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- Issues and Publications
- Common Core
By Stacey Lange, for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)
The other day, I walked into one of our primary multi-aged classroom communities. I noticed many wonderful things. It was clear the students were engaged in what they were doing.
These young students were working on an inquiry unit related to force and motion. Students were engaged in reading paperback books, articles and e-books individually and/or with partners. Other students were using their i-pads to view videos related to force and motion. Many of the students were recording notes on their i-pads or on paper while watching the videos or reading. A few students were experimenting with different materials such as ramps, matchbox cars, marbles, etc. to experiment and learn about force and motion.
Later, students met in small groups and engaged in discussions related to what they learned or discovered through these activities. Their conversations led the students to synthesize their new learning, reflect on the learning experiences they had, and make connections to how this new information relates to the essential question of their current inquiry unit.
It is clear that these students were working on thinking critically. For us, critical thinking happens when students analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs. They can then learn how to make judgments and decisions based on others’ points of view, interpret information and draw conclusions.
Four main approaches have made the biggest impact on our children’s critical thinking:
“One way we try to foster critical thinking skills in our classroom is by allowing our students to be creative and to inquire about topics that are of interest to them.”
- Katie Hart, Professional Educator
We incorporate cross-curricular inquiry to foster deep learning. The students work through the phases of immersion, investigation, coalescence and demonstration of learning. Throughout these phases the students are able to wonder, build background knowledge, develop questions, search for new information, synthesize information, demonstrate an understanding and share their new learning with others. Throughout inquiry, the students tie everything together through an essential question which helps them probe for deeper meaning. These questions are open-ended, encourage collaboration and foster the development of critical thinking skills.
“We push students to dig deeper in their learning by asking guiding questions and providing a variety of resources for students to independently find answers. Throughout their learning, we encourage students to ask and answer their own questions through small group discussions, conferring, working on their Personalized Learning Plans and using graphic organizers.”
- Elizabeth Hatab and Sarah Suesskind, Professional Educators
Questioning plays a critical role in cultivating critical thinking skills and deep learning. Questioning models for students how they should think. Our professional educators use open-ended questions to encourage discussion and active learning. We also incorporate questioning into our everyday discussions with students.
“In the 4K/5K classrooms, we don’t just give students answers to issues or problems they are having. Instead, we turn the problem onto them and ask how could they solve this problem. This allows the child opportunities to solve their problems independently.”
- Teresa Lutzen, Professional Educator
Problem solving extends our inquiry work. It is important that our students think for themselves. In problem solving they apply the critical thinking strategies they have learned.
“Integrating meaningful learning experiences that promote critical thinking skills is essential in cultivating a classroom of 21st Century learners. One way we do this is by actively involving the students in their learning through collaborative work. This helps the students take ownership of the learning and think critically about issues.”
- Patti Kaisler and Rebecca O'Grosky, Professional Educators
Our student-centered learning environments are varied and flexible to accommodate the needs of learners and provide ongoing opportunities to build a collaborative community of students and staff. Our environments promote collaborative, individual, small and large group learning.
Students learn in collaborative flexible groups based on need. When students collaborate together they learn how to communicate with others effectively, work as a team, practice self-discipline, and improve social and interpersonal skills. Through collaboration, students are able to have a better understanding of what they are learning and improve critical thinking skills.
There are many other ways that we foster critical thinking among our learners, but these are the four that have made the biggest impact for us. Critical thinking is a key skill that our students need to have in order to become life-long learners and self-advocates for themselves.
Stacey Lange is an Academic Dean at Walker Elementary School and is part of the instructional services team for the West Allis–West Milwaukee School District. Her district, West Allis-West Milwaukee, is part of the Next Generation Learning Initiative, an effort that involves all teachers working to transform learning for all students. Her school is a P21 Exemplar.
First published on the Partnership for 21st Century Skills blog. Reposted with permission. View the original post here.
Image by Anthony Nava, via publicdomainpictures.net
Click here to browse dozens of Public School Insights interviews with extraordinary education advocates, including:
The views expressed in this website's interviews do not necessarily represent those of the Learning First Alliance or its members.
Keeping It Real: Preparing Students for College and Career
A Toledo public school is helping students see an immediate connection between their school work and their career interests. Learn more...
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| 0.948971 | 1,375 | 4.28125 | 4 |
Are you looking for some unique ideas to entice
your kids to “unplug” and go outside? Add an extra element of
fun to gardening by planting a sensory garden this spring. You
will reap the rewards of discovering new sights, scents, sounds,
tastes, and textures from spring to fall.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Herbs are a class of plants that children love to rub and smell.
It can be surprising to rub a leaf and encounter an unexpected
scent such as lemon, cinnamon, or chocolate. Some great choices
include Lemon Basil and other basils that smell like lime or
cinnamon. Mint plants come in a wide variety of scents as well.
You can find Chocolate Mint, Orange Mint, and many others. For a
bit of Christmas in July, try some Pine Scented Rosemary. Take
your child on a trip to your local nursery and sniff around a
bit. Choose a few herbs that you like, and get growing.
"Lamb's Ear" (Stachys Byzantina) has a texture so soft, that it
can feel as if you're petting an animal when you touch the
leaves (hence the name). On the other end of the spectrum is the
Strawflower. Strawflowers look like regular flowers, but when
you touch them, they feel incredibly dry and papery. There are
many warty-looking lumpy, bumpy ornamental gourds that can be
fun to grow as well.
"Sensitive Plant" (Mimosa Pudica) has an interesting response to
touch - the leaves immediately react by closing up. This is a
fascinating sight to see, but do be careful to touch only the
leaves, since they also have very sharp thorns. It can also be
fun to plant Sunflowers, and check in on them throughout the day
as their “heads” follow the sun.
Plant herbs and use them in your cooking, or to flavor your iced
tea. (Be sure to wash the plants thoroughly prior to use). There
are many edible flowers as well, such as Violets, Roses,
Honeysuckle, and so on. Why not try an "all flower" salad? Make
sure that you only use plants that you are familiar with, and
always teach children to consult an adult prior to consuming
part of a plant.
For your own home-grown maracas, plant gourds and let them dry
out until you hear the seeds rattle. There are other things to
listen for in your garden as well. Plants attract all sorts of
birds and insects. Try keeping a journal with your child, and
record all of the different sounds that you hear in your garden.
The plants listed above are just a few suggestions. Have fun
experimenting on your own. Go to your local gardening center and
explore what they have to offer.
(If you’ve ever spent a day covered in Calamine lotion, you know
that many plants that can provide unpleasant sensory experiences
too. Make sure to educate your children about which plants to
avoid, such as Poison Ivy, thorns, poisonous berries, and so
By Angela Antonelli
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| 0.947575 | 702 | 2.90625 | 3 |
SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS LAYOUT DESIGN
The semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000, provides protection for semiconductor IC layout designs. SICLD Act is a sui-generis (one of its kind) specifically meant for protecting IPR relating to Layout-Design (Topographies) of Semiconductor Integrated Circuit.
The subject of Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design has two parts, namely:
- Semiconductor Integrated Circuit
Semiconductor Integrated Circuit means a product having transistors and other circuitry elements, which are inseparably formed on a semiconductor material or an insulating material or inside the semiconductor material and designed to perform an electronic circuitry function.
The layout-design of a semiconductor integrated circuit means a layout of transistors and other circuitry elements and includes lead wires connecting such elements and expressed in any manner in semiconductor integrated circuits.
Criteria for Registration of a Chip Layout Design
- Distinctive and
- Capable of distinguishing from any other lay-out design.
Note: " Only the Layout-Design " - which essentially is the mask layout- floor planning of the integrated circuits can be registered under the SICLD Act 2000 and not the other information like any idea, procedure, process, system, programme stored in the integrated circuit, method of operation etc.
Layout-designs are prohibited from registration under the Act if they are as follows:
- Not original;
- Have been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a Convention country i.e. any country that the Government of India notifies in the Official Gazette for the fulfillment of a treaty, convention or an arrangement with any country outside India and which affords to citizens of India similar privileges as are granted to its own citizens;
- Not inherently distinctive;
- Not inherently capable of being distinguishable from any other registered layout-design.
Term of protection: This registration is valid for a term of ten years from the date of filing an application for registration or from the date of first commercial exploitation anywhere in the world, whichever is earlier.
Location: Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry of India is currently located in New Delhi, and comes under the purview of DIT, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
For more information on SICLD please visit
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| 0.869085 | 487 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Eggs that are pasteurized to destroy any bacteria that may be present. The pasteurization process heats the eggs for a period of time to destroy the bacteria, but the process does not cook the eggs. Pasteurization also does not guard against any future contamination. Pasteurized eggs are more expensive than unpasteurized eggs, but are a good alternative for use in raw or partially cooked egg recipes, however the USDA still recommends using the eggs in dishes that are fully cooked, especially when serving the dish to higher risk persons such as people with weakened immune systems, young children, or elderly people. The shells are stamped to signify that the eggs have been pasteurized.
Pasteurized Shell Eggs Reviews
There currently aren't any reviews or comments for this term. Be the first!
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| 0.959733 | 159 | 2.75 | 3 |
The Culture of Elections in Modern Britain
Version of Record online: 9 SEP 2011
© 2011 The Author. History© 2011 The Historical Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Volume 96, Issue 324, pages 459–476, October 2011
How to Cite
LAWRENCE, J. (2011), The Culture of Elections in Modern Britain. History, 96: 459–476. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-229X.2011.00529.x
- Issue online: 9 SEP 2011
- Version of Record online: 9 SEP 2011
This article develops some of the key themes in Electing Our Masters (2009). Its focus is the cultural history of electioneering, and in particular the shifting relationship between politicians and public from the late eighteenth century to the present. Elections are viewed as rituals structured around reproducing, and sometimes redefining, classed and gendered relations of power. Election rituals long pre-dated democracy and existed primarily to soften the reality of dramatically unequal power relations. Considerable licence was granted to those excluded from formal politics; within limits they were to ‘have their say’. This rationale collapsed in the wake of the First World War and full-blown democratization. But the shift to a mass electorate demanded less a change of political style than a subtle recalibration of politicians' expectations about the character and role of the crowd. Britain was inching towards a more democratic understanding of the relationship between politician and public, but one still framed in a dominant patrician style. Male dress code softened, political leadership became more informal and homely, but there was no great breakthrough to demotic politics until the late twentieth century.
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| 0.929548 | 347 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Whenever you log onto the Internet, you enter into a virtual world full of information and services at your fingertips. However, some Internet regulars can become addicted and never want to leave the comforts of their computer.
"It has become such an integrated part of life that you cannot get away from it."
For some users the Internet is more than just a way to quickly get things done, it becomes an addiction.
"They get up in the morning, check their email. Go to work. Use the Internet at work for whatever business they happen to be in. They go home at night, turn on their computer, check email, browse around and they do that a lot," said Dave Becklye, the Director of Networking and Computing for Western Kentucky University.
Internet addiction is becoming an increasingly larger issue as more people log on to the information super highway.
Online addiction is characterized by an emotional attachment to the web to the point where it becomes a majority of the user's life. Psychologists say that between 5 to 10 percent of all online users will develop an "unhealthy addiction" the Internet.
Click here to find out more information on the "addiction" and how it affects
"As more and more things are coming available like the online services. Being able to purchase things online, to be able to do online banking, be able to pay your bills. All of these things give people more reasons to use the Internet," Beckley continued.
With all this time spent online, some online experts say online addictions can lead the user to putting personal material online. However, its not always safe to give out your information online because of online identity theft and credit card fraud.
"The same opportunities for exploitation and manipulation and being personally endangered that can happen on a physical campus can happen in a Myspace kind of world," said Mark McElroy of Connect Kentucky.
Still, not everyone thinks its as dangerous as it seems.
"The potential for an individual's personal info to be compromised in a digital manner is analogous to the potential information compromised in the physical world. In many ways, its more limited in a digital environment," McElroy noted.
Online dependency doesn't stop on a personal level. Some people depend on the Internet for a steady source of income.
"If the Internet were to go away you would see a lot of businesses that have put a lot of work-at-home folks out there, they would probably, a lot of them, go out of business because they couldn't afford the real estate costs to pull those people into the brick and mortar building," said John Quesinberry of Nortel Networks.
Click here to take a questionnaire to determine if you are addicted to the Internet.
And to read more about if Internet addiction is real click here.
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| 0.961417 | 574 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Research Units Research Programmes In focus Staff Organization Mission and Tasks History Jobs and career Contact and maps Key figures
Forest Protection SLF avalanche warnings Natural hazards warnings Expertise and advice Monitoring Data sets Events Publications Library Products WSL Junior
Plants and mycorrhizal fungi in wind erosion control
In many dry areas around the world, wind erosion gradually converts fertile land into deserts. Wind tunnel and laboratory experiments are conducted to investigate how plants and mycorrhizal fungi protect the soil from wind erosion.
Wind erosion is the
process by which soil is detached from the ground surface and transported by
wind. All over the world, wind erosion causes huge annual soil losses and
promotes the formation and spreading of deserts, thereby posing a
threat to the livelihood of numerous people. Furthermore, wind erosion increases the content of mineral fine dust
in the atmosphere. High concentrations of fine dust cause lung diseases and
change the global radiation balance, which affects the earth’s climate.
Wind erosion control
Revegetation of degraded
soils is regarded the most effective strategy against wind erosion. Plants provide both above- and below-ground protection by sheltering the
soil from the erosive force of the wind and stabilising it with their roots,
respectively. However, the conditions on eroded soils are adverse to plant
growth. Hence, revegetation measures are often confronted with major difficulties.
One way of improving plant growth on degraded soils is to add mycorrhizal fungi to the soil when seeding or planting. Almost all plants live in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi, which help them uptake nutrients and water. On degraded soil, there often exists a lack of mycorrhizal fungi. Therefore, the artificial introduction of mycorrhizal fungi promises to substantially improve revegetation success. Besides their beneficial effect on plant growth, mycorrhizal fungi improve soil structure and stability with their vast underground network of fungal strands (hyphae).
Mycorrhizal fungi provide a twofold benefit in wind erosion
control: On the one hand, they improve
plant growth, and on the other hand, they stabilize the soil (drawings of fungi:
How do plants influence wind erosion processes?
In a 20 m long wind tunnel, we conduct experiments with grass canopies of different planting densities. In contrast to other wind tunnel studies, living grasses (Lolium perenne) are used instead of artificial imitations of vegetation.
At the end of the test section, a sediment sampler is positioned to trap airborne sand grains at different heights during the experiment. Furthermore, we measure the fine dust concentration in the air above the test section. Colored quartz sand is used to visualize erosion and deposition patterns.
First results show that wind erosion processes
decrease with increasing vegetation cover. A vegetation cover of only 15%
decreased soil loss to 7% and fine dust emission to 50%. A vegetation cover of
55% inhibited these processes almost completely.
Test section (8 m) in
the wind tunnel unplanted and with vegetation covers of 3%, 15% and 55% (from
left to right).
Sediment sampler in
the wind tunnel (left) and accumulations of red quartz sand (right).
Do mycorrhizal fungi improve plant growth on desert-like soils?
In this study, the adverse soil and climate
conditions of deserts are simulated in a climate chamber. We cultivate various
grass species on sandy, nutrient-poor substrates and water them only rarely. Half
of the grasses are provided with mycorrhizal fungi in the substrate, the other
half not. Thus, it is possible to test whether mycorrhizal fungi improve
survival rate, above-ground biomass production and health of the grasses.
Do mycorrhizal fungi improve soil resistance to wind erosion?
This study combines the two previous questions. Erosion processes are investigated in three soil treatments:
a) unplanted soil
b) soil planted with grasses (without mycorrhizal fungi)
c) soil planted with grasses and inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi.
In the wind tunnel, all treatments are subjected to the same wind force. Afterward, we compare the soil losses and fine dust concentrations. It is assumed that soil erosion rate and fine dust emission is lowest in the planted and inoculated soil. If experiments confirm this hypothesis, this will be a strong argument to promote the use of mycorrhizal fungi in wind erosion control.
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| 0.893601 | 957 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Philosophy of Mathematics Education
I believe that learning mathematics has three components: one is that of learning a new language as one might learn French or Spanish. Another component is learning mathematical ideas, which are most frequently expressed in mathematical language or symbolism. Finally, there is the formal operations executed by logical reasoning. I believe that mathematics teaching and learning should then closely resemble instruction in foreign language as well as instruction in concepts and logical reasoning.
For the first, mathematics requires memorization. Just as one might remember that cosa means thing in Spanish or that fahren is the German verb for to drive, we also learn that "=" means equals or that x most often means some variable expression or term. By stringing together mathematical words, we create mathematical sentences. These statements are either true (correct) or false (incorrect). Learning the vocabulary of mathematics and the rules of making mathematical statements is just like learning vocabulary and grammatical rules in German or any other foreign language. Definitions and rules require memorizing, which is achieved through repetition. Although knowing the vocabulary of mathematics can help us analyze the truth of mathematical statements, just knowing the vocabulary won't help us solve problems. Only by using the rules of the language - formal operations that are grounded in logical reasoning - can we solve problems by creating new statements from other ones.
One the other hand, logically deducing or inducing concepts and ideas is best learned not by memorizing, but rather by incorporating those concepts and ideas into one's already existent understanding of the world, specifically mathematical understanding. The pathway from one concept to another is logical reasoning. Contrary to learning vocabulary and rules, logical reasoning is something that develops with practice and with time spent thinking. Staring at a problem without picking up your pencil can mean that you're doing the extremely difficult task of thinking! More specifically, one is trying to make sense of the problem. This making sense is essentially creating a logical chain between the beginning of the problem and the end of the problem. To get better at this, one must spend a lot of time thinking about and doing practice problems. Here, too, one must be cautious not to solely focus on logical operations; knowing only the formal operations of mathematics leads to only a partial understanding of the problem. One must understand the statements in order to understand how the ideas and concepts are relating to each other. The concepts, the vocabulary, and the formal operations (logical thinking) are all interdependent; knowing only one facet will mean one only has a partial understanding of the material.
Cramming concepts into short-term memory might help one pass one exam, but soon the material will be forgotten and one will not be able to use it for all further material, condemning one's self to future unnecessary difficulty. Therefore, to learn the concepts and reasoning of mathematics, one must extrapolate from one's known understanding of mathematics, i.e. one must build on an already existent foundation of mathematical ideas, paying particular attention to logical thinking, using the language and symbolism of mathematics, and exploiting the logical abilities innate to human beings.
Translating this into the classroom, it means that the instuctor must make a concerted effort to express new ideas and concepts within the context of previous learned concepts, to use the new vocabulary explicitly when demonstrating its usage within the context of problem solving and concept instruction, and to explain the logical reasoning behind the mathematical operations used in problem solving. The student's responsibility is to spend time memorizing the vocabulary and to spend time solving problems and thinking about problems until their execution makes sense and the dynamic processes and static concepts integrate into the student's framework of understanding.
It is imperative that the student spends at least two hours outside of class studying these things for each hour of in-class instruction. Although the instructor can convey material and demonstrate solutions in a manner which makes sense to students, students must then spend time practicing generating the solutions to problems themselves; although what is demonstrated in class might make sense to the student, the generation of solutions by her requires extra time and practice.
Finally, it follows that the assessment of student understanding must include assessment of knowledge of vocabulary, understanding of concepts, the ability to execute formal operations to solve problems, and the integration of these three components.Copyright 2005 Seamus Mulryan, All Rights Reserved.
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Environmental Health Seminar
Professor, Environmental Health
A Linear Regression Study of Nitrate-Nitrogen and Phosphorus as a Function of Population in the Big Thompson Watershed, CO
As population rises so does the amount of impervious surfaces. These surfaces cause storm water runoff to travel quickly to streams with increased loads of nitrite nitrogen and phosphorus among many other chemicals. The flux amounts of these chemicals should increase with the change in population. This increase in population is seen throughout the world with more and more people moving and building in cities. This can cause a severe upset to stream chemistry by adding in large amounts of non-point-source pollutants.
In Colorado, the Big Thompson watershed runs through 4 cities that have experienced major growth in the past 30 years. With this expansion, the fluxes of nitrite nitrogen and phosphorus should increase. An evaluation of historical stream chemistry and census data did not support this relationship. The P-values of the line slope do not meet the .05 coefficient confidence level with some seasonal exceptions. Other factors have influenced flux levels of stream nutrients more than that of population and impervious surfaces. These may include, but are not bound to, more point source pollution, increased motor vehicle traffic, and larger area of agricultural development.
Water quality in watersheds is a vary dynamic condition. The factors that will influence the levels of contaminants in rivers very from land use to point source pollution, from rainfall to seasons. These factors influence the amount of nutrients, like phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen, and pollutants, like PCB’s, sediment, etc, loaded into a waterway. Once in the rivers and streams contaminates can limit the primary productivity and reproduction of many animals and plants by causing explosive growth of algae. Excess nitrate-nitrogen affects a river by stimulating massive growth of photosynthetic algae. As the alga dies and decomposes, with the help of aerobic decomposers, the dissolved oxygen level in the river will drop. This drop will disrupt the aquatic system and decrease biodiversity (Carpenter 1997, Smil 1997). Nitrite nitrogen has had a major effect on the estuary zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River. After years of high nitrate-nitrogen flux the estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico are severely hypoxic (Mitsch 2001). When phosphorus levels increase the amount of Cyanobacteria and algae will grow until phosphorus has been depleted. This can cause a mat of new growth on the surface that will block sunlight from reaching benthic plants (Carpenter 1997). The death of the benthic plants and decomposition of the new algae and cyanobacteria decomposing will cause the dissolved oxygen in the river to be decreased.
The Big Thompson watershed is a river system in Colorado. This river system runs from Rocky Mountain National Park, at the continental divide, down the mountain passes though the city of Estes Park and out on the Great Plains again flowing though three other major cities; Loveland, Fort Collins and Greeley. A map of the area can be seen in Figure 1. (Click on the figure to enlarge it.)
The total drainage basin is 835.15 square miles. The majority of the watershed is in Larimer County with the addition of the city of Greeley in Weld County. In the past 50 years each county has under gone high levels of growth.
Urbanization has thrived in areas that have well defined waterways. This trend goes back to hundreds of years ago when water was a way of life. Historically water was a way of travel, source of power and sewer. In this century, however, our waterways have discovered a new threat. Impervious surfaces are threatening the land, aquifers, and rivers. Recent satellite images show that areas such as Baltimore and Washington DC are 10-15% impervious (Bodamer 2001). There is an increase in the area of impervious surfaces with an increase in population (Harbor 1994). A study done by Peter Guerrero (2001) found that in the last half of the 20th century urban development has increased by 327% and road area has been increased 278%. Denver alone has increased its impervious surfaces from 30 to 39% in the past 12 years (American Forests 2001).
Water is able to soak into the spongy green layer when it rains in the forest. This water slowly percolates to the aquifer and to the streams and rivers. However, in the same rainstorm centered over a highly urbanized area (large percent impervious surface), the rain will follow the route city planners have decided it will take. Water will flow down over roofs, streets, and parking lots. This water will wash over the pollutants of our daily lives on these surfaces. These pollutants include pesticides from our lawns, hydrocarbons from our cars, particulate matter, and other chemicals from industry that are deposited on the ground. When the fast moving runoff flow picks up chemicals, it can act to drastically change the stream chemistry. If a major city experiences a dry spell and then receives a major storm, the run off can act as a dose of poison to a river (Benyus 1998).
This paper presents an analysis of the effects of population growth in the Big Thompson watershed for the past 40 years on the fluxes of Nitrate-nitrogen (mg/s as N) and total phosphorus dissolved (mg/s as P). The analysis will be done though several linear regressions of the nutrient fluxes in correlation to population with the tenet of, impervious surface through population has an influence on phosphorus and Nitrate-nitrogen fluxes in the Big Thompson watershed.
The USGS’s National Water Information System (NWISWeb) database (USGS 2001) provided historical nutrient data for the Big Thompson River from 1970-1995. The historical nutrient data for Nitrate-nitrogen and phosphorus was received from the gauging station number 6744000, near the city of La Salle. This station was chosen because it is located down stream from the major growth centers of the watershed. This station is a good monitoring point for the concentrations and fluxes of phosphorus and nitrate- nitrogen from the total watershed because La Salle is located at the terminal end of the river. Therefore, water sampled at this station will contain contaminates from the entire watershed. From the USGS’s National Water Information System (NWISWeb) database (USGS 2001) a historical flow rate was added for each day of a historical nutrient sampling. The flow rate was in ft3/Second while the nutrient data is in mg/L. To obtain the flux of the nutrients the formula is, flow multiplied by concentration. The resulting quantity is in mg/second.
Population data was received from the US Census bureau (Census 2001). An overlay of the commissioner district map of Larimer county and a watershed boundary map shows that the 2nd and 3rd commissioner districts are comparable to the majority of the Big Thompson watershed. The final large city added into the population was the city of Greeley. The confined populations of the 2nd and 3rd commissioner districts of Larimer County and the city of Greeley comprised a close approximation of the historical population of the Big Thompson watershed.
The analysis of the data was done using linear regressions on the full data set. This analysis is used because both population and nutrient fluxes are continuous functions. By comparing the two functions a statistical best fit line is described by a slope and a constant. The slope has a confidence interval known as the P-value. If this P-value is equal to or less than .05 the slope has a 95% confidence level and the correlation of population and nutrient fluxes is 95% confident that the slope is positive. The regression compared the populations of the watershed to the nutrient fluxes of, phosphorus, and nitrate- nitrogen. This raw data can be seen in Appendix A Table 1. To further analyze the data the database was divided into the different seasons. Seasons were as follows:
A seasonal distribution is used since the average flow rates in each season had different trends seen in Table 1. Eight regressions were then done one for each nutrient for each season.
The null hypothesis is impervious surface through population have no influence on phosphorus and nitrate-nitrogen fluxes in the Big Thompson watershed. A 95 percent confidence rate was needed to reject the null hypothesis. In other words a P-value grater than or equal to of .05 was needed on the slope the line to reject the null.
Census data for each decade were used to set the population size. Since the census is conducted only once every ten years, it is assumed that the population size from the mid-point of one decade to the mid-point of the next was equal to the size indicated by the size of the 1970, 1980, and 1990 census, as appropriate. The combined nitrate-nitrogen and, separately, the phosphorus flux rates were plotted as a function of the appropriate population size. These are shown for the entire data sets in Appendix B Figures 1 and 2. Least-squares linear regression (Microsoft Excel) was used to calculate the best fit line through these data; regression statistics are shown in Appendix B Tables 1 and 2. For the nitrogen relationship the equation of the line is y=0.0325x+3022.7. This relationship is significant; the p-value for the slope coefficient is 0.03477. The null hypothesis of no relationship between the nitrogen nutrient levels and the population size is therefore rejected. For the phosphorus relationship the equation of the line is y=0.0001x+11.795. This relationship is not significant; the p-value for the slope coefficient is 0.0504. The null hypothesis of no relationship between the nitrogen nutrient levels and the population size is therefore accepted. Phosphorus flux must have other factors than population that influenced the flux amount. These and other factors will be discussed later in the discussion section.
In each season and each nutrient, the combined nitrate-nitrogen and, separately, the phosphorus flux rates were plotted as a function of the appropriate population size.
These are shown for each seasonal data set in Appendix B Figures 3 - 10. Least-squares linear regression (Microsoft Excel) was used to calculate the best-fit line though these data; regression statistics are shown in Appendix B Tables 3 - 10. For each season and nutrient the equation for the line of best fit had a coefficient of greater than 0.05. This trend can be seen in Table 2.
The null hypothesis of no relationship between the nutrients and population size was therefore accepted. The only exemption to this statement was the regression for the winter season phosphorus flux, which can be seen in Appendix B Table 4 and Figure 4. In the winter season the coefficient of the line is 0.001249. This value rejects the null Hypothesis with a 99.875 confidence that population is correlated to the flux of phosphorous in the Big Thompson watershed.
The increases in impervious surfaces have been linked to the increases in population. As populations increase the amount of land taken up by, roads, houses, parking lots, and industry increase. In a study done by Carpenter (1997) found an increase of population caused an increase in the impervious surface. The percentage increase of impervious surface can not be calculated since the type of land use predicts the amount of impervious surface used. For example, an acre of farmland has is much more permeable than an acre of dense city.
Of the ten regressions preformed only two, the regression for total nitrite- nitrogen and the regression for phosphorus in winter rejected the null hypothesis. With a confidence level of 95%, population did not have a statistical effect on stream nutrients. However population can have an indirect effect on stream nutrients. Arnold and Gibbons (1996) wrote that populations cause increases in impervious surfaces. However impervious surfaces do not generate pollution, they are a critical contributor to the hydrologic changes in the degradation of the waterway. Many other factors may exist that influence the nutrients in the stream more than impervious surface did.
In the regression regarding the total nitrite nitrogen the P-value was .003477. This value had a sufficient confidence level to reject the null hypothesis. In this instance the population/impervious surface did have an effect on the flux of the nitrite nitrogen. This supports the original hypothesis that impervious surface through population has an influence on nitrate-nitrogen fluxes in the Big Thompson watershed. When looking at the regressions season by season, however, there is no effect of population/impervious surface and flux levels. So as a whole the nitrite-nitrogen levels have increased due to population and other factors.
The winter regression of phosphorus also was able to reject the null hypothesis with a line coefficient of 0.001249. While the total regression was not able to reject the null, the seasonal regression was able to. With a 99.875% confidence level the slope of the line of best fit was positive. In the winters, the total discharge of the river is typically less than that of the rest of the year. The average flow rates for Fall, Summer, Spring and Winter are 2742, 5456, 4721, and 2211 L/S respectively. In this situation an increase in the concentration of phosphorus would be less diluted and have a higher flux. Only in the winter months was this evident there for the flux of the nutrient is more dependent on the flow of the river in this case than the concentration of the nutrient. Further studies could be done to support this hypothesis.
There are many other influences on the nutrient fluxes in a watershed other than impervious surfaces. These can include point source pollution, agriculture, silviculture, climate, weather and more. The first five have been shown to be the top influences on nutrient flux, along with impervious surfaces. It is easy to see how point source pollution can increase the flux of nutrients. The constant adding of pollution to a river will cause an increase in the fluxes of nutrients. Regulations are established (CDPHE 2001) and enforced to make sure the increase is not of a significantly lethal amount. The Big Thompson watershed has very little point source discharges of nitrate-nitrogen and no reported discharges of phosphorus. The amount of nitrate-nitrogen added by industries has, in the past, rarely been greater than a total of 2542 lbs./year (EPA 2001). With such a small amount added directly from industries this nitrite nitrogen can be easily diluted and cause little to no effect on stream chemistry. Agriculture can add phosphorus to the soil through fertilizer and pesticides. A highly cultivated land with little to no buffers of runoff has been shown to markedly increase phosphorus levels in rivers (Suszkiw 2001). Another threat from large-scale farming is the nitrite nitrogen increase from pesticides and fertilizers on the crops. Silviculture has a net good effect on reducing stream nutrients. This effect comes from the filtering effect of open ground and the slowing of runoff water (Carmon and Shamir 1997). The open permeable ground will cause the water to filter down though the ground to recharge the aquifer. A possible negative effect can, however, come when large amounts of pesticides are used in silviculture. These chemicals again can leach into the ground causing increases in nutrient flux. Finally, climate and weather can play an important role in the flow of the river, which will have an effect on the dilution of a nutrient in that river. In the winter months the land is dry and cold; this causes less water to flow in the river and ice to form, which traps more water for release later in the winter when spring is near, thus cutting down on the dilution of nutrients. Weather is tied to climate. Typically in every region of the world a location will have its dry time of the year and its wet times of the year. The wet time in Colorado is in the spring when the ice and snow melt from the mountains and rain is prevalent. Summer has also been shown to be equally as wet as spring and even more so in some years. Fall and winter have flow rates that match each other to within 500 L/second of each other.
The Big Thompson watershed statistically has had little contamination of nutrients from population increases. Nutrient flux data suggests no major effect of population from the cities on the watershed and the effects of the nutrients, nitrite-nitrogen and phosphorus. Impervious surface through population have no major influence on phosphorus and nitrate-nitrogen fluxes in the Big Thompson watershed. The findings are not conclusive to support that population and impervious surfaces have no effect on increasing stream nutrients in the Big Thompson River. However, Colorado is an ever growing state. Its cities have plenty of room to grow. With good planing Colorado’s water will be clean and beautiful for generations to come.
As urbanization continues to increase, impervious surface will continue to increase. With this increase in impervious surfaces, there will be an increase in the amount of nutrients in the rivers of America. These nutrients will come from the runoff of the cities. Without the natural filtering processes of an aquifer these nutrients will make their way directly to streams and rivers. With increased nutrients from an increase in urbanization there will be more concerns of the water quality of the nation’s waters. These concerns should be dealt with in a timely manner. The best protection is prevention. It can be more costly and less healthy to clean up after the fact than spending the extra time and money to prevent the contamination. New technologies like treatment of runoff and new permeable surfaces can have a positive impact on the water quality of the nations waters. The best way, however, to decrease runoff from impervious surfaces is planing the layout of new urbanization to maximize the permeable area and to create what Marwedel (1998) has called green areas. These green areas will let water take a more natural journey to the river. This journey will be slowed by aquifers and a general slowing of the runoff over natural surfaces, and not through manmade channels and pipes. When looking to the future of city development, planners should take advantage of all the tools new technology has provided to create a city that is not only beautiful but also healthy for the nearby rivers.
American Forests: Developing Denver Needs Trees. American Forests. Vol. 107 Issue 2:16 (2001)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2001 http://oaspub.epa.gov/surf/surffac?huc=10190006&ldip=17&name=Big%20Thompson
Harbor J.,M. A Practical Method for Estimating the Impact of Land-Use Changes on Surface Runoff, Groundwater Recharge and Wetland Hydrology. J. of the American Planing Assoc. Vol. 60 Issue 1: 95-109 (1994).
Mitsch, William J; Day, John W.; Gilliam, Wendell; Groffman, Peter M.; Hey, Donald L.; Randall, Gyles W.; Wang, Naiming: Reducing Nitrogen Loading to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin; Strategies to Counter a Persistent Ecological Problem. BioScience. Vol 51 Issue 5: 373-388 (2001)
United States Census Bureau (Census), 2001 http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/08000.html
United States Geological Society (USGS), 2001 http://water.usgs.gov/co/nwis/qw
Thank you to these people, with out you I would not have completed this.
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Lesson Plan | Minilesson
Author: LaDonna Helm
Inspired by the book It Begins with an A, kindergarten students are invited to turn their curiosity and guesswork into a class book, complete with illustrated objects and descriptive language
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Maharashtra presents an interesting range
of landforms. The Narmada River, flowing into the Arabian Sea through a
rift valley, marks a part of the northern boundary of the State. The other
rift valley, of the Tapti River, also flowing into the Arabian Sea, marks
the other part of the northern boundary. These two river valleys are
separated by a horst known as the Satpura Range.
South of the Tapti valley, stretches the Konkan coastland along the Arabian Sea flanked in the east by an escarpment known as the Sahyadri Mountain or the Western Ghats. The foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains reach within 6.4-km of the Arabian Sea in the Konkan. The Konkan coastland is narrow, interspersed with hilly spurs from the Sahyadri mountains and is drained by many small swift west-flowing rivers - of these, the Ulhas in the north is the biggest.
The Sahyadri Mountains run like a wall with a north-south trend, almost continuously for 640-km. But several passes through it provide important road and rail links between the coastlands and the interior. The eastern slopes of the Sahyadris descend gently to the Deccan Plateau sculptured by the east sloping valleys of the Godavari, Bhima, and Krishna rivers. The inter-fluves of these rivers form the Mahadeo, Ajanta, Balaghat, and other hill ranges.
These hill ranges and valleys within Maharashtra are formed of trap lava with thickness reaching close to 3,050 m in places. Differential erosion of the lava results in characteristic step-like flanks with tabletop appearance in many hills. In the east, beyond Nagpur, the trap country ends, yielding to landforms made of ancient crystalline rocks. From the Mahadeo hills and the Maikal range further east, many important tributaries of the Godavari River flow towards the southeast, of which the Wardha, Wainganga, and the Penganga are the most important. This region abounds in lakes. Further east, the country is rugged with many hills covered with forests and is relatively inhospitable.
Godavari River rises near Nasik in
Maharashtra at an elevation of 1067m and flows for a
length of about 1,465-km before out falling into the Bay of Bengal. The
principal tributaries of the river are the Parvara, the Purna, the Manjra,
the Penganga, the Wardha, the Wainganga, the Indravati and the Kolab.
Godavari Basin extends over an area of 312,812 km2, which is nearly 9.5% of the total geographical area of the country. The basin lies in the states of Maharashtra (152,199 km2), Andhra Pradesh (73,201 km2), Madhya Pradesh (65,255 km2), Orissa (17,752 km2) and Karnataka (4,405 km2). Godavari River has a catchments area of 31.3 m.ha. The Godavari basin consists of large undulating plains divided by low flat-topped hill ranges. The important soil types found in the basins are black soils, red soils, lateritic soils, alluvium, mixed soils and saline and alkaline soils.
An average annual surface water potential of 110.5 km3 has been assessed in this basin. Out of this, 76.3 km3 is utilisable water. Cultivable area in the basin is about 18.9 Million ha, which is 9.7% of the total cultivable area of the country.
Present use of surface water in the basin is 41.0 km3. Live storage capacity in the basin has increased significantly since independence. From just about 1.6 km3 in the pre-plan period, the total live storage capacity of the completed projects has increased to 19.5 km3.
In addition, a substantial storage quantity of over 10.6 km3 would be created on completion of projects under construction. An additional storage to the tune of over 8.2 km3 would become available on execution of projects under consideration. The hydropower potential of the basin has been assessed as 5091 MW at 60% load factor. Asia's largest Lift irrigation project named "Vishnupuri Prakalp" is constructed on the river just 5-km away from Nanded city.
Krishna River rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of
about 1337m just north of Mahabaleshwar,
about 64-km from the Arabian Sea and flows for about 1400-km and outfalls
into the Bay of Bengal. The principal tributaries joining Krishna are the
Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Music.
Krishna Basin extends over an area of 258,948 km2, which is nearly 8% of total geographical area of the country. The basin lies in the states of Karnataka (113,271 km2), Andhra Pradesh (76,252 km2) and Maharashtra (69,425 km2). Krishna River has a catchments area of 25.9 m.ha.
Most part of this basin comprises rolling and undulating country except the western border, which is formed by an unbroken line of ranges of the Western Ghats. The important soil types found in the basin are black soils, red soils, laterite and lateritic soils, alluvium, mixed soils, red and black soils and saline and alkaline soils.
An average annual surface water potential of 78.1 km3 has been assessed in this basin. Out of this, 58.0 km3 is utilisable water. Culturable area in the basin is about 20.3 Million ha, which is 10.4% of the total culturable area of the country. Present use of surface water in the basin is 50.0 km3.
Live storage capacity in the basin has increased significantly since independence. From just about 3.2 km3 in the pre-plan period, the total live storage capacity of the completed projects has increased to 34.5 km3. In addition, a substantial storage quantity of over 4.9 km3 would be created on completion of projects under construction. An additional storage to the tune of over 0.1 km3 would become available on execution of projects under consideration. The hydropower potential of the basin has been assessed as 2997 MW at 60% load factor.
Major tributary of Godavari, arising in Balaghat hills. It contributes to around 6% of the total waters of Godavari. Manjira River flows along the eastern boundary of the Nanded district towards the north. Later it meets the Godavari. Manyad and Lendi are the tributaries of the river.
Mula And Mutha
Pune centre is bordered on the north by the River Mula and to the west by the River Mutha - the two join in the Northwest to form the Mutha-Mula, at Sangam Bridge (previously Wellesley Bridge).
Penganga River is one of the tributaries of Godavari River. Kayadhu is the tributary of this river. It flows along the northern boundary of the Nanded district and a huge amount of land is irrigated by a project named " Upper Penganga Prakalp" built on this river. The famous Sahastrakund falls on this river.
The river Purna which is tributary of Godavari, rises in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and flows due west across Akola district into Buldana district of Maharashtra. It passes from east to west through the northern part of the Parbhani district and joins the Godavari at Kantheshwar in Purna Taluka.
The chief tributaries of the Purna on the south bank are the Pendhi, Uma, Katepurna, Nirguna and Man. The Katepurna, the largest of all tributaries, rises within a few kilometres of Washim and flows across the eastern side of Akola tehsil and the northwestern corner of Murtizapur. Major Dams on the Purna River are Yeldari Dam (Hydroelectric Power Station) in Jintur Tehsil of Parbhani district.
Tapi Basin extends over an area of 65,145 km2, which is nearly 2.0% of total geographical area of the country. The basin lies in the states of Maharashtra (51,504 km2), Madhya Pradesh (9,804 km2) and Gujarat (3,837 km2).
Tapi River rises near Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh at an elevation of about 752 m and flows for about 724 km before outfalling into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Cambay. Its principal tributaries are the Purna, the Girna, the Panjhra, the Vaghur, the Bori and the Aner.
The basin consists plain areas, which are broad and fertile, suitable for cultivation. The principal soils found in the basin are black soils, alluvial clays with a layer of black soil above.
An average annual surface water potential of 18 km3 has been assessed in this basin. Out of this 14.5 km3 is utilisable water. Cultivable area in the basin is about 4.3 Million ha, which is 2.2% of the total cultivable area of the country.
Present use of surface water in the basin is 4.5 km3. Live storage capacity in the basin has increased significantly since independence. From just about 0.05 km3 in first-plan period, the total live storage capacity of the completed projects has increased to 8.5 km3. In addition, a storage quantity of over 1.0 km3 would be created on completion of projects under construction. An additional storage to the tune of over 2.0 km3 would become available on execution of projects under consideration. The hydropower potential of the basin is 119.7 MW at 60% load factor.
Like Narmada, Tapti also terminates into the Arabian Sea. It has its origin in Madhya Pradesh near a place called Pachmari. Though smaller than Narmada, Tapti is a rich source of alluvium and produces good agricultural soil. It enters at sea near Surat.
Wardha is the tributary of River Godavari. It originates from the Mutai plateau of the Satpuda range and flows along the entire northern and western border of the Wardha district.
The main tributaries are Bor, Dham, Pothra, Asoda and Wunna. Upper Wardha Dam is situated at Simbhora, 8-km towards the East from Morshi and 56-km from Amravati. It is build up on the Wardha River. It is an earthen dam with height of 36m and 7-km length and on the boundary of Amravati and Wardha Districts. It irrigation capacity is nearly 75,000 Hectors of land in these two districts. A tourism centre is being developed at this site. It is now named as Nal - Damyanti Sagar.
Pench And Kanhan:
The chief rivers of the eastern tract are the Pench and Kanhan, both of which flow down from the Saptura range in the Chindward district and meet near Kamptee when they are also joined by the Kolar. The Kanhan entering the Jalna district near Bargaon takes a south easterly course past Khapa to Kamptee where it receives the Pench and Kolar. In its subsequent course it marks the boundary of the Ramtek tehsil, and after receiving the Nag river near the hills of Bhivakund, finally empties into the Wainganga at Gondpipri in Bhandara.
It is an important tributary of Bhima River. It flows along the northern boundary of Satara district and latter southeastwards.
A tributary of Bhima River, it flows from north to southeast parallel to Bhima, drains eastern Karmala, Central Madha, Barshi, eastern Mohol and Sholapur North and South.
Vaitarna is the principal river of Thane district. It rises in the Tryambak hills in the Nashik district opposite the source of Godavari and enters Thane at Vihigaon near Kasara. It has a length of 154-km, of its tributaries the Pinjal, the Surya and Tansa are important.
Wainganga is the tributary of River Godavari. Wainganga River receives numerous tributaries on either bank and drains the western, central and eastern regions of the Chandrapur and Nagpur district. The chief tributaries of the Wainganga are Garhavi, Khobragadi, Kathani and Potphondi on the left bank and Andhari on the Right Bank.
Nira a tributary of Bhima River and it flows in southern boundaries of Pune for a considerable distance.
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Once plentiful in the West, the greater sage grouse is dying out, and Moffat County is one of its last strongholds.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding the bird to its endangered species list, but the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Moffat County officials hope the federal agency doesn't go to such extremes, because of the potential impact on landowners.
There are about 8,000 sage grouse in the county, according to an estimate by Tomy Apa, a sage grouse research biologist with the state wildlife division in Grand Junction. He calls that a "fair number of birds."
But in other parts of the state, sage grouse populations have dwindled or disappeared entirely. In response, environmental groups have filed petitions with the Fish and Wildlife Service to have the sage grouse listed as an endangered species.
In early January, the Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to list the "eastern" sage grouse -- the species that lives in Northwest Colorado -- as endangered because the federal agency did not consider these grouse to be a subspecies or distinct population segment of sage grouse.
But the Fish and Wildlife Service continued to evaluate other petitions to list the sage grouse as endangered. By law, Fish and Wildlife is required to decide if the petition is worth further investigation within 90 days of filing. A decision should be reached by mid-March.
If the finding is positive, the Fish and Wildlife Service will begin a nine-month review to determine if the sage grouse should be listed.
During a meeting on Jan. 20, the Moffat County Board of Commissioners voted to send a letter to Fish and Wildlife encouraging them to wait to make a decision until they'd collected more information. The letter may be a futile gesture because the Fish and Wildlife research timeframes are mandated by law. But the letter reflects how many Moffat County landowners feel about endangered species.
"Endangered species listings have a significant impact on a rural community that is so widespread," Apa said. "The (state) division doesn't want to see the species listed."
If the sage grouse were listed, anyone who wanted to put up a fence, dig a well, install a pipeline, or open a mine would have to consult the Fish and Wildlife Service before beginning work.
The Bureau of Land Management would prefer to develop a local sage grouse management plan that would be incorporated into a state and national plan the state Division of Wildlife is developing, said Tim Novotny, a wildlife biologist with the BLM.
"Our goal is to prevent it from needing to be listed," Novotny said. "But we realize that when a species does get to that point, (listing) is a good thing."
A BLM plan would address local factors that have influenced the sage grouse population. The plan would reduce predation and improve habitat. Novotny said the BLM hopes to finalize the plan by early summer.
The BLM and DOW conservation plans would encourage people to volunteer to help the sage grouse, as opposed to endangered species laws, which dictate procedures for maintaining habitat. Apa likens it to providing land users a carrot rather than a hammer.
Greater sage grouse populations have been decimated by the encroachment of humans and the conversion of sage brush to agriculture fields. With the destruction of this habitat, sage grouse have lost their nesting ground.
Like many humans, sage grouse have also been plagued by wildfires. The fires destroy the native grass and forb understory on which the sage grouse thrive. Following the fire, cheat grass grows in place of the forbs, robbing the sage grouse of food.
As the sage grouse population shrinks, habitat loss and predation become even greater issues, Apa said.
Rob Gebhart can be reached at 824-7031 or [email protected]
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Make a workout out of listening! Working Out with Listening contains 50 quick and easy-to-use "workouts" that provide listening practice and reinforce listening skills. The three activities in this book include:
- Recalling information.
- Following directions.
- Listening for details and main ideas.
Use these activities as "warm-ups" before lessons, "cool downs" after instruction, or as quick review exercises at school or at home. 130 pages.
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For a stone church to rise during the Spanish era, construction took from several years to many decades to be completed, depending on the availability of funds, construction materials and laborers.
For instance, work on Basilica del Santo Niño in Cebu City began in 1730, but it took a decade to finish it. The image of the Holy Child, a gift of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Queen Juana of Cebu province in 1521, was then enthroned.
Bugged by the frequent shortage of funds, the church project was only completed with the help of the parishes of Opon and San Nicolas towns, whose residents contributed coral stones. Those from Talisay town contributed manpower.
The parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis town, Bohol province, was erected in 1863 by Fr. Jose Saldana, but it was completed in 1923 because of the many difficulties faced by the builders. Bishop Juan Gorordo of Cebu came to consecrate it.
Work on Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of what was then the biggest diocese in the Philippines, began in 1866 but was left unfinished before the expulsion of the Spaniards in 1898.
Church construction in the past was literally a community activity. It was not the responsibility only of the parish priest but of the people as well.
On Tuesday, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake destroyed or damaged several heritage churches in Bohol province. Four collapsed in Inabanga, Loon, Loboc and Maribojoc towns, while 20 others were disfigured, according to the provincial police.
The government’s culture agency dispatched experts to Bohol to assess the extent of damage, as well as identify properties that need to be secured and draw a list of priorities for potential restoration.
Parishioners and church-heritage workers alike are in a quandary if it is still possible to rebuild fallen churches or restore some of its damaged parts.
As national cultural treasures, a declaration that could allow the use of government funds, some churches may be reconstructed or restored, according to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
While rebuilding a church using original materials is possible and may cost millions or even billions of pesos, it can also be hampered by nonavailability of materials.
Stone churches in Central Visayas are made of coral stones mined from the sea. As most church construction activities were made during the Spanish era, coral stones may not be readily available today.
Lumber, which was used for trusses, floors, pews and retablos, is another problem. In the past, an entire forest had to be cut down to build a single church.
Having all materials doesn’t make a church stand.
The coral stones had to be hewn into blocks. As instructed by the “maestrillo de la obra” (master carpenter), the cut stones, known as “tablilla,” were put in place using “argamasa”—a mixture of lime, sand and egg whites.
The lumber used, usually of “balayong” or “tugas,” had to be sawn off manually and put into place with wooden pegs.
Bishop Lito Cortes, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines chair on church heritage and incoming prelate of Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province, said a composite team from the NCCA, National Museum and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines was in Bohol to assess the damage brought by the temblor.
But the team couldn’t come up with a complete assessment as yet due to intermittent aftershocks.
Basilica del Santo Niño, whose belfry fell, already has a team from Escuela Taller, a conservation firm based in Intramuros, Manila, to check on the extent of damage, according to Cortes.
The belfry may be restored to its original, but it would have to tap modern technology to strengthen it.
An architect involved in heritage work, who refused to be named, said that for any of the fallen churches to rise again, adaptive reuse of the original materials might be recommended. If certain parts of the church are still intact and structurally sound, it can still be used.
A portion of a collapsed wall, for instance, may be filled with core pilings to strengthen it and the damaged portions may be filled with reinforced concrete.
Churches reduced to rubble, like those in Maribojoc and Loon towns, pose a greater problem. Rebuilding to their original form is close to impossible, the architect said.
The best way is to use reinforced concrete and utilize the wreck’s coral stone blocks for cladding.
He estimated that the structure alone could cost about P15,000 per square meter. If it includes cladding or low-relief sculptures like those found in facades, it could mean another P15,000 or more.
The NCCA leaves it to the people of the communities to decide what to do—restore their church or build a new one.
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Parrots of the Wild explores recent scientific discoveries and what they reveal about the lives of wild parrots, which are among the most intelligent and rarest of birds. Catherine A. Toft and Tim Wright discuss the evolutionary history of parrots and how this history affects perceptual and cognitive abilities, diet and foraging patterns, and mating and social behavior. The authors also discuss conservation status and the various ways different populations are adapting to a world that is rapidly changing. The book focuses on general patterns across the 350-odd species of parrots, as well as what can be learned from interesting exceptions to these generalities.
A synthetic account of the diversity and ecology of wild parrots, this book distills knowledge from the authors’ own research and from their review of more than 2,400 published scientific studies. The book is enhanced by an array of illustrations, including nearly ninety color photos of wild parrots represented in their natural habitats. Parrots of the Wild melds scientific exploration with features directed at the parrot enthusiast to inform and delight a broad audience.
Foreword by James D. Gilardi
Preface and Acknowledgments
PART I: The World of Parrots: Introducing the Psittaciformes
1. What Are the Parrots and Where Did They Come From? The Evolutionary History of the Parrots
PART II: The Functional Parrot: Physiology, Morphology, and Behavior
2. The Thriving Parrot: The Foods and Beaks of Parrots
3. The Sensible Parrot: How Parrots Perceive and Use Information
4. The Thinking Parrot: The Brains of Parrots and How They Use Them
PART III: The Lives of Parrots: Mating, Life History, and Populations
5. Sex and Marriage: The Mating Systems of Parrots
6. From the Cradle to the Grave: The Life History of Parrots
7. Populations of Parrots: Conservation and Invasion Biology
Epilogue: Themes and Threads Uniting the Chapters of This Book
Catherine A. Toft was Professor Emerita in the Department of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California, Davis at the time of her death in December 2011. She was coeditor of Parasite-Host Associations: Coexistence or Conflict?
Timothy F. Wright is Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at New Mexico State University. He has studied parrots in the wild and in the laboratory for more than twenty years.
"A must have for those with a serious interest in parrots."—The Birdbooker Report
"A rich celebration and study of 'the most human of birds.'”—Library Journal
"Parrots of the Wild
is an exhaustive compendium of information about parrots, from their evolutionary history to their behavior to present-day conservation issues. A must-have for anyone interested in these amazing creatures." —Irene M. Pepperberg, Professor at Harvard University and author of Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
"The wide range of scientific expertise that Toft and Wright command is impressive and thoroughly presented. This book is extremely important as a reminder that wild parrots exist and need our conservation attention." —John M. Marzluff, coauthor of Gifts of the Crow
and In the Company of Crows and Ravens
"If you like parrots then you'll love this book. From their evolutionary past to their modern-day love lives, Parrots of the Wild
presents a suitably captivating read. I thought I knew a lot about parrots--until I delved into these pages." —Tony Juniper, author of What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?
and Spix’s Macaw: The Race to Save the World’s Rarest Bird
"Parrots of the Wild
contributes very significantly to our knowledge of these fascinating birds. I am most impressed by the wealth of information provided here. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in parrots." —Joseph M. Forshaw, Department of Ornithology, Australian Museum, and Corresponding Fellow, American Ornithologists Union
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BASE JUDGMENTS ON FACTS NOT RUMORS
By DEAN ACHESON, Under Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
Delivered at a rally sponsored by the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship,New York City, November 14, 1945
Vital Speeches of the Day, pp. 110-112.
FRIENDSHIP between nations, as between individuals—genuine friendship—is something that grows spontaneously. It isn't easy to promote. It never can be forced. Governments can set the tone of international relations, but in the long run it's the people who call the tune.
The word "friendship" has been applied so liberally and so loosely to international relations, that it has lost much of its meaning. On this important occasion I shall try to use the word with all the care and respect that it deserves.
What are the factors that encourage close and friendly relations between the American and Soviet peoples? What are the obstacles in the way of a satisfactory friendship between us?
To say that there are overwhelming reasons why we should be friends is not to say that we are friends. To describe the bonds that unite us for better or for worse, on this miniature and crowded planet, is not to prove that we are happily united.
Now, I don't propose to enter tonight into a philosophical discussion of the anatomy of friendship. But there are certain conditions that usually exist between friends, and where they don't exist, you are almost certain to find something less than complete friendship.
One of those conditions might be described as an absence of tension. Friends may argue, disagree, and even quarrel-but they are relaxed with each other, in spite of their differences. They accept their disagreements as a normal part of the give and take of friendship.
To put it another way, friends are not forever taking each other apart—until each becomes obsessed and exasperated with the contradictions of the other's personality. They have accepted the terms of friendship, and they are not impelled to dig up the roots of friendship daily to see how the plant is growing.
To do this seems to me both silly and futile. Certainly it's not the way personal or international friendships are made or preserved. But in all honesty it must be admitted that there is a good deal of this sort of thing going on in both countries.
Judging from the way our national temperatures rise and fall in relation to day-to-day events, you would think we had had no experience of living together in the same world. As a matter of fact, we have had a long and close experience, dating from the time when President Jefferson and Czar Alexander the First carried on a warm and friendly correspondence.
For nearly a century and a half we have gotten along well—remarkably well, when you consider that our forms of government, our economic systems, and our social habits have never been similar.
Certainly the contrast between our ways of life and our political institutions is no greater today, with the Communist Russia than it was in the time of Jefferson and Czar Alexander the First, or during the period of the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln and Czar Alexander the Second guided our respective nations in a friendly collaboration of vital importance to us in our time of trial.
In perspective, the long history of amicable relations between the American and Russian peoples compares favorably with the history of our relations with the other great nations—not excluding France and Great Britain. By any standards of international relations, the record is good.
When I say this I am not for a moment forgetting or underestimating the tremendous events of 1917 and 1918 which eliminated Russia from the ranks of our allies at a crucial moment of the First World War, or the 16-year period of black-out between our two peoples, during which we withheld diplomatic recognition of each other's existence and suspended the normal contacts without which friendship cannot flourish.
But however great the loss to both our peoples from that gap in our relations, we need not regard it as irretrievable. Already a substantial part of it has been offset by our working partnership of World War II and the start toward peaceful cooperation that was made at the Moscow, Tehran, Crimean and San Francisco Conferences, and by our joint membership in the United Nations Organization.
Taken as a whole, I repeat, the long record of common interest and common action is good. Can we put it down to chance? Can we ascribe it to all-wise: governments or impeccable diplomacy? I don't think so. Forgetting governments and diplomats for the moment let's look at more immutable facts of history and geography.
There is the fact, for example, that never, in the past, has there been any place on the globe where the vital interests of the American and Russian people have clashed or even been antagonistic—and there is no objective reason to suppose that there should, now or in the future, ever be such a place. There is an obvious reason for this. We are both continental peoples with adequate living space—interested in developing and enjoying the living space we have. Our ambition is to achieve the highest possible standards of living among our own peoples, and we have the wherewithal to achieve high standards of living without conquest, through peaceful developments and trade.
We have that opportunity, moreover, only to the extent that we can create conditions of peace and prevent war. Thus, the paramount interest, the only conceivable hope of both nations lies in the cooperative enterprise of peace.
What, then, are the difficulties which lie across the path of this cooperative enterprise?
I believe the problem is capable of rational examination. I believe, also, that it is capable of solution. The hard core of the problem has two major aspects: First, the problem of security; and, second, the problem of understanding.
Both countries have been wantonly attacked. Both have suffered grievously, but differently. Both are determined that aggression shall have no such opportunity in the future.
The attack upon the Soviet Union came from just beyond her western borders. There was grave danger of attack from just beyond her eastern border. We can get some idea of the consequences of this attack—the second of its kind in a quarter of a century—if we imagine the United States invaded by the German Wehrmacht, and an area roughly comparable to the New England and Middle Atlantic States almost completely devastated. If we imagine this area as including not only the industrial centers of New York, Boston, and Pittsburgh, but a large part of the Middle-Western bread basket and a third of our population as well, we can learn what aggression means to the Soviet people. We can understand also the measure of their determination to prevent it.
We understand and agree with them that to have friendly governments along her borders is essential both for the security of the Soviet Union and for the peace of the world. Secretary Byrnes made this clear beyond doubt in his speech of October 31.
But it seems equally clear to us that the interest in security must take into account and respect other baste in-erests of nations and men, such as the interest of other peoples to choose the general surroundings of their own lives and of all men to be secure in their persons. We believe that that adjustment of interests should take place short of the point where persuasion and firmness become coercion, where a knock on the door at night strikes terror into men and women.
In this area where the room for adjustment is broad and where the necessity for extreme measures is absent, the problem seems wholly possible of friendly solution.
We, too, have our problem of security. The attack upon us came, not from close at hand, but from an aggressor, on two occasions, many thousands of miles away. The attacks were made upon a nation patently undesirous of and unprepared for war and solely because of our refusal to supinely acquiesce in conduct which outraged every sense of decency and right. This has led us to look for security through bases and methods which will keep danger far from us and stop the aggressor before he can again develop the power of his attack.
Our friends do not object to this but point out to us that we, too, must adjust our interest in security to the general interest in security and with the principles and organizations which have been agreed upon to insure it
In the case of both the Soviet Union and ourselves the necessity to seek security by extreme measures or unilateral action is absent. Mr. Molotov has truly said:
"We have lived through difficult years and now each one of us can say: *We have won and from now on we can consider our motherland rid from the menace of German invasion from the west and from the menace of Japanese invasion from the east' The long-awaited peace has come for the peoples of the whole world,"
With the menaces to the security of both countries removed it would seem that there is both time and area within which to solve all questions arising out of the need of our two countries for security. The path to solution is both through the United Nations Organization, which we have joined in establishing, and in following in our dealings with other nations the principles upon which we have agreed in the Charter.
One of these is to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. Another is to take collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace.
These are principles of restraint and moderation and patience and respect for the dignity and integrity of nations and individuals. They, furnish the best and surest foundations of friendship.
Then there is the second aspect of our problem of friendship—the second essential ingredient of friendship. I refer tothe necessity for understanding and communication betweenthe American and Soviet people.
Enduring friendship must be based on understanding andtrust, not only between governments, but between peoples.
But we are faced with an immediate and practical question:
How are we to know one another? Here are two peoples of strong convictions and different backgrounds. Each is committed to its way of life. Neither has the least desire to change the other. Yet each has an overwhelming desire to know and understand the other.
I confess I see no way to draw our peoples into closer understanding except by persistent efforts, on both sides, to free the lines of communication through the press and the radio, through books and magazines, through the exchange of knowledge and culture, and through travel and personal acquaintance. What we and the Soviet people need from each other and what we are entitled to ask was summed up by Marshal Stalin in a talk with Senator Pepper. "Just judge the Soviet Union objectively," said Marshal Stalin. "Do not either praise us or scold us. Just know us and judge us as we are, and base your estimate of us upon facts and not rumors."
We have so much to learn and, what is more difficult, to understand about each other that we cannot hope to succeed except in the spacious atmosphere of honesty, candor and knowledge. Only in that atmosphere can we keep our minds and emotions on an even keel and avoid the pitfalls of over-optimism on the one side and despair on the other. Both are equally dangerous and equally unjustified.
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By Mary Leisses, MS
IHS offers a diversity of options for obtaining continuing education credit: seminars and classroom training, institutional courses, online studies and distance learning programs. This article represents yet another opportunity. Upon successful completion of the accompanying test you will earn one CEU.
(Please check with your licensing board to verify acceptance of continuing education credit for this activity.)
Digital technology has added a new dimension of flexibility in fitting and meeting the needs of our patients. As digital moves into increasingly complicated algorithms and combinations of parameters, we rely more and more on the manufacturer-provided “quick fit” and “fitting assistants.” As we proceed on this path, it’s important that we do not lose sight of how the various parameters work and interact. Even in the age of advanced digital, it is still imperative to understand the basics of the input/output (I/O) curve. In this article, we will break down the I/O curve and discuss the rationale, purpose and guidelines for each of the components.
The following definitions will ensure we are all using the same basic terms correctly.
Input/output function is a graph or curve illustrating how the output of a circuit changes relative to the input. It is typically done one frequency at a time, though a composite signal may also be used. The range of input will vary from 50 to 90 dB if the test is done according to ANSI guidelines.
Input compression refers to a compression scheme that considers the input level to determine if the compression should be activated. The check for compression will come before the volume control (feed forward loop). This means that adjustment of the volume control will affect both gain and output.
Figure 1. The top diagram illustrates a basic analog circuit.
Output compression refers to a compression scheme that considers the output level (input level + gain) to determine if the compression should be activated. The check for compression will come after the volume control (feedback loop). This means that adjustment of the volume control will affect only gain. The maximum output of the circuit is determined by the compression setting.
Compression ratio characterizes the amount of compression or automatic gain adjustment that will occur. The formula for calculating ratio is change in input / change in output. If your input level increases 20 dB while your output level increases 10 dB (20/10 = 2) your compression ratio is 2:1. Ratios are always expressed relative to 1. For every 2 dB increase in input, you will have a 1 dB increase in output. Another example shows a 20 dB increase in input with only a 2 dB increase in output. This would be a 10:1 compression ratio (20/2 = 10).
Figure 2. Two different compression ratios with their formula. The diagram illustrates the feed forward loop used in input compression circuits.
Linear compression could have two different meanings: 1) a 1:1 compression ratio, meaning linear gain and 2) a compression scheme where the compression ratio is fixed. For example, it will always be 1.8:1 as long as you are in compression. The opposite of this would be curvilinear compression.
Figure 3. The difference between linear compression (a fixed compression ratio) and curvilinear compression. The diagram illustrates the feedback loop used in output compression circuits.
Curvilinear compression is a type of compression where the ratio varies with the input level. Typically, as the input level increases, the compression ratio also increases.
Compression threshold (kneepoint) is the point at which the circuit will go into compression. Threshold and kneepoint are often used interchangeably.
Attack time is the length of time it takes for the threshold to be exceeded and the circuit knows to go into compression.
Release time is the amount of time the circuit stays in compression and until it is within 2 dB of its linear gain once the signal is gone.
Time constants are the attack and release times together. Time constants may be fast, slow or both fast and slow, depending upon the circuit and signal.
Figure 4. The compression threshold is commonly called the kneepoint because it looks like a bent knee on the I/O graph. This graph shows a low and high threshold.
Syllabic compression uses fast attack and release times. The goal of this configuration is to compress the vocalized elements of speech (vowels) while allowing the softer consonant sounds to pass through with linear amplification. The theoretical result would be an increase in the consonant-vowel ratio.
Dual-time constants allow the circuit to have more than one-time constant configuration. For example, very loud inputs would utilize a fast attack time, while softer inputs would use a slower attack time. The release times can also be varied by the algorithm.
Detection system defines how the system knows the threshold has been exceeded for activation of the compression. The very first compression systems used “peak” detectors that required only one signal to exceed the threshold to activate the compression. Later, circuits used various averaging techniques. These allowed the inputs over a specified time period to be averaged and then compared to the threshold. This provided a more realistic representation of the environment and prevented short bursts from shutting the systems down.
Wide-dynamic-range compression (WDRC) is a hearing aid compression algorithm with a low threshold of activation, designed to deliver signals between a listener’s thresholds of sensitivity and discomfort in a manner that matches loudness growth. Basically, we want all input levels (soft to loud) to be heard by the hearing impaired individual in the same relative way a normal hearing person would. Therefore, soft speech, around 35 dB SPL, would be perceived as very soft to the hearing impaired individual and not necessarily easy to understand. Conversational speech should be comfortable and easy to understand. Loud sounds and environments should be perceived as loud but not uncomfortable.
To achieve this goal WDRC will have a low compression threshold; in some digital products it is as low as 20 dB SPL. The highest a WDRC threshold will typically go is 55 dB SPL. The low threshold will allow a good amount of linear gain to be applied to very soft inputs so that they can be brought into the auditory range of the individual.
Let’s say our circuit has the threshold at 35 dB SPL. All sounds below 35 dB SPL would receive linear gain. From 35 dB up, all the inputs would be under compression. Because such a wide range of inputs is under compression, the ratio is usually pretty small. The highest WDRC ratio is usually not more than 4:1. Think of it like an accordion. In order to fit the accordion into the box, we are compressing each section of the middle just a little. In order to fit the full range of sounds into the narrowed dynamic range of the hearing impaired individual, we are applying a small amount of compression to a large range of inputs.
When looking at different products, what do you want in a WDRC type circuit? Ideally, the ability to adjust thresholds and ratios independently of each other will provide good flexibility. In some products, you may not have direct access to ratio. In these products, by adjusting the gain for soft or quiet sounds and gain for loud sounds, you will affect the ratio.
Some products allow you to select different time constant options; however, there is not an abundance of research on when to use what time constants. Some research points toward slower time constants being preferred by individuals, particularly relative to speech level inputs. Other research has shown that fast-time constants (syllabic compression) in the low frequencies coupled with slower constants in the high frequencies can also be acceptable for individuals.
WDRC does an excellent job of amplifying soft sounds. It does so well, in fact, that often users of hearing aids are annoyed by the soft environmental sounds that surround us on a daily basis. The purpose of expansion is to bury or hide these environmental sounds below the threshold of the individual.
Expansion is greater than linear gain. Therefore, if linear is 1:1 (for every 1 dB increase in input there is 1 dB increase in output) and compression is 2:1 (for every 2 dB increase in input there is a 1 dB increase in output) expansion is .5:1 (for every half dB increase in input there is full dB increase in output).
Figure 5. Linear, compression and expansion are illustrated on the same I/O graph.
So why do we need greater than linear gain? When expansion is activated in the hearing aid, the hearing aid will ignore sounds below a specified input level, at about 20 dB. That means that sounds softer than 20 dB are neither amplified nor compressed. They merely pass through the system. Once a signal level is 20 dB or above, amplification will be provided.
Now the problem. If our threshold for compression is at 50 dB, that is our target gain for soft speech. If we use linear gain from 20 dB to up to our threshold we will not have enough gain to make speech audible. Therefore, we need greater than linear gain in order to “ramp up” quickly. This allows the circuit to bypass very soft sounds, provide less than linear gain to many intermediate sounds and still provide enough gain for soft speech to be audible.
Figure 6. If linear gain was used when “hiding” sounds below the functioning level of the hearing aid, the target gain for soft speech would never be used. Expansion allows minimal gain for soft environmental sounds while still allowing the need gain for speech.
What features do you want in your products? You want the ability to turn off the expansion because not everyone will like it. Previous long-time users of hearing instruments without expansion or those with more moderate losses might perceive that they are out of touch when expansion is on. The hearing instrument should have the capability for expansion to be on in one memory and off in another. For example, in a music memory you might want expansion turned off so that the listener does not miss the softer portions of musical pieces. The same individual might want expansion to be on in the primary listening memory.
With the goal of limiting distortion and controlling output, compression limiting was the first type of compression used on a regular basis in hearing aids. Compression limiting can be either input or output compression. Most often, it is configured as output compression and the two terms are often used interchangeably. Compression limiting is characterized by a high threshold and a high ratio.
In today’s products, compression limiting is usually combined with WDRC. While WDRC is typically dealt with at the channel level, the compression limiting configuration varies from product to product. It is fairly common to have the limiting be broadband, meaning across the entire frequency range instead of channel specific. With compression limiting you need the flexibility to adjust the maximum output of the instrument by 10 to 15 dB. Most digital products cannot be made absolutely linear, so that is an unreasonable expectation.
As digital moves forward it is important to understand the basics of the algorithms utilized. Understanding the I/O curve is the first step in providing successful fittings for your patients. A working knowledge of this basic level of the algorithm provides the foundation and framework for the more advanced features of digital technology. THP
Mary Leisses, MS, is a staff audiologist at St. Croix Medical in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Please direct communications to her at [email protected]. (Ms. Leisses thanks Lois Benson for her assistance with this article.)
ANSI S3.22-1987 American National Standard Specification of Hearing Aid Characteristics. New York: Acoustical Soc of Am, April, 1987.
ANSI S3.22-1996 American National Standard Specification of Hearing Aid Characteristics. New York: Acoustical Soc of Am, January, 1996.
Byrne D, Dillon H: The national acoustic laboratories (NAL) new procedure for selecting the gain and frequency response of a hearing aid. Ear and Hearing 1986; Vol 7, No 4.
Byrne D: Hearing aid selection for the 1990’s: where to? J Am Acad Audio, Vol 7, No 6.
Delk JH: Comprehensive Dictionary of Audiology. MA: The Laux Company 1983.
Dillon H: Tutorial: Compression? Ear and Hearing 1996, Vol 17, No 4.
Fortune TW, Preves D A, Woodruff BD: Saturation-induced distortion and its effects on aided LDL, Hearing Instruments 1991, Vol 42, No 10, pp 37.
Hawkins D: Selection of hearing aid characteristics, Hearing Aid Assessment and Use in Audiologic Habilitation, 3rd ed 1986, Ed WR Hodgson, Baltimore: Willliams and Wilkins, 128—1.
Killion MC: A critique on four popular statements about compression, The Hearing Review 1997, Vol 4, No 2, pp 36 and 38.
Killion, MC: Compression: Distinctions, The Hearing Review 1996, Vol 3, No 8, pp 29—32.
Kuk F: Theoretical and practical considerations in compression hearing aids, Trends in Amplification 1996, Vol 1, No 1.
Libby ER: Hearing instrument systems technology and performance standards, Hearing Instrument Science and Fitting Practices 1st ed 1985, Ed RE Sandlin, MI: IHS 201—300.
Skinner MW: Hearing Aid Evaluation 1988, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 220—3.
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Agenda item 1: Overview on implementation of food based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) - FAO perspective and initiative
14. The consultation adopted the provisional agenda and the timetable (Appendices III and IV) as proposed by Biplab K. Nandi.
15. Biplab K. Nandi presented an overview on the implementation of FBDGs from the FAO perspective, emphasizing the main agenda items as (i) examining country initiatives on the status of implementation of FBDGs at various levels (ii) issues for consideration as regards promoting implementation of FBDGs and identification of future actions and (iii) linking implementation of FBDGs to NPANs as part of ICN and WFS follow up activities.
16. He recalled some of the key components of FBDGs in terms of the context for addressing FBDGS, consideration of general and specific issues to promote healthy eating, challenges to implementation and ways of intensifying the involvement of multi-sectors.
17. He also put forth the consideration for developing the quantitative components of FBDGs and identifying projections that will make it possible to consolidate these efforts for efficient and effective implementation.
18. Testing the feasibility of FBDGs through phased field testings would need to be carried out, as appropriate. Systematic approaches would need to be adopted using change agents at various levels through appropriate multi sectoral collaboration.
19. FBDGs need to be integrated into food and agricultural policies with the objective of providing adequate safe and nutritious foods for all. Food, agricultural, health, educational and rural development policies along with the National Nutrition Policy would need to be harmonized to support the implementation of FBDGs. A core department/ministry would need to be designated and be responsible for co-ordinating the FBDG implementation. As far as possible, related departments/agencies would have to support the strategies and be closely involved in monitoring and evaluation of the programmes. In essence, FBDGs should serve as a valuable tool in translating National Plans of Action on Nutrition (NPANs) and as a strategy for their effective implementation.
20. The Consultation was informed that the deliberation was to focus on reviewing implementation of national food based dietary guidelines, update on implementation of ICN/WFS/NPAN follow - up activities and explore possibilities for implementing FAOs nutrition education modules on Feeding minds, Fighting Hunger in countries of the region.
Agenda item II: Forging agricultural links with and nutrition links in the implementation of FBDGs
Presented by Barbara Schneeman
21. Barbara Schneeman, informed the consultation that food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) are an integral component of nutrition policy and provide a mechanism to link policies related to food, nutrition and health promotion. As an educational tool for the public, FBDGs express nutrition principles in terms of food and dietary patterns that are central to public health strategies. As a policy tool, they provide a means to coordinate nutrition-related programmes as well as evaluate the adequacy of the food supply in meeting the nutritional needs of the population.
22. In linking agricultural production to human nutrition, she pointed out that development of agriculture in relation to nutrition has occurred in three phases namely: improving yield to provide adequate energy from food, improving efficiency of production to diversify the sources of nutrients in the food supply, and targeting efforts to improve nutritional profile of foods that will help lower the risk of diseases and promote health.
23. FBDGs would need to be country specific taking into consideration the public health issues, dietary problems and socio-economic conditions. She recognized that national overviews are dynamic and therefore, issue of both agriculture and nutrition must evolve together. In identifying the association between diet and health, one has to identify foods and the components of foods that are bioactive, build up analytical methods, determine the essential components and monitor intake. This knowledge can be used to improve food supply as well as to developing supplementation and fortification strategies. The nutrition knowledge is also incorporated into relevant policies, programmes, health management, recommended dietary allowances, and monitoring and evaluation issues.
24. Drawing upon an FAO consultation in 2000 on experiences from Thailand and the Philippines, Ms Schneeman, emphasised the lessons learnt, which included: the importance of a research and science based process, involvement of multidisciplinary expertise in the process of development of FBDGs, the value of having FBDGs relevant to the public health needs of their population, and the motivation to extend its use to multi-sectors. The process is valuable for building consensus among various sectors for appropriate food based strategies.
25. Inclusion of self-evaluation/frequently asked questions (FAQs) was also an important feature promoting implementation. For example, the Thai guidelines included a self-evaluation which guides an individual through the key messages and enables one to assess what changes are needed to follow the guidelines. In the Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF), it had sections with FAQs and an action plan. Both approaches are particularly useful in making the guidelines more practical and to stimulate action.
26. Ms Schneeman observed that the food-based approach raises the importance of agricultural policies that address the food needs of the population. In most countries, several government agencies have responsibility for nutrition. While it is a challenge to coordinate among multiple agencies with such responsibility, the FBDGs process itself creates a format for coordination and consensus building around the most important public health issues related to nutrition.
27. The consultation in 2000 reported that both Thailand and the Philippines developed nutrition expertise during the past 20 years. This capacity-building is most evident at the Institute of Nutrition of Mahidol University (INMU) Salaya in Thailand and at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, although in both countries capacity building extends beyond these two institutions. This capacity building has strengthened the ability of these countries to develop science-based approaches for the development and implementation of FBDGs.
28. The FBDGs would also need to respond to the needs of the low income groups, where it is likely to be perceived as being useful for the well - to-do and that the recommendations at times could be too expensive for many at-risk, low-income individuals to follow. This was expressed in both Thailand and the Philippines. This calls for concrete efforts to ensure that all groups are able to use the guidelines effectively to improve nutritional status.
29. Ms Schneeman concluded that the ability of countries to share their experience in implementing a process is one of the best ways to expand and improve upon the recommendations from the Cyprus Expert Meeting.
30. The consultation raised important issues and concerns which included the debate over the medical/health professionals on the promotion of diet supplements as a quick fix to solve problems of malnutrition versus the use of food based dietary guidelines; use of foods/food groups and dietary patterns that are misleading to some consumers and thus hampering sustainability of nutrition education campaigns.
31. The example of the Five-a-day Campaign for increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in the US was cited which served to promote dietary improvement among the population groups and also to support the food production initiatives among farmers.
32. The consultation agreed that these issues and concerns emerged as challenges to improving research, communications and strategies for both health and nutrition professionals to make a difference in the win-win situation for the government and private sector in its collaborative efforts in contributing to consumers health and nutrition improvement.
Agenda item III: Country status with regard to implementation of FBDGs and identification of future actions
Bangladesh: presented by Mirza Altaf Hossain and Mohammad Mannan
33. The consultation noted that the FBDGs for Bangladesh developed by Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC) in 1997 are being implemented through different sectors in general, and health and agriculture sectors in particular. Specifically, the health and agriculture sectors have integrated the FBDGs in different training programmes. The guidelines are disseminated at various levels during the observance of National Nutrition Week. The FBDGs are also being implemented at the community level in 59 Upazillas/sub-districts by the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project (BINP) and 13 Upazillas/sub-districts by the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition (BIRTAN).
34. The tri-media (radio, television, prints) is employed in popularizing the messages of the FBDGs. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), boy scouts and girls guides are also involved in its dissemination.
35. The National Steering Committee at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare represented by the Focal Points for Nutrition from different concerned ministries, departments and bureaus are responsible for monitoring the implementation of FBDGs. These stake holders have ownership and responsibility for formulation and implementation of the dietary guidelines which strengthen implementation of FBDGs.
36. It was suggested that initiatives for monitoring and evaluation of FBDGs taken up by the countries of the region would need to be facilitated by FAO. FAO (RAP) could facilitate in formulating some common indicators for use in the region.
China: prepared by Yang Xiaoguang
37. As the representative from China could not attend the consultation, the summary was read out by the chairperson. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents are founded on principles of nutritional science and the present nutrition situation of China. They provide guidance to the Chinese people for consuming balanced diets so as to achieve and maintain good nutrition and health. The Guidelines have been prepared by a Commission of experts from the Chinese Nutrition Society and the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene affiliated with The Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. This Academy has proposed having a policy for the development of soy bean and its by-products, and rational utilization of soybean resources. A Milk Action Plan has been developed along with the development of milk products and milk processing. There is also a regulation in the consumption of meat.
38. In keeping with the ICN, the Chinese Plan of Action (PAN) is making efforts towards ensuring food supply and implementation of appropriate interventions to alleviate hunger and food shortage, reduce the incidence of PEM and prevent, control and eliminate micronutrient deficiencies. Through proper guidance for food consumption behavior, it is promoting improvement of dietary patterns and promotion of healthy lifestyles, general nutritional status and the prevention of nutrition-related chronic diseases.
39. Results of a survey on nutrition knowledge, attitude and behaviour of 5145 persons from five cities in four provinces (Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan and Heilongjiang) between 1998 and 2000 showed that the Nutrition Education Project namely, Dietary Guidelines had been effectively conducted. Obvious propaganda effects had been achieved among its residents, middle and primary school students and older persons.
40. The nutrition knowledge scores showed that people developed a good attitude towards learning nutrition concepts and that some dietary behaviours and lifestyles of people have been modified.
India: presented by Kamala Krishnaswamy
41. Kamala Krishnaswamy briefly indicated the multi sectoral expertise used in the development and formulation of FBDGs in India, and highlighted the nation-wide efforts to ensure that FBDGs messages reach the core community. NGOs and mass media are seen to be playing predominant roles. The various steps undertaken for popularization of the guidelines and promotion of their acceptance, include wide publicity through mass media and interpersonal communication approaches through professional societies among others.
42. In view of the diversity of food habits, cultures and socio-economic situations in India, FBDGs need to be modified and adapted to local conditions. The Indian Guidelines emphasize the liberal consumption of fruits and vegetables, adequate consumption of cereals and pulses and moderate comsumption of oil, meat and sugar especially for those who might overeat. FBDGs cover all aspects related to undernutrition and overnutrition and food safety. Household measures have been included to make the quantitative FBDGs explicit.
43. Implementation includes sensitization of the policy makers and local opinion leaders to issues related to FBDGs and identification of a central nodal agency for implementing the national nutrition policy and promoting FBDGs. She opined that FBDGs must become an education tool to be built within related agencies in their development plans. She emphasised that with the adoption of the national nutrition policy by the Government of India, the FBDGs approach would need to be dovetailed to the general nutrition policy utilizing appropriate communication strategies for promoting positive behavioural changes. Centre-state co-ordination in the existing federal governmental set-up and participation of local food industry are important in this regard.
44. Implementation, monitoring and periodic evaluation are critical components to the success of food based dietary guidelines for which the process of evaluation should be dynamic and provide necessary feed back for a continuous updating of FBDGs. Media inputs, frequency of messages being displayed, frequency of purchase, national food production data, national availability of data, food consumption data which is easy to collect are important components herein. Mapping of nutrition problems is being done through ICDS at national levels, and in this regard FBDGs can serve to provide dietary and nutrition related information. Further, nurition surveillance systems which is being developed in all stages based on the Triple A approach must build in FBDGs
45. In promoting the practical use of FBDGs, Dr Krishnaswamy informed the Consultation that translation into various regional languages has been done. Implementation now calls for a nation - wide launch of FBDGs. Women are the primary target groups and publicity programmes serve as important means to promote implementation. Secondary audiences such as teachers, youth, students in schools, and elderly also need to be mobilized if FBDGs have to reach out more effectively.
46. Production of food grains and other commodities in India shows that grain banks are overflowing but pulses and millets have decreased, which have implications for PEM. Egg and milk production and consumption have gone up, while production of fruits and vegetables has not gone up, which is important in view of the problems of micronutrient malnutrition. India is second in vegetable and fruit production in the world but almost a third is lost due to post harvest losses. She expressed the need to address this issue and encourage more rural preservation, packaging and value addition in FBDGs and build in an economic angle to promote incentives to the farmers and food producers.
47. Recent retrograde steps undertaken with regard to salt iodization largely due to political factors at the central level were not encouraging. However, certain states have not withdrawn the sale of iodized salt, which is gratifying and she felt that the mass media and NGOs need to be aware of such issues to raise community awareness.
48. Priorities for research have been planned, which include strategies to promote and link up agriculture and rural centred technolgies, food fortification and production of complementary foods. Simple evaluations need to be built into the programme to get necessary feedback in updating FBDGs.
Indonesia: presented by Arum Atmawikarta
49. Arum Atmawikarta elaborated on the review of FBDGs in Indonesia. Primary efforts were undertaken to raise awareness among policy makers through dissemination of information on the Indonesian Nutrition Guidelines (ING). Advocacy has been undertaken for decision makers in related sectors at formal levels of administration and in non-formal institutions such as the community and groups such as religious leaders.
50. Specific approaches are also carried out through control on food and beverage advertisements against the non-conformity with existing ethical codes and rules; inclusion of ING into school curriculum; promoting local food that meets nutrition requirements through an I Love Indonesian Food, and Keluarga Sadar Gizi or Nutrition - Awareness Family Movement; mainstreaming ING in a coordination forum at various levels, and through publication of a book of 13 Basic Messages.
51. This book is designed to be used by decision makers at various levels and consists of a brief description about the basic messages in the form of an easy language guide. However, there are some messages which are not very clear and this needs to be addressed.
52. Indonesia also employs the empowerment approach where several activities to build capacities of institutions through training for related health personnel and NGOs are undertaken.
53. As part of strengthening, involvement of national and local government, NGOs and related partners, concerted support from related institutions and the community are being elicited. Efforts undertaken include an agreement among all prospective groups in disseminating the messages of ING to utilize and activate all prospective personnel in an innovative and effective manner to gain support in disseminating the FBDGs.
54. Among the processes that are found effective in the dissemination of FBDGs are inter-programme and inter-sectoral workshops, symposia, TOT (Training of Trainers), campaigns through public and commercial radios and TV channels. Due to some difficulty in understanding the ING, its review and modification have been undertaken. An additional guidebook that provides simple information will be also be developed
Malaysia: presented by Ismail Noor
55. Ismail Noor updated the consultation about the Malaysian FBDGs which consist of healthy eating messages developed by a Technical Working Group (TWG) established in 1997 under the auspices of National Core Council for Food and Nutrition (NCCFN) chaired by the Ministry of Health. The Malaysian Food Pyramid presents the kinds of foods to be taken everyday along with the number of servings. Examples of typical foods and food preparations are suggested along with an indication of the nutrient source of the suggested food. The FBDGs were first published in December 1999 and was launched by the Minister of Health in July 2000.
56. As an educational tool, the guidelines have been incorporated into training modules for health care professionals and the food pyramid has been adopted by several professional societies in their website and are printed as posters and pamphlets for wider distribution. More recently, the messages and food pyramid were adopted for use in a Bright Start Nutrition project for children 2-6 years old. On-going activities include drafting dietary guidelines for infants with plans to monitor and evaluate the usefulness of the dietary guidelines in the near future.
57. The challenge ahead is to encourage the larger sections of the population to use FBDGs. This requires continuous support and commitment of both the Government and the Private sectors that are involved in food, nutrition and health programmes to educate and motivate to public in recognizing the vital role nutrition plays in promoting health and well being. Central to this would be the need to make individuals and communities to play their parts and make the necessary changes to achieve the desired goal.
Nepal: presented by Yogesh Vaidya
58. The consultation was informed by Mr Vaidya that Nepal had yet to develop FBDGs for the general public. He remarked that the task of developing national FBDGs can be initiated and guided by the National Nutrition Coordination Committee (NNCC) of the National Planning Commission (NPC) and that a national working group to formulate FBDGs. The scientific basis for this should consider a systematic approach obtaining and using baseline information and eliciting the involvement of multi sectors. FBDGs would also need to take into account the ethnic differences, difficult geographical terrain and related factors.
59. As NPAN was adopted in the current Ninth Plan and has been implemented by His Majestys Government, Mr Vidya solicited FAOs assistance in working out details for implementation of the ICN themes on Promotion of Appropriate Diet and Healthy Lifestyles which has been incorporated along with other themes for the Nepal NPAN. This could serve to build in the FBDGs.
60. An advocacy for policy makers, planners and programme executors will help raise concern for initiating actions on formulation, development and implementation of FBDGs considering multisectoral and multidisciplinary involvement.
Philippines: presented by Elsa M. Bayani
61 The consultation noted that FBDGs are not new to the Philippines, the country having developed dietary guidelines in the 1980s. However, the recently adopted Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF) marked a new beginning for the intensification of nutrition education. In its efforts to evoke public attention, the 2000 and 2001 celebrations of the Nutrition Month (NM) in July focused on the NGF, first with a call to know and practice good nutrition, and then with a call to also spread and promote the NGF messages.
62. A mix of communication channels is used through tri media and interpersonal communications. These include production and airing of nutrition plugs, publication of supplements, production and distribution of various collateral materials, and organising seminars and special events. Other nutrition education and related activities which focus on one or more of the NGF messages have included the Child Growth Project (CGP), Garantisadong Pambata (NM) or Preschoolers Health Programme, and the Integrated Multimedia Campaign on Fruits and Vegetables (INMCFV).
63. Mobilization of influencers (food manufacturers, media, and various organizational associations) to participate actively in promoting the NGF needs to be undertaken. It is envisaged that participation can range from being role models to investing in the various components of the National Institution Education Programme (NNEP), which is being formulated.
64. Ms Bayani positively noted that for the past few years, there has been a growing involvement of the private sector, particularly food manufacturers in bringing nutrition messages to the attention of each Filipino. At the local level, FBDGs are being promoted through the Nutrition Month (NM) Celebrations which include promotion of nutrition messages during the Monday Flag raising ceremonies in July. Nutrition parades, cooking contests and distribution of posters and streamers are activities implemented.
65. Presently NNEP is being integrated, rationalized and harmonized with the other on-going programmes of the Government and the NGF remains the basis for promoting nutrition behaviour at all levels. Sustained promotion of the Philippine FBDGs will be carried out through the NNEP, 2002-2004.
66. Recognizing that interpersonal communication will be used as a major strategy to promote the NGF, it is critical to train professionals and community level workers particularly in terms of skills to translate nutrition knowledge into action that is practical and more attuned to the needs and circumstances of the target audience.
67. The NNEP shall include components such as capacity building on effective nutrition education, mobilization of influencers to help promote NGF, carrying out research to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and complementing them with other impact programmes.
Sri Lanka: prepared by Gamage Dhanawardana
68. Since the participant from Sri Lanka was unable to attend the consultation, the summary of the paper was read out by the chairperson. The various activities that are linked with promotion of food based dietary improvements in Sri Lanka as part of the implementation process of FBDGs were pointed out.
69. Almost all programmes dealing with nutritional problems in Sri Lanka tend to start with advocacy programmes aimed at creating awareness among the policy makers. Advocacy programmes deal with prevalence of the specific nutrition problems, concepts and the approach used in intervention programmes to overcome them. Illustrative examples include the Participatory Nutrition Improvement Project (PNIP), Micronutrient deficiency control project (MDCP) and Nutrition Education Project (NEP). Annually Ministry of Health launches a national nutrition week to educate the public on themes related to nutrition.
70. The Nutrition Division, Department of Health Services of the Ministry of Health in 2000 compiled a Nutrition Guide. It provides nutrition education not only in terms of FBDGs, but also in quantitative principles, minerals and vitamins for each food group.
Thailand: presented by Songsak Srianujata
71. Songsak Srianujata highlighted a food and nutrition cycle concept that was used in Thailand. This concept, influenced by several food, agriculture and health variables, guides national food and nutrition policy decisions and actions and signifies a holistic approach towards food security and nutritional adequacy. The Thai FBDGs have been developed and implemented in the NPAN within the 8th National Economic Social Development Plan (NESD) during the year 1996-2001.
72. A number of challenges face the implementation of Thai FBDGs, particularly with regard to communication. While the revision of up-to-date scientific evidence provided the basis for establishing healthy eating through the current Thai FBDGs, these guidelines need to be more easily understood by the public if they are to be translated into practice. Key factors ranging from consumer awareness to inequities in health and nutrition, to literacy levels within target populations, and to the quality of the food supply have been recognized as challenges in meeting the goals of FBDGs.
73. Comprehensive and coordinated efforts such as development of National Food and Nutrition Policies and Plan, closer collaboration and coordination among government, industry and non-governmental partners, and academia, appropriate legislative and policy change, nutrition research, surveillance and monitoring systems to detect behavioral changes and health consequences were therefore to be undertaken.
74. He pointed out that the communication and implementation of the Thai FBDGs depends on commitment and partnerships at many levels. Responsibility for and commitment to the FBDGs as well as their communication and implementation, rests with all of the stakeholders.
75. The official release of the FBDGs booklet by the Prime Minister has provided sound advocacy support and evoked a high sense of importance to the FBDG initiative. Other activities that have reinforced widespread dissemination of information on the Thai FBDGs include round table discussion, nationwide radio broadcast, weekly television programme on FBDGs, luncheon talks with senior persons of the mass media and participation from the food industry and non-food public organizations
76. Educational tools and kits produced by Ministry of Public Health depicting the food guides, as well as national campaigns on clean food, good taste, for food producers, health promoting schools, health promoting hospitals and healthy workplace have been developed and undertaken through several formal and informal channels. Formal and informal training programmes on healthy eating have also been carried out through peer education, religious leaders and other target groups.
77. For future actions, Thailand will review its FBDGs and the communication/implementation strategies in collaboration with the Advisory Committee. Monitoring and evaluation of changes in eating patterns of specific groups through the collaborative efforts of relevant organizations and actively disseminating research results and implications as they relate to the implementation of the Thai FBDGs will continue to be undertaken. Research efforts will include learning more about the target audience, their environment and what motivates their decisions on changing their food habits. The nation wide evaluation of Food Consumption Survey is planned for 2002-2003.
Viet Nam: presented by Ha Huy Khoi
78. The consultation was informed that there was commendable progress in the current status of FBDGs in relation to its applications on the nutrition policy in Viet Nam. In particular, the FBDGs have been used as official document of NPAN.
79. With the approval of the National Plan of Action for Nutrition for the period 1995 - 2000 from the Prime Minister, ten nutrition recommendations have been elaborated and used as a tool for educating the public. FBDGs have been introduced in all training courses, and nutrition education messages appear regularly in newspapers and mass media programmes. Recommendations include how to reduce PEM which is prevalent in Vietnam and the promotion of healthy lifestyles and appropriate food choices.
80. On 22 February 2001, the Government ratified the National Nutrition Strategy for the period 2001-2010. Reviewing and preparing new FBDGs relevant to the actual nutrition situation is timely and necessary.
81. As nutrition education is the main strategy of NNS during the period 2001 - 2010, FBDGs are seen to play a very important role in NNS implementation. In this regard, FBDG would need to be relevant to the actual diet pattern and disease pattern in order to reach the NNS goals and objectives. FBDGs should provide for expanding the quantitative components, be applicable and in conformity with traditional food habits. Viet Nam is also in a period of nutrition transition with the double burden of under and overnutrition. FBDGs need to contribute towards addressing these problems.
82. Due to Viet Nams nutrition education efforts, the awareness of the policy makers and people on nutrition issues has improved remarkably. In keeping with its NPAN goals, reduction of child malnutrition is noted at the national level, provinces, districts and communes.
Progress and review of FBDGs from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC): Presented by Wendy Snowdon
83. Snowdon emphasized that changes in traditional lifestyle and diet in the Pacific Islands have led to increases in rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and noted that in many countries Vitamin A deficiency and anaemia are still high. Concern about unhealthy diets has led to a need for developing a food guide for the Pacific, which could depict a food based system of ensuring a healthy balanced diet for the general population.
84. Recognising the lack of capacity amongst many of its member countries to develop their own specific food guide and in response to demand from its member countries, SPC agreed to work on developing a Pacific Food Based Guide for its member countries. The initial development phase has now been completed, and the next stage is to disseminate this across the region and to colleagues and to support them in its appropriate use locally.
85. In taking responsibility for this initiative, SPCs Lifestyle Health Section has reviewed the food grouping system and also developed a food based guide for the region. The food group system has been widely disseminated regionally and incorporated into local teaching and resources. While there is general awareness concerning the three food groups across the region, the overall understanding of the way to construct a healthy balanced diet is limited.
86. There is a region-wide tendency to consume excess body-building foods and have small amounts of the protective foods or none at all. The high intakes of fat and sugar based foods are also of concern, particularly in light of the increasing rates of NCDs in the region. Ms. Snowdon pointed out that there is a need to move on from the concept of eating from the three food groups, to eating the correct relative amounts of the three food groups. During the development process it was suggested that information on other lifestyle issues such as exercise, smoking and drinking be included, as a healthy diet should not be separated from other key lifestyle risk factors.
87. It is hoped that these posters and their concepts will form the basis of training and education around healthy lifestyles in the region. The development process included consultation with member countries and partner agencies, along with piloting in selected sites.
88. As part of regional dissemination, following the final printing of these posters at the end of 2001, training is planned across the region. As the food guide is a new development for the region, it is essential that this be incorporated into all training programmes regionally. It is hoped that member countries will seek support for the translation of these resources into local languages along with any other minor modifications required.
Fiji: presented by Nirmala Nand
89. Ms Nand informed the consultation that Fiji has produced its dietary guidelines over ten years ago in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The guidelines aim to help the population to follow a set of nutrition and health principles in order to achieve and maintain good health and nutritional status, with a focus on addressing the prevention and control of the prevalent health and nutrition problems that the country faces such as anemia, diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, cancer and gout. These conditions, she pointed out, are known to be prevented and controlled by eating the right kind of foods in the right amounts. The National Food and Nutrition Centre (NFNC) is vigorously pursuing the revision of FBDGs and will commence its dissemination and distribution to all levels through multi media channels and a number of IEC materials such as posters, pamphlets, calendars, brochures, etc.
90. Implementation of guidelines in Fiji is undertaken by the Ministry of Health, Agriculture, Education, Women and Culture, National Food and Nutrition Centre, National Centre for Health Promotion and various non-governmental organizations. More concerted effort for converging various multi sectoral actions in the effective implementation of FBDGs is needed. A national campaign on FBDG is also being planned for 2002 to sensitize the population. Specifically, for nutrition to become a visible part of national campaigns, there is urgent need for advocacy at the higher levels and for entrenching nutrition into the national policy. The NFNC plans to take a lead role in revising and revitalizing and relaunching the new FBDGs.
91. Among the constraints identified that hinder implementation of the FBDGs, inadequate budgetary allocations, lack of qualified and skilled professionals, poor clarity of objectives and guidelines for programmes emerge as important.
Vanuatu: presented by Emily Kulsukau
92. Ms Kalsakau shared with the consultation that due to the dietary habits in Vanuatu, problems of non - communicable diseases (NCDs) are of great concern. Micronutrient deficiency is another problem that has been addressed and is slowly being improved. In spite of the countrys abundant production and supply of wild fruits, vegetables and root crops, the locals especially in the urban areas, choose to consume imports such as rice, canned meat/fish and bread.
93. Implementation of programmes to address nutrition and diet related issues poses problems, and constraints include lack of networking between necessary organizations, inadequate staffing capacity to carry out the necessary tasks and budget constraints.
94. The National Food and Nutrition Committee has contributed to the development of the Vanuatu Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (VPAFN) in the late 1990s. However, due to lack of co-operation and co-ordination amongst necessary government sectors, nutrition improvements have not been realized. The health department, however, has played a major role in providing awareness to the public at large, which has led to several nutritional improvements.
95. Vanuatus implementation plans include recommendations to revise the existing dietary guidelines with a clear focus to support nutrition education initiatives of the National Food and Nutrition Committee.
96. Posters have been used in a variety of effective ways to encourage people to change for a better lifestyle, wherein Ms. Kalsakau, highlighted a popular poster used to educate locals is the Three Food Group which paints a picture to make sure that poeple eat balanced meals everyday. A noteworthy point of the posters is that it depicts the actual food products that are available and mostly eaten in Vanuatu.
97. The National Food and Nutrition Policy has responsibilities designated to various government sectors and groups. For instance, the department of Agriculture would look into issues related to food security, while the Environmental Health and Food Centre would deal with issues related to food safety, with the notion of viewing it in an integrated perspective.
98. Monitoring and evaluation initiatives have included nutrition surveys and evaluating the survey outcomes to check whether any nutrition improvements have been made. Apart from local adaptation of the posters, the use of popular theatre groups to act out real life situations has served as an effective way of disseminating information.
99. In improving the implementation of action plans, there is a need to strengthen ties between the necessary government sectors to implement the tasks outlined in the action plans. Commitment and motivation are urgently needed to carry out the tasks of the action plan. Vanuatu is awaiting the regional FBDGs being formulated by SPC to use as a guide to prepare a national one.
Working group sessions
100. The countries were divided into two working groups. Group 1 consisted of participants from Bangladesh, Fiji, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Nepal, Thailand and Group II included participants from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Vanuatu and Viet Nam.
101. The terms of reference (TOR) for Working Group I were to: (a) identify the process and enabling factors in strengthening implementation of the FBDGs process; (b) highlight key components to be considered while expressing foods and food groups in household amounts, identifying methodological issues (c) point out action-oriented participatory and community based to be included in the FBDG implementation process (d) provide follow up suggestions and actions to initiate/strengthen implementation of FBDGs. The TORs for Working Group II included: (a) drawing up the process for monitoring and evaluating implementation of FBDGs (b) providing suggestions for self evaluation of FBDGs (c) developing a protocol for assessing practical use of FBDGs and (d) developing improved working mechanisms for enabling monitoring and evaluation of FBDGs.
102. Both groups outlined action plans for implementation of FBDGs based on the progress made by the respective countries and identified possibilities for FAO technical support with regard to strengthening implementation of the FBDGs. The summaries of the Working Group outputs are listed in Appendices V, VI and VII.
103. Based on the working group outputs, the consultation provided the following recommendations for strengthening implementation of FBDGs.
For country action:
1. Incorporation of FBDG considerations into relevant national policies such as agriculture, food, health, nutrition education, social welfare and into national plans for development. Identification of the focal points and co-focal points in each country for FBDG implementation and work towards building strong collaborating mechanisms for strenthening the process for implementation of FBDGs within the context of NPAN and WFS activities. The plans for food and nutritional security should include and embrace the objectives of FBDGs.
2. Developing working mechanisms for eliciting multi sectoral involvement for effective implementation of FBDGs and ensuring co-ordination by identifying roles for key stakeholders from related ministries, universities, research institutes, professional organizations, NGOs, and the private sector whose partnership can be evoked for promoting the implementation of FBDGs.
3. Undertaking advocacy/sensitization activities involving decision makers/key stake holders for generating political support for promoting use of FBDGs.
4. Undertaking efforts towards institutionalizing the FBDG objectives so that efforts are sustainable, once donor funding is no longer available. This would require creating a functional structural system for implementation. In many cases, this might be a coordinating committee that engages the stakeholders in regular meetings with an agenda to review proposed actions and develop specific plans for FBDG implementation.
5. Expanding nutrition capacity across agencies through cross-training of personnel, hiring and promoting of nutrition experts. Countries were urged to promote employment opportunities for nutritionists in multi-sectoral fields and enhance their visible roles in developmental programme. This expanded capacity becomes increasingly important as countries must be prepared to address the problems associated with diet related chronic diseases and overnutrition.
6. Developing and promoting small scale and medium scale food based activities/projects which strengthen traditional food processing and preparation techniques as well as cooking practices along with income generation, as appropriate for community groups.
7. Recognizing the importance of monitoring and evaluation in the FBGDs process and investments required for research and research capability building.
For FAO action:
1. Provide leadership for advocacy and promotion for achieving food and nutritional security through:
Building country capacity
Sensitizing key leaders at country level
Exploring/strengthening possibilities for partnership with bilateral agencies, NGOs and the private sector
2. Extend technical assistance in
Formulation and implementation of FBDGs (for countries which have not developed FBDGs)
Monitoring and evaluation of FBDGs (for countries who have developed and implemented FBDGs) in terms of developing specific monitoring and evaluation tools, establishing nutrient databases and content analysis of FBDGs in addressing behaviour change
Enhancing country capacity building through appropriate education and training programmes and workshops and regional networking.
Agenda item V: Implementation of ICN/WFS follow up and NPAN related activities
Bangladesh: presented by Mirza Altaf Hossain
104. Mr. Hossain emphasized that the goal of the NPAN is to improve the nutritional status of the people of Bangladesh to the extent that malnutrition would no longer be a public health problem by the year 2010.
105. In this undertaking the NPAN actions, Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC) has been reorganized, inter-sectoral Steering Committee and Working Groups are formed, and Focal Points for nutrition in all concerned sectors have been nominated. Orientation of the Focal Points on the contents of NPAN and their responsibilities has also been assigned.
106. Human resource development, advocacy meetings by the agriculture sector, horticulture and nutrition projects are some of the major initiatives undertaken to address poverty alleviation, food insecurity and malnutrition. Legislation for universal salt iodization has been passed. Recently, the Bangladesh Applied Nutrition and Human Resource Development Board has been established to undertake and coordinate different food and nutrition programmes in the country.
107. The National Nutrition Project (NNP), financed by World Bank and other development partners, has given due consideration to NPAN related activities. The government and the development partners, particularly FAO and WHOs assistance are important, since they have been key partners in facilitating countries in the development of NPANs.
108. Future programmes include, organising mid level courses on Food and Nutrition Programme Planning and Management, integration of nutrition into the curriculum of agricultural education and establishing nutrition data banks through nutrition mapping integrated in the FIVIMS process.
Fiji Plan of Action on Nutrition (FPAN): presented by Nirmala Nand
109. Following the ICN, Fiji produced a draft FPAN which was endorsed by the Cabinet in 1998 for implementation by line ministries and non governmental organizations. The implementing agencies include the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Education, Women and Culture, Social Welfare, Regional Development, Labor, Consumer Council and Red Cross.
110. Under the nine priority themes, several projects are undertaken each focusing on overall improvement of nutrition and health. Implementing strategies by various organizations include use of innovative information education and communications techniques including that of multi media.
111. There is need to create a demand in the community and involve them in the process of developing nutrition relevant projects with officials playing a facilitating role. As the FPAN is being revised, it is envisaged that upon its completion, it would be launched with media publicity and evoking the partnership of relevant stakeholders in its implementation.
112. Incorporating some monitoring and evaluation procedures to establish a system of continuous feedback from the implementers to the coordinators for data banking and report keeping would be integral to the efforts undertaken.
India: presented by Kamala Krishnaswamy
113. India adopted its National nutrition policy in 1993 and set up its NPANs which are multi sectoral. The Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) under the Human Resource Ministry serves as the nodal agency. The National Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) serves as the core infrastructure which provides a package of services for improving nutrition of children and pregnant women.
114. Several achievements have been accomplished as a result of the NPANs. These include establishing of district level diet and nutrition data, control and prevention of micronutrient deficiency, establishment of the nutrition surveillance system, on going initiatives related to food safety, womens health and food fortification. Most impressively, horticultural initiatives have been strengthened Other developments include FBDG development and updating of the RDA. Decline in the prevalence of several nutrition disorders have been observed.
115. Future Plans include nutrition mission approach, targeting 0-2 year old children in programmes, strengthening complementary feeding, promoting adolescent nutrition expansion of nutrition and diet survey to all states, institutionalization of nutrition surveillance system based on triple A approach, and giving more attention to diet related disorders and expanding tribal nutrition survey initiatives.
Indonesia: presented by Arum Atmawikarta
116. Since 2001, Indonesia has adopted a decentralized governmental system, in which a more visible role is seen for the local government in setting its own development strategies for the community. The National Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (NPAFN) provides guidance to all levels of the government to integrate food and nutrition into its developmental programmes.
117. To the NPAFN, institutional development and strengthening are planned which span a five year ten point programme action plan. These include, development of institutions, man power development, strengthening food security, strengthening food and nutrition surveillance system, handling and prevention of malnutrition and overnutrition, handling and prevention of micro-nutrient deficiency, strengthening family nutrition awareness, institutional nutrition services, development of food quality and safety, and research and development.
Malaysia: presented by Mohd Ismail Noor
118. Activities of the NPAN are carried out by three technical working groups (TWG) namely; Research, Training and Nutritional Guidelines. A national survey of KAP on nutrition involving 5 groups, namely primary school children, adolescents, adult, elderly and the food vendors. The results are being collated by the Institute for Medical Research. The first National Nutrition Survey is currently being planned and coordinated by Ministry of Health (MOH). The TWG on Training has published several training modules and organized several workshops to educate health care provides on nutrition. These activities are coordinated by Universiti Putra Malaysia. A Fourth TWG was established recently and has prepared a draft for the first National Nutrition Policy which is being studied by the MOH.
119. As part of the future plans and efforts, a National Nutrition Council to be chaired by the Minister of Health will be established with its membership comprising high-ranking officials of relevant ministries. The establishment of a National Food Safety Council, under the MOH is also in process.
Nepal: presented by Yogesh Vaidya
120. The Nepal National Plan of Action for Nutrition has been adopted by the government in 1998 and incorporated in the present Ninth Plan. In the present Ninth Plan (1998-2002), nutrition has been considered as a priority concern for human resource development.
121. Mr Vaidya pointed out that Nepal has significantly controlled IDD and VAD, but the control of anemia continues to remain a major challenge. The rigorous promotion of iodised salt among consumers, and the distribution of vitamin A capsules through mass campaigns, are measures pursued by His Majestys Government. As for PEM, in 25 years there been no significant positive change in the prevalence of stunting which is 50.1% as indicated by the Family Health Survey of 2001.
122. It is gratifying that the agriculture sector has accorded due priority to legumes and pulses which are the main sources of protein in the Nepalese diet. Emphasis has also been given to the production of fresh vegetables and fruits through the promotion of kitchen gardens, home/community orchards, off-season and vegetable farming.
123. To raise nutrition awareness, nutritious food distribution programmes and school feeding are regularly conducted at the district level. Nutrition education features regularly in radio and television programmes of the agriculture and health sectors.
124. The National Nutrition Coordination Committee makes regular progress monitoring through annual review meetings. Food laws and regulations have been enforced in all the 75 districts and food safety and quality control measures are being taken.
The Philippines: presented by Elsa Bayani
125. Elsa M. Bayani informed the Consultation that after ICN, the Philippines Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) has made significant strides along the nine ICN strategies, which include integrating nutrition concerns in the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Plan, Health Reform Agenda, and Early Childhood Care and Development Programme. Others include, the establishment of home/school and community gardens, breakfast and milk feeding in school and emergency feeding in disaster stricken areas. Multimedia campaign on consumer rights and responsibilities towards improving food quality and safety have been promoted.
126. Provision of subsidized rice and selected items through government rolling stores in depressed communities and implementation of comprehensive integrated social services to vulnerable groups are being done. Particular progress has been made in the prevention and control of micronutrient malnutrition, through the enacted Food Fortification Act and Salt Iodization Law along with supportive strategies of vitamin A and iron supplementation to infants and pregnant women;
127. Future actions include, continued intensification of advocacy efforts specifically increasing investments for nutrition programme through legislation and partnership with private sector and NGOs; carrying out research to identify cost-effective and cost-effective interventions; strengthening data support systems to assess investments for nutrition, and enhancing capabilities of local governments and national agencies on nutrition programme planning and management.
Thailand: presented by Songsak Srianujata
128. Since the start of the Seventh National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP), several programmes and projects in Thailand have been in line with the ICN recommendations. Activities include controlling and eliminating the problem of malnutrition in vulnerable groups; improving household food security; promoting food production, processing, distribution and consumption of nutritious foods for nutritional well being and protecting the rights of the consumers. Effective communication and education campaigns aim at producing behavioral change, protection and support of breast feeding and complementary feeding.
129. Developing more sensitive indicators for nutrition surveillance and monitoring systems along with human resource development and interdisciplinary research in food and nutrition are other strategies being intensified. The current Plan, is the nutritional enrichment of the food supply. This has been used in the community to address micronutrient deficiencies such as vitamin A and iron by promoting appropriate food selection and combinations to enhance the bio availability of nutrients.
130. Consumer protection, food safety and nutrition education are other crucial components of the Plan. Development of Thai Food-Based Dietary Guidelines, Thai Food Guides as well as recommendations for Nutrition Labeling in all food products have been established. Information on Dietary Guidelines and Nutrition Labeling has also been disseminated to the public through several channels.
Viet Nam: presented by Ha Huy Khoi
131. As an outcome of Viet Nams VAC (Vuon - gardening; Ao - fish pond; Chuong - animal husbandry) strategy, its achievements in nutrition improvement, include virtually eradication of the clinical signs of VAD. Fortification initiatives for fortification of local foods are also in progress. Every family has developed a typical nutrition square which provides for household food security.
132. Early introduction of complementary foods is another problem in Viet Nam which is being addressed as part of its FBDG initiatives. Now Viet Nam emphasizes the healthy life style concept and is working towards such actions.
NPANS in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs): presented by Wendy Snowdon
133. All the PICTs recognise importance of NPANs and most countries have an NPAN, though many are still in draft stages, or out-of-date. Implementation is found to vary, and difficulties are faced in getting ownership and ongoing commitment from all necessary partners and agencies.
134. There has been pressure by some donors/agencies to develop action plans addressing specific issues such as NCDs/obesity/diabetes without due consideration of existing NPANs. Consequently, the NPAN can be forgotten.
Vanuatu: presented by Emily Kalsakao
135. Vanuatu attended the WFS but no formal report was formulated. However, a follow-up meeting for the Pacific region on Food Security was held in Apia, Western Samoa (6-9 April 1999).
Agenda item VI: Discussion on Implementation of FAO Nutrition Education Modules in Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger (FMFH)
136. The ANFN Secretary briefly informed the Consultation about this recent initiative of FAO in its global efforts towards addressing the problem of hunger and malnutrition. The Chairperson invited the participants to express their views on the agenda.
137. Discussion issues included (a) exploring possibilities for the use of FMFH Module (b) identifying potential institutions and target users, (c) adapting the modules according to country contexts, and (d) sharing of ideas with appropriate details with a view to promoting the modules for use in the country.
138. The Consultation commended FAO for developing this novel education module and appreciated this initiative. It expressed the view that the document would be very useful to carry forward the philosophy of addressing the important global issue of hunger and malnutrition and, in particular, to reach out to the unreached and the most vulnerable.
139. On potential institutions and target users, the Consultation suggested exploring avenues for implementation through the Ministry/Department of Education which has a network involving schools, training institutes and other educational institutions to use FMFH as part of educational materials.
140. Other departments (agriculture, health and local governments) which have respective networks of training institutions and organizations can also be tapped to promote and utilize the FMFH modules. Moreover, related institutions/organizations involving women, farmers, youth and local groups may also be involved in this project. Partnership with the private sector as sponsors for such a project may be explored, but this effort should not compromise with the mandate and goals of the concerned country as well as FAO.
141. In adapting the modules, the Consultation recognized (a) the need for strong advocacy to concerned national agencies, NGO, bilateral partners and other stakeholders; and (b) creation of a Task Force/Working Group to brainstorm/review the application of the module in existing programmes or linking up with National Nutrition Education Programme, and similar other initiatives at country level.
1. Viewing FMFH in a comprehensive manner to link it up with issues within the larger developmental context which impacts on hunger and malnutrition.
2. Allowing for wider understanding by various sectors involved in such related initiatives by articulating its connections with NPAN, WFS and related actions at the country level and ensuring that sectors recognize the activity as a long term programme.
3. Solicit involvement of other UN bodies and bilateral partners like ASEAN, South East Asian Research Council for Agriculture (SEARCA) in the FMFH initiative.
4. Participants to undertake brainstorming sessions as appropriate to explore its use. In doing this, adaptation of the modules in local context would need to be considered.
5. Consider use of the FMFH module for capacity building for grass root level functionaries and explore its use in community based programmes.
6. Participants to submit an action project for future country level action providing details as required for possible adoption and adaptation. Specifically, a proposal briefly pointing to the modality of use of this module along with potential partners were to be identified and details of the process and expected outcomes could be submitted to FAO for possible technical assistance.
Schneeman B. Report of an
FAO Consultation on : Preparation and use of food based dietary guidelines -
Lessons from Thailand and the Philippine Islands. Food and Nutrition Bulletin;
FAO/WHO (1996) Preparation and use of food-based dietary guidelines, Report of a Joint FAO/WHO consultation, Nicosia, Cyprus.
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| 0.94584 | 11,261 | 2.59375 | 3 |
We know that Linux on servers is big and getting bigger. We also knew that Linux, thanks to open-source cloud programs like Eucalyptus and OpenStack, was growing fast on clouds. What he hadn't know that Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), had close to half-a-million servers already running on a Red Hat Linux variant.
Huang Liu, a Research Manager with Accenture Technology Lab with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering whose has done extensive work on cloud-computing, analyzed EC2's infrastructure and found that Amazon EC2 is currently made up of 454,400 servers.
While Amazon has never officially said what it's running as EC2's base operating system, it's generally accepted that it's a customized version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). On top of that, for the virtual machines, Amazon uses the Xen hypervisor to host Linux; OpenSolaris; Solaris; Windows 2003 and 2008; and FreeBSD and NetBSD virtual machine instances.
Amazon also doesn't talk about how many servers their popular cloud is made up of, so Huang had to work it out. He explained, "Figuring out EC2's size is not trivial. Part of the reason is that EC2 provides you with virtual machines and it is difficult to know how many virtual machines are active on a physical host. Thus, even if we can determine how many virtual machines are there, we still cannot figure out the number of physical servers. Instead of focusing on how many servers are there, our methodology probes for the number of server racks out there."
Huang continued, "It may sound harder to probe for the number of server racks. Luckily, EC2 uses a regular pattern of IP address assignment, which can be exploited to correlate with server racks. We noticed the pattern by looking at a lot of instances we launched over time and running traceroutes between our instances."
Then "Understanding the pattern allows us to deduce how many racks are there. In particular, if we know a virtual machine at a certain internal IP address (e.g., 10.2.13.243), then we know there is a rack using the /22 address range (e.g., a rack at 10.2.12.x/22). If we take this to the extreme where we know the IP address of at least one virtual machine on each rack, then we can see all racks in EC2."
By itself, though, that's not enough. You could use try to use port-scanning to work ot how many servers there are, but that would violate Amazon's terms of service. So instead, since each Amazon Web Services (AWS) "instance also has an external IP address. … we can leverage DNS translation to figure out the internal IP addresses."
With that data, he was able to work out the number of server racks. With this he then just multiplied by the number of physical servers on the rack. "Unfortunately, we do not know how many physical servers are on each rack, so we have to make assumptions. We assume Amazon has dense racks, each rack has 4 10U chassis, and each chassis holds 16 blades for a total of 64 blades/rack."
So it is that Huang worked out how many servers there are in the EC2 cloud. It's an impressive achievement for him and it's an impressive example of just how important Linux is in both server and clouds.
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| 0.96016 | 708 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Many women experiencing menopause have questions about the symptoms and the most common is how long menopause symptoms last and when can they look forward to moving past the sometimes troubling aspects of this life stage. Although general estimations can be made, just as each woman is an individual, the symptoms of menopause may vary in intensity and duration.
Perienopause is the transitional stage in a natural menopause when the body begins to change due to hormonal changes which signal the onset of menopause. The endocrine system is involved as the production of estrogen slows and eventually ceases. This can be marked by irregular periods and other symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, mood swings and a range of other symptoms. This stage can continue for an average of four years but can be extended beyond six years, and has lasted up to 15 in some women, and in others, only 2 to 3 years. When there is an absence of menstrual cycles for 12 months, this signals the end of the phase and that menopause has been reached.
Age range for the onset of perimenopause
Perimenopause which begins prior to age 40 is considered to be outside of the normal or expected age range for this event to occur. The causes can be genetic factors, disease, or be medically induced by surgeries or treatment with chemotherapy and other drugs. The average age range is somewhere between the mid-40s to mid-50s.
How long will the symptoms last?
Again, this is a natural biological occurrence in women which may be as different as the individual. In general, the symptoms come and go and range in intensity. Most women report that the symptoms will increase in intensity and they decrease for periods of time. Some do not experience intense discomfort during this phase, while others must seek medical intervention to control the symptoms until this stage completes. There is no concrete answer to the length of time that perimenopause will last, nor for the range or intensity of the symptoms.
Duration of hot flushes
Hot flushes are a common symptom which receive a lot of attention from women enduring them. They generally last for a few moments, but can in rare instances go on for up to ten minutes. What makes them problematic for some women is that they can be frightening, bringing on panic attacks with a rapid heartbeat, sweating, and anxiety creating a stress reaction that can lead to increases in anxiety that becomes cyclic. In general this symptom is sporadic and varies in intensity, and may end when menopause is completed, however; the majority of women report that they still have occasional flushes for up to a year after menopause has been reached.
The onset and completion of menopause is a natural biological event that women all face, and generally complete within four years. It's important to understand that these are only averages, and what is normal for you may vary one way or the other. The duration of menopause symptoms is as individualized as the unique women experiencing this phase, and although there is no way to predict the exact duration, troubling symptoms may be addressed with your physician as there are currently effective treatment methods available to help you manage them. Bear in mind that this is a normal part of life, and certainly is nothing to fear.
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| 0.964931 | 667 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Lanier County Georgia, named for the musician and poet Sidney Lanier, is located in the southern portion of Georgia, and oas of 2010, has a population of 10,078. Lanier County's only incorporated municipality is its county seat, the town of Lakeland.
Historic sites include Governor Eurith D. Rivers' home, which was moved from its original spot on Banks Lake to West Main Street in Lakeland in the early 1980s; Union Baptist Church, located near Georgia Highway 135; and Fender Cemetery, located east of Lakeland at the junction of U.S. 221 and Georgia Highway 37 on land that once belonged to David Fender. The site of the cemetery, in which many of the area's first settlers are buried, was chosen so that mourners would not have to ferry their dead across the river for burial. Also, the "Murals of Milltown," which depict community life in the 1920s, grace the exteriors of buildings in downtown Lakeland.
Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson. He fought in the Civil War, primarily in the tidewater region of Virginia, where he served in the Confederate signal corps. Later, he and his brother Clifford served as pilots aboard English blockade runners. He was captured and incarcerated in a military prison at Point Lookout in Maryland, where he contracted tuberculosis (generally known as "consumption" at the time). Shortly after the war, he taught school briefly, then moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where he worked as a desk clerk at The Exchange Hotel and also performed as a musician.
He married Mary Day of Macon in 1867 and moved back to his hometown, where he began working in his father's law office. After taking and passing the Georgia bar, Lanier practiced as a lawyer for several years. Late in his life, he became a student, lecturer, and, finally, a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, specializing in the works of the English novelists, Shakespeare, the Elizabethan sonneteers, Chaucer, and the Anglo-Saxon poets.
Lanier finally succumbed to complications caused by his tuberculosis on September 7, 1881, while convalescing with his family near Lynn, North Carolina. He was 39. Lanier is buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.
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| 0.9889 | 497 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Obedient to Fred's promptings, here's a short explanation of today's photos. Wadi el Hitan, the Valley of Whales, is located within the Faiyum Depression. It contains the fossilized remains of plants and sea creatures which lived here when the area was the shoreline of the ancient Tethys Sea. Plant remains indicated that the area was very much like modern mangroves. The most important of the fossils are the whales, which provide data about the transition of these mammals from land to sea and the evolution of modern whales. The site was made a Protected Area in 1983, and became a World Heritage Site in 2005. It is beautifully laid out and well explained with detailed information boards. The surrounding scenery is very beautiful too.
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| 0.973126 | 156 | 3.015625 | 3 |
It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the world renowned Jagannath Temple. It is one of the holiest cities of the Hindus. It is believed that a pilgrimage to all the temples of India is not complete unless one goes to Puri.
The town is famous for its many ‘Mathas’ or monasteries of various Hindu sects including Govardhana matha established by Adi Shankaracharya.
The economy of Puri is heavily dependant on tourism. The city is also known for stone sculptures, palm-leaf paintings, patta paintings, tassar paintings, pottery, papier-mache products, sand art and applique work.
Puri is also famous for its annual Rath Yatra or the Festival of Chariots during the month of July. The deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra are brought out of the temple and placed in a chariot procession. Devotees throng to the temple to draw the chariots of their beloved deities and this makes for a wonderful sight.
This is the best time to visit Puri. The summer months are extremely hot and humid. Temperatures are mild during July and they dip slightly during winter. The months of November and December see warm days and cool nights.
Jagannath Temple – The present temple structure was built in the 12th century by the King Choda Ganga Deva. The temple was built over another structure that dated back to the 10th century. Until recently, the temple was covered with white plaster. It was called ‘White Pagoda’ by the sailors and used as a navigation point. Each year, scores of devotees visit the temple.
Puri Beach - Puri has a very long, broad sand beach. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations. Viewing the sunset and sunrise from here is a magical experience.
Chilika Lake - This is India's biggest inland lake. It is spread over 1,100 square kilometres and forms a big lagoon while joining the Bay of Bengal. It has many small islands including Honeymoon Island, Breakfast Island and so on. Chilika Lake boasts of a rich variety of aquatic fauna. In winter, it is common to see migratory birds from as far as Siberia.
Puri Museum - Established in 1997, this museum is managed by the Government of Orissa. Different forms of Lord Jagannath, stunning sculptures, palm leaf paintings, and lovely handicrafts are on display here.
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| 0.969125 | 522 | 2.515625 | 3 |
How many legs does a centipede have?
You might think that centipedes have a hundred legs. But many species of centipedes don't have quite that many legs! The common house centipide has only 15 pairs of legs.
Centipededs and Millipedes
Centipedes and millipedes belong to the subphylum Myriapoda, which contains 13,000 species. They all live on land. They are divided among four classes: (1) Chilopoda (centipedes), (2) Diplopoda (millipedes), (3) Symphyla (symphylans), and (4) Pauropoda (pauropods). They range from having over 750 legs to having fewer than ten legs. They have a single pair of antennae and simple eyes.
Myriapoda are mostly found in moist forests, where they help to break down decaying plant material. A few live in grasslands, semi-arid habitats, or even deserts. The majority are herbivores, but centipedes are nighttime predators. They roam around looking for small animals to bite and eat; their prey includes insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. If the centipede is large enough, it will even attack small vertebrates, like lizards. Although not generally considered dangerous to humans, many from this group can cause temporary blistering and discoloration of the skin.
Centipedes (Figure below) are fast, predatory, and venomous. There are around 3,300 described species, ranging from one tiny species (less than half an inch in length) to one giant species, which may grow larger than 12 inches.
Most millipedes are slower than centipedes and feed on leaf litter and loose organic material. They can be distinguished from centipedes by looking at the number of legs per body segment. Millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment, while centipedes have a single pair of legs per body segment.
The third class, Symphyla, contains 200 species. Symphylans resemble centipedes but are smaller and translucent. Many spend their lives in the soil, but some live in trees.
The pauropods are typically 0.5-2.0mm long and live on all continents except Antarctica. They are usually found in soil, leaf litter, or other moist places. They feed on fungi and decaying organic matter. Over 700 species have been described, and they are believed to be closely related to millipedes.
centipede: Predatory arthropod with one pair of legs per segment.
millipede: Slow-moving arthropod that has two pairs of legs per segment.
pauropod: Arthropod resembling centipedes that feeds on fungi and decaying matter.
symphylan: Arthropod that resembles centipedes but is smaller and translucent.
- Myriapoda are usually found in moist forests, where they break down decaying plant material.
- Millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment, while centipedes have a single pair of legs per body segment.
Use the resources below to answer the questions that follow.
- Where do centipedes live?
- How do centipedes eat?
- What is the diet of most millipedes? How does this compare to the diet of most centipedes?
- In what kind of habitats are millipedes found? Why are such habitats good places to look for animals which may be similar to the first Arthropods to venture on to land? Be as complete as you can in your answer.
- How do millipedes draw air into their body?
- How does the respiratory system of a millipede differ from the respiratory system of a mammal? Be as specific as possible.
- Where do centipedes and millipedes generally live?
- List two ways centipedes are different from millipedes.
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Science of Juggling
Show your students the FUN side of physics and answer the question every child has about juggling:
How Do You Do That?!
Cleverly disguised as a fun school assembly, Jeffrey keeps your students focused and entertained as he explains the Science Behind Juggling: Newton's First Law of Motion, the effects of Gravity, Gyroscopic motion, the Center of Gravity, and more! Then he answers the real question:
How Can I Learn That?
Jeffrey reveals Secrets of the Brain illustrating how the brain works and tricks jugglers use to learn new skills. Then he shows your students how to use these same tricks to prepare for content standards tests, to be better at sports, and how to learn anything!
The Learning Continues After the Assembly!
The 15 page study guide helps school teachers expand on the science from the show. Fun learning activities and extra credit questions for California State Framework sciences (Grade 2 and 8) plus mathematics and learning exercises for all ages.
Use the buttons on the left
for more details...
Seeing is believing! Click on the video link to see a show preview.
Share the flier with your PTA or faculty
Send a link by email or print a hard copy to pass around at your next meeting.
FAQ's and Assembly Tips
The most frequently asked questions are answered here. Also tips to help you get the most out of any assembly.
Teacher's Study Guide
Link to the PDF file to let your science teachers prepare before the show.
For current rates, references, or to reserve your date, fill out the inquiry form and we will reply as soon as possible.
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Emerging Cognitive Neuroscience and Related Technologies, from the National Research Council, identifies and explores several specific research areas that have implications for U.S. national security, and should therefore be monitored consistently by the intelligence community. These areas include:
1. neurophysiological advances in detecting and measuring indicators of psychological states and intentions of individuals
2. the development of drugs or technologies that can alter human physical or cognitive abilities
3. advances in real-time brain imaging
4. breakthroughs in high-performance computing and neuronal modeling that could allow researchers to develop systems which mimic functions of the human brain, particularly the ability to organize disparate forms of data.
As these fields continue to grow, it will be imperative that the intelligence community be able to identify scientific advances relevant to national security when they occur. To do so will require adequate funding, intelligence analysts with advanced training in science and technology, and increased collaboration with the scientific community, particularly academia.
A key tool for the intelligence community, this book will also be a useful resource for the health industry, the military, and others with a vested interest in technologies such as brain imaging and cognitive or physical enhancers.
True and False Memories as an Illustrative Case of the Difficulty of Developing Accurate and Practical Neurophysiological Indexes of Psychological States
An important issue for cognitive neuroscientists concerns efforts to determine whether a person is reporting a true experience or one that is false but believed. In the last decade, there have been innumerable research efforts designed to distinguish true from false memories. Earlier work examining behavioral differences between true and false memories revealed that group differences were sometimes found (for example, more sensory details in true-memory reports) (Schooler et al., 1986). However, the statistical group differences did not enable reliable classification of any particular memory report as to its authenticity...
The military application of neuroscience research - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Several of the cognitive science applications that have the most enormous ethical implication (as described by Huang and Kosal) contain advances that are being made even faster than publicly thought. These advances do not include lie detection technology, whose potential to invade the privacy of individuals is an unrealistic scientific possibility (I'm waiting for a theory of mind to be developed first!). They do include an approach to near-real-time, multimodal cognitive measurements to "watch people think" while under stress (an achievable goal scientifically) not under duress (an unachievable goal scientifically).
Not all of the "good" research will be done exclusively in the West--at least not before 2015. The results of this work will make sick people well and soldiers safer, but the technologies will not exclusively follow Western views on ethical questions, such as human stem-cell research, research on willing prisoners, and work on human-animal chimeras…
…An important issue for cognitive neuroscientists concerns efforts to determine whether a person is reporting a true experience or one that is false but believed. In the last decade, there have been innumerable research efforts designed to distinguish true from false memories...
The story that Moore would be feed would later be called the UFO “Core story.” Three men dr. Kit Green, Hal Puthoff, and Jacques Vallee met to identify what they knew for sure about all the circulating UFO stories - they came up with the core story - that extraterrestrials have visited the earth, there was a crash and the government has had a lot of trouble back engineering the saucer technology, and at least one alien was a guest of the United Sates government.
The main piece of information that Moore would be given that was new was the MJ-12 document which claimed to be a UFO briefing given to the President-elect Dwight Eisenhower.
UFO Hocus Pocus
The investigation into the assassination of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov, murdered with a poison-filled pellet shot into his leg (possibly with a converted "umbrella gun") at a bus stop in Britain in 1978, was the most unusual and significant case that medical doctor and forensic specialist Christopher C. Green participated in during his twenty year career as an investigative officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. Green in the analysis of the tiny platinum- and iridium-alloy pellet removed from Markov's leg after his death.
Secrets of the Dead
Dr Green - "In a country that has a large, educated population there is a large subset of individuals who suffer from what's called paraphrenia. Paraphrenia is a form of mental illness that doesn't interfere with your everyday life. It means that you can have a delusion and not be crazy, a delusion that you can confine and control. Many of us have one corner of the mind that is delusional - I bet you that I do.
'I might, for example, be religious - I'm an Episcopalian, though as such, I am protected from diagnosis, as are all the UFO buffs, because a large social structure of shared beliefs, like a religion, cannot be a delusion. So all those people who believe that they are being beamed at by the government can no longer be diagnosed as crazy - there are just too many of them.
'But, if there is a condition that is threatening to the social structure - like the idea that the aliens are here and they are taking our babies, or that God hates people of a certain creed or colour - and if people who believe in that kind of delusion band together, they can end up encouraging each other to get a lot sicker, or they strap on belts and make themselves human bombs. So we have to know how to deal with these people and how to prevent them from being dangerous to others.
'This applies to the UFO problem. If something really strange in the area of UFOs is true, then what do we do about conveying that information to the public? First we consider what may be the basic facts: maybe there are civilised lifeforms elsewhere in the universe; maybe they visited us in their spaceships a couple of times and then went back home; perhaps they left a vehicle or some technology behind and we've spent a lot of time and money trying to figure out how to use it. And there may be people in the government who believe that this did happen, and believe that the information needs to be public knowledge, because perhaps someone outside of the government will be able to make sense of their technology. But there's another group of people in power who say, "No, it will make them sick to know all this, we can't let the story out, it's too dangerous." '
John and I glanced at each other. My mouth was dry...Things were getting strange again. Did Kit just tell us that these things happened? Was that a hypothetical scenario he had just presented us with, or one that he believed to be real? Kit continued.
'So, what do we do? There are studies on both sides of the problem. Some show that people will go crazy and jump of bridges when they're presented with this information. Others, however, say that if you don't want them to go crazy, what you do is systematically desensitize their fears.
'If you are a psychiatrist with a patient you can do that in a very methodical way. If you are a sociologist working with a group of students at a university you can do this in a very structured and experimental way. But if you are a government with a population it's a lot more complicated. Sure, there are those who are just going to shrug and say, "I always knew the aliens were real, it's no big deal." But you also know that some of them are nuttier than a fruitcake and could cause a lot of trouble. So we have to ask ourselves how we can tell people what they deserve to know and, maybe, what they need to know?
'The way to do it is to construct a framework whereby they can parse out the things that they've heard that are not true, and you whittle it down to a manageable story. A story like this: "There were three spaceships that came here over thirty years, and we've got one of them. We can't figure out how it works, we've crashed it because there's a lot of physics that we've still got to learn. We do have something that's like a magnethydrodynamic toroid, and it really did get a craft of the ground, but it smelled bad and it killed a couple of pilots. And we're really sorry about that, but we did it because we've got this machine that came from another planet, and we need to know how it works." '
Oh god, he just did it again. I tried to slow my breathing to prevent the giddiness from becoming a full-on panic attack.
Kit carried on, oblivious to my inner struggle. I was glad not to be inside one of his MRI machines.
'How do you tell people that story? If it's true?' he added, almost parenthetically.
"If you were to give them the core story right off the bat, they'd get sick, so you do it slowly over ten or twenty years.You put out a bunch of movies, a bunch of books, a bunch of stories, a bunch of Internet memes about reptilian aliens eating our children, about all the crazy stuff that we've seen recently in Serpo. Then one day you say, "Hey, all that stuff is nonsense, relax, it's not that bad, you don't have to worry, the reality is this..." - and then you give them the real story."
Mirage Men by Mark Pilkington
Originally posted by The GUT
You put out a bunch of movies, a bunch of books, a bunch of stories, a bunch of Internet memes about reptilian aliens eating our children, about all the crazy stuff that we've seen recently in Serpo. Then one day you say, "Hey, all that stuff is nonsense, relax, it's not that bad, you don't have to worry, the reality is this..." - and then you give them the real story."
Originally posted by iforget
This is the part that makes me lean towards deception and not official disclosure, though I wish it otherwise. To me it seems counterproductive to instill the fears and then attempt to dispel them with the truth...
Originally posted by Druscilla
On the downside, we get into programming and control.
There's already a number of social and media mechanisims in place and pervasive in Western culture for the generalized control, and influence of populations and groups.
Much of this can be seen with the prevalence of social networks. Influence the groups through memes, manufactured popular opinion, customized advertising, media stories, and you essentially own your own human bot-net.
Originally posted by The GUT
Thanks, Dru, your brainpower is always appreciated in my book. One way or another, we are dealing in Memes with this group. Powerful memes apparently.
Look at how much of this stuff has seeped into so many minds when the evidence suggests there's no basis for it.
Having said that; do you think it might be government sponsored memes and, if so, what purpose(s) does that suggest?
Originally posted by The GUT
This thread will attempt to collate a wide-range of operations, and operatives, that have, and continue, to make an impact on ufology in the course of their official work. Further, we will look at the evidence for that assertion and the impact and ramifications of what that might mean, should we find it to be true.
The first installment with deal with the so-called Aviary, one alleged member in particular, but this thread intends to cover a much broader spectrum than that group alone.
There's basically 4 lines of thought about what the Aviary has been up to especially in regards to MJ12 and it's spinoff: Serpo.
Originally posted by FireMoon
Great stuff GUT here's a couple more to throw into the mix.
The Executive actually know nothing about the UFO phenomenon at all in any meaningful sense of the word, in fact, if anything whatever it is, seems to studiously avoid contact with them whilst at the same, routinely razzing them and making them look a bit foolish.
To that end, the executive used its' standard model based on the experience of Reinhard Ghelen, in effect the CIA's mentor, to try and penetrate any group that claimed any sort of contact that might be construed as "possibly and feasibly genuine".
In effect, we are talking to plot from the film version of "Total recall", an attempt via drugs, psychological planning, a combination whatever, to produce agents…
…he unknown intelligence to penetrate their defenses and in an amusing slap across the wrists, sets up a few "shows of force", ie Rendlesham, to show how they, the unknown intelligence can "turn the military" almost at will.
Therefore, MJ12, Roswell, are all just blinds, propaganda that merely serve to make people think that the executive does "know" and might well be in cahoots with the unknown intelligence, a double bluff, if you will…
…The executives have actually been mostly behind the whole abduction scene promoting it in order to make people scared of contact with the unknown intelligence, possibly even faking abductions at times.
... the circumstances surrounding the Hills' experience reveal a very sinister story. It is clear that the Hills were being monitored by USAF Intelligence before the encounter took place, through Major James MacDonald, who had befriended them some time earlier. Betty Hill wrote to Donald Keyhoe who, despite the fact that he received over a hundred letters a day, homed in on this initially unremarkable case. (At that stage, the Hills remembered only the UFO sighting, not the abduction.) Within 24 hours, Keyhoe had arranged for the Hills to be visited by top-level scientists, including C.D. Jackson, who had previously (definitely not coincidentally) worked on psychological warfare techniques for President Eisenhower. Stretching coincidence far beyond breaking point, Jackson already knew Major MacDonald, with whom he next interviewed the Hills. Most importantly, it was Jackson who drew the Hills' attention to their missing time period; until he did so, the couple had not realised that their memories of that fateful night were incomplete. It was Jackson who suggested hypnotic regression as a means of unlocking it. It was Jackson who then arranged for one of the Army's top psychiatric experts to undertake the regression (as if a civilian expert was not available?), under which the full story of the joint abduction “emerged”. However, as many researchers have since demonstrated, a careful review of the timings actually shows that there was no missing time at all.
It seems that Betty and Barney Hill were at the centre of a web that involved USAF Intelligence and top military experts in psychological warfare. The evidence suggests that the Hills were the subjects – victims – of a psychological experiment. This may seem a tall claim, but the evidence that defence and intelligence agencies undertook such experiments – in other contexts – on unknowing and innocent subjects in the 1950s and 60s is now overwhelming. In particular, the exposure of the CIA's notorious MKULTRA project into various mind control techniques caused a major scandal in the 1970s.
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CAMP Professors Discuss Their Fuel Cell Research with GM Engineers continued from page 1
General Motors first introduced its hydrogen fuel cell propelled Chevrolet Sequel to the world in 2005. On May 15 th, 2007 GM’s Sequel set out from the GM Research Facility in Honeoye Falls, NY and traveled 300 miles to Tarrytown, NY. This milestone by GM according to Larry Burns, GM Vice President for Research and Development, is another step in the direction of commercializing the fuel cell vehicle. GM is in the process of producing over 100 Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicles that will comprise a fleet of autos that will be studied for efficiencies. The fuel cell vehicles will be put into operation in the greater New York Metropolitan area and several other locations starting in the fall of 2007.
The current generation of GM Equinox fuel cell powered vehicles is designed to operate for 50,000 miles. It has been designed to handle conditions in the North East, with its freezing cycles and low temperatures. The present engine is capable of achieving a top speed of 100 miles per hour.
From a recent press release by GM, it was noted that the hydrogen fuel that powered the Fuel Cell Engine was produced utilizing hydroelectric power in Niagara Falls, NY. Since the product of combustion for the Equinox Fuel Cell is mainly water vapor, this makes the 300 mile trip from Honeoye Falls to Tarrytown, NY unique in that the fuel that is utilized and the products of combustion during this trip are environmentally friendly and contain virtually no carbon dioxide.
The GM Fuel Cell Team in Honeoye Falls, NY continues to work on advancements in the Fuel Cell design, materials of construction, catalysts and other areas. The goal is to produce an automobile that is clean burning, does not depend on oil for its energy source and is economical and competitive with today’s GM offerings.
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GENEVA— The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) is warning that tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees in neighboring South Sudan are facing a severe food shortage.
The agency is helping to care for 130,000 refugees from Sudan’s embattled Blue Nile State. They are living across the border in South Sudan, in camps in Maban County of Upper Nile state.
Maban County is not directly affected by the ongoing conflict in South Sudan. But UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards says insecurity and border restrictions along supply corridors have prevented the delivery of relief items since the beginning of the year.
He says in a VOA interview that it is urgent to get food into the refugee camps before the onset of the rains, which will render roads impassible.
“It has been impossible to get food pre-positioned there because of the insecurity we have seen. And this now is starting to show itself in some very worrisome consequences. Real shortages of food, growing rates of global and severe acute malnutrition. We are particularly worried about the impact this may have on people who, as they move - because if you move across from there toward Ethiopia, for example, the conditions are difficult, the route is difficult. It is likely that people arriving in Ethiopia, should they come there, will be in much worse state still," said Edwards.
Edwards says about one-third of the refugee population is at greatest risk. It includes children under five, pregnant and lactating women, elderly, the disabled and those who are chronically ill.
He notes the rains normally start in April, and warns that waterborne diseases, malaria and respiratory tract infections will increase.
“In recent weeks, we have seen several cases of kwashiorkor among very young children in the refugee camps… Kwashiorkor is a form of severe malnutrition to do with protein deficiencies… Food shortages could lead to conflict between refugees and host communities foraging for wild fruits and vegetables. Already, we have seen tension over grazing lands, over access to open water sources," he said.
The World Food Program has been providing normal food rations for the refugee camps. But, the agency says the crisis in South Sudan is making it extremely difficult to access this region and re-supply the camps.
Because normal supply routes are disrupted, WFP says it will be using a combination of airlifts and airdrops to replenish the stocks in Maban County.
An estimated 739,000 people in South Sudan have become internally displaced since fighting erupted in mid-December. The World Food Program so far has provided food to more than 420,000 conflict-affected people.
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As we've studied architectural styles the past few months, we've looked almost exclusively at the eastern United States, as if the frontier west of the Mississippi didn't exist. It's time to correct that. One of the reasons we've neglected this area is not that distinctive architectural styles didn't exist in the West (they did); but because they weren't applied to any great extent to private homes until well after the Civil War. Before that, western houses were either too crude to reflect any distinctive styling, or simply imitative of the eastern styles we've discussed. As easterners migrated west, they took their plan books with them and tried to recreate that which they'd left. It was only in the 1880s as a second generation of native Texans and Californians in particular began building homes, that they were influenced by native South-western styles. Thus in the Southwest, there began to be felt the strong Spanish architectural heritage.
To make matters complex in this case, we're talking about not one but four distinctive South-western styles. The earliest we call the Mission style. Think stucco, think red tile roofs, think the curvilinear tops of Spanish missions in Texas and California. Remember what the front of the Alamo looks like? That and their red tile roofs are the most distinctive details of the Mission style. They can become very large and in their purest manifestations, quite Baroque, or sometimes look almost like a mission church.
The second style we call Spanish Eclectic. It's the most common. Again, you'll see lots of red tile roofs, but this time more likely stucco over adobe brick, or just adobe brick. The design is always one story, usually in an "L" shape with a porch, featuring low-pitched roofs with little or no overhang. The occasional use of arched windows, doors, and porches is about the only architectural enhancement to this style. It is a no-nonsense ranch type dwelling ideally suited to the South-western environment. Larger versions are fairly rare and may borrow lightly from the Mission style, but even at that, there's a tendency toward plainness in this style.
The third style is such a minor variation of the Spanish Eclectic it's almost not worth mentioning. It develops as one moves from southern to northern California. It's called the Monterey Style and it's basically a two-story rendition of the Spanish Eclectic with a cantilevered balcony in front over the entry. Its only other difference is that it may be somewhat more often built of brick or wood than its southern cousin.
And the forth style is maybe the least Spanish of them all. Perhaps more accurately we might call it South-western Native American. Architects prefer Pueblo Revival. We all have some idea in our minds what a Pueblo looks like, right? Very well, simply transfer, translate, and improvise that image into that of a private home. Of all these, this is the most recent development. Few (other than authentic Pueblos) existed before 1900. They are often tan stucco made to look like adobe with cylindrical rafters extending beyond the walls, which may or may not actually support their always flat roofs. These two elements, and their rounded edges, are their most distinctive traits. Because they are so practical and well adapted to the harsh, hot, arid climate of the Southwest, they've remained popular through most of the twentieth century and are still being built even today.
For those keeping track of such things, we've now covered all the American housing styles having their roots in the nineteenth century and overseas. We're done with revivals. From this point on, while there may be a little "neo-eclectic" flavouring to what we see, everything else is "modern." Of course that's a horribly ineffectual term to apply to architecture because it's been widened to the point almost anything can fit inside its broad understanding. In architecture, it means only twentieth century. It says nothing about style except for the revivalism it excludes. During the next few weeks, now that the twentieth century is effectively over, I'll try to give its distinctive styles shape and form; though please, don't expect it to be as colourful or diverse as those resulting from our great, century-long search for a comfortable "American" housing style.
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If you wish to contribute or participate in the discussions about articles you are invited to join SKYbrary as a registered user
Runway End Safety Area
“An area symmetrical about the extended runway centre line and adjacent to the end of the strip primarily intended to reduce the risk of damage to an aeroplane undershooting or overrunning the runway” [ICAO Annex 14]
Runway End Safety Areas (RESA) are a formal means to limit the consequences when aeroplanes overrun the end of a runway during a landing or a rejected take off, or undershoot the intended landing runway.
They are constructed to provide a cleared and graded area which is, as far as practicable, clear of all but frangible objects. It should have a surface which will enhance the deceleration of aircraft in the overrun case but should not be such as to hinder the movement of rescue and fire fighting vehicles or any other aspect of emergency response activity.
Minor aircraft runway overruns and undershoots are a relatively frequent occurrence. Most data sources point to significant occurrences on average once a week worldwide and suggest that runway excursions overall are the fourth largest cause of airline fatalities. It has been stated by the FAA Airport Design Division that approximately 90% of runway undershoot or overruns are contained within 300 metres of the runway end. The contribution which RESAs can make to a reduction in the consequences of such over-runs has frequently been demonstrated as has the avoidable hazardous outcomes where they have not been present.
ICAO Annex 14 SARPs
ICAO SARPs relating to runways are determined according to runway length using the standard Runway Code categories. Code 1 runways are less than 800 metres long, Code 2 runways are 800-1199 metres long, Code 3 runways are 1200-1799 metres long and Code 4 runways are 1800 metres or more in length.
In all cases, the dimensions of a ‘Runway Strip’ are first defined as it must contain the dimensions of the designated runway surface and it should be flat, firm and free of non-frangible obstructions. For Code 3 and 4 runways, runway strips must extend at least 150 metres either side of the runway centreline and at least 60 metres beyond the end of the runway including any stopway. For Code 1 and 2 runways, the width requirement is reduced to 75 metres and for non-instrument Code 1 Runways, the length requirement is reduced to 30 metres.
ICAO RESA specifications all begin at the limit of the ‘Runway Strip’ not at the limit of the Runway/Stopway surface.
RESA SARPs were revised in 1999 when the then Recommended Practice of a 90 metre RESA was converted into a Standard. The current Requirement is that Code 3 and 4 runways have a RESA which extends a minimum of 90 metres beyond the runway strip and be a minimum of twice the width of the defined runway width. The additional Recommended Practice for these runway codes is that the RESA length is 240 metres or as near to this length as is practicable at a width equal to that of the graded strip. For Code 1 and 2 Runways, the Recommended Practice is for a RESA length of 120 metres with a width equal to the graded strip.
Implementation of these SARPs by State Regulators is ongoing. Many have now prescribed a period within which the ICAO Standard must be adopted and the Recommended Practices carefully considered.
In the case of the USA, the FAA Airport Design requirements specify the minimum dimensions of a ‘Runway Safety Area’ which includes the Runway Strip defined by ICAO. Since 2002, these requirements have included a Runway Safety Area at each end of a runway which takes account of the direction of runway use when specifying the minimum length of the runway end element. The basic standard is defined for instrument runways used by transport aircraft and any such runway with an ‘approach visibility minima’ of less than 1200 metres and is 300 metres for the overrun case and 180 metres for the undershoot case. It is permissible to reduce the overrun case to 180 metres if the runway has either instrument or visual vertical guidance aids and an Engineered Materials Arresting Systems (EMAS) which can stop an aircraft which leaves the end of the runway at up to 70 kts129.64 km/h
35.98 m/s groundspeed is provided.
It can be seen that the FAA overrun requirement (300 metres) is equivalent to the ICAO RESA Recommended Practice plus the required Runway Strip (also totalling 300 metres) but that the FAA undershoot requirement (180 metres) is only slightly more than the ICAO RESA Standard plus the required runway strip (totalling 150 metres).
- Runway Excursion
- European Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Excursions (EAPPRE) Edition 1.0, January 2013.
- Rejected Take Off
- Accident and Serious Incident Reports: RE - a list of all Accident and Serious Incidents within SKYbrary which involved a runway excursion.
- EASA Runway Excursion Statistics, August 2008
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Today is the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The last spike was driven into the ground on May 10, 1869, the news of which was telegraphed around the nation near simultaneously! It is a little known, but important, fact that telegraph lines were placed beneath the rail tracks, creating one of the first large communications networks. The United States previously held the world record in rail tracks, but now China is deemed the leader as that nation builds a rail network uniting major cities with high speed rail including maglev. When the United States Transcontinental Railroad opened for business, cross country travel formerly taking six months by covered wagon could now be accomplished in 10 days. Commerce increased rapidly; by 1880, $50 million in cargo traveled across the 1800 miles of rail. In the future, will the United States join Canada and Mexico in a vision of high speed rail, perhaps as a celebration of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? Could the PanAmerican highway become the route of a new transportation corridor combining state-of-the-art rail, road, and bikeway?
To read the original New York Times report, please see:
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Remember the Lusitania: 3 pieces of World War I propaganda
One hundred years ago on May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland, killing 1,195 of the men, women, and children on board. Of those killed, 123 were Americans. While Europe was already embroiled in World War I, America was still a neutral country and hadn't yet officially entered the war, although a number of American men and women had joined the war effort through volunteer organizations or by enlisting in the Allied armed forces. The American public and Congress, however, were divided as to whether or not the U.S. should officially join in the fighting. The attack on the Lusitania, a passenger ship with civilians on board, by a military submarine signaled the end of the more "civilized" warfare of the 19th century. It also proved to be a powerful propaganda tool for turning American public opinion against Germany and in support of joining the war.
The Lusitania was a British ocean liner operated by the Cunard Lines and was one of the largest and fastest passenger ships in the world, at 787 feet long with nine passenger decks and an average speed of 25 knots. Funded by the British Admiralty, she was launched in 1906 with the understanding that she could be used as an auxiliary cruiser for the Royal Navy during times of war. Thus on May 1, 1915, in the middle of World War I, she left New York and set sail across the Atlantic for Liverpool, England, carrying both passengers and war munitions for the Admiralty.
On the day of her launch, the Imperial German Embassy published a notice in American newspapers warning travelers of the grave danger of sailing on the Lusitania. Britain and Germany were at war and the Lusitania was sailing into waters that had been declared a war zone. German submarines had vowed to fire on any ship flying a British flag and had already sunk several British merchant ships. Although some of the passengers and crew were alarmed by the warning, they set sail anyway, perhaps believing that the Lusitania's speed would keep them safe.
On the afternoon of May 7, the Lusitania approached the southern coast of Ireland, without a naval escort, where German U-boats were known to be active and had recently sunk three ships. Due to fog, Captain William Turner was forced to slow the Lusitania down. Contrary to the Admiralty's instructions for avoiding U-boats, the Lusitania was sailing at less than top speed, in a straight line, and close to shore, rather than zigzagging in the open water where she could pick up speed.
When she passed in front of the German submarine U-20, the Germans fired a torpedo which hit her hull just below the waterline and caused an internal second explosion moments later. As the crew scrambled to launch the lifeboats, they were impeded by the severe tilt of the sinking ship. They managed to launch only six boats for the 1,959 people on board. Within 18 minutes, the Lusitania was sunk. Alerted to the disaster by theLusitania's distress signal, rescue ships immediately launched from Ireland to render aid. However, for many passengers help came too late, and in the end only 764 people were saved while 1,195 were drowned or died of hypothermia in the cold Atlantic water.
As news of the attack on the Lusitania spread around the world, emotions and opinions surrounding the sinking generally fluctuated depending on nationality. With England and Germany each advocating for the justness of their side, the Lusitania became a powerful propaganda tool for both sides in the build-up to America joining the war. One object in our collection that demonstrates this complex story is a replica of the medal commemorating the sinking of the Lusitania by German artist Karl Goetz.
The original medal was made by Goetz shortly after the ship sank. Angered by the Cunard Line's audacious decision to sail a passenger ship with munitions on board, Goetz channeled his feelings into an artistic satirical message and displayed it on a medal. The medal depicts the sinking Lusitania with munitions on deck under the heading "No Contraband Goods!" on one side. Germany held the position that as the Lusitania was sailing with munitions on board she was a hostile enemy ship and they were within their rights to fire on her.
On the other side of the coin, a skeleton representing death stands at a Cunard Line booth handing out tickets to a crowd. Goetz even includes a man reading a newspaper headline that translates to "U-Boat Danger," referring to the newspaper warning to passengers that had been published prior to the Lusitania sailing. The message "Business Above All" floats above the scene, a statement about Cunard Line's disregard for passenger safety in favor of making a profit. The attitude behind Goetz's medal was characteristic of many German people at this time.
As Goetz's medal circulated, the British got their hands on it and saw the opportunity for propaganda and the chance to inflame British and American anti-German sentiments. Reproductions of the medal, like the one in the museum's collection, were made in Britain and distributed along with a special box that included a document stating Britain's side of the story:
The "Lusitania" (German) Medal
An exact replica of the medal which was designed in Germany and distributed to commemorate the sinking of the "Lusitania."
This indicates the true feeling the War Lords endeavor to stimulate, and is proof positive that such crimes are not merely regarded favourably, but are given every encouragement in the land of Kultur.
The "Lusitania" was sunk by a German submarine on May 7th, 1915. She had on board at the time 1,951 passengers and crew, of whom 1,198 perished.
Although Goetz corrected the incorrect date on newer versions of the medal, the anger had already settled into the minds of Germany's opponents. Britain took advantage of the situation to imply that Germany had planned the attack on the Lusitania. The British government went further and roundly denied the existence of contraband munitions on board the Lusitania at the time of her sinking. Although originally a German expression of wartime sentiments, Britain appropriated the object to vilify German "kultur," culture and civilization as idealized by the exponents of German imperialism.
Almost two years after the attack on the Lusitania, on April 6, 1917, the U.S. declared war on Germany. Although many events led to the U.S. rejecting neutrality and joining World War I, the sinking of the Lusitania was a crucial moment in helping to sway the American public in support of the Allied cause.
The above video from Smithsonian Channel is also available to view on YouTube.
Patri O'Gan is a project assistant in the Division of Armed Forces History. She has also blogged about a unique letter from an enemy soldier to an American mother during World War I. Christy Wallover is a project assistant in the Division of Armed Forces History. She has also blogged about Ft. Fisher, site of a Civil War battle that was part of the Confederacy's downward spiral.
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To make it easier to see, set
So we have:
See how the u factors out? It probably just looked more complicated but if you boil it down, it isn't so bad
I know this is pretty basic stuff but could someone please talk me through this? I can see that one bracket is made up of the common factor and the other is made of the two number which were outside the bracket, but how does this work?
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Anophthalmia is rare, but the exact incidence is unknown. One report from a prospective study of 50,000 newborns found an incidence of microphthalmia of 0.22 per 1,000 live births. In a recent study in England, the prevalence of anophthalmia and microphthalmia was 1.0 per 10,000 births.
Anophthalmia can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired later in life. Congenital anophthalmia can occur alone or along with other birth defects. Anophthalmia may result from inherited genetic mutations, sporadic genetic mutations, chromosome abnormalities, prenatal environmental insult or other unknown factors.
Many health care providers should be involved in the care of an infant who has A/M and his/her family. They are needed to help the baby and the family meet challenges related to A/M and to live as healthy a life as possible.
A newborn with A/M should be examined immediately by an ophthalmologist (a physician who specializes in problems related to eyes), and an ocularist. If an eye is missing or is too small, the face cannot grow properly. Rapid growth of the face occurs in the newborn and young child, so care should not be delayed. An oculoplastic surgeon will often be a part of the baby's care team and will perform necessary surgical procedures.
A geneticist ( a physician who is an expert in genetic conditions) and a gentetic counselor (a medical professional who specializes in support and information sharing) can help the family to coordinate special care and early interventions for the child. The genetics team will also discuss the possibility of having another child affected with A/M in the future. They will also offer ongoing support. Genetic tests may help to make a diagnosis, but a normal chromosome test does not rule out a genetic cause for A/M. The normal chromosome test means only that the cause is unknown at that time. The geneticist should see the child again at a future date, when new information may help to make a diagnosis.
Vision helps infants to learn and to develop. Children who are blind in one or both eyes need special interventions to help them in a sighted world. Early intervention services, including Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training should be an essential part of the care of an infant who has A/M. As they learn about the care of their infant, parents and family members also need to learn about services which are availabe and to receive the kind of support ehich will help them in parenting a child with special needs.
About the Ocularist
by Carol Toussie-Weingarten, RN,PhD
Who is an ocularist?
An ocularist is a health professional who specializes in prosthetic devices for the eye. This specialty combines an understanding of color and artistry with expertise in the science of the development and function of the face and eye.
Why should treatment begin so soon after the baby's birth?
Growth and development of the face is usually dependent upon the presence of an average-sized eye within the orbit. Facial development occurs very rapidly in an infant and young child. Doctors believe that about 90% of orbital growth is complete by 5 years of age. If the orbit is empty, it will not grow properly. In turn, the child's face will not grow properly and this may lead to changes in the child's facial appearance. Thus, it is important that therapy begin very soon after birth.
What will happen at the first visit with the ocularist?
Your first visit will begin as a conversation between you and the ocularist about your baby's medical history. The ocularist will next observe the baby for a short while. he will then examine the baby's face and eye socket, using only his hands to separate the eyelids. During this examination, the ocularist will explain what he is doing at all times.
Therapy often begins at the first session. The ocluarist may decide to use one of two basic approaches toward treatment. The most common approach involves the insertion of a premade conformer, which helps to support the growth of the eye socket and the bones of the face. The conformer is used to expand the orbit and the opening of the eyelid. A conformer is a tiny plasic device which looks like a ball with a stem. This stem makes it easier to remove the conformer when removal is necessary. The premade conformer is selected to fit the general size and shape of the baby's orbits. A different approach uses a soft wax material to fashion a custom-molded conformer, which is shaped exactly like the baby's orbit.
In certain cases , the ocularist will perform a special examination under general anesthesia in an operating room. At this time, the ocularist would take impressions of the eye sockets in order to create custom-made prosthetic devices. The ocularist will determine which of these approaches is best for the baby's individual needs.
How will the baby react to the ocularist?
The baby will need to be held still during the ocularist's examination and the fitting of the conformers. During the examination, the ocularist will touch the baby's face and head and will separate the baby's eyelids. Although anophthalmic sockets are not usually sources of great pain, the examination may still be disturbing to a newborn who can not understand what is happening to him. The baby can be expected to cry and resist the examination, even with the most gentle approach.
Can a prosthetic device help the baby to see?
No. Prosthetic devices are very important because they help the baby's face to grow and develop. However, with the present state of science, no devices are available which will allow children who have anophthalmia to see.
Are conformers uncomfortable for the baby to wear?
Although it will take time for the baby to get used to wearing conformers, they should not cause pain for the baby. If the eye appears red, weepy, or the baby indicates pain by frequently rubbing or pulling at the eye, contact your ocularist immediately. Do not remove the conformer without the knowledge of your ocularist or physician.
What if the baby removes the conformer?
Older infants and toddlers may remove their prostheses/conformer as part of personal exploration and play. To replace the conformer, use the techniques the ocularist will teach. If you are unable to reinsert the conformer, contact the ocularist without delay. The socket will begin to shrink if the conformer is not in place.
Will the ocularist give the baby a prosthetic "eye" at the first visit?
No. Many anophthalmic babies will require treatment with a conformer to prepare the orbit before a "permanent" prosthesis, which resembles an eye, can be used.
Which questions should be asked during a visit with the ocularist?
At the conclusion of your visit, you should have the following information:
You will probably add many other personal questions to this list Do not be afraid to ask questions of your health care providers. They are available for help. In the case of anophthalmia treatment, knowledge can be very helpful. Try to identify and write down your questions and bring them to your visits.
Will the baby have to return to the ocluarist?
Yes. Anophthalmia is a condition which requires visits to the ocularist throughout life. During the baby's first year of life, many ocular devices will be needed as the baby grows and as changes take place within the socket. The baby may need weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly visits to the ocularist for the first year. As the baby gets older, fewer visits are needed. The actual number of visits will depend upon the baby's individual needs.
Who pays for treatment by the ocularist?
Many commercial insurance policies, HMO insurance policies, and medical assistance plans pay for both the visit to the ocularist and the conformers. The insurance company may request a letter from the baby's eye doctor and ocularist which explains the baby's individual needs. You should discuss payment concerns with the ocularist's billing manager at the time when the appointment is made.
Will the baby have to see an eye doctor as well as an ocularist?
Yes. The eye doctor will also prescribe care for the baby. The ophthalmologist and the ocularist will consult with each other to create the complete plan which will provide the best care for the baby. This plan will allow the ocularist to develop the prosthetic devices which best meet the baby's needs.
What long tem results should be expected?
Eye prostheses and appropriate surgeries are expected to enhance the child's appeareance. As each child is different, the actual results of these procedures will vary. Even though the child will look somewhat different from sighted children, well-groomed and well cared-for children with ocular prostheses can look terrific!
Are the prostheses and therapy programs the same for all children with anophthalmia?
Not necessarily, Each child with anophthalmia has uniquely formed sockets, eyelids, and facial structure. Therapy is uniquely designed to meet each child's speciaal needs, While it is helpful to draw upon the experiences of others, it is also imprtant to realize that each child's therapy and outcome will probably be different.
Do children do well with ocular prostheses?
Most children learn to do very well with their prostheses. Time, patience, and a sense of humor are needed to help the children to adjust to the prosthses. During infancy, a responsible adult is needed to care for the eye prostheses. As the child grows, he can learn to take very good care of his own prostheses. Eye prostheses can become one routine aspect of successful daily living for people with anophthalmia.
Is it normal to feel worried about the first visit to the ocularist?
Yes. Most people have had no experience with anophthtalmia or the speciality which deals with ocular devices. It is important to share these concerns with the ocularist. The International Children's Anophthalmia Network (ican) is a support group for family members and friends of persons with anophthalmia. This group of healthcare professional and family members of children with anophthalmia can be contacted for support, information, or education through their hotline at 1-800-580-ican (4226) or their Internet Web Page at www.ioi.com/ican
Will a person who feels "squeamish" about eyes be able to handle the treatments?
Yes. Over time and through necessity, everyone can learn to care for the baby's eye prostheses and needs. Concerns and feelings should be discussed with the baby's ocularist, who is used to dealing with concerns about these very important topics.
The eye is affected in about one-quarter of all inherited diseases, thus possible genetic causes of eye malformations must be considered. Congenital A/M can occur alone or with other birth differences. Geneticists use unusua findings in th eye, as well as other findings throughout the body, to help identify possible syndromes or causes of the disorder in an individual.
A/M has many different potential causes, including genetic conditions such as chromosomal disorders as well as single gene disorders.
Chromosomes are tiny structures which carry our genetic information and are arranged in 23 pairs in each cell of the body. One chromosome of each pair comes from the mother and the other from the father, Each chromosome consists of thousands of genes which are made up of DNA. The DNA is the genetic "alphabet" consisting of four letters: A, C, T and G. These letters create a series of three-letter "words" that combine and make up genes. Each gene has a specific function to encode the directions for the production of proteins in our bodies. Proteins are elements which do the different jobs our bodies require. A change in any of these "words" is known as a mutation. A mutation can lead to either abnormally made proteins or absence of the protein which then afffects the development of the fetus during pregnancy.
Single gene disorders occur as a result of a mutation in one gene on one or both of the chromosomes of a pair. This mutation changes the genetic information and therefore the blueprint for development, which leads to disease or birth defects.
Chromosomal disorders involve extra, or missing chromosomes or rearranged pieces of chromosomes. This extra or missing information changes the blueprint for development. Because each chromosome houses thousands of genes, a normal chromosome result can not tell us if all the genes are working properly. It simply tells us there are no large pieces of chromosomes which are extra, missing or rearranged.
Sometimes, we can not identify a sndrome in an individual to help explain the cause of A/M. Researchers are currently working on locating the gene or genes involved in normal eye development which may lead to many answers about anophthalmia and enable geneticists to provide more accurate counseling and recurrence risks.
American Society of Ocularists (ASO):
National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC):
American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG):
International Children's Anophthalmia Network (ican):
at Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA:
The registry is compiling information on pregnancy, maternal medical and family histories, as well as environmental exposures. The goal is to determine a more accurate incidence of A/M and to better identify possible causes of A/M.
Table of Contents
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ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A diet that raises estrogen levels during pregnancy may raise breast cancer risk in daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters, U.S. researchers say.
Yue "Joseph" Wang of the Virginia Tech Research Center in Arlington and colleagues at Georgetown University said pregnant rats on a diet supplemented with synthetic estrogen or with fat -- which increases estrogen levels -- produce ensuing generations of daughters that appear to be healthy but harbor a greater risk for mammary cancer.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, said although the findings have not yet been validated in humans, the study shows that environmental damage may be passed from one generation to the next not via genetic mutations, but through "epigenetic" alterations that influence how genomic information is decoded.
"We have shown for the first time that altered DNA methylations modulated by specific diet in normal development are heritable and transgenerational," Wang said in a statement.
Virginia Tech researchers developed mathematical models and machine-learning techniques to analyze the changes in DNA methylation -- allowing cells with the same genome to perform different functions by adding chemical groups to DNA to turn some genes on and some genes off -- status in the descending daughters to understand how increased cancer risk is transmitted without genetic mutation.
"Ultimately, it might be possible to undo or prevent this harmful methylation and decrease the risk of breast cancer," Wang said.
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Adults who comply with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans may have a decreased risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a new study finds.
The study, published in the September 4, 2013, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
, used the Healthy Eating Index 2005 to analyze the association between a well-balanced diet and pancreatic cancer risk. Using data from food frequency questionnaires completed in 1995 and 1996 by participants of the National Institutes of Health—American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study, the researchers calculated the Healthy Index 2005 scores for 537,218 adults.
After a median follow-up of 10.5 years, 2383 cases of pancreatic cancer were identified. After adjusting for known risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and diabetes status, participants who were the most adherent to the dietary guidelines had a 15% decreased risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared with those who were the least compliant. The effect of a healthy diet on pancreatic cancer risk was even more pronounced in overweight and obese men (28% reduction in risk) compared with normal-weight men and women.
The authors note that the reduced risk in pancreatic cancer may not be due to diet alone, but may also be due to other healthy behaviors, such as exercise.
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Intelligence and intelligence testing are two of the most controversial and highly polemic of all topics in the field of psychology. It seems that psychologists, educators, and indeed, the lay public alike, all have a love-hate relationship with the concept of intelligence and even more so with intelligence testing. Some form of intelligence testing is one of the most widely used of all forms of psychological tests. While tests for special aptitudes are available, and these are widely used for specialized diagnostic purposes as well as specialized aspects of personnel selection, these tests all measure some aspect of intellectual function. This entry describes more generally intelligence testing, provides a brief history of intelligence tests, presents their fundamental assumptions, applications, and an introduction to their interpretation.
Achievement tests as those designed to assess students' knowledge or skills in a content domain in which they have received instruction. In contrast, intelligence tests are broader in scope than achievement tests and are designed to measure the cognitive skills, abilities, and knowledge that individuals have accumulated as the result of their overall life experiences coupled with skills in application of these attributes to problem-solving. In other words, while achievement tests are tied to a specific program of instruction, intelligence tests reflect the cumulative impact of life experiences as a whole in concert with an individual's underlying or latent ability to use information. The general intelligence factor, g, is the most reliable component present in any multifactorial view of intelligence (Jensen, 1998). In the Cattell-Horn model (Horn & Cattell, 1966; Kamphaus, 2001) of intelligence, g is the dominant factor in the hierarchy of multiple abilities, with the next two dominant facets being crystallized and fluid intelligence.
Crystallized intelligence tends to be related more closely to verbal domains as a practical matter and is defined as the application of knowledge to problem solving. Fluid intelligence tends to be related more closely to nonverbal domains as a practical matter and is defined more strictly as reasoning and problem solving in the absence of any requirement for prior knowledge. It turns out that people do not really know how to assess reasoning and problem solving in the total absence of knowledge and so most tests of fluid intelligence attempt to approximate this perfect state to the extent possible by using principally nonverbal tasks that do not require knowledge of language or language concepts (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2003).
The inclusion of crystallized intelligence measures as a component of most intelligence tests has led many people to believe, erroneously, that intelligence tests are simply measures of what people have learned. While intelligence and knowledge are certainly correlated, intelligence as measured on modern individually administered tests of intelligence and even many group measures is more directed at the assessment of problem solving and reasoning skill as opposed to static knowledge or learned content. The latter is the domain of achievement testing (Reynolds, Livingston, & Willson, 2006).
This introduction might suggest that there is a clear and universally accepted distinction between achievement and intelligence tests. However, in actual practice such is not the case and the distinction is actually a matter of degree. Many, if not most, testing experts conceptualize both achievement and intelligence tests as tests of developed cognitive abilities that can be ordered along a continuum in terms of how closely linked the assessed abilities are to specific learning experiences. The abilities measured by achievement tests are specifically linked to academic instruction or training. In contrast, the knowledge and abilities measured by intelligence tests are acquired through a broad-range of life experiences, including those at school, home, work, and all other settings.
General intelligence tests historically have been the most popular and widely used aptitude tests in school settings. While many people are familiar with the concept of intelligence and use the term in everyday conversations, it is not easy to develop a definition of intelligence on which everyone agrees. While many people, lay or professional, will have their own separate definition of intelligence, most of these definitions will incorporate abilities such as problem solving, abstract reasoning, and the ability to acquire knowledge. Developing a consensus beyond this point has proved quite difficult.
Intelligence tests had their beginning in the schools, in the early 1900s in France when a compulsory education program was initiated. Alfred Binet (1857–1911) and his colleague Theodore Simon (1873–1961) had been attempting to develop a measure of intelligence for some years and were commissioned by the French government to develop a test that could predict academic performance accurately. The result of their efforts was the first Binet-Simon Scale released in 1905. This test contained problems arranged in the order of their difficulty and assessing a wide range of abilities. The test contained some sensory-perceptual tests, but the emphasis was on verbal items assessing comprehension, reasoning, and judgment. Subsequent revisions of the Binet-Simon Scale were released in 1908 and 1911. These scales gained wide acceptance in France and were soon translated and standardized in the United States by Louis Terman (d. 1959) at Stanford University. Terman's work resulted in the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (1916), which has been revised numerous times and continues to be a prominent intelligence test used in the early 2000s.
The introduction of the Stanford Binet intelligence scales in the United States by Terman occurred in close proximity to World War I. Seeing the success of this approach to measuring mental ability, the U.S. Army set about to devise a means of evaluating recruits. A group of psychologists headed by Robert Yerkes (1876–1956) subsequently developed the Army Alpha and Army Beta examinations, which quickly became the most widely used group intelligence tests in the world. This widespread use also had the effect of familiarizing literally millions of individuals with the concept of intelligence testing and made it an acceptable enterprise. Not long afterward, the College Entrance Examination Board began development and employment of what became the SAT, a conglomerated measure of achievement and intelligence.
The development and success of the Binet-Simon Scale, and subsequently the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test and the U.S. Army testing programs, ushered in the era of widespread intelligence testing in the United States. Following the model of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test, other assessment experts developed and released their own intelligence tests. Some of the tests were designed for individual administration (such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test) while others were designed for group administration. Some of these tests placed more emphasis on verbal and quantitative abilities while others placed more emphasis on visual-spatial and/or abstract problem-solving abilities. As a general rule, research has shown with considerable consistency that contemporary intelligence tests are good predictors of academic success. This correlation is to be expected considering this was the precise purpose for which they were initially developed over 100 years earlier. In addition to being good predictors of school performance, research showed that IQs are fairly stable over time. Nevertheless, these tests became controversial as a result of the often-emotional debate over the meaning of intelligence. To try and avoid this association and possible misinterpretations, many test publishers adopted more neutral names such as “academic potential,” “scholastic ability,” “school ability,” “mental ability,” or simply “ability” to designate essentially the same construct to which the term intelligence referred.
Clearly, aptitude and intelligence tests have a long history of use in the schools. Their widespread use continues in the early 2000s, with major applications including the following (Reynolds et al., 2006; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2003):
Providing alternative measures of cognitive abilities that reflect information not captured by standard achievement tests or school grades,
Providing objective evaluations of ability that do not reflect the subjective judgment of observers or others who may be influenced by irrelevant factors,
Helping teachers tailor instruction to meet a student's unique pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses,
Assessing how well students are prepared to profit from school experiences,
Identifying students who are underachieving and may need further assessment to rule-out learning disabilities or other cognitive disorders, including mental retardation or intellectual disability,
Identifying students for gifted and talented programs,
Helping guide parents and students with educational and vocational planning.
While this list identifies the most common uses of aptitude/intelligence tests in the schools, the list is not exhaustive. Classroom teachers and school administrators are involved to varying degrees with these applications. For example, teachers are frequently called on to administer and interpret many of the group aptitude tests for their own students. School psychologists or others professionals with specific training in administering and interpreting clinical and diagnostic tests typically administer and interpret the individual intelligence and aptitude tests.
As with achievement tests, group and individual intelligence tests are commonly used in schools. Whereas teachers are often asked to help administer and interpret the group aptitude tests, school psychologists and other professionals with special training in administering and interpreting clinical and diagnostic tests usually administer and interpret the individual tests. The most frequently employed individually administered intelligence tests are reviewed briefly below.
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). The WISC-IV is as of 2007 the most popular individual test of intellectual ability for children. Empirical surveys of school psychologists and other assessment personnel have consistently shown that the Wechsler scales are the most popular individual intelligence test used in clinical and school settings with children. The WISC-IV, as is true of virtually all individually administered intelligence tests, must be administered by professionals with extensive training in psychological assessment. The WISC-IV is one of the longest of such intellectual assessments and takes approximately 2 to 3 hours to administer and score. Below are brief descriptions of the subtests (Wechsler, 2003):
Arithmetic—the student is presented a set of arithmetic problems that they solve mentally (i.e., no pencil and paper) and answer orally. This subtest involves numerical reasoning ability, mental manipulation, concentration, and auditory memory.
Block Design—the student reproduces a series of geometric patterns using red-and-white blocks. This subtest measures the ability to analyze and synthesize abstract visual stimuli, nonverbal concept formation, and perceptual organization.
Cancellation—the student scans sequences of visual stimuli and marks target forms. This subtest involves processing speed, visual attention, and vigilance.
Coding—the student matches and copies symbols that are associated with either objects (i.e., Coding A) or numbers (Coding B). This subtest is a measure of processing speed, short-term visual memory, mental flexibility, attention, and motivation.
Comprehension—the student responds to questions that are presented orally involving everyday problems or social situations. This subtest is a measure of verbal comprehension and reasoning as well as the ability to apply practical information.
Digit Span—the student is presented orally sequences of numbers that they repeat verbatim (i.e., Digits Forward) or in reverse order (i.e., Digits Backwards). This subtest involves short-term auditory memory, attention, and on Digits Backwards, mental manipulation.
Information—the student responds to questions that are presented orally involving a broad range of knowledge (e.g., science, history, and geography). This subtest measures the student's general fund of knowledge.
Letter-Number Sequencing—the student reads a list of letters and numbers and then recalls the letters in alphabetical order and the numbers in numerical order. This subtest involves short-term memory, sequencing, mental manipulation, and attention.
Matrix Reasoning—the student examines an incomplete matrix and then selects the item that correctly completes the matrix. This subtest is a measure of fluid intelligence and is considered a largely language-free and culture-fair measure of intelligence.
Picture Completion—the student is presented a set of pictures and must identify what important part is missing. This subtest measures visual scanning and organization as well as attention to essential details.
Picture Concepts—the student examines rows of objects and then selects objects that go together based on an underlying concept. This subtest involves nonverbal abstract reasoning and categorization.
Similarities—two words are presented orally to the student and the student must identify how they are similar. This subtest measures verbal comprehension, reasoning, and concept formation.
Symbol Search—the student scans groups of symbols and indicates if a target symbol is present. This subtest is a measure of processing speed, visual scanning, and concentration.
Vocabulary—the student is presented orally a series of words that the student must define. This subtest is primarily a measure of word knowledge and verbal conceptualization.
Word Reasoning—the student must identify the underlying or common concept that is implied by a series of clues. This subtest involves verbal comprehension, abstraction, and reasoning.
Information, Word Reasoning, Picture Completion, Arithmetic, and Cancellation are supplemental subtests while the other subtests are core subtests. The administration of supplemental subtests is not mandatory, but they may be used to substitute for a core subtest if the core subtest is seen as being inappropriate for a particular student (e.g., due to physical limitation). A supplemental subtest may also be used if a core subtest is invalidated for some reason (e.g., its administration is interrupted).
The WISC-IV produces four Index Scores. Below are brief descriptions of the Index Scores (Wechsler, 2003):
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) is a composite of Similarities, Vocabulary, and Comprehension. Information and Word Reasoning are supplemental VCI subtests. The VCI reflects verbal reasoning, verbal conceptualization, and knowledge of facts.
Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) is a composite of Block Design, Picture Concepts, and Matrix Reasoning. Picture Completion is a supplemental PRI subtest. The PRI reflects perceptual and nonverbal reasoning, spatial processing abilities, and visual-spatial-motor integration.
Working Memory Index (WMI) is a composite of Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing. Arithmetic is a supplemental WMI subtest. The WMI reflects the student's working memory capacity that includes attention, concentration, and mental control.
Processing Speed (PSI) is a composite of Coding and Symbol Search. Cancellation is a supplemental PSI subtest. The PSI reflects the student's ability to quickly process nonverbal material as well as attention and visual-motor coordination.
The WISC-IV and its predecessors are designed for use with children between the ages of 6 and 16 years of age. For early childhood assessment the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Third Edition (WPPSI-III) is available and is appropriate for children between 2 years 6 months to 7 years 3 months. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Third Edition (WAIS-III) is appropriate for individuals between the ages of 16 and 89 years of age.
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5). The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test was the first intelligence test to gain widespread acceptance in the United States. While the Wechsler scales have become the most popular and widely used intelligence tests in schools, the Stanford-Binet scales have continued to have a strong following. As of 2007. the most recent edition of these scales is the SB5 that was released in 2003. The SB5 is designed for use with individuals from 2 to 85 years of age. It contains 10 subtests which are combined to produce five factor indices (i.e., Fluid Reasoning, Knowledge, Quantitative Reasoning, Visual-Spatial Processing, and Working memory), two domain scores (i.e., Verbal IQ
and Nonverbal IQ), and a Full Scale IQ reflecting overall intellectual ability. A potentially appealing aspect of the SB5 is the availability of an Extended IQ scale that allows the calculation of FSIQs higher than 160, which can be useful in the assessment of extremely gifted individuals.
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) Tests of Cognitive Ability. The WJ III Tests of Cognitive Ability has gained a loyal following and has some unique qualities that warrant mentioning. The battery is designed for use with individuals 2 to 90 years of age. The WJ III Tests of Cognitive Ability is based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities, which incorporates Cattell's and Horn's Gf-Gc theory and Carroll's three-stratum theory. The CHC model provides a comprehensive model for assessing a broad range of cognitive abilities, and many clinicians like this battery because it measures such a broad range of abilities.
Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS). The RIAS is a newcomer to the clinician's collection of intelligence tests. It is designed for use with individuals between 3 and 94 years of age and incorporates a co-normed supplemental memory test. One particularly desirable aspect of the RIAS is the ability to obtain a reliable and valid measure of intellectual ability that incorporates both verbal and nonverbal abilities (crystallized and fluid intelligence) in a relatively brief period (i.e., 20–25 minutes). Most other tests that assess verbal and nonverbal cognitive abilities require considerably more time. The supplemental memory tests require about 10 minutes for administration, so a clinician can assess both memory and intelligence in approximately 30 minutes.
In the early decades of intelligence testing, intelligence test scores were expressed as a true quotient, hence the term IQ or intelligence quotient. An IQ was defined as a ratio of the examinees mental age to the examinees chronological age which was then multiplied by 100 to eliminate dealing with fractional scores [(MA/CA)X100]. This form calculation of an IQ has serious psychometric and related measurement problems and has been abandoned for decades although its presentation continues to be common in many introductory psychology and education textbooks. In the early 2000s, IQs are calculated in the form of age corrected deviation scaled scores. These are formal transformations of raw scores (i.e., number of points obtained or items answered correctly) into a standard score format that incorporates the use of the mean and the standard deviation of the raw scores at predetermined age intervals so that the IQ given by the test has the same percentile ranking at each age level, which is not true of the old ratio style IQ. Table 1 presents a common system for ascribing a qualitative descriptor to various score ranges found on most common intelligence tests, nearly all of which (including all of those reviewed above) report IQs using a metric where the mean IQ is equal to 100 and the standard deviation is 15. When accompanied by significant deficits and adaptive behavior and occurring during the developmental period, scores below 70 are commonly associated with varying degrees of mental retardation or intellectual disability, while scores above 130 are often used to designate individuals as being intellectually talented or cognitively gifted.
The scores from intelligence tests are derived from large samples of individuals drawn using what is known as population proportion of stratified random sampling. Because all individuals in the United States cannot be tested, a sample is drawn to represent the entire population. This sample is typically chosen to be representative of the general population of the United States at large on the basis of gender, ethnicity, social economic status or educational level, region of residence within the United States, and community size, including urban and rural areas.
Scores from intelligence tests are interpreted properly only when the standardized instructions for administering and scoring the test have been followed rigidly. Deviations from standardized administration and scoring cause the scores to move up or down for an individual examinee inappropriately and in ways that are unpredictable, rendering the scores uninterpretable (Lee, Reynolds, & Willson, 2003). Intelligence test scores are viewed by some as reflecting innate potential but clearly that is not the case. While innate ability contributes to intelligence test performance, many other variables contribute to performance on ability measures as well.
Intelligence as measured on such tests as described here is a summative construct at any given point that is a reflection not only of a person's innate potential but the interaction of this potential with the entire life experiences of the individual as well as factors such as early stimulation, nutrition, prenatal care, and numerous other variables too extensive to list and discuss here. Proper interpretation of intelligence tests requires knowledge of the examinee's history, background, educational exposure, and generally the context of the examinee's life, especially when clinical diagnoses are being considered. Intelligence tests in the schools are very good predictors of academic achievement, but even this prediction is predicated upon averages among the various examinees. This qualification means that intelligence tests' predictions of future attainment are based on various assumptions about individuals taking such tests. Such assumptions, for example, would include the assumption that a particular examinee is no more motivated to achieve than the average person taking the test, that such an examinee would spend no more and no less time studying in any particular academic area, and would have no more or no less opportunity to acquire information in a particular academic domain. To the extent such assumptions are violated, the predictive schema of the intelligence test score interpretation would not hold.
See also:Intelligence: An Overview
Horn, J. L., & Cattell, R. B. (1966) Refinement and test of the theory of fluid and crystallized general intelligence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 57, 253–270.
Jensen, A. (1998). These suppressed relationship between IQ and the reaction time slope parameter of the Hick function. Intelligence, 26, 43–52.
Kamphaus, R. W. (2001) Clinical assessment of child and adolescent intelligence, 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Lee, D., Reynolds, C. R., Willson, V. L. (2003). Standardized test administration: why bother? Journal of Forensic Neuropsychology, 3, 55–81.
Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (2003). Reynolds intellectual assessment scales and Reynolds intellectual screening test: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc.
Reynolds, C. R., Livingston, R. A., & Willson, V. L. (2006). Measurement and assessment in the classroom. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Wechsler, D. (2003). Wechsler intelligence scale for children, 4th ed. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
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Secrets of the Dead
"Cavemen Cold Case"
A tomb of 49,000 year-old Neanderthal bones discovered in El Sidron, a remote, mountainous region of northern Spain, leads to a compelling investigation to solve a double mystery: How did this group of Neanderthals die? And could the fate of this group help explain Neanderthal extinction? Scientists examine the bones and discover signs that tell a shocking story of how this group may have met their deaths. Some bones bear distinct signs of cannibalism. Was it a result of ritual or hunger? Neanderthal experts are adamant that they were not bloodthirsty brutes. D
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The story is told of a painter who once exhibited a picture of a monk in his robes. Looking at the picture from a distance, the monk appeared to be in a position of prayer - his head bowed over a book; his eyes cast downward in humble adoration; his hands clasped upon his chest. From a distance it looked like the monk was praying.
But, as one drew nearer, the appearance of the painting changed dramatically. On close inspection the viewer saw that the book was not really a book at all – it was a punch bowl over which the monk hunched. And his hands clasped at his chest were not the hands of prayer. They were the hands of a man who was squeezing lemon juice into the bowl before him. Underneath the painting an inscription read: “A hypocrite is one who neither is what he seems to be, nor seems to be what he really is.”
That picture and inscription easily describe the people to whom Jesus told this parable. They were the chief priests and the elders of the people. Just like the monk in the painting, upon closer inspection these leaders in Israel were not what they seemed to be – they were not faithful servants of God. And they did not seem to be what they really were – unbelievers bent on serving themselves. They were hypocrites, pretenders of the faith who abused and misused a God-given position for personal consideration and gain.
As we hear what our Lord said about their fate, we would do well to consider who we are in His kingdom and what we are doing with the position or things He has entrusted to our care. How do we measure up with our work in His vineyard?
May the Holy Spirit graciously guide our study to see that As Workers in God's Vineyard we are to I. remember Him in His love; and we are to II. respond to Him in love.
I. Remember Him in His love.
Jesus' parable was about a vineyard. In the Bible the people of Israel were sometimes pictured as a vineyard, with God as the owner or caretaker. That's what Isaiah said most clearly in the OT Lesson today when he wrote, “The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel” (Is.5:6). Now, what's the purpose of a vineyard? The purpose of a vineyard is to produce grapes which the owner will harvest. Likewise Israel's purpose was to produce fruits of faith for the Lord. Isaiah wrote that the Lord “looked for justice” from them; He “looked for righteousness.” He looked for things from them that reflected their love, reflected their attachment to Him as their blessed Savior God.
To help them be that kind of a people, He showered them with His love . God, the “landowner,” provided everything that was necessary for His vineyard to be productive. After He had carefully planted each vine, He built a wall around the whole thing to protect it from wild animals. A winepress was dug out of the underlying rock so that those who took care of it didn't have to provide one or run the risk of losing anything by transporting the grapes elsewhere. He had a tower built, both for shelter and burglar control
In this picture we are reminded how God in His eternal love took care of His people to keep them with Him. He separated them from all the other heathen nations of the world so that they would not fall away from Him, too, just like the nations had. He sought to protect them from the onslaught of the devil and his wicked angels, sending them prophet after prophet to act as their spiritual watchmen (Ez.3:17). In His love God provided richly for their protection and upkeep. What a generous “landowner” He had been.
And then, in His love He became the trusting owner, turning His beloved Israel over to caretakers – the priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people. They had nothing to do with, no responsibility in providing anything for the vineyard; God had already seen to it. What they were to do was to take care of it all and to ready His people for the “harvest time.” He was generous, gracious, and trusting to them. Think of the risks involved there.
Someone has said that “to love is to risk.” If you reach out in love to another person, you in a sense take a risk. That person may reject you or disappoint you or even betray you. Chances are that you might be among those who have been “burned” in this. You took a “risk.” You cared deeply about another. That person spurned you. Now you carry an emotional scar. In many cases the hurt becomes so deep that it's hard to take the risk of loving again. Yes, to love is to risk.
And God, you might say, is the biggest risk taker of all. He is ready to risk everything, whether it was for His OT people whom He described here as His vineyard, or for you.
In love for you “He took a risk” by planting you into this world, by making you His own and protecting you in the waters of Holy Baptism and in His Word. He took a great risk in handing the souls of His people over to others, to pastors and teachers and other types of church leaders. In our families He took a great risk in handing the souls of His precious little children over to us parents. In the congregation He took a great risk in handing over the care and concern for each to one another as brothers and sisters in the faith. Think of what a risk for Him that His. Who has the greater ability to provide and to see that everything works out right other than He? But in His love, and you might say in His trust, He hands His vineyard over to other workers to work it and to care for it.
Sad to say in the history of Israel the people and especially the leaders in their sin took advantage of His love. They acted like they were concerned about God, but in the end they cared only for themselves. He had given them such blessings to enjoy, to share with others, and to protect - not just earthly blessings but eternal ones. He had given them such advantages as His people and workers . But in their sin they turned away from Him and refused to acknowledge Him, using all the blessings for their personal advancement. In the end they even killed His Son whom He sent to them for their good. Why? Because all they could see was themselves and their own ambitions.
It has been said that selfish ambition and greed all too often and all to easily cause us to forget God's presence. As present-day Workers in God's Vineyard, may God have mercy and protect us from becoming like they.
But you know, dear friends, God still takes risks, you might say. That's the nature of His love. He doesn't treat us like mechanical robots on the end of a button that He pushes and controls with His might. He graciously treats us like beloved sons and daughters. The Bible says He considers us as co-heirs with Him of eternity. Because God is love, He takes risks with us.
But that's the nature of love. And in the greatest display of it ever, when we all had become like Israel and its leaders in going our own way in sin, He sent His Son to the vineyard. That Son was killed on the cross for our sin. But through that we now are saved and all who believe it will not perish.
As vines and Workers in God's Vineyard , remember Him in His love... and then respond to Him in love , genuine love, not hypocritically, not going through the motions that appear from a distance to be love, but respond to Him in genuine love.
II. Respond to Him in love.
One could hardly say that the leaders of God's people had responded to Him in love . That would be a gross overstatement. They did anything but respond to God in love.
Prophet after prophet, whom God had sent, they killed. And then they got down to the Son Himself. Not only did they kill Jesus, too, but it was premeditated murder – they planned it ahead of time, just like the parable indicated when it said, “When the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”
When Jesus spoke this parable, He was speaking directly to His would-be murderers. He told them right to their faces how they would bring to a head everything that their wicked fathers had begun. Why? Because they neither honored nor respected God or His Son, but refused, simply refused to respond to Him in love . They only saw Him as a threat to their own enjoyment and position of leadership.
This was not a sin of ignorance; this was an act of unbelief. Still, God sent His Son not only knowing what could happen, but actually knowing what would happen. And He sent Him that it might happen. And Jesus went ahead with it, fully aware of their murderous plans.
In the end they were punished for their sin, and all those workers of the past who did not repent of their rejection of Jesus, are in hell. The same will be true of the present and the future until the Lord returns. You see, dear friends, as the Bible says, “God will not be mocked.” You cannot hide from Him what you are really doing. He expects a return on His investment in you, in me, in all. He looks for our honor, respect, and our response of love.
But love cannot be forced, love cannot be commanded; it responds , it flows not because it has to, but because it wants to. God wanted to send His Son to die for our sakes. Why? Because He loved. Not because He saw something worthy in us. But because He loved and cared; and so He took that risk.
You know, it's a gracious blessing from God that our love does not have to come about in the same way. He had no reason to love us because of our disobedience, but He did. We, on the other hand, are blessed to have every reason to love Him – from our creation, to our daily preservation, to our heavenly protection, and above all to our eternal salvation. Nothing in us brought any of that about. He just did it.
You see, dear friends, our love to Him is not a response that is forced or commanded. It is a love that takes in all that He in grace has done for us and reacts to it. As He loved us, so we love Him and one another. As Workers In His Vineyard respond to Him in love.
So, as the Holy Spirit enables us in faith, we resolve this day and every day to rededicate our lives anew, not to us and our advancement, but to the Lord Jesus and His kingdom. We offer Him the fruits of faith, the best fruits of faith that He so fervently desires and so richly deserves. We live and work for Him and make our lives count for God as we show forth the praises of Him who made us His vines planted in Christ and His workers laboring in the vineyard. God grant it to us in faith for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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|Common Pain Reliever May Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease|
|November 30, 2001
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurological disorder in which symptoms usually appear after age 65. People with AD may appear confused and have problems with their memory, communication and judgment. At this time, there is no cure for AD. However, a new study suggests that a common pain reliever may reduce the chances of developing AD.
Researchers in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, studied the association between nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and Alzheimer's disease. NSAIDs are pain relievers found in common medicines such as Advil, Aleve and Motrin. AD may be caused by an inflammatory response (swelling of tissue and reactions of blood cells) within the brain that damages neurons. Researchers thought that antiinflammatory drugs might protect the brain from such a response and reduce the chance that someone would develop AD.
|Estimated Number of Cases |
of AD in the U.S. (millions)
| The researchers
examined 6,989 people (2,795 men, 4,194 women) who were at least 55 years
old and who did not show signs of AD at the start of the experiment.
Each person was followed for approximately seven years to determine if he
or she developed symptoms of AD. The scientists also checked the national
pharmacy database to determine which NSAIDs each person had taken.|
Of the 6,989 people who started the study, 293 developed AD and 101 developed other types of dementia. Those people who took NSAIDs were significantly less likely to develop AD compared with those people who did not take NSAIDs. Moreover, the longer someone had been taking NSAIDs, the less likely it was for them to get AD.
These data support the view that AD is the result of an inflammatory brain response. NSAIDs may prevent the development of inflammation in the brain and ward off the brain damaging effects of inflammation. However, these data do NOT provide evidence that NSAIDs are an effective treatment for someone who already has symptoms of AD. Moreover, because NSAIDs can cause serious side-effects such as kidney damage and internal bleeding, it is important that people speak with their doctor before taking these medications.
|Did you know?||Several medical centers are conducting a "trial" to study how NSAIDs prevent AD.|
|Alzheimer's Disease||Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drug|
In't Veld, B.A., Ruitenberg, A., Hofman, A., Launer, L.J., van Duijn, C.M., Stijnen, T., Breteler, M.M.B., and Stricker, B.H.C. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The New England Journal of Medicine, 345:1515-1521, 2001.
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|Rome Guide||Sleeping||Contact Us|
Situated on the Vatican hill on the right bank of the river Tiber to the west of the city. Surface area: 0.5km2 + territory of Lateran church, Cancelleria and Castelgandolfo summer residence. Circa 1500 inhabitants of which approx 50% have Vatican passport and tax exemption. Own postal service, mint, radio Radio Maria and newspaper Osservatore Romano.
This is a difficult subject to which we can hardly do any justice given that "The Vatican" embodies a whole state, 2000 years of power and endless involvement in the development of the western world.
The Vatican hill, across the river from what was Rome's original urban area was populated as part of a need to control both banks of the river for defence purposes. In ancient times it's real claim to fame was Caligula's and later Nero's circus. This happened to make it the site of a multitude of Christian martyrdoms and crucifixions. It is the reputed site of St. Peter's (and his wife's) martyrdom. As a consequence of this St. Peter's basilica was constructed on top of the circus during the latter part of the empire, some two or three hundred years after the saint's death.
Approximately a millennium later the basilica had been reworked several times over and eventually redesigned into the "St. Peter's" we now know and love. Michaelangelo played his part in the redesign and construction as did a number of other important architects. The vast resources which went into its construction also did its bit to generate displeasure and add fuel to the schism and Protestant Reformation. It was at this time that the Vatican became the official Papal residence rather than the Lateran.
It is suggested that the ancient Roman Pantheon had much to do with the inspiration behind the design of the fašade and interestingly, both buildings sported world-record breaking domes, but these are only the most obvious of the parallels. More interesting similarities are to be found in their use for propaganda: both of these buildings performed the function of home or site where a single ruler-person had a private and supreme hot-line to the heavens. The domes presumably act as a metaphor of such heavens.
The Vatican has undoubtedly been a highly significant centre of political power which in many ways shaped European history. One of the earliest of these defining moments was on Christmas day of the year 800 when Pope Leo Xth took it upon himself to crown Charlemagne "Holy Roman Emperor". This act had far reaching effects in defining the Pope as a necessary intermediary to putting a wax seal of divine authority on the temporal power of kings and emperors. Interestingly, the event was also the dawn of Papal power on earth as Charlemagne donated vast lands in central Italy to the Vatican. These were subsequently justified through history as being part of Emperor Constantine's will and inheritance (nowadays largely shown to be a bit of a tall story). Napoleon avoided the same mistake by taking the crown and placing it on his own head. Not surprisingly Napoleon's lack of respect was the beginning of the end for Papal temporal power.
The Vatican as a State: Papal power first came to the fore as a result of the Roman emperor's departure from Rome and the shift of political power to the new capital at Constantinople (Istanbul). Given Rome had been largely abandoned the clergy constituted the only remaining bureaucracy capable of somehow managing and governing the city. Interestingly at this time the "Pontifex Maximus" was still the emperor (now thousands of miles away from Rome) and it wasn't until some time later that the Pope took over "absolute" power and the P.M. title itself.
Papal power grew through time except the odd hic-cup here and there. The disarray of the Dark Ages left the church to become the sole champion of international peace and learning, with Rome at its centre. The 17th Century and the Enlightenment was in a sense the downward turning point: economic prosperity, learning and "culture" shifted northwards and out of the strict grasp and control of the church which nonetheless maintained a focus on artistic embellishment of the city. The Napoleonic invasion was a prelude to the weakening position of the Pope's grasp of power on earth, made definitive with the taking of Rome by Garibaldi's forces as Italy was reunited. The Pope retreated to the Vatican in disgust as all else was confiscated. Something was clawed back and the Vatican declared a state in its own right by Mussolini's government which was anxious to regain some of that divine approval.
A sense of all this embedded history can be gained from the major sites of the Vatican state. The most important of these include the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, the Castel St. Angelo fortress which was once Emperor Hadrian's tomb and later converted to fortress and fearsome torture chambers and dungeons. Last but not least, St. Peter's basilica, including the wonderful panoramic view across Rome from the top of the dome.
- Another Image including Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo - "Vatican" Rome apartment -
Areas of Rome: | The Vatican | Capitoline hill | Palatine hill | The Forums | Villa Borghese & Villa Giulia | Piazza del Popolo | Pantheon | Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori | Quirinal hill | Esquiline hill | Caelius hill | Aventine hill | Trastevere & Gianiculum hill | Via Veneto | Outside the city walls |
- www.mariamilani.com - more self-catering Rome apartments -
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Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring: Trends and Synthesis
Sea Star Wasting Syndrome
Last updated June 27, 2016
Photo credits: Christy Bell (left), Rachael Williams (right).
Sea stars along much of the North American Pacific coast are dying in great numbers from a mysterious wasting syndrome. Similar die-offs have occurred before in the 1970s, 80s, and the 90s, but never before at this magnitude and over such a wide geographic area. Pisaster ochraceus and many other species of sea stars have been affected by the current sea star wasting syndrome event. The following paper by Hewson et al. “Densovirus associated with sea-star wasting disease and mass mortality” provides evidence for a link between a densovirus (SSaDV) and sea star wasting syndrome (SSWS) but there is still much work to be done before this mysterious disease is fully understood.
The first photograph in the below series of a sea star with wasting syndrome was taking on June 27th, 2014 on Guemes Island, Washington. The following picture was taken a day later, and the last picture, the day after that. These sequential photographs of a single individual demonstrate how quickly the disease can progress and the extent of damage that can be done in only three days.
Photo credit: Kit Harma
Over the past year, much of our effort has focused on documenting the progression of sea star wasting along the West Coast of North America and across a range of sea star species. That effort continues, however, we are now moving into a new phase in the assessment of sea star wasting: the ecological consequences from the loss of these species.
Sea star wasting syndrome is a general description of a set of symptoms that are found in sea stars. Typically, lesions appear in the ectoderm followed by decay of tissue surrounding the lesions, which leads to eventual fragmentation of the body and death. A deflated appearance can precede other morphological signs of the disease. All of these symptoms are also associated with ordinary attributes of unhealthy stars and can arise when an individual is stranded too high in the intertidal zone (for example) and simply desiccates. “True” wasting disease will be present in individuals that are found in suitable habitat, often in the midst of other individuals that might also be affected. The progression of wasting disease can be rapid, leading to death within a few days, and its effects can be devastating on sea star populations. The proximal cause of the disease, when pathological studies have been done, is typically a bacterium (vibrio), although a recent wasting event on the east coast of the United States has been attributed to a virus.
The current bout of this wasting syndrome was first noted in ochre stars (Pisaster ochraceus) in June 2013 along the coast of Washington state during monitoring surveys conducted by MARINe researchers from Olympic National Park (ONP).
MARINe monitoring groups have since documented wasting in Pisaster ochraceus from Alaska through California (see wasting map for specific locations). Two common attributes for many of the sites are: (1) the period prior to wasting was characterized by warm water temperatures, and (2) the effects are dramatic.
The majority of early observations were made in intertidal (tidepool) habitats and as a result most of the early reports were for ochre stars, the most common in the habitat, but others species affected include the mottled star (Evasterias troschelii), leather star (Dermasterias imbricata), and six-armed stars (Leptasterias).
In August 2013, divers investigating subtidal habitats reported massive die-offs of sunflower stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) just north of Vancouver, British Columbia. Shortly afterwards, other subtidal sea star species in the region began showing signs of wasting. During October and November 2013, a similar mass death of sea stars occurred in Monterey, California, with another die-off of sunflower and ochre stars around Seattle, Washington, with the syndrome spreading throughout the Puget Sound.
In mid-December 2013, substantial numbers of wasting stars were spotted around southern California. By the turn of the year it had been reported in 45 of the 84 MARINe sites from Alaska to San Diego sampled since that summer, and in the summer of 2014 it has spread to Mexico and parts of Oregon, which had previously been unaffected. It is also intensifying, appearing at additional sites in those regions already affected.
Photo credit: Nate Fletcher
In subtidal habitats, the sunflower star is typically the first species to succumb, followed by the rainbow star (Orthasterias koehleri), giant pink star (Pisaster brevispinus), giant star (Pisaster giganteus), mottled star, ochre star and sun star (Solaster), leather star (Dermasterias imbricata), vermilion star (Mediaster aequalis), six-armed stars, and bat star (Patiria miniata).
We don’t know whether the syndrome spreads sequentially from one species to the next, or if some species simply take longer to express symptoms, but the usually large populations of ochre and sunflower stars have experienced massive, geographically expansive (if patchy) and well-documented declines. Other species are less abundant, so the impact of the syndrome is not as clear.
From extensive samples collected researchers have begun to identify the agent behind the syndrome, and the environmental conditions that may have led to the outbreak. One of the top priorities is to confirm that an infectious agent is involved, and if so what it is. Molecular sequencing work of samples is underway at Cornell University to identify possible viruses and bacteria that could be causative agents. Current thinking is that there is an infectious agent involved, likely a pathogen. Importantly there is no evidence at all that links the current wasting event to the ongoing disaster at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan.
Ecologists consider both sunflower and ochre stars to be keystone species because they have a disproportionately large influence on other species in their ecosystem. In fact Pisaster ochraceus was the basis of the Keystone species concept because of its potential to dramatically alter the rocky intertidal community in which it occurs. Our long-term monitoring data, including population estimates prior to the Wasting event, in combination with our biodiversity surveys, will allow us to interpret change to communities that might result from severe population declines of P. ochraceus. The collected information will also be used to document recovery of both sea star populations and the community affected by way of the loss of sea stars.
Long-term trends in Pisaster ochraceus numbers at our monitored sites can be viewed by location here or by using our Interactive Map & Graphing Tool. Under "Long Term Graph Type" select "species counts data" and under "plot type" select "pisaster".
For more information about Sea Star Wasting Disease, please click here:
Our research group is concentrating on:
Documenting the presence of sea star wasting symptoms by means of submitted reports, our own sampling as part of MARINe Long-Term Monitoring, and our newly established Rapid Assessment Surveys of the outbreak.
Developing a spatial/temporal map of the outbreak showing the location of affected populations and (when possible) the onset of symptoms for each location. This will allow for an evaluation of potential hypotheses concerning the cause of the disease. For example if the outbreak started from a single location its cause is likely to be different from a situation where there were multiple initiation points.
Assessing the impact of the outbreak on the biological community.
Other research groups are addressing the pathology and infectiousness of wasting. These groups include Cornell (Harvell & Hewson), University of Rhode Island (Gomez), Brown (Wessel), Western Washington University (Miner), and Seattle Aquarium.
If you are interested in adding information to our Sea Star Wasting Syndrome Map, please see the options below.
Fill out the Sea Star Disease Observation Log
Please continue to submit observations after spending time diving or in the intertidal. We are constantly updating our website with the latest reports, and will update the map on a regular basis. Please remember to fill out a log even if you search and only find healthy sea stars, or no sea stars! This information is just as valuable as observations of diseased individuals.
Below are the different categories that we are using to document the stage of the disease. If you are interested in collecting additional information about sea star counts, sizes, and disease categories, please contact Melissa Miner and Rani Gaddam for details. We would like to increase the number of sites where long-term sea star data are collected, but in order to ensure data consistency, it is essential that a MARINe researcher is involved with initial site set-up and sampling.
Note that data submitted to us may be used by our research group for analyses, as well as by others who submit data requests to us. If you have any concerns about this, please contact us.
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THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY
Denn da hielten auch im lande
Noch die guten Zwerglein Hans;
Kleingestalt, doch hochbegabet,
Und so hülfreich liberaus!
For then also in the country
The good Dwarflings still kept house;
Small in form, but highly gifted,
And so kind and generous!
We now arrive at Switzerland, a country with which are usually
associated ideas of sublime and romantic scenery, simple manners, and honest hearts. The character of
the Swiss Dwarfs will be found to correspond with these ideas. For, like the face of Nature, these
personifications of natural powers seem to become more gentle and mild as they approach the sun and
The Dwarfs, or little Hill- or Earth-men1 of Switzerland, are described as of
a lively, joyous disposition, fond of strolling through the valleys, and viewing and partaking in the
labours of agriculture. Kind and generous, they are represented as driving home stray lambs, and leaving
brush-wood and berries in the way of poor children. Their principal occupation is keeping cattle--not
goats, sheep, or cows, but the chamois, from whose milk they make excellent and well-flavoured cheese.
This cheese, when given by the Dwarfs to any one, has the property of growing again when it has been
cut or bitten. But should the hungry owner be improvident enough to eat up the whole of it and leave
nothing from it to sprout from, he of course has seen the end of his cheese.
The Kobolds are also to be met with in Switzerland. In the Vaudois, they call them
Servants,2 and believe that they live in remote dwellings and lonely shiels.3
The most celebrated of them in those parts is Jean de la Boliéta, or, as he is called in German,
Napf-Hans, i. e. Jack-of-the-Bowl, because it was the custom to lay for him every evening on
the roof of the cow-house a bowl of fresh sweet cream, of which he was sure to give a good account. He
used to lead the cows to feed in the most dangerous places, and yet none of them ever sustained the
slightest injury. He always went along the same steep path on which no one ever saw even a single stone
lying, though the whole side of the mountain was strewn as thickly as possible with boulders. It is
still called Boliéta's Path.4
Rationalising theory has been at work with the Swiss Dwarfs also. It is supposed, that the
early inhabitants of the Swiss mountains, when driven back by later tribes of immigrants, retired to the
high lands and took refuge in the clefts and caverns of the mountains, whence they gradually showed
themselves to the new settlers--approached them, assisted them, and were finally, as a species of
Genii, raised to the region of the wonderful.
For our knowledge of the Dwarf Mythology of Switzerland, we are chiefly indebted to
professor Wyss, of Bern, who has put some of the legends in a poetical dress, and given others in the
notes to his Idylls as he styles them.5 These legends were related by the peasants to Mr.
Wyss or his friends, on their excursions through the mountains; and he declares that he has very rarely
permitted himself to add to, or subtract from, the peasants' narrative. He adds, that the belief in
these beings is strong in the minds of the people, not merely in the mountain districts, but also at
the foot of Belp mountain, Belp, Gelterfingen, and other places about Bern.6
As a specimen of Mr. Wyss's manner of narrating these legends, we give here a faithful
translation of his first Idyll7.
Gertrude And Rosy
QUICK, daughter, quick! spin off what's on your rock.
'Tis Saturday night, and with the week you know
Our work must end; we shall the more enjoy
To-morrow's rest when all 's done out of hand.8
Quick, daughter, quick! spin off what 's on your rock.
True, mother, but every minute sleep
Falls on my eyes as heavy as lead, and I
Must yawn do what I will; and then God knows
I can't help nodding though 'twere for my life;
Or ... oh! it might be of some use if you
Would once more, dearest mother, tell about
The wonderful, good-natured little Dwarfs,
What they here round the country used to do,
And how they showed their kindness to the hinds.
See now! what industry!--your work itself
Should keep you waking. I have told you o'er
A thousand times the stories, and we lose,
If you grow wearied of them, store of joy
Reserved for winter-nights; besides, methinks,
The evening 's now too short for chat like this.
There 's only one thing I desire to hear
Again, and. sure, dear mother, never yet
Have you explained how 'twas the little men
Lived in the hills, and how, all through the year,
They sported round the country here, and gave
Marks of their kindness. For you 'll ne'er persuade
Me to believe that barely, one by one,
They wandered in the valleys, and appeared
Unto the people, and bestowed their gifts:
So, come now, tell at once, how 'twas the Dwarfs
Lived all together in society.
'Tis plain, however, of itself, and well
Wise folks can see, that such an active race
Would never with their hands before them sit.
Ah! a right merry lively thing, and full
Of roguish tricks, the little Hill-man is,
And quickly too he gets into a rage,
If you behave not toward him mannerly,
And be not frank and delicate in your acts.
But, above all things, they delight to dwell,
Quiet and peaceful, in the secret clefts
Of hills and mountains, evermore concealed.
All through the winter, when with icy rind
The frost doth cover o'er the earth, the wise
And prudent little people keep them warm
By their fine fires, many a fathom down
Within the inmost rocks. Pure native gold,
And the rock-crystals shaped like towers, clear,
Transparent, gleam with colours thousandfold
Through the fair palace, and the Little-folk,
So happy and so gay, amuse themselves
Sometimes with singing--Oh, so sweet! 'twould charm
The heart of any one who heard it sound.
Sometimes with dancing, when they jump and spring
Like the young skipping kids in the Alp-grass.
Then when the spring is come, and in the fields
The flowers are blooming, with sweet May's approach,
They bolts and bars take from their doors and gates,
That early ere the hind or hunter stirs,
In the cool morning, they may sport and play;
Or ramble in the evening, when the moon
Lights up the plains. Seldom hath mortal man
Beheld them with his eyes; but should one chance
To see them, it betokens suffering
And a bad year, if bent in woe they glide
Through woods and thickets; but the sight proclaims
Joy and good luck, when social, in a ring,
On the green meads and fields, their hair adorned
With flowers, they shout and whirl their merry rounds.
Abundance then they joyously announce
For barn, for cellar, and for granary,
And a blest year to men, to herds, and game.
Thus they do constantly foreshow what will
Befall to-morrow and hereafter; now
Sighing, and still, by their lamenting tones,
A furious tempest; and again, with sweet
And smiling lips, and shouting, clear bright skies.9
Chief to the poor and good, they love to show
Kindness and favour, often bringing home
At night the straying lambs, and oftener still
In springtime nicely spreading, in the wood,
Brushwood, in noble bundles, in the way
Of needy children gone to fetch home fuel.
Many a good little girl, who well obeyed
Her mother,--or, mayhap, a little boy,--
Has, with surprise, found lying on the hills
Bright dazzling bowls of milk, and baskets too,
Nice little baskets, full of berries, left
By the kind hands of the wood-roaming Dwarfs.
Now be attentive while I tell you one
Out of a hundred and a hundred stories;
'Tis one, however, that concerns us more
Than all the rest, because it was my own
Great-great-grandfather that the thing befell,
In the old time, in years long since agone.
Where from the lofty rocks the boundary runs
Down to the vale, Barthel, of herdsmen first
In all the country round, was ploughing up
A spacious field, where he designed to try
The seed of corn; but with anxiety
His heart was filled, lest by any chance
His venture should miscarry, for his sheep
In the contagion he had lost, now poor
And without skill, he ventures on the plough.
Deliberate and still, at the plough-tail,
In furrows he cuts up the grassy soil,
While with the goad his little boy drives on
The panting ox. When, lo! along the tall
Rocky hill-side, a smoke ascends in clouds
Like snow-flakes, soaring from the summit up
Into the sky. At this the hungry boy
Began to think of food, for the poor child
Had tasted nothing all the live-long day
For lunch, and, looking up, he thus began:
"Ah! there the little Dwarf-folk are so gay
At their grand cooking, roasting, boiling now,
For a fine banquet, while with hunger I
Am dying. Had we here one little dish
Of the nice savoury food, were it but as
A sign that there 's a blessing on our work!"
'Twas thus the boy spake, and his father ploughed
Silently on, bent forwards o'er his work.
They turn the plough; when huzza! lo! behold
A miracle! there gleamed right from the midst
Of the dark furrow, toward them, a bright
Lustre, and there so charming! lay a plate
Heaped up with roast meat; by the plate, a loaf
Of bread upon the outspread table-cloth,
At the disposal of the honest pair.
Hurra! long live the friendly, generous Dwarfs!
Barthel had now enough--so had the boy--
And laughing gratefully and loud, they praise
And thank the givers; then, with strength restored,
They quick return unto their idle plough.
But when again their day's task they resume,
To break more of the field, encouraged now
To hope for a good crop, since the kind Dwarfs
Had given them the sign of luck they asked--
Hush! bread and plate, and crums, and knife and fork,
Were vanished clean; only--just for a sign
For ever of the truth--lay on the ridge
The white, nice-woven, pretty table-cloth.
O mother! mother! what? the glittering plate
And real? and the cloth with their own hands
Spun by the generous Dwarfs? No, I can ne'er
Believe it!--Was the thread then, real drawn
And. twisted thread, set in it evenly?
And was there too a flower, a pretty figure,
Nicely wrought in with warp and crossing woof?
Did there a handsome border go all round,
Enclosing all the figures?--Sure your great-
Great-grandfather, if really he was
The owner of the curious little cloth,
He would have left it carefully unto
His son and grandson for a legacy,
That, for a lasting witness of the meal
Given by the Dwarfs, it might to distant years,
The praise and wonder of our vale remain.
Odds me! how wise the child is! what a loss
And pity 'tis that in old times the folk
Were not so thoughtful and so over-knowing!
Ah! our poor simple fathers should rise up
Out of their graves, and come to get advice
And comfort from the brooders that are now,--
As if they knew not what was right and fit!
Have but a little patience, girl, and spin
What's on your rock; to-morrow when 'tis day
I'll let you see the Dwarfs' flowered table-cloth,
Which, in the chest laid safe, inherited
From mother down to daughter, I have, long
Kept treasured under lock and key, for fear
Some little girl, like some one that you know,
Might out of curiosity, and not
Acquainted with its worth, set it astray.
Ah, that is kind, dear mother; and see now
How broad awake I am, and how so smart
I'm finishing my work since you relate
These pretty tales; but I will call you up
Out of your bed to-morrow in the morning
So early I Oh, I wish now it were day
Already, for I 'm sure I shall not get
One wink of sleep for thinking of the cloth.10
The Chamois Hunter
A Chamois-Hunter set out early one morning, and ascended the
mountains. He had arrived at a great height, and was in view of some chamois, when, just as he was
laying his bolt on his crossbow, and was about to shoot, a terrible cry from a cleft of the rock
interrupted his purpose. Turning round he saw a hideous Dwarf, with a battle-axe in his hand raised to
slay him. "Why," cried he, in a rage, "hast thou so long been destroying my chamois,
and leavest not with me my flock? But now thou shalt pay for it with thy blood.' The poor hunter turned
pale at the stranger's words. In his terror he was near falling from the cliff.
At length, however, he recovered himself; and begged forgiveness of the Dwarf; pleaded his
ignorance that the chamois belonged to him, declaring at the same time that he had no other means of
support than what he derived from hunting. The Dwarf was pacified, laid down his axe, and said to him,
"Tis well; never be seen here again, and I promise thee that every seventh day thou shalt find,
early in the morning, a dead chamois hanging before thy cottage; but beware and keep from the
others." The Dwarf then vanished, and the hunter returned thoughtfully home, little pleased with
the prospect of the inactive live be was now to lead.
On the seventh morning he found, according to the Dwarf's promise, a fat chamois hanging
in the branches of a tree before his cottage, of which he ate with great satisfaction. The next week it
was the same, and so it continued for some months. But at last he grew weary of this idle life, and
preferred, come what might, returning to the chase, and catching chamois for himself; to having his
food provided for him without the remembrance of his toils to sweeten the repast. His determination
made, he once more ascended the mountains. Almost the first object that met his view was a fine buck.
The hunter levelled his bow and took aim at the prey; and as the Dwarf did not appear, he was just
pulling the trigger, when the Dwarf stole behind him, took him by the ankle, and tumbled him down the
Others say the Dwarf gave the hunter a small cheese of chamois-milk, which would last him
his whole life, but that he one day thoughtlessly ate the whole of it, or, as some will have it, a
guest who was ignorant of the quality of it ate up the remainder. Poverty then drove him to return to
the chamois-hunting, and he was thrown into a chasm by the Dwarf.11
The Dwarfs On The Tree
In the summer-time the troop of the Dwarfs came in great numbers
down from the hills into the valley, and joined the men that were at work, either assisting them or
merely looking on. They especially liked to be with the mowers in the hay-making season, seating
themselves, greatly to their satisfaction, on the long thick branch of a maple-tree, among the dense
foliage. But one time some mischief-loving people came by night and sawed the branch nearly through.
The unsuspecting Dwarfs, as usual, sat down on it in the morning; the branch snapt in two, and the
Dwarfs were thrown to the ground. When the people laughed at them they became greatly incensed, and
O how is heaven so high
It is also related that it was the custom of the Dwarfs to seat themselves on a large piece
of rock, and thence to look on. the haymakers when at work. But some mischievous people lighted a fire
on the rock and made it quite hot, and then sweet off all the coals. In the morning the little people,
coming to take their usual station, burned themselves in a lamentable manner. Full of anger, they
cried out, "O wicked world! O wicked world!" called aloud for vengeance, and disappeared for ever.
And perfidy so great!
Hero to-day and never more!
and they never let themselves again be seen.12
In old times men lived in the valley, and around them, in the
clefts and holes of the rocks, dwelt the Dwarfs. They were kind and friendly to the people, often
performing hard and heavy work for them in the night; and when the country-people came early in the
morning with their carts and tools, they saw, to their astonishment, that the work was already done,
while the Dwarfs hid themselves in the bushes, and laughed aloud at the astonished rustics. Often, too,
were the peasants incensed to find their corn, which was scarcely yet ripe, lying cut on the ground; but
shortly after there was sure to come on such a hail-storm, that it became obvious that hardly a single
stalk could have escaped destruction had it not been cut, and then, from the bottom of their hearts,
they thanked the provident Dwarf-people. But at last mankind, through, their own folly, deprived
themselves of the favour and kindness of the Dwarfs; they fled the country, and since that time no mortal
eye has seen them. The cause of their departure was this:
A shepherd had a fine cherry-tree13 that stood on the mountain. When in the
summer the fruit had ripened, it happened that, three times running, the tree was-stript, and all the
fruit spread out on the benches and hurdles, where the shepherd himself used to spread it out to dry for
the winter. The people of the village all said, "It could be none but the good-natured Dwarfs, who
come by night tripping along with their feet covered with long mantles, as light as birds, and
industriously perform for mankind their daily work. People have often watched them," continued the
narrators, "but no one disturbs them; they are left to come and go as they please." This talk
only excited the curiosity of the shepherd, and he longed to know why it was that the Dwarfs so carefully
concealed their feet, and whether they were differently formed from those of men. Accordingly, next year,
when the summer came, and the time when the Dwarfs secretly pulled the cherries, and brought them to the
barn, the shepherd took a sack full of ashes, and strewed them about under the cherry-tree. Next morning,
at break of day, he hastened to the place: the tree was plucked completely empty, and he saw the marks
of several goose-feet impressed on the ashes. The shepherd then laughed and jested at having discovered
the Dwarfs' secret. But soon after the Dwarfs broke and laid waste their houses, and fled down deeper
in the mountain to their splendid secret palace, that had long lain empty to receive them. Vexed with
mankind, they never more granted them their aid; and the imprudent shepherd who had betrayed them
became sickly, and continued so to the end of his life.14
The Rejected Gift
A dwarf came down one night from the chesnut woods on the side of
the mountain over the village of Walchwyl, and enquired for the house of a midwife, whom he earnestly
pressed to come out and go with him. She consented, and the Dwarf, bearing a light, led the way in
silence to the woods. He stopped at last before a cleft in a rock, at which they entered, and the woman
suddenly found herself in a magnificent hall. She was thence led through several rich apartments to the
chamber of state, where the queen of the Dwarfs, for whom her services were required, was lying. She
performed her office, and brought a fair young prince to the light. She was thanked and dismissed, and
her former conductor appeared to lead her home. As he was taking leave of her, he filled her apron with
something, bidding her on no account to look at it till she was in her own house. But the woman could
not control her curiosity, and the moment the Dwarf disappeared, she partly opened the apron, and lo!
there was nothing in it but some black coals. In a rage, she shook them out on the ground, but she kept
two of them in her hands, as a proof of the shabby treatment she had met with from the Dwarfs. On
reaching home, she threw them also down on the ground. Her husband cried out with joy and surprise,
for they shone like carbuncles. She asserted that the Dwarf had put nothing but coals into her apron;
but she ran out to call a neighbour, who knew more of such things than they did, and he on examining
them pronounced them to be precious stones of great value. The woman immediately ran back to where she
had shaken out the supposed coals, but they were all gone.15
The Wonderful Little Pouch
At noon one day a young peasant sat by the side of a wood, and,
sighing, prayed to God to give him a morsel of food. A Dwarf suddenly emerged from the wood, and told
him that his prayer should be fulfilled. He then gave him the pouch that he had on his side, with the
assurance that he would always find in it wherewithal to satisfy his thirst and hunger, charging him at
the same time not to consume it all and to share with any one who asked him for food. The Dwarf vanished,
and the peasant put his hand into the pouch to make trial of it, and there he found a cake of new bread,
a cheese, and a bottle of wine, on which he made a hearty meal. He then saw that the pouch swelled up
as before, and looking in be found that it was again full of bread, cheese, and wine. He now felt sure
of his food, and he lived on in an idle luxurious way, without doing any work. One day, as he was
gorging himself there came up to him a feeble old man, who prayed him to give him a morsel to eat. He
refused in a brutal, churlish tone, when instantly the bread and cheese broke, and scattered out of
his hands, and pouch and all vanished.16
Aid And Punishment
On the side of Mount Pilatus is a place named the Kastler-Alpe,
now covered with stones and rubbish, but which once was verdant and fertile. The cause of the change
was as follows.
The land there was formerly occupied by a farmer, a churlish, unfeeling man, who, though
wealthy, let his only sister struggle with the greatest poverty in the valley beneath. The poor woman at
length having fallen sick, and seeing no other resource, resolved to apply to her hardhearted brother
for the means of employing a doctor. She sent her daughter to him; but all the prayers and tears of the
poor girl failed to move him, and he told her he would, sooner than give her anything, see the Alpe
covered with stones and rubbish. She departed, and as she went along a Dwarf suddenly appeared to her.
She would have fled, but he gently detained her, and telling her he had heard all that had passed, gave
her a parcel of herbs, which he assured her would cure her mother, and a little cheese, which he said
would last them a long time.
On trial, the herbs quickly produced the promised effect; and when they went to cut the
cheese they found the knife would not penetrate it, and no wonder, for it was pure gold. There also
came a sudden storm on the mountain, and the Kastler-Alpe was reduced to its present
The Dwarf In Search Of Lodging
One night, during a tremendous storm of wind and rain, a Dwarf came
travelling through a little village, and went from cottage to cottage, dripping with rain, knocking at
the doors for admission. None, however, took pity on him, or would open the door to receive him: on the
contrary, the inhabitants even mocked at his distress.
At the very end of the village there dwelt two honest poor people, a man and his wife.
Tired and faint, the Dwarf crept on his staff up to their house, and tapped modestly three times at the
little window. Immediately the old shepherd opened the door for him, and cheerfully offered him the
little that the house afforded. The old woman produced some bread, milk, and cheese: the Dwarf sipped a
few drops of the milk, and ate some crums of the bread and cheese. "I am not used," said he,
laughing, "to eat such coarse food: but I thank you from my heart, and God reward you for it: now
that I am rested, I will proceed on farther." "God forbid!" cried the good woman;
"you surely don't think of going out in the night and in the storm! It were better for you to take
a bed here, and set out in the daylight." But the Dwarf shook his head, and with a smile replied,
"You little know what business I have to do this night on the top of the mountain. I have to provide for you too; and to-morrow you shall see that I am not ungrateful for the kindness you have shown to me.
" So saying, the Dwarf departed, and the worthy old couple went to rest.
But at break of day they were awaked by storm and tempest; the lightnings flashed along the
red sky, and torrents of water poured down the hills and through the valley. A huge rock now tumbled from
the top of the mountain, and rolled down toward the village, carrying along with it, in its course,
trees, stones, and earth. Men and cattle, every thing in the village that had breath in it, were buried beneath it. The waves had now reached the cottage of the two old people, and in terror and dismay they
stood out before their door. They then beheld approaching in the middle of the stream a large piece of
rock, and on it, jumping merrily, the Dwarf, as if he was riding and steering it with a great trunk of
a pine till he brought it before the house, where it stemmed the water and kept it from the cottage,
so that both it and the good owners escaped. The Dwarf then swelled and grew higher and higher till he
became a monstrous Giant, and vanished in the air, while the old people were praying to God and thanking
him for their deiverance.18
1. In Swiss Härdmandle, pl. Härdmändlene.
2. Wyss, Reise in das Berner Oberland, ii. 412. Servants is the term in the original.
3. This Scottish word, signifying the summer cabin of the herdsmen on the mountains, exactly expresses
the Seunhütten of the Swiss.
4. Alpenrosen for 1824, ap. Grimm, Introd. to Irish Fairy Legends.
5. Idyllen, Volkssagen, Legenden, und Erzählungen aus der Schweiz. Von .J. Rud Wyss, Prof. Bern, 1813.
6. In Bilder und Sagen aus der Schweiz, von Dr. Rudolf. Müller. Glarua, 1842, may be found some legends
of the Erdmännlein, but they are nearly all the same as those collected by Mr. Wyss. We give below those
in which there is anything peculiar.
7. The original is in German hexameters.
8. It is a notion in some parts of Germany, that if a girl leaves any flax or tow on her distaff unspun
on Saturday night, none of what remains will make good thread. Grimm, Deut. Mythol. Anhang, p. lxxii.
9. Glanz is the term employed in Switzerland.
10. This legend was picked up by a friend of Mr. Wyss when on a topographical ramble in the neighbourhood
of Bern. It was told to him by a peasant of Belp; "but," says Mr. Wyss, "if I recollect
right, this man said it was a nice smoking-hot cake that was on the plate, and it was a servant, not
the man's son, who was driving the plough. The circumstance of the table-cloth being handed down from
mother to daughter," he adds, "is a fair addition which I have allowed myself."
The writer recollects to have heard this story, when a boy, from an old woman in Ireland;
and he could probably point out the very field in the county of Kildare where it occurred. A man and a
boy were ploughing: the boy, as they were about in the middle of their furrow, smelled roast beef, and
wished for some. As they returned, it was lying on the grass before them. When they had eaten, the boy
said "God bless me, and God bless the fairies!" The man did not give thanks, and he met with
misfortunes very shortly after. --The same legend is also in Scotland.
11. The former account was obtained by a friend in Glarnerland. The latter was given to Mr. Wyss himself
by a man of Zweylütschinen, very rich, says Mr. Wyss, in Dwarf lore, and who accompanied him to
Lauterbrunnen. Schiller has founded his poem Der Alpenjäger on this legend.
12. Mr. Wyss heard this and the following tale in Haslithal and Gadmen.
13. In several of the high valleys of Switzerland it is only a single cherry-tree which hippens to be
favourably situated that bears fruit. It bears abundantly and the fruit ripens about the month of August.
14. Compare the narrative in the Swiss dialect given by Grimm, Deut. Mythol. P. 419. The same peasant of
Belp who related the first legend was Mr. Wyss's authority for this one. "The vanishing of the
Bergänlein," says Mr Wyss, "appears to be a matter of importance to the popular faith. It is
almost always ascribed to the fault of mankind--sometimes to their wickedness.
We may in these tales recognise the box of Pandora under a different form, but the ground
is the same. Curiosity and wickedness are still the cause of superior beings withdrawing their favour
"I have never anywhere else," says Mr Wyss, "heard of the goose-feet; but
that all is not right with their feet is evident from the popular tradition giving long trailing mantles
as the dress of the little people. Some will have it that their feet are regularly formed, but set on
their legs the wrong way, so that the toes are behind and the heels before."
Heywood in his Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels, p. 554, relates a story which would seem
to refer to a similar belief.
15. Müller, Bilder und Sagen, p. 119; Coals are the usual form under which the Dwarfs conceal the
precious metals. We also find this trait in Scandinavia. A smith who lived near Aarhuus in Jutland, as
he was going to church, saw a Troll on the roadside very busy about two straws that had got across each
other on a heap of coals, and which, do what he would, he could not remove from their position. He asked
the smith to do it for him; but he who knew better things took up the coals with the cross straws on
them, and carried them home in spite of the screams of the Troll, and when he reached his own house he
found it was a large treasure he had got, over which the Troll had lost all power. Thiele, 1. 122.
16. Müller, ut sup. p. 123.
17. Müller, ut sup. p. 126.
18. This story is told of two places in the Highlands of Berning, of Ralligen, a little village on the
lake of Thun, where there once stood a town called Roll; and again, of Schillingsdorf, a place in the
valley of Grinderwald, formerly destroyed by a mountain slip.
The reader need scarcely be reminded of the stories of Lot and of Baucis and Philemon: see
also Grimm's Kinder und Hausmärchen, iii. 153, for other parallels.
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As the temperatures drop and the decorations go up, it can only mean that the he holidays are here! For some families though, their celebrations will turn to tragedy as the holidays also represent the busiest home fire season of the year. For the American Red Cross, the average number of daily house fires will double during the holiday season.
Each year, hospital emergency rooms treat about 1,300 people for injuries related to holiday lights and 6,200 people for injuries related to holiday decorations and Christmas trees. In addition, Christmas trees are involved in about 400 fires annually, resulting in 40 deaths, 80 injuries and an average of more than $15 million in property loss and damage each year. Below are suggestions on how to safeguard your family from fire over the holidays.
Candles are a nice addition to any holiday celebration; however festivities can be cut short if candles are used improperly. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), December is the leading month for home candle fires, with twice the average number of incidents.
The NFPA and the Red Cross offer these candle safety tips:
- Secure candles in a sturdy holder on a flat surface that won't tip over.
- Make sure the holder is big enough to collect the dripping wax.
- Don't place candles in windows where blinds or curtains can close over them.
- Do not leave a burning candle unattended.
- If you experience a power outage, use flashlights and other battery-generated light sources.
- Do not carry a lit candle or use a lit candle to look for things in a closet or confined area.
- Place candles out of reach of children, and in a position where pets won't be able to knock them over.
- Do not use a candle for light when fueling equipment such as a kerosene heater or lantern, as flame may ignite the vapors.
- KEEP ALL MATCHES AND LIGHTERS OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.
On average, more than one-third of home fire deaths in the United States occur during the winter months. Heating equipment fires are the second leading cause of fire deaths in American homes and the biggest fire culprit December through January. Here are some specific fire prevention tips to keep in mind when heating your home.
- Keep portable heaters at least 3 feet from anything that can burn including furniture, bedding, clothing, pets and people.
- Do not leave space heaters on when you are not in the room or when you go to sleep.
- Do not use gasoline or other substitute fuel in a kerosene heater because the wrong fuel could burn hotter than the design limits of the equipment and cause a serious fire.
- Store kerosene away from heat or open flame in a container approved by the local fire department.
- Have your chimney inspected by a professional before the start of the heating season and cleaned if necessary.
- Use a sturdy fireplace screen when burning fires.
- Burn only wood. Never burn paper or pine boughs, which can float out the chimney and ignite your roof or a neighboring home.
Holiday Decorations and Christmas Trees
Christmas trees are directly responsible for around 40 fatalities every year.
Follow these safety tips while decorating your home for the holidays:
- If using a live Christmas tree, keep it watered daily.
- Never put a lit candle on a Christmas tree.
- Make sure your Christmas tree is far away from any source of ignition such as a space heater or candle.
- When putting holiday lights on the tree, follow the instructions recommended by UL Laboratories. Overloaded circuits are the cause of many home fires during the holiday season.
Home fires often start in the kitchen. With more people in the home due to holiday parties and family gatherings, it is important to follow these precautions to avoid a holiday fire:
- Never leave the kitchen area while cooking.
- Keep plenty of oven mitts on hand.
- Have a working fire extinguisher nearby and know how to use it.
- Keep children and pets away from the cooking areas. Falling pots and pans can burn children.
The early warning signal of a smoke detector can save lives. Be sure to install a battery-powered smoke detector outside each sleeping area and on each additional level of your home. Use the test button to check each smoke detector once a month. When necessary, replace batteries immediately. The Red Cross recommends you replace batteries at least once a year. Make a fire escape plan for your family and have a family meeting place outside your home. For free information in English or Spanish, visit the Red Cross web site at www.redcross.org/dfw.
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Inpatient substance abuse treatment is the gold standard of care for alcohol and drug addiction. It's not uncommon for a person addicted to drugs or alcohol to think if only they could detox their problems would be solved and they would be able to recover. A lot of addicts make the mistake of attempting to detox on their own or seek help from a medical professional just long enough to go through the difficult and uncomfortable part of detoxification.
Once the physical symptoms of withdrawal have diminished they stop receiving treatment because they feel they can do the rest on their own.
Addiction does much more to a person than cause them to compulsively crave more and more of the substance once the effects have worn off or cause withdrawal symptoms when a person stops drinking or using their drug of choice. Addiction alters a person's brain and not only causes mental changes but also destroys all other areas of an addict's life too.
Detoxification Isn't a Cure for Addiction
Once detox is completed and symptoms of withdrawal have passed, the recovery process is just beginning and requires treatment that's specifically designed for each person to heal and learn how to manage their daily lives. Recovery is a process that not only requires individualized treatment, medication if needed and encouraging positive support but also commitment and dedication for long term success.
Why Isn't Detox Enough?
Chronic drug abuse changes the way a person's brain functions and even though detox has been completed and a person is no longer drinking or using drugs, this doesn't heal and repair the damage that's taken place in the brain. Recovering addicts have problems with their memory, making decisions, learning, and self-control. Their lives have been so out of control due to their addiction they have to learn how to live each moment now, clean and sober. Maintaining daily sobriety can be extremely difficult especially for anyone suffering from long term addiction.
Addiction Triggers and Relapse
Chronic use of drugs over an extended period of time can also bring on cravings even after detox is completed and the recovering addict is maintaining abstinence. Drug abuse impairs cognitive brain function and past memories of drug use and anyone or anything that was associated with past substance use can trigger cravings and intense urges which most often leads to relapse. These cravings not only occur during early recovery but can emerge years later as well.
Recovery Process After Completing Detox
Additional treatment is needed once detox is completed so a recovering addict can begin to address the problems their addiction has caused mentally, physically and socially. Quite often there are problems or mental health issues that were never addressed before a person even began drinking or using drugs. These issues need to be addressed during treatment because they may have led to or fed into an addict's substance use and stand in their way of recovery. Seeking help from a rehab program that provides inpatient care is not only a positive environment during early recovery but also provides the important treatments, knowledge and tools a person needs to heal and manage their future recovery.
Inpatient Addiction Treatment
A person's entire life is affected by addiction and their history of drug use, extent of addiction and current mental and physical health can determine the level of treatment they need after completing detox. Inpatient substance abuse treatment is a level of care that's considered "the gold standard" of treatment for drug and alcohol addiction and is recommended for anyone in need of rehab. Inpatient substance abuse programs provide comprehensive treatment for people in their early recovery which includes the knowledge and skills they need to reach their long term recovery goals.
Comprehensive inpatient substance abuse programs design treatment plans that focus on addressing each client's specific needs during their recovery. Inpatient treatment isn't just effective for people that are suffering from chronic addiction either. Receiving effective individualized treatment for substance abuse in a safe alcohol and drug free environment before addiction sets in greatly reduces a person's chance of becoming dependent on drugs or alcohol later on in life.
Inpatient rehab programs vary in terms of what type of programs they provide but treatment addresses the unique needs of each client. Inpatient substance abuse programs provide people with the necessary treatment and skills they need to reach and maintain sobriety. Most inpatient treatment programs provide their clients with family support because substance abuse and drug addiction can destroy relationships and the entire family is in need of healing. Aftercare is also part of the services many substance abuse rehab programs provide for their client's once inpatient treatment is completed. Continued help and positive support is just as important and necessary for recovering addicts re-entering back into society.
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Hazardous Waste Site Health Risk Assessment Program
Hazardous Waste Site Health Risk Assessment Program
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A-12
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1720
Since 1987, the Florida Department of Health (the Department) has received a grant from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). This grant funds a program to assess the public health risk from such sites. The program produces health assessment reports based on environmental data. Learn more about the health assessment process and see past reports.
For technical assistance with problems or questions regarding this web page, please email: [email protected]
- Hazardous Waste Sites in Florida
- Chemical Exposures
- Public Health Risk
What is a hazardous waste site?
A hazardous waste site may be a former landfill. It could be the site of a former industry or where crops were once grown. It could be any place where chemicals have gotten into the soil, water or air. Contact with the chemicals found at such sites may harm health.
How many sites in Florida are on the National Priorities List (NPL)?
As of October 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has 65 hazardous waste sites in Florida either on the final or proposed National Priorities List (NPL). This also includes NPL caliber sites or Superfund Alternative sites, which also merit federal interest. EPA has more details on the NPL site listing process. This includes a database that EPA keeps on sites. They call it the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS). Some people also call it Superfund.
What data does FDOH review to assess a site?
Other agencies, including the EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), take samples of soil, water, and air at hazardous waste sites. The program staff looks at test results to see what chemicals they find and at what levels. The staff studies the known health effects for each chemical found at a site. They also see if there is way for people to come into contact with the chemicals (exposure).
What sites have been assessed in Florida?
The health assessment reports page lists all of the health reports the program has written since 1987 about specific sites in Florida in alphabetical order. They include those written by ATSDR. The list includes the site’s city/county.
How do chemicals harm health?
Some chemicals are toxic in small amounts. Others may be toxic only in large amounts. A chemical cannot harm a person unless they come into contact with it.
Harm from most chemicals depends on:
• How someone contacted it,
• How much they contacted,
• For how long, and
• How often?
There are three ways people come into contact with chemicals:
• Ingesting (eating, drinking, licking lips, or touching mouth with unwashed hands)
• Inhaling (breathing in a chemical)
• Dermal (skin contact or touching a chemical)
What health guidelines do program staff use to see how much public health risk exists at a site?
The program uses ATSDR guidelines to assess a site. These guidelines help figure out if the level of each chemical found at a site is enough to be a health threat. ATSDR keeps up with the latest research. They update guidelines on a routine basis. This helps provide the best, most up-to-date knowledge on health effects that may occur when someone comes into contact with site chemicals. It helps the program better serve people living near sites who want to know what health risk the site may pose.
How does DOH conduct a health assessment?
To assess a site, the program staff:
• Gathers soil, water or air test results from EPA or DEP,
• Studies the data,
• Asks for more tests, if needed,
• Looks for levels known to harm health,
• Writes a draft health report,
• Gets review by EPA or DEP,
• Asks for public comment (Note: knowing what health concerns exist is of the utmost interest),
• Responds to all comments in a final report,
• Shares findings from the report with the public,
• Gives advice on how the public can keep healthy,
• Tells health care providers what they may need to know about a site (if needed), and
• Gives EPA or DEP input on how to protect health while a site is cleaned up.
What activities are not a part of the health assessment program?
The health assessment program does not:
• Make or enforce laws or rules concerning hazardous waste,
• Provide medical services for people exposed to a site,
• Provide cleanup or relocation,
• Take samples, except for some private well testing, or
• Conduct worker investigations.
The program staff wants to make sure that everyone living in the area near a hazardous waste site has accurate and timely information. They communicate with residents in several ways, including:
• Newsletters and fact sheets sent via direct mail, email or delivered door-to-door,
• Press releases and briefings, and
• Open-house style public meetings.
Map of Hazardous Waste Site Investigations in Florida
Safe Gardening Tips Card
Radiation Questions and Answers Booklet
Hydrogen Sulfide: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Fact Sheet
How does the Florida Department of Health protect public health at hazardous waste sites? - Fact Sheet
ATSDR Fact Sheet - Safeguarding Communities from Harmful Chemicals
ATSDR Fact Sheet - Strengthening the Environmental Health Workforce Across the Nation
Links to Other Web Sites which Relate to Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessments:
Resources for Physicians and Other Health Care Providers:
The following offers medical resource material related to the health effects from environmental exposures.
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Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Confirms Puzzling Preponderance of Positrons
By finding a clever way to use the Earth itself as a scientific instrument, members of a SLAC-led research team turned the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope into a positron detector – and confirmed a startling discovery from 2009 that found an excess of these antimatter particles in cosmic rays, a possible sign of dark matter.
That earlier discovery by an instrument called PAMELA had set off a burst of speculation: Did the extra positrons – the antimatter mates of electrons – come from an astrophysical source, such as pulsars, or from a more exotic origin – the annihilation of dark matter particles? Both sources have their proponents. Pulsars are maelstroms of magnetic forces that are still not easily understood, and while dark matter particles are slippery customers, through gravity dark matter has had a big effect, shaping galaxies and influencing the structure of the universe.
The Fermi results, reported in a paper posted on a physics website and submitted to the journal Physical Review Letters, doesn’t settle the question of where the extra positrons came from. But they represent an important confirmation of the earlier results, and extend the observation to more energetic positrons than before.
This confirmation of the PAMELA results "is extremely important whether it's dark matter or not," said Michael Peskin, a theoretical physicist at SLAC and a dark matter expert. Not everyone accepted the PAMELA results, according to Peskin: "There was some doubt the effect was real."
While the positron debate percolated, the team working with Fermi’s main instrument, the Large Area Telescope, quietly started making it jump through hoops.
Since the LAT was designed to detect neutral photons – gamma rays, the highest-energy photons known in the universe – it doesn’t carry the magnet needed to separate negatively-charged electrons from positively-charged positrons, so the LAT team could count them.
“The Fermi satellite is not a perfect instrument to look for electrons and positrons,” said Stefan Funk of the joint SLAC/Stanford Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, who led the team that analyzed the current results. The LAT was not designed to distinguish electrons and positrons, and this is hard to change, since the satellite is now in orbit 340 miles above the Earth.
Then another KIPAC professor named Roger Romani pointed out that the LAT actually did have access to a magnet – the Earth. The Earth's magnetic field naturally bends the paths of charged particles approaching from space and the Earth's bulk blocks the paths of positrons coming in from some directions, and electrons coming in from other directions. Combined, these two effects can be used to tell the LAT what regions of the sky to look in order to see only positrons or only electrons. “It’s essentially using the Earth’s magnetic field as a particle selector,” Funk said, “and the Earth itself as a shutter – ” a simple concept, but, added Funk, not simple in execution. He especially commended graduate student Warit Mitthumsiri and KIPAC post-doctoral researcher Justin Vandenbroucke as deserving of kudos for their efforts.
According to Vandenbroucke, the analysis team had as much chance to stretch their abilities as the LAT did. "The most fun part of the analysis was learning about the Earth's magnetic field and using a detailed map of it that had been produced by an international team of geophysicists," he said.
The technique had been used before in balloon-based experiments, Funk explained, but low-flying balloons don’t have the panoramic view that the LAT does, and did not produce very robust results. "We’re far away so we can essentially see the whole Earth, and this is why we can use this technique over a large energy range,” he said.
Mitthumsiri said he hopes the LAT results have put the doubts to rest. "Some people have argued that the positron excess we and PAMELA see may be the residuals of much more abundant cosmic-ray background particles which neither we nor PAMELA subtracted out correctly. So we used two independent techniques to subtract out the background – one based on particle simulation and the other using flight data fitting. They gave consistent results with each other. This is a strong check of our analysis."
The results have turned up the heat on the simmering debate over the source of the extra positrons.
If dark matter is involved, the positrons discovered by PAMELA and Fermi team would signify a type of dark matter called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). Several experiments – HEAT, CAPRICE, and AMS-01 – had found excess positrons among particles with energies over about 7 GeV, or billion electron volts. PAMELA extended those measurements to about 100 GeV. Now the LAT has found excess positrons at up to 200 GeV, the highest energy it can measure.
Since theory predicts that the energy of the excess positrons would be directly tied to the mass of the WIMPs that spit them out, this would indicate that dark matter particles are truly massive – more massive than some scientists are comfortable with.
For example, a recent article in New Scientist quoted Pasquale Serpico, of the Annecy-Le-Vieux Theoretical Physics Laboratory, as saying, "The FERMI result all but rules out a dark-matter interpretation for [the PAMELA] signal."
Dan Hooper, a theoretical physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, said he would not word his conclusions so strongly, but added that he tends to agree that dark matter is not the source of the positrons. "The whole dark matter interpretation of this has become rather strained," he said. He favors pulsars instead.
Meanwhile, Neal Weiner of New York University and his colleague Douglas Finkbeiner of Harvard have explored models of dark matter massive enough to make positrons at 200 GeV and above. "These models allow the positron fraction to increase with energy, all the way up to several hundred GeV," Finkbeiner said, adding "Even if dark matter is probably not the source, we have to consider the possibility."
But the problem goes deeper than pulsar versus dark matter particle. As Finkbeiner explained, there's no way to distinguish between the sources at this point, and if positrons of even higher energies continue to pop up, as he thinks will happen, the pulsar explanation will become strained as well. "I think it's clear there's something interesting going on,” he said, “but what it is....”
While theorists wrestle with the whys and wherefores as they await more data, they can agree on one thing: The LAT results are an experimental tour-de-force. "I think it's a phenomenal accomplishment," said Hooper. Peskin termed the results "beautiful."
Funk takes a more modest view. "We tried our best to get everything out of the instrument," he said.
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PEACE having been restored, there was a rush of immigrants to occupy the fertile lands of the West Branch, and it was not long till the population was almost greater than in any other part of the county of Northumberland. And as many of the settlers had to travel forty and fifty miles, besides crossing the river and numerous large streams, to reach the county seat, the journey, in winter time especially, was not only tedious, but attended with great danger. No bridges spanned the river or any of its tributaries at that time. Courts had to be attended, and there was much other business at the county seat which demanded attention; deeds had to be filed for record and the settlement of estates looked after. All these things tended to increase the feeling among the people for greater convenience in the transaction of business, and gradually culminated in a movement for the erection of a new county.
Residents in and around Sunbury looked upon a movement of this kind with alarm, for they realized that if it proved successful the county of Northumberland, however vast her territory, would be shorn of her most populous townships, and they would suffer in a pecuniary degree. The great bulk of population was in the -valley of the West Branch, extending as far west as the present site of Lock Haven and Bald Eagle valley. It was indeed an attractive region, and it did not require much foresight to show that it was destined to Still become more rich and populous.
What could be done to stay this growing sentiment in favor of dismemberment? Muncy, Lycoming, Pine, Bald Eagle, and Washington were the only townships on the upper waters of the West Branch at this time. Still the work of reduction in the size of townships was demanded by the increase of population. At February sessions, 1786, Loyalsock township was formed from that portion of Muncy township lying between Loyalsock and Lycoming creeks. This was the beginning of the work of disintegration of the great and original township of Muncy, and it was continued at intervals down till within recent years. Loyalsock, though not so large as many others, finally contributed the ground on which the city of Williamsport was founded.
With the erection of the foregoing township it might be supposed that the work would be suspended for a time. But not so. A. feeling of unrest pervaded the settlements, and a carving up of more territory was demanded for the better accommodation of the people in the administration of local laws. Accordingly at May sessions, 1786, three more townships were formed on the south side of the river and named, respectively, Nippenose, Bald Eagle, and Upper Bald Eagle. These townships, like the fathers erected about the same time, have all been subjected to a great curtailment of their territory, and one of the Bald Eagles has been absorbed or wiped out.
A NEW COUNTY PROPOSED.
Still the feeling of uneasiness was not allayed. A movement for the erection of a new county, to embrace that portion of Northumberland county lying west of Muncy Hills, was commenced in 1786, and pushed with great vigor for fully nine years before success crowned the efforts of the projectors. It met with violent opposition from the beginning, because the people of Sunbury, Northumberland, and that portion of the territory now embraced by Union county feared that the loss of such a valuable section would be a serious detriment to them. An examination of the proceedings of the Assembly from 1786 to 1795 gives a clear insight of the fierce struggle that was waged during the nine years that elapsed. Owing to the meagerness of the reports, however, much that would be exceedingly interesting now was not preserved.
The first record we have of the beginning of the fight is an entry in the journal under date of September 25, 1786, which reads as follows: "An act for erecting the northern part of the county of Northumberland into a separate county was engrossed and brought in for the Speaker to sign." A careful examination of the minutes preceding this entry failed to disclose when and by whom the bill was introduced, and whether its consideration had elicited any discussion before its passage, for it must have passed, else it could not have been "engrossed and brought in for the Speaker to sign." But that such a bill had been under consideration is shown by a brief entry in the Journal September 12, 1786, that a "petition from a number of inhabitants praying against a division of Northumberland county was received and filed."
The next entry relating to the bill was made under date of November 16, 1786, and reads:
A motion made by Mr. Dale, seconded by Mr. Antes, and adopted, in the following words:
WHEREAS, By an act passed the 25th of September last, entitled, - An act for erecting the northern part of the county of Northumberland into a separate county," it appears by the second section of said act, that the line to be run from the mouth of Nescopeck to the line which divides the waters of the East Branch of the Susquehanna from those of the West Branch, is to be run to a point due west, which said line is an error in the engrossed act, and totally inadmissible, therefore
Resolved, That Mr. Antes, Mr. Dale, and Mr. Brackenridge be a committee to bring in a bill to remedy the defect in the aforesaid act.
The advocates of a new county, it seems, were determined and active, and if they failed in securing the first object of their wishes, they had another proposition to submit, as the following entry in the journal on the 22d of December, 1786, will show:
A petition from a number of inhabitants of the county of Northumberland was read, stating the many grievances they labor under, by reason of the courts of justice in and for said county being held at Sunbury, and praying the petitions presented to the former House of Representatives for a removal of the seat of justice from the said town may be taken into consideration by this House. Ordered to lie on the table.
The proposition by the inhabitants of the upper part of the valley, which now embraces Lycoming and Clinton counties, to remove the seat of justice from Sunbury, in the event of a new county being refused, is what stirred up and intensified the opposition. The House, however, appears to have regarded the prayer of the petitioners with favor, for an entry in the Journal on the same day informs us that "the bill or supplement to the first act was read three time by paragraphs, and debated, and ordered to be engrossed." And on the 27th, we learn from the same authority, the supplemental act erecting a now county "was brought in and the Speaker directed to sign it."
As to its final disposition the records are silent, although we would infer from the language used, that the question was. settled and the bill was about to become a law. That it failed at the last moment there is no doubt, but through what influences we are left in ignorance. Evidently the Speaker, although " directed," did not "sign it;" or if he did, the President of the Supreme Executive Council, who was virtually the Governor, and exercised dictatorial powers greater than those exercised by a Governor under the present Constitution, throttled it. Most likely the latter, as sufficiently powerful influences, through a combination of interests, landed or otherwise, were brought to bear from Sunbury to override this act of the Assembly. Those were the days when more corruption existed than at the present time, though we are in the habit these modern days of proudly pointing to the fathers of the State and the Republic as shining exemplars of purity in politics and legislation.
Although defeated at the moment when victory seemed sure, the friends of the movement for a new county or a new county seat were not dismayed, and did not give up the fight, for we learn by an entry in the Journal of February 27, 1787, that a "petition of 385 inhabitants of Northumberland county was filed, praying that the seat of justice may be removed from Sunbury to Northumberland."
THE BEGINNING OF BITTERNESS.
This was a bitter pill for the Sunburyites, for they entertained an intense hatred of their rival across the river, and even at this day the mellowing influences of more than a century have failed to eradicate all feeling of antagonism. On the 1st of March following, the same authority informs us, " the petition was referred to Mr. Heister, Mr. Antes, and Mr. Dale to report." Samuel Dale and Frederick Antes were the Representatives of Northumberland county.
On the 9th of March, 1787, a petition signed by 576 "inhabitants of Northumberland county, praying for the seat of justice to be removed from Sunbury," was received and filed. The subsequent day a report on the petition signed by 385 persons was read and laid on the table, but the minutes do not state its purport. On the 17th of March the report was called for, and the committee instructed to " bring in a bill removing the seat of justice from Sunbury." There is nothing in the minutes to show what action the committee took, but it is obvious that nothing was done in answer to the prayer of the 385. It was, very likely, quietly allowed to slumber in a pigeon hole till adjournment. We hear nothing more of the movement until November 16, 1787, when the minutes inform us that 61 petitions were filed for dividing Northumberland county." The number of signers is not given, probably because the "prayer" had become on old one.
The fight was renewed at the next session, for under date of March 6, 1788, there is an entry of a petition having been received, praying for a division of the county. And, as if to vary the monotony, six days later a petition " against a division" was received, but its strength is not mentioned.
On the subsequent day, the 13th, a petition containing the names of 682 persons residing west of Muncy Hills," was presented. The petitioners prayed for the erection of a new county, " and that Loyalsock be the division line on the north side of the West Branch, and the White Deer mountains on the south side of said river." The petition was referred to the "committee appointed March 3d," which had the prayer of the 385 under consideration.
A STRONG APPEAL DENIED.
Nothing more is heard of the matter till the 20th of November, 1789, more than a year and a half, when the inhabitants, evidently tired of waiting, appealed to the Assembly in force, for the minutes tell us that on that day a "petition from 996 inhabitants of Northumberland county, residing on the west side of the Susquehanna, was read, praying for a division of said county," and laid on the table. This ponderous array of names for that time must have embraced every Settler west of Muncy Hills to Bald Eagle valley, and it would be interesting to have a copy of the document
at this day, to see the names of the signers. But as a century has passed it has very likely long since perished. The journal shows that it was not ignored, for it was soon read the second time and referred to a committee to report. We are not informed who composed the committee, but they evidently felt that a petition containing the names of nearly 1,000 citizens could not be lightly treated, and on the 20th of December, 1789, they submitted the following elaborate report:
That to your committee it appears the legislature should rather decide upon fixed and determinate principles, than upon a bare expression of the wishes of even many citizens ; for although, in matters of local concern, those immediately interested can best feel, and, feeling, can point out the particular inconveniences of their own situation, yet they may not always impartially consider or be deeply affected with the increased disadvantages to others resulting from their gratification. With the legislature it then rests to determine how far the particular cases may accord with the general interests and harmony of the whole.
To your committee it appears that, in determining questions of this nature, regard should be had to the number and ability of the inhabitants, as well as to the extent of country and the particular situation with respect to rivers, chains of mountains, and other natural circumstances; that attention should also be paid to future probable divisions.
In applying these principles to the present instance, your committee are of opinion that the population of Northumberland will not justify a division of that county, or enable the inhabitants to support double county charges; nor can its extent form a reasonable ground for division, when in connection with sufficiently numerous settlements.
The situation of the country requested to be, erected into a separate county is more convenient to the present seat of justice than many parts of other large counties, and the river Susquehanna forms the single obstruction in the way.
If regard is had to the counties which may in future be erected, or to the inconveniences which would immediately attend the remaining part of Northumberland, this division will prove itself the more inexpedient, since the remaining part will constitute the most irregular figure, encompassing the new county on three of its sides, whilst the officers of justice must as a consequence be compelled in some instances to take circuits round it to avoid the release of their prisoners by carrying them through this county in a direct course.
From the best information your committee can obtain, when the population of Northumberland shall authorize a division, it must be widely different from the one now desired.
The committee will farther hazard an opinion, that many divisions and attentions of the lines of counties will be necessary, when, from a map of the State accurately defining the waters, ridges of' hills and mountains, and the present lines of counties, the members of the legislature can, from due information, decide on their propriety; until then, divisions must often be made injudiciously, and until then (unless pressing reasons operate to the contrary) the erecting of new counties should be deferred.
Influenced by these general and special reasons, the committee submit the following
Resolved, That the prayer of the petition from Northumberland county for a division of the same can not be complied with.
Ordered to lie on the table.
This strong report against the appeal of the inhabitants of this portion of the valley for separation from the mother county had a depressing effect at the time; and to strengthen the opposition, the report was supplemented, August 24, 1789, by a " petition from divers owners of land in the county of Luzerne [erected September 25, 1786] remonstrating against an act for erecting the northern part of the county of Northumberland into a separate county."
Why the owners of land in Luzerne should object to the division of an adjoining county does not appear, but it was doubtless a part of the scheme of certain individuals to bring all the opposition they could bear against the movement.
The same day this petition was presented to the Assembly, one "from John Van Campen, agent for the citizens of this State residing in the county of Northampton, owners of land in the county of Luzerne, was read remonstrating against the act to set apart the northern part of Northumberland county into a separate county."
From the tenor of this "remonstrance," it can easily be inferred that a combination of land interests was at the bottom of the opposition to the movement, but for what reasons we have no means of determining at this day. It is well known, however, that land speculation was rife at that time, and Quaker residents of Philadelphia and along the Delaware controlled large bodies of land on the upper waters of the Susquehanna and in Luzerne county. Prominent among them was Robert Morris, "the financier of the Revolution," and others of high standing. Morris was the owner of thousands of acres in what is now Lycoming county, although they soon passed into other hands. It is possible that these great land speculators had personal or financial reasons for opposing the further dismemberment of Northumberland county, and through their great influence were able to control the committee and the Assembly.
The set back the petitioners received by this report of the committee had a dampening effect on them, and they saw very clearly that such powerful influences were arrayed against them that it would be useless to renew the fight immediately. The matter therefore was allowed to rest for a few years, but the spirit of the inhabitants was not broken. They were determined to await a more favorable opportunity, when the fight for division would be renewed and prosecuted with greater vigor.
THE GENESEE SPECULATIONS.
About this time attention was drawn to the great laud operations in the vicinity of Painted Post and the Genesee country. The richness of these lands, which belonged to the Seneca Indians, had been noted by close observers during the Sullivan invasion, and since by commissioners to attend Indian treaties. A few residents in the West Branch valley, impelled by a spirit of adventure, made their way through the wilderness and settled in the vicinity of Painted Post about 1788-89. Among them was Samuel Harris who was an early settler at the mouth of Loyalsock.
In November, 1788, the State of Massachusetts, in consideration of £300,000, conveyed to Oliver Phelps and Nathanial Gorham all its right and title to the Genesee lands. The purchasers immediately caused them to be surveyed and placed on the market. John L. Sexton, the historian of Tioga county, states that that portion of the Phelps and Gorham purchase was surveyed by Frederick Sexton, Augustus Porter, Thomas Davis, and Robert James, in the year 1789. While they were engaged in the survey they made their headquarters at the house or cabin of Samuel Harris. There were only two or three white settlers there at the time, Harris and his son William being of the number. The survey was completed, November 18, 1790, when by deed Phelps and Gorham conveyed 1,250,000 acres to Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, and on the 11th of April, 1792, he (Morris) conveyed to Charles Williamson about 1,200,000 acres of this land, which has since been known as the Pultney estate. It was about the time these immense land negotiations were pending that the movement to erect a new county out of the northern part of Northumberland was defeated. The territory of the latter county at that time extended to the line of the State of New York and bounded the great Morris estate. Whether these immense land speculations had anything to do with defeating the new county is unknown, but in view of what followed, the reader can draw his own conclusions.
THE WILLIAMSON ROAD.
In the meantime Williamson had taken up his residence at Northumberland. He was really the secret agent of Sir William Pultney, of Bath, England, and had determined to occupy the land. A company of about 500 emigrants had been formed in England to settle on the land as colonists. On being advised of their coming Williamson set about devising a plan to open a road through the wilderness over which to take the colonists. He applied to the legislature for assistance and a bill was passed appropriating £100. It was a small sum and grudgingly given. His road commenced at Loyalsock, ran through where Williamsport was afterwards, built, up Lycoming crook to Trout run, thence over Laurel Hill to the Block House, and on to the point of destination. The draft is now preserved in the Land Office at Harrisburg.
His plans being perfected, Williamson secured the services of two brothers, Robert and Benjamin Patterson, as scouts. They had done distinguished service as soldiers in the Revolutionary army, and especially in repulsing the invading Indians on the West Branch, and within the present limits of what are now Lycoming, Clinton, and Tioga counties. The Patterson brothers then resided at Northumberland. Their father, William Patterson, had distinguished himself in the French and Indian wars, and commanded the whites in the battle of Muncy Hills. At this time (1792) their father was dead, and their mother had married Marcus Hulings, who subsequently died and was buried at Painted Post. Mrs. Hulings was a Boone, a near relative of Daniel Boone, the celebrated frontiersman.
Operations were commenced on the road in May or June, 1792. The colonists accompanied Williamson and assisted in the work. The journey and work were arduous. It was the custom of Williamson to establish depots for supplies on the route, by erecting log houses to protect the women and children, and to advance the road makers, axemen, etc., to prepare the way. He accordingly established one of his commissary stations at Williamsport, one at Trout Run, and one at Liberty, now known as the Block House, and others on the way as they progressed. The road was not fully completed until the summer of 1796.
Williamson founded the city of Bath and became a prominent man. He was a Scotchman by birth and an officer in the British army. He took the oath of allegiance in 1792. After transferring the vast estate to the Pultneys he set sail for the West Indies and was lost at sea.
Robert and Benjamin Patterson located near Painted Post in 1797, and both died in that township. The road they assisted in building became a great thoroughfare. The Block House was built of round logs, and was about 20x40 feet in size. In front of it was erected a huge bake oven, where bread was baked for the colonists and road builders.
Samuel Harris, on account of his prominence among the early settlers near the mouth of Loyalsock, deserves more than a passing notice. He was a son of the first John Harris, born May 4, 1733, at Harris's Ferry. Shortly before the beginning of the Revolution he settled at Loyalsock and took an active part in the affairs of the new county of Northumberland. When he emigrated to Painted Post is not positively known, but it must have been about 1788 - possibly later as the surveyors when engaged in surveying the Phelps and Gorham tract in 1789 made their headquarters at his house. He afterwards removed to Cayuga Lake, where he died. In the cemetery at Seneca Falls, oil the shore of the lake, is a monument erected to his memory.
A NEW COUNTY AT LAST.
The movement for the erection of the new county, was resumed in 1794, for we find this entry in the Journal of the House of Representatives under date of February 15th of that year: "Petition from a number of inhabitants of the county of Northumberland was read, praying that in case a new county should be erected out of the same, the seat of justice within the same may be fixed on the west side of Lycoming creek, at the mouth thereof. Ordered to lie on the table."
From the tenor of the petition it would seem that the question of a new county had already been under consideration. before it was presented, but a diligent search of the meager records failed to show that it had. Probably reference was had to the old question of division, which the petitioners understood was to be revived.
We hear nothing more of the matter until February 26, 1795, a few days over one year, when the following appears on the Senate Journal:
Mr. Hare, from the committee appointed to consider and report on the petitions praying for a division of Northumberland county, made report, and the same was read, as follows:
The committee appointed to consider the petitions praying for a division of Northumberland county, report: That as, from the great extent of Northumberland county, much inconvenience is suffered by many of the inhabitants of that county from their great distance from the present seat of justice, the committee are of opinion that the prayer of the petitions ought to be granted, and they therefore recommend the adoption of the following resolution:
Resolved, That a committee be appointed to bring in a bill for dividing Northumberland ,county in a manner that may appear most convenient to the inhabitants thereof.
The committee consisted of the following Senators: William Hepburn, Northumberland, chairman; Robert Brown, Northampton; John Kean, Berks; Robert Hare, Philadelphia, and Zebulon Potts, Montgomery. Much of the credit for securing the favorable report and final passage of the bill belongs to Senator Hepburn. He was elected as a State Senator from Northumberland at a special election bold January 8, 1794, by sixty-four majority over Rosewell Wells, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator William Montgomery. Hepburn held the office till April 20, 1795, when he resigned and was succeeded by Samuel Dale. The members of the House this year (1795) were Flavel Roan, Hugh White, and Robert Martin. John Brady, son of Capt. John Brady, killed near Muncy 1pril 11, 1779, was sheriff, and the last officer of Northumberland who exercised authority over what is now the territory of Lycoming county. Senator Hepburn resided on a farm now embraced within the corporate limits of the city of Williamsport, and he naturally took a deep interest in the organization of the now county, the reasons for which will subsequently appear.
HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.
The committee having the matter in charge was not tardy. On the 7th of March, 1795, according to the following record, the bill was reported, as appears from the following entry: "Mr. Kean, from the committee appointed for that purpose, reported a bill entitled 'An act for erecting part of the county of Northumberland into a separate county,' and the same was read the first time."
On the 12th of March, only five days later, the bill was read the second time and considered by paragraphs, and on motion of Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Hepburn, it was agreed that the new county should be named Jefferson. On the 14th of March the consideration of the bill was resumed, and the question of choosing commissioners to select a site for the public buildings coming up, the following gentlemen were proposed: John Andre Hanna, Cadwallader Evans, Robert Brown, Samuel Postlewaite, and William Elliott, or a majority of them. Later it was decided to leave the selection of commissioners to the Governor.
CHOOSING A NAME.
The question of selecting a name for the now county coming up again, a motion was made to strike out "Jefferson" and insert "Lycoming," but it was lost. Mr. Kean then moved that "Susquehanna" be adopted, but that was lost also. Mr. Postlewaite then named "Muncy," but his motion was lost. After further debate a reconsideration of the motion to call the county "Lycoming," after the great stream which bad for so many years formed the boundary line between Northumberland and the disputed Indian lands, was proposed and carried. The title of the bill was then agreed to and it was ordered to be transcribed for third reading.
March 19th it was taken upon third reading, when, on motion of Mr. Canan, seconded by Mr. Whelen, Sec. 2 was amended by inserting next after the word "Commonwealth," the words "provided nevertheless, that the said county shall not be entitled to a separate representation until it shall be certified by the commissioners of the said county to the sheriff thereof, that 1,150 taxable inhabitants at least reside within the bounds of the said county."
Further consideration of the bill was then postponed to Wednesday, March 25th, when on motion of Mr. Hepburn, it was taken up, passed, and referred to the House.
It did not come up for consideration in the House till the 7th of April, when it was referred back to the Senate with several amendments, and the addition of a section requiring the commissioners of the new county to " take a faithful and accurate account of all the taxable inhabitants and make return of the same under their hands and seals on or before February 1, 1796."
A committee of the Senate was appointed to confer with a committee of the House regarding the final disposition of the bill. The conference was held and it was agreed to that the new county should be attached to the IIId congressional district, which was composed of Northumberland and Dauphin counties; the senatorial district composed of Mifflin, Northumberland, and Luzerne counties, and have one member of the House and Northumberland two. All the points in dispute having been settled the conference committees reported that they had agreed, whereupon it was signed by the Speakers of the respective houses, and on the 13th of April, 1795, they presented the bill to Gov. Thomas Mifflin, who immediately signed it.
Thus ended the great fight for the organization of Lycoming county, which commenced in 1786. It was long and bitter and feuds grew out of it which lasted for many years.
BOUNDARIES, JUDICIARY, AND SEAT OF JUSTICE.
The boundary line of the new county was thus described in the act:
That all that part of Northumberland county lying northwestward of a line drawn from the Mifflin county line on the summit of Nittany Mountain; thence running along the top or highest ridge of said mountain, to where White Deer Bole creek run, through the same; and from thence by a direct line crossing the West Branch of Susquehanna, at the mouth of Black Hole creek to the end of Muncy Hills; thence along the top of Muncy Hills and the Bald Mountain. to the Luzerne county line, shall be, and the same is hereby erected into a separate county, to be henceforth called and known by the name of Lycoming county.
Concerning the judiciary the act said:
That the judges of the Supreme court and the president of the Third district, of which district the said county of Lycoming is hereby declared to be part, as well as the associate judges which shall be commissioned in and for the county of Lycoming shall have the powers, jurisdictions, and authorities within the same as are warranted to and exercised by the said judges in other counties of this Commonwealth.
Concerning the selection of a site for the public buildings in the new county, this clause was inserted in the act:
The Governor is authorized and he is hereby required to appoint five commissioners, which commissioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at the town of Northumberland on the first Monday in September next, and proceed to view and determine upon the most eligible and proper situation for erecting the public buildings for the said county, and make their report into the office of the secretary of this Commonwealth on or before the first day of October next, which report so made shall be final, and shall fix and determine the spot for the seat of justice in and for the said county; for which service each of the said commissioners shall have and receive $3 per diem for every day they shall be employed in the said services, to be paid by warrants drawn by the county commissioners on the treasurer of Northumberland county.
ORIGINAL EXTENT OF THE COUNTY.
Lycoming county, as originally constituted, covered a vast territory. The line commenced on the summit of Nittany mountain and followed the top thereof to the point where White Deer Hole creek breaks through the same; then bore off in a northeastward direction to the mouth of Black Hole creek, south of the borough of Montgomery, where it crossed the river and passed over the Muncy Hills to the Luzerne county line, which it followed for some distance and then bore in a northwesterly direction to the State line, leaving the territory claimed by Connecticut to the northeast, much of which now belongs to Bradford county. Returning to the place of beginning, it bore westward, crossing the head waters of the West Branch at Canoe Place (Cherry Tree) in what is now Indiana county; thence to the Allegheny river near the mouth of Red Bank creek, in Armstrong county; thence up the Allegheny to the mouth of Conewango creek, at Warren; thence up that stream to the State line, which it followed to the point of intersection with the line from the line from the east.
From this magnificent domain the following counties have, in whole or in part, been formed: Armstrong, Bradford, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Indiana, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango, and Warren and since then several sub-divisions have been made, such as Forest, Elk, and Cameron. To give the reader a better idea of the extent of the original territory, its area may be roughly estimated at about 12,000 square miles. And as Lycoming now only contains 1,213 square miles, it is clearly seen of what vast possessions she has been shorn in fifty-two years, a portion of Sullivan being the last slice taken from her in 1847. Still she retains the proud position of being the second county in point of size in the State, Centre being the first, with 2,227 Square miles. But Lycoming gave liberally of her territory to help create her.
FIRST OFFICERS AND FIRST COURT.
The county was now erected, but there were no officers to organize a local government and administer the laws. The Governor, therefore, on the 14th of April, 1795, the day after he had approved the bill, invested Samuel Wallis and John Kidd with authority to administer oath to any person or persons appointed or elected to office within the limits of the new county. The same day John Kidd was commissioned recorder of deeds, prothonotary, clerk of over and terminer, clerk of orphans' court, clerk of quarter sessions, and register of wills. Mr. Kidd, who came from Sunbury, suddenly became a man of great importance in the new county. He was a Scotchman by birth, a gentleman of education, and wrote a beautiful round hand, which is still admired for its clearness and ease to read, in the original books of record. The following day, April 15, 1795, Governor Mifflin commissioned Samuel Wallis, William Hepburn, John Adlum, and Dr. James Davidson, first, second, third, and fourth associate judges - respectively, to organize the judicial machinery for the county. All were sworn into office by John Kidd except John Adlurn. There is no record of his qualification, but he evidently did qualify, for we find him acting with the court December 1, 1795. He soon afterwards removed to Havre de Grace, Maryland, and as Mr. Wallis died October 14, 1798, but two remained to administer the judicial business of the county for some time.
They first met at the village of Jaysburg, west of the mouth of Lycoming, and organized by electing William Hepburn as president. He therefore became the first president judge of the county, but there is no record in existence to show the day this official transaction took place. But it is probable that the organization was effected between the 15th and 20th of April.
The machinery of the county was now fairly started, but, owing to the meagerness of the records and the disappearance of others, we got but a faint trace of what was done. The first official entry by John Kidd in the book of deeds, etc., was the act of Assembly creating the county. What business the court did, if any, at the first meeting is unknown, but it probably was the entering of a decree to hold an election for county officers. As yet there were no county funds or treasurer, and until these were secured nothing could be done.
It is uncertain where the judges first met to organize, probably at the house of Thomas Caldwell or Jacob Latcha. Neither is it known who owned the building used as a "temporary jail." That a building of hewed logs, 24x16 feet, was afterwards constructed, strongly lined with plank, and having barred windows, seems certain. It is said to have had two rooms, and very likely the prothonotary
opened his office in one of them. Who built and owned it is not known, though it is not improbable that Latcha was the man. But that Samuel Jordan was the jailer, there is abundant and positive evidence.
SELECTION OF THE COUNTY SEAT.
After the appointment of the officers to organize the county, the Governor turned his attention to See. 7 of the act, authorizing him to appoint five commissioners to select a site for the county seat. The Governor evidently was apprised that there would be a sharp contest between three points for the honor of having the public buildings, and he looked around carefully to secure good men to perform that duty. On the 21st of April, 1795, eight days after the approval of the act, the executive minutes show that he made the following appointments: John Hall, Philadelphia; Francis Nichols, Montgomery; Alexander Scott, Lancaster; John Edic, York, and William Elliott, Franklin. The act, it will be remembered, distinctly states that they "shall meet at Northumberland on the first Monday in September next and proceed to select the most eligible" site for the public buildings. This duty was required to be performed "on or before the 1st day of October." They were then required to report the result of their work to the secretary of the Commonwealth, and the report was to be "final." For this duty they were to be paid $3 per them for every day so employed, by warrants drawn by the commissioners of Northumberland county on the treasurer thereof.
That four of the five commissioners appointed met and performed the duty required of them by the act, there is evidence on record to show, but the most diligent inquiry failed to develop the "report" they submitted to the secretary of the Commonwealth. That they had a difficult duty to perform there is no doubt, according to the traditions handed down. Dunnsburg, named after William Dunn, on the mainland above the Great Island, (now in Clinton county,) was an applicant for the county seat, and made a vigorous fight for it. The owner of the land in the embryo village went so far as to set aside a lot for the court house, which he proposed to donate for that purpose, and it is known to this day as the "court house lot." The claim was made that as the location was further westward froln the eastern boundary, and the location an excellent one, it would be better for the inhabitants, in as much as the county extended so far westward. The idea did not seem to enter the heads of the Pine creek settlers at that time that the immense territory might soon be divided up into more counties. Their argument, therefore, was a strong one, and the proposed donation of a lot made it still stronger.
In the meantime Jaysburg aspired to become the capital of the now county. It had been regularly laid out at that time and was the only place making any pretensions to a village west of Muncy. Temporary quarters had already been secured for the county officers; Prothonotary and Register and Recorder Kidd had opened his office, administered oaths, and commenced the work of recording official records; the associate judges had met, organized, and taken the preliminary steps towards effecting a county organization; a few lawyers had opened offices; a jail had been improvised, a jailer appointed, and a prisoner or two incarcerated. With all this already in their grasp, the Jaysburgers felt quite secure, and congratulated themselves that possession was equivalent to nine points of the law. For a time it looked as if the name of the distinguished jurist and diplomat would be perpetuated in the county seat of Lycoming. But alas! the aspirations and hopes of men are often dissipated at the moment they regard success as certain. It was so in this case. The prestige of the illustrious name of Jay availed nothing. The town lost the prize it considered safe within its grasp, rapidly went into decline, passed out of existence, and there are few of the present generation who can tell where Jaysburg stood and flourished ninety-six years ago.
Ex-Senator Hepburn was deeply interested in having the county seat located on the east side of Lycoming creek. He was the owner of a fine tract of land called "Deer Park," lying on what would be the western border of the proposed county seat. Like many others of the time, he was infected with the spirit of land speculation. He had resigned the office of State Senator on the 20th of April, 1795, to formally accept the president judgeship, which had been conferred on him five days before. In the meantime Michael Ross appeared in the contest as an important and powerful factor. He was the owner of 285 acres of land lying in what is now the central part of Williamsport, and contemplated founding a town. And as it had already been laid out and a few buildings erected, he readily saw that a great impetus would be given it if it was made the county seat. Judge Hepburn shared his views and also realized that his estate would be greatly benefited by the selection.
In the meantime the Jaysburgers were not idle. They claimed that their town was the most eligibly located - that it was on higher and dryer ground, and was, in every respect, better fitted for the county seat. The fight between the two factions grew more fierce and acrimonious from day to day. The Jaysburg faction asserted that much of the land embraced in the proposed now town was swampy and subject to inundation. They went so far as to dispatch a messenger to Northumberland to obtain an affidavit from a man who it was reported had at one time brought a barrel of whiskey to Williamsport in a canoe, and "tied up" at a point on what is now East Third and State streets, or the old Eberman corner. At that time an arm or "gut" of the river extended through there. The affidavit was obtained, and when the messenger returned he stopped at the "Russell Inn," which stood on the northeast corner of East Third and Mulberry streets. The report that he had returned with the proof to the Commissioners on site, that floods extended as far up Market square, struck terror into the Hepburn-Ross party, and they immediately set about devising some plan to circumvent the evidence. They realized that if such proof was laid before the commissioners it would probably result in the triumph of their bated rival, Jaysburg. Accordingly, the Hepburn-Ross party that night visited the messenger, got him intoxicated, stole the saddle bags in which he carried the damaging affidavit, cut them open, and destroyed or concealed the paper. At least that is the supposition, for it is alleged that the saddle bags, cut open, were found the next morning!
Things had now come to a desperate pass. The State commissioners were becoming wearied over the strife going on between the rival factions, and there was danger that they might select Dunnsburg, where lots for the public buildings had been offered. That settled it, and from their report to the secretary of the Commonwealth there was no appeal-in the language of the act, it was "final." Judge Hepburn, although he owned land, was without money. He was ambitious and thirsted for political honors. Michael Ross, the founder, cared little about politics, but was anxious to sell lots and acquire money. Hepburn, who was a man of influence at that time, succeeded in persuading Ross that if he would tender the commissioners lots for the public buildings, they would be induced to select Williamsport. Ross, thinking that it would enhance the value of his property, acted upon the suggestion and made a tender of four lots-two for the court house and two for the jail which the commissioners accepted and the contest was brought to a close. At this sudden termination of the fight the indignation of the Jaysburg party was great, but they were helpless. They, however, hold on to the public offices so long, as will be shown hereafter, that the Governor was on the point of peremptorily ordering Prothonotary Kidd to remove his office to the point designated as the county seat.
It is difficult, on account of the lack of official records, to got at all the facts regarding that memorable contest. It is believed that Michael Ross, in consideration of the proffered influence of Judge Hepburn to manipulate the commissioners, placed himself under obligations to that gentleman which ever afterwards kept him in straitened circumstances, notwithstanding the increased demand for the sale of lots. This view of the case has never been stated in print before, but it has long been privately entertained by men of research and intelligence. At this lapse of time, nearly a century, what is believed to be true history, may be stated. The contest was so hotly waged, and the principals became so embittered at each other, that fully two generations passed before all feeling of hostility between the descendants of the respective parties was effaced.
That the commissioners who selected the place for the county seat made a report to the secretary of the Commonwealth, in accordance with the terms of the act, there is no doubt, but it can not be found at this day. It may have been a short report merely setting forth the result of their official action; or it may have entered into details recounting the difficulties which beset them before arriving at a conclusion.
An examination of the minute book of the commissioners of Northumberland county for 1795 shows that four out of the five commissioners appointed by the Governor served and were paid. The entries are quaint and read as follows: "September 28, 1795, paid John Hall, one of the commissioners for fixing the county town of Lycoming, £25 17s 6d; September 28, 1795, paid William Elliott on the same business, £22 10s." As Mr. Hall came from Philadelphia he was entitled to more pay and mileage than Mr. Elliott, who was from Franklin county. That explains the difference in the pay of the two.
The next entry we find under date of October 21, 1795, as follows: "Francis Nichols, one of the commissioners for fixing the county of Lycoming, £24 15s." The last of the four did not apply for some time for his pay. Under date of February 25, 1796, is this entry: "John Edic, for fixing the seat of justice of Lycoming county, $45." There is nothing on the minute book to show that from 1795 on, Alexander Scott, the fifth commissioner, ever received any pay, consequently we are forced to the conclusion that he did not serve, and the work therefore was done by the other four members of the commission.
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|4932250||Multi point sensor|
The present invention relates to the use of a fluid flow measuring device as a microphone.
Conventional microphones make use of the fact that the pressure waves associated with an acoustic signal give rise to mechanical vibrations in a membrane or the like, which vibrations are converted with the aid of suitable conversion means into an electrical varying signal, the frequencies arising in the electrical varying signal corresponding to those of the acoustic signal.
The invention is based on the fact that a pressure wave and a mass flow wave are always associated with an acoustic wave, the flow wave, however, having a phase shift relative to the pressure wave. However, the flow waves which are associated with an acoustic signal comprise the same frequency pattern as the pressure waves and are therefore also able to serve as the basis for sound measurement.
The use of a fluid flow measuring device as a microphone is known from R.O. Fehr, "Infrasonic thermistor microphone", Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, April 1970, Vol. 18, Nr. 2, pages 128-132. This publication discloses the use of hot-wire anemometers for the measurement of turbulence. In such devices, a very fine wire is electrically heated and is cooled depending on the turbulence of the air. The temperature changes of the wire are registered as resistance variations of the wire. The resistance variations can be detected by suitable electronic measuring circuits, thus providing an electrical signal which is proportional to the volume flow. However, hot-wire microphones are insensitive to the direction of the volume flow. Moreover, hot-wire microphones double the frequencies of the volume flow variations. In the publication of R.O. Fehr, the application of two thermistors is disclosed to solve these problems of the hot-wire microphones. When there is a volume flow over one of the two thermistors, the windward thermistor will be cooled, whereas the other thermistor will receive heat transferred by the wind from the first thermistor. Again, the temperature variations of the two thermistors are translated into varying electrical signals by connecting the two thermistors in opposite arms of an electrical bridge circuit. The microphone described in this publication is reported to operate only in a frequency range from 0.1 to 20 Hz. The diameter of the thermistors used is reported to be about 330 µm (13 mill). Since the publication of this article by R.O. Fehr about 25 years ago, no research has been carried out for developing a microphone based on fluid flow measurements for detecting acoustic waves in the audible range.
US Patent 4,932,250 suggests the use of a fluid flow measuring device as a microphone for the detection of ultrasonic waves. No arrangement is suggested to detect acoustic waves within the audible range.
From several documents a micro fluid flow measuring device is known which comprises at least one heating element and at least two temperature sensors arranged in opposite positions to the heating element; see e.g. the German patent application 36 11 614, the European patent application 0,268,004, British patent application 2,226,139, and T.S.J. Lammerink, et al., "Micro-liquid flow sensor", Sensors and Actuators A, 37-38 (1993), pages 45-50. In none of these documents reference is made to a possible use of the fluid flow sensor disclosed as a microphone.
The object of the invention is to provide a microphone which is able to detect acoustic waves in the audible frequency range based on fluid flow measurements.
In order to achieve this objective, use is preferably made of techniques and means for the measurement of fluid flow which are known per se. A typical example of a fluid flow sensor which can advantageously be used in the microphone according to the invention is described in: T.S.J. Lammerink, et al., "Micro-liquid flow sensor", Sensors and Actuators A, 37-38 (1993), 45-50, referred to above.
The invention provides the use of a fluid flow measuring device as a microphone for detecting acoustic waves, said fluid flow measuring device comprising at least one heating element, at least a first temperature sensor arranged at a first predetermined spacing from the heating element, for generation of a first electrical signal which corresponds to the temperature of the first temperature sensor wherein the predetermined first spacing is less than 300 µm.
By using techniques now known from micro-electronics it is possible to construct such a fluid flow measuring device with such micro-dimensions. Surprisingly, the signal to noise ratio of such a microphone is good up to 10 kHz, or more. A good signal to noise ratio, up to 10 kHz, was observed in a practical embodiment of the invention where one heating element was accompanied by two temperature sensors located on opposite sides of the heating element at a spacing of 40 µm. Good signal to noise ratios up to such high frequencies can therefore be achieved with the microphone according to the invention when the spacing between the heating element and the temperature sensors applied is less than 50 µm.
A further advantage of this microphone is that it has an extremely low cut-off frequency: conventional microphones are no longer able to detect very low frequencies of an acoustic signal because of the inherent rigidity of the membrane or the like measuring the pressure wave. In a microphone according to the invention, on the other hand, very low frequencies of an acoustic signal are converted into very low frequencies of a thermal signal, which is converted without attenuation into a low-frequency electrical signal.
The invention also relates to a system comprising a microphone comprising a fluid flow measuring device for detecting acoustic waves, said fluid flow measuring device comprising at least one heating element, at least a first temperature sensor arranged at a first predetermined spacing from the heating element, for generation of a first electrical signal which corresponds to the temperature of the first temperature sensor wherein the predetermined first spacing is less than 300 µm, the microphone also comprising an electronic measuring circuit for measuring said first electrical signal and providing an electrical output signal, the system further comprising an amplifier for amplifying said output signal and providing an amplified output signal, and a loudspeaker connected to said amplifier.
A microphone based on the measurement of fluid flow waves may be advantageously used in combination with a microphone based on pressure wave measurements. With an arrangement of this type, both the flow waves and the pressure waves of an acoustic signal can be measured, as a result of which the possibility exists of determining not only the magnitude but also the absolute propagation direction of the propagating acoustic signal.
Advantageous embodiments of the use of a fluid flow measuring device as a microphone, and of the system comprising a microphone based on fluid flow measurements are defined by the dependent claims.
The invention will be explained below with reference to the appended drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the microphone according to the invention are shown and which are intended to illustrate the invention and not as a limitation of the latter.
In the drawings:
Figure 1a shows an example of a set-up for measurement of several parameters of a fluid flow 2 through a channel 1. Said set-up is known per se for the measurement of parameters such as the physical parameters of a gas, e.g., the gas density, the magnitude of the flow in the case of static flows, etc. As a fluid flow sensor, the set-up according to Figure 1a is based on well-known thermal anemometer principles. The set-up comprises a heating element H and two sensors S1, S2. Both the heating element H and the two sensors S1, S2 are located in a channel 1, through which the fluid flow 2 is fed. The width of the heating element H is 2L. The sensor S1 is located at a distance xm1 away from the heating element H and the sensor S2 is located opposite the sensor S1 at a distance xm2 away from the heating element H. The spacing between heating element H en sensor S1 is indicated by reference sign r1, and between heating element H and sensor S2 by r2. In order to simplify the measurements, the two sensors S1, S2 can each be located the same distance away from the centre of the heating element H. However, this is not strictly necessary. The sensors S1, S2 and the heating element H also do not have to be located in one line, as in Figure 1a. It is also not necessary for the channel 1 to be present. Any geometric structure can be chosen, depending on the desired output signal. In a manner analogous to that in the case of conventional pressure wave microphones, use can be made of geometric obstructions in order to obtain the desired relationship, which is dependent on the application, between the flow wave signal and the electrical signal.
During use, the heating element H is heated by means of an external energy source (not shown in Figure 1a). The temperatures of the two sensors S1, S2 are measured individually.
Figure 1b shows the change in the temperature in the channel 1 as a function of the distance x from the centre of the heating element H. The temperature T is constant over the entire heating element H and is therefore constant between the positions x = -L and x = L. Curve a in Figure 1b shows the change in the temperature T as a function of the distance x for the situation where there is no fluid flow 2 through the channel 1. In that case, the pattern of the change in the temperature T in the channel 1 is symmetrical about the mid-point of the heating element H.
As is known, heat transport from the heating element H to the surroundings thereof takes place via convection, radiation and/or conduction. In the situation associated with curve a in Figure 1b, the convection is zero because the fluid flow 2 is absent.
Curves b and c in Figure 1b show various changes in temperature T as a function of the distance x for various flow rates of the fluid flow 2. For both curves b and c, the fluid flow 2 is directed towards the right in Figure 1a. Consequently, the temperature at the sensor S1 is lower than that at the sensor S2 because the heat transport as a result of convection takes place only towards the right.
Figure 1c shows the temperature of the heating element H, of the sensor S1 and of the sensor S2 as a function of the velocity v of the fluid flow 2. For Figure 1c as well, a positive velocity v corresponds to a fluid flow 2 directed towards the right in Figure 1a. In Figure 1c, Th indicates the temperature of the heating element H, T1 the temperature of the sensor S1, T2 the temperature of the sensor S2 and ΔT the difference between the temperatures of the sensors S2 and S1; consequently ΔT = T2 - T1.
For a symmetrical arrangement of the sensors S1 and S2 around the heating element H, the curve drawn for Th (v) is symmetrical about the T axis and ΔT (v) is symmetrical about the origin. It follows from Figure 1c that the velocity v of the fluid flow 2 can be unambiguously determined by measuring the temperatures of the sensors S1 and S2. The precise shape of the curves in Figure 1c depends on the heat generated by the heating element H, as well as on the heat transport as a consequence of conduction and radiation, and calibration will therefore be needed.
It is observed that in the arrangement according to figure 2a, also sensors S1 and S2 may be heated. Of course, in that case other temperature profiles than shown in figures 1b and 1c will arise but these other temperature profiles will still unambiguously define the fluid flow 2 in channel 1.
Figure 1d shows an alternative embodiment of the microphone according to the invention. Instead of the application of one heating element H accompanied by two sensors S1 and S2 as shown in Figure 1a, the microphone may also be based on the application of two sensors S1 and S2 only, albeit that, then, at least one of the sensors S1, S2 need be heated relative to the temperature of the fluid flow 2.
Figure 1e shows three temperature profiles which may occur in the arrangement according to figure 1d. Curve a in figure 1e represents an equilibrium state in which no fluid flow is present. For curve a it is assumed that both sensor S1 and sensor S2 are heated to the same extent, however, that is not strictly necessary. Even when the sensors S1 and S2 are differently heated an unambiguously defined curve exists to which the microphone can be calibrated. Curve b represents a state when fluid flow 2 is directed to the right, i.e., from sensor S1 towards sensor S2. Then, sensor S1 is more cooled by fluid flow 2 than sensor S2 since the fluid flow transports heat from sensor S1 to sensor S2. Curve c represents the state in which fluid flow 2 is directed in the opposite direction, i.e., from sensor S2 to sensor S1. The arrangement according to figure 1d is expected to have better high frequency performance in the audible range than the arrangement according to figure 1a. However, the arrangement according to figure 1a is the most sensitive one since two sensors are used.
In the arrangement according to figure 1d, heating of either sensor S1 or sensor S2 may be omitted. The arrangement operates also properly when only one of the sensors S1 or S2 is heated and the other one is used as a non-heated sensor. In such a latter arrangement, the heated element need not even be used as sensor, i.e., it may be sufficient to detect the (varying) output signal of one of the elements S1 or S2 only and use the other element only as a heater. This situation is indicated by "H/S2" in figure 1d, meaning that the most right element may be either sensor S2, heating element H, or both.
Figure 2a shows a top view of a practical embodiment of the fluid flow arrangement according to Figure 1a. Further data on this sensor are given, for example, in T.S.J. Lammerink, et al. Micro-liquid flow sensor, Sensors and Actuators A, 37-38 (1993) 45-50. The channel 1 can be arranged on a silicon disc 300 µm thick. The height of the channel 1 (as seen in the side view in Figure 1a) is, for example, 250 µm, whilst the width of the channel 1 (as seen in Figure 2a) is, for example, 1000 µm. The heating element H and the two sensors S1 and S2 preferably consist of thin SiN strips having a thickness of, for example, 1 µm, on top of which a metal layer has been vapour-deposited. Said metal layer can, for example, comprise a layer of CrAu having a thickness of 200 nanometres. However, other materials are possible, for instance a pn junction. A plurality of metal layers lying on top of one another are also possible. The heating element H and the two sensors S1 and S2 thus comprise strips of a predetermined resistance value floating freely in the channel 1. Said resistance values are shown in Figure 2a by the letters Rh, Ru and Rd for the resistance element H, the temperature sensor S1 and the temperature sensor S2, respectively. The resistance strips R1 and R2 are arranged in order to form an electronic measuring bridge, as will be explained with reference to Figure 2b.
Each of the resistances Rh, Ru, Rd, R1 and R2 can be connected to external means with the aid of conductive connection pads 3-8 of suitably chosen dimensions.
By connecting the heating element H to a predetermined heating voltage or supplying it with a predetermined heating current, said element will generate heat. The resistance values Ru and Rd of the sensors S1 and S2, respectively, depend on the temperatures of said sensors, so that measurement of the resistances Ru and Rd is a direct measure for the temperature of the sensors S1 and S2.
Figure 2b shows a diagram of an electrical circuit for connection of the fluid flow sensor according to Figure 2a in such a way that an output voltage ΔUo can be generated, which output voltage is a direct measure for an acoustic signal which is fed over the fluid flow sensor according to Figure 2a. Therefore, Figure 2b shows an electric circuit which is suitable, when connected to the device according to Figure 2a, to provide a microphone. In the circuit according to Figure 2b, the connection pad 7 is connected to a heating voltage Uh, whilst the connection pad 4 is connected to earth. The resistance Ru is located between the connection pads 3 and 4, whilst the resistance Rd is located between the connection pads 5 and 4. A series circuit comprising resistors R3, R5 and R4 is arranged between the connection pads 3 and 5. Resistor R5 is a variable resistor which has a junction to which a setting voltage Ub for the measuring bridge consisting of the resistances Ru, Rd, R3, R5 and R4 can be connected. Connection pad 8 is connected to a capacitor C1 and connection pad 6 is connected to a capacitor C2. During operation an output voltage ΔUo, which depends on the resistance values Ru and Rd of the sensors S1 and S2 respectively, is produced at the output of the circuit according to Figure 2b. Said output voltage ΔUo is a function of the resistance variations of the resistances Ru and Rd and thus of the temperature difference variations of the sensors S1 and S2. As a result of the use of the capacitors C1 and C2, the circuit according to Figure 2b is suitable only for measurement of voltage variations and not of continuous voltage differences over the sensors S1 and S2. In other words, the circuit according to Figure 2b is suitable for measuring the variations in the magnitude of the fluid flow 2 through the channel 1. Of course, instead of capacitors C1 and C2 any other suitable high pass filter can be used.
With the device in Figure 2a, the variations in the magnitude of the fluid flow are first translated into temperature difference variations of the sensors S1 and S2. Because of this translation step, the speed of change in flow can be measured properly only if the open spacings r1, r2 between the sensors S1, S2 and the heating element H are not too great. If the chosen spacings r1, r2 are too great, high frequency variations in the fluid flow 2 will hardly result in detectable temperature difference variations at the sensors S1 and S2. Conversely, however, if the chosen spacings are very small, variations in the magnitude of the fluid flow 2 will result in readily detectable variations in the temperatures of the sensors S1 and S2.
In order now to make the device shown in Figure 2a suitable as a microphone for frequencies within the audible range, it must be possible readily to detect variations in the magnitude of the fluid flow 2 with frequencies in the audible range. In a microphone which has been produced in practice, the open spacings r1, r2 between the sensors S1 and S2 and the heating element H, respectively, were 40 µm. To be applicable as a microphone for the audio range, the open spacings are preferably less than 300 µm. Using the electrical circuit according to Figure 2b, it was possible to detect acoustic waves up to very high frequencies with this microphone: up to at least 10 kHz, good signal to noise ratios were found.
An additional advantage of the microphone based on the fluid flow sensor according to Figure 2a is that low frequencies of acoustic waves can also be measured unattenuated with this microphone. A conventional pressure microphone responds hardly at all to low frequencies of acoustic waves and therefore also reproduces these only with attenuation.
Figure 3 shows, diagrammatically, an amplifier 9 and a loudspeaker 10 connected thereto, with which the output signal ΔUo can be converted into an amplified acoustic signal. Since a microphone based on fluid flow measurements shows a 1/f characteristic (f being the frequency of the audio wave) the amplifier 9, preferably, has a linear f characteristic, or, in other words, shows a first order behaviour.
The nominal values for the resistances shown in Figure 2b are, for example, as follows: Rh = 800 Ω, Ru = Rd = 3300 Ω, R1 = R2 = 725 Ω, R3 = R4 = 3300 Ω and R5 = 100 Ω. Other values of Rh, Ru, and Rd are possible. Preferably, the resistance values of Rh, Ru, and Rd are within the range of 20-5000 Ω.
It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that Figure 2b is merely one illustrative embodiment of an electric circuit with which variations in the temperature of the sensors S1 and S2 can be measured electrically. Other electric circuits are possible, as will be illustrated below with reference to figures 4a-4d. The only essential feature is that the temperature difference variations of the sensors S1 and S2 are converted with the aid of a suitable electric circuit into alternating voltages, the frequencies of which correspond to the frequencies in the temperature changes of the temperatures T1 and T2 of the sensors S1 and S2, respectively. In the arrangement according to Figure 2a, the resistances R1 and R2, which form part of the bridge arrangement according to Figure 2b, are also integrated in the microphone. However, this does not have to be the case. They can even be entirely omitted, i.e., R1 = R2 = 0Ω. On the other hand, it is also possible to integrate the resistors R3, R5 and R4 (Figure 2b) as well. Of course, said resistances R1 to R5 must be arranged at a distance from the heating element H such that this has no influence on their resistance value.
Figures 4a-4d show some alternative electrical circuits for converting the resistance variations of resistors Ru and Rd into a varying electrical signal, i.e., either a varying current or a varying voltage.
Each of the alternative electrical circuits of figures 4a-4d are based on the application of a Widlar current mirror or 'gadget", in which resistor Ru is connected as an emitter resistor to a transistor T1, the base of which being short-circuited to its collector, and resistor Rd is connected as an emitter resistor to a transistor T2. The bases of transistors T1 and T2 are connected to one another.
The collector of transistor T1 may be connected to a power supply voltage Vb through a resistor R11, as shown in figure 4a, or to a current source I, as shown in figure 4b. In the embodiment of figure 4a, the collector of transistor T2 is connected to the power supply voltage Vb through a resistor R12. An output voltage Vo is available between the collector of the transistor T2 and ground, as shown in figure 4a.
In the arrangement according to figure 4b, the output signal is the collector current Io of transistor T2. However, Io in the arrangement of figure 4b may be transferred in an output voltage by connecting a resistor to the collector of transistor T2.
Figure 4c shows a further alternative electrical circuit, in which, however, the basic arrangement of transistors T1, T2 and of resistors Ru, Rd is unchanged. The collector of transistor T1 is connected to the collector of a pnp transistor T3 through a resistor R13. Transistor T3 is connected in a Widlar current mirror configuration with a pnp transistor T4 and with emitter resistors R11 and R12 as shown in figure 4c. The collector of transistor T4 is connected to the collector of transistor T2. Resistors R11, R12 may be sensors of a further microphone based on fluid flow measurements, like resistors Ru, Rd. Alternatively, either resistors Ru and R12 or Rd and R11 in combination may be part of microphones based on fluid flow measurements. Likewise, any of the resistors Ru, Rd, R11, or R12 may be part of a microphone with just one heating element and one sensor (see figure 1d).
Figure 4d shows a circuit for converting resistance variations of resistors Rd and Ru into a varying electrical signal, in which three cascaded Widlar current mirrors are used. The first current mirror is equal to the current mirror arrangement of figure 4b, the output of which is connected to an input of a pnp Widlar current mirror of transistors T3, T4 and emitter resistors R11, R12. The output of the latter pnp Widlar current mirror is connected to an input of an npn Widlar current mirror comprising transistors T5, T6 and emitter resistors R15, R16. The collector current of transistor T6 provides the output current Io of the circuit. The output current Io can be converted into an output voltage by connecting a resistor to the collector of transistor T6, like the resistor R12 in figure 4a. Like in the arrangement according to figure 4c, resistors R11, R12, R15, R16 can, either alone or in combination with another one, be part of a microphone based on fluid flow measurements.
The advantage of the arrangements according to figures 4a-4d is that they are easier to operate and have more tolerances than the Wheatstone bridge configuration of figure 2b.
It is to be noted that the circuits of figures 4a-4d are shown to include bipolar transistors, however, MOSFET's or JFET's may be used instead. For more details regarding the electrical circuit according to figures 4a-4d, the reader is referred to H.E. de Bree, et al., The p-Flown, a novel device measuring acoustical flows", to be presented at the conference Transducers '95, Stockholm, June 26-.., 1995; H.E. de Bree, "The Wheatstone Gadget, a simple circuit for measuring differential resistance variations", to be published.
It is observed that the electrical measuring circuits of figures 4a-4d for measuring differential resistance values between two (or more) variable resistors Ru, Rd may also be used in other configurations, i.e. configurations in which resistors Ru, Rd are no part of a microphone based on fluid flow measurements.
Because of the small dimensions and its low frequency sensitivity the microphone described above offers many interesting applications, some of which will be listed below.
1. For measuring turbulence the application of small microphones sensitive to very low frequencies is required. The microphone according to the invention meets these requirements.
2. The microphone according to the invention may be applied in the field of acoustic imaging (acoustic holography). Acoustic imaging is a method to measure acoustic fields by means of an array of microphones (for example in 128 x 128 positions). At the moment, such a method can be carried out by means of pressure microphones. However, such pressure microphones are expensive and, moreover, pressure microphones affect the acoustic field principally. The microphone described here is expected to cost only a fraction of the costs of pressure microphones. Moreover, since the microphone according to the invention is based on measuring fluid flows it hardly affects the acoustic field to be measured.
3. The microphone according to the invention may be used in the field of hydrophony which is, e.g., used to minimize the noise generation of ships. For this purpose, microphones are required which are not degraded by water and which show a frequency range of up to 5 kHz. By the application of a gel, known to a person skilled in the art per se, having the same acoustic impedance as water, the microphone according to the invention may be constructed insensitive to water.
4. The microphone according to the invention can advantageously be applied in airplanes. To measure acoustic waves in airplanes, at the moment, both pressure waves and flow waves are measured. At the moment, the flow wave is deducted from the pressure wave at different locations. However, at low frequencies (i.e. about 100 Hz) this method leads to errors due to phase shift problems. The solution of this problem is to measure the volume flow at one location which can be carried out very easy with the microphone described here. The microphone is very sensitive about 100 Hz and the seize of the microphone is such that the volume flow can be measured at one location.
5. The microphone according to the invention may be used to evaluate standing waves in a tube. In such an analysis the reflection coefficient of materials is measured by means of a standing wave tube. However, this is a complicated method, which could be simplified by means of a combination of a pressure microphone and a microphone based on fluid flow measurement.
6. The microphone according to the present invention can be used as a uni-polar microphone for carrying out stereo-measurements in a single point. Such a microphone could advantageously be used in "open line telephones". Such telephones are used in the field of valuta and stocks. These are a kind of hands-free telephones, i.e. telephones without a receiver but including a microphone and a large loudspeaker arranged in a room, however, with the feature that the loudspeaker signal is never suppressed. In a hands-free telephone, as soon as somebody speaks into the microphone, the loudspeaker signal is suppressed to avoid acoustic feedback. By using a unipolar microphone such an acoustic feedback can be avoided. Such a unipolar may be realized by combining a pressure microphone and a microphone based on fluid flow measurement and by adding the output signals of both.
7. The microphone according to the invention may be used for transonic measurements. The generation of noise by propellers and turbofan motors is examined in a wind tunnel with wind speeds about the speed of sound. During such an examination it is very important that the air flow is not disturbed. Acoustic pressures are in the order of 140 dBSPL and the frequencies observed are below 2 kHz. Therefore, the microphone described here is very suitable to be used in such an arrangement. The microphone according to the invention is small and, moreover, the acoustic pressures are very high, while the frequencies are relatively low. Principally, the measurements can be carried out with the one-sensor-one-heater configuration.
8. The microphone according to the invention can be used to measure the acoustic radiation of an airplane body. To carry out a measurement as accurate as possible the measurement need be carried out as close to the body as possible. The intensity sensors according to the prior art are too large to do so. However, a combination of a microphone based on fluid flow measurements and a pressure microphone are able to carry out such measurements.
9. An acoustic wave is entirely determined by a pressure wave and a flow wave. By a combination of a pressure microphone and a microphone based on fluid flow measurements, therefore, an acoustic wave can be measured accurately. Therefore, such a combination offers a better possibility than a pressure microphone only in anti-noise systems for measuring acoustic waves as accurate as possible.
10. The direction of an acoustic wave can be measured by means of, e.g., three perpendicular microphones based on fluid flow measurements and a pressure microphone. Preferably, in such an arrangement the microphones based on fluid flow measurement have to be constructed to be sensitive in one direction only.
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Magnolias are unsurpassed for their large fragrant flowers, but the trees have very specific growing requirements. Magnolias have delicate, fleshy root systems. It is important to treat the roots with care when planting them. Once they are settled in, do not move them, and avoid installing other plants around their root zones. Because of the early emergence of most magnolia flowers, magnolias are subject to sudden spring cold snaps. Give your magnolia space to grow, and choose the best variety for your region.
The Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) stands alone as a landscape tree because of its commanding appearance and size. The species can reach 60 to 100 feet in perfect conditions. The dark, glossy 6- to 8-inch leaves are evergreen, which sets it apart from other magnolias. The fragrant, white summer flowers are 6 to 12 inches across. Southern magnolia is native to North Carolina and hardy to USDA hardiness zone 7. Fortunately, smaller cultivars have been developed.
A 30-foot variety, Victoria, still retains the immense flower size of the species. Another notable variety is Brackens Brown. The underside of the leaves have an attractive, felt-like brown layer. This tree will reach 20 feet tall and 8 feet wide at maturity. Edith Bogue is one of the toughest for Northwest gardens. It is a columnar magnolia reaching 25 feet tall. For the smaller setting, Little Gem tops out at 15 to 20 feet tall.
These varieties are all hardy to USDA zone 6. Once established, evergreen magnolias tolerate sun and heat well. They prefer a loose, rich, slightly acidic soil.
Magnolias for Small Landscapes
Smaller magnolias are more suited for the average garden.
Oyama magnolia (Magnolia sieboldii) is a small tree that will reach 6 to 10 feet tall. The flowers are creamy white with burgundy stamens. This magnolia will bloom sporadically from late spring through summer. The seed pods are an interesting bright pink. Oyama magnolia is hardy to USDA zone 4.
Butterfly magnolia (Magnolia 'Butterflies') has rich yellow, cup-like flowers. The flowers appear in spring before the leaves emerge. It will reach 15 to 25 feet in the landscape. Butterfly magnolia is hardy to zone 4.
The star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) will reach a height of 10 feet. Its two attributes are its small stature and its very early spring bloom. It starts out with pink-to-red buds, which open as multiple linear white petals. Star magnolia is hardy to zone 5. Often called tulip magnolia, Magnolia liliflora has deep purple, tulip-like blooms. The flowers may appear just before the foliage, or at the same time. This is an 8- to 12-foot tree. Tulip magnolia is hardy to zone 5.
These varieties do well in full sun, but the foliage will look better given afternoon sun protection. Grow them near larger trees that will cast an afternoon shadow. They like rich, loose soil that is slightly acidic.
Larger Deciduous Magnolias
Big-leaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) is an immensely beautiful tree. Over time it will develop into a 30- to 40-foot tree. It has the largest leaves of all the magnolias. The leaves have a heart-shaped base and appear along with the large, cup-like flowers in early summer. The flowers are creamy white and can reach a width of 16 inches. The large 1- to 3-foot long leaves look tropical. Big-leaf magnolia is hardy to zone 4.
The Yulan magnolia (Magnolia denudata) is a fast-growing 30- to 50-foot tree. It develops creamy 4- to 8-inch creamy white tulip-like flowers in spring just before leaf-break. Yulan magnolia is hardy to USDA zone 5.
These magnolias do best in rich, well-draining soil. They prefer full sun but will grow in partial shade.
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Some critics are saying the EPA must revisit its carbon rule for new power plants because it lumped coal and gas into the same category. [Washington Post]
At issue here is a rule the EPA proposed last March that would set carbon emissions standards under the Clean Air Act for all new coal- and gas-fired power plants built in the United States. Going forward, any new plant would have to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.
Most modern natural-gas plants can meet that standard, so they should be fine. Conventional coal plants, however, average upwards of 1,800 pounds per megawatt-hour. That means it would be impossible to build a new coal facility in the United States unless it could capture and bury its carbon-dioxide — a technology that’s still very much unproven.
The problem with this proposed carbon rule, critics say, is that the EPA took a rather novel step by lumping both coal plants and gas plants together into one “source category” — essentially holding them to the same carbon standard. That’s not how this section of the Clean Air Act is usually implemented.
The question seems to be whether the EPA will delay the rule in order to separate coal and gas into different categories, or if the rule will get delayed in court.
A new study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said the U.S. could face a Hurricane Katrina every other year. [USA Today]
The Senate will vote on several amendments today, potentially including: stripping the military biofuels program, requiring federal agencies to plan for climate change and approving the Keystone pipeline. [The Hill]
Approving the Keystone XL pipeline may not even buy President Obama any bipartisan goodwill. [National Journal]
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) said he would place a procedural hold on Gina McCarthy’s nomination to be EPA Adminstrator until he gets an update on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to repair a levee on the Mississippi River system. [The Hill]
UK government plans to remove climate change from the under-14 national curriculum is facing backlash from student and environmental groups. [Guardian]
Coastal communities are continually reminded of the difficulty of adapting to storm surges and damaging Nor’easters. [New York Times]
Could the Chinese solar company Suntech’s default on its debts mean the solar industry will continue to consolidate? [Bloomberg]
President Obama’s nominee to for Secretary of the Interior will appear before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thrusday. [The Hill]
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From Abracadabra to Zombies | View All
The mokele-mbembe is an alleged living sauropod dinosaur now living in the Likouala swamp region of the Republic of the Congo. The animal has allegedly been encountered by local pygmies who have given the creature its name. Mokele-mbembe means, depending on your source, "rainbow", "one that stops the flow of rivers", or "monstrous animal." The mokele-mbembe is allegedly the size of an elephant (the favorite prey of the local pygmies) with a very long reptilian neck. The creature is said to be hairless and reddish-brown, brown, or gray, with a tail five to ten feet long. The creature apparently spends most of its time in the water, but the pygmies claim they've seen prints left on land of a three-clawed foot.
Reports of this creature have been circulating for the past two hundred years, yet no one has photographed the creature or produced any physical evidence of its existence. Enthusiastic cryptozoologists like Roy Mackal (A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe, 1987) think we should give as much credence to the mokele-mbembe as to the Loch Ness monster. True, and it seems unlikely the creature exists, since there would have to be a significant number of the huge creatures to continue to produce descendents after all other dinosaurs were extinguished some 70 million years ago. Yet, they seem to have flourished without leaving a single carcass, bone fragment, or fossil.
Cryptozoologists argue that since a coelacanth was caught off the coast of South Africa, it is reasonable to think that a dinosaur might also have avoided detection for a few million years. However, there is a big difference between finding a fish thought to be extinct and finding a dinosaur. The fish is small and lives in the ocean. Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth and have depths of up to 35,000 feet. That is a lot of space to hide specimens and fragments of specimens. Dinosaurs are large, occupied the third of the earth mostly visible to its other inhabitants, and thus would be much more likely to be detected than the coelacanth.
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Loretta Brown walked along Bishop’s Beach near Homer, Alaska, looking for plastic bottles, Styrofoam cups, beer cans, cigarette butts, and old fishing nets.
“You tend to find things among the driftwood, since the same tide that washes up the driftwood washes up the trash,” she said, stooping to pick up a plastic water bottle. “It’s kind of like an Easter egg hunt.”
Brown is a marine debris education and outreach specialist with the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, a nonprofit organization based in Homer that educates the public about coastal issues and offers eco-tours of the region. She also has a keen, experienced eye for litter.
“We’re likely to find some up here among the grasses,” she said, homing in on small pieces of Styrofoam nestled in clumps of grass among the basalt rocks and clam shells along the beach. “The birds will eat these.”
With all of the work she does picking up litter and educating people about the long-term environmental damage it does, Brown has developed some theories about what makes people throw out their trash, and how to get them to stop.
“It probably goes to our roots as a species,” she said. “We’ve always had refuse of some kind. In the beginning, it didn’t matter if you threw things on the ground, because it was biodegradable and would rot. It wasn’t a problem until plastic was invented.”
Education, she thinks, is the way to change the culture of littering.
“The best way for people to become engaged and change their behaviors is not just to inform them of the problem, but to have them actively experience the problem,” she said. “It’s about having the conversation—that really helps. It’s a behavioral change.”
Despite Alaska’s strict anti-littering laws, the state has a serious problem with marine debris because of ocean currents that bring trash from around the world to its shores, according to Julie Decker, director of the Anchorage Museum. In an exhibit called Gyre, the museum puts this trash on display, with artworks that incorporate and call attention to plastic trash collected from beaches worldwide.
The exhibit places litter under museum lights so that people will look at it, talk about it, think about where it came from, and ultimately change their behavior.
“In one moment you understand it,” she said. “You see yourself in the problem. You see your own products. You see your own beaches. I wasn’t sure what kind of response we’d get, but watching children go through has been one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had. They leave talking about behavior, talking about what they’re going to do.”
One of the exhibit’s goals, according to Decker, is to start a conversation about why people litter in the first place.
“People want to make it invisible to themselves, to get rid of the trash and the smell,” Decker said. “Most people litter when they’re not being watched.”
Brown’s and Decker’s hunches about why people litter and what it will take to change their behavior have a basis in social science research, such as that done by Robert Cialdini, emeritus professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University and author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
“One of the things that’s fundamental to human nature is that we imitate the actions of those around us,” said Cialdini, who has conducted a number of landmark studies in littering and litter prevention—all of them pointing to the fact that people are likely to do what they think is expected of them. It’s about norms and expectations, he says: Change these, and you’ll change people's behavior.
“It’s the idea that look, no one is littering here, so it must not be a legitimate thing to do,” Cialdini said. “We take our cues about what to do in a particular setting by what people are doing there already.”
Some of Cialdini’s litter studies have taken place in parking lots and parking garages, with flyers placed under the windshield wipers of random cars. Unsuspecting subjects return to their cars and researchers observe them, to see what they do with the flyers. Will they throw them on the ground? In study after study, it turns out that cues in their environment are a strong determining factor in what actions people take.
“It depends on what you see immediately before you get to your car,” Cialdini said. “If you see a environment that is highly littered, you litter. If there is not litter, you are significantly less likely to litter.”
But if there is just one piece of litter in an otherwise litter-free environment, subjects are even less likely to throw their trash on the ground.
“If there is one piece, you are least likely to litter,” Cialdini said. “If you see one piece, it reminds you that most people are not littering here. It calls attention to the fact that the majority of people are not littering.”
Cialdini’s research echoes the “broken windows theory,” first introduced in 1982 by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling. This theory holds that people are more likely to break windows, write graffiti, or deface an environment if it’s already been defaced. One broken window, in other words, leads to more broken windows. And likewise, a littered stretch of beach or highway leads to more littering.
In Cialdini’s research, what people see being done around them also affects their actions. Thus, if they see someone throwing a flyer on the ground nearby, they are more likely to throw their own down. And if they see someone reacting disapprovingly to littering, they are less likely to litter themselves.
“The most dramatic results we’ve gotten are from situations that show people disapproving of littering,” Cialdini said. “One study took place in a library parking lot. People left the library, and there was a piece of paper on their windshield. The thing that most affected people was when they saw someone nearby reaching down and picking up a piece of litter with a disapproving look. When they got to their own cars, not one person littered. If they didn’t see anyone picking up litter, 33 percent littered. We went from a third of the subjects littering to zero, when they saw an example of someone like them who picked up litter and showed disapproval.”
Cialdini argues that the results of his studies demonstrate that people are sensitive to what they see as normal behavior, and they’ll change their behavior to adapt to what they see being done around them.
“It all comes down to norms, and you get those cues from the environment,” he said. “People litter for reasons of convenience. They don’t want this thing. The crucial question is why don’t they litter, since the easy thing is to litter. Why would people hold onto a piece of trash? Their attitudes toward the environment make a difference, but what they perceive as the norm is key.”
He argues that the classic 1971 Keep America Beautiful television commercial showing a Native American man (who was later revealed to be actually Italian) crying amidst a polluted environment, therefore, was not as effective as it could have been, since it depicted an already trashed landscape. A more effective campaign, he says, would create and enforce a positive norm.
“You need to indicate disapproval of littering in all of your signage, not by saying that there are so many people littering, but by saying that if one person litters, it destroys the beauty of the park,” Cialdini said. “Instead of normalizing littering, you need to marginalize it with your message.”
Cialdini has recently expanded his research into other areas of environmental persuasion, such as convincing people to reuse hotel towels. He has worked with hotel chains to design signage with messages like “the majority of our guests reuse their towels”—thus creating a norm that people are likely to follow.
“You ask, ‘What are people like me doing?’” Cialdini said. “People decide what to do based on what people like them have been doing. If you say, ‘The majority of our guests have reused their towels,’ you get more compliance than if you say, ‘Do it for the environment.’”
Meanwhile, people on the front lines of the litter war are struggling to come up with messages that work. Joel Hunt, a public information officer with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), admits that despite public relations campaigns, littering in his state remains at an all-time high. According to Hunt, more than 400,000 bags of litter being picked up along Ohio’s roadways each year.
ODOT, like other state transportation agencies, is tasked with cleaning up its roadways and partnering with other agencies to educate the public about the problems with littering. A recent public information campaign called “Untrash Ohio,” sponsored by Keep Ohio Beautiful, for instance, featured billboards with images like that of someone fishing and reeling in a plastic bottle. And ODOT’s adopt-a-highway program—which gives individuals and organizations the opportunity to adopt a section of highway to keep it clean—seeks to create clean roadways so that, ideally, people will be less likely to litter on them.
Hunt says that his agency continues to try to combat the problem of littering, and he hopes that eventually its efforts will pay off.
“It’s a $4 million preventable problem,” said Hunt. “That money could be used to purchase 28 new snow plow trucks or to repave a 40-mile two-lane road every year.”
Instead, Ohio spends that money—and much time and effort—on collecting all the bottles, cans, and other pieces of trash that inevitably end up along its roadways. It’s a seemingly endless cycle, but litter research suggests that without these clean-up efforts, the problem would get even worse.
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To the Contrary is dedicated to offering educational material to be used in conjunction with our program. Please see below for lesson plans that are currently available for school and group use. If you have any additional questions please send an email to [email protected]
Preventing Teen Pregnancy12/06/2012
Grade Levels: 9-12
Estimated time: 3 class periods
In the To the Contrary teen pregnancy episode, Sarah Brown from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy says that "parents are…the unrecognized weapon" against teen pregnancy. Indeed, surveys and interviews with teenagers have found that parents have much more influence than they think they do over their teenage children’s sex-related decisions and behaviors. This lesson has students consider this impact, as well as that of peers, school, and the media. They’ll see the results of surveys related to the parental role and will discuss their own views on this topic. They’ll conclude by creating posters or brochures to help parents understand how best to communicate with their teenage children about sex.
Parts of this lesson have been designed as group activities. If you feel that your students will not work well in groups on this sensitive subject, you may choose to have them do the group parts either individually or with partners with whom they work well.
- Brainstorm and discuss ways in which peers, parents, schools, and the media influence teenagers’ decisions and behaviors regarding sex and pregnancy prevention.
- View and discuss the teen pregnancy segment of To the Contrary.
- Read survey results about parents and teen pregnancy prevention, and discuss their opinions of these results.
- Use a Web page to learn about recommended strategies for parents to talk to their teenagers about sexuality and pregnancy, and list the tips they think are the most effective.
- Create posters or brochures to educate parents about the role they can play in preventing teen pregnancy.
- Computers with Internet access
- TV and VCR
- Video of To the Contrary segment on teen pregnancy
Standards (from http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp):
National Health Standards:
Standard 7: Knows how to maintain and promote personal health
Standard 10: Understands the fundamental concepts of growth and development
- Write these words on the board: peers, parents, school, the media. Ask students to describe some of the ways in which each of these factors influences teen decisions and behaviors regarding sexual activity, including pregnancy prevention. In other words, how do peers, parents, the school, and the media affect the choices of people their age? List their ideas on the board.
- Ask students if there are any other factors that they think have a strong influence on teenagers’ behaviors related to dating, sex, and pregnancy. Write these additional ideas on the board if students have any to contribute.
- Show students the To the Contrary teen pregnancy episode. Ask them to pay particularly close attention to factors that the teens featured in the program feel have the most influence on their decisions and behaviors. Have students take notes on these factors.
Discuss these questions as a class:
- What did the teenagers in the video feel are the most important factors to help prevent pregnancy in their age group?
- What suggestions did the program give for how parents can influence their teenage children’s decisions about sex?
- What do you think Sarah Brown meant when she stated that "parents are…the unrecognized weapon" against teen pregnancy? What does this statement suggest about parents’ roles?
- Discuss as a class whether students agree or disagree with what the teenagers in the program have said about the role of parents in influencing decisions about sex.
Divide the class into small groups of approximately four students each. Ask each group to look at the poll results at "Parents and Teen Pregnancy: What Surveys Show" (http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/parentpoll2004.asp). Have them discuss and write the answers to the questions below. When group members disagree with each other, they should write down the point(s) on which they disagree and record the opinions of all sides of the debate within their group.
(As an option, you can also have students look at the additional poll results available at http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/polling.asp).
- Which items on this list do you agree with, and why?
- Are there any points on this list that you strongly disagree with? If so, why?
- How important is the peer group in influencing behavior and decisions?
- How important is the media in influencing behavior and decisions?
- How much influence do you think parents have in shaping their teenage children’s behaviors and decisions?
- What mistakes, if any, do you think parents make when dealing with sex-related issues with their children? Are there any specific ways you'd recommend parents talk to their children about sex or model appropriate behaviors?
- Discuss groups' responses to the above questions as a class. If there is considerable disagreement about any of the questions, discuss the reasons students think they might have differing opinions. Make sure they realize that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions.
- Have groups return to the Internet and skim the "Ten Tips for Parents to Help Their Children Avoid Teen Pregnancy" page (http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/reading/tips/tips.asp) to find out some recommended strategies for parents to communicate with their teenage children about sexuality and pregnancy. Ask them to list the top three tips that they feel are the most important.
- Discuss groups’ favorite tips for parents as a class. What do they think parents most need to do to help their children make wise decisions?
Ask students to imagine that they've been hired by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. They're on committees that have been given the responsibility to produce posters or brochures to educate parents about the role they can play in preventing teen pregnancy.
Have students work in groups or pairs to create these presentations. You may choose to have them work in the same groups or to choose partners with whom they're comfortable working on this type of project. Reassure them that they won't really have to share these presentations with their parents, but that they should be directed towards parents in general.
Their posters or brochures should accomplish the following:
- Look visually appealing so that parents would want to pay attention to them.
- Explain why parents have a role to play in preventing teen pregnancy. This section should include some results of the polls that students have viewed online as well as student’s own ideas if they differ from those on the Web site.
- Instruct parents as to how they can influence their teenage children to make positive choices about sexual behavior. This section should include specific tips for how to talk to teens about sex. Here, groups will need to discuss their own ideas about how parents can effectively talk to teens about these issues.
- If you feel that your students are mature enough to perform this task seriously enough, have them role play parents discussing teen pregnancy and other sexuality topics with their kids. Students can take turns being the "parents" and the teenagers and can model both effective and ineffective communication methods.
- Ask the class to brainstorm and list the potential consequences of teen pregnancy on individuals, families, and society. Then have them learn about some of these implications at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Web site (http://www.teenpregnancy.org), linking to "Why Care?" on the left side of the screen. As they browse the page, have them add items to their lists or modify the items they’ve already listed. Discuss their findings as a class, posing these questions in the discussion: What do you feel are the most significant or troublesome consequences of teen pregnancy? Are there any potential consequences that you hadn’t thought about before? In what ways does teen pregnancy affect society as a whole? Also discuss whether students think any of these consequences are strong deterrents to having sex.
Ask students to bring in some of their favorite magazines to class. If some of them (particularly the boys) do not read magazines, bring in a few samples of your own, such as "muscle" magazines (with pictures of male bodybuilders), sports magazines, or car magazines.
Have students work in groups to choose magazine ads or images that represent women, girls, men, or boys in stereotypical ways. Ask them to write paragraphs describing the gender stereotype in one ad or picture and explaining whether this type of image might influence teens’ ideas about themselves and other people. Also ask them to state whether they think this type of stereotype could contribute to attitudes about sex, and, if so, how.
To continue this activity, have students create counter-ads based on the actual ad they’ve chosen. A counter-ad is an ad that counters, or parodies, the real ad.
For examples of counter-ads parodying tobacco ads, see BADAdvertising Country (http://www.badvertising.org). A few other examples of counter-ads can be seen at "Satirical Counter-Ads As Critical Pedagogy" (http://www.educ.uvic.ca/Research/
conferences/connections2003/17Zuk103.pdf); this is a downloadable PDF document.
If you’re interested in continuing this topic in additional lessons, try "Exposing Gender Stereotypes" at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/
lessons/secondary/gender_portrayal/exposing_gender.cfm and the two corresponding lessons to which you can link from this page.
- Have students design and conduct a survey in their school to find out what other students feel are the best strategies for preventing teen pregnancy. They may use the polls at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Web site (http://www.teenpregnancy.org), including the PDF file "Not Just Another Thing to Do" (http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/pdf/teenwant.pdf) to help them come up with good survey questions. They should be sure to ask their peers which factors they feel have the greatest influence on teens’ sex-related decisions and behaviors. After they’ve finished their survey, ask students to compile and discuss the anonymous results. As an option, they could publish the results in a newsletter to be circulated throughout the school.
- Remind students of Sarah Brown's statement that abstinence messages are "not at odds" with offering information about contraception. Ask them to browse through some of the Web sites available by linking from http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/teens/avoid/abstinence/abslinks.asp; all of these sites address sex education from an abstinence-only perspective and do not discuss birth control. Ask students to write opinion papers answering the question "Do you think abstinence-only sex education is the best way to educate teens about sex? Why or why not?"
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: http://www.teenpregnancy.org
Advocates for Youth Teen Pregnancy Prevention: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/teenpregnancy.htm
Eldis: Key Issues: Abstinence: http://www.eldis.org/hivaids/abstinence.htm (discusses research results on the efficacy of abstinence-only versus broad-based sexual education programs)
About the Author
Betsy Hedberg is a teacher and freelance curriculum writer who has published lesson plans on a variety of subjects. She received her Secondary Teaching Credential in Social Studies from Loyola Marymount University and her Master of Arts in Geography from UCLA. In addition to curriculum writing, she presents seminars and training sessions to help teachers incorporate the Internet into their classrooms.
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’s second Dragon Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station encountered a thruster issue that slowed the scheduled critical deployments of the capsule’s solar arrays and rendezvous maneuvers, following an otherwise successful March 1 liftoff.
The effect of the difficulties on plans for a rendezvous with the 250-mi.-high, six-person orbiting science laboratory and on grapple operations scheduled for early March 2 were unclear, said Pat Ryan, aspokesman in Mission Control.
The Dragon’s power-generating solar panels were extended at 11:49 a.m. EST, with commands issued from an Australian ground station, nearly 90 min. behind schedule, according to statements from Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and chief designer.confirmed the statement issued by Musk via Twitter.
Dragon encountered an unspecified problem with a propellant valve after settling into an initial 124 X 202-mi. orbit, following its ontime liftoff at 10:10 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral. The difficulty prevented three of four thruster pods on the supply capsule from operating, said SpaceX spokeswoman Christina Ra.
“Once we get at least two pods running, we will begin a series of burns to get to station,” Ra said in a post-launch advisory.
Musk said his Hawthorne, Calif.-based control team was attempting to override flight control system inhibits that were preventing three of the four thruster steering systems from initializing.
The scheduled 25-day mission is the second by SpaceX under a $1.6 billion NASA cargo services contract awarded in late 2008. The first mission, successfully launched in October, followed a six-year, NASA-led Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) partnership. The COTS partnership transitioned to commercial operations following an initial Dragon visit to the station in May 2012.
NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn were have been preparing to position themselves in the station’s U.S. segment Cupola observation deck, ready to reach out with the 58-ft.-long Canadian robot arm to grapple the supply vessel as soon as March 2 at 6:30 a.m. EST.
Berthing operations of the capsule, filled with a cargo of slightly less than 2,300 lb. of U.S., European and Japanese research equipment and other internal and external supplies, were scheduled to begin at 8:40 a.m. EST. Dragon would be berthed to the station’s U.S. segment Harmony module for internal access by the station’s six crewmembers on March 3.
A series of maneuvers are required to propel the Dragon toward the station. NASA and SpaceX flight control teams will consult during the final stages of rendezvous for a series of four “go/no-go” decisions that permit the unpiloted vessel to maneuver close enough to the orbiting science laboratory for the robot arm grapple.
Dragon is scheduled to remain berthed to the space station until March 25. Once unberthed using Canada’s robot arm, the capsule will aim for a parachute descent into the Pacific Ocean off Baja, California. SpaceX recovery vessels will be on station to retrieve the capsule and its return cargo of slightly less than 2,700 lb. of research equipment and hardware in need of refurbishment.
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Institute of Islamic - African Studies
All Rights Reserved
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرّحِيمِ وَصَلّى اللّهُ عَلَي سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيماً
Fig. 1. Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid
For more than 9 centuries, the Turudbe? Fulbe? have been the purveyors of social reform and nation formation throughout the entire region of the bilad ?s-sudan. What we mean by the bilad?s-sudan, are those lands that lie between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea, and what is between the beginning of the Sahel savannah lands below the Sahara until the beginning of the tropical forest. However the origin of this Fulbe? clan have been cast in a veil of mystery mainly due to the diverse opinions among ancient and contemporary scholars concerning them. Furthermore, the various names given to these people do nothing to remove this enigma. For example: Takrur, Tukulor, Turunkawa, and Turudbe? (sing. Turuudi), are all names referring to one people. The Arab historians referred to them as Takruri, in spite of the fact that this cognomen today refers to every Black from West Africa. In Franco-phone West Africa, the Wolof called them Tukulor. Among the Hausa speaking people, they are called Turunkawa. However, the Fulbe? refer to themselves as Turudbe? in there own language or Turudiyya in Arabic. The last two cognomens are how they are known among the rest of the Fulani clans as well. What is key here, is that this Turudbe? Fulbe? clan played a key role as leaders of religion and purveyors of intellectual reform throughout the regions of African known as the bilad?s-sudan (these are the lands which lie south of the Sahara desert and north of the tropical forest, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea). The comprehension of this function played by the Turudbe? is a sine qua non to an understanding and apprehension of movements and events in the bilad?s-sudan, especially during the 19th century.
Having said this, it is fitting here to mention what the Turudbe? say about themselves, despite the fact that many of the ethnic groups among the Sudanic peoples customarily give fabricated lineages to establish ?nobility? of origin for its people. The significance of examining the Turudbe? Fulbe?s view of themselves is to analyze how they construct their identity and how they employ that identity construct for their own survival. Their Self Knowledge helps them to return to the idealization of their cultural values, myths and heroes in order to uphold and reaffirm their collective personality. Waziri Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Bukhari, drawing from earlier sources of the origin of the Fulbe?, combines them into a synthesis of opinion. He said regarding their origin:
?It is said that the origin of the Turudbe? are from the Jews. It is said that they are from the Christians. It is said that they are from the Bambara from among the Sudanese who came and settled between the Nile and Euphrates rivers. It is said that they are from a band of the Banu Israel who relocated from the region of Sinai to the lands of Tuur. It is for this reason they are called Turudbe?. Tuur is a land in the western part of Yemen. The most sound opinion is that they are the descendents of Ruum ibn `Esau ibn Is?haq ibn Ibrahim, (upon them be peace). They settled near the meeting of the two seas.?
Though some contemporary scholars dispute the above account, yet John Willis points out ?this need not be taken as a fatal objection to their claims of Arabic ancestry?, or even for that matter Hebrew ancestry, as well. Here in this context, the Turudbe? trace their lineage and origins back through the two sacred communities the Jews and the Christians and then on to the sacred covenant of Abraham, the father of the People of the Book. This is significant because the narrative of the ?covenant?, the ?promise? and the ?return? becomes a motivating factor in the self-image of the Turudbe?. This identity construct becomes what Ibn Khaldun would call the point of solidarity (asabiyya) that binds the Turudbe? and provides them with a philosophy in their historical consciousness. It gives them their reason for being and what Nietzche would call ?the will to power?. Abdullahi Dan Fuduye? places Turudbe? genesis deep within the ethos of the Bani Israel when he said:
?The origin of the entire Fullaatiyeen (Fulbe?) ethnicity comes from the geographical area of Mount Sinai (Tuur Sina). They thereafter persisted in migrating from place to place until they reached the lands of the far west (aqsa?l-maghrib) and to the lands that Allah ta`ala had willed for them to reach.?
This positing of the Turudbe? in the sacred mount where the Torah was originally revealed to Prophet Musa (Moses) provides them with the mechanism for organizing their collective experience around the Creator and infuses them with divine purpose and destiny. This self-image will be played out repeatedly throughout the long history of the Turudbe? in every region of Africa where they settled. This concept will reemerge again among the enslaved descendents of the Turudbe? in the Americas as well.
Building on the Abrahamic line signification, Abdullahi Dan Fuduye? traces the Turudbe? to ar-Ruum who was a descendent of both Is?haq and Isma`il, the two sons of Abraham. Thus, assuring for his ethnicity a complete fulfillment of the ?covenant? given by the Creator to Abraham. Abdullahi says:
?You also know that this ar-Ruum is the son of `Esau ibn Is?haq ibn Ibrahim, upon them be peace. His mother was Nasmat the daughter of Isma?il ibn Ibrahim, upon him be peace. Dhu?n-Nasibeen said in his Kitab?t-Tanweer: ?Isma`il fathered twelve boys and one girl and it was from his descendents that all the Arabs descended. When he approached death he bequeathed to his brother, Is?haq, that his son, `Esau should be married to his daughter, and from their marriage ar-Ruum was born. Ar-Ruum was yellowish in color for which reason his children were called the Banu al-Asfar.?
It is interesting to note that the Turudbe? trace their lineage to two sons whose birthright has been in question. One being Ishma?il, the first born son of Abraham and the African/Nubian woman, Hajar; and the other was ?Esau, the grandson of Abraham through his second born son, Is?haq. According to the Bible, `Esau, the first born of Is`haq, first had his birthright taken by his younger brother, Jacob. Then through the deception their mother, Jacob was able to attain the blessings that was destined for `Esau. Ishma?il was the first born of Ibrahim, yet Is?haq is said by the Jews to have received the ?covenant of blessing? from his father. Ishma?il, on the other hand was overlooked and treated like an unwanted and rejected son. This is significant, because it lays the foundation for two other identity-constructs: that of the ?lost tribe? and ?the rejected stone?. The Lost Tribe referent is a key element in the identity construct for the Bani Israel because it opens the hope of future redemption and affirmation after rejection and spiritual fall of the scattered tribes. The referent of the Rejected Stone takes its origin from a people who were despised and discarded due to some outward or inward imperfection, yet the Creator ?chose? them, redeemed them and made them the Corner Stone of a ?New Spiritual World?. This signification will be seen throughout history of the Turudbe, especially in the Diaspora of the Americas. This self-image laid the foundation for the individual and collective quest for authenticity among the Turudbe?, giving them a common historical experience that provided them with a frame of reference that was stable and continuous.
One of my Turudbe? teachers in the Republic of the Sudan, Bashir ibn Ahmad ibn Modi Abdu in his an-Nasab wa ?s-Sahr attempted to clarify this discrepancy in the following story when he related the story of the Turudbe? encounter with the armies of the Companions of Muhammad:
?The Turudbe? said to them: ?We have recognized the Truth and we will adhere to it.? Then the armies of the Companions waged war against the Sironkulle? and when they intended to depart, the leader of the Turudbe? said: ?You came to us with the religion, while we were ignorant. Therefore leave with us someone who can teach us.? They then left behind `Uqba ibn `Aamir. Some say it was `Uqba ibn Nafi`, which is the correct view. He settled with them and taught them the religion and the divine law (shari`a). Then the leader of the Turudbe? married his daughter, Bajjemanga to `Uqba.?
Junayd cites that the Turudbe? migrated to the west until they reached the lands of Futa Toro. He further explains that when `Uqba ibn Nafi` led the armies of the Companions of Muhammad across North Africa in 675 C.D. during `Amr ibn al-`Aas?s rule of Egypt. He established the great learning center of Qayrawan. He then moved southward to Ghadames, the lands of the Berber, the Suus al-Aqsa, Widaan and from there he led his armies as for as the frontiers of the Sudan, where he encountered the people of Takruur. According to Waziri Junayd:
?The Amir (leader) of the Turudbe? married his daughter, whose name was Bajimanga, to `Uqba ibn Nafi` and she soon gave birth to four sons: Da`atu, Naasa, Waya, and Wa`araba.?
Here Waziri Junayd demonstrates that the emergence of the Turudbe? was from among the Fulbe? people because of a merger with the Arabs. He implies that their descent from `Uqba ibn Nafi` gave them their militant Islamic outlook and made them more sedentary than the rest of the Fulbe?. The Turudbe? were known for not herding cattle as is the custom of the remainder of the Fulbe? and for taking up the profession of Islam, similar to the Zawaya clerical groups among the Tuareg and Berber. It is not surprising that both the Zawaya and the Turudbe? claim descent from `Uqba ibn Nafi` and that both ethnic groups initially acted as clients to more militant ethnic groups around them.
Finally, Shaykh Bashir ibn Ahmad gives a summary of the identity construct of the Turudbe? Fulbe? people, when he said:
?The Fulaaniyun as we said previously are Arabs from the direction of their ancestor, Uqba. The Arabs are originally from Isma`il ibn Ibrahim. From the direction of their paternal uncles, the Turuuudiya are from Ruum ibn Esau ibn Is?haq ibn Ibrahim and from the direction of Nasma, the mother of Ruum. She too is from Isma`il ibn Ibrahim, upon him and our Prophet be blessings and peace.?
The identity construct of the Turudbe? Fulbe?, thus arrives at its origin, where they descend from the sacred line of Abraham, from his two sons, Isma`il and Is?haq. The Turudbe? further amalgamated their line back into the line of the source house of Isma`il, to whom the last Messenger and Prophet, would be sent, the House of Quraysh. This assured them the right to self-rule and independence and the right of autonomous leadership among the Muslims.
The identity construct of the Turudbe? being as it is connected to the Abrahamic line includes the blessings of the covenant, but also comprises the promise of affliction. This is a reflection again on the concept of the ?tried stone? and the concept of ?sacrifice? that is so essential in the identity construct of the Abrahamic tradition. The idea of rejection and being made a ?stumbling block? for the nations comprise the core belief system of the Bani Israel and it is reflected in the supreme sacrifice that Abraham was called upon by Allah to perform. This self-sacrifice becomes the means by which nations will be judged and rewarded. The same stone that was a stumbling block for many and was rejected by oppressive nations would become the ?corner stone? of a New World. This identity construct becomes the most powerful element of defense in the face of social and cultural aggression. The oppression itself becomes a form of purification, edification, atonement and preparation for a new just and equitable social order. The Bible narrates this affliction in the Book of Genesis: ?And He said to Abram: ?Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.?
The sojourn of the Bani Isra`il in bondage in Egypt was only one aspect of the fulfillment of Divine prophecy. In order for the prophecy to be truly fulfilled all of the ?seed of Abraham? would of necessity have to go through the same purifying fire of exile, bondage and oppression. They would remain in this condition until the return of the Messiah of the house of Abraham who said: ?I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Isra`il.?
We come now to the illustrious and benevolent Turudbe? Muslim, Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid. Perhaps more than anyone else among the enslaved Turudbe? Fulbe? descendents of the Abrahamic line, Umar constitutes the best example of the persistence of an identity construct because of the extensive Arabic writing he has bequeathed to us. There is much controversy connected with him, because the Anglo-American writers have claimed that he had accepted Christianity. However, when careful examination is made of his writings, the evidence proves the contrary.
Umar ibn Sayyid was born in 1770 in Futa Toro, the original home of the Fulbe? speaking ethnic groups known as Tukulur or Turudbe?. He was born as he said in his Autobiography: ?The place of my birth was Futa Toro (which lay) between the two rivers? This region was for many centuries under the sovereignty of the Takrur, Malian and Songhai empires, respectively. With the Moroccan/Portuguese invasion and sacking of the Songhay empire in 1592, many Turudbe? speaking scholars took up the banner of jihad and attempted to establish Islamic government throughout the regions of the bilad?s-sudan in general and in Futa in particular. From 1599 until 1670 the Denianke Fulbe? ethnicty ruled the area. The spiritual leader at that time was a Qaadiri Imam named Malik Sy. The decline of the Denianke was the result of the European slave trade.
The region of Bundu is the southern most tip of Futa Toro which lies on the west bank of the Faleme? River. Islamic learning was originally brought into the region of Bundu as well as Niokholo and Dentilia by the Jakhanke? clerical communities coming from Diakha-Bambukha. The Imam who originally established Islamic learning in this region was none other than the famous al-Hajj Salim Suware?. It is from him and his many students that the transmission of the Muwatta of Imam Malik, Tafseer ?l-Jalalayn and the as-Shifa of Qadi Iyad were transmitted in the entire region of Futa Toro and Futa Jallon. In the region of Bundu at the central town of Didecoto, reside two grandsons of al-Hajj Salim: Shaykh Abdullah and Shaykh Ture? Fode where this learning tradition still persist. Later, Futa Jallon became a magnate for learned scholars and Arabic literacy where more than 60% of the inhabitants were versed in the Arabic language. Education in this region was propagated by the famous Saalamiyya families who spread the Qaadiriya Tariqa throughout Guinea, Senegal and Gambia and traced their ancestry to Umar ibn ?l-Khataab, may Allah be pleased with him. It was under the shadow of this great reform and intellectual tradition that Umar ibn Sayyid received his 25 years of training and instruction. He began his formal education of memorization of the Quran at age 6 in 1776 and by 1801 at age 31, he had completed an exhaustive and thorough Islamic education. There is no doubt, when we compare his education with the curriculum laid out by one of his contemporaries, another enslaved Muslim, Lamin Kebbe?, that Umar had reached the level of Alfa or al-faqih (jurist). At this level Umar ibn Sayyid probably returned to his home to teach children the Quran, act as kaatib (scribe) for senior jurist, enhance his knowledge with the senior scholars, enter the higher esoteric training in the Qaadiriyya brotherhood, and assist the Almami Abd?l-Qaadir Kan in the administration of the newly formed Muslim confederaton. He said in his Autobiography:
?I was entrenched in seeking knowledge for twenty-five years. I came back to my region and after six years a large army came to our land. They killed many people and seized me bringing me to the great ocean. There they sold me into the hands of the Christians.?
When Umar ibn Sayyid was captured at the age of 37, and brought to the United States in 1807, it was the same year that the United States abolished the importing of African slaves from Africa. It was also the same year that the first Muslim slave revolts issued in Bahia, Brazil from Muslims mostly from the same region as Umar. This year also witnessed the major successes of the armies of another Turudbe? social reformer and scholar/warrior, Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye? in the central bilad?s-sudan. It is clear that the Anglo-Americans did not want in their borders the emergence of the jihads that were engulfing Western Sudan and Bahia, Brazil. The reason for this no doubt is the effect that militant Muslims had upon the African freedom fighters in South Carolina. Among those directly influenced by militant Islam in general, and Umar in Sayyid, in particular, was Denmark Vesey. David Robertson said in his biography of Vesey:
?The escaped slave Charles Ball, a native of Maryland who wrote a memoir of his South Carolina slavery in 1806, noted the ?great many? Africans he had met during his bondage in South Carolina, and that ?I knew several who must have been, from what I have since learned, Mohamedans [sic].? The percentage of slaves at least nominally Muslim imported from Africa to the great trading centers such as Charleston has been estimated at 10 percent of the total number brought in during the years 1711 to 1808. Proportionately, approximately 8,800 of these Muslim individuals must therefore have been sold in South Carolina market in these years. In his decades both as a slave and as a freedman, Denmark Vesey almost certainly knew or observed fellow blacks who continued to practice Islam in their bondage.?
Robertson goes on to suggest that Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid, at age 53, was one of the mentors of Denmark Vesey and that perhaps he accepted Islam at his or another Turudbe Muslim?s hand. Like the influence that the Turudbe? Amir Abd?r-Rahman ibn Ibrahim had upon the revolutionary thinking of David Walker, likewise, the Turudbe? teacher, Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid, had great influence upon the militant revolutionary, Denmark Vesey. The sense of historical consciousness engendered through the connection with the patriarch Abraham that was transmitted through the Turudbe? identity concept transfigured the thoughts of Denmark Vesey and gave him the sense of belonging and self-esteem needed to accomplish his revolution. Herbert Aptheker tells us: ?He (Vesey) read to them (his African colleagues) from the bible how the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt from bondage ?. Thus, the radical intellectual tradition and the militant arms struggle tradition among Africans in America finds its source from the Turudbe? children of Abraham and their entrenched sense of knowledge of self.
The Anglo-American writers, both contemporary with Alfa Umar, and thereafter, painted an altogether different picture of the enslaved Turudbe?. He was made out to be docile and compliant to his lot as a slave. Further, it was stated repeatedly that he had converted from his native religion of Islam. However, the evidence of his own writings prove otherwise. The most astounding evidence for the persistence of Alfa Umar?s belief in Islam was a letter written around 1820 at age 50 where the learned Turudbe? scholar says at the beginning:
?You show Allah in male or female form? Behold, such is a division! [not clear] These are nothing but names that you have made up, you and your fathers, which Allah did not reveal. All good is from Allah and no other.?
Here is a scathing attack, not unlike the criticisms made by Amir Abd?r-Rahman ibn Ibrahim, where Umar assails the Anglo-Americans for their Hellenistic paganism. He calls them to account for associating deities besides the One God Allah ta`ala. In spite of being under the abject subjugation of the white Christians, yet Umar remained firm on the Abrahamic covenant of commanding all that is good and forbidding indecency. Umar remained undeviating from the pure unadulterated monotheism that was bequeathed to Abraham, Isma`il, Ishaq, Yaqub and all the their descendent until Muhammad, may Allah bless all of them and grant them peace. Umar said in his letter citing one of the most fundamental verses that established the tenets (`aqeeda) of Islam:
?The Messenger believes in what was revealed to him from his Lord, as well as the believers. All of them believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books and His Messengers. We make no distinction between any of them.?
This verse revealed at the end of the second chapter called Al-Baqara (the Cow) delineates the fundamental creed of Islam. Given Umar?s dept of understanding of these verses along with the causative factor behind their revelation, there can be no doubt that he remained consistent with the fundamental beliefs of Islam.
Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid left behind a clear picture of himself, his place of origin, his level of learning and what he thought about those who oppressed him. His Arabic Autobiography stands as a living testimony of the persistence of the will to BE and the rights of self-determination for the ?lost children of Abraham?. Umar ibn Sayyid composed his Autobiography in 1831 at the age of 61. He began his autobiography by recording from memory the entire Qur?anic chapter called al-Mulk (the Kingdom) or at-Tabarrak (the Blessing). It is the sixty-seventh chapter of the Qur?an revealed in Mecca during the early days of prophet Muhammad?s mission, upon him be peace. It comprises thirty verses. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace used to recite it every night before retiring to bed.
Modern academicians have pondered the reason why Umar ibn Sayyid, decided to record this early Meccan Sura. What was he trying to say to his would be readers? Who was he addressing by quoting these verses? Was it an attempt at proselytizing? Was it a veiled effort to call to account the souls of his captors? The answer to these questions can be found in the religion that he dedicated himself to study for more than 25 years. There has been narrated many traditions concerning the benefits of this tremendous chapter of the Qur?an. Among them are the words of the Messenger of Allah, upon him be peace on the authority of Ibn Abass: ?It (al-Mulk) is the preventer. It is the redeemer. By it one is saved from the punishment of the grave.? There are more narrated traditions that demonstrate the importance of this Qur?anic chapter and sheds light on the possible reasons that induce Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid to began his Autobiography with it. He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace also said on the authority of Abu Hurayra: ?Indeed there is a chapter from the Book of Allah which is only thirty verses, however it will intercede for a man and even bring him out of the Fire on the Day of Judgment and enter him into Paradise. It is the chapter called al-Mulk?. Realizing the level of education that Umar had attained in Bundu, there is no doubt that he had come across these traditions. Thus, his evoking this Quranic chapter was a sincere call upon his Lord to redeem him from his captives and to assist him in the grave after death. Here was a Turudbe? Muslim who knew he would die and perhaps not be buried in accordance with the rites of Islam, so he did what any Muslim would do in that same situation: ufawwudu?l-amr ila Allah (?leave the matter over to Allah!?) The fact that Umar ibn Sayyid was able to remember this particular chapter after 26 years of intellectual discontinuance is proof of his faith in Allah and his continuity on the path of Islam, Iman and Ihsan.
Fig. 2 A copy of Surat?l-Mulk written from memory by the Fulbe? Turudbe? Muslim Umar ibn Sayyid
Umar ibn Sayyid tells us in the beginning of his Autobiography about the extent of the cultural genocide that took place against the Turudbe? Muslims. He says: ?I have forgotten most of my language as well as the language of Arabic?. This is significant because reading and learning is an obligation upon every Muslim. Education and erudition were the hallmarks of Muslim life in the bilad?s-sudan. Alfa Umar?s admission of the lost of his native tongue and the use of the Arabic language could have been the result of the lack of Muslim co-religionist to communicate with. This is doubtful because David Robertson points out the population of Turudbe? Muslims in South Carolina was great. Further, this lack of Muslim company would not have prevented him from writing down the Qur?an, and the other fundamental books on Islamic jurisprudence he had memorized in the bilad?s-sudan.
There had to be another reason for Umar?s testimony of the lost of his language, in spite of his many years of study and education. The answer can be found in the records of the captors and their laws designed to eradicate any vestige of civilization from the enslaved Africans. In North Carolina as well as South Carolina laws were passed in 1822 which declared it illegal for slaves to be taught to read and write. The penalty for so doing was capital punishment. It is no wonder that Umar never got around to recording the knowledge, which he had gained for twenty-five years of ?diligent study?. The admission of Umar also indicates the level of education of its author because he was a polyglot capable of conversing in many language, Arabic, Fulbe?, and perhaps Mandinke? and Wolof, because these were the prominent languages spoken in the regions of Futa Toro, Futa Bundu and Futa Jallon. One can only wonder at the vast number of African Muslims who lost the use of their language and the sacred language of Arabic due to this genocide.
Prior to being kidnapped from his native land, Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid was linked with the leading personages responsible for consolidating government and Islamic reform in Futas Toro, Bundu and Jallo. During this period Chirnu Sulayman Bal, a Qaadiri Sufi Shaykh, arose leading the Fulani Turudbe Muslims against the slavers. This Chirnu Sulayman Bal was also known as Sulayman Ka`ba, named after one of the provisional capitals of the Muslim federation that he founded. This was the ?teacher? referred to in his Autobiography Later another Turudbe Imam emerged as the Qaadiri leader, Chirnu Abd?l-Qaadir Kan. From 1776 until 1807 Abd ?l-Qaadir led a successful Islamic state which united the Walo, Jolof and Cayor Muslims under a single banner. The war that led to the defeat and destruction of this Fulbe? Turudbe? confederation in 1807, was the causative factor behind the capture and enslavement of Umar ibn Sayyid. Thus, Umar ibn Sayyid was a highly educated African Muslim in accordance with the best standards of Islamic education available among the Fulbe? Turudbe? of Futa Bundu. He tells us in his autobiography that he studied for more than 25 years.
Another feature that the Autobiography demonstrates is the religious license of subterfuge and dissimilation (taqiyya). Like the Amir Abd?r-Rahman ibn Ibrahim, Umar opted to not let the Anglo-Americans know what he was thinking. This was demonstrated in his constant reference to John Owen, his final slave master, and Jim Owen in a laudable manner:
?O people of North Carolina, O people of South Carolina, O people of America all of you: have you among you two good men named Jim Owen with John Owen? These two men are good men. What food they ate, I ate. In what they clothe themselves, they clothe me.?
History bears witness that Umar?s praise for John Owens was an attempt at gaining concessions from a cruel taskmaster. Allen Austin identifies John Owen as the once governor of North Carolina from 1828-1830, who was responsible for passing legislature in North Carolina that ?seriously limited the rights of Africans in the state? in the same year in which Umar composed his autobiography. This was done no doubt out of fear that the Anglo-Americans had for the Africans because of the revolution of Denmark Vesey. If, as David Robertson points out, Umar ibn Sayyid had major influence upon the religious, cultural and political aspirations of Denmark Vesey, then it is clear that Umar could have been much more radical than history has portrayed him.
Jim Owens and others depicted Umar as a gentle and contented slave who had eventually abandoned his Turudbe? Islamic beliefs for the religion of his ?good master?. There are statements in his manuscript, which when translated improperly and misunderstood may corroborate this erroneous view. For example Umar said:
?Jim along with his brother recite to me the Injeel of Allah our Lord, Creator, King; who regulates all our circumstances, our health and wealth, and who bestows His bounties willingly, without constraint according to His power. Open my heart to the way of guidance, to the way of Yusu`a, the Messiah, to the tremendous light.?
Many of Umar?s contemporaries and later scholars believe that this statement by Umar is one of the proofs in the manuscript that he became apostate from the religion of Islam over to the religion of his captors. Only someone who is ignorant of the esteem that Muslims hold of the Messiah Issa ibn Maryum would believe that. In fact, what Umar said is nothing but an affirmation of what Muslims have believed from the beginning of the mission of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Writing in much the same time as Umar ibn Sayyid, the 18th century Turudbe? Muslim reformer Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye? said this about the belief that Muslims have in Jesus the son of Mary.
?He Prophet, upon him be peace related many traditions notifying Muslims that Issa ibn Maryum is the Messiah and that he would return in the End of Time to renew the religion of Islam and revive his sunna. Allah ta`ala says in His Quran: ?O People of the Book do not go to extremes in your religion and only speak the Truth about Allah. Verily the Messiah Issa the son of Maryum is the Messenger of Allah and His Word that He cast into Maryum and a Spirit from Him. Therefore believe in Allah and His messenger and do not say three gods. If you desist from this it will be best for you. Verily Allah is One, glory be to Him far is He from having a son. To Him belong what is in the heavens and the earth and Allah is sufficient as a Guardian.? Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Saheeh the tradition: ?The son of Mary will truly descend as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the swine and set aside the jizya.? In the same tradition narrated by at-Tayaalisi it says: ?He will break the cross, kill the pig and diffuse wealth until Allah destroys during his time the one-eyed lying forger. Trust and immunity will come to pass in the earth until the lion will graze with the camel, the tiger with the cow and the wolf with the sheep. Even children will play with snakes. And neither of these will harm the other.?
Thus, the Turudbe? erudition in Islam throughout the lands of the Bilad?s-Sudan would preclude Umar ibn Sayyid of being ignorant of the nature of Muslim belief in Issa the son of Maryum, upon him be peace. Given Umar?s extensive Islamic education it is difficult to comprehend that he would relinquish this deep grasp of Islamic belief for the paganism or man-worship of Christianity. Along with the fact that the environment from which Umar was captured was inundated with the belief in millenarianism and messianic expectations that would redeem the Muslim world from the European invasion. This was the fundamental belief of the leaders and reformers under whom Umar studied and lived, like Karamako Alfa Ibrahim Barri, Sulayman Bal and Almamy Abd?l-Qaadir.
Another of the significant proofs of Umar ibn Sayyid?s continuous Islamic beliefs is the statement made in his Autobiography regarding the primordial status of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This proclamation is made on a line separate from all the other lines as if Umar intentionally wanted to distinguish this statement from the other sentences. It says in Arabic: ?The first is Muhammad.? Why would Umar distinguish this statement from the remainder of the lines of the folio? It is clear that after twenty years of intense study in the lands of Futa Toro and Futa Jallon, Umar no doubt studied the three main text which were transmitted in that region: namely, the Muwatta of Imam Malik, the Tafseer ?l-Jalalayn and the as-Shifa of Qadi Iyad. The transmission of the asaaneed (chains of authority) in these three text is still issued in these regions to this day among African Muslim Fulbe, Soninke, Jahanke?, Tukulor and Mandinke? scholars. It is important to cite here what Qadi Iyad said in his as-Shifa which will explain exactly what Umar ibn Sayyid was denoting with the above enigmatic statement: ?The first is Muhammad?.
?Qatada once said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said, ?I was the first of the Prophets in existence and the last of them to be sent?.? Shaykh Ahmad ibn Muhammad said in his commentary upon the as-Shifa concerning the above prophetic tradition, ?I was the first of the Prophets in existence?, means that Allah created his spirit before their spirits; or in the world of atoms; or in the decree by recording him first in the Guarded Tablet; or he was the first to appear to the Angels. ?And the last of them to be sent? means that he is the seal of the Prophets.?
This primordial status of the nature of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace was diffused throughout the Bilad?s-Sudan by means of the Sufi brotherhoods, particularly the Qaadiriya. The Turudbe? have left an extensive amount of Fulbe? poems that speak to the transcendent nature of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, which would leave no doubt about the belief that the Turudbe? Muslims has regarding the Best of Creation, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Another momentous proof of Umar?s persistence in Islamic belief and practice was his evoking of the first chapter of the Qur?an in his Autobiography. Again, due to the fact that the transmission of learning in the regions in which Umar lived is well known, we can say with certainty that during his twenty five years of intensified study, he had to have read the Tafseer ?l-Jallalayn. This fundamental text of Qur?anic exegesis was the first and the most renowned tafseer that was transmitted in that region of the bilad?s-sudan. It is significant to know that the tafseer (commentary) upon the last verse of the al-Faathiha rendered by the al-Jalalayn and all seminal tafaaseer is the following: ?Not among those who have earned anger?, these are the Jews. ?Nor who have gone astray?, these are the Christians.? Because Umar had to have known the classical commentary upon this important chapter, which is an obligation for every Muslim to know and recite in his prayers - it goes without saying that his reason for citing it was to demonstrate his continued adherence to the faith of Islam. Another tafseer that was famous and in widespread use in the lands of the Turudbe? was the work of Abdullahi Dan Fuduye? called Diya ?t-Ta?weel Fi Ma`ana ?t-Tanzeel. In this text he adds,
?It is as though Allah is saying ?There is no anger upon them nor are they astray?. Astray here means to deviate from the even path intentionally or by mistake. The word astray is intensified with the negative particle لا (nor) in order to separate between the two ways in order that everyone can avoid both of them. This is because the path of the people of true faith encompasses both knowledge of the truth and acting in accordance with it. The Jews have lost acting in accordance with the truth and the Christians have lost the knowledge of the truth. It for this reason that the divine anger is against the Jews and being astray is against the Christians. This is due to the fact that whoever knows the truth and neglects acting in accordance with it, deserves anger, in contrast to the one who does not know the truth. The bottom line is that both the Jews and the Christians are astray and have earned divine anger. However the Jews have been distinguished with the attributes of divine anger and the Christians have been distinguished with being astray. It has been related on the authority of the prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ?Those who have earned divine anger are the Jews. Those who are astray are the Christians?.?
It is in this light that the above citation of the al-Faatiha by Umar ibn Sayyid must be understood. Umar demonstrated clearly his continued adherence to the covenant of Abraham through the Way of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He did not capitulate over to the corrupt mores and pagan man-worship of the Anglo-American Christians. He held firmly to the rope of Allah ta`ala. The Anglo-Americans attempted to categorize Umar ibn Sayyid within the confines of their own narrow-minded descriptions. The Anglo-American defined the enslaved African as sub-human lacking any ability to know or define himself, not to speak of determining his own course. This psychological warfare was conducted at every level of the Anglo society, even at the constitutional level.
Umar ibn Sayyid had a clear sense of the geopolitical situation that he was in. He knew that the Africans who captured him were non-Muslims and that the enemies that he had been sold to were European Christians. Umar said:
?Truly my residing in my country was by reason of great detriment. The disbelievers seized me unjustly and sold me to the Christians, who purchased me. We sailed a month and a half on the great ocean to the place called Charleston in the language of the Christians. I fell into the hands of a small, weak and wicked man, who did not fear Allah at all. He could neither read nor did he pray. I was afraid to remain with a sinful man who had so many sins. Thus, I fled?
Perhaps when Umar spoke of ?great detriment? he was speaking of the many wars that were taking place during the period he was seized. During that time the pagan Africans were successful at raiding many centers of the Fulbe Muslims. It was the same year in which he was captured that the pagans sacked the central religious town of Almamy Abd?l-Qaadir and had him murdered. The period was a period of insecurity and internecine warfare. Thus, Umar utilized his ability to write as a means of defining his own reality and speaking out against his captors. The ability to evoke and define oneself and the enemy constitutes the most essential element in self-determination. The ability to understand and delineate the inner being and the surrounding universe is what placed mankind over and above the creation. This was the hallmark of Adam and remains the quality of his descendents. This must be understood when examining any referents utilized by enslaved Turudbe? Muslims. The Turudbe? had a deep sense of who they were, and understood their historical relationship with the Europeans. They were fully aware the role that they and other West African Muslims played in the civilizing of Spanish and Portuguese Europe. The protective historical conscience of Turudbe? identity, the inner psychological fortification of Islam, as well as the linguistic security of Arabic, gave the Turudbe? the assurance and ability to create their own referents. Thus, the existence of Umar, as he was, defied the Anglo-American?s futile attempt to deconstruct him and define him. Umar cannot be understood through the prism of Anglo-American Christian scrutiny, but through his own ethnocentric frame of reference.
Allen Austin defined this endeavor on the part of Anglo-Americans to ?redefine? Umar as a ?Christian? as ?largely the creation of romantic-white and militant Christian wishful thinking? . The fact that he was ?owned? means that he could not define himself, thus he had to be ?handled? and ?packaged? to suite the Anglo-American image of the good docile slave. An example of this type of historical fallacy is in the following picture painted of Umar:
?The name of the man from whom I obtained this manuscript for you, I believe is Monroe (Umar); ?an Arab by birth, of royal blood, ?He fell into the hands of Gen. Owen, of Wilmington, who?proffered him his freedom, and offered to send him back to his native land. But Monroe (Umar) declined the offer, saying that his friends were probably either destroyed or dispersed and that his condition was much better where he was, ?He is respected by those who know him, and is a worthy member of the Presbyterian Church.?
Not only does the Anglo-American redefine this Turudbe? Muslim as Christian, but they went further in claiming that he did not desire his own freedom, that he was content to remain under the yoke, all be it ?benevolent? of the white man. This coincides with their own racist views of Africans and other non-white peoples, as Lester Scherer said that white tradition: ?affirmed that the heathen could legitimately be treated differently from Christians. They could be enslaved for life; and they could be driven harder and fed less.? The opinion that Africans were resigned to slavery and were naturally disposed to it, was pervasive throughout Europe and the United States. Writing in South Carolina, about three decades after Umar ibn Sayyid was captured, William Harper, who spoke of Africans? ?indifference to personal liberty?. He raised the question: ?Let me ask if this people do not furnish the very material out of which slaves ought to be made, and whether it be not an improving of their condition to make them the slaves of civilized masters.? This sentiment is even echoed today by certain Anglo-American ?Muslim? converts who encourage people to study in Mauritania, where the enslavement of African Muslims is seen as benign. The same attitudes prevail where the ability of the African Muslims to endure their lot as slaves is seen as noble and venerable, but to revolt and rebel is seen as unnatural to them.
Umar ibn Sayyid was no exception in this mass self-deception among the Anglo-Americans. Umar?s image as a convert to Christianity was utilized to help advance the myth of African innate inferiority. However, when close examination is made of Umar?s Autobiography another picture emerges. For example, whenever Umar referred to Jesus in any context, the Anglo-Americans deduced from this acceptance of their view of Jesus as ?lord and savior?. On the other hand, Umar?s understanding of Jesus the son Mary, must be comprehended from his own Islamic frame of reference. Umar said in his Autobiography: ?And now the words of our lord Yusu`a the Messiah.? The use of the term ?our lord? in referring to sayyidinaa Issa ibn Maryum, upon him be peace, is perhaps the strongest evidence of the possibility of Umar ibn Sayyid?s apostasy from the religion of Islam. However, again, when examining Umar?s level of Islamic education, one is forced to reconsider other alternatives other than mere abandonment of his religion. First the term rabb (lord, sustainer) when used with the definite article (alif & laam) refers suitably to Allah ta`ala who is, as Shaykh Muhammad Murtada ?z-Zaydi said in his Taaj: ?The Rabb is Allah `azza wa jalla, the sustainer of everything, i.e. its owner. He possesses lordship (rubuubiyya) over the entire creation. There is no partner to Him and He is the Lord of all lords, the King of kings.? Abu Mansuur said in his Lisaan, ?The Rabb unrestrictedly refers linguistic to the owner, the master, the manager and the educator. It is not used unrestrictedly to other than Allah except when the word is brought into relationship with something else. Like when you say: ?the rabb of so-and-such.? The Qur?an utilizes the term rabb in many cases to refer to created beings that are in some way responsible for managing a created thing or person. Allah ta`ala says on the tongue of Prophet, Yusef, when he addresses the inmate who was destined to be freed from prison: ?Mention me with your lord.? Here reference is made to the owner or master of the inmate for whom he will be employed. Thus, Prophet Yusef utilized the term rabb as it was known and accepted with those whom he was addressing. Another consideration, and perhaps the most plausible, is that Umar was practicing dissimilation (taqiyy) out of fear for his life under the Christians. As previously discussed, this is a legally acceptable option for any Muslim who is under the jurisdiction of the disbelievers and can find no way to establish his religion nor can he find a means with which to make the hijra from under their control. This is the legal ruling for a free Muslim who finds himself in circumstances where he fears establishing the religion. Umar was not hurr (free). Taqiyya was perhaps the only logical option he had. Thus, Umar ibn Sayyid referring to Isa ibn Maryum, as ?lord? cannot be used as conclusive proof for apostasy because one can construe many implications from the Quranic meaning of the word. Further, when this is connected to the right of dissimulation (taqiyya), then Umar?s persistent Islamic belief stands out. One must recall that Amaar ibn Yasar, the Afro-Arab Companion of Prophet Muhammad, said far worse than Umar ibn Sayyid, yet Allah ta`ala freed of him apostasy by His words: ?Whoever disbelieved after having faith, except those who were coerced while their hearts were tranquil in belief.? It is well known that Amaar verbally denounced Allah ta`ala and outwardly proclaimed the false deities of the Quraysh, yet Allah ta`ala declared him innocent due to the state of his heart. Like `Amaar, the same about Umar ibn Sayyid, who being coerced through slavery, dissimulated to the Anglo-Americans in order not to be killed. We will return to the parallels between Alfa Umar and `Amaar, and discuss the possible spiritual influence that the latter had upon the life of the former. Thus, contrary to being proof of his conversion, his dissimulation only proves his utter contempt for his captors and their own innate inferiority as disbelievers.
As mentioned earlier, the Anglo-Americans would often force the Turudbe? Muslim to write down the Lord?s Prayer as a sign of conversion to Christianity. Umar ibn Sayyid was no exception to this rule. However, it is through understanding the early education of Umar ibn Sayyid that insight can be had into the real reasons behind his citing of the Lord?s Prayer. As Umar claimed, he studied the Islamic sciences intensely for some twenty-five years. The system of education that permeated western Bilad?s-Sudan comprised of a deep understanding of the science of the traditions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This included mastery of the sihaah (sound) collections, the musaneed collection (those collections organized on the basis of the last transmitter before the Prophet) and the sunnan collection. Among the sunan collections that the student had to have mastered was the Sunan of Abu Dawud. In this collection there is a prophetic tradition related on the authority of Abu Darda, who said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said, ?When one of you is suffering or when his brother is suffering, he should say, ?Our Lord is Allah, who is in the heaven. Holy be Your name. Your command reigns supreme in the heaven and in the earth. As Your mercy is in heaven, make Your mercy in the earth. Forgive us of our sins and errors. You are the Lord of the righteous. Send down mercy from Your mercy and a remedy from Your remedies upon this pain so that it is healed up?.? This prophetic tradition has striking resemblance to the Lord?s Prayer as narrated in the New Testament: ?Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen.? Because of the similarity in the expression of the ?Lord?s Prayer? and the famous du`a ?r-ruqiyya ?Supplication for Remedy? of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, perhaps Umar and other enslaved Turudbe? Muslims saw no dilemma in recording it. Further, this tradition was narrated in the section of the prophetic traditions regarding medicinal remedies. This is significant because apart of the fundamentals of education in the bilad?s-sudan was a basic understanding of Islamic folk medicine called Tibb ?n-Nabiyyi (the medicine of the Prophet). This entailed the student mastering the basic remedies transmitted by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. In fact, a fellow Turudbe ?scholar/warrior Muhammad Bello ibn Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye? cited the above-mentioned tradition in a 19th century medical text. The name of the text is Ujalaat ?r-Raakib fi Tibb ?s-Saa?ib. The bottom line is that the above tradition related by the Prophet to his community, as a cure is an exact rendering of the Lord?s Prayer. This means that given Umar ibn Sayyid?s level of education, he had to be familiar with the tradition that would entail him not seeing any harm of citing the Lord?s Prayer since it too, was related by Prophet Muhammad as a chanted formula for its curative qualities.
This means that Umar?s citing of the Lord?s Prayer as a sign of conversion is definitely inconclusive. The Anglo-Americans insisted on defining Umar in their own terms of reference while ignoring the clear evidence of his persistence in his Islamic culture and religion. This is an example of the countless cases of cultural genocide that led to the disappearance of 3 to 5 million of Umar?s co-religionist in America.
The Autobiography of Umar ibn Sayyid, stands today as the written anthropological evidence for the rights of self-determination for the descendents of African Muslim in the United States. This lost son of Abraham, the Turudbe? Fulbe, Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid cried out in his work for justice and liberty, and in speaking out, he indicted the system that oppressed his people. As a Turudbe? descendent of Abraham he fulfilled the call to command the good and forbid evil and indecency. He made a lasting impression upon revolutionary leaders in North Carolina, such as Denmark Vesey and the other African Freedom Fighters who took up arms in defense of freedom, liberty and self-determination. To his Anglo-American oppressors in the state of North Carolina as well as the remainder of the country, he demanded his freedom and liberty of his people. This cry for freedom, which was the hallmark of the Children of Abraham, was echoed in Umar?s words:
?O you Americans, you people of North Carolina - Are there among you!? Are there among you!? Are there among you!? Are there among you!? - good people who fear Allah much?!?
Alfa Umar ibn Sayyid stands as an excellent example of the resilience of the Turudbe? Fulbe Muslims, in the face of the aggression and oppression of Anglo-American slavery. With his quiet, unassuming and humble demeanor, Umar, was not only able to maintain his Islamic customs under the nose of his enemies, but he also had major impact upon one the most violent, revolutionary, well organized African slave insurrection in the United States, led by Denmark Vesey. It is amazing how Umar ibn Sayyid was able to deceive his slave masters into thinking that he was docile and subservient to their will and had completely acquiesced and succumbed to man-worship. The following anecdote illustrates the subtleness of Umar ibn Sayyid?s dissimulation to his enemies:
?When the name and history of the ex-Prince were discussed, Miss Ellen proposed sending for ?Uncle Moro?. He was received in her splendidly furnished parlor and introduced to each visitor?after which, was seated among the guests. He was a fine looking man, copper colored, though an African, well dressed, in a long black coat reaching below the knees, as worn by the nobility of foreign countries of his day, sat very erect on his chair, with both feet flat on the carpet, knees close together, and his hands opened and resting on his legs. He conversed for a short while gracefully, after which, Miss Ellen handed him the family Bible and asked him to read a lesson in his native language. He announced the 23rd Psalm and read it, when I asked if he would kindly write it for me, he did so, and came with it for another interview?the Psalm was written and left for me, which appears as written, with his communication.?
What is astounding is that Umar is now writing in 1855 at the ripe old age of 85, yet he still maintains a steady hand with the Timbukti style of calligraphy lucid and striking. He begins the 23rd Psalms with an opening statement that only a dedicated Muslim would make. He did not say anything about ?god the father, god the son and god the holy ghost?. He made no appellation to Jesus as being his personal savior, or even ?in Jesus? name?. He did not say in the name of Jehovah, or ?elohim? or any appellation that would indicate that he had indeed in this late period in his life had become resigned to the Christian faith. Perhaps, when speaking in English, he would refer to these deities; however, his written testimony indicated a spiritual allegiance to something completely different.
Fig 3 Copy of the 23rd Psalms written for John Federick Foard in 1855
He begins: ?In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, may Allah send blessings upon our master Muhammad. Verily I am writing this letter in the year 1855, on Monday, the 15th of the month of November.? The statement: ?In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful?, is called in Arabic the basmalla and is one of the most important formulas in Islam. Every chapter of the Quran, except one, begins with it. It is related on the authority of Abd?l-Qaadir ar-Rahawi in his al-Arba`een on the authority o Abu Hurayra, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said: ?Every matter of importance which is not initiated with: bismillahi?r-rahmani ?r-raheem (In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful), will be cut off.? The importance if this designation in Islam cannot be overstated. During the same period when Umar ibn Sayyid was a student in Futa Bundu, another Turudbe? Fulbe scholar, named Muhammad Tukur composed a text comprising the secrets of the Divine Names of Allah ta`ala. The text was called Qira?t?l-Ahibaa and was composed around 1796, just before Umar completed his 25-year period of deep study in the Islamic sciences. The text is significant because it gives a picture of the level of the mystical education and the esoteric sciences that were being transmitted throughout the Bilad?s-Sudan by the Turudbe? Fulbe Muslims. There is no doubt, given Umar?s degree of Islamic education that he too understood some portion of this science. Muhammad Tukur delineates the secrets of the Bismillahi?r-Rahman?r-Raheem when he said:
?If you desire the expansion of your breast then say: ?Bismillahi?. If you desire your burden to be removed then say: ?Bismillahi?. If you desire your reward to be magnified then say: ?Bismillahi?. If you desire your name to be extolled then say: ?Bismillahi?. ?Bismillahi is the share of those in need of the Merciful One. It is the portion of those who are reliant upon the Compassionate One. It is the stake of all the believers. The ?Bismillahi protects the ship from inundation. The ?Bismillahi will redeem the Umma of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace on the Day of Standing among the masses of the people. It has been narrated that the first person that the ?Bismillahi? was revealed to was Adam, upon him be peace, who said: ?I have learned that none of my descendents will be punished in the Fire as long as they persists in reciting it.? Then it was raised up after him until the time of al-Khalil, upon him be peace. It was then revealed to him when he was in the catapult and then Allah redeemed him from the fire. Then it was raised up after him until the time of Musa, upon him be peace. It was revealed to him and by means of it, he overcame Pharaoh and his forces. It was then revealed to Sulayman, upon him be peace and then to Isa ibn Maryum, upon him be peace and then to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He was then commanded to write it at the head of every chapter, at the beginning of books, at the head of letters, and in the beginning of every action. When the tumult of mountains descends with glorification when thirst becomes severe on the Day of Standing and the sweat is flows; then they will say with one voice: ?Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem.?. It is then that the decree of Allah will be rendered. It has been related in a prophetic tradition: ?Whoever says it one time every day and night with sincerity in his heart there will remain not even an atoms weight of his sins left. Therefore it is incumbent upon you to recite it and thereby protect its sanctity.? It has also been related in a prophetic tradition: ?Whoever recites it Allah will record on his behalf for every letter four thousand good deeds raise him up four thousand spiritual ranks and wipe away from him four thousand sins?.?
Thus, when Umar ibn Sayyid begins his 23rd Psalm with the basmalla, he was fully aware of the import of the statement. It was not some passing reference used by habit because in all of his writings, he begins with this same designation. If Alfa Umar knew the esoteric sciences, narrated by the Turudbe Fulbe Muhammad Tukur, regarding the secrets of the basmalla, it is then inconceivable to conclude that he had abandoned the religion of Islam. In fact, the usage of the basmalla demonstrates a profound and mysterious aspect to Umar?s nature that none of the Anglo-American narrators of his life are willing to admit. What we are looking at is an extremely sophisticated Turudbe? Muslims scholar who had mastered the science of taqiyya (dissimulation), with all of its subtleties. He had resigned himself to a prolonged lifetime of concealment of his true faith and belief. Only manifesting it through his written testimony.
Then after the basmalla, Umar sends the blessings and peace upon the Seal of the Prophets and the Master of the Messengers, Muhammad, upon him be blessings and peace. Did Umar renounce his religion of Islam? Louis Moore, writing in 1927 would have us believe so by his saying: ?Under the ?careful? tutelage of Governor Owen, his brother, Gen. Jas Owen, and the Presbyterian clergy, Moreau (Umar) entered upon a ?careful? and ?exhaustive? study of the principles and ideals of the Christian religion. The Arabian prince soon professed Christianity.? If this is so, then why would he open all of his letters and correspondences with sending blessings upon the one whom he called: ?our master Muhammad?? Would not ?a careful and exhaustive study of the principles of Christianity? followed by conversion, have wiped out any and all-spiritual allegiance to Allah and His Final Messenger Muhammad? It is related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said: ?Whoever sends blessings upon me in a letter or book, there will remain an Angel seeking forgiveness for him as long as my name is in that book or letter.? It is clear from this that the profound transmission of knowledge established by the Turudbe? connected with a persistence sense of historical consciousness helped to defend Umar ibn Sayyid from the cultural aggression of his Anglo-American captors. As the above prophetic tradition demonstrates, Umar?s desire to attain forgiveness from Allah ta`ala, the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isma`il, Ishaaq, and the Tribes was so entrenched, that no amount of indoctrination would dissuade him.
Even when we look close at the text of the Bible that he decided to recite for Miss Ellen and her ?distinguished guests?, the 23rd Psalms, there is nothing in it that is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Islam and the lucid monotheism and well structured concept of the Divine Unity (tawheed) upon which the religion of Islam is built. In fact, when one examines the choice of biblical verses that Umar decided to recite for his Anglo-American audience, one is witnessing with clarity a form of disdain and defiance on the part of a descendent of Abraham towards oppressors. The 23rd Psalms says:
?The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name?s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil and my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord for ever.?
What, in Umar?s eyes is ?the valley of the shadow of death? if it is not the ability to endure 49 years of servitude under unjust Anglo-American slavery? One can only imagine what Umar was thinking when he recited this verse to his credulous audience: ?You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.? The quiet resignation for which Alfa Umar was known, could it be that he saw the affliction and hardship of slavery as part of Divine Providence?
When one recognizes his close attachment with African freedom fighters such as Denmark Vesey and the slave revolts that were being planned daily in the vicinity of the venerable Shaykh, one cannot help but imagine that behind the exterior of humility was the quiet assurance of eventual victory and justice.
The last known writing of Umar ibn Sayyid that decisively testifies to his persistent Islamic beliefs, but also his understanding of the eventual triumph of Divine Justice, was a hand written manuscript composed during the period of his ?alleged conversion?. General Owen gave this text to Mary Jones, the wife of Rev. Charles Colcock Jones of Rockland County, Virginia on July 27, 1857. The manuscript written by Umar ibn Sayyid was supposed to be another copy of ?the Lord?s Prayer?, but proves to be altogether different.
Fig. 4 The copy of ?the Lord?s Prayer? written by Umar around 1856-57
What made General Owen determine that this was the Lord?s Prayer is hard to ascertain. We know that as early as 1819 a copy of the Bible in Arabic was given to Umar ibn Sayyid. In a letter from John Louis Taylor to Francis Key, written on the 10th of October, 1819, it states: ?I should be much gratified Sir, if you could indicate to me in what manner I could procure an Arabic bible for his use, as I think it possible that a person of his enlargement of merit could not but peruse it without perceiving its authenticity and divine origin.? So Umar had access to an Arabic Bible that he could refer to in order to copy the Lord?s Prayer verbatim. We know this because in the previous year he did exactly that when John Foard requested him to write the 23rd Pslams. In fact, rather than write the Psalms in front of Mr. Foard, Umar, went to his private quarters, no doubt, to copy it from his own Arabic Bible. In fact, Foard states this explicitly when he said: ?When I asked if he would kindly write it for me? He did so, and came with it for another interview. I was out visiting friends and failed to see more of him, but the Psalm was written and left for me.?
So why did Umar not simply make a copy the Lord?s Prayer verbatim from his Arabic bible for General Owen? In 1856 Umar was 86 years of age, being able to use his memory fairly well. The so-called Lord?s Prayer that Uma
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Q While my neighbor was helping me put in some hardy spring-flowering bulbs along our mutual property line, she corrected me when I referred to daffodils as the name encompassing all narcissus and jonquils. She says they are all narcissus, and daffodils and jonquils are only types of narcissus. (Or is it narcissi?) B. J. N. Long Island City, N.Y. Your neighbor is correct. They are all of the genus Narcissus. Daffodil is correctly applied to the large trumpet types. Jonquil should be applied only to certain species called Narcissus jonquilla. There are 11 main divisions of narcissus. Jonquil is Division 7; daffodil is Division 1. There are spectacular variations in each division, so plant and enjoy them. The American Daffodil Society has voted to choose the name narcissus for both sin- gular and plural, eliminating the term ``narcissi.'' Q While visiting in California I bought some Jacobean lily bulbs. They are described on the label as ``crimson orchid amaryllis.'' The directions make no mention of hardiness, but say to plant six inches deep in loose, fertile soil, in a sunny spot. Now I'm wondering if they can be planted like tulips and daffodils, in fall, or must I wait until spring? D. S. Rockford, Ill.
You have Sprekelia formosissima. They are sometimes called Amaryllis formosissima, since they are in the Amaryllis family and are grown much like regular amaryllis. In your area, you can either pot them up for an indoor late winter or early spring show, or you can store bulbs in a cool room (not below freezing) and plant outdoors when danger of frost is over. This bulbous herb is indigenous to Mexico, and is also called Aztec lily.
If you have a question about your garden, inside or out, send it to the Garden Page, The Christian Science Monitor, One Norway Street, Boston, Mass. 02115.
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Wikiquote:Transwiki/American History Primary Sources The War of 1812
THE WAR OF 1812
1811. “This war, if carried on successfully, will have its advantages. We shall drive the British from our continent. They will no longer have an opportunity of intriguing with our Indian neighbors.... [H]er means of annoying us will be diminished.” Rep. Felix Grundy of Tennessee, speech in Congress supporting war with Britain.
1812. “The militia of Kentucky are alone [able] to place Montreal and Upper Canada at your feet.” “War Hawk” Rep. Henry Clay of Kentucky, speech in Congress urging war with Britain.
1812. “We hear from the halls of Congress the cry ‘On to Canada!’ It is the fur dealer and the land speculator who want war, but it is we of New England who will pay the price.... The War Hawks of Tennessee and Kentucky are safe. I doubt if the English navy can reach them.” Nicolas Smyth, letter opposing war.
1813 “I very much doubt if a parallel can be found for the state of things existing on this frontier. A gallant little army struggling with the enemies of their country and devoting their lives to its honor and safety, left by that country to struggle alone.” Jacob Brown
1813 “Don’t give up the ship.” Motto on a pennant flown on USS Lawrence, flagship of Captain Oliver Hazard Perry in the naval Battle of Lake Erie.
1813 “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, reporting his victory in the battle of Lake Erie to Gen. William Henry Harrison.
1814 “The administration asserts the right to fill the ranks of the regular army by compulsion.... Is this, sir, consistent with the character of a free government? Is this civil liberty? Is this the real character of our Constitution? No, sir, indeed it is not. The Constitution is libeled.” Rep. Daniel Webster, speech in House of Representatives.
1814. “I have had [a wagon] filled with ... the most valuable portable articles belonging to the house.... I insist on waiting until the large picture of General Washington is secured.... It is done! And the precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York, for safe keeping.” First Lady Dolley Madison, preparing to evacuate the White House before it was seized and burned by British troops attacking from their fleet in Chesapeake Bay.
1814. Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watche’d were so gallantly streaming?
Francis Scott Key, words written after the failed overnight attack by the British Fleet on Fort McHenry, Baltimore.
1815 “Nothing was adjusted, nothing was settled.” John Quincy Adams, comment on the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.
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My main observations after reading this study are:
- relative genetic homogeneity in Europe, with a fairly small percentage of variance explained by geographic differentiation
- clinal, rather than racial apportionment of European genetic variation, with no emerging separated clusters (except the Finns, who stand at some distance along the first eigenvector)
- south-north (but not east-west) decrease in genetic variation and heterozygosity indicating that Europe was populated on a south-north axis, rather than an east-west one.
- clear clustering of individuals from different ethnic groups within the European continuum, indicating that ethnic groups are not only cultural, but to some extent biological entities.
- Some ethnic groups are clearly distinguishable from each other (e.g. Swedes vs. Spaniards); some groups are partitioned into fairly disjoint sets (Spain I vs. Catalans in Spain II); others mutually overlap (e.g., British and Irish); while others overlap asymetrically (e.g., some former Yugoslavs in the Greek cluster, but not vice versa).
Interestingly Italians neighbor Spaniards on the other side; whereas former Yugoslavs neighbor Czechs.
A straightforward explanation for this pattern is that the Italian groups has mixed Western and Eastern Mediterranean affiliations; the latter stemming from either Neolithic farmers or Greek (or Etruscan, etc.) colonists.
Former Yugoslavs are mostly disjoint from Greeks, except some who seem to be Slavicized Greeks, consistent with their descent from indigenous Balkan populations on one hand and Slavic immigrants more akin to Czechs and Poles on the other. Thus, they occupy an intermediate position between Greeks and Czechs.
From the paper:
Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) They also refer to a few recent studies [3: Bauchet et al., 5: Tian et al., 6: Seldin et al.]:
revealed that clustering the individuals according to four geographic
groups—north (NO, SE, FI), north-west/central (IE, UK,
DK, NL, DE1, DE2, AT, CH, FR), east (HU, RO, PO, CZ), and
south (PT, ES1, ES2, IT1, IT2, YU, EL)—explained an average
of 0.17% (95% coefficient interval: 0.0% to 0.91%) of the total
genetic variance, whereas individual subpopulation affiliation
explained 0.25% (95% coefficient interval: 0.0% to 1.25%).
Overall, our study showed that the autosomal gene pool in
Europe is comparatively homogeneous but at the same time
revealed that the small genetic differentiation that is present
between subpopulations is characterized by a significant
correlation between genetic and geographic distance. Furthermore,
the qualitative nature of these results is in close agreement
with expectations based on human migration history in
Europe. The major prehistoric waves of human migration in
Europe followed south and southeastern to north and northwestern
directions , including the first Paleolithic settlement
of the continent by anatomically modern humans , most of
the postglacial resettlement during the Mesolithic , and the
farming-related population expansion during the Neolithic [18,
20]. Thus, both the level and the change in neutral autosomal
variation in Europe can be expected to roughly follow southernto-
northern gradients as we observed, with the possible exception
of population isolates as observed for the Finns.
Previous studies based on genome-wide SNP diversityUPDATE (Aug. 13) The Spittoon blogs about this:
reported differences between individuals of southern and
northern/central European ancestry [3, 5, 6] and, to a lesser extent,
between those of eastern and western European ancestry
, which were not confirmed in our study.
They confirm the findings of several recent but smaller European studies (Seldin et al, PLoS Genetics (2006); Bauchet et al, AJHG (2007); Tian et al, PLoS Genetics (2008); Price et al, PLoS Genetics (2008); Paschou et al, PLoS Genetics (2008))This is contradicted by what the authors actually say about three of these studies (see last quote above). The Spittoon also writes:
In the case of this current paper the Finns are the only nationality completely distinct from the rest of the European samples. The Finns speak a different kind of language from much of the rest of Europe, and are the only Scandinavian population represented.Actually, Finland is not usually thought of as a Scandinavian country; even if it is, it is certainly not the only Scandinavian population represented, since all three Scandinavian nations (Norway, Denmark, Sweden) were sampled.
The position of the Finns is likely due to the fact that they share quite recent ancestry with Asians, as evidenced by their possession of Y-chromosome haplogroup N-Tat.
Update (Aug. 14)
It is interesting how these results parallel those of Li et al. (2008), according to which Russians from Vologda have a membership of 86% in the main European cluster, Tuscans have 95%, and all others (except the Adygei from the Caucasus) between 99-100%. Given that Russians have a Finno-Ugrian substratum, these results parallel those of this study in which the two major genetic differences within Europe are primarily because of the Finns, and secondarily because of the Italians.
Update (Aug. 19): A previous study had discovered a substantial overlap between Greek and Italian Americans. Is the disjointness between Greeks and Italians discovered in the newer study the result of a larger number of markers, or due to the fact that northern Greeks and Central Italians seem to have been sampled? As is well known, Greek colonization of Italy originated mostly in the Peloponnese, and occurred in southern Italy and Sicily, and immigrants to America were not drawn uniformly from the territories of Italy and Greece.
Current Biology doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.07.049
Correlation between Genetic and Geographic Structure in Europe
Oscar Lao et al.
Understanding the genetic structure of the European population is important, not only from a historical perspective, but also for the appropriate design and interpretation of genetic epidemiological studies. Previous population genetic analyses with autosomal markers in Europe either had a wide geographic but narrow genomic coverage and , or vice versa , , and . We therefore investigated Affymetrix GeneChip 500K genotype data from 2,514 individuals belonging to 23 different subpopulations, widely spread over Europe. Although we found only a low level of genetic differentiation between subpopulations, the existing differences were characterized by a strong continent-wide correlation between geographic and genetic distance. Furthermore, mean heterozygosity was larger, and mean linkage disequilibrium smaller, in southern as compared to northern Europe. Both parameters clearly showed a clinal distribution that provided evidence for a spatial continuity of genetic diversity in Europe. Our comprehensive genetic data are thus compatible with expectations based upon European population history, including the hypotheses of a south-north expansion and/or a larger effective population size in southern than in northern Europe. By including the widely used CEPH from Utah (CEU) samples into our analysis, we could show that these individuals represent northern and western Europeans reasonably well, thereby confirming their assumed regional ancestry.
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- Becoming familiar with the texture and feel of clay
- Using the pinch method to make pottery
- Introducing clay coils
- Working with three-dimensional form
pinch pot, coil, bisque, lip
Click here for more information on working with clay.
YOU WILL NEED
- Balls of clay sized to fit comfortably in each child’s hand (see note below)
- Clay needle tool or sharpened pencil to write names on the bottoms of the pots.
- Underglazes in a variety of colors
- Brushes to apply underglazes
- Clear glaze
- Trays and plastic bags for drying
- Set out small balls of clay covered with plastic until ready to use.
- Set aside a needle tool or sharpened pencil to put names on the bottoms of the completed pots.
- Have trays and plastic covering ready for drying pots.
Making a pinch pot
- Explain to the children that they will be pinching balls of clay to form pinch pots.
- Demonstrate how to make a pinch pot.
- Roll a ball of clay between your palms to make it round.
- Explain that one hand (usually the less-dominant one) will hold the clay, while the dominate hand does the pinching.
- Place the ball of clay on the less-dominant hand, keeping it opened flat so that the fingers will not be in the way while pinching the clay. Using only the thumb of the other hand, press it into the center of the ball until it is about one-half inch from the bottom. Emphasize that only the thumb will go inside the pot. Pull out your thumb and show the children the hole made in the pot.
- Explain that you are going to make the hole larger by pinching its sides. With your hand in the air, show the children how to pinch with the fleshy parts of their fingers and thumbs rather than the tips which will cause the clay to break off.
- Place your thumb all the way to the bottom of the hole, and with two fingers on the outside, pinch gently. Rotate the pot about one-quarter inch after each pinch. Working slowly and concentrating on the feel of the clay, continue this movement of pinch and turn, pinch and turn, all the way to the original starting point on the ball of clay. Show the children how the hole has grown.
- Repeat the pinching process slowly to avoid stretching the clay too quickly. Emphasize that once a pinch is made in the clay, it must be repeated all the way around to the starting point to maintain its roundness.
- Give each child a ball of clay and explain that they will be working together, step-by-step, to make the pinch pots.
- Explain to the children that they will be decorating their pots with coils or rolled “snakes” of clay.
- Show the children how to make a coil. Break off a small chunk of clay and roll it between your hands to form a snake-like shape. Put the “snake” on a flat surface. Starting with your fingertips, roll the clay down to the bottom of the palm of your hand and back to your fingertips. Repeat this motion moving up and down the coil, gradually increasing pressure until the coil is about a one-quarter inch in diameter.
- Discuss ways that the children might use coils on the pots; such as adding handles, smoothing the lip or top of the pot, decorating the sides of the pots, or making the pot grow taller. Have the children roll several coils and then add them to their pots.
- Set out bisque-fired pots.
- Set out underglazes and brushes.
- Explain to the children that the pots have been fired for the first time in a kiln and are referred to as bisque, which is very fragile. Emphasize that the bisque-fired pots must be handled carefully. In this session the children will be adding colors to their bisque pots using paints made specially for clay called underglazes.
- Demonstrate how quickly the underglazes dry when applied to the bisque-fired pots. Dip the brush often to avoid scrubbing and to cover all areas, dabbing into any cracks or rough areas on the clay surface. Carefully brush away any puddles of underglaze that may form.
- Have the children paint the insides of their pots with two coats of underglaze and then paint the outsides with two coats of the same or another color.
- Since the clay is held in the hands while pinching a pot, it is not necessary to cover the work surface. Coils can be rolled on a hard surface without sticking and the area can be easily wiped clean.
- In order to have good control of the clay while pinching it, the balls of clay must be sized to fit comfortably into the palms of the children’s hands. The balls will be surprisingly small.
- Ask the children to pinch in the air to be sure they understand using the fleshy parts of their fingers and thumbs.
- Expect the pots made by the three- to four-year-old children to be tiny, crooked, and charming.
- Working with clear glaze is more complicated than underglaze, so it should be applied by an adult for three- to six-year-old children.
- When working with a large group of children, place small pieces of paper with each child’s name on a tray. The children can set their completed pots on their names. After the session, use a needle tool or sharpened pencil to write the names on the bottoms of the pots.
- Review the process of pinching a pot.
- Discuss how using the thumb made the insides of the pots smooth.
- Talk about the variety of ways that the coils changed the pinch pots.
- I pushed my thumb all the way through the clay.
- My pot is very fat on the bottom and skinny on top.
- Uh oh! The top of my pot came off in my hands.
- I’m finished but the sides of my pot are falling down.
- Look. I invented a “pinkie pot.” I used my pinkie inside the pot instead of my thumb.
- If you pushed too hard with your thumb, try again with another ball of clay.
- Be sure your thumb is at the bottom of the hole before you start pinching.
- If you use the tips of your fingers and thumb to pinch your pot, it will break off. Try again using the fleshy parts of your fingers and thumb.
- You must work slowly and pay attention to the clay while you are pinching. If you stretch the clay too quickly it will become weak and start to sag.
- When making a pinch pot, it is important to use only your thumb on the inside of the pot. This will help to keep it round and smooth.
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Follow our blog
Caring for a child with arthritis
This material is presented mainly for parents of a child with arthritis.
As parents, you carry much of the responsibility for the health care and emotional well-being of your child with arthritis. You will be the ones to:
- make sure she sees all members of her health-care team as needed
- see that she takes her medications as prescribed
- watch for any side effects the drugs may cause
- help her do exercises to relieve pain and stiffness
- provide encouragement and support to her and other family members
- work with teachers and school officials to make sure her needs are met
For this reason, it is very important for parents to know as much as possible about their child's arthritis and its care as well as the effects it can have on family life. This information provides a starting point for discussions with your child's health-care team.
You may feel a little overwhelmed by all the information presented here. The impact of juvenile arthritis on a particular child may be mild moderate or severe. This information tries to cover the whole range. Please remember that your child may never experience all the symptoms described or have to take many of the drugs mentioned. They are presented for the sake of completeness.
Basics of juvenile arthritis
The word arthritis refers to inflammation (that is swelling, heat and pain) involving the joints.
The most common form of arthritis in children is Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA). However, children may also be affected by arthritis as a feature of other diseases including:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus: a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by fever and rash that may attack organs such as joints, kidneys, the brain, lungs and heart.
- Juvenile dermatomyositis: a disease that causes a skin rash and weak muscles in children and may be accompanied by swollen joints.
- The spondyloarthropathies of childhood: diseases in children that involve the spine. In some (but not all) children with these diseases, a protein called HLA-B27 is found on the white blood cells. The spondyloarthropathies of childhood include:
- Ankylosing spondylitis: a type of arthritis which primarily affects the spine and hips. It usually occurs in males.
- B-27 Arthritis: a form of arthritis that occurs more often in older boys and affects only a few joints--usually the back and large joints of the legs such as hips, knees and ankles. It occurs more often in children who inherit the HLA-B27 protein. If particular changes are seen in X-rays, B-27 arthritis may be reclassified as Ankylosing Spondylitis.
- Psoriatic arthritis: a type of arthritis that may occur with the skin condition psoriasis. It affects both boys and girls.
- Scleroderma: a disease that can affect the skin, joints, blood vessels and internal organs.
- Inflammatory bowel (Crohn's) disease: a disease that can affect the intestines causing diarrhea and abdominal pain. It can be associated with arthritis and fever; these sometimes appear before the digestive symptoms.
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) is a disease of the joints that may also affect other organs.
JRA is often a mild condition which causes few problems, but in severe cases, it can produce serious complications. Its signs and symptoms may change from day to day, even from morning to afternoon. Joint stiffness and pain may be mild one day, but become so severe the next that the child cannot move without great difficulty.
Periods when the arthritis is particularly active are called "flares".
There are at least three forms of JRA. Each form begins in a different way and has different signs and symptoms. The three forms are:
- Polyarticular JRA: this type affects five or more joints ("poly" means several or many and "articular" means joint)
- Pauciarticular JRA: this type affects four or fewer joints ("pauci" means few)
- Systemic JRA: this type affects both the joints and the internal organs ("systemic" means internal organs and other body parts are involved)
Each of these forms is explained on the next tabs.
Symptoms & Diagnosis
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease--one that may last for many years. Eventually, there are good chances that your child will get well and experience no serious permanent disability. Children with JRA can usually keep up with school and many social activities. Some changes may need to be made when the child is in a flare or if there has been joint damage.
Sometimes the signs and symptoms of JRA may go away. When this happens, it is called a remission. A remission may last for months or years or even forever. But no one can be sure this will happen in your child.
While most children with JRA do well in the long run, parents should be aware of possible long-term consequences. Children with pauciarticular JRA have a higher risk of chronic eye inflammation. Some children with polyarticular or systemic JRA may have serious joint problems or develop other long-term complications, such as decreased growth.
There is no fast and simple solution to JRA. The most important thing you can do is work with your doctor and other health professionals to manage the disease and keep it under control.
Arthritis is characterized by four major observable changes in the joints.
However, since JRA affects each child differently, your child may not experience all of these changes. Children also vary in the degree to which they are affected by any particular symptom. The most common features of JRA are:
- joint inflammation
- joint contracture
- joint damage
- altered growth
Other symptoms your child may experience include joint stiffness following decreased activity and muscle (and other soft-tissue) weakness.
Joint inflammation is the most common symptom of JRA. It causes heat, pain, swelling and stiffness in joints. The lining of the joint called the synovium becomes swollen and overgrown and produces too much fluid (see figure 1). This causes swelling, stiffness, pain, warmth and sometimes redness of the skin over the affected joints.
Since it usually hurts to move an inflamed joint, the child will often hold it still in a bent position. If she holds a sore joint in a fixed position for a long time, the muscles around the joint will become stiff and weak. After a while the tendons (tissues which connect the muscles to the bone) may tighten up and shorten, causing a deformity called a joint contracture. Doctors usually prescribe an exercise program to help the child keep full motion in her joints and to keep her muscles strong.
In some children with severe disease, long-lasting inflammation damages the joint surfaces. This is called joint erosion and can cause pain and limitation of motion.
Sometimes joint inflammation either speeds up or slows down the growth centers in bones. This can make the affected bones longer, shorter or bigger than normal. If the growth centers in many bones have been damaged by inflammation, a child may stop growing entirely. If no damage has occurred, however, the child will usually continue to grow once the JRA is under control.
There are three main types of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis:
Polyarticular means "many joints". In this form of JRA, five or more joints are affected. Girls get polyarticular arthritis more often than boys. Because it can be severe, the most powerful medications are recommended for this type of JRA. The most common features are:
- usually affects the small joints of the fingers and hands
- can also affect weight-bearing and other joints, especially the knees as well as hips, ankles and feet, neck and jaw
- often affects the same joint on both sides of the body
- low fever
- a positive blood test for rheumatoid factor
- rheumatoid nodules or lumps on an elbow or other point of the body that receives a lot of pressure from chairs, shoes, etc.
Pauciarticular means "few joints". In this form of JRA, four or fewer joints are affected. The most common features are:
- usually affects the large joints (knees, ankles or elbows)
- often affects a particular joint on only one side of the body
- may cause iridocyclitis, an eye inflammation
"Systemic" means "affecting the body generally." Systemic JRA affects a child's internal organs as well as the joints. It may take months to diagnose. This is the least common form of JRA. Boys and girls are equally likely to get this kind of JRA. In some, the systemic symptoms of the disease and the fever may go away completely, although the joint-related symptoms of arthritis may remain. The most common features are:
- high fevers usually starting in the late afternoon or evening (The child's temperature may go up to 103 degrees or higher and then return to normal within a few hours. Chills and shaking often go along with the fever, and the child may feel very sick. Periods of fever can last for weeks or even months, but rarely go on for more than six months.)
- a rash along with the fever (Pale red spots often appear on the child's chest and thighs and sometimes on other parts of the body. This rash comes and goes for many days in a row.)
- inflammation in many joints (Joint problems may begin with the fever or may not start until weeks or even months later. Some children have severe pain in their joints when they have a fever and then feel much better when their temperature goes down. Joint problems can also go on after the period of fever ends and can be a major long-term difficulty for children with this kind of arthritis.)
- inflammation of the outer lining of the heart (pericarditis), the heart itself or the lungs (pleuritis)
- anemia (low red blood count)
- a high level of white cells in the blood
- enlarged lymph nodes, liver, and spleen
Regular visits to your doctor are important so these problems can be checked and treated from the beginning.
No one knows the cause of JRA, but we know that it involves abnormalities of the immune system. The immune system defends our bodies against bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances.
We do know that JRA is not contagious, so your child didn't "catch" it from anyone and can't give it to anyone. We also know that heredity plays some part in the development of several forms of arthritis. However, the inherited trait alone does not cause the illness. We think that this trait along with some other unknown factors triggers the disease. It is unusual for more than one child in a family to have arthritis.
Some research suggests that in autoimmune diseases, such as JRA, one type of white blood cells called lymphocytes loses the ability to tell parts of one's body, such as cartilage, from harmful agents like bacteria or viruses. This results in the release of chemicals that can damage the body's own tissues in a process called inflammation.
The painful joint swelling children with JRA experience is one example of inflammation; another is iridocyclitis, an inflammation in the front of the eye near the iris.
Children may require considerable evaluation if the diagnosis of juvenile arthritis is being considered.
The signs and symptoms of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) vary from child to child. There is no single test that makes the diagnosis of JRA. Therefore, your doctor may go though many steps to find out if your child really does have JRA. The main steps involved in diagnosis are:
- taking the child's health history
- physical examination
- laboratory tests
- X-ray examinations
- tests of joint fluid and other tissues
In order to make a diagnosis of JRA, the arthritis must have been constantly present for six or more consecutive weeks.
To make a correct diagnosis, the doctor will ask questions about your child's recent symptoms, medications she is taking and any previous medical problems.
The doctor may also want to know if other members of the family have had any other form of arthritis since some forms may be inherited.
During the physical examination the doctor will look for:
- joint inflammation
- eye problems
The doctor must be able to find evidence of joint inflammation to be sure the problem is JRA. A child who complains of aches and pains but who shows no joint changes may not have JRA. In a few cases, a physically healthy child experiencing acute emotional stress may complain of sore joints.
An ophthalmologist may also need to examine your child's eyes to check for signs of iridocyclitis.
Although there are several laboratory tests that may support a diagnosis of JRA, there is no single test that provides positive proof one way or another. The most common tests are:
- erythrocyte sedimentation rate ("sed" rate)
- rheumatoid factor test
- antinuclear antibody test (ANA)
- HLA-B27 typing
- hemoglobin test
If the diagnosis is particularly hard to make, the doctor may do additional tests to rule out other diseases. The diagnosis of JRA is made by excluding other diseases. For example, many viral infections can lead to temporary joint problems in children, but in these cases, the arthritis usually goes away rapidly. Other diseases can cause arthritis. Sometimes a bacterial infection of bone or cartilage can cause joint swelling or pain. Prompt diagnosis is important to allow proper antibiotic treatment.
X-ray examinations of joints may be helpful early in the course of the illness to find out if another condition such as a bone infection, tumor or fracture is causing the problem. Later on, X-rays may be used to check on joint damage or changes in bones. X-rays of the spine help the doctor tell if ankylosing spondylitis is present.
Your child's physician may also suggest Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), a new technology that uses magnetic waves to provide images of the inside of the body without harmful radiation.
Joint fluid and tissue tests
A sample of fluid from one or more joints may be withdrawn by a needle and examined to find out if there is an infection in the joint.
Sometimes the doctor will take a small bit of tissue from a joint or a nodule for examination in the laboratory. This is called a biopsy.
Antinuclear Antibody (ANA)
A type of protein found in the blood of some children with polyarticular JRA; ANA is also found in many girls who have pauciarticular JRA and iridocyclitis.
General term that refers to inflammation of a joint.
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate ("sed rate")
A blood test which measures how rapidly red blood cells settle to the bottom of a small tube. The red blood cells of a person who has inflammation usually settle more rapidly than normal. This test may be helpful in following the progress of JRA.
Aroutine test which measures the amount of hemoglobin in the red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a substance that carries oxygen through the body. The test is often part of a complete blood count CBC.
A protein which can be found on the white blood cells of some people. This protein has been found in many adults who have ankylosing spondylitis. It is also sometimes found in children with JRA, particularly older boys who have arthritis in only a few joints.
A type of antibody found in the blood of some children with JRA (usually older girls with polyarticular JRA).
Lump on the elbow or on other points of the body which receive a lot of pressure. These are sometimes seen in children who have polyarticular JRA and a positive test for rheumatoid factor.
Tests performed on urine to check for possible effects on the kidneys of drugs prescribed for JRA.
Many approaches to treating juvenile arthritis are available.
The goals of treatment for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are to:
- control inflammation
- relieve pain
- prevent or control joint damage
- maximize functional abilities
To reach these goals the treatment program usually includes:
- eye care
- dental care
- healthy diet
Other types of treatment such as surgery may be necessary. Some physicians have also found that pain can be lessened by combining medical treatment with techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, meditative breathing and guided imagery.
Health care team
Your child's health care team may include different specialists who work together to offer your child a complete treatment program. Pediatric arthritis centers found in many major medical centers offer this care in one location. If you do not live near such a center, your child's physician will refer you to the specialists she needs.
Your child's regular doctor
Works with your child's pediatric rheumatology team to help your child. If you do not live near a pediatric rheumatology center, this doctor can consult by telephone with the nearest center. The doctor who already knows your child's medical history is usually the best person to see first. This doctor can work with general medical problems such as colds or normal childhood ailments.
A doctor who specializes in childhood arthritis
If you live near a pediatric arthritis center, your regular doctor may refer you for a consultation or for continuous care. Board certification of pediatric arthritis specialists began in 1992. If there is no Board-eligible or certified pediatric arthritis specialist in your area, your doctor may refer you to an adult arthritis specialist with experience and some training in the care of children.
Often serves as the link between the patient, the physician, the school and other members of the health team to coordinate care. Provides additional education about JRA, its treatment and resources.
Helps with mobility problems. Measures joint motion and strength and prescribes special exercises, leg splints, shoes or other assistive devices to make walking and moving easier.
Helps with hand and arm function. Measures arm motion and strength and prescribes special exercises, hand splints or other assistive devices to help with daily living skills such as dressing, bathing or writing.
Medical social worker
Helps with the personal, emotional, family or financial problems which may occur with any chronic disease.
Checks for signs of eye problems and treats eye disease.
Answers questions about medications and their side effects and cost.
Counsels on the emotional difficulties of JRA. May also give psychological tests and help your child with her pain control program.
Assesses growth, teaches nutrition and meal planning and prescribes special diets as needed.
Specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases of bones and joints and performs joint replacements if needed.
Dentist Orthodontist Oral Surgeon
Specialists in dental care who can help if arthritis in the temporomandibular joint results in a small jaw with crowding or deformation of the teeth.
A medical doctor who can assist with emotional problems.
Children with JRA sometimes have nutritional problems associated with their illness such as:
- lack of appetite leading to weight loss and poor growth in height
- excessive weight gain
Although there is no special diet for children with arthritis and no special foods that will cure the disease, proper nutrition can improve your child's overall health and promote normal growth. A registered dietitian can help you make sure your child eats properly by teaching you ways of improving your child's diet.
Loss of appetite often occurs when a child is in a flare. Some children with JRA might feel too sick or too tired to eat. To help your child:
- Encourage her to eat a well-balanced diet at regular meal intervals and include planned snacks even when she may not feel much like eating.
- Try to reduce the amount of food she needs to eat by increasing the nutrient content of each bite of food or drink she eats. For example, add melted cheese, gravies, margarine, dips and offer whole milk. This can help prevent weight loss and poor growth.
Children with JRA may limit their physical activity if their joints are stiff and painful. As a result, the child may gain too much weight. Corticosteroids can also cause a child to gain weight. Excess weight is unhealthy because it puts more stress on joints such as knees, hips and ankles. Appropriate exercise combined with eating a well-balanced diet that includes planned snacks based on the basic four food groups can help your child keep a normal body weight.
Note: Taking medicines, particularly NSAIDs, with food helps prevent damage to the stomach and upper part of the intestine.
Exercise and therapy
Exercises are a very important part of treatment for JRA. For children with arthritis, the purpose of regular exercise is to:
- keep joints mobile
- keep muscles strong
- regain lost motion or strength in a joint or muscle
- make everyday activities like walking or dressing easier
- improve general fitness and endurance
There are two kinds of exercise your child might do: therapeutic exercise and sports/recreational activities.
Therapeutic exercises make it easier for your child to walk and perform other activities of daily living, like opening jars and writing. Range of motion exercises keep joints flexible and are especially important for children who have lost motion in a joint or whose joints have become fixed in a bent position called a contracture. Strengthening exercises build muscles.
A physical or occupational therapist will show your child how to perform therapeutic exercises at home. Most exercises must be done every day. Hot baths, hot packs and/or cold treatments before exercise can make the therapy easier. The therapist can show you how to make the exercises part of play activities if your child is very young.
Sports & recreational activities
Recreational activities help your child to exercise her joints and muscles, develop important social skills and have fun. But remember that recreational activities cannot take the place of therapeutic exercise. Activities that exercise the joints and muscles without putting too much stress on them like swimming should be encouraged.
Sports and recreational activities are important for children with arthritis to develop confidence in their physical abilities. Try to let your child pick her own sport or activity of interest while guiding her toward one that will not hurt her joints.
Strong muscles and joint protection are the keys to participating in sports. Although contact sports are never recommended, even aggressive sports like soccer and basketball may not be off limits for your child. Ask your doctor or therapist for guidelines. Your child may be able to do special exercises to "train" for the sport she likes. Protective equipment can further reduce the risk of injury.
Several kinds of medications are used to control inflammation and relieve the pain of arthritis. Your child's doctor will generally try non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or aspirin before adding if necessary a more potent anti-rheumatic drug or corticosteroid.
Generally, NSAIDs reduce swelling and pain in the joints, but do not by themselves stop the slow breakdown of joint tissue which may occur in polyarticular JRA. These drugs however are effective in treating JRA in many children. The more powerful anti-rheumatic drugs can often over time stop the breakdown of joint tissue. But these drugs also may have more serious side effects.
All drugs may have side effects, but the effects vary from child to child. One child may respond well to one drug while another with a similar condition may not benefit or may suffer side effects from the same medication. It is very important that the child's urine, blood and liver function are tested at regular intervals to make sure everything is normal.
Because many drugs take weeks or months to show any benefit, the physician may keep a child on a particular drug for some time before trying another unless there are serious side effects.
An important message about arthritis medications: don't change the amount or stop them without first asking your doctor.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Your child's physician will probably prescribe a non-steroidal (containing no steroids) anti-inflammatory (reducing inflammation) drug as a first step to control swelling and pain. NSAIDs are helpful in all types of JRA. They work by limiting the release of irritating chemicals by the white blood cells. NSAIDs can also be effective in lowering fever.
NSAIDs commonly used to treat JRA are ibuprofen (sold under trade names like Advil, Nuprin and Motrin), naproxen (Naprosyn) and tolmetin.
Most NSAIDs are equally effective, but a particular child may respond better to one than to another.
Dose: These drugs may be given as a pill or liquid. The dose varies depending on the specific NSAID used.
NSAIDs can have side effects including:
- stomach pain, nausea and vomiting
- blood in the urine
- severe abdominal pain and peptic ulcer
- fragility and scarring of the skin (especially Naproxen)
- difficulty in concentrating in school in some cases
Aspirin may be used to:
- control swelling and pain in joints
- reduce fever in children with systemic JRA
Dose: Children with JRA for whom aspirin is prescribed must take large amounts of it three or four times a day. Young children should not suck or chew on the aspirin because this may erode the chewing surfaces of the teeth and irritate the gums. Instead try pre-crushing the dose and having the child swallow it in a small amount of a favorite food such as applesauce or yogurt.
Aspirin may have the following side effects:
- Stomach pains or stomach bleeding (giving aspirin with food or an antacid may help)
- Toxic reactions. Both you and your child should be aware of these signs:
- rapid or deep breathing
- ringing in the ears
- decrease in hearing
- unusual behavior
- black tarry stools
- Reye's Syndrome which is a rare disease that sometimes occurs in children who have the chicken pox or the flu and who are also taking aspirin. The symptoms of Reye's syndrome include:
- frequent vomiting
- very painful headaches
- unusual behavior
- extreme tiredness
If your child is taking aspirin and develops chicken pox or flu, she should stop taking the aspirin for a while. Your doctor will tell you what to do if this happens.
More potent anti-rheumatic drugs
The more powerful anti-rheumatic drugs are not usually given by themselves; they are most often effective when given in addition to a NSAID. They are usually prescribed when NSAIDs alone have not been effective or when joint damage occurs, usually in children with polyarticular disease. These more powerful drugs are often able to limit the amount of inflammation seen in severe JRA.
Methotrexate works primarily by decreasing excessive white blood cell activity. Its use in children is fairly recent. However, Methotrexate has been found to be effective in treating children with active polyarticular JRA and some patients with severe pauciarticular disease.
Dose: Methotrexate is normally given weekly in low doses, usually as a pill taken by mouth. It may also be given by injection.
Possible side effects: In the low doses at which Methotrexate is usually prescribed, few serious side effects have been reported. However, regular laboratory monitoring is important. Side effects may include:
- mouth sores
- low white blood cell count
- lung irritation
- sinus infection
- liver irritation. Anyone taking Methotrexate, including teenagers, should avoid all alcohol intake to lower the risk of irritating the liver
- risk of birth defects if taken during pregnancy
The "gold" used in gold treatment is actually a liquid gold salt. It works by interfering with several different functions of white blood cells.
Gold treatment is used to:
- ease morning stiffness
- control swelling and pain in joints
Dose: Gold is given in two ways--by injection into the muscle or as oral gold in a capsule taken by mouth. Injections are usually given every week for five or six months, then once or twice a month for as long as necessary. Oral gold (auranofin) is taken daily.
Four to six months may pass before a child responds to gold treatment. Gold is not effective in all children; when it is, treatment may need to be continued for many years.
Possible side effects: Gold can have side effects which may make it necessary to stop treatment. Regular laboratory tests are needed to detect any adverse reactions. Side effects may include:
- skin rash
- mouth sores
- kidney problems
- a low blood count
Hydroxychloroquine sold under the trade name Plaquenil is another drug found to work in some children with polyarticular JRA and other forms of arthritis. Plaquenil is used to control swelling and pain in joints. While not helpful in all cases, Plaquenil may be useful in an individual child, particularly when Methotrexate or gold have not been completely effective. Plaquenil is used to control swelling and pain in joints.
Dose: Plaquenil is given in pill form for many months. Your doctor will determine the correct amount. Plaquenil is used to control swelling and pain in joints.
Possible side effects may include:
- upset stomach
- skin rash
- eye damage (A child taking this drug should be checked every six to 12 months by an ophthalmologist.)
Keep this drug out of reach of small children. An overdose of this medication can be fatal.
Corticosteroid drugs are used to treat JRA, especially the systemic form when it is very severe and has not responded to other drugs. Corticosteroids used to treat JRA include prednisone and cortisone. These drugs contain cortisone and are not related to the synthetic male-hormone steroids some athletes use.
Corticosteroids are used to:
- control swelling and pain in joints
- control pericarditis, pleuritis, continuous high fever or severe anemia
- control iridocyclitis (when given as an ointment or eye drops)
Corticosteroids work swiftly and effectively. However, because of their side effects they are used with caution.
Dose: If corticosteroid drugs are prescribed, the lowest possible dose will be used for the shortest length of time. Usually the drug is taken by mouth as a pill or liquid or it can be given intravenously directly into a vein. It can also be given as an injection into the joint itself or into a muscle or vein. Other types of steroids include eye drops used to treat iridocyclitis and steroid creams for skin problems.
Possible side effects: Corticosteroids taken as a pill or intravenously for long periods of time may cause severe problems such as:
- high blood pressure
- osteoporosis (softening of the bones)
- slowing of the child's growth rate
- reduced resistance to infection
- sudden mood swings
- increased appetite and weight gain
- increased risk for ulcers
Surgery is rarely used to treat JRA early in the course of the disease. However surgery can be used to:
- relieve pain
- release joint contractures
- replace a damaged joint
If surgery is necessary, your doctor may consider joint replacement or soft tissue release as treatment.
In joint replacement surgery, a child's entire joint is replaced with an artificial joint. This procedure is used mainly in older children whose growth is complete and whose joints are badly damaged by arthritis. This operation is usually used to replace the hip, knee or jaw joints. It can reduce pain and improve function.
Soft tissue release
Soft tissue release may sometimes be used to improve the position of a joint which has been pulled out of line by a contracture--a condition caused by a tightening and shortening of the tendons. In this operation, the surgeon cuts and repairs the tight tissues which caused the contracture, allowing the joint to return to a normal position.
Splints or braces
Splints are used to keep joints in the correct position and to relieve pain. If a joint is becoming deformed (bent in the wrong position), a splint may be used to stretch that joint gradually back to its normal position. Commonly used splints include knee extension splints, wrist extension splints and ring splints for the fingers.
An occupational or physical therapist usually makes the splint. Arm and hand splints are made from plastic; leg splints are sometimes made of cast material. A splint is custom-made for your child. The therapist will adjust the splint as your child grows or as the joint position changes.
Splints are usually worn only at night while sleeping to keep the joint extended.
It is important for your child to move and use her joints during the day. At times, however, your child may also wear a different kind of splint, a functional splint (often called an orthosis or brace) during the daytime.
The most important aspect of dental care for everyone is the prevention of dental disease. Some children with JRA may have difficulty brushing and flossing. Your dentist may suggest various toothbrush handles, electric toothbrushes, floss holders, toothpicks and rinses that will help your child maintain healthy teeth and gums.
Always inform your dentist about the status of your child's disease and the medications she is taking. Both the JRA and the medications used to treat it may affect the child's oral health and development. The dentist will also consider these when he is planning any treatment. These considerations may be especially important if general anesthesia, sedation or oral surgery are being planned. Older children who have had joint replacements may require an antibiotic before dental treatment.
The joint in front of the ears where the lower jaw connects to the base of the skull is called the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Arthritis may affect this joint in the same way it does others by causing pain, stiffness and altered growth. Jaw exercises and heat-cold therapy may be recommended for the pain and stiffness. If the lower jaw does not develop properly, the child with JRA may develop a severe overbite. Your child's dentist may recommend an early consultation with an orthodontist if this occurs. Surgery is also sometimes necessary for this condition.
A child with JRA, especially if she is in a flare, may not always have the stamina for even routine dental work. If possible, shorter appointments may be helpful. Also schedule an appointment at the time of day your child has the most stamina.
An eye inflammation called iridocyclitis or closely-related forms called anterior uveitis and iritis, are sometimes associated with JRA, especially the pauciarticular type. Iridocyclitis occurs more often in young girls with pauciarticular JRA whose blood contains a kind of protein known as an Antinuclear Antibody (ANA). In iridocyclitis, certain tissues in the eyes become inflamed. But this inflammation may not cause any obvious eye symptoms until it has gone on for a long time. The symptoms of iridocyclitis which might appear after a while include red eyes, eye pain and failing vision.
It is important for all children with JRA to have their eyes checked by an ophthalmologist (an eye doctor who is an M.D.) as soon as they are diagnosed. The ophthalmologist can detect the problem early and start treatment to avoid any serious problems.
Children should continue to get periodic eye exams even when the arthritis is inactive and they have no joint swelling because iridocyclitis may still be present.
Your child should visit the ophthalmologist for a complete medical eye evaluation, including a slit lamp test. This is a simple and painless procedure that can spot problems before you can tell anything is wrong. The eye examination may need to be repeated from time to time depending on your child's risk for developing the eye problem. Your doctor will tell you how often your child should be examined. If iridocyclitis is found early and treated properly, it is unlikely to cause any trouble. If it is allowed to go on, it can result in impaired vision or even blindness.
If your child has iridocyclitis, eye drops will be prescribed. One type of eye drops is used to dilate the pupil (make the black spot in the center of the eye bigger). This will keep scars from forming on the pupil. Another kind of eye drop contains a corticosteroid drug which will decrease the inflammation in the eye tissues. When corticosteroids are taken in this form, the side effects are not as serious as when the drug is taken by mouth. If the drops cannot control the iridocyclitis, your child may need to take an anti-inflammatory medication in pill form.
Morning stiffness relief
Many children experience a period of stiffness upon getting up each day. Morning stiffness can be one of the best measures of disease activity; the longer the morning stiffness lasts, the more active the disease. Morning stiffness can be relieved by these methods:
- a hot bath or shower
- sleeping in a sleeping bag
- range of motion exercises
- a paraffin bath in a tub of warmed wax which coats the small joints of the hands
- a cold pack: though most children do better with warmth, there are a few who respond to cold (a plastic bag filled with ice or frozen vegetables works well)
Strategies for coping
Your child may feel angry or sad about having arthritis.
But be aware that you as parents, siblings and other family members may also have troubling feelings about the disease and its effect on the family. However, acceptance and settling into a routine will benefit everyone in the family.
When you are first told your child has arthritis, you might feel shocked, numbed or disbelieving. You might also feel guilty and ask yourself if something you did or didn't do caused your child's arthritis. While these thoughts are common to all parents whose children are ill, work hard to put such thinking into perspective. Remember: you are not the reason for your child's arthritis.
The child with arthritis may feel many different emotions. Children can feel "hurt" by an illness that isn't their fault, blame parents for the illness, adopt a "why me?" attitude, engage in self-pity or become angry because of restrictions on activities. They may also resent other children who are well, including brothers and sisters.
Other children in the family may feel left out and resentful because of the amount of time and attention the child with arthritis requires. Or they may feel guilty as if their normal "bad thoughts" towards their brother or sister had somehow caused the illness.
Children may over-identify with the brother or sister with special needs. Some feel a pressure to achieve or make up for what their brother or sister can no longer do. Others want to involve themselves in care giving--to the point where they give up their own normal activities. In these cases, try to help siblings find other ways to deal with their feelings. Whenever possible, let brothers and sisters settle their own differences. Encourage siblings to talk with peers who live in homes with similar concerns. The key to dealing with all these emotions is to talk about them with one another.
Talk to your child's brothers and sisters about arthritis--let them express their feelings about the disease. Encourage the family to treat the child with JRA as they did before she became ill--but at the same time, do remember that she will need some special attention.
Talk to your child about how she feels about the illness. Allow your child to express her anger about arthritis from time to time.
Encourage your child to develop her special talents.
Expect your child to behave as well as other children--do not give her special privileges like avoiding light household chores that she is physically able to do just because she has arthritis.
Encourage your child to learn as much as she can about arthritis and about her treatment program. Older children can be responsible for taking medications on time, reporting any medication side effects to you and following an exercise program. Prepare them for the change to adult health-care.
Remember: Your attitude toward arthritis will affect the way your child feels about arthritis.
Try not to overprotect your child. Your child might become too dependent if you do everything for her or if you keep her from tasks which she is capable of doing. Don't be manipulated into allowing activities that shouldn't be done but compromise when you can. Being as consistent as possible will help your child learn what is expected. Plan special time to spend alone with your spouse or with the entire family. When your child first becomes ill, you may set aside relationships with other family members. It is important however to continue to talk and spend time with all family members.
The child with arthritis may develop emotional or behavioral problems that you cannot deal with alone. Other family members may feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, help is available.
Children with arthritis should nearly always attend a regular school. They should not be isolated from other children of the same age. But because of JRA, your child may need some special materials and services to help her get along in a regular school.
It is important to educate your child's teachers, the school nurse and the principal about arthritis and its effects on your child. In general, teachers are cooperative and understanding about JRA. In a few cases, it may be necessary to ask your child's physician or a member of her health-care team to intervene.
Federal laws which give your child rights by barring discrimination against children with disabilities in public schools and requiring private schools to be accessible include:
- Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It bans discrimination against disabled persons in programs that receive federal funds.
- Public Law 101-476-The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly the Education for All Handicapped Children Act PL 94-142. It says that every child has a right to a free appropriate public education whether or not the child has a disability.
- Part H of the IDEA Act. It provides money to states to identify infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities and to offer them and their families early intervention services until they reach the age of three.
- The Americans With Disabilities Act. It requires private schools, daycare centers and nurseries to be accessible to children with disabilities and bans discrimination in hiring and employment.
For more information on these laws, contact the Special Education Director in your state's Department of Education.
Asking for help
Many Arthritis Foundation chapters and some pediatric rheumatology centers have AJAO family support groups that provide resources, avenues for sharing ideas and feelings, and a place to meet and learn from other families who truly understand what your child is experiencing. If emotional stress becomes too great, it may be helpful to seek professional counseling. The doctor nurse or medical social worker may be able to help you or may be able to refer you to other sources of help. AJAO National Family Conferences held each year in a different region of the country give parents the opportunity to meet others and to learn from experts about many aspects of managing JRA while children enjoy special activities. Regional juvenile arthritis conferences may also be offered by local chapters.
There is a great deal of research going on to find out what causes arthritis. Once this is known, it may be possible to cure this illness or to prevent it from starting.
Some of this material may also be available in an Arthritis Foundation brochure.
Adapted from the pamphlet originally prepared for the Arthritis Foundation by Michael L. Miller, M.D.; Andrew P. Tanchyk, DMD; Andrea Kovalesky, RN; Carol Henderson, RD, LD; Peggy Richey; Bethany DeNardo, PT, MP; and James E. May MA, ME.d. This material is protected by copyright.
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From March 27, 1910
HOW NEW YORK’S CENSUS WILL BE TAKEN: Albert Falck Tells of His Task of Taking the Census in Biggest City in America (PDF)
Oh, you census takers in 2010. You have it so easy. Back in 1910, you had to go door to door asking people to fill out 30 questions, and you earned 2½ cents for each completed census. You might make 4 or 5 dollars in a day.
But once you turned in the census forms, that’s when the cool part happened. They didn’t have computers as we know them today, but they did have machines that helped tabulate the answers. From the article:
This year the work will be greatly facilitated by a very remarkable machine. It is expected that this machine will not only reduce very greatly the amount of labor required in the classification of 20,000,000 people, but it will reduce the costs so materially that the present census will not cost more than that of ten years ago, when there were not so many people to count.
Mechanical devices have been in use in the Census Office ever since 1870, but the new machine will cause almost a revolution in the methods of work. It is built on the plan of a typewriter with 240 keys. The operator, with a schedule before him, depresses the desired keys and the holes are punched by electric power in cards in the proper places. One such machine controled by a clerk can punch holes in 3,000 cards a day. There are 300 of the machines in the Census Office at Washington, all oiled up and ready to work, and the 90,000,000 cards to be punched have been ordered.
After the cards are punched they are fed into an electric tabulating machine with a “pin box” attachment which permits the required pins to pass through the holes in the cards, establishing in this way an electric circuit and resulting in the tabulation of the items on counters which register their results in printing on spooled paper somewhat like a stock ticker. One hundred of these machines will be used. After comparisons to prove accuracy the schedules will be put away to be preserved in the vaults of the Census Bureau. These cards do not contain the names of the persons to whom they refer and therefore all personal identity is eliminated.
Check out the pdf for more details. As a bonus, the pdf also includes an irrelevant sidebar column about how awful puns are, and the best way to deal with a person who insists on using them.
Possibly related articles:
- Growth Of The Nation And Growth Of New York City
- Moving Pictures Sound Melodrama’s Knell
- Electric Machine To Tell Guilt Of Criminals
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Indonesian Economic History
This project has been a concerted effort of several researchers at different universities and research institutions. The aim of the project was to reconstruct the national accounts of Java (1815-1939) and of Indonesia (1900-2000) and to analyze the long-term evolution of the economy of Indonesia in this period. The reconstructed national accounts formed the prime source of information about the economy's development over time. The national accounts provided an analytical framework for a more thorough understanding of changes and discontinuities in the economic performance of Indonesia.
- Reconstruction National Accounts:
- Reconstruction Javanese National Accounts, 1815 – 1939 | Jan Luiten van Zanden
- Reconstruction of the National Accounts of Indonesia, 1890-2008 | Pierre van der Eng, Thomas Lindblad and Jan Luiten van Zanden
- Public Finance of Indonesia, 1848 – 194 | Jan Luiten van Zanden and Joost mellegers
- Human Capital | Bas van Leeuwen
- Human Capital and Economic Growth
- Biological Welfare
- The Economic Development of the Indonesian Service Sector, ca 1900-2000 | Daan Marks
- Javanese Rice prices, 1823 – 2006 | Jan Luiten van Zanden
- Synthesis of the project: a book about the economic history of Indonesia (1800 - 2010) was published in English and Bahasa Indonesia in 2012.
- Reconstruction National Accounts:
- Economic growth in Java 1815-1939. The reconstruction of the historical national accounts of a colonial economy, by Jan Luiten van Zanden (2002). About the sources and datafiles.
- Estimates Javanese National Accounts 1815 - 1939, Excel 2000, 209 Kb.
- Summary statistics Javanese National Accounts 1815 - 1939, Excel 2000, 287 Kb.
- Public Finance of Indonesia:
- Public Finance of Indonesia 1817-1940, by Joost Mellegers. About the datafiles.
- Government revenue in the Netherlands East Indies 1848-1940, Excel 2000, 212 Kb.
- Government expenditure in the Netherlands East Indies 1848-1940, Excel 2000, 340 Kb.
- Human Capital:
- Human capital and economic growth data available in the thesis by Bas van Leeuwen can be found on this page.
- Dataset composed of individual records of West African men that served in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL), 1831 - 1870, Excel 2010, 193 Kb.
- Javanese rice prices:
- Gareth Austin, Joerg Baten and Bas van Leeuwen, ‘The biological standard of living in early nineteenth-century West Africa: new anthropometric evidence for northern Ghana and Burkina Faso’, The Economic History Review, Vol. 65 (4) 2012, pp. 1280-1302.
- Jan Luiten van Zanden, ‘Colonial state formation and patterns of economic development in Java, 1800-1913’, Economic History of Developing Regions Vol. 25 (2), pp. 155-176.
- Pierre van der Eng, ‘The sources of long-term economic growth in Indonesia, 1880-2008’, Explorations in Economic History, Vol. 47 (3) 2010, pp. 294-309.
- Jan Luiten van Zanden (2009), “Credit and the Colonial State: The reform of capital markets on Java, 1900-1930”, in: D. Henley & P. Boomgaard (Eds.), Credit and Debt in Indonesia, 860-1930: From Peonage to Pawnshop, from Kongsi to Cooperative (pp. 160-177). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
- Bas van Leeuwen and Péter Földvári, ‘Human Capital and Economic Growth in Asia 1890-2000: a time-series analysis’, Asian Economic Journal, Vol. 22 (3) 2008, 225-240.
- Jan Luiten van Zanden, ‘On the efficiency of markets for agricultural products. Rice prices and capital markets in 19th century Java’, Journal of economic history, Vol. 64 (4) 2004, 1028-1055.
- Jan Luiten van Zanden, 'Rich and Poor before the Industrial Revolution: a comparison between Java and the Netherlands at the beginning of the 19th century', Explorations in Economic History, Vol. 40 2003, 1-23.
- Jan Luiten van Zanden, 'Economic growth in Java 1815-1939. The reconstruction of the historical national accounts of a colonial economy', 2002.
Zanden, J.L. van and Marks, D. (2012). An Economic History of Indonesia 1800-2010. London: Routledge.
- The IISH Historical Prices and Wages project, Indonesia.
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| 0.679567 | 1,029 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Arsenic Linked to Diabetes?
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- There may be more health dangers linked to arsenic.
A new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds higher levels of arsenic in urine seem to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Millions of people worldwide are exposed to drinking water contaminated with inorganic arsenic, including 13 million Americans. Being exposed to high concentrations of the element has been shown to be associated with diabetes, but little is known about how lower levels affect the disease.
Researchers looked at 788 adults age 20 and older who had their urine tested for arsenic levels as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Results show participants in the top one-fifth of arsenic levels (16.5 micrograms per liter) had 3.6 times the odds of having type 2 diabetes compared to those in the lowest one-fifth (3.0 micrograms per liter). The study also shows those in the top one-fifth of dimethylarsinate levels (6.0 micrograms per liter) had 1.5 times the odds of having type 2 diabetes as participants in the lowest one-fifth (2.0 micrograms per liter). Inorganic arsenic is metabolized into dimethylarsinate before it is excreted.
Researchers say insulin-sensitive cells exposed to insulin and sodium arsenite seem to take in less glucose than cells exposed to insulin alone. Arsenic could also affect genetic factors that interfere with insulin sensitivity and other processes, or help cause oxygen-related cell damage, inflammation and cell death, which have also been related to diabetes.
The authors conclude finding the role of arsenic in the diabetes epidemic is a public health research priority that could help prevent and control the disease.
SOURCE: JAMA, 2008;300:814-822
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here.
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en
| 0.938877 | 404 | 2.875 | 3 |
Explaining the death of a loved one to a child can be intimidating. It may take a child years to fully understand the permanence of death and dying.
Tips for Explaining Death To A Child:
Be honest, gentle and open about death when talking to a child. Make sure that your children know they can talk about death or dying and their feelings as they arise.
Explain what death is in a very concrete way rather than referring to "going away," or "sleeping." As children are concrete, literal thinkers, euphemisms about death will be hard for children to understand.
Explain to your child that death is permanent.
Children have trouble separating fact from chance events and may use a process called "magical thinking" to explain two unrelated events. (See below for a better explanation of magical thinking.)
How To Say Good-Bye:
Create a living memorial by planting a special flowerbed or a tree with your child. That way, your child can visit that spot and feel closer to the deceased.
Dedicate a special moment to your lost loved one. You and your child could eat a special meal, visit a special place, or sing a special song to remember your loved one.
Collect and preserve memories together with your child, adding notes, clothes and favorite things. Take turns telling or writing stories about your deceased loved one through these items. Be sure to hold onto these items for your child.
Plan a small memorial with your child to remember your loved one. A larger memorial may be hard for a small child, but a smaller, intimate one with close friends and family may help a child say goodbye.
Explaining Death To A Child 5 or 6 Years of Age.
- At this age, the child still views the world in a very concrete manner.
- If the loved one who has died was elderly or ill, try explaining to the child that their body was sick, and the doctors could not fix it.
- If the death was a result of an accident or tragic event, explain what happened (how much detail you use is up to your judgment, but generally speaking, the simpler, the better). Explain to your child that the death was because the accident caused their body to stop working.
- If the death was a young friend or classmate, a big concern about death for a child up to five or six years old is that they may get sick and die like their friend. This is a very valid fear and one that will need to be explained well: "Just because Suzy had cancer doesn't mean that you will get it, too."
- You may need to explain that dying or death is what happens when the body can’t work.
- By giving your young child only enough information to answer each specific question about the death of a loved one, you allow them to process it and come up with another question later. Too much information is more than a child can handle at that age.
- This may be a good time to share your views on the afterlife, if you have any.
- It’s hard for kids under age six to grasp the finality of death, so questions may come up down the road. This can be frustrating and heart-wrenching for you. Calmly reiterate that death means that they won’t be coming back, but that it’s okay to miss our loved ones very much.
- Tell your child "it’s okay to be sad that they are gone, but that doesn’t mean we need to forget the good times." Perhaps reminisce with your child about a fun time or event that happened with this person.
Explaining Death To Children Between The Ages Of 6-10.
- Kids between six and ten years old can understand the finality of death.
- Remain clear, honest and factual when talking about death to a child this age.
- Kids have deeper questions about death and may or may not be ready for the full answer. You will have to pick and choose what your child will be ready to hear and understand.
- Kids may believe that if they make a wish, or pray, then so-and-so won’t die. This is called "Magical Thinking."
- Make it clear that eventually, everything dies, including Fluffy and Doggy and little pet Fishy.
Things You Can Do To Help A Child Through Grief and Grieving
- Be open and honest, allow questions.
- Find a grief support group.
- Be open to the idea of counseling for your child, if you think they will benefit from it.
- Speak with your religious leader (if you have one). They may be able to help you explain what your religion believes about the after-life. Additionally, they may be willing to sit down with you and your child to help explain death.
- Reminisce with your child about their loved one. Keeping the happy memories alive can ease the pain of loss over time.
KidsHealth.Org: A brief look at what you might expect each age group to handle, or ask questions about.
Hospice.Net : Another source for tips on how to explain death, what to expect from your grieving child, and they even offer bereavement camps for children aged 7-17. They also have a special section for deaths caused by cancers.
National Alliance for Grieving Children: Full of useful information, and they also have a tool to help you locate support groups in your area
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.bandbacktogether.com/talking-children-death-resources/
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en
| 0.946644 | 1,135 | 3.125 | 3 |
In our modern world everyone certainly wants to send and receive wireless data as fast as they can, and NASA is no exception. NASA has confirmed that they will be testing a prototype laser communications system called OPALS (Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science) this October from the International Space Station (ISS).
The thing about the OPALS system is that it can transmit laser beams that are a 100 times narrower than radio waves between Earth and space. This will allow higher data rates.
NASA will be carrying out the tests from the ISS by sending video data via one of the OPALS lasers to a ground receiver located in Wrightwood, California (a distance of 250 miles). They will be doing the tests for a period of three months with each test beam lasting two and a half minutes.
But don’t expect such a communications system from your wireless carrier. Besides the data rate, the reason that they are using laser is that they won’t have to use any bandwidth being used by others. And the transmission will be very secure since to intercept the sent info one will have to be directly in the beam of laser. And also although the system sounds simple NASA says that it should be very precise as it will be like “trying to use a laser to point to an area that’s the diameter of a human hair from 20-to-30 feet away while moving at half-a-foot per second”.
Just in case you didn’t know, back in January Russian astronauts aboard the ISS transmitted data using laser to Earth.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/02/28/nasa-laser-data/
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en
| 0.951447 | 319 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Click here to go to their website
Tapirs, jaguars, crocodiles, pelicans, Muscovy ducks, hawks, spider monkeys and two species of peccary are all animals found in Classic Maya art, iconography, and epigraphy.
To study these animals out in the wild is a challenge. For example, in 52 years being in Guatemala, I have never seen a tapir in the wild. But at AutoSafari Chapin it was possible to see over 15 tapir in a single day (plus we got to meet them in person, as you can see in the picture).
So if you are studying Maya art, iconography, hieroglyphic writing and want to learn what is so much more realistic than being on-line on in a university library, to get eye to eye with the pertinent birds and animals, consider the AutoSafari Chapin.
Here is Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth with the macaws at AutoSafari Chapin, Guatemala.
Macaws have a beautiful colors in their feathers.
You can also see spider monkeys, jaguars, puma, ocelot, peccary, white tailed deer, crocodiles and other native Guatemalan species.
They also have lions, zebras, and other things for tourists.
Crocodile acutus jaw at AutoSafari Chapin.
Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), are found pasturing freely in the park.
Auto Safari Chapin
Chapin is the nickname for Guatemalans. They call themselves Chapines. Auto Safari means that you drive through the area just like if you were in Africa on safari. There are, however, areas you can get out of your car and see other animals in walled areas (jaguars, tapir, for example).
There are plenty of web sites that show you maps of how to get to Auto Safari Chapin. It is in the Department of Escuintla, about two hours from Guatemala City (depending on how much traffic you get caught in leaving Guatemala City). There are some hours of the day, entering (in the morning) or leaving (in the evening) when it can take 90 minutes to get in, or out, of Guatemala City itself.
Contact info for Auto Safari Chapin
Open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30am to 5:00pm
KM 87.5 Highway to Taxisco, Escuintla, Guatemala
Phone at the park: (502) 5517-1705
Central office address: 14 Calle 8-71 Zona 10, Guatemala, Centro América 01010
Telephone: (502) 2222-5858
The park is not surrounded by hotels, since most people continue on to spend the night at Monterrico. There is a 30 minute ferry ride down the Canal de Chiquilumilla from where the highway ends. But if you plan to be at AutoSafari several days, then you would need to stay closer (since the ferry ride takes a long time back and forth).
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.maya-archaeology.org/zoo_zoological_park_zooarchaeology_ethnozoology_animals_birds_snakes_wildlife/Auto_Safari_Chapin_Escuintla_tapir_crocodiles_white-tailed_deer_ocelot_jaguars_peccary_spider-monkey_macaws.php
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en
| 0.9163 | 647 | 2.515625 | 3 |
WASHINGTON — As soon as next week, NASA will announce the design for its next big rocket, and anyone who has seen the space shuttle should recognize the key pieces — as the vehicle includes much of the same 30-year-old technology.
Like the shuttle, the new rocket will use a giant fuel tank and a pair of booster rockets. The major difference is that the airplane-like orbiter is gone, replaced by a new Apollo-like crew capsule atop the fuel tank, according to industry sources and internal NASA documents.
That NASA selected this model is not a complete surprise: a 2010 law all but requires agency engineers to reuse shuttle parts or remnants from the now-defunct Constellation moon program, and the design does that. But it also commits the agency's future to hardware — like the main engines taken from the space shuttle — that was designed in the 1970s.
Officially, NASA officials said that the design still was under review. An administration source, not authorized to speak on the record, said that Bolden had approved the design but that the White House had yet to approve the plan as of Friday afternoon.
The decision finally enables NASA to move forward with its manned-space program, ending a period of limbo since President Barack Obama moved in February 2010 to cancel the troubled Constellation moon-rocket project that was over budget and years behind schedule.
"I think it means NASA's human spaceflight program is taking a step in the right direction, but I haven't seen the details of what NASA is proposing," said Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge.
What the decision doesn't do, though, is answer broader questions about where NASA plans to fly next, whether the agency will have enough money to actually build the rocket and when it might fly.
NASA's long-term goal is Mars, but the agency acknowledges that sending a human to the Red Planet won't happen for decades. It hasn't settled on an interim destination — the moon and a nearby asteroid are mentioned — and the estimated $14 billion set aside over the next five years may not be enough to build the rocket, let alone the related equipment needed to actually land somewhere.
Cost estimates for the new rocket were not immediately available, although NASA warned in January that it would not have enough money to build it by a congressionally imposed deadline of 2017.
"It [the budget] is a very valid concern," said John Logsdon, a space expert at George Washington University. "Even using existing elements [of the shuttle], the design is new enough that the most reasonable prediction is that there will be some development problems and it will cost more than what is now forecast."
Adding further uncertainty is that NASA intends to ultimately compete one major piece — but only one — of the so-called Space Launch System.
Under the current plan, NASA would launch a smaller version of the Space Launch System using the same solid-rocket boosters — made by Alliant Techsystems of Minnesota — that powered the shuttle. Then the agency would hold a competition for boosters that would power a larger model of the rocket.
The decision follows heavy pressure in recent weeks from California and Alabama lawmakers, who have written NASA chief Charlie Bolden asking that he compete this part of the rocket.
"Our national space program is already under public scrutiny as a result of delays and cost overruns; new noncompetitive billion-dollar contracts will only further inflame those who question the need to make these investments," wrote Democratic U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California.
Their letter was followed by a similar missive from U.S. Rep. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama — not a coincidence as the aerospace companies Aerojet of California and Teledyne Brown Engineering of Alabama recently announced a "strategic alliance" that is expected to compete for the booster contract.
However, a major chunk of development costs would continue to go to aerospace giants Lockheed Martin, which has already been paid $5.3 billion to design and build a crew capsule; and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, which would make the main engines.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., one architect of the 2010 NASA law, did not take a position on the competition angle, noting only that "those senators are advocating for their constituent corporations."
He also did not comment on the design because he wanted to "let NASA announce it."
Getting NASA flying again soon is critical for Kennedy Space Center, which faces an estimated 7,000 lost jobs once the 30-year shuttle era ends with the planned July 8 launch of Atlantis.
Staff writer Scott Powers contributed to this report. [email protected] or 202-284-8222.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-06-17/news/os-nasa-rocket-competition-20110616_1_constellation-moon-program-new-rocket-big-rocket
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en
| 0.958852 | 970 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Chickens, pigs, and cattle are key reservoirs of Salmonella enterica, a foodborne pathogen of worldwide importance. Though a decade has elapsed since publication of the first Salmonella genome, thousands of genes remain of hypothetical or unknown function, and the basis of colonization of reservoir hosts is ill-defined. Moreover, previous surveys of the role of Salmonella genes in vivo have focused on systemic virulence in murine typhoid models, and the genetic basis of intestinal persistence and thus zoonotic transmission have received little study. We therefore screened pools of random insertion mutants of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in chickens, pigs, and cattle by transposon-directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS). The identity and relative fitness in each host of 7,702 mutants was simultaneously assigned by massively parallel sequencing of transposon-flanking regions. Phenotypes were assigned to 2,715 different genes, providing a phenotype–genotype map of unprecedented resolution. The data are self-consistent in that multiple independent mutations in a given gene or pathway were observed to exert a similar fitness cost. Phenotypes were further validated by screening defined null mutants in chickens. Our data indicate that a core set of genes is required for infection of all three host species, and smaller sets of genes may mediate persistence in specific hosts. By assigning roles to thousands of Salmonella genes in key reservoir hosts, our data facilitate systems approaches to understand pathogenesis and the rational design of novel cross-protective vaccines and inhibitors. Moreover, by simultaneously assigning the genotype and phenotype of over 90% of mutants screened in complex pools, our data establish TraDIS as a powerful tool to apply rich functional annotation to microbial genomes with minimal animal use.
Salmonella Typhimurium is a major cause of human diarrhoeal infections, usually acquired from chickens, pigs, cattle, or their products. To understand the basis of persistence and pathogenesis in these reservoir hosts, and to inform the design of novel vaccines and treatments, we generated a library of 7,702 S. Typhimurium mutants, each bearing an insertion at a random position in the genome. Using DNA sequencing, we identified the disrupted gene in each mutant and determined its relative abundance in a laboratory culture and after experimental infection of mice, chickens, pigs, and cattle. The method allowed large numbers of mutants to be investigated simultaneously, drastically reducing the number of animals required to perform a comprehensive screen. We identified mutants that grow in culture but do not survive in one or more of the animals. The genes disrupted in these mutants are inferred to be important for the infection process. Most of these genes were required in all three food-producing animals, but smaller subsets of genes may mediate persistence in a specific host species. The data provide the most comprehensive map of virulence-associated genes for any bacterial pathogen in natural hosts and are highly relevant for the design of control strategies.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr/reg?pageSize=25&term=&sortby=score+desc&filterAuthor=author%3A(%22Buckley%2C+Anthony%22)
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en
| 0.932132 | 598 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The following lesson was created by Vimeo for its Vimeo Video School . It’s used here with permission. Look for a new lesson each week.
If you’ve shot a video on your camera but have no idea where to go from there, then open up your eyes and ears and prepare to be enlightened! This lesson is for Mac users. If you have a PC, check back next week for our Windows tutorial.
Sitting in front of video editing software for the first time can be pretty intimidating. It doesn’t have to be, though! In this lesson, we explain some of the most essential elements of iMovie within the framework of creating a 5×5 video, which is one of the simplest ways to kick off your videomaking career.
The first step is importing your videos (also known as getting those crazy little moving images onto your computing machine.) To do this, you can either connect your camera to your computer with a USB cable or you can directly insert the camera’s memory card into your computer provided your computer has a slot for that. Once you’ve connected your camera or memory card to the computer, an icon will appear on your desktop. Double click on the icon and then drag whichever folder contains your videos onto the desktop. This will copy all of your videos onto your computer.
Even though our videos are already on our computer, we still have to bring them into iMovie. To do this, go to File > Import > Movies… In the window that appears, we can navigate to the folder on our desktop where we saved our videos when we took them off of our camera. Once you locate the videos, highlight them all. iMovie refers to projects as ‘Events’. Before you click the ‘Import’ button, be sure to have ‘Create new Event’ selected and give your Event a title like “5×5”. Then click ‘Import’. Once iMovie imports your videos, you’re ready to edit!
Time to start cutting! In iMovie, you’ll see that the program is made up of three main windows: the project library, the viewer and the timeline. The project library is where you will keep your videos while you edit, the viewer is where you will view these videos as you edit and the timeline is where you will make edits to the videos.
Whenever you click on a clip in your project library, iMovie selects and highlights a four second portion of that video. To lengthen or shorten the selected portion, drag on the yellow tabs on either end of the highlighted section. To bring the clip into your timeline, click the highlighted portion of the clip and drag it into the timeline. Since we’re making a 5×5, each of the five clips we use should be five seconds long. Once all of your clips are in the timeline you can re-arrange them by dragging them around. It’s that simple! And be creative! Don’t worry about making any irreversible mistakes while you edit, though. The videos you edit in iMovie are only copies of your original videos. Pretty nifty, huh?
Paying close attention to the sound and music of your video is crucial. Poor sound in a video is a huge distraction for the viewer. Fortunately for us, iMovie gives us some tools so that we can completely avoid this scenario. The first thing we want to do is make sure the audio level (or volume) of each clip is right. To adjust the audio level of a clip, mouse over the clip in the timeline to reveal the gear icon, click on the gear icon and select audio adjustments. From there you can adjust the volume of clip as well as set fades and a variety of other adjustments.
Then there’s music. Music does a great job setting the mood you want for your video. To add music, click the music icon below the viewer, which will open your Music and Sound Effects libraries on the right side of the screen. There you can choose from the iMovie and iLife Sound Effects folders as well as GarageBand and iTunes. Once you’ve found the piece of music or sound effect that you’re looking for, drag it into the timeline. Adjusting the audio clip is similar to adjusting the audio on a video clip. Simply mouse over the audio in the timeline, and click on the gear icon and select Audio Adjustments. Trimming audio clips is also easy. To do so, mouse over the clip and click the gear icon and select Clip Trimmer. The clip will then open up in the Event Library window where you can trim the audio by dragging on either of the highlighted ends.
Transitions and effects can be very useful tools to stylize your video…. when used in moderation. Going overboard with transitions and effects will distract your viewer and make your video look corny. I mean, how many star wipes do you really want to sit through?
Adding transitions in iMovie is simple. Click on the transitions icon beneath the viewer. It’s the square icon made up of four triangles. You can then drag whichever transition you choose to the space in between any two clips. This will apply the transition.
To add effects to an audio or video clip, hover over the clip and select Clip Adjustments. There you’ll see buttons for both video and audio effects. You can preview an effect by mousing over it. Click on an effect to select it and then click done to apply it.
Time to give credit where credit is due! Adding titles and credits is a classy way to present your video.
To add text to your video, click the text icon, which is a large T beneath the viewer. iMovie will give you a variety of styles to choose from. Once you’ve made your choice, you can drag the text to any point in the timeline. If you drag it to a point in the timeline where there is no video, iMovie will let you choose a background for it. Once you drop your text template into the timeline, you can edit what it will say in the viewer. You will also be able to choose font, color and size by clicking the ‘Show Fonts’ button in the top-left of the viewer.
Time to put this masterpiece up on Vimeo! Uploading your video to Vimeo from iMovie is a breeze thanks to the addition of a feature that allows you to export and upload your video directly from iMovie. To export and upload your video to Vimeo, click on the Share menu and select Vimeo. Then all you need to do is enter the email address you use to log into Vimeo, your password as well as a title, description and tags for the video. You can also select which size you’d like your video to be. Then all you need to do is read the Vimeo terms of service and click Publish. Your video is now on its way to Vimeo!
Time for a little recap:
- The first step is getting your footage from your camera to your computer.
- Open up iMovie and import all of your footage so you can get to work.
- You can arrage and trim your videos however you like.
- Music is a great way to set the mood.
- Transitions and effects stylize your video. Don’t use too many, though!
- Text and titles are a nice finishing touch.
- You can export and upload your video to Vimeo directly from iMovie!
5×5 videos have a way of making mundane stuff look a lot cooler. For example, doing your laundry has never looked so awesome:
Ready for more? Click here to learn the basics of editing with Windows Live Movie Maker or view more lessons at the Vimeo Video School .
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<urn:uuid:cc141f21-aeab-416c-ac4f-3f7bd30812a3>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.onlinevideo.net/2011/01/editing-with-apple-imovie-video-101/print/
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en
| 0.915157 | 1,619 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Jetlag - or working irregular shifts - damages health, a US study of elderly mice has suggested.
The mouse study could have lessons for human air travellers
Animals who were subjected to changes like those experienced by humans with jetlag or who work unusual shift patterns, died earlier than others.
Writing in Current Biology, the researchers say it raises concerns for humans affected by time disruption.
But a UK expert said, while the study was interesting, frequent-fliers and shift-workers should not panic.
The body's physiological reaction to the circadian rhythm - the natural cycle of light and dark - is thought to be complex, but the effects on the body are not fully understood.
The team, from the University of Virginia, compared how old and young mice were affected by changes to the usual balance of "day" and "night".
In one regimen, the mice's clocks were "put forward" by six hours once a week - the equivalent of the time difference between the UK and Dhaka in Bangladesh - so they had less time in the dark.
Other mice experienced a six-hour backward shift - and therefore more time in the dark - which would equate to the difference between the UK and Chicago.
Separate groups of young and old mice had normal cycles.
Younger animals appeared unaffected by alterations to their schedule.
But only 47% of the older mice whose "nights" were shortened survived, compared with 68% of those whose nocturnal time was lengthened and 83% of those who remained on a normal schedule.
Chronic stress - which has been cited as a mechanism for causing ill-health in those with disrupted schedules and which can be measured through daily corticosterone levels - did not increase in any of the old mice.
The researchers suggest the cause of increased mortality in the mice could be linked to sleep deprivation or immune-system disruption.
They also suggest that age may alter how the circadian system works, or that their elderly mice's general frailty might mean they are less able to tolerate changes in light cycles.
Writing in Current Biology, the team led by Dr Gene Block, said: "Whatever the precise mechanism, this raises important issues about the safety of counter-clockwise rotating shift work [where people's shift patterns are altered causing them to have less sleep] and the potential long-term health consequences for airline crews regularly crossing time zones."
Dr Malcolm von Schantz, senior lecturer in physiology and biochemistry at the University of Surrey, told the BBC: "This is an interesting area which needs research because it's something that's happening more and more.
"There is an increasing amount of cross-time zone travel, and of a '24-hour' society.
"We need to carry out more research, on animals and humans, so that we can properly assess the risk."
He added: "People shouldn't panic, and shouldn't stop travelling or working shifts because of these findings.
"However it's a reminder that, just because humans can do something doesn't mean it's necessarily safe in the long-term.
"And it's important to remember this work was carried out on mice, who are nocturnal animals, while humans are diurnal."
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Exposure to sexual violence may alter the female brain and reduce maternal behaviour needed to care for offspring, a new study suggests.
The researchers discovered that pre-pubescent female rodents paired with sexually experienced males elevated the levels of stress hormones — could not learn as well and expressed reduced maternal behaviours that needed to care for offspring. “This study is important because we need to understand how sexual aggression affects all species,” said lead author Tracey Shors from Rutgers University’s school of arts and sciences.
“We also need to know the consequences of this behaviour in order for us to determine what we can do to help women learn to recover from sexual aggression and violence,” Shors added in the paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Women who experience sexual violence are more likely to suffer from depression, PTSD and other mood disorders. Thirty per cent of women worldwide have experienced some kind of physical or sexual assault in their lifetime and adolescent girls are much more likely to be victims of rape, attempted rape or assault, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Researchers wanted to determine how stress associated with sexual aggression affected female rodents. According to the findings, females in this study that were exposed to the adult male throughout puberty did not exhibit as much maternal behaviour as females that did not have the social interactions.
Fewer newly generated brain cells were present in the females that had minimal maternal behaviour when compared to females that did learn to care for offspring. “Laboratory models used to measure stress in animals have traditionally looked at how stress affects males and have not reflected the kind of stress that young women experience,” she said.
Sexual aggression and violence is one of the most likely causes of PTSD in women, which is associated with decreased brain functions related to learning and memory, the study found.
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Creation vs. Evolution
Before mankind became “enlightened” there was never a question demanding proof for God's existence. However, over time, man has grown more impressed with himself at the center of the universe. In 1859 Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species, presenting an alternative theory to explain our existence. Darwin’s theory became the basis for a belief system - evolution - independent from God.
It has been said that Darwin has done more harm to the Christian faith than any persecution in history. The evolution model, largely due to its posture as the “scientific” explanation for the origins of life, caused many believers to doubt the creation by God and the truthfulness of the Bible. It planted a serious seed of doubt as to the credibility of the Bible: “If the first chapter of the Bible is not true, then likely the rest of the Bible is questionable as well!”
We need to emphasize up front that – despite many claims – evolution is NOT a fact. Neither evolution nor creation is a natural law or a scientific fact, but each is merely a model. What does this mean? The process of evolution, just as the act of creation, cannot be observed or repeated, so both models remain unproved by science. Therefore neither can be called a natural law (such as the law of gravity or the laws of thermodynamics, which describe well proved and observed behavior subject to laws of nature) nor a scientific theory (which requires the possibility and evidence of repeated observations). So evolution – just as creation – is only a model used to explain the observations in the world as we know it. It is not a fact, not a natural law, not even a scientific theory, but just a model!
I would also like to emphasize, that there are only two possible models for the origins of life: creation vs. evolution. There is no alternative, and these two are mutually exclusive. Either our space/time based universe needed a Creator God or it did not. This has an important implication: If we can prove that evolution is NOT a viable model/explanation, than we have indirectly found proof for creation and that God exists! Therefore in studying the evidences of creation vs. evolution we will focus both on evidence to show that evolution is a faulty model as well as evidence pointing to creation: the existence of a Creator God.
What is Evolution?
In the evolution model, the entire universe is considered to have evolved by natural processes and random selection into its present state of high organization and complexity. In this model the universe began in a state of pure randomness. Gradually it has – by “survival of the fittest” – become more ordered and complex. In order for the complex structure of the universe to have been produced by present natural processes, a vast amount of time was required.
As taught in our public schools today, the Organic Theory of Evolution account for the origin of mankind goes something as follows:
on this planet originated several billion years ago, when electrical
disturbances caused reactions in the chemicals of the primeval
ocean. These reactions produced amino acids, which organized
themselves into living cells. In time, the descendants of these
one-celled organisms at random began to mutate, developing into
various multi-celled plants and animals. As each new organism
appeared, a natural selection would occur.
Each life form was either better or less suited to its
environment, and accordingly it would flourish or disappear.
Those species of plants and animals more adaptable to their
environments developed; those that could not adapt simply died. Man
is the highest product of this development. He descended from the
same ancestors as did the apes; more remotely, from the same
ancestors as all mammals. He is himself still developing; that
process is stalled by our present lifestyle, but biologically
ongoing evolution is inevitable.”
The concept of evolution is associated with Charles Darwin, who set forth evolution in The Origin of Species and further developed his ideas in the later The Descent of Man. These concepts have been applied to many scientific disciplines, and the theory has been revised along the way. More recently its tenets have been upgraded with more recent scientific discoveries especially in the areas of genetics/DNA (usually called Neo-Darwinism).
The basic elements of the evolution model remain:
Simplified, evolution’s equation for mankind becomes this:
Many education systems have spoon-fed and brainwashed us with these concepts. These ideas sound so reasonable and have been taught by many highly educated people, therefore many believe it is the truth. However, is it actually true? In the following chapters we will examine the concept to find if scientific observation does support this model.
What is the Creation model?
The creation model, on the other hand, postulates a Creator God or Intelligent Designer. Random chance and lots of time simply cannot combine to create life. Intelligent design or intervention is required. This occurs either by a comprehensive act of creation, bringing basic systems of nature into existence at once, fully functioning at the start, or by a process directed over time by the Creator God towards completion.
Among Christians there are different models on HOW God created our world. These differences largely relate to timing; that is, did God directly and immediately create the world, or did He only design and guide the natural processes? To simplify, we identify two main views:
Creation vs. Evolution and the Role of the Creator
So there are multiple views on how God created human life. These views differ mostly on how to reconcile Biblical creation with scientific observations. According to surveys over the last twenty years, Christians are evenly divided between the Young Earth and Old Earth views.
In our approach to creation, the question of “how God did it” will not be further debated as it is irrelevant to prove God’s existence. We will explore the proofs that support the existence of a Creator God/Intelligent Designer, not how the process worked.
Note that all views of creation share these points in common:
or start reading about: More about Creation vs. Evolution: Studying the Big Bang
Ministries - Christian Apologetics - Evidences for Christianity
Home - Sitemap - About Us - Support Us - Contact Us - Copyright - Resources
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Build a Robot Game
Let kids' creativity shine with the Build a Robot Game from Eeboo! The game is beautifully illustrated and includes the parts necessary to build a fantastic space creation that requires both luck and imagination. Players spin the colorful gear-shaped spinner to find out which piece of their robot they get to assemble first by landing on the "tool" space or numbers 1 through 5 as they attempt to complete their robot. But, players have to try to avoid losing a turn too! And, when a player completes a robotic creation from top to bottom, he or she is the winner! Best of all, even non-readers can enjoy this mind-building and robot building game. With hundreds and hundreds of possible robot combinations, this is a cool, new game that lets kids play and make a friend! For 2 to 4 players.
From eeBoo |
Item # ROBGM
- Games includes illustrated playing cards and gear-shaped game spinner
- No reading required
- Players spin the spinner to land on the “tool” space or numbers 1 through 5, choose the piece that corresponds to the number in order to complete their robot first
- For 2-4 players
- WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.
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Writing what comes naturally
From the dawn of history, our species has set down reflections on the environment
ASHLAND, ORE. — Ever since the first cave painting of a woolly mammoth, the first story of creation told as the moon rose over a cooking fire, men and women have yearned to express their thoughts and feelings about the environment.
From Sumerian epic poems, Greek mythology, biblical stories, and pre-Christian Celtic tales on up through the Old English, Middle English, Renaissance, and Romantic periods to the present, such writing has become more overt and more prolific.
At first, it was a way of exploring the natural word and the reactions - wonder and joy and fear of "the wild" - that it elicited. Then, as societies took root and expanded, as nomads settled down to become farmers and artisans, then factory workers, it was a way of expressing values - mankind's domination over nature, the place of gender in the human order.
At the turn of the millennium, more and more readers and scholars are seeing that this is not limited to "nature writing."
"All texts are at least potentially environmental ... in the sense that all texts are literally and/or imaginatively situated in a place, and in the sense that their authors, consciously or not, inscribe within them a certain relation to their place," writes Boston College English professor Robert Kern in the current journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE).
This was certainly true of much of William Shakespeare's plays most notably "The Tempest," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "The Tragedy of King Lear."
Thus can Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!" and even the largely urban settings of Charles Dickens also be seen as environmental texts.
More obviously, the writing of Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman are classic examples of the genre - forerunners of such well-known 20th-century writers on nature as Aldo Leopold ("A Sand County Almanac"), Rachel Carson ("Edge of the Sea"), Edward Abbey ("Desert Solitaire"), Gretel Ehrlich ("The Solace of Open Spaces"), Annie Dillard ("Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"), and Gary Snyder ("Practice of the Wild").
For many writers, the environment became more than a scene in which to place a tale.
"The salient feature of environmental literature is that nature is not merely a setting or backdrop for human action, but an actual factor in the plot, that is, a character, and sometimes even a protagonist," writes John Tallmadge, professor of literature and environmental studies at the Union Institute Graduate School in Cincinnati, in the ASLE journal.
This broadened view of "nature writing," coupled with the growth in environmental activism (particularly since the first Earth Day in 1970), has led to a new academic discipline called "eco-criticism."
The number of scholars now focusing on this area has grown from just 30 as recently as 1992 to more than 1,000 today. Most are Americans (and most of them are here in the West), but interest is growing abroad - particularly in England and Japan.
"I think one of the reasons it draws a lot of people is that, unlike a lot of the extremely specialized and esoteric, if not to say exclusionary, debates of the '80s in literary circles, this is accessible to everybody," says Louise Westling, professor of English at the University of Oregon and a pioneer in this new literary discipline.
"It is concerned with problems that a lot of people think are real and present," says Dr. Westling, who fly-fishes in her spare time and sees first-hand the impact growth and development have on the countryside around the Willamette Valley. "It's engaged with the world in a very direct way."
We all live in nature, we all relate to the environment - either through our neglect and overuse or through our awareness and preservation.
And this sense that none of us is separate from the natural world, increasingly it seems, can be applied to mankind's literary efforts as well.
"All literature, by illuminating the full nature of human existence, asks a single question: How shall we live?" write John Elder and Robert Finch, editors of "The Norton Book of Nature Writing."
"In our age, that question has taken its most urgent form in relation to the natural environment. Because it has never been more necessary, the voice of nature writing has never been stronger than it is today."
(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society
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Treasures of the Civil War
The Treasures exhibit will be closing in mid-June, to be replaced by the Artwork of the Civil War.
Legendary Leaders Who Shaped a War and a Nation
During the Civil War, the fate of the nation rested with a few political, military and cultural leaders who had one thing in common: They achieved national fame by helping to chart a future course through a nation’s greatest crisis. As part of 150th anniversary commemorations, the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitors Center and Museum offers the new exhibit Treasures of the Civil War: Legendary Leaders Who Shaped a War and a Nation. Most of the nearly one hundred artifacts, from outstanding Civil War collections throughout the United States, are being exhibited at Gettysburg for the first time, offering a unique and rare glimpse into the personal and professional lives of 13 individuals who helped shape a nation: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses Grant, George G. Meade, John Reynolds, George Pickett, Alexander Webb, William Tecumseh Sherman, George Custer, John Mosby, Frederick Douglass and Clara Barton.
Admission to this special exhibit is included with the purchase of Cyclorama, Film and Museum Experience and museum-only tickets. Learn what else there is to experience in the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War.
Some Special Pieces
A face cast of President Abraham Lincoln.
Artist Leonard Wells Volk captured Lincoln’s likeness by making a plaster cast of his face, since Lincoln said he did not have the time to sit for a traditional 19th- century sculpture. On loan from the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
Union General George G. Meade’s frock coat and slouch hat he wore at Gettysburg.
The uniform frock coat features two major general’s shoulder straps. As Meade was leading his troops at Fredericksburg, two bullets pierced this wool felt hat but did not injure him. On loan from the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
A spur owned by Confederate General George Pickett.
Described as striking and distinguished, Pickett typically wore an immaculate uniform, featuring spurs like this. Gettysburg National Military Park, National Park Service
Union General Ulysses Grant’s Vicksburg victory sword.
Given to Grant by the men of the Army of Tennessee for his victory at Vicksburg in July 1863, this gold and silver sword and scabbard is ornately detailed. The image of Athena, the Goddess of War, graces the silver grip, the base of which has “1776” engraved on one side and “1863” on the other. On loan from the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
A kepi worn by Union General John Reynolds at Gettysburg.
Reynolds was wearing this Chasseur-style wool and leather kepi when he lost his life at Gettysburg. Many officers in both armies – from Reynolds to Stonewall Jackson – preferred the lighter kepi to the slouch hat. Gettysburg National Military Park, National Park Service
A photo of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his horse Traveller and locks of Lee’s hair and Traveller’s mane.
Taken during the siege of Petersburg, this is the only known wartime photograph of Robert E. Lee, on his favorite horse, Traveller. The locks of Lee’s hair and Traveller’s mane are circa late 1860s. On loan from Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, National Park Service
Human-rights activist Frederick Douglass’ first autobiography.
Douglass wrote The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave in 1844 to prove to skeptics that the powerful orator indeed had been a slave. The book became a bestseller. On loan from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The Gettysburg Foundation and Gettysburg National Military Park thank the Texas Civil War Museum for making Treasures of the Civil War: Legendary Leaders Who Shaped a War and a Nation possible through their generous gift and the following for generously supporting the exhibit with pieces on loan from their outstanding collections.
The Civil War Museum of Philadelphia Collection
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Collection
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, National Park Service
Clara Barton National Historic Site, National Park Service
The Craig Bashein Collection
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park, National Park Service
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
U.S. General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service
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Sidewalk chalk is one of those marvelous summery entertainments for kids that costs very little and has great educational value.
Here's a list of 10 fun ideas we love to squeeze the amusement from your tub of sidewalk chalk.
1. Yeah, normally a 'chalk outline' of a body is a bad thing. But your preschooler doesn't need to know that. Trace his outline on the sidewalk and then let him color it in.
2. Draw a flower garden. I particularly like this one, since if it doesn't rain for a few days my chalk flowers last a lot longer than real flowers I might attempt to plant.
3. Make a color wheel. What better way to start to introduce the differences in the colors to your child?
4. Draw a prarie dog colony, and once your tunnels are established, race your stuffed animals from burrow to burrow.
5. Likewise, draw a small city, and use matchbox cars to maneuver from one side of town to the other.
6. Write out the alphabet in large letters, and then have your child call out simple words like "CAT". Spell the word for your child, having him run to each letter as it's said.
7. Draw some trails of animal tracks (horse, cat, bear). Have your child act out the animal as he follows the tracks.
8. Draw different rooms and play house.
9. Draw a maze. Have kids race to see who can go through the fastest. Have older children try to navigate backwards.
10. Instead of normal hopscotch, draw a river with scattered stones and logs. Have your child practice jumping from stone to stone without touching the water. If he touches the water, he has to go back to the start.
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Definition of population explosion
: a pyramiding of numbers of a biological population; especially : the recent great increase in human numbers resulting from increased survival and exponential population growth
First Known Use of population explosion
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up population explosion? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
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Types of Volcanoes
Many people are interested in ways to classify volcanoes. There is probably a natural human instinct to try and give labels to all things. This is not a bad instinct and many times it makes it easier to understand the particular thing that is being classified. For example, you start to identify patterns when you classify things and these patterns may lead to a better understanding of whatever it is you are classifying. However (and that is a big "however"), when you are classifying natural things (they might be fish, plants, birds, oceans, minerals, volcanoes, or whatever), you MUST remember that the classification scheme is made up by human beings and Nature might decide to not follow the rules exactly. There will ALWAYS be exceptions to your classification scheme and there will ALWAYS be things that fall into more than one category. As long as you realize this and it doesn't bother you, you'll be just fine.
Certainly there are different ways to classify volcanoes and all of them have particular benefits and drawbacks. These include classifying by lava chemistry, tectonic setting, size, eruptive character, geographic location, present activity, and morphology. As an example of how these can get mixed together, note that there are basaltic strato volcanoes (i.e. Mt. Fuji), big basaltic calderas (i.e. Taal), big gradual-sloped basaltic shields (i.e. Mauna Loa) and big steep-sloped basaltic shields (i.e. Fernandina). Additionally, although most volcanoes associated with subduction zones are steep-sided andesite or dacite cones, there are a few basaltic shields along these zones as well (i.e. Masaya, Westdahl, Tolbachik). These examples highlight the above-mentioned hurdle that any student of the Earth needs to get over - Nature makes exceptions to human rules.
Unfortunately, there is one particular volcano classification system that many people think is the only system. Not only is it not the only system, it is not a very good system. This is the famous "3 types of volcanoes" (shield volcanoes, strato volcanoes, and cinder cones), and it is found in many textbooks from elementary school to college. Why is this 3-types scheme so bad? First, it has no place in it for large caldera complexes (such as Yellowstone), flood basalts, monogenetic fields, or mid-ocean spreading centers. These are important types of volcanoes that you would never hear about if you thought there were only 3 types. Second, although you can occasionally find a cinder cone sitting somewhere all by itself, it is way more common for a cinder cone to either be one of many vents on a large (polygenetic) volcano or a member of a monogenetic field. Finally, if you actually think about the system you run into logical problems, as a teacher from Pittsburgh pointedly complained to VolcanoWorld about: She wanted to know how Pu'u 'O'o could be a cinder cone on Kilauea if cinder cones are a type of volcano and Kilauea is a shield volcano. The answer is that Pu'u 'O'o is one of hundreds of vents on Kilauea, and it happens to be a cinder cone.
Who knows what the origin of this 3-volcano system is, but the sad thing is that many people use it without thinking as far as the Pittsburgh teacher did. The cinder cone part may come from the fact that some cinder cones have names such as "This Volcano" or "Volcan That" even when they are just vents on a larger volcano. In these cases the cinder cone is probably all that has ever erupted in the collective memory of the local folks. They logically consider it to be "the volcano" and may think of the larger structure that hasn't erupted since they've been around (and may in part be highly eroded or vegetated) to be "just" a mountain.
For most volcanological applications a classification based on morphology is probably the most useful. In their excellent book Volcanoes of the World, Tom Simkin and Lee Siebert list 26 morphological "types" of volcanoes. That's certainly thorough but kind of extreme. You can account for probably >90% of all volcanoes with 6 types. Additionally, any system will be more useful if you use modifiers from the other potential classification schemes with the morphological types (i.e. active andesite strato volcano, extinct hotspot shield volcano, etc.).
The following descriptions of 6 morphological volcano types are really brief. They were originally written for an "ask-a-volcanologist" answer - if they tell you things you already know, please don't feel insulted. In most any good volcanology book you should be able to find more details and many more examples.
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Second World War, 1939–45
On 3 September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies announced the beginning of Australia's involvement in the Second World War on every national and commercial radio station in Australia.
Almost a million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War. They fought in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as against Japan in south-east Asia and other parts of the Pacific. The Australian mainland came under direct attack for the first time, as Japanese aircraft bombed towns in north-west Australia and Japanese midget submarines attacked Sydney harbour.
On 7 May 1945 the German High Command authorised the signing of an unconditional surrender on all fronts: the war in Europe was over. The surrender was to take effect at midnight on 8–9 May 1945. On 14 August 1945 Japan accepted of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender. For Australia it meant that the Second World War was finally over.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) participated in operations against Italy after its entry into the war in June 1940. A few Australians flew in the Battle of Britain in August and September, but the Australian army was not engaged in combat until 1941, when the 6th, 7th, and 9th Divisions joined Allied operations in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Following early successes against Italian forces, the Australians suffered defeat with the Allies at the hands of the Germans in Greece, Crete, and North Africa. In June and July 1941 Australians participated in the successful Allied invasion of Syria, a mandate of France and the Vichy government. Up to 14,000 Australians held out against repeated German attacks in the Libyan port of Tobruk, where they were besieged between April and August 1941. After being relieved at Tobruk, the 6th and 7th Divisions departed from the Mediterranean theatre for the war against Japan. The 9th Division remained to play an important role in the Allied victory at El Alamein in October 1942 before it also left for the Pacific. By the end of 1942 the only Australians remaining in the Mediterranean theatre were airmen serving either with 3 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) or in the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Japan entered the war in December 1941 and swiftly achieved a series of victories, resulting in the occupation of most of south-east Asia and large areas of the Pacific by the end of March 1942. Singapore fell in February, with the loss of an entire Australian division. After the bombing of Darwin that same month, all RAN ships in the Mediterranean theatre, as well as the 6th and 7th Divisions, returned to defend Australia. In response to the heightened threat, the Australian government also expanded the army and air force and called for an overhaul of economic, domestic, and industrial policies to give the government special authority to mount a total war effort at home.
In March 1942, after the defeat of the Netherlands East Indies, Japan's southward advance began to lose strength, easing fears of an imminent invasion of Australia. Further relief came when the first AIF veterans of the Mediterranean campaigns began to come home, and when the United States assumed responsibility for the country's defence, providing reinforcements and equipment. The threat of invasion receded further as the Allies won a series of decisive battles: in the Coral Sea, at Midway, on Imita Ridge and the Kokoda Trail, and at Milne Bay and Buna.
Further Allied victories against the Japanese followed in 1943. Australian troops were mainly engaged in land battles in New Guinea, the defeat of the Japanese at Wau, and clearing Japanese soldiers from the Huon peninsula. This was Australia's largest and most complex offensive of the war and was not completed until April 1944. The Australian army also began a new series of campaigns in 1944 against isolated Japanese garrisons stretching from Borneo to Bougainville, involving more Australian troops than at any other time in the war. The first of these campaigns was fought on Bougainville and New Britain, and at Aitape, New Guinea. The final series of campaigns were fought in Borneo in 1945. How necessary these final campaigns were for Allied victory remains the subject of continuing debate. Australian troops were still fighting in Borneo when the war ended in August 1945.
While Australia's major effort from 1942 onwards was directed at defeating Japan, thousands of Australians continued to serve with the RAAF in Europe and the Middle East. Athough more Australian airmen fought against the Japanese, losses among those flying against Germany were far higher. Australians were particularly prominent in Bomber Command's offensive against occupied Europe. Some 3,500 Australians were killed in this campaign, making it the costliest of the war.
Over 30,000 Australian servicemen were taken prisoner in the Second World War and 39,000 gave their lives. Two-thirds of those taken prisoner were captured by the Japanese during their advance through south-east Asia in the first weeks of 1942. While those who became prisoners of the Germans had a strong chance of returning home at the end of the war, 36 per cent of prisoners of the Japanese died in captivity.
Nurses had gone overseas with the AIF in 1940. However, during the early years of the war women were generally unable to make a significant contribution to the war effort in any official capacity. Labour shortages forced the government to allow women to take a more active role in war work and, in February 1941, the RAAF received cabinet approval to establish the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF). At the same time, the navy also began employing female telegraphists, a breakthrough that eventually led to the establishment of the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) in 1942. The Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) was established in October 1941, with the aim of releasing men from certain military duties in base units in Australia for assignment with fighting units overseas. Outside the armed services, the Women's Land Army (WLA) was established to encourage women to work in rural industries. Other women in urban areas took up employment in industries, such as munitions production.
Sources and further reading:
Peter Dennis et al., The Oxford companion to Australian military history (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1995)
Gavin Long, The six years war: Australia in the 1939–45 war (Canberra: Australian War Memorial and the Australian Government Publishing Service, 1973)
J. Robertson, 1939–1945: Australia goes to war (Sydney: Doubleday Australia, 1984)
Essays, articles, and talks
- Fighting in Timor, 1942: history and photo essay
- Crete: the battles of May, 1941
- Australian military unit profiles: Second World War, 1939–45
- Australia–Japan Research Project
- Anniversary talks marking significant events of 1942
- Conference papers: Air war Europe
- Conference papers:- Remembering 1942
- Conference papers: Remembering 1941
- Encyclopedia: answers frequently asked questions about the Second World War
- Articles from Wartime, the Memorial's official magazine:
- Mark Johnston, "The Blockhouse, El Alamein" (0.65Mb PDF file) Wartime 8 (1999)
- Peter Stanley, "Getting our knees brown: exploring the El Alamein battlefield" (0.21Mb PDF file) Wartime 8 (1999)
- Mark Johnston and David Pearson, "Magnificent Menace: 88 mm guns and Australians at El Alamein" (0.17Mb PDF file) Wartime 8 (1999)
- David Pearson, "Diana" (0.06Mb PDF file) Wartime 8 (1999)
- Vanessa Seekee, "One ilan man" Wartime 12 (2000)
- Julie Padanyi-Ryan, "Loyalty and courage at Bardia" Wartime 13 (2001)
- Mike Cecil, "A crucial edge" Wartime 15 (2001)
- Peter Burness, "In the event of my death …" Wartime 19 (2002)
- Peter Stanley, "New Guinea offensives" Wartime 23 (2003)
- Daniel Oakman, "The battle of Berlin" Wartime 25 (2004)
- Robert Nichols, "The first kamikaze attack?" Wartime 28 (2004)
- Eric Carpenter, "Accepting the Japanese surrender" Wartime 31 (2005)
- Garth Pratten, "Professional men of war" Wartime 37 (2007)
- Articles from the Journal of the Australian War Memorial
- Betty Peters, "The life experience of partners of ex-POWs of the Japanese" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 28 (1996)
- Mark Johnston, "The civilians who joined up, 1939–45" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 29 (1996)
- Herman Bussemaker, "Australian–Dutch defence cooperation, 1940–1941" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 29 (1996)
- Hara Takeshi, "Historical materials on the Japanese Army that relate to Australia in the Second World War" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 30 (1997)
- David Sissons, "Sources on Australian investigations into Japanese war crimes in the Pacific" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 30 (1997)
- Tanaka Hiromi, "The Japanese Navy's operations against Australia in the Second World War, with a commentary on Japanese sources" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 30 (1997)
- Hank Nelson, "A map to Paradise Road: a guide for historians" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 32 (1999)
- Hiroyuki Shindo, "Japanese air operations over New Guinea during the Second World War" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 34 (2001)
- David Stevens, "The naval campaigns for New Guinea" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 34 (2001)
- Jozef Straczek, "The empire is listening: naval signals intelligence in the Far East to 1942" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 35 (2001)
- Lorna Froude, "Petrol rationing in Australia during the Second World War" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 36 (2002)
- Ooi Keat Gin, "Prelude to invasion: covert operations before the re-occupation of Northwest Borneo, 1944–45" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 37 (2002)
- Peter Stanley, "'Great in adversity': Indian prisoners of war in New Guinea" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 37 (2002)
- Ann Elias, "The organization of camouflage in Australia in the Second World War" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 38 (2003)
- Ian Willis, "Camden's salvage campaign, 1939–45" Journal of the Australian War Memorial 38 (2003)
From the collection
Find a person
- Roll of Honour: details of members of the Australian armed forces who died while on active service
- Australian Military Forces' (AMF) prisoners of war and missing in the Far East and South West Pacific Islands: details of approximately 23,000 personnel, as at 30 June 1944
- Information sheet: researching Australian military service, Second World War
- Information sheet: researching Australian military service, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Second World War
- Information sheet: researching Australian military service, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Second World War
- Information sheet: researching Australian military service, Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS)
- Information sheet: researching Australian military service, Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA)
- Information sheet: researching Australian military service, Merchant Navy, Second World War
- Information sheet: Australian prisoners of war, Second World War – Europe
- Information sheet: Australian prisoners of war, Second World War – Prisoners of the Japanese
- Information sheet: Second World War troopships
- Chronological guide to Official Records: Second World War, 1939–45
- Second World War, 1939–1945: perrmanent gallery
- Allies in adversity: Australia and the Dutch in the Pacific War : online exhibition
- Shared experience: art and war – Australia, Britain and Canada in the Second World War: online exhibition
- Looking back: Australians on Crete – works of art by Michael Winters: online exhibition
- Australia under attack: 1942–1943: online exhibition
- Stella Bowen: art, love and war: online exhibition
- World War 2 Nominal Roll: Department of Veterans' Affairs
- Online Exhibition - Australia's Northern Territory WWII: Northern Territory Library
- "The track": a historical desktop study of the Kokoda Track: By Dr Karl James, Military History Section, Australian War Memorial, commissioned by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2009
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| 0.943955 | 2,637 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Nine Pane Cupboard71309
Cupboards first appeared in America in the mid-17th century. Originally, they were merely a “cup board,” a single shelf built to hold cups and other dishes. As the design evolved, it incorporated an upper section featuring multiple shelves housed behind glass or solid doors. During the 18th century, these large architectural cupboards became known as some of the finest examples of the cabinetmaker’s art.
Top: Wood-Framed Glass Shelves (10" Deep) & 2 Lights
Bottom: Single Fixed Wooden Shelf
Available in Cherry
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| 0.958021 | 125 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Surface creation and analysis
ArcGIS supports display of raster and TIN surface models and provides analysis tools in the Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst, and Geostatistical Analyst extensions to create, analyze, and extract information from surfaces.
What are surfaces?
Surfaces represent phenomena that have values at every point across their extent. The values at the infinite number of points across the surface are derived from a limited set of sample values. These may be based on direct measurement, such as height values for an elevation surface, or temperature values for a temperature surface; between these measured locations, values are assigned to the surface by interpolation. Surfaces can also be mathematically derived from other data, such as slope and aspect surfaces derived from an elevation surface, a surface of distance from bus stops in a city, or surfaces showing concentration of criminal activity or probability of lightning strikes.
- Surfaces can be represented using contour lines or isolines, arrays of points, TINs, and rasters; however, most surface analysis in GIS is done on raster or TIN data.
- Contours are sets of lines of equal value across a surface. They are frequently created to represent surfaces on a map.
- Points can be regularly or irregularly distributed across a surface. They are usually used as input to interpolation, kriging, or triangulation tools to create raster or TIN surfaces, though they are also sometimes used for cartographic representation of a surface such as wind direction flags or least-cost direction arrows.
- TINs are nets of triangular facets defined by nodes and edges that cover a surface. TINs are constructed from a set of known values, or spot heights, that are used as initial nodes in the triangulation. Lines where the shape of the surface abruptly changes, such as ridgelines, streams, or roads, can be incorporated into TINs as breaklines, and areas that share a value can be incorporated as fill polygons. The values at locations between nodes can be derived for a TIN using linear interpolation from the nearest nodes. TINs are usually used to represent terrain surfaces in engineering applications, as the spot heights can be irregularly distributed to accommodate areas of high variability in the surface, and their values and exact positions are retained as nodes in the TIN.
- Rasters are rectangular arrays of cells (or pixels), each of which stores a value for the part of the surface it covers. A given cell contains a single value, so the amount of detail that can be represented for the surface is limited to the size of the raster cells. Rasters are the most commonly used surface models in ArcGIS. The simplicity of the raster data structure makes calculations on rasters (or comparisons between rasters) faster for rasters than other surface representations. Rasters are also used to store imagery; scanned maps; and categorical information, such as land-use class, which is often derived from imagery.
In ArcGIS, there are tools to create surfaces from vector features or from other surfaces. There are several ways to create surfaces, including interpolating values stored at measured point locations, interpolating a surface of the density of a given phenomenon or feature type from the numbers of features in an area, deriving surfaces of distance (or direction) from a feature or features, or deriving a surface from another surface (slope raster from elevation).
Interpolation tools create a continuous surface from discrete samples with measured values, such as elevation or chemical concentration. There are several interpolation tools, and each has a variety of parameters that influence the resulting surface.
Below is an example of how different interpolation techniques can produce different output surfaces from the same input data.
The simplest interpolation tools are Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) and Natural Neighbor interpolation. These estimate surface values for each cell using the value and distance of nearby points. The interpolated values for IDW surfaces are a weighted average of the values of a set of nearby points, weighted so the influence of nearby points is greater than that of distant points (that is, with the inverse of the distance).
Below is an example of a surface interpolated from point values using IDW interpolation.
Natural Neighbors interpolation is like IDW interpolation, except that the data points used to interpolate the surface values for each cell are identified and weighted using a Delauney triangulation, as in a TIN. Natural Neighbors interpolation reliably works with much larger datasets than the other interpolation methods.
Below is an example of a surface interpolated from point values using Natural Neighbors interpolation.
Spline and Trend interpolation interpolate best-fit surfaces to the sample points using polynomial and least-squares methods, respectively. Spline interpolation fits a mathematical surface through the points that minimizes sharp bending; it is useful for surfaces that vary smoothly, such as water table heights.
Below is an example of a surface interpolated from point values using Spline interpolation.
Trend surfaces are good for identifying coarse scale patterns in data; the interpolated surface rarely passes through the sample points.
Below is an example of a Trend surface for a set of points, in transparent gray, and the IDW interpolated surface for the same points.
Density tools produce a surface that represents how much or how many of some thing there are per unit area. You might use density surfaces to represent the distribution of a wildlife population from a set of observations, or the degree of urbanization of an area based on the density of roads. There are density tools for point and line features.
Below are examples of density surfaces interpolated from point and line features.
Topo To Raster is a specialized tool for creating hydrologically correct raster surfaces from vector data of terrain components such as elevation points, contour lines, stream lines, lake polygons, sink points, and study area boundary polygons.
Below is an example of a surface interpolated from elevation points, contour lines, stream lines, and lake polygons using Topo To Raster interpolation.
TIN surface creation tools include Create TIN and Edit TIN, which are used to initially create a TIN for a specific area and to add vector features to it, and Raster To TIN, which converts a raster surface model to a TIN surface model.
Below is an example of a TIN surface created from point, line, and polygon features. The terrain heights are derived from spot sample elevations at the vertices of many of the triangular facets. The shape of the TIN surface is controlled by the triangulation of these spot heights with breaklines (the blue stream and red ridgelines and slope breaks) and with the blue reservoir fill polygon.
Geostatistical interpolation techniques are derived from statistics. They allow the creation of predicted value surfaces and the interpretation of levels of certainty about the predictions. Kriging is an advanced surface creation technique that is most useful when there is a spatially correlated distance or directional bias in the data. It is most used in soil science and geology. Geostatistical geoprocessing tools and a wizard for Geostatistics are available with the Geostatistical Analyst extension.
The Geostatistical Analyst wizard allows surface creation by Kriging, as well as Cokriging, Radial Basis Function, Inverse Distance Weighted, Global Polynomial, and Local Polynomial interpolation methods. It also includes tools for data exploration, such as histograms, normal QQ plots, and trend analysis. The Geostatistical Analyst also includes tools for data preparation such as the creation of subsets of large datasets, data transformation, and data detrending.
Below is an example of a surface interpolated from point values using Kriging.
Surface analysis involves several kinds of processing, including extracting new surfaces from existing surfaces, reclassifying surfaces, and combining surfaces.
Certain tools extract or derive information from a surface, a combination of surfaces, or surfaces and vector data.
Terrain analysis tools
Below is an example of an elevation raster in planimetric and perspective views.
The Slope tool calculates the maximum rate of change from a cell to its neighbors, which is typically used to indicate the steepness of terrain.
Below is an example of an Slope raster in planimetric and perspective views.
The Aspect tool calculates the direction in which the plane fitted to the slope faces for each cell. The aspect of a surface typically affects the amount of sunlight it receives (as does the slope); in northern latitudes places with a southerly aspect tend to be warmer and drier than places that have a northerly aspect.
Below is an example of an aspect raster in planimetric and perspective views.
Hillshade shows the intensity of lighting on a surface given a light source at a particular location; it can model which parts of a surface would be shadowed by other parts.
Below is an example of a hillshade raster in planimetric and perspective views.
Curvature calculates the slope of the slope (the second derivative of the surface), that is, whether a given part of a surface is convex or concave. Convex parts of surfaces, like ridges, are generally exposed and drain to other areas. Concave parts of surfaces, like channels, are generally more sheltered and accept drainage from other areas. The Curvature tool has a couple of optional variants, Plan and Profile Curvature. These are used primarily to interpret the effect of terrain on water flow and erosion. The profile curvature affects the acceleration and deceleration of flow, which influence erosion and deposition. The planiform curvature influences convergence and divergence of flow.
Below is an example of a curvature raster in planimetric and perspective views.
Some tools are used to analyze the visibility of parts of surfaces. The Line Of Sight tool identifies whether or not one location is visible from another, and whether or not the intervening locations along a line between the two locations are visible.
Below is an example of a Line of Sight analysis. An observer at the southern end of the line can see the parts of the terrain along the line that are colored green, and cannot see the parts of the terrain along the line that are colored red. In this case, the observer cannot see the fire in the valley on the other side of the mountain.
The visibility tools support offsets, which allow you to specify the height of the observer points and the observed points or cells.
Below is an example of a Line Of Sight analysis comparing the results with no offset and with a target offset. Locations along the line that are visible to the observer are green, and those that are hidden by intervening terrain are red.
You might use a target offset to model a building or a smoke plume.
With a large target offset, the target is visible, even though the visibility of the points along the intervening terrain do not change.
You could add an offset to the observer as well, to model a tower at the observer location. Adding an observer offset generally increases the amount of terrain that is visible from a location.
The Observer Points tool identifies which observers, specified as a set of points, can see any given cell of a raster surface. The Viewshed tool calculates, for each cell of a raster surface and a set of input points (or the vertices of input lines), how many observers can see any given cell.
Below is an example of a Viewshed analysis with a single input observer point. The observer has an offset to model the view from a fire tower 50 meters taller than the ground surface. Cells outside the observer's viewshed are blacked out in the image on the right.
In the perspective views below, you can see the observer point and the terrain.
Ridges hide the valleys behind them from the observer point.
Both the Observer Points and Viewshed tools also allow you to specify observer and target offsets, as well as a set of parameters that let you limit the directions and distance that each observer can view.
Some tools are used to calculate volumes from surface information. These tools calculate the difference in volume between a raster or TIN surface and another surface. Depending on the tool, the other surface might be specified by a horizontal plane at a given elevation or by a second raster or TIN surface.
Below is an example of a terrain surface representing the typical fill level of a reservoir. You could use the volume tools to calculate the volume of additional water when the reservoir is near capacity.
The Surface Volume tool is used to calculate volume of a surface above or below a horizontal plane at a specific elevation. You might use this tool to calculate the volume of water in a section of river channel at a particular flood stage. This tool can be used on raster or TIN surfaces. The output of the tool is a text file reporting the parameters used and the resulting surface area and volumes.
The Cut Fill tool is used to calculate the amount of difference in each cell for a before and after raster of the same area. This tool could be used to calculate the volume of earth that must be brought to or removed from a construction site to reshape a surface. This tool works on two rasters, and the results are presented as a raster of the difference between the two layers.
The TIN Difference tool is similar to the Cut/Fill tool, but it works on a pair of input TIN surfaces. This tool creates a polygon feature class where each polygon is given attributes identifying whether the second TIN is above, below, or the same as the first TIN and the volume of the difference between the TINs in that polygon.
The TIN Polygon Volume tool calculates the volume difference and surface area for each polygon in a feature class relative to a TIN surface. Each polygon in the feature class represents a horizontal area at an elevation specified in a height field. The volume above or below this planar area to the TIN surface is added to a volume field in the feature class, and the surface area of the polygon is added to a surface area field.
One way to convert surface data into more usable information for an analysis is to reclassify the surface. Reclassifying a surface sets a range of values equal to a single value. You might reclassify a surface so that areas with cells above a given value, or between two critical values, are given one code, and other areas are given another; or, you might use the Reclassify (or Slice) tool to divide a surface up into a given number of classes as a means of aggregating and generalizing detailed data. Reclassifying surfaces is often done to reduce the number of output categories for an overlay analysis.
Below is an example of an elevation raster sliced into several classes (each class represents a range of elevation values) and reclassified into two classes (above and below a given elevation).
Below is an example of an aspect raster reclassified into two classes; south and southwest aspect slopes have a value of 1 (light), and other aspects have a value of 0 (dark).
Some distance tools create rasters that show the distance of each cell from a set of locations.
The tools include the shortest straight-line distance to a set of source features and the direction of the closest feature. The Euclidean Allocation tool creates zones of a surface that are allocated to the closest feature.
The Cost Distance, Cost Path, Cost Back Link, and Cost Allocation tools are used to find the shortest (least cost) path from sources to destinations, taking into account a raster that quantifies the cost of traversing the surface. The cost raster may reflect difficulty, energy, time, or dollar costs or a unitless composite of several factors that influence the cost of travel or flow across a surface. The Path set of tools perform much the same function as the Cost set but take the additional factors of surface distance and vertical travel difficulty (cost) into account; that is, the fact that the length of a given line over hilly terrain is longer than the same line on a perfectly flat surface and the fact that it may be easier to move along a slope than it is to move up or down the slope.
For more information about the Distance tools, see the Proximity Analysis section.
Raster overlay tools combine two or more rasters using logical, arithmetic, or weighted combination methods. The Weighted Overlay and Weighted Sum tools allows you to combine multiple rasters of varying importance. This is useful in site suitability analyses when several factors contribute to suitability, but certain factors contribute more heavily than others.
Some tools perform algebraic or logical operations upon surfaces. The Spatial Analyst Neighborhood tools, such as the block and focal functions, compute values for the cells of an output raster based on the values of surrounding cells; these can be used to remove noise or enhance edge contrasts, or resample rasters to a lower resolution. Local functions combine, compare, or summarize several rasters on a cell by cell basis. Zonal functions calculate for each cell some function or statistic using the value for all cells belonging to the same zone.
Extracting information from surfaces
Some tools extract vector features from surfaces, or produce tabular summaries or smaller raster samples of surfaces.
The Sample tool creates a table that shows the values of a raster, or several rasters, at a set of sample point locations. The points can be in a point feature class or the cells in a raster that have values other than NoData. You might use this tool to get information about what occurs at a set of points, such as bird nesting sites, from terrain, distance to water, and forest type rasters.
Below is an example of a geology raster being sampled at a set of points; the result is a table.
The output table can be analyzed on its own or joined to the sample point features.
Below is an example of the sample results table joined back to the original sample points.
The Extract Values To Points tool creates a new feature class of points with the values of a single raster at a set of input point features. The Extract By Attributes tool selects cells of a raster based on a logical query. Extract By Polygon and Extract By Rectangle take lists of coordinate values that define an area and output a raster that is either inside or outside the polygon. Extract By Circle takes the center coordinates and radius of a circle and outputs a raster that is either inside or outside the circle. Extract By Points takes a list of coordinate values that define a set of points and outputs a raster of the cell values at these points (or excluding these points). In all cases, the cells from the original raster that are not part of the Extract area are given NoData values. The 3D Analyst Surface Spot tool extracts elevation values from a surface for a set of point features and adds them to a Spot attribute of the points.
Extracting information from a TIN
TINs store slope and aspect information as attributes of the TIN facets. Rather than deriving slope and aspect for TIN surfaces (as you do with raster terrain models, which only store the elevation values), you simply need to extract that information from the facets to a set of polygons. TIN Aspect and TIN Slope extract aspect and slope data from a TIN and add that information as attributes of a polygon feature class.
Below is an example of TIN elevation model and the aspect information it contains:
Below is an example of TIN elevation model and the slope information it contains:
Below is an example of an elevation model and contour lines extracted from it.
Zonal statistics tools can produce tables of summary statistics for a given raster based on zones defined by another raster or a polygon feature class, or it can produce a new raster that corresponds to the zones with a specific summary statistic as an attribute.
Hydrology tools derive drainage basin and stream information from terrain rasters; this information can be converted to vector features. The process requires several tools that derive information from the terrain surface, resulting in basin and stream rasters that can be converted to vector features. The Flow Direction tool takes a terrain surface and identifies the down-slope direction for each cell. The Basin tool uses the results of the Flow Direction tool to identify the drainage basins, made up of the connected cells that drain to a common location. The Flow Accumulation tool identifies how much surface flow accumulates in each cell; cells with high accumulation values are usually stream or river channels. It also identifies local topographic highs (areas of zero flow accumulation) such as mountain peaks and ridgelines.
Below is an example of an elevation model:
Below is an example of a flow direction surface derived from the elevation model:
Below is an example of basins derived from the flow direction surface:
Below is an example of a flow accumulation surface derived from the flow direction surface:
The flow accumulation surface can be processed with a Map Algebra Conditional (Con) statement such as:
con (flowacc > 100, 1)
to capture only those cells with high flow accumulation values (in this case, greater than 100) into a stream raster.
Below is an example of a stream raster extracted from the flow accumulation surface:
The Stream To Feature tool creates vector stream line features from a stream raster and a flow direction surface.
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Identify and compare information from a Census
Census: a count of the
population in a specific place (e.g., a state or
country); a record made of the count.
EPISODE SIX: MILITARY
AND CENSUS RECORDS
This episode presents two major American records that
are commonly used in your family history research. Part
one introduces Gary Bryant. He was in the Air Force during the
Vietnam War. Instead of feeling patriotic towards his
service, he was depressed and ashamed.
Later, through family history, he discovered 27 ancestors
who were American soldiers. As he learned of their
sacrifices to serve, his image of his country and himself
were forever changed. In part two, expert Curt Witcher will
explain the type of information that can be found in
Census and military records.
Before Viewing the Episode
- Duplicate the student handout on the next page.
- Have each student find their copy of the Family
Group Record they created in Episode 4, for the
family of William Henry Whitaker and Mary Jane
- Read aloud the EPISODE OVERVIEW and OBJECTIVE.
After Viewing the Episode
Identify and compare valuable information from a census
- Review with your students the information they
have recorded on their copy of the Family Group
Record they created in episode four, for the
family of William Henry Whitaker. Have them read
each name, date and place.
note: See episode four, activity
one for a description of the information that
should be written on the family group record.
- Remind your students that in episode four, they
used a compiled record to learn about William
Henry Whitakers wife (Mary Jane Wyatt) and
children. In this episode, they will use
information from an original record, the 1870
Census Record of Manatee County, Florida to
compare what they know and to add new
- Distribute the student handout on the next page.
- Point out to them that:
--Information on this census record is over 125
--The second line from the top reads
"Schedule 1. Inhabitants in Township Thirty
Four (34), in the county of Manatee, State of
Florida, enumerated by me on the 23 day of July,
- Have the students compare the census information
with the information on the family group record
they created in episode four. Use the following
questions to stimulate discussion. They are the
same questions as on the student handout.
- What do you suppose the real given name of Nannie
is? (Nancy Catherine Stewart WHITAKER)
- If Emiel was only nine months old on July 23,
1870 (the day the census was taken), about what
month and year was he born? (About October, 1869)
- The name of child number three on the family
group record is spelled "Furman," and
on the census record it is spelled "Fernion."
Which spelling do you suppose is probably correct?
(Fernion) Why? (Because the name Fernion is in an
original record. It was written by the census
taker based on information most likely supplied
at that time by Mary Jane Whitaker. The name
Furman is in a compiled record. The source of the
information in the compiled record about the spelling
- Which family members are listed on the family
group record, but do not appear on the census
record? (Edward, Flora Winnefred and Grace)
- What possible reasons can you think of as to why
Edward does not appear on the census record? (He
probably died at or near birth or from a
childhood disease; or he may possibly have been
visiting with a relative.)
- Why do you suppose the names of Flora Winnefred
and Grace (children # 10 and #11 on the family
group record) do not appear on the census record?
(They most likely were not yet born.)
- What should Mary Janes age be listed as on
the census record if her birth year on the family
group record is correct? (Age 39)
- What reasons can you give to explain why the
compiled record was created after the census
record was created? (Presumably, all of the
children are listed on the family group record
and not on the census record. Also, Nancy,
Louise, Fernion, Hamlin and Charles have spouses
listed on the family group record, and appear as
children ranging from Charles at age 5 to Nancy
at age 18.)
On to the
Activity Page | Back to
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| 0.945436 | 996 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Book consists of 29 such themes – lessons and 3 supplements. Each lesson consists of a text, dialog, grammar task, additional reading, poem; supplement consists of text for speaking and vocabulary, material from the works of the English writers, as well as 4 main parts which include funny stories. There is a large vocabulary for each text and dialog. Along with it there are additional words and expressions, finally questions relating the subject. Students of technical higher schools, as well as everyone who wants to learn English language can make use of a textbook titled - "Collection of Texts and Tasks in English Language for Improvement of Oral Speech" as a means for advancement of language skills.
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| 0.972657 | 135 | 3.0625 | 3 |
11 October 2013 Marking International Day of the Girl Child, senior United Nations officials today highlighted the power of innovation to get more girls in classrooms and improve the quality of learning for all children.
“To achieve meaningful results, we need fresh solutions to girls’ education challenges and we must heed the voices of young people,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the International Day.
An estimated 31 million primary school aged girls currently miss out on school, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which is leading the UN system’s activities marking the Day.
“Empowering girls, ensuring their human rights and addressing the discrimination and violence they face are essential to progress for the whole human family,” Mr. Ban noted.
The International Day of the Girl Child was designated as 11 October by a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2011, to recognize girls’ rights and highlight the unique challenges girls face worldwide. This year focuses on “innovating for girls’ education.”
Innovation ranges from improving means of transportation for girls to get to school to corporate mentorship programmes to help them acquire critical work and leadership skills and facilitate their transition from school to work, to deploying mobile technology for teaching and learning to reach girls in remote areas.
“Education can transform the lives of girls and strengthen their communities,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. “Innovation can help us reach every girl by transforming education.”
In Bangladesh, innovative solar-powered floating schools help ensure uninterrupted learning for children living in communities affected by floods and rising sea water.
Meanwhile, in Uganda, girls at some schools have access to a solar-powered Digital Drum, a rugged computer kiosk built into an oil drum and pre-loaded with dynamic multimedia content on health, job training, education opportunities, and other services.
While in South Africa, for example, the TechnoGirls partnership among UNICEF, the Government, and over 100 private sector companies, aims to connect 10,000 adolescent girls with mentors from the tech sector to boost their skills and job readiness in non-traditional jobs, such as water pipe engineering.
“Innovation is giving us powerful new tools to reach and teach more girls than ever before,” said Mr. Lake. “To help more girls go to school, stay in school, and complete their learning, we need to keep learning ourselves, using these new tools, generating new ideas, and scaling up the most promising innovations.”
Empowerment and education of girls is part of the eight anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which the international community aims to reach by the 2015 deadline, as it prepares a new set of global development goals for the post-2015 period.
In addition, education is also a priority for Mr. Ban who last year launched the Global Education First Initiative. Hosted by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Initiative aims to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning, and foster global citizenship.
UN Special Envoy Gordon Brown has been working with partners to galvanize support for the Initiative, which got an additional boost earlier this year from Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban for attending classes. Addressing young people at the UN General Assembly, she urged them to use education as a weapon against extremism.
In a statement today from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a group of UN and regional rights experts proposed key action points for Governments, civil society organizations, the private sector and global policymakers to give all the “Malalas” in the world a better future through education.
“The exclusion of girls from the education system carries too high a cost to girls themselves, their families and the wider society to be ignored,” the experts stressed calling for swift action to eliminate barriers to girls’ education.
The experts noted that despite a significant reduction in school drop-out figures in developing countries – from 102 million in 2000 to 57 million in 2011 – gender disparity in enrolment at the primary and secondary levels remains high.
The difference is even more striking at the higher levels, the UN noted, especially in certain regions with girls accounting for 55 per cent of the out-of-school population.
They highlighted religious, political, cultural stereotypes or other ideological factors thwarting the right to primary education for girls.
The experts also noted challenges stemming from maternal and reproductive rights, “Barriers to the fuller participation of girls at all levels of education include the burden of care in the household, patriarchal norms that undervalue girls’ education, the threat of sexual violence in and out of school, early and forced marriages and adolescent pregnancies.”
Last night, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) held a gala for the health and dignity of women and girls to highlight that reproductive health and reproductive rights are hard-fought and hard-won, according to the UN agency’s website.
In his address, delivered by UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin, Mr. Ban said the gathering was more than a celebration, “it is a call to action.”
“At this critical moment for international development, let us stay focused on creating a better life for the world’s most vulnerable people,” he said, urging to “push even harder” to reach the MDGs by 2015.
The International Day of the Girl Child is being marked today by events around the world.
In New York, actress Freida Pinto and a group of young activists from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guinea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Sierra Leone, will “erase” the image of child factory workers, revealing a hidden image of students in the classroom.
Also, singer and songwriter Katy Perry is lending her support to the Day with her song “Roar.”
As part of an official visit, Ms. Perry had visited a primary school in Ampihaonana, Madagascar, that had been rebuilt by UNICEF after a cyclone destroyed it in 2011.
In the north-western city of Wau, South Sudan, the Day’s events kicked off with a procession of teachers, female students and pupils, organized by the state Ministry of Education and supported by UNICEF.
The South Sudanese Government, with support from partners, has adopted the Accelerated Learning Programme, which aims to assist girls who had dropped out of school to complete their educations.
The programme also focuses on community mobilization and advocacy, and has been credited for introducing school feeding programmes and provision of child-friendly schools with adequate sanitary facilities as a way of ensuring that girls complete their education.
News Tracker: past stories on this issue
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Many speech applications have their speech output generated by some computed function. Although there are some truly open domains, like reading email, many systems are substantially limited. This may be a simple as slot-and-filler templates, where some known set of names, prices, numbers, etc., and some standard prompts are used. Many IVR systems still use fully recorded prompts to keep quality up, at the price of resource footprint and flexibility. Our initial investigations into limited domain synthesizers were in the form or talking clocks and fixed weather reports, but we have found that we can also deal with more general dialog systems, especially if a backup method is provided for rare out-of-domain cases.
A key aspect of building a limited domain synthesizer is the design of a prompt list that adequately covers the domain. Ideally, we like to have an explicit representation of the utterances that can be generated (e.g. the grammar or templates of the generation system) plus information about their frequency of use. From this, a prompt list can be generated to ensure frequent (and most important) forms will be well-represented, while coverage extends to all cases. In a new system the frequency information is not always available but can be estimated. In general, prompts should have at least one occurrence of each word in the vocabulary in each prosodic context.
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Planning and Policy Tools
- Growth Policies
- Concurrency & Adequate Public Facilities (APF) Ordinances
- Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Review
- Urban Growth Boundaries
- Rural Land Conservation Easements
- Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
In nearly every area of Montana, rural lands are being developed and existing urban centers are undergoing change. Each of these situations presents an opportunity to influence the way in which a "community" is designed. This section of the toolkit highlights a few of the planning and policy tools that can be used to better integrate land use and transportation planning to create safer and healthier communities.
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| 0.897771 | 134 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Searching for another food adventure, but not quite up for road kill quiche? Cattail pollen can satisfy a wild appetite without provoking the least bit of squeamishness. Its bright yellow color has eye appeal. The flavor is pleasant. Allergic to pollens? Well, there are all kinds of pollen, so if gathering the stuff doesn't cause you to take out your inhaler, you probably have nothing to worry about. Think pollen isn't a food? Remember, the expensive and esteemed spice, Saffron, is also pollen.
Step 1: Find a cattail patch. Cattails are tall reed-like plants growing in or around water. The leaf structure however is flattened, not rounded like bulrush. The "cat's tail" refers to the mature flower spike. When seed matures, it forms a tightly packed, brown cylinder. It resembles a corn dog on a stick more than a cat's tail. If the "cat's tail" is brown, you are probably too late to gather pollen.
Step 2: Take a moment. Give some thought. This is a generous plant. Pre-contact Native American usage of the plant was extensive. The new green leaf stalks can be split out and eaten like celery. Cahuilla and Mountain Maidu Indians wove the mature leaf stalk into mats or other useful items. The male flower's edible pollen was used like flour. Immature flowers (male and female) were eaten while still sheathed. The bloom stalk can be used as a fire stick when thoroughly dry, though the Indians at San Juan De Padua were reported to construct flutes from the stalk. The same flower later produces cattail fluff, versatile as insulation, tinder, cradle board padding, and wound dressing. The root stalks (corms) are rich in starch, and can be processed as a food. Consider too the cattail's role in supporting the web of life. As we gathered the pollen, we were aware of geese and teal, muskrats, fish sheltered in the tangled roots, marsh wrens, blackbirds, and an invisible but vocal bittern. What isn't there to like about the cattail? Take a moment to say please. Take a moment to say thank you.
Step 3: Find your cattail patch at the right time of year. Spring is the time to find cattail pollen, and spring follows April on its way to the mountains. When the plant sends up its new shoots, it also produces flowers. The upper portion of the cattail spike carries the male flowers and the pollen. The part we see in dried arrangements is the female part, and it will produce seed. The male flowers are short lived, tightly clustered, and small. What they lack in size they make up for in volumes of yellow pollen. When pollen is available, the top of the cattail spike looks like a fuzzy yellow finger above the green, partially sheathed cattail. The plant is wind pollinated, and the powdery pollen is quick to disperse with the slightest disturbance from wind or from eager gatherers. Once the pollen has launched itself into the air, the male flowers fall away, leaving the upper part of the spike bare. Getting hungry thinking about those pancakes? Try nibbling the green female flowers. They taste a little like broccoli, but not as strong. If you have missed the pollen producing season, consider one of the cattail's other gifts.
Step 4: Collect the pollen. Find a male flower spike which has not yet shed its pollen. Look for bright yellow tips above the green cattail. The flowers in the area where we gathered pollen were at their best when small flies could be seen clinging to the male flowers. They must have been there to take advantage of this resource too. (Yes, they did fly off. We didn't see a one in the collecting bag.) Carefully bend the flower into a collecting sack, and then tap it to release the pollen. It was not unusual to get a tablespoon or more from a single flower. Be careful not to break the stem. If you do, the pollen explodes off the tip, and the female flowers will fail to develop seed.
Step 5: Sift out any inedible bits. When the collecting bag is sufficiently full, bounce the bag until any odd bits of flower, bugs, etc. rise to the top. Just scoop them out. If they aren't alive, or too disgusting, keep them for added fiber. (Hey, you've heard of buckwheat cakes, haven't you?)
Step 6: Make the pancakes.
1/2 C cattail pollen
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 C milk (reconstituted can be used) or use buttermilk with additional 1/2 tsp soda
1 egg or egg substitute
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp oil
Mix dry ingredients, then add milk and oil. Mix only until moistened. Heat griddle or pan until water drops sizzle. Pour batter on the hot griddle. Turn pancakes when they are full of bubbles, just before they break. Serve hot. Makes 10 four inch pancakes.
Need syrup? In a separate pan, mix 1/2 C brown sugar and maple flavoring, and just enough water to dissolve sugar. Heat, then reduce by boiling until syrup consistency. Watch it carefully or you may end up with taffy . . . or worse.
Step 7: Enjoy with a friend.
E-mail your comments to "Susan Labiste" at [email protected]
PrimitiveWays Home Page
We hope the information on the PrimitiveWays website is both instructional and enjoyable. Understand that no warranty or guarantee is included. We expect adults to act responsibly and children to be supervised by a responsible adult. If you use the information on this site to create your own projects or if you try techniques described on PrimitiveWays, behave in accordance with applicable laws, and think about the sustainability of natural resources. Using tools or techniques described on PrimitiveWays can be dangerous with exposure to heavy, sharp or pointed objects, fire, stone tools and hazards present in outdoor settings. Without proper care and caution, or if done incorrectly, there is a risk of property damage, personal injury or even death. So, be advised: Anyone using any information provided on the PrimitiveWays website assumes responsibility for using proper care and caution to protect property, the life, health and safety of himself or herself and all others. He or she expressly assumes all risk of harm or damage to all persons or property proximately caused by the use of this information.
© PrimitiveWays 2013
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Preparing the batch: The formulation determines the result.
It is just like in normal life. To bake bread, you have to prepare dough. Basically you are preparing a batch. This batch later turns into the load of bread.
In the end, the recipe determines which ingredients go into the bread dough batch at which ratio and how the bread turns out in the end. Well, a little skill and the right baking time and temperature are also involved. All this also applies to "preparing" glass.
In this case, the batch consists of mineral substances. It is important which additives are added. During glass production of course this all takes place in enormous dimensions:
The raw materials are delivered to the production facility in large silo vehicles. There they are transferred into large storage containers which are also called silos. Then they are portioned with scales and fed into a mixer.
It is a little bit like a cement mixer at a construction site. But glass production certainly does not call for adding rough amounts of ingredients. This is all controlled by computers.
The mixer ensures even distribution of all ingredients within the batch. When the batch leaves the mixer via a conveyor or bucket, it is ready for the oven.
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The Greek word baptizo means to “dip, immerse.” It is so defined by virtually every New Testament language authority.
The verbal form occurs some eighty times in the New Testament. In most modern versions the verb is not translated at all; rather, it is anglicized, i.e., it is brought from the Greek language into English, almost letter-for-letter.
Why do you suppose this non-translating procedure has been followed? The answer is simple. Early in the history of the English Bible, many of those involved in the production of various versions were strongly in favor of “sprinkling” or “pouring” as a substitute for immersion. There was even a movement in England to abolish immersion by law! Accordingly, in an effort to cover up the true meaning of the original word, the term is left obscured in a “Greekish” form.
Even today, can you imagine a version being popular with the denominationalists (especially those who practice infant baptism) that reads: “He who believes and is immersed shall be saved” (Mk. 16:16)? It would be an economic disaster — and for many, making money is the name of the game!
It is curious, though, that when non-controversial passages were under consideration, the translators had no difficulty in knowing how to render the original term.
Consider, for example, the term bapto — an abbreviated form of baptizo. The word is found three times in the New Testament, and in each case it is rendered “dip” or “dipped.”
“And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame” (Luke 16:24).
“Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot” (John 13:26).
“He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God (Rev. 19:13 – as reflected in the best Greek text. ESV; also, KJV).
Clearly, therefore, the translators understood the original significance of the term. “Baptism” is not sprinkling or pouring; it is an immersion in water, and that alone.
Circle the terms “dip” or “dipped” in these passages, and in your margin note: Bapto — baptism is a “dipping.”
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| 0.957555 | 593 | 3.03125 | 3 |
New ISH Hypertension Guidelines were published in December 2013 together with the American Society of Hypertension (ASH).
The guidelines have been written to provide a straightforward approach to managing hypertension in the community, for practitioners in low and middle-income countries as well as developed countries.
In August 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) released cardiovascular risk predication charts for all WHO regions, as part of the WHO recommendations for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
The aim of these charts is to help low and middle income countries to manage the burden of cardiovascular disease effectively by targeting limited healthcare resources at people who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Please see below to view further information including a set of questions and answers regarding the charts.
World Health Organization: Guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk
This publication provides guidance on reducing disability and premature deaths from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease in people at high risk, who have not yet experienced a cardiovascular event. People with established cardiovascular disease are at very high risk of recurrent events and are not the subject of these guidelines. They have been addressed in previous WHO guidelines. The WHO/ISH risk prediction charts that accompany these guidelines allow treatment to be targeted according to simple predictions of absolute cardiovascular risk.
Recommendations are made for management of major cardiovascular risk factors through changes in lifestyle and prophylactic drug therapies. The guidelines provide a framework for the development of national guidance on prevention of cardiovascular disease that takes into account the particular political, economic, social and medical circumstances.
Pocket guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk
These pocket guidelines provide evidence-based guidance on how to reduce the incidence of first and recurrent clinical events due to coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) and peripheral vascular disease in two categories of people. They include; 1. People with risk factors who have not yet developed clinically manifest cardiovascular disease (primary prevention). 2. People with established CHD, CeVD or peripheral vascular disease (secondary prevention).
The accompanying World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension (WHO/ISH) risk prediction charts enable the estimation of total cardiovascular risk of people in the first category. The evidence-based recommendations given in Part 1 of these guidelines, provide guidance on which specific preventive actions to initiate, and with what degree of intensity. People in the second category have high cardiovascular risk and need intensive lifestyle interventions and appropriate drug therapy as elaborated in Part II of these guidelines. Risk stratification using risk charts is not required for making treatment decisions in them.
WHO/ISH Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Charts
WHO/ISH risk prediction charts The WHO/ISH risk prediction charts indicate 10-year risk of a fatal or nonfatal major cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction or stroke), according to age, sex, blood pressure, smoking status, total blood cholesterol and presence or absence of diabetes mellitus for 14 WHO epidemiological sub-regions.
There are two sets of charts. One set (14 charts) can be used in settings where blood cholesterol can be measured. The other set (14 charts) is for settings in which blood cholesterol cannot be measured. Both sets are available in colour and shades of black on a compact disc. Each chart can only be used in countries of the specific WHO epidemiological sub-region.
The charts provide approximate estimates of CVD risk in people who do not have established coronary heart disease, stroke or other atherosclerotic disease. They are useful as tools to help identify those at high cardiovascular risk, and to motivate patients, particularly to change behaviour and, when appropriate, to take antihypertensive, lipid-lowering drugs and aspirin.
Strengths and Limitations of the charts
Please click here to view a set of questions and answers regarding the charts. Questions included in this document are as follows:
- Who is the target audience for these charts?
- What is the added value of these charts?
- Why not make the charts more accurate by using more variables?
- What is their added value?
- How have they been developed?
- What are their limitations?
- If the charts are not perfect, is it safe to use them?
- When can treatment decisions be made without the charts?
- When are the charts useful for stratifying risk?
For further information please view the World Health Organisation website
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These pest deterrents are highly toxic when ingested, and there are other environmental concerns as well. This guide is about health risks from using mothballs.
Loraine placed some mothballs inside her cabinet, after one week, the mothballs were all gone. What happen to the mothballs?
If the place they are put is hot or humid, mothballs can melt.
Mothballs evaporate. If you get one of those big chunky ones with its own embedded hanger and hang it in a closet, you can see it shrink every day. They just evaporate into thin air. The chemicals in them are very dangerous. You should try not to breath them. You're better off using lavender or cedar to repel moths.
Do moth balls affect humans with chest problems?
By Dawne H. from Roslyn, P N.
I have a dog and I need to know if mothballs are harmful to pets.
By Annette from Spartanburg, SC
Moth balls are not actually used to kill moths, but rather contain a substance which is used to repel moths from your closets. Either naphthalene or para dichlorobenzene, can be used in moth balls, and both substances are toxic. This chemical tends to change it's state from a solid to a gas form very quickly. If inhaled it can be fatal, and if ingested moth balls are extremely harmful.
Do not induce vomiting if ingested - rather drink plenty of water and consult a veterinarian as soon as possible. Moth balls can cause hemolytic anemia, a decrease in red blood cells, or the amount of hemoglobin the body produces. This can inhibit the blood from supplying the required amounts of oxygen to the body. Symptoms can include: weakness, lethargy, increased heart and respiration rate, pale mucous membranes, jaundice, vomiting and abdominal pain. Urine may also contain traces of blood. Hope this helps and everything is okay!
Yes! Mothballs can be deadly to 'any' animal and to humans, especially children, as well!
Yes mothballs are potentially very harmful to pets and you, too. If you are having trouble with moths, try cedar in some form. You can buy cedar balls, small planks or oil to hang into your closet. It smells a whole lot better than mothballs too.
My husband threw moth balls in our basement this winter. It got into our ventilation and went throughout the whole house. Are there any health risks involved? How do I get rid of this stench?
By Marcia from IN
I think there might be health risks involved. Moth balls are poisonous, - naphthalene - and are for killing moths. Certainly, smelling that horrible odor will not do you any good. I do not know how you would get rid of it other than locating and disposing of the mothballs, but I certainly urge you to do so.
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Rosacea is a chronic skin condition that affects more than 14 million Americans. The cause is unknown and there is no cure, leaving many people to struggle with the often disruptive symptoms of this disorder. Rosacea is not contagious and cannot be spread through skin contact. Rosacea is characterized by redness: flushing, bumps and pimples, bloodshot eyes, and prolonged redness of the face. Because symptoms frequently include pimples that look like whiteheads, rosacea is often confused with acne.
Symptoms of rosacea usually begin after age 30. The condition is three times more common in women than men, but men often report more severe symptoms. This may be because many men wait to be diagnosed, allowing the condition to worsen.
Anyone can get rosacea, although several factors are associated with your likelihood of being affected. There is some indication that rosacea may be inherited, because a large percentage of patients have a family member with the condition. Ethnicity may also play a role. Women of Irish and English descent are the most commonly represented rosacea patients. Generally, those with light skin and eyes between the ages of 30 and 50 are the most likely to have rosacea.
This article will discuss:
Rosacea manifests with many symptoms, most of which are types of skin redness and irritation. Some of the most common symptoms include:
- Facial flushing or a blush-like symptom that comes and goes
- Long-lasting redness that can appear like a sunburn
- Small, hard bumps or pimples may appear accompanied by stinging and burning
- Visible blood vessels
- Bloodshot and watery eyes
- Skin thickening
Although the exact cause of rosacea is unknown, many patients recognize a pattern between outbreaks associated with certain internal and external triggers. These triggers can include a variety of things the patient experiences or is exposed to:
- Certain food and beverages such as alcohol, spicy food, citrus fruit, and cheese
- Temperature, most often when overheated
- Weather, including sun, wind, cold, and humidity
- Emotions, especially stress and anxiety
- Skin care products containing irritants like alcohol or perfumes
- Exertion, anything that overheats the face could cause an outbreak
- Existing medical conditions like menopause
Because these categories could include virtually anything, rosacea patients have to pay close attention to what could be causing their outbreaks. Once triggers are identified, it is much easier for patients to avoid triggers and reduce the number of their outbreaks.
Treatment for rosacea varies widely from patient to patient because the symptoms and triggers vary so much between patients. Frequently, the initial treatment includes antibiotics to control an outbreak. It is thought that antibiotics are effective because of their anti-inflammatory effects rather than their antibacterial properties. Eye drops are often prescribed for patients with bloodshot and watery eyes.
Once outbreaks are under control, topical creams an be used for long-term treatment. There are many creams available that address some of the problems associated with rosacea. Prescription acne creams are sometimes used to reduce the occurrence of pustules, while other creams are tailored to be broader treatments. However, steroid creams should never be used to treat rosacea since they can actually cause rosacea-like symptoms as side effects..
In some cases where extensive redness, visible blood vessels, and nose thickening are prominent, patients choose to undergo laser treatments or surgery in order to reduce the appearance of symptoms.
Many patients benefit from following a good skin care routine and then use makeup to conceal any remaining redness. To avoid common rosacea triggers, all skin care and makeup products should be gentle and have minimal fragrance to avoid irritating skin.
More products than ever are formulated for sensitive skin, making it easier to find appropriately non-irritating products for rosacea. Dr Perricone‘s skin care line has a number of products that are gentle enough for skin with rosacea. They also contain potent ingredients like vitamin C ester that can reduce rosacea symptoms like redness and irritation. If you chose to purchase something from the skin care line, don’t forget your Perrionce code to save money on your order.
Gentle Cleanser is formulated with antioxidants and olive oil polyphenols to cleanse and smooth skin without irritation. It works to prevent outbreaks that could be caused by harsh cleansers while also keeping the skin clean and pores unclogged. Rosacea patients should use their fingers to wash skin and avoid abrasive sponges or wash pads.
Concentrated Restorative Cream contains vitamin C ester. This night treatment is used to reduce skin discolorations and imperfections like those that can result from rosacea outbreaks. Using a repairing treatment like this may help to reduce the appearance of redness without having to go to the extreme of undergoing costly medical procedures.
More information on Concentrated Restorative Treatment is available in this video:
If you suspect that you may have rosacea, check out this list of symptoms and decide if you need to talk to your doctor. The sooner rosacea is identified, the easier it to identify your triggers and begin tailoring a treatment to your symptoms.
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In the winter when the cold weather blows in, you might find it hard to motivate yourself to get out of bed or even leave the house. Shorter winter days also mean less sunlight every day and sunlight helps us feel wide-awake. You might be experiencing a winter slump and a drop-off in energy levels like many other people. And when lacking in energy, many people look towards food for an extra boost. Make sure you’re choosing the right foods year-round and follow these tips for beating your winter blues!
Mood, sleep and appetite are regulated by serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Folic Acid, or folate, helps your body to process and lower homocysteine levels. High levels of homocysteine are associated with damage to blood vessels, in addition to interfering with the flow of blood and nutrients to the brain. Impaired blood flow may leave you feeling sluggish or slow to process or recall information.
Good sources of folic acid are green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts), potatoes, fortified breads and cereals, beans, peas and mushrooms.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids have hormone-like effects and anti-inflammatory properties in the body. People who experience seasonal depression during fall and winter have been found to have lower levels of omega-3s. They have also been found to experience an improvement in mood with supplementation of this nutrient.
Omega-3s are found in fatty fish like salmon and tuna, some plant oils (flaxseed, canola), and walnuts.
The body normally makes Vitamin D from sunlight. This nutrient has many different roles in the body, one of which is to help in the production of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps you to feel calm, relaxed and happy. Many people are lacking in Vitamin D in the winter because of fewer daylight hours and exposure to sunlight. Currently, Vitamin D is being investigated for its ability to decrease depressive symptoms. Eat foods that are a good source of this vitamin.
Low fat milk is fortified with Vitamin D, in addition to many cereals and some orange juices (check the labels). One important thing to note is that food sources of Vitamin D are limited, and many people are deficient in this nutrient without even realizing it. Depending on your diet, you may need to take a Calcium + Vitamin D supplement.
Known for their ability to relax and calm your mood, carbohydrates can contribute to sleepiness. A diet high in protein and lower in carbohydrates may help to improve mood, stimulate energy and chase away feelings of sluggishness. Protein foods made from amino acids help to stimulate the production of tyrosine, which is responsible for the synthesis of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. These are chemicals in your brain that promote feeling alert and that enhance energy.
Low fat dairy products like milk, cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt are good sources of protein, in addition to lean meats, poultry and eggs. Aim to have some protein on your plate at every meal to keep feeling lively and active all year round!
Many herbs and spices are notorious for their beneficial effects on health in addition to adding flavor to dishes. Rosemary has been shown to increase blood flow to your brain and improve mood. Like Omega-3 fatty acids, this herb also has anti-inflammatory properties and may even benefit the immune system. Responsible for fighting infection and warding off winter colds and flu, keeping your immune system strong will keep you on your feet and feeling great.
Use Rosemary to season your meals and bolster your immunity this winter season!
Just because the sky is gray and the temperature is low, doesn’t mean your mood has to be! Choosing the correct foods (in the appropriate portions) can give you more energy and help you handle those winter doldrums.
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A new treatment has successfully protected monkeys infected with Marburg virus, a disease with a course so similar to Ebola's that it's impossible to clinically differentiate the two, scientists announced Wednesday.
Though the technique has not yet been tested in people, the development has researchers noting that what's helpful for Marburg could well be helpful for Ebola, which is now seeing its worst-ever outbreak, claiming more than 1,350 lives in West Africa.
"This technology may have potential for combatting Ebola," says Thomas Geisbert of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, senior author of the study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The study marks the first time that a group of primates could be protected from the Marburg disease at a late stage of infection, including after symptoms were already present.
Science is still in the animal-research stages for both Ebola and Marburg viruses. Like the experimental treatment used to care for three health workers sickened with Ebola, this treatment for Marburg virus has yet to be tried in humans. But results from the monkey study are promising.
In the new study, 16 macaques were infected with highly lethal doses of Marburg virus. The monkeys were treated with the experimental therapy, siRNA, at different times, ranging from 45 minutes to three days after infection. All 16 of the treated monkeys survived. A control group of macaques were similarly infected with Marburg, and all of them died by the eighth day.
With funding, a clinical trial of the anti-Marburg approach could be done in about a year, says Geisbert.
Ebola and Marburg viruses are close and deadly kin. The viruses are the only two known members of the filovirus family, which can cause severe hemorrhagic fever and often death.
Both viruses spread to humans from animals, then spread among humans through contact with bodily fluids. Both are marked by severe bleeding from orifices, and neither has an approved vaccine or drug for treatment.
"This is a major step toward treatment of Marburg, which can be as lethal as Ebola," says Gaya Amarasinghe, a biochemist at Washington University in St. Louis. "These findings are from a monkey model, and that's a very relevant model for filoviral infections."
In fact, researchers including Geisbert found they could protect monkeys from Ebola virus using the same technology as in the new Marburg study, a result published in 2010 in the journal Lancet.
"It was the same species of Ebola in the current outbreak," says Geisbert. "The difference is that that study examined treatment shortly after exposure. It did not look at initiating treatment at signs of illness."
An experimental treatment for Ebola called ZMapp leapt ahead of normal research and approval processes when two American health workers and a Spanish priest were treated experimentally, before any human trials were conducted.
The Americans are so far doing well, while the Spanish man has died.
The two experimental treatments follow different biological routes. ZMapp is composed of three monoclonal antibodies from the tobacco plant that bind to the protein of the Ebola virus. "Basically, [ZMapp] interferes with the way that Ebola virus attaches to and enters the host cells," says Geisbert.
The other technology is an siRNA, or "small interfering RNA," consisting of small pieces of RNA that can inhibit protein production. This interferes with how the virus grows once it gets into cells.
Because the two treatments work differently, combining them might work better than either one alone, an approach that Geisbert's team is developing. Mixing and mingling promising treatments harkens back to scientists working on AIDS treatments in the 1990s who discovered that combination retroviral therapy produced better results than any one drug.
"Combining successful therapies will likely extend the treatment window, if these different approaches can work well together," says Amarasinghe.
Behind the Clock
While the World Health Organization has concluded that it is ethical to use unproven drugs to try to combat the outbreak of Ebola, experimental drugs simply are not available in sufficient quantity. In an opinion piece published Wednesday in the journal Nature, University of Oxford epidemiologist Oliver Brady writes that "even under a conservative scenario, up to 30,000 people would have so far required treatment or prophylaxis in the current outbreak."
The world's medicine cabinet has thus far been able to provide experimental drugs to only three people.
The real challenge right now, says Alta Charo, professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is stopping the current outbreak using available methods. That means providing gloves and protective suits for health care workers in West Africa, increasing the number of health care workers, isolating the sick, educating affected communities, supplying antibiotics, and promoting alternatives to dangerous cultural practices like close handling of the newly dead.
Whether for a future outbreak of Marburg, or today's outbreak of Ebola, "the most important way to reduce the death toll is through public health measures," Charo says.
Update: The number of Ebola deaths has been updated to reflect the most recent numbers from the World Health Organization as of August 20.
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COVINGTON, La. -- Scientists say the Gulf of Mexico spill has now leaked far more oil than the Exxon Valdez disaster -- maybe even three-and-a-half times as much.
That makes the Gulf spill by far the worst in U.S. history.
U.S. Geological Survey Director Dr. Marcia McNutt said today that a government task force estimates that anywhere from 500,000 gallons to a million gallons a day has been leaking. BP and the Coast Guard had put the flow at about 210,000 gallons per day.
The new government estimate means at least 19 million gallons and maybe as much as 39 million gallons have leaked in the five weeks since an oil rig exploded and sank. Exxon Valdez spilled about 11 million gallons.
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Filley, Christopher M. MD, FAAN
In 1962, the science historian Thomas Kuhn published his influential The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, introducing the idea of the paradigm shift. In contrast to normal science, the paradigm shift introduces a radical change in thinking that challenges widely held scientific assumptions, and then, after validation and acceptance, exerts a lasting change in the field. Stanley Prusiner, MD, a name well known to neurologists and neuroscientists around the world, has written his own book about what he would undoubtedly regard as a paradigm shift of his own making. Whatever the reader concludes, there can be no question that what is described in this book is far indeed from normal science.
Madness and Memory is a personal account of the discovery of prions, packaged with generous autobiographical detail that expands the story to reveal much about the author's background, career, and personality. Prusiner first describes his family, upbringing, and early academic development as a prelude to the grand adventure on which he later embarked to come to his major discovery.
A neurologist with a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he realized early in his training that clinical medicine was not for him, and his decision to embrace laboratory research was pivotal. His boundless enthusiasm for the opportunity offered by bench science led him away from the clinic and toward the investigation of fundamental neurobiology. Still, one finds in his prose the desire for his research to have major implications — as far-reaching as he can imagine — for the understanding and treatment of devastating human diseases he saw as a neurology resident.
The prion, as all neurologists and neuroscientists know, stands for “proteinaceous infectious particle.” The term was introduced in Prusiner's most important paper, a single-authored article in Science that appeared in 1982. Based on his work with the sheep and goat disease scrapie, Prusiner proposed the radically novel idea that the infectious agent in this disease was a particle consisting solely of protein — without the nucleic acid of conventional viruses.
In contrast to the entrenched orthodoxy regarding the structure of infectious organisms, prions were conceptualized as proteins that could transmit disease in the absence of DNA or RNA. The prion was seen as relevant to human disease, most obviously the rapidly progressive dementia Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), as well as the cerebellar ataxia of New Guinea cannibals known as kuru. Here is the stuff of paradigm shift, breathtaking in its originality and bound to evoke strong reaction. If the concept of the prion turned out to be true, textbooks would need to be rewritten, lectures thoroughly revised, and ideas about the very nature of life itself revisited.
Just as Kuhn would predict, a robust intellectual dispute immediately erupted between the advocate of the new science and the followers of the existing paradigm. Prusiner recounts in vivid detail the opposition he faced, not only from scientists around the world but in his own department of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, as well. The animosity he encountered was fierce indeed; he recounts being called “impulsive, presumptuous, reckless, ambitious, aggressive, callous, manipulative, and egotistical.” From his own colleagues he received “negative critiques” arising from “disbelief, disdain, and ignorance.”
Undaunted, Prusiner responded to his detractors with ceaseless energy to pursue his studies and gather the evidence needed for vindication. He reports vigorously rising to the challenges confronting him, resolutely endeavoring with competitive spirit not only to confirm the existence of prions but also to extend his findings to human diseases. An abiding self-confidence permeates his approach to investigation, steadily fueling his intense perseverance, but it is not hard to see how this seemingly enviable trait came to be seen by some as arrogant self-aggrandizement.
To some critics, the very word “prion” came to be suspect; as Prusiner points out, that objection was raised simply because the first two letters of the word are also the first two letters of his name. Was it a mere coincidence or another example of self-promotion? Obviously, the “pr” in prion applies as well to the word protein, but some viewed the double entendre of the terminology as quite deliberate.
The book at times turns to details of laboratory science, delving into aspects of basic neurovirology and related fields that may leave some readers hoping for a respite from the intricacies of polymerase chain reaction, mass spectrometry, bioluminescence, and the like. In these passages, the author's true passion for laboratory work shines through, and many insights into the creative mind are available for those who pay close attention.
But there are also more accessible moments, such as a memorable visit to New Guinea, stories about the complex life and career of Carleton Gajdusek, and an illuminating discussion of Prusiner's seeking, and eventually receiving, tenure at his medical school. At times remarkably candid, the author introduces the reader to a wide range of individuals whose personal foibles make it clear that, however brilliant they may be, scientists are still quite clearly human beings.
The highlight of the tale is Prusiner's trip to Stockholm in 1997 to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This followed soon after his receipt of the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1994. He recalls the much anticipated phone call informing him of his being the sole recipient of the Nobel Prize, and heralds the award as a “triumph of experimental science in rolling back the frontiers of our ignorance.” Once in Stockholm, even he admits to some nervousness about the award ceremony, hoping to avoid embarrassments such as dropping the medal he is to receive, or tripping in front of the King of Sweden and all the assembled dignitaries.
The book ends with a broader perspective on the possible relevance of prion biology to neurodegenerative diseases that have thus far defied satisfactory understanding. Because abnormal protein accumulations characterize Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington's disease, perhaps the neuropathology resulting from the unchecked conformational change of prions will apply to these disorders as well.
Alzheimer's disease particularly attracts his attention because of the woefully limited research funding for such a common and dreaded disease. Dementia after traumatic brain injury may also be explained by the prion revolution, as progressive tauopathy has been observed after repetitive injuries, and Prusiner further speculates that post-traumatic stress disorder may ultimately implicate prions. With characteristic confidence, he suggests that the ideas that apply to rare diseases such as CJD will also prove important in elucidating more common disorders seen by neurologists and psychiatrists alike.
Madness and Memory is a fascinating account of scientific research, discovery, and controversy that will be of interest to many readers within neurology and neuroscience, as well as anyone drawn to the creative process.
With time, the idea of the prion has come to be increasingly accepted, despite a few remaining dissidents, and for the great majority of neurologists and neuroscientists the paradigm has clearly shifted. The fact that the notion of prions provoked such strong resistance may be as much due to its proponent's unstinting advocacy as to the stunning novelty of the concept, but in all proposals seeking to dislodge a widely accepted worldview, a certain degree of self-promotion may always be necessary.
Reproducible evidence is still the only way to verify the authenticity of a scientific revolution, but the forcefulness of its originator does not mean that he is not also right.
Dr. Filley is professor of neurology and psychiatry and director of the Behavioral Neurology Section at the University of Colorado-Denver School of Medicine.
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The U.K. votes to leave the European Union. Heavy fighting continues in parts of Fallujah as Iraqi forces seek to retake all of the city from ISIS. And in Venezuela, food shortages spur looting and rioting. A panel of journalists joins guest host Susan Page for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
Jellyfish are over 560 million years old. They have no brains and no spines, yet these gelatinous animals are among the worlds’ most successful organisms. While other creatures evolved to develop tails and feet, jellyfish continued to thrive staying just the same. But lately scientists are concerned the animals are thriving too well — overrunning beaches, forcing nuclear power plants to shut down and disrupting the ecosystem. And experts say it is human-caused changes to the environment that’s behind the rise in jellyfish. For our June Environmental Outlook, Diane and her guests discuss jellyfish and the health of the ocean.
- Jack Cover general curator at National Aquarium.
- Bill Dennison vice president for science applications and professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences.
- Lisa-ann Gershwin author of "Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean" and director of the Australian Stinger Advisory Services.
Jellyfish At The National Aquarium
All images copyright National Aquarium ©.
Little-Known Facts About Jellyfish
Courtesy of the National Aquarium
Leidy’s Comb Jellyfish
The comb jelly looks different from other jellies because it’s not made up of a bell and tentacles. Instead, it is a translucent walnut-shaped body with wart-like bumps. For this reason, it’s sometimes called a sea walnut.
Comb jellies are translucent but refract light, appearing to have rainbow colors running down their bodies on the track of internal moving cilia. They can also make their own light (bioluminescence), flashing when disturbed.
Spotted Lagoon Jellyfish
These spotted jellies have rounded bells and strange clumps of oral arms with club-like appendages that hang down below.
Instead of a single mouth, they have many small mouth openings on their oral arms.
This jelly has a white bowl-shaped bell with 16 purple stripes, and very long tentacles.
Young crabs are often found hitching a ride in this jelly’s bell. This is a symbiotic relationship—by eating parasitic amphipods that damage the jelly, the crabs get a free meal, and the jelly gets a free cleaning.
Pacific Sea Nettle Jellyfish
- The Pacific sea nettle’s bell is yellow to reddish-brown, and the long, ruffled tentacles can be yellow to dark maroon.
Northern Sea Nettle Jellyfish
- This jelly’s bell can be white to dark purple/red, with dark lines radiating from the top of the bell. The species derives its name from the Greek words melas and aster, which translates to “black star” in reference to the pattern on its bell.
Translucent white, saucer-shaped bell, with a blue-gray transparent disk at its center through which the horseshoe-shaped gonads are visible. Short, delicate, fringe-like tentacles hang from the bell margins.
When deprived of food, they can shrink to 1/10th of their original size to save energy. They redevelop to normal size when food is available.
Blue Blubber Jellyfish
- This venomous jelly can be safely eaten once it’s been correctly dried and processed. Dried jellies are popular in many Asian countries, especially Japan, where they’re considered a culinary delicacy. The texture is reportedly crispy, yet elastic—hence the name “rubber band salad” for a dish sold in China. The Chinese believe eating jellies will reduce high blood pressure.
MS. DIANE REHMThanks for joining us. I'm Diane Rehm. For many people the word jellyfish means just one thing, fear of being stung. But for scientists who study them, jellyfish are fascinating creatures, beautiful and strange and now according to some experts more numerous than ever.
MS. DIANE REHMFor this month's Environmental Outlook understanding jellyfish and their connection to a changing environment, here with me is Bill Dennison of the University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Sciences, Jack Cover from the National Aquarium and joining us from Omaha, Neb. Lisa-ann Gershwin. She's author of a new book titled "Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean."
MS. DIANE REHMThroughout the hour, I'll look forward to hearing your comments. Join us on 800-433-8850. Send us your emails to [email protected]. Follow us on Facebook or send us a tweet and good morning to all of you.
MS. LISA-ANN GERSHWINGood morning.
MR. BILL DENNISONGood morning.
MR. JACK COVERGood morning.
REHMGood to have you with us. Lisa I'm going to start with you after I tell folks that if you go to our website drshow.org you'll see photographs of different types, different species of jellyfish and they are gorgeous. You'll also see some little-known facts about jellyfish up there on the website and let's start with the basics Lisa because these jellyfish are not fish. What are they?
GERSHWINWell, they're actually invertebrates so they're in a phylum that contains the corals and the sea anemones and all of those fabulous weird creatures, very, very low on the evolutionary tree. And all of these creatures have stinging cells and that's why we think of jellyfish as things that sting but like you so rightly pointed out earlier that jellyfish are really causing a lot more problems than just stinging.
GERSHWINAnd this is something that we didn't realize for many, many, I mean well for all of history really and it's only been in the last, you know, few years that we've come to realize that jellyfish are capable of absolutely devastating ecosystems. They're not only capable but they actually are.
REHMIt's interesting because I grew up thinking that cockroaches were going to be the last creatures...
REHM...left on earth but you seem to imply that these jellyfish are reproducing in such quantities that indeed they may replace the cockroaches. First I want to turn to you Jack Cover. You call jellyfish living lava lamps. What do you mean?
COVERWell for one thing aquariums have display jellies and it took us sort of a long way first of all to figure out how we could keep jellyfish in an aquarium setting. You have to re-create their environment. But we first weren't sure how visitors would sort of receive looking at jellyfish and you could see from those images they really are beautiful animals.
REHMYou called it an animal?
COVERYeah, they're animals.
REHMYou wouldn't think of it as an animal.
COVERThey're definitely, yeah they're definitely animals and they're, again they've been around a long time. They've been around for over 500 million years. They don't have a brain. They don't have any bones. They don't have blood. They're very simple animals so.
REHMSo what gives them their color and their shape?
COVERWell, basically again with the types, different types of jellies, there are different classes and Scyphozoas are the kind of classic Medusozoa jellyfish, the one that has the umbrella that pulses with the tentacles. So there are many beautiful ones and then there's a whole different phylum, the Ctenophores which we loosely classify as jellies too that are not stinging.
COVERThey can produce colors and I think we have an image of one of those. They can actually refract light but we in, what we find is in our displays that we were first wondering how people would receive them because most people really remember jellyfish as something that stung them when they were...
COVER...on their vacation.
COVEROr that gobby thing on the beach but when we found we could display them we found that visitors were fascinated by their movements, by their colors.
COVERAnd it's really relaxing and so it really is like you go into our jelly room, our display at the National Aquarium. It's very relaxing.
REHMAnd Bill, they're not only relaxing you call them very cool.
DENNISONI think they're amazing animals. One term that we use is they're just organized water. There's very little actual organic material in the jelly. So if you dry a jelly down and take out all the water you end up with, in fact what's left is even. Most of that isn't even organic, it's salts.
DENNISONSo jelly is a very loosely organic material that has captured water and does amazing things with it. They can move, even some of them can swim quite strongly against currents. So they're amazing what they can do with so little.
REHMAnd Lisa what do they actually eat?
GERSHWINWell, most jellyfish will eat just about anything they can get their lips around but what concerns us the most is that they have a strong propensity to eat eggs and larvae of other species.
GERSHWINAnd they also eat the plankton that the larvae would eat. So this double whammy of predation and competition can actually flatten populations of fish and crustaceans and mollusks and all of these things that make up a healthy ecosystem. They not only flatten it but they can keep these populations from coming back through this double whammy.
REHMAnd you write that the way jellyfish reproduce is "straight out of science fiction". Talk about that.
GERSHWINAh, it's true. They can clone in 13 different ways. They have a weird, weird lifecycle that's nothing like anything we know where when the jellyfish have babies they don't grow up to look like jellyfish. They grow up to look like little, tiny sea anemones or little coral polyps.
GERSHWINAnd they have this weird sort of alternation of generations and this allows them to be the weedy, weedy creatures that they are because they can hide in their little, tiny vases that are stuck to rocks and shells and things. And then when the conditions are right they bloom in fantastic numbers and we see unbelievable blooms of jellyfish sometimes that cover thousands of miles, you know in those sorts of numbers. Each one of them is looking to eat whatever it can.
REHMLisa-ann Gershwin, she's the author of a new book, its title "Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean." Talk about how you are connecting those two elements Lisa. As you talk about the future of the ocean, how are jellyfish affecting it?
GERSHWINWell, we're seeing many places around the world that are heavily disturbed by human activity through either overfishing or pollution or warming water or a variety of different impacts or sometimes a combination of impacts. And these damaged ecosystems are actually flipping to being dominated by jellyfish instead of fish.
GERSHWINAnd it's a very frightening thing when you think that something so small and insignificant can have such an incredible power to transform the oceans in ways that aren't very good for us. And we're actually seeing this happening in many places around the world already.
REHMBill Dennison, would you agree?
DENNISONWell, I think Lisa's got a point that an overabundance of jellyfish is a symptom of a system that's out of whack, but some of my scientific colleagues have recently published a series of papers earlier this year that talk about -- they went and looked for the data that supports that assertion that jellyfish are flipping and taking over the ocean.
DENNISONAnd what they're finding, in fact there's a 20-year cycle of jellyfish blooms and declines. And so the reports are all focused on the increases...
DENNISON...and so you tend to focus on that. And then secondly that looking at it globally there are places and Lisa brings it out really well in the book of introduced species like into the Black Sea where jellyfish have taken over. But overall they're not seeing a major trend, maybe since 1970 a slight increase but nothing catastrophic.
REHMNow, would this be in all the oceans, Lisa, or are you just talking about one ocean?
GERSHWINNo, it's in all the oceans, but it's not every species and it's not every species everywhere. So the papers that my colleague has just referred to looked at a larger scale where they looked at every species everywhere and found that there was so much noise that a pattern couldn't be discerned.
GERSHWINBut when you look at certain disturbed areas and you look at certain types of species in these certain disturbed areas, we are finding dramatic increases.
REHMExplain what you mean by disturbed?
GERSHWINWell, overfishing seems to be a really common thread, although it's not the only thread, but that is a common thing that's happening in many of these disturbed places that are being taken over by jellyfish. Also, what we call eutrophication, which is kind of a fancy word for too much fertilizer.
GERSHWINSo when coastal areas have too much farm fertilizer running down in the rivers or too much sewage affluent from cities, we see these chemistry changes in the water that jellyfish can do really well in these areas, but many other species can't because of a change in the oxygen.
GERSHWINThere's not enough oxygen for most species to be able to survive and you know, there's warming waters as well. Jellyfish can do really well, but other species that need to get oxygen from the water, of course, warming -- sorry, warm water holds less oxygen than cold water so the jellyfish can do better.
REHMLisa-ann Gershwin, her new book is titled "Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean," do join us, short break and right back.
REHMAnd for this month's environmental program we are talking about jellyfish. And with me here in the studio, Bill Dennison. He's vice-president for science applications, professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences. Also Jack Cover. He's general curator at the National Aquarium. Joining us from Omaha, Neb. Lee-Ann Gershwin. She is the author of a new book. It's titled "Stung!: On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean. She's the director of the Australian Stinger Advisory Services.
REHMHere's an email saying, "Does anything eat jellyfish? Jack Dover.
COVERWell, there's actually a number of animals that do eat jellyfish. All seven species of sea turtles will opportunistically feed on jellyfish. In fact, the largest sea turtle, one of the largest reptiles in the world, the leatherback sea turtle is a jelly-vor. And here, Bill was talking about the percentage. Jellies are 95 percent water, but this particular sea turtle will actually travel -- lay its eggs in the tropics on a beach in Suriname, travel thousands of miles up into Nova Scotia into very cold water. Because that's where we have some incredibly large jellyfish in big booms.
COVERSo it -- actually you just will mine through the jellyfish. There's also a lot of fish that eat jellyfish. And relationships here in the Chesapeake Bay, we see at the end of the summer, we see some fish that their larvae, their young fish will hide in the jellyfish stingers. They're protected. They actually have a mucous that protects them.
COVERAnd this is the butterfish and harvest fish, and kind of a dirty trick. Eventually when they grow they actually then start eating the jellyfish. So all's friar in nature when it comes to survival with their -- a lot of things depend on jellyfish. They are part of the ecosystem and we have to have them.
REHMAnd, Bill Dennison, tell me about these man-o'-war jellyfish.
DENNISONThe Portuguese man-o'-war, which is...
DENNISON...huge, long, long tentacles. And my personal experience was not -- my first encounter as not a pleasant one. I ended up getting a whole swath of stingers across my neck. I could feel my heart begin to race...
DENNISON...because it's got this toxin in it. But they're very -- they're commensal (sp?) and they have lots of different organisms living together, including a lot of fish that live down in the tentacles. And so they're beautiful purple and pink and translucent. And these things blow across the ocean. Some of these are -- you can find these out in the middle of the ocean as well as coastal.
REHMAnd you can find them -- I was once in Bermuda and could see them coming fairly close to the shore. What about those larger types, Lisa. Are they also reproducing in quantities that give you concern?
GERSHWINWe're not seeing the man o' war in any sort of problematical blooms that I'm aware of. I mean, we certainly do get vast armadas of them blowing ashore seasonally. But they don't seem to be responding to these different stressors in the same way that some other species are, which is a good thing because they are very stingy. And of course they can even kill people. But they don't seem to be doing the damage to the eco system that we're seeing with others.
REHMAnd what kind of damage do you really believe could be happening for the long term as opposed to as Bill Dennison pointed out earlier, part of a natural 20-year cycle?
GERSHWINWell, jellyfish do bloom as a natural part of their own lifecycle but it's more a matter of when the conditions are right. They're simply exploiting the conditions that we're giving them. You know, the warming water, the lack of predators and competitors, the changes in oxygen, the changes in water chemistry. And as it becomes harder and harder for fish to survive these conditions, the jellyfish are taking up that slack, or in some cases, they're just the last man standing.
GERSHWINLike I said earlier, it's not every jellyfish species in everyplace but there are some of these locations around the world where some types of jellyfish are responding in ways that are not good for us at all.
REHMAnd you write about Fukushima. Talk about that and nuclear waste.
GERSHWINYes. We've certainly dumped an awful lot of nuclear waste through the years. And I don't know of any direct correlation between nuclear waste and jellyfish. But again, as it gets harder for other species to survive, jellyfish are often simply not affected by these same problems.
GERSHWINAnd they're just the last man standing.
REHMAnd Jack Cover, as you direct the aquarium and have this jellyfish exhibit, what kinds of research are you doing there?
COVERWell, we're looking again -- and the biggest thing we're doing is really trying to bring this topic to our visitors. But we're -- you know, again when we're stalking this exhibit, we're out on the bay every year sort of looking at the jellyfish populations. And they do go up and down. And as Lisa said, jellyfish are opportunistic. If there's food there for them and we have fortunate challenge with the Chesapeake Bay as well as the Mississippi River where there's a lot of nutrients going in. We have dead zones in the bay and the Atlantic sea nettle seems to do quite well.
COVERBut to just tell you the potential, you know, again for their populations and how you -- one day you're on the bay, you see three jellyfish. The next day you see thousands of jellyfish. The Atlantic sea nettle, a female can lay 45,000 eggs every day. So...
COVER...that's why it's this geometric progression. But what we -- at the aquarium in our exhibit is called jellies invasions oceans out of balance, we really present, you know, all these things. And we also try to let people know they're connected to the bay, to the ocean. One would never think that the amount of fertilizer you put on your lawn actually has in effect jellyfish. So if you over fertilize your lawn, you're a friend of jellyfish. You're basically putting more nutrients in. And all these things are connected.
COVERSo that's really a mission in the aquarium is really to try to show that we are a part of this big, big system.
REHMBut explain how a person living in the city fertilizing his or her lawn helps to feed the jellyfish.
COVERWell, what happens is we're -- again, we're -- if you're in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, picture that as a big bowl. Every time it rains everything on the sides of that bowl wash into the bay, which eventually empties into the ocean. So if you're -- Americans are sort of obsessed with this lawn thing, you know, way too much. But we basically over fertilize our lawn and we put more fertilizer than the lawn can use. So every rain event, that all washes into a local stream which washes into a river which washes into the bay.
COVERSo what we're doing, we're feeding algae blooms. So we are over fertilizing the bay. Suddenly you'll have this bloom of algae that's consuming all this nitrogen that we're putting into the bay. That will eventually eat all the nitrogen and it will be a massive die-off of the algae, which then sinks to the bottom. And then we have a bacterial bloom. The bacterial bloom sucks all the oxygen out of the water, so we have what we call a dead zone.
COVERFish that are in -- crabs that are in that dead zone, they're dead. Jellies, again, can really survive really low oxygen levels. So they're basically doing fine and the fish that have been eliminated were competitors to the jellyfish. There's more food for them.
REHMAnd Bill Dennison, right now in the Chesapeake, for example, what are we seeing as to the crab population to jellyfish population?
DENNISONWell, Diane, the Chesapeake Bay crab story is actually a pretty good story because we've had some aggressive moves by Virginia and Maryland to reduce the catch of pregnant females. And so now our crab population seems to be stabilized and we are hoping to start to see an increase. We had a couple good years that wasn't so good but we think we have management under control.
DENNISONThe jellies, we had a guy, one of our faculty for 25 years walked up and down the dock every day at noon and counted...
DENNISON...counting the jellies and saw that they went up and then they went down depending on the rain and weather. But no long term trend. That's for the sea nettles. And one of the things that we're starting to look at for the bay is the impact of all the nutrient that we put in from lawn fertilizer...
DENNISON...but agricultural and sewage. And we got some good news recently. So we're actually reducing the amount of fallout from the atmosphere. There's less nitrogen coming down. The Clean Air Act is working so we're actually reducing the nitrate in the streams and the forested parts of the watershed. We're looking at our sewage upgrades that we've instituted throughout the bay and they're working. So we're getting some recovery of the smirch grasses. And that provides us positive synergy.
REHMOkay. I want to go back and ask you about that experience of being stung by a man o' war and where you were and how it affected you both short and long term.
DENNISONOh yeah, the man o' war, and I should point out, the reason they are called the Portuguese man o' war is because they have a sail, a balloon that they inflate with gas and that sticks above the surface and catches the wind. And so it moves its sails.
REHMYes, I've seen it.
DENNISONYep. And I was in St. Croix and I was training to be an aquanaut on one of the underwater habitats, so I was swimming. Part of my training was to swim and I'd swim offshore pretty far, like a mile. And then turn around at this buoy and swim back.
REHMAnd had you been told that man o' war were present?
DENNISONNo. And, you know, you don't always have good warning for it. And I did see -- I did look -- once I got stung I looked up and saw the sail but the sail was 30' away.
DENNISONThose tentacles are really long. They string out through the water.
DENNISONSo, anyway I was pretty far away from shore so what I was worried about is my heart rate started racing. And I did have a stinger shirt on but not a -- it didn't protect my neck. You know, Australia, when you go in the water you tend to wear a full-body suit and you don't expose much skin.
REHMYou don't fool around.
DENNISONWell, it turns out the little stingers, the pneumatosis (sp?) which are these spring-loaded little traps that spring a little dart with the toxin into your skin, they're relatively short. So even pantyhose or a Lycra suit is thick enough to keep the stinger from actually penetrating your skin. So as long as you have something on your skin surface, you're protected. But it's hard often to cover your entire body, particularly your face and neck if you've got a mask and snorkel on. So that's where I got, across my neck and that was probably as far away as I'd want to be and feel that badly.
REHMAnd you managed to swim back in.
REHMHow long did that man o' war hold on?
DENNISONOh, I think it probably washed off right away but those pneumatosis are -- you know, you could actually count the sting across your neck.
REHMI would not wish to do that, thank you. And you're listening to "The Diane Rehm Show." We've got some questions on our lines so let's open the phones. First to Rick in Fayetteville, N.C. Good morning to you.
RICKOh, good morning, Diane.
RICKYeah, my question for your guests, kind of taking the analogy of a forest, which is a complex ecosystem like the ocean. And when you, you know, clear cut a forest, the first thing you have grow back are grass and shrub. So I was wondering if in the process of, you know, over fishing and everything else that we're doing to destroy the ocean, if we're not creating basically a clear cut area and jellyfish are just the first thing that start to come back because they're so resilient?
GERSHWINLook, that's a really good question and yeah, that is the first thing that is kind of coming back. But it doesn't seem to be part of a succession because of this double whammy of predation and competition. We're not seeing the rest of the succession take place. Many of these disturbed ecosystems that have flipped to jellyfish domination have been going this way for decades and there doesn't seem to be any changeover to what's next.
GERSHWINMaybe it's just too short a period of time. Maybe something will take over but of course the stimuli that have caused the disturbance in the first place are still happening. We're still fishing. We're still discharging nutrients. We're still warming the waters, etcetera, etcetera.
REHMAnd why is it, Lisa, that as you argue in your book, more than any of the factor temperature both stimulates and controls jellyfish populations?
GERSHWINWell temperature is very complex. Warmer water stimulates just about everything to grow faster, breed more, etcetera, etcetera. You know, our own metabolisms speed up when it's warmer. So that's a common thing that we see. In the case of jellyfish, they're not affected by it very much. If it gets too warm, yeah, okay, they're affected. But by then everything else is seriously affected. But because colder water holds more oxygen and warmer water holds less oxygen, things that need to breath more struggle way before jellyfish are in any distress at all.
REHMI see. All right. Let's take a caller in Jacksonville, Fla. Hi there, Robert.
REHMGood morning, Diane.
ROBERTI have always been interested in turtles and I've noticed that over the years the decline of turtles goes along with the increase of jellyfish. The turtles seem to have jellyfish as one of their main diets. And I'm wondering what your guests think about that. And also the box jelly, which is I believe one of the smallest and one of the most dangerous and has one of the strongest pneumatosis that can kill you within a very few minutes.
ROBERTAnd I walked one year for looking for jelly -- excuse me, for turtles in the beach area in my area. I found one next that had 180 eggs in it. But the point being that when those eggs were hatched very few of them survived -- the turtles that is. That's the next I was looking for. But I'm wondering what they think about the decrease of turtles and the increase of jellyfish.
REHMAll right. And Bill Dennison.
DENNISONWell, those are a couple really good points and I think the decline of sea turtles worldwide is really a big concern. And it usually has much more to do with the fishing pressure, a lot of nets that are not intended to catch turtles, catch them. And they're reptiles which need to breath air, so if they don't get to the surface they suffocate and they drown. So there's this movement to put turtle exclusion devices in the nets to allow them to escape. And then secondly, people eat the eggs particularly in developing countries.
REHMBill Dennison. He's professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences. Short break here. More of your calls when we come back.
REHMAnd for this month's Environmental Outlook, we're talking about jellyfish. And of course, as a young girl living here in the Washington area, going down to North and Chesapeake beaches I would encounter them a great deal in those areas. But we just had John send us a photograph. He says he Googled images for jellyfish blooms and came up with a picture that makes certain jellyfish look as big as a human. Are they real jellyfish? And I'm holding this photograph up for our two guests here in the studio, Bill Dennison and Jack Cover.
REHMSee, Lisa, you'll just have to wait and see it on our website, at drshow.org. How much do you figure, Jack Cover, this jellyfish weighs?
COVERThat particular species is a Nomura jelly, and they're about the weight of a grizzly bear. They can be 450 to 500 pounds.
COVERAnd that's actually not even the largest species. There's a species called the lion's mane jelly that you would find up in Nova Scotia that's even bigger than that. The lion's mane would have a bell about 10 feet across. It's just like a big satellite dish, with tentacles that trail about 100 feet behind it. So that's like school bus lengths of tentacles.
REHMSo what happens when a whale, for example, or a shark confronts a jellyfish that is that big, Bill Dennison?
DENNISONWell, I think they avoid them.
REHMThey avoid them.
DENNISONThey definitely do. It turns out, you know, the turtles go and find them and eat them.
REHMEven the big ones?
DENNISONNot the huge ones.
REHMNot the huge ones.
DENNISONBut one of the reasons why helium balloons and plastic bags are a problem in terms of trash is they make their way into the sea. You know, the balloons float away and land in the sea or the plastic bags, the shopping bags…
DENNISON…float down the drain and into the sea.
DENNISONAnd the turtles mistake those for jellies.
REHMOh, I see.
DENNISONAnd they can't congest them and some of the turtles they've found stranded, their stomachs are just packed full of plastic…
DENNISONYeah, so that's a real -- and it stops up their gut.
REHMYeah, have you, Lisa, ever seen one of these gigantic jellyfish?
GERSHWINOnly in photos and they are incredible. You know, they really are that big and they're toxic. They sting as well. But it's amazing because about a half a billion or 500 million of these things are drifting into the Sea of Japan fishing grounds every day. So, you know, from China, where they're just breeding and breeding and breeding. So you can imagine the havoc that those sorts of numbers are causing in Japan.
REHMI gather they're also getting caught up in these fishing nets. Bill Dennison, you said you had seen one catch when what happened?
DENNISONWell, we had a trawl that we took through to catch fish and unfortunately we encountered a big swarm of jellyfish, brought them up and then as we lifted that net up with a hydraulic wench, it was out of the water, the whole stern of the boat went under and we started getting water onto the deck. So we had to put the net back in and go in and pull the cod and open and release the net because we literally couldn't bring it onto the boat.
REHMLisa, how long would a jellyfish, say in the Sea of Japan, live to reach this enormous size?
GERSHWINYeah, that's a really good question. We don't know how long the Normura's jellyfish live, but we think that they are born, grow and die within a season. So these things are starting out as just tiny, tiny little things, about as wide as a dime is tall, if it's laying flat on a desk. And, tiny, tiny, little things, you know, the width of a dime. And they grow up into these enormous sizes, the size of refrigerators.
REHMIn one season?
GERSHWINYeah, in a matter of months.
GERSHWINAnd, you know, because they're eating so much plankton that's in the water.
GERSHWINBut that means that other things aren't able to eat that plankton.
GERSHWINSo, you know, that balance has been shifted so…
GERSHWIN…completely over to jellyfish.
REHMLet's go to Westchester, N. Y. Good morning, Bob.
BOBI love the show and…
BOB…I was a bayman on Long Island for about 20 years and I'm still representative of a baymen's association on Long Island. I had a question for the guests.
REHMGo right ahead.
BOBSo this time of the year we see -- we refer a common name as Comb jellies, but I'm not positive of the genus and species. They bloom and their bloom seems to coincide with the time when clams and oysters spawn. So the free swimming larvae from the clams and oysters, which is part of the plankton for a week or two weeks, is, I think, one of the primary foods of these jellies. And I wanted to know what the guests thought about the effect on shellfish larvae in the water column.
DENNISONYeah, Bob, that's a good question. I actually was at Stony Brook for a few years. So I know the waters around Long Island. And that Comb jelly that you were seeing is most likely Mnemiopsis leidyi. It’s a beautiful little thing, and they are voracious. They eat fish larvae and plankton. In Chesapeake Bay -- we've got them down here, too. And one of the things that we've learned is that the sea nettle, the big, stinging nettle, actually the oyster larvae can pass through them intact. So they might ingest them, but the larvae escape, where they don't escape the Comb jelly.
DENNISONThe Comb jelly, which is a Ctenophora, not a true jellyfish, but they are voracious and they do eat fish larvae.
REHMAll right. And, Jack Cover, to what extent are you concerned, as Lisa is, that this may not be simply a 20-year cycle, but that, in fact, the jellyfish are proliferating and cleaning out the ocean for their own consumption, leaving waters affected rather substantially?
COVERWell, some things we know for sure. We know that human activity, we are, number one, transporting jellyfish all over the world. For example, ships going from the Mediterranean over to this part of the world, when they take off all of their cargo they oftentimes take on ballast water. So the little leidyis Comb jelly that Bill was just talking about, was transported to the Black Sea in the early '80s. It went into the Caspian Sea. It went into all these different areas. So we definitely know that they're an invasive species. We're seeing Australian jellies show up around the U.S.
COVERSo we definitely have an invasive species issue. I think that, you know, it's an altered world. I think the things the humans are doing, unfortunately, are affecting the bio-diversity. So I would agree that, you know, as we do unnatural things, we catch large numbers of fish and we get more proficient at catching those fish. So what we really have to do is pay attention to what the scientists are seeing and react to it. But there's long-term studies, and like I say, we -- I think the jury is still out, but I would say that definitely we are living in a different world and the jellies have been around without a brain for over 500 million years.
COVERHumans haven't been around too long. We sort of came at one minute before midnight to the party, and we're sort of wrecking the house. So we really need to look at many of our activities and make sure that we're not knocking the ocean out of balance, acidifying it.
REHMAll right. To Fredericksburg, Va. Hi, Bobbie. Thanks for waiting.
BOBBIEWell, I love your show, like everybody else does.
BOBBIEListening to that last part about how big they can grow, stuck terror in my heart because my introduction to Boston, as a little Southern girl from Virginia moving up there, where my husband was from, we went into the waters. And I think it was Wollaston or else Nantasket Beach and I, you know, you don't have the ocean immediately next to Fredericksburg, to say the least. So I'm in the water and it was dusk time and the light from the pier is shining through. And I saw these beautiful creatures, a whole bunch of them. And they must been only -- thank God they weren't 500 pounds. They probably were about a foot and a half, maybe, in diameter.
BOBBIEAnd I picked one up. I put my hand down and I touched it at the pod, not where the middles were -- and I didn't even know what they were -- were hanging down. And it felt like a little spongy kind of a thing. And I thought they were absolutely beautiful. And when I went back to my family and told them what I had done, they said, are you crazy? You could have gotten stung. And now I wonder, oh, I don't think I would have picked it up if it had been any bigger than what it was.
BOBBIEBut they were absolutely beautiful.
REHMWell, they are beautiful, aren't they, Jack.
COVERThey are. And the species you may have seen may have been a moon jelly, the genus Aurelia, which has some tentacles, but they really will not penetrate the callus part of your hands. If they were on a more tender spot of your body you might feel a slight sting. So not all jellyfish sting and, like I say, the Comb jellies don't sting at all. But however, if you were in Australia they probably would not have been a good thing to do.
COVERThere's jellyfish there that, basically, are incredibly toxic. We don't quite understand why the Box jelly, for example, is so toxic. Since they're feeding mainly on plankton and small fish, it's like going squirrel hunting with a nuclear cannon.
REHMAnd, Lisa, as director of the Australia Marine Stinger Advisory Services, talk about that, in Australia and the number of people unknowing, perhaps, who are stung.
GERSHWINYeah, well, it's a very serious issue. In Australia we get about 100 hospitalizations a year from what are known as Irukandjis, which are a very strange group of box jellyfish. There's about 14 different species that we know of, so far. And, you know, they range in size from the size of your pinky fingernail, to the size of take-away mocha, you know. So they can be quite large, but most are quite small. And they are highly toxic. They can be deadly. And, you know, it's a very serious issue.
REHMEven the very tiny ones?
GERSHWINYeah, particularly the small ones. You know, you don't even feel the sting most of the time. They're so small and so minor and so insignificant in so many ways. But then…
REHMSo who's going into the water in Australia, if you can't even see these little suckers?
GERSHWINWell, luckily, they're only around under very specific conditions, a couple of days a year. And the trick, of course, has been to work that out.
GERSHWINI’m glad to announce that the CSIRO, which is the commonwealth scientific organization in Australia, has actually worked out the model to predict these things. I should also say that they're not only in Australia. Irukandjis occur from as far north as North Wales in the United Kingdom.
GERSHWINTo as far south as Cape Town. And we get stings every year in the Caribbean and Florida, Hawaii, Japan, Thailand.
REHMSo they're clearly migrating.
GERSHWINI don't think they're migrating. I think they just haven't been recognized.
REHMI see. And you're listening to "The Diane Rehm Show." To Cincinnati, Ohio. Austin, you're on the air. Austin, are you there?
REHMHi, there. Go right ahead, sir.
AUSTINI had a small comment and question. There seems to be a lot we could learn from the water life around us on Earth. And earlier you were discussing some unique traits of certain jellyfish. And I was wondering if your panel could illuminate for your audience a certain jellyfish called the immortal jellyfish. It's scientific name is Turritopsis nutricula.
REHMAll right. Bill Dennison?
DENNISONOne of the bizarre lifecycles of jellyfish, that Lisa mentioned earlier are that they have the free-floating medusa stage, the one that you see in the water. And you have this little sedentary polyp phase, these tiny, cryptic little polyps that are on the bottom. And one of the things that we are concerned about is this term called ocean sprawl. So we're building more structures into the ocean, more piers and more aquaculture pens and more culti-protection (sp?) levees and such, which provide hard substrate, which are good places for these polyps to live and proliferate.
DENNISONSo we can create opportunities in the coastal region for these jellies to live. And because they have this asexual reproduction, where these polyps can split and divide, they can, quote, live forever. This immortality is…
DENNISON…that it's the same genetic individual, but it's been…
REHMJust going on and on and on.
DENNISON…split and split and split. Yeah.
GERSHWINTurritopsis is different. Turritopsis is actually immortal in itself, so when the medusa dies, instead of just dying and disintegrating and turning to mush, the cells actually reaggregate and form polyps all over again.
GERSHWINSo it's truly, biologically immortal.
REHMYeah, and what is the best way to treat a sting? When I was a little girl, they used to take wet sand and put it right on that spot. Is that still the best way to go about it, Jack?
COVERWell, I can tell you right now a lot of the home remedies for jellyfish stings are more placebo.
REHMTrying to make you feel better in your head.
COVERYeah, you hear about the -- and particularly here in Maryland -- the use of meat tenderizer, even urine as a cure for jellyfish stings. And we, you know, had some research at the University of Maryland and a dermatologist there basically found out a lot of these cures really aren't doing anything. When the tentacle comes and all these thousands of nematocysts fire that little harpoon in you, that venom is in your system.
REHMThat little stinker venom.
COVERYeah, and so what we really find the best thing to do is to get out of the water. And some jellyfish do have tentacles that are clinging to your leg that you may have the nematocysts that aren't fired off. We don't usually find that with the Atlantic Sea nettle, but basically you just get out and take Benadryl or something like that.
COVERBut there's sprays where you can use that have lidocaine analgesic that will help get rid of the itch.
REHMAll right. Well, let's hope most of us stay out when the sea nettles are around. Jack Cover of the National Aquarium, Bill Dennison of the University of Maryland and Lisa-ann Gershwin, author of, "Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and The Future Of the Ocean." Thank you all for being with us.
COVERThank you, Diane.
GERSHWINThank you, Diane.
REHMAnd thanks for listening all. I'm Diane Rehm.
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Typically when you see a heading like this you know the answer is “No” or “False” but in this case it’s more of a “hu?” You see a primary key and a table being a heap have nothing to do with each other. Well very little anyway.
- A “Primary Key” is a special case of a unique constraint (enforced by an index) that will not allow NULL values. There can be only one Primary Key.
- A “Heap” on the other hand is a table without a clustered index.
Note the important terms here are “unique key” and “clustered index”. I should probably point out that a unique key/primary key can be clustered or non-clustered. Thus a table with a primary key can be a heap or not.
So why the confusion? Usually the default when you create a primary key is to create a unique clustered index to enforce it. Thus by default creating a primary key does in fact stop a table from being a heap. However you can override this (and in some cases clustered isn’t even the default) and create a non-clustered unique index to support the constraint. And a non-clustered primary key does not affect a table’s “heapness” (is that even a word?)
Filed under: Index, Microsoft SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged: code language, index, language sql, microsoft sql server, T-SQL
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Skip to comments.Plane that manoeuvres without flaps developed
Posted on 09/27/2010 10:46:46 AM PDT by managusta
The DEMON uses output from the jets to control airflow over the plane, manipulating lift and drag without using traditional mechanisms to steer.
Its developers believe the technology could revolutionize the stealth capabilities of military aircraft by reducing edges and gaps that can be picked up on radar.
The technology could also reduce fuel and maintenance costs for commercial airliners.
Professor John Fielding, chief engineer and lead for the DEMON demonstrator team from Cranfield University, said: ''To make an aircraft fly and maneuver safely without the use of conventional control surfaces is an achievement in itself.
The DEMON was developed around a concept called ''fluidic flight control'' and is designed to forgo the use of conventional mechanical elevators and ailerons, or flaps.
It is instead maneuvered by hundreds of tiny jets that blast air in order to influence to change the lift, drag and other features of performance.
The result is a more streamlined, aerodynamic craft that cuts down on edges and gaps - features that can increase radar detection.
Additionally it cuts down the number of moving and electrical parts in both military and civil aircraft, affecting cost, reliability, weight, efficiency and maintenance.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Interesting but what happens if power is lost?
I’d sure like to see how it executes a barrell roll using nothing but varitions of thrust.
Looks unmanned so no harm no foul.
Expensive rock. Then a smoking hole in the ground.
Wait until you lose an engine (thrust) and cannot control it. Give me a Cessna 152 instead. I can land that puppy al day long with no power.
I’m assuming this has an ejection seat....
The author of this article means elevator, aileron, rudder, etc. when they write "flap".
There’s a reason why today’s aircraft have redundancy systems.
Double delta platform....
Ergo the Saab Draken and the Dyke Delta.
Most modern fly-by-wire stability augmented aircraft become tumbling bricks when they lose power.
Agreed by some very smart men who also built the engine and designed the propellers as well.
Don't see a lot of that anymore. At least not by choice.
I saw an article about it a couple of years back ... something about modern technology making it more possible. It would have some advantages over the blown-air approach....
“Maneuver without flaps? Already been done....”
There may not be flaps on the main wings, but vertical flap in front and horizontal flap at the back were used to steer the plane.
No flaps eh?
Then what are those flappy looking things on the back of the wings?
Roll control was provided by changing the shape of the wings to produce a differential lift.
“Most modern fly-by-wire stability augmented aircraft become tumbling bricks when they lose power.”
That is why all pilots love Martin Baker the standard by which ejection seats are measured.
Of course so is a lot of LO technology so may be it's something the operator would already have to consider.
“The DEMON was developed around a concept called ‘’fluidic flight control’’ and is designed to forgo the use of conventional mechanical elevators and ailerons, or flaps. “
Back when I was in airplane school, we’d laugh at presstitute “experts” who made idiotic statements like this...
There are no flaps on this plane. Those are not flaps that you see there.
F-16, perhaps as it is inherently unstable, but not the F-15 or F-18.
Loss of power does not cause an issue, per se, it is the loss of hydraulic power, as the flight controls are hydraulically actuated. Lose an engine, windmilling keeps some hydraulic pressure and ensures some flight control.
Just to be clear.
Al Haynes/UA 232.
Worked out fine, except for that little problem of losing a third of your passengers and can’t use the airplane again.
Technically, they are called ailerons. See how they are offset, on the right up and on the left down.. to cause a roll. There is no rudder (vertical stabilizer), tailplane (horizontal stabilizer) or "flaps" which are extended to increase lift on take-off and landing.
For what, it is unmanned.
Beat me to it.
Sure looks like it has flaps to me.
I think that the aircraft most definitely has some control surfaces that are deflected in a conventional manner. But it also has a few that do not deflect but are hooked up to tubes for blowing.
The aircraft seems to just be a technology test-bed where conventional control surfaces can be swapped out for the forced-air kind.
It is only a series of computers voting on how to interpret pilot requests that differentiate planes like the F-117 from a tumbling brick.
If it loses power, it becomes a lawn dart
Aircraft don’t use flaps to “manoeuvre” with, they use ailerons, rudder and elevator. Flaps increase lift allowing steeper approach and departure angles without increasing airspeed requirements.
Power loss indicates it is “Time for a quick trip around the beads and ‘over the side’.”
I wouldn't be surprised if these actually functioned as "flaperons" the inner surfaces acting more like flaps on take-off and landing and still being available for in-flight attitude correction. I believe they are far more important than the writer implies because they are likely are extremely important to making it possible for the thing to fly.
However, On the leading edge you can almost see holes so they could be controlling the flow of air across this as some older low speed takeoff and landing craft did in the past. The white section is most probably fixed and has air piped to it as well, you can see the holes on the trailing edge in this section and the air hoses.
These probably give two different sets of holes airflow based on wanting to bias the wing to lift or descend. This is probably what they are going on about. In at speed stable flying, the "flaperons" just act like wing surface and control is provided by altering the ducting of air to these surfaces.
Statement I was responding to was encompassing, which as you know, is not true.
Thanks for clarifying your statement.
AH my favorite the Black Widow. This sure seemed like a winner to me and I pray it’s being secretly developed under a secret project.
Hey, who you gonna believe, Them or your lyin' eyes?
Hey that’s nothing. In the White House we have a Teleprompter of the U.S. who speaks without a brain.
The Wright brothers’ planes maneuvered without flaps.
Interesting but what happens if power is lost?
The Pilot's pucker factor shifts into Hyperdive.
You reminded me of this plane,
Doesn’t have a prayer with a name like DEMON.
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