years. Scientists handpicked the Gale Crater for Curiosity's mission because the massive rock layers at Mount Sharp can give the best clues about the water -- and possibly life -- that may have existed in Martian history. "Curiosity's mission is to look for signs of one of the most significant things imaginable -- signs that life exists or has existed somewhere other than Earth," said James R. Webb, professor of physics and director of the SARA Observatory at Florida International University. "Astronomers have known for many years that Mars used to have a much thicker atmosphere and that it undoubtedly had surface water, lakes and rivers," Webb told TechNewsWorld. Now, liquid water would evaporate immediately on the surface of Mars, he said, but beneath its permafrost and polar ice caps, water still exists. Scientists knew that much about Mars before Curiosity's mission, from previous images gathered by orbiting crafts. Curiosity will sniff around the planet for more clues about past Martian life -- although that life probably won't look like anything out of a sci-fi film, according to Webb. "Curiosity is a large, car-sized rover which is fine-tuned to search for signs that Mars once, or perhaps still, supported some form of life," he noted. "If life did arise on Mars, and if evolution had the same pace on Mars as it did here on Earth, only single-celled creatures would have had time to evolve before Mars lost its atmosphere." Curiosity is geared to explore that possibility of life over the course of its mission, transmitting clues about the planet's past back to Earth, little by little. "As the mission progresses, we'll climb up that layer stack and read the stories in the rock like chapters in a book, one after another," said Malaska. "Each rock layer will give us clues how Mars developed. We'll start at the bottom, which are the oldest layers, and work our way upwards towards younger deposits." Curiosity's Thrilling Arrival The relatively relaxed photo-snapping follows what was perhaps the most grueling episode in Curiosity's adventure so far. After traveling for eight months through space, the craft had just seven minutes -- dubbed the "seven minutes of terror" -- to touch down in a never-before-tried landing strategy called the "Skycrane maneuver." Many of the landing's technical challenges hadn't been used before, but everything worked smoothly. "This engineering success paves the way for the next and future missions," said Malaska. Living Up to the Hype? Curiosity's landing was unique in that it generated buzz even outside the world of science and exploration. It was broadcast through a live online stream, and also for the general public on large screens across the country, including at Times Square for a crowd that didn't seem to mind the middle-of-the-night timing. Simply launching Curiosity and mastering the landing at a time when initiatives from NASA are some of the first to get slashed due to budget cuts is a major achievement, said Webb. "This mission is already a success on so many levels, some that have nothing to do with the actual science it will perform. It represents a success for NASA, an agency that is being starved for funds," he said. The collective spirit surrounding Curiosity's mission is a triumph on another level, said Malaksa. "From a human perspective, this is a wonderful accomplishment," he remarked. "It is really neat to turn on the news and see a bunch of people excited because we've done something magnificent that moves human progress and exploration forward. And it is a true 'we.' MSL Curiosity contains instruments from several nations, and the images are available to everyone through the Internet. We are watching exploration history."	<urn:uuid:f2f9ecd3-c767-4ccf-b7ad-ec07e63e87cf>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.technewsworld.com/story/space/75861.html	2013-06-20T09:38:14Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711240143/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133400-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.964613	1,197
explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb. Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki! We have collaboratively explained Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",". xkcd comics, and only Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",". (Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",".%) remain. Add yours while there's a chance! Go to this comic explanation \|Combination Vision Test\| Title text: If you see two numbers but they're both the same and you have to squint to read them, you have synesthesia, colorblindness, diplopia, and myopia. There are two numbers embedded in the big circle of numbers, in a similar way to a common color perception test. But this test can not work for colors because it is just a Black and White picture. Nobody can see it. But at this point the joke is just starting: The numbers are four and two, forming the number 42, which is the famous “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”, according to the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The number 4 is formed by digits 2, 3, 5 and 7, which are the only prime numbers in the range 0–9. The number 2 is formed by digits 3, 5, 7 and 9, apparently all odd numbers in the range 0–9, except for 1. A normal person does not readily see the big numbers, obviously. However, there is a neurological condition called synesthesia, in which perception in one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Common examples are experiencing colors when seeing numbers or words, hearing tones or music while reading words or text, seeing sequences of numbers or month names in a distinct and fixed shape, etc. If we give some numbers a color, such as how a person with number to color synesthesia would see it, we get this: The comic playfully suggests that if you have synesthesia as well as colorblindness, then some of the colors might appear identical and so one number would not be visible, only leaving the other number. The alt-text brings in two more conditions: diplopia, or double vision, and myopia, or near-sightedness. Those who are near-sighted sometimes see distant objects more clearly while squinting. Then they would be able to see the one large number still visible from the synesthesia/colorblindness combination, but because of double vision they see a second copy of it, hence two numbers that are the same. Since each number would appear in a different color with synesthesia (unlike above where 2,3,5,7,9 are all the same color), the following image better demonstrates how the image might appear to some viewers. - Combination Vision Test - a circle filled with several hundred numeric digits - If you can see one big number but not the other, you have synesthesia and colorblindness. Is this out of date? . You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to sign up for an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for comics, characters, themes, memes and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd web comic, it should be here. - List of all comics contains a complete table of all xkcd comics so far and the corresponding explanations. The red links (like this) are missing explanations. Feel free to help out by creating them! Here's how. Don't be a jerk. There are a lot of comics that don't have set in stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic. If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page. Please only submit material directly related to —and helping everyone better understand— xkcd... and of course only submit material that can legally be posted (and freely edited.) Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked. If you need assistance from an admin, feel free to leave a message on their personal discussion page. The list of admins is here.	<urn:uuid:3bb834f0-56a6-4bcc-92bf-c53f031f42f8>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=29630	2013-05-18T17:28:05Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.91661	902
Forests provide numerous environmental benefits, making it essential that we protect and sustain them. They moderate climate change, improve air quality, aid in water conservation, and preserve biodiversity. In order to maintain these benefits and ensure forests meet long term human needs, it is vital we practice sustainable forestry. Sustainable forestry practices ensure the resources removed from the forest are at a level the forest is capable of renewing without damaging its future prosperity. In doing so, these practices preserve the environment and valuable forest resources. With so many benefits, it’s no wonder ESP advocates that manufacturers purchase wood through a recognized sustainable forestry program. In addition to sustainable forestry, ESP also supports selective harvesting. Selective harvesting is the practice of periodically removing mature trees in order to allow young trees to grow. Trees that are near their death or have grown to an unproductive diameter can stunt younger trees from growing properly. By periodically harvesting particular trees, forest regeneration is improved. Selective harvesting leads to healthier forests, thus preserving the environmental and social benefits forests provide. Sustainable Forestry Management Systems: - Forest Stewardship Council - Sustainable Forestry Initiative - American Tree Farm System - Canadian Standards Association - Pan European Forest Certification Council - International Tropical Timber Organization - ISO 14000 Environmental Management Series (1) American Forest and Paper Association	<urn:uuid:c52cff42-f5bb-4750-9195-b4359a6d5faf>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://greencabinetsource.org/Manufacturing/Sustainable_Forestry	2013-05-25T05:44:05Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.91731	269
The Bigger Picture: Visual Archives and the Smithsonian Now Open to the Public (in 1922) - Museum of the American Indian On November 14, 1922, George Gustav Heye opened to the public the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in New York City to display his collection of Native American artifacts. Heye, a mining engineer, began collecting Native American artifacts while working in Arizona in 1896. The museum, founded in 1916, was located at Audubon Terrace and there was also a research branch in the Bronx where collections were available for research and study. After Heye's death in 1957, the future of the museum was in doubt. Some thoughts were to transfer the collection to the American Museum of Natural History in New York or possibly for it to be purchased by businessman, H. Ross Perrot. Neither of these options came to pass. It was not until the 1980s when discussions began with the Smithsonian that a home would be found for the Museum of the American Indian. On November 18, 1989, President George H. W. Bush signed legislation creating the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the Smithsonian. Today the museum consists of the George Gustave Heye Center in New York City (unfortunately because of Hurricane Sandy the Heye Center is temporarily closed), the Cultural Resources Center facility in Maryland, and the museum on the Mall in Washington, D.C. - History of the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution Archives	<urn:uuid:76969e3e-def1-4ecc-bfed-53c04719a216>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://siarchives.si.edu/blog/now-open-public-1922-museum-american-indian	2013-05-19T02:23:15Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95891	300
Humans are rather clever animals. We've managed to teach ourselves how to express ideas through written words, as well as emotions through art and music. Think about that for a minute. Through our art and music, the emotion felt by an artist may be encoded through color, shadow and harmony to be decoded and experienced by an observer or listener. That is arguably one of humanity's greatest accomplishments. And yet, despite the apparent ease with which artists or musicians can create a work that unlocks emotions in the audience, we have no idea how it does such an amazing thing. We do know that emotions may be expressed in art -- and that humans can readily recognize them. One study, conducted in Germany, found that indigenous Mafa tribespeople from Cameroon were able to reliably identify the emotions of happiness, sadness and fear in Western-style music [source: Fritz, et al]. How music and art evoke emotion is another matter entirely -- one that we have yet to understand. The renowned cognitive psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker famously called music "auditory cheesecake," indicating that music is an example of humans learning to exploit our emotions just as cheesecake is the result of our exploitation of our taste buds [source: Carroll]. Both are comparatively hollow in contrast to the underlying, elementary foundations -- language and taste -- that each is based on. In other words, there's no mystery to how art and music evoke emotions; they're designed to do so by assaulting the audience's basic communicative instincts. Not everyone agrees with Pinker, however. Others in psychology and other fields have asserted that both music and art are separate from other innate forms of communication. This belief, however, doesn't explain why music and art can evoke emotion in the audience if it's not simply due to an exploitation of more basic senses. Cognitive scientist Mark Changzi suggests that music creates emotion in the listener because we associate the sound with human movement. Since we're able to infer emotion from the expressions and movements of others and to empathize with those people through our own emotions, then if we associate music with human movement, this explains how music can evoke emotion [source: Changzi]. It's an intermediary, a stand-in for real human movement. Our visual renderings of music being played indicate this unconscious association. If you carry out an image search online for the keywords "musical notes," points out Changzi, you'll find a lot of images of musical notes that depict them in motion. Humans associated music with movement [source: Changzi]. Music moves us because we envision movement in it. Even the terms we used to describe music -- that it "moves us," or a piece of a larger composition is called a "movement" -- attest to Changzi's idea. But what about visual art? Find out on the next page.	<urn:uuid:f3836e83-8e8d-41b9-b1a3-bc389f266546>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/music-and-art-move-us.htm	2013-05-24T16:03:01Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.954788	577
St Briavel's Castle survives well with its moat, curtain wall, gatehouse and royal apartments in good condition. The upstanding remains are a good example of an enclosure castle of the 13th century. Sub-surface deposits within the castle and moat will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the castle and the wider landscape. Notice boards explain concisely the history and functions of the various parts of the castle, and it can be visited by the public in its present function as a Youth Hostel, providing a valuable educational resource. The enclosure castle of St Briavels is recorded in the early 12th century, but is thought to have its beginnings in the 11th century as a motte and bailey castle. This long history of use and adaptation will provide evidence of changing approaches to defensive problems and castle building over time. It was one of a sequence of castles along the border, built as part of a defensive strategy against the Welsh. In the 13th century it was strengthened in a huge castle building programme undertaken for the conquest of Wales and the Welsh wars of 1277, 1282-3 and 1294-5. The gatehouse can be seen as part of the sequential development of castle gatehouses formed by projecting mural towers on either side of an entrance passageway which culminated in the grand castles of Harlech, Beaumaris, Caerphilly and Tonbridge. St Briavel's Castle was frequently visited by the kings of England including King John, Henry II and Edward II, and had royal apartments especially constructed to accomodate them. These royal associations will give an insight into social organisation in the medieval period, and because of the consequential high profile, may provide additional historical documentary evidence which reflects the status of the castle. Apart from its military function the castle was the judicial centre for the Forest of Dean and an arsenal for locally produced weaponry. The monument includes an enclosure castle situated on the edge of a steep scarp above the River Wye, where the land falls away sharply to the river to the west. The castle appears to have been sited to control the nearby ford at Bigsweir. The irregular plan of the castle has led to the suggestion that it lies on the site of an earlier earthwork, and that in its earliest form it may have been an earthen motte with a timber or stone bailey, dating to the early part of the 12th century. Although the precise date of its foundation is not known, it appears not to have been in existence when William Fitz Baderon acquired the estate in about 1086, and it is likely that he built the first castle on the site at this time as part of a defensive scheme started by William Fitz Osbern against the Welsh. The first known record of the site dates from 1131. By the later 12th century a square stone keep, which was said to have been over 100ft high, had been constructed on top of the castle motte, and in the 13th century a curtain wall was added enclosing an area of 0.61ha. Between 1209 and 1211 extensive additions appear to have been undertaken to the fabric of the castle, including the construction of a two-storey domestic range on the north west side which is thought to have been the 'royal apartments' mentioned in documents of 1227, and which replaced in importance and function the earlier hall which lay on the north side of the ward of the castle. Also at this time the twin towered gatehouse with a defended passage was added. The structure was originally conceived as a keep gatehouse, that is a gatehouse which could be closed and defended against attack from the rear as well as the front. The gatehouse was rebuilt by Edward I in 1292-93 to improve the defences of the castle against Welsh attack and to provide a more prestigeous residence for the Royal Constable. The entrance passage was closed by three barriers each consisting of a portcullis backed by a pair of massive doors. Smaller doors, each protected by its own portcullis, originally led into the side rooms and upper floors of the gatehouse. In the 14th century a chapel was built in the castle ward, replacing an earlier timber chapel. The upstanding remains of the castle, which have survived into the 20th century, date mainly from the early 13th century and comprise a dry moat with a pond in its north east side, rubble curtain walls, fragments of the square keep on the motte, the two-storey domestic range, the site of the hall with its fireplace and the twin towered gatehouse with its defended passage, above which are a group of rooms. The 14th century chapel stands on the west side of the bailey against a building which houses a reused 14th century fireplace. Adjacent to the west side of the castle moat is a level piece of land, the only available flat ground before the land falls away sharply to the west. It has been suggested that this piece of land, called the 'Tump', was part of the early castle but there is no direct evidence for this, and it appears to be outside the limits of the moat. This area is not, therefore, included in the scheduling. It is possible that the outer edge of the moat on the north and east side may extend under the road and the George public house, but it is considered that disruption of the archaeological levels in subsequent road construction and by the cellars of the George, have removed archaeological deposits in these areas, and they are also not included in the scheduling. The castle was the Crown's administration centre for the Forest of Dean, and there were many royal visitors to the castle throughout the early Middle Ages. These royal visitors included King John, who visited on five separate occasions, Henry II who made four visits between 1220 and 1230, and Edward II who stayed there in 1321. The castle also fulfilled a number of administrative functions and was the seat of legal administration for the area; the Hundred Court, the Court Baron of the manor and castle, the Court of Criminal jurisdiction and the Mine-Law Court were all held there. All offenders from the 96 bailiwicks of the Forest were brought to the castle to be imprisioned. The castle remained in use as a courthouse and prison long after it had lost its military function. It also served as an arsenal for locally produced weaponry. With the conquest of Wales completed in the late 15th century, the importance of the castle rapidly declined. In 1680 the unused parts of the castle were demolished. The keep collapsed in 1752, by which time the great hall had also been demolished, leaving only the former royal apartments and the gatehouse still in use. In 1777 the east tower collapsed and destroyed the adjoining buildings. The castle was used as a debtors' prison until 1842, and the gaolers are said to have run an ale house there from 1702. The castle, having been allowed to decay, began to be restored in the late 19th century, and was rendered habitable in 1906. In 1952 it was occupied by the Youth Hostels Association, and is now a Youth Hostel. The castle is a Listed Building Grade I and is in the care of the Secretary of State. (Scheduling Report) Remains of castle, and curtain wall, now a Youth Hostel. Early C13 and c1292-93, later modifications especially in C19 and C20. Principally in coursed sandstone, with stone slate roofs. What remains is the 3-storey gatehouse of late C13 with two D-shaped towers flanking a crenellated main entrance over the moat, now dry, with the original C13 hall range immediately behind, to the right, and with a restructured C19 facade, then cross wing including the chapel of late C13; this all lies in the north-west corner of a roughly oval curtain wall which is broken in various places, all set to a mound with former moat. The gate house is in 3 storeys and basement with glacis to base of towers; left has five 2-light C19 or later casements in wood with transom, right one similar, 1 deep arrow slit, and 3 small single lights, central great doors in segmental pointed arch in 3 orders, return face right has 4 arrow slits and three 2-light wood casements, one with transom; then 2 storey block with crenellated top, with C19 windows, two 3-light with transom and one 2-light the same over one 3-light and two 2-light casements without transom, continued to gable with fine decorative octagonal chimneystack with trefoil heads and crocketted gables and a small spire over 2-light casement with transom and a lofty C19 door. Interior: west tower includes fine heavily detailed carpenter's staircase at first floor, and hooded C13 fireplace, oak plank floors and deep embrasured openings, the current dining room includes fireplace with moulded overmantel under a blocked arch and one minute light in a deep embrasure. Large hooded C13 or C14 fireplace at first floor in north west tower. The Chapel, now a games room, is of late C13, has heavy 3-bay roof, double chamfer door, and an original piscina, and includes a 3-light stone casement with heavy transom but tracery now missing from pointed head, and a similar window to room known as King John's bedroom; King John's bedroom includes a very heavy overmantel on triple shafts with carved caps which do not fit the shafting. A very impressive remnant and sited very prominently opposite the Church of St Mary. (Listed Building Report) Despite what is said in the scheduling report there is no evidence for a motte at St Briavel's which probably started as C11 or C12 ringwork castle, although see also Stow Green , often suggested as the precursor site. The castle was mainly the administrative and judicial of the Forest of Dean with some use as a hunting lodge and as an important warehouse for crossbow bolts and other locally produced iron work. Rather little of these complex functions fit into the R. Allen Brown definition of a castles as 'the fortified residence of a lord'.	<urn:uuid:a47ba5f3-3dc5-445a-adcb-93c83d33a9b4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/1235.html	2013-05-24T23:05:49Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.976679	2,128
\|— Province —\| \|• Total\|\|14,175 km2 (5,473 sq mi)\| \|• Density\|\|30/km2 ( 76/sq mi)\| \|Main languages\|\|Persian (Hazaragi / Dari)\| Bamyan Province (Pushto:بامیان Persian: بامیان) can be translated as ‘The Place of Shining Light’; is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the centre of the country, with a population of about 418,500. Its capital is also called Bamyan. Bamyan is the largest province in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan, and is the cultural capital of the Hazara ethnic group that predominates in the area. In antiquity, central Afghanistan was strategically placed to thrive from the Silk Road caravans which criss-crossed the region trading between the Roman Empire, China, Central and South Asia. Bamyan was a stopping off point for many travellers. It was here where elements of Greek and Buddhist art were combined into a unique classical style, known as Greco-Buddhist art. Bamyan has several famous historical sites, including the famous Buddha statues with more than 3,000 caves around it, the Band-e Amir, Dara-i-Ajhdar, Gholghola and Zakhak ancient towns, the Feroz Bahar, Astopa, Klegan, Gaohargin, Kaferan and Cheldukhtaran. The region was ruled by the Medes before it fell to the Achaemenids. In 330 BC, Alexander the Great seized the area but left it to Seleucids to rule. The area south of the Hindu Kush was given to the Mauryas who introduced Buddhism. It became the site of an early Buddhist monastery from which Bamyan takes its name from the Sanskrit varmayana ("coloured"). Many statues of Buddha were carved into the sides of cliffs facing Bamyan city. The two most prominent of these statues were standing Buddhas, now known as the Buddhas of Bamyan, measuring 55 and 37 meters high respectively, that were the largest examples of standing Buddha carvings in the world. They were probably erected in the 4th or 5th century A.D. They were cultural landmarks for many years and are listed among UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. In March 2001 the Taliban government decreed that the statues were idolatrous and ordered them to be demolished with anti-aircraft artillery and explosives. By the 7th century, when the Arabs first arrived, it was under the control of the Kabul Shahi before being conquered in the name of Islam by the Saffarids in the 9th century. It fell to the Ghaznavids followed by the Ghurids before the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. The area was ruled by Arghun Khan of Ilkhanate, later by the Timurids and Mughals. In 1709, when the Hotaki dynasty rose to power in Kandahar and defeated the Persian Safavids, Bamyan was under the Mughal Empire until Ahmad Shah Durrani made it become part of his new Durrani Empire, which became to what is now the modern state of Afghanistan. During the 1980s to the mid-1990s, the area was controlled by warlord Abdul Ali Mazari. In 1995, Bamyan was captured by the Taliban. They were toppled by US-led forces in late 2001. The Buddhist remains at Bamyan were included on the 2008 World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund. It is hoped that the listing will put continued national and international attention on the site as a whole (including, but not limited to, the statues) in order to ensure its long-term preservation, and to make certain that future restoration efforts maintain the authenticity of the site and that proper preservation practices are followed. Bamyan is currently the base of operations for the New Zealand peacekeeping force, a Provincial Reconstruction Team codenamed Task Group Crib, which is part of the network of Provincial Reconstruction Teams throughout Afghanistan. It is recognised as one of the safest provinces in the country, which has allowed for civil rebuilding. \|District\|\|Capital\|\|Population (2003 CSO figures)\|\|Area\|\|Notes\| \|Bamyan\|\|Bamyan\|\|70,028\|\|Ethnic groups: Hazara, Tajik.\| \|Kahmard\|\|Kahmard\|\|31,042\|\|Transferred from Baghlan in 2005. Ethnic groups: Tajik, Hazara, Tatar, Pashtun. \|Panjab\|\|Panjab\|\|48,397\|\|Ethnic groups: Hazara.\| \|Sayghan\|\|Sayghan\|\|23,215\|\|Transferred from Baghlan and created within Kahmard District in 2005. Ethnic groups: Tajik, Hazara. \|Shibar\|\|Shibar\|\|22,933\|\|Ethnic groups: Hazara.\| \|Waras\|\|Waras\|\|82,119\|\|Ethnic groups: Hazara\| \|Yakawlang\|\|Nayak\|\|100,158\|\|Ethnic groups: Hazara.\| Bamiyan has been particularly famous for its potatoes. The region is also known for a "shuttle system" of planting, wherein seed potatoes are grown in winter in Jalalabad, a warm area of eastern Afghanistan, and then transferred to Bamyan for spring re-planting. Bamyan Province is home to the region's only university, Bamiyan University in the city of Bamyan. The school was founded in the mid-1990s, and largely destroyed under the savage Taliban. It was later refurbished[by whom?] following the fall of the Taliban. Prior to the Soviet invasion of 1979 the province attracted many tourists. Although this number is considerably fewer now, Bamyan is the first province in Afghanistan to have set up a tourist board, Bamyan Tourism. A feature of this developing tourist industry is based around skiing. The province is said to have 'some of the best "outback skiing" in the world' and in 2008 an $1.2 million project to encourage skiing was launched by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) with the help of NZAID, New Zealand government’s international aid agency. The province hosts the Afghan Ski Challenge, a 7km downhill race over ungroomed and powdered snow, founded by Swiss journalist and skier Christoph Zurcher. Tissot, the Swiss watch manufacturer, is the principle sponsor. - "Bamyan Province" (PDF). Central Statistics Office Afghanistan. Retrieved 2012-07-25. - British Broadcasting Corporation : Putting Bamyan Back on the Map Retrieved 2009-08-18 - "Cultural and conflict Studies, Bamyan Province". Naval Postgraduate School. Retrieved 2012-07-25. - "Bamyan Province". United Nations. Afghanistan's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. Retrieved 2012-07-25. - Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers - Fueling Growth,health and Prosperity. International Potato Center[when?] - 6 May, 2011 Afghanistan’s Bamiyan hopes to attract skiers Dawn.com - Boone, Jon (27 April, 2010) Afghanistan – the new skiing destination guardian.co.uk - (27 Feb, 2012) Afghanistan set to host second national ski race wanderlust.co.uk - Levinson, Charles (March 6, 2012) Since Skiing Came to Afghanistan, It Has Been Pretty Much All Downhill wsj.com \|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bamyan Province\| - Bamyan Development Community Portal for cultural heritage management of Bamyan - Afghanistan Information Management Services - Bamyan Province - Bamyan Tourism - Official site \|\|Sar-e Pol Province\|\|Samangan Province\|\|Baghlan Province\| \|Ghor Province\|\|Parwan Province\| \|Daykundi Province\|\|Ghazni Province\|\|Wardak Province\|	<urn:uuid:92fbffac-5d69-4399-8fc3-02756b4befda>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamyan_Province	2013-06-18T05:25:14Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706933615/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122213-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.924389	1,693
[Part 1 offers an overview of RFID radio basics, security in general and RFID architecture. Part 2 looks at RFID tag data, how some of the more popular protocols communicate data to the reader, and physical formats.] 24.8 Threat and Target Identification So far, we have learned how Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) works and how it is applied in both theory and real-world operations. This chapter discusses how security is implemented in RFID, and the possible attacks that can occur on RFID systems and applications. Before we can analyze possible attacks, we have to identify potential targets. A target can be an entire system (if the intent is to completely disrupt a business), or it can be any section of the overall system (from a retail inventory database to an actual retail item). Those involved in information technology security tend to concentrate solely on "protecting the data." When evaluating and implementing security around RFID, it is important to remember that some physical assets are more important than the actual data. The data may never be affected, even though the organization could still suffer tremendous loss. Consider the following example in the retail sector. If an individual RFID tag was manipulated so that the price at the Point of Sale (POS) was reduced from $200.00 to $19.95, the store would suffer a 90 percent loss of the retail price, but with no damage to the inventory database system. The database was not directly attacked and the data in the database was not modified or deleted, and yet, a fraud was perpetrated because part of the RFID system had been manipulated. In many places, physical access is controlled by RFID cards called "proximity cards." If a card is duplicated, the underlying database is not affected, yet, whoever passes the counterfeit card receives the same access and privileges as the original cardholder. 24.8.1 Attack Objectives To determine the type of an attack, you must understand the possible objectives of that attack, which will then help determine the possible nature of the attack. Someone attacking an RFID system may use it to help steal a single object, while another attack might be used to prevent all sales at a single store or at a chain of stores. An attacker might want misinformation to be placed in a competitor's backend database so that it is rendered useless. Other people may want to outmaneuver physical access control, while having no interest in the data. Therefore, it is necessary for anyone looking at the security of an RFID system to identify how their assets are being protected and how they might be targets. Just as there are several basic components to RFID systems, there are also several methods (or vectors) used for attacking RFID systems. Each vector corresponds to a portion of the system. The vectors are "on-the-air" attacks, manipulating data on the tag, manipulating middleware data, and attacking the data at the backend. The following sections briefly discuss each of these attacks.	<urn:uuid:064e99b1-b37b-4256-9e62-8935264d7ced>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.eetimes.com/design/embedded-internet-design/4207527/RFID-security---Part-3--Threat-and-target-identification	2013-05-19T02:46:50Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383160/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938346	611
Daniel Hale Williams - Introduction: African American Doctor Daniel Hale Williams is credited with having performed open heart surgery on July 9, 1893 before such surgeries were established. In 1913, Daniel Hale Williams Williams was the only African American member of the American College of Surgeons. Daniel Hale Williams - Famous Operation: Daniel Hale Williams successfully operated on James Cornish, the victim of a knifing. The operation was considered at the time a ground-breaking. The doctor opened the patient's chest revealing a beating heart to stitch a small wound in the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart. Daniel Hales Williams - Other Achievements: Daniel Hales Williams utilized many of the emerging antiseptic, sterilization procedures of the day and thereby gained a reputation for professionalism. The doctor began his medical practice in Chicago at a time when there were only three other black physicians. In 1891, in Chicago, Daniel Hales Williams founded Provident, the first American interracial hospital. Provident hosted the first nursing school for blacks in America. Daniel Hales Williams - Background: Daniel Hales Williams was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania on January 18,1858. He graduated from Chicago Medical College in 1883. Daniel Hales Williams and Alice Johnson were wed on April 2, 1898. He died on August 4, 1931, in Idlewild, Michigan.	<urn:uuid:1a57ece1-b500-4ceb-bc38-348e1e1d4ed1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://inventors.about.com/od/blackinventors/p/Daniel_Williams.htm	2013-05-24T08:50:11Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.949983	279
\|Common Blackbird\|\| Male Glossy black plumage with orange-yellow bill. \|Length: 24-25 cm (10")\| \|Wing Span: 35-38 cm (14-15")\| \|Weight: 80-125 g (3-4½ oz)\|\| Female Dark brown plumage with faintly spotted breast. \|Breeding Pairs: 4 400 000\| \|Present: All Year\| The glossy black plumage and the orange-yellow bill and eye ring of the mature male Blackbird makes it easily recognisable. The mature female has dark-brown upper parts and underparts, and yellow-brown bill. The underparts are speckled and she usually has a pale throat (but not to be confused with the white-throated Ring Ouzel, see photo below). The juveniles are reddish-brown (rufous) with paler spotting that is similar to that of the adult female but more spotted and redder. After the juvenile female moults, late summer to autumn, she is indistinguishable from an older female. However, while the juvenile male moults his wing feathers will remain brown (known as a 1st-winter male), also the eye ring and bill will be a "dirty" yellow, and it will be another year before his plumage is entirely black, and his eye ring and bill are pure orange-yellow. Albinism and leucism is common in Blackbirds, but there are even more that are "partially albino" (e.g. white head, or white patches on the wings, see photographs below). Albinism is a complete lack of pigment whereas leucistic birds have weak pigmentation and appear "wishy-washy". See feathers for more explanation. In bygone times Blackbirds and other song birds were a delicacy, a fact we are reminded of in the rhyme: Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye Four-and-twenty Blackbirds baked in a pie When the pie was opened the birds begin to sing Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the King The Blackbird sings from a perch and its song is rich, varied and flute-like, but usually finishes in a squeaky phrase. Their calls are loud and varied. The warning call is given with flicking wings and tail and sounds a little like "chook", and the alarm call is a loud rattle. During the winter, Blackbirds can often be heard quietly "singing to themselves" within undergrowth, this is called sub-song. Later, in the spring and summer, the male Blackbird sings from a prominent song post (see bird song article). After July, when the breeding season is over, the male Blackbird will stop singing and will not be heard properly again until February. William Henley wrote: The Blackbird feeds on insects and earthworms taken from the ground either by probing the ground, such as a lawn, or noisily turning over leaf litter with its bill. Like the Song Thrush, the Blackbird often runs across the garden, pauses briefly before taking some food, then runs back to cover. Unlike the Song Thrush it rarely eats snails, though there are increasing reports of Blackbirds stealing snails that Song Thrushes have cracked open. More unusual food has included Blackbirds taking tadpoles, newts, and small fish. In the autumn they will often spend much time eating cotoneaster berries and windfall fruits (e.g. apples), which they will aggressively defend from other birds. The Blackbird will feed off the ground or from a ground table, taking sultanas and raisins, and kitchen scraps. The nest is an untidy cup built by the female from vegetation, such as grass and twigs, and bound together with mud and finer grasses. The nest is usually in a hedge or bush, though they will use shelves in huts and other outbuildings. The nesting attempts of Blackbirds, and other species that nest in open nests, often end in failure through inexperienced birds deserting the nest, cold weather and predation by cats, crows and birds of prey. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 9 out of 10 nesting attempts end in failure. The smooth, glossy eggs are light greenish-blue with reddish-brown spots, and approximately 29 mm by 22 mm. The female incubates the eggs by herself. After the young hatch, they are fed by both parents. \|Breeding Starts\|\|Number of Clutches\|\|Number of Eggs\|\|Incubation (days)\|\|Fledge (days)\| Blackbirds in the UK are mostly resident, though a few do migrate to southern Europe for the winter. In the winter our population increases manifold (up to 20 million) with birds migrating from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Many of these migrants have duller bills than our resident birds. A Medium BTO Alert has been issued for Blackbirds because numbers have fallen by over a third since the 1970's, especially in rural areas. During the winter of 1999-2000 we had up to 11 Blackbirds in the garden feeding on windfall apples. In 2001 and 2002 a pair of Blackbirds built a nest in our Photinia bush, but each time their attempts failed because of Magpies raiding the nest for eggs. The chart above shows that numbers are steady throughout the year, except for a lull in the autumn when they are moulting, and peaks: "The Blackbird", Shire Natural History (details) Site Map \| Contact Us \| About Us \| Album Pages \| Bird Guide \| Discussion \| Field Trips \| Guestbook \| Information \| Links \| Quiz \| Report \| Trophies	<urn:uuid:fa1fdbc9-c6ec-453a-a161-bd01ee5d469f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/birds/blackbird.htm	2013-05-21T10:35:36Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951523	1,213
Juvenile Justice/The Real Deal, by Deborah Smereczynsky Guide Entry to 00.02.06: This is a unit designed to teach grades eight through twelve. The population to be taught is special education and regular education students. Currently I am an eighth grade special education teacher in an inclusion program. The special education teacher and the regular education teacher collaborate to give to the students the most and best education. This unit is a reflection of the work that I am responsible for throughout the school year, working with regular and the special education students, raising the expectations for all and reaching beyond that bar. The unit to follow will be used for the duration of eight weeks in the United States History class and the Reading class. In the reading class we will read some of the articles in the suggested readings. This will prepare the class for the activities in the History class. The unit will be used with both regular and special education students. As a final class activity, we hope to take a trip to our nation's capital, Washington D.C., in April of 2001. This will help the students further understand the lawmaking aspect of juvenile law. (Recommended for U.S. History and English, grades 7-8.)	<urn:uuid:e53caac8-be19-4269-80d7-47d92b3ecdbb>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/2000/2/00.02.06.x.html	2013-05-23T12:24:41Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703306113/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112146-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.940092	253
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 FOR RELEASE FRIDAY, JUNE 28, OR THEREAFTER The Magellan spacecraft, mapping the surface of Venus with imaging radar, has discovered a lava flow that may represent a volcanic eruption similar to those currently taking place in Japan and the Philippines, a Magellan scientist said. Dr. James Head of Brown University, a geologist on the Magellan science team, said the spacecraft has been mapping a planet dominated by volcanism. Large volcanoes, long lava flows and rivers of lava have formed on the surface of Earth's nearest planetary neighbor, and may be continuing to form today, Head said. Unusual volcanoes with petal-shaped flows have been imaged which are different from most other volcanoes on Venus. The lack of weathering or erosion due to lack of water on Venus allows scientists to view a whole preserved sequence of volcanism, Head said. "For most volcanoes, we don't understand how the molten rock gets out of the ground because we can't see below the surface," he said. "On Venus, however, the relationships between the volcanoes and the tectonic fractures will help us understand the way in which molten rock gets out of the interior." A recently discovered flow found in a highly fractured region may be significant in telling Magellan scientists where and how melting of rock is taking place in the interior of the planet, he said. "This deposit may represent an eruption like those that are currently happening in Japan and the Philippines," Head said. "On Earth, the atmospheric pressure is such that when the gasrich molten material reaches the surface, the resulting eruption sends the material up into the atmosphere in plumes, spreading it over large areas as it falls out of the atmosphere. "On Venus, the surface atmospheric pressure is about 90 times higher than on Earth and when the gas-rich molten material reaches the surface, it may not form into plumes, but instead may flow out over the surface. Therefore this may be an eruption like the one in the Philippines, but changed in its style by the very different conditions of the atmosphere," he said. Magellan Project Scientist Dr. Steve Saunders said that over the next several mapping cycles, Magellan will re-image several volcanic regions with the same geometry as in the first mapping cycle. "By comparing the images, we should be able to detect changes in the lava flows, indicating that a volcano has erupted and that Venus is indeed geologically active like the Earth," Saunders said. A mapping cycle is 243 days, or one rotation of Venus on its axis. The second mapping cycle began May 15. Magellan is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, Washington, D.C.	<urn:uuid:9c5c762c-5534-41af-a920-eaf80a4a45ba>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/releases/91/release_1991_1379.html	2013-06-19T13:35:11Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708783242/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125303-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.936352	631
Bison and the Environment Prepared by Dave Carter It was nearly a century ago that the British agriculturalist, Sir. Albert Howard, made the notable statement, “Nature never tries to farm without animals.” Nowhere is that statement more evident than across the ecosystem of North America. Native grasslands comprise more than 40 percent of North America’s natural landscape. The grasses covering these open landscapes serve as powerful carbon traps, with slender leaves removing CO2 from the atmosphere and returning it to the soil through an extensive system of roots. These grasslands did not occur in a vacuum. In fact, North America’s grasslands evolved over tens of thousands of years of continuous grazing by large ruminants, most notably the American bison. This co-evolutionary process to grasses and grazers developed into a symbiotic relationship that is vital to the health of both. Grasses across most of the semi-arid regions of North America produce roughly one-third more growth each year, than will naturally decompose. Without interaction from grazers or fire, this excess growth soon chokes the soil and prevents healthy plant growth. Bison moving across pastures not only remove that choking cover, the animals convert the cellulose in the plant into protein. As the bison graze, their manure and urine supply important nutrients for the plant cover, and their hoofs stir the soil, helping to bury seeds and to create small pockets in the earth to capture precious moisture. Even many prairies potholes (small ponds) today began as buffalo wallows. Other grasslands species rode along on the coattails of bison in establishing a strong place in the grassland ecosystem. Nearly 100 species of grasslands birds, for example, evolved in some part to adapt to the nature of the environment created by the hoof print of bison upon the land. One other factor had a major influence on this symbiotic relationship: Predators. The open prairies offered prey animals with little opportunity to hide from predators. To survey, bison evolved as herd animals, where large numbers afforded the best means of defense. Large, tightly-packed units of animals moved quickly across the land. Grasslands, thus evolved to thrive under conditions of short periods of severe grazing, hoof action, and manuring, followed by periods of rest and recovery. As prey animals, bison also learned that the less time spent near watering holes meant less chance of getting eaten by predators. Because predators hang around watering holes in search of prey, prey animals spend as little time as possible near those water sources. This means that the damaging impacts of hooves along riparian areas is greatly lessened by bison grazing. Because bison are undomesticated, they continue to interact with the environment as nature intended. Today’s bison still graze in herds, moving across the land, and only briefly stopping by the watering holes. Domesticated species, meanwhile, have long lost much of that natural behavior, and will commonly stand and graze in one spot, or lounge around stream beds and ponds on hot days. In recent years, land managers of other livestock species have adapted practices—such as rotational grazing—to try an imitate the natural interaction of bison with the soil. Those practices are beneficial, but will never completely replicate the natural patterns of bison.	<urn:uuid:035d6d23-851c-4422-b0a7-b014d6c91b17>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.bisoncentral.com/cooking-bison/ecological-benefits	2013-05-20T02:23:23Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.943836	697
Background on the United Kingdom’s Time Zone Timeanddate.com gives a brief overview of the United Kingdom’s (UK) time zone and daylight saving time (DST). The UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) when it does not observe daylight saving time (DST). There is no offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) during the non-daylight saving period. The UK switches from GMT to British Summer Time (BST), which is UTC+1, when it starts its daylight saving schedule. Daylight Saving Schedule The UK observes daylight saving time (DST) as part of the European Union’s (EU) daylight saving schedule, which starts on the last Sunday of March each year when the clocks move one hour ahead from 1am (or 01:00) to 2am (02:00) local time. The clocks then move one hour back from 2am (02:00) to 1am (01:00) local time when DST ends on the last Sunday of October each year. Daylight saving time is commonly known as “summer time” or “British Summer Time” in the UK. A Brief History of Time in the United Kingdom Many sources state that that Great Britain was the first country to use standard time (uniform time for places in roughly the same longitude). It was the railways, and not the post office, that enforced clocks’ uniformity throughout Great Britain. There was a demand to use “British Time” throughout the country. Dr William Hyde Wollaston (1766–1828) was credited with the original idea, which was popularized by Abraham Follett Osler (1808–1903). Railroad companies drew up their timetables and set their station clocks in accordance with Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The first railway to adopt London time was the Great Western Railway in November 1840. Other railways followed suit, and by 1847 most (but not all) railways used London time. In 1847 the Railway Clearing House, an industry standards body, recommended that GMT be adopted at all stations as soon as the General Post Office permitted it. On December 1, 1847, the London and North Western Railway, as well as the Caledonian Railway, adopted London time in consequence of instructions from the General Post Office. It is presumed that many other railways followed suit, as they were listed as keeping GMT. Many public clocks in Great Britain were set to GMT by the mid 19th century and by 1862, the great clock at Westminster – known today as Big Ben – was installed. Greenwich sent hourly time signals, with return signals twice daily. The clock was not controlled from Greenwich though. The last major holdout with regard to standardized time in Great Britain was the legal system, which stuck to local time for many years, leading to oddities such as polls opening at 08:13 (8.13am) and closing at 16:13 (4.13pm) during some election periods. The legal system finally switched to GMT when the Statutes (Definition of Time) Act took effect. It received the Royal Assent on August 2, 1880. Thus, the standardized time that prevailed was finally enshrined in statute in 1880. Across the Atlantic from Great Britain some years later, standard time was introduced to the United States by the railroads in 1883. Brief Daylight Saving History In 1907, an English builder named William Willett campaigned to advance clocks at the beginning of the spring and summer months and to return to GMT in a similar manner in the autumn. He published a pamphlet called The Waste of Daylight, outlining plans to encourage people out of bed earlier in summer by changing the time on the nation’s clocks. He spent the rest of his life fighting to get acceptance of his time-shifting scheme. However, Willett died of influenza before DST was implemented as law and put into practice. The 1908 Daylight Saving Bill was the first attempt in the UK to move clocks forward one hour in summer. The idea was to provide more daylight hours after work for the training of the Territorial Army and for recreation, to reduce shunting accidents on the railways and to reduce expenditure on lighting. The House of Commons rejected the Bill. During World War I in 1916, Germany introduced daylight saving in the summer, and countries including Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden followed suit. To save energy and help the war effort, the Summer Time Act 1916 advanced the clocks in the UK for one hour from 21 May until 1 October. The system proved to be popular so daylight saving time, or summer time, has always been adopted in the UK. However, there were periods, especially during World War II, when the start and end dates were altered or more substantial clock shifts were made. DST was known as “British Double Summer Time” in the UK in the summer months, and then “British Summer Time” in the winter months during World War II. “British Double Summer Time” also had different variations, including “Double Summer Time” and Double British Summer Time”. From February 1968 to November 1971 the UK kept daylight saving time throughout the year mainly for commercial reasons, especially regarding time conformity with other European countries. Although some said it resulted in fewer road traffic accidents, others said that it was a disadvantage for children leaving homes in the dark mornings to attend school. The experiment was abandoned in 1972 because of its unpopularity, particularly in the north. The UK has since kept GMT in during the non-daylight saving period and BST when it observes daylight saving time. DST All Year Round? Many groups have called for the United Kingdom’s summer time schedule to be extended for the entire year, particularly in recent times. Some people believe that a “Single Double Summer Time” (SDST), synonymous with UTC+1 in the winter and UTC+2 in the summer, would mean less road accidents, more leisure time, and a boost to tourism and energy efficiency. British MP Tim Yeo has campaigned for the UK to observe longer hours of sunlight in the afternoons throughout the year. He unveiled his Private Members Bill in October 2008 to tackle fuel poverty and energy consumption with the UK Energy Efficiency (Daylight) Act 2009. Mr Yeo invited other UK parliamentary members to support the bill as he believed that it would provide a practical solution to set up a panel to monitor climate change’s effects. In 2010, the UK government considered the possibility of switching to SDST for a three-year trial period to help improve the tourism industry. Push to Move Jersey to Central European Time There has also been a push to change the time zone in Jersey, a British Crown dependency off the coast of France, to Central European Time (CET) during the winter months. However, there are no plans to change the time zone to CET. Note: References to autumn, spring, summer and winter in this article relate to the seasons in the northern hemisphere. Also note that any mention of Great Britain in this article relates to what is now part of the present-day United Kingdom. Information courtesy to sources such as D. Howse, author of Greenwich Time and the Longitude, M. Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, and the UK’s National Maritime Museum. - Time Zone News - Daylight Saving Time - List of countries that observe Daylight Saving Time in 2013 - Time Zone Abbreviations - The World Clock – Current time all over the world - Personal World Clock - Meeting Planner - Time Zone Converter - Event Time Announcer/Fixed Time – Show local times worldwide for your event.	<urn:uuid:b3688a3d-81d9-44bc-8421-bd7e8ea22e4f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.timeanddate.com/time/uk/time-zone-background.html	2013-05-20T02:16:04Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.960247	1,603
Posted on November 6, 2012 at 11:48 AM LOS ANGELES—Researchers are reporting a key advance in using stem cells to repair hearts damaged by heart attacks. In a study, stem cells donated by strangers proved as safe and effective as patients’ own cells for helping restore heart tissue. The work involved just 30 patients in Miami and Balitmore, but proves the concept that anyone’s cells can be used to treat such cases. Doctors are excited because this suggests that stem cells could be banked for off-the-shelf use after heart attacks, just as blood is kept on hand now. Results were discussed Monday at an American Heart Association conference in California and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study used a specific type of stem cells from bone marrow that researchers believed would not be rejected by recipients. Unlike other cells, these lack a key feature on their surface that makes the immune system see them as foreign tissue and attacks them, explained the study’s leader, Dr. Joshua Hare of the University of Miami. The patients in the study had suffered heart attacks years earlier, some as long as 30 years ago. All had developed heart failure because the scar tissue from the heart attack had weakened their hearts so much that they grew large and flabby, unable to pump blood effectively. Researchers advertised for people to supply marrow. The cells were removed from the marrow using a needle into the hip and then amplified for about a month in a lab at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, then returned to Miami to be used for treatment, which did not involve surgery. The cells were delivered through a tube pushed through a groin artery into the heart near the scarred area. Fifteen patients were given cells from their own marrow and 15 others, cells from strangers. About a year later, scar tissue had been reduced by about one-third. Both groups had improvements in how far they could walk and in quality of life. There was no significant difference in one measure of how well their hearts were able to pump blood, but doctors hope these patients will continue to improve over time, or that refinements in treatment will lead to better results. The big attraction is being able to use cells supplied by others, with no blood or tissue matching needed. “You could have the cells ready to go in the blood bank so when the patient comes in for a therapy—there’s no delay,” Hare said. “It’s also cheaper to make the donor cells,” and a single marrow donor can supply enough cells to treat as many as 10 people. Dr. Elliott Antman of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who heads the heart conference, praised the work. “That opens up an entire new avenue for stem cell therapy, like a sophisticated version of a blood bank,” he said. There’s an advantage in not having to create a cell therapy for each patient, and it could spare them the pain and wait of having their own marrow harvested, he said. The study was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Hare owns stock in a biotech company working on a treatment using a mixture of cells. Juan Lopez received his own cells in the study, and said it improved his symptoms so much that at age 70, he was able to return to his job as an engineer and sales manager for a roofing manufacturer and ride an exercise bike. “It has been a life-changing experience,” said Lopez, who lives in Miami. “I can feel day by day, week by week, month by month, my improvement. I don’t have any shortness of breath and my energy level is way up there. I don’t have any fluid in my lungs.” And, he said happily, “my sex drive has improved!”	<urn:uuid:a9bff130-a750-4415-8c6d-b052c650307d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.khou.com/news/health/Study-Stem-cells-from-strangers-can-repair-hearts-177487851.html?ref=next	2013-05-25T12:43:05Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.978806	803
Deer are mammals that form the family Cervidae. Deer is a large family and includes: white-tailed deer, mule deer such as black-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, caribou, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. There are approximately 63 species of deer. Other Names: Stag, Buck, Doe, Fawn, Deer in Foreign Languages: Albanian: dre / sutë / drenushë Armenian: egjeru / egnik Bosnian: jelen / košuta Breton: karv / kirvi Czech: jelen / lan Finnish: hirvieläin / hirvi French: cerf / chevreuil Icelandic: hjörtur / krónhjörtur Indonesian: kijang / rusa / menjangan Irish: fia / fia rua / os Italian: cervo / alce / renna / daino / capriolo Latin: ceruus / cervus / cerva Lithuanian: elnias / elne Maltese: cerf / cerf l-ahmar Old Church Slavonic: jeleni Old French: cerf Old Irish: fíad Portuguese: veado/ cervo Romanian: cerb / ciuta / caprioara Sardinian: crebu / crefu / cherbu Scottish Gaelic: fiadh Slovenian: jelen / košuta Spanish: ciervo / venado Swedish: hjort / hjortdjur Vietnamese: huou / nai Welsh: carw / hydd Size: Male deer are typically much larger than their female counterparts. The smallest deer is known as the Pudu. The Pudu is 13 - 15 inches tall at the shoulder and they weigh only 18 lbs. The largest deer is actually the moose. The moose stands 8-10 feet and weighs over 1000 lbs. Habitat: Deer are widely distributed, with indigenous representatives in all continents except Antarctica and Australia. Deer live in a variety of habitats from tundra to the tropical rainforest. Deer also live on the edge of habitats including the edges of: forests, thickets, prairies and savannahs. Description: Deer are velvety soft and have long legs, with split hooves. The deer have slender Diet: Deer are herbivores, they will eat grass, leaves, lichens, moss, stems, shoots, berries, herbs, acorns, mushrooms, wild fruit and crops. Deer will regurgitate their food, and chew it a second time. Senses: Deer have an excellent sense of hearing. Deer can hear higher frequencies of sound than humans. Deer have good vision, and night vision. Deer have an excellent sense of smell. Communication: Deer use bellows, grunts, and snortingas a means of communication. Did You Know? Male deer of all species with the exception of the Chinese water deer grow and shed new antlers each year. Gestation: Deer will carry their young from 5-10 months depending on the species. Birth: Deer give birth to litters of 1-3 babies. Young deer will stay with their mother for approximately the first 1-2 years of their lives. Life Span: The average life span of a deer is 20 years. Wolves, bears, tigers, jaguars, and pumas are all predators of deer. Did You Know? Deer are able to run up to 40 mph and they can jump 10 feet high. Social Structure: Deer will remain in groups or herds, that typically consist of female relatives.	<urn:uuid:44046e1c-1198-4eb4-8012-712ed0d7a26b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.wildlife-animals.com/deer/deer.php	2013-06-19T13:07:47Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708783242/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125303-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.769344	878
(Ovis sp.) Also referred to as “Jacob sheep” and formerly known as “Piebald sheep”. SCI classifies them as “multi-horned sheep”. A rare, primitive sheep with ancestry dating back 3,000 years. Origin is thought to be Syria. Jacob’s four-horned sheep are perhaps the most easily identified sheep species in the exotic world. It’s name is derived from the two sets of horns (or “4 horns”) protruding from the sheep’s noggin’. Some have only two horns or even 6, but 4 is most common in rams. Ewes will often have zero or 2 small, irregular-shaped horns. Horn configurations can vary greatly. Horns in 2-horn, and the lower horns in 4-horns, usually grow in a classic curl. Upper horns usually grow upward, but may curl as well. The horns are black or black/white striped. Females on Texas ranches generally are hornless, but in other parts of the world may grow mouflan-shaped horns. Jacobs are long, wooley-bodied sheep with a triangular head and sloping rump. They are usually lacking wool on legs, udder/scrotum, and head. Their tails are long if not docked. Though jacobs appear to be a white sheep with black markings, they are actually black with white markings. Occasionally, the black appears a brownish-gray. Through extensive cross-breeding, some sheep may appear all black or with very few white spots. A smaller sheep species, rams weigh from 120 to 180 lbs and ewes 100 to 120 lbs. Do not exhibit much flocking behavior. Males fight and may break off horns. Drink water freely. Feed mainly on grasses and forbs. Better apt to survive on more poor range conditions and require less supplemental feeding than modern sheep breeds. Need easily accessible water source. Seasonal breeders that often have twin births (1 to 3 possible). Breed all year with the presence of males. Gestation period is 5 months. Adding males in mid-October results in March births which increases survival and recruitment rate. Both sexes mature sexually at 12 months, but 6 months possible in males. Up to 15 years in captivity. Keeping Four-horned Sheep Hardy animals with high resistance to parasites, disease and foot problems. Hooves generally need trimming once a year, even on soft pasture. Shearing is recommended on an annual basis and helps dealing with summer heat. Horns may need trimming to avoid contact with skin. Jacob’s four-horns do not need supplemental grain, if an excellent quality forage or hay is available. Feeding excessive grain during pregnancy can cause birth complications. Simple, open shelter from rain and weather is needed. They can be skittish if not used to humans, although with daily handling and interaction they can become quite tame. Mix well with goats and other livestock/exotics so long as ample grazing resources exist. Interbreed with other sheep breeds regularly with hybrids being fertile. Four ft. fencing or enclosure is normally sufficient and should be close-woven to minimize the possibility of horns getting caught. Four-horned Sheep Hunting Sheep hunts generally range from $500 to $2500 depending on hunting package and trophy class –> avg. cost of a 4-horned ram hunt is ~ $1,500. Scoring Your Trophy Four-Horned Sheep SCI Record Book Minimums: (N. America - Introduced) \|Silver\|\|91 1/8"\|\|90 1/8"\| Current Record(s) Held: #1 - 136 & 7/8 - Doug Stromberg #8 - 125 & 1/8 - Roy C. Haug (pictured)	<urn:uuid:5b05f0c0-5888-40c5-81b7-88326af3a064>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.allaboutexotics.com/exotic-species/four-horned-sheep/	2013-05-24T15:37:21Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.924342	804
Portfolios are collections of students' work over time. A portfolio often documents a student's best work and may include other types of process information, such as drafts of the student's work, the student's self-assessment of the work, and the parents' assessment. Portfolios may be used for evaluation of a student's abilities and improvement. In recent years, portfolios of students' performance and products have gained impressive degrees of support from educators, who view them as a way to collect authentic evidence of children's learning. For many early childhood educators, portfolios are an attractive alternative to more traditional assessment approaches. Often, however, teachers raise important questions about what portfolios contain, what benefits they will bring to the classroom and the children, and how they can be managed. What do portfolios contain? Grosvenor (1993, pp. 14-15) lists three basic models: DeFina (1992) lists the following assumptions about portfolio assessment: What benefits can they bring? Teachers who have experience with portfolio assessment report that it complements such developmentally appropriate curriculum and instruction as whole language, hands-on approaches, and process mathematics. It also allows them to assess children's individual learning styles, enhances their ability to communicate with parents about children's learning, and helps to fulfill professional requirements of school and community accountability (Polakowski, 1993). Implemented well, portfolios can ensure that the focus and content of assessment are aligned with important learning goals. How can they be managed? The planning, collecting, storing, and interpreting of authentic information on children's progress over time is time consuming. Many teachers are initially hesitant or resistant to use portfolio assessment because they fear that adding it to their existing responsibilities may prove overwhelming. Teachers who have made the transition from traditional assessment to portfolio assessment advise that it requires a refocusing, not a redoubling of teacher effort. Since the kinds of materials collected are typical classroom tasks, assessment and instruction are joined together with curriculum. Time spent in this kind of assessment, then, is not time taken away from teaching and learning activities (Polakowski, 1993; Tierney, Carter, & Desai, 1991). Polakowski (1993, pp. 52-53) describes three management techniques she uses concurrently for instruction and individualized assessment: Using such techniques, a teacher is able to engage in one-to-one assessment conferences or instructional conversations and collect products for assessment purposes. What resources are available to help? The following are available from the growing published resources in this field: For additional information, refer to The Portfolio and Its Use: Developmentally Appropriate Assessment of Young Children (Grace, 1992).	<urn:uuid:dc4c1ad2-86f0-4978-9734-10f98fdec04d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea5l143.htm	2013-05-19T18:27:25Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.947866	545
The Flag We Love Extension Activity - Grades: PreK–K, 1–2 About this book PURPOSE: To learn about the flag while reviewing literacy skills. MATERIALS: The Flag We Love by Pam Muñoz Ryan, (Charlesbridge, 1996), scratch paper, overhead projector, blank overhead transparencies, permanent markers TIME NEEDED: 8 days to prepare, 1 for performance Seeing the Winter Olympics reminded me of how flags symbolize national identity and history. May 25, Memorial Day, and June 14, Flag Day, present great opportunities to teach students about the flags' origin. I have kids perform a poem which, in rhyming verse, explains the history and symbolism of our flag. Read a Rhyme about the Grand Old Flag Day 1: I read aloud the picture book The Flag We Love . We then talk about the facts that are included on every page. I explain that we will perform a choral reading of the poem for invited guests. Day 2: I ask students to brainstorm a program for our assembly. Students usually want to add music, ask the audience to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and make small flags to wave. Day 3: I copy each verse of the poem on a separate sheet of paper. (The poem has 17 four-line verses.) I also copy collections of the books' flag facts onto sheets of paper. Each child gets either a verse or a collection of facts. I ask kids to take home their “lines” and memorize them by Day 6. I send home a letter explaining what we're doing and inviting parents to our assembly. Day 4: We stage our first rehearsal. I line kids up in the order of the verse they're reading (kids who have facts read them either before or after the poem). Day 5: I ask each student to make a sketch that features the flag in some way. I tell kids that they will use the sketches to create an overhead transparency that we will flash on the screen while we perform our poem. Day 6: I give students blank overhead transparencies, and ask that they draw their pictures on them with permanent markers. Kids lay the overhead on top of their picture so they can copy it onto the transparency. (They tape the “master picture” and the overlay to their desks to prevent sliding). Day 7: I review tips about public speaking, such as be loud, be clear, and look at the audience. I then have students practice where they are going to stand, how they will get from their seats to that place, and so on. Day 8: We do another run-through with the over-heads: each student places his transparency on the overhead when he recites his part of the poem. Day 9: It's show time! Source: "Celebrate the Stars and Stripes" by Tarry Lindquist in INSTRUCTOR, May/June 1998	<urn:uuid:9f75b0ff-baed-43c9-8688-376ace04ee30>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/flag-we-love-extension-activity	2013-05-23T12:29:43Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703306113/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112146-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.939572	609
(gawk.info.gz) Using Constant Regexps 5.2 Using Regular Expression Constants When used on the righthand side of the `~' or `!~' operators, a regexp constant merely stands for the regexp that is to be matched. However, regexp constants (such as `/foo/') may be used like simple expressions. When a regexp constant appears by itself, it has the same meaning as if it appeared in a pattern, i.e., `($0 ~ /foo/)' (d.c.) Expression Patterns. This means that the following two code segments: if ($0 ~ /barfly/ \|\| $0 ~ /camelot/) if (/barfly/ \|\| /camelot/) are exactly equivalent. One rather bizarre consequence of this rule is that the following Boolean expression is valid, but does not do what the user probably intended: # note that /foo/ is on the left of the ~ if (/foo/ ~ $1) print "found foo" This code is "obviously" testing `$1' for a match against the regexp `/foo/'. But in fact, the expression `/foo/ ~ $1' actually means `($0 ~ /foo/) ~ $1'. In other words, first match the input record against the regexp `/foo/'. The result is either zero or one, depending upon the success or failure of the match. That result is then matched against the first field in the record. Because it is unlikely that you would ever really want to make this kind of test, `gawk' issues a warning when it sees this construct in a program. Another consequence of this rule is that the assignment statement: matches = /foo/ assigns either zero or one to the variable `matches', depending upon the contents of the current input record. This feature of the language has never been well documented until the POSIX specification. Constant regular expressions are also used as the first argument for the `gensub', `sub', and `gsub' functions, and as the second argument of the `match' function ( String Functions). Modern implementations of `awk', including `gawk', allow the third argument of `split' to be a regexp constant, but some older implementations do not. (d.c.) This can lead to confusion when attempting to use regexp constants as arguments to user-defined functions ( User-defined). function mysub(pat, repl, str, global) gsub(pat, repl, str) sub(pat, repl, str) text = "hi! hi yourself!" mysub(/hi/, "howdy", text, 1) In this example, the programmer wants to pass a regexp constant to the user-defined function `mysub', which in turn passes it on to either `sub' or `gsub'. However, what really happens is that the `pat' parameter is either one or zero, depending upon whether or not `$0' matches `/hi/'. `gawk' issues a warning when it sees a regexp constant used as a parameter to a user-defined function, since passing a truth value in this way is probably not what was intended. automatically generated by	<urn:uuid:26485163-2f99-4ae0-a1c9-6c382f256398>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://info2html.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/info2html-demo/info2html?(gawk.info.gz)Using%2520Constant%2520Regexps	2013-05-20T02:48:35Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.822612	730
Apr. 1, 2010 A hitherto unknown reproductive system in a species closely related to the olive tree, Phillyrea angustifolia L., has been discovered by researchers in France. This system explains the high concentration of male individuals co-occurring with hermaphrodites in this species. The hermaphrodites, whose blossoms bear both male and female organs, are divided into two morphologically indistinguishable groups. The plants of each group are sterile among themselves but fully compatible with those of the other group. Under these conditions, the hermaphrodites can fertilize only half of the pollen recipients, whereas the males can pollinate all the hermaphrodites. The disadvantage weighing upon the males is thus neatly counterbalanced. This discovery proves for the first time the possibility of an evolutionary transition from hermaphroditism to dioecy. A report has been published in Science. Researchers at the Laboratoire de Génétique et Évolution des Populations Végétales (CNRS/Université de Lille 1) and the Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (CNRS/Université de Montpellier 1, 2 and 3/ENSA Montpellier/CIRAD/Ecole Pratique des Hautes Études) have discovered in Phillyrea angustifolia L., a species closely related to the olive tree, a hitherto unknown reproductive system characterized by incompatibility between hermaphrodite plants. This new reproductive mode explains the mystery of the high frequencies (up to 50%) of male individuals co-occurring with hermaphrodite individuals in this species. The hermaphrodite individuals, whose blossoms bear both male and female organs, are divided into two morphologically indistinguishable groups. The plants of each group are self-incompatible (they cannot fertilize each other) but fully compatible with plants of the other group. In such a system, a given hermaphrodite plant can pollinate only half of the other hermaphrodites, while a male can pollinate all the hermaphrodites in the population. These conditions neatly offset the reproductive disadvantage affecting the males, which have no female function (and are also referred to as "female-sterile" for this reason) and can thus transmit their genes only by male gametes, and not by both male and female gametes like the hermaphrodites. In addition, this self-incompatibility within two morphologically identical groups of hermaphrodites could be a key reproductive mode, the origin of plant species with separate genders that evolve through "intermediary" reproductive systems. In the overall context of the evolution of reproductive systems from hermaphroditism toward dioecy (system in which individuals are exclusively either male or female), mixed systems involving the presence in the same species of both females and hermaphrodites (gynodioecy) or both males and hermaphrodites (androdioecy) are considered intermediaries derived from hermaphroditism. However, all previous empirical examples have shown that androdioecy had evolved from dioecious systems through the females' acquisition of a male function, and not from hermaphroditic systems through the loss of the female function by certain hermaphrodites. This new study shows for the first time that a transition from hermaphroditism to androdioecy (presence of hermaphrodite and male individuals within the populations of a single species) is possible. This discovery of a self-incompatibility system involving only two morphologically indistinguishable groups of hermaphrodite plants comes as a totally unexpected development. One of the researchers' next challenges will be to explain, from a functional point of view, how the number of self-incompatibility groups has been maintained at two. Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above. - P. Saumitou-Laprade, P. Vernet, C. Vassiliadis, Y. Hoareau, G. Magny (de), B. Dommee, J. Lepart. A Self-Incompatibility System Explains High Male Frequencies in an Androdioecious Plant. Science, 26 March 2010 DOI: 10.1126/science.1186687 Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.	<urn:uuid:96c5cc19-1110-42dc-8c08-f3d28cfe3ca5>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100331141614.htm	2013-05-25T13:02:46Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.892673	958
(Click on image for larger view) \| PreK - Grade 1. Children learn numeral identification, matching, one-to-one correspondence, counting, addition, and subtraction. Count-a-Pig kit includes 75 objects, matching See-Thru Stamp, counting tubs with labels, laminated counting cards, and I Can Read Numbers Minibook Masters, plus Teaching Notes. Copyright © 2013 Kaplan Early Learning Company. All rights reserved.	<urn:uuid:21359b8d-c131-4283-9362-6e0bb98503d2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.kaplantoys.com/store/trans/productDetailForm.asp?CatID=12%7C%7C0&fAge=4&Page=1&Max=31&Seq=35%2E95&PID=16687	2013-05-22T07:50:10Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.889317	95
With activities for children from infancy through age 5 \|PDF (759 KB)\| \|“The ages between birth and age 5 are the foundation upon which successful lives are built.”Laura Bush\| Scientists who study how the brain works have shown that children learn earlier-and learn more-than we once thought possible. From birth through age 5, children are developing the language, thinking, physical, emotional and social skills that they will need for the rest of their lives. This booklet is for families and caregivers who want to help their preschool children to learn and to develop the skills necessary for success in school-and in life. The booklet begins with information that will help you prepare your child to learn and to get ready for school. The major portion of the booklet contains simple activities that you can use with your child. These activities are only a starting point. We hope that you and your child will enjoy them enough to create and try many more on your own. In addition, the booklet provides suggestions for how to monitor your child's TV viewing and to choose good TV programs and videos and how to choose suitable child care. It also provides a checklist to guide you as you prepare your child to enter kindergarten. As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child's later success. Enjoyment is important! So, if you and your child don't enjoy one activity, move on to another. You can always return to any activity later on.	<urn:uuid:c6004845-5e21-44a4-b2b6-aa60b24fd78f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www2.ed.gov/parents/earlychild/ready/preschool/part_pg3.html?exp=3	2013-05-19T02:24:26Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.96157	316
Paris - European and Australian scientists on Sunday said they had snared four more genes that highlight an inherited cause for common migraine. The genetic variants were spotted in a trawl through the DNA code of 4,800 people with a history of “migraine without aura,” which accounts for two-thirds of migraine attacks. But the telltales were absent among more than 7,000 counterparts who did not suffer from these debilitating headaches. In previous work, researchers uncovered three genes associated with migraine. But this is the first to find genes not linked to migraine with aura - the sensation in which patients have the impression of looking through frosted glass. Migraine affects roughly one woman in six and one man in eight, and is a major cause of work absence. The precise cause is unknown, but inherited vulnerability as well as environmental triggers are the suspects. Scientists describe the condition as a brain disorder in which neurons, or brain cells, respond abnormally to stimuli. Two of the newly-identified genes back the theory that blood vessels, and thus blood flow, play an important part in the process. The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, was led by the International Headache Genetics Consortium. - Sapa-AFP	<urn:uuid:90d2d203-a1eb-47c8-b334-b678302d4a5d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/news/genes-show-clues-to-migraine-1.1316339	2013-06-19T14:40:15Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.956163	257
Send this page to: From 1923 to 1956, the city of Tangier was legally designated as an International Zone ruled by eight Western countries. Tangier was under the control of foreign consuls, and was considered by “most pious Moroccans as a place apart, a plague zone infested and infected by infidels.” The city’s international status made it possible for people of different ethnicities and nationalities to take it as a place of residence. Tangier thus housed diverse inhabitants; in addition to its native Arabs, Berbers, and Jews, there were Spaniards, Frenchmen, Englishmen, Americans, Greeks, and others. Geographically, the city was divided into quarters housing myriad nationalities, speaking different languages. Tangier, in a way, resisted the idea of the nation. For Rom Landau, Tangier represented “a space that exposed the nation form as a fiction.” And Greg Mullins describes the international city as “suspended between nations, cultures, and languages” and forming “a place of intermediacy and ambiguity . . . outside standard narratives of nationhood and identity.” Tangier was truly a meeting point between different ethnicities, cultures, religions, traditions, civilizations, languages, and ways of life. Its diversity, multiculturalism, and internationalism were factual and visible in its very physical layout. The city’s urban space could at least be divided into two major parts, the old medina –which was inhabited almost exclusively by Moroccan natives – and the new part of the city –which housed Tangier’s diverse, foreign residents. It’s worthwhile to point out that colonialism intensified the “hybridization” and multiplicity of Tangier’s urban space and was also a major factor behind the emergence of a “Tangieran Literature” marked by hybridity, multiculturalism, and multilingualism. Tangier’s internationalization was one of those rare cases of what one could call collective colonialism, a phenomenon that affected significantly the outline of the city’s urban space. This collective colonialism brought to Moroccan-Islamic-Arab-Berber-Jewish Tangier the marks of Western modernity regarding urban planning and design. In his discussion of the physical layout of classical Moroccan cities, Khalid Amine underscores the fact that the circular form and town gates are deeply rooted in Moroccan city planning and architectural design since medieval times. Amine asserts that colonialism did affect “the morphology of most Moroccan cities, giving birth to new cities . . . beside the old ones.” The Western powers that controlled Tangier wanted to add a European flavor to its well-established Muslim-Arab-Berber heritage; and consequently a new part of Tangier came into existence. This new part radically changed the overall physical layout of the city and endowed it with hybridity, multiculturalism, and internationalism, features that go hand in hand with its status as International Zone. Iain Finlayson captures, to some extent, the transformation in Tangier’s urban space in the first half of the twentieth-century: The new town [in Tangier], which dates in origin only from 1910, floated airily on a plateau above the old [town], like a wedding cake . . . .The streets, in their regular angularity, might have been inspired by Haussmann, radiating in a geometrical pattern from the Place de France like the beams of a star. . . . Refreshing breezes bowled along behind the new motor cars –Fords, Cadillacs, Renaults – and bicycles that cruised along the boulevard or the avenue d’Espagne that ran straight . . . . The cosmopolitan tone of the town was gracefully complemented by the names given to its streets –boulevard Pasteur, avenue Mondes-Portillo, rue Velasquez, rue d’Angleterre, rue du Portugal, rue de Russie, rue de Mexique, rue de Belgique, avenue des Nations. It’s interesting and telling that Finlayson evokes the name Haussmann in the quote above. Georges-Eugène Haussmann, a French urban planner, was behind the rebuilding of Paris in the second half of the nineteenth century. In his Paris: Capital of the Nineteenth Century, Walter Benjamin refers to the “Haussmanization” of Paris. Benjamin points out that “Haussmann’s urbanistic ideal was one of views in perspective down long street-vistas,” adding that the “institutions of the worldly and spiritual rule of the bourgeoisie, set in the frame of the boulevards, were to find their apotheosis,” and that even “before their completion, boulevards were covered over with tarpaulins, and unveiled like monuments.” Paris, under Haussman, was transformed from a quasi-medieval town into a modern city, marked by its wide angular boulevards and plazas. Indeed, the wide, angular boulevards in the new part of Tangier are reminiscent of Parisian boulevards. The regular, Haussman-like angularity of new Tangier stands in sharp contrast to the circular morphology of classical/medieval Moroccan cities that Khalid Amine underscores above. The new part of Tangier might have looked supra-European/Western. In other words, Tangier became –one could argue – more European than any single European city, for its physical layout and environment was a mélange of different European styles and influences, with notable contributions from the French and the Spaniards. This multinational Western mélange is aptly expressed in such appellations as Place de France, Rue d’Espagne, Rue d’Angleterre, Rue du Portugal, Rue de Russie, Rue de Mexique, Rue de Belgique, and Avenue des Nations. It’s important to emphasize that the legal status of the International Zone is closely tied to the city’s urban space, architectural design, and demography. When we talk about the international city of Tangier, what first comes to mind is the physical territory of the city and its foreign residents and visitors: We think of Westerners inhabiting the city’s new buildings, schools, institutions, cafés, streets, boulevards, diplomatic missions, houses, and so forth. We think of that “spatial and experiential environment” which is marked by multiplicity, mélange, hybridity, and multiculturalism. New Tangier’s urban design in the early twentieth century looked (and still does) Western/European, rather than quintessentially Arab or Muslim. The Western look and feel of Tangier cannot escape visitors and tourists. One cannot fail, for instance, to notice the different languages on buildings and billboards throughout the city: Arabic, Spanish, French, English, and sometimes even Italian. Berber is now being added as another national language. The diversity of the physical layout of International Tangier was further corroborated by its diverse residents who formed distinct social groups. Finlayson stresses that the international Zone was anything but homogeneous; he asserts that the city housed “a variety of social divisions and subdivisions that accord with a general instinctive perception of class, national, racial, religious, political and sexual discriminations . . . .” Finlayson characterizes Tangier as a “frontier town,” underscoring the fact that its “social borders are as fluid as the boundaries of any Balkan or Middle-Eastern country.” Greg Mullins, on his part, offers an interesting take on the immixing of Tangier’s diverse inhabitants; he points out that “sexual promiscuity provided the avenue through which the cultural, historical, and political indeterminacy of the International Zone was compressed into interpersonal contact.” He adds that “queer sexuality” marked the relations among expatriates on one hand, and between expatriates and the natives of Tangier, on the other. Such transnational, transcultural encounters had far-reaching implications for Tangier’s culture and literature, a point of utter importance. The emerging literature of Tangier –literature produced either in or on Tangier – truly reflects a fascinating “cosmopolitanism.” The crossings between different social, national, ethnic, sexual, and/or religious groups –crossings enabled by the sheer physical space of the city owing to its supracolonial garb – played a major role in the literary, imaginary crossings within the literature of Tangier. In other words, International Tangier’s urban/human space affected tremendously its literary, imaginary space. Mullins captures this dynamic when he states that after Tangier was reabsorbed in the newly independent Moroccan state in 1956 American writer William Burroughs “had stopped writing about the material city of Tangier and had begun creating an imaginary Interzone through the manuscript that would become Naked Lunch.” Allen Hibbard notes that “the various kinds of personal encounters between Americans and Moroccans in Tangier” gave birth to “unique literary expressions.” To add a historical background with regard to Tangier’s native and expatriate writers, I should point out that the city’s hybridity and diversity attracted many Westerners even after having been annexed –or liberated – by Morocco. Indeed, large crowds from Europe and the US swarmed the city in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s for a variety of reasons; some sought drugs, some sex, some seclusion, some spirituality, some inspiration, and some all of the above. Most importantly, Tangier attracted a number of literary figures from the West, namely the US, the UK, and France. Among the early Western writers who made their journey to Tangier were American Paul and Jane Bowles. Others who followed suit included Brian Gysin, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, Jean Genet, and Alfred Chester. Such transnational, transcultural encounters within Tangier played a key role in transforming the city from a locale of physical hybridity into a space of literary hybridity. This process of literary hybridization, I should add, does not exclude the city’s physical hybridity. In a way, one could say that Tangier became a supra-hybrid space of physical hybridity and literary hybridity. As a meeting point of writers of diverse backgrounds, Tangier inspired both foreign and Moroccan writers to produce literary works with visible marks of cultural and linguistic hybridity. Jeffrey Miller notes that “coming directly and indirectly out of Tangier, [we have] a showcase of literary production and scholarship involving a half-dozen languages –Arabic, English, Spanish, Ottoman Turkish, French, Italian, even Meso-American, and a few more languages in addition to these, what might fairly be called a truly cosmopolitan array of works by a community of writers and artists.” Interestingly, Tangerian literature –especially during the colonial period – was a key element in diluting the already hazy concept of the nation within the city. Tangier-based writers and artists bore clear marks of cosmopolitanism. And this cosmopolitan/hybrid bind characterizing the emerging Tangerian literature was perhaps an inevitable outcome of the internationalization of the city and the transnational, transcultural encounters that took place therein. Anouar El Younssi is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and instructor of Arabic and Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University. His research interests include Moroccan Literature, Arabic Literature, Francophone Literature, the Beat Generation, and Postcolonial Literature and Studies.	<urn:uuid:d7c438ca-1649-47eb-adea-5b3205c891a4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.tingisredux.com/article/colonial_tangier_from_a_hybrid_space_to_a_hybrid_literature.html	2013-05-26T03:50:16Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706578727/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121618-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938472	2,461
BERKELEY -- Space scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found two nearby stars that appear to be continually bombarded by comets, thought by many to be the building blocks of planets. The two stars, each about 450 light years from Earth, bring to four the number of known solar systems so young that their inner regions are still peppered with comets. Because planets are thought to coalesce from the collision of comets and asteroids, it is likely that planets are forming within the gas and dust surrounding these stars. "Observations of comet-like bodies, or 'planetesimals,' outside of our solar system are of great importance in understanding the role of comets in the formation of all planetary systems," said Barry Y. Welsh, a researcher in interstellar gas studies at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory. "Our observations indicate a high level of cometary activity in these disk systems suggesting that there is potentially plenty of raw building material for new planetary bodies." Welsh and colleagues Nahide Craig of UC Berkeley and Ian Crawford of University College, London, England, reported data on the two stars -- HD85905 and HR10 -- at the June 7-11 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, Calif. Both stars show clear evidence of surrounding disks of gas and dust, Welsh said. Until recently, only one star -- Beta Pictoris -- was known to possess both proto-planetary dust and gas clouds, although dust disks have been observed around perhaps a dozen other stars. It seems likely that the stars' gravity is pulling swarms of kilometer-sized solid bodies out of the surrounding dust disk into highly elliptical orbits, which bring the comets within about 100 million miles of the stars' surfaces, where they are destroyed. The discovery was made during two observing runs in 1997 from the 1.5-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile. The telescope's high resolution spectrograph showed highly variable features that could only be attributed to the evaporation of large blobs of gas, presumably originating in the nuclei of comets as they approached close to the central stars. "Our observations show large changes in the amount of gaseous calcium and sodium from night to night," Craig said. "The amounts seen are consistent with the evaporation of gas from comet-like objects, similar to the huge tails of glowing gas that many people in North America saw last year from Comet Hale-Bopp. These observations show identical behavior to that routinely seen towards the star Beta Pictoris, a well-known candidate proto-planetary system." Beta Pictoris is the preeminent example of a solar system whose central star is being hit by continual swarms of gaseous bodies, probably comets. Since 1984, when Beta Pictoris was found to be surrounded by a disk of dust -- presumably a swirling planetary nursery -- astronomers have trained telescopes and radio dishes on the star in search of actual planets. This intense study turned up a surprise in 1985, when a doughnut of gas was found around the star. Even more surprising, bursts of gas seemed to pop up almost daily, a phenomenon attributed to comet-like bodies, or planetesimals, falling into the center of the system and spewing out gas as they are heated by the star. Presumably the comets are pulled in from the dust cloud surrounding the star, just as comets in our solar system today are pulled from a distant concentration of comets called the Oort Cloud. Despite intense searches, no similar star systems with cometary activity were found until last year, when variable ultraviolet gas cloud emissions indicated the presence of newly forming proto-planets around HD100546, a star also known to have a dusty disk. The UV emissions were detected by Carol Grady of Eureka Scientific, Inc., and coworkers using the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite. Welsh and his colleagues thought of a simpler way to look for systems like Beta Pictoris: search out stars that resemble Beta Pictoris as closely as possible. "I made a list of everything we knew about Beta Pictoris from an astronomical viewpoint, and then I looked for stars with these characteristics," Welsh said. "How hot it is, how old it is, is there dust, how fast is it rotating?" Welsh and his colleagues identified some 40 candidates and were able to look at six of them for five or more separate nights last year. Two showed clear evidence of gas bursts. "I've discovered a cheap way to find them," Welsh said. "The only difficulty is that you have to look for many nights at these objects, and it is hard to get sufficient telescope time for that." Gas can be detected around a star because it absorbs starlight. In looking at Beta Pictoris, astronomers noticed not only absorption from a doughnut of gas around the star, but also additional absorption that seemed to appear and disappear on a daily basis. The interpretation was that large comets or swarms of comets evaporated periodically as they approached the star, causing a brief decrease in the light coming from the star. The UC Berkeley team found the same signature with HD85905 and HR10. This past April three other stars -- Vega, Fomalhaut and HR4796A -- made headlines when two separate groups of astronomers produced new Hubble Space Telescope photos that seemed to show evidence of proto-planets in the disks of dust around the stars. "Much attention has recently been focused on detecting the infrared signatures from disks of dust surrounding proto-planetary systems such as Vega and HR4796," Crawford said. "Our new observations show the presence of gas disks and comet-like bodies in these planetary building sites. Although the inner planets in our own Solar System are made mostly of rock, the outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants. Our new data show a potential reservoir of gaseous building materials for such planets." While Welsh acknowledges that the evidence for planets in formation around the two stars is indirect, "there is no other mechanism that can explain what we're seeing -- the data tell us there are numerous asteroids and comets around these stars," he said.	<urn:uuid:de0ccae0-a91e-4f3f-b125-f1dcd5fce903>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://carlkop.home.xs4all.nl/cometsta.html	2013-05-23T04:35:25Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.957251	1,268
Concussions—brain injuries caused by a blow to the head or body—are common in contact sports. It is estimated that 3.8 million concussions happen each year in sports and recreational activities. Dr. Robert Cantu is a concussion expert. He says that because kids' brains are more at risk for injury than adults' brains, tackle football, heading in soccer and bodychecking in ice hockey should not start until kids are 14. "Starting later is fine too," he told TFK. But other experts believe that the risk of getting injured is just part of the game. Plus, if kids wear protective equipment and are taught to play correctly, they will reduce their chances of getting hurt. Here, two readers share their opinions. Justin Sweeney, 11 Middletown Springs, Vermont Kids of all ages should be allowed to play contact sports. Players should have to wear the right protective gear at all times or else they should not be allowed to participate. If you wear pads, a mouth guard and a helmet, you should be able to play safely and still have fun. If you follow the rules, that should keep you safe too. Starting contact sports earlier means more training and practice the way a sport is actually played. That teaches kids how to play in a way that prevents injuries. Sheriah Stephen, 10 Centennial, Colorado Too many kids get seriously injured playing contact sports. Even if you are wearing the right protective gear and playing by the rules, you can still get hurt by other players. If you protect your body now, you have a much greater chance of becoming a better player later. When you are 14, your body is stronger and can handle impact better. When you are younger, your brain and body are more at risk for injury. Plus, older kids can better understand the risks and rules of the sport. To access the digital edition of TIME For Kids, go to timeforkids.com/digital.	<urn:uuid:04770682-95d0-4f65-be60-cfe706079808>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.timeforkids.com/news/should-kids-under-14-play-contact-sports/64716	2013-05-22T01:11:36Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700984410/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104304-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.963652	398
Updated: 2010/10/25RSS Feed Flu Basics and Prevention - Flu Basics and Prevention - Hand Washing/sanitizer - Coughing and Sneezing Etiquette - High-Risk Groups - Flu Shots - Emergency Preparedness List Seasonal flu is a common respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus. Many strains and types of the virus circulate throughout the world every year, causing local outbreaks and making people sick. In Canada, flu season usually runs from November to April. Most people recover from influenza within a week, but some—including those over 65 and adults and children with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and cancer—are at greater risk of more severe complications, such as pneumonia. Depending on the severity of the season, between 2,000 and 8,000 Canadians can die of seasonal influenza and its complications annually. Find out more about seasonal flu. Prevention and Protection Are Paramount The seasonal flu virus is highly contagious and can live on hard surfaces for several hours. You can become infected if you breathe in droplets, which are spread when infected people cough or sneeze, or touch surfaces handled by infected people and then touch your eyes, mouth or nose. There are a number of basic things we can all do to help prevent us from catching—and spreading—the flu: - Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. - No access to soap and water? Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. - Cough or sneeze into a tissue and throw the tissue in the garbage immediately. If no tissue is available, cover your mouth and nose with your arm or sleeve—but not your hands. - Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes. - Avoid shaking hands if you have any flu-like symptoms and try to stay at least two metres away from others. - Disinfect shared surfaces such as phones, doorknobs and keyboards. - Stay home if you have flu-like symptoms. - Public health authorities recommend that you get your seasonal flu shot every year. - Stay healthy. Get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet and get regular exercise. - If you have questions, talk to your doctor or health care provider.	<urn:uuid:77482b96-7974-4498-932d-6e5f2cf385e1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.infopost.ca/en/flu-central-home/flu-basics-and-prevention/	2013-05-25T06:39:39Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705575935/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115935-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.943845	462
The meeting, "Genes, Mutations and Disease: The Environmental Connection," will be held Oct. 2 to 6 at the Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers. While most research has focused on the changes in DNA sequence caused by cigarette smoke, little attention has been given to how smoke affects genomic stability of cells. In laboratory studies using human fibroblasts, common cells found in connective tissue, William S. Saunders, Ph.D., and colleagues discovered that exposure to even a small amount of cigarette smoke condensate equal to about 1/25 of a cigarette caused breaks to both strands of DNA and compromised the integrity of the cell's chromosomes. Cigarette smoke contains some 5,000 organic compounds, including chemicals known to cause cancers. While the researchers did not expose cells to actual puffs of smoke, the cigarette smoke condensate they used was derived from burning real cigarettes and obtained from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Containing mostly particulates, the extracted smoke was liquefied as part of a solvent mixture before it was exposed to the cells. "Double-stranded breaks are considered the most mutagenic type of DNA damage because the broken ends can fuse to other chromosomes in the cell. Chromosome fusion is detrimental to normal chromosome segregation, which in turn leads to genetic imbalances," explained Dr. Saunders, associate professor of biological sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Arts and Sciences, and a researcher with the Or	<urn:uuid:79c52fd2-1063-4163-a7a0-5fe769d09e0f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://news.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-2/Cigarette-smoke-causes-breaks-in-DNA-and-defects-to-a-cells-chromosomes--Pitt-study-finds-19-1/	2013-05-23T11:49:02Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.952266	296
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) was an English soldier, statesman, and leader of the Puritan revolution. He rose from the ranks of the middle gentry to become an outstanding soldier; his genius for organizing and inspiring the parliamentary armies, called the "New Model Army" and nicknamed "roundheads", was displayed at the battle of Marston Moor (1644). His admiring soldiers called him "Old Ironsides". Victory in the field allowed him to execute the king in 1649 and become a virtual dictator; after 1653 he ruled under the title "Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland." He executed an aggressive and generally effective foreign policy. He also promoted education. Cromwell did as much as any English ruler to shape the future of the land he governed, but his Commonwealth collapsed after his death and the royal family was restored in 1660. An intensely religious man--almost a Puritan Moses--he fervently believed God was guiding his victories. However he was never identified with any one sect or position, and favoured religious tolerance, except towards Catholics. His many admirers called him "God's Englishman". Cromwell is one of the most controversial figures in British history. Strongly held opinions stretch from those who label him a regicidal dictator who trampled on glorious royal traditions or a religious fanatic and a near-genocidal murderer of the Irish Catholics, to those who celebrate a hero of liberty who helped make the nation great. Most historians now have a favourable view of Cromwell's achievements and character. Recent BBC polls show the public considers him one of the ten greatest Britons. Cromwell was born at Huntingdon in eastern England on April 25, 1599. His father, Robert Cromwell, and his mother, Elizabeth Steward, were typical English country gentlefolk. His father was a younger son of a family founded by Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540), a minister of Henry VIII; they had acquired considerable wealth by taking over monastery property during the Reformation. At the time of Oliver's birth his grandfather, Sir Henry Cromwell, was one of the two wealthiest landowners in Huntingdonshire, but his father was of modest means. Oliver was sent to the Huntingdon Grammar School and afterwards for one year only to Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University. His father died when he was 18, and Oliver, the only surviving son, left the university to look after his mother and six sisters. He studied law for a time at the Inns of Court in London, and at 21 he married Elizabeth Bourchier, the daughter of a London leather merchant. He then returned to Huntingdon and settled down as a farmer. For 20 years Cromwell followed the stable and common career of a country gentleman and farmer, taking a prominent part in local affairs. In 1628, he was sponsored by the Montagu family and elected by Huntingdon to the last parliament summoned by King Charles I before the 11-year period (1629-1640) during which the latter tried to rule without one--the so-called "Eleven Years Tyranny." Cromwell's only speech in the Parliament of 1628-1629 was a fierce attack upon the High Church bishops. About 1628 he had a profound religious conversion that shaped his life; he became involved in local networks of Puritans, did some lay preaching, and considered a move to the Puritan colony of Connecticut. In 1631 after a humiliating political defeat in Huntingdon, and near bankrupt, he moved to St. Ives, and four years later to Ely. About this time he caught malaria, which troubled him sporadically and shortened his life. An inheritance in 1636 brought him the adequate income of £300 a year. When King Charles I was forced by a shortage of funds to recall Parliament in 1640, Cromwell was returned to this Parliament as the M.P. for Cambridge. Known as the Short Parliament, Charles again dissolved the house after only 3 weeks. Cromwell became a local leader in the rapidly the expanding Puritan movement, which demanded a radical reform of the Church of England, and was opposed to the High Church tendencies favored by William Laud, who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633. In 1640, Cromwell was returned to Parliament as member for Cambridge, the poorest man in the House of Commons by some distance; he wore a coarse suit, and plain linen shirt, its collar spotted with blood. Poor in dress but rich in speech, he was a man with a fearless and tactless tongue who denounced the tyranny of the bishops, and the pervasive idolatry of the established Church. He served on eighteen high-profile committees, especially those concerned with investigating religious innovation and abuse of ecclesiastical power. However, he was shunned by those leading the opposition to Charles I's government, but when it came for war he was packed off to raise troops in his home area, which he did with remarkable success. Causes of the Civil War (1630-1642) In 1630-42, when he governed without calling a parliament, King Charles I multiplied his enemies by imposing irritating financial exactions upon various classes of the community, using prerogative powers exercised by the king in centuries past. He demanded "ship money" from the towns, fined country gentlemen (including Cromwell) for refusing to accept knighthood, raised "forced loans," and increased customs duties. He did all this because he had no right to levy fresh taxes without the consent of Parliament; indeed, his broad aim was to secure the financial independence of the monarchy, and to fasten uniformity upon the Church. Thus the king antagonized the Puritan reformers as well as many of the country gentry and townspeople. In 1638 he became involved in a war against his Scottish subjects (he was hereditary king of Scotland as well as of England) when he tried to force upon them a prayer book similar to that in use in the English Church. They rebelled, and he was compelled to call a parliament at Westminster to ask for money to pursue the war. The accumulation of grievances against the king over eleven years made the leaders of the House of Commons aggressive and uncooperative. Cromwell at once showed himself to be a staunch Puritan, and as such gave steady support to the critics of church and government. The Long Parliament During the summer of 1640 King Charles was again defeated and humbled by the Scottish rebels. He appealed for help to a new parliament, which met in the autumn, with Cromwell again M.P. for Cambridge. This "Long Parliament," as it was to be called, repudiated the king's policies and obliged him to surrender many of his prerogative powers. It put to death one of the king's chief ministers, the Earl of Strafford. Cromwell and a majority of the Commons voted for a "Grand Remonstrance" against the government, and showed they did not trust the king. When the Irish rose up in rebellion in 1641, Parliament demanded the power to appoint all the king's ministers and principal army officers--an unprecedented step. The king was eventually goaded to arrest five of the parliamentary leaders for treason. When this coup failed, King Charles left London to rally his supporters in the north of England. The Commons retorted by seizing "the power of the sword" and sending M.P.'s into their constituencies to gain control of local armories and militia. Cromwell himself went to Cambridge, took possession of the castle, arrested a captain of the militia, and prevented the colleges from sending their silver plate to the king, who was short of money. He raised a troop of 60 cavalry and searched for suspected royalists. In the Long Parliament he made his name as an extreme Puritan who desired the complete abolition of the bishops; in eastern England as a whole he was recognized as a champion of the right of all church congregations to choose their own ministers, and their own religious forms. Cromwell as soldier The civil war began in August 1642. From that moment, though totally inexperienced as a soldier, the aggressive Cromwell, now in his early 40's, rose to the front as a military organizer and a Puritan leader. Cromwell, a good horseman, became a cavalry officer, raising his own Parliamentarian troop in Huntingdon. Within a year he rose from captain, to colonel, to lieutenant general of one of the largest regional armies in England. Cromwell fought together with his cavalry at the drawn battle of Edgehill (October 23, 1642). Afterwards, he doubled the size of his troop, and then converted it into a full regiment, becoming a colonel in February 1643. With only 2,000 men he took charge of the defenses in the six parliamentarian heartland counties of East Anglia: Essex, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk. The threat was an attack from the north, and he prepared for it, while suppressing local pockets of royalists; he also organized a supply system based on county committees he appointed. He called repeatedly on the Commons to raise the pay, improve the training, and lift the morale of the soldiers they enlisted. The king, meanwhile, had a capable force furnished largely by peers, landed gentry, and their outdoor staffs. By the autumn of 1643, two thirds of England and Wales were under the king's control; in spite of minor successes achieved at Grantham, Gainsborough, and Winceby, where Cromwell served his apprenticeship in the art of war, the prognosis was poor for Parliament's army. In desperation the Parliamentary leaders came to terms with the Scottish leaders, and a Scottish army entered England in 1644. Cromwell became convinced that if he could produce a well-disciplined army he could defeat the Royalist forces under the king's nephew Prince Rupert, the Duke of Cumberland, and his Cavaliers. He also knew, as a result of his limited experience with the local county militia that pikemen, armed with sixteen-foot-long pikes, who stood their ground during a cavalry attack, could do a tremendous amount of damage. Cromwell had also realised that the Prince's cavalry were poorly disciplined, and that after they charged the enemy they then went in pursuit of individual targets. At the first major battle of the civil war at Edgehill, the majority of the Prince's cavalry did not return to the battlefield until over an hour after the initial charge. By this time the horses were so tired they were unable to mount another attack. Cromwell instead trained his cavalry to stay together after a charge, and in this way his forces could repeatedly charge the Cavaliers. Cromwell's new cavalry took part in its first major battle at Marston Moor in Yorkshire in July 1644. The king's forces suffered a crushing defeat, and Cromwell's soldiers became known as the Ironsides because of the way they cut through the Cavaliers on the battlefield. Cromwell himself earned the nickname Old Ironsides. New Model Army At the beginning of the Civil War, Parliament relied on soldiers recruited by large landowners who supported their cause. In February 1645, Parliament decided to form a new army of professional soldiers. This army of 22,000 men became known as the New Model Army and its commander-in-chief was General Thomas Fairfax. Cromwell was placed in charge of its cavalry. Members of the New Model Army received proper military training and by the time they went into battle they were very well-disciplined. Previously, people only became officers because they came from powerful and wealthy families. In the New Model Army men were promoted when they showed themselves to be good soldiers. For the first time it became possible for plain men to become army officers. Cromwell thought it was very important that soldiers in the New Model Army believed strongly in what they were fighting for. Where possible he recruited men who, like him, held strong Puritan views and the New Model Army always went into battle singing psalms, convinced that God was on their side. One strong faction among the regiments of the Army were known loosely as the "Levellers" "for they intend to sett all things straight, and rayse a parity and community in the kingdom". who subscribed to a belief in the "natural rights" of men that had been violated by the king's side. These natural rights, they asserted, came from the law of God expressed in the Bible. Puritans immediately recognized and appreciated his firm, fair and aggressive leadership. In a military career that only lasted a decade, he fought in more than thirty battles, and took part in more than forty sieges, without ever tasting defeat. The extraordinary self-discipline of his cavalry charges proved decisive in several of the greatest battles of the war, and earned Cromwell himself, and then his men, the title "Ironsides." He demanded that promotions and commands be given not to the well-born (who wore long flowing hair) but to the godly (who cut their hair short and were called "roundheads"). "I had rather have a plain russet-coated captain that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that which you call a gentleman and is nothing else." The two Houses moved to reorganize their armies in the winter of 1644-45, and created a new major assault force, the New Model Army. Cromwell was, to the joy of the radicals, and the dismay of the more cautious Parliamentarians, given command of the cavalry, effectively the number two position in the Army. Battles of Marston Moor and Naseby Oliver Cromwell, now a lieutenant general, fought alongside the Scots and a northern army under Lord Fairfax and his son, Sir Thomas, at the Battle of Marston Moor in Yorkshire on July 2, 1644, where the king's army, led by Prince Rupert, was outnumbered and defeated. Next year, fighting without the Scots, the New Model Army took part in its first major battle just outside the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire on 14 June 1645. The battle began when Prince Rupert led a charge against the left wing of the parliamentary cavalry which scattered and Rupert's men then gave chase. While this was going on Cromwell launched an attack on the left wing of the royalist cavalry. This was also successful and the royalists that survived the initial charge fled from the battlefield. Cromwell then ordered his cavalry to attack the now unprotected flanks of the infantry. Charles I was waiting with 1,200 men in reserve, but instead of ordering them forward to help his infantry he decided to retreat. Without support from the cavalry, the royalist infantry realised their task was impossible and surrendered. By the time Prince Rupert's cavalry returned to the battlefield the fighting had ended and his horses were exhausted after their long chase and not in a fit state to take on Cromwell's cavalry. The prince had no option but to ride off in search of the fleeing Charles I. The battle of Naseby was disastrous for the king, with 1,000 of his men killed, and another 4,500 of his most experienced men taken prisoner. The Parliamentary forces were also able to capture the Royalist baggage train that contained the king's complete stock of guns and ammunition. After Naseby, Charles was never able to raise another army strong enough to defeat the parliamentary army in a major battle. Cromwell served under Sir Thomas Fairfax, the new Parliamentarian commander in chief. In both these battles Cromwell distinguished himself by his courage, enterprise, and leadership. Above all, his hold on eastern England had contributed to the reversal of the fortunes of war. When King Charles allowed his stronghold of Oxford to capitulate in June 1646, and himself fled to seek the mercy of the Scottish army, Cromwell had gained a reputation as the outstanding general of the first civil war. Although he had publicly criticized some of the aristocratic parliamentary commanders for what he considered lethargy and incompetence, he had been a loyal lieutenant to his superior, Sir Thomas Fairfax. Second English Civil War In January 1647, Charles I fled to Scotland where he was captured and handed over to the New Model Army. Charles was imprisoned in Hampton Court, but in November 1647 he escaped and managed to rally support to raise another army. This time he was able to persuade the Scots to fight on his side. However, in August 1648 Cromwell's New Model Army defeated the Scots army (the "Engagers") at Preston, where Cromwell took sole command for the first time over an army of 9,000, which won a brilliant victory against the 18,000 strong Scots force. Once again King Charles was taken prisoner. Parliament versus Army: Second Civil War (1648) During the first civil war Cromwell retained his seat in the House of Commons, and appeared there whenever he could. In 1644 he had taken a leading part in promoting a "self-denying ordinance", whereby those members of parliament who had held commissions in the armed forces had relinquished them in order to make way for new blood, thereby paving the way for the appointment of the nonpolitical Fairfax. Cromwell himself had been ready to lay down his command, but Fairfax persuaded him to take command at the battle of Naseby in 1645. Cromwell was conscious of his gifts, but, as always in his life, attributed his victories to Almighty God. It was indeed his independent-minded, highly personal Puritan religion (to which he had been "converted" as a young married man) that had brought him into the war against the king, and had sustained him in every battle. When the alliance was made with the Scots, he had insisted that this must not be at the price of liberty of conscience for himself and his fellow Independents or "sectarians." However, he was at first content to leave to the civilian leaders in Parliament, most of whom were Presbyterians, the future shape of the government. However, the House of Commons (from which the Royalists had withdrawn at the outset of war) and the House of Lords, who were a mere handful, now showed themselves anxious to impose a rigid Presbyterian organization upon the English Church, and to dismiss Fairfax' soldiers, most of whom were Independents, without adequate compensation for their services. At first Cromwell, as an M.P. and a figure of immense influence in the army, tried to act as a mediator between Parliament and the soldiers. Eventually, he was driven to make a choice, and threw in his lot with the army. He also tried hard to come to terms with the king, whom the Scots had handed over as a prisoner to the English Parliament before their army went home. Cromwell was not opposed to a Presbyterian form of state church, but he insisted that the Puritan sects or Independents should be tolerated outside it. In negotiating a postwar settlement both with Parliament, and with the king, on behalf of the army, that was always the great point on which he would not yield. At the same time Cromwell acted as a conciliator within the army, trying to persuade those extremists who wanted to set up a democratic republic that the time was not ripe for so revolutionary a change. His idea was to have a constitutional monarchy, a middle-class parliament, and a tolerant church. But he reckoned without the king, who took advantage of the disputes among his enemies to escape to an island, thence to incite the Royalists both in England and in Scotland to a fresh civil war, which broke out early in 1648. Second Civil War and Execution of Charles I Parliament and its army now more or less closed ranks. While Sir Thomas Fairfax dealt with Royalist risings in southeast England, Cromwell first suppressed a rebellion in Wales, and then marched north to meet the Scots. He won a series of decisive victories over the larger Scottish army, in Lancashire (August 1648), marking his first major success as an independent commander. The temper of the army had been set aflame by the king's revival of war, and the Royalists' breach of faith. While the Presbyterians in Parliament still hoped to reach agreement with Charles I, Cromwell's son-in-law Henry Ireton led a movement to punish the king and overthrow the old monarchy. In December 1648, the southern army "purged" the Commons of its Presbyterian members and demanded the trial of the king. During the autumn Cromwell had followed his retreating enemy into Scotland, and restored order in Edinburgh, but he had lingered in the north until General Fairfax recalled him to London; he was hesitating over his political attitude. When he got back to the capital he approved of the purge, and took charge of the arrangements to bring Charles I to his trial under guard. Fairfax having washed his hands of all political matters, Cromwell accepted the responsibilities of leadership. He realized that the trial of the king would result in the latter's death, as a result of all the blood shed in the civil wars. Once he made up his mind, Cromwell acted ruthlessly, and it was largely by his personal efforts that the trial by what was in effect a revolutionary tribunal was pressed through, and the king was condemned to death. On January 30, 1649, King Charles I was beheaded on a block in view of a silent crowd gathered in front of the Banquet Hall of Whitehall Palace; the king's noble death proved a rallying point for his supporters. After the execution of Charles I, England became a republic; Cromwell was appointed a member of the Council of State, and was its first chairman. Meanwhile the Royalists had gained control of most of Ireland, which they hoped to use as a base for an invasion of England. Cromwell decided to eliminate the threat by invading. After occupying Dublin in August, 1649, he led his army north and laid siege to Drogheda. When Drogheda fell to the siege in September 1649, Cromwell's troops massacred nearly 3,500 people. Although this figure comprised around 2,700 royalist soldiers and all the men in the town bearing arms, a concerted propaganda campaign followed which ensured Cromwell was seen as a bloodthirsty tyrant in the national consciousness of Ireland. As recently as the 20th century Irish novelist James Joyce wrote in his novel Ulysses: "What about sanctimonious Cromwell and his ironsides that put the women and children of Drogheda to the sword with the bible text "God is love" pasted round the mouth of his cannon?". On September 10-11 his army stormed the town, and killed most of the surviving garrison, which had refused to surrender. Cromwell said that the killing at Drogheda had the goal of encouraging other garrisons to surrender and not fight to the death; indeed it induced some other Irish garrisons to surrender, such as Trim, Ross and Dundalk. In October the garrison at Wexford repulsed Cromwell's army but was overcome; here again no quarter was given once the garrison refused to surrender, and this time the town was plundered. By the end of the year most of the eastern coast of Ireland was in Cromwell's hands. Early in 1650 he marched his army inland, ravaging the land and slaughtering the populace regardless of age or sex. Destroying the power of the Irish Catholics In 1651 Cromwell's government adopted a policy of destroying the power of those Irish Catholics who did not become Protestants; they were seen as dangerous barbarians and potential allies of the Royalists. All Irish landholdings (except in Connacht, which was deemed to be too "barren") were confiscated, and most of the populace was driven into the wilds of Connacht to die of starvation and pestilence. The proportion of land owned by Catholics fell from 59% in 1641 to 20% in the span of two decades. The goal was to resettle the island with, in his view, more "Godly" Protestants, who were given the best lands, and given near complete control over the remaining Catholics. As a result, the Irish Catholics have hated Cromwell with a passion that continues to this day. Conquest of Scotland In May 1650 Cromwell learned that Charles II had landed in Scotland and been proclaimed king by the Scots Covenanter regime so he returned to England to put down this latest threat, leaving Henry Ireton and Edmund Ludlow in command of the English forces in Ireland. The last Catholic held town, Galway, surrendered in April 1652 and the last Irish troops surrendered in April 1653. In an effort to avert war, Cromwell appealed to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to break their alliance with the royalists, famously urging them: "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken." The Scot's rejected peace, and Cromwell invaded in August, 1650. The English republic was threatened because Scotland's Presbyterian Covenanters had come to terms with Charles I's eldest son, Charles II. General Fairfax resigned rather than invade Scotland, and Cromwell took his place as commander in chief. He crossed the Scottish border on July 22, 1650, but at first made little headway against the defensive strategy of the Scottish commander. As in Ireland his campaign was supported by English sea power, the importance of which he appreciated. Although cut off from his English base, Cromwell won a great victory at Dunbar (30 miles [48 km] east of Edinburgh) on Sept. 3, 1650. Cromwell destroyed the main Covenanter army at the battle of Dunbar on September 3 1650. Leaving 4,000 Scottish soldiers dead and 10,000 taken prisoner, he quickly moved to capture the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. During the winter 1650-51 Cromwell was taken ill and the army bogged down. But the following summer he outmaneuvered the Scots who, rather than allow themselves to have their lines of communication cut, followed the young King Charles II into England. Charles II and the remaining Covenanters was making a final desperate bid to invade England and capture London while Cromwell was still in Scotland. Cromwell rapidly pursued them south, however, and caught them at Worcester in September. In the ensuing battle Cromwell's forces wiped out the last major Scottish royalist army. Scotland was henceforward ruled from England under military occupation. Cromwell was welcomed as a hero on his return to London. Creating the Protectorate During the next two years the quarrel between Parliament and army, which had begun in 1647, was revived. The army was now radically inclined, seeking reform in Church and State. Cromwell became the spokesman of the army's point of view, although once again he tried first to act as conciliator between the two sides. The soldiers asked that the remnant of the original "Long Parliament" of 1640, now known as "the Rump," should be dissolved and a fresh reformist one-chamber Parliament be elected. Other sections of the community had tired of the long naval war then in progress against the Dutch Republic (1652-1654), in which Cromwell's army had no part, and indeed resented as a fratricidal war against fellow Protestants. When negotiations for the election of a new Parliament broke down, Cromwell forcibly dissolved the Rump on April 20, 1653. By 1653 Cromwell and his Army effectively controlled all Britain. Cromwell did not himself seize political power; he decided instead to invite the Independent churches to nominate members of a Puritan Assembly, which would exercise both executive and legislative powers. In spring 1653 came his best chance to become an all-powerful dictator, and he turned away; with a standing army of under 15,000 men at a time when the population of England and Wales was approximately 5.5 million, the creation of a military dictatorship was a practical impossibility. There were few political prisoners, and only those who actually participated in rebellion were executed; torture was not used. Named Lord Protector The Nominated Parliament set about reform with enthusiasm, but was soon split between a radical and a conservative wing. When the conservative wing gained control in December 1653 after a tussle, the majority resigned their powers into Cromwell's hands. This coup d'état was engineered by Cromwell's second-in-command, John Lambert; and it was Lambert who drew up an "Instrument of Government" as a new constitution for the English commonwealth. This constitution provided for an elected parliament, a nominated council of state, and a lord protector as chief executive officer. Cromwell was offered and accepted the post of Lord Protector, not as a dictator but as the first servant of the Commonwealth of England, united with conquered Scotland and Ireland. There was widespread republicanism and a sense that the old monarchical system was dead. Some officers wanted Cromwell to become a hereditary king but he refused and instead took the title Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. Cromwell did made the decisions--he was a dictator in that sense--but he rarely broke the law. He preferred persuasion to coercion and did not try to impose an authoritarian regime that tolerated only one set of ideas. His experiment with major-generals taking control of England has aspects of a military dictatorship, but the experiment lasted less than 15 months in 1655-57, and the generals did not in fact loom large in deciding local policies. So it verged upon, but did not reach, military rule. When offered the crown, Cromwell said no. He did set up his son as his successor, but made no serious preparations and the son was soon ousted. For the remaining five years of his life Cromwell governed as lord protector, sometimes with the help of a parliament, sometimes without it. But like the kings of old, he was always dependent upon the advice and support of his Council of State, or later, Privy Council. At its opening session the Protectorate Parliament (September 1654-January 1655) was more concerned about revising the new constitution than about passing legislation. Differences between protector and parliament encouraged the Royalists. In January 1655, Cromwell dissolved this parliament. Rule of the Major Generals A rebellion broke out in March 1655, and although it was easily suppressed, the country was divided into ten districts, each under a major general. That experiment lasted barely a year. Cromwell imposed martial law in England and the country was divided into eleven districts, each district being overseen by a Major-General. The responsibilities of these Major-Generals included maintaining order, collecting taxes, granting poor relief and imposing Puritan morality. In some districts bear-baiting, cock-fighting, horse-racing and wrestling were banned. Betting and gambling were also forbidden. Large numbers of pubs were closed and fines were imposed on people heard swearing. In some districts, the Major-Generals also closed the theatres. Meanwhile England was involved in a fresh war, this time waged against the Spanish Empire; Cromwell, needing money, called a new Parliament to vote him supplies. It met in fall 1656; Cromwell argued on behalf of his policies, but met with considerable opposition, especially from out-and-out republicans who objected to the whole idea of the Protectorate. The new House was therefore in effect "purged" of 160 members, many of whom refused to take an oath to uphold the structure of the Protectorate. The remaining members, on the whole, cooperated with Cromwell and his Council of State. But they were opposed to the system of local government through the major generals. Rather than sustain military rule, a group of lawyers and civilians proposed to create a constitutional monarchy and a Puritan Church, with Cromwell as king. Cromwell was tempted by the offer of a crown, but eventually, largely because of the opposition of his old friends and supporters in the army, he refused it. Nevertheless a new constitution was promulgated, providing for a revived House of Lords; a Lower House, to which all except known royalists were to be admitted; a Privy Council, replacing the Council of State; and certain restrictions on the powers of the lord protector and on freedom of religion. This constitution, originally called "the Humble Petition and Advice", came into effect in June 1657. A House of Lords was nominated, but the second Protectorate House of Commons, reinforced by the excluded members and deprived of Cromwell's friends whom he had promoted to the upper House, met in January 1658, to be the scene of an immediate attack launched upon the Protector by the republicans, and aiming to tear the new constitution to pieces. Cromwell was at last angered beyond restraint. Convinced that a fresh squabble in Parliament would be followed by a Royalist invasion, he promptly dissolved Parliament on Feb. 4, 1658. For the last few months of his life Cromwell governed without a parliament. The war (with France) against Spain was virtually won, thanks to naval victories. A naval expedition to the West Indies resulted in the capture of Jamaica from Spain (May 1655), and Cromwell tried to convert it into a flourishing British colony. In June 1658 he also obtained the port of Dunkirk as payment for the French alliance. After the peace with Holland in 1654, commerce had expanded. Cromwell in 1654-55 launched a vastly ambitious "Western Design", with conquest of key Spanish territories in the West Indies; it failed badly because of defeats, disease and guerrilla resistance. Cromwell despaired that God had turned against him, while public reactions focused on the failure of English character and masculinity, revealing the ideological structures that underpinned both imperial expansion and the English revolution during the 1650s. Contemporary accounts dwelt on the disastrous campaign to control Jamaica, contrasting the supposedly cowardly conduct of General Robert Venables in Jamaica with the heroism of Major General James Heane in Hispaniola, suggesting that Venables's pusillanimity reflected a general failure of the British troops to live up to the ideal of godly valor and English superiority, associated in the public mind with the New Model Army. The Western Design debacle was a crisis for Cromwell's protectorate, straining the notion that God favored Puritan England, but the vision of Heane's martial virtues ultimately provided a model that guided the future success of the British Empire. Cromwell fought hard against the more bigoted Puritans to maintain genuine freedom for the Christian religion, permitting even Episcopalians and Roman Catholics to worship in private houses. He appointed good judges, and pressed his legal advisers to reform the law and make it less expensive. He promoted education; for a time he was chancellor of Oxford University, and helped to found a college at Durham. The regime's religious policies fell significantly short of comprehensive toleration, though; rather, Cromwell offered liberty of conscience to a broad range of independent sects, whose members he sought to draw together in a united 'godly party'. Anglicans, Catholics and some of the more radical Protestant groups were excluded from the embrace of official toleration. Former members of the Levellers, an extreme anti-elitist group, grew disillusioned with the dictatorial policies of Cromwell. In 1655 Edward Sexby, John Wildman and Richard Overton were involved in fomenting a plot to overthrow the government, but the conspiracy was discovered and the plotters fled to the Netherlands. In May 1657 Edward Sexby published (under the pseudonym William Allen) Killing No Murder, a political pamphlet that argued the justification of an assassination of Cromwell. The following month he arrived in England to carry out the assassination, but was arrested and imprisoned. Death and succession Cromwell's strong personality and the backing of the army held the Commonwealth together and preserved internal peace; he had to contend with republican plotters as well as discontented Royalists and foreign enemies. By 1658 the government's debt stood at £1.5 million, largely because of the heavy cost of the armed forces, which the government proved unable to reduce in size. The regime's military commitments were taking it to the verge of bankruptcy, just when it seemed to be devising a feasible civilian basis for its rule. In 1658 Cromwell announced that he wanted his son, Richard Cromwell, to replace him as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. The English army was unhappy with this decision. While they respected Oliver as a skillful military commander, Richard was just a country farmer. Worn out, Oliver Cromwell died in London of malaria on September 3, 1658. On his deathbed he named his ineffective son Richard Cromwell (1626-1712) his successor. Richard lasted only 8 months, to be followed in power by the head of the army, George Monck; he lasted for less than a year, whereupon Parliament restored the monarchy, under Charles II. Image and reputation At the Restoration in 1660, Cromwell's body was disinterred from the tomb of kings in Westminster Abbey and was hung from the gallows at Tyburn. Blair Warden, a leading historian, reports, "From his century to ours, Oliver Cromwell has been the most controversial figure of English history." First, Cromwell is well known and highly thought of; recent BBC polls show the public considers him one of the ten greatest Britons. Second, his importance and influence is beyond doubt, as is his stature as an outstanding soldier and diplomat. The main facts of his career are not in dispute, only the moral evaluation of those facts. Third, the range and intensity of opinion is extreme, from those who laud him as a champion of liberty and republicanism who uplifted Britain's stature in the world, to those who hate him; labeling him a regicide and murderer of many Irish Catholics. The debate ranges from commoners to kings, and historians have been deeply involved. In the 1930s and 1940s most scholars saw him as a dangerous dictator, along the lines of Mussolini, Stalin and Hitler. In recent decades most all the scholars have been favorable. During his lifetime, some tracts painted him as a hypocrite motivated by power — for example, The Machiavilian Cromwell and The Juglers Discovered, both part of an attack on Cromwell by the Levellers after 1647, present him as a Machiavellian figure. After his death and public disgrace there were many denunciations and a few positive portrayals, such as John Spittlehouse's A Warning Piece Discharged which compared him to Moses, rescuing the English by taking them safely through the Red Sea of the civil wars. The great royalist historian Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, in his History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England (1667) declared that Cromwell "will be looked upon by posterity as a brave bad man". Clarendon argued that Cromwell's rise to power had been helped not only by his great spirit and energy, but also by his ruthlessness. The aristocracy was especially hostile to Cromwell, in large part because of his strong appeal to the common folk. In the early 18th century, Cromwell’s image began to be adopted and reshaped by the Whigs, an out-party opposing the Tories around the Hanoverian kings. They stressed Cromwell as republican, a theme often adopted by American historians. During the early 19th century, Cromwell's image was glorified by Romantic artists and poets. French author Victor Hugo's 1827 play Cromwell was representative of the French romantic movement, showing Cromwell as a ruthless yet dynamic Romantic hero. The major breakthrough came at the hands of a leading Romantic historian, Thomas Carlyle who in the 1840s saw Cromwell as the hero in a battle between good and evil. Carlyle used Cromwell as a model for restoring morality to a Victorian era that otherwise was prone to timidity, meaningless rhetoric, and moral compromise. The growth of Nonconformity in the nineteenth century encouraged an appreciation of Cromwell's Puritanism. By the late 19th century, Carlyle’s portrayal of Cromwell, stressing the centrality of puritan morality and earnestness, had become assimilated into mainstream historiography. Britain's outstanding research scholar on the era, Samuel Rawson Gardiner, concluded that "the man — it is ever so with the noblest — was greater than his work". Gardiner demonstrated Cromwell’s dynamic and mercurial character, and his role in ridding England of obsolete absolutism, while downplaying Cromwell’s intense religiosity. Gardner showed Cromwell’s aggressive foreign policy was a foretaste Victorian imperial expansion, with Gardiner stressing his “constancy of effort to make England great by land and sea”. Royals dislike regicides, so King George V vetoed Churchill's proposal in 1915 to name a battleship "The Cromwell"; but King George VI made no objection to the naming of a class of tanks that helped to win World War II after Old Ironsides. In the mid-20th century, Cromwell's reputation was often shaped by the rise of dictators like Mussolini and Hitler. In the 1930s Wilbur Cortez Abott, a Harvard professor, compiled and edited a multi-volume collection of Cromwell's letters and speeches, and concluded Cromwell had fascist tendencies. However, subsequent historians such as John Morrill have criticised both Abbott's interpretation of Cromwell and his editorial approach. Cromwell's reputation is now in the ascendant. More than twenty biographies by academic historians have been published in the past fifty years; all but one have been laudatory. They praise his integrity, his reliance upon his God, his brilliance as a soldier, his restless energy as head of state. There are varying estimates of the long-term effects of his role in the British Revolutions; but no recent biographer doubts that he was a man to be admired. Recent scholars have emphasized Cromwell’s religiosity and downplayed his authoritarian style. Austin Woolrych explored the issue of "dictatorship" in depth, arguing that Cromwell was subject to two conflicting forces: his obligation to the army and his desire to achieve a lasting settlement, by winning back the confidence of the political nation as a whole. Woolrych argued that the dictatorial elements of Cromwell's rule stemmed not so much from its military origins or the participation of army officers in civil government, as from his constant commitment to the interest of the people of God, and his conviction that suppressing vice and encouraging virtue constituted the chief purpose of government. Historians such as John Morrill, Blair Worden and J.C. Davis have explored Cromwell's religious rhetoric, showing his speeches are suffused with biblical references, and arguing that his radical actions were driven by his zeal for godly reformation. - Ashley, Maurice. The Greatness of Oliver Cromwell (1958). 382pp, a standard scholarly biography online edition - Bennett, Martyn. Oliver Cromwell (2006), ISBN 0-415-31922-6. excerpt and text search - Coward, Barry Cromwell (1991), a standard scholarly biography - Clifford, Alan. Oliver Cromwell: the lessons and legacy of the Protectorate (1999), ISBN 0-9526716-2-X. praises his religiousity - Davis, J. C. Oliver Cromwell (2001), shows Cromwell's remarkable skill at building complex networks of supporters, including coreligionists, politicians and soldiers. ISBN 0-340-73118-4 - Drinkwater John. Oliver Cromwell, a Character Study (2007) excerpts and text search - Fraser, Antonia. Cromwell, Our Chief of Men, and Cromwell: the Lord Protector (1973), ISBN 0-7538-1331-9. Popular narrative. excerpt and text search - Gardiner, Samuel Rawson. Oliver Cromwell (1901). ISBN 1-4179-4961-9. Classic biography. online edition - Gaunt, Peter. Oliver Cromwell (1994), 144pp ISBN 0-631-18356-6. Short biography by scholar - Hill, Christopher. God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell And The English Revolution (1970), ISBN 0-297-00043-8. - Hirst, Derek. "The Lord Protector, 1653-8", in Morrill, John (ed.), Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1990), ISBN 0-582-01675-4 - Mason, James and Angela Leonard. Oliver Cromwell (1998), ISBN 0-582-29734-6. 128pp succinct and effective - Morrill, John. "Cromwell, Oliver (1599–1658)", in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (2004) online to subscribers, the best place to start - Morrill, John. "The Making of Oliver Cromwell", in Morrill, John (ed.), Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1990), ISBN 0-582-01675-4. - Paul, Robert. The Lord Protector: Religion And Politics In The Life of Oliver Cromwell. (1958) online edition - Wedgwood, C.V. Oliver Cromwell (1939), popular ISBN 0-7156-0656-5. - Worden, Blair (1985). "Oliver Cromwell and the sin of Achan", in Beales, D. and Best, G. (eds.) History, Society and the Churches, ISBN 0-521-02189-8. - Adamson, John . "Oliver Cromwell and the Long Parliament", in Morrill, John (ed.), Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1990) - Adamson, John. "The English Nobility and the Projected Settlement of 1647", in Historical Journal, (1987) v30#3. - Coward, Barry. The Cromwellian Protectorate (2002), - Firth, C.H. Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans in England (1900). full text online - Little, Patrick, ed. The Cromwellian Protectorate. (2007). 218 pp. - Little, Patrick. "Offering the Crown to Cromwell." History Today 2007 57(2): 24-31. Issn: 0018-2753 Fulltext: Ebsco - Little, Patrick and David L. Smith, eds. Parliaments and Politics during the Cromwellian Protectorate (2007) excerpt and text search - Peacey, Jason. "Cromwellian England: a Propaganda State?" History 2006 91(2): 176-199. Issn: 0018-2648 Fulltext: Ebsco, says that in 1653-1659, profound changes were implemented in intelligence gathering, press censorship, and propaganda and in the deployment of resources and bureaucratic efficiency. By concentrating power in the hands of the secretary of state, Cromwell;s regime sought to exert its power in only some areas of print culture rather than to achieve a complete press monopoly. - Smith, David, ed. Oliver Cromwell and the Interregnum (2003), ISBN 0-631-22725-3. - Smith, David. Oliver Cromwell: Politics and Religion in the English Revolution 1640-1658 (1992) excerpt and text search - Capp, Bernard. Cromwell's Navy:The fleet and the English Revolution, 1648-1660 (1989) - Durston, Christopher. "'Settling the Hearts and Quieting the Minds of All Good People': the Major-generals and the Puritan Minorities of Interregnum England", in History 2000 85(278): pp.247-267, ISSN 0018-2648 . Full text online at Ebsco - Durston, Christopher. "The Fall of Cromwell's Major-Generals", in English Historical Review 1998 113(450): pp.18-37, ISSN 0013-8266 - Durston, Christopher. Cromwell's Major Generals: Godly Government during the English Revolution (2001) - Firth, C.H. Cromwell's Army (1902), online edition - Gillingham, J. Portrait Of A Soldier: Cromwell (1976), ISBN 0-297-77148-5. - Kenyon, John, and Jane Ohlmeyer, eds. The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1638-1660 391 pp. (1998), thorough coverage by numerous scholars online edition - Kitson, Frank (2004). Old Ironsides: The Military Biography of Oliver Cromwell (2004), 239pp ISBN 0-297-84688-4. - Marshall, Alan. Oliver Cromwell: Soldier: The Military Life of a Revolutionary at War (2004), ISBN 1-85753-343-7. - Wheeler, J. Scott. Cromwell in Ireland (1999). the standard study - Woolrych, Austin. "The Cromwellian Protectorate: a Military Dictatorship?" in History 1990 75(244): 207-231, ISSN 0018-2648 . Full text online at Ebsco. - Woolrych, Austin. "Cromwell as a soldier", in Morrill, John (ed.), Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1990) - Woolrych, Austin. Soldiers and Statesmen: the General Council of the Army and its Debates (1987), ISBN 0-19-822752-3. - Young, Peter and Richard Holmes. The English Civil War, (2000) ISBN 1-84022-222-0. excerpt and text search Surveys of era - Coward, Barry. The Cromwellian Protectorate (2002) ISBN 0-7190-4317-4. - Coward, Barry, ed. A Companion to Stuart Britain (2003) excerpt and text search - Coward, Barry The Stuart Age: England, 1603-1714, (2003). ISBN 0-582-77251-6. Survey of political history of the era. - Davies, Godfrey. The Early Stuarts, 1603-1660 (1959). online. Political, religious, and diplomatic overview of the era. - Gardiner, Samuel Rawson. History of the Great Civil War, 1642-1649 (4 vol 1898) online edition from Google - Gaunt, Peter. The Cromwellian Gazetteer: An Illustrated Guide to Britain in the Civil War and Commonwealth (1998), 256pp; heavily illustrated; covers the scenes of military conflict such as battlefields, castles, fortified houses and churches, defended and besieged towns and cities - Korr, Charles P. Cromwell and the New Model Foreign Policy: England's Policy toward France, 1649-1658 (1975) ISBN 0-520-02281-5. online - Macinnes, Allan. The British Revolution, 1629-1660 (2005), 337pp ISBN 0-333-59750-8. - Morrill, John. "Cromwell and his contemporaries". In Morrill, John (ed.), Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1990) ISBN 0-582-01675-4. excerpt and text search - Trevor-Roper, Hugh. Oliver Cromwell and his Parliaments, in his Religion, the Reformation and Social Change (1967). online edition - Venning, Timothy. Cromwellian Foreign Policy (1995) ISBN 0-333-63388-1. - Woolrych, Austin. Commonwealth to Protectorate (1982), ISBN 0-19-822659-4. - Woolrych, Austin. Britain in Revolution 1625-1660 (2002), ISBN 0-19-927268-6. excerpt and text search - Davis, J. C. Oliver Cromwell (2001). 243 pp; a biographical study that covers sources and historiography - Goodlad, Graham. "The Cromwellian Protectorate." History Review, (March 2007,) Issue 57; online at EBSCO - Lunger Knoppers, Laura. Constructing Cromwell. Ceremony, Portrait and Print, 1645-1661 (2000), shows how people compared Cromwell to King Ahab, King David, Elijah, Gideon and Moses, as well as Brutus and Julius Caesar. - Morrill, John. "Rewriting Cromwell: a Case of Deafening Silences." Canadian Journal of History 2003 38(3): 553-578. Issn: 0008-4107 Fulltext: Ebsco - Worden, Blair. "Thomas Carlyle and Oliver Cromwell", in Proceedings Of The British Academy(2000) 105: pp.131-170. ISSN 0068-1202 . - Worden, Blair. Roundhead Reputations: the English Civil Wars and the passions of posterity (2001), 387pp; ISBN 0-14-100694-3. - Warden, Blair. "The English Reputations of Oliver Cromwell, 1660-1900" in William Lamont, ed. Historical Controversies and Historians (1998) 35-48 online - Abbott, W.C., ed. Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, 4 vols. (1937-47).The largest reference for Cromwell's own words online edition. - Morrill, John. "Textualizing and Contextualizing Cromwell", in Historical Journal 1990 33(3): pp.629-639. ISSN 0018-246X . in Jstor Examines the Carlyle and Abbott editions. - Carlyle, Thomas, ed. Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches, with elucidations. (1904 edition), online edition - Haykin, Michael A. G. ed. To Honour God: The Spirituality of Oliver Cromwell (1999). ISBN 1-894400-03-8. Excerpts from Cromwell's religious writings. - Roots, Ivan. Speeches of Oliver Cromwell (1989, ISBN 0-460-01254-1. - ↑ See - ↑ Letter #16, Sept. 11, 1638 - ↑ Austin Woolrych, (1990) - ↑ James Robertson, "Cromwell and the Conquest of Jamaica." History Today 2005 55(5): 15-22. Issn: 0018-2753 Fulltext: Ebsco - ↑ Jamaica was permanently captured, at great cost. James Robertson, "Cromwell and the Conquest of Jamaica," History Today 55, No. 5 (May 2005) pp 15-22; Carla Gardina Pestana, "English Character and the Fiasco of the Western Design." Early American Studies 2005 3(1): 1-31. Issn: 1543-4273 Fulltext: Ebsco - ↑ See Blair Worden, "Toleration and the Cromwellian Protectorate" in W.J. Sheils, ed., "Persecution and Toleration Studies" in Studies Church History,(1984) v.21 - ↑ Blair Warden, "The English Reputations of Oliver Cromwell, 1660-1900" in William Lamont, ed. Historical Controversies And Historians (1998) p. 35 - ↑ "Ten greatest Britons chosen". BBC Polls - ↑ Compare the controversies over King Richard III, who was a minor player as king for less than two years and whose facts are in dispute. - ↑ John Morrill, "Cromwell and his contemporaries", in Morrill, (1990) pp. 263–4, 271-2 - ↑ Blair Worden, Roundhead Reputations: The English Civil Wars and the Passions of Posterity (2001). pp. 53–59. - ↑ Gardiner, Oliver Cromwell (1901) p. 315. - ↑ Worden, Roundhead Reputations (2001) pp. 256–260. - ↑ Gardiner, Oliver Cromwell (1901) p. 318. - ↑ John Morrill, "Textualising and Contextualising Cromwell", in Historical Journal (1990). v33#3, pp. 629-639. - ↑ Morrill (2003) - ↑ Austin Woolrych, "The Cromwellian Protectorate: a Military Dictatorship?" in History (1990) 75(244): 207-231 - ↑ Morrill "Cromwell, Oliver (1599–1658)", in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,(2004). ; Blair Worden, "Oliver Cromwell and the sin of Achan". In Beales, D. and Best, G., History, Society and the Churches (1985); J.C. Davis, "Cromwell’s religion", in Morrill, John (ed.), Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1990).	<urn:uuid:91ede79d-b831-4ebd-8f91-9876a658152c>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.conservapedia.com/Oliver_Cromwell	2013-05-22T14:59:52Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701910820/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105830-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.965298	11,847
Born within 40 years of Martin Luther's death, Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) conferred musical greatness on Protestant church music in the German language. He left behind around 500 works – almost exclusively settings of texts from the Luther Bible. Schütz was born in Köstritz and is remembered there with events and exhibitions at the Heinrich Schütz House – his birthplace, a former inn. Schütz was a choirboy aged 13 when he was discovered by the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, who paid for his tuition including under Gabrieli in Venice. It was later with reluctance that he allowed his protégé to move to Dresden. In Dresden, Schütz held the post of court kapellmeister to the Elector of Saxony for 55 years. They were difficult times because the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was raging in Germany. Schütz's legacy is commemorated in Dresden's Church of Our Lady, by a stele near the Zwinger Palace and at the Heinrich Schütz House on Frauengasse. In 1651 Schütz purchased a house to which to retire in Weissenfels, where he had spent his youth. It was there that he wrote his Swan Song, an eleven motet setting of Psalm 119 for two choirs. The Heinrich Schütz House in Weissenfels is largely preserved in its original state.	<urn:uuid:574cc9ec-979d-4d22-bd04-e11e3ec4f186>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.germany.travel/lt/miestai-ir-kultura/music-shows/heinrich-schuetz.html	2013-05-24T01:37:45Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.987058	302
The Evolution Deceit The star Sirius appears in Surat an-Najm (meaning “star”). The double stars that comprise Sirius approach each other with their axes in a bow-shape once every 49.9 years. This astronomical phenomenon is indicated in the verses Surat an-Najm 9 and 49. When certain concepts mentioned in the Qur'an are studied in the light of 21st century scientific discoveries we find ourselves imparted with yet more miracles of the Qur'an. One of these is the star Sirius, mentioned in Surat an-Najm 49: … it is He Who is the Lord of Sirius. (Qur'an, 53: 49) The fact that the Arabic word "shiaara," the equivalent of the star Sirius, appears only in Surat an-Najm, meaning only "star," 49 is particularly striking. Because, considering the irregularity in the movement of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, as their starting point, scientists discovered that it was actually a double star. Sirius is actually a set of two stars, known as Sirius A and Sirius B. The larger of these is Sirius A, which is also the closer to the Earth and the brightest star that can be seen with the naked eye. Sirius B, however, cannot be seen without a telescope. The Sirius double stars orbit in ellipses about one another. The orbital period of Sirius A & B about their common centre of gravity is 49.9 years. This scientific data is today accepted with one accord by the departments of astronomy at Harvard, Ottawa and Leicester Universities.51 This information is reported as follows in various sources: Sirius, the brightest star, is actually a twin star … Its orbit lasts 49.9 years. (Exposes Astronomiques, La troisième loi de KEPLER, http://www.astrosurf.com/eratosthene/HTML/exposetheoastro.htm) As is known, the stars Sirius-A and Sirius-B orbit each other in a double bow every 49.9 years. (http://www.dharma.com.tr/dkm/article.php?sid=87) The point requiring attention here is the double, bow-shaped orbit of the two stars around one another. However, this scientific fact, the accuracy of which was only realised in the late 20thcentury, was miraculously indicated in the Qur'an 1,400 years ago. When verses 49 and 9 of Surat an-Najm are read together, this miracle becomes apparent: … it is He Who is the Lord of Sirius, (Qur'an, 53: 49) He was two bow-lengths away or even closer. (Qur'an, 53:9) The description in Surat an-Najm 9 may also describe how these two stars approach one another in their orbits. (Allah knows best.) This scientific fact, that nobody could have known at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, once again proves that the Qur'an is the Word of Almighty Allah. [He is] the Originator of the heavens and earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, “Be!” and it is. 51. www.star.le.ac.uk/astrosoc/whatsup/stars.html (Leicester edu dept of Physics & astronomy); www.site.uottawa.ca:4321/astronomy/index.html#Sirius (University of Ottowa); and http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~hrs/ay45/Fall2002/ChapterIVPart2.pdf (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)	<urn:uuid:0250ad5c-4053-4490-95ee-186600a7304a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.evolutiondeceit.com/en/works/27346/The-star-sirius	2013-05-25T05:30:28Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.925154	800
\|What is Biotechnology?\| Biotechnology is a branch of science where living organisms and their products are used for the production of food, drink, medicine or for other benefits to the human race, or other animal species. It is the practice of using plants, animals and micro-organisms such as bacteria, as well as biological processes to effect outcomes – such as the ripening of fruit. Biotechnology can be divided into sub fields – red, white, green and multi-coloured biotechnology. Red biotechnology deals with genetically altered micro-organisms that are used for producing products like insulin and vaccines for medical use. White (grey) biotechnology is applied to industrial processes. For example, the use of microbes to produce products for industrial use, such as the subtilisin enzymes now widely used in laundry detergents. Green biotechnology refers to agricultural applications such as production of disease-resistant or UV-resistant plants, or plants that have superior qualities, by means of genetic modification. Multi-coloured biotechnology is often interdisciplinary and so many applications may be classified in more than one colour category. For example, production of biodiesel fuel from agriculture could be considered to be both white and green. Enzymes are produced by fermentation, sometimes this is the only method of obtaining a product. Much of the excitement of biotechnology stems from the idea that the combination of being able to genetically modify organisms and bioengineer processes will result in more efficient and competitive processes.	<urn:uuid:211a0309-ff13-4f5c-bc96-cc6c5d278d61>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.biocatalysts.com/about-us/faqs/what-is-biotechnology/en-gb/article	2013-05-24T02:26:50Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132729/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.936704	305
HOME \| ORGANIZATION \| ENLIST \| NEWS \| FEATURES \| HISTORY \| LINKS HISTORY OF THE RIFLED CANNON From The Missouri Democrat, Thursday, July 18, 1861. Originally published in The New York Times. This article was republished in the Winter 1999 issue of The Artilleryman magazine. ORIGIN OF THE RIFLED CANNON-THE CONICAL PROJECTILE-THE BREECH-LOADING GUN. The rifled cannon is not as recent a discovery as people are generally inclined to suppose. There is now one at Berlin bearing upon its escutcheon the date of 1664 [1564?--the microfilm is unclear], the year in which it was built. It is made with forged iron, has thirteen grooves inside, and a screw at its breech. Models of the same kind and forged in the same country, are also to be seen at Munich and in other German cities. Studies on the construction of rifled cannon were not made in Germany alone, but were also the object of much attention in England and France. Writers on gunnery speak of two-pounder rifled gun, tried for the first time in England in the year 1776 for the purpose of reducing to obedience the American rebels. These small ordnance threw projectiles at the distance of 1,100 yards, with a deviation of about two feet in their range. The invention of conical projectiles, which, combined with the rifle bore, have produced the wonderful effects we witness in our days, is still older than that of firearms. The English, who never succeeded in making their speculations, or practice in firearms prevail, but who always made a great noise about their improvements, used the conical bullet for the first time in the year 1627, at the siege of La Rochelle, a Protestant stronghold, besieged and taken by Richelieu. As to the breech loading gun, it dates as far back as the discovery of cannon itself, and fourteen guns of that description were used by the English army at the siege of Orleans, in the year 1428. The time when this idea took a permanent hold of the mind of special men, and was successfully carried through within the space of a half a century, may be fixed to the year 1808, when Guitton de Morneau, a French chemist, proposed to substitute for the common bullet a cylindric projectile of iron, semi spheric at one of its ends, covered over with lead, so as to expel the wind from the breech. The great wars in which Napoleon I was engaged prevented that discovery to be reached with the degree of attention it deserved. It was not, however, lost sight of, and in the year 1813 some of our officers applied to our cannons elongated projectiles, which gave more accuracy and range to our fire than that of the English. These results caused the English and Hanoverian governments to make serious researches upon the improvements to be introduced in the shape of projectiles, but whatever may have been their success, we do not find in all their attempts any trace of experiment in which the conical ball and the rifled bore were combined. It is in this combination that lies the wonderful effects produced by the minie rifle and the rifled cannon. Original Discovery of the Rifled Cannon. These experiments, though contributing each for its part, to the stock of general knowledge, had not yet produced any material change in the system of firearms, when M. Reichenbach, a captain of artillery in Bavaria, constructed in the year 1816, a rifled bronze cannon, with seven grooves, and loaded it with conical balls. Though the deviation was very great at first, the result was nevertheless very remarkable and created a certain sensation in German military circles. Unfortunately, the moment was not auspicious for the prosecution of his discovery. Europe was just emerging from one of the bloodiest and longest wars she had ever been engaged in, and the longing for peace was such that Capt. Reichenbach's cannon was made the innocent victim of this disposition of public mind. He was besides arrested in the prosecution of his discoveries by several other reasons, the main one being the difficulty of loading the piece by the muzzle, after a certain number of rounds, and the fear of increasing the expenses of the Bavarian treasury, nearly exhausted in consequence of the war with France. He was thus compelled to discontinue his experiments, and to give up the idea of perfecting his work. This must not, however, deter us from acknowledging that the original idea of combining the rifled bore with the conical ball belongs in great part to Reichenbach. In 1843, M. Wahrendorff, proprietor of the great iron forge at Aker (Sweden), manufactured several rifled guns, but without altering the spheric shape of the bullets, which he only covered with a leaden coat, so as to facilitate their adherence to the grooves. In 1846 M. Cavalli, a Major in the Piedmontese army, renewed the experiment made in 1816 by Reichenbach; but his cannon, instead of being loaded at the muzzle, was loaded by the breech. The results obtained by these inventors induced the French government, which, since 1851, had been actively engaged in experimenting with the rifled cannon, combined with the conical ball, at the arsenal of Vincennes, to introduce considerable change in the material of artillery. The Present System of French Rifled Cannon. It was in the year 1828 that Capt. Delvigne fired for the first time his breech loading gun with cylindro conic bullets. This trial was the signal of a complete revolution in the manufacture of firearms. The theories which attributed to the spheric a superiority over the conic projectile soon fell to the ground, and the elongated bullet was acknowledged as the best of the two. From this invention of Capt. Delvigne may be traced all the great reforms in gunnery which have taken place in the last thirty years. Little was said, however, upon the improvements made in France in the construction of cannon, when the correspondent of a newspaper published in Vienna, who followed the Austrian army at the time of the Italian war, took the world by surprise by his revelations on the subject of French artillery. His letters, which were eagerly read, especially in Germany, stated that all the ordnance in the French army had been brought down to two calibers: the twelve-pounders for the besieging of strongholds, and the four pounders for field pieces. These changes had not been confined to the cannons alone; plain projectiles had been given up, and hollow and explosive one substituted in their stead. In his estimation, the twelve-pounder was going to replace all the huge cannon so much praised by military men, and as a proof of it, he mentioned an experiment in which a twenty-four pounder, old system, being pitched against a wall, side by side with a twelve-pounder, new system, the latter did the work twice quicker than the first. The French Four Pounder. The French four pounder weighs 784 pounds, about half the weight of the guns used at Alma, Inkerman, and Traktir, is made of bronze, and resists a protracted fire. The ball, hollow and explosive, is provided with a fuse at one of its ends, allowing to direct its explosion according to distances, and may also be used as an ordinary bullet. The range obtained with twenty ounces of powder is two-thirds of a mile. Its accuracy is such that each shot will kill a mounted man at a distance of two thousand eight hundred yards, and that whole regiments may be easily annihilated within this area. Four horses are sufficient to carry it over the highest peaks, and four other horses will carry one hundred shots and grape shot. It is loaded by the muzzle, a method criticised by the German inventors, who believe that breech loading cannon are the best. The French, on the other side, entirely deprecate the breech loading gun, pretending that they are of no value whatever, whenever the bullet weighs over sixteen pounds. The French four pounder is so light and easy to handle that it superseded cavalry at the battle of Magenta, in which the Austrians were, as everybody knows, pursued in their flight by the artillery. Since the campaign of Italy the French army has been provided with a four pounder still lighter, throwing the same projectile at equal distance, and transportable on horseback. This cannon weighs only two hundred and thirty-three pounds, and may follow the infantry in all places and positions it may be called to occupy. The artillery trains have also been made lighter, and mobility and simplicity, essential elements of the success of armies, has been introduced in all departments. The Best Material to Build Cannon with. When the French government decided to employ bronze in the casting of cannon, it was not without its being aware of the existence of a superior metal to this. Sixteen years ago the cast steel cannon manufactured by M. Krupp, at Essen, Prussia, had been tried at the Arsenal of Vincennes and left no doubt as to its superiority over the bronze cannon. Three thousand successive shots were fired with M. Krupp's gun, without any sensible vibration or any degradation whatever in the bore. But the war of Italy was so sudden, that the order given to M. Krupp for supply of his cast steel could not be filled in time, and bronze was temporarily adopted in its stead. Louis Napoleon has availed himself of the present peace to order a thorough melting of the old artillery, the price of which serves to buy the cast steel he needs for the new one. Cast steel can then be looked upon as the most tenacious of all metals; it is supposed to last three or four times as long as bronze. The great difficulty with the muzzle-loading rifled cannon consists in the cleaning of the bore. The idea of loading by the breech has not been given up, and not withstanding the objection of the French concerning the breech-loading system, they are now occupied in finding a mechanism which, without prejudice as to safety and accuracy, will allow them to load it like the Armstrong gun. For the present, the cannon which offers the best title to public confidence is undoubtedly the French rifled cannon. We do not say here that it is not susceptible of improvement. We even believe that French artillery officers are at this moment occupied in reforming its construction, especially in what concerns the method of loading it and of cutting and distributing the grooves. But one thing is certain, notwithstanding their present imperfections, the French rifled guns have produced results which no other guns have yet given; and as the art of warfare can only be carried successfully through, not with contemplated effects, but with positive results, it follows that the preference ought to be granted to the pieces in which these qualities are the less incontestible and the more conspicuous.	<urn:uuid:c0003b3c-8ac1-4258-9a21-dd5029c595c3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://home.earthlink.net/~turnerbrigade/modemrif.htm	2013-05-26T02:35:49Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.978248	2,269
Judaism, the first and oldest of the three great monotheistic faiths, is the religion and way of life of the Jewish people. The basic laws and tenets of Judaism are derived from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. The most important teaching and tenet of Judaism is that there is one God, incorporeal and eternal, who wants all people to do what is just and merciful. All people are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. A Covenanted People The Jewish people serve God by study, prayer and by the observance of the commandments set forth in the Torah. This faithfulness to the biblical Covenant can be understood as the “vocation,” “witness” and “mission” of the Jewish people. Unlike some religions, Judaism does not believe that other peoples must adopt its own religious beliefs and practices in order to be redeemed. It is by deeds, not creed, that the world is judged; the righteous of all nations have a share in the “world to come.” For this reason, Judaism is not an active missionary religion. The community does accept converts, but this is at the decision of competent Jewish religious authorities. It is not simply a matter of personal self-identification. Sacred and Religious Writings The most important Jewish religious text is the Bible itself (what some Christians call the “Old Testament”), consisting of the books of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. Following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70 CE, Jewish religious scholars in the Land of Israel compiled the six volumes of the Mishnah in order to record and preserve the canon of Jewish religious legislation, laws and customs. During the next five centuries, this was supplemented by the Gemara, recorded commentaries, discussions, and debates contributed by rabbinical scholars in the Land and in Babylon. Together these two texts comprise the Talmud which remains a living source of religious study, thought and commentary. Much of Jewish religious observance is centered in the home. This includes daily prayers which are said three times each day - in the morning, the afternoon, and after sunset. Congregational prayers usually take place in a synagogue, a Jewish house of prayer and study. On Mondays, Thursdays, the Sabbath, festivals and High Holy Days, the synagogue service includes readings in Hebrew from the Torah and the Prophets. The synagogue service can be led by any knowledgeable member of the congregation. In most synagogues this function is performed by a cantor or by a rabbi, an ordained religious teacher, who has studied in a yeshiva, a Jewish religious seminary. Among his professional duties, a rabbi is expected to conduct weekly or daily study sessions for members of the congregation. The rabbi can also be called upon to give informed decisions concerning application of Jewish religious law and tradition to daily life. This may include adjudication of personal disputes. More serious matters, such as religious divorce, are referred to a beit din, a local Jewish religious court. Health permitting, all Jewish boys are circumcised on the eighth day after birth. Practiced since the days of Abraham, the Brit Milah is a physical sign of the Covenant. Bar and Bat Mitzvah When a Jewish girl is 12, and a Jewish boy is 13, they come of age in terms of their religious duties and responsibilities. On this occasion, the Bar Mitzvah boy is for the first time called up to read the Torah portion and the reading from the Prophets. In congregations where women participate in conducting the service, Bat Mitzvah girls are also called up to read from the Torah and the Prophets. Traditional Jews observe the dietary laws derived from the Book of Leviticus. These laws include prohibitions against the eating of meat and dairy products at the same meal, humane ritual slaughter of animals, and total prohibition against the eating of blood, pork, shell-fish and other proscribed foods. Though the dietary laws may be of hygienic benefit, the principal motivation seems to have been a desire to instill morality, self-control and self-abnegation in the personal lives of a people expected to observe the laws of the Torah even in the worst of circumstances. However, in this, as in other matters of Jewish religious law and custom, the degree and manner of observance differs among the three major contemporary trends in Judaism - Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Festivals and Days of Remembrance The seventh day of the week is the Sabbath, a biblically ordained day of rest. No work is permitted, except that connected with worship or the preservation of life and health. Central to the observance of the Sabbath is the morning reading in synagogue of the week’s portion of the Torah. The High Holy Days (observed in September - October) are a time of prayer and solemn introspection. The two days of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, mark the beginning of the Ten Days of Awe that end with the fast of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The three major festivals of the Jewish religious year are also biblically ordained. Pesach (Passover) commemorates the biblical Passover and Exodus from Egypt: Shavuot (Pentecost, the “Festival of Weeks”) commemorates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai; and Sukkot (Tabernacles) commemorates the Sojourn in the Wilderness. Today, as in ancient times, these three festivals are occasions of pilgrimage up to Jerusalem, with prayer at the Western Wall, a remnant of the outer retaining wall of the Temple Mount. The destruction of the Temple is mourned on the fast of Tisha B’av (the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av). Other Jewish holidays include Hanukkah, commemorating the victory of the Maccabees and the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem; Purim, commemorating the rescue of the Jewish people in the days of Queen Esther; Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, honoring the memory of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis; and Israel Independence Day, on which the restoration of Israel to national sovereignty is celebrated. Centrality of Israel The Land of Israel is central to the history, life, hopes and aspirations of the Jewish people. It is toward Jerusalem that observant Jews turn in prayer, and it is here, in the Land promised in the Bible, that Jewish custom and tradition, as well as the identity of the Jewish people, can be most fully realized. Traditionally, the Jewish people live in expectation of the coming of a Messianic Age in which universal peace will be established on earth according to the vision of the prophets of Israel.	<urn:uuid:27ca5f07-d45b-476f-8332-c25840935b3d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.israelemb.org/kathmandu/AboutIsrael/People/Pages/Jewish-Religion.aspx	2013-05-23T04:54:51Z	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95163	1,428

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