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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oxygen Saturation Medical Science
A selection of articles related to oxygen saturation medical science.
Original articles from our library related to the Oxygen Saturation Medical Science. See Table of Contents for further available material (downloadable resources) on Oxygen Saturation Medical Science.
- History of Egyptian Medicine and Philosophy
- When medical knowledge past is considered, lack of aseptic technique, pain-killing drugs and antibiotics are an accepted part of our modern legend of these ancient healing practices. You will find that none of this is true when it comes to Ancient Egypt....
Religions >> Egyptian
- Bringing it Down to Earth: A Fractal Approach
- 'Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.' B. Mandelbrot W e want to think about the future - it's our nature. Unlike other creatures, humans possess an...
Mystic Sciences >> Astrology
- Question the Premises of Society and Science
- Question the ultimate validity of the basic premises of society, in particular, scientific theory. Do not accept concepts or statements as truthful simply due to weight of tradition or learned opinion. The synthesis of these statements is a healthy skepticism...
Religion & Philosophy >> Philosophy
- What is hypnotic trance? Does it provide unusual physical or mental capacities?
- 2.1 'Trance;' descriptive or misleading? Most of the classical notions of hypnosis have long held that hypnosis was special in some way from other types of interpersonal communication and that an induction (preparatory process considered by some to be...
Parapsychology >> Hypnosis
- Hypnosis: A Selected Bibliography
- Index of bibliography sections Selected Periodicals (14 entries) Edited Overviews of General Theories of Hypnosis (5 entries) Specific Topics Related to Research into Hypnosis. General single-author overviews, non-special-state views, social andexperimental...
Parapsychology >> Hypnosis
Oxygen Saturation Medical Science is described in multiple online sources, as addition to our editors' articles, see section below for printable documents, Oxygen Saturation Medical Science books and related discussion.
Suggested News Resources
- Failed Endotracheal Intubation and Adverse Outcomes Among Extremely Low Birth
- The process of intubation itself is associated with adverse physiologic changes, including increased intracranial pressure and rapid deterioration of heart rate and oxygen saturation. Failed or prolonged intubation attempts lead to persistence of these ...
- The Future of Case Management—GPS for Patients?
- Although not rocket science, this is a new concept for most hospitals and healthcare systems. ...
- Emerging roles for lipids in non-apoptotic cell death
- Fatty acid synthase (FASN) utilizes malonyl-CoA, acetyl-CoA, and NADPH to synthesize the saturated acyl-CoA palmitoyl-CoA (16 : 0). Palmitoyl-CoA can be further elongated by ....
Great care has been taken to prepare the information on this page. Elements of the content come from factual and lexical knowledge databases, realmagick.com library and third-party sources. We appreciate your suggestions and comments on further improvements of the site.
Oxygen Saturation Medical Science Topics
Related searchesethics and morality of hinduism
opus dei vocation and membership
junk fax canada | <urn:uuid:d23a705a-f4fe-40c2-8fec-ec313810d80e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.realmagick.com/oxygen-saturation-medical-science/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.874758 | 736 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Diarrhea is when you have more than three very loose bowel movements in 1 day. For many, diarrhea is mild and will pass within a few days. For others, it may last longer. It can make you feel weak and dried out (dehydrated). It can also lead to unhealthy weight loss.
A stomach or intestinal illness can cause diarrhea. It can be a side effect of medical treatments, such as antibiotics and some cancer treatments.
Below are some questions you may want to ask your doctor or nurse to help you take care of your diarrhea.
What to ask your doctor about diarrhea - adult; Loose stools - what to ask your doctor - adult
What foods can make my problem worse?
Can I eat dairy foods?
Can I have greasy or spicy foods?
What type of gum or candy should I avoid?
Can I have caffeine, such as coffee or tea? Fruit juices? Carbonated drinks?
Which fruits or vegetables are okay to eat?
Are there foods I should eat so I do not lose too much weight?
How much water or liquid should I drink during the day? What are the signs that I am not drinking enough water?
Do any of the medicines, vitamins, herbs, or supplements I am taking cause diarrhea? Should I stop taking any of them?
What products can I buy at the store to help with my diarrhea? What is the best way to take these?
Which ones can I take every day?
Which ones should I not take every day?
Can any of these products make my diarrhea worse?
Should I take psyllium fiber (Metamucil)?
Does my diarrhea mean I have a more serious medical problem?
When should I call the doctor?
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. | <urn:uuid:30d255d2-8c2f-4df0-b832-15bc3298a12c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.northside.com/HealthLibrary/?Path=HIE+Multimedia%5C60%5C000218.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948431 | 416 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Autistic-like behaviors can be partially remedied by normalizing excessive levels of protein synthesis in the brain, a team of researchers has found in a study of laboratory mice. The findings, which appear in the latest issue of Nature, provide a pathway to the creation of pharmaceuticals aimed at treating autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that are associated with diminished social interaction skills, impaired communication ability, and repetitive behaviors.
"The creation of a drug to address ASD will be difficult, but these findings offer a potential route to get there," said Eric Klann, a professor at NYU's Center for Neural Science and the study's senior author. "We have not only confirmed a common link for several such disorders, but also have raised the exciting possibility that the behavioral afflictions of those individuals with ASD can be addressed."
The study's other co-authors included researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and three French institutions: Aix-Marseille Universite'; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM); and Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).
The researchers focused on the EIF4E gene, whose mutation is associated with autism. The mutation causing autism was proposed to increase levels of the eIF4E, the protein product of EIF4E, and lead to exaggerated protein synthesis. Excessive eIF4E signaling and exaggerated protein synthesis also may play a role in a range of neurological disorders, including fragile X syndrome (FXS).
In their experiments, the researchers examined mice with increased levels of eIF4E. They found that these mice had exaggerated levels of protein synthesis in the brain and exhibited behaviors similar to those found in autistic individuals—repetitive behaviors, such as repeatedly burying marbles, diminished social interaction (the study monitored interactions with other mice), and behavioral inflexibility (the afflicted mice were unable to navigate mazes that had been slightly altered from ones they had previously solved). The researchers also found altered communication between neurons in brain regions linked to the abnormal behaviors.
To remedy to these autistic-like behaviors, the researchers then tested a drug, 4EGI-1, which diminishes protein synthesis induced by the increased levels of eIF4E. Through this drug, they hypothesized that they could return the afflicted mice's protein production to normal levels, and, with it, reverse autistic-like behaviors.
The subsequent experiments confirmed their hypotheses. The mice were less likely to engage in repetitive behaviors, more likely to interact with other mice, and were successful in navigating mazes that differed from those they previously solved, thereby showing enhanced behavioral flexibility. Additional investigation revealed that these changes were likely due to a reduction in protein production—the levels of newly synthesized proteins in the brains of these mice were similar to those of normal mice.
"These findings highlight an invaluable mouse model for autism in which many drugs that target eIF4E can be tested," added co-author Davide Ruggero, an associate professor at UCSF's School of Medicine and Department of Urology. "These include novel compounds that we are developing to target eIF4E hyperactivation in cancer that may also be potentially therapeutic for autistic patients."
New York University: http://www.nyu.edu
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
Free-living songbirds show increased stress hormone levels when nesting under white street lights. But different light spectra may have different physiological effects as this study finds, suggesting that using street lights with specific colour spectra may mitigate effects of light pollution on wildlife
Scientists identify the condition aphantasia, in which people cannot create images in their head
The dust in our homes contains an average of 9,000 different types of fungi and bacteria, a study suggests.
A mosquito can bear up to 23 times its total body weight on each leg, which is crucial for landing on water – the insect's secret is way it stands
Tropical species with smaller geographical ranges are more likely to die out in a warming climate than those that can adapt by ‘invading’ new regions
Most people think of bacteria as germs, signs of filth, or unwanted bringers of disease. Slowly, that view …
The gloomy octopuses crowded at Jervis Bay, Australia, appear to spit and throw debris such as shell at each other in what could be an intentional use of weapons
Therapies based on hormones that make us more trusting enhance our natural placebo effect – a finding that could alter the way clinical trials are conducted
The blind, hairless babies born recently at Washington D.C.'s National Zoo are completely dependent on their mothers—who can sometimes accidentally crush them.
The poop-hoarding insects have an amazingly advanced internal GPS that allows them to navigate by day or night. | <urn:uuid:87593d1b-9de3-4aa3-837e-cc2071b8fe6e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.labspaces.net/126080/Neuroscientists_find_excessive_protein_synthesis_linked_to_autistic_like_behaviors | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00178-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958549 | 1,054 | 3.171875 | 3 |
May 31 is World No Tobacco Day
. The message from the World Health Organization to governments around the globe is to ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. That's to try and prevent children from taking up smoking and to encourage smokers to quit. Tobacco kills nearly six million people every year, and the numbers are only expected to rise.
Terrie Hall is a former smoker. Her grandchildren will never know what she sounded like before she got cancer. She appears in a public service announcement: "If you're a smoker, I have a tip for you. Make a video of yourself before all this happens. Read a children's story book, or sing a lullaby. I wish I had."
Hall is part of a new campaign from The US Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) that features stories from former smokers.
Bill Busse is another former smoker. "Last year they amputated my left leg because of poor circulation. After surgery, I reached down and found that my foot wasn’t there anymore. That was the day I quit," he recalled.
The campaign has renewed interest in quitting, according to Dr. Thomas Frieden of the CDC. "Quitting smoking is the single most effective thing you can do to improve your health," he said.
But it's hard. Only 10 percent of smokers will quit in a given year according to Joanna Cohen from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
. She spoke to VOA via Skype. "Tobacco use is an addictive behavior, and it's a human behavior which is very complex," she explained. "So just think of any behavior on your own that you want to change, and it's not easy."
That's why the CDC tells smokers to ask their doctors for help.
"My doctors finally helped me quit. Along with my amputation, the doctors prescribed me some medicine and counseling," said Busse.
That's a message the CDC wants people to know.
"They have medications that can double the successful quit rate, and they can connect our patients with resources in the community which they can have on top of that," stated Dr. Jeff Cain, head of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The U.S. government has been warning people about the harmful effects of tobacco for fifty years. Other countries are doing the same. Thailand requires graphic labels on packs of cigarettes. Turkey and Russia have enacted strong tobacco control laws.
In Russia, it was only partly due to health care costs according to Cohen. "Their citizens were dying off early, way earlier than they should be," she said.
The World Health Organization says four out of five tobacco-related deaths are in low and middle-income countries. These countries bear the greatest burden of disease and premature death. Aaccording to WHO, these countries are where the tobacco industry is seeking new smokers. | <urn:uuid:9d765c30-5925-4ece-9feb-713885e81ad8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.voanews.com/content/who-urge-ban-on-tabacco-advertising-promotion-sponsorship/1671231.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976795 | 580 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Time: Pennsylvanian (~300 m.y.a.)
mm long on a 55 mm by 35 mm nodule
Site: Mazon Creek, Pit 11, Francis Creek shale, Braidwood, Illinois
The Mazon Creek deposits of the region near Braidwood, Illinois rival
the other famous Lagerstatten of the Burgess Shale, Solnhofen, and
Liaoning for the variety of detailed life preserved. Many exquisitely-preserved
specimens are found in the ironstone nodules that make up the deposits.
The majority of collecting areas are the spoil heaps of abandoned
coal mines, the most famous of which is Peabody Coal Pit 11. Pit 11
now serves as a cooling pond for the Braidwood nuclear power plant,
but with over 100 other localities, specimens still come to light.
This specimen is a member of an extinct lobster-like Order that flourished
during the Carboniferous is North America and Europe. The antennae,
antennules, and legs are quite easily discerned in this fine example. | <urn:uuid:4802636f-81b6-4013-8a99-09e791f265a8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Sites/Mazon-Creek/Belotelson-magister/Belotelson.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.856138 | 227 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Christmas in the Lab
December 17, 2012
The science labs at Bay City High School were the scene for
"Christmas in the Lab" on December 13. Cherry Elementary POWER GRID
and BRT students and their parents were treated to holiday snacks
and then taken into the labs for a series of hands-on scientific
experiments with a holiday "theme." BCHS POWERSET and WIT students
guided the younger students through three stations where everyone
saw how chemical reactions create ice cream, turn a penny into a
shiny, gold coin, and how a little muscle used to vigorously shake
a test tube full of chemicals can make a new, shiny, silver
ornament for Mom.
POWERSET (Powerful Opportunities for Women Eager and Ready for
Science, Engineering and Technology) is a program sponsored by the
Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) at Texas A&M University and
provides young women with the educational tools and support they
need to pursue education and careers in science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM). WIT (Workforce Industry Training) is
another program of NPI. It is for both male and female high school
students who have an interest in STEM-related careers, but are
interested in two-year technical degrees or certificates.
POWERSET students serve as mentors to the POWER GRID (Girls
Responding to Industry Demands) at the elementary and middle school
level, while the WIT students mentor the BRT (Boys Resourcing
Technology Programs) pre-teens.
At Bay City High School, WIT sponsor is Jill Lowry, and POWER
SET sponsor is Vanessa Parker. Cherry Elementary fifth grade
science teacher Jackie Ramsey accompanied the Cherry Elementary
students to Christmas in the Lab. | <urn:uuid:b8c871d0-9f64-4fe3-a4e7-7387b6be0744> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://nuclearpowerinstitute.org/top-bar/news/christmas-in-the-lab/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00083-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931681 | 375 | 2.515625 | 3 |
3-D wiring diagram depicts mouse brain
Scientists have created a detailed, three-dimensional wiring diagram of the mouse brain. That should help researchers seek clues about how the human brain works in health and disease.
It’s the first brain-wide wiring diagram for a mammal at such a level of detail. While it doesn’t reveal every connection between each of the rodent’s 75 million brain cells, it shows how parts of the brain are connected.
The work was described online April 2 in the journal Nature by Hongkui Zeng and colleagues at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle.
To create the diagram, scientists combined data from more than 1,000 mouse brains, each of which was divided into 140 slices.
– Associated Press
Early nomads traded grain on the Silk Road
Nomadic shepherds in the high plains of Central Asia used grain imported from China and southwestern Asia more than 5,000 years ago, perhaps to sprinkle over bodies in funeral rituals, according to a new study.
The discovery came from a recent investigation of burial sites in Kazakhstan. The scientists, led by Michael Frachetti, an archaeologist at Washington University in St. Louis, included a botanist and local archaeologists.
Because what is now Kazakhstan was at a crossroads in the nomads’ path, the findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provide clues about the later emergence of the trade route known as the Silk Road.
Early on, the nomads moved only by foot, spending winters in warmer valleys and summers in the mountains. Their seasonal moves broadened their interactions and helped disperse the grains, Frachetti said.
“These folks were not traveling extremely long distances, but it spread fairly rapidly,” he continued. “You can imagine a story where a person goes down in the valley, starts trading seeds and takes them back.”
The scientists also found evidence that by about 1500 B.C., the nomads were cultivating their own barley, wheat, millet and peas.
Frachetti’s graduate students found remnants of grains from the period in an ancient domestic oven, a storage vessel and a kiln.
“We see the evolution,” he said, “from the introduction of seeds used for ritual purposes to something that has impact on the local economy.”
– New York Times | <urn:uuid:cddd619f-7cfa-4c1e-b2b2-265bea0d1b71> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/nature-science/science-notes-early-nomads-traded-grain-on-the-silk-road-20140420 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943288 | 494 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Born: February 14, 1813; Troistkoye, Russia
Died: January 17, 1869; St. Petersburg, Russia
Alexander Dargomizhsky was born in dramatic circumstances on one of the estates of his father, a wealthy landowner in the Smolensk area, as the family had fled there to avoid the invading French Army under Napoleon. His mother was a minor poetess named Princess Kozlovskaya who disliked music. Nevertheless, three of her children had musical careers.
As a boy he had many ailments and did not speak until he was five years old. HeRead more received the ordinary training of a young aristocratic youth, including music lessons. He was much in demand as a pianist in society gatherings. He also studied violin, but apparently never mastered intonation (according to his violinist brother, Viktor).
He became a government official in 1827 and was promoted regularly. After he met Mikhail Glinka he decided to make music his vocation and studied harmony and composition by borrowing Glinka's notebooks from his studies in Berlin. He became interested in opera. After giving up his first project, he completed Esmeralda, based on Victor Hugo, by 1841. It was not produced until 1849, and while admired for its choral scenes, it was revived in 1851, but not restaged for another 50 years, and has never caught on. It is in a French grand opera fashion that already was outdated by then.
He wrote a large number of songs, mostly for female voice, and many of these became popular. He resigned his government position and went abroad. He came back with a new nationalistic feeling and started studying Russia's folk music and its typical speech intonations, imitating these in his music. His opera Rusalka, finished in 1855, is a result of this interest; it is written in a new, natural declamatory style. He wrote a famous article decrying the Italian-style interest in "melodies flattering to the ear" and proclaimed the ideal of expressing the word "directly" and truthfully.
This led to his composition of The Stone Guest, a nearly direct, word-for-word setting of Pushkin's play. It was written in continuous melodic recitative, with a accompaniment mainly of chords. In 1867 he was elected president of the Russian Musical Society. The duties of that position and his frail health did not permit him to finish The Stone Guest. The few remaining portions of the vocal score were completed by César Cui and orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov. It has never been a theatrical success; only Rusalka is staged with any regularity, even in Russia.
Dargomizhsky's main musical legacy, therefore, is his songs, along with a few orchestral and instrumental pieces. It is his ideas about musical drama that give him an important position in Russian music, and his finding and setting folk tunes. This directly influenced Mussorgsky, who used natural Russian declamation in his operas, and through him later Russian composers, especially Shostakovich and Britten (whose operatic career was given inspiration by Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District) and Janácek. Outside of Russia, where he is regarded as an important composer in his own right, he is mainly valued for these influences. Read less
There are 54 Alexander Dargomizhsky recordings available.
YOU MUST BE A SUBSCRIBER TO LISTEN TO ARKIVMUSIC STREAMING.
TRY IT NOW FOR FREE!
Sign up now for two weeks of free access to the world's best classical music collection. Keep listening for only $0.0/month - thousands of classical albums for the price of one! Learn more about ArkivMusic Streaming | <urn:uuid:5bd04a63-49eb-44d7-9eb0-ea32b2ca2fac> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/Alexander-Dargomizhsky/Composer/2728-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00046-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988949 | 800 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Rhizanthella slateri (an underground orchid) - vulnerable species listing
NSW Scientific Committee - final determination
The Scientific Committee, established by the Threatened Species Conservation Act, has made a Final Determination to list the underground orchidRhizanthella slateri(Rupp) M. A. Clem. and P. J. Cribb as a VULNERABLE SPECIESin Schedule 2 of the Act. Listing of vulnerable species is provided for by Part 2 of the Act.
The Scientific Committee has found that:
1.Rhizanthella slateri(Rupp) M. A. Clem. and P. J. Cribb (family Orchidaceae) is described in Harden (1993, Flora of New South Wales, Vol 4, page 219, UNSW Press, Kensington) as a 'Terrestrial saprophytic herb with fleshy underground stem to 15 cm long and 15 mm diam., whitish, often branching, with prominent, fleshy, overlapping bracts. Flowering heads maturing below the soil surface or extending 2 cm above the ground, to c. 2 cm diam., the receptacle of up to 18 whitish triangular bracts to 8 mm long; flowers up to 30, tubular, purplish. Dorsel sepal curved, the tip narrowing linear to filiform, the base broad and hooding the column and most of the 2 lateral petals; lateral sepals erect, broad at base but each lateral sepal folding lengthwise into a filiform tip longer than the dorsal sepal and often protruding beyond the length of bracts making the cup. Lateral petals about half the length of the lateral sepals. Labellum claw a short, flexible hinge; labellum lamina cordate, thick, tongue-like with the upper surface covered with fine papillae. Column short and broad with column wings reduced to narrow, papillose 'ears'; anther broad and curving, stigma a thickened pad. Flowers Oct-Nov.'
2.Rhizanthella slateriranges from southeastern Queensland to the south coast of NSW. In NSW, it is currently only known from fewer than 10 locations, including near Bulahdelah, the Watagan Mountains, the Blue Mountains, Wiseman's Ferry area, Agnes Banks and near Nowra. At each location, only a few individuals are known. However,Rhizanthella slateriis difficult to detect, it is usually located when the soil is disturbed, and there may well be more locations of the species within its known range. The species grows in eucalypt forest but no informative assessment of the likely preferred habitat for the species is available.
3. Habitat disturbance has threatened the survival of the species at some of the known sites. One known site is subject to potential clearing for road construction. The small population size at known locations may make the species threatened by stochastic events.
In view of the above the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that Rhizanthella slateri
(Rupp) M. A. Clem. and P. J. Cribb
is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances and factors threatening its survival or evolutionary development cease to operate.
Proposed Gazettal date: 06/12/02
Exhibition period: 06/12/02 - 24/01/03
About the NSW Scientific Committee
Page last updated: 28 February 2011 | <urn:uuid:447b72cc-6985-41d7-9174-cc82a267b08c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/RhizanthellaSlateriVulSpListing.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899695 | 728 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Chemistry (The origin of the word is from the greek word chemeia) is the study of structure (inter-atomic bonding in molecules), composition, and properties of matter, as well as reactions of chemical elements and compounds. Along with physics, chemistry is one of the physical sciences. Chemistry is the modern counterpart to alchemy. Chemistry can be divided into several branches.
Each Discipline of Chemistry has specific concepts that relate to it, however there are some concepts that are universal to the study of Chemistry, some of which are below:
For a more detailed treatment, see Element.
An Element is a single type of atom, and is defined by its Atomic Number, or the number of protons present in the nucleus of the atom. All known elements are grouped together in the Periodic table of the elements.
For a more detailed treatment, see Atom.
An atom is a particle of matter indivisible by chemical means which form the building blocks of molecules. In the atomic nucleus there are positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons. Spinning around the nucleus are negatively charged electrons.
For a more detailed treatment, see Molecule.
A molecule is an electronically neutral grouping of two or more atoms by covalent bonds. A molecule may contain more than one element, although this case is generally referred to as a compound.
Disciplines of Chemistry
- Organic chemistry- The study of chemical compounds containing carbon
- Inorganic chemistry- The study of inorganic compounds
- Physical chemistry- The application of Physics to chemical compounds and systems
- Analytical chemistry- The study and use of chemical analysis methods
- Biochemistry- The study of the chemical processes of life.
- Supramolecular chemistry- The study of non covalent bonding interactions between molecules
- Marie Curie
- Peter Debye
- Vincent du Vigneaud
- Michael Faraday
- Paul Flory
- Max Gergel
- Roald Hoffmann
- Izaak Kolthoff
- Antoine Lavoisier
- Dmitri Mendeleev
- Alfred Nobel
- Linus Pauling | <urn:uuid:ba7b3594-6638-40e4-9b22-79c5f603094c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.conservapedia.com/Chemistry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894249 | 439 | 3.65625 | 4 |
PracTutor customizes learning for each student based on individual skills and empowers them to master every concept of the Common Core Standards in grades 1 through 8.
All kids - whether they need intervention, accelerated learning or career and college readiness - can achieve their goals with PracTutor.
Math and English
Each student is
PracTutor is an online personalized, fun way to learn, practice and master Math and English for students in Grades 1 to 8.
connects students, teachers, parents and administrators on the same platform
helps teachers and parents identify student's weak and strong areas and focus on those to reach their full potential
Prepare for PARCC, Smarted Balanced Assessments (SBAC) and other Standardized Tests with PracTutor
PracTutor understands PARCC and SBAC Tests and provides questions and an environment for students to learn, practice and prepare for these tests. | <urn:uuid:3d37130b-3801-4517-a1b0-d17f47e707b5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.practutor.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925437 | 190 | 2.796875 | 3 |
July 15, 2005
Comet Tempel 1 Went Back to Sleep
Astronomers Having Used ESO Telescopes Start Analysing Unique Dataset on the Comet Following the Deep Impact Mission
ESO -- Ten days after part of the Deep Impact spacecraft plunged onto Comet Tempel 1 with the aim to create a crater and expose pristine material from beneath the surface, astronomers are back in the ESO Offices in Santiago, after more than a week of observing at the ESO La Silla Paranal Observatory. In this unprecedented observing campaign - among the most ambitious ever conducted by a single observatory - the astronomers have collected a large amount of invaluable data on this comet.The astronomers have now started the lengthy process of data reduction and analysis. Being all together in a single place, and in close contacts with the space mission' scientific team, they will try to assemble a clear picture of the comet and of the impact.
The ESO observations were part of a worldwide campaign to observe this unique experiment. During the campaign, ESO was connected by phone, email, and videoconference with colleagues in all major observatories worldwide, and data were freely exchanged between the different groups.
This unique collaborative spirit provides astronomers with data taken almost around the clock during several days and this, with the largest variety of instruments, making the Deep Impact observing campaign one of the most successful of its kind, and thereby, ensuring the greatest scientific outcome.
From the current analysis, it appears most likely that the impactor did not create a large new zone of activity and may have failed to liberate a large quantity of pristine material from beneath the surface.
The images obtained at the VLT show that after the impact, the morphology of Comet Tempel 1 had changed, with the appearance of a new plume-like structure, produced by matter being ejected with a speed of about 700 to 1000 km/h (see ESO PR Photo 23/05).
This structure, however, diffused away in the following days, being more and more diluted and less visible, the comet taking again the appearance it had before the impact. Further images obtained with, among others, the adaptive optics NACO instrument on the Very Large Telescope, showed the same jets that were visible prior to impact, demonstrating that the comet activity survived widely unaffected by the spacecraft crash.
The study of the gas in Comet Tempel 1 (see "Looking for Molecules"), made with UVES on Kueyen (UT2 of the VLT), reveals a small flux increase the first night following the impact. At that time, more than 17 hours after the impact, the ejected matter was fading away but still measurable thanks to the large light collecting power of the VLT.
The data accumulated during 10 nights around the impact have provided the astronomers with the best ever time series of optical spectra of a Jupiter Family comet, with a total of more than 40 hours of exposure time. This unique data set has already allowed the astronomers to characterize the normal gas activity of the comet and also to detect, to their own surprise, an active region.
This active region is not related to the impact as it was also detected in data collected in June. It shows up about every 41 hours, the rotation period of the comet nucleus determined by the Deep Impact spacecraft. Exciting measurements of the detailed chemical composition (such as the isotopic ratios) of the material released by the impact as well as the one coming from that source will be performed by the astronomers in the next weeks and months.
Further spectropolarimetric observations with FORS1 have confirmed the surface of the comet to be rather evolved - as expected - but more importantly, that the dust is not coming from beneath the surface. These data constitute another unique high-quality data set on comets.
Comet Tempel 1 may thus be back to sleep but work only starts for the astronomers.
On July 4, 2005, the NASA Deep Impact spacecraft launched a 360 kg impactor onto Comet 9P/Tempel 1. This experiment is seen by many as the first opportunity to study the crust and the interior of a comet, revealing new information on the early phases of the Solar System. ESO actively participated in pre- and post-impact observations.
Apart from a long-term monitoring of the comet, for two days before and six days after, all major ESO telescopes - i.e. the four Unit Telescopes of the Very Large Telescope Array at Paranal, as well as the 3.6m, 3.5m NTT and the 2.2m ESO/MPG telescopes at La Silla - have been observing Comet 9P/Tempel 1, in a coordinated fashion and in very close collaboration with the space mission' scientific team.
The simultaneous use of all ESO telescopes with all together 10 instruments has an enormous potential, since it allows for observation of the comet at different wavelengths in the visible and infrared by imaging, spectroscopy and polarimetry. Such multiplexing capabilities of the instrumentation do not exist at any other observatory in the world.
: Leading scientists of the ESO DI campaign: H. Boehnhardt (MPI, Lindau, Germany), O. Hainaut (ESO), H.U. Kaufl (ESO), H. Rauer (DLR, Germany).
Members of the ESO DI observing team on site: N. Ageorges (ESO, Chile), S. Bagnulo (ESO, Chile), L. Barrera (UMCE, Chile), H. Boehnhardt (MPS, Germany), T. Bonev (Astr. Inst. Sofia, Bulgaria) , O. Hainaut (ESO, Chile), E. Jehin (ESO, Chile), H.U. Kaufl (ESO, Germany), F. Kerber (ESO, Germany), J. Manfroid (U.Lige, Belgium), O. Marco (ESO, Chile), E. Pantin (CEA, France), E. Pompei (ESO, Chile), H. Rauer (DLR, Germany), C. Sterken (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium), G.P. Tozzi (Obs. Arcetri, Italy), M. Weiler (DLR, Germany)
Members of the ESO DI observing team not on site: C. Arpigny (U.Lige, Belgium), A. Cochran (McDonald, USA), C. Delahodde (Univ. Florida, USA), Y. Fernandez (Univ. Hawaii, USA), D. Hutseme kers (U.Lige, Belgium), H. Kawakita (Gunma, Japan), J. Knollenberg (DLR, Germany), L. Kolokolova (Univ. Maryland, USA), M. Kretlow (MPS, Germany), M. Kueppers (MPS, Germany), E. Kuehrt (DLR, Germany), L. Lara (IAA, Spain), J. Licandro (IAC, Spain), C. Lisse (Univ. Maryland, USA), K . Meech (U.Hawaii, USA), R. Schulz (ESTEC, The Netherlands), G. Schwehm (ESTEC, The Netherlands), M. Sterzik (ESO, Chile), J.A. Stwe (Leide n, The Netherlands), I. Surdej (Univ. Lige, Belgium and ESO, Garching), D. Wooden (Ames, USA), J.-M. Zucconi (Besancon, France).
: This image is a of the CN (388 nm) spectrum of comet Tempel 1 observed from Paranal just before the impact (in black), the 03 of July (at UT 02:00), and the 04 of July at UT 24:00 (in red), which is the first observation after the impact. An artificial wavelength shift has been added for clarity. The post impact spectrum is clearly higher than the pre-impact one.
On the Net: | <urn:uuid:d37e5153-2d0d-4743-9016-e83ac3c548ee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/175805/comet_tempel_1_went_back_to_sleep/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912873 | 1,674 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Not All Is Flawed in Hubble Images
Despite a defect in its mirror, the space telescope is taking useful photographs of remote galaxies
BOSTON — HUBBLE Space Telescope is performing better than astronomers expected when they first learned that its mirror is flawed.
Recently reported observations by the telescope show an ability to resolve detail and to image faint distant galaxies that astronomers had thought only a near-perfect mirror could achieve.
For example, the image reproduced here represents what astronomer Daniel W. Weedman of Pennsylvania State University at University Park calls "one of the most dramatic pictures" Hubble has taken. The photograph shows what astronomers call an accretion disk of swirling dust and gas circling the core of an energetically active galaxy, just as theory says it should.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Carnegie Institution astronomer Alan Dres- sler and colleagues have resolved images of individual galaxies that are members of remote galaxy clusters. Dr. Dressler, who works at the Carnegie Observatories offices in Pasadena, Calif., said, "The results have important implications for theories of how galaxies have evolved since the beginning of the universe 15 billion years ago."
This kind of study is a primary goal of the Hubble-telescope program. But astronomers had thought that the mirror's flaw foreclosed that possibility.
Ray Villard, spokesman for the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, notes that "it's fair to say" that Hubble astronomers now are getting some of the research opportunities they thought they had lost.
Hubble's mirror has an optical flaw called spherical aberration. This means the 2.4-meter (7.9-foot) primary mirror can't bring enough of the light it gathers into a single focus. It was supposed to concentrate 70 percent of a star's light. Instead, only 15 percent of that light forms a sharp image. With the help of computer processing, astronomers have been able to use that 15 percent to study a wide range of relatively nearby objects and distant bright objects. But it seemed much too skimpy to allow th em to resolve some of the finer details or to image the faint distant galaxies that are one of their prime targets.
Dr. Villard recalls that many astronomers simply gave up thinking about such goals. Dressler says, "I almost gave up, too." He explains, however, that he and his colleagues - Augustus Oemier of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., James E. Gunn of Princeton University in New Jersey, and Harvey Butcher of the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy - decided to give distant galaxy study a try. And, he adds, "It worked."
Making the most of Hubble's largely blurry images is like working with a partly rotten apple. Dressler explains, "We just cut away the bad part and used the rest." This left enough good data to resolve images of galaxies that form two galaxy clusters, each of which is 4 billion light-years away.
This shows the galaxies as they were 4 billion years ago, since it has taken their light that long to reach us. There seem to be relatively more spiral galaxies in those clusters than in the relatively nearby galaxy clusters astronomers have been able to study up to now.
Galaxies with spiral arms like our own Milky Way galaxy are fairly rare in the nearby clusters. These are seen at a later stage in their development.
Dressler speculates that some of the spirals may have pulled each other apart in a violent gravitational interaction or may have merged and lost their spiral form. Some spirals in one of the distant clusters seem to be undergoing such interaction.
Dressler calls the new data "the first unambiguous sign of the influence of environment on the form of a galaxy."
His group also has imaged a galaxy cluster that seems even more distant. It may be 10 billion light-years away. More study is needed to confirm that it is remote. Dressler says, however, that with many distant galaxy clusters clearly within Hubble's range, "It seems likely that among them are the ancestors of common galaxies like our own Milky Way."
The image reproduced on this page represents a different kind of research opportunity. It represents galaxy NGC 4261 in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster about 45 million light-years away. This is one of the many so-called active galaxies that emit strong radiation and eject jets of material, indicating the presence of a powerful energy generator at the galaxy core.
Many theorists suggest that this generator is a black hole. A black hole is a mass so highly condensed that its gravity is too strong for anything, including light, to escape. Such an object - if it existed - would draw dust and gas into a swirling disk around itself. Matter in this disk would emit vast amounts of energy as it spirals into the black hole.
The picture shown here on the right is the first image ever taken of such a disk surrounding the core of an active galaxy. Holland Ford at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Walter Jaffe of the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands released the picture last month. Dr. Jaffe calls it "our best view to date of the immediate surrounding of the nucleus of an active galaxy." He adds, speculatively, that "the nucleus is probably the home of a black hole with a mass of 10 million times that of our sun."
Penn State astronomer Weedman says he is "not all that enamored about the black hole [explanation] ... which is only a theoretical concept." But he acknowledges, "There's no question that we [astronomers] are excited by this observation." He explains that "it's pretty definitive evidence" that the cold disk of dust and gas controls the direction of the jets of material shooting out of the galaxy.
Villard notes that observations such as this disk and Dressler's galaxy clusters have "sort of teased astronomers." By making the most of what Hubble can do now, they show what can be achieved when its full capabilities are restored. A repair mission using the space shuttle now is scheduled for next December (see story at left).
One thing the restored telescope could do is measure velocities of material in the NGC 4261 disk to give a measure of the mass in the galaxy core. If it's big enough, Weedman believes there would be no other explanation for it but a black hole. "That probably would convince even skeptics like me," he says. | <urn:uuid:c7016029-8ff2-4a26-86c0-0a72bca73687> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.csmonitor.com/1992/1216/16181.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958811 | 1,302 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Volume 92 | Number 1 | January-February 2004
A Brand-New Bird tells the story of a German schoolteacher in the 1930s who was obsessed with producing a red canary by interspecies hybridization
Sins against science and history have obscured the truth behind some of the greatest scientific discoveries
David Quammen reminds us that for most of human history we've been potential lunch meat for lions and tigers and bears
From 1500 to 1800, the search for fresh soils and hunting grounds caused remarkable damage to the environment
A former astronaut discusses three recent books about the challenges faced by women who have reached for the moon
Total Records : 15
Connect With Us:
An early peek at each new issue, with descriptions of feature articles, columns, and more. Issues contain links to everything in the latest issue's table of contents.News of book reviews published in American Scientist and around the web, as well as other noteworthy happenings in the world of science books.
To sign up for automatic emails of the American Scientist Update and Scientists' Nightstand issues, create an online profile, then sign up in the My AmSci area.
Receive notification when new content is posted from the entire website, or choose from the customized feeds available.
JSTOR, the online academic archive, contains complete back issues of American Scientist from 1913 (known then as the Sigma Xi Quarterly) through 2005.
The table of contents for each issue is freely available to all users; those with institutional access can read each complete issue.
View the full collection here. | <urn:uuid:a3241132-55c5-4d9b-818c-a01707244390> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/issueID.45,pageID.2/bookshelf_byIssue_list.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00180-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926545 | 317 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Aristotle hoped than mankind would embrace the logic of the syllogism and the enthymeme for making arguments. While he recognized the need for, and importance of, emotional appeals, he claimed that the affairs of mankind should be handled through logic. You will recognize the syllogism as the old "fluffy is a mammal" argument. It goes like this:
All cats are mammals.
Fluffy is a cat.
Therefore, fluffy is a mammal.
The enthymeme is the rhetorical syllogism, in which part of the logical sequence is left unstated. For example:
Some politicians are corrupt.
Therefore, Senator Jones could be corrupt.
Edward P. J. Corbett described the difference between syllogism and enthymeme this way: "[T]he syllogism leads to a necessary conclusion from universally true premises but the enthymeme leads to a tentative conclusion from probable premises. In dealing contingent human affairs, we cannot always discover or confirm what truth is."
The problem with Aristotle's logic (concerning his desire for logic) is that argument by the syllogism is often deadly dull. Humans are passionate creatures whose hearts and minds are moved with appeals to emotion (pathos), character (ethos), as well as logic (logos). The rhetorician must decide the proper balance of these appeals in the presentation of any argument.
Forms of Argument
Aristotle’s Artistic Proofs
How do arguments persuade? Aristotle said that rhetors persuade by effective use of "proofs" or "appeals." He divided proofs into two classes: 1) the inartistic proofs that one simply uses for inductive arguments (e.g. statistics), and 2) the artistic proofs that one must create.
Logos: appeals to reason
Such an appeal attempts to persuade by means of an argument “suitable to the case in question,” according to Aristotle. Appeals to logos most often use the syllogism and enthymeme. You may recognize the syllogism as the formal method of deductive reasoning (see above). The enthymeme is a truncated syllogism, also referred to as the rhetorical syllogism, in which one or more minor premises are left unstated. You may recognize the enthymeme as assertions followed by reasons. We rarely find syllogisms in their pure form in civic discourse. Instead, we find statements and reasons that are incomplete and are therefore enthymemes. For example: “We do not have enough money to pay for improvements to our railroads. And without improvements, this transportation system will falter and thus hinder our economy. Therefore, we should raise taxes to pay for better railroads.”
Pathos: appeals to the emotions of the audience
Such an appeal attempts to persuade by stirring the emotions of the audience and attempts to create any number of emotions, including: fear, sadness, contentment, joy, pride. Pathos does not concern the veracity of the argument, only its appeal.
Bob Dole wants to hurt the elderly by cutting Medicare.
Ethos: appeals exerted by the character of the writer/speaker
Such an appeal attempts to persuade by calling attention to the writer’s/speaker’s character. It says in effect: “I’m a great guy so you should believe what I’m telling you.” Ethos does not concern the veracity of the argument, only its appeal.
I am a husband, a father, and a taxpayer. I’ve served faithfully for 20 years on the school board. I deserve your vote for city council. | <urn:uuid:b96354d6-4db1-4421-8f11-36e68040c096> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://rhetorica.net/argument.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00144-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938287 | 766 | 3.734375 | 4 |
The Great Depression halted Georgetown’s timber industry, but recovery began to emerge in 1936 when International Paper Company built a plant along the Sampit River.
By 1942 this plant had become the largest kraft paper mill in the world. The kraft process is stronger than other paper-making processes. It results in more durable materials which can be used in packaging. During World War II, the mill played a major role by producing packaging for soldiers’ rations.
The mill received a complete overhaul in 1983 and is currently a worldwide provider of baby diapers, personal health care products, stationery, and heavier stock like manila folders and index cards. It remains one of the country’s largest mills and produces an impressive 632,000 tons of paper product per year. The mill is Georgetown County‘s second largest private employer with 700 workers. | <urn:uuid:638b5a3f-7ebb-4469-897e-eff8f2387b82> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/georgetown-county/georgetown-industry.html/international-paper-mill | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00120-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954209 | 175 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Climate alarmists have long warned that warming of the Arctic could melt frozen marine and permafrost sediments, releasing methane trapped in peat bogs and ice crystals (clathrate hydrates, see photo above). Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that packs 21 times the global warming punch as CO2 over a 100-year time span and more than 100 times the CO2-warming effect over a 20-year period.
So the fear is that methane emissions from the thawing Arctic will accelerate global warming, which in turn will melt more clathrates and methane-bearing sediments, which will produce still more warming, in a vicious circle of climate destabilization. In a previous post, I offered a skeptical perspective on this doomsday scenario.
This week the journal Nature published a study raising similar concerns about the potential for significant releases of methane from the Antarctic ice sheets. The study’s 14 authors, led by Jemma Wadham of the University of Bristol in the UK, estimate that about 21,000 petagrams (gigatons) of organic carbon (OC) are buried in sedimentary basins under the East and West Antarctic ice sheets – more than 10 times the estimated magnitude of OC stocks in northern permafrost regions. Microbial production of methane from OC (a process known as methanogenesis) is common across many cold subsurface environments, and may have been at work for millions of years beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheets.
Although “No data exist for rates of methanogenesis in sub-Antarctic marine and terrestrial sediments,” the model used by the Wadham team indicates the potential hydrate reserve could be 70–390 petagrams of carbon (PgC) beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and tens of PgC beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). ”This represents a sizeable reservoir of methane hydrate, of a similar order of magnitude to more recent estimates of Arctic permafrost and Arctic ocean hydrate reserves,” the authors state. They contend that subglacial hydrate deposits are likely to be located at shallow depths, “highlighting the strong potential for deglaciation to trigger hydrate destabilization.”
The researchers conclude that “the Antarctic Ice Sheet may be a neglected but important component of the global methane budget, with the potential to act as a positive feedback on climate warming during ice-sheet wastage.”
Well, kudos to Wadham and her colleagues for not injecting apocalyptic rhetoric into a scientific paper. Nonetheless, the paper is attracting media coverage (e.g. here and here) because it raises the possibility of a significant new ‘positive feedback’ that dramatically accelerates global warming.
I wouldn’t lose any sleep about this even if ”deep drilling” later validates the researchers’ estimates of the quantity of hydrates lying beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheets.
Ice core data obtained from the Russian Vostok station in East Antarctica do show a strong correlation over the past 420,000 years between changes in global temperature and atmospheric levels of both CO2 and methane. The data, however, also indicate that two previous interglacial periods were warmer than the Holocene.
Clearly, warming periods release large quantities of methane trapped in frozen marine and terrestrial sediments. Yet in none of the previous interglacials — including the two that were warmer than the present — did warming produce a self-perpetuating, climate de-stabilizing spike in atmospheric methane levels.
The greenhouse effect did not gallop away. Global temperatures largely determined methane levels, not the other way around. Even greater-than-present warmth did not turn Antarctica’s OC deposits into a climate-disrupting methane bomb. | <urn:uuid:5869db88-9b7d-4b42-ad83-15f40c25f34d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.globalwarming.org/2012/08/31/should-we-fear-the-methane-time-bomb-part-deux/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902712 | 782 | 3.390625 | 3 |
- Who We Are
- What We Do
- Where We Work
- Get Involved
- Stories and News
“Land, water and food are part of our existence,” Garifunas share
By Saulo Araujo
August 28th, 2012
They left San Vicente searching for a peaceful place to live, free of the oppressive British colonial powers. Three thousand women, men and children sailing atop the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea were thirsty and hungry. The sun over their heads was abrasive. Many perished before reaching the island of Roatan, Honduras, their new home. Today, many of their Garifuna heirs, an Afro-descendant population in the Caribbean coast of Central America, are still struggling for days of peace, like their ancestors envisioned some 213 years ago.
Hassling to find work in Central America, the large Garifuna community has survived all those years because they refuse to separate themselves from their land and culture. Even those forced to migrate to a different country to find work and a better life still cultivate their roots. Many still dream of one day returning home to the flat coastal lands of Honduras and Guatemala, where Garifunas have rebuilt their lives by the ocean.
For the Garifunas, culture is originated (and nourished) through language, and the daily connection with the land and ocean – which provides both food and energy. This strong connection motivates the Garifuna people to continue fighting to keep their land. Cultural resistance is the backbone of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), a new Grassroots partner. Created in 1981, OFRANEH is a grassroots organization that provides support to local initiatives of education and organizing, as well as coordination between the 46 Garifuna communities in Honduras. For over forty years, the organization has worked to defend Garifunas’ ancestral territory from land grabs. Due to the constant harassment by those wishing to profit off of their land, OFRANEH’s work is critical to the survival of the Garifuna culture.
Foreigners’ property fence: land grabbing in the Garifuna territory
Like many indigenous communities, the Garifuna hold a collective model of territory. Land is communal, and the territory belongs to the whole. Such a system seems incomprehensible to foreign investors, intent on dividing up and buying the land.
A few years ago, women from the Garifuna community of El Triunfo de la Cruz, affiliated with OFRANEH, raised enough funds to build summer bungalows to rent to tourists. After a year of lobbying to get the mayor to bring electricity to the area, a tropical storm destroyed the bungalows and washed away what they thought would be a good income source.
In the wake of the failed enterprise stepped investors who wanted to capitalize on the tourist model. Entitled by money and political connections, powerful businessmen decided to build a wall, grabbing the same land where the local women worked tirelessly. They built a wall to fence in a sea front area of three hectares.
Faced with this new situation, the Garifuna women knew they had to act. As a people The raising of a developer’s fence would have kept them from their culture and livelihood, as taken as an act of war and it had to go.
The women’s group spent nearly three months talking about how to reclaim their community’s land. They were concerned about potential violence from the police and private security forces who were aligned with the businessmen. With support from relatives, the women took action. They knocked down the wall as a hired security guard observed. He couldn’t do anything besides telling his bosses.
Their territory is wanted
In the “Garifuna Bay” of Central America, the beaches are flat and the waters are calm. Every year, the Garifuna territory attracts thousands of tourists who are embraced by the community because they are an important source of income. But there are many outsiders who literally want a piece of the paradise.
Wealthy people are building fences and houses in the ancestral Garifuna territory, disregarding Garifuna culture and territorial rights. The outsiders’ harassment of Garifuna communities is so intense that according to local families it feels that there is not a single day where they don't have to fight and expel poachers.
The challenges vary. One day, the mayor trie to grab a piece of Garifuna territory by eminent domain. The next day, drug traffickers want space to build pathways to transport drug to the US. All this happens under the watch of a government that inherited power from a coup d’etat in 2010. Now the same government is supporting the creation of ”Charter Cities” in the Garifuna territory, that could be governed by foreign elite. According to local community organizers, the name of California’s ex-Governor Schwarzenegger has been mentioned as a potential leader of a Honduras Charter City. In the government plans, the new city will have an independent government. According a New York Times article, the idea of a charter city is rooted in a perspective that social and economic problems can be solved with the redesign of urban centers through “modern cities”. Garifuna communities know that this is a false solution, and will only exacerbate social and economic injustice and thus refuses to give up their land rights.
The government’s political allies also want land to plant African palm, pineapple and other export-oriented crops that leave little or no wealth to the local communities, and that degrade the land through monocropping and other industrial agriculture techniques. And those agribusinesses want to expand further into Garifuna territory.
Due the local resistance, land grabbing in the Garifuna territory demands a complex operation that increasingly involves militarization under the guise of ending terrorism. It also involves using ‘divide and conquer’ tactics in the Garifuna community to make them weak and vulnerable.
A Garifuna dance of resistance
Punta, the Garifuna traditional dance, symbolizes the community’s strengthen and resistance. In Punta, a man and a woman dance to the drums’ three to four dominant musical notes. They move in circles without touching each other. Eventually, one of them moves the hips in a slow motion – usually to great applause. Besides rhythm, one needs to have strong legs to dance Punta.
Punta is the dance of cultural resistance. In any Garifuna community, there will be drums. If there are drums, there will be a group of people celebrating their culture and community. Like their ancestors, who travelled by boat for days and faced innumerable challenges to reach their new home, the current Garifuna generation dances, and resists.
Teresa Reyes, a Garifuna leader, says that women and men have put themselves in dangerous situations. “We have many [land] conflicts. There are people who want to take our land to build large tourism projects,” she says.
The Garifunas are using a range of strategies and tools to keep foreigners off their land, including legal cases. They have a pending case in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Washington, DC against the Honduran government, citing the government’s negligence to protect Garifunas’ human rights to their land.
Teresa also added that her community is “in this daily struggle here and we won’t let people build walls in our territory and to keep us from our ancestral land”.
Taking back the land
In the beginning of 2012, the community of El Triunfo de la Cruz recuperated 22 hectares of land that the mayor (of a nearby town) “distributed” among city councilors in total disregard to the Garifunas’ territorial rights and self-governance. The El Triunfo group decided to take the land back and dispel the invaders. In place, they offered the land to young Garifuna couples who were still living with their parents.
Remembering the incident, Mercedes Guillen, one of the Garifuna women, denounced the actions of those acting on behalf of the businessmen, who stole what Garifuna communities had built and threatened them. She added, “But they won’t defeat us. They have not been able to remove us. We are going to continue fight for our land. We survive from this land. And we need help [to continue fighting for it].”
This week, Garifuna families are recuperating 2,500 hectares of land taken by agribusinesses. The action in the community of Vallecito, Honduras is one of the largest Garifuna land-recovering actions. The action comes as the Honduran government plans to build a charter city on Garifuna land.
Grassroots International is proud to have OFRANEH as a partner. We look forward to sharing updates on these historic land recuperations, and all of OFRANEH’s work. | <urn:uuid:9be2408d-d9ef-4108-a5c3-99baa937c868> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news/blog/%E2%80%9Cland-water-and-food-are-part-our-existence%E2%80%9D-garifunas-share | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398216.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952923 | 1,880 | 2.875 | 3 |
America’s Government By: Arielle HorowitzA ch ildren’s b oo k !
The United States Constitution separates our country’s government into three branches.These branches are the Executive Branch, theLegislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch. Click for Video
The Executive Branch of Government makessure everyone listens to the rules. The President runs this group, but he also gets a lot of help from other people. Click for Video
The people that help the President run the Executive Branch are called the Cabinet.Sixteen people make up the President’s Cabinet,they are the Vice President and 15 other special advisors.
As the head of the Executive Branch, the President has many responsibilities. ThePresident approves the laws Congress makes, he is the Head of State, the Chief ofGovernment, and the head of the US Military.
The next important branch of government isthe Legislative Branch. This branch is referredto as Congress and is divided into two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Congress’ job is to write, debate, and pass bills. These bills are then passed on to the presidentfor his approval. Some other duties of Congress are investigating national issues andsupervising the executive and judicial branches.
The House of Representatives has 435 members, these members are chosen based on each state’s population. Each member is elected into office for a two-year term and must be 25 years old, a citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state from which they are elected. A few of the special jobs that the House has are starting laws that make people pay taxes, and deciding if a government officialshould be put on trial before the Senate if they commits a crime against the country.
The Senate has 100 members, each state is entitled to have tworepresentatives regardless of their population. Each member is elected into office for a six-year term and must be 30 years old, a citizen for at leastnine years, and a resident of the state from which they are elected. A few of the special jobs that the Senate has are confirming/ disapproving any treaties the President drafts, confirming/ disapproving the Presidentialappointments, and holding a trial for a Government official who commits a crime against the country.
The third and final branch of government is known as the Judicial Branch. This branchhouses the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country. Click for Video
The jobs of the Supreme Court are to makedecisions about the meaning of laws, decidehow those laws are applied, and figure out whether or not the laws violate the Constitution.
Nine Justices make up the Supreme Court, and one of them is known as the Supreme Justice.The Justices are appointed by the President and then approved by the Senate, there are no set qualifications needed to become a Supreme Court Justice.
How many Justices arethere in the Supreme Court?a.) Tenb.) Onec.) Nine
The number of Senators foreach state is determined by:a.) Every state hastwo Senatorsb.) Senators aredetermined by thestate’s populationc.) They are pickedrandomly
Which of the following is NOT a job of The House of Representatives? a.)Interpreting the Constitution b.) Deciding if a government official should be put on trial before the Senate if they commits a crime against the country c.) Starting laws that make people pay taxes
True or False: The Vice President is a member of the President’s Cabinet.a.)Falseb.)True
Which of the following is one of the three branches of government? a.) The House of Representatives b.) The Senate c.) The Executive | <urn:uuid:59c61a7f-7d0d-480d-934b-ae94c58fca9c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slideshare.net/relh/final-project-14053870 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915417 | 760 | 3.765625 | 4 |
The runt of the litter is often believed to be prone to health problems, but that's not always the case. Besides being smaller than the other pups in the litter, runts do not always survive, due to poor health.
According to the Times Herald, the runt is usually the animal who develops in the center of the mother's uterus. He gets the least amount of nourishment compared to the other pups in the litter and is more likely to have a lower birth weight.
The newspaper reports that experts say if a runt survives to six or eight-weeks-old, he is likely to make it to adulthood and grow close to full size.
While it is true that some runts have health problems, pet health experts say choosing a runt for your family pet can prove to be a great decision. Many people gravitate toward these smaller dogs simply because they're cute. But veterinarians say it's a good idea to have any dog - especially a runt - checked out by a doctor before bringing him home to ensure there are no underlying medical problems that could affect his survival, like a heart problem.
Like other dogs, runts should be given their vaccinations according to the schedule your vet recommends.
The good news is that helping a runt thrive really won't take any additional effort from you. Usually, he needs exactly what any other puppy needs - vitamins, food and exercise.
And even though a runt may start out small, experts say pet owners should not try to help him "catch up" by giving him more food. According to Yahoo!, overfeeding a puppy could result in joint and digestive problems. | <urn:uuid:fa5ccc31-b785-4795-82b7-4fae3b198746> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/news/pet-news/did-you-bring-home-the-runt-of-the-litter/527 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971987 | 338 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Alcoholism and Human Electrophysiology
Bernice Porjesz, Ph.D., and Henri Begleiter, Ph.D.
Bernice Porjesz, Ph.D., is an associate professor, and Henri Begleiter, Ph.D., is a professor, both in the Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
Support for this work was provided by NIH grant 5–R01–AA–02686 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Electroencephalography (EEG), the recording of electrical signals from the brain, provides a noninvasive measure of brain function as it is happening. Research using EEG, as well as event–related potentials (ERPs) and event–related oscillations (EROs), which measure brain activity in response to a specific stimulus, have shown that the brain activity of alcoholics and nonalcoholics differs in some characteristic ways. These differences are consistent with an imbalance between excitation and inhibition processes in the brains of alcoholics. Key words: AOD (alcohol and other drug) dependence; electroencephalography; electrical life processes; evoked potential; P3 amplitude; brain wave; brain imaging; excitatory neurotransmitters; hyperexcitability; disinhibition; neurobiological theory of AODU (alcohol and other drug use); AOD use susceptibility
Researchers studying the effects of alcohol use on the brain are aided by techniques that yield images of the brain’s structure and reveal the brain’s activity as it is happening. Tools that produce images of the brain’s structure, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), are described in other articles in this issue. This article examines the techniques of electrophysiological brain mapping, which best reveals brain activity as it occurs in time, in fractions of seconds.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording (“graph”) of electrical signals (“electro”) from the brain (“encephalo”). (The resulting report, called an electroencephalogram, also is abbreviated EEG.) Each nerve cell (i.e., neuron) in the brain produces a tiny electrical charge; when a number of neurons become active, the sum of these tiny electrical charges can be detected on the surface of the scalp. Small electrodes placed on the scalp detect this electrical activity, which is magnified and recorded as brain waves (i.e., neural oscillations). These brain waves illustrate the activity as it is taking place in various areas inside the brain.
In the purely resting state, brain waves often are randomly active. However, when a person perceives or responds to a sensory or cognitive stimulus (e.g., a blue triangle), groups of neurons fire together, and the EEG is no longer random. The activity that is related to processing of the stimulus always occurs at the same time after the stimulus (i.e., is time–locked). This time–locked (i.e., event–related or evoked) activity is embedded in background random EEG that is not related to the stimulus processing. In order to see the tiny event–related activity, the EEG is averaged across multiple identical occurrences or trials (e.g., whenever the blue triangle occurs in a series of red squares); activity that is random with respect to the stimulus cancels out with each presentation of the stimulus, whereas the time–locked activity that occurs at the same time on every trial increases in the average. The waveform produced after averaging across identical trials is called an event–related potential (ERP). If one were to make a movie of the brain activity involved in the mental processing of a stimulus as it happens in real time, one would first see early fast activity that is related to sensory reception (e.g., seeing a visual stimulus) occurring in the visual cortex (occipital lobe [see figure 1]); this would then be followed by slower activity related to higher cognitive function (e.g., identification and attention to a blue triangle in a series of squares), which involves activity in the parietal and frontal lobes (figure 1). The fast and slow neural oscillations that underlie the ERP, called event–related oscillations (EROs), represent sensory and cognitive functions.
This article reviews research indicating that alcoholics manifest aberrant resting EEGs, ERPs, and EROs, and discusses the significance of these findings.
THE RESTING ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM
The resting EEG is the recording of ongoing spontaneous brain electrical activity while the person being examined is relaxing (the person’s eyes may be open or closed). It is made up of oscillations that are described in terms of frequency, which is the number of times a wave completes its cycle per unit of time. Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz), which is the number of cycles (i.e., undulations) of the wave per second. EEG oscillations also are described by the magnitude of their voltage (power) measured in microvolts (μV [millionths of a volt]).
Typically, EEGs are divided into the following frequency bands: delta (1–3 Hz), theta (3.5–7.5 Hz), alpha (8.0–11.5 Hz), beta (12–28 Hz), and gamma (28.5–50.0 Hz), with each frequency reflecting a different degree of brain activity. In healthy adults, medium (8–13 Hz) and fast (14–30 Hz) frequencies are predominant in the awake resting EEG, with only sparse occurrence of low frequencies (0.3–7.0 Hz) and high frequencies (greater than 30 Hz). The resting EEG is stable throughout healthy adult life and is highly heritable (van Beijsterveldt et al. 1996).
Theta (3.5–7.5 Hz)
Theta rhythm is largest in the back region of the brain when a person is resting (i.e., resting or tonic theta) and in the front region (frontal lobes [figure 1]) when the person is actively engaged in mental activity (i.e., active or phasic theta). The normal adult waking EEG record contains relatively little theta rhythm. Investigators have reported that tonic theta increases in several neurological states, such as Alzheimer’s disease; tonic theta also increases when cognitive activity decreases. Tonic theta power in alcoholics has been examined in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Researchers compared eyes–closed resting theta (3–7 Hz) power in 307 alcohol–dependent study participants and 307 age– and gender–matched control subjects (Rangaswamy et al. 2003). The alcohol–dependent group had higher resting theta power at all scalp locations. In both male and female alcoholics, the increased theta power was most prominent at parietal regions (parietal regions are located at the top of the brain, in the back; see figure 1); in males this prominent theta also extended more forward to the central regions. Correlation of drinking variables (such as recency of last drink and quantity of drinks in a typical week) with theta power revealed no group–specific differences.
Elevated tonic theta power in the EEG may reflect a deficiency in the information processing capacity of the central nervous system (CNS) (Klimesch et al. 2001). Resting theta power has been reported to increase with age, as well as in Alzheimer’s patients. A theta power increase also may be an electrophysiological indicator of the imbalance in the balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the cortex.
Alpha (8.0–11.5 Hz)
The alpha rhythm is the predominant EEG rhythm in the relaxed alert person. It is obtained whether eyes are open or closed, and it is strongest over the occipital region (see figure 1) when the person’s eyes are closed. The alpha rhythm is an index of relaxation. Extensive research, dating back to the 1940s, confirms that unstable or poor alpha rhythm is found in alcoholics. Early studies determined that alcoholics manifest less prevalent and lower alpha power than nonalcoholics (for a review, see Begleiter and Platz 1972; Propping et al. 1981), but more recent studies have not been consistent with these findings (Pollock et al. 1992; Enoch et al. 1999).
Figure 1 Anatomy of the brain.
Enoch and colleagues (1999) have reported that an alpha variant, namely low voltage alpha (LVA), is associated with a subtype of alcoholism that co–occurs with anxiety disorder. Recently, these authors found that among females, LVA is associated with a genetic variant that leads to low activity in catechol–o–methyltransferase (COMT), the enzyme that metabolizes the brain chemicals (i.e., neurotransmitters) dopamine and norepinephrine (NE). The authors hypothesize that the effect of altered NE levels on activity in the thalamus (a communication center in the brain) may partly explain the connections between LVA, anxiety, and alcoholism (Enoch et al. 2003).
Beta (12–28 Hz)
Beta rhythm is obtained in alert subjects; it is a fast, low–voltage rhythm that is distributed over the scalp. Most studies examining resting EEG characteristics in alcoholics have reported increased beta power in alcoholics compared with nonalcoholics (Bauer 2001; Propping et al. 1981; Winterer et al. 1998). Propping and colleagues (1981) reported these differences in female alcoholics compared with female nonalcoholics, but not in male alcoholics compared with male nonalcoholics. For the COGA study (Rangaswamy et al. 2002), researchers subdivided the beta frequency band into three bands: beta 1 (12–16 Hz), beta 2 (16–20 Hz), and beta 3 (20–28 Hz). The alcohol–dependent group had increased power in both the beta 1 and beta 2 frequency bands at all loci over the scalp, compared with control subjects; this difference was most prominent in the central region of the brain (between the parietal and frontal regions [figure 1]). The alcoholic group also had increased power in the beta 3 frequency band in the frontal region. Age and clinical variables did not influence the difference.
Relapsing alcoholics have been reported to have more desynchronized, or randomly firing, beta activity over frontal areas than nonrelapsers, which suggests a functional disturbance in the prefrontal cortex (the area of the brain just behind the forehead) (Winterer et al. 1998). Bauer (2001) reported that fast beta power was superior to severity of illness, depression level, and childhood conduct problems in predicting relapse in abstinent alcoholics. Researchers have identified anterior frontal brain regions (e.g., the prefrontal cortex) as the most likely source of this fast beta activity. Because the increase in beta power in abstinent alcoholics was not related to length of abstinence (Rangaswamy et al. 2002) and also is present in offspring of alcoholics at risk for alcohol dependence (Rangaswamy et al. 2004), these findings suggest that excess beta power is a “trait” rather than a “state” variable (i.e., related to underlying genetic predisposition and not to alcohol use or other factors). This is consistent with the hypothesis that an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurons is involved in a predisposition to develop alcohol dependence (Begleiter and Porjesz 1999) as well as a proneness to relapse (Bauer 2001).
Beta rhythm reflects a balance between networks of nerve cells projecting from the cortex to other parts of the brain and spinal cord (i.e., pyramidal cells) (which are excitatory) and neurons that carry signals between other neurons (i.e., interneurons) (which are inhibitory). GABAA, the receptor, or binding molecule, for the neurotransmitter gamma–aminobutyric acid (GABA), is thought to regulate this rhythm (Whittington et al. 2000).
A recent finding from the COGA project has found a genetic linkage (within families) and linkage disequilibrium (across families) between the beta frequency of the EEG and a GABAA receptor gene (i.e., they co–occur at a higher frequency than would be predicted by chance) (Porjesz et al. 2002). Furthermore, several neuroimaging studies of alcoholics have shown deficits in the GABA receptors for the chemical benzodiazepine, which facilitates inhibitory GABAergic transmission (Abi–Dargham et al. 1998; Lingford–Hughes et al. 1998). Researchers also have reported neuronal loss or shrinkage in the superior frontal and motor cortices of alcoholics (Harper and Kril 1993). Taken together, these findings suggest that this deficit in GABA receptors in the brains of alcoholics may account for their lack of CNS inhibition (i.e., hyperexcitability). Recent findings from the COGA project indicate that the same GABAA receptor gene associated with the beta frequency of the EEG also is associated with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence, based on criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM–IV) (Edenberg et al. 2004). This suggests that variations in the GABAA receptor 2–subunit gene (GABRA2) (the gene encoding the alpha 2 subunit of the GABAA receptor) affect the level of neural excitability, which in turn affects the predisposition to develop alcohol dependence.
Event–Related Potentials (ERPs)
Unlike the resting EEG, which is a recording of ongoing brain activity, ERPs reflect brain electrical activity in response to specific sensory or cognitive events occurring at a specific time. ERPs can be used to monitor brain activity ranging from sensory reception to higher cognitive processes. ERPs are characteristic, highly reproducible waveforms that are displayed graphically (figure 2A) as a series of peaks (designated P for positive components) and valleys (designated N for negative components). Components are described in terms of their wave height (amplitude, measured in microvolts [μV]), and the time of their occurrence following presentation of the stimulus (latency, measured in milliseconds [ms]). For example, P300 is a positive peak occurring around 300 ms after the stimulus; it also is designated as P3 (i.e., third positive peak). Early components, those with a latency of less than 100 ms, reflect responses to the physical characteristics of the stimulus, whereas later components are influenced by more cognitive factors.
Figure 2 (A) Average ERP waveform in response to a target stimulus in a visual oddball task. Recorded at the midline central electrode in a group of alcoholics (red) and a group of control subjects (blue). Note that the P3 component is reduced in alcoholics compared with control subjects. (B) Time–energy curve in the delta frequency band during the processing of a target stimulus for control subjects (blue) and alcoholics (red). Note the reduced delta power in alcoholics compared with control subjects. (C) Time–energy curve in the theta frequency band during processing of a target stimulus for control subject (blue) and alcoholics (red). Note the reduced theta power in alcoholics compared with control subjects.
P300 (P3a, P3b)
Most studies investigating electrophysiological deficits in alcoholics have focused on the P300 or P3 component. The P3 is a large positive component that occurs between 300 and 700 ms after a “significant” stimulus and is not related to the physical features of the stimulus (e.g., brightness and shape for visual stimuli, or loudness and pitch for auditory stimuli). A stimulus can be “significant” by being relevant to a task (e.g., the subject must press a button whenever a specific stimulus, such as a blue triangle, occurs), by having a motivating influence (e.g., the subject wins money after responding to the stimulus correctly), or by occurring rarely or unpredictably. The P3 is thought to reflect aspects of working memory, the temporary storage of information required for complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Specifically, P3 may reflect attention allocation and updating processes (Polich and Herbst 2000). P3 also is thought to reflect cognitive closure, or the termination of a mental process (Desmedt 1980; Verleger 1988), which involves inhibition over widespread cortical areas (Desmedt 1980; Verleger 1988; Rockstroh et al. 1992; Birbaumer et al. 1990; Tomberg and Desmedt 1998). The amplitude of P3 reflects inhibition of responses to irrelevant stimuli that the subject must ignore in order to respond effectively to the relevant targets (Desmedt 1980; Birbaumer et al. 1990; Klimesch et al. 2000). The timing of P3 occurrence (latency) reflects mental processing speed (Polich and Herbst 2000); the earlier and larger the P3, the easier the processing.
The ERP task most commonly used to elicit the P3 is the so–called “oddball” task, in which rare “oddball” stimuli are embedded in a series of frequent stimuli (standards or nontargets). For example, in an auditory task, the subject listens to frequent “boops” and rare “beeps” in a random stream of tone bursts. If the subject is asked to attend or respond to the rare “beep” stimulus, it is designated as a target; the P3s recorded in response to these task–relevant targets are largest posteriorly on the scalp (over the parietal region [figure 1]) and are designated as P3b components. If the subject is not asked to attend to rare “beep” stimuli, P3s recorded to these unattended rare nontarget stimuli in a repetitive background have a more frontal distribution and are designated as P3a (figure 1); although rare nontargets elicit these P3as, frequent nontargets usually do not elicit any P3s.
Studies over the last few decades have found that the amplitudes of P3s to task–relevant target stimuli (P3b) are significantly lower in abstinent alcoholics than in nonalcoholics (for reviews, see Porjesz and Begleiter 1996, 1998). This deficit in alcoholics occurs with both auditory and visual tasks but is seen more consistently with visual tasks. More recent studies have indicated that low P3 amplitudes are present not only in male alcoholics but also in female alcoholics, though not to the same extent as in males. Figure 2A illustrates reduced P3 amplitudes in alcoholics, compared with control subjects, in response to target stimuli in a visual paradigm.
Not only do alcoholics manifest low amplitude P3b components in response to target stimuli, they also manifest low P3a components in response to rare nontargets in both visual and auditory modalities. Recent reports have indicated that alcoholics manifest reduced P3 amplitudes to both Go (target) and No–Go (rare nontarget) stimuli. Furthermore, alcoholics manifest less differentiation between their responses to target and nontarget stimuli. In keeping with various neurophysiological explanations of the P3 component (Desmedt 1980; Verleger 1988; Birbaumer et al. 1990; Rockstroh et al. 1992; Klimesch et al. 2000), the amplitude of P3 is thought to reflect CNS inhibition (the larger the P3, the greater the inhibition). An increase in theta power, an inhibitory rhythm, underlies P3 (see the following section on event–related oscillations). Most information a person is exposed to is irrelevant and must be suppressed while the person selectively responds to the relevant information; this accounts for the large amplitude of the P3 (Klimesch et al. 2000). The low–amplitude P3 components manifested by alcoholics indicate that they have less CNS inhibition than control subjects. Researchers have hypothesized that this lack of inhibition, or underlying CNS disinhibition (i.e., hyperexcitability), is involved in a predisposition to alcoholism (Begleiter and Porjesz 1999).
As expected, nonalcoholics manifest their largest P3b amplitudes in response to targets over parietal regions of the scalp (figure 1), and their largest P3a amplitudes in response to rare nontargets. However, alcoholics manifest similar low–amplitude P3s across all areas of the scalp in response to rare target and nontarget stimuli.
Despite P3’s maximal amplitude over parietal areas in response to targets when scalp electrodes are used, studies with electrodes inserted into the brain (i.e., depth electrodes) in humans indicate that P3s originate in the frontal cortex; the hippocampus, which is important in the consolidation of new memories; and the amygdala, a part of the limbic system involved in producing and controlling emotional behavior. Recent functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) studies support these findings and implicate another part of the limbic system, the anterior cingulate area of the frontal cortex, as critical for P3 generation. The lower amplitude P3 components, along with the weaker and less well organized sources in alcoholics, suggest disorganized and inefficient brain functioning. This global neurophysiological pattern suggests cortical disinhibition, providing further support for underlying CNS hyperexcitability in alcoholics.
EVENT–RELATED OSCILLATIONS (EROS)
The neural oscillations that underlie ERPs are called EROs. Although EROs are measured in the same frequency bands as spontaneous resting EEGs—namely, delta (1–3 Hz), theta (3.5–7.5 Hz), alpha (8.0–11.5 Hz), beta (12–28 Hz), and gamma (28.5–50.0 Hz)—functionally they are different from spontaneous resting EEG rhythms. EROs temporally are related to the sensory and cognitive processing of stimuli (Basar et al. 1999). During sensory reception, groups of neurons that are close together fire together at fast rates in the gamma range. Cognitive processing (e.g., attention to an auditory rather than a visual stimulus), however, involves communication between brain regions that are somewhat farther apart (e.g., adjacent temporal and parietal lobes [figure 1]). This processing involves synchronization between the brain regions in the alpha and beta frequency ranges. Higher cognitive processing (e.g., working memory, determining if a stimulus has been seen before) involves interactions between widely separated brain regions (e.g., frontal and parietal lobes [figure 1]). Higher cognitive processing involves slow synchronization in the theta or delta frequency range (Lubar 1997). Thus, faster frequencies represent synchronization of groups of neurons in more local areas, whereas slower frequencies are involved in synchronization over longer distances in the brain (von Stein and Sarnthein 2000; Kopell et al. 2000).
Theta/Delta Underlying Visual P3
As discussed above, P3 has multiple sources, with contributions from the frontal cortex and hippocampus. P3 consists of delta and theta oscillations with a higher proportion of delta oscillations from the posterior regions of the brain, and theta occurring in the frontal and central regions (Yordanova and Kolev 1996; Basar et al. 1999; Basar–Eroglu et al. 1992; Karakas et al. 2000). Synchronization occurs in the theta range between the hippocampus and frontal and parietal regions in the brain (figure 1) (i.e., these regions communicate with each other) during attention tasks.
Slow EEG oscillations (delta and theta) depend on the activity level of specific receptors (i.e., muscarinic cholinergic receptors) for the brain chemical acetylcholine; the level of acetylcholine in the cortex and hippocampus is reduced during delta oscillations and elevated during theta activity. Recent findings from the COGA project indicate that the cholinergic receptor genes are involved in theta and delta production (Jones et al. in press) and that these genes also are associated with alcohol dependence. The production of theta and delta rhythms also involves interactions between the GABA and cholinergic neurotransmitter systems; the frequency of theta is controlled by the GABA system, whereas its power is controlled by the cholinergic system (Fellous and Sejnowski 2000; Tiesinga et al. 2001).
In a visual oddball paradigm, evoked delta and theta power while processing the target stimuli is significantly decreased among alcoholics compared with control subjects (see figures 2B and 2C), indicating that the reduced P3 amplitudes reported in alcoholics are caused by deficits in theta and delta oscillations that underlie P3. In a Go/No–Go paradigm, alcoholics also manifested significantly decreased delta and theta power, particularly during No–Go processing (Kamarajan et al. 2004). An increase in theta power is related to an increase in theta in the hippocampus, known to be an inhibitory rhythm associated with GABAergic activity (Klimesch et al. 2000). An increase in theta is associated with inhibition of nonrelevant information while attending to relevant information (e.g., a target stimulus). As most information is irrelevant and must be suppressed, this yields the high amplitude of P3 to relevant stimuli. Hence the deficit in inhibitory theta oscillations underlying P3 in alcoholics suggests deficient inhibitory control during information processing (e.g., attention and memory mechanisms) in alcoholics. This finding provides further support for the hypothesis that CNS disinhibition is involved in alcoholism (Begleiter and Porjesz 1999).
Frontal Midline Theta
Frontal midline theta observed in humans during attention–related tasks is integral to understanding brain functioning during information processing. In one study, researchers examined event–related EEG changes during the performance of mental calculations in alcoholics and control subjects. The study was based on the hypothesis that performance deficits would be indicated by reduced frontal theta power in alcoholic patients. Researchers recorded EEGs in adult alcoholics and normal volunteers during the performance of a simple addition problem (active theta) and during a resting interval (resting theta). The difference between resting and active theta power is a measure of processing capacity—the lower the resting theta power and the higher the active theta power, the more efficient the brain processing (Klimesch et al. 2001). The difference in theta power between resting and problem–solving conditions was significantly lower in alcoholics compared with control subjects at the anterior frontal electrodes. Alcoholics manifested increased resting theta and decreased active theta, indicating decreased and inefficient processing capacity. These deficits in performance, indexed by low evoked (active) theta power during mental effort, reflect frontal lobe dysfunction in alcoholics (Suresh et al. submitted [a]). These deficits involve inhibitory processes and are manifested as impairments in working memory and sustained attention.
Numerous studies indicate that gamma oscillations serve as a mechanism for binding features of an object (feature binding)—for example, the shape and color of an object. Early phase–locked gamma is involved in selective attention and is larger in response to attended stimuli than unattended stimuli, particularly over frontal regions (Basar et al. 1999; Yordanova et al. 2001). Several investigators have reported an association between gamma oscillations and P3 components obtained in response to target stimuli in an oddball task (Basar et al. 1999). One recent study found that alcoholics manifest lower gamma power (29–45 Hz) than control subjects during target processing between 0 and 150 ms in a visual oddball paradigm. This effect was strongest frontally and lateralized to the left side. No group differences in gamma were observed for nontarget and novel stimuli. Control subjects manifested significantly higher gamma power in the processing of the target relative to the processing of the nontarget stimulus, whereas alcoholics did not manifest higher gamma power during target processing. Increased evoked gamma is thought to reflect a matching process between the template in working memory and the current stimulus. These findings of gamma deficits in response to target stimuli in alcoholics, particularly in frontal regions, provide further evidence for deficits in cognitive processes (e.g., attention allocation, working memory) in alcoholics.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
One of the most consistent electrophysiological measures that characterize male alcoholics is the low amplitude of their P3 components; female alcoholics also manifest reduced visual and auditory P3 amplitudes, although to a lesser extent than male alcoholics. Recent findings indicate that not only are P3 components at low amplitude in alcoholics, but the neural oscillations underlying P3 are deficient in alcoholics as well. The findings that both evoked delta and evoked theta oscillations underlying P3 are deficient in alcoholics imply dysfunction in both the cognitive processes and neural correlates that mediate these oscillations. Event–related delta oscillations are related to signal detection (i.e., stimulus discrimination of one object from all other objects) and decisionmaking, whereas theta oscillations are associated with cognitive processes such as attention, alertness, and memory (Basar et al. 1999). Alcoholics are also deficient in the production of evoked gamma oscillations during the processing of target stimuli. As these oscillations are related to selective attention processes and working memory, these findings indicate that alcoholics manifest deficits in cognitive functions associated with these oscillatory processes.
Alcoholics are deficient not only in their response to task–relevant target stimuli (P3bs) but also in response to task–irrelevant rare stimuli (P3a), as revealed by ERP findings. Recent ERO findings indicate that alcoholics manifest decreased theta and delta oscillations to both Go and No–Go stimuli in a Go/No–Go task. As increased theta power indicates inhibition of responding to irrelevant information during selective information processing tasks (Klimesch et al. 2000), decreased theta oscillations in alcoholics may reflect deficient inhibitory control.
During oddball tasks, control subjects manifest enhanced P3 components and evoked theta, delta, and gamma oscillations when processing the target stimulus but not when processing a nontarget or novel stimulus. Alcoholics, however, manifest less electrophysiological differentiation among the three stimulus categories. Topographic maps of P3s and these EROs during target processing indicate that not only do alcoholics manifest weaker sources, they have less topographically distinct spatial–temporal patterns. This less differentiated mode of responding during various tasks indicates that alcoholics are less proficient at processes which involve comparing a new stimulus to a template, suggesting alcoholics have attention and memory deficits. Alcoholics seem less able to efficiently use available information (e.g., a template in working memory) to respond differentially to incoming stimuli (targets, nontargets); hence each incoming stimulus must be evaluated anew. This more global mode of responding in alcoholics regardless of stimulus and task requirements indicates a basic diminution of differential inhibition. In healthy people, familiar stimuli are processed with less neuronal activity than unfamiliar stimuli. Evidence from monkey studies indicates that repeated stimuli elicit less neuronal firing than novel stimuli, suggesting inhibition of masses of neurons (Miller et al. 1991), which leads to increased synaptic efficiency. Differential inhibition allows the animal to efficiently process a given stimulus (e.g., target). Thus, reduced differential neuronal inhibition of relevant and irrelevant stimuli in alcoholics may account for the electrophysiological aberrations observed in alcoholics.
For many years it was assumed that the P3 deficit observed in alcoholics was the consequence of the deleterious effects of alcohol on the brain. However, after a sufficient period of abstinence, many of the clinical abnormalities characteristic of alcohol dependence, as well as electrophysiological measures of hearing deficits, return to normal, but the P3 amplitude abnormality persists (Porjesz and Begleiter 1985). This protracted deficit in long–term abstinent alcoholics suggests the possibility that P3 deficits may precede alcohol use and dependence. Indeed, a number of studies have reported low P3 amplitudes in young people at high risk for developing alcoholism, such as young sons of alcoholic fathers (Begleiter et al. 1984; Polich et al. 1994).
Recent findings indicate that in addition to P3, many of the aberrations in resting and event–related oscillations reported in alcoholics already are apparent in high–risk offspring of alcoholics before alcohol exposure. The increased resting beta power observed in alcoholics also is present in both male and female offspring of alcoholics (Rangaswamy et al. 2004). The frontal theta deficits observed in alcoholics during a mental calculation task also are apparent in offspring of alcoholics (Suresh et al. submitted [b]). Similar to their alcoholic parents, the offspring manifest increased resting theta and decreased active frontal theta, suggesting that cognitive processing may be inefficient in these people before the development of alcoholism. As the electrophysiological differences are not related to length of abstinence and are apparent in people at risk before they have been exposed to alcohol, these neural oscillations could be considered markers of risk. The electrophysiological imbalances in excitation–inhibition observed in the offspring of alcoholics may be involved in the predisposition to develop alcoholism (Begleiter and Porjesz 1999). Long–term studies of childhood and adolescent precursors of adult alcohol abuse consistently identify a cluster of behavioral traits described as disinhibited, undercontrolled, impulsive, or aggressive, which significantly predict high levels of alcohol consumption or abuse.
Taken together, the electrophysiological findings suggest that an imbalance between excitation and inhibition (i.e., CNS disinhibition or hyperexcitability) may be involved in a predisposition to develop alcoholism. Alcoholics and people at risk for alcoholism manifest increased resting oscillations (e.g., theta, beta) and decreased “active” oscillations in the same frequency bands during cognitive tasks. Not only does this underlying CNS disinhibition appear to be involved in the predisposition toward alcoholism (Begleiter and Porjesz 1999), but it also is hypothesized that neuroelectric features related to CNS disinhibition may provide insights into the neurobiology of craving and relapse. The relationship between this underlying CNS hyperexcitability and the induction of alcohol abuse leading to alcohol dependence remains to be explained.
We would like to thank Kevin Jones, Arthur Stimus, and David B. Chorlian for their superlative assistance.
ABI–DARGHAM, A.; KRYSTAL, J.H.; ANJILVEL, S.; et al. Alterations of benzodiazepine receptors in type II alcoholic subjects measured with SPECT and [123I] iomazenil. American Journal of Psychiatry 155(11):1550–1555, 1998.
BASAR, E.; BASAR–EROGLU, C.; KARAKAS, S.; and SCHURMANN, M. Are cognitive processes manifested in event–related gamma, alpha, theta and delta oscillations in the EEG? Neuroscience Letters 259:165–168, 1999.
BASAR–EROGLU, C.; BASAR, E.; DEMIRALP, T.; and SCHURMANN, M. P300 response: Possible psychophysiological correlates in delta and theta frequency channels. A review. International Journal of Psychophysiology 13:161–179, 1992.
BAUER, L.O. Predicting relapse to alcohol and drug abuse via quantitative electroencephalography. Neuropsychopharmacology 25(3):332–340, 2001.
BEGLEITER, H., and PLATZ, A. The effects of alcohol on the central nervous system in humans. In: Kissin, B., and Begleiter, H., eds. The Biology of Alcoholism. Vol. 2, Physiology and Behavior. New York: Plenum, 1972. pp. 293–343.
BEGLEITER, H., and PORJESZ, B. What is inherited in the predisposition toward alcoholism? A proposed model. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 23(7):1125–1135, 1999.
BEGLEITER, H.; PORJESZ, B.; BIHARI, B.; and KISSIN, B. Event–related potentials in boys at risk for alcoholism. Science 225:1493–1496, 1984.
BIRBAUMER, N.; ELBERT, T.; CANAVAN, A.; and ROCKSTROH, B. Slow potentials of the cerebral cortex and behavior. Physiological Reviews 70:1–41, 1990.
DESMEDT, J.E. P300 in serial tasks: An essential post–decision closure mechanism. In: Kornhuber, H.H., and Deecke, L., eds. Motivation, Motor and Sensory Processes of the Brain. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1980. pp. 682–686.
EDENBERG, H.J.; DICK, D.M.; XUEI, X.; et al. and COGA COLLABORATORS. Variations in GABRA2, encoding the a2 subunit of the GABA–A receptor, are associated with alcohol dependence and with brain oscillations. American Journal of Human Genetics 74:705–714, 2004.
ENOCH, M.A.; WHITE, K.V.; HARRIS, C.R.; et al. Association of low–voltage alpha EEG with a subtype of alcohol use disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 23(8):1312–1319, 1999.
ENOCH, M.A.; XU, K.; FERRO, E.; et al. Genetic origins of anxiety in women: A role for a functional catechol–O–methyltransferase polymorphism. Psychiatric Genetics 13(1):33–41, 2003.
FELLOUS, J.–M., and SEJNOWSKI, T.J. Cholinergic induction of oscillations in the hippocampal slice in the slow (0.5–2 Hz), theta (5–12 Hz) and gamma (35–70) bands. Hippocampus 10:187–197, 2000.
HARPER, C.G., and KRIL, J.J. Neuropathological changes in alcoholics. In: Hunt, W.A., and Nixon, S.J., eds. Alcohol–Induced Brain Damage. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Research Monograph No. 22. Rockville, MD: NIAAA, 1993. pp. 39–70.
JONES, K.; PORJESZ, B.; BEGLEITER, H.; et al. Linkage and linkage disequilibrium of evoked EEG oscillations with CHRM2 receptor gene polymorphisms: Implications for human brain dynamics and cognition. International Journal of Psychophysiology, in press.
KAMARAJAN, C.; PORJESZ, B.; JONES, K.A.; et al. The role of brain oscillations as functional correlates of cognitive systems: A study of frontal inhibitory control in alcoholism. International Journal of Psychophysiology 51:155–180, 2004.
KARAKAS, S.; ERZENGIN, O.U.; and BASAR, E. A new strategy involving multiple cognitive paradigms demonstrates that ERP components are determined by the superposition of oscillatory responses. Clinical Neurophysiology 111:1719–1732, 2000.
KLIMESCH, W.; DOPPELMAYR, M.; SCHWAIGER, J.; et al. Theta oscillations and the ERP old/new effect: Independent phenomena? Clinical Neurophysiology 111:781–793, 2000.
KLIMESCH, W.; DOPPELMAYR, M.; WIMMER, H.; et al. Theta band power changes in normal and dyslexic children. Clinical Neurophysiology 112: 1174–1185, 2001.
KOPELL, N.; ERMENTROUT, G.B.; WHITTINGTON, M.A.; and TRAUB, R.D. Gamma rhythms and beta rhythms have different synchronization properties. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 97(4):1867–1872, 2000.
LINGFORD–HUGHES, A.R.; ACTON, P.D.; GACINOVIC, S.; et al. Reduced levels of GABA–benzodiazepine receptor in alcohol dependency in the absence of grey matter atrophy. British Journal of Psychiatry 173:116–122, 1998.
LUBAR, J.F. Neocortical dynamics: Implications for understanding the role of neurofeedback and related techniques for the enhancement of attention. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 22(2):111–126, 1997.
MILLER, E.K.; Li, L.; and DESIMONE, R. A neural mechanism for working and recognition memory in inferior temporal cortex. Science 254(5036): 1377–1379, 1991.
POLICH, J., and HERBST, K.L. P300 as a clinical assay: Rationale, evaluation, and findings. International Journal of Psychophysiology 38:3–19, 2000.
POLICH, J.; POLLOCK, V.E.; and BLOOM, F.E. Meta–analysis of P300 amplitude from males at risk for alcoholism. Psychological Bulletin 115:55–73, 1994.
POLLOCK, V.E.; SCHNEIDER, L.S.; ZEMANSKY, M.F.; et al. Topographic quantitative EEG amplitude in recovered alcoholics. Psychiatry Research 45(1):25–32, 1992.
PORJESZ, B., and BEGLEITER, H. Human brain electrophysiology and alcoholism. In: Tarter, R., and Van Thiel, D., eds. Alcohol and the Brain. New York: Plenum, 1985. pp. 139–182.
PORJESZ, B., and BEGLEITER, H. Effects of alcohol on electrophysiological activity of the brain. In: Begleiter, H., and Kissin, B., eds. Alcohol and Alcoholism, Vol. 2, The Pharmacology of Alcohol and Alcohol Dependence. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. pp. 207–247.
PORJESZ, B., and BEGLEITER, H. Genetic basis of the event–related potentials and their relationship to alcoholism and alcohol use. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology 15(1):44–57, 1998.
PORJESZ, B.; ALMASY, L.; EDENBERG, H.; et al. Linkage disequilibrium between the beta frequency of the human EEG and a GABAa receptor gene locus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 99:3729–3733, 2002.
PROPPING, P.; KRUGER, J.; and MARK, N. Genetic disposition to alcoholism: An EEG study in alcoholics and their relatives. Human Genetics 59:51– 59, 1981.
RANGASWAMY, M.; PORJESZ, B.; CHORLIAN, D.B.; et al. Beta power in the EEG of alcoholics. Biological Psychiatry 51:831–842, 2002.
RANGASWAMY, M.; PORJESZ, B.; CHORLIAN, D.B.; et al. Theta power in the EEG of alcoholics. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 27(4):607–615, 2003.
RANGASWAMY, M.; PORJESZ, B.; CHORLIAN, D.B.; et al. Resting EEG in offspring of male alcoholics: Beta frequencies. International Journal of Psychophysiology 51:239–251, 2004.
ROCKSTROH, B.; MULLER, M.; COHEN, R.; and ELBERT, T. Probing the functional brain state during P300–evocation. Journal of Psychophysiology 6:175–184, 1992.
SURESH, S.; PORJESZ, B.; CHORLIAN, D.B.; et al. Frontal midline theta activity during a mental task in alcoholics (submitted, a).
SURESH, S.; PORJESZ, B.; CHORLIAN, D.B.; et al. Frontal midline theta response during a mental task in offspring of male alcoholics (submitted, b).
TIESINGA, P.H.E.; FELLOUS, J–M.; JOSE, J.V.; and SEJNOWSKI, T.J. Computational model of carbachol–induced delta, theta, and gamma oscillations in the hippocampus. Hippocampus 11:251–274, 2001.
TOMBERG, C., and DESMEDT, J.E. Human perceptual processing: Inhibition of transient prefrontal–parietal 40 Hz binding at P300 onset documented in non–averaged cognitive brain potentials. Neuroscience Letters 255:163–166, 1998.
VAN BEIJSTERVELDT, C.E.M.; MOLENAAR, P.C.M.; DE GEUS, E.J.; and BOOMSMA, D.I. Heritability of human brain functioning as assessed by electro-encephalography. American Journal of Human Genetics 58:562–573, 1996.
VERLEGER, R.G. Event–related potentials and cognition: A critique of the context updating hypothesis and an alternative interpretation of P3. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 11:343–356, 1988.
VON STEIN, A., and SARNTHEIN, J. Different frequencies for different scales of cortical integration: From local gamma to long range alpha/theta synchronization. International Journal of Psychophysiology 38(3):301–313, 2000.
WHITTINGTON, M.A.; TRAUB, R.D.; KOPELL, N.; et al. Inhibition–based rhythms: Experimental and mathematical observations on network dynamics. International Journal of Psychophysiology 38(3): 315–336, 2000.
WINTERER, G.; KLOPPEL, B.; HEINZ, A.; et al. Quantitative EEG (QEEG) predicts relapse in patients with chronic alcoholism and points to a frontally pronounced cerebral disturbance. Psychiatry Research 78:101–113, 1998.
YORDANOVA, J., and KOLEV, V. Brain theta response predicts P300 latency in children. NeuroReport 8:277–280, 1996.
YORDANOVA, J.; BANASCHEWSKI, T.; KOLEV, V.; et al. Abnormal early stages of task stimulus processing in children with attention–deficit hyperactivity disorder: Evidence from event–related gamma oscillations. Clinical Neurophysiology 112:1096–1108, 2001.Prepared: July 2004 | <urn:uuid:6719b0e2-f6be-429d-8ed7-884ff7b9a115> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-2/153-160.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.882076 | 9,985 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The Burned-over District
The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Religion in Western New York, 1800–1850
"Burned-over District was a name applied to a small region, during a limited period of history, to indicate a particular phase of development. It described the religious character of western New York during the first half of the nineteenth century. Time, subject, and area have thus all combined to confine the scope of this book. The study has nevertheless seemed rewarding, mainly because its implications transcend all three limitations.
“The meaning expands in a geographical sense because this one area provides a case history in the westward transit of New England culture. Likewise, it is representative as a sample of the change from youth to maturity in a single section affected by continuing westward movement. The subject of religion has broader significance in this period and locality than might at first appear. This section was the storm center, and religious forces were the driving propellants of social movements important for the whole country in that generation. As far as time goes, this book is an illustration of the way in which the minds of one era help to form the destinies of succeeding generations. Neither the causes of the Civil War nor the origins of national prohibition, to cite only two prominent examples, can be thoroughly understood without reference to the Burned-over District."—from the Preface | <urn:uuid:3156841d-3b84-42eb-8529-f0b76b37c788> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100700160 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949366 | 282 | 2.9375 | 3 |
VeggieTales® Don't Sink in the Sink educational board game is a great developmental activity for children! The game is a perfect learning and educational board game for schools, daycares, preschool centers or homes.
memory skills are continuously tested. Kids will have fun helping one of their favorite veggies get to the other side and win the race! Who but a bunch of veggies would think of racing across a sink full of dishes, pots and pans? But getting there is the challenge! children must remember where the solid landings are, especially if they're not lucky enough to be wearing the life preserver. They must be careful when moving their veggies across the sink by balancing them on dishes and other things hidden under the soap suds. But if they don't stay alert their veggies may fall into the sink and disappear for the rest of the game! And the next time they play, everything will be changed because of the 4 different memory maze patterns hidden below the surface. This educational memory game will provide hours of exciting family bond and connection!
- VeggieTales® Don't Sink in the Sink educational game is a very fanny and entertaining memory game for all family!
- Inspired by VeggieTales Movie, children are sure to love this charming learning game based on the favorite classic.
- This educational board game occupies 2 to 4 players..
- Recommended for ages 4 years and up.
Browse through and choose from many other similar products available under educational board games category.
Catalog Number: KC-T115-7360
Buy from 1888Toys.com | <urn:uuid:2e49e12a-6876-4ec7-afb8-98247b21f94b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.usfreeads.com/989785-cls.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00054-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954641 | 327 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The Griffin, Hydra And Crocodile, Mantichora And Mermaid Or Syren
( Originally Published 1913 )
THE griffin is a fabulous bird which lives in the deserts of India, where it can find nothing to eat. To obtain sustenance for its young it will go off to other regions, and it is so strong that it can fly away with a live ox. The griffin signifies the devil who is ready to carry away our souls to the deserts of hell.
This monster is to be seen on the Tournai font of Lincoln Cathedral, and on Norman tympana such as those of Barfreston and Ridlington, Rutlandshire. At Ridlington it seems to be fighting with a lion. At Barfreston a tiny griffin is placed in the right-hand bottom corner of the tympanum, which contains Our Lord in glory, a sphinx, a mermaid, angels and crowned heads.
In heraldry and in the Bestiaries the griffin has the forepart, beak and claws of an eagle, and the hinder part of a lion ; but the architectural examples are more like animals than birds.
The hydra (Greek ) was not like, except in name to the mythical monster of the classics, which was killed by Hercules near the Lerneau lake, but it probably is the water-snake. The Greek word means " otter " as well—indeed, there is a close etymological connection between " otter " and " hydia." The following fable is, therefore, told of both the otter and the water-snake. It is said that the hydra lives in the marshes where the crocodile also lives. These beasts are on terms of bitterest enmity. The hydra wishes to destroy the crocodile, and so devises the following plan. When the latter is asleep, the hydra rolls itself into damp mud till its look is indistinguishable, and then makes its way into the mouth of the crocodile, which swallows it unawares, and instantly bursts asunder.
The hydra is a type of Christ, the crocodile of hell, and the whole story symbolises Our Lord's Resurrection which was the forerunner of the Resurrection of all believers.
In the mappa mundi at Hereford the mantichora is placed on the opposite side of a tree to the tiger, and the inscription which the former fabulous beast bears there is drawn directly from the Bestiaries. It is said to be a native of India. It has three rows of teeth, the face of a man, grayish eyes ; its colour is the colour of blood ; its body is like a lion's ; its tail like a scorpion's ; its voice like that of a sibyl.
The mantichora is mentioned by the Greek writer Ctesias of the fifth century B.C., and also by Pliny in his Natural History, where the additional details are given, that its teeth fit together like those of a comb, and that it is particularly fond of human flesh. The word mantichora is connected with the Persian word maid-khora, which means " man-eater "
Mr. R. Allen figures a sepulchral stone from Meigle, Perthshire, where a mantichora is carved in profile. I t has a long human nose, and is pursuing a naked man, who is looking back in unpleasant anticipation of his fate.
There is another clear instance of the same fabulous beast on one of the arch-stones of the Kilpeck door, where we can clearly see the bearded face, the lion's paws, and mane, and the peculiarly fat tail curled between its legs, which must represent the scorpion's tail. It seems to be listening for any signs of its prey, but there is nothing edible quite near, with the possible exception of dragons and grotesque heads.
A careful scrutiny of other arch-stones, etc., would no doubt discover more examples. Much, though possibly insufficient, attention has already been paid to Norman tympana, but the animals of the arch-stones have as yet been thought too small or too difficult to receive adequate attention from competent archeologists. What to us often seems a nearly hopeless and confused riddle was in the Middle Ages somewhat easily interpreted or else the figures would not have been carved where they were.
The mermaid seems to be a kind of syren in the Bestiaries—it is half woman, half fish ; but there is another sort which is half woman, half bird. In the Septuagint and Vulgate versions of Is. xiii. 21 syrens are mentioned as being destined to dwell among the ruins of Babylon. The syren was reputed to be death-bearing : it sang at the approach of a storm, but wept in fine weather. In the Odyssey, Book xii, we read that Odysseus was charmed by their voices as his ship went by the island of the syrens. So much so that, bound to the mast though he was, he tried to get to them, whilst his men, whose ears had been filled with wax, restrained him from his rashness, and bound him still more closely.
Homer knows only of two syrens, but Plato increases the number to eight. In the Bestiaries it is rather their playing on various instruments and not their singing which is especially noted.
When the hapless voyager is in their clutches, he is slain ; and the island where they dwell is full of the bones of foolish men, who have first been charmed to sleep and then destroyed.
The adventures of Odysseus with the syrens were depicted, and it was thought that the ship in its Christian application meant the Church. The mast was the Cross of Christ, to which the faithful must cling tightly if they are to conquer temptation, and the syrens are our temptations on the sea of life. In a MS. in the Musée de Cluny, Paris, among representations of virtues and vices, one of lust has a syren on her shield.
Sometimes the idea will be varied, and the syren will tempt a man by offering him a fish, as in thirteenth and fourteenth century Bestiaries in the British Museum (Harl. 4751, and Slo. 3544), and in the church at Civaux, France.
In the mappa mundi a mermaid is drawn in the centre of the Mediterranean, just north of Crete, and the Labyrinth.
There is also a good carving of one on a misericord in the choir of Bristol Cathedral, where a mermaid with both hands upraised is placed between a dragon and a winged and bearded man, the latter having hold of her tail. The two seem to be attacking her.
There is a mermaid at the feet of the glorified Christ at Barfreston, and another on the eastern capital of the Norman door of Nately Scures, Hants. Her long plaited hair, arm and tail and mutilated face all in low relief can be distinguished with care in the photograph. She seems to be swimming at the bottom of the sea among the weeds.
At Stow Longa, Huntingdon, the tympanum has a mermaid with long hair and hands up-raised. She is in the middle of two animals, one of which is possibly the Agnus Dei, as the foreleg is bent up as if to support a cross, though the tail seems to be too much floriated.
On the other side there is an unknown animal with its forefeet practically touching an altar. No satisfactory interpretation of this extraordinary composition has vet been given. On the fonts of Anstey, Herts, and S. Peter's, Cambridge, are mermen grasping their tails. In heraldry, Mermen are called Tritons serpent or reptile, and the face of a girl. (" Spinx avis est penna, serpens pede, fronte puella.") The only considerable difference between the example at Upavon and that on the mappa is that in the latter the sphinx seems to have two forelegs, and in the former two hind legs. The tail at Upavon is very curious, just like a fox terrier's shortened tail.
An illustration of a sphinx is given by Mr. E. P. Evans, from a capital in the Abbey of Vézelai. Here a man is riding on a dragon-like basilisk, and the sphinx (here with four legs) is holding a crystal to beat back the basilisk's venom.
Mr. Evans gives as a meaning of this carving the idea of spiritual knowledge and strength overcoming evil.
Most curious creatures are the terrebolen, which can fairly come into this book only because they have a place in the Bestiaries. The terrebolen—a name corrupted from (or fire casting stones) are also called in the Bestiaries igniferi lapides.
They were stones found in a certain mountain in the East, and they are both male and female.
So long as they are kept apart, they remain cool, but when they are brought near one another, they emit fire. The symbolism of animal love is very naturally drawn from this fable, and men are exhorted to live chaste and devoted lives in consequence, and to avoid carnal temptations.
At Alne the terrebolen are carved as human figures scantily draped with their left hands upraised and their right hands across their waists, while the mountain behind has burst into flames.
In a tenth century miniature at Brussels they are shown as two stones in the hand of a woman, one bursting into flame. A man is holding out his hand for the stones.
We have sometimes thought that the Adam and Eve carving at Llangattock, near Mon-mouth, may really be meant for Terrebolen, but no examples of these human stones can be cited from anything like so late a period.
The story about the unicorn is one of the strangest in the strange pages of the Bestiaries. It is said to be a small animal with the body of a horse, the head of a stag, the feet of an elephant ; and it has one long straight horn four feet in length. The unicoi n is at enmity with the elephant, and in the conflict between them the latter is often killed by the sharpness of its adversary's horn.
Hunters are exceedingly desirous of capturing the unicorn, and yet it is so fierce that they dare not approach near. To gain their object they have recourse to the following plan. They ask a chaste virgin to deck herself in all her beautiful ornaments, and then they set her in the middle of a forest. Directly the unicorn sees her, it comes and puts its head into her lap, where it is easily captured. The captive is afterwards taken off to the king's palace, where the hunters receive a great reward. In some Bestiaries the virgin is shown standing and not seated. The unicorn's horn, which is mentioned in Ps. xxii. 21,
" Thou hast heard me also from the horn of the unicorns," was supposed to be a safe-guard against poisoning, as well as a dangerous weapon of attack.
It is curious that the unicorn is made to stand for so sacred a subject as the Incarnation of our Saviour : " the horn of salvation in the house of His servant David." Many desired to see Him, but none could bring Him to earth, save the Virgin Marv, in whose spotless body He abode. There is a carving of this fable in S. Botolph's Church, Boston. A unicorn may be roughly carved on a poppy head at Westwell, Kent, but on the other hand the position of the forefoot makes the animal look more like a horned Agnus Dei.
There is a unicorn also on a panel of the perpendicular font of Southfleet, Kent, which lias cloven hoofs (instead of an elephant's feet) a mane, and fierce-looking jaws. It is resting back upon its haunches. This representation not only may recall the fact of the Incarnation, but may bear witness to the purity of life which ought to be characteristic of all who in baptism are united to their incarnate Lord. The one horn has been held to signify the oneness of the Father and the Son, and the small size of the animal the extreme condescension and humility of Our Lord.
Mr. Jameson says that when the unicorn is used in connection with certain saints, it is an emblem of female chastity. It is appropriate especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to S. Justina, the pure virgin martyr of Antioch.
The unicorn of the Bible is probably a wild ox, or European bison. The idea that it had one horn is probably due to the Septuagint, which translates the Hebrew word by its horn was the symbol of power and might, and it is thought that it may possibly have been the ancestor of our domestic cattle.
The serra is a small sea monster with the head of a lion, and the tail of a fish. It has great wings and spreads them out so that it may try to overtake ships by their aid. But after going some distance it grows weary, and disappears beneath the waves. This creature signifies the man with good intentions, who is not strong enough to keep them. In a thirteenth century Bestiary in the British Museum (Vit. D. 1) it is contrasted with the man who endures to the end, and on that account will be saved. In a fourteenth century MS. in the same place (Slo. 3544) the serra is figured pursuing a boat. Its wings are like nothing more than a huge open umbrella, held point downwards.
A somewhat similar creature is the remora, which, though only a tiny. fish, can keep a ship steady by fastening itself on to the keel. It is therefore typical of Christ, Who will pre-vent our being capsized among the temptations of this world. Pliny, according to Mr. Evans, supposed that the fate of the battle of Actium was decided by a remora holding on to the keel of Antony's ship, and preventing it going into action.
It was fabled that the phoenix, the last of the fabulous creatures that we shall deal with, was a bird which lived in India or Arabia. It had a crest like a peacock, a red breast and azure body. When it was 50(1 years old it flew to Mount Lebanon, and filled its wings with aromatic spices and gums. Thence it hastened to Heliopolis, where it burned itself to death on the altar. The priest would come presently to remove the ashes, and he would discover a very sweet-smelling worm, which in three days became a young bird, and the next day was fully grown.
The phoenix is a symbol of Christ, Who said in John x. 18 : " I have power to lay it (My life) down, and power to take it again." Its sweetness represented the savour of the Old and New Testaments. Another version of the story declares that at Lebanon the phoenix builds itself a nest in a tree, and then flies up to the sun, so as to bring down fire with which it may set itself and its nest alight. On the third day it rises from its ashes. So Jesus Christ rose from the grave on the third day.
The story about the phoenix was derived originally from the classics. It is found in Herodotus' history. So, too, Ovid in his Metamorphoses (xv. 392) alludes to its self-recreation, and the story is copied as an argument for the Resurrection by Tertullian and Ambrose, though. other fathers throw doubt on the story. Mr. E. P. Evans states that the phoenix was sculptured on pagan cinerary urns. In the Septuagint version of Ps. xcii. 11, " the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree," it is uncertain whether phoenix or palm tree was meant, as the Greek word is precisely the same for both.
Bede took the analogous passage of Job xxix. 18 to mean : " I shall multiply my days as the phoenix," and the Revised Version margin suggests the same rendering. The confusion in the Greek translation is, of course, due to the ambiguity of the original Hebrew.
Curiously enough, the palm tree, which had considerable symbolic significance among the Jews owing to its fruitfulness and beauty, is associated in early Christian art with the phoenix. Thus, on a glass vessel in the Vatican Library there is a nimbed phoenix on a palm tree, together with figures of Our Lord and S. Peter and S. Paul. Similar scenes were depicted in the mosaics of Roman churches. We have heard of no absolutely certain representation of the phoenix in English architecture, and the difficulty of finding one is intensified by the great similarity of the carvings of all birds to one another.
Mr. Romilly Allen thinks it possible that the bird sometimes carved over the head of Christ in Irish Crucifixions may be a phoenix, if it be not indeed the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. The bird in question on these crosses has a human head. The phoenix is to be seen in the glass of Le Mans and Tours Cathedrals in France, and on the door of S. Laurence, Nuremberg. Other examples are to be found at Magdeburg and Bâle. It ought to be possible to discover one after diligent search in our architectural carvings.
Symbolism of Animals & Birds In English Architecture:
The Griffin, Hydra And Crocodile, Mantichora And Mermaid Or Syren
Read More Articles About: Symbolism of Animals & Birds In English Architecture | <urn:uuid:fbd3a573-34ce-4b16-91cd-cd1d8254bea7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oldandsold.com/books/symbolism/symbolism-11.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00149-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968199 | 3,750 | 2.84375 | 3 |
1) Osteochondral Lesions/Osteocondritis Dissecans of the Talus
Often when an ankle is sprained there can be a sudden loss of stability. This can cause bones within the ankle to impact or collapse into one another causing an osteochondral lesion to form. An osteocondral lesion is when the cartilage surrounding a bone is torn, crushed and in more rare causes forms a cyst. Cartilage is the cushioning our bones and joints are surrounded by to help with impact forces. With the cartilage now torn or disrupted it may break off with a small piece of bone and be wedged or displaced inside a joint.
Symptoms often include persistent pain with activity. The pain may be deep within the joint and can occur long after the pain felt from a sprained ankle has resided. The ankle may also experience catching, snapping or locking which it hasn't experienced before. There have been reports of asymptomatic cases and individuals healing spontaneously, but this is often amongst a younger population. Furthermore, these lesions can at times progress to create osteoarthritis within the ankle joint.
Do not assume you do not have this injury because you had radiographs taken. The lesions are small (2-5mm) and flake like. Furthermore, special views are commonly used to spot the injury which will often not be included in a normal series of ankle radiographs. Observe below (A & B no lesions is shown but can be seen on view C). Needless to say this injury is difficult to spot. If easily accessible an MRI should be taken as it has shown optimal diagnostic value.
Osteocondral lesion can be treated conservatively and surgically. However, there has been a lack of research to determine what factors play into the decision making process. Most children or adolescents will resolve the lesion because of their healing properties but adults often carry out the option of surgery.
2)Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/ Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
There is no standard definition for CRPS, as nobody has determined what causes the condition. Essentially the syndrome can be defined by its simplistic name "Complex Regional Pain". The syndrome involves a complex array of symptoms in a particular region which leads to pain. However, CRPS has a neurological component explaining the symptoms.
The cause is often attributed to the neurological system becoming confused. When someone experiences an injury the bodies nervous system reacts by producing pain, increasing swelling, changing color due to inflammation ect. However, with CRPS the nerves now are hyper-vigilant, meaning the littlest touch or activity can set of a chain reaction replicating a more serious injury. Reports have shown incidents as small as a paper-cut to cause CRPS. Simple events such as walking or putting on your socks can be interpreted by the ankles nervous system as getting hit by a hammer.
Diagnosing CRPS isn't an easy task. Radiographs, MRI and common physical examination procedures can give a good implication of a diagnosis but not always confirm. Often special imaging is carried out to assess the bodies thermo graphic patterns.
3) Ankle Impingement Syndrome
The body works on a simple concept that when a structure gets damaged it will try to repair itself. Furthermore, whenever a repetitive force or even a constant pressure is applied to a structure it will react by growing, shaping or forming a new position to compensate for this pressure. This concept is how braces work for shaping ones teeth properly.
In the ankle there are a lot of ligaments, muscles and joints. Often when repetitive trauma or strain is applied to one of these structures it will compensate similar to what was described above. Eventually the small bit of cartilage surrounding the bones or ligaments will be pulled on or experience "traction". This constant repetitive action will lead to the formation of little bone and cartilage spurs. These spurs will also occur after repetitive ankle sprains. This process is called osteophytosis.
The spurs formed can often not present any problem at all. However, occasionally bone spurs (also called "osteophytes") will "impinge" structures such as ligaments, tendons and scar tissue from past injuries.
Signs and symptoms may include an ankle which feels unstable or weak. Tenderness or a "pinching sensation" may occur when the foot is brought through flexion and extension. A painful clicking may also be observed during certain movements of the ankle. Impingement can occur in the front and back of the ankle. Usually squatting or bringing your toes towards your head will be painful in anterior impingement. Bringing your toes downward or rising on your toes will produce pain in posterior impingement.
The cuboid is a small bone that lies on the outside of the foot. Cuboid syndrome is when this bone experiences excessive movement or a collapsing effect. The excessive movement can cause irritation of the surrounding joint capsule and ligaments or put strain on a particular muscle which attaches to the cuboid called the fibularis longus.
Patients with cuboid syndrome may present with pain directly over the cuboid and radiating down the outside of the foot. Pain is often associated with a weight bearing position but can occur otherwise. Pain can be experienced with squatting or on toe off during a running gait. Weakness can often be a secondary complaint.
The good news is cuboid syndrome has been shown to be successfully treated with conservative treatment including rehab, manipulation, taping and the placement of a small felt pad under the cuboid preventing it from collapsing.
Other injuries that may occur after a sprained ankle or be confused with previous mentioned conditions are:
-Fibularis Longus Subluxation
-Sinus Tarsi Syndrome
Choi WJ, Park KK, Kim BS, & Lee JW (2009). Osteochondral lesion of the talus: is there a critical defect size for poor outcome? The American journal of sports medicine, 37 (10), 1974-80 PMID: 19654429
PONTELL, D. (2008). A Clinical Approach to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Clinics in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, 25 (3), 361-380 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpm.2008.02.011
Jennings, J. (2005). Treatment of Cuboid Syndrome Secondary to Lateral Ankle Sprains: A Case Series Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2005.1596 | <urn:uuid:dc2937a1-b6a6-429c-87b9-ed1f380a80c8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sportinjuriesandwellnessottawa.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-sprained-my-ankle-months-ago-and-it.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932741 | 1,347 | 3.046875 | 3 |
In September of 1861, the U.S. Coast Survey published a large map, approximately two feet by three feet, titled a "Map showing the distribution of the slave population of the southern states of the United States." Based on the population statistics gathered in the 1860 Census, and certified by the superintendent of the Census Office, the map depicted the percentage of the population enslaved in each county. At a glance, the viewer could see the large-scale patterns of the economic system that kept nearly 4 million people in bondage: slavery was concentrated along the Chesapeake Bay and in eastern Virginia; along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts; in a crescent of lands in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; and most of all, in the Mississippi River Valley. With each county labeled with the exact percentage of people enslaved, the map demanded some closer examination.
The Coast Survey map of slavery was one of many maps drawn from data produced in 19th-century America. As historian Susan Schulten has shown, this particular map was created by a federal government agency from statistics gathered by the Census. Abraham Lincoln consulted it throughout the Civil War. A banner on the map proclaims that it was "sold for the benefit of the Sick and Wounded Soldiers of the U.S. Army." The data map was an instrument of government, as well as a new technology for representing knowledge.
Though thematic mapping had its origins in the 19th century, the technique is useful for understanding history in our own day. One of the fundamental problems of history is scale: how can historians move between understanding the past in terms of a single life and in the lives of millions; within a city and at the bounds of continents; over a period of days and over the span of centuries? Maps can't tell us everything, but they can help, especially interactive web maps that can zoom in and out, represent more than one subject, and be set in motion to show change over time.
To help show the big patterns of American slavery, I have created an interactive map of the spread of slavery. Where the Coast Survey map showed one measure, the interactive map shows the population of slaves, of free African Americans, of all free people, and of the entire United States, as well as each of those measure in terms of population density and the percentage of the total population. The map extends from the first Census in 1790 to the Census taken in 1860 on the eve of the Civil War. You can explore the map for yourself, but below I have created animations to highlight some of the major patterns.
When looking at all of these maps together, it's noticable that even as the total number of enslaved peoples in the United States increased between 1790 and 1860, the multitudes were dispersed across the increasing expanse of the United States, rather than becoming more concentrated in areas where slavery was well established.
In counties along the Atlantic Coast in 1790 and 1800, the population of slaves at any one time was nearly at its peak. (This is all the more remarkable since many slaves fled to the British during the Revolutionary War.) Take for example, Charleston County, South Carolina. In 1790, almost 51,000 people were enslaved in that county. In 1840, the slave population reached its peak of nearly 59,000 people; by 1860, there were 37,000 enslaved people, just 63 percent as many slaves as two decades earlier.
The total number of slaves in the eastern seaboard states did, however, grow slowly over time, but not at anything like the rate of growth for free people in the North. The free white population in the North grew in already settled places and spread to the West.
The slave population had a different dynamic. It grew in intensity in places around the Chesapeake Bay, even as slavery was gradually abolished in the North. But for the most part the slave population spread westward to the lands opened for settlement by the Louisiana Purchase, the dispossession of the Indian nations of the Southeast, the war with Mexico, and the distribution of public lands. Slavery spread rather than grew because it was an agricultural rather than industrial form of capitalism, so it needed new lands.
And slavery spread because enslaved African Americans were forced to migrate. Historian Steven Deyle estimates "that between 1820 and 1860 at least 875,000 American slaves were forcibly removed from the Upper South to the Lower South." A minority of that migration happened because white planters migrated along with the people that they owned. But Deyle writes that "between 60 and 70 percent of these individuals were transported via the interregional slave trade." In other words, slavery was not the paternalist institution that its apologists made it out to be: it was an relentlessly exploitative system where the fundamental relation of owner to enslaved was defined by the markets. The unceasing spread of slavery provoked political crises, eventually leading to the Civil War. As Abraham Lincoln put it in is 1858 "House Divided" speech:
"Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South."
Below you can see two animations comparing the density of the slave population and the density of the total population (keep in mind that the scales are different).
This animation of the density of slave population from 1790 to 1860 shows how slavery expanded more than it grew.
An animation of density of the total population from 1790 to 1860. Notice that population in the north both grows in place and spreads westward.
A second observation to make from this map is how pervasive slavery was to the United States. In the first decades of the early republic, the northern states had a significant population of slaves, which only slowly diminished through gradual emancipation laws. In the South, the percentage of the population that was enslaved was extraordinarily high: over 70 percent in most counties along the Mississippi River and parts of the South Carolina and Georgia coast.
This animation shows the percentage of the population enslaved from 1790 to 1860.
A striking way to see the importance of slavery is to look at a map of the total free population: a photo negative, if you will, of slavery. When looking at the population density of all free persons (below in 1860), large swathes of the South appear virtually depopulated.
Finally, the dynamics of the free African American population looked more like the free white population than the slave population. The free African American population settled primarily along the Eastern seaboard and especially in the cities of the northern United States. Free African Americans were almost entirely excluded, in part by an extensive system of patrols, from the majority slave populations of the Deep South. This animation shows the free African American population from 1790 to 1860.
This interactive map and the Census data on which it is based can hardly show most of what should be known about slavery. For example, the Census did not count any slaves in Vermont, which abolished slavery in its 1777 constitution. But Harvey Amani Whitfield has shown that some Vermont African Americans were held in bondage. Nor can these maps express anything of the pain of the whip or the escape to freedom, of the exhaustion of labor or the sounds of preaching and shouting at a religious gathering: for that one must read any of scores of excellent histories. But they do give a large overview of the forced labor system which made the nation "half slave and half free."
Susan Schulten, Mapping the Nation: History and Cartography in Nineteenth-Century America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012), writes about maps of slavery in chapter 4; see also the book's companion website which offers images of maps of slavery. Steven Deyle has written a recent history of the domestic slave trade in Carry Me Back: The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); the figures cited above are from page 289. Of the many excellent histories of American slavery, see one of these: on the settlement of the Mississippi River valley, Walter Johnson, River of Dark Dreams: Slavery and Empire in the Cotton Kingdom (Cambridge, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2013); on the life of slaves, Erskine Clarke, Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005); on the history of slavery generally, Ira Berlin, Generations of Captivity: A History of African-American Slaves (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003).
The data in my maps is drawn from the 1790 to 1860 Censuses compiled by the Minnesota Population Center, [National Historical Geographic Information System], version 2.0 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2011).
U.S. Coast Survey, Map showing the distribution of the slave population of the southern states of the United States (Washington, DC: Henry S. Graham, 1861). Image from the Library of Congress. | <urn:uuid:42da6dbf-2207-477d-bd7f-b6e119d6e5b2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/maps-reveal-slavery-expanded-across-united-states-180951452/?no-ist | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956082 | 1,858 | 3.953125 | 4 |
When playing, control of the ball dictates the outcomes of the game. Fortunately, if one plays association football in real life, (s)he can carry his/her skills to NSS.
To kick the ball, simply direct it by pulling back, and move your mouse so the arrow points in the desired direction in frame 1. If you want the ball to curve, simply curve on the opposite side. Increasing the distance left or right from the impact and the centre of the ball increases the curvature of the trajectory. Curvature of the trajectory can be used to circumvent opponents and to offset the effect of wind.
Controlling ball velocity is important. Players can control exerted force on the ball by pulling back to increase force or pushing forward to decrease force. Furthermore, kicking the football above or below the centre determines how high the ball will ascend. Kicking the ball below the centre launches it immediately. Kicking it below sends it toward the ground, so it may bounce. If ascent occurs, gravity will control the acceleration of the ball. Velocity control improves passing and goal attempts, and helps to offset wind.
When passing the ball, make sure you give space for your teammate to retrieve the ball while avoiding your opponents. Consider slowing down the ball and moving the trajectory slightly adjacent to your teammate so he can run to the decelerating ball. Height control also allows you to launch the ball over opponents and near teammates.
Consider this situation: you are near the goal, but a teammate is also in the box. If you want to pass it to your teammate, apply the aforementioned skills, and mind your opponents! If you want to score a goal, it’s just a matter of aiming and clicking, keeping mind of direction, curvature, velocity and height.
Pacing yourself when intercepting is quite important. To successfully intercept the pass, constantly imagine a line segment with the opponents being the points. Before clicking, predict the paths of the players depending on the line. When they are straddling (moving in the same direction), it is your job to follow; if the imaginary line is close to vertical, the players are likely to straddle. However, if the players separate, simply find a spot neat the centre of the frame to intercept; players tend to separate if the “line” is quite slanted. | <urn:uuid:ac598d8f-31e6-4d0f-ad11-fdf9b17f735c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kongregate.com/forums/3-general-gaming/topics/256053-unofficial-new-star-soccer-strategy-guide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923511 | 477 | 2.984375 | 3 |
All aboard for the train ride of your life-if you're two inches tall,
that is! Miniature trains are wending their way past tiny trees in gardens
from California to the Carolinas. It's a trend that's definitely gathering
steam. "There's something in it for everybody-gardening, trains.
There's model-building, electronics. All these could be a hobby in themselves.
But this hobby combines all of them," said Jack Verducci. He is the
engineer of his own garden railroad-one that takes up not only the backyard,
but the front and side yards of his San Mateo home.
Garden railroading is an old as the transportation mode, itself. In the
1830s full-scale builders used steam-powered models to test theories and
show off their latest designs to the public. Created in 1935, the Fairplex
layout at the Los Angeles County fairgrounds in considered the oldest
and largest in the U.S. Garden railroading didn't catch on as a hobby
here until 1968 with the creation of large-scale plastic trains, sturdy
enough for the outdoors. Now there are two hundred thousand hobbyists.
When it comes to these railroad gardens, the first rule of the thumb
is to just have fun. The second is to make your spread as authentic as
possible, right down to the miniature trees. Tiny forests are created
with dwarf conifers like Alberta and Norway spruces as well as pint-sized
pomegranates. Lots of careful trimming and some bonsai techniques keep
trees and shrubs small.
Every railroad garden is as different as the person who designed it.
But Dart and Dottye Rinefort of Marin County really let their imaginations
run wild. They made up a whole story involving themselves and their grandchildren.
Experts say garden railroading is a "hot" trend, with the highest
growth on the West Coast. Some 40 thousand people participate, including
celebrities like Arsenio Hall, David Hasselhoff and Neil young.
For more information on this fast-growing hobby visit www.gardentrains.org. | <urn:uuid:70f2bc01-703c-4137-8900-b1882dbc37dd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.californiaheartland.org/archive/season_8/802/railroadgarden.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95044 | 459 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Two instructors from the Meridian Technology Center took a trip to Germany. This is in an effort to help teachers “bring the world to their classrooms”.
The two teachers, Shelly Smith and David Shields, toured car manufacturing plants in Germany, one of those plants being Mercedes-Benz. Another part of their tour is the Mercedes-Benz museum which, they said, did a good job in explaining how automotive technology developed.
Another thing they observed in the country is how different Germans commute from Americans. For example, they noticed that Germans would usually drive then park in a lot and take the train into the city when going to work. This is due to their comprehensive train systems.
Shields and Smith came back to the US, already planning on how they can incorporate the things that they learned to their lessons. They also took with them thousands of photos in the hope to let their students learn about the plants in the birthplace of cars.
The trip was funded by Fund for Teachers to enrich the k-12 education in the states. They will have their presentation about their visit on September 6, 6pm at the Meridian Technology Center Board.
Source: Stillwater News Press | <urn:uuid:30d32ceb-db5b-4021-81bc-3c562ae94acd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.benzinsider.com/2011/09/mercedes-benz-factory-in-germany-part-of-oklahoma-instructors-tour/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00029-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97818 | 239 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Aug 3, 2011
Vietnam’s "Hang Son Doong" cave is considered the world’s largest cave which is ever discovered. The photo shows the deep of the passage.
In 2009, a joint cave exploration team of the United Kingdom and Vietnam in the Vietnam jungle found an amazing cave; they claimed that the cave may be the largest Cave Passage discovered since the beginning of recorded history ever. It’s called "Hang Son Doong" cave. This passage is up to 150 meters in length and 200 meters in height. So far, the team of cave exploration didn’t find its end. There are 150 caves there, and Hang Son Doong Cave is hidden in dense jungle in Vietnam.
Photographer: Carsten Peter | <urn:uuid:25cf8f9e-c4af-42f9-8b5c-8fdc7f740a65> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://amazingdata.com/the-worlds-largest-cave-discovered-since-the-beginning-of-recorded-history-ever/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918415 | 158 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Cool Things - Key Overalls
The clothes we wear say a great deal about the jobs we do and the people we are. To many, overalls like these worn by Dale McKale of Longford, Kansas, are the standard farmer's uniform. Ironically though, the farming profession only recently adopted the garment.
Overalls first appeared in the British Army in the 1750s as a protective covering for formal clothing. With Levi Strauss' refinement of denim in the 1870s, overalls proved durable and comfortable enough that by the early 20th century, miners and railroad workers commonly wore them. Influenced by the Great Depression of the 1930s, farmers increasingly found the cheaply priced overalls appealing.
Beyond price, overalls offered multiple desirable qualities to the workingman. Their many pockets and loops enabled storage of tools, documents, and personal items. The loose fit allowed additional layers to be worn during cold months, and the bib feature provided built-in suspenders that eliminated the need for a waist belt.
Dale McKale (pictured at left) purchased these overalls in Clay Center, Kansas, in the 1960s. Born into a farming family in rural Clay County in 1916, Dale probably wore overalls most of his life. According to his son, he even retained a "nice" pair for semi-formal events. Married in 1938, Dale lived in the Oak Hill-Longford communities where he produced wheat and raised livestock until the 1970s.
As illustrated by his overalls, Dale's life as a farmer was not easy. Faded denim alludes to long days spent under the sun and numerous washings. Stains on the thighs and extreme wear on tool-holding pockets suggest Dale often repaired mechanical devices and frequently wiped oily hands on his pants. The advanced state of patching (view close-up of one patch) is emblematic of early influences in his life. Coming of age during the Depression, a time of scarcity, Dale and his wife Nadine resisted tendencies to prematurely dispose of household items. Nadine continually patched the overalls until they were no longer wearable. As the photograph shows, Dale's propensity to wear overalls to the bitter end implies he was still tearing holes in his knees when he retired at the age of 65.
It seems appropriate that a Kansas farmer would purchase Kansas-made overalls. Key Industries, located in Fort Scott, manufactured these overalls. Founded in 1908 as Lakin McKey Manufacturing, the name was shortened to Key in 1938 when Kenneth Pollock purchased the company. Pollock was originally from Wisconsin, where his father started another overalls company, Oshkosh B'Gosh. Key's early success was most likely linked to its location. Large mining endeavors in southeast Kansas probably provided a consistent demand for Key overalls. Over the years, the company grew to produce multiple products at locations throughout the U.S. and even today manufactures overalls at its Fort Scott plant.
In 2003 Dale McKale's son donated these overalls to the Kansas Museum of History. They are now part of the museum's collection.
Entry: Cool Things - Key Overalls
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: September 2006
Date Modified: December 2014
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content. | <urn:uuid:2b9968b2-660e-494a-897d-07857406681c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://kshs.org/kansapedia/cool-things-key-overalls/10162 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00100-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975674 | 693 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Online Farm Phonic Activity
|Farm Animals||HOMEPAGE||Teacher's Corner|
|Kid's Corner||Holidays & Celebrations||Other Themes|
Say the name of the farm animal. Listen to the beginning sound of the word. Click on the correct letter of the alphabet.
DISCLAIMER : This is a disclaimer. We try to gather information that are
as accurate as possible. However, if there are mistakes, we will not be held
liable for anything. Use it at your own discretion.
IMPORTANT : We are not responsible for any links beyond our site. | <urn:uuid:36c91c9e-979b-496a-90d7-fd76bb6ac032> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/farmphonics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.864328 | 127 | 2.625 | 3 |
Dress forms are incredibly important in fashion design. They are the forms a designer, tailor, or seamstress use to drape new patterns or fit garments properly on a body. They are a stand in to a real live model, one you can stick pins in and that never fidget.
As a fashion historian, I use dress forms often to exhibit garments or explain to students how historical clothing fits on the body.
So I was excited to find this video from the Science Channel on the making of dress forms. Each are still hand made of cardboard, paste, and muslin. I had no idea how they created the forms’ collapsible shoulders. Take a look! | <urn:uuid:abe707fa-d638-427a-9aee-b4fa5bd3adb3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thehourglassfiles.com/?cat=3&paged=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00049-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965792 | 138 | 3.015625 | 3 |
IB Learners strive to be:
INQUIRERS: lThey develop their natural curiosity, acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning.
KNOWLEDGEABLE: They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
THINKERS: They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
COMMUNICATORS: They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
PRINCIPLED: They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities.
OPEN-MINDED: They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities.
CARING: They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
RISK-TAKERS: They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
BALANCED: They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
REFLECTIVE: They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development. | <urn:uuid:8497a341-7ea7-4ae3-a67d-5fa13e928f79> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/page/9456 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944474 | 354 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Bigger Ain’t Always Better
A 16-pound baby was born to a woman in Texas this week, and while many people were admiring JaMichael Brown's double double chins and rolls of fat on his thighs, there is a more important lesson to this story: when it comes to newborn size, bigger does not mean better.
The average size of an infant born in the United States in 2010 was 7 pounds, 6 ounces. But approximately 6.5 percent of newborns are considered macrosomic, weighing more than 8 and a half pounds. Not only does a macrosomic baby pose significant risks for its mother during delivery, but it also may face a lifetime of health consequences.
A mom-to-be carrying a large baby is likely to face a prolonged labor. The chance of a Caesarean because the baby will not fit through the birth canal is doubled for babies weighing more than 8 and a half pounds. If the mother does deliver vaginally, she is at increased risk for severe tearing of the vagina and rectum as well as significant bleeding after the delivery.
For the large fetus, the risk of getting stuck within the birth canal, called shoulder dystocia, is 7 percent. In this obstetrical emergency, the head is delivered but the larger body cannot come out easily, often resulting in nerve injury to the arms or brain damage. After birth, these babies have difficulty breathing and controlling their own blood sugar. Therefore, they may require admission to the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) and a longer hospital stay, as is the case with the Texas baby, who according to various reports is now in the NICU being fed through a tube while doctors try to regulate his blood-sugar levels.
But perhaps the most important consequences for an overweight baby are those that come later in life. New research shows that the environment within the uterus influences future health, a concept called gestational programming. When a fetus is growing too rapidly, brain circuits are wired to affect metabolism and appetite. Ultimately, these circuits become permanent, and change the way body weight is regulated in the future. The angelic chubby baby may be programmed to be an overweight adult. In addition, overweight infants are at higher risk for asthma, cancers, diabetes, and allergies.
Some babies are large because they come from a mom and dad who are tall. Others are large because they arrived after their due date. Gender matters too—boys tend to be larger than girls. Clearly, these risk factors for macrosomia cannot be changed. But the three most significant risks for having an overweight baby are factors that a mother can control: obesity prior to getting pregnant, excessive weight gain during pregnancy, and uncontrolled diabetes.
So while many think of the squeezable cheeks and Michelin Man arms of these overweight infants as adorable, it is important to consider that these children are set up for a lifetime of struggles with their weight as well as numerous other health problems. It is the responsibility of pregnant women to control the things they can by maintaining a healthy weight, watching what they eat, and following their doctor’s advice for monitoring diabetes.
Dr. Allison Hill is a board-certified OB/GYN and a fellow of the American College of OB/GYN. She and her colleagues Dr. Yvonne Bohn and Dr. Alane Park have been in private practice in Los Angeles for 10 years and have delivered more than 10,000 babies. Together they are the “Mommy Docs,” featured on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network’s “Deliver Me” television series, and are the authors of “The Mommy Docs’ Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy and Birth.” For more information, visit www.MommyDocs.com. | <urn:uuid:be595188-3431-457c-8139-697c2805afa8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/13/the-16-pound-baby-bigger-ain-t-always-better.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967176 | 780 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Left untreated, the supporting tissue and bone structures of the teeth can be damaged, and teeth may be lost.
Gum recession is a common dental problem. Most people do not know they have gum recession because it occurs gradually. The first sign of gum recession is usually tooth sensitivity, or you may notice a tooth looks longer than normal. Often a notch can be felt at the top of the tooth, just below the gum line.
With regular dental check-ups, the dentist can also look for the signs of receding gums and can recommend ways of preventing the problem becoming worse.
There are a number of factors that can cause your gums to recede, including:
Periodontal diseases. These are bacterial gum infections that destroy gum tissue and supporting bone that hold your teeth in place. Gum disease is the main cause of gum recession.
Your genes. Some people may be more susceptible to gum disease. In fact, studies show that 30% of the population may be predisposed to gum disease, regardless of how well they care for their teeth.
Aggressive tooth brushing. If you brush your teeth too hard or the wrong way, it can cause the enamel on your teeth to wear away and your gums to recede.
Insufficient dental care. Inadequate brushing and flossing makes it easy for plaque to turn into calculus ( tartar), a hard substance that can only be removed by a professional dental cleaning. This can build up on and in between the teeth causing gum recession.
Hormonal changes. Fluctuations in female hormone levels during a woman's lifetime, such as in puberty, pregnancy and menopause, can make gums more sensitive and more vulnerable to gum recession.
Tobacco. Tobacco users are more likely to have sticky plaque on their teeth that is difficult to remove, which can cause gum recession.
Grinding and clenching your teeth. Clenching or grinding your teeth can put too much force on the teeth, causing gums to recede.
Crooked teeth or a misaligned bite. When teeth do not come together evenly, too much force can be placed on the gums and bone, allowing gums to recede.
Body piercing of the lip or tongue. Jewellery can rub the gums and irritate them to the point that gum tissue is worn away.
How is gum recession treated?
Mild gum recession may be able to be treated by your dentist or hygienist by deep cleaning the affected area. During the deep cleaning, also called tooth scaling and root planning, plaque and tartar that has built up on the teeth and root surfaces below the gum line is carefully removed and the exposed root area is smoothed to make it more difficult for bacteria to attach itself. Sometimes antibiotics will also be given to get rid of any remaining harmful bacteria.
If your gum recession cannot be treated with deep cleaning because of the excess loss of bone and pockets that are too deep, gum surgery may be required to repair the damage caused by gum recession.
To provide even greater transparency and choice, we are working on a number of other cookie-related enhancements. More information | <urn:uuid:dce1d0ca-ef50-4c81-9c6f-30409a4a0517> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.webmd.boots.com/oral-health/guide/receding-gums | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00193-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945352 | 646 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Information Related to "Questions and Answers About Tithing"
Is tithing voluntary? How can I calculate my tithe? Are there different types of tithes? Find answers to these questions and more!
Is tithing voluntary?
Yes, in the sense that everyone who honors God by obeying His instructions does so on a voluntary basis. God never forces anyone to act against his or her will. At the same time, however, He expects us to tithe and equates failure to tithe with robbing Him, explaining that not tithing will bring a curse (Malachi 3:8). So tithing is not voluntary in the sense of something that is optional. Nor does God allow us to arbitrarily decide the minimum amount we should give Him. Through His tithing system He reveals the minimum amount we should return to Him from all He gives us. Since God is our Creator and because everything belongs to Him (Psalm 24:1; Haggai 2:8), He has the right to establish this system of financial support for His spiritual purposes.
Was tithing practiced before God's national covenant with Israel?
Abraham and Jacob both understood and practiced tithing. Abraham gave a tithe of all the spoils of a rescue mission (Genesis 14:20); and Jacob, upon coming to a closer relationship with God, promised to give God a tithe (a 10th, 10 percent) of the blessings God would pour out on him (Genesis 28:22).
Did the priests and Levites tithe?
Table of Contents that includes "Questions and Answers About Tithing"
Keywords: tithing tithing, Old Testament tithing, New Testament | <urn:uuid:bc926645-df9f-4fbe-aab7-834e17d2e363> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.churchofgodtwincities.org/lit/booklets/what-does-bible-teach-about-tithing/questions-and-answers-about-tithing.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00116-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919861 | 344 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Just a couple of months back, the entire global media fraternity was talking about the next probable war between China and Japan over the issue of a small group of islands in the East China Sea. Just when people thought that the issue was cooling down, last month, a delegation of former US officials submitted a report to Hillary Clinton that the dispute could spin out of control and result into a military confrontation; add to that China’s recently declared intentions to deploy marine surveillance drones to track maritime activity around the cluster of islands from where the conflict originated. The entire issue is certainly far from over, with both the nations in no mood to step back.
There is, of course, nothing new in the conflict between Japan and China. Through centuries, these two Asian neighbours have been brutal to each other – politically, economically and militarily. The Japanese monarchy before World War II was notable for their imperialistic intentions – they invaded China in 1931 to mark the beginning of a violent, 14-year occupation of the land, finally retreating only after the World War II reversals in 1945. However, in the post-World War geopolitics, the foreign policy trajectory between the two nations has swapped its direction. Since the past few decades, Japan has sought to maintain a nice-guy image, while on the other hand, China has wanted to treat Japan slightingly. Japan’s cooperative and accommodative foreign policy acted as a silver bullet for its economy, which saw an unprecedented growth from 1950s till 1980s. That period saw Japan barging into the elite club of developed nations (the only Asian country to accomplish the feat then) and becoming a part of G-7, or the seven most industrialized states in the world. That’s a remarkable accomplishment, considering the fact that this was the same country that had literally been reduced to ruins in the Second World War and also the fact that none of its Asian counterparts could mirror Japan’s subsequent economic achievements. China, like Japan, started a new journey from 1949, when the Mao Tse Tung-led Communist Party of China overran the country and gained control on its governance. But unlike Japan, China, in the first three decades, emphasized largely on a military buildup. Amidst this journey of these two Asian giants, one thing represented permanency – that these two nations won’t walk hand in hand.
Interestingly, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party had promised before the 2009 election that Japan would be more muscular in its foreign policy and had hinted then on a shift from being a US-backed nation to being one with a more Far East integration, including with China. However, that didn’t happen. The recent happenings have in fact worsened the situation. The first, significant barrage came from the Japanese government in early September 2012, when they revealed their intentions to purchase three disputed islands in East China Sea – a move that led to their fragile relationship with China nose-diving in no time. China pledged to thwart Japan’s intentions, and in response, sent three fishery surveillance ships to the territorial waters near Senkaku, the group of islands in contention. In return, Japan adopted an aggressive foreign policy stance and announced that they would take the Chinese bull by the horn – by mid September, Japan had officially bought the islands. | <urn:uuid:74d4c16b-a788-4788-8bad-4fa1b0e679f8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://arindamchaudhuri.blogspot.com/2012/12/could-china-japan-tensions-initiate.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00091-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96527 | 672 | 2.625 | 3 |
AUSTRALIAN Seabird Rescue boss Rochelle Ferris has blamed climate change for what a high death toll among migrating muttonbirds.
Ms Ferris said this year had been the worst in recent memory for muttonbirds dropping from the sky and washing up on beaches in the region.
"We see it in varying degrees each year, but this year is particularly bad and it's absolutely part of the climate changing as worsening storm cells are having an effect on the birds' migration," Mrs Ferris said.
Thousands of Tasmanian muttonbirds, also known as shearwaters, wash up on our shores each year after failing to make their 15,000km migration from Bass Strait to the Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska and back to Australia's east coast.
This migration sees the birds travel through heavy storm cells in the China Sea.
With natural weather events worsening each year, the weaker birds become exhausted and are unable to make the journey back to Bass Strait after copping a beating in the bad weather or having to fly further around the storm to get back on course.
However, Mrs Ferris said the birds we saw dead on the coast were a very small percentage of the overall population.
"This happens every year," Mrs Ferris said.
"The journey is so long that many become exhausted and their bodies just shut down."
Australian Sea Bird Rescue advised those who came across dying muttonbirds to leave them alone to die peacefully or move them from tide lines into the dunes.
Those who feel "passionately inclined to help" are advised to take the bird home and put it in a dark box and see if it survives the night.
"Although invariably we've seen 99 times out of 100 the birds don't survive," Mrs Ferris said.
"Something to remember is that the fallen birds provide food resources to other native animals that live on the beach."
The Tasmanian muttonbird can live to 38 years and are one of the most common species of bird in the world, with the population estimated to be in excess of 18 million.
Update your news preferences and get the latest news delivered to your inbox. | <urn:uuid:d55e1a59-1b76-4129-93dd-83ae35c012be> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/long-haul-is-taking-its-toll/2068775/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00175-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961933 | 442 | 3.015625 | 3 |
A squib is a miniature explosive device used in a wide range of industries, from special effects to military applications. It resembles a tiny stick of dynamite, both in appearance and construction, although with considerably less explosive power. Squibs consist of two electrical leads which are separated by a plug of insulating material, a small bridge wire or electrical resistance heater, and a bead of heat-sensitive chemical composition in which the bridge wire is embedded. Squibs can be used for generating mechanical force, or to provide pyrotechnic effects for both film and live theatrics. Squibs can be used for shattering or propelling a variety of materials.
A squib generally consists of a small tube filled with an explosive substance, with a detonator running through the length of its core, similar to a stick of dynamite. Also similar to dynamite, the detonator can be a slow-burning fuse, or as is more common today, a wire connected to a remote electronic trigger. Squibs range in size, anywhere from .08" up to 6/10" (~2 to 15 millimeters) in diameter.
In the North American film industry, the term squib is often used to refer variously to: electric matches and detonators (used as initiators to trigger larger pyrotechnics). Squibs are generally (but not always) the main explosive element in an effect, and as such are regularly used as “bullet hits”. Conventional squibs fire once, with the exception of eSquibs, which fire 200 or more times before depletion.
Today, squibs are widely used in the motion picture special effects industry to simulate bullet impacts on inanimate objects. Items such as sand, soil or wood splinters may be attached to the squib to simulate the "splash" that occurs when bullets pierce different materials.
Although squibs were once used even for the simulation of bullet hits on live actors, such use has been largely phased out in favor of more advanced devices that are safer for the actor, such as miniature compressed gas packs. These alternate devices are often still referred to as "squibs" even though they do not use explosive substances. The devices (whether explosive or not) are coupled with small balloons filled with fake blood and often other materials to simulate shattered bone and tissue.
Squibs are used in emergency mechanisms where gas pressure needs to be generated quickly in confined spaces, while not harming any surrounding persons or mechanical parts. In this form, squibs may be called gas generators. One such mechanism is the inflation of automobile air bags. In military aircraft, squibs are used to deploy countermeasures, and are also implemented during ejection to propel the canopy and ejection seat away from a crippled aircraft. They are also used to deploy parachutes. Squibs are also used in automatic fire extinguishers, to pierce seals that retain liquids such as halon, fluorocarbon, or liquid nitrogen.
Squibs were originally made from parchment tubes, or the shaft of a feather, and filled with fine black powder. They were then sealed at the ends with wax. They were sometimes used to ignite the main propellant charge in cannon.
The famous "Squib Case"
Squibs are mentioned in the prominent tort case from eighteenth-century England Scott v. Shepherd, 96 Eng. Rep. 525 (K.B. 1773). A lit squib was thrown into a crowded market by Shepherd, and landed on the table of a gingerbread merchant. A bystander, to protect himself and the gingerbread, threw the squib across the market, where it landed in the goods of another merchant. The merchant grabbed the squib and tossed it away, accidentally hitting Scott in the face, putting out one of his eyes.
Squibs in film
The first documented use of squibs to simulate bullet impacts in movies was in the 1955 Polish film Pokolenie by Andrzej Wajda, where for the first time audiences were presented with a realistic representation of a bullet impacting on an on-camera human being, complete with blood spatter. The creator of the effect, Kazimierz Kutz, used a condom with fake blood and dynamite.
Origin of the phrase "damp squib"
|Look up damp squib in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.|
While most modern squibs used by professionals are insulated from moisture, older uninsulated squibs needed to be kept dry in order to ignite, thus a "damp squib" was literally one that failed to perform because it got wet. Often misheard as "damp squid", the phrase "damp squib" has since come into general use to mean anything that fails to meet expectations. The word "squib" has come to take on a similar meaning even when used alone, as a diminutive comparison to a full explosive.
- Thibodaux, J.G. "Special Rockets and Pyrotechnics Problems". Langley Research Center. NTRS. Retrieved July 1, 1961. Check date values in:
- "Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions". Fantasy Creations FX.
- US 5411225 “Reusable non-pyrotechnic countermeasure dispenser cartridge for aircraft.”
- Wallace, Anthony F. C. (1988). St. Clair, a nineteenth-century coal town's experience with a disaster-prone industry. Cornell University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-8014-9900-5.
- Grossman, Andrew. "Bleeding Realism Dry". Bright Lights Film Journal. p. 2.
- Calvert, James B. "Cannons and Gunpowder". University of Denver.
- J.Sz., Gazeta Wyborcza, 2008
- "Damp Squid: The top 10 misquoted phrases in Britain". The Daily Telegraph (London). 24 February 2009.
- "Definition of damp squib". Allwords.com.
- "squib: Definitions, Synonyms". Answers.com. | <urn:uuid:f274be3f-bb8e-4580-bd0c-1f284c7b6b01> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Squib_(explosive) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00196-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930049 | 1,269 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Glasgow AFB, Montana
Glasgow Air Force Base was located in the northeast corner of Montana, 26 miles north of the city of Glasgow, Montana. The 91st Bombardment Wing was stationed at Glasgow Air Force Base at of Glasgow, Montana, in new facilities which were completed in 1960. In February 1961 the 326th Bombardment Squadron, equipped with B-52 aircraft, moved to Glasgow Air Force Base, Mont., as the nucleus for the organization of the 4141st Strategic Wing. In its first year, this became the top wing in Fifteenth Air Force. The 4141st Strategic Wing at Glasgow inactivated on 01 February 1963, and its aircraft were transferred to the to 322nd Bombardment Squadron assigned to the 91st Bombardment Wing at Glasgow, which inactivated in 1968.
The former Glasgow Army Air Field (AAF) is situated on 2,798 acres adjacent to the city of Glasgow (population: 8,239) in northeastern Montana, not far from the Canadian border. Prior to DOD ownership, 605 acres of this land were used as a municipal airport and the rest for agricultural purposes.
Glasgow AAF, also known as the Glasgow Satellite Airfield, was activated on 10 November 1942. It was one of three satellite fields of Great Falls Army Air Base which accommodated a bombardment group. There were four Bomber Squadrons within this group, one located at the Great Falls Army Air Base and one at each of the three satellite air fields at Lewistown, Glasgow and Cut Bank. The 96th Bombardment Squadron of the Second Bombardment Group arrived at Glasgow Army Air Field on 29 November 1942. Heavy bomber squadrons of the time usually consisted of 8 B-17s with 37 officers and 229 enlisted men. The satellite field was used by B-17 bomber crews from the Second Air Force during the second phase of their training. Actual bombing and gunnery training was conducted at the airfield's associated sites, Glasgow Pattern Bombing Range and the Glasgow Pattern Gunnery Range, though other training sites within the bombardment group were probably also used. The target-towing aircraft assigned to the Fort Peck Aerial Gunnery Range were also stationed at Glasgow. The last unit to complete training at Glasgow Satellite Field was the 614th Bombardment Squadron of the 401st Bombardment Group, which left for England in October 1943. On 01 December 1944 a German prisoner-of-war camp was established at the site. On 15 July 1946 the Glasgow Army Air Field was classified surplus and it was subsequently transferred to the War Assets Administration on 18 November 1946.
Glasgow AFB began shutting down in the late 1960s, and is an example of failed local policies. Currently, the former Glasgow AAF is used as a municipal airport, a light industrial park and for agricultural purposes. When the base closed, 16,000 people left the Glasgow area, a trend that continued among the civilian population. As of 1990 the base and all its infrastructure remained almost completely idle. In 1970, Glasgow had an emigration rate of 33 percent; in 1980 the population fell to 4,500, and it was expected to fall below 4,000 in 1990.
Glasgow AFB, which closed in the 1970s, was so isolated and without business advantages that it sat idle for years until Boeing Company recently began testing planes there. The Boeing Company, of Seattle, Wash., owns most of the former air force base, including the old officer's club facility. In February 1997 Montana Senator Conrad Burns announced that he had helped set up negotiations between the Saint Marie Condominium Association (SMCA) and Boeing regarding the possible lease of the officers club on the old Glasgow Air Force Base. With the exception of the Glasgow Industrial Airport located in Glasgow, Montana, which is company-owned, runways and taxiways used by Boeing are located on airport properties owned by others and are used by the company jointly with others.
|Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list| | <urn:uuid:1a8f4927-1d35-42de-bb7e-c913d1be88ea> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/facility/glasgow.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981696 | 810 | 2.8125 | 3 |
From the Viette's Views Gardening Blog
"I’m curious to know what has caused the leaves on some of my boxwoods to turn orange during the past two months."
Here’s a snippet of our answer:
“If exposed to full sun and frequent frost and wind, the foliage of some boxwood may become orange or bronze in the winter …”
This is really quite common especially in certain boxwood varieties such as the small-leaved Korean Boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. koreana).
In fact, the other morning when I was taking pictures in the Viette gardens, I noticed that the Korean boxwood in front of an outbuilding had a very definite orange/bronze tint while the boxwood right beside it, a different species but growing under the same conditions, was still a nice healthy green color. The contrast was striking and a neat display of the seasonal variation that can exist between two different species.
Even more interesting is the fact that only one side of the Korean boxwood is showing the bronzing of the leaves; namely the side that faces west and is exposed to the prevailing winds and the sun. The side that faces the building (which is about 8 feet from the hedge) is still green except for some bronzing near the top where branch tips are more exposed. This provides pretty good evidence that the bronzing occurring here on this particular variety is due to the environmental effects of sun and wind. The building is definitely providing the boxwood with protection from the elements.
There are certain things you can do to help protect boxwood and other evergreens from sunburn and winter winds that might cause discoloration of the foliage.
Most important is to keep them watered during the winter especially when the ground is not frozen. Gardeners often forget that evergreens continue to function physiologically (albeit at a reduced rate) throughout the winter. Cold winter winds can suck moisture from the leaves and if this water is not replaced through uptake by the roots, winter injury can occur. This is why it is important to water your evergreens deeply in the late fall before the ground freezes. During dry winter weather when the ground is not frozen, be sure to check your evergreen trees and shrubs and water deeply if necessary. This is especially important during a mild winter like we’ve been experiencing so far this year. The addition of a layer of mulch will help retain the soil moisture.
Feed your boxwood in the spring and again in the fall with a slow release organic fertilizer like Espoma Holly-tone or Plant-tone to keep them healthy and vigorous.
Spraying evergreens with an anti-desiccant like Bonide Wilt Stop will also help to protect them from winter injury by forming a soft, clear flexible film over the leaves. In colder areas, the more tender broadleaf evergreens like Camellias and some varieties of boxwood and hollies should be sprayed with Wilt Stop and then carefully wrapped in burlap for additional protection from sun and wind.
The answer, continued:
“The good news is, though many consider it unattractive, this bronzing will not kill the boxwood and they should green up again once temperatures warm up in the spring.”
Personally, I think this winter “off-color” adds some interest to the boxwood – sort of like “fall color” in the winter! And keep in mind that for some boxwood like the Korean boxwood, this color change is normal during the winter months.
It is important to note that the overall bronzing of the foliage that I am talking about here is a seasonal discoloration, not winter kill. Winter kill is permanent and must be pruned out in the spring – but that’s another story … | <urn:uuid:58ed1f5b-013e-412f-a67b-f17103222054> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://inthegardenradio.com/v.php?pg=875 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00018-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951962 | 790 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Black holes are the strangest objects in the Universe. A black hole does not have a surface, like a planet or star. Instead, it is a region of space where matter has collapsed in on itself. This catastrophic collapse results in a huge amount of mass being concentrated in an incredibly small area. The gravitational pull of this region is so great that nothing can escape – not even light.
Although black holes cannot be seen, we know they exist from the way they affect nearby dust, stars and galaxies. Many of them are surrounded by discs of material. As the discs swirl around them like a whirlpool, they become extremely hot and give off X-rays.
Black holes come in many different sizes. Many of them are only a few times more massive than the Sun. These 'stellar-mass' black holes form when a heavyweight star, about 10 times heavier than the Sun, ends its life in a supernova explosion. What is left of the star – still several solar masses - collapses into an area only a few kilometres across.
Most galaxies, including the Milky Way, have supermassive black holes at their centres. These may be millions or billions of times heavier than our Sun. Supermassive black holes also power active galaxies and ancient galaxies known as quasars. Quasars may be hundreds of times brighter than even the largest ordinary galaxies.
Objects that fall into black holes are literally stretched to breaking point. An astronaut who ventured too close and was sucked into a black hole would be pulled apart by the overpowering gravity. | <urn:uuid:e82329e3-b79f-418a-b63e-88534bda9881> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/SEM0V1BE8JG_OurUniverse_0.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947439 | 313 | 4.1875 | 4 |
Point of No Return
Fishing may be such a powerful evolutionary force that we are running up a Darwinian debt for future generations
By Natasha Loder
Illustration © Jon Krause
Contrary to the opinion of a number of the citizens of Kansas, evolution is not merely a “nice theory” but rather a demonstrable fact. Evolution is all around us. In our hospitals, bacteria have become so difficult to control that fatal postoperative infections are now common. Insects in agricultural fields develop resistance to pesticides. And those unfortunate enough to have been infected with HIV know that their bodies have become evolutionary battlefields—with HIV constantly mutating and evolving resistance to antiviral drugs.
Against this background several years ago, Stanford biologist Stephen Palumbi issued a warning in the journal Science (1) that humans are dramatically accelerating evolutionary change in other species and that this is costing at least US$33-50 billion a year in the United States. Most of this cost stems from the hospitalization of people whose diseases have become resistant to treatment, but large costs also emerge when pests or disease organisms escape chemical control.
Overlooking the consequences of evolution can be costly for conservation as well. In recent years, evidence has been accumulating that evolution is having an impact on the productivity of commercial fisheries. Although research is only starting to quantify the extent of the problem, the prospect of evolutionary effects in fisheries is to be expected. Consider, for example, a farmer who, from year to year, grew seeds from only the smallest, weakest plants in the field. He would hardly be surprised to find his crops growing successively smaller and feebler as the years went on. Good farmers grow seeds from the largest or most productive plants and thus maximize their yields. Oddly, this is almost the reverse of what happens in commercial fisheries: every year, nets scoop up the largest fish and leave the smallest behind.
In February this year, fisheries scientists met in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to discuss the emergence of “evolutionary fisheries science”—and to lament the fact that, until now, the evolutionary dimensions of fisheries have been overlooked. They also gathered together some of the best evidence available on the subject. Their models suggest that each year in which current levels of exploitation continue will require several years of evolutionary recovery. This results in a “Darwinian debt” to be paid by future generations.
Fisheries science has managed to embrace some evolutionary ideas. There is certainly an appreciation of the need for conservation of unique gene pools and of genetic diversity within populations. Nevertheless, David Conover, a professor at the Marine Sciences Research Center at Stony Brook University in New York warns that fishery managers treat variation in size as having “no genetic basis or evolutionary consequences at all.” This is odd because the signs of size change in some important fish stocks are already apparent. For example, in the 1940s, cod in the northeast Arctic had an average size of 95 cm. Today they average only 65 cm. And average size and age of fish at maturation have been decreasing for decades in many commercially exploited fish stocks.
Until recently, it could have been argued that the lack of interest in the possibility of evolutionary change in commercial fisheries arose from the difficulty in proving that it was happening. Size changes in fish might equally be due to environmental effects on fisheries—after all, when fish are being harvested, the community they are part of is also changing. Food availability, temperature, and population density do not remain the same. According to Conover, many fisheries scientists predict that, as fish density declines due to harvesting, fish will grow faster because there is less competition for food. On the other hand, commercial fisheries are subject to strong size-selective mortality, and it would be highly surprising if this were not reflected in their genetics. “One has to take the position that, despite all other organisms in the world being subject to the rules of natural selection and evolution, somehow fisheries are not,” says Conover.
So Conover and Stony Brook colleague Stephan Munch began asking some fundamental questions. They wondered why, despite mounting evidence of rapid life history evolution in fish, current models and management plans for sustainable fishing ignore the Darwinian consequences of selective harvesting. This might be due in part to a lack of proof that size-selective mortality actually causes genetic changes.
They realized the key to proving this connection was to separate genetic from environmental changes. If fish were smaller merely because of current environmental conditions, they would bounce back quite quickly from these smaller sizes after conditions were changed. However, if size-selective mortality were exerting genetic pressure, this could be far harder to reverse and thus have long-term implications for fisheries. What’s more, some of the affected traits, such as growth and sexual maturation, are closely connected to productivity.
So the pair set up an experiment. They subjected captive populations of Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia) to variation in size-selective harvesting. The Atlantic silverside is a long and slender fish with two dorsal fins and a rounded white belly and is common along the eastern coast of North America. Conover and Munch designed a series of selection experiments in which 90 percent of the silversides were removed. In one experiment the largest fish were taken, in another the smallest, and in a third experiment fish were culled randomly.
The results, published in the journal Science in 2002 (2), turn conventional fisheries management thinking on its head. In most commercial fisheries, fish are removed on the basis of size. There are minimum, not maximum, size limits. But Conover and Munch’s results show that this approach may have results that are exactly the opposite of what is intended. Within only four generations, taking out larger fish produced a smaller and less fertile population that also converted food into flesh less efficiently. In contrast, catching smaller fish increased the average size of fourth-generation fish to nearly double that of fish in populations where only the larger fish had been taken. In the short term, catching the largest fish gave the highest yield and mean weight of fish. But this effect was temporary. After four generations, removing the smaller individuals gave nearly twice the yield of the populations from which larger individuals had been harvested. One reason for this greater productivity was that the larger adults had a greater reproductive potential. Another was that, as expected, removing small individuals selected for fast growth.
Additional evidence is accumulating—from modeling, lab experiments, and studies of wild populations—that the heavy exploitation of fish stocks is indeed causing them to undergo genetic change. Richard Law, an evolutionary biologist at the University of York in the U.K., believes that the effect of evolution on yield has the potential to be quite large (3). Some simple calculations, he says, on the life history of the Northeast Arctic cod suggest that selection due to fishing mortality could halve the yield of the fishery, with the exact reduction in yield depending on the levels of fishing mortality applied on the spawning and feeding grounds. These results should certainly give commercial fisheries managers something to think about.
Co-organizer of this year’s AAAS Evolutionary Fisheries Science Symposium Mikko Heino from the Institute of Marine Research in Norway has been working on fisheries-induced evolution in the wild for a number of years. In total, he has now studied 12 populations of fish, including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), North Sea plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), and grayling (Thymallus thymallus). In all but one case, he finds that evolution plays an important role in trends toward smaller-sized fish. Fisheries-induced evolution, he says, can reduce productivity and reproductive potential. This means that current fishing practices are reducing the productivity of fisheries and may compromise the value of fish stocks as renewable resources.
Many life-history traits may be affected. Symposium co-organizer Ulf Dieckmann, a physicist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, says that, besides age and size at maturity, current harvesting also threatens reproductive effort, growth rate, and behavior in other species. The age of sexual maturation in several populations of cod has been reduced by one-fourth and for plaice by nearly one-third. Heino believes such examples are probably just the tip of the iceberg.
What is most worrisome about these evolutionary changes is that all the evidence thus far suggests that they can happen very quickly in fish populations—this is not the stuff of geologic time. Many studies suggest that the selection pressures are large enough for substantial change to occur within decades—even though the heritability of the traits is not large.
Jeffrey Hutchings of Dalhousie University in Canada also spelled out to the meeting the possible consequences of this kind of evolutionary change. By the early 1990s, the numbers of Atlantic cod had declined by 99.9 percent relative to their abundance in the early 1960s (4). New work suggests that evolutionary changes may have been a factor in this decline because, prior to their collapse, cod were rapidly shifting toward younger and smaller sizes. One study shows that, between 1980 and 1987, the age at which 50 percent of the females were mature had dropped from six to five years.
What the researchers are getting at is the idea that, when a population collapses due to overfishing, it is not simply the numbers of fish taken but also the type of fish taken that might be important. And just as evolutionary changes may be relevant to the collapse of populations, they may also be significant factors in the speed with which a population can recover. Hutchings says that, based on data from Newfoundland’s and Labrador’s northern cod, models suggest that “comparatively modest” reductions in age and size at maturity can slow recovery by 25-30 percent and more than double the likelihood of further population decline.
Although the evidence thus far suggests that complete cessation of fishing is likely to halt these worrying trends in fisheries, it is by no means clear whether this would allow them to recover to their historic sizes (5). This is because there is no equivalent-but-opposite, size-selective pressure forcing a population in the opposite direction. As a result, a population will regain its previous character only very slowly—if at all. Conover says there is now evidence to suggest that, when fish size is truncated by harvesting, the size structure of the population may take a long time to re-establish itself.
So now scientists such as Conover are talking about the need for a new Darwinian fisheries science—a way of managing fisheries over time periods longer than the next few years. One management option is marine reserves. We know that marine reserves provide a source of eggs and fish free from evolutionary pressures of size-selective fishing. The trouble is, their effectiveness would depend on there being little gene flow back from areas in which size selection is still taking place. In other words, if fish inside and outside the reserve can mate, the reserve’s gene pool may still show a trend toward smaller sizes because it is being inundated with genes from smaller fish from outside.
There is no quick and easy way to integrate the complexity of fish population dynamics into management. But all scientists seem to agree on the need to preserve large, old fish and maintain the balance of age classes in the population. From a conservation perspective, there may be most traction to be gained by focusing on protecting the largest fish, which play both an evolutionary and an ecological role.
Not only is removing the largest fish harming the genetic status of a fishery, but the largest fish are disproportionately important in sustaining a population because older fish produce exponentially more larvae. A 50-cm-long Boccacio rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis), for example, will produce nearly 200,000 larvae, whereas one only 30 cm longer will produce ten times this number—nearly 2 million larvae.
Steven Berkeley of University of California Santa Cruz reported at this year’s AAAS meeting that the larvae of old fish have hugely improved chances of survival compared to larvae of younger fish. His team found that in Pacific black rockfish (Sebastes melanops), survival rates were nearly three times higher and growth rates were 3.5 times faster for larvae from older mothers. This is partly because older mothers produce larvae with larger oil globules.
The hope is that these developments may force a full about-face in fisheries-management strategies. Could it be time to rethink the minimum-size restriction as a basic management tool and instead to think of maximum-size restrictions? This could involve completely new net designs—ones that allow the very biggest fish to escape. Managing fisheries in such a way that large fish are unlikely to be caught might fulfill the short-term need of increasing the biomass of spawning stock and in the long term place a selective pressure for faster growth in the size range that is being harvested. More work, as scientists frequently say, needs to be done. However, some of these ideas are already encompassed in U.S. and Canadian regulations that protect egg-bearing female lobsters, very large lobsters, and lobsters marked as known breeding females.
Given the accumulating evidence of the obvious, it is difficult to be optimistic. Each harvest introduces tiny, hard-to-reverse genetic changes into a population. By ignoring these changes, we run the risk of reducing productivity in ways that will not be easily reversed in the future. It is a debt we are running up, a Darwinian debt that we owe to future generations of fishermen.
For decades it has been a struggle merely to bring the massive overexploitation of fisheries under control. Today’s struggle involves trying to rebuild fish stocks, and that is difficult enough to do. Changing to maximum-size restrictions would involve something of a sea change in attitudes in fisheries management. And yet this alone is probably not enough. Scientists such as Andy Rosenberg of the University of New Hampshire, a member of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, believe it is necessary to work on multiple fronts if we are to recover the huge losses induced by the overexploitation of the past. We need to protect fish of all ages, we must safeguard genetic diversity, and we must conserve functioning marine ecosystems.
Whatever the science reveals, action is hard to achieve in a world of competing priorities. How on earth does one manage stocks for the day after tomorrow, when managing them for tomorrow is difficult enough? Politicians, who are ultimately faced with making the decisions about how we manage our resources, are caught between good long-term management and harsh short-term realities for their constituents. With politicians, as with fish, it is survival of the fittest. It is a shame that fish cannot vote.
1. Palumbi, S.R. 2001. Humans as the world’s greatest evolutionary force. Science 293:1786-1790.
2. Conover, D.O. and S.B. Munch. 2002. Sustaining fisheries yields over evolutionary time scales. Science 297:94-96.
3. Law, R. 2002. Selective fishing and phenotypic evolution: Past, present and future. ICES Annual Science Conference 2002.
4. Hutchings, J.A. 2004. The cod that got away. Nature 428:899-900.
5. Olsen, E.M. et al. 2004. Maturation trends indicative of rapid evolution preceded the collapse of northern cod. Nature 428:932-935.
About the Author
Natasha Loder is a science and technology correspondent for The Economist and is based in London.
Nations Have Carved Up the Ocean. Now What?March 14th, 2014
How desperation, iPads, and real-time data revived a fisherySeptember 9th, 2013
The Oiliest CatchDecember 7th, 2012
Listening in on 100 Million FishSeptember 13th, 2012
Free-Range Fish HerdingSeptember 1st, 2011 | <urn:uuid:f8892e63-c3f7-4578-9097-2d66a768b313> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://conservationmagazine.org/2008/07/point-of-no-return/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00166-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954775 | 3,345 | 2.90625 | 3 |
April 17, 2007
Dying Sun-Like Stars Leave Whirlpools in their Wake
Astronomers based at Jodrell Bank Observatory have found evidence that giant whirlpools form in the wake of stars as they move through clouds in interstellar space.
The discovery will be presented by Dr Chris Wareing at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Preston on 17th April.Dr Wareing and his colleagues used the COBRA supercomputer to simulate in three-dimensions the movement of a dying star through surrounding interstellar gas. At the end of their life, Sun-sized stars lose their grip on their outer layers and as much as half of their mass drifts off into space.
The computer simulation modelled the collision between material given off by the star and the interstellar gas. It showed that a shockwave forms ahead of the dying star and giant eddies and whirlpools develop in the tail of material behind the star, similar to those seen in the wake of boats on open water. The group have now backed up these predictions with observations of the planetary nebula Sharpless 2-188 taken as part of the IPHAS (Isaac Newton Telescope Photometric H alpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane).
The central star of Sharpless 2-188 is 850 light years away and it is travelling at 125 kilometres per second across the sky. Observations show a strong brightening in the direction in which the star is moving and faint material stretching away in the opposite direction.
Dr Wareing believes that the bright structures in the arc observed ahead of Sharpless 2-188 are the bowshock instabilities revealed in his simulations, which will form whirlpools as they spiral past the star downstream to the tail.
"These vortices can improve the mixing of the stellar material back into interstellar space, benefiting the next cycle of star formation. The turbulent whirlpools have an inherent spin, or angular momentum, which is an essential ingredient for the formation of the next generation of stars." said Dr Wareing who developed the computer model during his PhD and is now using it to understand the fate of our Sun.
Dying stars eject both gas and dust into space. The dust will coalesce into planets around later generations of stars. The gas contains carbon, necessary for life and produced inside stars.
How the carbon, other gas and dust are ejected from the dying star is not well understood. The whirlpools in space can play an important role in mixing these essential ingredients into the interstellar gas from which further stars and planets will form.
On the Net: | <urn:uuid:4c4d74db-a2a5-4b16-b8ee-29ee651e003c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/905438/dying_sunlike_stars_leave_whirlpools_in_their_wake/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936255 | 532 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Located in the South Pacific, New Zealand is a country of about 60 million sheep but only 3.7 million people, of who about 20 thousand are Muslims.
The first Muslims arrived here in 1868. They were of Chinese involved in the mining industry. When the industry declined they returned without leaving any Muslim heritage behind. The next Muslims for permanent residence came in 1908 in Auckland. It was, however, from 1950 onwards that sizeable numbers of Muslims began establishing a firm foothold in this country, which is known by the indigenous Maori people as “Aotearoa” – Land of the Long White Cloud.
These first Muslims, although small in number, soon began to organize themselves and gather in their private homes to observe salaat, Qur’an classes and religious celebrations. As their number grew the need for a larger and fixed place of worship and education became more pressing. Thus, ordinary houses were bought and converted into Islamic Centers in all major cities throughout the country.
During 1950, the first regional Muslim association was formed in Auckland, named the New Zealand Muslin Association (NZMA). It was soon followed by other regions – in Wellington in 1962 as the Wellington Muslim Association, which later became the International Muslim Association of New Zealand (IMAN). The choice of this name was a reflection of the situation in Wellington where the majority of Muslims were students on the “Colombo Plan”, from many different countries.
By mid-1950′s, every region had set up Muslim Associations, which were registered with the Government as Incorporated Societies.
At this time, the functions performed and services provided by these Associations catered mainly for the immediate needs of their communities. In most cases, this meant establishing children’s classes for Qur’an reading and Islamic knowledge, as well as study groups for men and women.
Despite the scarcity of educational resource material and adequately trained teachers, these classes filled the need for some form of Islamic education in what was a completely secular environment.
By late 1970′s it was becoming increasingly apparent that a national body was required to co-ordinate the activities of the regional Associations, increase their efficiency and generally represent the interests of Muslims as a whole, at national and international levels. Thus it was that in September 1979, the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand was formed.
Today, the New Zealand Muslim community comprises about 35 different nationalities. Over the last three decades our number has swelled to around fifteen thousand.
As well as the regional Islamic Centers, four Masajid have been built – Ponsonby and West Auckland (in Auckland), Hamilton and Christchurch. At Mount Roskill (Auckland) a Church has been converted into a Masjid. Islamic Centers are located in Otahuhu (Auckland); Palmerston North; Porirua and Newtown (Wellington). Plots of land have been acquired in different cities for two Masajid and one Islamic Center. An Islamic school is nearing completion in Auckland.
At the same time as organizing for our spiritual needs we have also secured, from the local City Councils, plots of land for our burial.
Schools and universities send their classes to visit our Centers and Masjids to get a better appreciation of Islam and the rituals of Muslims. Universities and other training institutions are visited by us and given information on Islam. TV and radio programmes are compiled, and scholars of international repute are invited for public lectures. Islamic/Masjid exhibitions are organized.
- Islam In New Zealand
- Salahuddin Al Ayyubi (RA), The Greatest Warrior Of Islam | <urn:uuid:8ca84124-5929-44d1-8d43-69424f1e0d0f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.islamicity.com/forum/printer_friendly_posts.asp?TID=18197 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973345 | 741 | 2.65625 | 3 |
- Category: July - August 2009
There is no denying that social networking is on the rise. Social networking sites are basically online communities that allow people refers to the building of online communities based on common interests and activities. This structure includes having profiles, blog posts, widgets and usually something unique to that particular social networking site, such as the ability to ‘poke’ people on Facebook or high-five someone on Hi5.
Although the term has only become popular fairly recently, social networks have been around since the early days of commercial Internet access - in the form of newsgroups, chat rooms and web forums dedicated to specific areas of interest.
However, what started out as a way to use the ‘Net to make friends and meet romantic partners' has moved into the business world, with some companies actively promoting employee involvement to raise awareness of their products or services, branding their company/products/services and keeping in touch with each other and existing or potential customers/partners.
Although some companies view social networking sites as time-wasters and block them altogether, more and more companies are recognizing their value as marketing and collaboration tools. Some companies, such as Intel, are actively encouraging their employees to get involved in social media activities on the company’s behalf.
Increasing Security Risks
However, with the level of interest in social networking steadily gaining traction, it was only a matter of time before it attracted unwanted attention. Social networking sites are increasingly on the radar of cybercriminals. A number of security concerns have been raised regarding popular social networking sites, and there have been an increasing number of security breaches reported.
The risks associated with social networking fall into a few broad categories:
- The risk of having the social networking account itself hacked
An example of this is Miley Cyrus’ Twitter account which was hijacked in February 2008 and resulted in offensive messages of her being posted on her own site).
- Data leakage and/or loss /compromise of privacy therein, or worse, misuse /abuse of the hijacked data
- Attempted identity theft
For example, hackers try to associate your picture with your password (if they’ve stolen it) and UserId or nickname, try to associate it with your friends, habits or hobbies etc and then try to use your password (if stolen) and ID at say a local internet banking site, hoping that the latter uses the same userid and password.
- The risk that users will pick up malware through the social networking site
Social networking sites, like any other web sites, can be conduits for the distribution of malicious software. Your employees might be well-versed on knowing not to click a link in an email message from an unknown source, but if that link appears in a message from a social networking “friend” or in a tweet from someone the employee is following, it might be a different story. This action could result in malware being downloaded to a computer on your company network.
A problem with many of the social networking sites is that the default settings make users vulnerable, and those who aren’t technically savvy may not know that they need to change the settings to protect themselves. For example, by default, sites may allow HTML in comments. That makes it easier for social networkers to share links, insert pictures, etc. – but it also makes it easier for an attacker to slip malicious code in or link to off-site content that contains malware.
- The risk that a hacker will gain information through the social networking site that will allow him/her to attack your company network (social engineering)
It is a known fact that it is less work to trick someone into giving you a password or other information you can use to break into a system than spending your time trying to hack into it. In other words, it’s easier to exploit human vulnerabilities than software vulnerabilities. Social networks present another, very ripe avenue for social engineering that preys on people’s trust in those who present themselves as friends or colleagues.
Unfortunately, most social networking sites do not verify the identities or credentials of those who sign up. For example, you can create a Facebook or Twitter account using any name you want, or you can claim to work for a company when you don’t. Although the Terms of Service generally prohibit giving false information, it’s unlikely that the consequences of getting caught will extend beyond losing access to the site. Therefore, there is not much stopping someone from creating a fake profile, claiming to be an employee of a large company such as Microsoft or Intel, and then seeking out “fellow” employees (using the site’s keyword search) to befriend. This gives the social engineer access to those people’s sites, where he can obtain all sorts of information that may be useful for hacking into the company’s network. This will most likely not work in a small business where everyone knows everyone else, but any large company with multiple sites is vulnerable. Once the fake employee has made “friends” within the company, he can start chatting with them and collect inside information about the company. He could even set up a fake “company” website (a phishing site) and direct the real employees to it, collecting their passwords to the company network.
- Personal data on social networking sites can be manipulated by attackers
Even without hackers overtly trying to obtain information, employees who use social networking may inadvertently leak confidential data in the form of text postings, photos, videos or audio recordings.
In addition, the add-on applications that enhance social networking sites can pose additional risks of their own. When you download these mini-applications, you have to check a checkbox that allows the application’s developers access to your profile information (with the exception of contact information). If this information falls into the wrong hands, it can then be used for targeted advertising or other purposes.
Anthony Lim, director, Security, Rational Software, IBM Asia Pacific, says that the increasing number of attacks on social networking site such as Facebook, is mainly due to two reasons: being immensely successful and popular with hundreds of millions of users, they naturally attract baddies and mad people to try their luck hacking – whether for warped fun or truly evil purposes and secondly, many people tend to put more personal or even corporate information on sites that are meant to be used for social purposes such as Facebook, than they should. Lim adds, “I like to joke that some people think Facebook is the next LinkedIn and others even use Facebook for work purposes – again – this unduly attracts the hackers. It is important to remember that the world is not safe…”
Lim adds that these threats are going to get worse only because attack and data-theft methodologies and other ways of wreaking heinous havoc on the innocent, are getting worse over time as they get more sophisticated, e.g. bots, malware and so on. “Whether these specifically target social networking sites is another issue, as statistically these will attack any /all sites,” he observes.
So does Lim believe that developing policies for the use of social media can help? His answer: “This is itself another nightmare or PhD. It will never be exact, and be subject to many opinions and scenarios. Ultimately, it all boils down to the users of the networks. Users need to be professionally responsible and have self-discipline.”
Are social networks doing enough (security-wise) to protect their users? Lim feels that this is hard to say, as apart from warning people not to put undue amounts of personal or corporate data on the service, and taking basic security steps like firewall, strong password management, maybe anti-virus and anti-phishing education of its users, there’s little else the social networking site can do or is obliged to do vis-à-vis providing security. “After all, at the same time, the service needs to be open and friendly or else it will become cumbersome and slow, demoralizing the users and pushing them away – e.g. MS Win Vista tries to be too smart and too secure so you have to click “yes” 2-3 times before executing a function, and get frustrated no end!”
He adds, “Perhaps an alternative is like what Yahoo does - from time to time, random and routine re-authentication of the user during a session, thereby assuring the sanctity or legitimacy of the users. The service basically also needs many strong, smart and fast firewalls to protect the immense amount of data on their hard disks!”
“Above all, social networking sites should have a comprehensive black-box web application security policy and regime (for example, IBM’s Rational Appscan) for its software development quality control, as many hackers today know you have firewalls and so are turning their attacks away from network layer, to attacking the web application (new attacks such as SQL-injection and Cross-site-scripting target specifically the web application, and firewalls do not protect against such attacks - only QA will),” he continues.
Lim applauds Facebook’s recent tie-up with an anti-virus firm. “I think that’s very good and it minimizes the possibility of viruses, worms and malware being distributed through their service for example, from one user to another, whether inadvertently or on purpose. In addition, it also keeps the morale and support of the users up,” he comments.
Some best practice guidelines to follow while on social networking sites include: never putting undue corporate or personal data on the social networking service, never sharing passwords with other users, never clicking on links or information you are unsure about, ensuring that you are protected from Web-based infection and using more ‘complicated’ or stronger passwords – just know how to remember them! In addition, Lim adds, “Never make yourself too attractive on the social networking site (whether for real or not) – be humble – if you are too attractive or too much of a show-off, or project yourself as haughty or disgusting, you may attract the wrong attention!”
Being the security advocate he is, you may be surprised that Lim is against the idea of blocking employees from using social networking sites. Explaining his stand here, he says, “Doing this demoralizes the employees and makes them hate their employer or maybe not so extreme, makes the employer unpopular. In addition, many people today actually use social networking services for business and marketing and industry networking – it’s becoming more and more a part of the business world and an important business tool. Here is a funny but true story – recently a European colleague of mine was traveling in the US and at a training session or conference, and had not replied to an email of mine requesting for some technical information, for a week already – and my Taiwan client was chasing for the information … then I noticed him online on Facebook and I sent him a message informing him that he hadn’t replied to that email of mine. Within the next 24 hours I got the information I needed, and sent it off in turn to the client.”
So does Lim feel that social networking is a security nightmare? His parting shot: “Funny thing – currently the majority of social networking users don’t know or don’t care about such things!”
Social networking is definitely here to stay. As long as users adhere to the security guidelines mentioned above, social networking can remain a pleasant experience and valuable tool for all.
By Shanti Anne Morais | <urn:uuid:623a19cf-78e4-45fb-88b2-807fcca96470> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mediabuzz.com.sg/asian-emarketing/july-august-2009/519-social-networking-a-security-nightmare | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00182-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948061 | 2,399 | 2.734375 | 3 |
6.3.4 Makefile Targets
- This is the default target. Depending on what your build/host/target
configuration is, it coordinates all the things that need to be built.
- Produce info-formatted documentation and man pages. Essentially it
calls `make man' and `make info'.
- Produce DVI-formatted documentation.
- Produce HTML-formatted documentation.
- Generate man pages.
- Generate info-formatted pages.
- Delete the files made while building the compiler.
- That, and all the other files built by `make all'.
- That, and all the files created by configure.
- Distclean plus any file that can be generated from other files. Note
that additional tools may be required beyond what is normally needed to
- Generates files in the source directory that do not exist in CVS but
should go into a release tarball. One example is gcc/java/parse.c
which is generated from the CVS source file gcc/java/parse.y.
- Copies the info-formatted and manpage documentation into the source
directory usually for the purpose of generating a release tarball.
- Installs gcc.
- Deletes installed files.
- Run the testsuite. This creates a testsuite subdirectory that
has various .sum and .log files containing the results of
the testing. You can run subsets with, for example, `make check-gcc'.
You can specify specific tests by setting RUNTESTFLAGS to be the name
of the .exp file, optionally followed by (for some tests) an equals
and a file wildcard, like:
make check-gcc RUNTESTFLAGS="execute.exp=19980413-*"
Note that running the testsuite may require additional tools be
installed, such as TCL or dejagnu.
- Builds GCC three times—once with the native compiler, once with the
native-built compiler it just built, and once with the compiler it built
the second time. In theory, the last two should produce the same
results, which `make compare' can check. Each step of this process
is called a “stage”, and the results of each stage N
(N = 1...3) are copied to a subdirectory stageN/.
bootstrap, except that the various stages are removed once
they're no longer needed. This saves disk space.
- This incrementally rebuilds each of the three stages, one at a time.
It does this by “bubbling” the stages up from their subdirectories
(if they had been built previously), rebuilding them, and copying them
back to their subdirectories. This will allow you to, for example,
continue a bootstrap after fixing a bug which causes the stage2 build
- Rebuilds the most recently built stage. Since each stage requires
special invocation, using this target means you don't have to keep
track of which stage you're on or what invocation that stage needs.
- Removed everything (`make clean') and rebuilds (`make bootstrap').
cleanstrap, except that the process starts from the first
stage build, not from scratch.
- For each stage, moves the appropriate files to the stageN
- Undoes the corresponding
- Undoes the corresponding
stageN and rebuilds it with the
- Compares the results of stages 2 and 3. This ensures that the compiler
is running properly, since it should produce the same object files
regardless of how it itself was compiled.
- Builds a compiler with profiling feedback information. For more
Building with profile feedback.
This is actually a target in the top-level directory, which then
recurses into the gcc subdirectory multiple times. | <urn:uuid:805cc23e-c1a2-4d1d-a98d-91ef99fcbb05> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc-4.0.4/gccint/Makefile.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.850971 | 820 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Can we find out own germline DNA - (Jun/29/2010 )
Meaning, do we have access to our embryonic DNA before all of the recombination events, mutation, etc. I know you wouldn't look in your own gametes, but would our adult stem cells have these untainted DNA specimens?
Ahrenhase on Jun 29 2010, 04:29 PM said:
Most somatic cells would have the normal copy of the individual's DNA. Aside for the rare mistake, cells do a rather good job at repairing their DNA.
Yes it is true that somatic cells do gather mutations as they individual animal ages, but the same can be said for germline cells from aged individuals.
All evolution that we see are caused by mutations in the germ cells, so even germ cells are not exceptions to mutations. | <urn:uuid:2f8debbe-a93f-4212-85da-50ae5761978f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.protocol-online.org/biology-forums-2/posts/15697.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00158-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951398 | 172 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Laser system developed to mimic sunlight and test solar efficiency
30 May 2014Tweet
NIST engineer Tasshi Dennis with NIST's solar simulator. Credit: J Burrus/NIST
A team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States has created a laser-based instrument that simulates sunlight in order to test solar cell properties and further improve their efficiency.
The new simulator, as described in a paper published in the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, is based on a white light laser that uses optical-fibre amplifier technology to increase the power, and a photonic crystal fibre to broaden the spectrum. It is capable of simulating sunlight across the spectrum of visible to infrared light.
With the instrument, the NIST team were able to measure the efficiency of thin-film solar cells made of gallium-arsenide, crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon and copper-indium-gallium-selenide, and the results agreed with independent measurements.
The novel device is more flexible than conventional solar simulators such as xenon arc-lamps or light-emitting diodes, and it can be focused down to a small beam spot — with resolution approaching the theoretical limit — and shaped to match any desired spectral profile.
‘We can focus the light down to a spot less than two micrometres in diameter, despite the wide spectral content. You can't do this with sunlight,’ NIST researcher Tasshi Dennis explained. ‘We then used this focused spot to scan across solar cell materials while monitoring the current the light generated. This allowed us to create spatial maps (images) of the response of a solar cell at the micrometre level.’
The new instrument may help researchers understand solar cells’ optical and electrical characteristics, including defects and the impact of unusual designs. In particular, its capability to make rapid, accurate spectrum adjustments will help characterise the most efficient solar cells, which use multi-junction materials in which each junction is tuned to a different part of the spectrum.
At the moment, the instrument is designed to probe small research samples, individual concentrator solar cells and microstructures, not to determine the efficiencies of large solar cell panels and modules. NIST researchers have been working to make the new simulator programmable and portable for use outside NIST.
T Dennis, J B Schlager and K A Bertness. A novel solar simulator based on a super-continuum laser for solar cell device and materials characterization. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics. Posted online May 26 | <urn:uuid:be4d1901-0780-4543-ac57-5a1a5fdbaa05> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.electrooptics.com/news/news_story.php?news_id=2177 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00161-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907504 | 542 | 3.6875 | 4 |
‘History doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme’ - a saying attributed to Mark Twain.
Some of our current actions as a nation are creating dark rhyming couplets with times past.
Seventy five years ago this month the MS St Louis, a very large boat, was turned back. It was a successful turn back.
The turn back of the St Louis ended attempts to assist Jews to escape Germany in the months before World War II. There were no more boat arrivals for a number of years. The flow of ‘queue jumpers’ dried up. The instigators of the turn-back – primarily officials and politicians in Cuba, the USA and the UK - were self-congratulatory. Their borders were safe. Possible undesirables were prevented from entering.
History doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme.
The St Louis was a German luxury passenger liner. It left Hamburg for Cuba on May 13, 1939. Of its passengers, 937 were German Jews seeking asylum from Nazi persecution.
Many on the St Louis had given all they had to purchase visas to enter Cuba. Some had managed to bribe their way out of concentration camps.
There were also those who sent their children by themselves because that was all the family could afford. A story that rhymes with the stories of those who are selling all to smuggle their children out of Afghanistan before the Taliban can use them as human mine detectors. Parents that some Australian Senators during a recent inquiry, in their ignorance or ideological blindness, decried as irresponsible.
Some who made it on to the St Louis were smuggled by sympathetic SS officers.
At the time these were branded as traitors and criminals; later they would be hailed as heroes. This is not a rhyme we recognise in our time but it will surely come to pass when history assesses these days. People smugglers break the law but in many cases their actions are just. Read the story of Ali Al Jenab, as recorded by Robin de Crespigny in The People Smuggler, or consider that the Australian diplomat, Bruce Haigh, was a people smuggler in the days of South African apartheid. Haigh’s actions were illegal, but life-saving.
While the St Louis was on its way to Cuba anti-Semitic forces stirred up fear and hatred against the asylum-seekers. The main weapon in the campaign against the St Louis refugees was the misuse of language. This included the use of false stereotypes and untruths. People exercised their right to be bigots. There were also those who discounted the plight of those seeking asylum. Some said they were economic migrants. Others questioned their character. Is there not here a rhyming resonance with our use of language as we consider our response to refugees? I have had conversations with politicians who have admitted to knowing that the use of ‘illegal’ is incorrect, and that there is no queue. A just cause will stand the use of truthful language.
When the St Louis arrived in Cuba the government announced that visas issued before May 5 had been invalidated retrospectively. Does this not rhyme with changes to our processing protocols for those who had already arrived?
The Captain of the St Louis, Gustav Schröder, was determined that his passengers would not be returned to Germany. They were finally accepted, as a one-off gesture, by various countries in Europe. Many found themselves in Belgium and France; both of which were invaded just a few months later. After the invasions the former passengers were returned to concentration camps. Approximately a quarter of all the ship's passengers died in concentration camps after having glimpsed freedom whilst anchored in Havana harbour.
The successful turning back of the St Louis saw the end of the large flows of desperate human beings out of Germany. As a result a large number of people who could have escaped were murdered.
After the war, as the stories of what went on in Germany made their way to the wider world, and as the world came to understand the fate of the St Louis passengers - how close they had come to finding asylum - there was much soul searching. As a result the fledgling UN determined that such events would not be repeated and the UN Refugee Convention was born. It was meant to signify that we had learnt a lesson and were determined to be compassionate. Australia was one of the leaders of that project.
Through the existence of the UN Convention on Refugees the world likes to believe that we learnt a lesson from the turning back of the St Louis, but I suggest that this rhyming tale tells us that we haven’t.
History is not repeating itself because we live on the other side of the world’s reflection on the fate of the refugees on the St Louis. Our rhyming with history cannot be as innocent or naïve as the experience of those who turned back the St Louis. Through the UN refugee convention the world has faced this demon and found a solution. Our actions have the light of history shining on them.
Peter Catt is Anglican Dean of Brisbane. He is chair of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce and president of A Progressive Christian Voice (Australia). | <urn:uuid:8e0681eb-5dc4-4369-8465-25fd1cb6f0eb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/refugee-policy-has-familiar-ring-to-it-20140520-zrj8e.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00048-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98654 | 1,054 | 2.90625 | 3 |
|Binomial name||Hippopotamus amphibius|
Hippopotamuses (from the Greek for 'River Horse') are large herbivorous semi-aquatic African mammals, and the only four-toed ungulates. Once living in northern Africa, the hippopotamus is now only found south of the Sahara. The hippopotamus may have been the behemoth mentioned in Job 40:15-24. The hippopotamus and pygmy hippopotamus are the only living species, a small number of extinct species are also known from fossils.
Hippopotamuses may weigh up to 7000 pounds and reach 5 feet in height. They live in schools and submerge themselves in rivers to protect themselves from the sun, coming up for air every 5 minutes or so, although they are able to remain submerged for up to thirty minutes.
Hippos are born underwater and have to swim to the surface to breathe. They are also able to suckle underwater. | <urn:uuid:1ec72ee7-490a-4875-a284-55ac367be005> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.conservapedia.com/Hippopotamus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.813719 | 203 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount of the material available and the demand for it. There are two types of natural resources; renewable resources and non renewable resources
Natural resource are natural capital converted to commodity inputs to infrastructural capital processes. They include soil, timber, oil, minerals, and other goods taken more or less from the Earth. Both extraction of the basic resource and refining it into a purer, directly usable form, (e.g., metals, refined oils) are generally considered natural-resource activities, even though the latter may not necessarily occur near the former.
A nation's natural resources often determine its wealth in the world economic system, by determining its political influence. Developed nations are those which are less dependent on natural resources for wealth, due to their greater reliance on infrastructural capital for production. However, some see a resource curse whereby easily obtainable natural resources could actually hurt the prospects of a national economy by fostering political corruption. Political corruption can negatively impact the national economy because time is spent giving bribes or other economically unproductive acts instead of the generation of generative economic activity. There also tends to be concentrations of ownership over specific plots of land that have proven to yield natural resources. | <urn:uuid:661021d9-85a6-4c57-863d-113de360a550> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://green.wikia.com/wiki/Natural_resources | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00193-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93824 | 269 | 3.796875 | 4 |
A rare thing just happened. A completely intact 70 million year old fossil of a baby Chasmosaurus belli was recently uncovered in a former riverbed by a research team led by Phillip Curie from the University of Alberta. Dinosaur fossils are hard to find, but baby dinosaur fossils are even harder, making this a breakthrough in learning more about the Chasmosaurus belli.
Commonly found in British Columbia, Canada, these C.belli were relatives of the triceratops. Through this discovery, we now have a better idea about their species and how they grew and lived. For instance, their young didn’t have longer legs (to keep up with the adults) like the other baby dinosaurs.
At three years old – which was the age of the fossil when it died – C.belli babies measured 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and would eventually grow to 15 feet (5 meters) long.
Curie believes that the baby didn’t die at the merciless jaws of another dinosaur, but by drowning in the river. The body eventually settled at the bottom of the river where it became fossilized in the sediment, explaining why it was so perfectly preserved.
Also, if you happen to have spent your childhood watching Land Before Time, you’re going to feel immensely sad if you imagine that that fossil could have been Cera.
Via Ifl Science | <urn:uuid:71f092ae-c8d2-45d2-bae7-d8b5dabea64d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lostateminor.com/2013/12/02/perfectly-preserved-baby-dinosaur-fossil/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00171-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970216 | 286 | 3.8125 | 4 |
Philosophy 2200F (001) - Ancient Philosophy
Philosophy 2202G (001) - Early Modern Philosophy
Philosophy 2250 - Logic
Philosophy 2260G - Introduction to Philosophy of Language
Philosophy 2300F - Philosophy of Science
Philosophy 2310F - Philosophy of Physics
Philosophy 2350G - The Darwinian Revolution
Philosophy 2370G - Science and Values
Philosophy 2410F - Philosophy of Emotion
Philosophy 2500G - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge
Philosophy 2557G - Existentialism
Philosophy 2700F - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory
Philosophy 2710F - Reproductive Ethics
Philosophy 2715G - Health Care Ethics
Philosophy 2730G - Media Ethics
Instrutor: D. Henry
This course studies four key movements in ancient philosophy: Platonism, Aristotelianism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. This course will provide students with an introduction to these movements, which helped shape the foundations of Western philosophy and science. We shall examine such questions as: What is the underlying nature of reality? Is the fundamental state of the universe motion or stability? Is knowledge possible? If so, how do we acquire it? Can we have knowledge of a changing world or does knowledge require eternal, unchanging objects (e.g. Plato’s Forms)? What is philosophy and how should it be practiced? What is the nature of happiness and how does one attain it? How many kinds of friendship are there? Is friendship necessary for happiness?
Instructor: B. Hill
A critical examination of key works of selected figures of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Instructor: J. Bell
Logic is the study of valid reasoning. In this course we will study the relation of logical consequence, i.e., the relation that holds between the premises and the conclusion of a valid argument and we will learn methods to assess the validity of arguments. We will study the language of first-order logic, a formal language in which the structure of arguments cna be concisely and perspicuously represented. We will also learn to symbolize formally the structure of arguments couched in natural language and we will study semantic and syntactic methods to assess the validity of formal arguments. Philosophical problems of formal logic will also be discussed and some metatheoretical results proving the adequacy of methods to assess validity will be explored.
Instructor: R. Stainton
A survey of contemporary and historical philosophical works on language. Topics may include: What is a language? How are language and thought related? Does linguistic meaning come from the world, communicative activity, or the mind? Authors may include , among others: Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Austin, Grice and Chomsky.
Instructor: W. Myrvold
A discussion of conceptual problems which fall between science and philosophy, as well as broader epistemological issues concerning theory change and the concept of progress in science.
Instructor: R. DiSalle
An examination of philosophical problems to which modern physical theories of quantum mechanics and relativity have given rise. No previous formal training in physics and mathematics will be presupposed.
Instructor: W. Myrvold
An introduction to the philosophical ideas and questions of the Darwinian Revolution, this course examines the theory of evolution from its roots in ancient philosophy to contemporary debates within biology, with an emphasis on the pivotal work of Darwin himself.
Instuctor:: K. Okruhlik
A study of the relationships between scientific practice, cultural institutions, and human values. Attention will be devoted to such topics as the commercialization of research, military research, genetically modified organisms, and the study of race and gender.
Instructor: L. Charland
Do emotions interfere with reason and morality or are they required for both? Are emotions primarily biological or are they social constructions? These and other questions will be addressed using a variety of readings ranging from contemporary analytic and feminist philosophy to modern neurobiology and psychology.
This course is an introduction to epistemology or theory of knowledge. It focuses on the core questions of epistemology: What is knowledge? What, if anything, do we know? How do we know it? More specific topics include the nature of perception, belief, justification and truth; the sources of knowledge; skeptical questions concerning the extent of our knowledge; and the role of social context as reflected in debates about relativism, social construction, and feminist epistemology. We begin by exploring the history of epistemological thought in Western philosophy, from its roots in Ancient philosophy through to the early 20th century. We then turn to the contemporary scene, examining current debates about the nature of knowledge (a topic of renewed controversy!), naturalized epistemology, theories of truth, and whether justification depends on factors internal or external to the mind of the knower.
Instructor: G. Barker
Instructor: H. Fielding
We will consider the meaning of human existence, including issues of freedom, agency, and relations among humans. Drawing on classic and contemporary texts, such as those from Nietzsche, Sartre, and Beauvoir, among others, this course will consider how we meaningfully encounter our world and interact and engage with others.
Instructor: A. Skelton
Critical study of the nature and justification of ethical and value judgements, with an analysis of key concepts and a survey of the main contemporary theories.
Instructor: C. McLeod
A study of current issues in reproductive ethics, such as abortion, prenatal diagnosis, and infertility treatment. Appropriate methods for approaching these questions and for dealing with complex issues in bioethics generally are examined.
Instructor: C. Weijer
Ethical issues in health care represent some of the most pressing issues faced by Canadians. In this course, students will learn about the most important bioethical issues across the human life span, from conception to death. The course is recommended for students considering a career in the health professions, or those who seek a deeper understanding of contemporary social issues. No background in philosophy is assumed.
Instructor: D. Proessel
A study of ethical issues in media, including such topics as: the reasonable limits of free expression; intellectual property and the public domain; official secrets and access to information; regulating online content; commercial databases and informational privacy; cameras in the courtroom; plagiarism and piracy; defamation; hactivism and the hacker ethic. | <urn:uuid:558d6aeb-7def-4eb1-8010-5a8402fe0132> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://uwo.ca/philosophy/undergraduate/courses/2200_level_courses.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.886886 | 1,357 | 2.953125 | 3 |
kfb around - 12
k1, kfb around- 18
k2, kfb around - 24
k3, kfb around - 30
k4, kfb around - 36
Okay, you cast on 6 stitches and then knit in the front and back of each stitch on the first round.
By the way the use of the work round indicates that you should probably be doing this in the round, as in using 4 double pointed needles or some other method of working a small circumference in the round.
After that first round you knit a round where all you do is knit all the way around.
Then you knit a round of K1 and then knit in the front and the back of the next stitch and alternate those 2 directions all the way around. You then do a round of just knit.
You keep increasing every other round adding one more knit stitch between the increases. The number at the end of the line tells you how many stitches you will have at the end of that round.
If you haven't done circular knitting like this go to this page
for a free video of how to do it. Scroll down to "Small Diameter Circular Knitting". It is not all that hard, you still just work on two needles at a time, and you never have to purl. :-) | <urn:uuid:549ad618-ed07-46d8-a1b3-bc22963e48cc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85967&goto=nextoldest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00199-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928704 | 271 | 2.640625 | 3 |
This "Explainer" is drawn from "Terrorism: Questions and Answers," the Council on Foreign Relations' online encyclopedia of terrorism. Click here for the full site.
Two bombs exploded in Villavicencio, Colombia, on Sunday, killing 12 people. Police blamed the attack on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—or, as it's known by its Spanish acronym, FARC. What is FARC?
FARC is Colombia's largest and best-equipped rebel group, with some 18,000 members. It operates in about half the country, mostly in the jungles of the southeast and the plains at the base of the Andes mountains. FARC is responsible for most of the ransom kidnappings in Colombia; the group targets wealthy landowners, foreign tourists, and prominent international and domestic officials. It has also engaged in airline hijackings, extortion schemes, and assassinations. In 1997, the State Department added FARC to its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
FARC formed in 1966, bringing together Communist militants and peasant self-defense groups. Members say they represent the rural poor against Colombia's wealthy classes and oppose the privatization of natural resources, multinational corporations, and rightist violence. They also oppose American influence in Colombia, particularly Plan Colombia, the United States' $1.3 billion initiative to equip the Colombian military to eradicate coca.
How does FARC sustain itself? Experts estimate that the group takes in $200 million to $400 million annually—at least half of its income—from the illegal drug trade. FARC also profits from kidnappings, extortion schemes, and an unofficial "tax" it levies in the countryside for "protection" and social services.
In 1999, during peace negotiations between the Colombian government and FARC, President Andrés Pastrana ceded control of an area twice the size of New Jersey to FARC. After three years of fruitless negotiations and a series of high-profile terrorist acts, Pastrana ended the peace talks in February and ordered Colombian forces to start retaking the FARC-controlled zone. Experts say FARC is stepping up terrorist activities in urban centers leading up to Colombia's May presidential elections. | <urn:uuid:6156df56-04fd-40ce-97cd-e9a51ae788fe> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2002/04/what_are_the_revolutionary_armed_forces_of_colombia.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939435 | 444 | 2.953125 | 3 |
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The California Highway Patrol is launching a campaign this week to raise awareness about the dangers of driving while drowsy.
Monday marks the start of the National Sleep Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, and the CHP is reminding drivers of the potentially deadly consequences of getting behind the wheel while sleepy.
“Fatigued drivers are a safety risk on our roadways,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “If you are tired, reaction time and judgment can become impaired. Tired drivers behave similarly to those who are intoxicated.”
In 2010, there were more than 3,600 collisions statewide involving sleepy drivers. The crashes caused 32 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries, according to the CHP.
The CHP and National Sleep Foundation encourage drivers to take steps to reduce their risk of falling asleep.
That includes getting seven to nine hours of sleep before driving, avoiding driving at times when one would normally sleep, avoiding alcohol or medications that may cause drowsiness, and making sure to take breaks every 100 miles or so on long road trips.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:9e4dd2a1-281c-4672-a210-ca6f961be586> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/11/12/chp-launches-campaign-targeting-drowsy-driving/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936105 | 265 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opioid that is most commonly used to treat people withdrawing from opioids. In lower doses, buprenorphine may be used as a painkiller. Buprenorphine is a partially activating opioid with high binding potential. This means that it does not bind to all of the opioid receptors in the brain, which results in a lack of common opioid side effects. Although the user may experience mild euphoria and pain tolerance, it is minimal in comparison with full-binding opioids such as heroin or morphine. Someone who is taking buprenorphine may not be able to achieve a high off of other opioids, as it blocks binding receptors.
Suboxone and Subutex
The two most common forms of buprenorphine in the United States are sublingual tablets marketed as Subutex and Suboxone
. Buprenorphine is the sole active ingredient in Subutex. However, Suboxone also contains Naloxone. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, added to discourage abuse of the drug. Taking more Suboxone than prescribed or using it intravenously may result in rapid opioid detox. The high dose of naloxone antagonizes the opioid receptors and evicts all opioids from the body. Some doctors prescribe these drugs for short-term use during the withdrawal period. Other doctors prescribe Buprenorphine as a long-term treatment that can last months or even years.
Side Effects of Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine has become the leading choice for addiction therapy, as its effects are relatively mild. However, many users report going through serious withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of buprenorphine. Similar to other opioids, the user may experience nausea, sweating, muscle weakness, and irritability. However, the strong majority of users who experienced the withdrawal symptoms still recommend its use, as the effects are generally far less severe. Short-term side effects include sweating, constipation, and dry mouth.
The long-term effects of buprenorphine have not been studied extensively due to their short time on the market. However, experts suggest that they may be similar to those of other opioids. Upon cessation, some long-term effects of buprenorphine may persist. Depression, fatigue, and insomnia are the three most commonly reported symptoms. Some people experience nausea, confusion, and physical weakness. Studies are continually conducted to determine the long-term effects of buprenorphine and in time conclusive evidence will be attained. | <urn:uuid:97797876-7c2a-4bad-89bb-12a112c54630> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.treatment4addiction.com/addiction/opiod/long-term-effects-buprenorphine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955609 | 523 | 2.734375 | 3 |
|William Collins, British Frost Scene, 1827|
January 1814 brought serious winter weather to England. Accounts occupy several pages in the Chronicle section of the 1814 Annual Register, continuing into February. You can follow the story starting here.
Illustration: William Collins, British Frost Scene, 1827, courtesy Yale Center for British Art.
Please click on illustrations to enlarge. | <urn:uuid:3297d861-e788-42c8-a65e-2ef8b39768b0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/2013/01/snow-and-ice-in-1814.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00114-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.878969 | 78 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Top to bottom:
Detail, Battle between Zanga and Awkhast; Detail, Bowl ;
Detail, Habib Al-Siyar, Volume 3
View images from this performance
Read more about this performance
Sufi Music from Iran: Persian National Music Ensemble
Music and Dance in Persian Art
Persian music comes to life in paintings of religious rituals, court life, romantic legends, and major battle scenes dating after the fourteenth century. More than a dozen musical instruments are depicted, including a now-extinct harp (chang) as well as many others still in common use, such as the setar (lute), qanun (plucked zither), ney (flute), kamanche (fiddle), and doira (large tambourine).
- chang (ancient harp)
- setar (long-neck lute)
- barbat (bent-neck lute)
- kamanche (fiddle)
- qanun (plucked zither)
- ney (end-blown flute)
- surna (double reed, shawm)
- karna (long trumpet)
- long curved trumpet
- short curved horn
- doira (large tambourine)
- daff (frame drum)
- zarb (hour-glass drum)
- barrel drum
- tabira (kettle drums)
Sufi rituals with music and dance are depicted in a number of artworks from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In one painting, five Sufi dancers (two dressed as horned animals) move in a circle, joined by a percussion ensemble of zarb, doira, and barrel drum. In a six-volume collection of poetry and philosophy by the great Sufi writer Rumi (1207–1273), five dancers move to the music of ney and doiras, while a prince is enthroned. A mystical treatise known as the "Effulgences [radiant splendors] of Light" depicts two allegorical court scenes; one features a setar accompanied by doira, the other has a doira and perhaps two singers. In a manuscript of the Shanama (Book of kings), two angels seem to be dancing to the music of qanun doiras. An ink-and-color drawing shows a single Sufi devotee blowing a curved horn. The prophet Solomon ascends to heaven to the sound of angels playing ney, doira, barbat, and karna in the only painting in our online collection that combines quiet court instruments with loud battle instruments. A very different sort of image from the fifteenth century, influenced by Chinese and Central Asian styles, shows a demon playing the kamanche (fiddle).
Court Life and Legends
In the context of music, perhaps the most important Persian king was the Sassanian ruler Khusraw Parviz, who reigned from 590–628. His chief court musician, Barbad, is credited with organizing Persian classical music into seven royal modes, thirty melody types, and three hundred sixty melodies. Two paintings from the Shanama (Book of kings) show Khusraw hosting the legendary hero Rustaw. In a fourteenth-century image, the two are entertained by music on barbat, chang, and perhaps ney. In a late fifteenth-century rendering, they are serenaded by barbat and daff. Two paintings show musicians in the context of Khusraw's legendary romance with the Armenian princess Shirin. In one, the two are entertained by dancers and chang music. In another, they feast at a desert encampment while serenaded on chang and doira. A similar chang appears in a bowl from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, rendered in a Chinese manner.
The fifth-century king Bahram Gur, a renowned predecessor of Khusraw, is the subject of numerous images with musical content. According to legend, he had seven castles, each painted a different color and housing a different royal mistress. Each also seems to have provided a different music ensemble for the king and his princess to enjoy. In three paintings from a 1548 manuscript, his yellow pavilion houses musicians on qanun and kamenche. His red pavilion features music on the kamenche alone. His turquoise-blue castle comes with a setar soloist. In each castle, the soloists are accompanied by doira. Two slightly later paintings show the red pavilion with musicians on qanun, kamanche, chang, and daff, while his black castle has kamanche and doira as well as dancers and possibly singers. Two unrelated paintings of Bahram Gur show him being entertained by barbat players, one of them female.
Various other court scenes, unrelated to Khusraw or Bahram Gur, provide further evidence of music's central place in court life. An especially clear rendering is a late sixteenth-century painting showing an ensemble of barbat, chang, ney, qanun, and doira. A musician playing setar is depicted in the border surrounding a seated princess. It may show that music is among her hallucinatory visions induced by wine. Instruments are smaller or less clear in several other court paintings, including those of a father and son, a ruler in a garden pavilion, and a prince and his attendants.
Battle and Sport Scenes
Like scenes of religious and court life, depictions of battles usually include musical instruments. Paramount among these very loud instruments are the karna (long trumpet) and the tabira (kettle drums), but also depicted are the surna (double reed) and curved trumpets. An especially dramatic image of the karna is from a late fifteenth-century Shanama (Book of kings). Other clear images of karna and tabira are sixteenth-century depictions of such ancient battles as Alexander's assault on the Zangis, a battle against the Byzantines for Aleppo, and Kushraw's conflict with and victory over Bahram Chubina. An unnamed battle scene from a Shanama (Book of kings) features black musicians. The curved trumpet and surna are depicted in a battle from the legend of Majnun and Layla and in another folio from a Book of kings.
The only other settings in which these loud instruments are seen are a polo match, with sorna and tabira, and the depiction of the prophet Solomon's ascent to heaven, referenced earlier. Solomon's ascent is the only painting in our online collection in which quiet court instruments and loud battle music appear together.
Compiled by Michael Wilpers, performing arts programmer, with assistance from Moonsil Lee Kim.
Return to Podcasts Main Page | <urn:uuid:9d52e1d3-563b-40f4-bac0-cc6ed8ffe645> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.asia.si.edu/podcasts/rumi_related.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950315 | 1,407 | 3.359375 | 3 |
The History of Yud-Tes Kislev.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad- Lubavitch Chassidism, was arrested, persecuted, and imprisoned in the year 1798 for his selfless efforts to strengthen the Jewish people and to disseminate Chassidic teachings.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman's arrest imperiled not only his own life, but also the future of Chassidism.
On the 19th of Kislev that year, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi was freed from his severe imprisonment in Petersburg, Russia, cleared of charges and with his teachings vindicated. This book explores this noteworthy turning point in the Chasidic movement, and its importance as a milestone in Jewish History.
|Ships Free?||Eligible for Free Shipping|
|Author||A. Chanoch Glitzenstein , J. Immanul Schochet|
|Dimensions||6.5" X 9.5"| | <urn:uuid:251f69cb-a75f-481f-a675-f932e365b282> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eichlers.com/books/books/chassidus/the-arrest-and-liberation-of-rabbi-schnuer-zalman-of-liadi-the-first-lubavitcher-rebbe-hardcover.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928862 | 213 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Summary: Critics of China often cite its high level of corruption as a limiting factor to its growth, or a possible cause of its fall — or even disintegration. Like so many of American’s views about China, it’s false. Probably a way to diffuse awareness that a powerful rival has emerged on the world stage. Here we compare China’s corruption to that of America’s past — and present.
- China today
- Late 19th century America
- America today
- For More Information
(1) China today
“Is Corruption in China ‘Out of Control’? A Comparison with the U.S. In Historical Perspective“, Carlos D. Ramirez (Assoc Prof Economics, George Mason U), 4 December 2012 — Abstract:
This paper compares corruption in China over the past 15 years with corruption in the U.S. between 1870 and 1930, periods that are roughly comparable in terms of real income per capita. Corruption indicators for both countries and both periods are constructed by tracking corruption news in prominent U.S. newspapers. Several robustness checks confirm the reliability of the constructed corruption indices for both countries.
The comparison indicates that corruption in the U.S. in the early 1870s — when it’s real income per capita was about $2,800 (in 2005 dollars) — was 7 to 9 times higher than China’s corruption level in 1996, the corresponding year in terms of income per capita. By the time the U.S. reached $7,500 in 1928 — approximately equivalent to China’s real income per capita in 2009 — corruption was similar in both countries.
The findings imply that, while corruption in China is an issue that merits attention, it is not at alarmingly high levels, compared to the U.S. historical experience. The paper further argues that the corruption and development experiences of both the U.S. and China appear to be consistent with the “life-cycle” theory of corruption — rising at the early stages of development, and declining after modernization has taken place. Hence, as China continues its development process, corruption will likely decline.
(2) Late 19th century America
This unflattering comparison of modern China with late 19th century America should not surprise us. Post-civil war America (especially the Gilded Age) America was a horror show. Public and private force was used to suppress Blacks, American Indians, Asians, and workers (see the Wikipedia entry, also for the1892 Homestead Strike and the 1894 Pullman Strike). When the cavalry arrived, it was often to help the bad guys (or one of the groups of dueling bad guys, as in the Lincoln County War).
Justice was for sale. Public resources were for sale through bribery. The government itself was for sale (or lease). Only national amnesia makes this era a subject of pride instead of shame.
This makes our recovery during the next century even more impressive (1900 – 1970; the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the post-WWII renaissance) . We can learn must from our history; our amnesia is among our greatest weaknesses.
(3) America today
We have come far from the Gilded Age. But not as far as we think.
- We boast about our fine accounting standards. But the bursting of the tech and real estate bubbles resulting in massive restatements of corporate books — revealing massive fakery of the books of our leading corporations.
- The real estate bubble resulted from massive fraud in the mortgage underwriting process (especially loan origination and property appraisals) and, later, the foreclosure process (eg, fraud and perjury by mortgage servicers in the documentation).
- The defense industry is little but a on-going process of systematic corruption.
- The FBI’s Abscam sting (1978-1980) proved how easily — and cheaply — Federal officials could be bribed. We can only imagine how many could be caught from a large-scale and sustained anti-corruption program.
Perhaps the key difference between China and the US is that we’ve normalized corruption. Our representatives in Washington take money through their campaigns (easily converted to personal use) and spouses (rumors abound of the lavish incomes of Washington spouses from what are in effect bribes). Mid-level and senior officials ride the revolving door from public service to personal profit.
This is yet another aspect of the odd parallels between China and America. Two very different societies, yet in some ways oddly similar. For more about this see Are America and China secret twins? The similarities are striking, but we don’t see them.
We must do better if we seek to remain a global hegemon in the 21st century. The competition will be strong.
(4) For More Information about China
- China – the mysterious other pole of the world economy,
22 July 2009
- Another big step for China on its road to becoming a great power, 27 July 2009
- Will China collapse?, 5 August 2009
- A revolution is not a dinner party. Thoughts about the future of China, 19 August 2009
- Update about China: a new center of the world, 13 December 2009
- China moves to the center of the world. America moves to the edge, 6 January 2010
- Why China will again rise to the top, and their most important advantage over America, 11 November 2010
- Will China become a superpower?, 9 September 2011
- What China Wants Us to Understand about China’s Rise, 12 March 2012
- Are America and China secret twins? The similarities are striking, but we don’t see them., 17 May 2012
This piece is cross-posted from Fabius Maximus with permission. | <urn:uuid:29dd67ba-2511-4719-ad63-9efe2c5da8e4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2012/12/does-corruption-limit-chinas-growth-or-pose-a-threat-to-its-existence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938427 | 1,189 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Latest Updates on Hunt The West
Oregon Releases 18 Goats in Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness
August 11, 2009.
ODFW and U.S. Forest Service staff released 18 Rocky Mountain goats into the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness in the Umatilla National Forest during the week of July 20 as part of a continuing effort to establish a population in this area.
The goats were captured in the Elkhorn Mountains, which has served as the source population for Rocky Mountain goat reintroduction efforts to other parts of the state, and radio-collared before their release.
Safari Club International, Bend Chapter contributed $260 to purchase a radio collar. A $5,000 grant provided several years ago by the Oregon Chapter, Foundation for North America Wild Sheep (FNAWS) will fund the cost of aerial monitoring (via fixed-wing plane) to track the movements of the newly-released goats. Another $3,300 Oregon FNAWS grant funded the purchase of 10 kid radio collars, four of which were used during this year’s capture and release operation.
Rocky Mountain goats are attracted to salt during the spring and summer so the goats were trapped using a drop net baited with salt. Veterinary staff were present to monitor the goats’ health, collect blood samples for disease screening and administer inoculations to the animals.
Rocky Mountain goats were likely extirpated from Oregon prior to or during European settlement in the late 19th century. The rarest game animal hunted in the state today, only 11 tags are available for the 2009 season. All controlled Rocky Mountain goats tags are “once in a lifetime” so once a hunter draws the tag, he or she may never draw it again.
The present statewide Rocky Mountain goat population is estimated to be 800, the result of efforts like the one that occurred in July. The Elkhorn Mountains wild goat population is estimated to be over 300.
This year’s project was the 17th since efforts to reintroduce Rocky Mountain goats to Oregon began in 1950. That year, five goats were transported from Chopaka Mountain in northern Washington to the Wallowa Mountains by the Oregon State Game Commission (now the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife).
Under ODFW’s Rocky Mountain goat and bighorn sheep management plan, the department transplants animals to help reestablish populations in historic habitat.
Check us out on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HuntTheWest | <urn:uuid:d6411911-ba12-4447-97cd-3c5f79d1d920> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.huntthewest.com/updates2009/ORgoats.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00180-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956878 | 508 | 2.53125 | 3 |
USGS Releases U.S. Oil & Gas Reserve Growth Estimates
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released a new estimate for potential additions to domestic oil and gas reserves from reserve growth in discovered, conventional accumulations in the United States. The USGS estimates that the mean potential undiscovered, conventional reserve additions for the United States total 32 billion barrels (bb) of oil, 291 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, and 10 bb of natural gas liquids, constituting about 10 percent of the overall U.S. oil and gas endowment.
“As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, we are taking aggressive steps to safely and responsibly expand domestic energy production,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “USGS’s ongoing work to identify and estimate U.S. energy supplies – and to make that information available to everyone - is fundamental to our efforts to continue to grow America’s energy economy.”
The U.S. estimates released today are for technically recoverable oil and gas, and do not include reserve growth estimates for Federal offshore areas. These estimates were made using a new assessment methodology developed by the USGS.
Reserve growth is the increase in estimated volumes of oil and natural gas that can be recovered from discovered (known) fields and reservoirs through time. Most reserve growth results from delineation of new reservoirs, field extensions, or improved recovery techniques, thereby enhancing efficiency, and recalculation of reserves due to changing economic and operating conditions.
"By providing geologically based, domestically consistent estimates of the potential additions of oil and gas from the growth in reserves in known fields, and placing that information in the public domain, we are furnishing a valuable projection on how much and where fossil fuels may be produced in the future," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "When combined with our estimates of undiscovered resources, policy makers can obtain a more complete picture of domestic, technically recoverable oil and gas."
These volumes represent an estimate of the potential future growth of current U.S. reserve estimates over time based on current technologies, and greater understanding of current reservoirs, among other advances. For comparison, the current mean USGS estimates for undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil and gas resources from onshore and underlying State waters are 27 bb of oil and 388 tcf of natural gas, respectively.
Reserve growth is a component of the overall oil and gas endowment, but is distinct from reserves and from undiscovered, technically recoverable resources – all three important but separate measurements used in efforts by industry and government to make energy decisions based on the best available science.
Unlike past estimates of reserve growth that relied on statistical extrapolations of growth trends, the new USGS assessment is based on detailed analysis of geology and engineering practices used in producing fields. The assessment uses both published and commercial sources of geologic information and field-production data.
|Region||Mean Barrels of Crude Oil||Mean Cubic Feet of Natural Gas||Mean Barrels of Natural Gas Liquid|
|1. Alaska/Pacific Region||20bb||32tcf||1bb|
|2. Colorado Plateau/Basin & Range||2bb||18tcf||1bb|
|3. West Texas/Eastern New Mexico||4bb||52tcf||3bb|
|4. Gulf Coast||3bb||144tcf||4bb|
|5. Midcontinent/Eastern Region||2bb||45tcf||1bb|
Continuous, or unconventional, oil and gas accumulations, such as shale gas, tight gas, and tight oil were removed from the data set for this study. No attempt was made to estimate the economic viability of the recoverable oil and gas as part of these future projections.
“Today’s estimates are more good news for U.S. energy security, and affirm the need for the all-of-the above energy strategy that the President has implemented,” said Salazar, noting that U.S. dependence on foreign oil has gone down every year during the Obama Administration, including a reduction in net oil imports by ten percent – or one million barrels a day – in the last year alone. Total oil production from federal lands and waters has increased 13 percent during the first three years of this Administration, compared to the last three years of the previous Administration. Oil production in the first quarter of 2012 was higher than any time in the last 14 years and natural gas production is at its highest level ever.
Estimates of reserve growth for the world, excluding the United States, were released in June 2012 and total 665 bb of oil, 1,429 tcf of natural gas, and 16 bb of natural gas liquids.
USGS is the only provider of publicly available estimates of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources and reserve growth of the world, exclusive of the Federal offshore. This U.S. assessment was undertaken as part of a project assessing U.S. petroleum basins using standardized methodology and protocol.
To learn more about this or other geologic assessments, please visit the USGS Energy Resources Program website. Stay up to date with USGS energy science by subscribing to our newsletter or by following us on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:df3d487f-b26e-4087-b20c-6b758b3b3371> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.akbizmag.com/Alaska-Business-Monthly/August-2012/USGS-Releases-US-Oil-Gas-Reserve-Growth-Estimates/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935626 | 1,105 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Hurricane Earl is on a path that could take it near North Carolina's Outer Banks (map) late this week—and unusually warm Atlantic waters mean the storm could stay a major hurricane as it travels northward along the U.S. East Coast.
As of 11 a.m. ET today, Hurricane Earl's strongest winds were blowing at 135 miles (217 kilometers) an hour, making it a Category 4 storm.
Hurricane Earl became the fifth named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season Sunday, sweeping into the Caribbean and north of Puerto Rico Monday.
Earl's eye—which contains the storm's most intense winds—will probably stay offshore as the storm roars past the Outer Banks Friday, said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for the website Weather Underground.
A slight jog to the west could bring the eye ashore on the North Carolina coast late Thursday night or early Friday morning, but there's only about a 10 percent chance of that happening, Masters said.
Still, even if Hurricane Earl's eye stays offshore, North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic coast are likely to experience winds of at least 35 miles (56 kilometers) an hour as the storm passes northward.
Hurricanes draw their strength from warm ocean water, and Hurricane Earl is expected to maintain its intensity thanks to unusually warm Atlantic waters, which are currently two to four degrees Fahrenheit (about one to two degrees Celsius) above normal, Masters said.
Although Earl could weaken some as it moves northward, the exceptionally warm waters are likely to keep the hurricane's strongest winds stoked to at least 111 miles (178 kilometers) an hour, making it a Category 3 hurricane well north of North Carolina, Masters said.
"You usually don't expect a Category 3 hurricane north of North Carolina," Masters said. "There's an excellent chance that Earl will be a Category 3 or maybe a Category 4 until it reaches New Jersey. That only happens once or twice a decade."
The last time a Category 3 storm made landfall in North Carolina was in 1996, when Hurricane Fran came ashore near Wilmington (map).
Earl could ultimately make landfall Saturday morning in Nova Scotia, Canada (map), as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of at least 75 miles (120 kilometers) an hour.
Meanwhile, an earlier storm, Hurricane Danielle, has dissipated harmlessly over open water in the North Atlantic. Tropical storm Fiona, which formed yesterday, is not expected to strengthen significantly, and that storm also remains well offshore of the U.S. | <urn:uuid:ab3339e5-ce2a-4fea-86d7-80a099dd1b25> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/100831-hurricane-earl-path-carolina-weather-science-environment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95485 | 510 | 2.640625 | 3 |
A study of the 2009 H1N1 or “swine flu” virus at University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has identified a group of immunologically important sites on the virus that are also present in seasonal flu viruses which have been circulating for years. These molecular sites appear to result in some level of immunity to the new virus in people who were exposed to the earlier influenza viruses.
More than a dozen structural sites, or epitopes, in the virus may explain why many people over the age of 60, who were likely exposed to similar viruses earlier in life, carry antibodies or other type of immunity against the new virus - immune responses that could be attributed to earlier flu exposure and vaccinations.
The researchers - Zheng Xing and Carol Cardona reported their findings online Oct 18 in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [See “Preexisting Immunity to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009”]
"These findings indicate that human populations may have some level of existing immunity to the pandemic H1N1 influenza and may explain why the 2009 H1N1-related symptoms have been generally mild," Cardona said.
"Our hypothesis, based on the application of data collected by other researchers, suggests that cell-mediated immunity, as opposed to antibody-mediated immunity, may play a key role in lowering the disease-causing ability, or pathogenicity, of the 2009 H1N1 influenza," Xing added.
He noted that immune responses based on production of specific cells, known as cytotoxic T-cells, have been largely neglected in evaluating the efficacy of flu vaccinations. In this type of immune response, the T-cells and the antiviral chemicals that they secrete attack the invading viruses.
About 2009 H1N1 Influenza
The 2009 H1N1 virus is a new strain of influenza that first appeared in the United States in April 2009. Early on, it was referred to as "swine flu" because it was genetically similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. Further study, however, revealed that the virus actually included genes from viruses found in birds and humans, as well as pigs.
At first, this H1N1 influenza virus apparently caused a high number of deaths among patients in Mexico and among people with certain pre-existing medical conditions. But as it has progressed to become a pandemic or geographically widespread virus, H1N1 has caused relatively mild symptoms and few deaths.
One hallmark of this new influenza virus, according to the CDC, has been the presence of pre-existing antibodies against the virus in about one third of H1N1 2009 patients over the age of 60, a phenomenon that suggested some levels of immunity may have existed to the new pandemic H1N1 virus.
The UC Davis Research
To probe this phenomenon, the UC Davis researchers surveyed data from earlier studies of epitopes known to exist on different strains of seasonal influenza A. They found that these epitopes, present in other seasonal H1N1 influenza strains around the world and capable of triggering an immune response, were also present in the strains of H1N1 2009 that were found in California, Texas and New York.
Interestingly, although previous H1N1 viruses seem to have produced a protective antibody response in exposed people, these antibodies largely did not provide cross-protection for individuals infected with the H1N1 2009 strain of influenza. The researchers theorize that, rather than stimulating protective antibodies, the epitopes of the new H1N1 2009 virus produced an immune response by triggering production of cytotoxic T-cells, which boost a person's immune defenses by killing infected cells and attacking the invading viruses.
Antibody Versus ‘Cell-Mediated’ Immune Response
Humans can mount two types of immune responses.
• One type is produced when the invading virus triggers production of protective antibodies that circulate in the bloodstream,
• And the other type, described above, is known as a cell-mediated immune response. It is produced when the invading virus triggers the activation of cytotoxic T-cells, a process that helps clear the virus from the body.
Evidence from earlier studies suggests that cytotoxic T-cell immune immunity can be caused by either an active viral infection or by vaccination against such a virus.
Implications for Avian Influenza
The researchers note that about 80 percent of the epitopes found in seasonal influenza and flu vaccine viruses are also present in the highly pathogenic H5N1, or avian influenza, virus. They suggest that:
• These epitopes may have protected some individuals infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus through cytotoxic T-cell immunity.
• However, the H5N1 virus rapidly reproduces itself and spreads so quickly within vital organs that the body may not be able to launch protective immunity, thus accounting for the high fatality rate of avian influenza.
• Furthermore, only a fraction of the human population can recognize the specific epitopes necessary to cause the appropriate protective immune response, which may explain why the H1N1 2009 virus, as well as avian influenza, may vary in severity from person to person.
Xing and Cardona propose that immunity acquired from seasonal influenza or flu vaccinations may provide partial protection for patients infected with the avian influenza virus due to the shared epitopes essential for cytotoxic T-cell immunity.
This is supported by statistics from the World Health Organization indicating that there have been fewer avian influenza infections in people 40 years and older than there were in people under that age, and that the fatality rate of avian influenza was just 32 percent in the older age group but 59 percent in the younger group.
The researchers, therefore, suggest that repeated exposure to seasonal influenza viruses or flu vaccinations may have resulted in cytotoxic T-cell immunity to avian influenza, and that the same type of immunity may also have developed in people exposed to the H1N1 virus.
Funding for this study was provided by grants from the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense, and by the UC Davis Center for California Food Animal Health.
Source: University of California, Davis news release, Oct 13, 2009 | <urn:uuid:133290e8-25f5-46fe-9771-b5d421cd170c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.prohealth.com/library/showArticle.cfm?libid=14974 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959946 | 1,299 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Simon Mundy, in The Creation of Confusion, published in “The Journal”, on 19 September 2008 explains why Intelligent Design, due to its lack of scientific content, is dangerous to our educational system.
To label as “information” the murky doctrine of creationism (now repackaged as “intelligent design”) is ludicrous. The intelligent design movement represents a desperate attempt to accommodate within American schools the religious fundamentalism that is undiminished–even resurgent–in many parts of the country. Clearly, the Christian creation story should be taught in religious education classes, alongside those of the other major faiths. But there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that the Garden of Eden fable should be given no more credence than the Hindu belief that the world rests on the back of an elephant.
As Mundy explains the cost to education is not small:
Simon Mundy Wrote:
. But for a supposedly secular education system to give an artificial impression of high-level disagreement where none exists, at the behest of a fundamentalist religious minority, is inexcusable. To compromise scientific integrity in this way would set a dangerous precedent.
Indeed, to compromise scientific integrity for the sake of some creationists’ faith, whether it be Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism or their scientifically vacuous offspring, Intelligent Design, is inexcusable.
In the mean time, ID seems to be returning to its apologetics roots and betting on the outcome of political races more than on presenting scientific contributions. What choice do they really have? | <urn:uuid:83009c77-04c1-423a-aaa0-4f1288db64a7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2008/09/the-creation-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924359 | 321 | 2.609375 | 3 |
13 May 2008—Next week, scientists will gather at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, to discuss a radical idea in spacecraft propulsion. A Finnish invention known as an electric sail has been designed to propel a space probe through the solar system by repelling the protons contained in the solar wind. If successful, the electric sail would reduce the cost of launching deep-space probes that must carry heavy fuel tanks.
Invented by Pekka Janhunen, a research fellow at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the electric sail produces thrust from the solar wind, comprising high-energy electrons and protons streaming from the sun. The electric sail is similar in some ways to the more conventional solar-sail idea. The solar sail requires a ultrathin aluminized Mylar sail 250 meters in diameter to catch the solar wind, which blows out from the sun at speeds between 400 and 800 kilometers per second. However, no one has ever deployed and tested the solar sail in space, and because of its extreme size, the sail presents a number of engineering problems. But, says Janhunen, the electric sail has many advantages over the solar sail—notably, not having to deploy a gigantic sheet of Mylar in space.
Instead, the electric sail uses 50 to 100 wire tethers, each 20 to 30 km long, that are unreeled in space like a fishing line and kept taut using centrifugal force, by spinning them on a central axis. Each tether is composed of four wires, 20 micrometers in diameter, that are interconnected by other smaller wires. The tethers are kept at a 20-kilovolt potential relative to solar protons. This voltage is achieved by an electron gun, which draws off the electrons from the tethers and fires them into space. The positively charged tethers repel the solar wind protons, thereby extracting momentum from them and producing thrust for the spacecraft.
For the past two years, scientists from the space research department at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, in Helsinki, have been conducting computer simulations, hoping to get their electric-sail concept accepted and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). Janhunen and two other researchers, Giovanni Mengali and Alessandro A. Quarta, from the University of Pisa, in Italy, reported a performance analysis of the electric sail in the JanuaryFebruary 2008 issue of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets . According to their analysis, an electric sail would allow a spacecraft to travel just about anywhere in the solar system without having to carry large stores of liquid or solid rocket fuel. Their analysis shows that the electric sail could accelerate small 10- to 100-kilogram payloads to substantial speeds, even faster than is possible with conventional propulsion systems.
At first glance it might seem that the sail can only propel a craft in a straight line out from the sun. But Janhunen’s simulations show that by tilting the plane of the sail as much as 30 degrees the system allows for attitude course-correction adjustments, which are required to reach most objects in the solar system. ”This thrust vectoring allows one to spiral inward or outward in the solar system,” he says. ”It is not clear how this would be done with a solar sail.”
”Even with the baseline electric sail, one could ferry a multimetric-ton payload from a near-Earth asteroid to Earth orbit in a timescale of a few years,” said Janhunen.
For the electric sail to accelerate, the electron gun has to fire constantly. ”If one stops the gun, the tethers become neutralized by solar-wind electrons in a timescale of about half a minute,” says Janhunen. ”This, however, turns out not to be bad, since it provides us with an interesting electric throttling capability. For example, we can turn off and restart propulsion an unlimited number of times.” (He points out, though, that shutting down the power does not actually slow down the craft.) For Janhunen and his team, this is another selling point of the electric sail compared with the traditional solar sail, which cannot be turned off once it has been opened in space.
Ralph McNutt, project scientist for the NASA Messenger mission to Mercury, says that both the solar-sail and electric-sail concepts should be explored but adds that both have weaknesses. For one, they are both quite large and need to be deployed, even in a test version, rather far out in space. Because Earth’s magnetic field shields easily accessible low Earth orbits from the solar wind, sails would have to be launched into a high, and consequently expensive, orbit. ”By the time a launch vehicle is added, I think one is easily talking tens of millions of dollars,” says McNutt. ”Without an immediate need for development, [the money] will be the biggest stumbling block to even demonstrating that the technology will work.”
Janhunen’s cost estimates are lower—on the order of 5 million euros [US $7.7 million]—provided that his team could freely select where they purchase the parts. ”If we get this amount of funding, we estimate that we can fly a test mission three years from now,” he says.
About the Author
Barry E. DiGregorio is a science writer and astroenvironmentalist from Middleport, N.Y. In the April 2008 issue of IEEE Spectrum, he explained how GPS signals are aiding weather prediction. | <urn:uuid:ed907ba8-c90c-442a-948a-545195f3360a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/scientist-sells-the-electric-sail-for-space-propulsion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94263 | 1,154 | 3.84375 | 4 |
A report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that 90 million Americans can’t fully understand and act upon health information. The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, which sets drug standards, today proposed changes to chip away at some of that confusion, at least when it comes to the labels that pharmacists put on prescriptions they fill.
The USP is offering standards that it says will make label information and instructions more comprehensible. For example, instructions to “Take two tablets twice daily” can raise confusion; saying “Take 2 tablets in the morning and 2 tablets in the evening” makes the numbers more explicit and also specifies exactly when to take the medications.
The recommendations also suggest that if it’s okay with the patient, labels should include the purpose of the drug, and in plain language, i.e. “for high blood pressure” rather than “for hypertension.”
And, the proposed standards recommend formatting that can make labels easier to read, including using regular sentence structure, and laying out labels so users don’t have to rotate the container to read them.
Here are the details of the USP’s proposed standards. The group is taking comments at [email protected] until the end of March. If they are finalized, they could be adopted by state pharmacy boards or other authorities.
Drug confusion bonus: Read how sound-alike drug names can hurt patients. | <urn:uuid:506d5468-3591-4af9-af81-1701ac3f2b91> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/01/03/suggestions-for-making-prescription-drug-labels-more-clear/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912693 | 303 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The confirmed coldest temperature on Earth was recorded in Vostok, Antarctica at a brisk -89.2 degrees Celsius (183 Kelvin). There is an unconfirmed report of the temperature reaching -91 degrees Celsius (181 Kelvin); either way you look at it; you are still freezing your butt off.
The high velocity winds at the South Pole don’t make enduring the cold any easier by the dedicated scientists that work there. Winds can reach a velocity of 90 m/s. These temperatures were recorded during the Antarctic winter in June and July, during the period when the sun never actually rises. Even at its balmiest, Vostok only reaches temperatures of around -25 degrees Celsius (248 Kelvin). When we are looking at temperatures that cold, the Kelvin scale helps make the picture look less bleak; no ominous negative sign out front to make you lose all hope of getting warm. Incidentally, the warmest recorded temperature at Vostok was -19 degrees Celsius (254 Kelvin).
Vostok’s elevation is almost 3500 meters above sea level, and due to the density of oxygen being less towards the poles, the scientists are working at an effective height of 5000 meters above sea level.
Why would we journey to such an inviting place you might wonder? Vostok is located 1300 kilometers from the true South Pole, but is very near the Magnetic South Pole. Scientists study actinometry; the measure of solar radiation in photons, geophysics; the study of the physical properties of the Earth, mainly electrical, gravitational and magnetic forces which also includes seismology, and climatology; the study of weather systems. | <urn:uuid:8399ed3c-a3b8-4fed-911d-8352d6e0218b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.universetoday.com/14510/the-coldest-place-on-earth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00098-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945966 | 335 | 3.421875 | 3 |
I thought I am a person who is comfortable to have around all sorts of characters. A conversation with a woman who emanated envy towards me proved how wrong I was. In fact, after the respective encounter, I remembered about previous situations when I had been uncomfortable around envious people. I started reflecting more on this side in human beings and I identified few reasons for ignoring others’ envy.
The decision to stay away
Not along ago, I was having a smooth flow of discussion with another person. Since my toddler is the main conversation partner, I was excited to discuss with a grown-up, for a change.
When I started rambling about the joy of having my blog, I saw a grimace on her face and envy floating in her eyes. I tried to carry on with the trail of thoughts but the excitement was replaced by the feeling to take distance.
I felt naked, vulnerable and inhibited when my eyes met the envious eyes. Our discussion ended abruptly with an embarrassing silence.
After the incident, I wished I had continued talking, to get to know her better.
Why do we feel envy?
Envy is a negative feeling which occurs when someone lacks another’s quality, achievement or possession and wishes that the other lacked it. This is how researchers Parrott and Smith define envy in their paper, “Distinguishing the experiences of envy and jealousy“.
Another aspect of envy is reflected in a popular Romanian saying, “If my goat died, I wish my neighbour’s goat would die too!”. This saying shows that when people are miserable, they want the whole world to suffer just the same.
The feeling of joy when others go through hard times is expressed in English by the term “schadenfreude”, which has been borrowed from German.
Most likely, linguists can provide similar sayings in other languages which reflect the same dark side in human beings – the envy.
Charles Darwin’s social evolutionary theory explains that envy is rooted in our genes for survival and procreation.
So, every human being experiences envy under different circumstances, whether towards friends who are happily in love, colleagues who have been recently promoted or random strangers who seem to have something we don’t have.
Coping with our own envy is not enough
When I was a child, my mother would tell me, “Don’t be happy about others’ failures!” So, I got the feeling that I have to cope with any seeds of envy that are growing in my soul.
Later on, I read the ten commandments in the Bible and found that envy is one of the sins that God is urging us to avoid.
What my mother didn’t tell me was how to react when I feel spitefulness in people with whom I talk. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek. I did feel the envy like a slap on my face. And I walked away.
Getting inspired by the good
The Bible teaches that we should not be hasty to throw the stone at those in whom we see bad sides, i.e., lying, vengeful, unfaithful, etc.
Instead, we should remember about the benefits of cultivating compassion towards others. There must be something good in each one of us based on which relationships can be built.
If others are envious towards us, most likely they see something in us that they lack. We should only hope that for their sake, they’ll find a way to work on it and find their peace of mind.
Let us be happy, flattered and pleasantly surprised that others want something that we have. This something must be damn good and appealing!
Let us be humble and remember not to make the same mistake as the envious person – avoid comparing ourselves with others. My personal approach is to be aware of the envy resulting from the comparison.
Maybe others are more beautiful. That’s a fact of life. Another fact of life is that others can be more creative, more generous, funnier, smarter, wealthier and so forth.
We are unique in our own way, a blend of virtues and imperfections. Somebody has to be the best at something and it’s absolutely fine if that person is not us.
We can be the best at changing our way of thinking into a more constructive one, by focusing our energy on being a better person than we were yesterday.
I remember writing something similar in a previous post: what if we start looking at others as sources of inspiration for a better self?
I didn’t give a chance to get inspired by the good sides in the person I was talking about in the beginning of the post. Instinctively, I locked her away on grounds of the spitefulness I saw in her.
What should we strive for?
According to Buddhism, the opposite of envy is sympathetic joy, or taking joy in the good fortune of others. I’d like to add another side to the opposite of envy – accepting others’ envy.
Some of us choose to share others’ happiness. In any case, we should not be judgemental on those who are unaware of their envy or unable to do anything about it.
We can only hope that one day, they’ll have the opportunity to get out of the grip of envy and choose the love for others.
How about you? How do you react when you are surrounded by resentful individuals? | <urn:uuid:bdc73a45-b758-421b-8d39-5382fd4b8ca8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.flyingthoughts.net/?p=797 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00166-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967476 | 1,131 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Astronomy buffs who jumped at the chance to use
their home computers in the SETI @ home search for intelligent life in the
universe will soon be able to join an Internet-based search for dust grains
originating from stars hundreds of thousands of light years away.
"In a new project called Stardust @ home, University
of California, Berkeley, researchers will invite Internet users to help them
search for a few dozen submicroscopic grains of interstellar dust captured by
NASA's Stardust spacecraft via a website at
Berkeley. This aerogel array, which was mounted atop the Stardust
spacecraft, was used to collect interstellar dust particles as well as dust from
the tail of comet Wild 2.
Though Stardust's main mission was to capture dust
from the tail of comet Wild 2 - dust dating from the origins of the solar system
some 4.5 billion years ago - it also captured a sprinkling of dust from distant
stars, perhaps created in supernova explosions less than 10 million years
ago. Thanks to a grant from NASA and assistance from the Planetary
Society, however, Westphal and his colleagues at the Space Sciences Laboratory
have created a "virtual microscope" that will allow anyone with an Internet
connection to scan some of the 1.5 million pictures of the aerogel for tracks
left by speeding dust. Each picture will cover an area smaller than a grain of
Read the full press release here (including info on how to participate
in finding specs of space dust in the Aerogel!). | <urn:uuid:378547b9-d7f4-4e14-b678-5d6553594b99> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pcstats.com/NewsViewArch.cfm?NewsID=54715 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916175 | 321 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Wealth and poverty are highly concentrated in Connecticut — more so than in many other large metropolitan areas. And often, those neighborhoods are racially and economically segregated from each other.
For example, 27 percent of top-earning households live in neighborhoods that are predominantly white and wealthy. In other large metropolitan areas, it’s just 10 percent.
Poor residents in greater Hartford and greater New Haven are just as likely to live in an extremely poor, predominantly minority neighborhood as those in greater Detroit or greater Philadelphia.
And there are twice as many affluent — and segregated — neighborhoods in Connecticut as there are poor, segregated ones.
These are findings from a DataHaven study, for which we borrowed methodology from University of Minnesota researchers. They devised a new way of explaining rising neighborhood inequality, highlighting the relative isolation of affluent, white households in 15 major metropolitan areas throughout the United States. We conducted a similar analysis, looking at three metropolitan areas in Connecticut: Bridgeport (Fairfield County), New Haven (New Haven County) and Hartford (Hartford, Tolland and Middlesex counties).
While these three metropolitan areas are not always considered “large” by national standards, Connecticut as a whole is comparable to any large metropolitan area. The crescent-shaped, urban corridor that runs across Fairfield and New Haven counties and then northward to Hartford is larger in population and higher in density than the St. Louis; Portland, Ore; and Baltimore metropolitan areas.
Researchers and policymakers often focus on segregation of racial and ethnic minorities in certain neighborhoods and the disadvantages caused by concentrated poverty. But, in the U.S., those neighborhoods are not as common as the opposite: ones with an unusually large share of wealthy, white households — which are just as important to understand at a local level.
How did we find these segregated poor and rich neighborhoods?
The Minnesota researchers found concentrated affluence by looking for neighborhoods where at least 90 percent of the population is white and the median household income is at least four times the federal poverty line (adjusted for local cost of living). These areas were called “racially concentrated areas of affluence” — or RCAAs.
They found concentrated poverty by looking for neighborhoods where less than 50 percent of the population is white and at least 40 percent of the population has a household income below the federal poverty line. They were called “racially concentrated areas of poverty” — or RCAPs.
Bigger divides in Connecticut than nationwide
When they compared these two groups, they found that these wealthy, mostly white neighborhoods are more common in the U.S. than poor, mostly minority neighborhoods.
In Connecticut, we found that the divide was even starker.
- There are twice as many segregated, affluent neighborhoods — 80 Census Tracts, accounting for 10 percent of the state’s population — as there are segregated, extremely poor neighborhoods — 41 Census Tracts, accounting for 3 percent of the state’s population.
- In Greater Bridgeport (Fairfield County), with many wealthy New York City suburbs, there are nearly seven times more concentrated wealthy neighborhoods than poor ones.
We also created a third category of neighborhoods — called “near-RCAPs.” Like RCAPs, these are neighborhoods in which most residents do not identify themselves as white, but in which a slightly smaller fraction of the population (between 20 and 40 percent) has a household income below the federal poverty line. We created this designation because many studies have demonstrated that neighborhoods with a poverty rate of at least 20 percent are just as susceptible to the challenges of concentrated poverty as neighborhoods with at least a 40 percent poverty rate.
Segregated affluent and poor neighborhoods represent two extremes in Connecticut.
|Category||Poor, segregated||Wealthy, segregated||All CT tracts|
|% of CT population||3%||10%||--|
|Annual Household Income||$22,301||$120,008||$68,519|
|Households earning $200,000+ per year||3%||35%||9%|
While the total population living in poverty is growing more rapidly in suburban areas than it is in cities, the spatial analysis reveals that disadvantaged, racially concentrated neighborhoods are still much more common within older urban centers than in suburbs. Wealthy, segregated neighborhoods are mostly found in suburban towns. Likewise, the rural northeast and northwest regions of the state are mostly devoid of neighborhoods with racially segregated wealth or poverty, at least when considered at the level of a Census Tract.
It’s rare that predominantly white, affluent neighborhoods directly border non-white, impoverished ones — a national trend described by The Atlantic’s City Lab blog, with several neighborhoods usually lying between these two types of neighborhoods. Only in a handful of locations — such Fairfield, Bridgeport and Norwalk — do they border. That said, these neighborhoods often exist in relatively close proximity, as many workers living in Connecticut’s poorer, urban neighborhoods commute to its more affluent suburban areas, which tend to have lower-paying jobs than urban centers, and vice versa.
Comparing 'Concentrated Affluence' in Connecticut to Other Large Metro Areas
Connecticut is a wealthy state with a relatively prosperous middle class, often ranking as the top state in the nation on various measures of health and median income. However, it also has among the nation’s highest levels of income inequality. Further gaps in income by race and ethnicity are well known, but the trends behind the uneven geographic distribution of income by neighborhood are less well-documented.
In Greater Bridgeport (Fairfield County) and Greater Hartford, the share of the population that lives in racially concentrated and affluent neighborhoods is higher than that of most other major cities examined in the Minnesota working paper. Statewide, 10 percent of all Connecticut residents live in racially concentrated, affluent areas; in the 15 large urban regions studied in the Minnesota paper, only an average of 3 percent of the population lives in those areas. These trends can be seen when comparing Connecticut regions to other cities:
|Region||Percentage of all residents|
|Greater New Haven||5%|
Looking at the neighborhoods where the top-earning households are provides an additional measure of concentrated wealth.
|Region||Percentage of top-earning households|
|Greater New Haven||14%|
Concentrated Poverty and 'Double Jeopardy'
The study also shows that in Connecticut, a substantial share of the population is exposed to extremely high rates of neighborhood poverty. About 3 percent of Connecticut’s total population lives in these concentrated, poor neighborhoods — a rate that matches that of the University of Minnesota’s 15-region sample.
|Region||Percentage of all residents|
|Greater New Haven||5%|
|Greater St. Louis||3%|
Another indication of concentrated regional poverty is the percentage of poor residents who live in a neighborhood of concentrated poverty. This is sometimes known as “double jeopardy,” because of strong evidence that exposure to multiple layers of disadvantage is more deleterious to health, child achievement and well-being than any single indicator of poverty.
Connecticut fares worse than most of the other large cities in the 15-region sample.
Statewide, 15 percent of Connecticut’s poor population lives in a racially concentrated, poor neighborhood. Poor residents of Connecticut’s neighborhoods face among the highest levels of segregation in the nation, similar to the experiences of those living in Greater Detroit and Philadelphia.
|Region||Percentage of poor residents|
|Greater New Haven||18%|
|Greater St. Louis||13%|
Implications and Conclusion
These poor, racially concentrated areas are often the focus of social policy and urban research. But this means that policymakers may overlook the potential impacts of wealthy, segregated neighborhoods.
A high number of racially segregated, affluent neighborhoods “can inhibit the pursuit of region-wide remedies … [and] a sense of shared destiny within a metropolitan area,” writes University of Minnesota researcher Edward Goetz writes in The Atlantic.
The geographic concentration of wealth may direct resources to a small share of the population that lives there, which over time can further inequalities between rich and poor areas, says sociologist Douglas S Massey. “The social worlds of the rich and poor will diverge … [divorcing] the interests of the rich from the welfare of the poor."
In regions where the wealthiest live separately from the poorest, social and financial resources may not be shared to solve regional issues, which can undermine the economic competitiveness of the entire region — like in Oakland County, Michigan, adjacent to Detroit.
In short, spatial divisions can compound economic or ethnic differences, and undermine efforts to improve the lives of populations that face historic and current disadvantages.
And in Connecticut, the evidence suggests residential segregation of families by income is rising more rapidly than elsewhere. A study by Reardon and Bischoff showed that the proportion of New Haven area families living in either “poor” or “affluent” neighborhoods rose from 6.4 percent in 1970 to 30.5 percent in 2007 — one of the most rapid increases of neighborhood income polarization in the country. An animated map by DataHaven shows the rise of neighborhood-level inequality since 1980.
According to Sarah Treuhaft of PolicyLink, strategies to address racially concentrated affluence and poverty include fair housing and zoning policies that prevent subsidies for new developments that perpetuate existing patterns of segregation, and targeted investments in community development, education, workforce development and transportation in segregated, poor areas to better connect people to economic opportunities.
Additionally, efforts to understand the disparities between neighborhoods in urban regions are crucial to dispel the “[erosion of] empathy” that results from concentrations of affluence and poverty.
Programs like our 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey — a collaborative effort of over 100 partners that will interview nearly 20,000 randomly-selected residents this year to create measures of economic and social well-being across statewide, regional, town, and neighborhood levels – can help identify where equity-driven approaches can make Connecticut a healthier and wealthier place for all residents to live.
Mary Buchanan is the Project Manager and Mark Abraham is the Executive Director of DataHaven, a formal partner of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership with a 25-year history of public service to Greater New Haven and Connecticut. DataHaven's mission is to improve quality of life by compiling, sharing and interpreting public data for effective decision making.
TrendCT publishes contributor posts, as long as they follow our contributor guidelines. | <urn:uuid:2c6cba42-347d-4682-b336-8941b62a34e9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://trendct.org/2015/05/27/connecticut-has-more-concentrated-poverty-and-wealth-than-most-metros/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00148-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928967 | 2,183 | 3.25 | 3 |
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
by Werner Krauss
I am not sure what that exactly means, literally. But, of course, the fragile blue planet formed as a heart helps to explain.
There is also a sign "bike station". You can easily rent a bike in many cities nowadays.
Without being noticed too much, climate change is part of our everyday culture. We should learn more about it.
Read for example this excerpt from a flyer which school children gave to me:
"Climate change was mainly caused by humans. Latest in 10 - 15 years, greenhouse gases will have to be reduced drastically. Otherwise, one third of all animal- and plant species will be extinct. Thus, we have to act NOW".
Where do they know from? What does that mean? This also relates to the recent posting on klimazwiebel of the thesis on what students think about climate determinism. Before critisizing them too early, we should indeed find out in which world young people acutally live. | <urn:uuid:57232cc9-51b3-4f38-8a84-01b6109dc3b2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://klimazwiebel.blogspot.nl/2010/09/climate-in-everyday-life.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966417 | 210 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System. Its roiling clouds and churning gases only hint at the mysteries contained within. The great red spot is a gigantic storm twice the size of Earth that had been raging for hundreds of years. Jupiter is like a miniature solar system. It is orbited by an extensive system of moons, each one a unique world unto itself. The images in this gallery have been hand-selected by Sea and Sky for their visual beauty and represent some of the best views ever obtained of the Solar System. Click on an image above to begin a slide show. Use the buttons under each image to navigate through the slide show. You can use the buttons on the left side of this page to select another image gallery and begin a new slide show. | <urn:uuid:ec56529b-628c-471e-b641-7363b926a042> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.seasky.org/space-gallery/space-gallery-03-menu.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917285 | 156 | 2.53125 | 3 |
GreenView Lawn & Garden - Home / Learning Center / Topics / Weeds & Lawn Problems / Spots on leaves signal disease
Spots on leaves signal disease
Summer is a prime time for spots to start appearing on a variety of plants. These spots can be brown, black, red, yellow, white or multi-colored. They are usually caused by a fungus that affects specific plants. Bacterial and viral infections can also be a cause. The disease may or may not be a serious problem depending on the plant and the actual disease causing the spot. Proper identification is important. Take a sample to your local garden center or extension office if you’re unsure what you’re looking at. After they identify the cause of the spot, they can make recommendations for control if necessary. Some of the diseases only occur during certain conditions or time of year and won’t cause any long-term damage. In those cases, treatment may not be needed.
Powdery Mildew is one disease that
can be a problem on lawns and certain
ornamental plants. This photo demonstrates
all stages of the disease, from the white,
powdery substance infecting some leaves
to the dead, brown blades.
If a control is warranted now, GreenView Turf Fungicide is an excellent choice. There are a number of other steps you can take to minimize lawn disease pressure. Proper fertilization, regular mowing, reduced thatch and increased height of cut will certainly help. Reducing the amount of shade and improving the soil drainage are also key steps. Aerating the lawn will improve drainage. Late summer to early fall is an excellent time to aerate. If your lawn is not looking quite right and you’re curious about potential causes, consider the typical symptoms of these common diseases:
Dollar spot thrives under continuous high humidity and temperatures between 59 and 86 degrees. It is most severe in dry soils and those low in nitrogen. It appears as sunken, circular patches that measure several inches in diameter. The patches turn brown to straw color and gradually come together to form large irregular patches. The disease first appears and can be recognized by small lesions appearing along the entire leaf blade. They turn from yellow-green to straw color with a reddish-brown border.
Fairy ring symptoms may include mushrooms and puff balls in rings. There are usually outer rings that are either dark-green or brown in color. The shape and size of the rings will vary. The rings eventually grow together. Fairy ring usually prefers hot weather, but can appear at other times of the year on cool season grasses.
Necrotic ring spot
Necrotic Ring Spot first appears as thinned yellow to light-green circular patches. They start out at 3 to 15 inches in diameter and can extend out to 3 feet. They eventually turn brown or straw-colored and die. The roots and rhizomes of the affected turf turn brown to black. Less susceptible grasses may survive within the diseased patch giving a “frog-eye” appearance. The frog-eye is formed by a spot of healthy grass in the center of a diseased circular patch surrounded by more healthy grass.
Pythium blight can appear suddenly during hot, humid weather. It first looks like greasy, brown circular spots that range from ¾ to 2 inches in diameter that rapidly enlarge in size. They look water-soaked and dark-colored in the morning and then form fluffy white masses. These patches eventually can grow together and form large, irregular areas of dead turf that appear brownish-orange in color. Poor drainage and poor air circulation favor this disease.
Rusts start out with light yellow flecks on the leaf blades. These flecks enlarge, elongate and turn dark yellow to orange in color. The leaf blades then turn yellow, starting at the tip and progressing to the base. Severe infection causes the shoot to turn yellowish to reddish-brown and slow in growth. As the individual shoots die, the lawn appears to thin out. | <urn:uuid:34215f6c-14d2-4f16-8dbb-8b0111c1dda0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.greenviewfertilizer.com/articles/spots-on-leaves-signal-disease | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933111 | 831 | 3.125 | 3 |
Definition: Defining the Meaning of Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease, also known as Crohn syndrome and regional enteritis, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, and weight loss. Other complications may occur outside the gastrointestinal tract and include anemia, skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, and tiredness.
Crohn's Disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which affects a person over their lifetime. Portions of the person's digestive system become swollen and present deep sores called ulcers.
Crohn's disease is usually located in the last portion of the person's small intestine and the first portion of their large intestine. It can; however, develop anywhere in a person's digestive tract - from the mouth to the anus.
Medical science does not know the causes of Crohn's disease at this time. It may be contacted when the person's immune system has an abnormal response to otherwise normal bacteria that is present in their intestine. Additional forms of viruses and bacteria may also contribute to causing this disease.
Crohn's disease may run in families; the chances of getting this disease are higher if another family member has it. Persons of Eastern European Jewish family background may have a higher potential of getting Crohn's disease. Smoking increases the risk of this disease as well.
Symptoms of Crohn's Disease
Diarrhea and stomach pain are the main symptoms of Crohn's disease; the diarrhea may be accompanied with blood at times. Persons with Crohn's disease may experience diarrhea ten to twenty times per day.
Unexplained weight loss is an additional sign of the disease.
Symptoms which are less common include bowel blockages, mouth sores, anal tears, and openings between organs. Hormonal changes, infections, stress and smoking can cause symptom flare-ups.
Persons with Crohn's disease may experience only mild symptoms, or long periods of time without symptoms. Some people who have Crohn's disease do experience severe, ongoing symptoms.
Awareness of signs that Crohn's disease is worsening is important. If you have Crohn's disease and experience any of the following signs, you need to contact a doctor. These signs include feeling faint, having a fast or weak pulse, or experiencing severe stomach pain. Other signs that require a doctor's attention include fever, shaking chills, and repetitious vomiting.
Diagnosis of Crohn's Disease
The diagnostic process for Crohn's disease involves a physical examination, during which a doctor will ask about the symptoms the person has been experiencing. The doctor may order X-rays, as well as lab tests. The X-rays may involve Barium X-rays of the colon and small intestine. A doctor may order a Colonoscopy or a Flexible Sigmoidoscopy. The doctor may take a small sample of tissue, called a, 'Biopsy,' in order to determine of the person has Crohn's disease or if it is another disease such as Cancer. The doctor may also order a Stool Analysis in order to look for signs of infection and blood in the person's stool.
Treatment of Crohn's Disease
Treatment of Crohn's disease is dependent on the symptoms the person is experiencing, as well as how bad the symptoms are.
Medications are the most common form of treatment for Crohn's disease. Persons who are experiencing mild symptoms of the disease may even be treated with over-the-counter medications in order to stop diarrhea. It is always important to speak with a doctor before taking over-the-counter medications because they may cause side-effects. Prescription medications may also be used to help control inflammation of the person's intestines, as well as to prevent Crohn's disease from causing other symptoms.
Prescription medications may also assist in the healing of damaged tissues; they may postpone the need for surgery as well.
For persons with Crohn's disease who have severe symptoms and for whom medications do not help, stronger treatments may be needed. Intravenous medications may be administered. Surgery to remove a portion of the person's intestine may be performed. Unfortunately, Crohn's disease often returns, even after such a surgery.
Coping with Crohn's Disease
Exercise, healthy foods, taking medications as ordered, and abstaining from smoking can help persons with Crohn's disease to feel better.
Crohn's disease makes it more difficult for a person's body to absorb nutrients from the food they eat, so a meal plan focusing on high-protein, high-calorie foods can help them to receive enough nutrients.
Support from family members and friends can help with the stress of this disease.
Counseling is a helpful option as well. A number of persons with inflammatory bowel diseases seek alternative treatments in order to improve their overall health.
While these forms of treatment have not been proven affective with Crohn's disease in particular, they may help persons with this disease to cope.
Alternative treatments may include consumption of supplements such as vitamins D and B12, and use of herbs like Aloe and Ginseng. Massage therapies have helped some persons with Crohn's disease.
Facts: Symptoms of Crohn's Disease
Symptoms depend on what part of the digestive tract is involved. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and can come and go with periods of flare-ups.
The main symptoms of Crohn's disease are:
- Weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Watery diarrhea, which may be bloody
- Cramp pain in the abdomen (belly area)
- Feeling that you need to pass stools, even though your bowels are already empty. It may involve straining, pain, and cramping.
Other symptoms may include:
- Mouth ulcers
- Swollen gums
- Joint pain and swelling
- Sores or swelling in the eyes
- Rectal bleeding and bloody stools
- Tender, red bumps (nodules) under the skin which may turn into skin ulcers
- Draining of pus, mucus, or stools from around the rectum or anus (caused by something called a fistula)
Statistics: Crohn's Disease
- Twin studies find that if one has the disease there is a 55% chance the other will too.
- Crohn's disease begins most commonly in people in their teens and 20s, and people in their 50s through to their 70s.
- The percentage of people with Crohn's disease has been determined in Norway and the United States and is similar at 6 to 7.1:100,000. The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America cites this number as approx 149:100,000; NIH cites 28 to 199 per 100,000.
- Crohn's disease is more common in northern countries, and with higher rates still in the northern areas of these countries. The incidence of Crohn's disease is thought to be similar in Europe but lower in Asia and Africa. It also has a higher incidence in Ashkenazi Jews and smokers.
- It is rarely diagnosed in early childhood. It usually affects females children more severely than males. However, only slightly more women than men have Crohn's disease. Parents, siblings or children of people with Crohn's disease are 3 to 20 times more likely to develop the disease. | <urn:uuid:11d9a503-57e3-4466-98a0-17b03f72ed56> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.disabled-world.com/health/digestive/crohns-disease/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00054-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959806 | 1,551 | 3.578125 | 4 |
This data set is comprised of optical images of ice core sections, acquired with a digital line-scan camera in the cold room facility at the U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL). Ice core sections are archival cuts which have rough-out rounds of ice with a single plane cut along one side. Ice sections were illuminated with fiber optic light guides connected to a 1000 watt (W) xenon light source. Original scan resolution varies from about 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm, and is documented in the metadata for each image. Images are in uncompressed Tagged Image File (.tif) form, with resolutions of 1.0 mm and 0.1 mm. Depth of image in the ice core is documented in the metadata files for each image.
Data are available via FTP as .tif image files. Supporting information is available as ASCII text files (.txt), and other file formats readable with a freely available image processing program, IceImageJ. | <urn:uuid:c0ba0687-f171-4c01-ac91-9de81a5cdae2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0375 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924334 | 197 | 2.65625 | 3 |
To some, being “ready for kindergarten” conjures the image of a young child with an eager expression and pencil poised, ear tipped towards the teacher in order to hear whatever instruction comes next. To others, it may describe a young child who can’t wait to ride the bus, play with new kids, and finally get to see what is behind the doors of her local school. To others, “school readiness” means being able to recite the alphabet, name colors, and even know your address. And yet, as different as these descriptions are – each focuses on how well the child is prepared.
In the article Children Are Ready to Learn, but Are We? (ZERO TO THREE, September, 2012) authors Mona M. Abo-Zena and Rebecca Staples New discuss how the school readiness movement, originally focused on the child’s abilities or disabilities, has since evolved by considering the roles of the school, the family and the community roles in preparing young children for school success. And yet, the authors note that the movement has lacked an acknowledgement of the powerful effect of building and supporting relationships with parents in order to pave the way for mutual understanding of the child’s strengths, challenges, and need for support. In short, a more comprehensive approach to school readiness includes support for the connections between educators and parents. But in order to make a real impact on school readiness in young children, the authors note that educators must go beyond simple parent communication efforts to create “more respectful and reciprocal relationships” with parents.
If respectful reciprocal relationships between educators and parents are understood as a vehicle for creating greater school success in young children, teacher professional training in building relationships with parents must be seen in a new light. Abo-Zena and New describe a constellation of inter-related areas of professional development, including an educator’s understanding of the importance of culture in potentially divisive topics such as what defines a “good parent” or “normal” child development. The authors also stress the importance of constructive negotiation skills, and a willingness to engage parents in meaningful participation in the classroom and school. While it acknowledges these areas as elements of a significant paradigm shift, the article does not provide insight on where educators can start in making such a transformation.
Because of its base in a relational approach, infant mental health practices may shed light on how to support these skills. Infant mental health practices promote the necessity of understanding one’s own beliefs regarding relationships in order to grow in the ability to cultivate relationships. Self-reflection, shared reflection, and perspective-taking are acknowledged as effective tools for examining one’s beliefs, considering the experiences of others, and imagining how multiple views effect the meaning of such essential relational elements as respect and reciprocity . Any effort to strengthen educators’ ability to develop authentic relationships with parents must provide a focus on these skills, but the investment does not stop there. Self-reflection, shared reflection and perspective-taking are referred to as “practices” because they require time and space in the educators’ professional development and daily schedule. Only then can these practices become tools in the cultivation of the skills necessary in order to make true connections with parents that are in the best interest of the child’s present and future success. With this in mind, the paradigm shift may not only need to occur in the professional development of the teacher, but in the culture of the school and the focus of teacher supervision as well.
Emily Potts Callejas is the Connected Beginnings Training Institute Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Content Manager at the Aspire Institute. In this role, Emily supports the development, adaptation, and delivery of the Institute’s trainings across early childhood and family service settings. Emily’s career has focused on working with administrators, parents, and children in culturally and geographically diverse educational environments to improve educational opportunities. Emily holds an Ed.M. in Risk and Prevention from Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in History from Barnard College. Prior to her work at Connected Beginnings, Emily served as a mental health consultant and materials development coordinator for Family Connections at Boston Children’s Hospital . In this role she worked with both children and adults to address depression and related adversities in Head Start programs. Emily is the co-author of several publications including the Tell Me A Story Materials for Working with Families (Callejas, Beardslee, Ayoub, and Avery) and the Tell Me A Story Materials (Avery, Beardslee, Ayoub, Callejas & Watts).
Mary Watson Avery, M.S, is the Program Manager of the Connected Beginnings Training Institute at Aspire. Mary’s career has focused on work with children birth to 6 years, parent support, and early childhood practitioner professional development. Her special interests include infant mental health practices; the play of typical and traumatized children; therapeutic parent education; coaching practices in early childhood settings; and the mentoring of early childhood trainers. She has been a teacher, administrator and consultant in several urban early childhood programs in New York City and the greater Boston area. Her experience as an early childhood educator has focused on protective childcare as an element of family preservation efforts. Mary has also served on the faculty at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Risk & Prevention Program; and was the Director of Family Connections , a community mental health outreach program targeting parental depression, based at Boston Children’s Hospital . | <urn:uuid:a48a87ee-7957-44fb-87b9-00987f5cc302> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.wheelock.edu/ready-for-relationships-expanding-the-meaning-of-school-readiness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95166 | 1,131 | 3.53125 | 4 |
A broad range of information is used to fully assess the health of Pierce County and measure the success of our collective efforts to improve the health of our communities. Key sources of this information include data around rates and causes of death (also referred to as mortality).
Death rates in the population as a whole help us to monitor the health of Pierce County overall. Monitoring mortality rates among major subgroups allows us to better identify communities at increased risk of death. Understanding around the leading causes of mortality is crucial in efforts to accurately determine and effectively address principal health risks in Pierce County.
Pierce County Death Data
- Animal Bites
- Applications and Forms
- Bat Exposure
- Breast, Cervical & Colon Health Program
- Emergency Preparedness
- Office of Assessment, Planning & Improvement
- Planning for Healthy Communities
- Public Health Data
- Renew Permits Online
- West Nile virus | <urn:uuid:b1abf901-1861-446e-9db3-e4b85e51e47e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.tpchd.org/resources/public-health-data/death-data/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91748 | 182 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The first place among the books used in the divine services
is occupied by the books of the Gospel, the Epistle and the Psalter, which are
from the Bible. The next place belongs to the following books: the Priestís
Service Book (Hieratikon or Sluzhebnik), the Horologion (Book of
Hours), the Book of Needs (Trebnik), the Octoechos, the Monthly Menaion,
the Lenten Triodion and the Pentecostarion. These liturgical books were
composed by the fathers and teachers of the Orthodox Church.
The Gospel is the Word of God. It consists of the
first four books of the New Testament, written by the Evangelists Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels contain an account of the earthly life of our
Lord Jesus Christ: His teaching, His miracles, His Passion and Death on the
Cross, His glorious Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven. At the end of
an altar Gospel book, several tables indicate the portions read on various days
throughout the church year.
The book of the Epistles, or Apostle, contains the
following books of the New Testament: the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic or
General epistles and the epistles of the Apostle Paul. The Epistle book
excludes only the book of Revelation. Like the Gospel, the Epistle is divided
into sections with tables at the back of the book, indicating when and how they
are to be read.
The Psalter is the book of David, the King and
Prophet. It is so termed because the majority of the psalms in it were written
by the holy Prophet David. In these psalms, the holy Prophet opens his soul to
God, with grief in repenting for the sins he has committed, and with joy in
glorifying the endless perfection of God. He expresses gratitude for all the
mercies of His care; he seeks help amidst all the obstacles that confront him.
For this reason the Psalter is used more than any other service book during the
course of the services. For liturgical use the Psalter is divided into twenty
sections called kathismata (derived from the Greek word "to
sit," as it is customary to sit while they are being read.)
The Priestís Service Book is used by priests and
deacons. It contains the order of Vespers, Matins and the Liturgy, emphasizing
the parts said by those serving. At the end of the book are found the
dismissals, prokeimena, megalynaria and a menologion (a list of saints
commemorated daily by the Church.)
The Horologion is the book which serves as the
basic guide for readers and chanters in the choir. It contains the unchanging
parts of all the daily services. The Book of Needs includes the order of
service for the various Sacraments. Other services found in the Book of Needs
are the Burial Service, the Blessing of Water, the
Prayers at the Birth of a Child, the Naming of a Child and his Churching, as
well as blessings for other occasions.
The Octoechos, or Book of the Eight Tones,
contains poetic hymns, in the form of troparia, kontakia, canons, and so forth.
They are divided into eight groups of melodies, or tones. Each tone contains
the hymnody for an entire week, so that the complete Octoechos is repeated
every eight weeks throughout most of the year. The arrangement of
ecclesiastical chanting in tones was the work of the famous hymnographer of the
Byzantine Church, St. John of Damascus (eighth century).
The Monthly Menaion contains the prayers and hymns
in honor of the saints for each day of the year, as well as the solemn festival
services for the feasts of the Lord and the Theotokos which fall on fixed
calendar dates. Following the number of months, it is divided into twelve
The Lenten Triodion contains the special parts of
the services for the season of Lent and leading up to Pascha, beginning with
the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. The Lenten Triodion derives its
name from the Greek word meaning "three odes," since the Canon of
Matins is based on only three of the scriptural odes or canticles, instead of
the usual nine.
The Pentecostarion contains the hymnography used
from the feast of Holy Pascha through the first Sunday after Pentecost, the
Sunday of All Saints.
Return to the first page | <urn:uuid:976ee6c6-0eb4-4507-848c-55cc908fd4bf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/temple/books.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926045 | 1,008 | 2.703125 | 3 |
CLEMSON, SC--In areas of the U.S. where golfers can enjoy the game year-round, winter temperatures, foot and equipment traffic, and frost can wreak havoc on healthy greens and present challenges for course managers and owners.
Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera var. palustris Huds.), a turfgrass commonly used on golf course putting greens, is often preferred because of its year-round green color, ball roll, and playability. But managing bentgrass turf presents unique challenges from temperature fluctuations and frost, which can result in delayed tee times for golfers and lost revenue for course owners. Winter traffic from golfers, equipment, and animals can also cause damage and discolor greens.
In response to this common golf course management issue, researchers at Clemson University initiated a study to determine the impact of foot and mower traffic on winter bentgrass performance. The study determined that time and type of traffic significantly influenced bentgrass winter performance,
"This study indicates bentgrass damage resulting from winter traffic is limited to winter and early spring months, and full recovery should be expected by summer", explained Haibo Liu, lead author of the research study published in the American Society for Horticultural Science journal HortScience. "During winter months, decisions regarding golf course set-up and the timing of play are important when temperatures approach zero degrees Centigrade. Often, tee times (during winter) are delayed or canceled, resulting in lost revenue and tension between golfers and course superintendents."
The report recommended that golf course practitioners should proceed cautiously when allowing traffic on turfgrass immediately after a frost melt, and concluded that, although bentgrass suffers damage and discoloration resulting from winter traffic (in the eastern part of the transition zone), full recovery should be expected in the spring when temperatures remain above freezing.
The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS HortScience electronic journal web site: http://hortsci.
Founded in 1903, the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) is the largest organization dedicated to advancing all facets of horticultural research, education, and application. More information at ashs.org | <urn:uuid:02038384-7fd8-4cea-a5fe-b72f811d9c30> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/asfh-tgi022609.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920014 | 445 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Youtube Nursery Rhymes Wheels On The Bus : Patch For 18 Wheels Of Steel Across America
Youtube Nursery Rhymes Wheels On The Bus
- A simple traditional song or poem for children
- (Nursery rhyme) verse traditionally told or sung to small children. The oral tradition of nursery rhymes is ancient, but new verses have also entered the stream which can be safely called poems of childhood .
- (nursery rhyme) a tale in rhymed verse for children
- The term nursery rhyme is used for ‘traditional’ songs for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the nineteenth century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.H. Carpenter and M.
- YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. The name and logo of the company are an allusion to the cathode ray tube, a display device used since the early days of electronic television.
- Any website that allows users to upload content, particularly YouTube itself; A small video that can be viewed online, particularly one hosted on YouTube; To upload a video of something to YouTube
- Google's web-based streaming video service. Accessible from an Android phone.
- Standard Work Combination Sheet, automatic machine cycle time is shown with a dashed line to indicate that the machine is running on its own.
- South Kona coast, Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park encompasses an ancient Hawaiian area that contains royal grounds and heiau as well as a pu‘uhonua (place of refuge). The ancient heiau and pu‘uhonua have now been reconstructed, along with carved images of ancient gods (ki‘i).
- left side of the screen you can see different product categories. When you click on one of them the products contained in it will be displayed on the right side of the screen and you can scroll down the page to see all the products.
- A circular object that revolves on an axle and is fixed below a vehicle or other object to enable it to move easily over the ground
- steering wheel: a handwheel that is used for steering
- (wheel) change directions as if revolving on a pivot; "They wheeled their horses around and left"
- Used in reference to the cycle of a specified condition or set of events
- A circular object that revolves on an axle and forms part of a machine
- (wheel) a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
- Transport (a child of one race) to a school where another race is predominant, in an attempt to promote racial integration
- Transport in a communal road vehicle
- Remove (dirty tableware) from a table in a restaurant or cafeteria
- a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport; "he always rode the bus to work"
- send or move around by bus; "The children were bussed to school"
- bus topology: the topology of a network whose components are connected by a busbar
youtube nursery rhymes wheels on the bus - The GiggleBellies
The GiggleBellies Musical Adventures
Meet the lovable GiggleBellies! A fresh and modern twist to preschool DVD's and music is finally here. Watch "The GiggleBellies" giggle and wiggle right into your little one's hearts. Engaging award winning animation that combines colorful whimsical worlds, endearing characters, and fun upbeat music that even parents can enjoy! This fully 3D animated music DVD will keep your toes tapping and everyone can join the fun by singing and dancing along. Award Winning DVD! Over 20 combined awards 2010 DVD OF THE YEAR AWARD by Creative Child Magazine, Awarded the Dove "Family-Approved" Seal, KIDS FIRST! Endorsement, Mr. Dad Seal of Approval, 12 Telly Awards and 8 Omni Intermedia Awards. DVD Features: The entire DVD is Approximately 30 minutes and includes 9 fully animated songs including: *The GiggleBelly Train *Old MacDonald Had A Farm *Wheels On The Bus *Peanut *ABC Superstar *Web Footed Friends *Jumping Monkeys *Kooky Bird *Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Downloadable Bonus Freebies (You need a computer with a DVD drive to access these bonus features): *10 coloring pages *9 Fully illustrated lyric sheets *Create your own music CD! (This introductory bonus is only available for a limited time) *2 Fun & fantastic wallpapers.
Crowabout- Week 118 CREDITS: Happy Baby Photo- sassyarts Background- cparmelee1 Pink border- ltl blonde Quilt dog- Buglady1104 Humpty On Wall- gr8plunder Toy blocks- neefer Nursery Rhymes- "T"eresa Nursery Rhyme trading card- gr8plunder Star- cleome1 Sheep- BeckyF Stork Face- mimi1993 House border, city border, scalloped border- Nancy Baumiller
Nursery Rhyme Theme Cookies for Sweet Treats Cookie Challenge 2
Here are my 3 Nursery Rhyme theme cookies. I made these for the Sweet Treats Cookie Challenge, and I can't believe that I actually came FIRST in this catagory! Thank you so much to everyone who voted. There were sooo many wonderful cookies to choose from - I am still in shock that mine won! Thank you everyone.
youtube nursery rhymes wheels on the bus
From nonsense to lessons learned, these 45 rhymes include the very well known (Itsy Bitsy Spider) and the somewhat familiar (Hickety, Pickety, My Black Hen). The truly fantastic pictures speak more than a thousand words as artist Scott Gustafson riffs in paint on themes present and imagined in each verse.
Nursery rhymes are classic, and so are some of the artist's interpretations. But other paintings are surprises, like an anthropomorphic baking bear, a pelican sea captain, and Peter Piper as a pug on two legs. Welcome to a world where "There Was a Crooked Man" is not about a hunchbacked senior but rather a madcap, double-jointed dandy who might be "crooked" in more ways than one. Jack (Be Nimble) is a leaping cricket and Yankee Doodle a fun-loving chipmunk on a fullsize horse.
Scott Gustafson's unique style, influenced by legendary book illustrators Arthur Rackham and N. C. Wyeth, makes this a volume to be treasured by children and illustrated-book lovers of all ages. | <urn:uuid:c253a0c9-c64c-4b89-ae29-3ab79d314135> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://sites.google.com/site/cabarrusmealsonwheels/youtube-nursery-rhymes-wheels-on-the-bus-wheels-on-the-bus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906729 | 1,418 | 3.15625 | 3 |
WWII’s Guardians of the Lost Art: The Artist Warriors Who Protected Italy’s Cultural Artifacts
A group of scholar-soldiers had one of the most important jobs of the war: protect Europe’s greatest art and cultural monuments from the carnage of battle. Robert Edsel tells the story of the Monuments Men at work in Italy in his new book, Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis.
Italy has long been identified by its cultural treasures; Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is but one. Its ancient cities—Rome, Syracuse, and Pompeii; jewel-box towns—Venice, San Gimignano, and Urbino; places of worship—St. Peter’s Basilica, Florence’s Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore), and Padua’s Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel; and iconic monuments—the Colosseum, Leaning Tower, and Ponte Vecchio, have been so studied and admired through literature, verse, and image that they have become the shared heritage of all mankind.
As events in Milan demonstrated, World War II and the new technology of aerial bombardment—in particular, incendiary weapons—posed history’s most lethal threat to that heritage. When the Allies landed in Sicily on the night of July 9–10, 1943, another threat emerged: ground warfare. The Germans were determined to concede not an inch of Italian soil. How many more monuments, churches, libraries, and immovable works of art lay in the path of war? Even then, as the bombing of The Last Supper illustrated, the Western Allies were not immune from mistakes in judgment and execution.
War is many things, but above all, it is messy. Rarely does it unfold as planned. Prime Minister Winston Churchill once observed: “Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter.” Ethical dilemmas arise. Loyalties are tested, but loyalties to whom? Country, cause, or self ? The effort to protect Italy’s cultural treasures during war lived up to Churchill’s admonition.
Few wartime voyages provide such a strange and fascinating story. During World War II, the task of saving Italy’s artistic and cultural treasures fell to a diverse and often surprising cast of characters, including army commanders, Italian cultural officials, leaders of the Catholic Church, German diplomats and art historians, Nazi SS officers, OSS operatives, and partisans. Motives ran the gamut. Not everyone behaved as expected—far from it. But there was also a little-known group of American and British men—museum directors, curators, artists, archivists, educators, librarians, and architects—who volunteered to save Europe’s rich patrimony.
They became known as “Monuments Men.” This middle-aged group of scholar-soldiers faced a seemingly impossible task: minimize damage to Europe’s single greatest concentration of art, architecture, and history from the ravages of a world war; erect repairs when possible; and locate and return stolen works of art to their rightful owners. Their mission constituted an experiment dreamed up by men who at the time occupied offices far away from war. Nothing like this had ever been tried on such a large scale.
At the core of the group were two men whose destinies became intertwined not just with the fate of a nation but also with the survival of civilization’s cultural heritage. Deane Keller, a patriotic 42-year-old artist and teacher with a wife and 3-year-old son, seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, constantly on the move from town to town. Fred Hartt, an impetuous but brilliantly gifted 29-year-old art historian, became so deeply entrenched in the cultural heartbeat of Florence that saving the city’s art became his personal quest, the mission of a lifetime. Thrust together by the democracy of military service, they struggled to survive war, its destructiveness, and, at times, each other.
Robert M. Edsel is the author of the books The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History and Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis. | <urn:uuid:4994dfce-e1df-43e4-8400-e645b51c5d09> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/01/wwii-s-guardians-of-the-lost-art-the-artist-warriors-who-protected-italy-s-cultural-artifacts.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00080-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951802 | 921 | 3.6875 | 4 |
difference between HIV type 1 and type 2
Jan 3, 2006
just wanting to know what difference there is between HIV type 1 and type 2?
Response from Dr. Pierone
HIV 1 was transmitted to humans from Chimpanzees and is the predominant strain of HIV worldwide. HIV 2 was transmitted to humans from the African Green Monkey and is mainly found in Africa. HIV 2 also has a slower course of progression compared to HIV 1.
Get Email Notifications When This Forum Updates or Subscribe With RSS
- White Tongue After Licking Vagina Worried I Have HIV
- How Fast Does Doxycycline Cure Chlamydia?
- Are Lymphocytes High Or Low With Hiv?
- Do Herpes Sores Always Occur In The Same Spots?
- HIV Transmission For The Insertive Partner In Anal Sex
- How Long Before Symptoms Show Up In HIV Positive Person?
This forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not rendering medical, mental health, legal or other professional advice or services. If you have or suspect you may have a medical, mental health, legal or other problem that requires advice, consult your own caregiver, attorney or other qualified professional.
Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither TheBody.com nor any advertiser is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material. | <urn:uuid:e53c35f0-043e-4c4f-af82-b40848bf1f45> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Meds/Q170954.html?ic=4003 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00199-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915405 | 296 | 2.78125 | 3 |
11 to 20 numbers with pictures and number words. Free printable Kindergarten math numbers from 11 to 20 which are suitable for number recognition activities.
Charts with pictures in color such as Dinosaurs, Zebra's, Elephants, etc. Download numbers 11-20. Preview and print here.
About number recognition for kindergarten:
Numbers are important because they are used everywhere in everyday life. With number recognition math worksheets for kindergartner's, your child's awareness with everyday basic numbers will greatly improve.
Description of math activity: Basic number recognition with pictures in printable format suitable for kindergarten.
No of kindergarten math worksheets: 1 worksheet ( 10 pages in pdf format )
Kindergarten Math Numbers: 11-20
These free printable kindergarten numbers from 11 to 20 are created specially for number recognition activities. Numbers in numerals and words with pictures.
Math worksheet format: pdf printable kindergarten worksheets
View kindergarten math worksheets | Download kindergarten math worksheets in pdf
Kindergarten Math Numbers 11-20 - Number recognition activities
Kindergarten math worksheets - Number recognition activities 11-20 - PDF Download
Download the free printable pdf of kindergarten math worksheets / number recognition activities 11 to 20.
Here's more you may like!
Counting green triangle shapes for kindergarten and preschool. This worksheet contains pictures of green triangle shapes. Count the t
Counting yellow stars for kindergarten and preschool. This worksheet contains pictures of yellow stars. Count the total number of yellow s
Counting blue square shapes for kindergarten and preschool. This worksheet contains pictures of blue square shapes. Count the total n | <urn:uuid:78e89214-a1e1-4cde-b3ed-002ba0233ab1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://kindergartenmathworksheets.org/kindergarten-math-numbers-11-20.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.80465 | 351 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Adjectives are words that describe things, such as people, places and feelings. We use adjectives in English as well!
Masculine and feminine
You may need to change the spelling of adjectives depending on whether the thing that you're describing is masculine or feminine.
Feminine words usually need an -e added:
Do not add an -e if the word already ends with one:
All the words for colours can be used as adjectives. | <urn:uuid:f1f3156a-8433-46c9-b275-e3df8b0ac8ad> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gcse.com/french/adjectives.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396455.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934511 | 97 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Tell Me a Story: Bluebird and Coyote (a Cherokee Indian tale)
Long ago, Bluebird's feathers were dull and brown. Some said they looked gray, but others said they were most definitely brown. "Like mud," people said.
Bluebird lived near a wide, beautiful lake, a lake that was the most beautiful color of blue anyone had ever seen. That lake was bluer than the sky, bluer than blue moons, bluer than bluebonnets growing in the nearby meadow. The lake was so blue that whenever anyone passed by, they could not help but stop and stare. All the animals admired the lake, and many stood beside its shores comparing its color to other beautiful things of this world.
"It's bluer than blueberries," the bears said.
"Bluer than blue macaws," said the deer.
"Bluer than our wings," said the butterflies.
"Bluer than sadness," said Bluebird.
The color of that water never changed because there were no streams flowing in or out of the lake.
Every day Bluebird sat in a tree overlooking the lake and looked down, admiring that lake. She sang a song to the lake every single morning. "How lovely it would be to look like you ... if only I were blue, like you."
One day Bluebird decided to swim in the lake. She flew to the shore, held her breath, and dived into the water. She bobbed to the surface and splashed about, singing at the top of her lungs, "If only I were blue, like you ..."
The bears and the deer and the butterflies and all the other creatures of the forest laughed at her, but Bluebird didn't care.
When she was finished, she flew to the top of the tree and shook her feathers dry. But when she looked at them, she saw they were as brown as mud, as brown as a fawn, as brown as a stump. They were as brown as a walnut and brown as the bears. "If only I were blue," Bluebird sang. "How lovely to be blue, like you ..."
Once again the others laughed, and from a distance Coyote watched.
In the morning Bluebird dived in again and splashed about, admiring the blue glistening beneath the bright sunshine. When she flew up to the top of the tree, she shook herself dry and looked at her wings. But they were still as brown as the bears, as brown as prairie dogs, as brown as the branch of the tree on which she perched.
The next day she dived into the lake again, and she splashed about, and afterward she flew into the tree, but her feathers remained brown. The following morning she sang to the lake once again, "One more time ..." She dived, and as she splashed about, she sang, "If only I were blue, like you ..."
Then she flew up to the top of the tree, and this time when she flapped her wings, she was amazed to see they had turned blue! Bluer than blue. The most beautiful blue in the world.
"I'm blue like you!" she sang exuberantly.
Now Coyote came to see all this up close, and when he saw her, he could not believe his eyes. She was beautiful — as blue as blueberries and bluebells and blue moons.
"How did you do that?" Coyote asked.
"I dived in four times," Bluebird said, "and I sang to the lake." And then she taught Coyote her song.
After he had learned the song, Coyote steeled himself. Coyote did not like to swim, but he wanted more than anything to be this beautiful, and so he dived into the lake, and he sang the song. When he walked out, he was as dull as ever, but he didn't give up. "Four times I shall swim!" he said.
The next day he dived in again. He did this four days in a row. Each time Coyote dived in and splashed about and sang the song Bluebird had taught him.
On the fourth day he climbed out of the lake and there he was, blue as blue can be, as blue as blueberries and bluebonnets and blue moons. He was as blue as Bluebird.
Coyote was very proud of himself. He was so proud that he didn't wait to dry off. He began to run around, showing off his brand-new coat. "Look at me!" he howled. "I'm bluuuuuuuuue ... Everyone look at me!"
He stared at his shadow as he ran. "Is my shadow blue too?" he wondered aloud. "Am I the most beautiful creature anyone has ever seen?" He called to every rabbit and bird and bear and butterfly he passed. He called to the deer. "Look at me! I am bluuuuue!"
But Coyote was so busy admiring himself and looking for others to brag to, he wasn't looking ahead, and suddenly he ran headfirst into a tree stump on the edge of the path.
His head began to spin and he saw stars. He tried to stand up, but he was so dizzy, he staggered unsteadily and fell to the ground. He rolled over and over, howling in pain. And the ground was dusty and dirty — the color of mud, of tree trunks, of walnuts, of bears.
Pretty soon Coyote was the color of the dirt, and ever since that day every coyote has been brown and dusty gray. And every bluebird is blue — as blue as the sky and as blue as the lake.
"Tell Me a Story 3: Women of Wonder," the third CD in the audiobook series, is now available. For more information, visit www.mythsandtales.com. | <urn:uuid:c257d623-ea5d-4884-8539-56b0d505bce4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120507/COMM/205070309&template=wapart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.993293 | 1,235 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Islam: The Arrival in JerusalemLong held by the Byzantine empire as a Christian city, Jerusalem was conquered by a Muslim army in 638 A.D. Viewed as the third-holiest city to Islam, Jerusalem became the site of prominent Muslim sites such as the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount. It was the start of a reign that would endure in the Holy City for centuries.
Seventh century Jerusalem was a Christian city, home to vast churches and ruled by the Byzantine Patriarch Sophronius. Legend tells that when a Muslim army led by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab besieged Jerusalem, Sophronius would surrender only to Umar himself. The Caliph was exceptionally pious Muslim who lived by ascetic values and did not array himself in finery, not even to celebrate his victory. His conquest of Jerusalem was relatively bloodless—once Sophronius surrendered, no one else was killed.
Umar bade Sophronius show him the site of the Jews’ Holy Temple, which the Muslims held in reverence. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, had viewed Judaism and Christianity as religions that stemmed from true revelations: thus Muslims respected the Bible and regarded Jesus as a true prophet. Muslims further believed that they themselves were the children of Ishmael, Abraham’s eldest son, and that Islam emulated the faith practiced by Abraham himself.
Caliph Umar and the Temple Mount
When Umar saw the devastation of the Temple site, and the garbage that had been dumped there by the Byzantines, he was horrified. He made it his mission to clear away the debris and establish the area as a revered site. Umar built a simple mosque on the southern end of the platform that Herod had built, where Muslims could pray facing Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.
Later successors of Umar built the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque, which tower above the city from their high vantage point of the Temple Mount. Over time, Muslims came to believe that the Temple Mount was the focal point of Mohammed’s Night Journey, which is recounted in the Koran. The present belief is that the angel Gabriel carried Mohammed on a winged horse from Arabia to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where Mohammed was greeted by prophets. From there, the tale is that Mohammed ascended the seven levels of heaven and met the Biblical denizens who reside there.
Muslim rule in Jerusalem held strong until the Crusades, when Christian armies descended upon Jerusalem to lay claim to the Holy City once again.
2000+ tips and recommendations
These aren't necessarily the "dog days," you know. Thanks to GoJerusalem.com's list of 50 indispensable...
Hey, times are tough out there. You're lucky enough to be in Jerusalem, or on your way, but maybe you don't want...
Jerusalem, the city where kings ruled and sultans sat is no stranger to luxury. Today, even the visiting yeoman can find...
Jewish tradition holds that in the times of the First and Second Temples, all the Jewish people would gather in Jerusalem...
Technically, it's possible to visit Jerusalem without going to the Old City, but it would be hard to say you'd...
No results to show
The Jerusalem Tourism Map:Print
Text text text | <urn:uuid:b89f89d8-eaae-47b7-bbc8-a9c8714a226a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gojerusalem.com/article/215/Islam--The-Arrival-in-Jerusalem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00093-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971345 | 686 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Type of Culminating Activity
EdD in Curriculum & Instruction
Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies
Dr. Lee Dubert
Under federal law No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002), each state must annually increase the percentage of students proficient on their achievement tests. They must also have a plan to ensure school districts adequately train and evaluate paraeducators or possibly face losing them as instructional assistants. The study was a descriptive design using quantitative analysis from information gleaned from Idaho’s school district Title I Directors and principals statewide who responded to Qualtrics web-based survey with data about their elementary schools’ models of Title I program service delivery, instructional staff and their training. It examined the relationship between the five most common school models of delivery in and improvement in fourth grade reading proficiency as measured by the spring Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) published by the State Board of Education (ISBE, 2007c). The results were analyzed to identify the relationship between school models of delivery and relative gain (or loss) in student reading proficiency from grade three to four. Statistical significance was found in the pullout model of paraeducator instructed groups under the supervision of a teacher controlling for school size and the percent of Free or Reduced Lunch (FRL). There was a high statistical significance found in the percent of FRL. Other factors gleaned from the survey were discussed as they influenced the program delivery model. The literature review discusses changing roles of teachers and paraeducators, teaming strategies, effective intervention strategies, effective tools for reading instruction, program models, as well as the five most common models reviewed in the study.
Byers-Kirsch, Janet S., "Title I Program Models of Delivery: The Impact of Paraeducator Instruction on Idaho Fourth Grade Reading Proficiency" (2008). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3. | <urn:uuid:4dcfb159-aaf9-4837-998d-ae5bf1c7bd17> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944712 | 388 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Disease and death have plagued indigenous communities in South America since they first came into contact with outsiders from Europe in the 1500s. The indigenous populations had no immune protection against smallpox, measles, and flu, which wiped out thousands of communities.
"With the initial contact that took place with the colony in the 1500s, many communities were plagued with illnesses and hundreds of communities, thousands of communities, have vanished," said Inoach.
Then, in 1836, Charles Goodyear, an inventor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, refined the process of vulcanization, which kept rubber from melting in warm weather and cracking in cold weather.
At first rubber was needed for bicycle tires and seals for engines and then for automobiles. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, entrepreneurs flocked to the Amazon to harvest sap from the rubber tree. They enslaved the indigenous people who lived in the forests, forcing them to work at rubber harvesting.
To secure their own survival, indigenous communities that escaped enslavement by the rubber tappers retreated deeper into the forests and today actively avoid contact with the outside world. "They are not convinced that coexisting with an evolving society they can guarantee their own existence," said Inoach.
Today, indigenous rights groups are at the forefront of a movement to set aside lands where the isolated peoples are believed to exist, protecting them from the intrusion of developers looking to reap riches from the natural resources of the Amazon.
The rights groups hope to prevent a repeat of the atrocities that befell so many of the indigenous peoples' ancestors. "The creation of these protected natural areas, plus the creation of territorial reserves, are ways of creating conditions to safeguard the right to life of these communities," said Inoach.
According to government statistics, some 380,000 square miles (990,000 square kilometers) of indigenous lands are recognized in Brazil and protected from exploitation by loggers, oil and gas developers, and other resource extraction industries.
The creation of protected lands in Brazil has put increasing pressure on the isolated peoples in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru, forcing those governments to address how to secure the rights of the people living in isolation.
Six years of effort by the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD) and the Racimos de Ungurahui Project led to the establishment of the first territorial reserve in southeastern Peru in April, 2002.
The reserve protects two or three groups of indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation from the intrusion of loggers seeking mahogany in the forests.
"One of the things FENAMAD and Racimos de Ungurahui did was to form an alliance with small scale loggers," said Rothschild. "To get support for the proposal for the uncontacted tribes, they created sustainable logging areas outside of the area for the tribes."
With the support of the local loggers, the indigenous rights organizations were able to get the reserve established. However, social tensions continue in Madre de Dios. Poor people from the Andes are arriving in the Amazon region searching for work as loggers, putting pressure on the government to open the reserve to resource extraction.
"If the government on one hand means well and passes the law, but on the other doesn't demand respect for it, it's the same as nothing," said Inoach. "So, the government must be strong so as to enforce the judicial extraction in Peru."
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES | <urn:uuid:f0c61b74-9467-4ccd-93f5-ee4480b605cf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0310_030310_invisible1_2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960782 | 719 | 4 | 4 |
Above: A rainy Garden Day at The Cloisters, 2003. Visitors to Bonnefont Herb Garden were undaunted by the downpour.
Today, July 15, is the feast of St. Swithun, or Swithin; of all the saints’ days traditionally used as weather prognosticators, St. Swithun’s is the most famous and the most long-lived:
St. Swithin’s day if thou dost rain,
for forty days it will remain;
St. Swithin’s day if thou be fair,
for forty days ’twill rain nae mair.
Swithun was consecrated bishop of Winchester in 852 and died in 862. His feast is celebrated not on the the day of his death on July 2, but on the anniversary of the translation of his relics from the churchyard outside the Old Minster at Winchester, where he had asked to be buried, into the church itself. Circa 1125, William of Malmesbury recorded that Swithun, renowned for his charity and humility, had requested that his body be interred where passers-by would tread on him, and where water from the eaves would fall on his grave. This allusion indicates that the saint’s reputation as a weather-prophet was already established by the twelfth century. (Blackburn & Holford-Stevens, The Oxford Companion to the Calendar Year, 1999.) The relics of the saint were translated yet again from the Old Minster to a shrine in the new cathedral church on July 15, 1093.
The Weather Channel’s National and Local Weather website predicts a sunny day in the Northeast and Midwest for St. Swithun’s feast, with only a ten percent chance of precipitation in New York City. Storms and showers are predicted for the South. And in Winchester? The Weather Channel’s U.K. website forecasts clouds, but only a twenty percent chance of rain. | <urn:uuid:ac74947a-0975-4b5a-b56a-bd4f94934729> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/2008/07/15/st-swithuns-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00124-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966783 | 415 | 3.0625 | 3 |
The fight or flight response: Our body's response to stress
- What is fight or flight response?
- The difference between anxiety and fear
- Anxiety and fear are helpful
- A downside to this response
- The fight or flight response and PTSD
- Common signs
- Taming the flight or flight response
Everyone, especially military personnel, are going to encounter some kind of stressful or dangerous situation in their lifetime, and fortunately, our body has a natural, built-in stress response to threatening situations called the ‘fight or flight response’. Understanding our body's natural response to threat and danger can help us better understand the symptoms of PTSD.
The fight or flight response refers to a specific biochemical reaction that both humans and animals experience during intense stress or fear. The sympathetic nervous system releases hormones that cause changes to occur throughout the body.
This is the body’s response to perceived threat or danger. During this reaction, certain hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are released, speeding the heart rate, slowing digestion, shunting blood flow to major muscle groups, and changing various other autonomic nervous functions, giving the body a burst of energy and strength. Originally named for its ability to enable us to physically fight or run away when faced with danger, it’s now activated in situations where neither response is appropriate, like in traffic or during a stressful day at work. When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal function via the relaxation response, but in our times of chronic stress, this often doesn’t happen enough, causing damage to the body.
The fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress response, refers to a psychological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically. The fight-or-flight response was first described in the 1920s by American physiologist Walter Cannon. Cannon realised that a chain of rapidly occurring reactions inside the body help mobilise the body's resources to deal with threatening circumstances.
In response to acute stress, the body's sympathetic nervous system is activated due to the sudden release of hormones. The sympathetic nervous systems stimulates the adrenal glands triggering the release of catecholamines, which include adrenaline and noradrenaline. This results in an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate. After the threat is gone, it takes between 20 to 60 minutes for the body to return to its pre-arousal levels.
The fight-or-flight response is also known as the acute stress response. Essentially, the response prepares the body to either fight or flee the threat. It is also important to note that the response can be triggered due to both real and imaginary threats.
Before we discuss what happens in the fight or flight syndrome, it is important to first discuss the difference between fear and anxiety. Fear is the emotion you experience when you are actually in a dangerous situation. Anxiety is what you experience leading up to a dangerous, stressful, or threatening situation. You may also experience anxiety when you think about something stressful or dangerous that could happen to you. Other words for anxiety may be ‘dread’ or ‘apprehensiveness’.
The difference between anxiety and fear can be illustrated nicely this way. Think about the last time you went on a roller coaster. Anxiety is what you felt when you were in line looking at the hills, steep drops, and loops, as well as hearing the screams of other riders. You also likely felt anxiety when on the roller coaster as you got closer to the top of the first hill. Fear is what you experienced as you went over the peak of the hill and started your fall down the first hill.
Anxiety and fear are very helpful responses. The human race may not even exist if it were not for these hard-wired responses to danger and threat. Anxiety and fear provides us with information. That is, they tell us when danger is present and they prepare us to act.
When you are in a stressful or dangerous situation and experience fear and anxiety, your body goes through a number of changes:
- Your heart rate may increase.
- Your vision may narrow (sometimes called ‘tunnel vision’).
- You may notice that your muscles become tense.
- You may begin to sweat.
- Your hearing may become more sensitive.
All of these changes are part of the fight or flight syndrome. As the name implies, these changes are preparing you for immediate action. They are preparing you to flee, freeze (kind of like a kangaroo does when caught in someone's headlights), or to fight.
All of these are adaptive bodily responses essentially designed to keep us alive, and because these responses are important to our survival, they occur quickly and without thought. They are automatic.
It would be great if anxiety and fear only occurred in situations where we were in immediate danger. Unfortunately, it does not always work this way. For example, many people have fear and anxiety when speaking in front of other people. You may also have fear and anxiety when meeting someone new. A person with PTSD may experience fear and anxiety when they go out into crowded or cramped places, such as a grocery store or a subway. These situations are not dangerous in the sense that they don't threaten our survival. So, why might we have fear and anxiety in these situations?
We have fear and anxiety in these situations because of the way we evaluate these situations. Our body cannot always tell the difference between real and imagined threat. Therefore, when we interpret a situation as threatening, our body is going to respond as though that situation is dangerous and threatening, even if it really isn't in actuality.
When people experience something traumatic and/or have PTSD, they may no longer feel as though the world is a safe place. It may feel as though danger is everywhere. As a result, a person may constantly be in a state of fear and anxiety. For this reason, cognitive behavioural treatments for PTSD often focus a lot of attention on altering the ways in which people interpret their environment. Mindfulness may be another way of ‘taking a step back’ from thoughts, reducing their power to activate the fight or flight response.
The fight or flight response is a catch-all phrase describing the body's response to stress. Fight or flight refers to the two choices our ancestors had when facing a dangerous animal or enemy. In that moment of stress (fear) the body prepares itself to be injured and to expend energy in the large muscle groups of the arms, legs and shoulders that we use to either fight or run (flight).
A fight or flight response causes a few common signs:
- Cool, pale skin: Blood flow to the surface of the body is reduced so that the blood flow to the arms, legs, shoulders, brain, eyes, ears and nose can be increased. Besides getting ready to run and fight, the body is preparing to think quickly and be aware of threats by hearing, seeing and smelling things better. Pulling blood away from the skin also helps decrease bleeding from cuts and scrapes.
- Sweating: Running or wrestling with bears will certainly cause an increase in body heat. To prepare for that, the body starts to sweat as soon as it feels stressed. So not only is our sense of smell heightened, but so is how we smell to others (body odour). In medical terms, this kind of sweating is also known as diaphoresis.
- Dilated pupils: To let more light in and improve sight, the pupils dilate.
- Dry mouth: Gastric juices and saliva production decreases because blood flow to the digestive system is decreased. The body can interrupt digestion of that hamburger until after the threat has been eliminated. Think of it as a priority system: It's more important to live now than to digest food. This same reaction can also cause an upset stomach.
The fight or flight response is a direct result of adrenaline being released into the bloodstream. Anything that causes stress to the body will trigger a fight or flight response - angry boss, deadlines, family fight, illness, car accident, heart attack, etc.
The fight or flight response prepares the body for fast-paced action. Whether you choose to flee or fight, your body will need all of its resources. This is believed to be an evolutionary development and can only be suppressed through intense work and training.
If you have a phobia, the fight or flight response may be activated whenever you are confronted with the object of your fear. This is why you may shake, cry, become hostile or even run from the situation.
A phobia can have a long-term effect on your physical health. Frequent or chronic activation of the fight or flight response, particularly in situations in which neither outcome is practical, can lead to digestive problems, increased risk of heart disease and the other known effects of chronic stress. With treatment, however, you can learn to overcome your fear.
What do you feel in your body when you feel anxious? Usually, you may notice a rapid heartbeat, shallow, rapid breathing and tense muscles.
These physical reactions are the result of the ‘fight or flight’ response system, an ingenious mechanism. When a person senses something perceived as potentially threatening, a number of physiological changes take place in the body. The brain sends warning signals through the central nervous system. The adrenal glands begin producing hormones (adrenalin and noradrenalin) which cause the heart to beat faster and breathing to become more rapid. Muscles tense and pupils dilate. The person's body is getting ready to do one of two things:
- Confront the threat and deal with it, or
- Get as far away from the threat as quickly as possible.
This fight or flight response is appropriate and can actually be life saving when there is an actual and imminent physical threat. For example, when the driver in front of you suddenly slams on the brakes, you need to react quickly (and without a lot of thought) in order to prevent an accident.
However, some people have an early warning system that's a little too sensitive. For these people, the fight or flight responses are triggered by events that would be ignored by many others. This hypersensitivity can be caused by a number of factors, including:
- An inherited imbalance in brain hormones, as in anxiety and bipolar disorders
- A history of verbal or physical abuse in childhood
- Other post-traumatic stress disorders
It's exhausting and uncomfortable to spend so much time in a state of high alert. In addition, there are possible physical consequences to feeling stressed all the time, including high blood pressure, tension or migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, and TMJ (temporomandibular joint) syndrome.
What can we do? How do we discharge all that energy when we realise there really is no danger? After all, the fight or flight reaction is an involuntary physical response to a situation. It might not be possible to issue a mental directive to our adrenal glands to tell them to stop producing adrenalin and noradrenalin.
However, breathing exercises provide a relatively easy tool for coming down from this heightened state of alert. Some of the relief comes just from taking a moment to pause and notice what's going on in our bodies.
NOTE: You might find it helpful to discharge some physical energy to relieve muscular tension before beginning a breathing exercise. After you've released some muscular tension, try the following breath exercise.
- Find a place where it's quiet.
- Sit in a straight back chair with both feet on the floor or lie on the floor with a straight spine.
- Begin inhaling by expanding the abdomen (let it inflate like a balloon), then move the breath into your rib cage and, finally, all the way into your upper chest.
- Exhale by reversing this action; begin at your collarbones and exhale down through your rib cage and into your abdomen. Contract your abdominal muscles as you finish exhaling.
- You might find it helpful to lightly place your right hand on your abdomen and your left hand on your rib cage to help direct the breath on its journey.
- Begin by practicing for one minute and then gradually lengthen the practice to five minutes.
This technique helps to eliminate shallow chest breathing and encourages full exhalation and inhalation.
Once again, there's no need to push yourself or judge yourself for being anxious. The idea is simply to be quiet for a short time and notice your breath.
If you have any questions regarding your fight or flight responses and need assistance click here to tell us 'What's up?' or to give us a call
|Download in PDF||108.02 KB| | <urn:uuid:0e728069-105c-4205-bedb-902ec34e5fb1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.youngdiggers.com.au/fight-or-flight | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949188 | 2,609 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Preventing Underage Alcohol Use
How common is underage drinking?
Alcohol is the drug of choice among American adolescents. More 8th, 10th, and 12th graders drink alcohol than use tobacco or other drugs. In 2015, about one third (35.3 percent) of 12th graders, about one fifth (21.5 percent) of 10th graders, and one tenth (9.7 percent) of 8th graders reported having used alcohol during the past month.1
How many adolescents in the United States drink alcohol?
In 2014, about 2.9 million 12- to 17-year-olds reported alcohol use during the past month. About 1.5 million youth in this age group reported binge drinking, meaning that nearly half of them who used alcohol drank at least 5 drinks on a single occasion during that month. About one-quarter of a million youth reported heavy drinking, or having at least 5 drinks on at least 5 occasions during the month2
When do young people first begin drinking?
In 2014, more than 2 million 12- to 17-year-olds reported their first alcohol use during the past year, which averages to approximately 6,400 adolescents/day who began alcohol use.3 The average age at which someone under age 21 began drinking is about age 16.4 Almost one-fifth of those who drink underage begin using alcohol before they are 13 years old.5
Does early use of alcohol increase the risk of alcohol dependence?
Yes. In 2013, adults who had first used alcohol at age 14 or younger were more likely to be classified with alcohol dependence or abuse than were those who had their first drink at age 21 or older (14.8 vs. 2.3 percent).6
When should parents, caregivers, and other adults begin to talk with young people
about underage drinking?
It is never too early to talk to your child about alcohol. Most 6-year-olds know that alcohol is only for adults. Between the ages of 9 and 13, children start to view alcohol more positively. Among 8th-grade students, about 10 percent report past-month alcohol use.7
Why is underage drinking everyone’s problem?
Underage drinking is a public health problem that affects the safety and well-being of everyone in a community—not just underage drinkers and their families. In 2013, 17 percent of 16- to 20-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes had a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher.8
What does underage drinking cost the United States?
Underage drinking cost U.S. citizens $62 billion in 2010. These costs include medical
care, work loss, and pain and suffering associated with the multiple problems resulting
from alcohol consumption by youth.8 Visit the
Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center
SAMHSA Exit Disclaimer Page for estimates
of costs by state.
Can underage drinking be prevented?
Underage drinking and its consequences can be prevented, as shown by the progress being made. Between 2002 and 2014, current, binge, and heavy drinking by 12- to 20-year-olds all declined, with heavy drinking cut in half (from 29 to 23 percent, 19 to 14 percent, and 6 to 3 percent, respectively).9 In 2015, alcohol use and drunkenness among 8th to 12th graders reached the lowest levels recorded since 1975.10 Age 21 minimum legal drinking laws have reduced alcohol-related traffic fatalities by 13 percent and, as of 2012, have saved an estimated 29,292 lives since 1975.11 Further progress can be achieved through strong, continuing prevention efforts.
How can parents, teachers, and other adults help prevent underage drinking?
Parents, teachers, and other adults play a vital role in influencing the attitudes
and behaviors of young people toward alcohol use. Adults can:
- Talk with young people about the potential health, social, and legal consequences
of underage drinking;
- Convey clear and consistent messages that underage drinking is unacceptable;
- Help young people build the practical skills to avoid peer pressure to use alcohol;
- Support and reinforce the ability of young people to make healthy decisions; and
- Organize events, such as Town Hall Meetings, to engage young people and others in
the community in using evidenced-based approaches to prevent underage drinking.
Parents and caregivers can find more information about discussing alcohol use consequences
with children ages 9 to 15 at http://www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov,
the homepage for “Talk. They Hear You.”
Where can I find information on effective prevention approaches?
StopAlcoholAbuse.gov is the web portal for the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking and your gateway to comprehensive research and resources on prevention.
SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs is a searchable online registry of interventions supporting mental health promotion, substance abuse prevention, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. Search under “underage drinking” for programs to prevent and reduce underage drinking.
1, 7, 10 Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Miech, R. A., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2016). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2015: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use.
2, 9 Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2015). Behavioral health trends in the United States: Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50).
3 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2015). Risk and protective factors and initiation of substance use: Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. NSDUH Data Review.
4, 6 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-48, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4863.
5 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, June 8). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2013. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63(4).
8 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2014). Traffic Safety Facts: 2013 Data. DOT HS 812 102.
11 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2014). Young drivers. Traffic Safety Facts: 2012. (DOT HS 812 419). | <urn:uuid:42d3fd08-51c5-4a8f-beb2-62ade120f4b9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://toosmarttostart.samhsa.gov/faq.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00169-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927875 | 1,366 | 3.046875 | 3 |
We think of bonsai as a Japanese art form, especially when you always see them in the background of all those karate and kung-fu movies...... but this art form actually started more than 2000 years ago in China. There it was called 'pen-jing' (a combination of 'pun-sai' and 'pun-ching'), and it was considered an expression of harmony of heaven and earth. By the 11th Century, it moved East to Japan by Buddhist monks, who considered the plants religious objects. I guess back then, it was the "don't leave home without it" item. I mean, who vacations with their plants these days? Well, actually, I do know someone who took their orchids with them to Texas...ooops I digress, sorry..... Between 1280-1368 during the Yuan Dynasty, Japanese ministers brought back bonsai on their trips to China. In 1644, a Chinese official fled the rule of the Manchus to Japan, where he brought his entire collection, as well as his vast collection of literature on the subject. By then, bonsai in Japan was already flourishing (well, only if you considered the upper-upper classes); but now vast writings and many different styles came into being. At that time, it was only allowed to be the property of the emperor, Samurai, and monks. It is equal to Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, or Mozart creating their masterpieces then saying, it's only for the king and upper class to enjoy...I mean....boo hiss....share already! Did you know, it took until the end of the 19th century before it became a hobby for all??? .....well, it was about time!!!
Bonsai is correctly pronounced: bone-sigh, not, Ban-zai - like you're jumping out of an airplane or surfing the pipeline! It is considered an art form....the only art form in fact, that is never finished, because the plant is continuously growing. Bonsai is made from two words: bon (meaning tray or dish) and sai (meaning plant or tree). The definition of bonsai is a miniature tree or shrub that is grown in a container.
The perfect bonsai can be held up close, while standing in a field, and it would look like it was part of the scenery.....therefore, the object of bonsai is to make a tree or plant look natural.......just scaled down to size. There are many techniques to achieve such miniature perfection. This is done through the pruning of its branches and roots, and a few special techniques. Does it bend with the wind, or curl down over a rock, or stand majestically tall? How is this done? Magic?? Well, sort of...
Wire is carefully wrapped (from bottom to top) around the trunk and up the branches to train the plant to grow into a desired shape. Bending the branch takes delicate practice. Care must be taken, because, with too much muscle, you could break a branch right off! It's happened to everyone who takes up this art, so don't feel too bad if it happens to you! With care and proper wiring, breaks can actually be fixed. Anywhere from a few months to a year after wiring the trunk and branches, the wire is removed to avoid the bark from growing around it. Having the trunk ruined by the indentation from wire is not a desirable look. These marks will ruin the trunk permanently, so be careful not to leave the wire on too long.
If you have never seen bonsai up close, it's worth a trip to a botanical garden! I used to work at the Brooklyn Botanical, and I know there is a room just for them. I am not sure if there are any at Staten Island Botanical, but it can't hurt to give them a call. And of course, every year at the Philadelphia Flower Show (which always runs the first week in March), there is always a fantastic display of them, some of which are one hundred years old! That's dedication to art.
Next time: Bonsai containers and specialized tools. | <urn:uuid:272ee4f9-ad82-4036-8d71-3ae5bb9f702d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.silive.com/gonetoseed/2008/02/bonsai_basics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971259 | 858 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Copyright © University of Cambridge. All rights reserved.
'Simple Train Journeys' printed from http://nrich.maths.org/
Well, here's a train route. The train starts at the top and makes a
number of visits to the stations.
Now let's suppose that the train is going to make visits to three
stations (they do not have to be different stations - each station
can be visited several times!).
So the first station would be Dorby
- this will always be the case! (Why?)
Then the train can go on to Ender.
When at Ender it could return and visit Dorby again OR it could go
on to Floorin.
So two different journeys:
Dorby - Ender - Floorin
Dorby - Ender - Dorby
Your challenge is to find all the
different journeys for visiting four stations.
You could then go on to find all the
different journeys for visiting more stations - try five.
How about six stations?
Can you predict the number of
different journeys for visiting seven stations? Were you right?
How would you predict the number of
different journeys for visiting eight stations?
You might like to then invent your own
routes that may go further than this one and then answer similar
questions that you can think up. | <urn:uuid:85f8ff88-6bf9-4b30-8688-cea7cab52aaa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://nrich.maths.org/5806/index?nomenu=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923846 | 281 | 3.40625 | 3 |
By: Herman Rosenthal
Town in the district of Olgopol, province of Podolia, Russia, on the road between Olgopol and Balta, at the rivers Dakhna and Bershadka. In 1900 the Jewish population was 4,500, out of a total population of 7,000. The Jewish artisans numbered about 500. The community possessed one synagogue and six houses of prayer. In June, 1648, during the uprising of the Cossacks under Chmielnicky, the most bloodthirsty of his leaders—Maksim Krivonos—conquered Bershad and slew all the Jews and Catholics. S. A. Bershadski, the celebrated historian of the Russian Jews. descended from a Cossack family at Bershad, where his great-grandfather officiated as a Greek Orthodox priest.
Bershad was famous in the middle of the nineteenth century for its Jewish weavers of the "ṭallit" (scarfs used by the Jews during prayer in the day-time). But at the end of the century the demand decreased, and the industry declined, leading many of the weavers to emigrate to America.
- Entziklopedicheski Slovar, vol. iii., s.v., published by Brockhaus and Efron, St. Petersburg, 1892;
- N. Kostomarov, Bogdan Chmielnicky, i. 325; and private sources. | <urn:uuid:d1364672-d6dc-4236-bad3-9072d2498118> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3161-bershad | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942883 | 305 | 3.203125 | 3 |
The visual artist most commonly linked with the name of Richard Wagner from the 1870s to the early twentieth century was the now relatively little-known Viennese painter Hans Makart (1844–84). Makart's Viennese atelier – no less than his sumptuous history paintings, ‘bacchanals’, society portraits and multi-media design-projects (notably a lavish 1879 historical pageant celebrating the Hapsburg monarchy) – defined an influential visual and stylistic idiom for the early fin-de-siècle. The style is recognisable in the salon at villa Wahnfried, in Paul Joukowsky's set designs for the first Parsifal, and arguably, in aspects of Wagner's music itself. Like most artists of the era, Makart occasionally depicted Wagnerian motifs, but his affinity with the composer was recognised as a matter of style and technique. Two breakthrough works from around 1868 in triptych form, Moderne Amoretten (Modern Cupids) and Der Pest in Florenz (The Plague in Florence), suggest thematic and conceptual parallels with Tannhäuser and Tristan und Isolde, respectively. Makart's Renaissance history paintings and the 1879 Vienna Festzug stage national history as a collective aesthetic experience in the manner of Die Meistersinger. A ubiquitous theme in comparisons of artist and composer is the role of colour (visual, harmonic and timbral), raised to a quasi-autonomous force that dominates composition and ‘idea’. Makart's resistance to conventions of visual narrative, as read by contemporary critics, recalls Wagner's resistance to conventional melodic periodicity.
This article investigates the cultural and technical sources of Makart's appeal in the later nineteenth century and traces the comparison of Makart's and Wagner's styles as a critical topos. The disappearance of Makart and his ‘style’ from modern critical consciousness, I argue, mirrors a cultural Amnesia regarding features central to Wagner's irresistible fascination for his contemporaries.
Thomas Grey is Professor of Music at Stanford University. He is the author of Wagner's Musical Prose: Texts and Contexts (1995), as well as editor and co-author of the Cambridge Opera Handbook on Wagner's Flying Dutchman (2000), the Cambridge Companion to Wagner (2008) and Wagner and his World (Princeton, 2009). Recent projects include essays on ‘absolute music’, ecocritical perspectives on landscape and nature in nineteenth-century music, the entry ‘Richard Wagner’ for Oxford Bibliographies Online, music and the ‘Gothic’, and American musical theater. | <urn:uuid:8e94fe8d-406a-4f0d-a23f-97452fdec400> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9063702&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954586713000116 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00195-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905441 | 548 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Deployed quite early on against non-communists, anti-communism evolved with time into a general tool for the suppression of dissent. Goodfellow provides a brief survey of the institutionalisation of anti-communism during the 70s and 80s, with its incorporation into government ritual, school texts, and so forth. He then presents three case studies from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Chapter two describes the bersih diri and bersih lingkungan campaigns, in which the cleansing of the public service from the taint of "communism" (which came to include distant family ties to known communists, as well as general "wrong-thinking") was used as a weapon in inter-elite disputes. Chapter three covers the crude use of anti-communist rhetoric to demonise student unrest in the Yogyakarta subversion trials. And chapter four describes how accusations of communism were levelled against protesting farmers during the building of the Kedung Ombo dam.
Quite apart from its historical legacy, the ideology of anti-communism is likely, despite recent changes, to have continuing influence in Indonesia. It will be a key factor within the army and will constrain the development of left-wing politics. Api Dalam Sekam therefore provides critical background for understanding contemporary Indonesian politics. | <urn:uuid:2f1ea59b-f740-43b1-9e48-1cda5bd60c44> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://dannyreviews.com/h/Api_Dalam_Sekam.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953069 | 270 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.