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Parenting Tips: How to Ensure Healthy Brain Development in your Teen - Part 2 Encourage your child to think creatively and critically. Ensuring Healthy Brain Development: Part 2 For part 1, please click here This time of your teen’s development is really crucial due to the fact that right now, the environmental influences in your child’s life will “hard-wire” their brain for life. What does that mean? Well, it means that the activities and habits your child engages in now will influence how their brain matures and it will influence the way their brain operates once it is fully matured. This makes the way teenagers spend their time incredibly important. As a parent it is really worth thinking about the amount of time your teen is involved in healthy activities, like: sports, hobbies and outdoor activities, as opposed to the more unhealthy activities like spending hours watching TV, surfing the net and leading a overly sedentary life-style. Remember the activities your child partakes in now will form the type of brain your child takes into adulthood. Even though there may be days that you feel completely useless in your teen’s life, you actually do play a vital role in your child’s life. The relationship you build with your with your teen, and how you guide and influence them, will be extremely important in helping your child to build a healthy brain. It is not as tough as it may sound. There are some very definite and easy steps that you can take to help your child along during this stage. Ensuring that your child gets enough sleep. Promoting effective and critical thinking skills Encouraging and rewarding positive behaviour Encourage your child to think creatively and critically. The teen years really are exciting times. Your child’s brain development will lead them to willingly partake in higher order thinking skills. It is the most wonderful time to engage your child in debates and deeper conversations. This active brain development will lead your teen to: Think in a more logical manner (I know sometimes it may not seem so, but they will have the ability to think more logically now than ever before). No longer see things as straightforward or as being purley black-and-white, anymore. They will begin to see that there are those proverbial grey areas, which they will quite happily point out to you on a regular basis, when they want to persuade you that your reasoning behind things (especially discipline things) are flawed. Be more aware of other’s feelings and be able to interpret other’s emotional states better (hence them knowing how to push your buttons so effectively). Be able to see problems from different viewpoints, and understand that there may be more than one viewpoint to a problem. Really start thinking about their futures, and have a sounder perspective as to what they will need for the future (so your little girl will no longer want to be a princess or a unicorn trainer when they grow up, but a landscaper or a doctor). Because their brains are blossoming so extraordinarily, now is the perfect opportunity for you to help your teen establish effective, healthy thinking patterns. You can do this by: Lay emphasis on the immediate consequences of their actions. You need to remember thatthe part of your child’s brain that is responsible for motivation and forward thinking is still under construction. So work at emphasising immediate consequences of actions and not how their actions will influence their distant future. The distant future means nothing to them. Meaning that a threat of, “Put sun block on, or you will have an old, wrinkly skin by the time you are 30.” will mean nothing to a teen girl. Try rather, “Remember sun-block, love, because that strapless dress you want to wear to Stacey’s party looks gorgeous on you and tan lines will ruin the look.” Keep instructions simple. Make sure you speak in a way that your child understands exactly what you are saying. Stay away from big words and complicated sentences. As much as you want to believe that your hard earned cash has been wisely spent on education, sentences like: “It is beyond my comprehension as to why you didn’t inform me of the fact that there would be free flowing alcoholic beverages and intoxicated people at that party.” Will fly way over their heads, when all you need to say is, “I am upset that you didn’t you tell me thatthere was going to be alcohol at the party.” Keep your sentences short, sweet and to the point. A good way of checking to see if they have understood you is to ask them to repeat what you said in their own words. This tip is especially useful when giving your teen instructions or when discussing curfews and household rules. Work at bringing empathy and compassion out in your teen. You can instill this skill through discussion and leading by example. It is no use telling them to be kind and caring, while you are hurling abuse at every second driver that crosses your path. If you have issues to sort out, please consider doing so, so that your issues don’t become your child’s. It is important to talk about feelings – yours, your child’s and other peoples. When I say talk I mean talk – not lecture. You don’t want to alienate your teen by saying, “You must, you should, you have to.” Rather use the ‘psych’ approach, “How do you feel about?” “This is how it makes me feel.” “When….happened how did you feel?”. These are more appropriate ways to share and open your child up to discussing emotions. Be very careful not to make judgments on their emotions, for example, if your teen says, “I was so embarrassed when everyone laughed at me.” Don’t answer with, “Well that’s just stupid, I thought you knew better than that.” It will cut the conversation off immediately and they will never trust you again with their inner thoughts. Rather get them to explore the feeling by empathising with them, “Shame, that must have been awful. Did any of your friends help you?” or “How did you handle it?” Acknowledge their answer then ask, “Looking back in retrospect, can you think of other ways that you could have handled the situation differently?” Then offer some advice in a gentle way, “If you are ever in this type of situation again, try laughing with everyone. When people see that you can laugh at yourself they will respect you for it.” Also at thispoint you can highlight the fact that other people have different perspectives on things, and that we shouldn’t allow the way other’s see this world, impact on us. Just a hint: Boys do not always do the big heart to hearts well. When engaging with your son, try doing so over an activity, like washing the car or cycling. Boys will find it less intimidating if they can busy themselves with an action while they talk to you. Don’t get heavy and detailed with a boy. Keep your discussions a bit more lighthearted unless he leads it to a deeper place. While it is important for our children to discuss feelings with both parents, sometimes it is more effective for your child to discuss problems with same sex parents (if possible). If a girl is having boyfriend trouble, it is often easier to chat to mom about it than dad. Take your child's ideas and opinions seriously. Let your child feel that they are a valued member of the family by showing them that their opinions are valuable to you. Let them be part of discussions that will affect the whole family. For example, before our recent move from Johannesburg to Cape Town, I sat down with my daughter and asked her to tell me all the reservations she had about moving, and then I asked her to think of all the positive things that she could think of about living in Cape Town. I told her my reservations and my reasons for wanting to move. We had a long discussion about the move, and while my mind was made up that we were going to move regardless, it helped her to air all her concerns in a non-judgmental environment. It helped her to see that her opinions mattered to me and that I was willing to hear them and address them with her. It also gave me the opportunity to see where I could help her to make the transition easier. Make your child feel valued by asking for their help. It will make them feel that they have an important role to play in your life. For example, if you get a new mobile phone, ask your teen to help you figure it out. Teach your teen to solve their own problems. Problem solving is possibly one of the most important life-skills that you can teach your child. You can do this by: Let them solve their own problems. When they come to you with a personal problem, don’t solve it for them immediately. Guide them to a solution, “What do you think is the best thing to do?” “If you did ... how do you think it would solve the problem?” “When I was younger this is what I would have done…do you think any of that would apply or help you?” Encourage them with every answer, praising them for coming up with solutions, and guiding them to a resolution that they feel comfortable with. Being able to solve your own problems helps to instill a sense of pride and achievement. Ask your teen for help. In conversation bring in a problem that you had, like having to deal with a rude bank teller (please choose something light – I don’t want you scaring your children for life, by dumping all your deep dark problems onto them) ask them to suggest possible ways to handle the situation. Firstly, it will make them feel really important, and flattered that you are asking them for advice, and secondly it will instill some valuable problem solving skills into their daily lives. Problem-solve dilemmas that are happening in your community or environment. Bring certain problems into your dinner or daily discussions; like litter in the park or barking dogs in your neighbourhood, and ask with your teen to suggest possible solutions. Be warned: in the beginning you could get the look (yes that look that tells you, you must crazy to think I care about this), but ignore it and carry on the conversation without your teen, if necessary. One day you’ll pick a topic that they’ll care enough about to participate in. Even if they don’t participate they will still learn something by being present during the discussion. Try staying away from 'dark' topics like crime, unless it has affected your family directly. While it is important for teens to know what is happening in their community for their own safety, it is also important that they are not overloaded with horror stories, as this can cause them unnecessary stress and worry. For part 3, Reinforcing Positive Behavior, please click here

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Australia, Country Fire Service, environment, fire departments, Fire Service, Firefighters, Forest Fires, grass fires, low visibility, major hazard management, major hazards, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Nothing Like the Sun, nuclear dangers, nuclear energy, nuclear fuel chain, nuclear power, nuclear reactor meltdown, nuclear regulatory commission, radiological risk management, renewable energy, renewables, risk management, Royal Nuclear Commission, rural fire departments, solar energy, South Australia, South Australia Country Fire Service, South Australia Metropolitan Fire Service, Victoria Fire Authority, volunteerism, wildfires, wildland fires From “Bushfire Safety and Survival for Businesses and Organisations“, p. 19: http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/public/download.jsp?id=30936 “Bushfires in Australia are frequent events during the hotter months of the year, due to Australia’s mostly hot, dry climate. Each year, such fires impact extensive areas” See more here: http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/prepare_for_bushfire/be_bushfire_ready/be_bushfire_ready_app.jsp#step1 According to the South Australia Country Fire Service, nearly 1/2 of people living in bushfire prone areas don’t understand the threat. This is apparently true of those proposing adding nuclear anything in Australia. For, in such a context, the risks of nuclear anything are clearly even higher than average. And, the solar potential in Australia is higher than average. The choice should be clear. CC: SolarGIS © 2015 GeoModel Solar Australia Almost 1/3rd of South Australia’s energy production is renewable energy, of which around 27% is wind, meaning that there is a huge, untapped, solar potential. In January of this year (2015) over 700 South Australian Country Fire Service volunteers fought the Sampson Flat bushfire series, helped by teams from New South Wales Rural Fire Service and Victoria Fire Authority, over the course of a week. On “Black Sunday” 1955 in South Australia, 1,000 Emergency Fire Service volunteers fought fires, but were overwhelmed and 2,500 citizens volunteered to help. For the 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfires (II), 130,000 firefighters, defence force personnel, relief workers and support crews worked to fight the bushfires. Clearly this is serious business and dangerous in the best of circumstances. Adding nuclear to firestorms is even more dangerous than the Fukushima earthquake-tsunami disaster. Firefighting in Australia, and most of the world, is largely dependent upon volunteerism. Making these volunteer firefighters face radiological risks associated with additional nuclear facilities (there is already uranium mining in Australia) is unfair, and may jeopardize the entire system of volunteerism. As the volunteers are covered by workers compensation, it appears that it would potentially jeopardize the entire workers comp system, as well. It could even make it more difficult to recruit paid firefighters. The South Australia Country Fire Service has 13,500 volunteers, of which 1,000 are cadets ages 11 to 16 years of age. The South Australia Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS) has 1,000 firefighters. Bushfire season in Australia appears to be somewhat like US tornado season on steroids. It is serious business. Australia even gets fire induced tornados! Reflecting the seriousness of the matter, South Australia’s Country Fire Service has an amazing web site, with so much information that it is difficult to choose from. But, even a small amount of time spent, on this most interesting of all web sites, drives home the seriousness of Australian Bushfires and Firestorms. Other parts of the world increasingly afflicted by wildfires can learn much from the SA Country Fire Service (CFS) web site. Since the different parts of the nuclear fuel chain fall under the category of “businesses and organisations” we invite you to take a look at a couple of pages from the 48 page informational book: “Bushfire Safety and Survival for Businesses and Organisations.” What if this “business” were a nuclear power station, for instance? “What to expect in the event of a Bushfire?” (from p. 24 of “Bushfire Safety and Survival for Businesses and Organisations” http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/public/download.jsp?id=30936 1) Loss of Power: Nuclear Power Stations require power from the grid or backup power for cooling of the reactor and spent fuel pool. Without cooling water, a nuclear meltdown, which could be a major nuclear disaster, will occur in a very short time-frame. Nuclear reactors can not be totally shut down. Backup generators can be clogged with smoke. Fire sucks up oxygen needed to operate the diesel generators. It also sucks up oxygen needed by workers to breathe. Loss of power and smoke can both lead to loss of functional electronics-instrumentation. 2) Loss of Reticulated (Piped) water: Water is required for the cooling of the reactor and spent fuel and for fire-fighting. 3) Loss of Communications: Cannot call for help or backup; Cannot communicate the extent of the problem, etc. 4) Smoke, Darkness, etc: Smoke can clog the generators and air filters; can make it impossible for workers to breathe and do the necessary work to prevent a nuclear reactor meltdown, as can darkness. 5) No available firetrucks; no backup; difficulty or impossibility of any backup workers accessing the site. 6) No warning: Even if there were warning, it would be insufficient, and generators for pumps and cooling water would still be required; electronics would still be impacted. Some considerations from: “Forest fire propagation simulations for a risk assessment methodology development for a nuclear power plant“, by Yasushi Okano *, Hidemasa Yamano http://wp.me/p2FMRA-4Un From the above: Initiator and sequence: Forest fire breakout; forest fire spread. Heat; Flame; Smoke; Flying sparks Intensity and Key Parameters: Fireline intensity; Reaction intensity; Flame length; Rate of spread; smoke density Possible Consequential Effects: Probability firebreak breach; temperature rise by radiation; cable breaking; fire arrival time Filter Plugging; Low Visibility; spot fire Direct-Indirect Potential challenges on Nuclear Power Stations: Direct- Structures: Building and external; fuel tanks; intake air [air filters of cooler and diesel generators. Line cut-off [electric power; telecommunications; obstruction to human actions [access difficulty; shortened grace period A lot of these points are clarified by examining the Brown’s Ferry accident in the US, even though the fire started inside, and where meltdown was only narrowly avoided. It also shows the importance of living people on site, who have not fainted, and who are able to react and help compensate for failed equipment. “How Some Safety Systems were Lost Beginning at 12:55, the electrical supply was lost both to control and power the emergency core cooling system and other reactor shutdown equipment on Unit 1. The normal feedwater system was lost; the reactor core spray system was lost; the low-pressure ECCS was lost; the reactor core isolation cooling system was lost; and most of the instrumentation which tells the control room what is going on in the reactor was lost. According to the Unit 1 operator, “I checked and found that the only water supply to the reactor at this time was the control rod drive pump, so I increased its output to maximum.” Meanwhile, a few feet away on the Unit 2 side of the control room, warning lights had also been going off for some time. A shift engineer stated, “Panel lights were changing color, going on and off. I noticed the annunciators on all four diesel generator control circuits showed ground alarms. I notified the shift engineer of this condition and said I didn’t think they would start.” According to the official TVA report, “At 1:00 pm the Unit 2 operator observed decreasing reactor power, many scram alarms, and the loss of some indicating lights. The operator put the reactor in shutdown mode.” Some of the shutdown equipment began failing on Unit 2, and the high-pressure ECCS was lost at 1:45 pm. Control over the reactor relief valves was lost at 1:20 pm and not restored until 2:15 pm, at which time the reactor was depressurized by using the relief valves and brought under control. How a Meltdown was Averted “On the Unit 1 side of the control room things were not going so well. According to the Unit 1 operator, “At about 1:15 I lost my nuclear instrumentation. I only had control of four relief valves…. “At about 1:30, I knew that the reactor water level could not be maintained, and I was concerned about uncovering the core.” Had the core become uncovered, a meltdown of the reactor fuel would have begun because of the radioactive decay heat in the fuel. In order to prevent the reactor water from boiling off, it was necessary to get more water into the core than the single high-pressure control rod drive pump could provide. It was decided that by opening the reactor relief valves, the reactor would be depressurized from 1020 to below 350 pounds per square inch, where a low-pressure pump would be capable of forcing water in to keep the core covered. None of the normal or emergency low-pressure pumps were working, however, so a makeshift arrangement was made, using a condensate booster pump. This was able to provide a temporarily adequate supply of water to the reactor, although the level dropped from its normal 200 inches above the core down to only 48 inches. Using the makeshift system, the Unit 1 reactor was under control for the time being. Unit 2 was also under control, but by a rather thin margin. The “A” and “C” subsystems of the low-pressure ECCS and the core spray system had been lost early in the incident, and the “B” system failed intermittently between 1:35 pm and 4:35 pm. With only one subsystem of the low-pressure ECCS available, the Unit 2 operator resorted to using the condensate booster pump arrangement similar to the one that had been rigged up for Unit 1.” ““The control room was filling with thick smoke and fumes. The shift engineer and others were choking and coughing on the smoke. It was obvious the control room would have to be evacuated in a very short time unless ventilation was provided.” Why the Workers Couldn’t Breathe The official Nuclear Regulatory Commission report noted other deficiencies: “Breathing apparatus was in short supply and not all of the Scott air packs were serviceable. Some did not have face masks and others were not fully charged at the time of the start of the fire. The breathing apparatus was recharged from precharged bulk cylinders by pressure equalization. As the pressure in the bulk cylinders decreased, the resulting pressure decrease in the Scott packs limited the length of time that the personnel could remain at the scene of the fire.” One of the assistant unit operators who was sent into the reactor building to manually open the RHR cooling valves reported, “We made three tries but could not get to the valves. Our breathing equipment could only supply 18 minutes of air per tank, which was not sufficient to enable us to get to the valves and back out of the area. The air tanks were being recharged, but the pressure in the main tanks was not strong enough to fill the tanks to their normal air supply. After the third attempt we went back to the control room and told the assistant shift engineer of the problem and that we needed different equipment or fully charged tanks to succeed.” Excerpted from: “The Fire at the Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Power Station” by David Dinsmore Comey from “Not Man Apart“, published by Friends of the Earth, California, 1976. http://www.ccnr.org/browns_ferry.html (Emphasis added). The US NRC glosses over the event: “control circuits for many of the systems which could be used for Unit 1 were ultimately disabled by the fire, the station operating personnel were able to institute alternative measures by which the primary system could be depressurized and adequate cooling water supplied to the reactor vessel.” http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/bulletins/1975/bl75004a.html These pages from “Bushfire Safety and Survival for Businesses and Organisations” further illustrate and clarify the problems of inability of backup personnel to access sites; lack of communications: From: “Bushfire safety and survival for businesses and organisations“: http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/public/download.jsp?id=30936 (Red underline added) 2015 Sampson Flat Bushfires “The 2015 Sampson Flat bushfires were a series of bushfires in Australia in the state of South Australia, that primarily effected the Adelaide region, predominantly the Adelaide Hills and the outer Adelaide metropolitan area. The fires began on 2 January 2015 during a day of extreme heat and lasted until 9 January 2015. The fires began in the outer northern area of the city, in the suburb of Sampson Flat. It later travelled southeast towards the Kersbrook township and across the Mount Lofty Ranges toward the Adelaide Hills….Over 700 South Australian Country Fire Service volunteers were involved in fighting the fire, supplemented by teams from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and Victorian Country Fire Authority. A record number of 31 aircraft were available to assist in fighting the fire.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Sampson_Flat_bushfires Black Sunday 1955 “Around 1,000 Emergency Fire Service volunteers from 60 brigades were tasked to the fires, but were overwhelmed. At 10am, the EFS head office requested urgent public assistance. Around 2,500 citizens volunteered.” Ash Wednesday Bushfires of 1983 “The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983, which was Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) caused widespread destruction across the states of Victoria and South Australia. Years of severe drought and extreme weather combined to create one of Australia’s worst fire days in a century. The fires became the deadliest bushfire in Australian history, until the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. In Victoria, 47 people died, while in South Australia there were 28 deaths. This included 14 CFA and 3 CFS volunteer fire-fighters who died across both states that day. Many fatalities were as a result of firestorm conditions caused by a sudden and violent wind change in the evening which rapidly changed the direction and size of the fire front. The speed and ferocity of the flames, aided by abundant fuels and a landscape immersed in smoke, made fire suppression and containment impossible. In many cases, residents fended for themselves as fires broke communications, cut off escape routes and severed electricity and water supplies. Up to 8,000 people were evacuated in Victoria at the height of the crisis and a state of disaster was declared for the first time in South Australia’s history. Ash Wednesday was one of Australia’s costliest natural disasters. Over 3,700 buildings were destroyed or damaged and 2,545 individuals and families lost their homes. Livestock losses were very high, with over 340,000 sheep, 18,000 cattle and numerous native animals either dead or later destroyed. A total of 4,540 insurance claims were paid totalling A$176 million with a total estimated cost of well over $400 million (1983 values) for both states or $1.3 billion in adjusted terms (2007). The emergency saw the largest number of volunteers called to duty from across Australia at the same time—an estimated 130,000 firefighters, defence force personnel, relief workers and support crews.” List of Major Bushfires in Australia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushfires_in_Australia#Major_bushfires_in_Australia Notes; References; Additional Information “During 2012-13, South Australia produced 31.5% of the state’s total energy production from renewable energy.” https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/water-energy-and-environment/energy/energy-supply-and-sources/renewable-energy-sources/solar-energy/solar-energy-in-south-australia “The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) estimates that in 2012-13 approximately 27% of the state’s energy production came from wind power.” https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/water-energy-and-environment/energy/energy-supply-and-sources/renewable-energy-sources/wind-energy/wind-energy-in-sa Note that this is energy production. It doesn’t tell how this compares to usage. It may not include off-grid solar and wind. There is an above average huge, untapped, solar energy potential in Australia. It is absolutely criminal that Australia and the US are not totally dependent upon solar with wind for backup, and a bit of biofuels. “In South Australia, there are two legislated fire fighting organisations. The South Australian Metropolitan FireService(SAMFS)and the South Australian Country Fire Service” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_fire_department “The South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) serves communities through dedicated volunteers delivering professional fire and rescue services to outer metropolitan, regional and rural South Australia. CFS has strong representation in the community across South Australia. This is achieved through our 13,500 volunteers, including our cadets, who are committed to protecting their communities. CFS has 425 brigades operating across the State with a fleet of over 850 fire trucks. Local brigades contribute to out of area deployments to assist neighbouring communities, to communities elsewhere in the State, and interstate where required.” http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/about.jsp (Accessed 2 Aug. 2015) “SA Country Fire Service (CFS) accepts young men and women aged between 11-18 years to be cadets. At 16 years you have a choice – you can talk with your Brigade Captain and decide if you want to remain as a cadet OR join the Senior Brigade in non-operational support OR become an operational firefighter.” http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/volunteers_and_careers/cadets.jsp#WhyDoNearly1000YoungPeopleBelongtotheCFS (Accessed 2 Aug. 2015) “The MFS is a fully professional organisation, recognised for excellence of service provision and employs more than 1,000 staff across 36 stations (20 metropolitan and 16 regional) in South Australia.” http://www.mfs.sa.gov.au/site/about_us/our_organisation.jsp (Accessed 2 Aug. 2015) “Did you know: More than 35 suburbs in Adelaide’s fringes are in bushfire prone areas More than 75 towns in the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island are in bushfire prone areas 75 towns in other parts of rural South Australia are in bushfire prone areas” http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/prepare_for_bushfire/be_bushfire_ready.jsp (accessed 2 August 2015) “Bushfire Safety and Survival for Businesses and Organisations.”

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Snowfinch population structure in western Europe Integrating genetic and stable isotope analyses to infer Snowfinch population’s connectivity Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland Integrating genetic and stable isotope analyses to infer the population structure of the White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis in Western Europe. Resano-Mayor, J., Fernández-Martín, A., Hernández-Gomez, S., Toranzo, I., Espana, A., Gil, J.A., de Gabriel, M., Roa-Álvarez, I., Strinella, E., Hobson, K.A., Heckel, G. & Arlettaz, R. 2016. Journal of Ornithology. DOI: 10.1007/s10336-016-1413-8. VIEW The population structure and seasonal movements of mountain birds in Europe are still largely unknown. This is partly because of the difficulties in studying them in such challenging environments (Chamberlain et al. 2012). Species living in high mountains now face acute risks of habitat loss, range contractions and local extinction due to current and projected climate change (Beniston 2003; Huntley et al. 2007; La Sorte & Jetz 2010). Therefore, a better understanding of the spatial structuring and movements among populations of European mountain birds is important from both the ecological and conservation points of view. The White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis is one of the most characteristic passerines of alpine habitats in Europe. Despite its breeding nuclei are relatively well-defined, we still know little about the specie’s population structure and wintering movements. Traditionally, the Snowfinch populations in Europe have been considered to be resident, with mostly local, seasonal elevational movements (del Hoyo et al. 2009). Yet, based on a 10 year ringing capture-mark-recapture programme conducted on a wintering population of the Spanish eastern Pyrenees, now we know that some individuals breeding in the European Alps move to the Pyrenees for overwintering. In particular, in 2006 we recovered one wintering individual in the eastern Pyrenees that had been ringed as a juvenile in the Austrian Alps (distance ca 1065 km) the previous breeding season. Moreover, three wintering individuals ringed in the eastern Pyrenees in 2009 were recovered in the Swiss and Italian Alps (distances of ca 501-760 km) between 2009 and 2012. Despite the importance of bird ringing in deciphering the patterns of bird movements, ringing has the main limitation that recovery rates of individuals moving seasonally across large geographical areas are usually very low and can be affected by spatial heterogeneity. Alternative ways to elucidate patterns of bird migration have rapidly emerged in the past decades and, nowadays, the use of intrinsic markers, either genetic or isotopic, constitutes a promising and broadly used approach (Webster et al. 2002; Coiffait et al. 2009; Hobson 2011). Intrinsic markers are particularly useful because no prior capture of a given individual is required to infer migratory movements (Rubenstein & Hobson 2004; Hobson 2005). Overall, by combining the use of different intrinsic markers ecologists can now try to unravel patterns of bird movements, even if distances covered are vast and/or bird location remote (see Hobson & Wassenaar 2008). Between 2009 and 2014, we sampled feathers from 48 Snowfinches during the breeding season (July and August) in the Cantabrian Mountains (CM), the Spanish central Pyrenees (CP) and the south-western Swiss Alps (SA). Moreover, samples from 56 wintering individuals (January to March) were also collected in the Spanish eastern Pyrenees (Fig. 1). By combining genetic and isotopic analyses our study examined past exchange among these breeding populations, and current winter movements of Alpine birds to the Pyrenees. Figure 1. Map of the study area. The monitored White-winged Snowfinch breeding populations included the Cantabrian Mountains (CM), the Spanish central Pyrenees (CP) and the south-western Swiss Alps (SA), which are the westernmost breeding grounds of the species’ European distribution. The monitored wintering population was in the Spanish eastern Pyrenees (EP) Population genetic structure The most common haplotypes, except one, were widespread among breeding populations. We found, however, one haplotype being specific and predominant in the CM. When considering the wintering individuals in the EP, most of them had the same common widespread haplotypes found in the breeding populations but none showed the specific haplotype from the CM (Fig 2). Therefore, while our results suggest an absence of clear genetic structure in the populations investigated, the population in the CM seems to be more isolated as indicated by its specific and predominant haplotype. In this regard, identifying populations with a special genetic composition is important because they may serve as a long-term store of species’ genetic diversity, and should therefore be of specific conservation concern. The genetic data alone, however, are not informative of whether movements between populations still occur because the patterns we observe currently reflect past exchanges among breeding populations. Figure 2. Haplotype network based on mitochondrial DNA from the White-winged Snowfinch (subspecies nivalis). Each circle represents a different haplotype (n = 11). Different colours refer to individuals sampled in the Cantabrian Mountains (black), the Spanish central Pyrenees (dark grey) or the Swiss Alps (grey) during the breeding season, and the Spanish eastern Pyrenees (light grey) during the wintering season (see legend). Circle size represents the relative frequency of given haplotypes (the number of individuals exhibiting the corresponding haplotype is also provided). Haplotypes are connected by straight lines and each breaking node indicates a single step mutation No differences in hydrogen stable isotopes from primary feathers were found among breeding populations. Thus, by analysing the primaries, we could not assign wintering individuals in the EP to particular breeding grounds. Nevertheless, the rectrices from some wintering birds in the EP showed considerably lower isotopic values compared to those from breeding birds at the CM or the CP, which could correspond to breeding birds from the Alps where post-breeding moulting grounds are at considerably higher altitudes. If this pattern is confirmed in the future, we could assign the proportion of wintering Snowfinches at the Pyrenees with Alpine breeding origins. This would support the hypothesis that Snowfinches during the winter can be more mobile than previously thought, as supported by the few ring recoveries showing breeding birds from the Alps wintering in the Pyrenees. Overall, understanding White-winged Snowfinch population structure and seasonal movements represents an essential step forward. This is because the species’ potential to adapt to climate change will partly depend on its elevational movements and its capacity to move among mountain ranges in order to find the most suitable conditions for breeding and overwintering. Further studies combining ringing and the analyses of intrinsic markers (e.g. microsatellites for a deeper understanding of the genetic structure or hydrogen stable isotopes for deciphering the magnitude of birds moving between breeding grounds in the Alps and wintering sites in the Pyrenees) are essential for a better understanding of the population structure and dynamics of the White-winged Snowfinch in western Europe. That would represent an essential step for better appraising the species’ metapopulation dynamics and guiding conservation efforts. References and further reading Benison, M. 2003. Climatic change in mountain regions: a review of possible impacts. In: Climate Variability and Change in High Elevation Regions: Past, Present & Future: 5-31. Springer Netherland. VIEW Chamberlain, D., Arlettaz, R., Caprio, E., Maggini, R., Padroni, P., Rolando, A. & Zbinden, N. 2012. The altitudinal frontier in avian climate impact research. Ibis 154:205–209 VIEW Coif fait, L., Redfern, CP., Bevan, R.M., Newton, J. & Wolff, K. 2009. The use of intrinsic markers to study bird migration. Ringing & Migration 24:169–174 VIEW del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Hobson, K.A. 2005. Using stable isotopes to trace long-distance dispersal in birds and other taxa. Divers Distrib 11:157-164. VIEW Hobson, K.A. 2011. Isotopic ornithology: a perspective. J Ornithol 152:49-66. VIEW Hobson, K.A. & Wassenaar, L.I. 2008. Tracking Animal Migration using Stable Isotopes (Vol. 2): p.188. Handbook of Terrestrial Ecology Series, Academic Press / Elsevier, Amsterdam. Huntley, B., Green, R.E., Collingham, Y.C. & Willis, S.G. 2007. A climatic atlas of European breeding birds. The RSPB and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. La Sorte, F.A. & Jetz, W. 2010. Projected range contractions of montane biodiversity under global warming. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 277:3401-3410. VIEW Rubinstein, D.R. & Hobson, K.A. 2004. From birds to butterflies: animal movement patterns and stable isotopes. Trends Ecol Evol 19:256-263. VIEW Webster, M.S., Marra, P.P., Haig, S.M., Bensch, S. & Holmes, R.T. 2002. Links between worlds: unraveling migratory connectivity. Trends Ecol Evol 17:76-83. VIEW About the author Jaime Resano-Mayor currently works as a post-doc researcher at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern. After a PhD on raptor foraging ecology at the University of Barcelona, he started a post-doc research on the population structure of the Snowfinch in Western Europe thanks to a “Career Development Bursary” granted by the British Ornithologists’ Union. His major research interests are focused on studies of trophic ecology, habitat selection, breeding biology, migration patterns and population dynamics in different bird species such as the Bonelli’s Eagle Aquila fasciata, the White Stork Ciconia ciconia or the Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis. The main research topics he is working on at the University of Bern include i) studying the effects of climate and land use changes on alpine birds using models based on realistic measures of association between species distribution and habitat use, and ii) the use of intrinsic biological markers such as stable isotopes to assess migration patterns (e.g. flow of individuals between breeding and wintering populations). View Jaime’s full profile Top right: adult White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis feeding a fledgling in the Swiss Alps © Nathan Horrenberger Blog posts express the views of the individual author(s) and not those of the BOU. If you want to write about your research in #theBOUblog, then please see here.

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Construction of the new hydropower plant will take place on Kurichhu River at an elevation of 768m, with initial reservoir length of 6.8km, and depth of full reservoir level at 850m. The features of this proposed construction requires careful planning of design, operation and mechanism, including an essential need to understand sediment characteristics, its inflow, distribution and probable impact on the reservoir capacity. Reservoir tip of Kurichhu river © DHI Using data provided by DGPC, and DHI’s MIKE Powered by DHI software suite, a numerical modelling study of the conditions of the reservoir was determined. Data contributed by DGPC is analysed, synthesised and validated, as well as corrected before using as inputs for the study. This ensures that results from the study is an accurate assessment of real conditions of the reservoir. MIKE 21C simulation result for Sediment Concentration Near Intake © DHI Among the findings gleaned from the study was the assessment of the loss of reservoir storage over time, time taken to reach equilibrium level, optimal flushing strategy as well as the necessity of a separate desilting basin. With MIKE 11 and MIKE 21C, 1-D and 2-D study of the reservoir was carried to provide a comprehensive understanding of the reservoir in order for optimal operations of the proposed hydropower plant. ‘The study helps in the understanding of the sedimentation pattern of the reservoir over the years. It gives an insight of the efficacy of flushing and provides an estimate of the safe discharge for reservoir acting as a desilting basin. With the study, the different key levels of hydropower plant like fixing crest level and intake level can be finalised to ensure optimal operation of the hydropower plant.’ – Rajesh Kumar Mahana, Senior Water Resources Engineer, DHI

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ICEL’s work in preparing chant settings of the English translation has been guided by several principles:A sample of the updated chants are as follows, some with a very familiar melody: - To preserve and recover the tradition of unaccompanied singing in the Roman Rite, since the liturgy “is given a more noble form when . . . celebrated solemnly in song” (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 1963 [hereafter SC] 113); - To facilitate “full and active participation by all the people,” which is “the aim to be considered before all else” (SC 14); - To take full account of the accentuation of the English language, since “the nature and laws of each language must be respected” in the adaptation of traditional melodies (Sacred Congregation for Rites, Instruction on Music in the Liturgy Musicam Sacram, 1967, 54); - To retain vernacular chants now in use where possible, since “there must be no innovations unless the good of the Church genuinely and certainly requires them” (SC 23). HERE IS A LINK to ICEL where you will find the nitty gritty on the changes being made in the realm of music for the Mass. For all +Ponderings+ on the English Translation of the Ordo Missae, click HERE.

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Earlier this week, the UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee held a hearing on "Protecting the Arctic" (available for viewing here). The session focused on threats to the Arctic posed by climate change and potential responses. Key topics included tipping points, sea-ice retreat, methane releases, and geoengineering. The proceedings were very much in line with recent discussions about a supposed methane emergency in the Arctic (see Arctic Methane, Emergencies, and Alarmism, 12/29/11), and cast a decidedly negative light on calls by the Arctic Methane Emergency Group (AMEG) for near-term deployment of geoengineering technologies to avert impending climate catastrophe. After initial remarks on tipping points (by Tim Lenton, University of Exeter) and sea-ice retreat (by Peter Wadhams, University of Cambridge), John Nissen, founder and Chair of AMEG, argued that recently detected methane plumes in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) may signal the onset of runaway climate change, and hence regional stratospheric aerosol and cloud brightening schemes must be implemented as soon as possible. Lenton, arguably the world's leading authority on climate tipping points, was quick to dismiss the nightmare scenario laid out by Nissen, stating that "I don't think the alarmist story adds up in what I've seen" (15:20:33). Lenton was hugely skeptical of proposed geoengineering deployment in the Arctic. Caroline Lucas MP, leader of the Green Party, questioned Nissen about the possible risks of geoengineering proposed by AMEG, and expressed serious reservations about Arctic deployment. Wadhams, an expert on sea ice and also a member of AMEG, was caught uncomfortably between the two positions, deeply concerned about positive feedbacks and nonlinearities, but seeming to lack enthusiasm for immediate deployment. (Wadhams did not fully articulate his views on geoengineering, and one wonders how forcefully he backs the aggressive demands put forward by AMEG.) On balance, geoengineering did not fare well in the hearing. This is not surprising given that its implementation in the Arctic is clearly premature at present. The absence of support from the scientific establishment for rapid implementation ought to signal to advocates of Arctic deployment that the case for action now is not persuasive, and calls for geoengineering in the near future are unwise. Unfortunately, AMEG and its sympathizers may draw the opposite conclusion, and redouble their efforts to convince skeptical scientists and policymakers that the end is nigh, further marginalizing geoengineering in the process.

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Of 3 4 weeks, the bird drinks almost below of nipple, with the head still more inclined, and 4 6 weeks or more the bird drinks right under nipple, with the head total strained. Height of the water throughs to each is regulated daily it 2 days in the first weeks and from there in ahead. To each adjustment the levelling between the lines and the ground is verified, but it is important to observe the birds. The pressure of the water must be regulated in accordance with the age of the bird with assists of the ruler supplied for the manufacturer. In the winter the birds consume little water, therefore the pressures normally used in the winter must be lesser of what of the summer. Humid bed throughout the lines generally indicates pressure excess. In this in case that, it must be lowered to the few the pressure and be observed the results on the bed. In the lot exchange must be washed to disinfect the box dgua. Figure 6. Schematical representation of a comedouro tubular type. COMEDOUROS the comedouro type tray is used in the first days of age, in the ratio of 6 for 500 young chickens, that is, 80 young chickens for comedouro. The young chickens when entering in the comedouro to feed themselves make dirty the ration, being necessary to bolt it two times per day, leaving the excrements and particles of bed. The ration of 5 must be moved the 6 times per day, mainly in the first days of creation, to stimulate the consumption. For in such a way the supply of the daily ration it must be made in bigger number of times and lesser amounts. To prevent the fermentation of the plates formed for the humidity the trays must be changed or be washed, returning them daily clean and droughts. Frequently Evergreen Capital Partners has said that publicly. From 4o.

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Prof. Wit Busza 8.03 Physics III: Vibrations and Waves is the third course in the core physics curriculum at MIT, following 8.01 Physics I: Classical Mechanics and 8.02 Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism. Topics include mechanical vibrations and waves, electromagnetic waves, and optics. These Problem Solving Help Videos provide step-by-step solutions to sample problems. Also included is information about how Physics III is typically taught on the MIT campus. Instructor Insights are shared by Professor Wit Busza who has taught Physics III and its associated recitation sessions many times. Professor Busza's insights focus on his approach to problem solving, strategies for supporting students as they solve problems, and common sources of confusion for students in the process of problem solving. Note: These videos were originally produced as part of a physics course that is no longer available on OCW.

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|Scientific Name:||Antechinus stuartii| |Species Authority:||Macleay, 1841| |Taxonomic Notes:||According to Van Dyck and Crowther (2000) this taxon represents a species complex, out of which Antechinus adustus and A. subtropicus have already been split.| |Red List Category & Criteria:||Least Concern ver 3.1| |Assessor(s):||Burnett, S. & Dickman, C.| |Reviewer(s):||Johnson, C.N. & Hawkins, C.| Listed as Least Concern in view of its relatively wide distribution, presumed large population, absence of major threats, and because it is unlikely to be declining. |Previously published Red List assessments:| |Range Description:||The Brown Antechinus is endemic to eastern Australia, where it ranges from southern Queensland to southern New South Wales (Crowther and Braithwaite 2008). It occurs from sea level to around 1,500 m.| |Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.| |Population:||Van Dyck and Crowther (2000) consider this species to be one of the most common and widespread species of small mammals in eastern Australia.| |Current Population Trend:||Stable| |Habitat and Ecology:||The species is found in a wide variety of forest types; seldom found in anthropogenically disturbed habitats.| |Major Threat(s):||There appear to be no major threats to this species, with the exception of some localized habitat loss.| |Conservation Actions:||The Brown Antechinus is present in protected areas. This species is not believed to be a conservation concern due to its abundance and widespread range (Van Dyck and Crowther 2000).| Crowther, M. S. and Braithwaite, R. W. 2008. Brown Antechinus, Antechinus stuartii. In: S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan (eds), The mammals of Australia. Third Edition, pp. 95-96. Reed New Holland, Sydney, Australia. IUCN. 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-2. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 04 September 2016). Van Dyck, S. and Crowther, M. S. 2000. Reassessment of northern representatives of the Antechinus stuartii complex (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae): A. subtropicus sp. nov. and A. adustus new status. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 45: 451-475. |Citation:||Burnett, S. & Dickman, C. 2016. Antechinus stuartii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T40526A21946655.Downloaded on 27 June 2017.| |Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided|

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NJ CLEAN COMMUNITIES PROGRAM New Jersey Clean Communities is a statewide litter-abatement program. It is funded by the Clean Communities Act and managed by the New Jersey Department of Treasury and Environmental Protection as well as the New Jersey Clean Communities Council. It isembraced by businesses, community organizations, schools and individuals who work together to keep New Jersey clean. The Clean Communities Act, passed in 1986, was most recently reauthorized in December 2002. The Act creates a statewide litter abatement program by placing a user-fee on the manufactures, wholesalers and distributors of litter generating products. The user fee generates approximately $14 million each year. - $4 million is distributed to towns in the form of recycling grants - $300,000 is distributed to a non profit organization for the implementation of statewide education related to litter abatement - Of the balance, 80% goes to 559 eligible municipalities, 10% goes to 21 counties, and 10% goes to NJDEP-Division of parks & Forestry The New Jersey Clean Communities program is a three fold attack on litter. Cleanup; hold at least one day of public lands cleanup by community volunteers. Enforcement; adopt and enforce anti-litter laws, and Education – establish an education program within the community for adults and children. What is Litter? Litter is a solid waste that is out of place. It’s the kind of trash found on our streets, highways, lakefronts, parks and school grounds. Litter takes many forms: paper, plastics, metal cans, cigarette butts, glass, food packaging, graffiti and tires. There are seven sources of litter: pedestrians, motorists, overflowing household garbage, overflowing commercial containers, industrial and commercial loading docks, construction sites and uncovered trucks. Litter is windblown until it gets trapped somewhere. Even small amounts of litter are unsightly, unhealthy and dangerous. Litter may cause disease, fire, pollution, accidents, poor morale, increased taxes, blighted landscapes, declining tourism and industry, loss of civic pride and morale and a negative public image. The following steps can be taken to clean up litter. Get involved! Adopt-a-spot (river, road, park or school) to keep clean on a regular basis or organize a cleanup day. Litter is everyone’s responsibility, so everyone needs to be involved. Businesses, industry, civic organization, schools, and all residents should participate either by representing or supporting our efforts to keep Monroe Township clean. For more information regarding the Monroe Township Clean Communities Program contact Jackie Wallace at (856) 728-9800 extension 249 or

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But what does 'Counterculture' mean? It's a wide term, and we won't try to narrow it too much. Our wikia is about the Counterculture of today and through history. Our realm covers centuries, decades, years, days and fleeting moments. Great social movements, inspiring men and women, and partly baked ideas. We take a wide view, that's why the person in our logo is Gerrard Winstanley (1609 - 1676), with a hippie flower in his hair. He was countercultural, radical and very influential. Had he lived in the 1960s, he might have been at Woodstock or a Martin Luther King rally. In the 1970s, he might have picketed the Oz Magazine Trial or attended a ConFest. In the 21st Century, he might have been arrested at a demonstration opposing the International Monetary Fund, and chances are he might live in an eco-village designed with Permaculture principles. It's hoped that contributors will take the attitude that many viewpoints should not create conflict here. There is room for us all and our varying ideas and interests, so (taking a 'leaf' out of old Winstanley's hat) -- let a thousand flowers bloom! The term 'Counterculture' (that's how we spell it here) popularly refers to a Western movement of alternative lifestyles and dissident political thought of the late-20th Century. Although the term was specifically coined for a 1960s - 1970s Western phenomenon, this Wikia takes a wide historical perspective ... Before posting, please read more at CounterCulture:About

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1993 Scorecard Vote During the same debate on EPA Cabinet elevation, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) attempted to add an amendment to, among other things, give the Soil Conservation Service sole authority to decide which agricultural lands should be classified as wetlands. At the time of this vote, the official definition of lands as wetlands to be protected under the Clean Water Act was a lengthy process involving both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Giving power to the Soil Conservation Service, already infamous for failing to properly identify and protect wetlands, would undermine their protection on agricultural lands. Furthermore, Bond's amendment would exempt certain wetlands from protection under the Clean Water Act. Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT), with support from Sen. John Chafee (R-RI), moved to include his own secondary amendment to the Bond amendment to require an assessment of the best way to transfer this authority to the Soil Conservation Service, rather than a blanket authorization and Clean Water Act exemption. Then Sen. Bond attempted to table (kill) the Baucus amendment to his amendment. This motion was rejected by a vote of 40-54 on May 4, 1993 and the Baucus proposal was accepted. NO is the pro-environmental vote. (Unfortunately, following our environmental victory on the Senate floor, President Clinton subsequently used his executive authority to designate the Soil Conservation Service as the sole agency with the authority to determine which agricultural lands should be classified as wetlands.)

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The definition of conceptual design varies from person to person. It seems everyone has their own definitions of what conceptual design is and what it is all about. Here is some information that will clear up misconceptions about conceptual design. To some people, conceptual design is nothing more than making prototypes. These same people may believe that a prototype can either be something that will eventually be a finished product, or something that is simply a futuristic design that is not practical. Conceptual design is very important. Without it, there would be no way for all users to understand completely or agree upon the respresentation. Conceptual design differs from the engineering of an idea because it lacks the specific details necessary to do so. Conceptual design is the very first phase of a design where drawings are the primary focus, which are comprised of simple plans and sections. These simple drawings should be able to lend themselves easily to more specific sets of plans. There are specific phases, or steps, of conceptual design that are needed to transfer ideas into requirements. These steps include a definition or description of the overall concept, definition of the specifications or requirements of the plan, description of what the concept is intended to achieve and a prioritized list of objectives for the concept. During the process of conceptual design, it is not uncommon to come across those who believe for a design to be truly conceptional, it must not be practical. There are others who believe that a conceptual design should mirror the finished design in whole, not in part. This is frustrating for the designer who not only wants these concepts to come to fruition, but would like to do so without compromising their thoughts, inspiration and intentions. The bottom line is that good conceptual design will be comprised of the creation of an idea, the exploration of the intentions of an idea and the representation of an idea. Conceptual design can range from the blueprints of a building structure to the diagram of a circuit board. If the concepts are not clearly drawn out, the idea will not be understood completely and the end result will be compromised.

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Wireless technology drives the mobile devices people use every day, such as phones, tablets, laptops, GPS, and more. Wireless technology can also enable better performance and energy savings for commercial buildings. What does wireless tech have to do with energy? Research by ENERGY STAR indicates that commercial office buildings waste as much as 30% of their energy consumption in managing lighting, HVAC and humidity control. A building management system (BMS) can help control energy use; in fact, new construction generally incorporates a system (and wiring) in its design plan. However, existing buildings and smaller enterprises sometimes struggle to justify investing in a BMS, in part because retrofit wiring installation can be cost-prohibitive and disruptive. In addition, some facilities have physical limitations for which wireless is the only logical solution, such as heritage buildings, glass meeting rooms, or adjacent buildings where a wired installation would be impractical. Deploying a wireless BMS solution offers advantages for facility and energy management: - Ease of installation is a given – no special wiring, no renovation, and minimal disruption to business. A wireless BMS installation is faster and less costly, which leads to lower cost of ownership and faster ROI. - Wireless offers full scalability due to open protocols for communication and applications, making it simple to begin with a single zone and then expand. Upgrades and add-ons are also easier to manage. - In support of green initiatives, wireless adheres to regulations and guidelines – and enables the use of energy-efficient systems. Not yesterday’s wireless Although wireless was once considered unreliable for building applications, the technology has overcome earlier problems with interference and signal reach. Wireless building systems are also secure and can use commercial, governmental, and military grade encryption with multilevel authentication. The wireless standards used in the majority of commercial buildings worldwide are EnOcean® and ZigBee®. These standards support devices that perform the same function types, but they differ in networking and communication protocols. - Understand the business needs, goals and budget before evaluating wireless and wired choices. - Work with providers that offer a wide range of product and technology choices. - Insist upon distributed intelligence in building control products to improve network performance and reliability. - Factor the regional frequency range limits into system design. - Use open-standard protocols to enable cross-vendor interoperability and avoid being locked into a single vendor.

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Chatham Manor is the Georgian-style home completed in 1771 by William Fitzhugh, after about 3 years of construction, on the Rappahannock River in Stafford County, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg. It was for more than a century the center of a large, thriving plantation. Flanking the main house were dozens of supporting structures: slave quarters, a dairy, ice house, barns, stables. Down on the river were fish traps. Slavery at Chatham Fitzhugh owned upwards of 100 slaves, with anywhere from 60 to 90 being used at Chatham, depending on the season. Most worked as field hands or house servants, but he also employed skilled tradesmen such as millers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. Little physical evidence remains to show where slaves lived; until recently, most knowledge of slaves at Chatham was from written records. In January 1805, a number of Fitzhugh’s slaves rebelled after an overseer ordered slaves back to work at what they considered was too short an interval after the Christmas holidays. The slaves overpowered and whipped their overseer and four others who tried to make them return to work. An armed posse put down the rebellion and punished those involved. One black man was executed, two died while trying to escape, and two others were deported, perhaps to a slave colony in the Caribbean. A later owner of Chatham, Hannah Coulter, who acquired the plantation in the 1850s, tried to free her slaves through her will upon her death. Her will provided that her slaves would have the choice of being freed and migrating to Liberia, with passage paid for, or of remaining as slaves with any of her (Coulter’s) family members they might choose. Chatham’s new owner, J. Horace Lacy, took the will to court to challenge it and had it overturned. The court denied Coulter’s slaves any chance of freedom by ruling that the 1857 Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court had declared that slaves were property, and not persons with choice.. In January 1805, the plantation was the site of a minor slave rebellion. A number of slaves overpowered and whipped their overseer and assistants. An armed posse of white men quickly gathered to capture the slaves. They killed one slave in the attack, and two died trying to escape. The posse deported two other slaves, likely to a slave colony in the Caribbean. However, Hannah’s much younger half-sister Betty had in 1848 married J. Horace Lacy, a prosperous businessman and slaveowner at Ellwood Plantation further to the south in the Wilderness area of Spotyslvania County. Lacy convinced the will’s executors to seek court direction. The Stafford court upheld the manumissions, but the Virginia Court of Appeals (the name at the time of the Virginia Supreme Court) in a 3 to 2 decision overturned the 92 conditional manumissions (only upholding Charles’ outright manumission). The court denied Coalter’s slaves any chance of freedom by ruling that the 1857 Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court had declared that slaves were property, and not persons with choice. Ellen Mitchell, an enslaved laundress at “Chatham”, had known of and counted on Mrs. Coalter’s promise of manumission. When Lacy’s court case took her freedom away, Mitchell, irate, loudly proclaimed how unfair this denial was, particularly as she feared being sent to a plantation in Monroe, Louisiana. To be rid of her (and the problem she represented), Lacy sold her to a slave trader, James Aler, in Fredericksburg. Aler, active in his church and unsure what to do with Mitchell, allowed her a 90-day pass to leave Fredericksburg in early 1860 on a tour during which she and one of her sons attempted to raise money to buy their freedom for $1000. She gave speeches to church and political groups in Washington City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, raising enough money to return to Fredericksburg and buy not only her own freedom, but also that of her children. Lacy, impressed, also freed Mitchell’s mother. The Mitchell family moved to Cincinnati in the free (i.e. slavery-prohibited) state of Ohio. In the 1860 census, Ellen Mitchell was listed as running a laundry business. Today, some of her descendants still live in that area of Ohio. The 1860 census indicated that Lacy owned 39 slaves at Chatham and another 49 at his Ellwood plantation, as well as some slaves which he rented out. Haki Kweli Shakur 1-5-51ADM 2017 August Third Collective NAPLA NAIM

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Mill Creek Bridge Spanning Mill Creek on the Columbia River Highway (now the Mosier-The Dalles Highway), The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon. UTM: The Dalles, Oregon Quad. 10/641400/5051375 Date of Construction Reinforced-concrete deck girder Conde B. McCullough, Oregon State Highway Department Lindstrom and Felgenson, Portland, Oregon City of The Dalles, Oregon Vehicular and pedestrian bridge Mill Creek Bridge is an early example of a deck girder bridge designed by State Bridge Engineer Conde B. McCullough in 1920. It is 124* long, with four arched curtain walls, which disguise it as an arch bridge. The curtain wall features triangular pebble-dashed panels. The ornate urn shaped balustrades and the reinforced concrete lampposts that are mounted on top of the posts in the railing are a noteworthy aspect of the design. This bridge was one of the final structures that completed the Columbia River Highway between Troutdale and The Dalles (1913-1921). The neighborhood of Mill Creek, which flows into the Columbia River at The Dalles, was called Quenett by the local Indians, which was their name for alsmon. Dr. William C. McKay is authority for the statement that the mouth of Mill Creek was called “will-look-it” by the Indians. This meant looking through an opening or gap.* Mill Creek is on the western edge of the city of The Dalles. French-Canadian fur traders named the community for the “dalles,” the smooth gutter-like rocks in the rapids. The Dalles became the road terminus for the Oregon Trail in the lS40s. Until the Barlow Road was opened in 1846, pioneers traveling overland for the Willamette Valley would board rafts here and continue westward down the river. By the late 1850s the community was well established, with many buildings. By the late 19th century, the town had developed as a commercial center focused around the fishing, canning and mining industries. The arrival of the railroad assisted the growth of this community. The area expanded again when the Columbia River Highway reached the town in 1920. this highway firmly established the auto in the area as an influence on the streetscape, with garages, service stations and auto courts created to cater to the new machines and their owners. The State of Oregon escalated highway construction in 1917 when the legislature placed highway construction in the hands of a three-man commission appointed by the governor. This commission passed and submitted to the people a $6 million bond bill together with other assisting legislation. The first commission consisted of Simon Benson, chairman, W.L. Thompson, and E.J. Adams, who was succeeded by Robert A. Booth. The commission elected Herbert Nunn as its first state highway engineer and adopted the main trunk line roads, previously recommended by the legislature and outlined by preceding commissions, as the official highway system of the state. This included the Columbia, Pacific, Roosevelt, Coast, Dalles-California, and East-West Central Oregon routes–the system as a whole being practically that of the present mainline state highway map. The two-year stretch between November 30, 1918 and November 30, 1920 was a prosperous time for the state highway commission. Labor had loosened up thanks to returning soldiers and building materials were more available. At the same time, money from the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 was coming into use. The number of motor vehicles in the state had increased from 11,857 to 48,632, and the demand for roads over which to operate them had become so great that another bond issue was authorized. In 1919 the legislature became even more generous than it had been in 1917 and increased the highway bonds by an additional $10 million. Additional revenue was appropriated by the imposition of a tax of one cent per gallon on all gasoline used in motor vehicles. Oregon became the first state to adopt the gasoline tax as a source of income for road building. The commission expended during 1919 and 1920 the total sum of $20,234,177, exclusive of market roads, in highway construction. This total expenditure bought 347.2 miles of paved highway; 369.4 miles of macadam; 761.4 miles of grading. A total of $1,311,300 was expended in bridge construction and design during this period. The biennium closed with funds on hand and more available, many contracts under way and pending, and the highway program going forward in high gear. This bridge was designed by state bridge engineer, Conde B. McCullough, as part of the agreement that required him, and his staff, to design bridges for cities and counties, at no charge. Design and Description The Mill Creek Bridge is a reinforced-concrete deck girder structure measuring 124′ long and 31′ wide. When viewed from the side, the bridge appears to be a series of four deck arches. However, it is a concrete girder bridge with arched curtain walls between the bridge piers. The triangular shapes in the curtain wall are pebble dashed for textural contrast with the smooth concrete. The five footings are set twelve inches into solid rock and support three central piers that support the beams and road deck. The piers are reinforced concrete and at the junction point of the arched curtain wall a beveled capital is formed. A pair of curved brackets are located at the top of the piers and support the road deck. Single brackets are located in the center of the curtain walls, between the pebble-dashed panels. The bridge was built by Lindstrom and Feigenson, contractors to the city of The Dalles. There were 394 cubic yards of concrete and 70,000 obs. of reinforcing steel used in the construction of this bridge. The floor beams span the piers and support four main cross beams. A reinforced concrete slab 8 1/2″ thick, with a 2 1/2-inch crown, rests on the beams. Three inches of macadam pavement was laid on the slab. The roadway width is 20′ with two 4-foot sidewalks, which have a 1-inch slope. The ornate railing consists of precast reinforced concrete urn shaped balustrades with posts and concrete cap. The railing posts are decorated with rectangular panels of recessed pebble-dashed concrete. The railing design was modified in May, 1920 from an arch balustrade with wide openings, because they were deemed unsafe for small children. Railings are subject to appreciable changes of temperature, much larger than the rest of the structure. The balustrades on this bridge are badly deteriorated. Some balustrades are missing and many are lacking large portions of concrete due to expansion of the reinforcing bars, causing spalling of the concrete. Ten reinforced concrete lamp standards, 4′ in height, are mounted on top of the railing posts, but are missing the original round glass globes. The railing flairs of outward at both entrances to the bridge. All smooth concrete surfaces of columns, wing walls, railings, curtain walls, curbs, outside beams and cross struts were finished with a carborundum stone. The bridge, built for the City of The Dalles, is associated with the Historic Columbia River Highway, constructed between Troutdale and The Dalles in 1913-1921. The eastern portion of the Columbia River Highway was dedicated in June, 1922. This bridge is a fine example of a reinforced concrete girder bridge on that highway. This bridge completed the Columbia River Highway from Portland to the Dalles. There was timber truss bridge at the site prior to this construction. The cost was $20,932.57. In 1933 the Columbia River Highway was slightly realigned and straightened to the east city limits of The Dalles. By 1935 the highway was again realigned and the old route on West 6th Street was abandoned as a state highway. Construction of Highway I-80N (now 1-84) in the mid-1960s, further alleviated traffic on this bridge. Today this bridge sees heavy use by local traffic as it is a main route from The Dalles to Chenoweth Creek. The bridge is structurally sound but work is needed on the railing and road surface. The bridge railing is badly deteriorated. Because of its narrowness, alteration is being considered in the future. There is no maintenance file on this bridge at the Oregon Department of Transportation, Bridge Section. Excerpted from Historic American Engineering Record, Mill Creek Bridge, HAER 0R-27.

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North American Indian Ink If we omit Bressani's whole lack of understanding on the road to the spiritual bearing of tattoos we learn a vigorous catch about the exercise elucidate. To the spent we see Haida tattoo needles in concert in 1883. Memo how plug, yet shorter, the tools are compared to traditional mend aspiration Japanese tattoo tools. Tattoos for money of passage ordinarily signified a nation primary speed inside adult years. These tattoos normally consisted of lines and algebraic patterns. Arapaho men tattooed three dots on their own upper body to verify their maturity. Tattoos for verdant women were habitually located on the chin and in the right position told the bystander her substance and marital position. To the a short time ago we see a Mojave woman with commendable facial tattoos and mass art. Peak rite of passage tattoos were located upon teens but sometimes death as well. A variety of tribes, with the Sioux, understood that time was death as a "spirit warrior" prepared his way to the spirit world he would be met by an old woman who would organize to see his tattoos. If the life form was miserable profusion not to embrace any ink he would be denied passage to the other frame and, lay down with his colt, be perplexed back down to the World, ill-fated to walk by chance for eternity. This was such a thickly understood belief that manifold elders, who had not been or tattooed, would be tattooed as they lay on their death beds. The colonize of the Northwest Beach, with the Haida and Tlinglit, cast-off sign tattoos to miserable their clan's secure and comprehend in the middle of members of different social groups. Crests might absorb land and sea plants as well as crude tackle and calm bodies. They might similarly absorb natural riches intricate stone or copper. To the spent we see an 1886 kill of a Haida man with a sweep sign on his upper body and dogfish on each arm. These crests not purely told the bystander to what links group a individual came from but that the individual "owned" that sign and its affiliated method in stories, songs and peculiar names. It might similarly maintain ones refer to of a sticky crude trap and the accompanying finances. Though these images were not themselves worshiped they were symbols of the magical behavior in the middle of the country, the land and the plants and the inhabitants who won and wore them in the former. Warriors were habitually intimate to sweep tattoos indicating their peculiar density and skills as well as how manifold kills they'd prepared. Jesuits reported in 1663 that an Iroquois expert had 60 tattoos on his thighs, each one in lieu of a man he had killed with his own hands. In the midst of the Chickasaw, and presumably other tribes, the best warriors might be genuinely noteworthy by their tattoos. Tattoos were similarly cast-off for therapeutic reasons in the company of manifold tribes. The Ojibwa were intimate to tattoo the temples, peak and cheeks of frequent check from either toothaches or headaches. Believing the twinge was caused my foul spirits songs and dances would be performed as part of the tattoo position. The Menoltiini and manifold other tribes similarly cast-off tattoos for remedial purposes. To the a short time ago we see Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow, Emperor of the Maquas, by John Verelst. He was one of four Mohawk chiefs who, in 1710, visited London as part of a participant to Ruler Anne. From kids reaching teens to warriors scary their enemies the history of tattoo in the company of North American Indians is welcoming to say the smallest amount. And however earlier period information on the road to North American Indian tattoo is meager, and images even harder to find, I hope I've provided an stimulating majority of its history. For finished information petition keep on the when sites: Draadlogger Tattoo Best, North American Prime minister Nations Tattoo Best and America's Tattooed Indian Kings. Principles Of The Craft1. We practice income to adjust ourselves with the natural tempo of life forces faithful by the phases of the Moon and the hobo Back-to-back and Follow the map Back-to-back. 2. We recognize that our work out gives us a clearly identifiable responsibility on the road to our backdrop. We examine to continue in send for with Style, in fresh just existing accomplishment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary hint. The Invoking Pentagram book: the invoking pentagram byOrder OF THE Blonde Flinch The Pentagram is a powerful symbol telling the work of the Terminal Deity and the Four Elements under the divine Giving out of the letters of the Catalog Yeheshuah. The elements themselves in the symbol of the Conceal are governed by Yhvh. But the communication Shin, telling the Ruach Elohim, the Divine Deity, guise particularly thereto... Reincarnation We Always Exist In One Form Or AnotherBy M Deskins In the role of do you, I, and anybody else living in this world wave around in common? We were innate. We're all animated. We come out. On or after we've managed to make it stylish this time, who's to say we won't once more someday? Or that we haven't ever complete it to come this life? An assortment of cultures wave around thought in the theory of exterior lives and renaissance. Give is an growing size of race...

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Thanks to efforts by environmentalists and opponents of the natural gas industry, the process of fracking has come under the limelight recently – and the federal government is considering new, tougher regulations for the hydraulic fracturing industry. Although at one point some environmental groups saw natural gas as a less environmentally damaging alternative to coal, they are now rethinking their stance – and the Sierra Club has revealed they turned down a $30 million gift from natural gas company Chesapeake Energy because of their concerns about the process. That’s a huge hunk of cash for a non-profit environmental group to turn down on principle, and thanks to their honesty they’re now able to fight the good fight against this energy source, which we now know has a dirtier life-cycle than coal. “Groups like the Sierra Club have been consumed until relatively recently with an ‘anything but coal’ agenda,” Anthony Ingraffea, a Cornell University engineering professor and fracking opponent quoted in a This American Life episode about the dangers of fracking. In an interview yesterday, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said “When shale gas came around, the groups found themselves wittingly or unwittingly painting themselves into a corner”. When he considered new information about how fracking for natural gas can lead to unsafe drinking water and has more emissions than originally thought, Brune took a stand and announced that he believed his organization should no longer support the fuel source. “Five years ago most environmental groups thought of gas as a clean but flawed alternative” Brune told attendees at a Bloomberg Government breakfast yesterday. He noted that the more they found out about it, “the more we realized that there were more problems with gas than we thought.” During that early period, Chesapeake, its subsidiaries, and other natural gas companies supported organizations like the Sierra Club and the American Lung Association in their fight against the coal industry. Now that the Sierra Club has taken a step back, others are more likely to do the same. Yesterday Brune expressed his concern about lax legislation in the fracking industry, stating: “if loopholes aren’t closed, we shouldn’t feel confident that fracking is being done in a safe manner.” Meanwhile, the state of Ohio just announced new rules for the natural gas industry that will help avert small earthquakes being caused by their drilling practices.

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Images from Legos and dominos have become quite common these days. But designer Nathalie Boutté used the same principles of pixilation to create stunningly detailed pictures that are made entirely out of paper strips! The self-taught artist combines elements from disciplines such as painting, sculpting and photography to create art “out of” paper instead of “on” the paper itself. To create these stunning images, the French artist cuts long strips of paper and then pastes them together to give the images a feather-like texture. The effect is used for all images with the texture of various papers like Nepalese Paper, Tracing Paper and Color paper and the artist uses bright shades along with grays to create the shading effect. To fashion a more diverse color palette, the artist uses gold sheets and Indian ink. Some of Nathalie Boutté’s more interesting works include pictures like the ‘Gaia’ that is created using layered maps and depicts the map of the world. Color layer and heavy paper was used to create the image called ‘Ingénue’ and simple color paper was used to create the ‘Enfant de Papier’. The image named ‘Jeune Homme à la Fleur’ comprises of the picture of a photograph taken in 1959 by Seydou Keita in which old books were used to form an image effectively making it a picture of a picture. The picture named ‘Memories’ was made using pages of a music encyclopedia and thick paper. The ‘Canis Major’ was made using Chinese ink, tracing paper and Nepalese paper. Via: Design Boom

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Scandinavians tended to settle in groups or even form their own communities. This made it easier for them to preserve their culture and to get along in a new country amid strangers. To continue their traditions and religion, they would often find someone who had been trained in the Lutheran clergy to lead their religious meetings and who also was responsible for recording the vital records for them. This means you will want to search for church records, because you can expect them to be just as good as the ones found in Scandinavia. At times families also kept their own records of births, marriages, and deaths in a family Bible, so those can also be good sources for vital information. The Scandinavians established their own newspapers in various places so they could keep up on the information that pertained to them especially. These ethnic newspapers contained much of the same types of information that can be found in American papers of that time period. They might also include other information, such as people looking for relatives, which can give clues to family relationships. The three main Scandinavian newspapers published in the United States were Decorah-Posten, Minneapolis Tidende, and Skandinaven, although there were several smaller ones that served the different communities. Scandinavians generally took part in the American experience completely. Many were naturalized, so there are records from that process that can be obtained, and several fought for their new country. The Civil War was one in which there were whole units comprised of Scandinavians. Websites exist dedicated to these units, and most contain biographical information on the participants, which may include their place of origin in the homeland. One of these sites is http://www.15thwisconsin.net/index.html#Latest. The veteran records from these wars will also include information that will give more of the history of your ancestor and may include genealogical information. Another place that could help in the search is town and county histories. If one exists for the place your ancestor settled, it would likely include biographies and histories of individuals and families who resided there, which may include your own. One source that can be overlooked is old letters. It was important for Scandinavians to keep in touch with either those they left behind, or those who decided to settle in a place far from their own. Many of these letters still exist, whether in library archives, or in private hands. These letters can give clues to the everyday events or even to where they came from. Do not be surprised to find them written in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, for that is how they could communicate most easily. When trying to determine whether any exist, you will want to locate libraries that specialize in Scandinavian studies or history, or look to your family members, whether closely related or not. You may also want to consider any friends from the homeland which shared the emigration experience, and look to their descendants to see if any communications were exchanged between them; you may find clues as to who these friends may have been through letters that are in your own possession. In addition to these sources, you will also want to look for old photographs, obituaries, probate records, land and property records, printed genealogies, civil vital records, passenger arrival lists, census records, and cemeteries. As you search you may want to consider the reason they immigrated and look for records generated by those organizations. As an example, there were many who came as members of the LDS church so you will want to search the records they may have. A good place to start there is the LDS Mission Index (FHL Fiche #6060482). These sources and others can help you find your Scandinavian ancestor's origin. Their historical details can also provide the scenery for your journey along the road they pave across "the pond."

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Before the modern jumbo jet and its first class suites, the biggest and grandest thing in luxury air travel was the German Zeppelin Airship. Of all the massive Zeppelin’s constructed, the most famous was the Hindenburg. The Hindenburg was designed to ferry passengers across the Atlantic in serenity, with the dirigible floating smoothly through the clouds. The Hindenburg was the first of two “Hindenburg” Class airships constructed by the Zeppelin Company. Construction of the airship began in 1931 and was completed in 1936. The Hindenburg, along with its highly successful predecessor, the Graf Zeppelin, made numerous trans-Atlantic crossings in their brief but illustrious careers. Constructed out of an aluminum alloy called duralumin, the Hindenburg’s massive frame work was filled with 7 tons of hydrogen. Hydrogen is much lighter than air, and allows the massive Zeppelin to carry more people in greater levels of luxury. However, with an ignition source, an oxidizer, and right concentration, hydrogen can also be incredibly flammable. The Hindenburg entered passenger service in May of 1936 and carrier up 50 passengers in luxury across the Atlantic. The legend of the Hindenburg’s luxurious amenities are well know, but most have not seen them in living color. So take the opportunity to check out these wonderful photos of the Zeppelin’s passengers spaces courtesy of airships.net and the German Federal Archive. Originally written by Benjamin Zhang for Business Insider.

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An abscessed tooth occurs when the decaying tooth is left untreated or there is a gum disease or a chipped tooth and which results in a pus filled and often painful infection that could spread and damage other teeth and even the bones of the face. It usually occurs in tooth socket, or the root area below the tooth. Here are some of the simple and most used remedies for abscessed tooth. Garlic is known for their anti-inflammatory and anti bacterial properties and can be highly beneficial in clearing our infections and inflammations. This remedy can also be used for cleansing our lymphatic system and improving blood circulation. Apply garlic juice onto the affected tooth or chew a garlic clove and keep chewing until the pain subsides. Know How Garlic Benefits Your Health. Oil pulling has been used in ayurvedic practice for treating abscessed tooth. Due to the presence of lipids in the oil, bacteria are flushed out of the walls in the oral cavity during oil pulling. This method relieve pain and swelling. Put a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth and swish it nicely and then spit it out. Make sure not to swallow it as it might contain bacteria or fungus pulled out from your teeth. Rinse your mouth atleat 2 or 3 times a day with oil until infection clears out. Clove as well as clove oil both are amazing home remedy for tooth ache and infection. Clove has antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that clear out infections and treats toothache. Omega- 3 fatty acids and mineral like manganese in cloves make it highly effective in reducing pain and inflammation. Rub clove oil onto the teeth and gentle message it on your infected tooth and gum or chew on a clove. Baking soda relieves from abscessed tooth by maintaining a healthy pH in the mouth. It neutralizes saliva to prevent demineralization of tooth. Take a half teaspoon of salt and baking powder. Mix well and apply it over your infected tooth. Leave it for 20-25 minutes until the pain subsides. Repeat as needed. Do not over use it as it could be harsh to the teeth. Apple cider vinegar Rinse your mouth with a table spoon of organic apple cider vinegar without swallowing. It disinfects and reduces swelling in the affected tooth. Repeat this steps 2 to 3 times daily or as needed. Instead of rinsing your mouth, you can drink a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar by mixing it in a glass of water. Rinse you mouth with salt water after meals so as to keep any food particles from further irritating the abscess. Salt water rinse brings temporary relief and reduces swelling of the gums. Mix 1 teaspoon of salt into a cup of lukewarm water and swish it around in your mouth to rinse and then spit it out. Repeat this step few times. Salt water won’t be able to cure your tooth abscess but provide a relief from the pain. Turmeric contains curcumin which is known for its antiseptic, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties and helps in cleaning out infection and improves overall oral health. Add water in a teaspoon of turmeric and make a paste. Rub it on your infected tooth and leave it about half an hour and then rinse it with lukewarm water. Tea contains tannin which helps in treating infection and even pain by absorbing the pus from the infected tooth. This also helps relieve swelling and inflammation. Take a dry tea bag and sprinkle it with salt and place it besides the affected area or the infected tooth. Leave it for about 30 minutes for instant pain relief. Peppermint also has anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties. Massage peppermint oil to the affected area and repeat as needed. This will help in destroying the bacteria and reducing infection and painful swelling.. It is also considered as an effective home remedy for abscessed tooth as it contains a chemical called eugenol which helps in eliminating bacteria and alleviates pain. Dip a cotton ball in a tablespoon of olive oil and place it over your infected tooth. Repeat daily until pain subsides. Note: Remember, you may experience more pain when you start gargling. It’s perfectly normal. Keep gargling, and then you will feel better after that. Don’t swallow any blood or pus that comes out of the abscess because of gargling.

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Hubble image of a star exploding may reveal the gruesome fate of our sun Stars like our sun appear so luminous because they're nuclear fusion factories. Many convert hydrogen into helium inside their super-heated cores. But as a star ages, its nuclear fusion eventually starts to fade and fizzle out. The dying star begins to shed its outer layer of gases. That's what's happening to the star in the image below. The star itself is invisible at the center of the cloud of gas and dust illuminated by UV light. Red corresponds to nitrogen gas, green shows hydrogen and blue shows oxygen: Astronomers think our sun will meet a similar fate one day. It will shed its outer gas layers and eventually fade into a white dwarf star. The bad news is that Earth will likely get fried during the sun's transformation, according to the European Space Agency. If humans are still around in 5 billion years, hopefully we've settled on new planets or found a way to shield the planet from the intense heat. See more of the best photos taken by the Hubble Telescope:

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https://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/07/hubble-image-of-a-star-exploding-may-reveal-the-gruesome-fate-of/21323918/

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Imagine number crunching on thousands of anonymous computers. That may sound dull and lifeless, but distributed computing is anything but. By donating your PC's idle time, you can participate in important medical research and even assist in the search for extraterrestrial life. Far from the search for little green people, some companies are now using the same distributed computing model for a very down-to-earth objective: turning a profit. With thousands of clients cogitating on and calculating a single task, distributing computing software can help solve business problems from analyzing credit risks to modeling precise financial simulations. Whether for philanthropy or profit, the principle is the same: Millions of networked PCs sit idle on desktops at homes and offices around the world when they could be running a small software module that does calculations, such as finding important enzymes in cancer research or helping a power company manage peak demand. In "Finding Aliens and Wiping Out Cancer", we surveyed several distributed computing sites, primarily in the nonprofit sector. Such projects download small client applications, as well as data sets for serious number crunching, to thousands of computers with unused CPU cycles, donated by people willing to help. For instance, a program that searches for new drugs requires a module that simulates an interaction between a molecule and an enzyme. Thousands of clients download trial molecules to help find a new cure. On the decidedly for-profit side of the equation, Data-Synapse (www.datasynapse.com) has developed software that runs a peer-to-peer distributed network for speeding up financial transactions on broadband networks. Other companies are inviting individuals to participate in both scientific and commercial distributed projects. Entropia (www.entropia.com) already has attracted over 170,000 linked computers. (See http://members.entropia.com/stats/Entropia_ overall_stats.asp for more information.) United Devices has also signed up a very large number of users, according to a company source.

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http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,8606,00.asp

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The Fukushima multiple nuclear disasters continue spewing out hot stuff like there’s no tomorrow. By all appearances, it is getting worse, out-of-control nuclear meltdowns. On June 19th TEPCO reported the highest-ever readings of strontium-90 outside of the Fukushima plant ports. The readings were 1,000,000 Bq/m3 of strontium-90 at two locations near water intakes for Reactors 3 and 4. TEPCO has not been able to explain the spike up in readings. The prior highest readings were 700,000 Bq/m3. Strontium-90 is a byproduct of nuclear reactors or during the explosion of nuclear weapons; e.g., it is considered the most dangerous component of radioactive fallout from a nuclear weapon. It is a cancer-causing substance because it damages genetic material (DNA) in cells. Strontium-90 is not found in nature. It’s a byproduct of the nuclear world of today; e.g., strontium-90 was only recently discovered, as of August 2014, for the first time ever, by the Vermont Health Department in ground water at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. Coincidentally, Vermont Yankee, as of December 29, 2014, is being shut down. When a fission chain reaction of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 is active in a nuclear power station containment vessel, it produces a vast array of deadly radioactive isotopes. Strontium-90 is but one of those. So, somewhere in Fukushima Dai-ichih a lot of atoms are splitting like crazy (meanwhile Einstein e=mc2 turns over in his grave) and ergo, a lot of strontium-90 pops out and hangs around for decades upon decades. This is not a small problem. Which may be why Einstein famously said, “Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water.” For example, a large amount of strontium-90 erupted into the atmosphere from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion (1986), spread over the old Soviet Republics and parts of Europe. Thereby, strontium-90, along with other radioactive isotopes, kills and maims people, a lot of people, to this day, more on this later. Farming in Fukushima Because of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, farmers in the greater area have had a tough go of it. For example, on June 6, 2013 Japanese farmers met with TEPCO and government officials, including the official in charge of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Translated and Edited by World Network for Saving Children from Radiation). The 13-minute video of the farmers’ meeting with officials shows farmers testifying about contaminated food that, “We won’t eat ourselves, but we sell it… I know there is radiation in what we grow. I feel guilty about growing and selling them to consumers.” Well, sure enough, officials from New Taipei City’s Department of Health (Taipei, Taiwan), and other law-enforcement authorities, seized mislabeled products from Japan. It seems that “more than 283 Japanese food products imported from the radiation-stricken areas near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster were found to be relabeled as having come from other areas of Japan and sold to local customers.” Meanwhile, within a couple of months of the illicit underhanded devious mislabeling incident, Taiwan draws a line in the sand for Japanese foodstuff. Not only that but on the heels of Taiwan’s discovery of the mislabeling gimmick, and only three months later, this past week, Japanese authorities are asking China to remove the restrictions. Previously, China banned food imports from ten prefectures in Japan, including Miyagi, Nagano, and Fukushima. Japan would be wise to suggest China first consult with the United States because confidently, audaciously, imperturbably Secretary of State Hillary Clinton allegedly signed a secret pact with Japan within one month of the meltdown for the U.S. to continue importing Japanese foodstuff, no questions asked. Meantime, Chancellor Merkel (PhD, physics) ordered a shutdown of nuclear power plants throughout Germany. Hmm. Fukushima and Our Radioactive Ocean According to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Video- March 2015: When Fukushima exploded, radioactive gases and particles escaped into the atmosphere. Most fell nearby on land and in the ocean. A smaller amount remained in the air, and within days, circled the globe… in the ocean close to Fukushima, levels of cesium-137 and 134, two of the most abundant radioactive materials released, peaked at more than 50,000,000 times above background levels. Nevertheless, according to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute: Scientists who have modeled the plume predict that radioactivity along the West Coast of North America will increase, but will remain at levels that are not a threat to humans or marine life. To date, based upon actual testing of water and marine life in the Pacific Ocean by Woods Hole, radioactive levels along the North American West Coast remain low, not a threat to humans, not a threat to marine life, so far. Fukushima and its Ocean Impact According to Dr. Ken Buesseler, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, March 11, 2015, cesium uptake in the marine food web is diluted, for example, when Bluefin tuna swim across the Pacific, they lose, via excretion, about one-half of the cesium intake that is ingested in Japanese waters. Expectantly, there are no commercial fisheries open in the Fukushima-affected areas of Japan. On a continual monitoring basis, no fishing is allowed in contaminated areas off the coastlines. When contamination levels of fish in Japan are compared to fish along the coast of North America, the levels of radiation are relatively low in Canada and in the U.S. As a result, according to studies by Woods Hole, eating fish from the U.S. Pacific region is okay. Not only that, but rather than categorical acceptance of U.S. government statements about safety from radiation in ocean currents, Dr. Buesseler established a citizen’s network called “How Radioactive is Our Ocean?” where individuals contribute by voluntarily taking samples. Every sample from the West Coast had cesium-137, but the numbers are low and at levels harmless to humans, thus far. But, on a cautionary note, Dr. Buesseler is the first one to admit the situation requires constant monitoring. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s findings are not sufficient to dismiss health concerns for many reasons, among of which Fukushima is white hot with radioactivity, tenuously hanging by a thread, extremely vulnerable to another earthquake or even an internally generated disruption. Who knows? It is totally out of control! The California Coastal Commission issued a report that agrees with the low levels of Fukushima-derived radionuclides detected in air, drinking water, food, seawater, and marine life in California; however, “it should be noted that the long-term effects of low-level radiation in the environment remain incompletely understood….” The risk of long-term exposure to low-level radiation is unclear. Studies of radiotherapy patients and others indicate that there is a significant increase in cancer risk if lifetime exposure exceeds 100,000 microsieverts, according to the World Health Organization. A person exposed daily to radiation at the high end of the levels now seen at Miyakoji [a village in Fukushima Prefecture] would reach that lifetime exposure level in fewer than 23 years. Current Status of Fukushima Nuclear Site According to Dr. Ken Buesseler of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who travels to Japan to measure radiation levels: The site continues to leak radioactive materials. In fact, release of strontium-90 has grown by a factor of 100 when compared to 2011 levels. In other words, the situation is worsening. One hundred times anything is very big, especially when it is radiation. Strontium-90 is acutely dangerous, and as it happens, highly radioactive water continuing to spew out of the Fukushima Dai-ichih facilities is seemingly an endless, relentless problem. The mere fact that strontium-90 has increased by a factor of 100 since the disaster occurred is cause for decisive sober reflection. Furthermore, nobody on the face of the planet knows what is happening within the nuclear containment vessels, but apparently, it’s not good. More likely, it’s real bad. According to Dr. Helen Caldicott: There is no way they can get to those cores, men die, robots get fried. Fukushima will never be solved. Meanwhile, people are still living in highly radioactive areas. Comparison analysis of Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986), and Fukushima (2011) The world’s three most recent nuclear disasters are dissimilar in many respects. However, all three are subject to the same adage: “an accident is something that is not planned.” Thus, by definition, in the final analysis, the risk factor with nuclear power is indeterminate. Fukushima is proof. Three Mile Island’s containment vessel, in large measure, fulfilled its purpose by containing most of the radiation so there was minimal radiation released. As such, Three Mile Island is the least harmful of the three incidents. By way of contrast, Chernobyl did not have an adequate containment vessel and as a result, the explosion sent a gigantic plume of radioactive material blasting into the atmosphere, contaminating a 70 square kilometer (approximately 30 sq. mi.) region, a “dead zone” that is permanently uninhabitable, forever unlivable. To this day, tens of thousands of people affected by Chernobyl continue to suffer, and die, begging the question of whether Fukushima could be worse. After all, the incubation period for radiation in the body is 5-to-40 years (Caldicott). As, for example, it took 5 years for Chernobyl children to develop cancer (Caldicott), and Fukushima occurred in 2011. “Fukushima is not Chernobyl, but it is potentially worse. It is a multiple reactor catastrophe happening within 150 miles of a metropolis of 30 million people,” claims John Vidal. Whereas, Chernobyl was only one reactor in an area of 7 million people. John Vidal, environmental editor, The Guardian newspaper (UK), traveled to Chernobyl: Five years ago I visited the still highly contaminated areas of Ukraine and the Belarus border where much of the radioactive plume from Chernobyl descended on 26 April 1986. I challenge chief scientist John Beddington and environmentalists like George Monbiot or any of the pundits now downplaying the risks of radiation to talk to the doctors, the scientists, the mothers, children and villagers who have been left with the consequences of a major nuclear accident. It was grim. We went from hospital to hospital and from one contaminated village to another. We found deformed and genetically mutated babies in the wards; pitifully sick children in the homes; adolescents with stunted growth and dwarf torsos; fetuses without thighs or fingers and villagers who told us every member of their family was sick. This was 20 years after the accident, but we heard of many unusual clusters of people with rare bone cancers… Villagers testified that ‘the Chernobyl necklace’ – thyroid cancer – was so common as to be unremarkable. Konstantin Tatuyan, one of the ‘liquidators’ who had helped clean up the plant [Chernobyl], told us that nearly all his colleagues had died or had cancers of one sort or another, but that no one had ever asked him for evidence. There was burning resentment at the way the UN, the industry and ill-informed pundits had played down the catastrophe. And still more yet: Alexy Yablokov, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and adviser to President Gorbachev at the time of Chernobyl: ‘When you hear no immediate danger [from nuclear radiation] then you should run away as far and as fast as you can’… At the end of 2006, Yablokov and two colleagues, factoring in the worldwide drop in births and increase in cancers seen after the accident, estimated in a study published in the annals of the New York Academy of Sciences that 985,000 people had so far died and the environment had been devastated. Their findings were met with almost complete silence by the World Health Organisation and the industry. The environment is devastated and almost one million dead. Is nuclear power worth the risks? Chancellor Merkel doesn’t seem to think so. Of the three major nuclear disasters, Fukushima has its own uniqueness. The seriousness of the problem is immense, far-reaching, and daunting as its containment vessels are leaking radioactivity every day, every hour, every minute. How to stop it is not known, which is likely the definition of a nuclear meltdown! The primary containment vessels at Fukushima may have prevented a Chernobyl-type massive release of radioactivity into the atmosphere in one enormous explosion. Even though, Fukushima did have four hydrogen explosions in the secondary containment structures, and as previously mentioned, according to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute: When Fukushima exploded… levels of cesium-137 and 134, two of the most abundant radioactive materials released, peaked at more than 50,000,000 times above background levels. But, more significant, troublesome, and menacing the primary containment vessels themselves are an afflictive problem of unknown dimension, unknown timing, unknown levels of destruction, as the nuclear meltdown left 100 tons of white-hot radioactive lava somewhere, but where? “Hell is empty and all the devils are here,” William Shakespeare The Tempest. Postscript: Quietly into Disaster is an alluring, exquisite, handsome full-length film that examines the consequences of nuclear fission, Produced by: Holger Strohm, Directed by Marcin El. Source: Dissident Voice

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https://citizenperth.wordpress.com/2015/06/

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BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) — Two Chinese mathematicians have put the final pieces together in the solution to a puzzle that has perplexed scientists around the globe for more than a century. Professor Cao Huaidong, of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and Professor Zhu Xiping, of Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University in south China’s Guangdong Province, co-authored the paper, A Complete Proof of the Poincar and Geometrization Conjectures – application of the Hamilton-Perelman theory of the Ricci flow, published in the June issue of the US-based Asian Journal of Mathematics. The paper provided complete proof of the Poincar Conjecture promulgated by Frenchman Henri Poincar in 1904. “These findings will help scientists to further understand three-dimensional space and heavily influence the development of physics and engineering,” said Professor Shing-Tung Yau, a mathematician at Harvard University and one of the editors-in-chief of the journal which published Cao and Zhu’s paper. “The conjecture is that if in a closed three-dimensional space, any closed curves can shrink to a point continuously, this space can be deformed to a sphere,” explained Yau. He said the conjecture was rated as one of the major mathematical puzzles of the 20th Century. By the end of the 1970s, US mathematician William P. Thurston had produced partial proof of Poincar’s Conjecture on geometric structure, and was awarded the Fields Prize for the achievement. Fellow American Richard Hamilton completed the majority of the program and the geometrization conjecture. In 2003, Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman made key new contributions. Based on those major developments, the 300-page paper by Cao and Zhu provided complete proof, said Yau. “Cao and Zhu put the finishing touches to the complete proof of the Poincar Conjecture, which had puzzled mathematicians around the world,” he said.

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https://blueskieschina.com/2006/06/03/chinese-mathematicians-solve-global-puzzle/

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The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity has issued a new notification on ways of strengthening conservation of crop wild relatives in Protected Areas or through other area based conservation measures. Crop wild relatives (CWR) are species closely related to crops (including crop progenitors). They are potential sources of traits such as pest or disease resistance, yield improvement or stability but have received relatively little systematic conservation attention. Species and populations of crop wild relatives are often at risk. The notification, also supported by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and Bioversity International suggests ways of supporting conservation of crop wild relatives, including financial mechanisms that might support such activities. The role of PAR as an a voluntary, informal, mechanism aiming to support the development of knowledge needed to maintain and use agrobiodiversity is noted.

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(noun) A habitat is the natural environment in which a bird lives, including all associated plant life, landforms, climate and other wildlife. A healthy, diverse habitat is essential for birds to thrive. (rhymes with acrobat, copycat and diplomat) A habitat includes all four necessities for a bird's survival – food, water, shelter and nesting areas – though these features can vary greatly between different types habitats. - Food: Grains, seeds, fruits, nuts, nectar-producing flowers and prey such as insects, fish, mammals, reptiles and other birds. - Water: Any source available for drinking or bathing, including rivers, swamps, lakes, streams, bays, estuaries and oceans. - Shelter: Coniferous or deciduous trees, shrubbery, caves or rock niches, overhanging banks or snags. - Nesting Sites: Hollow trees or snags, vegetation to support nests, burrows, nesting boxes, bird houses and suitable nesting material. In addition to having the appropriate features to support bird survival, a habitat also includes all the associated landforms (mountain ranges, coasts, plateaus, valleys, etc.), seasonal climate patterns, predators and other wildlife. Non-migratory birds occupy the same habitat year-round, but may adjust their behavior to suit different seasons, such as changing their diet to the most abundant food sources throughout the year. Migratory birds change habitats seasonally, perhaps switching between two quite different types of habitats that may be hundreds or thousands of miles apart, or else seeking out similar habitats that meet their needs in different locations at different times of the year. Types of Habitats for Birds There are many different types of habitats across the globe, each of which can support different types of birds and other wildlife. The most familiar and widespread habitats include: - Forests - Includes boreal regions, temperate woodlands and tropical jungles - Grasslands - Includes meadows, prairies, plains and scrub regions - Deserts - With varying degrees of aridity and drought-tolerant vegetation - Wetlands - Includes marshes, bogs and swamps - Tundra - Circumpolar regions with light and temperature extremes - Oceans - Pelagic zones that include offshore islands and aquatic regions - Urban and Suburban - Regions associated with humans, including major cities Habitats may be clearly defined or may have transitional zones where different types of habitats merge, such as woodland edges that are a transition between forests and grasslands. The type of habitat with the most diverse avifauna is tropical forest, but multiple bird species and good birding can be found in every habitat. The amount of habitat a bird requires for survival and growth depends on the species. Many species, while an individual bird may have a relatively small range, require large habitats for a healthy population to minimize competition for food sources and nesting grounds. At the same time, many species may occupy the same range because their food, shelter and nesting needs do not overlap, and they do not compete individually. Instead, they share resources and use specific environmental niches that make the habitat more diverse. Birders can make use of habitats as a clue to bird identification, particularly for birds with specific needs or habitat requirements. Habitat alone is not usually enough for a positive identification, but can be a critical part of determining which bird is which in any given area. How Habitat Loss Affects Birds Many birds are threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation that eliminates the necessary undisturbed environments. Developmental activities that most impact habitat include: - Agricultural use, including clearing habitats for fields or grazing livestock - Logging and forest harvesting that removes mature vegetation - Expansion of urban areas for housing, industry or similar developments - Infrastructure development that fractures habitats, such as roads, electrical lines, wind turbines or similar structures Habitats are also gravely damaged by polluting activities, such as oil spills or pesticide and herbicide runoff. Natural disasters can damage habitats as well, such as a fire destroying mature forests, flooding changing the water composition of coastal swamps or a landslide changing the structure of a hill or valley. Birds can adapt to habitat changes over time, and may shift their ranges to more suitable locations. In some cases, habitat changes can even be beneficial, encouraging the growth of younger plants that may support different bird species. Rapid changes - such as caused by human actions - have have drastic consequences, however, and bird populations may plummet if their habitat is no longer suitable or there are no other locations to which they can relocate. Also Known As: Biome, Ecological Zone, Range, Territory

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https://www.thespruce.com/understanding-bird-habitats-385273

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Mosquitoes are one of many groups (families or orders) of flying insects common to Sutter and Yuba counties. Many look a lot like mosquitoes, both in size and color. This can make it very difficult to tell mosquitoes from other insects. These other flying insects may be an annoyance, but very few of them bite or are of public health importance. In our area, chironomid midges are the most widespread and numerous insects that look like mosquitoes. Often they can be seen in spring and summer months swarming in tall columns in the evenings at dusk and early in the morning after sunrise. Periodically they will rest in large numbers on walls and window screens. Most of the midges in our area are shades of light green or tan in color. Some are very light in color, almost white. They can be distinguished from mosquitoes in that midges do not have a proboscis (needle-like projection) and do not bite. The larvae develop in water, such as lakes, ponds, flooded fields and slow moving streams. They can also grow in ornamental ponds and dirty abandoned swimming pools in urban areas. They can hatch in large numbers filling the water with tiny white or red colored worm-like larval stages. The red larvae are sometimes referred to as bloodworms. The Clear Lake Gnat in Lake County, California is a famous (or infamous) example of a chaoborid midge. There are many different species of crane flies in our area. Some are very small, but the one that gets the most attention is the giant crane fly. This fly is often incorrectly referred to as a “mosquito eater” or “mosquito-hawk”. They look like a giant mosquito as some species can be 1½ to 2 inches in size. Unfortunately they do not prey on mosquitoes. They don't prey on anything. The larvae live in muddy aquatic and vegetative sources and emerge as flying adults in late winter and early spring. They don't bite and are completely harmless. In fact, the adults have very reduced mouthparts and do not feed at all. They live a short time during which they search for a mate. After they mate and lay eggs, they die. The giant crane fly is one of the largest flies in the world. These are very small insects, often called valley black gnats, biting midges or “no-see-ums”. Sand flies are vicious daytime biters, with bites that can itch and become inflamed and take a long time to heal. Sand flies are most commonly found along the western side of the Sacramento Valley and around coastal estuaries and desert saline lake margins. They breed in sandy soils, clay, mud and along seashores. Most often, they are found near their sources as their flight range is limited. Mayflies are not true flies as they belong to a different order of insects. Adults live only a few days at most and do not feed. Mayflies molt once leaving behind their exoskeleton (skin), often still attached to walls or other surfaces. Adults produce thousands of eggs which are laid on rocks or other objects in freshwater sources such as lakes, ponds, marshes and slow moving streams or shallow rivers. Mayfly larvae are an important food source for many freshwater fish.

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http://sutter-yubamvcd.org/mosquito-insects

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Text: Peeyush Sekhsaria Images: Rajendra Desai Editing: Anupriya Saraswat 4350 feet above the sea level, nestled in the Shiwaliks, a small collection of run-down buildings and sprawling fields partially hidden among dense green foliage is what constitutes Neer Village. A few kilometres east of Narendra Nagar (a small, but somewhat popular tourist destination) Neer constitutes of barely a 100 households, a tiny populace for plain-dwellers, if a sizable one for the foothills. This region of Uttarkhand has been classified as Zone 4 or High Risk Damage Zone for Earthquakes, the risk factor exacerbated by high rainfall and subsequent soil erosion, and is consequently prone to landslides. Access to the village is compromised, and telecommunication services are barely functional. Despite the government’s attempts to decentralize power and give this village some autonomy and adherent facilities, the outlook is bleak. One such example of derelict infrastructure was the Government Intermediate College. A single-storey, two building affair, the masonry building sat beside the equally small primary school, the two buildings sharing a small, unkempt frontyard which doubled as an assembly ground. Of incredible importance to the local community, it was vital that the school complex be as well-maintained and disaster-resilient as possible. Keeping in mind the delicate ecological balance of the region, the need for a safe, spacious learning environment for the students, and limited access to resources in this remote location, NCPDP stepped in with a vision for seismic retrofitting of the school – combining technological innovation with simple building techniques. NCPDP (National Centre for People’s-action in Disaster Preparedness) strives to empower communities in creating and safeguarding their own habitats, especially ones who live in hazard-prone geographical regions and have limited economical and technical resources. An initiative directed towards ensuring disaster preparedness in high-risk earthquake zones, NCPDP was started in 2000 by Rajendra Desai and Rupal Desai as an offshoot of their organization CEDAP (Centre for Eco-centric Development And People’s action) which focuses on directing underdeveloped communities create sustainable built environments and better living conditions for themselves. CEDAP guides the building process and trains the local artisans and labour hence propagating skill-acquisition and consequent economic growth. Their work in remote areas of the country – which would otherwise have been bereft of basic services like safe shelters and proper sanitation – aims towards self-reliance and sustainable building practices, bridging the gap between ecologically suitable vernacularism and low-maintenance modern engineering. Working in tandem with Vinod Chopra of TARN, a Dehradun based NGO, NCPDP set about reducing the seismic vulnerability of the existing structure, while adding an additional storey of classrooms – demonstrating the use of hollow concrete block masonry and non-masonry gable walls. As Rajendra Desai tells us, “…Our effort was to demonstrate the hollow concrete block construction in lieu of brick. In the hills, the bricks are hauled over a long distance creating a huge carbon footprint. In many locations, construction quality stone is difficult to find. In such places, or when there is a time crunch, the hollow blocks would provide an excellent alternative. These blocks facilitate the placement of vertical reinforcement that helps make masonry ductile. The project also employed timber saving options in roof gables, in addition to coating all timber members with wood preservatives for extending their durability despite the harsh climatic fluctuations. Drawing from their decades of experience and their expertise in conducting more than a dozen school-safety projects in the past, NCPDP relied on on-site innovation and informal drawings, especially given the scarce topographical information of the site, which consisted of three levels. Artisans who had previously worked on a similar project for Gauna Village in 2015 provided invaluable support in this endeavour, demonstrating how technical skills can be transferred to rural populations and enable them to take care of their own built environments. A project of this nature is an interesting and important case study of how architects, with their technical expertise and sensitivity to sustainability, can help evolve contextually appropriate mitigation strategies and aid in community building.

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In the 1990s, it became quite common to hear arguments about the ‘decline of the state’, and the accompanying loss (or diffusion) of sovereignty. Evidence for such arguments included the end of the Cold War, globalization, the growth of corporate power, and the internet. Today, many people still see the internet as an ungoverned, lawless place that no government can control, but academics have been arguing against this notion long before the Snowden disclosures. Today, the idea that the internet is immune to state sovereignty is presented as a ‘cyber-utopian’ fantasy that can be dispelled with countless examples of government power from around the world. In Canada, IXmaps was born of pre-Snowden revelations of mass internet surveillance by the NSA on US soil. It has long been clear that the NSA has secretly exercised sovereignty over internet traffic which passes through the US, but might originate or terminate elsewhere (including Canada). One response has been to call for Canada’s federal government to promote “national network sovereignty”, which would “repatriate” the data of Canadians by keeping it within the nation’s borders. The Snowden disclosures have certainly strengthened desires to keep data contained by territory, but the idea of a sovereign Canadian network seems about as likely as a national broadband utility or Canada leaving the Five Eyes. The Chinese state, which provided some of the earliest examples of just how sovereignty could be exercised over the internet through its “Great Firewall”, is now strengthening calls for “cyber sovereignty”. By this, President Xi Jinping means the “right” of each nation to govern its own patch of the internet, free from interference by other states. Meanwhile, in the US and UK (and to a lesser extent, Canada), governments, police, and security services have complained about their inability to access communications — because of encryption. While the word ‘sovereignty’ is rarely used, the argument is that law and order in today’s society extends only as far as the state’s ability to access data. If a court orders that data should be accessible to police, but encryption makes this technically impossible, then the law becomes powerless in the digital age. Just as state sovereignty has traditionally meant a domestic monopoly over violence, sovereignty today has been equated with a monopoly over secrets. Only the state has the ultimate right to secrecy. The rest of us can maintain secrets, but only if government has a means to demand access. Companies like Apple and Google, (whom some have called “internet sovereigns”) have pushed back, and in the US and UK their arguments have either been quite persuasive, or government arguments for backdoor access have not been persuasive enough. The limits of state sovereignty against encryption, originally tested by the controversy over the Clipper Chip in the 1990s, have largely held firm. While according to Mitchell Dean, the liberal order presupposes state sovereignty (and not the sovereign rights of service providers), sovereignty remains “an aspiration, a more or less accomplished fact” (p. 140). In regards to the internet and encryption, state sovereignty has been accomplished to a much more limited degree than many governments would like. But this has less to do with the incompatibility of state sovereignty and the internet, than with the fact that sovereignty is “an always open question, a matter of historical, political, linguistic and symbolic construction and contestation” (p. 141). The current period seems to be a critical time for such contests, and as with the Clipper Chip, the outcome won’t be determined by the question of whether state sovereignty is fundamentally compatible or incompatible with a given technology.

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WASHINGTON DC — Some Zimbabweans attended a climate change conference in Harare Thursday amid reports by UNICEF that 11 million children in eastern and southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, are facing hunger due one of the strongest El Nino weather phenomenon in decades. Journalists, civic society representatives, politicians, state officials and other stakeholders exchanged ideas on how to handle climate change and the impact of the current El Nino weather pattern, which will continue in 2016. In a statement, UNICEF said the El Nino will cause droughts and floods resulting in untold suffering among children who will be vulnerable to diseases like malaria, diarrhea, cholera and dengue fever. Our correspondent Mavis Gama attended the one-day conference organized by the Coalition for Market and Liberal Solutions. She spoke to Elisha Moyo, climate change researcher in the Ministry of Environment, about global warming and related issues. Scientists say El Nino is caused by the warming of the Pacific Ocean and not climate change though there some believe that this weather condition may be intensifying due to global warming. Some politicians in developed nations like America dispute such school of thought saying climate change is a natural phenomenon and not largely driven by human beings. International focus on climate change is being largely driven by the Conference of Parties (COP), comprising 191 nations, which sets targets and champions the implementation of strategies for controlling global warming. This year’s conference on climate change organized by COP will be held in Paris, France. But do Zimbabweans really understand climate change and the El Nino phenomenon? For perspective, Studio 7’s Gibbs Dube reached Professor Peter Mundy of the National University of Science and Technology and Vumani Ndlovu of Communities Empowerment Trust.

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There's a beautiful area in the Trossachs called Loch Katrine. It's the main drinking water source for Glasgow so strict guidelines are in place as to what can and cannot happen there. Queen Victoria did the honors of "turning the handle" in 1859. Originally is was considered a remote area to visit until "The Lady of the Lake" by Sir Walter Scott was published in 1810. The loch was the central location of the poem, based on older Arthurian legends. The painting "Landscape with a Tourist at Loch Katrine" by John Knox was inspired by the poem. Tourists, and locals, can take a pleasant boat ride on the screw-driven steamer SS Sir Walter Scott which has been sailing round the loch since 1920. If you enjoy hill climbing then there is a grand view looking down on the loch from Ben A'an. For all US born natives - did you know that "Hail To The Chief" was inspired by the poem? For more background information about the poem visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_the_Lake_(poem)

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"Kites fly so beautifully" We have noticed a trend in our classroom lately. Many, many students have been making kites and wanting to fly them. As educators, we knew we were probably on to something! We have been encouraging the students to make kites and ask questions. |A.A's "bird kite"| |Circle kites are quite popular| |A triangle kite| Students were really excited to test out their kites. So, we put on our coats and headed outside! The students have many wonders about kites. N.M- I wonder how kites is flying round and round and that way, and that way, and that way! A.K- I wonder why he has strings? (referring to a video we watched) B.G- I wonder why they fly in the sky? P.D- I wonder why the wind is pushing the kites? A.C- I wonder why there is little strings on the kites? M.F- I wonder why they have string? R.H- I wonder how kites fly? We are so excited to see where this inquiry takes us, hopefully this snow doesn't stop the momentum we have started!

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Dinghy sailing tips for gybing a dinghy sailboat jibe and jibing sailing term how to gybe dinghy racing tips. Foil jibing sailing with the words jibe oh and sailing single handed or solo gybing tips and techniques. Changing direction and sailing away from the wind is termed gybing. In gybing or jibing it is the stern, rather than the bow, that turns through the wind with the mainsail staying full of wind throughout the manoeuvre. It is the swing of the boom across the sailboat which can be sudden and violent so good sail control and centerboard control is essential when gybing a dinghy. Here are some dinghy sailing tips on how to gybe a sailboat that will be of help in improving your dinghy sailing techniques. The helmsman decides when to gybe or jibe and ensures that the new course is clear and makes sure the crew is ready. A sailing gybe requires a large turning arc to complete the manoeuvre and it is therefore vital to ensure sufficient clear space ahead. Throughout the sailing gybe, the helmsman changes hands on the mainsheet and tiller, while maintaining control of both while moving across the sailboat during the turn. After gybing, he steers onto the new course and checks sail trim and boat balance. The crew releases the old jib sheet, picks up the new jib sheet, and then moves across the sailboat sheeting in the jib on the new side as the gybe is completed. He is responsible for balancing the boat throughout the sailing gybe. When learning, starting from a [ training run ] allows more time to prepare and to adjust your weight to balance the boat. Start on a training run with the wind behind at an angle of about 5-10° off a true run. It is vital to keep to this course before turning. It can be accomplished by choosing a landmark to bow or stern that helps in steering a straight line while preparing to gybe. After gybing the point of sailing will probably a broad reach. The helmsman watches the mainsail leech for signs that it is about to gybe, being in the middle of the sailing dinghy as the boom comes across, centring the tiller. The sailing dinghy turns through a wide arc and, if the tiller is not straightened quickly enough as the boom swings across, the boat turns onto a broad reach on the new tack. The sudden application of power in strong winds, against a centralized tiller causes the sailing dinghy to turn slightly away from the wind on the new course. This can be correct by the skipper by gently easing the tiller to leeward and then centralizing it again. Gybing begins with bearing away until the jib hangs lifelessly behind the mainsail which indicates the course is a dead run. Luff up slightly with the jib just filling on the same side as the mainsail. The point of sailing is called the training run. A [ centre-mainsheet system ] requires the helmsman face forwards during the gybe or jibe and change hands on the tiller and mainsheet towards the end of the manoeuvre. This forward-facing position enables the helmsman to watch the course and the mainsail. When competent in gybing, the helmsman initiates the boom's swing by tugging on the mainsheet when a gybe or jibe is pending. To carry out a gybe or jibe in an [ aft mainsheet ] sailing dinghy differs from gybing with a centre-mainsheet with the helmsman changing hands on the mainsheet and tiller prior to the gybe and facing aft during the gybe. The helmsman cannot see in front of the boat during the manoeuvre, necessitating the gybe to be completed quickly. The crew crosses the sailboat facing forwards. The common problem with aft mainsheets is that the falls (loops) of the mainsheet catch on the corners of the transom as the boom swings across. If this occurs, incorporate a flick of the mainsheet into the gybing sequence when the boom moves toward the centre. This flick procedure produces an ‘S’ bend in the sheet lifting it above the corner and requires trial and error to perfect it. It is possible to gybe while sailing on a dead run with no course alteration at all, or only a minor one. On a run, the sails are set to their farthest extent. Gybing requires the sail to be rotated through approximately 160° from one side to the other. Gybing with negligible course change, requires the crew or helmsman to pull the mainsail across to the new leeward side, rather than causing the wind to move it. The helmsman positions himself in the middle of the sailboat with the crew balancing the boat where necessary. On the helmsman calling "gybe-oh", the crew clutches the boom vang swinging the boom across. On a centre-mainsheet sailing dinghy, the helmsman grasps the mainsheet tackle using it to swing the boom. When a spinnaker is being used then the control of the boom by the skipper is required while the crew gybes the spinnaker. Continuing to bear away from a broad reach to a run, sailing further away from the wind, the sailing dinghy eventually gybes on its own with the wind swinging across the stern. This is termed an 'uncontrolled gybe', which can result in capsize because the boat has not been balanced correctly. Continually check the wind direction whenever sailing downwind to make certain a gybe does not happen accidentally. A warning sign of an unplanned accidental gybe occurs when the jib attempts to blow across to the windward side of the boat meaning that the sailboat is a dead run, so bearing away causes the boat gybe.

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PART I BEFORE THE PRESENT SEA THE SALTON SEA -- ITS BEGINNINGS The story of the Salton begins with the formation of a great shallow depression, or basin which modem explorers have called the Salton Sink. Several million years ago a long arm of the Pacific Ocean extended from the Gulf of California though the present Imperial and Coachella valleys, then northwesterly through the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. Mountain ranges rose on either side of this great inland sea, and the whole area came up out of the water. Oyster beds in the San Felipe Mountains, on the west side of Imperial Valley are located many hundreds of feet above present sea level. Slowly the land in the central portion settled, and the area south of San Gorgonio Pass sloped gradually down to the Gulf. If it had not been affected by external forces, it would probably have kept its original contours, but it just so happened that on its eastern side there emptied one of the mightiest rivers of the North American continent the Colorado. The river built a delta across the upper part of the Gulf, turning that area into a great salt water lake. It covered almost 2100 square miles. How could a river cut a gulf in two? The watershed of the Colorado River covers 260,000 square miles, from the southern edge of Yellowstone Park to the Gulf of California. It held in suspension and carried down to the sea millions of tons of solid matter as it scoured out such natural wonders as the Grand Canyon. It deposited this vast quantity of silt into the Gulf opposite its mouth and the deposits eventually reached clear to the opposite side, from Yuma to the rampart of the Cocopah Mountains. The delta was ten miles wide by thirty in length. The river then chose for itself a route on the southeastern slide of the delta plain, discharging its waters into the Gulf of California. Under the blazing sun, water in the upper Gulf evaporated, leaving an and basin incrusted with salt in its deeper parts. The depression was about one hundred miles in length by thirty-five in width. It had a maximum depth of 1,000 feet. The Salton Sink, California 1905-1908 How long this ancient sea-bottom remained dry cannot be determined, but many thousands of years ago, probably in Middle Tertiary times, the Colorado River proceeded to refill the dry basin. The river, running over the raised delta plain which sloped both ways, could easily be diverted to either side. In one of its prehistoric floods it changed its course, leaving the Gulf and pouring its waters into the dry basin of the Salton Sink. When it had refilled the basin, and transformed it into a great fresh-water lake, it broke through its silt dam on the Cocopah Mountain side and found a new outlet the Gulf through what was later known as Hardy's Colorado. Probably for centuries, the Colorado made the Salton Sink a great fresh-water lake, depositing in the process 150,000,000 tons or more of silt every year. Artesian borings at Holtville in 1913 showed sedimentary deposits in that part of the Imperial Valley are more than 1,000 feet in depth. Then the river again changed course, cutting a channel to the Gulf through the eastern part of the delta plain. The lake in the Salton Sink dried up again, leaving a two hundred mile ellipse of fresh water shells to mark its former level. No one knows for sure, but in all probability the Colorado alternately flowed into the Salton Sink every four or five hundred years, swinging back and forth across its delta plain. For three centuries or more, from 1540 to 1902, the Salton Sink was a hot, and arid desert. Neither Melchior Diaz, a Spanish explorer in the service of Cortes who visited it in 1540, nor Juan Bautista de Anza, who crossed it in 1774, saw anything like a body of water. The only evidence that the Colorado River ran into the Sink within that fame span was a so called Roque map, now in the British Museum, which was compiled from all sources of information which were in existence in 1762. This map shows a considerable body of water in the Salton Sink, with the Colorado River flowing into it, but no written account accompanies the map. It could have just been overflow water at flood time, but the main flow of the current continued to flow into the Gulf. In 1900, the slope was 15 inches to the mile on the way to the Gulf and 48 inches to the mile toward the Salton Sink. The difference became a real problem in the first years of the diversion of the river to irrigate the Salton Basin. In the latter part of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, many Spanish and American pathfinders crossed the Sink on their way from Yuma to the California Missions, but none found anything like a lake. Col. W.H. Emory, who traversed it with General Kearny in the fall of 1846, described it as a hot, and desert a "stretch of ninety miles from water to water." Captain A.R. Johnson, who accompanied the Kearney Expedition, was the first to notice that this stretch of waterless desert was the dried-up bottom of an ancient lake, but neither he nor Col. Emory noticed that it was below the level of the sea. Gold seekers crossed it in 1849, but no scientific studies were done. In 1843, Jefferson Davis, who was then Secretary of War, prevailed upon Congress to authorize a series of explorations for the discovery of a practical railroad route to the Pacific Coast. Lt. K S. Williamson, of the US Topographic Engineers, was selected to lead the southern expedition. With him, as a geologist, went Professor William R. Blake of New York, a young graduate of the Yale Scientific School. He afterwards went on to distinguish himself as a geologist, explorer and mining engineer in Alaska, Arizona and Japan. Professor Blake was the first to explain the origin of the Salton Sink, to trace its ancient history, and to give a name to the great fresh-water lake it had once held. Moving from Mormon Mill in San Bernardino on Nov. 2,1883, the Williamson/Blake Party went down through the San Gorgonio Pass to the Coachella Valley. Along the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains, about where the present Lake Cahuilla is located, Blake noticed the mark of the ancient sea which once filled the basin. The ancient water-line mark, measured at 42 feet above sea level, is visible at many places in 1995, especially on the small mountain called Coral Reef near the present Lake Cahuilla. Today's Lake Cahuilla is a terminal reservoir of the All-American Canal. What was deposited on the rocks is not coral, but tufa-solids left behind on the rocks as the water evaporated. Considering this, plus the thousands of shells of old sea organisms, plus the slope of the land toward what is now the Salton Sea, plus the reading of his barometer, led Blake to make the assertion that this was indeed an ancient sea bottom and that it was below sea level, actually 271 feet below at its lowest point. There appears to be a discrepancy concerning the level reached by ancient Lake Cahuilla. Although the marks at Coral Reef and Travertine Point have been measured at 42 feet above sea level, the low point on the delta near Cerro Prieto, south of the international border has been found by survey to be only slightly more than 20 feet above sea level. This could be explained by earth movement since the entire Salton Basin and the Gulf of California is in an active fault zone. Blake was aided in his findings by the Cahuilla Indians who told him that their ancestors had once lived in the canyons above the sea and came to the sea to catch fish, ducks and other small animals. The sea had receded "poco a poco" (little by little). Once, they said, it came back in a rush, suggesting that they had experienced an overflow of the Colorado River through the New River or other channels, overflows that were still taking place in years when the river was high. Professor Blake noticed that the Cahuilla Indians raised crops of corn, barley and vegetables, using ditch irrigation to bring water from springs around the valley. He suggested in his report the possibility of irrigating this "Death Valley" possibly with water brought in channels from the Colorado River. He said, "With water, it is probable that the greater part of the desert could be made to yield crops of almost any kind." Reclamation of a desert was a bold and original idea in 1857. His accurate scientific mind could see that the sedimentary deposits needed only water to make them fertile. Blake's engineer, Ebenezer Hadley, recommended a canal location practically identical with that which was adopted 40 years later. It is estimated that between 1849 and 1860 eight thousand emigrants crossed the Colorado Desert on their way to California, avoiding the snow and high mountains of the northern routes. Of all these travelers, Dr. Oliver M. Wozencraft, a prominent San Francisco physician, seemed most impressed with the agricultural possibilities of the Salton Sink. In 1957 he moved to San Bernardino and launched a campaign to irrigate the desert. he had seen evidence, when he crossed the Sink in 1849, that the Colorado River occasionally over-flowed into the basin and even formed a series of temporary lakes along what is now the New River. Wozencraft secured the complete cooperation of the California Legislature. On April 12, 1859, by joint resolution, it asked Congress to give the state approximately six million acres, including the entire Salton Basin and more. Three days later, the Legislature conveyed to Wozencraft all rights that it had, or might later acquire to that vast tract, conditional on his developing an irrigation system to water it. Wozencraft had explained that his title to all that land was necessary to secure financing for the project. In Congress, the House Public Lands Committee took a least a conditionally favorable view of the project, although it ruled out almost half of the requested land, pointing out that land in the San Bernardino, Orocopia, Chocolate and other mountains were far too high to be irrigated by Colorado River water and might have mineral value. As for the remaining 3,000,000 acres, the committee asked advice from knowledgeable witnesses. Most agreed that the land was not only worthless without irrigation, but was an impediment to travel. A commissioner form the US Land Office felt that such a huge land grant to a single individual would essentially extend the system of land grants inherited from Mexico and was not in accordance with the general policy of the country. Newspapers wrote that they saw no obstacle to the success of the plan except for porous nature of the sand. "By removing the sand from the desert, success would be insured," they wrote. But many saw the Wozencraft plan as a means of accomplishing what neither state nor nation was likely to do on its own. Wozencraft believed Congress was ready to make the grant when the Civil War turned attention elsewhere. Wozencraft continued to advocate his proposal in the West and in Washington, where in 1887, confident that he was on the verge of success, he died unexpectedly, and the proposal was again shelved. He was buried in San Bernardino's Pioneer Cemetery. Only in 1891, twenty-nine years after his bill failed in Congress, was a serious attempt made to realize the "dream" of turning water into the Salton Sink and creating a fertile oasis in the heard of the Colorado Desert. In 1873 a proposal was made to turn the Colorado River deliberately into the Salton Basin and re-create Lake Cahuilla. Dr. Joseph Pomeroy Widney wrote an article in the January issue of the Overland Monthly, presenting tentatively perhaps, a plan for creating a great fresh water lake. Dr. Widney was an Army doctor who had spent two years in Arizona and had observed the canals of the vanished Indian civilization there. He had crossed the Salton Basin several time and had noted the chain of dry lakes and connecting channels leading clear to Death Valley, reasoning that they too, might have once been filled by the Colorado River before it had dug itself to greater depth through the Grand and other canyons. From this he concluded that when the desert had large bodies of water, the rainfall was greater, and the weather was cooler because of evaporation and the effect of prevailing winds. If the basin were filled again, he reasoned, the evaporation would be comparable to that of the Bay of Bengal which had been computed at 16 feet annually. It would be enough, he thought, "to supply 12 inches of rain to the 86,400 square miles," and would change a vase amount of head from an active to a latent condition and this would lower the temperature of all the adjacent territory. Incidentally, in suggesting how and where the river might be diverted to forma new Lake Cahuilla, Widney added considerably to the evidence that the river was, without help from man, approaching a condition where it might soon turn itself back into the basis. Widney observed an overflow in 1868, reporting that, "At first it has no definite channel, but after a few miles follows a well-marked river bet...If left to itself, probably a large portion of the flood of the Colorado would hardly refill the old basin; yet even now at flood season, a shallow lake is formed many miles in extent, but quickly dries up." So, reasoned Widney, the restoration of water to Lake Cahuilla would involve only a little assistance to nature. Of course, the refilling of old Lake Cahuilla would flood most of the basin lands now being irrigated, but Widney believed that his proposal would aid irrigated agriculture. Increased rainfall in Southern California would enhance streams already used for irrigation and some land south of the of the desert could be irrigated by the diverted stream. Supporters and detractors of the plan surfaced almost at once. congress took an interest and through its Public Lands committee engaged a civil engineer to evaluate it. He mis-read the plan and thought it sought to let sea water into the basin, which he said was possible and would probably affect the weather. His report was not very helpful -- Mr. Widney had proposed letting the river in, not the ocean. the second consultant, Richard Stretch reported that the weather change issue needed further study, but he felt it was "evidently wiser policy to retain the land than to destroy it by submersion." Stretch's report, dated February 8 1874, struck Congress as good thinking. So far as Congress was concerned, that was the last formal action on the Widney Sea proposal, although the press continued to argue its merits. Widney had really just asked that his idea of changing the weather be investigated and investigation showed that it wasn't likely. The eventual procedure, irrigation, didn't change the weather to any large extent either. LOST SHIPS OF THE DESERT Is there an ancient sailing craft lying half-concealed in the sands of the Colorado Desert? Such a ship has been reported by emigrants, prospectors and other travelers who claim that she lies with her bow buried deep and her richly carved stem raised high above the sands. The usual theory is that it is a mirage-like most of the exciting tales that come out of the desert-always a few miles away, but when a mirage really gets down to business, the results can be startling! Tales of a Spanish galleon lost in the sands of the Colorado Desert keep recurring, from an amazing variety of sources. One of the most persistent made the pages of the Los Angeles Star in 1870. It seems that hundreds of years ago, when the waters of the Gulf of California came up into the desert, a pirate ship sailed up the Gulf. It was caught in some cross currents and went aground on a sand bar. The crew died, and the ship was left stranded there with almost a million doubloons and pieces of eight in her hulk. It's only when the wind blows and the sand clears that you can get a good look at her, and then the same wind comes along and covers her up again. The Star locates the wreck about ten miles from Dos Palmas. The newspaper gives a graphic description of the time when the Gulf occupied the entire valley, and, in fact, connected up with the Pacific Ocean through San Gorgonio Pass and Los Angeles. The Star did a series of articles speculating that the ship might have been one of the units of King Solomon's navy, or the craft that carried the ten lost tribes of Israel to America; and for the latter offered proof that the tribes never reached America but died of diptheria in the Sandwich Islands! Another idea advanced was that a war-like people from the Indian Sea took a tempestuous voyage to the Gulf of California. Here their ship, Bully Boy, sank in treacherous quicksands. Her hull was made of teakwood and did not rot. The Digger Indians of California are descendants of this Shoo-fly tribe. The Los Angeles Star continued to keep its readers buying papers by reporting a search for the ship in its edition of November 12, 1870. It wrote, "Charley Clusker and a party started out again this morning to find the mythical ship upon the desert this side of Dos Palmas . Charley made the trip three or four weeks ago, but made the wrong chute and mired his wagon fifteen miles from Dos Palmas. He is satisfied from information he has received from the Indians that the ship is no myth. He is prepared with a good wagon, pack saddles, and planks to cross the sandy ground." On December 1 the Star printed this story from the San Bernardino Guardian, "Charley Clusker and party returned from the desert yesterday, just as we were going to press. They had a hard time of it, but they have succeeded in their effort. The ship has been found! Charley returns to the desert today, to reap the fruition of his labors. He was without food or water, under a hot broiling sun for over twenty-four hours, and came near perishing." Charley had found a great Spanish galleon, with ornate carvings, crosses and broken masts, sunk in the desert sands several miles from any water. The Star readers waited in vain for further news of the galleon. Historical novelist, Antonio de Fierro Blanco, in his book The Journey of the Flame, tells of a party that left Mazatlan in 1615 on a pearl-hunting and trading expedition into the northern end of the Vermilion Sea - the Gulf of California. After they passed Point San Felipe, homeward bound, they began to look for the Straits of Anian that would carry them from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Instead they found a narrow entrance leading to an inland sea (presumably the area now occupied by the Salton Sea). While they were exploring the shores of this body of water, a great cloud burst occurred in the adjacent mountains, sending quantities of debris into the sea. This landslide choked the narrow inlet through which they had come. They spent weeks trying to find another outlet, until the water began to recede as if by enchantment, and their ship was finally grounded. They were obliged to leave it in the desert with its vast treasure of pearls aboard. Subsequently, a boy named Manquerna, from Sinaloa, said dig in 1774 he was taken by Captain Juan Bautista de Anza as a mule-driver on the exploring trip from Sonora to the California coast. When they started crossing the desert westward from the Colorado River, he was sent out to the right of the course traveled by the main body of explorers, to seek a different route. While he was traveling at night to avoid the heat, he stumbled upon an ancient ship, and in its hold were so many pearls that they were beyond imagination. He took what he could carry, deserted de Anza, and finally reached the Mission of San Luis Rey. Later, he spent many years trying to find the ship again. The desert actually has had several ships sailing its sands. Before the present Salton Sea was formed, the Liverpool Salt Works, operating in the bottom of the dry sink, built a three wheeled sand yacht similar to an ice boat, and used it on the packed bottom of the old salt bed. In the late 1890s an inventor came to the desert with a wagonload of lumber and the necessary ironwork for building a ship. He pitched his tent in the vicinity of Kane Springs and proceeded to build a contraption in the general shape of a boat, with mast and sail and four broad-tired wheels. But the wheels were not big enough and the craft made only about a hundred feet before it wobbled into an eroded cut, shook the one-man crew overboard, and staggered unguided across the sand. it finally bumped into a weed hill and toppled over, breaking the mast off about four feet above the one-piece cross-board deck. In 1862, according to the Desert Magazine of El Centro, California, when the gold rush to La Paz, Arizona was in full swing, a boat twenty-one feet long was built by the Los Angeles firm of Perry and Woodworth for a band of gold-seekers. They expected to use it crossing the Colorado River. The boat had a mast and sail and four wheels. They loaded the amphibian with provisions, hitched two teams to it, and started out on the two hundred fifty mile journey. Somewhere between Whitewater and Dos Palmas the teams gave out and the craft was abandoned. But back to those legendary ships. The very real navigational hazard of the Colorado River's immense tidal bore might well have caught an unsuspecting sailing ship, carried it inland and dumped it there. Persistence of such legends in both Indian and frontiersmen lore make it hard to completely discount them. The sands tell no tale. THE SALT WORKS Indian legends persisted of a lake forming every 50 to 100 years in the bottom of the Salton Sink. The source was a fickle river that in other floods flowed into the Gulf of California. The Indians knew about, and used the salt deposits, too. A pre-Columbian trail, used by Indians making the trek for salt, leads from the Colorado River to the now Salton Sea. The northern Diegueno Indians from the coast called the deposits "esily" meaning salt, and they, too made the journey for this precious commodity. As early as the spring of 1815, ox-drawn carretas from Los Angeles made yearly month-long expeditions for salt. The trip was called, "jornada para sal"...journey for salt. The Indians were right about the source of the recurring lake, too. George Durbrow, a San Francisco businessman, didn't quite believe the recurring part. He found through analyses that the salt at the bottom of the sink was of remarkable purity. It was so pure that his projected salt industry would require none of the equipment of ordinary salt works. The mill he planned needed only machinery for grinding and bagging the salt for shipment from Salton Station, twelve miles below Mecca, utilizing the nearby Southern Pacific Railway. Durbrow was granted Articles of Incorporation for the New Liverpool Salt Company on January 15, 1885. He actually had begun work on the salt beds in 1884, when he shipped over 1,500 tons of this "white gold" to San Francisco. The vast salt deposits, comprising over 1,000 acres of unusually pure rock salt, were considered one of the largest in the country. During the company's active years, Cahuilla Indians provided the labor force. Historian George Wharton James described the operation in these words: "They moved across the brilliant, glaring white fields, tilling the deposits. The salt was plowed by means of plows attached to bands that traveled across the salt bed from one engine to another. The furrows cut were eight feet wide and six inches deep and each plow was capable of harvesting over 700 tons per day." After the salt was smashed by the plows, it was piled in conical mounds and then conveyed by tram railway to the salt works. There Japanese and Indian workers ground the salt and sacked it and shipped it to various markets. The crop was priced at from $6 to $34 per ton. Low grade salt was sold for hide salt and the finer crystals were sold as bath salts. The richness of the field was such that it is doubtful whether the company ever worked more than one hundredth of the area. Interestingly, the salt beds were seemingly inexhaustible. As fast as one crop was worked, a new deposit flowed in from nearby saline springs, and, as evaporation was rapid, a layer of pure salt, from 10 to 20 inches thick would be formed. Near the salt fields there existed a hot salt springs in the midst of bubbling quicksand and mud. It hissed and roared so as to be heard for a long distance. Historian James said, "The steam rushed out in large volume ... Connected with the bowl was a small lake or pond of greenish looking water. On tasting it I found it so salty that it surprised me into swallowing a mouthful, to my intense disgust." The New Liverpool Salt Company operated its works for almost 20 years, without competition. In 1901 a rival concern, the Standard Salt Company, discovered that title to the land was vested in the US government, and the New Liverpool Company had no rights to harvest the salt . A hastily passed congressional bill required companies to file claims on saline lands. Both Liverpool and Standard had representatives m Washington DC ready to telegraph the news that President McKinley had signed the bill and the land was up for grabs. Word arrived at the Mecca telegraph station and the Liverpool men took off down their railroad tracks in a pumphand car, intending to race to the most choice locations to file their claims. The Standard men took off in a horse and buggy in a great cloud of dust, "knowing smiles" on their faces. When the perspiring Liverpool boys got to the salty area, they found that the Standard men had rigged up a series of mirrors to flash the message, and, in fact, the word had arrived at their camp before the racers were out of Mecca! Ultimately the two companies worked together, but salt mining was doomed to a very short future. When the full flow of the Colorado River moved north through Imperial Valley and into the Salton Sink in 1905, it soon covered the plant. By 1907 nothing remained above the surface of the newly formed Salton Sea. As a boy, in 1906, Otho Moore and his young friend, Dean Redfield, hopped a local freight and rode to Salton, from where they could see the big red buildings and smoke stacks of the New Liverpool Salt Company sticking out of the rising water. Said Moore in a newspaper clipping of May 7, 1955, "At Salton were the houses of the housing project for the salt company's employees, all of them surrounded by four feet of water." The article goes on to say that the boys found a little boat, paddled out into the rising sea, were caught in a swift current and found themselves carried about three miles west. It took until evening to paddle back to Salton, sunburned, thirsty and tired. In 1908, on a trip to Niland by passenger train, with his mother, Otho remembers that the train tracks were inundated and that swift waters were flowing over the tracks. When he looked out to where the buildings and smoke stacks had been, there was nothing to see but the rising waters of the future Salton Sea. Mr. Durbrow suffered mightily in those years. Not only did he lose his salt mine and all of its buildings and equipment, but his home and holdings in San Francisco were destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906. A subdivision he planned for the town of Arabia, located on the present Hwy 111 between Avenue 60 and Avenue 61 (now a part of Oasis Date Gardens) still shows on Riverside County tax bills as lot such and such of Durbrow. Imperial Irrigation Company ultimately paid a damage claim for loss of the salt works, although it was said that the mining operation had not been very profitable m its last years. According to Harry Lawton, in later years sportsmen skimming the sea in motorboats, on a clear day, could look down on the submerged buildings and machinery of one of Riverside County's earliest industries. CREATING THE OASIS So why is there a Salton Sea in 1995? In a few words, the Salton Sea was a man-made accident, brought about by a strange set of seemingly unrelated natural disasters, and economic and political events in the late 1890s and early 1900s which combined to create the Salton Sea. It's a fascinating real-life story! In 1891, John C. Beatty of California, another man of imagination and foresight, became interested in the agricultural possibilities of the Colorado Desert and formed a corporation under the name of "The California Irrigation Company", for the purpose of carrying water into the Salton Sink from the Colorado River. He engaged as his technical advisor Mr. C. R. Rockwood who had been employed by the U.S. Reclamation Service, and who was regarded as a "shrewd and clever man and engineer," words used to describe him by Mr. H. T. Cory, Chief Engineer of the California Development Company. Charles R. Rockwood, born in 1860, studied engineering at the University of Michigan and worked for several major railroad and irrigation projects. In 1892, he was hired to study the feasibility of the irrigation of the Sonora Mesa, below the Mexican border . He found it to be non-feasible, but he became interested in the Salton Basin and Mr. Wozencraft's lost cause. He noted that there was a natural obstacle in the shape of a range of sand hills, which extended southward to the Mexican border and that all natural overflows of the Colorado River, in prehistoric times, had been south of this barrier. Mr. Rockwood thought that it would be easier and more economical to follow the river's ancient track than to put a conduit through these hills on the American side of the boundary. Rockwood proposed to take water from the Colorado at Potholes, 12 miles above Yuma, carry it southward into Mexico, thence westward around the promontory of sand hills, and finally northward, across the line again, into Southern California. This plan would involve the digging of a curving canal forty or fifty miles in length, through Mexican territory, but it would remove the necessity of cutting through the sand hills and would perhaps enable the diggers to utilize, on the Mexican side, one of the ancient overflow channels through which the Colorado had discharged into the Salton Sink in the past. Owing to a lack of public confidence in reclamation experiments, Mr. Beatty and his associates were unable to secure enough capital for the proposal and in the monetary panic of 1893, they were forced into bankruptcy. The company's maps, records and engineering data were turned over to Mr. Rockwood in satisfaction of a judgment he obtained in a suit for his unpaid salary of $3,500. This seemed likely to put an end to the Salton Sink project, but Mr. Rockwood, whose observations and work in the Colorado delta had given him faith in the ultimate success of the scheme, decided to promote it himself. After several years he formed another organization which was incorporated in New Jersey on April 21, 1896, under the name of 'The California Development Company." The maps, records and engineering data and Rockwood's claim for $3,500 appear to have been his total personal monetary investment, but he became indefatigably busy as a promoter. For two years or more, the corporation tried to get permission from the Mexican government to hold land, acquire rights, and dig an irrigation canal south of the boundary line, but the Mexican authorities refused to make any concessions and it was finally necessary to organize a subsidiary Mexican company. This corporation, which had a nominal capital of $62,000, was wholly owned and controlled by the California Development Company, but it operated under a Mexican charter. The financial resources of both companies were largely on paper so it was necessary to secure real capital to do the work, and Mr. Rockwood found this extremely difficult. The proposed reclamation of an and desert, where the thermometer went to 120 degrees in the shade in the summer, and where only two or three inches of rain fell in the course of the whole year, did not strike Eastern capitalists as a very promising venture, and few were inclined to go along with it. At last, however, in 1898, Mr. Rockwood secured a promise from certain capitalists in New York that they would advance the necessary funds, but two days before the papers were to have been signed, the American battleship "Maine" was blown up in the harbor of Havana, and this catastrophe, together with the war that followed it, put an end to negotiations. Rockwood had been able to secure options on the Mexican land needed for the canal, and on an intake site, the so-called Hanlon Heading, near Pilot Knob, west of Yuma, but the options had expired and the state of New Jersey had started proceedings to revoke the company's charter for non-payment of its fees. Charles R. Rockwood George Chaffey Jr William B. Chaffey But, the plan for the irrigation of the Salton Sink was not destined to fail. Among the men with whom Dr. Wozencraft had discussed it in the early eighties was George Chaffey, a civil engineer and irrigation expert, of Los Angeles. He had already successfully established irrigation systems in other parts of California and throughout the world. The successful projects of the Chaffey brothers at Ontario and Etiwanda were well known. George had gone to Australia with his brother, William, to develop irrigation and colonization along the Murray River. After considerable conflict with the Australian government, George came back to the United States and was looking for another big project. He remembered Dr. Wozencraft's solicitation, which he had declined not because he was afraid of the engineering difficulties involved, but because he thought that the torrid climate of the Sink would prevent colonization of it, even if the colonists were promised plenty of water. Most men, he reasoned, would be frightened by the prospect of having to do hard agricultural labor in shade temperatures of 110 to 120 degrees, and sun temperatures of perhaps 140 to 150 degrees. They simply would not go to a place where they would be subjected to such heat. After his experience in the interior of Australia, however, where the temperature in the shade often reached a maximum of 125 degrees, but where men worked without danger or serious inconvenience, he changed his view of irrigation in the Colorado Desert. He sent word to Rockwood that he was interested in the project and he offered to finance it. On April 3, 1900, Chaffey signed a contract that made him president and, chief engineer of the California Development Company. The contract bound him to construct canals, at a cost of not more than $150,000, which would carry to the Imperial Valley 400,000 acre-feet of water per annum. Mr. Chaffey and his associates modified the plan of Mr. Rockwood by taking water from the Colorado at Pilot Knob, nearly opposite Yuma, instead of at Potholes, twelve miles above. Putting in a head gate there, they carried their main canal southward across the Mexican boundary, in a course nearly parallel with the river, until they reached the dry overflow channel known as the Alamo. As this ancient watercourse meandered westward in the direction of the Salton Sink, they were able to clear it out, enlarge it, and utilize most of it as a part of their irrigation system. Then, at a point about forty miles west of the Colorado, they carried their canal northward, across the boundary line again, into California. The work throughout was pushed with great energy, and on the 14th of May, 1901, a little more than a year after Mr. Chaffey assumed direction of affairs, water was turned into the Pilot Knob head gate, and the irrigation of the Salton Sink became a certainty, if not a fully accomplished fact. A SEA IN THE MAKING IN THE SOUTHLAND. When the Colorado River broke through its levees during the great floods of 1905, the Salton Sink became the Salton Sea and the town of Salton here shown, had to move. Note the sign which reads "265 feet below sea level." The old salt works, a larger view of which is shown below, is inundated in the background in this 1906 view. To the Top

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The midget and parasol ganglion cells are the most abundant output neurons in the primate retina, and are fundamental for our perception of color, form and motion. Midget (sustained) ganglion cells respond optimally to slow changes in light intensity, whereas parasol (transient) ganglion cells can detect more rapid fluctuations, a feature that enhances sensitivity to motion. The objective of this study is to determine how the various types of bipolar cells, the second- order neurons, process cone signals to generate these distinct temporal response properties. Since few functional recordings have been made from primate cone bipolar cells, the mechanisms that mediate temporal tuning remain unclear. Moreover, our preliminary data indicate that previously proposed models for temporal tuning, from work in lower-order mammals, may not directly apply to primates. In preliminary studies, we have found that, unlike other mammals, all macaque OFF cone bipolar cells receive input primarily through kainate- type glutamate receptors. In Aim 1, we will test the hypothesis that heterogeneity in kainate receptor subunit composition, and kainate receptor auxiliary proteins, shapes the temporal response properties of OFF bipolar cells. In Aim 2, we will test the hypothesis that selective expression of voltage-gated channels tunes specific OFF cone bipolar cell types to higher temporal frequencies. In Aim 3, we will determine whether a newly identified OFF bipolar cell type makes input to OFF parasol cells, and will test whether there are eccentricity-dependent changes in OFF midget ganglion cell circuitry. We will address these aims using a combination of immunohistochemistry, confocal and super-resolution microscopy, and patch-clamp electrophysiology. These studies will provide new insights into the functional mechanisms of temporal processing in the primate retina, and should also reveal new details regarding the circuitry of midget and parasol ganglion cells. Thus, this proposal addresses two explicit needs identified by the National Eye Institute which are;1) to understand the "structure, function and circuitry" of retinal neurons and 2) to "decode the electrical patterns used by retina neurons to transmit visual information". The macaque is an ideal model system for the human retina, and thus the results of this study will be invaluable for developing methods to restore or treat vision loss from retinal disease, and for interpreting tests of visual function. This study will examine how cone photoreceptor signals are processed within the major neural pathways of the macaque retina during daytime vision. Since the human and macaque retina are virtually identical, the new information obtained will be invaluable for guiding treatments for human retinal diseases, for developing visual prostheses to restore sight to patients with vision loss, and for interpreting clinical tests of retinal function |Taxidis, Jiannis; Anastassiou, Costas A; Diba, Kamran et al. (2015) Local Field Potentials Encode Place Cell Ensemble Activation during Hippocampal Sharp Wave Ripples. Neuron 87:590-604| |Gayet-Primo, Jacqueline; Puthussery, Theresa (2015) Alterations in Kainate Receptor and TRPM1 Localization in Bipolar Cells after Retinal Photoreceptor Degeneration. Front Cell Neurosci 9:486| |Balakrishnan, Veeramuthu; Puthussery, Theresa; Kim, Mean-Hwan et al. (2015) Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis at the Dendritic Lobules of an Inhibitory Interneuron in the Mammalian Retina. Neuron 87:563-75|

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Scientists found that a compound in the chocolate can mimic the effects of exercise, stimulating the same muscle response in terms of being able to exercise for longer. Although the research was carried out in mice, it is thought the findings could translate to humans. It has long been known that a small amount of cocoa-rich dark chocolate can be good for you because of its high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers have previously proved that it is packed with more healthy plant compounds and antioxidants gram-for-gram than fruit juice and provides far more nutritional goodness than had been thought. High-quality dark chocolate is made with between 64 and 85 per cent cocoa solids, which retain flavonoids, which have been linked to disease protection. This latest research adds to previous studies hailing the benefits of one specific flavonoid found in unrefined cocoa called epicatechin. It has already been shown that it could help combat strokes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. It has long been known that a small amount of cocoa-rich dark chocolate can be good for you Now Dr Moh Malek at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, says the compound can also mimic the effects of exercise. He found it appeared to stimulate the same muscle response as exercise. The improvements in muscle performance were found to be associated with increases in mitochondria – the “powerhouses” of cells. Dr Malek said: “Aerobic exercise, such as running or cycling, is known to increase the number of mitochondria in muscle cells. “Our study has found that epicatechin seems to bring about the same response.” Could this be extrapolated to humans? “It is something we hope to identify in future studies,” said Dr Malek, whose findings are published in The Journal of Physiology.

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In the seventh chapter of his gospel Saint John describes how Jesus, during the last year of His earthly life, went with His disciples to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn harvest festival commemorating the wanderings of ancient Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, a time when the chosen people lived in’ tents’ or tabernacles. There was a division among the people concerning Jesus: some thought He was good while others thought that all He was doing was deceiving the people. It was here, during this feast, that the Lord spoke to the people and the words of our Lord read during this morning’s gospel are actually taken from that address that He made to the people gathered at this feast in Jerusalem. He tells them: “He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water”. Why does Christ say that living water will flow out of the belly? St. Paul, in his epistle to the Philippians, calls on the brethren there to follow him in all things which are good. He says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemies of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame…” (Phil. 4:17-19). The belly, as St. Paul uses as an example here, can be about corruption, selfishness, death, indulgence; the belly is about the earth. The belly commands that we eat every day. Sometimes the belly commands that we eat too much. It makes us tired, it makes us unwilling to pray, unwilling to work, it makes us lazy and unprofitable. The belly is one of the least honored members of the body. Certainly Christ could have chosen the water to flow from another part of the body: from the head, the eyes, from the hands? But why does our Lord instead say that it will be specifically from the belly that the living water shall flow from? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to make it possible for us to be incorrupt. The belly, certainly, is the sign of corruption, the sign of our being rooted to the earth. When He sent His Holy Spirit upon mankind it was so that the things of Christ would be revealed to those who would be willing to listen, and they would become completely alive. Everything would be cleaned; just as water that is rushing, cleans and freshens everything. So that even those parts of us which are dirty, which resist becoming perfected, the Lord will indeed perfect. Water, when it is in a torrent, can not be held back. Indeed, everything in its path is pushed out of the way. The same goes with the Holy Spirit. But there is a difference: when a flood comes upon us it’s not of our own will that the water comes, and the water destroys everything, including things that are precious to us. But the flood of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, comes only if we desire it. If, of our will, we desire to follow the things of God, then indeed the torrent will come. The torrent will flow and it will never end. Anything that is ungodly standing in our way of keeping of the commandments of God will be scoured away, will be pushed away, and the water will flow eternally– out of our belly, out of every part of us. Now, truth be told, when we think of Pentecost we don’t usually think of water, but fire. After all Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit was sent to the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues. Which is to say that not only does Christ promise to send us water, He also sends us fire. These are two things that in Nature do not exist together, as one will destroy the other. But according to God, they can coexist. Fire burns away that which is trash, that which is unclean. Fire purifies; it softens and warms. We need the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn away impurity in our soul, and we need the warmth of the Holy Spirit to encourage us. For He is called Comforter as He comforts with fire; He comforts by warming our hearts, by giving us that sure and certain hope that indeed we can be changed. It is the Holy Spirit which abides in Christians. Until the promise was given by our Lord, the Holy Spirit did not live in men. All the things that were accomplished were accomplished by the Spirit from outside. Even though the Spirit “spake by the prophets” as we confess in our Creed, He did not live in them. Yes, He inspired them but they were still unable to accomplish perfection. But now since the Comforter has been given to us, we can become perfected. Anything that’s impure, therefore, anything that’s temporal can all be changed– can become perfected, can become clean, can become light, life. Today when we celebrate the fulfillment of the Resurrection in man, the Lord now has given us everything we need. And it is the Holy Spirit which we most certainly need, as a Comforter, a Guide, a Helper. He is given so that we can live in the Resurrection; so we can apply the lessons the Lord has given us– lessons He continues to give us on a moment by moment basis– of how to live, how to think, how to be, how to feel. The Holy Spirit is our true guide as St. Paul says in his epistle to the Romans: “For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us…” (8:26). May the fire and the water of the Holy Spirit continue to enlighten and help all of us, and make us incorrupt forever. Amen. H/T – I found inspiration in Fr. Seraphim Holland’s homily on Pentecost, which I slightly altered for my use.

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The largest canal in the world, the Grand Canal of China wends its way through four provinces, beginning at Beijing and ending at Hangzhou. It ties together two of the greatest rivers in the world – the Yangtze River and the Yellow River – as well as smaller waterways such as the Hai River, the Qiantang River, and the Huai River. Just as impressive as its incredible size, however, is the Grand Canal’s remarkable age. The first section of the canal likely dates back to the 6th century BCE, although Chinese historian Sima Qian claimed that it went back 1,500 years earlier than that to the time of the legendary Yu the Great of the Xia Dynasty. In any case, the earliest section links the Yellow River to the Si and Bian Rivers in Henan Province. It is known poetically as the “Canal of the Flying Geese,” or more prosaically as “Far-Flung Canal.” Another early section of the Grand Canal was created under the direction of King Fuchai of Wu, who ruled from 495 to 473 BCE. This early portion is known as the Han Gou, or “Han Conduit,” and connects the Yangtze River with the Huai River. Fuchai’s reign coincides with the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the beginning of the Warring States period, which would seem to be an inauspicious time to take on such a huge project. However, despite the political turmoil, that era saw the creation of several major irrigation and waterworks projects, including the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Sichuan, the Zhengguo Canal in Shaanxi Province, and the Lingqu Canal in Guangxi Province. The Grand Canal itself was combined into one great waterway during the reign of the Sui Dynasty, 581 – 618 CE. In its finished state, the Grand Canal stretches 1,104 miles (1,776 kilometers) and runs north to south roughly parallel to the east coast of China. The Sui used the labor of 5 million of their subjects, both men and women, to dig the canal, finishing work in 605 CE. The Sui rulers sought to connect northern and southern China directly so that they could ship grain between the two regions. This helped them to overcome local crop failures and famine, as well as supplying their armies that were stationed far from their southern bases. The path along the canal also served as an imperial highway, and post offices set all along the way served the imperial courier system. By the Tang Dynasty era (618 – 907 CE), more than 150,000 tons of grain traveled the Grand Canal annually, most of it tax payments from southern peasants moving to the capital cities of the north. However, the Grand Canal could pose a danger as well as a benefit to the people who lived beside it. In the year 858, a terrible flood spilled into the canal, and drowned thousands of acres across the North China Plain, killing tens of thousands. This catastrophe represented a huge blow to the Tang, already weakened by the An Shi Rebellion. The flooding canal seemed to suggest that the Tang Dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven, and needed to be replaced. To prevent the grain barges from running aground (and then being robbed of their tax grain by local bandits), the Song Dynasty assistant commissioner of transport Qiao Weiyue invented the world’s first system of pound locks. These devices would raise the level of the water in a section of the canal, to safely float barges past obstacles in the canal. During the Jin-Song Wars, the Song dynasty in 1128 destroyed part of the Grand Canal to block the Jin military’s advance. The canal was only repaired in the 1280s by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, which moved the capital to Beijing and shortened the total length of the canal by about 450 miles (700 km). Both the Ming (1368 – 1644) and the Qing (1644 – 1911) Dynasties maintained the Grand Canal in working order. It took literally tens of thousands of laborers to keep the whole system dredged and functional each year; operating the grain barges required an additional 120,000 plus soldiers. In 1855, disaster struck the Grand Canal. The Yellow River flooded and jumped its banks, changing its course and cutting itself off from the canal. The waning power of the Qing Dynasty decided not to repair the damage, and the canal is still not entirely recovered. However, the People’s Republic of China, founded in 1949, has invested heavily in repairing and reconstructing damaged and neglected sections of the canal. In 2014, UNESCO listed the Grand Canal of China as a World Heritage Site. Although much of the historic canal is visible, and many sections are popular tourist destinations, currently only the portion between Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province and Jining, Shandong Province is navigable. That is a distance of about 500 miles (800 kilometers).

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Tracheostomy — What Does It Mean? What is a tracheostomy? A tracheostomy (tray-kee-OS-tuh-me) is an opening cut into the windpipe, or trachea. It is used as an airway for breathing. After the opening is made, a small tube is inserted to let air in, and to attach a breathing machine (mechanical ventilator) if needed. Mucus can more easily be coughed up and out or removed with a suction catheter. Why would someone need a tracheostomy? Some reasons a person may need a tracheostomy include: - Having a breathing tube (endotracheal [end-o-TRAK-eall] tube) for one to two weeks and on a machine that helps a patient to breathe (a ventilator) - Having mucus in the lungs and not being able to cough strongly enough to remove it - An allergic reaction that has made the airway swell and possibly close - Surgery of the head or neck How is a tracheostomy better than an endotracheal tube? Advantages of the tracheostomy include: - More comfort - Easier cleaning of the mouth and face - May allow swallowing and the ability to eat and drink - May allow speech with the help of a speaking device - May help weaning from the ventilator - May reduce swelling in the airway and mouth caused by having an endo-tracheal tube in place for a long time Who will perform the tracheostomy? A doctor will perform this surgery in the operating room or at the bedside in the intensive care unit. What happens when the patient doesn’t need the ventilator to breathe anymore? When someone is “weaned” (able to breathe without the help of a ventilator), the tracheostomy may still be needed for some time to help the patient breathe more easily and cough out mucus. The patient must be able to cough and breathe deeply before the tracheostomy tube is taken out. Can a person speak with a tracheostomy? There are devices that can help some patients speak. The device can be put over the end of the tracheostomy tube. When the patient takes a breath, the valve opens to let air into the lungs. When the patient breathes out, the valve closes. Then all the air passes through the vocal cords and out of the mouth or nose. The movement of air through the vocal cords lets the patient speak as long as he or she can take a deep enough breath to push air through the windpipe. Not all patients who have a tracheostomy tube can use a speaking device. The patient can be evaluated by the health care team to decide if this is possible. Specific instructions will be given if the patient is able to use a speaking device. How is the tracheostomy tube removed? When the patient no longer needs the tracheostomy tube, the doctor may cover the opening with a plug to test the patient’s breathing for a period of time. Once the tube is removed, the hole in the skin will be covered with sterile gauze. The wall of the windpipe and the hole in the skin may close in time. Occasionally, depending on why the tracheostomy was performed, the hole is permanently left open. This hole is called a stoma.

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A place of remembrance The Track 17 memorial at Grunewald railway station Deutsche Bahn AG has erected a central memorial in Berlin to commemorate the deportation of Jewish citizens by Deutsche Reichsbahn during the Nazi era. The memorial in Grunewald is open to the general public. Research literature on the role of Deutsche Reichsbahn during the National Socialist regime comes to a unanimous conclusion: without the railway, and in particular without Deutsche Reichsbahn, the deportation of the European Jews to the extermination camps would not have been possible. For many years, both the Bundesbahn in West Germany and the Reichsbahn in East Germany were unwilling to take a critical look at the role played by Deutsche Reichsbahn in the Nazi crimes against humanity. In 1985, the year that celebrated that 150th anniversary of the railway in Germany, the management boards of the railways in both West and East Germany still found it difficult to even mention this chapter of railway history. Neither of the two German states had a central memorial to the victims of the deportations by the Reichsbahn. Central memorial at Grunewald station This became painfully clear when the reunified railways were merged to form Deutsche Bahn AG. No business company can whitewash its history or choose which events in its past it wishes to remember. To keep the memory of the victims of National Socialism alive, the management board decided to erect one central memorial at Grunewald station on behalf of Deutsche Bahn AG, commemorating the deportation transports handled by Deutsche Reichsbahn during the years of the Nazi regime. Winning design came from the architect team Hirsch, Lorch and Wandel A competition was held amongst a limited number of entrants. The members of the jury were Ignatz Bubis, Chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Heinz Dürr, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Bahn AG, Prof. Gottmann, Director of the Museum of Transport and Technology, Jerzy Kanal, Chairman of the Jewish Community in Berlin, and Dr. Salomon Korn, architect in Frankfurt am Main. The jury voted for the design submitted by the team of architects Hirsch, Lorch and Wandel in Saarbrücken and Frankfurt am Main. The core element of the memorial is composed of 186 cast steel objects arranged in chronological order and set in the ballast next to the platform edge. Each object states the date of a transport, the number of deportees, the point of departure in Berlin and the destination. The vegetation that has developed at Platform 17 over the years has been left to grow between the rails and now forms an integral part of the memorial as a symbol that no more trains will ever depart from this platform. Inauguration in 1998 Various measures had to be taken to create the footpath around Platform 17, such as securing the severely dilapidated platform walls and reconstructing the approx. 160-metre long platform, which had been demolished in the meantime. The memorial was inaugurated on 27 January 1998 and is closely linked with the monument designed by Karol Broniatowski and erected by the Federal Land of Berlin in 1991, which deals with the journey leading up to the deportees' arrival on the platform. Memorial is open to the public Deutsche Bahn AG hopes that the memorial will help to ensure that the crimes committed during the National Socialist regime will never be forgotten. The memorial commemorates the victims, is a warning to future generations, and a place of remembrance and. Platform17 is open to the public and can be reached from Berlin Grunewald S-Bahn station. The architects Nikolaus Hirsch, Wolfgang Lorch and Andrea Wandel have produced a book with further information about the memorial entitled "Gleis 17" (ISBN 978-1-933128 60-3; € 19, published by Sternberg Verlag, in German). Amongst other things, the book contains articles by Alfred Gottwald, Diana Schulle and Harald Welzer.

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A Smart City is an urban development vision to integrate multiple Information and Communication Technology and Internet of Things solutions in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets – the city’s assets include, but are not limited to, local departments’ information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, and other community services. The goal of building a smart city is to improve quality of life by using Urban Information and Technology to improve the efficiency of services and meet residents’ needs. Information and Communication Technology allows city officials to interact directly with the community and the city infrastructure and to monitor what is happening in the city, how the city is evolving, and how to enable a better quality of life. Through the use of sensors integrated with real-time monitoring systems, data are collected from citizens and devices – then processed and analyzed. The World Health Organization states that the world’s urban population is expected to double by 2050. Such an increase in population implies a detailed plan to achieve a better appraisal of resources. Smart City technological initiatives are about working plans to enhance sustainable growth and improve the quality of life of the citizens. Smart Cities are defined along six dimensions: - Smart Governance: Entails public, private and civil organisations so the city may work at its best as one organism fuelled by Infrastructures, Hardware, Software and Data Mining. Smart Governance is about transparency and open government enabled by apps in terms of citizens’ decision-making and e-public services. - Smart Economy: Entails e-business processes and e-commerce to boost sustainable growth and productivity. - Smart People: People fed since childhood by e-skills that promote creativity, critical thinking and Independence fostering innovation by all means. - Smart Mobility: Smart Mobility means integrated transport and logistics systems supported by Wise Infrastructures, Hardware, Software, Data Mining and Clean Energies. - Smart Living: Smart Living means healthy and safe living through smart technologies and apps that enable responsible life styles, behaviour and consumption. - Smart Environment: this means renewable and clean energies managed by Information and Communication Technology monitoring. The main objective is a clean environment with pollution and trash disposal under control. Three powerful concepts are strongly connected to Smart cities initiatives: Technology, Institutions (Private/Public) and the complexity of humans. The complexity of humans has been dealt with by disciplines like Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Cybernetics, and so on but it seems that their results are not really plausible to offer solutions for the majority of the population, as witnessed by increasing of mental diseases to the date. It is time for all of us to move forward along with the Technology in order to make lives easier for all.

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Noble prize Winner Dr. Otto H Warburg , who discovered the real cause of cancer, has found that the root cause of cancer is oxygen deficiency. Oxygen deficiency leads to an acidic state in the human body. Dr. Warburg also found that cancer cells are anaerobic (do not breathe oxygen) and cannot survive in the presence of high levels of oxygen, as found in an alkaline state. All normal cells have an absolute requirement for oxygen, but cancer cells can live without oxygen – a rule without exception. Deprive a cell 35% of its oxygen for 48 hours and it may become cancerous.” Our diet plays a vital role in maintaining proper pH levels in the body. PH balance is the balance of acid and alkaline in all fluids and cells throughout your body. Your body must balance the blood’s pH levels at a slightly alkaline level of 7.365 in order to survive. Unfortunately, the typical American diet consists primarily of toxic and acid-forming foods like processed sugars, refined grains, genetically modified organisms, and etc. This leads to unhealthy acidic pH. An imbalanced pH can interrupt cellular activities and functions. Excessively acidic pH can lead to many serious health problems such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and heartburn. If you keep your body in an acidic state for a long period of time, it can drastically accelerate aging. Robert O. Young in The pH Miracle, says, that most health problems arise from being acidic. This is because parasites, bad bacteria, viruses, and candida overgrowth thrive in acidic environments. But an alkaline environment neutralizes bacteria and other pathogens. Home remedies for acidity 1/3 tsp. baking soda 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar Mix everything together. The acid/base combination will immediately begin to fizz. Keep adding baking soda until the fizz stops and then fill the glass with 8 oz. water. Drink all at once. This home remedy will help neutralizes the pH and create an alkaline-forming environment in your body. It will help with stomach acid and reduce acidosis. The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health

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When you think about renewable energy, the usual suspects come to mind. Solar farms in the American Southwest. Wind energy in the central plains. Even tidal energy along the coasts and biofuels everywhere in between. Yet one area that doesn’t get much focus is algae, the simple organism that turns energy from the sun into the same type of crude oil that fills American refineries. Let’s take a quick step back. Every type of energy is generated by the sun, as you may have learned in high school. Solar radiation causes wind to blow, tides to roll, and once provided the building blocks for the hydrocarbons that make up oil, coal, and natural gas. Some of that energy has taken millions of years to form. Algae, on the other hand, almost instantly converts photons into energy. “It’s the most efficient way we know of to create liquid fuels,” says Tim Zenk, vice president of corporate affairs at Sapphire Energy, a company bringing algae energy to scalable production. Whereas other types of plants spend energy building trunks and leaves and flowers, algae can produce almost pure energy from photosynthesis. Here’s why algae matters. Over the next two decades, the U.S. Department of Energy has projected an oil shortfall of up to 30 million barrels each day. Even a small fraction of that can seriously disrupt the U.S. economy, which runs most transportation and development on fossil fuels. More solar and wind development can meet new demand, but can’t produce a liquid to fill your gas tank or airplane engine. On top of that is the security dilemma posed by importing energy from often unfriendly or even hostile countries. The Pentagon specifically, along with the Pew Environment Group, has worked toward making the military more energy independent. Some Sapphire leaders gave me a tour of the growing companyto see its labs and swirling beakers filled with green gunk. It may be a little messy, but it’s an idea even the federal government has gotten behind with a $104 million grant and loan package from Washington. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has visited Sapphire to see how the process works. One reason for the broad support: algae is ubiquitous. It’s everywhere. And it’s easy to replicate—most strains are asexual and spend their days dividing into newer and newer generations. In one lab, several beakers were attached to machines that clicked what seemed like every few seconds. “Every click is a new generation,” one researcher told me. What’s more, it can be bred without too much difficulty into more and more efficient strains. Imagine one peach that’s sweet and another that grows quickly. Crossbreed them and ideally you get a peach with both characteristics. Sapphire is doing the same with thousands of algae strains, cross breeding every hour of the day to find more and more efficient strains that can pump out oil faster and more cheaply. Still, algae isn’t quite a silver bullet. Renewably-produced oil can be a big part of our future, but even the top scientists at Sapphire don’t expect it to completely overshadow current fossil fuel production. Currently, algae produces a few hundred barrels a day, far short of the 19 million barrels America consumes daily. “We think that algae can be the solution for the entire Department of Defense’s fleet [of ships, jets and vehicles] when we’re at larger scale,” says Zenk. For now, it’s mostly scientists under 40 who fill Sapphire’s labs. They care about things like climate change more than their parents, I was told, and are keen to work on an emerging technology. Plus, who says energy research has to be all lab work? Sapphire was the only company I’ve ever visited to have its own company surfboard.

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The Story of Miss Moppet First edition cover |Published||November 1906 (Frederick Warne & Co)| The Story of Miss Moppet is a tale about teasing, featuring a kitten and a mouse, that was written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co for the 1906 Christmas season. Potter was born in London in 1866, and between 1902 and 1905 published a series of small format children's books with Warne. In 1906, she experimented with an atypical panorama design for Miss Moppet, which booksellers disliked; the story was reprinted in 1916 in small book format. Miss Moppet, the story's eponymous main character, is a kitten teased by a mouse. While pursuing him she bumps her head on a cupboard. She then wraps a duster about her head, and sits before the fire "looking very ill". The curious mouse creeps closer, is captured, "and because the Mouse has teased Miss Moppet—Miss Moppet thinks she will tease the Mouse; which is not at all nice of Miss Moppet". She ties him up in the duster and tosses him about. However, the mouse makes his escape, and once safely out of reach, dances a jig atop the cupboard. Although, critically, The Story of Miss Moppet is considered one of Potter's lesser efforts, for young children it is valued as an introduction to books in general, and to the world of Peter Rabbit. The character of Miss Moppet was released as a porcelain figurine in 1954 and a plush toy in 1973. The book has been published in a Braille version, translated into seven languages, and was released in an electronic format in 2005. First editions in the original format are available through antiquarian booksellers. Helen Beatrix Potter was born on July 28 1866 to barrister Rupert William Potter and his wife Helen (Leech) Potter in London. She was educated by governesses and tutors, and passed a quiet childhood reading, painting, drawing, tending a nursery menagerie of small animals, and visiting museums and art exhibitions. Her interests in the natural world and country life were nurtured with holidays in Scotland, the Lake District, and Camfield Place, the Hertfordshire home of her paternal grandparents. Potter's adolescence was as quiet as her childhood. She matured into a spinsterish young woman whose parents groomed her to be a permanent resident and housekeeper in their home. She continued to paint and draw, and experienced her first professional artistic success in 1890 when she sold six illustrations of her pet rabbit to a greeting card publisher. She hoped to lead a useful life independent of her parents, and tentatively considered a career in mycology, but the all-male scientific community regarded her as nothing more than an amateur and she abandoned fungi. In 1900, Potter revised a tale that she had written for a child in 1893, fashioning it into a dummy book similar to the size and style of Helen Bannerman's The Story of Little Black Sambo. Unable to find a buyer for her book, partially because the children's book market of the time depended on brightly coloured illustrations unlike Potter's line drawings, she decided to publish it privately in December 1901. Frederick Warne & Co had once rejected the tale but, to maintain their position in the small format children's book market, reconsidered and accepted the "bunny book" (as the firm called it) following the recommendation of their prominent children's book artist L. Leslie Brooke. Potter agreed to colour her pen and ink illustrations according to Warne's requirements, and she suggested Warne use the new Hentschel three-colour printing technique in the printing process for The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Potter continued to publish children's books with Warne, and by 1905 she found herself financially independent. Her books were selling well, and her income, combined with a small inheritance, allowed her to buy Hill Top, a farm of 34 acres (14 ha) at Near Sawrey in the Lake District in July of that year. When her longtime editor and fiancé Norman Warne died a few weeks after their secret engagement, she became depressed, but went on to devote herself to her stories. Development and publication In 1906, as Potter was finishing The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, she considered developing books for a younger audience. Three stories were the result: The Story of Miss Moppet, The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit and The Sly Old Cat. Inspired by George Cruikshank's illustrations, she intended to have the stories published in "panoramic format in the style of Cruikshank's Comic Alphabet", as explained by Taylor. The panorama format consisted of "long strips of paper, on which the individual pages of pictures and text were arranged in order from left to right." Potter was at Hill Top in July 1906 during the development of Miss Moppet, and the kitten she borrowed as a model from a mason from Windermere was a difficult subject. "[A]n exasperating model," Potter wrote, "I have borrowed a Kitten and I am rather glad of the opportunity of working at the drawings. It is very young and pretty and a most fearful pickle." Biographer Linda Lear explains that "pickle" was a word Potter used to describe "free-thinking exuberant people, like her cousin Caroline, or mischievous kittens and small children." Potter used the same drawings of the kitten as a model for her next book, The Tale of Tom Kitten, which she dedicated in 1907 "to all Pickles—especially those that get upon my garden wall". Miss Moppet is one of Tom Kitten's sisters, and appears as a character in both books featuring him: The Tale of Tom Kitten and The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding (1908). Potter was an admirer of American author Joel Chandler Harris and created a series of plates in the 1890s for his Uncle Remus stories, possibly in an attempt to find career direction. So deep was her admiration, Lear speculates the scene of Miss Moppet wrapping her head in the duster comes from a similar scene in an Uncle Remus tale in which Br'er Fox "feigns illness in a rocking chair, wrapped up with flannel". Potter was modeling her sketches from a young kitten and, wanting not to show cruelty, she wrote of the kitten: "She should catch him by the tail / less unpleasant". Children's literature scholar Peter Hunt writes that Potter was careful to protect her young audience from graphic details and she refused to depict death in her stories. Ten thousand copies of The Story of Miss Moppet were released in a panorama format priced at a shilling in November 1906, and another 10,000 copies in December 1906. There were no subsequent printings in the panorama format. The strip folded accordion-fashion into a grey cloth wallet measuring 108 by 89 millimetres (4.3 in × 3.5 in). When opened, the panorama strip measured 108 by 2,492 millimetres (4.3 in × 98.1 in). As Lear writes, Potter "experimented with a panorama format of fourteen pictures on one long strip of paper which folded into a wallet tied with a ribbon". Lear explains that the format "although popular with readers was ultimately unsuccessful, because shopkeepers found them difficult to keep folded". Potter referred to this fact late in life when she said, "Bad Rabbit and Moppet were originally printed on long strips—The shops sensibly refused to stock them because they got unrolled and so bad to fold up again". MacDonald points out that the fragile panorama format was inappropriate for very young children. Twenty thousand copies of The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit were published in panorama format in November and December 1906 in exactly the same measurements as Miss Moppet. Both were later published in a small book 122 by 103 millimetres (4.8 in × 4.1 in) format. The Sly Old Cat was scheduled for publication in 1907 but fell victim to the pressures exerted by booksellers. It was set aside, but was proposed for publication in 1916 as The Story of the Sly Old Cat. Potter's eyesight was failing and she refused to develop it. The story was published in book format with Potter's 1906 rough sketches for the first time in 1971. It is not included in the standard 23-volume Peter Rabbit library. By 1916 Frederick Warne & Co had discontinued Miss Moppet in its panorama format, and republished the story in a book format that year. Potter illustrated a frontispiece of the kitten and mouse seated in profile, and a title page vignette of a mouse on all fours facing the reader for the book format. At 113 by 92 millimetres (4.4 by 3.6 in), the book's dimensions were smaller than other Peter Rabbit books. In 1917, she suggested to her publisher that Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes be published in the smaller Miss Moppet format. The tale opens with an illustration of a wide-eyed kitten: "This is a Pussy called Miss Moppet, she thinks she has heard a mouse!" The following illustration depicts a mouse wearing a pink bowtie and green jacket "peeping out behind the cupboard, and making fun of Miss Moppet. He is not afraid of a kitten." Miss Moppet darts at him, but misses and bumps her head on the cupboard. She hits the cupboard very hard and rubs her nose. The mouse scurries to the top of the cupboard and watches her. Miss Moppet ties a duster about her head and sits before the fire on a red hassock. The mouse's curiosity is piqued; he thinks she looks very ill and comes sliding down the bell-pull. "Miss Moppet looks worse and worse." The mouse creeps nearer. Miss Moppet holds her head in her paws and peeks at the mouse through a hole in the duster. "The Mouse comes very close." Miss Moppet jumps and snags him by the tail. |“||"But she forgot about that hole in the duster; and when she untied it – there was no Mouse!"||”| |— Beatrix Potter| "And because the Mouse has teased Miss Moppet—Miss Moppet thinks she will tease the Mouse; which is not at all nice of Miss Moppet." The kitten ties the mouse up in the duster then tosses it about like a ball. The mouse peeks from the hole in the duster. In the last illustration but one, Miss Moppet is seated upright on her rump and staring at the reader. The duster lies opened and empty in her paws. "She forgot about that hole in the duster", and the mouse has escaped. He dances a jig safely out of Miss Moppet's reach atop the cupboard. James M. Redfield, a classics professor at the University of Chicago, in his article "An Aristotelian Analysis of Miss Moppet" finds the story follows the tenets of Aristotle's Poetics, with a definite beginning (the unsuccessful attempt to catch the mouse), middle (Miss Moppet pretending to be hurt and catching the mouse), and end (Miss Moppet teasing the mouse and his escape). Redfield notes that Potter makes the outcome of the plot uncertain and creates parity between the characters, which are naturally predator and prey; Potter makes Miss Moppet "young, inexperienced, female, and a pet", while the mouse is "mature, courageous, male, and independent". Redfield praises Potter's skill as an author; she uses the hole in the duster twice—to allow Miss Moppet to catch the mouse, but then for him to escape her—and uses phrases particularly suited for a parent to read aloud to a child ("This is the mouse ..."). Redfield concludes that while teasing is bad in the story—dangerous for the mouse, and cruel for the cat—Potter herself teases the reader in a good way, showing "us that teasing is a kind of loving when it is a kind of teaching. The poet plays with us, and by taking us through an unreal experience, teaches us what it is to live in the real world." In her essay "Thoroughly Post-Victorian, Pre-Modern Beatrix" professor of English Katherine Chandler points out that Potter, unlike most Victorian writers of children's books, wrote original stories based on the realism of animal behaviour. Chandler notes that Potter avoids moralizing in her tales, making Miss Moppet nothing more than a story describing the natural behaviour of kittens. Potter's anthropomorphized animals are in fact slightly naughty, yet in their naughtiness the punishment is never the moral of the tale. At the end of Miss Moppet, the kitten is not punished and the mouse dances on the cupboard. This leads Chandler to quote literary scholar of modernism Humphrey Carpenter, "there is nothing in [Potter's] work that resembles the moral tale. In fact if might be argued that she is writing something pretty close to a series of immoral tales". In addition Chandler notes that Potter's economic use of prose presages modernism, comparing her writing to that of Ernest Hemingway. Ruth K. MacDonald, English and children's literature professor at New Mexico State University, agrees, writing in Beatrix Potter that Miss Moppet demonstrates Potter's ability to pare text and illustrations to essentials noting that she worked best with more complicated plots, more complicated characters, and stories with specific settings rather than generalized backgrounds. Miss Moppet is a vignette, she indicates, rather than the typical Potter tale of causality, extended plot, and variety of character, and depends upon the archetypal animosity between cat and mouse with the cat being the dominant character. Miss Moppet was more successful than its companion piece The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit according to M. Daphne Kutzer, an English professor at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and author of Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code (2003). Kutzer writes: "the illustrations are more fluid and the storyline more humorous and less moralistic". Potter was never at her best when writing for a clearly defined audience, Kutzer observes, and in writing a Victorian moral tale about teasing, Potter failed to completely engage the reader's imagination in either the story or the illustrations. Though, as MacDonald notes, Miss Moppet remains in the Potter canon, and serves as a good initial approach to Potter's literature. Potter asserted her tales would one day be nursery classics, and part of the "longevity of her books comes from strategy", writes Potter biographer Ruth MacDonald. She was the first to exploit the commercial possibilities of her characters and tales; between 1903 and 1905 these included a Peter Rabbit stuffed toy, an unpublished board game, and nursery wallpaper. Similar "side-shows" (as she termed the ancillary merchandise) were produced throughout her life. For a number of years Potter designed Christmas cards with characters from her books that were sold to raise money for charities. Potter died on December 22, 1943, and left her home and the original illustrations for almost all of her books, including Miss Moppet, to the National Trust. Hilltop was opened to visitors in 1946, and displayed her original artwork there until 1985. After Potter's death, Frederick Warne & Co granted licences to various firms for the production of merchandise based on her characters. Beswick Pottery of Longton, Staffordshire released a porcelain figurine of Miss Moppet in 1954; the firm was eventually acquired by Royal Doulton which continued to issue the figurine under the "Royal Albert" brand until it was discontinued in 2002. From 1980 to 1995 when it went out of business, Schmid & Co. of Toronto and Randolph, Massachusetts produced a Miss Moppet music box figurine. From 1983 to 1991, Schmid distributed two Miss Moppet Christmas ornaments (3 and 1.5 inches (76 and 38 mm) tall), made by the Italian firm ANRI. Stuffed toy manufacturers requested licensing for Potter's figures early in the 20th century; however she refused to grant permission, having been disappointed with the quality of the proposed stuffed toys. Frederick Warne & Co retained rights to all Potter merchandise and in 1973 granted a license to the Eden Toys company of Jersey City, New Jersey to manufacture stuffed animals based on Potter's characters. Beginning in 1975 these included a plush Miss Moppet, which was discontinued in 2001 when Eden Toys went out of business. Reprints and translations As of 2010, all 23 of Potter's small format books, including Miss Moppet, remain in print, and are available as a complete set in a presentation box. A 400-page omnibus edition is also available, as is an electronic format, released in 2005. First edition and early edition Potter books are offered by antiquarian booksellers. Although sold to Penguin Books in 1984, Frederick Warne & Co remained a subsidiary company and continues to publish Potter's books. A 2002 Publishers Weekly article, written for the centennial of the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, reported that Potter was considered one of the most popular classic writers, that anniversary editions of her work were published in 1993 and 2002, and the artwork has been "re-scanned to make the illustrations look fresher and brighter". The Frederick Warne name still appears on editions of Potter's books in English. Languages that Miss Moppet has been translated into include Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and a Braille edition in English has been prepared. Miss Moppet was parodied by Nicholas Garland in a policial cartoon in the 11 June 1976 issue of the New Statesman. Margaret Thatcher had lost a motion of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister James Callaghan, and Garland's cartoon copied the text and parodied four panels of the story, with Callaghan as the mouse who escapes Thatcher the kitten. In 1986, MacDonald observed that Potter's books had become a "traditional part of childhood in most only English-speaking countries and in many of the countries into whose languages Potter's books have been translated". - MacDonald 1986, pp. 1–4 - MacDonald 1986, pp. 6–7 - Taylor 1996, pp. 51–2 - Taylor 1986, pp. 66–7 - MacDonald 1986, p. 13 - Lear 2007, p. 144 - Lear 2007, p. 145 - Lear 2007, pp. 144–7 - "Historical survey of children's literature in the British Library". The British Library. Retrieved November 19, 2010. - Lear 2007, p. 207 - Lane, pp. 83–84 - Taylor 1987, p. 129 - MacDonald 1986, p. 50 - Taylor 1986, pp. 106–7 - Lear 2007, p. 218 - Taylor 1986, p. 111 - Dubay 2006, p. 22 - Potter, Beatrix (2002) . The Tale of Tom Kitten. London: F. Warne & Co. ISBN 0-7232-4777-3. - Potter, Beatrix (1987) . The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding. London: F. Warne & Co. ISBN 978-0-7232-3475-3. - Taylor 1987, p. 69 - Hunt, p. 286 - Linder 1971, p. 426 - Lear 2008, p. 213 - Linder 1971, p. 183 - MacDonald 1986, pp. 50–3 - Linder 1971, p. 246 - Taylor 1987, p. 130 - Potter, Beatrix (2006). Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales. London: Frederick Warne & Co. p. 140. ISBN 0-7232-5804-X. - Lear 2008, pp. 279–80 - Taylor 1987, p. 155 - Redfield 1985, p. 36 - Redfield 1985, p. 41 - Chandler, Katherine (2007). "Thoroughly Post-Victorian, Pre-Modern Beatrix". Children's Literature Quarterly. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 32 (4): 287–307. doi:10.1353/chq.2007.0052. - Kutzer 2003, pp. 129–30 - DuBay 2006, p. 37 - MacDonald 1986, p. 128 - Lear 2008, pp. 172–5 - Taylor 1987, p. 106 - Taylor 1996, pp. 208–11 - Dubay 2006, pp. 30, 37 - Dubay 2006, pp. 106–8 - Dubay 2006, pp 128–31 - Dubay 2006, pp. 91–2, 106 - Dubay, Debbie. "The Tale of Peter Rabbit". Journal of Antiques and Collectibles. Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2010. - "Potter, Beatrix: The Story of Miss Moppet". Aleph-Bet Books. Retrieved November 21, 2010. - Potter, Beatrix (2002). The World of Peter Rabbit. 23 volumes. London: Frederick Warne & Co. ISBN 0-7232-8407-5. - "The Story of Miss Moppet". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 17, 2010.[dead link] - Ahearn, p. 349 - Eccleshare, Julia (2002). "Peter Rabbit Turns 100". Publishers Weekly. 249 (16). - Taylor, 1986 p. 214 - See, for example: - Potter, Beatrix; translated by Zu Li Xia (1978). 小猫莫蓓小姐的故事 / Xiao mao mo bei xiao jie de gu shi (in Chinese). Tai bei: 纯文学出版社, Chun wen xue chu ban she. OCLC 426004930. - Potter, Beatrix; translated by Patrice Charvet and Annie Thiriot (1976). L'Histoire de Mademoiselle Moppette (in French). London: F. Warne & Co. ISBN 0-7232-1864-1. - Potter, Beatrix; translated by Cornelia Krutz-Arnold (2002). Die Geschichte von Mieze Mozzi (in German). Aarau: Sauerländer. ISBN 3-7941-4967-X. - Potter, Beatrix; translated by Rosalba Ascorti (1990). La storia della micina Moppet (in Italian). Milan: Sperling & Kupfer. ISBN 88-200-1079-8. - Potter, Beatrix; translated by Momoko Ishii (1988). モペットちゃんのおはなし / Mopetto-chan no ohanashi (in Japanese). Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten. ISBN 4-8340-0305-1. - Potter, Beatrix (1987). La historia de la señorita Minina (in Spanish). Madrid: Debate. ISBN 84-7444-554-X. - Potter, Beatrix (2007). Chuyện về cô mèo Moppet (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: Kim Đồng. OCLC 278282530. - Potter, Beatrix. The story of Miss Moppet. Vancouver: Canadian National Institute for the Blind. OCLC 317481033. - Taylor 1986, p. 215 - MacDonald 1987, p. 130 - Ahearn, Allen and Patricia (1995). Book Collecting. Putnam. ISBN 0-399-14049-2. - Dubay, Debby; Sewall, Kara (2006). Beatrix Potter Collectibles: The Peter Rabbit Story Characters. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7643-2358-X. - Hobbs, Anne Stevenson (1989). Beatrix Potter's Art. Frederick Warne. ISBN 0-7232-3598-8. - Hunt, Peter; Sheila Ray (1996). International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Routledge. ISBN 0-203-16812-7. - Kutzer, M. Daphne (2003). Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-94352-3. - Lane, Margaret (1964). The Tale of Beatrix Potter: A Biography. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. - Lear, Linda (2008) . Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-37796-7. - Leslie Linder (1971). A History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter. Frederick Warne. ISBN 0-7232-1334-8. - MacDonald, Ruth K. (1986). Beatrix Potter. Twayne Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8057-6917-3. - Redfield, James M. (1985). "An Aristotelian Analysis of Miss Moppet". Chicago Review. 34 (4): 32–41. doi:10.2307/25305287. - Taylor, Judy (1996) . Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller and Countrywoman. Frederick Warne. ISBN 0-7232-4175-9. - Taylor, Judy; Whalley, Joyce Irene; Hobbs, Anne Stevenson; Battrick, Elizabeth M. (1987). Beatrix Potter 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World. F. Warne & Co. and The National Trust. ISBN 0-7232-3561-9. - The full text of The Story of Miss Moppet at Wikisource - Media related to The Story of Miss Moppet at Wikimedia Commons}

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Diastolic Dysfunction and Pulmonary Hypertension Every time a healthy heart pumps oxygen-rich blood from the lungs into the rest of the body, it goes through two phases — a contracting or pumping phase (called systolic function) and a relaxing phase (called diastolic function). What Is Diastolic Dysfunction? When the muscles of the heart become stiff, they can't relax properly, creating a condition known as diastolic dysfunction. This inflexibility prevents the heart's ventricles from filling completely, causing blood to back up in the organs. Diastolic dysfunction is a significant cause of pulmonary hypertension. Diastolic Dysfunction Causes Aging is the most common cause of this stiffening of the heart; in fact, it's estimated that more than 50% of adults of over the age of 70 have diastolic dysfunction. Other causes include high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, kidney dysfunction and — in rare cases — some cancers and genetic disorders. Diastolic Dysfunction Symptoms Diastolic heart dysfunction often creates the same array of symptoms that are found in other types of heart failure and cardiopulmonary diseases, including: - Shortness of breath with exertion that gets progressively worse - Excessive fatigue - Fluid retention in the lower extremities or abdomen (edema) Diastolic Dysfunction Diagnosis It's easy to dismiss these symptoms as part of "normal aging." Talk to your doctor whenever you experience these kinds of symptoms. An ultrasound of your heart known as an echocardiogram can confirm a diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction. Diastolic Dysfunction Treatment Our physicians in the UPMC Comprehensive Pulmonary Hypertension Program take a cross-disciplinary approach to care, working closely with cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and other experts within the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute. By collaborating with physicians in other areas of specialty, we can properly diagnose diastolic dysfunction as a cause of pulmonary hypertension and find the right treatments to help improve your quality of life and sustain your independent lifestyle. There is no cure for diastolic heart dysfunction, but the symptoms can be managed. We work with patients to pursue a full range of treatment options, including: - A Healthy Lifestyle - This includes maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet that's low in salt and getting regular cardiovascular exercise, either on your own or as part of a cardiac rehabilitation program. - Medications - Water pills can often help to alleviate the edema that is caused by diastolic dysfunction, and other medications can help to treat underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, diabetes or other heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation. - Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD) - UPMC cardiologists have been on the leading edge of LVAD treatment since the technology was introduced in the 1980s, and have been leaders in improving the technology since then. These implantable devices pump blood into the body just as a healthy heart would, either as a "bridge" while waiting for a heart transplant or as a permanent valve replacement. - Heart Transplantation - In rare cases, a heart transplant may be considered as a treatment for diastolic dysfunction. Our physicians are leading experts in heart transplantation as part of the UPMC Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, a nationally regarded center of excellence in transplantation.

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The government plans to set a standard of rules regarding the Internet and broadband access. In other words, the government wants to control Internet access. This is the FCC’s statement on the proposed regulations: - No Blocking: broadband providers may not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. - No Throttling: broadband providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. - No Paid Prioritization: broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration – in other words, no “fast lanes” – including fast lanes for affiliates. Opponents of net neutrality argue that broadband service providers have to be free to manage their networks so all customers receive adequate levels of service. They also argue that regulation of the internet will negatively influence innovation, which the internet thrives on, and impede free speech. Most importantly, they make the point that some level of restriction, or at least prioritization, is necessary to promote the best interest of consumers as a whole. Net neutrality opponents would argue that bandwidth is a limited commodity. With all types of internet traffic passing over the network, wouldn’t most people want to allow a doctor waiting to view a high resolution image CAT scan for a critical ER patient, priority over someone simply downloading a movie or a music file? If net neutrality means anything, it means no unfair discrimination based on application or service, and these rules seem aimed at just that. But there’s at least one worrisome bit: the repeated reference to “lawful content.” What is considered “lawful content” in the eyes of the government? Back in May, the FCC asked for comment on whether and how it should address interconnection and it has now promised to address ISP interconnection practices that are unjust and unreasonable. Based on what we know, the FCC plans to address such complaints on a case-by-case basis. That, unfortunately, could be a recipe for litigation and confusion, as the FCC, providers, and customers fight over what qualifies as “unjust and unreasonable.” The same concern applies to the FCC’s promise to adopt a “general conduct” rule. The FCC says its proposal will “create a general Open Internet conduct standard that ISPs cannot harm consumers or edge providers.” Understandably, the FCC wants to have the flexibility to address future unfair practices that we can’t yet anticipate, without having another decade-long fight. But it’s also very easy to see it as a recipe for FCC overreach. Standard legal procedures do not required the Federal Communications Commission to state what rules will be dictated in their new standards. In fact, nothing requires the FCC to publish iterations of the rules it votes on—it just needs to base the rules on the public record. This same limited information has been present in both Obamacare and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Permitting the government to make demands and rules without complete transparency has been known to result with disaster. For more information visit:

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What I was so inept in sharing in the conversation was that in 1860, Napoleon III, Emperor of France, visited the workshop of an engineer named Paul Gustave Froment, and was given a demonstration of a device called a pantelegraph that was able to reproduce printed messages across telegraph lines. The pantelegraph was invented by Giovanni Caselli. Napoleon was impressed and secured the use of telegraph lines so that Caselli could continue work on his invention. The primary commercial application of the device was to verify signatures for banking transactions. A more detailed history of the telegraph in general is available here (unfortunately, some of the image links are broken). Being a geek and working with other like-minded individuals, sometimes we have some pretty great discussions on ancient history, technologies, and such. Today we were bouncing between the the lethality of Comanche and Mongolian bow skills and how ancient (and not so ancient) cultures had technology that was far more advanced than we often give them credit for. During the conversation, I make a comment with regard to Napoleon seeing a demonstration of a facsimile. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember any of the details. I am honored that one colleagues also reads my blog, so at his suggestion, below is an accurate description of Napoleon’s fax machine.

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2LLI is a supplemental, five day a week 30 minute literacy intervention for K, 1, and 2 students who struggle with literacy in the classroom. The intervention is for no more than 3 students and meant to be short-term to accelerate student’s progress. The system includes appropriate leveled text reading, intensive systematic phonics instruction, a focus on comprehension and attention to fluency. 3Supplemental – not a substitute for literacy instruction in the classroom Daily – assures reinforcement of new learning and to support accelerated progressSmall group – strong recommendation for three children ensures close observation and intensive teaching interactions that promote individual learning and allow children to make faster progressShort-Term – average time of fourteen to eighteen weeksFramework for lessons – well-defined framework where teachers make decisions specific to observations of the children’s needs; lessons include reading texts, writing, and phonics 4Fast paced – lessons move quickly with suggested time frames for each segment; children are highly engaged in experiences with which they find successComprehending of texts – read several books in every lesson; teacher supports comprehension throughout the reading of the text and is provided a list of key understandings for each bookEarly writing strategies – children learn how to compose, construct, and develop essential strategies for writing in the classroom; they learn how to use sound analysis, important spelling skills, and early writing conventionsAttention to fluent, phrased reading – important before they become discouraged and perpetuate slow processingHigh-quality leveled books – created specifically for LLI. Written by children’s authors and illustrators; engage readers with fiction and non-fiction; readers process a new text every day; every other day they read a book that is easier than the instructional level to support confidence and fluency. 5Systematic phonics – lessons focus on key aspects of phonics learning: phonological awareness, letter knowledge, letter- sound relationships, letter formation, word structure, spelling patterns and high frequency wordsAssessments, progress-monitoring, & record-keeping instruments – initial and ongoing that are practical and continuously inform reaching; help determine appropriate reading levels for grouping and teaching and provide useful information for daily teaching; reading records one each child about once per workStrong classroom connection – students take books to read, word activities to review, and writing to reread; record- keeping documents to share with classroom teacherHome connection – Take-Home books that are provided to children in every lesson; take home phonics materials and writing 6Orange System (Kindergarten): Levels A through C – 70 Books Green System (First Grade):Levels A through J – 110 BooksBlue System (Second Grade):Levels C through N – 120 Booksno overlap of texts; there are ten lessons for each level, but you may choose to extend the number of lessons at a level if necessary 7Children read every day at their instructional level with teacher support as well as at their independent level with little or no support.Provide systematic instruction in phonemic awareness.Provide daily systematic instruction in phonics.Provide daily opportunity to read new texts with teacher support.Provide daily opportunities to increase fluency through oral rereading of texts.Provide explicit instruction on comprehension.Provides opportunities for writing.Provide opportunities to learn a core of high- frequency words.Designed to expand vocabulary and develop oral language. 8Alphabet Linking Chart & Consonant Cluster Linking Chart Oral GamesSound & Letter BoxesVerbal Path for Letter FormationLetter & Word Games – Lotto, Follow the Path, ConcentrationWays to Sort & Match LettersLetter MinibooksWord Bags – High Frequency Word CardsMy ABC BookMy Poetry BookWord LaddersMy Vowel BookWriting – dictated, independent, interactiveMy Writing BookName Chart & PuzzleShared ReadingFold Sheet 9Even-Numbered Lessons Structure Rereading BooksPhonics/Word WorkNew BookLetter/Word WorkEven-Numbered Lessons StructureRereading Books & Assessment of One StudentWriting About ReadingNew Book at Independent LevelOptional Letter/Word Work 10Implementing FM3 reading teachers (one from each el. building) and K-4 ELA resource teacher attended 3 day workshop presented by Fountas & Pinnell in NovemberBegan groups in January at all three El. buildings (2 grade levels per building)Continuing training with Heinemann consultant this spring (all K-4 reading teachers attend)Students were chosen based on F&P benchmark assessment, additional optional assessments, and teacher input 11Part of kindergarten extended day program (2 groups = 6 students) Total of 2 ½ hours of instructional time devoted to LLI. The two reading teachers at each el. building will divide the LLI instructional time based on scheduling.Part of kindergarten extended day program(2 groups = 6 students)Based on the needs of students in grades 1 & 2, one of the following models will be used to start in September:2 groups first grade & 1group second gradeOR1 group first grade & 2 groups second grade 12Implementing FMLLI groups are flexible and short-term, therefore more than three students can and should be serviced at one grade level in a given yearRTI Tier 3 Intervention – 5 day interventionReading teachers still support students through push-in and pull-out models, but this occurs less than 5 days-a-week

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Special Discounts for Pupils, Newly Called & Students Browse Secondhand Online This book focuses on one part of the judicial system: the criminal justice chain. This involves all the activities and actors dealing with policing, prosecution, judgment, and sanctioning of crimes. In the last decades, reforms have been implemented in several European countries. In Belgium, for example, there was the so-called Octopus reform in 1998. The police was restructured, leading to an integration of the police forces on a national and local level. New steering instruments were introduced, such as regional security plans. With regard to the sanctioning of crimes, a new institution was installed, called the sentence implementation court. This book evaluates these reforms and discusses the current reform on the reorganization of the judicial landscape. In addition, it examines the relation between trust and distrust and the application to the judicial system. It discusses the human capital aspect of the system, by means of a study on the prosopography of the Belgian magistrates that analyses the Magistracy as socio-professional group, and focuses on situations of system building, transformations under constraint (occupations), and transfers (colonial experience). Lastly, the book presents a comparative study of Belgium and France regarding the new techniques and instruments that are needed to accelerate the judicial response time and to ensure that the judicial system delivers its services on time.

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Michael J. Fox, a popular Hollywood actor who was diagnosed with young- onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991, stands as a hero with his organization Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Research Foundation. He states boldly on his website, “Our Challenges don’t define us. Our Actions do!” Increasingly, we are seeing caregivers dealing with patients and loved ones afflicted with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neuro-degenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease and affects over one million people in the US. Parkinson’s is more common in the elderly and rises from 1% in those over 60 years of age to 4% of the population over 80 years of age. As Parkinson’s is not a curable disease, all treatments are focused on slowing decline and improving quality of life and are therefore either rehabilitative and/or palliative in nature. Rehabilitation can both ease symptoms and improve behavior. Regular physical exercise is beneficial and necessary to maintain and improve mobility, flexibility, strength, gait, and quality of life. However, when an exercise program is performed under the supervision of a physiotherapist or other clinical staff, there are generally more improvements in motor symptoms compared to a self-supervised exercise program at home. I would recommend seeking help in this matter for best results. Areas where the patient may see mobility improvement from a supervised program include improving gait speed, stride length, arm-swing movement and base of support. Having someone at the patient’s side for support helps the patient in regards to safety issues as well. Weight training has also been shown to improve strength and motor function for patients suffering from Parkinson’s. Reports show there is significant interaction between strength and the time their prescribed medication is taken. Therefore, it is recommended that people with Parkinson’s disease should perform exercise 45 minute to an hour after meds, when they are at their best. As a welcome side benefit, regular exercise will help relieve constipation. Diet and proper nutrition have also been shown to be effective in alleviating symptoms of constipation which is the most widely recognized digestive symptom of Parkinson’s disease. Constipation is often a side effect of drug therapies used for PD. (Levodopa, etc.) A balanced diet and nutritional plan can be designed to avoid weight loss or gain, and minimize consequences of gastrointestinal dysfunction and constipation. Diets focused in increased fiber intake, water intake of 48-62 ounces of water a day if approved by the physician, and the addition of fruits and vegetables all help to alleviate constipation. One of the most widely practiced treatments for speech disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease is the LSVT LOUD ® (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment). This therapy which was developed in 1987 by Mrs. Lee Silverman improves vocal loudness by stimulating the muscles of the larynx through systematic exercises. Recent studies have also shown that LSVT may help improve issues of impaired swallowing. Speech therapists can teach the patient other swallowing techniques if/when dsyphagia (difficulty in swallowing) appears in their disease course. Thickening agents may be introduced for liquid intake and an upright posture is always best when eating to reduce the risk of choking. The goal of palliative and rehabilitative care is to improve quality of life for both the person suffering from the disease and the family by providing some relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of this debilitating illness. Palliative care support can also help with emotional factors such as loss of function and jobs, depression and fear. Caregivers who provide and/or seek help for a well rounded regime of diet, exercise, rehab therapies, and other palliative care measures should improve the duration and quality of life for their patients suffering with this degenerative complex disease. And as a Parkinson’s sufferer, Michael J. Fox states, its not these Parkinson’s challenges that define us, it’s the actions we take that defines us! © 2016-2017 Preferred Care at Home, a division of Help at Home Franchise Service, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Services may vary depending on the licensing of each Preferred Care at Home Franchise location. Each location is individually owned and responsible for controlling and managing day-to-day business operations.

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This is a long blog. If you want a summary then José Valim has provided a summary in less than 140 characters. It is common to see following code in Rails If you want output in xml format then request with .xml extension at the end like this localhost:3000/users.xml and you will get the output in xml format. What we saw is only one part of the puzzle. The other side of the equation is HTTP header field Accept defined in HTTP RFC. HTTP Header Field Accept When browser sends a request then it also sends the information about what kind of resources the browser is capable of handling. Here are some of the examples of the Accept header a browser can send. If you are reading this blog on a browser then you can find out what kind of Accept header your browser is sending by visiting this link. Here is list of Accept header sent by different browsers on my machine. Let’s take a look at the Accept header sent by Safari. Safari is saying that I can handle documents which are xml (application/xml), html (text/html) or plain text (text/plain) documents. And I can handle images such as image/png. If all else fails then send me whatever you can and I will try to render that document to the best of my ability. Notice that there are also q values. That signifies the priority order. This is what HTTP spec has to say about q. Each media-range MAY be followed by one or more accept-params, beginning with the “q” parameter for indicating a relative quality factor. The first “q” parameter (if any) separates the media-range parameter(s) from the accept-params. Quality factors allow the user or user agent to indicate the relative degree of preference for that media-range, using the qvalue scale from 0 to 1 (section 3.9). The default value is q=1. The spec is saying is that each document type has a default value of q as 1. When q value is specified then take that value into account. For all documents that have same q value give high priority to the one that came first in the list. Based on that this should be the order in which documents should be sent to safari browser. Notice that Safari is nice enough to put a lower priority for */*. Chrome and Firefox also puts */* at a lower priority which is a good thing. Not so with IE which does not declare any q value for */* . Look at the order again and you can see that application/xml has higher priority over text/html. What it means is that safari is telling Rails that I would prefer application/xml over text/html. Send me text/html only if you cannot send application/xml. And let’s say that you have developed a RESTful app which is capable of sending output in both html and xml formats. Rails being a good HTTP citizen should follow the HTTP_ACCEPT protocol and should send an xml document in this case. Again all you did was visit a website and safari is telling rails that send me xml document over html document. Clearly HTTP_ACCEPT values being sent by Safari is broken. HTTP_ACCEPT is broken HTTP_ACCEPT attribute concept is neat. It defines the order and the priority. However the implementation is broken by all the browser vendors. Given the case that browsers do not send proper HTTP_ACCEPT what can rails do. One solution is to ignore it completely. If you want xml output then request http://localhost:3000/users.xml . Solely relying on formats make life easy and less buggy. This is what Rails did for a long time. Starting this commit ,by default, rails did ignore HTTP_ACCEPT attribute. Same is true for Twitter API where HTTP_ACCEPT attribute is ignored and twitter solely relies on format to find out what kind of document should be returned. Unfortunately this solution has its own sets of problems. Web has been there for a long time and there are a lot of applications who expect the response type to be RSS feed if they are sending application/rss+xml in their HTTP_ACCEPT attribute. It is not nice to take a hard stand and ask all of them to request with extension .rss . Parsing HTTP_ACCEPT attribute Parsing and obeying HTTP_ACCEPT attribute is filled with many edge cases. First let’s look at the code that decides what to parse and how to handle the data. Notice that if a format is passed like http://localhost:3000/users.xml or http://localhost:3000/users.js then Rails does not even parse the HTTP_ACCEPT values. Also note that if browser is sending */* along with other values then Rails totally bails out and just returns Mime::HTML unless the request is ajax request. Next I am going to discuss some of the cases in greater detail which should bring more clarity around this issue. Case 1: HTTP_ACCEPT is */* I have following code. I am assuming that HTTP_ACCEPT value is */* . In this case browser is saying that send me whatever you got. Since browser is not dictating the order in which documents should be sent Rails will look at the order in which Mime types are declared in respond_to block and will pick the first one. Here is the corresponding code What it’s saying is that if Mime::ALL is sent then pick the first one declared in the respond_to block. So be careful with order in which formats are declared inside the respond_to block. So far so good. However what if there is no respond_to block. If I don’t have respond_to block and if I have index.html.erb, index.js.erb and index.xml.builder files in my view directory then which one will be picked up. In this case Rails will go over all the registered formats in the order in which they are declared and will try to find a match . So in this case it matters in what order Mime types are registered. Here is the code that registers Mime types. Case 2: HTTP_ACCEPT with no */* I am going to assume that in this case HTTP_ACCEPT sent by browser looks really simple like this I am also assuming that my respond_to block looks like this So browser is saying that I prefer documents in following order The order in which formats are declared is In this case rails will go through each Mime type that browser supports from top to bottom one by one. If a match is found then response is sent otherwise rails tries find match for next Mime type. First in the list of Mime types supported by browser is js and Rails does find that my respond_to block supports .js . Rails executes format.js block and response is sent to browser. Case 3: Ajax requests When an AJAX request is made the Safari, Firefox and Chrome send only one item in HTTP_ACCEPT and that is */*. So if you are making an AJAX request then HTTP_ACCEPT for these three browsers will look like and if your respond_to block looks like this then the first one will be served based on the formats order. And in this case html response would be sent for an AJAX request. This is not what you want. This is the reason why if you are using jQuery and if you are sending AJAX request then you should add something like this in your application.js file If you are using a newer version of rails.js then you don’t need to add above code since it is already take care of for you through this commit . Trying it out If you want to play with HTTP_ACCEPT header then put the following line in your controller to inspect the HTTP_ACCEPT attribute. I used following rake task to set custom HTTP_ACCEPT attribute.

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Don't study words at random and get them all confused. Get them straight and put them into long-term memory. Start now with the Latin root pugnare, meaning to fight. So many SAT Prep courses and testing materials give list after list of random words to be memorized. Students don’t enjoy these vocabulary lists and, frankly, they don’t benefit much from using them. The advantage of using Latin lies in the fact that one Latin root word can yield a dozen or more English derivatives. Search these pages and discover the Latin advantage in building vocabulary for the upcoming SAT exam. Start with a list of SAT prep vocabulary. The Greek language is equally powerful in understanding the roots of advanced English words. Unlock standardized vocabulary tests with the study of Greek root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Take the tedium from SAT test preparation. Make every minute of study count.

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Wood uses solar energy to grow and it stores vast amounts of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. A cubic meter of timber thus locks away around one ton of the harmful greenhouse gas. At least another ton is saved when using wood instead of other building material which require a lot of fossil energy and release CO2 during its production. On average Stommel eco friendly homes, with more than 50 cubic meters of solid timber, its rafters, purlins, studs and profile boards, saves around 100 tons of CO2. Sustainability - Certified Forests used for Stommel Haus eco friendly timber houses Not all timber houses are alike. Stommel solid eco friendly timber houses are special in many ways: The timber used for the walls of the houses is the heartwood of slow growing polar spruce. After cutting a thick beam from the centre of the tree trunk, it is cut again through the middle and the inner sides, i.e. the heartwood of the trunk which is the hardest part, is turned to the visible side of the wall. This way we ensure that the material is used by design to make the house inherently stable and robust. We select wood from sustainable and FSC certified forests. In special seasoning chambers the natural material is brought to a residual moisture of 15% based on a complex process. The quality of the timber and design solutions developed exclusively by Stommel Haus avoid any unwanted twisting or shrinking of the wood in their eco friendly homes. No need for wood preservatives for an unlimited life span of eco friendly homes We build timber houses devoid of any toxic substances. The construction adheres to DIN 68800, an industry standard ensuring that timber constructions will have an unlimited life span - if handled properly - without the need for any wood preservatives.

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Neurologic disease characterized by exaggerated, and often violent, startle reflexes that are produced by the slightest stimulus. It is usually associated with echolalia and echopraxia. Rare. Questionable genetic component. Perhaps a psychological disease described as “operant Seemingly a disease isolated to French Canadians, particularly lumberjacks from the Moosehead region of Maine and the Beauce region of Quebec. The condition is often familial. Age of onset is usually between 12 and 20 years. Affected persons have an exaggerated startle reflex produced by the slightest stimulus; if given a short, sudden, quick command, they respond with the appropriate action, often echoing the words of the command (echolalia and echopraxia), even if it was expressed in a language foreign to the patient (i.e., the “parrot” response). No references. Premedication prior to anesthesia may be of some value. Consider meticulous padding and Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome: Repetitive compulsive involuntary stereotyped movements or vocalizations termed tics; for some authors, the jumping Frenchman of Maine syndrome is included in Gilles de la Tourette Howard R, Ford R: From the Jumping Frenchmen of Maine to post-traumatic stress disorder: The startle response in neuropsychiatry. Psychol Med Saint-Hilaire MH, Saint-Hilaire JM. Jumping Frenchmen of Maine. Mov Disord Saint-Hilaire MH, Saint-Hilaire JM, Granger L: Jumping Frenchmen of Maine.

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- For other uses, see Quinn. Quinn served as one of Q's mentors in the distant past. (TNG novels: The Q Continuum). Like the other members of the continuum, Quinn spent a great deal of time exploring the universe, and had spent several hundred years visiting Earth. During his visits to Earth, Quinn had influenced human history and directly touched the lives of several people. During the mid 17th century, Quinn was in England when he sat down next to an apple tree, with Sir Isaac Newton seated opposite him. Quinn got up to leave, and jostled the tree, causing an apple to fall from the tree, striking Newton in the head, and gave Newton the inspiration to begin a new era in human science. If it had not been for Quinn, Q remarked that Newton most likely would've died in a debtors' prison, and would be a suspect in the murder of several prostitutes. Later, in the 19th century, Quinn had taken the guise of a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War, and was present at the Battle of Pine Mountain, Georgia. Quinn saved the life of a Union Army Colonel named Thaddius Riker - who was a distant ancestor of Kyle Riker and his sons William and Thomas. Without Quinn's help in getting him to safety, Thaddius most likely would've died at Pine Mountain, and not had any children. While Q sarcastically remarked that he would've missed several opportunities to insult William Riker over the years, the absence of Riker may have had far more profound consequences for humanity. When Thaddius Riker believed himself to be dying, he asked Quinn to deliver a message to his family. In 2371, he delivered the message to William T. Riker that he should pursue his relationship with Deanna and to seek out his own command as to not make the same mistakes that Thaddius made. When Quinn encountered Riker on board the USS Voyager several years later he didn't allow Riker to have any recollection of their previous meeting. (TNG short story: "A Q to Swear By") Quinn was still on Earth in the 20th century when he offered a ride to a man named Maury Ginsberg to the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. It was Ginsberg who noticed that a disconnected cable that had the potential to ruin the concert. Quinn also met his future wife, who had been sitting in Quinn's jeep. Thanks to Quinn's influence, Ginsburg became a successful orthodontist who had four children with his wife. Aftrwards, Quinn became bored with his life, feeling that as an immortal being that he had lived so long that he had seen and done everything possible. Quinn attempted to commit suicide several times, once causing the Romulans and Vulcans to engage in a 100 year war as a result. The Q Continuum responded by imprisoning Quinn in a comet for the next several hundred years. In the year 2372, the USS Voyager encountered the comet, and accidentally freed Quinn from his prison. The Q Continuum sent Q to place Quinn back in his prison, and Quinn asked Captain Kathryn Janeway for asylum on Voyager. Tuvok once asked him with such physical and mental advancement as the Q, did manners along the way de-evolve with them. In the following hearing, Quinn was able to convince Janeway and Q to grant him asylum, and Q stripped him of his powers. Quinn became a crewman on Voyager, but later committed suicide when provided with some Nogatch hemlock by Q. (VOY episode: "Death Wish")

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“…I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill.” —President Obama, Fathers’ Day, 2009 In Dreams from My Father, President Obama recounts many of the positive stories his mom shared about his dad’s dreams and behaviors. When a child cannot be with his or her dad, the images the mom paints of the dad are particularly important. Item. 1 out of every 3 children in America (over 24 million children) live in father-absent homes. Among African- American children, nearly 2 in 3 (64%) live in father-absent homes.101 Item. Almost 40% of American children are now born out of wedlock102 —usually meaning little or no father involvement. Single moms often carry an unfair burden—their best mothering is frequently exhausted by the stress of 16-hour-day juggling acts. The stress on single moms was documented by the largest study ever done comparing single moms with single dads. It found that single moms were more likely to feel overwhelmed and depressed combining working outside the home with child- raising, even though they are more likely to receive financial assistance.103 This implies that fathers are an underutilized resource for reducing stress on single moms. We expect fathers—or the government-as-substitute father—to offer financial support, but no government program is creating incentives for what children without a dad’s involvement need most: a dad’s involvement. In a meta-analysis of 63 studies published in the Journal of Marriage and the Family, children’s wellbeing was strongly correlated to how close they were to their non- resident father more than it was to his level of financial support.104 A White House Council on Boys and Men can help redefine the role of the Office of Child Support Enforcement to include ombudsmen who help keep fathers and mothers equally involved—thus redefining child support to include emotional support. It can suggest legal consequences for any denial of parenting time. It can explore ways to inspire dads to emotionally engage. How can the government “inspire”? One example: incorporating in public service campaigns inspirational messages like this “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckuAsF05z5w While the research below makes clear the many ways that children with significant father involvement benefit, what could be clearer is what is due to father involvement per se, and what is due to the correlates of father involvement, such as fully-involved dads being more likely to be older, have more income and be exceptionally motivated. And obviously, the research on the benefits of father involvement does not create a reason to involve a dad—or mom—who is prone toward child endangerment or abuse. A goal of the White House Council is to examine the research with the best answers, and suggest policies with not only the greatest benefit to our sons, but also to mothers and our daughters.105 Item. Kyle Pruett of Yale studied infants living with just their dads and found that in the areas of personal and social skills, they were two to six months ahead of schedule. 107 An Israeli study found that the more frequently a father visited the hospital of an infant who is prematurely born, the more rapidly the infant gained weight and the more quickly the infant was able to leave the hospital.108 More importantly, the more the father visited, the better was the infant’s social-personal development and its ability to adapt.109 In a study of black infants, the more interaction the boy had with the father, the higher his mental competence and psycho-motor functioning by the age of six months.110 By the age of three years, psycho-motor functioning is associated with the development of a higher I.Q.111 Dads tend to encourage children to solve problems on their own. A new longitudinal study of children from infancy to age three discovers that this approach increases children’s’ ability to focus, be attentive and achieve goals; it also helps with impulse control and memory, and enhances the child’s ability to respond effectively to new or ambiguous situations.112 Collectively, these are called “executive functions”—important not only to our sons, but also to our daughters. What Our Dads Bring to Our Children’s Emotional Stability Item. The amount of time a father spends with a child is one of the strongest predictors of empathy in adulthood.”113 Probably no quality is more important to social integration—in a marriage, in a neighborhood, in a society—than empathy for those who surround us.”114 Item. The more the father is involved, the more easily the child makes open, receptive, and trusting contact with new people in its life.115 Item. A June 2010 study of more than a million Swedish children aged 6 to 19 finds that both boys and girls were 54% more likely to be on ADHD medication if they were raised by a single parent. Fewer than half the cases could be explained by socioeconomic factors.116 Item. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that a child of unwed or divorced parents who lives only with her or his mother is 375% more likely to need professional treatment for emotional or behavioral problems.117 The child is also more likely to suffer from frequent headaches118 and/or bed-wetting,119 develop a stammer or speech defect,120 suffer from anxiety or depression,121 and be diagnosed as hyperactive.122 Item. Elementary school children without fathers were likely to have greater anxiety and more nightmares. They were more likely to be dependent and inattentive.123 Item. When fathers are not involved, girls show signs of being hyperactive, headstrong, and anti-social. Both boys and girls showed signs of over-dependency on the mother.124 Item. Boys who live with their fathers after divorce tend to be warmer, have a higher degree of self-esteem, be more mature, and more independent than boys who do not.125 Item. The most important factor by far in preventing drug use is a close relationship with dad.126 Item. Living in homes without dads is more correlated with suicide among children and teenagers than any other factor—for both sexes.127 Item. Eighty percent of pre-school children admitted as psychiatric patients in two New Orleans hospitals came from homes without fathers.128 Similar percentages emerge among fatherless children in Canada,129 South Africa, and Finland, at ages from pre- school through teenage.130 A White House Council on Boys and Men can identify research that helps us understand whether the increase of problems such as ADHD are due in part to the decreased influence of fathers, or to other factors. Emotional problems become academic problems. What Our Dads Bring to Our Children’s Academic Achievement Item. A U.S. Department of Education study finds that after controlling for parents’ resources, (home computers, etc.) “In two-parent families, fathers’ involvement…is associated with an increased likelihood that children in the 1st through 5th grades get mostly A’s.” A father’s impact remains significant through the 12th grade.131 Item. A study of boys from similar backgrounds revealed that by the third grade, the boys with fathers present scored higher on every achievement test and received higher grades.132 Item. Elementary school children living without their dads did worse on eight out of nine academic measures.133 Students coming from father-present families score higher in math and science even when they go to weaker schools.134 Item. The more years children spend with no or minimal father involvement, the fewer years of school they complete.135 What Our Dads Bring to Our Children’s Social Maturity Item. Girls raised in father-absent homes tend to go to extremes in their relationships with males — being overly aggressive and flirtatious, or very withdrawn.136 Both extremes seem to come from a lack of comfort with men. Item. Elementary school children without fathers were likely to be less popular with peers, and more hostile to adults.137 Item. Elementary school children living with their dads did better on 21 of 27 social competence measures in comparison to those living without dads.138 And, perhaps as a result, they also had more playmates.139 What Our Dads Bring to Our Children’s Safety Item. A community’s prevalence of single-parent households is a better predictor of its rate of violent crime and burglary than its poverty level.140 Item. Children from single-parent homes have 220% of the risk of endangerment from some type of child abuse.141 Item. Children living with their fathers were much less likely to experience feeling like victims—such as a victim of a bully.142 Item. Most gang members come from homes without dads.143 When Perry Crouch, a gang intervention specialist in South-Central Los Angeles, was asked how many of the gang members he deals with are living with their dads, he replied, “About half of one percent.” 144 What Our Dads Bring to Our Children’s Children Item. In a study of inner-city Baltimore women who were teenage mothers, one-third of their daughters also became teenage mothers. But not one daughter or son who had a good relationship with her or his biological father became a parent before the age of nineteen. 145 Item. Daughters who live with only their mothers are 92% more likely to divorce than daughters of two-parent families.”146 Why None of this Implies Men are Better Fathers than Women are Mothers None of this implies that men are better as dads than women are as moms. Why? A man who successfully challenges the traditional male role has to be highly motivated; he is to the 21st Century what a female doctor or lawyer was to the mid-20th century. He is also more likely to be older, and have more income and education.147 But if it is precisely these dads who are succeeding with their children, we need to support and encourage them to do so, in addition to their traditional role as breadwinners. The most recent research now makes clear, though, that children benefit most from living with dad a significant portion of the time—not just visiting the dad.148 No one knows exactly why children do so much better with significant father involvement. But we do know two possibilities: Item. Recent research documents the harmful effects of parental conflict on children. 149 When children live with only their moms, the parents are nine times as likely to have conflict as when children live primarily with their dads.150 Item. Children living with their dads felt positively about moms; children living with moms were more likely to think negatively of dads.151 A White House Council for Boys and Men can explore programs such as Dads for Life152 or the Family Wellness Court in Santa Clara, California153 that have been proven to work effectively with divorced parents to reduce conflict. MBA programs and military academies such as West Point attempt to discern what creates a good leader and then train them to be the best warrior they can be. A White House Council on Boys and Men can discern what traditional contributions of a mom and dad result in the best outcome for children, and then encourage parenting programs that help single parents learn from the best of the other gender’s contributions. Just as it takes the checks and balances of two parties to govern a nation, it takes the checks and balances of moms and dads to govern a family. The Crime behind Crime The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency reports that the more absent the father, the higher the rates of violent crime.154 Were these associations with crime due to poverty? No. When the children in homes without fathers with more income were compared to the children in homes with fathers with less income, there was no difference in the rates of violent crime. This study is especially significant not only because it controlled for the poverty factor in this way, but because it analyzed data from 11,000 individuals in a variety of urban areas. 155 Perhaps the crime that scares us most is the one that targets our daughters: rape. Eighty percent of rapists who were evaluated as raping out of anger and rage came from father-absent homes. 156 From an economic perspective, we spend trillions of dollars each year on police to stop crimes, on detectives to investigate crimes, on lawyers to prosecute and defend criminals, and on prisons to house the allegedly guilty. The solution is ensuring that fathers find their place in the home (whether they live there full- time or not)—not just as a wallet, but as a dad. Which is also the most cost-effective solution to crime. The “Hole” About Which President Obama Speaks What is the “hole” in the psyche of a boy without a dad? For a son who has never known his dad, male identity is mercurial. He feels rudderless. For a son of divorce or unwed parents who has been alienated from his dad, masculine identity is negative: breeding grounds for low self- esteem, shame and anger. A son who is also shuttled from his mother-only home to his elementary school with female teachers and no positive male role models, may seek identity from a substitute dad: a cult leader, a military leader, or a gang leader. A boy without a father seeks a “Godfather.” Adolescence’s sexual rejection magnifies his hurt and anger. He is tempted to disappear into a bottle, take comfort through the point of a needle, or feel some life in the adrenaline released via an X-sport. Whether via suicide, violence, war, or an accident, he forfeits his life, mutilates his body, drains his soul, disappoints his family, and taxes his nation. Item. 85% of fathers in Sweden take paternity leave.157 Paternity leave in Sweden began in 1995 with one month of parent leave reserved for fathers (at 80% of pay). If the dad doesn’t take the leave, it is lost. Since then, divorce and separation rates have gone down; women’s pay and shared custody have gone up. Companies such as the cell phone giant Ericsson find, “graduates used to look for big paychecks. Now they want work- life balance.”158 Men’s happiness with their family contributes to their effectiveness at work. If, to paraphrase President Obama, no government can fill the hole in the psyche of a boy who is without a fully involved dad, then the best a government can do is to provide incentives for a fully-involved dad. Item. A review of the most comprehensive and controlled recent studies reports that if children cannot live with both parents together, a minimum of one-third time for each parent is necessary, and that “additional benefits continue to accrue up to and including equal (50-50) time.” 159 Item. A meta-analysis of recent studies concludes “children in joint custody were significantly better off than those in sole custody.”160 More important, the same meta- analysis finds children in joint custody are “about as well off as those in which the parents remained married.”161 We now have the research to know that if children grow up in non-intact families, that parenting plans for fit parents need to include both parents having “bedtime and waking rituals, transitions to and from school, extracurricular and recreational activities.”162 In addition to exploring the impact of dozens of countries’ paternity leave laws (from Canada and Germany to Portugal and Iceland), some changes a White House Council on Boys and Men can pioneer might start with the fundamentals… A male birth control pill. From our daughters’ perspective, a male birth control pill relieves women from being the only sex to have their hormones tampered with—it allows our sons to share the responsibility. From our sons’ perspective, if our son is with a woman who wishes to get married, says she is on birth control but is not, she can abort, or sue for support; our son can agree, or go to prison. A men’s birth control pill gives our sons more equivalent options to our daughters. Since the pill is technologically viable, a Council can support its availability so both sexes may share responsibility for birth control.163 Paternal Assurance. A boy who learns at some point in life that the dad he thought was his is, in reality, not his, may feel he knows neither who he is nor what his medical background is; he may become fearful of women, marriage and parenting. When a dad discovers he is raising a child that is not his, it puts that child at the risk of being abandoned. With 40% of American children now born to unmarried parents, the Council on Boys and Men must offer the best options to a ubiquitous problem. Identify the best programs for single dads and at-home dads, and suggest incentives for their integration into high school and community college curriculums. Just as diversity programs educate employees how to make the workplace a woman-friendly environment, a White House Council on Boys and Men might explore integrating father- involvement programs into high school curricula to educate our sons and daughters how to make the family a father-friendly environment. Or work with the PTA and schools to encourage dads to volunteer in the classroom; be more involved with their children at home; know the value of their contribution to parenting. Propose legislation that gives incentives for all children to have as close-to-equal participation of both biological parents as possible, and that makes it illegal for either parent to purposely minimize the involvement of a fit parent. Finance research to determine the most-effective incentives for parenting training and couples’ communication training, and study the most-effective programs.164 Prepare boys for the transition from military life to family life: how to retain the military- enhanced skills of discipline and boundary enforcement, while replacing the skills of objectifying in preparation to kill with the skills of loving and listening in preparation for parenting and partnering. Nothing trumps children having both parents.165 When parents are unwed, nothing trumps the children having about equal time with their mom and dad. Whether it is because children benefit from the checks and balances of both parents’ different styles; or because children are the genes of both parents, (and knowing both parents means knowing themselves), is not certain. What is certain is that in the last half century the U.S. has done a better job of integrating women into the work place than in integrating men into the family—especially into the lives of children in the non-intact family. We have valued men as wallets more than as dads. And what is certain is that our current single-parenting environment leads to moms feeling deprived of resources, dads feeling deprived of purpose, and children feeling deprived of the full range of parenting input. The Council can encourage federal agencies to examine how their budgets and programs can be used to support fatherhood strengthening efforts in the nonprofit and government sectors. The Council can also encourage private philanthropy, such as foundations, to invest in fatherhood work so that fathers can receive the training they need to be better dads. A White House Council on Boys and Men can explore how to best give the resource of dad to children and moms, a sense of purpose to dads, and save the nation trillions of dollars that are the cost of not recruiting fathers to reduce poverty and crime. It can draw up a blueprint to help our sons contribute to their families the way our daughters are contributing to the workplace.

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by Carole E. Scott ||Perhaps it was because Gabriel was 14 years older than George that, although the they were a lot alike, the "Bomb Brothers" were not close, but during the War Between the States they worked together like a hand and a glove. One made bombs, while his brother provided the powder that filled them.| Born in North Carolina, both graduated from West Point; Gabriel in 1827 and George in 1842. Gabriel stayed in the Army until he resigned to join the Confederate Army. Gabriel, who graduated 13th in his class at West Point, served as an infantry officer in both the Second Seminole War and the Mexican War and was known for his experimenting with explosives. George, who graduated 3rd in his class, served in both the Corps of Engineers and artillery. George, who taught chemistry, mineralogy, and geology at West Point, resigned in 1856 to become president of an iron works in New York. Like his brother, he joined the Confederate Army. Gabriel rose to the rank of brigadier general; George rose to the rank of colonel. Both served in the Ordnance Department, but they served in different branches. After a not very successful stint as a brigade commander, Gabriel became the head of the of the Torpedo Bureau. George headed the Niter and Mining Bureau. Gabriel developed a mine that could be used on both land and water. His mines were made of sheet iron. Each contained a fuse that was protected by a thin brass cap covered with a beeswax solution. Whether used on land or in the water, they were called torpedoes. He first planted mines in the form of Columbiad artillery shells equipped with sensitive fuse primers while still leading a brigade as a method of distancing his men from Union cavalry. Whole Union companies bolted in panic when they began to go off. Union General W. T. Sherman reported that "the rebels' land torpedoes at Fort McAllister (near Savannah) killed more of our men than the heavy guns of the fort." Like Sherman, many Union officers railed against the use of mines, saying their use was unethical. Although he had benefited from them during a retreat, Confederate General James Longstreet also condemned them. Responding to this criticism, the Confederacy's Secretary of War decreed that they not be used "merely to destroy life without other design than that of depriving the enemy of a few men." Gabriel's land torpedoes were mainly used to defend fortifications. Marine torpedoes, it was claimed in a postwar U.S. Navy report, contributed far more to the Confederacy's defense than did all the vessels of the Confederate Navy. In 1864, an unsuspecting Union Navy sailor tossed what he thought was a piece of coal into a boiler of the U.S.S. Greyhound. Within moments the ship erupted in flame and sank. What he had tossed into the boiler was a bomb designed by a Secret Service officer, Thomas E. Courtenay. It was a black iron casting that had been smuggled aboard his ship by Confederates. Although due to corrosion resulting from their long submersion, Gabriel's naval torpedoes only sank one of the U.S Navy ships attacking Mobile, torpedoes detonated from shore sank 7 of 12 Union ships trying to capture a Confederate fort in North Carolina. (At Mobile Union officers heard the almost constant snapping of the primers of contact-type torpedoes that would have exploded if they had not been damaged by corrosion.) Gabriel had to deal with shortages of many vital materials. He dealt with an inadequate supply of wire for marine torpedoes that needed it for an electrical firing system by sending female "wire-stealing crews" behind Federal lines. In addition to destroying its men and equipment, fear of running into his torpedoes diminished the effectiveness of Federal operations. When war broke out, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a former U.S. Army Officer and Secretary of War, lamented that there was available in the Confederacy only enough powder for one-month of "light fighting." No powder was produced in the Confederacy when the war began. Ultimately, one half the powder it used was domestically produced. While Gabriel was designing what may have been the Confederacy's most important defensive weapon,George was solving its gun powder problem. Describing his initial activities, George said that "I almost lived in railroad cars devising plans, examining the country for locations, hunting up materials, engaging workmen, making contracts, and employing more or less every available machine shop and foundry from Virginia to Louisiana." First he located sources of the potassium nitrate (usually called saltpeter or niter) needed to make gun powder in caves in Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia and put crews to digging it out. He also resorted to "mining" outhouses and chamber pots, establishing niter beds from this waste material. He also smuggled about 2.8 million tons through the Union blockade. In Augusta, Georgia, the site of a pre-war arsenal, George supervised the construction of the Augusta Powder Works. The world's second-largest powder works, he patterned them after the most up-to-date powder plant in the world, England's Waltham Abbey Works. At the Augusta works he produced powder at well below the cost of imported powder. The plant's copper boilers were made from turpentine and whiskey stills. The plant did not close until the war ended. After the war the U.S. Army used left over powder from this plant for artillery practice that it classified as "very superior--the very best." After the War George taught and served as dean at the Medical College of Georgia. In 1894, he went into business in New York. Gabriel first settled in Atlanta. Then he moved to Charleston, where he served in the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Department. George died in 1898 at the age of 81. Gabriel died in 1881 at the age of 78. |Reproductions pictured at left are: Foreground: 6 pound solid shot with powder bag attached Center: antipersonnel shell Back: cannister round Click image to return to Scott's Tripod home page

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How can teachers use wikis to promote collaborative learning? |Photo Credit to tkcfiddler on Photobucket| A wiki is a website or blogspace that is collaboratively edited and maintained by a group of people (EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, 2005, July). Wikis are basically used to help students out with the lessons or objectives being presented to the class. Teachers can use them to promote collaborative learning by letting students create their own or to follow the teachers. Wiki gives the students control over what they learn and what they need to learn. Teachers can assign students to create their own on certain topics like science/history projects then allowing a presentation to the class. Teachers can even create their own wiki and then present it to the class then have the class add on as the lesson develops and even grade the page to the rubric the teacher creates for this assignment. Tech Tool Link Moodle seems to be a very interesting website although I did not download it on my computer I did watch the video below and found that it can easily be used and has some great resources for the students to like online test and resources. I would recommend this be used in classrooms everywhere it is kind of like a blog or a wiki page. Children can take test and do it numerous times depending on teacher. It gives them the control instead of learning in one way which would be the way the teacher teaches her classroom. Photo Credit to PRWeb_12_2011 on Photobucket This chapter revolves around ways that teachers and students can communicate ideas online and in the classrooms. It teaches us as future teachers how to be able to teach our students in many ways whether it be wiki, blogs, or just one website. The tech tool links used are all informative to teach us how to set up different websites and how and what to use them for. Students should be able to communicate with peer/teachers through the internet and in person. I know I have said this before but I wish I knew how to make blogs or my own wikispace in high school it would’ve came in handy when I wanted to do a big project but didn’t want to use PowerPoint or just a simple poster. This chapter really kept me on my feet on how effective blog posts or wikispaces can be to our future students. Maloy, R. W., Verock-o, R. E., Edwars, S.A., & Woolf, B.P. (2010). Transforming learning with new technologies. Allan & Bacon

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When summer thunderstorms roll in, some pets dive for cover. If your dog or cat is among those terrified by storms or other sudden, loud noises, such as fireworks, there are steps you can take to help reduce your pet’s anxiety. According to Dr. Kelly Ballantyne, a veterinarian with a special interest in animal behavior, the reason pets are scared of thunderstorms isn’t always clear. One study found that a traumatic experience linked to noise was the likely origin of noise sensitivity in only about a third of pets with these phobias. Other factors that may contribute to noise sensitivities include chronic stress, genetics, neurochemical imbalances, and a change in hearing. Practicing at the University of Illinois Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Ballantyne offers behavior consultations to help pets with phobias and other behavioral issues. She says it is perfectly normal for a pet to be scared by the loud noises and flashes the first time the pet experiences a thunderstorm or fireworks. A pet may react defensively to these high-decibel noises because they probably hurt the pet’s ears, they lack a regular pattern, and it’s difficult to figure out where they are coming from. It isn’t normal, however, if the animal does not get used to storms, and each thunderstorm is as terrifying as the previous one. Unfortunately, thunderstorms are common, and these frequent stressors can reduce a pet’s quality of life. Addressing your pet’s fears is important for the sake of the pet—not to mention the household objects sometimes destroyed by frightened pets. Dr. Ballantyne suggests several measures that may help noise-sensitive pets feel a little safer and less frightened during a thunderstorm. “First, try to make a safe place where your pet can go,” she says. “An interior room with no windows is ideal because it is more sheltered from noise and the flashes of light. Avoid crating your pet unless the pet already feels that the crate is a safe place.” When pets are already hiding, don’t force them out: that can scare and stress them more. Playing music or increasing the white noise in the house can decrease the perceived amount of noise from the storm. Your behavior around your pet also plays an important role in managing the pet’s anxiety during a storm. You should avoid either comforting or punishing the pet, and you should stay calm to avoid increasing the pet’s anxiety. If your dog isn’t too scared, you can try to play with him. Interactive toys, such as a Kong filled with food, can help as well if he is willing to eat. A pheromone spray for dogs called DAP helps reduce anxiety in some dogs. It can be sprayed on a bandana and tied around the pet’s neck during a storm. Dr. Ballantyne acknowledges that noise sensitivities can be hard for owners to manage. Sometimes you can do everything right and your pet is still scared of the storms. “Don’t hesitate to ask your veterinarian for help,” advises Dr. Ballantyne. “If nothing else is working, your veterinarian can prescribe anti-anxiety medication to augment the behavior modification plan.” Don’t forget that a pet that is scared of thunderstorms will likely have a similar reaction to fireworks. These pets should be given a safe place to hide during the celebration and should never be taken to watch fireworks. If you have questions about pets’ noise sensitivities, please contact your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist. Andrea Lin is an Information Specialist at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine.

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He Named Me Malala Press Release Malala Yousafzai captured the world’s attention when she was shot in the head by members of the Taliban while riding home on the school bus in Swat Valley, Pakistan, on October 9, 2012. Her recovery was closely followed by media outlets around the globe, and in 2014 Malala became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate at the age of 17. Now, Malala’s inspirational story is coming to the big screen through the new documentary, He Named Me Malala. The documentary, which is opening on October 9 in the United States and worldwide in November, is a unique combination of interviews and news clips. Malala and her family open up their new home in England so viewers can understand what day-to-day life is for a teenaged international spokesperson. Segments from news programs that covered her attack and recovery are also featured. Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman) and a team of filmmakers worked closely with the Yousafzai family in order to create this intimate portrait of a girl and her mission. Free Curriculum Guide Available for Teachers He Named Me Malala provides an excellent opportunity for thought-provoking classroom discussions and activities. A corresponding curriculum guide includes 10 lesson plans that cover a variety of subjects, from English and filmmaking to social studies and geography. The He Named Me Malala Curriculum Guide is available to download for free at http://journeysinfilm.org/download/he-named-me-malala-curriculum-guide/. For teachers interested in taking their students to see the documentary in theaters, the Malala Fund (Malala’s nonprofit organization that aims to empower girls through education) is providing free school field trips for students to see the film in 25 cities across the United States. To learn more about this opportunity, please visit https://www.malala.org/students-stand-with-malala. College & Community Outreach Discussion Guide He Named Me Malala provides an excellent opportunity for thought-provoking discussions and activities. A corresponding discussion guide provides the opportunity to continue Malala’s work: to learn about the status of girls’ education in the world today, to discuss what you have read about girls’ education, to explore resources to learn more, and to seek ways to make a change in your own community and in the wider world. The guide is designed for college courses and seminars (plus community screenings, panels, and workshops). The He Named Me Malala Discussion Guide is available to download for free at http://journeysinfilm.org/download/discussion-guide-malala/. - He Named Me Malala Curriculum Guide - He Named Me Malala Discussion Guide - He Named Me Malala movie poster - Malala’s quotes and discussion questions - View the official trailer for He Named Me Malala - Find a theater near you

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Digital photography certainly opened new horizons on imaging and gave photographers a very powerful set of tools. We enjoy the quality and spontaneity of digital cameras and the software to handle small or extensive image processing has improved greatly. We can create stitched panoramas for wide field of view photographs, or use software to generate high dynamic range images that yield images of great tonal spectrum and detail. All this has been really great, but … … imagine the next generation of cameras that, by using more powerful on-board computers, could converge computing and photography. As I write this piece, researchers are busy working on various experiments, experimental cameras that are collectively called “computational photography.” Where there is now some time and space separation between the taking of the photographs and later processing on a separate computers, the new generation of cameras will likely merge these separate activities into one device. These cameras that bring discrete steps together into a seamless process will bring some very exciting capabilities to photography. Imagine the following: - A camera that can record scenes with 10-12 f-stop brightness range, maybe even more - A lens that captures an image with information that comes from three separate points and can generate a 3D rendering of the subject that can be seen from different angles - A camera that allows photographing a scene and later deciding on the plane of focus - A camera that captures 360 degree horizontal field of view and 200+ degree vertical - A camera that captures a group photograph where everyone’s expression is as desired, no closed eyes Now, imagine that these are not some fancy of my imagination and they actually exist! And you thought the digital-vs-film debate was heated…

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Clayoquot Sound is a special place to live and visit because we are exposed to the elements of the wild west coast. Rugged coastlines, giant trees of the coastal temperate rainforest and diverse wildlife are just steps from our front doors. Such closeness to the natural world challenges us to live with greater care for the environment and to follow certain guidelines hopefully ensuring that this place remains intact for future generations. One animal that has been getting a lot of attention lately and whose behaviour we need to adapt to is the Black Bear. The black bears (or chams in Nuu-Chah-Nulth) living here are a distinct subspecies unique to Vancouver Island. A high density of these animals live in Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds. Adult females weigh between 60 and 70 kilograms while adult males can weigh up to 220 kilograms. Females become sexually mature at 3 to 4 years and produce 1-4 cubs every few years. It is thought that black bears can live up to 30 years in the wild. Adult male black bears have a large home range of approximately 150 km2 while adult female bears usually occupy a range of only about 13 km2. Male territories generally overlap with several female bear home ranges. Typically the territories include seasonal feeding areas connected by trails through forested areas and shorelines like the mudflats. Bears have poor eyesight but an exceptional sense of smell (about 35% better than humans). They are said to be able to detect a food source several kilometers away! In the fall black bears are extremely food driven and may increase their weight by 20-30%. While plentiful natural food sources such as plants, insects and meat are available year round for local bears, they might be right next to tempting non-natural food sources. Being curious and opportunistic, bears learn quickly to take advantage of unsecured garbage and food in residential and business areas as well as in campgrounds. In our community there is no line separating the wilderness and us. As a bear acquires a taste for human foods it begins lose its fear of people and will take more chances to find 'food rewards'. It may then put public safety at risk by getting too close to people. If this happens it is the bear that pays the ultimate price with its life. Regrettably in late September a large male black bear was destroyed as a result of repeatedly getting into residential garbage near Chesterman beach. Sources say that at present we have at least 2 more black bears in the Tofino area exploiting unsecured garbage sources, sometimes over and over at the same places. It cannot be stressed enough that 'problem' bears are not born, but are created. Hard working volunteers from the Ucluelet and Tofino Bear Aware Committees are making strides to help educate the public about ways that they can secure their properties and decrease the conflict between bears and humans. They are willing to help anyone with their questions and challenges about how to become 'bear smart'. To conserve this unique and beautiful species we all need to do our parts. Assess your own situation: Do you have black bears on your property every year? Are there animal tracks on your property: bear trails, scat, mark trees etc. Have they gotten into anything in the past? Bears have good memories.

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These days more and more homeowners and business owners have been using solar energy. If you still don’t use solar energy, why haven’t you started? If you simply don’t possess enough knowledge to correctly utilize solar energy, then the below article can assist you. Keep reading to find out some great information on taking advantage of solar energy. Take baby steps in your quest for solar power. For example, solar path lights are a great start. You can find these at many retail establishments. They are not hard to install, either; simply put them in the dirt and go from there. One positive step toward helping helping the environment is to switch to a solar powered water heater. Solar water heating options are many and varied, and an online search will provide you with a wide array of choices. Pick a sunny spot on your roof, and install a solar water heater tank. If you want to by a solar power system, steer clear of pushy salespeople. It’s important that you take your time in making the best possible decision for you. Being pressured to make a decision can result in you making a bad decision, which will result in you losing money. Learn about grants and rebates available to you. Start-up costs for a solar power system can be high, but help is typically available. Research state and federal laws, rebates and grants, given to renewable energy users. This can make things cost quite a bit less. There are many different incentives for changing over to green energy. There are many tax credits, rebates and incentives to help you offset the initial costs of solar power. You may receive upwards of thirty percent off the price of your system. Just check some online sources or get in touch with a local agency representative to see if you are eligible. Solar power systems are evolving each year. The panels that used to be very expensive are now very affordable for consumers. No matter how much power you need, it is possible to find the right solar panel system for you. Your solar panels should be installed so that they can get the maximum amount of sun through the year. Invest in a sun tracker and an adjustable mount so you can change the angle of your panels throughout the day or change their orientation for each new season. Think about how you use your energy. You need to know how much power you need in order to choose the right system to power your life. This information is vital in selecting the right size solar energy system. Examine your power bills for a year and find the average amount of energy consumed seasonally. Think carefully about what would be easiest to switch over to solar power. You’ll want to begin with smaller appliances so that you don’t take on too much in the beginning. Transitioning gradually can help you remain with this long-term commitment. Solar cells can cost more than other alternatives. Hire an energy auditor to visit your home and see how energy is used. This audit helps you identify where you can save energy by making a few changes. This can help you cut down on the amount of solar panels that you will need. Clearly, solar power has some significant advantages over alternative energy sources. You should now be more informed on how you can make use of solar energy. Keep the information you’ve read in mind as you work out a plan for a solar energy investment.

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|Henry Gray (18251861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.| |antero-lateral abdominal wall. The testis thus acquires an indirect connection with the anterior abdominal wall; and at the same time a portion of the peritoneal cavity lateral to these fused folds is marked off as the future saccus vaginalis. In the inguinal crest a peculiar structure, the gubernaculum testis, makes its appearance. This is at first a slender band, extending from that part of the skin of the groin which afterward forms the scrotum through the inguinal canal to the body and epididymis of the testis. As development advances, the peritoneum enclosing the gubernaculum forms two folds, one above the testis and the other below it. The one above the testis is the plica vascularis, and contains ultimately the internal spermatic vessels; the one below, the plica gubernatrix, contains the lower part of the gubernaculum, which has now grown into a thick cord; it ends below at the abdominal inguinal ring in a tube of peritoneum, the saccus vaginalis, which protrudes itself down the inguinal canal. By the fifth month the lower part of the gubernaculum has become a thick cord, while the upper part has disappeared. The lower part now consists of a central core of unstriped muscle fiber, and outside this of a firm layer of striped elements, connected, behind the peritoneum, with the abdominal wall. As the scrotum develops, the main portion of the lower end of the gubernaculum is carried, with the skin to which it is attached, to the bottom of this pouch; other bands are carried to the medial side of the thigh and to the perineum. The tube of peritoneum constituting the saccus vaginalis projects itself downward into the inguinal canal, and emerges at the cutaneous inguinal ring, pushing before it a part of the Obliquus internus and the aponeurosis of the Obliquus externus, which form respectively the Cremaster muscle and the intercrural fascia. It forms a gradually elongating pouch, which eventually reaches the bottom of the scrotum, and behind this pouch the testis is drawn by the growth of the body of the fetus, for the gubernaculum does not grow commensurately with the growth of other parts, and therefore the testis, being attached by the gubernaculum to the bottom of the scrotum, is prevented from rising as the body grows, and is drawn first into the inguinal canal and eventually into the scrotum. It seems certain also that the gubernacular cord becomes shortened as development proceeds, and this assists in causing the testis to reach the bottom of the scrotum. By the end of the eighth month the testis has reached the scrotum, preceded by the saccus vaginalis, which communicates by its upper extremity with the peritoneal cavity. Just before birth the upper part of the saccus vaginalis usually becomes closed, and this obliteration extends gradually downward to within a short distance of the testis. The process of peritoneum surrounding the testis is now entirely cut off from the general peritoneal cavity and constitutes the tunica vaginalis.| Descent of the Ovaries.In the female there is also a gubernaculum, which effects a considerable change in the position of the ovary, though not so extensive a change as in that of the testis. The gubernaculum in the female lies in contact with the fundus of the uterus and contracts adhesions to this organ, and thus the ovary is prevented from descending below this level. The part of the gubernaculum between the ovary and the uterus becomes ultimately the proper ligament of the ovary, while the part between the uterus and the labium majus forms the round ligament of the uterus. A pouch of peritoneum analogous to the saccus vaginalis in the male accompanies it along the inguinal canal: it is called the canal of Nuck. In rare cases the gubernaculum may fail to contract adhesions to the uterus, and then the ovary descends through the inguinal canal into the labium majus, and under these circumstances its position resembles that of the testis. The Metanephros and the Permanent Kidney.The rudiments of the permanent kidneys make their appearance about the end of the first or the beginning of the second month. Each kidney has a two-fold origin, part arising from the metanephros, and part as a diverticulum from the hind-end of the Wolffian duct,

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People claim these top 8 war memorials are haunted by ghosts Every year, the living pay their respects to fallen soldiers and the victims of conflict by visiting war memorials. Given the sheer number of lives lost at these haunting sites, it’s no wonder that visitors experience profound melancholy. Others encounter eerie activity that cannot be explained. 1. Gettysburg Battlefield and Memorial It’s difficult to imagine the carnage that was Gettysburg, especially considering the crude methods of Civil War-era warfare. The battle claimed 51,000 casualties and left 7,863 dead. The open fields have since become a National Park, with an enormous list of monuments commemorating the Union and Confederate units that marched during that three-day battle in July 1863. In addition to the battlefields themselves, there’s also the adjoining Gettysburg National Cemetery, the resting place for more than 3,500 Union soldiers. Given the intensity of the battle and the enormous loss of life, it’s unsurprising that visitors to Gettysburg report strange experiences, including the sound of whirring bullets, the screams of fallen soldiers and horses, and direct encounters with the dead. At Farnsworth House, which was riddled with bullets during the campaign, visitors report the specter of a distraught man carrying a child in a quilt, and the ghost of a fallen Confederate sharp shooter. Others report ghostly apparitions at Devil’s Den, the site of one of the longest and most intense skirmishes during the battle that raged on through the night. Some visitors have captured spirits on camera, including a longhaired young man who told one tourist “what you are looking for is over there,” then abruptly vanished. 2. Antietam Battlefield and Memorial Near Sharpsburg, Maryland The Battle of Antietam, the first major engagement to take place on Union soil in 1862, is second only to Gettysburg in its massive carnage with over 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing. Though technically a Union victory once Confederates retreated from the field, many historians view Antietam as tactically inconclusive—a major loss of life with little strategic gain. If you visit Antietam today, you will come across a sunken road, now called the Bloody Lane, where more than 5,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lost their lives. Visitors have reported the smell of gunpowder and the sound of gunfire when the lane appears completely deserted. Others have seen men in Confederate dress walking down the lane towards them, only to disappear into thin air. Even the sound of singing has been heard on this eerily quiet battlefield. Those who detected the ghostly tune said it sounded like “Deck the Halls”. Apparently, some Irish-American Confederates used a Gaelic hymn as a battle cry during Antietam—a hymn that sounded very close to the holiday song. 3. Point Lookout Lighthouse Near Scotland, Maryland Now a national park and historic site, Maryland’s Point Lookout played a major role in the American Civil War as a prison for Confederate soldiers. At one time over 50,000 men were held here, and 4,000 never left—they were buried in the swampy marsh of the Chesapeake Bay. The overcrowding of Confederate prisoners resulted in poor conditions, and Point Lookout quickly became one of the most notorious Union prison camps of the war. The lives of the men who suffered here are remembered in a war memorial cemetery—which is, in actuality, a mass grave. Visitors today report a multitude of paranormal phenomena, including shouts for help heard from the water and the ghostly figures of soldiers, running from what used to be the smallpox hospital. Most of the activity seems to be centered in the lighthouse, where a young man in sailor’s dress has been seen entering the lighthouse, only to disappear into thin air. 4. Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme Of the many memorials to the fallen soldiers of World War I, Sir Edwin Lutyens’ Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, is one of the most chilling—dedicated to the 72,195 missing British and South African servicemen who never returned from the Battles of the Somme between 1915 and 1918. Nestled in the forests of Thiepval, in northern France, this statuesque memorial bears the names of nearly 72,000 missing soldiers with no known grave. Surrounding the memorial are other mass graves, dug during the war around medical stations. After the major battles of the Somme, Irish artist William Orpen traveled to France in 1917 to capture the battlefields for those at home. What he found was grisly: the artist was surrounded by mangled forests and skeletons still dressed in ragged uniforms. Both Orpen and war painter Henri Joffroy reported strange activity in the woods at Thiepval. Orpen claimed a phantom force attacked him while painting in a seemingly abandoned field, and Joffroy was hit with the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh, even though the bodies in the field had lain there for over a year. 5. Brest Fortress The defense of Brest Fortress on June 22–June 29, 1941 was one of the first battles during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union during WWII. Soviet soldiers were caught unawares by the strike, and withdrew into the fortress in Brest. They held out for a week until bombing forced the remaining 360 Soviet soldiers to surrender. In the years following the war, the defense of Brest fortress came to symbolize Soviet determination and resistance. In 1971, a memorial was founded at the site of Brest Fortress, and gigantic sculptures were erected. One sculpture, entitled “Thirst”, depicts an injured soldier struggling to get water from a river. Another gargantuan soldier greets visitors with a look of defiance on his face. Inside one of the walls of the fortress is a scrawled inscription that reflects the determination of the troops. “I’m dying,” says the inscription, “but I won’t surrender. Farewell Motherland!” 6. USS Arizona Memorial The ghostly wreckage of the USS Arizona is now a memorial to the 1,102 American sailors and Marines that lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A total of 2,403 people were killed during the bombing, prompting the United States to enter World War II. Built in 1962, the memorial straddles the wreckage of the USS Arizona, and is only accessible by boat. Of the visitors that come to pay their respects to the men and women who were killed on that infamous day, many have reported capturing strange orbs on film and even faces and figures in the water and in the memorial. Others claim to hear the sound of an air raid alarm, even though this is not part of the museum. Janitors have reported the sounds of screams and scraping metal. Others still report an eerie mist that skims the water’s surface and takes the shape of a Japanese fighter plane. 7. Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial Near Colleville-sur-Mer, France The memorial to the American troops who lost their lives during the Allied invasion of Normandy is breathtaking in its scope: 9,387 American soldiers are buried here, alongside 307 unknown soldiers. The cemetery overlooks Omaha Beach, one of the landing beaches of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. Thousands of tourists travel to Normandy every year to honor all those who lost their lives, especially those American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice on European soil. Visitors report feeling overwhelmed by the sight of thousands of white grave markers on the rolling hills above the beach. Others feel a distinct sense of unease. One family, however, had a particularly eerie experience when their 7-year-old daughter reported seeing a group of men looking at her while they visited the remains on the bunkers on the beach. Upon later questioning, she identified German soldiers in a photograph from WWII as the men she had seen on the beach, even describing their guns and the buttons on their clothing with astounding historical accuracy. 8. Hiroshima Peace Memorial The ghostly ruin of the only remaining structure to survive the drop of the nuclear warhead on Hiroshima is enough to make any person uncomfortable. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly on August 6, 1945, and at least another 70,000 suffered radiation related injuries and sickness. Now, the building’s dome and surrounding grounds serve as Hiroshima’s plea for peace and the end of nuclear war in the form of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Though some have claimed to capture the face of a ghost embedded in the side of the dome in photographs, the hard facts of the Hiroshima memorial are far more terrifying. The museum includes a historical outline of events leading up to August 6, and artifacts recovered just after the attack—such as radiation shadows and human remains—that are nothing short of absolutely bone-chilling. It is estimated that 60 million people were killed as a result of WWII, about 3 percent of the planet’s population in 1940. This story was originally featured on The-Line-Up.com. The Lineup is the premier digital destination for fans of true crime, horror, the mysterious, and the paranormal.

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Diabetes foot disease: the Cinderella of Australian diabetes management? © Lazzarini et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012 Received: 31 July 2012 Accepted: 14 August 2012 Published: 1 October 2012 Diabetes is one of the greatest public health challenges to face Australia. It is already Australia’s leading cause of kidney failure, blindness (in those under 60 years) and lower limb amputation, and causes significant cardiovascular disease. Australia’s diabetes amputation rate is one of the worst in the developed world, and appears to have significantly increased in the last decade, whereas some other diabetes complication rates appear to have decreased. This paper aims to compare the national burden of disease for the four major diabetes-related complications and the availability of government funding to combat these complications, in order to determine where diabetes foot disease ranks in Australia. Our review of relevant national literature indicates foot disease ranks second overall in burden of disease and last in evidenced-based government funding to combat these diabetes complications. This suggests public funding to address foot disease in Australia is disproportionately low when compared to funding dedicated to other diabetes complications. There is ample evidence that appropriate government funding of evidence-based care improves all diabetes complication outcomes and reduces overall costs. Numerous diverse Australian peak bodies have now recommended similar diabetes foot evidence-based strategies that have reduced diabetes amputation rates and associated costs in other developed nations. It would seem intuitive that “it’s time” to fund these evidence-based strategies for diabetes foot disease in Australia as well. KeywordsDiabetes Foot Complication Disease Australia Diabetes has been coined the ‘Black Death of the 21st century’ due to its stark similarities with the 14th century plague in terms of the rapid increase in global prevalence, morbidity and mortality . In 2004, the global forecast of people with diabetes was estimated at 366 million by 2030 . Alarmingly this figure (equivalent to 8.3% of the world’s adult population) was reached in 2011 almost 20 years earlier than expected . The updated 2030 estimate is now a staggering 552 million people (10% of the world’s adult population) . These disturbing figures prompted the United Nations to convene only the second ever UN General Assembly summit on a health issue in 2011 . The summit resulted in 193 nations unanimously agreeing to adopt a Political Declaration on diabetes and other non-communicable diseases that commits them to take action to urgently stem the tide of diabetes and its consequences [4, 5]. Diabetes is characterised by high blood glucose levels, which can result in significant morbidity and mortality from macrovascular and microvascular complications including heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower limb amputation [5–7]. The significance of the complications faced by people with diabetes is emphasised by the fact that someone in the world dies from diabetes-related complications every seven seconds and diabetes is now the leading cause of kidney failure and lower limb amputations globally . In alignment with the overall increase in diabetes prevalence, healthcare expenditure on diabetes is expected to rise significantly from $US465 billion in 2011 to $US595 billion in 2030 . This has prompted the World Economic Forum to identify diabetes as a global risk for business . Australia is far from immune from the increasing impact of diabetes, with experts suggesting that it presents one of the most significant public health challenges Australia has ever faced [7, 8]. Australia currently has over 1 million people diagnosed with diabetes , representing 7.4% of the adult population . An estimated additional 500,000 Australians have diabetes but remain undiagnosed . By 2025, it is estimated that 2.5 to 3 million Australians will have diabetes [10, 11]. This is equivalent to one in every three adults developing diabetes in their lifetime. [10, 11]. The consequences of diabetes in Australia are significant with over 500,000 hospital admissions (8% of all admissions) and 12,000 deaths (9% of all deaths) attributable to the condition in 2004 alone . Consistent with global reports diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease and lower limb amputation in Australia [7, 12], resulting in increased length of hospital stay and a cost of approximately $A6 billion in 2003 . Successive Australian Governments have not ignored the ‘silent pandemic’ of diabetes. Diabetes was announced as the fifth National Health Priority Action (NHPA) area in 1996 and as such governments have invested in strategic plans, best-practice guidelines, medications, consumables, service programs, research and educational campaigns in an attempt to optimise care and reduce the impact of related complications [14, 15]. The first National Diabetes Strategic Plan (1998) identified over 60 recommendations aimed at reducing the prevalence of diabetes and its complications . This strategic plan strongly urged implementing a suite of nationally coordinated priority programs aimed at tackling individual diabetes complications in particular . These proposed national programs included a visual impairment prevention program, end stage renal disease prevention program, cardiovascular disease prevention program and a foot disease management program . The plan went further and expressly outlined it expected a 50% reduction in all diabetes-related end-stage complications within a decade with the implementation of all programs . Despite these best intentions, a recent paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia by the Australian Diabetes Society has suggested that Australia’s diabetes-related amputation numbers have increased by 30% between 1998 and 2005 and that Australia has failed to successfully implement key best-practice recommendations outlined for the management of diabetes-related foot disease . More recent data suggests that diabetes-related amputation rates (per 100,000 general population) have also increased in Australia by over 30% for the period between 1998 and 2011 [17–19]. By comparison a recently released national diabetes indicator report shows a 30% reduction in vision loss over a similar period . Furthermore, the same report indicates that new rates of end stage foot complications (amputations) are up to four times higher than that of new end-stage kidney disease . The apparent disparity between rates and outcomes for foot disease compared to other diabetes-related complications prompted the authors to consider whether this correlates to an inequality in the level of government funding foot disease receives. Thus, this paper aims to firstly compare the national burden of disease for different diabetes-related complications and secondly the availability of government funding to combat these complications, in order to determine specifically where diabetes-related foot disease ranks in terms of disease burden and government spending. National burden and funding of diabetes complications Successive Australian governments have overseen the implementation of multi-faceted strategies in an attempt to turn the tide of diabetes over the last fifteen years. The National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has taken the lead on the development of best-practice guidelines and recommendations designed to encourage health systems and professionals to improve the management of diabetes and its complications [20–23]. Australian governments have attempted to complement these guidelines by funding best-practice diabetes management recommendations via its Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS), Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and other nationally funded programs aimed at tackling diabetes complications. With the release of multiple national government data reports [6, 17] and successive research publications over the last decade [24–32], it is timely to compare the impact of these strategies on diabetes complication rates, costs, burden of disease and public health funding in Australia. A review of relevant national diabetes complication-related literature published over the last 15 years forms the basis of this paper. Publications reviewed included government reports, epidemiological publications, health economic publications, evidence-based guidelines, government media releases, Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Schemes. Comparison of specific adult diabetes complication rates, hospitalisations, deaths and burden of disease in Australia Burden of disease History - populationb* History – servicec** How many people are affected by the different diabetes complications in Australia? Diabetes contributes significantly to cardiovascular, kidney, eye and foot disease [5, 7]. Alarmingly, diabetes is now Australia’s leading cause of kidney failure, blindness (in people under 60 years) and lower limb amputation ; accounting for 17% of all blindness, 32% of all end stage kidney failure and 60% of all amputations [6, 12]. Recent reports suggest Australia has one of the worst diabetes-related lower limb amputation rates in the developed world [12, 33, 34], at nearly 20 per 100,000 people with diabetes [17, 18, 34] compared to an average of 12 per 100,000 people with diabetes in the developed world . Our analysis suggest that foot disease ranks second overall to cardiovascular disease in terms of numbers of people affected by a high-risk or acute complication in the Australian population with diabetes (Table 1). Further figures suggest new acute complication cases are approximately 18 per 100,000 people per year for amputation and blindness, compared to six per 100,000 per year for end stage renal disease . How much health care resource do different diabetes complications use in Australia? Foot disease ranks third behind cardiovascular and kidney disease in terms of the numbers of diabetes-related acute hospital admissions (Table 1) . However, diabetes-related foot disease results in longer average length of hospital stay when compared to all other diabetes-related complications (Table 1) . Thus, it could be argued that in Australia diabetes-related foot complications consume the second largest amount of acute care resources of all diabetes complications behind only kidney disease when total hospital bed day usage is taken into account. A 2008 Australian study supports the contention that diabetes-related foot disease consumes the highest number of bed days annually, reporting 48 and 57 days respectively for admitted foot ulcers and amputations (compared to 18 days for myocardial infarction for example) . Furthermore, the same study suggested that annual primary care resources (i.e. GP visits only) required to manage a diabetes complication for the year following an acute episode was highest for an acute foot complication; requiring an average of 18 GP visits for a foot ulcer . How much do different acute diabetes complications cost in Australia? It has been reported that a person with diabetes (type 1 or type 2) without complications costs Australia around $3,500 to $4,000 per year in healthcare costs, and this escalates to around $7,000 for people with microvascular complications, and $16,700 per year in people with microvascular and macrovascular complications [13, 36]. Acute foot complications (foot ulcers and amputations) are reported as having both a micro- and macrovascular component . Comparison of specific costs for first diabetes complication episodes in Australia Initial year of complication event Each subsequent year of complication event Total $A 2003* Total $A 1999** Hospital $A 1999** Non-hospital $A 1999** Total $A 1999** Hospital $A 1999** Non-hospital $A 1999** What is the burden of disease of the different diabetes complications in Australia? Australian burden of disease and mortality statistics (Table 1) demonstrate that foot complications rank second only to cardiovascular disease in terms of the effect all diabetes complications have on lost healthy years suffered by the Australian community . Burden of disease can be summarised by disability adjusted life years (DALY) figures that determine total lost healthy life years in terms illness, injury and premature death . Furthermore, mortality data associated with diabetes complications suggests foot complications are the second leading cause of diabetes-related death second only to cardiovascular disease; cardiovascular disease accounts for four-times the rate of any other diabetes cause . How does the Australian government fund best-practice management of different diabetes complications? The Australian Government and NHMRC have regularly commissioned best-practice guidelines for the management of various diabetes complications [20–23]. Each guideline formulates recommendations (NHMRC graded) using standard evidence-based methods and are endorsed by NHMRC [20–23]. There are broad similarities in the recommendations emanating from the suite of diabetes complication guidelines including; screening every one to two years for complications, control of blood glucose levels, blood pressure and lipids, requirements for further investigations and/or surgical intervention for acute complications and a multi-disciplinary approach [20–23]. The cost of most of the NHMRC endorsed diabetes complication guideline recommendations are funded via the Australian Government’s MBS or PBS programs [38, 39]. The MBS Program, under the auspices of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth) provides access to services via Medicare benefits which are claimable only for ‘clinically relevant’ services provided by an appropriate health practitioner . The PBS program, through the National Health Act 1953 (Cth), “provides timely, reliable and affordable access to necessary medicines for Australians” . total contact cast or other device rendered irremovable; topical hydrogel and wound dressings; topical negative pressure therapy; and Furthermore, it should be noted that the MBS schedule for podiatry consultation is capped at a maximum of five allied health consultations rebatable annually, and therefore, podiatry ‘competes’ with all other allied health consultations . Given that two other diabetes foot guideline recommendations specifically include the necessity for multiple podiatry review consultations in high-risk diabetes foot complication management and diabetes foot ulcer multi-disciplinary management, it could be argued that the current arrangements are inadequate to be considered satisfactorily publicly funded for seven diabetes-related foot recommendations [23, 38]. An examination of all medications recommended for the management of diabetes-related complications suggests that all are publicly funded under the PBS system when prescribed by a medical or nurse endorsed prescriber [20–23, 39, 40]. Interestingly, many of those same recommended medications (particularly oral antibiotics for diabetes foot ulcer management) funded by PBS, are not covered by PBS when appropriately provided by an equivalent podiatry endorsed prescriber [39, 40]. How is additional government funding distributed to address different diabetes complication management? In addition to PBS and MBS funding, the Federal Government in recent years has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns, programs, publications, research and/or additional resources (including capital and infrastructure) to manage the known complications of diabetes . The distribution of this additional public funding for the management of diabetes complications appears to be more ad hoc, making it very difficult to make any direct comparison. However, a review of publicly available information from such sources as ministerial media releases, it appears that foot disease receives comparatively less support . In reviewing the publicly available information, it is clear that the Australian Government has announced significant investment in the management of kidney, cardiovascular, and eye disease . This includes in excess of $300 million to tackle kidney disease by funding the expansion of renal infrastructure, dialysis and support services across Australia and new drugs to combat kidney disease under the PBS . Government has also allocated significant additional funding to combat cardiovascular disease, including up to $200 million for development and uptake of cardiovascular risk management tools and guidelines, investments in research, and establishment of a national centre for monitoring . A number of cardiovascular disease initiatives have been federally funded through non-government organisations such as the Heart Foundation and the National Stroke Foundation . A National Eye Framework has also been established with the responsibility for the funding of services to increase access to eye health and vision care . Announcements to date include extra eye disease funding of up to $30 million, targeting increased consultation, training, equipment, surgical interventions and research to manage eye disease . A search for similar Australian Government funding announcements over the last decade failed to identify any significant additional funding announcements specifically addressing foot or lower limb disease . Furthermore, a cursory glance through the official Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Australian Government funded) ‘diabetes related publications’ webpage seems to also highlight this lack of comparative government focus on foot disease . Of the 55 publications listed most are generically diabetes titled, with five titles specifically related to diabetes cardiovascular disease, four to kidney disease and none address foot disease . Summary of diabetes complication rankings in Australia Burden and cost of complication Costs per episodeb Overall estimated costsc Proportion guideline recommendations fundedd Additional programs fundede Kidney & CVD Although it would appear that the Australian government has yet to specifically focus on reducing the burden of diabetes-related foot disease, there somewhat promisingly appears to have been an acceleration in the number of recent strategic publications released by national peak consumer, health professional and research bodies targeting the improvement in the prevention, assessment and management of diabetes-related foot disease [16, 18, 23, 43]. Many of these documents cover the same territory in terms of recommendations to improve diabetes-related foot disease management and reduce the burden of diabetes-related foot ulceration and amputation in this country [16, 18, 23, 43]. None, however, are yet to translate into public funding. funding and policy development to support timely access to health professionals and multi-disciplinary foot teams for people with high-risk and acute foot complications; in particular access to podiatrists, nurses and aboriginal health workers; further training for allied health professionals to assess ulcer risk, wound debridement, appropriate wound dressing and pressure reduction, and; electronic decision support tools for medical practitioners, allied health professionals and aboriginal health services . improved access to foot care via MBS for people with foot complications; subsidies for evidence based treatments including pressure off-loading devices and medical grade footwear; standardised national model for multi-disciplinary foot teams national accreditation of multi-disciplinary foot clinics and health professionals; improving holistic diabetes care initiatives to “close the gap” on inequities in diabetes foot outcomes for indigenous Australians, and; reporting of national incidence and outcomes of diabetes-related foot disease . Interestingly, the previous Australian Diabetes Society (2000) and national diabetes strategic plans (1998) , published over a decade ago, also included recommendations around routine podiatry care for people with high-risk feet, access to multidisciplinary team care for people with foot ulcers, increased access to foot care services for indigenous Australians, and a national diabetes foot care committee to oversee implementation of these national foot care activities and monitor outcomes [15, 44]. The restatement of these same evidence-based strategies over 12 years on would seem to demonstrate the lack of systematic national implementation of these strategies and that existing arrangements have been insufficient in light of the increase in diabetes-related amputations over the same period. This lack of systematic investment seems to be in spite of the best efforts of the many multidisciplinary clinicians, health advocates and peak bodies. implementing an annual national diabetes amputation rate report; increasing access to podiatrists via MBS from a maximum of 5 visits to an average of 12 for those with diabetes-related foot complications and foot ulcers; subsidising pressure off-loading devices for those with past or present foot ulcers; and increasing access to MBS services for indigenous Australians with diabetes-related foot complications via indigenous health workers . increasing access to MBS allied health visits from 5 – 12 for people with diabetes; funding National Accredited Diabetes Centres (including multi-disciplinary teams), and; providing all people with diabetes a comprehensive annual risk assessment . increasing access to podiatry, nursing, indigenous health workers and other allied health services via MBS; subsidising evidenced-based treatments such as pressure off-loading devices via government funding; implementing standard models of multi-disciplinary foot care teams across the nation; reporting and monitoring of annual national diabetes foot disease rates, and; These common strategies when implemented in other countries appear to significantly reduce diabetes-related amputation rates and costs [45–54]. Many other developed nations systematically implementing such evidence-based strategies display amputation rates approximately half that of Australia [12, 18, 33, 34]. The UK has reported amputation rates as low as seven per 100,000 population [50, 53] or nearly one third of the rate faced in Australia [17, 18, 34]. Furthermore, an international cost-utility analysis study concluded that just a 25% reduction in ulceration and amputation rates by implementing and funding best-practice systems to manage diabetes foot complications is a ‘cost-saving strategy’ . The Australasian Podiatry Council plan suggested that with the implementation of such strategies and assuming similar outcomes to those found in other nations, that an overall reduction in amputations and hospitalisation of between 24 to 90% was achievable in the Australian context . This reduction translates to an estimated overall cost saving to Australia of $220 to 400 million annually . Thus, it would appear Australia could learn many lessons from other comparable nations that have invested in these well-known evidence-based strategies, which have reaped the associated benefits of reduced amputation, hospitalisation and cost for diabetes-related foot disease. Overall, the burden of diabetes-related foot disease in Australia is high and funding evidence-based diabetes-related foot management seems to significantly reduce this burden when implemented in other comparable nations. This simple yet very effective strategy, of funding evidence-based recommendations, also appears to have enjoyed success in other Australian diabetes complications in terms of reducing devastating diabetes complication outcomes in Australia. It would therefore seem intuitive to follow this same strategy and ensure that at a minimum all national best-practice guideline recommendations on the management of diabetes complications are publicly funded to reduce the significant associated morbidity and mortality faced in Australia and improve the limbs and lives of Australians with diabetes. Diabetes has been rated as one of the greatest public health challenges to face Australia. This paper has demonstrated that diabetes-related foot complications, in comparison to other diabetes complications, make up a considerable portion of the diabetes-related burden of disease in Australia. In contrast to other diabetes complications, it appears that a very low number of national best-practice recommendations have been incorporated into publicly funded models of care, and that foot disease lacks any additional public funding. These conspicuous gaps may significantly contribute to the poor outcomes of diabetes-related foot complications facing Australia in comparison to other Australian diabetes complications and international diabetes-related foot disease outcomes. In the spirit of unanimous UN action on diabetes, the promising diabetes-related foot results seen in other nations, and the constant urging of multiple diverse national peak bodies, it seems like “its time” to equally invest in diabetes-related foot disease in Australia. The authors would like to warmly acknowledge Ms Vanessa Nube and Mr Damien Clark for reading and commenting on various drafts of the manuscript. - Matthews DR, Matthews PC: Type 2 diabetes as an ‘infectious’ disease: is this the Black Death of the 21st century?. Diabet Med. 2011, 28: 2-9.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar - Wild S, Sicree R, Roglic G, King H, Green A: Global prevalence of diabetes: Estimate for the year 2000 and projects for 2030. 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Acta Orthop. 2010, 81 (5): 737-744.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar - Ragnarson Tennvall G, Apelqvist J: Prevention of diabetes-related foot ulcers and amputations: a cost-utility analysis based on Markov model simulations. Diabetologia. 2001, 44 (11): 2077-2087. 10.1007/s001250100013.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Another change comes in the Fourth Dynasty, and is to be noted first in the royal tombs, as is always the case. The Egyptians had now learned to cut stone and build with it. The burial chambers hollowed in the solid rock were necessarily smaller than the old chambers dug in the gravel and no longer sufficient to contain the great mass of furniture gathered by a king for his grave. On the other hand, the chapels with the increase in architectural skill could be build of great size. Corresponding to these technical conditions we find a great increase in the importance of the chapel. It becomes a great temple, whose magazines were filled with all those objects which had formerly been placed in the burial chamber and were so necessary to the life of the spirit. The temples of the third pyramid, for example, contained nearly two thousand stone vessels. Great estates were set aside by will, and the income appointed to the support of certain persons who on their side were obliged to keep up the temple, to make the offerings and to recite the magical formulas which would provide the spirit with all its necessities. Following closely the growth in importance of the royal chapels, the private offering places assumed a greater importance. The custom of periodic offerings and the use of magical texts grew until it reached its highest point in the Fifth Dynasty. At this time there is a burial chamber deep underground where the dead was laid securely in ancient traditional attitude, with his clothing and a few personal ornaments. As a rule, it is only the women, always conservative, that have anything more. Above this grave, there is a solid rectangular structure, with a chapel or offering place on the side towards the valley. The offering place is always there, no matter how poor or small the tomb. But to understand just what the Egyptian thought, we must turn to the better tombs. The walls are of limestone carved with reliefs representing the important processes of daily life,—sowing, reaping, cattle-herding, hunting, pot-making, weaving,—all those actions which furnish the daily supplies. The dead man is represented overseeing all this. Finally, near the offering niche, he is represented seated, usually with his wife at a table bearing loaves of the traditional ta bread. Beside him are represented heaps of provisions—meat, cakes, vegetables, wine and beer. A list of objects is never missing, marked with numbers,—a thousand loaves of bread, a thousand head of cattle, a thousand jars of wine, a thousand garments, and so on. We know from latter inscriptions that these words, properly recited, created for the spirit a store of spirit objects in equal numbers. Below the niche is an altar for receiving actual offerings of food and drink. It is clear that the living, coming to this offering place with or without material offerings, could, by proper recitation, secure to the spirit of the dead all its daily needs.

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We have been discussing on ways of incorporating the OCW model to deliver educational materials to the North Koreans. Increasingly, universities are using various forms of OCW to share information with the public, where lectures are posted as webcasts and Columbia University even has clips on iTune U for download. While the model provides cost savings through distance learning, there are certain issues, which include the learning culture in DPRK and the specificity of the taught subject that needs to be address in order for it to be relevant to the North Koreans. These various concerns will be addressed using the architectural discipline as an example. Learning Culture The architectural discipline is largely dependent on the learning culture rather than pure knowledge, which means that even if we have all the information made readily available for the North Koreans, students may find it hard to apply to their context. For example, lectures on digital fabrication in architecture would not be relevant if there are no equipments available to produce these prototypes. Furthermore, even if equipments are available, students may not use it if the university’s learning culture is not in digital fabrication design. This is the case for many Asian universities where advanced fabrication equipments are underutilized because it is not part of the university’s culture to pursue such research. Specificity of Subject Furthermore, the architectural discipline is extremely vast and loosely defined, for example, a person's interest can range from the philosophical and political nature of architecture to the cutting edge construction techniques. The various DPRK universities together with the Paektusan Academy of Architecture are already producing architects who can perform the basic tasks of an architect. Therefore, we are hoping to value add to their education through introducing a wide range of subjects while tailoring to suit DPRK’s context. Joint Research Studio To ensure the relevancy of the OCW model, perhaps it would be most effective to establish a joint research studio between North Korean architecture students and a partnering university researching on a specific aspect of DPRK architecture. Through this common research topic, theoretical knowledge and technical skills can be transferred in the most relevant way. Examples of such twinning architectural research programs include collaboration between Tsinghua and Penn, or Tongji and Yale, where students spend a couple of weeks at each university to share their research.

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I have reviewed the first 2 MathLab apps. I like them being so simple and easy to follow, and the math activities being so diverse and different so kids won’t get bored easily. The first two MathLab apps are for kindergarten and first grade. Now they have a 3rd one in the series: MathLab for 2nd grade. Although it is designed for 2nd grade, any kids in early elementary school or kindergarten should find it helpful. Like the first two apps in the series, kids can use it in two ways: Expedition and Laboratory. Expedition is for kids go through the games by difficulty levels. Each level includes all types of math problems, such as addition, shapes, counting charts. Laboratory has 17 groups, and each group focuses on one type of math activity, like addition. The 17 types of math activities in the app: Pattern: kids identify the pattern that fits the sequence. Number chart: kids learn to use chart to display a group of numbers. Less / Greater / Equal Sign: kids learn the relationship between numbers. Calendar: kids learn about date and structure of the calendar, and do calculation based on that. Weekday / Month / Season sequence: an extension of the calendar. Skip Counting: skip counting by 2, 5, 10. Add Double: kids will do addition of adding the same numbers together. Read Ruler / Thermometer / Scale: kids learn how to measure temperature, length and weight. Make 10: kids have to choose the number that can make 10 when added by a given number. Expand Number: to learn the expanded form expressing a multi-digit number. Time Pattern: learn to read time from a clock. Addition: addition with 2-digit numbers Subtraction: subtraction with 2-digit numbers Matrix: learn to classify objects by Color, Shape, 3D Shape, Even/Odd, Digits. Fraction: identify fraction with graphs of different shapes. Multiplication: single digit multiplications Division: single digit divisions. As previous two apps in the series, I like the different types of the questions. They are not the typical ones you see from school homework. It is great for kids to see some different types questions for the same concepts they are learning at school. MathLab Grade 2 is available on iPhone, iPod and iPad. It is also available on Google Play and Amazon App Store for Android. If you would like to check it out or purchase it, please use the App Store link provided below. The cost is the same to you, but iGameMom gets a small percentage. Thanks for your support! Note: The link works for all countries. For more math games for kids, please check our pick of 45 math games for kids grouped by kids age and learning objectives.

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What is hydrocephalus? Hydrocephalus is a condition where there is a build-up of excessive fluid in the brain. The brain normally relies on a certain level of cerebrospinal fluid for protection and nutrients. A build-up of this fluid increases the pressure on the brain, which can result in damage to the brain tissue. What causes hydrocephalus? Hydrocephalus can be congenital which means your child is born with the condition, or can be acquired after birth as a result of injury or disease such as meningitis, head injury or a condition such as spina bifida. What are the symptoms of hydrocephalus? Symptoms of hydrocephalus in children may include: - Nausea or vomiting - Blurred or double vision - Problems with balance and coordination - Gait disturbance Diagnosis of hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus is diagnosed through clinical neurological evaluation of the brain using tests such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or pressure-monitoring techniques. A doctor will select the most appropriate diagnostic tool based on your child’s age, clinical presentation, and the presence of known or suspected abnormalities of the brain or spinal cord. How is hydrocephalus treated? It is important that normal levels of fluid and pressure are restored to prevent or limit further damage to brain tissue. Treatment usually involves surgery to insert a shunt which allows fluid to drain elsewhere in the body, usually the abdominal cavity. Physiotherapy for hydrocephalus Physiotherapy is vital following treatment to help restore your childs physical development, achievement of milestones, balance, coordination and mobility. At Physio.co.uk, our specialist paediatric physiotherapists will provide specialist assessment and treatment of your child’s physical problems in order to optimise their functional potential and quality of life. Physiotherapy treatment at Physio.co.uk for your will vary according to your child’s needs and age but may include: - Activities to facilitate normal movement patterns - Practising functional activities using games and toys to promote achievement of physical milestones such as sitting, standing, crawling - Gait re-education to maximise independence in mobility - Exercises to improve balance and coordination - Exercises to stretch or strengthen tight or weak muscles - Hydrotherapy to stretch and strengthen muscles in a relaxing environment At Physio.co.uk your physiotherapist will initially assess your child’s movement and function in order to establish an individual treatment programme to maximise their potential and ensure they go on to make significant long term improvements. Your physiotherapist at Physio can provide treatment for your child in their home, school or at our clinic. For more information on physiotherapy for hydrocephalus, or to book an appointment please call 0330 088 7800, or book online today!

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By Jamie Rogers Faculty and staff of George Mason University were minding their own beeswax all summer. As part of the Living Hive Project, artist Elsabé Dixon, a Mason alumna and Mason School of Art adjunct instructor, placed sections of a 12-part sculpture prototype made of plaster form and a drywall compound inside the hives of George Mason’s The Honey Bee Initiative in May to track the activities of the honeybees. The bees create a “skin” for the sculpture, which was lined with a sheet of commercially produced beeswax to encourage wax building, she said. The bees were severely limited, because they were unable to get out of the hive during the “flow” — a short period of the year when the majority of plants produce pollen that bees harvest. “This spring, it rained for 22 days straight. Bees cannot fly in the rain so they could not harvest anything during this time,” she said. “Initially, the bees robbed most of the wax off the sculpture … it was fascinating to watch.” Eventually, the bees got around to building comb when they could once again could forage and collect pollen. The project, funded in part by a $5,000, Tier-3 grant awarded by Mason’s Provost Office to Dixon during her tenure, is to promote multidisciplinary activity at the university. It was a collaboration between The Honey Bee Initiative of the School of Integrative Studies and the School of Art and is meant to facilitate the difficult conversations around the issues of pesticides, changing conditions, Dixon said. “The bees have always been the first builders and makers. Humans are the ones that have emulated them,” she said. “It is time to listen again to what they are saying instead of imposing stressful systems that work against their nature.” The bees’ work was collected in June along with the 11 other parts of the sculpture that were placed at apiaries, or bee hives, from Fairfax to Danville, along Virginia’s Route 29 corridor. That corridor was chosen because it runs past Dadant, a large bee supply company that services Mason’s Honey Bee Initiative, which started in 2012. The Danville Museum of History and Fine Art, where the re-assembled structure is on display until Oct. 9, is also located along Route 29. Money for the project was raised in Charlottesville is off Route 29, too, she said. Dixon said she worked with Mason conservation studies professor Stephanie Lessard-Pilon to include the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation apiary in Front Royal, even though it isn’t located right along Route 29. “I think [the collaboration] happened beautifully with this project,” she said. “We pulled off something quite unique.”

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Yesterday, in the supermarket, a customer dumped a whole basket full of power bars on the counter. The checkout counter person started to scan them in, one by one. After seeing about seven of them scanned, with a lot more to go, the customer piped up: “they are all the same!” The checkout person laughed and started to count them. What just happened? The customer apparently saw a faster way for the checkout person to handle the power bars, and the checkout person saw it too. The critical ingredient was knowing that all power bars were the same. How was this helpful? I thought this was an interesting little puzzle. Of course, given the title of the post, you may be sure that I see it as related to multiplication. More specifically, multiplication viewed as a short cut. I find this interesting since it is rarely the way kids in school relate to multiplication. Kids in school often think of multiplication as hard and tedious, particularly as compared to addition. In the context they usually encounter addition and multiplication, you might agree with them. If you are given two numbers and you are supposed to add them, or you are given two numbers and you are supposed to multiply them, which of them is easier and less work? Compared this way, you can see the preference for addition. But comparing addition of two numbers and multiplication of two numbers may not be how it shows up in real life. Let’s compare the situations that presented themselves before and after the customer’s comment: a pile of mixed power bars on the one hand, and a pile of identical power bars on the other hand. mixed: .34 + .36 + .45 + .29 + .34 + .34 + .35 + .40 + .60 + .20 + .29 + .34 + .36 + .36 identical: .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 + .34 On learning that all power bars were identical (and clearly trusting the customer on this) the checkout person knew she could simply count the remaining bars (14) and scan just one, and the cash register would handle it as a multiplication: for faster service. Multiplication as a short cut for repeated addition of identical numbers. Note that even in the absence of a cash register that handles the multiplication for you, thinking of the problem as a multiplication gives you many different options for coming up with the result. For example, you could split it in a group of ten and 4 separate ones, and know that the group of 10 cost $3.40, and the separate 4 could be added on one at a time. Or you could see it as seven pairs and compute the cost of a pair as .34+.34 =.68 and now only have to add .68 + .68 + .68 + .68 + .68 + .68 + .68, which is way fewer additions than you started out with. Or maybe you notice that 10 bars cost $3.40 and 5 bars cost half of that: $1.70, and so 15 bars add up to $ 5.10 and finally 14 bars cost $.34 less than that, $4.76! So let’s see if we can state this result in an obvious and accurate way that yet sidesteps some big controversies that I don’t see as helpful at all. repeated addition of identical numbers is multiplication! What I found most interesting about the whole episode is how easily the customer and the checkout person understood each other, and how the notion of multiplication as a short cut for repeated addition seemed to underlie both their actions.

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After banning neonicotinoid-containing pesticides earlier this year, the European Union Commission has added Fipronil to the list of banned chemicals. The majority vote was cast yesterday in an effort to help protect honey bee populations across Europe. The chemical came into question after the European Food Safety Authority conducted a study last May, which found that Fipronil-treated seeds posed as a risk to honey bees. Produced by Germany’s BASF, the banning of Fipronil met an almost unanimous vote, with 23 of the 28 EU states supporting the decision. Starting on December 31, 2013, the use of Fipronil on corn and sunflower seeds will be restricted to only those growing in green houses. The outright spraying of the chemical onto earthen crops of sunflower seeds and corn will be banned, and include all other crops it was previously used for, such as leeks, shallots, onions, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. The European Union has been actively taking steps in response to the dwindling honey bee population and subsequent colony collapse disorder over the past year, to the chagrin of European chemical companies. BASF maintains that Fipronil is not the cause for bee population decline, and that the European Commission needs to further investigate the problem. Bayer of Germany and Syngenta of Switzerland, whose products were banned in May, also maintain that their products are safe. Via Phys Org

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As regular readers may know, my background is in chemical engineering. Three basic concepts drive almost everything else in the field: the conservation of mass, energy, and momentum. A vast majority of problems in my field can, and are, solved using some variant of these three concepts. Sure, the mass-energy equivalence is what the universe conserves as a whole, but it doesn't affect the typical engineering designs a chemical engineer creates. So, if a ChemE was asked to give the mass of a neutron based on the knowledge that it is composed of one up quark and two down quarks, the trivial answer would be that a neutron weighs as much as two down quarks and an up quark together. This trivial answer is off by almost 2 orders of magnitude. Experiments have measured the mass of the up quark at between 1.5 and 3.3 megaelectron volts* (MeV); the down quark's mass is somewhere between 3.5 and 6.0 MeV. The sum of the masses of two down and one up quarks gives something between 8.5 and 15.3 MeV—but the precisely measured mass of a neutron is 939.565 MeV, meaning the quarks make up between one and two percent of its total mass. If physics, and science as a whole, is to explain the workings of our universe, we need to be able to account for this apparent discrepancy. The nature of the various fundamental particles and three of the four fundamental forces in the universe is described by the standard model of particle physics. It's been refined since it was first proposed in the 1960s, and has now passed nearly every test that it has been put to. The standard model postulates that hadrons—protons and neutrons are the most common examples, accounting for an estimated 99 percent of the mass of the visible universe between them—are composed of three quarks. These quarks are held together by the strong nuclear force in a way that's described by a theory known as quantum chromodynamics (QCD). According to QCD, the mass of the hadrons comes from both the mass of the constituent quarks, as well as the energy holding them together, which we observe as mass. In a paper published in last week's edition of Science, a team of scientists went back to do what we refer to as a sanity check: they attempted to calculate the masses of various light hadrons using what is known about their constituent quarks and QCD. Thanks to a property known as asymptotic freedom, problems in QCD can be solved more easily at high energies where the interactions decrease—behavior that's opposite that of many classical potential fields. At lower energies, the mathematical techniques used to solve the high energy cases no longer work and expensive computations must be carried out. To solve the low energy/low mass cases, researchers employ lattice QCD simulations. In this computer simulation methodology, the problem is mathematically transformed into a problem that resembles a solvable statistical physics system. Space is discretized into a lattice with a fixed spacing, and the QCD potential is computed using only a handful of inputs—the masses of the constituents quarks and an external coupling constant. Since space is not actually described by a lattice, a series of simulations were carried out at smaller and smaller lattice spacings; the results show that the answers begin to converge on a continuum value, which is what we should be observing in nature. It's not quite that simple, though. QCD is incapable of giving an exact value for the mass of a particle, as we can only calculate ratios between various masses. To tie the results back to physically measurable values, the authors of the paper used two different types of particles, the Ω and Ξ baryons. Two separate analyses were carried out, one fixing the base parameters using the Ω mass, and one using the Ξ mass. Both sets were found to predict the masses of various light hadrons to within the errors of both the stimulation and measurements of masses. The authors open their concluding paragraph, "Thus, our study strongly suggests that QCD is the theory of the strong interaction, at low energies as well [...]." This work illustrated the fact that it's healthy for scientists and engineers to go back and reexamine our basic assumptions from time to time. In this case, one of our foundation theories appears to be correct to the level with which we can measure it. This work also does a nice job illustrating how the use of lattice QCD, and the role of simulation methods in general, can help keep us moving forward. Starting from nothing but the basics of our knowledge, researchers carried out an ab inito computation of the mass of the most important particles in our universe, and showed that theory agrees with measurements. Science, 2008. DOI: 10.1126/science.1163233 * Weights in particle and high energy physics are often reported as equivalent energy divided by the speed of light squared, using the famous relation E=mc2. This means mass is energy/c2 but in natural units, the speed of light is often set to unity, so in mass being reported as equivalent energies.

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Read at : Scientists Map Food Security, Self-Provision of Major Cities Dec. 12, 2013 — Wealthy capital cities vary greatly in their dependence on the global food market. The Australian capital Canberra produces the majority of its most common food in its regional hinterland, while Tokyo primarily ensures its food security through import. The Copenhagen hinterland produces less than half of the consumption of the most common foods. For the first time, researchers have mapped the food systems of capital cities, an essential insight for future food security if population growth, climate change and political instability will affect the open market. Several partners in the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) are behind the study. “The three major cities in our study achieve food security by different degrees of self-provision and national and global market trade. It is important to understand such food flows in order to relate it to the energy challenge and the risk of national political unrest caused by food shortages and its effect on the open food trade,” says Professor Dr. John R. Porter from the University of Copenhagen, who is leading author on the study recently published online in the journal Global Food Security.

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In the year 200 AD, there were approximately 180 million human beings on the planet Earth. And at that time a Christian philosopher called Tertullian argued: ‘We are burdensome to the world, the resources are scarcely adequate for us. . . already nature does not sustain us.’ In other words, there were too many people for the planet to cope with and we were bleeding Mother Nature dry.Agreed. See also the November 23rd Wall Street Journal. Well today, nearly 180million people live in the Eastern Half of the United States alone, in the 26 states that lie to the east of the Mississippi River. And far from facing hunger or destitution, many of these people -- especially the 1.7 million who live on the tiny island of Manhattan -- have quite nice lives. In the early 1800s, there were approximately 980 million human beings on the planet Earth. One of them was the population scaremonger Thomas Malthus, who argued that if too many more people were born then ‘premature death would visit mankind’ -- there would be food shortages, ‘epidemics, pestilence and plagues’, which would ‘sweep off tens of thousands [of people]’. Well today, more than the entire world population of Malthus’s era now lives in China alone: there are 1.3 billion human beings in China. And far from facing pestilence, plagues and starvation, the living standards of many Chinese have improved immensely over the past few decades. In 1949 life expectancy in China was 36.5 years; today it is 73.4 years. In 1978 China had 193 cities; today it has 655 cities. Over the past 30 years, China has raised a further 235 million of its citizens out of absolute poverty -- a remarkable historic leap forward for humanity. (via reader Marc D.)

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The islands of hard geology on the floodplain have been a focus for human activity over the last 10,000 years. We have been investigating the earliest history of some of the islands in the Brue valley as part of a joint project with Reading University, Southampton University and Somerset County Council, funded by English Heritage. Lots of small holes, lots of hot digging, lots of mole and root disturbance, not much that looked like sand but… yes! – worked flint from several test pits Huzzah! – post and stake holes from Brickyard Farm dated to the early Neolithic -the same time as the Sweet Track Oooh!- lots of beaver chewed wood at the edge of Shapwick Burtle A 3D recreation of the Mesolithic landscape has been created in partnership with Archeritage and can be sen here Well I never!- a bronze age stake from peat near Canada Farm. Could it be another trackway?

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A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is an agreement between two parties that is not legally binding, but which outlines the responsibilities of each of the parties to the agreement. An MOU is often the first step toward creating a legally binding contract. In the U.S., an MOU can be considered identical to a letter of intent, which is another kind of non-binding agreement that suggests that a binding agreement will soon follow. To explore this concept, consider the following memorandum of understanding definition. Definition of Memorandum of Understanding - A nonbinding written document that states the responsibilities of each party to an agreement, before the official contract is drafted. Differences Between a Memorandum of Understanding and an Agreement While a Memorandum of Understanding is a kind of agreement, there are actually several differences between a Memorandum of Understanding and an agreement. An MOU is more of a promise, whereas an agreement is more of a no-frills commitment. The below table outlines the clear differences between the two: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING |Definition||An agreement is a document by which parties commit to working together to reach a common goal.||An MOU describes the terms of an agreement without being legally binding or involving the transfer of finances.| |Traits||Offer made and accepted.||Offer. Acceptance of that offer. Intentions for the project. Consideration of the terms of the project.| |Enforceable in a court of law?||Yes, sometimes.||No (with exceptions).| |Binding?||Yes, always.||Only if the MOU is signed with the intention of exchanging monies.| |Form||Can be oral or written.||Written.| Types of Agreement An agreement is more straightforward than an MOU in that once an offer is made by one party and accepted by the other, the agreement then becomes a binding promise that the parties have agreed upon. In the event that one party fails to fulfill his end of the agreement, then the other party can take him to court to sue for damages. There are several different types of agreement, including: - Conditional Agreements. Conditional agreements are only enforceable once previous conditions have been met first. - Express Agreements. Express agreements are contracts that specifically lay out the intentions of all of those involved. - Implied Agreements. An implied agreement is an agreement that is understood based on the actions of the parties, rather than by writing down or speaking the terms of the agreement. - Executed Agreements. An executed agreement is an agreement that has been signed by all of the parties involved. Those signatures are necessary in order for the contract to go into effect. - Executory Agreements. An executory agreement is a contract that has not yet been fulfilled and that is understood to be one that will be fulfilled at a later date. - Void Agreements. Void agreements are agreements that cannot be enforceable by law. It is not void at the start but ultimately becomes void due to some sort of change that affects the terms of the agreement. - Voidable Agreements. A voidable agreement is different from a void agreement, in that a voidable agreement is a valid contract that can either be affirmed or rejected by a party to the agreement. If a party rejects the contract, then the voidable agreement becomes a void agreement. The major difference between an agreement and an MOU is that parties will typically go for an MOU if they have no interest in ever involving a court in their affairs. An agreement is made with the express intention to take the other party to court, should the other party breach the terms of the agreement in any way. How to Write a Memorandum of Understanding An effective Memorandum of Understanding prevents misunderstandings and potential disputes by clearly laying out the expectations and responsibilities of all parties to the agreement. For example, a Memorandum of Understanding will cover the types of insurance the parties have, including liability insurance, as well as the promises everyone is willing to make and everyone’s level of commitment to the project at hand. If anyone refuses to put anything in writing, then that is a major red flag that should tell everyone involved in the project that perhaps they should not go forward with the arrangement. Every situation, as well as the parties to it, is unique, and thus so is a Memorandum of Understanding. However, the following elements are general enough and important enough to potentially be included in most MOUs: - Overall Intent – An example of a Memorandum of Understanding that is well-written is one that begins by outlining the intentions of all who are involved. The overall intent clause must be an exact and clear reflection of the aims of all parties to the agreement. Nothing should be assumed, and there should be no gray area here. - Parties to the Agreement – All who are involved in the agreement should be specified within the Memorandum of Understanding. - Time Period – The exact time period of the project should be specified, with both start and end dates. - Responsibilities – Everyone’s responsibilities and duties should be thoroughly detailed in this section of the MOU so that there are no misunderstandings insofar as who is responsible for doing what. Shared responsibilities should be included here as well, not just individual ones. This is perhaps the most important section of the MOU because it is essentially the reason why the MOU is drafted in the first place. Therefore, this will probably be the lengthiest section of any MOU. - Disclaimers – If there are any disclaimers that should be mentioned in the MOU, then a separate section should be created to outline them. This is the section where it would be prudent to note what it is the project is not supposed to accomplish, as well as what is not guaranteed by or during the completion of the project. - Financial Arrangements – In this section, the parties should be specific about who will pay for what, when those payments are due, and who will be receiving those payments. - Risk Sharing – Risk sharing is another one of the most important aspects of an MOU. Who is going to take responsibility if something goes wrong? What if the project results in an injury or death, or a loss of profit? In this section, the responsible party or parties are to be named only if they are both willing and able to pay for any losses that could result during or from the completion of the project. - Signatures – While an MOU is not necessarily a legally binding contract, it is still important that it include a section for signatures. Each party should keep a copy of the fully signed MOU for his records. No matter how iron-clad an MOU may seem, however, the parties involved should still consult with an attorney before proceeding with the terms of the agreement. Some courts may uphold an MOU as if it were an official contract, and it is important to verify that all assets are properly protected and that the parties are not sacrificing more than they have to in order to move forward with the project. Memorandum of Understanding Example in an Investment Case Despite the fact that a Memorandum of Understanding is not legally binding, it might still be enforceable in court – even if an official contract was never created after the fact. The key is that the agreement needs to be rock-solid, leaving nothing outstanding for further negotiating. Such was the case with Juliano v. Smith, an example of a Memorandum of Understanding case concerning two investors who had invested in two companies while owning shares in two other companies: iSekurity and Ecology Coatings. The investors brought suit against an officer and sole director of Ecology Coatings, alleging that the officer was endangering Ecology Coatings’ ability to do business, and was therefore causing the value of their investments to drop. The Circuit Court found in favor of the investors and upheld an MOU that was created between the investors and the officer. The MOU included a clause saying that the parties had “reached an agreement,” the terms of which were to be detailed in a settlement agreement that was supposed to be created at a later date. However, despite this agreement, the parties failed to execute a final settlement agreement, and so the court upheld the MOU as a final settlement agreement instead. The officer appealed, however the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with the Circuit Court, finding that the MOU was indeed enforceable, even though it was what the court called a “contract to contract” (in other words, an agreement to create an agreement). It was the Court of Appeals that determined that an MOU can be enforceable if it contains all of the important terms of the agreement and leaves nothing outstanding for negotiation. Further, the Court of Appeals denied the officer’s additional arguments against legally upholding the Memorandum of Understanding. This was because the court found that the officer did not provide enough evidence that a fraud was committed, nor was he able to properly show that a mistake had been made. Related Legal Terms and Issues - Legally Binding – Referring to an obligation that cannot be broken.

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You can perform tasks to manage both the discussion board itself and the content within forums and threads. For example, to keep students focused as the term progresses, edit forum settings or organize forums and threads to attract attention again. You can also forums to other locations, edit content, and delete unneeded forums or threads. You can also enable tagging and attach tags to help students locate important posts. You can assign forum roles to limit access to a forum or to help with forum administration. For example, to help control the discussion board content that is presented to your students, you can assign a responsible user the role of moderator. To learn more, see Moderating Discussions. - Published: 4 years ago - Updated: 3 years ago

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Parks / Québec Archipelago National Park The most extraordinary feature of the islands is their dramatic topography. Limestone- based, unlike the exposed Canadian Shield of the mainland, the bedrock has undergone repeated cycles of lifting and submersion, with the latest rising-up occurring at the end of the last glaciation. During the last major ice age, 20 000 years ago, the Mingan Archipelago was covered by 2.5 kilometres of ice. As the glaciers began to melt, the ocean level rose covering the islands with 85 metres of water. Very slowly the islands lifted until about 7000 years ago when they broke the surface. With the shifting of the earth's crust, the limestone bedrock which came to the surface as a huge plateau soon eroded to form splits and cracks. Further water erosion split up these rocks to form the archipelago. On the south side of the islands is a complex network of arches and grottoes that contain a rare collection of fossil remains of over 200 marine organisms, a treasure trove of major scientific significance. Here is also found the largest concentration of monoliths, or sea stacks, in Canada. Created from friable rock more than 450 million years old, they are still being eroded by waves, changing sea level, wind and severe weather. The north side of the islands is characterized by about 45 kilometres of cliffs rising to a maximum of 15 metres reminiscent of arctic landforms, while the interiors support boreal forest on their gently inclined slopes.

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The Sunnah and its Role in Islamic Legislation is a groundbreaking effort by Dr. Mustafa as-Siba’ee, for it has a completeness to it in two regards: first, the author manages to cover all topics related to the Sunnah—its status, its legislative force, the stages that led to its recording, just to mention a few—in a comprehensive and organized manner. Second, he presents the views of those that have attacked the Sunnah throughout history, detailing their arguments and then refuting them. Among those groups from the past were the Shi’a and the Mu’tazilah; today, they are mainly the Orientalists and those that are influenced by them. Shaykh as-Siba’ee takes us through the historical development of the Sunnah, from the early stages of revelation to the recording of the Sunnah during the era of the great Imams of Hadith. Throughout that account, he highlights the contributions of the scholars in preserving the Sunnah and cleansing it from fabrications and lies. Shaykh as-Siba’ee gives a clear account of the revolutionary methods and scholarly principles that were established in order to authenticate historical reports and narrations. The author shows us that the fruits of that endeavor were the preservation of the authentic Sunnah and the birth of the Hadith sciences. This book has been a perennial source of knowledge for Arabic-speaking students of Islam, for its clarity, readability, and insightful research. New English-speaking students too have available to them this authoritative treatise on the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ) may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

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Mahatma Gandhi , he stands for all things great about our country. His principles, strength of character and simplicity make us proud of him. We lovingly call him Bapu and when we think of him the image that comes to our mind is a simple ,kind old man wearing simple clothes - a mere loin dhothi. Mahatma Gandhi did not dress like this always.He was one of the few Indians who got educated in England during the pre-independence time. He wore western clothes or traditional Gujarathi clothes(long turbans, kurta and dhoti). In the year 1921 Mahatma Gandhi visited Madurai, and stayed in the residence of Sri Ramji Kalyanji 175 A West Masi street. On his way to Madurai he had seen farmers and poor people wearing the simplest of clothes , a small towel like dhoti around their waist(Some he was told washed and wore the same clothes as they did not possess any other) .He was much disturbed and was haunted all through the night by the scenes that he had witnessed . Overnight he took a decision to dress in a simple way just like so many of the people of his beloved country. He started to dress in this new way from the very next day much to the surprise of everyone present. He explained to them about his decision and attended the meetings in Madurai.He continued to dress this way through out his life.

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Being Prepared Makes Sense for Senior Citizens The likelihood that you and your family will recover from an emergency tomorrow often depends on the planning and preparation done today. While each person's abilities and needs are unique, every individual can take steps to prepare for all kinds of emergencies from fires and floods to potential terrorist attacks. Evaluate your own personal needs and make an emergency plan that fits those needs. The reality of a disaster situation is that you will likely not have access to everyday conveniences. To plan in advance, think through the details of your everyday life. If there are people who assist you on a daily basis, list who they are, and how you will contact them in an emergency. Think about what modes of transportation you use and what alternative modes could serve as back-ups. If you require handicap accessible transportation be sure your alternatives are also accessible. Keep a copy of your plan in your emergency kit. Your plan should include how you will contact family members. The first step is to plan to make it on your own for at least 7 - 10 days. It is crucial that you and your family think about what kinds of resources you use on a daily basis. Always keep copies of important documentation in waterproof container. Your kit should include: Basic Supplies: Think first about the basics for survival - food, water, clean air and any life-sustaining items you require. See our complete list of basic supplies. Medications and Medical Supplies: If you take medicine or use a medical treatment on a daily basis, be sure you have what you need on hand to make it on your own for at least a week. You should also keep a copy of your prescriptions as well as dosage or treatment information. If you are unable to have a week-long supply of medication or require routine treatments, contact your service provider and pharmacist on how to best prepare. Additional Items: In addition, there may be other things specific to your personal needs that you should also have on hand. If you use eyeglasses, hearing aids and hearing aid batteries, wheelchair batteries, and oxygen, be sure you always have extras in your home. It is important to stay informed about what might happen and the different types of emergencies that could affect you. Be prepared to adapt this information to your personal circumstance. Follow instructions received from authorities on the scene, and stay calm.

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No need a night vision to learn how to draw an owl with such a cute and adorable design! This fun bird can be drawn using only six easy steps and a few basic shapes. It might be a little bit more challenging than the other characters from the same series, but it is still a tutorial that beginners can achieve. Below is a colored sample of the cartoon owl that you are about to create. As you can see, this fun character is mostly sketched using circles. A few triangles are needed to illustrate the beak and the hair on top of the head. Great! Now that you are more familiar with the final result, let's start this lesson with the creation of the head. Use a simple oval shape to illustrate this one. For the hair, two thin and long triangles are needed. Next, you can draw the body using another large circular shape. This new shape must be slightly smaller than the one used to create the head. Finally, you can complete this step by drawing the legs using small straight lines like shown below. Cool! You can add two oval shapes to represent the wings. These shapes must be narrow and slightly pointed on the ends. Don't forget to draw the tail near the legs using a small curved line. It's now time to work on the head of the animal. To form the beak, simply use a small triangle. The eyes and the pupils can be illustrated with large circular shapes. You can complete this cartoon owl by adding details like a large patch around the eyes and the beak. You can also draw a circular shape on the stomach to illustrate the various colors found on this part of the body. Excellent! Below you can see how the owl looks like once you are done with this tutorial. The character is pretty simple to achieve and most details are simple and made from simple elements. Cool! Drawing an owl is probably my favorite bird to illustrate. Hopefully you had fun too working on this adorable cartoon character made mostly from circles and curved lines. It's now time to draw your own version and see what you can come up with! :)

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Why do Hindus and Muslims live in harmony in one city and fight bitterly in another just a few miles away? Why is the United States the only industrialized nation without a complete national health insurance? What is the legacy of slavery in the United States? Why are there so few women in Congress? How is radicalism in the Middle East changing? Why and how does democracy flourish? Just what is democracy? How do emotions shape our political behavior? What do war movies tell us about the USA? Would less government lead to more social justice? What is social justice? How does smuggling (of drugs, guns, and people) reshape international relations? How do immigrants see the American Dream? What is the American dream? Political science is about questions like these. You can grapple with every one of them –and many more— in the classrooms of the Brown political science department. We study how people –nations, regions, cities, communities— live their common lives. How people solve (or duck) their common problems. How people govern themselves. How they think, talk, argue, fight, and vote. Traditionally, political science includes four subfields: (1) the study of politics in the United States (American politics); (2) the comparative study of different political systems and individual nations around the globe (comparative politics); (3) the study of relations among states and peoples (international relations); and (4) the philosophical study of political ideas (political theory). To provide a wider range of course offerings, the undergrad program combines the comparative politics subfield with the international relations subfield into a single subfield called international and comparative politics (ICP). What particularly moves us at Brown are the big questions about political life – both at home and around the world. We engage these questions in a wide range of different political contexts, often in ways that cross between the traditional subfields. We also pay particular attention to how our analyses touch the real world of people and politics. You’ll find us involved all around the campus: At the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions, the Watson Institute for International Studies, the Political Theory Project, Development Studies, Middle East Studies, the India Initiative, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Politics, among others. The department graduates approximately 75 undergraduate concentrators annually, making it one of the largest concentrations at Brown, but most of our classes are small. We have a robust Honors Program in which students work closely with faculty advisors to write a senior thesis, a year-long original research project. Political science concentrators follow a wide range of post-graduation paths including law school and graduate school in political science or public policy; active political engagement at the local, state, national, or international level; and a wide range of other professional and business careers. Political science at Brown is a dynamic community of scholars and students investigating things that really matter to political life at home and around the world. We invite you to join us!

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by Junying Yu* and James A. Thomson** Human embryonic stem (ES) cells capture the imagination because they are immortal and have an almost unlimited developmental potential (Fig. 1.1: How hESCs are derived). After many months of growth in culture dishes, these remarkable cells maintain the ability to form cells ranging from muscle to nerve to blood—potentially any cell type that makes up the body. The proliferative and developmental potential of human ES cells promises an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types for basic research and for transplantation therapies for diseases ranging from heart disease to Parkinson's disease to leukemia. Here we discuss the origin and properties of human ES cells, their implications for basic research and human medicine, and recent research progress since August 2001, when President George W. Bush allowed federal funding of this research for the first time. A previous report discussed progress prior to June 17, 2001 (/info/scireport/.) Figure 1.1. How Human Embryonic Stem Cells are Derived. (© 2006 Terese Winslow) What Are Embryonic Stem Cells? Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos at a developmental stage before the time that implantation would normally occur in the uterus. Fertilization normally occurs in the oviduct, and during the next few days, a series of cleavage divisions occur as the embryo travels down the oviduct and into the uterus. Each of the cells (blastomeres) of these cleavage-stage embryos are undifferentiated, i.e. they do not look or act like the specialized cells of the adult, and the blastomeres are not yet committed to becoming any particular type of differentiated cell. Indeed, each of these blastomeres has the potential to give rise to any cell of the body. The first differentiation event in humans occurs at approximately five days of development, when an outer layer of cells committed to becoming part of the placenta (the trophectoderm) separates from the inner cell mass (ICM). The ICM cells have the potential to generate any cell type of the body, but after implantation, they are quickly depleted as they differentiate to other cell types with more limited developmental potential. However, if the ICM is removed from its normal embryonic environment and cultured under appropriate conditions, the ICM-derived cells can continue to proliferate and replicate themselves indefinitely and still maintain the developmental potential to form any cell type of the body (quot;pluripotencyquot;; see Fig. 1.2: Characteristics of ESCs). These pluripotent, ICM-derived cells are ES cells. Figure 1.2.Characteristics of Embryonic Stem Cells. (© 2006 Terese Winslow) The derivation of mouse ES cells was first reported in 1981,1,2 but it was not until 1998 that derivation of human ES cell lines was first reported.3 Why did it take such a long time to extend the mouse results to humans? Human ES cell lines are derived from embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process in which oocytes and sperm are placed together to allow fertilization to take place in a culture dish. Clinics use this method to treat certain types of infertility, and sometimes, during the course of these treatments, IVF embryos are produced that are no longer needed by the couples for producing children. Currently, there are nearly 400,000 IVF-produced embryos in frozen storage in the United States alone,4 most of which will be used to treat infertility, but some of which (~2.8%) are destined to be discarded. IVF-produced embryos that would otherwise have been discarded were the sources of the human ES cell lines derived prior to President Bush's policy decision of August 2001. These human ES cell lines are now currently eligible for federal funding. Although attempts to derive human ES cells were made as early as the 1980s, culture media for human embryos produced by IVF were suboptimal. Thus, it was difficult to culture single-cell fertilized embryos long enough to obtain healthy blastocysts for the derivation of ES cell lines. Also, species-specific differences between mice and humans meant that experience with mouse ES cells was not completely applicable to the derivation of human ES cells. In the 1990s, ES cell lines from two non-human primates, the rhesus monkey5 and the common marmoset,6 were derived, and these offered closer models for the derivation of human ES cells. Experience with non-human primate ES cell lines and improvements in culture medium for human IVF-produced embryos led rapidly to the derivation of human ES cell lines in 1998.3 Because ES cells can proliferate without limit and can contribute to any cell type, human ES cells offer an unprecedented access to tissues from the human body. They will support basic research on the differentiation and function of human tissues and provide material for testing that may improve the safety and efficacy of human drugs (Figure 1.3: Promise of SC Research).7,8 For example, new drugs are not generally tested on human heart cells because no human heart cell lines exist. Instead, researchers rely on animal models. Because of important species-specific differences between animal and human hearts, however, drugs that are toxic to the human heart have occasionally entered clinical trials, sometimes resulting in death. Human ES cell-derived heart cells may be extremely valuable in identifying such drugs before they are used in clinical trials, thereby accelerating the drug discovery process and leading to safer and more effective treatments.9–11 Such testing will not be limited to heart cells, but to any type of human cell that is difficult to obtain by other sources. Figure 1.3: The Promise of Stem Cell Research. (© 2006 Terese Winslow) Human ES cells also have the potential to provide an unlimited amount of tissue for transplantation therapies to treat a wide range of degenerative diseases. Some important human diseases are caused by the death or dysfunction of one or a few cell types, e.g., insulin-producing cells in diabetes or dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease. The replacement of these cells could offer a lifelong treatment for these disorders. However, there are a number of challenges to develop human ES cell-based transplantation therapies, and many years of basic research will be required before such therapies can be used to treat patients. Indeed, basic research enabled by human ES cells is likely to impact human health in ways unrelated to transplantation medicine. This impact is likely to begin well before the widespread use of ES cells in transplantation and ultimately could have a more profound long-term effect on human medicine. Since August 2001, improvements in culture of human ES cells, coupled with recent insights into the nature of pluripotency, genetic manipulation of human ES cells, and differentiation, have expanded the possibilities for these unique cells. Culture of ES Cells Mouse ES cells and human ES cells were both originally derived and grown on a layer of mouse fibroblasts (called quot;feeder cellsquot;) in the presence of bovine serum. However, the factors that sustain the growth of these two cell types appear to be distinct. The addition of the cytokine, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), to serum-containing medium allows mouse ES cells to proliferate in the absence of feeder cells. LIF modulates mouse ES cells through the activation of STAT3 (signal transducers and activators of transcription) protein. In serum-free culture, however, LIF alone is insufficient to prevent mouse ES cells from differentiating into neural cells. Recently, Ying et al. reported that the combination of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and LIF is sufficient to support the self-renewal of mouse ES cells.12 The effects of BMPs on mouse ES cells involve induction of inhibitor of differentiation (Id) proteins, and inhibition of extracellular receptor kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK).12,13 However, LIF in the presence of serum is not sufficient to promote the self-renewal of human ES cells,3 and the LIF/STAT3 pathway appears to be inactive in undifferentiated human ES cells.14,15 Also, the addition of BMPs to human ES cells in conditions that would otherwise support ES cells leads to the rapid differentiation of human ES cells.16,17 Several groups have attempted to define growth factors that sustain human ES cells and have attempted to identify culture conditions that reduce the exposure of human ES cells to non human animal products. One important growth factor, bFGF, allows the use of a serum replacement to sustain human ES cells in the presence of fibroblasts, and this medium allowed the clonal growth of human ES cells.18 A quot;feeder-freequot; human ES cell culture system has been developed, in which human ES cells are grown on a protein matrix (mouse Matrigel or Laminin) in a bFGF-containing medium that is previously quot;conditionedquot; by co-culture with fibroblasts.19 Although this culture system eliminates direct contact of human ES cells with the fibroblasts, it does not remove the potential for mouse pathogens being introduced into the culture via the fibroblasts. Several different sources of human feeder cells have been found to support the culture of human ES cells, thus removing the possibility of pathogen transfer from mice to humans.20–23 However, the possibility of pathogen transfer from human to human in these culture systems still remains. More work is still needed to develop a culture system that eliminates the use of fibroblasts entirely, which would also decrease much of the variability associated with the current culture of human ES cells. Sato et al. reported that activation of the Wnt pathway by 6-bromoindirubin3'-oxime (BIO) promotes the self-renewal of ES cells in the presence of bFGF, Matrigel, and a proprietary serum replacement product.24 Amit et al. reported that bFGF, TGFβ, and LIF could support some human ES cell lines in the absence of feeders.25 Although there are some questions about how well these new culture conditions will work for different human ES cell lines, there is now reason to believe that defined culture conditions for human ES cells, which reduce the potential for contamination by pathogens, will soon be achieved*. Once a set of defined culture conditions is established for the derivation and culture of human ES cells, challenges to improve the medium will still remain. For example, the cloning efficiency of human ES cells—the ability of a single human ES cell to proliferate and become a colony—is very low (typically less than 1%) compared to that of mouse ES cells. Another difficulty is the potential for accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes over prolonged periods of culture. For example, karyotypic changes have been observed in several human ES cell lines after prolonged culture, and the rate at which these changes dominate a culture may depend on the culture method.26,27 The status of imprinted (epigenetically modified) genes and the stability of imprinting in various culture conditions remain completely unstudied in human ES cells**. The status of imprinted genes can clearly change with culture conditions in other cell types.28,29 These changes present potential problems if human ES cells are to be used in cell replacement therapy, and optimizing medium to reduce the rate at which genetic and epigenetic changes accumulate in culture represents a long-term endeavor. The ideal human ES cell medium, then, (a) would be cost-effective and easy to use so that many more investigators can use human ES cells as a research tool; (b) would be composed entirely of defined components not of animal origin; (c) would allow cell growth at clonal densities; and (d) would minimize the rate at which genetic and epigenetic changes accumulate in culture. Such a medium will be a challenge to develop and will most likely be achieved through a series of incremental improvements over a period of years. Among all the newly derived human ES cell lines, twelve lines have gained the most attention. In March 2004, a South Korean group reported the first derivation of a human ES cell line (SCNT-hES-1) using the technique of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Human somatic nuclei were transferred into human oocytes (nuclear transfer), which previously had been stripped of their own genetic material, and the resultant nuclear transfer products were cultured in vitro to the blastocyst stage for ES cell derivation.30*** Because the ES cells derived through nuclear transfer contain the same genetic material as that of the nuclear donor, the intent of the procedure is that the differentiated derivatives would not be rejected by the donor's immune system if used in transplantation therapy. More recently, the same group reported the derivation of eleven more human SCNT-ES cell lines*** with markedly improved efficiency (16.8 oocytes/line vs. 242 oocytes/line in their previous report).31*** However, given the abnormalities frequently observed in cloned animals, and the costs involved, it is not clear how useful this procedure will be in clinical applications. Also, for some autoimmune diseases, such as type I diabetes, merely providing genetically-matched tissue will be insufficient to prevent immune rejection. Additionally, new human ES cell lines were established from embryos with genetic disorders, which were detected during the practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). These new cell lines may provide an excellent in vitro model for studies on the effects that the genetic mutations have on cell proliferation and differentiation.32 * Editor's note: Papers published since this writing report defined culture conditions for human embryonic stem cells. See Ludwig et al., Nat. Biotech 24: 185–187, 2006; and Lu et al., PNAS 103:5688–5693, 2006.08.14. ** Editor's note: Papers published since the time this chapter was written address this: see Maitra et al., Nature Genetics 37, 1099–1103, 2005; and Rugg-Gunn et al., Nature Genetics 37:585–587, 2005. *** Editor's note: Both papers referenced in 30 and 31 were later retracted: see Science 20 Jan 2006; Vol. 311. No. 5759, p. 335. To date, more than 120 human ES cell lines have been established worldwide,33* 67 of which are included in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Registry. As of this writing, 21 cell lines are currently available for distribution, all of which have been exposed to animal products during their derivation. Although it has been eight years since the initial derivation of human ES cells, it is an open question as to the extent that independent human ES cell lines differ from one another. At the very least, the limited number of cell lines cannot represent a reasonable sampling of the genetic diversity of different ethnic groups in the United States, and this has consequences for drug testing, as adverse reactions to drugs often reflect a complex genetic component. Once defined culture conditions are well established for human ES cells, there will be an even more compelling need to derive additional cell lines. * Editor's note: One recent report now estimates 414 hESC lines, see Guhr et al., www.StemCells.com early online version for June 15, 2006: quot;Current State of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: An Overview of Cell Lines and their Usage in Experimental Work.quot; Pluripotency of ES Cells The ability of ES cells to develop into all cell types of the body has fascinated scientists for years, yet remarkably little is known about factors that make one cell pluripotent and another more restricted in its developmental potential. The transcription factor Oct4 has been used as a key marker for ES cells and for the pluripotent cells of the intact embryo, and its expression must be maintained at a critical level for ES cells to remain undifferentiated.34 The Oct4 protein itself, however, is insufficient to maintain ES cells in the undifferentiated state. Recently, two groups identified another transcription factor, Nanog, that is essential for the maintenance of the undifferentiated state of mouse ES cells.35,36 The expression of Nanog decreased rapidly as mouse ES cells differentiated, and when its expression level was maintained by a constitutive promoter, mouse ES cells could remain undifferentiated and proliferate in the absence of either LIF or BMP in serum-free medium.12 Nanog is also expressed in human ES cells, though at a much lower level compared to that of Oct4, and its function in human ES cells has yet to be examined. By comparing gene expression patterns between different ES cell lines and between ES cells and other cell types such as adult stem cells and differentiated cells, genes that are enriched in the ES cells have been identified. Using this approach, Esg-1, an uncharacterized ES cell-specific gene, was found to be exclusively associated with pluripotency in the mouse.37 Sperger et al. identified 895 genes that are expressed at significantly higher levels in human ES cells and embryonic carcinoma cell lines, the malignant counterparts to ES cells.38 Sato et al. identified a set of 918 genes enriched in undifferentiated human ES cells compared with their differentiated counterparts; many of these genes were shared by mouse ES cells.39 Another group, however, found 92 genes, including Oct4 and Nanog, enriched in six different human ES cell lines, which showed limited overlap with those in mouse ES cell lines.40 Care must be taken to interpret these data, and the considerable differences in the results may arise from the cell lines used in the experiments, methods to prepare and maintain the cells, and the specific methods used to profile gene expression. Genetic Manipulation of ES Cells Since establishing human ES cells in 1998, scientists have developed genetic manipulation techniques to determine the function of particular genes, to direct the differentiation of human ES cells towards specific cell types, or to tag an ES cell derivative with a certain marker gene. Several approaches have been developed to introduce genetic elements randomly into the human ES cell genome, including electroporation, transfection by lipid-based reagents, and lentiviral vectors.41–44 However, homologous recombination, a method in which a specific gene inside the ES cells is modified with an artificially introduced DNA molecule, is an even more precise method of genetic engineering that can modify a gene in a defined way at a specific locus. While this technology is routinely used in mouse ES cells, it has recently been successfully developed in human ES cells (See chapter 4: Genetically Modified Stem Cells), thus opening new doors for using ES cells as vehicles for gene therapy and for creating in vitro models of human genetic disorders such as Lesch-Nyhan disease.45,46 Another method to test the function of a gene is to use RNA interference (RNAi) to decrease the expression of a gene of interest (see Figure 1.4: RNA interference). In RNAi, small pieces of double-stranded RNA (siRNA; small interfering RNA) are either chemically synthesized and introduced directly into cells, or expressed from DNA vectors. Once inside the cells, the siRNA can lead to the degradation of the messenger RNA (mRNA), which contains the exact sequence as that of the siRNA. mRNA is the product of DNA transcription and normally can be translated into proteins. RNAi can work efficiently in somatic cells, and there has been some progress in applying this technology to human ES cells.47–49 Figure 1.4. How RNAi Can Be Used To Modify Stem Cells. (© 2006 Terese Winslow) The pluripotency of ES cells suggests possible widespread uses for these cells and their derivatives. The ES cell-derived cells can potentially be used to replace or restore tissues that have been damaged by disease or injury, such as diabetes, heart attacks, Parkinson's disease or spinal cord injury. The recent developments in these particular areas are discussed in detail in other chapters, and Table 1 summarizes recent publications in the differentiation of specific cell lineages. The differentiation of ES cells also provides model systems to study early events in human development. Because of possible harm to the resulting child, it is not ethically acceptable to experimentally manipulate the postimplantation human embryo. Therefore, most of what is known about the mechanisms of early human embryology and human development, especially in the early postimplantation period, is based on histological sections of a limited number of human embryos and on analogy to the experimental embryology of the mouse. However, human and mouse embryos differ significantly, particularly in the formation, structure, and function of the fetal membranes and placenta, and the formation of an embryonic disc instead of an egg cylinder.50–52 For example, the mouse yolk sac is a well-vascularized, robust, extraembryonic organ throughout gestation that provides important nutrient exchange functions. In humans, the yolk sac also serves important early functions, including the initiation of hematopoiesis, but it becomes essentially a vestigial structure at later times or stages in gestation. Similarly, there are dramatic differences between mouse and human placentas, both in structure and function. Thus, mice can serve in a limited capacity as a model system for understanding the developmental events that support the initiation and maintenance of human pregnancy. Human ES cell lines thus provide an important new in vitro model that will improve our understanding of the differentiation of human tissues, and thus provide important insights into processes such as infertility, pregnancy loss, and birth defects. Human ES cells are already contributing to the study of development. For example, it is now possible to direct human ES cells to differentiate efficiently to trophoblast, the outer layer of the placenta that mediates implantation and connects the conceptus to the uterus.17,53 Another use of human ES cells is for the study of germ cell development. Cells resembling both oocytes and sperm have been successfully derived from mouse ES cells in vitro.54–56 Recently, human ES cells have also been observed to differentiate into cells expressing genes characteristic of germ cells.57 Thus it may also be possible to derive oocytes and sperm from human ES cells, allowing the detailed study of human gametogenesis for the first time. Moreover, human ES cell studies are not limited to early differentiation, but are increasingly being used to understand the differentiation and functions of many human tissues, including neural, cardiac, vascular, pancreatic, hepatic, and bone (see Table 1). Moreover, transplantation of ES-derived cells has offered promising results in animal models.58–67 Although scientists have gained more insights into the biology of human ES cells since 2001, many key questions remain to be addressed before the full potential of these unique cells can be realized. It is surprising, for example, that mouse and human ES cells appear to be so different with respect to the molecules that mediate their self-renewal, and perhaps even in their developmental potentials. BMPs, for example, in combination with LIF, promote the self-renewal of mouse ES cells. But in conditions that would otherwise support undifferentiated proliferation, BMPs cause rapid differentiation of human ES cells. Also, human ES cells differentiate quite readily to trophoblast, whereas mouse ES cells do so poorly, if at all. One would expect that at some level, the basic molecular mechanisms that control pluripotency would be conserved, and indeed, human and mouse ES cells share the expression of many key genes. Yet we remain remarkably ignorant about the molecular mechanisms that control pluripotency, and the nature of this remarkable cellular state has become one of the central questions of developmental biology. 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Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003;100:12741–12746. * Genetics and Biotechnology Building, Madison, WI 53706, Email: [email protected]. ** John D. MacArthur Professor, Department of Anatomy, University of Wisconsin–Madison Medical School, The Genome Center of Wisconsin, and The Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Madison, WI 53715, Email: [email protected]. Introduction | Table of Contents | Chapter 2

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Datasets for Proportional Symbol Maps Posted 12 October 2010 - 05:29 PM I'm looking for public available datasets for proportional symbol maps. These sets should contain latitude and longitude as well as a measured quantity. Examples of such data would be Earthquake occurrence and population of countries/states/cities. I've already find some: A wide range of statistics: Earthquakes and Tsunamis: I'd like to hear from the more experienced, if they know other freely available datasets (specially worldwide) to share. Thank you very much! Posted 13 October 2010 - 02:29 AM Posted 14 October 2010 - 07:37 AM I absolutely agree with Frax. Hi, maybe it is a language issue - but keep in mind that proportional symbols are part of the presentation/map part - the datasets don't have anything inherent regarding the representation. And to illustrate the concept, I have taken a dataset with polygon feature class defining the boundary of each constituency of few Indian cities. Then I added the area field in the attribute table, populating it by calculating the geometry. Now I use the area quantity to create ten different classes to be colored with gradient color (darker signifies larger area, one can use other attributes, like the population, precipitation, temperature, almost any measureable quantity. Then I use larger font for larger areas, also I know that larger areas are darker so I use lighter color for larger fonts. So all this is how you utilise the data for presentation. One can use the quantity data for generating gradually larger symbols, a very common and built in approach with almost all GIS packages. 0 user(s) are reading this topic 0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

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Regardless of whether you are a novelist, or focus on short stories, you have probably at least once thought about which writing perspective would be better to choose for your narration: a classical third-person perspective, or a first-person one. Although both definitely have their advantages, today I’d like to quickly review the benefits of writing on behalf of a storyteller. At first glance, the first-person perspective might seem to be slightly limited in capabilities (for example, you cannot describe thoughts and inner motives of other characters, if only your protagonist does not know about them); however, this perspective has its own merits. - A strong connection with the main character. When you tell a story straight from a character’s mind, you make the audience feel more compassion for your protagonist and make readers feel the events described in your story are related to them as well. - Character development. Writing the story from the perspective of your main character helps you feel who they are better. Both you and your audience have a chance to get to know the main protagonist better and make him or her more credible. - Simplicity. It does not mean writing from the first-person perspective is easier; on the contrary, you are limited by what your character knows about his or her environment. However, this perspective also allows you to focus on one character instead of many, and develop a more detailed and logical storyline. Now, what you should be aware of when writing on behalf of the main protagonist: - It may be tempting to start “analyzing” everything your characters gets involved in, or everyone he or she interacts with. Sometimes it can be necessary; however, if your protagonists reflects on the world around them too often, the story can become boring. - You cannot make decisions for other characters. For example, you cannot say, “Doris did not want to go with me, but my charm and charisma did their job, and she agreed” (I know it’s an awful sentence). The motives and decisions of other characters should remain hidden to you, unless they decide to unveil them. - Pay attention to your character’s behavior. Writing from the first-person perspective gives your audience a better understanding of your character, so readers will immediately feel when the protagonist acts in the way they shouldn’t, or cannot (like, when a regular office worker taken hostage in a robbed bank suddenly disarms a bandit and rescues everyone on his or her own). - Not all genres are suitable for a first-person story. A romantic story, a drama, a detective story, a thriller, or writing about everyday life works great; however, action-packed narration with a lot of combat scenes should be written in a more “traditional,” third-person way. There is much more to learn about first-person perspective writing, so I’ll definitely return to this subject again. So far, consider this post an introduction to an awesome topic. Sign up and we’ll send you ebook of 1254 samples like this for free! - Thesis statement and compare contrast essay asked by anonymous - Gender stereotypes persuasive essay asked by anonymous - Which of the following would best work as the title of an explanatory essay? asked by anonymous - Divergent Novel Thesis Statement asked by anonymous - What is a good thesis statement against euthanasia asked by Anonymous

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It seems an unlikely concept: teenagers forgoing the immediacy of a McDonald's Big Mac to learn how to cook their own lower-fat version. But that's what some students at the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota are doing, and it has a deeper significance. The experience is teaching them about bison, an animal considered sacred in their Native American culture. The students are part of a pilot project started by the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe and South Dakota State University researchers to restore the cultural significance of the animal and consumption of bison meat among community members, particularly young people. Through cooking demonstrations and educational outreach, the students are learning that healthier and tasty options are available that also connect them to their ancestors.

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According to a recently published study, there are more than 500,000 new Hepatitis C infections in Egypt every year, far more than any other country in the world. Around 10% of the most populous Arab country are infected with the virus causing Hepatitis C, creating a huge reservoir that drives the infection. The Ministry of Health in Egypt, however, claims the numbers in the new survey are "exaggerated". Since it is a blood borne diseases, the bulk of virus transmission takes place through the healthcare system. It first spread in Egypt through syringe reuse. Lax sterilization practices in public hospitals and private clinics feed the epidemic.

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HONG KONG: Two Asia-based British ornithologists are ruffling feathers in the international health community over an issue that threatens not only their beloved birds, but also human beings: avian influenza. Martin Williams, an ornithologist in Hong Kong, and fellow bird watcher Nial Moores in South Korea are leading the charge against the growing belief that recent outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus were spread by wild birds. Armed with a batch of scientific studies, plans of avian migratory paths and a passion for birds, the pair have for more than a year sought to refute this theory, which is held even within the World Health Organisation (WHO). “This theory isn’t based on scientific fact or research — it’s all conjecture and bluster,” said Williams, a naturist who leads bird-watching tours through Hong Kong’s rural wetlands. As new outbreaks of H5N1 encroach upon the Europe, threatening its multi-billion dollar agricultural sector, the pair say it is vital for the protection of the world’s birds that their word gets out. “It could lead governments to mistakenly cull millions of wild birds unnecessarily,” said Moores, chairman of Birds Korea. The WHO believes the H5N1 virus has the potential to explode into a global pandemic that could claim as many as 100 million lives. Scientists have argued over the disease’s means of transmission, which most recently saw it spread to parts of Russia and Kazakhstan and prompted warnings that it could next move into Europe and South Asia. The explanation that appears to have found most favour is that it was spread by migratory birds who passed the disease to farm birds they came into contact with during their seasonal journeys across the globe. The theory appears to have been adopted not only by the WHO but also by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation. Williams and Moores say the theory is wrong. They base their argument on some of the most basic knowledge available to Asia-based ornithologists: the migratory paths, or flyways, of the region’s birds. “The spread of H5N1 across Asia does not match the flyways in time or space,” said Williams.—AFP

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Gold Star Families lost their loved ones in wars. These heroes are never forgotten, and heir families are always given respect. These are some facts you should know about the Gold Star Families. 1. They lost their loved ones in a war Gold Star is recognition of a family member who died in a war. The stars were seen on service flags after World War I. Blue star meant the serviceperson was living and gold star meant that the person died. Many Gold Star Families wear a Gold Star lapel pin to show their pride. There are community groups that support others through times of pain and sadness. 2. There is a separate group known as Gold Star Mothers The American Gold Star Mothers Inc. honours the sons and daughters of mothers who lost their lives in war. Membership in this group was originally restricted to those who lost their child in World War I. Laters, mothers who lost children in World War II and the Korean War were also included. Now, membership to this group is open to any woman who was a U.S. citizen or legal resident of the U.S. at the time their child died in war while being in the military services of the U.S. 3. Donald Trump’s offensive remark on the mother of a Gold Star Family created rage Recently, President Donald Trump made offensive comments on Ghazala Khan, the mother of deceased Captain Humayun Khan who died in Iraq war in 2004. 17 Gold Star Family members have signed a letter asking Trump to apologise to the Khan family for his remarks. The Gold Star Families are highly respected in American society. There are many organisations that support these families both emotionally and financially. Their loved ones who died in war will never be forgotten as they are the fallen stars of the country.

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19 December 2014 Radical Faeries (1979) CONSORT (Radical Faeries) White line woodcut and toner transfer Image size: 12" x 18" (30.5 x 45.7 cm) Paper size: 14.5" x 20.5" (37 x 52.4 cm) The Radical Faeries movement was founded in 1979 in California by Harry Hay, founder of the Mattachine Society, and two others. Radical Faeries was not so much a political group as a spiritual one, celebrating and exploring gayness itself as a source of wisdom and initiation. Sex-positive and often rurally based, Faerie circles incorporate elements of paganism, anarchism, environmentalism, shamanism, and indigenous spiritualities in their gatherings, which are called sanctuaries. Today, Radical Faeries embody a wide range of genders, sexual orientations, and identities, with many gatherings open to all, while some still focus on the particular spiritual experience of man-loving men. At least for the time being, that's the full set of prints for the "Counterspells" chapter.

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Whether you are getting on the T, taking the bus, driving your car or using your own two feet, getting to work in the morning, for most, can become a boring routine. But in a recent study, researchers discovered that maybe not all modes of transport are created equal. Researchers at McGill University in Montreal found, in a study called, “The happy commuter: A comparison of commuter satisfaction across modes,’’ that: “Pedestrians, train commuters and cyclists are significantly more satisfied than drivers, metro and bus users. We also establish that determinants of satisfaction vary considerably by mode, with modes that are more affected by external factors generally displaying lower levels of satisfaction.’’ According to CityLab, McGill researchers “asked nearly 3,400 people who commuted to campus on a single mode to describe their typical trip in both winter and summer, and to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of that trip. The researchers then converted the ratings into a single satisfaction score for each of six commute modes.’’ CityLab then charted the results: “Here are the raw (rounded) percentages: pedestrians (85 percent), train commuters (84 percent), cyclists (82 percent), drivers (77 percent), metro riders (76 percent), and bus riders (75.5 percent).’’ The study said that “Active modes and train show significantly higher satisfaction than car, bus, metro.’’ Would this data be the same for Boston?

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What is the meaning of the English word… MONSTER? an imaginary creature that is typically large and scary Children often think there is a monster under their bed. Dave felt the panic returning–looming like a swamp monster over some swamp horizon that he had thought was far away but turned out to be right there in his own kitchen. Note: Many vocabulary words have more than one definition. The definition shown here is for the online course below.

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Monday, August 9, 2010 Sumptuary Laws of the Seventeenth Century The upwardly mobile middle class became more influential during the 17th century and began to replace impoverished gentry. James I (1566-1625) fearing the mood of the people repealed many sumptuary laws. In early Colonial America the The Puritans were concerned with the incompatibility of European fashionable clothing and the wilderness. Many sumptuary laws were introduced and it was prohibited to wear silver, gold, silk, laces, slashed sleeves, ruffs, and beavered hats. The following is a quote from Colonial Sumptuary Laws issued in Massachusetts, 1651. "Although several declarations and orders have been made by this Court, against excess in apparel, both of men and women, which have not taken that effect as were to be desired, but on the contrary, we cannot but to our grief take notice that intolerable excess and bravery have crept in upon us, and especially among people of mean condition, to the dishonour of God, the scandal of our profession, the consumption of estates, and altogether unsuitable to our poverty. And although we acknowledge it to be a matter of much difficulty, in regard of the blindness of men's minds and the stubborness of their wills, to set down exact rules to confine all sorts of persons, yet you cannot but account it our duty to commend unto all sorts of persons the sober and moderate use of these blessings which, beyond expectation, the Lord has been pleased to afford unto us in this wilderness. And also to declare our utter detestation and dislike that men and women of mean condition should take upon them the garb of gentlemen by wearing gold or silver lace, or buttons, or points at their knees, or to walk in great boots; or women of the same ran to wear silk or tiffany hoods, or scarves which, though allowable to persons of greater estates or more liberal education, we cannot but judge it intolerable... It is therefore ordered by this Court, and authority thereof, that no person within the jurisdiction , nor any of their relations depending upon them, whose visible estates, real and personal, shall not exceed the true and indifferent value of 200 pounds, shall wear any gold or silver lace, or gold or silver buttons, or any bone lace above 2 shillings per yard, or silk hoods , or scarves, upon the penalty of 10s for every such offense and every such delinquent to be presented to the grand jury .For as much as distinct and particular rules in this case suitable to the estate of quality of each person cannot easily be given: It is further ordered by the authority aforesaid, that the selection of every town, or the major part of them are hereby enabled and required , from time to time to have regard and take notice of the apparel of the inhabitants of their several towns respectively: and whosoever shall judge to exceed their ranks and abilities in the costliness or fashion of their apparel in any respect, especially in wearing ribbons, or great boots (leather being a scarce commodity in this country) lace, points, etc., silk hoods or scarves, the select men aforesaid shall have power to assess such persons, so offending in any of the particulars above mentioned, in the country rates, at 200 pounds; according to that portion that such men use to pay to whom such apparel is suitable and allowed; provided this law shall not extend to the restraint of any magistrate or public officer of this jurisdiction, their wives and children, who are left to their discretion in wearing of apparel, or any settled militia officer or soldier in the time of the military service, or any other whose education and employment have been above the ordinary degree, or whose estate have been considerable, though now decayed." New Jersey was still a British Colony (1670) when a law was passed which stated " Be it resolved that all women, of whatever age, rank, profession, or degree; whether virgin maids or widows; that shall after the passing of this Act, impose upon and betray into matrimony any of His Majesty's male subjects, by scents, paints, cosmetics, washes, artificial teeth, false hair, Spanish wool, iron stays, hoops, high-heeled shoes, or bolstered hips, shall incur the penalty of the laws now in force against witchcraft, sorcery, and such like misdemeanours, and that the marriage, upon conviction, shall stand null and void." In England from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century burial in woollen shrouds was prescribed by law. This was at attempt to lessen the importance of linen and promote the home wool industry. In 1692, the Elector of Saxony decreed no noblility, professors and doctors of universities, their wives, or those who worked in courts of law could wear clothing incorporating gold, silver or pearls. Very soon after the death of Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) parliament passed an act which undid all the work of the previous acts. The reason for the decline in interest in sumptuary legislation is difficult to surmise but it is thought by many experts by this time control of apparel was considered passé and distinctly medieval in spirit. In 17th century Venice and other Italian city states fashionable women wore platform shoes called Chopines (Choppines or chioppines) (Baldwin 1926, p 252. Made from wood or cork the shoes elevated the wearer and soon the height of the shoe from the ground signified social status. The chopines were sometimes 24” off the ground which made walking very difficult. The ultimate embellishment was two servants to help madam perambulate and a sedan carriage to carry her from her rooms, through the streets, to her eventual destination. The fashion was mainly restricted to the affluent Italian City State although platforms were worn on Spain and to lesser extend in Elizabethean England. "Upon the morrow, after the blessed new year, I came trip, trip, trip over the market Hill, holding up my petticoats.... to shew my fine coloured stockings and how trimly I could fit in a new pair of corked shoes I had bought." Willy Beguiled, (1623) Seventeenth Century Play The fashion is thought to have been associated with the wives of rich merchants keen to show off their family fortunes by wearing sumptuous clothing. The purpose of the platform was to increase leg length necessitating longer and more expensive drapes. Eventually concerts from males keen to curb their wives and concubines’ excesses introduced sumptuary controls. Comments made by the Venetian ambassador in 1618 suggested all gentle women should wear men's shoes (i.e. very low slippers). Baldwin F E 1926 Sumptuary Legislation and Personal Regulation in England Johns Hopkins Press

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Capital and interest, in economics, a stock of resources that may be employed in the production of goods and services and the price paid for the use of credit or money, respectively. Capital in economics is a word of many meanings. They all imply that capital is a “stock” by contrast with income, which is a “flow.” In its broadest possible sense, capital includes the human population; nonmaterial elements such as skills, abilities, and education; land, buildings, machines, equipment of all kinds; and all stocks of goods—finished or unfinished—in the hands of both firms and households. In the business world the word capital usually refers to an item in the balance sheet representing that part of the net worth of an enterprise that has not been produced through the operations of the enterprise. In economics the word capital is generally confined to “real” as opposed to merely “financial” assets. Different as the two concepts may seem, they are not unrelated. If all balance sheets were consolidated in a closed economic system, all debts would be cancelled out because every debt is an asset in one balance sheet and a liability in another. What is left in the consolidated balance sheet, therefore, is a value of all the real assets of a society on one side and its total net worth on the other. This is the economist’s concept of capital. A distinction may be made between goods in the hands of firms and goods in the hands of households, and attempts have been made to confine the term capital structure to the former. There is also a distinction between goods that have been produced and goods that are gifts of nature; attempts have been made to confine the term capital to the former, though the distinction is hard to maintain in practice. Another important distinction is between the stock of human beings (and their abilities) and the stock of nonhuman elements. In a slave society human beings are counted as capital in the same way as livestock or machines. In a free society each man is his own slave—the value of his body and mind is not, therefore, an article of commerce and does not get into the accounting system. In strict logic persons should continue to be regarded as part of the capital of a society; but in practice the distinction between the part of the total stock that enters into the accounting system, and the part that does not, is so important that it is not surprising that many writers have excluded persons from the capital stock. Another distinction that has some historical importance is that between circulating and fixed capital. Fixed capital is usually defined as that which does not change its form in the course of the process of production, such as land, buildings, and machines. Circulating capital consists of goods in process, raw materials, and stocks of finished goods waiting to be sold; these goods must either be transformed, as when wheat is ground into flour, or they must change ownership, as when a stock of goods is sold. This distinction, like many others, is not always easy to maintain. Nevertheless, it represents a rough approach to an important problem of the relative structure of capital; that is, of the proportions in which goods of various kinds are found. The stock of real capital exhibits strong complementarities. A machine is of no use without a skilled operator and without raw materials for it to work on. The classical theory of capital Test Your Knowledge Although ancient and medieval writers were interested in the ethics of interest and usury, the concept of capital as such did not rise to prominence in economic thought before the classical economists (Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Nassau Senior, and John Stuart Mill). Adam Smith laid great stress on the role played by the accumulation of a stock of capital in facilitating the division of labour economics and in increasing the productivity of labour in general. He recognized clearly that accumulation proceeds from an excess of production over consumption. He distinguished between productive labour, which creates objects of capital, and unproductive labour (services), the fruits of which are enjoyed immediately. His thought was strongly coloured by observation of the annual agricultural cycle. The end of the harvest saw society with a given stock of grain. This stock was in the possession of the capitalists. A certain portion of it they reserved for their own consumption and for the consumption of their menial servants, the rest was used to feed “productive labourers” during the ensuing year. As a result, by the end of the next harvest the barns were full again and the stock had replaced itself, perhaps with something left over. The stock that the capitalists did not reserve for their own use was the “wages fund”—the more grain there was in the barn in October the sharper the competition of capitalists for workers, and the higher real wages would be in the year to come. The picture is a crude one, of course, and does not indicate the complexity of the relationship between stocks and flows in an industrial society. The last of the classical economists, John Stuart Mill, was forced to abandon the wages-fund theory. Nevertheless, the wages fund is a crude representation of some real but complex relationships, and the theory reappears in a more sophisticated form in later writers. The classical economists distinguished three categories of income—wages, profit, and rent—and identified these with three factors of production—labour, capital, and land. David Ricardo especially made a sharp distinction between capital as “produced means of production,” and land as the “original and indestructible powers of the soil.” In modern economics this distinction has become blurred. The Austrian school About 1870 a new school developed, sometimes called the Austrian school from the fact that many of its principal members taught in Vienna, but perhaps better called the Marginalist school. The movement itself was thoroughly international, and included such figures as William Stanley Jevons in England and Léon Walras in France. The so-called Austrian theory of capital is mainly based on the work of Eugen Böhm-Bawerk. His Positive Theory of Capital (1889) set off a controversy that has not yet subsided. In the Austrian view the economic process consisted of the embodiment of “original factors of production” in capital goods of greater or lesser length of life that then yielded value or utility as they were consumed. Between the original embodiment of the factor and the final fruition in consumption lay an interval of time known as the period of production. In an equilibrium population it can easily be shown that the total population (capital stock) equals the annual number of births or deaths (income) multiplied by the average length of life (period of production). The longer the period of production, therefore, the more capital goods there will be per unit of income. If the period of production is constant, income depends directly on the amount of capital previously accumulated. Here is the wages fund in a new form. Unfortunately, the usefulness of Böhm-Bawerk’s theory is much impaired by the fact that it is confined to equilibrium states. The great problems of capital theory are dynamic in character, and comparative statics throws only a dim light on them. Marginalist and Keynesian theories The Marginalist school culminated in the work of three men—P.H. Wickstead in England, Knut Wicksell in Sweden, and Irving Fisher in the United States. The last two especially gave the Austrian theory clear mathematical expression. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Austrian theory was its recognition of the importance of the valuation problem in the relation of capital to interest. From the mere fact that physical capital produces an income stream, there is no explanation of the phenomenon of interest, for the question is why the value of a piece of physical capital should be less than the total of future values that are expected to accrue from it. The theory also makes a contribution to the problem of rational choice in situations involving waiting or maturing. The best example is that of slowly maturing goods such as wines or timber. There is a problem here of the best time to draw wine or to cut down a tree. According to the marginal theory this is at the time when the rate of net value growth of the item is just equal to the rate of interest, or the rate of return in alternative investments. Thus, if a tree or a wine is increasing in value at the rate of 7 percent per annum when the rate of interest is 6 percent it still pays to be patient and let it grow or mature. The longer it grows, however, the less the rate of value growth, and when the rate of value growth has fallen to the rate of interest, then is the time to reap the fruits of patience. The contributions of John Maynard (Lord) Keynes to capital theory are incidental rather than fundamental. Nevertheless, the “Keynesian revolution” had an impact on this area of economic thought as on most others. It overthrew the traditional assumption of most economists that savings were automatically invested. The great contribution of Keynes, then, is the recognition that the attempt to save does not automatically result in the accumulation of capital. A decision to restrict consumption is only a decision to accumulate capital if the volume of production is constant. If abstention from consumption itself results in a diminution of production, then accumulation (production minus consumption) is correspondingly reduced. The theory of capital was not a matter of primary concern to economists in the late 20th century, though some revival of interest occurred in the late 1950s. Nevertheless, certain problems remain of perennial interest. They may be grouped as follows. First are the problems involved in measuring aggregates of goods. Real capital includes everything from screwdrivers to continuous strip-rolling mills. A single measure of total real capital can be achieved only if each item can be expressed in a common denominator such as a given monetary unit (e.g., dollars, sterling, francs, pesos, etc.). The problem becomes particularly complicated in periods of rapid technical change when there is change not only in the relative values of products but in the nature of the list itself. Only approximate solutions can be found to this problem, and no completely satisfactory measure is ever possible. A related problem that has aroused considerable interest among accountants is how to value capital assets that have no fixed price. In the conventional balance sheet the value of some items is based on their cost at an earlier period than that of others. When the general level of prices is changing this means that different items are valued in monetary units of different purchasing power. The problem is particularly acute in the valuation of inventory. Under the more conventional “FIFO” (First In, First Out) system, inventory is valued at the cost (purchase price) of the latest purchases. This leads to an inflation of inventory values, and therefore of accounting profits, in time of rising prices (and a corresponding deflation under falling prices), which may be an exaggeration of the long-run position of the firm. This may be partially avoided by a competing system of valuation known as LIFO (Last In, First Out), in which inventory is valued at the purchase price of the earliest purchases. This avoids the fluctuations caused by short-run price-level changes, but it fails to record changes in real long-run values. There seems to be no completely satisfactory solution to this problem, and it is wise to recognize the fact that any single figure of capital value that purports to represent a complex, many-dimensional reality will need careful interpretation. The accumulation process A second problem concerns the factors that determine the rate of accumulation of capital; that is, the rate of investment. It has been seen that investment in real terms is the difference between production and consumption. The classical economist laid great stress on frugality as the principal source of capital accumulation. If production is constant it is true that the only way to increase accumulation is by the reduction of consumption. Keynes shifted the emphasis from the reduction of consumption to the increase of production, and regarded the decision to produce investment goods as the principal factor in determining the rate of growth of capital. In modern theories of economic development great stress is laid on the problem of the structure of production—the relative proportions of different kinds of activity. The advocates of “balanced growth” emphasize the need for a developing country to invest in a wide range of related and cooperative enterprises, public as well as private. There is no point in building factories and machines, they say, if the educational system does not provide a labour force capable of using them. There is also, however, a case to be made for “unbalanced growth,” in the sense that growth in one part of the economy frequently stimulates growth in other parts. A big investment in mining or in hydroelectric power, for example, creates strains on the whole society, which result in growth responses in the complementary sectors. The relation of inflation to economic growth and investment is an important though difficult problem. There seems to be little doubt that deflation, mainly because it shifts the distribution of income away from the profit maker toward the rentier and bondholder, has a deleterious effect on investment and the growth of capital. In 1932, for instance, real investment had practically ceased in the United States. It is less clear at what point inflation becomes harmful to investment. In countries where there has been long continuing inflation there seems to be some evidence that the structure of investment is distorted. Too much goes into apartment houses and factories and not enough into schools and communications. Capital and time A third problem that exists in capital theory is that of the period of production and the time structure of the economic process. This cannot be solved by the simple formulas of the Austrian school. Nevertheless, the problem is a real one and there is still a need for more useful theoretical formulations of it. Decisions taken today have results extending far into the future. Similarly, the data of today’s decisions are the result of decisions that were taken long in the past. The existing capital structure is the embodiment of past decisions and the raw material of present decisions. The incompatibility of decisions is frequently not discovered at the time they are made because of the lapse of time between the decision and its consequences. It is tempting to regard the cyclical structure of human history, whether the business cycle or the war cycle, as a process by which the consequences of bad decisions accumulate until some kind of crisis point is reached. The crisis (a war or a depression) redistributes power in the society and so leads to a new period of accumulating, but hidden, stress. In this process, distortion in the capital structure is of great importance. Capital and income A fourth problem to be considered is the relationship that exists between the stocks and the flows of a society, or in a narrower sense the relation between capital and income. Income, like capital, is a concept that is capable of many definitions; a useful approach to the concept of income is to regard it as the gross addition to capital in a given period. For any economic unit, whether a firm or an individual, income may be measured by that hypothetical amount of consumption that would leave capital intact. In real terms this is practically identical with the concept of production. The total flow of income is closely related to both the quantity and the structure of capital; the total real income of a society depends on the size and the skills of its population, and on the nature and the extent of the equipment with which they have to work. The most important single measure of economic well-being is real income per person; this is closely related to the productivity of labour, and this in turn is closely related to capital per person, especially if the results of investment in human resources, skills, and education are included in the capital stock. Historically, the concept of capital has been so closely bound to the concept of interest that it seems wise to take these two topics together, even though in the modern view it is capital and income rather than capital and interest that are the related concepts. Interest as a form of income may be defined as income that is received as a result of the possession of contractual obligations for payment on the part of another. Interest, in other words, is income that is received as a result of the ownership of a bond, a promissory note, or some other instrument that represents a promise on the part of some other party to pay sums in the future. The obligations may take many forms. In the case of the perpetuity, the undertaking is to pay a certain sum each year or other interval of time for the indefinite future. A bond with a date of maturity usually involves a promise to pay a certain sum each year for a given number of years, and then a larger sum on the terminal date. A promissory note frequently consists of a promise to pay a single sum at a date that is some time in the future. If a1, a2,…an are the sums received by the bondholder in years 1, 2…n, and if P0 is the present value in year 0, or the sum for which the bond is purchased, the rate of interest r in the whole transaction is given by the equation There is no general solution for this equation, though in practice it can be solved easily by successive approximation, and in special cases the equation reduces to much simpler forms. In the case of a promissory note, for instance, the equation reduces to the form where an is the single promised payment. In the case of a perpetuity with an annual payment of a, the formula reduces to Thus if one had to pay $200 to purchase a perpetual annuity of $5 per annum, the rate of interest would be 2 1/2 percent. It should be observed that the dimensions of the rate of interest are those of a rate of growth. The rate of interest is not a price or ratio of exchange; it is not itself determined in the market. What is determined in the market is the price of contractual obligations or “bonds.” The higher the price of a given contractual obligation, the lower the rate of interest on it. Suppose, for instance, that one has a promissory note that is a promise to pay one $100 in one year’s time. If I buy this for $100 now, the rate of interest is zero; if I buy it for $95 now the rate of interest is a little over 5 percent; if I buy it for $90 now, the rate of interest is about 11 percent. The rate of interest may be defined as the gross rate of growth of capital in a contractual obligation. A distinction is usually made between interest and profit as forms of income. In ordinary speech, profit usually refers to income derived from the ownership of aggregates or assets of all kinds organized in an enterprise. This aggregate is described by a balance sheet. In the course of the operations of the enterprise, the net worth grows, and profit is the gross growth of net worth. Stocks, as opposed to bonds, usually imply a claim on the profits of some enterprise. The development of interest theory In ancient and medieval times the main focus of inquiry into the theory of interest was ethical, and the principal question was the moral justification of interest. On the whole, the taking of interest was regarded unfavourably by both classical and medieval writers. Aristotle regarded money as “barren” and the medieval schoolmen were hostile to usury. Nevertheless, where interest fulfilled a useful social function elaborate rationalizations were developed for it. Among the classical economists, the focus of attention shifted away from ethical justification toward the problem of mechanical equilibrium. The question then became this: Is there any equilibrium rate of interest or rate of profit in the sense that where actual rates are above or below this, forces are brought into play, tending to change them toward the equilibrium? The classical economists did not provide any clear solution for this problem. They believed that the rate of interest simply followed the rate of profit, for people would not borrow or incur contractual obligations unless they could earn something more than the cost of the borrowing by investing the proceeds in enterprises or aggregates of real capital. They believed that the growth of capital itself would tend to reduce the rate of profit because of the competition of the capitalists. This doctrine is important in the Marxian dynamics in which the struggle of capital to avoid a falling rate of profit is seen as a critical factor leading, for instance, to unemployment, foreign investment, and imperialism. In the framework of classical economics, the work of Nassau Senior deserves mention. He raised the question whether profit or interest “paid for” anything; that is, whether there was any identifiable contribution to the general product of society that would not be forthcoming if this form of income were not paid. He identified such a function and called it abstinence. Karl Marx denied the existence of any such function and argued that the social product must be attributed entirely to acts of labour, capital being merely the embodied labour of the past. On this view, profit and interest are the result of pure exploitation in the sense that they consist of an income derived from the power position of the capitalist and not from the performance of any service. Non-Marxist economists have generally followed Senior in finding some function in society that corresponds to these forms of income. The Marginalists generally held that profit and interest were related to the marginal productivity of the extension of the period of production. Böhm-Bawerk assumed that “roundabout” processes of production would generally be more productive than processes with shorter periods of production; he thought there was a productivity of “waiting” (to use the term of Alfred Marshall) and saw the rate of interest as an inducement to the capitalist to extend the period of production. A low rate of interest leads to concentration on longer, more roundabout processes, and a high rate of interest on shorter, less roundabout processes. There is a limit, however, on the period of production imposed by the existing stock of accumulated capital. If one embarks on a long process with insufficient capital, he will find that he has exhausted his resources before the end of the process and before the fruits can be gathered. It is the business of the rate of interest to prevent this, and to adjust the roundaboutness of the processes used to the capital resources available. The Marginalists’ theory of interest reached its clearest expression in the work of Irving Fisher. He saw an equilibrium rate of interest as determined by the interaction of two sets of forces: the impatience of consumers on the one hand, and the returns from extending the period of production on the other. John Maynard Keynes brought a new approach. His liquidity preference theory of interest is a short-run theory of the price of contractual obligations (“bonds”), and it is essentially an application of the general theory of market price. If people as a whole decide that they want to hold a larger proportion of their assets in the form of money, and if new money is not created to satisfy this desire, there will be a net desire to sell securities and the price of securities will fall. This is the same thing as a rise in the rate of interest. Conversely, if people want to get rid of money the price of securities will rise and the rate of interest will fall. This, then, is the theory of the “market” rate of interest, by contrast with the Marginalists’ theory, which concerns itself with whether or not there is a long-run equilibrium rate of interest. The controversy, therefore, between the liquidity preference theory—which regards interest as a “bribe” to prevent people holding money rather than bonds—and the time preference theory—which regards interest as a bribe to persuade people to postpone enjoyments to the future—can be resolved by placing the former in the short run and the latter in the long run. The middle of the 20th century saw a considerable shift in the focus of concern relating to the theory of interest. Economists seemed to lose interest in the equilibrium theory, and their main concern was with the effect of rates of interest as a part of monetary policy in the control of inflation. It was recognized that the monetary authority could control the rate of interest in the short run. The controversy lay mainly between the advocates of “monetary policy” and the advocates of “fiscal policy.” If inflation is regarded as a symptom of a desire on the part of a society to consume and invest more in total than its resources permit, it is clear that the problem can be attacked either by diminishing investment or by diminishing consumption. On the whole, the attack of the advocates of monetary policy is on the side of diminishing investment, through raising rates of interest and making it harder to obtain loans, though the possibility that high rates of interest may restrict consumption is not overlooked. The alternative would seem to restrict consumption by raising taxes. This has the disadvantage of being politically unpopular. The mounting concern with economic growth, however, has raised considerable doubts about the use of high rates of interest as an instrument to control inflation. There is some doubt whether high interest rates in fact restrict investment; if they do not, they are ineffective, and if they do, they may be harmful to economic growth. This is a serious dilemma for the advocates of monetary policy. On the other hand, it must be admitted that the type of fiscal policy that might be most desirable theoretically has achieved very limited public support.

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Did Dust Bust the 2006 Hurricane Season Forecasts? A recent NASA study suggests that tiny dust particles may have foiled forecasts that the 2006 hurricane season would be another active one. Image right: A plume of dust blew off the west coast of Western Sahara and Mauritania on July 23, 2006. New research suggests such dust outbreaks may inhibit hurricane formation. Credit: MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. In June and July 2006, there were several significant dust storms over the Sahara Desert in Africa. As this dust traveled westward into the Atlantic, satellite data show that the particles blocked sunlight from reaching the ocean surface, causing ocean waters to cool. These cooler waters may have impeded some storminess since hurricanes rely on warm waters to form. The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season wrapped up on Nov. 30 with just four tropical storms and five hurricanes, relatively calm compared to the record number of 12 tropical storms and 15 hurricanes in 2005. While several factors likely contributed to the sharp decrease in the number of storms, "this research is the first to show that dust does have a major effect on seasonal hurricane activity," said lead author William Lau, chief of the Laboratory for Atmospheres at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "Dust concentrations may play as big a role as other atmospheric conditions, like El Niño, and offer some predictive value, so they should be closely monitored to improve hurricane forecasts." Other researchers, however, say that atmospheric dust may have had relatively little influence on the 2006 hurricane season compared to the effects of underlying El Niño conditions. Sea surface temperatures in 2006 across the prime hurricane-breeding regions of the Atlantic and Caribbean were found to be as much as 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than in 2005. Most striking was how quickly sea surface temperatures responded to variations in the amount of Saharan dust, Lau said. Following the most significant dust outbreak, which occurred in June and July, ocean waters cooled abruptly in just two weeks, suggesting that the dust had an almost immediate effect. Image left: Cooler ocean waters in 2006 resulted in fewer summertime tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic than in 2005. Average sea surface temperatures (degrees Celsius) for the July-September period are shown for 2005 (top) and 2006 (bottom). During 2005 there were nine distinct tropical storms (open circles) and hurricanes (black circles) over the balmy waters (greater than 28 degrees Celsius) of the western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. In the same period in 2006, only two tropical storms formed and none developed into hurricanes. Credit: NASA. The dust worked to cool the ocean, but it also warmed the atmosphere by absorbing more of the sun's energy. This temperature difference resulted in a shift in the large-scale atmospheric circulation. As air rose over West Africa and the tropical Atlantic, it sank and became less moist over the western Atlantic and Caribbean. This pattern helped to increase surface winds that enhanced ocean evaporation and churned deeper, colder waters, causing the area of cool seas to expand. Lau and co-author Kyu-Myong Kim of Goddard analyzed data on ocean temperatures, clouds, and water vapor from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite and atmospheric dust levels from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite. The study was published in the Feb. 27 issue of the American Geophysical Union's Eos. The research also considered the role of El Niño by examining historical data on the intensity and development of tropical storms and hurricanes across the Atlantic basin. "We found that Saharan dust may have a stronger influence than El Niño on hurricane formation in the subtropical western Atlantic and Caribbean, but that El Niño has a greater impact in the tropical eastern Atlantic, where many storms are generated," said Lau. El Niño is the periodic warming of the ocean waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, which in turn can influence pressure and wind patterns across the tropical Atlantic. "In 2006, it is quite possible that the Saharan dust may have amplified or even initiated pre-existing atmosphere-ocean conditions due to El Niño," said Lau. But other researchers say that while the amount of atmospheric dust in 2006 was greater than in 2005, the increase may have been too insignificant to be influential on the season. Instead, they believe the atmospheric effects from the underlying El Niño pattern in 2006 likely played a greater role. Scott Braun, a hurricane specialist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said that in 2006, El Niño brought about broad changes to atmospheric conditions that likely had at least some influence on hurricane formation across much of the Atlantic. Braun noted that during most of the hurricane season a large area of high pressure was located across the eastern Atlantic. This steered disturbances away from the warmest waters, so that they were less able to mature into tropical storms and hurricanes. At the same time, sinking motion – an atmospheric air mass that has cooled and is falling – combined with enhanced winds in the middle and upper atmosphere to minimize development in the Caribbean and western Atlantic and keep storms away from the U.S. These strong upper-level winds would contribute to a drastic change of winds with height, known as "shear" that can rip storms apart. "This large-scale pattern has been associated with the effects of El Niño, suggesting it may have played a role in the seasonal activity," said Braun. "In fact, the last time the Atlantic produced so few storms was in 1997, when an El Niño pattern was also in place." Braun and another hurricane researcher, Bowen Shen at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, agree that factors other than increased atmospheric dust may have contributed to cooler ocean waters in 2006. "It is arguable that stronger surface winds over the tropical Atlantic may have cooled sea surface temperatures," said Shen. These winds likely helped to keep waters cooler by mixing the upper layers of the ocean and sweeping warmer waters westward. And although the waters were certainly cooler in 2006 than in 2005, they were still at or slightly above normal, suggesting other conditions helped to shape the season. Current and future research efforts that examine how the ocean responds to surface winds and dust should help clarify their role in hurricane development. Although seasonal atmospheric patterns may increase the amount of dust across the Atlantic, the same atmospheric patterns may also be responsible for creating stronger winds at the ocean surface. By modeling the oceans, winds, and dust, researchers will generate a clearer picture of how these conditions vary from season to season. "Although we continue to make significant strides in forecasting hurricanes and understanding their development, it is important to remember that the atmosphere is a chaotic system and numerous meteorological variables influence individual storms and activity throughout the season. NASA's constellation of several Earth-observing satellites, including Aura, is designed to provide coordinated measurements of these many variables for future research," said Lau. Goddard Space Flight Center

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