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Laurance & Pimm organise another excellent tropical conservation open-letter initiative. This follows our 2010 paper (Improving the performance of the Roundtable on Sustainable Oil Palm for nature conservation) in Conservation Biology.
Scientists Statement on the Roundtable | Laurance & Pimm organise another excellent tropical conservation open-letter initiative. This follows our 2010 paper (Improving the performance of the Roundtable on Sustainable Oil Palm for nature conservation) in Conservation Biology.
Scientists Statement on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s Draft Revised Principles and Criteria for Public Consultation – November 2012
As leading scientists with prominent academic and research institutions around the world, we write to encourage the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to use this review of the RSPO Principles and Criteria as an opportunity to ensure that RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil is grown in a manner that protects tropical forests and the health of our planet. We applaud the RSPO for having strong social and environmental standards, but palm oil cannot be considered sustainable without also having greenhouse gas standards. Nor can it be considered sustainable if it drives species to extinction.
Tropical forests are critical ecosystems that must be conserved. They are home to millions of plant and animal species, are essential for local water-cycling, and store vast amounts of carbon. When they are cleared, biodiversity is lost and the carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that drives climate change.
Moreover, tropical areas with peat soils store even larger amounts of carbon and when water is drained and the soils exposed, carbon is released into the atmosphere for several decades, driving climate changei. In addition, peat exposed to water in drainage canals may decay anaerobically, producing methane – a greenhouse more potent than carbon dioxide.
Palm oil production continues to increase in the tropics, and in some cases that production is directly driving tropical deforestation and the destruction of peatlandsii. Given the large carbon footprint and irreparable biodiversity loss such palm oil production cannot be considered sustainable. Read the rest of this entry » |
Do It Yourself Nurse - Build A First Aid Kit
A first aid kit helps to prepare for any kind of emergency. Nowadays, there’s a trend to build a first aid kit. The main reason that people are building their own first aid kit | Do It Yourself Nurse - Build A First Aid Kit
A first aid kit helps to prepare for any kind of emergency. Nowadays, there’s a trend to build a first aid kit. The main reason that people are building their own first aid kit is because they can customize the kit according to their needs. Whether it’s a home or travel first aid kit, it’s important to have the appropriate items. Here are some of the basic items in any first aid kit.
Acetaminophen tablets: Also called Paracetamol, it is a pain reliever. It helps when people are having fever or pain.
Antihistamine: Antihistamine should be carried for allergies. It also works as a sleep aid. Brompheniramine and Cetirizine are two Antihistamines that help relieve and prevent allergies.
Antiseptic Towels: Antiseptic towels need to be carried to prevent infections while cleaning wounds. All kinds of wounds can be cleaned using such tissues or towels.
Electrolyte packets: Electrolyte packets hydrate the body. They also provide ample amount of salts that the body may lose through sweating. If a person is experiencing nausea and vomiting, it’s always a good idea to use electrolyte packets.
Band Aids: A band aid is a quick fix for smaller injuries especially in areas that cannot be tied up with a gauze roll. It helps to stop minor bleeding and protect the wound from further contamination.
Tweezers: Tweezers are useful if the person has got thorns, splinters or ticks stuck in any part of the body.
Hand Sanitizer: Hand sanitizers usually have ethyl or isopropyl alcohol. They have been found to be more effective for destroying germs as compared to soaps.
Hot and Cold Instant Packs: In cold packs, a compound called ammonium nitrate is used as it absorbs ample amount of heat when dissolved in water. Hot packs contain calcium chloride and release heat the moment it dissolves in water. These packs are extremely useful for relieving aches and pains after a physical activity or injury.
Sterile Gauze Pads: Sterile gauze pads are a great for protecting a bruise from external elements such as dust, twigs, and so on. They also apply the required amount of pressure in order to stop bleeding.
Moleskin: Moleskin is carried for people who are prone to blisters. For people who are traveling to a hotter place or have a long walk ahead, moleskin will help a great deal.
Whenever something has been used in the first aid kit, it’s important to replace it. Also make it a point to update the kit every 5 to 6 months.
- Anatomy of a First Aid Kit: Published by The Red Cross, the article introduces the need for a First Aid kit and lists items required to be included.
- Building a Hiker’s First Aid Kit: The article by Washington Trails Association lists items with descriptions to be included in the kit.
- First Aid Kit: Provides a list of the important items to be put into the first aid kit with other information for disaster or emergency.
- Emergency Preparedness Plan: An emergency plan by the Department of Emergency, San Francisco to help people build a First Aid kit with other tips for surviving an emergency.
- Ready America: First Aid Kit: Ready America offers a list of essential items in the first aid kit as well as non-prescription drugs.
- Safety Standards for Agriculture: Safety measures and accident prevention program by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. There’s a section on supplies to be included in a first aid kit.
- 30 Tips for Emergency Preparedness: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security lists 30 emergency preparedness tips, with the tip #14 explaining assembling of a first aid kit.
- Lightweight First Aid Kit: A brief article published by Idaho State University. It lists several items that can be included |
Advocates for farmworkers, especially those who grow America’s leafy greens and fresh vegetables, are pushing the government to do more to protect those workers from exposure to pesticides.
A 20-year-old regulation — the Worker Protection Standard — is | Advocates for farmworkers, especially those who grow America’s leafy greens and fresh vegetables, are pushing the government to do more to protect those workers from exposure to pesticides.
A 20-year-old regulation — the Worker Protection Standard — is supposed to prevent harmful pesticide exposures on the farm. But activist groups like Farmworker Justice say it falls short, and the Environmental Protection Agency is currently working on a new version.
Pesticides carry warning labels that spell out health risks and how workers should protect themselves — but those labels are usually in English.
A new report from Farmworker Justice points out that under the current rules, farmworkers don’t get nearly as much information about hazardous chemicals they may encounter as, say, factory workers. (Industrial workers are covered by different regulations, issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.)
And then there’s the barrier of language. Pesticides carry warning labels that spell out health risks and how workers should protect themselves — but those labels are usually in English. More than 80 percent of the workers in the “salad bowls” of Salinas, Calif., or Yuma, Ariz., are Hispanic. Many have difficulty communicating in English. Continue reading →
By Sasha Khokha, KQED News Central Valley Bureau Chief
A new study from UCLA is the latest addition to a growing body of research linking pesticides and Parkinson’s disease.
UCLA neurologists examined hundreds of Parkinson’s patients in the Central Valley, where rural residents may have been exposed to a fungicide called benomyl. It was widely used on crops like almonds, apples, and berries before the EPA banned it a decade ago.
The study finds the pesticide triggered cellular changes, preventing a key enzyme from keeping check on a naturally occurring toxin that damages neurons in the brain.
But more importantly, researchers found that process may be at play even in Parkinson’s patients who have not been exposed to pesticides. “So it’s really the mechanism by which it works that is of particular interest to us,” UCLA neurology professor Dr. Jeff Bronstein told me, ”because we think there are going to be other things in the environment — and other genetic variations — that may lead us to one of the causes of Parkinson’s disease.”
Benomyl exposure, they say, starts a cascade of cellular events that may |
Major step in protecting the ozone layer
The accelerated phase out is expected to restore the ozone layer, which filters out damaging levels of ultra violet light, a few years earlier than originally estimated.
'Governments from all countries, developed and developing, | Major step in protecting the ozone layer
The accelerated phase out is expected to restore the ozone layer, which filters out damaging levels of ultra violet light, a few years earlier than originally estimated.
'Governments from all countries, developed and developing, have achieved a major step forwards in protecting the ozone layer and at the same time combating climate change in an effective way', says Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director at the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen.
HCFCs are chemicals replacing more ozone-damaging chemicals such as CFCs (chloroflurocarbons) in air conditioning and some forms of refrigeration equipment and foams. CFCs are already being phased out under earlier decisions. There is mounting evidence that HCFCs contribute to global warming. These gases are not covered by the Kyoto Protocol which does address all other main greenhouse gases from human activities. Thus apart from helping restoring the ozone layer the phasing out of HCFCs also reduces global greenhouse gas emissions and helps tackling climate change.
The agreement to accelerate the phase out happened under the 20 year-old UN Montreal Protocol, a treaty to protect the Earth’s ozone layer.
Developed countries agreed to reduce production and consumption by 2010 by 75 per cent and by 90 per cent by 2015 with final phase out in 2020. Developing countries have agreed to cut production and consumption by 10 per cent in 2015; by 35 per cent by 2020 and by 67.5 per cent by 2025 with a final phase-out in 2030. Governments also agreed an initial 2009 quota for critical use exemptions of the banned ozone-depleting pesticide methyl bromide.
For more information see the UNEP ozone secretariat website.
See also the EEA website on climate change. |
This tragic scene was inspired by an incident that occurred in Rimini in Italy in the mid-thirteenth century and was put into verse by Dante in Canto V of The Divine Comedy. Francesca da Rimini, whose father had forcibly married | This tragic scene was inspired by an incident that occurred in Rimini in Italy in the mid-thirteenth century and was put into verse by Dante in Canto V of The Divine Comedy. Francesca da Rimini, whose father had forcibly married her to Lanciotto Malatesta, fell in love with her handsome brother-in-law, Paolo. Her husband caught them when they were exchanging their first kiss and killed them with a single swipe of his sword.
This painting exhibits all the typical elements of the classical tradition which Alexandre Cabanel stayed true to. The composition is scholarly, the painting smooth and the drawing precise; care has been taken over the iconographic details. The book that has dropped from Francesca's hands is a reminder that the lovers were reading Lancelot, a story of courtly love, at the time of the murder, while the murderer hidden behind a thick hanging is still clutching his bloody sword.
Cabanel is one of the main representatives of an academic style much appreciated during the Second Empire. His brilliant official career is proof of that. A student at the Villa Medici in Rome, he later won several medals at the Salon, became a lecturer at the School of Fine Arts and a member of the Institute. Yet, the painting was not unanimously recieved when it was exhibited at the Salon in 1870. The object of criticism and caricatures, it was particularly disliked for Paolo's 'displeasing' attitude and the theatrical tone of the work. |
The Children's Bible
The Christian Church At Antioch
he disciples who had been scattered by the persecution which came after the killing of Stephen went to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, but told about Jesus only to Jews. | The Children's Bible
The Christian Church At Antioch
he disciples who had been scattered by the persecution which came after the killing of Stephen went to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, but told about Jesus only to Jews. Some of them, citizens of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they reached Antioch also told the good news about the Lord Jesus to the Greeks. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number believed and turned to him.
When the news of this reached the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. After he saw the proofs of God's goodness, he was very glad and urged all to remain loyal to the Lord; and many more believed.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Paul, whose name had been Saul. When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were with the church there and taught a large number of people. It was at Antioch also that the disciples were first called Christians.
During these days some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them, Agabus, under the influence of the Spirit, told that a severe famine would come all through that part of the world, and this famine came when Claudius was emperor. Therefore, the disciples, each as he was able, sent something to help the brothers living in Judea. They sent their gifts to the elders by Barnabas and Paul. Af |
Wireless telecommunications providers want to locate their antennas wherever they can serve large numbers of people. A few years ago, this usually meant along major highways, but today, wireless telecommunications facilities are going up along secondary roads, on neighborhood streets, in school | Wireless telecommunications providers want to locate their antennas wherever they can serve large numbers of people. A few years ago, this usually meant along major highways, but today, wireless telecommunications facilities are going up along secondary roads, on neighborhood streets, in schoolyards, or even in parks. As the competition for locations continues, providers will locate their facilities just about anywhere. Clearly, this proliferation of wireless telecommunications facilities can lead to visual chaos, which is why communities need to develop a carefully-planned and coordinated strategy.
Since the advent of comprehensive zoning in the early 20th century, local jurisdictions have sought to separate residential areas from commercial and industrial activity. The theory underpinning this practice has long been to "protect" residential areas from the noise, odors, unsightliness, danger, and traffic which commercial activities can generate. In jurisdictions with comprehensive zoning, wireless telecommunications facilities must conform to local land use controls. However, in many communities, poorly worded or nonexistent policies result in telecommunications towers being placed in or near residential or scenic areas. In addition, many states consider wireless telecommunications a public utility and give providers preferential zoning treatment, such as less stringent review criteria.
It is therefore important to understand how your local comprehensive plan and zoning code treat wireless towers. There are two basic ways planning or zoning officials control land-uses: "permitted" (or "by-right" uses) and "special use" (sometimes called "special exceptions" or "conditional use requirement"). An example of "permitted" use is allowing single-family homes in a particular type of zone. "Special use" permits set a higher regulatory hurdle. For example, any wireless tower more than 40 feet tall might be required to obtain a special exception. Because of the extra requirements associated with special use permits, wireless industry representatives seek to get their towers listed as permitted uses.
Categorizing wireless telecommunications towers as special use structures subjects them to more stringent review criteria. The special use structure designation also gives citizens concerned about the proliferation of towers an important tool for protecting sensitive or special areas such as documented scenic viewsheds, historic districts, or residential areas.
The intent of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to encourage the development of competitive communication services for all Americans. Local officials have a responsibility to use local policy to help protect residential and visually sensitive areas from inappropriate tower siting. Yet until recently, a few communities even dealt with the placement of wireless towers in their codes or comprehensive plans. However, today many jurisdictions are scrambling to adopt language that gives them some control over placement, design, and other aspects of the appearance of wireless towers. |
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 1984, lies in Kerala's Idukki district between latitudes 10o14'57.84"N and 10o21'25.2"N and longitudes 77o5 | Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 1984, lies in Kerala's Idukki district between latitudes 10o14'57.84"N and 10o21'25.2"N and longitudes 77o5'48.12"E and 77o15'50.04"E. It covers a total area of 90.44 sq km and is surrounded by the vast Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary to the north and east and Eravikulam National Park to the southwest. Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, therefore, forms an integral part of the 1,187 sq km block of protected forests straddling the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in the Anamalai hills of the Western Ghats. Altitude changes rapidly from 400 to 2,400 m, with the highest point at Nandala malai. The sanctuary lies in the rain shadow of the mountains, therefore receiving an annual average rainfall of only 500 mm spread over about 48 days. Two perennial rivers, the Chinnar and the Pambar flow through its landscape (Islam and Rahmani 2004).
The uniqueness of this sanctuary lies in the fact that it is one of only two protected areas that sit on the leeward side of the Kerala Western Ghats. As a result, its floral and faunal components are akin to those of the Deccan region. The vegetation types found here are primarily thorny scrub and dry deciduous forests (Albizzia amara-Acacia sp. type and Anogeissus latifolia-Pterocarpus marsupium-Terminalia spp. type) with shola grasslands (Litsea spp.- Syzygium spp.- Microtropis spp. evergreen type) at higher elevations. The dominant plant species found here are Chloroxylum swietenia, Anogeissus latifolia, Strychnos potatoram and Ixora arborea.
Though Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is recognised as an Important Bird Area, a complete checklist is not yet available for this sanctuary. Reports vary from 116 to over 225 recorded species. However, certain globally threatened and endemic species are known to occur here, such as the yellow-throated bulbul (Pycnonotus xantholaemus) and the Nilgiri pipit (Anthus nilghiriensis). This is the only place in Kerala where the yellow-throated bulbul is found. Other interesting birds recorded from here are the rock bush quail (Perdicula argoondah), plum-headed parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala), yellow-fronted pied woodpecker (Dendrocopos mahrattensis) and small green-billed malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris).
Chinnar is one of the few places where the grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura), a Western Ghats endemic can be found. Another globally threatened species, the star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is reported from this site, the only recorded presence from Kerala. Chinnar is reputedly the sanctuary with the highest reptilian diversity in Kerala. Recently four new fish species were reported from Kerala rivers by researchers of the School of Industrial Fisheries (SIF) at the Cochin University of Science and Technology. These include a mahaseer variety (Tor remadevi) from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Tiger (Panthera tigris), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), gaur (Bos gaurus), sambar (Cervus unicolor), wild dog (Cuon alpinus), leopard (Panthera pardus), lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus), porcupine (Histrix indica) and blacknaped hare (Lepus nigricollis) are among the mammalian inhabitants of this area. Gaur populations are reportedly rising in this protected area, a sign of good management (PA Update 2004). Interestingly, the elusive 'white bison' a light-coated variant of the normally dark bodied gaur is reported from this area (Naseer 2005).
The sanctuary also holds considerable cultural and archeological significance. Ancient dolmens or burial chambers that date back to the Megalithic (100 BC to AD 200) can be found in the Vasikapara area. The two main tribes living here are the Mudhuvas and the hill Pulayas who had traditionally settled in 10 different places within the sanctuary. They are primarily dependent on forest products for their livelihood; however, some do cultivate raagi (Eleusine sp) and lemon grass (Cymbopogon sp).
The major threats to this protected area include fragmentation of forests by a major public road and power line corridors. Additionally the forests are subject to degradation as a result of fuelwood collection and livestock grazing |
There is a legend in Northern Michigan about a clan of the Dog-Man that has been around since the late 1700s. Many people have claimed to have seen it, from woodsman to elderly women to teenagers who party in some of the | There is a legend in Northern Michigan about a clan of the Dog-Man that has been around since the late 1700s. Many people have claimed to have seen it, from woodsman to elderly women to teenagers who party in some of the forests around here. No one has attempted to explain where or how this creature originated, until now.
Before white people ever stepped foot on this land, a set of twins were born into the Wolf Clan. Children such as these had never been seen before. Instead of the black hair of their people, these children had gray hair like the elders of the tribe. Their eyes were silver rather than the dark brown of their parents. The village was very leery of these children and no other children were allowed to play with them. The twins became used to playing together and once they learned to walk, often played in the forest around the village. Many times they would play in the stream where the tribe gathered their water.
Soon the braves began to complain of no animals left in the forest for them to hunt. They were unable to fill the food larders for winter and the people would certainly starve. At the same time, the women were no longer able to catch fish in the stream. The stream was drying up and the only fish left were the young, too small to gather enough to feed the families.
The Chief called a meeting of the warriors in the tribe. All but the father of the twins attended. As the pipe was passed from hand to hand, the medicine man called upon the Great Spirit to sit with them. The other men in the lodge chanted, asking for the Great Spirit to give them knowledge, help them to keep their families from starving. When the chanting quieted down, a large dark shadow filled one corner of the lodge. Everyone listened as the Spirit explained that the twins were ancestors of the first four wolf brothers. The Blue Wolf, the Black Wolf and the White Wolf all went to live underground. Only the Gray Wolf remained on top and the Great Spirit said the children must be turned over to him.
The Chief called for the father of the twins and told him what must be done for the good of the people. Although their parents were heartbroken, they knew the good of the tribe must come first and reluctantly agreed. The next morning, the mother packed extra food for the children and led them to the place where the stream joined the river. Since the first wolves came from the water, a special friendship grew between The Turtle and the Wolf Clan. The Turtle was to carry the twins to the Gray Wolf. The mother helped the children onto Turtles back and stood at the shore until she could see them no more.
The Turtle swam all day and all night. The next morning the children woke up and found The Turtle walking on the beach. Standing among the trees was the Gray Wolf. :Welcome, little ones," he said.
The children slid off Turtle's back and followed the Gray Wolf to his home. For many years the children grew in the home of the Gray Wolf. They played with his children, learning how to hunt and fish. Sometimes they would see other villages on their journeys but never did they appro |
Vertical fractional scrolling means shifting text in a window up or down by a specified multiple or fraction of a line. Each window has a vertical scroll position, which is a number, never less than zero. It specifies how far to raise the contents of | Vertical fractional scrolling means shifting text in a window up or down by a specified multiple or fraction of a line. Each window has a vertical scroll position, which is a number, never less than zero. It specifies how far to raise the contents of the window. Raising the window contents generally makes all or part of some lines disappear off the top, and all or part of some other lines appear at the bottom. The usual value is zero.
The vertical scroll position is measured in units of the normal line height, which is the height of the default font. Thus, if the value is.5, that means the window contents are scrolled up half the normal line height. If it is 3.3, that means the window contents are scrolled up somewhat over three times the normal line height.
What fraction of a line the vertical scrolling covers, or how many lines, depends on what the lines contain. A value of.5 could scroll a line whose height is very short off the screen, while a value of 3.3 could scroll just part of the way through a tall line or an image.
This function returns the current vertical scroll position of window. The default for window is the selected window. If pixels-p is non-
nil, the return value is measured in pixels, rather than in units of the normal line height.(window-vscroll) ⇒ 0
This function sets window's vertical scroll position to lines. If window is
nil, the selected window is used. The argument lines should be zero or positive; if not, it is taken as zero.
The actual vertical scroll position must always correspond to an integral number of pixels, so the value you specify is rounded accordingly.
The return value is the result of this rounding.(set-window-vscroll (selected-window) 1.2) ⇒ 1.13
If pixels-p is non-
nil, lines specifies a number of pixels. In this case, the return value is lines. |
Monday night saw me settle down in front of the TV to watch “What Darwin Didn’t Know” on BBC. A documentary described as “the story of evolution theory since Darwin postulated it in 1859 in ‘On the Origin of Species | Monday night saw me settle down in front of the TV to watch “What Darwin Didn’t Know” on BBC. A documentary described as “the story of evolution theory since Darwin postulated it in 1859 in ‘On the Origin of Species’.” Towards the end of the program, and just before I nodded off (having two boy’s under 4 staying up past 22:00 is quite an achievement) the presenter introduced the tree of life and the DNA evidence for it. OK nothing new there, but then he brought up the subject of shared genes. Yes he said the usual stuff on humans and chimpanzees sharing 98% of their DNA. But he also went on to give a very specific example – a gene pair called Pax-6.
Pax-6 is a control gene; it triggers eye development in human embryos. It also triggers eye development in chimpanzees, apes, mice, rats, cats, bats, and fruit fly’s. The Pax-6 gene triggers eye development in basically every creature that has eyes. So even though the eyes in a spider and a dog look very different they have the same starting point.
But there is something more important about Pax-6 – its old, very, very old. Over 500 million years ago sometime in the Cambrian period the first proto-eye developed. Those early eyes just detected the presence or absence of light, a simple but major evolutionary milestone. And Pax-6 was there, the trigger for that first proto-eye.
Pax-6 is so good at what it does that is has been passed down and across species unchanged. It’s position within species chromosomes changes but its still Pax-6. Its replication across the species is so good that you can take the Pax-6 of a mouse, transplant it into a fruit fly embryo which will then go on to develop eyes as normal. Genes for arms and fins have come and gone (and in some cases come back again) but Pax-6 remains.
So at this point you probably think thanks for the lesson on gene evolution but what has this to do with a software components? The answer – Pax-6 is an example of a fundamental building block in nature, a tiny component. It’s simple but so perfect that its on every creatures top 10 list of genes I like to have – ultimate reuse.
Could you imagine the equivalent of cross species reuse in IT? Taking a core component of SAP or Oracle and dropping it into every package application, regardless of version, on the planet and expecting the component to still work!!! We still have trouble doing that within the same package, even when we design for it.
The most impressive thing about Pax-6 is it was not designed to be this uber-gene with the power to cross species. The first creature to have the gene did not evolve it as some sort of altruistic gesture designed to be reusable by other animals. The reason why its still doing the job today is because its simply the best way of getting the job done.
When developing services and components we talk about designing for reuse. Maybe we should take a lesson from Pax-6, and focus less on designing for reuse and focus more on designing the simplest, most stable component for the task. And let reuse come from the component being selected and pulled because it’s the obvious choice, not pushed (rammed down your throat in some cases) into the solution.
Now I can hear you say “But Dave one of the principles of evolution is mutation may do nothing or even harm the species – and nature may have many attempts at getting it right” Yes that’s true our tiny Pax-6 component was probably not the first attempt – the control gene that placed a eye on your tail was never going to catch on. But that highlights another problem with IT. You either try and design the perfect “gene component” from the start which is a bit like trying to create a complex multicellular organism from nothing. Or you start with basic building blocks and evolve, adapt, add, and take away over time. The former has risk of outright failure the later has risk of individual “component mutations” failing but higher probability of overall success. The above is a long winded way of saying incremental change is better than big bang.
We could take this analogy further saying gene evolution is an example of an open system, with feedback – adaptive to changes in the environment. Individual sub-systems and components may be unaware of their outer environment but the system they are in is. In IT we often ignore that feedback or react to it too late, we need to make a conscious effort to seek out and act on feedback. This is also a guid |
In 2010, under the nationwide Elementary Education Program called Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), an education committee in Bhagwan Garhi in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India completed the construction of an eight | In 2010, under the nationwide Elementary Education Program called Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), an education committee in Bhagwan Garhi in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India completed the construction of an eight classroom school for the cost of $80 per square meter, whereas the cost incurred for a contractor lead construction of a comparable school structure in the nearby district of Lucknow was $124 per square meter.
According to review reports, the Community Beneficiary Committee in Bhagwan Garhi had completed the work drawing labor from the community and buying the required amount of materials at a lower rate with technical guidance from the district level engineer.
How does this happen?
A study conducted in four World Bank supported Community Demand Driven (CDD) projects in four states in India in 2009 shows a similar picture of substantial savings when the sub project activities are carried out by the immediate beneficiaries. Analysis of 47 constructions works show that Community Based Procurement (CBP) saves cost and time when compared to conventional estimates made by Public Works Departments and the savings are even higher in labor-intensive sub-projects. The savings ranged from 12% to 56% across the four States.
Another World Bank research reviewing Economic Results of CDD Programs in Burkina Faso, Indonesia and the Philippines undertaken in 2007 has shown that classrooms in Burkina Faso built by the PNGT are less than half the cost of those procured through competitive bidding to private contractors and adjudicated by the national procurement board on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
In all the above projects, the following key factors were identified as the real reasons that made the difference:
-In all cases, the common link was beneficiary involvement. Ownership of the need along planning and implementation is an excellent incenstive. Knowledge that their children will sit under the school roof that is constructed for the school ensures consciouness to quality.
-For the most part, no contractors were involved. This resulted in saving |
Uncovering A Vegetarian Jesus at the Beginning of Christianity
By James Bean
Gnostic groups are generally described as being vegetarian. The Prayer of Thanksgiving, one of the Nag Hammadi books, mentions a vegetarian meal taking place at one of their | Uncovering A Vegetarian Jesus at the Beginning of Christianity
By James Bean
Gnostic groups are generally described as being vegetarian. The Prayer of Thanksgiving, one of the Nag Hammadi books, mentions a vegetarian meal taking place at one of their meetings (a Hermetic or Gnostic sect). The Manichaean Gnostics were known for their vegetarianism. The Prophet Mani's parents were followers of the Elkasites, which was a slightly later Jewish-Christian sect related to the Ebionites. They were vegetarians. Mani was veg, and his followers or initiates also were veg.
During the First Century AD, the Essenes were one of the three main branches of Judaism. They were opposed to animal sacrifices being made in the Jewish temple and they were also known to be vegetarians. The Essenes were the group that Jesus and the first Christians, the Ebionites, were closest to, sharing with them many of the same values and sacred texts. Unlike the Sadducees and Pharisees, the Essenes are never criticized in the New Testament.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." (Gospel of Matthew, a saying attributed to Jesus from a Syriac-Aramaic manuscript)
This same old Syriac-Aramaic manuscript of the New Testament also preserves another vegetarian saying attributed to Jesus. I find it fascinating that both the saying above and this one appear to be slightly longer in this manuscript than their counterparts in the Greek New Testament, and the Greek manuscripts have the vegetarian parts edited out. "Now beware in yourselves that your hearts do not become heavy with the eating of flesh and with the intoxication of wine and with the anxiety of the world, and that day come up upon you suddenly; for as a snare it will come upon all them that sit on the surface of the earth." (Luke 21:34)
Like the Essenes, Jesus, his family, and the original followers were also vegetarians and opposed to all sacrifice of animals in the Jewish temple.
"I am come to do away with sacrifices, and if you cease not sacrificing, the wrath of God will not cease from you." (saying of Jesus in the Gospel of the Hebrews)
Animal Liberation in the Temple
"When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the Temple, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said: 'Get out of here.' (John 2:13-16)
According to the Gospel of the Ebionites, Jesus also rejected the Passover meal:
"Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover?"
To which he replied:
"I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you."
Jesus had a brother. He's referred to by scholars and historians as "James the Just". According to a wide variety of sources, James became Jesus's spiritual successor, the next leader of this group, referred to as the "Hebrew Christians" or "Ebionites". The well-known Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Robert Eisenman wrote a one thousand page book about him called, James the Just, The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The first words on the back cover of this book are: "James was a vegetarian."
Keith Akers makes some great observations in his article, Was Jesus A Vegetarian? "Eusebius says that James the brother of Jesus was a vegetarian, and in fact was evidently raised as a vegetarian (Ecclesiastical History 2.23). Why would Jesus' parents have raised James as a vegetarian, unless they were vegetarian themselves and raised Jesus as a vegetarian as well? Eusebius also states (Proof of the Gospel 3.5) that all the Apostles abstained from meat and wine."
What About the 'Fishes and Loaves'?
The original version of the "Feeding of the Multitude" story only refers to bread, not bread and fish. "Fish" got added later. For more, see both my article and the one by Keith Akers posted here:https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/b8784ac42506
The editing out of vegetarian sayings, adding fish to the Feeding of the Five Thousand in second century manuscripts, and translators choosing the word "locust" instead of carob, giving John the Baptist a diet of bugs, are all troubling examples of tampering with the text. We already know that Roman culture was OK with the idea of eating meat. What interests me most however, is the diet of Jesus and the first Christians.
Iraneus lived during the Second Centur |
Linnaeus: The Compleat Naturalist
New edition of Blunt's 1971 title. Celebrates the father of modern taxonomy, the man who invented the system of giving living organisms two Latin names. This volume charts the rise of | Linnaeus: The Compleat Naturalist
New edition of Blunt's 1971 title. Celebrates the father of modern taxonomy, the man who invented the system of giving living organisms two Latin names. This volume charts the rise of Carl Linnaeus from poor student at Lund University in Sweden to Professor |
In management information systems, a dashboard
is an executive information system
user interface that (similar to an automobile's dashboard
) is designed
to be easy to read. For example, a product might obtain information from the local operating system in | In management information systems, a dashboard
is an executive information system
user interface that (similar to an automobile's dashboard
) is designed
to be easy to read. For example, a product might obtain information from the local operating system in a computer, from one or more applications that may be running, and from one or more remote sites on the Web and present it as though it all came from the same source.
Types of dashboards
Digital dashboards may be laid out to track the flows inherent in the business processes that they monitor. Graphically, users may see the high-level processes and then drill down into low level data. This level of detail is often buried deep within the corporate enterprise and otherwise unavailable to the senior executives.
Three main types of digital dashboard dominate the market today: stand alone software applications, web-browser based applications, and desktop applications also known as desktop widgets. The last are driven by a widget engine.
Specialized dashboards may track all corporate functions. Examples include human resources, recruiting, sales, operations, security, information technology, project management, customer relationship management and many more departmental dashboards.
Digital dashboard projects involve business units as the driver and the information technology department as the enabler. The success of digital dashboard projects often rely on the correct selection of metrics to monitor. Key performance indicators, balanced scorecards and sales performance figures are some of the content appropriate on business dashboards.
Interface design styles
To some extent, most graphical user interfaces (GUIs) resemble an automobile dashboard. Although a computer dashboard is more likely to be interactive than an automobile dashboard, some product developers consciously employ this metaphor (and sometimes the term) in the interface design
so that the user instantly recognizes the similarity. Some products that aim to integrate information from multiple components into a unified display refer to themselves as dashboards. Based on the metaphor of the instrument panel in a car, the computer or digital dashboard provides a business manager with the input necessary to "drive" the business. Highlights with colors similar to traffic lights
, alerts, drill-downs, summaries, graphics such as bar charts
, pie charts
, bullet graphs
and gauges are usually set in a portal-like environment that is often role-driven and customizable.
The idea of digital dashboards followed the study of decision support systems
in the 1970s. With the surge of the web in the late 1990s, digital dashboards as we know them today began appearing. Many systems were developed in-house by organizations to consolidate and display data already being gathered in various information systems throughout the organization. Today, digital dashboard technology is available "out-of-the-box" from many software providers. Some companies however continue to do in-house development and maintenance of dashboard applications. For example, GE Aviation has developed a proprietary software/portal called "Digital Cockpit" to monitor the trends in aircraft spare parts business.
Benefits of digital dashboards
Digital dashboards allow managers to monitor the contribution of the various departments in their organization. To gauge exactly how well an organization is performing overall, digital dashboards allow you to capture and report specific data points from each department within the organization, thus providing a "snapshot
" of performance.
Benefits of using digital dashboards include:
- Visual presentation of performance measures
- Ability to identify and correct negative trends
- Measure efficiencies/inefficiencies
- Ability to generate detailed reports showing new trends
- Ability to make more informed decisions based on collected business intelligence
- Align strategies and organizational goals
- Save time over running multiple reports |
November 11, 2012 - Phytoplankton blooms off Argentina
Each spring the waters east of Argentina burst forth in bright jewel-tone shades, turning the South Atlantic Ocean a magical palette when viewed from space. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spect | November 11, 2012 - Phytoplankton blooms off Argentina
Each spring the waters east of Argentina burst forth in bright jewel-tone shades, turning the South Atlantic Ocean a magical palette when viewed from space. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the region on November 3, 2012 and captured this stunning true-color image.
Hundreds of kilometers of ocean are painted with the blue, green, teal and turquoise colors of phytoplankton in bloom. This event is so vast that very little unaffected ocean can be seen in the entire image.
Different types of phytoplankton reflect light differently, so a variety of colors suggest multiple species may be in bloom. Also, as the organisms rise close to the surface they reflect more light that those which float more deeply, so the darkest, duller hues suggest submerged colonies.
When conditions are right, phytoplankton, which are microscopic plant-like organisms which contain chlorophyll and other pigments, can undergo explosive growth creating huge blooms. In the springtime, the increased light provides warmth and energy to fuel growth. The Malvinas (Falkland) current which flows northward along Argentina’s continental shelf brings nutrients, and upwelling by currents and wind brings the nutrients near the surface, making conditions favorable for robust blooms. |
The Shorty Manufacturing Company
BY ART REDMAN
Art Redman is a source of serious research on radio manufacturers of the Pacific Northwest. His previous articles in A.R.C. were "Northwestern Radio Manufacturing Company" in September 2005 | The Shorty Manufacturing Company
BY ART REDMAN
Art Redman is a source of serious research on radio manufacturers of the Pacific Northwest. His previous articles in A.R.C. were "Northwestern Radio Manufacturing Company" in September 2005 and "Hallock and Watson" in June 2006. (Editor)
In the early 1930s, interest in shortwave listening increased when several radio manufacturing companies had a police band feature on wavelengths above the standard broadcast band. The nation was in the midst of the Great Depression, and a low-cost alternative to expensive shortwave radios and converters was needed. Sparton and Stewart-Warner were already manufacturing shortwave converters by 1933. This demand prompted thirty-five year old Ray Leith Reid and his brother George S. Reid to manufacture less expensive shortwave adapters. The idea of adding a low-cost, plug-in tuner box to an existing radio was a sure thing.
The Reid brothers' Shorty Manufacturing Company was located at 2730 East Burnside Street in Portland, Oregon, where the market for shortwave radios was especially strong. KGPP or "Government Portland Police," the 500-watt police radio station, was located on the southwest slope of Mt. Tabor at Water Reservoir No. 5. It was on the air at 2.442 MHz beginning in 1932. In addition, the airport radio station at Swan Island created strong local interest in shortwave, thereby creating an additional selling point for the Shorty adapters.
The Shorty Products
The Shorty Company produced two shortwave adapter models -- the Shorty and the All-Aire. These adapters, shown in Figures 1 and 2, were designed for use with broadcast-band radios that used either a triode or a screen-grid tube as a detector. Closeups of the dials for the Shorty and the All-Aire models are shown in Figures 3 and 4 (see print version).
B+ and filament voltages for the adapters are obtained from the broadcast radio by means of a cable and tube socket. Figure 5 shows the cable and the tube socket with the broadcast radio's triode detector tube plugged into the tube socket. The tube's pins extend through the inverted wafer socket, and the tube and socket are then plugged into the radio's detector socket.
Figure 1. The Shorty model shortwave adapter is distinguished by its round knobs.
The schematic diagram for the Shorty model is shown in Figure 6 (see print version). It is a regenerative detector. The antenna and ground wires are connected to the broadcast radio's antenna and ground terminals. If the broadcast receiver used a triode detector, the black and red wires are connected. If a screen-grid detector is used, then the black and green are connected. The adapter could also be used with receivers having 6.3-volt tube filaments. The company recommended a good 35-foot outside aerial and a good ground.
What was unique about the Shorty adapters was that the radio's detector tube remained in place and was not removed and replaced by a socket plug. The wafer connected the adapter to the B+ supply and filament voltages of the broadcast band radio. Also the antenna and ground wires were connected to the radio receiver, unlike other adapters of the 1930s which had separate antenna and ground posts.
Figure 2. The All-Aire model shortwave adapter uses the same cabinet style as the Shorty, but has a different escutcheon and hexagonal-shaped knobs.
The Shorty Company models
The Shorty model adapters were housed in tombstone style wood cabinets. The company interchanged model names so a collector could find an adapter with a Type 36 or a Type 24A screen-grid tube, or a Type 37 triode, depending on which label was placed on the bottom. Cabinet labels are shown in Figures 7 and 8 (see print version).
The Shorty model with the Type 37 triode tube measured 65/16" high x 67/16" long x 45/8" wide. The label on the underside had a space to write in both the police and airport frequencies. This model had a 72-ohm RF choke in the plate circuit and two controls -- a variable 0.00016 mfd, 7-plate tuning capacitor, which controlled regeneration, and a 2-plate trimmer capacitor.
The All-Aire model used only a Type 24A or 36 screen- grid tube. It measured 7" high x 71/4" long x 45/8" wide and had a "patent pending" stamp. It weighed two pounds, and had an additional variable 92K resistor controlling screen grid voltage and thereby volume. The 2.5-megohm grid leak resistor was made by the International Resistance Company. The 0.00025 mfd grid leak bypass capacitor mounted under a 40-gauge galvanized sheet metal chassis was made by the Girald Hopkins Company of San Francisco.
Shorty Adapters in Use
Mike Parker, an owner of the All-Aire adapter with a Type 24A screen-grid tube, reports that it works well with his Atwater Kent Model 40 receiver. The reason for this is that his receiver has a Type 27 triode tube detector, which is not always the case with other receivers.
Poor shortwave reception often resulted from using an improper receiver. Using the plate voltage of standard broadcast receivers often leads to over 180 volts being applied to the plates of the detector tube |
About the sustainable handprint
“Through our actions, we add substance and vigour to the quest for sustainable living.”
- The Ahmedabad Declaration 2007: A Call to Action, 4th ICEE
Excessive consumption of natural | About the sustainable handprint
“Through our actions, we add substance and vigour to the quest for sustainable living.”
- The Ahmedabad Declaration 2007: A Call to Action, 4th ICEE
Excessive consumption of natural resources and unsustainable lifestyles are consistently increasing the pressure on biosphere. Human impact on the Earth has tripled since 1961 and our human footprint now exceeds the planet’s capability of regeneration by about 25 percent. (“Ecological Footprint is a resource management tool that measures how much land and water area a human population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes under prevailing technology” ). For last 20 years humans are consuming the natural resources faster than they can be renewed. To avoid irreversible damage the consumption rate should reduce to balance the Earth’s capacity to regenerate and absorb waste. The unsustainable trends need to be stopped and we need to change our lifestyles along with development models to ensure sustainable future.
It is vital that we instigate change in order to improve living standards of all and reduce the impact on planet. Choices that we make now will shape our opportunities in future and those of future generations. Technologies to lighten human footprint exists and newer and better models will follow. But availability of alternative models and vision for sustainable future is not enough, what we need is ‘action’. Education is a key driver to achieve this transformation. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) encourages a shift from viewing education as a delivery mechanism to a lifelong, holistic and inclusive learning process. ESD not only creates awareness but also builds capacity and decision making ability of a community. ESD calls for action!
Handprint is a measure of ESD action; action that is directed to decrease the human footprint and make the world more sustainable. Handprint is a new tool being developed by Centre for Environment Education (CEE), India to help measure action at different levels. One needs to ask what one does at individual, community, national and global level. The handprint analyses positive impact on the three aspects of sustainability:
environment, society and economy. Various questions cover each aspect, investigating on amongst others your use of resources, your social engagement and your awareness of sustainable investments. While the footprint is the negative effect you leave on global resources, handprint is your positive efforts towards sustainability.
The Handprint concept reflects the spirit of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education (ICEE) and the commitment to action towards sustainable development. The concept embraces the conference recommendations and will carry forward the spirit of hope, enthusiasm and commitment to action. It will guide the various ongoing and new initiatives of CEE. The concept is at the nascent stage with immense potential to growth.
Sharing the story behind Handprint Logo
It is Srija's hand that shapes the sustainable handprint's logo. Srija, visiting the Holy Mary School in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (AP), gave her handprint when she was participating in a project of the CEE AP, involving taking action for sustainability. She was 10 years at that time. Sirja, who inspired this idea, like many million other children, needs to live in a world that is more sustainable. Every action towards sustainability can count towards creating a better world for all to live in. |
WWW Virtual Library - Sri Lanka
By D.B. Kappagoda
Ruhuna or Rohana in the deep South of Lanka has many Buddhist monasteries scattered throughout the entire area steeped in history. Dematamal V | WWW Virtual Library - Sri Lanka
By D.B. Kappagoda
Ruhuna or Rohana in the deep South of Lanka has many Buddhist monasteries scattered throughout the entire area steeped in history. Dematamal Viharaya is one such monastery that lies four kilometres from Buttala town on the road to the historic Maligawala Bodhisatva statue.
The viharaya, frequented by pilgrims from distant places, can be seen from a distance amidst paddy fields. The viharaya has become increasingly important because of the historical findings within the monastery premises. The other reason is the historical background dating back to the times of the two Princes Dutugemunu and Tissa.
The early period of the viharaya can be dated to the times of King Mahanaga who ruled Ruhuna in the 3rd century BC. The buildings of the viharaya went into ruins and King Kavantissa, father of Prince Dutugemunu and Prince Tissa, whose suzerainty extended from Magampathuwa renovated the viharaya to its former state.
After his death, the struggle for power began between his two sons namely Prince Dutugemunu and Prince Tissa, each claiming the right of ownership of the royal tusker Kandula and the queen mother Viharamaha Devi. It resulted in two battles in which one was won by Prince Dutugemunu and the other by Prince Tissa.
The legend relates how Prince Tissa lost and fled to Dematamal Viharaya where the chief incumbent Ven. Gonashanka Tissa Thera who saved the life of the prince. Prince Dutugemunu it is said, after entering the vihara premises, inquired from the chief incumbent the whereabouts of his brother who at that time was hiding underneath the bed of the Maha Thera.
Prince Dutugemunu realized what happened and politely asked the Thera for his brother. The VenerableThera was not willing to accede to his request and remained silent. The prince thereafter placed his soldiers in vulnerable places to prevent the hiding prince from escaping.
Prince Tissa stayed within the viharaya for some days and a plan was drawn up for him to escape. Accordingly he was carried on a bed in the guise of a dead monk. The samaneras carried the bed, on seeing this act it was said, Prince Dutugemunu remarked, "Tissa, never get carried on the shoulders of monk." Later the chief monk brought about unity between two brothers and this unity remained throughout their life time.
After sometime, the brothers with their mother Queen Viharamaha Devi cultivated the area surrounding Digamadulla and made Ruhuna prosperous. It is said to test the prosperity of the people a man was sent with a winnowing fan (kulla) full of paddy, from house to house.
No one came forward to buy the paddy. On hearing the prosperity of the people Dutugemunu had said to his brother. "Govithan Kala Athimale" (its enough that we have cultivated younger brother) and this remark later came to be called, "Athimale."
Another story relates, Prince Dutugemunu who saw his brother which came to be called "Dutumal," later became Dutumal and Dematamal. The present viharaya has ruins of Seemamalaka (boundaries of poyage), stupa, bodhighara (Where Bodhi tree was worshipped) and a rare Muragala (Guard stone).
The Muragala has a figure of a man and a woman in a pose showing the state of intimacy. Behind the man's head are "Na pena" (cobra heads) giving a sense of mystery to the stone carving of the figures. In the figures of Muragala of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa the Naga King is shown.
He is "a beneficial being guarding the waters and other celestial as well as terrestrial" says Anuradha Seneviratna. The Naga figures are commonly carved a rock slabs near wevas in Raja Rata. They are depicted as animal and human beings and the hoods of cobras form as a head dress.
The guard stones are placed in front of balustrades leading to monasteries. The figure of the guard holds a vase with flowers is a decorative figure meant to prevent evil influences and to bring about prosperity on those visiting the shrine. (Source: Daily Mirror)
WWW Virtual Library - Sri Lanka |
SEC. 37-7-329. Establishment and operation of schools exclusively for Indians.
In a school district where there are Indian children, or children of any race not otherwise provided for by law with educational advantages, sufficient to form a school, | SEC. 37-7-329. Establishment and operation of schools exclusively for Indians.
In a school district where there are Indian children, or children of any race not otherwise provided for by law with educational advantages, sufficient to form a school, the school board may locate one or more schools exclusively for Indians, or children of such other race, and pay salaries of teachers for same, and provide for the transportation of the children, under rules and regulations prescribed by the State Board of Education. Special licenses may be provided by the director of the division of instruction for teachers of Indian schools and other schools mentioned in this section.
SOURCES: Laws, 1986, ch. 492, Sec. 21, eff from and after July 1, 1987. |
13 Days When Music Changed Forever - Program 11:<br>January 10, 1931: "Three Places in New England"
“Three Places in New England,” by Charles Ives, is performed for the first time to mild applause | 13 Days When Music Changed Forever - Program 11:<br>January 10, 1931: "Three Places in New England"
“Three Places in New England,” by Charles Ives, is performed for the first time to mild applause at a concert funded by the composer himself. Mild applause, but Ives’s music was revolutionary. Before him, American concert music was almost entirely based on European models. After him, through Copland, Cage and beyond, American “classical” music found its own voice. |
ANTI-Virus & ANTI-Spyware
One of the most important things to think about the moment you decide to buy a new PC or Laptop is protecting it against malicious software like a Virus. It is essential to obtain some up-to-date | ANTI-Virus & ANTI-Spyware
One of the most important things to think about the moment you decide to buy a new PC or Laptop is protecting it against malicious software like a Virus. It is essential to obtain some up-to-date Anti-Virus protection because you never know what can go wrong at any time.
There are some really good Anti-Virus Softwares on the market, although the don’t come cheap but nonetheless worth every penny for protecting your machine. In recent years Norton has lead the way in the UK market and their new 2011 Anti-Virus solution is no exception.
Kaspersky 2011 Anti-Virus is also a highly recommended Anti-Virus Solution.
AVG is a free Anti-Virus solution which you can download for free from their website: http://www.free.avg.com
Because it is free it is not a “complete” Anti-Virus solution however. AVG do provide a complete solution but again you have to pay for it. But the free version, for what it is, is a great piece of protection for your machine.
What is Spyware?
Spyware is very similar to Anti-Virus in that it is another piece of malicious software but rather than attacking your machines vunerability it is Software that self-installs on a computer, enabling information to be gathered covertly about a person's Internet use, passwords, credit & debit card information etc.
Both Viruses & Malicious Spyware programs can very harmful to your computer and your personal information however they are not to be feared as there are some very good softwares on the market which help protect your machine.
If you have a Virus on your PC or Laptop, OX-IT can help |
Nov. 15, 2012 Pollution from fossil fuel burning and forest fires reaches all the way to the Arctic, even though it should decay long before it travels that far. Now, lab research can explain how pollution makes its lofty journey: | Nov. 15, 2012 Pollution from fossil fuel burning and forest fires reaches all the way to the Arctic, even though it should decay long before it travels that far. Now, lab research can explain how pollution makes its lofty journey: rather than ride on the surface of airborne particles, pollutants snuggle inside, protected from the elements on the way. The results will help scientists improve atmospheric air-quality and pollution transport models.
The results also show that the particles that envelop pollutants also benefit from this arrangement. The new study in Environmental Science & Technology shows that the airborne particles, made from natural molecules mostly given off by live or burning plants, last longer with a touch of pollutant packed inside. The pollutants are known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, and are regulated by environmental agencies due to their toxicity.
"What we've learned through fundamental studies on model systems in the lab has very important implications for long-range transport of pollutants in the real world," said physical chemist Alla Zelenyuk of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "In this study, we propose a new explanation for how PAHs get transported so far, by demonstrating that airborne particles become a protective vessel for PAH transport."
Floating in the air and invisible to the eye, airborne particles known as secondary organic aerosols live and die. Born from carbon-based molecules given off by trees, vegetation, and fossil fuel burning, these airborne SOA particles travel the currents and contribute to cloud formation. Along for the rid |
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address: A Plea For Union
I doubt if there has ever been a bleaker inaugural of a President than that which awaited Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1861. Seven slave states of the | Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address: A Plea For Union
I doubt if there has ever been a bleaker inaugural of a President than that which awaited Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1861. Seven slave states of the deep South had already seceded from the Union, stretching from South Carolina to Texas. Secession movements were active in every other slave state except for Delaware. The nation was shattering in two, a process that James Buchanan had been impotent to stop. North and South, all Americans now were eagerly wondering how the new President would address this overwhelming crisis. Lincoln realized that this speech would be carefully read and he chose his words carefully as he set out the policy of his new administration:
Fellow-citizens of the United States:
In compliance with a custom as old as the government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly, and to take, in your presence, the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, to be taken by the President “before he enters on the execution of this office.”
I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement.
Lincoln gets right to the point. The secession crisis was all anyone in the country was thinking about, and there was no use pretending otherwise.
Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States, that by the accession of a Republican Administration, their property, and their peace, and personal security, are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed, and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made this, and many similar declarations, and had never recanted them. And more than this, they placed in the platform, for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves, and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read:
Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.”
This would be a recurring theme of the speech, Lincoln’s repetition of something he said throughout his career. The federal government had no power to interfere with slavery in the states, no matter how evil slavery is. Keep slavery out of new territories, hedge the Peculiar Institution in where it currently exists, and it would be placed on the path of ultimate extinction.
I now reiterate these sentiments; and in doing so, I only press upon the public attention the most conclusive evidence of which the case is susceptible, that the property, peace and security of no section are to be in any wise endangered by the now incoming Administration. I add too, that all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can be given, will be cheerfully given to all the States when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause — as cheerfully to one section as to another.
Lincoln is no threat to the South and slavery in the South.
There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions:
“No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.”
It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those who made it, for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves; and the intention of the law-giver is the law. All members of Congress swear their support to the whole Constitution — to this provision as much as to any other. To the proposition, then, that slaves whose cases come within the terms of this clause, “shall be delivered,” their oaths are unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they not, with nearly equal unanimity, frame and pass a law, by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath?
There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by national or by state authority; but surely that difference is not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him, or to others, by which authority it is done. And should any one, in any case, be c |
The USDA Forest Service has requested that all vehicles that would run on the Fordyce Jeep Trail be washed immediately prior to the event. This is a preventative measure to help prevent the introduction and spread of noxious weeds such as yellow star thistle | The USDA Forest Service has requested that all vehicles that would run on the Fordyce Jeep Trail be washed immediately prior to the event. This is a preventative measure to help prevent the introduction and spread of noxious weeds such as yellow star thistle. Vehicles can spread weeds from one site to another by carrying plant parts and seeds.
When a vehicle is driven through a weed-infested area, weed seeds may become lodged between the tire treads, in the coils of a winch, behind the license plate, or in cracks and crevices on |
In: Other Topics
Garners TheoryGARDNER’S THEORY
The Gardner’s theory is a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into various specific (primarily sensory) modalities, rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general | In: Other Topics
Garners TheoryGARDNER’S THEORY
The Gardner’s theory is a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into various specific (primarily sensory) modalities, rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general ability. The Gardner’s theory started around 1983. His full name is Howard Gardner. Howard Gardner came up with seven intelligences spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. In 1999 he identify naturalist and existential intelligence as the eighth and ninth types of intelligences. Gardner figured out that the different intelligence operate in an interdependent way rather than independently. The different intelligence complement each other and function in away that people can build skills and solve problems.
The two intelligence that apply to me the most is musical intelligence and linguistic intelligence. Musical intelligence encompasses the capability to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. I have been singing and playing the flute for many years. I never had any training in the flute or vocal lessons. When I was younger my mother bought me a flute and I immediately knew what to do with it. When I sing the sound that comes out is so peaceful and beautiful. I love to change the pitch and rhythm when I sing. When I want to learn something or remember something I can sing it or play it on my flute. I use musical intelligence just about everyday in my life.
Linguistic intelligence involves having a mastery of language. I love writing poetry. I started writing poetry in the 1st grade,” Roses are Red, Violets are blue, Sugar is Sweet, and I know I am too”. That was my first poem I every wrote. Then as I got older I started to write more and even better. In high school we read a book called the “Tess of the d'Urbervilles” but I could not get into it. So for me to learn and remember the story I changed the story into a poem. In a way I could remember the story and prepare for... |
What shape has Harry drawn on this clock face? Can you find its
area? What is the largest number of square tiles that could cover
What is the total area of the four outside triangles which are
outlined in red in this arrangement of | What shape has Harry drawn on this clock face? Can you find its
area? What is the largest number of square tiles that could cover
What is the total area of the four outside triangles which are
outlined in red in this arrangement of squares inside each other?
What can you see? What do you notice? What questions can you ask?
A group activity using visualisation of squares and triangles.
Find a way to cut a 4 by 4 square into only two pieces, then rejoin the two pieces to make an L shape 6 units high.
Imagine a 4 by 4 by 4 cube. If you and a friend drill holes in some of the small cubes in the ways described, how many will not have holes drilled through them?
A game for two players on a large squared space.
A game for 2 players. Given a board of dots in a grid pattern, players take turns drawing a line by connecting 2 adjacent dots. Your goal is to complete more squares than your opponent.
A game for 1 or 2 people. Use the interactive version, or play with friends. Try to round up as many counters as possible.
Choose a box and work out the smallest rectangle of paper needed to
wrap it so that it is completely covered.
What shape is the overlap when you slide one of these shapes half
way across another? Can you picture it in your head? Use the
interactivity to check your visualisation.
These points all mark the vertices (corners) of ten hidden squares.
Can you find the 10 hidden squares?
If you can post the triangle with either the blue or yellow colour face up, how |
Jamaica’s Trelawny Maroons
Exiled Freedom Fighters
Jamaican Maroon captain Leonard Parkinson courtesy of Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, N.S.
Almost 600 Trelawny Maroons including men women and children | Jamaica’s Trelawny Maroons
Exiled Freedom Fighters
Jamaican Maroon captain Leonard Parkinson courtesy of Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, N.S.
Almost 600 Trelawny Maroons including men women and children, landed in Halifax in July 1796. Fearing that their militancy and independent spirit would inspire those still in bondage to be free and revolt, the Jamaican government exiled the Trelawny Maroons to Nova Scotia. Although they stayed only four years the Maroons left an enduring legacy.
The Trelawny men worked on the defences of the third Citadel, for which it is believed a part of the fortifications was named ‘Maroon Bastion’ in their honour. They helped erect Government House, were part of a militia unit, cleared woods for roads, and were employed as general labourers. Among other tasks, the women and children gathered fruits and berries, and grew vegetables for sale at the Halifax market. At first the Maroons lived in tents and barracks on the Citadel’s grounds, and in barns on Governor Wentworth’s property. They were subsequently moved to lands at Preston.
Disenchantment soon set in, particularly over Governor Wentworth’s attempt to impose ‘civility’ on the Trelawnys. But it was the harsh winters and unpalatable food which made Nova Scotia unbearable for the Maroons, and they asked to be sent to a warmer climate.
In August 1800, 500 Maroons sailed for Sierra Leone, West Africa. Yet, a few Maroons remained, and some family names in Nova Scotia, such as Downey, Colley and Johnston, are connected to Maroon heritage.1
The term ‘Maroon’ is a corruption of the Spanish word cimarron meaning wild and untamed.
The Maroons - Black Cultural Centre of Nova Scotia
1 Dr. Henry Bishop, Chief Curator, Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, May 2002. Sourced from The Maroons in Nova Scotia, by John N. Grant. |
We Can Spot Racial Tension Better In Our Own Racial Group
In March of 2008, in a speech addressing contemporary racial tensions in America, then-Senator Barack Obama suggested that there is a “chasm of misunderstanding that | We Can Spot Racial Tension Better In Our Own Racial Group
In March of 2008, in a speech addressing contemporary racial tensions in America, then-Senator Barack Obama suggested that there is a “chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.” Could this be true? Is it more difficult for members of different races to understand each others’ emotions and intentions? Psychologist Heather M. Gray from Boston University, along with Wendy Berry Mendes and Carrigan Denny-Brown of Harvard University, investigated whether the ability to detect a person’s anxiety declines when perceptions are made across the racial divide.
Although interactions with members of other racial groups are becoming increasingly more common, they are still a source of anxiety for many people. This interracial anxiety can “leak out” in the form of uncontrollable, stressful behaviors such as fidgeting and vocal tension. But how sensitive are we to signs of interracial anxiety, and does race influence the ability to detect interracial anxiety in other people? To answer these questions, the researchers videotaped White and Black participants as they performed a difficult task in front of a panel of either same-race evaluators (i.e. White participants with White evaluators) or different-race evaluators (i.e. White participants with Black evaluators). In addition, the researchers measured the participants’ cortisol (a hormone that increases when we are stressed) levels to gauge how stressed participants were. Then, a separate group of White and Black observers watched the videotapes of the participants (without seeing the evaluators) and were asked to rate the participants’ anxiety.
The results of the study, reported in the December issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveal that we are better able to detect anxiety in members of our own racial group than in people of different racial backgrounds. Only the same-race observers detected an increase in anxiety when participants were engaged in an interracial encounter; different-race observers failed to detect this change. And even more interesting, only the same-race observers noticed changes in anxiety that matched up with the participants’ actual stress levels (as determined by measuring cortisol).
The authors suggest that “race-matched observers appeared to draw upon subtle nonverbal indicators of intergroup anxiety that were undetectable to race-mismatched observers.” They note that being out of tune to the emotional states of people from different backgrounds “may make it difficult to develop a sense of shared emotional experience.”
On the Net: |
The risk of a teen driver dying in a crash surges when young passengers are present in the vehicle, according to a study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
The report found that a 16- or 17-year-old driver's | The risk of a teen driver dying in a crash surges when young passengers are present in the vehicle, according to a study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
The report found that a 16- or 17-year-old driver's risk of death:
- Increases by 44 percent when one passenger younger than 21 (and no older passengers) is present.
- Doubles when two passengers younger than 21 (and no older passengers) are present.
- Quadruples when three passengers younger than 21 (and no older passengers) are present.
"We know that carrying young passengers is a huge risk, but it's also a preventable one," Peter Kissinger, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety president and CEO, said in a press statement. "These findings should send a clear message to families that parents can make their teens safer immediately by refusing to allow them to get in the car with other young people, whether they're behind the wheel or in the passenger seat."
By contrast, teen drivers who carry passengers age 35 and older see their fatality risk drop by 62 percent.
The AAA Foundation suggests the following tips to keep teen drivers safe:
- Know the graduated driver licensing system for your state.
- Sign a parent-teen driving agreement that stipulates teens will not ride as passengers of teen drivers without a parent's advance permission.
- Provide transportation alternatives for teens who honor that pledge.
- Talk with other parents so they know the rules for your teen and will help enforce them.
- Spend time as a passenger when your teen is at the wheel. |
It's time to see your doctor and be checked for pertussis, or whooping cough, says Dr. Leonard Weiner, director of pediatric infectious disease at Upstate Medical University. He's concerned not only for your own health, but for | It's time to see your doctor and be checked for pertussis, or whooping cough, says Dr. Leonard Weiner, director of pediatric infectious disease at Upstate Medical University. He's concerned not only for your own health, but for that of everyone around you.
The incidence of whooping cough is on the rise because it is a highly contagious bacterial infection, and people have not been adequately vaccinated. California has documented more than 4,000 cases, including nine deaths of babies who were too young to be fully immunized. In Central New York, 120 cases -- no deaths -- have been reported in Onondaga County this year.
Whooping cough was identified in the 16th century, and before the vaccine was developed in the 1940s, it was a major cause of death, especially among infants and children. Today, American children younger than 7 get a vaccine that combines diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, called DTaP. Since immunity fades over time, it is recommended that children be vaccinated with a newer version, called Tdap, once they turn 11 or 12. Adults should get that vaccination, too.
I |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmun | Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline)
In psychology, a trait (or phenotype) is called emergenic if it is the result of a specific combination of several interacting genes (rather than of a simple sum of several independent genes). Emergenic traits will not run in families, but identical twins will share them. Traits such as "leadership", "genius" or certain mental illnesses may be emergenic.
- Lykken DT, McGue M, Tellegen A, Bouchard TJ Jr. (1992) Emergenesis. Genetic traits that may not run in families. Am Psychol. 1992 Dec;47(12):1565-77. PMID 1476327
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).| |
This drawing shows how individual molecules may move near the surface of the Moon to form an atmosphere.
The Lunar Atmosphere
People used to think that moons such as the Earth's moon or the moons of Jupiter had no atmosphere whatsoever. Now, however | This drawing shows how individual molecules may move near the surface of the Moon to form an atmosphere.
The Lunar Atmosphere
People used to think that moons such as the Earth's moon or the moons of Jupiter had no atmosphere whatsoever. Now, however, measurements have shown that most of these moons are surrounded by a *very* thin region of molecules which can *almost* be called an atmosphere. Such is the case with the Moon.
The atmosphere may come from a couple of sources, one source is
outgassing or the release of gases from deep within the Moon's
interior. Abundant gases, such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide
and carbon monoxide, can be outgassed along with rare gases such as
Another source, as shown in this diagram, are molecules which are loosened from the surface when other molecules from space hit the ground. These molecules may migrate across the surface of the Moon, to colder regions where they recondense into the ground, or they may fly off into space. This mechanism may be a source of lunar water.
Molecules from space come from the solar wind. Because its surface is
protected by neither an atmosphere nor a magnetosphere, the Moon is constantly
exposed to the solar wind, and these molecules get buried in the Moon's surface. Eventually scientists on Earth will understand more about the process of nuclear fusion, which is another way create energy. Then these molecules buried in the Moon's surface may become an important source of fuel for energy.
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How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this question can help us understand our past and prepare for our future. Although evolution provides credible and reliable answers, polls show that many people turn away fr |
Michael Fahey - St. Thomas Academy
Published September 1, 2006 | September 2006 issue
Navarat Maykha, the devoutly religious Thai mother of two children, sat praying in her jail cell, nervously | Michael Fahey - St. Thomas Academy
Published September 1, 2006 | September 2006 issue
Navarat Maykha, the devoutly religious Thai mother of two children, sat praying in her jail cell, nervously awaiting her execution. She was to be hanged for her crime: trafficking heroin into Singapore. Up until the very moment of her death, she swore she had been unaware of the heroin hidden in the lining of a suitcase given to her by a friend.1
In Singapore, a nation with one of the world's strictest drug policies, trafficking of more than half an ounce of heroin is punishable by death.2 Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, one who is found in possession of amounts of heroin less than half a gram is charged only with a misdemeanor, and often the seized illicit drugs will be returned to the individual later by police.3 The negative externalities of drug use affect every nation, so naturally national governments enact policies in order to try to curb the impact of these externalities and reduce the social cost of drug use. Governments tend to exhibit one of two main brands of drug policy: "harm-reduction" and prohibition. Throughout the majority of the 20th century, governments attempted to control the use of certain drugs through criminal law enforcement systems, and so the idea that drug problems "are fundamentally law enforcement problems is deeply embedded in political, social and cultural life."4 This is exactly the case in nations like Singapore. Recently, the efficiency of this classical approach of deterrence has been challenged on the grounds that prohibition "creates a tension within society that society cannot long bear."5 In other words, prohibition actually creates crime by forcing drug markets underground. As an alternative, some nations, the Netherlands being the most forthcoming example, have accepted a policy of "harm-reduction," which views drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one. U.S. drug policy falls somewhere in between that of Singapore and the Netherlands. No policy has succeeded in eliminating the negative externalities of drug use, but they all have their own trade-offs.
In 1975, in accordance with the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1973, drug trafficking was made a crime punishable by death in Singapore.6 An individual may face a death sentence for trafficking as little as half an ounce of heroin, an ounce of morphine or 18 ounces of cannabis.7 By 1997, 190 drug traffickers had been hanged. Singapore's drug policy mandates harsh punishments on users as well, including mandatory imprisonment, as long as 10 years, and a six- to 18-month term (as long as three years for repeat offenders) of compulsory drug treatment.8 Singapore's laws are a far greater deterrence to drug use than U.S. drug policy, which typically mandates five to 40 years of imprisonment with opportunity for early release on parole in most instances of trafficking less than a kilogram of heroin. Additionally, U.S. laws prescribe no minimum punishment for possession of controlled substances.
Conversely, the Netherlands has adopted a policy of "normalization," which seeks to integrate illicit drug users into society for more efficient "removal of deviance. |
Photo Credit: Riser/Getty
Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, arugula, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga and turnips– | Photo Credit: Riser/Getty
Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, arugula, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga and turnips–what do all these veggies have in common besides being on many people’s most-hated foods list? They all contain a phytochemical (lab speak for plant substance) that blocks cancer growth.
According to a study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, a chemical found in all cruciferous vegetables, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), reduced breast cancer tumors by 65% in mice. Researchers believe–and other studies indicate–that this powerful substance may also help destroy cancers of the cervix, prostate, liver, esophagus, uterus and colon, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Another study published last month in the journal Clinical Cancer Research that looked at a different compound in cruciferous veggies called sulforaphane had similar results. When mice with breast cancer were given injections of sulforaphane from broccoli extract, the cancer cells were unable to generate new tumors. The researchers then tested it on human breast cancer cells in a petri dish and found the same results. In both studies, the mice were given higher concentrations of the chemicals than what you can get from your diet.
However, researchers advise against popping sulforaphane or I3C supplements in hopes of warding off cancer. For one, some past animal studies have shown that, in high doses, I3C may actually promote cancer growth in some cases. It is also important to keep in mind that studies that are successful in mice do not always have the same results in humans–and that there’s still a long way to go before researchers determine the best way to utilize these cancer-fighting chemicals.
For now, researchers say you can’t go wrong by making cruciferous veggies part of your diet. A review by the American Dietetic Association shows that over 70% of the studies done on cruciferous vegetables and cancer found a protective benefit. Joel Fuhrman, MD, author of Eat to Live and Live to Eat, who specializes in preventing disease through nutrition, recommends eating at least one serving of cruciferous veggies a day.
If you want to get a good healthy dose of sulforaphane or I3C, broccoli sprouts–three-to four-day-old broccoli plants that look and taste similar to alfalfa sprouts --are the richest source. But, don’t go overboard. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, an 88-year-old woman put |
Article, Writing Prompts
Island of the Blue Dolphins Writing Prompt
- Grades: 3–5, 6–8
About this book
WRITING: Going Beyond
Discuss with the class what Karana's life would | Article, Writing Prompts
Island of the Blue Dolphins Writing Prompt
- Grades: 3–5, 6–8
About this book
WRITING: Going Beyond
Discuss with the class what Karana's life would have been like after she left the island. Remind students that she didn't speak English or Spanish and that she had been alone for many years. Have students write about what they think happened to Karana. Was she happy? Did she learn to fit in? Did she miss the island? Did she make new friends? Invite students to share and discuss their ideas. |
R-6.0 Introduction This section provides guidelines for deducing the structure of a compound from a systematic name. For this, it is important to keep in mind that a systematic name generally consists of
three main parts: (a) a | R-6.0 Introduction This section provides guidelines for deducing the structure of a compound from a systematic name. For this, it is important to keep in mind that a systematic name generally consists of
three main parts: (a) a prefix, or prefixes, corresponding to substituents; (b) the name of a parent hydride which includes nondetachable prefixes for heteroatoms, hydrogenation, and skeletal
modification, or the name of a functional parent compound; and (c) in the case of a name based on a parent hydride, an infix, or infixes, indicating unsaturation, followed by a suffix indicating the
nature of the principal characteristic group.
In the following examples, infixes and suffixes are doubly underlined and the names of are singly underlined; prefixes are not underlined.
- See Also:
R-6.2 2,3-Dichloro-6-[4-chloro-2-(hydroxymethyl)-5-oxohex-3-en-1-yl]pyridine-4-carboxylic acid
R-6.5 1-Methylbutyl 4-(2-acetyl-2-ethylhydrazino)benzoate
This HTML reproduction is as close as possible to the published version [see IUPAC, Commission on Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry. A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds
(Recommendations 1993), 1993, Blackwell Scientific publications, Copyright 1993 IUPAC]. If you need to cite these rules please quote this reference as their source.
Published with permission of the IUPAC by Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc., www.acdlabs.com, +1(416)368-3435 tel, +1(416)368-5596 fax. For comments or suggestions please contact [email protected] |
Greco-Roman wrestling is a combat sport which confronts two male competitors who try to gain control over their opponent through the use of throws, locks, and clinching techniques. The holds can only be execuded by means of the upper body | Greco-Roman wrestling is a combat sport which confronts two male competitors who try to gain control over their opponent through the use of throws, locks, and clinching techniques. The holds can only be execuded by means of the upper body, with the ultimate goal of pinning the opponent's shoulders to the mat. If a wrestler manages to do so, victory by "fall" is proclaimed, otherwise, the match pursues until the end of the regular time and the winner is decided according to the technical points scored.
The origins of Greco-Roman wrestling should not be sought in ancient times, since the style practised by the Greeks and the Romans was actually similar to freestyle wrestling. This style has its origins in the 19th century and was created by a Napoleon soldier named Exbroyat. He performed in Lyon fairs what he called “flat hand wrestling” to differentiate it from other combat sports where hitting his opponent was allowed. In 1848, he established as a rule, not to execute holds underneath the waist, and forbid holds and painful torsions that could hurt the adversary. “Flat hand wrestling”, also called “French wrestling” developed all throughout Europe and became the most important sport of the 19th century. The person who created the expression “Greco-Roman” was the Italian wrestler Basilio Bartoli, who wanted to underline the interest for Ancient values.
Wrestling was introduced to the programme of the ancient Olympic Games in 708 BC. Greco-Roman wrestling was then the first style registered in the Modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 and this form of professional entertainment became a first class amateur sport during the 20th century. Wrestling was never absent from the Olympic programme, except during the Games in Paris in 1900.
At present, Greco-roman wrestling counts seven weight categories:
55 kg, 60 kg, 66 kg, 74 kg, 84 kg, 96kg and 120 kg
According to the ranking of the last World Cup of Greco-Roman wrestling, the leading countries in this style are: Iran, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Cuba, Korea, and Bulgaria.
Licence and insurance: The FILA licence is mandatory for all international Greco-Roman competitions with more than two participating countries. Every international competition shall be anounced to FILA and added to its official calendar. The FILA insurance will only apply to competitions which appear in its calendar. The FILA licence allows its holder to take part in all wrestling styles ruled by FILA. |
More than 3,000 years ago, where Mariental is now located, and all the way including Tses, all that veld area could once used to be a huge river with massive water, and possibly that water has now become | More than 3,000 years ago, where Mariental is now located, and all the way including Tses, all that veld area could once used to be a huge river with massive water, and possibly that water has now become a massive underground aquifer, possibly with more enough water for drinking, agricultural or commercial use to last hundreds of years.
My first trip to Tses in March 2012 for the discovery and establishment of Tses Glass, as we were driving with our friends from Nissi Group, I was explaining to them how unique the landscape between Mariental and Tses looks. On the left side of B1 (south bound), has this unique but distinct feature of a cut-off water, and you can clearly see where the water once reached by looking at the edge of the current land, how the water waves had curled through the upper part of the outer land, to cause the current unique isotope level of water waves as they hit the land.
And when you look at the right side of B1 (south bound), you can clearly see the plain of water, how the water once congregated the whole area, which has now become a large veld, but whatever that water was or still is, it may contain some form of chemicals or simply caused the soil not to be suitable for growing bigger trees any more, and that perhaps for the past 3,000 years, no trees have been able to grow in that area, except some isolated shrubs and grass currently in the area.
Therefore, I won’t be surprised if there’s a load of coal, natural gas, or oil in that veld area between Mariental all the way passing Tses, especially on the banks of the Fish River.
But only a comprehensive and detailed scientific study could prove my stated hypothesis wrong. It will be good to have a team of international scientists to check this out.
Namibia is richly and infinitely endowed with diverse mineral resources for the well-being of the Namibian people, as well as some awesome herbs that could be used for medicinal purpose to possibly cure some of today’s most common diseases and illness around the world. |
U.S. Government Publications Basics
Looking for information provided by the U.S. Government can sometimes be a simple task, other times it can be a complex process. Below are some of the most frequently used tools for finding government publication both in the | U.S. Government Publications Basics
Looking for information provided by the U.S. Government can sometimes be a simple task, other times it can be a complex process. Below are some of the most frequently used tools for finding government publication both in the Penn Library
system and on the Internet. If you do not find what you are looking for, please consult the longer
U.S. Government Documents Research Guide
Search portal to government websites.
- from U.S. Government Printing Office
Includes the full-text of many important executive, legislative, and judicial government publications.
A gateway to statistical information made available to the public by the U.S. Government
Sponsored by the Library of Congress, a respository of recent legislative publications.
Includes pending bills, laws, legislative histories, committee reports and documents,
selected Congressional hearings and committee prints, and biographical
data about members of Congress.
U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection
Fulltext for House and Senate Documents and Reports, 1818-1969, as well as other U.S. documents, such as Executive publications, often included in the Serial Set in earlier years.
Many government publications are cataloged in Franklin, the Penn Library catalog.
These publications represent many time periods. Generally the publications will be listed under both the authoring agency and the title. The author is usually
listed as a hierarchically arranged string, from largest entity to smallest. Example: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture.
Microfiche and Microprint
From January 1956 through December 1980, the library has a complete collection of U.S. government depository publications on microprint. These can be identified by using the Monthly Catalog ( online 1976-) or in print from 1951 to 1976 at Van Pelt Reference Stacks: Z1223.A18. Depository documents are marked by a 'bullet'. The microprint is arranged by year and then by MoCat entry number.
From January 1980 to December 1985, a reproduction of all depository documents
was received on microfiche. Since 1985, only selected documents are available
in microfiche. Documents on microfiche are arranged by SuDocs number. Use the
Monthly Catalog (online
1976 - present), or
WorldCat to find SuDocs numbers. |
Information Update - Reminding Canadians How to Safely Consume Leftovers
OTTAWA, March 12, 2013 /CNW/ - Many Canadians enjoy eating leftovers from holiday festivities, family gatherings or from dining out. However, | Information Update - Reminding Canadians How to Safely Consume Leftovers
OTTAWA, March 12, 2013 /CNW/ - Many Canadians enjoy eating leftovers from holiday festivities, family gatherings or from dining out. However, leftovers need to be properly handled. Health Canada would like to remind all Canadians of some basic steps they can take to ensure that leftovers are eaten safely to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
- Before and after handling leftovers, wash your hands as well as all utensils, dishes and work surfaces with hot soapy water.
- Keep foods out of the danger zone, between 4°C (40°F) and 60°C (140°F) to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
- Throw away any cooked food left in the danger zone for more than two hours.
- Never rely on your nose, eyes or taste buds to judge the safety of food. You cannot tell if food is contaminated by its look, smell or taste. When in doubt, throw it out!
- Refrigerate all hot leftovers promptly in uncovered, shallow containers so they cool quickly.
- Very hot items can first be cooled at room temperature. Refrigerate once steaming stops.
- Leave the lid off or wrap loosely until the food is cooled to refrigeration temperature.
- Avoid overstocking the refrigerator to allow cool air to circulate freely.
- Always use a clean container to hold leftovers, or wrap leftovers in leak-proof plastic bags to prevent cross-contamination. Keep different types of leftovers separate.
- Eat refrigerated leftovers within 2 to 3 days, or freeze them for later use.
- Date leftovers to help identify the contents and to ensure they are not stored too long.
- Thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator or in the microwave. Ensure food is properly sealed.
- Use the defrost setting of your microwave and make sure leftovers are completely defrosted before reheating.
- Consume or cook the leftovers immediately after they have thawed.
- Reheat leftovers to a safe internal temperature of 74ºC (165ºF).
- Use a digital food thermometer to check the temperature.
- Bring gravies, soups and sauces to a full, rolling boil and stir during the process.
- Discard uneaten leftovers after they have been reheated.
Reheating in a microwave
- Use only containers and plastic wrap designed for use in the microwave.
- Loosen the lid or wrap to allow steam to escape.
- Stop the microwave midway through reheating and stir the food so that the heat is evenly distributed.
- Rotate the plate several times during cooking if your microwave does not have a rotating tray.
It's estimated that there are approximately 11 million cases of food-related illnesses in Canada every year. Many of these illnesses could be prevented by following proper food handling and preparation techniques.
For more information on food safety tips for leftovers, please visit:
Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education
Stay connected with Health Canada and receive the latest adv |
Across the developing world, rural communities’ health care services are often non-existent or inaccessible. In Zambia today, there is one doctor for every 23,000 people, well above the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of one doctor and nurse to | Across the developing world, rural communities’ health care services are often non-existent or inaccessible. In Zambia today, there is one doctor for every 23,000 people, well above the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of one doctor and nurse to 7,000 people for Africa. As a result, people die from preventable or curable ailments because they fail to get medical assistance in time, unable to travel the long distance to the nearest medical facility. For example, Zambia’s maternal mortality ratio is one of the worst in world because over half of all births occur at home or with an unskilled birth attendant present.
To address the shortages of health care workers, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), with support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), has been supporting the Government of Zambia since 2007, and in 2012 that work expanded to helping train health care workers, called Community Health Assistants (CHA). After a year of training in the classroom and in the field, CHAs return home to bring basic health services to their remote, rural communities.
A year ago, the first class of CHAI-trained CHAs finished their training and went home or to other rural areas to provide health support. Today, I met two of those original three hundred gradua |
Rubber vs Silicone
Both rubber and silicone are elastomers. They are polymeric materials that exhibit the viscoelastic behavior, which is generally called elasticity. Silicone can be distinguished from rubbers by the atomic structure. In addition, silicones | Rubber vs Silicone
Both rubber and silicone are elastomers. They are polymeric materials that exhibit the viscoelastic behavior, which is generally called elasticity. Silicone can be distinguished from rubbers by the atomic structure. In addition, silicones have more special properties than normal rubbers. Rubbers are naturally occurring, or they can be synthesized. Based on this, silicone can be differentiated from rubber.
Generally, all the elastomers are considered as rubbers in which dimensions can be changed largely by stressing, and can be returned to the original dimensions after removing the stress. These materials show a glass transition temperature due to their amorphous structure. There are many types of rubbers or elastomers like natural rubber, synthetic poly isoprene, styrene butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, polychloprene, and silicone. But natural rubber is the rubber which comes to our mind when considering rubbers. Natural rubber is obtained from the latex of Heveabrasiliensis. Cis-1, 4-polyisoprene is the structure of natural rubber. Most of the rubbers contain polymer chains of carbon. However, silicone rubbers contain silicon in polymer chains instead of carbon.
Silicone is a synthetic rubber. It is synthesized by modifying silicon. Silicone consists of a backbone of silicon atoms with alternating oxygen atoms. As silicone has high energy silicon-oxygen bonds, it is more resistant to heat than other rubbers or elastomers. Unlike in other elastomers, the inorganic backbone of silicone makes its resistance to fungus and chemicals higher. In addition, silicone rubber is resistant to ozone and UV attacks because the silicon oxygen bond is less susceptible to these attacks than the carbon- carbon bond of the backbone in other elastomers. Silicone has a lower tensile strength and lower tear strength than the organic rubbers. However at high temperatures, it shows excellent tensile and tear properties. This is because the variation of properties in silicone is less at high temperatures. Silicone is more durable than other elastomers. These are few of the beneficial properties of silicone. Regardless, the fatigue life of silicone rubbers is shorter than the organic rubbers. It is one of the disadvantages of silicone rubber. In addition, its viscosity is high; therefore, it causes manufacturing problems due to poor flow properties.
Rubber is used for many applications like cookware, electronics, automotive applications etc, because of their elastic behavior. As they are waterproof materials, they are used as sealants, gloves etc. Rubbers or elastomers are excellent materials for insulating purposes.
From all the rubbers, silicone is much better for thermal insulation due to its heat resistance. Silicone rubber offers special properties, which organic rubbers do not posses.
What is the difference between Rubber and Silicone?
• Silicone is one of the elastomers, or one of the rubbers.
• The backbone of silicone contains silicon and oxygen, while the backbones of most of the other rubbers contain carbon-carbon bonds.
• Silicone is mo |
HGV and GBV-C have a greater than 95% global sequence and amino acid homology.5 HGV/GBV-C is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus and is considered a new genus within the Flav | HGV and GBV-C have a greater than 95% global sequence and amino acid homology.5 HGV/GBV-C is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus and is considered a new genus within the Flaviviridae family. Studies have consistently shown the lack of influence of HGV/GBV-C on the clinical, biochemical, histologic, and virologic course of coexistent HCV infection.5 Unexpectedly, several studies have shown that HIV-infected patients who are coinfected with HGV/GBV-C fare better in terms of overall survival, interval to development of AIDS, and duration of survival after the onset of AIDS.5 The exact mechanism for this phenomenon remains unclear.
- Patients with HCV and a coexisting HGV/GBV-C infection have a clinically more severe course of illness than those with HCV alone.
5. Mandell G, Bennett J, Dolin R, editors. Principles and practices of infectious diseases. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2005.
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Seminars in Medical Practice
Hospital Physician Board Review Manuals
Copyright © 2009, Turner White Communications
Updated 11/6/07 kkj |
Type 1 Diabetes For Dummies
This reassuring, plain-English guide helps you understand and mange the disease with tips on working with your doctor, administering insulin, developing a diet an exercise plan, and coping with illness and travel. You’ll | Type 1 Diabetes For Dummies
This reassuring, plain-English guide helps you understand and mange the disease with tips on working with your doctor, administering insulin, developing a diet an exercise plan, and coping with illness and travel. You’ll find out about the latest technologies of blood glucose monitoring and insulin delivery, and get a handle on everything you need to do to keep yourself or your child healthy, active, and feeling good. Discover how to:
- Overcome short-term complications
- Eat a diabetes-friendly diet
- Use exercise to help control type 1 diabetes
- Handle school, work, and other activities
- Help your child maintain a high quality of life
- Prevent long-term complications
- Be healthier than your friends who don’t have diabetes
- Deal with the emotional and psychological effects of the disease
- Choose an insulin pump for yourself or your child
- Calculate insulin dosages
Anyone can live a long, healthy, and productive life with type 1 diabetes. Small Type 1 Diabetes For Dummies delivers every drop of information you need to make sure that you or your child can do just that.
Part I: Defining Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 1: Dealing with Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 2: Recognizing Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 3: Excluding Other Types of Diabetes.
Part II: Considering the Consequences of Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 4: Overcoming Short-Term Complications.
Chapter 5: Preventing Long-Term Complications.
Chapter 6: Handling Emotional Effects.
Part III: Treating Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 7: Undergoing Essential Tests and Monitoring Blood Glucose.
Chapter 8: Eating a Healthy Diet.
Chapter 9: Exercising to Improve Control of Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 10: Understanding the Basics of Using Insulin.
Chapter 11: Delivering Insulin with a Pump.
Chapter 12: Getting a Grip on Other Drugs and Treatments.
Chapter 13: Surveying Kidney, Pancreas, and Pancreatic Islet Transplants.
Part IV: Living with Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 14: Adjusting to School, Work, and Other Activities.
Chapter 15: Managing Illness and Travel.
Chapter 16: Going through Pregnancy and Menopause.
Chapter 17: Controlling Type 1 Diabetes in the Elderly.
Part V: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Involve Kids in Their Own Diabetes Care.
Chapter 19: Ten Commandments for Good Diabetes Management.
Chapter 20: Ten Myths about Type 1 Diabetes.
Chapter 21: Ten of the Latest Discoveries in Type 1 Diabetes.
Part VI: Appendixes.
Appendix A: Glossary.
Appendix B: Resources for the Latest Information. |
Puppies go through various teething stages between birth and the establishment of their full set of permanent teeth. Most dogs finish teething by the age of 7 to 8 months, although certain breeds take longer because of genetic characteristics. During the | Puppies go through various teething stages between birth and the establishment of their full set of permanent teeth. Most dogs finish teething by the age of 7 to 8 months, although certain breeds take longer because of genetic characteristics. During the teething process, your puppy could experience some pain and bleeding gums, or might need help from your veterinarian to remove stubborn baby teeth and open the gum for adult teeth to erupt.
When puppies are born, their gums are toothless, just like a human baby’s gums. Within the first six to eight weeks of life, up to 28 baby teeth appear, starting with the incisors at the age of 2 to 4 weeks old. The canines and premolars appear next. The teething period for baby teeth is short because the teeth are small and don’t have the same root system as permanent teeth do. The baby teeth are very sharp, pointy little teeth that do significant damage to everything they chew, especially when they get hold of your Jimmy Choos and Louboutins.
By the age of 3 months your puppy will begin to lose her baby teeth, starting with the incisors that appeared first. During the next four months, she will gradually drop baby teeth as the adult teeth push through, and by the age of 7 months old she should have a full mouth of permanent teeth. During the months while she is teething she could experience some pain. You might discover a baby tooth in her bed or on the floor, although dogs typically swallow loose teeth without noticing. While she is teething, your puppy will look for every opportunity to chew to relieve the pain.
By the end of the teething process your puppy should have 42 permanent teeth. Larger breeds of dogs tend to develop their permanent teeth faster than smaller breeds, while some breeds have a couple more teeth and others a couple fewer. Occasionally, a puppy might not lose all her baby teeth as the permanent teeth erupt. In these cases, she could end up with two teeth in the same position. This happens most often in the toy breeds and results in an overcrowded mouth and, if left untreated, an inaccurate bite. You may need to get remaining puppy teeth removed by the veterinarian to prevent dental problems later in your puppy’s life.
Care During Teething
You can help your puppy weather the teething process safely and comfortably by teaching her to chew on appropriate items for the duration. An iced carrot or an old towel soaked in water, wrung out and frozen provide good chew toys and help to numb a sore puppy mouth, while ice cubes or crushed ice in drinking water can also relieve pain. Massaging your puppy’s gums with your finger can help to soothe the ache and itch that goes along with teething, or you can purchase homeopathic products such as granules made from chamomilla.
- Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images |
Living in an Alkaline Environment
Activity at a Glance
Purpose Overview Key Concepts Key Skills Time Materials 5-8 Standards 9-12 Standards
Part 1: To show many ways in which Mono Lake water and distilled water | Living in an Alkaline Environment
Activity at a Glance
Purpose Overview Key Concepts Key Skills Time Materials 5-8 Standards 9-12 Standards
Part 1: To show many ways in which Mono Lake water and distilled water are different
Part 2: To demonstrate that the survival of common soil bacteria declines as pH increases
Part 3: To examine the behaviors, adaptations, energy transfer, and diversity of organisms in an alkaliphilic habitatBack to Top
Part 1: Students compare distilled water with simulated Mono Lake water by conducting eight tests at four activity stations. They also observe two teacher demonstrations. They record the results of this testing on a student handout. They see that Mono Lake's high pH and high salt and mineral content make its water considerably different than distilled water. They discuss how Mono Lake's extreme chemistry might stress organisms adapted for a typical pond, lake, or river and answer four questions on the student handout.
Part 2: Students use soil bacteria from the local environment to inoculate four agar plates with pH ranging from 7 to 10. After 24-48 hours, they count the number of colonies on the plates and create a graph comparing the number of colonies and the pH. They see that survival declines as pH increases. They then visit the Marine Biological Laboratory's online microscope to see that, in fact, there are organisms adapted to living in Mono Lake's extreme environment. They brainstorm a list of adaptations that organisms living in such an environment might have and answer four questions on the student handout.
Part 3: Students do a WebQuest and see that organisms in alkaliphilic habitats have unique and sometimes complex food webs, behaviors, adaptations, and overall diversity.Back to Top
- Mono Lake is an extreme environment, with a pH of 10 and a high salt and mineral content
- High pH denatures proteins and dissolves fats
- Survival of common soil bacteria declines as the pH rises
- The limited number of organisms able to tolerate Mono Lake's extreme environment means less competition for resources and fewer predators for those able to live there
- Organisms expend valuable metabolic resources to survive Mono Lake's extreme conditions
- Life will adapt in order to take advantage of available sources of energy and nutrients
- Alkaliphiles maintain an internal pH of 7.5-8.5, regardless of the environmental pH
- At high pH, alkaliphilic bacteria activate a sodium-ion pump, which begins a process that lowers the internal pH by transporting hydrogen ions into the cell
- Alkaliphilic enzymes have a special composition that protects them from being denatured
- Alkaliphiles' cell membranes have a special composition that protects them in Mono Lake's highly-alkaline conditions
Part 1: Comparing different substances; Measuring pH; Measuring specific gravity
Part 2: Inoculating agar plates; Counting colony abundance on an agar plate; Creating a graph
Part 3: Conducting a WebQuest; Synthesizing information from a WebQuest Back to Top
(One day is considered to be a 50-minute class)
Part 1: Day 1: Visit the activity stations; Day 2: Conduct the demonstrations & discussion
Part 2: Day 1: Inoculate plates; Day 2: Brief observation; Day 3: Final observation & graphing
Part 3: Day 1: Begin WebQuest; Day 2 - 3: Finish WebQuestBack to Top
Part 1: Student sheets, Distilled water; Table salt; Baking soda, Epsom salt; Borax; Detergent containing phosphate (e.g., Spic & Span); Sodium hydroxide (Sodium hydroxide is readily and inexpensively available as lye in hardware and grocery stores); Dropper bottles; pH meters, papers, or strips; Cooking oil; Wax paper; 100 ml, 500 ml and 1000 ml beakers; Specific gravity hydrometer or rods/spheres that indicate density by floating or sinking; 2 dishpans; Dozen eggs; 4 teaspoons; Paper towels or sponge; Heat source (e.g., Bunsen burner, candle, alcohol burner); 2 spoons with insulated handles (or oven mitt); Dropper bottle of vinegar; microscope whose image can be displayed on a computer or projection screen; Microscope slide; Cover slip; Tissue or other absorptive material; Cellular stain (if necessary for clarity)
Part 2: Student sheets; Soil samples; 2 Liter Flask, 40-50 Petri dishes; Hot plate w/ stirrer and stir bar; Aluminum Foil; pH strips, litmus paper, or pH meter; 40 g tryptic soy agar (powder, pre-made, or Easy-Gel), 0.1 M Hydrochloric Acid; 0.1 M Sodium hydroxide
Part 3: Computer lab with internet connectionBack to Top
National Science Education Standards, Grades 5-8
Grades 5-8: Physical Science-Content Standard B, Properties and Changes of Properties in Matter
- A substance has characteristic properties, such as density, a boiling point, and solubility. One can separate a mixture into the original substances using one or more of these properties.
- Substances react chemically in characteristic |
Design in the Human Eye
The computer chip, which runs a computer, is a little wafer of silicon that has a marvelously intricate connection of parts, all a fraction of an inch in size. It has been designed and created. I | Design in the Human Eye
The computer chip, which runs a computer, is a little wafer of silicon that has a marvelously intricate connection of parts, all a fraction of an inch in size. It has been designed and created. I do not know any evolutionists who claim that any particular computer chip was formed by a series of accidents of fire, water, gravity, sparks, and so on. So there is no doubt even among the most doctrinaire evolutionists that almost any silicon computer chip you can imagine was designed and created by a higher intelligence.
On the other hand, the human retina is far more complex than any computer chip. Yet an evolutionist who is looking at the human retina will say, "Now let's see: what combination of wind, fire, water, sparks, reducing atmosphere, etc., caused this to happen?" I think this points out the curious double standard concerning the subject of origins that is present among otherwise good scientists. I think the computer-retina analogy is very useful for vividly demonstrating this double standard.
The retina lining the back of the eye is a very thin "membrane" even thinner than Saran-Wrap. Compare this with a computer chip. The May 1985 issue of High Technology showed computer silicon chips. The actual chip is about 7 millimeters across and has the complexity of 100,000 transistors. The retina contains photoreceptors that may be compared to transistors. However, a photoreceptor is actually a very efficient, high gain amplifier and much more complex than a transistor. The retina in the fovea has 200,000 of these photoreceptors for every square millimeter.
Phenomenal! So here you have high technology that does not even come new the retina in complexity.
The retinal rods and cones are composed of various layers. The human rods have a dynamic range of about 10 billion-to-one. In other words, when fine-tuned for high gain amplification (as when you are out on a dark night and there is only starlight), your photoreceptors can pick up a single photon. Phenomenal sensitivity! Of course the retina does a number of processing tricks on that just to make sure it is not picking up noise, so you don't see static; it really wants at least six receptors in the same area to pick up the same signal before it "believes" that it is true and sends it to the brain. In bright daylight the retina bleaches out and the volume control turns way down for, again, admirable performance.
Modern photographic film has a dynamic range of only about 1,000-to-one. The retina is a visual system that handles nearly all ranges of light intensity without even changing film or developer. Not bad for a structure engineered several thousand years ago!
Is the eye poorly designed?
Some evolutionists have said, "My goodness, look at that mistake. The retina is inside out and should be turned around the other way since the light should hit the photoreceptors first." There is a very good reason the mammalian retina is the way it is. The photoreceptors (the rods and cones) have a very high rate of metabolism and they have to be in touch with the nutrient supply. Those photoreceptors (in mammals) replace themselves probably every seven days if they are young and healthy. This is a very good protective mechanism. If you ever have looked at the sun, you have probably burned out a number of rods and cones, and they usually regenerate rapidly.
Because all the retinal neurons, ganglia, and other hardware are packed in by a separation of less than a wavelength of light, the retina is totally transparent. You look at a retina, even though it has all the "hardware" and is much more complex than a silicon computer chip, and it is totally transparent. Light goes right through it.
What is going on inside the retina?
It has been estimated by a number of computer scientists who are trying simulate the visual system with computer models that ten billion calculations occur every second before the image ever goes back the brain. Here is a quotation from John Stevens who is a Ph.D. associate professor of physiology and biomedical engineering (Byte, April 1985): "To simulate 10 milliseconds of the complete processing of even a single nerve cell from the retina would require the solution of about 500 simultaneous non-linea |
There are several scientific organisations that keep an eye on the Arctic sea ice cover and put out graphs to inform us of the amount of ice that is left. You can see most, if not all, of them on the ASI Graphs webpage | There are several scientific organisations that keep an eye on the Arctic sea ice cover and put out graphs to inform us of the amount of ice that is left. You can see most, if not all, of them on the ASI Graphs webpage. I expect the record on most of these graphs to be broken in weeks to come.
After Uni Bremen extent, Arctic ROOS area, Cryosphere Today sea ice area, DMI sea ice extent and CT Arctic Basin SIA, another big domino has fallen, one of the most popular graphs in recent years, mostly because they have downloadable daily updated data: IJIS sea ice extent.
Here's how the graph I use for ASI updates is looking right now:
The 2012 has plunged below all previous minimums, but I have to add the caveat that this is based on a preliminary data point for August 24th, which will be revised tomorrow. It needs to be revised upwards by 66 thousand square km for this record not to remain standing. Even if this happens, the record will almost certainly be broken tomorrow.
Here are the numbers for the IJIS SIE minimums in the 2005-2012 period:
- 2005: 5.315 million square km
- 2006: 5.781 million square km
- 2007: 4.255 million square km
- 2008: 4.715 million square km
- 2009: 5.250 million square km
- 2010: 4.814 million square km
- 2011: 4.527 million square km
- 2012: 4.189 million square km (and running)
Another caveat is that the IARC-JAXA Information System (IJIS) - an international collaboration between the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) in corporation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) - has switched from the AMSR-E to the WindSat sensor, when AMSR-E stopped functioning last year. WindSat isn't as sophisticated as AMSR-E, so this could cause slight inconsistencies between the yearly numbers.
However, it seems that IJIS is soon switching to ASMR-2, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2, that is similar to predecessor ASMR-E, but better. All data will be consistent again when that happens. More on that later.
Next up is NSIDC daily sea ice extent or Arctic ROOS sea ice extent... |
Thursday, March 28, 2013
ICAO, Indonesia Working on Improving Aviation Emissions
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is launching the Environmental Measures Project, a new project aimed at reducing aviation emissions in Indonesia.
| Thursday, March 28, 2013
ICAO, Indonesia Working on Improving Aviation Emissions
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is launching the Environmental Measures Project, a new project aimed at reducing aviation emissions in Indonesia.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport and Directorate of General Civil Aviation (DGCA) are collaborating with ICAO’s Technical Cooperation Bureau (ICAO-TCB) to oversee the project.
ICAO said the objectives of the project include a plan for legislation that holds aircraft operators accountable for emissions, green flights and green airports operational programs and the research and development of alternative aviation fuels. Indonesia will also look to develop a comprehensive emissions inventory as part of the new project.
The project supports recent Indonesian presidential decrees to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Indonesia Vice Minister of Transportation Bambang Susatano said the project is crucial to support the projected growth in air traffic in the Asia/Pacific region over the next 20 years.
“To manage this growth responsibly, Indonesia was keenly aware that we would need to develop and adopt more meaningful emissions control legislation and initiatives,” he continued. “ICAO-TCB’s experience and knowledge of what works at the global, regional and local levels will be invaluable to us as w |
Microorganisms and their Impact on Food Security
There is already a food security crisis in parts of the world, but with more people, less water and land and fewer inputs, we have to find a way to give the growing global population access to | Microorganisms and their Impact on Food Security
There is already a food security crisis in parts of the world, but with more people, less water and land and fewer inputs, we have to find a way to give the growing global population access to safe, nutritious and affordable food. There will be no one solution to the food security challenge. It demands a broad-spectrum approach, and microbiology has a key and central role to play in this. Food security is not just about increasing food productivity; it is also about wasting less. Furthermore, supplying safe, nutritious foods must be achieved in a sustainable manner with minimal impact on the environment and animal welfare.
Microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, algae and archaea) and their activities are involved at every step of the food chain. Understanding the role of microbes at all steps in the process of plant and animal production, soil and water management, and harvesting, storage and processing of agricultural products is necessary. History records that microbiological research has delivered major advances in food security and safety. Important milestones include:
Identifying and applying of safe processes for food preservation, such as canning and pasteurization, and understanding the biology of pathogenic and spoilage microbes to reduce their transmission in the food chain, leading to developments of safer foods with a longer shelf life.
Exploiting antimicrobial substances produced by naturally occurring microbes as weapons against plant and animal pathogens.
Developing vaccines to improve the health of livestock and reduce transmission of animal pathogens to humans.
Exploiting microbial processes to manage or reduce waste.
Producing novel food products, including probiotics and nutritionally enhanced foods, through fermentation.
This thematic discussion was led by FAO and WFP in collaboration with “The World We Want”.
The consultation was facilitated by the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)
All contributions received (DOC) |
A TINY snail – the size of a grain of rice – has been found for the first time at a protected site in the Highlands.
The rare creature, which goes by the name Pupilla pratensis, has only been recorded once | A TINY snail – the size of a grain of rice – has been found for the first time at a protected site in the Highlands.
The rare creature, which goes by the name Pupilla pratensis, has only been recorded once before in Britain and is more typically found in Scandinavia and Poland. It measures just 4mm long by about 1.5mm wide.
It was discovered at Braelangwell Wood, a site of special scientific interest, on the Black Isle in the Highlands. The only other previous discovery in Britain was also made on the Black Isle.
The latest sighting of the snail was made two miles south-west of Balblair, which has nationally important woodland, springs, flies and snails.
Scottish Natural Heritage regularly monitors Braelangwell Wood and other protected areas to ensure that they are in good condition.
The discovery was made last summer by specialist Ian Killeen, who surveyed two other snail species. He said: “I was very pleased with what I found. Not only was the habitat for the snails – calcium-rich wetland – in excellent condition, but there were also very high densities of the two main species for which the site is designated: Geyer’s whorl snail and the round Highlands-mouthed whorl snail, at up to 384 per square metre in the central part of the site.
“Then we had the added bonus of this new record.”
Nicola Tallach, SNH area officer for the Inner Moray Firth, added: “We are always happy to be bearers of good news about protected sites such as this.
“It is also worth remembering that these tiny creatures – which may be missed by the casual observer – are just as important as the larger and more obvious animals for which the Highlands are famous.”
The Pupilla pratensis is described as a species of minute air-breathing land snail – a terrastrialpulmonate gastropod mollusc or micro-mollusc in the family Pupillidae.
Pupilla pratensis was originally described by German malacologist Stefan Clessinin 1871.
In 2009, Pupilla pratensis was elevated to species level. It was misidentified as other snail species before 2009.
The shell of the species is dark to brown, translucent and thin, with fine and distinct growth lines. The distribution of Pupilla pratensis includes central Europe to north Scandinavia and Scotland.
The 67-hectare Braelangwell |
(In the American slaughter of the English language, we use the term "What if" to suppose something, or to take something as an assumption. A sentence that begins with "what if" basically presents a condition and asks what a (or the | (In the American slaughter of the English language, we use the term "What if" to suppose something, or to take something as an assumption. A sentence that begins with "what if" basically presents a condition and asks what a (or the) result will be, would be, or would have been if that condition is/were had been fulfilled. In other words, "what" basically asks for the other half of the IF-sentence. Here are some examples: W |
IONIA: THE FIRST PHYSICISTS
The site of ancient Miletus is on the Aegean coast of Turkey south of Izmir, the Greek Smyrna. When I first visited Miletus, in April 1961, | IONIA: THE FIRST PHYSICISTS
The site of ancient Miletus is on the Aegean coast of Turkey south of Izmir, the Greek Smyrna. When I first visited Miletus, in April 1961, it was completely deserted except for a goatherd and his flock, whose resonant bells broke the silence enveloping the ruins through which I wandered, the great Hellenistic theater, the cavernous Roman baths, the colonnaded way that led down to the Lion Port and its surrounding shops and warehouses, once filled with goods from Milesian colonies as far afield as Egypt and the Pontus. Its buildings were now utterly devastated and partly covered with earth, from which the first flowers of spring were emerging, blood-red poppies contrasting with the pale white marble remnants of the dead city.
The site has been under excavation since the late nineteenth century, so that all of its surviving monuments have been unearthed and to some extent restored, though its ancient harbor, the Lion Port, has long been silted up, leaving Miletus marooned miles from the sea. The entrance to the port is still guarded by the marble statues of the two couchant lions from which it took its name, though they are now half-buried in alluvial earth, symbols of the illustrious city that Herodotus called "the glory of Ionia." The Greek geographer Strabo writes that "many are the achievements of this city, but the greatest are the number of its colonizations, for the Euxine Pontus [Black Sea] has been colonized everywhere |
Dumb, Invalid, Retarded, Slow, Brain- Damaged, Psycho, Crazy, Insane, Wacko, Nuts, Handicapped, Physically Challenged, “Special,” Deformed, Cripple, G | Dumb, Invalid, Retarded, Slow, Brain- Damaged, Psycho, Crazy, Insane, Wacko, Nuts, Handicapped, Physically Challenged, “Special,” Deformed, Cripple, Gimp, Spastic, Spaz, Wheelchair-bound, Lame…
Please CLICK HERE for an excellent overview of respectful disability language.
The words we use matter.
Vocabulary doesn’t just express our beliefs. It shapes our understanding. Just as our imaginations are propelled by the rich concepts conveyed by a single word, so too is our capacity for advancement constrained by vocabulary that reinforces outmoded and hurtful beliefs.
(Just ask Paula Deen.)
I ask you: What commonly-used words or phrases constrain the forward-thinking of leaders of arts & cultural organizations?
I call out these few, and invite you to leave a reply (BELOW) to add to the list.
You serve an audience but an audience is not something you own. I’ve written on this before: The Myth of “Our Audience“.
Nonprofit organizations (and especially our auditors) go to great lengths to distinguish between marketing & development, earned revenue & contributed revenue, ticket sales & donations. However, our words fail to differentiate between the obvious difference in motivations and expectations of people who (per the dictionary.com definition) are either:
- a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest especially a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like, and
- a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts or endorsement an artist, writer, museum cause, charity, institution, special event of the like: a patron of the arts.
For what it’s worth, I prefer to call a ticket buyer or visitor a “guest” rather than a patron, as that word more more directly addresses the nature of relationship that must be nurtured.
Environmental sustainability is its own virtuous buzzword, but what does that word mean to arts & cultural organizations? Too much talk of “sustainable business models” suggests that “sustainability” is an organization’s highest virtue. But that’s an absolutely incorrect assertion. Let’s be clear: sustainability should describe the MINIMUM of what a healthy organization should achieve. (If you were working out at the gym, you might recognize an equivalent meaning in the term “core strength.”) Sustainability is the solid foundation from which a healthy organization operates, but it’s far from the culmination of all that is possible or desirable. Here’s a suggestion: subtly substitute the words “vibrant” or “vital” the next time someone utters “sustainable” – and see if the conversation doesn’t immediately proceed in a more uplifting and productive direction.
Perhaps it wasn’t originally intended this way, but the term “audience outreach” seems to connote an antiquated and patronizing relationship in which an arts organization is “up there” – and outreach referred to efforts to go “down to the people” in an |
- The event of a ball being delivered by a bowler too wide or high to be hit by the batsman, and ruled so by the umpire.
- The run scored by the batting team as a penalty to the bowling team when this | - The event of a ball being delivered by a bowler too wide or high to be hit by the batsman, and ruled so by the umpire.
- The run scored by the batting team as a penalty to the bowling team when this occurs.
A wide does not count as one of the six balls in an over and it does not count as a ball faced by the batsman.
When a wide is bowled, one run is added to the runs scored off that ball, and is scored as extras and are added to the team's total, but are not added to any batsman's total.
A batsman cannot, by definition, be out bowled, leg before wicket, caught, or hit the ball twice off a wide, as a ball cannot be ruled as a wide if the ball strikes the batsman's bat or person. He may be out handled the ball, hit wicket, obstructing the field, run out, or stumped.
If the wicket-keeper fumbles or misses the ball, the batsmen may be able to take additional runs safely, and may choose to do so. The number of runs scored are scored as wides, not byes. These extra wides are all added to the bowler's score.
If the wicket-keeper misses the ball and it travels all the way to the boundary, the batting team immediately scores five wides, similarly as if the ball had been hit to the boundary for a four on a no ball. If a wide ball crosses the boundary without touching the ground, only five wides (not seven) are scored - according to Law 19.5, a boundary six can only be scored if the ball has touched the bat.
If a ball qualifies as a no ball as well as a wide, the umpire will call it a no ball instead of a wide, and all the rules for a no ball apply.
Wides are considered to be the fault of the bowler, and are recorded as a negative statistic in a bowler's record. However, this has only been the case since the early 1980s - the first Test to record wides (and no-balls) against the bowler's analyses was India vs Pakistan in September 1983.
Wides used to be relatively rare, but regulations have been added in many competitions to enforce a much stricter interpretation in order to deter defensive bowling, and the number of wides has increased sharply. In one-day cricket, most deliveries that pass the batsman on the leg side without hitting the stumps are now called as wides. In the semi-finals and final of the first World Cup in 1975, there were 79 extras, of which 9 were wides (11.4%); in the semi-finals and final of the World Cup in 2011, there were 77 extras, of which 46 were wides (59.7%). In the six Tests of the 1970-71 Ashes series there were 9 wides; in the five Tests of the Ashes series of 2010-11 there were 52 wides. 1
The baseball equivalent of a wide is a called "ball" (short for "no ball"), in the sense that each is judged to be an "unfair" or "unhittable" delivery by the umpire. Baseball's "strike zone" provides a more precise definition than does cricket, leaving less to the umpire's judgment (he can still decide whether the ball must completely enter the zone, or only touch it, for a "ball" to be avoided). Unlike a wide, if the batter swings the bat, then the ball is deemed fair regardless of where it was thrown.
An umpire straightens both his arms to form horizontal, straight line to signal a wide.
- Statistics derived from score sheets in Wisden, editions of 1972, 1976, 2011 and 2012.
- "Law 25 (Wide ball)". Lords. Retrieved 3 August 2010. |
Media professionals interested in reporting on university-related stories are encouraged to visit the media newsroom.
May 23, 2007
Shane Templeton, Educational Specialties professor, Donald Bear, professor and director of the E.L. Cord Foundation | Media professionals interested in reporting on university-related stories are encouraged to visit the media newsroom.
May 23, 2007
Shane Templeton, Educational Specialties professor, Donald Bear, professor and director of the E.L. Cord Foundation Center for Learning and Literacy, and Saundra Madura, who now teaches fifth grade at Florence Drake Elementary School in Sparks, have published the invited chapter "Assessing students' spelling knowledge: Relationships to reading and writing," in Classroom literacy assessment: Making Sense of what Students Know and Do (New York: Guilford Press, 2007).
The book has won rave reviews:
Timothy Shanahan, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago writes:
"What a wonderful book! Paratore and McCormack have assembled a collection of'must-read' chapters that hone in on best practices in classroom literacy assessment, cutting through the fog of testing mandates and poor practice with the clarifying intensity of a laser."
"These pages are packed with checklists, vignettes, exemplars, rubrics, insights, good ideas, and helpful findings. Readers may not agree with everything they read here, but it's hard to find a page that doesn't help one to better make sense of children's learning. This is definitely the smart teachers' guide to literacy assessment."
Mary E. Matthews, Curriculum Coordinator for K-8 Language Arts, Brookline (Massachusetts) Public Schools writes:
"The most comprehensive and thorough examination of classroom-based literacy assessment that I have seen. The contributors provide a necessary balance between research and best practice, identifying and clarifying the principles of effective assessment with the goal of improving teaching and learning."
This book is particularly timely, as teachers nationwide are faced with preparing their students each year for mandated, external, and high-stakes testing. Classroom Literacy Assessment clearly places assessment back in the hands of teachers and their students."
"It should be read and discussed by teachers, specialists, and administrators in preschool through middle school to revisit the purpose of assessment and its relation to meaningful learning. It would serve well as a core text in any course on effective literacy assessment." |
Nine lucky middle schoolers are spending this week studying DNA, thanks to a new program at the Burke that makes use of the museum’s Genetics Resources Collection. Called “Investigating DNA: The Albatross Salvage Project,” the day camp | Nine lucky middle schoolers are spending this week studying DNA, thanks to a new program at the Burke that makes use of the museum’s Genetics Resources Collection. Called “Investigating DNA: The Albatross Salvage Project,” the day camp teaches the basics of how DNA is used to find answers to real conservation questions around the world.
The camp is organized around a central question: Can a DNA test determine the sex of albatross (gender is not always obvious in birds), so that a researcher in the field in New Zealand can use a simple blood test to pinpoint the sex of the birds she’s working with? The Burke has several hundred specimens of albatross from New Zealand, the sex of which has already been determined by dissection. So theoretically, by performing DNA tests on these specimens, a researcher could learn if those tests were accurate in identifying gender in this species.
“That’s the back story we created for the students, to make it interesting for them,” said Sharon Birks, manager of the Genetics Resources Collection and one of the teachers for the camp. “It’s not totally realistic, but what they’re doing in the lab is pretty much what they would be doing in an actual research project, minus a couple steps that would either take too long or involve chemicals we don’t want them exposed to. But they’ll learn all the equipment, the whole process. And it’s really not that far removed from a real world request.”
The Genetics Resources Collection is a collection of frozen tissues taken from thousands of animals from all over the world, and is the second largest collection of its type for birds. The Burke receives the specimens, extracts the tissue for the collection and keeps the specimens. Keeping the specimen is very important, Birks said, because then it becomes what scientists call a voucher. That way, when research is done using a tissue sample, the results can be verified and replicated by going back to the voucher — the original specimen.
“Part of the reason we’re doing the camp is because Julie Stein, the Burke director, wanted more people to learn about this collection,” Birks said. “It’s been sort of hidden because it’s physically inaccessible and it’s hard to do a display on it, yet it’s one of our busiest and most important collections. Doing the camp is a way of reaching out into the community with it, developing an education program for it.”
Museology graduate student Victoria Smith took the lead in developing the camp concept as part of her required practicum, and was mentored and advised by Birks as she worked on it. With an undergraduate biology degree and five years’ experience as a technician in a molecular laboratory, she knows her way around DNA, but creating an education program was something new for her, so she began her research by talking to people who had done similar projects.
“A lot of other programs that do DNA and the hands-on processes we’re doing have been targeted toward high school kids,” she said. “The people I interviewed were surprised |
World Health Day 2013 is being celebrated this year under the theme of “hypertension”, otherwise known as high blood pressure. The intention of this year’s campaign is to: raise awareness of hypertension and promote behavioural change with respect to primary | World Health Day 2013 is being celebrated this year under the theme of “hypertension”, otherwise known as high blood pressure. The intention of this year’s campaign is to: raise awareness of hypertension and promote behavioural change with respect to primary prevention, improve the chances of early detection and promote effective management for patients. Although hypertension is a serious health problem in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and globally, it is preventable and treatable.
Globally, hypertension is estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths annually, representing more than 12% of all deaths. It increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and other vascular conditions. WHO estimates that high blood pressure affects about 40% of adults aged 25 years and older.
On 7 April, WHO will launch the global World Health Day campaign to persuade policy-makers, the regional and international community and other stakeholders to prioritize prevention, early detection and management of hypertension in national policies, programmes and activities. It also aims to involve communities and individuals in order to increase public awareness of the problem. The public awareness campaign will focus on preventive interventions that reduce the risk of hypertension.
An online information package has been developed for the campaign. Event organizers can download media and communication products in adjustable formats to enable language and cultural adaptation according to local contexts. The campaign will include a wide range of web, email and multimedia interactive products, with portals for collection of feedback and on-line updates.
This campaign is a year-long activity extending beyond 7 April to give WHO and Member States the opportunity of implementing sustainable activities over an expanded period of time. Communities, nongovernmental organizations and individuals are encouraged to develop plans with a number of booster events to maintain momentum in conducting events throughout the year. |
Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Stephen Twigg, moved an Opposition day debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday 13 June on the safeguarding children.
The Opposition motion states "That this House notes the updated statutory guidance to safeguard and promote | Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Stephen Twigg, moved an Opposition day debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday 13 June on the safeguarding children.
The Opposition motion states "That this House notes the updated statutory guidance to safeguard and promote the welfare of children published on 12 June 2012; and calls on the Government to ensure that the needs of the child are at the centre of all assessments and decision-making processes regarding safeguarding.."
The Department for Education has published new guidance and a consultation on the new guidance on its website.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, Tim Loughton, responded on behalf of the Government.
Watch and read the views expressed by MPs during the debate on Parliament TV and in Commons Hansard. Also find parliamentary material on in the Topics and News sections.
Opposition day debates
Opposition days are days allocated in the House of Commons in each session for the discussion of subjects chosen by the Opposition. Seventeen days are at the disposal of the leader of the largest opposition party to decide which topics are debated. Three days are also allocated to the other smaller opposition parties.
The Opposition generally use them to raise questions of policy and administration. Frequently, two separate subjects are debated on an opposition day. |
In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. The general idea of divine simplicity can be stated in this way: the being of God is identical to the "attributes" of God. In other words, such characteristics as | In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. The general idea of divine simplicity can be stated in this way: the being of God is identical to the "attributes" of God. In other words, such characteristics as omnipresence, goodness, truth, eternity, etc. are identical to God's being, not qualities that make up that being, nor abstract entities inhering in God as in a substance. Varieties of the doctrine may be found in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim philosophical theologians, especially during the height of scholasticism, though the doctrine's origins may be traced back to ancient Greek thought, finding apotheosis in Plotinus' Enneads as the Simplex.
In Christian thought
|Part of a series on the|
|Attributes of God|
|Part of a series on|
|St. Thomas Aquinas|
In Christian theism (to be accurate "Classical theism"), God is simple, not composite, not made up of thing upon thing. In other words, the characteristics of God are not parts of God that together make up God. Because God is simple, God is those characteristics; for example, God does not have goodness, but simply is goodness. For typical Christian theologians, divine simplicity does not entail that the attributes of God are indistinguishable to thought. It is no contradiction of the doctrine to say, for example, that God is both just and merciful. Thomas Aquinas, for instance, in whose system of thought the idea of divine simplicity is central, wrote in Summa Theologica that because God is infinitely simple, God can only appear to the finite mind as infinitely complex.
Theologians holding the doctrine of simplicity tend to distinguish various modes of the simple being of God by negating any notion of composition from the meaning of terms used to describe it. Thus, in quantitative or spatial terms, God is simple as opposed to being made up of pieces, present in entirety everywhere, if in fact present anywhere. In terms of essences, God is simple as opposed to being made up of form and matter, or body and soul, or mind and act, and so on: if distinctions are made when speaking of God's attributes, they are distinctions of the "modes" of God's being, rather than real or essential divisions. And so, in terms of subjects and accidents, as in the phrase "goodness of God", divine simplicity allows that there is a conceptual distinction between the person of God and the personal attribute of goodness, but the doctrine disallows that God's identity or "character" is dependent upon goodness, and at the same time the doctrine dictates that it is impossible to consider the goodness in which God participates separately from the goodness which God is.
Furthermore, according to some, if as creatures our concepts are all drawn from the creation, it follows from this and divine simplicity that God's attributes can only be spoken of by analogy — since it is not true of any created thing that its properties are identical to its being. Consequently, when Christian Scripture is interpreted according to the guide of divine simplicity, when it says that God is good for example, it should be taken to speak of a likeness to goodness as found in humanity and referred to in human speech. Since God's essence is inexpressible; this likeness is nevertheless truly comparable to God who simply is goodness, because humanity is a complex being composed by God "in the image and likeness of God". The doctrine aids, then, in interpreting the Scriptures so as to avoid paradox—as when Scripture sa |
Being the third rock from the sun, Earth has two neighboring planets that orbit closer to the Sun than she does, Mercury and Venus. Both of these inner worlds can, on occasion, pass directly in front of the sun as viewed from Earth, | Being the third rock from the sun, Earth has two neighboring planets that orbit closer to the Sun than she does, Mercury and Venus. Both of these inner worlds can, on occasion, pass directly in front of the sun as viewed from Earth, producing a tiny eclipse called a transit. For this to happen, all of the celestial bodies involved must line up at just the right time and just the right spot. Consequently, transit events are rare.
Transits of Venus happen in June and December, often in pairs separated by eight years, with the pairs spaced about 125 years apart. The last complete pair of Venus transits happened in 1874 and 1882, but we are now in between another pair. On June 8, 2004, Venus passed in front of the sun for the first time in more than a century and was visible from the eastern seaboard of the U.S. The second transit will happen on the afternoon of June 12, 2012, and will be visible from the Western U.S., including Colorado.
With a safe solar filter held in front of your eyes, you can watch a transit of Venus without a telescope. Unlike the moon, which can totally block out the face of the sun during an eclipse, Venus appears as a small, round, black dot silhouetted in front of the much larger bright solar disk. It takes about six hours for Venus to pass completely across the face of the sun during a transit.
Transits of the innermost planet, Mercury, happen more frequently than transits of Venus, but they are more difficult to observe. There are, on average, 13 transits of Mercury a century, occurring in the months of May and November. The last one was May 7, 2003, but this event was not visible from the Western U.S. The last transit of Mercury visible from Colorado was on the afternoon of Nov. 15, 1999.
Now, after seven years, Coloradans are once again in store for a transit of Mercury. On the afternoon of Nov. 8, Mercury will make its appearance against the bright face of the sun, but because Mercury is smaller than Venus and much farther from us, its tiny silhouette requires not only a safe solar filter, but a telescope to view. With an approved solar filter attached to your telescope, you can safely watch the event directly through the telescope eyepiece.
In the event that you own a telescope but not a safe solar filter, you can still watch the event. Carefully align your telescope on the sun by watching its shadow cast on the ground and then project the image of the sun onto a white card or piece of paper held several inches behind the eyepiece. Spectators can simply watch the progress of the transit on the white screen. (Warning: Extreme caution must be exercised when using this technique so that unsuspecting persons do not look into the eyepiece of the telescope. Instant and permanent blindness can result. Never leave an unattended telescope pointed at the sun.)
Mercury will first make its appearance at the eastern edge of the sun at about 12:12 p.m. Nov. 8. Mid-transit occurs about 2:41 p.m., and the transit ends at 5:10 p.m. when Mercury exits the western edge of the sun. The end of this event happens close to sunset and might be difficult to observe low in the southwestern sky. Better to catch it early in the afternoon while the sun and Mercury are still high in the sky.
Would you like to see this rare transit of Mercury for yourself, but you don't have a telescope available? Well, you're in luck! Weather permitting, the students of the Colorado Mountain College SKY Club will have telescopes set up for public viewing of the transit of Mercury from beginning to end. Observing will take place on the patio in front of Bristol Hall on CMC's Alpine Campus on Bob Adams Drive in Steamboat Springs. Bring a camera and you can photograph the transit right off of the projection screen. Bring a friend and you can both experience the thrill of seeing a tiny eclipse of the sun by the planet Mercury. |
Early diagnosis and treatment of HIV is important, even before symptoms develop.
You can ask your doctor or someone at your local clinic for a simple, confidential blood test that can determine whether you are HIV positive or not. Remember, it can take up | Early diagnosis and treatment of HIV is important, even before symptoms develop.
You can ask your doctor or someone at your local clinic for a simple, confidential blood test that can determine whether you are HIV positive or not. Remember, it can take up to six months after infection for the HIV antibodies to develop, and the virus can be transmitted even before the development of antibodies.
Why is it important to have the test?
Having the HIV test:
Speak to an HIV counsellor, your doctor or health worker before you have the test to get answers to any questions you may have about HIV or Aids and about the test itself. If you're afraid and worried, the person you speak to will be able to support you and help you handle the results of the test. You may also choose to take a friend or someone you trust with you to support and care for you before and after the test.
If your test is negative
Learn about having safer sex and change your lifestyle to protect yourself and the people close to you in future.
Wait for three months and go for another test. The virus may not show up in the first test.
If your test is positive
You may feel angry, afraid, shocked, depressed or refuse to believe that you have the virus. This is normal. Try not to panic and talk to someone who can help you deal with how you feel. You can still live a long, active and productive life. |
1. Juneteenth is a June 19th holiday that celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation. It started in Texas and is honored by fourteen states.
2. Abolitionists are people who fight against slavery.
3. Abraham Lincoln | 1. Juneteenth is a June 19th holiday that celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation. It started in Texas and is honored by fourteen states.
2. Abolitionists are people who fight against slavery.
3. Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
4. Even after the slaves were freed, most African American southerners remained poor agricultural workers.
5. In both the North and the South, African Americans suffered from segregation, lack of education, and political disenfranchisement. |
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. Unrefined or incompletely refined sugar that still retains some molasses, which gives it a brownish color.
- n. A commercial product made | from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. Unrefined or incompletely refined sugar that still retains some molasses, which gives it a brownish color.
- n. A commercial product made by the addition of molasses to white sugar.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. Sugar which has been only partially refined and still contains molasses.
- n. Refined sugar to which molasses has been added.
- n. Street name for heroin.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. unrefined or only partly refined sugar
Sorry, no etymologies found. |
The prime meridian is the zero degree line of longitude that passes near London. The prime meridian was officially established as zero degrees longitude at an international conference in 1884. While latitude has its zero degree line along the equator, an | The prime meridian is the zero degree line of longitude that passes near London. The prime meridian was officially established as zero degrees longitude at an international conference in 1884. While latitude has its zero degree line along the equator, an actual physical feature, longitude is not based on any physical feature of the earth and is not impacted by the sun or the earths orbit.
Prior to 1884, some countries utilized local prime meridians to establish their coordinate systems within their country and around the world. In order to have any x,y system of coordinates, as latitude and longitude are, there must be a starting place for both the north-south and the east-west axes.
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Because british was ruling almost the whole world, and it was often decribed as an empire where the sun never set, right from east to west, and Greenwich the imaginary line was established by the british as it was in U K |
Hisar district is one of the districts of the state of Haryana with its headquarters at Hisar town. Hisar town is located at 2905’5”north latitude and 75045’55” east longitudes. It is | Hisar district is one of the districts of the state of Haryana with its headquarters at Hisar town. Hisar town is located at 2905’5”north latitude and 75045’55” east longitudes. It is situated 164 kms west to Delhi on the National Highway 10 on the West Yamuna Canal. Hissar district, also called Hisar, has an area of 4191 sq km and its population is 12,30,000. Other smaller towns are Hansi, Uklana, Adampur Agroha and Barwala. Hissar town was one of the prime centers of Harappan culture.
The area has been associated with ancient Vedic culture tribes such as Bharatas, Purus, Kurus, Mujavatas and Mahavrishas. During medieval times it went through upheavals and conquests, and gained importance for its strategic location with regard to Delhi. It is a market for cotton, grain, and oilseed. An agricultural experimental farm is on Hisar's outskirts, one of N India's largest livestock-breeding centers. Cotton and silk |
April 5, 2012
Is your horse protected from mosquito-borne diseases?
From AQHA Corporate Partner Pfizer Animal Health
Spring has sprung early in many regions of the country. With the cherry blossoms, green grass and tulips | April 5, 2012
Is your horse protected from mosquito-borne diseases?
From AQHA Corporate Partner Pfizer Animal Health
Spring has sprung early in many regions of the country. With the cherry blossoms, green grass and tulips also comes April showers and mosquitoes. In 2011, there were 65 cases of eastern equine encephalomyelitis reported in 11 states throughout the northeastern and southeastern regions, as well as mid-western regions such as Wisconsin and Michigan1. There was also one case of western equine encephalomyelitis reported in Arizona in 20111. Is your American Quarter Horse at risk of contracting one of these mosquito-borne diseases?
The risk of exposure and geographic distribution of eastern equine encephalomyelitis varies from year to year with changes in distribution of insect vectors and reservoirs important to the natural ecology of the virus2. However, unvaccinated horses may be at serious risk of contracting mosquito-borne illnesses, even in areas where the disease may not be common. Eastern equine encephalitis is considered to be endemic in all areas of North America by the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and all horses should be vaccinated against it.
Become an AQHA member today and start getting the most out of your horse lifestyle.
Symptoms in horses that have eastern equine encephalomyelitis can be varied but usually begin with fever, depression and listlessness, which then progress to more serious neurological signs such as incoordination, stumbling, circling, head pressing, coma and often death3. Once the horse becomes infected with the eastern equine encephalomyelitis and develops neurological signs, the disease is fatal in roughly 90 percent of cases4. There is no effective treatment, and seizures resulting in death usually occur within 48-72 hours of the horse’s first indication of illness3.
Vaccinations are the most effective way to help protect horses against eastern equine encephalomyelitis and other encephalitic diseases, such as western equine encephalomyelitis and West Nile virus. Ac |
Roget's Int'l Thesaurus
Fowler's King's English
The King James Bible
Brewer's Phrase & Fable
Frazer's Golden Bough
Shelf of Fiction
The Period of the French Revolution
| Roget's Int'l Thesaurus
Fowler's King's English
The King James Bible
Brewer's Phrase & Fable
Frazer's Golden Bough
Shelf of Fiction
The Period of the French Revolution
Friendship with Coleridge
INDEX OF ALL CHAPTERS
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes
Volume XI. The Period of the French Revolution.
But, during his stay with Coleridge in Somersetshire, Wordsworth did not only lay the foundations of his
The same intercourse gave birth to less ambitious and more immediate verse, to the famous
of 1798, a small volume of short poems by Coleridge and himself. It is well known how, after some fruitless attempts at collaboration, the two friends agreed to divide the field of poetry. To the share of Coleridge fell such subjects as were supernatural, or, at any rate, romantic, which he was to inform with a human interest and a semblance of truth. Wordsworths part was to be the events of everyday life, by preference in its humblest form; the characters and incidents of his poems were to be such as will be found in every village and its vicinity where there is a meditative and feeling mind to seek after them, or to notice them when they present themselves. Thus did Coleridge sing
The Ancient Mariner,
while Wordsworth told the tales
Nothing can better show Wordsworths minute realism, how necessary it was to him to hold a little of his mother earth within his fingers. His homely ballads are so many humble practical illustrations of the philosophy he was at this very time promulgating in lofty blank verse, for instance, in his lyrical hymn of thanks to nature,
The ballads have a something corporeal, a matter-of-factness, which Coleridge could not help lamenting. They are not only clad in humble garb, but, to a certain extent, are more scientific than poetic in their aim. There survived so much of Wordsworths former rationalism that he almost gave the precedence to psychology over poetry in these experiments. The preface of the 1800 edition of the
really looks like the programme of a man of science. He is inspired by a wish to know more, and make more known, of the human heart. He goes so far as to call poetry the history and science of the feelings.
Perfect unity is not characteristic of this period so much as a gladsome energy exerted in several directions. He never wrote with such glee. His new reading of nature and of man fills him with delighttogether with the life he now leads between the most wonderful of friends and the most devoted of inspired sisters. He had such superfluous joy that he could afford to suffer with those he saw suffer, that he was bold to look on painful things. He believed in the deep power of joy, by means of which we see into the life of things. He made joy the chief attribute of poetry, proclaimed poets the happiest of men. He rejoiced in his own boldness, found vent for his surviving republicanism in a sweeping, democratic reform of poetical styleputting down the time-honoured hierarchy of words, abolishing the traditional distinction between high and low, in subjects and diction.
These trustful feelings, this spontaneous optimism, expressive of his unimpaired vitality, sustained him throughout the years from 1798 to 1805, during which period his best and most original poetry was written, whether at Alfoxden, or in Germany, where he stayed with his sister from September, 1798, to April, 1799, or in the glorious humility of Dove cottage, at Grasmere, in the lake country, where he settled with Dorothy in the last days of the century and where Coleridge was again his frequent visitant, or in his wanderings over Scotland, with both Coleridge and Dorothy, from August to October 1803. A period of plain living and high thinking, made famous by great verse.
One may fix on 1805 as the year in, or about, which this period of Wordsworths poetical life closes. He had now, if not published, at least written, nearly all that is supreme in his workshis only book of
the best parts of
besides many of the best and boldest of his short poems, ballads and sonnets. His great
Ode on Immortality
was all but finished. Had he died then, in his thirty-sixth year, having lived as long as Byron and much longer than Shelley or Keats, he would have left a fame almost as high as he was to attain, though |
Recently, first lady Michelle Obama has highlighted childhood obesity in the United States. A group of retired military leaders, citing the potential effect on future soldiers, call the obesity crisis a national security threat.
Let’s not forget though about the children in developing | Recently, first lady Michelle Obama has highlighted childhood obesity in the United States. A group of retired military leaders, citing the potential effect on future soldiers, call the obesity crisis a national security threat.
Let’s not forget though about the children in developing countries and even here at home who struggle to get even one meal a day. While childhood obesity is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with, the first thrust needs to be on the children who lack food.
Global child hunger is a threat to our national security. Malnourished children are never a foundation for world peace and stability.
Look at Afghanistan, where there are 600,000 street children, according to the Aschiana Foundation. These children are not getting enough to eat. They are not in school getting an education. Instead, they have to forage and beg for their families. All children in Afghanistan should be able to take part in Food for Education programs. Insufficient funding prevents this from happening.
In Yemen, another country high on U.S. national security priorities, malnourishment and poverty afflict many children. Food for education programs and infant feeding all have faced cuts because of low funding for the World Food Programme (WFP).
In Iraq, WFP was forced to drastically reduce a school feeding program intended for 960,000 children because of lack of funds.This scene is repeated in many other countries since child feeding is given so little emphasis in our national security strategy. And this is a huge mistake.
There was a time after World War II when the alarm would be sounded if child feeding was found to be deficient in a given country. Faced with the problem of restoring war-devastated Europe and Asia, child feeding formed an important part of U.S. foreign policy.
If you had a time machine, you could parade a number of decorated generals before the Senate touting child feeding as a vital part of foreign policy. General Douglas MacArthur would talk about school feeding in Japan. General Mark Clark could discuss school meals in Austria and General Lucius Clay would praise school feeding’s role in the rehabilitation of Germany.
School feeding in Vienna, Austria after World War II (National Archives photo)
General George Marshall would remind everyone of a poster in Italy in 1948 contrasting chaos and famine with bread and order. School feeding was a part of the interim aid program for Italy that preceded the Marshall Plan reconstruction. General Eisenhower in 1948 also emphasized the importance of child feeding in the quest for peace.
Child feeding is no less important today. As the Senate considers massive new spending proposals on nuclear arms, it should reflect on its priorities in this post-Cold War world. They are missing the real struggle, one that will determine whether there is to be peace and stability. This is the struggle to end hunger and poverty. It starts with feeding children.
The U.S. can provide the leadership in an international effort to ensure there is universal school feeding. While school lunches must play a larger role in foreign policy abroad, there are also holes to plug in the U.S. school lunch program. A report from the Dept. of Agriculture showed that 16.7 million American child |
India's Wild Tigers Stripped to Bones India's tigers are a kind of National Geographic icon of wilderness beauty, power and grace. Until 60 years ago they were hunted en masse for bloodsport by predatory Hindu rajas, often to entertain | India's Wild Tigers Stripped to Bones India's tigers are a kind of National Geographic icon of wilderness beauty, power and grace. Until 60 years ago they were hunted en masse for bloodsport by predatory Hindu rajas, often to entertain and impress their sporting European guests. Today, poachers have replaced rajas as the tigers' archenemy, skinning their luxurious fur for upscale throwrugs and extracting their |
Read through the course notes. The course note files may also contain links to associated animations or interactive simulations.
Read sections 3.5 through 3.9:
Electric Potential (PDF)
Read through the class slides. They explain all of the | Read through the course notes. The course note files may also contain links to associated animations or interactive simulations.
Read sections 3.5 through 3.9:
Electric Potential (PDF)
Read through the class slides. They explain all of the concepts from the module.
Do the Concept Questions first to make sure you understand the main concepts from this module. Then, when you are ready, try the Ch |
Costa Rica - Carbon Neutral by 2020
Photo Credit: ecoseed
100% Renewable Energy Goal:
95-99% renewable power already achieved, as part of a goal to be carbon neutral by 2021
The Costa | Costa Rica - Carbon Neutral by 2020
Photo Credit: ecoseed
100% Renewable Energy Goal:
95-99% renewable power already achieved, as part of a goal to be carbon neutral by 2021
The Costa Rican government set a goal for the country to become carbon neutral by 2021. Regarding the energy piece of this program, the nation has already achieved 95-99% renewable electricity, approximately 80% of which is produced by hydropower. While water is abundant and local, it is considered an insecure resource at this high a percentage of the power mix. Large scale hydropower also can cause negative impacts on the environment and local communities. Moving forward, Costa Rica may diversify its renewable electricity system and emphasize ecologically sustainable technologies, such as solar, small wind turbines, and biogas from organic waste.
The country has also begun embracing electric and hybrid transportation as part of its carbon neutral target. Costa Ricans recognize the many benefits of these technologies, including their lower carbon footprint, easier maintenance, quiet rides, clean air, and independence from foreign fuel imports. In 2004, the gas-electric hybrid Toyota Prius was introduced to Costa Rica, followed by the first all electric car in 2009 - the Indian Reva. In 2011, Costa Rica became the third location after Japan and Europe to sell the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The government has pledged to support the electric vehicle movement with incentives, needed to overcome market barriers during these transitional years, including the higher price tag of electric vehicles and limited numbers of charging stations. |
- À propos de nous
- Programmes d’espagnol
- Notre Blog
- Tarifs et inscription
Study Spanish and visit Monteverde
Ready to explore the cloud forest after a week of studying Spanish? Costa Rica's | - À propos de nous
- Programmes d’espagnol
- Notre Blog
- Tarifs et inscription
Study Spanish and visit Monteverde
Ready to explore the cloud forest after a week of studying Spanish? Costa Rica's Monteverde Cloud Forest is one of the few remaining cloud forests on the planet.
Set atop the spine of Costa Rica’s continental divide, Monteverde is a world above the coastal towns that dot the country's famous shoreline. It is a place of cloud forests and coffee plantations, monkeys, mist, and friendly locals. The town of Santa Elena is small and quaint, filled with tasty restaurants and folksy artisan shops, while the nearby rainforest hosts a remarkable amount of biodiversity.
Due to its high altitude – some 4,662 ft (1,440 m) above sea level – Monteverde is privileged to receive a steady supply of clouds and the life-giving moisture that they contain. This moisture, often in the form of fog, catches on the branches of the tallest trees and drips down to the other organisms below. This helps to support a complex and far-reaching ecosystem, one that harbors over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, tens of thousands of insect species, and over 2,500 varieties of plants, 420 of which are orchids alone.
Monteverde’s two cloud forest reserves provide visitors with a wealth of opportunity to explore, adventure, and learn about these wonderful ecosystems.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve was established in 1972 and initially covered some 810 acres (328 ha) of forested land. Today, its protective reach extends over 35,089 acres (14,200 ha) and encompasses eight life zones atop the Continental Divide. There are over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, and 1,200 species of amphibians and reptiles living within its bounds. It’s one of the few remaining hab |
The first article below was written in 1954 by Mr E. W. Workman B.Sc.(Eng), A.G.C.I., F.A.C.C.A., F.C.W.A., formerly Controller of the Morgan Crucible Co. Ltd | The first article below was written in 1954 by Mr E. W. Workman B.Sc.(Eng), A.G.C.I., F.A.C.C.A., F.C.W.A., formerly Controller of the Morgan Crucible Co. Ltd. It describes how the company, a pioneer in the use of commercial electronic computing in the UK, set about justifying the purchase of its first machine. Click on right hand image for full picture.
The computer selected was the HEC4 Electronic Computer designed by the British Tabulating Machine Co (later becoming ICT and then ICL - who re-named it the ICT 1201), which was used with modified Hollerith punched card equipment for I/O peripherals. Systems were designed to use conventional 80 column punched card equipment for much processing (sorters, collators, tabulators and reproducers). Details of this machine are described in a second article below. Both articles were published in the "Electronic Engineers Reference Book" for 1958. The cost of the machine was about £30,000.
I have included brief specifications of the HEC4 at the end of this page.
The major applications at the Battersea factory were Payroll, General Ledger, Sales and Debtors Analysis and Production Output. These were based on databases consisting of up to 30,000 cards. A number of factory applications used turn-around cards and large trolleys of these were wheeled to production control offices each week. There was also a Lamson pneumatic tube system that could be used to transfer bundles of up to 100 cards, but its use was discouraged by the Operations Manager, who never knew who had sent them!
I worked on this machine for a while before it was superceded in 1965 by an ICT 1902 and can provide further details on its technical details, applications and programming if anyone is interested.
Simon Buxton -
Go to Morgan Crucible Web site.
1. This describes how thought and planning for the office use of an electronic computer have been developed during the past year in a particular company, which consists of a head office attached to a factory with 3,000 employees, several subsidiary factories at home and abroad, and a number of branches in various parts of the Empire. Also how this company has gone about the project, why the various decisions were made, and how the theory on this subject is being turned into practice. 2. Preliminary investigation. One person was appointed to gather all information possible about electronic computers and to make proposals as to their use, if their adoption should prove to be warranted. This preliminary survey took about three months and necessitated a vast amount of reading of everything connected with this subject, of attending lectures at Cambridge and London, and of obtaining, via New York connections, all possible information as to progress in the U.S. At the end of three months, although this information was still being collected, it was possible to formulate the requirements and to develop a plan of action. The first thing that was found necessary was to form a team to co- ordinate the three aspects of technical electronics: clerical methods and the needs of management and accounting control. Specialists in each of these three branches formed the team to develop the recommendations and possible applications of the computer. 3. Output requirements. The conclusion was soon reached that there were two necessary conditions that had to be met. (1) There must be a dual output, i.e. information for two sorts of record at approximately the same time, e.g. payroll and employees' tax carried forward information. (2) Alphabetical printing to give names and addresses and intelligible headings for returns. The main difficulty was in finding available auxiliary apparatus for the input and output of whatever computer was settled on. It is the selection of this apparatus and its uses, together with the consequent modification of the clerical method, that takes up most of the development time. 4. Punched cards. There is already a complete punched-card installation, and it was decided that it would be far easier to develop progressively from the existing system rather than to plunge into a completely new field. The present punched-card equipment, modified where necessary, gave the solutions to most of the auxiliary machine problems not without difficulty --and enabled the best use to be made of the different techniques that had been developed over the past few years. This decision enabled a number of things to be done, viz.: (l) By use of a punched-card line printer the alphabetic condition would be satisfied, and the dual output condition would be solved by the use of a summary punch in addition to the line printer. The use of alphabetically punched cards, in conjunction with the alphabetic printer, meant that the problems connected with processing alphabet work in the computer could be avoided as the computer could be by-passed and the alphabetic information go direct from the card to the printer. (2) It was possible to recommend that a computer should be purchased on the si |
South Africa uses DNA to fight rhino poaching
Forensic science is the practice of gathering and analysing of evidence in a prescribed procedure in order to establish facts that can be presented in a legal proceeding. In the earlier days, forensic analysts | South Africa uses DNA to fight rhino poaching
Forensic science is the practice of gathering and analysing of evidence in a prescribed procedure in order to establish facts that can be presented in a legal proceeding. In the earlier days, forensic analysts investigated crimes using physical items found on, in, or around a body at crime scene. Thus, many people still equate forensic science to autopsies only.
However, the field of forensic science is vast and requires many specialists at every point of investigation; from tire track experts, to pathologists, to entomologists, to soil scientists, to ballistic experts, and recently to molecular genetics experts. Similarly various tools are used; from saws, to axes, to blades, to microscopy, and recently to polymer chain reaction machines and gene sequence and fragment size readers.
Poaching of wildlife in Africa is accelerating at alarming rates. Species such as rhinoceros and elephants bear the biggest poaching burdens for various reasons; including having valued organs such as horns or tusks. Effective prosecution of wildlife crimes is hindered by lack of strong expert evidence linking suspects to poaching crime scenes. In addition, in the event of recovery of trophies, it’s hard to link a particular recovery to a particular country. Without an ownership claim laid to the trophy by a particular country or owner, the prosecution case is usually weak.
In 2009, the University of Pretoria Veterinary Genetics Laboratory identified this gap and developed and patented a Rhinoceros DNA Indexing System (RhODISTM) using microsatellites to build a DNA fingerprint for all rhinoceros in Africa. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) was thinking of similar idea, thus it became apparent that it would be more beneficial for the two institutions to build synergy and work together. This is ideal because besides the rhinoceros, JKUAT is also developing microsatellite markers to fingerprint genetically ivory; thus linkage between the two institutions is very useful.
A PhD student is doing this work. Two MSc students are also optimizing techniques to identify species commonly poached for bush meat trade. Thus bilateral linkages between University of Pretoria and JKUAT are very useful to the institutions. The mandate of the bilateral linkage in DNA forensic sciences will involve peer to peer quality assurance, further research and development of novel single tandem repeat markers or any other method to enhance the reliability of the database to minimize the probability of sentencing an innocent person or releasing a culprit and capacity development including student and staff exchange.
In a recently concluded bilateral capacity building programme organized by Pretoria University and supported by WWF, three Kenyans participated in the initial training on forensic sciences and methods comparison sessions in the veternary lab from 2nd February to 19th March 2012. They included one staff from JKUAT; Dr Shadrack Muya and two staffs from Kenya Wildlife Service; Mr Moses Otiende Yongo and Linus Kariuki.
The Kenyans worked on rhinoceros samples and created a tablet for Kenya’s rhinoceros DNA profiles in the RhODIS database. KWS will continue with populating the database while JKUAT and the lab will continue supporting the database in different technical and developmental capacities while contributing towards the goal of building an African rhino database under the RhODIS system supported by WWF. |
• State-of-the-art on the subject
• A bibliography of nearly 1,000 references
• Tools for practical calculations
• Consequences for other scientific fields
• Numerous illustrative examples
• Fulfilling a need since there is | • State-of-the-art on the subject
• A bibliography of nearly 1,000 references
• Tools for practical calculations
• Consequences for other scientific fields
• Numerous illustrative examples
• Fulfilling a need since there is no equivalent monograph on the subject
Gas phase molecular spectroscopy is a powerful tool for obtaining information on the geometry and internal structure of isolated molecules as well as on the interactions that they undergo. It enables the study of fundamental parameters and processes and is also used for the sounding of gas media through optical techniques. It has been facing always renewed challenges, due to the considerable improvement of experimental techniques and the increasing demand for accuracy and scope of remote sensing applications.
In practice, the radiating molecule is usually not isolated but diluted in a mixture at significant total pressure. The collisions among the molecules composing the gas can have a large influence on the spectral shape, affecting all wavelength regions through various mechanisms. These must be taken into account for the correct analysis and prediction of the resulting spectra.
This book reviews our current experimental and theoretical knowledge and the practical consequences of collisional effects on molecular spectral shapes in neutral gases. General expressions are first given. They are formal of difficult use for practical calculations often but enable discussion of the approximations leading to simplified situations. The first case examined is that of isolated transitions, with the usual pressure broadening and shifting but also refined effects due to speed dependence and collision-induced velocity changes. Collisional line-mixing, which invalidates the notion of isolated transitions and has spectral consequences when lines are closely spaced, is then discussed |
A novel magnetic material developed by British researchers may lead to dramatic improvements in the performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems.
Writing in the journal Science today they describe initial experiments confirming the exotic nature of the material produced.
Known as micro | A novel magnetic material developed by British researchers may lead to dramatic improvements in the performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems.
Writing in the journal Science today they describe initial experiments confirming the exotic nature of the material produced.
Known as microstructured magnetic materials and dubbed Swiss rolls by Imperial College researcher John Pendry, they help obtain images by guiding radio-frequency magnetic flux from the body to the receiver coils of an MRI scanner with very little leakage.
The crucial feature of the material is that it consists of a periodic array of structures each of which is much smaller than the wavelength of the radio-frequency fields it operates with. (see notes to editors 1).
To demonstrate the potential of the new material, the team from Imperial College, the Medical Research Council and Marconi Caswell Ltd., placed their Swiss rolls between the object they were trying to image - a researchers thumb - and a small receiver coil in a standard MRI device.
In control experiments where the Swiss rolls were replaced by a piece of inert plastic, the thumb was not detected with the small coil.
But with the Swiss rolls in place, helping to direct the radio-frequency magnetic flux from the thumb to the receiver coils, a clear image of the thumbs internal structure resulted.
The researchers claim that the new class of materials shows great potential to optimise existing MRI scanners, which are used extensively in hospitals around the world. Exploiting this class of materials could fundamentally change existing approaches to magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, they write.
The idea of using microstructured magnetic materials in a swiss roll structure came to the research team when they examined the potential of photonic band gap materials.
Such materials can manipulate electromagnetic radiation of a certain frequency band and prevent it escaping from the mate
Contact: Judith Moore
Imperial College London |
Establishing good nutrition and health not only supports your chances of healthy conception, but also means that you are set up for continued healthy habits for a healthy pregnancy and baby.
Eating according to these guidelines ensures an excellent nutrient intake without additives, toxins | Establishing good nutrition and health not only supports your chances of healthy conception, but also means that you are set up for continued healthy habits for a healthy pregnancy and baby.
Eating according to these guidelines ensures an excellent nutrient intake without additives, toxins or food substances that can compromise your health and fertility. It may be difficult for you to follow all the recommendations all of the time, however the more you can do the better. You may wish to seek the guidance of a healthcare practitioner to help you with a tailored dietary plan.
Keep consumption to moderate levels and choose low glycaemic carbohydrates where possible. These include most non-starchy vegetables, pulses, whole (not refined) grains. High glycaemic foods that should be avoided included sugar and white/refined grains.
You need an average sized serving (equivalent to the palm of your hand) of protein-providing food at least 2x a day before conception and 3x a day during pregnancy.
- 3 times weekly
- Low in saturated fats, high in essential fatty acids, especially deep sea/ocean/cold water fish, which are also less polluted, for example mullet, salmon, taylor, trevally & sardines
- Avoid large fish e.g. tuna, shark, swordfish, ling, barramundi, king mackerel (high in mercury), crustaceans (often polluted) and raw fish (may contain bacteria).
- Fresh preferable to tinned/frozen.
- See Mercury in Fish
- Trim the skin to avoid fats
- Only use certified organically fed (free range is not necessarily organic and may still be fed with hormones and antibiotics).
- An excellent source of protein.
- Limit their consumption only if they cause gastrointestinal problems such as gas or constipation.
- Only use certified organically fed
- Natural cultured non-flavoured yoghurt is good
- Goats' milk/cheese preferred
- Sheep's cheese, rice & oat milk is ok
- Soya milk/cheese next the best option (avoid genetically engineered or high fat/ aluminium/sugar brands of soya, keep consumption low)
- Avoid soft cheeses (these may contain bacteria)
- Only in moderation and trim all fat
- Unless certified organically fed, avoid organ meats/offal/sausage/mince (or get the butcher to mince on site). Organ meats contain high levels of toxins, e.g. pesticides/hormones.
- Avoid delicatessen meats as these are high in fats, offal content and toxic preservatives
- Avoid raw and undercooked meat.
Legumes & Pulses
- These include split peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, tempeh (soya - fermented or soaked forms are preferred)
- To use beans, soak overnight and discard water
Nuts & Seeds
- Raw, unsalted and fresh
- Store in fridge, away from light and eat within 2 weeks or freeze
- Nuts should not taste bitter
- Use in stir-fries, salads, pasta dishes, as a snack.
- Avoid dried fruit as it is high in sugar and preservatives, or mould.
- Have a higher carbohydrate content than protein - see "carbohydrates"
Proteins from plant sources are incomplete (i.e. they do not contain the full range of amino acids). By combining two of the food groups below (within one meal or one day), you will have a complete protein source, as each group has a different range of amino acids. This is not necessary if you are also eating any foods of animal origin.
Eat a lot every day - they should make up minimum 40% of total food intake and be organic whenever possible. Choose a wide variety, especially dark green leafy, red and orange. Eat both raw and cooked regularly.
Raw vegetable suggestions
- Juices - try carrot/celery/beetroot as a base which is a great way of ensuring adequate vegetable intake
- Use a wide variety of vegetables in salads. Pale lettuce is not highly nutritious. Add chopped fresh herbs e.g. parsley & watercress.
- Potatoes must not be eaten raw.
- Avoid pre-prepared salads as these may contain bacteria
Cooked vegetable suggestions
- Steamed, stir-fried or dry baked
- Root vegetables require light cooking/grating/juicing for absorption
- Discard green potatoes as they are toxic
Recommend 2 - 3 pieces daily as a maximum because of the high sugar content. This includes fruit that is juiced, (dilute 50/50) though better eaten whole. Avoid dried fruit and choose organic and low glycaemic whenever possible.
You need to avoid saturated and trans fats. This includes animal fats.
- No fried food, except stir-fry. Cook with minimal amount of olive oil (or sesame).
- Use lots of cold-pressed oils on salads (extra virgin olive or flaxseed). These oils are high in beneficial essential fatty acids if never heated. They can be poured over food after cooking, and used on bread as a butter substitute. They should be kept out of light (in dark containers) & in the fridge (except olive). Add lemon/pepper/garlic/herbs to dressing.
- Avoid butter and margarine. Try avocado, banana, hummus, tahini, nut spreads (if fresh & refrigerated & kept away from light).
Avoid all sweet things including sugar substitutes, undiluted fruit juices, cakes, biscuits, and soft drinks.
Alcohol - avoid. Foetal alcohol syndrome is traced to pre-conception, with both parents. It is toxic to the foetus and leaches nutrients.
Coffee - avoid. It is related to fertility, pregnancy, and foetal health problems, including miscarriage. Decaffeinated is not recommended.
Cereal based substitutes and dandelion |
CausesBy Mayo Clinic staff
Hypoglycemia is most common among people who take insulin, but it can also occur if you're taking oral diabetes medications.
Common causes of diabetic hypoglycemia include:
- Taking too | CausesBy Mayo Clinic staff
Hypoglycemia is most common among people who take insulin, but it can also occur if you're taking oral diabetes medications.
Common causes of diabetic hypoglycemia include:
- Taking too much insulin or diabetes medication
- Not eating enough
- Postponing or skipping a meal or snack
- Increasing exercise or physical activity without eating more or adjusting your medications
- Drinking alcohol
Blood sugar regulation
Glucose levels in the blood are controlled through a complex interaction of hormones that vary depending on whether you're fasting or have eaten. Insulin is the hormone responsible for lowering glucose levels when glucose is elevated. If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and need insulin to control your blood sugar, taking more insulin than you need can cause your blood sugar level to drop too low and result in hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia also may result if, after taking your diabetes medication, you eat less than usual or exercise more than you normally do. Your doctor can work with you to prevent this imbalance by finding the dose that fits your regular eating and activity patterns.
- Cryer PE. Hypoglycemia. In: Kronenberg HM, et al. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191205553-3/0/1555/0.html#. Accessed Jan. 19, 2012.
- Cryer PE. Management of hypoglycemia during treatment of diabetes mellitus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 17, 2012.
- Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html. Accessed Jan. 17, 2012.
- Hypoglycemia. National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/hypoglycemia/index.aspx. Accessed Jan. 17, 2012.
- Yakubovich N, et al. Serious cardiovascular outcomes in diabetes: The role of hypoglycemia. Circulation. 2011;123:342.
- Fowler MJ. The diabetes treatment trap: Hypoglycemia. Clinical Diabetes. 2011;29:36.
- Collazo-Clavell ML (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 24, 2012. |
Copy of obstetrical crotchet, original dated c. 1580-1620
An obstetrical crotchet is a destructive tool aiding the removal of a dead foetus from the mother. The foetus was removed from | Copy of obstetrical crotchet, original dated c. 1580-1620
An obstetrical crotchet is a destructive tool aiding the removal of a dead foetus from the mother. The foetus was removed from the womb in pieces to save the mother's life. This is a copy of the original instrument. The original was part of the collection of instruments used by the famous Chamberlen family of doctors from the late 1500s. Successive generations of male family members used obstetrical instruments, notably the forceps. They were the original ‘man-midwives’. They kept the designs of their instruments secret for well over a century. Several were discovered in 1813. They were hidden within Woodham Mortimer Hall, the family home in Essex. The originals are in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists museum.
Related Themes and Topics
There are 535 related objects. View all related objects
A branch of medicine dealing with the care of women. This care occurs during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period of recovery from childbirth.
Glossary: obstetrical crochet |
As its influence grows, the church seeks to retake Bolshevik-seized property. More than 6,000 sites have been returned, but hundreds more are in dispute.
Ryazan's dazzling kremlin, the ancient town fortress considered a | As its influence grows, the church seeks to retake Bolshevik-seized property. More than 6,000 sites have been returned, but hundreds more are in dispute.
Ryazan's dazzling kremlin, the ancient town fortress considered a gem of Russian architecture, seems like an unlikely venue for a bitter social conflict.
But for the past three years a subterranean battle has raged here over the 26-hectare complex seized by the Bolsheviks last century. The increasingly powerful Russian Orthodox Church is pressuring political leaders in Moscow to return the property to church stewardship, and public passions are running high.
"Society is split over this issue," says Sergei Isakov, a deputy of the regional legislature. "We need more time to listen to the people about this."
It's a struggle taking place across Russia. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, about 6,000 sites nationalized by the communists have been returned to the church, but hundreds more remain under dispute. Critics say the church's appetite exceeds its ability to restore old buildings, or fill them with worshipers, and its aims are increasingly politicized.
"Lately the church's ambitions have grown, and clericalism is creeping into state institutions and public organizations," says Anatoly Pchelintsev, editor of Religion and Law, a journal published by the independent Slavic Center for Law and Justice in Moscow. "We have elections coming, and the state finds it convenient to actively court the Church's embrace and seek its support."
Church's campaign for influence
The Orthodox Church has been – and remains – closely linked to the Russian state. Even before the Bolsheviks nationalized all its property and took full control over the priesthood, the church acted as the main ideological support for Russian czars. And since the fall of communism, Russian leaders have sometimes turned to the church, which has baptized some 60 percent of Russians, to boost their legitimacy.
"The Russian state is undergoing a crisis of values," says Alexander Dugin, who heads the International Eurasian Movement, a nationalist group that favours stronger church influence. "Soviet ideas have been destroyed, while the democratic values of the West have been completely discredited in post-Soviet Russia. The only real source of [spiritual] support for the new Russian state is the Orthodox Church." |
Parents of children in most elementary grades in Minnesota’s Independent School District 191 receive an annual notice with potentially life-altering data for their children—and they are not state test scores, attendance rates or grades.
The notice contains the child’s body mass | Parents of children in most elementary grades in Minnesota’s Independent School District 191 receive an annual notice with potentially life-altering data for their children—and they are not state test scores, attendance rates or grades.
The notice contains the child’s body mass index (BMI) score, which estimates whether the student has excess body weight relative to his or her height, age and sex.
The 10,200-student district is among a number of states and individual districts nationwide that are measuring children’s BMI scores and notifying parents of the results, hoping such notices will serve as wake-up calls to parents about their children’s weight and the health risks of obesity. Parents of students whose BMI scores are in the top 5 percentiles—95th and above—are informed by their district that their child may be overweight and at risk for complications such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
In 2003, Arkansas became the first state to mandate BMI screening and parental notification. Pennsylvania and Tennessee have followed suit. But experts say that there is not yet enough research to show that these programs work, and concerns have been expressed about the BMI measurement system’s possible effects on self-esteem. For example, the BMI measure itself is not perfect and can falsely label a student who is of a more muscular build as obese.
Is BMI TMI for Parents?
Independent School District 191, which serves three Minneapolis suburbs, was approached about four years ago by University of Minnesota researchers about starting a BMI screening program.
Concerned about the national trend toward increased childhood obesity, the district with the university’s cooperation began a BMI screening program in elementary schools in the 2004-2005 school year to alert parents to the issue of obesity, says Dawn Willson, the district’s director of health services. “Nationally, the statistics of the BMI are increasing along with health problems that are resulting from the increased weight and BMI,” she says.
But are parents receptive to that kind of wake-up call? Parents in the Minnesota district were generally supportive—with some conditions: that the screening should be accurate and done privately and that results should be kept confi dential from children, says Willson, whose district allows parents to opt out of the screening program.
Some critics of BMI screening programs have questioned their potential effect on a student’s self-esteem and body image, but more researc |
Candide Summary and Analysis
Endowed with an "honest mind" and "great simplicity of heart," Candide lives in the castle of the Baron of Westphalia. He is rumored to be the illegitimate son of the Baron | Candide Summary and Analysis
Endowed with an "honest mind" and "great simplicity of heart," Candide lives in the castle of the Baron of Westphalia. He is rumored to be the illegitimate son of the Baroness, an imposing three hundred and fifty-pound woman. His tutor Pangloss, who inspires from an early age the greatest reverence, instills in him a doctrine of optimism whereby "everything is for the best." One day, Candide and Miss Cunégonde, the attractive daughter of the Baron, kiss behind a screen. The Baron discovers them and banishes Candide from the castle.
In despair over his newfound state of exile and separation from Miss Cunégonde, Candide finds consolation in a tavern with two men, who invite him to dinner. But they soon put him in shackles and consign him to the army of the King of the Bulgars. Candide is whipped into discipline and emerges a military prodigy, much to his own astonishment. When he innocently wanders outside the camp to take a morning walk, he is accused of defection. The King pardons him of the crime, saving Candide from further flogging and punishment by the army.
Candide escapes from the Bulgar army during a gruesome battle with the neighboring Abares and travels to Holland, where Jacques the Anabaptist charitably takes Candide under his care. Walking in the street, Candide comes upon a beggar in wretched condition and tosses him a few coins. The man reveals himself to be Pangloss, who narrowly escaped a vicious and bloody attack at the Castle of Westphalia. He informs Candide that Miss Cunégonde was raped and killed, and the Baron's skull bashed in. Pangloss also explains that his physical deterioration is due to a bout of syphilis, transmitted by Miss Cunégonde's maidservant Paquette. When Candide challenges Pangloss to reconcile his personal misfortune with his doctrine of optimism, Pangloss stubbornly rationalizes his own illness as a "necessary ingredient." "Private misfortunes make for public welfare," he concludes. Dispensing with further philosophical debate, Candide pragmatically pays a doctor to heal Pangloss.
With Candide's expulsion from the idyllic castle of Westphalia, the opening chapter is a thinly veiled re-enactment of Adam and Eve's exile from the Garden of Eden and the scene of original sin. Candide is very much in dialogue with eighteenth-century debates over Christianity, which was evolving in a paradoxically more secular direction away from strict adherence to religious duties and commandments toward a more reason-based approach to ethical behavior.
The concept of genealogical relations and the social legitimacy they confer is thoroughly satirized, first in the description of Miss Cunégonde's flawless nobility, then in Pangloss's explanation of his syphilis contamination, which he traces all the way back to Christopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas. Voltaire succeeds in making a pointed commentary about the arbitrariness of privilege and wealth, but also misfortune and poverty. In his view, there is about as much nobility in having descended from several thousands years of uninterrupted aristocracy as there is in having caught a venereal disease originally transmitted by the famous explorer of New World.
Voltaire weaves together an extraordinary set of plot coincidences in which characters' fates will intersect with one another, in a totally unexpected but always fortuitous way. Those l |
Oddly, Superior is already ice-freeIf you like to ice fish for lake trout off the North Shore of Lake Superior or trek to the sea caves at Apostle Islands, this wasn’t your winter.
By: Forum Newspapers, Lake County News | Oddly, Superior is already ice-freeIf you like to ice fish for lake trout off the North Shore of Lake Superior or trek to the sea caves at Apostle Islands, this wasn’t your winter.
By: Forum Newspapers, Lake County News Chronicle
If you like to ice fish for lake trout off the North Shore of Lake Superior or trek to the sea caves at Apostle Islands, this wasn’t your winter.
Warmer than normal air translated to warmer water conditions, leading to an unusually small amount of ice on the big lake and, in many areas, no ice at all.
The last week in February and first week in March are typically the period for peak ice coverage on Lake Superior.
But satellite photographs taken over the past week show virtually no ice on the open portions of the lake. The small amount of drifting pack ice outside the Twin Ports can be seen in the photos, as can frozen-over Chequamegon Bay and Thunder Bay.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., reported Tuesday that Lake Superior’s ice cover was in the lowest 25th percentile of its long-term average.
Ice coverage peaked Feb. 23 at just over 27 percent of the lake’s surface area. That compares to nearly 89 percent peak ice coverage on March 2 last winter, which was much colder, and more than 60 percent in an “average” winter.
The core winter months of December, January and February saw temperatures 1.3 degrees above normal on average in Duluth. But if you factor in November and the first week of March, both of which were 10 degrees above normal, the region has seen a veritably balmy ice season.
The warmest November in more than 100 years may have been the biggest factor.
“Wind makes some difference … but the temperature of the lake and the air temperatures are the biggest factors,” said George Leshkevich, NOAA research scientist. “If you don’t get the cold temperatures early on in the winter, the lake has a tremendous ability to retain heat and, unless you get very cold temperatures later in the winter, the ice never gets a chance to form.”
With a normal amount of sunshine this spring and summer, Lake Superior could see some unusually balmy water temperatures later this year thanks to the “jump start” from the lack of ice, Leshkevich said.
“But it all depends on the solar warming. If you have a cloudy, cool spring, that effect would be lost,” he said.
Neil Howk of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore said safe ice never formed this winter for visitors to tour the park’s famous mainland sea caves. Last year there were nearly eight weeks of safe ice.
“We had a couple good years (2008 and 2009), but the trend has been fewer and fewer days where there’s enough ice to get out there,” Howk said. “We thought we had it on Feb. 4 this year … then the wind switched and the ice blew out and it never came back.” |
Understanding how plants regulate element composition of tissues is critical for agriculture, the environment, and human health. Sustainably meeting the increasing food and biofuel demands of the planet will require growing crops with fewer inputs such as the primary macronutrients | Understanding how plants regulate element composition of tissues is critical for agriculture, the environment, and human health. Sustainably meeting the increasing food and biofuel demands of the planet will require growing crops with fewer inputs such as the primary macronutrients phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). P in fertilizer is non-renewable, too expensive for subsistence farmers, and inefficiently utilized by crops, leading to runoff and severe downstream ecological consequences. Plants comprise the major portion of the human diet, and improving their elemental nutrient content can greatly affect human health. However, efforts directed at a single element can have unforeseen deleterious effects. For example, limiting iron (Fe) or P can lead to increased accumulation of the toxic |
St. Lawrence River Watershed
A brief overview of this watershed and its water quality is presented below. For more detailed information about the St. Lawrence River Watershed, published NYSDEC reports are also available. General information about watersheds | St. Lawrence River Watershed
A brief overview of this watershed and its water quality is presented below. For more detailed information about the St. Lawrence River Watershed, published NYSDEC reports are also available. General information about watersheds is available at the "We All Live in a Watershed" webpage.
Facts about this Watershed
The Saint Lawrence Watershed lies at the border of New York State and Canada. The Saint Lawrence River serves as the gateway between the North Atlantic and the Great Lakes. At its most downstream point in the Unites States the Saint Lawrence drains an area of nearly 300,000 square miles. Within New York State the watershed drains the northern and western Adirondack Mountains and the lake plain region of the Saint Lawrence Valley.
Location: Northern New York State
- All of Saint Lawrence County,
- Most of Franklin County,
- Much of northern Jefferson, Lewis, Herkimer and Hamilton counties, and
- Small parts of western Essex and Clinton Counties.
Size: 5,600 square miles of land area in New York State.
Rivers and Streams: 11,371 miles of freshwater rivers and streams. Major tributary watersheds to the 185 miles of Saint Lawrence River shoreline include:
- Oswegatchie River (3,590 river/stream miles)
- Raquette River (2,016 miles)
- Saint Regis River (1,734 miles)
- Grass River (1,607 miles)
- Indian River (1,222 miles, included within the Oswegatchie watershed)
Lakes, Ponds and Reservoirs: 376 significant freshwater lakes, ponds, and reservoirs (85,723 acres), including:
- Black Lake (7,754 lake/reservoir acres)
- Cranberry Lake (6,795 acres)
- Raquette Lake (5,194 acres)
- Tupper Lake (4,858 acres)
- Long Lake (4,094 acres)
Great Lakes Shoreline: 185 miles of Great Lakes (Saint Lawrence River) shoreline.
How is the Water?
Water Quality in The Saint Lawrence River Watershed
In the Saint Lawrence Watershed, about 40% of river/stream miles, 68% of lake, pond and reservoir acres, and 100% of Great Lakes (Saint Lawrence River) shoreline have been assessed (see Assessment Report).
Good water quality: Fully Supports designated activities and uses
Satisfactory: Fully supports designated activities and uses,
but with minor impacts
Poor (Impaired): Does not support designated uses and activities
Unassessed: Insufficient data available
Water quality in the Saint Lawrence Watershed is dominated by atmospheric deposition of pollutants that originate largely outside the basin. Acid rain and mercury deposition are the most widespread issues in the watershed. Impacts from agricultural activities are also frequently cited in this vary rural and agriculturally intensive area. Hazardous wastes and other industrial impacts associated with resource extraction are also a concern in specific areas.
Major water quality concerns in the watershed are:
- Acid Rain which limits the fish community and aquatic life
- Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury which restricts fish consumption
- Agricultural Activities and Associated Runoff which contributes nutrients and sediments to waters
- Hazardous Wastes and Legacy Industrial Impacts in the Massena Area of Concern
About Water Quality in New York State
Water Chemistry Sampling
Each waterbody in NYS has been assigned a classification, which reflects the designated "best uses" of the waterbody. These best uses typically include the ability to support fish and aquatic wildlife, recreational uses (fishing, boating) and, for some waters, public bathing, drinking water use or shellfishing. Water quality is considered to be good if the waters support their best uses. NYSDEC routinely monitors and assesses water quality throughout the state and publishes detailed reports of these findings. For more information on these monitoring and assessmen |
Give way; give in; submit.
In the 18th century, 'knuckle down' was used used to mean 'acknowledge oneself beaten; submit to another's authority'. The word 'knuckle' by itself had the same meaning | Give way; give in; submit.
In the 18th century, 'knuckle down' was used used to mean 'acknowledge oneself beaten; submit to another's authority'. The word 'knuckle' by itself had the same meaning. 'Knuckle under' was later coined in the USA, also with the same meaning.
Dyche and Pardon, in their A dictionary of all the words commonly us'd in the English tongue, 1740, defined 'knu |
NASA is currently looking for kids age 13-18 who can spend at least an hour of their time to play Selene, a game that will help teach children about the moon.
Mind you, this is not the typical, boring educational games | NASA is currently looking for kids age 13-18 who can spend at least an hour of their time to play Selene, a game that will help teach children about the moon.
Mind you, this is not the typical, boring educational games that teaches children the ABC’s or other school subjects through a purple clad mascot. Selene, named after the lunar Greek goddess, involves a quest, just like most other role-playing games though players won’t be able to finish if they don’t know facts about the moon. It helps to teach children about rock formation, craters, volcanoes and gases in its atmosphere. It teaches children the geography of the moon and how it came about to its current state.
Through Selene, NASA hopes to be able to better determine which type of video games will prove to be effective learning tools for children. NASA expects to have results within the year.
Selene is Windows based and requires Internet Explorer 6, Flash 8 and Java 1.4.
The study is being held at The Classroom of the Future at Wheeling Jesuit University’s |
STAR-BULLETIN / FEBRUARY 2008
A monk seal rests on the sand at Kapiolani Beach Park near the Wall in Waikiki. Tourists and beachgoers are kept away by yellow tape marking the | STAR-BULLETIN / FEBRUARY 2008
A monk seal rests on the sand at Kapiolani Beach Park near the Wall in Waikiki. Tourists and beachgoers are kept away by yellow tape marking the area around the seal.
Petition filed for seal habitat
Three groups seek more safeguards for the sea mammals
Three environmental groups are seeking to expand the critical habitat area for endangered Hawaiian monk seals, including beaches and surrounding waters of the main Hawaiian Islands.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Ocean Conservancy and KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance say the additional protection is needed to save the mammals as rising sea levels and erosion eat away at beaches in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
A petition was filed Wednesday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and James Balsiger, an administrator of fisheries at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
"Prompt designation of these areas as critical habitat is an essential step if the Hawaiian monk seal is to have a future," said the 41-page petition authored by Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney with the San Francisco-based center.
Hawaiian monk seals are among the most endangered marine mammals in the world, with fewer than 1,200 remaining. Their population is declining at a rate of 4 percent annually.
The seals are already protected under the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and state wildlife laws.
However, expanding the critical habitat designation would help conservation efforts and provide more funding for research and education, Sakashita said. Also, the habitat area would require consultation with federal authorities for any government action, such as construction, to ensure there is no harm to the habitat or species.
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency responsible for protecting the seals, said it was aware of the filing but had not received a copy of the petition as of last week.
"When we do, NOAA Fisheries will evaluate it carefully and decide on the appropriate next steps," Bill Robinson, the agency's regional administrator of the Pacific Islands Regional Office, said in a statement.
Most seals live in the remote and largely uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with about 80 to 100 seals in the main Hawaiian Islands.
Food limitation, shark predation, entanglement, disease, habitat loss and disturbance, fisheries interactions and pollution "are driving this already small population to the brink of extinction," the petition said.
"The main Hawaiian Islands, however, provide one of the most promising avenues of recovery for the species," it said. "Designating the proposed area as critical habitat would provide meaningful protection against many of these threats and would aid in ensuring the continued survival and eventual recovery of the species."
"Global warming and sea-level rise are considered an overarching threat to the seals' survival as critical pupping beaches are being lost, the groups said.
That's one reason why seals living in the densely populated main islands are healthier than in the remote lower-lying atolls and small islands.
"They're a lot fatter and their foraging grounds are a lot better," Sakashita said. "(This) is an effort to protect that habitat so that it can be a refuge and hopefully their population will grow."
"Vicki Cornish, a wildlife experts at the Ocean Conservancy, said designating critical habitat in the main Hawaiian Islands would protect against federal actions that could threaten monk seal survival.
"If we don't act soon we stand to lose forever this treasured par |
UCLA researchers have found that a key protein in the body's dendritic cells can stop the virus that causes AIDS from "budding" — part of the virus' life cycle that is crucial to its ability to replicate and infect other cells | UCLA researchers have found that a key protein in the body's dendritic cells can stop the virus that causes AIDS from "budding" — part of the virus' life cycle that is crucial to its ability to replicate and infect other cells.
The study, scheduled for publication in the April issue of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology's FASEB Journal, is currently available online at www.fasebj.org/cgi/rapidpdf/fj.07-9443comv3.pdf.
"If we can block virus generation, then we can control the disease," said lead author Shen Pang, associate professor in the division of oral biology and medicine at the UCLA School of Dentistry and a member of the UCLA AIDS Institute.
Dendritic cells are specialized white blood cells in the skin, mucosa and lymph nodes that kick-start a primary immune response to foreign invaders by activating lymphocytes, including the T cells that HIV targets. Though dendritic cells can be infected with HIV — and indeed play a crucial role in transmitting the virus to T cells — studies have shown that viral generation from these cells is nearly a hundred times lower than from infected T cells, indicating that the cells may possess some inhibiting property.
Pang hypothesized that DC-SIGN, a protein expressed in dendritic cells, may be responsible for such inhibition. He and his colleagues found that DC-SIGN and a related protein, DC-SIGNR, both demonstrated 95 percent to 99.5 percent inhibition of viral production from host cells.
Very few cells are infected when HIV first enters the human body, but the virus rapidly creates new copies of itself, which in turn infect more cells. To achieve this, the virus, after infecting a cell, sends envelopes of protein to the cell's membrane. The viral genomes then combine with viral structural proteins and move into these envelopes. The envelopes bubble, or bud, outward, releasing viral particles that will infect more cells and start new viral life cycles.
According to the researchers, DC-SIGN appears to block HIV generation by efficiently neutralizing an HIV glycoprotein on the surface of the HIV envelope known as gp120, a key to viral infection. In such cases, while some viral particles may still be released from the infected dendritic cells, the lack of gp120 in their envelopes means they are not infectious to CD4-positive T-lymphocytes and macrophages. In other words, these viral particles have been rendered uninfectious.
Current methods to interrupt the life cycle of the virus are limited because they generally target HIV at the stages of viral entry, reverse transcription and post-translational protein cleavages. Once the virus passes through these stages, treatment fails. The UCLA researchers, therefore, focused on halting the virus' generation at different stages in its life cycle.
"The strong inhibition of viral production by DC-SIGN suggests the possibility of using this protein for treatment of HIV-infected patients," the researchers write. "Expression of this protein in various CD4-positive cells should inhibit viral production from infected cells. Because it can also enhance the immune response, DC-SIGN is expected to be useful for in vivo studies for developing an HIV vaccine."
Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Explore further: Hemophilia and long-term HIV infection—is there a protective link? |
The Iliad, about the same war, was one of John Corigliano's inspirations for his piece 'One Sweet Morning.'
Greek sculptures dating from c. 500 BC, depicting a scene from the Trojan War.
Greek sculptures dating | The Iliad, about the same war, was one of John Corigliano's inspirations for his piece 'One Sweet Morning.'
Greek sculptures dating from c. 500 BC, depicting a scene from the Trojan War.
Greek sculptures dating from c. 500 BC, depicting a scene from the Trojan War. The Iliad, about the same war, was one of John Corigliano's inspirations for his piece 'One Sweet Morning.' Rischgitz/Getty Images
This week, we are posting interviews with composers who have written works that respond to the events of Sept. 11 in diverse ways. (Read yesterday's story about Michael Gordon and Monday's story about Steve Reich.)
Composer John Corigliano says the first time he was asked to write a piece responding to Sept. 11, he turned down the commission.
For the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, however, he found his way in by setting those events inside a much larger context of warfare and grief, stretching from ancient battle scenes to the present. One Sweet Morning is a song cycle for mezzo Stephanie Blythe, conductor Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, which commissioned the piece with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The Philharmonic will perform the world premiere Sept. 30.
"It's based on four poems about war," Corigliano says, "not specifically about 9/11, but about the tragedy of war." He wove together poems from four quite disparate sources, ranging from a graphically bloody episode in The Iliad to an eighth-century poem by China's Li Po, in which a female narrator describes seeing her husband and children on the battlefield.
J. Henry Fair/courtesy of the artist
Composer John Corigliano.
Composer John Corigliano. J. Henry Fair/courtesy of the artist
Corigliano also set an ominous Czeslaw Milosz poem written in Warsaw in 1944. But the composer's initial inspiration came from an antiwar poem called "One Sweet Morning" by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, lyricist of the film The Wizard of Oz. Corigliano originally set the text as a self-standing song, then arranged it for children's chorus, and finally recrafted it as the sweetly comforting conclusion of this new song cycle. "It's a dream of a world without war – an impossible dream," Corigliano says. "And that's the hope of the ending of this piece."
Having specific images to set was the key to writing this piece, Corigliano says, and freed him to take on this topic. "We are all so familiar with the hour and a half of video that was shot of the World Trade Center and the first plane, and the second plane, and the people jumping off the roof and the entire towers collapsing," notes the composer, a native New Yorker who was in his Upper West Side apartment that morning. "It would be impossible to write a piece without words in which the listener would not ascribe those elements to parts of the piece. It would be programmatic without my wanting it to be programmatic."
Corigliano chooses an interesting example to describe his original conundrum: a piece by Krzysztof Penderecki now known as Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima. As Corigliano points |
Oxford to Study Faith in God
1 day agoLONDON (AP)
University of Oxford researchers will spend nearly $4 million to study why mankind embraces God. The grant to the Ian Ramsey Center for Science and Religion will bring anthropologists, | Oxford to Study Faith in God
1 day agoLONDON (AP)
University of Oxford researchers will spend nearly $4 million to study why mankind embraces God. The grant to the Ian Ramsey Center for Science and Religion will bring anthropologists, theologians, philosophers and other academics together for three years to study whether belief in a divine being is a basic part of mankind's makeup.
"There are a lot of issues. What is it that is innate in human nature to believe in God, whether it is gods or something superhuman or supernatural?" said Roger Trigg, acting di |
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers
In BriefA classic work of Southern Gothic fiction set in a mill town in 1930s Georgia. John Singer is deaf and mute, largely alone in the world until four very | The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers
In BriefA classic work of Southern Gothic fiction set in a mill town in 1930s Georgia. John Singer is deaf and mute, largely alone in the world until four very different characters find themselves drawn to him. A violent alcoholic, a teenage tomboy, a frustrated black doctor and a quiet café owner come to rely on the silent Singer for a clearer understanding of their troubled existences.
Why you should read itListed by Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest English-language books from 1923 to 2005, this long neglected classic deserves a wider modern audience for its sensitively drawn characters and its detailed portrayal of Depression-era life in America’s conflicted South. |
Capitalism is not an abstract idea. It is an economic system with a distinct set of underlying principles that must exist in order for the system to work. One of these principles is equal justice. In its absence, parties will stop entering into transactions | Capitalism is not an abstract idea. It is an economic system with a distinct set of underlying principles that must exist in order for the system to work. One of these principles is equal justice. In its absence, parties will stop entering into transactions that create overall wealth for our society. Justice must be blind so that both parties — whether weak or powerful — can assume that an agreement between them will be equally enforced by the courts.
There is a second, perhaps even more fundamental, reason that equal justice is essential for capitalism to work. When unequal justice prevails, the party that does not need to follow the law has a distinct competitive advantage. A corporation that knowingly breaks the law will find ways to profit through illegal means that are not available to competitors. As a consequence, the competitive playing field is biased toward the company that does not need to follow the rules.
The net result of unequal justice is likely to be the destruction of the overall wealth of our society. I don’t mean the wealth of individuals; I mean the total wealth of goods and services that are the benefits of healthy competition. To the extent that unequal justice prevails, entities that are exempt from the laws will, in all likelihood, be more profitable than law abiding competitors. Then they use their profits to further weaken competitors by using their illegal profits to further build their businesses at the expense of competitors. All of this business building activity is based on a foundation of sand, and ultimately the entire industry — or even the larger economy — becomes distorted. The “rogue” company gains power, changes markets, and destroys direct and indirect competitors because it is playing by different rules.
The above scenario is not simply a hypothetical example. It is exactly what happened at Worldcom. As the company succeeded because of its then-unknown illegal activities, it grew, managed to take over MCI (one of the true innovators in the industry), and weakened competitors who could not match its profitability. Ultimately the whole edifice collapsed, causing massive wealth destruction in the telecommunications industry and the economy as a whole.
In the WorldCom example, appropriate legal enforcement and prosecution did not occur until the accounting fraud and other crimes were detected. Thus, while it is more an example of undetected accounting fraud than unequal justice, the results are illustrative. In a society with unequal justice, the appropriate laws are never enforced, so entities acting outside the law continue to grow more profitable and powerful (as compared to everyone operating according to the rules). Moreover, the profits from illegal activities can be used to subsidize competition across the spectrum of business activities of companies acting outside the law — which further enforces the competitive advantage, and possible hegemony, of entities operating on a different playing field.
Now, here’s why the above discussion is so important if we hope to return our economy to the dynamo of wealth creation for the entire society that is, in part, what made America a great nation. As economic inequality increases, two sets of laws implicitly develop: one set for powerful members of society and another set for the weaker. These two sets of laws are often defined by a single question: who is prosecuted for crimes and who is not. When powerful members of society can break the law without fear of prosecution, they will inevitably exploit this competitive advantage by engaging in profitable (but illegal) activity. At the same time, the weaker members of society can’t compete; they are shackled by the need to follow the laws of the land. Meanwhile, everyone loses as the profits of companies violating the law distort the competitive playing field and the activities of everyone in it and divert societal activity from the creation of real wealth.
In effect, equal enforcement of the law is not simply important for democracy or to ensure that economic activity takes place, it is fundamental to ensuring that capitalism works. Without equal enforcement of the law, the economy operates with participants who are competitively advantaged and disadvantaged. The rogue firms are in effect receiving a giant government subsidy: the freedom to engage in profitable activities that are prohibited to lesser entities. This becomes a self-reinforcing cycle (like the growth of WorldCom from a regional phone carrier to a national giant that included MCI), so that inequality becomes ever greater. Ultimately, we all lose as our entire economy is distorted, valuable entities are crushed or never get off the ground because they can’t compete on a playing field that is not level, and most likely wealth is destroyed.
The central question for the nation right now is whether we are, in fact, in the middle of the dire and dangerous cycle described above. Washington insiders have reportedthat the Justice Department is explicitly choosing not to prosecute seemingly illegal bank activities. Indeed, in my previous column I noted that the audits released by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development detailed activities by senior banking officials associated with the robo-mortgage scandal that seem to constitute clear evidence of multiple federal felonies, and most likely violated state laws as well. Yet no one has been indicted.
In an entirely different sector of financial services, the venerable American Banker just completed a three-part series on past credit card debt collection practices. Many of these activities are |
How to Start
Welcome to the Andruss Library's 'General Library Research Tutorial'. The tutorial consists of eight modules to help you develop your information-seeking and evaluation skills for your BU courses. The tutorial takes between 2 - 4 hours and | How to Start
Welcome to the Andruss Library's 'General Library Research Tutorial'. The tutorial consists of eight modules to help you develop your information-seeking and evaluation skills for your BU courses. The tutorial takes between 2 - 4 hours and does not have to be completed in one sitting.
FIRST - Read the overall Learning Objectives for Tutorial (at right).
SECOND - Begin with Module 1 and read each module in order. Before beginning a module, read its learning objectives first.
THIRD - When you have read the entire tutorial, test your understanding and mastery of the concepts (see below for more information).
Module 1 - Orientation to Andruss Library
Module 2 - Introduction to Types of Information
Module 3 - Searching a Database
Module 4 - Understanding Citations
Module 5 - Using Internet Sources
Module 6 - Evaluating Sources of Information
Module 7 - Informatio |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Zoophobia may have one of two closely related meanings: a generic term for specific phobias to particular animals, or an irrational fear or even | Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Zoophobia may have one of two closely related meanings: a generic term for specific phobias to particular animals, or an irrational fear or even simply dislike of any non-human animals.
Zoophobia should not be confused with normal fear of dangerous or threatening animals, such as the fear of wild bears or venomous snakes.
Many of these phobias are not necessarily related to immediate traumatic experience. |
With the rapid changes in the world of information technology, your personal computer has become your next best partner and their safeguarding and ensuring its properly secured is one thing which should be on top your priority.
Additionally, with the increasing rates of cyber crime | With the rapid changes in the world of information technology, your personal computer has become your next best partner and their safeguarding and ensuring its properly secured is one thing which should be on top your priority.
Additionally, with the increasing rates of cyber crime targeting individual data theft and small upcoming enterprises as well as big organizations and industries, it is always wise to be on the safe side and protect you pc at all cost by employing the various appropriate means and measures which will go a long way in ensuring that its safe and secure.
You need to be aware of the various mechanisms which will guarantee this safety and protect your personal data and pc at the same time. Here is a few of these steps which you can follow to secure your pc.
You should always access your pc using a comprehensive password which is free from being hacked or cracked. There are various ways of coming up with secure passwords which will ensure that your pc is securely protected and free from access from unauthorized users or persons.
You can also provide passwords to accessing some of your important files and documents ensuring that they are subject to editing, deletion or manipulation by malicious persons.
Installation of some of software which are not genuine poses a security threat to your pc and therefore it is always advisable to acquire and install software only from authorized and legitimate vendors to avoid malware which may damage your pc.
Keeping your pc up to date through the automatic windows update and installation of new updates available ensures that your pc’s performances is not compromised and always remain at par with your requirements. Installing new versions of certain software too will help in promoting the performance and avoid corruption of the older versions of the same.
Accessing internet while browsing may have some risks to your pc and therefore using safer browsers while on net will go a long way in securing your pc for example Firefox because its open and monitored throughout guarantees some of level of pc security.
Supply your pc with a comprehensive and effective antivirus software program which will scan and guard your pc against viruses and other malicious programs. Various antivirus programs exist such as Avast, Norton, windows defender among others. Some are opens use and are freely available.
Always ensure the recommended settings for the windows defender of your pc are turned on as it scans, detects and removes any form of malicious software which appears suspicious and threat to your pc.
Malicious software removal tool
It checks for consistency and proper running of the various operating systems such a windows server 2003, windows XP, windows vista and removes any malicious software which may be installed or running in your pc.
Windows security center of your pc puts the security needs in one access point for easy monitoring in case of security threat or update required. |
Animators Raise Awareness About Dangers of Female Genital Mutilation
Based on a report by Beyene Moges, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, THP-Ethiopia
The Hunger Project (THP)-Ethiopia currently works | Animators Raise Awareness About Dangers of Female Genital Mutilation
Based on a report by Beyene Moges, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, THP-Ethiopia
The Hunger Project (THP)-Ethiopia currently works in six epicenters throughout the country facilitating development programs in rural communities. Committed volunteers in each epicenter community are trained to be animators and are integral in the development and implementation of programs and educational initiatives.
By working in collaboration with like-minded partner organizations, these animators facilitate trainings, called Vision, Commitment and Action Workshops (VCAWs), on a variety of subjects to promote self-reliance including: community volunteerism, agriculture, health, harmful traditional practices and skills development.
The animator program operates under four primary objectives:
- Achieve effective mobilization and organization of the people
- Mobilize local resources for development purposes
- Achieve effective utilization of social and economic infrastructures
- Build leadership capacity in the community
A newly trained group of 58 animators from Enemore Epicenter recently met with THP-Ethiopia’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer to discuss and evaluate their accomplishments and important lessons learned within the epicenter’s VCAWs. At the time of the meeting, the most effective programs were recognized as being agricultural trainings and general education. Most notably within education was the success of several animator trainings on the topic of female genital mutilation (FGM).
FGM is a long-standing cultural practice of cutting away parts of the external female genitalia and is most c |
Sovereign Wealth Funds
Most governments maintain portfolios of foreign exchange reserves as insurance funds against temporary shortfalls or reversals in their foreign currency receipts. Countries’ ability to sell their foreign exchange reserves in the face of short-lived problems with their balance | Sovereign Wealth Funds
Most governments maintain portfolios of foreign exchange reserves as insurance funds against temporary shortfalls or reversals in their foreign currency receipts. Countries’ ability to sell their foreign exchange reserves in the face of short-lived problems with their balance of payments helps them avoid currency depreciations without either imposing restraints on imports and financial outflows or immediately adopting deflationary macroeconomic policies. Countries acquire foreign exchange reserves by managing their exchange rates; they traditionally invest their reserves in low-risk liquid assets like foreign government securities, interest-bearing deposits, or repurchase agreements. The U.S. dollar is the key international reserve currency, accounting for about 65 percent of the world’s total portfolio. The euro, with approximately 25 percent of the total, is a distant second, and the British pound comes in third with 5 percent. The Japanese yen also plays a noteworthy role as an official reserve currency.
A sharp increase in official holdings of foreign exchange reserves began in the early 1990s and accelerated after 2001, probably in response to the global financial crises of 1997 and 1998 and the sustained rise in oil prices. The gains seem large, not only in an absolute sense but also relative to traditional rules of thumb for reserve needs like countries’ imports or their outstanding short-term debts. The sharpest increase in reserve holdings has occurred among the developing countries, although Japan’s portfolio expanded rapidly through 2003. China, which tightly manages the renminbi–dollar exchange rate, holds the largest reserve portfolio, approximately $1.2 trillion.
Traditionally, reserve portfolios’ low yield has made them rather expensive insurance funds, particularly for developing countries where the rate of return on domestic infrastructure and the interest cost of foreign loans can be rather high. Concerns about the opportunity cost of holding large and rapidly growing reserve portfolios have prompted some developing countries to seek higher yields.
In doing so, they have turned to sovereign wealth funds. These are government investment vehicles that seek a higher yield on official foreign exchange receipts by diversifying into a broad range of assets, including long-term government bonds, corporate bonds and stocks, derivatives, commodities, and real estate. These funds have a higher tolerance for risk than do traditional official reserve portfolios. To the extent that the financial resources contained in sovereign wealth funds are not readily available to monetary authority for exchange rate stabilization or balance-of-payments purposes, they are distinct from official foreign exchange reserves.
Sovereign wealth funds have been around since at least 1956. Countries that either owned or taxed exported commodities—like oil—initially established them, effectively replacing real assets taken from the ground with high-yielding financial assets and thereby creating a revenue source for future generations. Norway’s Government Pension Fund-Global is a prominent example of a commodity-based sovereign wealth fund. Such funds account for an estimated two-thirds of all sovereign wealth funds.
The emergence of reserve-based sovereign wealth funds is fairly recent. Singapore created the first—the Singapore Global Investment Corporation—in 1981. Korea started a reserve-based sovereign wealth fund last year, and China recently completed the process of setting one up. Japan, Russia, and India reportedly are also considering reserve-based sovereign wealth funds.
Little is known about the aggregate size of sovereign wealth funds, but the U.S. Treasury estimates that they control approximately $1 trillion to $2.5 trillion. Including official foreign exchange reserves, governments now control a portfolio of $6.3 trillion to $7.8 trillion. Many observers believe sovereign wealth funds will continue to demonstrate strong growth, particularly if oil prices remain high, and they project that such funds will eventually become the single most important factor in global financial markets.
The growing clout of sovereign wealth funds has left a lot of anxious people wondering if state-controlled investment funds will act like privately owned investment funds. With the exception of Norway’s, sovereign wealth funds’ operations are notoriously opaque, which has given rise to many questions: Will they invest for non-economic or strategic reasons? Do they raise national defense and security issues? Will they provide the firms in which they hold a stake unfair access to their home markets? Will they be subject to as much market discipline as private investment funds?
And what may be the biggest concern: Will they encourage financial protectionism? Germany recently announced plans for establishing an agency to review investments by sovereign wealth funds for national security reasons. The United States has maintained a similar mechanism since 1988. While these are legitimate concerns, they also could offer individuals who simply do not appreciate competition—domestic or foreign—another means of seeking protection. How far, after all, might security issues extend?
Economic Trends is published by the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Views stated in Economic Trends are those of individuals in the Research Department and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland or of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Materials may be reprinted provided that the source is credited.
If you'd like to subscribe to a free e-mail service that tells you when Trends is updated, please send an empty email message to [email protected]. No commands in either the subject header or message body are required. |
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