text
stringlengths 199
648k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| dump
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 14
419
| file_path
stringlengths 139
140
| language
stringclasses 1
value | language_score
float64 0.65
1
| token_count
int64 50
235k
| score
float64 2.52
5.34
| int_score
int64 3
5
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A new study has found there may be a link between ocular rosacea and bacteria associated with Demodex mites, microscopic inhabitants of normal skin that tend to occur in much greater numbers in those with rosacea.
In the recently published study of 59 rosacea patients, Dr. Jianjing Li and colleagues at the Ocular Surface Center in Miami found a significant correlation between facial rosacea, infestation of the eyes with Demodex mites and reaction to certain mite-related organisms previously shown to stimulate an immune response in rosacea sufferers.1
In an earlier study funded by the National Rosacea Society, Dr. Kevin Kavanagh and colleagues at the National University of Ireland-Maynooth found that the bacterium Bacillus oleronius, a distinct bacterium found in Demodex, stimulated an immune system response in 79 percent of patients with subtype 2 (papulopustular) rosacea, compared with only 29 percent of subjects without the disorder.2
In the new study, researchers uncovered the association with ocular symptoms by noting correlations between rosacea patients who had an ocular infestation with Demodex mites (38 subjects) and those in whom B. oleronius stimulated an immune system response (21 subjects). They also noted a borderline correlation between ocular Demodex infestation and eyelid margin inflammation.
The Demodex mites themselves were counted by microscopic examination of lashes, and the presence of the bacteria was determined by serum reaction to proteins they produce.
The researchers pointed out that these findings support the practice of treating subtype 4 (ocular) rosacea with both medication and eye hygiene, including lid scrubbing. They noted that patients may be affected by a combination of factors, including a reaction to the proteins produced by the bacteria, a possible allergic reaction to the mites themselves and other microbes that may have been colonized in the eyelid as a result of the mites.
"Future investigation into this comorbidity between mites and microbes may shed new light not only on the understanding of the pathogenesis of this centuries-old common ailment of the skin and eye, but also other similar unresolved human diseases," the researchers concluded.
The National Rosacea Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the lives of people with rosacea by raising awareness, providing public health information and supporting medical research on this widespread but little-known disorder. The information the Society provides should not be considered medical advice, nor is it intended to replace
consultation with a qualified physician. The Society does not evaluate, endorse or recommend any particular medications, products, equipment or treatments. Rosacea may vary substantially from one patient to another, and treatment must be tailored by a physician for each individual case. For more information, visit About Us.
|
<urn:uuid:e3175880-3466-4fab-b1eb-dd6a9c49c63d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.rosacea.org/rr/2010/summer/article_3.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.939063 | 590 | 3.359375 | 3 |
- For the more commonly encountered methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci, a combination of vancomycin, rifampin and gentamicin is indicated.
- The sift did not reveal any deletions that make cells susceptible to amoxicillin, penicillin, rifampin or vancomycin, which are used to treat bacterial infections of the airways, stomach and skin.
- The organisms are treatable with tetracycline, erythromycin, rifampin, and by the sulfonamides.
1960s: from rifam(yci)n (an antibiotic first isolated from the bacterium Streptomyces mediterranei) + the insertion of pi- from piperazine.
For editors and proofreaders
Definition of rifampin in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
|
<urn:uuid:3d7816b3-54bc-4f4c-81e5-b5510ca3acfb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/rifampin
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00182-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.818808 | 212 | 2.625 | 3 |
What Apollo Astronauts Saw
We see twilight rays on Earth all the time, as the sun sets or rises. The Moon shouldn’t have twilight rays since it has virtually no atmosphere, but Apollo astronauts saw them. Scientists are sending a mission to the Moon to see why.
Why It Matters
- Astronauts on Apollo 8, 10, 15 and 17 saw twilight rays, even though scientists didn’t think they should exist on the Moon.
- The twilight rays on the Moon lasted only about 10 seconds.
- The Moon does have an atmosphere; it is only 10,000,000,000,000 times less dense than Earth’s.
With the link below, learn more about the lunar atmosphere. Then answer the following questions.
- NASA Science Casts, NASA Mission Seeks Lunar Air: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z_oi36O8tw
- What gases are in the lunar atmosphere and what is the origin of each?
- What might be present in the atmosphere that would increase its density enough to have twilight rays and where would this component come from?
- What is an exosphere? What is the difference between exospheres on Earth and on the Moon?
- What is the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer looking for?
- How will the mission end? Will scientists learn anything from the end?
- How do the component parts of this story fit with how science is done by the scientific method?
|
<urn:uuid:72ef1395-512b-4ab6-9c08-67e0bcb6104e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.ck12.org/earth-science/Moon/rwa/What-Apollo-Astronauts-Saw/r1/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.914606 | 309 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Most people know that meat, poultry, and fish are excellent sources of protein.
If you’re considering no longer eating meat and possibly dairy products, you might worry that you won’t get enough protein in a typical vegetarian meal.
But there’s no need to be concerned, explains Andrea N. Giancoli, MPH, RD, a nutritionist in Los Angeles and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “Luckily for vegetarians,” Giancoli says, “protein is very easy to obtain with a balanced diet and good food choices.”
According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, the average adult needs about 0.36 grams of protein for every pound of body weight — that’s about 43 grams of protein daily for a 120-pound woman and about 58 grams for a 160-pound man.
Consuming more protein than that is not necessarily better and eating lots of red, fatty meat can contribute to health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disorders, liver and colon cancer, and osteoporosis. Even athletes don’t need that much extra protein compared to people who are weekend warriors.
But when you’re cutting out traditional foods with protein, including milk and yogurt, you need to make up for it with protein alternatives.
Protein-Rich Foods: Know Your Options
Proteins are made up of compounds known as amino acids, Giancoli explains. Nine of these amino acids are considered essential. Animal foods contain all nine, which is why they are called complete proteins and are the traditional — and easy to get — protein source. Most plant foods are lacking in one or more of the essential amino acids, which is why they’re called incomplete proteins, she says.
Some dairy foods are complete proteins — eggs, milk, yogurt, and cheese. However, vegans and some vegetarians won’t eat dairy products because they come from animals. If you don’t eat dairy, you’ll need to get your protein from plant sources. “In the plant world, soy is considered a complete protein,” says Giancoli. “That’s why you hear about vegetarians eating a lot of soy products — tofu, edamame, soy milk, and others.”
If you’re allergic to soy or just don’t like the taste, you still have other options for making a healthy vegetarian meal. Most plant foods, including grains, nuts, and legumes (beans), contain some amount of essential amino acids. But because they are not complete, you should pair certain foods together to cover your bases and get all of the essential amino acids you need in one vegetarian dish.
“For example, grains such as rice typically lack the essential amino acids isoleucine and lysine, but contain methionine and tryptophan,” Giancoli says. “Beans contain isoleucine and lysine, but lack methionine and tryptophan. Therefore, together, they make a complete protein. This is also referred to as complementary proteins. Even better, they don’t have to be eaten at the same time.”
Classic vegetarian meal pairings that do add up to complete proteins are red beans and rice, corn tortillas and pinto beans, couscous and lentils, and hummus and whole wheat pita, recommends Giancoli.
Other plant foods that are high in protein and considered nearly complete proteins are hemp and the grain quinoa. Nuts and nut butters, such as from peanuts or almonds, are also excellent sources of protein.
Here’s how much protein you can get from other sources compared to meat:
- 3 ounces of meat (about the size of a regular deck of cards): approximately 21 to 26 grams protein
- 1 egg: 6 to 7 grams protein
- 1 cup milk: 7 to 8 grams
- 1 cup soy milk: 7 grams
- 1 cup firm tofu: 20 grams
- 1 cup brown rice: 4.5 grams
- 1 cup quinoa: 8 grams
- 1 cup kidney beans: 15 grams
- 1 ounce roasted almonds: 6 grams
Most vegetables and whole grains contain at least 1 gram of protein per serving.
Healthy Recipes for Eating Vegetarian
Even without meat or other animal products, you can prepare healthy recipes and still achieve your daily protein allowance. Remember that the key to getting enough protein in your vegetarian meals is variety.
Try these vegetarian recipes to meet your protein needs.
Makes 6 servings
- Nutritional Info (Per serving):
- Calories: 271, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 520mg, Dietary Fiber: 4g, Total Fat: 2g, Carbs: 46g,
- Sugars: 11g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Protein: 18g
- Recipe Source: "ADA Cookbooks," American Diabetes Association
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 cup zucchini, sliced
- 1/2 cup peppers, red, bell, diced
- 1 cup spinach, chopped
- 1 cup cottage cheese, low-fat
- 1/2 cup cheese, ricotta, low-fat
- 2 egg substitute
- 1 teaspoon basil, fresh, minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano, fresh, minced
- 1 pepper, black ground
- 2 cups marinara sauce, low-fat, low-sodium
- 9 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1. To prepare the vegetables, steam the carrots over boiling water for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and steam 2 more minutes. Add the red pepper and steam 2 more minutes. Add the spinach and steam 1 more minute. Remove the vegetables from the heat. Combine all remaining ingredients except the marinara sauce and lasagna noodles.
2. To assemble the lasagna, place a little sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Place 3 noodles on top of the sauce. Add a layer of vegetables and cover with a layer of the cheese mixture. Add some sauce. Repeat. Add the last layer of noodles and top with some sauce. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes prior to serving. Cut into squares and serve. (If you prefer to bake the lasagna immediately, cook the pasta before layering it.)
Quesadilla With Beans, Corn, and Green Chiles
- Nutritional Info (Per serving):
- Calories: 200, Saturated Fat: 3.7g, Sodium: 285mg, Dietary Fiber: 6g, Total Fat: 7g, Carbs: 23g,
- Cholesterol: 20mg, Protein: 12g
- Recipe Source: American Cancer Society
- 2 small tortillas, corn, (4-inch)
- 1/4 cup beans, pinto, drained, rinsed and patted dry*
- 1/4 cup cheese, cheddar, sharp, reduced-fat, shredded (or "Mexican-style" shredded cheese)
- 1 tablespoon corn, whole kernel, low sodium, drained and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon green chili peppers, bottled, drained, diced
On a microwave-safe plate, top one tortilla with beans. Using the back of a fork, mash the beans into a chunky paste. Top with cheese, corn, chili peppers, and the remaining tortilla. Microwave on high for 1 minute, or until cheese melts.
*You can substitute black beans or other canned beans in this recipe for a slightly different flavor.
Once you taste these recipes, you’ll see that vegetarian cooking can be both filling and delicious.
Last Updated: 3/28/2013
|
<urn:uuid:371d918e-22fb-4fc6-be24-00bcc8a5810b>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-recipes/easy-ways-to-get-protein.aspx
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00093-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.906162 | 1,642 | 2.859375 | 3 |
On 18 October, our next special exhibition “A Time for Everything: Rituals Against Forgetting” will open to the public. The exhibition met with great success at its previous venue in Munich. We therefore invited Bernhard Purin, director of the Jewish Museum Munich, to write a piece for our blog. He introduces us to an exhibit that is of relevance to this week’s holiday.
The Feast of Booths (“Sukkot” in Hebrew, from the word “sukkah,” meaning “tabernacle”) will be celebrated this year from 19–25 September. Along with Passover (Pesah) and Pentecost (Shavuot), it numbers among the three pilgrimage festivals, and commemorates the forty years Israelites spent wandering in the desert after the exodus from Egypt. The Third Book of Moses (23: 42–43) ordains:
“Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am HaShem your G-d.”
Booths have been built ever since and their roofs covered with foliage, in keeping with this commandment. Rural Jews in Germany often erected such booths in the attic of their homes, and this tradition has been taken up at the Jewish Museum Franken in Fürth as well as at its Schwabach branch. Yet mobile booths which could be set up in the garden before the festival, then taken apart and packed away for the rest of the year, were also common. One booth of this kind survived in the village of Baisingen near Rottenburg am Neckar, where a large Jewish community once lived. → continue reading
|
<urn:uuid:bdb75c53-1b5b-4cde-accc-14c3f4de3691>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.jmberlin.de/blog-en/2013/09/18/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.967569 | 384 | 2.65625 | 3 |
MKT 421 Guide 7: 27) One of the major disadvantages of the focus group interview approach is that A. There is no interviewer, so the research questions may not be answered. B. It is difficult to measure the results objectively. C. It is difficult to get in-depth information about the research topic. D. Ideas generated by the group cannot be tested later with other research.
|
<urn:uuid:3c5539f2-b88d-4b4a-846c-0875790451db>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://mkt421guide7uop.blogspot.com/2013/01/27-one-of-major-disadvantages-of-focus.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.952051 | 79 | 2.625 | 3 |
The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is set to land on the red planet tomorrow, January 3, 2004, about 8:35 pm PST. It’s the first of two NASA rovers. Opportunity is scheduled to land on January 24th. They will travel up to 100 meters per Martian day. Each will carry five science instruments. NPR’s Joe Palca reports. Can Mars Support Life? Who knows.
“This mission can’t discover life. It can’t discover ancient life. It can discover whether the building blocks are there and that’s the goal. Now, I mean I suppose in some wild dream, you could find a fossil or something. I guess even more wilder you could see a little green men walking across the surface,” said Mars mission scientist Matt Golombeck.
“Sojourner was our little baby geologist. But it was a baby. And now we’ve got a full-fledged PhD up there on Mars,” Golombeck said.
The $70 million stationary probe, the British Beagle 2, brainchild of Professor Colin Pillinger, was designed to look for direct signs of life, unlike Spirit which will search for places where life may have existed in the past. Still no signs of life from the Beagle.
Since 1971, there have been 13 landing attempts, but only three probes — Viking 1 and Viking 2 in 1976 and Pathfinder in 1997 — have successfully landed on Mars. Messages between JPL and Spirit take about 10 minutes each way. Mars is currently about 106-million miles from Earth. The two rovers have traveled more than 300 million miles getting there.
The rover landings would mimic the successful 1977 Pathfinder mission’s bouncing-air-bag landing in 1997, but with improvements. The plan:
- Enter Mars’ 80-mile-high atmosphere at 12,000 mph, protected by a heat shield.
- Descend to 5 miles altitude and 1,000 mph four minutes later, when a 50-foot-diameter parachute deploys.
- Improved air bags encase the rover, and rockets brake and stabilize the craft.
NASA’s Deep Space Network, with antennas in Spain, Australia and California’s Mojave Desert, provides the primary backhaul. Among the missions supported by DSN are the Stardust mission that is collecting comet dust today; the Cassini-Huygens mission that will probe the rings and moons of Saturn beginning in July; and the Genesis mission which is collecting solar wind particles for return to Earth in September.
Each DSN complex consists of several deep space stations equipped with large parabolic reflector antennas and ultra sensitive receiving systems that include a 70-meter-diameter (230-foot) antenna; a 34-meter-diameter (110-foot) high-efficiency antenna; at least one 34-meter (110-foot) beam waveguide antenna; and a 26-meter-diameter (85-foot) antenna.
The Mars Relay Telecommunications system links the rover to Earth. The Mars Global Surveyor, launched in 1996, is also in orbit. It uses an 8086 processor for the payload data subsystem, and 1750A processors for the standard controls processor and the engineering data formatter. Data is stored on four 0.75 Gb solid state recorders. Communications with the rovers, is accomplished by relaying data through the Mars orbiter or directly to Earth. About 10 megabytes is sent daily. Communications with Earth are in the X-band (8.4 GHz) using the high gain directional dish antenna, at 11 kbps, and the low gain omni-directional antenna. Communications with orbiting spacecraft are through the UHF antenna.
Power is provided by the solar arrays, generating up to 140 W of power under full Sun conditions. The energy is stored in two rechargeable batteries. An inertial measurement unit provides 3-axis information on position.
BAE Systems manufactured the single board computer, called the Rad6000. BAE Systems designed its chip, the Rad6000, and its successor, the Rad750, specifically for this hostile environment. The rad-hard version of the PowerPC chip, used in some models of Macintosh computers, operates at 20 million instructions per second. Onboard memory includes 128 megabytes of random access memory, augmented by 256 megabytes of flash memory and smaller amounts of other non-volatile memory, which allows the system to retain data even without power. It runs Wind River’s VxWorks operating system and “will tell the rover arm when to move and which direction to move in. It will tell the rover which direction to go when it is driving across the surface of Mars, and how to exchange information with Earth,” said Mike Delliman, Wind River’s lead engineer for the Mars project.
Wind River’s software comes with compilers for C++, Ada, Assembly and other languages that allowed the programmers to write the rover’s specialized routines. The rovers are expected to travel 40 meters, or 132 feet, per day in temperatures that can dip as low as -100 degrees Celsius, or -148 Fahrenheit.
Malin Space Science operates the first Interplanetary wireless ISP. Getting data from the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) to Earth is tricky. They’ll use three paths to phone home: Direct to Earth, relay through the Mars Odyssey orbiter and relay through Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). The orbiting Mars Relay provides data communication at 401.5275 MHz (F1) and 405.6250 MHz (F2) at 8 kbps and 128 kbps. The Mars Relay cannot send commands to a lander. Rather, it uses a beacon to trigger landers to transmit their data.
Spirit and the orbiters can communicate for about eight minutes at a time, during which they can transfer about 60 megabits of data. Back on Earth, NASA scientists are receiving as much as 150 megabits of data daily from the rover and orbiters.
The Spirit and Opportunity rovers carry a suite of instruments for science and navigation. The panoramic camera (Pancam) and navigation cameras are mounted on top of a mast, about 1.4 meters above ground level. Each Pancam uses a a 1024 1024 CCD with an effective f/20, 43 mm lens and a field of view of 16 16 . The mast, mounted at the front of the equipment deck, also acts as a periscope for the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES).
Dalsa, based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, makes the video components and made the CCDs for the Pancam and other cameras on Spirit and Opportunity. Scientific Imaging Technologies (SITe), based in Tigard, Oregon, makes CCDs used in the Hubble Space Telescope.
Attached to the end of the instrument deployment device on the Sprit are the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), Mossbauer Spectrometer (MB), Microscopic Imager (MI), and Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). A magnet array is attached to the front of the equipment deck. Two hazard avoidance cameras are mounted on the front of the rover and two on the rear. The group of science instruments (Pancam, Mini-TES, APXS, MB, MI, and RAT) is known as the Athena science package. Bill Nye, the Science Guy got NASA to add a Sundial.
NASA’s rover site and JPL will provide daily images from each rover. SGI Onyx 300 computers assemble the 360 panoramas. To cope with the expected interest, NASA is relying on 1300 internet servers around the world to provide information on the missions. The two rovers will send back pictures about four times sharper than those taken in 1997 by the Sojourner.
Mars airplanes have been proposed. On August 9th, 2001, a Mars airplane prototype was released from a balloon at 103,000 feet over Tillamook, Oregon. It took two hours to reach ground through the thin, Mars-like atmospheric conditions. The NASA Haughton-Mars Project (right) studies of the Haughton impact crater as a prelude to a manned mission to Mars. Devon Island, in the high Canadian arctic, is the largest uninhabited island on Earth. The Haughton impact crater, on Devon, was formed 23 million years ago, but what hit it is still unknown. Principle investigator, Dr. Pascal Lee is also a helicopter pilot.
In 2011 NASA plans to bring Martian soil back to Earth. The International Committee Against Mars Sample Return (ICAMSR) wants to stop it. The Mars Exobiology strategy is being executed with the help of Planetary Protection Officer for Mars, Bill Horsley, who must prevent contamination between Earth and Mars. It’s not immediately clear who resolves jurisdictional disputes between Planetary and Solar System Protection Officers.
“After living in the dirt of Mars, a pathogen could see our bodies as a comparable host,” says John Rummel, Planetary Protection Officer for Earth. John Barros thinks extraterrestials should go to the University of Washington for Astrobiology study.
[Pardon me, John, but what’s wrong with Long Term Ecological Research around volcanos and hydrothermal vents? During a September field test, NASA used Wi-Fi cells from Tropos Networks to deliver 1 megabit/sec at Meteor Crater, Arizona. Intel’s motes and nanotechnology are waiting for intelligent life to discover them. – Sam]
Astrobiology Magazine features The Martian Cronciles, a multipart series, showing the inside story of the Mars mission. Portland State University’s Sherry Cady (left), an Astrobiologist in Portland, edits the more academic Astrobiology Journal.
The Japanese Nozomi probe was fried by the recent solar storm and is now largely inoperable. The outcome of the Spirit landing will be featured in a TV special, Mars Dead or Alive, airing January 4, 2004, at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on PBS. NPR’s Science Friday has radio coverage. Science Museums like The Tech and OMSI will have special Mars Parties.
Mars Today, Space.com, Spaceflight Now, The Planetary Society, Nasa Watch (not a Nasa site), Houston Space Chronicle, Encyclopedia Astronautica, Nasa homepage, Welcome to the Nasa Web, Nasa Human Spaceflight (shuttle homepage), Kennedy Space Center, Mars Global Surveyor, Galileo: journey to Jupiter, European Space Agency, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, British National Space Centre, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), and Space Ref have the latest. Daily Wireless has more on The Beagle 2, The Mission to Mars and the 1999 Mission to Mars.
NASA and mesh-based Tropos networks used IPerf network monitoring tools to test communications between a server at a simulated base camp and a mobile test computer at its annual space simulation exercises in the Arizona desert (above).
|
<urn:uuid:d9424ea3-9a62-4467-8627-5a3a184fb6dc>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.dailywireless.org/2004/01/02/mars-dead-or-alive/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.906667 | 2,306 | 2.859375 | 3 |
This false-color mosaic of Saturn shows deep-level clouds silhouetted against Saturn's glowing interior. The image was made with data from Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer, which can image the planet at 352 different wavelengths.
This mosaic shows the entire planet, including features like Saturn's ring shadows and the terminator, the boundary between day and night.
The data were obtained in February 2006 at a distance of 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) from directly over the plane of Saturn's rings, which appear here as a thin, blue line over the equator. The image was constructed from images taken at wavelengths of 1.07 microns shown in blue, 2.71 microns shown in green, and 5.02 microns shown in red.
The blue-green color (lower right) is sunlight scattered off clouds high in Saturn's atmosphere and the red color (upper left) is the glow of thermal radiation from Saturn's warm interior, easily seen on Saturn's night side (top left), within the shadow of the rings, and with somewhat less contrast on Saturn's day side (bottom right). The darker areas within Saturn show the strongest thermal radiation. The bright red color indicates areas where Saturn's atmosphere is relatively clear. The great variety of cloud shapes and sizes reveals a surprisingly active planet below the overlying sun-scattering haze.
The brighter glow of the northern hemisphere versus the southern indicates that the clouds and hazes there are noticeably thinner than those in the south. Scientists speculate that this is a seasonal effect, and if so, it will change as the northern hemisphere enters springtime during the next few years.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona where this image was produced.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
|
<urn:uuid:bbf0915a-e893-41c0-92c7-c6617cf53084>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia08732.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.928128 | 448 | 3.9375 | 4 |
From humble beginnings, NetFlow has today become a commonly used network monitoring tool. Alone, NetFlow analysis...
provides powerful management capabilities. When combined with security information and event management systems (SIMs) and correlated with data from other devices and layers, NetFlow becomes indispensable. In this article, we'll discuss NetFlow analysis and what it offers to SIM systems that use it. We will then review the advantages gained in combining these two powerful technologies together.
What is NetFlow?
Initially, network monitoring was performed with the Simple Network Monitoring Protocol (SNMP). Although SNMP eases capacity planning, it does little to characterize traffic applications, which are essential for understanding how well the network supports the business. Port flows were monitored, but newer applications dynamically select new ports for each session and thus were inadequate. What was needed was a more granular picture of bandwidth usage. The arrival of NetFlow allowed network administrators to characterize and analyze network traffic flows via UDP.
NetFlow analysis is now built into most enterprise-class switches and routers, and has become a primary network accounting and anomaly-detection technology in the industry. NetFlow essentially answers the following questions about network traffic: Who, what, when, where, and how? Each flow is a collection of packets characterized by flow-specific information, such as the source and destination IP addresses, as well as port information. The packets in a particular flow are counted and reported via a collector. The collector classifies all the traffic collected on a network, based on its source, destination and application. The resultant reports allow an administrator to view the flows as prioritized by bandwidth utilization. Bandwidth may be broken down even further into smaller subclassifications such as applications, users and servers.
Network behavior anomaly detection
NetFlow creates a behavior-based system that profiles the typical connections made between devices. This creates a baseline that may be as granular as hourly or daily. After the network is "learned," any variation that is considered anomalous may be acted on.
How SIM uses NetFlow data
NetFlow data is aggregated with data from other sources. such as IPSes, firewalls, VPNs, the application layer and, in some systems, identity data. This data is then correlated using several techniques including:
These correlations are conducted per monitoring site and across sites as well.
This correlated data is prioritized based on traffic flows, attacks within a site or attacks across sites. A risk analysis is then performed to discover which attack has the greatest potential for harm to the enterprise. Ideally this risk assessment will include attacks on at least:
- Business processes
- Network processes
- Site versus enterprise
This has been a differentiator in the SIM space however. Some are better at network-based attacks, while others allow for reviewing business processes as well.
Finally, this data is provided to a reporting engine. Graphs and charts are provided by a series of dashboards and text-based reports. The newest generation of security information management systems allows for visualization techniques with drill-down capability.
Advantages of SIM/NetFlow together
One of the clearest gains in combining NetFlow with SIMs is the improvement in security insight and response. With real-time NetFlow views, priority-based alerts can be created. Threats can also be correlated with other attack vectors, so that the highest-priority problems are seen first and administrators can respond accordingly.
This combination now allows us to view threats across an enterprise to spot things like salami attacks, or a series of small attacks with a larger purpose, which are still used in the hacker community today. Automated vulnerability assessment tools use this technique to evade IPS devices. When you collect NetFlow data from across the enterprise and correlate it, you can spot this type of stealth attack more readily.
From the editors:
Read why application logging is critical in detecting hack attacks.
Learn more about understanding network traffic flow analysis.
See resources on network behavioral anomaly detection (NBAD)
One of the most interesting advantages gained is the ability to see adverse events in one flow with its associated flows. This is possible because the security information management system correlates NetFlow data from across the enterprise, allowing an administrator to view both the attack flow and those flows supporting the attack.
If you do not have an SIM installed and you would like to "see" NetFlow in action, there are several tools available to gain added insight. Sourceforge.net is an open source community with some outstanding open source (freeware) security tools available. Sourceforge.net's NetFlow listings currently offer 44 tools to view, manipulate and use NetFlow data. Two of the most popular are:
- Extreme Happy NetFlow Tool
- NFDUMP - NetFlow processing tool
NetFlow has become an indispensable tool in both the network and security markets. It provides real-time views of bandwidth use and application and user priorities, and thus business process flows. The faster this data can be turned into useful information, the faster security pros can respond to incidents and minimize the impact on an organization's business. Additionally, when combined with security information and event management systems, NetFlow can reveal previously hidden threats happening across an enterprise. NetFlow and SIM is like peanut butter and jelly: they simply belong together.
About the author:
Tom Bowers, managing director of security think tank and industry analyst firm Security Constructs, holds the CISSP, PMP and Certified Ethical Hacker certifications, and is a well-known expert on the topics of data leakage prevention, global enterprise information security architecture and ethical hacking. His areas of expertise include aligning business needs with security architecture, risk assessment and project management on a global scale. Bowers serves as the president of the 600-member Philadelphia chapter of Infragard, is a technical editor of Information Security magazine, and speaks regularly at events like Information Security Decisions.
|
<urn:uuid:df1589ab-fffe-46e3-88a6-5a39806bfa90>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/Combining-NetFlow-analysis-with-security-information-management-systems
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.936772 | 1,204 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Music lessons are taught by both the main class teachers and by special subjects music teachers. Singing is an integral component of all classroom activity in the Early Childhood and Grades curriculum. Additionally, first graders begin instrumental music instruction in pentatonic flute and lyre. Third graders begin string instruction with a choice of violin, viola, cello or bass. Students in grades five and up sing in choral groups and participate in either band or orchestra. High school students participate in chorus as well as selecting a music elective. Their choices include string ensemble, jazz band, percussion, guitar and vocal ensemble. All year round, in numerous opportunities, Waldorf students perform instrumental, orchestral, and choral compositions in public performances, school assemblies, musical plays and special community events.
|
<urn:uuid:7a1a0968-5271-4e03-bce6-f46d44f84963>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://chicagowaldorf.org/classroom/8th-grade/8th-grade-band
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.937104 | 161 | 3.125 | 3 |
One of the most exciting areas of 'Nano-bio' research is the engineered integration of 'wet' and 'dry' nanoscale systems that might revolutionize research in genetics and proteomics (Study of Proteins). But how do you explain this breaking down the barriers of biological and human-made systems? Through 3D animation videos on YouTube, of course!
If you follow the news, you’ve probably heard about this case involving stolen credit and debit card information. Identity theft usually doesn’t call for much attention, but the sheer scope of the theft has left the world reeling. Only eleven men have been indicted in the theft of over 40 million credit card numbers from US stores.
“The indictments, which alleged that at least nine major U.S. retailers were hacked, were unsealed Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California, prosecutors said.”
The information was stolen with “sniffer” programs in the retail software, designed to record credit card numbers, passwords and account information.
The size of this theft is amazing, but it makes one think about technology and where it’s headed. Just how much damage could a hacker accomplish in the near future? With the internet consistently taking the place of personal hard drives (Google Documents, Flickr, Facebook), we’re relying more and more on the Internet for our personal data. In the future we’ll see fingerprints, facial recognition software and retinal scans added into the mix for added security – but how safe will this all be?
The thing about data is that it can always be hacked. Even the most encrypted software on Earth can be disassembled, rewritten and pirated. In order to recognize your voice, your eyes or your fingerprints a computer has to store this information somewhere. So what happens if a hacker gets a hold of this information?
Check out this stunning video of inventor JoAnn Kuchera-Morinis demonstrating the Allosphere at the last TED conference. The Allosphere is a 3 story high chamber that allows researchers to stand in the middle of incredible visual and sonic representations of their data. Complex algorithms are powered by a super-computer to bring data to life in breakthrough fashion.
If there’s one thing movies have shown us, it’s that identifying people through biometrics can be flawed. Blood can be faked (GATTACA), eyes can be removed for retinal scans (Demolition Man), voices can be recorded (Sneakers) and fingerprints can be used from the guard you just used the Vulcan neck-pinch on (Spaceballs).
But have you ever thought of using your veins as an identification device?
The Hitachi Vein ID bounces Infrared Light from multiple angles which is “partially absorbed by hemoglobin in the veins and the pattern is captured by a camera as a unique 3D finger vein profile.” Veins are believed to be even more unique than fingerprints — even twins have different vein patterns.
Are veins the answer to biometric data theft concerns?
The great thing about veins is that, since they are located within the body and are invisible to the naked eye, they are incredibly hard to forge. One would have to have a scan of your vein structure and build a replica, something even crazy evil scientists might have a problem with. On top of this, if someone were to chop off your finger to access your data, the blood would drain out of your finger making vein identification useless (no blood, skinny veins).
|
<urn:uuid:254eb2c4-271a-4b5a-81a8-1f2b232ac6d6>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.futureofgadgets.com/futureblogger/tag/data
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00178-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.93868 | 729 | 2.625 | 3 |
Return to: MREC Home Page
CFREC-A Foliage Plant Research Note RH-91-5
R.W. Henley, L.S. Osborne and A.R. Chase
Central Florida Research and Education Center - Apopka
2807 Binion Road., Apopka, FL 32703-8504
Reference to University of Florida/IFAS Pest Control Guides
The aralia family (Araliaceae) is composed of 84 genera of herbs and woody plants ranging from vines to trees (2), including the genus, Polyscias. Within Polyscias, there are approximately 80 species of trees and shrubs indigenous to Polynesia and tropical Asia, most of which are commonly called aralias. Many aralias are useful interior plants and landscape plants in tropical areas of the world. Leaves of Polyscias are arranged alternately on the stem and are usually compound. Several cultivars have attractive variegated foliage.
Although there are several plants outside Polyscias which have aralia as part of their common name, this publication will be limited to aralias within Polyscias. Nomenclature of Polyscias has not been well defined until recently. The L. H. Bailey Hortorum staff (2) listed 4 species and 9 cultivars and Graf (6) listed 5 species and 8 cultivars. More recently, Burch and Broschat (3) studied the aralias grown in south Florida and described 8 species and 21 cultivars. Commercial producers of interior foliage plants in Florida listed for sale 6 species and 7 cultivars in 1985 (1) and this has fluctuated slightly since that time. It is estimated that one can find 25 or more species and cultivars of polyscias in Florida nurseries, the landscapes of southern Florida and in private collections.
Several of the most popular polyscias are described below:
Polyscias balfouriana (Refer to P. pinnata)
Polyscias crispa `Chicken Gizzard' (Chicken Gizzard Aralia)
The chicken gizzard aralia is also known as celeryleaf aralia. This upright plant branches rather freely and bears leaves which are pinnately divided with usually more than 3 rounded leaflets that have 2 or more lobes.
Polyscias crispa `Palapala' (Palapala Aralia)
Palapala aralia is similar in branching habit and leaf characteristics except the leaflets are attractively patterned with dark green, golden yellow and ivory. Propagators should know that `Palapala' is patented (plant patent number 3775).
Polyscias filicifolia (Fernleaf Aralia)
The fernleaf aralia is a distinctly upright shrub which branches freely. It bears pinnately divided leaves which resemble the fronds of some ferns.
Polyscias fruticosa (Ming Aralia)
Ming aralia is one of the most popular of the polyscias with its upright-spreading growth habit and fine-textured, pinnately-divided leaves. Because of the wide crotch angle of the branches and the openness of the fine foliage, the trunk and many of the attractive branches are exposed, lending additional beauty to the plant.
Polyscias fruticosa `Elegans' (Parsley Aralia)
The parsley aralia is an excellent dwarf cultivar with leaves that resemble some of the finely-divided strains of parsley. It produces an abundance of side shoots and compactly-arranged, small leaves that make it a good choice for small pots in the 4 to 8-inch diameter range.
Polyscias guilfoylei `Blackie' (Black Aralia)
Black aralia is a strongly upright, sparsely branched plant with very dark green, pinnately-divided leaves. The leaflets have a unique, but not especially decorative, wrinkled surface texture.
Polyscias pinnata `Dinnerplate' (Dinnerplate Aralia)
The dinnerplate aralia is predominantly upright and open. The pinnately-divided leaves usually have 3 or more large, rounded leaflets which accounts for the cultivar name.
Polyscias pinnata `Marginata' (Variegated Evergreen Aralia)
The cultivar `Marginata' is similar in growth habit to `Dinnerplate' except the leaflets are smaller, usually more numerous, and have an irregular white margin. This plant is occasionally listed as P. pinnata `Tricochleata'.
Polyscias pinnata `Pennockii' (Pennock Aralia)
The leaf size and shape of the Pennock aralia is like the cultivar `Marginata', but the leaflets have an attractive blend of ivory, yellow and dark green patches.
Polyscias tend to be produced predominantly in south Florida due to their slow growth rate and their application in landscaping. The products grown in south Florida nurseries tend to be in the 6 to 14-inch pot, diameter range. In recent years there has been increased interest among central Florida nurserymen to produce polyscias in 4 to 8-inch diameter pots. The plants are excellent interior plants, well adapted to light levels of 125 foot-candles or higher. The upright forms are used as specimen shrubs by commercial interiorscapers. Some of the dwarf cultivars with an upright- spreading branching habit, such as P. fruticosa `Elegans', are good choices for 4 to 8- inch pots. The ming aralia and its dwarf cultivars are excellent candidates for bonsai.
Polyscias can be propagated from softwood terminal cuttings under intermittent mist or hardwood cuttings (cane) without foliage. Cuttings should be stuck in a well drained nursery mix with high water-holding capacity. Rooting hormones will enhance the rooting process. Direct-sticking technique is preferred because plant roots should be disturbed as little as possible during propagation. Heavy misting during propagation is discouraged because best rooting occurs in a medium which is not waterlogged.
Some growers propagate polyscias successfully under polyethylene film tents erected over greenhouse benches. This technique provides elevated daytime temperatures, increases the humidity and minimizes the amount of water applied during rooting. If possible, provide a root zone temperature range of 70-75°F during propagation.
Calcium and magnesium are normally applied by blending dolomite at the rate of 4 to 10 pounds per cubic yard of potting medium to adjust the pH to approximately 6.0. The amount of dolomite used will depend upon the initial acidity of the medium. A fertilizer with a 3-1-2 to 2-1-2 ratio should be used at the rate of 2.5 to 3.0 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet per month once the propagules have rooted. Light level range for good nursery growth and dark green leaf color is 1500 to 4500 foot-candles. Plants grow best at temperatures of 70 to 85°F.
1) Rapid loss of older leaves
2) Slow growth and slow loss of lower (older) leaves
3) Pronounced "birdnest" type growth and stunting of tip growth
Reference Pest Control Guides Here
1) Xanthomonas leaf spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. hederae)
Reference Pest Control Guides Here
1) Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides)
Symptoms - Lesions are initially water-soaked and surrounded by a yellow halo. Eventually, they can reach 1 inch in diameter and turn tan to black in color. The tiny black fruiting bodies of the pathogen are readily detected in the lesions on the upper leaf surface. Most lesions occur on leaf margins or in wounded areas.
Control - Elimination of overhead watering and exposure to rainfall can reduce disease incidence and severity.
2) Alternaria leaf spot (Alternaria panax)
3) Pythium root rot (Pythium spp.)
4) Rhizoctonia aerial blight (Rhizoctonia solani)
Reference Pest Control Guides Here
INSECT AND RELATED PROBLEMS
The major arthropod pests of this plant species include fungus gnats, mealybugs, mites, and scales. Mealybug, mite, and scale infestations are typically the result of bringing infested plant material into the greenhouse. In the control section for each pest, a few of the many registered and effective pesticides will be listed. The list by Short et al. (1984) should be used only as a guide to the sensitivity of foliage plants to pesticides. Another publication by Short et al. (1989) provides a summary of insect and mite management information for foliage plants.
1) Fungus gnats
Symptoms - Fungus gnats are small black flies (1/8 inch long) and are frequently observed running around the soil surface or on leaves and are often confused for Shore flies (see later section). The adults have long bead-like antennae and their legs hang down as they fly. These insects are very weak fliers and appear to "flit" around randomly. The larvae are small legless "worms" with black heads and clear bodies that inhabit the soil. The larvae spin webs on the soil surface which resemble spider webs. Damage is caused by larvae feeding on roots, root hairs, leaves in contact with the soil and lower stem tissues. Feeding damage may predispose plants to disease and they are often found in close association with diseased plants or cuttings. Adults do not cause any direct damage, but are responsible for many consumer complaints to growers. Adults emerge and fly around in retail shops, homes, or offices and are therefore a nuisance. For further information please consult Extension Entomology Report #74 (Management of fungus gnats in greenhouse ornamentals).
3) Mites (Broad mite)
4) Mites (Twospotted spider mite)
Phytotoxicity data for this plant are limited. If a pesticide is required, small group of plants should be tested for phytotoxicity prior to treating the entire crop (See Chase et al. 1981).
Pesticides should be applied according to label
Regardless of the pesticide or mixture of
pesticides used, it is
strongly recommended that the effects be evaluated on a few
plants, under your particular conditions before treating all plants.
Mention of a commercial or proprietary product
in this paper
does not constitute a recommendation by the authors,
nor does it imply registration under FIFRA as amended.
Reference Pest Control Guides Here
1. Anonymous. 1985. Florida Foliage Locator 1985-1986. Florida Foliage Association, Apopka, FL. 188 pp.
2. Bailey, L.H. Hortorum staff. 1976. Hortus Third. MacMillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York, NY. 1290 pp.
3. Burch, D.G. and T.K. Broschat. 1983. Aralias in Florida horticulture. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 96:161-164.
4. Chase, A.R. 1990. Phytotoxicity of bactericides and fungicides on some ornamentals. Nursery Digest 24(5):11.
5. Chase, A.R., T.J. Armstrong and L.S. Osborne. 1981. Why should you test pesticides on your plants? ARC-Apopka Research Report RH-81-6.
6. Graf, A.B. 1978. Tropica. Roehrs Company-Publishers, East Rutherford, NJ. 1120 pp.
7. Price, J., D.E. Short and L.S. Osborne. 1989. Management of fungus gnats in greenhouse ornamentals. Extension Entomology Report #74.
8. Short, D.E., L.S. Osborne and R.W. Henley. 1984. Phytotoxicity of insecticides and miticides to foliage and woody ornamental plants. Extension Entomology Report #57.
9. Short, D.E., L.S. Osborne and R.W. Henley. 1991. 1991-1992 Insect and related arthropod management guide for commercial foliage plants in Florida. Extension Entomology Report #52. 13 pp.
10. Simone, G.W. and A.R. Chase. 1989. Disease control pesticides for foliage production (Revision #4). Plant Protection Pointer. Extension Plant Pathology Report #30. [also in Foliage Digest 12(9)1-8]
|
<urn:uuid:0e6d4c4f-e590-4349-82cb-039af285edd1>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Foliage/folnotes/aralia.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00149-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.883351 | 2,655 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Metallurgy Of Carbon Steel
|The best way to understand the metallurgy of carbon steel is to study
the ‘Iron Carbon Diagram’. The diagram shown below is based on the
transformation that occurs as a result of slow heating. Slow cooling
will reduce the transformation temperatures; for example: the A1 point
would be reduced from 723°C to 690 °C. However the fast heating
and cooling rates encountered in welding will have a significant influence
on these temperatures, making the accurate prediction of weld metallurgy
using this diagram difficult.
Austenite This phase is only possible in carbon
steel at high temperature. It has a Face Centre Cubic (F.C.C) atomic
structure which can contain up to 2% carbon in solution.
Ferrite This phase has a Body Centre Cubic structure
(B.C.C) which can hold very little carbon; typically 0.0001% at room temperature.
It can exist as either: alpha or delta ferrite.
Carbon A very small interstitial atom that tends to
fit into clusters of iron atoms. It strengthens steel and gives it
the ability to harden by heat treatment. It also causes major problems
for welding , particularly if it exceeds 0.25% as it creates a hard microstructure
that is susceptible to hydrogen cracking. Carbon forms compounds
with other elements called carbides. Iron Carbide, Chrome Carbide
Cementite Unlike ferrite and austenite, cementite is
a very hard intermetallic compound consisting of 6.7% carbon and the remainder
iron, its chemical symbol is Fe3C. Cementite is very hard,
but when mixed with soft ferrite layers its average hardness is reduced
considerably. Slow cooling gives course perlite; soft easy to machine but
poor toughness. Faster cooling gives very fine layers of ferrite
and cementite; harder and tougher
Pearlite A mixture of alternate strips of ferrite and
cementite in a single grain. The distance between the plates and
their thickness is dependant on the cooling rate of the material;
fast cooling creates thin plates that are close together and slow cooling
creates a much coarser structure possessing less toughness. The name
for this structure is derived from its mother of pearl appearance under
a microscope. A fully pearlitic structure occurs at 0.8% Carbon.
Further increases in carbon will create cementite at the grain boundaries,
which will start to weaken the steel.
Cooling of a steel below 0.8% carbon When a steel
solidifies it forms austenite. When the temperature falls below the
A3 point, grains of ferrite start to form. As more grains of ferrite
start to form the remaining austenite becomes richer in carbon. At
about 723°C the remaining austenite, which now contains 0.8% carbon,
changes to pearlite. The resulting structure is a mixture consisting
of white grains of ferrite mixed with darker grains of pearlite.
Heating is basically the same thing in reverse.
Martensite If steel is cooled rapidly from austenite,
the F.C.C structure rapidly changes to B.C.C leaving insufficient time
for the carbon to form pearlite. This results in a distorted structure
that has the appearance of fine needles. There is no partial transformation
associated with martensite, it either forms or it doesn’t. However,
only the parts of a section that cool fast enough will form martensite;
in a thick section it will only form to a certain depth, and if the shape
is complex it may only form in small pockets. The hardness
of martensite is solely dependant on carbon content, it is normally very
high, unless the carbon content is exceptionally low.
Tempering The carbon trapped in the martensite transformation
can be released by heating the steel below the A1 transformation temperature.
This release of carbon from nucleated areas allows the structure to deform
plastically and relive some of its internal stresses. This reduces hardness
and increases toughness, but it also tends to reduce tensile strength.
The degree of tempering is dependant on temperature and time; temperature
having the greatest influence.
Annealing This term is often used to define a heat
treatment process that produces some softening of the structure.
True annealing involves heating the steel to austenite and holding for
some time to create a stable structure. The steel is then cooled
very slowly to room temperature. This produces a very soft structure,
but also creates very large grains, which are seldom desirable because
of poor toughness.
Normalising Returns the structure back to normal.
The steel is heated until it just starts to form austenite; it is then
cooled in air. This moderately rapid transformation creates relatively
fine grains with uniform pearlite.
Welding If the temperature profile for a typical weld
is plotted against the carbon equilibrium diagram, a wide variety of transformation
and heat treatments will be observed.
|Note, the carbon equilibrium diagram shown above is only for
illustration, in reality it will be heavily distorted because of the rapid
heating and cooling rates involved in the welding process.
|Mixture of ferrite and pearlite grains; temperature below A1, therefore
microstructure not significantly affected.
Pearlite transformed to Austenite, but not sufficient temperature available
to exceed the A3 line, therefore not all ferrite grains transform to Austenite.
On cooling, only the transformed grains will be normalised.
Temperature just exceeds A3 line, full Austenite transformation.
On cooling all grains will be normalised
Temperature significantly exceeds A3 line permitting grains to grow.
On cooling, ferrite will form at the grain boundaries, and a course pearlite
will form inside the grains. A course grain structure is more readily
hardened than a finer one, therefore if the cooling rate between 800°C
to 500°C is rapid, a hard microstructure will be formed. This
is why a brittle fracture is most likely to propagate in this region.
Welds The metallurgy of a weld is very different from the
parent material. Welding filler metals are designed to create strong
and tough welds, they contain fine oxide particles that permit the nucleation
of fine grains. When a weld solidifies, its grains grow from the
course HAZ grain structure, further refinement takes place within these
course grains creating the typical acicular ferrite formation shown opposite.
Metals and How To Weld Them :- Lincoln Arc Foundation
A very cheap hard backed book covering all the basic essentials of
Welding Metallurgy Training Modules:- (Devised by The Welding
Institute of Canada) Published in the UK by Abington Publishing.
Not cheap but the information is clearly represented in a very readable
Return To Sub Menu
Page last updated 08 May 2002
|
<urn:uuid:a299ca11-7888-4d78-b19e-fa4944fe4901>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.gowelding.com/met/carbon.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.879027 | 1,468 | 3.6875 | 4 |
The usage of dissolved nutrients and carbon for photosynthesis in the euphotic zone and the subsequent downward transport of particulate and dissolved organic material strongly affect the carbon concentrations in surface water and thus the air-sea exchange of CO2. Efforts to quantify the downward carbon flux for the whole ocean or on basin-scales are hampered by the sparseness of direct productivity or flux measurements. Here, a global ocean circulation, biogeochemical model is used to determine rates of export production and vertical carbon fluxes in the Southern Ocean. The model exploits the existing large sets of hydrographic, oxygen, nutrient and carbon data, that contain information on the underlying biogeochemical processes. The model is fitted to the data by systematically varying circulation, air-sea fluxes, production and remineralization rates simultaneously. Use of the adjoint method yields model property simulations that are in very good agreement with measurements.In the model, the total integrated export flux of particulate organic matter (POC) necessary for the realistic reproduction of nutrient data is significantly larger than export estimates derived from primary productivity maps. Of the about 10,000~\TgC\ (10~\GtC )required globally, the Southern Ocean south of 30\degree S contributes about 3000~\TgC\ (33\%), most of which is occurring in a zonal belt along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and in the Peru, Chile and Namibia coastal upwelling regions. The export flux of POC for the area south of 50\degree S amounts to 1100$\pm$200~\TgC\ and the particle flux in 1000~m for the same area is 120$\pm$20~\TgC . Unlike for the global ocean, the contribution of the downward flux of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is significant in the Southern Ocean. Comparison with satellite based productivity estimates (CZCS and SeaWiFS) show a relatively good agreement over most of the ocean except for the Southern Ocean, where the model fluxes are systematically higher than the satellite based values by factors between two and five. This discrepancy is significant, and an attempt to reconcile the low satellite-derived productivity values with ocean-interior nutrient budgets failed. Too low productivity estimates from satellite chlorophyll observations in the Southern Ocean could arise because of the inability of the satellite sensors to detect frequently occurring sub-surface chlorophyll patches, and to a poor calibration of the conversion algorithms in the Southern Ocean because of the very limited amount of direct measurements.
|
<urn:uuid:06e68d16-3d1d-410f-86d1-5844d80ea147>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://epic.awi.de/3783/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.89006 | 514 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Miami Nation. The Miami Nation, according to a Myaamia Project web site, "is a sovereign Native American Nation whose ancestral lands encompassed what are now Indiana, Western Ohio, Eastern Illinois and the lower portions of Michigan and Wisconsin. Through several treaties starting in 1795, the Miami lost much of their original homelands to the U.S. government. In 1846 the tribe was forcibly removed to an unwanted reservation in Eastern Kansas. Several families were exempt from this removal and remained back in Indiana. By the 1870s the Miami in Kansas were forced to move again to Indian Territory. As was the case previously, many families remained in Kansas while the rest were forced to lands in what is now NE Oklahoma.
"Today the Miami Nation is headquartered in Miami, Okla., but many Miami families can be found living in Indiana, Kansas and Oklahoma." The Myaamia Project is based at Miami University, Oxford. The project web site says: "Over the years, a thriving and mutually enriching relationship has developed between Miami University and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma existing on many levels: institutional and official, academic, and interpersonal. Officially, the vice president for student affairs serves as the university liaison with the Miami Tribe. That office designates a student affairs staff member to maintain close communication with a liaison from the tribe to coordinate the varied activities that occur between the University and the Tribe, both in Oxford, Ohio, and in Miami, Okla." (also see Kekionga and Fort Wayne, Ind., for historical information.
|
<urn:uuid:55fe09d0-d84d-43e9-996a-2d6322b57c92>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
https://sites.google.com/a/lanepl.org/butler/home/m/miami-nation
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.960418 | 312 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Argentina issued a stamp bearing a Spanish map of the Islas Malvinas
administered by Jacinto de Altolaguirre, governor of the Islas
Malvinas from 1754-1787 for the King of Spain.
Argentina issued this stamp in 1976, still asserting it claim to the
islands. The frigate "Heroina" pictured on the stamp was captained by
David Jewet, a British subject who took possession of the
islands for Argentina in 1820.
pair of stamps commemorates 153rd anniversary of the "Creation of the
Political and Military Command District of the Malvinas Islands," June
1829. The map identifies the Malvinas, South Georgia, and the South
Sandwich Islands as Argentine. Luis Venet was the first commander of
the Malvinas Political and Military Command District.
the same map as 1365, but with a flag rather than a slogan in the
On both of the above
stamps (issued in 1982 and 1983) Cape Horn island was labeled as
Argentinian, and the islands of Picton, Lennox and
Nueva at the eastern entrance to the Beagle Channel are shaded like
Argentina, which almost caused Argentina and Chile to go to war in 1978.
The dispute was resolved with the "Peace and Friendship Treaty of
In 1952 the Falkland
Islands included a map stamp in a set of 14 stamps. It has been
suggested that there is an error on the stamp; that what appears to be
6° of longitude should be 60° or 61°. However, a close examination of
the stamp shows that the longitude is, in fact, 61°, with the "1"
directly in line with the meridian line.
the subject of the stamp is International Communications rather than
the border dispute, an implicit territorial claim is being made by
issuing a map stamp.
the Falkland Islands issued a set of six stamps showing maps of the
Falkland Islands from 18th century. They appear here in chronological
order of their publication.
This map is adapted from A Chart of the extreme Part
of South America in which are contain'd the Islands discover'd by the
Ships of St. Malo since 1700 the Western Part whereof is Still
unknown....Taken from a Draught in Monsr. Frezier's Voyage to ye Sea,
first published in 1716. The chart was used as an inset on
Emanuel Bowen's A New and Accurate Map of Chili, Terra Magellanica,
terra del Fuego, etc., London, 1747.
Louis Antoine de
Bougainville took possession of the islands in 1764, and established a
French colony at Port St. Louis. Jacque Nicolas Bellin used survey
information to draft a map, Carte des Isles Malouines ou Islaes
Nouvelles que les Anglois nomen aujourd'hui Isles de Falkland,
which was published in Bellin's Petit Atlas Maritime in 1764.
T. Boutflower published a
map in 1766. in which the British and French changed their islands.
Philip de Pretot's Carte
des Malouines nommees par les Anglois Isles Falkland appeared in
Louis Antoine de Bougainville's Voyage autour du Monde,
published in 1771.
is based on A Chart of Hawkin's Maidenland discouvered by Sr.
Richard Hawkins in 1574 and Falkland sound so called by Capn. John
Strong of the Farewell of London who sailed through it in 1689,
which appeared in Hawksworth's An Account of the Voyages undertaken
by the Order of his present Majesty for making Discouveries in the
southern Hemisphere, and successively performed by Commodore Byron,
Captain Wallis, Captain Cartaret and Captain Cook, published in
The English established a
colony on the west island in 1765. In 1766 Captain McBride prepared a
chart based on his surveys of the islands. The map identified as
Captain McBride's Survey 1766. It was published by Bowles and
Carver in 1779 as New One Sheet Draught of Falklands Islands.
|
<urn:uuid:d3e4b805-a01a-492b-a332-be3153731f26>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.danstopicals.com/falklands.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394937.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.923667 | 907 | 3.125 | 3 |
William Wright Heard 1900-1904
Born: April 28, 1853 in Union Parish, Louisiana
Political Affiliation: Democrat
Religious Affiliation: Baptist
Education: Attended a local academy in Farmerville, Louisiana
Career Prior to Term: Accountant and State Senator
How He Became Governor: Elected in 1900
Career after Term: Returned to accounting and banking business in New Orleans
Died: May 31, 1926 in New Orleans, Louisiana
William Wright Heard, a protege of Governor Foster, received the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1900. Because of previous efforts to disenfranchise blacks, Republicans, and white Populists, the Democratic nomination was tantamount to election.
Heard enjoyed a low-key term. His Bourbon predecessor had eliminated the corrupt lottery and the convict lease system, and had weakened the burgeoning populist movement which might otherwise have empowered poor whites.
Heard did not have to face any major crises. While Governor, he moved control of the prison system from independent lessees to the State Penitentiary Board of Control. He signed legislation creating the first State Board of Education, parish school boards, and a State Crop Pest Commission to wage an unsuccessful war against the cotton boll weevil.
Heard, one historian wrote, by 1914 "had spent virtually his entire adult life on the public payroll, mostly in second level administrative positions where little leadership was called for. For that reason, he may possess the distinction of having been the first modem career bureaucrat to occupy Louisiana's political summit."
Heard died in New Orleans in 1926.
|
<urn:uuid:2dd7e00d-3cae-4ad6-8df4-02d7b7e7331d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.sos.la.gov/HistoricalResources/AboutLouisiana/LouisianaGovernors1877-Present/Pages/WilliamWrightHeard.aspx
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961346 | 327 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Advanced Structural Analysis/Part I - Theory/General Properties of Materials/Elasticity
All materials display an approximately linear response to moderate loads. This is manifested in Hooke's law of linear-elastic materials, which in its simplest form can be written as
the normal stress, i.e. applied force / area of load carrying cross section
the elastic modulus (or Young's modulus)
the normal tension, i.e. difference in length due to loading / length of non-loaded specimen
The figure below illustrates the stress-strain curve of some material. Hooke's law is valid in the interval marked "Elastic region".
Young's modulus can be measured by tensile testing of specimens such as the one in the picture below.
The basic idea of the test is to measure the length at rest, the response to the load difference , and then estimate the elastic modulus from
Although, the procedure may seem perfectly straight forward at a glimpse, there are certain things that should be noted. Firstly,...
As is the case with many other elementary physical laws, Hooke's law spans the small and simple, and the big and complex. For instance, the theory is a good approximation of a simple test specimens subjected to axial loading. Naturally, it is also an accurate physical model for linear springs. And it is even valid for very complex structures, so long as they respond linearly. These are all trivial and self evident statements, yet they are powerful and important. Consider equation (1) and the relation below.
If there is only one load affecting a linear structure, then according to equation (1), the strain at any point varies linearly with the stress at any other point in the structure. Furthermore, a linear stress measure at any point is a linear function of the applied load at that point, this is exemplified by equation (2). So, the strain and consequently the stress at any point is in fact a linear response to the load at any point. We conclude that
Where is a constant and is a load.
From equation (3) and the superposition principle we conclude that
Equation (4) describes a stress measure of a system subjected to loads. The parameters of (4) can be obtained by performing tests/calculations. It follows that it is easy to, for instance, scale test results according to different safety factors.
It should also be noted, as is customary, that the stress-strain curve is identical during loading and unloading, if the system is linear.
It is important to know whether or not the structure is linear before drawing any critical conclusions from the theory of elasticity. Common sources of non-linear behavior in a structure are material, geometric, contact and dynamic effects.
The simplistic view on elasticity presented in this section is useful in many ways, and is an excellent introduction to the subject. It should be noted however, that it is incomplete. The chapter Continuum Mechanicspresents a theory of how 2D and 3D stress and strain fields interact.Moreover, the material property , may be influenced by several factors, including: temperature and aging. If deformation time rates are very high, there might even be viscous forces present. Therefore, keep in mind that there is more to come on this subject later on in the book.
|
<urn:uuid:f5080126-0903-4ae5-a75d-29202fb3ddeb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Advanced_Structural_Analysis/Part_I_-_Theory/General_Properties_of_Materials/Elasticity
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938335 | 685 | 4.15625 | 4 |
BENEŠOV (Ger. Beneschau), town in Bohemia, the Czech Republic. The community, first mentioned in 1419, was among the earliest to be established in a seignorial town in
. Five Jewish families were living there in 1570. A community is again mentioned there in 1845, numbering seven families in 1852. It was officially registered in 1893 with 786 persons (including those living in 27 surrounding villages). Benešov was a center of the
, Czecho-Jewish movement, and of the struggle against the German-language Jewish school at the end of the 19th century. In 1930 the community numbered 237 (2.8% of the total population), 24 of whom declared their nationality as Jewish. The anti-Jewish laws imposed during the
German occupation were sometimes not enforced in Benešov. Most of the community was deported by the Nazis to the Maly Trostinets extermination camp near Minsk in 1942. Only two Jews returned. The synagogue equipment was sent to the Central Jewish Museum in Prague; two cemeteries still remain. No community has been reconstructed.
|
<urn:uuid:47982041-0f20-4be3-9816-bab662ce4feb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0003_0_02456.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.972559 | 232 | 3.46875 | 3 |
About a decade ago I started a strange little journey in my free time that cut a path across electronics manufacturing from over the last century. One morning I decided to find out how the little glowing glass bottles we sometimes call electron tubes worked. Not knowing any better I simply picked up an old copy of the Thomas Register. For those of you generally under 40 that was our version of Google, and resembled a set of 10 yellow pages.
I started calling companies listed under “Electron Tube Manufacturers” until I got a voice on the other end. Most of the numbers would ring to the familiar “this number is no longer in service” message, but in one lucky case I found I was talking to a Mrs. Roni Elsbury, nee Ulmer of M.U. Inc. Her company is one of the only remaining firms still engaged in the production of traditional style vacuum tubes in the U.S. Ever since then I have enjoyed occasional journeys down to her facility to assist her in maintenance of the equipment, work on tooling, and help to solve little engineering challenges that keep this very artisanal process alive. It did not take too many of these trips to realize that this could be distilled down to some very basic tools and processes that could be reproduced in your average garage and that positive, all be it rudimentary results could be had with information widely available on the Internet.
Have you ever heard of a Cryotron Computer before? Of course not. Silicon killed the radio star: this is a story of competing technologies back in the day. The hand above holds the two competitors, the bulkiest one is obviously the vacuum tube, and the three-legged device is what became a household name. But to the right of that tube is another technological marvel that can also be combined into computing machines: the cryotron.
[Dudley Allen Buck] and his contributions to early computing are a tale of the possible alternate universe that could have been cryotrons instead of silicon transistors. Early on we find that the theory points to exotic superconductive materials, but we were delighted to find that in the conception and testing stages [Buck] was hacking. He made his first experimental electronic switches using dissimilar metals and dunking them in liquid helium. The devices were copper wire wrapped around a tantalum wire. The tantalum is the circuit path, the copper wire acts as the switch via a magnetic field that alters the resistance of the tantalum.
The name comes from the low temperature bath necessary to make the switches work properly. Miniaturization was the key as it always is; the example above is a relatively small example of the wire-wound version of the Cryotron, but the end goal was a process very familiar to us today. [Buck] was searching for the thin film fabrication techniques that would let him shoe horn 75,000 or more into one single computing platform. Guess who came knocking on his door during this period of his career? The NSA. The story gets even more interesting from there, but lest we rewrite the article we leave you with this: the technology may beat out silicon in the end. Currently it’s one of the cool kids on the block for those companies racing to the quantum computing finish line.
It’s hard to beat this vintage reel for learning about how vacuum tube amplifiers work. It was put together by the US Army in 1963 (if we’re reading the MCMLXIII in the title slide correctly). If you have a basic understanding of electronics you’ll appreciate at least the first half of the video, but even the most learned of radio enthusiasts will find something of interest as they make their way through the 30-minute presentation.
The instruction begins with a description of how a carbon microphone works, how that is fed to a transformer, and then into the amplifier. The first stage of the tube amp is a voltage amplifier and you’ll get a very thorough demo of the input voltage swing and how that affects the output. We really like it that the reel discusses getting data from the tube manual, but also shows how to measure cut-off and saturation voltage for yourself. From there it’s off to the races with the different tube applications used to make class A, B, and C amplifiers. This quickly moves onto a discussion of the pros and cons of each amplifier type. See for yourself after the jump.
We’ve seen homemade x-ray devices and we’ve seen people making vacuum tubes at home. We’ve never seen anyone make their own x-ray tube, though, and it’s doubtful we’ll ever see the skill and craftsmanship that went into this build again.
An x-ray tube is a simple device; a cathode emits electrons that strike a tungsten anode that emits x-rays. Most x-ray tubes, though, are relatively large with low-power mammography tubes being a few inches in diameter and about 6 inches long. In his amazing 45-minute-long video, [glasslinger] shows us how to make a miniature vacuum tube, a half-inch in diameter and only about four inches long.
For those of you who love glass lathes, tiny handheld spot welders and induction heaters, but don’t want your workshop bathed in x-rays, [glasslinger] has also built a few other vacuum tubes, including a winking cat Nixie tube. This alternate cat’s eye tube was actually sealed with JB Weld, an interesting technique if you’d ever like to make a real home made tube amp.
What if we told you we had a computer you can take with you? What if it only weighed 28 pounds? This is a pretty hard sell when today you can get a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor packing computer to carry in your pocket which weighs less than 5 ounces. But back in the day the Donner 3500 was something to raise an eyebrow at, especially for tinkerers like us.
The machine was unveiled in 1959 as an analog computer. Instead of accepting programs via a terminal, or punch cards, it worked more like a breadboard. The top of the case features a grid of connectors (they look like banana plugs to us but we’re not sure). The kit came with components which the user could plug into the top to make the machine function (or compute) in different ways.
We’re skeptical as to how portable this actually was. It used vacuum tubes which are not fans of being jostled. Still, coming during the days when most computers were taking up entire buildings we guess the marketing claim holds up. If you’d like to see a bit more about the machine’s internals check out this forum post.
After printing out the plastic parts, [Peter] needed to add a few strips of metal for a conductor. He used a few pieces of an ATX power supply; a little difficult to fit, but something that works all the same.
So far, [Peter] has whipped up a few sockets for UX5 and VT76 tubes, UX6, B7G (7 pin mini), and B9D Magnoval tubes. No Nixie sockets yet, but it’s enough diversity to build your own tube amp using the most common designs. Now if we could only make our own transformers with laser cutters and 3D printers…
With the death of Heathkit looming in our minds it’s high time for a a heartwarming story. [Ronald Dekker] has done a wonderful job documenting the history of the E1T beam counting tube, detailing everything from the work led up to the invention of the tube to the lives of the inventors themselves.
For those who are unaware, the E1T is a rather strange vacuum tube capable counting from 0 to 9. While that’s nothing too special in itself, the tube also displays the numbers on a phosphor screen, much like a miniature cathode ray tube. In fact, this phosphor screen and the secondary emission caused by it is critical to the tubes operation. To put it bluntly, it’s a dekatron and a magic eye tube smashed together with the kind of love only a group of physicists could provide.
Now, who wants to have the honor of transposing Ronald’s story into a wikipedia article?
|
<urn:uuid:51d13891-8eed-4bfb-8696-9e5f1ca3969c>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://hackaday.com/tag/vacuum-tube/page/2/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00096-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955578 | 1,739 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Washington, D.C. (September 21, 2010) -- At its most basic level, understanding chemistry means understanding what electrons are doing. Research published in The Journal of Chemical Physics not only maps the movement of electrons in real time but also observes a concerted electron and proton transfer that is quite different from any previously known phase transitions in the model crystal, ammonium sulfate. By extending X-ray powder diffraction into the femtosecond realm, the researchers were able to map the relocation of charges in the ammonium sulfate crystal after they were displaced by photoexcitation.
"Our prototype experiment produces a sort of 'molecular movie' of the atoms in action," says author Michael Woerner of the Max-Born-Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie in Germany. "The time and spatial resolution is now at atomic time and length scales, respectively."
Electron positions were mapped by observing the diffraction of X-ray pulses lasting tens of femtoseconds (quadrillionth of a second). Positions of protons and other nuclei were deduced from the locations of regions of high electron density. Within the crystal, the excited electrons transferred from the sulfate groups to a tight channel within crystal matrix. This channel was stabilized by the transfer of protons from adjacent ammonium groups into the channel. This transfer mechanism had not been previously observed or proposed, and the researchers had expected to see much smaller displacements.
According to Woerner, the technique should be applicable to structural studies of materials ranging from biomolecules to high-temperature superconductors. "We expect that the technique will be applied to many interesting material systems." He says. "In principle, femtosecond X-ray powder diffraction can be applied to any crystalline form of matter. Only the complexity of crystals and the presence of heavy elements, which reduces the penetration depth of X-rays, set some constraints."
The Article, "Concerted electron and proton transfer in ionic crystals mapped by femtosecond x-ray powder diffraction" by Michael Woerner, Flavio Zamponi, Zunaira Ansari, Jens Dreyer, Benjamin Freyer, Mirabelle Premont-Schwarz, and Thomas Elsaesser is published in The Journal of Chemical Physics.
Journalists may request a free PDF of this article by contacting [email protected]
NOTE: An image is available for journalists. Please contact [email protected]
Image Caption: Sectional view of the charge density map Dr ( x , y , z , t ) for a plane which is parallel to the z-axis and includes the line connecting the hydrogen atoms of opposite NH + 4 groups for different time delays.
ABOUT THE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
The Journal of Chemical Physics publishes concise and definitive reports of significant research in methods and applications of chemical physics. Innovative research in traditional areas of chemical physics such as spectroscopy, kinetics, statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics continue to be areas of interest to readers of JCP. In addition, newer areas such as polymers, materials, surfaces/interfaces, information theory, and systems of biological relevance are of increasing importance. Routine applications of chemical physics techniques may not be appropriate for JCP. Content is published online daily, collected into four monthly online and printed issues (48 issues per year); the journal is published by the American Institute of Physics. See: http://jcp.
The American Institute of Physics is a federation of 10 physical science societies representing more than 135,000 scientists, engineers, and educators and is one of the world's largest publishers of scientific information in the physical sciences. Offering partnership solutions for scientific societies and for similar organizations in science and engineering, AIP is a leader in the field of electronic publishing of scholarly journals. AIP publishes 12 journals (some of which are the most highly cited in their respective fields), two magazines, including its flagship publication Physics Today; and the AIP Conference Proceedings series. Its online publishing platform Scitation hosts nearly two million articles from more than 185 scholarly journals and other publications of 28 learned society publishers.
|
<urn:uuid:8d09c887-520c-4db8-955d-43ae81cdbe20>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-09/aiop-wem092010.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.920971 | 880 | 3.09375 | 3 |
This probably the most romantic and poetic wonder of the world is not only long gone, but its existence is also up for dispute. The lack of documentation of its subsistence in the chronicles of Babylonian history makes many doubt if the wonderful gardens ever pleased the eye of a human or were just a figment of ancient poets and novelists. Below I deliver some key points and facts about the Hanging Gardens and let your nature, not mind, be the judge.. if you’re a hopeless romantic you’ll overcome the gaps and the image of lush greenery, fountains and colorful flowers cascading from the sky will rise in its entire splendor.
1. There are two equally credible theories about who build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, they are assumed to be the work either of semilegendary Queen Sammu-ramat (Greek Semiramis), the Assyrian queen who reigned from 810 to 783 BC, or of King Nebuchadrezzar II, the king of the Babylonian Empire, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. Though there are no compelling arguments about the credibility of any of the assumptions, the hanging Gardens of Babylon are often called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis.
2. A few words about the first possible builder, Semiramis:Through the centuries the legend of Semiramis attracted not only the attention of Greek historians, but she also was the muse of novelists, poets and other storytellers. Great warrior queens in history have been called the Semiramis of their times. A “gossip” around her name would have made a beautiful yellow press headline – “Semiramis is said to have had a long string of one-night-stands with handsome soldiers”. Another “rumor” may become an inspiration for horror film makers – they say that she had each lover killed after a night of passion, so that her power would not be threatened by a man who presumed on their relationship.
3. As for the other supposed builder – King Nebuchadrezzar II (reigned c. 605– c.561 BC), it is said that he built the legendary gardens to console his wife Amytis of Media, because she was homesick for the mountains and greenery of her homeland. Nebuchadnezzar II is most widely known through his portrayal in the Bible, according to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile.
4. The gardens, presumed to have been located on or near the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 31 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq. A more recent theory proposes that the gardens were actually constructed in the city of Nineveh, on the bank of the river Tigris. It is possible that Through the ages, the location of the Hanging Gardens may have been confused with gardens that existed at the city of Nineveh, since tablets from the place clearly show gardens.
5. The gardens were about 75 feet (22 meters) high. The image of the gardens is impressive not only for its blossoming flowers, ripe fruit, gushing waterfalls, terraces lush with rich foliage, and exotic creatures, but also for the engineering feat of supplying the massive, raised gardens with soil and water. German architect and archaeologist Robert Koldewey who is known for revealing the semilegendary Babylon as a geographic and historical reality, discovered huge vaults and arches at the site. He also uncovered an ancient hydraulic system like a pump drawing water from the river.
6. The hanging gardens didn’t actually hang… The name “hanging” comes from the Greek word “kremastos” or the Latin word “pensilis”, which mean more “overhanging” than just “hanging” as in the case of a terrace or balcony. The gardens were probably developed on a structure like a ziggurat and built in the form of elevated terraces, so that the gardens were at different levels which grew around and on top of a building.
7. Here is a puzzle: In Herodotus’ description of the city of Babylon (Histories, Book I, sections 178-184), where he claims to have been to Babylon himself, he fails to mention the gardens, this is usually taken as proof that they did not exist. But a Dutch historian Jona Lendering thinks that Herodotus’ description of Babylon is so extraordinary that he even characterises it as “nonsensical”. The 18th-century Historian, Edward Gibbon goes even further and accuses Herodotus of never having set foot in Babylon at all. Despite these considerations, if you try to sketch out the city plan as herodotus describes it, you’ll see that it’s pretty accurate in relation to archaeological maps… so how come that he never mentions the Gardens?
image source: www.bible-history.com
8. Another proof of the consideration that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon never actually existed are many thousands of clay tablets from that period in Babylon. Stone tablets from Nebuchadnezzar’s reign give detailed descriptions of the city of Babylonia, its walls, and the palace, but do not refer to the Hanging Gardens. Some historians claim that the warriors in the army of Alexander the Great were amazed at the immense prosperity of the thriving city of Babylon and tended to exaggerate their experiences greatly. When the soldiers returned to their stark homeland, they had incredible stories to relate about the remarkable gardens, palm trees, and imposing buildings of rich and fertile Mesopotamia.
image source: www.jayneshatzpottery.com
9. In ancient writings the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were first described by Berossus, a Chaldaean (a dynasty in Babylonian history) priest who lived in the late 4th century B.C. In his book Babyloniaca, written around 280 B.C. The book is lost, but it was summarized by Alexander Polyhistor in C1 BC in a treatise of 42 books on world history and geography which is also lost. That treatise, however, was used by Josephus (37–100 AD), who discussed the gardens twice – once in Jewish Antiquities, and once in Contra Apionem (Against Apion, or Against the Greeks).
10. Ancient Greek historians, Strabo, Philo and Diodorus gave us these description of the hanging gardens of Babylon:
- “The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway…” (Strabo)
- “The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns… Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels… These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches… This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators.” (Philo)
- “The approach to the Garden sloped like a hillside and the several parts of the structure rose from one another tier on tier. On all this, the earth had been piled…and was thickly planted with trees of every kind that, by their great size and other charm, gave pleasure to the beholder. The water machines [raised] the water in great abundance from the river, although no one outside could see it.” (Diodorus)
11. Recent archaeological digs at Babylon have unearthed a major palace, a vaulted building with thick walls (perhaps the one mentioned by Greek historians), and an irrigation well in proximity to the palace. Although an archaeological team surveyed the palace site and presented a reconstruction of the vaulted building as being the actual Hanging Gardens, accounts by Strabo place the Hanging Gardens at another location, nearer the Euphrates River. Other archaeologists insist that since the vaulted building is thousands of feet from the Euphrates, it is too distant to support the original claims even if Strabo happened to be wrong about the location. The latter team reconstructed the site of the palace, placing the Hanging Gardens in a zone running from the river to the palace. Interestingly, on the banks of the Euphrates, a newly discovered, immense, 82-foot thick wall may have been stepped to form terraces like those mentioned by the ancient Greek sources.
image source: Raymond Kleboe/Picture Post/Getty Images
12. Archaeologists and historians believe that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were not destroyed by an earthquake but by other minor disasters such as: erosion and warfare. The huge construction probably started falling apart under the influence of the weather. Armies and other raiders could have been for its eventual destruction and disappearance. After about 600 or 700 years, the whole structure had been levelled to the ground.
|
<urn:uuid:f1aeedd7-b781-4428-a9f6-9dce4f1e2f79>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://ancientworldwonders.com/12-facts-about-the-hanging-gardens-of-babylon.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00149-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.962656 | 1,943 | 2.875 | 3 |
Anthurium (Anthurium andraeanum Linden Ex André) is a slow-growing perennial that requires shady, humid conditions as found in tropical forests. It includes more than 100 genera and about 1500 species. The genus, Anthurium, is neotropical in origin, evergreen and occurs in Central, South America and the West Indies at varying altitudes and habitats. Anthurium can be climbers or assurgent, varying from arborescent to epiphytic.
Cultivated anthurium belongs to two sections viz. Calomystrium and Porphyrochitonium. The section, Calomystrium includes the popular Anthurium andraeanum (Linden) ex André, the best known among the cultivated anthurium species.
Anthurium andraeanum (Linden) ex André (the original exported anthurium) characteristically produces numerous inflorescences (spadices) subtended by brightly coloured spathes or bracts, which are carried on long, slender peduncles. The spathes are characteristically heart-shaped, flat, puckered and shiny. Although A. andraeanum (Linden) ex André has a limited range of spathe colours from orange to red, the colour range has been augmented through interspecific hybridisation with other anthurium species belonging to the sections Calomystrium and Porphyrochitonium mainly in the Netherlands and Hawaii, USA. The commercially cultivated anthuriums hence are complex interspecific hybrids, collectively referred to as Anthurium andraeanum (Hort.).
Growth and development:
Anthurium development proceed in two phases, the monopodial growth phase and the sympodial growth phase. Two growth patterns differ in shoot organization and branching patterns. The monopodial phase occurs during the juvenile period prior to the onset of flowering, while the sympodial phase begins at flowering, where one cut-flower is produced from each leaf axil, independently, beneath each new leaf, a new root forms.
The cultivated anthurium species are erect plants that have petiolated, lobed and cordate green leaves of variable size. The leaves have a reticulate venation with a prominent midrib, lateral veins and a well-defined leaf margin. The anthurium plant possesses an underground rhizome with adventitious roots, characteristic of the Araceae family. The arrangement of the foliage leaves is spiral, either clockwise or anticlockwise.
The inflorescence and pollination:
The anthurium cut-flower comprises an inflorescence (spadix) subtended by a modified leaf (spathe) borne on a long stalk (peduncle). Anthurium andraeanum (Hort.) flowers have a wide range of spathe colours: white, rose, salmon-pink, red, light-red, dark-red, brown, green, lavender, cream or multi-coloured. There are also variations in the shape and firmness of the spathe varying from flat to cup-shaped and firm to floppy.
The ‘true’ flowers are found on the spadix and have large numbers of pistils, each surrounded by four stamens. The ‘true’ flowers are bisexual and protogynous, with the spadix first producing a female phase followed by, after about a month, a male phase. This prevents self-pollination of the flowers and as such, anthuriums are cross-pollinated. Bees, beetles, flies and ants effect pollination under natural conditions. Six months after pollination, coloured berries develop on the spadix, bottom upwards.
Each berry contains one or two seeds that can be planted to generate heterozygous and heterogeneous seedlings. Anthurium also reproduces vegetatively through suckers, which arise around the base of the stem. The suckers are identical to the mother plant and to each other. Many anthurium cultivars do not produce suckers or produce very few. Vegetative propagation can also be achieved through the use of ‘toppings’ or micro-propagation techniques.
|
<urn:uuid:6ede1f0d-2909-4657-aada-b658c3a56c92>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://sta.uwi.edu/anthurium/taxonomy_biology.asp
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00034-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.892993 | 868 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Study suggests it's negative emotions, not lack of skill, that cause some to struggle.
THURSDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) — The key to easing math anxiety may be less about improving calculation skills and more about controlling negative emotions that make it difficult to focus on doing the work, new research suggests.
The study found that activation of brain areas involved in attention and emotion may help students with math anxiety conquer their fears and succeed in math.
Researchers from University of Chicago used functional MRI to scan the brains of math-anxious university students and those without math anxiety while they performed difficult problems.
The scans showed differences in the activation of the math-anxious students' frontal and parietal lobes, which are involved with regulating negative emotions and concentration.
Specifically, greater activation of the regions was associated with better performance on the math tests. For example, math-anxious students who showed little activation in these regions got only 68 percent of math problems correct. Math-anxious students who showed stronger activation got 83 percent correct, almost the same as students who didn't have math anxiety, who got 88 percent correct.
The findings suggest that students with math anxiety may benefit from being taught to control their emotions prior to doing math, the researchers said.
"Classroom practices that help students focus their attention and engage in the math task at hand may help eliminate the poor performance brought on by math anxiety," Sian Beilock, an associate professor of psychology and an expert on mathematics anxiety, said in a university news release.
The study appears Oct. 20 in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
"Essentially, overcoming math anxiety appears to be less about what you know and more about convincing yourself to just buckle down and get to it," Beilock added.
For students who were not anxious about math, there was no relationship between activation in brain areas important for focusing attention, controlling emotion and math performance. Nor did researchers find a similar brain activity patterns when math-anxious students were asked to take a spelling test.
|
<urn:uuid:0b38fd58-c058-4c6d-b3da-abdafe6a5c51>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/1020/afraid-to-do-the-math.aspx
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00161-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961464 | 418 | 3.390625 | 3 |
I have been searching for some method of using the food waste, decomposable organic material and kitchen waste efficiently, and came across information on producing bio-gas from organic waste.
The bio-gas produced from food waste, decomposable organic material and kitchen waste, consisting of methane and a little amount of carbon di oxide is an alternative fuel for cooking gas (LPG). Also, the waste materials can be disposed off efficiently without any odor or flies and the digested slurry from the bio-gas unit can be used as an organic manure in the garden.
Components of the Bio-gas Plant
The major components of the bio-gas plant are a digester tank, an inlet for feeding the kitchen waste, gas holder tank, an outlet for the digested slurry and the gas delivery system for taking out and utilizing the produced gas.
This project is also useful for students to have a hands-on learning experience in constructing a Mini Bio-Gas Plant, using locally available material.
1. Empty PVC can 50 ltrs capacity: 1 No. (to be used as Digester Tank)
2. Empty PVC can 40 ltrs capacity: 1 no. (to be used as Gas Holder Tank) (Make sure the smaller can fits inside larger one and moves freely)
3. 64 mm dia pvc pipe: about 40 cm long (to be used for feeding waste material)
4. 32 mm dia pvc pipe: about 50 cm long (fixed inside gas holder tank as a guide pipe)
5. 25 mm dia pvc pipe: about 75 cm long (fixed inside the digester tank as a guide pipe)
6. 32 mm dia pvc pipe: about 25 cm long (fixed on digester tank to act as outlet for digested slurry)
7. M-seal or any water-proof adeshive
8. Gas outlet system: Please see Step 4 below for required materials and construction
Do not require many tools here. A hack saw blade for cutting the cans & pipes and a sharp knife for cutting holes on the cans are all the tools we need.
A single burner bio-gas stove or a Bunsen Burner used in school laboratories
Bought this 50 ltrs capacity PVC can, which will act as the digester unit and removed the top portion of the can, by cutting it with a hack saw blade:
|
<urn:uuid:438a7a35-8353-48b7-a852-17d09c015bae>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bio-gas-plant-using-kitchen-waste/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.875134 | 498 | 2.796875 | 3 |
In my family, changing the lyrics to “If You’re Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands” is essential to the song. Whiny, grumpy, snotty, and even verklempt substitute quite nicely for “happy.” Making up appropriate accompanying motions, well, that’s the fun part.
Apparently hand-clapping rhymes and songs are actually linked to cognitive skills. Research by Dr. Idit Sulkin, of the Ben-Gurion University Music Science Lab, found that young children who naturally play hand-clapping games are better spellers, have neater handwriting, and better overall writing skills.
Intrigued, she conducted further research. For ten weeks she engaged groups of children, ages 6 to 10, in a program of either music appreciation or hand-clapping. Very quickly the children’s cognitive abilities improved, but only those taking part in hand-clapping songs.
She also interviewed teachers and joined in when children sang in their classrooms. She was trying to understand why they tend to enjoy hand-clapping songs until a certain age, when other activities such as sports become dominant. Dr. Sulkin observed, “These activities serve as a developmental platform to enhance children’s needs — emotional, sociological, physiological, and cognitive. It’s a transition stage that leads them to the next phases of growing up.”
Interestingly, Dr. Sulkin also found that hand-clapping songs also benefit adults. When adults engage in these games from childhood they report feeling less tense and their mood improves. They also become more focused and alert.
Clapping and singing, clapping and chanting. There’s a reason these activities are found across all cultures in storytelling, religious ceremonies, solemn rituals, and joyous celebrations. The experience of calling and clapping may speak to something deeper in us. Maybe we all should play a round of Miss Suzy or Cee Cee My Playmate at the start of every political debate, business meeting, or extended family get-together.
|
<urn:uuid:56d7306d-646b-452c-8cd1-41ec0eb30a1a>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://archive.wired.com/geekmom/tag/developmental-needs/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961197 | 431 | 3.046875 | 3 |
|<< Chart of Accounts – Accounting Types||>>Financial Statements – Trial Balance|
This is where the Double Entry System starts to Pay Off. The time element introduced in this post completes the basics of how to organize and operate this system. From this point forward, you will start to experience nothing but increasing rates of return on your investment of time in learning it. The next few posts will introduce Financial Statements and how to put them to work for you and will complete the basics.
The General Ledger is more than just another important element in the Accounting System, it is where the goods are. The General Ledger is the combination of the Chart of Accounts, Financial Transactions, Account Balances and Accounting Periods. In practice, once the Chart of Accounts has been established, the term “Chart of Accounts” is considered more in terms of a report than as an object. From this point forward, Accounts from the Chart of Accounts will be called General Ledger Accounts.
The General Ledger adds the essential organizational element of Time (Accounting Periods) to the Accounting System, so in addition to the original three organizational methods of the Chart of Accounts, the General Ledger is organized in four ways.
- 1. Accounting Type
- 2. Order of Liquidity
- 3. Account Number
- 4. Accounting Periods
Accounting Periods are generally date/time intervals of Months, Quarters and Years. The term Accounting Period can mean any of those in different situations. For purposes of this discussion, Accounting Periods will refer to Months within a given year.
If the General Ledger is going to organize around accounting periods, then we need to add dates to the data we gather with transactions. There can be a variety of dates that are relevant to a transaction, the transaction date, the invoice date, the due date, the expiration date etc. but for purposes of this post, the date we’ll focus on is the transaction date.
The transaction grid introduced in the previous posts needs to be expanded to 5 columns to accommodate the new data requirements of date and account number.
The Transaction Date is only required to be entered on the first line of a transaction (in a manual ledger) because it is assumed to be (and must be) the same for each entry in a transaction. In addition to the requirement that total Debits = total Credits for each Transaction, Total Debits must also equal Total Credits for each Accounting Period. This requirement fulfills the original intent of double entry, a balanced view of uses and sources of funds (debits = credits) by Transaction, by Accounting Period and by default, Overall.
Both entries in the transaction post to their Accounts in Accounting Period 9/08.
This is a Comparison Trial Balance Report from the General Ledger and this is where you can take a step back from the details of transactions and see the larger picture.
**This example starts with June because of space limitations here.
The only accounts listed are the two from the transaction example but they demonstrate the ability to compare accounts against themselves and against other accounts from period to period. Notice that the totals on the bottom line are all zeros, this shows that the books are in balance because total debits (positive amounts on this report) combined with total credits (negative amounts on this report) = Zero.
When reports do not have two columns to display amounts, the credits will be displayed as negatives. In reports like this, *Debit Accounts should have positive balances and Credit Accounts should have negative balances. There is only cause for concern if the +/- of the amount does not match its accounting type. In this case, the Checking Account is a Debit Account so that is an indication of trouble. (*See 6. Chart of Accounts – Transaction Types)
Accounting Periods are an essential analysis tool in accounting. They provide the opportunity to compare account balances not just one account against another but also against itself over time. Time analysis provides the data to detect unusual changes in account balances from period to period that may indicate errors or unintentional over or under payments of critical obligations such as taxes, rents, utilities, insurance etc. Time analysis is also essential to management and owners for cash planning, establishing correlations between expenses and revenues to help make operational adjustments, and detecting changes that may indicate theft or fraud.
© 2008 – 2010 Erin Lawlor
**disclaimer: All information posted on this blog is from my own experience and training. The guidelines I present are general and in my experience, standard practice. I do not write with authority from any Accounting Standards Boards.
|
<urn:uuid:d5001f11-6620-4a02-8ef2-6364213e7f5e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.accountingunplugged.com/2008/09/03/general-ledger-accounting-periods/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.911675 | 933 | 3.09375 | 3 |
With the spring season off to a slow start, those growers who had a chance to knife in anhydrous last fall are glad they did. Soil temperatures were too warm in much of the Corn Belt to allow for anhydrous ammonia applications until very late in the season, and some growers missed the fall anhydrous window altogether.
Anhydrous ammonia has been the nitrogen source of choice for many Midwestern growers, but that trend may be due for a change. Anhydrous pricing has been stuck at the top of its retail pricing range for a good long time now -- long enough anyway, that some are looking for an alternative source of N.
Urea is the world's most popular nitrogen fertilizer, and while urea has a strong foothold in areas like Oklahoma and Ohio, the northern Belt has been resistant to making the switch. But some new research from Purdue University Extension suggests that a split application of nitrogen may be required, as modern hybrids developed after 1990 demonstrate a 27% increase in N uptake during the flowering stage compared to pre-1990 hybrids.
Along with this shift comes a necessary examination of how nitrogen is applied most effectively, and which form of N will produce the best yields. This discussion will look at the major differences between urea and anhydrous ammonia for corn. We all know there is much more to growing corn than burying seeds and going to church. A targeted, intentional approach to nitrogen application requires forethought, soil testing and research -- it wouldn't hurt to go to church no matter what your preferred N source.
Anhydrous ammonia --
Anhydrous ammonia (AA) is a gas that is transported and handled as a liquid under pressure. This can be a fickle form of N as product can easily be lost if, when knifed in, the soil is damp and clumpy or very sandy as the knife openings may not fully close, allowing AA to escape into the air. This risk is mitigated to a degree by AA's nearly 85% nitrogen content, which is potent enough to withstand some winter losses while leaving plenty behind for the following spring.
There are inherent dangers to humans with anhydrous application and with the product itself. AA moves toward water and when accidental exposure occurs, injuries can range from skin irritation, to organ failure and death. Special equipment and expertise is required and often adds to the expense. Commercial applications take the danger out of the grower's hands, but can be expensive.
Urea is an equally respected form of N -- the most widely used worldwide -- and is much less hazardous to humans. But the corn carries the risk. Growers who prefer AA find it works on their timetable, and produces the most nitrogen bang for the buck. But as sidedress applications become more popular, UAN solutions -- urea ammonium nitrate -- will likely become more popular.
Urea is available in either granular, prilled or liquid form making it user-friendly to growers, requiring very little special equipment. Dry granular urea has a nitrogen content of 46% and currently runs roughly a dime per pound of N above anhydrous. In its granular form, urea can be surfaced applied, but must be incorporated to avoid N loss. Losses of up to 50% have been observed when dry urea has been spread over moist ground, allowing premature nitrification. But surface applied urea under the right conditions can pack some real benefits.
Fall applications of urea have been shown to be a bad idea as significant losses typically occur. Given the right soil conditions, dry urea is most effective when applied to the surface and either tilled in or rained in. Just 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rain within a few days of application has been shown to get urea's N where it needs to be. Liquid urea (UAN) can be easily sidedressed post-emerge, when corn plants need it most. Surface applications of urea are not recommended for a no-till approach as crop residue may block urea from making it to the soil.
There are positives and negatives on each side of this issue and this is only an introduction to what I expect will be a great debate in the minds of many growers. I urge you to stick with your program this year -- don't change horses midstream. But as technology changes how plants consume nitrogen, growers will follow proven success. Talk to your agronomist or CCA and fellow farmers. There is a wealth of experience and knowledge there, so take some time to compare anhydrous ammonia and urea as you look ahead to next year... we, here at the Monitor will do the same, and keep you posted.
|
<urn:uuid:b9480b4c-0728-411e-9c49-e2f0af7d1dd1>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.agweb.com/farmjournal/blog/inputs_insights/?Year=2013&Month=4
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00047-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.958109 | 957 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Tajinder creatively reflects on India’s 60th Independence day through a story centered around the Kohinoor diamond, and its curse which is said to bring the downfall of great empires when held in the hands of man. He wonders at the possibility of the diamond playing a role in the loss and gain of India’s Independence.
This story is part of Independence Stories and was made in a 5-day workshop at Easton Community Centre with members of the Asian Day Centre. The workshop focussed on the personal “Independence” stories of Bristol based people from South Asian backgrounds, reflecting life in India and Pakistan, and the legacies of partition.
The workshop was led by Bristol based digital animation artist Tajinder Dhami, Aikaterini Gegisian and Paddy Uglow from the Bristol Stories team, with extra support by Nathan Hughes.
Independence Stories was produced by Asian Arts Agency in partnership with Watershed, Bristol Stories, Asian Day Centre and Images of Empire Archive, and was supported by Awards for all and Quartet funds.
I remember a story that an elder once told me as we flew over Afghanistan on a long-haul flight to the motherland: The story of the Kohinoor Diamond’s Curse.
For the rightful owner, the diamond would bestow the power to rule the world, yet no man shall ever dare wear it. Krishna wore it on his sleeve, from where it was stolen one night.
Over centuries, the diamond travelled through the hands of man, leaving havoc and chaos in its wake: Every empire to ever hold the diamond has fallen.
In 1850, the Kohinoor Diamond was seized from Lahaur by the British forces as they took control of the Punjab, the last stronghold in India. The gemstone headed east, towards Portsmouth Docks to its new home at the heart of the Albion.
Queen Victoria, hearing of the curse, first refused it, but eventually was persuaded otherwise, and since the diamond’s change of ownership, the curse seems resplendent; one by one, each of the colonies have fought, and gained independence, India finding independence from British rule, August 1947, 300 years after the fight-back began.
In the last 60 years, India has shown signs of healing and I marvel at the meteoric rise, and the spirit of its people, now colonising the world wide.
Computer imaging created by Tajinder Dharmi, used under copyright licence.
|
<urn:uuid:2f33e7ae-4ad5-46e9-9d49-11e7269754a7>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.bristolstories.org/story/167
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961839 | 510 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Compare book prices
at 110 online bookstores
worldwide for the lowest price for new & used textbooks and
discount books! 1 click to get great deals on cheap books, cheap
textbooks & discount college textbooks on sale.
The Two Principal Laws of Thermodynamics: A Cultural and Historical Exploration
This short work describes the historical and cultural context surrounding discovery of the first two laws of thermodynamics. As in previous works by van den Berg, this interesting look at cultural history and trends employs a metabletic approach -- that is, the study of changes in our human perception and conceptualisation at particular times in history. When a discovery is made in a particular period, then, it often occurs around the same time by different people working independently -- and such discoveries may be viewed in relation to the overall sociological, cultural and political climate at the same time. This metabletic approach, admittedly sometimes controversial, is discussed in the translators' introduction, which provides readers unfamiliar with such an approach an overview and places the present work in context.
Recent Book Searches:
ISBN-10/ISBN-13: 0415169690 / 978-0415169691 / Cyberspace Divide: Equality, Agency and Policy in the Information Society / Brian Loader 0415169852 / 978-0415169851 / Women and European Employment (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy, 16) / Colette Fagan 0415169992 / 978-0415169998 / Pathways into the Jungian World: Phenomenology and Analytical Psychology / Roger Brooke 0415170117 / 978-0415170116 / Banking in Japan (Routledge Library of Modern Japan) / W. Tsutsui 0415170192 / 978-0415170192 / Inside the Primary Classroom: 20 Years On / Chris Comber 0415168791 / 978-0415168793 / The European Union Beyond Amsterdam: New Concepts of European Integration / M. Westlake 0415168953 / 978-0415168953 / Improving the Primary School (Educational Management Series) / Mrs Joan Dean 041516897X / 978-0415168977 / The Meaning of Topic and Focus: The 59th Street Bridge Accent (Routledge Studies in German Linguistics, 3) / Daniel Buering 0415169240 / 978-0415169240 / Competition, Growth Strategies and the Globalization of Services: Real Estate Advisory Services in Japan, Europe and the US (Routledge Studies in International Business and the World Economy, 9) / Terence Lapier 0415169909 / 978-0415169905 / The Environmental Consequences of Growth: Steady-State Economics as an Alternative to Ecological Decline (New Directions in Social Economics) / Douglas Booth 041516995X / 978-0415169950 / The Ephemeral Civilization: Exploding the Myth of Social Evolution / Graeme D Snooks 0415170052 / 978-0415170055 / Fundamentals of Soil (Routledge Fundamentals of Physical Geography Series) / John Gerrard 0415168988 / 978-0415168984 / Religion, Wealth and Trade in Modern Britain (Routledge International Studies in Business History 4) / David Jeremy 0415169119 / 978-0415169110 / The Language of Sport (Intertext Series) / Adrian Beard 0415169208 / 978-0415169202 / Britain's Trade and Economic Structure: The Impact of the European Union / Lynden Moore 0415169216 / 978-0415169219 / Britain's Trade and Economic Structure: The Impact of the European Union / Lynden Moore 0415169267 / 978-0415169264 / Partitions and Atoms of Clause Structure: Subjects, Agreement, Case and Clitics (Routledge Leading Linguists, 2) / Domin Sportiche 0415169372 / 978-0415169370 / Pragmatics: Critical Concepts / 0415169461 / 978-0415169462 / Political Economy of Transition: Opportunities and Limits of Transformation (Routledge Studies of Societies in Transition, 7) / Jozef M Brabant 0415169526 / 978-0415169523 / Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy / Sugata Bose 0415169534 / 978-0415169530 / Politics of Sexuality (Routledge/Ecpr Studies in European Political Science, 4) / Terrell Carver 0415169569 / 978-0415169561 / Financing of Small Business: A Comparative Study of Male and Female Business Owners (Routledge Studies in Small Business, 5) / Lauren Read 0415169976 / 978-0415169974 / Treatment of Addiction: Current Issues for Arts Therapists / Dianne Waller 0415170281 / 978-0415170284 / Soundtracks : Popular Music, Identity and Place (Critical Geographies) / John Connell 0415168872 / 978-0415168878 / The Child's Conception of the World / Jean Piaget 0415168902 / 978-0415168908 / Principles of Genetic Epistemology: Jean Piaget: Selected Works Volume 7 / Jean Piaget 0415169135 / 978-0415169134 / Literature (The New Critical Idiom) / P. Widdowson 041516916X / 978-0415169165 / Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (CD-ROM with 10-user network license) / 0415169224 / 978-0415169226 / Economic Integration in the Asia Pacific Region (Routledge Studies in Growth Economies of Asia) / Ippei Yamazawa 0415169283 / 978-0415169288 / The Language of Poetry (Intertext Series) / John Mcrae
The goal of this website is to help shoppers compare book prices from different
vendors / sellers and find cheap books and cheap college textbooks. Many discount
books and discount text books are put on sale by discounted book retailers and
discount bookstores everyday. All you need to do is to search and find them. This
site also provides many book links to some major bookstores for book details and
book coupons. But be sure not quickly jump into any bookstore site to buy. Always
click "Compare Price" button to compare prices first. You would be happy
that how much you would save by doing book price comparison.
Buy Used Books and Used Textbooks
It's becoming more and more popular to buy used books and used textbooks among
college students for saving. Different second hand books from different sellers
may have different conditions. Make sure to check used book condition from the
seller's description. Also many book marketplaces put books for sale from small
bookstores and individual sellers. Make sure to check store review for seller's
reputation if possible. If you are in a hurry to get a book or textbook for your
class, you should choose buying new books for prompt shipping.
Buy Books from Foreign Country
Our goal is to quickly find the cheapest books and college textbooks for you,
both new and used, from a large number of bookstores worldwide. Currently our
book search engines fetch book prices from US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia,
Netherlands, France, Ireland, Germany, and Japan. More bookstores from other countries
will be added soon. Before buying from a foreign book store or book shop, be sure
to check the shipping options. It's not unusual that shipping could take two to
three weeks and cost could be multiple of a domestic shipping charge.
Please visit Help Page for Questions
regarding ISBN / ISBN-10 / ISBN10, ISBN-13 / ISBN13, EAN / EAN-13, and Amazon
|
<urn:uuid:4d174f4f-ea0c-4402-82ee-3181b5e00856>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.alldiscountbooks.net/_0820703540_i_.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00180-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.775455 | 1,656 | 2.5625 | 3 |
GENOME EXHIBIT COMING TO THE SMITHSONIAN: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
In a year marking the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project, as well as the 60th anniversary of Francis Crick and James Watson’s elucidation of DNA’s double-helix structure, the Smithsonian Institution and NHGRI collaborated on the creation of an exhibit that Nature magazine has identified as a “Hot ticket for 2013 in Science and Art.” Volunteers are needed to help lead informal education programs.
Foundations at NIH: To Help NIH When It Cannot Help Itself
BY MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR INTRAMURAL RESEARCH AND RICHARD WYATT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF INTRAMURAL RESEARCH
Many folks have been asking us recently about the roles of two foundations associated with the NIH: essentially, what they fund and how. These organizations—the Foundation for NIH (FNIH) and the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES)—indeed have helped fund many important priorities at NIH. They are important partners in improving the scientific and training environment because NIHers are not allowed to ask anyone outside the NIH for money.
NIH Develops Improved Mouse Model of Alcoholic Liver Disease
BY ERIN BRYANT, NIAAA
Scientists may be better able to study how heavy drinking damages the liver using a new mouse model of alcohol drinking and disease developed by researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The model incorporates chronic and binge drinking patterns that more closely approximate alcoholic liver disease in humans than any existing method. A report of the new model appears in the March issue of the journal Nature Protocols (1).
The Office of NIH History came across a box with these instruments in it recently and is trying to determine whether they have anything to do with a project that former NIH scientist Roderic E. Steele was developing in the 1980s.
NIDA: RESETTING THE ADDICTED BRAIN
Could drug addiction treatment of the future be as simple as an on-off switch in the brain? A study in rats has found that stimulating a key part of the brain reduces compulsive cocaine-seeking behavior and suggests the possibility of changing addictive behavior generally. NIDA researchers used an animal model of cocaine addiction in which some rats exhibited addictive behavior by pushing levers to get cocaine even when followed by a mild electric shock to the foot. Other rats did not exhibit addictive responses.
News From and About the NIH Scientific Interest Groups
PROTEOSTASIS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
The newly formed Proteostasis Scientific Interest Group will host a one-day symposium sponsored on Monday, June 3, from 9:00-5:00 p.m., in Masur Audiorium (Building 10).
Subscribe to The NIH Catalyst Newsletter and receive email updates.
Share a photo, image, quote, or "letter to the editor" for publication and yours could be chosen for the next issue.
|
<urn:uuid:2a7ddfa4-da56-487f-81b2-658ad3108a20>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://irp.nih.gov/catalyst/v21i3/departments
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.919398 | 642 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Gothic architecture is a type of architecture that is very striking and a major reason for tourism and pilgrimage to and within Europe. In the form of much later neo-Gothic architecture, it also exists after a fashion in various cities around the world.
The Gothic period followed the Romanesque period in Europe, and though both periods are considered more broadly part of the Middle Ages, there are striking differences visible to travelers. Gothic styles existed in all the arts — music, painting, sculpture, and literature among them — but first of all, in architecture. Though there is important Gothic secular architecture, Gothic architecture is defined above all by the great cathedrals, and was invented by the Abbot Suger (c. 1081–1151), who designed a new, grand Cathedral of Saint Denis to replace the preexisting one. The great engineering achievement of the Gothic cathedral is the creation of flying buttresses which distribute the weight of the very high vaulted ceilings outside and enable them to stand. The Gothic cathedrals were some of the tallest skyscrapers of yesteryear — often visible for a very long distance while pilgrims approached on foot — and their high, vaulted ceilings were meant to create a microcosm of the heavens and strike the worshippers with awe at the power of God and wonder of the Creation, but even atheistic visitors of the present day can be impressed by the invention, skill, and beauty of the buildings' construction.
It is still worth seeing the cathedral at Saint Denis, which is a short Metro ride plus a bit of a walk from Paris, though because of later additions, it no longer appears as it did when it was the prototype for all other Gothic cathedrals. However, there are many other great Gothic cathedrals to see throughout France, and in various other European countries.
Though the Church was at the peak of its power during the Gothic period, secular life also flourished, and quite a number of lovely secular buildings from those times are still with us today, as well. Belgium seems to be a particular hotbed of Gothic secular buildings, including city halls in Brussels, Leuven, Mons, and Oudenaarde. Poland, Italy, France and Germany also have a number of very striking Gothic secular buildings.
Elements of Gothic architecture
- Altar The altar of a church is where the priest(s) officiate(s) during Mass. The priest also may give a sermon from a pulpit, which may be meticulously and ornately sculpted. Another thing to look for on the altar is a baptismal font, used to ritually bathe people (especially infants) in holy water. Instead of a font inside, there is sometimes a separate baptistery building close to a cathedral, and if so, it is usually beautiful and a major attraction.
- Bell tower Bell towers of churches and city halls are impressively high and often worth climbing for great panoramic views.
- Ceiling High, vaulted ceilings are typical of Gothic religious architecture. At one time, they were probably all painted, and some, especially in chapels, are still painted.
- Choir The choir, which is a set of rows of benches behind the altar that the chorus uses while singing Mass, may be made out of marble or beautifully carved wood, possibly with intarsial work (inlaid wood of contrasting colors).
- Doors Don't ignore the doors. Whether wooden or metal, they often have great decorations.
- Façade This is the entire front exterior of a building, which was often in constant view for more than an hour in the days when masses of people walked for long distances in order to arrive. As this is the face of the building that most presents itself to the public, many Gothic buildings are known above all by their often ornately decorated, impressively tall façades.
- Flying buttresses These are stone braces that extend from the sides and back of a Gothic church that's made from stone, support the weight of its ceiling, and allow it to stand. Their purpose is primarily practical, but they are also characteristic and worth seeing.
- Nave The nave, which is the center aisle that extends from a church's front door to its altar, is a common feature of most churches, but Gothic cathedrals have particularly long, impressive naves.
- Pavement The pavements (floors) of Gothic buildings may use marble of different colors or have other decorations. Also, look for the tombs of important people, who may be buried below the pavement of a major cathedral and memorialized in stone near where you step.
- Rose windows Gothic cathedrals are usually cruciform (in the form of a large cross). The rose windows are essentially circular sets of windows, separated into petal shapes. They are usually on the right and left points of the cross, and often also above the front entrance. Stained glass windows during the Middle Ages told stories the parishioners could understand, even if they were illiterate. The light that shined through the colorful glass was also meant to represent heavenly jewels. While great cathedrals may have many panes of stained glass, the rose windows are usually the crowning achievement of the glass-makers who participated in the construction of the churches.
- Transept In cruciform buildings, this is the transverse section at right angles to the nave, which connects the points of the cross to each other.
- Tympanum The tympanum (plural: tympana) is a niche just above the front and often side doors of a cathedral. There are often impressive scenes carved into the stone of the tympana.
In parts of Northern Europe where building stones were not available (due to being "buried" in hundreds of meters of ice age sediment), including Northern Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, and parts of Poland, clay was plentiful, and therefore bricks were used to build Gothic buildings in those areas. The much lesser weight of the bricks made flying buttresses unnecessary, so they were not used even for very large brick Gothic edifices. Also, bricks cannot be carved like stone, so brick Gothic buildings do not have statues that were carved into their façades after the stone was laid. Instead, all ornaments had to be built separately, and statues of figures (e.g., from the Bible or of saints) are usually not present in their exteriors.
Religious Gothic architecture
As Gothic architecture is primarily religious, the fan of Gothic architecture usually seeks out great Gothic cathedrals and chapels, above all.
There are Gothic mosques as well, usually housed in Catholic churches after the change of rulers and official religion. Examples include:
- Famagusta: Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (previously known as Saint Nicholas' Cathedral)
- Nicosia: Selimiye Mosque was put inside the never-finished Agia Sofia Cathedral, after which two minarets were added and rich sculptural decoration and frescoes were destroyed.
- Kutná Hora has a great UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral.
- Prague is absolutely full of Gothic architecture, such that a visit to the city should be a priority for anyone who appreciates this style of building. One of Prague's first Gothic buildings was the Old New Synagogue, now Europe's oldest active synagogue.
- Odense's St. Canute's Cathedral is a brick Gothic construction.
- Roskilde's cathedral was the first Gothic cathedral to be made out of brick.
- Amiens has a famous Gothic cathedral.
- Auxerre's cathédrale Saint Etienne is a Gothic cathedral with a Romanesque crypt (basement).
- Beauvais' Cathedral is a good example of the Gothic building process - the cathedral was supposed to be the largest, collapsed several times during construction and was never finished.
- Bourges has a famous Gothic cathedral.
- Chartres: Chartres' Gothic cathedral is very arguably one of the greatest in the world, and the primary reason loads of tourists make a day trip from Paris to this small city.
- Dijon has a pretty Gothic cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Bénigne de Dijon).
- Laon has an important early Gothic cathedral, completed in 1215.
- Orléans has an impressive Gothic cathedral which is famous for its association with St. Joan of Arc.
- Paris: In Paris, there is the great Notre Dame and also the Sainte-Chapelle, both on Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement.
- Reims: The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims is another famous one. The preeminent poet-composer of 14th-century Europe, Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377), was a canon at this cathedral starting in 1333 and his Missa Notre Dame (Mass of Our Lady, probably composed in the 1360s), the first full setting of an entire set of ordinary (standard) mass prayers to music by a single composer, was written for and performed in the context of masses that took place in that cathedral. Machaut's mass, for four voices, is in the then-new Ars Nova ("New Art") style, which used complex mathematical proportions similar to those used by Gothic architecture, and overlapping melodies and rhythms to take advantage of the cathedral's echoey acoustic.
- Rouen has the Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame de Rouen, the image of whose façade was famously painted in several kinds of light by the Impressionist painter, Claude Monet. It also has a beautiful abbey church, Saint-Ouen de Rouen.
- Saint Denis, the home of the original, though subsequently altered Gothic cathedral.
- Semur-en-Auxois: The Collégiale Notre-Dame has impressive statues carved into its exterior and beautiful stained glass windows.
- Sens has the famous Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Sens.
- Strasbourg has a famous, unique Gothic cathedral.
- Vézelay has a large cathedral in mixed Romanesque/Gothic style, which is a traditional place for pilgrims to go to and start their pilgrimage to the great Romanesque cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
- Cologne's cathedral was not completed until the 19th century, but to the original plan. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe.
- Halle's Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen (also called the Marienkirche) is an important late Gothic structure that was begun in 1529 as a Catholic cathedral but converted into a Lutheran cathedral even before construction was completed in 1554.
- Landshut's St. Martin's Church is the tallest brick building and church in Germany.
- Magdeburg has a cathedral that is Protestant and also the oldest Gothic cathedral in Germany.
- Munich's Frauenkirche is a Gothic structure with a unique history. Its twin towers (completed later in a Renaissance style) are emblematic of Munich, but the cathedral lacks many of the decorative details common to other Gothic churches.
- Regensburg has a Gothic cathedral that was begun in 1273 and finished almost 600 years later! This striking building is a notable part of the city's skyline.
- Trier's Liebfrauen Kirche (Church of Our Lady) is an important and impressive structure, though only part of it (notably, the vaulting) is Gothic.
- Ulm Minster was begun in the Gothic era but, like Cologne Cathedral, wasn't finished until the 19th century. It is still the tallest church in the world (until Sagrada Familia is finished).
- Florence: The Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) is Gothic. Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce were also Gothic, though both were remodeled by Giorgio Vasari in the 16th century, so their interior has been changed.
- Milan's Duomo — the 5th-largest cathedral in the world — is also Gothic.
- Orvieto's small Duomo and the art inside are the main reason people come to visit this charming town.
- Priverno, in the Province of Latina, is home to the Cistercian Abbazia di Fossanova (Abbey of Fossanova), whose church was built from 1163 to 1208 in early Burgundian Gothic style.
- Siena's Duomo (cathedral), along with Orvieto's smaller Duomo, represents the black-and-white striped stone style of Italian Gothic architecture. The Baptistery (separate entrance), whose interior features a great baptismal font sculpted by the most famous Gothic sculptors in the region, is also a major draw for fans of great Gothic architecture.
- Venice has several Gothic churches, including the Basilica di San Marco.
- Vilnius: St. Anne's Church and Bernardine Monastery.
- Trondheim: The Nidaros Cathedral is a symbol of the city and probably one of the northernmost major Gothic buildings in the world.
- Gdańsk's St. Mary's Church is supposedly the largest brick church in the world.
- Kraków has several Gothic buildings. St. Mary's Basilica, with its two asymmetrical tall towers, is probably the most famous, but there are several other churches and also a Gothic synagogue (Old Synagogue in Kazimierz).
- Sibiu's 14th-century Lutheran Cathedral (German: Evangelische Stadtpfarrkirche in Hermannstadt, Romanian: Biserica Evanghelică din Sibiu), with a tall steeple, several turrets, and numerous triangular protuberances in its façade, is a building of striking beauty.
- Uppsala has a brick Gothic cathedral.
- Canterbury: The Canterbury Cathedral, famous as a place of pilgrimage from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, is mostly Gothic.
- London: Westminster Abbey, the principal church of British royalty, is essentially Gothic.
- Salisbury's 13th-century cathedral, in early English Gothic style, has the tallest church spire in the UK.
- Winchester has a very famous Gothic cathedral.
- York Minster has its own unique mix of Gothic styles.
Secular Gothic architecture
The boundary between sacred and secular was not always a hard line in the Gothic period, as cities and their governments (such as in Siena) were consecrated to the Virgin Mary, and hospices were run by the Catholic Church as an act of sacred charity and contained chapels and works of sacred art inside. For the purposes of this guide, everything not primarily intended as a house of worship or a monastery has been defined as secular.
In addition to the specific buildings mentioned below, the unique town of Pienza in Tuscany was completely redesigned in a Gothic style at the command of Pope Pius II, and its historical center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, remains an intact Gothic town to this day.
- Beaune: The Hôtel-Dieu, which was a hospice run by nuns, is a splendid example of a large Burgundian Gothic building that is neither a cathedral nor a government office.
- Brussels' city hall (Hôtel de ville/Stadhuis) is Gothic.
- Dijon, the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy before Beaune, contains the Gothic Palais des Ducs, now a museum containing great Burgundian art and also a great building in its own right.
- Kaunas' House of Perkūnas is the oldest residential building still standing in Lithuania.
- Kraków's Collegium Maius, Jagiellonian University's oldest building, was rebuilt in the 15th century as a late-Gothic structure surrounding a courtyard.
- Leuven has an extremely ornate Gothic city hall.
- Lübeck's Heiligen-Geist-Hospital (1260) is one of the oldest currently operating social institutions in the world.
- Mons has a Gothic city hall (Hôtel de ville)
- Münster's Rathaus (city hall) is a striking example of secular Gothic architecture.
- Munich's Altes Rathaus is a Gothic building. Ironically, partly because its exterior is clean, it looks newer than the city's neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus, which was completed in the 20th century.
- Oudenaarde has a flamboyant Gothic city hall.
- Paris The Conciergerie, a Medieval fortress and prison, still has Gothic elements, for example the Hall of the Guards.
- Pienza This entire Tuscan town was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 15th century, in honor of Pope Pius II, and therefore contains both a Gothic Duomo and Gothic palazzi.
- Rouen's Palais de Justice is in very ornate flamboyant (late) Gothic style.
- San Gimignano: This small town is chock full of Romanesque and Gothic buildings, including several towers.
- Siena is even more famous for secular than religious Gothic architecture, as its heyday as a city-state was during the Gothic period. The Palazzo Pubblico (city hall) is the most famous secular Gothic building in town; the Palazzo Sansedoni opposite the Palazzo Pubblico and the Palazzo Chigi on via di Città above the Piazza del Campo are probably the next most famous.
- Toruń: The city hall (Ratusz) and Copernicus House are Gothic.
- Venice: Doge's Palace, Ca' d'Oro and several other palazzi.
- Wrocław's city hall (Ratusz) is a beautiful example of Gothic secular architecture.
Defensive Gothic architecture
- Avignon, Palais des Papes
- Corvin Castle in Romania is an example of a historic building that was renovated to meet current standards of how a real Gothic castle should look.
- Karlštejn's Gothic castle hides deep in the forest.
- Kraków houses remnants of city walls with armoury, Florian Gate and one of last surviving barbicans.
- Lübeck, sometimes called the "mother" of Brick Gothic, boasts, among other buildings, two surviving city gates: Holstentor and Burgtor.
- Malbork Castle of the Teutonic Order, the largest brick building in Europe, is a fine example of Gothic defense architecture.
In the 19th century, there was a fascination with the Middle Ages that included a revival of interest in medieval tales like the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Tristan and Iseult (Tristan und Isolde in German), and the Norse tales that were famously set to music by German composer, Richard Wagner in Das Ring des Nibelungen, informally known as the Ring Cycle of four operas. It is in this context that neo-Gothic or Gothic revival architecture, born in the mid-18th century in England, became an almost irresistible force. The Gothic revival has flourished ever since and given many people far beyond Europe the experience of an echo of the Gothic past, with its sense of monumentality, authoritativeness and appeal to tradition, but without the Crusades, black death, and inquisitions that caused suffering in Medieval times. Since the Gothic revival began in England, it is especially in the UK and English-influenced lands like Canada and the United States that neo-Gothic buildings were built in large quantities. However, neo-Gothic edifices can be found throughout Europe and as far afield as Jakarta, Indonesia.
- Budapest has several neo-Gothic buildings. Especially famous and beautiful is the Parliament.
- Karachi's Frere Hall is quite pretty.
- Kolkata: St. Paul's Cathedral, built during the British Raj from 1839-1847, is in neo-Gothic style.
- Linz's Neuer Dom (New Cathedral) captures a lot of the beauty of a Gothic cathedral and is well worth visiting.
- London's famous Tower Bridge is a neo-Gothic structure, as is the Palace of Westminster where the Parliament meets, the beautiful St. Pancras Station, and the British Natural History Museum, among several other structures.
- Montreal: The Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Montréal, with its gorgeous interior, is by itself a reason to visit Montreal.
- Munich: The Neues Rathaus is arguably one of the greatest neo-Gothic buildings in the world and might be a reason to visit Munich by itself, if there weren't so much else to see.
- New Haven: Yale University's Harkness Tower, which literally towers over the city, is an iconic neo-Gothic structure, one of several on campus.
- New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Patrick's Cathedral and Riverside Church are all Gothic revival constructions, though highly varied from each other in appearance and shape.
- Olomouc, Czech Republic, features the Saint Wenceslas Cathedral, which was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style in the 19th century, with some older elements incorporated.
- Ostend's Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s church (Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk) is impressive.
- Ottawa: The Parliament and Confederation Building are among several neo-Gothic structures in Ottawa.
- Paisley, Scotland is home to the impressive Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church.
- Pittsburgh's East End has a number of fine examples of Neo-Gothic architecture on the campus of Pittsburgh University, including the magnificent Cathedral of Learning and the Heinz Chapel with its spectacular stained glass.
- São Paulo's Sé Cathedral is the world's third-largest neo-Gothic church.
- Steyr, Austria has a beautiful neo-Gothic building, the Sparkassengebäude.
- Victoria, British Columbia is home to the Craigdarroch Castle, a Scottish Baronial-style neo-Gothic mansion commissioned by Robert Dunsmuir. His son, James Dunsmuir, commissioned another Scottish Baronial-style mansion, the Hatley Castle, in nearby Colwood.
- Vienna has the Votivkirche (Votive Church), which was constructed from 1856-1879.
- Zamora de Hidalgo, Mexico features the still not quite completed but already impressive-looking Santuario Guadalupano (Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe), which is expected to reach a height of 105 meters.
- Hear a performance Many Gothic buildings have wonderful acoustics. Hearing a performance in a Gothic building, or even just a cathedral's organist warming up before playing a wedding, can be a memorable experience. And if you have the chance to hear Gothic music performed in a Gothic building, you may learn something that you could not discover otherwise about how it was intended or expected to sound when it was composed.
- Climb the bell tower In many churches and city halls it is possible to climb the bell towers and enjoy city views.
- Go to Mass if you are so inclined, and experience a Gothic cathedral in its originally intended function.
In a few places, it is possible to stay inside Gothic or neo-Gothic structures which have been converted to hotels or other forms of lodging.
- London. There is a luxury hotel, the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, which adjoins and is built in the same neo-Gothic style as the St. Pancras Station.
- Maastricht, Netherlands has accommodations in a Gothic monastery, complete with church, now known as the Kruisherenhotel.
|
<urn:uuid:d8d6c125-f640-45b8-829d-4f7093e479d4>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Gothic_architecture
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00188-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.95527 | 5,042 | 3.71875 | 4 |
All lawn mowers have a revolving blade that evenly trims grass at a consistent height. Different kinds of lawn mower engines make this cutting function possible. Mowers with a blade that revolves around a vertical axis are called rotary mowers, and those with a blade whirling around horizontally are known as reel or cylinder mowers.
Rotary push-behind mowers typically come with a two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engine. Internal combustion is one way energy is generated. Here, combustion is when a chemical change happens inside a controlled chamber within the engine that results in heat, or mechanical energy. Rotary walk-behind lawn mowers are generally powered with gasoline and have engines that are two horsepower to seven horsepower.
Riding lawn mowers, on the other hand, have 13 horsepower to 30 horsepower engines because they're so much bigger and heavier. Mowers built for residential use have less power than larger commercial ones intended for cutting a lot of grass at places like golf courses or municipal parks.
Take note of whether a riding lawn mower's engine is located in the front or back. Typically, rear engines provide better visibility but the most powerful riding mowers have front engines. Base your decision on what matters to you more.
Cylindrical mowers often don't have an engine at all -- but they can. If you want to make pushing along your reel mower easier, you can attach a gas or electric engine to power it. The attached motor spins the blades while you do the walking.
Common problems affecting lawn mowers involve carburetor quality, dirty oil, unbalanced blades, loose tires and much more.
Keep your lawn mower engine operating in good condition with regular maintenance and care. After use, let the motor cool. Spray off grass and debris from the undercarriage using a hose. Always store the mower in a dry place. When putting it away for the winter, drain the fuel to prevent it from aging and corroding the engine. Run the motor until it stops.
Go to the last page to learn about lawn mower attachments that can make lawn care around the home and garden much easier for you.
|
<urn:uuid:b936c972-07d3-4432-85c3-a6226d1c8ad1>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-choose-the-right-lawnmower4.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00085-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.94532 | 442 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Following nearly three months of maneuvering and clarifications, the Philippine government has finally made a positive response regarding the case of the Taiwanese fishing boat Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28, which came under fire from a Philippine Coast Guard vessel on May 9, resulting in the death of crewman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成). Philippine authorities have now admitted that coast guard personnel committed an error, and they have issued a formal apology to the victim’s family.
Can the two sides now open a new chapter in their relations? What lessons can Taiwan and the Philippines learn from this incident?
First, Taiwanese society has reached a common understanding that the sacredness of human life is a key concept of human rights. Although articles about human rights have not been written into the Constitution, and the Control Yuan’s Human Rights Protection Committee has not fulfilled its intended function, the Hung case has showed that today’s social movements include human rights among their demands and that these ideals are widely accepted.
Human rights clauses are clearly included in the Philippine Constitution. The Philippines has established a Commission on Human Rights, and it is a signatory to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. However, the Philippine government and society have clearly not implemented the regulations laid out in the various human rights clauses. That is why Philippine Coast Guard personnel could show such a blatant lack of regard for human life by shooting more than 100 bullets at an unarmed fishing boat, killing one of the people on board.
Second, what lies behind the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 case is the problem of Taiwan and the Philippines having territorial or economic waters that have not been clearly delineated. The Philippines is a signatory of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), so it is duty-bound to abide by the convention. Taiwan is not a signatory of the UNCLOS, so it is not obligated to abide by the convention.
Taiwan is willing to negotiate with the Philippines to resolve the problem of the two sides’ overlapping waters in accordance with the regulations laid out in the UNCLOS. However, the Philippines has for many years been unwilling to negotiate because it has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Although the two sides signed an agreement on sea lane passage, combined with a memorandum on agriculture and fisheries cooperation in 1991, this accord was later annulled because it was found to conflict with Philippine law.
The Philippines ought to clearly understand that, according to the regulations laid out in the UNCLOS, an archipelagic sovereign state is obliged to designate sea lanes for vessels from any nation to pass through. It is also obliged to respect neighboring countries’ traditional fishing rights in those waters. So it was not really necessary for Taiwan to sign the 1991 agreement. Nevertheless, Taiwan was willing to sign an agreement on these issues to uphold friendly relations between the two countries.
For many years, Taiwanese fishing boats have not dared to approach the seas around the northern Philippines, and this has caused Taiwan to lose fishing rights in waters between the two countries for no good reason. Even the right of innocent passage has been difficult to maintain. The cause of these troubles is that Philippines Coast Guard vessels have taken action to forcibly expel Taiwanese fishing boats, even shooting at them and their crewmembers.
In 2009, the Philippines submitted a claim to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, seeking to delineate the outer limit of its continental shelf as including the area of the Benham Rise to the east of the Philippines’ biggest island, Luzon. However, it did not submit any claim with regard to the northern limit of its continental shelf, because it knew that its outer limit overlaps with Taiwan’s territory.
Most worthy of attention is the fact that the northern base point submitted by the Philippines in the Benham Rise region is at 19 degrees 51 minutes north — less than 20 degrees north, which is the northern limit of the Philippine archipelago as defined by the 1898 peace treaty between the US and Spain, known as the Treaty of Paris. Filipino policymakers are aware that an unresolved question exists concerning overlapping territory between Taiwan and the Philippines, so they left some room for future negotiations.
The third point to consider is why the Philippines, having clearly known for many years that the two countries have an unresolved problem of overlapping territorial claims, has not been in a hurry to find a solution. Taipei and Manila do not have diplomatic relations, but this is not the reason. Taiwan and the Philippines have signed plenty of agreements, including accords on the promotion and protection of investment, avoidance of double taxation, and scientific and technical cooperation.
It seems that some departments in the Philippines are not in favor of signing an agreement of this sort, because any such agreement would affect their interests. Their interest is in impounding Taiwanese fishing boats that get close to Philippine waters whenever they want and extort payments from their owners. Fisheries disputes between Taiwan and the Philippines have for a long time involved illegal under-the-table dealings, and even some Taiwanese have their fingers in the pie.
The Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 incident has put relations between Taiwan and the Philippines under a lot of stress, but it could also be an opportunity. Only by negotiating and drawing up an agreement delineating their presently overlapping waters, or at least taking temporary measures, can Taiwan and the Philippines prevent more such tragedies.
Chen Hurng-yu is a professor in the Graduate Institute of Asian Studies at Tamkang University.
Translated by Julian Clegg
|
<urn:uuid:e704ca25-d5fc-42f5-8cd3-6e62bb468b6c>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/print/2013/08/16/2003569790
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00150-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968947 | 1,144 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Jamaica is the largest English speaking island in the Caribbean: 600
miles south of Florida and less than two hours by plane from Miami. It is
146 miles long, between 22 to 55 miles wide and has considerable variation
in landscape from the coral sands and ironshore cliffs of the shoreline,
through coastal wetlands, plains and highlands to the misty peaks of the
Blue Mountains. It has a maritime tropical climate. The warm trade winds
that blow by day are called "sea breeze" or "doctor breeze".
The average daily temperature varies according to elevation from a high
of 86F at sea level to a low of 63F in the mountains. The average annual
rainfall ranges from 300 inches on the eastern slopes of the Blue Mountains
to 230 inches in some parts of the south coast. During the cooler months,
December to March the island sometimes experiences northerners: chill winds
and high seas associated with a cold front to the North. July to September
are the warmest months, May and October are traditionally the rainy months
and there was a time when you could set your clock by the afternoon rain
during these months. Currently, the increasingly erratic weather patterns
are attributed by some environmentalists to deforestation and global warming.
The hurricane season is demarcated by the cautionary rhyme:
June too soon
August come it must
October all over
The last hurricane to hit the island was the savage Gilbert in September
The original inhabitants of Jamaica are believed to be the Arawaks who came from South America 2500 years ago. They called it Xaymaca which meant "land of wood and water." The Spaniards who succeeded them wrote this phonetically, and substituted J for X. Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1492 and claimed it for Spain. The Spaniards were disappointed that there was no gold and did little to develop the island. A few settlers cultivated cane and raised livestock. The gentle Arawaks were eliminated by overwork, brutality and European diseases. Many of them killed their children and drank poison rather than submit to slavery under the Spaniards. Africans were imported to replace them.
In 1655 a British expedition failed to conquer Santo Domingo but took
Jamaica as a consolation prize. When the Spaniards fled the island they
freed their African slaves who took to the hills and formed the nucleus
of the Maroons. The early British colonists lived under constant threat
of attack from the Spanish, the French, and freebooting pirates, hence the
island is ringed with ancient forts. The latter part of the seventeenth
century was the age of the buccaneers. Because England was perennially at
war with France or Spain and the Royal Navy could not patrol the entire
Caribbean, the Crown issued Letters of Marque to ship's captains, authorizing
the capture and plunder of enemy vessels. Thus the pirates became "buccaneers"
and graduated to become "privateers". One former buccaneer, Henry
Morgan, actually became Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica in 1674.
During the eighteenth century, British landowners made vast fortunes
out of sugar and great numbers of African slaves were imported to work on
the plantations. After a long campaign spearheaded by non-conformist missionaries
in Jamaica and Liberal politicians in England, the slaves received their
freedom towards the middle of the nineteenth century. Jamaica remained a
British Colony with a governor until granted Independence in 1962. Major
legacies of the British are: the parliamentary system, the judicial system,
and the game of "cricket, lovely cricket."
The vast majority of Jamaicans are of African descent or mixed race.
Other groups include East Indians, Chinese and European. Hence the national
motto, "Out of Many, One People." The current population is estimated
at 2.5 million.
In the past the population growth has been modified by emigration to North America or the U.K. Currently, due to tough economic conditions in those countries, many Jamaicans are repatriating.
The original inhabitants of Jamaica were gentle, pleasure loving people who liked dancing and playing ball games. They believed in an afterlife and sometimes strangled a dying chief to speed him into paradise. They hunted, cultivated a few crops and fished. Their canoes were made by burning and chiselling out the trunks of silk cotton trees, a method that is still used today. Another legacy of the Arawaks is bammy, a thick pancake made from cassava and delicious fried with fish.
The name comes from the Spanish "cimmaron" meaning wild or untamed. When the British invaded the island in 1655 the African slaves of the Spanish colonists escaped into the hills and lived a wild, free life. Some of them helped their former masters in guerilla warfare against the British. One such was Juan de Bolas, whose subsequent defection to the British side hastened the final exodus of the Spaniards.
In time the Maroons came to control large areas of the interior and would swoop down from the hills to raid the plantations and kidnap women. Runaway slaves also found a refuge with them. The two main groups were the Trelawny Town Maroons led by Kojo (alias Cudjoe) and the Windward Maroons led by Queen Nanny and later by Quao. The Maroons were skilled hunters and fierce fighters and the British Army and local militia were unable to control or conclusively defeat them. Indian hunters and their dogs had to be imported from Central America to track them in the bush. The first Maroon War ended with a treaty that ceded large areas of land to the Maroons. In turn, they had to promise to recapture and return all runaway slaves and help the government in the event of an invasion. The land ceded to the Maroons was around Flagstaff in Trelawny and was named Trelawny Town, and at Accompong in St. Elizabeth. Accompong remains Maroon territory to this day, but after the Second Maroon War, the Trelawny Town land was taken away and most of the male Maroons exiled to Canada and then to Africa. The remnants of their families settled nearby in a district now known as Maroon Town. The land given to the Windward Maroons was around Moore Town, Charles Town and Scott's Hall. Of these, Moore Town is the only sizeable Maroon settlement left. Maroon land is held in common and they are not required to pay taxes.
The language of Jamaica is English though you may sometimes find this
difficult to believe. Students of dialect maintain that the patois varies
from parish to parish and even from yard to yard. Jamaica Talk is a synthesis
of several influences: Old English and nautical terms such as "breadkind"
and "catch to"; Spanish as in "shampata" from, zapatos
(shoes); Irish dialect as in "nyampse" (a fool); African as in
"duppy" (a ghost) or "nyam" (to eat), and American slang
such as "cool" elaborated as "cool runnings" or "diss"
as in disrespect. Rastafarian "I-dren" (brethren) have their own
language and one word that you will hear frequently is "Irie"
meaning good, happy, pleasant or high. The traditional Rasta greeting "Peace
and Love" is giving way to "Respect due". Dance-hall, Jamaica's
latest musical phenomenon, has its own ever evolving language. Though influenced
by American "rappers", much of it is entirely indigenous, for
example "Browning" which describes any light-skinned girl; to
"big-up" a person means to praise or advertise them, and "flex"
meaning behaviour or deportment.
It is said that there are more churches per square mile in Jamaica than
anywhere in the world. The variety of houses of worship covers everything
from centuries old parish churches to the bamboo and zinc shacks of Revivalists.
The vast majority of believers belong to one of the numerous Christian denominations:
the traditional groups being Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Seventh
Day Adventists and United Church (Presbyterian). There are also numerous
Evangelical groups as well as Moravians, Mennonites, Plymouth Brethren,
Unity and Jehovah Witnesses. Other religious groups include Jews, Hindus,
Muslims, Bahai's and Rastafarians.
Rastafari is an indigenous religion which emerged during the 1930s as a grass roots answer to social conditions and the irrelevance of white-oriented denominations. Basic tenets include the divinity of the late Emperor Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) of Ethiopia, re-incarnation, and a taboo against males cutting or combing their hair or beards. However, Rasta is an evolving and subjective religion and not all Rastas embrace all of these. Rastafari has been used as a cover by criminals, and as a publicity gimmick by pop musicians, but in its pristine form it is a valid faith which emphasizes the indwelling God Spirit in every person. Rastafaris developed their own version of the Jamaican dialect in which "I" is a frequent pre-fix. (For example "I and I" or "I-man" meaning I or myself and "I-dren" meaning children or brethren). "I-tal" food is vegetarian cooking without salt. Many Rastas regard the use of marijuana as a sacrament and aid to meditation.
The order of National Hero of Jamaica was created in 1965. The first
heroes named were Sir Alexander Bustamante and Norman Washington Manley,
the founders of the two political parties and architects of independent
Jamaica. Named at the same time were: Paul Bogle, a farmer and preacher
who led the so-called Morant Bay Rebellion, George William Gordon, an ex-member
of the House of Assembly who was hung for alleged complicity in the Morant
Bay Rebellion, and Marcus Garvey, a journalist and printer who emigrated
to the United States and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
In 1975 two more were created: Sam Sharpe, the involuntary leader of the
Christmas Rebellion in 1831 and Nanny, chieftainess of the Windward Maroons
though historical evidence of the lady is non-existent.
MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN JAMAICA
RT. Hon. P.J. Patterson
Prime Minister of Jamaica
To be asked to name my favourite spot in Jamaica is like being asked
to pick a single gem from a room full of sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and
Each time I travel through the island, I discover yet another spot of
breathtaking beauty. There is always that spectacular view along roads which
is specially revealed for the first time after many previous journeys. Within
minutes of driving or a climb of a few hundred feet, the traveler in Jamaica
often experiences not just a simple change of scenery but the marvel of
a totally different vista.
How does one choose between the majesty of our hills and the serenity
of our waters? To avoid making that agonizing choice, I will opt for a spot
which combines nearly all the joys of nature.
High in the hills of Eastern Westmoreland, there nestles a somnolent
village. As each day dawns, a beguiling mist gives way to the first rays
of sunshine. The air is fresh, the breeze gentle, the atmosphere serene.
The tranquillity is enhanced by a constant chirping from the birds. Beyond
the cliffs below, there is a bewitching view of the coastline - the sea
with its delicate tincture and rhythmic waves.
In the distance, one can see fishermen paddling their small canoes to
cast their nets or raise their pots. Above there is the brilliant blue sky,
with only the semblance of a slowly drifting cloud. As one looks westward,
there is a panoramic view of the fertile plains, with the gentle streams
making their way through the cane fields. The surrounding hills are dotted
with humble cottages where live proud but gentle people, farmers in the
main, tending their crops. Mango trees are laden. Breadfruit is in season.
Gardens are resplendent with crotons, ferns, hibiscus. The verdant trees
are covered with clusters of red poinciana and flaming jacaranda. As the
evening ends, one can see the sun, like a burning ball of fire, disappear
slowly below the western sky. At this spot, where every prospect pleases,
one feels truly at peace with nature.
Needless to say, it is off the beaten track. Its name - Content.
Rt. Hon. Edward Seaga
Leader of the Opposition
Former British High Commissioner, 1989-1995
Some of my most memorable experiences in Jamaica have been spent far
up in the coffee growing areas of the Blue Mountains where tourist beaches
are a distant prospect and where the air is cool and clear. Perhaps my favourite
place is at the highest point of the road which goes up through Newcastle
and down to Buff Bay. Beyond Hardware Gap and before you sweep down to silver
Hill is a beautiful, ever-changing vista over majestic hills ? ever-changing
because the clouds are constantly creating new shapes and shadows. Sometimes
the mist comes down and blots out the view completely, and then the magic
moment comes when the mist suddenly disperses and reveals the view once
Up here where the coffee bushes thrive there is a wonderful range of
wild flowers and shrubs not found at lower levels. The almost over-powering
scent from the wild ginger will stay with me for many years as will the
agapanthus, angels trumpets and eucalyptus.
Here the pavements and city streets are far away; there are few cars
and less noise and bustle. This is a place to contemplate on the wonders
of nature and to refresh one's mind and body for life's daily exigencies.
J. Gary Cooper
United States Ambassador
Kathryn Hewlett- Jobes
Former High Commissioner
Canadian High Commission
Dr. Wilfried Bolewski
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany
Japanese Charg' D'Affaires and Counsellor 1992-95
Embassy of Japan in Jamaica
|Go-Jamaica||Discover Jamaica||Gleaner Online|
Copyright © The Gleaner Company Limited, all rights reserved.
E-mail [email protected] to report problems or request assistance.
|
<urn:uuid:0139bbbf-51fd-4356-881c-d2db4d2e90bb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/tour_ja/facts.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953787 | 3,108 | 3.515625 | 4 |
March 8, 2013
Astronomers Discover Solar Wind Energy Source
Using data from an aging NASA spacecraft, researchers have found signs of an energy source in the solar wind that has caught the attention of fusion researchers. NASA will be able to test the theory later this decade when it sends a new probe into the sun for a closer look.The discovery was made by a group of astronomers trying to solve a decades-old mystery: What heats and accelerates the solar wind?
The solar wind is a hot and fast flow of magnetized gas that streams away from the sun's upper atmosphere. It is made of hydrogen and helium ions with a sprinkling of heavier elements. Researchers liken it to the steam from a pot of water boiling on a stove; the sun is literally boiling itself away.
“But,” says Adam Szabo of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, “solar wind does something that steam in your kitchen never does. As steam rises from a pot, it slows and cools. As solar wind leaves the sun, it accelerates, tripling in speed as it passes through the corona. Furthermore, something inside the solar wind continues to add heat even as it blows into the cold of space."
Finding that "something" has been a goal of researchers for decades. In the 1970s and 80s, observations by two German/US Helios spacecraft set the stage for early theories, which usually included some mixture of plasma instabilities, magnetohydrodynamic waves, and turbulent heating. Narrowing down the possibilities was a challenge. The answer, it turns out, has been hiding in a dataset from one of NASA's oldest active spacecraft, a solar probe named Wind.
Launched in 1994, Wind is so old that it uses magnetic tapes similar to old-fashioned 8-track tapes to record and play back its data. Equipped with heavy shielding and double-redundant systems to safeguard against failure, the spacecraft was built to last; at least one researcher at NASA calls it the "Battlestar Gallactica" of the heliophysics fleet. Wind has survived almost two complete solar cycles and innumerable solar flares.
"After all these years, Wind is still sending us excellent data," says Szabo, the mission´s project scientist, “and it still has 60 years' worth of fuel left in its tanks.”
Using Wind to unravel the mystery was, to Justin Kasper of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a "no brainer." He and his team processed the spacecraft's entire 19-year record of solar wind temperatures, magnetic field and energy readings and ...
"I think we found it," he says. "The source of the heating in the solar wind is ion cyclotron waves."
Ion cyclotron waves are made of protons that circle in wavelike-rhythms around the sun's magnetic field. According to a theory developed by Phil Isenberg (University of New Hampshire) and expanded by Vitaly Galinsky and Valentin Shevchenko (UC San Diego), ion cyclotron waves emanate from the sun; coursing through the solar wind, they heat the gas to millions of degrees and accelerate its flow to millions of miles per hour. Kasper's findings confirm that ion cyclotron waves are indeed active, at least in the vicinity of Earth where the Wind probe operates.
Ion cyclotron waves can do much more than heat and accelerate the solar wind, notes Kasper. "They also account for some of the wind's very strange properties."
The solar wind is not like wind on Earth. Here on Earth, atmospheric winds carry nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor along together; all species move with the same speed and they have the same temperature. The solar wind, however, is much stranger. Chemical elements of the solar wind such as hydrogen, helium, and heavier ions, blow at different speeds; they have different temperatures; and, strangest of all, the temperatures change with direction.
"We have long wondered why heavier elements in the solar wind move faster and have higher temperatures than the lighter elements," says Kasper. "This is completely counterintuitive."
The ion cyclotron theory explains it: Heavy ions resonate well with ion cyclotron waves. Compared to their lighter counterparts, they gain more energy and heat as they surf.
The behavior of heavy ions in the solar wind is what intrigues fusion researchers. Kasper explains: "When you look at fusion reactors on Earth, one of the big challenges is contamination. Heavy ions that sputter off the metal walls of the fusion chamber get into the plasma where the fusion takes place. Heavy ions radiate heat. This can cool the plasma so much that it shuts down the fusion reaction."
Ion cyclotron waves of the type Kasper has found in the solar wind might provide a way to reverse this process. Theoretically, they could be used to heat and/or remove the heavy ions, restoring thermal balance to the fusing plasma.
"I have been invited to several fusion conferences to talk about our work with the solar wind," he says.
The next step, agree Kasper and Szabo, is to find out if ion cyclotron waves work the same way deep inside the sun's atmosphere where the solar wind begins its journey. To find out, NASA is planning to send a spacecraft into the sun itself.
Solar Probe Plus, scheduled for launch in 2018, will plunge so far into the sun's atmosphere that the sun will appear as much as 23 times wider than it does in the skies of Earth. At closest approach, about 7 million km from the sun's surface, Solar Probe Plus must withstand temperatures greater than 1400 deg. C and survive blasts of radiation at levels not experienced by any previous spacecraft. The mission's goal is to sample the sun's plasma and magnetic field at the very source of the solar wind.
"With Solar Probe Plus we'll be able to conduct specific tests of the ion cyclotron theory using sensors far more advanced than the ones on the Wind spacecraft," says Kasper. "This should give us a much deeper understanding of the solar wind's energy source."
The research described in this story was published in the Physical Review Letters on February 28, 2013: "Sensitive Test for Ion-Cyclotron Resonant Heating in the Solar Wind" by Justin Kasper.
On The Net:
|
<urn:uuid:cdb6e8d4-467d-4934-a966-01b64cfdce84>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112799530/solar-wind-energy-source-discovered-030813/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938672 | 1,322 | 3.8125 | 4 |
SAN DIEGO, combined city-county in S. California; county population 3 million (2005), Jewish population 89,000.
Jewish life in San Diego started in what is called Old Town, near the San Diego River and just below the hill on which the Spanish built the first California mission in 1769. The first Jew arrived at this remote frontier site in 1850, the same year the city received its charter. In this town of 800, there were, perhaps, 25 Jews until the 1860s. Most were very visible for their number, both as businessmen and civic leaders. When, in the 1870s, the center of town moved southeast, to its permanent location, on San Diego Bay, the Jewish population moved also. They set up stores and lived nearby; the first synagogues were in this downtown area. In the 1920s the reform congregation, Beth Israel, moved uptown to the west side of Balboa Park, and by the mid-20th century the Conservative and Orthodox congregations had moved up-town to the north and east sides of the park. The neighborhood of North Park became the center of Jewish life with a kosher butcher, bakery, a Jewish Community Center and the homes and businesses of many of the patrons. By the late 1970s the community had migrated primarily to the east, near San Diego State University, to the South in Chula Vista, and a little to the north. With the coming of the University of California San Diego to La Jolla in the late 1960s, the Jewish community began to move there as well. Prior to that, beginning in the 1940s, the residents of La Jolla had a restrictive covenant against Jews and other minorities in their property deeds, which was enforced by the real estate agents. At the beginning of the 21st century there was no Jewish area, and the population was very spread out. Jews congregate throughout San Diego County, from the Mexican border to the northern boundary, the Marine Base at Camp Pendleton. As a matter of fact, Jews even congregate at Camp Pendleton and south of the border in Tijuana.
Louis Rose, the first Jewish settler, arrived in 1850. A multi-talented
Marcus Schiller was a businessman, public official, and Jewish community leader for 40 years. During his tenure on the City Board of Trustees, along with his business partner, Joseph Mannasse, 1,400 acres were set aside for Balboa Park, the main park in the city center. In 1861, Schiller organized the first congregation, Adath Jeshurun (Orthodox), the oldest congregation in Southern California, which in 1887 incorporated as Congregation Beth Israel (Reform). The Jewish population at this time was approximately 300. In the midst of planning its synagogue, the congregation hired its first rabbi, Samuel Freuder, in 1888. Within a year he left and became a Christian missionary. Twenty years later, he realized his mistake and wrote a book called A Missionary's Return in Judaism (1915). Built of wood in the gothic style, Temple Beth Israel was completed in 1889 and used for 37 years. Moved to a county park in 1978, it is one of the two oldest synagogue structures extant in California. With the Jewish population of San Diego increasing to 2,000, Congregation Beth Israel built its second home, a Byzantine-style synagogue, in 1926, near Balboa Park. Its "Temple Center" became the focal point of Jewish communal life for over 25 years. When the congregation moved to its third home in 2001, its previous building was saved from demolition, because of its eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. At the beginning of the 21st century, Beth Israel was the only congregation in the American West to have its three synagogues still in use.
In 1905, East European immigrants formed an orthodox congregation, Tifereth Israel Synagogue. When, in 1939, this congregation became Conservative, another Orthodox congregation was formed, Beth Jacob. These three congregations, which were led out of the war years by three influential rabbis – Reform, Morton J. Cohn (1946–61); Conservative, Monroe Levens (1948–74), and Orthodox, Baruch Stern (1947–77) – were the only ones until the 1950s, when the Jewish population increased to 6,000 and new congregations formed. By the beginning of the 21st century, there were over 30 congregations, including the three original ones, covering all the trends in Judaism, from Humanistic to Chabad.
As the Jewish community grew, so did the need for social and communal service. At the beginning, men and women took separate paths to this end.
Forty men, led by Marcus Schiller, formed the first Hebrew Benevolent Society of San Diego in 1871. Twenty-six signatories received the charter for the B'nai B'rith Eduard Lasker Lodge #370 in 1887, with Simon Levi as president. By mid-20th century there were seven men's lodges, some named for prominent citizens such as Samuel I. Fox, Edward Breitbard, and Henry Weinberger. In 1929 Anna Shelley organized the Birdie Stodel B'nai B'rith Women's Chapter which grew by mid-century into five chapters in the county. AZA Fraternity and B'nai B'rith Girls followed in 1930, and Hillel in 1947. In mid-century Zionist groups were also strong, but by the end of the century, most of the organizations, except for Hillel, were in decline.
In 1890, Mrs. Simon Levi organized the Ladies Hebrew Aid Society, with 20 members "to render relief to the sick and needy, to rehabilitate families and to aid the orphan and half-orphan." This group joined with the Jolly Sewing Circle, Hebrew Sisterhood and Junior Charity League in 1918 to form the Federated Jewish Charities. In 1936, the Charities split into two: the Jewish Welfare Society, later to become Jewish Family Service, incorporated, and the United Jewish Fund, predecessor of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego, was formed. The Jolly 16, a women's social and benevolent group, started a ten-bed San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged which opened in 1944. A much larger facility opened in 1950, in partnership with the Jewish Community Center, and in 1989 the Hebrew Home expanded and moved to northern San Diego County. The first Jewish Community Center opened in 1946 in a storefront in North Park. Within six years a new building with a pool, gymnasium, classrooms and a library opened in the eastern part of the city, which served the community for almost 50 years. A larger facility opened in the La Jolla area in 1985 and was expanded in the late 1990s.
Mrs. Abraham Blochman started formal Jewish education for Beth Israel's children in 1887. Education remained the purview of individual congregations until the 1960s, when the San Diego Hebrew Day School and the Bureau of Jewish Education were created. The Bureau became the independent Agency for Jewish Education in 1986. In 1979 the San Diego Jewish Academy began, and 20 years later it opened as a full-time school at a large campus in northern San Diego.
In 1970, with the Jewish population at 12,000, a Judaic studies program began at San Diego State University. Fifteen years later this program grew into the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies, sponsored by arts patrons Bernard and Dorris Lipinsky. Lawrence Baron, the director of the Institute since 1988, holds the Nasatir Professorship in Modern Jewish History, named for Abraham P. Nasatir, an Orthodox Jew who was the first Jewish professor at the university (1928–1974). When he arrived, most of the students and faculty had never met a Jew before, but by the end of his tenure, Nasatir Hall
A group of women, under the direction of Irene Fine, began the Women's Institute for Continuing Jewish Education in 1977. It pioneered the teaching of Torah, Talmud and Midrash by women. The San Diego Women's Haggadah (1980), the first women's text for a feminist seder, was followed by other publications which led the way for Jewish feminists.
With the Jewish population at 30,000 in 1980, a small group led by historian Henry Schwartz founded the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego. Its archive for local Jewish history was established in 1999 by Stanley and Laurel Schwartz in cooperation with the Lipinsky Institute. The archive's opening in 2000 celebrated 150 years of San Diego Jewry.
The year 1914 saw the first weekly Jewish newspaper, The Southwest Jewish Press, which later became the San Diego Jewish Press Heritage, concluding its run in 2003. In 2005, there were two Jewish newspapers: the bi-weekly San Diego Jewish Times, formerly Israel Today, and the monthly San Diego Jewish Journal. Rabbi Aaron Gottesman brought the community a Jewish radio program called "Milk and Honey" during the 1980s.
The following people are some of those who have made contributions which have had a lasting effect on the community and beyond.
French immigrant Abraham Blochman and his son Lucien started the Blochman Banking Company in 1893. By the late 20th century, it had become Security Pacific National Bank, one of the largest banks in California. The Blochman family took various leadership roles in the Jewish community and in civic and communal affairs. Lucien was a director of the Panama-California Exposition of 1915 which gave Balboa Park its Spanish architecture. He and his sister Mina Blochman Brust helped found the San Diego Chapter of the American Red Cross at the turn of the century, and Mina started the First Aid Program in 1919.
Abraham Klauber, who arrived in 1869, was an early merchant and San Diego booster whose descendants were prominent into the 21st century. Daughter Alice Klauber, an artist, directed the arts pavilion at the 1915 Exposition. A business partner of Abraham Klauber, Sigmund Steiner moved to Escondido in north San Diego County to open a store and became mayor (1894–1906). Under his leadership, the grape growing industry flourished with an annual Grape Day Festival and parade, one of the largest in Southern California. The festival at Grape Day Park was still celebrated at the beginning of the 21st century.
The five Levi brothers, two of whom had long lasting effects in San Diego county and were also business partners of Klauber, came to San Diego in the 1870s. Simon was a civic and religious leader who started the Simon Levi Company, wholesale grocery and liquor. Adolph, whose interests spread from the Pacific Ocean to the easternmost reaches of the county, was in the livery and ranching business. Also a civic and religious leader, his descendants carried on the family's communal spirit into the 21st century.
Samuel I. Fox owned the Lion Clothing Store, which was located next to the Hog and Hominy Store operated by a Mr. Baer on what was known as the "Zoo Block." From 1886 to his death in 1939, he was a civic, communal and religious leader who promoted the business community by helping to secure local control of the port and the water supply. In 1930 he was the first president of the San Diego Community Chest and was one of the organizers of the 1935 Exposition in Balboa Park which helped pull the city out of the depression.
Brothers Henry and Jacob Weinberger were communal and religious leaders. Jacob became the first federal judge in San Diego in 1946 and was the founding president of the United Jewish Fund (1936–45). The restored 1917 federal bankruptcy courthouse is named for him. Judge Edward Schwartz was appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Johnson in 1968, where he remained until his death in 2000. During his term he became chief justice, and in 1995 the U.S. Courthouse was named the Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and Federal Building.
In the later part of the 20th century, several business people made their mark on the national scene and became local philanthropists. Sol Price, 1976 founder of the first national retail membership warehouse, The Price Club, along with his family, has funded much neighborhood redevelopment and university growth. Pioneering scientists, Irwin Jacobs and Andrew Viterbi, founded LINKABIT, in 1968, a breakthrough company in the development of digital technology. In 1985 they went on to start Qualcomm, the cell phone industry giant. Both men, their families and their companies became major philanthropists, with the Jewish Community Center, synagogues, the San Diego Symphony, Qualcomm Stadium, theaters, public broadcasting and universities as some of the beneficiaries of their gifts.
Jews have participated in the arts with internationally renowned conductor, David Amos, who directs the Jewish Community Orchestra, and Ian Campbell, the San Diego Opera director since 1983. Under his direction the opera commissioned local composer Myron Fink to write the music for The Conquistador, the story of a family of secret Jews during the Inquisition in Mexico, which premiered in San Diego in 1997.
Robert Breitbard founded the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum, in 1961. Located in Balboa Park and with Breitbard still its driving force at the beginning of the 21st century, it was the nation's largest multi-sport museum. The Park is also host to the Museum of Photographic Arts, whose founding director, Arthur Ollman, has brought world class exhibitions to the museum since 1983 and into the 21st century.
Jack Gross started the first TV station in San Diego, KFMB, in 1949, and along with his son radio talk-show host and critic, Laurence Gross, Jews have maintained a long and steady presence on local TV news into the 21st century, with newscasters Marty Levine, Susan Taylor, and Gloria Penner.
In the national public sphere, former industrialist, Colonel Irving Salomon came to San Diego County after World War II. In 1953 President Eisenhower appointed him as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, for which he worked until his death in 1979. He and his wife Cecile, a classical pianist and composer of Jewish music, entertained notables at their ranch in Valley Center and were benefactors for cultural programs.
Real estate developer M. Larry Lawrence bought and restored the famous 1888 Hotel Del Coronado in 1963. His philanthropy helped create the new Jewish Community Center in 1985 which bears his family name. President Clinton made him ambassador to Switzerland (1994–96).
Jonas Salk, originator of the poliomyelitis vaccine, started the Salk Institute in La Jolla in 1963 and created a haven for world renowned research, while enabling architect Louis Kahn to design one of the world's great buildings.
Though many Jews had served the city government as elected officials, the first Jewish mayor, Susan Golding, was elected in 1992, serving for two terms. Her father, Brage Golding, was president of San Diego State University from 1972 to 1977.
In 1993 two Jews were elected to congress, Robert Filner and Lynn Schenk. Schenk later became chief of staff for Governor Gray Davis, and Filner continued his tenure in congress into the 21st century. In 2000 Susan Davis was elected to congress. In 2005, two out of the five-person county congression al delegation were Jewish.
William Kolender, a career law enforcement professional, served as the chief of the San Diego Police Department for 13 years, beginning in 1975. After a short retirement, in 1995 he was elected sheriff of San Diego County, and he held the post into the 21st century. Together with Rabbi Aaron Gottesman, he started the San Diego Police Department Chaplaincy Program in 1968.
Former U.S. attorney, Alan Bersin, completed a tenure as superintendent of San Diego City Schools in 2005 and was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as secretary of education for California.
At the beginning of the 21st century, as California's population swelled, so did the Jewish population, with newcomers from all parts of the U.S. and other countries such as South Africa, Iran, and especially from Latin and South America. Cousins of first generation eastern European Jewish immigrants, who came to the U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century, found themselves welcomed in Mexico and other Latin countries, and eventually, in San Diego. Proximity to Mexico provided a distinct flavor, as Jewish residents moved back and forth across the border for business, social activities and worship. The migratory inclination of the community was broadened by snowbirds in the winter, "zonies" (Arizonans), refugees from the desert heat, in the summer, a growing retirement community, and a large military presence. Many had strong ties to other places, which sometimes restrained their participation in local community life. Close-knit alliances formed, based on origins, either native or immigrant, as extended families were far away.
N.B. Stern, "The Franklin Brothers of San Diego," in: Journal of San Diego History (1975); T. Casper, "The Blochman Saga in San Diego," in: Journal of San Diego History (1977); R.A. Burlinson, "Samuel Fox, Merchant and Civil Leader in San Diego, 1886–1939," in: Journal of San Diego History (1980); L.M. Klauber, "Abraham Klauber – a Pioneer Merchant (1831–1911)," in: Western States Jewish History (1970); H. Schwartz. "The Levi Saga: Temecula, Julian, San Diego," in: Western States Jewish History (1974); R.D. Gerson, "San Diego's Unusual Rabbi, Samuel Freuder," in: Western States Jewish History (1993); idem, "Jewish Religious Life in San Diego, California, 1851–1918" (unpublished thesis, 1974); L. Baron, "The Jews of San Diego State University, California," in: Western States Jewish History (1998); V. Jacobs and S. Arden (eds.), Diary of a San Diego Girl – 1856 (1974); L.G. Stanford, Ninety Weinberger Years: The Jacob Weinberger Story (1971); B'nai B'rith Centennial 1887 – 1987 Commemorative Booklet; W.M. Kramer, L. Schwartz, S. Schwartz, Old Town, New Town an Enjoyment of San Diego Jewish History (1994); S. Schwartz, A Brief History of Congregation Beth Israel. 135th Birthday 1861–1996, booklet; M.E. Stratthaus, "Flaw in the Jewel: Housing Discrimination Against Jews in La Jolla, California," in: American Jewish History (1996).
[Stan Schwartz and
Laurel Schwartz (2nd ed.)]
Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
|
<urn:uuid:679733be-bd35-4fcc-b7fe-96cd4153e8f6>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0018_0_17476.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968275 | 3,907 | 3.015625 | 3 |
A deluge of summer rain brought on widespread flooding throughout New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico between July 27 and August 7, 2006. The Dartmouth Flood Observatory reported that as much as 15 inches of rain fell over the region during the week-and-a-half period, forcing 1,000 evacuations in Texas and 4,000 in Mexico. After the clouds cleared, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this view of the water-logged region on August 9, 2006. Standing water is pale blue against the tan-pink desert landscape. Plant-covered land is bright green, while clouds are light turquoise. The cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, are grey, their tone just a shade darker than the tan land they are built on. Though no flooding is apparent around the cities in this image, the two cities suffered damage due to flooding. The flood damage in El Paso was estimated at 100 million dollars, reported the Dartmouth Flood Observatory.
In this image, however, the most obvious flooding is in Mexico, where water has filled Laguna de Patos, a shallow salt pan lake that only occasionally contains water. Brushes of blue run north and west of the lake where water fills depressions and hollows that were dry on July 26 before the rain started. The rainfall also had an impact on vegetation. On July 26, only irrigated land along the Rio Grande and the mountains west of Laguna de Patos were green. By August 9, a light green tint covered much of the desert.
The large images provided above have a resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images of the region in a variety of resolutions.
NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
- Terra - MODIS
|
<urn:uuid:d40188ae-3f49-45db-a73a-bda65af1200d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=17168
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.949506 | 384 | 3.390625 | 3 |
The Canal & River Trust is encouraging people to learn about and spot dragonflies and damselflies along the Kennet and Avon Canal.
It is holding a training session at its Devizes office and a walk along the Caen Hill flight of locks on Sunday, July 13, from 10am to 2pm.
The trust has warned that the wettest winter on record could have had a lasting impact on populations of dragonflies and damselflies and is asking people to help monitor the insects as part of its annual Great Nature Watch.
The event will be led by trust ecologist Laura Plenty, who will explain how to identify dragonflies and damselflies people are likely to see.
The Great Nature Watch asks contributors to record sightings of wildlife.
Records can be submitted by downloading the trust’s free mobile app – search for Canal & River Trust.
Fluctuating river levels and fast currents are known to wash away dragonfly larva (or nymphs). As larva live underwater for up to three years, the unprecedented floods may have a long-term effect on dragonfly populations.
Peter Birch, group environment manager for the Canal & River Trust, said: “Dragonflies, and their sister damselflies, flourish in clean water which is rich in bankside vegetation, such as reeds.
"This makes them a fantastic indicator of the health of a canal or river.
"While this year’s floods have had an obvious impact on larger animals, birds and fish, we are also particularly concerned with the impact on invertabrates, which form the foundation stones of a healthy water environment.
"We would expect to see an increase in numbers of mosquitoes and midges which prefer stagnant and isolated water, but we may also see a drop in the numbers of dragonflies which emerged this spring.
“By taking part in the Great Nature Watch, you can help us monitor numbers of dragonflies, damselflies, and in fact, all species living on Wiltshire’s canals and rivers over the coming years.”
Dragonflies are an ancient species, whose ancestors were around before the dinosaurs. They spend most of their lives as underwater larva, emerging ‘on the wing’ for a few brief months to mate and lay their eggs before dying.
To order a ticket for Dragons and Damsels on the Caen Hill Lock Flight on July 13 visit www.eventbrite.co.uk
|
<urn:uuid:d71a0f60-8940-43cd-91e5-1507164c3812>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/11324891.Learn_how_to_spot_Kennet_and_Avon_Canal_s_dragonflies_and_damselflies/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.963558 | 509 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Sub-category of Hebrew language, introductory tools. Includes charts, audio, written styles, historical information, exercises and tutorials.
Judaism 101: Illustrates the letters and vowel points of the Aleph-Bet, along with their names and numerical values.
Wikipedia. Overview of Hebrew alphabet: tables for writing systems, pronunciation, history, ascii codes, bibliography. Links for related overviews.
Hebrew Braille Alphabet
A 6dot Hebrew Braille alphabet with vowels, offering the numbered location of the Braille dots, the only site offering a visual display of the Braille letters for Hebrew. [Instructions are in German; continental keyboard positions designated.] [PDF]
Jewish Encyclopedia: Hebrew Alphabet
Article traces the origins and evolution of the characters.
Torah Tots - The Site for Jewish Children - All About the Hebrew Alphabet
Colourful versions of Hebrew alphabet tables for use with/by children, with explanations: block alphabet with printer friendly version; script and Rashi script charts with added written letter directions; vowel chart; script used by Soferim (Torah scribes). Charts elaborated from JewFAQ.
YouTube - Aleph-Bet Video
Debbie Friedman's Aleph Bet song to video: large block font Hebrew letters and transliteration on flash cards, in dynamic presentation. Suitable for schools; letters are sung and appear on screen 3 times.
Last update:June 24, 2015 at 13:24:07 UTC
|
<urn:uuid:22ba1fd7-d656-44ae-8333-b78c207957f6>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Social_Sciences/Linguistics/Languages/Natural/Afro-Asiatic/Hebrew/Hebrew_Alphabet/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00167-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.776541 | 303 | 3.328125 | 3 |
The Cranberry Cure
Sept. 14, 2000 -- You may have heard that women suffering from urinary tract infections should drink cranberry juice. Until now, there was not much evidence to support this advice, but now a new study presented last week at a meeting of infectious disease specialists shows that the juice may just do the trick.
Women who have suffered from a urinary tract infection (UTI) are all too familiar with the frequent urge to urinate and the pain and burning that comes along with it.
Beyond being irritating, the condition has a serious side, too. Expert Gregor Reid, PhD, says that of the approximately 11 million women who suffered from a UTI in 1997, about 10% had the infection travel to their kidneys, which can have serious consequences and may require hospitalization.
According to Reid, who was not involved in the study, "Cranberry in excess can cause kidney stones, so you don't want to overdo this, but I think there is [compelling] evidence that if you take a glass of cranberry [juice a day,] it could prevent UTI. ... You can also get cranberry extract in powder form, but we haven't proved [that it works in the same way as juice]." Reid is a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Western Ontario and associate scientific director of the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario.
The researchers from Finland, led by Tero Kontiokari from the Finnish Student Health Services at Oulu University, recruited 150 women with persistent UTIs. Fifty drank just under two ounces of cranberry juice a day for six months. Another fifty drank a preparation of Lactobacillus, a 'friendly' bacteria that helps prevent yeast infections. The final fifty women were given no treatment.
After six months, only eight women taking cranberry juice had experienced a UTI, compared with 19 of those taking Lactobacillus, and 18 not taking anything.
It is not clear how cranberry juice prevents UTIs. The most common theory among experts is that one or more of its ingredients prevent bacteria from attaching to the urinary bladder wall, so they get washed away more easily in the urine. Others speculate that cranberry juice, a drink high in acid, makes it difficult for bacteria to grow.
|
<urn:uuid:b551d35b-7ee3-4c18-9f3f-00c184f96f8d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.webmd.com/women/news/20000914/cranberry-cure
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.966679 | 474 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Detailed Curriculum Plans
The electronics age has been with us for many years now, and many of the new products you continue to see as a result of this age are created by electrical engineers. Electrical engineers perform jobs such as developing new ways of making microchips, designing communications systems, using lasers and robots to solve problems, running our nation's electric power distribution and telecommunications infrastructure and designing products such as automobile control systems, cellular phones, and biomedical devices.
The electronics age has led us into the development of revolutionary information technologies, in which new and very capable information products are being created at a rapid rate. Electrical engineers create products such as control systems for cars and airplanes, communications satellites, PDAs and cellular telephones, microelectronic devices, the internet and wireless communication systems, electric power distribution systems and microprocessors for computers and programmable devices.
Electrical Engineering has as its educational objectives to produce graduates who:
Starting in the 2009-2010 academic school year, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department will offer a new undergraduate concentration in Renewable Electric Energy Systems (REES) within the Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering degree program. The new concentration evolved to address the need to create a national power system capable of integrating geographically distributed renewable energy and advanced storage systems that will interface with the existing electric utility systems to serve the country's future electric energy demands.
In the fall semester of 2008, the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided funding for the establishment of an Engineering Research Center (ERC) and created the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center at North Carolina State University. One of the center's key responsibilities is to educate a diverse group of adaptive, creative, globally connected and innovative graduates for the green energy industry through a continuum of educational programs that span from middle school through the doctoral level.
Currently efforts are underway for large-scale utilization of Distributed Renewable Energy Resources (DRER) to significantly increase the use of renewable sources (solar, wind, geo-thermal, hydro, and ocean tidal) to break the nations heavy dependence on carbon based fuel. The widespread use of DRER at the residential level is a major paradigm shift for the electric power industry, moving away from today's centralized power generation paradigm to one of distributed generation. It is widely recognized by both the electric utilities and the policy makers that for this to happen, the current power grid must be revised considerable to be more "smart".
The Renewable Electric Energy Systems concentration will be open for enrollment to both new and current undergraduate students majoring in the Electrical Engineering degree program. The new concentration enriches the current electrical engineering curriculum with coursework in electromechanical energy conversion, renewable electric power systems, power electronics, and power transmission and distribution systems.
|
<urn:uuid:0e31c7e9-dfe1-4434-9627-3e0bf0770471>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/undergraduate/electrical_engineering/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00088-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.923072 | 564 | 3.046875 | 3 |
The outlook for the 1996 winter wheat and coarse grain crops remains very favourable. Aggregate winter crop plantings are now officially estimated to have risen to 17.7 million hectares, 7 percent up from last year and the second highest level on record. The combination of excellent, although late, opening rains, relatively high cereal prices and depressed returns for wool are the main reasons for the increase in plantings. As of early September, prospects for winter crops were reported to range from average yields in southern Australia to above-average yields in Queensland and New South Wales. Aggregate wheat production is now officially forecast to rise by 6 percent to 18.8 million tons, while barley output is forecast at almost 5.7 million tons, about 4 percent up from 1995. For the summer crops to be harvested in 1997, despite favourable conditions for planting because of good subsoil moisture levels already established, the area of sorghum and maize is expected to be constrained by the large areas sown to winter crops. Final estimates for the summer crop production in 1996 show an increase of almost 50 percent in the sorghum and maize crops, mostly due to a sharp recovery in production in Queensland after three successive below average crops.
_______________________________ 1/ For the 1997 crop, the wheat area target has been reduced to 400 000 hectares.
|
<urn:uuid:e590cf00-87b5-4631-80f0-525cfe69b53c>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/w3388e/pays/ocea9610.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.928587 | 264 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Faith plays an important part in the lives of people around the world, and often the faith of one person or nation has an effect on other individuals or countries. The importance of religion is apparent in the daily routines of people around the world. Ideal for both student and as a family reference, Religions of the World, Revised Edition is an objective guide to understanding faith in the modern world. Religions of the World, Revised Edition examines thekey issues of faith as it exists today. Filled with full-color photographs and illustrations, it explores the beliefs, traditions, festivals, and practices of the major faiths, and also discusses the differences within, as well as between, the faiths. The main branches and divisions of each religion are covered as thoroughly as possible, and the authors have made a point of including the central stories from each faith, regardless of historical accuracy. Written by a team of renowned religious scholars, Religions of the World, New Edition is an ideal introduction to the many faiths around the world today.
Back to top
Rent Religions of the World 2nd edition today, or search our site for other textbooks by Martin Palmer. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Checkmark Books.
Need help ASAP? We have you covered with 24/7 instant online tutoring. Connect with one of our tutors now.
|
<urn:uuid:253ba852-390a-4699-ba36-0ff933bf9640>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.chegg.com/textbooks/religions-of-the-world-2nd-edition-9780816062584-0816062587
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.950585 | 283 | 2.671875 | 3 |
La Vida de Matilde
Matilde finds the courage to open her own home child care business and learns about the importance of food safety in caring for small children. This Spanish-language telenovela (soap opera) teaches viewers the four areas of the Fight BAC! campaign: keeping hands and surfaces clean, preventing cross-contamination, cooking foods to proper temperatures and chilling foods promptly. Proper techniques for diapering and safe handling of bottles and baby food are also included.
A companion booklet, "Keeping Kids Safe: Food Safety for Child Care Providers," accompanies this video. The video is available in Spanish with English subtitles.
Order this video by calling toll-free at (888) 750-4156 or via email at [email protected].
|
<urn:uuid:03b967a2-0ad9-4b10-a102-d364bd0dd338>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://mediaproductions.nmsu.edu/la-vida-de-matilde.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.894719 | 162 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Wearable electronics has been a hotly pursued research area for years now, but there has been precious little to show for all that effort in terms of electronic garments appearing on people’s backs. The reason for this is not entirely clear. Maybe it’s because the technologies that would enable fabric makers to weave in electronic components have been unwieldy, or maybe people just don’t feel that compelled to wear their electronic devices.
In any case, researchers have recently been able to leverage the properties of graphene to bring the long-promised future of wearable electronics closer to the present. We’ve already seen graphene woven into a yarn-like material that acts as a supercapacitor to power wearable electronics both here and here.
Now, an international research team from the University of Exeter in the U.K. and the Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers, Microsystems and Nanotechnology (INESC-MN) in Lisbon, the Universities of Lisbon and Aveiro in Portugal and the Belgian Textile Research Centre (CenTexBel) has managed to coat textile fibers with graphene in a way that turns them into electrodes.
In a press release announcing the breakthrough, Monica Craciun from the University of Exeter said:
This is a pivotal point in the future of wearable electronic devices. The potential has been there for a number of years, and transparent and flexible electrodes are already widely used in plastics and glass, for example. But this is the first example of a textile electrode being truly embedded in a yarn. The possibilities for its use are endless, including textile GPS systems, to biomedical monitoring, personal security or even communication tools for those who are sensory impaired. The only limits are really within our own imagination.
Just as important as researchers’ imaginations are the those of consumers, who to date have not been clamoring for these applications. Nonetheless, the techniques used for producing the graphene-based transparent electrodes are impressive.
In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the international team says it employed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to produce monolayer graphene. Typically, in a CVD process for producing graphene, it is grown on a copper substrate. The breakthrough here is that the team developed a way to remove the graphene from the copper sheet and transfer it onto the yarn while still maintaining all of the single-atom-thick carbon sheet’s attractive electronic properties.
“The methodology that we have developed to prepare transparent and conductive textile fibers by coating them with graphene will now open the way to the integration of electronic devices on these textile fibers,” said Ana Neves, currently a researcher at Exeter and previously a researcher at INESC, in a press release.
|
<urn:uuid:b392b36a-d9ba-4883-9f0d-44a81d1c2b5d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/materials/graphene-enables-first-example-of-a-textile-electrode
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00098-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.946025 | 560 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest level of food insecurity in the world. An estimated 220 million people lack adequate nutrition. The nature of the problem is shifting rapidly, with overweight status and obesity emerging as new forms of food insecurity while malnutrition persists. But continental policy responses do not address this changing reality.
Food insecurity is the outcome of being too poor to grow or buy food. But it’s not just any food. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation’s definition, people need:
… sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.
Current policy focuses on alleviating undernutrition through increased production and access to food. It does not focus on the systemic issues that inform the food choices people make. This may result in worsening food insecurity in the region.
The thinking around food security in Africa is stuck, even though there are calls for a more nuanced understanding of the problem. The common thought is that the food insecure are poor, hungry people who don’t have the means to grow or buy enough food.
The other misconception is that obese people are overweight or unhealthy because of what they eat; that they are at fault for making bad choices. This leads us to believe that people need nutrition education to help them make better choices, and that they deserve a healthy portion of blame if they make poor ones.
Both understandings are wrong. Food insecurity is driven by the economics and the geographies of the food system.
A poverty related obesity epidemic
In the region, 33% of adults are overweight and a further 11% are obese. The levels of diet-related non-communicable diseases are rising as a result of rapid urbanisation, the urbanisation of poverty and rapidly changing food systems.
Obesity affects both rich and poor people. In the developed world obesity rates are levelling off. But they continue to climb in the developing world. This has significant developmental outcomes. In 2010 overweight status and obesity caused about 3.4 million deaths, 3.9% of years of life lost and 3.8% of disability-adjusted life-years – a calculation of the number of years of life lost to ill health, disability or early death.
Obesity rates have not doubled and tripled in recent decades because people have spontaneously and collectively started to make bad food choices.
The poor eat badly because it makes economic sense for them to do so. South Africa’s food system, for example, is one in which corporate power is concentrated. The system is dominated by “Big Food” – large commercial entities that control the food market. The South African experience mirrors global trends in which food markets have been deregulated and liberalised.
For example, the liberalisation of trade has opened up imports of highly processed, cheap food, and large private companies that sell highly processed foods are able to exert pressure on national governments. This has handed power over nutrition to food processors and retailers.
Healthier alternatives like low-fat foods are generally more expensive than less healthy options because they are “value padded” with sugars and refined carbohydrates. At the same time, the price of fresh produce has increased at a faster rate than that of processed foods.
This economic logic is reinforced by marketing and advertising that sends conflicting health messages. For example, soft drink companies or fast-food chains associate themselves with sports events and healthy lifestyles; and schools advocate healthy eating but also have on-site tuckshops that sell junk food.
Poor people also have limited access to storage and refrigeration, which affects their options.
What the response should be
Blaming the poor for a logical response to a systemic problem is not helping the situation, and nutrition education alone will not change what people eat.
Governments must shift their attention from the individual to the system when considering why people eat what they eat. Governments must also consider the effects when good food policy is overridden by economic growth imperatives that support a food system dominated by highly processed foods.
South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan recently announced that the country will implement a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages from 2017. The sugar industry argues that this will harm businesses and negatively affect the poor. It is, in part, correct.
Regulation of unhealthy foods without corresponding incentivisation of healthier foods is regressive. Likewise, if issues like access, storage, refrigeration and transport are not addressed, efforts to moderate food choice through pricing will only be an additional tax on the poor. It will not remedy food insecurity of either kind.
Food insecurity in Africa needs to be understood in the context of the wider food system, as well as in the way that food connects to economic and other practices. There needs to be a radical reconfiguration of food security policy that moves away from focusing on production and household poverty alleviation to consider the nature and dynamics of the food system.
Failure to do so will simply accelerate the transition from one form of food insecurity to another.
|
<urn:uuid:65b1daca-4c60-42dc-84af-0007dc6a7f22>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://theconversation.com/whats-driving-sub-saharan-africas-malnutrition-problem-55579
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955882 | 1,016 | 3.59375 | 4 |
DLR-Webcast: SOFIA - the flying infrared observatory
The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, is a cooperative German-US space research project. The 2.7-metre telescope, housed in a Boeing 747SP, is designed to observe in the infrared. During flight, a four-by-six-metre door opens at the rear of the aircraft, through which the telescope can view the night sky. The plane is based in California; the telescope was designed and built in Germany.
In this German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) webcast, Alois Himmes, SOFIA Project Manager for DLR, tells us how the aircraft was modified to carry the telescope and reports on the project’s scientific objectives. He explains the advantages and disadvantages of SOFIA in comparison with ground-based and orbital telescopes. Himmes also gives us an overview of the German contribution to the project and the significance of the ‘First Light’ flight – this video was short before First Light was achieved in late May. He concludes by outlining the upcoming milestones for SOFIA. On the German side, the scientific aspects of the project are coordinated by the German SOFIA Institute (Deutsches SOFIA Institut; DSI) at the University of Stuttgart (Universität Stuttgart).
|
<urn:uuid:195f1f58-3a10-4695-b8f0-90347a90e2c0>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.dlr.de/blogs/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-6241/10306_read-309/searchtagid-15169/gettrackback-1/norobotindex-1/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.896352 | 303 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Micro-Wave Radio Robot Reports Weather (Jan, 1936)
Micro-Wave Radio Robot Reports Weather
FAR above the heights reached by Settle and Piccard, “sounding balloons” rise into the stratosphere, unmanned, but with delicate apparatus to report the atmospheric conditions they encounter. That shown above is called a “meteor-graph” and a thermometer, barometer and hygrometer, inside the shell, control the oscillations from a radio circuit. These signals are automatically recorded on a revolving drum at the receiver, and serve for study of the weather in the uppermost atmosphere to determine its effect, if any, on that prevailing below.
|
<urn:uuid:725fa1e8-207d-4ad7-8d8d-e0928347a3c9>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/micro-wave-radio-robot-reports-weather/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00144-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.902749 | 138 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Rare genetic disorders, by definition, are conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 Americans. According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), there are more than 6,800 such diseases, affecting nearly one in 10 Americans in total.
It’s no surprise when a parent with a rare genetic disorder passes it on to his or her child. But most rare genetic diseases appear in children whose parents don’t have the condition. So where do the faulty genes come from?
Conventional wisdom says that the parents of these children experienced a mutation that affected one of their reproductive cells, which they passed on to their child at conception. However, a new study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics has found evidence to support a new theory: these parents might just have mosaicism.
A Patchwork Quilt of Genes
Mosaicism is when a person has different DNA in different cells in his or her body. This DNA forms a mosaic of genomes across different tissues and organs. If a gene mutation occurs right after conception, when the person is still just a single-celled zygote, it will affect all the cells in the person’s body as the zygote divides and develops into a fetus.
Most mutations happen later in development. Since that single-celled zygote has to divide into more than 37 trillion different cells to make a whole person, there are many opportunities for a mutation to occur. But that mutation won’t spread to the rest of the body — it will only affect the cells that the mutant cell divides into. This means, in effect, that a person with mosaicism could have one set of genes in his or her heart, and a different set in his or her fingers, which develop later.
“Any mutation that happens when a person is developing rather than when they are only a single cell results in mosaicism,” explained Dr. Ian Campbell, Ph.D., a student at the Baylor College of Medicine and first author of the paper, in an interview with Healthline. “Mutations happen all of the time, so nearly all of the cells in your body have different genetic material. However, most of these differences are harmless and go completely unnoticed. Most types of mutations can result in mosaicism.”
Some of the time, however, the mutation occurs in a place that affects how a gene functions. If it’s a gene that controls how other genes are expressed, the single mutation could affect the development of the whole body, especially the very sensitive brain. The result is a rare genetic disease.
“Most of the diseases do not have specific names, but generally include intellectual disability or developmental delay and sometimes autism or birth defects,” said Campbell.
Getting to the Source
Campbell and his team recruited the parents of 100 children with rare genetic disorders and analyzed the family’s DNA for mosaicism. “In four families, we detected mosaicism in one of the child’s unaffected parents,” he said. “Thus, the mosaic mutation in the parent was passed on to the next generation, causing the disease in the child.”
This is a much higher rate than scientists expected. Previous studies had estimated the mosaicism rate in parents of children with rare genetic disorders to be less than half of one percent.
A higher rate of mosaicism also means that these parents are more likely to have a second child with the same rare disease. If a mutation occurs in a single egg or sperm cell, its neighbors are unaffected. But if mosaicism spreads a mutation throughout the ovaries or testes, it can produce a larger number of mutant eggs or sperm.
“It may be possible for that parent to have another sperm or egg with the same mutation, pass that sperm or egg on to another child, and have a second child with the exact same genetic disease,” said Campbell. “Mosaicism can considerably increase the risk of a parent having a second child with the same apparently new genetic disease that a sibling has.”
The study estimated that mothers with a mosaic mutation were 25 times more likely than fathers to have a second child with the same disorder. Those numbers increased even more if the mosaic mutation could be detected in the parent’s bloodstream. Mothers with mosaicism in their blood were twice as likely to have a second child with the same disorder, and fathers with blood mosaicism were about 50 times more likely to have such a child.
Children with rare genetic disorders might not be the only ones affected by mosaicism. It could play a role in many other diseases as well. “Mosaicism happens in everyone, and the impact of mosaicism on human health is likely under-recognized,” said Campbell.
|
<urn:uuid:24c23df2-bde9-4c55-a53c-750614400ae3>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.healthline.com/health-news/mosaicism-leads-to-rare-genetic-disorders-073114
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96562 | 982 | 3.71875 | 4 |
- A current-limiting feature in power supplies and amplifiers.
- The use of rear-facing heavy-duty loudspeakers on stage during live music performances.
- (genetics) A denatured (single-strand) DNA molecule that has formed base pair bonds with itself.
- (genetics) A chromosome that contains sequences which support foldback; A DNA molecule with a base sequence or sequences that are repeated in reverse order.
- (gaming) A portion of a storyline that branches based on user choices but where all branches eventually reconverge to a single inevitable event.
- (social sciences) A multimethod research approach that includes open-ended interviewing, nominal group dialogue, survey and attitude scaling techniques, and multidimensional and cluster analyses.
- An overturned flap.
|
<urn:uuid:058f1a7c-93f0-4c27-a376-158c30087ebb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/foldback
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.896657 | 166 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Over 100 of the poorest people in the Giyani area have already been employed in a poverty alleviation programme that will have direct benefits to the environment, and specifically the Letaba River. 2,000 hectares of land are earmarked in the Letaba River catchment for rehabilitation by 2007 at a cost of R10 million.
The environmental rehabilitation process is being coordinated by Xolani Nicholus Funda, technical director of Arise - African Rural Initiatives for Sustainable Environments. Funda, whose conservation career began as a ranger in the Kruger National Park (KNP), says that the project will benefit Kruger by improving the water flowing into the park via the Letaba River.
The first 300 ha of land to be rehabilitated have been fenced off, and work is expected to start reviving the soil this month. The first areas chosen lie alongside the small streams that feed the Letaba River, with fenced in areas containing land that varies from totally devastated to having some remaining vegetation. Overgrazing in the past has been a major factor in the land degradation.
Funda says that the work carried out will be labour intensive. Nearby communities identified those most in need of money, and these people, predominantly women, will start the backbreaking work of hoeing the compacted soil in the enclosures. The workers have been provided with protective clothing. Many of them have opened a bank account for the first time in their life to receive their wages.
Kraal manure and fertilisers will be used to rejuvenate the soil. An indigenous nursery, established earlier this year in Gawula village, will provide trees to plant as rehabilitation progresses. The planting of trees will not only increase biodiversity but also provide a carbon sink to help mitigate the effects of global warming. In areas where soil erosion is a problem, gabions will be constructed to prevent further damage.
Scientific monitoring will be carried out as the areas begin to green. To protect the land in the future, the villagers will receive training in livestock management. The Letaba project is the sister of a similar project underway in Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape. Both pieces of land form part of the buffer area around conservation areas.
Buffer areas have been identified by several international bodies as being important in the conservation of biodiversity. Arise has also been commissioned to make a study of the Sekhukhune area, where extreme overgrazing has destroyed the natural environment. Soil washing off the land during rainstorms in the area turn the Olifants River into a chocolate brown stream and have adverse consequences on downstream biodiversity.
|
<urn:uuid:182cc3da-41bb-48ca-a9f2-a1fa0e9c57cc>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-2-14-poor-people-20168.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00018-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955363 | 533 | 3.0625 | 3 |
When should women get mammograms? There's a new report this morning that could reignite the fierce debate.
That new report suggests guidelines should be changed encouraging earlier, regular mammograms for all women.
But other experts say, 'not so fast.'
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) currently suggests women start routine mammograms at the age of 50 and continue every two years.
The report released this morning shows many women who died of breast cancer before age 50 were never screened. The study suggests earlier screening could save lives.
But, those on the opposite end of the report call it "flawed" stating it's going to confuse women even more than they already are when it comes to the health guidelines.
Other experts say the types of tumors that kill younger women are fast-growing and not usually caught by mammograms.
Dr. Jamie Wagner at the University of Kansas Hospital said she thinks there's enough reasons to justify early screenings.
"Identifying anything early, we know, can treat it up front, more aggressively, right from the beginning," she said.
She said she and her staff are preparing to open an expanded breast cancer surgery center in Overland Park.
She said critics have often said that early screenings put women through needless procedures and can cause unnecessary stress in the case of false positives.
"It almost sounds like it's almost too much for women to handle, and I think in the world we live in today, nothing is too much for women to handle," Wagner said. "I would rather have a false positive or something show up and we biopsy that and find out it's negative, than to miss the one breast cancer by not doing a mammogram."
The American Cancer Society suggests women start getting mammograms at the age of 40.
|
<urn:uuid:a9dce793-5294-4212-af62-3d3910b49b5f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.kmbc.com/news/new-report-reignites-mammogram-debate/21845814
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.972115 | 372 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The 38-kilometer-long (about 24 miles) Lago do Erepecu (Lake Erepecu) in Brazil runs parallel to the lower Rio Trombetas (Trombetas River), which snakes along the lower half of this astronaut photograph. Waterbodies in the Amazon rainforest are often so dark they can be difficult to distinguish. In this image, however, the lake and river stand out from the uniform green of the forest in great detail as a result of sunglint on the water surface. Sunglint is the mirror-like reflection of sunlight off of a surface directly back towards the viewer, in this case an astronaut onboard the International Space Station.
Forest soil is red, as shown by airfield clearings near Porto Trombetas (image far lower right), a river port on the south side of the Trombetas River. The Trombetas flows into the Amazon River from the north about 800 kilometers (497 miles) from the Amazon mouth. Despite being so far from the sea, seagoing ore ships export most of Brazil’s bauxite from Porto Trombetas. Bauxite is the raw material used to produce aluminum. (The Trombetas bauxite mine is beyond the lower edge of the image).
Central Amazonia has many lakes like Erepecu—relatively straight, large waterbodies located just off the main axis of the large rivers. These lakes began as rivers that carved deeply into the landscape during periods of low sea level accompanying ice ages in the past 1.7 million years. When sea level was low, the gradient from a river’s headwaters to its end at the ocean was steeper, and rivers flowed faster and carved deeper beds. During intervening warm periods, rising sea level reduced the gradient at the river’s end so much that it faced an impossible task—flowing uphill to the ocean.
The only way a river could have continued to flow to the sea is if it was carrying enough sediment to fill the deep river valleys carved during low sea level, creating a new “ground level” for the river to flow across. Many larger rivers like the Trombetas and the Amazon itself carried enough loose sediment to fill their deeply carved valleys, and then to trace sinuous courses (lower part of image) across the new beds. But smaller rivers that carried less sediment could not fill in their deep valleys; instead, the valleys acted like troughs. The river water poured in, but couldn’t flow out because of rising sea level, so lakes like Erepecu formed.
|
<urn:uuid:a37a4f4d-42fc-4674-b240-c28c8a48962f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=40247
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00196-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938892 | 538 | 4.09375 | 4 |
|Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the 21st Century: New Roles and Challenges for Guidance and Counselling (IAC - IAEVG - UNESCO, 2002, 149 p.)|
Understanding community capacity
Over the past decade, community capacity-building has become important as both a concept and a field of practice. Everyone is talking about it, many people are doing it and even more are affected by it. In many ways it has become an industry in itself. Yet, surprisingly enough, community capacity-building is not well understood and as a result it has received limited attention within the career development field.
To understand community capacity-building, the terms need to be examined in their broadest context, acknowledging that there is no clear or universally accepted definition for either the context or the terms. Community generally refers to a group of people within either a specific geographic area or a particular sphere of interest. Capacity within the community context is what it takes to get things done. Capacity refers to more than just training and skill development. It includes things such as leadership, operating systems, finances, human resources and all kinds of other resources. The building of community capacity is therefore often complex, under-resourced, and connected to several different aspects of community. To build community capacity requires leadership, time and effort.
Community capacity-building is closely related to community development. Community development is generally agreed to mean the planned evolution of all aspects of community life including social, economic, environmental and cultural development. Community development and community capacity-building are not the same thing, however, although some would point out that they are so closely intertwined as to be inseparable or that one is a result of, or leads to, the other. However, one important difference is that community development does not have to be - and in many instances is not - driven by community members, but when community development is not undertaken by community members, very little community capacity-building occurs (Rappaport & Seidmann, 1989).
One example occurs when government and industry control the economic and social development of a community. Jobs are created, programmes and services are provided, but there is little input from local residents. While the communitys economic wealth may be improved, the same cannot be said of its ability to sustain long-term well-being or prepare for a future that might not include that particular industry. The result is that the communitys overall capacity is not built up, although the community appears to be developing.
An example of the reverse, where capacity is built but community development may not occur (at least not immediately), can be found in marginalized communities dependent on outside expertise and assistance. Sometimes communities have been damaged and need to build personal and community wellness from within. The opportunities might be there, but the community is unable to identify or take advantage of them. Leadership is needed and strategic plans and skills must be developed and resources acquired. Capacity needs to be built before community development can take place. In many communities, however, there is a healthy relationship between community development and capacity-building and therefore it is useful and practical to consider them together as complementary processes.
Community economic development (CED) is another critical concept coming within the scope of community capacity-building. It too is participatory and community-based, but has as a focus the connection between economic and social well-being within a community. CED is sometimes considered as an alternative to, or substitute for, mainstream economic development. One of the key defining differences is that often the businesses or enterprises directly involved are community-owned rather than private. The profits are ploughed back into the business to create additional jobs and/or to provide community benefit. There is always an emphasis on training and employment for local people, giving consideration to those most in need, those least able to find or maintain jobs and/or those who have been displaced from the labour market for one reason or another.
These three concepts and processes-community development, capacity-building and community economic development-are connected and have a great deal to do with sustainability and quality of life, which ultimately are what we are seeking both in communities and as individuals.
While results are not easy to measure, indicators of increased capacity include:
· stronger community relationships; caring families and safer, welcoming communities;
· identification of more community-based opportunities;
· enhanced respect for limited resources;
· increased interest among young people in becoming future leaders;
· increased awareness of the importance of protecting and improving conditions for vulnerable people, floundering economies and environments.
There is strong compatibility between the processes, values and outcomes of career development and community development. Yet the connections in practice are not obvious. Career development is very much about helping individuals to be self-sustaining, to access learning and work opportunities, to create personally meaningful lives with respect to the work they do, and to build healthy families and lifestyles that contribute to their communities in constructive ways. Both community development and career development have sustainability and increased quality of life as their primary focus. One of the overriding values of community development is to leave a positive legacy; one of the overriding values of career development practice is to enable individuals to leave a positive legacy.
This chapter provides a context for aligning the practice of career guidance and counselling more closely with community development, community capacity-building, and community economic development. Some examples of early positive responses will be given and suggested future directions will be explored.
The capacity-building environment
The industrial era is long gone. From the community development perspective, one might assess the industrial era as one which was successful in building cities and economies but much less successful in building sustainable communities. The driver of the industrial era was economic development. Guidance practitioners fuelled the supply side of the industrial era by focusing on matching individual knowledge, skills and abilities to economic opportunity. Single-industry towns with jobs for life were norms for economic growth.
The information and knowledge era is now well established and single-industry towns are a thing of the past. They are being replaced by multifaceted economic and environmental strategies, partnerships and joint ventures, community-based decision-making, locally-owned enterprises and community plans. New ways of working and new models of sustainability are now norms for economic growth. When communities are able to identify and take advantage of opportunities, these strategies often (but not always!) have the potential to build local capacity. But because they involve new ways of working, many individuals, communities and guidance practitioners do not know how to harness their potential. Some communities do not have sufficient infrastructure or resources for longer-term economic viability and may not have attained the level of community wellness and readiness required to create opportunity. However, many more communities have this capacity than do not.
In many ways, we are all unprepared for what lies ahead. We think that the future is some time from now, but in reality it is already with us, and we are hurrying to adapt tools and techniques to keep up with changes that have already taken place, restructuring organizations and roles to make them reflect the current situation more accurately. Paid work, voluntary work and sustainable livelihoods are being considered in a different way. We are struggling to understand the changes taking place in an environment that is less structured and less familiar.
Some of the shifts occurring include increased appreciation of integrated and holistic approaches to capacity-building. There is a visible frustration with outdated, insular policies and programmes, as well as increasing dissatisfaction with the use of short-term projects as vehicles for long-term social and economic development. Poor attitudes and low expectations are being replaced with more positive approaches to both human resource planning and community development. Unimaginative responses are being challenged and more creative and interesting approaches are being used to increase community involvement and encourage personal life planning. Using knowledge, skills and abilities as the prerequisites for growth is important for economic development, but incomplete and inadequate as a community capacity-building model. The values, interests and beliefs dominantly held in a community are the essential drivers if any sustainable community capacity building is to occur. What a community values determines what its members will become committed to; beliefs about their capacity will drive their motivation for change and their interests will sustain their motivation.
Motivation in community capacity-building
Much like change in our own individual lives, change at the community level is usually driven by either passion or necessity - an opportunity to enhance quality of life in the community or a crisis which threatens the viability of the community. Examples of opportunity might include: the potential to diversify economic activity in a community; an interest in grassroots initiatives to respond to community talents or interests; opportunities to create needed programmes or facilities for citizens. Examples of crisis might include closure of a primary industry or too many young people leaving a community.
This dichotomy is also applicable to shifts which have recently occurred in career development practice and which appear to be emerging more and more as individuals express their need for more integrated, holistic and balanced approaches to life/work. A recent study (Lowe & Davidman, 2001) conducted by the Canadian Policy Research Network (CPRN) is a case in point. When Canadians were surveyed about what mattered most to them on the job, they identified the following as more important than remuneration or status: respect, interesting work, the chance to participate in decisions, the chance to develop and improve skills, opportunities to collaborate with others, and the ability to manage stress and have life/work balance. Canadians were focused on their need for quality work and the chance to achieve balance and quality in their lives. This was true of workers of all ages.
An issue not directly apparent from the study, but which can be inferred, is the desire to be able to build a quality life in or near ones own community. The demand side of the industrial era presumed that workers would move to areas with high growth opportunities (in other words the cities), often to the detriment of home communities and opportunities which might be developed or created within home communities. The need to move geographically to the growth sectors has been dramatically changed by technological advances as well as by an increasing sense of communities willingness to take charge and reinvent their opportunity structures. This is evident in many Canadian provinces and territories. Extraordinary efforts are being made to reinvent community, and some very interesting success stories are beginning to come through which suggest innovative ways to approach career and life planning.
Those who provide help to individuals in this context are obviously driven by values, interests and beliefs as much as by knowledge, skills and abilities. This has been very successfully integrated into individual career and guidance counselling practice. In the context of emerging trends, however, the overall role, relationship and usefulness of career and guidance services (which continue to operate mainly at the level of the individual, and not at the level of the community) need to be examined.
Change is occurring very quickly. New roles have emerged, both at the individual and community levels, many with no titles, and some with few clear ideas about the training required to undertake them (Frank & Smith, 1997). What the new roles have in common is the goal of building capacity both for individuals and within communities. Some of the most familiar occupations in this field are social planner, community development worker, career/employment counsellor, and career and work development practitioner. These roles are increasingly important and in demand. However, one thing is clear: people providing career guidance and counselling services need to address both individual and community needs, and they are almost all in transition.
Linking career planning to community capacity-building
Capacity-building is an ongoing process for individuals and for communities. We call one career planning or personal management, and the other community development or capacity-building. Just as individuals have self-esteem, confidence and skills, so too do communities.
It is suggested that career and guidance services (and other roles related to helping individuals access education, training and/or work) are now linked to community capacity-building in substantial ways. A community-based labour market is different from the traditional industry-based labour market. Jobs are not always predetermined and occupations are not always clearly defined. Making career connections for individuals is closely tied to community planning and priority setting. The two roles - career guidance and counselling and community planner/developer - need to be more closely connected. What connects them now is the desire for high quality in the world of work, the need for a healthy environment and the shared goal of sustainable economies for individuals and entire communities. As the future continues to unfold, a clear and critical role is emerging for much expanded career development and guidance training services and practices.
Early responses linking career development and community capacity-building
Although there has not yet been an explicit shift in direction and practice, initiatives are under way which provide evidence of new attitudes to career development and guidance and counselling. However, the orientation described above is beginning to take on a much more collective and expanded role. It appears to be a gradual evolution resulting from the need to respond to immediate needs in individuals and communities and also to long-term sustainability issues. The following section highlights several examples of emerging trends in Canada and Argentina. These provide an overview of shifting directions and describe some of the issues which require attention if this emerging shift is to become more integrated into everyday practice.
Canadian standards and guidelines for career development practitioners
A Canadian initiative to develop voluntary guidelines and standards for the practice of career development has been under way since 1996 (Hiebert, 2000; Hiebert et al., 1999). A similar development is currently taking place through the IAEVG to develop international standards and guidelines for career development practitioners (Repetto, Malik & Hiebert, 2000). The practice of career development in Canada, as in many other countries, is highly diverse. Career services are delivered in community agencies and in education, mental health and rehabilitation settings, among many others. One of the purposes of the Canadian standards initiative was to recognize and validate the diverse skill sets of people in the field. The guidelines developed were based on what practitioners in the field actually do. Extensive consultations were organized across the country in which groups of practitioners identified the competencies they use and need in order to provide quality services directly to clients. This made it possible to establish a set of core competencies required by all who practise career development in any substantial way. Six distinct areas of specialized competencies also were identified. This recognized that while all career practitioners require certain basic competencies there is also a range of specializations which are peculiar to specific settings and unique client and community needs.
One of the specializations identified as a result of these consultations was community capacity-building. These competencies emerged strongly (but not uniquely) among practitioners in rural, remote and northern communities where a sense of community, and belonging to a community, are strongly-rooted. Many of these communities have limited wage economies, but a strong and buoyant informal economy which shares the goods and services that help sustain a community. To be relevant, career practitioners in communities such as these need to connect individuals with community resources, but they also need to be catalysts or collaborators in bringing the community together to build long-term strategies for unemployment reduction and economic growth.
Another group for whom community capacity-building competencies were important were practitioners in government settings whose work was changing from delivering direct service to managing community services contracted to and delivered by third-party providers. Being competent in this community service role requires the ability to work with service-providers in order to maximize limited resources and coordinate client services.
New tools and competencies are needed to work at a collective level. Asset mapping, for example, is essential. This involves mapping the assets of a community (the infrastructure, resources, talents and driving values of the population) to provide a strengths-based approach to facilitating sustainable career development at the community level. Competencies which are becoming necessary for effectiveness include: the ability to conduct an analysis of sectors based on human resources and to work with a community to determine gaps between visions, goals and capacity.
The fact that community capacity-building is a specialization in the Canadian model draws attention to the emerging importance of the catalyst and influencer role. It has traditionally been extremely difficult for career and guidance services to be recognized as essential by policy-makers and community leaders and to be given support. As career and guidance practitioners assume a more visible and activist role at the community level, this lack of recognition may be better addressed. Communities may begin to take career/life planning for their members more seriously and see the connection between this type of personal planning and the sustainability and improved quality of life of a community.
Regional economic development and schools: A Newfoundland initiative
In 1992 the province of Newfoundland and Labrador was dealt a devastating blow when a moratorium was placed on cod-fishing. Cod-fishing defined life for the people of this province. It was the reason people first came from the old world: to fish on a seasonal basis before returning to Europe. Not only was their source of employment taken from them but a way of life that had taken form over nearly 500 years was lost.
Across the province the atmosphere in schools was dismal. It seemed that young people would need to leave the province to have a sustainable future. The provincial government developed a plan that would help rural and remote areas of the province to deal with this crisis. A Strategic Economic Plan was implemented which created 20 economic development zones, each one responsible for devising a strategic plan which would outline potential growth sectors in the economy. The Regional Economic Development and School Initiative (REDAS) was the result of collaboration between a career guidance specialist and an economist who were both determined to find a means of making young people aware of work opportunities in their own regions or communities.
The challenges of bringing more practical career education into the schools were numerous and are faced by many countries. The most significant among them were that:
· The only way to reach all students was through classroom teachers, and if career education was not mandated as part of the regular curriculum (which it was not), it would not be delivered by teachers.
· Teachers specialize in a particular subject and most have limited expertise in, or exposure to, economic development and labour market analysis.
The REDAS initiative has several imaginative and innovative components:
· Teachers who are accepted under the initiative work together with economic and community developers to create a learning module which will fit into their regular curriculum. The module must relate to awareness of work opportunities within the regional economy.
· Teacher substitutes are provided so that teachers in the programme are released from their normal duties for a period of time to develop the learning module.
· The learning modules are shared with other regions in the province so that over time students are exposed to opportunities in other parts of the province as well as in their own region.
· An emphasis on entrepreneurial activity and creating ones own work is fostered. This is allowing students to see their opportunities through a new economic lens.
Growth sector learning modules have been developed to encourage the use of cutting-edge technology within what is left of the fishing industry: e-commerce in developing business web pages, manufacturing and robotics, aquaculture and cultural heritage. At the time of writing, the initiative has just entered its implementation phase following an 18-month pilot period. Evaluation results are very promising, with more motivated and energized teachers a side benefit. The creators of this initiative offer the following perspective:
Career development, individual capacity-building, an understanding of community and community development, and an understanding of economic development are necessary pieces of information and knowledge if we are to build and sustain communities, especially in rural and remote areas of our province and country and indeed anywhere in the world.
This suggests the need for a much broader scope of practice as well as a much more diverse background of knowledge than is traditionally given in the preparation of career and guidance professionals. It also suggests that guidance professionals in the school system should play an enhanced leadership role in bringing relevant career education into the mandatory curriculum and having schools embrace career education and make it part of the educational mainstream.
Career Circuit and the Circuit Coach training initiative
Career Circuit is a national Canadian initiative geared to strengthening partnership and capacity within the youth career services sector. It integrates career and community development and offers an example of effective community based guidance in action. Not-for-profit community-based agencies provide a large proportion of career development and employment services for out-of-school youth and young adults. Traditionally, however, the non-profit sector has been fragmented and under-resourced and has had limited access to structures, support and professional training. Career Circuit provides a strategic response to each identified need.
After four years of intensive development, pilot testing and refinement, the following resources are now available free of charge to youth-serving agencies across Canada:
· Network. A virtual community of approximately 5,000 community-based youth-serving member agencies, connected to each other and to a wealth of current, regionally tailored, and sector-specific information via www.thecircuit.org.
· Resources. A searchable database of thousands of targeted resources (www.vrcdatabase.com) and the Virtual Resource Centre CD-ROM offer access to hundreds of resources (PDF format) organized by theme, media type and youth questions answered.
· Training. Circuit Coach is a fully self-instructional training programme to provide front-line workers with a solid grounding in career development and prepare them to use a wide range of innovative interventions to address specific youth issues. Circuit Coach is supported by a network of trainers across Canada who provide coaching and learning support at the community (non-institutional) level. The training is beginning to be recognized by colleges and university-level institutions for credit purposes, which represents another innovation and a break from tradition.
· Assistance. A key to the ongoing success of Career Circuit has been the engagement of Field Liaison Officers (FLOs) in each province/territory. These officers were recruited mainly for their connections to the community, experience of organizational change and connections to business and employers, and secondarily for their career development expertise. Half of the FLOs have career development qualifications, but half do not. Their expertise includes some career development, but they also have strong backgrounds in fields such as: international development, human resource development, mediation and technology. All FLOs are strong in community-development experience. Their unique role has been to promote the initiative at the grass-root level, to work with community stakeholders to plan tailored implementation, and to act as a liaison between regional interests and national coordination. They also act as resource people for practitioners completing Circuit Coach training. In the process, they themselves are becoming more specialized in career development. In order to mobilize a community of career service providers, it has been critical to have a person devoted to building community partnerships and increasing capacity. The diverse multidisciplinary backgrounds of the FLOs have been crucial to their capacity to have impact at the community level.
This initiative raises the issue of qualifications and professionalism in the career development field. Traditionally, career and guidance counselling is a post-graduate qualification rooted in counselling, education and psychology and not grounded in human resource development or community and business development. The success of the Circuit Coach initiative invites reflection on our assumptions as to what is needed to be truly effective with youth and young adult populations.
The southern belt of Greater Buenos Aires is very densely populated. Originally, it had an industrial profile, but in the last decade there has been an abrupt decrease in permanent jobs caused by the sudden closure of many companies. Unemployment has resulted in social vulnerability and social exclusion for many, especially women and young people. The problem is how these conditions narrow expectations for the future and impact on personal identities.
In recent years, there has been an agreement between the Psychology Faculty of Buenos Aires University and a local county (partido de Avellaneda, provincia de Buenos Aires) for the development of a programme for the community. The general approach involves collaboration between the university and local town councils, on the basis of organizational agreements, to provide support for youth. The objectives of the initiative are: to work closely with educational centres, offering technical assistance for the development of psycho-social programmes for young people, children and families; and provide training for teacher and guidance assistants. Within the programme, intervention is focused on vocational and occupational guidance in order to help young people develop personal projects for their life, studies and work. Activities are carried out in town councils, local social clubs, and schools (Aisenson, 1996; Aisenson & Monedero, 2000).
Efforts are being made to develop practical community-based interventions and assess their effects. For example, a Reflection Workshop on Vocational Guidance has been created which enables young people, under the guidance of a psychologist or teacher, to reflect and talk with their peers about their vocational and transitional situation, what they hope to do in the future, their expectations, and their personal interests. Possible jobs and activities, and roles to which they aspire are carefully reviewed. The purpose is to encourage self-confidence, promote trust in their capabilities, identify and develop personal strengths and resources, and widen their scope of possible alternatives. Innovative projects and strategies are encouraged. New tools are being introduced to help them face transitional conditions in restrictive, marginalizing contexts such as unemployment or unstable jobs. Strategies for finding a job, formal and informal ways of job-seeking, résumé and cover-letter writing, and the first job interview are covered.
Another example is the Educative and Work Opportunities Fair-Exhibition held every year for seven years and attended by approximately 15,000 youth, faculty and parents annually. Local public and private educational institutions as well as local public companies, unions and businesses are represented. This has been a forum enabling young people to discover different work and educational opportunities, gain information, widen their choices, and strengthen their sense of direction.
Programmes are delivered to elementary and high school counsellors, the staff of kindergartens in undeveloped neighbourhoods, and parents in the poorest neighbourhoods. Technical assistance is also given to directors and school counsellors. Discussion of social differences and cultural diversity is a focus of the teacher/counsellor programme as are tools to prevent dropping out of school, vulnerability, and social exclusion. Distinctions are made between factors of identification developed at home and at school so that teachers and counsellors can better target their action. Theoretical models from vocational psychology, community psychology, cognitive social psychology, educational psychology, the sociology of education, the sociology of work, and economics are widely applied. Approaches cannot be clinical only. The real problems being faced by people in society make it necessary to review the theoretical models on which the practices and purposes of guidance are based (Guichard & Huteau, 2001). It is also necessary to adopt a code of ethics (IAEVG/AIOSP, 1996) for the training of guidance counsellors.
Problems dealt with in this initiative include:
· Personal attitudes. In countries that suffer from widespread poverty and marginalization, such conditions begin to be taken for granted, thus creating psychological barriers to transformations that might improve personal and social conditions.
· Analysing life, study, and job histories encourages reflection on the different processes and transitions that determine personal histories and particular paths.
· It is important to recognize that specific physical, psychosocial and socio-dynamic conditions are needed for proper development, particularly at transitional stages. Individuals need to recognize that social support is necessary, and local organizations must be ready to effect the internal changes that enable them to offer such support.
· While some social processes create vulnerability, others protect and facilitate resilience (Rutter, 1993), which enhances ability to face adversity. This resilience exists in people, institutions and communities, and is the capacity that community-based programming is intended to develop.
· Empowerment development (Rappaport & Seidmann, 1989) is a process that enables individuals, organizations and communities to acquire the capabilities to cope with their conditions, become resilient and move forward. It is closely linked to self-esteem and self-confidence. Personal attitudes that tend to transform personal and contextual conditions are to be encouraged in individual, family, group and community projects.
To date, results indicate that the model increases community capabilities to develop life projects and plan careers. It also enhances individuals capacity to support personal projects that are deemed important, even though they might not provide a paid job. Activities in this field are proving to be very useful and suggest a possible model for guidance practice in other countries and communities.
Implications and suggested directions for the future
The examples cited are demonstrations that the field of career development is expanding its scope of practice. It may be that there is a sense in which traditional career development thinking and training have become too narrow to be effective when faced with the challenges of shifting labour markets, struggling communities, and the sheer numbers of people of all ages who need some assistance in planning and managing their career futures and social and economic inequities. If so, what might be areas for further analysis and possible action pertaining to the practice of career guidance and counselling?
As the scope of practice expands, the need for innovative career development preparation and professional training which embraces community and economic development competencies becomes critical. Programmes which continue to be relatively divorced from these broader disciplines may not be providing the best training for career guidance and counselling practitioners. More importantly, traditional training programmes may result in fewer and fewer students and workers being able to access career and guidance services if these services continue to be provided primarily in an individual counselling context which does not embrace collective delivery modes and other types of community expertise.
In most countries there is a strong trend towards outcome-based programmes and services. Proof of impact and return on investment are increasingly required when seeking public funds and public support. Traditionally, the career guidance and career development field has had a struggle to demonstrate its worth in terms which policy-makers can understand and endorse. Career development that is more connected with community development, as in the projects in Newfoundland and Argentina, may be a surer way of demonstrating impact and results. Working at a more collective level provides opportunities to gather concrete cost/benefit and outcome data that might better meet the needs of both policy and practice.
Community-based guidance and career services bring into the delivery system professionally-trained career specialists and a diverse range of community stakeholders from elders to parents to employers to community workers to youth advocates. This huge diversity contributes to individual career development and community development sustainability. The field will be challenged to examine how to protect the professional role appropriately and ethically while at the same time remaining open to debating important questions regarding the right mix for effectiveness.
Definition of the relevance of career and guidance services in non-wage economies, as well as in developing countries which are struggling with poverty, literacy, social exclusion and inequity, is a major task. What models can the career guidance and counselling field provide that are truly relevant and useful? Delivered how and by whom and with what qualifications? What programmes, tools or successes might be relevant to and transferable between developed, middle and developing economies? The risk of career development and guidance being seen to be, or indeed having become, elitist, equipped to meet the needs of the more advantaged but out of its depth with anyone else, merits serious and rigorous consideration. This would involve developing a much deeper understanding of and empirical evidence for the integration of knowledge, skills and abilities with values, interests and beliefs as models for individual and community change and growth.
The point was made earlier that individuals and communities change in response to either a crisis or an opportunity. The same is perhaps true for professions. The wider community capacity-building agenda may present the career development and guidance field with both a crisis in relevance and a true opportunity for growth.
Aisenson, D. (1996). Orientación Vocacional y Ocupacional en Grupos de Pares a través de Programas Comunitarios, Actas de la Conferencia Internacional Career Guidance Services for the 90s, pp. 105-113. Lisbon: International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance.
Aisenson, D., Monedero, F. et al. (2000). Jóvenes escolarizados: proyectos y contextos. Anuario IX de Investigaciones en Psicología, pp. 254-270. Buenos Aires: UBA.
Frank, F. & Smith, A. (1997). The partnership handbook. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Career Development Foundation.
Guichard, J., & Huteau, M. (2001). Psychologie de l'orientation. Paris: Dunod.
Hiebert, B. (2000). Canadian standards for career development: Fostering the career development profession. Revista Española de Orientación y Psicopedagogía, 11(19), 1-17.
Hiebert, B., MacCallum, B., Galarneau, N., Bezanson, L., Cawley, M., Crozier, C., DeSchiffart, C., Johnston, G., Mason, V., Stewart, J. & Ward, V. (1999). Fostering a profession: Canadian standards and guidelines for career development. In M. Van Norman (Ed.). Natcon Papers 1999 (pp. 145-153). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Career Centre.
IAEVG/AIOSP (1996). Mission and ethical standards of the IAEVG. Educational and Vocational Guidance Bulletin, 58.
Lowe, G. & Davidman, K. (2001). Re-thinking employment relationships: Implications for workers, employers and public policy. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Policy Research Network, http://www.cprn.com/cprn.html.
Rappaport, J. & Seidmann, E., Eds. (1989). Handbook of community psychology. New York: Plenum.
Repetto, E., Malik, B. & Hiebert, B. (2000). International qualification standards for educational and vocational guidance practitioners. In B. Jenschke, (Ed.). Guidance for education, career and employment: New challenges. Proceedings of the International Congress of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, Berlin, Germany, August 2000. http://www.arbeitsamt.de/laa_bb/international/Kongress1.html.
Rutter, M. (1993). Resilience: some conceptual considerations. Journal of Adolescent Health, 1, 623-631.
|
<urn:uuid:aec74a86-a912-4edb-8b28-61bc19f36870>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0ewf--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-10-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=ewf&cl=CL3.6&d=HASH014568fcf10e94e30f403c96.5
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.95919 | 7,091 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Moisture is a primary contributing factor in the long term durability of bridge decks. Moisture is involved in freeze-thaw problems in Portland cement concrete and in corrosion of reinforcing steel. Chloride ions, another factor contributing to corrosion, are normally transported through the concrete bridge deck to the reinforcing steel by moisture.
Moisture measurement techniques were examined and one of the methods, Peltier-type psychrometers, was used to measure bridge deck moisture. Measurements were made at depths of 0.5, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 - 5.5 in. Both negative and positive moment regions were instrumented. The degree of saturation at the level of the reinforcing steel was found to be about 90 percent, with little variation over the two month period that measurements were taken. Moisture content fluctuations were greater in the negative moment region than the positive moment region, probably due to a higher degree of tensile cracking in the negative moment region. Moisture fluctuations could lead to increased migration of chloride ions to the reinforcing steel. Measurement of moisture content distributions before and after wetting a bridge deck could be used as an indicator of corrosion protection provided by overlays.
August 29, 2007
Donald J. Janssen.
Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC); University of Washington. Dept. of Civil Engineering.
- # of Pages: 17 p., 546 KB (PDF)
- Subject: Bridge decks, Corrosion, Durability, Measurement, Moisture content, Portland cement concrete, Psychrometers, Reinforcing bars.
- Keywords: Durability, corrosion, moisture measurement, psychrometer.
- Related Publications:
This abstract was last modified April 29, 2008
|
<urn:uuid:6bb60400-bccc-4f35-b1eb-e3c8ce263919>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://wsdot.wa.gov/Research/Reports/100/124.1.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.910901 | 358 | 2.96875 | 3 |
You know Jersey barriers, right? Those concrete dividers in the middle of major highways? The ones that are designed to keep drivers from swerving into oncoming traffic?
I always assumed that they were invented by the folks who brought us the New Jersey Turnpike. Given how many innovations its designers contributed to highway engineering, it only seemed natural, so imagine my surprise when Ivan and I passed this historical marker on Route 173 in Hunterdon County.
The Encyclopedia of New Jersey tells us that the Jersey barrier was "developed ... to minimize the number of out-of-control trucks penetrating the median and eliminate the need for costly and dangerous steel guardrail median barrier maintenance in high-accident locations with narrow medians." Sounds like a problem for a major highway, right? Who'd have thought that the first place it would be installed would be cow country?
On second thought, it makes a lot of sense. I can see where western New Jersey would be a good test area, with lots of two-lane roads where opposing traffic could easily stray in darkness or bad weather, or drunkenness on the part of the driver. As the sign in Bethlehem Township infers, there were plenty of bad accidents right on 173 that likely could have been prevented with a partition separating traffic.
Further research reveals that the original 32-inch barrier was developed at Stevens Institute in Hoboken, under the direction of the state Department of Transportation. The Turnpike Authority later used that design and an Ontario variant to create a highly-reinforced model that effectively shunts errant semi trucks back into the proper lane of traffic.
The irony is that while we saw Jersey barriers all along Route 78 on our trip toward the historical marker, there are no barriers at all on 173. Instead, there's a turning lane in the center of the road, shared by both directions of traffic. It's kind of a shame there's not at least a little bit of the original barrier left in the road, sort of our own New Jersey version of the Berlin Wall. Wouldn't it be cool if there's a remnant of it being preserved somewhere?
|
<urn:uuid:30ad63f7-c34d-4617-9a0c-5deefa3d6cbf>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.hiddennj.com/2012/02/highway-history-made-in-hunterdon.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00176-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.957353 | 430 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Malay customs practiced in Penang and other states in Malaysia somewhat differ from place to place. There are some common aspects that cover rituals throughout their lives. The Malays as a race are somewhat divided into many other ethnic groups, depending on their geographical locations.
However, some of them do share a few common principles. The old Malays have a saying: "Biar mati anak jangan mati adat" It means: "We'd rather let our children die than abandoning our customs". Sounds harsh maybe, but that is the way it goes in this part of the world.
Malay customs include elaborate rituals, table manners, costumes for daily wear and also for special occasions, filial piety, way of working and a myriad of beliefs, taboos, do's and don'ts.
A lot of traditional paraphernalia are used during all these ceremonies. They involve costumes as well as crafts especially made for the event. Some of them include tepak sirih (betel nut holder), sirih junjung (betel leaves floral arrangement), pulut kuning (yellow glutinous rice), sintok limau (kaffir lime). All these are synonym with Malay customs. Musical instruments include kompang (hand-held drums) and nafiri (flute).
The rituals and ceremonies will accompany Malay men or women since birth to their deaths. From the wombs of their mothers, unborn babies are blessed during their seventh month of pregnancy. This ceremony is called "melenggang perut". Literally meaning "blessing the belly". What happen during this ceremony is a coconut with its husk cleanly shaven off is rolled on the tummy of the mother-to-be.
A midwife who is well versed with the arcane art of divinity can predict whether the baby will be a boy or a girl just by looking the way the coconut roll off the belly. Later on, the coconut is halved and its juice poured into a glass for the pregnant woman to consume, blessed with magical incantation mixed with verses from the Al-Quran. The Malaya believe that coconut juice, if regularly drunk, will assist in easier delivery of the baby.
Here is an entertaining description about this ritual, as explained by Wan, a Malay language teacher. Istiadat Melenggang Perut.
Newborn babies, as in everywhere in the world, are precious bundles of joy, especially if it is a male first-born child.
Naturally, boys are treated differently from girls. One of the common ceremonies that is carried out is the shaving ceremony whereby the hair of the baby is shaven clean.
The idea is that, the hair that grows inside the womb is unclean and the scalp needs to be scraped of any residue that comes out of the womb. Sintok and fresh lime are used to clean the scalp.
In the picture you can see a midwife performing the shaving ceremony with a normal safety razor.
In the old days, very sharp cut-throat razors were used instead. It is definitely a highly skilled job to be able to shave the baby's head without hurting him.
The kaffir lime is cut into slices and the pieces let fall into the water. It is believed that the way the lime falls in the water may give an indication of the behavior of the baby when he grows up. This is of course mere superstitious because if we were to believe all these beliefs, no one will be able to move forward at all in their lives.
After shaving, the baby is bathed with warm water, scented with sliced kaffir lime to freshen him up. Some babies cry during this ordeal but most remain calm because the midwives are able to say the magic words seeking protection from God from any untoward incident.
Along the way, the babies may or not be circumcised, for the baby girls, the ceremony is done before they reach two years old. Nowadays it is common for baby girls to be circumcised as soon as they are born at the hospital.
One of Malay customs that is losing its popularity is the "first step on the ground" ceremony. The baby, by this time has grown into a toddler are guided to touch the ground with its bare feet. This is party time. Normally done to coincide with the baby's first birthday.
Around the age of ten to twelve, the circumcision ceremony for boys is normally carried out. For girls, it is ear-piercing ceremony. These two rituals normally coincide with "berkhatam Quran", whereby the children finished learning reciting the Holy Book from a Guru. Yellow glutinous rice is always served during these festivities. This special rice dish symbolizes prosperity.
Well, what else is there when you reach adulthood? Parents expect their grown up children to start a family of their own. Malays observe truly elaborate and complicated rituals before even a betrothal can take place. Even though many of these steps are no longer in practice, it is interesting to know them. Here are the steps:
There are many taboos to observe so as not to give offense to anyone. After all, this is a very serious matter. Future in-laws will have many meetings to determine the suitability of the union. Then, there is also the matter of the dowry which is usually the main thing that the whole village want to know. There is a lot of heartache associated with a broken engagement. For the Malays, being highly sensitive and proud in nature, even a broken engagement will bring a lot of shame to the whole family, let alone a divorce.
In the old days, most marriages were arranged by the parents or relatives. The young couple sometimes never met until on their wedding day. During this modern days, Malay couples flirt and go on dates just like everyone else.
After the wedding, the cycle repeats, when the couple have their firstborn. Along the way, some people die. Death is a solemn affair, the dead is handled following the Islamic rites. Before, during and after the burial, there are prayers. Mourning is observed for forty days. On the fortieth day usually, members of the family of the deceased usually will feed the poor so that the act of the alms will ease the passing of the dead.
Between all the rituals mentioned above, there are a whole lot more to learn about Malay customs. If you truly want to understand the culture, it is best to live among the community and take part in the rituals and ceremonies that are held.
|
<urn:uuid:e64692ad-1fa0-46d2-8284-6ef58ad1bd6d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.penangheritagecity.com/malay-customs.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.9622 | 1,353 | 2.796875 | 3 |
The University of Oklahoma Biological Station, Kingston, Oklahoma
Annual stratification in Lake Texoma begins with a salinity barrier restricted to the Old Red River Channel. Subsequently the hypolimnion covers much of the old river bottom land and the halocline may be reinforced by a thermocline. Depletion of dissolved oxygen in the hypolimnion may force most fishes to live in the epilimnion.
A variety of physico-chemical factors influence fish productivity in lakes, and it is possible to make reasonable predictions of fish harvest based on the morphoedaphic index (1). The morphoedaphic index seems applicable to reservoir fish production (2) but substitution of thermocline depth for mean depth provides better fit. Consequently, extent and depth of reservoir stratification should be determined as it may have a significant impact on fishing quality, especially when stratification causes an anoxic hypolimnion.
Water stratification may result from differences in temperature or amounts of dissolved solids, both of which may result in water of differing specific gravity. Although classic limnology may emphasize thermal factors in stratification, concentrations of dissolved solids may cause greater differences in specific gravity than those associated with a thermocline (3). Each causal factor is associated with climatic circumstances, and the stability of stratification depends upon rates of summer warming or changes in concentrations of dissolved solids in the inlet water. We were stimulated to determine whether Lake Texoma stratifies by a 1970 communication from Andrew Robertson to the senior author which stated that Lake Texoma had a halocline that separated an anoxic hypolimnion from an oxygen-containing epilimnion by different amounts of dissolved solids. Unfortunately, Dr. Robertson did not publish his results and his data are not available. Our investigations show that (in 1974 at least) the primary cause for stratification on the Red River Arm of Lake Texoma was concentrations of dissolved solids which can cause a virtually anoxic hypolimnion prior to establishment of thermocline at the same depth as the halocline.
Fish abundance and diversity are associated with dissolved oxygen. Gill nets set below the halocline in the Red River Arm of Lake Texoma took fewer fishes than those set in similar locations above the hypolimnion. As the halocline rose to cover an established gill net station, the numbers of fish taken were reduced.
Water samples were obtained with a 2.3-liter Kemmerer Water Sampler. Physico-chemical parameters were determined by standard methods (4): dissolved oxygen by the azide modification of the Winkler method (and on occasion by Hach kit titrations); chlorides by the argentometric method; total dissolved solids (TDS) with a Myron L Dissolved Solids Meter model 532 T1; and water temperatures were obtained by a meter and probe supplemented by glass thermometer readings. Bottom profiles were outlined with a Bendix DR-19 depth recorder supplemented and/or calibrated by soundings (often by use of the Kemmerer Water Sampler on a calibrated rope).
Fishes were obtained with 91.4 × 1.8 m gill nets with 5-cm stretch mesh. Nets were set on the bottom at 16.5, 12.5, 8.8, and less than 5 m depth as well as suspended at 12.5 m at Station C (Figure 1).
We obtained profiles of temperature, dissolved solids, and dissolved oxygen at one or more locations in Lake Texoma on 7, 11, 25, 28 June, and 2, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19 July. Every profile had reduced oxygen concentrations at the bottom and the dissolved oxygen and solids negatively associated with each other. During June we found no thermal gradient that could account for the reduction of oxygen with depth. To confirm that dissolved solids caused stratification we sampled extensively on 28 June from a station at 18 m depth (Figure 2) in the Old Red River Channel near the entrance of the Buncombe Creek Channel and adjacent to the University of Oklahoma Biological Station (hereafter, locations between Buncombe Creek and the Willis Bridge for US 377 will be called "off UOBS"). All titrations were made of water samples obtained in varied sequences (i.e. 17, 5, 12, 6, 16, 3, 18 m depths) without the operator being aware of the recorded depth of sample. Two techniques were made for each of the three primary parameters: O2 (Winkler and Hach), dissolved solids (TDS meter and chloride titrations), and temperature (meter and glass thermometer), and each technique was applied by at least two of us. The data are concordant with stratification caused by dissolved solids and discordant with stratification caused by water temperature. The halocline was between 13 and 15 m depth, which approximated the upper edge of the Old Red River Channel at that location and date. To determine if the salt-laden hypolimnion was restricted to the old channel we sampled at Preston Point on 2 July during extremely windy weather, when crest height of waves exceeded 1 m. At that time the halocline there was at about 20 m depth (Figure 3) and restricted the hypolimnion to the Old Red River Channel. These data again are concordant with dissolved solid stratification and discordant with thermal stratification. The extent of the hypolimnion was studied 16 July near the start of an interval with minimal winds (Figure 4). Three downstream stations east of Preston Point showed that stratification involved O2, temperature, and dissolved solids. Clearly, the hypolimnion had flowed over the edge of the old channel and had covered much of the old flood plain. The hypolimnion pool had risen to near the level of the old channel edge off UOBS. Upstream at
Hauani Creek (just to the west of the Red River Delta that had nearly filled the reservoir) and Briar Creek stratification did not involve temperature (±<0.2°C) and oxygen correlated with dissolved solids. This profile shows that salt-laden waters flow under less saline epilimnion waters and that both layers become progressively less saline to the east. If the hypolimnion pool rises east of UOBS in still weather, a continuation should result in the hypolimnion overflowing the channel near UOBS. Subsequent to 12 July that overflow was obvious and (Figure 5) the flood plain was covered with hypolimnion water. After early July our profiles off UOBS could be interpreted to include a thermocline as well as a halocline.
Gill nets set at <5 m and at 9 m always contained more than 0.5 kg/m and 0.5 fish/m per 24 hrs. Those set at > 16 m never exceeded 0.02 kg/m and 0.03 fish/m and after 17 July never had any fish. Nets set at 12.5 m 11-19 July had 0.12 kg/m and 0.37 fish/m (11th); 0.15 kg/m and 0.29 fish/m (12th); 0.13 kg/m and 0.19 fish/m (17th); 0.08 kg/m and 0.25 fish/m (18th); and 0.07 kg/m and 0.03 fish/m (19th). The suspended gill net set at 12.5 m had a similar decline in catch 17 to 19 July. Clearly, the abundance and weight of fish in both 12.5 m nets declined as the hypolimnion rose to cover each net.
The abundance of species seems also to be negatively affected by hypolimnion conditions. Our samples from >16 m had only Ictalurus (two individuals), Dorosoma (one), Cyprinus (one), and Aplodinotus (three). Nets set at or near the hypolimnion captured those taxa and numerous Morone, Ictiobus, and Carpiodes. Aplodinotus seems to be the fish most tolerant of hypolimnion conditions as most of the fish in the 12.5 m bottom net on 19 July were freshwater drum.
Although we know of no previous published record of a halocline as a primary cause for stratification in Lake Texoma one should not be surprised that this occurs. In many ways Lake Texoma is similar to Keystone Reservoir, in which a northern arm (Arkansas vs Washita) has less saline and a southern arm (Cimarron Arm vs Red River) has more saline waters. Eley, et al. (5) clearly showed that salinity from the Cimarron Arm is the primary cause for
stratification. Lake Texoma differs from Keystone primarily in that the salt inflow of the Red River is more dilute than that of the Cimarron Arm so that the halocline seldom separates layers with dissolved solid differences exceeding 0.6 ppt whereas Keystone often has 3 ppt differential. It is not surprising, therefore, that the halocline in Lake Texoma is more restricted to the old channel than is the halocline in Keystone Reservoir.
We feel that stratification in the Red River Arm of Lake Texoma occurs annually in the following manner: high flows typical of spring and winter seasons fill the Red River Arm with water of about 1.0 ppt TDS. As the flows decline in late spring and early summer that inflow water has more dissolved solids [Water Resources Data for Texas for 1969-1972 (6) report that 57% of the recorded Red River flows at Gainesville of more than 60 m3/sec have less than 1 ppt but those flows less than 10 m3/sec have more than 2 ppt 90% of the time]. The more saline low-flow waters accumulate at the edge of the delta near Hauani Creek. The eastern edge will sink under the less saline high-flow waters and flow down the old river channel. If the winds are reasonably strong, that saline water which overflows onto the old flood plain is mixed with the epilimnion water by wave-caused currents. We noted that the depth of halocline remained at the edge of the channel (13 m) off UOBS until quiet weather, after which the halocline rose to cover the old flood plain with 3 m of saline water. At the beginning of the overflow on 12 July with a mild south wind, the overflow was at 11.5 m on the north and 12.5 m depth on the south side of the channel, suggesting that the subsurface counter-flow was piling the overflow onto the upwind shore. Current-caused erosion of the hypolimnion would elevate the TDS in the epilimnion, but in turn, tributary inflows would cause decrease of the high TDS at the eastern end of the lake. This is pronounced east of Preston Point where the Washita River inflow would have a major impact. At times the saline hypolimnion from the Red River Arm will flow a distance into the Washita Arm.
Two phases seem to occur in summer: a) an early phase with the hypolimnion flowing down the old river channel and any overflow being mixed into the epilimnion by wind-caused currents. The excess hypo-
limnion water would leave through the electric generating tubes which are located near the bottom; and b) a later phase when the hypolimnion overflows onto the old flood plain during quiet water.
The first phase would involve a 3-4 m deep, ca 100 m wide mass of water of high TDS. An inflow of 10 m3/sec would signify a hypolimnion flow rate approximating 0.5 m/min. Nearly one month would be needed for this water to flow the 22 km from Hauani Creek to UOBS. Seasonal warming would be more rapid in the shallow Red River than in Lake Texoma so that the water in the hypolimnion not exposed to solar radiation should be about as warm as the epilimnion waters exposed to seasonal warming at the sampling time. One month is more than sufficient (at 25 C) for depletion of the dissolved oxygen in the saline water flowing down the old river channel. Clearly, epilimnion-dissolved oxygen must be diffused through the halocline to maintain the 3 ppm concentrations noted in late June and the 1 ppm O2 noted at Preston Point on 2 July (that water is believed to have been in the hypolimnion since early May). The bottom muds have a high O2 demand; a 1% mud mixture reduced O2 from 10 ppm to less than 1 ppm in 30 min at 25 C. Under these conditions drum (Aplodinotus) and catfishes (Ictalurus) are the only fish of which we took more than one individual from the hypolimnion.
The second phase would begin with the first prolonged period of quiet weather. Hypolimnion water would continue to flow down the old river channel and fill the lake bottom initially near Denison Dam (ca 30 m deep) and progressively cover more and more of the bottom. As quiet weather is typically also hot weather, the surface would warm rapidly and a thermocline could form which would reinforce the dissolved solids stratification previously established. The increased mass of hypolimnion water present would signify more time lapse since Red River inflow or a greater difference in seasonal warming. The strong stratification would result in complete oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion. This is in accordance with our gill-netting samples, which produced no fish under these conditions.
It is unfortunate that previous reports do not record the relationship of dissolved solids to oxygen depletion at the bottom of Lake Texoma. Sublette (7) emphasized shallow waters in his discussion of the bottom fauna, and his stations were all in water too shallow to sample hypolimnion formation. Grinstead's (8) white crappie study included a 13± m station but it was not in the old channel. Both Sublette and Grinstead recorded occasional low O2 readings and thermal stratification at depths similar to those at which we have noted hypolimnion overflow. If we had not recorded dissolved solids and had not sampled from the old river channel, our conclusions would have resembled theirs. Houser (9) sampled from the channel but did not record physico-chemical data. His report of best catches from old brush suggests that most fish were above the channel bank our gill nets set on the old channel bank were snagged on old brush and that the old river channel was adversely affected by oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion.
Although one can interpret Grinstead's and Sublette's data to suggest stratification of Lake Texoma, they do not prove long-term hypolimnion formation. In addition to Dr. Robertson's 1970 data we find a) Leifeste et al. (10) reported temperature and oxygen stratification on 25-27 July, 1967; their profile on p. 27 shows that specific conductance changed at the same depths as did temperature and dissolved oxygen; and b) Mitchell et al. (11) showed oxygen depletion with depth, but seldom was a thermocline formed. As they did not measure dissolved solids they would not be expected to determine the cause for stratification.
The complete depletion of dissolved oxygen in the hypolimnion and the rise of the halocline during hot, quiet weather forces most fishes into the narrowing epilimnion. Hot still weather also stimulates increased use of air conditioners, which in turn increases the demand for hydroelectric generation that further compresses available living space for fishes in the reservoir above the power plant by lowering the lake surface. Although the fish biomass in Lake Texoma may be reduced seasonally, the changes in epilimnion volume would concentrate all fishes in shallows where they would be available for harvest by sport fishermen.
Lake Texoma stratified in 1974 with concentrations of dissolved solids being the primary cause. Windy weather restricted the hypolimnion to the Old Red River Channel, where dissolved O2 was between 2 and 3 ppm. Quiet weather permitted greater separation of epilimnion and hypolimnion waters, a rise in the halocline, elimination of dissolved O2 at the bottom, and establishment of a thermocline that coincided with the halocline. Reduction of dissolved oxygen restricted most fishes to waters less than 10 m deep.
We are indebted to Andrew Robertson for initial information that Lake Texoma has a halocline, Harold Schlichting for information on surface salinities, Loren G. Hill for equipment and enthusiastic support, Jerry Nelson and Bennett Clark for loan of equipment and confirmation of selected chemical determinations, and Jack Nelson for obtaining records of surface water chemistry.
1. R. A. RYDER, S. R. KERR, K. H. LOFTUS, and H. A. REGIER, J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31: 663-88 (1974).
2. R. M. JENKINS and D. I. MORAIS, in G. E. Hall (ed.), Reservoir Fisheries and Limnology, American Fisheries Society, Washington, 1971, p. 371-84.
3. F. RUTTNER, Fundamentals of Limnology, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1963.
4. M. J. TARAS, A. E. GREENBERG, R. D. HOAK, and M. D. RAND (eds.), Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water, 13th ed., A.P.H.A. ? A.W.W.A. ? W.P.C.F., Washington, D.C., 1971.
5. R. L. ELEY, N. E. CARTER, and T. C. DORRIS, in Reservoir Fishery Resources Symposium, American Fisheries Society, Washington, 1967, p. 333-57.
6. United States Geological Survey. Water Resources Data for Texas. Part 2. Water Quality Records, 1969-1972.
7. J. E. SUBLETTE, Texas J. Sci. 7: 164-82 (1955).
8. B. G. GRINSTEAD, Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Bull. 3, 1969.
9. A. HOUSER, Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Rep. 63, 1957.
10. D. K. LEIFESTE, J. F. BLAKEY, and L. S. HUGHES, Texas Water Dev. Bd. Rept. 129.
11. R. P. MITCHELL, F. S. CARL-MITCHELL, and G. H. WARD, Espey, Huston, and Associates Doc. 7401.
|
<urn:uuid:d53565f8-71d9-4c12-a7d2-e6ad5f50cd29>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/OAS/oas_htm_files/v56/p32_37.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.949367 | 4,011 | 2.71875 | 3 |
How Do Search Engines Work - Web Crawlers
It is the search engines that finally bring your website to the notice of the prospective customers. Hence it is better to know how these search engines actually work and how they present information to the customer initiating a search. There are basically two types of search engines. The first is by robots called crawlers or spiders.
Search Engines use spiders to index websites. When you submit your website pages to a search engine by completing their required submission page, the search engine spider will index your entire site. A ‘spider’ is an automated program that is run by the search engine system. Spider visits a web site, read the content on the actual site, the site's Meta tags and also follow the links that the site connects. The spider then returns all that information back to a central depository, where the data is indexed. It will visit each link you have on your website and index those sites as well. Some spiders will only index a certain number of pages on your site, so don’t create a site with 500 pages!
The spider will periodically return to the sites to check for any information that has changed. The frequency with which this happens is determined by the moderators of the search engine.A spider is almost like a book where it contains the table of contents, the actual content and the links and references for all the websites it finds during its search, and it may index up to a million pages a day.
Example: Excite, Lycos, AltaVista and Google.
When you ask a search engine to locate information, it is actually searching through the index which it has created and not actually searching the Web. Different search engines produce different rankings because not every search engine uses the same algorithm to search through the indices. One of the things that a search engine algorithm scans for is the frequency and location of keywords on a web page, but it can also detect artificial keyword stuffing or spamdexing. Then the algorithms analyze the way that pages link to other pages in the Web. By checking how pages link to each other, an engine can both determine what a page is about, if the keywords of the linked pages are similar to the keywords on the original page.
Keyword density is an indicator of the number of times the selected keyword appears in the web page. But mind you, keywords shouldn’t be over used, but should be just sufficient enough to appear at important places. If you repeat your keywords with every other word on every line, then your site will probably be rejected as an artificial site or spam site.
Keyword density is always expressed as a percentage of the total word content on a given web page. Suppose you have 100 words on your webpage (not including HMTL code used for writing the web page), and you use a certain keyword for five times in the content. The keyword density on that page is got by simply dividing the total number of keywords, by the total number of words that appear on your web page. So here it is 5 divided by 100 = .05. Because keyword density is a percentage of the total word count on the page, multiply the above by 100, that is 0.05 x 100 = 5%. The accepted standard for a keyword density is between 3% and 5%, to get recognized by the search engines and you should never exceed it.
Remember, that this rule applies to every page on your site. It also applies to not just to one keyword but also a set of keywords that relates to a different product or service. The keyword density should always be between 3% and 5%.
Simple steps to check the density:
- Copy and paste the content from an individual web page into a word-processing software program like Word or Word Perfect.
- Go to the ‘Edit’ menu and click ‘Select All’. Now go to the ‘Tools’ menu and select ‘Word Count’. Write down the total number of words in the page.
- Now select the ‘Find’ function on the ‘Edit’ menu. Go to the ‘Replace’ tab and type in the keyword you want to find. ‘Replace’ that word with the same word, so you don’t change the text.
- When you complete the replace function, the system will provide a count of the words you replaced. That gives the number of times you have used the keyword in that page.
- Using the total word count for the page and the total number of keywords you can now calculate the keyword density.
Must Have Features Your Web Site
Just don’t focus on the home page, keywords and titles.
The first step to sales when customers visit your site to see the products they were looking for. Of course, search engine optimization and better rankings can’t keep your customer on your site or make them buy. The customer having visited your site, now ensure that he gets interested in your products or services and stays around. Motivate him to buy the product by providing clear and unambiguous information. Thus if you happen to sell more than one product or service, provide all necessary information about this, may be by keeping the information at a different page. By providing suitable and easily visible links, the customer can navigate to these pages and get the details.
Understanding Your Target Customer
If you design a website you think will attract clients, but you don’t really know who your customers are and what they want to buy, it is unlikely you make much money. Website business is an extension or replacement for a standard storefront. You can send email to your existing clients and ask them to complete a survey or even while they are browsing on your website. Ask them about their choices. Why do they like your products? Do you discount prices or offer coupons? Are your prices consistently lower than others? Is your shipping price cheaper? Do you respond faster to client questions? Are your product descriptions better? Your return policies and guarantees better than your competitor’s? To know your customer you can check credit card records or ask your customer to complete a simple contact form with name, address, age, gender, etc. when they purchase a product.
Does your website give enough contact information?
When you sell from a website, your customer can buy your products 24 hrs a day and also your customers may be from other states that are thousands of miles away. Always provide contact information, preferably on every page of your website, complete with mailing address, telephone number and an email address that reaches you. People may need to contact you about sales, general information or technical problems on your site. Also have your email forwarded to another email address if you do not check your website mailbox often. When customer wants to buy online provide enough options like credit card, PayPal or other online payment service.
Some other Keyword Research Tools
One need to choose those keywords that are frequently searched for and which is in high demand, but not being already used by many other websites and competitors, and thus has low competition. There are a number of keyword research tools that can help you find them. Apart from the Wordtracker which was already discussed in an other article, we have some more equally important research tools like the Overture, Google AdWords Keyword and Guidebeam.
Overture's keyword suggestion tool is free and much quicker to use than Wordtracker. It works more like the Wordtracker but doesn't tell you how many websites are targeting each keyword phrase. For example if you type ‘Computer’, the Overture search suggestion tool will tell you that during the last month the word ‘Computer’ was searched, say for example 459550 times at Overture.Com. Similarly 'computer game' was searched 302210 times. Also, given one word it will tell you all relevant combinations of that word, which are based on actual searches done by people. If the word you keyed in is not a common search term then you will not get any results. It means that very few people have actually searched for that word during the last month.
Even Google Keyword Tool generates potential keywords for your ad campaign and reports their Google statistics, including search performance and seasonal trends. Features of this tool include,
- Sorting the results of your desired keyword search by popularity, past performance history within the AdWords system, cost, and predicted ad position.
- Easy keyword manipulation where you can select a few keywords here and there or add them all at once.
- Searches for keywords present even in any webpage URL specified by your search. It can also expand your keyword search even further to include those pages that are linked to or from the original URL page.
- More keyword results are generated based on regularly updated usage statistics database. This helps you to get new keywords or phrases.
Guidebeam is an interesting resource. Type in a phrase and it will suggest a large number of related searches. The numbers generated against each phrase are Guidebeam's estimation of how relevant that phrase is. These softwares are useful for researching how people search the web and then optimizing your own web pages so that more people find your web site.
Submitting Your Website to Search Engines
If you have a web-based business or if a significant portion of your business is done on the web through your website, then the best advertising and marketing is done by submitting to a search engine. No amount of press release, newspaper or radio ad, banner ad, spam email or newsletter will achieve the same results, although, maybe effective in a small proportion. Beware of companies that promise automatic submission of your website to hundreds of search engines which are but only false promises. The best way to submit your website for search engine ranking and inclusion is to do it yourself or to hire an expert to do it manually, by contacting the search engine companies and directories.
Before you begin to submit your website to search engines ensure your websites are thoroughly designed to the professional quality using the right key words, good graphics and pictures and the relevant content. Don’t submit websites that are incomplete. While submitting to a search engine, make sure to provide information about your website, keywords and any other information that may be pertinent, including the name and contact information of your business.
Mere submission to search engine companies does not guarantee that your site would be immediately listed and the ranking will be high. Because there are thousands of new websites coming up every day and it may take quite sometime before they take up your site for review by human editors. One important factor to remember while submitting site is to include a site map of your website which makes the crawling easy for the web robots. Search engines like ‘http://www.google.com’ hardly considers submissions without sitemaps.
There are many online companies that accept search engine submission services. You can choose to do it yourself with a software package and service like this one:
The Importance of Search Engines
It is the search engines that finally bring your website to the notice of the prospective customers. When a topic is typed for search, nearly instantly, the search engine will sift through the millions of pages it has indexed about and present you with ones that match your topic. The searched matches are also ranked, so that the most relevant ones come first.
Remember that a prospective customer will probably only look at the first 2-3 listings in the search results. So it does matter where your website appears in the search engine ranking. Further, they all use one of the top 6-7 search engines and these search engines attract more visitors to websites than anything else. So finally it all depends on which search engines the customers use and how they rank your site.
It is the Keywords that play an important role than any expensive online or offline advertising of your website. It is found by surveys that a when customers want to find a website for information or to buy a product or service, they find their site in one of the following ways:
- The first option is they find their site through a search engine.
- Secondly they find their site by clicking on a link from another website or page that relates to the topic in which they are interested.
- Occasionally, they find a site by hearing about it from a friend or reading in an article.
Thus it’s obvious the the most popular way to find a site, by search engine, represents more than 90% of online users. In other words, only 10% of the people looking for a website will use methods other than search engines.
All search engines employ a ranking algorithm and one of the main rules in a ranking algorithm is to check the location and frequency of keywords on a web page. Don’t forget that algorithms also give weightage to link population (number of web pages linking to your site). When performed by a qualified, experienced search engine optimization consultant, your site for high search engine rankings really does work, unless you have a lot of money and can afford to pay the expert. With better knowledge of search engines and how they work, you can also do it on your own.
|
<urn:uuid:7694896f-dddf-4adc-b270-207ed5a62d59>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.zuqiu88.org/flash/118057.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.932581 | 2,695 | 3.21875 | 3 |
The waterways within and around the Iwokrama Forest are home to an extremely high diversity of fish. So far, 420 species have been identified and what makes this exceptional is that this figure is exceedingly high seeing as only a small portion of the rivers have been surveyed. This has led to estimates of up to 600 species for the area. In comparison, there are only 700 species of fish in all of North America. For an area its size it is possible that the Iwokrama forest has the world’s highest fish diversity.
Two factors potentially cause this elevated diversity. The first factor is the wide range of habitats represented within the area. Here, fish have a huge choice of habitats offering opportunities for speciation including flooded forests and savannahs, rivers, creeks, ponds and ox-bow lakes. The second factor is that the Essequibo River is situated between three major ichthyofaunal regions: the Orinoco, eastern Guiana Shield, and Amazon.
Flooding during the annual high water period enables an exchange in fish species between these three systems.
Fish highlights include the worlds largest freshwater fish, the Arapaima (Arapaima gigas), the Silver Arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum), the common sport fish – Peacock Bass or Lukanani (Cichla ocellaris), the savage Red-Bellied Piranha (Pygo-centrus natteri), various freshwater stingrays, (Potamotrygon spp.), large catfish including the Piraíba or Lao Lao (Brachyplatystoma filamen-tosum), the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) as well as many colourful aquarium fish.
Rain forests are rich in biodiversity and are home to many different plants and animals as well as indigenous communities.
Humans, even those who don’t live in the rain forest, rely on it for resources such as building materials (wood and lianas), medicine and fruits.
Rain forests also provide essential environmental services for life on earth; they create soil as well as prevent soil erosion, produce oxygen through photosynthesis, maintain clean water systems, and are a key defence against climate change.
The Iwokrama Rain Forest is 371,000 hectares, located in the heart of Guyana. Our mission is to develop strategies for conservation and sustainable development for local people in Guyana and the world at large.
We are involved in timber, tourism and training. Come and visit us in the rain forest or at http://www .iwokrama.org.
|
<urn:uuid:759e6a73-b60a-40b2-a521-dae57f784057>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/features/10/21/the-fish-of-the-iwokrama-forest/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00103-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.936216 | 542 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Norman Borlaug died recently (12 September 2009) at the age of 95. Borlaug began life as an Iowa farm boy, was trained as a plant pathologist at the University of Minnesota, and went on to direct some of the most important plant breeding efforts of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for those efforts.
Borlaug is father of the “Green Revolution”, which began after World War II. Green Revolution agriculture is often criticized because of its reliance on pesticides, hybrid technology, and intensive water use, but it is also widely credited as having saved more human lives, particularly in the Third World, than anything else in the history of the human species. Later in life, Borlaug conceded that there might be some merit in these criticisms but that the Green Revolution was a good start in the right direction.
A good start it was, but we still face many of the same problems that Borlaug encountered. One of these is excess soil salt, or salinity. Salinity is a soil condition characterized by a high concentration of soluble salts that inhibit plant growth. Excess soil salt is a problem as old as agriculture. The civilizations of the Fertile Crescent, the area centered around modern-day Iraq, are thought to have dissipated as a result of climate change and excess soil salt that destroyed their agriculture.
Soil salinity is one of the primary abiotic stresses affecting plant growth and quality. As much as 6% of the earth’s total land area is affected by excess soil salt. Much of this arises from natural causes. Rock weathering releases soluble salts, and rainwater itself contains 6–50 ppm sodium chloride. Clearing land for cultivation and irrigation are two other causes of increased soil salinity; both raise the water table and salts are then concentrated in the root zones of plants.
Salinity is a common element of arid and semiarid lands, but it is also found in regions with moderate rainfall such as the U.S. Midwest and Northeast, particularly where irrigation is used. Poor quality irrigation water and poor drainage can make it worse. And irrigation is important in agriculture. Only about 15% of all cultivated land is irrigated, but irrigated land is about twice as productive as rained land and accounts for about 30–40% of the world’s food production. Breeding salt tolerance in plants is an important goal for plant scientists.
Now, what’s a salt? Salts are ionic compounds, and ionic compounds are characterized as having an electrostatic bond between metal and nonmetal ions. Ions are charged atoms. In water, salt dissolves as the ions composing the salt disassociate. If the water evaporates and the concentration of salt in water (in solution) becomes too great (saturated), the salt precipitates out of solution and becomes solid once more. Sodium chloride (table salt) is the primary salt involved in soil salinity; the primary ions responsible for salinization are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and chlorine.
Sensitivity to salt differs in plants. Some are tolerant while others are quite sensitive. Plants that grow in salt marshes and estuaries where the salt concentration may vary diurnally are (not surprisingly) able to thrive at much higher salinities than can woodland plants; this is easily demonstrated. But salt is so common in soils that all plants have evolved the ability to cope with and adapt to some degree of salinity.
How does salt affect plants? There are two basic ways. First, high salt concentrations in soil make it harder for plant roots to extract water from the soil. This is purely the result of osmosis, the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane, as in a plant cell, from an area of high water potential (low salt concentration) to an area of low water potential (high salt concentration). When the concentration of soil-water salt rises above a threshold, water will tend to flow out of the plant. If plants had no way of regulating this process, they would quickly dehydrate and die. Second, in a saline environment, salt enters the plant and accumulates. With time, it can reach toxic concentrations.
Both can be exacerbated by environmental factors such as sunlight, air temperature, and humidity, but of the two, osmotic stress has the most impact, and after soil-water salt exceeds a certain threshold its effect on plant growth is more or less immediate. Salt accumulation, on the other hand, has a more gradual effect. Stress from salt accumulation occurs later in the plant’s life cycle, and only at very high levels of salinity does its effect dominate.
How do plants adapt to increased salinity? Traditionally, plants have been described as either “excluders” or “includers” of salt, those that select against its uptake or those that regulate its accumulation. In most plants, a little of both strategies is seen. Other plants adapt to salinity by completing their life cycles rapidly and avoiding the toxic effects of accumulated salt altogether. These are worthwhile summaries but trivial answers to complex processes.
All plant functions ultimately result from the genes that plants possess that control and coordinate growth in concert with the constraints of the environment, and that plants mount a coordinated response to their environment is easily demonstrated. The physiological manifestations of salt tolerance and the salt-stress response have been pretty well described. Traditional plant breeding of the type that Borlaug directed has produced quite stress-tolerant crops, mainly by introducing traits from stress-adapted wild relatives. So great progress has been made, but our understanding on a molecular and cellular level is only piecemeal.
Teasing answers from several issues will provide insights into the processes that cause salt tolerance and toxicity in plants. For example, what molecular processes control salt (actually ion) compartmentalization in plants, and what accounts for tissue tolerance and osmotic adjustment? How is salt transported once inside the plant? A gene family responsible for initial entry of ions into plants has been identified and gives us some insights. One fascinating question is how do the leaves know the roots are in salty soil? Clearly, they do because leaf growth rate is reduced proportionally to the concentration of salt in the soil solution and not to the salt concentration within the leaves. What accounts for this long-distance communication within plants?
In the next few decades, we will answer these questions. And in the process, we will have taken more steps in the right direction.
|
<urn:uuid:a73f6112-fca3-49be-bdf3-8400f0595aae>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.fordhookvoice.com/2009/10/frederick-dobbs-soil-salinity/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.962484 | 1,342 | 3.25 | 3 |
Setting the Scene…
By mid-May, 1968, American ground troops had fought the Vietnam War for seven bloody years. The Communist’s Tet Offensive had been soundly defeated some four months previously and with that offensive had died the indigenous Viet Cong. The continuing inflow of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops was now even more crucial for the Communists’ pursuit of the war. The "Viet Cong" battalions were soon filled with these Northern-born conscripts, trained in conventional warfare and unfamiliar with the southern terrain in which they operated. The former guerrilla war essentially ceased.
The huge North Vietnamese Army also continued in its attempts to invade its southern neighbor in its own 10,000-man division-sized units heavily armed with artillery and even tanks. The NVA had the luxury of operating from "neutral" Laos and Cambodia, and free from attack. To defend this 800-mile border, the American and South Vietnamese Army established a string of border outposts intended to signal the NVA presence and allow an American counter-attack once these enemy troops entered the South. Most American troops were required in the enormous logistic "tail" necessary to fight a war 10,000 miles from home. Comparatively few units were available for this mobile mission. These few were referred to as "maneuver battalions" because they were able to take the war to the enemy.
In May, 1968 American casualties were running as high as 500 men killed in action in a week. The huge majority of these casualties, fully 80% of them, was being borne by that small handful of troops in the maneuver battalions. These battalions never numbered over fifty, with an average field strength of about 500 men each. Thus, while American peak strength in the war was almost 500,000 troops, 80% of the casualties were being suffered by the 25,000 men who fought in the maneuver battalions.
Mark Woodruff's latest book takes you right into the fiery heart of one of the Corps' most vicious fights in northern I Corps. It's a gut-level look at the battle for Foxtrot Ridge replete with eyewitness accounts from the Marines who were there...including the author. Recommended reading for all who want to know the truth about the war in Vietnam and the men who fought it.
—Dale Dye, Captain, U. S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
One such maneuver battalion was the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. This is the story of one of their battles, told by the veterans themselves. The battle began on May 28, 1968 when the 88 Marines of Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment were engaged by an NVA battalion of over 500 men near Khe Sanh. The resulting fight, has come to be known as the Battle of Foxtrot Ridge. The fighting, much of it in pre-dawn darkness was fierce and confusing. When it was over, the Marines had suffered 13 men killed and 44 wounded, killing 230 of the enemy during the nine-hour battle.
We are very proud to offer Foxtrot Ridge. The book is a collection of first-person battle recollections from over 20 survivors of the battle, including the author, which tells the story of the battle in a very personal and poignant way. At times filled with the physical sights, sounds, and smells of battle, while at other times, overtaken by pure emotion, Foxtrot Ridge is a unique and powerful view of war.
The battle of Foxtrot Ridge was not a "deciding" battle, it was not special or unique, and remains only a footnote in most histories of the war. Yet it was battles like this, fierce battles fought at the 100-man company level, that tell the real story of the American fighting man in Vietnam. Taken as a group the battles were the Vietnam War.
About the author…
Mark William Woodruff was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and is the author of the highly-regarded Vietnam history, Unheralded Victory (Vandamere Press, 2000). The author enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 1967; completed his Boot Camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego; and took Infantry and Advanced Training at Camp Pendleton. He served in Vietnam with Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment from December 1967 to December 1968.
After leaving the Marine Corps, he graduated from Pepperdine University (Los Angeles) in 1970 with a B.A. in Psychology, receiving his M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine in 1971. In 1973 he moved to Australia and began a career as an Educational Psychologist in Western Australia. He holds a reserve commission with the Royal Australian Navy as a Psychology Officer and has also worked with the Australian Vietnam Veterans Counseling Service in Perth. Currently, he is a Senior Navy Psychologist at Fleet Base West in Western Australia.
|
<urn:uuid:14672192-d22f-4c3e-8b45-2076e66ad6ac>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.echo23marines6569.org/FoxtrotRidgeBook.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00199-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.98071 | 1,008 | 2.859375 | 3 |
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — New records for production by registered Jersey cows were established in 2011, according to the American Jersey Cattle Association.
The official Jersey lactation average increased to 18,633 pounds milk, 889 pounds fat, and 676 pounds protein. On a Cheddar cheese equivalent basis, average yield is 2,294 pounds on a Cheddar cheese equivalent basis. All are new category records.
A record 91,028 lactations were processed by the association, an increase of 51.4 percent in 10 years. The lactation average is calculated on a standardized 305-day, twice daily, mature equivalent (m.e.) basis.
These records for Jersey production come on the heels of a study published in the January 2012 issue of Journal of Dairy Science that documents lower production inputs and reduced environmental impacts of Jersey milk production because of higher component levels and small body mass to be maintained.
Using Jersey and Holstein data from the Dairy Records Management System (DRMS) database in 2009, researchers Jude Capper and Roger Cady determined Jersey cows required 20 percent less total feedstuffs by weight and 32 percent less water to produce the same amount of milkfat and protein as Holstein cows.
Their analysis also documented substantial reductions in land usage, fuel consumption, waste output and greenhouse gas emissions. Per unit of cheese produced, the Jersey carbon footprint (total CO2-equivalents) was 20 percent less than that of Holstein.
“If a dairy can produce a given amount of protein, butterfat and other solids while using less feed, water and fossil fuels, and producing less waste, the cost of producing that amount of milk solids is reduced and yet the revenue realized from the pounds of milk solids produced is the same. The bottom line is more net profit,” said Erick Metzger, general manager of National All-Jersey Inc.
|
<urn:uuid:42898e2a-cc84-4210-9980-e60df85fefb2>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/2011-jersey-production-sets-records/33672.html?icn=related-stories&ici=int-articles__related-thumb__187x125__single-footer
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.916532 | 390 | 2.59375 | 3 |
12 Elements of a Merit Image
|>Competitions Home||>IPC Home||>IPC Results||>PPA Approved Print Cases|
|>IPC Video Tutorials||>IPC Resources & Downloads||>Mentor Booths at Imaging USA||>PPAedu IPC Classes|
The Photographic Exhibitions Committee (PEC) of PPA uses the 12 elements below as the “gold standard” to define a merit image. PEC trains judges to be mindful of these elements when judging images to the PPA merit level and to be placed in the International Print Exhibit at Imaging USA, the annual convention. The use of these 12 elements connects the modern practice of photography and its photographers to the historical practice of photography begun nearly two centuries ago.
Twelve elements have been defined as necessary for the success of an art piece or image. Any image, art piece, or photograph will reveal some measure of all twelve elements, while a visually superior example will reveal obvious consideration of each one.
1.) Impact is the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion. There can be impact in any of these twelve elements.
2.) Technical excellence is the print quality of the image itself as it is presented for viewing. Retouching, manipulation, sharpness, exposure, printing, mounting, and correct color are some items that speak to the qualities of the physical print.
3.) Creativity is the original, fresh, and external expression of the imagination of the maker by using the medium to convey an idea, message or thought.
4.) Style is defined in a number of ways as it applies to a creative image. It might be defined by a specific genre or simply be recognizable as the characteristics of how a specific artist applies light to a subject. It can impact an image in a positive manner when the subject matter and the style are appropriate for each other, or it can have a negative effect when they are at odds.
5.) Composition is important to the design of an image, bringing all of the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image. Proper composition holds the viewer in the image and prompts the viewer to look where the creator intends. Effective composition can be pleasing or disturbing, depending on the intent of the image maker.
6.) Presentation affects an image by giving it a finished look. The mats and borders used, either physical or digital, should support and enhance the image, not distract from it.
7.) Color Balance supplies harmony to an image. An image in which the tones work together, effectively supporting the image, can enhance its emotional appeal. Color balance is not always harmonious and can be used to evoke diverse feelings for effect.
8.) Center of Interest is the point or points on the image where the maker wants the viewer to stop as they view the image. There can be primary and secondary centers of interest. Occasionally there will be no specific center of interest, when the entire scene collectively serves as the center of interest.
9.) Lighting —the use and control of light—refers to how dimension, shape and roundness are defined in an image. Whether the light applied to an image is manmade or natural, proper use of it should enhance an image.
10.) Subject Matter should always be appropriate to the story being told in an image.
11.) Technique is the approach used to create the image. Printing, lighting, posing, capture, presentation media, and more are part of the technique applied to an image.
12.) Story Telling refers to the image’s ability to evoke imagination. One beautiful thing about art is that each viewer might collect his own message or read her own story in an image.
Read Bob Hawkins' article, "Elements of a Merit Image" to learn even more.
|
<urn:uuid:0bee9e0a-3d65-410e-a900-5dc31d54f646>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
https://www.ppa.com/competitions/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1792
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00195-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.884157 | 804 | 3.09375 | 3 |
4000bce - 399
400 - 1399
1400 - 1499
1500 - 1599
1600 - 1699
1700 - 1799
1800 - 1899
1900 - 1999
|Text B||Text C||Text D||Text E|
|See also the Text of the Plan in the Notes on Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Reported by James Madison|
I. "The Supreme Legislative power of the United States of America to be vested in two different bodies of men; the one to be called the Assembly, the other the Senate who together shall form the Legislature of the United States with power to pass all laws whatsoever subject to the Negative hereafter mentioned.
II. The Assembly to consist of persons elected by the people to serve for three years.
III. The Senate to consist of persons elected to serve during good behaviour; their election to be made by electors chosen for that purpose by the people: in order to this the States to be divided into election districts. On the death, removal or resignation of any Senator his place to be filled out of the district from which he came.
IV. The supreme Executive authority of the United States to be vested in a Governour to be elected to serve during good behaviour-the election to be made by Electors chosen by the people in the Election Districts aforesaid-The authorities & functions of the Executive to be as follows: to have a negative on all laws about to be passed, and the execution of all laws passed; to have the direction of war when authorized or begun; to have with the advice and approbation of the Senate the power of making all treaties; to have the sole appointment of the heads or chief officers of the departments of Finance, War and Foreign Affairs; to have the nomination of all other officers (Ambassadors to foreign Nations included) subject to the approbation or rejection of the Senate; to have the power of pardoning all offenses except Treason; which he shall not pardon without the approbation of the Senate.
V. On the death resignation or removal of the Governour his authorities to be exercised by the President of the Senate till a Successor be appointed.
VI. The Senate to have the sole power of declaring war, the power of advising and approving all Treaties, the power of approving or rejecting all appointments of officers except the heads or chiefs of the departments of Finance War and foreign affairs.
VII. The supreme Judicial authority to be vested in ___________ Judges to hold their offices during good behaviour with adequate and permanent salaries. This Court to have original jurisdiction in all causes of capture, and an appellative jurisdiction in all causes in which the revenues of the general Government or the Citizens of foreign Nations are concerned.
VIII. The Legislature of the United States to have power to institute Courts in each State for the determination of all matters of general concern.
IX. The Governour Senators and all officers of the United States to be liable to impeachment for mal- and corrupt conduct; and upon conviction to be removed from office, & disqualified for holding any place of trust or profit-All impeachments to be tried by a Court to consist of the Chief ______ or Judge of the superior Court of Law of each State, provided such Judge shall hold his place during good behavior, and have a permanent salary.
X. All laws of the particular States contrary to the Constitution or laws of the United States to be utterly void; and the better to prevent such laws being passed, the Governour or president of each State shall be appointed by the General Government and shall have a negative upon the laws about to be passed in the State of which he is (1) Governour or President.
XI. No State to have any forces land or Naval; and the Militia of all the States to be under the sole and exclusive direction of the United States. the officers of which to be appointed and commissioned by them.
Documents Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States.
Government Printing Office, 1927.
House Document No. 398.
Selected, Arranged and Indexed by Charles C. Tansill
|
<urn:uuid:87c920ec-0b22-4637-afd6-e1cbe4b7da2a>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/hamtexta.asp
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.945566 | 846 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Our children spend less time outdoors than any generation in American history. New research suggests that the cost may be higher than we think. In addition to fat, flab, and declining appreciation for nature, less time outdoors translates into less caring for others.
An article posted on digital Scientific American caught my eye the other day. Written by P. Wesley Schultz, The Moral Call of the Wild summarized and discussed the results of an interesting study published in a recent issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (2009; 0: 0146167209341649v1) under the title Can Nature Make Us More Caring? Effects of Immersion in Nature on Intrinsic Aspirations and Generosity.
Written by University of Rochester researchers Netta Weinstein, Andrew K. Przybylski, and Richard M. Ryan, the P&SP journal article reported the results of research providing empirical evidence that, as reviewer Schultz puts it, “exposure to nature can affect our priorities and alter what we think is important in life. In short, we become less self-focused and more other-focused. Our value priorities shift from personal gain, to a broader focus on community and connection with others.”
It appears to work the other way, too. As exposure to nature declines, people exhibit more self-focused behavior.
As Schulz went on to explain:
…. In their first study, the researchers randomly assigned individuals to view a slide show that either depicted scenes of human-made or natural environments. The slides were matched across a variety of characteristics, to eliminate the possibility that the results were due to things like color, complexity, or brightness of the images. The participants were instructed to try to immerse themselves in the images—to notice the colors and textures and imagine the sounds and smells. After watching the slide show (which took about 8 minutes), the participants completed a series of questions about their life aspirations.
Of particular interest were responses to extrinsic life aspirations , like being financially successful or admired by many people; as contrasted with intrinsic life aspirations , like deep and enduring relationships, or working toward the betterment of society. The results showed that people who watched the nature images scored significantly lower on extrinsic life aspirations, and significantly higher on intrinsic life aspirations. The effect was particularly strong for participants who reported being “immersed” in the images. This basic effect was further explored in three subsequent studies. The later studies showed the same effect for true nature experiences: being in a small room with plants, for example.
Now that’s mighty interesting, folks. It’s a well-documented fact that experiences in predominantly natural settings yield restorative and regenerative benefits in the form of reduced stress and improved physical and psychological well-being. But much less is known about the broader social ramifications of natural experiences. If not exactly startling, these research results are thought-provoking and potentially very instructive.
The bottom line seems to be this: If parents want their kids to grow up to be kinder people – if they want to increase the likelihood that their offspring will buy into the concept of caring-and-sharing -- one of the things they need to do is increase their exposure to the natural world. Get them outside more. Take them to national parks, for instance.
Of course, it’s never wise to base important policy decisions on a single study. What we’ve got here is actually an hypothesis, not a working theory. That said, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to get our kids outside and into the national parks more often.
|
<urn:uuid:2e4e62f5-71ed-409c-b562-046b8ffa70e5>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2009/12/want-kinder-less-selfish-kids-take-them-national-parks5040
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00046-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955091 | 738 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Chip makers hope to give IoT a push with power-efficient components
Low battery consumption will be a key to success for IoT products, and chip makers are working on more frugal processors and microcontrollers to make that happen.
Improved energy efficiency was a common theme at the Electronica conference in Munich this week, where next-generation IoT chipsets were plentiful.
Energy efficiency “is very important indeed, because in many cases you are talking about devices that run on batteries and the battery life has an effect on how affordable and practical it will be to deploy them,” said Matt Hatton, director at Machina Research.
San Jose-based Atmel was at the conference to launch the SAM L21 microcontroller family, which consumes one-third the power of comparable products in the market today, according to the company. Limited numbers of the product will be available from February, for use in consumer, industrial and portable medical products, Atmel said.
Toshiba, meanwhile, is going after smartwatches, bracelets, glasses and rings as well as activity monitors with the TZ1021MBG processor. It’s designed to help devices be as small, lightweight and power-efficient as possible. Toshiba did not, however, say how much power the processor will consume. The product will start to ship this month, and mass production is slated to start in March next year.
Most existing wearables suffer from bad battery life, so any improvement in that regard would be a step in the right direction.
The Atmel and Toshiba products use technology from ARM, highlighting how the U.K.-based company has managed to build on its smartphone success and establish a beachhead in the market for IoT devices.
IoT represents a potentially huge market. Market research company Gartner says there will be 4.9 billion “things,” such as appliances and sensors, connected to the Internet in 2015.
But for chip manufacturers, getting into the market isn’t just about product development. Making it easy for developers of applications and hardware to use their products is equally important. Just as apps have played a large role in the popularity of smartphones, they are needed for the IoT market to take off.
“There is a requirement to smooth the path,” Hatton said.
For example, semiconductor maker Freescale has started a beta program to help jump-start the development of IoT products. The company said it will offer developers Thread software and a beta development kit. Thread is an IP-based mesh networking protocol used for connecting devices in the home. Early adopters can start product planning and development now, and start delivering products next year, Freescale said.
Competing vendor Renesas Electronics says it has developed a processor board based on ARM’s recently launched mbed IoT device platform, which aims to speed up the development of embedded systems.
The chip manufacturers are working to expand partnership programs in an effort to build an ecosystem around their components. Broadcom this week said it had signed up more than 40 new companies, including module manufacturers, independent design houses and original device manufacturers, to its program.
The increasing availability of customized chipsets is a sign that the much-hyped IoT sector is becoming more mature. But the launch of apps with IoT connectivity is also important for the development of the market. For example, SAP this week launched three products for maintenance, logistics and manufacturing.
“The verticalization is something that’s applicable across the board,” Hatton said. “Lots and lots of companies are looking at how to make IoT more appropriate for smaller organizations with particular needs, rather than thinking about just generic offerings.”
|
<urn:uuid:5b8649f8-577b-4e3f-928d-057e06ce702d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2847832/chip-makers-hope-to-give-iot-a-push-with-powerefficient-components.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.960758 | 766 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Vacuum tubes may not have the sizzle of their solid-state counterparts, but in radar, satcom, EW, ECM, and other applications, their power/bandwidth characteristics remain unchallenged.
Vacuum tubes were once the active devices of choice in high-frequency systems. With increasing use of solid-state devices, however, vacuum electron devices (VEDs) play less dominant roles in microwave and millimeter- wave systems, although they still offer the most power per device for most applications. Vacuum tubes such as klystrons, crossed-field amplifiers (CFAs), gyrotrons, magnetrons, inductive output tubes (IOTs) and, in particular, traveling wave tubes (TWTs), continue to retain their solid position in defense applications and even in some commercial and industrial applications as well. The fact remains that at high microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies, monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and RF power transistors can't match the power/bandwidth product that these "mature" devices can deliver.
Of course, this "dollars per watt" scenario changes every year, as devices based on GaAs, silicon and, increasingly, gallium nitride (GaN) offer higher power levels at higher frequencies. These improving performance levels help chip away at vacuum tube bastions such as broadcast transmitters, and electronic warfare (EW), electronic countermeasures (ECM), and radar systems. However, they have a long way to go before they will be able to produce megawatts of power at 40 GHz like a klystron or gyrotron, or 250 kW like a coupled-cavity TWT. The challenge of reducing the staggering losses incurred in power combining networks alone would be enough to scare away even the most ardent supporter of solid-state technology.
The TWT is arguably the most widely used VED for microwave defense, instrumentation, and satellite communications applications. It provides the extremely high output-power density required by these applications at microwave frequencies, with time-tested reliability. Development continues on the devices as well as the amplifiers and transmitters they enable, and the power supplies whose characteristics are critical to ensure the performance and longevity of TWTs. A TWT is an inherently high-gain, low-noise amplifier with wider bandwidth than that of a klystron. The TWT (Fig. 1) uses a slow-wave structure (either a coupled-cavity circuit or for purposes of this discussion, helix) to create interaction between a high-energy electron beam and an RF wave in a vacuum envelope.
In a TWT, electrons are generated by a heated cathode in an electron gun assembly and launched into the interaction region. The electron beam is controlled by an electrode that switches it on and off by changing the control electrode potential (bias) to either positive or negative with respect to the cathode. The switching of bias voltages is performed by the modulator in the transmitter to transition the device from a conduction state to a cutoff state. The electron beam is focused by magnets along the axis of the TWT and the beam is accelerated by a high potential between the cathode and the anode (collector). The RF wave propagates from the input to the output through the slow-wave structure, and the highenergy electron beam gives up energy to the RF wave as it travels along the axis of the tube, providing amplification before the high-frequency signal reaches the RF output port.
Unlike their solid-state counterparts, TWTs require high voltages to be applied to their electrodes, with proportionally higher voltages needed to produce higher RF output levels. For example, an 8-kW, X-band helix TWT requires an input voltage of about 14 kV while a 100-kW coupled-cavity TWT requires about 45 kV input voltage. Physically smaller mini-TWTs operate with input voltages from 3.5 to 7 kV.
A good example of a TWT amplifier (TWTA) application is the radar transmitter shown in Fig. 2, which is typical of transmitters using other types of microwave tubes as well. A pulsed signal from the radar waveform generator is applied to an amplifier that employs RF power transistors to produce an output that drives the TWT. This signal is sent to the input of the TWT where isolators are used to ensure proper input matching and inter-stage isolation, and a PIN-diode switch is present to shut off the driver's output to protect the TWT from overload. In addition to the TWT, the RF output section includes a dual-directional coupler to determine the RF output level as well as the reflected power level to protect the TWT from damage in high VSWR conditions.
Other components include an isolator and often a harmonic suppression filter and waveguide switch that can divert the TWT's output to a dummy load for testing. An arc detector is generally included in very-high-power transmitters, which senses breakdown in the waveguide and turns off the RF drive power to the TWT at high speed to prevent damage to its output port window. Other protective mechanisms cover excessive current in the high-voltage power supply, modulator, and TWT, which are carefully designed to prevent false alarms while providing high levels of safety.
TWTs from various manufacturers vary considerably in many respects, and only through experience can amplifier and transmitter manufacturers such as dB Control determine which one is best suited for a specific application. There is ample reason for this caution since as the core element of the transmitter, which is the TWT, affects nearly every aspect of performance. Key TWT considerations include power supply requirements, operating voltage levels and power consumption, thermal design power dissipation and thermal design, size and weight, temperature, altitude and vibration performance, and demonstrated record of reliability.
TWTs used for transponder amplifiers in satellites, where power is limited, are typical examples for the high efficiency and reliability figures that can be achieved by careful design of TWTs. The RF output power to prime power input ratio that describes real efficiency is greater than 60 percent for these devices, and recent reports show that efficiency of nearly 70 percent has been achieved. These TWTs also have proven to be highly reliable and have long operating lives (greater than 20 years) to provide uninterrupted service in communication and radar applications. Even today, for Ku-band and higher frequencies, TWTs are the only amplification devices used in satellites.
The applications for TWTs include those that pose minimal constraints on size, weight, and power consumption. However, in others such as satellite transponders and most recently military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the RF power generation section must share the available space with massive amounts of signal processing, avionics, power supply, and other hardware. A solution to this problem was the creation of the mini- TWT which, as its name suggests, is a small version of a conventional TWT (typically about 7 in. long) and requires a lower-voltage power supply (to 8 kV). However, it is also limited in RF output power to about 200 W CW (1 kW peak), although retaining its broadband, high-frequency capabilities. These devices are available at frequencies to about 50 GHz.
Impressive though the mini-TWT may be, it has greater potential when incorporated into a microwave power module (MPM). The MPM resulted from a tri-service (United States Air Force, Army, and Navy) vacuum electronics initiative launched in 1990, which had the goal of combining the best characteristics of VED and solid-state technologies to produce common, medium-power building blocks for radar, EW, and ECM systems that could be manufactured in high volume at reasonable cost.
The ultimate goal of the program was to produce extremely small modules but ultimately resulted in modules that were considerably larger. However, they still consume less space than a traditional TWTA, are comparatively light in weight, and operate from power supplies ranging from 28 to 270 VDC. Today, dB Control and other manufacturers offer a wide array of MPMs for operation from S-band to W-band frequencies in CW and pulsed configurations, with RF outputs from less than 20 W to more than 1 kW with a 20 to 40 percent duty cycle, 100 to 400 s pulse width, and variable pulse repetition frequency.
In a classic MPM (Fig. 3), the RF signal path consists of a mini-TWT and a solid-state driver amplifier accompanied by an electronic power conditioner that acts as the high-voltage power supply for the TWT and control circuits. The power produced by the driver amplifier typically negates any reduction in gain resulting from the shortened helix length in the TWT. The MPM fully exploits the power-handling capability, bandwidth, efficiency, and heat-tolerance inherent in TWTs.
MPMs are highly regarded not just for active electronically steered array (AESA) radar applications, but in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems in which long pulse widths are required, EW and ECM suites, and commercial and military satellite communications systems. dB Control MPMs are used in transmitters for radar and ECM applications. These products have exceeded all performance goals and are now in continuous production. The MPMs are employed in many UAVs in which the platforms' prime power, size, and weight are very limited and long failure-free operation is essential.
Continue to page 2
The MPM is also useful as a transmitter module in an AESA system because power output can be increased one or more orders of magnitude greater than the power achieved with the solid-state power amplifier in the transmit/ receive (T/R) module. MPMs also have wider bandwidths and greater heat tolerance than solid-state amplifiers. AESA systems using MPMs as transmitter modules have been deployed in octave- bandwidth ECM systems and in airborne data link systems. Complete MPM-based transmitter line replaceable units (LRU) are also available.
An example of a MPM-based transmitter suite for ECM applications developed by dB Control is shown in Figure 4. The suite operates from aircraft three-phase 115 VAC power. It consists of four MPMbased CW and pulsed transmitters covering 2 to 7 GHz and 6 to 18 GHz to produce the total 2-to-18- GHz frequency coverage. The suite was designed for the harsh conditions encountered in airborne environments, and can withstand gunfire vibration, operation at +100o C for short periods, and is compliant with MIL-STD461E.
In addition to the solid-state driver amplifier, the RF input section includes isolators, directional couplers for sampling at various stages, bandpass filters, switches for selecting specific filters, and a TWT gain equalizer. A dual-directional coupler, forward and reflected power monitoring, and high-VSWR protection circuit follow the TWT. In many respects, the power supply is as important to performance, reliability, and longevity as the TWTs themselves. It must deliver the high voltages required by the TWTs, filter and condition the prime power, and generate and regulate all voltages required by the circuits in the ECM suite. The importance of the power supply led dB Control many years ago to begin manufacturing its own power supplies and even many of the individual components for those power supplies in order to ensure quality control.
The ECM suite successfully met demanding requirements for performance over temperature, altitude, vibration, shock acceleration, explosive atmosphere, rain, humidity, and other factors, as well as EMC compliance. The suite delivers RF output power of 250 W under CW or pulsed conditions from 2 to 7 GHz and 100 W from 6 to 18 GHz, 1.5 kW peak (6-percent duty cycle) from 6 to 18 GHz, and to 300 W under CW or pulsed signal conditions from 6.5 to 18 GHz from its dual-transmitter "high-band" section.
Despite the continuous increases in the performance of RF power transistors and MMIC amplifiers, and the use of high-power combining techniques to efficiently add the contributions of numerous high-power transistors into a common output, the TWT remains the power source of choice for a broad range of defense systems and some commercial and industrial applications with RF power outputs to 2.5 kW CW and 25 kW pulse at frequencies to 95 GHz. No single solid-state amplifier can deliver this level of peak-to-average power and bandwidth for most applications. In fact, the vast majority or EW and ECM systems both deployed and in development rely on either TWTs or some type of VED, and this is likely to remain the case for many years to come.
|
<urn:uuid:76b3f0b0-12cb-45b1-8351-8eed43d2112f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://[email protected]/components/twts-still-drive-high-power-systems
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00046-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938596 | 2,628 | 3.421875 | 3 |
NOAA Confirms Undersea Oil Plumes in Gulf of MexicoJun 8, 2010 | Parker Waichman LLP
An official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said during a briefing today that crude from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is forming undersea plumes, and moving through the Gulf of Mexico like ash from a volcano. According to Jane Lubchenco, one of the underwater oil plumes generated from the leaking well was found 142 miles from the site where the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sunk in April.
Tests conducted at three sites by a University of South Florida research vessel confirmed oil as far as 3,300 feet below the surface, Lubchenco said. Subsea oil was found 42 miles northeast of the well site and also 142 miles to the southeast. The concentrations at more shallow depths were identified as having come from BP’s leaking well. However, scientists were not able to find conclusive evidence that the deeper concentrations came from the well.
According to an NBC News report, the NOAA is now using samples from the three different sites to create an MRI-like 3-D picture to see where the subsurface oil is and where it is drifting.
Various scientists have reported the presence of undersea oil plumes in the weeks following the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. But this is the first time such plumes have been confirmed by a government agency.
All along, BP has denied that these clouds of oil existed. “The oil is on the surface. It’s very difficult for oil to stay in a column,” BP CEO Tony Hayward insisted last month. “It wants to go to the surface because of the difference in specific gravity.”
According to the Associated Press, scientists believe that oil could have become trapped in the water due to the BP’s unprecedented application of chemical dispersants, natural phenomenon, or a combination of the two.
Dr. Samantha Joye, professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia, one of the scientists who had earlier reported undersea oil plumes, has said that the oil clouds could prove devastating to undersea life.
“There is a tremendous amount of oxygen consumption in the plumes,” she wrote on her blog, at least 5-10 times higher than elsewhere in the ocean. The high rate of oxygen depletion will starve any oxygen-breathing life in the water, she wrote.
|
<urn:uuid:a911a447-95c0-402c-b472-ce5f0ab60a43>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/title/noaa-confirms-undersea-oil-plumes-in-gulf-of-mexico
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.973018 | 502 | 2.84375 | 3 |
As the world celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day—from Brazil to Baltimore, from Trafalgar Square to Boston Common—the day that originally was a Catholic Feast Day, but has now come to include the celebrations around the globe of all things Irish by the Irish Diaspora (and millions of “Irish-For-A-Day” folks!), we thought it a perfect time to celebrate Edgar Poe’s Irish heritage.
THE POE FAMILY COMES FROM IRELAND
It begins, as far back as can be reliably traced, to Edgar’s great-great-grandfather David Poe in the town of Dring, County Cavan, Ireland, about 75 miles north of Dublin. (There are going to be a few “Davids” in our brief re-cap, so get your score cards ready!)
There is no record of David Poe’s birth, only of his death in 1742. He was a farmer and overseer of Parrish roads in Kidallan in County Cavan. It is possible (but there is no definite proof) that he was descended from the Dr. Leonard Poe who was the official physician for King James I and later for King Charles I.
David Poe, who married a woman named Sarah, gave birth to a son called John (date unknown). John Poe (Edgar’s great-grandfather) married Jane McBride and immigrated to America sometime around 1749 or 1750. They lived briefly in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and then moved and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. David and Jane had 10 children. Their son David (Edgar’s grandfather—still with me?) was born in either 1742 or 1743 before they came to America.
EDGAR POE’S GRANDFATHER, “GENERAL” POE
“General” David Poe, Edgar A. Poe’s grandfather, born in County Cavan, Ireland sometime in 1742 or ‘43, came to the American colonies settling in Baltimore, where he became a respected and influential citizen. His business was making spinning wheels and clock reels, on Market Street in Baltimore from 1775 on. With the coming of the American War of Independence, David Poe was a member of Captain John McClellan’s Company of Baltimore troops in 1778 and 1779, and was commissioned Assistant Deputy-Quartermaster General for the City of Baltimore with the rank of Major on September 17, 1779. He was a patriot who took responsibility seriously.
Irish immigrants found themselves in the major American cities like Baltimore and New York during those years, and like David Poe Sr. (Edgar’s granddad) they loved their new country, and never forgot their homeland. Many worked as laborers, building America’s first railroads, it’s buildings, and her ships. The Irish were discriminated against terribly in their early years in America, and that horrible discrimination lasted well into the early 20th Century.
During the War of Independence, David Poe Sr. was entrusted with the responsibility of transporting a large portion of the French Allies from Baltimore by sea and across the Susquehanna River. So well known were Major Poe’s services that he became brevetted in the eyes of the public and was known for many years as “General” Poe. That’s where the nickname came from—it was one of respect, and not of denigration. His wife, Elizabeth Cairnes, born in 1756 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, also of Irish descent, shared in his energy and patriotism. When LaFayette passed through Baltimore in 1781 with his ragged Colonial troops, Mrs. David Poe was one of the women who furnished clothing for them. It was due to these services that LaFayette, during the ball given in his honor when he visited Baltimore in 1824, turned to one of the committee and said, “I have not seen among these [the surviving officers of the Revolution who were present] my friendly and patriotic commissary, Mr. David Poe, who resided in Baltimore when I was here, and out of his own very limited means supplied me with five hundred dollars to aid in clothing my troops, and whose wife, with her own hands, cut five hundred pairs of pantaloons, and superintended the making of them for the use of my men.” He was told that Poe had passed away and insisted that he be allowed to visit his grave. At the grave he knelt at Poe's grave and kissed the ground and said, "Here lies a noble heart."
During the War of 1812, David Poe Sr. was also a participant, at 71 years-old, having taken part in the defense of Baltimore in 1814 against the British attack. David and Elizabeth Cairnes Poe had seven children, several of which died in infancy or very young. His son, Edgar's father, David Poe Jr., was born in Baltimore in 1784. David Poe Sr., patriot and grandfather of the poet Edgar, died on October 17th. He is buried in Baltimore, at Westminster Hall and Burial Ground.
THE POET’S FATHER, DAVID
Edgar’s father, also called David, was born in Baltimore on July 18, 1784. David Poe Jr. began his young adult life studying law, but quickly through it over to become an actor on the stage—but that’s another story.
Edgar Allan Poe’s life was heavily shaped by his Irish heritage, a fairly palpable Presbyterian presence from his paternal, biological family, and the strong Scots-Irish ethos of his faux-adoptive father, John Allan. (But that’s another story, too!).
Éireann go Brách! Ireland forever! Poe Forevermore!
New York, 2014
Thank you for visiting us at
|
<urn:uuid:4a02f075-bf1a-4140-9199-3c3536f13393>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://poeforevermore.com/articles-3-16-14-StPatricksDay.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.982753 | 1,222 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Posted: May 2009
So I saw other people doing this on YouTube and I wanted to be cool like them and do it too. Basically what I'm doing here is shaking the hell out of a floppy disk head at certain frequencies to make music. I was originally going to do this with 2 floppy drives so they could each play a part of Bach's Invention 13 from the midi file I used in my SID Player project. Unfortunately because of the way floppy drives work, this wasn't possible while having two drives on the same cable and I didn't have room on my PC board (or the patience) to solder another floppy connector. Anyway, if you want to hear an example of what this sounds like I have a video on YouTube:
Update May 20, 2012: I made a new version of this circuit that takes input from my guitar and vibrates the floppy disk head based on input from the guitar. Sound files and/or video coming soon...
Related Projects @mikekohn.net
Here's a video of the floppy drive playing Bach's Invention 13. https://youtu.be/beNCUsfpvYc
May 2009: Here is a picture of the original MIDI Atmel ATmega168 circuit that I made in May of 2009 attached to a floppy drive.
May 2009: Schematic of the original ATmega168 MIDI circuit. Someone pointed out to me I didn't show power connections on the floppy. The floppy drive is powered from a separate cable. It requires a 12v connection on the yellow wire and 5v on the red. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me.
May 20, 2012: This is my MSP430 version of the circuit that crosses the original circuit with my MSP430 guitar processor.
May 20, 2012: This is the schematic for the guitar controlled floppy circuit.
Btw, this isn't very healthy for a floppy drive. I actually destroyed a floppy drive doing this :). Also, the quality of the drive really affects the sound. The drive I destroyed actually had a pretty nice sound and kept the notes in tune suprisingly well. The floppy drive in the video above is a piece of crap from an old Gateway 2000 computer. The notes were kind of sound out of key sometimes. I had a third drive that was made by TEAC that was so high quality it was almost dead silent. TEAC made some of the best drives around in my opinion.
Original Circuit Explanation
So there are many sites that have floppy drive pinouts including this one: http://www.interfacebus.com/PC_Floppy_Drive_PinOut.html. Basically it works like this: all the odd pins on the floppy drive cable are connected to ground. Since all I was doing was playing with the stepper motor, I didn't need any of the drive's output connections to the inputs of the micro since I wasn't reading anything, but I hooked up the index and track 0 pin anyway for fun. For microcontroller I used the Atmel ATmega168. Probably if I were to redo this project I would use a smaller chip such as the ATtiny2313 since it only requires 1 Vcc and 1 Gnd, it would save space on the board and would be easier to wire it up. Unfortunately, back then I was pretty much only using the ATmega168. For output pins on the micro to the floppy drive I used PD2 for density select (always high if I remember right), PB0 for motor on, PB1 for drive select B, PB2 for drive select A, PB3 for motor B on, PB4 for direction, and PB5 for a step pulse. All these lines are reverse logic so setting them low selects the signal. For example if I wanted to make floppy drive A's motor spin, I'd clear the PB0 output pin setting it low. My firmware doesn't touch any of the drive B pins for reasons I'll explain later.
So for my circuit I was trying to make the floppy head move back and forth and different speeds to create music. For example if the head moved back and forth at 440 steps a second it would be an A440 note. I originally tried to move the head up and down from track 0 to 80 and back to 0 at different speeds to create tones, but it was too quiet, so I decided to just move the head back and forth by 1 track. To move the head I simply set the direction pin (PB4) low or high depending on which direction I want to move the head, set the drive select A pin low (PB2), and set the step pulse (PB5) low for at least 1ms. Unfortunately the drives don't have any latches, which is the reason why I couldn't control 2 drives from a single cable to make music. Drive select and the step pulse have to be kept low for each drive for at least 1ms. Switching to drive B during this time is not an option.
So in order to make this chip play songs, I made the microcontroller connect to a computer via an RS232 and accept MIDI commands. So basically to make the chip play a middle C the computer would send 0x90 60 127. To turn off the note 0x80 60 0. I modified the midi player I wrote for the SID player project to echo the MIDI commands it parses out to the micro instead of sending the commands I used to control the SID.
Guitar Ciruit Explanation
Since I noticed that everyone and their mother is now creating floppy disk music circuits, I decided I wanted to try something different. This circuit and firmware is pretty simple really. It takes the input from my guitar, raises the voltage by half of 3.3v (since 0v to 3.3v are the rails to the reference voltage), puts this signal into the A/D converter of an MSP430G2231, and if the number read in is above 512+threshold, it moves the head 1 step. This makes the floppy disk head vibrate at the speed of the string. Probably the most tedious part of this circuit is that since the microcontroller runs at 3.3v and the floppy disk is 5v, it takes 1 transistor per input / output to interface the drive with with the micro. The source code below can be assembled with naken_asm.
Warning this code is in terrible shape. Since I was originally going to use two drives I wrote most of the code for it and didn't remove or a lot of debug code and commented out code I might want to keep.
New MSP430 Guitar Floppy Circuit:
Copyright 1997-2016 - Michael Kohn
|
<urn:uuid:0ce1d43e-6a1d-4df3-8f26-755dc514792e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.mikekohn.net/micro/floppy_music.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.959641 | 1,374 | 2.859375 | 3 |
While walking uptown during Summer Streets 2010 I passed by two of New York City’s most picturesque relics at Park Avenue and East 46th, at the tunnel that takes the Park Avenue Viaduct through the Helmsley Building. On both sides of the street, you find two picturesque Corvington-esque light posts, but instead of a streetlight attached to the end of the arm, there’s a standard red-yellow-green stoplight. The amateur NYC lamppost buff might conclude that a standard Corv had its lightbulb removed and a stoplight appended. These, though, were actual streetlamps designed specifically to carry stoplights.
Photo left from 5th Avenue Old and New, 1824-1924, Fifth Avenue Association 1924; photo right courtesy Matt Weber
LEFT: the first stoplights in New York city appeared in December 1922 on Fifth Avenue and were designed by Joseph H. Freedlander. They were seven large towers positioned in the center of the avenue and were manually operated by a police officer seated in the tower. Freedlander later designed the individual stoplights, each bearing a 17″ statue of the roman messenger god Mercury at their apices (RIGHT), that could be found in pairs on each corner of 5th Avenue from 1931-1965, after which 5th Avenue’s Donald Deskey twinlamps made their appearance. Note the magnificent Temple Emanu-El in photo left in this view looking north from 42nd Street. That building stood from 1868-1927. The congregation moved to a new building at 5th Ave. and 65th Street in 1929.
In 1924 the first “wheelie” stoplights appeared. These lights, used on important corners in busy traffic areas, had a design based on the longarmed “Corvington” streetlamps, but with some adjustments made. The shafts were thinner and grooved, and most importantly, the scrollwork featured a stylized automobile wheel, of the type that was current at that time, such as the 1924 Ford shown here.
Here I have some “Wheelie” stoplights that survived until recently; 2nd and third from left (photo: Matt Weber) is a Wheelie that survived well into the 1980s at Edgecombe Avenue and West 138th in Harlem. It deteriorated gradually (above right photo: Bob Mulero) until when I found it in 1999, just its stump remained, holding a pair of WALK/DONT WALK signals. That, too, is now gone.
The two photos on the right show a shorter Wheelie post near the Central Park Precinct on the 86th Street Transverse Road deep in Central Park. The Precinct is undergoing seemingly endless renovations and this post must be landmarked — if not it’d surely be gone by now. As it is, it’s listing to one side.
Left: In 1969, future photographer Matt Weber stands in front of one of the many thousands of “olive” stoplights used at less trafficked corners, like this one at Broadway and West 87th. This one also has the control box in which the lights were changed automatically. Olives first appeared in the 1920s and, for the most part, didn’t disappear until the 1980s. When I began FNY in 1999 there were still some Olives around, but by 2010, only a few remain in Central Park.
This brings us to the two Wheelies still guarding the Park Avenue Viaduct ramp at the Helmsley Building. In mid-2010 they were in somewhat sorry shape, as Park Avenue undergoes a rewiring to replace its system of just one stoplight in the center median controlling traffic. Thus, they were called upon to support the extra wiring necessary during the renovation work.
Here’s a closer look at the auto wheel motif. Note that one of the lights is missing its top finial. There is a story behind that, says King of NYC Lampposts Bob Mulero:
It was Saturday in the spring of 1974 when I witnessed the red & green traffic light being replaced by the red, yellow & green traffic light. Apparently the mast traffic light on the south east corner of Park Ave. & East 46th St. finial was removed because of the wiring and the finial could not be restored because there was a crack. I asked the worker if I can have the finial, and he gave it to me. I took it to where I used to live (Ave. D & E.12th St. in Manhattan).
Unfortunately, the present location of the finial is unknown.
|
<urn:uuid:67747275-3aa3-4532-8f2f-85890cb31bb1>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://forgotten-ny.com/2010/09/wheelies-a-look-at-the-last-few-wrought-iron-wheel-motif-stoplights-in-nyc/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.972227 | 966 | 2.640625 | 3 |
On a sunny day last week in West Palm Beach, Fla., Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced $100 million in financial assistance to boost wetlands restoration in the Northern Everglades watershed. With the announcement, USDA aims to purchase the development rights on as much as 24,000 acres of private land in four Florida counties, and restore the land in cooperation with the owners. The end result: less surface water leaving the land, slower water runoff, and reduced concentrations of nutrients entering the public water system. That’s better water quality, greater quantity, and improved economic opportunities for millions of Floridians. Secretary Vilsack spoke about how private landowners play a critical role in protecting wetlands and enhancing wildlife in this unique habitat. The partnership with farmers and ranchers will also empower community-led conservation efforts and use of science-based management practices to restore and protect lands and waters for future generations.
The funding supports the Obama Administration’s commitment to protecting private lands through its America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. Working with conservation partners and others, USDA helps communities find local solutions to natural resource issues such as protecting a large-scale ecosystem like the Northern Everglades.
To watch the ceremony, held at Winding Waters Natural Area, check out the video below!
Amy Plavak of Hillsboro, Oregon, used to lead multi-million dollar projects as a certified professional project manager. Now she is one of 36,000 Earth Team volunteers working to improve the environment and restore wetlands which can clean water, reduce flooding and provide wildlife habitat.
Plavak joined the Earth Team and learned about wetlands, the NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) and worked with NRCS conservationists on soil-saving and water-enhancing projects. She eventually became responsible for updating the wetlands restoration specifications for six WRP projects totaling over 1,000 acres and preparing a detailed agreement and construction bid package for a 350-acre WRP project. Plavak’s volunteer work is credited with saving the government money and allowing the WRP project to be completed on time.
Michele Eginoire, national Earth Team volunteer coordinator, says all Earth Team volunteers make a difference. “We try to tailor our volunteer jobs to our volunteers’ likes and abilities. Their work can include field work, administrative support and conservation education. Our volunteers are a diverse group 14 years and older who support NRCS conservation efforts,” said Eginoire. “Every Earth Team volunteer makes a contribution and every volunteer has the potential to improve the land as much as Amy Plavak.”
NRCS has over 3,000 offices nationwide. To learn more about being an Earth Team volunteer in your area, call 1-888-LANDCARE.
Earth Team Volunteer Amy Plavak is credited with improving the environment and
saving the government money near her Oregon home.
|
<urn:uuid:851df450-ce4d-4538-8395-facd1c7dcac5>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/wrp/page/2/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00176-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.932537 | 592 | 2.71875 | 3 |
What do you do with obsolete CD-ROM's? You can cook them in a microwave oven.
1Take a CD or CD-R which is defunct or useless and place it in a microwave oven, standing up in the middle against a glass or paper cup. Do not use metal materials as a holder.
2Set the microwave for high on five seconds. Close the door completely shut and start cooking.
4Enjoy the show. The heated aluminum of the CD creates a very small electrical storm complete with lightning and sparks. You can observe all this activity through the oven door, though normal precautions have to be taken.
5Wait for a few seconds before retrieving the CD. Even after just five seconds the disc can be conducting electrical currents. Touching a freshly-destroyed CD with bare hands could burn you. Do not inhale the air outside the oven just after a session. Let the microwave cool and air the room out by opening windows.
6Observe the layers of the CD. Notice the different patterns and paths etched over the material creating tiny metallic "islands".
|A demonstration of what a microwaving a CD looks like. Note that the video creator doesn't follow prudent safety precautions.|
- Turn out the lights and draw the curtains for best visual effects. Take along the camera if you'd like to photograph or film the experiment. When using a camera in darker conditions remember to use a reliable balancing tool such as a tripod. Taking handheld photographs in any dark room will cause unwanted blurry effects from camera shake.
- For an extra thrill from photographing the lightning storm, position the camera securely on a tripod and enable a slow shutter speed.
- As an alternative to handing the CD into a recycling department, you could find another use for it. Any expired CD's are useful as coasters, for instance. Or you could collect several microwaved discs and craft them into a mobile. On a bright day the sun will catch and etchings on the aluminum
- extinguisher is optional. A CD baked for five seconds is unlikely to burst into flame, but if you wish to give it an extra cooking it may.
- Inhaling the smoke erupting from a freshly-burnt CD is dangerous and is unhealthy when inhaled. Do not breathe in the fumes, or air in the immediate area of the microwave oven after the experiment completion.
- Do not microwave your CD for extended periods of time. Five seconds is the recommended period for a spectacular experience, but any longer than 10 or 20 the CD may ignite. This could cause damage to your microwave and your home, if not properly attended or prepared for
- Do not try this in an old microwave oven. As well as not working as best as a modern range would perform, the oven may have operational difficulties afterward. An older microwave is more susceptible to damage.
- Choose only CD's which are already wrecked, such as heavy scratching. Alternatively you can give up discs that you have bought specially for the event (i.e. blank) or music albums you have tired of. Know that microwave effects are permanent and recovering any of the information on the disc requires significant expertise combined with sophisticated hardware and software. In other words, do not just use any CD.
- If you are a minor, make sure to obtain parental consent. A slight overdose in the time microwaved can trigger the CD to ignite and damage the microwave. If not properly looked after this can spread throughout the house.
Categories: CD and Vinyl Record Craft Projects
In other languages:
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 108,934 times.
|
<urn:uuid:ddacce7a-e165-4326-81c1-35392430c555>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.wikihow.com/Microwave-a-CD
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.927729 | 742 | 2.828125 | 3 |
A group of Chinese and Australian scientists, working through the Institute of Physics
, have developed a hand-held, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can eliminate a high population of bacteria located on human skin.
The device is described as a "plasma flashlight" in a press release
and has been presented in a paper published in the Journal of Physics. To test the device, the science team used the plasma flashlight to kill a thick layer of the bacteria, Enterococcus faecalis
. This bacterium which often infects the root canals during dental treatments, and is known to be sometimes capable of developing antibiotic resistance.
For the challenge, a thick layer (for 'microbiological' terms) of bacteria was produced, around 25 micrometres thick . The layer was made up of around 17 different layers of bacteria, and is referred to as a biofilm. Biofilms present a risk at the sight of wounds., for they can form nearly impenetrable barriers, preventing treatments like antibiotics from seeping down any deeper that the first few layers of the structure.
To power the plasma flashlight all that is required is a simple 12 volt battery and it works at room temperature. Plasma is the fourth state of matter (in addition to solids, liquids and gases). It can be described as an ionized gas and it is electrically charged. Plasma reacts with the air, which generates free radicals which kill bacteria cells. However, the exact mechanism of how plasma kills bacteria are unknown.
David Graves, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley, is quoted by Popular Mechanics
as saying "The basic idea is very, very simple. If you pass electricity through a gas by applying a high voltage, you get a plasma."
The Daily Mail
reports that the device was designed so that it could be used by medical staff when making emergency calls, or when dealing with natural disasters, or when engaged in military combat operations.
The reference for the paper
X Pei, et al. Inactivation of a 25.5 µm Enterococcus faecalis
biofilm by a room-temperature, battery-operated, handheld air plasma jet. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2012; 45 (16)
|
<urn:uuid:4b168eff-3b97-4e84-ab70-b624e659f2ae>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/322550
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.946414 | 465 | 3.671875 | 4 |
An upcoming study in the peer-reviewed journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research says that some tank-style e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing formaldehyde in their vapor at levels similar to traditional tobacco cigarettes. The New York Times, which revealed the findings ahead of publication, says a second study confirms the results.
The problem seems to be that some tank-style e-cigarettes (the larger, refillable style that vaporize liquid nicotine) get so hot, they cause formaldehyde to form in the vapor they put out.
The finding comes on the heels of the FDA's proposal to regulate e-cigs under the same rules as traditional combustible tobacco. However, those proposed rules would focus on the ingredients that go into e-cig juice, not on the chemical makeup of the vapor that comes out. So far, e-cig emissions (the content of the vapor they produce) is an unregulated area.
It's a complicated area of study, in part because there are so many various manufacturers of e-cigs, and the products are largely non-standardized. One of the studies, performed at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, found that levels of carcinogens increased markedly when the battery output of the tank-style e-cigs was boosted from 3.2 volts to 4.8 volts.
Then there's the way that consumers use e-cigs: the higher heat that scientists say creates carcinogens also produces more potent vapor. Many e-cig tinkerers boost the heat output of their devices, or dribble liquid nicotine directly on the heating element for a more intense vapor. The researchers say dripping puts out carcinogen levels that approach the concentration found in old-fashioned cigarettes.
Dr. Alan Shihadeh at the Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, who led one of the studies, acknowledged that while the e-cig study only examined a handful of carcinogens, traditional cigarettes put out dozens of cancer-causing compounds. As he told The New York Times:
If I was in a torture chamber and you said I had to puff on something, I'd choose an e-cigarette over a regular cigarette. But if you said I could choose an e-cigarette or clean air, I'd definitely choose clean air. And I definitely wouldn't drip.
The studies will be published beginning May 15th. Until then, maybe you should hold off on the heavy-duty vaping. E-cigs may not be exactly the same as the dead leaves Don Draper smoked, but this particular similarity isn't all that enticing. [NYT]
|
<urn:uuid:4cc04ae2-a2d5-467a-ba2c-01cb1b5f3620>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://gizmodo.com/thank-you-for-proving-that-there-are-vapers-with-a-reas-1572109098
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00200-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.932676 | 530 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Is Math not your strong suit? Do you need an effective and simple way to solve math problems? Read on to find out more.
Adding and Subtracting Numbers
1Adding an Subtracting can be easy if you use an effective technique. One effective way is using the traditional method. Simply write your starting number, then write the number you will add to it under, like this.
2Then add the right most column first. In this case, it will give you 12. Simply place the 2 below in your answer area, and place the 1 (which is really a 10) above the next column.
3Now add the numbers in the next column. In this case, you will get a 13. Do the same as before, but place the 1 (also a 10) to the left of the 3. The answer to this problem should look like this. (132)
1N x 0 = 0 any number with the multiple of zero the answer will be zero no matter what.
21x1=1 (any number with a multiple of one the other number is the answer 1x9999=9999 it can be a small number to the highest number imaginable if its multiple is one the other number is the answer)
3Multiplying numbers is simple. Lets say the numbers were multiplying are 2 and 4 it's basically like adding 4+4 or 2+2+2+2 they both equal 8. Or, lets say the numbers were multiplying are 3 and 5 it's basically 5+5+5=15 or 3+3+3+3+3 both equal 15 it's as simple as that
1You basically just take the right number and see how many times it can go into the number on the left. (However, problems may occur, like remainders.)
- 36/9 Nine can't go into three, so let's look at how many times it can go into the whole number. 9,18,27,36 So we know that 9 goes into 36 four times.
- Nine can't go into 35, so there will be a remainder. (Left over number.)
9,18,27,36 (We went over, so 27 is the highest we can go.) So nine can go into 27 3 times. (Without going over.)
How do we know the remainder?
1You take the numbers you are working with. (In this case, its 35 and 9.) As said above, nine goes into 27 3 times. (You can't add nine more, because that would be more than the original number; 35.)
2You take the number you got. (27) And take the original number (35) and subtract. (E.g: 35-27.) That is how you get your remainder.
|
<urn:uuid:f762c993-4791-4695-90eb-198850311a99>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Math-Problems-(Simplified)
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.929147 | 575 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Although crochet cannot be traced to a definite period in time. It is believed people were crocheting as early as the 16th century. Some believe it began in the Arab countries, others believe it began within the tribes in Africa and others believe it began in Spain. Any of these could be correct , but, there is no definite proof.
Since no crochets hooks from the past have ever been dated back that far into time, it is presumed that the crochet was done with one's fingers until the hooks were developed. Hooks can be made from anything from plastic to precious metals and come in many sizes.
Crochet really showed itself popular during the 19th century in the European regions. It's popularity gaining fast because of a lady named Madamoiselle Riego de la Branchardiere. She was very adept at taking bobbin and lace patterns and converting them to crochet patterns. These patterns were published and distributed throughout Europe.
By the beginning of the 20th century, crochet patterns could be found for home decor, accessories, clothing, baby items, nightwear, afghans and blankets, coats, sweaters and many more. We have an almost infinite number of patterns for anything the imagination can take on in today's crochet. Designers are still coming with more new and fascinating wonders.
In the next article we will learn about types and sizes of yarn and crochet hooks. See you then!
|
<urn:uuid:ad9e7638-d016-4d86-90fb-555672575c88>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.examiner.com/article/a-little-crochet-history
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979761 | 289 | 2.875 | 3 |
Adults with autism speak out
INDIANAPOLIS -- When Tom Fields-Meyer was shopping around his book proposal about raising a son with autism, many publishers passed, saying they did not want another book by the parent of an autistic child. But Fields-Meyer persisted. His story, he was sure, was different. He did not view his experience as a battle against autism but the adventure of living with a child touched by it.
Time proved the Los Angeles writer right. His book, "Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism and Love From His Extraordinary Son," taps into a growing movement in the autism community to embrace not bemoan autism.
A decade ago one of the most vocal autism organizations was Cure Autism Now, whose very name bespoke the desire of its members to eradicate the condition.
Today, as more children with autism enter adulthood, some are rejecting the idea that autism is a disease to be cured.
In Indiana, one in 96 people have autism; nationally, it's one in 110, according to the Autism Society of Indiana. The disorder mainly effects people's social and communications skills, but impacts everyone on the autism spectrum differently.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, formed five years ago, argues that society should be more accommodating and accepting of those who have autism. Rather than making autistic children "normal," treatment and services should ensure that they have equal opportunities.
Giving those who have autism a voice in the debate is critical, said Ari Ne'eman, the group's president and a founder. Discussing treatment and research priorities without listening to those with autism would be like allowing men to run the women's rights movement, he said.
"Frankly the national conversation in this country has been dominated by parents and professionals," Ne'eman said. "They have a valuable voice, but it's not the only voice out there."
Less than 1 percent of research funds go to support services for the needs of adults with autism, he said.
But increasingly, advocates and even researchers argue that those with autism have skills that others lack. In an article that appeared last week in the scientific journal Nature, a Canadian researcher suggests that many people with autism have unique intelligence. The researcher, who has several colleagues with the condition, has shown that people with autism may have superior cognitive skills, particularly perception and reasoning.
Throughout his life, Joe Obergfell has used his autism to help himself make sense of things -- friendships, relationships, professional encounters. Last year the Indianapolis man took over leadership of the group Indianapolis Adults on the Spectrum. It's part support group, part social gathering.
Obergfell, 29, was diagnosed when he was 8 years old, shortly after his mother died. As a child, he taught himself how to advocate for what he needed. Until he went to a camp when he was 18, he had never met a peer with autism. The camp was eye-opening.
"I felt, like, 'Wow, I'm actually not alone. There's others like me at the same level,' " he said. "It's kind of like visiting people of your same species for the first time."
About a year ago, he met Dusk Anderson, 32, who had recently been diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of autism. Anderson searched for resources for adults but found only ones geared toward children. When he found Obergfell, he decided to help create a group for others like him.
Dana Renay, president of the Autism Society of Indiana and the parent of a child with autism, does not question that adults with autism have a useful perspective to add. When parents contact her, she focuses on providing useful information and an upbeat perspective.
"We want to make people understand that it's not the end of the world," she says. "People with autism can do anything they want to do. They should be given the opportunity to be whomever they want to be and part of the greatness of who they are is their autism. … It's not a disease. It's a disorder."
But the disorder affects people on the spectrum differently. While some are high-functioning, others have more significant challenges. Some people may not be able to talk. Others may have behavioral issues or other conditions that make it difficult for them to care for themselves as adults.
Not surprisingly, self-advocates tend to be those on the higher-functioning end. Ne'eman, for instance, serves on the National Council on Disability, a federal agency that advises Congress and the president on disability policy.
Those who are not as high-functioning may need more than the accommodation that the self-advocacy movement supports, said Cathy Pratt, director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism in Bloomington.
If you view these positions as two distinct camps, "the reality is that sometimes you have to go in between," Pratt said.
But she knows how detrimental the idea of a cure can be. Recently she spent an hour in her office, talking to a man who felt that he would never be accepted unless his autism was cured.
"If their autism is part of their character, part of how they identify themselves, to say to them that we have to cure you now is really saying that we don't accept who they are now," she said.
From the moment that Fields-Meyer learned his son had autism 13 years ago, cure never entered his vocabulary. He wanted to learn everything he could about helping and understanding his son, but the holy grail of a cure held no appeal.
In his the book, Fields-Meyer recounts how a counselor invited him to grieve the child that Ezra was not. But there's nothing to grieve, Fields-Meyer responded. He does not fault the therapist, who did not understand that he had never had specific expectations for his son but "just wanted to love the kid I had," he says.
Still, he knows that not every parent feels that way.
"When you are a parent and you see your child having any kind of challenge, the first response is to try to help them be like all of the other kids," he says. "You want to help them, and you want them to have the most successful life they can have … but you also want to respect who they are. A lot of parents have a hard time figuring out what's the disorder and what's the person."
Those who live with autism may have an easier time. They are who they are -- and it's up to others to accept that.
Anderson related the story of "X-Men First Class," in which the protagonists are self-conscious about being mutants. One creates a serum to make them normal. He offers it the elixir to a young woman.
But another mutant intervenes, Anderson said, telling her that she's beautiful just the way she is. It's a passage that speaks directly to Anderson.
"That's what we always tell people," he said. "Don't try to be like everyone else."
|
<urn:uuid:54869c50-7ad8-4244-b9f8-4a2f46bd162b>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-11-06/autism-adults/51089566/1
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00067-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.983418 | 1,458 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Preauricular is a descriptive term that denotes to an area or part that is located anterior to the auricle of the ear. It is used in the following terms: preauricular tag, preauricular sinus, preauricular deep parotid lymph nodes, etc.
Preauricular tag, also called ear tag, preauricular appendage, preauricular tag, accessory tragus, refers to a minor congenital anomaly, a rudimentary tag of ear tissue, often containing a core cartilage, usually located just in front of the ear (auricle). It appears as a skin-covered nodule or papule on the surface of the skin anterior to the auricle.
Preauricular sinus, also referred to as the congenital auricular fistula, a congenital preauricular fistula, ear pit, or preauricular cyst, is a congenital malformation characterized by a sinus or a dent located adjacent to the external ear. The frequency of preauricular sinus is higher in Asians and Africans than Caucasians.
Preauricular deep parotid lymph nodes are lymph nodes that are located deep to the parotid fascia, anterior to the auricle of the ear. They are also referred to as the preauricular glands.
Word origin: pre- (before) + Latin auricularis, auricular (of the ear)
|
<urn:uuid:88f41ae7-b566-4260-bca4-ac671719b15b>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Preauricular
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.894383 | 286 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Healer of Bodies and Souls
St. Maron (ca 345-410; his name also written St. Maroun) was from the ancient area of Cyrrhus (Cyrus) in what is now southern Turkey, not far from the Syrian city of Aleppo. He lived the life of an ascetic, at a hill top where an ancient temple to the Babylonian god Nabo stood, which he converted to a Christian church. His hermit lifestyle was characterized as living "in the open air." Where he resided, the summers were very hot and the winters very cold, but he was willing to be exposed to these extremes in order to focus on his spiritual goals and overcome concerns for his body.
The Christian tradition of the area where he lived dates back to St. Peter, who established a church in Antioch and visited there several times, approximately during the period 35-55 A.D., before moving on to Rome, where he was martyred around 67 A.D.
A record of St. Maron's life comes to us from St. Theodoret (393-457), who was born in Antioch and became bishop of Cyrrhus (423-457); he was a respected writer of his time. He wrote the book Historia Religiosa, describing a number of hermit-monks, and gave praise to St. Maron, noting his powers of healing, after describing St. Acepsimas:
After him [Acepsimas] I shall recall Maron, for he too adorned the godly choir of the saints. Embracing the open-air life, he repaired to a hill-top formerly honored by the impious. Consecrating to God the precinct of demons on it, he lived there, pitching a small tent which he seldom used. He practiced not only the usual labors, but devised others as well, heaping up the wealth of philosophy.
The Umpire measured out grace according to his labors: so the magnificent one gave in abundance the gift of healing, with the result that his fame circulated everywhere, attracted everyone from every side and taught by experience the truth of the report. One could see fevers quenched by the dew of his blessing, shivering quieted, demons put to flight, and varied diseases of every kind cured by a single remedy; the progeny of physicians apply to each disease the appropriate remedy, but the prayer of the saint is a common antidote for every distress.
He cured not only infirmities of the body, but applied suitable treatment to souls as well, healing this man's greed and that man's anger, to this man supplying teaching in self-control and to that providing lessons in justice, correcting this man's intemperance and shaking up another man's sloth. Applying this mode of cultivation, he produced many plants of philosophy, and it was he who planted for God the garden that now flourishes in the region of Cyrrhus. A product of his planting was the great James [known now as St. James of Cyrrhestica], to whom one could reasonably apply the prophetic utterance, 'the righteous man will flower as the palm tree, and be multiplied like the cedar of Lebanon', [Psalm 92:12] and also all the others whom, with God's help, I shall recall individually….
In Theodoret's description, one of the specific conditions mentioned as being alleviated by St. Maron was 'shivering,' for which he retained a strong reputation even after his death. Thus, St. Maron has long been known as the saint to appeal to in cases of disorders involving trembling and shaking, such as Parkinson's disease.
We learn of the respect St. Maron gained during his life from a letter by the well-known theologian St. John Chrysostom (347-407), who was later declared a "doctor of the Church:"
To Maron, the Monk Priest:
We are bound to you by love and interior disposition, and see you here before us as if you were actually present. For such are the eyes of love; their vision is neither interrupted by distance nor dimmed by time. We wished to write more frequently to your reverence, but since this is not easy on account of the difficulty of the road and the problems to which travelers are subject, whenever opportunity allows we address ourselves to your honor and assure you that we hold you constantly in our mind and carry you about in our soul wherever we may be. And take care yourself that you write to us as often as you can, telling us how you are, so that although separated physically we might be cheered by learning constantly about your health and receive much consolation as we sit in solitude. For it brings us no small joy to hear about your health. And above all please pray for us.
Chrysostom was in Antioch, about a two days journey from Maron's residence, and the difficulty of the road mentioned in his letter revealed the dangerous travel at the time. Concerns for Maron's health probably reflected his old age at the time this was written (around 405 A.D.), while Maron continued to live in the often severe environment.
St. Maron became so popular that his numerous followers were known as Maronites. After his death, a Maronite monastery (Beth-Maroun) was built around 452 near Saint Maron's tomb; Theodoret also described the profound devotion which the monks of the monastery had to their departed spiritual father. The monastery engendered a larger community where men and women, under the guidance of the monks, could find material and spiritual happiness. The monastery, situated not far from Mount Lebanon, belonged to the patriarchy of the Church of Antioch. As the hardships of the early Christian church continued, the faithful set their hopes on the Maronite community where, in spite of persecutions and devastating wars, the spiritual leaders provided guidance and protection. For centuries the spiritual leaders of the Maronites have kept watch over the political and social rights of their people.
The Maronite movement reached Lebanon during its earliest days when St. Maron's first disciple, Abraham of Cyrrhus, moved there to evangelize; he became known as the Apostle of Lebanon. For the past few centuries, the center of Maronite life has been in Lebanon (it is pointed out that the town of Cana, where the famous wedding feast took place with Mary, Jesus, and his new disciples in attendance, is in southern Lebanon). Today, there are Maronites in most countries, and they number more than 4 million. The liturgical rite of St. Chrysostom, which has been utilized in the Eastern churches (some rely on the rite of St. Basil), is adapted for the Maronite rite, one of 22 rites of the Catholic Church.
A unique cross was developed to represent the Marionite faith, one which gives tribute to the Holy Trinity by having three crossbars representing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is also frequent reference in Marion tradition to the cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani), mentioned several times in the bible; these cedars make-up a large forest in northern Lebanon near the area where St. Maron lived. The cross has an appearance like these cedars (dramatically presented in the painting below from 1907); in fact, sometimes the three-bar cross is drawn as a cedar.
There were many people inspired by Maron, who led lives imitating his, living as hermits and avoiding any comforts; others lived in an isolated monastic setting. Monastic life in the Maronite community was formally organized in 1695, when several independent monasteries in Lebanon were collected under one religious order. The monks were divided into three categories: lay brothers, priests and hermits; all pronounced vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and humility. In 1770, this Order was then divided into two organizations: the Lebanese Maronite Order (Baladite Order) and the Aleppine Order, renamed the Lebanese Mariamite in 1969.
Saint Maron's feast day is celebrated on February 9 in the Maronite churches around the world. This day is also an official national day in the State of Lebanon.
A number of saintly followers of Maron living in Lebanon have been recognized in recent times, including Saint Charbel Makhlouf, whom Pope Paul Vl canonized in 1977; Rafqa Rayess, whom Pope John-Paul II beatified in 1985 and canonized in June 2001; and Nimutallah al-Hardini's beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1998. Saint Charbel (St. Sharbel; see statue of him, below), like St. Maron, is especially recognized for his ability to heal the sick, called upon to intervene numerous times since his death with reported success. In fact, this saint, who lived from 1828 to 1898, and who spent several years at the St. Maron Monastery, has impressed so many that prayers for healing now are often directed to him in place of St. Maron. But, we should not forget St. Maron.
O Holy Saint of the open sky, the light of Christ's teachings gave you strength and perseverance to resist the adverse elements and your example now gives me inner strength to manage my weakness. Most supreme of the hermits, who like trees adorned with leaves afford comforting shade, you give me shelter and refresh me. As you stood firm as a cedar, my shakiness is settled; as you outstretched your arms like great branches, I unwind my tension; as you felt the fresh breeze against you, I open my heart to the winds of God's love.
St. Maron depicted in stained glass.
St. Charbel statue
|
<urn:uuid:fadae722-14c8-443a-8fec-c4ae8d9825e2>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.itmonline.org/bodytheology/stmaron.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00119-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979282 | 2,020 | 2.625 | 3 |
Lack of food and water 'usually a peaceful death'
If American brain-damaged woman Terri Schiavo dies from the removal of her feeding tube, her passing should be peaceful, experts say.
After all, she is in a persistent vegetative state without conscious awareness.
Studies show that even patients who can speak and who have chosen to stop eating and drinking generally don't complain of thirst or hunger, said Dr Russell Portenoy, chair of palliative care at the Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York.
"It's as if the body has a protective mechanism at the end of life, such that loss of appetite and loss of thirst precede the dying process," he said.
Death can take a widely variable amount of time but generally it arrives within three weeks, Portenoy said.
Schiavo's feeding tube was removed on Friday (American time).
It has been removed twice before and then re-inserted because of legal pressure.
Portenoy and Yale expert Dr Sherwin Nuland said those interruptions in feeding should not have caused harm.
Generally, death from prolonged lack of food and water is due to dehydration, said Nuland, author of the book How We Die.
Dehydration leads to kidney failure.
When the kidneys shut down, levels of certain substances in the blood rise.
The person slips into a coma.
At some point the biochemical changes in the blood become severe enough to impair the electrical system that controls the functioning of the heart, and the heart stops beating.
"It's usually quite a peaceful death," Portenoy said.
"The person generally looks as if he or she is drifting off to sleep, and then dies."
|
<urn:uuid:deb70154-4004-4c13-86a5-41a80baaec27>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Lack-of-food-and-water-usually-a-peaceful-death/2005/03/23/1111525203150.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955781 | 356 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Food waste contributes to excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels which, along with methane and CO2 emissions from decomposing food, impacts global climate change. Here, we calculate the energy content of nationwide food waste from the difference between the US food supply and the food consumed by the population. The latter was estimated using a validated mathematical model of metabolism relating body weight to the amount of food eaten. We found that US per capita food waste has progressively increased by ∼50% since 1974 reaching more than 1400 kcal per person per day or 150 trillion kcal per year. Food waste now accounts for more than one quarter of the total freshwater consumption and ∼300 million barrels of oil per year.
Citation: Hall KD, Guo J, Dore M, Chow CC (2009) The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact. PLoS ONE 4(11): e7940. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007940
Editor: Thorkild I. A. Sorensen, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Denmark
Received: September 8, 2009; Accepted: October 26, 2009; Published: November 25, 2009
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Public Domain declaration which stipulates that, once placed in the public domain, this work may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose.
Funding: This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Recent spikes in food prices have led to increasing concern about global food shortages and the apparent need to increase agricultural production , . Surprisingly little discussion has been devoted to the issue of food waste. Quantifying food waste at a national level is difficult because traditional methods rely on structured interviews, measurement of plate waste, direct examination of garbage, and application of inferential methods using waste factors measured in sample populations and applied across the food system –. In contrast, national agricultural production, utilization, and net external trade are tracked and codified in detailed food balance sheets published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) . The food balance sheets provide a comprehensive assessment of the national food supply, including alcohol and beverages, adjusted for any change of food stocks over the reference period . Since 1974, there has been a progressive increase in the per capita US food supply. Over the same period, there has also been an increase of body weight as manifested by the US obesity epidemic. We sought to estimate the energy content of food waste by comparing the US food supply data with the calculated food consumed by the US population.
Energy from ingested food supports basal metabolism and physical activities, both of which are functions of body weight. Surplus ingested energy is stored in the body and is reflected by a change of body weight. Because the average body weight of the US population has been increasing over the past 30 years, it is not immediately clear how much of the increased food supply was ingested by the population. Quantifying the food intake underlying an observed change of body weight requires knowing the energy cost of tissue deposition and the increased cost of physical activity and metabolic rate with weight gain. Here, we develop and validate a mathematical model of human energy expenditure that includes all of these factors and used the model to calculate the average increase of food intake underlying the observed increase of average adult body weight in the US since 1974 as measured by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) .
Figure 1A shows the increase of average body weight among US adults over the past 30 years (Δ). Assuming no change of physical activity, Figure 1B shows our model predicted average food intake (solid curve) and 95% confidence intervals (dashed curves) underlying the observed weight gain (see Methods for model details). Figure 1B also plots the US food supply data from the FAO food balance sheets (○) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) food availability data adjusted for wastage (▪) over the period 1974–2003. Figure 1C shows the progressive increase of per capita food waste in America (solid curve) calculated by subtracting the model predicted average food intake from the FAO per capita food supply data. In 1974 approximately 900 kcal per person per day was wasted whereas in 2003 Americans wasted ∼1400 kcal per person per day or ∼150 trillion kcal per year. Figure 1C shows that our estimate of the increasing energy content of US food waste is corroborated by the parallel increase of the per capita annual mass of municipal solid food waste (▴) calculated from data supplied by the US Environmental Protection Agency . Municipal solid food waste accounts for ∼30% of the total wasted food energy assuming that solid food from the US diet has an energy density of 1.9 kcal/g . Figure 1D shows that food waste has progressively increased from about 30% of the available food supply in 1974 to almost 40% in recent years (solid curve) whereas the USDA estimate of food waste (calculated by subtracting the USDA food availability data adjusted for spoilage and wastage from the FAO food supply data) was an approximately constant proportion of the total food supply (▪). While the USDA estimate of food waste was within 5% of our calculation in 1974, it was ∼25% too low in 2003.
(A) The average adult body weight (Δ) as measured by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. (B). Per capita U.S. food availability unadjusted (○) and adjusted for wastage (▪) according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The solid curve represents the mathematical model prediction of average food intake change (dashed curves indicate±95% confidence intervals). (C) Energy content of per capita U.S. food waste predicted using our mathematical model (solid curve, left axis). The right axis plots the per capita annual mass of municipal solid food waste (▴). (D) Percentage of available food energy wasted as calculated by previous USDA estimates (▪) and predicted using our mathematical model (solid curve).
The calculated progressive increase of food waste suggests that the US obesity epidemic has been the result of a “push effect” of increased food availability and marketing with Americans being unable to match their food intake with the increased supply of cheap, readily available food. Thus, addressing the oversupply of food energy in the US may help curb the obesity epidemic as well as decrease food waste, which has profound environmental consequences.
Assuming that agriculture utilizes about 70% of the freshwater supply , our calculations imply that more than one quarter of total freshwater use is accounted for by wasted food. Furthermore, given that the average farm requires 3 kcal of fossil fuel energy to produce 1 kcal of food (before accounting for energy requirements of food processing and transportation) , wasted food accounts for ∼300 million barrels of oil per year representing ∼4% of the total US oil consumption in 2003 . In addition to this wasteful consumption of fossil fuels and their direct impact on climate change, food waste rotting in landfills produces substantial quantities of methane – a gas with 25 fold more potent global warming potential than CO2 which would have been the primary end product had the food been eaten and metabolized by humans.
Our food waste estimate resulted from subtracting the calculated average food energy intake from the food supply of the US population. Thus, there are two potential sources of error in our food waste estimate. First, the FAO food balance sheets were the source of our estimate of the US food supply . The accuracy of food balance sheets has been questioned, especially for developing nations with a relatively high reliance on subsistence farming whose products rarely enter the marketplace and are therefore are difficult to account , . While such issues are certainly less problematic for affluent nations like the US, there remain significant uncertainties regarding the absolute energy content of the food supply , . However, our results rely primarily on the observed progressive increase of the food supply rather than its absolute level. Thus, unless the uncertainties of the US food supply data are systematically biased to progressively overestimate food supply at later dates, then our conclusions about the progressive increase of food waste remain valid.
The second source of error in our calculation of food waste results from our mathematical model estimates of average food intake. The fact that average body weight of the US population has increased in parallel with the increasing food supply raises the question of how much of the additional available food was actually ingested by the population. Without an accurate mathematical model of human metabolism, we could not determine how increasing food intake quantitatively translates into a change of body weight. Figure 2A demonstrates that our model accurately calculated the energy intake changes underlying the observed weight gain in two controlled over-feeding experiments , and Figure 2B shows that our model accurately predicted the relationship between weight change and energy expenditure in longitudinal data from a cohort of Pima Indians after a 3.6 year follow-up . Compared to the 30 year time course of the NHANES data, we acknowledge that our model validation results are somewhat limited. Nevertheless, our model includes all of the main contributors to how food intake impacts body weight and we tested the robustness of our conclusions to uncertainties of the assumed parameter values by Monte Carlo sampling over parameter sets (see Methods) to generate the 95% confidence intervals (dashed curves in Figure 1). Furthermore, our estimate of a ∼50% increase of per capita food waste over the past 30 years is paralleled by a similar increase of per capita municipal solid food waste as depicted in Figure 1C thereby providing independent corroboration of our findings.
(A) The experimentally imposed increases of food intake during controlled over-feeding experiments (black bars) along with model predicted values (white bars) calculated using the measured body weight changes. (B) Model predicted relationship between changes of 24 hour energy expenditure and body weight change after 3.6 years of over- and under-feeding (♦) along with the best-fit regression line determined from longitudinal measurements in a cohort of Pima Indians followed for the same average time interval. (mean±SD).
Our estimates of food waste likely represent lower bounds since we did not simulate the effects of a progressive decrease of physical activity that may have contributed to the US obesity epidemic . However, some investigators contend that physical activity has not declined in the past few decades which is in accordance with our model assumption. We have also not corrected the per capita adult food availability given that children consume less food than adults on an absolute basis. Accounting for both of these factors would increase the calculated food waste and therefore our estimates are conservative.
Our calculation of food wasted by the US population does not rely on direct measurements of waste produced by small groups that often know they are being investigated nor individual assessments of food intake which are known to significantly underestimate actual food consumption . Furthermore, inferential methods are prone to cumulative errors when using assumed food waste factors applied to various stages along the food system –. Previous estimates of food waste using these traditional methods have typically concluded that about one third of food mass is wasted , . The USDA estimate that 27% of food is wasted is acknowledged to be an underestimate . Therefore, the USDA food availability data is known to overstate the amount of food that people actually ingest . Our results imply that the assumption of a roughly constant proportion of food waste calculated by the USDA has become progressively worse over time.
The principle of energy conservation implies that the energy content of food is closely related to the energy requirements for agricultural production as well as the methane and CO2 emissions produced by decomposition of wasted food. Thus, the energy content of wasted food may be a more important environmental index than the mass of wasted food as determined by more traditional methods. Nevertheless, traditional methods of measuring food waste provide important information about the types of foods wasted and the relative contribution of waste along various points of the supply chain from farm to fork. Because our methodology calculates food intake by the population and tracks food energy and not food types, we cannot address such issues. Nevertheless, the progressive deviation of our calculated wasted food energy compared with the USDA adjustment for wastage suggests that traditional methods are increasingly missing large quantities of food waste in America.
The basis of our mathematical model is the energy balance equation where the rate of change in stored body energy is given by the difference between the metabolizable energy intake rate I and the energy expenditure rate E(1)where BW is the body weight, and ρ is the energy density of the change in the body weight. We can express the energy expenditure rate as(2)where K is a constant, γFFM = 22 kcal/kg/day and γF = 3.2 kcal/kg/day are the regression coefficients relating resting metabolic rate versus fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (F), respectively . Physical activity energy expenditure is proportional to body weight for most activities and δ represents the level of physical activity. The parameter β accounts for the adaptation of energy expenditure during a diet perturbation ΔI and is 180 kcal/kg and is 230 kcal/kg account for the biochemical cost of tissue deposition , assuming that the change of FFM is primarily accounted for by body protein and its associated water . We note that FFM, F, I, BW, T and δ are all functions of time.
Consider a population where each individual's weight change obeys equation (1) with their own individual intake and expenditure functions. We take a sample sum over (1) to obtain(3)where each subject is indexed by i, N is the number of subjects in the population, and is the rate of change of energy stored in the body. Dividing both sides of equation (3) by N, gives us the sample mean of the population for all terms of the energy balance equation (1):(4)
For the first NHANES phase from 1971–1974, we assumed that people were approximately weight-stable corresponding to a state of energy balance. Using the fact that and , energy balance implies that the following equation must hold when the system is in an initial state of energy balance such that :(6)
Therefore, assuming that the covariance of physical activity and body weight and the covariance of the parameter β with changes of food intake are approximately constant, substitution of equation 6 into equation 5 gives:(7)where the average value of the parameter β = 0.24 was determined using under-feeding studies .
To estimate the rate of change of stored energy we consider fat and fat-free mass changes separately:(8)where = 9400 kcal/kg and = 1800 kcal/kg are the energy densities for changes in fat and fat-free masses, respectively . The relative change of FFM and F can be described by the Forbes theory of body composition change:(9)where C = 10.4 kg is a parameter describing how body composition changes as a function of the initial body fat mass, F0 . To calculate the value of the parameter α we required an estimate of the initial average body fat mass which was not directly measured in NHANES. We therefore estimated initial body fat mass from the body mass index (BMI) via the equations published by Jackson et al. for men and women:(10)where the mean values are taken over the men and women populations respectively. The population mean for the fat mass is then given by a weighted average of that of the men and women, , where is the proportion of women in the NHANES population. This initial average fat mass is then used in equation (9) to calculate α = 0.54.
The first term of equation 14 evaluates to <10 kcal/d for the NHANES data since the rate of change of average body weight was only ∼9.5×10−4 kg/d. The second term evaluates to ∼220 kcal/d for the NHANES data since the change of average body weight was ∼10 kg between 1974 and 2003.
Our mathematical model was previously demonstrated to give accurate results in situations of underfeeding and body weight loss . In the context of weight gain, we validated our model by predicting the changes of energy intake in the controlled feeding experiments of Diaz et al. and Bouchard et al. who overfed subjects by 1500±400 kcal/d and 840 kcal/d for 42 and 100 days, respectively. Figure 2A shows that using the observed weight changes, our model predicted that energy intake was increased by 1700±370 kcal/d and 750±230 kcal/d for the Diaz and Bouchard studies, respectively, which corresponds well with their actual intakes.
While these results give us some confidence in the validity of our model in response to weight gain, we note that the controlled over-feeding experiments were conducted in a small number subjects over a relatively short period of time. We could only find one study that measured longitudinal changes of energy expenditure with weight gain over extended time periods . In that study, Weyer et al. investigated a cohort of Pima Indian subjects with an average 3.6 year follow-up and Figure 2B plots the best-fit regression line to the measured changes of energy expenditure (via indirect calorimetry) versus weight change . Figure 2B also shows our model predictions (♦) of energy expenditure change as a function of body weight change in response to 3.6 years of over- and under-feeding to various degrees. While the model results correspond well with the regression line fit to the indirect calorimetry data, it is apparent that the model predicts a slightly greater slope than was indicated in the best-fit regression line. We hypothesize that the discrepancy is due to the limited physical activity of the study subjects during the measurement period inside the indirect calorimetry chamber. Since physical activity energy expenditure is proportional to body weight, decreased physical activity would result in a decreased slope of the relationship between energy expenditure versus weight change.
To calculate the absolute level of energy intake corresponding to the NHANES data, we assumed that the average initial energy intake was = 2100 kcal/d calculated using the energy requirement equations of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies for a sedentary population corresponding to the average demographics of the initial adult NHANES population. The initial value for also closely matched the USDA estimated per capita food availability in 1974 adjusted for spoilage and wastage . Our estimate of the food waste was given by:(14)where FA is the per capita food energy availability as estimated from US food balance sheets provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization . To investigate how our calculation of food waste compares to current USDA estimates, we compared our estimated energy intake, , with the USDA per capita food availability corrected for spoilage and wastage.
To calculate the confidence intervals of our calculations, each model parameter value was randomly selected from a normal distribution with mean and standard deviations given in Table 1. The parameter ranges were estimated using the reported uncertainties of the measured parameter values, where available. In the case of the Forbes constant, C, and the physical activity parameter, δ, we chose a 50% uncertainty to reflect the potential for high variability of these parameters across the population. We performed 105 simulations and report the mean and 95% confidence intervals for the predicted food intake and waste calculations.
Conceived and designed the experiments: KDH CCC. Performed the experiments: KDH CCC. Analyzed the data: KDH JG MD CCC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: KDH CCC. Wrote the paper: KDH CCC.
- 1. von Braun J, Ahmed A, Asenso-Okyere K, Fan S, Gulati A, et al. (2008) High food prices: The what, who, and how of proposed policy actions. Washington D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute.
- 2. Wiggins S, Levy S (2008) Rising food prices: Cause for concern. London: Overseas Development Institute.
- 3. Griffin M, Sobal J, Lyson TA (2009) An analysis of a community food waste stream. Agric Hum Values 26: 67–81.
- 4. Kantor LS, Lipton K, Manchester A, Oliveira V (1997) Estimating and addressing America's food losses. Food Review 20: 2–12.
- 5. Muth MK, Kosa KM, Nielsen SM, Karns SA (2007) Exploratory research on estimation of consumer-level food loss conversion factors, Agreement No. 58-4000-6-0121, Final Report.
- 6. Ventour L (2008) The food we waste. WRAP and Exodus market research.
- 7. FAOSTAT. Food and Agriculture Organization. Available: http://faostat.fao.org/default.aspx.
- 8. (2001) Food balance sheets: A handbook. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- 9. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm.
- 10. Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System. United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Available: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FoodConsumption/.
- 11. (2007) Municipal solid waste in the United States: 2007 facts and figures (Table 9). United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste.
- 12. Kant AK, Graubard BI (2005) Energy density of diets reported by American adults: association with food group intake, nutrient intake, and body weight. Int J Obes (Lond) 29: 950–956.
- 13. Postel SL, Daily GC, Ehrlich PR (1996) Human appropriation of renewable fresh water. Science 271: 785–788.
- 14. Horrigan L, Lawrence RS, Walker P (2002) How sustainable agriculture can address the environmental and human health harms of industrial agriculture. Environmental Health Perspectives 110: 445–456.
- 15. U.S. product supplied for crude oil and petroleum products. Washington D.C.: Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy.
- 16. Agency USEP (2009) U.S. Emissions Inventory 2009: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2007.
- 17. Forster P, Ramaswamy V, Artaxo P, Berntsen T, Betts R, et al. (2007) Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, et al., editors. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- 18. Smil V (2000) Feeding the world: A challenge for the twenty-first century. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
- 19. Bouchard C, Tremblay A, Despres JP, Nadeau A, Lupien PJ, et al. (1990) The response to long-term overfeeding in identical twins. N Engl J Med 322: 1477–1482.
- 20. Diaz EO, Prentice AM, Goldberg GR, Murgatroyd PR, Coward WA (1992) Metabolic response to experimental overfeeding in lean and overweight healthy volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr 56: 641–655.
- 21. Weyer C, Pratley RE, Salbe AD, Bogardus C, Ravussin E, et al. (2000) Energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and body weight regulation: a study of metabolic adaptation to long-term weight change. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 85: 1087–1094.
- 22. Hill JO, Wyatt HR, Reed GW, Peters JC (2003) Obesity and the environment: where do we go from here? Science 299: 853–855.
- 23. Swinburn BA, Sacks G, Lo SK, Westerterp KR, Rush EC, et al. (2009) Estimating the changes in energy flux that characterize the rise in obesity prevalence. Am J Clin Nutr.
- 24. Schoeller DA (1990) How accurate is self-reported dietary energy intake? Nutr Rev 48: 373–379.
- 25. Putnam J, Allshouse J, Kantor LS (2002) U.S. per capita food supply trends: More calories, refined carbohydrates, and fats. Food Review 25: 2–15.
- 26. Nelson KM, Weinsier RL, Long CL, Schutz Y (1992) Prediction of resting energy expenditure from fat-free mass and fat mass. Am J Clin Nutr 56: 848–856.
- 27. Blaxter K (1989) Energy metabolism in animals and man. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- 28. Hall KD (2009) Mathematical Modeling of Energy Expenditure during Tissue Deposition. Br J Nutr: submitted.
- 29. Hall KD, Jordan PN (2008) Modeling weight-loss maintenance to help prevent body weight regain. Am J Clin Nutr 88: 1495–1503.
- 30. Hall KD (2008) What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? Int J Obes (Lond) 32: 573–576.
- 31. Forbes GB (1987) Lean body mass-body fat interrelationships in humans. Nutr Rev 45: 225–231.
- 32. Jackson AS, Stanforth PR, Gagnon J, Rankinen T, Leon AS, et al. (2002) The effect of sex, age and race on estimating percentage body fat from body mass index: The Heritage Family Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 26: 789–796.
- 33. (2002) Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein, and amino acids. Washington DC: Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, The National Academies Press.
|
<urn:uuid:8edf08e7-7edc-48e3-bb6a-4138a5b029ff>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007940
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00027-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.903624 | 5,437 | 3.421875 | 3 |
We just love learning with our friends around the world!
Mrs. Eldridge teaches a group of 4-7 year old children in North Yorkshire, England.
The idea for this project began when she shared with us that their school is located right next to an old castle. We thought that would be very fun. None of the Kinder-Techie Kids have seen a real castle before.
Mrs. Eldridge decided to post pictures of Middleham Castle on her blog, The Class Around the Corner. Our Kindergarten students were amazed!
They started to imagine what it would be like to live there. The children shared their ideas about who could have lived there. They thought about what it might look like inside or what the floor plans might have looked like.
The Kindergarteners took their ideas and wonderings and used our computer drawing programs to create their own castle.
After we started our project, Mrs. Eldridge and Mr. Eldridge went to Bolton Castle on their vacation. They took more pictures and sent us another message with incredible images of the inside and outside of the castle. The pictures are spectacular! The 5 and 6 year olds continued to add to their designs and ideas.
These are some of the pictures that inspired us.
Castles on PhotoPeach
We used Kidspiration to organize our castle words and thoughts.
Here are our castle creations!
Do you have your own castle stories or ways that you have used your imagination? Please let us know if your class would like to join in on the castle fun by leaving us a message on this post.
What other castle words can you can add to our list?
Can you tell us a castle story?
What do you imagine it would be like to live in a castle?
There are many ways that technology can be used to support what we are learning. Here’s one idea made especially for our Kindergarteners.
Click on the link below to watch our Photo Story and practice your sight words.
Special thanks to Aspen, Carlie Jo, Gavin, and Josh. You did a great job with your speaking skills!
Stay tuned for more sight words to practice…
Click on the link below to watch our Photo Story and practice your color words.
Special thanks to Allen, Casey, Faith, Jacob, Nicholas, Rylie, and Samantha. You did a great job helping us with our colors!
What is your favorite way to practice something you learn in school?
The Spring is known for wacky weather, but I don’t know if we are prepared for this. Listen to our future meteorologists forecasting their weather predictions.
Click on the link for each of the classes below to view their Photo Stories. Make sure your volume is turned on. These projects were adapted from the story Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs by Judith Barrett.
Just remember, you heard it here first.
The Kindergarten classes have worked very hard on their retellings. They have practiced beginning, middle, and end. The students also talked about details of a story. Take a look at their written retellings complete with pictures. Listen as they each narrate their project.
|
<urn:uuid:a0102620-10e2-49e9-83e6-c8b11bf8d740>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://edublogs.misd.net/techiekids/category/mrs-vanhulle/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00197-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96899 | 656 | 3.34375 | 3 |
January 5, 2009
How to treat cold and flu in kids
U.S. doctors urge parents to resist the urge to give young children cough and cold medication because of potentially serious side effects.
The over-the-counter medicines can have such side effects as hives, drowsiness, difficulty breathing and even death in children under age 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned.
Some 7,000 children end up in the emergency room each year because of problems associated with these medicines,Dr. Esther Yoon of the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, Mich., said in statement.
To ease pain from a harsh cough or throat pain, doctors recommend using acetaminophen and ibuprofen in age-appropriate doses, Yoon said. She suggests parents also use:
-- Nasal saline drops.
-- A teaspoon of honey or corn syrup for coughs in children over age 1. Have the child drink warm fluids like water, apple juice and chicken broth to help with coughing.
-- Steam to relax airways and help with coughing spasms. Take the child into the bathroom and run a hot shower.
-- Increase home humidity to reduce nasal congestion and coughing.
|
<urn:uuid:c9cc7a5e-f1bb-4773-8252-846036f546f9>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1618110/how_to_treat_cold_and_flu_in_kids/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.926541 | 249 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Learn something new every day
More Info... by email
Heater elements come in many shapes and sizes. A heating coil is a special heating device that is shaped in a spiral design. The coil is typically made from ceramic or metal and heated through electrical current. This type of design is often found in hair dryers, space heaters, and electric ovens.
There are many forms of heating elements available today for portable heaters. This includes gas-, solar-, and electric-powered units. Many portable space heaters use a heater coil design. This coil produces heat that is transferred into the surrounding area with a fan.
A heating coil is normally powered by electricity. When the coil is charged with electric power, it becomes red hot. This heat is transferred into the open area by using an exhaust fan. As the fan blows air over the coil, the coil is continually heated, which warms the air.
Portable heaters have an emergency override mechanism to prevent overheating. This is a safety feature that turns the heater off if the fan element stops. Without this safety feature, the heater could overheat the external container, causing the device to melt and catch on fire.
A blow dryer is a portable heating device that is used to dry hair. Most blow dryers contain an internal heating coil. This type of heating device produces extreme heat, but is an expensive form of energy. A hair dryer uses large amounts of electricity to generate the hot air. Most hair dryer elements consume the same amount of electricity as running ten 100-watt light bulbs.
A baseboard heating system design is similar to a heating coil design. These heaters generate heat based on electrical input. The baseboard heaters are typically placed on the floor of a room with a built-in thermostat. The baseboard heating system is made from metal that is heated with an electric charge.
One of the benefits of a coil design is fast, efficient heat. A larger heating coil can generate extreme heat temperatures very quickly. Most electric stoves use this coil design to produce heat for the oven. An electric oven can be quickly heated to a desired temperature.
Many water heaters use a heater coil design. These heaters warm the water supply that runs throughout a home or building. Water heaters keep water at a set temperature. When the temperature drops below the preselected setting, the coil is heated through an electrical charge.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK!
|
<urn:uuid:6785652e-7a53-4477-9803-cc89ae6e0e52>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-heating-coil.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.950827 | 544 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Acupuncture Points Overview
In Latin "acus" means needle and "punctura" means penetration or prick.
||Acupuncture is the art and
science of stimulating specific points on the body to mobilize the
body's internal healing mechanisms. From ancient times it was
discovered that, by stimulating distinct sites on the body's surface,
diseases in both the superficial tissues and internal organs could be
treated, and that pathology in an internal organ will often manifest
itself in certain external or systemic symptoms.
Conjecture has it that thousands of years B.C., when man suffered from an
ailment, or injury, or felt pain in some part of his body, it was
observed that his natural tendency was to massage the tender area with
his hands. Over time, this observation in the relationship between pain
and its relief, through stimulation at the tender area, led to the
systematic identification of points, their cause-and-effect
relationships, diversification and sophistication in the correlation of
points to diseases, and their integration by function within the larger
scope of acupuncture Channel theory.
Stimulation (massage) of pain points first began by using the hands.
Then stimulation (pressure) with a blunt stone became the early basis
for acupuncture. Today, stimulation (needling) of acupuncture points is
accomplished with very fine stainless steel needles.
There are approximately 1,000 acupuncture points (also called
acupoints). An acupoint may be thought of as places where the energy of
a Channel converges and accumulates, like a vortex, and gets
transported to the body surface. Because of the converging,
accumulating and surfacing behavior, these points are particularly
conducive to manipulation.
The vast majority of acupoints have both local and distal effects. For
example, a point on the hand may be used to treat local symptoms of
hand pain or it can be used to treat a symptom farther along the
Channel, such as eye pain or nasal congestion. It may also treat an
area not directly supplied by the Channel, such as ankle pain, based on
the interrelationships between the Channels.
Of the approximately 1,000 acupoints, 361 to 365 are located on
Channels that have a relationship with the Internal Organ systems
difference in the above number reflects differences in interpretation
and source.) The concept of Channels is integral to acupuncture
practice and theory. It is through the Channel functions and Channel
relationships with the Internal Organs and tissues that the points are
given systemic integration. One aspect of this integration is the fact
that points along a Channel share many of the same therapeutic
properties. Without the integrating and systemic networking of
Channels, acupoints may be limited in scope and deemed to be random
Classification of Acupuncture Points
There are four classifications of acupuncture points as follows:
A. Channel Points
- 14 Primary Channels: There are 12 Organ
Channels each connected with one of the 12 Internal Organs. These 12
occur bilaterally on each side of the vertical midline of the body to
make up a total of 24 channels. Each of the 12 Organ Channels has its
own set of points. These 12 Channels, along with the Ren and Du Vessels
comprise the 14 Primary Channels. According to Chinese texts there are
361 to 365 of the Primary Channel points.
- Eight Extraordinary Vessels: There are eight
Extraordinary Vessels (also referred to as Eight Extra Vessels or Eight
Miscellaneous Channels). Only two of these have their own specific
points. These two are the Ren Vessel, traversing the front midline of
he body, and the Du Vessel, traversing the back midline along the
spine. The remaining six Extra Vessels are accessed by a few specific
points belonging to the 14 Primary Channels.
- The 12 Divergent Channels, 15 Connecting
Collateral Channels, 12 Muscle Regions, and 12 Cutaneous Regions all
utilize and share a few points belonging to one of the 14 Primary
For additional information about Channels, please see the section on Channels
B. Miscellaneous (Extra) Points
C. Pain ('Ashi') Points
- The majority of Miscellaneous Points (also
referred to as Extra Points) do not belong to any specific Channel.
However, a few of these 'points' are groups or clusters of points that
may or may not belong to Channels. There may be hundreds of these
points but only about 40 are commonly noted in classical Chinese texts.
D. Modern Points
- Pain point or 'Ashi' is a general term
referring to points on the patient's body that become tender (painful,
sensitive to the touch) during illness or injury. They are not fixed
points but are unique to the individual. Ashi points may remain fixed
for a period of time, or come and go, and can move around the body.
These points are located simply by the spontaneous tenderness the
patient feels or by palpating (pressing, touching) affected areas.
- Modern points are those that have been
recently discovered and added to the practice of acupuncture. Many of
these points were discovered in conjunction with the practice of modern
allopathic medicine. For example, by comparing the anatomical pathways
of the nervous system with traditional Channel theory or through the
use of electrical probes, new points located along major nerve trunks
and branches were discovered.
Category of Points
There are numerous groupings of points
regarded as special because of their anatomical locations and
functional characteristics. A few of the major categories are listed
A. Five Shu (Transporting) Points
B. Six Lower He Sea (Lower Uniting) Points
- A group of five points on each of the 12
Primary Organ Channels are collectively named Shu points. These five
points exist bilaterally on each of the 12 Channels. Each group is
located on the limbs below the elbow on the arm channels, and below the
knees on the leg channels.
- The Five Shu points on each of the 12 Channels
are designated as Well, Gushing, Transporting, Traversing and Uniting
points. They are named sequentially so that the Well points are the
most distal at the fingers and toes, and the Uniting points are most
proximal being located near the elbows and knees.
- Together, the Five Shu points represent the
growth of Qi in the channels from its shallow and distant beginnings
(Well points at the fingers and toes) to its deep, swelling and
accumulating presence (Uniting points at the elbows and knees) before
the Qi goes more deeply interior into the body.
- Because of their locations near the
superficial areas of the body, some of these points can be a bit
sensitive on needling. But because of their special properties they are
C. Sixteen Xi Cleft (Accumulating) Points
- The six Yang Channels each have a Lower He Sea point used to treat disorders of their respective Yang organs.
- The six Yang organs are the Stomach, Large Intestines, Small Intestines, Bladder, Gall Bladder and San Jiao (Triple Burner).
D. Twelve Back Shu Points
- The 16 Xi Cleft points are thought of as holes
or clefts at the site where Qi and Blood in the channels converge and
accumulate as they circulate through the body.
- Xi Cleft points are used primarily in the treatment of acute diseases or as diagnostics tools when palpating.
E. Twelve Front Mu Points
- The 12 Back Shu points are all located along
the Bladder Channel on each side of the spine. There is one Back Shu
point for each of the 12 Primary Organs.
- Back Shu points are points through which the
circulating Qi of their respective Organs passes. They are used
primarily to treat chronic disorders of the Organs and for diagnostics
- They are more commonly used to treat disorders
of the six Yin organs which are the Lungs, Spleen, Heart, Pericardium,
Liver and Kidneys.
F. Eight Influential (Meeting) Points
- Like the Back Shu points there are 12 Front Mu points located on the chest and abdomen corresponding to the 12 Internal Organs.
- Front Mu points are also used to treat diseases of the Internal Organs and for diagnostics purposes.
- There are eight points deemed to have a special normalizing effect on Organs, tissues, Blood and Qi.
- An Influential Point exists affecting one of the following areas:
- Yin Organs
- Yang Organs
- Muscles and Tendons
- Blood Vessels
Within the practice of Acupuncture, there are
different techniques or modalities. It is at the personal discretion of
the practitioner to utilize one mode in favor of another. In my
practice, several of the following modalities may be combined in a
treatment session according to the patient's individual needs and
A. Body Acupuncture
B. Scalp Acupuncture
- Body acupuncture simply consist of utilizing
the various different classification of points discussed above. These
include the Primary Points, Miscellaneous Points, Pain Points and
Modern Points. Body points cover a wide region including the head,
face, trunk, limbs, hands, and feet.
C. Auricular (Ear) Acupuncture
- Scalp acupuncture consists of using points
located on the scalp. Similar to body points, points on the scalp have
been associated with the Internal Organs as well as the neurological
aspects of physiology.
- In most instances, scalp points are utilized
for neurological, sensory and motor disorders such as paralysis,
tremors, shaking, numbness, tingling, etc., resulting from stroke,
Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and other nervous system
- Various regions throughout Asia may use
different theoretical and topographical constructs of scalp therapy.
Dr. T. Yamamoto of Japan is renowned for developing a modern topography
of scalp points that are somewhat different from classical Asian scalp
D. Korean 4-Needle (Sa-am) Theory
- Of the 12 Primary Organ Channels, all six of
the Yang Channels traverse the ear either directly or through
connecting channels. The six Yin Channels do not have direct
connections but are indirectly linked through their Internal-External
relationships with the Yang Channels.
- In conjunction with the Internal Organs
theory, points on the front and back of the external ear are associated
with Internal Organs such that diseases of the organs can be treated
with direct stimulation of ear. However, as a comprehensive system of
diagnosis and treatment, ear acupuncture as a modality is a newer
theory. In the 1950's, Dr. Nogier of France extensively studied the
behavior of ear points and developed a slightly modified topographical
view of the ear.
- Ear points can be needled to treat a wide range of disorders from musculoskeletal to addiction related disorders.
E. Master Tong (Tung) Acupuncture
- Korean 4-Needle (also referred to as Sa-am)
theory is a complex and comprehensive theory of diagnosis and
acupuncture treatment emphasizing the interrelationships between the
Five Elements. It was developed by Master Sa-Am, a physician and monk
of the Chosun Dynasty in Korea. For over 400 years the art and science
of this technique remained lost and hidden until recent discovery
enabled its recovery and study.
- Sa-am theory utilizes a special category of
points known as Shu Points and applies these points according to the
Generating and Controlling Sequences of the Five Elements theory. Only
four points are chosen. For example, two points are from the primary
Channel being treated, and two from the Grandmother channel according
to a tonifying (strengthening) and sedating (lessening) technique.
- In Korea, Korean Oriental Medicine (KOM),
known as Hanbang, is the primary health care system for more than 20%
of the population. KOM is widely integrated with Western allopathic
medicine throughout many hospitals in Korea. There, KOM modalities
including Sa-am 4-Needle technique, Sasang Korean Constitutional
medicine, and Korean Hand acupuncture are equally relied upon along
with classical methods.
- Master Tong (Tung) was a modern practitioner
who is said to have passed down his family's secrets prior to his
death. His acupuncture consists of using the existing Channel Points
and Extra Points in ways not commonly utilized under the Channel
theory. The technique involves selecting only a few discrete points
according to specific ailments and symptoms. It is commonly applied in
cases of pain syndromes.
Functions and Indications of Acupoints
The majority of the Channel Points are known to
have multiple functions and indications. The differences between a
function and indication can be explained as follows:
- A function may be thought of as a Treatment Strategy or Treatment Principle.
- A Treatment Strategy/Principle can be thought of as a summarization and general principle, or mechanism of action.
- Examples include: Clear Heat; Disperse Cold,
Drain Dampness; Resolve Phlegm; Descend Rebellious Qi; Cool the Blood;
Remove Obstruction, Expel Wind, Calm the Mind, Tonify Qi; Harmonize
Blood, Nourish Yin; Supplement Yang; etc.
- Indications refer to the discrete symptoms for which a point is effective.
- Examples include: cough; abdominal pain; insomnia; headache; dizziness; spasms; blurred vision; skin itch; etc.
An example is given below on the functions and indications of an important
acupoint, Large Intestine 4 (LI4)
, located on the hand near the
junction of the thumb and index finger:
Functions of LI4:
- Expels Exterior Wind and releases the Exterior
- Promotes distribution of Lung-Qi
- Regulates Defensive Qi and sweating
- Stops pain
- Removes obstruction from the Channel
- Tonifies Qi and consolidates the Exterior
- Harmonizes the ascending and descending of Qi
- Benefits the eyes, nose, ears and mouth
- Promotes labor
- Calms the Mind
Indications of LI4:
Chills, fever, sneezing, headache, sweating, absence of sweating,
toothache, painful obstruction of the throat, facial swelling, lockjaw,
deviation of the eye, hemiplegia, arm pain, tinnitus, deafness,
redness/swelling/pain of the eye, blurred vision, nosebleed, nasal
congestion and discharge, sneezing, amenorrhea, prolonged labor,
delayed labor, and retention of dead fetus.
In applying the point LI4, or any acupoint, to any of its indications,
it is most effective when used on pathology resulting from one of the
scenarios addressed by its Function. For example, if eye pain and
blurred vision are caused by Blood Deficiency requiring the treatment
principle of Nourishing the Blood, LI4 by itself is not adequate as
Nourishing the Blood is not one of its Functions. In this case, it must
be combined with other points that Nourish the Blood in order to treat
both the indication (eye pain and blurred vision) as well as the
underlying condition (Blood Deficiency-induced eye symptoms).
Manipulation: Even, Tonify, Sedate
Some acupoints are homeostatic. This means that
it has a regulating function to bring the body back to balance
regardless of the manifested symptom. For example, a point that
regulates the bowels can be used whether the patient is experiencing
diarrhea or constipation. The degree of efficacy, however, is affected
by combining the regulating point with other points that are more
specific in treating either the diarrhea or the constipation aspect.
In many cases, however, the practitioner must 'tell' a point which
Treatment Principle to take - either tonify to astringe the diarrhea or
sedate to promote bowel movement. Two of the more common ways this is
Direction of insertion
Twirling of the needle after insertion
- When the needle is slanted along the Qi flow of the channel, this produces a tonifying effect.
- When the needle is slanted against the Qi flow of the channel, this produces a sedating effect.
- When the needle is pointed perpendicular to the channel, this results in an even effect.
- If the needle is twirled back and forth in a clockwise direction, this produces a tonifying or even effect.
- If the needle is twirled back and forth in a counterclockwise direction, this produces a sedating effect.
An Even method allows the acupoint to manifest its effects without any
particular constraints. A Tonifying method tells the point to use a
strengthening principle in the case of a Deficient condition. And a
Sedating method tells the point to subdue an Excess condition and expel
a pathogen which may have invaded the body.
Art and Science of Acupuncture
The science of acupuncture is evidenced by
predictability. An acupoint needled with a specified method (even,
tonify, sedate) will produce an expected outcome based on its known
properties and Channel relationships. Mastery of the science involves
knowledge of the points' location, functions, indications,
applications, contraindications, needling technique, interactions with
other points, and more.
The artisty of acupuncture is more elusive. Artistry applies to the way
a practitioner selects a particular group of points, among similarly
behaving points, that will not only produce a desired effect, but do so
in a way that will address the patient's underlying condition in an
harmonious way. At the heart of the Medicine is the philosophy of
balance and harmony. Therefore, the artistry entails selection of
points uniquely appropriate to each patient with the attempt to balance
the following aspects at each treatment:
- Yin and Yang polarities
- Upper body and Lower body potential energies
- Left and Right hemisphere energetics
- Distal and Local points interactions
Remaining true to this philosophy, for each patient at each session,
requires the labor of thought and the burden of thinking. In addition
to balancing the four aspects listed above, one must also ensure
combining points to marry the function with the indications, and to
pair Channels not only based on Yin-Yang and External-Internal
relationships but also by their supportive and related functions and
areas of effect.
How easy it is to gather a discrete group of points designed to
ameliorate symptoms but leave the underlying condition largely
untouched. The patient would not be any wiser for it. Yet, to disregard
this fundamental principle of balance and harmony, however strenuous
the application, is to sacrifice long-term healing over short-term
gains, and to compromise efficacy for efficiency.
In truth, artistry
begins with knowledge. Knowledge must be flavored by creativity. And
creativity must evolve through failures and mature through successes.
Only then can art support the practice and the practice promote the
|
<urn:uuid:3135630a-572d-40fd-9f44-d2f55a83e8a6>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.holisticcuring.com/acupuncture.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.917609 | 4,130 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Newborn Screening Up Since 2005
Nearly Two-Thirds of U.S. Babies Get Most Recommended Screening Tests
July 11, 2006 -- It's becoming more common for U.S. babies to be offered most recommended newborn screening tests, but there's still room for improvement, says the March of Dimes.
The March of Dimes is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving babies' health by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. It backs newborn screening for 29 disorders, including certain metabolic conditions and hearing problems.
Many newborn screening tests are done by taking a few drops of blood, usually from a baby's heel, before hospital discharge. If blood tests come back positive, the baby is retested and given treatment, if needed.
According to the March of Dimes, state laws and rules require that nearly two-thirds of all babies born in the U.S. in 2006 will be offered screening for more than 20 potentially life-threatening disorders -- almost double the rate as in 2005.
However, only Washington, D.C. and five states -- Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia -- currently require all newborns to get the full set of 29 tests recommended by the March of Dimes.
Several states made a big push in the past year in their newborn screening programs. For instance, Kentucky only required six tests in 2005 and now requires 28 tests. Utah added 21 required tests to its roster. California, Florida, and Washington, D.C. all added 20 required tests.
Parents may choose to opt out of some newborn tests, the March of Dimes says.
|
<urn:uuid:91233f09-2b52-4b3b-aead-554642ee3f17>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20060711/newborn-screening-up-since-2005
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953765 | 335 | 2.65625 | 3 |
11,700 years ago, the Earth suffered a catastrophic climate change. As the ice age ended, sea levels rose by 120 meters, the days grew warmer, and many kinds of plant and animal life died out. But one animal began to thrive more than ever before. Homo sapiens, which had already spread to every continent except Antarctica, came up with a new survival strategy. Today, we call it farming.
Thanks in part to that innovation, humans survived to witness the dramatic transition from the Pleistocene epoch to the Holocene—it was the first such geological transition in almost 2 million years. But now geologists say we're witnessing another transition, as we move from the Holocene into an epoch called the Anthropocene. Here's what that means.
Remember the Holocene
At the dawn of the Holocene 11,700 years ago, humans lived in nomadic groups, often returning to the same campsites year after year but always on the move. Still, there is evidence that they were dabbling with gardening opportunistically, perhaps leaving seeds behind at favorite campsites to encourage the growth of grain.
They already had domestic animals, too. Dogs fit in nicely with a hunter/gatherer lifestyle, and recent genetic analysis shows that humans and dogs have been living together for possibly as long as 30 thousand years. But as the weather changed and old haunts stopped yielding food naturally, it seems that our ancestors began to explore farming and animal domestication more methodically.
It still took a few thousand years for agricultural villages to spring up. Another weather catastrophe called "a cooling event" struck the planet roughly 8200 years ago, marking the Middle Holocene and coinciding with what archaeologists call the Neolithic phase, or stone age, in human culture.
The cooler climate led to dry spells, and finding food must have become more difficult. So humans in the Mediterranean and southern China started building permanent houses next to their first crude attempts at agriculture, and eventually kept domesticated animals too. The very idea of a permanent settlement was a revolution in human thinking, and each new environmental challenge led to greater innovations in both tools and structural engineering.
The Upper Holocene, or most recent phase in the epoch, began with yet another prolonged period of cold, arid weather around 4200 years ago. Seeking greater food security, humans built even more agricultural villages and began working with metals. But we also erected the first cities, with massive monuments and intricate levels of social stratification that required weird new inventions like money and writing in order to keep track of everyone and everything.
In a paper published last week in Science, British Geological Survey scientist Colin N. Waters and many colleagues argue that the Holocene marked a turning point for humanity. After all, we'd spent roughly 180 thousand years living as hunter/gatherers before suddenly settling down and filling every continent with our farms, houses, and cities.
Now, however, we're at a new turning point that began about 70 or 80 years ago. Everything from the Earth's oceans and climate, to its very rocks and dust, has been affected. Using the most rigorous scientific evidence-gathering, Waters and his colleagues have determined that Earth has entered a new geological epoch. They call it the Anthropocene, or the age of human forcing. New geological phases are generally named when researchers identify some kind of global environmental alteration in the geological record, whether from an ice age or something truly exceptional like a megavolcano, mass extinction, or meteorite impact. And that forcing results in a wholesale environmental change.
In the Anthropocene, humans are the authors of that forcing. That makes this an unprecedented time in both human and geological history. Not only are we witnessing the dawn of a new geological epoch, but we made it happen.
The Age of Concrete and Technofossils
Getting a new geological time increment added to the official record is a long, involved process. Geologist Jan Zalasiewicz, who contributed to the Science paper, told me back in 2013 that research papers are just the beginning. "It has to be considered by the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy and then by the International Commission on Stratigraphy itself," he said. "And then, if it gets through that, it has to be ratified by the International Union on Geological Sciences." Currently, they're about halfway through the process. This year, the International Commission on Stratigraphy is set to hear a proposal about adding the Anthropocene to geological history.
To build a case among their fellow scientists, Waters, Zalasiewicz, and their colleagues approached the Anthropocene the way they would any other epoch in geological history. They searched the Earth for signs of dramatic atmospheric changes, new kinds of rock formations, changes in plant and animal life, and perturbations in long-term chemical reactions like the carbon and nitrogen cycles. What they discovered were changes to the Earth's surface that were remarkable.
In some cases, the changes rivaled transformations caused by the rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.5 billion years ago, or the meteorite impact that killed most dinosaur species 65 million years ago. Most of these changes could be traced back to the 1950s, also known as the Great Acceleration, when the booming economy led to an explosion in city building, scientific innovation, and human population growth. In a sense, the Great Acceleration is to the Anthropocene what the end of the ice age was to the Holocene.
And like the ice age, the Great Acceleration changed vast parts of the Earth's surface. As Waters and his colleagues explain in Science, the Anthropocene will leave indelible marks behind in the geological record:
Recent anthropogenic deposits, which are the products of mining, waste disposal (landfill), construction, and urbanization, contain the greatest expansion of new minerals [in billions of years] and are accompanied by many new forms of “rock,” in the broad sense of geological materials with the potential for longterm persistence. Over many millennia, humans have manufactured materials previously unknown on Earth, such as pottery, glass, bricks, and copper alloys ... Concrete, which was invented by the Romans, became the primary building material from World War II (1939–1945 CE) onward. The past 20 years (1995–2015) account for more than half of the 50,000 Tg of concrete ever produced, equivalent to ~1 kg m−2 of the planet surface.
In 10,000 years, there will be a distinct layer of these "new forms of rock." There will also be global deposits of plastic, which enter the geological record during the Great Acceleration and are likely to become what the researchers dub "technofossils" which endure for millennia. Further evidence for change comes from chemical signatures left in the Earth's crust and Arctic ice by airborne particles like black carbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, and radioactive isotopes. These chemical markers are found all over the world, indicating the kind of global shift that geologists expect when one epoch gives way to another.
Researchers often use mass extinctions to set boundaries between geological periods, and today there is growing evidence that animals are going extinct at an elevated rate. A much-cited 2011 paper from Nature calls this the "sixth mass extinction" (in reference to the previous five mass extinctions that nearly wiped out life on Earth). It's so common for mass extinctions to be used as geological time markers that many of them are known simply by the name of the two periods they straddle: the dinosaur dieoff is called the K-T extinction, for "Cretaceous-Tertiary;" and the biggest mass extinction on Earth, which occurred 250 million years ago, is called the P-T extinction for "Permian-Triassic."
After the Anthropocene
Why bother going through such an enormous research undertaking simply to get a new epoch added to the stratigraphic record? The researchers argue that this is more than just another academic exercise. They call it "the first instance of a new epoch having been witnessed firsthand by advanced human societies," and suggest it has far-reaching implications for humans. Waters told Ars via email that this study is a reminder that we have changed the geological record—and we can change it again:
To know that we, as a population of 7 billion people, can have such a rapid and global effect on so many signals that are being recorded in the geological deposits accumulating at present (of which climate change is but one) is important and goes beyond pure scientific debate. To observe that some of these signals have already peaked, for example radionuclides from fallout, black carbon and fuel ash particles, shows that there is also an opportunity to change the track of some, though not all of the trends, we have set in place.
The Anthropocene is like a geological accounting ledger, showing what humans have added and taken away from our environment. Some of what we've added has been harmful, some neutral. Understanding the difference could help future generations keep our ledger better balanced.
But there's also a slightly chilling aspect to naming this epoch after humanity. Does the Anthropocene only end when humanity has met its demise? Not necessarily, said Waters. Other factors could become more powerful than human forcing. A supervolcano might erupt, covering the planet in ash. A meteorite might smash into San Francisco, causing global megafires. Less dramatically, Earth's cyclical climate changes would eventually usher in a new ice age, which Waters explained might "significantly inhibit our continued global influence." But "it is possible our geoengineering of the planet may defer or cancel that expected glaciation."
"Ultimately," Waters said, "processes that greatly reduce human population are most likely to bring the Anthropocene to a close." In other words, our reign will not end until there are far fewer humans on the planet. The Anthropocene could end in natural disaster, plague, or even the colonization of space.
No matter how it ends, acknowledging the Anthropocene puts humans in their proper historical place. Instead of regarding humanity as some kind of aberration or unnatural development, Waters and his colleagues' definition of the epoch suggests that we are a force of nature. We have transformed the planet much the way ice ages and supervolcanoes have done for millions of years.
Humans are just the latest agent of change in a 4.5-billion-year-old record of massive changes. But what makes the dawn of the Anthropocene different is that we are capable of understanding exactly what's happening. That's either deeply depressing or deeply hopeful, depending on what comes next.
|
<urn:uuid:8b0b9e86-ead8-4366-b885-3d370ae671dd>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/for-the-second-time-we-are-witnessing-a-new-geological-epoch/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955019 | 2,177 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Albion Winegar Tourgée Facts
Albion Winegar Tourgée (1838-1905), American jurist and writer, was an outspoken civil rights advocate and a novelist who pioneered in social criticism.
Albion Winegar Tourgée was born in Williamsfield, Ohio, on May 2, 1838. He attended the University of Rochester from 1859 to 1861, when he enlisted in the Union Army at the start of the Civil War. He participated in a number of important battles, including the First Battle of Bull Run, where he was wounded.
Tourgée resigned from the Army in 1864, was admitted to the bar, and moved in 1865 to Greensboro, N.C. There he became an especially controversial figure because he was one of the few white men who really accepted blacks as equals, and he often lacked tact and self-restraint in expressing his views. He was an influential delegate at the state constitutional convention of 1868 and was appointed one of three commissioners to codify the state's laws, receiving high praise for the results.
A leading Republican, Tourgée was elected to the state's superior court and served until 1875, becoming famous for his attempts to extend justice to the blacks and his fearless denunciations of Ku Klux Klan terrorism. During this period he also published his first novels and wrote political articles. In 1878 he anonymously published a series of brilliantly written attacks on the Democrats known as the "C Letters." Because of increasing hostility, he reluctantly left North Carolina in 1879 and settled in New York.
A Fool's Errand, by One of the Fools (1879), Tourgée's most famous novel, was based on his experiences in North Carolina. It was one of a series of novels dealing with the nation before, during, and after the Civil War. These works described the conflict between Northern and Southern social concepts and were considered social criticism. Perceptive and based on personal observation, along with his other novels and short stories, they made a provocative and significant contribution to American literature. He also wrote campaign material for the Republican party, lectured, commented in newspaper columns on a variety of current events, and twice attempted to publish weekly magazines.
Tourgée continued to be a vocal and persistent advocate of black equality, in spite of increasing national indifference. He participated in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, arguing unsuccessfully before the U.S. Supreme Court against the premise that separate but equal facilities for blacks were constitutional. (The major points in his argument became the basis for the Court's reversal in 1954.) In 1897, as a reward for having campaigned for William McKinley, Tourgée was appointed consul at Bordeaux, France, where he died on May 21, 1905.
Further Reading on Albion Winegar Tourgée
The best available biography of Tourgée is Otto H. Olsen, Carpet-bagger's Crusade: The Life of Albion Winegar Tourgée (1965), which also gives a balanced account of Reconstruction in North Carolina.
|
<urn:uuid:c193f8ff-ad51-4fea-9d33-fe8252f4abe6>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://biography.yourdictionary.com/albion-winegar-tourgee
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00000-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.980855 | 626 | 2.875 | 3 |
Democrat - January-February 2009 (Number 112)
Roots of Democracy
Limiting the working day
(part one 1803-1890)
The struggle for regulations over hours of employment dates from the first Factory Act of 1802. This Act was to stop abuse of the employment of pauper children. This was followed in 1819 with an Act which forbade children under nine working in cotton factories, except silk, and limited nine to sixteen year olds to 13½ hours a day. Neither Act was effective as there were no factory inspectors.
A three cornered struggle was taking place between industrial employers introducing machinery who stubbornly opposed this legislation, landowners trying to retain the remnants of feudalism and workers striving to improve their poverty wages and wretched conditions.
This three way struggle is found in the passing of the 1815 Corn Laws whereby all imports of wheat were forbidden when the price fell below a certain low value. This and further corn laws had the effect of keeping bread prices high and consequently at famine level by causing low paid workers to spend a disproportionate amount of their wages on bread alone. Workers could not afford manufactures and industrialists had to lay off workers.
During 1800-1815 Robert Owen had shown in his New Lanark Mills that substantial profits could still be made with a 10½ hour day and without employing young children. In stark contrast industrial employers continued to argue, as they do today, that business will fail with a shorter working week and higher wages.
>After considerable agitation, including riots, the 1833 Factory Act limited the workday for children in factories. Those between 9 and 13 could work only eight hours, and children between 14 and 18 could work twelve hours. Children under 9 were required to attend school although no state schools were provided. Adults were expected to work unlimited hours on six days a week, only have Sunday off and had no paid holidays. This Act made provision for the appointment of just four factory inspectors.
The 1847 Act introduced the 10 hour day which enabled employers to introduce a second shift and more jobs.
Further Factory Acts were passed which limited the hours that children could work, then women, and then all workers, with the result that, by 1874, a 56-and-a-half-hour working week was the legal maximum for all workers and no woman or child could work between 6pm and 6am. Alongside this were the Chartists and their mass petitions for social reform and improved working conditions which trade unions supported.
The International Workingmen’s Association (IWA) took up the call for an eight hour day at its Convention in Geneva in 1866. The movement for a restricted working day was established throughout the industrialised world and is a fundamental plank of the celebration of the annual May Day.
In 1884, Tom Mann published a pamphlet calling for the working day to be limited to eight hours. He formed an organisation, the Eight Hour League, which successfully pressured the Trades Union Congress to adopt the eight-hour day as a key goal. Owen had much earlier coined the slogan: “8 hours for work, 8 hours for our own instruction and 8 hours for repose”.
Gas workers led by Will Thorne demanded and won the 8 hour day, six day week by May 1889. As a result, a new third shift was introduced creating a third more jobs. This was the first time in the history of industrial workers across the world that such an agreement had been struck. Within six months 20,000 workers had joined the new gas workers union. By 1911 gas workers' union membership had increased to 77,000. One of the most important strikes following on from the success of the gas workers was the London dock strike led by Ben Tillet for the ‘dockers tanner’ (6d an hour) and four hours continuous work in place of casual labour.
The first May Day event in the United Kingdom took place in London in 1890, when 200,000 demonstrated in Hyde Park for the establishment of the eight-hour day.
To be continued
|
<urn:uuid:32b5de42-374b-4e3c-8cb0-3584fe61bca1>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.caef.org.uk/d112rootswrkng.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979779 | 829 | 3.375 | 3 |
Spielberg’s work in such films as Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan exemplify the best in historical filmmaking. Through the magic of the big screen, Spielberg enables us to visualize historical atrocities and the tragic events of our past in a manner that does justice to the facts, yet permits us to imagine, feel, and in some small way, experience the events. Such is the power of empathy in Spielberg’s films – allowing us emotionally to identify with those seemingly beyond our reach. Spielberg’s talent as a director and producer has touched millions of people, simultaneously entertaining and teaching. While there are many fine documentaries and books on the Normandy invasion, the Holocaust, the barbarity of slavery, and other human tragedies, Spielberg’s movies succeed at getting us to watch and experience on a larger scale. His films force us to live for a moment in the hearts and minds of those portrayed on the screen.
Of course, no film is fully capable of conveying the absolute horror and evil that was the Holocaust. Perhaps because it did not try to do too much – Schindler’s List avoids melodrama and sentimentality and portrays the evil perpetrated in Nazi Germany in a matter-of-fact, ordinary manner – Spielberg succeeded where others failed. The film limits its focus to the story of Oskar Schindler, a flawed German Catholic factory owner and Nazi-party member who, after benefiting from the Nazi war machine and Jewish slave labor, is eventually moved by act of conscience to protect and rescue 1,200 Polish Jews from almost certain death. Spielberg compels the viewer to identify, intellectually and emotionally, with the depth of human suffering that occurred, not abstractly or statistically (6,000,000 gassed to death), but individually; to children and family members, men and women, young and old – to people for whom you cannot help but care and feel a sense of kinship. He does this without explaining the Holocaust, and without forcing us to deal with the grotesquely overwhelming nature of it all.
Although Schindler’s actions are in the end heroic, his transformation into a man of virtue is gradual and ambiguous. His pragmatism and ability to compromise for the sake of profit and self-interest is resistant to his growing awareness that something has gone terribly wrong in his privileged German society. When he witnesses from a hillside, while riding horses with his mistress, the Nazis’ vicious liquidation of the Krakow ghetto – a scene portrayed by Spielberg with a sickening reality – Schindler only then begins to realize that the men and women working in his factory will have no future unless he acts, at no small risk to himself. Such is the inconvenient truth of heroism. Though Spielberg filmed Schindler’s List in black-and-white, in one famous scene, he used red to distinguish a little girl in a coat. The red coat symbolizes Schindler’s awareness – he has finally opened his eyes – of the cruelty perpetrated by the Nazis. Later in the film, the little girl is seen among many dead victims, recognizable only by the red coat she is still wearing.
If the film has any failing, it is the inability to explain how or why someone such as Commandant Amon Goeth, sadistically and brilliantly portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, could kill and torment his victims with such brutal yet ordinary callousness. In one scene, Goeth casually picks off Jewish workers with a rifle from his balcony, betraying not a tinge of moral guilt. The film also fails to explain how so many ordinary Germans and Poles could see, know, and participate in what was happening, yet fail to resist or come to the aid of their fellow citizens. How Nazi soldiers could so cruelly separate mothers from children, picking and choosing among thousands of frail men and women, slave labor in one direction, certain death in another, without any apparent moral or spiritual doubt. (Elie Weisel, survivor of the Auschwitz and Buchenwald death camps, has recalled that the German officers who conducted the daily work of the concentration camp at Auschwitz received weekly communion in the Catholic Parish church). While Schindler’s List portrays the brutality and banality of mass killings and eliminationist anti-Semitism with stark realism, it does not attempt to explain why any of this was allowed to happen. Yet that is all part of Spielberg’s genius. The savagery of genocide and the horrors of the Holocaust so defy our everyday experience, it is impossible for most of us to wrap our minds around it; Schindler’s List enables us, in a small but significant way, to imagine the evil, not as ancient history or mythic tragedy, but as acts of everyday, ordinary people. Such is the power of empathy.
The power to create empathy, however, even for something as unimaginable as the Holocaust, has its limits. One need only examine the decade following Schindler’s List to see that, even a film as empathetic and powerful as Spielberg’s masterpiece fails to influence human behavior and the response of policymakers. In 2002, Professor Samantha Power of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University wrote A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide (Basic Books, 2002), a brilliant book that explains the repeated indifference, ignorance, and failure of imagination that has been U.S. policy in response to genocide in the Twentieth Century. On page 503, she focused her attention on recent inaction:
Power could have added that the genocides in Rwanda and the Sudan, and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, each occurred after the release of Schindler’s List to critical acclaim and seven Academy Awards. Despite constant refrains of “never again,” the world has rarely given genocide the moral attention it deserves. The Turkish massacre of Armenians in 1915, the Holocaust of 1939-1945, the mass killings by Pol Pot in 1975, the slaughter of tens of thousands of Rwandans in 1994 – in each instance, Americans and the world failed to act. We did so, not because we were ignorant of what was happening, but simply because we lacked the will to act and were not prepared to invest the military and financial resources, and domestic political capital, needed to stop it.
Despite broad public consensus that genocide should ‘never again’ be allowed, and a good deal of triumphalism about the ascent of liberal democratic values, the last decade of the twentieth century was one of the most deadly in the grimmest century on record. Rwandan Hutus in 1994 could freely, joyfully, and systematically slaughter 8,000 Tutsi a day for 100 days without any foreign interference. Genocide occurred after the Cold War; after the growth of human rights groups; after the advent of technology that allowed for instant communication; after the erection of the Holocaust Museum on the Mall in Washington, D.C.
In almost all of the genocides and human tragedies of the 20th century, there existed protesters and screamers, individuals of courage and conviction who spoke out and pleaded for U.S. and world leaders to commit its resources and power to prevent further atrocities. In most cases, the screamers were ignored, or not believed, or dismissed because the facts could not be instantly verified. In her book’s conclusion, on page 516, Power asks some crucial questions:
. . . [H]ow many of us who look back at the genocides of the twentieth century, including the Holocaust, do not believe that these people were right? How many of us do not believe that the presidents, senators, bureaucrats, journalists, and ordinary citizens who did nothing, choosing to look away rather than to face hard choices and wrenching moral dilemmas, were wrong? And how can something so clear in retrospect become so muddled at the time by rationalizations, institutional constraints, and a lack of imagination? How can it be that those who fight on behalf of these principles are the ones deemed unreasonable?
|
<urn:uuid:c41b3075-bc56-4c8d-95c2-82c19603994e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://ehlersoneverything.blogspot.com/2009/08/steven-spielberg-power-and-limits-of.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955274 | 1,655 | 2.78125 | 3 |
While a large body of science has already reported that increased intakes of coffee may offer protection from diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons, as well as increasing learning and concentration, results of a study with 2,606 middle-aged Finnish twins did not find any such benefits.
Participants were followed for 28 years, and no effect of coffee consumption was observed on cognitive performance between twins with different coffee drinking habits.
“Coffee drinking is associated with many sociodemographic and health variables, but our results do not support an independent role of coffee in the pathogenesis of cognitive decline and dementia,” concluded the researchers.
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume 90, Pages 640-646, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27660
“Coffee drinking in middle age is not associated with cognitive performance in old age”
Authors: V.S. Laitala, J. Kaprio, M. Koskenvuo, I. Raiha, J.O. Rinne, K. Silventoinen
|
<urn:uuid:b2827df6-8555-402e-88ff-8803937e7d0a>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Study-challenges-coffee-s-reported-brain-benefits
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00097-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.94017 | 225 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Yet again, “Koran burning” is in the news:
There is confusion about whether it is always wrong to burn the Koran, (it isn’t), and if not what the principles are.
First, let’s get back to basics. According to Islam, the Koran (or Qur’an) is text from Allah in ( now medieval) Arabic, originally read to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel. When written in book-form, it is properly called a Mushaf, (there are various spellings), although many Muslims and non-Muslims also call the book-form the Koran. (See The Difference Between “Qur’an” and “Mushaf”. I’ll do so here when the context is clear). A translation into any other language is not formally the Koran and doesn’t have the same significance. It is often termed an “interpretation of the Koran”. But it will still be treated with reverence by Muslims.
Islam does not ban the burning of the Koran. Many Muslims believe it is wrong, or should only be done when there are no alternatives. Many other Muslims believe it is a perfectly respectful, even preferred, way of disposing of an old Koran.
For example, there is an Islamic organisation (Furqaan Recycling – Your one stop for Qur’anic & Scriptural Recycling) that will dispose of Islamic material in a respectful manner:
“Complete Arabic only Musaahif will be burned, following the example of Uthman ibn Affan (RA) …. Copies of the Quran will be handled by Muslims alone and will not go through the same process as the other paper material”.
While even Muslims don’t agree on how to dispose of an old Koran, and whether burning it is OK, they (probably) all agree that disposal must be respectful even in the long term. For example, a Koran must not be recycled as toilet paper or for “Pig Farmer’s Weekly”. Preferably it should be safely returned to the environment, for example by floating it out to sea or letting it decompose into the earth off the popular track. Or by burning it, of course.
For the record, it is not illegal to burn a religious book in the UK.
If it is yours, and you don’t disrupt public order while doing so, or incite hatred on racial or religious grounds, you have the right to burn the book.
And remember that there is no general right not to be offended by others.
|
<urn:uuid:891594bd-15ce-4086-80b7-db4e86887771>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://blog.barrypearson.co.uk/?p=2086
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00200-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.921363 | 541 | 2.578125 | 3 |
How to Measure The Size of a Saddle
Both English and western saddles are measured in inches using the size of the seat. In order to make sure you purchase a saddle that fits you comfortably and properly, you will need to know what size saddle you ride in and how to correctly measure the seat of a saddle. You will need a measuring tape in order to properly measure a saddle.
Place one end of the measuring tape against the center of the pommel of your saddle.
Stretch the measuring tape directly across the seat of the saddle to the center of the front of the cantle.
Record your measurement in inches. If the measurement is not precisely on the inch, round your measurement to the nearest half inch.
Useful Hints: Remember that, with a few exceptions, most western saddles are only sold in whole inch seat increments (14 inch, 15 inch, 16 inch and so on). If you ride in a saddle that offers a half size, you will most likely need to go to the next size up when you are shopping for a new saddle. For example, if you ride in a 15.5 inch saddle, you will probably need to buy a 16 inch saddle.
Place one end of the measuring tape in the center of one of the screws on the side of the pommel of your saddle.
Stretch the measuring tape diagonally across the seat of the saddle to the middle of the cantle.
Record your measurement in inches.
Useful Hints: English saddles are commonly sold in both half and full sizes. As a general rule of thumb, your English saddle size will measure two inches larger than your western saddle size. This means that if you need a 15 inch western saddle, you will ride in a 17 inch English saddle.
|
<urn:uuid:8b362dda-b29c-47cf-afdd-2c484d0db2dd>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.saddleonline.com/blogs/content/how-measure-size-saddle
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.937127 | 363 | 2.625 | 3 |
Healthy Eating Questionnaire
It has been said many times “you are what you eat” and hence healthy eating forms the foundation of healthy and disease free living. In this context healthy eating questionnaire is a series of questions which are designed to analyze food habits of individuals. It may also be used to assist people achieve their particular fitness goals like weight loss or muscle gain.
Healthy Eating Questionnaire Sample
Age: ________________________ Sex: ________________________
Waist: ________________________ Hips: ________________________
- Enter your average meal timings
a) breakfast : _______________
b) morning break: _______________
c) lunch: _______________
d) evening snacks: _______________
e) dinner: _______________
- How would you describe your job? :
b) some activity
- Do you skip your breakfast often? If yes then how many times a week? If no then what do you have in breakfast?
- What would you have in your morning break?
a) coffee / biscuits / chocolate bar
b) cold drink / colas / chips
c) fruits / salads / oatmeal cookies
- How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you have each day?
- What do you prefer as a drink while you are on the go?
a) soft drink
b) fruit juice
- While going for team lunch with your office colleagues you are most likely to have
a) bacon sandwich, coffee and donut
b) pizza with chicken and cheese
c) grilled chicken with potatoes
d) If any other, please mention
- Your daily intake of water in liters : ____________________________
Category: Health Questionnaire
|
<urn:uuid:a72cf647-9232-4c26-afd6-eb582bc303ea>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.samplequestionnaire.com/healthy-eating-questionnaire.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00184-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.736957 | 348 | 2.875 | 3 |
In 1863 the world's very first underground line was opened to passengers travelling from Paddington to Farringdon in London. digital:works have worked with two primary schools, one near Paddington and another near Farringdon to chart the 150 year history of the London Underground from that first passenger journey to today. This project puts the workers and ex-workers on the London Underground at the forefront of this history.
The children have worked with Westminster City Archives, Camden Local Studies and Archive Centre and the London Transport Museum to study the history of that period and then conduct oral history filmed interviews with retired and current workers on the tube and passengers. They have also done some creative writing for a booklet and exhibition.
A documentary film based on these oral history interviews was launched at the London Transport Museum on Friday July 19th 2013. The film will also form part of an exhibition which, along with the children's writing, will be shown at libraries and archives around London as well as in schools. This website hosts the young people's work including some full interviews they have undertaken, their final edited film and their writing, both historical and creative. There is also a blog which follows the progress of the project.
All archive photos are copyright Transport for London, from the London Transport Museum collection
|
<urn:uuid:2f22bd00-bf95-4a0a-af05-2196cb36a982>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.goingunderground.org.uk/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398216.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97409 | 258 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Making the Invisible Visible: Röntgen's Mysterious X Rays
Amateur scientists who traveled from town to town in the mid-nineteenth century delighted audiences by showing them the ancestor of the neon sign: the air was pumped out of a glass tube with platinum wires embedded in opposite ends, and the interior was made to glow in lively patterns when a high voltage was run across the wires. Transfixed by the fluorescence, the lecturers had however absolutely no idea what caused the electrical excitation in the vacuum tube.
Become a member or log in to view the full text of this article.
OSA Members get the full text of Optics & Photonics News, plus a variety of other member benefits.
|
<urn:uuid:4ca94fe2-041b-4489-aa2e-2a475140e5f3>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.osa-opn.org/home/articles/volume_13/issue_1/features/making_the_invisible_visible_r_246;ntgen_s_myst/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955278 | 147 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Comprehensive DescriptionRead full entry
DescriptionThis perennial wildflower is 3-8' tall, branching sparingly. The large hollow stems are pale purple to dark purple, terete, glabrous, and often glaucous. Alternate compound leaves occur along the stems, primarily along the lower-half of each plant. The compound leaves are ½-2' long, ½-2' across, and widest at their bases. The structure of the compound leaves is bipinnate with 3-5 leaflets or subleaflets per division. The subleaflets are ¾-4½" long and ½-2½" across; they are more or less ovate in shape and their margins are serrated. Some subleaflets are shallowly to deeply cleft into lobes. The upper surface of the subleaflets is medium to dark green and glabrous, while the lower surface is pale or whitish green and glabrous. The subleaflets are either sessile or they have short petioles; they often have winged extensions at their bases that join the branches of the rachis. The petioles are long, stout, and conspicuously sheathed at their bases; both the petioles and their sheaths are green to light purple to dark purple, glabrous, and often glaucous. The upper stems terminate in one or more compound umbels of flowers spanning 3-9" across; they are globoid in shape. Sometimes the peduncle of a compound umbel will branch and terminate in another compound umbel. Each compound umbel has 15-40 rays (floral branches) that terminate in small umbellets. Each umbellet has numerous greenish white to pale yellow flowers on pedicels about ½" in length. Each flower is up to ¼" across, consisting of 5 petals with incurved tips, a light green calyx without significant lobes, 5 stamens, and a pistil with a divided style. The blooming period occurs from late spring to early summer and lasts about 3 weeks. Afterwards, the flowers are replaced by dry seed-like fruits (consisting of double achenes). The fruits are 5-8 mm. in length, oblongoid-ovoid in shape, and slightly flattened; each side of the fruit has 3 longitudinal ridges. Immature fruits are greenish yellow, turning brown at maturity. Each achene has a pair of lateral wings along its main body; it is convex and ridged on one side, while the other side is flat. The root system consists of a short stout taproot.
|
<urn:uuid:5cc94f95-2df3-4dad-9132-8a6d03ca0e9a>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.eol.org/pages/581755/overview
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.943967 | 540 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.