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The beginnings of the Royal Ontario Museum can be traced back to the excavations and collections of Charles Trick Currelly, a staff member of the Egyptian Exploration Fund in the early 1900s. Currelly excavated with Sir | The beginnings of the Royal Ontario Museum can be traced back to the excavations and collections of Charles Trick Currelly, a staff member of the Egyptian Exploration Fund in the early 1900s. Currelly excavated with Sir Flinders Petrie at Abydos and with Edouard Naville at Deir el Bahari. With the assistance of Robert Mond and others, Currelly amassed a rich and diverse collection that became the basis for the ROM, which opened its doors in 1914. Part of that collection included several Egyptian mummies (Currelly 1971).
The Egyptologicalholdings at the ROM include eight mummies: one dating to the Predynastic Period, five from the Pharaonic Period, one from the Roman Period and one without context. Two of these, Nakht and Djedmaatesankh, have been well studied by Peter Lewin and associates, while three more are the subjects of the current investigation. The objectives of this poster are to review the work and accomplishments of the previous research, to describe the preliminary results of the current research project and to outline directions for future work. |
Commonly confused with the shortfin mako, the porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) are fast sharks, with an ability to thermoregulate through their rete mirable. This means that they can retain their speed | Commonly confused with the shortfin mako, the porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) are fast sharks, with an ability to thermoregulate through their rete mirable. This means that they can retain their speed through heat, even in some of the coldest waters! It’s understandable, since they’re found in some pretty chilly places like Newfoundland.
The fast swimmers take advantage of their speed and consume pelagic schooling fish, other sharks, squid, and even ground fish! But whenever you go after fish like that, there are consequences.. Fishermen often catch these unlucky sharks as bycatch. Not just bycatch, but the second most common bycatch in Norway! They’re also fished commercially for their meat, fins, oil and fishmeal.. Oh, and recreationally on occasion, as if there wasn’t enough trouble for them.
Thankfully they’re a hardy species; Leaving them only vulnerable according to the IUCN.. Although three subspecies are considered endangered, two of which are critical. |
Short Essay Questions Key
1. Where is Jayber Crow's barber shop located and who are his patrons?
2. What is the premise of the book?
3. How does the author use foreshadowing regarding Jayber's interest in | Short Essay Questions Key
1. Where is Jayber Crow's barber shop located and who are his patrons?
2. What is the premise of the book?
3. How does the author use foreshadowing regarding Jayber's interest in Mattie Keith?
4. What symbols does the author use to portray little Jayber's shattered life?
5. Who does Jonas live with after his parents die?
6. Who are some of the friends and neighbors little Jonas calls aunt and uncle while living with Othy and Cordie?
7. What is Jayber's tone as he, now an old man, recalls his life?
8. What is the symbolism of the river in Jayber's life?
9. How does little Jonas get the nickname "J?"
10. What is the philosophy of the orphanage and how does it impact Jayber?
11. Describe what life is like for J during his school years.
12. Why is J torn between the ministry and a secular life?
This section contains 734 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
This year’s science
Many experiments are repeated over multiple years to collect as much data as possible. This year Vitamin D replaces the MECA experiment.
Two groups of volunteers at Concordia will take different doses of vitamin D to test the ideal amount | This year’s science
Many experiments are repeated over multiple years to collect as much data as possible. This year Vitamin D replaces the MECA experiment.
Two groups of volunteers at Concordia will take different doses of vitamin D to test the ideal amount to be give astronauts on future missions. Vitamin D is usually created by the body on contact with sunlight. Astronauts and Concordia crewmembers live without sunlight for long periods and need to take vitamin D supplements. The findings will help understand how the body absorbs vitamin D and will be useful for babies raised in areas with little sunlight such as in the northern hemisphere.
Regular questionnaires are given to the winter crew to collect general data on mood and state of mind. The questionnaire takes around 45 minutes to complete and can be used as reference for other experiments.
Team performance task
This task has Concordia crewmembers play in groups of three to pull a coloured blob to the bottom of the screen. Resources are limited and winning requires working with the other players. This experiment tries to judge social cohesion and cooperation between team members as well as charting how it changes over time
How does mood influence how the body deals with food? Crewmembers will take a picture of the food they eat and write a dietary log for two days each month. In addition to the psychological questionnaires, scientists hope to understand if feeling happy or sad changes how the body deals with energy needs.
While we sleep our brain continues to control muscles to keep breathing. In some people that reflex stops working, making them breathe irregularly when asleep. This problem is called central sleep apnea and causes intermittent breathing and snoring. Living with less oxygen, as all Concordia crew do, increases central sleep apnea. Research on sleeping crewmembers will help to understand the ailment and benefit people suffering from the same problems in less extreme environments.
How does our posture change in relation to changes in how blood circulates? Living in Concordia changes the way our cardiovascular system – the distribution of blood – and researchers are interested to know if this changes how crew stand and sit. This experiment looks at how crewmembers’ posture shifts over time living on Concordia. Postures are analysed as they sit and stand on sensitive pads with their eyes open and closed. Combined with data on their cardiovascular system, researchers will look at related changes.
What are the best materials to build spacecraft? Aside from properties such as weight, strength and resistance, astronauts need a healthy environment free of harmful bacteria and mould. People living in close quarters invariably attract uninvited guests, however. Russia’s Mir space station had problems with fungi and mould growing on its walls at the end of its 15-year life.
ESA is keen on knowing which materials are best suited and is testing over 20 different materials in Concordia. Plaques containing samples of metals and plastics are hung up in various places in the research base. After the winter they will be retrieved and analysed for microbial growths.
Coala aims to assess moods by interpreting video diaries. Knowing how someone feels is important for mission controllers and experiments. However, ask someone how they feel and they will never reply objectively. Presently, the best way of judging someone’s state of mind is through lengthy questionnaires.
A more efficient way to assess mood would be to look at external signs. Coala aims to analyse speech patterns such as tone of voice, intonation, use of grammar and speed of speech. Crewmembers regularly record a video diary of their life in Concordia as well as narrate a paragraph from a fairy tale. By looking at changes in the way they talk into the camera and compari |
Gum health involves whole-body health
It's hard to believe, but antibiotics destroyed Charlize Theron's baby teeth: "I had no teeth until I was 11," she says. Wow. Great smile now. How'd that happen | Gum health involves whole-body health
It's hard to believe, but antibiotics destroyed Charlize Theron's baby teeth: "I had no teeth until I was 11," she says. Wow. Great smile now. How'd that happen? (Hint: Great dental care and flossing.)
For most folks, though, it goes the other way: As you get older you tend to neglect your teeth (one-third to one-half of adults in North America don't make their yearly dental check-up, and only 36 percent of women and 14 percent of men floss even four times a week), which is a big reason why 75 percent of adults have some form of gum disease.
When that happens, the health issues aren't just in your mouth. Gum disease increases the risk for kidney cancer by 49 percent, pancreatic cancer by 54 percent and blood cancers by 30 percent. It also ups the chances for type 2 diabetes and related complications, rheumatoid arthritis, impotence, memory dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease. There's still debate about whether it triggers heart disease; the American Heart Association says no. But we think the proof is out there. Clearly, you want to brush up on your dental routine.
Fortunately, we've got two smart ways to give your whole body a reason to smile.
1. Brush, rinse, floss. Brush your teeth for at least two minutes twice a day; floss once; and use a non-alcohol-based mouthwash (the alcohol may contribute to risk for oral cancer).
2. Opt for the two Cs: Crunchy foods (apples, celery and carrots are tooth-brushing wonders), and a cuppa tea (green or black -- both kill bad bacteria).
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Medical Officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. For more information go to www.RealAge.com. |
Bavarian Crown Prince Louis, later King Louis I of Bavaria, marries Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The Bavarian royalty invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front | Bavarian Crown Prince Louis, later King Louis I of Bavaria, marries Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The Bavarian royalty invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. These famous public fields were named Theresienwiese—"Therese's fields"—in honor of the crown princess; although locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n." Horse races in the presence of the royal family concluded the popular event, celebrated in varying forms all across Bavaria.
The decision to repeat the festivities and the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the annual Oktoberfest, which now begins in late September and lasts until the first Sunday in October. Alcohol consumption is an important part of the modern festival, and more than 1 million gallons of beer are consumed annually at Oktoberfest. |
Level landing conditions.
For a level landing, the airplane is assumed to be in the following attitudes:
For airplanes with tail wheels, a normal level flight attitude.
For airplanes with nose wheels, attitudes in which—
The nose and main wheels contact | Level landing conditions.
For a level landing, the airplane is assumed to be in the following attitudes:
For airplanes with tail wheels, a normal level flight attitude.
For airplanes with nose wheels, attitudes in which—
The nose and main wheels contact the ground simultaneously; and
The main wheels contact the ground and the nose wheel is just clear of the ground.
The attitude used in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section may be used in the analysis required under paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section.
When investigating landing conditions, the drag components simulating the forces required to accelerate the tires and wheels up to the landing speed (spin-up) must be properly combined with the corresponding instantaneous vertical ground reactions, and the forward-acting horizontal loads resulting from rapid reduction of the sp |
(JAMES) LANGSTON HUGHES
A central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of
African-American culture in 1920's and 30's, Missouri-born Langston Hughes used his poetry,
novels, plays | (JAMES) LANGSTON HUGHES
A central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of
African-American culture in 1920's and 30's, Missouri-born Langston Hughes used his poetry,
novels, plays, and essays to champion his people and voice his concerns about race and social
His youth was marked by poverty, the separation of his parents--his father emigrated to Mexico
where Hughes would later visit--a matriarchal, church-going education, and a nomadic series of
moves that would eventually bring him to New York City in 1921. There, with some money sent by
his father, he enrolled in Columbia University, wrote his first verse, and began to publish in
THE CRISIS, the historic magazine of the N.A.A.C.P., founded by W.E.B. DuBois.
When funds for continuing college dried up, Hughes moved to Harlem at the height of its golden era.
For the remainder of the decade he would associate with all her prominent figures-- DuBois,
Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Jean Toomer, Arna Bontemps,
and Carl Van Vechten; receive patronage from the formidable but controlling Charlotte Mason;
make voyages of self-discovery to Africa and Europe, and return to the States with a freer,
more confident vision of his own identity as an African-American, an artist, a
leftist--(he would later spend some time in Russia and answer for it in the McCarthy Hearings),
and a homosexual.
Hailed as the
Negro Poet Laureate
His prolific literary career was launched in 1926 with a volume of jazz poems, TH |
Energy policy of Australia
The energy policy of Australia is subject to the regulatory and fiscal influence of all three levels of Government in Australia, although only the State and Federal levels determine policy for primary industries such as coal.
Federal energy policies continue to support | Energy policy of Australia
The energy policy of Australia is subject to the regulatory and fiscal influence of all three levels of Government in Australia, although only the State and Federal levels determine policy for primary industries such as coal.
Federal energy policies continue to support the coal mining and natural gas industries through subsidies for fossil fuel use and production as the exports by those industries contribute significantly to the earnings of foreign exchange and government revenues. Australia is one of the most coal-dependent countries in the world. Coal and natural gas, along with oil-based products, are currently the primary sources of Australian energy usage, despite the fact that the coal industry produces approximately 38% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions. Federal policy is beginning to change with the publication of the Garnaut report and Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme White Paper, the announcement of an Emissions Trading Scheme to commence in 2010, and the announcement of a national mandatory renewable energy target of 20% of electricity supply in Australia by 2020.
State energy policies such as Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets ensure that renewable energy contributes a greater percentage of the country's energy supply.
Due to Australia's reliance on coal and gas for energy, in 2000 the country was the highest emitter of greenhouse gases per capita in the developed world, irrespective of whether or not emissions from land clearing were included. It is also one of the countries most at risk from climate change according to the Stern report.
Renewable energy commercialisation in Australia is an area of relatively minor activity compared to the fossil fuels industry. Australia's renewable energy industries are diverse, covering numerous energy sources and scales of operation, and currently contribute about 8–10% of Australia's total energy supply. The major area where renewable energy is growing is in electricity generation following the introduction of government Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets. The two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria have renewable energy targets of 20% and 25% respectively by 2020.
- 1 Power production
- 2 Fossil fuels
- 3 Transport subsidies
- 4 Federal Government
- 5 State policies
- 6 Mandatory renewable energy targets
- 7 Greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets
- 8 Feed-in tariffs
- 9 Public opinion
- 10 See also
- 11 References
- 12 Further reading
- 13 External links
History and governance
After World War II, New South Wales and Victoria started integrating the formerly small and self-contained local and regional power grids into large state-wide systems run centrally by public statutory authorities. Similar developments occurred in other states. Both of the industrially large states cooperated with the Commonwealth in the development and interconnection of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Rapid economic growth led to large and expanding construction programs of coal-fired power stations such as black coal in New South Wales and brown coal in Victoria. By the 1980s complex policy questions had emerged involving the massive requirements for investment, land and water.
Between 1981 and 1983 a cascade of blackouts and disruptions was triggered in both states, resulting from generator design failures in New South Wales, industrial disputes in Victoria, and drought in the storages of the Snowy system (which provided essential peak power to the State systems). Wide political controversy arose from this and from proposals to the New South Wales Government from the Electricity Commission of New South Wales for urgent approval to build large new stations at Mardi and Olney on the Central Coast, and at other sites later.
The Commission of Enquiry into Electricity Generation Planning in New South Wales was established, reporting in mid-1985. This was the first independent enquiry directed from outside the industry into the Australian electricity system. It found, among other matters, that existing power stations were very inefficient, that plans for four new stations, worth then about $12 billion, should be abandoned, and that if the sector were restructured there should be sufficient capacity for normal purposes until the early years of the 21st century. This forecast was achieved. The Commission also recommended enhanced operational coordination of the adjoining State systems and the interconnection in eastern Australia of regional power markets.
The New South Wales Enquiry marked the beginning of the end of the centralised power utility monopolies and established the direction of a new trajectory in Australian energy policy, towards decentralisation, interconnection of States and the use of markets for coordination. Similar enquiries were subsequently established in Victoria (by the Parliament) and elsewhere, and during the 1990s the industry was comprehensively restructured in southeastern Australia and subsequently corporatised.
Following the report by the Industry Commission on the sector moves towards a national market developed. Impetus towards system wide competition was encouraged by the Hilmer recommendations. The establishment of the National Electricity Market in 1997 was the first major accomplishment of the new Federal/State cooperative arrangements under the Council of Australian Governments. The governance provisions included a National Electricity Code, a central market manager, the National Electricity Market Management Company, NEMMCO, and a regulator, National Electricity Code Administrator (NECA).
As a result, beginning in 2004, a broader national arrangement, including electricity and gas and other forms of energy, was established including a national regulator, the Australian Energy Regulator, (AER), and with the national markets and transmission operations and planning processes managed by the Australian Energy Market Commission, (AEM), and the Australian Energy Market Operator, (AEMO).
The main source of Australia's electricity generation is coal. In 2003, coal-fired power plants generated 77.2% of the country’s total electricity production, followed by natural gas (13.8%), hydropower (7.0%), oil (1.0%), biomass (0.6%) and solar and wind combined (0.3%). in 2008–09, a total of 261 terawatt hours of electricity (including off-grid electricity) was generated in Australia. Coal-fired plants also constitute a majority of generating capacity which in 2008-9 was 29,407 MW. The total generating capacity from all sources in 2008-9 was approximately 51 GW with an average capacity utilisation of 52 per cent. In 2008-9 a total of 143.2 TWh of electricity was produced from black coal and 56.9 TWh from brown coal. O |
Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Stanislaus and John Kozmian
|←Tadeusz Kosciuszko||Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Volume 8
Stanislaus and John Kozmian
Two | Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Stanislaus and John Kozmian
|←Tadeusz Kosciuszko||Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Volume 8
Stanislaus and John Kozmian
Two brothers who took part in the Polish insurrection of 1831, and subsequently fled the country. Stanislaus settled in England, studied its institutions, and strove to make both nations, England and Poland, acquainted with each other. John lived in France, was zealous in spreading Catholic ideas, and, when his wife died, became a priest. Later he went to Posen, and, as editor of the "Posen Review", became the centre of religious and political life there; Stanislaus aided him in his work and, returning to Posen, became president of the Society of Friends of Science. Both were ardent Catholics, able reformers, courageous politicians, and had minds of exceptional power.
(b. in 1811; d. in 1885)
When a student at Warsaw, had written some poetry, very romantic but only of average worth; later, in England, he set to translating Shakespeare, a work which occupied him for thirty years, and was not complete at his death; he also translated poems by Byron, Moore, Southey, Shelley, Cowper, and especially the splendid passages of Campbell on Poland. He was secretary to the Society of Friends of Poland, and in close relation with Lord Dudley Stuart. His translations of Shakespeare, though naturally not perfect, are as good as those in any other language. Of his original work, the poem best known in his days |
Who Are We? The Independent School Library: A Statistical Profile, a chapter by Susan Williamson presents a statistical picture of a sample of independent school libraries in the United States based on a survey in 2004-2005 conducted by the Independent School | Who Are We? The Independent School Library: A Statistical Profile, a chapter by Susan Williamson presents a statistical picture of a sample of independent school libraries in the United States based on a survey in 2004-2005 conducted by the Independent School Section of AASL. The profile compares libraries on the basis of schools’ student and faculty sizes, collection sizes, budgets, staffing, hours open, facilities, and access to technology. Data from three main categories of school groups (Independent, Independent Religious, and Religious) and school types (Day, Boarding, and Combined Day and Boarding) are analyzed and then compared with data from the recent AASL longitudinal survey of public and private schools. The ISS sample of libraries which consists largely of NAIS members appears to provide greater resources, more open hours and more access to databases than public schools.
In addition, s |
An English geneticist, Reginald Punnett, devised an easy way to calculate the probability that a certain trait will be inherited. It involves what is now called a Punnett square. In order to use a Punnett square, it helps | An English geneticist, Reginald Punnett, devised an easy way to calculate the probability that a certain trait will be inherited. It involves what is now called a Punnett square. In order to use a Punnett square, it helps to know some common terminology:
Allele: The alternative forms of a gene, like the "tall" and "short" versions of the gene for height in garden peas.
Dominant: An allele that produces the visible or measurable trait in an organism and is expressed over recessive genes. Dominant alleles are represented by a capital letter ("T").
Genotype: The specific combination of alleles possessed by an individual. Example: "homozygous dominant," which means possessing two copies of the dominant allele.
Homozygous: Possessing two copies of the same allele, both dominant or both recessive. Example: "TT" or "tt."
Heterozygous: Possessing two different alleles. Example: "Tt."
Phenotype: The detectable or measurable characteristic of an organism. Example: tall. Th |
praveen, first, and to agree with Barb-D, a ball is thrown at someone's head, not on someone's head.
Ex: Max threw the ball at Sam's head.
Second, an indirect object is usually the'receiver | praveen, first, and to agree with Barb-D, a ball is thrown at someone's head, not on someone's head.
Ex: Max threw the ball at Sam's head.
Second, an indirect object is usually the'receiver' of an action described by a verb:
Ex: Max threw me the ball. <indirect object>
Verbs like throw are called ditransitive verbs. They take two objects: a direct object (DO) and an indirect object (IO). The objects of most ditransitive verbs can be repositioned, or undergo what appears to be a positional switch. The IO becomes an adverbial phrase:
Ex: Max threw the ball to me. <adverbial phrase>
To me functions as an adverbial phrase; it tells us where Max threw the ball. The same holds true here:
Ex: Max threw the ball at Sam's head. <adverbial phrase>
Note, however, if we turn the adverbial phrase at Sam's head into an IO, the meaning changes:
Lastly, there's a lot to be said about the function and distribution of the adverbs badly and poorly--which I am most certain our members will bring up--but as for adverb placement in general, these are your options:
Ex: Max threw Sam's head
the ball. <indirect object> Sam's head is either decapitated or it has the ability to catch a ball.
Ex: Happily, Max threw the ball at Sam's head.
Ex: Max happily threw the ball at Sam's head.
Ex: Max threw the ball happily at Sam's head.
Ex: Max threw the ball at Sam's head, happily.
Does that help? |
CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
232. We cannot consider renewable energy in isolation from the rest of the UK energy system and we support measures to include nuclear plants as an essential element of the UK's energy mix ( | CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
232. We cannot consider renewable energy in isolation from the rest of the UK energy system and we support measures to include nuclear plants as an essential element of the UK's energy mix (paragraph 74).
233. The cost of electricity from onshore wind farms at good locations would only be comparable with that from fossil fuel generators when the prices of oil, gas and coal are very high or allowance is made for the price imposed for carbon emissions permits (effectively a tax). It is more expensive than nuclear generated poweróbase cost 7 pence per kWh, as opposed to around 4 pence per kWh for the other technologies. Offshore wind, biomass, wave and tidal power are even more expensive.
And these estimates exclude the additional costs of integrating more renewable generation into Britain's electricity grid (paragraph 74).
234. Future developments depend upon many variable factors But it seems clear that the base costs of generation of electricity from onshore wind are likely to remain considerably higher than those of fossil or nuclear generation and that costs of generation of marine or solar renewable electricity are higher still (paragraph 85). We hope that the Energy Technologies Institute's work will yield technological advance and lower costs. The Government should consider, perhaps in collaboration with others, offering a substantial annual prize for the best technological contribution to renewable energy development (paragraph 93).
235. Although their declared purpose is to improve the environment, it is clear that renewable energy installations can also have adverse environmental impacts which the Government should bear in mind as it weighs the benefits and costs of expansion of renewable generation (paragraph 96).
236. Fluctuations in wind speed lead to short term changes in electricity output from wind farms. Greater use of wind power and other intermittent renewable sources therefore requires more backup generation capacity to respond very quickly to, for example, reductions in the output of wind turbines when the wind drops. But the technical challenges and costs of backup generation on a scale large enough to balance an electricity system with a high proportion of intermittent renewable generation are still uncertain. Whereas the highest share of intermittent renewable electricity now being generated in Europe is 15% in Denmark, the UK is expected to reach a share of some 30%-40%. We recommend that the Government should ensure that further work is carried out to clarify the costs and encourage development of technical solutions to deal with intermittency (paragraph 104). |
As of 2008 (after uniting the old Tanabe city with several smaller villages including Hongū, Ryūjin, Nakahechi and Ōtō), the city has an estimated population of 80,398 and a | As of 2008 (after uniting the old Tanabe city with several smaller villages including Hongū, Ryūjin, Nakahechi and Ōtō), the city has an estimated population of 80,398 and a density of 78.3 persons per km². The total area is 1026.77 km². The city was founded on May 20, 1942.
Tanabe is on the coast and surrounded by mountains. Tanabe is the point at which the Kumano Kodō (熊野古道) ancient pilgrimage road turns inland from the coast. There is a district with many bars in front of JR Kii-Tanabe (紀伊田辺) train station. There is a bridge to a nearby island called Motoshima. Kashima Island, off the coast of Tanabe, is closed to the general public.
A major attraction is Ogigahama beach, which has recently been expanded. A nearby city, Shirahama, is famous for its artificial white beach, and Tanabe has now constructed a beach of its own in |
In January 2013, the Food and Drug Administration published food safety guidelines relating fresh culinary herbs.
The guidelines address the growing of basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, culantro, dill, lemon verbena, mar | In January 2013, the Food and Drug Administration published food safety guidelines relating fresh culinary herbs.
The guidelines address the growing of basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, culantro, dill, lemon verbena, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, tarragon and thyme.
The guidelines are meant to set standards for large commercial growers. But home gardeners growing kitchen herbs who wish to learn more about the government food safety standards would do well to consult this publication.
Just as importantly, food safety experts at the FDA who want to learn more about fresh culinary herbs should consult with smaller growers, herb gardeners.
According to the FDA, its regulation of the produce industry has been in the works since 1998. Its records indicate that between 2004 and 2011, a harmful strain of bacteria called Salmonella was detected in 28 samples of the herb, cilantro.
In response to another finding of Salmonella in cilantro in January, 2011, the FDA issued a letter to growers of cilantro. In this letter of March, 2011, the FDA asked growers to identify potential hazards specific to the cultivation of cilantro. The fresh culinary herb producers took the hint. They decided to address not only cilantro but also 16 additional edible herbs. The growers would work with the FDA and academic experts to develop food safety guidelines “specific” to culinary herbs.
The Guidelines are difficult to understand without a backg |
Jenna Goudreau, Forbes Staff
I write about business and women's leadership.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the wage gap between men and women has narrowed so dramatically that it is now the smallest on record. In the second quarter | Jenna Goudreau, Forbes Staff
I write about business and women's leadership.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the wage gap between men and women has narrowed so dramatically that it is now the smallest on record. In the second quarter of 2010, women’s median weekly earnings were 82.8% of men’s, up from 76.1% in 2000. The change is likely due to the uneven layoffs experienced by men in the recession, the growth of female-dominated industries like health care and the increasing numbers of college-educated women, who now earn 60% of all Bachelors and Masters degrees.
Women have been increasing their participation in the labor force steadily since 1975 (men have been decreasing) and now make up half of the workforce. Young women seem to be reaping the rewards. Single, childless women in their 20s now earn 8% more than their male peers, according to market research firm Reach Advisors.
Many have termed the downturn a “mancession” due to massive cuts in the male-dominated construction, manufacturing and high finance fields. A narrowing wage gap could renew fears about the so-called “decline of men” or an ongoing “gender war.”
It should be considered, however, that women continue to earn only 83 cents on men’s dollar. Unattached twenty-something women may out-earn male peers in the short-term, but add a family and it becomes a slippery slope. Hopefully some of the Best 100 Companies named today–including IBM, Discovery and Bank of America–will help working parents juggle their growing responsibilities. |
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Melee is the act | |This article may not meet Halo Nation's standards. You can help by cleaning this article.|
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Melee is the act of physically attacking an enemy by hitting them with a weapon. In the Halo series, the majority of melee attacks involve using a ranged weapon as a bludgeon, while there are a few weapons that are melee-only. The melee action can be executed by pressing the B button on the default controller layout for the Xbox/Xbox 360 version of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 3: ODST, by pressing the F key on the PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, or by pressing the RB button on Halo: Reach with the default control setting.
Melee attacks are stealthy and conserve ammunition. The close-range attack causes damage to the target's bones and tissues, allowing an attacker to injure a target without using ammunition. A melee from behind functions by breaking the target's neck or spine, and is sufficient to kill virtually any enemy in the games, regardless of how much shielding or armor they happen to be wearing (with the exception of Hunters and Flood forms). Also, one melee against a sleeping Unggoy, regardless of difficulty or their rank, will kill them instantly.In Halo: Reach, a new melee feature, called an assassination, is presented. The user must hold the melee trigger while being behind the enemy, initially stabbing the opponent from behind to break their opponents' necks. This ability is also featured in Halo 4, but with many more animations dependant on how the assassination is approached.
In Campaign, melees are "silent", thus, they don't alert enemies the way gunfire does. If used carefully, players are capable of clearing an entire room without alerting the enemy.
Melee attacks are commonly used in multiplayer matches, where only a few blows are needed to kill an opponent; they allow one player to kill another without the sound of gunfire revealing their location or the weapons they are carrying. Melees are more efficient when used from behind.
Occasionally, two players with depleted or near-depleted shields will hit each other at around the same time, resulting in both players dying. In Halo: Combat Evolved, this resulting in being "killed by the Guardians". In the other games, both players are awarded the kill.
When wielding a melee weapon, it is possible to lunge at a distant enemy. If a target is close enough that aiming at them turns an attacker's reticule red, then the attacker can aim at them and press RT. This will cause the attacker to lunge forward before striking.
A lunge delays a melee. If an attacker is wielding the Gravity Hammer, they may find a target and approach them. If the attacker aims away from the target, they can swing the hammer the moment their target gets within the "blast radius", killing the victim almost instantly. If, however, the attacker aims at the target, then the attacker will lunge before striking, even if the target is already within range when RT is pressed. The lunge delays the swing, giving the target more time to react, and creating extra risk for the attacker.
By contrast, lunging is extremely helpful when using the Energy Sword, as it lacks splash damage.
Halo: Combat EvolvedEdit
In Halo: Combat Evolved, the melee simply caused damage to anyone in front of the user. There was no lunge function.
Halo 2's melee system was based on three levels of player movement, with a stationary melee doing the least damage, a running melee taking down roughly half of the target's shields, and a jumping melee almost completely removing the target's shields. This does not apply to multiplayer. With the introduction of Dual Wielding, a new feature was added: if a player performs a melee attack while dual-wielding, they will drop their left weapon.
In Halo 2, melee attacks had the added benefit of canceling various animations and delays. This trait was shared by various other actions, and was exploited in the form of special button combinations. A common combination is the Double Melee, a rapid repetition of the button sequence B + X.
If the player is wielding a depleted energy sword handle, then hitting RT results in a normal melee strike. However, this melee can be performed much faster than normal, allowing the player to quickly beat down the enemy without ever drawing his/her gun. It is also noted that if holding a Brute Shot, the player can use a quicker-than-normal melee attack by hitting B. This attack does twice as much damage as a normal melee, and, as mentioned earlier, is much quicker.
In Halo 3, the attack's power increased, such that two blows to a normally-shielded opponent's body were sufficient to kill them. The attack also became more effective against some |
|Simplify your HPLC Life
- Degas Online
How it works
As mobile phase solvents pass through the degasser tubing, dissolved gases in the solvent will diffuse through the pores of the tubing into one of four encased | |Simplify your HPLC Life
- Degas Online
How it works
As mobile phase solvents pass through the degasser tubing, dissolved gases in the solvent will diffuse through the pores of the tubing into one of four encased vacuum chambers. The gases will then be swept away by the vacuum. The LCD panel on the degasser will indicate the actual chamber vacuum in Pascals. Please see the diagram showing how bubbles cross the tubing membrane and are removed inside the vacuum chamber.
The degasser will improve the performance of all pumps and all detectors. And the degasser will stabilize baselines for electrochemical detectors, fluorescence detectors, and refractive index detectors. A preparative unit is also available. |
Globalization means that we are all connected—for good or for bad. Systems are connected across countries and sectors. For instance, food production is intimately connected to energy, water, and finance, and drought in the United States can raise food prices for | Globalization means that we are all connected—for good or for bad. Systems are connected across countries and sectors. For instance, food production is intimately connected to energy, water, and finance, and drought in the United States can raise food prices for people all around the world. Changes in one or a few factors in interlinked systems may trigger crises that cascade across time and space in unpredictable ways.
A new WRI issue brief, Weaving the Net, explores how complex, global crises can have profound impacts on low-income, vulnerable households. In many cases, climate change can exacerbate these impacts. The world experienced this fact—to dramatic effect—when the food crisis unexpectedly erupted in 2008. |
Variant of wag
- to cause (something fastened or held at one end) to move rapidly and repeatedly back and forth, from side to side, or up and down: the dog wagged his tail
- to shake (a finger | Variant of wag
- to cause (something fastened or held at one end) to move rapidly and repeatedly back and forth, from side to side, or up and down: the dog wagged his tail
- to shake (a finger) or nod (the head), as in summoning, reproving, etc.
- to move (the tongue) in talking, esp. in idle or malicious gossip
Origin: Middle English waggen, probably from Old Norse vaga, to move back and forth, rock, akin to Old English wagian, to shake, totter from Indo-European base an unverified form weĝh-, to move from source Classical Latin vehere, to carry
- to move rapidly and repeatedly back and forth, from side to side, or up and down: said as of a part of the body
- to keep moving in talk, esp. in idle or malicious gossip: said of the tongue
- to walk or move with a swaying motion; waddle
- wagger noun
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
Kayaking. Biking. Water aerobics. Self Defense. Physical education (PE) class at some schools isn't what you may remember from your childhood. Instead, some schools are creating a new form of PE that professionals hope will leave | Kayaking. Biking. Water aerobics. Self Defense. Physical education (PE) class at some schools isn't what you may remember from your childhood. Instead, some schools are creating a new form of PE that professionals hope will leave the old days of dodge ball in the dust.
Traditional PE classes often look more like supervised recess with an instructor sitting on the sidelines blowing a whistle. Today, new PE classes might look more li |
MARSIS: Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding
MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) is a low frequency, nadir-looking pulse limited radar sounder and altimeter | MARSIS: Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding
MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) is a low frequency, nadir-looking pulse limited radar sounder and altimeter with ground penetration capabilities, which uses synthetic aperture techniques and a secondary receiving antenna to isolate subsurface reflections.
The operation altitudes for MARSIS are up to 800 km above the Martian surface for subsurface sounding and up to 1200 km for ionospheric sounding. In its standard operating mode, the instrument is capable of making measurements in 1 MHz wide bands centred at 1.8, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 MHz.
MARSIS functions by transmitting a linear frequency modulated chirp using a nadir-looking dipole antenna. The return signal is received on both the dipole antenna and a secondary monopole antenna oriented along the nadir axis. The secondary antenna has a null in the nadir direction and receives primarily the off-nadir surface reflections. This signal can be subtracted from the main received signal during ground processing to reduce surface clutter. Both received signals are down converted to range offset video signals before being passed to an analogue to digital converter. The resultant data are formatted by the MARSIS on-board digital processor and passed to the spacecraft for transmission to Earth.
MARSIS operates in the following modes:
- Subsurface Sounding
- Active Ionospheric Sounding
- Receive Only
MARSIS will perform Subsurface Sounding when the spacecraft is less than 800 km above the Martian surface. In the highly eccentric orbit selected for Mars Express, this corresponds to a period of about 26 minutes, allowing mapping of about 100 degrees of arc on the Martian surface per orbit. Over the nominal mission lifetime, extensive coverage at all latitudes will be possible. To achieve this global coverage MARSIS supports both dayside and nightside operations, although performance is maximised during the night (solar zenith angle above 80 degrees) when the ionosphere plasma frequency drops significantly and the lower frequency bands, which have greater ground penetration capabilities, can be used.
Active Ionospheric Sounding will be carried out during certain orbital passes when the orbiter is less than 1200 km above the surface, in order to gather scientific data on the Martian ionosphere.
Receive only mode will mainly be used to characterise, from an electromagnetic point of view, the environment in which MARSIS is working.
MARSIS will be operated in calibration mode periodically throughout the operational phase of the mission. The purpose of this mode is to acquire a limited amount of data in an unprocessed format. The unprocessed data is used to determine the characteristics of the adaptive matched filter computation that is used by the MARSIS processor to compress the dispersed echo signals from the planet surface and subsurface boundaries.
MARSIS is composed of three subsystems:
- The antennas
- The RF equipment (transmitter and receivers)
- The digital electronics
The receivers and digital electronics are housed together within the spacecraft. The transmitter electronics is housed in a separate box, also within the spacecraft.
The main transmit and receive antenna is a deployable dipole with two 20 metre elements, arranged so that its peak gain is in the spacecraft nadir direction. The clutter cancellation antenna is a seven metre long deployable monopole, arranged so that its gain null is in the spacecraft nadir direction. The clutter cancellation antenna is equipped with a low-noise preamplifier. Due to severe limitations on the available mass, the antennas are of a novel design, each consisting of a folding composite tube that supports a pair of wires constituting the conductive element of the antenna. The antennas are deployed by pyrotechnic release mechanisms.
The transmitter is connected to the primary antenna through an impedance matching network. The nominal operating frequency of the transmitter in the subsurface sounder modes is 1.3 to 5.5 MHz, with an instantaneous bandwidth of 1 MHz. For ionospheric sounding, the operating frequency varies between 0.1 and 5.4 MHz. The transmitter takes the chirp generated by the receiver/local oscillator electronics and amplifies it, delivering 5 W of RF power to the antenna.
The receiver electronics consists of the chirp generator/local oscillator and a dual channel receiver that down converts the received echoes. Each receiver channel has a selectable bandpass filter, a mixer, an amplifier chain, low-pass filtering and an analogue to digital converter. The output of the analogue to digital converters is passed to the digital electronics for processing prior to being sent to the ground station via the spacecraft's on-board data handling system.
The digital ele |
Latin America and the Monroe Doctrine
During the opening decades of the 19th century, Central and South America turned to revolution. The idea of liberty had stirred the people of Latin America from the time the English colonies gained their freedom. Napoleon's | Latin America and the Monroe Doctrine
During the opening decades of the 19th century, Central and South America turned to revolution. The idea of liberty had stirred the people of Latin America from the time the English colonies gained their freedom. Napoleon's conquest of Spain and Portugal in 1808 provided the signal for Latin Americans to rise in revolt. By 1822, ably led by Simón Bolívar, Francisco Miranda, José de San Martín and Miguel de Hidalgo, most of Hispanic America -- from Argentina and Chile in the south to Mexico in the north -- had won independence.
The people of the United States took a deep interest in what seemed a repetition of their own experience in breaking away from European rule. The Latin American independence movements confirmed their own belief in self-government. In 1822 President James Monroe, under powerful public pressure, received authority to recognize the new countries of Latin America and soon exchanged ministers with them. He thereby confirmed their status as genuinely independent countries, entirely separated from their former European connections.
At just this point, Russia, Prussia, and Austria formed an association called the Holy Alliance to protect themselves against revolution. By intervening in countries where popular movements threatened monarchies, the alliance -- joined by post-Napoleonic France -- hoped to prevent the spread of revolution. This policy was the antithesis of the American principle of self-determination.
As long as the Holy Alliance confined its activities to the Old World, it aroused no anxiety in the United States. But when the alliance announced its intention of restoring to Spain its former colonies, Americans became very concerned. Britain, to which Latin American trade had become of great importance, resolved to block any such action. London urged j |
Columbines are not only hardy to most parts of Colorado – they are readily available at local garden centers. Also known as “Granny’s Bonnet,” the flower’s main bloom period is May-July. Deadheading encourages reb | Columbines are not only hardy to most parts of Colorado – they are readily available at local garden centers. Also known as “Granny’s Bonnet,” the flower’s main bloom period is May-July. Deadheading encourages reblooming. The flowers are up to three inches across, with nectar-bearing spurs, five petals, five sepals, and one or two colors. They attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. There are various flower forms available in colors that range from pure white to almost black, on plants sized anywhere from eight diminutive inches to a grand four feet tall. Lacy, light-green to blue-green foliage and a soft fern-like texture gives the mounding plants a fresh woodland glen quality.
Columbines can grow in full sun, but do best in part shade, needing moist, well-drained soil, moderately fertile, that’s cooled by mulch. Water regularly until established; they are not xeric, but rather must be watered during drought, and fed with scattered granular organic fertilizer in spring. Use in borders, mass plantings, wildflower meadows, woodland gardens, and as a cut flower.
Unfortunately, they are short-lived perennials, and may also go dormant in summer heat, so be prepared to replace cultivars every three to four years as they lose vigor, or allow reseeding. Unless you have planted only one species, be prepared for the seedlings to bloom in unexpected colors. Plants are available in pots sizes ranging from 2.5 to six inches in diameter, or, directly sow seed in the fall for spring germination.
Disease and insect problems include powdery mildew and leaf miners that require the removal and destruction of infected foliage (do not compost). Wash or pick off sawfly larvae and aphids or find an organic pesticide at your local garden center. Check the soil or watering habits; the roots must be kept healthy. |
Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppet characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November | Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppet characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's program on American television. The show is produced in the United States by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.
As a result of its positive influence, Sesame Street is one of the most highly regarded educational shows for children in the world. No other television series has matched its level of international recognition and success. The original series has been televised in more than 120 countries, and 25 independent versions have been produced. As of 2006, the series has received 109 Emmy Awards, more than any other television series. An estimated 77 million Americans watched the series as children; shown in 120 countries, it is the most viewed children's program in the world.
Sesame Street uses combinations of animation and live actors to stimulate young children's minds, improve their letter and word recogniti |
The main role of the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection is to facilitate co-operation in civil protection assistance interventions in the event of major emergencies which may require urgent response actions. This applies also to situations where there may be an imminent threat of such major | The main role of the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection is to facilitate co-operation in civil protection assistance interventions in the event of major emergencies which may require urgent response actions. This applies also to situations where there may be an imminent threat of such major emergencies. It is therefore a tool that enhances community co-operation in civil protection matters and was established by the Council Decision of 23 October 2001. A Recast of this Council Decision was adopted on 8 November 2007.
In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, it can provide added-value to European civil protection assistance by making support available on request of the affected country. This may arise if the affected country’s preparedness for a disaster is not sufficient to provide an adequate response in terms of available resources. By pooling the civil protection capabilities of the participating states, the Community Mechanism can ensure even better protection primarily of people, but also of the natural and cultural environment as well as property.
So as to enable and ensure an effective delivery of assistance, teams working in emergencies need to be mobilised rapidly. Moreover their work needs to be well co-ordinated while requiring flexibility. In order to achieve this, the Mechanism has its own tools that help to ensure this.
The Community Mechanism for Civil Protection has a number of tools intended to facilitate both adequate preparedness as well as effective response to disasters at a community level.
The Emergency Response Coordination Centre(ERCC) is the operational heart of the Mechanism. It is operated by DG ECHO of the European Commission and accessible 24 hours a day. It gives countries access to a platform, to a one-stop-shop of civil protection means available amongst the all the participating states. Any country inside or outside the Union affected by a major disaster can make an appeal for assistance through the ERCC. It acts as a communication hub at headquarters level between participating states, the affected country and despatched field experts. It also provides useful and updated information on the actual status of an ongoing emergency. Last but not least, the ERCC plays a co-ordination role by matching offers of assistance put forward by participating states to the needs of the disaster-stricken country.
The Common Emergency and Information System (CECIS) is a reliable web-based alert and notification application created with the intention of facilitating emergency communication among the participating states. It provides an integrated platform to send and receive alerts, details of assistance required, to make offers of help and to view the development of the ongoing emergency as they happen in an online logbook.
A training programme has also been set up with a view to improving the co-ordination of civil protection assistance interventions by ensuring compatibility and complementarity between the intervention teams from the participating states. It also enhances the skil |
Debris from the Air France crash has been brought ashore at Recife, Brazil
By Tom Symonds
Transport correspondent, BBC News
The report by French crash investigators into the crash of an Air France plane in the Atlantic last month runs | Debris from the Air France crash has been brought ashore at Recife, Brazil
By Tom Symonds
Transport correspondent, BBC News
The report by French crash investigators into the crash of an Air France plane in the Atlantic last month runs to 126 pages. It is remarkably detailed considering how few facts have so far been established.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have not been found. The small acoustic locator beacons fixed to them are running out of power, but the French, US and Brazilian search teams are not giving up.
They will scour the ocean until 10 July.
So the focus of the detective work has been in examining 600 pieces of wreckage plucked from the sea over the past month, since 228 people on the plane were killed when it came down en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Some pieces are instantly recognisable - the plane's huge tail fin was spotted quickly. But there are sections of the cabin, bits of the toilet, and smaller fragments of the engine.
How the wreckage is damaged reveals how the plane broke apart
Lifejackets have also been found, un-inflated.
Investigators have examined how the parts have been torn from their fixings.
If they had shown signs of wrenching in several directions that might suggest a mid-air breakup, perhaps due to turbulence.
Instead the parts appear to have been compressed in one particular direction. Some have marks suggesting an impact on the bottom of the plane first.
The hypothesis is that the aircraft was intact when it hit the ocean, belly first, a fast vertical acceleration.
The other major line of inquiry is the analysis of 24 messages sent out over the ACARS network.
This is an automated satellite and radio system used for the transmission of operational information and fault reports.
Some of the messages suggest systems going off line, including the automatic throttle, the autopilot and the sensor that detects rapid changes of wind.
There was a warning the cabin pressure was changing, and that the plane was operating with reduced fly-by-wire capabilities.
Most worrying are the messages indicating the plane's systems had unreliable readings of its speed - in one case detecting a decrease of around 25mph over the period of one second.
This may be due to problems with the plane's three pitot sensors, mounted on the nose, which collect information about air speed. If they had failed they may in turn have tripped a number of the plane's computers.
But the problem with this information is discovering whether it represents the symptoms of technical failures, or the cause of them.
Experts say only the data and voice recorders - the black boxes - will really explain the crash, and finding them now seems unlikely. |
LAST week's conference of the UN Convention on Biodiversity appeared to ban future efforts to geoengineer the planet to counter the effects of climate change. But did it?
The ETC Group, an international group campaigning for biodiversity, said the | LAST week's conference of the UN Convention on Biodiversity appeared to ban future efforts to geoengineer the planet to counter the effects of climate change. But did it?
The ETC Group, an international group campaigning for biodiversity, said the UN meeting in Nagoya, Japan, had imposed "a de facto moratorium on geoengineering projects and experiments". In fact, the resolution's wording is restricted to blocking projects that could affect biodiversity.
The 193 signatories to the convention agreed to outlaw geoengineering "until there is an adequate scientific basis on which to justify such activities and appropriate consideration of the associated risks for the environment and biodiversity and associated social, economic and cultural impacts". Small-scale research projects are exempted from the ban.
What this means in practice is far from clear. The convention's definition of geoengineering includes any technology...
To continue |
When reading Dorothy Ross’ The Origins of American Social Science, I was surprised to see that she relied on the concept of “American exceptionalism” -which I understood as the belief that the US had a kind of special destiny in this world, | When reading Dorothy Ross’ The Origins of American Social Science, I was surprised to see that she relied on the concept of “American exceptionalism” -which I understood as the belief that the US had a kind of special destiny in this world, a belief which impregnated the social thought of the 19th and 20th century.
This concept put me ill at ease, as it was not clear whether “American exceptionalism” was a belief (among others) held by the intellectuals studied by Ross, or if Ross herself thought that indeed, there is such a thing as a unique and distinctive “Americaness” to be accounted for by historians. I had forgotten all this, until I read this morning in a history of the labor standards:
The study of the American role in the international labor standards movement also contributes … to an understanding of general American history and the American policy process. It clarifies the extent and nature of American exceptionalism, that is, the tendency for the United States to follow an especially distinctive or restrained social policy course compared to other industrial democracies.
(Edward C. Lorenz. 2001. Defining Global Justice. The History of U.S. International Labor Standards Policy, Univ. of Notre-Dame Press, p. 8).
I am really not sure of the fruitfulness of this distinction. To be clear, I find it irrelevant and parochial. Of course, nations have their particularities, their traditions, etc. And if the American people see themselves as having a particular destiny in history, then it is a relevant intellectual feature to be taken into account by the historian. But it seems to me that the historians have no use of this concept to characterize their own work. After all, on what ground should a country’s history be declared “exceptional”? I am sure their is an extensive debate in historiography about this, and I would be glad to learn more about it! |
Bioidentical hormones are hormones that are identical to what the human body makes. Why do drug companies seldom make and sell bioidentical hormones?
The reason is – since the late 1800′s, U.S. laws allowed | Bioidentical hormones are hormones that are identical to what the human body makes. Why do drug companies seldom make and sell bioidentical hormones?
The reason is – since the late 1800′s, U.S. laws allowed medicines to be patented ONLY if they were NOT naturally occurring substances. If a drug company discovered a natural substance that could be used medically, anyone else could also use/make/sell that substance.
So what the drug companies do is to create synthetic hormones that are intentionally different. Examples are Premarin, Prempro and Provera – these synthetic drugs are different in their molecular structure from the estrogens and progesterone found in the human body.
And the problem with synthetic drugs is – since they are different from what occurs naturally in the human body, the body treats them differently and the result is often harmful side effects.
Even though bioidentical hormones have been around for a long time, the majority of doctors are not familiar with them. Today’s doctors are ordinarily schooled and trained in synthetic drug therapy, not natural medicine.
Finding bioidentical doctors and bioidentical hormone doctors can be done. For example, holistic doctors and naturopathic doctors are regular medical doctors with additional training and experience in using bioidentical hormones.
A holistic medical doctor uses a combination of conventional Western medicine and alternative medicine. A holistic doctor incorporates one or more types of complementary medicine into their medical practice.
This complementary medicine could be acupuncture, herbal therapy or homeopathy. For instance, while undergoing treatment for cancer using radiation, the patient might receive herbal therapy to strengthen the immune system.
Naturopathic physicians are medical doctors that work to restore and support the body’s systems by using |
PLANET is focusing on the development of therapeutic and preventative drugs in four large, but significantly underserved medical markets:
Planet produced the world's first clinically tested Plantibody, CaroRx™. CaroRx™ binds specifically to Strept | PLANET is focusing on the development of therapeutic and preventative drugs in four large, but significantly underserved medical markets:
Planet produced the world's first clinically tested Plantibody, CaroRx™. CaroRx™ binds specifically to Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria that cause tooth decay, and prevents the bacteria from adhering to teeth. CaroRx™ is intended for regular topical preventative administration by both dental hygienists and patients following a thorough cleaning and intervention for any existing decay. CaroRx™ is currently undergoing Phase II U.S. clinical trials under a U.S. FDA-approved Investigational New Drug (IND) application. Clinical trials using CaroRx™ plantibody, funded by Planet and conducted by Planet's collaborators, Drs. Julian Ma and Thomas Lehner at Guy's Hospital, Kings College London, have shown that this treatment can effectively eliminate these decay-causing bacteria for up to two years1-3. Preclinical animal studies4,5 have corroborated the antibacterial effect and decay prevention potential of CaroRx™4,5. PLANET has secured a leading European development and marketing partner for CaroRx™ and plans to create revenues from the sale of this product within 3 years.
How is CaroRx™ Used?
CaroRx™ is d |
Washington, D. C., Oct 2 1916
Attention of Secretary Walcott.
The correspondent, R.H. Goddard of the Dept. of Physics Clark College Worchester Mass. has developed theoretically and in part experimentally, | Washington, D. C., Oct 2 1916
Attention of Secretary Walcott.
The correspondent, R.H. Goddard of the Dept. of Physics Clark College Worchester Mass. has developed theoretically and in part experimentally, a method applicable to raise meteorological apparatus to immense heights, far beyond those reached by present methods. Thus the highest free balloon flight so far is about 25 miles. Goddard claims the possibility of reaching several hundred miles altitude!
He proposes to do this |
As a School Psychologist and the founder and owner of SIGNING FAMILIES™, I often receive queries from parents who are searching for any kind of assistance to help their deaf child. For most parents, having a deaf child is an unexpected | As a School Psychologist and the founder and owner of SIGNING FAMILIES™, I often receive queries from parents who are searching for any kind of assistance to help their deaf child. For most parents, having a deaf child is an unexpected bit of news and quite a shock which leads to many questions such as- “Will my child live a ‘normal’ life- go to college, learn to drive, talk to me” and so forth. While I don’t have a zillion answers, I do have a lot of information that others have shared with me and now I happily will share with you.
First, know that 9 of every 10 deaf children born in the United States are born to hearing parents. The reasons for deafness vary with some being genetic. Most parents don’t know anything about deafness, the amazing deaf culture or American Sign Language (ASL). However, some of the misconceptions one may have had in the past are changing (thankfully) due to great public figures such as Marlee Matlin, Deanne Bray and TV shows such as GLEE.
Deafness comes in degrees. Some children can have a hearing loss and benefit from hearing aids and perhaps speech therapy. Others will receive zero benefit from amplification. Just like no two people wearing glasses are the same, neither are those with hearing loss. I. King Jordan, the past president of Gallaudet University, has been quoted as saying, “Deaf people can do anything- except hear”. I ditto that sentiment. You need only to walk the campus of Gallaudet University or see the Who’s Who within the deaf community to know that success is not based on whether you can hear or not.
Now for the What Should We Do?
To start if you have discovered your child is deaf or hard of hearing you may wish to do the following:
1- Contact your public school district Early Intervention Office. The United States has programs that are FREE and available to any child from birth through the age of 21 who qualifies as needing special education, this may include speech therapy for a child with a significant hearing loss and early intervention specialists helping parents with their children’s learning. Here is a link to help you find your more about the laws which help children with exceptional needs: http://idea.ed.gov/ and here http://www.nectac.org/partc/partc.asp
2- Talk with your pediatrician about referrals to medical teams which specialize with deaf children. Your pediatrician most likely has not received specific training in audiology and other matters to help your deaf child. This is just the way it is with medical training.
3. Talk with other parents who have deaf children. There are options from different educational programs, to hearing aids to the cochlear implant. This is your child, be a well informed “consumer”.
4- Learn American Sign Language (ASL). Now I know most of you are saying that you were expecting this suggestion given the nature of my business. However, the reality is that ASL is the fourth most common language in the U.S. And a deaf child with or without a cochlear implant, in my opinion, can still benefit from learning ASL. Plus, sign language for young children, hearing or deaf, has been proven to promote overall language skills, reduce frustration and negative behaviors. Learning ASL is a win-win, for deaf and hearing populations. Your child has nothing to lose by being bilingual and bicultural. To learn more about ASL or see many practice sites visit here: ASL
5- Check out these wonderful groups I have listed below who only want to help your deaf or hard of hearing (HOH) child and your family as a whole.
6- There has been a plethora of material written and filmed about the deaf community, mainstreaming of deaf children into hearing schools and the cochlear implant. Two seminole films are THROUGH DEAF EYES and SOUND and FURY (make sure you watch the first and second films for SOUND and FURY to get the whole story). Both are available on PBS.org, NETFLIX and online for purchase. Both were required viewing for my ASL college level courses. Students with preconceived notions about deafness were “blown away” by both films, especially THROUGH DEAF EYES.
If you have any more questions please feel free to post here or go to SIGNING FAMILIES on FACEBOOK. Let us ALL learn from each other.
There is no way possible that I could list ALL the wonderful websites dedicated to helping Deaf/ HOH children and families. Please feel free to add your favorites in the comment section. PLEASE visit SIGNING FAMILIES LINKS for a more thorough list, too.
To help with literacy of deaf children and support for families:
Gallaudet Clerc Center: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/
These organizations or businesses help children’s literacy in general, many with a bilingual- bicultural element
Social -Emotional Development help can be found here:
EARLY CHILDHOOD BLOGS were listed in bulk here too by the Guide to Online Schools: http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/tips-and-tools/early-childhood-blogs
Thanks for reading |
This is one of the first photos taken by the Curiosity after it landed on August 6, 2012. The photo was taken by the left “eye” of wide-angle fisheye stereo lenses on a pair of Hazard-Avoid | This is one of the first photos taken by the Curiosity after it landed on August 6, 2012. The photo was taken by the left “eye” of wide-angle fisheye stereo lenses on a pair of Hazard-Avoidance cameras on rover’s left-rear side.
The clear dust cover protecting the camera sprang open during landing. You can see part of the spring that released the dust cover at the bottom right, near rover’s wheel.
Part of the power sup |
Dear Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School Teachers,
As a teacher at a Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School, you know how important primary sources and historical research are in the learning process. National History Day is a program in which more than 600, | Dear Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School Teachers,
As a teacher at a Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School, you know how important primary sources and historical research are in the learning process. National History Day is a program in which more than 600,000 students around the world in grades 6–12 will engage in meaningful historical research and present their findings to panels of experts at the school, regional, state, and national levels.
In the spring of 2014, the most successful will present their work at the 57 affiliate contests (fifty states; Washington, DC; Guam; American Samoa; Korea; Puerto Rico; China; and South Asia), and the best will compete at the (inter)national contest held at the University of Maryland in June 2014. We know that many of you are NHD teachers, and we hope you will consider participating in the 2014 competition, which centers around the theme of Rights and Responsibilities in History.
As the new Director of Programs for National History Day (and a Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar veteran), my job is to be a resource for teachers and students across the country. Teachers use the program to teach research methodology to students as well as historical content, and there are many ways to incorporate both methodology and content. Please know that there is no “right” or “wrong” topic—these are just some ideas that I dug up using the Gilder Lehrman resources.
Gilder Lehrman’s website provides a wide variety of primary and secondary sources. The Gilder Lehrman Collection itself contains 60,000 historical documents, which can be searched online. In addition, more than 200 documents are included in the History by Era section as Featured Primary Sources with introductions, transcripts, and images. The History by Era section also includes more than 200 essays by eminent historians. The essays are located within the 39 Sub-Eras in the ten Eras.
After exploring these resources, I wanted to share with you some ideas that are a little off the beaten path.
- The relationship between settlers and natives is a great source of topics for NHD projects. You could start with Bartolomé de Las Casas and explore the interactions between the natives and Spaniards in Latin America. Most people think of African slavery in the Americas, but how about Native American slavery? Check out this secondary sourcedescribing that practice.
- The American Revolution was an entire war fought over the concepts of rights and responsibilities. You might want to consider the story of an individual soldier or family and their role in the Revolution. What happened when one generation of a family were loyalists and another patriots? |
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In 1999 illegal drug use resulted in 555,000 emergency room visits, of which 30 percent were for cocaine, 16 percent for marijuana or hashish, 15 percent for heroin or morphine, and 2 percent for | In 1999 illegal drug use resulted in 555,000 emergency room visits, of which 30 percent were for cocaine, 16 percent for marijuana or hashish, 15 percent for heroin or morphine, and 2 percent for amphetamines. Alcohol in combination with other drugs accounted for 35 percent. This is not the first time that the U.S. has suffered a widespread health crisis brought on by drug abuse. In the 1880s (legal) drug companies began selling medications containing cocaine, which had only recently been synthesized from the leaves of the coca plant. Furthermore, pure cocaine could be bought legally at retail stores. Soon there were accounts of addiction and sudden death from cardiac arrest and stroke among users, as well as cocaine-related crime. Much of the blame for crime fell on blacks, although credible proof of the allegations never surfaced. Reports of health and crime problems associated with the drug contributed to rising public pressure for reform, which led in time to a ban on retail sales of cocaine under the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914. This and later legislation contributed to the near elimination of the drug in the 1920s.
Cocaine use revived in the 1970s, long after its deleterious effects had faded from memory. By the mid-1980s history repeated itself as the U.S. rediscovered the dangers of the drug, including its new form, crack. Crack was cheap and could be smoked, a method of delivery that intensified the pleasure and the risk. Media stories about its evils, sometimes exaggerated, were apparently the key element in turning public sentiment strongly in favor of harsh sentences, even for possession. The result was one of the most important federal laws of recent years, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. It was enacted hurriedly without benefit of committee hearings, so great was the pressure to do something about the problem. Because crack was seen as uniquely addictive and destructive, the law specified that the penalty for possession of five grams would be the same as that for possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine.
This article was originally published with the title Coke, Crack, Pot, Speed et al.. |
Last November, astronomer David Turner made headlines by claiming that one of the sky's best known objects — the North Star, Polaris — was actually 111 light-years closer than thought.
If true, the finding might have forced researchers to rethink | Last November, astronomer David Turner made headlines by claiming that one of the sky's best known objects — the North Star, Polaris — was actually 111 light-years closer than thought.
If true, the finding might have forced researchers to rethink how they calculate distances in the cosmos as well as what they know about some aspects of stellar physics. But a new study argues that distance measurements of the familiar star made some two decades ago by the European Space Agency's venerable Hipparcos satellite are still spot on. Experts appear to agree.
Astronomers arguably made the most accurate measure of the distance to Polaris in the mid-1990s.
The star, five times as massive as the Sun, is a so-called Classical Cepheid: a rapidly aging giant star that has used up its hydrogen fuel and is now burning helium in its core.
In this period of instability, its outer stellar envelope expands and contracts over periods of days to a few months.
Scientists working with the Hipparcos satellite measured Polaris's distance by taking its trigonometric parallax; that is, how, over a period of months or years, the star moves across our line of sight in relation to other objects in the sky. Polaris, the team calculated, was 434 light-years away.
But last year, Turner challenged that figure. He and his team broke light from Polaris into its component wavelengths — a technique called spectroscopy — and compared 23 spectra from the star.
From the new data and Polaris' known apparent brightness, the astronomers were able to infer its absolute visual brightness by comparing ratios within its spectra.
In contrast, the Hipparcos team got a much brighter absolute luminosity for Polaris than did Turner's team.
Even so, Turner's team used their own absolute luminosity measurements to, in turn, calculate Polaris's true colour and temperature, which ultimately gave them the new distance: 323 light-years.
Now the Hipparcos team is back in the form of one of its former team members, Floor van Leeuwen, a researcher at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
In a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics, van Leeuwen notes that during its three-year mission, Hipparcos took 127 measurements of Polaris, 124 of which he describes as "robust".
Hipparcos' measurements would have to be off by 23 times the spacecraft's margin of error, he calculates, for Turner to be right.
"What I did in my letter was to show the huge improbability of Turner's claim from the point of view of the Hipparcos data," he said.
"The assumption that [Turner's] models can predict more accurately what the distance of an object is than the actual measurements puts science completely upside down."
Instead, van Leeuwen argues, the discrepancy lies in how Turner and colleagues interpreted Polaris' luminosity and in particular how that relates to what is known about how Polaris pulsates.
As a result, as van Leeuwen asserts in his paper, Turner's new brightness calculations are greatly underestimated, which van Leeuwen says caused Turner's team to also underestimate the star' |
White Studies History’s Eyewitnesses
When you talk with Ted White about historical figures, he often uses the present tense. “Alice, Henry, and William James are exchanging letters bad-mouthing Justice Holmes in the 1880s,” | White Studies History’s Eyewitnesses
When you talk with Ted White about historical figures, he often uses the present tense. “Alice, Henry, and William James are exchanging letters bad-mouthing Justice Holmes in the 1880s,”White says. “Alice has an 1889 journal entry, ‘H. writes that he has received an affectionate!!! letter from Wendell Holmes, a marvel explained by his near arrival in London. They say he has entirely broken loose and is flirting as desperately as ever.’”
“When I first came upon the exchange,” White continues, “I thought that Holmes pretty much deserved what he got. But now that I know the Jameses better, I’m a lot more sympathetic to Holmes.”
The story not only illustrates the way that White can immerse himself in the past, but his abiding curiosity about what makes people tick and how they are perceived by others. Those qualities have shaped his scholarship. Since the early 1970s, White has sought to use history to challenge the view that law is simply a mirror of society, an enabler of its political and social agenda. White argues that law’s relationship to society is far more complex. To illustrate that view, he has focused on the intellectual history of leading American judges and legal scholars, and on the connections between their jurisprudence and the cultural setting in which they worked.
White sees the relationship of law to society as “a constantly changing interplay between the dominant ideas and attitudes of legal culture and factors in society at large.” He is interested in why lawyers, judges, and legal academics have come to believe in certain social ideals at various times in history. He is also interested in why some lawyers and judges have become famous, and others have remained obscure.
A key element of White’s approach is the debunking of “progressive historiography” (historiography being a generic term for the methodologies historians use to study their subjects). As White uses the term “progressive,” it does not refer to a political agenda, although many of the historians he associates with a “progressive” perspective have tended to be on the political left. By “progressive,” White means an approach to historical scholarship which assumes that history is a progression of events through time, inevitably leading to a future that is qualitatively better than the past. “Many ‘progressive’ historians believe that because the future is an improvement on the past, it is useful to project the central political issues and concerns of the 20th century — the century in which modernity came into being — back into the past.” The historian looks for historical events that foreshadow present day legal and cultural developments. In the process, a progressive historian tends to characterize historical events with reference to current contemporary issues.
White received his B.A. from Amherst College and his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. Rather than pursuing an academic career as an assistant professor of American Studies or history, he chose to attend Harvard Law School. “I was apprehensive about a career in liberal arts teaching,” White says, “mainly, in retrospect, because I was 26 years old and didn’t want to join the mature work force.”
During his second year in law school, Yale University Press published his dissertation, The Eastern Establishment and the Western Experience: The West of Frederic Remington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Owen Wister. This brought him to the attention of Harvard faculty, who invited him to join some discussion groups in legal history. By his third year White had decided to pursue a career in law teaching, hopefully specializing in American legal and constitutional history. “It was a somewhat quixotic plan,”White says. “None of the major law schools was interested in legal historians at the time.”
In 1972 White joined the Virginia law faculty after a clerkship with Chief Justice Earl Warren of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Since that time, White’s 11 books have won numerous honors and awards, including final listing for the Pulitzer Prize in history, the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, the Littleton-Griswold Prize from the American Historical Association, the James Willard Hurst Prize from the Law and Society Association, the Scribes Award, and the Association of American Law School’s Triennial Coif Award.
“Ted illuminates everything he touches,” says Law Professor Barry Cushman ’86, White’s colleague and also an expert in constitutional history. “He’s a wonderful writer. He |
Chapter 16 - Dementia
Dementia refers to a loss of higher intellectual (cognitive) and emotional function. It is a very common problem, particularly in the elderly, and it may go unrecognized for quite some time. Studies indicate that | Chapter 16 - Dementia
Dementia refers to a loss of higher intellectual (cognitive) and emotional function. It is a very common problem, particularly in the elderly, and it may go unrecognized for quite some time. Studies indicate that up to 20% or more of persons who have symptoms suggestive of dementia turn out to have treatable illness. About half of them will have psychiatric problems, but the remainder will have treatable organic disease. The proportion of treatable cases is lower the older the population and the more chronic the dementia. However, even in this group a significant number of persons may be helped. The clinical importance of this subject can hardly be exaggerated. Over the age of 65, 5-10% of the population has significant cognitive problems. Over the age of 80 this proportion rises to 15-20%, rising to nearly 40% by age 85. The incidence of dementia is fairly steady from 65 on, but the percentage of individuals with dementia climbs steadily with age due to accumulation. Recent data suggests that here is a possible decline in the incidence of dementia after one reaches the ninth decade. The importance of these statistics becomes immense considering the generally aging population. There were approximately 20 million over 65 in the late 1980's. By 2030, it is estimated that 60-70 million Americans will be over 65. The socio-economic consequences of having 5-10% of this population demented are staggering, particularly given the burden that dementia places on the individual, their families and society.
Several problems often arise in trying to decide whether or not a patient is actually demented.
- Senescence: Mild defects in memory and other higher cortical functions occur normally with age. One may complain of these, but may be able to perform normally on clinical mental status testing and on formal psychological tests that take this normal deterioration into account. This has been described as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and, although such patients are at increased risk of full-blown dementia, we have yet to develop a foolproof method for determining who will undergo such progression.
- Mental retardation: Because dementia is defined as a loss of function, the history should be adequate to document that the person was once capable of better performance. Educational and occupational histories are valuable in this regard. The patient should be asked at what age they achieved their highest educational grade, to ascertain whether they progressed normally through school.
- Psychiatric illness: Mistakes can be made in both directions. Organic illness can mimic many symptoms of psychiatric disease, especially the psychoses; and some psychiatric illness may prevent adequate evaluation of a patient's intellectual functioning. A few rules are useful:
- (a) With the exception of depression, the functional psychoses rarely arise after the age of 40. A 50-year-old person with their first "schizophrenic break" should therefore be suspected of having organic disease;
- (b) Depression may accompany mild dementia, but contrary to what is commonly stated, depression is not the first sign of the usual form of dementia of old age. In fact, depressed elderly persons with normal mental status do not have an increased incidence of subsequent organic dementia. Furthermore, when dementia is moderately severe, a person cannot sustain a deep depression although they may be querulous and at times sad. Severe depression, therefore, is rarely a symptom of organic disease;
- (c) Although loss of recent memory (learning capacity) is not a necessary accompaniment of organic dementia, it is not seen in functional states. If adequate testing can be done, the finding of a definite recent memory deficit strongly militates against a diagnosis of functional disease. The two major exceptions are depressive pseudodementia and malingering. It is rare for the malingering person to mimic convincingly the type of memory loss seen in those with organic disease. The malingerer is more likely to forget everything, including items of remote memory usually retained by truly amnesic persons;
- (d) Regressive reflexes (see Table 8-1) are indicative of organic disease.
- (e) Urinary incontinence is rarely seen in adults with functional disease.
- (f) Depressive pseudodementia presents a difficult clinical problem. These patients, usually elderly, have decreased activity and speech and deficits in intellectual functioning. Depressive symptoms may not be prominent. When there is doubt and the preliminary medical evaluation for dementia is negative, it is sometimes worthwhile to treat these patients for depression (with drugs or, in some intractable cases, electroconvulsive therapy). Patients with pseudodementia usually respond, and their intellectual functioning returns to normal.
Dementia is not a unitary condition. Findings differ greatly among patients, reflecting to a large extent, the regions of the brain involved or the nature of the biochemical insult. Localization of hemispheric function was discussed in Chapter 2.
Loss of recent memory (as tested by a person's ability to remember three items after five minutes of distraction) in the absence of defects of attention (as tested, for example, by the digit span - the ability to repeat 7 numbers forward and 5 numbers backward) is indic |
The three posters distributed with the pack can be accessed from the thumbnails. The images on the posters are described below. For more information, see the Teachers' Workbook and the textbook.
- Mobile phone: The heating effect of the radio waves from a | The three posters distributed with the pack can be accessed from the thumbnails. The images on the posters are described below. For more information, see the Teachers' Workbook and the textbook.
- Mobile phone: The heating effect of the radio waves from a mobile phone has been modelled by computer. Mobiles have been shown to heat the brain by about 0.2 degrees C.
- Thermography: A thermal image shows the temperature of the body's surface. This image shows the hands of a patient with Raynaud's syndrome, which is a problem with the circulation in the fingers and toes.
- Endoscopy: A view from an endoscope showing a hernia in the stomach.
- Scanning laser ophthalmoscope: This uses blue light to image the retina. The light is scanned across the retina, allowing an image to be built up.
- Blue light treatment of jaundice: Premature babies sometimes have jaundice. It is usually harmless but can be treated using blue light.
- Radiotherapy: Radiotherapy is one of the most common uses of the electromagnetic spectrum in medicine. High energy x-rays are used to treat cancer.
- X-rays: X-rays are used for both diagnosis and treatment.
- Main picture: A whole body scan showing the uptake of radioactivity in the bones.
- Radiation safety sign
- PET scan: A PET scan uses a radioisotope which emits positrons. The drug circulates round the body and collects in a region of interest, like a tumour. It then decays, and the gamma rays which result from annihilation of the positron are detected to give an image of body function.
- Lead-lined syringe: Radiation protection must be observed at all stages. When the patient is being injected, it is common to use a lead-lined syringe holder to reduce the dose to the person giving the injection.
- Ventilation/perfusion scan: This involves two tests which may be done together or separately. The patient is injected with a radioactive drug which remains in the blo |
How to stockpile food
Published March 26, 2012
Whether itís a hurricane or a broken leg, stockpiling food will ensure that you and your family are well prepared in case of emergency. Effective stockpiling requires | How to stockpile food
Published March 26, 2012
Whether itís a hurricane or a broken leg, stockpiling food will ensure that you and your family are well prepared in case of emergency. Effective stockpiling requires preparation, prudence and forward thinking. Knowing which foods to buy and which to ignore will allow you to maximize your food supply during an emergency situation. It may seem like a drastic measure, but if you live in an area prone to heavy snow, floods or other natural disasters, stockpiling food is a responsible and important measure. Here are some tips to help ensure that you and your family well supplied for any situation.
During an emergency, you may need to react quickly to a stressful situation or physically exert yourself more than usual, so nourishing your body with high-calorie foods may be essential. Peanut butter is the perfect stockpiling food as it is high in calories, fats and protein, has a long shelf life and doesnít require refrigeration. A good stockpile will include plenty of food that involves little or no preparation, such as canned soups, chili, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Itís also crucial to keep a large supply of clean bottled water. In a stressful situation, people can often take comfort in some of their favorite foods, so choose the foods you and your family enjoy whenever possible.
Depending on the situation, you may be forced to rely on your stockpile for days, weeks or even months, so itís crucial to store enough food to tide your over. Try devising a set meal plan for one week and list the ingredients and quantities necessary. Then, multiply these quantities by four, for a monthís supply, or eight for a two-month stockpile. A disaster may strike while you have a visitor, so always be sure to keep extra supplies.
Of course, purchasing such large quantities of food can be expensive. Thatís why itís best to build your stockpile over time, purchase foods with a long shelf life, and always look out for sales.
Create a permanent storage space in a cool and dry part of the house. Basements are usually great areas to house a stockpile, though you may wish to choose the attic if your basement is prone to flooding. If you wish to store meats, use a freezer, but be aware that you may not have an electricity supply to run it when you need it most. Vacuum packing certain foods will increase their shelf life
Renew Stock When Necessary
Your stockpile will be useless if your food spoils and becomes inedible. Thatís why itís essential to renew your food stock regularly. Make a list of expiration dates for each item that you buy and renew your supply of food whenever it becomes necessary. If your food stocks are approaching their expiration date, simply rotate them into your normal supply of food and replace them with fresh supplies.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/...#ixzz1qLUanHmv |
Many Kinds of
The Fungus Kingdom is often but not always divided into seven phyla (sometimes called divisions -- see our "Pigeon-Holing" page), as shown at the right.
If you look into books a few | Many Kinds of
The Fungus Kingdom is often but not always divided into seven phyla (sometimes called divisions -- see our "Pigeon-Holing" page), as shown at the right.
If you look into books a few years old, a different breakdown will be given, and different words used. The understanding of what fungi are and how they are related to one another is constantly changing. If you are really serious about having access to the most recent information, check out a page called "Kingdoms, Classification and Biodiversity" focusing on the fungi.
Below is a little information about the main phyla of fungi we might find and recognize in our backyards:
Basidia cover part of the fungus's reproductive structures. In gilled mushrooms the gills are covered with them. The above diagram shows a cross section of such a gill. Basidospores detach from the basidia and drift down out of the gills, and then are dispersed on wind currents. Basidia occur elsewhere on the fruiting bodies of non-gilled fungi. You might want to compare the above diagram showing basidia and basidiospores with the diagrams below.
The above describes sexual reproduction. Members of the Basidiomycota also can reproduce asexually, though it is not as common here as among the next two phyla. This is accomplished when fragments of the fungus break off and the fragment hyphae simply continue growing in the manner of the parent fungus. Basidiomycota hyphae can also produce arm-like structures at the end of which appear tiny, single-celled, ąspherical items called conidia. Conidia behave like the first cell of a new hypha. It simply grows until a new hypha is formed, and then that hypha can produce more conidia, all without sex having ever taken place.
Good things to remember about members of the Basidiomycota are:
The Ascomycota ("Sac Fungi")
Members of the Ascomycota also can reproduce asexually, producing conidia as described for the Basidiomycota.
Good things to remember about members of the Ascomycota are:
The Zygomycota ("Conjugation Fungi")
The old name, "Conjugation fungi" was always sort of a clumsy name for this group. The name reflects the fact that among these fungi, instead of the sexual spores being produced on conspicuous spore-producing bodies such as mushrooms or cups, they are produced in very small structures that form when the fungal hyphae "come into conjunction," or meet one another. The above diagram shows what happens. Two hyphae of different mating strains "come into conjunction," bulges form on each of them (the progametangia), and this leads to the mature "zygospore," which accounts for the name of the division.
These zygospores can be thought of as resting stages, since they often form when conditions get difficult -- maybe because its environment is drying out -- for the hyphae to keep growing. The hyphae may then wither and die, but the tough zygospores will "rest" until good growing conditions return. Then the zygospores germinate (That's when meiosis occurs), and new hyphae are formed. These new hyphae may then reproduce asexually for a long time, producing sporangia which break open releasing spores that germinate to produce new hyphae -- all without the sexual process ever taking place! But then if things dry out, the hyphae will start producing zygospore "resting stages" again.
Something important to notice in the above diagram is that the dots, which represent cell nuclei, are not separated from one another by cell walls! Therefore, good things to remember about members of the Zygomycota are:
The diagram above shows how zygospores are produced through a sexual process. Conjugation fungi can also reproduce without sex being involved (asexually) to produce just plain spores.
The Fungi Imperfecti ("Imperfect Fungi," sometimes known as the Deuteromycota")
Some specialists would insist that the Fungi Imperfecti are not a real phylum at all, but rather just an artificial grouping of f |
Your Brilliant Baby in Week 9: Cooing and Parentese
What your infant learns this week
Baby’s Brain in Week 9
As your baby approaches her second month, she may begin cooing. Cooing— | Your Brilliant Baby in Week 9: Cooing and Parentese
What your infant learns this week
Baby’s Brain in Week 9
As your baby approaches her second month, she may begin cooing. Cooing—making those “oooh” and other vowel-type sounds—doesn’t magically happen: It’s a reaction to the “parentese” you’ve been using with your child since birth.
What’s motherese, fatherese, parentese, or caregiverese? It’s the singsongy way people, even young siblings, talk to babies. It’s what they bring—beyond loving, attentive care—to the baby-caregiver connection. It’s when parents intuitively raise their eyebrows, open their eyes wide, and talk melodically in a high pitch with over-accentuated wording. No one teaches people to speak this way, but even across cultures, loving caregivers instinctively do it.
What the Research Shows
Researchers put one college football player at a time in a research laboratory with a contented baby, with the simple instructions to just stay there. After a while, the babies (being babies, after all) fussed for food, comfort, or socialization. At first, each football player was reluctant to approach the baby: Most looked around in hopes that the parent would appear. When no one came to their rescue, player after player made his best effort to speak to the baby using parentese. Until that moment the football players may not have even realized they knew how to speak this way!
Does this experiment prove that all humans come equipped with the ability to connect naturally with babies? Probably not. But it does explain that even the seemingly antithesis of mother figures—macho football players—appear to have the intuitive skill of talking to an infant in a special, soothing way.
Week 9 Brain Booster
Go ahead—give in to your parentese instincts. When you hear Baby coo, talk to her in your singsong way and listen for her to coo back. This is the beginning of “conversation” that validates your child, proves your interest in her, and further develops your bond. When speaking parentese, you’re actually imitating Baby’s vocal productions. This is not only flattering to her (“Oh! She likes that sound!”) but also encourages her to vocalize more and further connect with you. And so begins your communication with one another: Later, you and your child will swap high-pitched tones and cooing for real language—and a different type of parentese entirely.
Your Week 9 Toolbox
Related skills and topics this week include …
- Week 19: Prefering Music to Talking
- Week 4: Identifying Smells, Sounds, and Tastes
- 10 Ways to Boost Your Baby’s Brain
- Quiz: Do You Know Your Baby’s Language Development Milestones?
- Next week, look forward to: Week 10: The Mystery of Colic
- Catch up on last week: Week 8: Emerging Emotions
Curious about how else Baby might be developing right now? Learn more about her brilliant brain and her growing body here:
- What’s happening in Baby’s third month?
- Use our Development Tracker to check off your child’s 0-3 month milestones.
- Here’s what our pediatrician says you might be worried about this month.
YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN |
It Always Ends in the Same Way …
Like many economically weaker EU members, Greece fudged the numbers to meet the qualifications for Euro-zone entry.
Membership of the Euro-zone reduced the ability of Greece to manage its economy. It lost the ability | It Always Ends in the Same Way …
Like many economically weaker EU members, Greece fudged the numbers to meet the qualifications for Euro-zone entry.
Membership of the Euro-zone reduced the ability of Greece to manage its economy. It lost the ability to use its currency, via devaluations, to improve competitiveness and stimulate exports. It also lost the ability to set interest rates. It also cannot print its own currency to fund sovereign borrowing. Greece also has low levels of domestic saving and is reliant on international capital flows.
The current episode exposed an underlying weak and unbalanced economy with few sustainable competitive advantages. It has also exposed poor political leadership and inadequate financial controls. The same could be said of a number of other countries.
No one, including the IMF, seriously believes that the austerity program announced by Greece will work. Argentina had debt to GDP of around 60% and a budget deficit of 6%. Adjustments necessary to halve both failed. After a long drawn out struggle between 1999 and 2001, Argentina was forced to reschedule its debt and have still not quite made their way back to normality. Many of the vulnerable countries in Europe are in a much worse position than Argentina in 1999.
Rapid economic growth or high inflation would improve Greece’s prospects for survival. Neither is a realistic option. The Euro-zone could continue to finance Greece, which would require extension of the current package, which is initially for 3 years.
Greece may not be able to avoid a debt restructuring. For the countries like, Ireland, Spain, Portugal as well the others, the savage austerity measures required are unlikely to be palatable and probably won’t work in any case. All roads may lead eventually to debt restructuring.
The best course of action for Greece would be to “temporarily” (that is, for the next several hundred years) opt out of the Euro and unilaterally re-denominate its debt into the “new” Drachma. Through the currency devaluation, this would effectively reduce debt and restore competitiveness.
In any debt rescheduling, lenders would take significant write downs, reducing Greece’s debt burden, giving it a chance to emerge as a sustainable economy. Previous sovereign defaults suggest that the losses to investors may be as high as 70-80% of the face value. The rating agencies have suggested a loss around 50%. This would equate to a total loss of around $130 billion to $200 billion, making this the single largest sovereign default in history.
The real agenda of the bailout is to avoid foreign lenders taking large losses. The investors were imprudent in their willingness to lend excessively to countries like Greece assuming EU “implicit” support and are now seeking others to bail out them out of their folly. As Herbert Spencer, the English philosopher, observed: “the ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.”
As at June 2009, Greece owed US$276 billion to international banks, of which around US$254 billion was owed to European banks with French, Swiss and German banks having significant exposures. Bank for International Settlement data indicates that German and French banks’ exposure to Greece is about $50 billion and $75 billion respectively.
In aggregate, the exposure of Germany and France to troubled European countries is around $1 trillion. According to the Bank for International Settlements, as at the end of 2009, French banks and German banks have lent $493 billion and $465 billion respectively to Spain, Greece, Portugal and Ireland.
The real purpose of the bailout is to prepare for a possible series of sovereign debt restructurings in Europe. In an ideal world, banks and investors raise capital and write down their exposure to the troubled debtors over time allowing the restructuring to be relatively smooth, avoiding disruption to financial markets. The strategy is the same that financial institutions have adopted to manage other distressed assets, such as commercial real estate and private equity loans. It is not certain that this is achievable.
Dysfunctional functionalism …
Contagion is already a reality. Highly indebted sovereign borrowers with immediate financing needs are facing higher costs and lower availability of funds. Scrutiny of their public finances is forcing them to adopt austerity programs to remain credible borrowers with access to markets
The risk of losses from a Greek or other sovereign defaults has affected financial institutions. Mirroring events at the start of the GFC, the close linkages between Euro-zone banks through cross border loans and investment to each other remain a serious potential problem. The connections and trading in instruments on the credit risk of banks and sovereigns (such as CDS contracts) may prove a major channel for financial contagion. A single sovereign default may affect banks, which in turn will affect other banks, resulting in renewed problems for the global financial system.
The stress is most evident in inter-bank funding rates that have risen sharply to their highest levels in a year. While they are below the extraordinary levels following the problems of Lehman Brothers and AIG, forward funding rates and instruments used to transfer liquidity between currencies (such as basis swaps) anticipate further increases. Some of the change is technical and driven by a shortage of dollars, due to investors repatriating funds. Central banks have reinstated currency swap deals to make it easier for banks to borrow dollars.
Since 2008, money markets have operated on the basis that large banks are “too big to fail“, due to support |
International Health Regulations enter into force
New opportunity to respond to international public health threats
14 June 2007 | Geneva - The revised International Health Regulations (IHR) enter into force on Friday, 15 June. The Regulations consist of a | International Health Regulations enter into force
New opportunity to respond to international public health threats
14 June 2007 | Geneva - The revised International Health Regulations (IHR) enter into force on Friday, 15 June. The Regulations consist of a comprehensive and tested set of rules and procedures which will help to make the world more secure from threats to global health. They were agreed by the World Health Assembly in 2005 and represent a major step forward in international public health security.
The Regulations establish an agreed framework of commitments and responsibilities for States and for WHO to invest in limiting the international spread of epidemics and other public health emergencies while minimizing disruption to travel, trade and economies. Under the revised IHR, States will be required to report all events that could result in public health emergencies of international concern, including those caused by chemical agents, radioactive materials and contaminated food.
In the early 21st Century, demographic, economic and environmental pressures have created a unique combination of conditions that allow new and re-emerging infectious diseases to spread as never before. The experience of recent decades shows that no individual country can protect itself from diseases and other public health threats. All countries are vulnerable to the spread of pathogens and their economic, political and social impact.
The emergence of SARS in 2003 demonstrated as no previous disease outbreak ever had how interconnected the world has become and how rapidly a new disease can spread. This shared vulnerability has also created a need for collective defences and for shared responsibility in making these defences work. This is the underlying principle of the International Health Regulations.
"SARS was a wake-up call for all of us. It spread faster than we had predicted and was only contained through intensive cooperation between countries which prevented this new disease from gaining a foothold," said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization. "Today, the greatest threat to international public health security would be an influenza pandemic. The threat of a pandemic has not receded, but implementation of the IHR will help the world to be better prepared for the possibility of a pandemic."
The Regulations build on the recent experience of WHO and its partners in responding to and containing disease outbreaks. Recent experience shows that addressing public health threats at their source is the most effective way to reduce their potential to spread internationally. The Regulations will help to ensure that outbreaks and other public health emergencies of international concern are detected and investigated more rapidly and that collective international action is taken to support affected States to contain the emergency, save lives and prevent its spread.
WHO has already developed and built an improved events management system to manage potential public health emergencies. WHO has also built strategic operations centres at its Geneva Headquarters and in Regional Offices around the world, which are available round-the-clock to manage emergencies. WHO has also been working with its partners to strengthen the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), which brings together experts from around the world to respond to disease outbreaks.
"Implementing the IHR is a collective responsibility and depends on the capacity of all countries to fulfil the new requirements," said Dr David Heymann, WHO Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases. "WHO will help countries to strengthen the necessary capacities to fully implement the Regulations. This is our responsibility and we expect that the entire international community is committed to the same goal of improving international public health security."
WHO exercise to test global system
On Friday, WHO will hold the first exercise to sharpen its preparedness under the terms of the revised International Health Regulations. The exercise will verify new procedures for receiving, analysing and responding to information about potential public health emergencies. It will also ensure the effectiveness of policy direction and coordination, information management and risk assessment capacity and communications between the Regional and Country Offices and Headquarters of WHO.
The exercise is the first of a series meant to test and improve the mechanisms in place in and between Member States and at different levels of WHO.
Note to editors/reporters: The revised IHR requirements
- Notification. Greater openness demanded by a world in which serious disease events are increasingly visible.
The Regulations recognize that media and other unofficial reports often appear in advance of official notification of a public health emergency of international concern. To expedite the flow of timely and accurate information, countries are required to notify all events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern within 24 hours of assessment.
- Designation of National IHR Focal Points: world on 24-hour alert.
Under the IHR every country is required to designate a National IHR Focal Point, charged with providing to and receiving information from WHO on a 24 hour basis, seven days a week.
- Establishment of core public health capacities to maximize surveillance and response.
Under the IHR, each country is committed to develop and maintain core public health capacities for surveillance and response. These capacities also include outbreaks of chemical, radiological and food origin. States are required to establi |
Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation
Location: Midwestern states
Center Director: Bob Merz
Species: American Burying Beetle
As a bright red-orange insect that embalms carrion with naturally secreted fluid, the | Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation
Location: Midwestern states
Center Director: Bob Merz
Species: American Burying Beetle
As a bright red-orange insect that embalms carrion with naturally secreted fluid, the American Burying Beetle is a necessary part of our ecosystem. These insects are responsible for recycling decomposing components back into the environment. Unfortunately, the American burying beetle has been on decline for many years now. Reasons for this decline are unknown, but evidence points to habitat loss and fragmentation. Once found in 35 states, by 1989 the only known population was in Rhode Island. Since its listing as an endangered species, field surveys have discovered populations in six other states. Four of these states - Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma - share portions of their borders with Missouri. All four of these states have found beetles in habitats with similar soil to several of Missouri's natural divisions such as prairies, savannas and Mississippi lowlands. With adequate research on what has caused this animal to become lost, the species may hopefully thrive in Missouri once again.
St. Louis Interest
The Saint Louis Zoo is committed to working with conservation organizations to assist with declining populations of native flora and fauna. The Center has successfully bred thousands of American burying beetles on the Zoo campus. Working with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Consevation and The Nature Conservancy, the Zoo is reintroducing captive beetles to Southwest Missouri.
Since we have developed an active a captive breeding program, we are reintroducing, monitoring and studying populations of American burying beetle in Missouri and have supported reintroductions in other states. We also participate in a Species Survival Plans with our captive population and maintain the North American Regional Studbook for this species.
Surveying for the endangered beetles has comprised the majority of our efforts for the past several years. Our contribution to reintroduction efforts, returning the beetle to parts of its former range, is the beginning of the recovery of this beautiful beetle.
On June 5, 2012, the Saint Louis Zoo's Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation; the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; the Missouri Department of Conservation; and The Nature Conservancy reintroduced Zoo-bred American burying beetles – for the first time ever in Missouri – in locations across the 4,040-acre Wah' Kon-Tah Prairie in Southwest Missouri.
Genetic work organized by the Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation will provide a firm base for both reintroductions and breeding programs like the one at the Saint Louis Zoo.
Educational opportunities will provide local interest to Missouri residents and our other visitors to the Zoo. As survey work and research progresses we can present information in the containment room window, keeping visitors informed of our progress. |
We had an interesting case of plagiarism come up recently. A teacher gave students a writing assignment based on what they had learned from a movie they had watched in class. After collecting the papers, the teacher noticed that one of them had some interesting phrases | We had an interesting case of plagiarism come up recently. A teacher gave students a writing assignment based on what they had learned from a movie they had watched in class. After collecting the papers, the teacher noticed that one of them had some interesting phrases that did not sound like they would naturally come from the student who turned in the paper. So, like many of us do, the teacher typed a couple of sentences into Google and found the web page that contained much of the writing assignment that the student had turned in. She then followed up with the usual information about “you need to cite sources” and “this is plagiarism”.
What’s so strange about this particular case? All of this occurred in the classroom during the twenty minutes that the students were given to write. Clearly, the student must have accessed the internet via a cell phone, searched for some keywords, and written down parts of a passage from a website.
I was a bit stunned that this could happen, but in retrospect I shouldn’t be. Smart phones are literally putting the Internet into our pockets, so why should students’ habits online be any different whether they are at home or on the go?
All of this technology can obviously be a very good thing when used appropriately. For example, many students have dictionary apps on their phones which makes a useful resource very accessible. But occasionally “checking the dictionary” is not just checking the dictionary and it is becoming easier and easier to confuse the two. This experience served as a good reality check for us. We are now more keenly aware of how easily students can access these resources and how important it is to teach them how to use them appropriately. |
South of Rossano lies an empty stretch of beach, with, inland, the vineyards of Ciro, the source of Calabria’s best-known wine. Crossing the River Neto into the fertile Marchesato region, you’ll have | South of Rossano lies an empty stretch of beach, with, inland, the vineyards of Ciro, the source of Calabria’s best-known wine. Crossing the River Neto into the fertile Marchesato region, you’ll have your approach to CROTONE (the ancient Greek city of Kroton) blighted by a smoky industrial zone – not the most alluring entry into a city, but a rare thing in Calabria, and a reminder of the false hopes once vested in the industrialization of the region. In spite of this, Crotone today has an agreeable, unspoiled old centre, and makes a good base for the beaches that spread to the south and for the Greek ruins at Capo Colonna.
The site of ancient Kroton has been entirely lost, but in its day this was among the most important colonial settlements of Magna Graecia, overshadowed by its more powerful neighbour Sybaris, but with a school of medicine famous throughout the classical world and closely linked with the prowess of the city’s athletes, who regularly scooped all the honours at the Olympic Games back in Greece. In 530 BC the mathematician and metaphysician Pythagoras took up residence in Kroton and it went on to be the foremost of the Greek cities in Calabria. However, increasingly destabilized by internal conflicts, the city was eventually destroyed by the Romans. A resurgence of sorts occurred in the thirteenth century when it was made the main town of the Marchesato region, a vast feudal domain held by the powerful Ruffo family of Catanzaro. But its prosperity was always hindered by the scourge of malaria, provoking the author George Gissing – himself a victim of malaria during his visit in 1897 – to condemn Crotone as “a squalid little town”. |
Spending and Quality < | > Goal #2: Academic Rigor
Parents should be allowed to choose schools for their children. It’s a simple concept protected by the U.S. Supreme Court. No state can force children to go to public | Spending and Quality < | > Goal #2: Academic Rigor
Parents should be allowed to choose schools for their children. It’s a simple concept protected by the U.S. Supreme Court. No state can force children to go to public schools. Yet currently, only those who can afford to pay the financial penalties associated with choice — moving to a different district or paying tuition — can afford to choose. In short, only the wealthy can choose.
Ironically, many people who oppose school choice policies choose private schools for their own children, including politicians who block school choice legislation and members of the teachers unions who fight choice programs in court and in legislatures.
The two questions that are often raised about school choice programs are legitimate ones to consider:Solid research shows that the answer to both these questions is “yes.”
- Does it benefit the common good?
- Does it benefit the individual good?
The Common Good Benefit
Harvard economist Caroline Minter Hoxby is an economist whose well-respected peer-reviewed work on the effects of competition among public schools shows:
She also studied whether private schools provide competition for public ones, and found:
- school productivity rises
- students do not experience more racial and income segregation
There is also a growing body of anecdotal evidence that suggests school choice programs benefit public schools and the common good through the introduction of the pressures and incentives of competition.
- competition increases public school student achievement
- the improvements in student achievement do not require higher spending
- there is no statistically significant evidence that greater private school competitiveness increases “cream-skimming” – student sorting that differentially benefits private schools.
A prominent Vermont educator had this to say about the effects of competition on schools:“I believe that competition for students in the public marketplace is a positive and healthy phenomenon that serves to improve the quality of our schools.” – David Wolk, former superintendent of Rutland schools, now Commissioner of Education for Vermont. (Rutland HeraldCommissioner Wolk believes that the Rutland area high schools “are of higher caliber at least in part due to the competition for students from tuition-paying towns…”
Does school choice benefit the common good? Yes.
The Individual Good
On the “individual good” level, the research of Harvard professor Paul Peterson shows gains in academic achievement among students in voucher programs – both publicly- and privately-funded. This research has been widely publicized and is available on the internet. Dr. Peterson is meticulous in comparing apples to apples. Of particular note is his “Evaluation of the New York School Choice Scholarship Program: The First Year.” This study showed that:
This particular study is useful because it is one of the first opportunities researchers have had to estimate the impacts of a choice pilot program that had the following characteristics:
- there were small gains among the vouchered students in grades two through five
- there were sizeable differences among students in fourth and fifth grades (with voucher students showing higher scores)
Peterson’s research on Milwaukee and Cleveland have shown similar results with modest to significant gains in academic achievement and always high levels of parental satisfaction. Research on charter schools have shown similar benefits.
- a lottery allocated scholarships randomly
- baseline data on student test performance and family background characteristics were collected from a high percentage of students prior to the lottery
- data on a broad range of characteristics were collected from a high percentage of the test group and control group one year later.
Critics will argue, however, that the research shows mixed results. This is because of the difficulty in determining true control groups, among other things. What is not in doubt, and is agreed to by critics, is the high level of parental satisfaction with school choice programs. Study after study shows that parental satisfaction is extremely high among parents who can choose schools for their children. Since parents are the best judges of what’s best for their kids, this is a significant indicator of quality.
Does school choice benefit the individual good? Yes.
Beyond the research
The public education system as we know it today is a relatively recent phenomena. It has only been since the late 1800s that the system started to become entrenched. Independent schools, in fact, have been around much longer.
The system sprang up for many reasons, but a dominant one was the desire of fearful nativists to make immigrant children (mostly Roman Catholics) fit into a homogenous Protestant culture. Nativist sentiments led to the passage of many school laws that sought to restrict parents’ choices and force them to send their children to the new common schools. There was no respect for diversity or pluralism.
Public education should not be merely what goes on within the walls of a publicly-governed school. Public education is really the public’s responsibility to educate all children wherever their needs are best met.
Where We Could Be — School Choice Possibilities
Charter school: A public school that agrees to meet certain performance standards in exchange for exemptions from public school regulations other than those governing health, safety, and civil rights. Funded by the public, usually on a per-pupil basis, these schools can accept students from outside their district. The most effective charter school laws are those that allow schools the most freedom. Arizona and Michigan have the best charter school laws in the U.S.
Education savings accounts: Accounts, similar to individual retirement accounts (IRAs), in which individuals save a certain amount of post-tax dollars each year for the educational benefit of a student.
Full choice: Choice that includes public, p |
Stamping out peat fires a challenge for Indonesia
TIM BROWN - ANALYSE THAT
We have just returned from a wonderful trip to Australia where we visited relations' new babies and friends.
We were there during the big dust storm, | Stamping out peat fires a challenge for Indonesia
TIM BROWN - ANALYSE THAT
We have just returned from a wonderful trip to Australia where we visited relations' new babies and friends.
We were there during the big dust storm, which reminded one graphically of the power of nature. Thousands of tonnes of soil have been removed from the Murray-Darling basin and redistributed around Australia, the Tasman Sea and New Zealand, not unlike the Dust Bowl of the American mid-west in the early 1900s.
Our friends have just bought a new house and they are coping with many deposits and charges relating to fire hazards. Australia is not quite the utopia we sometimes like to believe. Last year devastating bushfires in South Australia killed over 180 people and razed about 400,000 hectares of land. This year's forecast is for an even hotter and drier summer and a consequent greater fire risk. I hope the forecast is wrong!
The immediate effects of large-scale fires either in Australia or California are obvious: loss of life, property and devastation of flora and fauna; whole lifetimes of investment on farms or businesses lost in one roaring belt of flame. Apart from these obvious and immediate effects, frequent or long-term fires can have a major effect on climate by producing greatly increased amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
In Indonesia, there were major fires in 1997-8 which had the obvious devastating effects, but 10 years on, the problem of frequent and long-term fires, in the peat swamps of the area, is increasing rather that decreasing. They are usually caused by greed and illegal human activity. Peat is made up of compressed vegetable matter, usually in peat bogs, where the water aids compression. Peat is dug while wet and stacked to dry after which it provides a long, slow-burning fuel. The high carbon content of peat means that peat fires release vast amounts of smoke and carbon. Tropical peat swamp fires emit 300Mg (a mega-gram is 1,000,000g) of carbon a hectare. That compares with 7.5-10MgC/ha from other habitats.
In El Nino years, the carbon release can equal 40 per cent of the mean annual global carbon emissions, making it responsible for the biggest single annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide since records began. Between 2000-06, the Borneo peat swamp fires alone produced an average of 74Mtonnes of carbon a year. This makes Indonesia one of the world's biggest carbon dioxide emitters.
These peat swamp fires are generally caused by illegal land clearing, use of fire as a weapon in land tenure disputes, use of fire f |
Articles on forages, animals, and grazing systems
Enter your E-mail to receive the monthly Grazing News Newsletter:
Extension Forage Specialist
University of Kentucky
Phone: (859) 257-3358
Fax: (859) | Articles on forages, animals, and grazing systems
Enter your E-mail to receive the monthly Grazing News Newsletter:
Extension Forage Specialist
University of Kentucky
Phone: (859) 257-3358
Fax: (859) 323-1952
Nitrate toxicity may be a problem for farmers grazing corn or feeding green-chop this fall. There are many factors to consider when deciding if livestock are at risk of nitrate toxicity. Drought conditions and high levels of nitrogen in the soil can cause prime conditions for high nitrates in plants. During times of drought, higher levels of nitrogen are taken up by the plants. Risk is increased if soil nitrogen levels are high. High levels of nitrates in the bloodstream and rumen reduce the ability of oxygen to be carried in the blood to tissues in the body. Symptoms of nitrate toxicity include brown color of blood and mucous membranes, depression, weakness, staggering, incoordination, excess salivation, abortion, and possibly death.
Sorghum, sudangrass, sorghum-sudan hybrids, Johnson grass, corn, millet, and some weeds have a higher risk of nitrates than other forages. If grazing corn this fall, farmers need to be aware of possible nitrate toxicity problems. Nitrate concentration is highest in the lower parts of the stalks.
When used for silage, corn’s nitrate levels are reduced through the fermentation process. Feeding these crops as hay does not reduce nitrate levels. If corn or silage is questionable, always test it for nitrate content before using it as a feed source. Contact your local county extension agent for information on testing your forages for nitrate content. |
Don't feel guilty about browsing the Internet at work—turns out it may actually improve your performance.
According to a new study, Web browsing can actually refresh tired workers and enhance their productivity, compared to other activities such as making personal calls, | Don't feel guilty about browsing the Internet at work—turns out it may actually improve your performance.
According to a new study, Web browsing can actually refresh tired workers and enhance their productivity, compared to other activities such as making personal calls, texts or emails, let alone working straight through with no rest at all.
The study, "Impact of Cyberloafing on Psychological Engagement," by Don J.Q. Chen and Vivien K.G Lim of the National University of Singapore, was presented last week in San Antonio, Texas, at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, an association of management scholars.
The researchers conducted two studies. In the first, they assigned 96 undergraduate management students into one of three groups—a control group, a "rest-break" group and a Web-surfing group. All subjects spent 20 minutes highlighting as many letter e's as they could find in a sample text. For the next 10 minutes, the control group was assigned another simple task; members of the rest-break group could do whatever they pleased, except surf the Internet; and the third group could browse the Web. Afterward, all of the subjects spent another 10 minutes highlighting more letters.
The researchers found that the Web-surfers were significantly more productive and effective at the tasks than those in the other two groups and reported lower levels of mental exhaustion, boredom and higher levels of engagement.
"Browsing the Internet serves an important restorative function," the authors said. Personal emailing, by contrast, was particularly distracting for workers. The second study, which surveyed 191 adults, found similar results.
Why is Web-surfing more restorative than, say, responding to a friend's email? When browsing the Internet, people "usually choose to visit only the sites that they like—it's like going for a coffee or snack break. Breaks of such nature are pleasurable, rejuvenating the Web surfer," wrote Dr. Lim, in an email. By contrast, workers can't control the kinds of email they receive, and reading and replying to each message is "cognitively more demanding, relative to Web surfing, as you need to pay attention to what is said on the email," she added.
Because Web-surfing can aid productivity, the researchers caution employers against over-restricting workers' Web access. They recommend that managers allow time for limited personal Web browsing "since it has a salub |
BoatUS ANGLER: RecycledFish Stewardship Tips
Stay on the Trail
Millions of people will visit national, state, and local parks this year. Our parks offer us tremendous opportunities for recreation such as bird watching, | BoatUS ANGLER: RecycledFish Stewardship Tips
Stay on the Trail
Millions of people will visit national, state, and local parks this year. Our parks offer us tremendous opportunities for recreation such as bird watching, hiking, wildlife observation, rock climbing, and, of course, fishing. With so many activities drawing so many people, our parks receive tremendous pressure. If you visit a park, remember to follow and stay on the designated trails.
Why it is important to the fish: Mountain meadows are great reservoirs. Runoff in the spring causes creeks to overflow their banks and flood the neighboring meadows. Mountain meadows often sit on top of hundreds of feet of permeable soil which, in turn, sits on top of an impervious base of rock. This forms an ideal layer that will store water throughout the spring, summer, and fall. As the seasons progress, water leaks from meadows back into the streams and on downriver.
Blazing a trail through a mountain meadow compacts and inhibits the ability of water to permeate the soil. Trails create gutters that will widen, through erosion, and drain water from the meadow. When water is taken away from mountain meadows, plants that are suited to rapidly drying soils invade and take over. This destroys the meadow's sponge-like characteristics increasing the erosive properties of the meadow and the neighboring stream. Ultimately, the desiccation of a mountain meadow reduces the amount of habitat available to fish.
Remember to stay on the trail! Stray steps can upset fragile ecosystems, the effects can be felt downstream.
For More Conservation Tips visit www.recycledfish.org< Return to Recycled Fish Tips |
Addiction to Oil and Addiction to Slavery: A Fair Comparison?
The first shots of the American Civil War were fired 150 years ago. In his new book, 1861: The Civil War Awakening, historian Adam Goodheart looks at | Addiction to Oil and Addiction to Slavery: A Fair Comparison?
The first shots of the American Civil War were fired 150 years ago. In his new book, 1861: The Civil War Awakening, historian Adam Goodheart looks at the earliest days of the Civil War, when the country was preparing itself for a fierce battle. Goodheart argues on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross that the Civil War “was really about slavery in almost every significant way.”
What does this have to do with hybrid and electric cars?
Professor Goodheart explains to Terry Gross that he makes the century-and-a-half struggle over slavery come to life for his college students today by comparing it to Americans’ current struggle with oil addiction.
“Many of us recognize that in burning fossil fuels, we’re doing something terrible for the planet, and terrible for future generations. And yet in order to give this up, it would mean unraveling so much of the fabric of our daily lives—sacrificing so much, becoming radical eccentrics riding bicycles everywhere, that we continue somewhat guiltily to participate in the system.”
Much like we are addicted to cheap oil today, he said Americans “were simply addicted to slavery and couldn’t give it up.”
In 1861, the future of the south and north alike was interwoven with the economics of cotton, textile production and slave labor. There seemed to be no way out, and yet America found the courage to abolish slavery—even though we are still living with its legacy.
Of course, Goodheart is not equating one-to-one the horrific and unparalleled human toll of slavery on its victims with the effects of tailpipe emissions, high gas prices, and oil wars. That’s not an appropriate comparison. |
The concept of Xenia in Homer's Odyssey
The concept of "xenia, described in Homer's Odyssey as the guest-host
relationship played a dominant part in ancient Greece. According to what they believed,
the guest-host relationship was based on | The concept of Xenia in Homer's Odyssey
The concept of "xenia, described in Homer's Odyssey as the guest-host
relationship played a dominant part in ancient Greece. According to what they believed,
the guest-host relationship was based on the idea that courtesy would be reciprocal from
host and guest. The different ways that Telemachos and Odysseus are treated throughout their journeys displays the positive and negative types of xenia.
The Odyssey begins 20 years after Odysseus has left Ithaca. Ten of those years he spent fighting in the Trojan War. The remaining years he attempts to go back home to Ithaca, but his journey becomes quite difficult since Poseidon becomes Odysseus persecutor, just as Athene is firmly established as his protector. In one of his numerous journeys Odysseus meets the Phaiakians who receive him with warm hospitality without having to ask for his name first. "This is not the better way, nor is it fitting that |
Is your child a nose picker, a hair eater or a nail biter? Follow our guide to stamping out your kids' nasty habits
Kids can develop unsavoury habits.
They usually save them for those special moments like when they’re | Is your child a nose picker, a hair eater or a nail biter? Follow our guide to stamping out your kids' nasty habits
Kids can develop unsavoury habits.
They usually save them for those special moments like when they’re with their grandparents or in the school nativity play.
But experts say these seemingly unpleasant activities are part and parcel of growing up. In some cases, they can even be beneficial.
“A child needs an opportunity to explore,” says clinical child psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin.
“If that means having a good old dig up their nose then to a degree they’ve got to be able to do that.”
Dr Rudkin says parents need to work out for themselves which habits they can put up with and which they’d like to put a stop to.
“Parents have different boundaries,” she explains.
“You could say there’s no way we want our child to spit or swear but we don’t mind a bit of bottom scratching. Consistency is important.
"If there are things you really don’t want them to do, it has to be clamped down on pretty quickly.”
Whatever you do, don’t overreact.
“Be matter of fact – just say ‘Don’t put your hands down there’, or ‘It’s not nice to do that’,” says Sue Atkins, a parenting coach and author.
“Be consistent about that and praise the behaviour you do want.
"You owe it to your children to teach them the social niceties so that when they go to someone else’s house they don’t get told ‘Yuk, that’s gross’. It’s much better coming from you.”
The good news is kids will probably grow out of unpleasant habits.
“For most kids it’s a phase,” says Sue. “As they become older and more self-conscious, they become aware of things other people do.”
But if you can’t wait a decade for your child to stop picking their nose or eating their hair, here are some tips to help.
This can be down to anxiety and then it can become a habit. If a child has to stand up in class and read a story, they might bite their nail. If it becomes their default coping strategy, you have to help break it.
Does it happen at a certain time, while they are doing a certain activity? If they’re doing it because they feel insecure you can help them do something else instead, like tapping pressure points on the body to relieve stress.
“Give them something else instead. That could be having a piece of material in their pocket that they could play with or some Blu-tack they can twang and pull apart if they’re feeling nervous,” says Sue.
This can often be associated with relaxing, for instance sucking their thumb when they go to bed.
“It’s like when you hear music and it takes you back to a certain time. Give them a favourite toy to take to bed instead or let them listen to a story tape so they associate that with relaxing instead,” says Sue. It’s a question of breaking the habit slowly.
With kids up to three or four it’s all about distraction. Don’t draw too much attention to it and don’t have the big chat every time they do it.
Otherwise they’ll think ‘This is brilliant. When Mum’s sitting chatting to her friend I’m guaranteed to get her attention!’ “Gently get their hand down and give them something else to do,” says Dr Rudkin.
“If they’re older, you can stand them in front of the mirror or even do it yourself and say ‘That is what people see when you pick your nose’.”
You can go for the practical solution of cutting their hair but it’s going to grow back. You’re better off scraping it back so that it’s not always hanging round the face.
“It can be comforting behaviour for a child, so again it’s a question of finding something else,” says Dr Rudkin.
You could suggest they twirl their hair instead and then after that give them somet |
(e.g., thermohaline circulation modification, sea level rise, severe storms, ocean acidification, depletion of fisheries, melting sea ice, etc.). At present, our ability to evaluate the probability of these risks is poor, which is largely | (e.g., thermohaline circulation modification, sea level rise, severe storms, ocean acidification, depletion of fisheries, melting sea ice, etc.). At present, our ability to evaluate the probability of these risks is poor, which is largely due to the lack of intensive programs to understand the ocean’s role in climate and to put in place monitoring systems with advance warning capability.
Technical advances on a number of fronts promise to dramatically improve our ability to work in and on the ocean. However, progress is slow, and, at present, there is no concerted national effort—other than perhaps for satellite systems and some specific military needs—to develop ocean technologies that address existing and emerging societal needs.
Techniques for precise identification of species in the laboratory and detection of organisms in the field will be developed. This includes both genomic methods and other techniques which use the morphology, optical, and/or acoustic characteristics of organisms. Methods to measure the state of o |
Geological History of Vancouver Island
How & when was Vancouver Island formed?
The story of Vancouver Island spans hundreds of millions of years. The island was formed through a combination of processes, including tectonic plate movement, volcanism, erosion and | Geological History of Vancouver Island
How & when was Vancouver Island formed?
The story of Vancouver Island spans hundreds of millions of years. The island was formed through a combination of processes, including tectonic plate movement, volcanism, erosion and glaciation. The following is a brief summary of the more detailed information provided by the references listed at the bottom of this page.
Much of the rock that makes up Vancouver Island actually originated near the equator in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of a large piece of crust, or terrane, called Wrangellia, that also includes southeast Alaska, the Queen Charlotte Islands and part of the Coast Mountains. 380 million years ago, some of the oldest rock that makes up present day Vancouver Island was formed by undersea lava deposits. Later, the calcium shells of countless marine animals added layers that became limestone. Wrangellia slowly drifted northeastward (see the end section for a review of tectonic plate theory).
About 100 million years ago, Wrangellia collided with the North American continent. Slow but tremendous forces caused some regions to fold and buckle into mountain ridges and others to crumble and erode.
55 to 42 million years ago, two smaller pieces of crust called the Pacific Rim and Crescent terranes collided with and joined onto Vancouver Island. The Crescent terrane is composed of marine volcanic rock and forms the land of Sooke, Metchosin and Colwood. The region that Victoria is built upon is granite and gneiss (metamorphic rock) that is thought to have formed from magma deep within the layers of rock. It was exposed during the uplift and erosion associated with the collisions of the Pacific Rim and Crescent terranes.
The Earth has been subjected to many glacial (cold) and interglacial (warm) periods, throughout its history. These are governed largely by changes in the Earth’s orbit called Milankovich cycles, but also depend on other complex climate processes.
Between 29,000 and 15,000 years ago, the most recent glacial period or “ice age” developed; today it is referred to as the Fraser Glaciation. Ice accumulated on the mountain peaks of Vancouver Island and slowly grew into large glaciers. Eventually they joined with other glaciers and formed ice sheets that filled the major valleys. These ice sheets also joined others from the Coast m |
A Ceremony Written by
Jean-Claude Van Itallie
In Collaboration With
The Open Theatre
Under the Direction of
"What the Open Theatre and I tried to do in creating The Serpent was to find theatrical expression of certain questions | A Ceremony Written by
Jean-Claude Van Itallie
In Collaboration With
The Open Theatre
Under the Direction of
"What the Open Theatre and I tried to do in creating The Serpent was to find theatrical expression of certain questions. In The Serpent these questions have to do with guilt and disquiet... The words are intended to be few and clear, as poetry-they attempt to be at the 'top of the iceberg' to the rest of the theatrical experience for the audience, capping off images that have already been sense."
-Jean-Claude van Itallie
Before I start, I will attempt to define a ceremony, so that we can both
be on the same page. The definition of ceremony that I am using, based on Van Itallie's text, is in reference to theatre. A ceremony is a ritual in which ideas and morals
of a society or people are explored
The Serpent was a play written in the late sixties
and first shown in 1968. The writer intended for the play to bring the audience, not into an acted piece of theatre, but into an experience. Unlike most plays, The Serpent has no linear plot
. Instead, it should be viewed as a modern-day ceremony. An in depth look at ideas and themes that our society has created through simply living.
Although the script of the play contains in-depth information on what the actors are to do, the writer hoped that the ensemble putting on the piece would create their own play. The words and actions
that are written are only there as a basis to begin the piece, from which the actors
will create their own ceremony that relates to them.
Originally, The Open Theatre group had intended to look into the life of Jesus
from when he was fifteen to thirty. They started by exploring the Book of Genesis
through improvisation. The troupe would take ideas or words and allow these things to form ideas in their head, then they would show what they felt the meaning was. From here, the Open Theatre group found themselves asking questions that they could find no answers to.
So, with a new goal in mind, they began to explore how to ask these questions. The intent was not to find out what happened when Eve
bit the apple
or how the first murder happened, but to use theatre to ask these questions to their audience. Thus, they began to build a ceremony
. From that point on, the audience changed from being simple watchers
to the main part of the play. The actors would no longer be giving the audience a moral or life lesson
. They would be asking a question
to the audience, demanding that they find their own meaning and discovering what that showed them about their lives.
The play opens with all the actors off-stage and they enter from within the audience. The plays end the same way, leaving no time for applause. These two acts are to tell the audience that they are as much a part of the ceremony as the players. It is important for the audience to realize that the actors and the watchers are the same people. All the actors are doing is asking the questions that we all must find answers
to. To quote Van Itallie, "The creation of this piece was an exploration
of certain ideas and images that seem to dominate
our minds and lives." |
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to the American Roger Kornberg, a professor at Stanford University in California.
Transcription requires one strand of the DNA double helix
The prize was given to Prof Kornberg for his work on | The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to the American Roger Kornberg, a professor at Stanford University in California.
Transcription requires one strand of the DNA double helix
The prize was given to Prof Kornberg for his work on the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription in cells.
Transcription is an important step in the process by which cells build proteins from DNA.
The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden.
"When the telephone first rang I was completely bewildered," Professor Kornberg said in a telephone interview with journalists in the Swedish capital.
"I'm still shaking. I hope I will be able to calm down shortly."
Roger Kornberg was the first to create an actual picture of transcription at the molecular level, in eukaryotes, the category of organisms which includes animals, plants, fungi and simple microscopic organisms called protists.
His studies on transcription described how information is taken from genes and converted to molecules called messenger RNA. These molecules shuttle the information to the cells' protein-making machinery.
Proteins in turn serve as building blocks and workhorses of the cell, vital to its structure and functions.
In 2001, he published the first molecular snapshot of an enzyme called RNA polymerase II. Its job is to get the synthesis of proteins underway by copying their genes into RNAs.
"Understanding of how transcription works also has a fundamental medical importance," the Royal Swedish Academy said in its citation announcing the award.
"Disturbances in the transcription process are involved in many human illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and various kinds of inflammation."
Peter Fraser, senior fellow at the Medical Research Council commented: "If the secret of life could be likened to a machine, the process of transcription would be a central cog in the machinery that drives all others.
"Kornberg has given us an extraordinarily detailed view of this machine, which is essential for all life."
Professor Kornberg is the lone winner of the prize, and the fifth American to win a Nobel prize this year.
Kornberg is the lone winner of the 2006 chemistry prize
The 59-year-old is part of the Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California.
His father, Arthur Kornberg, shared the 1959 Nobel medicine prize with Spaniard Severo Ochoa for studies of how genetic information is transferred from one DNA molecule to another.
"I have felt for some time that he richly deserved it," said the elder Kornberg, professor emeritus at the Stanford School of Medicine. "His work has been awesome."
Father and son
Roger Kornberg said he remembered traveling to Stockholm with his father for the Nobel Prize award ceremonies.
"I have always been an admirer of his work and that of many others preceding me. I view them as truly giants of the last 50 years. It's hard to count myself among them," he told journalists.
"Something so remarkable as this can never be expected even though I was aware of the possibility. I couldn't conceivably have imagined that it would become reality."
Last year's Nobel laureates |
Authors’ Note: There are significant differences between this section and the newsletters. The differences reflect what we have learned about the various design features. Accordingly those techniques and design features that we found do not work, have not been included in this document.
| Authors’ Note: There are significant differences between this section and the newsletters. The differences reflect what we have learned about the various design features. Accordingly those techniques and design features that we found do not work, have not been included in this document.
Recirculating sand filters (RSFs) are perhaps the most common non-proprietary technology in use in Massachusetts as of this writing. In Barnstable County, a few earlier installations were supported through grant moneys in an effort to introduce RSFs again into Massachusetts (the recirculating sand filter or RSF was initially developed in Massachusetts in the earlier 1900s) for the purpose of reducing nitrogen discharge from onsite systems. The first recirculating sand filters in Massachusetts to be monitored extensively were installed in Gloucester. These system installations attempted to demonstrate that overall wastewater management goals of that city could be met by employing advanced onsite treatment. Later installations in the Buzzards Bay watershed (one system in Fairhaven and one in Bourne) focused on the nitrogen removing capability of recirculating sand filters. We estimate that, as of this writing, there are still less than twenty installations in southeastern Massachusetts.
Recirculating sand filters come in a variety of sizes and configurations. The general schematic of three systems installed in Barnstable County is illustrated above, however this illustration shows only one of many ways to achieve the required recirculation. The system is composed of a standard septic tank, a pump chamber, the sand filter, and a soil absorption system or SAS.
The theory behind the recirculating sand filter is simple. Septic tank effluent is pumped from the pump chamber to the top of the sand filter. As the effluent passes through the sand filter, the ammonium-nitrogen is converted to nitrate-nitrogen in a sequence of steps that occur in the presence of air and two genera of bacteria. The first bacterium called Nitrosomonas converts ammonium or NH4+ to nitrite or NO2- and the second bacterium, Nitrobacter, converts NO2- to nitrate or NO3-. Following the conversion of ammonium to nitrate in the sand filter, a portion of the effluent is piped back to the pump chamber or the septic tank, while a portion of the effluent passes on to the leachfield. The nitrate contained in the portion that returns to the pump chamber or the septic tank undergoes a further transformation to nitrogen gas (N2). This harmless gas is vented to the atmosphere through the vents in the system. Conditions that must be present for the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas to take place are anaerobic conditions and a carbon food source. Both the pump chamber and the septic tank are potential candidates for these conditions, and thus nitrified waste can be returned to either component. It is more common, however, to return nitrified waste from the sand filter to the pump chamber for subsequent denitrification in order to minimize the disruption in the septic tank and promote its function as a primary anaerobic digestion unit in the system.
First Stop – The Septic Tank
Perhaps the most familiar component of the system is the septic tank. The recirculating sand filter, as with most on-site wastewater treatment, must be preceded by a settling chamber such as a septic tank. The revised Title 5 requires that the tank be a minimum capacity of 1500 gallons. For this and other requirements for septic tanks refer to Section 15.223 of the new code. As with all systems having a pump chamber following a septic tank, it is recommended that an effluent filter be installed at the discharge end of the septic tank. This will minimize solids passing through to the leachfield or fouling the pump. As of this writing, there are three effluent filters approved for use in Massachusetts; they are the subject of another chapter in this book.
The Pump Chamber
Following the septic tank, the effluent passes by gravity into a pump chamber. In the recirculating sand filter design shown, the pump chamber serves a dual purpose. First, as a pump chamber, it stores the mixture of septic tank effluent and sand-filter return until it is pumped up to the top of the sand filter. Secondly, facultative anaerobic bacteria located in the pump chamber act on the nitrate in the waste returning from the sand filter to convert it to nitrogen gas. Some designs you may see have a separate chamber, prior to the pump chamber, for this denitrification step. Also, in some proprietary nitrogen removal systems, return effluent from a trickling sand or other filter is returned to the septic tank. The variety of designs are outside the scope of this summary, however you should be aware that there is a wide variety of designs.
Although regular cylindrical or box-shaped pump chambers can be used, you might consider the use of a 1,000 gallon septic tank as a pump chamber. This allows for |
UNICEF and the Council of Europe join forces to stop sexual violence against children
4 July 2012. According to available estimates, about 20% of children are victims of some form of sexual violence. The Council of Europe Convention on | UNICEF and the Council of Europe join forces to stop sexual violence against children
4 July 2012. According to available estimates, about 20% of children are victims of some form of sexual violence. The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse contains a detailed catalogue of measures that governments should take to prevent sexual violence, to protect the children and to end with the impunity of the criminals.
UNICEF has therefore decided to join the Council of Europe in the promotion of these measures in Europe and Central Asia. In addition to the promotion of the necessary changes in legislation and data collection, it is foreseen to invest in the dissemination of awareness raising material so that children, their parents and professionals working with them can better prevent, identify and report sexual violence.
UNICEF Regional Director CEE/CIS, Ms Marie-Pierre
Poirier and the Deputy Secretary General of the Council
of Europe, Ms Maud De Boer Buquicchio exchanging
letters on cooperation to stop sexual violence against |
You can always improve your study skills. Developing good skills and habits in high school will help you make learning the material more effective and ease the transition to college classes. In college, learning is a much more individual effort so going the extra mile in | You can always improve your study skills. Developing good skills and habits in high school will help you make learning the material more effective and ease the transition to college classes. In college, learning is a much more individual effort so going the extra mile in high school will pay off later on.
Some good study skills to develop:
Questioning. If a concept doesn't make sense to you, ask someone to explain it. Talk with a teacher or even a classmate who gets it. Ask questions until you feel you have a grasp on the topic.
Make studying a regular habit. Don't just focus on getting homework done. Really put effort into learning, understanding, and applying the concepts learned in class to your daily activities.
Take notes every day in class. Then review those notes. Highlight key points. Write down questions you want to ask and points to study further.
Go beyond the assignment. Writing helps many people retain information. Write down key points from reading assignments. Make flash cards or create your own practice tests.
Schedule it. Don't let studying become just another item on the to-do list that remains undone. Schedule a regular time and place. Keep distractions to a minimum.
Studying is really about developing a set of habits and skills that work best for you. Like any habit, it can be difficult to get into a routine, but stick with it and you'll find it gets easier.
Source: ACT's News You Can Use |
Doctrine of Addai
The Doctrine of Addai is a Syriac Christian text, perhaps written about 400, which recites the Legend of the Image of Edessa as well as the legendary works of Addai and his disciple Mari in | Doctrine of Addai
The Doctrine of Addai is a Syriac Christian text, perhaps written about 400, which recites the Legend of the Image of Edessa as well as the legendary works of Addai and his disciple Mari in Mesopotamia.
The story of how King Abgar and Jesus had corresponded was first recounted in the 4th century by the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History (i.13 and iii.1) and it was retold in elaborated form by Ephrem the Syrian.
In the origin of the legend, Eusebius had been shown documents purporting to contain the official correspondence that passed between Abgar and Jesus, and he was well enough convinced by their authenticity to quote them extensively in his ecclesiastical history. By the time the legend had returned to Syria, the purported site of the miraculous image, it had been embroidered into a tissue of miraculous happenings (Bauer 1971, ch. i): the Doctrine of Addai is full of miracles.
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Legend of Abgar
- Doctrine of Addai (text, in English)
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Doctrine of Addai
- THE DOCTRINE OF ADDAI, THE APOSTLE, BY GEORGE PHILLIPS, D.D., PRESIDENT OF QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. London: TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL. 1876
- The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century, by Sidney H. Griffith, Institute of Christian Oriental Research, Catholic University of America
- Possible historical traces in the Doctrina Addai, by Ilaria Ramelli, Catholic University of Milan
|This article about a saint is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.|
|This Oriental Orthodox Christianity-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.| |
Venezuela, officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Its northern coastline of | Venezuela, officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Its northern coastline of roughly 2,800 kilometres includes numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, and in the north east borders the northern Atlantic Ocean. Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and the Leeward Antilles lie near the Venezuelan coast. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres with an estimated population of...
|Founded:||July 5, 1811|
|Official language:||Spanish Language|
|Area:||353,841.4 sq. mi.|
|Form of government:||Presidential system, Federal republic, Republic|
|Also known as:||República Bolivariana da Venezuela, Bolivarcı Venezuela Cumhuriyeti, جمهورية فنزويلا البوليفارية| |
24 July 2005
The creation and use of wampum belts was important in the Lenape-Delaware culture and history.
From: “NOTES AND DOCUMENTS”, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, of July 1984 | 24 July 2005
The creation and use of wampum belts was important in the Lenape-Delaware culture and history.
From: “NOTES AND DOCUMENTS”, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, of July 1984, pp. 351-356, by: Marshall Joseph Becker. The major support for the research was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Continuing research has been supported by the American Philosophical Society and West Chester University. The author would like to thank L. Mitchell for aid in the preparation of this manuscript. (The article was submitted by Arlene Micucci.)
Even the earliest contacts between European traders and native peoples made the question of land holdings and land sales an important issue. The extensive records pertaining to Lenape sales of land to various European merchants and settlers enable us to document in great detail the processes involved. (1) From these data we also can extract the basic rules reflecting native ideas relating to their land holdings and use. (2)
A review of William Penn’s several purchases of lands from the Lenape, when considered in relationship to earlier purchases made by various Swedish and Dutch entrepreneurs, enables us to reconstruct Lenape social groups and their patterns of land use in the seventeenth century. The consistency of these patterns from the earliest documented sale in 1629 until the sales of the 1680s reflects the integrity of these Lenape bands during this period. (3) This evidence also indicates that this native population was not subjected to depopulating and disorganizing epidemics of European diseases.
Each Lenape band consisted of an extended family, perhaps numbering as much as twenty-five or thirty members. Each occupied one or more adjacent river valleys feeding into the Delaware or Schuylkill Rivers. Within its activity area each group foraged in a pattern which enabled it to use available resources minimally supplemented by small stores of maize and beans grown while encamped at summer stations. (4) Land rights to these territories were inherited by the descendants of each band, who had the use of these resources and, collectively, the right to seel these resources.
Prior to Penn’s arrival various tracts of land had been purchased from separate Lenape bands.. These parcels varied in size, but on the whole each was quite small and intended only to provide a limited area on which to erect a trading post, farmstead, or small settlement. (5) William Penn’s ideas of extensive colonization led him to purchase the rights, or to clear native title, to lands within his Proprietary Colony. This began with systematic purchase of all of the tracts held by these Lenape bands. In each sale all of the adult male owners acknowledged the contract, by signing both halves of an indenture which described the land in question; the terms of the sale, which always granted clear and complete title; the names of all grantors and recipients; and the quantity of the goods or the price to be paid for the stipulated tract. These goods were paid at the time of signing, when seals were affixed to these documents and the payment delivered. (6)
On those occasions when one or more “owners” were not present at this ritual, their acknowledgment of the sale often included by a subsequent signing and sealing of the original document. (7) At the original signing as well as when later additions were made, both native and colonial witnesses signed the indentures. No case of dissent appears to have occurred among the Lenape. Their general willingness to sell land may have been related to the dispersal of the Susquehannocks in 1674/5, a dispersal providing them with access to lands along the Susquehanna River. (8) Also, Penn protected Lenape rights to lands on which they were camped, perhaps mistaking the annually used but relatively transient summer settlements for permanent villages. (9)
The series of purchases by which William Penn cleared Lenape title to all of their former lands involved payment in goods of various kinds. Many of the deeds note that a quantity of wampum was included as part of the purchase payment. This was “cash” wampum rather than “formal” wampum. Wampum belts and short “strings” of wampum of the category which may be called “formal” wampum had a meaning beyond the cash value of the beads incorporated in them. (10) These items did |
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- adj. Characterized by appropriateness or suitability; fitting: the proper knife for cutting bread; not a proper moment for a joke.
- adj. Called | from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- adj. Characterized by appropriateness or suitability; fitting: the proper knife for cutting bread; not a proper moment for a joke.
- adj. Called for by rules or conventions; correct: the proper form for a business letter.
- adj. Strictly following rules or conventions, especially in social behavior; seemly: a proper lady; a proper gentleman.
- adj. Belonging to one; own: restored to his proper shape by the magician.
- adj. Characteristically belonging to the being or thing in question; peculiar: an optical effect proper to fluids.
- adj. Being within the strictly limited sense, as of a term designating something: the town proper, excluding the suburbs.
- adj. Ecclesiastical For use in the liturgy of a particular feast or season of the year.
- adj. Mathematics Of or relating to a subset of a given set when the set has at least one element not in the subset.
- adj. Worthy of the name; true: wanted a proper dinner, not just a snack.
- adj. Out-and-out; thorough: a proper whipping.
- adv. Thoroughly: beat the eggs good and proper.
- n. Ecclesiastical The parts of the liturgy that vary according to the particular feast or season of the year.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- adj. Suitable.
- adj. Possessed, related.
- adj. Accurate, strictly applied.
- adv. properly; thoroughly; completely
- adv. properly
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- adj. Belonging to one; one's own; individual.
- adj. Belonging to the natural or essential constitution; peculiar; not common; particular.
- adj. Befitting one's nature, qualities, etc.; suitable in all respect; appropriate; right; fit; decent
- adj. Becoming in appearance; well formed; handsome.
- adj. Pertaining to one of a species, but not common to the whole; not appellative; -- opposed to
- adj. Rightly so called; strictly considered
- adj. Represented in its natural color; -- said of any object used as a charge.
- adv. Properly; hence, to a great degree; very.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Special; peculiar; belonging to a species or individual and to nothing else; springing from the peculiar nature of a given species or individual; particularly suited to or befitting one's nature; natural; original.
- Belonging to one; one's own.
- Fit; suitable; appropriate.
- According to recognized usage; correct; just: as, a proper word; a proper expression.
- Rightly so called, named, or described; taken in a strict sense: in this sense usually following the noun: as, the apes proper belong to the Old World; no shell-fish are fishes proper.
- Decent; correct in behavior; respectable; such as should be: as, proper conduct.
- Well-formed; good-looking; personable; handsome; also, physically strong or active.
- In heraldry, having its natural color or colors: said of any object used as a bearing: thus, a coil of rope proper is represented brown, and the spiral lines of the cordage are indicated.
- In liturgics, used only on a particular day or festival, or during a particular octave or season: as, the proper introit; a proper preface; proper psalms.
- Fine; pretty: said ironically of what is absurd or objectionable.
- Becoming; deserved.
- Synonyms Particular, individual, specific.
- 3 and Fitting, befitting, meet, seemly, becoming, legitimate.
- n. That which is set apart to special or individual use.
- n. A property in the logical sense.
- Properly; very; exceedingly.
- To appropriate.
- To make proper; adorn.
- In geometry, not figurative; not at infinity: as, proper points.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adj. having all the qualities typical of the thing specified
- adj. marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness
- adj. limited to the thing specified
- adj. appropriate for a condition or purpose or occasion or a person's character, needs
Middle English propre, from Old French, from Latin proprius; see per1 in Indo-European roots.(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
From Anglo-Norman proper, propre, Old French propre (French: propre), and their source, Latin proprius. (Wiktionary) |
- hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein
- hemocrit, the percent of red blood cells in your blood
- iron or other vitamin and mineral deficiencies
- bleeding disorders
- heart disease
- autoimmune disorders
- bone | - hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein
- hemocrit, the percent of red blood cells in your blood
- iron or other vitamin and mineral deficiencies
- bleeding disorders
- heart disease
- autoimmune disorders
- bone marrow problems
- infection or inflammation
- reaction to medication
A complete blood count, or CBC, is an easy and very common test that screens for certain disorders that can affect your health. A CBC measures several components of your blood and can help diagnose a broad range of conditions, from anemia and infection to cancer.
Changes in your blood cell levels can help your doctor to evaluate your overall health and to detect disorders. A CBC measures your blood to determine if there are any increases or decreases in your cell counts. Normal values vary depending on your age and your gender. Your lab report will indicate an appropriate normal value range.
The test measures the three basic types of blood cells.
Red Blood Cells
Your red blood cells work to carry oxygen to your body and remove carbon dioxide. A CBC measures two components of your red blood cells:
Low levels of hemoglobin and hemocrit are often signs of anemia, or blood that is deficient in iron.
White Blood Cells
White blood cells help your body fight infection. A CBC measures the number and types of white blood cells in your body. Any abnormal increases or decreases in the number or types of white blood cells could be a sign of infection, inflammation, or cancer.
Platelets help your blood clot and control bleeding. When a cut stops bleeding, it’s because platelets are doing their job. Any changes in platelet levels can put you at risk for excessive bleeding and can be a sign of a serious medical condition.
Your doctor may order a CBC as part of a routine checkup, or if you have unexplained symptoms such as bleeding or bruising. A CBC can help your doctor:
Evaluate your overall health.
Many physicians will order a CBC so they can have a baseline view of your health. A CBC also helps your doctor screen for any health problems.
Diagnose a health problem.
Your doctor may order a CBC if you have unexplained symptoms like weakness, tiredness, fever, redness, swelling, bruising, or bleeding.
Monitor a health problem.
If you have been diagnosed with a disorder that affects blood cell counts, your doctor may order regular CBCs to monitor your condition.
Monitor your treatment.
Certain medical treatments can affect your blood cell counts and may require regular CBCs. Your doctor can evaluate how well your treatment is working based on your CBC.
Make sure to wear a short-sleeved shirt, or a shirt with sleeves that can be easily rolled up.
Typically, you can eat and drink normally before a CBC. However, if the blood sample will be used for additional testing, your doctor may require that you fast for a specific amount of time before the test. Your doctor will give you specific instructions.
During a CBC, a nurse or other health professional will draw blood from a vein, typically from the inside of your elbow or from the back of your hand.
The nurse will clean the surface of your skin with an antiseptic and place an elastic band, or tourniquet, around your upper arm to help the vein swell with blood. He or she will then insert a needle in the vein and collect a blood sample in one or more vials. The nurse will remove the elastic band and will cover the area with a bandage to stop the bleeding.
A blood test can be slightly uncomfortable. When the needle punctures your skin, you might feel a prick or pinching sensation. Some people also feel faint or light-headed when they see blood. You may experience minor bruising, but this will clear up within a few days.
The test will take only a few minutes. Afterward, your sample will be sent to a lab for analysis. Most results are available within a few hours to one day after testing.
In young children, the nurse will typically sterilize the heel of the foot and use a small needle called a lancet to prick the area. The nurse will then gently squeeze the heel and collect a small amount of blood in a vial for testing.
Test results will vary based on your specific cells count, and specific results can only be evaluated or diagnosed by your doctor. Generally, if blood cell counts are too high or too low, it could signal a wide variety of conditions, including:
If |
On the occasion of his famous address commemorating the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies, delivered in Concord on August 1, 1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson highlighted America’s avoidance of slavery’s implications. ‘What if it cost | On the occasion of his famous address commemorating the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies, delivered in Concord on August 1, 1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson highlighted America’s avoidance of slavery’s implications. ‘What if it cost a few unpleasant scenes on the coast of Africa?’ he asked, rhetorically, since that was ‘a great way off.’ Back home in America, slavery’s realities could be avoided, by those in the North, at least, and if ‘any mention was made of homicide, madness, adultery, and intolerable tortures,’ Americans would simply ‘let the church-bells ring louder.’ So long as the sugar, coffee and tobacco produced by slaves ‘was excellent: nobody tasted blood in it.’(1) The African coast may have been sufficiently distant to be safely ignored; not so the Caribbean, which in many ways became too close for comfort as far as America’s slaveholders were concerned and which, in any case, was hardly entirely separate from the United States. As Edward Rugemer emphasizes at the start of his search for the Caribbean roots of America’s Civil War, ‘the United States was never a self-contained entity moved solely by the internal dynamics of American society,’ but was ‘firmly embedded in an Anglo-Atlantic world that transcended the political boundaries of nation-states’ (p. 5). America’s boundaries, indeed, were inherently ‘permeable,’ admitting an influx of information, individuals and, increasingly, abolitionist influences along with the commercial traffic that linked the colonies of the British West Indies to the United States. This reinforced a transatlantic perspective originally grounded in the slave trade but, by the mid-1830s, directed toward the debates over its abolition and the abolition of slavery itself. Any attempt to comprehend the coming of the Civil War, therefore, cannot, although too often does, remove the internal dynamics of abolitionist agitation and political debate within America from their broader transatlantic context; 19th-century Americans could not avoid the implications of abolition in the West Indies and nor, Rugemer reminds us, should we. ‘White America’s problem with black emancipation,’ he stresses, most definitely ‘had Caribbean roots’ (p. 7).
The evidence presented here makes Rugemer’s case forcibly and with sophistication; this is a complicated and quite convoluted story, but one clearly told. Divided into two parts, the first examining the influence of British abolitionism on both the West Indies and the United States between 1804 and 1834, the second exploring the impact of West Indian abolition on America, the work draws mainly, though not exclusively, on both secular and evangelical press coverage of abolitionist agitations, emancipation celebrations and, of course, slave rebellions in order to track the impact of those communication networks by which the ‘the print culture of the Anglo-Atlantic world’ was established and through which the various, and varying, perspectives on emancipation were expressed (p. 36). Here Rugemer distinguishes between the two different modes of communication identified by James Carey, the ‘transmission’ model and the ‘ritual’ model respectively, in his analysis not just of the news and its dissemination across national borders, but the ways in which 19th-century Americans interpreted the information received. With newspapers widely, and cheaply available following the Post Office Act of 1792, the combination of the postal system and the papers it carried constituted an important national and international bond; indeed, in 1833, the very year that Britain finally abolished slavery in her colonies, Associate Justice Joseph Story, later most famous for handing down the decision in the Amistad slave-ship rebellion case in 1841, praised the United States’ postal service for the efficacy with which it ‘brings the most distant places and persons…in contact with each other; and thus softens the anxieties, increases the enjoyments, and cheers the solitude of millions of hearts’.(2)
In 1833, the newspapers carried through the mails, as Rugemer shows, hardly softened any anxieties on the part of America’s slaveholders, but certainly did cheer the solitude of abolitionist hearts. This is the point of his chosen sources; the newspapers of the period constituted, Rugemer proposes, ritual communication, through which, in Care |
Requirements for starting an elementary school
The first stage of academic learning or compulsory education is known as elementary or primary education. After preschool, elementary school provides formal education to children up to 5th grade. Elementary school, which is followed by middle | Requirements for starting an elementary school
The first stage of academic learning or compulsory education is known as elementary or primary education. After preschool, elementary school provides formal education to children up to 5th grade. Elementary school, which is followed by middle or secondary school and then higher secondary school, forms the foundation for all levels of learning and development. Indian government acknowledges the importance of primary education and that is why it has already laid down reforms to make elementary education free and compulsory for all children less than 14 years of age. Even, the private sector has also contributed immensely to the growth and development of the education sector.
In case, you too want to enter into the education sector and contribute to this noble venture, consider opening an elementary school. Below mentioned are the basic requirements for starting an elementary school.
- The basic requirement for starting an elementary school is to have firm funding capabilities. You may either take support from a financial institute or arrange it on your own. An investment of around Rs.15 to 20 lakhs investment is required to open an elementary school.
- The next requisite for starting an elementary school is to find an appropriate land. Consider all things like number of age groups to be educated, the size of the school before you search a potential location.
- After this, you will require the EC from the Directorate of Education because Essentiality Certificate is important for starting a school, which verifies & confirms the need of your school in that specific area.
- Further, you are required to get your school elementary school recognised from the state’s Municipal Corporation.
- Once the legal formalities are over, you are required to recruit experienced teaching and non-teaching staff for your school. You may ask a consultancy to help you in hiring excellent staff.
- The next step is the promotion and marketing of your school. Remember that effective promotional approaches will surely help you to promote your school in your community. So, use banners, hoardings, pamphlets, newspaper advertisements and audio promotions for your school.
Mentioned above are the simple steps for starting an elementary school in India. However, if you feel that starting an elementary school is a bit tedious for you being a beginner in the education sector, then you may opt for school franchise from SHEMFORD Futuristic School. Owned and managed by experienced & qualified educationists, SHEMFORD Futuristic School offers unique school franchise opportunities to the aspiring people who wish to start a school of their own. You are required to fill the franchise application form given below to turn your dream project into reality.
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Information on Shemford Schools, an upcoming chain of 10+2 Schools
Delhi Public School Hostel admissions |
by Dwayne A. Day
|It is apparent that NASA and the NRO had a second agreement to cooperate on a backup plan to Lunar Orbiter to provide the data necessary for conducting lunar landings, and actually started construction of hardware. | by Dwayne A. Day
|It is apparent that NASA and the NRO had a second agreement to cooperate on a backup plan to Lunar Orbiter to provide the data necessary for conducting lunar landings, and actually started construction of hardware.|
During the early planning phases of the Apollo lunar landing program, NASA engineers were concerned that they knew relatively little about the lunar surface. Considering that the astronauts would be flying an untested and finicky vehicle, they needed as much data on the lunar terrain as possible. So NASA undertook a series of precursor robotic missions that would characterize the lunar surface, providing vital data on the size of surface features, the smoothness of terrain, and especially the slope of the terrain. The Lunar Orbiter and Surveyor missions were developed essentially to support Apollo and made limited contributions to lunar science.
It has been publicly known for many years that Lunar Orbiter in fact benefitted from access to classified spy satellite technology as a result of an agreement between NASA and the NRO. Now, according to Vance Mitchell, writing in the latest issue of the journal Quest, it is apparent that NASA and the NRO had a second agreement to cooperate on a backup plan to Lunar Orbiter to provide the data necessary for conducting lunar landings, and actually started construction of hardware. Unlike Lunar Orbiter, this hardware would be operated by Apollo astronauts in lunar orbit. Mitchell is currently writing a classified history of NASA-NRO relations, and has access to still-secret NASA and NRO documents. Until the GAMBIT program is declassified—which could happen next year—we are unlikely to obtain much more information on this agreement or the hardware that was produced. (See “A paler shade of black”, The Space Review, September 20, 2010.)
The backup project was known as the Lunar Mapping and Survey System, or LM&SS (sometimes also known as the Apollo Mapping and Survey System), although it probably had a classified code-name as well. According to Mitchell, NASA and NRO signed an agreement on LM&SS in April 1964, when Lunar Orbiter was still in its infancy. In May 1964 NASA transferred $800,000 to the Department of Defense to cover contractor studies of which existing NRO camera systems might be useful for Apollo. The people studying the issue quickly focused upon the KH-7 GAMBIT reconnaissance camera, which had first entered service in summer 1963 and consisted of a 196-centimeter (77-inch) focal length camera using mirrors to achieve high-resolution from low Earth orbit. At the Moon, the camera could be used at 55 kilometers (30 nautical miles) altitude to provide high-resolution images of the ground, or from 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) altitude to provide broader area coverage.
The initial plan called for mounting the large optics system in bay number 1 of the Service Module. They would build four test units and two flight units for $36 million. How this could have been physically accomplished considering the incredible size of the optics is unclear. Later in the Apollo program, NASA would take a slightly modified aerial camera developed for the U-2 and SR-71 (known as the KA-80A and a variant known as the IRIS II) and mount it in the scientific instrument module (SIM) bay of the service module and fly it on several missions. (See “Making lemons into lemonade”, The Space Review, May 26, 2009.)
|The new plan was to carry the OCV with its powerful camera system along with the Apollo command and service modules atop a Saturn V rocket, with the OCV in the compartment reserved for the Lunar Module.|
But the system adapted for the Lunar Mapping and Survey System was not the same as that later used by Apollo, because the NRO soon decided to abandon plans to try to modify the camera system for the SIM bay and instead chose to use the camera inside what Mitchell refers to as the Orbiting Control Vehicle (OCV), which was 18 feet long and 5 feet in diameter—the same diameter as the Orbital Control Vehicle used by the KH-7 GAMBIT, and therefore apparently a modified KH-7 GAMBIT camera system. Mitchell’s article had to go through a declassification review and as a result many details are left out. But it is clear that the camera system was from the KH-7 GAMBIT reconnaissance satellite, which first became operational in 1963. Many details of the KH-7 remain classified, but some have been released and Mitchell’s description of the spacecraft diameter and length are consistent with the known dimensions of the KH-7. The KH-7 used a strip reconnaissance system, meaning that the film was pulled past a small slit aperture so that it moved at the same rate as the moving image, sort of like looking out the side of a speeding car but moving your head to stay pointed at a single spot.
The KH-7 was at the time the most powerful camera system ever carried into space. It had a 112-centimeter (44-inch) primary mirror and |
Just in time for Halloween, a collection of aviation mysteries.
- By Rebecca Maksel
- Air & Space magazine, October 2012
Fear of Floating
In the spring of 1909, Britons began spotting zeppelins | Just in time for Halloween, a collection of aviation mysteries.
- By Rebecca Maksel
- Air & Space magazine, October 2012
Fear of Floating
In the spring of 1909, Britons began spotting zeppelins everywhere they looked. As Dan Vergano wrote in our 2009 article “Fear of Floating,” “Zeppelins had been flying for nine years, but this was the first time one had been spotted over England. Designed by Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, the rigid airships were marvels of engineering…. But they had also proven fragile, skittish, and prone to catastrophe: Of the first 10 built, six crashed or burned. By 1909, only two, LZ 3 and LZ 4, had enjoyed some success. LZ 3 made 45 short hops totaling 2,733 miles, while in 1908, LZ 4 made a 12-hour trip of more than 600 miles. But had one really flown from the zeppelin hangar at Friedrichschafen, Germany, to Peterborough, England, and back—a trip of 1,036 miles?”
The short answer is “no.” While the sightings–more 49 in May 1909 alone—went on for four months, reported by several hundred people throughout the United Kingdom, they finally began to subside.
Vergano offers several explanations: Some historians believe zeppelin mania was started by newspapers eager for more readers. Others felt any airship “sightings” were a simple misidentification of Venus, shining brightly in the night sky. And there were copycats: “Pranksters released six-foot-wide fire balloons to spark airship reports,” writes Vergano. “And the Northampton Mercury reported a hoax involving an airship model used for advertising motorcars.”
Pictured: The Graf Zeppelin over London, ca. 1930. |
The Internet, peer-reviewed
October 28, 2011 by Amara D. Angelica
It could be one of the most important innovations on the Internet since the browser.
Imagine an open-source, crowd-sourced, community-moder | The Internet, peer-reviewed
October 28, 2011 by Amara D. Angelica
It could be one of the most important innovations on the Internet since the browser.
Imagine an open-source, crowd-sourced, community-moderated, distributed platform for sentence-level annotation of the Web. In other words, a way to cut through the babble and restore some sanity and trust.
That’s the idea behind Hypothes.is. It will work as an overlay on top of any stable content, including news, blogs, scientific articles, books, terms of service, ballot initiatives, legislation and regulations, software code and more — without requiring participation of the underlying site.
It’s based on a new draft standard for annotating digital documents currently being developed by the Open Annotation Collaboration, a consortium that includes the Internet Archive, NISO (National Information Standards Organization), O’Reilly Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and a number of academic institutions.
“If what is published is immediately fact and logic-checked, in a detailed and highly visible way, it will necessarily put pressure upstream to the point of authorship,” says the FAQ. “In order to accomplish this we need better feedback mechanisms. Standard comments just aren’t up to the task, and neither are newer systems such as Disqus, IntenseDebate, Facebook Comments or others. While interesting, none of them fundamentally change the comment model. It’s time for a new set of tools.”
Yes, it’s been tried before, and didn’t catch on. But looking at the solid concept and the names involved, I believe they can pull it off.
I just donated to their Kickstarter fund. I recommend you do the same. (You might also want to reserve your user name.) |
Dr. David Morrison is the Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. He is Past Director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) and | Dr. David Morrison is the Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. He is Past Director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) and a senior scientist in Astrobiology at NASA Ames Research Center. Prior to this position, he served at NASA Ames as Director of Space and as the Chief of the Space Science Division, leading one of the premier science organizations at NASA consisting of space scientists undertaking basic research in astronomy, planetary science, and exobiology. He received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1969 and has published more than 160 technical papers and a dozen books.
Dr. Morrison received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for his work dealing with the hazard of asteroid and comet impacts, and another NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for his contributions to the Galileo Jupiter mission as its first Program Scientist. He was awarded the Dryden medal of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for astrobiology research. He also received the Klumpke-Roberts award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for contributions of science education and the Carl Sagan medal of the American Astronomical Society for communicating science to the public. In 2010 he was named by the Civil Service system to the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Professional. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the California Academy of Science. Asteroid 2410 Morrison is named in his honor.
Morrison is one of the founders of the multidisciplinary field of astrobiology. Astrobiologists today are primarily studying the history of microbial life on Earth and extremes of habitability. These studies are extended to analysis of the potential habitability of other planets, leading toward future efforts to detect the presence of life on other worlds, within our solar system or as part of distant planetary systems.
Morrison has also studied the process of mass extinctions, and in particular the asteroid impact in the Caribbean that caused the end-Cretaceous mass extinction 65 million years ago. He has been a leader for two decades in defining the asteroid impact hazard and devising ways to protect our planet [http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/]. NASA’s Spaceguard Survey has already shown that there is no “dinosaur killer” projectile to threaten us, and has also very nearly eliminated the risk of global ecological damage by impacts from mile-wide or larger asteroids. The next challenge is to survey the smaller asteroids and plan how to deal with impacts that might happen with very little warning.
Morrison is a passionate advocate for science education, and he is the author of several college textbooks on astronomy and planetary science. He has written extensively about the struggle against pseudoscience, such as the denial of evolution. He is the most outspoken scientist exposing the hoax of doomsday 2012, and has answered more than 1000 questions from the public, many of whom are frightened that the world is about to end [http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers]. He is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a supporter of the National Center for Science Education. |
Taking photos may impede memory of museum tour
The giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the frequent flares observed, according to astronomers using data from NASA's Chandra | Taking photos may impede memory of museum tour
The giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the frequent flares observed, according to astronomers using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
View Today's Posts (10)
Changing environments challenge the brain
Mental disorders enhance heart disease risk
Dream skepticism and the phenomenal shadow of belief
Why Uber might be more valuable than Facebook someday
The ASRG Cancellation in Context
What's the difference between radiation and radioactivity?
Curiosity's Path to Mount Sharp
Thoughts About Thinking - A Review
Breakthrough in treating lymphoma, leukemia |
Italy won soccer's top prize on Sunday, the World Cup, in thrilling penalty kicks, capping a month-long athletic competition that had enthralled most of the globe where the sport is king. Ecstatic Italians celebrated in Rome and, convers | Italy won soccer's top prize on Sunday, the World Cup, in thrilling penalty kicks, capping a month-long athletic competition that had enthralled most of the globe where the sport is king. Ecstatic Italians celebrated in Rome and, conversely, the losing French suffered the unrequited agony of defeat.
But despite the Italian triumph, the real winners of the World Cup extravaganza were the German people. The hosts are being universally feted for their warmth toward the thousands of soccer fans who invaded Germany for the matches and for their hospitality in taking in so many visitors from so many different countries around the world, especially for a nation whose homogeneity hasn't always been receptive to minorities. Even the German law enforcement authorities are getting accolades for their tolerance in dealing with over-exuberant and sometimes highly intoxicated revelers.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel in published comments Monday thanked Germans "for your incredible enthusiasm and your hospitality. You are our country's real ambassadors! That is the best advertisement for our country!"
That enthusiasm was evident in the resurgence of German patriotism. The black, red and gold national flag was ubiquitous, as Germans felt free, perhaps even compelled in the face of so many fans sporting their own country's colors, to embrace their country's national emblem. It may be one of the glories of sport that it is able to help a country like Germany, whose national psyche has lived with the guilt of its Nazi past, free itself of historical shadows and move forward.
Time also does its work. Few of the thousands who watched Italy and France battle it out in Berlin's Olympic Stadium are likely to have lost much time mulling over the fact that the venue was the same where the 1936 Olympics were held. Adolf Hitler intended those games as a demonstration of the Reich's phony superior "racial purity." A new generation of Germans, born long after the demise of the Nazis more than 50 years ago, found it far easier to embrace a red, gold and black flag associated with the nation's first democratic republic in 1848.
But the sheer exuberance of the German people for the soccer games did more than anything to blow away the past. The townspeople of Kamen, in Westphalia, for instance, totally adopted the Spanish team which was based there, flying the Spanish flag from windows, with some residents painting their faces in the Spanish colors of red and yellow. In a sport in which national boosterism is the norm, Germany displayed a new pride of country and asked others to do the same. And they did. |
Trade and the environment, defining a role for the World Trade Organization
Abstract (Summary)The purpose of this study is to define a role for the World Trade Organization (WTO) in protecting the environment. It is argued here that the WTO | Trade and the environment, defining a role for the World Trade Organization
Abstract (Summary)The purpose of this study is to define a role for the World Trade Organization (WTO) in protecting the environment. It is argued here that the WTO has a role to play in advancing environmental protection while still serving its foremost function as an institution committed to liberalizing trade: this role is to continue trade liberalization targeted at those market sectors where liberalization will be beneficial to the environment, to establish institutional mechanisms for managing both positive and negative effects of trade, and to reduce doctrinal barriers to environmental regulation. The role of the WTO in safeguarding the environment is defined by the relationship between trade and the environment. This relationship is defined in turn, for the purpose of formulating the WTO's role in environmental protection, by four elements: the economic theory of international trade, the environmental response to international trade and trade institutions, GAIT and WTO jurisprudence on conflicts between trade and environmental policies, and the discussions of GATT and WTO working parties on trade and environment |
Here at Taylor Studios, we work on a lot of museums that want to cover the Civil War in their messaging.
I have had the pleasure of researching, writing, and proofing label copy for many of these projects, and now know more about | Here at Taylor Studios, we work on a lot of museums that want to cover the Civil War in their messaging.
I have had the pleasure of researching, writing, and proofing label copy for many of these projects, and now know more about the Kansas-Nebraska Act than I ever thought I would. In doing so, I’ve noticed the following commonly misspelled/misused Civil War words:
Correct Civil War Word: Cavalry
- the part of a military force composed of troops that serve on horseback.
- mounted soldiers collectively.
- the motorized, armored units of a military force organized for maximum mobility.
- horsemen, horses, etc., collectively.
Used in a sentence: The cavalry charged.
Not to be confused with: Calvary
- Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified. Luke 23:33.
- (often lowercase) a sculptured representation of the Crucifixion, usually erected in the open air.
- (lowercase) an experience or occasion of extreme suffering, especially mental suffering.
Used in a sentence: This painting depicts Calvary.
Correct Civil War Word: Cannon
- a mounted gun for firing heavy projectiles; a gun, howitzer, or mortar.
Used in a sentence: Soldiers fired the cannon.
Not to be confused with: Canon
- an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope.
- the body of ecclesiastical law.
- the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted as axiomatic and universally binding in a field of study or art: the neoclassical canon.
- a fundamental principle or general rule: the canons of good behavior.
- a standard; criterion: the canons of taste.
Used in a sentence: The Odyssey is in the Western canon.
Correct Civil War Word: Guerrilla
- a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.
Not to be confused with: Gorilla
Used in a sentence: The gorillas engaged in guerrilla warfare.
Correct Civil War Word: Bushwhacker
- a person or thing that bushwhacks.
- (in the American Civil War) a guerrilla, especially a Confederate.
- any guerrilla or outlaw.
Not “bushwacker”. The “h” is often overlooked.
Used in a sentence: Confederate Bushwhacker Bloody Bill Anderson terrorized Unionist villages.
Correct Civil War Word: Jayhawker
- a native or inhabitant of Kansas (used as a nickname).
- (sometimes lowercase) a plundering marauder, especially one of the antislavery guerrillas in Kansas, Missouri, and other border states before and during the Civil War.
Used in a sentence: Jayhawkers fought slavery in the border states.
So, the next time the need arises for you to write about Jayhawkers and Bushwhackers engaging in guerrilla warfare alongside the cavalry with their cannons, you will be in luck! What is your favorite Civil War word? |
Anaplasmosis in Dogs
My dog was diagnosed with anaplasmosis? What is it?
Anaplasmosis is a tickborne disease caused by the infectious bacterial organism Anaplasma phagocytophilum | Anaplasmosis in Dogs
My dog was diagnosed with anaplasmosis? What is it?
Anaplasmosis is a tickborne disease caused by the infectious bacterial organism Anaplasma phagocytophilum. It is transmitted through bites of the deer tick (also known as the black-legged tick) and western black-legged tick. A lesser form of anaplasmosis is caused by Anaplasma platys and is transmitted by the brown dog tick. Anaplasmosis has been reported worldwide in a wide variety of animals.
What are the clinical signs of anaplasmosis?
Infection often causes lameness, joint pain, fever, lethargy, and inappetance.
Infection with the more common form of anaplasmosis, A. phagocytophilum, often causes lameness, joint pain, fever, lethargy, and not eating (inappetance). Most infected dogs will have symptoms for 1 to 7 days; however, some will have no or only minor symptoms. Less common clinical signs include vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, and labored breathing. Rarely, neurological signs such as seizures have been reported.
Infection with A. platys can cause cyclic thrombocytopenia, a condition in which there is a periodic decrease in platelets (circulating cells that help in the blood clotting process). Clinical disease is often mild, but some dogs may develop bruising or bleeding (including nosebleeds), especially during the early stages of infection when platelet counts may be at their lowest.
Dogs with anaplasmosis often have many of the same symptoms as those with Lyme disease, and infection with both agents (co-infection) is not uncommon. Both Lyme disease and anaplasmosis are commonly found in the same geographic location and are transmitted by the same tick species.
How is anaplasmosis diagnosed?
Several types of tests, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are available to help your veterinarian diagnose anaplasmosis. In addition, the organism can sometimes be seen through a microscope during peak phases of infection.
Your veterinarian will determine which diagnostic protocol is best for your dog.
Some of these tests can be performed at your veterinary hospital; others may require sending a blood sample to a commercial veterinary laboratory. Your veterinarian will discuss the various test options and determine which diagnostic protocol is best for your dog’s condition.
How is it treated, and what is the prognosis?
The treatment for canine anaplasmosis is the same as that for other closely related tickborne infections including ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease: the antibiotic doxycycline. Many infected dogs are treated for 30 days. In the majority of cases, symptoms improve rapidly. Dogs are often markedly better 24 to 48 hours after therapy is begun, and the prognosis for clinical recovery is excellent.
The prognosis for clinical recovery is excellent.
Although most dogs clinically improve, it may be difficult to determine whether or not a dog is no longer infected. If a dog stops producing antibodies to the organism, this may indicate that the organism has been cleared from the body. Even if a dog that has been infected with anaplasmosis is treated and returned to normal, the dog may continue to test positive for the infection on subsequent blood tests. However, this doesn’t mean that the dog has an active infection, and a second round of antibiotic therapy to try to obtain a negative blood test is generally not recommended.
What if my dog tested positive but isn’t sick?
Dogs from areas where anaplasmosis or Lyme disease are common have often been exposed to A. phagocytophilum and have a positive |
Recently I saw my buddy, Rob Manning, running through Starbucks. He seemed hurried. Rob is chief engineer for JPL's Mars Science Laboratory mission and, since they are expecting to land the rover Curiosity Sunday night, I'm sure he had | Recently I saw my buddy, Rob Manning, running through Starbucks. He seemed hurried. Rob is chief engineer for JPL's Mars Science Laboratory mission and, since they are expecting to land the rover Curiosity Sunday night, I'm sure he had a lot on his mind.
I had a million questions for him. Considering his plight, I initially thought better of asking for a briefing on the status of Curiosity, hurtling through the solar system faster than you can say “Sweet Lucy Wine.”
“Hey Rob! Buy you a cup of coffee for an update on Curiosity.” I was as curious as a cat.
“Sure, Joe, what do you want to know?”
Emerson said, “Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret.” But space is too vast for my comprehension. You just can't believe how hugely mind-boggling it is for me. So this was my dilemma. I had this rocket engineer sitting in front of me and I didn't know what the heck to ask him.
I started in by asking why it has taken Curiosity so long to get to Mars. He looked at me as though I had no clue. I hadn't.
He explained because of the orbits of both Mars and Earth around the sun, the window of opportunity to launch happens every 26 months. You can't launch when Mars is orbiting behind the sun, and of course during touch down, Mars and Earth will be 156,240,000 miles apart, give or take a few yards. I don't say that facetiously because those rocket engineers account for every inch.
Rob explained, “Landing Curiosity on the surface of Mars is a product of reasoned engineering.” Scientists and engineers are constantly building, testing, evaluating, and rebuilding trying to stem the ripple effect of the inevitability of errors. Even to them, the idea of landing on Mars is amazing.
“We put all our eggs in that one moment,” he said. “Hopefully everything comes together as a single gigantic fantastic work of art.”
“My concern is not whether everything will work but whether we've done everything right to make it work,” he continued. “There are thousands of inter-dependent scenarios that split into thousands more. We've done our job, and at some point we have to trust our work.”
That night, he explained, JPL would send a signal to Curiosity. Traveling across the solar system at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second, it would take 14 minutes to get there. A status check would tell Curiosity, “You are on target; this is where you are; this is where you are going; good luck.”
Rob's curiosity i |
, (or Sion Abbey
) was a major mediæval monastery
of the Bridgettine Order
in the late Gothic
style (with alterations to meet the needs of this very distinctive order), its major site bordering Brentford | , (or Sion Abbey
) was a major mediæval monastery
of the Bridgettine Order
in the late Gothic
style (with alterations to meet the needs of this very distinctive order), its major site bordering Brentford
. Syon House
, seat of the Duke of Northumberland
, partly overlies the site, which was identified as lying between Syon House and the River Thames
. The abbey's remains were partially uncovered in excavations starting in 2003.
Syon Abbey was founded in 1414 or 1415 at Twickenham Park
by King Henry V of England
and completed by his son
. It was built in his'manor of Isleworth Syon', located on the Middlesex
bank of the River Thames
opposite the royal palace in Richmond
, on the boundary of the parish of Twickenham
, near where Twickenham bridge crosses the river today. Under royal patronage, the Abbey grew quickly, relocating in 1431 and soon extending half a mile along the north bank of the Thames, near Brentford
, possibly using buildings constructed for a Celestine
order, but never occupied, on the site of the present Syon House
Purpose, structure, scholarship and governance
A double monastery of men and women, under an Abbess
, the chief duty of the community was to pray for the souls of the royal founder and for all the faithful departed (see also chantry
). However the abbey also became a centre of preaching and scholarship with one of the major libraries of England.
The Abbess governed the Order; while a Confessor-General, elected by the brothers, controlled the spiritual direction. The Sisters had their own convent on one side of the shared, double-aisled, two-levelled church, with the accommodation for the Brothers on the other side.
In 1535 Saint Richard Reynolds
, one of the brethren, was hung, drawn and quartered for his opposition to King Henry VIII
. The abbey was surrendered in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, and the community expelled. A long-standing legend states that King Henry VIII's coffin, lying in the ruined chapel at Syon on its way to Windsor
for burial, burst open during the night and in the morning dogs were found licking up the remains. This was regarded as divine judgement for his desecration of the abbey.
Acquisition by the Somersets - Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I
After dissolution, the estate came into the possession of the 1st Duke of Somerset
, Lord Protector
to young Edward VI
. He having been executed in 1552, it was reconfiscated by the crown under Queen Mary I
. She briefly re-established the community there in 1557, but it was driven into exile again under Elizabeth I
, who gave the manor to Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland
, and the freehold to his heir.
History as a stately home
Between 1547 and his death by execution in 1552, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
built Syon House in the Italian Renaissance style. The square house seen today is hollow in the middle. It has been suggested that the House was built around the convent's cloister garden, or in one end of the nave of the church.
The legend is that the lion (the family emblem) on the roof has its back to London the Duke having fallen out with the king. The lion actually faces London, but was originally on the roof of Northumberland House in 1874.
Post-Elizabethan history of the community
The expelled community moved from place to place in France
, until they finally settled in Lisbon
, in 1594. The Lisbon community returned to England in 1861, settling first in Spetisbury
, in 1887 in Chudleigh
and then in 1925 to its current location near to South Brent
. As such, the Abbey of Syon has the distinction of being the only English monastic community that survived the reformation in an unbroken lineage to the present day.
In 2004, the remaining mediæval books in the Abbey's collection were deposited for safe-keeping with the University of Exeter Library. Also a large piece of sculptural stonework from the Abbey's remains was returned to them by Syon House.
Excavation of the Abbey
In the summer of 2003 (broadcast 4th January 2004), investigations by Channel 4's Time Team located the foundations of the church and abbey.. Further excavations by Birkbeck, University of London have continued from 2004-2008. |
Botswana declares 2013/14 as drought year
The government in Botswana has declared 2013/14 a drought year, blaming inadequate rainfall across the country and prompting widespread fear of food scarcities in rural areas where drought-caused | Botswana declares 2013/14 as drought year
The government in Botswana has declared 2013/14 a drought year, blaming inadequate rainfall across the country and prompting widespread fear of food scarcities in rural areas where drought-caused mortalities have been reported.
This bleak picture follows the Drought Assessment Tour Exercise conducted from April to May 7 this year.
A statement from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development on Tuesday claimed rainfall was poorly distributed and has been much below normal in most parts of the country.
The government said in view of the overall deterioration of the situation it was declaring the whole country to be drought stricken.
“Although there area planted was highest (348 820 ha. at the time of the assessment) as compared to last year (345 000 ha.), the long dry spells between rainfall and the high rate of moisture loss due to normal temperature, resulted in very poor crop conditions. As such total, cereal production estimates are very low and this will negatively affect household food security” the government said.
The release also stated that the grazing water and livestock conditions at the time of the assessment, ranged from fair to good countrywide, hence by and large, grazing in most parts of the country was fair.
According to the statement generally grasses had not reached maturity with some a |
|Jmol-3D images||Image 1|
|Molar mass||132.14 g/mol|
|Appearance||Fine white hygroscopic granules or crystals.|
|Density||1.769 g/cm3 (20 °C | |Jmol-3D images||Image 1|
|Molar mass||132.14 g/mol|
|Appearance||Fine white hygroscopic granules or crystals.|
|Density||1.769 g/cm3 (20 °C)|
|Melting point||235 to 280 °C; 455 to 536 °F; 508 to 553 K (decomposes)|
|Solubility in water||70.6 g/100 mL (0 °C)
74.4 g/100 mL (20 °C)
103.8 g/100 mL (100 °C)
|Solubility||insoluble in acetone, alcohol and ether|
|Critical relative humidity||79.2% (30 °C)|
|EU Index||Not listed|
|LD50||2840 mg/kg, rat (oral)|
|Other anions||Ammonium thiosulfate
|Other cations||Sodium sulfate
|Related compounds||Ammonium iron(II) sulfate|
| (what is: /?)
Except where noted otherwise, da |
Lovebirds are active, cheerful and beautifully decorative. These petite ‘pocket’ parrots are very intriguing! Lovebirds come from the drier regions of Africa. Because they evolved from a very harsh environment, they are very suited to captivity. | Lovebirds are active, cheerful and beautifully decorative. These petite ‘pocket’ parrots are very intriguing! Lovebirds come from the drier regions of Africa. Because they evolved from a very harsh environment, they are very suited to captivity. Not only do they have a good disposition, these charming, brilliantly colored little pets are very hardy and easy to care for. They can also provide you with a successful breeding experience.
Masked Lovebird or Blue Masked Lovebird, is a monotypic species of bird of the lovebird genus in the parrot family. They are native to northeast Tanzania, and they have been introduced to Burundi and Kenya.
The blue mutation was originally found in wild birds in the 1920s and is the oldest colour mutation known in the lovebird genus. The other mutations are a result of selective breeding in aviculture, such as two cobalts which will make a mauve (black). Various color mutations exist, including blue, cobalt, mauve, slate, dilute slate, violet, lutino (ino) and albino. The latter two are mutations where some color genes do not get passed on from the previous generation. In the case of the lutino the green color gene is not passed on. In the case of the albino, none of the color genes are passed on. The albino mutation is the last color mutation.
I have seen a number of different coloured love birds, but this is the first time I have seen these little blue masked ones, they are delightful looking little characters.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 Queenspark Invercargill Southland New Zealand
FEATURED ON EXPLORE 1 JULY 2011
Featured 2nd July 2011
FEATURED: AMAZING WILDLIFE, PARROTS ONLY
I Am Listening, Carry On….Blue Masked Lovebirds |
Gautama Buddha in world religions
Gautama Buddha is also venerated as a manifestation of God in Hinduism, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Bahá'í faith. Some Hindu texts say that the Buddha was an | Gautama Buddha in world religions
Gautama Buddha is also venerated as a manifestation of God in Hinduism, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Bahá'í faith. Some Hindu texts say that the Buddha was an avatar of the god Vishnu, who came to Earth to delude beings away from the Vedic religion. The Buddha is also regarded as a prophet by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and a Manifestation of God in the Bahá'í faith.
Gautama Buddha is mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism. In the Bhagavata Purana he is twenty fourth of twenty five avatars, prefiguring a forthcoming final incarnation. A number of Hindu traditions portray Buddha as the most recent of ten principal avatars, known as the Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations of God).
Siddhartha Gautama's teachings deny the authority of the Vedas and consequently [at least atheistic] Buddhism is generally viewed as a nāstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so") from the perspective of orthodox Hinduism.
However, while he was against the authority of the Vedas, he might not have been against the Vedas themselves. Buddhist scholar Rahula Vipola wrote that the Buddha was trying to shed light on the true meaning of the Vedas. Buddha is said to be a knower of the Veda (vedajña) or of the Vedanta (vedântajña) (Sa.myutta, i. 168) and (Sutta Nipâta, 463).
Many of the eighteen orthodox Puranas mention the Buddha in a less favouring light. They present the birth of the Buddha as a ploy by the god Vishnu to corrupt demons and sway them from Vedic teachings. Only by leading them astray with his teachings could the demons be destroyed. This belief is sometimes associated with the Asuras of Tripura (the three citadels) as well as others. Literature from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, on the other hand, maintains that Krishna took the appearance of an atheistic teacher out of benevolence, in order to trick atheists into worshipping God (i.e., himself).
Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto
In Japan, since one of the symbols of Dainichi Nyorai (one of the non-historical buddhas of Mahayana Buddhism) was the sun, many equated Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, with a previous reincarnation (bodhisattva) of Dainichi Nyorai.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the Fourth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in his book Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth, argues that Buddha was indeed a prophet of God who preached Monotheism. He quotes from the inscriptions on Ashoka's stupas which mention "Isa'na" which means God. He quotes, "'Thus spake Devanampiya Piyadasi: "Wherefore from this very hour, I have caused religious discourses to be preached, I have appointed religious observances that mankind, having listened thereto, shall be brought to follow in the right path, and give glory to God* (Is'ana)." The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, holds the view that the Buddha was indeed a Prophet of God.
In fact, a verse in the Qur'an quotes that God has sent many prophets to thee (Humanity).However, only a few have been named. It is believed by some that Buddha may (or may not) have been a Prophet of God sent to his people who taught Monothheism.
Christianity and Judaism
The Greek legend of "Barlaam and Ioasaph", sometimes mistakenly attributed to the 7th century John of Damascus but actually written by the Georgian monk Euthymius in t |
Described as David's ‘friend’ (2 Sam. 15: 37), i.e. a court official, Hushai was instrumental in enabling David to defeat the rebellion of his son Absalom. When David fled from Jerusalem into | Described as David's ‘friend’ (2 Sam. 15: 37), i.e. a court official, Hushai was instrumental in enabling David to defeat the rebellion of his son Absalom. When David fled from Jerusalem into the wilderness, Hushai at personal risk remained in the city, infiltrated the insurgents' camp, ingratiated himself with Absalom, and pretended to advise a strategy to trap David. Absalom's trust in Hushai was misplaced, for his loyalty to David never wavered. Thus the king was saved. Ahitophil's rival plan, though more likely to succeed, was rejected. He soon realized that the rebels' cause was lost; he foresaw his fate at David's hands and chose suicide (2 Sam. 17: 23). |
Guwahati, which was formerly known as Durjaya or Pragjyotishpura during the ancient ages, is currently the largest and most important city of whole northeastern India. Unless you are going to any of the sister | Guwahati, which was formerly known as Durjaya or Pragjyotishpura during the ancient ages, is currently the largest and most important city of whole northeastern India. Unless you are going to any of the sister state of Assam via aerial routes, you need to stop and go through Guwahati to reach in your destination. Hence, it is said perfectly, that Guwahati is the Gateway of Northeastern states of India.
During the ancient days, Guwahati was known as the city of eastern astrology or the city of eastern light. In fact, some people used to call Guwahati an impregnable city. From the books of history we come to know that Pala and Varmana kings were pretty powerful and influential during their reign. Guwahati is also known as the City of Temples. You can find some of the most important Hindu temples in this city, such are –
- Kamakhya Temple
- Umananda Temple
- Navagraha Temple
- Sukreshwar Temple
- Basistha Lankeshwar Temple
- Doul Govinda Temple
- Dirgheshwari Temple
- Ugro Tara Temple
- Rudreswar Temple etc.
Dispur, the capital of Assam is located just outside the city of Guwahati. The city of Guwahati is well connected with all the major places India through train or flight routes. Guwahati has an international airport called LGB international airport. Geographically this city is situates at the foothills of Shillong Plateau and banks of the River Brahmaputra. The area of this city is expanding by the necessity of time and population. Two major bodies are responsible for the development and administration of this city, they are –
- Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority
- Guwahati Municipal Corporation.
The educational scene of this city is quite good. There are few good high schools. Moreover, the students here get opportunity to pursue both medical and engineering studies in affordable costs. |
Paraeducators and IDEA 2004: Promoting Paraeducator Training
Why This Topic Is Important to Paraeducators
Properly trained paraeducators play an important role in reinforcing and enhancing teacher effectiveness in the classroom. Lack of | Paraeducators and IDEA 2004: Promoting Paraeducator Training
Why This Topic Is Important to Paraeducators
Properly trained paraeducators play an important role in reinforcing and enhancing teacher effectiveness in the classroom. Lack of training may impede your ability to help students succeed. You should never be put in situations for which you have little or no training.
IDEA 2004 recognizes the importance of well trained paraprofessionals. Qualifications for paraeducators who work with students with disabilities must be consistent with any state-approved or state-recognized certification, licensing, or registration program or with other comparable requirements that apply to them. States must establish and maintain qualifications to ensure that you are appropriately and adequately prepared and trained, and that you have the content knowledge and skills to serve children with disabilities. Each state also must adopt a policy that includes a requirement that local education agencies take measurable steps to recruit, hire, train, and retain highly qualified personnel to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities.
Funding for such training can come from the new State Personnel Development Grant program authorized in IDEA 2004, which provides federal funds through a competitive grants program. Funds may be used to improve paraeducator knowledge of effective educational practices. These grants require states to include a plan that identifies and addresses state and local needs for preparation and professional development of personnel—including paraeducators—who serve students with disabilities.
Additional funding for paraeducator training may be available in school districts— referred to as local education agencies (LEAs) in the law—that use IDEA 2004 funds to provide early intervening services for students not identified as needing special education or related services but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment. Training activities include professional development.
How to Promote Paraeducator Training
Professional development for paraeducators is a relatively new concept. Because of the emphasis in IDEA 2004 on properly trained paraeducators, you must be provided with the preparation and ongoing professional development you need to be effective.
You may need to advocate for high quality training opportunities. What can you do to help make sure that IDEA 2004 is implemented in your state in a manner that is good for you, your students, and your school? What can you do to help others understand and acknowledge the importance of providing training to paraeducators?
The suggested activities that follow are intended to be coordinated with the assistance of your local Association and UniServ staff. Study the activities below and discuss them with your colleagues, local Association leadership, and UniServ staff. With the assistance of your local and/or state Association leaders and staff, develop an action plan to promote training opportunities for paraeducators.
Becoming Informed—Advocacy Activities to be Coordinated with Local Association Leadership
Find out if the school district and/or state offers paraeducator training opportunities.
- Contact your state department of education or state board of education to ask how the State Personnel Development Plan will address the training needs of paraeducators.
- Ask for a copy of any memos the state department of education or state board of education may have sent to local school administrators regarding the issue of appropriate training and supervision of paraeducators. This is extremely important, because policy decisions are frequently formulated in such memos, and you might not other wise be aware of decisions that pertain to the training and supervision of paraeducators.
Explore funding possibilities that may be available to paraeducators.
- Find out if your state department or board of education has applied for and received a federal State Personnel Development Grant. If your state has received one of these grants, request that your local leaders ask in writing how much money was awarded and how much money will be used specifically for the training of paraeducators.
- Attend the meetings of your school board’s budget committee and find out how much money is being allocated for paraeducator training. Remind committee members of the IDEA 2004 requirement that paraeducators must be appropriately trained in order to assist in the provision of special education and related services to students with disabilities.
Spreading the Word—Advocacy Activities to be Coordinated with Local Association Leadership
Make sure state and local decision makers know about the training requirements in IDEA 2004 and that they have taken steps to implement plans.
- Write letters to your state department of education or state board of education urging that strong language on training for paraeducators be included in the State Personnel Development Plan. Offer to provide paraeducator assistance in drafting the language.
- Write to the chairs of your state House and Senate education committees and tell them what IDEA 2004 says about training. Ask them to take testimony from paraeducators about their training needs.
- Contact the state to find out h |
Animal rights activists based near Philadelphia have added surveillance drones to their tool set to investigate animal abuse.
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (SHARK), an animal rights non-profit organization, has started to use drones to go “where there are no roads | Animal rights activists based near Philadelphia have added surveillance drones to their tool set to investigate animal abuse.
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (SHARK), an animal rights non-profit organization, has started to use drones to go “where there are no roads, and beyond fences and walls”, CBS Philly reports, in order to investigate reports of animal abuse.
Stuart Chaifetz, a SHARK activist, told the news outlet that the organization flies the drones over trees to capture footage of animal torture.
According to Chaifetz, SHARK is not allowed to use “long range high definition cameras in urban area such as Philadelphia, where dogfighting and cockfighting are known to take place in basements and garages.”
SHARK is, however, not alone in its plans to use drones to defend animals.
PETA announced that it was entering the game of drones in Apr. 2013, stating that it would use the aerial robots to stalk hunters.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into state law in August making it illegal for PETA to use drones to interfere with hunting.
The World Wildlife Fund, in a partnership with Google, also turned to the use of drones to combat the poaching of endangered anima |
[Click on thumbnails for larger images and additional information]
The mid-Victorian period was characterized by a massive expansion in publishing. The ever improving literacy of the middle-class audience created a market for reading that was satisfied by the mass production of an | [Click on thumbnails for larger images and additional information]
The mid-Victorian period was characterized by a massive expansion in publishing. The ever improving literacy of the middle-class audience created a market for reading that was satisfied by the mass production of an extraordinary range of books and periodicals. One of the most interesting genres was the Christmas gift book. Usually published at the end of November, though post-dated so it could be sold the next year as well, this product was solely intended as a cadeau, a precious object to be given to a spouse, a family member, or sweet-heart.
The emphasis on what I have elsewhere defined as giftness (Cooke 121) had important implications for the books' content and appearance. First and foremost, it meant they were designedly low-key in terms of their textual content. According to contemporaries, the publication was only supposed to be a piece of bland entertainment, a branch of 'legitimate manufacture' which would please the recipient when he or she opened it up on Christmas morning. In the urbane words of an anonymous critic in The Saturday Review (1866), 'Nobody expects or wishes for originality, or depth, or learning in a Christmas book. Hallam or Grote or Milman or Darwin is not what a Christmas book is made of...(653). Like consumables produced to create a passing sensation, the gift-book was viewed as an 'elegant' trifle, a 'pretty' but superficial artefact which continued the Keepsake and Annual traditions of the thirties and forties.
This credo of calculated superficiality translated into an emphasis on undemanding verse, usually in the form of anthologies such as A Round of Days (1866), re-prints of hymns and prayers, and other material of a sentimental, domestic or pious nature. At the same time, there was a strong emphasis on visual splendour: the written texts were sometimes conventional and uninspired, but the illustrations operated in another register entirely. Indeed, gift books of the Sixties contain some of the most accomplished black and white designs of the period. Furnished by artists such as Millais, Pinwell, Walker, Houghton and Birket Foster, they were intended to be looked at, rather than read, and their gilt-edged pages undoubtedly provided many hours of contented viewing by the fireside, both at Christmas time and into the New Year.
But the books' most striking characteristic was their elaborate bindings. Described by Edmund King in his encyclopaedic Victorian Decorated Trade Bindings (2003), these outer casings are emblematic products of mid-Victorian culture. Typified by coloured cloth, embossed surfaces and elaborate gilt and polychromatic paper overlays, the bindings are fascinating examples of the intersection between bourgeois taste, the visual encoding of the values of Christmas, and industrial production. Design histories of the period note how ostentation was favoured by bourgeois consumers because it expresses middle-class wealth, and there can be no doubt that Christmas books appear to be expensive and luxurious items. Based on the elaborate bindings that middle-class readers thought they might find in some idealized aristocratic library, they emulate the displays of opulence supposedly favoured by those at the top of the social ladder. Yet gift books were entirely the product of industrial processes: no handicraft, beyond the initial design, was involved, and the bindings were entirely produced using machines, industrial products such as gutta percha gum and its substitutes, and machine production. Typically costing between fifteen shillings and a guinea, they represent the middle-class reader's desire to emulate his 'betters' while keeping a close rein on their expenses |
Instead of the micronutrient-fortified biscuits usually provided in school feeding programmes in Bangladesh, children in 63 schools will receive a freshly-prepared nutritious kichuri every day at lunch time. The meals are made from locally procured rice | Instead of the micronutrient-fortified biscuits usually provided in school feeding programmes in Bangladesh, children in 63 schools will receive a freshly-prepared nutritious kichuri every day at lunch time. The meals are made from locally procured rice, pulses, nutrient-fortified oil and home-grown vegetables. The rice is fortified with six essential vitamins and minerals, helping ensure the children get all the nutrients they need to grow and learn well.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Honourable Minister of Primary and Mass Education Dr. Md. Afsarul Ameen, Director Genera |
“In order that there should be no mistake about the ensigns flown by British merchant vessels, the Admiralty ordered after war had been declared that only the red ensign, a square red flag with the union jack in the corner, should be | “In order that there should be no mistake about the ensigns flown by British merchant vessels, the Admiralty ordered after war had been declared that only the red ensign, a square red flag with the union jack in the corner, should be shown at the stern of a merchantman, and the white St. George’s ensign by all war vessels, whether armored or unarmored. These are the only two flags that are hoisted on British ships today, with the exception of the company’s house flag, when they are entering port or passing at sea, and the mail flag on the foremast, which every steamship flies coming in to denote that she has mails on board.
“Before the war both the Lusitania and the Mauretania flew the blue ensign of the Royal Naval Reserve, which any British merchant vessel is allowed to do if her commander and officers and two-thirds of the crew belong to the reserve.”
[German Foreign Office Note.]
[Special to The New York Times.]
WASHINGTON, May 11.—Secretary Bryan received from Ambassador Gerard at Berlin today the text of an official declaration by the German Government of its policy with respect to American and other neutral ships meeting German submarines in the naval war zone around the British Isles and in the North Sea. This declaration was handed to Mr. Gerard by the German Foreign Office which explained that it was being issued as a “circular statement” in regard to “mistaken attacks by German submarines on commerce vessels of neutral nations."
First—The Imperial German Government has naturally no intention of causing to be attacked by submarines or aircraft such neutral ships of commerce in the zone of naval warfare, more definitely described in the notice of the German Admiralty staff of Feb. 4 last, as have been guilty of no hostile act. On the contrary, the most definite instructions have repeatedly been issued to German war vessels to avoid attacks on such ships under all circumstances. Even when such ships have contraband of war on board they are dealt with by submarines solely according to the rules of international law applying to prize warfare.
Second—Should a neutral ship nevertheless come to harm through German submarines or aircraft on account of an unfortunate (X) [mistake?] in the above-mentioned zone of naval warfare, the German Government will unreservedly recognize its responsibility therefor. In such a case it will express its regrets and afford damages without first instituting a prize court action. |
In a book, Benjamin Anderson tells the story of how a wealthy entrepreneur reacted to the imposition of much higher income-tax rates in 1935 at the bottom of the Great Depression. Anderson's Economics and the Public Welfare, a highly regarded study of | In a book, Benjamin Anderson tells the story of how a wealthy entrepreneur reacted to the imposition of much higher income-tax rates in 1935 at the bottom of the Great Depression. Anderson's Economics and the Public Welfare, a highly regarded study of the Great Depression, was based on his personal experience as an economist for the Chase Manhattan Bank and the editor of the Chase Economic Bulletin. Anderson recounts the case of one rich man who,
at the age of 25, had inherited an estate of about $12 million — some thirty years before these 1935 taxes came. He had nursed his $12 million into an estate of about $30 million during those thirty years.
He had done it by a kind of activity particularly helpful and useful to the country....
He had taken many risks, knowing that many of them would turn out badly, but counting on a few of them to turn out well enough so that the profits on the successful ones would offset the much more numerous losses on the unsuccessful ones....
In the individual... a vigorous man fifty-five years old, the effects of the new taxes were paralyzing. More than three-fourths of any profits which he might have [made] from a new venture would be taken away from him by income taxes. Any losses which he might incur... would be his own.
But further, if he should die, his estate would have to pay the federal government and to the state of New York... $19,602,500, or 65.342 percent of the estate. How could an estate pay this tax if it were spread out in new ventures, in assets for which no ready market existed, in assets which could not be liquidated without great loss?
It was a painful thing to watch him turn his energies from creative production to consultation with tax lawyers as to how he could save as much as possible for his heirs. It was a painful thing to watch a vigorous man of fifty-five turning from creative activities to preparation for death....
He withdrew as far as possible from illiquid investments, and turned to investments of a high degree of liquidity.
Anderson then made a most pertinent observation: “One may well raise the question as to just what good it did to the people of the United States to put this typical man in this position.”
What good, indeed? Right at the very bottom of the worst depression the country had experienced since its founding was an entrepreneur with capital and a willingness to risk it in an attempt to gain profits in ventures which, had they proven successful, would have hired the very people most dreadfully impacted by that depression. Instead, he withdrew from the markets altogether, and retired.
By refraining from taking such risks he didn’t diminish his lifestyle by any measurable amount. He continued to enjoy a prosperous living, moving to his country estate to live out the remainder of his life. There was little “trickle-down” effect from his living well to be enjoyed by those serving his needs. Certainly nothing to compare to the possible dozens, perhaps hundreds, of jobs his successful ventures might have created had he been allowed to make money by investing his money. The potential for significant improvement in the lives of those he might have hired was simply eliminated altogether.
Such are the perverse consequences of enforcing a philosophy of punishing wealth creators by redistributing their wealth to others in the name of fairness and equity and egalitarianism.
Economist Thomas Sowell spelled out the benefits of allowing wealth creators to take their risks, which are significant: “Money invested in new business ventures is first paid out to employees, suppliers and contractors. Only some time later, if the business is profitable, does mone |
Industrial Materials Reuse and Recycling: Developing local opportunities through a national initiative
Foundry Industry Recycling Starts Today
Mill River, Massachusetts
Why should public works officials care about Industrial Materials Recycling?
Public works agencies are among the largest owners of public infrastructure | Industrial Materials Reuse and Recycling: Developing local opportunities through a national initiative
Foundry Industry Recycling Starts Today
Mill River, Massachusetts
Why should public works officials care about Industrial Materials Recycling?
Public works agencies are among the largest owners of public infrastructure in the United States. Tens of thousands of miles of public roadways and thousands of utilities, buildings, parks and other public facilities are owned by public works departments. Construction and maintenance of this vast catalogue of public infrastructure consumes millions of tons of materials each year. Thus, public works officials impact the economic and environmental footprints of their communities every day through the selection and use of materials.
A new national program is underway to help cities, counties and towns extend their sustainability programs to be even better stewards of materials and resources. Industrial Materials Recycling (IMR) is a joint initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a number of other partners. Industrial materials are a group of reusable and recyclable materials such as coal fly ash, foundry sand, iron and steel slags, and construction and demolition materials. These materials are high-volume materials that are produced in hundreds of locations throughout the U.S. Using them in public sector construction programs can often provide performance and economic benefits, as well as help the owner agencies achieve their larger sustainability goals.
Many public works agencies are already participating in "Green Government" initiatives, which typically include a range of goals such as saving water and energy, and reducing reliance on extracting additional virgin materials. Industrial Materials Recycling can help to achieve "Green Government" objectives. In most instances, industrial materials provide comparable or superior performance at the same or lower cost than virgin materials.
A push for a more sustainable materials management system is part of the EPA's "Vision for 2020." The EPA is developing a number of non-regulatory public-private partnerships that expand the traditional materials management "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" theme. The EPA developed the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) as a national effort to conserve natural resources and energy and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by managing materials more efficiently. Conservation of energy and preservation of natural resources are achieved through waste reduction, reusing and recycling materials, purchasing recycled products, and reducing toxic chemicals. Increasing the recycling and reuse of industrial materials is one of four national priority areas of the RCC.
Other federal agencies, such as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), have also begun programs focusing on the appropriate use of industrial materials in transportation and land-based applications.
What are Industrial Materials?
Industrial materials are the incidental materials generated by major American industrial sectors which are the backbone of American manufacturing. These sectors produce essential com |
Arunachalam Muruganantham has become a poster boy for social entrepreneurship in India. He invented a machine that manufactures sanitary napkins mechanically. That’s not only made the product affordable for millions of India’s poor women, it’s | Arunachalam Muruganantham has become a poster boy for social entrepreneurship in India. He invented a machine that manufactures sanitary napkins mechanically. That’s not only made the product affordable for millions of India’s poor women, it’s also offered many a means of employment.
It’s a week day and Muruganantham is busy meeting clients at his work place in Coimbatore’s industrial area. It’s a huge room invisibly divided into his office, conference room, workshop and storeroom. It’s anything but fancy.
He’s informing his prospective clients about what the machine does. “It simply breaks down the cellulose, which is the raw material with a liquid retention property, into smaller bits that finally can be wrapped up and packaged into sanitary pads,” he says as he demonstrates.
Muruganantham’s invention is important because of its low-cost production method. Previously, only multi-national companies with massive budgets could fund a production unit of the sort. The high cost of running the production unit was driving up the cost of the product, making it affordable only to a few affluent women.
Muruganantham explains to his small audience that day, “Recent studies have shown only 10 percent of Indian women are using sanitary pads.” Many in rural areas still use rags, clothes, paper, even sticks and stones. Awareness regarding female hygiene is lacking in India due to it being a taboo subject.
“Why? My own wife would not talk to me about it. My sisters wouldn’t either,” Muruganantham says. Still in large parts of the country, menstruating women are considered unclean and are ostracised from society for the five days of their period.
Muruganantham’s innovation targets these women at the bottom of the pyramid. He supplies his machines to areas which have low sanitary napkin penetration. What more? He has promoted these sanitary napkin-making machines as employment opportunities for the women in these rural areas.
“It’s by the women, of the women, for the women,” he says.
A client in the meeting points at a photo frame on the wall, “Is that you?”
“Yes,” Muruganantham says humbly, without mentioning that the photo was taken when he received an award for his social entrepreneurship from the President of India.
A few meetings later and way past lunch time |
Understanding the Context for Writing: Purpose and Audience of the Argument Task
The purposes of the task are to see how well equipped you are to insightfully evaluate an argument written by someone else and to effectively communicate your evaluation in writing to an academic audience | Understanding the Context for Writing: Purpose and Audience of the Argument Task
The purposes of the task are to see how well equipped you are to insightfully evaluate an argument written by someone else and to effectively communicate your evaluation in writing to an academic audience. Your audience consists of GRE® readers carefully trained to apply the scoring criteria identified in the scoring guide for the "Analyze an Argument" task.
To get a clearer idea of how GRE readers apply the Argument scoring criteria to actual essays, you should review scored sample Argument essay responses and reader commentary. The sample responses, particularly at 5 and 6 score levels, will show you a variety of successful strategies for organizing and developing an insightful evaluation. The reader commentary discusses specific aspects of analytical writing, such as: cogency of ideas; development and support; organization; syntactic variety; and facility with language. The commentary points out aspects that are particularly effective and insightful as well as any that detract from the overall effectiveness of the responses.
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Christian Hercules--a new research method.
This article tries to give a new method for Jesuit drama research, which studies the dramas not only as literary, but as complex literary and pedagogical ped·a·gog·ic also ped | Christian Hercules--a new research method.
This article tries to give a new method for Jesuit drama research, which studies the dramas not only as literary, but as complex literary and pedagogical ped·a·gog·ic also ped·a·gog·i·cal
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy.
2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. works. The author chose to study Christian Hercules, which is an allegoric al·le·gor·i·cal also al·le·gor·ic
Of, characteristic of, or containing allegory: an allegorical painting of Victory leading an army. drama and was performed in Pozsony (Bratislava) in 1729. The characters of the ancient mythology and the allegories convey first a Christian meaning in this drama, when Isvan Dobo becomes the allegory allegory, in literature, symbolic story that serves as |
A momentum of First Nations involvement in the renewable energy sector has been building across British Columbia over the past 10 years.
Approximately 125 First Nations out of the 203 First Nations in B.C. are involved in renewable energy projects from ownership | A momentum of First Nations involvement in the renewable energy sector has been building across British Columbia over the past 10 years.
Approximately 125 First Nations out of the 203 First Nations in B.C. are involved in renewable energy projects from ownership to revenue sharing and are receiving many positive benefits such as jobs, income, and capacity building in all levels of this business development. For many communities this is the best economic development opportunity they have had since the demise of the fur trade, commercial fisheries and logging.
Therefore BC Hydro’s draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) released in August 2013, which has no opportunity for First Nations in the clean energy sector comes as a shock and a betrayal to First Nations. In the face of what the government has indicated are potentially unprecedented development opportunities in the north from export liquid natural gas (LNG), new mines and upstream gas developments; all requiring prodigious amounts of energy to power motors and drills and compressors, BC Hydro’s draft plan curiously suggests it does not need any clean energy for perhaps 20 years. And this despite the need to reduce greenhouse gases by 2050 and offset the greenhouse gases created by LNG facilities.
When the Green Energy Task force was formed in 2009, First Nations representatives were invited to participate to ensure inclusivity of First Nations opportunities in clean energy. The Clean Energy Act in 2010 took account of the Task Force’s recommendations with an objective, “to foster the development of First Nation and rural communities through the use and development of clean or renewable resources.”
The First Nations Clean Energy Business fund was established to provide for revenue sharing between the provincial government and First Nations from revenues from land and water leases and licences of “new” clean energy projects and to facilitate the participation of First Nations in the clean energy sector. To date, 70 First Nations have received $4 million from the fund for feasibility analysis, planning and equity investments. First Nations who have ownership in projects include: Shishalh, Sts’ailes, Squamish, Sliammon, Kanaka Bar, Klahoose, Kwakiutl, Namgis, Tahltan, Tla-o-qui-aht, Halfway River, West Moberly, Kitselas, Hupacasath and Taku.
Tseil-Waututh is involved in manufacturing wind turbines as a support to this industry. T’souke is a leader in solar power. First Nations are involved in so many different ways.
What use are these preparations and investments if there are no further opportunities for a generation or more? BC Hydro and the B.C. government must live up to their commitments as promised and must amend the IRP to provide for electrification of northern development and other opportunities.
B.C. could develop a clean energy strategy which requires 50 per cent of the new energy required to power the LNG plants to come from clean energy projects with First Nations involved. Such a strategy would |
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