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Don’t let fear impact the way you travel. It’s time to look at the numbers to understand what’s actually dangerous and what’s just perceived as being dangerous. Comparing recent data from the CDC and the NTSB, we found that less than 2 percent of US fatalities are transportation related and of those fatalities .002 percent occur from flying. Keep reading to know the real risks in air, rail and car travel.
Afraid of flying? Don’t be. It turns out that flying is the safest mode of transportation you can choose. There were 34,434 transportation-related deaths in 2011, but 32,367 of those were due to car accidents. Only 494 were related to flying.
Source: National Transportation Safety Board | <urn:uuid:2e535990-fe15-4e85-bcf2-165736ee9cfe> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://petergreenberg.com/2013/07/12/know-the-real-risks-how-safe-is-travel-today/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00084-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976306 | 158 | 2.625 | 3 |
Let’s consider the question of what is the right or best kind of motivation for the rapidly growing class of social entrepreneurs. It’s a hot area, with a lot of new entrants, and not much in the way of rules and guidelines.
We’ll start with a working definition of social enterprise, the space in which social entrepreneurs operate. A social enterprise, or at least a good one, is a venture that efficiently and sustainably pursues social impact (solving a social problem) as its mission. Profit and income is just fine for social enterprises, so long as profit isn’t chased at the expense of social mission, and that profit as a means to an end doesn’t exploit those who are the intended beneficiaries of the enterprise (in other words and most often, poor people). It is irrelevant whether the enterprise is for profit, not for profit or a combination of each (a so-called hybrid) – what matters is that it’s a sustainable and efficient way to solve real problems in partnership with real people.
Here are some principles that motivate social entrepreneurs with a focus on social entrepreneurs in the market or “vertical” for solutions to poverty alleviation, especially in developing countries and disadvantaged communities.
1. More than good intentions
Good intentions are certainly enough for a philanthropist, when the act of giving is the central act. Good intentions are not enough for a social entrepreneur. To adapt a phrase, the path to a failed charity or social enterprise is paved with good intentions. Oprah Winfrey has an almost limitless supply of genuinely good intentions, and yet her school for young disadvantaged girls in South Africa paid a high price with waste, mismanagement and scandal. On the other hand, the founding team of TSiBA South Africa have developed a little known but high impact free college for very poor blacks and coloreds with great promise using Mandela rather than Oprah as their guide for creating affordable world class education for all.
2. Look outward, not inward, for motivation
Some social entrepreneurs try to solve their own problems, or set their own life on a better course, or fill a hole in their life, by trying to solve the problems of others. If the motivation is to make your life seem better or richer by intervening in the lives of others, it may not be the best for the others. Real solutions require much more than self-centered altruism. Pick a high profile celebrity spending a few days in an African refugee camp, and you’re likely to see this condition. The alternative: Dr. Muhammad Yunus formerly of Grameen Bank, who worked with the poorest of the poor women in rural Bangladesh to build a global banking powerhouse, owned and led by those very same women. His many followers have built thriving microfinance banks around the world that serve the poor first, and other interests like shareholders or governments only with what may be left over.
3. Efficient compassion is the best kind
It’s admirable to care about the suffering of others, but it’s only the first step in building a successful social enterprise. You can’t teach caring, but caring is a given in this market. A commitment to building a sustainable enterprise that efficiently uses limited financial and other resources, including those provided through the generosity of others, is at the core of a real social entrepreneur. There are far too many luxury SUVs filled with well paid consultants and Ivy League interns. Consider John Wood of Room to Read, a former Microsoft executive, for an example of a highly efficient and passionately caring social entrepreneur. The same for the late Dr. Venkataswamy of Aravind Eye Care who built a “pay if you can” surgical hospital for the blind in India that remains a global model for efficient compassion in state-of-the art health care.
4. Listening to voices other than your own
So many self-proclaimed social entrepreneurs start with their own solution to the problem as they see it from their place in the world. The more effective approach is based on listening to those who experience the problem and know more about the solution from living the problem. Blake Mycoskie has done admirable work at TOMS Shoes, but his reformed business practices suggest he’s recognized that the answers came from those who you serve, not from your own image of how they should be served. Warby Parker and its eyeglass business (founded by Wharton MBAs) is a new and improved version of TOMS, empowering micro-entrepreneurs in the developing world while selling affordable glasses here.
5. Beware of branding at someone else’s expense
Within celebrity culture, we often see stars try to build their brand by “doing good.” When it’s more about brand than lasting solutions to real problems, then watch out. Again, consider where the line is between charity and brand building at Oprah’s (Harpo) enterprises, or Bono’s clothing business. On the other hand, we see Matt Damon’s work with developing affordable and accessible clean water resources in the developing world being done in partnership with committed professionals and for the long haul.
6. Bottom-up solutions, not top-down
Solutions are best designed and implemented from the bottom-up not the top-down, meaning from community-based business plans and operations management. No one has done this better than Partners in Health under the early leadership of its inspirational founder, Dr. Paul Farmer. He built capacity in Haiti to treat HIV/AIDS and other diseases of the poor among Haitians, to avoid the “fly in” model used to bring rich world doctors to poor communities.
7. Results matter, not mission or programs
We can only fix the things we measure. Esther Duflo at MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab and Dean Karlan at Yale’s Innovations for Poverty Action have both committed their development economics work to finding ways to actually measure what works and what doesn’t work to reduce poverty. There’s little glamour in measuring and studying programs, such as in developing randomized control trials for poverty work that mimic those for drug testing. But, passion for finding the best ways to really help the poor help themselves represents the next step in the development of social enterprises.
8. There’s plenty of room for genuinely new ideas
We’re finding that there remains lots of room for entirely new ideas in social enterprise, especially in the economic development field. Willie Foote founded Root Capital to fill the “missing middle” of agricultural finance to address rural poverty. Too big for microfinance but too small for commercial banking, Root Capital fills the gap with large loans to cooperatives made up of poor farmers that allow them to achieve the quality necessary to sell into global commodity markets. Similarly, Andrew Youn created The One Acre Fund to help poor rural farmers improve their productivity and access to markets, thus changing the lives of poor farmers forever in East Africa.
9. Drawing the line between good and evil
With the great success of microfinance came a few who would use the model created by Dr. Yunus to exploit rather than empower the poor. The founders of Banco Compartamos of Mexico City and SKS Microfinance of India can defend themselves, but with 100% interest rates charged to the poor just because you can, and collection methods that led some borrowers to commit suicide rather than suffer the shame of default, it’s clear that a line between compassionate capitalism and greed and exploitation can and must be drawn.
10. Giving back is the new new thing
Bill and Melinda Gates of The Gates Foundation have “bet the house” on solving the biggest problems of the world, from education to sustainable farming to affordable medicine. But perhaps even more important, they have led others to do the same, through their “billionaire’s giving pledge” campaign. Some of the wealthiest people in the world like Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook have promised to give away at least half of what they have to efforts to solve the big problems. While we all can’t be billionaires, we all can follow their lead and be similarly generous in dollars, time, outlook and spirit.
So, cheers to the new generation of social entrepreneurs and social enterprise leaders who are doing it right. They are role models for young people around the world who are studying hard and hoping to find a clear path to a new more compassionate and inclusive way of doing business. | <urn:uuid:9fa1c974-dab5-4ace-996b-cb0b21f40c0a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.northeastern.edu/sei/2013/02/what-motivates-the-best-social-entrepreneurs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948009 | 1,757 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The Cinnamon Bittern or Chestnut Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) is a small bittern. It is of Old World origins, breeding in tropical and subtropical Asia from Pakistan east to China and Indonesia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances.
This is a small species at 38 cm (15 in) length, though is one of the larger Ixobrychus bitterns. Possessing a short neck and longish bill, the male is uniformly cinnamon above and buff below. The female is similar but her back and crown are brown, and the juvenile is like the female but heavily streaked brown below.
When surprised on its nest or concerned, it assumes the characteristic attitude of bitterns, aptly termed the On-Guard. The neck is stretched perpendicularly, bill pointing skyward, while the bird freezes, becoming astonishingly obliterated amongst its reedy environment.
Their breeding habitat is reedbeds. They nest on platforms of reeds in shrubs. 4-6 eggs are laid. They can be difficult to see, given theirskulking lifestyle and reedbed habitat, but tend to emerge at dusk, when they can be seen creeping almost cat-like in search of frogs. | <urn:uuid:4aadc519-7dd5-4b86-9c00-aa7e47aecbd2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://zurkanain.blogspot.com/2012/11/cinnamon-bittern.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926012 | 264 | 2.828125 | 3 |
About Chilled Water Systems | HVAC Hydronics
About Chilled Water Systems –
Chilled water systems are mainly used in large commercial HVAC air conditioning systems and industrial cooling applications although there are some residential and light commercial HVAC chilled water systems in use. Chilled water systems are popular because they use water as a refrigerant. Water is far less expensive than refrigerant. This makes them cost effective especially in commercial HVAC air conditioning applications. Instead of running refrigerant lines over a large area of the building water pipes are ran throughout the building and to evaporator coils in air handlers for HVAC air conditioning systems. The chilled water is pumped through these pipes from a chiller where the evaporator coil absorbs heat and returns it to the chiller to reject the heat.
About Chilled Water Systems – Set Points and Evaporator
When the water returns to the chiller it is typically 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than when it left the chiller. Chiller set points are usually 45 degrees Fahrenheit unless a complex control system and algorithm is used so the return water temperature is typically 55 degrees Fahrenheit unless modern computer controls are used for set point control of the chiller. Once the 55 degree Fahrenheit water returns to the chiller it enters the evaporator where the heat is absorbed into the refrigerant inside the chiller evaporator barrel. The refrigerant is then pumped into the compressor where it is compressed and sent to the condenser.
About Chilled Water Systems – Condensers
Some HVAC chiller condensers have air cooled condensers while others have water cooled condenser barrels and use a water cooling tower to remove the heat from the water which is pumped through the condenser barrel where it absorbs heat from the refrigerant. Chillers which are water cooled can cost more on initial purchase and installation because a cooling tower must be installed and piping ran to the cooling tower to distribute the water which cools the condenser. Air cooled chiller condensers do not need a cooling tower and generally require less maintenance and upkeep than a water cooled chiller system with a water tower.
About Chilled Water Systems – Chiller Types
There are two main types of chillers; the compression chiller and the absorption chiller. These are the most common types of chillers in use today. Compression chillers, depending on the size and load use different types of compressors for the compression process. Semi-hermetic, screw, scroll, and centrifugal compressors are the different types of compressors used in chillers.
- The compression chiller uses a compressor in the refrigeration process and requires all the major components of the refrigeration process.
- The absorption chiller does not use a compressor for the refrigeration process. These systems use either a chemical process or natural gas to raise the temperature of the refrigerant and then use another chemical process to absorb the heat from the refrigerant.
The compression chiller can use multi-compressor staging and cylinder unloading to reach higher levels of efficiency. Under low load applications a multi-compressor chiller may only run one compressor to meet demand while a single compressor chiller that has unloading capabilities may unload on cylinder to meet low demand and load up that additional cylinder in higher demand situations. This makes them more efficient than having the chiller run full blast all the time.
About Chilled Water Systems – Cooling Towers
Chillers that are not air source chillers need a cooling tower to remove the heat from the condenser water pumped through the condenser barrel. The cooling tower for a chilled water system uses evaporative cooling to remove the heat from the condenser water. The water is channeled to the cooling tower where it is sprayed into the top of the cooling tower. The water falls down panels that have micro channels and small holes. A large fan pulls air through the panels and as the air passes over the water heat is released into the air. The remaining water that does not evaporate falls into a sump and is then pump back to the condenser barrel to remove more heat. Since some of the water in the cooling tower evaporates there is a need for make up water to keep the condenser system full of water. If the system is set up correctly a water side economizer can be set up using the cooling tower and a heat exchanger that will provide chilled water without using a chiller. The water is pumped to the cooling tower outside where the water releases heat and is returned to the heat exchanger where the cold water absorbs heat from the chilled water return. Coming out of the heat heat exchanger is a chilled water supply pipe that is delivered to the load through the chilled water supply. For this to work the outside air temperature has to be cold enough to properly cool the water plus the proper mechanical and control system needs to be set up to make this function properly. If set up properly this type of system can save a lot of energy and give the chillers a rest.
In the case of a chilled water system where the chiller is located in low-ambient outside temperatures crankcase heaters are installed on the compressors to reduce or eliminate liquid slugging of the compressor from migrating refrigerant from the evaporator.
Other resources About Chilled Water Systems can be found here. | <urn:uuid:9c833f4a-393c-403a-a754-a59355ac2529> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://highperformancehvac.com/chilled-water-systems/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915936 | 1,082 | 3 | 3 |
Sam Bennet, P (1964) Seasonal abundance of small sized juvenile Rastrelliger kanagurta at Vizhingam during 1960-1963. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 11A (1). pp. 391-406.
The Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier) occur in good numbers along the east and west coast of India and is one of the most important commercial fishes in Indian waters. Much of the research was done on the west coast, where there is a considerable fishery for the mackerel. As in most pelagic fishes there have been tremendous variations in yield. Catch in one area of the coast has often differed markedly from that in other areas in the same season, and periods of abundance have been followed by periods of scarcity. This report presents a comprehensive picture of the seasonal abundance and general biology of small sized juvenile mackerel based on observations made at Vizhingam, the southern most centre in the 'mackerel zone' of the west coast of India during 1960-63. The study serves as a basis for fixing the spawning season and spawning periodicity of the Indian mackerel. Appearance of shoals of juvenile mackerel in the inshore fishing grounds is discussed in relation to the prevailing water temperature. Quantitative data on seasonal abundance of juveniles may help in understanding the success or failure of particular year classes and thus in finding reasons for fluctuations in abundance and in developing ways to control the fluctuations. Fishable stocks of mackerel during certain years have become depleted by the fishery to a point where the annual production is well below what it could be, had the small sized juveniles been allowed to grow. An attempt is made to evaluate the detrimental effect of large scale fishing of small sized juveniles when they enter into the fishing grounds. Brief observations on older fish sampled throughout the year are also included.
|Uncontrolled Keywords:||juvenile abundance; Rastrelliger kanagurta|
|Subjects:||Pelagic Fisheries > Mackerel fishery
|Divisions:||CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Pelagic Fisheries
Subject Area > CMFRI Brochures > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Pelagic Fisheries
CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Pelagic Fisheries
|Depositing User:||Dr. V Mohan|
|Date Deposited:||09 Aug 2010 11:52|
|Last Modified:||09 Sep 2015 15:15|
Actions (login required) | <urn:uuid:5b38b032-818e-4366-a6ed-1874686cf00b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/2164/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900809 | 529 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Brief SummaryRead full entry
Ascaris lumbricoides is the largest nematode (roundworm) parasitizing the human intestine (adult females are 20 to 35 cm and adult males 15 to 30 cm in length). Infection with this parasite is known as ascariasis and is the most common helminthic infection in the world ("helminth" is a functional term, rather than a meaningful taxonomic one, referring to any worm-like internal parasite and used mainly to refer to parasitic flatworms [phylum Platyhelminthes] and roundworms [phylum Nemata or Nematoda]).
Adult A. lumbricoides live in the lumen of the small intestine. A female may produce 200,000 eggs each day, which are passed with the feces of the host. Ingested unfertilized eggs are not infective, but fertile eggs begin to develop and become infective after 18 days to several weeks, depending on environmental conditions (an optimal environment being moist, warm, shaded soil). After infective eggs are swallowed, the larvae hatch, invade the intestinal mucosa, and are carried via first the portal and then the systemic circulation to the lungs. The larvae mature further in the lungs for 10 to 14 days, then penetrate the alveolar walls, ascend the bronchial tree to the throat, and are swallowed. Upon reaching the small intestine, they develop into adult worms. Between two and three months are required from ingestion of the infective eggs to oviposition (egg-laying) of the adult female. Adult worms can live one to two years.
Ascaris lumbricoides has a worldwide distribution, but is most prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions and areas with inadequate sanitation. In the United States, it occurs in rural regions of the southeastern U.S. | <urn:uuid:9b4e881e-3f98-4fd0-b6c4-21486c1cf0f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eol.org/pages/3598509/overview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00182-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924223 | 383 | 3.859375 | 4 |
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge honors visionary thinking that seeks to “solve humanity’s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth’s ecological integrity.” Starting this year, a $100,000 prize will be awarded in support of development and implementation of solutions that have the potential to transform the world. Setting a high precedent for the future, Dr. John Todd has won the First Annual Buckminster Fuller Challenge for his proposal Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia, which lays out a strategy for transforming one and a half million acres of strip-mined lands in Appalachia into a harmonious self-sustaining community.We’ve written about Dr. John Todd before here. Todd is perhaps best known for his design of Eco Machines (formally called ‘Living Machines’) – closed loop, self-sustaining systems of waste water filtration based on real world ecological models. The jury of the Buckminster Fuller competition stated that “Dr. John Todd’s comprehensive design strategy to bring about a carbon neutral world best embodies the bold, visionary approach to large-scale societal transformation pioneered by Buckminster Fuller.” The Buckminster Fuller Challenge was established to promote design science solutions that follow the idea that small amounts of energy and resources provide the maximum amount of results, ideals that Dr. Todd’s proposal upholds.
The proposal sets a strategy for healing the desecrated environments of the Appalachian region, and is based on the idea that the soils in the region can be restored. Under careful management, Dr. John Todd believes that the natural capacity of sequestering carbon by the soils can be increased. This will result in both a natural way to reduce the carbon in the atmosphere and in the restoration of the environment in the region.
Todd’s proposal has far reaching implications. The idea and management behind this process is not site specific and can be used all throughout the world. It is a massive undertaking, the sort that requires not only solid scientific principles, but a change in how land is operated and managed. For more details, visit the Buckminster Fuller Challenge website. | <urn:uuid:73b09a04-16b5-49ae-8a0c-54ea044c7cf5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://inhabitat.com/first-annual-buckminster-challenge-award-winner-announced/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00096-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929861 | 445 | 2.890625 | 3 |
A Living Environmental Threat
Biological pollution presents a distinct threat to the environment. Just as chemicals may contaminate the air, water, or soil, invasive plants and animals can overwhelm an ecosystem. Whether they come from distant habitats or biotechnology labs, non-native invaders may out-compete native species and diminish biodiversity.
Invasive species are nothing new. The pernicious kudzu plant, for example, was imported from Japan in the early 20th century and has overgrown much of the southern U.S. landscape. However, increased international trade in recent decades has opened new avenues for people to intentionally or unintentionally transport organisms to non-native ecosystems. Once established, invasive species may compete with native plants and animals for food, habitat, or other resources. In particularly fragile systems, the invaders may drive the native species toward extinction.
New technologies have brought additional biopollution threats. Genetically engineered (GE) crops have introduced new genetic traits never before found in nature. Plants engineered to survive herbicide applications have cross-pollinated with weedy relatives to create “super weeds.” Some insect pests are becoming resistant to the natural pesticide produced by bt-cotton, -corn, and -soybean plants. Biopollution from GE plants has contaminated non-GE and even organic crops. In the short-term this may pose threats to the environment or human health. In the most publicized contamination incident so far, the StarLink variety of corn, which has not been approved for human consumption, made its way into our food supply. Over the long term, GE pollution threatens biodiversity. Authorities in Mexico, for example, fear that GE corn may cross-pollinate with native corn varieties unique to the region.
Biopollution from genetically engineered organisms is particularly dangerous because it exists on the genetic scale, making it nearly impossible to control or clean up.
CTA and its sister organization, The Center for Food Safety, seek to educate policymakers and the public on the dangers of biopollution and invasive species and to encourage stronger policies to prevent their spread. | <urn:uuid:afd3504a-2ecf-40bd-95ae-73d715a3ebeb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.icta.org/global-warming-and-the-environment/biopollution-invasive-species/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00120-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93129 | 427 | 3.4375 | 3 |
eso9209 — Photo Release
1 July 1992
This photo shows Comet Grigg-Skjellerup, which will be visited by the Giotto spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA) on July 10, 1992
It was obtained by ESO astronomers Jesper Storm and George Meylan with the 3.5 metre ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla observatory, in the evening of June 29, 1992. The comet was situated rather low in the western sky and the red-sensitive exposure lasted 1 minute.
On this date, the comet was about 220 million kilometres from the Earth and about 156 million kilometres from the Sun. It had developed a dust cloud (a 'coma') with an apparent diameter of 40 arcseconds, i.e. 40,000$ kilometres. This cloud of particles comes from the cometary nucleus, a large body of dust and ices (mostly frozen water). No coma features like 'jets' or 'shells' were visible yet. The magnitude of the comet was about 15, i.e.~close to the predicted brightness.
The accurate position of the comet on this photo was measured at the ESO Headquarters in Garching and transmitted to the Giotto Control Centre at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, in support of the spacecraft navigation.
The photo covers an area of 130 x 180 arcseconds; North is up and East is to the right. | <urn:uuid:66bcc49c-bbe7-45af-b88d-4c5c097c8b7f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://eso.org/public/news/eso9209/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948052 | 297 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Something Old, Something Borrowed, Something New: The Ethnic Identity of Polish-American Women During World War I
On February 9, 1917, the Polish-American newspaper Dziennik ZWiazkowy issued an "Appeal to All Polish Women." This article urged Polish women in Chicago to "stand ready to work together with the daughters ofthis country" if the United States were to enter the war in Europe. It also announced a meeting of the Women's Auxiliary of the Polish National Alliance to discuss ways to help in the American war effort and "express honorably and fittingly the feelings we have for the people and the country, whose representative President Wilson announced before the whole world that Poland should be united, free, and autonomous." The article further drives home its point by declaring that "[e]very Polish woman who is a loyal American citizen" should attend the meeting.
Trauscht '99, Cheryl M., "Something Old, Something Borrowed, Something New: The Ethnic Identity of Polish-American Women During World War I" (1999). Honors Projects. Paper 22.
This document is currently not available here. | <urn:uuid:cb5c36fe-17f0-45e4-b4b9-aadb367fd962> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/history_honproj/22/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00018-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923004 | 235 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms are often different for the two types of RBF:
- Streptobacillary RBF
- Spirillary RBF
Streptobacillary RBF Symptoms
- Muscle pain
- Joint pain
Symptoms usually occur 3-10 days after exposure to an infected rodent, but can be delayed as long as 3 weeks. By this time, any associated bite or scratch wound has usually healed.
Within 2-4 days after fever onset, a maculopapular rash may appear on the hands and feet. This rash is identified by flat, reddened areas with small bumps. One or more joints may then become swollen, red, or painful.
Spirillary RBF (also known as Sodoku) Symptoms
Symptoms can vary and often include:
- Fever (that may occur repeatedly)
- Development of an ulcer at the bite wound (when applicable)
- Swelling near the wound
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Rash (occurs following partial healing of the wound)
These symptoms usually occur 7-21 days after exposure to an infected rodent.
The symptoms associated with Haverhill fever (RBF you can get from consuming contaminated food or water) can differ from those that occur when you get the disease through bites and/or scratches. The most notable differences may include more severe vomiting and sore throat.
- Page last reviewed: June 9, 2015
- Page last updated: May 23, 2011
- Content source: | <urn:uuid:a701de06-54b9-4f32-8154-143ae4a2f5c4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cdc.gov/rat-bite-fever/symptoms/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951737 | 310 | 2.625 | 3 |
|Amateur HT Antenna Booster|
The RatTail Antenna Booster is a patented technology. This passive device attaches to a handheld radio operating in the Marine, Aircraft or 2M Ham Radio bands. An increase in transmitted energy of 9 to 12dB (800% - 1600%) is seen when measured at a distance of 1.2 miles (2 km) or more. This increase results from a transformation of your radio's 1/4 wave vertical antenna to a 1/2 wave dipole antenna. Thus more energy is delivered to the horizon. This makes it very useful for emergency rescue operations where rescue workers are having difficulty getting their message through to a base station. Boaters will double their range from a small craft to land. This device only works on handheld radios. A 5 watt handheld radio becomes effectively like a 20 or 40 watt radio, thus increasing its ability to get a signal through. Received sensitivity is also increased by the same amount.
Velcro on the back of the device allows attachment to many places on the radio. There is an optimal place to mount the RatTail on each design of radio to get the maximum increase in efficiency. How it works is simple. The LED in the eye of the rat glows red when you find the right place to mount it on your radio. It then turns your 1/4 wave vertical rubber resistor into one element of an efficient 1/2 wave dipole. The RatTail has a built-in red light in the eye of the rat. Transmitting while moving the plate around to various locations near the bottom of the radio causes the eye to glow brightest when the best mounting spot is found. The device can be mounted anywhere that is convenient, provided that the light glows brightly when you transmit. The glowing eye is essential when initially mounting the device and has no usefulness beyond selecting the mounting location. Velcro can be used for mounting securely after doing careful testing, or the RatTail can temporarily be slipped under the belt clip. It can be rolled up and kept in the pocket when not needed, but some users prefer the velcro approach and always leave the tail attached to the radio.
Transmit enhancement is typically about 800% as measured at 1.2 miles (2 km) with a second radio. The radiation pattern from a handheld radio is not normally horizontal, so much energy is lost to the sky. The RatTail lowers the radiation pattern to make it almost horizontal so that much more energy is delivered to the distant radio. When measured across the room a measurement of the power increase will not be as high as that but about 400%. Reception sensitivity is increased by 400% to 800% to help pull in signals from distant radios.
In addition to boosting the antenna power output it also matches the antenna more closely to the radio. The result is lower battery consumption on some radios on high power. Also since it is possible to use lower power settings, all radios will benefit from this by extending their operating time. This feature allows emergency operations to be carried out for longer periods without the need to stop for battery maintenance.
On a Dual Band ham radio the stock antenna is a compromise antenna that has about a 12dB loss as compared to a proper 2m rubber antenna. The RatTail typically restores the dual band's 2M efficiency to that of a full 1/4 wave vertical. In all the dual band radios we tested there was an astonishing 18db improvement on 2M. This represents a 16 times or 1600% improvement. For the first time Dual band operation on both 2M and 70cm can be equally efficient without the need to change antennas.
Because the Rattail Antenna Booster attaches to the bottom of the radio, unlike other devices that connect to the BNC connector, the RatTail cannot damage the antenna or BNC mounting. If it gets pulled it simply pops off the radio without doing any harm. Made in Canada.
Copyright 2002-2011, Universal Radio, Inc. | <urn:uuid:f47c4323-fad3-4984-ac11-0419c66cbfbf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantht/2714.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00113-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92916 | 805 | 2.578125 | 3 |
OhmG! Ohm’s Law Explained
By Lee Johnson Posted October 4, 2013
Vaping is all about Ohm’s Law. When you’re just getting involved with the hobby and using the cigarette-a-like (starter kit) options available, you don’t need to worry about resistance, voltage and current very much at all – since it’s all pretty much pre-determined by the brand you’ve chosen.
However, when you move into the realms of APVs (advanced personal vaporizers), where the atomizer resistance and voltage are both often variable, then the weird-looking equations actually pretty much determine how powerful your hit of vapor is. It’s actually pretty easy to understand though: it’s just a couple of simple mathematical relationships. You can always cheat by using an Ohm’s Law calculator, though.
Defining Voltage, Resistance and Current
The first things you need to understand are the actual definitions of terms used within it.
Voltage (V) is used regularly, but it’s actually a short-hand for the term voltage difference. It’s a unit for the difference in electrical potential energy between two points (such as the positive and negative terminals on your battery). So a higher voltage between two points means that the same amount of charge would be able to gain more energy, compared to if it was moved across a lower voltage.
Current (I) can be thought of as the amount of charge flowing through a surface (like a wire) per second. This is what you’ll traditionally think of as electricity – the parade of electrons down wires which light up your home and allow you to read this text.
It can help to visualize current as like water flowing through a hosepipe. In the pipe analogy, voltage can be thought of as how open the supplying faucet is (controlling how much water can possibly flow through). As the water flows through the pipe, it’s slowed down by friction with the sides of the pipe, and this “friction” also occurs in electrically conductive materials as resistance. So the higher the resistance, the more electrical current is opposed.
In actuality, the resistance of a material is essentially how much stuff there is for the electrons to bump into on their journey through the circuit. It’s worth noting that all materials have resistance (apart from very cold superconductors), so the copper wires we so commonly use as power cables are just chosen for their relatively low resistance. Similarly, whilst the resistance of your atomizer will be labeled, every part of the circuit also has some inherent resistance.
Current is measured in amps (A) and resistance is ohms (Ω).
Ohm’s law can be stated in words as “current equals voltage divided by resistance,” and more mathematically as:
I = V / R
Where I is current, V is voltage and R is resistance.
This concurs with the description above, where the voltage provides the raw potential, which is reduced (hence divided by) the resistance to produce the final current. Placing values into the spaces, you could work out the electrical current when you vape at 3.4 V with a 1.8 Ω resistance. This is simply 3.4 divided by 1.8, which comes out to around 1.9 A (after rounding).
Similarly, the equation can be re-arranged if you need to work out something else. You could additionally say that voltage is equal to current multiplied by resistance (V = IR) or that resistance is equal to voltage divided by current (R = V/I).
Extending Ohm’s Law
However, people generally talk about vaping in terms of the wattage, which is a measure of power. This is a measure of energy over time, and the unit of power is the watt (W).
To work out power using the quantities of Ohm’s Law, you can use these equations:
P = V^2 / R P = I^2R P = VI
Power is P in these equations. So if you want to work out how many watts you’re vaping at, you simply work out the voltage squared (at 3.4 V: 3.4^2 = 3.4 × 3.4 = 11.56) and then divide the result by the resistance (at 1.8 Ω, 11.56 / 1.8 = 6.4222… so around 6.4 W). Additionally, you can use the value of the current you’ve worked out previously with either of the remaining two equations (remembering that P = VI means power equals voltage multiplied by current).
So What Does This Mean for Vaping?
The atomizer which powers the vapor-producing on your e-cig is basically a heating coil. It works because electrical resistance (the energy lost to the metaphorical “friction” on the circuit) creates heat, which can be thought of as “waste” energy.
You might assume that a higher resistance atomizer would produce more heat and therefore more vapor, but in actuality the power is more important. You can think of the resistance in the atomizer as converting a proportion of the energy flowing through the system into heat. So whilst a higher proportion is good, what’s much more important is the amount of energy flowing through the system in the first place.
With electrons flowing through the wire at a greater rate, more of them bang into stuff (encounter resistance) and produce heat. This is why power (the wattage) is the most important measure of the amount of vapor you’ll get.
This is confirmed by the equations above, where the initial voltage is squared before being divided by resistance to produce the power. This means that the best vapor production would come from a low resistance with a high voltage. However, an important caveat is that increasing energy going through the system means that your atomizer will wear out more quickly.
The best thing to do is to experiment, but if you’re looking for a better vapor output always choose a low resistance atomizer over a high resistance one on your APV.
A Note on Battery Safety
Whereas mods like the ProVari come with in-built safety mechanisms to protect you from vaping-related accidents, mechanical mods and other APVs may not have these same safety precautions. Thankfully, the knowledge of Ohm’s law you’ve gained – combined with a little bit of information about batteries – can help you ensure you’re always operating within your specific battery’s limitations.
The most important additional information you need (besides the stuff you can determine from Ohm’s Law) is the C rating of your battery and the cell capacity (which is shown in mAh on the battery itself). The C rating isn’t always easy to find, but you’re looking for the maximum continuous discharge rating (burst discharge is no use for vaping) of the battery. Forum posts are a good place to look for the information, particularly if your supplier or a Google search doesn’t return useful information. A post here has the maximum discharge ratings for common mod batteries (in Amps).
To work it out yourself, you simply multiply the C rating of the battery by the cell capacity. For example, if you have a 700 mAh (milliamp hours) battery with a C rating of 8 C, this means it can deal with up to 700 × 8 = 5,600 milliamps of current. A milliamp is 1/1000 of an amp, which means you simply divide this by 1,000 to get the answer in amps, so in this case the maximum operating current would be 5.6 A.
Using the calculation above (at 3.4 V and with a 1.8 Ω atomizer – which works out to 1.9 A), you can see that this is only likely to become an issue when you get into the realms of sub-Ohm coils. If you were working at the same voltage with a 0.7 Ω coil, you’d be getting towards 5 amps, so whilst it would still technically be fine it would probably be wise to drop the voltage for the sake of safety. You’d get a ton of vapor even at 2.9 V with this resistance, but in practice you should keep the resistance over 0.8 Ω on any coil you use – there’s really no need to take a risk!
In reality, if you buy a high-quality battery there will likely be safety precautions built in to prevent catastrophe even in the worst case scenario. As mentioned above, this won’t really present much of an issue unless your resistances get very low, but if you’re rebuilding atomizers with low resistance you should do the math before you start to vape – just in case!
Also, check out this helpful Vaping Power Chart put together by our friends at Reddit/r/electronic_cigarettes. Click here for the larger version. | <urn:uuid:8d17886a-b6bf-4efe-b493-b7e0067d771c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ecigarettereviewed.com/ohms-law-explained-for-vaping | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00168-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945469 | 1,902 | 3.203125 | 3 |
The Antarctic teaches us patience if nothing else! Here we are at the gate and can't get on, and with our five precious weeks slipping by.
It was good that their experience meant they had favored a good and fairly sheltered campsite. Although shielded from the wind, its roaring in the craggy side of the glacier was a constant companion for the next four days. Occasionally, in the lulls, they would look outside only to see looming blue icefalls appearing through the drifts on the way ahead. Not an encouraging site to cheer or improve their mood during this enforced period of inactivity.
Hold up in their tents there was not much to do except catch up on diary writing, adding or working up field notes, and preparing and eating meals. During this period of inactivity, the body required less food so they would downsize their meals and consumed less food. At this stage of the expedition not being short of food this would have been for comfort, but later during the journey home where food was short it would be for necessity. From later diary entries, we know they would have been talking, joking, and possibly debating various back home issues also, the three seamen Abbott, Browning and Dickason were quite inventive when it came to games to fill in the time.
Page 3 of 4 | <urn:uuid:7b49c8c6-647b-432b-899f-041957cfcdd9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://sites.google.com/site/scottsnorthernparty/10-boomerang-to-boomerang/boom--boom--p2/boom--boom--p4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00175-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986513 | 266 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Photo: craftgoat (flickr)
What a light bulb and an egg have in common?
All In The Details
The shell of an egg and the glass exterior of a light bulb have more than one thing in common. First, both protect something delicate inside: the exterior of the light bulb keeps the delicate internal wiring protected and an eggshell protects a developing chick. The need to protect chicks and wiring requires that eggshells and light bulbs be structurally strong.
Second, both are made of thin material. A chick, ready to hatch, has to be able to peck its way through the shell. And because light bulbs are usually made of opaque rather than clear glass, the glass exterior must be thin so that light can shine through.
So how can a structure be strong and yet made of thin material at the same time? By using a carefully-designed oval shape.
Think About This
Picture for a moment a square egg. If you took that imaginary object in your hand and squeezed it very hard between your thumb and finger, the pressure you’d exert would be localized in the exact part of the flat surface your thumb and finger were pushing. Even a slight pressure would be great enough to break the thin shell into pieces. But if you do the same thing to a real egg, the force you exert is not localized in one point, but is distributed into all directions around the surface of the egg. Though you can eventually break an egg by doing this, it takes a great deal more force to do so.
Of course, it’s no coincidence that the shapes of light bulbs and eggs are similar. When the light bulb was invented and perfected, it was patterned after a shape that nature had come up with hundreds of thousands of years ago. | <urn:uuid:97b876de-2c2b-4851-8440-130cab9f5f0c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/light-bulb-egg/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959074 | 364 | 3.453125 | 3 |
What is Secondary Market Research and Data?Secondary data is the data collected by someone else other than the researcher himself. This data can be gathered from government records, books, trade associations, national or international institutes, statistics agencies, etc. Research done using this readily available information is called Secondary Market Research.
Factors to be considered while collecting data from secondary sources :
1) Accuracy of data: One should evaluate the credibility of source of data and methods used to collect data because these factors directly influence the accuracy of data.
2) Time and Cost required to collect data: Some sources of data charge money in order to give access to their information, so an organization needs to evaluate this cost with the cost of collecting data by themselves (primary market research).
3) One also needs to take care that information collected answers the issues which need to be addressed.
Advantages of Secondary Market Research1) Time and Cost effective : Usually time and cost required to collect secondary data is less than efforts required to collect primary data. Data is available freely or at far lesser cost through secondary sources.
2) Extensiveness of data : Data collected by governments and other institutes is usually very extensive and covers a large spectrum of issues. An organization can filter that data and consider only parts which they are targeting.
3) Basis of Primary Research : Data collected from secondary sources gives an idea to organization about effectiveness of primary research. From secondary data one can form hypothesis and can evaluate the cost and efforts required to conduct own surveys. One can also note down issues, which are not covered from secondary research and, need to be addressed through primary research.
Disadvantages of Secondary Market Research1) Data Definitions : Secondary Researcher needs to understand various parameters and assumptions that primary research had taken while collected information. A term may have different meaning for different people, example a term 'youth' used is ambiguous and one needs to find what is the assumed age taken by primary researcher.
2) Inaccuracy of Data : As we are not gathering our own information, first-hand, we are totally dependent on someone else's efforts. Primary researcher may have been biased or may have used questionable methods to collect data; this can be pretty risky for secondary researchers to base their report on such data.
3) Time Lag Issues: Information collected from books, historical surveys are usually not sync with the times and might have changed drastically. Thus making such information a foundation of research may be highly risky for the business or project.
4) May not be Specific : Extensiveness of such information is its benefit as well as drawback. Organization will not get answers to their specific issues through this data directly and one needs to 'mine' further into it to get relevant information.
5) Proprietary Issues : Some of the secondary sources might have copyrighted their information and using them without permission can lead to various legal complications.
Usually it’s for small organizations and projects secondary market research is preferred because the time and amount of money required is less.
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Earned Value Analysis terms and Formulae | <urn:uuid:5d1be8d9-5572-4978-a5ca-12aac64871f0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ianswer4u.com/2012/05/secondary-market-research-advantages.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943674 | 659 | 3.125 | 3 |
Frequent drinking is an effective way of preventing a coronary, unless you are a woman. Men who drink alcohol every day have a lower risk of heart disease than those who drink once a week or less, a study found. But for women, a weekly drink is as effective as a daily one; there is no gain from more frequent drinking. It is well known that moderate drinking protects against heart disease but most research has been done on men.
Researchers compared the impact of alcohol on heart disease in more than 50,000 men and women. They found women who drank at least one day a week had a 36 per cent reduced risk of heart disease than those who drank less frequently or not at all, about the same as those who drank every day. But the risks for men declined with increased frequency of drinking. Those who drank one day a week had a 7 per cent reduced risk and those who drank daily cut their risk by 41 per cent.
The researchers published their findings in the British Medical Journal. The study was done in Denmark on 28,000 women and 25,000 men aged from 50 to 65. The women had an average of five and a half drinks a week, half the amount the men had.
An editorial in the BMJ warned that the participants were middle-aged and at higher risk of heart disease, extremes of drinking may not have been captured and the observational nature of the study meant other explanations were possible. | <urn:uuid:e754e4d4-7e08-4da6-9829-307a74997efb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/regular-drinking-cuts-risk-of-heart-attack-for-men-479764.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983732 | 289 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Antonio Torralba, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science and EECS graduate students Ce Liu (PhD '09) and Jenny Yuen have developed an object recognition system that doesn't require any training. Even so, it still identifies objects with 50 percent greater accuracy than the best prior algorithm used for such tasks.
As noted by the MIT News Office (Oct.ber 13, 2009), most object recognition algrorithms need to be 'trained' using digital images so that they can eventually recognize the generic object (such as a car) and its typical features. But, that is only one class of objects--the whole process must be repeated for each class of objects.
Torralba and his students' new system instead uses a modified version of a so-called motion estimation algorithm--a type of algorithm common in video processing. The motion estimation algorithm determines which objects have moved from one frame to the next. So the algorithm just needs to recognize the changes in corners, edges, etc. and the change in appearance under different perspectives.
The new system essentially treats unrelated images as if they were consecutive frames in a video sequence. In checking for movement between one image and the next, the motion estimation algorithm picks out objects of the same type. Of course, the greater the resemblance of the labeled and unlabeled images, the better the algorithm works.
What is beautiful about Torralba's and his team's work is that it is enhanced by earlier efforts to compile a huge database of labeled images gathered through a web-based system called LabelMe. This system has allowed online volunteers to tag objects in digital images. This compiled data plus the website called 80 Million Tiny Images that sorts the images according to subject matter, now allows the new algorithm to find something similar. The longer the LabelMe and 80 Million Tiny Images data bases are allowed to grow, the more readily the new object recognition algorithm will make correct and ever more accurate associations.
In fact, the existence of this large database, according to University of Central Florida computer vision researcher Marshall Tappen, will allow far more innovation than just image recognition. This is apparently born out by the fact, Tappen notes, "that several papers presented at Siggraph, the major conference in the field of computer graphics are all using LabelMe."
See:"Nonparametric Scene Parsing: Label Transfer via Dense Scene Alignment," Ce Liu, Jenny Yuen, and Antonio Torralba. | <urn:uuid:9a264ff8-5798-41f4-9cbd-a54d23d20021> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eecs.mit.edu/news-events/media/torralbas-team-making-image-recognition-automatic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931604 | 514 | 2.859375 | 3 |
When was the last time you yelled, screamed, criticized or punished your child? When did you last hug, encourage, praise or say “thank you” to your child? If these parenting behaviors were placed on a weight scale side-by-side, what would the results be in determining how you fare in building healthy self-esteem vs. low self-esteem in your children? What would your self-esteem look like if roles were reversed and you were the child being parented by someone just like you?
Parents may not think about or realize how their words and actions impact their children’s self-worth, their ability to feel good about themselves, and how it follows children well into adulthood. The overall independence, happiness and success of children depends largely on parents building healthy self-esteem in their children and teens.
Family communication research confirms that parents spend very little time actually communicating with their children, and when parents do speak to their child it is most often to complain, criticize or reprimand them for something they’ve done wrong. Studies show that younger children are often criticized and yelled at throughout the day, whereas older children and teens report receiving more encouragement and praise as they got older. Something is terribly wrong with that.
In a previous article, I talked about the importance of building self-esteem in children by considering how they view the world through their young eyes and ears, keeping in mind the importance of giving loving encouragement and genuine praise to children. Promoting self-confidence in children means that parents must evaluate and re-evaluate their parenting style, making needed changes and improvements in order for their children to grow up feeling loved, appreciated and wanted.
Young children tend to hear things like:
- Put that down!
- Stop doing that!
- Stop hitting your sister!
- Don’t throw the ball in the house!
- If you do that one more time I’m going to…!
Parents need to look for opportunities and situations to encourage and genuinely praise children when they are cooperating, being nice to their brother or sister, helping with household chores, following the rules or just being good, remembering not to expect perfection with each task.
- I like the way you helped set the table for dinner.
- Thank you for playing nicely with your sister/brother.
- I appreciate how you picked up your toys and put them away.
- I like the way you made your bed all by yourself.
- Thank you for helping me fold the laundry.
- I appreciate how well you behaved at the store today.
Promote self-confidence in children by teaching them positive Self-Talk. Psychologists have found that negative self-talk causes depression and anxiety in children, so it’s important to teach children to have pride in their abilities and accomplishments.
I can still remember when my children were about 3 years-old and trying to get them dressed for the day. My son didn’t want me to help him put his shirt on and said, “I can do it myself!” I allowed him to get dressed by himself, and even though he put the shirt on backwards, the smile on his face told me he felt good about his ability to do things without help.
Children need to be allowed to make age-appropriate choices and decisions, such as deciding what outfit they’ll wear or what they want to eat for breakfast or lunch, as well as helping with chores and responsibilities in the home, in order to learn how to deal with the consequences of their decisions.
- Would you like to wear the blue outfit or the red one today?
- Would you like peanut butter and jelly or a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch?
- Would you like to clean the kitchen or clean the bathroom?
- Would you like to mow the yard or sweep the sidewalk?
- Would you like vegetable soup or chili for dinner tonight?
Children need to be given self-esteem activities in order to feel good about themselves. John is the father of two children, a 9 year-old daughter and an 11 year-old son. From the time his children were five years old, John and his wife began taking the children to homeless shelter’s over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to help feed and serve the homeless.
John’s kids are some of the most compassionate and empathetic children I’ve ever known, so much so that when a family vacation was being considered one year over the holidays, both children said they “need to help the people at the shelter’s” rather than go on vacation. The vacation trip was postponed and the children were thrilled in being allowed to contribute to the final decision.
Children also need to be shown proper discipline from their parents, along with parents setting limits regarding how they talk and behave. Undisciplined children cannot grow up with healthy self-esteem and tend to be more dependent upon others, feeling they have no control over their own lives. Children need emotional and physical protection provided through rules and limits in order to have high self-esteem. I’ll be dealing with the issue of giving proper discipline to children in an upcoming article.
When was the last time you had a real conversation with your child or teen where you truly felt connected? What are some things you recommend parents do to help build high self-esteem in children and teenagers? Do you have a question or personal story you would like to share about building self-confidence in children? If so, please leave a comment below. | <urn:uuid:c28e2de0-a287-47b7-a20e-c45eb5e7baf2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.tellinitlikeitis.net/2008/04/building-self-confidence-in-children-with-self-esteem-activities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978367 | 1,138 | 2.828125 | 3 |
The State of Idaho is situated in the north western part of the United States of America. The capital city as well as the largest city in the area is called Boise. The natives of the region are called Idahoans. Idaho was a delayed admission to the Union and became a part of it in the year 1890 on the 3rd of July. It was the 43rd state to be included in the union. The state is rich of natural resources and from this originates the name called the GEM. The total population of the state is calculated to be 1,493,262. The motto of the state is called Let it be forever.
The living symbols that represent the state of Idaho are Amphibian Eastern Tiger Salamander, Butterfly Monarch Butterfly, Bird Mountain Bluebird, Flower Mock Orange, Fish Cutthroat trout, Mammal Appaloosa horse, Insect Monarch Butterfly and Tree Western White Pine.
The region of Idaho has been inhabited since thousands of years back. The exact date according to historians is approximately of 14,500 years ago. Excavations at Wilson Butte Cave which is situated in close approximation to the Twin Falls in the year 1959 were suggestive of evidence of human beings and included a number of artifacts including arrowheads. The most eminent tribes that inhabited the area are called Nez Perce. The name of the state is said to have been derived from Idahox though this theory is not widely accepted. The United State’s congress has ardently debated upon the name of the state and its origin and the name Idaho was suggested by George M. Willing. The name comes from the Shoshone language and means the gem of the mountains in English. It was also called as Colorado territory for a brief period until the emergence of the Idaho county which then formed the present day state of Idaho. | <urn:uuid:c69d53ac-6d48-4ce7-b084-f2a9a5ea3b3f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.agitproperties.com/north-america/u-s-a/idaho/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980797 | 369 | 3.234375 | 3 |
The basin has a surface area larger than Suffolk and holds billions of litres of water that add up to close to ten times Kenya’s current reserves.
Surrounding plains and hills recharge supplies at an annual rate that means the aquifer could potentially fulfil the country’s water demands indefinitely.
Researchers from a French-American firm, Radar Technologies International, worked with the Kenyan government and Unesco to layer satellite, radar and geological maps on top of each other, and then used seismic techniques developed to find oil to identify the reservoir.
It lies in Kenya’s extreme northwest, close to its borders with South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. The area is sparsely populated and prone to conflict over existing scarce resources.
“It is important to say that these are early estimates, and these resources must be managed well in order that they benefit the people of Kenya,” said Mohamed Djelid, Unesco’s East Africa director.
“But if all goes well, we can say that this really is a game changer.” Close to half of Kenya’s 41 million people have no access to clean water, and farmers in arid areas struggle to raise crops without adequate irrigation.
Tapping the new reserves, in the Lotikipi Basin in the Turkana region and other areas nearby, could create vast new zones of farmland in landscapes where today even the hardiest plants struggle to survive.
“The news about these water reserves comes at a time when reliable water supplies are highly needed,” said Judi Wakhungu, cabinet secretary at the Kenyan environment, water and natural resources ministry.
“This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole.
“We must now work to further explore these resources responsibly and safeguard them for future generations.” There have been similar announcements of massive new water finds beneath Africa’s driest areas in the past.
In 2007, scientists said that they had identified an underground “megalake” in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region that was ten times the size of the Kenyan discovery, but its bounty has yet to be tapped.
“From what I’ve seen of the figures on the Turkana find, it looks very encouraging,” said Brian McSorley, a water expert at Oxfam in Nairobi.
“But knowing there’s water there, and then getting it to the surface, are two different things. There will need to be decent follow-up studies and then proper investment to ensure it benefits the poorest people there.” The aquifers lie as deep as 1,000 feet, which poses significant technological and cost challenges compared to shallower reserves, Mr McSorley said.
Kenya’s government will now carry out further drilling in areas surrounding the sites where the new water supplies were first drawn to the surface, to gather more data on their true extent.
The land that lies above is among the most hostile in Kenya. There are few roads or electricity supplies, and the Turkana, Samburu and Pokot tribes that live there are regularly at war with each other.
The border area between Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, known as the Ilemi Triangle, has never been officially delineated.
Constructing, fuelling and maintaining boreholes, and building pipelines to bring the water supplies to remote communities, will also pose significant difficulties. | <urn:uuid:82804bd9-676f-4478-93c8-b762624f3ccb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/10302421/Kenya-finds-70-year-supply-of-water-in-desert-region.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00038-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947923 | 732 | 3.4375 | 3 |
One day, [Adam] was asked if he would like to take part in a little project. A mad scientist come engineer at [Adam]’s job had just removed the plastic casing from a IC, and wanted a little help decoding the information on a masked ROM. These ROMs are basically just data etched directly into silicon, so the only way to actually read the data is with some nitric acid and a microscope. [Adam] was more than up for the challenge, but not wanting to count out thousands of 1s and 0s etched into a chip, he figured out a way to let a computer do it with some clever programming and computer vision.
[Adam] has used OpenCV before, but the macro image of the masked ROM had a lot of extraneous information; there were gaps in the columns of bits, and letting a computer do all the work would result in crap data. His solution was to semi-automate the process of counting 1s and 0s by selecting a grid by hand and letting image processing software do the rest of the work.
This work resulted in rompar, a tool to decode the data on de-packaged ROMs. It works very well – [Adam] was able to successfully decode the ROM and netted the machine codes for the object of his reverse engineering. | <urn:uuid:d8ef47ec-da68-4b26-925e-e763f7297906> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://hackaday.com/2013/02/04/finding-1s-and-0s-with-a-microscope-and-computer-vision/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980861 | 270 | 2.921875 | 3 |
USGS National Streamflow Information Program
People have used many ways to obtain estimates of the amount of water flowing in streams and rivers. Each of these ways can be considered a 'streamgage'. For example, some use a method to record the height of the water in the river and record that height periodically. An example of this method would be a 'staff gage' (see below). Another type of streamgage is one that only provides information on the highest flow since the gage was last visited. This type of streamgage is called a 'crest stage gage' (see below).
Another type of streamgage is one that is designed for warning of floods only. This type of streamgage is typically referred to as an 'ALERT' (Automated Local Evaluation in Real-Time) streamgage and it is designed to send a warning when the water level reaches a predetermined level or changes rapidly.
'Partial record streamgages' are those operated and quality assured only for given flow regimes such as high flow, peak flow, low flow, etc. The period (or date) of the quality assured flow value(s) may be variable from one year to another. These streamgages could include crest stage gages and low flow correlation sites. Seasonal streamgages are those that are operated and the data is quality assured for a defined period of the water year (i.e. a streamgage which is only operated during irrigation allotment season).
Because there are many different streamgages, the USGS has developed a very specific definition of what is meant by 'streamgage' for the purposes of the National Streamflow Information Program and these web pages - unless otherwise stated, "streamgage" is an active, continuously functioning measuring device in the field for which a mean daily streamflow is computed or estimated and quality assured for at least 355 days of a water year or a complete set of unit values are computed or estimated and quality assured for at least 355 days of a water year.
Most USGS streamgages operate by measuring the elevation of the water in the river or stream and then converting the water elevation (called 'stage') to a streamflow ('discharge') by using a curve that relates the elevation to a set of actual discharge measurements. This is done because currently the technology is not available to measure the flow of the water accurately enough directly.
The USGS standard is to measure river stage to 0.01 inches. This is accomplished by the use of floats inside a stilling well, by the use of pressure transducers that measure how much pressure is required to a push a gas bubble through a tube (related to the depth of water), or with radar.
At most USGS streamgages, the stage is measured every 15 minutes and the data is stored in an electronic data recorder, most often powered by solar energy. At set intervals, usually between every 1 to 4 hours, the data is transmitted to the USGS using satellite, phone, or radio. At the USGS offices, the curves relating stage to streamflow are applied to determine estimates of the streamflow and both the stage and streamflow data are then displayed on the USGS web pages.
For more information on how streamgages work, see: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3131/.
For more information on real-time streamflow data, see: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3043/. | <urn:uuid:ef76a8f2-8b64-4af9-946e-6c76848e80f9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://water.usgs.gov/nsip/definition9.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949359 | 713 | 3.71875 | 4 |
French educator; born at Avignon Jan. 22, 1827; died at Nanterre (Seine) Oct. 5, 1891. Hément was a schoolmaster all his life, rising to the position of primary inspector of the department of the Seine, and retiring in 1886 with the title Honorary Inspector-General of Public Instruction. During the war of 1870 Hément was entrusted with special work relating to the defense of the fort of Vanves. He afterward gave innumerable lectures throughout France for the purpose of aiding the advancement of popular instruction. Those which he delivered in the department of Aisne in 1883 brought about a conflict with Mgr. Thibaudier, then Bishop of Soissons, which caused some stir at the time.
Hément's works cover a wide sphere of learning. The following deserve special mention:
- Menus Propos sur les Sciences, 1866. La Force et la Matière, 1867.
- L'Homme Primitif, 1868. De la Force Vitale, 1870.
- Famille, Propriété, Patrie, 1872. Premières Notions d'Histoire Naturelle, 1874.
- Simples Discours sur la Terre et sur l'Homme, 1875 (crowned by the French Academy). De l'Instinct et de l'Intelligence, 1880.
- L'Origine des Etres Vivants, 1882. Les Infiniment Petits, 1885.
- Les Etoiles Filantes et les Bolides, 1888. La Science Anecdotique, 1889. Entretiens sur la Liberté de la Conscience, 1890.
Hément was decorated with the Legion of Honor.
- Vapereau, Dictionnaire Universel des Contemporains. | <urn:uuid:b19c3995-e474-47b4-81bc-2bdb125a4a35> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7549-hement-felix | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00068-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.758136 | 390 | 2.828125 | 3 |
's actions reveal his thoughts.
On Friday, April 7, he wrote Lee
: “The last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance.
I regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia.”
The unsuccessful battles, the dwindling regiments, the starvation, the retreat cut off,--all this was plainly the end; and it stared Lee
in the face.
But on such a sight Lee
had not at first the moral strength to open his eyes.
The pain was too blinding.
In his youth he had taken an oath to support the government.
That government had educated him to be a soldier.
He had been against Secession.
But, when the time came to choose between Secession and his oath, he chose (not without reluctance) to break his oath, and turn against the government the teaching it had given him. And | <urn:uuid:059fe084-3905-44e3-9751-d5e768a55405> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2001.05.0061%3Achapter%3D5%3Apage%3D121 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986252 | 205 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Holistic Health News
Holistic and natural health care information for people and their pets
For over 5000 years herbs have played a vital role in health care and well-being. Much of Chinese medicine, even today, is based on herbs and herbalism. Modern (or Western) herbalism stems from a variety of sources. American folklore and tradition have played a major role.
Today, almost all drugs and over-the-counter remedies rely on herbalism in some way. Whether they serve weight loss purposes like Sensa or promote overall health, many treatments are synthetic-compounds of naturally occurring substances. (Drug companies are always striving to duplicate nature!)
Herbs are used to provide the body with the ideal environment to promote health and self-healing. Some herbs may be taken on a daily basis for overall good health; while others are added in times of poor health to strengthen a body system. | <urn:uuid:4b23dc9c-741b-43a9-ac13-a7db7fa8a5a0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hhnews.com/herbs.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967106 | 184 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases kill nearly three-quarters of a million Americans each year. They are the leading cause of death, accounting for nearly 30% of all deaths in the United States. But according to a new study published online yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, many of these deaths can be prevented.
For the study, researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta looked at cardiovascular death rates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. They also tallied the rates of five so-called modifiable risk factors, or factors under a person’s control, that affect the risk of cardiovascular disease. These include smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
Death rates due to cardiovascular disease spanned a surprising range across the nation. Mississippi topped the list, with 477 deaths for every 100,000 residents. That was more than double the rate in Minnesota, which had the lowest rate at 195 per 100,000 residents. In general, Southern states had the highest rates. (See the list below.)
Nationwide, 4 out of 5 people had at least one modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The state-by-state distribution showed that people in Southern states tended to have more risk factors than residents of other states.
What would happen if these five risk factors disappeared — that is, what if all smokers quit, all obese people lost weight, and so on? The researchers calculated that eliminating these five factors would prevent more than half of all U.S. deaths from cardiovascular disease. Realizing that elimination may not be possible, they asked what would happen if, as a nation, we were able to do as well as the residents of the best-performing states. The result was a more modest 10% reduction in cardiovascular disease–related deaths.
“Since 1960, deaths from cardiovascular disease in the U.S. have been reduced by half,” said cardiologist Dr. Gregory Curfman, Editor in Chief of Harvard Health Publications. “But we still have a long way to go. Further reducing the death rate by focusing on five modifiable risk factors is a critical goal for all Americans.”
Protecting your heart
Some of the things that cause or contribute to cardiovascular disease — genes, age, air pollution, buildings or neighborhoods that aren’t conducive to walking — are beyond an individual’s ability to change. But there are many other factors we can control. As the Emory study and others point out, modifiable risk factors are at the root of many cases of cardiovascular disease.
Here are five of the most important things you can do to protect your heart:
- Exercise often.
- Eat healthfully.
- Keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar under control.
- Lose weight if needed.
- Don’t smoke.
Cardiovascular deaths rates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
|State||Deaths per 100,000 residents|
|District of Columbia||440.9|
Source: Shivani A. Patel and others, “Cardiovascular Mortality Associated With 5 Leading Risk Factors: National and State Preventable Fractions Estimated From Survey Data” Annals of Internal Medicine; published online June 29. 2015 | <urn:uuid:b1d02281-7bdf-42a5-a4bf-3c96a396cc5e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/half-of-heart-disease-deaths-could-be-prevented-201506308118 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.873498 | 681 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 46, Homo Byzantinus: Papers in Honor of Alexander Kazhdan (1992), pp. 279-293
One of the leitmotivsin Alexander Kazhdan’s multifaceted oeuvreis a message that by now most of us have made our own: during the life- span of Byzantine civilization, significant changes were occurring behind an apparently uniform fa- cade. There existed, as it were, several Byzantine civilizations at different times. In the offering which, after some years of rumination, I am presenting to the master of our studies and an old friend, I wish to provide a pendant to his message: my story will be straightforward, but it also will re- mind us that at any given time there coexisted, as it were, several manifestations of the same Byzantine civilization.
If one were to ask the average Byzantinist to name the monuments of Byzantine art that can be dated to around 800, give or take a quarter of a century, the answer would probably be parts of St. Irene in Constantinople and St. Sophia in Thessalonica; a stage in the mosaic decoration of the Dormition Church of Nicaea (assuming that he had seen photographs taken before 1922); the remains of Theophanes the Confessor’s church at his mon- astery of Megas Agros; the ivory (probably a scep- ter) with the likeness of one of the emperors Leo- which one would depend on which recent article he might have read;’ and the miniatures of the Vatican Ptolemy (Vat. gr. 1291). | <urn:uuid:a4e51759-2cc8-48b2-b11d-8d4612331767> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.medievalists.net/2013/08/19/the-search-for-the-past-in-byzantium-around-the-year-800/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954566 | 343 | 2.609375 | 3 |
After completing this chapter, students will be able to:
- understand the Earth system processes that influence the rate and timing of evaporation and surface runoff in a given area;
- compare annual precipitation patterns to annual evaporation and surface runoff patterns;
- gain skill and understanding in the use of the GIS analysis tools, specifically the FieldScope Web GIS;
- collect and record quantitative data in a data table and use it to support responses to questions; and
- analyze and interpret data displayed on maps.
Because precipitation and evaporation are components of the global water cycle, the total amount of water is constant over time with equal rates of precipitation and evaporation world-wide, but depending on location and time of year (i.e. seasons) these two may not balance with evaporation actually being greater than the precipitation. Students will explore precipitation and evaporation amounts across the U.S. As they collect data for study cities, they should recognize that there is not always a balance between the two components at a specific location. Some of the imbalance is the result of seasonal factors. For example, when precipitation occurs as snow during the winter, it doesn't contribute to surface runoff and evaporation as readily as when it melts during the spring. But, some of the imbalance may be due to the fact that there are regional or global factors involved.Evaporation
Evaporation is a physical process by which a liquid or solid substance is transformed to the gaseous state. Evaporation represents the return of precipitation back into the atmosphere. Like precipitation, evaporation is not evenly distributed by location. The main sources of water vapor in the lower atmosphere are evaporation from Earth's surface and transpiration by plants.
Major factors influencing the rate of evaporation include atmospheric temperature, wind, atmospheric humidity, and the availability of water. Other contributing conditions and factors may include the following:
- The movement of water between Earth's surface and the atmosphere is partially controlled by atmospheric humidity.
- If there is little or no surface water, then the total amount of evaporation is low. In hot arid areas, such as the southwest, the total amount of evaporation is low because there is little water in the system to evaporate. However, the rate of evaporation (verses total amount of evaporation occurring over time) is high when water is available in hot arid areas. High evaporation is dependent on high precipitation, although there is sometimes a time lag in evaporation. For example, evaporation rates are high in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains in the spring and summer when there is little precipitation.
- The type of land surface and vegetation influences evaporation and evapotranspiration rates.
- The higher the wind speed, the greater the rate of evaporation.
- Evaporation rates increase with increasing temperature.
- During warmer months, plant evapotranspiration rates increase.
Surface runoff is the water that flows down creeks, streams and rivers. Precipitated water that has not evaporated back into the atmosphere or infiltrated into the ground runs off as surface water.
Major processes and factors influencing the timing and quantity of surface runoff include the amount of precipitation, rate of precipitation, form of precipitation (snow, rain, sleet, hail, etc), season the precipitation fell, infiltration rate, degree of ground saturation, land use and ground cover, and geology.
Before the students begin this investigation, ask them to develop a working hypothesis describing the relationship between total annual precipitation and total annual evaporation. Will areas with high precipitation have high evaporation rates? Will areas with low precipitation, such as the hot, arid west, also have high total annual evaporation? Write the various hypotheses down on the class whiteboard so that students can refer back to them as they work through the GIS analysis.
As part of this investigation, students fill out a table of annual precipitation, evaporation, and surface runoff, for four pre-selected cities as well as three of their choice. One extension of this activity is to graph the data using Excel or other graphing/charting program. The chart can help students visualize the relationships of these different variables across the country. One important relationship for them to observe is how little surface runoff occurs compared to evaporation.
An Excel spreadsheet has been created for this purpose. Click here to download: Water_Availability.xls (Excel 40kB Sep22 09) After downloading and opening, click on the Investigation III tab at the bottom of the sheet to open the appropriate table and chart. Blank cells are in the table for students to add their selected cities. Below is an example of the data from the four pre-selected cities in the Investigation.
Another option is to have students create the chart on graph paper.
The following National Science Education Standards are supported by this chapter:
Science as Inquiry
- 8ASI1.3 Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data. The use of tools and techniques, including mathematics, will be guided by the question asked and the investigations students design. The use of computers for the collection, summary, and display of evidence is part of this standard. Students should be able to access, gather, store, retrieve, and organize data, using hardware and software designed for these purposes.
- 8ASI1.4 Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence. Students should base their explanation on what they observed, and as they develop cognitive skills, they should be able to differentiate explanation from description — providing causes for effects and establishing relationships based on evidence and logical argument. This standards requires a subject knowledge base so the students can effectively conduct investigations, because developing explanations establishes connections between the content of science and the contexts within which students develop new knowledge.
Earth and Space Science
- 8DESS1.6 Water, which covers the majority of Earth's surface, circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known as the "water cycle." Water evaporates from Earth's surface, rises and cools as it moves to higher elevations, condenses as rain or snow, and falls to the surface where it collects in lakes, oceans, soil, and in rocks underground.
- 8DESS1.10 Global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather. Oceans have a major effect on climate, because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat.
Science as Inquiry
- 12ASI1.3 Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications. A variety of technologies, such as hand tools, measuring instruments, and calculators, should be an integral component of scientific investigations. The use of computers for the collection, analysis, and display of data is also a part of this standard. Mathematics plays an essential role in all aspects of an inquiry. For example, measurement is used for posing questions, formulas are used for developing explanations, and charts and graphs are used for communicating results.
Earth and Space Science
- 12DESS2.2 Movement of matter between reservoirs is driven by Earth's internal and external sources of energy. These movements are often accompanied by a change in the physical and chemical properties of the matter. Carbon, for example, occurs in carbonate rocks such as limestone, in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas, in water as dissolved carbon dioxide, and in all organisms as complex molecules that control the chemistry of life.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
- 12FSPSP3.1 Human populations use resources in the environment in order to maintain and improve their existence. Natural resources have been and will continue to be used to maintain human populations.
- 12FSPSP4.1 Natural ecosystems provide an array of basic processes that affect humans. Those processes include maintenance of the quality of the atmosphere, generation of soils, control of the hydrologic cycle, disposal of wastes, and recycling of nutrients. Humans are changing many of these basic processes, and the changes may be detrimental to humans.
The following U.S. National Geography Standards are supported by this chapter:
The World in Spatial Terms
1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective
7. The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface
The Uses of Geography
18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future
- Technology productivity tools. Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
- Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools. Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions. | <urn:uuid:eca97952-c566-4d17-9ee5-a5b8235352b5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/wateravailability/teaching_notes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926931 | 1,792 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Bureau of Substance Abuse Services funds community-based prevention programs that utilize science-based programs/strategies to prevent alcohol, marijuana, and other drug abuse with a particular focus on the under 21 population. Each program focuses on a specific municipality or neighborhood and is carried out by a coalition comprised of organized community members that have interest in helping their community prevent substance abuse.
The goals and strategies of these programs include:
- Preventing substance abuse, with a particular focus on the under 21 population.
- Utilizing science-based programs/strategies shown to produce positive changes in rates of abuse.
- Viewing youth as resources in their communities; incorporating meaningful youth involvement in program planning, implementation, and evaluation; and focusing on positive outcomes for youth.
- Utilizing environmental prevention approaches which seek to change the overall context within which substance abuse occurs. Environmental prevention efforts focus on availability, norms, and regulations.
- Monitoring and evaluating the performance of the programs as they progress. | <urn:uuid:ecdc9ba9-4285-4f2c-9f7b-ea38117ea487> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/substance-abuse/prevention/prevention-programs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932603 | 203 | 2.9375 | 3 |
GRE for Engineering
What Is the Relation between GRE and Engineering in the US
The GRE is the Graduate Record Examination. You will have to take this test if you want to study in any of the graduate schools in the USA, including engineering schools. If you score well in this test, engineering as a career will be a good option for you. In the USA, most of the top engineering schools consider GRE scores while deciding whom to admit to their courses. As a general rule, your scores in the Quantitative Reasoning sections are more important than your scores in the other sections of the test.
What Is the Relation Between GRE and Engineering?
If you obtain a good score in the test, engineering schools are more likely to admit you to their courses. However, all the sections of the test are not equally important. If you obtain a high score in the Quantitative Reasoning section, engineering schools are more likely to accept your application. This holds true for the top schools. Slightly lower scores for the Verbal Reasoning scores may be acceptable, and the Writing scores are the least important criteria among the GRE scores. The reason for this is that a student, who is studying engineering, requires a strong understanding of quantities and mathematics. Verbal Reasoning section scores are also important as you will need to read and comprehend complex texts and other material during your engineering course.
In the older version of this test, the Quantitative and Verbal scores ranged from 200 to 800. For those who took the older version, a score above 700 in Quantitative Reasoning and above 450 in Verbal Reasoning was considered to be sufficient to get into a moderately 'good' engineering school. The top schools required scores above 750 in Quantitative Reasoning and above 550 in Verbal Reasoning. In the revised version of this test, the scores range from 130 to 170. Since the range of the scores has become smaller, the range of scores within a single percentile rank has also become smaller. For example, in the older version, a score between 740 and 800 in Verbal Reasoning meant a percentile rank of 99. In the revised version, to obtain a percentile rank of 99, you would need a score of 169 to 170.
You should find out the scores required by the engineering schools, before you begin preparation for the test. This will tell you what your target scores need to be. You can find out the average scores of the students admitted to the engineering schools that you would like to join. This information is often released on the internet by the schools themselves. In order to play it safe, you should aim for a score that is slightly more than the average for the school that you want to join. Some schools do not consider this test's scores as admission criteria. If this is so for the school of your choice, you should find out about the criteria that are actually used, for example, the GPA.
A common doubt in the mind of students is whether a high Quantitative score can make up for a low Verbal score, and vice versa. To some extent, a Verbal score that is in the lower range of a school's average score, could be compensated by a high Quantitative score. The reverse is usually not true. From among all the sections of the test, engineering schools place the most importance on the Quantitative score. If you haven't scored well in the Quantitative section, engineering schools are not likely to accept your application. Instead of facing disappointment, you could prepare better for the test and take the test again. If there is an improvement in your performance in the test, engineering as a career can become a possibility for you. | <urn:uuid:78b8b170-f27c-4279-976f-c3760eca6efd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.testpreppractice.net/GRE/gre-engineering.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96108 | 743 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Click Image to Enlarge
Abrasive wear of conveying screw elements results in decreased conveying capacity. Symptoms of this type of wear are backing-up in the main feed port, at side feeders and in the die pressurization zone (vent port fouling), all resulting in lost productivity. The feed rate can be reduced as a ‘band-aid’ solution; the cure requires replacing worn components.
The concept of troubleshooting in compounding can be defined in terms of a problem (or problems) with compound quality or as a problem with the compounding process. The latter may or may not be seen by the customer, as these troubles result in lost productivity for the compounder: strand drops, vent port fouling, etc. In either case, the strategy to identify an assignable cause (and cure) is to first determine if the problem is chronic or transient.
DISEASE OR ILLNESS?
A parallel can be drawn between diagnosis of twin-screw compounding extruders and diagnosis of the human anatomy. Chronic compounding problems are like diseases—they are always present and the cure requires extensive treatment, while transient problems can be thought of as “illnesses.” An illness is temporary and the treatment is relatively simple.
We identify problems in compounding as chronic if the results are the same every time a particular blend is run—every lot produces the same poor physical properties, black specks, dropped strands, frozen die holes, fouled vent ports, etc. In these cases, the problem cannot be the result of a particular lot of raw materials, worn extruder components, or any other temporary condition. The symptoms of chronic problems suggest that the process itself is the problem: improper screw or die design and/or operating conditions. For these problems, the treatment requires redesigning the screw configuration or modifying the compounding process.
On the other hand, if a particular compound has been produced successfully in the past, and today it runs differently, this is the symptom of an illness. Now we must determine why the current condition exists and whether it is causing compound quality problems or processing problems. The assumption here is that the problem is not related to a specific lot of raw materials.
What variables can change from lot to lot of compound and how do they manifest themselves? The potential sources of variation between compound lots are described below, listed in the order in which they impact the compounding process and compound quality:
It is possible that the installed screw design is incorrect if the plant routinely disassembles and changes configurations. If the screws are assembled in a different sequence than is specified, the resulting process can run differently and produce a different material. If the screw configuration is never changed, this variable becomes a constant.
Screw and barrel wear can result in both processing problems and compound quality problems between lots that are produced more than several weeks or months apart (if the same compound is run over an extended period of time, compound quality will be deteriorating slowly and sequential lots will not differ greatly from each other).
The effect of wear on extruder components is most often observed when sufficient time has passed between lots. The worn condition of the extruder results in a different processing behavior or pellet quality, depending on where the wear is occurring.
Wear of screws and barrels can occur in conveying sections after the main feed port and after downstream feeding of abrasive fillers. The resulting enlarged clearance reduces the conveying capacity and can result in feed backing up into the feed port(s). The compounder is forced to reduce capacity, losing productivity. Wear in this area has little or no effect on compound quality.
Wear of conveying screws and barrels where the extruder is building die pressure can result in melt backing up into vacuum vent ports from reduced conveying efficiency. While this may seem to be an operational (process) problem, the reduced vacuum efficiency can result in poor pellet quality (increased porosity or voids) and strand drops. Enlarged clearances in the pressurization section of the extruder can also produce black specks.
Wear of kneading elements in the melting section results in reduced melting efficiency. If this process requires downstream feeding of filler, the unmelted resin creates a mixing problem downstream and manifests itself as inadequate dispersion and poor physical properties.
Wear of kneading elements in downstream mixing sections translates to poor physical properties. If the wear is excessive, unmixed filler also shows up as increased strand drops and can require an increased frequency of screen changes (i.e., loss of productivity).
It is not likely that the screw speed will vary from lot to lot without intentionally making this adjustment.
Feeders may be blamed for many compounding problems, but not normally for lot-to-lot variation. The inherent short-term variability of gravimetric feeding equipment will not change over time (unlike the extruder, which wears over time). While it may be possible for the incorrect screw to be installed in the compounding extruder, an incorrect screw in the feeder may force the gravimetric system to run at a higher (or lower) speed to maintain mass-flow setpoint. As long as the feed rate is the same, it has no impact on the process or product. However, if one or more gravimetric feeders is operating incorrectly on any particular lot (usually as a result of improper setup), the resulting alteration in formulation will result in a different product (typically identified with ash testing) and can also produce a different torque, pressure, or melt temperature, depending on the material and how much variance is introduced by the change in feeder performance.
Temperature control of the compounding extruder barrels and die is a likely source of variation between lots, however, the contribution of thermal energy to the overall compound properties is relatively small. Extruder heating/cooling systems are prone to many mechanical failures (burned-out heaters, sticking solenoid cooling valves) as well as changes in performance over time (mostly due to modifications made to PID tuning, alteration of cooling-valve settings after controllers have been tuned, etc.). These variations rarely result in changes to physical properties, though they can wreak havoc on processing (e.g., poor die flow from improper die heating results in problems at the pelletizer).
If the time between lots is long enough, changes in the environment can result in differences between lots as well as differences in operation. For hygroscopic materials, variation in atmospheric humidity and/or outside air temperature can be observed in processing. Running the same compound in the summer and winter can have a significant effect on the compounding process—for example, when raw materials are coming from a silo or railcar if the plant is located in a cold climate.
The “trouble” with troubleshooting is the lack of understanding by operating personnel as to how the machine configuration and process parameters interact with raw materials to produce compound physical properties. Formal training in twin-screw extrusion technology can provide front-line personnel with the tools to diagnose problems quickly and thereby increase productivity. Along with staff training, a good preventive maintenance program is also required to eliminate some of the “usual suspects” from causing problems.
About the Author
Adam Dreiblatt has been involved in twin-screw extrusion technology for 30 years and is currently the director of process technology for CPM Century Extrusion, Traverse City, Mich. He can be reached at (231) 947-6400 or by email: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:b1a1e9f3-e866-41d0-9e75-759cc8ef9b74> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ptonline.com/columns/in-twin-screw-compounding-distinguish-between-disease-and-illness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936201 | 1,559 | 2.75 | 3 |
More good news for fish fans: the Russian River's salmon population is booming.
Well, "booming" is a relative term. Scientists estimate that fewer than 200 coho salmon returned this year to spawn. But that's nearly ten times last year's rate, according to the Press Democrat.
The resurgence is thanks in part to an emergency breeding program. Biologists captured wild fish and made sure that they bred in a hatchery, then released offspring nearby.
Last year, they released 170,000 fish, at a cost of about $800,000. The money is provided mostly by the Army Corps of Engineers, with a bit more thrown in by the county water agency.
It takes three years for the fish to reach reproductive age, so it's only now that past years' efforts are paying off.
Things looked grim for a while. Around 2004, the coho population seemed to be on the verge of disappearing altogether. The fish are particularly susceptible to environmental change.
Now, it remains to be seen whether the population can survive on its own without extensive human reproductive intervention. | <urn:uuid:f4689caa-d1fe-4eeb-9a93-e40d2ef0024b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Salmon-Population-Keeps-Swelling-118659794.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955702 | 222 | 3.125 | 3 |
Rangeland and dryland pasture Animal Unit Month (AUM) estimations are needed for a variety of conservation planning and data applications.
Anticipated Use of the AUM Estimator
Montana Department of Revenue - Application for Agricultural Classification of Lands. AUM calculations must use the Below Normal AUM/Acre values for qualifying agricultural land.
Definition of AUM/Acre Parameters
Below Normal AUM/Acre values – lower precipitation and possibly cooler temperatures at a critical time that leads to lower production for the historic climax or near climax plant community. These AUM/Acre values should be used for AUM estimation where the plant community is at less than the historic climax or near climax condition or similarity index.
Normal AUM/Acre values – precipitation and temperature that allows for normal plant production for the historic climax or near climax plant community.
Above Normal AUM/Acre values – higher than normal precipitation as well as adequate temperatures that allows higher plant production for the historic climax or near climax plant community. | <urn:uuid:27e38e8f-41d4-4d20-b7b4-af017f718120> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/mt/technical/landuse/pasture/?cid=nrcs144p2_057059 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00174-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.85704 | 211 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Months after the recalls of pet food began in mid-March, developments continued to unfold in response to the adulteration of ingredients from China.
One of the revelations was that the ingredients in question were not wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, as the labels indicated. Both of the ingredients were actually wheat flour containing melamine and cyanuric acid.
Another revelation was that some of the ingredients went into fish food for industrial aquaculture. The Food and Drug Administration previously traced pet food with the ingredients to hog and poultry operations. The Department of Agriculture released the hogs and poultry for processing after determining meat from the animals posed little risk to human health.
By mid-May, Congress already had held three hearings relevant to the situation. The FDA's new assistant commissioner for food protection, David Acheson, MD, testified about the investigation during a May 9 hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture.
On the same day, the Senate passed legislation that included provisions regarding the safety of pet food. In addition, the House and Senate started considering the Human and Pet Food Safety Act of 2007.
The investigation of ingredients containing melamine and cyanuric acid continued in China and the United States. The Chinese facilities that manufactured the ingredients had ceased operations and dismantled equipment, stymieing FDA inspectors. The FDA was detaining vegetable protein products arriving from China and sampling products that had reached U.S. companies.
At a May 8 press conference, Dr. Acheson made a surprising announcement—adulteration is not the only problem with the ingredients from China. They were also mislabeled. The products that were labeled and exported to the United States as wheat gluten and concentrated rice protein were, in fact, found to be wheat flour during the ongoing trace back and trace forward of the original shipments.
Wheat gluten is a component of wheat flour. Dr. Acheson said that, although speculative, there is a plausible reason for the adulteration and mislabeling. Processing flour from whole wheat is simpler than extracting the gluten from wheat flour. Wheat flour contains some ground gluten, he said, but the total protein content of flour is low. The addition of melamine, which is high in nitrogen, could increase the protein reading during testing so that it was consistent with that of wheat gluten.
Cyanuric acid is similar to melamine in that both of the compounds include the triazine structure—consisting of three carbon atoms, three hydrogen atoms, and three nitrogen atoms. The compounds can react to form crystals, which might do damage to the kidneys of animals.
Dr. Acheson said the mislabeling of the wheat flour did not change the findings relative to adulteration with melamine and cyanuric acid, or affect the pet food recalls or the risk assessments involving hogs and poultry unknowingly fed the adulterated product.
"FDA considers this product to be mislabeled, and we're considering possible enforcement actions," Dr. Acheson said.
Dr. Acheson also disclosed that authorities learned that a portion of the mislabeled wheat gluten from China was sent to Canada by U.S.-based ChemNutra Inc. for use in manufacturing fish feed. This product was then imported into the United States for the aquaculture industry. The FDA had issued a hold on the fish and was visiting establishments that received the fish feed, but the agency believes there is no human health risk from consuming them.
Congress continues to hold hearings about the recall of pet food. On May 9, witnesses from the FDA and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service testified before the House Committee on Agriculture.
Dr. Acheson testified in part about his position as the first assistant commissioner for food protection. He had been director of the FDA Office of Food Defense, Communication, and Emergency Response.
Dr. Acheson's new job includes developing an agency-wide strategic plan for food safety. He said the FDA faces challenges such as the increased globalization of the food supply, outdated infrastructure relative to increasing complexities of food safety, and difficulties with tracking food rapidly when a problem arises.
"The melamine case we're discussing today illustrates many of these challenges we face—and highlights the need for new scientific and technological approaches to advance food protection," Dr. Acheson said.
The FDA is reviewing food protection in the areas of prevention, intervention, and response. The agency will look at enhancing prevention through stronger science, risk-based controls, and leverage with partners. The FDA will try to improve intervention by applying modern technology to establish a comprehensive food information system. The agency will attempt to enhance response by improving product tracking and laboratory surge capacity.
Dr. Acheson testified that the future of food safety will require different or additional resources. In response to congressional representatives' questions, he said the FDA will never have the resources to inspect all food imports or foreign manufacturers. The agency focuses on risk-based import inspections and on working with other countries to maintain standards for food safety acceptable to the United States.
Dr. Kenneth Petersen, FSIS assistant administrator for field operations, testified that the USDA operates under an equivalence system for imports. Countries must prove they meet U.S. standards for food safety before they can export meat or poultry products to the United States. China does not export meat or poultry products to the United States, though China is eligible to export cooked poultry to this country. China does export fish to this country.
More than one representative spoke in favor of implementing country-of-origin labeling so consumers can discern the source of foods. Dr. Acheson noted that domestically produced foods can cause illness, too.
Representatives also expressed concern that the FDA might not have sufficient authority over imports. In response to questions, Dr. Acheson said the agency does not have the authority to ban an import without evidence of a specific problem.
Congress has been crafting legislation to ensure the safety of pet food. On May 9, the Senate passed a bill to amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that included an amendment regarding pet food.
"What we have seen happen over the last several months is a clear indication that our food safety system—as good as it may be—needs to be a lot better," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois when he introduced the amendment, which the AVMA helped draft.
The amendment would require the Department of Health and Human Services to establish the following:
- processing and ingredient standards for pet foods, along with updates to labeling standards
- a surveillance system to identify adulteration of pet food and outbreaks of illness in association with pet food
- a notification network to inform veterinarians during any recall
- an Adulterated Food Registry that would allow HHS to issue alerts for foods following multiple cases of adulteration or outbreaks of illness
The amendment would require an annual report to detail the scope of food imports subject to FDA regulation, the number of FDA inspectors and inspections for food imports, and the findings of these inspections—with information about any enforcement actions.
At press time, the House had not drafted a companion bill. Some provisions of the amendment reappear in separate legislation, the Human and Pet Food Safety Act of 2007, which Sen. Durbin and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut introduced in their respective houses of Congress.
The act also would require anyone who has reason to believe that food is unsafe to immediately notify HHS, with civil penalties for failure to notify. Furthermore, the act would grant HHS the authority to order a mandatory recall.
Finally, the act would require HHS to certify that the food safety programs of a foreign government or establishment are at least equivalent to U.S. programs before the government or establishment would be able to export food to the United States. | <urn:uuid:459379a8-9424-4aaf-a068-d9187cf42596> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/070615m.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00153-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962362 | 1,593 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The latest news from academia, regulators
research labs and other things of interest
Posted: Jan 19, 2006
New theory explains electronic and thermal behavior of nanotubes
(Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
have made an important theoretical breakthrough in the understanding
of energy dissipation and thermal breakdown in metallic carbon nanotubes.
Their discovery will help move nanotube wires from laboratory to marketplace.
The remarkable electrical and mechanical properties of metallic carbon
nanotubes make them promising candidates for interconnects in future
nanoscale electronic devices. But, like tiny metal wires, nanotubes
grow hotter as electrical current is increased. At some point, a nanotube
will burn apart like an element in a blown fuse.
“Heat dissipation is a fundamental problem of electronic transport
at the nanoscale,” said Jean-Pierre Leburton, the Gregory Stillman
Professor of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at Illinois and co-author of a paper published in the
Dec. 21, 2005 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters. “To fully
utilize nanotubes as interconnects, we must characterize them and understand
their behavior and operating limits.”
For example, in both theory and experiment, the shorter the nanotube,
the larger the current that can be carried before thermal breakdown
occurs. Also, the longer the nanotube, the faster the rise in temperature
as the threshold current for thermal heating is reduced.
In nanotubes, heat generated by electrical resistance creates atomic
vibrations in the nanostructure, which causes more collisions with the
charge carriers. The additional collisions generate more heat and more
vibrations, followed by even more collisions in a vicious cycle that
ends when the nanotube burns apart, breaking the circuit.
“Short nanotubes can carry more current before burning apart because
they dissipate heat better than longer nanotubes,” Leburton said.
“Although the entire nanotube experiences resistance heating,
the electrical contacts at each end act as heat sinks, which in short
nanotubes are relatively close to one another, leading to efficient
This phenomenon also explains why the highest temperature always occurs
in the middle of the nanostructure, Leburton said, “which is the
furthest point away from the two ends, and where burning occurs in longer
nanotubes under electrical stress.”
In another important finding, Leburton and his colleagues have revised
the common belief that charge carriers go ballistic in short metallic
nanotubes having high currents. Researchers had previously thought that
charge carriers traveled from one terminal to the other like a rocket;
that is, without experiencing collisions.
“We have shown that the high current level in short metallic nanotubes
is not due to ballistic transport, but to reduced heating effects,”
Leburton said. “Owing to their large concentration, the charge
carriers collide efficiently among themselves, which prevent them from
going ballistic. Even in short nanostructures, the current level is
determined by a balance between the attractive force of the external
electric field and the frictional force caused by the nanotube thermal
vibrations. The collisions among charge carriers help the energy transfer
to the nanotubes which results in heat dissipation.”
Co-authors of the paper are Leburton, electrical and computer engineering
professor Andreas Cangellaris and graduate student Marcelo Kuroda.
The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Beckman | <urn:uuid:e7d38e4e-dc21-4411-ae79-f7b90a90da43> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=222.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89408 | 770 | 3.234375 | 3 |
A GENERAL HISTORY OF THE BAPTIST
DENOMINATION IN AMERICA, AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
By David Benedict
London: Printed by Lincoln & Edmands, No. 53, Cornhill, for the Author
EPOCH FIRST: FROM THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA TO
THE PHILADELPHIA ASSOCIATION
In the Proposals for this work, it was suggested that the history of the American Baptists would be preceded by four Epochs or General Divisions, in which their progress and circumstances would be comprehensively related in a chronological order. These Epochs were intended to be nothing more than brief compendiums of the history of our brethren from time to time. The preparation of them has been deferred until the history of each State has been made out, and as most historical facts of importance have been already related, they will be shorter than it was at first expected.
The first Epoch was to begin with the banishment of Roger Williams, and to end with 1707, when the Philadelphia Association was formed. But it has been thought best under this head to go back to the discovery of America, to give a brief account of the settlement of its different parts, and to take a general view as we go along of its religious affairs.
In the year 1492, October the 12th, this part of the world, since called America, was discovered by Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, in the service of the king of Spain. The first land made by this adventurer, was one of the Bahama Islands, to which he gave the name of San Salvador. Thus a new world was discovered, in which much cruelty and oppression has been practiced, especially by the merciless Spaniards; in which much liberty and happiness has been enjoyed; and in which there have been many signal displays of the grace of God. Settlements were made in many parts of the American continent before any were effected in that portion of it which is now included in the United States.
The following table, taken from Morse?s Geography, exhibits in one view the settlements of the different States, and the names of those by whom they were effected.
Names of places When settled By Whom
Quebec 1608 By the French.
Virginia 1610 or 1611 By Lord De la War.
Newfoundland June, 1610 By Governor John Guy.
New York New Jersey about 1614 By the Dutch.
Plymouth 1620 By part of Mr. Robinson?s congregation.
New Hampshire 1623 By a small English colony near the mouth of Piscataqua river.
Delaware Pennsylvania 1627 By the Swedes and Finns.
Massachusetts Bay 1628 By Capt. John Endicot and company.
Maryland 1633 By Lord Baltimore, with a colony of Roman Catholics.
Connecticut 1635 By Mr. Fenwick, at Saybrook, near the mouth of Connecticut river.
Rhode Island 1635 By Mr. Roger Williams and his persecuted brethren.
New Jersey 1664 Granted by the Duke of York by Charles II and made a distinct. government, and settled some time before this by the English.
South Carolina 1669 By Governor Sayle.
Pennsylvania 1682 By William Penn, with a colony of Quakers.
North Carolina about 1782 Erected into a separate government. Settled before by the English.
Georgia 1732 By General Oglethorp.
Kentucky 1773 By Col. Daniel Boon.
Vermont about 1764 By emigrants from Connecticut and other parts of N. England.
Territory N. W. of Ohio river 1787 By the Ohio and other companies.
Tennessee 1789 Became a distinct government, settled many years before.
The above dates are mostly from the periods when the first permanent settlements were made.
By this table it appears that a permanent settlement was effected in Virginia ten years before the fathers of New England landed at Plymouth. Some temporary settlements had been made in the country about twenty years before.
Most of the first settlers of America were merely worldly adventurers, who were induced to encounter the dangers of a distant voyage, and the hardships of a wilderness from the prospects of temporal advantages. Those who came from England, which was by far the greatest number, were for the most part Episcopalians. There were however, intermixed in almost all the different companies of emigrants, dissenters of different names, and among them we have reason to believe there were of the Baptists a few.
It does not appear that there were in any of the colonies, any religious establishments, which acquired much permanency, or that carried their acts of intolerance to any considerable degree, except in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The Episcopal church was the established religion of the Carolinas, but it had neither the spirit nor power of persecuting dissenters, to any great extent. Maryland was founded by Roman Catholics, but they, different from their brethren in the old world, were always tolerant and mild. Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers, who, like the Baptists in Rhode Island, would never establish any religious laws, and of course there could be no religious persecutions. New York and New Jersey were settled by a mixture of people of many nations and religions, but it is probable a majority of the settlers were Episcopalians. I do not find that there ever was any religious establishment in New Jersey; but I am inclined to think that Episcopacy was for a time the established religion of New York; Mr. Wichenden of Providence, Rhode. Island, was imprisoned there four months for preaching the gospel, sometime before the year 1669; and in the year 1728, the Baptist meeting, house, then newly built, was licensed and entered as the toleration act required. These things scent of Babylon, and indicate an ecclesiastical establishment, but I do not find that it was prosecuted with much rigor, and it has now been so long done away, that there are probably but few who know that it ever existed.
Episcopacy took deep root in the strong soil of Virginia, and an account of its spirit, its measures, and end, will be given in the history of the Baptists in that State. Rhode Island has always from first to last maintained, and gloried in maintaining, liberty of conscience, in the strictest and most unqualified sense; and accordingly none of its records are stained with laws to regulate religious worship, or with acts to oppress or favor dissenters. New Hampshire and Vermont have done but little in the outrageous business of distressing the persons and spoiling the goods of dissenters; and the newer States have altogether let alone this wretched work. We must now come to Massachusetts and Connecticut, and with pain we must relate that these States, which were planted by a religious Colony, and which have been the nurseries of which piety and virtue, have, notwithstanding, been the most distinguished of any in the Union, for intolerance and oppression. In these States, ecclesiastical establishments have taken the deepest root of any part of the American empire; they have been defended by the civil power, and have manifested an unwavering and obstinate perseverance in enforcing their iniquitous maxims, and in encroaching on the liberties, and despoiling the goods of dissenters. The spirit of the church was sometimes high in Virginia, and for a while persecution raged with violence; but it was earned on chiefly by a band of unprincipled church-men, whose main object seems to have been, to molest the persons and disturb the meetings of dissenters.
But the New England persecutors have taken generally a different course. They have had their eyes on the goods of dissenters more than on their persons. If they would but pay their parish taxes, they might worship when and how they pleased. But if any one was so heretical as to refuse his money towards building a meeting house within the parish lines, which might happen to encircle him, or to support a preacher which he never chose, nor wished to hear, then he must look out for writs, constables, sheriffs, courts, priests and lawyers, stripes, prisons, and forfeitures, and the whole sanctimonious procession of ecclesiastical tormentors. So rigorous were the New Englanders in enforcing their taxing laws, that Esther White of Raynham, about thirty miles from Boston, was thrown into prison for a ministerial tax of eight-pence, which she refused to pay, because she had separated from the parish worship. After lying in prison almost a year, she was let cut without paying the tax, by the religious gentry, who put her in. [Backus? Church History, Vol. 2. p. 194.]
The American war was peculiarly auspicious to the cause of religious liberty in Massachusetts, and the other Colonies, where religious establishments were enforced with rigor. All denominations unitedly engaged in resisting the demands of Great Britain. But her demands were no more unreasonable nor unjust, than those which the predominant party, whether Congregational or Episcopalian, made on dissenters. The Baptists and other dissenters did not fail to make a proper use of this argument. And although many attempted to explain it away, yet many others saw and acknowledged its force.
Many of the first settlers of New England were pious and worthy men, among them however were many of a different character; but they all united in building up the New England church establishments. The first Pedobaptist churches here required the candidates for admission, to give a verbal account of their religious experience. But in process of time they were permitted to give in their relations in writing, and this practice is still continued by those churches which require any experience at all. The ancient church of Plymouth changed their way of receiving members from verbal to written relations in 1705. [Vol. 1. p. 47. Vol. 2. p. 29.] Others had probably done it before. The great mistake of the New England fathers lay in taking the laws of Moses for the commands of Christ, and blending the Jewish and Christian dispensations together. And indeed, from this source have originated all the evils which have overrun the Christian world, and deluged it with blood. By this means, unholy men are entrusted with the regulation of religious concerns. They know nothing of its nature, they feel nothing of its power, and under their dominion the saints of God have always had occasion to say, ?for thy sake we are killed all the day long.?
The New-England fathers were certainly men of understanding, and yet many of their legislative acts and ecclesiastical proceedings were absurd and ridiculous in the extreme.
In 1638, the Assembly of Massachusetts passed a law to compel excommunicated persons to seek to be restored to the churches which had cast them out. ?Whosoever shall stand excommunicated for the space of six months, without laboring what in him or her lieth to be restored, such person shall be presented to the Court of Assistants, and there proceeded with by fine, imprisonment, banishment, or further for the good behavior, as their contempt and obstinacy upon full hearing shall deserve? [Backus, Vol. 1. p. 98].
In 1656, a famous dispute arose upon this question, Whether the children of those, who are not immediate members of churches, should be baptized. The Connecticut people took the lead in this affair. They sent twenty-one questions to their brethren in Massachusetts respecting it; an ecclesiastical assembly was called, which set fifteen days, in deliberating upon this weighty matter. They answered the Connecticut questions, but did not settle the dispute. It raged throughout the country a number of years, and many churches were divided by it. A considerable party contended that if parents who were not church members, should own the covenant, which their parents made for them when they were initiated into the church, then they should have the privilege of getting their children baptized. [This statement is paraphrased a little, but the sense is retained.] And in this way originated what is called THE HALF WAY COVENANT, which is still practiced upon by many Congregational churches. What a pity, that any anxious parent should have so much trouble about the christening of his dear babes. If it is such a peculiar advantage, as their ministers contend for, it is certainly hard, that any poor child should be debarred from it. While this dispute was going on, some, it appears, found a way of getting rid of all difficulties, by having the children baptized on their grand-parents account; but it was contended on the other hand, that in such a case, they would be bound to take the charge of their education. Such frivolous controversies were agitated by the renowned fathers of New England. They arose not from a want of ability in the men, but from the absurdity of the principles, which they had adopted.
THE WITCHCRAFT AFFAIR was the most melancholy and degrading of any ever acted in New England. It began in 1692, in the house of Mr. Parris, a Congregational minister of Salem, where two girls of ten or eleven years of age were taken with uncommon and unaccountable complaints. A consultation of physicians was called, one of whom was of opinion that they were bewitched. An Indian woman, a servant in the family, was accused of being the witch. From small beginnings, the bewitching distemper spread through several parts of the province, till the prisons were scarcely capable of containing the number of the accused. This distressing affair lasted about fifteen months, nineteen persons were executed, one was prest to death, and eight more were condemned; the whole number amounted to twenty eight, of whom above a third part were members of some of the Pedobaptist churches in New England. Among the sufferers was a Mr. Burroughs, formerly minister of Salem.
The New-England people at first supported their ministers in a voluntary way, probably by weekly contributions. But in 1638, a law was made that every inhabitant, who would not voluntarily contribute his portion, etc. should be compelled thereto by assessment and distress, to be levied by the constable or other officer of the town as in other cases. This was the beginning of that iniquitous policy which has caused the Baptists in New England so much vexation and distress.
The beginning of our brethren in America will be related under the head of each respective State, and the banishment of Roger Williams may be found under that of Rhode Island. The church which he founded at Providence, in 1639, was the first of the Baptist denomination in the American continent. The first church in Newport, Rhode Island, founded in 1644, by Dr. John Clark, was the second; the second in that town, formed in 1656, was the third; the church in Swansea, begun by John Miles, in 1663, was the fourth; and the first in Boston, founded first in Charlestown, in 1665, by Thomas Gould, was the fifth.
In forty years from the founding of the last mentioned church, there arose eleven more in the following order: Seventh-Day, Newport, 1671; Tiverton, Rhode Island, 1685; Middletown, New Jersey, 1688; Pennepeck, now called Lower-Dublin, Pennsylvania, 1689; Piscataway, New Jersey, the same year; Charleston, South Carolina, 1690; Cohansey, New Jersey, 1691; 2d Swansea, 1693; Welsh-Tract, Delaware, 1701; Groton, Connecticut, 1705; Seventh-Day, Piscataway, New Jersey, 1707.
The first church in Philadelphia was in reality formed in 1698, although it has generally been dated in 1746, when it was re-organized. Thus in almost a hundred years after the first settlement of America, only seventeen Baptist churches had arisen in it. Nine of them were in New England. Of these seventeen churches, only four, that is, the three in Massachusetts, and the one in Connecticut, were put to any trouble on account of their religious principles; and of these four, the one at Boston felt most of the hard hand of civil coercion. This church was treated in a most oppressive and abusive manner, as will be shown in the history of Massachusetts.
EPOCH SECOND: PHILADELPHIA ASSOCIATION (1707-1739)
In 1707, the Philadelphia Association was formed of the five following churches, viz. Pennepeck, Middletown, Piscataqua, Cohansey, and Welch Tract. This Association was the first in America; it has always maintained a regular and respectable standing, and has been from its commencement to the present time one of the most important institutions of the kind.
From 1707 till 1740, about twenty new churches were raised up in different parts of the United States; some were of an Arminian cast; but most of them adopted the Calvinistic faith. Three or four became extinct in a few years, but the rest remain till the present time.
During the period under consideration, no very remarkable event appears to have occurred. The churches in New England, except those in Rhode Island, were persecuted and fleeced; those in other parts were left at liberty to serve God, and dispose of their property as they pleased.
EPOCH THIRD: REVIVALS (1740-1790)
About 1740, a very powerful work of grace began in New England, and prevailed much in other parts of the United States. It was, by way of derision, called the New Light Stir. This work commenced under the ministry of that honored servant of God, the famous GEORGE WHITEFIELD, who was then traveling as a flaming itinerant along the American coast. ?The most remarkable thing,? says a late writer, ?that attended the preaching of Mr. Whitefield was the power of the Holy Ghost.?
Multitudes were awakened by his means and brought to ?bow to the sceptre of Immanuel.? Many ministers opposed his course, but many others caught his zeal, ran to and fro with the tidings of salvation, and knowledge was almost every where increased. This work began generally among the Pedo-baptists, and where they opposed it, separation ensued. And here originated the term Separates, which was first applied to Pedobaptist and afterwards to Baptist churches. SEPARATE CHURCHES were formed all over New England. In many parts of the country there was hardly a town or parish in which they were not to be found. Some pushed on their zealous measures to an enthusiastic extreme, but most of them acted a sober and rational part; their views were highly evangelical, and their maxims of gospel discipline were generally clear and consistent. They permitted all to exhort, who had gifts to edify their brethren; they ordained ministers of those who were instructed in the mysteries of the kingdom, whether they were learned or not. They took the Bible alone for their guide, and of course, Baptist principles soon prevailed amongst them. Very singular scenes were soon exhibited in New England. Pedobaptists were seen persecuting their brethren, and casting them into prison because they were too religious. The clergy of Connecticut determined that the New Light Stir was not according to law; they therefore stimulated their rulers to attempt its regulation. A law was actually made to prohibit one minister from going into the parish of another, to preach and exhort the people, unless he were particularly invited. Upon this law a number of their own ministers were prosecuted, and Mr. afterwards Dr. Finley, President of Princeton College, New. Jersey, Was transported as a vagrant person, from one constable to another, out of the bounds of the land of steady habits.
We have already observed that Baptist principles soon began to prevail among the Pedobaptist Separates. All their doctrine tended that way, and those who followed it whither it led embraced believers? baptism. Many Baptist churches arose out of those Separate societies, and the late venerable Backus of Middleborough, Hastings of Suffield, and a number of other Baptist ministers, were at first of their connection.
Towards the conclusion of the American war, and for a number of years subsequent to the termination of that serious conflict, there were very extensive revivals of religion in different parts of the land, and Baptist principles almost every where prevailed. In the year 1780, according to Mr. Backus, there were not less than two thousand persons baptized in the New England States only. In ten years, beginning with 1780, and ending with 1789, considerably over two hundred churches were organized in different parts of the United States. During this period a number of ministers, and with them a considerable number of brethren, fell in with ELHANAN WINCHESTER?S NOTION OF UNIVERSAL RESTORATION. The rage for this doctrine prevailed for a time to a considerable extent; but it was at length found to be easier to let sinners down into a disciplinary purgatory, than it was to get them out again, and this visionary scheme is now generally exploded by all, among the Baptists at least, who profess any regard for gospel truth. Those ministers who embraced it, generally descended to other errors of a blasting nature, or else sunk into obscurity and insignificance. Mr. Winchester, the author or rather reviver of it in modern times, was for a while a very popular preacher among the Baptists. He was indeed in some respects, and particularly in memory, a prodigy of nature, and his talents and address were such, that he was sure to command followers and applause of some kind or other, wherever he went, and whatever he preached. His theory of Universalism was borrowed from a German author, to which he added some things from the reveries of his own eccentric imagination. His scheme appears never to have been well digested, and it is thought by many, that he would have abandoned it, had it not been for the difficulty of saying, I was mistaken, But he died rather suddenly in the midst of his singular career, and those, who knew him best, entertain different opinions respecting his acquaintance with the religion of the heart.
In 1790, John Asplund published his first Register of the Baptist denomination in America. This singular man had, in eighteen months, traveled about seven thousand miles, chiefly on foot, to collect materials for this work. it was a new attempt of the kind in America, and is as correct as could be expected. By this it appears, there were, at the date of it, in the United States, and in the Territories, eight hundred and sixty eight churches, eleven hundred and thirty two ministers, including those who were not ordained, and sixty-four thousand nine hundred and seventy-five members.
EPOCH FOURTH (1790-1813)
Mr. Asplund continued travelling after he published his first Register, until 1794, when he published a second. By this it appears, that our brethren in some States had increased greatly, in others they remained pretty much as they were in 1790. Since Asplund published his last Register, a number of computations have been made of the extent of the Baptist interest in America, but no list of the churches has been attempted, until it was undertaken by the author of this work. It will be inserted at the end of the second volume.
Since the close of the war, not many of our brethren have been troubled on account of their religious opinions. In Connecticut and Massachusetts, they are in many cases still obliged to lodge certificates, etc. and by complying with this small but mortifying requisition, they may remain unmolested, and be entirely excused from all imposts of a religious nature. Formerly, the opposers of the Baptists reasoned continually against their mode of baptizing, but this is now so generally acknowledged to be scriptural, that they have turned their whole force against what they are pleased to call close communion.
It is doubted whether any considerable number of the Baptists would be admitted to the Pedobaptist communion, if they were disposed for it; but they may safely offer them the privilege, because they know beforehand that they will not accept it. But why should we be continually reproached for a practice, which arises not from the want of affection towards Christians of other denominations, but from our principles of the pre-requisites to communion? We believe that none have a right to partake of the Lord?s Supper, until they are baptized; nothing, in our opinion, short of immersion, is baptism; we cannot, therefore, consistently commune with those who have only been sprinkled. We have a right to believe the two first propositions, and we must take the liberty to practice upon the third, all opposition notwithstanding. Many Pedobaptists have acknowledged, that we cannot with consistency do otherwise, and have therefore ceased to reproach us.
Out of the New Light Stir arose a considerable number of churches, which adopted the plan of open communion. The Groton conference in Connecticut was at first founded altogether of churches of this opinion. But very few of these open communion churches remain; some were split to pieces by the embarrassing policy, and others have adopted the practice of communing with baptized believers only. The zealous New-Lights kept together, as long as they could; but opposite principles about baptism, necessarily lead them to divide into distinct communities. Most of those, which did not become Baptists, have fallen in with the parish churches, so that very few of the ancient Separate churches remain.
Believer?s baptism by immersion has prevailed much in the United States, within ten or twenty years past. Multitudes of the Methodists have adopted it, and not a few of the Congregational ministers in New England have condescended to go into the water with those candidates, who could be contented with nothing short of immersion. In Virginia and the southern States, there has been a great schism in the Methodist church. A large party has come off, which denominate themselves Christians. A similar party has separated from the Presbyterians and Methodists in Kentucky, and the western States, and a great number of these Christian people have lately been buried in baptism.
On the whole it appears, that baptism is fast returning to its primitive mode. A general conviction seems to be prevailing, that infant sprinkling is an invention of men, and ought to be laid aside; and that believers are the only subjects of the baptismal rite, and that immersion is the only way in which it ought to be administered. Of late years a considerable number of ministers of the Pedo-baptist order, have come over to the Baptist side; some whole churches, and many parts of others have done the same; and we look forward to the time, when there shall be with the saints of God, but one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
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Researchers have developed a cheap and compact electrochemical detector for medical testing:
The device, already in field trials in India, costs about $25 to produce, weighs just two ounces, and is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. It was modeled after the latest generation of inexpensive glucose monitoring devices, which are in widespread use, but whose function is limited to testing blood sugar. In addition to conducting the tests, the new device can send data over the lower-tech cellphones common in the developing world to distant physicians, who can text instructions back to researchers, government officials tracking outbreaks, and others.
He focused on an electrochemical detector, which measures the voltage or current generated in liquids for characteristic signatures of the liquid’s contents. For example, by applying a small amount of electricity to a drop of blood mixed with a reagent, the device can gauge glucose levels. The same goes for heavy metals in water, malaria antigens in blood, and sodium in urine.
They created software that converted the data to audible tones so it could be sent — after plugging the device into the phone’s headphone and microphone jack — just as if it were someone’s voice. The data is then sent over the phone’s audio network to a physician, database, or other recipient. | <urn:uuid:60e89f84-93c7-4638-84ec-d2cd287c6741> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/cheap-and-compact-medical-testing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933904 | 267 | 3.265625 | 3 |
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The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece -- and… (original 2004; edition 2005)
The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece -- and Western Civilization by Barry Strauss (2004)
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743244516, Paperback)On a late September day in 480 B.C., Greek warships faced an invading Persian armada in the narrow Salamis Straits in the most important naval battle of the ancient world. Overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy, the Greeks triumphed through a combination of strategy and deception. More than two millennia after it occurred, the clash between the Greeks and Persians at Salamis remains one of the most tactically brilliant battles ever fought. The Greek victory changed the course of western history -- halting the advance of the Persian Empire and setting the stage for the Golden Age of Athens.
In this dramatic new narrative account, historian and classicist Barry Strauss brings this landmark battle to life. He introduces us to the unforgettable characters whose decisions altered history: Themistocles, Athens' great leader (and admiral of its fleet), who devised the ingenious strategy that effectively destroyed the Persian navy in one day; Xerxes, the Persian king who fought bravely but who ultimately did not understand the sea; Aeschylus, the playwright who served in the battle and later wrote about it; and Artemisia, the only woman commander known from antiquity, who turned defeat into personal triumph. Filled with the sights, sounds, and scent of battle, The Battle of Salamis is a stirring work of history.
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:06:05 -0400)
"The battle of Salamis in 480 B.C. was the most important naval encounter of the ancient world. In the narrow strait between the island of Salamis and the Greek mainland, a heavily outnumbered Greek navy defeated the Persian armada in a victory that is still studied today. The Greek triumph at Salamis stopped the advancing Persians and saved the first democracy in history. It made Athens the dominant city in Greece, gave birth to the Athenian empire, and set the stage for the Age of Pericles. On the Persian side, the battle of Salamis also featured history's first female admiral and sailors from three continents."."The Battle of Salamis features some of the most fascinating figures in the ancient world: Themistocles, the Athenian commander who masterminded the victory (and tricked his fellow Greeks into fighting); Xerxes, the Persian king who understood land but not naval warfare; Aeschylus, the Greek playwright who took part at Salamis and later immortalized it in drama; and Artemisia, the half-Greek queen who was one of Xerxes' trusted commanders and who turned defeat into personal victory."--BOOK JACKET.
(summary from another edition) | <urn:uuid:d4d183dd-bac0-4cf5-a49e-5337a139ca19> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.librarything.com/work/347344/92927971 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00169-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931415 | 608 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Print version ISSN 0042-9686
Bull World Health Organ vol.87 n.11 Genebra Nov. 2009
Michel Sidibé; Kent Buse*
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 20 avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Recent increases in resources for achieving the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support have given renewed impetus to the longer-standing political commitment for achieving targets in sexual and reproductive health and rights. As a result, we see increasing optimism that progress on these interdependent goals can be achieved - particularly if they are tackled together.
The AIDS response has been remarkably successful in transforming a deafening demand for inclusive policy processes and evidence-informed, rights-based programmes into tangible achievements measured in lives saved and dignity restored. The most visible manifestations of these achievements are the more than 4 million people presently on antiretroviral treatment and the tremendous advances in overcoming the stigma and discrimination faced by people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, and sex workers and their clients.
It is encouraging to see evidence that well designed AIDS responses can and do strengthen health systems.1 Nonetheless, evidence also confirms that greater and more systematic efforts must be made to take AIDS responses out of isolation to support wider health, development and human rights agendas.
Fostering improved linkages is also critical to the AIDS response. Despite treatment successes, we will not turn the tide on the epidemic, which sees five new people infected with HIV for every two individuals starting treatment, unless prevention is intensified. This can be achieved in part through service integration, which achieves more cost-effective resource allocation and responds to peoples' desires for a seamless and comprehensive continuum of care.
There are several linkages between HIV and sexual and reproductive health responses. Services to virtually eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission provide an ideal platform to deliver the entire recommended minimum package of antenatal, maternal, child health and reproductive health services. This would ensure that pregnant women are not only offered HIV screening, but that they and their partners are also offered services to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies and sexual violence.
Calls for integration are not new. The global community reached consensus on the need to provide holistic sexual and reproductive health services as far back as 1994 with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. The need has been further reaffirmed in important global declarations since then - notably the United Nations Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS of 2006.
Increased integration is intuitively appealing and enjoys a great deal of scientific support for the benefits it can deliver.2 These include increasing coverage, and thereby access, at lower cost as well as improving quality of care and acceptability for often stigmatized conditions. WHO, the United Nations Population Fund, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other partners have supported countries to increase service integration within national programmes.3
It is no coincidence, therefore, that many of UNAIDS current corporate priorities, including to reduce sexual transmission of HIV, stop violence against women and girls, remove punitive laws and promote human rights, and empower youth, provide strategic entry points to strengthen linkages between HIV and sexual and reproductive health responses, as Gillespie et al. (866-870), Steen et al. (858-865) and Fransen (877-879) demonstrate in this theme issue.
However, as Dickinson et al. (846-851) argue, exploiting linkages has too often been the exception rather than the rule. Integration has been held back by several factors. For example, parallel funding streams for disease-specific programmes have not provided incentives for operational integration but are perceived as being more tightly controlled financially than integrated services.4 Vertical programmes may develop technical guidance and lists of essential drugs that are condition specific and pay little attention to related areas in sexual and reproductive health and rights. Professional and cultural rivalries often present further barriers.
Accomplishing integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health programmes demands an honest recognition of the political, not just the operational, barriers, and the willingness of donors, international agencies and programme managers to address actively the political blockages and change the way that they themselves do business.5
Yet successful integration also depends on demand from below. In renewing primary health care, more emphasis needs to be placed on family-centred services and communities - ensuring greater accountability and voice.
Civil society, the driving force behind the AIDS response, has shaken up global health. Its support is crucial to foster integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes. Given political commitment, the moment is right to take the AIDS response out of isolation. We see signs of such commitment in the International Health Partnership, in President Obama's Global Health Initiative, in the new Partnership Frameworks of the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and in the joint approach of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, The World Bank and the GAVI Alliance to supporting sustainable and cost-effective health systems.
The time has come to unite the forces of the global AIDS movement with other constituencies to ensure that people have universal access to integrated and comprehensive prevention, treatment, care and support that is rights-based, equitable and effective.
Available at: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/11/09-071621/en/index.html [ Links ]
1. World Health Organization Maximizing Positive Synergies Collaborative Group. An assessment of interactions between global health initiatives and country health systems. Lancet 2009;373:2137-69. PMID:19541040 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60919-3 [ Links ]
2. Sexual & reproductive health and HIV. Linkages: evidence review and recommendations. Geneva/New York/London/San Francisco: World Health Organization/Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS/United Nations Population Fund/International Planned Parenthood Federation/University of California San Francisco; 2008. Available from: http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/linkages/srh_hiv_linkages_evidence/en/index.html [accessed on 9 October 2009] [ Links ].
3. Sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS: a framework for priority linkages. Geneva: World Health Organization/United Nations Population Fund/International Planned Parenthood Federation/Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; 2005. Available from: http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/stis/framework.html [accessed on 9 October 2009] [ Links ].
4. Oliveira-Cruz V, Kurowski C, Mills A. Delivery of priority health services: searching for synergies within the vertical versus horizontal debate. J Int Dev 2003;15:67-86. doi:10.1002/jid.966 [ Links ]
5. Buse K, Martin-Hilber A, Widyantoro N, Hawkes SJ. Management of the politics of evidence-based sexual and reproductive health policy. Lancet 2006;368:2101-3. PMID:17161732 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69837-1 [ Links ] | <urn:uuid:2a2a5b7d-0f6a-425c-980e-a1d5d2a94a80> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862009001100002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00088-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909697 | 1,511 | 2.671875 | 3 |
1. Determine V and I for the circuit shown below. Also, determine V and I when a short is connected between terminals a-b. All resistances are in ohms.
2. For the following circuits, determineRTHby finding the equivalent restistance "seen" by the load at terminals a-b. All resistances are in ohms.
3. Determine the Thevenin equivalent circuit (both VTHandRTH) at terminals a-b. For the Thevenin resistanceRTH,find the equivalent restisnce "seen" by the load. All restisnces are in ohms.
4. For the circuit of Problem 3, determine the Norton equivalent circuit (bothIN andRN) at terminals a-b by connecting a short between terminals a-b and solving forISC=IN.
5. The Thevenin resistanceRTHcan also by be calculated using Ohm's law equation below. Use the calculated values ofVTHand ISCfrom Problems 3 and 4 to determineRTH .DoesRTHequal theREQvalue "seen" by the load?
RTH= VTH /ISC
6. Given the following circuit: All resistance are in ohms.
a) WhatRLvalue will provide maximum power transfer to the load?
b) Calculate the power in Watts delievered to the load for the value ofRL of part a.
c) It is desired to provide maximum power transfer to a 10 ohm load restisnces (RL.) If a resistor (R4) is placed in parallel withR2,what is the requiredR4value? | <urn:uuid:6af2f890-6a53-4969-8c92-d83b06e14db9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/1-determine-v-circuit-shown--also-determine-v-short-connected-terminals-b-resistances-ohms-q3055214 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00026-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.851283 | 339 | 3.140625 | 3 |
or community immunity as it is also known, is one of the main arguments that “pro-vaxxers” (those advocating vaccination) advance to persuade people to take vaccines. Herd immunity, so it is claimed, provides indirect protection to the unvaccinated. How? Here’s how the reasoning goes: if enough people get vaccinated, when a contagious disease hits a community, it spreads less quickly than if the majority were not vaccinated, since they are now protected. Thus, those unvaccinated few living among the vaccinated many can now enjoy some protection because the disease is finding it harder to spread and infect new individuals. This argument has many assumptions and flaws, as we shall see.
Interestingly enough, in recent times a concept that is essentially the opposite of herd immunity – i.e. viral shedding – has been in the news. You see, people using the argument of herd immunity generally claim that the unvaccinated help speed the spread of a disease, even encompassing those who got vaccinated. In other words, the unvaccinated can infect the vaccinated. The phenomenon of viral shedding, on the other hand, is showing that those who get vaccines get the virus in their body – even if it’s weak or attenuated – and the virus then sheds, can become contagious and can start spreading. In other words, the vaccinated can infect the unvaccinated. So which is the more true concept: herd immunity or viral shedding? Who’s infecting whom?
To get to the bottom of this question, you need to take a close look at this notion of herd immunity. It contains the following assumptions:
Take the first assumption of vaccine efficacy. The big flaw with the herd immunity argument is that, by its very definition, it undermines the idea that vaccines actually work. If vaccines really were effective at protecting you against a disease, why would you worry that if those around got it, you would be more at risk or more in danger? If you’re protected, you’re protected, right? If the vaccine provides you genuine immunity to a disease, as Big Pharma, the CDC and the Western medical establishment like to claim, then it logically follows that it should be of no consequence to your health if you are surrounded by 1 or 100 contagious people.
The only way around this is if you believe that vaccines are effective yet contraindicated for some people, such as infants, pregnant women or the elderly. So you vaccinate yourself but not your baby or your grandmother, and you worry for their health because there is not enough herd immunity in your community. Given Big Pharma’s propensity to ratchet up the vaccine schedule on the entire population, there are not many people exempt anymore; take a look at this chart on the right or at National Vaccine Information Center to see how the schedule has changed over the last few decades for kids. However, even if you are in this (rare) scenario, there are still problems with the idea of herd immunity.
Take the second assumption of supposed lifelong immunity. If herd immunity is really so important to protect a community, that would presuppose that the vaccinated could fight off the disease – whenever it struck. So what happens after 5 years go by after you get your shot? 10 years? 20? 30? Even if you go and get your booster shots regularly, vaccine-induced immunity still wears off after time.
Take the third assumption regarding the vaccinated being able to transmit disease. As reported by Mercola in 2013, a FDA study concluded that those vaccinated against pertussis or whopping cough could still carry and transmit the disease, even they got no symptoms. In this case you become an “asymptomatic carrier“. This finding could bust a hole wide open in the herd immunity argument. If the vaccinated can carry a disease, they are not adding to a robust and protected herd.
Lastly, take the fourth assumption of vaccine-induced immunity vs. natural immunity. Clearly, there is a world of difference between artificial vaccine-induced immunity, and naturally-acquired immunity, attained through contracting and successfully fighting off a disease. The human immune system is vastly more complex and sophisticated than we understand, and is made up of specific and non-specific parts. A vaccine does not closely resemble natural immunity in many ways, including only engendering a specific response, having a completely different point of entry, not conferring lifelong immunity, etc. Besides, immunity is far more mysterious than just a measure of antibody titers.
As Mercola writes:
“The science clearly shows that there’s a big difference between naturally acquired herd immunity and vaccine-acquired herd immunity … Vaccines are designed to trick your body’s immune system into producing an immune response that includes making protective antibodies that are needed to resist future exposure to the infectious viral or bacterial microorganism. However, your body is smarter than that. The artificial manipulation of your immune system by vaccines containing lab altered bacteria and viruses, as well as chemicals and other ingredients, simply does not exactly replicate the response that your immune system mounts when naturally encountering the infectious microorganism. This is one reason why vaccine policymakers say you need to get “booster” shots because vaccine acquired immunity is only temporary and wears off, sometimes rather quickly.”
Dr. Russell Blaylock, an expert on the topic of excitotoxins who has spoken out against the use of MSG in food, as well as the aluminum fallout from chemtrails/geoengineering which can lead to brain damage and Alzheimer’s, writes:
“If we listen to present-day wisdom, we are all at risk of resurgent massive epidemics should the vaccination rate fall below 95%. Yet, we have all lived for at least 30 to 40 years with 50% or less of the population having vaccine protection. That is, herd immunity has not existed in this country for many decades and no resurgent epidemics have occurred. Vaccine-induced herd immunity is a lie used to frighten doctors, public-health officials, other medical personnel, and the public into accepting vaccinations.”
Herd immunity is a smokescreen for what’s really going on. It’s an inversion of the truth. While Big Pharma and the medical establishment are pointing the finger at the unvaccinated, it is actually the vaccinated who are contributing to the spread of disease.
The real issue is viral shedding. Viral vaccines are vaccines containing live viruses, even if they are weak or attenuated strains. These live viruses shed for varying amounts of time in the body fluids of a vaccinated individual – and can be transmitted to others. You can absolutely catch the virus (or bacterium) from someone who has just been vaccinated against that disease. Not only that, but viral shedding from vaccines is leading to viral and bacterial mutations, helping to create a phenomenon of new and dangerous strains of disease which can evade treatment by becoming accustomed to whatever drugs get thrown at them.
As Dave Mihalovic writes:
“Bird flu is rampaging across the Midwestern US. So far 13 million chickens and turkeys have been culled or earmarked for destruction to stop the spread of H5N2, an offspring of Asia’s H5N1 bird flu … vaccinated poultry spread the virus without getting sick, making its spread invisible. Vaccination has moreover driven the evolution of H5N1as these viruses adapt to the vaccinated birds.”
“The live polio vaccine, the Sabin vaccine, which followed the inactivated Salk vaccine, was given orally [and] contains live attenuated polioviruses. Those polioviruses, when you take that [live] vaccine, you shed them in your body fluids – your saliva, urine, and stool. Vaccine-strain viruses like disease viruses or infections can be found also sometimes in tears and vomit. This is true for the Ebola virus as well. Whether you have the viral infection or you get the live attenuated vaccine, you shed live virus in your body fluids and you are able to transmit the virus to other people who come in contact with your body fluids [my emphasis]. I think this is a very important thing for people to understand.”
We are already under numerous environmental assaults, including excessive radiation and GMOs, which are threatening to mutate our DNA. An article in Mother Jones reported that toxins can actually act upon your DNA and change it, at the epigenetic level.
“Researchers from Washington State University, led by biology professor Michael Skinner, reported last month that short-term exposure of pregnant rats to several kinds of chemicals caused ovarian disease not just in their daughters but also in two subsequent generations of females.”
As Jon Rappoport suggests:
“We are talking about lasting genetic changes, from parents to children, down the line. There is every reason to believe that injecting chemical toxins (in vaccines) would have a still greater permanent effect than, say, breathing pesticides.”
Remember, in addition to containing viruses that can shed, vaccines are full of toxic adjuvants (including aborted fetal tissue) which are provably carcinogenic (like the cancer-causing monkey virus SV-40) or at the very least highly harmful. We know the “scientific evidence” has being infiltrated by industry-funded studies and that the peer-review process has been hijacked.
A vaccine’s ability to lead to viral shedding, group infection, genetic mutation of you and genetic mutation of your future offspring turns the false idea of vaccine-induced herd immunity on its head. The question was asked: who is infecting whom? The evidence would strongly suggest that it is the vaccines and the vaccinated who are causing the problem and spreading the disease.
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Makia Freeman is the editor of The Freedom Articles and senior researcher at ToolsForFreedom.com, writing on many aspects of truth and freedom, from exposing aspects of the global conspiracy to suggesting solutions for how humanity can create a new system of peace and abundance. | <urn:uuid:49c97b2b-81bb-4aea-a939-ae00e096a0cd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/herd-immunity-vs-viral-shedding/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950601 | 2,091 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Although it has been derided in the past as infantile, neurotic or failing to be mentally disciplined, neurologists have discovered that daydreaming - and more specifically, wandering mind - is vital for certain brain functions. They've found that a wandering mind can be protective and even help you stay on course for longer term goals.
A wandering mind helps the brain unfocus from repetitive, menial tasks. For example, driving down an empty highway, or jobs where the only requirement is to push a button at a certain time. There's also an 'incubation effect,' that happens when the mind wanders. If you're doing your homework and you can't think of how to answer a question; your get distracted and your mind wanders, your brain still processes the information and may come up with the answer later.
It's not all good, of course. If your mind wanders while you're reading a book, you'll probably not get any information from it. If you let yourself daydream too much on a highway, you'll get into an accident. However, their studies found that for creative tasks, people need their mind to wander; however, they also need to have enough awareness to catch the creative ideas before they leave the mind. | <urn:uuid:bd36670d-9db9-4269-9e4f-81ee17e7c1cc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://omginformation.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396455.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970206 | 256 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Thirdly, the 14th Dalai Lama “shows compassion for Hitler”
In the event of no reference to Hitler by the journalist from NDTV, the 14th Dalai Lama talked about Hitler himself. He said, "Even Hitler, basically, particularly when young, must be a normal human being, more compassionate." The journalist from NDTV then asked, "You're saying you can show compassion for Hitler?" The 14th Dalai Lama answered, "Of course! If I keep my hatred, no use. Hitler has already gone." It is unimaginable that one who was celebrating his birthday even cherished the memory of Hitler, a super war criminal and murderer.
It is even rare on earth that one could show his compassion toward and tolerance for Hitler. It should be pointed out that the 14th Dalai Lama’s compassion toward Hitler shows his consistent attitude other than his occasional remiss. For example, on September 18th, 2009 and April 1st, 2010 when the 14th Dalai Lama was interviewed by some media of overseas Chinese, he said that since Hitler had also experienced love from his mother, he was able to return his love and benevolence toward other people. The 14th Dalai Lama also said there was also compassion in Hitler’s heart by nature, and Hitler’s inner suffering was comparative. So we should show him much compassion.
The 14th Dalai Lama compassion showed toward Hitler is never a coincidence. Rather, it has a deep-rooted ground. It could be traced back to May, 1997 when German magazine Stern, a tough Austrian Nazi named Heinrich Harrer was received by Hitler, the leader of Waffen-SS, and committed to training the Nazi elite force. In 1944, Heinrich escaped from prison of the United Kingdom set up in India and became the tutor of the 11-year-old 14th Dalai Lama’s in 1946. Until 1950, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army entered the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), Harr hurriedly escaped from TAR.
In 1997, journalists found historical records about Harr’s Nazi activities in the National Archives of the United States in Washington and the Federal Archives in Berlin, so the true scheme of Harr had been disclosed. At the time, the 14th Dalai Lama did not reflect on his own thoughts but argued in favor of Harr. He said that, he surely knew Harr’s German background and especially when Germany was as penitent standing in front of the whole world due to World War II.He also said that people are always moved by injured dogs in a biting game.
Obviously, in the 14th Dalai Lama’s eyes, there is no distinction between the justified and non-justified war. It is only the relationship between the two sides in the war that is only the winner loser in the biting game. And the sympathy of the 14th Dalai Lama is on the side of the loser dog in the biting game. The facts shown over the past decades indicated that the 14th Dalai Lama is truly a good student of Harr.
In his political policy, such as "The Hans in Tibet should be returned to China" is sheer an ethnic cleansing. People could easily smell the flavor of the Nazi from the 14th Dalai Lama, who created rumors such as "the riot occurred in Lhasa on March 14th", "2008 was completely plotted by the Chinese government and the Chinese Liberation Army" and "girls who were burned to death were all prostitutes".
Before closing, I want to switch to an easier topic. When the host of NDTV wished that the 14th Dalai Lama live for another 75 years, the Dalai Lama said, "There was some prediction related to me by some Tibetan masters some 200 years ago, in that I could live as long as 113 years old. In the early 1960s, I had a dream which indicated that my life span was also 113.Two years ago, the same prediction was confirmed by my doctor after I was given a surgery."
It is natural that one wishes to live longer when he gets on in years. I also sincerely wish the Dalai Lama can live as long as 113 years or more.
The good point is rather obvious: he can get enough time to reconsider his political path, correct his mistakes, pardoned by the people of his motherland and switch his position back to patriotism. If not possible, the whole world would see a head of the separatist group living as long as 113 years is still begging to be a son of another country and trying to make up some childish lies, or teetering on the road with no return to split the motherland and betray its people. And that would be a wonder of the human society.
(Source: China Tibet Information Center) | <urn:uuid:8641f2c6-9954-4baa-b1ea-b504eaa57a95> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-07/27/c_13416776_5.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982122 | 975 | 2.890625 | 3 |
HOW TO SAVE AND RECOVER AN OVERWATERED PLANT
Depending upon how far gone your overwatered plant is will depend on the treatment given. As a rule of thumb - the worse the condition the more drastic the treatment.
The immediate course of action is simple, remove the plant from its pot (or carefully lift the plant from the ground so as not to cause any further root damage) and to place it onto a couple of thick newspapers. The papers will act as a superb 'water-wick' drawing water down through the root ball. In extreme cases you may need to replace the soaked newspaper with dry every couple of hours, but if you are luck enough to be doing this on a sunny day then the sodden paper you have just removed will probably be dry enough to be used again - should you require it - later. With small pot grown plants, try not to be tempted to squeeze the root ball like a sponge as this can further damage to the root ball.
Plants lose moisture through stomatal pores found on the underside of leaves and the more leaves the plant has then the greater the surface area - and stomatal pores - it has with which to loose precious water from. In nature, when a plant become distress due to intense heat and drought, one of the safely mechanisms it will use is to drop its leaves, and move into a period of enforced dormancy until more favourable conditions return. This is a good system for deciduous plants which are genetically capable of dropping leaves, but when evergreen plants employ the same system it is usually to late for them to recover as they have dried out to far within the core plant.
With our over-watered plants we can enforce the same procedure. On deciduous plants -where over-watering has been recognised early - no further action may be required although you can remove some of the older, lower leaves to be on the safe side. Should the plants condition be a little more extreme it can be pruned back by 1/3 of it original growth. Also, if the specimen has particularly large leaves you can consider cutting these leaves in half.
The last thing to do is move the plant to a cool, shaded room and spray the remaining foliage periodically with tepid water.
Once the plant is on the road to recovery - this will be recognised by the appearance of new fibrous roots - it can be potted on, or replanted, taking care not to reproduce the conditions that cause the initial problem. Be aware though that when taking such drastic measures as outlined above, it can take several years before the plant will make a full recovery and begin looking like the specimen it was before over-watering occurred. With inexpensive and readily available plants you may be better off throwing the poor thing away and then trying to learn from the mistake so as not to repeat it.
For related articles click onto the following links:
HOW TO SAVE AN OVERWATERED PLANT
HOW AND WHY DOES OVERWATERING KILL PLANTS?
HOW TO WATER GARDEN CONTAINER GROWN PLANTS | <urn:uuid:f02025b6-0a8f-43ec-a000-33e3a1e0c2e0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/how-to-save-and-recover-overwatered.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948486 | 635 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Rules and Procedures
Right to an Education
Students have a right to an education as long as they do not violate or interfere with the teaching/learning process of other students. This includes the rights of other students in their ability to learn and to teachers in their ability to teach.
Students are reminded that they are partners with the teachers, principal, assistant principal and support staff. Each group has a specific role in assisting students in learning as much as they can. A major part of that roll is to direct the activities of the students into proper, positive channels. There are times, however, when some students fail to act in the best interest of all of the above groups. At these times, students are advised that the principal, any teacher, any supervisor, aide or any auxiliary staff has the authority to direct the actions of the students at any place and time on the school property while school is in session or a school activity is in progress.
Thank you for your support,
Last Modified on December 10, 2012 | <urn:uuid:eb1b4a9c-be36-4945-a255-baa21a944926> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.palmdalesd.org/domain/128 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00182-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978383 | 205 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Appendix 6. Environmental Specifications
amazonails standard floor specification is based on 200-300mm thick layer of insulation depending on floor type and site constraints. The standard roof design is based upon using 300mm sheepswool with 40mm Pavatex insulating board. The U-values calculated for amazonails standard construction were calculated considering thermal bridging in order to make the figures as realistic as possible (Atkinson, 2008).
amazonails standard can be brought in line with other zero energy specifications by installing additional roof insulation, floor insulation and triple glazed windows. These other standards are:
The Association of Environment Conscious Builders (AECB) Silver Standard specifies measures that lead to an overall 70% reduction of CO2 emissions compared to the UK average for buildings of each type. This is achieved through a variety of means including medium insulation on walls and roof, passive solar design, low-energy lighting and high-efficiency appliances.
The AECB Gold Standard aims at reducing overall CO2 emissions by 95% and is almost identical with the passive house standard which describes buildings insulated to such a level that they could be heated by the mere presence of people and have no internal source of heat. In addition, only the highest efficiency appliances and lighting can be used.
For further information please see: http://www.aecb.net/PDFs/carbonlite/AECB_VOL3_EnergyStandard_V6FINAL.pdf
Building Research Establishment (BRE) Zero Heating House Standard defines a similar goal as the AECB golden standard | <urn:uuid:06825752-e93e-482b-b8e7-2a9d960f8672> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lilac.coop/home/67.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00047-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930423 | 319 | 2.609375 | 3 |
COMMUNICATING WITH OUR CHILDREN
Parent-child communication is at the heart
of teaching future adults effective ways to communicate with others.
Children learn attitudes, values, and behaviors, as well as gain
knowledge, through communicating with others - the most important of whom
are their parents. Communication between parent and child begins the day
the child is born, or earlier, and continues as the child grows, matures
PARENTS AS MODELS
Parents are the models that children
imitate during their childhood years. Parents who pay attention to their
child's concerns and ideas teach their child that they are important in
the family. Parents also teach the child how to listen to someone who is
speaking. When parents talk respectfully to children, they are teaching
children to be respectful when they speak. Shouting teaches children to
shout, just as the words we use teach children that it is all right to use
the words and language spoken in the home with others.
TALKING AND LISTENING
Talking and listening to children are the
ways we most often communicate with our youngsters. Our facial
expressions, gestures, and body language can also send messages. As we
talk and listen with our children, some of the following suggestions could
be useful to reflect upon:
- Do allow children to express themselves
in their own words.
- Do listen carefully to what your child
- Do let your child explain what happened
before making your comments.
- Do repeat what your child has said to
clarify and show your understanding.
- Do wait for your child to finish an idea
before starting your response.
- Do respect your child's ideas and
feelings about situations.
- Do not interrupt children when they are
- Do not change your child's words to fit
- Do not disagree immediately with what
your child begins to say to you.
- Do not finish your child's sentences for
- Do not dismiss as unimportant your
child's feelings (fears, angers, frustrations).
- Do not change the subject of the
- Do not jump to conclusions! Let your
child express his/her thoughts.
WHEN CHILDREN SEEM TO
HEAR ONLY PART OF THE MESSAGE
At times, our children seem to NOT listen
well to parents. It could be that as adults, we are used to talking about
several things at once, or giving a list of chores all at the same time.
An effective way to help children to hear us better is to first get their
attention, call them by name. Next, make one request at a time. Thank your
child for their help. Then, make a second request. Finally, as children
grow older, a short written list of ideas can help both you and your child
to stay focused.
MAKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
LISTENING/TALKING WITH OUR YOUNGSTERS!
- Talk face-to-face with your baby. Smile,
speak softly - than more loudly, change your speaking tone.
- Talk about what is around you. Point to
the lamp, book, or tree and name them.
- As your baby coos or makes sounds, smile
and say, "Yes," or "You talk so well."
- Name objects in your child's world, the
stop sign, the cow in the field, or the big truck.
- Talk about what things do, like the
knife cuts the apples, or the shovel digs the hole.
- Ask your child questions, and listen to
their answers.. .without interrupting. Where is that bird? What is that
- Go outside and listen for sounds. Talk
about what you both hear. The wind.. where is the wind? The dog
barking.. is it a big dog?
- Continue to name objects that may be new
to your child.
- Listen for their questions about things
they discover and wonder about. Answer their questions in words they
- Think about new experiences your child
will enjoy. A visit to the library, a golf course, or a farm can lead to
lots of talking about what happens here or who works here.
- Preschoolers love books. Read often.
Talk about what the characters are doing.
- Talk about the music or the program that
your child watched. Listening and remembering encourages thinking skills
School Aged Children:
- Children this age love to talk about
their friends. Listen and show interest by asking questions about their
- Encourage reading together. Yes,
together! Take turns reading pages or paragraphs of a story. Talk about
what might happen in the next chapter.
- Ask about your child's day at school, or
the birthday party they attended. Show an interest in what they are
- Talk about your activities. Share what
you are doing or something comical that happened.
- Encourage children to talk directly with
others: grandparents, teachers, friends. Help them find the words they
may need to discuss a concern they might have.
- Listen carefully. Restate their idea to
see if you are on target with their concern/idea.
Pre-Teens and Teens:
- Arrange private times together. This
could be during a drive to the store, or before bedtime. Private time
together encourages special talks between you and your child.
- Realize that talking more with friends
is part of your child's development. Allow your child the freedom to
talk with others.
- Listen carefully to their ideas and
concerns. You might not agree with their reaction to a situation, but
you can describe why another way to handle the situation could be
- As pre-teens and teens grow they are
looking for independence. Watch for things they are doing well, thank
them or offer them encouragement.
- Include your child in family decisions
when possible. Family vacations, visiting grandparents, or pancake
breakfasts can be discussed together. Paying bills, helping with
chores at home, or planting the garden can also be discussed.
- Speak and listen respectfully. Your
child is learning from you how to react to others. | <urn:uuid:7528d4f6-eaec-4185-a326-1747c23a4846> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://fcs.okstate.edu/parenting/issues/communicating.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00144-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93686 | 1,316 | 3.921875 | 4 |
A crowd with flickering light of candles and color of flowers decorating floating object is familiar scene in a celebration occurring in a twelfth month in lunar calendar. It is one of wonderful Asian cultures when rivers and canals are full of water. Since we have been a kid, I guess everyone must be impressed with this festive occasion in November - Loy Krathong. Most of us are convinced that floating objects or Krathongs are originated in Sukhothai by Tao Sri Chulalak or Nang Noppamas, who was one of Phra Ruangs wives. However, some assert that the story was written in the reign of Rama III merely to advocate women on role model of a good wife, as no evidence is found to prove the festivals existence. They believe that Loy Krathong has just been celebrated since the end of Ayutthaya. Despite the confusing history, this gracious culture is still alive. People still conducts this ritual not only to worship the footprint of the Buddha on a riverside in India, but also to pay respect to Chulamanee Chedi in heaven. Another well-known purpose is to show their gratitude to the Goddess of the Water on their plentiful use of water and ask for forgiveness in the ensuing pollution. Moreover, many people believe that floating the beautiful Krathong away also refers to flying away misfortune and bad things in the past and asking for good luck in the future.
In the past, people in Lanna Kingdom in the north of Thailand also show respect to rivers, but they use fire instead. They float a lantern like a hot-air balloon in the sky which is called Yee Peng. And now we still can find this celebration in Chiang Mai. Interestingly, people other than Thais have the similar tradition. Not far from us, Laos float Pratips (or our Krathong) and Lai Rue Fai (or flowing an ablaze boat) in worship of Water Goddess. This rite is also used to welcome the Buddha after His return from preaching to His mother in the second heaven. In Cambodia, this period is called Ok Ambok which means worshipping the moon. They float Pratips on a full moon night as well. Another neighboring country as Burma has the same culture. They float Krathong to worship the Buddha and Nut or household spirit. Looking upward farther, some of us may be surprised that Vietnam, Korea and Japan have the similar rituals too. They apologize the Water Goddess and float away ill fortune. It is assumed that the origin is Mahayana Buddhism which was expanded from China. On the other hand, Indians claim that they are the root of this ceremony derived from Brahmin. This festival is aimed to worship Naraya God who sleeps in the milk ocean and He then will throw our sin away.
In Thailand, people enjoy creating their own Krathong made from natural resources, such as leaves and trunks of banana adorned with flowers. Some might use bread instead of synthetic materials showing their concern for environment. Other than flowers, a candle and incense sticks, we often put some coins or betel pepper and nut in our Krathongs. And thats why our Krathongs cant drift any further as they are raided for little money. Nevertheless, Loy Krathong Festival remains the most romantic and favorite occasion for a number of people and still best represents our gratitude. | <urn:uuid:0bab2f50-55c2-4783-84a6-c1565a2048fa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://at-bangkok.com/history_of_loy-krathong.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961445 | 688 | 3.015625 | 3 |
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The 1968 Democratic National Convention marked the nomination of Hubert Humphrey as the Democratic candidate for President, but it is remembered more for the riots and protests which surrounded it, along with the bitter contest for the nomination. The events of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago marked the height of the 1960s protest movement, with demonstrators and police clashing in the streets of Chicago for over a week in the hot August weather. 40 years later, protesters attempted to “Recreate '68” at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul respectively, with little success.
As early as 1967, major players in the protest movement were planning an epic series of protests for the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The idea was to get as many protesters there as possible, and to protest largely peacefully, but forcefully. Protest organizers from groups like the Youth International Party wanted to get a lot of coverage, attracting attention to issues like civil rights and the Vietnam War, and they certainly succeeded in this goal.
In the months preceding the Convention, protest groups filed permits for marches and rallies, often finding their requests stymied at every turn, while the city of Chicago prepared for an influx of demonstrators. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley indicated that he would take lawbreaking during the Convention very seriously, increasing the police presence in Chicago and requesting National Guard for backup. This created an explosive situation which appeared to be on a collision course with disaster.
The protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention might have gone off reasonably peacefully with marches, concerts, and rallies, except that on 22 August, four days before the Convention officially began, an American Indian boy named Dean Johnson was shot and killed by the Chicago police. This sparked mass demonstrations and rioting in which hundreds of police officers and demonstrators were severely injured; riot control agents like mace were utilized in an attempt to calm the crowd, along with billy clubs and mass arrests.
During the days of the actual Convention, the inside of the Convention Center was relatively peaceful, but the streets of Chicago were on fire, sometimes literally. Angry demonstrators boiled over, deviating from permitted marches and rallies, and the Chicago police fought back. In the wake of the convention, eight police officers were indicted, along with eight civilians, who came to be known as the Chicago 8. During the trial for the Chicago 8, winnowed to the Chicago 7 by the time they reached court in 1969, the defendants created a media circus, mouthing off to the judge and refusing to respect the rules of the courtroom.
The turmoil of the 1968 Democratic National Convention came in an already tumultuous year in American history; Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy had both been assassinated earlier in the year, and support for the Vietnam War was at a low ebb. The media seized upon the chaos with delight, and it undoubtedly contributed to Humphrey's defeat at the hands of Richard Nixon. Nixon's margin of victory was less than half a million votes, illustrating how closely split the American people were at this point in history.
This is a very informative article. Good job.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:16fc0545-aaaa-4cfe-85dd-9c15b3936c7d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-happened-at-the-1968-democratic-national-convention.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968858 | 688 | 3.0625 | 3 |
In astronomy, WIMPs,
or weakly interacting massive particles,
figure into one explanation of the dark matter
The particles are called "weakly interacting" because they seem not to have much interaction with normal matter (electrons, protons, and neutrons)
other than gravitational attraction (thus "massive").
also stands for the "window, icon, menu, pointing device" paradigm that characterizes most commercial graphical user interfaces
to the present (as of October 2001).
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License | <urn:uuid:702bc822-ed67-4089-91b9-162ddae5de3b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/we/Weakly_interacting_massive_particle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00039-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.895876 | 117 | 2.828125 | 3 |
What Makes Jesus Angry?
Since Jesus was human “in every way that we are, except without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), it is not surprising that He showed anger. His anger never ran wild, however, and anger danger was never an issue with Him.
But Jesus often got angry at His disciples, especially Peter. He got angry with the Pharisees. Jesus got angry with the priests and publicans of the temple. It is very revealing what ticked Jesus off. Of course, we are encoded beings, and human nature is not the same in all ages. If Jesus exhibited the seven basic facial expressions that correspond to seven basic emotions recognized by people from all cultures, the emotion ascribed to that face would depend on the broader context in which it occurred. What sparks anger in particular can differ radically from one age to another.
The range of Jesus’ ire is impressive.
Jesus’ anger at unfruitfulness
The first anger episode occurred when Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, and He was hungry. Off in the distance, He saw a fig tree, lush with leaves. That usually meant the tree bore figs, so Jesus walked up to the fig tree to feed off its bounty. Whether the tree was in season or out of season is debated, but when the Messiah beckons, we are to be “ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2).
But this fig tree, lush with leaves, was barren of fruit. In other words, it had been hoarding all its resources for itself. Its mission had become to look good more than to feed a hungry world and a hungry Messiah. Jesus was so angry at the non–fruit-bearing tree that He cursed it. After all, Jesus was on His way to the harvest festival (Feast of Sukkoth), which celebrates a messianic inauguration of a time of peace and prosperity when “everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree.”
When God said, “Be fruitful and multiply,” the Lord was only calling us to reflect God’s nature. God is fruitful and multiplies. The fertility of the universe is amazing. The universe contains 100 billion galaxies, each of which contains 100 billion stars of incredible uniqueness and diversity. When God commanded the first Adam to till and tend the garden and to “conserve and conceive,” God was giving humans their prime directive. We were put here not to consume but to conceive.
When God said, “Be fruitful and multiply,” the Lord was only calling us to reflect God’s nature.
Jesus said things are most reliably known for what they are by examining their fruit. Jesus called His disciples to be more than faithful—He called them to be fruitful. Jesus wants to taste our fruit. The fruit of a tree is that tree come to consciousness. The fruit of a human life is that human coming to God consciousness. When there is nothing to taste, there is no consciousness in that life. And this does not make Jesus happy.
Jesus’ anger at those who damage children
If you want to really make Jesus mad, however, so mad that He could sound more like the mafia than the Messiah, then damage a child. A wifeless and childless Jesus was the biggest patron and protector of children: “If you harm one of these little ones, better for you that a millstone be draped around your neck and you be dropped into the depths of the sea” (Luke 17:2). Or in the secret language of Omertà, “Better you sleep with the fish.”
It is hard for us to imagine how low on the social scale children stood during Jesus’ day. The ancient hierarchy of reverence, with father first, mother second and child always last, was flipped on its head with Jesus and the Holy Family, where the story revolved around the child, then the mother and the father somewhere to be found if you looked hard enough.
What made Jesus turn the social hierarchy upside down and place children at the pinnacle?
When the disciples debated who among them was the greatest, Jesus took a page out of Isaiah 11:6 (“And a little child shall lead them”) by plopping a little one in their midst and saying that the greatest reality was in front of them. Jesus was not denying ambitions for greatness. He didn’t rebuke the disciples for wanting to be “the best.” But He reframed the nature of greatness and “the best” in terms of little ones’ capacity to love, to live out of love and to humble themselves out of graciousness. You want to aspire to true greatness, to being best? Then make yourself small. Become a “little one.” The maximum is found in the minimum.
Followers of Jesus are all “little ones.” Childhood is not something you grow out of but grow into. “There will be no grown-ups in heaven” might be the best translation of Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:14. But even more than showcasing a child (not some adult scholar or soldier or priest or businessman) as His model disciple, Jesus made a child the primary metaphor for following Him and for holiness. The greatest gift of Jesus was the “right to become children of God.”
Jesus’ anger at self-righteous judgmentalism
The third anger episode that makes Jesus’ inner life less mysterious to us is His “temple tantrum.” As He drove out the money-changers from the spaces normally dedicated to prayer for Gentiles as well as Jews, overturning their tables and ATMs, He cried out the words of Isaiah: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
What is “My house”? The “house” is God’s temple, and in the Hebrew tradition the temple and the garden are different ways of talking about the same reality.
For Jesus, the “house” is the same, but the definition of the temple is more precise: the temple of the church, the body of Christ, and the temple of the person, as in “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.” Two of the most shocking events in the Second Testament, Jesus and the money-changers and Peter and the money-cheaters, are both cleansing rituals. When Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” He was telegraphing the upcoming transition from the temple as a place to the temple as a people. And just as there was a temple cleansing just before the closing of the placed temple, there was a temple cleansing (Ananias and Sapphira) just after the opening of the peopled temple.
It was the self-righteous, judgmental Pharisees and Sadducees—those who didn’t see themselves as sinners but who leveled that charge against everyone else.
Not exactly kind words from a mild-mannered Messiah.
And to whom did Jesus show the most compassion? People who were involved in immorality of all types, such as prostitutes, adulterers, tax collectors and thieves. It’s easy for us today to acknowledge that Jesus treated the self-righteous more severely than the “real sinners” without applying this standard to our own context—or to ourselves.
But “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). What He deemed to be the severest of all sins (self-righteousness) is what many contemporary Christians view as a mere misdemeanor. And the sorts of sins toward which Jesus had great compassion and patience are what many Christians place at the top of the totem pole of “serious sins,” deeming them to be felonies.
Don’t be deceived: the “odious complacency of the self-consciously pious” is what infuriated our Lord the most. Philip Yancey was dead-on when he said that some Christians get very angry toward other Christians who sin differently than they do.
Excerpted from Jesus: A Theography by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. Copyright ©2012. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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Empires and Barbarians presents a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds - the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire - into remarkably similar societies and states.
The book's vivid narrative begins at the time of Christ, when the Mediterranean circle, newly united under the Romans, hosted a politically sophisticated, economically advanced, and culturally developed civilization - one with philosophy, banking, professional armies, literature, stunning architecture, even garbage collection. The rest of Europe, meanwhile, was home to subsistence farmers living in small groups, dominated largely by Germanic speakers. Although having some iron tools and weapons, these mostly illiterate peoples worked mainly in wood and never built in stone. The farther east one went, the simpler it became: fewer iron tools and ever less productive economies. And yet 10 centuries later, from the Atlantic to the Urals, the European world had turned. Slavic speakers had largely superseded Germanic speakers in central and Eastern Europe, literacy was growing, Christianity had spread, and most fundamentally, Mediterranean supremacy was broken.
Bringing the whole of first millennium European history together, and challenging current arguments that migration played but a tiny role in this unfolding narrative, Empires and Barbarians views the destruction of the ancient world order in light of modern migration and globalization patterns.
©2009 Peter Heather (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
I am fascinated by the topic of the millennium which started during the Roman Empire and after its collapse, seemed to be a confused mess of Huns, Goths and Vandals. This author sheds light on what has been called the Dark Ages and brings to life the people and the ebb and flow of the societies which lived in Europe during the period. There is some repetition - my attention span is not so short that I needed to be reminded of the parallels with some 20th century events, which seemed to me to happen fairly frequently. However the attention to detail and scholarship of the author is amazing.
The performance needed a really good editor and some instruction for the narrator, however. I doubt if too many English peasants set sail for America in the 7th(sic) century. The first syllable in Pyrenees rhymes with fir, not fire, at least every time I have heard it said. I presume the word the author meant was 'denuded' not 'denunded' which I have not found in any dictionary. If such frequent errors could be corrected, it would certainly improve the experience, from which they currently detract. I am not a particularly pedantic or critical listener but the errors grate.
The sections which mention areas of northern France (Loire etc) as I am about to visit the area and will look at it this time with an enhanced awareness of its history and see the chateaux and their surroundings in the context of a much longer time span than previously. This book is helping me fill in the gaps in my knowledge of european society between Roman times and approximately 1000AD.
Please let me know when the errors have been corrected - I think the author is owed this attention.
It is terribly sad when a good book is ruined due to insufficient preparations on the part of the reader and/or audiobook producer. Peter Heather's "Empires and Barbarians" is positively brimming with names of people, places, cultures etc. most of which are not familiar to the average listener. The recording would have been so much better if the reader and producer had spent a couple of hours figuring out how to pronounce things. Asking the author, e.g., might have been a good idea. As it stands, the recording is a complete failure. Some of the worst cases are almost unidentifiable without access to the printed text.
"fabric artist and quilter"
This is a treatise, or maybe it was a PhD dissertation, whatever it was it was ever so learned and made my eyes rotate with pain into the back of my head. Most of that pain was at the murderous narration by Sean Schemmel - if you are going to have a learned text narrated at least get some one who can read long words and gets geographical names correct. The other pain was the names of the tribes and leaders listed ad nauseam and the fact that a pertinent point was repeated several times just so that in the stream of learned stuff you didn't miss the salient point.
I persisted and listened to all 3 volumes as I am interested in the topic but I shall not need to delve any further into the migration of the germanic hords in the first millenium AD any more - I have heard the definitive history now and can relax in the knowledge that my history of the fall of the roman empire is complete.
Enjoyed the book, and the humor. There is a lot of content there, and I'd go back again and listen, now that I know where it's going
The tour of Europe -- taking each section in turn
The narrator was horrible. Peter Heather is a very witty man, and I don't think the narrator got most of his jokes. Mr. Heather deserves a narrator erudite enough to know when he is being funny! There is a lot of warmth and humanity in this book, too, which is also obscured by the delivery.
The book itself is great, an important and likely enduring work of scholarship. The reading, unfortunately is terrible. I feel for the narrator because many of the names of both people and places are quite difficult to pronounce correctly. Unfortunately though the narrator consistently mispronounces well-known names such as "Constantius", "Dacia", "Nicomedia" and even "Nicea." Both he and the producers of this book should have done their homework before-hand. I stuck through the audiobook, but the reading often left me either shaking my head or grinding my teeth. Sorry to be so critical but it is what it is.
This book has great detail about the peopling of Europe in the first millennium. I'd listen to it again if it had a different narrator. He often puts the accent on the wrong words, interrupting your train of thought. But worse, his mispronunciations--too many to list. But saying "sign" for "Seine"? That's too much.
Yes, great ideas!
He does a good job contextualizing the arguements.
Fingernails on a chalkboard bad.
Yes! the ideas were great.
An obvious fool
This book covers roughly the first millennium of European History. The author is a scholar of European History and it is obvious that his primary audience is fellow scholars to discuss and promote various theories concerning the migration of various peoples and cultures through that time period. If you are not a part of this audience, it can be a very difficult book to follow in an audio format.
In doing an audio book that depends so much on the changing political geography of Europe over the first millennium, the very least the author could have done is made available a PDF detailing the changing map of Europe over that time and the movements of the various ethnic groups that are central the narrative of this book. Further, an appendix detailing the various ethnic groups who are the central characters of this book would be extremely helpful. Rick Atkinson has a website for his three book series on WWII that is extremely helpful in understanding the troop movements and battles of that period. The author of this book would do well to try to develop a similar site for this book.
Anyone trying to read this book to those who do not already have a good background in this subject area would have a difficult time keeping their attention. If you don't have a good background in European geography, it is very difficult to follow and keep track of the various ethnic groups that the author describes as they make their way across Europe.
If you do purchase this book, I strongly advise that do a search on You Tube for Barbarians. There are numerous free videos that do a wonderful job of putting some flesh and warmth into this topic.
Peter Heather's work provides a detailed history of people and factors which drove the relationship between Rome and its neighbors. His review of the evidence for and against the notion of mass migration was new information for me.
Unfortunately, the audio version requires the listener to to endure a reading totally without nuance or comprehension of the text itself.
The mispronunciation of proper names, geographic locations, and common words makes me wonder where the producer/editor was for this reading.
For example, before reading further, pronounce the name of the dead language spoken in Italy during late antiquity. Many people took the class in high school.
Right, the answer is LATIN. Last syllable rhymes with "sin"
It took me a while to fully understand what the reader was talking about as he kept referring to the "LATINE West". Last syllable pronounced to rhyme with "fine"
The dry academic treatise spends altogether too much time on details such as the evolution of kingship in Germania, and far too little on the drama of the period. It is further marred by a halting, monotone narration and gratuitous political point scoring. I gave up after Chapter 4. If you're interested in this topic try Bury's "Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians".
Sadly the narration lets the audiobook down. I really wanted to listen to it as it is a subject I am interested in and seemed to be an interesting take on it but it became unbearable.
Sean Schemmel didn't appear to understand much of the text he was reading or at least didn't go back for another take when he botched lines. As a result sentences run into each other or are cut off in the wrong place making it hard to discern the meaning. Worse still the whole thing is read with little or no variation of emphasis, in a flat monotone which meant that I would realise I had stopped listening and missed whole chunks.
The book probably was but the narration ruined it.
"A Hun's eye view of the fall of the Roman Empire"
This started off slowly with what felt like quite a dry explanation of why Heather wrote a book about the "Barbarian" migrations that occured from the fall of the Roman empire and into the dark ages. But it built up momentum to become a completely fascinating account of what all this tribes were up to as they moved across Eurasia; the extent to which they would have recognized the tribal labels we're taught to apply to them and the legacy they have left us in terms of modern European politics. The author avoids this becoming dull by offering an amazing range of everyday details about the lives our nomadic ancestors lived and the drive they had to travel enormous distances in search of peace & plenty or conquest & pillage; sometimes both.
The fifth star is for the narrator who does a tough job well. I started off thinking that he could maybe of pronounced some French names differently but it quickly became clear that he was required to get his tongue around Slavic names; German terms and finally gaelic. So fair play to him.
If you want a history book that has the potential to alter the way you think about a period of history which many of us feel pretty familiar with then this is it
"Great book but very poor delivery by narrator"
Acquiring a better understanding of the turbulent times in first mIllenium.
This book should be recast by another narrator. Can't wait to listen to it again,
I am surprised that Audible and the author allowed mr Sean Schemmel to read this book. His computersised voice totally spoilt the book for me
"Lots of information"
Not a character book
Sean's let his other wise good read of a solid text down by his weird way he pronounced some of the place names. It was not just accent as I have asked Americans about it as well.
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Summary: The Great Depression was a world crisis that required international solutions, but nationalism was the dominating force of the 1930s. In that spirit, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal attempted “recovery in one country.” Six and a half years later, as World War II began in Europe, the New Deal could claim considerable achievement in ministering to the needs of the poor and unemployed, but it had failed to revive the American economy. Recovery by then was four years old in democratic Britain and Nazi Germany, the world’s next two leading economic powers. The rise of a Nazi-led fascist axis, moreover, left democracy increasingly endangered around the world. This new examination of Roosevelt’s leadership contrasts America’s response to the crisis of the Depression with those of Britain and Germany.
Alonzo L. Hamby is Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio University, where he teaches twentieth-century United States history. He was president of the Ohio Academy of History, 1989-90. He has written two books on Harry Truman, Beyond the New Deal: Harry S. Truman and American Liberalism (1973), winner of the David D. Lloyd Prize, the Phi Alpha Theta First Book Award, and the Ohio Academy of History Book Award, and Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman (1995), winner of the Harry S. Truman and Herbert Hoover book prizes. His most recent book is For the Survival of Democracy: Franklin Roosevelt and the World Crisis of the 1930s. | <urn:uuid:4d368f0d-8b41-47a2-8ba3-81058c369377> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ashbrook.org/event/colloqui-2004-hamby/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00068-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942928 | 310 | 3.734375 | 4 |
Śrī Kriṣhṇa Devarāya was the famed Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529 CE.He is the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians. Emperor Krishna Deva Raya earned the titles Andhra Bhoja (ఆంధ్రభోజ), Mooru Rayara Ganda (ಮೂರುರಾಯರಗಂಡ : meaning King of three kings) and Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana (ಕನ್ನಡರಾಜ್ಯರಮಾರಮಣ).
The rule of Krishna Deva Raya marks a period of much military success in Vijayanagar history. On occasion, the king was known to change battle plans abruptly and turn a losing battle into victory. The first decade of his rule was one of long sieges, bloody conquests and victories. His main enemies were the Gajapatis of Orissa, who had been involved in constant conflict since the rule of Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, Bahamani Sultans (who, though divided into five small kingdoms, remained a constant threat), and the Portuguese, a rising maritime power which controlled much of the sea trade. The feudal chiefs of Ummatur, Reddyraju of Kondavidu raju and Velamas of Bhuvanagiri intermittently rebelled against Vijayanagar rule.
Success in Deccan
The annual affair of the raid and plunder of Vijayanagar towns and villages by the Deccan sultans came to an end during the Raya's rule. In 1509 Krishnadevaraya's armies clashed with the Sultan of Bijapur at Diwani and the sultan Mahmud was severely injured and defeated. Yusuf Adil Khan was killed and raju was annexed.
Taking advantage of the victory and the disunity of the Bahamani Sultans, the Raya invaded Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur and earned the title "establisher of the Yavana kingdom" when he released Sultan Mahmud and made him de-facto ruler.
War with Feudatories
He subdued local rulers of and Velamas of Bhuvanagiri, and seized lands up to the Krishna river. Ganga Raja, the Ummatur chief, fought Krishna Deva Raya on the banks of the Kaveri and was defeated. The chief later drowned in the Kaveri in 1512. The region was made a part of the Srirangapatna province. In 1516-1517, he pushed beyond the Godavari river.
War with Kalinga
He was perhaps the only king of Vijayanagar who enjoyed a relatively higher measure of success in the wars with the Gajapati Emperors of the empire of Kalinga-Utkal Orissa. The Gajapatis ruled a vast land comprising Andhra region and most of Telengana region. The earlier kings of Vijayanagara had been crushed by the might of the Gajapati emperors of Kalinga-Utkal, prominent among whom is Gajapati emperor, Kapilendra deva. The success at Ummatur provided the necessary impetus to carry his campaign into Telangana region which was in control of Gajapati Prathapa Rudra Dev. The Vijayanagar army laid siege to the Udayagiri fort in 1512. The campaign lasted for a year before the Gajapati army disintegrated due to starvation. Krishna Deva Raya offered prayers at Tirupati thereafter along with his wives Tirumala Devi and Chinna Devi. The Gajapati army was then met at Kondaviduraju where the armies of Vijayanagara, after establishing a siege for a few months and heavy with initial defeats began to retreat, until Timmarusu upon discovering a secret entrance to the unguarded eastern gate of the fort launched a night attack culminating with the capture of the fort and the imprisonment of the greatest swordsman of his time, Prince Virabhadra, the son of Gajapati Emperor of Kalinga-Utkal,Gajapati Prataprudra Deva. Saluva Timmarasa took over as governor of Kondavidu thereafter. The Vijayanagar army then accosted the Gajapati army at Kondapalli area and laid another siege. Krishnadevaraya then planned for an invasion of mainland Kalinga-Utkal but the Gajapati Emperor, Prataparudra, privy of this plan had built up a massive strategy to annihilate the Vijayanagara army and along with it its king, Krishnadevaraya. The confrontation was to happen at the fort of Kalinganagar. But the wily Timmarusu secured the information by bribing a Telugu deserter, formerly under the service of the mighty Prataprudra deva. Convinced therefore that an invasion of Kalinga would mean total defeat and destruction of Krishnadevaraya and Vijayanagara, he along with the royal guru of Krishnadevaraya managed to dissuade Krishnadevaraya from further confrontation with the utterly powerful empire of Kalinga-Utkal. Peace was finally secured through diplomacy and the king Krishnadevaraya married the daughter of the Gajapati emperor Prataparudra deva called jaganmohini. Timmarusu had wisely foreseen the disastrous consequences of the defeat of Krishnadevaraya in Kalinga. The defeat would have spelled doom for Vijayanagara, for which the biggest threats still were the Muslim Bahamany and Golconda kingdoms. Thereafter peace between the two strongest Hindu empires in India ensured a period of harmony and the safety of Sanatana dharma in India.
He established friendly relations with the Portuguese, who set up the Portuguese Dominion of India in Goa in 1510. The Emperor obtained guns and Arabian horses from the Portuguese merchants. He also utilized Portuguese expertise in improving water supply to Vijayanagara City.
The complicated alliances of the empire and the five Deccan sultanates meant that he was continually at war; in one of these campaigns, he defeated Golconda and captured its commander Madurul-Mulk, crushed Bijapur and its Sultan Ismail Adil Shah and restored Bahmanisultanate to Muhammad Shah.
The highlight of his conquests occurred on May 19, 1520 where he secured the fortress of Raichur from Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur after a difficult siege during which 16,000 Vijaynagar soldiers were killed. The exploits of the chief military commander, Pemmasani Ramalinga Nayudu, during the battle of Raichur were suitably rewarded by the grateful emperor. During the campaign against Raichur, it is said that 703,000 foot soldiers, 32,600 cavalry and 551 elephants were used (See The battle of Raichur). Finally, in his last battle, he razed to the ground the fortress of Gulburga, the early capital of the Bahmani sultanate. His empire extended over the whole of South India.
In 1524 he made his son Tirumala Raya the Yuvaraja though the crown prince did not survive for long. He was poisoned to death. Suspecting the involvement of Timmarusu, Krishna Deva Raya had his trusted commander and adviser blinded. At the same time, Krishnadevaraya was preparing for an attack on Belgaum that was in the Adil Shah’s possession; Krishnadevaraya took seriously ill. He died soon after in 1529. Before his death, he nominated his brother, Achyuta Deva Raya as his successor. The rule of Krishnadevaraya was a glorious chapter in the history of Vijayanagara Empire.Even the ruins at Hampi tell the glorious tale of that mighty empire.
Paes summarises the king's attitude to matters of law and order by the sentence, "The king maintains the law by killing." Offences against property (designed to maintain stability) and for murder ranged from cutting of a foot and hand for theft and beheading for murder (except for those occurring as a result of duel). Paes could not estimate the size of Vijaynagar as his view was obscured by the hills but estimated the city to be at least as large as Rome. Furthermore, he considered Vijaynagar to be "the best provided city in the world" with a population of not less than a half a million. The empire was divided into a number of provinces often under members of the royal family and into further subdivisions. The official language of the court were Kannada .
Sewe I remarks that Krishna Deva Raya was not only a monarch de-jure, but he was also a de-facto sovereign with extensive powers and strong personal influence. With the active cooperation of Prime Minister Timmarusu he administered the Kingdom well, maintained peace in the land and increased the prosperity of the people.
The administration of the empire was carried on along the lines indicated in his Amuktamalyada. He was the opinion that the King should always rule with an eye towards Dharma. His concern for the welfare of the people is amply proved by his extensive annual tours all over the empire, during which he studied everything personally and tried to redress the grievances of the people and to punish the evil doers.
The Portuguese Chronicler Domingo Paes praises Krishna Deva Raya as, “the most feared and perfect King… a great ruler and a man of much justice”. Though a follower of Vaishnavism he showed respect all sects and petty religious prejudices never influenced him either in granting gifts or in his choice of companions and officers. According to Barbosa, “The King allows such freedom that every man may come and go live according to his own creed, without suffering any annoyance”.
Art and literature
The rule of Krishna Deva Raya was an age of prolific literature in many languages, although it is also known as a golden age of Telugu literature. Many Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada and Tamil poets enjoyed the patronage of the emperor. Emperor Krishna Deva Raya was fluent in many languages including his mother tongue Tulu.
He patronised Kannada poets Mallanarya who wrote Veera-saivamrita, Bhava-chinta-ratnaand Satyendra Chola-kathe, Chatu Vittal-anatha who wrote Bhaga-vatha, Timmanna Kavi who wrote a eulogy of his king in Krishna Raya Bharata. Vyasatirtha, the great saint from Mysore belonging to the Madhwa order of Udupi was his Rajguru. Krishna Deva Rayana Dinachari in Kannada is a recently discovered work. The record highlights the contemporary society during Krishna Deva Raya's time in his personal diary. However it is not yet clear if the record was written by the king himself.
Among these eight poets Allasani Peddana is considered to be the greatest and is given the title of Andhra Kavita Pitamaha (the father of Telugu poetry). Manu-charitramu is his popular prabhanda work. Nandi Timmana wrote Paari-jaata-apaharan-amu. Madayya-gari Mallana wrote Raja-sekhara Charitramu. Dhurjati wrote Kalahasti Mahatyamu and Ayyal-raju Rama-bhadrudu wrote Rama-abhyuday-amu. Pingali Surana wrote the still remarkable Raghava-pandaveeyamu, a dual work with double meaning built into the text, describing both theRamayana and the Mahabharata. Bhattumurty alias Rama-raja-bhushanudu wrote Kavyalankara-sangrahamu, Vasu-charitramu, andHarischandra-nalopakhyanamu. Among these works the last one is a dual work which tells simultaneously the story of King Harishchandraand Nala and Damayanti. Tenali Ramakrishna first wrote Udbhataradhya Charitramu, a Shaivite work and later wrote Vaishnava devotional texts Pandu-ranga Mahatmyamu, and Ghatikachala Mahatmyamu. The period of the Empire is known as “Prabandha Period,” because of the quality of the prabandha literature produced during this time. Tenali Ramakrishna remains one of the most popular folk figures in India today, a quick-witted courtier ready even to outwit the all-powerful emperor.Krishna Deva Raya’s reign is considered the golden age of Telugu literature. Eight poets known as Astadiggajalu (eight elephants in the eight cardinal points such as North, South etc.) were part of his court (known as Bhuvana-vijayamu). According to the Vaishnavite religion there are eight elephants in eight corners in space and hold the earth in its place. Similarly these eight poets were the eight pillars of his literary assembly. Who constituted Ashtadiggajas is not certain. But, it is popularly believed to include these : Allasani Peddana, Nandi Thimmana, Madayyagari Mallana, Dhurjati, Ayyala-raju Rama-Bhadrudu, Pingali Surana, Ramaraja Bhushanudu and Tenali Rama Krishna.
Krishna Deva Raya patronised Tamil poet Haridasa.
In Sanskrit, Vyasatirtha wrote Bhedo-jjivana, Tat-parya-chandrika, Nyaya-mrita (a work directed against Advaita philosophy) and Tarka-tandava. Krishna Deva Raya himself an accomplished scholar wrote Madalasa Charita, Satyavadu Parinaya and Rasamanjari and Jambavati Kalyana.
Visit to Andhra Vishnu Temple
Once the Vijayanagara emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya was travelling via Vijayawada during his Kalinga campaign (c. 1516). He had conqueredVijayawada, kondapalli fort and the surrounding areas. He came to know about the holy temple of Śrī Āndhra Viṣhṇu and visited Srikakulam village for a few days. He performed the Ekadasi Vratam during that time. It is here that Lord Śrī Āndhra Viṣhṇu in all his glory appeared to the emperor in an early morning dream ("neela mEGhamu DAlu Deelu sEyaga jAlu…."). Within Āmuktamālyada itself it was mentioned that on a Harivāsara, Sri Krishnadevaraya had the Darsan of Śrī Āndhra Viṣhṇu. Harivāsara is the time between the last 4 muhurtas of Ekadasi and the first 4 muhurtas of Dwadasi, i.e., 6 hours and 24 minutes. This incident of visiting the temple must be between AhobilamŚaasanam (dated December 1515) and Simhāchalam Śaasanam (dated 30 March 1515). Maybe January 1516, he might have visited the temple on the Dvadasi day. Beyond this no other valid references are available for exact date of visit.
Sri Krishnadevaraya himself recounts the circumstances of this work's composition as,
Sometime ago, I was determined to conquer the Kalinga territory. On the way, I camped for a few days with my army at Vijayawada. Then I went to visit Andhra Vishnu, who lives in Srikakula. Observing the fast of the Vishnu's Day (Dvadasi), in the fourth and last watch of that God's night (Harivaasaram), Andhra Vishnu came to me in my dream. His body was a radiant black, blacker than the rain cloud. His eyes wise and sparkling, put the lotus to shame. He was clothed in the best golden silk, finer still than the down on his eagle's wings. The red sunrise is pale compared to ruby on his chest.
Lord's Instruction to commence work in Telugu
Lord Śrī Āndhra Viṣhṇu told him to compose the story of his wedding with Andal at Srirangam ("rangamandayina penDili seppumu.."). From 14th poem of this work we can see that the, Lord also ordered the emperor to tell the story in Telugu and referred himself as King of Telugus (Telugu Vallabhunḍa) and refers Sri Krishnadevaraya as Kannada King (Kannaḍa Rāya). (...nEnu delugu raayanDa, kannaDa raaya!, yakkodunangappu....). The Lord reasoned "telugadElayanna, dESambu telugu. yEnu telugu vallaBhunDa. telugo kanDa.…. yerugavE bAsADi, dESa BhAShalandu telugu lessa!" The emperor obliged and composed Amuktamalyada which is one of the most famous poetic works in the entire Telugu literature.
|“||తెలుఁగ దేల నన్న దేశంబు దెలుఁగేను|
తెలుఁగు వల్లభుండఁ దెలుఁ గొకండ
యెల్ల నృపులగొలువ నెరుఁగ వే బాసాడి
దేశభాషలందుఁ తెలుఁగు లెస్స
—శ్రీ ఆంధ్ర విష్ణు
|“||telugadElayanna, dESambu telugEnu|
telugu vallaBhunDa telugokanDa
yella nRpulu golva nerugavE bAsADi
dESa BhAShalandu telugu lessa
—Śrī Āndhra Viṣhṇu's reason on why Āmuktamālyada should be written in telugu by Sri Krishnadevaraya
Meaning of Quote :"If you ask why a work in Telugu; I am Telugu (i.e., belong to Teluguland) and King of Telugus. Telugu is language which got stuff (TelugO kanDa). So, with all kings serving under you, by speaking you will know that of all regional languages Telugu is superior. "
Sri Krishna Deva Raya's Āmuktamālyada beautifully describing the pangs of separation suffered by Sri Andal (incarnation of Mother Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi venerated as Sri Bhoomi Devi, the Goddess of Earth and the divine consort of Almighty Sriman Narayana) Andal(one of the twelve bhakti-era alwars) for her lover Lord Vishnu. He describes Andal’s physical beauty in thirty verses; using descriptions of the spring and the monsoon as metaphors. As elsewhere in Indian poetry - see Sringara - the sensual pleasure of union extends beyond the physical level and becomes a path to, and a metaphor for, spirituality and ultimate union with the divine.
One of the main characters is Periyalvar, the father of Andal. Lord Vishnu commands Periyalwar to teach a king of the Pandya dynasty the path of knowledge to moksha. Amuktamalyada is also known by the name Vishnu-chitteeyam, a reference to Vishnu-chittudu, the Telugu name of Vishnuchittar aka Periyalwar. Several other short stories are included in Amuktamalyada in the course of the main story ofGodadevi, the Sanskrit name of Kothai Naachiyaar aka Andal, which is used throughout the tome. Krishna Raya was also well-versed in Sanskrit, Tamil and Kannada. Jambavati Kalyanamu is his Sanskrit work.
Religion and culture
Krishna Deva Raya respected all sects of Hinduism and lavished on the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple numerous objects of priceless value, ranging from diamond studded crowns to golden swords. Additionally, he is known to have commissioned the making of statues of himself and his two wives at the temple complex.
Krishna Deva Raya was formally initiated into the Vaishnava Sampradaya by Vyasatirtha. He patronised poets and scholars in Kannada,Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit.
Sri Vyasatirtha was his Kula-Guru.
Recently excavated Vishnu temple, Hampi | <urn:uuid:2a310daf-415b-451f-b3f0-1d5d596c63e2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog-jpkr.blogspot.com/2012/04/sri-krishnadevaraya.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00009-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95837 | 4,902 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Philosophy | Introduction to Existentialism
P135 | 24857 | Spade
Topic: Kierkegaard and Sartre
This class will introduce students to some of the main themes and
figures in the existential tradition of philosophy. We will focus on
two people, Soren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre, and their views
on topics such as: human responsibility and choice, the nature of
belief in God and the effect it has on people, interpersonal
relations, self-deception and human emotions. We shall find that,
although Kierkegaard was a dedicated Christian whereas Sartre was a
confirmed atheist, in many respects their views are quite similar.
Class will meet in lecture format twice a week, plus a required
discussion section on Fridays. There will be regularly scheduled
short quizzes throughout the semester, to make sure you are getting
the terminology and basic concepts. In addition, students will be
required to write two examinations and two papers.
(1) Robert Bretall, *A Kierkegaard Anthology* (Princeton).
(2) Soren Kierkegaard, *Fear and Trembling* (Penguin).
(3) Walter Kaufmann, ed., *Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre*
(2nd ed.) (Meridian).
(4) Jean-Paul Sartre, *Nausea*. | <urn:uuid:8c36329f-04ca-4a70-a720-abf9219e313e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/blspr08/phil/phil_p135_24857.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.853638 | 306 | 2.625 | 3 |
Image of Saint Helena on the walls near the sign of the St. Helena road at the Old city of Jerusalem, on the way to the Mosque of Omar and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Empress Helena Augusta of Constantinople is considered by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches as a saint, famed for her piety. Her feast day as a saint of the Orthodox Christian Church is celebrated with her son on 21 May, the “Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal to the Apostles.
Constantine appointed his mother Helen as Augusta, and gave her unlimited access to the imperial treasury in order to locate the relics of Judeo-Christian tradition. In 325, Helena was in charge of such a journey to Jerusalem by her son. Upon the request of the monks in the region, Helena ordered the construction of a church in Egypt to identify the Burning Bush of Sinai. The chapel at St. Catherine’s Monastery–often referred to as the Chapel of Saint Helen–is dated to the year AD 330.
Jerusalem was still rebuilding from the destruction of Emperor Hadrian, who had built a temple to Venus over the site of Jesus’s tomb near Calvary. According to tradition, Helena ordered the temple torn down and chose a site to begin excavating, which led to the recovery of three different crosses. Then, refusing to be swayed by anything but solid proof, the empress had a woman who was already at the point of death brought from Jerusalem. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered, and Helena declared the cross with which the woman had been touched to be the True Cross. On the site of discovery, Constantine built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as well as on other sites detected by Helena.
(Source: Wikipedia in English) | <urn:uuid:aa536be5-99a8-4967-830e-0a605471e568> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.divulgare.com/surrealisrael/2010/jerusalem/helena-of-constantinopla/attachment/029_sm/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96581 | 395 | 3.171875 | 3 |
1: Postcard of newly-built Calhoun
At the corner of Elm and College streets, and diagonal to the Green in New Haven, Connecticut is Calhoun College, one of the twelve undergraduate divisions of Yale College. The Gothic, weathered stones and leaded glass of Calhoun seem so solid and permanent that one might imagine it has stood there for ages.
Yet Calhoun was only constructed in 1931-2. Its site has been integral with New Haven history since the Seventeenth century, and part of Yale since shortly after the Civil War. Fortunately, many early maps and photographs exist that allow us to peel back the layers of time, and reveal the early appearance of the Yale campus.
|2: John C. Calhoun|
John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) was the seventh Vice President of the U.S., under Presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. He at various times served as Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and also Senator and Congressman from South Carolina. Since he was an 1804 graduate, Yale desired to honor his distinguished career by naming one of the colleges after him. Unfortunately, Calhoun was virulently pro-slavery, so in recent decades especially there has been considerably controversy of the propriety of using his name.
3: Detail from 1748 map, Calhoun Site buildings shaded in red.
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
New Haven was settled in 1638, and by 1641 the land on what is now College and Elm was the farm of John Brockton. By 1748, the Wadsworth Map (above) shows Innkeeper Mix established on the site, which remained an inn until the mid-Nineteenth century. Note that on the Wadsworth map, Yale College was still a single building.
Yale Divinity School, 1869-1931:
The Calhoun land was initially obtained by Yale to provide a new home for its Divinity School. In its earliest days, Yale College was confined to the Old Campus block, bounded by College, Chapel, Elm and (later) High Streets. The famous Brick Row was started in the Eighteenth century, culminating with the construction of Divinity College at the Elm street end of the Row in 1835.
|4: This c.1869 photo shows only East Divinity|
After the Civil War, a new growth plan meant the demolition of Divinity College in 1869 to make way for Durfee Hall (1870), and the Establishment of a new Divinity School across Elm Street. The first phase was the construction of East Divinity in 1869, designed by the acclaimed architect Richard Morris Hunt.
5: Hallway in East Divinity
6: Library in East Divinity
7: East Divinity + Marquand Chapel to the left.
1871 saw the addition of Marquand Chapel, also designed by Hunt. In this photo we can still see the early small white houses, so characteristic of New Haven, flanking the new Divinity School on both the College and Elm Street sides.
8: Stereoviews like this, which appeared 3-D when viewed in a special holder, were popular in the 1800's.
9: A special kind of luck favors collectors, one result of which was this obtaining this original admission ticket to the 1871 dedication of Marquand Chapel.
|10: This is actually a palimpsest photograph, pasted on another; notice the faint elm branches in the background. Luckily, I have a copy of the underlying photo, which fittingly is a close-up of the Divinity School.|
The above picture from 1873 helps make sense of the new Divinity School as seen from the Old Campus, taken in front of Farnam Hall looking across Elm to the new Divinity School and the future site of Calhoun. At the extreme left is North College dormitory (built 1820, razed 1901), part of the old Brick Row. Just beyond it is the brand-new Durfee Hall (1870), looking just as it does today. Across Elm Street, we get the best view of that early wooden house, reminding us that Elm Street was known as New Haven’s Quality Row. Marquand Chapel and East Divinity come next, then at the extreme right is a very recognizable and still-standing Farman Hall (built 1869).
Because of Yale’s intensive building program, photographs of this period are often easy to date. This photograph marked 1873 is readily confirmed, because it had to be taken after the construction of Marquand in 1871, yet the view across Elm Street is unimpeded by Battell Chapel, not built until 1874.
11: Looking past the future site of Battell Chapel
This similar view taken at a different angle allows us to see, across College Street, two buildings which are still there: the First Methodist Church, and the Colonial house that is the current home of the Elihu Club, although not when the picture was taken, as Elihu was founded in 1903. Durfee and East Divinity are to the left, and a tiny sliver of Farnam on the right.
12: From a Bird's Eye View of New Haven, published by Bailey & J.C. Hazen in 1879.
In addition to Battell Chapel, 1874 saw the construction of the West building of the Divinity School. This 1879 Birds-eye view, with the Divinity School is in the center, provides some context. On the left across Elm Street (unlabeled) is the edge of the old campus, showing Farnam, Battell, and Durfee. In the foreground is the New Haven Green, showing the Center Church (1812) and United Church (1814), both still standing. Notice the two particularly fine houses at High and Wall, and at College and Wall, both long gone.
13: By 1874, West Divinity had been added on the left, but there is still an available gap between West Divinity and Marquand.
|14: Colored postcard shows addition of Trowbridge Library|
Nature abhors a vacuum, and in 1881 the gap between Marquand and West Divinity was filled with Trowbridge Library. Old postcards, although often colored imaginatively, can give a good idea of what strolling by the site must have been like. The photo below shows the interior of Trowbridge Library:
15: Interior of Trowbridge Library--those windows face Elm street.
16: Blount Avenue separating Berkeley Oval and West Divinity
In the 1890’s the Divinity School received some new neighbors. The houses on Elm Street to the west were replaced by the buildings of Berkeley Oval, the precursor of Berkeley College. In the above photo, West Divinity is on the right, and on the left is Fayerweather Hall of Berkeley Oval. Between them, the mall-like space was known as Blount Avenue, which still separates Calhoun and Berkeley. In the distance can be seen the University Dining Hall, built in 1901.
17: In 1911, the Noah Porter Gate was installed, which still serves as the entrance to the current Cross Campus.
18: What you would see taking a stroll on the Green in 1900.
The above postcard seems to show the final development of the Divinity School on the site of the future Calhoun. Fayerweather is briefly seen to the left, and the colonial houses on the right have not yet relinquished their hold.
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi…
All was soon to change when the College Plan for Yale went into effect in the early Twentieth century. A new Divinity School was built on Prospect Street past Science Hill, on the site of the former Winchester mansion. The old Divinity School was razed to make way for Calhoun College. In the 1931 photograph below, looking towards College Street, all elements of the Divinity School are gone. Across College Street we can see Battell and Durfee, and a bit of Harkness Tower in the background. On the right are Blount Avenue, the Porter Gate, and finally Fayerweather Hall in its final days, as it would be torn down in 1933 to make room for Berkeley College.
|19: The End of an Era: This dramatic photo shows the demolition site of the Divinity School, and the future site of Calhoun. Notice the one legacy--the Calhoun Elm carefully protected by boards!|
As a student in Calhoun, I was completely unaware that it occupied the site of the Divinity School that had stood there not that long ago—even within my grandparents’ lifetime. It is a shame that such a large part of Yale's history has been virtually forgotten. Other than in these old photographs, no vestige seems to be left of the building that inhabited the corner of Elm and College for six decades. I will take a good look at Calhoun itself the next time I am in New Haven. Perhaps in the stone carvings that adorn Calhoun are hidden some reminders of its historic predecessors.
Coming Soon: The Construction of Calhoun
A note on the images: It is my hobby to collect photographs and other ephemera that document the Nineteenth-century history of Yale University and the city of New Haven. These have been augmented with images from the treasure-trove at Yale Manuscripts and Archives, and from the Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.
Photos 3 and 12 from Leventhal Map Center of the Boston Public Library.
Photos 5,6,15,16,17 Credit: Yale University buildings and grounds photographs, 1716-2004 (inclusive). Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University
Photo 19 Credit: Photographs of Calhoun College, Yale University, 1931-1932 (inclusive). Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University
All other photographs and objects are from the collection of the author. | <urn:uuid:62123129-e223-466a-9407-24e96f8c5e89> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://roadtoparnassus.blogspot.com/2014/02/before-calhoun-college-old-yale.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959951 | 2,029 | 2.78125 | 3 |
A long hairpin is formed by bending an infinitely long wire, asshown. If a current of 2.2 A is set up in the wire, what is themagnitude of the magnetic field at the point a? Assume R = 11.0cm.
please go thru the steps throughly, cuz i really need to knowhow to do this problem. Thank you! | <urn:uuid:c2ee826e-c728-42fd-ba63-f6d7a6a11483> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/long-hairpin-formed-bending-infinitely-long-wire-asshown-current-22-set-wire-themagnitude--q89609 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00047-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928725 | 80 | 2.703125 | 3 |
History of the Fleur de Lis
In Heraldry and History
The earliest fleur de lis was found on an Assyrian bas-relief and dates back to 3000BC. The Greeks and Romans associated it with royalty and imprinted it on their coins. Around 1200AD King Louis VII of France incorporated it into the royal French emblem. The fleur de lis has been an historical symbol of French influence along the central Gulf Coast since before the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
The English translation of "fleur-de-lis" (sometimes spelled "fleur-de-lys") is "flower of the lily." This symbol, depicting a stylized lily or lotus flower, has many meanings. Traditionally, it has been used to represent French royalty, and in that sense it is said to signify perfection, light, and life. Legend has it that an angel presented Clovis, the Merovingian king of the Franks, with a golden lily as a symbol of his purification upon his conversion to Christianity. Others claim that Clovis adopted the symbol when waterlilies showed him how to safely cross a river and thus succeed in battle.
In the twelfth century, either King Louis VI or King Louis VII (sources disagree) became the first French monarch to use the fleur-de-lis on his shield. English kings later used the symbol on their coats of arms to emphasize their claims to the throne of France. In the 14th century, the fleur-de-lis was often incorporated into the family insignia that was sewn on the knight's surcoat, which was worn over their coat of mail, thus the term, "coat of arms." The original purpose of identification in battle developed into a system of social status designations after 1483 when King Edmund IV established the Heralds' College to supervise the granting of armor insignia.
Religion and War
- Joan of Arc carried a white banner that showed God blessing the French royal emblem, the fleur-de-lis, when she led French troops to victory over the English in support of the Dauphin, Charles VII, in his quest for the French throne.
- The Roman Catholic Church ascribed the lily as the special emblem of the Virgin Mary.
- Due to its three "petals," the fleur-de-lis has also been used to represent the Holy Trinity.
- Military units, including divisions of the United States Army, have used the symbol's resemblance to a spearhead to identify martial power and strength.
As stated in our name, Fleur de Lis Framing & Gifts specializes in everything fleur de lis including hand-crafted fleur de lis plaques, crosses, bookends, wall hooks, candleholders, letter-openers, key chains, blankets, clocks, magnets, pewter bowls, wine bottle openers and stoppers and much, much more. Seeing is truly believing! | <urn:uuid:351c59bd-8918-40b5-961f-171b6e89daee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fleurdelisframing.com/history_of_fleur_de_lis.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947005 | 611 | 3.46875 | 3 |
The reserve is based predominantly on two geological formations, the Lubombo Mountains, being made up of rhyolites, and basalt valleys to the west.
The geology of the area is associated with the sedimentation of the supercontinent Gondwanaland which existed when all the southern continents were in one mass, with southern Africa as the centroid. The sequence known as the Karoo supergroup began about 300 million years ago when sediments started to form in a basin (Wilson 1980).
Approximately 200 million years ago, these sediments were capped by volcanic rocks which extruded onto the land surface (the Karoo volcanics). The first to appear were basalts which make up the western lowlying margin of the reserve. These unusual basalts, low in olivine and silica and therefore basic, are terrestrial. They formed as huge sheets of lava extruded by means of fissures over many kilometres north to south. The theory is that at some point, continental material became included within the magma and extruded explosively at high pressures in the form of welded volcanic ash (tuff). This ash originated from the line of volcano stretching north to south from eastern Zimbabwe to northern Natal and now forms the upstanding ridges and high ground of the reserve.
The general description of the Lubombo volcanics was given by du Toit in 1930, but the most recent work has been by Cleverly in the late 1970's (Cleverly 1979). In Cleverly's terminology (1979) he gives the name Twin Ridge Beds to the volcanic geology of the Lubombo. The main Lubombo Escarpment is made up of the Jozini Rhyolite Formation, followed to the east near the Mozambique border by the Umbuluzi Rhyolite Formation and the Oribi Rhyolites (Ndzindza). The basalts formed as a supurating lava subaerially extruded, which oozed across the surface from elongated vents.
The rhyolites, being explosive rocks, are possibly formed by hot rushing clouds of molten rock and gas. They may also include the flows of high temperature magma. The rhyolites are extruded periodically and give rise to various flow banded features which may be representative of several dozen explosive incidents. Each incident begins with the initial explosion and magma flow producing a fine crystalline rock at ground level. The surface of the massive magma flow that follows the surface is in contact with the air and cools more rapidly. It solidifies but then becomes rebroken by the flow beneath it, producing "lava concrete" (autobreccia). A number of outcrops of this can be seen in the reserve.
In addition, the rhyolites also include various air fall debris such as lapilli (small stones), silica raindrops and others siliceous ejectamenta including obsidian (black volcanic glass). Occassionally, the frothy surface of the flows includes gas bubbles which later solidify as geodes. The whole sequence testifies to a period of great geological violence heralding the break up of the supercontinent Gondwanaland and the establishment of Africa as a separate continent. Remarkably, small sedimentary basins of muds and sands were formed in between rhyolitic flows and, where these are preserved, fossils occur in the sediments.
In terms of historical geology, the Karoo volcanics are significant to have occurred as the eastern margin of Africa was being formed. India, Antarctica, and Australasia were being pushed away along a tearing fracture from what today is the eastern edge of the continent. The Lubombo mountains provide insight into the process of continental formation due to the fact that they have been stable since this break up (190 million years). There is evidence of subduction along the plate margin after formation, and rhyolites have been noted at great depth from coastal boreholes in a vertical attitude, off northern Natal.
The different chemical composition of the basic basalts, acid rhyolites, and intermediate dacites are the controlling feature in the dramatic terrain of the reserve. The basalts, being low in silica, are chemically weak and therefore have been susceptible to deep weathering in the Late Tertiary Period. The rhyolites, being rich in silica, are chemically very resilient and therefore have eroded to a much lesser degree. Once continental formation had taken place, the interbedded layers of basalt, dacite, and rhyolite were downwarped to the east forming a monocline. The easily weathered basalts were then etched and eroded out from the sequence, leaving the ridges of rhyolite as the ribs of the strata.
On the western side of the reserve the lowlying relatively flat topography of Mbuluzi Nature Reserve and Simunye Nature Reserve is underlain by basalts. A minor flow of rhyolite produces the ridges adjacent to southern Mbuluzi Nature Reserve along the line of Lusoti hill. A switch from dacite to basalt, when weathered and removed, exists in the south. A further switch back to the massive flows of rhyolite produces the precipitous slopes to the east of the Siphiso and the high ground of Ndzindza.
In terms of the outcrops of rock, the basalts rarely are visible at the surface. They may be seen in a somewhat degraded form along stream beds, particularly the Siphiso near the restcamp, where it has a drab greenish grey colour with white spherules. The rhyolites outcrop is more obvious with ridges covered with angular rhyolite cobbles, varying in colour from maroon brown to reddish grey, with obvious orange crystals of felspar (Urie 1967, Wilson 1980).
Cleverly, R.W., The Volcanic Geology of the Lebombo Monocline in Swaziland. Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 82(343-348), 1979.
Uric, J.G., Explanatory Notes to Accompany Sheet 2631BD(14)
Geological Survey and Mines Department, Swaziland, 1967.
Wilson, A.C., Explanatory Notes to Accompany Sheets 2631BB(8) and 2632AA, Geological Survey and Mines Department, Swaziland, 1980. | <urn:uuid:e6815926-d0db-49da-ba01-8640db1c4c21> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sntc.org.sz/reserves/mlageology.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00096-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951602 | 1,333 | 3.8125 | 4 |
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Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
Bats in Alaska
A dozen people stood hushed in the Southeast Alaska twilight, listening for bats. As the bat detector emitted a burst of clicks, one citizen scientist whispered, “I see it. Between those trees.”
The midnight gathering was part of BioBlitz, which brought scientists and citizen volunteers together to catalogue life in Fish Creek Valley on Douglas Island near Juneau. State wildlife biologist Karen Blejwas headed the bat team, and before the late-night field session she provided an overview of Alaska’s bats and bat detection techniques.
“If you have a bat roosting in your house it’s almost certainly a little brown bat,” she told the group. The aptly named little brown bat - Myotis lucifugis - is the most common bat in Alaska, ranging from southern Southeast to Interior Alaska. It’s most likely what was flitting between the spruce trees on Fish Creek, as it is the most widespread bat in North America. There’s a good reason.
“It’s an ecological generalist in terms of its roost selection and what it eats,” Blejwas said. Insects and spiders make up much of the diet, detected on the wing by echolocation.
The little brown bat is the only bat found in Interior and South Central Alaska. Four other bat species are found in Southeast, although not in numbers that compare to the little brown bat - Keen's long-eared bat (Myotis keenii), long-legged myotis (Myotis volans), California bat (Myotis californicus) and the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans). These bats are all quite similar.
The little brown bat breeds in late fall or winter, but the female avoids the demands of gestation during hibernation by storing the sperm until May, when implantation occurs and pregnancy begins. A single pup is born in June or July, naked and blind. Mother bats tend to congregate together in maternity roosts. The newborn bats then either hang there with other young, or cling to the mother's stomach while she forages. Usually, the young are "fledged" within a month.
It’s quite unusual for a small mammal to have a single baby – mice, voles and lemmings have large litters, often several times a year. But they are short-lived, and banded bats have been known to live in the wild for over 20 years.
Unfortunately, many bats in America are dying well before that. Bats face a host of threats in the 21st century. Wind farms are a newly emerging hazard, and Blejwas said in some areas bats are more susceptible to being hit by windmill blades than birds. Pesticides can be bad for bats – poisoning bats directly and by reducing their insect prey. Habitat loss is another threat, as logging claims big trees that many bat species rely on for maternity roosts.
Disturbance can be bad for bats as well, especially during winter hibernation. “A lot of cave sites receive heavy use by visitors and tourists,” Blejwas said. “People are going in and causing them to rouse, and it’s energetically expensive for the bats.”
The greatest threat, however, has claimed close to half a million bats in the past few years. A disease epidemic called white nose syndrome is sweeping through North American bat populations, and little brown bats are especially hard hit. It’s caused by a fungus that appears white around the muzzle and on the wing membranes.
“They’re not really sure what it is that’s killing the bats, but they think the fungus or something associated with the fungus causes them to rouse too frequently and for too long in the winter time, so they burn up all their energy and they basically starve to death,” Blejwas said. “They’re found often outside the caves. You find a lot of dead bats outside the entrance, or really sick bats.
White nose syndrome was first discovered in New York State in February 2006 and within two years spread to neighboring states. In the past two years it’s moved to more distant states and Ontario, Canada.
“It’s got to be really depressing to be a bat biologist in the Northeast – it’s spread to new species, and it’s started hop-scotching over to Missouri, Tennessee, and Oklahoma,” she said. “So a lot of bat biologists in the Western United states thought they had a few years to figure this out, and it doesn’t appear that will be the case.”
The disease has not appeared in the Western U.S. or Alaska. That’s good, because if bats were affected, biologists might not be aware of the extent of the impact. “In the West, we know a lot less about where bats hibernate, and in what kind of numbers, and what habitats,” she said.
That’s especially true of bats in Alaska, Blejwas said. “We don’t know about the distribution of most of the species in Southeast. We don’t know where Southeast bats spend the winter – do they spend the winter here locally, do they migrate to the coast, or further south? We don’t know where they hibernate – in caves or trees or abandoned mines – and we don’t really know when they become active in the spring, or when they start hibernating, or migrate in the fall.”
The Wildlife Diversity Program with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is working to learn more about bats in Alaska, and Blejwas has started an acoustic monitoring project in the Juneau area. It involves passive monitoring using stationary detectors, and active monitoring - walking around on the local trails with a hand held bat detector.
Bat detectors basically divide the frequency of bats’ ultrasonic calls, which are octaves above the range of human hearing, and make them audible. These aren’t squeaks – bats do make audible sounds – these are clicks, just as killer whales and dolphins emit high frequency clicks to echolocate in their aquatic environment. As in radar and sonar, the sound wave bounces back from surroundings and returns to the sender for processing and interpretation, creating a “picture” of the environment. Bats aren’t blind, but they depend on their hearing to “see” their environment and their prey as they fly. Flying through trees requires a series of steady clicks. Catching a flying insect requires a rapid burst of clicks, known to bat biologists as a feeding buzz.
Two passive monitors are currently set-up in Juneau. “We’re going to run these year round,” she said. “They go on every night and record all night long, and this information will give us an idea of the seasonal and daily activity patterns for bats. When do they become active in the spring, for example? I put these out in April and the first night we got bats, and have consistently from that night on. I didn’t get them out early enough to know when they’re emerging form hibernation or migrating in, but hopefully in the future we’ll get an idea about that.”
Active monitoring is also taking place. “We hope to hit most of the trails in the Juneau area, and then do repeat surveys of the areas where we get a lot of bats. This will give us an idea of bat distribution in the Juneau area, and potential give us some information about habitat use and identify some potentially good trapping sites.”
The surveys are simple, Blejwas said. She’s been doing them since April, and has enlisted local volunteers as well. The bat surveyor heads out a half hour after sunset, close to twilight is best, for at least an hour, equipped with a bat detector, a notebook and a GPS. “You walk down the trail, and when you hear a bat you mark a waypoint on the GPS,” she said. “Try to get a look at the bat – where is it foraging, describe its behavior – is it foraging in the canopy? Over water? Those kinds of things are really good.”
Blejwas hopes to expand the monitoring to other communities in Southeast. “It would be really interesting to get information further south, and out along the coast and get the timing of when bats become active there, and when they stop being active in the fall, to get a handle on this whole migration and hibernation question.”
To learn more about citizen science and monitoring bats in Alaska, see: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=citizenscience.bats
In Southeast, contact Karen Blejwas to learn more about bat surveys. In the Anchorage and Southcentral area, contact Dave Tessler ([email protected] ) or Marian Snively ([email protected]).
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P.O. Box 115526
1255 W. 8th Street
Juneau, AK 99811-5526 | <urn:uuid:50496bb1-5508-4e3b-b269-e773cf4de637> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=464 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00143-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933434 | 2,223 | 2.625 | 3 |
The Pacific Institute has recently released a set of GIS data on measures of Sea Level change on the West Coast. This is a topic that has been in the news recently as scientists are investigating changing sea levels along coasts around the world. We are always trying to point our customers to new sources of data that they can use in their own professional work, or for the purpose of exploring the world around them with publicly available data. To download the Pacific Institute data visit the GIS Data Downloads section. Notice when you go to the website there are a number of files available that cover many different topics. Below I describe the methods for importing and exploring the data using Cartographica.
The first step for exploring these data is adding a Live Map, which we will use as the basemap for all of the Pacific Institute's data. To add a Live Map choose File > Add Live Map.
To create the following maps download the Dataset described as "Areas inundated by unimpeded Pacific coastal flooding under a scenario of 1.4-meter (55-inch) sea-level rise." To download the data click on the Ca_coast yr2100_flood.zip file. The file will automatically download. Once the data are downloaded save them to an desired location and then choose File > Import Vector Data… and open the shape file. When the data are imported they will have a name that is not so descriptive and will be colored white. Rename the layer so that it was a bit more descriptive. Rename the layer 55 Inch Sea Level Rise by clicking on the layer in the layer stack and retyping the layer name. Change the color to red to make the layer more visible on the map. To change the color double-click on the 55 Inch Sea Level Rise layer in the layer stack and then change the fill color to red by clicking on the fill box and then using the color wheel to choose a redish color. See the image below for an example of my map.
In addition to the geographic data, the files also include attribute data that provides a description of the locations at risk for flooding. To view the attribute file view the data in the data viewer at the bottom of the Cartographica window. Notice that the at-risk areas are named by which county they are in and there is data on the area and length of the individual locations.
For the next map, download the available data files that contain vulnerable public service buildings. Download the files for: vulnerable hospitals, schools, fire stations, and police stations. Once the files are imported change the names and color schemes to make a more effective map. Rename the layers Vulnerable Hospitals, Vulnerable Schools, etc. To make the symbols a bit more exciting you can use publicly available images of symbols representing each type of public service. To do this, go to Google Images to search for each type of symbol. For example, to find the school symbol use the search term "School Symbols". Once you find the image you would like to use double-click on the Vulnerable Schools layer in the layer stack and then simply click and drag the school symbol image into the symbol box within the layer styles window. Once the image is placed in the symbol box make sure to uncheck the stroke box, otherwise the image will be outlined and it will be hard to see. I provide an image below as an example.
See my final map below for an example of the point symbols for public service buildings at risk of coastal flooding in California. The image below shows the San Francisco Bay Area. I should mention that each of the public service building files also has accompanying attribute data that provides more information about the locations of each of the points.
Because you have a points and polygons added to the map you can use Cartographica's Count Points in Polygons tool to determine which of the flood prone areas have the most at risk public service buildings. To count points in polygon first select the 55 Inch Sea Level Rise layer in the layer stack, and then choose Tools > Count Points in Polygons. At this point a new window will appear, choose to count the number of at risk schools within each of the areas at risk of flooding. Once the count is complete you can see the number of at risk schools in each polygon by looking in the data viewer window. Another way you can check the number of at-risk schools in each polygon is by creating a chloropleth map. To create a chloropleth map double-click on the 55 Inch Sea Level Rise layer in the layer stack to bring up the layer styles window. Change the Based on option to Vulnerable Schools, click on the + button five times to add five categories, click on the gear box and choose distribute with Natural Breaks (Jenks). Finally, select a color scheme by choosing Window > Show Color Palettes, select a color scheme and then click and drag it to the table within the layer styles window. This will automatically apply the color scheme to the distributed values. I provide an image of the layer styles window and my final map below.
As you can see from my map below it appears that the Orange County area in Southern California has some coastal areas that have many schools at risk of flooding if the sea level were to rise by 55 inches. | <urn:uuid:d5f24868-e724-406e-8b49-7df60eae6c7c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.cartographica.com/blog/2012/7/12/exploring-sea-level-change-with-cartographica.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.895347 | 1,087 | 3.015625 | 3 |
October 10 2013
Vicki E. Alger
Congress is considering the fifth debt ceiling increase since 2009 (Table 2, p. 19).
We’ll recall that last February we suspended our debt at $16.7 trillion ($305 billion above the preceding limit, p. 1). Failure to increase the debt limit now, according to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, “would have catastrophic economic consequences.”
Then Sen. Barrack Obama didn’t think opposing a debt ceiling hike back in 2006 was such a big deal. On the contrary, he insisted:
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Over the past 5 years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to$8.6 trillion. That is ‘‘trillion’’ with a ‘‘T.’’ That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion. …
Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘‘the buck stops here.’’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
Indeed! But that was then, and this is now. President Obama explained earlier today,
Nothing has changed…I voted against a debt ceiling increase at the time because I had some concerns about what President (George W.) Bush was doing [namely, increasing debt].
But now Obama insists that raising the debt ceiling:
Really now? According to FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, debt is set to double under Obama:
…the Obama administration recently projected an annual deficit of $750 billion in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, and $626 billion the year after. At that rate, the debt owed to the public will more than double during the Obama presidency.
Critics of federal debt levels often cite another, larger figure for total federal debt, which includes money the federal government owes to itself through such devices as the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. That total debt figure stood at just under $16.75 trillion on Oct. 4. That’s an increase of 57.6 percent since Obama was first sworn in.
As of this writing, House Republicans have offered a six-week debt ceiling increase slated to expire November 22. The plan would extend the country’s borrowing authority, but the partial government shutdown would remain in effect. It’s also unclear what (if any) steps would be taken toward long-term deficit reduction and rolling back ObamaCare.
Spending more than we have is at the core of our debt ceiling crisis. We need a candid review of the programs and services we believe the federal government should be handling based on its Constitutional authority, along with honest and accurate cost estimates. Then we need to decide if we are willing to pony up the cash to pay for approved federal programs.
The last thing we need is more dithering from elected officials who change their tunes about the seriousness of debt based on the political party of the current president. | <urn:uuid:2004fc84-24fe-43cd-b3cd-c5ad32fa4370> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://iwf.org/blog/2792277/Dithering-about-Debt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956087 | 758 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Know what to expect
Know your area’s flood risk—if unsure, call your
local Red Cross chapter, emergency management office, or planning
and zoning department.
If it has been raining hard for several hours, or
steadily raining for several days, be alert to the possibility of a
Listen to local radio or TV stations for flood
Reduce potential flood damage by—
Raising your furnace, water heater,
and electric panel if they are in areas of your home that may be
Consult with a professional for further information
if this and other damage reduction measures can be taken
can take several hours to days to develop -
Flash floods can take only a few minutes
to a few hours to develop—
a flood WARNING is issued—
Listen to local radio and TV stations for information
and advice. If told to evacuate, do so as soon as possible.
Be alert to signs of flash flooding and be ready to
evacuate on a moment’s notice.
When a flash flood WARNING is issued—
Or if you think it has already started, evacuate
immediately. You may have only seconds to escape. Act quickly!
Move to higher ground away from rivers, streams,
creeks, and storm drains. Do not drive around barricades . . . they
are there for your safety.
If your car stalls in rapidly rising waters, abandon
it immediately and climb to higher ground.
a Family Disaster Plan
Check to see if you have insurance that covers
flooding. If not, find out how to get flood insurance.
Keep insurance policies, documents, and other
valuables in a safe deposit box.
Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit
First aid kit and essential medications.
Canned food and can opener.
At least three gallons of water per person.
Protective clothing, rainwear, and bedding or
Battery-powered radio, flashlight, and extra
Special items for infant, elderly, or disabled family
Written instructions for how to turn off electricity,
gas, and water if authorities advise you to do so. (Remember, you’ll
need a professional to turn natural gas service back on.)
Identify where you could go if told to evacuate. Choose several places
. . . a friend’s home in another town, a motel, or a shelter.
When a flood WATCH is issued—
Move your furniture and valuables to
higher floors of your home.
Fill your car’s gas tank, in case an evacuation
notice is issued.
Prolonged rainfall over several days or
an ice jam can cause a river or stream to overflow and flood the
A flash flood from a broken dam or levee
or after intense rainfall of one inch (or more) per hour often catches
Regardless, the rule for being safe is
simple: head for the high ground and stay away from the water. Even a
shallow depth of fast-moving flood water produces more force than most
people imagine. The most dangerous thing you can do is to try walking,
swimming, or driving through such swift water.
Still, you can take steps to prepare for
these types of emergencies. Hold a family meeting to discuss and
finalize your Home Flood Plan.
Keep current copies of all important
papers or valuables in a safe-deposit box. | <urn:uuid:6d0f0859-8efb-481e-8954-d50bda6003e0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cityofcalabasas.com/risk-management/emergency/flashflood.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00054-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908379 | 710 | 2.75 | 3 |
Enough area for working is also important, especially on the uphill side. Make the site large enough so dirt and rocks don’t fall into the steel armature. Contamination entangled in the structure is a problem to avoid during construction. The area made up of excavated fill is a good place for the access road to terminate and to store materials. If this is a large tank and the excavated material is a mountain of dirt poised to cause damage below during a flood year, then it should be placed on a cut bench cut of its own and be compacted for stability and safety.
πr2h = volume (where π = 3.14, r = radius, and h = height)
The following example is for a tank of sixty cubic meters; height is 2.13 meters.
πr2(2.13) = 60 cubic meters (sixty thousand liters)
r2 = 60 cubic meters ÷ (2.13 x 3.14) = 8.971 m2
r = radius = 3 meters
2r = diameter = d = 6 meters
Convert the depth into pressure, measured in grams per square centimeter and calculate the circumference in centimeters.
πd = 3.14 x 6 meters = circumference = 1884 centimeters.
The pressure on a square centimeter (kg/cm2) = the depth of 2.13 meters = 0.213 kilograms per square centimeter.
This means that there is 0.213 kilograms of outward pressure on a one centimeter square at the bottom of the tank wall. Since the wall is 1884 centimeters around, the total outward force on the bottom centimeter of wall is 0.213 x 1884 = 401 kilograms.
The next step is to determine the strength of the wall as it resists this outward pressure. The concrete plaster is only considered as waterproofing for the steel in this calculation. All the strength is assumed to be in the steel. Add up the horizontal strands of welded wire and the bars which encircle the tank. Count the welded wire and the reinforcing bars separately since they are different strengths of steel. Reinforcing steel is 3515 kilograms of tensile strength per square centimeter and the welded wire is 6328kg/cm2.
There are five horizontal wires and two reinforcing bars in the bottom thirty centimeters of this sixty cubic meter tank. Ignore the welded wire bent to come up and out of the floor until further along the discussion. Standard welded wire is ten gauge wire on 7.5 centimeter squares. Ten gauge wire is 0.356 cm diameter.
πr2 = 0.1 square centimeters of steel times five wires = 0.5 square centimeters. Multiply this by 6328 kilograms per square centimeter = 3164 kilograms of tensile strength in the bottom 30 centimeters of wall. Divide by 30 to compute the welded wire strength in an average centimeter of wall. 3164 ÷ 30 = 105 kilograms of horizontal welded wire tensile strength per average vertical centimeter of wall. The same calculation is done for two horizontal wraps of #4 bar (1.27 centimeters).
πr2 multiplied by 2 multiplied by 3515 kilograms of tensile strength per square centimeter = 7030 kilograms of tensile strength in the reinforcing bar, in the bottom 30 cm of wall. Divide by 30 to find the average strength in a centimeter of wall. 7030 ÷ 30 = 234.
The total wall steel strength is 234 + 105 kilograms = 339 kilograms of tensile strength in the steel. There is an additional #4 bar in the floor-to-wall key which brings the steel strength figure to 456 kilograms.
The final step in comparing steel tensile strength to water force is to draw a circle and quarter it as pictured below.
Imagine all the water force as concentrated in one direction along arrow B. The small circle at A is an anchor. Arrow B pulls with a force of 401 kilograms, which is the total outward water force on the bottom centimeter of wall (calculated above).
Imagine next that the tank wall is infinitely strong except where the line CD cuts the tank in half. At points C and D the wall is the tensile strength of the steel calculations; 456 kilograms at C and 456 kilograms at D. Total wall steel strength the water must break is thus 912 kilograms. Steel tensile strength divided by water force is 912 ÷ 401 = 2.3; the wall steel is 2.3 times stronger than the water force.
Note 1: The welded wire coming out of the floor adds enough to bring the steel strength figure to almost 2.5 times stronger than water force, assuming that all the wires are at 45 degrees.
Note 2: An impression of just how strong ferrocement is for structures other than tanks is gained by reversing arrow B; push instead of pull. Well cured ferrocement easily has 550 kilograms of compression strength per square centimeter. If a structural wall is eight centimeters thick, points C and D would add 8800 kilograms to the 912 kilograms of steel strength. Arrow B must push with a force greater than 9700 kilograms to crush a one centimeter wide arc of ferrocement, at points C and D.
Wall area = 2πr(height) = 2π(3)(2) = 37.5 m2
Roof: The roof steel extends down the wall and the roof is also an arc.
Floor: To estimate floor steel add ten percent for waste and ten percent for the steel which extends beyond the circumference line before bending it to vertical position.
The result is (1.2)πr2 = floor area calculation for steel. Add a little more for roof arc and use (1.25)πr2 = roof area calculation for roof steel.
Floor or roof area multiplied by 2 (two layers of welded wire) = 56.5 m2. Multiply this figure by the factors discussed previously. 56.5(1.2)(floor) + 56.5(1.25)(roof) = 138.4 ≈ 138m2 of welded wire in the roof and the floor.
Conclude the welded wire computation by adding the wall.
There are two layers of welded wire in the wall. 37.5m2 multiplied by two = 75m2; add 10 m2 for wire overlaps and waste = 85 m2.
The total for welded wire is 138m2 for roof and floor plus 85m2 for the wall = 223 m2 of welded wire. The price of welded wire per m2 multiplied by 223 m2 = total cost of welded wire.
Calculation of reinforcing bars depends upon the spacing chosen between the bars and the length of a standard bar. Chapter two uses the grid space of 30 to 45 centimeters. Six meters is used further on in this book as a standard length. The method used to calculate reinforcing steel is to visualize a square with equal to the standard length of reinforcing steel. In this example it is a six meter square with an area of 36m2.
Nineteen bars creates a spacing of 33.33 centimeters across six meters. This equals thirty eight bars total. Divide 38 bars by 36 m2 = 1.05 reinforcing steel bars per m2. Add ten percent for waste and overlaps and there are 1.15 bars per m2.
28.26m2 (roof) + 28.26m2 (floor) + 37.5m2 (wall) = 94m2 (total).
1.15 bars/m2 multiplied by 94m2 = 108 bars of reinforcing steel at a 33.33 centimeter spacing.
This calculation at a 45 centimeter space between bars is 6 m divided by 45 cm, plus one bar = 14.33 bars. multiply this by two for the total bars = 28.66. Divide by 36m2 = .79 bars/m2. Add ten percent = .9 bars/m2. Multiply by the total area (94m2) and the reinforcing bars required equals 85.
Multiply the price of one reinforcing steel bar by the number of bars to compute the total cost of reinforcing steel bars.
Expanded metal for the inside of the roof and wall is wall plus roof areas multiplied by their use factors. 28.26(1.25) (roof) + 37.5(1.1) (wall) = 76.5 m2.
Concrete is best estimated at 7.75 centimeter thickness multiplied by the total area plus approximately five percent for waste. The floor is estimated separately and done first.
A small volume factor (0.2) for the joint between wall and floor is added to the floor estimate. 28.26 m2 (floor area) multiplied by 0.0775 m (thickness) multiplied by 1.2 = 2.6 m3.
Roof and wall is (28.26 m2 + 37.5 m2)(0.0775)(1.05) = 5.35 m3.
Color pigments, extra cement water seal product, and glue (if the outside is to be colored). | <urn:uuid:bc0e8456-c60e-4a1c-b15a-3f411ad8bb9c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ferrocement.com/tankBook/ch1.en.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.889841 | 1,909 | 3.375 | 3 |
The most famous words spoken about the Great Depression, by Franklin Roosevelt in his first inaugural address, were these: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” They have become a mantra invoked in many situations where there’s a lot more than fear to fear, where real dangers are confronting people who must nonetheless act unafraid.
This week we saw two gripping dramatic representations of coping with genuine fear of real danger. Both have been reviewed in these pages as theatrical events, but the questions they raise transcend the context presented on stage.
Dark River, a new opera by Mary Watkins, focuses on the role of Fannie Lou Hamer, a woman with little education and modest resources, in organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964 to push for voting rights for African-Americans. It starts with a chilling ballet enacting the 1950s murder of the young Black Emmett Till for the supposed crime of whistling at a white woman. Seven Jewish Children: a Play for Gaza, by Caryl Churchill, also opens with a shocker, a tense conversation about family members disappearing during the Holocaust. Both works go on to explore how the communities involved have been able to deal with their fears.
Both move through time in a series of blackout vignettes. The Churchill play, just 10 or 20 minutes long, uses a very effective device to do this, the actors’ repeated alternation of “Tell her about…” and “Don’t tell her about…” referring to an always off-stage child who will learn how to view the world from the stories adults tell her. The action turns on their disputes about what to say and how to say it. The final injunction, repeated frequently: “Don’t frighten her!”
That’s the crux of the matter examined in both plays: in a world full of pain and evil, what do we tell the kids? Both shed light on the specific historic situations presented on stage, but also raise questions bigger than the dramas that audiences of these two productions see enacted before them.
An African-American mother who saw Seven Jewish Children spoke about wondering how she should tell her kindergarten child about slavery without frightening him. Many of our children and grandchildren are simultaneously descended from slaves and slaveholders, abolitionists and do-nothing bystanders—how can we explain their heritage to them?
And there are many more thorny problems to grapple with. How can we talk to our daughters and sons about the relationships between the sexes? Not only about the evils of Capital S Sexism, but about the myriad ways the sexual impulse can either be celebrated or abused.
What do we tell them about the recent news of horrendous events at a high school in Richmond? We don’t want our daughters to be irrationally afraid, but we need to warn them to stay out of dark alleys and away from boys who are drinking.
Or about drugs of all kinds? A beer, a glass of wine, even occasional marijuana, fine, sure, but how to explain what happened to the adults all Berkeley kids know who are being destroyed by too much of these? And how do we caution young people to avoid seriously dangerous substances like crack or meth?
On health? Should we tell the kids to wash their hands, but not to skip birthday parties or feeding the goats at the children’s zoo because of fear of germs?
Do we caution a young daughter to get frequent mammograms, or should we tell her that worrying about getting cancer should be rationally connected to the probability of doing so?
Don’t frighten her.
At a recent meeting of the North-East Berkeley Association, a councilmember who represents the high Berkeley hills said that her constituents were afraid to go downtown. Is that a statement about the downtown or a statement about her constituents or a little of both? Many have chosen to live a suburban lifestyle in the hills because they’re afraid of the city and everything city life implies, but many people live in the flats, and only a few of these live in fear most of the time.
Fear is everywhere. It’s what people make of their fears that counts.
In Dark River we see Black people in Mississippi experimenting with violence and with self-segregation as ways of dealing with their fears. The life of Fannie Lou Hamer is celebrated in the opera because she managed to rise above these temptations and look toward a future when, most of the time, even in Mississippi, the right to vote would be secured for everyone without bloodshed.
The Churchill play is more about questions, less about answers, but it too suggests that fear can create a temptation to become like the people one fears. The un-named characters in the last scenes seem to be in Israel, and seem to be inclined to choose violence to allay their fears, but doors are left open for other solutions.
The tenor of the lives of future generations—our own children and grandchildren and others—will be determined in large part by what we do and don’t tell them to be afraid of. How is it possible to inform and warn them without frightening them?
In the last analysis, it’s all about choice. It’s not realistic to expect to have a life free of fear, but it’s important not to let fears dominate and control life. As the two productions illustrate, it’s always been a challenge to achieve the right balance, and it probably always will be. | <urn:uuid:dd934ad6-7e58-49db-92d2-e238c632d138> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-11-19/article/34116?headline=What-Shall-We-Tell-the-Children---By-Becky-O-Malley- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95681 | 1,136 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Definitions for Entropyˈɛn trə pi
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word Entropy
information, selective information, entropy(noun)
(communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome
"the signal contained thousands of bits of information"
randomness, entropy, S(noun)
(thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work
"entropy increases as matter and energy in the universe degrade to an ultimate state of inert uniformity"
A measure of the amount of information and noise present in a signal. Originally a tongue in cheek coinage, has fallen into disuse to avoid confusion with thermodynamic entropy.
The tendency of a system that is left to itself to descend into chaos.
Origin: First attested in 1868. From German Entropie, coined in 1865 by Rudolph Clausius, from ἐντροπία, from ἐν + τροπή.
a certain property of a body, expressed as a measurable quantity, such that when there is no communication of heat the quantity remains constant, but when heat enters or leaves the body the quantity increases or diminishes. If a small amount, h, of heat enters the body when its temperature is t in the thermodynamic scale the entropy of the body is increased by h / t. The entropy is regarded as measured from some standard temperature and pressure. Sometimes called the thermodynamic function
Origin: [Gr. a turning in; in + a turn, fr. to turn.]
Entropy is a measure of the number of specific ways in which a system may be arranged, often taken to be a measure of disorder. The entropy of an isolated system never decreases, because isolated systems spontaneously evolve towards thermodynamic equilibrium, which is the state of maximum entropy. Entropy is a thermodynamic quantity that helps to account for the flow of energy through a thermodynamic process. Entropy was originally defined for a thermodynamically reversible process as where the entropy is found from the uniform thermodynamic temperature of a closed system divided into an incremental reversible transfer of heat into that system. The above definition is sometimes called the macroscopic definition of entropy because it can be used without regard to any microscopic picture of the contents of a system. In thermodynamics, entropy has been found to be more generally useful and it has several other formulations. Entropy was discovered when it was noticed to be a quantity that behaves as a function of state. Entropy is an extensive property, but it is often given as an intensive property of specific entropy as entropy per unit mass or entropy per mole. In the modern microscopic interpretation of entropy in statistical mechanics, entropy is the amount of additional information needed to specify the exact physical state of a system, given its thermodynamic specification. The role of thermodynamic entropy in various thermodynamic processes can thus be understood by understanding how and why that information changes as the system evolves from its initial condition. It is often said that entropy is an expression of the disorder, or randomness of a system, or of our lack of information about it. The second law is now often seen as an expression of the fundamental postulate of statistical mechanics via the modern definition of entropy.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
en′trop-i, n. a term in physics signifying 'the available energy.'
U.S. National Library of Medicine
The measure of that part of the heat or energy of a system which is not available to perform work. Entropy increases in all natural (spontaneous and irreversible) processes. (From Dorland, 28th ed)
The Standard Electrical Dictionary
Non-available energy. As energy may in some way or other be generally reduced to heat, it will be found that the equalizing of temperature, actual and potential, in a system, while it leaves the total energy unchanged, makes it all unavailable, because all work represents a fall in degree of energy or a fall in temperature. But in a system such as described no such fall could occur, therefore no work could be done. The universe is obviously tending in that direction. On the earth the exhaustion of coal is in the direction of degradation of its high potential energy, so that the entropy of the universe tends to zero. (See Energy, Degradation of.) [Transcriber's note: Entropy (disorder) INCREASES, while AVAILABLE ENERGY tends to zero.]
The numerical value of Entropy in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
The numerical value of Entropy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Sample Sentences & Example Usage
Choose fulfillment over trophy , don't leech away life always... embrace philanthropy & choose evolution over entropy . Going around is life's nature...let giving be the only culture . Let your giving be maximized , your returns will be optimized and you shall get Mickeymized
Images & Illustrations of Entropy
Translations for Entropy
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- آنتروپی, واحد اندازهگیری ترمودینامیکPersian
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The Religion of the Samurai
8. The Training Of The Mind And The Practice Of
1. The Method of Instruction Adopted by Zen Masters.
Thus far we have described the doctrine of Zen inculcated by both Chinese and Japanese
masters, and in this chapter we propose to sketch the practice of mental training and the
method of practising Dhyana or Meditation. Zen teachers never instruct their pupils by
means of explanation or argument, but urge them to solve by themselves through the
practice of Meditation such problems as--'What is Buddha?' What is self?' 'What is the
spirit of Bodhidharma?' 'What is life and death?' 'What is the real nature of mind?' and so
on. Ten Shwai (To-sotsu), for instance, was wont to put three questions[FN#229] to the
following effect: (1) Your study and discipline aim at the understanding of the real nature
of mind. Where does the real nature of mind exist? (2) When you understand the real
nature of mind, you are free from birth and death. How can you be saved when you are at
the verge of death? (3) When you are free from birth and death, you know where you go
after death. Where do you go when your body is reduced to elements? The pupils are not
requested to express their solution of these problems in the form of a theory or an
argument, but to show how they have grasped the profound meaning implied in these
problems, how they have established their conviction, and how they can carry out what
they grasped in their daily life.
[FN#229] The famous three difficult questions, known as the Three Gates of Teu Shwai
(To Sotsu San Kwan), who died in 1091. See Mu Mon Kwan, xlvii.
A Chinese Zen master[FN#230] tells us that the method of instruction adopted by Zen
may aptly be compared with that of an old burglar who taught his son the art of burglary.
The burglar one evening said to his little son, whom he desired to instruct in the secret of
his trade: "Would you not, my dear boy, be a great burglar like myself?" "Yes, father,"
replied the promising young man." "Come with me, then. I will teach you the art." So
saying, the man went out, followed by his son. Finding a rich mansion in a certain
village, the veteran burglar made a hole in the wall that surrounded it. Through that hole
they crept into the yard, and opening a window with complete ease broke into the house,
where they found a huge box firmly locked up as if its contents were very valuable
articles. The old man clapped his hands at the lock, which, strange to tell, unfastened
itself. Then he removed the cover and told his son to get into it and pick up treasures as
fast as he could. No sooner had the boy entered the box than the father replaced the cover
and locked it up. He then exclaimed at the top of his voice: "Thief! thief! thief! thief!"
Thus, having aroused the inmates, he went out without taking anything. All the house
was in utter confusion for a while; but finding nothing stolen, they went to bed again. The
boy sat holding his breath a short while; but making up his mind to get out of his narrow
prison, began to scratch the bottom of the box with his finger-nails. The servant of the
house, listening to the noise, supposed it to be a mouse gnawing at the inside of the box;
so she came out, lamp in hand, and unlocked it. On removing the cover, she was greatly
surprised to find the boy instead of a little mouse, and gave alarm. In the meantime the | <urn:uuid:528f1e5c-00fe-4d66-ae58-103fa5450bdf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.free-ebooks.net/ebook/The-Religion-of-the-Samurai/html/121 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973705 | 824 | 2.75 | 3 |
Arsaces (ärˈsəsēz) [key], fl. 250 B.C., founder of the Parthian dynasty of the Arsacids, which ruled Persia from c.250 B.C. to A.D. 226. Arsaces led a successful revolt against Antiochus II of Syria, when Antiochus was engaged in war with Egypt and trying to put down a revolt in Bactria. Among the other Parthian kings were Tiridates, Mithradates I, Mithradates II, and Phraates IV. Their empire became a formidable rival of the Roman power, but began to decay in the 2d cent. A.D. after Emperor Alexander Severus had invaded the country. The Arsacids were overthrown by a revolt of the Persians under Ardashir I, who in A.D. 226 slew Artabanus IV (Ardawan IV), the last of the Arsacids.
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Jim Marshall's famous black box allowed bands to be heard by larger crowds than ever before. Now, though, it's more a symbol of arena concerts than a necessary component of them.
I'm gonna play some heavy music/
I'm gonna play bad, I'm gonna play loud
- Blue Oyster Cult, "The Marshall Plan"
When Jim Marshall designed his first amplifier in 1962, he used the 12AX7 vacuum tube, a seemingly slight deviation from the 12AY7 tubes of the popular Fender amps—because Marshall couldn't find any in Britain at the time. This accident of geography meant that customers of his music store suddenly had a little more crunch in their guitar sound. In rock and roll—a genre forever entwined with technology—a mere vacuum tube begat a major shift in the music's history.
Marshall, who died last week at 88, also had the fortune of having a 20-year-old Pete Townshend for a customer. Townshend told Marshall he wanted to hear himself over The Who's audience and rhythm section. Thus was born the first 100-watt amp. Add to that two cabinets, each bearing four speakers—together, the components came to be known as the Marshall stack—and Marshall secured himself a permanent spot on any history-of-loudness timeline.
Loudness is strictly a psychological phenomenon referring to how the brain perceives the strength of a sound. But exactly why loudness appeals to so many of us is still a mystery. In his book, Your Brain on Music, neuroscientist Daniel Levitin suggests that very loud music saturates the auditory system, causing neurons to fire at maximum rates. Studies have shown that louder music causes us to shop more and work out more enthusiastically.
The joys of loudness are hardly confined to rock music, or this century. A 400-pipe organ built in 10th-century England required 70 men to play the instrument, which produced a thunderous tone throughout the city of Winchester. Digs of ancient ruins in Peru have unearthed instruments made from conch shells that could drown out a chainsaw.
But composers had few terms to describe degrees of loudness until the 18th century. "Piano" (soft) and "forte" (loud) and their variations became common features of notation, but they were frustratingly vague and subject to the performer's judgment. Thaddeus Cahill did away with such ambiguities when he invented one of the earliest electronic instruments, the Telharmonium, in the late 19th century. The volume control allowed the performer to choose any one of 24 degrees of loudness. It was a good idea, but the instrument bankrupted him and some family members.
TOWNSHEND'S WISH TO HEAR HIMSELF PLAY over his bandmates and audience was certainly a reasonable one. But his discussing it with Marshall—who could actually do something about it—might be the moment arena rock was born, and the start of a widening divide between audience and performer.
Concerts were held in large venues before there were Marshall stacks. But listen to the recordings of the Beatles at Hollywood Bowl: The screaming crowds are as much a part of the show as the band onstage. Fans were interacting not just with the Beatles, but one another; it became a participatory event. Not that the Beatles were happy about this. They stopped touring partly out of frustration of not being able to hear themselves. The Fab Four never had a Marshall stack; they stuck mostly with Vox amps.
Then the mega-watt amps emerged. At 110-plus decibels, there's not a lot of interaction going on—it's pretty much a one-way conversation. What had once been a barely noticed object on stage now gave rock a new iconography. Bands like Blue Oyster Cult, Judas Priest, and Slayer have used walls of Marshall stacks as backdrops for their performances.
The new technological capabilities sparked a volume war. Led Zeppelin gained a reputation for ear-crushing volume, only to have Black Sabbath promote themselves as "louder than Led Zeppelin." Deep Purple earned a place in the Guinness book of world records in 1972 when a London concert peaked at 117 decibels (according to loudness lore, the volume rendered three concert goers unconscious). Four years later, The Who took the title when the band's loudage reached 126 db (by this time they had switched to Hiwatt amps, due to a misunderstanding with the Marshall family over a bill).
It continues. Kiss declared once declared that "if it's too loud, you're too old," and they've stuck by that. In 2009, the 60-something Gene Simmons and crew clocked in at 136 decibels at an Ottawa concert.
Taking up the mantle of amplifier culture these days is the experimental two-man metal band SunnO))), named for Sunn amps (Norm Sundholm, bassist for the Kingsmen, of "Louie Louie" fame, founded the company). The thick, droning tones of their music explore the textures of severely amplified guitar and bass and the sheer physicality of extreme volume. As others have done—Jimi Hendrix, in particular—SunnO))) treat their amps as if they were instruments.
Kirk Austin, a California-based amp designer, compares the amplifier to a saxophone.
MORE ON MUSIC
"It has certain limitations and elements that can be exploited in a very musical way," he said. "It doesn't just get louder or softer, it changes its character. In that sense, you're playing it as an instrument, and you're exploiting and exploring those aberrations."
Things have quieted a bit. Townshend now has significant hearing loss, as, one suspects, do many of the original wagers of the volume wars. Even Guinness has stopped tracking who's the loudest.
Low-wattage amps have become more sought after in recent years. Don Mackrill, an amp designer and founder of Ontario-based Mack Amps, notes that PA systems have advanced to the point where guitarists can simply place a microphone to their amps, making behemoth systems—and the lugging they require—unnecessary.
"You could play Wembley Stadium with an 18-watt amp," he said.
Mackrill said he doubts that most people could tell the difference between a Marshall and an Orange amp in a blind listening test. The choice between the two could come down to whether you want the imposing rock god image that a Marshall brings, or the distinct look of the trendy Oranges.
As for those bands with their walls of Marshall stacks, he said, "that's purely image."
"Chances are they're using only one," he said. "And they may not be using any." | <urn:uuid:9c2a36bf-2756-4b64-b435-41762b68df67> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/how-the-marshall-amp-changed-rock-and-the-meaning-of-loud/255705/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968448 | 1,414 | 2.78125 | 3 |
by G. G. De Backer,Belgium
Guy G. DE BACKER MD, PhD
Department of Cardiology – University Hospital Ghent and Department of Public Health – Ghent University – Ghent, BELGIUM
The coronary heart disease (CHD) epidemic has been extremely dynamic over the last half century, with marked variation in its characteristics among different regions of the world—both between neighboring nations and even regions within a country. In the USA and most countries of the European Union, the age-standardized CHD mortality rates have decreased significantly; this may lead paradoxically to an increase in the prevalence of CHD in these countries—indeed, better survival of CHD patients and demographic changes have resulted in more elderly people suffering from CHD. In other parts of the world, the incidence of CHD is still on the increase, and it is estimated that in the coming years the number of CHD patients will increase substantially, especially in developing and transitional countries. Recent developments in the epidemic in the USA and Europe additionally suggest that the spectacular decline in CHD in the last half of the 20th century may have halted, especially in younger subjects. CHD is also an important source of disability, which can be translated into disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The CHD burden in terms of DALYs is also projected to rise in the coming years, especially in countries in transition. There are also important regional differences in CHD burden within countries. If these differences are well understood, lessons can be learned and the knowledge applied in order to reduce the burden in less well-off communities.
Medicographia. 2009;31:343-348 (see French abstract on page 348)
“Coronary heart disease (CHD) is now the leading cause of death worldwide; it is on the rise and has become a true pandemic that respects no borders.” This statement, made in 2009, can be found on the Web site of the World Health Organization,1 and is not that different from the warning issued in 1969 by the executive board of the World Health Organization: “Mankind’s greatest epidemic: coronary heart disease has reached enormous proportions striking more and more at younger subjects. It will result in coming years in the greatest epidemic mankind has faced unless we are able to reverse the trend by concentrated research into its cause and prevention.”2
This may give the wrong impression that nothing has changed over the last 40 years. On the contrary, the epidemic of CHD has been, and still is, extremely dynamic and influenced by environmental factors, resulting in rises and falls in morbidity and mortality over relatively short time periods. Furthermore, during the last 40 years, results from observational and intervention studies have clearly shown that CHD is partial- ly preventable. Knowledge of this has been implemented in some populations more than in others, which may explain the heterogeneous changes that have taken place in CHD incidence and mortality among different places around the world.
The underlying pathology of most clinical manifestations of CHD is atherosclerosis; this is a slowly progressive process that starts in the young. Despite the progress that has been made toward prevention and cure of CHD, it appears that our actual abilities are limited to a retardation of atherosclerosis and a postponement of CHD to older age; given the demographic changes that are taking place in most communities, one has to expect a further increase in the absolute number of people with CHD.
The purpose of this article is to describe aspects of the CHD epidemic in relation to time, place, age, and gender. From this, one can learn lessons about how to prevent CHD, or at least how to reduce the number of premature deaths and improve quality of life, thus prolonging life expectancy in good health and reducing the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
The burden of coronary heart disease at the global level
CHD has received great attention because its epidemic development after World War II initially struck the industrialized countries. Nowadays, however, the burden of CHD involves the whole world; the age-standardized death rates for CHD are declining in many developed countries but are increasing in developing and transitional countries—partly as a result of demographic changes, urbanization, and lifestyle changes. Today, approximately 3.8 million men and 3.4 million women worldwide die each year from CHD.1 According to the Global Burden of Disease Study,3 the developing countries contributed 3.5 million of the 6.2 million global deaths from CHD in 1990. The projections estimate that these countries will account for 7.8 million of the 11.1 million deaths due to CHD in 2020.
But there is more to these numbers when they are translated into health care and community costs. In 2003, the economic impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) on health care costs in the enlarged European Union (EU) was estimated to be 169 billion euros,4 which is an average of 3724 euros per capita per year. A total of 62% of this sum was related to direct costs and 21% to productivity loss. The latter is particularly important in developing countries; indeed, given the demographic composition of the populations of developing countries and the changes that will take place in age distribution, not only is the increase in CVD alarming in itself, but also the fact that this increase in the coming decades will manifest itself mainly in the economically active part of societies.
In 1990, 47% of all CVD-related deaths in developing countries occurred before the age of 70 years, in contrast with only 23% in high-income industrialized countries. This has a consequence in that there is a difference in the number of DALYs resulting from CVD; the burden of CVD expressed in DALYs from 1990 to 2020 was estimated for different populations in the Global Burden of Disease Study.3 In India and China, a spectacular rise in the number of DALYs is expected in the coming years—from a figure of less than 25 million DALYs in each country in 1990, to 30 million and 35 million in India and China, respectively, in 2020. By contrast, a decline from around 20 million to 15 million DALYs is expected in established market economies. The gap between industrialized countries and developing countries will significantly increase, and the increasing burden of CVD in terms of DALYs will clearly mostly affect developing countries in the next two decades. In different parts of the world, the dynamics of the CHD epidemic are also very different in terms of pattern, magnitude, and timing.5
The burden of coronary heart disease in the USA
CHD mortality in the USA began to decline in the mid 1960s. Age-adjusted CHD mortality rates continued to fall throughout the 1990s, although crude mortality rates changed more modestly, with CHD being postponed and manifesting itself at an older age. Because of this, CHD remains the largest single cause of death and disability in the USA.6 In 2005, CHD caused approximately 1 of every 5 deaths in the USA.7 It is the largest major killer of both American men and women. Approximately 37% of people who develop a coronary event in a given year will die from it.
Results from the Framingham study8 based on observations from 1950 until 1999 demonstrate that CHD death rates decreased by 59% during this time period. This favorable trend was seen in men and women. From 1995 to 2005, the death rate from CHD declined by 34.3%. In 2005, the overall CHD death rate was 144.4 per 100 000 population. For white males it was 187.7 and for black males it was 213.9 per 100 000, and for white females the rate was 110.0 and for black females 140.9 per 100 000.9
According to data from the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction, the in-hospital mortality rate for an acute myocardial infarction declined from 11.2% in 1990 to 9.4% in 1999.10 Analysis of CHD mortality data among US adults aged 35 to 54 years showed that the annual percentage change in (age-adjusted) mortality rates slowed markedly from 1980 to 2002 in both men and women. Particularly noteworthy is that the mortality rate among women aged 34 to 44 years of age has been increasing on average by 1.3% per year since 1997.11
With regard to incidence, data from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) and Cardiovascular Health Study indicate that annually, 785 000 Americans have a new coronary attack and 470 000 have a recurrent attack; in addition, approximately 195 000 silent myocardial infarctions occur each year. This assumes that 21% of the 935 000 first and recurrent myocardial infarctions are silent.12,13 On the basis of results from the Framingham study, it is estimated that CHD accounts for more than half of all cardiovascular events in men and women under 75 years of age.12 The lifetime risk of developing CHD after the age of 40 years is 49% in men and 32% in women.14 The total incidence of CHD in women lags behind men by 10 years.3
The burden of coronary heart disease in Europe
_ Mortality burden
CHD by itself is the single most common cause of death in Europe and the EU. Between 1 in 5 and 1 in 7 women die from CHD in Europe and the EU, and in men, it accounts for between 1 in 4 and 1 in 6 of all deaths.15 One could argue that this is the fate of communities that are growing to very old ages. This may be part of the explanation. In 2005, the mean life expectancy at the age of 50 years for men and women in all 25 EU countries was 28.6 and 33.5 years, respectively.16 Therefore, dying before the age of 75 years in an EU country may be considered as premature. In Figure 1, EU deaths under the age of 75 years are given by cause for men and women. CHD was the cause of 15% and 10% of all premature deaths in men and women, respectively.15 In other parts of Europe, CHD strikes even more: in Europe as a whole, CHD causes 20% of all male deaths before the age of 75 years and 18% of all female deaths before the same age.15
In the economically active work force of Europe (ie, those below the age of 65 years), CHD was found to be the cause of death in 16% and 12% of men and women, respectively. Age-standardized and gender-specific CHD mortality rates have significantly decreased during recent decades in many countries in the north, west, and south of Europe. However, the decline has been less apparent, or indeed absent, in Central and Eastern Europe. So based on the mortality statistics, one may conclude that the epidemic of CHD in Europe has been extremely diverse in pattern, magnitude, and timing. The decreases in the standardized CHD mortality rates are the result of great efforts made in preventive cardiology, but there are limitations: in fact, the crude CHD mortality rates remain stable or are even on the increase because of aging of the population. Therefore the total CHD burden remains high, and it may appear paradoxical that as a result of prevention, the total number of CHD deaths could even increase. New therapeutic options for prevention and treatment of CVD have resulted in an increasing number of patients who survive a cardiovascular event; in developed countries, the burden has shifted from the middle aged to the elderly, and the prevalence of CVD increases exponentially with age.
Figure 1. Causes of death in the European Union in males and
females under the age of 75 years.
disease. Based on data from reference 15.
At present there is no standardized source of worldwide or Europe-wide coronary artery disease (CAD) morbidity data. Hospital discharge data can be used, but this provides only part of the picture and the validity of such data in some countries is open to question. The results from the multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease (MONICA) project17 are still the best available source of information, although they are now more than 15 years old. Some MONICA centers have continued their registers and have reported more recent results.
The cross-sectional data from MONICA revealed age-standardized annual event rates for fatal and nonfatal coronary events in men aged 35 to 64 years covering a 12-fold range; from 915 per 100 000 for North Karelia, Finland to 76 per 100 000 for Beijing, China. For women, rates covered an 8.5- fold range, from 256 per 100 000 for Glasgow, UK to 30 per 100 000 for Catalonia, Spain.18
Twenty-eight-day case fatality rates ranged in men from 37% to 81% and in women from 31% to 91%. From1985 to 1990, overall 28-day case fatality was halved for hospitalized events (compared with all events), and was nearly halved for hospitalized 24-hour survivors. Because approximately twothirds of 28-day CHD deaths occurred before individuals reached the hospital, opportunities for reducing case fatalities through improved in-hospital care are limited.
Figure 2. Rates of acute coronary events in Ghent, Belgium, in
the male population aged 25-69 years during the periods 1983-
1987, 1988-1992, and 1996-2001.
Over the decade studied, CHD mortality rates as defined by MONICA criteria fell annually by an average 2.7% in men (range –8.0% to +4.2%) and by an average 2.1% in women (range –8.5% to +4.1%). Changes in nonfatal rates were smaller (–2.1%; range –6.5% to +2.8%).19 There were, however, important regional differences in all of these changes; countries from the same geographical area have experienced very different time trends in terms of the CHD epidemic. For example, incidence rates for men living in North Karelia, Finland, fell by 6.5% per year from 1983 to 1996, but rose by 1.2% per year for men of the same age living in Kaunas, Lithuania. For women, the incidence fell by 5.1% per year in North Karelia, but rose by 2.7% per year in Kaunas in women of similar age.17
MONICA was partly established to investigate how much of the reported decline in CHD mortality is attributable to improvements in case fatality, and how much is attributable to declines in CHD incidence. The project concluded that, “contribution to changing CHD mortality varied, but in populations in which mortality decreased, coronary event rates contributed two thirds and case fatality one third.”17
Patterns of CHD incidence and case fatality across Europe may have changed since the mid 1990s. Some MONICA centers have been able to continue their registers until now, but in comparing time trends over a longer time period, one has to consider possible differences in the definition of coronary events following the introduction of troponin estimations. In Ghent, Belgium, the register continued, and the MONICA methodology to identify and define acute coronary events was kept identical. In Figure 2, results are given from the register of acute myocardial infarction in the population aged less than 70 years in the city of Ghent. Attack rates are presented for the male population; when comparing the period 1983-1986 with the period 1996-2001, a decline of almost 40% was observed.
In Figure 3, the most recent results from the register up to 2005 are given; since 1999, the study population has been extended up to the age of 74 years. In the figure, attack rates are given for the male and female populations; results are given both for all events and only nonfatal events, the latter meaning only those patients who survived for at least 28 days. The curves have now become very flat; statistically there was no change observed from 1999 to 2005.
This confirms results published from the US, where agespecific mortality rates for CHD have been found to be leveling off in younger adults.11 These observations are also consistent with results from a population-based autopsy study of non-natural deaths, suggesting that temporal declines in the grade of CHD at autopsy have ended.20 All this necessitates continuous and careful monitoring of an epidemic that continues to change over relatively short time periods—indicating the importance of environmental influences—with the use of valid and comparable methods that allow accurate surveillance of the epidemic dynamics.
_ Quality of life
CHD is not only the leading cause of death, but is also an important source of disability that translates into DALYs. In 2002, CHD was the cause of 11% of all DALYs in Europe, comparable to that caused by all cancers. All CVD taken together was, however, responsible for 23% of all DALYs, and was thus the most important cause.15 CVD is responsible for 10% of DALYs lost in low and middle income countries, and 18% in high income countries. The CHD burden is projected to rise from around 47 million DALYs globally in 1990 to 82 million DALYs in 2020.1
Figure 3. Age-standardized rates (per 10 000 patients) of acute
myocardial infarction in men and women in Ghent, Belgium.
The burden of coronary heart disease at the national level
Looking solely at the burden of CHD at the international level may hide important regional differences. In 2005, male life expectancy at the age of 50 years in the 25 countries of the EU varied from 21.3 years in Latvia to 30.4 years in Italy16; for women, the variation between countries was 6.1 years. The healthy life expectancy (HLY) varied even more: the range in HLY at age 50 years was 14.5 years in men and 13.7 years in women. Death rates from CAD are generally higher in Central and Eastern Europe than in Northern, Western, and Southern Europe. For example, the death rate for men aged less than 65 years living in Ukraine is 14 times higher than in France, and for women it is 25 times higher. Likewise, Western Europe has generally higher death rates than Southern Europe: for example, in Ireland, the death rate for men aged less than 65 years is 1.6 times higher than in Italy, and for women it is 1.8 times higher. In Figure 4, the age-standardized mortality rates for CHD in the year 2000 are given for populations aged 45 to 74 years in different European countries; the figures vary from 0.65 to 4.61 per 1000, illustrating that there is still a clear North-East to South-West gradient in CHD mortality within Europe.21
The Institut des Sciences de la Santé carried out a study examining CHD mortality changes in the EU population in individuals less than 75 years of age between 1990/91 and 2000/02. Age-standardized CHD mortality fell in all countries, but not equally across the EU. CHD mortality declined by almost a half in the Czech Republic, the UK, Ireland, and Finland. Elsewhere, rates fell by about one fifth to one third; the only exceptions were Latvian men and Polish women, in whom the improvements were just over 10%.22
But even within countries, significant regional variation in CHD mortality has been observed. In Germany, for example, there was found to be an East-West gradient, with a twofold increased risk of dying from CHD in the state with the highest mortality rate compared with the lowest mortality.23 In Great Britain, a North-South gradient has been observed, with CHD mortality rates being higher in the north.24 In France, the mortality from CHD also shows a North-South gradient, with very low figures in the south-west region.25 In Belgium, large differences in CHD incidence and mortality have been observed, with higher rates in Wallonia compared with Flanders.26 All these regional differences are partly explained by variations in classical risk factors and in socioeconomic factors.
The burden of CHD remains high across Europe and the rest of the world. CHD continues to be the main cause of death and a major cause of morbidity and loss of quality of life. The decline in age-standardized mortality rates and in the incidence of CHD in many countries illustrates the potential for prevention of premature deaths and for prolonging healthy life expectancy. However, one should realize that this will paradoxically increase the prevalence of patients with CHD, especially in old age. This is a challenge for modern cardiology; specific attention needs to be given to the development of guidelines in elderly patients. For policy makers, it is also important to know whether major contributors to morbidity and mortality such as CHD are tracking up or down. A valid and actual description of the epidemic by place, by time, and by personal characteristics is continuously needed to guide and support appropriate health policies. _
1. World Health OrganizationWeb site. http://www.WHO.int. AccessedMarch 26, 2009.
2. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. The prevention and control of major cardiovascular diseases: report on a conference. Euro 8214. Brussels: WHO Regional Office for Europe. 1973.
3. Murray CJL, Lopez AD. The Global Burden of Disease: A Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Disease, Injuries and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020. Boston, Ma: Harvard University Press; 1996.
4. Leal J, Luengo-Fernandez R, Gray A, Petersen SQ, Rayner N. Economic burden of cardiovascular diseases in the enlarged European Union. Eur Heart J. 2006;27:1610-1619.
5. Mirzaei M, Truswell S, Taylor R, Leeder SR. Coronary heart disease (CHD) epidemics: not all the same. Heart. 2008, December 18. Epub ahead of print.
6. Lloyd-Jones D, Adams R, Carnethon M, et al; American Heart Association Statistics Committee and the Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2009 Update. A report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and the Stroke Statistics subcommittee. Circulation. 2008;119:480-486.
7. Heron MP, Hoyert DL, Xu J, Scott C, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: preliminary data for 2006. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2008;56:1-52.
8. Fox CS, Evans JC, Larson MG, Kannel WB, Levy D. Temporal trends in coronary heart disease mortality and sudden cardiac death from 1950-1999: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2004;110:522-527.
9. Rea TD, Pearce RM, Raghunathan TE, et al. Incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Am J Cardiol. 2004;93:1455-1460.
10. National Registry of Myocardial Infarction Web site. http://www.nrmi.org/ nrmi_data.html. Accessed February 20, 2008.
11. Ford ES, Capewell S. Coronary heart disease mortality among young adults in the U.S. from 1980 through 2002: concealed leveling of mortality rates. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;50:2128-2132.
12. Thom TJ, Kannel WB, Silbershatz H, D’Agostino RB. Cardiovascular disease in the United States and preventive approaches. In: Fuster V, Alexander RW, O’Rourke RA, eds. Hurst’s The Heart, Arteries and Veins. 10th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2001:3-7.
13. Boland LL, Folsom AR, Sorlie PD, et al. Occurrence of unrecognized myocardial infarction in subjects aged 45 to 65 years: the ARIC Study. Am J Cardiol. 2002;90:927-931.
14. Lloyd-Jones DM, Larson MG, Beiser A, Levy D. Lifetime risk of developing coronary heart disease. Lancet. 1999;353:89-92.
15. European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2008. European Heart Network Web site. http://www.ehnheart.org. Accessed April 29, 2009.
16. Jagger C, Gillies C, Moscone F, et al. Inequalities in healthy life years in the 25 countries of the European Union in 2005: a cross-national meta-regression analysis. Lancet. 2008;372:2124-2131.
17. Tunstall Pedoe H. MONICA Monograph and Multimedia Sourcebook. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2003.
18. Tunstall Pedoe H, Kuulasmaa K, Amouyel P, Arveiler D, Rajakangas AM, Pajak A. Myocardial infarction and coronary deaths in the WHO MONICA project. Circulation. 1994;90:583-612.
19. Tunstall Pedoe H, Kuulasmaa K, Mahonen M, Tolonen H, Ruokokoski E, Amouyel P. Contribution of trends in survival and coronary event rates to changes in CHD mortality: 10 year results from 37 WHO MONICA project populations. Lancet. 1999;353:1547-1557.
20. Nemetz P, Roger VL, Ransom JE, Bailey KR, EdwardsWD, Leibson CL. Recent trends in the prevalence of coronary disease. A population-based autopsy study of nonnatural deaths. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:264-270.
21. Muller-Nordhorn J, Binting S, Roll S, Willich SN. An update on regional variation in cardiovascular mortality within Europe. Eur Heart J. 2008;29:1316-1326.
22. Newey C, Nolte E, McKee M, Mossialos E. Avoidable mortality in the enlarged European Union. Institut des Sciences de la Santé (Paris). http://www.euractiv. com. Accessed 29 April, 2009.
23. Muller-Nordhorn J, Rossnagel K, Mey W, Willich SN. Regional variation and time trends in mortality from ischaemic heart disease: East and West Germany 10 years after reunification. J Epidem Community Health. 2004;58: 481-485.
24. Morris RW, Whincup PH, Emberson JR, Lampe FC, Walker M, Shaper AG. North-South gradients in Britain for stroke and CHD: are they explained by the same factors? Stroke. 2003;34:2604-2609.
25. Lang T, Ducimetiere P, Arveiler D, et al. Trends and geographical disparities in CHD in France: are results concordant when different definitions of events are used? Int J Epidemiol. 1999;28:1050-1058.
26. De Henauw S, De Bacquer D, De Smet P, Kornitzer M, De Backer G. Trends in coronary heart disease in two Belgian areas: results from the MONICA Ghent- Charleroi study. J Epid Comm Health. 1999;53:89-98. | <urn:uuid:64ce6eb6-e303-492f-895b-446cf3711009> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.medicographia.com/2010/07/the-global-burden-of-coronary-heart-disease/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00188-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93065 | 5,735 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Capitalism viewed through Quantum Mechanics results in our understanding of materialism, consumerism, commodification as a very one-sided view of the universe. Applying quantum mechanics science leads to the need of epic change in our relation to nature and ourselves.
Examining Capitalism Through Quantum Mechanics
As human beings, we don’t just construct social realities and social systems, but we literally help construct the physical universe of which we are a part. Therefore, understanding the relationship between human beings and the quantum reality of the universe becomes paramount if we seek to truly understand and transform the social and structural systems of inequality that we have created for ourselves.
According to quantum mechanics, the subatomic level of reality exists in an undifferentiated state of dynamic flux until a conscious observer measures it (or looks at it), thus, giving that matter a particular form. In other words, an atom is spread out all over the place as a wave of potential until a conscious observer localizes it as an actual particle through that very act of observation.
The famous double-slit experiment actually captured this protean nature of the quantum world. The double-slit experiment essentially launched particles through a single slit, whereby each particle left a residual mark on the back wall where it landed (creating a single band pattern). However, when particles were launched through two slits, they left a residual interference pattern on the back wall (which can only be created by waves that interfere with each other). Even when particles were launched through the two slits one at a time, they still created an interference pattern. (This occurrence is impossible according to classical quantum physics.) So, in order to figure out how this interference pattern was occurring, physicists placed a measuring device by the slits to observe the particles after they were launched. Astonishingly, when the particles were launched with the measuring device in place, they actually created a residual mark of a double band pattern (which was expected in the first place). What physicists determined was that, prior to being observed, each single particle actually existed as a wave of potentials that simultaneously went through both slits at the same time; thus interfering with itself and leaving a residual interference pattern. So in essence, conscious observation then collapses the quantum wave function of particles and thus localizes them at a fixed point.
Moreover, quantum superposition “holds that a physical system – such as an electron – exists partly in all its particular, theoretically possible states (or, configuration of its properties) simultaneously; but, when measured, it gives a result corresponding to only one of the possible configurations (as described in interpretation of quantum mechanics).”
The more we look at elementary particles, the more we realize that there is actually no such thing as one electron or one photon on its own. A particle exists only in relationship to the state that it finds itself in, with no generic or concrete form. So, the more we examine “solid matter” in great detail, the less solid it actually becomes.
(Photo: Earth with cogs and wheels via Shutterstock)
Now, contradictory to contemporary quantum mechanics is the traditional conception of solid matter as the “substance” of the universe. Why is this important? Because “belief that the substance of the universe is matter (or physical material) sets the precedent for people to accumulate as many material possessions and riches as possible [especially under the system of capitalism],” says UK author David Icke. Most of us in contemporary Western culture have been socialized to view the world through a consumerist lens (among a plethora of other social lenses) which implies that a solid, material realm objectively exists. Furthermore, the system of capitalism creates the conditions necessary for more and more people to actively participate in practices that perpetuate the misconception that a solid, material world inexorably dictates our perceptions and belief systems. Maximized material conquest and material gain becomes the modus operandi of a capitalistic system.
Further illuminating the nature of capitalism, Chris Hedges states:
“The quest by a bankrupt elite in the final days of empire to accumulate greater and greater wealth is modern society’s version of primitive fetishism … When the most basic elements that sustain life are reduced to a cash product, life has no intrinsic value. The extinguishing of ‘primitive’ societies, those that were defined by animism and mysticism, those that celebrated ambiguity and mystery, those that respected the centrality of the human imagination, removed the only ideological counterweight to a self-devouring capitalist ideology.”
Here we see some of the characteristics of neoliberal capitalism which subscribe to the notion that the world be defined in “material” terms. The ruling ideology of capitalism has sought out to extinguish any alternative thought or knowledge that understands the world in immaterial terms and replace it with the narrow ideology of materialism, consumerism, commodification. The more people who are complicit in capitalist ideology (among other forms of dominant ideologies), the stronger the possibilities become to fetishize and develop the concept of “the material.” all while the expropriation of vast forms of land, wealth, resources and capital become normalized and accepted. Furthermore, once all “material” resources have become accessed (or more importantly not accessed by the majority of people), exploited and exhausted, then the majority of people become even more subjected to the harsh and misleading conditions that capitalism inflicts upon them.
So, as far as quantum mechanics is concerned, capitalism is based on the (false) assumption that an absolute “material” world actually exists “out there.” Traditional criticisms of capitalism typically focus on the exploitation of labor and human bodies, as well as massive class inequalities and social injustice; however, they leave out one crucial aspect in it all: that capitalist ideology and capitalist operation mislead us about the nature of the universe (which includes the nature of ourselves since we are part of the universe, as well). With that said, we can actually use our knowledge of quantum mechanics to transform our perceptions about the world around us, thus alleviating some of the conditions that capitalism creates for us. Even Einstein alluded to the idea that we can utilize science to “potentially change the world itself” by using “rational thinking and technology to improve the conditions in which we live.” (1) As Peter Dreier states:
“Einstein criticized capitalism’s ‘economic anarchy’ and the ‘oligarchy of private capital, the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by democratically organized political society.’”
If Einstein could apply his knowledge of science and the quantum reality to social injustice and systemic inequality, then there is no reason that we cannot do the same here and now.
Given the fact that the underlying premise of capitalism acts in opposition to the principles of quantum mechanics and, therefore, the nature of the universe itself (as understood through quantum mechanics), then we should not be confounded in the least when we experience the destructive consequences of a system that is based on prodigious wealth and material accumulation. This systemic discord or imbalance is bound to perpetuate the likes of environmental devastation and vast human suffering. Furthermore, one of the unspoken consequences of capitalistic operation is the alienation from one’s humanity and from nature. Not only are we inundated by a social and economic matrix of domination every single day, but that very matrix detaches us from the universe (or nature) in a sense. So, we should not just look to eradicate the deleterious conditions of capitalism, but rather, we should look to understand and work in accordance with the universe, so that destructive systemic conditions do not even come into existence in the first place.
Consequently, when we look at the world through the lens of quantum mechanics, we see that the economic systems of capitalism, socialism and communism actually have more in common with each other since they all are based on material acquisition and distribution and on the assumption that our world is a fundamentally material realm. However, we can use quantum mechanics to create an entirely new way of viewing and operating inside of the world, which would require a drastic philosophical and ideological change of epic proportion. Epic change, perhaps, is a concept that we may need to start entertaining.
Lastly, as if world hunger, poverty, class inequality, sickness and disease, permanent war and ecological ruination weren’t enough to present a critical case against capitalism, then consider the following. In relative terms to the rest of the entire universe, quantum mechanics shows us just how narrow, constrictive and destructive the system of capitalism actually is.
(1) Dreier, Peter. 2012. “Albert Einstein: Radical Citizen and Scientist.” Truthout, June 25.
This article is a Truthout original. | <urn:uuid:afef3ef0-626e-4859-9476-2476c06592bd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sustainabilitank.info/2012/07/capitalism-viewed-through-quantum-mechanics-results-in-our-understanding-of-materialism-consumerism-commodification-as-a-very-one-sided-view-of-the-universe-applying-quantum-mechanics-science-leads/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942829 | 1,804 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Superiorly, the spinal cord is continuous with the medulla. It extends from the level of the upper border of the first cervical vertebra to the lower border of the first lumbar vertebra. A transverse section through the spinal cord reveals an H-shaped mass of gray matter in the center of the spinal segment. The ventral or anterior portion of this gray matter (ventral horns) is composed of nerve nuclei that mediate motor output (efferent neurons). The dorsal or posterior portion of the gray matter (dorsal horns) is composed of nerve nuclei that mediate sensory input coming from the peripheral nervous system (afferent neurons). From the top to the bottom of the cord there are a series of thin nerves coming out of the cord on both sides. These are the spinal nerves, and are part of the peripheral nervous system. The spinal cord has enlarged regions in the cervical and thoracic regions, due to the increased number of neurons in the gray matter that supply those regions.
Motor neurons that are part of the CNS are called upper motor neurons (UMN). Neurons that are part of the PNS are called lower motor neurons (LMN). For spinal nerves, which are LMN, the nuclei that contain the cell bodies for these nerves are located in the gray matter of the ventral horns of the spinal cord. Also in this gray matter are terminal nuclei of the upper motor neurons. So the information is passed in these ventral horns from UMN to LMN, and sent out to the periphery. This concept is the same for sensory neurons in the dorsal horns. | <urn:uuid:27045f62-b66b-4979-a103-b9ec2639b2b6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~cwatts/spa3101/Neuro2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00065-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912236 | 331 | 4.0625 | 4 |
There are more than 49 million Americans with disabilities. People with disabilities don't always agree on what is offensive or correct, but this guide provides some general direction.
It's difficult to always know what is offensive when referring to people with disabilities, but a good general rule is to "Put people first, not the disability." For example:
|Children who are deaf||Deaf children|
|Girl who has cerebral palsy||Cerebralpalsied girl|
|Man with mental illness||Mentally ill|
|People or person with disabilities||Disabled people|
|Physical disability||Crippled, lame|
|Mental disability||Crazy, nuts|
Don't use judgmental or stereotypical or obsolete descriptions: For example, avoid:
Also avoid using words like courageous, brave, inspirational. Adapting to a disability does not necessarily mean acquiring those traits. For example, it doesn't take "courage" to wear glasses or contact lenses to correct eyesight.
The following are commonly used terms when discussing disabilities.
Many disablity groups do not like using euphemisms to describe disabilities. They consider terms such as "partially sighted," "handicapable," "mentally different," and "physically challenged" patronizing.
People with disabilities are active members of society and have identities beyond their disability. They should be included in all aspects of daily life and extended common courtesies when interacting with them.
It is appropriate to shake hands with a person who has a disability, even if they have limited use of their hands or wear an artifical limb.
When talking with a person who has a disability speak directly to that person rather than a companion or interpreter.
Ignore guide dogs or other service animals. Don't pet them...they are working.
If you offer to help, wait until the offer is accepted. Then listen or ask for instructions.
If the person is lip-reading, look directly at him or her. Speak slowly and clearly, but don't exaggerate your lip movements. Make sure you can be seen and keep hands and food away from your mouth.
When greeting a person with a vision disabilty, identify yourself and anyone else who might be with you. Ask, "Shall we shake hands?" Let the person know if you move or need to end the conversation.
Don't worry about using common expressions such as "See ya later," or "Gotta run."
When speaking with someone with mental retardation, use simple, but not childish language.
Give your undivided attention to someone who has difficulty speaking. Ask short questions which require short answers. Don't pretend to understand if you don't.
When speaking with someone who uses a wheelchair, sit down or kneel to place yourself at their eye level. Don't lean on the wheelchair.
Emphasize the person, not the disability
People are not conditions, so don't label them with the name of the condition or as part of a disability group. We don't say "the cancerous," nor should we say "the blind."
Be aware of people with hidden disabilities such as heart disease, AIDS or mental illness.
For more information about services for people with disablilities call: Access Utah Network (800) 333-UTAH (8824) (V/TDD) or (801) 533-INFO (4636) (V/TDD), (801) 363-1347 Disability Law Center. | <urn:uuid:99946b6f-910d-4ec3-a64c-859fff8b0e27> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.laborcommission.utah.gov/divisions/AntidiscriminationAndLabor/x_etiquette_guide.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944327 | 720 | 3.703125 | 4 |
Atopic Eczema FAQs
Reviewed by Gary W. Cole, MD, FAAD
Test your Knowledge!
- Eczema (also atopic eczema or atopic dermatitis) is a general term for types of skin inflammation. True or False?
- Atopic eczema has no known cause. True or False?
- Is atopic eczema contagious?
- What are some triggers for atopic eczema?
- What are the first symptoms of atopic eczema?
- Pruritus is the medical term for what?
- In children and adults, atopic eczema usually occurs on the scalp first. True or False?
- Atopic eczema is best controlled by good skin care. True or False?
- Prescription treatments are available for severe atopic eczema. True or False?
- How is atopic eczema diagnosed?
- Atopic eczema can mimic other skin diseases and infections. True or False?
- What types of things can irritate skin in people with atopic eczema?
- The skin itches. Scratching the itch is temporarily satisfying but actually leads to more itching. This describes what?
- People who have been diagnosed with atopic eczema should avoid what kind of vaccine?
- Improve your Health I.Q. on Atopic Eczema
- Atopic Eczema Related Slideshows
- Atopic Eczema Related Image Collections
Q:Eczema (also atopic eczema or atopic dermatitis) is a general term for types of skin inflammation. True or False?
A:True. The word eczema comes from the Greek word for bubbling. It is a weeping, oozing itchy eruption that has many causes, the most common being atopic eczema. Other causes include allergic contact dermatitis, irritant contact dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, stasis dermatitis, pompholyx (dyshidrotic eczema), and xerosis. In addition, there are a number of other diseases that can present with an eczematous appearance, including scabies and fungal infections.
Q:Atopic eczema has no known cause. True or False?
A:False. Atopic eczema is now thought to be related to defective production of skin protein called filaggrin in many cases.
Q:Is atopic eczema contagious?
A:No. Although a predisposition to atopic eczema can be inherited, it is not transmissible from person to person.
Q:What are some triggers for atopic eczema?
A:Sweat, soap and clothing. Environmental factors play an important role in triggering atopic eczema. It is not unusual for patients with atopic eczema to note that sweating during exercise, using harsh detergents, or wearing wool clothing can produce itching and trigger flares of atopic eczema.
Q:What are the first symptoms of atopic eczema?
A:Swelling, oozing, and crusting are all signs of atopic eczema. In a practical sense, swelling, oozing, crusting, and itching probably all occur simultaneously.
Q:Pruritus is the medical term for what?
A:Itching. Pruritus (proo-RYE-tuss) is the medical term for itching. Itching sensations are carried by peripheral sensory nerves called C fibers. They are the same fibers that mediate the pain sensations. Anyone who has itched knows that is almost impossible to ignore the sensation. Scratching the itch probably changes the sensation to something akin to pain, which seems easier to tolerate.
Q:In children and adults, atopic eczema usually occurs on the scalp first. True or False?
A:False. Atopic eczema usually begins in infancy or early childhood. Since many children slobber at this age, the saliva will evaporate and dry out the skin of the face, producing dermatitis on the cheeks. Children in diapers also often have eczema on their elbows and knees. Eczema typically does not affect the diaper area. In adults, the pattern is somewhat different; eczema most commonly affects the skin folds opposite the elbows and knees. In addition, the neck, wrists, and ankles often have lesions.
Q:Atopic eczema is best controlled by good skin care. True or False?
A:Good skin care means that the skin should be kept moist. This is particularly important in children or adults who have atopic eczema. After a shower or bath, before towel drying, a thin layer of an emollient (a greasy substance which water cannot penetrate) should be applied to the wet skin to inhibit the evaporation of skin moisture.
Q:Prescription treatments are available for severe atopic eczema. True or False?
A:True. If over-the-counter treatments fail to control atopic eczema, then it is time to see a physician. It may be necessary to prescribe topical steroids to control acute flares of dermatitis. Occasionally, other anti-inflammatory oral medications may be required for short-term control, and even ultraviolet light exposures can help manage serious persistent cases.
Q:How is atopic eczema diagnosed?
A:Currently, there is no single test to diagnose atopic dermatitis (eczema). Most of the time, a competent physician is able to diagnosis atopic eczema with great accuracy by taking a medical history and then examining the patient's skin. Rarely, it may be necessary to draw blood and even take a sample of the patient's skin for microscopic examination to rule out other causes of weeping, oozing dermatitis.
Q:Atopic eczema can mimic other skin diseases and infections. True or False?
A:True. Atopic eczema must be distinguished from a wide variety of other causes of weeping, oozing dermatitis. Many of these superficially similar conditions require very different forms of treatment.
Q:What types of things can irritate skin in people with atopic eczema?
A:Since the environment plays a very important role in skin hydration, the best answer to this question would be dry sand.
Anything that tends to dry the skin would be likely to produce irritation in a patient with atopic eczema.
Q:The skin itches. Scratching the itch is temporarily satisfying but actually leads to more itching. This describes what?
A:The itch-scratch cycle.
Itching usually prompts scratching, which can sometimes lead to a vicious itch-scratch cycle.
The urge to scratch can be so intense that it is done unconsciously. There is no question that scratching atopic eczema is counterproductive. Correct treatment will produce less itching, which can be tolerated without scratching.
Q:People who have been diagnosed with atopic eczema should avoid what kind of vaccine?
A:Patients with poorly controlled atopic eczema should avoid being vaccinated for smallpox.
Such individuals seem to be unable to control the vaccinia virus and may develop eczema vaccinatum, which can involve large areas of skin. Since it is no longer standard practice to vaccinate infants for smallpox in the U.S., this condition is rare. However, adults who have received recent vaccinia vaccinations can transmit the virus to others, so care must be taken to avoid close physical contact until the vaccine reaction has resolved.
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|Built in 1899, the Talent Elementary School is located in the center of Talent, Oregon and for more than a century and served literally and figuratively as the center of civic life in that community. First used as a school and then, acquired by the city in 1914, this one-story building has housed virtually every aspect of local government, serving as Talent’s city hall, city offices, post office, and the library in addition to hosting a wide variety of non-profit community groups, public lectures, dances, public movies, and other events. The Period of Significance under Criterion A, Education, begins in 1899 with the building’s construction and ends in 1911 when the building ceased to serve as a school. The building’s association with Government and Politics and Social History begins in 1914, with the city’s acquisition, and continues through 1971 when Talent built a new city hall and moved its administrative functions out of the building for the first time since 1914. The Talent Elementary School is locally significant under Criterion A, for its strong and continuing association with the development of Talent, Oregon and its role in that city’s local government. The building is also significant under Criterion C, as a rare and almost entirely intact example of 19th century wood-frame vernacular architecture as used for public purposes in the southern Oregon region. The period of significance under Criterion C is 1899, the date of construction.
Built in 1899 as the third building occupied by the Talent Elementary School, by 1912 this large one-story wood frame building located in the center of Talent, Oregon was in use as that city’s first city hall. Purchased from the school district in 1914, under various names the Talent Elementary School, including the Talent City Hall and the Talent Community Center, has housed the full range of public and social organizations that have collectively played a pivotal role in the history and development of the community. The Talent Elementary School has been formally known as the “Talent Community Center” since 1965. The property is eligible for listing under Criterion A and C, in the following areas of significance.
Education: Constructed in 1899, the third Talent Elementary School was constructed by School District #22 to accommodate a growing school-age population. In July 1899 the citizens of Talent unanimously approved funds to construct a new school in a special election. The new building was completed on schedule and classes were first held in the building in early December 1899. By 1910, after just eleven years of school use, the community of Talent was still growing and pressure again mounted for the construction of a newer and more modern school facility. Construction on the fourth Talent Elementary School, built of brick, began in May 1911 and was completed by late that year. Although the district may have held classes in both structures for a time during late-1911, the older wood-frame building was soon vacated.
Politics/Government: Occupied by city offices in 1912 and purchased by the City of Talent in 1914, four years after its incorporation, the Talent Elementary School was Talent’s first permanent city hall and until 1971 housed virtually all elements of local government, including administrative offices, city council chambers, police, public works, and the building and planning departments. Indeed, with the exception of the local fire department (located in a now removed structure elsewhere on the same tax lot) the nominated property contained all local government functions in Talent, Oregon for nearly seven decades.
Social History: The Talent Elementary School building is strongly associated with a variety of community and social functions in Talent, Oregon, including the “Ladies Improvement League (later the Talent Community Club), which advocated for the city’s original purchase of the property in 1914 and worked to maintain and improve the building and its grounds for local use. Between 1920 and 1964 the Talent Elementary School housed the Talent Library, partially funded and staffed by the members of the Community Club. Numerous other local groups and functions, including boy and girl scouts, the VFW, Lions Club, Talent Garden Club, Red Cross and others have all relied upon the Talent Elementary School for regular meeting space.
Architecture: The Talent Elementary School is a large and substantially “as-built” example of late-19th century wood-frame vernacular architecture, exhibiting elements associated with the Classical Revival style that was popular during the later part of the 19th century. One of, if not the, oldest example of wood-frame vernacular public-use structures in southern Oregon, the building exemplifies the design and character of typical construction as used for schools, churches, and other public buildings. | <urn:uuid:078c1165-8618-4cb8-8904-43bb981d018c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://heritagedata.prd.state.or.us/historic/index.cfm?do=v.dsp_siteSummary&resultDisplay=41206 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973446 | 946 | 2.78125 | 3 |
H5N1 Avian Flu And You
From the Centers for Disease Control, Like all influenza A viruses, HPAI H5N1 viruses continue to evolve and human infections with H5N1 virus, resulting from direct or close contact with infected sick or dead poultry, are expected to continue to occur.
The avian influenza subtype H5N1 viruses currently circulating in poultry in parts of Asia and northeast Africa, have caused human disease and deaths since 1997.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus – referred to as HPAI H5N1 and sometimes shortened to H5N1 – is a virus that occurs mainly in birds, is highly contagious among birds, and can be deadly to them, especially domestic poultry. Though relatively rare, sporadic human infections with this virus have occurred and caused serious illness and death.
When humans develop illness from H5N1 virus infection, severe respiratory illness (e.g. pneumonia and respiratory failure) and death may occur. Nearly 600 human H5N1 cases have been reported in 15 countries to the World Health Organization since November 2003, resulting in approximately 60% mortality.
How does the Avian Bird Flu spread?
In the Asia-Pacific region waterbirds generally migrate in a north-south orientation. For the long-distance migrants, especially shorebirds, three flyways are recognized:
Central Asian-Indian Flyway
East Asian-Australasian Flyway
West Pacific Flyway
The largest outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in wild birds occurred at Qinghai Lake, China in 2005, followed by an outbreak at Erkhel Lake, Mongolia which suggests a possible virus spread via a migratory linkage between these regions.
As humans come in contact with infected birds, the virus ‘may’ jump to the human. Historically this has been relatively rare, but viruses are constantly mutating and adapting, and ‘could’ one day make a serious jump to the human population. If it does, it will kill 60% of us, or those who contract it.
How will the human strain of H5N1 spread?
It will begin in Asia, where it currently is predominant, and will rapidly spread via the airlines. It will likely start at Shanghai International and Hong Kong International, while working its way across the globe via the major international airports, the busiest of which are listed here:
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport
London Heathrow Airport
Frankfurt International Airport
Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Tokyo International Airport
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
From there, it will spread locally, within regions, similar to how the ordinary flu spreads. The shocking fact will be the speed at which it happens, and how quickly it will destabilize the lives of nearly everyone – not to mention the horrible economic impact it will have as people remain in their homes refusing to risk going to ‘work’ and contracting the deadly killer.
The question is, are you prepared for such an event? Do you have what it takes to mostly remain at home and sustain yourself for 90 days, or longer?
Perhaps now is a good time to think about that, BEFORE such an event were to occur. Those who are not prepared (adequate food storage, hygiene supplies, and money-savings to pay the bills while out of work) will be at tremendous risk while out in public, all the while the store shelves are being emptied by panicked mobs of the majority population.
Note that as of this post, there is no new threat from this virus than there already is. But things ‘could’ change.
Be Prepared. If you enjoyed this, or topics of current events risk awareness and survival preparedness, click here to check out our current homepage articles… | <urn:uuid:2a060b7a-2373-47ef-b3a2-3860f73944a0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://modernsurvivalblog.com/pandemic/h5n1-avian-flu-and-you/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00119-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935369 | 800 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Just posted at http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog/
Sep 21st, 2009 by Richard Louv
A while back, I wrote about a terrific book in this space, and mentioned there was more to come. So here’s Part II.
Doug Tallamy is professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, and the author of “Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens”, a book I’ve endorsed as “the perfect antidote to the belief that nature happens somewhere else.” Tallamy believes that biodiversity must be managed, just as we manage (or mismanage) our water resources, clean air and energy — and that families and kids can play a big role in that. First and foremost, he advises, we must provide the two things all species need: food and shelter. “Fortunately, unlike most of our water or energy supplies, biodiversity is a renewale resource that is relatively easy to increase,” he says. Which brings us back to the back yard. Front yard, too.
I asked Doug to share with C&NN’s readers, especially parents and children and educators who want to green their schoolyards, some of the basics of sharing our spaces with other living things. He offers the following basic advice presented here (for a fascinating full tour, read his book!) with his permission:
• Families can help rebuild Local Food Webs: Nothing lives in isolation of other living things. Instead, every species exists within complexes of interacting species that ecologists call food webs. To enable one particular species to thrive in your yard you must provide the fundamental parts of that species’ food web.
• It All Starts With Plants: All food webs start with plants, because plants are the only organisms that can capture the sun’s energy: the energy that fuels life on earth. Through photosynthesis, plants lock the sun’s energy into the carbon bonds of simple sugars. All animals get the energy they need either by eating plants directly or by eating other animals that eat plants. Because plants make all of the food that animals need, and because plants provide all or most of the shelter animals need, the amount of vegetation in your yard will determine the amount of nature in your yard.
• All Plants Are Not The Same: It would nice if we could bring nature home just by adding any plant that looks good to our yards. Unfortunately, all plants are not equal in their ability to support food webs. Food webs develop locally over thousands of generations, with each member of the web adapting to the particular traits of the other members of the web. A plant that evolved outside of a particular food web is usually unable to pass on its energy to the animals within that food web because those animals find it unpalatable. Plants protect their leaves from animals with nasty compounds such as cyanide and nicotine. But the plant-eating animals within a particular food web have developed the ability to overcome the chemical defenses of at least one of the plants in their web, and that is how they get enough nutrition to survive and reproduce.
• Natives Support Nature Best: The problem is that we humans have not landscaped our yards with food webs in mind. In fact, we have done the opposite of what our local food webs require to keep functioning. Typically when we build a new development, we bulldoze all of the native plant communities and then landscape sparsely with ornamental plants that are not members of the local food web. How can you tell if a plant belongs to the food web that evolved in your area? Well, you can be sure that an ornamental plant from Asia or Europe did not evolve within your local food web and therefore will provide little or no food for the animals you are trying to encourage in your yard. You should look for plants that are native to your area because they are the ones that support nature best in your yard.
• Insects Are The Key: Most of us have been taught from childhood that the only good insect is a dead insect. In fact, one of the traits we have favored when selecting our landscape plants is that they be “pest free.” We should hardly be surprised that we now live in landscapes with very few insects. For the last century, we have replaced the native plants on which insects develop with plants that our local insects cannot eat. To the joy of many, we have created sterile, lifeless landscapes, but that is precisely why our children do not have nature in their yards any longer. Why can’t nature be happy without those pesky insects? Insects are an essential part of every terrestrial ecosystem because they are the primary way most animals get their energy from plants. Most creatures that cannot eat plants themselves eat insects that ate plants for them. Birds are an excellent example. 96% of the terrestrial birds in North America rear their young on insects. Bottom line: if you want birds, or toads, or salamanders, or countless other species in your yard, you must put the plants that support your local insects in your yard.
• Reduce Your Lawn: The U.S. now has 45.6 million acres of lawn, an area over 5 times the size of New Jersey, and that figure is growing every year. When it comes to supporting food webs, lawns are nearly as bad as pavement. Our kids don’t interact with nature on their lawns because nature isn’t there. Lawns are so uninteresting it’s no wonder our kids are spending their youthful years indoors. Consider replacing the parts of your lawn that are not regularly used for walking with densely planted gardens of native plants. The life in those gardens will draw your kids out of the house like a magnet.
• Plant A Butterfly Garden: Butterfly gardens are one of the easiest and most effective ways to expose your kids to nature. When you are planning your garden, remember that butterflies need two kinds of plants: 1) plants that produce nectar for the adult butterflies, and 2) plants that serve as food for larval development. Many people plant only nectar plants in their butterfly gardens, but without larval host plants they are not making any new butterflies. Many people assume that butterfly larvae eat the same plants that provide nectar for the adults. This is true in some cases, such as the pearl crescent on black-eyed Susan or the monarch on milkweed. More often, however, butterfly larvae develop on woody plants that don’t supply any nectar. Black cherry, for example, is the host plant for tiger swallowtails and red-spotted purple butterflies. Avoid planting butterfly bush (Buddleia). Although it is a good nectar plant, it does not support the larval development of a single butterfly species in the U.S. and it has joined the long list of ornamental plants that is now invading our natural areas.
• Woody Plants Support More Animals: Trees and shrubs serve as hosts for more species of moths and butterflies than herbaceous plants and thus provide more types of food for birds and other insect-eaters. Supplying birds with the caterpillars they need while they are nesting will bring just as many birds to your yard during the spring and summer as a bird feeder does during the winter. It will be the trees and shrubs in your yard that accomplish this goal the best. A complete list of plant genera, ranked by their potential to support nature, can be found at http://copland.udel.edu/~dtallamy/host/index.html.
The bulleted points were adapted by Doug Tallamy from his book, “Bringing Nature home,” for the Children & Nature Network. Click here for more information about “Bringing Nature Home.”
Part I of The Backyard Revolution.
Richard Louv is chairman of the Children and Nature Network. He is the author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.”
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What are detailed differences between latency and bandwidth?
This is a good question. Think of latency as the time it takes for a signal to get from one place to another and bandwidth as the amount of information that can be transferred.Heartbeat beat signals in clusters do not have much information to exchange and do not need much bandwidth. However, they do need very low latency. Storage I/O transmissions typically need both low latency and high bandwidth. It's interesting to point out that the acknowledgements for storage do not need high bandwidth, just a low latency.
Editor's note: Do you agree with this expert's response? If you have more to share, post it in one of our .bphAaR2qhqA^0@/searchstorage>discussion forums.
Dig Deeper on SAN management
Related Q&A from Marc Farley
Mark Farley discusses the difference between iFCP and FCIP.continue reading
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By Alaina G. Levine
Sometimes we are inclined to argue that our skills, talents and reputation alone will secure us advancement opportunities in the fields of science and engineering. But here’s a truth that your scientific advisor may not have mentioned: Manners matter too.
Being professional means demonstrating that you are serious about your craft. Having good manners and proper business etiquette for all occasions promotes and amplifies your level of professionalism—in optics or any other field. Here are a few tips to ensure that you are always perceived as a professional, intelligent, hard-working, respected, talented scientist or engineer:
Make a good first impression. When you first meet someone, introduce yourself, shake the person’s hand, look them in the eyes, smile, and say their name back to them (so they know you are listening and that you pronounced their moniker correctly). The hand shake should employ two pumps, up and down, and then conclude.
Demonstrate keen communications acuity. Whether you are networking, participating in a job interview, or giving a seminar, it’s important to express great respect for the people with whom you are conversing. If you are having a one-on-one conversation at a mixer, don’t interrupt or over-talk the person. In fact, you should strive to listen approximately 80 percent of the time and speak only 20 percent. Maintain eye contact. Have business cards ready and don’t be afraid to ask for those of others. And when your meeting concludes, excuse yourself appropriately and bid them farewell—don’t just walk away.
Honor your audience. When giving a speech—whether to 1 or 100—acknowledge the audience and thank them for their time. Speak slowly and project your voice. When someone publicly asks a question, express gratitude for the inquiry, repeat it (in case it wasn’t heard by others) and do your best to answer. If you don’t know the answer, say so, and offer to pursue it further at a later time. Never insult the question or embarrass the questioner.
Sport the right uniform. You send a critical message with your garments, even in lab-based fields such as science and engineering, and you want it to be one of professionalism. So if you are interviewing or participating in an important meeting that could lead to a job or a fellowship, I recommend dressing a few notches better than you (and your colleagues) normally would in the lab.
For industry meetings, a suit is usually your best bet. For get-togethers in academic or national laboratory settings, you’ll likely do fine with a nice pair of chinos, sport coat and button-down shirt for men, and a conservative skirt or dress pants with a nice shirt and jacket for women.
Understand the culture. Whether you are in the United States, Japan or Qatar, it is crucial to know and master the cultural nuances that dictate how business is conducted. For example, in Asian cultures, when dining with chop sticks, never thrust the sticks vertically into a bowl of rice, because this rather severe visual brings to mind funerary practices—no need to bring death to the table! Similarly, in the Middle East, a formal negotiation doesn’t officially begin until you and the other party have sat and relaxed for a while, often over tea. And never sit with the souls of your feet facing another individual. Of course academia and industry have their own cultural norms as well, so wherever you are, research and implement the proper and professional etiquette that can lead to scientific success.
Portions of this article first appeared in InsideHigherEd.com.
Alaina G. Levine is an internationally known career development consultant for scientists and engineers and a science writer. She can be reached through her website at www.alainalevine.com.
Portions of this article first appeared in InsideHigherEd.com. Copyright, 2011, Alaina G. Levine. | <urn:uuid:ab693b9f-a9e0-4d97-b7d9-c8d7987e6697> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.osa-opn.org/BrightFuturesBlog/?tag=/Alaina+G.+Levine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00114-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941452 | 816 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Akatsuki to try for Venus orbit in June 2016
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla
31-01-2012 10:37 CST
Date has been corrected to June 2016 (original article had December 2016). And it's no longer clear that there's been a formal decision to enter orbit on that date rather than in 2015 or later. See the notes below. --ESL
Japan's Venus climate orbiter Akatsuki failed to enter orbit in December 2010 when a clogged valve caused catastrophic damage to its main engine. Since then, JAXA's engineers and navigators have determined that although the main engine is a total loss, there is the possibility of achieving Venus orbit on a future encounter, using only the attitude control rockets. They reduced their mass as much as possible by venting the oxidizer that would have been used in the main engine, and have begun a series of deep-space maneuvers to slowly nudge the orbit to one that could enable Akatsuki to achieve Venus orbit in the future.
The closest flyby of Venus will take place in November 2015, and as of last year, JAXA planned to use the attitude control rockets to enter orbit then. However, a new report indicates that the team prefers the next closest opportunity in
December June 2016. They prefer it because the geometry of that encounter allows Akatsuki to attain an elliptical orbit from which they can recover some science, doing cloud observations, while the orbit achievable from the 2015 encounter would be much less favorable for science.
This assumes that the spacecraft remains healthy. If Akatsuki's systems have deteriorated markedly before the 2015 encounter, then JAXA will consider trying for the earlier opportunity.
EDIT 22:30 UT: Here are some notes by @ots_min and some other notes by @iwamototuka (both in Japanese) on today's press briefing, and here are two PDFs from JAXA (1, 9 MB, 2, 5 MB). Twitter user @hee913758translates the high points of the first set of notes thusly:
JAXA to make Akatsuki reenter Venus' orbit in Nov. 2015, or June 2016. (Or later). A few possibilities. It depends on the probe's condition. JAXA will have finally decided when to make it reenter by around 2014. The more times it performs [Venus] swing-by, the better orbit it can enter. (However the more its condition deteriorates.)
Project Manager Nakamura: Even if the valve completely clogged, current pressure would able to push the propellant well.
PM. Nakamura: I'm'afraid it's CCD that deteriorates the fastest in all cameras. It's gotta stand the radiation WITH GUTS! | <urn:uuid:d6498bbb-43ad-45f1-b877-73d4af6dcc12> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2012/3349.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950178 | 564 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The Sakha Republic is a democratic constitutional state within the Russian Federation. The Declaration of the Sovereignty of the Republic was accepted on September 27th, 1990, followed by the Federative Treaty with the Russian Federation and the treaty on the division of authority and power between the federal bodies of the Russian Federation and the bodies of state power in the Sakha Republic. This new status as a Republic gave Yakutia an independent way to deal with vital questions regarding its development.
The state authorities of the Sakha Republic are part of the state system of the Russian Federation. The relations between the two are based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional laws, federal laws, the Federative Treaty and the treaty on the division of authority and power between the federal bodies of the Russian Federation and the state bodies in the Sakha Republic.
The Republic has its own constitution. The present constitution was adopted on April 27th, 1992.
State power in Yakutia is under the control of the president, the State Assembly, and the Constitutional and Supreme Courts. Local administration is represented by the local governments of the regions.
The president, who is the head of the executive power in the republic, is nominated by the President of the Russian Federation and is approved by the State Assembly. He represents the republic within the Russian Federation and also to foreign countries. He nominates the vice-president as well as Chair of the Government and the government ministers for approval by the State Assembly. The government meets the president to inform him about general government business at regular meetings.
The legislative body of the republic is the State Assembly, which is known in the Sakha language as II Tumen. It can set the state budget, pass laws, amend legislation, and adopt a constitution. Its members are called deputies. Each one is elected by a constituency and represents that constituency for a term of five years. They are organised into various committees to decide on strategies for governmental affairs.
The legal system is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the city courts, and the Supreme Court of Arbitration. The Constitutional Court of the Sakha Republic was formed in 1992. It interprets the Republic's constitution and examines the actions of the president and of the State Assembly, as well as the actions of local administrations, to make sure they are acting according to the constitution. The Supreme Court implements civil and criminal law. The Supreme Court of Arbitration considers the legal issues in economic and business cases.
According to the Constitution of the Sakha Republic, which officially confirms it as a democratic legal state, the republic has its own state symbols: a flag, an emblem, and an anthem. The description of the republic's state emblem and national flag is written in Article 140 of the Sakha Republic Constitution of 1992.
The state emblem was adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Republic (forerunner of II Tumen) on December 26th, 1992. The state emblem of the republic is a circle with a picture of a rider on a horse from an old Lena River rock carving in the centre. The ancient carving comes from the republic's Sakha forebears, who were horsemen and cattle breeders. More than a thousand years ago, they portrayed their history and culture in a series of rock carvings.
The national flag of the Sakha Republic was raised over the State Assembly building in 1992. It is a rectangle with, from top to bottom, four horizontal blue, white, red and green stripes. In the centre of the blue stripe is a white circle. The colours reflect the geographic and climatic characteristics as well as the historical and cultural traditions of the republic. The white circle in the blue stripe represents the white sun in the Arctic sky. This is a symbol of continuity through the generations and is an expression of respect to ancestors; the Sakha are thought to be the people of the 'white sun' in the heavens. The white stripe below, in combination with the white circle on the blue background, expresses the simple beauty of the north and the purity of its people. The red stripe is a symbol of vital energy. It is also a symbol of the beauty of the motherland and the faithfulness of her people to her. The green stripe represents the short, hot summer and the expanses of the taiga, where the colour green predominates. It is a symbol of fertility and renewal.
The combination of white, red and green has always been typical of Sakha applied art. The combination of blue, white and red corresponds to the colours of the Russian Federation State Flag and shows that the Sakha Republic is a part of the federation.
The Sakha Republic law On State Symbols of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), of July 15th, 2004 adopted the national anthem. It was first performed on September 27th, 2004, at a meeting devoted to the Sakha Republic Independence Day in Yakutsk. The lyrics are by Sakha poets Savva Tarasov and Mikhail Timofeyev and the music is by Kirill Gerasimov. | <urn:uuid:6e944b99-acc4-4266-a29d-c69e665f9327> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://dist-tutor.info/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=34554 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957188 | 1,028 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Managing broadleaf weeds in warm-season turf
Weed management is an integrated process that employs good cultural practices as well as the intelligent selection and use of herbicides to give the desirable turfgrass a competitive advantage over weeds. The first step to successful weed management is proper identification. Because mowing removes flowers and seedheads, turfgrass managers often must identify weeds on the basis of vegetative structures, such as ligules, leaves and stems. This can be challenging, but weed references can make the job easier (see box, "Weed references," page Contractor 5).
Winter-annual weeds germinate in late summer through early fall when daytime temperatures consistently are in the 70s. They grow through the winter months and flower or produce seedheads during late winter and early spring. Winter weeds are sneaky because they blend with the turf in the fall and early winter months and do not become noticeable until late winter when growth spurts, along with seedheads and flowers, produce a ragged-looking turf.
Summer-annual broadleaf weeds start to germinate in early spring when soil temperatures consistently remain in the mid-50s. They grow through the summer months and flower during late summer and early fall. Summer-annual weeds die with the first killing frost in fall. Perennial weeds live more than 2 years. However, in reality, some perennial broadleaf weeds act similar to winter-annual broadleaf weeds in that they thrive through spring and then dieback during the heat of the following summer. Conversely, other perennial broadleaf weeds act similar to summer annuals where they thrive through summer and dieback with frost in fall.
Scouting Information regarding which weeds occur, where they occur and their relative level of occurrence is needed to make informed management decisions on which control option(s) to consider. Scouting simply means breaking the turf area into logical sections and determining which weeds are present and at what level. It's typical to break lawns into front, back and side yards. Due to their visibility, front lawns generally require control implementation first, followed by the sides and finally the back yard. Golf courses are sectioned into tees, fairways, greens and roughs for each hole. Roughs receive the least attention for weed control while greens and tees receive the most. Scouting can be as elaborate as estimating the percent weed cover for each unit or, more realistically, involve a simple rating system for each weedthat is "widespread," "spotty" or in a single patch. The owner or manager of the turf site generally will determine the threshold levels for treatment based on personal preferences or other factors unique to the site.
The optimum scouting time for winter-weed control is early fall (October or November) with a follow-up in early spring (March or April). The fall scouting allows early detection and assessment of each weed present. The early spring scouting identifies weeds that escaped control of herbicides that the turf manager applied previously, and indicates where they are likely to occur the following winter season.
Herbicide selection and use Post-emergence herbicides are effective only on visible weeds. Young (two- to four-leaf stage) and actively growing weeds are the most susceptible and require the least amount of herbicide for good control. At this stage, herbicide uptake and translocation readily occur and weeds have weaker root systems. If you wait until plants are larger, translocation of applied materials will be reduced, making it more difficult to control mature plants and possibly injuring turf if higher rates are necessary to achieve weed control.
You should only use post-emergence herbicides when weeds are actively growing. This primarily occurs when temperatures are between 40 and 80oF and good soil moisture is available. Applications outside this temperature range or when soil is dry typically act too slowly to be effective or result in excessive turf damage.
Broadleaf weed control Several pre-emergents provide some broadleaf weed control, including some known more as grass pre-emergents (see Table 2, Page Golf 16, for a listing of sources of the following herbicides). Thus, for specific types of infestations, you may achieve good control with them. However, isoxaben provides the broadest range of pre-emergence broadleaf weed control in turf. You must apply isoxaben before broadleaf weeds germinate. Tank-mix isoxaben with another pre-emergent such as prodiamine, dithiopyr, pen-dimethalin or oryzalin if you expect annual bluegrass, crabgrass or other grassy weeds.
Atrazine and simazine are the backbone products for post-emergence broadleaf weed control in warm-season turfgrasses such as centipedegrass, St. Augus-tinegrass, zoysiagrass and bermudagrass. For winter-annual weeds, use these materials in mid-fall (November) for optimum control. For summer-annual weeds, mid- to late-spring applications are best. A follow-up application may be necessary 3 weeks later for total control.
For broadleaf weeds that these herbicides do not effectively control, an application of one or more post-emergence products-2,4-D; 2,4-DP; MCPP; MCPA or dicamba-is necessary (see Table 3, page Golf 20, and Table 2, page Golf 16, for heribicide listings). A two- or three-way combination is generally needed for satisfactory results. Control depends on the maturity of the weed: Younger weeds are easiest and most economical to control. Thus, for winter annuals, you ideally should initiate applications in November to take advantage of these younger, more succulent plants. If you wait until March or April to attempt control, you will have to make sequential applications 10 to 14 days apart, thus increasing your costs. Later applications also may delay turfgrass green-up and require more time for herbicides to work. For summer-annual weeds, mid- to late-spring applications are best.
Until recently, traditional broadleaf-herbicide combinations were the main control chemicals for broadleaf weeds. New chemistries such as triclopyr, clopyralid and quinclorac (see Table 2 for sources) provide alternatives to the traditional materials mentioned above. Confront is registered on certain warm-season grasses while Turflon is best on cool-season grasses (see Table 1, above, for turfgrass tolerances to herbicides). Quinclorac, though more of a grass herbicide, also controls dandelion and clover. Although these new herbicides provide a wider array of materials from which to choose, economics and turf tolerance still are factors you must consider before use.
Remember to check for restrictions on the use of herbicides around trees and shrubs. Also keep in mind that if you do not attempt to control weeds until they are large (spring for winter annuals or late summer for summer annuals), you should expect slow results and the need for multiple applications. However, you can achieve success with a combination of proper turfgrass management supplemented with persistent, well-timed and appropriate herbicide use.
The section on page Contractor 4 lists several tough-to-control broadleaf weeds of warm-season turf, along with control options that I typically recommend for them. These are not necessarily the only effective options, and may not be appropriate in all situations. Always read and follow the label any time you use herbicides.
Dr. Bert McCarty is professor of turfgrass science at Clemson Unviersity (Clemson, S.C.).
* Chamberbitter, niruri or gripeweed (Phyllanthus urinaria)-photo on page Golf 8.
This small summer annual is an "escape" from the ornamental-nursery industry. Its flowers are inconspicuous, and the green, warty fruit are attached directly to undersides of branches.
Control: Products containing atrazine or simazine applied twice, 30 days apart, provide good control. Prompt (a pre-mix of atrazine and Basagran) also works well. Products containing two- or three-way broadleaf-herbicide mixes applied at least twice, 7 days apart, also work in tolerant turfgrasses (check the label). Begin treatments in spring when the weeds are small.
* Doveweed (Murdannia nudiflora)
This summer annual has fleshy, creeping stems that root at the nodes. The leaves are small, as are the inconspicuous blue to purple flowers.
Control: Products containing atrazine or simazine applied twice, 30 days apart, provide control. Prompt also is effective. Tank mixes of MSMA or DSMA with Sencor, or multiple applications of two- or three-way broadleaf herbicide mixes, also provide good control but may be phytotoxic to certain turfgrass species. Check labels for precautions.
* Lawn burweed or spurweed (Soliva pterosperma)
This low-growing winter-annual broadleaf weed has narrowly divided leaves and small, inconspicuous flowers. The fruits have sharp spines.
Control: Pre-emergence or post-emergence applications of simazine or atrazine in mid-fall provide excellent control. Prompt and Sencor also work well in tolerant turfgrasses. Repeat applications of two- or three-way broadleaf-herbicide mixes containing 2,4-D; MCPP; dicamba; or 2,4-DP also provide control. The key to controlling this weed is to apply herbicides in the fall when weeds are small.
* Matchweed (Phyla nodiflora)-top photo, at right
This is a mat-forming perennial with hairy stems. Its stems root at the nodes and the leaves exhibit large "teeth" toward their tips. The flowers are rose-purple or white in a head at the tip of a long stalk, resembling a match head. Matchweed prefers sandy coastal plains.
Control: Products containing atrazine or simazine applied twice, 30 days apart, provide control. Prompt also is effective. Two- or three-way broadleaf-herbicide mixes applied at least twice, 7 days apart, also work in tolerant turfgrasses.
* Pennywort or dollarweed (Hydrocotyle spp.)-middle photo, at right
The leaves of this rhizomatous perennial are umbrella-like with the petiole attaching in the center of the leaf. This weed prefers moist-to-wet sites.
Control: Products containing atrazine or simazine applied twice, 30 days apart. Prompt also works well. Two- or three-way broadleaf-herbicide mixes applied at least twice, 7 days apart, also work in tolerant turfgrasses. Begin treatments in fall.
* Florida betony (Stachys floridana)
This is a perennial that grows from segmented white tubers resembling a rattlesnake's rattle. The stems are square, and the flowers are white to pink.
Control: Products containing atrazine or simazine applied twice, 30 days apart, provide control, as does Prompt (BASF's combination of atrazine and bentazon). Two- or three-way broadleaf herbicide mixtures applied at least twice, 7 days apart, also work.
* Virginia buttonweed (Diodia virginiana)-photo above
This perennial reproduces from fleshy roots, cut plant pieces and seed.
Control: You can achieve post-emergence suppression with 2- or 3-way herbicide containing 2,4-D; dicamba; or MCPP. 2,4-D is the most effective of these, so use combination products with a high concentration. Repeat the application in 3 to 4 weeks.
If only a few plants are present, physically dig them out. Remove all plant parts and soil, then refill the site with fresh soil and weed-free sod.
* Wild garlic/wild onion (Allium spp.)
Most people recognize these cool-season perennials with their hollow, stem-like leaves.
Control: You can obtain post-emergence control with Image 1.5L at 2 pints per acre in December. Perform a repeat application with 1 pint per acre in early March. Add 0.25 percent nonionic surfactant (1 quart per 100 gallons). You also can get satisfactory control with 2,4-D LV ester, alone or in two- or three-way combination products. Treat in November, March and again the following November. In dormant turf, you can safely use Roundup Pro 4L at 1 pint per acre, with a repeat application in 3 to 4 weeks.
Weed references with photos or high-quality drawings are indispensible tools for accurate weed identification. An excellent weed ID guide is Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, available through Clemson University for $8.00. Call (864) 656-3261 for ordering information. THis publication also is available through the Cooperative Extension Services in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
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TUCZON, AZ.- The Center for Creative Photography
presents an exhibition of new works by distinguished artist Joe Deal (United States, 1947), on view June 5 to August 1, 2010. Drawing on the remarkable history of 19th-century survey photography of the Great Plains, West and West was also inspired by the landscapes Joe Deal saw as a child while driving west from his home in Topeka, Kansas, to visit relatives in Great Bend. While West and West eschews the imagery of development for which Deal is best known, this project still connotes the impact of human-initiated processes by asking the viewer to think historically and consider what has and has not changed in the landscape.
The transformation of the Great Plains began with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which opened the new territories to settlement and replaced vast, open spaces with an immense grid of squares. West & West looks back at what was once the largest uninterrupted ecosystem in North America as a result of this complicated history. Deal presents the anticipated sameness of the Western landscape in a consistent format dividing each scene with a horizon line. His use of the square-format negative allows for an image that can imply infinity, especially when seen exhibited in aggregate. On close examination, however, Deals depiction of the landscape presents an endlessly fascinating and changing expanse as grasslands and sky unfold in equal share. The 21 images on view capture the full drama of the Great Plains, spanning the area between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, and from the Canadian provinces to the Mexican border. Deal notes, "I wanted to try to look beneath the grid and to re-image something that now can exist only as an idea." He compares framing the landscape through the camera to a kind of reenactment, "a way of knowing what it must have been like to lay a straight line down over a vast plain."
Deal believes the mechanical act performed by land surveyors to be distinctly similar to the artistic act of making a photograph. Both are about establishing a frame around a vast scene that suggests no definite boundaries of its own. Thus, Deal's approach to his photographs of the Great Plains are a method of understanding how it felt to contain the Great Plains in smaller, more measurable units. West and West also offered the opportunity to reconnect with what he calls "the dreamed landscape" of his childhood, now framed by the complicating knowledge of the history that shaped the land.
The Center also presents a concurrent exhibition, Locating Landscape: New Strategies, New Technologies, highlighting some of the most interesting young artists at work in Los Angeles and the Southwest today. Guest-curated by University of Arizona photography historian Kate Palmer Albers, this exhibition includes work by Christiana Caro, Andrew Freeman, Frank Gohlke, Margot Anne Kelley, Mark Klett, Paho Mann, Adam Thorman, and Byron Wolfe.
Inspired by the recent revival of the influential and critically acclaimed New Topographics exhibition from 1975, shown at the Center and continuing its national and international tour, Locating Landscape links a new generation of photographers with the New Topographics movement that so greatly influenced them. Margot Anne Kelley and Christiana Caro studied with Frank Gohlke; Andrew Freeman studied with Lewis Baltz; and Paho Mann and Adam Thorman studied with Mark Klett as well as Bill Jenkins, the original curator of New Topographics at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.
"New Topographics was a watershed moment in the history of landscape photography," says Albers, "Its been a major undercurrent in photographic practice for more than forty years, and nowespecially with the rapid growth and ready availability of networked mapping and locational technologieswere seeing an explosion of new work thats taking landscape in a new direction."
These new landscapes incorporate novel methods to connect with the world they represent while drawing on the visual vocabulary developed by earlier generations of landscape photographers. Where the New Topographics photographers worked in black and white and made relatively small prints, Locating Landscape reflects the contemporary engagement with large scale and lush color. Likewise, if both beauty and politics were slightly submerged in the landscapes of the 1970s, today, the lyric and poetic comfortably coexist with cultural and political concern. | <urn:uuid:4ce10347-95e7-4e30-808a-11099479e350> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://artdaily.com/news/38501/West-and-West--Joe-Deal-and-Locating-Landscape-Opens-at-CCP | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957914 | 867 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Information about Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)
What is Breed Specific Legislation or BSL?
Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) is, essentially, efforts used to restrict, ban and/or eliminate certain breeds of dogs, purebred or mixed. It can include anything from requiring special licensing of a breed (breed restriction) to the total ban of certain breeds.
Several jurisdictions in Canada have either enacted Breed Specific Legislation or are proposing enacting legislation that specifically names certain breeds as restricted or prohibited.
This section of the Canada's Guide to Dogs website is provided as a resource for those looking to learn more about this very important issue. The links provided under the Information & Resources category are to some of the most indepth web sites covering all facets of BSL.
Because of the very recent proposed province-wide Pit Bull breed ban by Attorney General Michael Bryant in the province of Ontario, a section specific to Ontario has been added which includes information about what you can do to help fight this legislation.
And now... the New Brunswick Bill 55 - Restricted Dogs Act.
Education is Key:
To learn more about the specific breeds generally known as "Pit Bull types" see:
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- American Staffordshire Terrier
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- The Pit Bull Educational Packet (PDF format) from www.understand-a-bull.com.
- Unwrapping Pit Bulls from Karen Peak of West Wind Dog Training (Article added 26 Jan 2005)
Breed banning is not a solution to preventing dog bites or attacks. Education of child, parent, dog owner, and the public in general is key to reducing the number of attacks. The following are links to web sites which deal specifically with these issues:
- The Safe Kids/Safe Dogs Project "Too many children are getting injured by dogs. Too many breeds are being banned based on ignorance. Too many dog owners are ending up with problem dogs because the human end is undereducated. The Safe Kids/Safe Dogs Project is dedicated to ending this - all of this." (Link added 26 Jan 2005)
To learn more about how you can help continue the fight, visit:
- The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Canada website: www.staffordcanada.com,
- The Banned Aid Coalition website: www.bannedaid.com
Also see The Dog Owners' Liability Act of Ontario (2005) Information Sheet (PDF) The Dog Legislation Council of Canada has created a easy to read brochure available on the basics of Bill 132 and the new DOLA.
BOB WAS A PIT BULL
By Ryan S Browning
Bob was a Pit Bull. He was my best friend.
As Bob grew older some neighbors got scared.
Bob stays at home while I am at school.
He said a little boy was killed by a Pit Bull tied up
Every day after school we like to play and we have a lot of fun.
They passed some kind of law, it's called BSL,
I ran to my room with Bob at my heels.
Dad and Mom said they would get me a new dog.
They said because of mean and cruel people, all Pit Bulls like Bob,
It's not kids or people like me,
Just because some people don't look after their animals,
by Ryan S Browning
Pit Bull Breed Ban in Ontario:
The Dog Legislation Council of Canada has created a easy to read brochure available on the basics of Bill 132 and the new DOLA. (Revised link 23 February 2007)
THE DOGS OF ONTARIO NEED YOUR HELP (Added 9 March 2005)
The proposed legislation by Attorney General Michael Bryant would ban pit bulls, i.e., ban ownership, breeding, transferring, abandoning, importing, and training pit bulls to fight. Under this proposed legislation, a pit bull is defined as:
- A Pit Bull Terrier;
- A Staffordshire Bull Terrier;
- An American Staffordshire Terrier;
- An American Pit Bull Terrier; or
- A member of a class of dogs that have an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar to the four types of dogs that have been identified.
Which Dog is the Villain?(Article added 28 July 2006)
Ramifications of Bill 132 This is a MUST READ article reproduced from the NCCPD.
Advocates for the Underdog A group that believes Breed Specific Legislation is a quick fix that does not protect the public.
4 Legged Love - Against Ontario's Proposed Pit Bull Ban 4 Legged Love is a dog placement and dog adoption agency based in Toronto (Etobicoke), operating throughout Southern Ontario. Because the Pit Bull ban was put in place in Windsor, Ontario a short time ago, any Pit Bull "type" dog/puppy in shelters, found as strays or dropped off are being euthanized without being given the chance to go up for adoption. 4 Legged Love is working with an independent rescuer located in Windsor to try to save these dogs/pups' lives by tranporting and placing them into caring, forever homes outside of the Windsor area.
This bill restricts any of the following breeds:
And, if passed, this bill would place several restrictions and unique requirements on owners of these breeds.
After two days of public hearings (Nov. 16 - 17, 2004) held in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick MLA Kelly Lamrock, who introduced the proposed legislation, announces willingness to modify Bill 55. The changes which will move Bill 55 from being breed specific to one which will deal with all dangerous dogs.
Information / Resources / Articles:
- To Ban the Breed?
Pit bull ownership: just another topic too controversial for the dinner table
By: Jen Kaiser, May 2010
- Breed Specific Legislation Of a fiction which maybe what your tomorrow will be made of... From the Rottweiler Club of Canada
- Breed Specific Legislation and the CKC
- Dog Legislation Council of Canada (DLCC) The DLCC formed in 2003, and counting among its members experienced and ethical dog enthusiasts nationwide. The DLCC is Canada's first and unique collaborative effort of rescue volunteers, owners, dog trainers, breeders and handlers to promote responsible dog ownership of all dogs.
- Dog bites- Are there dangerous breeds? From HealthyPet.com "Dog bites are a serious problem in the United States. Each year, 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around 17 percent of these people require medical care. And in approximately 10-20 tragic cases per year, the bite victim is killed. The CDC has labeled dog bites in America an "epidemic." The ten breeds involved in the most lethal attacks over the past ten years are pit bulls, rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, malamutes, Dobermans, chow chows, St. Bernards, Great Danes, and Akitas." Read More...
- Monster Myths from Bay Area Doglover Responsible About Pitbulls (Bad Rap)
- Breed Specific Legislation From Pitbull Rescue Central Pit Bull Rescue Central envisions a compassionate world where pit bulls and pit bull mixes reside in responsible, loving homes and where their honor and positive image is restored and preserved. An excellent source of informatin for BSL worldwide.
- FAQ's About Breed Specific Legislations (Article added 26 Jan 05)
- Why All Breeds Need to Fight (Article added 26 Jan 05)
- Out of the Mouths of Babes (Article added 26 Jan 05)
- You Can't Ban Snoopy (Article added 26 Jan 05)
- How A Breed Gets Banned(Article added 26 Jan 05)
- Dog Watch Excellent source for information on BSL
- RCC BSL Group Serves as a central contact and discussion area for The Rottweiler Club of Canada (RCC) in regards to Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). Support is for the entire Anti-BSL movement for ALL breeds. | <urn:uuid:8e13df69-a5a5-4d81-8106-f76b283cf2ba> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/breederinfo/breederinfo11.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927301 | 1,679 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Saline and Sodic Soil Identification and Management for Cotton
(PDF file version, 34KB)
by Jeffrey C. Silvertooth,
Extension Agronomist - Cotton
Soil salinity and sodicity are natural components of desert agricultural systems and have plagued many attempts at developing and maintaining crop production systems in arid regions. The first step in developing appropriate management schemes for dealing with saline and or sodic soil conditions involves proper identification (Table 1). By definition a saline soil is a nonsodic soil containing sufficient soluble salt to adversely affect the growth of most crop plants with a lower limit of electrical conductivity of the saturated extract (ECe) being 4 deciSiemens / meter (dS/m), which is equivalent to a value of 4 mmhos/cm. It is important to note that this is a lower limit and soil salinity conditions are actually dependent upon the crop in question. For example, cotton is considered to be relatively salt tolerant (Table 2) in relation to many other common crop plants.
It is also important to point out that cotton seedlings are sensitive to soil salinity with ECe levels of 4 dS/m or more. However, cotton seedlings in Arizona have been found to survive and grow in very saline conditions. Figure 1 describes the soil salinity conditions found in a cotton field in central Arizona that was experiencing stand and establishment problems. Therefore, soil samples and ECe measurements were taken at a two inch depth from three positions on the bed in relation to the irrigation furrow and the seed line, for each of the good (with healthy seedlings) and dead zones in the field. This demonstrates the ranges of soil salinity that cotton can tolerate before absolutely killing the plant. However, vigor and yield potentials are compromised at lower salinity levels before plants cannot survive due to salinity. This also illustrates the value of using alternate row irrigation in terms of pushing the higher concentrations of salt away from the water furrow toward the dry furrow (positions 1, 2, and 3 in Figure 1). Therefore, it is also important to push the salts past the seed line.
A sodic soil is defined as a nonsaline soil containing sufficient exchangeable sodium (Na) to adversely affect crop production and soil structure under most conditions of soil and plant type. The sodium adsorption ratio of the saturation extract (SARe) is at least 13. Fine textured soils (i.e. clays, clay loams, silts, silt loams, etc.) may experience dispersion and crusting due to Na with SAR levels of 5 or 6.
Management for a saline soil involves leaching the soluble salts from the soil profile. Leaching requires the application of irrigation water at rates above and beyond the basic water needs of the crop. Leaching takes place with the percolation of soil solutes (soluble salts) under saturated soil conditions. Management for sodic soils generally requires a two step process: 1. replacing exchangeable Na with a more favorable ion such as calcium (Ca) and/or magnesium (Mg); and 2. leaching the soluble Na that has been replaced on the soil colloid by the application of excess irrigation water. Therefore, saline soils do not require ammendments per se. Sodic soils may require the application of soil ammendments, such as gypsum (CaSO4) as a Ca source. Management of either condition requires proper identification of soil conditions in addition to good management of the irrigation water applied to the field in question.
The quality of the irrigation water being used is often a primary source of the soluble salts being applied to the field. Irrigation waters with ECw values of 0.7 to 3.0 dS/m may pose slight restrictions in use, with severe limitations being associated with waters having ECw values > 3.0 dS/m.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, James A. Christenson, Director Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.
Any products, services, or organizations that are
mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this web document do not imply
endorsement by The University of Arizona.
Information provided by Jeffrey C. Silvertooth, [email protected]
Extension Agronomist - Cotton, College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona.
Material written February 2001.
Crop Mgmt | Soil Mgmt | Irrigation | Varieties | Cotton Comments
Home | Cotton | Advisories
document located at: http://cals.arizona.edu/crops/cotton/soilmgt/saline_solid_soil.html
Copyright © 2001 University of Arizona,
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Webmaster: Al Fournier ([email protected]) | <urn:uuid:5d6ba6d4-1ebf-4c40-b208-a73cd634c3ea> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ag.arizona.edu/crops/cotton/soilmgt/saline_sodic_soil.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922647 | 1,087 | 3.328125 | 3 |
During the mid-1950s, thirty-six obsolescent B-50Ds were stripped of their armament and equipped for long-range weather reconnaissance missions using meteorological equipment such as high-altitude atmospheric samplers, doppler radar, and weather radar. A bomb bay fuel tank was provided for extended range. These conversions were designated WB-50D. They were intended to replace weary WB-29s which were beginning to suffer from extensive corrosion.
The modification contract was assigned to the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. The WB-50D carried improved equipment and instrumentation to adapt it to the weather mission. This included the AN/APN-82 Automatic Navigator, which was a radar navigation device capable of measuring drift and ground speed, the ANQ-7 temperature humidity indicator, the ML-313 Psychrometer, and improved altimeters and flight indicators. The new equipment proved more difficult to install than expected, and Lockheed could not meet the original schedules.
The first modified WB-50D flew on August 20, 1955, and the first example was delivered to the Air Weather Service in November of that year. Many WB-50Ds also had an air sampling system installed with a distinctive scoop mounted on the top aft part of the fuselage. This was used for weather data gathering, but it was also used to measure airboarne radioactive fallout after above-ground nuclear tests conducted by other countries.
The WB-50Ds served for a much longer period than expected. In 1960, after several fuel cells failed in flight, 28 WB-50Ds were temporarily grounded until the problem could be corrected. In the event, most WB-50Ds were retrofitted with new or surplus fuel cells. One WB-50D (49-310) was given the temporary designation of JB-50D while being used for experimental work.
WB-50Ds continued to serve into the 1960s. Phaseout of the WB-50D began in late 1963. The last WB-50D (49-310) was retired in 1967.
48-073/082 Boeing B-50D-85-BO Superfortress c/n 15882/15891 073 modified as WB-50D weather recon aircraft. 48-0103/0112 Boeing B-50D-100-BO Superfortress c/n 15912/15921 105,108 modified as WB-50D weather recon aircraft. 48-0113/0127 Boeing B-50D-105-BO Superfortress c/n 15994/16008 113,116,121,124 modified as WB-50D weather recon aircraft. 49-0260/0292 Boeing B-50D-110-BO Superfortress c/n 16036/16068 260,261,264,266,281,284/288,291 converted to WB-50D weather recon aircraft. 49-0293/0325 Boeing B-50D-115-BO Superfortress c/n 16069/16101 296,298,300,302,304,310,311,313,324 converted to WB-50D weather recon aircraft. WB-50D #49-310 temporarily designated JB-50D while used for experimental work. 49-0310 is on display at WPAFB Museum. 49-0326/0358 Boeing B-50D-120-BO Superfortress c/n 16102/16134 0332,0333,0337,0341,0345,0351 converted to WB-50D weather recon aircraft. 49-0359/0391 Boeing B-50D-125-BO Superfortress c/n 16135/16167 0371 and 0375 converted to WB-50D weather recon aircraft. | <urn:uuid:87aea743-a31c-4977-b7f7-c581b26f53aa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b50_7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94775 | 780 | 3.296875 | 3 |
- This article is about the country "Thrace" and its people. For a list of Thracian characters, see Thracian (category list). For the gladiator class based on this race, see Thraex.
Thrace is the homeland of Spartacus and Sura, as well as Drenis and Byzo. It is a country filled with multiple villages of what Romans would consider barbarians, living in their own communities without larger cities. One is who is from Thrace is often called a Thracian, which later becomes a nickname for Spartacus himself. The specific location of the homeland of the Thracian tribe of the Maedi, Spartacus' people, is found in the modern Bulgarian Blagoevgrad Province, along the banks of the the Strymon River between Rupel Pass and Kresna Gorge. Thrace, in the lifetime of Spartacus, was divided into several tribal kingdoms that arose from the division of the old Odrysian Kingdom under the Sapaean and Astean dynasties. All these kingdoms, given their proximity to the Roman Province of Macedonia, were clients of the Republic of Rome, and would frequently supply contingents of warriors to fight in the Roman Auxilia.
In the 270's BCE, an army of Gauls of Boii and Volcae extraction, known as the Aegosage tribe, were defeated in a war with the Macedonian King Antigonos II Gonatas. After their defeat at the Battle of Lysamachia in 277 BCE, many retreated inland in Thrace, where, under kingship of a chieftain named Comontorius, established a settlement east of the Haemus Mountains that would become the centre of the Kingdom of Tylis, in what is now the Stara Zagora Province in south-central Bulgaria. This Celto-Thracian state survived until 212 BCE, when it destroyed during the reign of King Cavarus in a raid by neighbouring Thracian tribes.
- Unnamed Thracian, later given the name Spartacus
- Spartacus and Ilithyia's son (half-Roman)
- Thracian Elder | <urn:uuid:bc9fb3cf-da6c-4fd9-899e-a02947f56868> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://spartacus.wikia.com/wiki/Thrace | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00048-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9688 | 447 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Trick, William E. MD; Linn, Edward S. MD; Jones, Zina RN; Caquelin, Clay; Kee, Romina MD, MPH; Morita, Julia Y. MD
Infection by Bordetella pertussis is common and has increased over the past several decades.1 These infections result in substantial morbidity for adults2 and can be catastrophic for infants.3,4 In the United States, most pertussis-related deaths occur among infants younger than 12 months of age,1 and most of these deaths occur before 6 months of age. Commonly, the source of infection is a close personal contact,5 with mothers being the most frequent identifiable source.6 Infants do not complete their tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) primary immunization series until 6 months of age; therefore, they remain susceptible to pertussis infection during early infancy. Because newborns have no protective immunity and because the Tdap booster vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection and subsequent transmission among adults and adolescents,7 the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices recommends immediate postpartum vaccination for previously unvaccinated women.1 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists8 supports these guidelines; however, vaccination strategies need to be developed.9 Despite an effective vaccine and support of Tdap vaccination by most obstetricians,10 at our hospital, previously unvaccinated postpartum women did not routinely receive Tdap vaccine.
One alternative to postpartum Tdap vaccination is to administer the vaccine to women of childbearing age during routine clinic visits; however, many young adult women do not receive routine medical care or do not have a primary care provider.11 For those who receive medical care during their pregnancy, Tdap vaccination during pregnancy has not been recommended as a result of a lack of data regarding vaccine safety1 and concerns that transplacental maternal antibody might blunt an infant's immune response to subsequent pertussis vaccinations.12,13 At our hospital, after an educational campaign directed at clinicians and nurses failed to increase postpartum Tdap vaccination, we implemented a computer-based decision support intervention modeled after an intervention we used to increase influenza vaccination among medical inpatients.14 We present the algorithm used for our computer-based decision support strategy and the results from our evaluation of the effectiveness of our intervention in increasing Tdap vaccination among postpartum women.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We performed a before and after study of postpartum women hospitalized at Stroger Hospital (formerly Cook County Hospital), a 464-bed, public teaching hospital located in the city of Chicago. We activated the decision-support algorithm on January 15, 2009; the preintervention period was during October 1, 2008, through January 14, 2009; the postintervention period was during January 15, 2009, through April 30, 2009. We included all postpartum women except those whose hospitalization overlapped the intervention initiation date. Our project was determined to be exempt from review by Stroger Hospital's Institutional Review Board.
Computer-based clinical decision support systems are applications incorporated into the hospital's information system; the system uses information in the electronic medical record to provide logic-based diagnostic or therapeutic guidance to clinicians. At our hospital, implementation of computer-based decision-support algorithms requires approval by the decision support committee, which is run by a physician informaticist in collaboration with the Information System Department. The clinical logic for the algorithm is discussed with a hospital informaticist who translates the logic into the separate rules that comprise the algorithm. Components of algorithm development include three separate domains as follows: 1) conditions (ie, inclusion and exclusion criteria); 2) one or more triggers, which activate the rule meant to change the physician's behavior (eg, ordering Tdap) if conditions are satisfied; and 3) the electronic method for realizing the change in physician behavior (eg, alert messages or preselected orders). Decisions for these components are informed through prior experience, literature review, and discussions with content experts (in this case, obstetricians and labor and delivery nurses).
The conditions for our algorithm were female 14–45 years of age (inclusive) and, to prevent vaccination of pregnant women before delivery, receipt of oxytocin during the current admission. In Illinois, postpartum women have the capacity to make medical decisions without parental consent regardless of age. Exclusion criteria were a prior electronic order for Tdap vaccine or tetanus–diphtheria (Td) vaccination within 2 years or phenytoin during the current admission. The trigger for display of the preselected Tdap order was iron supplementation (eg, ferrous sulfate or ferrous gluconate), because it routinely was prescribed after delivery. Because we recognized that not all women received iron and some were prescribed iron before oxytocin, on February 9, 2009, we included the discharge patient order as a second order display trigger. The logic for our algorithm is displayed in Figure 1.
If criteria were met, at the time a physician entered an order for iron supplementation, a dialogue box was displayed that contained a preselected order for Tdap vaccination that read “Tdap vaccination is recommended for postpartum mothers. An order for Tdap will be generated and sent to Pharmacy and Nursing unless you deselect the order below. If the patient has previously received this vaccine (Tdap), there is no need to repeat administration of the vaccine.” Typically, postpartum orders are entered by housestaff. Unless the physician actively deselected the order, the order was electronically sent to the pharmacy and nurse's electronic medication administration record. Physicians were educated about the decision support intervention during grand rounds and encouraged to comment on the algorithm's rules. Nursing leadership was instrumental in development of the algorithm and educating labor and delivery nurses about the intervention. Because it was not possible to search electronic records for prior vaccination at other healthcare facilities, physicians and nurses were instructed to inquire about a woman's vaccination history. For patients who could not recall their vaccine history, we recommended that they receive the Tdap vaccine. Women who reported a prior allergic reaction to Td or Tdap vaccine or a recent neurologic event, inclusive of a seizure, were not to receive the vaccine. We used the decision support system available through our hospital's information system (Cerner, Inc, Kansas City, MO).
We obtained data on participants' characteristics (eg, age and race and ethnicity group) and vaccine ordering and receipt through manual review of the electronic medical record and queries of data warehouses maintained by our hospital's information system and Department of Medicine.14 Nurses were instructed to document reasons for failure to administer the vaccine in the electronic medical record. Using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification codes stored in the data warehouse (74.0, 74.1, 74.2, 74.4, V27.0, V27.1, V27.3, and V27.5), we identified a cohort of postpartum women. We joined pharmacy (ie, iron supplementation, oxytocin, phenytoin, Tdap orders and administration) and demographic data.
Our primary outcome was receipt of Tdap vaccination preintervention and postintervention. To estimate the sample size needed, we assumed a baseline vaccination rate of 5% (we expected a preintervention vaccination rate between 0% and 5%) and considered a 20% absolute increase in the rate of vaccination as clinically meaningful. After setting two-tailed α=.05 and power=.8, we needed to collect data on 49 women from each time period. Because we also wanted to evaluate patient characteristics associated with vaccination, we exceeded the requisite sample size and sampled all patients during an equivalent time period before and after we implemented the intervention.
We created indicator variables for characteristics that had multiple categories such as race and ethnicity classifications. To explore the association between age and Tdap administration, we generated graphic representations of the data through locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (lowess) methods.15 After observing a reduced likelihood of vaccination with increasing age, we further explored the association between receipt of Tdap and age by creating quartiles of age categories using the distribution of age in our data set. Then, the association between Tdap vaccination and the ordered age quartiles (ie, youngest to oldest) was evaluated using a nonparametric test for trend.16
We compared categorical variables using the chi square test. We compared continuous variables using Student t test; we report the two-tailed P values. We used the statistical software package Stata 10.1 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX).
We evaluated 431 women, 183 from the preintervention and 248 from the postintervention periods. In comparing the two periods, women were similar in age, race and ethnicity, method of delivery, and length of stay; the rate of births per day was higher during the postintervention period (Table 1). Among 248 women admitted postintervention, most (238 [96%]) met the pharmacy condition for rule activation (ie, oxytocin order) and for most (93%) women who had an oxytocin order, there also was an order for iron supplementation (Fig. 2). Among the 222 women who met pharmacy conditions for the electronic Tdap vaccine order, for 180 (81%), the physician accepted the order (Fig. 2). There were 16 women who had an oxytocin order, but no pharmacy order for iron supplementation; only one (6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0–30%) of these women had a Tdap vaccine order placed (Fig. 2).
Overall, compared with the preintervention period, vaccine was ordered (73% compared with 0%; difference=73%; 95% CI 67–79%) and administered (59% compared with 0%; difference=59%; 95% CI 53–65%) dramatically more often during the postintervention period (Fig. 2). The increased rate of vaccination only was apparent for women who met pharmacy criteria for activation of the decision support rule (146 of 222 [66%] compared with 1 of 26 [4%]; difference=62%; 95% CI 52–72%); therefore, the intervention effect was unlikely to be the result of a time-dependent factor other than our intervention (Table 2). Compared with the first 4 weeks postintervention, vaccination coverage during the final 4 weeks was equivalent (difference=0%; P=.96). Physicians were equally likely to deselect the Tdap order during the first 4 weeks compared with the final 4 weeks (13 of 56 [23%] compared with eight of 41 [19%]; P=.66). Reasons for failure to vaccinate after a Tdap order had been placed (n=34) included patient refusal (n=30), prior vaccination (n=2), and reported allergy (n=1); one patient likely had been vaccinated but without appropriate nursing documentation of vaccination because the order comment included the lot number and expiration date.
When we evaluated patient-level factors associated with a Tdap vaccine order, we found that the likelihood of vaccination was lower among women in older age categories; however, this finding was of borderline statistical significance and may have been the result of chance (Table 2). We found no differences in the frequency of vaccination for vaginal compared with cesarean delivery or African-American women compared with women of other race or ethnicity classification (58% compared with 62%, P=.55).
Use of a computer-based clinical decision-support algorithm dramatically increased Tdap vaccination of women during their postpartum hospitalization. The increased frequency of vaccination was evident irrespective of race and ethnicity, method of delivery, and across all ages. Because we performed an effectiveness evaluation (ie, all postpartum patients were analyzed and our unfunded intervention only used existing personnel), our strategy should be exportable to hospitals that have computer-based decision support systems.
Before opting to use a computer-based intervention, we attempted to increase the rate of vaccination through educational interventions directed at both physicians and nurses; our relatively low-intensity educational efforts failed to increase Tdap vaccination rates. One option would have been to intensify our educational efforts to providers and expand the intervention to patients; however, because we previously had failed to increase inpatient influenza vaccination of general medicine patients through an intensive provider and patient educational program,14 we opted to develop a computer-based decision-support algorithm. We considered other system-directed options for increasing Tdap vaccination such as implementing a standing orders policy or a postpartum order set inclusive of Tdap vaccination. We did not choose a paper-based standing orders policies because this strategy was ineffective at increasing influenza vaccination at our hospital and during a separate multicenter evaluation.14,17 Also, prior implementation of a paper-based standing orders policy required substantial effort to educate nurses and inform potential vaccines.18 Similar to a standing orders policy, the intent of our computer-based decision-support algorithm was to facilitate vaccination of all postpartum women.
In a separate evaluation, Healy et al19 used standing orders to increase postpartum Tdap vaccination and achieved a vaccination rate that exceeded ours (72% compared with 59%); their success provides a model for institutions that have the resources to implement and sustain intensive provider, nurse, and patient education. In contrast, our computer-facilitated intervention allows for the maintenance of a vaccination intervention with minimal ongoing effort and cost. Interventions such as our Tdap decision support rule are one of the criteria specified by the Department of Health and Human Services in their interim final rule for health systems to demonstrate meaningful use of electronic health record technology.
Subsequent to our evaluation, we made changes to the algorithm to increase the sensitivity of detecting postpartum women. In particular, we added the following additional pharmacy triggers for display of the preselected order: receipt of a stool softener (ie, docusate or citric acid–sodium citrate), phytonadione, or acetaminophen–oxycodone. During our project, these triggers would have resulted in display of the Tdap order for an additional 13 of the 16 women who were not prescribed iron.
To minimize the likelihood of inappropriately vaccinating pregnant women, we emphasized specificity during algorithm development. Oxytocin was chosen as a highly sensitive yet specific criterion (ie, most postpartum women receive oxytocin and with near certainty, use of oxytocin is restricted to women during labor or immediately postpartum). Because we did not want to vaccinate women during labor, we chose a medication other than oxytocin for display of the preselected Tdap order (ie, iron supplementation). Iron is unlikely to be prescribed after an oxytocin order and before delivery (ie, during labor). Because Tdap vaccination is contraindicated for patients who have an unstable neurologic condition, an order for phenytoin during their current hospitalization blocked activation of the order; this rule excluded a single woman. A limitation of our electronic system, and for many paper-based systems, is that women might have received Tdap or Td vaccination outside of our system; therefore, we advised nurses and physicians to screen women for prior Tdap or Td vaccination or adverse reactions to Tdap before vaccine administration. Adverse reactions after Tdap vaccination are similar to those reported for the Td vaccine, most commonly pain at the injection site; serious adverse reactions occurred in less than 2% of vaccine recipients.7 During our study, we received no reports of adverse reactions resulting from Tdap vaccination.
The decision to use a pharmacy trigger (ie, iron supplementation) for display of the Tdap order was influenced by the challenges we identified during implementation of our influenza vaccination algorithm for which we used the patient discharge order.18 We believe that many failures to administer influenza vaccine were the result of the relatively short time between the discharge order and the patient's departure. For the Tdap vaccination algorithm, we were particularly concerned about the competing priorities navigated by nurses when discharging a postpartum woman; therefore, we selected a trigger that occurred earlier in the hospitalization. Although we included the discharge order as a backup trigger for women who had not been prescribed iron, only one additional woman was vaccinated. From other reports and our prior experience, we opted to present a preselected order to physicians, which minimizes their effort in accepting the order.20
The only patient factor associated with Tdap vaccine receipt was that older women were less likely to be vaccinated. This finding may have been the result of chance and needs validation in other studies. Also, because we did not interview patients, specific reasons why older women refused vaccination are unknown and elucidating these reasons would require a focused investigation.
Limitations of our findings include that generalizability is constrained by the need for an institution to have a computer decision support system; however, we expect that recent financial incentives to increase and improve electronic systems in healthcare settings will result in substantial changes.21 After installation, computer decision support systems hold promise to significantly improve other preventive interventions for hospitalized patients.22 In other hospitals such as smaller community hospitals or hospitals with sufficient personnel resources, standing orders policies and educational interventions might be as effective as our decision support strategy without the requirement for computer-based decision support systems.19,23
We observed early, dramatic, and sustained success with our computer-based decision support system strategy to increase maternal postpartum Tdap vaccination. Automated computer-based intervention strategies can dramatically improve processes of patient care such as Tdap vaccination with minimal intramural or extramural financial support. Hospitals that have comparable information system functionality should have similar success through exact reproduction or local adaptation of our algorithm.
1. Murphy TV, Slade BA, Broder KR, Kretsinger K, Tiwari T, Joyce PM. Prevention of pertussis, tetanus, and diphtheria among pregnant and postpartum women and their infants recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) [published erratum appears in MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2008;57:723]. MMWR Recomm Rep 2008;57:1–47.
2. Lee GM, Lett S, Schauer S, LeBaron C, Murphy TV, Rusinak D, et al. Societal costs and morbidity of pertussis in adolescents and adults. Clin Infect Dis 2004;39:1572–80.
3. Cortese MM, Baughman AL, Zhang R, Srivastava PU, Wallace GS. Pertussis hospitalizations among infants in the United States, 1993 to 2004. Pediatrics 2008;121:484–92.
4. Tanaka M, Vitek CR, Pascual FB, Bisgard KM, Tate JE, Murphy TV. Trends in pertussis among infants in the United States, 1980–1999. JAMA 2003;290:2968–75.
5. Kowalzik F, Barbosa AP, Fernandes VR, Carvalho PR, Avila-Aguero ML, Goh DY, et al. Prospective multinational study of pertussis infection in hospitalized infants and their household contacts. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2007;26:238–42.
6. Bisgard KM, Pascual FB, Ehresmann KR, Miller CA, Cianfrini C, Jennings CE, et al. Infant pertussis: who was the source? Pediatr Infect Dis J 2004;23:985–9.
7. Kretsinger K, Broder KR, Cortese MM, Joyce MP, Ortega-Sanchez I, Lee GM, et al. Preventing tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis among adults: use of tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccine recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and recommendation of ACIP, supported by the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), for use of Tdap among health-care personnel. MMWR Recomm Rep 2006;55:1–37.
8. Update on immunization and pregnancy: tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccination. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 438. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2009;114:298–400.
9. Gerbie MV, Tan TQ. Pertussis disease in new mothers: effect on young infants and strategies for prevention. Obstet Gynecol 2009;113:399–401.
10. Clark SJ, Adolphe S, Davis MM, Cowan AE, Kretsinger K. Attitudes of US obstetricians toward a combined tetanus– diphtheria–acellular pertussis vaccine for adults. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol 2006;2006:87040.
11. Callahan ST, Cooper WO. Uninsurance and health care access among young adults in the United States. Pediatrics 2005;116:88–95.
12. Bjorkholm B, Granstrom M, Taranger J, Wahl M, Hagberg L. Influence of high titers of maternal antibody on the serologic response of infants to diphtheria vaccination at three, five and twelve months of age. Pediatr Infect Dis J 1995;14:846–50.
13. Siegrist CA. Mechanisms by which maternal antibodies influence infant vaccine responses: review of hypotheses and definition of main determinants. Vaccine 2003;21:3406–12.
14. Gerard M, Trick WE, Das K, Charles-Damte M, Murphy G, Benson IM. Use of clinical decision support to increase influenza vaccination: multi-year evolution of the system. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2008;15:776–9.
15. Hamilton LC. Statistics with Stata (updated for version 10). Belmont (CA): Cengage; 2009.
16. Cuzick J. A Wilcoxon-type test for trend. Stat Med 1985;4:87–90.
17. Winston CA, Lindley MC, Wortley PM. Lessons learned from inpatient vaccination in Michigan. Am J Med Qual 2006;21:125–33.
18. Trick WE, Das K, Gerard MN, Charles-Damte M, Murphy G, Benson I, et al. Clinical trial of standing-orders strategies to increase the inpatient influenza vaccination rate. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2009;30:86–8.
19. Healy CM, Rench MA, Castagnini LA, Baker CJ. Pertussis immunization in a high-risk postpartum population. Vaccine 2009;27:5599–602.
20. Dexter PR, Perkins SM, Maharry KS, Jones K, McDonald CJ. Inpatient computer-based standing orders vs physician reminders to increase influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates: a randomized trial. JAMA 2004;292:2366–71.
21. Blumenthal D. Stimulating the adoption of health information technology. N Engl J Med 2009;360:1477–9.
22. Overhage JM, Tierney WM, McDonald CJ. Computer reminders to implement preventive care guidelines for hospitalized patients. Arch Intern Med 1996;156:1551–6.
23. Crouse BJ, Nichol K, Peterson DC, Grimm MB. Hospital-based strategies for improving influenza vaccination rates. J Fam Pract 1994;38:258–61.
© 2010 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. | <urn:uuid:ac5fbe41-ce34-427d-b2f2-bd462faf405b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2010/07000/Using_Computer_Decision_Support_to_Increase.10.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926265 | 4,925 | 2.890625 | 3 |
August 01, 2011
A Survey of World War I Resources in the Special Collections Research Center
“The centennial of World War I offers an opportunity for people in the United States to learn about the sacrifices of their predecessors.” World War I Memorial and Centennial Act of 2009
As the centennial observation of World War I approaches, The Special Collections Research Center joins Cleveland area Archivists in reviewing their holdings to highlight material documenting this era in history. Some of our collections consist entirely of records related to the Great War, others contain material reflecting wartime service or general interest in the war incorporated in personal papers. Still other material, ephemeral in nature, has come to us as part of the practice of retaining once-circulating library materials in the Special Collections Research Center to prolong their use.
Collections related entirely to World War I include the Benedict Crowell Papers, The Charles G. Abbott Papers and the Thomas Slavin gift of Underwood & Underwood photographs. This last collection, still in process, consists of 50 images taken by commercial photographers Underwood & Underwood for distribution to news-bureaus during World War I.
Interesting World War I era records can be found as part of larger collections. The Charles F. Brush, Sr. Papers include correspondence between Brush and family members in service during the war and touch on subjects close to home such as Liberty Bond drives, the YMCA presence in Camp Sherman, Ohio, and victory celebrations.
The Fred H. Colvin Collection contains records relating to his wartime service as an efficiency expert. A life long student of the machine tool industry, Colvin identified and helped eradicate the waste inherent in U.S. manufacturing plants converted hastily to war time production.
Fred H. Colvin Collection. Photographs. Description in Colvin’s hand: "Taken in Winchester Army Co. New Haven, July, 1917. Men waiting for Army to decide details on Springfield Rifle.”
The Hugh S. Cooper Papers and The Warner and Swasey Collection also contain small but significant amounts of World War I material. Typical of much of the material acquired from the former Case Archive of Contemporary Science and Technology, the creation dates of these collections span the first fifty years of the 20th century. Their creators were either involved in industries that were awarded military contracts or they served in uniform or as military advisers during the war.
The principle source of World War I ephemera deposited in The Special Collections Research Center has been our predecessor institutions – the libraries at Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology prior to Federation. One such example can be found in The Kelvin Smith Library Manuscript Collection and consists of a small but arresting set of French Army trench newspapers given to the Library of Western Reserve University by Kate Hanna and Perry Williams Harvey. Consisting of 15 handwritten and typeset pages dating from 1915 to 1917, they were created by French Army soldiers serving in the trenches to circulate news, advice and jokes amongst themselves. There are seven titles represented by single issues; Le Canard Enchaine, Le 120 Court, Le Croissant, Le Diable au Cor, L’Echo des Guitoines, L"Echo des Tranchees, and Le Gafouilleur.
Happily, we have already overseen the use of another group of ephemeral items through the annual Future Connections Program which brings Cleveland area High School Juniors to explore career opportunities in the field of information and library science at the Kelvin Smith Library. The Special Collections Research Center joined other library departments to offer the interns hands-on experience in our workplace. For their work with us, Future Connections interns learned a popular method of providing access to Special Collections materials.
Ephemeral item selected and researched by Future Connections intern Jhane Sims, June, 2011.
The project required interns to select, scan, describe and design a poster exhibit of ephemeral materials related to World War I. Their selections were made entirely from United States Food Administration pamphlets and broadsides published in 1917 and 1918. These publications were widely distributed during the war years to promote food and fuel conservation in the home to help America win the war. During a current processing project we identified this material as having come from the Library of the Case Institute of Technology.
Interns created posters using their own creativity along with skills acquired in workshops, lectures, tours, and hands on training provided by several Kelvin Smith Library departments and area cultural institutions. The posters, accompanied by a brief talk given by each intern, were presented to the staff of the Kelvin Smith Library and invited guests a recognition luncheon on July 7, 2011.
Future Connections interns at the end of their visit to the Dittrick Medical History Center in the Allen Memorial Library, June, 2011.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information about World War I materials in the Special Collections Research Center, or our 2011 Future Connections Internship project.
Posted by exo2 at August 1, 2011 01:21 AM
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Albert Bartlett - An Exponentialist View
Some Wikipedia Links Related to Human Global Ecophagy:
Human Global Ecophagy
(Or, How Quickly Can Humans Consume the Earth?)
"Civilised populations have been known under favourable conditions, as in the United States, to double their numbers in twenty-five years; and, according to a calculation, by Euler, this might occur in a little over twelve years. (57. See the ever memorable 'Essay on the Principle of Population,' by the Rev. T. Malthus, vol. i. 1826. pp. 6, 517.) At the former rate, the present population of the United States (thirty millions), would in 657 years cover the whole terraqueous globe so thickly, that four men would have to stand on each square yard of surface." Darwin, Descent Of Man (1871), with reference to Malthus' 25 year doubling time for the population of the United States Of America (citing the 6th edition of Malthus' essay, written in 1826)
Note: This page is best printed in landscape and in colour.
If humanity remains on Earth alone and we continue to sustain positive rates of population growth then the human population would become so vast and densely packed that it would outweigh the Earth in just a few thousand years at modest rates of population growth. Over time, the material of the Earth would effectively have to be converted into human flesh. The sphere upon we which live would be reduced as the fleshy outer layer of humans increased. This would have to be the ultimate Malthusian Catastrophe scenario.
This is, of course, a plainly silly scenario. Hopefully we will instead learn to "live of the land" throughout the solar system and beyond. Even if we didn't, then Malthusian population collapse is a far more likely and grim scenario than an ever increasing human population that consumes the Earth. Of course, a more hopeful scenario than a Malthusian Catastrophe (if we remain on Earth) is that we actually learn to live sustainably. Time will tell just how "hopeful" this last scenario is, given the constant tendency of national governments to promote population growth rather than restrain it. Personally, I find this last option - although more hopeful than a Malthusian Catastrophe - somewhat sad as all the future possibilities of our species are restricted to just the Earth.
Nonetheless, I hope it proves salutary to calculate the speed of a hypothetical global ecophagy by a growing human population. To do so I've assumed variable annual rates of growth between 1% and 2% (inclusive) as representative of recent human population growth.
Note that the term ecophagy was introduced by Robert Freitas Jr in relation to what is commonly referred to as the "grey goo" problem (Freitas, 2000).
Thomas Robert Malthus was one of the first and most influential writers on the problem of overpopulation, and he included a scenario on the global arena of the Earth (Malthus, 1798):
"But to make the argument more general and less interrupted by the partial views of emigration, let us take the whole earth, instead of one spot, and suppose that the restraints to population were universally removed. If the subsistence for man that the earth affords was to be increased every twenty-five years by a quantity equal to what the whole world at present produces, this would allow the power of production in the earth to be absolutely unlimited, and its ratio of increase much grater than we can conceive that any possible exertions of mankind could make it." Taking the population of the world at any number, a thousand millions for instance, the human species would increase in the ratio of - 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, etc. and subsistence as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. In two centuries and a quarter, the population would be to the means of subsistence as 512 to 10: in three centuries as 4096 to 13, and in two thousand years the difference would be almost incalculable, though the produce in that time would have increased to an immense extent."
The Exponentialist view is that Malthus presented a flawed argument based on the premises that population grows geometrically (exponentially) and food grows arithmetically (linearly). To simplify his argument, Malthus assumed constant rates of growth. Instead, it the Exponentialist position is that food grows exponentially as does population, and that both do so via variable rates of growth. See Reverend Thomas Malthus - An Exponentialist View for more.
For an analysis of more recent warnings on global human population catastrophe by well known authors see my articles Paul R. Erhlich and the Prophets of Doom - An Exponentialist View and Albert Bartlett - An Exponentialist View. These articles also include an analysis and rebuttal of counter arguments by Cornucopians Julian Simon and Ronald Bailey to the essentially Malthusian arguments of Ehrlich and Bartlett respectively. In essence, Malthusian arguments are seen to naively rely on a (positive) constant or fixed rate of growth to illustrate their point about the unsustainability of human population growth. This is a weakness in the argument exploited by Cornucopians who then fail to realise (also naively) that variable rates of growth are just as unstainable and just as powerful as constant rates of growth.
Using the Rule of 70 the time it takes a population to double is 70 years if the annual growth rate is a constant 1%, and 35 years if the annual growth is a constant 2%. The global human population doubled from 3 billion in 1960 to 6 billion in 1999. This entailed variable annual growth rates which were mostly between 1% and 2%. Note therefore that variable rates lead to variable double periods, and that these double periods are comparable to those for constant growth rates.
For more on the population doubling read my article on The Mechanism of Population Doubling.
Eating the Earth
So how quickly would humanity outweigh the Earth? Never mind whether we should, or whether we can. The important thing is to understand the speed at which a human population could outweigh the Earth. In 1974 science-fiction author Isaac Asimov asked the same question. His assumptions were (Asimov, 1974 , p.58):
His answer was not quite 1,600 years (Asimov, 1974 , p.58). Asimov also calculated that, if the growth rate remained constant at 2% per annum, then the human population would outweigh the entire solar system (including the sun) by 4,220 A.D. and by 6,700 A.D. our population would outweigh the weight of the known universe (Asimov, 1974 , p.58). For another Isaac Asimov example, see Isaac Asimov - An Exponentialist View for more.
Here's my own calculation, with my own assumptions including heavier people and variable growth rates (using the Rule of 70):
|Global Human Population||Weight of Global Human Population (kg)||Square metres of land per person||People per square metre of land||
Years elapsed assuming
Doubling Period = 70 years (1% growth rate
|Years elapsed assuming Doubling Period = 35 years (2% growth rate)|
Note: Earth - total land area = 148,940,000,000 m2
|510,072,000,000||Note: Earth - total surface area = 510,072,000,000 m2||0.29||3.42|
|5,980,000,000,000,000,000,000,000||Weight of the Earth (kg)|
Assumptions / Notes:
Humanity would outweigh the Earth somewhere between 3,080 years and 3,150 years at a growth rate of 1% and between 1,540 years and 1,575 years at a growth rate of 2%. Roughly speaking then, humanity will outweigh the Earth between a lower limit of 1,500 years and an upper limit of 3,150 years. This is true of any constant rate of growth between 1 and 2% per annum (inclusive). It is also true if the growth rate varies from year to year within these upper and lower growth rates (inclusive). In fact, even if we assumed lighter human beings with an average weight of 65 kg then humanity would still outweigh the Earth within the same time bracket at any variable growth rates between 1% and 2% (inclusive). The closer our global human population's annual growth rate is to 2% over time then the closer we are to the lower limit of roughly 1,500 years before human global ecophagy. If we exceed an average growth rate of 2% then it will happen even sooner.
By comparison, you might also like to read about another nightmare scenario in which "grey goo" (comprised of theoretical self-replicating molecular nanotechnology assemblers ) consumes the Earth within just two days (see Grey Goo - An Exponentialist View).
A Surface Layer of Humanity
Of course there are other considerations that I've ignored for simplicity's sake above. Something would have to give - in terms of catastrophic population collapse - long before the timeframes described above.
Imagine human population density rising so that in roughly only 200 to 400 years (depending upon the growth rate) there is exactly one person per square metre of land. This is much like the scenario described in John Brunner's 1968 science-fiction novel Stand On Zanzibar. Set in 2010 with a remarkably accurate estimated world population of 7 billion, through the title of the novel Brunner asks his readers to imagine them all packed shoulder to shoulder onto the island of Zanzibar (area 1554 km2), though in the novel this scenario is not actually the case.
As indicated in the table above (assuming variable growth rates between 1% and 2%) , human population density would rise to such an extent that there would be one person per square metre of the total Earth's surface (land and water areas combine) in roughly 250 to 550 years - that's 510,072,000,000 people - over half a trillion people. We would have to live in even taller and more extensive high-rise buildings than we do now, dig deep caverns into the Earth, or live under the oceans in domed cities, or do all of these things.Robert Silverberg's The World Inside imagined Urban Monad 116 - this is a two mile high skyscraper housing around 800,000 people, and just one of many such buildings. The novel is set in 2381 with a global population of 75 billion people, and a society that has actively encouraged human reproduction.
Carl Sagan thinks that few people believe that the Earth could sustain a global population of even 48 billion (Sagan, 1997, p.20):
"At present there are around 6 billion humans. In 40 years, if the doubling time stays constant, there will be 12 billion; in 80 years, 24 billion; in 120 years, 48 billion. . . . But few believe the Earth can support so many people."
Yet Cornucopians such as Robert Zubrin attempt to deny the concept of limits to growth (or "finitude") and believe that we could increase our population a thousandfold from 6 billion to 6 trillion (Zubrin, 2012, pp.123-124). At this population there would be 6,000,000,000,000 / 148,940,000,000 m2 = 40 people per square metre (rounded down) of the Earth's entire land surface. How quickly might that occur? At modest annual growth rates between 1% and 2% per annum, a 1,024 fold increase in the global human population would occur in just 350 to 700 years. See Carl Sagan - The Secrets of the Universe for more.
For a localised example, take the population of the USA rounded down to 300 million. After just 10 population doublings that's 2 to the power of 10 (=1024) times 300 million = 307,200 billion Americans. At a 1% growth rate population doubling occurs in about 700 years and at 2% just 350 years. The USA has a land area of 9,826,675 square km. Today the population density of the USA is about 31 people per square km. After 10 population doublings the population density of the USA will be over 31,241 people per square km. After10 more population doublings 31,241 people x 1024 = 31,990,784 Americans per square km. After 10 more population doublings 31,990,784 x 1024 = 32,758,562,816 Americans per square km. That's just 30 population doublings...that's over 109 times the current population of the USA for each square km of land in the USA. 30 population doublings...could be as quick as 1,050 years (at 2% per annum) or 2,100 years at slow 1% per annum.
Eventually, between 1,575 years to 3,150 years from now, it would no longer be appropriate to average the human population over a two-dimensional surface. With over two hundred billion people per square metre of the total Earth's surface area (105,553,116,266,496,000,000,000 people / 510,072,000,000 m2 = 206,937,679,909), we would be living in a third dimension of humanity of kilometres thick. This is why we can confidently predict that sustained population growth between 1% and 2% (inclusive) will lead to a Malthusian Catastrophe long before the 1,575 years to 3,150 years timeframe described above.
Zero Sum Game
Darwin realised that the "struggle for existence" on Earth is a zero sum game, with expansion one population being at the expense of another population with his concept of what I call Darwin's wedge (Darwin, 1859, pp 117-119):
"In looking at Nature, it is most necessary to keep the foregoing considerations in mind - never to forget that every single organic being around us may be said to be striving to the utmost to increase in numbers; that each lives by a struggle at some period of its life; that heavy destruction inevitably falls either on the young or old, during each generation or at recurrent intervals. Lighten any check, mitigate the destruction ever so little, and the number of the species will almost instantaneously increase to any amount. The face of Nature may be compared to a yielding surface, with ten thousand sharp wedges packed close together and driven inwards by incessant blows, sometimes one wedge being struck, and then another with greater force."
Asimov gives a more recent example of a similar argument. Taking into account the fact that the fixed amount of solar radiation hitting the earth supports an estimated 200 million tons of biomass on Earth, he argued that (Asimov, 1974 , p.208):
"Every time the human population increases in mass by one ton, the mass of non-human animal life must decrease by one ton to make room."
With a population doubling rate of 47 years Asimov calculated humanity would replace the entire biomass in just 624 years. In other words, the total Earth biomass would be composed entirely of humans in 624 years time.
Asimov's Bathroom Metaphor
Cornucopians (for example Julian Simon, Ronald Bailey and Robert Zubrin), self-proclaimed techno-optimists (James Trefil) and others continue to refute various prophets of population doom by listing the numerous failed predictions they have made (all of which are based on constant rates of growth and constant population doubling times). Science and technology, it is claimed, can always be relied upon to save the day (Trefil, 1997, p.121):
"Techno-optimists (of which I am one) argue that advances in technology will continually increase the resources available so that any ecosystem can support its human population even as it grows."
Trefil therefore puts no upper limit on Earth's population. For a man of science Trefil's techno-optimism is hopelessly misplaced if humanity remains restricted to the ecosystem we know as Earth. Yet Trefil's statement above suggests that to him such a possibility is real, and that the Earth alone can support a population of literally any size.
If the population on Earth continues to grow (at any mix of positive rates) then inevitably the seething mass of humanity will outweigh the Earth (based on what the Earth weighs today). Perhaps Trefil's techno-optimism relies on future technologies such as K. Eric Drexler's molecular nanotechnology, or MNT (refer K. Eric Drexler - An Exponentialist View for more). After all, here we are considering the finite supply of molecules on Earth. Yet even MNT cannot create more molecules when the finite supply on Earth is used up. Trefil should heed Drexler's warning of the exponential power of population to overrun any resource base (Drexler, 1990):
"Concern about population and resources will remain important because the exponential growth of replicators (such as people) can eventually overrun any finite resource base."
Or perhaps Trefil envisages that enough material will be mined throughout the solar system and brought back to Earth in order to accommodate and feed the 105,553,116,266,496,000,000,000 people that will exist after 44 population doublings from a 6 billion start? If so, then the fleshy kilometres-deep surface layer of humanity will inevitably affect the gravitational balance between the Earth and the Sun as the Earth (with our huge population on it) would now be double its mass. Or perhaps Trefil hasn't actually thought his unqualified techno-optimism through? Still, at least in this scenario we will not have conducted human global ecophagy. Instead we will have brought back to Earth an equivalent Earth-sized mass of the rest of the solar system and eaten it.
What would it be like to live on such a future Earth, with the equivalent the Earth's mass in humanity added on the surface? As Asimov put it in his bathroom metaphor (Freedman, 2005):
"...democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it."
In Logan's Run by William F Nolan and George Clayton Johnson citizen's lives are terminated young by Sandmen in order to maintain a balance between population and resources. In the British science-fiction film Z.P.G zero population growth is maintained by executing those who break the 30 year ban on procreation. In Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room! (filmed as Soylent Green) humanity even resorts to cannibalism to feed an ever growing population.
Trefil and other techno-optimists would do well to heed Asimov's warning about the limitations of science to maintain a food supply for a growing population (Asimov, 1974 , p.207):
"Science, in other words, cannot keep up with populations no matter what it does."
Refer Isaac Asimov - An Exponentialist View for more on Asimov's views on overpopulation.
Space Is Virtually Limitless, But Earth Is Not
So far we've assumed that the growing human population is restricted to Earth. This may not be the case - indeed, I hope it is not the case and that small founder human populations flourish in space and "green the galaxy" as proposed by Marshall T. Savage (see Marshall T. Savage - An Exponentialist View for more). Space represents the best long-term hope for a prolonged future for our species.
However, space is not the answer to Earth's overpopulation. The main reason will be that the rate of migration from Earth into space would be practically too small to make much difference to Earth's growing population. Space advocate Carl Sagan appreciated this point, arguing that with a global population growing by 240,000 per day our practical capacity to ship people in space falls very short (p19, Sagan, 1997). Also, as noted by K. Eric Drexler, a space faring population will itself still periodically face limits to growth even in the limitless bounds of space , with each planet colonised, and each solar system colonised. Still, as Drexler notes, "...opening space will burst our limits to growth." Refer K. Eric Drexler - An Exponentialist View for more.
Whether or not we do colonise space, the global human population that remains on Earth will still need to learn to live sustainably and within limits. In other words, human population growth on Earth will stop because it must. For now at least, apart from a handful of astronauts, we are stuck on the "crowded spaceship" (Asimov, 1974) called Earth.
Drowning Children Beneath The Stars
Of course, as a species, we could attempt to live sustainably here on Earth at the expense of a future amongst the stars. Personally I find the idea of failing to colonise space small-minded and sad - equivalent to drowning all those future unborn children beneath a star-lit night:
DROWNING CHILDREN BENEATH THE STARS
Lives lost in love and honest human
And others, blind with ugly human greeds.
National visions tide to the ballot
The people of Earth fragmented like rocks.
Green-blue eggshell cracked from within.
So many children will pay for this sin.
Too many knowing eyes, knowing too
Looking back with sadness, and some with hate.
Eyes lifting up, looking out, sinking
An island of life all ready to drown.
David A. Coutts
It is argued that the huge government expense of space colonisation should be used to end poverty and promote technologies for sustainable living here on Earth. However, this is likely to be a false dichotomy. Instead, the growing List of Private Space Companies indicates that the commercialisation of space will allow us to "mine the sky" (Lewis, 1997) and use the vast untapped resources of our own solar system to help sustain life on Earth and in space. So it need not be a difficult choice between sustainability or space colonisation options. Instead it could be a much easier option of sustainability through space colonisation or "saving our world by seeking others" (Cockell, 2007).
However, unless we favour doubling the mass of the Earth (or more) in Trefil's limitless growth techno-optimistic future, I suspect that by far the greatest population growth will not be sustained on Earth but in space as suggested by Drexler and Savage.
Approximate as the above calculations are, if we do attempt to sustain these sorts of positive rates of population growth on Earth (between 1% and 2% per annum [inclusive]) then the Earth's population will face catastrophic population collapse not in millennia but in centuries. We cannot sustain such growth rates on the Earth for even one thousand years - the idea is not just silly, it is a Malthusian nightmare. Just look at the numbers of people after each doubling. Even at a 1% growth rate, that's around 50 trillion people living on Earth within a thousand years.
Even if our global human population growth rate slowed to just 0.1% per annum, that's a doubling time of roughly 700 years and our population would outweigh the Earth in just 31,500 years. Ours would become a mere cameo role in the grand drama of evolution, measured in mere tens of thousands of years, with the drama of evolution stretching back billions of years and continuing after our demise for many more billions of years to come.
As a species we have to learn when it is appropriate to live sustainably within limits to growth, whilst at the same time not denying ourselves any opportunities to expand beyond the Earth and carry life to the stars. We need to learn to balance sustainability and growth.
However, the one key practical message I would like to impart in this article is that variable rates of growth are just as unstainable and just as powerful as constant rates of growth. The dire warnings of Asimov, Bartlett, Ehrlich, Malthus, and others are not invalidated just because populations grow and double at variable rates.
Back to Top
Asimov, Isaac. The Stars In Their Courses. Panther. 1974
Asimov, Isaac. Earth Our Crowded Spaceship. Abelard-Schuman.1974 . written for young adults
Freedman, Carl (editor), Conversations with Isaac Asimov. University Press of Mississippi. 2005.
Cockell, Charles S.. Space on Earth - Saving Our World By Seeking Others. Macmillan. 2007.
Darwin, Charles. Origin of Species. 1859.
Drexler, K. Eric. Engines Of Creation - The Coming Era of Nanotechnology. Oxford University Press. 1990.
Freitas Jr, Robert A., Some Limits to Global Ecophagy by Biovorous Nanoreplicators, with Public Policy Recommendations. The Foresight Institute (website 14th September, 2009). 2000
Lewis, John S.. Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets. Perseus Publishing. 1997.
Malthus, Thomas Robert, An Essay on the Principle of Population. J. Johnson. Library of Economics and Liberty. 1798. (1st edition)
Sagan, Carl. Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium. Headline Publishing, 1997
Trefil, James S.. One hundred one things you don't know about science and no one else does either. (Google Books link, website accessed 14th September, 2009). Mariner Books. 1997. | <urn:uuid:9e18abe2-f3c1-4230-ab55-899fc6e0388f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://members.optusnet.com.au/exponentialist/Human%20Global%20Ecophagy.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902001 | 5,372 | 2.875 | 3 |
Different dog breeds have different bite strengths.
Bite strength depends on the training of the jaws, the size of the dog and the level
of its aggression - which makes the question of which dog breed has the strongest
bite a fairly difficult question to answer, since each of these factors depend upon
variables specific to each dog.
Angry guard dogs, those which are forced to participate in dog fights as well as those serving in a police or military unit, naturally have stronger jaws because they are more highly trained. Quite the opposite, dogs which are big by size, but are not aggressive and have never bitten anyone (including other pets), haven't trained their jaws much and therefore have weaker bites.
Despite such variables, dog bite strength can be measured (usually expressed in terms of force per unit area - with units depending upon what part of the world such measurements are being reported in). Experiments led by National Geographic where able to determine the three breeds with the strongest bites. The experiments included letting an aggressive dog attack a human equipped with special protective sleeves which contained an integrated system to measure the strength of the bite.
Here are the results. The breed with the strongest bite is the Rottweiler, which can generate a bite force of around 150 kilos per centimeter.
Second place goes to the German shepherd, which generates around 110 kilos per centimeter. (By the way, this bite force, combined with the love and devotion of the breed, make it ideal as a guard or security dog).
Last but not least is the Pitbull. One of the most aggressive dogs, Pitbulls have a bite force of approximately 105 kilos per centimeter.
If we were to compare the strength of dog's bite with that of some other species, the result would look like this: Nile crocodile (1,100 kilos per cm), water turtle (460 kilos per cm), hyena (450 kilos per cm), lion (315 kilos per cm). It is believed that the T-Rex was able to generate a bite force of around 1,500 kilos per cm!
While those are some scary bit force numbers, it is highly unlikely that you will ever meet a T-Rex, hyena, water turtle, lion or crocodile on the street...but be wary of angry dogs, especially of they are one of the top three breeds listed above. You will probably want to steer clear of them until, at least, they've calmed down. | <urn:uuid:b57b798a-1d18-40c9-bbf6-6ee876564969> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.doggybuddy.com/dog-breeds/dog-breeds-with-the-strongest-bites.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00151-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959053 | 508 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Golf, a game of Scottish origin, is one of the most popular sports in the world. In the United States alone more than 24 million people play golf, including over 8,000 professional players. Golf tournaments around the world are popular with spectators, as well as with players, and since the 1960s, they have received wide television coverage. There is now even a cable channel devoted to golf, as well as numerous computer games.
The basic game involves using a variety of clubs to drive a small ball into a succession of either nine or 18 holes, over a course designed to present obstacles, in as few strokes as possible. A player is permitted to carry a selection of up to 14 clubs of varying shapes, sizes, and lengths. The standard golf ball used in the United States is a minimum of 1.68 in (4.26 cm) in diameter; the British ball is slightly smaller.
A golf course generally has 18 holes spread over a landscaped area that includes a number of hazards, including water, sand traps or bunkers, and trees. Difficulty is increased by varying distances among holes. Play on each hole is begun at the tee area, from which players drive the ball into the fairway. Each hole can vary in length from about 150-600 yards (135-540 m); successful players are those who are able to drive the ball more than 200 yards (180 m) from the tee, approaching most holes with fewer than three shots. At the end of the hole is the putting green, where the ball must be putted into the hole or cup to complete the hole.
Golf is usually played by groups of two to four people who move throughout the course together. The ball must be played from where it lies, except in specific circumstances. In stroke competition, the total number of strokes used to move the ball from the tee to the hole is recorded as the players' score for that individual hole. The player who uses the fewest strokes to complete the course is the winner. In match play, scores are compared after every hole, and a player wins, loses, or halves (ties) each hole.
Each hole must be reached in a specific number of shots (par), which usually depends on length. A birdie is a score on any one hole that is one stroke less than par, and an eagle is a score on a hole that is two less than par. A hole in one is scored when the player drives the ball into the hole with only one stroke.
Today, the golf ball market is worth around $550 million in annual sales, with over 850 million golf balls being manufactured and shipped every year. Currently, balls are made in two or three parts. A two-piece ball is made of rubber and plastic, and is mostly used by the casual golfer. These balls last a lot longer than the three-piece balls the pros use and hence make up 70% of all golf ball production. A three-piece ball consists of a plastic cover, windings of rubber thread, and a core that contains a gel or liquid (sugar and water) or is solid. A dimple pattern on the surface results in good flight performance.
The most common dimple patterns are the icosahedral, the dodecahedral, and the octahedral. The icosahedral pattern is based on a polyhedral with 20 identical triangular faces, much like a 20-sided die. Similarly, a dodecahedral is based on a polyhedral with 12 identical faces in the shape of pentagons. The octahedral is based on an eight-sided polyhedral with triangular faces. Some balls are based on the icosahedral with 500 dimples. As a general rule, the more dimples a ball has the better it flies, provided those dimples are about 0.15 in (0.38 cm) in diameter.
The size and depth of the dimples also affect performance. Shallow dimples generate more spin on a golf ball than deep dimples, which increases lift and causes the ball to rise and stay in the air longer and roll less. Deep dimples generate less spin on a golf ball than shallow dimples, which decrease lift and causes the ball to stay on a low trajectory, with less air time and greater roll. Small dimples generally give the ball a lower trajectory and good control in the wind, where as large dimples give the ball a higher trajectory and longer flight time.
Technological advances in materials and aerodynamics now allow the manufacturer to custom-fit a golf ball for a players' particular game, for weather conditions, and even for specific course conditions. Golf balls can be separated into four basic performance categories: distance and durability; control and maneuverability; distance and control; and slow clubhead speed. Within these categories there are more than 80 different balls of varying construction materials and design.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) has established rules for the ball in regard to maximum weight, minimum size, spherical symmetry, initial velocity, and overall distance. The weight of the ball must not be greater than 1.62 oz (45.93 g) and must be spherically symmetrical. The velocity shall not be greater than 250 feet (75 m) per second (255 feet [76.5 m] per second maximum) when measured on apparatus approved by the USGA. The overall distance standard states that the ball shall not cover an average distance in carry and roll exceeding 280 yards (84 m) (296.8 yards [89 m] maximum). These rules are updated every year.
Currently, there are around 850 models of balls that conform to these standards. Recently, balls that are about 2% larger than ordinary balls have been introduced that still conform to USGA rules. These balls have softer cores and thicker, harder covers, which leads to a straighter, longer shot.
The game of golf goes back as far as 80 B.C. when the Roman emperors played a game called paganica using a bent stick to drive a soft, feather-stuffed ball (or feathery). This ball was up to 7 in (17.5 cm) in diameter, much larger than the Scottish version. By the middle ages, the sport had evolved into a game called bandy ball, which still used wooden clubs and a smaller ball about 4 in (10 cm) in diameter.
Over the next five centuries the game developed on several continents and eventually evolved into the popular Scottish game known as golfe. Other European countries played similar games and a variation from the Netherlands was played in the American colonies as early as 1657. Although various types of wood, ivory, linen, and even metal balls were tried during the sport's early development in Europe, the feathery remained the ball of choice.
The Scottish game, however, is the direct ancestor of the modern game. The first formal golf club was established in Edinburgh in 1744. It established the first set of rules, which helped eliminate local variations in play. A decade later the Royal and Ancient Golf Club was established at Saint Andrews, Scotland, which became the official ruling organization of the sport. Its rules committee, along with the United States Golf Association (USGA), still rules the sport. A British player, Harry Vardon, helped popularize the sport in the United States during the late 1880s, although legend has it that a Scotsman named Alex McGrain was the first to play golf on the North American continent in eastern North Carolina over a hundred years earlier. The first American-made golf ball was produced by Spalding in 1895.
The first golf ball similar in size to today's came into existence around five or six hundred years ago, when the Dutchmen stuffed feathers into an 1.5 in (3.75 cm) leather pouch. This type of ball lasted for about 450 years. To make a feathery, the ballmaker
Finished featheries were made in different diameters and weights and were graded according to weight (measured in drams). Ballmakers determined the size and weight of each ball by adjusting the lengths and thickness of the leather used for the cover. Typically, feathery balls were made in the range of 20-29 drams. The featheries were first numbered according to their size and later according to diameter rather than weight. This numbering system has continued into the twentieth century.
The feathery was replaced when a much cheaper ball made out of gutta-percha, a natural gum from Southeast Asia, was developed around 1850 in Italy. To make a gutta percha ball or gutty, a slice of resin rope that had been pre-mixed with a stabilizer was heated to make it pliable and then shaped into a sphere. Despite being rounder and smoother than the feathery, this ball had poorer flight performance. However, the new ball's affordability (dozens could be made per day instead of just a handful) made it practical for the working class to take up the sport in large numbers and this ball remained popular until about 1910.
The gutty ball went through several transformations during this time. Once ballmakers discovered that a rough surface was better aerodynamically, grooves were cut in the balls with a knife to simulate the stitching of the feathery. Next, the ballmakers pounded the ball with a chisel-faced hammer to produce nicks and bruises on the surface.
Further experimentation with the gutty through the mid-nineteenth century sought to improve the ball's flight performance.
By the end of the 1870s, machined iron molds that had regular patterns inscribed on their inside were developed. One of the most popular of these was the brambleberry design with raised dimples. These molds created a regular pattern over the surface, eliminating hammering by hand. This refinement began a revolution in aerodynamic design for the golf ball. The rate of manufacture improved even further.
The game changed considerably in the early twentieth century when the B. F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio, invented a lighter, tightly wound, rubber-threaded ball. The recessed dimpled ball was introduced by Spalding in 1908 and proved to be both aerodynamically and cosmetically a success. By 1930, it dominated the market, with the spherical dimple becoming the standard. Other dimple shapes have since evolved, including truncated cone and elliptical dimples.
A golf ball is made up of mostly plastic and rubber materials. A two-piece ball consists of a solid rubber core with a durable thermoplastic (ionomer resin) cover. The rubber starts out as a hard block, which must be heated and pressed to form a sphere.
The three-piece ball consists of a smaller solid rubber or liquid-filled center with rubber thread wound around it under tension, and an ionomer or balata rubber cover.
During the 1970s the interior of the ball improved further, thanks to a material called polybutadiene, a petroleum-based polymer. Though this material produced more bounce it was also too soft. Research at Spalding determined that zinc strengthened the material. This reinforced polybutadiene soon became widely used by the rest of the manufacturers.
Three-piece golf balls are more difficult to make and can require more than 80 different manufacturing steps and 32 inspections, taking up to 30 days to make one ball. Two-piece balls require about half of these steps and can be produced in as little as one day.
In addition to monitoring the manufacturing process using computers and monitors, three-piece balls are x-rayed to make sure the centers are perfectly round. Compression ratings are also used to measure compression-molded, wound golf balls. These ratings have no meaning when applied to two-piece balls, however. Instead, these balls are measured by a coefficiency rating, which is the ratio of initial speed to return speed after the ball has struck a metal plate. This procedure measures the coefficient of restitution.
Mechanical testing is also used to verify that the ball's performance meets the USGA's standards. Special equipment has been developed and some manufacturers even use wind tunnels to determine wind resistance and lift action. A machine called the True Temper Mechanical Golfer or Iron Byron, modeled after the swing of golf leg-end Byron Nelson, can be fitted for any club and can be set up at various swing speeds. For normal testing, the Iron Byron is configured using a driver, 5 iron, and 9 iron.
Another machine called the Ball Launcher provides the capability to propel balls through the air at any velocity, spin rate, and launch angle. This has the advantage of using launch conditions typical of a wide cross-section of golfers. Using both types of equipment, performance data associated with the flight of a golf ball can be measured and analyzed. These include the apogee angle, carry distance, total distance, roll distance, and statistical accuracy area.
The apogee angle indicates the height the trajectory of a ball reaches. It is measured using a camera with a telescopic lens pointing down range in conjunction with a gridded monitor. Carry distance is the distance a golf ball travels in the air and is measured using a grid system with markers in the landing zone. Total distance is the distance a golf ball travels in the air plus the roll distance. Roll distance is the total distance minus the carry distance.
The statistical accuracy area (SAA) or dispersion area is used as a measure of a golf ball's accuracy. For a given ball, the SAA value is based on the deviations of the ball's performance in the directions of carry and left/right of the centerline. These deviations are used to calculate an equivalent elliptical landing area.
As improvements in aerodynamic design continue, golf balls will be able to go even further. In fact, one golf ball manufacturer is already advertising that its balls can be driven 400 yards. However, some professional players are complaining that golf balls go too far and want the ball adjusted back about 10%. This means the USGA would have to tighten current requirements for carry and roll and for velocity in its ball-testing procedure. A 10% cutback would reduce drives by most tour pros by approximately 25 yards (22.5 m).
On the other hand, some experts believe that golf balls have reached their limit on distance and will not improve in this area over the next 20 years. Golf manufacturers will be challenged to achieve the ultimate consistency from one ball to the next, make balls that feel softer and stop faster on the greens, develop balls with greater durability, and invent the perfect dimple pattern. Space age materials may achieve some of these goals and metal matrix composites based on titanium are being considered. In addition, golf ball companies will have to manufacture more balls for specific categories of golfers. For example, four or five different types of trajectories might become available.
New Trends in Golf Balls. Wilson Sporting Goods Co., Golf Division, 1997.
Achenbach, James. "Golf not ready to succumb to technology." Golfweek, February 22, 1997.
"Ancient spheres." Golf Magazine, April 1992, p. 178.
Braham, James. "All this for a golf ball?" Machine Design, December 12, 1991, p. 121.
Robinson, Bob. "Some PGA tour players renew call for shorter golf balls." The Oregonian, May 24,1995.
Stogel, Chuck. "Big time wars in golf balls drive still-thriving industry." Brandweek, January 24, 1994, p. 30.
— Laurel M. Sheppard | <urn:uuid:c2cc1e5f-101f-4904-b0c1-39982384f934> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Golf-Ball.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965445 | 3,186 | 2.6875 | 3 |
As recently as 20,000 years ago, North America had an array of large mammals
to rival the spectacular wildlife of modern Africa. Mammoths bigger than African
elephants, as well as smaller, pointy-toothed mastodons, ranged from Alaska to Central America. Herds of horses and camels roamed the grasslands while ground
sloths the size of oxen lived in the forests and bear-sized beavers built dams in the streams.
By about 10,000 years ago, all of these animals -- and others, such as American
lions, cheetahs, sabertooth cats and giant bears -- were gone. Some 70 North
American species disappeared, three-quarters of them large mammals. Why?
The question has fascinated archaeologists, geologists, biologists and anthropologists
for decades. One long-popular theory holds that the Clovis people, Stone Age
immigrants from Asia who appeared in North America about 11,000 years ago, swept across the continent and hunted most of its large mammals to extinction.
But proponents of alternative theories suggest that the animals died of natural
causes. According to one view, rapid climate shifts at the end of the Ice Age
pattern of North American vegetation, progressively shrinking the habitats of the continent's big mammals until they became extinct.
Another recently proposed scenario casts human immigrants (or perhaps animals
or insects they brought with them) as unwitting deliverers of a killer virus
devastated the continent's wildlife.
Did hunters wipe out the American megafauna? Did climate change do it? Or was it a plague?
Scientists on all sides of the debate are hampered by the limits of what can
be proved by examining animal fossils and stone spear points. Fossils can't
researchers the size of animal populations at various times in prehistory or pinpoint precisely when they died out, although they can suggest an approximate
chronology. Sophisticated chemical analysis of bones can provide some clues about an animal's diet. In rare cases, genetic or immunological tests on well-preserved
soft tissues may be able to yield evidence of infectious diseases.
Paul Martin, professor emeritus of geosciences at the University of Arizona
in Tucson, is the most vigorous proponent of the "overkill" theory.
He argues that
because so many species of large American mammals disappeared about 11,000 years ago, overhunting by the new arrivals is the most plausible explanation. There
are abundant examples of extinctions occurring soon after humans arrived on islands, apparently caused by hunting, and Martin believes the same thing could have
happened on a continent-wide scale.
"People can do it really fast and it won't leave much evidence behind,"
he said. The Clovis people "found a favorable environment. Their numbers
without serious limit, at a really rapid rate. Within 1,000 years, our species can sweep through the Americas."
But critics respond that if Clovis hunters killed off the mammals, there should
be more fossil evidence of the deed. Clovis people's stone weapon points have
found in association with mammoths, mastodons and bison but not with other mammals, noted Russell Graham, chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and
Climate was probably paramount, according to Graham, who presented new evidence
to support his position last week at the Geological Society of America's
annual meeting in Boston. "I would argue that [mammoths' and mastodons'] ranges were already collapsing" because of climate change when the Clovis hunters
showed up, he said. "I think they would have gone extinct without people. . . . People arrived and killed the last few on the landscape."
Donald Grayson, a professor of anthropology at the University of Washington,
agrees. He points to recent archaeological evidence from Monte Verde, Chile,
humans had settled in the Americas about 13,000 years ago, well before the Clovis people arrived and the major wave of mammalian extinctions occurred.
Grayson said that at the end of the Ice Age, the melting of the glaciers that
had covered Canada and the northern United States caused dramatic alterations
and vegetation. In the continent's interior, both winters and summers became more extreme. Landscapes that had contained a patchwork of trees and pasture
became more homogeneous -- either all forest or all grassland.
"There were complex combinations of plants that you don't find after that period of time," he said. Many animals shifted their ranges in response to changing habitat.
By constructing computer maps of the distribution of mammal fossils from different
time periods, Graham sees evidence that the ranges of species like the Columbia
mammoth and the Shasta ground sloth were steadily shrinking for thousands of years before they became extinct.
"Large animals require larger geographic ranges, and as you reduce the
geographic range, the probability of extinction goes up exponentially,"
he said. "With small
distributions, local effects like fire, disease and competition become very important."
But if climate change was severe enough to cause a wave of extinctions in the
Americas, it should have caused the same phenomenon globally, argues Ross D.E.
MacPhee, curator of vertebrate zoology at New York's American Museum of Natural History. Yet most other regions were spared, even the nearby West Indies.
"Why weren't things falling down in droves in Africa?" he asked.
Like Martin, MacPhee is impressed with the fact that extinctions in the Americas
and several other places seem to have closely followed the arrival of humans.
he doubts that overhunting is the explanation, noting that no whale or seal species has been driven to extinction in the past 200 years despite extreme overhunting.
Instead, MacPhee is betting that a virus or other microbe new to the Americas
arrived with human settlers and killed off many mammal species that had no natural
resistance. He points to the devastation caused later among Native Americans by smallpox, measles and other "European" infections.
"Nothing in nature is able to cause such levels of havoc except emerging
diseases," MacPhee said. "It was either the humans themselves that
were vectors, or
parasites of humans, or it could have been parasites of animals that came in with humans."
To fulfill MacPhee's "hyperdisease hypothesis," a new infection would
have had to spread quickly among individuals of all ages and sexes and would
have been able
to cross species barriers. He suspects it would have spread through the air. Candidates might include influenza and rinderpest, a disease of cattle that also affects
deer, antelope and related species.
MacPhee is searching for evidence of such infections in frozen tissue from
mammoths, ground sloths and other beasts that died out at the end of the Ice
infected animal's immune system would make antibodies against the invading virus, chemicals that might be detectable. If antibody tests are positive, MacPhee plans
to search for viral genetic material.
"No extinction is a simple matter. There's always an environment in which
it happens," said MacPhee. "I need to show and convince people that
disease by itself
could be considered a primary factor, rather than a secondary or negligible one."
File Date: 011.22.01 | <urn:uuid:7a72b22b-67e5-4af4-b64c-fd74af1abf79> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.arn.org/docs2/news/mammothextinction112201.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958499 | 1,546 | 3.9375 | 4 |
The human colon is an organ vital for achieving overall health and wellbeing. The purpose of the colon is to expel waste and toxic material from the body. The intestines are constructed of highly absorbent tissue providing a protective barrier between waste matter and the bloodstream. Problems and disease arise when the colon is not evacuating waste and poisons properly or not at all. Over the course of years, these toxins begin hindering the colon’s efficiency and allowing harmful microorganisms to thrive. A number of modern factors contribute to this crisis of the colon. Lack of exercise, poor diets consisting of over-processed and preserved foods, lack of fiber, low water consumption, drinking colas and coffee, high stress levels, and over ingestion of medications all present themselves as culprits when it comes to poor digestive health.
The Enema Process
The easiest solution for many of today’s illnesses and diseases is a simple colon cleansing enema. Colon cleansing helps remove waste and toxic matter and promotes self-healing of the sensitive cells within the intestinal tract. Cleansing the colon can occur in many different ways, with the most common being the standard enema cleansing.
A cleansing enema consists of forcing water (at low pressure) through a hose-like nozzle into the rectum through the anal opening. Enemas have been utilized for centuries by people of many cultures to help ensure a clean colon and optimal health. Enemas utilizing harsh chemicals or water that is of an extreme temperature should be avoided as these methods could harm the intestinal lining. Enemas can be a healthy method for cleansing the colon. However, precaution should be taken when performing one on yourself or someone else without the guidance of a professional healthcare practitioner.
Effects of An Enema
An enema works by forcing mildly temperate, filtered, non-chlorinated water into the internal digestive tract. The water cleans the walls of the intestines by essentially rinsing away the accumulated debris. This is necessary because it is common for a person to have waste stuck to the walls of the intestine for a long time, and the force of the water in a cleansing enema works to remove this residue. The enema should be performed slowly, not rushed, and without high pressure, as this may cause harm internally.
Approximately 1 to 3 quarts of clean water will be used overall, with a rate of about 1 cup per minute being pushed into the colon for flushing. It is important to lubricate the enema tube to ensure it enters easily and to avoid any tissue damage. All equipment for the procedure should be well sterilized or brand new if it is disposable.
It is not uncommon for some cleansing enemas to require certain essential oils. These oils must be pure and without additives. Essential oils for use in an enema can also help relax the intestinal muscles and promote cleansing and tissue healing. The most common and safest essential oils for use in a cleansing enema include: fennel, ginger, lemon, or rosemary. It is best to consult with a healthcare professional regarding each of these practices before trying them at home.
Following fluids being forced into the colon, a person should logically expect the fluids to come back out, and most home enema kits include a catch pail for this purpose. The body is being detoxified in the process, so it is normal to expect waste matter to be released as well.
Helping the Cleansing Enema Work for You
After a colon cleanse, it will be helpful to drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of purified water that day in order to continue the body’s detoxification process and to help keep the bowels regular. On the actual day of the enema, it is beneficial to eat easily digestible foods in order to give the body a rest after the colon cleansing.
The enema serves a number of purposes. It cleans the bowel, strengthens the digestive system and immune response by flushing out toxic material, improves circulation, and may aid in such problems as hemorrhoids, constipation and Ulcerative Colitis.
Following a cleansing enema, you can expect an increase in bowel movements, as the enema’s main function is to induce them. Colon cleansing may also relieve some symptoms associated with headaches, depression, colds, flu, and overall malaise. However you choose to cleanse your colon, the point is to get that toxic material out of your body so it can begin to function normally again. So try the method that works best for you and you’re sure to notice the results!
If you are looking for a high-quality oxygen colon cleanser, we recommend Oxy-Powder®. | <urn:uuid:eb2e2896-21e4-4c4e-b7d6-07bbc4535584> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.colon-cleanse-constipation.com/cleansing-enema.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933081 | 961 | 3.046875 | 3 |
I think I can say it: This was a badass year for space. When I learned about the solar system in elementary school, I thought of the planets as solid, immutable objects. They were far away, relatively unknowable, but I was comfortable—happy, even—with what I did know about them. The one with the rings, the one with the spot, the really tiny cold one. That was enough.
This year’s planetary research, though, has reminded me that exploration of the solar system (and beyond) is just beginning. When the New Horizons probe finally reached Pluto in July, after nearly a decade of travel through space, scientists essentially discovered a new world. And the images of its remarkably diverse icy surface, trickling in at just one to four kilobits a second, woke a new generation up to the possibilities of astronomical outreach.
It’s not just Pluto, either. New Horizons was this year’s biggest space story, but dozens of important space missions are ongoing. Cassini is finishing up its exploration of the Saturnian moon Enceladus this year, with more moons to come. The Rosetta spacecraft and its little lander Philae are still teaching scientists about the structure of comets, and satellites like MAVEN are revealing secrets about NASA’s favorite wish-to-be-habitable planet, Mars. It’s looking like the only thing more badass than 2015 might be 2016.
Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article. | <urn:uuid:c9fe9e72-ffae-4609-b094-934800be0aba> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wired.com/2015/12/all-the-years-badass-science-from-space/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960135 | 311 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Horacio Saggion and Robert Gaizauskas
Finding definitions in huge text collections is a challenging problem, not only because of the many ways in which definitions can be conveyed in natural language texts but also because the definiendum (i.e., the thing to be defined) has not, on its own, enough discriminative power to allow selection of definition-bearing passages from the collection. We have developed a method that uses already available external sources to gather knowledge about the “definiendum” before trying to define it using the given text collection. This knowledge consists of lists of relevant secondary terms that frequently co-occur with the definiendum in definition-bearing passages or “definiens”. External sources used to gather secondary terms are an on-line enyclopedia, a lexical database and the Web. These secondary terms together with the definiendum are used to select passages from the text collection performing information retrieval. Further linguistic analysis is carried out on each passage to extract definition strings from the passages using a number of criteria including the presence of main and secondary terms or definition patterns. | <urn:uuid:77a050b0-0d09-4b6a-a455-be0e7a3782e5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.aaai.org/Library/FLAIRS/2004/flairs04-015.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00116-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901362 | 231 | 2.640625 | 3 |
According to the orthodox Christian Holy Wednesday is dedicated to
Magdalena, the sinful woman that showed repentance and washed the feet of Jesus. According to researchers the oil used by Magdalena was derived by a plant called spikenard.
Spikenard (lat. nardostachys jatamansi, greek ναρδοστάχυς) is a plant that flourishes in the
Himalayas at a height of 3000-5000 meters. The essential oil of spikenard was widely used in ancient times. It was a basic constituent of Kyphi (a compound incense used in ancient for religious and medical purposes) and the Ayurvedic botanical medicines used in Egypt . The Romans used spikenard to produce the fragrance called nardinium. India
Today the use of spikenard essential oil is restricted due to its rareness and high price. It can be used as fragrance, incense, sedative and botanical medicine.
In aromatherapy spikenard is ideal for promoting physical and emotional tranquility and has good effects on serious skin problems. The ancient Chinese medical text for incense Xian Pu, written around 1100 a. C., refers to the relaxing properties of spikenard when inhaled. It also mentions the use and importance of spikenard in recipes containing sandalwood and aloe vera. The Chinese used spikenard also against anorexia, stomach problems and vomit. It acts beneficially when dealing with insomnia, psoriasis, athlete’s foot, dandruff, epilepsy, convulsions, palpitation, migraine, colic, mature skin, skin irritations, stretch marks, jaundice, kidney colic, respiratory problems, male fertility problems. Spikenard is diuretic, strengthens the hair, calms the nerves, lifts the spirit and acts against depression and hysteria. It can be used as a constituent of incense blends for prayer and meditation.
Up to day no adverse reactions have been reported when spikenard is used at suggested dosage. However, extremely high dosage may induce heavy narcosis and even death in a few hours.
Other essential oils that mix well with spikenard are: cedarwood, lavender, patchouli, pine, vetiver, lemon, clary sage and neroli.
Spikenard essential oil has microbicidal properties, is beneficial for hair and skin and improves the mood. Start your day using in your bath or shower spikenard soap hand made in Nepal and in periods of anxiety and stress use the following blend to anoint your body:
7 drops essential oil spikenard,
2 drops essential oil lavender,
2 drops essential oil vetiver,
2 drops essential oil sandalwood,
5 drops essential oil lemon.
Perfume your home pleasantly and create a relaxing atmosphere using in the oil burner a blend that will contain equal amounts of essential oils spikenard and ylang ylang.
You will find a lot of information about essential oils, their spiritual significance, their effect on mental function and recipes to make your own mystical blends in the extremely interesting book Aromatherapy Anointing Oils: Spiritual Blessings, Ceremonies, and Affirmations. | <urn:uuid:67421167-67f3-4faf-b686-ef48f8c79864> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://aromatherapycosmosen.blogspot.com/2010/05/spikenard.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913056 | 681 | 2.5625 | 3 |
A Growing Buzz for Pollinators in Peril: Crop Art, Stamp to Raise Awareness
Source Newsroom: University of Kansas
Newswise — Humans are reducing numbers of pollinators like bees and butterflies by destroying habitats, spraying pesticides and emitting pollution. Now, a University of Kansas researcher and a world-famous crop artist are behind a nationwide campaign to publicize the peril faced by species that transfer pollen between flowers.
"This is serious," said Orley "Chip" Taylor, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at KU. "We're losing six thousand acres of habitat a day to development, 365 days a year. One out of every three bites you eat is traceable to pollinators' activity. But if you start losing pollinators, you start losing plants."
Taylor works with the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC). That group has successfully worked with the United States Department of Agriculture and U.S. Senate to designate June 24 through June 30, 2007, as "National Pollinator Week." The NAPPC also has convinced the United States Postal Service to issue a block of four "Pollination" stamps this summer depicting a Morrison's bumble bee, a calliope hummingbird, a lesser long-nosed bat and a Southern dogface butterfly.
To call more attention to pollinators at risk, Taylor has enlisted help from noted Kansas-based artist Stan Herd. Herd executes masterful large-scale earthworks around the world, including rock mosaics, natural-material sculptures and crop art.
"I sent Stan Herd an e-mail and said, 'Hey, we've got a project here I'd like to have you think about'," said Taylor. "Stan immediately said 'yes.' He's very much aware of ecological issues and he wants to become involved."
Herd will take an image from one "Pollinator" stamp — the Southern dogface butterfly — and create a vast facsimile at Pendleton's Country Market, a family farm between Kansas City and Lawrence. The image will be best viewed aerially from a nearby silo or an aircraft. Herd's immense stamp reproduction is to incorporate plants that conservationists urge for use in backyard butterfly gardens.
"I wanted to add my artistic statement to the equation," said Herd. "I'm a fan of the flora and fauna and know that with migratory critters like butterflies there are increasing problems because of loss of habitat. My work is about my ideals. It also catches young people's attention and we'll bring school kids out to get involved in this piece."
Taylor and NAPPC are grateful for the awareness Herd's work could bring to the drop in pollinator populations.
"We can use this larger image to attract the attention of the public to this cause," said Laurie Adams, who manages NAPPC. "Beautiful green lawns are wonderful but we need to do more with our cities, farms and the habitats that we control to provide for wildlife. Creating pollinator gardens or Monarch butterfly waystations through MonarchWatch are easy to do. And they are important."
Artist Herd plans to complete the pollinator stamp piece by National Pollinator Week. Those wishing to make a tax-deducatble donation to the crop art project can do so at the not-for-profit Coevolution Institute which coordinates NAPPC at http://www.pollinator.org (click "Crop Art Donations" ) or by contacting Laurie Adams at (415) 362-1137 or [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:4e2b2b0b-f6e6-425a-b95e-98d18af248e7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/528733/?sc=swtr | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00112-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944505 | 734 | 2.875 | 3 |
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