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Tackling document questions at AS An important component in the new A Level is the source work. In the AS Level it is worth 40 per cent of the total marks awarded for the exam. You will be given up to five sources, varying between five and 15 lines each, although one may well be a cartoon or picture. The total mark for the whole paper is usually 30 and the marks for each question progress from three to 12. How you can achieve a good grade 1. The first requirement is to know your subject. If you are studying the unification of Germany, for example, make sure that you have revised the syllabus thoroughly, as the documents set you in the exam will cover some key aspect of the course. Without having a good background knowledge, you will not be able to interpret the documents effectively. 2. Read through the documents in the exam paper carefully. They usually contain several different points. Note the mark allocation, as it indicates how much you should write. Each question also tells you which document(s) it is asking you to analyse. Only bring in information from the other documents if it is relevant, or tests the reliability of the document you are evaluating. If you are asked to use your own knowledge as well, you are expected to use relevant background information from your course. What analytical skills are needed? 1. Accurate comprehension. This is the basis of all interpretative skills. You need to understand what the sources are saying. Are they a factual account, propaganda or satire? 2. Evaluation. This means making an assessment of the evidence in a document. Ask yourself what the particular document you are studying actually shows and how reliable is it as a source. For instance, where does it come from and what is its date? Use your background knowledge and, if relevant, the other documents, to check its reliability and utility - that is, what use is it to you in solving the question you are asked? A satirical cartoon may be helpful in shedding light on why a particular policy is unpopular. Similarly, a government propaganda document can indicate what a government wants to hide. In evaluating a cartoon or picture, ask yourself what is the overall message the artist wants to communicate. Then go on to see what it tells you about the events and people portrayed. A worked example These documents are from the period 1925 to November 1938 and relate to the anti-Semitic policies of the Nazi regime. It is recommended that you spend one half of your time in answering part (d). SOURCE A. Hitler outlines the mission of the German people: SOURCE B. An extract from the new race laws which were announced at Nuremberg on 15 September 1935: SOURCE C. An extract from a secret report by the Nazi Party on the events of the Reichskristallnacht, 9-10 November 1938. SOURCE D. This decree (law) was issued on 12 November 1938 by Göring, who was in charge of the Four Year Plan. SOURCE E. A photograph showing the ridiculing of Jewish students in the classroom. Questions and comments 1. Study Source C. From this source and your own knowledge, explain the reference to the ‘anti-Jewish demonstrations’ (Line 5). (3 marks) This question tests both your comprehension of the document and your background knowledge of Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies. Much of the answer lies in the text, but to achieve the top level mark you need to explain that during the night of 9-10 November 1938 large- scale anti-Jewish demonstrations took place resulting in the estimated deaths of over 91 Jewish people and the arrest of 21,000 Jewish males. 2. Study Source E. Assess the value of this source as evidence for the nature of the Nazi anti-Semitic campaign during the period 1933-39 (4 marks) The task here is to analyse one source, which is inevitably limited in what it reveals, and see how helpful it is as evidence of a much larger problem. This photograph shows some of the practical consequences of the Nazi campaign against the Jews. It indicates how Nazi teachers are putting into practice the racial ideology of Nazism. To achieve the top level with 3-4 marks you must explain briefly how it fits into the overall context of the anti-Semitic measures taken up to the period of November 1938. You could, for instance, mention that as early as April 1933 there were demands from the party for the removal of Jewish children from schools. This did not happen until November 1938, but those Jewish children, who did remain in schools up to that date were subjected to increasing racist and anti-Semitic campaigns. For instance, much biology teaching was devoted to the racial question. 3. To what extent does Source B support Hitler’s declared aim in Source A? (5 marks) This question tests your skill to evaluate the light that two different documents shed on a key issue. Firstly, ask yourself what Hitler actually means in Source A when he refers to the ‘most noble elements of our nationality’. He is, of course, talking about preserving and strengthening the German race. Source B is certainly on one level an attempt to do this by banning mixed marriages. Indeed, lines 1-4 can be seen as echoing Source A. Linking this up effectively would gain 4-5 marks, but the candidate, who reaches the top level (5-6 marks) will also need to indicate that the Nuremberg Laws were also hastily drafted partly to keep the Nazi party activists quiet and also to give Hitler something to announce to the Reichstag, which had been specially convened in Nuremberg, when Foreign Office officials advised him to steer clear of commenting on current foreign policy developments. In other words, Source B is implementing Hitler’s policy as described in Source A, but perhaps by default rather than through considered and long-term planning. 4. Study Sources C and D Assess the value of these sources to a historian studying the causes of the Reichskristallnacht of 9-10 November 1938 (6 marks) The examiner is testing you here on the evaluation of the utility and reliability of two different sources. To gain a top level mark (5/6) you must give a balanced answer which looks at both documents and, of course, draws on your own information. Source C is an important document that sheds considerable light on why the events took place. You need, first of all, to put it into context. The events mentioned in it occurred two days after the assassination in Paris of a minor German diplomat by a young Polish Jew in Paris. Also, ever since the Anschluss of March 1938 the Nazi party had been pressing for further anti-Semitic measures. Within this context it shows the key role played by Goebbels, but again in order to interpret his role correctly you need to mention that he had also fallen into Hitler’s bad books because he was having an affair with a Czech actress, and that his advice to Hitler to allow the anti-Jewish riots to go ahead was an attempt to regain Hitler’s favour. Strictly speaking, Source D is more a consequence of the Kristallnacht. Although Göring felt that the destruction done to Jewish property in the night of 9-10 November might be counter-productive, he moved quickly to exploit the situation to confiscate Jewish funds and businesses to help with the rearmament programme. However, in general terms, it can be argued that the desire to expropriate the Jews was one of the driving forces behind German anti-Semitism. 5. Using these sources and your wider knowledge discuss the view that Hitler had not made up his mind how he would solve ‘the Jewish problem’ in the period 1933-39. (12 marks) This answer is, in effect, an essay. Make sure that you have left sufficient time to answer it (about 35 minutes). You will need to think carefully how to plan your answer and what background knowledge you will use. To reach the highest mark level (10-12) you will need to develop a sustained and integrated argument based on analysis of the sources and your own knowledge in which you show that you understand that while Hitler was a fanatical anti-Semite (Source A), his policies up to 1938 were arguably restrained and uncertain. You will need to mention that both the boycott in April 1933 and even the Nuremberg race laws (Source B) were largely attempts to appease the Nazi party which wanted much more radical action (Source C). Even Hitler’s go-ahead for the events of the Kristallnacht were cautious and ambiguous (Source C). Only after these disturbances did Nazi race policy become more radical. Again, this was partly the result of Himmler, Heydrich and Göring (Source D). Yet, in conclusion, do not forget to point out that Hitler in 1939 specifically told the Reichstag that the outbreak of war would lead to the ‘annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe’. Finally, make sure that your essay is well organised, coherent and has an overall sense of direction with few spelling and grammatical mistakes! Dr David Williamson is the author of Bismarck and Germany, Longman, 1997 and War and Peace. International Relations, 1914-45, Hodder & Stoughton, 1994.

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http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/noticeboard/noticeb_sources73_naziantisemi.htm

2013-06-18T23:31:50Z

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Tips for Teaching in the Outdoors The educational philosophy of experiential education first developed in the late 19th century and has since been articulated in a variety of fields, including cooperative education, outdoor education, organizational development and training, and service learning. The essence of experiential education is the notion that experiential moments—doing as part of the learning process—can result in meaningful learning. Effective teaching requires that the outdoor leader take an active role in constructing the learning with participants—learning is not to be left to chance, nor is the meaning of the experience for the participants assumed to be the intended learning. No one can argue that experience happens—it is unavoidable—but learning is a delicate process as the outdoor leader helps the participant make sense out of a communal process. The challenge for outdoor leaders and participants is how to make meaning out of an experience: how to begin with raw experience and then process the intentional learning into working knowledge. An assumption of experiential education is that it is intended to be holistic and integrative, based on the process of making meaning out of experience. The idea that experience, learning, and development are interconnected has provided a jumping-off point for various forms of outdoor programs. Natural Spaces as Natural Classrooms - Use natural divides such as trees, foliage, and rivers to create an effective outdoor classroom. - Natural spaces help provide a sense of authenticity for the learning. Go beyond the notion of “If you can teach it outside, do it” to teach the skills in the environment that was intended. Risk Assessment of Site - The teaching site should be free of residual risk and with clearly established boundaries. - Where risks exist, they should be highlighted to the group and management strategies should be in effect. - Large groups should be broken into smaller groups or stations. - You should be able to observe all groups from a central area, though the groups may be somewhat separated by natural divides. Natural Teaching Aids - Use what is accessible to aid your delivery, such as using hands and knuckles to demonstrate topography or a canoe as a chalkboard. - You need to develop strategies to help your participants learn: visual cues (diagrams, checklists), analogies related to the topic, appropriate personal stories that depict learning moments that participants can relate to, focused group discussions that draw out participant knowledge, skill demonstrations, stop–start techniques to break complex skill sets down for learners, and so on. These are only a few examples of instructional strategies. - The sun should be in your eyes, making it easy for participants to see you. - In cold climates, select a site where sun shines on participants’ backs for a warming effect. - In hot climates, avoid the sun if possible by moving to a shaded area. - Wind should carry sound to participants; it should be moving from you toward participants. - In cold climates, avoid windy teaching sites because of the cooling effect of wind. - In hot climates, wind may help cool participants, making them more comfortable. Water In, Water Out and Thermoregulation - Adequate water-in, water-out breaks should be provided, allowing participants to maintain healthy hydration and thermoregulation. - Check participants to make sure they are dry, and if they are damp, insist on changes of clothing. - The activity must be delivered in a manner that is safe and that participants perceive as safe. - This assessment depends on the group’s maturity and skill level, the terrain, and the technical challenge of the outdoor lesson. - You should only place a primary emphasis on skill development when the skill is essential to the safety of the participants. - Skill is to be developed to the minimum required for completing the tasks essential to achieving the experience. The ultimate goal is for participants to leave with a positive outdoor experience. When appropriate, challenge learners to stretch and expand their skill abilities by leading extension activities. - Further skill development may be necessary to elevate participants’ technical expertise. For example, when paddling a river, participants may navigate a rapid by running straight through without stopping; learning skills such as eddy turns, ferries, and surfing will elevate the experience for participants as the novelty of the primary experience wears off. Specific Strategies for Teaching in the Outdoor Classroom - Teach in outside places that are authentic to the lesson. - Participants have expectations for the activity; do not lose sight of the doing as a means for authentic learning. - The outdoors is a natural classroom where teaching and learning can be different than in the indoor classroom. Take steps to preserve your instructional space for future lessons. - Participant interests can be sparked through firsthand experience, a necessary aspect of the experiential process; be sure to match the activity challenge to the age of the participants. - Participants require outdoor leaders who are knowledgeable, informed, interested, and attentive—show enthusiasm during the session regardless of the weather! - Develop a sense of community, a safe, fun, friendly environment for learning and practicing new skills. - Move the focus from competitive aspects to skill performance; focus on progression with positive support by providing constructive feedback. - Know the outcomes for each activity. This will allow detection (what is not quite right) and correction (skill adjustments to improve performance). - Be prepared for each lesson: Have safety checks in place, reminders for updating participants, equipment inspected, and the instructional site confirmed and inspected. - Participant engagement is essential; keep it fun but in a structured format to maximize learning time in the field. - Use visuals and a hands-on approach for demonstrations—promote a sense of doing. - Participants pay less attention to long speeches. Use simple words and phrases in discussions. This is an excerpt from, Quality Lesson Plans for Outdoor Education.

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http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/tips-for-teaching-in-the-outdoors?beenCurRedir=1&ActionType=2_SetCurrency&CurrencyCode=2

2013-06-18T23:18:34Z

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Protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict The protection of cultural property during armed conflict is based on the principle that damage to the cultural property of any people means, in the words of the 1954 Hague Convention, “damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind”. Cultural property is protected during war in two ways. Because it is normally civilian in nature, the general provisions of humanitarian law protecting civilian property apply. Specific protection recognizing the cultural heritage of every people is enshrined in the 1954 Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property during armed conflict, which was complemented by the 1977 Additional Protocols, and has become part of customary international law. The sad reality is that, over the centuries, many works of art have been lost and cultural sites damaged or destroyed in war. While forms of customary protection have existed since the earliest times of civilization, the destructiveness of World War II prompted the international community to act and provide specific legal protection. Under the 1954 Hague Convention, each State must act to safeguard its own cultural property against armed attack. This can be done, for example, by moving such property away from potential or actual military action, or in the case of historical sites, by avoiding placing military objectives near to them. Parties to an armed conflict are not allowed to direct hostilities against cultural property and must avoid incidental damage to such property. Using cultural property for military purposes is prohibited. The Hague Convention does, however, recognize situations where an attack on cultural property may be lawful, namely if such property has been turned into a military objective and an attack would be required by “imperative military necessity”. Occupying powers must protect cultural property under their control from theft, pillage or misappropriation. If cultural property is removed from occupied territory for its own protection, it must be returned at the end of hostilities. Responding to events during World War II, international law also prohibits the destruction of cultural property as a means of intimidating people under occupation or as a reprisal. Parties to the Hague Convention are responsible for implementing its provisions and for enshrining the protection of cultural property in their national legislation. They are also required to enforce its provisions in case of violation. At the international level, UNESCO has a particular responsibility to monitor compliance and help protect and preserve cultural property. In the more than 50 years since its existence, the Hague Convention has established a clear legal framework. It was reinforced by the 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, the Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998 and an Additional Protocol to the Convention itself in 1999.

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http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/conduct-hostilities/cultural-property/overview-cultural-property.htm

2013-06-18T23:04:52Z

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Listen to American Public Media's (APM) and the Center for Investigative Reporting's latest installment of their series, Food for 9 Billion, if you want a down-to-earth look at just what it's going to take to feed the world as we grow to 9 billion people. In Africa, says APM's Kai Ryssdal, farmers will need to double the amount of food they grow to feed the continent's growing population. How? As Kate Schneider and Monika Zurek write in their series Nourishing People and the Planet, "Most farmers depend on rainfall alone to water their crops, have poor soils and little access to affordable plant nutrition, and suffer pre- and post-harvest losses as a result of pests, diseases, weeds, and drought." But without access to advanced farming tools and technology, as Schneider and Zurek write, "Not only do these challenges lead to low yields and high risk, they also contribute to further degradation of natural resources." Journalist Jori Lewis travels through Ghana to tell the story of dirt, farming, and saving the world in the latest edition of APM's Food for 9 Billion, Soil is ground zero in African farming debate.

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http://www.impatientoptimists.org/en/Posts/2012/06/The-Dirt-on-Feeding-the-World

2013-06-18T23:04:18Z

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According to the ASME report, 2028 Vision for Mechanical Engineering, mechanical engineers will need to collaborate with partners worldwide in order to apply innovative solutions and best practices to improve quality of life for all people. “Mechanical engineers can be at the forefront of developing new technology for environmental remediation, farming and food production, housing, transportation, safety, security, healthcare and water resources,” says the report, which is based on the proceedings of The Global Summit on the Future of Mechanical Engineering, held April 16-18, 2008, Washington, D.C. The summit, hosted by ASME at the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, convened more than 120 engineering and science leaders from 19 countries for the purpose of defining the elements of a shared vision that will keep the profession at the forefront of grand challenges and great contributions over the next 20 years. Among the challenges, sustainable development, says the ASME report, will be a shared vision in the worldwide technical community, involving collaboration tools that allow “mechanical engineers to tap into the collective wisdom of an organization or network of stakeholders.” Collaboration also will facilitate the development of innovations in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and large-scale systems. According to the report, nanotechnology and biotechnology will dominate technological development in the next 20 years and will be incorporated into all aspects of technology that affect lives on a daily basis. “Nano-bio will provide the building blocks that future engineers will use to solve pressing problems in diverse fields including medicine, energy, water management, aeronautics, agriculture and environmental management.” Other topics examined at the summit and discussed in the report include intellectual property, engineering education and lifelong learning, diversity, virtual design environments, and home-based fabrication. “Engineers will be able to act as independent operators interacting with colleagues around the world,” the report says. “Engineers can design at home with advanced CAD systems or in collaboration with their global colleagues in virtual worlds. They will be able to use home-based fabrication technology to test many of their designs.” The report said “As mechanical engineering looks to 2028, leaders will value people with diverse expertise and experience. They will bring this global profession together to keep the promise of technology serving people. They will inspire men and women everywhere to believe that grand challenges are a rally cry for a profession that is ready for the adventure of making the difficult doable.” The full report, 2028 Vision for Mechanical Engineering, is available online at http://www.asmeconferences.org/asmeglobalsummit/index.cfm Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical and multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences. ASME develops codes and standards that enhance public safety, and provides lifelong learning and technical exchange opportunities benefiting the engineering and technology community. John Varrasi | Source: Newswise Science News Further information: www.asme.org Further Reports about: Biotechnology > Engineering > environmental management > environmental remediation > food production > global environment > innovative solutions > Mechanical Engineering > Nanotechnology > water resources > worldwide technical community More articles from Machine Engineering: Efficient precision grinding of machine components 10.06.2013 | Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe Factories of the future: Mobile manipulators for aerospace production 29.04.2013 | Fraunhofer-Institut für Fabrikbetrieb und -automatisierung IFF ... two engines aircraft project “Elektro E6”. The countdown has been started for opening the gates again for the worldwide leading aviation and space event in Le Bourget, Paris from June 17th - 23rd, 2013. EADCO & PC-Aero will present at the Paris Air Show in Hall H4 booth F-7 their new future aircraft and innovative project: ... Siemens scientists have developed new kinds of ceramics in which they can embed transformers. The new development allows power supply transformers to be reduced to one fifth of their current size so that the normally separate switched-mode power supply units of light-emitting diodes can be integrated into the module's heat sink. The new technology was developed in cooperation with industrial and research partners who ... Cheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. Led by Raymond Schaak, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, research team members have found that an important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered -- or catalyzed -- by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth. ... The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT generated a lot of interest at the LASER World of Photonics 2013 trade fair with its numerous industrial laser technology innovations. Its highlights included beam sources and manufacturing processes for ultrashort laser pulses as well as ways to systematically optimize machining processes using computer simulations. There was even a specialist booth at the fair dedicated to the revolutionary technological potential of digital photonic production. Now in its fortieth year, LASER World ... It's not reruns of "The Jetsons", but researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale features. Combining the best features of optical and scanning electron microscopy, the fast, versatile, and high-resolution technique allows scientists to view surface and subsurface features potentially as small as 10 nanometers in size. The new microscopy technique, described in the journal AIP Advances,* uses a beam of electrons to excite a specially ... 18.06.2013 | Materials Sciences 18.06.2013 | Health and Medicine 18.06.2013 | Life Sciences 14.06.2013 | Event News 13.06.2013 | Event News 10.06.2013 | Event News

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http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/engineering/future_trends_mechanical_engineering_116029.html

2013-06-18T23:37:59Z

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Medical, Not Moral In the first half of the 19th century, a rise in alcohol use sparked the advent of numerous temperance societies. For many years, these groups preached that alcoholism was caused by moral failure. That began to change when Dr. Edward Turner founded the Binghamton Inebriate Asylum. Dr. Turner, the first person to treat alcohol as a medical condition, organized the asylum on this date in 1854. The asylum operated as a private hospital until 1879, when New York state took over the property as a treatment facility for mental illness, now known as the Binghamton Psychiatric Center. Copyright Aetna InteliHealth, Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.

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http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtPrint/WSIHW000/333/7087/1440998.html?hide=t&k=basePrint

2013-06-18T23:27:49Z

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Now for the first time ever, the bestselling, teacher-trusted Quick-Guides to Inclusion are available in a single updated and revised volume—complete with 7 all-new Quick-Guides on today’s hottest inclusion topics. A must for busy K–12 teachers who need fast, friendly, and practical guidance on including students with disabilities in general education classrooms, this photocopiable sourcebook gives educators - Fully revised, updated contents of all 3 popular Quick-Guide volumes. Past contributors—every one a respected inclusion expert, including Institute on Disability's own Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Mary Schuh, and Frank Sgambati—returned to refresh these Quick-Guides with their latest knowledge and experience. Teachers will have up-to-date snapshots of a wide array of essential inclusion topics, such as literacy, partnerships with parents, positive behavior support, and curriculum adaptations. Each of the 23 Quick-Guides includes easy-to-follow ideas, examples, and tips teachers can put to use immediately in any classroom and on any budget. - Seven brand-new Quick-Guides on critical topics. Educators will get more than 80 pages of brand-new content on - teaching writing - teaching math - addressing cross-cultural issues - using universal design for learning - listening to students’ perspectives - conducting community-based instruction - using simple technology to encourage participation With this convenient, user-friendly guidebook, educators will have a single resource they can turn to again and again for quick, real-world advice on all the key inclusion topics. Every teacher in an inclusive classroom should have a copy on the bookshelf!

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http://www.iodbookstore.org/products/Quick-Guides-to-Inclusion:-Ideas-for-Educating-Students-with-Disabilities,-2nd-Edition.html

2013-06-18T23:33:05Z

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Several pigweed species (Amaranthus spp.) are common weeds in Iowa corn and soybean fields. In the past, most agriculturists simply referred to these weeds as redroot pigweed. However, casual observations indicate that redroot pigweed is less frequently encountered in production fields than are other Amaranthus species. The most frequently encountered Amaranthus species are redroot pigweed, smooth pigweed, common waterhemp, tall waterhemp, and Powell amaranth. It is difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate Amaranthus species during vegetative growth stages. Positive identification can only be made when flowers are present. Although not foolproof, the best way to identify Amaranthus seedlings is to know what species were present in the field the previous year. Why differentiate species that are so similar? Studies at Kansas State University show differential tolerance among the Amaranthus species to postemergence herbicides. For example, the Pursuit label recommends earlier application for tall waterhemp than for redroot and smooth pigweed.

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http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/1994/5-13-1994/pigweed.html

2013-06-18T23:11:43Z

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We use genetic tools and screening strategies to identify the specific neurons necessary and sufficient to control grooming and feeding, behaviors which were chosen for their sequential progression and cue integration properties. Detailed mapping of the circuits that govern these specific behaviors in flies may reveal common architectural principles that help explain how human brains produce a diverse repertoire of appropriate behavior in response to internal state and external stimuli. But a fly only extends its mouthparts when it is hungry, and when the sweet taste is not accompanied by a bitter one. The neurons that integrate several sensory inputs and internal state information have not yet been found. Activating the mechanosensory neurons at the base of bristles can trigger a scratch reflex, but activating many bristles results in an ordered series of leg sweeps and rubs designed to remove debris from the eyes and head, followed by the wings and body. The motor neurons required to perform grooming movements may also be critical for walking. How they are organized to perform different tasks in different contexts is not known. The fly brain has a lot of terra incognita – areas whose behavioral functions are undiscovered. The anatomical regions relevant for many behaviors are not known. The way a given behavior can be disrupted is often informative, even if the neural circuit or cause is not yet known. We identify the neurons needed for particular behaviors, rather than the genes, using the plethora of genetic tools available in Drosophila to target, manipulate, and image neurons. We also mirror the tradition of unbiased genetics screens in that we test the potential role of many different groups of neurons (using the large Rubin GAL4 collection and others) and allow the results to suggest which brain regions are relevant. This approach provides entry points into the circuits, from which we can then search anatomically for potentially connected neurons. Flies remove dust from their bodies in an orderly way, starting from their eyes and proceeding to their heads, wings, and abdomens. This progression is likely influenced by mechanosensory feedback. The data from our observation of grooming behavior in normal flies and in flies where the activity of different groups of neurons has been altered supports the idea that grooming is made up of small reflex modules or subroutines linked together. We are identifying the neurons that control the reflex components and the neurons that coordinate them to produce the grooming behavioral sequence. Contrasting the way behavioral sequences are produced for courtship and grooming may be particularly informative. Feeding and Proboscis Extension Flies eat when they are hungry and good food is available. Generally they do not eat more than they need. We want to identify neurons that can stimulate feeding in sated flies to map the brain areas that detect metabolic state and encode hunger. We will explore where the external sensory cues (sweet and bitter taste) are integrated with the internal metabolic state cues to activate the motor program of the proboscis extension reflex (PER). PER is activated during feeding and drinking, but it can also be evoked during courtship or in response to aversive stimuli. We are investigating how these sensory stimuli converge on what we think is a common program to control this motor behavior. The motor program itself contains 32 motor neurons and 12 muscles that function in a coordinated manner to extend and retract the proboscis. While the motor neurons are known by traditional anatomical techniques, the ability to alter activity in particular neurons is recent and allows us to study how this motor program is generated. Courtship Song Circuits Male Drosophila melanogaster produce courtship song by vibrating their wings at 160Hz (sine) and 260Hz (pulse). The male-specific isoform of Fruitless marks many of the neurons necessary and sufficient for this behavior, but other components of the song circuit remain elusive. Although the basic nature of the song is innate, some aspects may be modified by experience, sensory feedback, or social context. We are analyzing the song structure and identifying neurons that drive song production as another example of how neural circuits produce behavioral sequences. Tool Development: dBrainbow and BrainAligner We are screening for neurons necessary and sufficient for behaviors, not the genes. This requires tools to manipulate specific populations of neurons. Initially we used enhancer trapping to generate collections of GAL4, GAL80, and LexA lines that we use to target neural activators and inhibitors to different brain regions. Now we primarily use the defined enhancer GAL4 and split-GAL4 collections established by the Rubin lab. We are building additional reagents to manipulate different types of neurons and are developing a web site to display and query the expression patterns of our lines. We adapted the vertebrate Brainbow technique for labeling neurons in different colors to visualize lineages and individual neurons within our GAL4 expression patterns (Nature Methods 2011). In collaboration with Hanchuan Peng and Gene Myers, we developed the BrainAligner for automatically registering confocal images of fly brains onto a common coordinate system. This allows us to generate an atlas of all our GAL4 expression patterns to identify lines that target particular brain regions. We use this to make predictions about anatomical correlation with behavioral function and connectivity (Submitted 2010). The Simpson lab participates in the Drosophila Interests Group (a joint lab meeting of the 10 fly labs at Janelia) and the Behavior Interest Group (an occasional meeting of the Janelia neuroethology community). We are also part of two project teams, FlyLight and the FlyOlympiad. There is a coordinated effort to “Understand the Fly Brain” at Janelia, using light microscopy, electron microscopy, and large-scale quantitative behavioral analysis. My lab and I participate actively in this joint effort. We understand that functional and anatomical mapping of the fly brain is an ambitious task, and we hope that our efforts will contribute to the larger community-wide endeavor. The anatomical images, circuit maps, and genetic tools we make can be used to address a broad range of scientific questions well beyond those we focus on in one lab. We feel strongly that tools are improved by sharing and we freely distribute the reagents we make. We look forward to hearing from anyone interested in our research. Julie Simpson Lab Head Stephanie Albin Postdoctoral Associate Phuong Chung Research Staff Stefanie Hampel Research Staff Jon-Michael Knapp Research Staff Claire McKellar Postdoctoral Associate Primoz Ravbar Postdoctoral Associate Andrew Seeds Research Staff Analyzing Drosophila melanogaster neural expression patterns in thousands of three-dimensional image stacks of individual brains requires registering them into a canonical framework based on a fiducial reference of neuropil morphology. Given a target brain labeled with predefined landmarks, the BrainAligner program automatically finds the corresponding landmarks in a subject brain and maps it to the coordinate system of the target brain via a deformable warp. Using a neuropil marker (the antibody nc82) as a reference of the brain morphology and a target brain that is itself a statistical average of data for 295 brains, we achieved a registration accuracy of 2 μm on average, permitting assessment of stereotypy, potential connectivity and functional mapping of the adult fruit fly brain. We used BrainAligner to generate an image pattern atlas of 2954 registered brains containing 470 different expression patterns that cover all the major compartments of the fly brain. We developed a multicolor neuron labeling technique in Drosophila melanogaster that combines the power to specifically target different neural populations with the label diversity provided by stochastic color choice. This adaptation of vertebrate Brainbow uses recombination to select one of three epitope-tagged proteins detectable by immunofluorescence. Two copies of this construct yield six bright, separable colors. We used Drosophila Brainbow to study the innervation patterns of multiple antennal lobe projection neuron lineages in the same preparation and to observe the relative trajectories of individual aminergic neurons. Nerve bundles, and even individual neurites hundreds of micrometers long, can be followed with definitive color labeling. We traced motor neurons in the subesophageal ganglion and correlated them to neuromuscular junctions to identify their specific proboscis muscle targets. The ability to independently visualize multiple lineage or neuron projections in the same preparation greatly advances the goal of mapping how neurons connect into circuits. Research in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has led to insights in neural development, axon guidance, ion channel function, synaptic transmission, learning and memory, diurnal rhythmicity, and neural disease that have had broad implications for neuroscience. Drosophila is currently the eukaryotic model organism that permits the most sophisticated in vivo manipulations to address the function of neurons and neuronally expressed genes. Here, we summarize many of the techniques that help assess the role of specific neurons by labeling, removing, or altering their activity. We also survey genetic manipulations to identify and characterize neural genes by mutation, overexpression, and protein labeling. Here, we attempt to acquaint the reader with available options and contexts to apply these methods. Automatic alignment (registration) of 3D images of adult fruit fly brains is often influenced by the significant displacement of the relative locations of the two optic lobes (OLs) and the center brain (CB). In one of our ongoing efforts to produce a better image alignment pipeline of adult fruit fly brains, we consider separating CB and OLs and align them independently. This paper reports our automatic method to segregate CB and OLs, in particular under conditions where the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is low, the variation of the image intensity is big, and the relative displacement of OLs and CB is substantial. We design an algorithm to find a minimum-cost 3D surface in a 3D image stack to best separate an OL (of one side, either left or right) from CB. This surface is defined as an aggregation of the respective minimum-cost curves detected in each individual 2D image slice. Each curve is defined by a list of control points that best segregate OL and CB. To obtain the locations of these control points, we derive an energy function that includes an image energy term defined by local pixel intensities and two internal energy terms that constrain the curve's smoothness and length. Gradient descent method is used to optimize this energy function. To improve both the speed and robustness of the method, for each stack, the locations of optimized control points in a slice are taken as the initialization prior for the next slice. We have tested this approach on simulated and real 3D fly brain image stacks and demonstrated that this method can reasonably segregate OLs from CBs despite the aforementioned difficulties. The V3D system provides three-dimensional (3D) visualization of gigabyte-sized microscopy image stacks in real time on current laptops and desktops. V3D streamlines the online analysis, measurement and proofreading of complicated image patterns by combining ergonomic functions for selecting a location in an image directly in 3D space and for displaying biological measurements, such as from fluorescent probes, using the overlaid surface objects. V3D runs on all major computer platforms and can be enhanced by software plug-ins to address specific biological problems. To demonstrate this extensibility, we built a V3D-based application, V3D-Neuron, to reconstruct complex 3D neuronal structures from high-resolution brain images. V3D-Neuron can precisely digitize the morphology of a single neuron in a fruitfly brain in minutes, with about a 17-fold improvement in reliability and tenfold savings in time compared with other neuron reconstruction tools. Using V3D-Neuron, we demonstrate the feasibility of building a 3D digital atlas of neurite tracts in the fruitfly brain. Mutation of the Drosophila vesicular GABA transporter disrupts visual figure detection.The Journal of Experimental Biology 2010 H. Fei, D. M. Chow, A. Chen, R. Romero-Calderón, W. S. Ong, L. C. Ackerson, N. T. Maidment, J. H. Simpson, M. A. Frye, and D. E. Krantz The Journal of Experimental Biology, 213:1717-30 (2010) The role of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) release and inhibitory neurotransmission in regulating most behaviors remains unclear. The vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) is required for the storage of GABA in synaptic vesicles and provides a potentially useful probe for inhibitory circuits. However, specific pharmacologic agents for VGAT are not available, and VGAT knockout mice are embryonically lethal, thus precluding behavioral studies. We have identified the Drosophila ortholog of the vesicular GABA transporter gene (which we refer to as dVGAT), immunocytologically mapped dVGAT protein expression in the larva and adult and characterized a dVGAT(minos) mutant allele. dVGAT is embryonically lethal and we do not detect residual dVGAT expression, suggesting that it is either a strong hypomorph or a null. To investigate the function of VGAT and GABA signaling in adult visual flight behavior, we have selectively rescued the dVGAT mutant during development. We show that reduced GABA release does not compromise the active optomotor control of wide-field pattern motion. Conversely, reduced dVGAT expression disrupts normal object tracking and figure-ground discrimination. These results demonstrate that visual behaviors are segregated by the level of GABA signaling in flies, and more generally establish dVGAT as a model to study the contribution of GABA release to other complex behaviors. Drosophila is a marvelous system to study the underlying principles that govern how neural circuits govern behaviors. The scale of the fly brain (approximately 100,000 neurons) and the complexity of the behaviors the fly can perform make it a tractable experimental model organism. In addition, 100 years and hundreds of labs have contributed to an extensive array of tools and techniques that can be used to dissect the function and organization of the fly nervous system. This review discusses both the conceptual challenges and the specific tools for a neurogenetic approach to circuit mapping in Drosophila. Prior Publications (2) Previous studies showed that Roundabout (Robo) in Drosophila is a repulsive axon guidance receptor that binds to Slit, a repellent secreted by midline glia. In robo mutants, growth cones cross and recross the midline, while, in slit mutants, growth cones enter the midline but fail to leave it. This difference suggests that Slit must have more than one receptor controlling midline guidance. In the absence of Robo, some other Slit receptor ensures that growth cones do not stay at the midline, even though they cross and recross it. Here we show that the Drosophila genome encodes three Robo receptors and that Robo and Robo2 have distinct functions, which together control repulsive axon guidance at the midline. The robo,robo2 double mutant is largely identical to slit. Slit is secreted by midline glia in Drosophila and functions as a short-range repellent to control midline crossing. Although most Slit stays near the midline, some diffuses laterally, functioning as a long-range chemorepellent. Here we show that a combinatorial code of Robo receptors controls lateral position in the CNS by responding to this presumptive Slit gradient. Medial axons express only Robo, intermediate axons express Robo3 and Robo, while lateral axons express Robo2, Robo3, and Robo. Removal of robo2 or robo3 causes lateral axons to extend medially; ectopic expression of Robo2 or Robo3 on medial axons drives them laterally. Precise topography of longitudinal pathways appears to be controlled by a combination of long-range guidance (the Robo code determining region) and short-range guidance (discrete local cues determining specific location within a region). Funded post-doc positions may be available. We are especially interested in people with expertise in the following areas: 1. Functional Imaging 2. Behavioral Analysis 3. Central Pattern Generators For more information or to apply, please Email Dr. Julie Simpson. To apply, please send your CV and include three references. In the subject line, include the word "Postdoc". If you have specific salary requirements, please include them in your e-mail; all information is confidential. HHMI is an equal opportunity employer.

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penny April 11th, 2007 Scientists have found evidence that prior to being a predominantly green planet, Earth was purple! Somewhat loose discussion: This has something to do with how membranes of organisms absorb and reflect wavelengths of light from the sun’s rays. We all learned about chlorophyll in photosynthesis in grade school. Scientists are proposing the idea now that at one time, the Earth was riddled with organisms that absorbed green light and then reflected red+violet = purple light. But there existed some purple-absorbers who could not compete with the abundance of green-absorbers. To survive, the evolved with an ability to absorb purple, and reflect green. They somehow maintained survival, and eventually emerged victorious in dominating the environment. So how useful is this information, aside from being strikingly adorable to purple-color lovers? Well, for one thing, on our search for life in other planets, it means not always searching for the same observable things we see on Earth at present, like the dominance of color (green). [If you want to look up more information about these news snippets I write about, I'll start putting some keywords to look out for] Keywords: retinal, halobacteria, archael bacteria

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Many Jews settled in Zambia (formerly northern Rhodesia) seeking economic prosperity. The earliest Jewish settlements in Rhodesia were located in Livingstone and Broken Hill. The first Jewish settlers came to Rhodesia and were prominent in developing the cattle production and copper mining. Although small in population, the Jewish community left a major mark on the economy and political life of Rhodesia. By 1905, a permanent Jewish congregation had been established in Livingstone. The congregation of 38 members celebrated its first wedding in 1910. Over time, much of the Jewish community became very successful in the ranching industry and iron foundries. By 1921, 110 Jews lived in Rhodesia: 48 l in Livingstone, 11 in Broken Hill, and 25 in Lusaka. Several more Jewish refugees arrived to the country following the Holocaust. The population peaked at 1,200 in the mid-1950s. By this time, the center of Jewish life had shifted to Lusaka, the copperbelt center of the country. During the 1960s, much of the Jewish population immigrated abroad; by 1968, the Jewish community had declined to 600 people. Prior to Zambia’s independence in 1964, Jews were active in local government. Jews served as mayors in Livingstone, Broken Hill, Kitwe, and Luanshya. In the 1930s, Sir Roy Welensky was the leading political figure in Northern Rhodesian. From 1959 to 1962, M. G. Rabb was elected to the national legislative assembly. From 1962 to 1968, S. W. Magnus was a prominent member of the Zambian parliament. After 1968, Magnus was appointed a high court judge. In 1978, the Council for Zambia Jewry was founded in Lusaka to oversee Jewish communal activities. The council provides assistance to political refugees and the poverty-stricken with medical and financial aid. The two synagogues located in Lusaka and Ndola (it has recently been closed due to a lack of congregants), but no rabbis are resident. Today, approximately 35 Jews remain in Zambia; nearly all live in Lusaka. There has been no rabbi directing the community for several years. Israel and Zambia maintain full diplomatic relations. The Israeli ambassador in Harare, Zimbabwe represents Zambia. Chairman: M.C. Galaun Lusaka Hebrew Congregation of Southern African Sub-continent

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(To What is Chaos?) (To Bifurcation Model) Model: Logistic System (Xnext): Time Series Diagrams (Part 1 of 2 parts) Strategies and Rubrics for Teaching Chaos and Complex Systems Theories as Elaborating, Self-Organizing, and Fractionating Evolutionary Systems, Fichter, Lynn S., Pyle, E.J., and Whitmeyer, S.J., 2010, Journal of Geoscience Education (in press) We always begin with the logistic system, Xnext = rX (1-X). It is a simple population growth model that produces an 'S-shaped' "logistic" curve representing early exponential growth followed by stabilization (figures below). This can be considered one definition of chaos theory, or rather the behavior of the system is one definition of chaos theory (Gleick, 1988 ). This model usually takes an entire class, and we are more deliberate with developing it than many of the ideas that follow; likewise we will discuss this one more than the others. In the logistic system populations always range between 0.0 (extinction) and 1.0 (largest conceivable population). To ground the model, it is introduced as a population growth model—we talk about Gypsy moth infestations—and how we might use the model to make predictions about future population sizes. The growth of the population—the positive feedback—is the rX. The reversal of population growth—the negative feedback—is the (1-X). We also show a variety of logistic “S” curves garnered from the web to show how widely this model is used in many studies. This also demonstrates that the common, and not always correct understanding of the logistic system, is that it always does or should plot a diagnostic S-shaped curve. After an introduction of general population growth models, we do one run through of the calculations by hand at an initial population of X=0.2 and ‘r’ value of 2.7. The rest of the calculations are done with a logistics program which plots out the population sizes changes on a time series diagram (Figure 1 , and below). This is an interactive exercise between the students, the prof, and the model; i.e. we play a lot with the system, have fun with it, change parameters, experiment, debate with the students— just to see what happens. Initially, we run the model for 100 generations at 2.7 and ask the class to describe what they see; what happened. Next we ask for predictions of the behavior if we raise the ‘r’ value to 2.9, based on what they have just observed. This procedure is followed at increasing ‘r’ increments: 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 etc. until the system breaks at ‘r’ = < 4.1. The behavior evolves to amazing complexity. Figure 1 (below) shows the range of behavior over a range of ‘r’ values. At 2.7 the system attenuates to a single population size—a point attractor—at 3.1 it oscillates between two population sizes out to seven decimal places, but at 3.0 the question becomes, “Does it ever stop attenuating?” The answer is, “No” at least not to 1 million generations. We ask the class if they think it will ever attenuate at 3.0; how many generations they think it will take to find out; and run each of their suggestions to test their hypotheses. One other observation is to explore to how many decimal places the system has stabilized at each 'r' value; this gets to significant digits and how much precision a calculation needs to be to be useful. But, after each experiment we keep asking, “Ok, based on what you have observed so far, what do you want to do next; make a hypothesis.” This is that sense of interactive play. One of the other activities we have them do is to plot on a blank bifurcation diagram (see below) the final population sizes for each value of ‘r’ during the class discussion Go to: View Output. It helps to make the bifurcation diagram explored next easier to grasp. Anticipated Learning Outcome: 1. Computational viewpoint: the idea that in a dynamic system the only way to know the outcome of an algorithm is to actually calculate it; there is no shorter route to knowing its behavior. This is not true at values below about 3.0, but becomes true at higher values. That this is not intuitively obvious is clear to the students because at higher ‘r’ values they are unable to predict the changing behavior of the system based on past behavior. 2. Positive/negative feedback: one central feature of all complex systems is that their behavior stems from the interplay of positive and negative feedbacks. This is a concept that students, when thrown into a natural complex system with many feedbacks operating, may have trouble grasping. The logistic system being so simple makes the influence of positive and negative feedback transparent. 3. ‘r’ values: ‘r’ can be translated as rate of growth, although we use ‘r’ from this point on to talk about whether the ‘r’ value of any system is high (dissipating lots of energy and/or information), or low (settling toward an equilibrium state). 4. Deterministic does not equal predictable: this is a very deep concept, especially if we explore its philosophical or theological roots (which in some classes we do). But, in classical science deterministic equals predictable, and predictable means it is deterministic. The logistic system is undeniably deterministic, but at higher ‘r’ values all semblance of predictability breaks down. For understanding complex systems this is the most important concept gained from exploration of the logistic system. Msvbvm50.dll file some computers may require to make program active. - during class at each 'r' value we look at "View Output", check the last population sizes, and have them plot them on a bifurcation diagram (pdf version available by clicking image). This is preparation for the next demonstration. (To What is Chaos?) (To Bifurcation Model)

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The angles and tones of light are different. There are ribbons of crispness in the air. The landscape is dry and colors are draining. I see it. I feel it. It is autumn. Many traditions and cultures mark this season as a time of reaping, quiet, reflection, contemplation, and rest. Like other species, our bodies change as well, going through a seasonal shift in our sleep patterns, appetite and energy. There is evidence that we experience a decrease in optimism and risk-taking, a shift that has been tracked in stock market data. While a general quieting is common, for some this change can become distressing especially if one has a tendency toward negativity and obsessive thought patterns. The result can be the unhappy mood and lethargy known as the “winter blues”. For others, the blues may actually meet criteria for a variant of clinical depression known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD. SAD symptoms must occur at least two years in a row. Typically, SAD starts in the fall and continues through the winter lifting in the spring and summer. Symptoms include: - Sadness most days, - Depressed energy and interest, - Feeling heavy and “leadened,” - Social withdrawal, - Difficulty concentrating, - Appetite changes especially craving carbohydrates, and - Weight gain. SAD varies by latitude with rates varying from 0.4%- 2.6% in the general population and climbing towards 10% at higher latitudes. Milder “winter blues” have been estimated as high as 25% of the population in extreme latitudes. Research also indicates that there can be a seasonal worsening of symptoms for adults and children with other diagnoses including depression, bipolar diagnoses, substance abuse problems and dementia. The causes of SAD are not completely understood. Since rates are quite low in Iceland, despite the high latitude, there is the possibility of a genetic component. Another theory is based on the winter drop in serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood and appetite regulation. Deficient serotonin is implicated in depression. Others claim that the changes in natural light disrupt the balance of melatonin, a hormone that affects sleep and mood. It might be that the reduction in light disrupts the internal clock, your circadian rhythms, affecting sleep and wake cycles. Chronic disrupted sleep is known to adversely affect mood. SAD treatment depends on severity. If symptoms are not significant consider exercising regularly, getting outside in the natural light, exposing yourself to bright lights indoors, socializing, and practicing stress management. However, if symptoms are causing significant distress and dysfunction in your life, or if you are turning to alcohol or drugs to regularly manage your moods, it is time to see a doctor. First you want to eliminate any other causes for mood and energy changes. Then your medical professional will help determined if you meet the criteria for SAD. Treatments at this time are quite standardized. Light Therapy – This is considered the first line of treatment. It provides mood relief for 50% to 80% of sufferers. The great benefit of this therapy is that it starts working in 2-4 days and has few side effects. The disadvantage is the inconvenience. Light therapy requires a specialized light and daily sessions of 30 minutes or more. This must be continued throughout the winter as rapid relapse occurs if you stop treatment. Medications – Given the link with deficient serotonin, the next most common treatment is the class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These medications lead to the same remission rates as light therapy. The advantage is the convenience of taking a medication once a day. The disadvantage is that it may take 4-6 weeks to realize benefits and there may side effects. Nevertheless, this is a very common and generally safe treatment. By beginning them before the seasonal onset of symptoms, these medications can be used as a preventative. Alternative Medications and Therapies – There are herbal remedies and supplements that are commonly used for depression. A naturopathic doctor can help with these types of treatments. While not a conclusive list, these could include St. John’s Wort, SAMe, melatonin (appropriately timed) and other supplements. Acupuncture may also be helpful in the treatment of SAD. Counseling Therapy – While many counseling therapies may work, the scientific research is focused on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of SAD. CBT helps people understand how their minds create thoughts that can undermine them and create negative mood patterns. Individuals learn to monitor thoughts, reframe them, and take responsibility for choosing their behaviors. Across many SAD studies, CBT has the same remission rates as light therapy and antidepressants. In addition, one study that reevaluated participants a year later found that relapse rates were 7% of those who received only CBT, 37% of those who received only light therapy, and 5.5% of those who received both CBT and light therapy. That is, CBT appears to have lasting effects. The disadvantage is that it does require an initial investment in therapy and a commitment to using the techniques to change thought patterns. Lam, R.W. et al, “The Can-SAD Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effectiveness of Light Therapy and Fluoxetine in Patients with Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder,” The American Journal of Psychiatry, May 1, 2006; 163: 805-812. Mayo Clinic Staff, “Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), September 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2012: www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195. Peiser, B., “Seasonal affective Disorder and exercise treatment: a review,” Biological Rhythem Research, February 2009, Vol. 40:1: 85-9 Rohan KJ. Coping with the seasons: A cognitive-behavioral approach to seasonal affective disorder, therapist guid, New York: Oxford University Press; 2009. University of Rochester Medical Center (2007, January 25) “Getting SAD is More than Having the Blues,” ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 12, 2012: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070124143805.htm. University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management (2011, October 11). “Fall market jitters a SAD thing: Less daylight in fall may lead to depressed markets,” ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 12, 2012: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111011132058.htm. Westrin, A. and Lam, R. “Long-Term and Preventative Treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder,” CNS Drugs, 2007, vol. 21:11: 901-909

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Download audio (MP3) The First Labor Day Dick Meister says the first Labor Day had a San Francisco flavor. By Dick Meister Here's something you might not realize about Labor Day. Although it has been a national holiday for 118 years, it actually was first observed as a holiday a quarter-century earlier -- right here in San Francisco. That was on February 21, 1868. Brass bands blared. Flags, banners and torchlights waved high, as more that 3,000 union members marched proudly through the city's downtown, led by shipyard workers and carpenters and men from dozens of other construction trades. The marchers called their parade a "jollification," the climax of a three-year campaign of strikes and other pressures that had terminated in establishing the eight-hour workday as a legal right in California. New York unionists staged a similar parade in 1882 that is often wrongly cited as the first Labor Day parade, even though it took place 14 years after that march in San Francisco. Honors for observing the first official Labor Day usually go to the state of Oregon, which proclaimed a Labor Day holiday in 1887. But Oregon's move came nearly a year after Governor George Stoneman of California issued a proclamation setting aside May 11, 1886 as a legal holiday to honor a new organization of California unions, the year-old Iron Trades Council. That was the first legalized Labor Day anywhere. San Francisco also played a major role in the celebration of 1886. The city hosted the chief event, a march down Market Street by more than 10,000 men and women from some 40 unions, led by the uniformed rank-and-file of the Coast Seamen's Union. Governor Stoneman and his entire staff marched right along with them. The procession was seven miles long, took more than two hours to pass any given point and generated enthusiasm that the San Francisco Examiner said was "entirely unprecedented even in political campaigns." It's unlikely that today's unions could mount such a demonstration, given the decline in their numbers and influence and, ironically, given labor's success in helping make Labor Day mainly a day of rest and recreation. With a Perspective, this is Dick Meister. Dick Meister is a longtime Bay Area labor and political journalist.

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One hundred years later, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is remembered On March 25, one hundred years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire claimed the lives of 146 workers and triggered the first real labor legislation in the United States, hundreds of people gathered on the corner of Washington Place and Greene Street to commemorate the tragedy. The day-long event, sponsored by Workers United and International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union, featured guest speakers such as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the actor/activist Danny Glover, Senator Chuck Schumer, and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. The diverse crowd included students, professors, union members, and relatives of the victims, who held signs in the shape of shirtwaist blouses bearing the names of their loved ones. For the first time, every one of those names was read aloud. In her speech, Solis said the victims were “146 reminders that we could and should do better.” She then added, “They paid a very high price for the workplace protections we enjoy today.” It was thanks to some NYU Law students and their professor that the death toll wasn’t higher that day. As the horrific fire, which had started in a waste basket, engulfed the top floors of the factory, there was almost no way to escape the flames--the manager had locked the exits to prevent the workers, mostly young immigrant Jewish and Italian women, from leaving work early. Firemen were unable to help; their ladders could only reach the sixth floor. In the building next door, Professor Frank Sommer and his students heard the cries and took action. They climbed to the roof and used ladders to span the gap between the buildings. The students "worked like beavers, apparently never giving a thought to the possibility that their own building might catch fire from the flames that were leaping out into the open space," Sommer told the New York Times that day. "How it was done, I don't know, but in surprisingly short time about fifty girls were brought across the ladders to safety." "The Triangle Fire inspired the first labor laws,” said Arieh Lebowitz, associate director of the Jewish Labor Committee, who attended the event. “Before the fire there were no sprinklers, no limit on maximum number of hours a person can work, no ban on over-night shifts, no age restrictions, and no fire drills, or fire exits. None of these mandates existed until after the tragedy.” The political influence of this tragedy is so far-reaching, the NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy is publishing a special issue to commemorating the centennial. During the ceremony, the New York Fire Department paid homage to the dead, by hoisting a ladder to the sixth floor of the former factory where so many innocents perished. Glover, too, noted their contribution to history, asking: “Did they know when they leapt from the eighth floor window that they would ignite a movement?”

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Last edited: February 2006 Summary and Analysis Due to the tragic civil war and genocide in the Sudan, it is difficult to determine the state of affairs regarding child protective proceedings in the country. Certainly the Convention on the Rights of the Child is part of the domestic law of the Sudan. That said we have not come across conclusive evidence that child protective proceedings are currently occurring in the Sudan. Of more concern, the Sudan does not always even acknowledge that violence and ill-treatment can occur within a Sudanese family. Children in the Sudan face daunting situations. Thousands of children have been abducted and enslaved in the context of the armed conflict in the Sudan, as well as for commercial gain. Both the Government and opposition forces have used children as soldiers. Professionals that work with children, such as teachers, have been recruited by the military. Landmines continue to threaten the lives of children, even in areas where armed conflict is no longer taking place. Government forces have conducted indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. Further, access to the needy populations by humanitarian organizations has sometimes been impeded. In terms of children's rights, the Sudan signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child on July 24, 1990 and ratified it on August 3, 1990. The country has not yet signed or ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has consistently expressed concern with the implementation of the Convention in the Sudan, and specifically with Article 12. In its most recent report, the Committee on the Rights of the Child noted that even minimal implementation of the Convention is difficult based on the negative impact of the Sudanese armed conflict on children. In addition, though non-State actors have de facto control of areas of the State's party's territory (notably in southern Sudan), the Committee emphasized the full responsibility of the State party. It also invited all other parties to respect child rights within the area under their control. More specifically, the Committee stated, ". the Committee remains concerned that the views of the child, especially girls, are not often respected and may be seen as contrary to traditional concepts of the role of the family, clan and tribe." It is also concerned that physical and psychological abuse occurs within the family, but is not adequately monitored, reported upon or addressed. The Committee recommended that Sudan establish "effective child-sensitive procedures and mechanisms for the reporting, monitoring and investigation of instances of child abuse, and intervene where necessary." The Committee on the Rights of the Child has noted specific objection to how the Sudan treats its "vagrant children," and has even noted objection to that very term. It has recommended that Sudan change its ".definition and policies with regard to street children, ensuring that these children are seen as victims of their circumstances and are not criminalized." In addition, the Committee was concerned by the current and long-standing economic difficulties faced by Sudan, including a high level of foreign debt and dependency on declining foreign assistance. The Sudan for its part reports that the views of children are protected. It notes that former Constitutions have enshrined rights of all Sudanese to express their opinions, and that much of the legislation enacted under these Constitutions is still in force. The country provides reference to specific legislation that allows the child to institute legal proceedings through his or her legal guardian and to provide testimony, but it does not provide reference to legislation that specifically protects the voice of the child. It also notes that under the laws regulating court proceedings, all parties to a lawsuit are given every opportunity to make their views know, but again does not provide reference to legislation specifically protecting the voice of the child. Sudan prefers to maintain the family unit in almost all situations. It reported, "[T]he Sudanese family never uses ill-treatment or violence, in accordance with the teaching and precepts of religion and custom." In regard to vagrant children, arrangements are left to the courts. The Sudan does not specify if the court must consider the child's voice. It is clear that the Sudan prefers at all times to place such children back with their families. The country stated, "The Sudanese experience in caring for such children has established that the family and the community offer the best form of care and that institutional care should be used only as a last resort." Though Islamic law prohibits adoption under any circumstances, it does encourage the kafalah system. When neither protection by the family of origin nor that of a foster family can be found, the Government, voluntary associations, and international and regional organizations have tried to enable children to benefit from institutional protection. There has been a constant trend in favor of kafalah for children born of unknown parents and orphans, thus removing them from the context of social protection. The Sudan's rationale is that in this way, children can be brought up in a natural social environment that will give them an education and a place in society. On a more positive note, the Sudan does report that The National Council for Child Welfare has run several training and information seminars on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This may have been in response to a NGO report that stated that up until 1997, many children and adults whose job was connected to children were not aware of or familiar with the CRC. The seminars targeted judges, legal advisors, lawyers, parents and all other concerned parties, including public servants assigned to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other pertinent international instruments. All state authorities, such as the state councils, were also targeted by training seminars. Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of January 2005, the people of the Sudan created a new constitution referred to as the Interim National Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan. The new constitution was reportedly "committed to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, guided by the 1998 Constitution and the Sudanese constitutional experience since independence and other relevant experiences." At this time it has not yet been ratified, but we have provided the relevant texts of the most recent draft. The draft specifically notes that the State shall protect the rights of the child as provided in the international and regional conventions ratified by the Sudan. The Sudanese Child Act 2004 provides for the basic rights of all children, and provides specific rules in numerous areas including education, healthcare, and imprisonment. There are not any specific provisions regarding the voice of the child in child protective proceedings though. It is due to be revised after the Interim Constitution is signed. In the meantime, it is in force but not currently being implemented. Based on the uncertain political situation, it is at times difficult to determine which Sudanese legislation is in effect. That said we have not yet found any that specifically protects the voice of the child in child protective proceedings. The full text of the "Law of the New Sudan," which will theoretically eventually be in force in Southern Sudan, is available at the website of the Gurtong Peace Project (see below). We have not listed any specific legislation due to the ever changing political situation. Sources of Law Interim National Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan (2005) (draft) Article 14. Children, Youth and Sports (1) The State shall adopt policies and provide facilities for child and youth welfare and ensure that they develop morally and physically, and protect them from moral and physical abuse and abandonment. Bill of Rights Article 32. Rights of Women and Children (5) The State shall protect the rights of the child as provided in the international and regional conventions ratified by the Sudan. Convention on the Rights of the Child 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. 2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law. Additional Resources and Links Gurtong Peace Project Save the Children United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention; Periodic reports of States parties due in 1997 SUDAN, U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, 353, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/65/Add.17 (2001), available as .pdf Document. Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention; Initial reports of States parties due in 1992; Addendum: Sudan, U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, 67, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.3 (1992), available here, and also as .pdf Document, and also as Word Document. Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention; Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: the Sudan, U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, 31st Sess. at 61, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/15/Add.190 (2002), available as .pdf Document. Id. at 59-60. Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention; Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: the Sudan, U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, 4th Sess. at 12, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/15/Add.10 (1993), available here, and also as .pdf Document, and also as Word Document. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/15/Add.190 (2002), supra note 3, at 6. Id. at 31. Id. at 39-40. Id. at 68. Id. at 7. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/65/Add.17 (2001), supra note 1, at 79. Id. at 80. Id. at 120. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.3 (1992), supra note 2, at 64. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/65/Add.17 (2001), supra note 1, at 158. Id. at 15. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.3 (1992), supra note 2, at 64. Friends of Children Society (AMAL), The Status of Implementation of the Child Rights Convention In the Sudan, Submitted to the U.N. Committee for the Rights of the Child (June 2002), available as .pdf Document. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/65/Add.17 (2001), supra note 1, at 352. Id. at art. 32. United Nations Mission in Sudan Child Protection Unit, Checklist on children's justice; due process and prison conditions (June 2005), available here, and also as .pdf Document, and also as Word Document. Id. at art. 32. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child art. 12, Dec. 12, 1989, UN General Assembly Document A/RES/44/25, available at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/treaties/crc.htm Representing Children Worldwide | Copyright 2005 Yale Law School |All Rights Reserved

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Learning to Draw is Fun and Educational for Kids (and adults!). It allows children to have fun while developing their fine motor skills and creative skills. As your child’s fine motor skills will have improved over their fist year, they are probably physically able to hold a crayon at around 12 months and start drawing. If your child takes longer, that’s fine too as children develop at different rates. Drawing is an important skill for your child to learn at an early age. It provides the basics for developing your child’s creative skills along with their reading, writing and even mathematics. You should encourage your child to improve their skills, but remember that they should also have some free time with no restrictions to draw what they want. Your child’s education is important, so it should be kept interesting, enjoyable, not forced. The lesson notes below should be used as guidelines that can inspire you, and help give you ideas of your own, to help your child learn to draw. 12 to 30 months: Start by getting some crayons, paper and explaining to your child that you want to draw with them. Start by drawing a line and getting your child to choose a color and continue drawing where you left off. Get your child to say the name of each color as they use it and you can do the same when it’s your turn. Continue taking turns drawing straight and curved lines until the paper is full of designs and scribbles. You can now color in the shapes your lines have made and take note of any obvious shapes that may appear by saying them aloud. If your child at this stage is able to draw vertical or horizontal lines or even a circle you should praise them well. Drawing with a crayon involves grasping and holding along with other fine motor skills and will give your child’s confidence a boost along with developing their vision and imagination. Always talk to your child about the picture that you are creating together. Once completed hang it on the refrigerator for you both to enjoy. You should note that premature babies may take longer to reach key milestones. Also, many kids don’t start scribbling until they are 15 or 16 months old, and continue on to be excellent students at school. 31 to 36 months: By the time your child reaches two and a half, they will be able to hold a crayon well. Children at this age can now draw angels like the “V” shape which is more difficult than drawing straight lines. Your toddler will also have the ability to make circular shapes and maybe even able to write a few letters. If your child is not at this level don’t feel pressured, wait until they are really interested and excited. Your toddler will draw in his or her own good time and will still be on track developmentally. Get your child to explain every squiggle in their drawing. It may look like a scribble to you but it could be of great relevance to them. At this age you will notice your toddler spending more time at their drawings as they are usually keen scribblers. Make sure you supervise as your walls and furniture can be subjected to crayon markings too. 3 to 4 years: You can now get your child to draw basic shapes e.g. circles, triangles and squares. First draw the shape your self and then get your child to copy it. Your child will soon learn how to draw each of these shapes by themselves. You can combine drawing with learning how to count by counting the corners of each shape. You child will enjoy coloring in the shapes that you have created together. At this stage many children will be able to draw several letters of the alphabet too. Children are usually keen on drawing people. Start your child with matchstick men and he/she will add on more details as they get better. How to quickly print these notes and guidelines: Use your mouse to highlight all of text that you want to print out. Then copy/paste that text into a text-only editor on your computer. For example, Notepad, a common text editor included with all versions of Microsoft Windows, and found in Start, All Programs, Accessories. Then click on “File” in the top left corner of the Notepad document, and click on “Print”. - Drawing Lessons for Kids aged 5 – 10 years.

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ped·i·gree /ˈpɛdəˌgri:/ noun plural ped·i·grees the history of the family members in a person's or animal's past especially when it is good or impressive [count ] ▪ That horse has an impressive pedigree. ▪ Her husband has a noble/aristocratic pedigree. [=the people in his family were noble/aristocratic] ▪ What is the dog's pedigree? ] ▪ The puppy came with papers proving its pedigree. the origin and history of something especially when it is good or impressive [count ] ▪ a painting's pedigree ▪ Democracy is an idea with a pedigree stretching back to ancient Greece. ▪ The company has an excellent pedigree with over a century in the business. ] ▪ She wants to go to a school with pedigree. [=a school that has a long and impressive history] — ped·i·greed /ˈpɛdəˌgri:d/ or pedigree adjective ▪ a pedigreed horse/school/family

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“All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” – Susan Sontag Photography was used early in the developing discipline of anthropology to validate observation. “Ethnography” refers to the qualitative study of social and cultural conditions. Ethnographic applications of photography draw broadly from the documentary approach. Ethnographic photography is embedded with meaning, its images culturally and historically situated. So too must the ethnographic photographer be viewed in context. His or her intentions, relationships with subjects, and the social and cultural norms he or she represents must all be taken into account when assessing an image. The photograph fixes an image in time, and yet the ways in which it will be received and when this may happen are limitless. Photographers like Edward Curtis arguably represented their subjects with Anglo-centric views and even staged many of the photographs; many representations of indigenous peoples are inflected with nostalgia or foreignness. Many of the photographs once deemed anthropological are now viewed as “colonial photography.” Images purporting authenticity of a culture were taken both in the studio and in the field, as demonstrated in the James R. Maxwell papers and the George Handy Bates Samoan papers in the University of Delaware Library. James Maxwell, a Delaware engineer who worked on railways in the American West and South America, owned examples of the highly collectible cabinet cards and cartes-de-visite of indigenous peoples that were sold as souvenirs to travelers and scientists. Delaware diplomat George Handy Bates had an interest in reporting on the culture of pre-territorial Samoa, and was fortunate to acquire excellent images of Samoans in their villages as taken by the Burton Brothers, who used a mobile dark room to travel around the South Pacific islands. A small collection of Maxwell’s images of Native Americans is shown in the case here; the Bates Samoan photographs may viewed as a digital collection in the digital frame in the gallery front case, or online. Il silenzio dei Maya. Postfazione di Laura Leonelli ; a cura di Mario Peliti, Valerio Tazzetti. Roma : Peliti associati : Photo & Co, 1998. Guatemalan photographer Luis González Palma’s work draws from the Maya and mestizo peoples of Guatemala; his unique photographs, often distressed by scratching, folding or painting, bring together modern symbols and icons and explore themes of colonialism and oppression. His photographs are known for their rich sepia tones. This is the author’s autograph copy. Photographs by Margaret Randall : image and content in differing cultural contexts. Essay, Margaret Randall ; introduction and catalogue, Robert Schweitzer ; foreword, Kent Ahrens ; Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1988-July 10, 1988. Scranton : The Museum, c1988. Feminist writer, photographer, and activist Margaret Randall has lived abroad in Mexico City, Havana, and Managua for extended periods. Her travels to North Vietnam and Peru and habitation in these areas of the world greatly influence her writing and photography; she has authored biographies of Latin American women revolutionaries in war-torn countries like Honduras. Selected photographs of Native American Indians (North and South) from the James R. Maxwell papers, 1870s-1880s.James R. Maxwell papers, gift of Homer Riddle Lee In the course of his survey and engineering work for the Union Pacific and Northern Pacific railroads in the American West, as well as his position on the Chimbota and Central railroads in Peru, Delaware native James R. Maxwell (1836-1912) collected photographic souvenirs to remember the landscapes and people from these diverse parts of the world where he traveled to work. Collected studio cards of North American Indians, possibly purchased in Utah, circa late 1860s left panel, clockwise from upper left : Pawnee, Omaha Punkah Sioux, Arapaho Collected studio cards of Peruvians, Ricardo Villaalba, Fotografo, Lima, circa 1870s right panel, clockwise from upper left : Musicians; Chancho, wild Indian Aymari, Indian girl at Puno; Indian porter The North American Indian: Being a series of volumes picturing and describing the Indians of the United States, and Alaska. S.n. : s.l., 1907-1930. American photographer Edward Curtis documented the American West and Native Americans across the country. Curtis’s masterpiece, the twenty-volume The North American Indian, was issued between 1907 and 1930. President Theodore Roosevelt supported the endeavor and supplied an introduction to the first volume. Banker J.P. Morgan backed Curtis financially; however, most of the cost fell to Curtis himself, from which he never recovered. Five hundred copies of The North American Indian were produced, yet fewer than 300 were sold. The work represents an attempt to capture images of American Indians as they lived before contact with Anglo cultures. The richly toned photogravure prints reveal Curtis’s powerful and sensitive rendering of his vision. It stands as one of the most iconic yet controversial representations of traditional Native American culture. Curtis employed a variety of techniques during his career as a photographer; he perfected the orotone, or the goldtone process, and called his version Curt-tones after himself. Shown here are "A Hopi Girl" (volume 12, Plate 406) and "Two Whistles" (Volume 4, Plate 111).

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When should my baby start solids? Human milk is the only food that healthy, full-term babies need for about the first six months of life. The composition of human milk varies according to the time of day and the age of the baby, so that each mother provides the milk that meets her own baby's unique needs. Human milk provides immunity factors for as long as the baby nurses, and many of the health benefits of breastfeeding continue well into childhood and beyond. Most solid foods are lower in calories than human milk, of lower nutritional value, and can be difficult for young babies to digest. Introduced early, they can cause unpleasant reactions and even trigger allergies. These problems can be avoided by waiting until your baby is ready for solids. Some parents have found introducing solids before baby is ready to be a waste of time, energy and money. Breastfed babies do not need to have complementary food introduced until about the middle of the first year. Before that time, you will notice some signs that your baby is changing developmentally, in preparation for beginning solids in a few months. You will notice that: - he becomes more sociable, playing and holding "conversations" with you during a nursing session - he has a growth spurt and nurses more frequently for a while - he imitates the chewing motions you make whilst eating -- he is practicing! You will know that he is really ready to start solids when: - he is about six months old - he can sit up without any support - he continues to be hungry despite more frequent nursing which is unrelated to illness or teething - he has lost the tongue-thrusting reflex and does not push solids out of his mouth - he can pick up things with his finger and thumb (pincer grasp) Babies who are ready for solids can usually feed themselves. Mothers often report that they knew their babies were ready when they picked up food from a plate, chewed it, swallowed it, and wanted more. Listen to your baby! Babies with a tendency to allergies may refuse solids until later in their first year. As long as they are growing well and are happy and healthy, there is no need for concern. The American Academy of Pediatrics: - "Pediatricians and parents should be aware that exclusive breastfeeding is sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months of life and provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection. Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child." - "Introduction of complementary feedings before 6 months of age generally does not increase total caloric intake or rate of growth and only substitutes foods that lack the protective components of human milk. During the first 6 months of age, even in hot climates, water and juice are unnecessary for breastfed infants and may introduce contaminants or allergens." - "All breastfed infants should receive 200 IU of oral vitamin D drops daily beginning during the first 2 months of life and continuing until the daily consumption of vitamin D-fortified formula or milk is 500 mL. Although human milk contains small amounts of vitamin D, it is not enough to prevent rickets. Exposure of the skin to ultraviolet B wavelengths from sunlight is the usual mechanism for production of vitamin D. However, significant risk of sunburn (short-term) and skin cancer (long-term) attributable to sunlight exposure, especially in younger children, makes it prudent to counsel against exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, sunscreen decreases vitamin D production in skin." - First foods for babies - How long should a mother breastfeed? - What are the benefits of breastfeeding my baby? THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, published by La Leche League International, is the most complete resource available for the breastfeeding mother. It is available through your local Leader or from the LLLI Online Store. Our FAQs present information from La Leche League International on topics of interest to parents of breastfed children. Not all of the information may be pertinent to your family's lifestyle. This information is general in nature and not intended to be advice, medical or otherwise. If you have a serious breastfeeding problem or concern, you are strongly encouraged to talk directly to a La Leche League Leader. Please consult health care professionals on any medical issue, as La Leche League Leaders are not medical practitioners.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon Holly, Yaupon, or Cassina; the latter shared with Ilex cassine), is a species of holly native to southeastern North America, occurring in United States from Virginia south to Florida and west to Oklahoma (extreme southeast only)Oklahoma Biological Survey: Ilex vomitoria and Texas, and in Mexico in Chiapas.Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ilex vomitoriaIt is an evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 5-9 m tall, with smooth, light gray bark and slender, hairy shoots. The leaves are alternate, ovate to elliptical with a rounded apex and crenate or coarsely serrated margin, 1-4.5 cm long and 1-2 cm broad, glossy dark green above, slightly paler below. The flowers are 5–5.5 mm diameter, with a white four-lobed corolla. The fruit is a small round or red (occasionally yellow) drupe 4-6 mm diameter containing four seeds, which are dispersed by birds eating the fruit. The species may be distinguished from the similar Ilex cassine by its smaller leaves with a rounded, not acute apex.USDA Plant Guide: yaupon Ilex vomitoria (doc file)Florida Department of Environmental Protection: [http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wetlands/delineation/featuredplants/ilex.htm Florida's Hollies]Martin, C. O., & Mott, S. P. (1997). Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria): Section 7.5.10,U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wildlife Resources Management Manual. Technical Report EL-97-16, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS. Available online (pdf file)Bioimages: Ilex vomitoria EcologyIt generally occurs in coastal areas in well-drained sandy soils, and can be found on the upper edges of brackish and salt marshes, sandy hammocks, coastal sand dunes, inner-dune depressions, sandhills, maritime forests, nontidal forested wetlands, well-drained forests and pine flatwoods.The fruit are an important food for many birds, including Florida Duck, American Black Duck, Mourning Dove, Ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite Quail, Wild Turkey, Northern Flicker, sapsuckers, Cedar waxwing, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, and White-throated Sparrow. Mammals that eat the fruit include Nine-banded Armadillo, American Black Bear, Gray Fox, Raccoon and skunks. The foliage and twigs are browsed by White-tailed Deer. Cultivation and usesNative Americans used the leaves and stems to brew a tea called asi or black drink for male-only purification and unity rituals. The ceremony included vomiting, and Europeans incorrectly believed that it was the drink itself that caused it (hence the Latin name). The active ingredient is actually caffeine, and the vomiting was either learned or as a result of the great quantities in which they drank the beverage.Hudson, C. M. (1976). The Southeastern Indians. University of Tennessee Press ISBN 0-87049-248-9. This article is based on an article from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and is available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. In the Wikipedia there is a list with all authors of this article available.

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Introduction to Bioinformatics Pages: 1, 2 Microarray technologies show us which genes are turned on in different cell types in different circumstances. In response to infection, for example, certain cell types will express sets of genes and synthesize certain proteins that respond to the stress. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is like a photocopy of a blueprint that is used in the shop to build a specific type of protein. In a microarray, we can attach sequences from a range of genes to a glass slide in a series of dots, and then bind the mRNA extracted from a population of cells and measure how much binds to each dot. That gives us a snapshot of which genes are being expressed at any given time. Compare the patterns for mRNA from, for example, normal breast tissue and from a breast tumor, and you can identify proteins that are only present in the tumor. Those proteins are potential targets for cancer treatments, vaccines, and other therapeutics. Edited screenshot taken from CytoScape tutorial (www.cytoscape.org) The genome gives us all of the genes in an organism, and microarrays tell us which subset is expressed in a particular biological process. Now the bottleneck in understanding biology is shifting to the world of proteins and the interactions between them. The traditional approach of dissecting out individual interactions with the help of mutations and inhibitors just doesn't scale. That is where systems biology comes in with a slew of novel technologies aimed at seeing the big picture of everything going on in a cell. New advances in mass spectrometry have allowed this established chemical analysis technology to identify the components of complex mixtures of proteins. Inventive chemical labeling techniques provide insight into the transient interactions between different proteins in the cell. This bundle of new technologies is called proteomics. The integration of all of these results with gene expression data and the collective knowledge of cell biology, contained in the scientific literature, becomes another huge challenge. This is leading to exciting work in textual analysis, pathway modeling, and network visualization. Nitrogenase structure 1CP2 displayed in MacPyMol (pymol.sourceforge.net) While our abstraction of the DNA sequence works remarkably well, in the world of proteins the nuances of three-dimensional structure are everything. Structural biologists determine the structure of proteins using X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance, a slew of heavy numerical methods, and a lot of computing. This is a huge field in its own right that predates bioinformatics by several decades. It focuses on the details of structure, the dynamics of molecular motion, and the specific interactions with drugs and other proteins. Bioinformatics, with its focus on huge volumes of data, has often had an uneasy interface with structural biology; "quantity versus quality" some might say, but that distinction is becoming every more blurred as all of these data sources become more integrated. Software in Bioinformatics Two main factors have shaped the current landscape of bioinformatics software. As already mentioned, the field has been driven by the massive amount of data and the research projects that generate it. As a result, most people in bioinformatics work on very focused projects and few have the luxury to sit back and write the ideal program for gene prediction, for example. In addition, the technologies used in the lab, and the data they produce, have evolved very rapidly. That has made it very difficult to commit a lot of resources and time to specific pieces of software. The lifespan of a software project is often quite short and the lead time before deployment is minimal. Being able to understand the essence of a problem and hack up a quick solution that gets the job done are critical skills for a good bioinformatics developer. A classic example is the genome assembler written by Jim Kent at UC Santa Cruz. Excellent software already existed for assembling the fragments of data produced by sequencing instruments into large blocks, but it could not handle the scale of the task that the Human Genome Project had created. Rather than try to modify existing code, it made sense for Kent to start from scratch and build something, in very short order, that was tailored to the task at hand. More than a quick hack, but a lot less than a complete, polished product, Jim's software assembled the human genome. Refined, mature software packages usually emerge from research groups with a direct bioinformatics focus, as opposed to playing a support role in, say, a genome center. Of all of the software out there, the "killer app" in bioinformatics has to be BLAST, the suite of sequence comparison tools from NCBI, the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the NIH. The BLAST team built a very fast sequence-comparison engine that could search the entire contents of GenBank in seconds. Over the years, they have improved performance and extended their algorithms, but have always retained their focus on what they do well. As a result, every molecular biologist that has ever looked at a sequence has used the NCBI BLAST server. What Role Is There for Mac OS X? Molecular biologists have had a long history of involvement with the Mac, in part from a natural gravitation to the platform but undoubtedly helped by Applied Biosystems' choice of the Mac as the front end to its DNA-sequencing instruments. That changed in the mid-90s as the Windows interface improved and the price/performance ratio shifted in favor of the PC platform. Computer scientists and developers coming into bioinformatics, on the other hand, were used to using Unix. The rise of Linux has locked that preference firmly in place. Mac OS X has the potential to be the ideal platform for bioinformatics development, with Unix under the hood, a great desktop, productivity applications, and integration with Windows systems. Porting existing bioinformatics packages from Linux is usually straightforward, and many are already available from the Fink project. Being able to expose command-line tools to the desktop user in a simple way will broaden their user base dramatically, and Mac OS X provides several ways in which to build this kind of interface. Getting Involved in the Field Bioinformatics is a very rewarding area for software developers to work in. There is something for everyone, whether you're into the minutiae of database design, complex user interface design, advanced statistical algorithms, or good old Perl script hacking. The technologies that produce the data you work on are amazing. The data and the biology behind them are fascinating. On top of that, biologists tend to be nice people to be around! One topic that we will cover in the coming months is how you get started in bioinformatics: what programming skills you need, how much biology you should know, and how to build a lifelong career in the field. Bioinformatics and the Mac DevCenter Over the next few months we will cover these topics and others in more detail. Where possible, we'll also include short tutorials that introduce you some of the key software tools used in bioinformatics. These will guide you through analyses of real datasets from the Human Genome Project and elsewhere. They won't make you an expert, but I hope they will spur you in to further explorations of your own. Stay tuned! Robert Jones runs Craic Computing, a small bioinformatics company in Seattle that provides advanced software and data analysis services to the biotechnology industry. He was a bench molecular biologist for many years before programming got the better of him. Return to the Mac DevCenter

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Learning Language Arts Through Literature is a fully integrated language arts program that teaches grammar, reading, spelling, vocabulary, writing mechanics, creative writing, thinking skills and more. For example, a basal program may teach adjectives separately from other skills. The student may be asked to fill in blanks with adjectives and circle them in a paragraph. This may give your student a clue about adjectives, but does not translate into his practical use of adjectives in his writing. In LLATL, your student may read literature passages that use adjectives. He may be asked to read the passage without the adjectives and decide how important they are to the understanding of a story. Another activity may include writing a descriptive sentence/paragraph about a picture using adjectives or rewriting the passage using different adjectives. These activities not only teach language arts skills in addition to adjectives, but your student will incorporate the skills into his everyday writing. The goal of any language arts program should be to equip the student for a lifetime of communication through the written and spoken word. With LLATL, your student will acquire a deeper understanding and a greater interest in the language arts subjects. Real books are used in the reading lessons, complete with vocabulary words, discussion questions and a variety of activities. Reading real books instead of basal stories makes reading a joy and the beginning of a lifelong adventure for your student.

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August 10th, 2010 Student Questions from the mailbox at Base Camp Discovery Jennifer asks: Do zebras eat carrots? Wild zebras are mainly grazers, which means they primarily eat the leaves, stems flowers and seeds of grasses and herbs. They clip off the plants with their broad front teeth (incisors) and grind them up to make them easier to digest with their flattened back teeth (molars and premolars). Grasses, in particular, are very hard to digest, but the zebra, like rhinos, rabbits and other horses, have an enlarged pouch, the caecum, which houses bacteria that help break down the tough fibers in the plants’ cell walls. The large intestine also contains these helpful microorganisms. Wild zebras will also eat flowers, fruits, tree bark, tree leaves and soft plant roots when they are available. At the Zoo, the zebra diet mimics that of wild zebras. The majority of their diet consists of hay, which is dried, green timothy grass. The keepers also feed them between 1 to 2 pounds of grain, which is made from nutritious seeds from grasses such as corn and wheat and has other essential vitamins and minerals. They get a small amount of produce including carrots in their daily diet. However, if they perform a trained behavior on cue like touching their nose to a hand target or opening their mouth, they are rewarded with healthy treats like apples fiber biscuits (made from fruit), carrots (roots), horse treats and alfalfa cubes (leaves and stems from an herb in the clover family).

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Why it's doneBy Mayo Clinic staff Nitric oxide testing is done to help diagnose asthma or to see how well asthma medications are working. If you've already been diagnosed with asthma, your doctor may use a nitric oxide test during office visits to help determine whether your asthma is under control. A nitric oxide test alone can't accurately diagnose asthma or measure asthma severity. For this reason, your doctor may have you take additional tests and will consider other information when examining the results of nitric oxide tests. Nitric oxide testing is only available in some hospitals and doctor's offices. It may not be necessary or provide useful information for everyone who has asthma. - Dinakar C. Exhaled nitric oxide in pediatric asthma. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports. 2009;9:30. - Budev MM, et al. Battery of maneuvers. In: Carey WD, et al. Cleveland Clinic: Current Clinical Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6643-9..00169-7--s0020&isbn=978-1-4160-6643-9&sid=1098987055&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6643-9..00169-7--s0135&uniqId=230624543-7#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6643-9..00169-7--s0135. Accessed Dec. 23, 2010. - Barnes PJ, et al. Exhaled nitric oxide in pulmonary diseases. Chest. 2010;138;682. - Li JT (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 4, 2010.

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Usual Place for Sick Care In 2008, a doctor’s office or health maintenance organization (HMO) was the usual place for sick care (not including routine or preventive care) for 72.7 percent of children in the United States, a proportion that varies by poverty status and race/ethnicity. Children living in households with incomes above the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty threshold ($22,025 for a family of four in 2008) were more likely to visit a doctor’s office or HMO for sick care than children living in households with incomes below the poverty threshold (78.3 percent versus 55.6 percent). Children living in households with incomes below the poverty threshold were more likely than children living in households with higher incomes to go to a clinic or health center (40.8 percent versus 20.3 percent). Among children living in poverty, 65.7 percent of non-Hispanic White children received sick care at a doctor’s office or HMO, compared to 60.4 of non-Hispanic Black children and 41.7 percent of Hispanic children. Regardless of income, Hispanic children were more likely than non-Hispanic children to receive sick care at a clinic or health center. Among Hispanic children living in poverty, 54.1 percent received care at a clinic or health center, compared to 34.4 percent of their non-Hispanic Black counterparts and 32.9 percent of their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Among children living in families with incomes above the poverty threshold, 31.6 percent of Hispanics, 24.2 percent of non-Hispanic Blacks, and 16.6 percent of non- Hispanic Whites received sick care at a clinic or health center. Although only a small proportion of children used a hospital emergency room, hospital outpatient department, or other place as their primary source of sick care, it was more common among children living in families with incomes below the poverty threshold than among children with family incomes above the poverty threshold (3.6 percent versus 1.4 percent). Regardless of income, this was generally more common among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children than among non-Hispanic Whites.

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Designing Without a Shared Language? February 22 was our first class for Design For Social Change. Kara Pecknold started off the class by challenging us with the question: How can you design if you don’t have a shared language? We were paired up and one student had to describe a visual design using only words while the other student had to attempt to draw the design based on the first student’s verbal description. The first example was easy because the design was composed of objects for which we all had a common language to describe, such as, square, circle, line, arrow, etc. The second object was not so easy because there were no easy words to describe the look of the design. Start Thinking Big! We watched Tim Brown on Ted Talks. He encourages a focus on design thinking and not just the design itself quoting Roger Martin who said “The ability to exploit opposing ideas and opposing constraints to create new solutions.“ An underlying theme by Tim was the need and movement towards thinking big when it comes to design thinking; thinking beyond just the product or subject. Design starts with humans, not just the end result or solution. We were given a chance to “exploit opposing ideas to create new solutions” by participating in a brainstorming exercise in class. We were divided into 3 groups and each given an object. We were assigned the task of brainstorming new ideas around the use of a common object. The 3 objects we were given were a plastic re-sealable plastic bag, twist ties and a pair of chopsticks. After each group had had a chance to brainstorm each item we were given the task of selecting one new idea for each object and creating a pitch for it as a real product with scenario story to support it. Chopsticks For The Homeless Our group’s chopsticks became key ring holders and a custom key chain accessory with the first name of the owner and community center address on it. The design was to solve the problem of the homeless who were continually losing their keys for their rooms in the homeless shelters. The key ring holders were mounted in the community centers behind the counter with the staff so the homeless could enjoy their time at the community center without the fear of losing their keys. The key chain accessory provided a way for the keys to be returned to their owners through the community center. Beyond The Limits Perhaps it would’ve seemed unlikely if not impossible at the beginning had we been challenged to help the homeless with chopsticks, but using those opposing ideas and constraints to create new solutions helped our creative muscles to expand beyond the limits of expectations. Curious to see what week 2 will bring. - Design For Social Change - Design For Social Change – Class 2

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In the light of all this distortion and uncertainty, what can be said about the largest genera of dinosaurs? What are the heaviest and longest genera that we can speak of with confidence? If we require totally unambiguous evidence for measurements, then the longest dinosaur is still boring old Diplodocus carnegiei, at a relatively modest 27m (89 feet) - because it's the longest dinosaur for which we have a complete skeleton. Nevertheless, we can be confident that other dinosaurs, for which we have more fragmentary remains, were longer. For example, consider Supersaurus: By contrast, when we consider the heaviest dinosaur, data is harder to come by. Different scientists are liable to give wildly differing weight estimates for any given genus (see ``Why do mass estimates vary so much?'' ); and the weight of any species will vary between individuals, and the weight of any individual will vary through its life and seasonally. However, we can still make estimates, and compare what we know of various genera. Here, then, are the ``biggest dinosaur'' candidates, in something akin to descending order of credibility: Argentinosaurus is currently the conventional answer to the ``biggest dinosaur'' question. The sacrum, vertebrae and tibia that we have indicate that it is a member of the titanosaur family, and comparison with better-known titanosaur genera give us a good indication of its scale, suggesting a total length of 35m (114 feet) or longer. Given the bulkiness of titanosaurs, its likely weight was in the region of 80-100 tons. ### What particular better-known genera are used for this comparison? This recently-discovered Egyptian titanosaur was announced in June 2001, and widely described as ``the second biggest ever discovered''. Its humerus, at 1.69m in length, is somewhat smaller than that of Argentinosaurus, at 1.81m, suggesting that if the animals were simialrly proportioned, it was 93% a long as Argentinosaurus, that is, about 32m (104 feet). This would suggest a weight in the region of 65-80 tons. Another titanosaur, estimated at about 28m (92 feet) and 45-55 tons. Closely related to Brachiosaurus, but with a substantially longer neck - about 12m (39 feet) in length, compared with maybe 9m (30 feet) in the better-known genus. Sauroposeidon is only known from a series of four well-preserved cervical vertebrae, so it's impossible to be certain about the size of the rest of the animal. However, features of those vertebrae suggest that it was particularly specialised towards supporting a long neck, which suggests that the rest of its body may have been proportionally somewhat smaller than in Brachiosaurus. Accordingly length is estimated in the region of perhaps 30m (97 feet) with a mass in the region of 50-60 tons. Perhaps a more interesting Sauroposeidon statistic is that its long neck and high brachiosaurid shoulders mean that it would have been the tallest known dinosaur, able to raise its head perhaps 18m (58 feet) above ground level. This large diplodocid is known from relatively fragmentary remains: one cervical vertebra, several dorsals, a few cordals and a scapulocoracoid. That's enough to tell a pretty impressive story, though. Consider the sole Supersaurus cervical. Its long, low shape suggests that it can't be from any further back than C9 or C10, yet it's 1.35m long. This compares with a length of .6m for C10 of the Diplodocus carnegiei specimen CM84. We can conclude, then that Supersaurus's neck was 2.25 times as long as Diplodocus's six-meter neck, which suggests a neck of 13.5m (44 feet). Wow. That's longer than Sauroposeidon's neck (but it probably couldn't be raised as high.) It's tempting to think that the whole animal was 2.25 times as long as Diplodocus, but that won't do: the height of its dorsal vertebrae is ``only'' 1.5 times that of Diplodocus's, suggesting that the neck of Supersaurus was disproportionately long for its body, as in Barosaurus. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine the animal's total length as much less than 40m (130 feet), with a weight in the region of 40-50 tons. Another large diplodocid from the same period as Supersaurus, but probably rather smaller - opinions differ. David Gillette, its describer, estimated its length at about 45m (150 feet), based in part on on comparison of tail vertebrae to juvenile elements in the Smithsonian's mounted Diplodocus, which is actually a composite. More recent estimates tend to be in the range of 33-37m (110-120 feet). (It's also recently been argued that hallorum is actually a large species of Diplodocus, in which case Seismosaurus would be a junior synonym.) Amphicoelias fragilimus- 56-62 meters, 125-170 tons Bruhathkayosaurus matleyi- 44.1 meters, 175-220 tons http://www.cmnh.org/dinoarch/2001Jun/msg00626.html http://www.cmnh.org/dinoarch/2001Jun/msg00665.html Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 12:15:29 +1100 From: "Steve Salisbury"http://www.cmnh.org/dinoarch/1997Aug/msg00778.html To: Dinolist Subject: Re: largest dinosaur > Regarding trackways--somewhere on this list, or maybe elsewhere, > I've seen reports of huge sauropod tracks from Australia that are > supposed to be a couple of meters across. This would represent an > animal in the size range of Amphicoelias fragillimus described > above. Anyone know any more about these tracks? The trackways you're talking about were found around 1987 in the Broome Sandstone, Western Australia. One set of tracks in particular belonged to an animal with feet that were 1.5 m long. The best estimates for a sauropod with feet this big is 40-50 m, or about the same size as Amphicoelias fragillimus is thought to have been. For more details see Thulborn, T., Hamley, T. & Foulkes, P. 1994. Preliminary report on sauropod dinosaur tracks in the Broome Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous) of Western Australia. Gaia 10: 85-94. ### Much much more to say here. Don't forget to mention Shantungosaurus.

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April 26, 2007 ? Women: Do you have trouble concentrating? Does it take you longer than others to complete tasks? Are you often forgetful? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have low iron levels. While the effects of iron deficiency on mental function in children are well recognized, less is known about how an iron shortage affects the adult brain. In the first study of its kind, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers from Pennsylvania State University showed how women with low iron levels can think more clearly by taking extra iron. Women of reproductive age and children are at high risk for iron deficiency. Some of the hallmarks of iron deficiency anemia are extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and rapid heartbeat. However, even if iron deficiency is not severe enough to cause anemia, it might have adverse effects on brain function. The investigators wanted to find out how mental (cognitive) functioning in young women was affected by iron deficiency, and to what degree iron supplementation helped the problem. They studied 113 women?some of whom had iron deficiency anemia, some with low iron stores (but who were not anemic), and some with normal iron levels?by measuring their attention, memory, and ability to learn. The women were given either 160 mg of ferrous sulfate (containing 60 mg of elemental iron) each day for 16 weeks or a placebo. At the beginning of the study, women who had normal iron levels were able to perform cognitive tasks better and more quickly than women with iron deficiency anemia; women with low iron stores scored somewhere in between. Women whose iron stores were restored to normal with supplementation had a five- to seven-fold improvement in their cognitive performance. In addition, women whose anemia improved were able to complete the cognitive tasks more quickly than before. The researchers explained, ?This relation of changes in [iron stores] and in cognitive performance is highly important because it shows that persons do not have to be anemic to have alterations in attention, memory, and learning.? They further noted, ?These findings are evidence that iron deficiency without anemia affects how well we do simple and complex cognitive tasks, whereas anemia affects how fast we complete those tasks,? the authors said. ?Our data are significant in that they show that normalization of iron status affects mental functioning in otherwise healthy adult women. Thus, the effects of iron deficiency on mental functioning are not limited to the early stages of development,? they concluded. If you think that you might benefit from taking extra iron, talk with your doctor first. Some people shouldn?t take extra iron; it?s important to have your iron levels tested before taking iron dietary supplements. Kimberly Beauchamp, ND, Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:778?87

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Miners, Prospectors, And The Rough Riders By Harold Hough The best known member of the 1st US Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders) may have been Col. Theodore Roosevelt, but many others were miners who later made a name for themselves. In fact, the number of miners and prospectors equaled the number of cowboys in the Rough Riders; many of whom gave up lucrative claims or mining jobs to serve their country. The Rough Riders were authorized by Congress to tap the vast experience of the western frontiersman. It was a well known fact that frontiersmen were better shots, knew how to handle horses, were better hunters, had fought Indians and outlaws, and knew how to rough it. In other words, these westerners were the ideal material for soldiers. In his book about the Rough Riders, Roosevelt made it clear that he thought the miners under his command were some of the best soldiers. He later wrote, “The three types were those of the cowboy, the hunter, and the mining prospector…In all the world there could be no better material for soldiers…They were hardened to life in the open, and to shifting for themselves under adverse circumstances. They were used, for all their lawless freedom, to the rough discipline of the round-up and the mining company.” One of those miners was Major Alexander Brodie, who later became territorial governor of Arizona from 1902 to 1905. Brodie was a West Point graduate, who was later stationed in Arizona. When he left the military, he remained and became a mining engineer. Even before the declaration of war, Brodie was trying to form an Arizona volunteer cavalry unit. When the USS Maine was blown up, he quit his job at the mining company and began to bring his Arizona “Rough Riders” into reality. His Arizona riders were to merge with the 1st US Vol. Cavalry, where he was in charge of the Arizona units. He would later take Roosevelt’s position as second-in-charge. As would be expected of a Western miner, he had no fear under fire. Roosevelt would later remark how he stayed visible to his troops even while under fire. That would later lead to his being wounded, when a bullet struck him and shattered his arm. Even then, he refused to leave the battle until it became so painful that he was forced to go back to a first aid station. Another miner was Frank Brito, whose father was a Yaqui mine owner. He was 21 when he joined and listed “miner” as his occupation when he filled out his enlistment papers. He never saw combat, but when he returned to New Mexico after the war, he worked as a hoisting engineer at several mines. He died in 1973 at the age of 96. Buckey O’Neill, whose statue in Prescott, AZ honors the Rough Riders was also a miner. Buckey grew prosperous from developing onyx mines near Mayer, Arizona, and promoted copper mining in the Grand Canyon as well as a railroad to its South Rim. As Adjutant General of Arizona Territory, he helped to organize its National Guard. On July 1, 1898, Captain O'Neill was killed in combat below Kettle Hill while commanding Troop A of the Rough Riders. Some who joined had come out west originally to find their fortune as miners. One such person was William Henry Harrison Llewellyn who was born in 1851 in Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin. In 1866, at the age of fifteen, William went to Montana to seek his fortune in mining gold at Trinity Gulch. The quest lasted eight years but failed to make him rich. When the Spanish American War broke out, he joined and was given the rank of Captain. In Cuba Captain Llewellyn was credited with an important contribution to the American victory in the battle for a hill at San Juan. Dubbed “Kettle Hill”, a sentry named Ralph McFie had been posted for night duty, when he heard the stirrings of Spanish troops moving into position. Retreating to his own lines he was intercepted by Captain Llewellyn. The Captain lost no time to notify headquarters, causing Roosevelt to order an early counterattack that went into history as the celebrated charge of the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. Llewellyn’s prompt action earned the latter a promotion to Major. When Roosevelt became President in 1901 he appointed him United States attorney for New Mexico. However, it was another Arizona miner, Henry Bardshar, who, stayed with Roosevelt, during the charge up the San Juan Hill. And, it was Roosevelt’s conspicuous bravery during this charge that would make him a national hero and lead to his being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor eighty years later (politics kept him from receiving the award earlier, while still alive). But the medal was well earned. When an officer from the 9th Division refused to advance with Roosevelt because of the heavy fire, the future president said, “Then let my men through, sir.” It was a moment that makes legends and great men. Instead of staying in the safety of the trenches while trying to talk other officers in joining the attack, TR decided to charge the hill – by himself if necessary. He rode out of the trench and urged his men to follow him. Roosevelt’s bravery was so inspiring that the other units also joined the Rough Riders in the charge. Correspondent Richard Davis later wrote, “No one who saw Roosevelt take that ride, expected him to finish it alive….mounted high on horseback and charging the rifle pits at a gallop and quite alone, made you feel that you would like to cheer.” Well, not quite alone. One soldier remained by the future president’s side the whole time – the miner Henry Bardshar. Roosevelt later wrote of the charge of the Rough Riders, “Henry Bardshar, who had run ahead very fast in order to get better shots at the Spaniards, who were now running out of the ranch buildings. Sergeant Campbell and a number of the Arizona men, and Dudley Dean, among others, were very close behind. Stevens, with his platoon of the Ninth, was abreast of us; so were McNamee and Hartwick. Some forty yards from the top I ran into a wire fence and jumped off Little Texas (his horse), turning him loose. He had been scraped by a couple of bullets, one of which nicked my elbow, and I never expected to see him again. As I ran up to the hill, Bardshar stopped to shoot, and two Spaniards fell as he emptied his magazine. These were the only Spaniards I actually saw fall to aimed shots by any one of my men, with the exception of two guerillas in trees.” As a result of their gallantry, Roosevelt and Bardshar were the first to overrun the Spanish trenches on San Juan Hill. On the other side was the ultimate goal, Santiago. Although neither Roosevelt nor Bardshar knew it, the way was now open for the American victory. The Spanish forces in Santiago were now unable to harass the American forces besieging them. Two days later the American fleet defeated the Spanish squadron defending the seaward approaches and a few days later Santiago surrendered. Within a month, Spain agreed to an armistice that transferred much of their empire to the US. Although that moment made a hero of Roosevelt, it also was to define the future of America. This single charge by miners and cowboys broke the back of the Spaniards, which gave America an empire and the respect of the world. And, Teddy Roosevelt, as president would insure that the Europeans knew that this brash new world power was here to stay.

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http://www.minersnews.com/AugSept2011/RoughRiders.html

2013-06-18T23:31:56Z

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en

Auguste Rodin (1840 -1917) H. 64 cm ; W. 29.5 cm ; D. 31.8 cm Carved in stone and still covered in toolmarks,The Cathedral is a combination of two right hands, belonging to two different figures. It was entitled The Ark of the Covenant, before being named The Cathedral, very probably after the publication of Rodin’s Les Cathédrales de France, in 1914. Parallels may be drawn between the mysterious inner space that seems to emanate from the composition and Gothic architecture. Emptiness was a factor that Rodin used to allow for, and, as Rilke pointed out, “the role of air had always been extremely important” for him (Rilke, 1928). Very similar to The Secret, this work belongs to the series carved in marble, most frequently after 1900, such as The Hand of God , The Hand of the Devil, Hands of Lovers and Hand from the Tomb. But, more broadly, it emphasizes Rodin’s fondness and passion for these hands, which he isolated, like the fragments in his collection of Antiques, in order to give them a more finished and autonomous form.

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http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/cathedral

2013-06-18T23:31:13Z

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The Flying Sky Crane In designing the most complex landing ever attempted in space, the team have had to go out on a limb, staking their reputations on a system that has never been used before. Adam Stelzner "It's so ambitious. It's so audacious. It's so unconventional. It doesn't feel like there's a lot of shelter. You can say, 'Oh, I'm doing what they did before and it just didn't work out, I didn't get lucky.' No, we're not doing what we did before. We're doing something completely novel, hanging it way out there. You feel exposed." As chief architect of Curiosity's a landing sequence, Adam Stelzner has gone through each part of it over and over in his head. But for now, it only exists in his imagination. And in this NASA animation. Adam Stelzner "We show up at this near six-kilometres-a-second speed. We burn a hole in the sky of Mars for about 100 km long. They start out at 6 km a second, and we're still going about a kilometre a second. We're not slowing down very much, because there's not enough atmosphere to help us out. So eventually we have to pop a parachute. That slows down more. But still not enough. It takes is down to about 100 metres a second. 200 miles an hour, almost. You don't want to hit the surface of Mars like that. So, about a couple of kilometres from the surface, we'd say it is time to look for the surface with our radar. And once we've seen it, we take this great leap of faith. And cut ourselves free, like our rockets and start our descent to the surface. We slow ourselves all the way down, and then, 20 m above the surface, we do this kind of crazy thing… Called the sky crane manoeuvre. The average person on the street thinks it's crazy. Even the team that's working it, sometimes we think it's crazy. The strange thing is, it's actually the result of reasoned engineering thought." Six days from now, the team hope that Curiosity will perform this unlikely manoeuvre. Back on Earth, they will be waiting for the message they have all dreamed of… It's safely down. The purpose behind all this daredevil engineering is to send the biggest payload of scientific equipment ever to leave Earth to uncover the secrets of Mars. Its the latest step in mankind's love affair with this curious red light in the night sky. Ever since Galileo built his first telescope, astronomers professional and amateur alike have peered through their lenses at the red planet. Curiosity's planetary scientist Ashwin Vasavada has shared this fascination since he was a boy. Ashwin Vasavada "Looking at Mars through a telescope, you can see some wonderful things. You can see the planet, you can see the polar caps, come and go with the seasons. I love looking through telescopes, but really, they're almost like using a record player for someone who grew up with the Internet." In 1976, we've moved beyond mere telescopes. When the Viking space probe beamed back the first-ever images from the surface of Mars, it inspired a whole generation of space scientists. Ashwin Vasavada "This image is an image taken by the Viking Lander in 1976, and it kind of is a special image for me, because I saw this image in a book I was reading as a young kid. And it's the first time I really noticed that planets were other worlds you could stand on a planet, look out and see rocks and you could walk off the horizon of the image you looking at, and you wonder what's across that hill. It just blew me away, and maybe is the moment I became a planetary scientist." The Viking mission tapped into the public's fascination with Mars. It was inspired by one of the most intriguing questions in science. Are we alone? Ashwin Vasavada "It's about searching for life in the universe, it's about asking this profound question of whether we're alone, whether we're all that there is. And the only way we can do that, even in this technological age, is just a stepping out to our nearest neighbour planet, the one next furthest out from the sun, and asking the question there. But really, it's going to tell us this profound reality, whether we're alone or we're not." NASA's Viking mission was hugely ambitious. It was their first ever attempt to land robotic probes on the surface of Mars. And it was going to search for life itself. Ashwin Vasavada "The Viking Landers but equipped with these state-of-the-art biological laboratories and they scooped up soil and analysed it. They tried to feed any microbes that would be in the soil and do very sophisticated experiments to detect life." The delight of landing safely and receiving these extraordinary pictures was followed by what seemed to be an incredible discovery. Initial observations suggested that they had detected microbial life in the Martian soil. But as the euphoria subsided and the scientific data was analysed, and new realisation dawned. Viking had, in fact, failed to find life on Mars. Ashwin Vasavada "The results were either negative or just ambiguous and it made us realise that it's not going to be this easy."

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http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/mars/landing-system.html

2013-06-18T23:10:14Z

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en

The Nature Conservancy and a local partner organization, Defensores de La Naturaleza, have been working to protect the Sierra de Las Minas Biosphere Reserve and the Motagua Valley Thorn Scrub. UNESCO recognized Sierra de Las Minas National Park as one of the most biologically diverse mountain ranges in Central America by naming it a Biosphere Reserve in 1993. The Motagua Valley Thorn Scrub is one of Central America's driest ecosystems. Sierra de Las Minas Biosphere Reserve is located in northeastern Guatemala, with the topography defined by the Motagua geological fault to the south, the Polochic fault to the north and the Izabal depression, which have created altitudinal ranges from 0 to 10,000 feet. Over 400 bird species are also found here, including the resplendent quetzal, the harpy eagle and the peregrine falcon. The area is a significant flyway and wintering spot for North American migrants. The Motagua Valley Thorn Scrub contains endemic and threatened species such as the ironwood tree, several species of cacti and a bromeliad called Tillandsia xerographica. In the Sierra de Las Minas region, conifers, oaks, and diverse populations of flowering plants coexist with mosses, ferns and epiphytes. Due to the enormous amount of water produced by the Sierra de las Minas and the many water users who depend on this precious resource for their livelihoods, the Conservancy is seeking to create and strengthen financial mechanisms for conservation such as water funds. Such funds have been used elsewhere in Latin America, whereby water user fees contribute to a fund that compensates local communities for watershed protection and reforestation along rivers, streams and lakes. In the Sierra de las Minas, water usage fees charged to municipalities, beverage companies and export crop businesses would ensure that safe drinking water flows out of users’ faucets in cities and helps the local communities where the water originates.July 03, 2012

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2013-06-18T23:26:30Z

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en

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescope, astronomers have discovered one of the smallest supermassive black holes in middle of an unlikely host galaxy. The little monster was spotted in NGC 4178, a spiral galaxy about 55 million light-years from Earth that is quite flat and lacks a concentration or bulge of stars at its center. Theoretical models had predicted that bulges are necessary for supermassive black holes to form and grow. But the new observations from NGC 4178 and four other bulgeless galaxies where black holes have previously been found challenge these assumptions and suggest more than one mechanism is at work in forming supermassive black holes. Researchers have speculated that these behemoths could feed on the disks of galaxies or the haloes of mysterious dark matter that surround galaxies instead of a cluster of stars at the center. The newly discovered black hole has a mass that is estimated to be less than about 200,000 times that of the sun, putting it on the low-mass end of the supermassive black hole range, the researchers said. Of the four other black holes in galaxies without a bulge, two have masses that may be close to that of the black hole in NGC 4178. Based on the properties of the black hole's X-ray source in the Chandra image, the researchers think the black hole in NGC 4178 is rapidly sucking in material from its surroundings. The team, led by Nathan Secrest from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., also thinks that light generated by this infalling matter is heavily absorbed by gas and dust around the black hole. The researchers also found three other X-ray sources in the Chandra image, the brightest of which may be a medium-size black hole with a mass about 6,000 times that of the sun. Space news from NBCNews.com Teen's space mission fueled by social media Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: "Astronaut Abby" is at the controls of a social-media machine that is launching the 15-year-old from Minnesota to Kazakhstan this month for the liftoff of the International Space Station's next crew. - Buzz Aldrin's vision for journey to Mars - Giant black hole may be cooking up meals - Watch a 'ring of fire' solar eclipse online - Teen's space mission fueled by social media The research is detailed in the July 1, 2012 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. - Mysterious 'Mini' Supermassive Black Hole Spotted | Video - Our X-Ray Universe: Amazing Photos by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory - Photos: Black Holes of the Universe © 2013 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

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2013-06-18T23:39:59Z

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en

Research is clear that when schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life. In fact, the most accurate predictor of a student's achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that student's family is able to: create a home environment that encourages learning; express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children's achievement and future careers; and become involved in their children's education at school and in the community. Your involvement in your child's education is everything from reading together and talking about learning at home, to volunteering in your child's classroom, to serving on a school improvement team. For your children, the benefits include increased learning and self-confidence. For their teachers, the benefits include improved morale and classroom support. For you as parents, you can gain a better understanding of your child's school experience and a closer parent-child bond. There are many ways to get - and stay - involved in the education of your children. Schools are required to include parent involvement as a part of their School Improvement Plans so it is important for parents to find out how schools are reaching out to them. To learn more about involvement, visit the NC Department of Public Instructionís Parent Involvement website.

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http://www.ncschoolreportcard.org/src/schMoreInfo.jsp?iId=311

2013-06-18T23:11:22Z

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en

Girls compose 2/3 of all the children excluded from basic education in the world. Often girls do not attend school due to the lack of schools and quality education, domestic labor and other forms of child labor, and a general attitude that girls should not be educated. The World Bank, United Nations agencies, and development organizations have identified the education of girls as the key factor to economic and social development. There is a growing understanding amongst policy leaders and international agencies about the critical relationship between the education of girls and economic development. - Education has a greater impact on infant and child mortality over improvements in sanitation, modern sector employment or increased income. - Improving the education system for girls is an investment in the system of education, thus benefiting boys also. However, education for girls’ cannot be improved without addressing root inequities and gender discrimination throughout education systems. Girls’ education is complex; interventions must take into account these complexities, such as a family’s loss of a girl’s labor or income when a girl goes to school. - Girls' domestic labor—cooking, cleaning, caring for younger children—deters their attendance at school. - Child labor as street vendors, sweatshop workers and prostitutes obstructs girls' access to school. - Girls' education is not seen as having economic benefit to their immediate families since girls are expected to marry and contribute to their husband's family. - Safety concerns about sexual abuse of female students en route to school or at school keep some girls from attending. - Pregnancy, even as a result of sexual abuse, often locks girls out of school due to expulsion and lack of childcare. - Scarcity of public schools that are free and that provide a quality education--especially at the secondary level--is a barrier to educational attainment. Education for All 2000 Assessment: Girls’ Education (Draft), written by Karin Hyde for UNICEF, April 2000. Lives Together, Worlds Apart: Men and Women in a Time of Change, United Nations Population Fund, 2000, New York, page 41

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http://www.nea.org/home/37028.htm

2013-06-18T23:39:14Z

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Power is always an important aspect of any electronic device and we have seen more and more products become more energy efficient in the past few years. This week, during the Intel Developer Forum event in San Francisco, the PC processor maker showed off an experimental chip that has a very low power requirement. Wired.com reports that the chip is called the "near-threshold voltage processor" which basically allows it to run even at very low voltage levels. The demonstration during the IDF conference showed a Linux-based PC running on this new processor, which has the code name Claremont. The chip ran on the power provided by a small solar cell that was the size of a postage stamp. An Intel spokesperson said that the processor could run on organic power sources such as lemon juice. You could even run a PC with such a chip on a potato, much like how elementary school kids discover that hooking up a potato can power up a radio. While the near-threshold voltage processor may never actually be released as a commercial product, Intel is using its development as a way to help the company create future processors. Intel says that in 10 years we might see PC processors that will have power requirements 10 times less than those in current PCs. A PC with such a chip inside could always be on in some form, allowing for PC applications and processes to continue even when the device is in a super low power state.

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http://www.neowin.net/news/intel-demos-experimental-pc-chip-running-on-low-power

2013-06-18T23:06:28Z

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en

How can the United Nations adequately work to prevent and fight terrorism when they don’t even have the will to define it? Is there any doubt that terrorism is real? We experienced it on our own shores and we have witnessed it take place in every corner of the globe, unfortunately, on an all-to-frequent basis. The United Nations has neither the will nor the leadership to take the lead to defeat terrorism, and it is only a matter of time when terrorists carry out a catastrophic attack that the world will no longer be able to ignore. The only question is where and when it will occur. The first step to dealing with a problem is defining it and properly acknowledging it. The following are some widely recognized definitions of terrorism:League of Nations Convention (1937): “All criminal acts directed against a State and intended or calculated to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons or the general public.”U.S. Code: “terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.”Columbia Encyclopedia: “The threat or use of violence, often against a civilian population, to achieve political or social ends, to intimidate opponents, or to publicize public grievances.”The Arab Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism (1998): “Any act or threat of violence, whatever its motives or purposes, that occurs in the advancement of an individual or collective criminal agenda and seeking to sow panic among people, causing fear by harming them, or placing their lives, liberty or security in danger, or seeking to cause damage to the environment or to public or private installations or property or to occupying or seizing them, or seeking to jeopardize a national resource.” If other diverse groups and nations can define terrorism, why then can’t the United Nations settle on a definition? The answer is clear: They do not want to. The United States and other freedom-loving nations must now demand that the United Nations define terrorism once and for all. They must also vow to aggressively thwart it and condemn it wherever and whenever it occurs, not with mere words but with meaningful actions. The United Nations stands for nothing if it cannot face up to and defeat a scourge that will be the undoing of civilized society unless it is defeated. President Obama needs to lead on this issue. To date he and his administration seem to have banned even the mention of “terrorism” from their public speak. They believe it is inflammatory and insulting. To whom? The terrorists? There will be another major attack by terrorists. When that occurs, the world will respond with shock and horror and condolence. The question is what did we do to confront it and prevent it in the first place. Bradley A. Blakeman is former deputy assistant to President George W. Bush, 2001-2004. © 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

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http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/united-nations-terrorism/2009/03/04/id/328599

2013-06-18T23:41:25Z

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Geography and exploration From the largest map collection in Scotland to the archive of explorer David Livingstone, discover National Library of Scotland (NLS) resources on geography and the world around us. Find out how explorers in the past developed our understanding of the world and learn about the people, places and environments of the world today. Specially designed to support classroom teaching using NLS collections. Scott's last expedition looks at items in NLS polar collections relating to the British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, and includes discussion points. The David Livingstone 'Themes in focus' pages introduce the life and travels of 19th-century Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone through items in NLS collections. The 'Great escapes' resource provides an insight into tourism in Scotland in the mid-19th century. Includes a guide for teachers on running a cross-curricular local studies project. See more learning resources in the collections Information on what NLS holds and is recommended for learning audiences.

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http://www.nls.uk/learning-zone/geography-and-exploration

2013-06-18T23:39:04Z

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en

NORTHWESTERN COLORADO PRIOR TO EXPLOITATION Northwestern Colorado includes the area extending west from the Continental Divide to the Utah-Colorado state line, and from about the Colorado River northward to the Wyoming-Colorado state line. Within this area lie a succession of wide valleys, several high mountain parks, and a series of major river drainages. Farther west, Colorado is composed of broad floodplains on either side of the major rivers, and within the main drainage areas, smaller creeks and streams cut the landscape into massive buttes and narrow canyons. This region is well watered by numerous subsidiary creeks running into the Yampa or Colorado Rivers. One of the major features of the far northwestern corner is a valley, Brown's Park, extending sixty miles into Utah from the Maybell, Colorado area on a northwest axis. The major river drainages include the Colorado (Grand) River, which begins at Grand Lake and is fed by the Fraser, the Blue, and the Eagle Rivers. North Park, one of the smaller valleys, is drained by the North Platte River and smaller streams and creeks, such as the Michigan, the Illinois and the Canadian. The Yampa Valley's major river is the Yampa (Bear) and it is fed by the Little Snake and the Elk Rivers as well as smaller creeks, like Fortification. The White River Valley is fed by Piceance Creek, Douglas Creek, and numerous other small streams. The area's climate is extreme. From the summer months when the temperature can exceed 100 degrees in the far northwestern corner, to the winter months in the mountain parks where the thermometer has recorded 54 degrees below zero, radical variations make agriculture and development difficult. Generally, the mountain parks remain wet from May until July, while the lower areas are dry by late June. This climate, plus the fluctuating seasonal water sources, mainly run-off from snowfall, make agriculture a limited and risky business. To fully understand the geography of Northwestern Colorado, it is important to know what geologic events have transpired to modify the landscape. The base material upon which the area is built is Pre-Cambrian rock that was eroded into vast layers of flat sediment. These layers were then uplifted and re-eroded so that a series of sediments have been left over a period of millions of years. Most of the sedimentation of the region and new layers of sandstone were laid down. Almost perfect fossil examples of marine life can be found. Late in the Jurassic Period, Colorado was submerged. During this moist environment, the dinosaur bones that are found in Dinosaur National Monument were deposited. Plant and marine life began to provide fossil remains that became the coal and oil deposits that cover this region. During the Cretaceous Period the land was uplifted and the Piceance and Axial Basins were created. Underlying these basins were the oil and coal deposits left by organic matter buried in the region. The Tertiary Period of the Cenozoic Era saw a period of mountain building called the Laramide Orogeny. The Rocky Mountains, as we know them, were uplifted. The core of the uplift was cracked and brought to the surface, where solutions of gold, silver, zinc, lead, copper and iron seeped into the fissures. This created the veins of gold that are common in the Colorado Rockies. Localized deposits were also created by this uplift, including areas such as Hahn's Peak and Independence Mountain. Additionally, an oily material called Kerogen was formed from the mud of Lake Uintah, which had developed with the Laramie uplift, and from these deposits came the Green River formation of oil shales. The final building period came in the Quaternary Period when the Ice Age descended on Colorado. During the Pleistocene Epoch, the state was selectively glaciated, and many of the features that we know today were created. To some extent the parks, Middle and North, were carved out, while the mountains including the Rockies, the Park Range and the Elk Mountains were gouged out. Terminal moraines were dropped from glaciers and these formed dams across valleys; from these formations came lakes such as Grand Lake. Recent geologic events have created the land-forms that are currently known. These are a result of natural erosion by wind and water, along with geologic changes wrought by massive slides and other factors. Manmade features have created the most recent changes in the landscape. Such physical evidence as mines, foundations, road alignments and other changes are the more recent and possibly most radical variations on the land since the Ice Age. Man's use and occupation of the land is clearly evident in the changes he has wrought. The advent of humans in the area is difficult to date. Man probably had used the land for 10,000 years or more prior to the coming of the Europeans. However, it is historic native Indians which are of interest as factors in the settlement and development of the area. Prior to the coming of Europeans, the northwest corner of the state was populated basically by three tribes of Indians. Of these groups, the largest was probably the Ute. The next most important tribe in the area was the Arapaho who, while plains natives, often used North and Middle Parks for summer hunting grounds. These were traditionally Ute lands, and conflicts often erupted over hunting rights. However, the Arapaho continued to use the near western areas despite Ute objections. The other tribe of consequence in the area was the Shoshoni, who were said to have come into the Brown's Park area to winter. These people were probably the Wind River Shoshoni and were of the same linguistic group as the Ute. In this way they were able to exist with the Ute and there was rarely trouble between these peoples. Other tribes that had a minor impact on the area included the Cheyenne, the Navajo, and to some extent, the Apache. Within the Ute tribe there were subdivisions including Uintah, Wimonuntici, Mowatavi-watsiu, Mowatri, Kopata, and others. These subdivisions related primarily to geographic locations and not major cultural differences. The Uintah Ute were the main inhabitants of northwestern Colorado. These people were nomadic hunters who used the river valleys for shelter. They summered in the high mountain parks stocked with abundant game, particularly elk, deer, and beaver, and when the weather turned cold, they moved into the Yampa or White River valleys to spend the winter in comfort. The Ute were not known as hostile to whites at the time Europeans first described them. During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the Ute were continually at war with the Arapaho, the Comanche, and other plains tribes. However, once the Uintah had moved into the mountainous interior, the constant warfare eased. They were friendly to whites, and their only real enemies during the period of early European occupation were the plains war parties and Arapaho who occasionally encroached the Ute lands. The Ute tended to live in small family groups scattered over wide areas, yet they retained a certain cohesion in times of trouble. The Ute culture was changed radically by the introduction of the horse; once adapted, the horse was looked upon as a sacred animal. It was Ute wealth, and it was valued possibly more than a wife, children, or a dog. Thanks to the horse, which the Ute had by the 1680's, his geographic range was considerably extended; due to new and better available food, the Ute advanced considerably in status among the natives of the West. Eventually, the Ute culture developed into a buckskin-horse-buffalo economy, with the Plains Indians making a strong contribution to Ute materialism. The Ute expanded to the point that by the time Europeans came into their land, they ranged from Pike's Peak on the east to the Great Salt Lake on the west, and from Taos in the south, to Wyoming Green River country on the north. The first known European visitors to northwestern Colorado were Spanish, in 1776. The Spanish were not new to the general area of Colorado; as early as 1695 Diego de Vargas, the re-conquerer of New Mexico, had visited the San Luis Valley. Colorado was of little interest to the Spanish, however, for it showed little agricultural promise, and no precious minerals were found. In 1765, Juan de Rivera was sent out from Santa Fe to explore for minerals in Colorado. He reached the area of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and also explored the San Juan region. Finding nothing of value, he returned home and reported that the area was of little worth. This ended interest in Colorado until 1776. In that year, the Spanish government of New Mexico decided to explore for new routes to California from Santa Fe. The reason for the decision to go north was that the Hopi (Moqui) had blocked the most direct route across Arizona, and the Spanish, particularly the Church, were interested in establishing relations with the new California settlements. There was a trader's trail into Colorado which had been used since the Rivera expedition. It was upon this path that two Franciscan explorers led their small expedition. These men, Fray Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Fray Francisco Atanasio Dominguéz, were determined to trace a new route to California. They projected that this could be done with minimum cost and without a large party. The Spanish governor at Santa Fe was interested in the project, and he willingly helped the two friars arrange for their trip. Governor Fermín de Mendinueta provided material help and saw the expedition off on July 29, 1776. The little party of ten left Santa Fe and worked its way up to Abíquiu (New Mexico), from whence the group pushed north into Colorado. By August, 1776, they were well into the present state of Colorado. They passed Dulce, and then moved to the San Juan River, past Mesa Verde, to the Dolores River. From the Dolores, the party moved to the Uncompahgre River where it meets the Gunnison River. They crossed the stream with the help of "Yuta" Indians. The party then moved northward toward the Green River. In doing so, they became the first Europeans to have crossed the Grand Hogback, the Colorado River, and the Piceance Basin. By September, 1776, they were moving into the Grand Valley. On September 5, 1776, the group had reached the Debeque, Colorado area, from whence they trailed north along Roan Creek. The party left Roan Creek, travelled along the Roan Plateau and came to the headwaters of Douglas Creek. From here they proceeded through Douglas Canyon into the White River country. Along the way, they saw the Cañon Pintado (Painted Canyon) and what they thought were veins of gold along the canyon walls. However, they made no attempt to mine. Upon emerging from the Douglas Canyon area, the group moved down the White River Valley into Utah. They camped at Jensen, Utah, on September 14, 1776, and then proceeded southwest across that state and into Arizona, finally returning to Santa Fe without having found a route to California. The knowledge gained from the expedition was not widely distributed and many of the areas that had been explored for the first time remained "undiscovered". The Dominguéz-Escalante expedition was of some value in that the resources of the Great Basin area were explored. However, the Spanish were not interested in taking advantage of these discoveries, and it was not for another forty years that Mexicans and Americans would venture far into this land. Last Updated: 31-Oct-2008

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Fall protection systems may prevent a serious injury or fatality. However, if a worker wearing fall protection gear falls and is suspended in a static upright position for an extended period of time, too much blood can accumulate in the veins and blood flow cannot normalize. According to OSHA, both the force of gravity and the lack of movement may lead to orthostatic intolerance – also known as suspension trauma. OSHA states that a worker who is approaching suspension trauma may experience faintness, breathlessness, nausea, hot flashes, an increased heart rate, dizziness, sweating, paleness, an unusually low heart rate, unusually low blood pressure or loss of vision. Suspension trauma can be exacerbated by other circumstances related to the fall. For instance, shock or the psychological state of the worker may increase the onset and severity of the pooling of the blood. According to OSHA, these factors also may affect the degree of risk of suspension trauma: - Inability to move - Injuries sustained during the fall - Fit of the harness - Environmental conditions - Cardiovascular or respiratory disease - Blood loss Workers who fall must be promptly rescued. A person suspended in a fall arrest device can become unconscious and die in less than 30 minutes if the brain, kidneys and other organs become deprived of oxygen. If self-rescue is not possible, or a suspended worker cannot be rescued immediately, the worker should pump his or her legs frequently to maintain blood flow and prevent pooling, and – if possible – use footholds to alleviate pressure and delay symptoms until he or she is rescued. Medical treatment should be sought immediately.

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en

Squeezing malignant breast cancer cells stops them from spreading, returning them to a healthy state, new research reveals. This is the first time it's been found that mechanical forces alone can revert and stop growth of cancer cells, Medical Daily reports. Scientists found transformation can happen even if the genetic mutations for the cancer remain, setting up a fight between nature and nurture to determine the fate of the cell. The latest findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco. Scientists said "tissue organisation is sensitive to mechanical imputs from the environment" during the beginning stage of a cell's growth and development. "An early signal, in the form of compression, appears to get these malignant cells back on the right track," said Professor Daniel Fletcher, a researcher from UC Berkeley. Scientists have tended to focus on genetic mutation within the cell by looking at cancer development. But recent studies show malignant cells don't always turn in to tumours and their outcome depends on how they interact with the cells around them. "People have known for centuries that physical force can influence our bodies," co-researcher Gautham Venugopalan said. "When we lift weights, our muscles get bigger. The force of gravity is essential to keeping our bones strong. Here we show that physical force can play a role in growth - and reversion - of cancer cells." Researchers grew malignant breast cells and injected them in to chambers which allowed them to apply pressure in the first stages of development. When compressed, the cells grew in to more organised and healthy looking cells. Once the force was removed, the cells stopped growing. "Malignant cells have not completely forgotten how to be healthy, they just need the right cues to guide them back into a healthy growth pattern," Venugopalan said. Prof Fletcher said compression alone is probably not going to be a successful form of breast cancer therapy. "But this does give us new clues to track down the molecules and structures that could eventually be targeted for therapies."

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2013-06-18T23:39:33Z

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en

|ICS - SSL Effort| |Updated: Aud 13, 2008| SSL is a software layer that secure communication between client and server. The most known use is the HTTPS protocol used to access a secure web server. HTTPS use the SSL protocol to transport HTTP requests and replies with strong security. SSL encrypt data on the fly and use certificate to make sure that the server you connect to is actually the one you think it is, and for a server to be sure that a client is really the one he knows. See below for more details. ICS-SSL is the result of the SSL effort which has been funded by many contributors. Now ICS-SSL has been released to the freeware community and is available from the ICS download page (see ICS link on the left). Of course, even if the project is now freeware, you are encouraged to donate some money to support further development. To know how to send your money, click here. A customer connecting to a secure website is assured of three things: WHAT IS SSL ?SSL = Secure Sockets Layer TLS and SSL are an integral part of most Web browsers (clients) and Web servers. If a Web site is on a server that supports SSL, SSL can be enabled and specific Web pages can be identified as requiring SSL access. Any Web server can be enabled by using Netscape's SSLRef program library which can be downloaded for noncommercial use or licensed for commercial use. TLS and SSL are not interoperable. However, a message sent with TLS can be handled by a client that handles SSL but not TLS." - The connection is private. Encryption is used after an initial handshake to define a secret key. Symmetric cryptography is used for data encryption (e.g., DES[DES], RC4[RC4], etc.) - The peer's identity can be authenticated using asymmetric, or public key, cryptography (e.g., RSA[RSA], DSS[DSS], etc.). - The connection is reliable. Message transport includes a message integrity check using a keyed MAC. Secure hash functions (e.g., SHA, MD5, etc.) are used for MAC computations. OTHER INTERESTING LINKSIntroduction to SSL Book: Network Security with OpenSSL Another introduction to SSL HOW TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONThe bank to send money to is: ING Belgium, Avenue Marnix 24, 1000 Brussels, Belgium Account owner is: OverByte sprl, rue de Grady 24, 4053 Embourg, Belgium If you are in the EC, use this information: International Bank Account Number (IBAN): BE80 3400 6181 2377 Outside of the EC, do a "swift" transfer: Swift address: "BBRU BE BB 400", account number "3400 6181 2377". Account number: 340-0618123-77 For small contributions, you should consider mailing cash in an anonymous envelop. Post is very reliable in Belgium. If it is also reliable in your country, use that method. It is cheap for you and me. Sorry, I can't accept credit card payment. If you are in a EC country, then you must provide me a company name and address with a valid VAT number otherwise I have to pay 21% VAT to the belgian treasury. No problem outside of the EC. Of course I will send an invoice for accounting purpose. In all cases, I need name and address or I have to pay 21% VAT to the belgian treasory. (VAT means Value Added Tax. It is a kind of sale tax applyed almost everywhere in Europe). I will mail an invoice for accounting purpose. If you are in a large company, maybe you need a proformat invoice so that they can send the money. Just ask me. It is better for me you send the money in EURO currency. If you pay using another currency, even US$, there will be change fees. Of course you are welcome to add bank fee and VAT to your contribution :-) Just ask your bank to charge you for all the fees and commission. So I will receive the net amount you choosed.

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en

Page 1 (History of Russia: IX - XVIIth centuries) The ancestors of the Russians were the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought to have been the wooded areas along the Pripyat River. Relatively little is known about East Slavs prior to approximately the 9th century AD. The reason for this lies mainly in the apparent absence of written language (Cyrillic was created around 863 specifically for adoption by Slavs) and remoteness of East Slavic lands. Moving into the lands populated by the migrating Germanic tribes, the Eastern Slavs – the ancestors of the Russians who occupied the lands between the Carpathians and the Don River – were subject to Greek Christian influences. The culture of declining Bysantine Empire had a continuous influence upon the development of Russia in its formative centuries. The Khazars were Turkish people who lived in the Volga steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas from the 7th to 13th centuries. Noted for their cosmopolitanism, the Khazars were the main commercial link between the Baltic and the Muslim Abbasid empire centered in Baghdad. In the 8th and 9th centuries, many East Slavic tribes paid tribute to the Khazars. Their dominance began to slip, however, at the end of that period, when Oleg, a Varangian warrior, moved south from Novgorod to expel the Khazars from Kiev and founded Kievan Rus' around the year 880. According to the earliest chronicle of Kievan Rus', a Varangian named Rurik became prince of Novgorod in about 860 before his successors moved south and extended their authority to Kiev. By the late 9th century the Varangian ruler of Kiev had established his power over a large area that gradually came to be known as Russia. The name "Russia" is thought to be connected with Slavic or Persian roots. Originally Rus was a medieval country and state that comprised mostly Early East Slavs. The territories of that old Rus are today distributed among the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine. That early "Rus" state had no proper name. Its inhabitants called it "Russkaya zemla", which might be translated as "Rus land" or "Land of the Rus". In a similar fashion, Poland is still called Polska by its inhabitants, and the Czech Republic (Česká republika) is commonly called by its adjectival name. In order to distinguish the early "Rus" state from other states that subsequently derived from it, it is called by modern historians as "Kievan Rus". Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state, emerged in the 9th century along the Dnieper River valley. A coordinated group of princely states with a common interest in maintaining trade along the river routes, Kievan Rus' controlled the trade route for furs, wax, and slaves between Scandinavia and the Byzantine Empire along the Dnieper River. By the end of the 10th century the Norse minority had merged with the Slavic population. Kievan Rus' introduced a Slavic variant of the Eastern Orthodox religion, making a synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next thousand years. The region adopted Christianity in 988 by the official act by Prince Vladimir I. Some years later the first code of laws, Russkaya Pravda, was introduced. By the 11th century, particularly during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, Kievan Rus' could boast an economy and achievements in architecture and literature compared to those that then existed in the western part of the continent. Russian language was by the way little influenced by the Greek and Latin of early Christian writings. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated as a state because of the armed struggles among members of the princely family that collectively possessed it. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod in the north, and Halych-Volhynia in the south-west. Conquest by the Mongol Golden Horde in the 13th century was the final blow. Kiev was destroyed. Halych-Volhynia would eventually be absorbed into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Mongol-dominated Vladimir-Suzdal and independent Novgorod would establish the basis for the modern Russian nation. The rulers of this period include the following persons. Note that the succession did not always pass directly from father to son, but sometimes between other male relatives, including brothers and uncles and nephews. Overlapping dates are due to princes ruling in different principalities, all nominally under Kievan suzerainty. Rurik, ruler of Novgorod Oleg, first ruler of Kiev, 882-913 Svyatoslav I, 945-973 Yaropolk I, 973-978 St. Vladimir I, 978-1015 Svyatopolk I, 1015-1019 Yaroslav "the Wise," 1019-1054 Izayaslav I, 1054-1073 Svyatoslav II, 1073-1076 Izayaslav I, 1077-1078 Svyatopolk II, 1093-1113 Vladimir Monomakh, 1113-1125 Mstislav I, 1125-1139 Yaropolk II, 1132-1139 Izayaslav II, 1146-1154 Yury Dolgoruky, 1149-1157 Andrei Bogolyubsky, Grand Prince of Kiev, 1157-1174 Vsevolod III, ruler of Vladimir-Suzdal, 1176-1212 Yury II, 1212-1238 Invasion by Mongols The invading Mongols accelerated the fragmentation of the Kievan Rus'. In 1223, the Kievan Rus' faced a Mongol raiding party at the Kalka River and was soundly defeated. In 1240 the Mongols sacked the city of Kiev and then moved west into Poland and Hungary. By then they had conquered most of the Russian principalities. Only Novgorod escaped that occupation. The impact of the Mongol invasion on the territories of Kievan Rus' was uneven. About half of the Russian population was lost during the invasion. The advanced city culture was almost completely destroyed. Centers such as Kiev never recovered from the devastation of the initial attack. As Novgorod continued to prosper, a new entity, the city of Moscow, began to flourish under the Mongols since 1328. Although the Russian army defeated the Golden Horde at Kulikovo in 1380, Mongol domination of the Russian-inhabited territories, along with demands of tribute from Russian princes, continued until about 1480. The princes of southern and eastern Russia had to pay tribute to the Mongols, commonly called Tatars, or the Golden Horde; but in return they received charters authorizing them to act as deputies to the khans. In general, the princes were allowed considerable freedom to rule as they wished. One of them, Alexander Nevsky, prince of Vladimir, became a hero in the mid-13th century as the result of major victories over the Teutonic Knights, the Swedes and the Lithuanians. To the Orthodox Church and most princes, the westerners seemed a greater threat to the Russian way of life than the Mongols. Nevsky obtained Mongol protection and assistance in fighting invaders from the west who tried to grab the territory. Even so, Nevsky's successors would later come to challenge Tartar rule. The Mongols left their impact on the Russians in such areas as military tactics and the development of trade routes. Under Mongol occupation, Muscovy also developed its postal road network, census, fiscal system, and military organization. Eastern influence remained strong well until the 18th century, when Russian rulers made a conscious effort to westernize their country. The rulers of this period include: Yaroslav II, ruler of Kiev, then of Vladimir, 1238-1246 Svyatoslav III, 1247-1248 Andrei II, Prince of Vladimir, 1249-1252 Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Novgorod, then of Vladimir, 1252-1263 Yaroslav III, Prince of Tver, 1263-1271 Vasili Yaroslavovich, 1272-1277 Yury Daniilovich, 1313-1322 Alexander of Tver, son of Mikhail, 1326-1328 Princes of Moscow: Daniil, first Prince of Moscow, 1263-1303 Ivan I, Kalita, Grand Prince of Vladimir, 1328-1340 Simeon, Grand Prince of All Russia, 1340-1353 Ivan II, 1353-1359 Dmitri Donskoy, 1359-1389 Vasili I, 1389-1425 Vasili II, 1425-1462 Ivan III, "The Great", first Sovereign of All Russia, 1462-1505 Nevsky’s youngest son prince Daniel founded the principality of Muscovy based in the city of Moscow, which eventually expelled the Tartars from Russia. Muscovy was very conviniently situated in the central river system of Russia and surrounded by protective forests and marshes. It was at first only a vassal of Vladimir, but soon it absorbed its parent state. A major factor in the ascendancy of Muscovy was the cooperation of its rulers with the Mongol overlords, who granted them the title of Grand Prince of Russia and made them agents for collecting the Tartar tribute from the Russian principalities. The principality's prestige was further enhanced when it became the center of the Russian Orthodox Church. By the middle of the 14th century, the power of the Mongols was declining, and the Grand Princes felt able to openly oppose the Mongol yoke. In 1380, at Kulikovo on the Don River, the khan was defeated, and although this hard-fought victory did not end Tartar rule of Russia, it did bring great fame to the Grand Prince. Moscow's leadership in Russia was now firmly based and by the middle of the fourteenth century its territory had greatly expanded through purchase, war, and marriage. Ivan III, the Great In the 15th century, the grand princes of Muscovy began gathering Russian lands to increase the population and wealth under their rule. The most successful practitioner of this process was Ivan III, the Great (1462–1505), who laid the foundations for a Russian national state. A contemporary of the Tudors and other "new monarchs" in Western Europe, Ivan more than doubled his territories by placing most of north Russia under the rule of Moscow, and he proclaimed his absolute sovereignty over all Russian princes and nobles. Refusing further tribute to the Tartars, Ivan initiated a series of attacks that opened the way for the complete defeat of the declining Golden Horde, now divided into several khanates and hordes. Ivan sought to protect the southern boundaries of his domain against attacks of hordes. Ivan granted manors to nobles, who in turn were obliged to serve in army. The manor system became a basis for an emerging horse army. During his conflict with Pskov, monk Filofei composed a letter to Ivan III, with prophecy that the latter's kingdom will be the Third Rome. Ivan competed with his powerful northwestern rival Lithuania for control over some of the semi-independent former principalities of Kievan Rus' in the upper Dnieper and Donets River basins. Through the defections of some princes, border skirmishes, and a long, inconclusive war with Lithuania that ended only in 1503, Ivan III was able to push westward, and Muscovy tripled in size under his rule. Internal consolidation accompanied outward expansion of the state. By the 16th century, the rulers of Moscow considered the entire Russian territory their collective property. Various semi-independent princes still claimed specific territories, but Ivan III forced the lesser princes to acknowledge the grand prince of Muscovy and his descendants as unquestioned rulers with control over military, judicial, and foreign affairs. Gradually, the Muscovite ruler emerged as a powerful, autocratic ruler, a tsar. Ivan IV, the Terrible Ivan IV was the first Muscovite ruler to use the title of "Tsar". The development of the tsar's autocratic powers reached a peak during the reign (1547–1584) of Ivan IV, and he became known as "Ivan the Terrible". Ivan strengthened the position of the tsar to an unprecedented degree, as he ruthlessly subordinated the nobles to his will, exiling or executing many on the slightest provocation. Nevertheless, Ivan was a farsighted statesman who promulgated a new code of laws, reformed the morals of the clergy, and built the great St. Basil's Cathedral that still stands in Moscow's Red Square. Also around this period, Russian cossacks were establishing the first settlements in western Siberia. The rulers during this period are listed below: Ivan III, The Great, first Sovereign of All Russia, 1462-1505 Vasili III, son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologi (niece of last Byzantine emperor), 1505-1533 Ivan IV, The Terrible, 1533-1584, first Tsar of Russia in 1547 Feodor I, 1584-1598 Boris Godunov, 1598-1605 Feodor II, 1605 Dmitri, the "False Dmitri," 1605-1606 Vasily IV Shuysky, 1606-1610 vacant throne, 1610-1613 Time of Troubles Death of Ivan's childless son Fyodor was followed by a period of civil wars known as the "Time of Troubles" over the succession and resurgence of the power of the nobility. The autocracy survived the "Time of Troubles" and the rule of weak or corrupt tsars because of the strength of the government's central bureaucracy. Government functionaries continued to serve, regardless of the ruler's legitimacy or the faction controlling the throne. The succession disputes during the "Time of Troubles" caused the loss of much territory to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden during the wars. Recovery for Russia came in the middle of the 17th century, when successful wars with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1654–1667) brought substantial gains, including Smolensk, Kiev and the eastern half of Ukraine. In 1613 Michael Romanov, the grandnephew of Ivan the Terrible, was elected to the throne by a national assembly that included representatives from fifty cities. The Romanov dynasty ruled Russia until 1917. The immediate task of the new dynasty was to restore order. Fortunately for Moscow, its major enemies, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, were engaged in a bitter conflict with each other, which provided Muscovy the opportunity to make peace with Sweden in 1617 and to sign a truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1619. Rather than risking their estates in more civil war, the great nobles or boyars cooperated with the first Romanovs, enabling them to finish the work of bureaucratic centralization. Thus, the state required service from both the old and the new nobility, primarily in the military. In return the tsars allowed the boyars to complete the process of serfing peasants. In the preceding century, the state had gradually curtailed peasants' rights to move from one landlord to another. With the state now fully sanctioning serfdom, runaway peasants became state fugitives. Landlords had a complete power over their peasants and could alienate and transfer them without the land to other landowners. The state and the nobles both placed the overwhelming burden of taxation on the peasants, whose rate was 100 times greater in the middle of the 17th century than it had been a century earlier. In addition, middle-class urban tradesmen and craftsmen were assessed taxes, and, like the serfs, they were forbidden to change residence. All segments of the population were subject to military levy and to special taxes. The early Romanov tsars and tsaritsas, through the end of the 18th century, are as follows: Feodor III, 1676-1682 Ivan V, co-tsar with Peter I, 1682-1696 Peter I "the Great", 1682-1725 Catherine I, 1725-1727 Peter II, 1727-1730 Ivan VI, 1740-1741 Peter III, 1762 Catherine II, "the Great", 1762-1796 In a period when peasant disorders were endemic, the greatest peasant uprising in 17th century Europe erupted in 1667. As the Cossacks reacted against the growing centralization of the state, serfs joined their revolts and escaped from their landlords by joining them. The Cossack rebel Stenka Razin led his followers up the Volga River, inciting peasant uprisings and replacing local governments with Cossack rule. The tsar's army finally crushed his forces in 1670; a year later Stenka was captured and beheaded.

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Talking to Your Kids about Not Using Tobacco Bringing up the topic of tobacco use can be tough, but it’s important to talk about it—especially if you think your child may have already have tried or using other tobacco products. It’s easy to feel like your child will just brush you off and tell you to “stop worrying so much.” This, combined with the fact that bringing up the topic can be a little awkward, can make it tough to start the conversation. Fortunately, there are some ways to make broaching the subject easier. - Bring up the topic when you’re doing something together, like riding in the car, walking the dog, watching TV, or any other activity that doesn’t require your child’s full attention. - You can also start the conversation if your child is going to be in a place where she might see tobacco use, such as a party—talk about how she could deal with situations she might encounter. - Don’t insist on eye contact—some kids find it easier to talk when they’re not looking you straight in the eye. - Comment on an advertisement or TV show that shows someone smoking, or a story in the newspaper about a celebrity using tobacco. - If you see someone using tobacco—such as a relative at a family gathering or one of your own friends—ask your child what he thinks about it. - Ask your child if any of her friends who use tobacco. - Many schools and sports teams have rules about tobacco use—discuss some of the health reasons for these rules. Even though you may feel like your teen doesn’t listen to what you say, research shows that parents are a strong influence on whether teens smoke.1 Even pre-teens—who might roll their eyes when you start talking about the dangers of tobacco—are paying attention to what you say. To make sure you have the best possible influence on your child, start talking about tobacco early. - Remember—keep it light! You’re trying to have a conversation, not give a lecture. Don’t do all of the talking. Really listen to what your child has to say without judging. Learn effective listening skills to make your conversations more positive. - Talk about your values, even when your children are young. Tell your kids why you disapprove of smoking and that you will be disappointed if they pick it up. - Focus on short-term consequences. Even though adults know that using tobacco has dire long-term consequences, teens may be more affected by the idea of the short-term ones, such as bad breath, foul-smelling clothes, or stained teeth. - Talk about peer pressure. The best way to address peer pressure is to talk about it directly. Let your kids know that you understand how difficult it can be to say no to friends, but that it’s important to stand by your values and beliefs. - Tell your child about the consequences for smoking in your family, and let him know that you will follow through on them. - Take the conversation beyond just cigarettes. Make sure to point out that all tobacco products are dangerous and addictive, even if they seem much safer than cigarettes. It’s easy to feel like you’re not getting through to your kids when you talk about tough issues like tobacco use. But remember that you do have an effect on their decisions and that your expectations matter to them. To help your child make smart decisions about tobacco use, bring up the topic early and talk with your children about it on a regular basis. 1. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Malignant Neglect: Substance Abuse and America’s Schools (2001). - Alcohol Use - Drug Use - Depression and Suicide - Tobacco Use - Bullying and Cyberbullying - Early Sexual Activity - Eating Disorders

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http://www.parentfurther.com/high-risk-behaviors/tobacco/talk-about-smoking

2013-06-18T23:12:33Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Documentary Celebrating Important Anniversary Raises Awareness for Hemophilia B Hemophilia is a type of bleeding disorder that causes the blood to take a long time to clot, and occurs almost exclusively in males. People with hemophilia B have a deficiency in clotting factor IX, a specific protein in the blood.1 According to the World Federation of Hemophilia, approximately one in 50,000 people globally2 have hemophilia B, including nearly 4,110 people living with hemophilia B in the U.S.3 People with hemophilia face specific risks and need to be careful not to cause injury to their bodies, as injuries can prompt a bleed. Bleeding in hemophilia can be potentially life-threatening. While people with hemophilia do not bleed faster than people without hemophilia, they do tend to bleed longer because of their inability to clot, increasing their risk of internal injury.1 In the last century alone, the treatment of hemophilia has undergone many changes. In the 1950s, plasma was first used to treat people with hemophilia. 4 In the 1960s, researchers began experimenting with concentrates of factor, 4 and in the early 1990s, the first recombinant factor products became available. 4 Innovations continue to be explored in the manufacturing and purification processes of hemophilia treatments. A documentary, titled “Pushing Boundaries: How Science Impacted the Treatment of Hemophilia B” presents a brief history of hemophilia B treatment and tells the story of the development of recombinant factor IX and the approval of BeneFIX® Coagulation Factor IX (Recombinant). BeneFIX is a recombinant coagulation factor IX product indicated for the control, prevention and perioperative management of bleeding episodes in adult and pediatric patients with hemophilia B. BeneFIX received FDA fast track approval in the U.S. on February 11, 1997. This year, BeneFIX celebrates its 15th anniversary. The documentary also features interviews with researchers and hemophilia B patients, while illustrating the innovative science brought forth by researchers in developing BeneFIX. BeneFIX was developed by Genetics Institute (now Pfizer) in Andover, Massachusetts, at a time when few people had ever manufactured and formulated a recombinant protein clotting factor. The development of BeneFIX pioneered many of the recombinant protein drug production techniques commonly used today. BeneFIX is currently marketed in 34 countries and has been used by more than 30,000 patients worldwide.5 Hemophilia B patient Phil H. began using BeneFIX following its approval in 1997. Patients like Phil and other members of the hemophilia B community have provided feedback over the years that has not only contributed to the development of BeneFIX, but also to its latest product offerings. These offerings include the development of the Rapid Reconstitution (R2) kit, the ability to store at room temperature, and the 3000 IU dosage strength. “Growing up, it was challenging to deal with my bleeds,” said Phil. “I’m thankful that my voice and the voice of patients like me was heard.” For more information about BeneFIX and to view the documentary, please visit www.benefix.com. To learn more about hemophilia B, please visit www.benefix.com. BeneFIX is an injectable medicine that is used to help control and prevent bleeding in people with hemophilia B. Hemophilia B is also called congenital factor IX deficiency or Christmas disease. BeneFIX is NOT used to treat hemophilia A. Important Safety Information for BeneFIX - BeneFIX is contraindicated in patients who have manifested life-threatening, immediate hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, to the product or its components, including hamster protein. - Call your health care provider right away if your bleeding is not controlled after using BeneFIX. - Allergic reactions may occur with BeneFIX. Call your health care provider or get emergency treatment right away if you have any of the following symptoms: wheezing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, your lips and gums turning blue, fast heartbeat, facial swelling, faintness, rash or hives. - Your body can make antibodies, called “inhibitors,” which may interfere with the effectiveness of BeneFIX. - If you have risk factors for developing blood clots, such as a venous catheter through which BeneFIX is given by continuous infusion, BeneFIX may increase the risk of abnormal blood clots. The safety and efficacy of BeneFIX administration by continuous infusion have not been established. - Some common side effects of BeneFIX are nausea, injection site reaction, injection site pain, headache, dizziness and rash. Please see full Prescribing Information for BeneFIX available at www.benefix.com. 1 National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. “What is Hemophilia.” Accessed 5 March 2012. Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hemophilia/ 2 World Federation of Hemophilia. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Accessed 28 June 2012. Available at http://www.wfh.org/en/page.aspx?pid=637 3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Summary Report of UDC Activity, National Patient Demographics (Hemophilia).” Accessed 11 July 2012. Available at https://www2a.cdc.gov/ncbddd/htcweb/UDC_Report/UDC_Report.asp 4 National Hemophilia Foundation. “History of Bleeding Disorders.” Accessed 5 August 2012. Available at http://www.hemophilia.org/NHFWeb/MainPgs/MainNHF.aspx?menuid=178&contentid=6 5Periodic Safety Update Report #19. Worldwide Marketing Authorization Status.

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http://www.pasconews.com/documentary-celebrating-important-anniversary-raises-awareness-for-hemophilia-b.html

2013-06-18T23:32:15Z

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en

Media contact: Mark Sulzbach 651-296-7768 Technical contact: David Thornton 651-296-7265 St. Paul, Minn. -- How good is the air quality in Minnesota? The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has just released two reports that help answer complex questions about the state's air quality. The "Air Quality Index (AQI) Summary for 2004" provides an overview of data collected during the past year. The 2005 report to the legislature titled, "Air Quality in Minnesota - Progress and Priorities," offers a comprehensive look at state air pollution trends and work being done to reduce emissions. The reports are timely. Minnesota's recent air alert beginning on January 29th, lasted six days and was the most severe alert since the MPCA began monitoring fine particle pollution in 1999. AQI levels were above 150 (unhealthy for all groups) for fine particles on three days. Fine particles from the combustion of fossil fuels have emerged as a major health concern. They are associated with increased hospitalizations and deaths due to respiratory and heart disease and can worsen the symptoms of asthma. Ozone (smog) is the other pollutant that activates air alerts. It is linked to respiratory problems including asthma attacks. Still, the overall air quality in Minnesota is within federal standards and the vast majority of the time the AQI is in the good to moderate range. The legislative report shows that total state emissions of key pollutants have decreased 15 percent since 1985, despite a population increase of 21 percent that has spawned even greater surges in energy use and vehicle fuel consumption. The question of clean air becomes complex because many pollutants and factors are part of the evaluation. Weather is a significant factor in air quality. Hotter weather tends to bring more ozone (smog) alerts but the cool summer of 2004 produced few alerts due to high ozone levels. Air pollution also knows no boundaries, so wind often plays a big role. It can disperse pollution or bring bad air into Minnesota from as far away as Missouri or Texas. When additional pollution blows into Minnesota followed by a temperature inversion and low winds, bad air can be trapped as if under a blanket across much of the state. So even if the overall average emissions for key pollutants is trending lower in Minnesota and the state meets all federal air quality standards, there can still be a number of days when the AQI reaches 100 or higher and becomes unhealthy. These alerts show that Minnesota must continue its efforts to find cost-effective ways to reduce emissions that contribute to ozone and fine particle formation. On the plus side, a variety of local projects mentioned in the MPCA's legislative report will help clear the air. The Metropolitan Emissions Reduction Project will reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions from three power plants by 95 percent. Other efforts include volunteer emission reduction efforts by a coalition of private, public and non-profits organizations called Clean Air Minnesota, vapor controls on fuel tanks for all Twin Cities area gas stations, and the Metropolitan Council's purchase and use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel in 400 transit buses. All show good promise to improve air quality in the Twin Cities. To help assess the air in Minnesota, the MPCA has been expanding its network of air monitors. Currently, the Twin Cities, Duluth, Brainerd, Rochester and St. Cloud have both ozone and fine particulate monitors. This spring the MPCA will add new ozone and fine particle monitors in Marshall and Detroit Lakes. Ely will also gain an ozone monitor this spring. Each monitor adds a snapshot of the air quality in that region and gives a more complete picture of the state's air quality. The legislative report also describes federal programs to reduce emissions from power plants, motor vehicles, heavy-duty diesel trucks and off-road diesel vehicles that are phasing in and will reduce pollution in Minnesota and in states whose air pollution can blow into Minnesota. The MPCA's AQI summary is available at/publications/reports/aqi-summary2004.pdf The air quality legislative report is at/publications/reports/lr-airqualityreport-2005.html

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http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/about-mpca/mpca-news/current-news-releases/news-release-archive-2005/two-mpca-reports-paint-picture-of-state-air-quality.html

2013-06-18T23:05:43Z

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en

Photo by Mateo Villalba Andrade |Difficulty:||Basic Snow/Ice Climb| |Best months for climbing:||Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Dec| |Most recent eruption:||1904| |Year first climbed:||1872| |First successful climber(s):||Dr. Wilhelm Reiss, A.M. Escobar| |Nearest major airport:||Quito, Ecuador| |Convenient Center:||Quito, Ecuador| Cotopaxi is the second highest mountain in Ecuador. For years Cotopaxi was the world's highest active volcano, however Chile's Tupungato (21,489 ft.) is a higher mountain, and awakened from its dormancy with an eruption in 1986. Cotopaxi is a symmetrical cone rising over 10,000 feet above the surrounding plateau. Although it is located fewer than fifty miles from the equator, the high precipitation of the region maintains a perpetual snow cap on the summit. The summit crater frequently releases steam, and eruptions have been well documented for several centuries. The earliest historical eruptions were in 1532 and 1533, and the mountain has erupted frequently since. The most violent eruptions were in 1742, 1743, 1744, 1746, 1768, 1803, and 1877. The eruption of 1744 was reportedly heard as distant as 500 miles away. The eruption of 1877 reportedly caused complete darkness at 8 am. in Quito, Ecuador's capital city. More recent but relatively minor eruptions have occurred throughout the twentieth century. The capital city of Quito is surrounded by towering volcanos, two of the highest being Cotopaxi (35 miles south) and Cayambe (40 miles northeast). Cotopaxi's proximity to the city, and its proximity to the Pan-American Highway, which runs twelve miles east of the mountain, makes this one of the most accessible high mountains in the Andes.

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http://www.peakware.com/peaks.html?pk=56&view=overview

2013-06-18T23:37:35Z

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en

Calcium and phosphorous are essential minerals in the body. The daily requirements vary depending upon the age and status of the dog or cat. Phosphorous and calcium deficiency and excess can occur and the ratio of calcium to phosphorous (Ca:P) is important. Of all the minerals, calcium is required in the greatest amount. Calcium is essential in the body for many functions including bone formation, blood coagulation, muscle contraction, and nerve impulse transmission. The calcium content of food ingredients varies widely. Bones, dairy products, and leguminous plants contain large amounts of calcium, whereas most cereal grains, meat, and organ tissues contain small amounts. Phosphorous is the other dietary mineral required in a relatively high amount in the diet. Phosphorous is required at levels slightly less than calcium. Meat or organ meats are high in phosphorous but relatively low in calcium. Phosphorous deficiency is a significant problem in herbivores and is probably the most common mineral nutrition deficiency present in animals worldwide. However, phosphorous deficiency occurs very infrequently in dogs and cats. In fact, excessive dietary phosphorous which accelerates the progression of renal failure is much more common. Many foods that are low in calcium are high in phosphorous, and in addition, many foods that are high in calcium are equally high in phosphorous. Therefore, providing the correct calcium to phosphorous ratio in the diet can be difficult unless the proper minerals are added. It is very important that calcium and phosphorous be fed at the correct ratio of around 1.2 parts of calcium for each 1 part of phosphorous (1.2:1). Calcium and phosphorous requirements of dogs and cats Calcium deficiency was once a more common disease. It resulted primarily from animals fed diets high in meat and organ meats, which are high in phosphorous and low in calcium. If these animals were not adequately supplemented with calcium they would develop skeletal abnormalities often referred to as rickets. The bone could become soft or very thin and brittle. Fortunately, one of the benefits of commercially prepared and balanced diets, is that except for low calcium levels during pregnancy and lactation, (eclampsia) calcium deficiency rarely occurs any more and switching to a balanced diet can usually correct this problem. Feeding adequate calcium without the correct amount of phosphorous can prevent adequate uptake and utilization of the calcium, thus the calcium:phosphorous ratio is very important. Feeding high calcium diets with excess calcium is often blamed for contributing to bone problems in young, rapidly growing dogs. There does appear to be a link between the incidence of hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and hip dysplasia, and the overfeeding of calcium. In recent studies, researchers fed dogs calcium at a much higher than recommended amount, and compared the incidence of disease in dogs that were fed normal or less than normal calcium levels. As would be expected, the animals that were overfed calcium showed increased incidence of skeletal problems including hip dysplasia. Many people have embraced these studies and interpreted them to imply that by feeding a puppy food slightly lower in the recommended amounts of calcium and phosphorous to large breed puppies, the puppies will have a decreased incidence of hip dysplasia. However, there are no studies that show that these low calcium foods result in less hip dysplasia in large breed dogs than a normal well-balanced puppy food. While feeding a special formula large breed puppy food to your puppy is not bad, there are no concrete studies that show it is better than a balanced puppy food formulated for all puppies. Calcium and phosphorous work together in the body to maintain the growth and structure of the skeletal system. Deficiencies or excesses of both can create skeletal problems especially in young puppies. It is very important that the calcium and phosphorous be fed in the correct ratio. Problems with calcium and phosphorous rarely occur anymore due to the easily available commercial pet foods that are properly balanced. When problems arise, it is when owners feed a homemade diet or over-supplement, especially with young, rapidly growing puppies. There are no studies that show that the new large breed puppy foods reduce the incidence of skeletal problems, but they appear to provide adequate nutrition, and over time, they may be shown to be beneficial.

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http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659+1662&aid=652

2013-06-18T23:10:37Z

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en

Jeannette Y. Wick, RPh, MBA, FASCP Extrasophageal symptoms of acid reflux can confound diagnosis as they are very different from those that occur in and around the esophagus. Acid reflux typically causes heartburn and regurgitation, symptoms that occur in and around the esophagus. Some patients, however, develop extraesophageal symptoms mediated by either direct (aspiration) or indirect (vagally-mediated) mechanisms. Symptoms for these patients can be far different from the typical presentation and often confound diagnosis. A review published online on March 22, 2012, in Swiss Medical Weekly concisely summarizes the extraesophageal manifestations of acid reflux, reminding clinicians that common diagnostic tests are less useful when dealing with these syndromes. The review’s authors describe 4 extraesophageal manifestations as they present in patients who have acid reflux: chronic cough, laryngitis, asthma, and non-cardiac chest pain. The most frequent causes of chronic cough in non-smoking patients are post-nasal drip, asthma, and acid reflux. These patients frequently have atypical presentations; their cough may occur during the day, while talking or when in an upright position—and with no endoscopic findings. Acid reflux also causes laryngitis that resembles that caused by post-nasal drip and exposure to allergens. Laryngeal erythema and swelling accompanied by hoarseness, a sore or burning throat, frequent throat clearing, a “lump in the throat” feeling, cough, spasm, or post-nasal drip is often induced by acid reflux. Asthma and acid reflux can each induce the other. Acid reflux tends to cause asthma either by aspiration or vagally-mediated mechanisms. Asthma can cause acid reflux by several mechanisms, including by medication-induced lowered esophageal sphincter pressure. Theophylline, steroids, and beta-agonists have all been implicated. When non-cardiac chest pain is present, acid reflux is always a likely cause. Cardiac and esophageal chest pain are often burning, pressure-like, substernal, or exercise-induced or exacerbated. Acid reflux is the most likely cause if cardiac origins have been ruled out and chest pain occurs after meals, lasts for hours, is retrosternal without radiation, is diminished after antacids, or disturbs the patient’s sleep. Acid reflux patients often have no esophageal scarring, making endoscopy less useful. The authors report that prescribing empiric therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) after ruling out other possible causes of these manifestations can help diagnose and treat acid reflux–related symptoms. Additionally, they report that empiric therapy with PPIs is less costly than traditional diagnostics, including ambulatory pH or impedance monitoring and esophageal motility testing, and can save $454 per patient under appropriate conditions. Ms. Wick is a visiting professor at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and a freelance writer from Virginia.

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http://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/Extraesophageal-Manifestation-of-Acid-Reflux

2013-06-18T23:19:59Z

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en

While education is a cornerstone of any clinical practice, sales teams often fall short of informing doctors and other healthcare professionals how to successfully integrate new therapies into patient care. As early as the 1960s, Upjohn began to use other field-based medical personnel to fill in the gaps. Historically, these programs have been characterized by small groups of technically oriented sales reps, and have leveraged relationships with thought leaders, ultimately influencing prescribing. As a result, many physicians see these field-based medical personnel as an extension of the sales force. The pharma industry still employs medical experts to call on professionals. Today, however, the background and medical expertise of these medical liaisons is very different from the original concept. A recent survey found that 66 percent of pharma companies require medical liaisons to hold an MD, PhD, or Pharm.D degree. With that knowledge base, field-based medical support programs can play a more powerful role in bridging the education gap between drug information and appropriate clinical use. We found this to be particularly true in diabetes, where many practices fail to incorporate new, effective treatments into patient In 1917, Elliott Joslin, the first US diabetes physician-specialist, noted that, "A well trained nurse was of more value than the patient's doctors." Joslin recognized that for patients with diabetes to make the behavioral changes to manage their condition, they needed information from healthcare professionals who were specially trained to teach them. In the early 1980s, following NIH funding for diabetes research and training centers, and the adoption of national standards for diabetes education, a professional subspecialty emerged. The goal of these diabetes educators was to inform patients about the disease process, train them in self-care, and to support patients in lifestyle modifications and behavioral changes. Diabetes educators may be nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, or other health professionals, and very often function within a larger, multidisciplinary team. The educator assesses patient needs, communicates treatment recommendations to prescribers, and serves as an advocate for patients. They may also adjust medication and carry out other disease management activities, depending on licensure guidelines and other clinical practice protocols. Patients that receive this disease education have lower costs of care, fewer emergency room visits, and an improved quality of life. According to a 2002 study published in Diabetes Care, for every 23.6 hours of contact with a diabetes educator, A1C (hemoglobin A1C, a measure of glucose control over the preceding 2–3 months) decreased 1 percent, which corresponds to a decrease in average blood glucose of 35 mg/dl. DCLs and the Translation Gap The pharma industry should appreciate the influence of diabetes educators when it comes to the uptake of novel therapeutics. They are a particularly important target to help translate research findings regarding novel therapies into safe and effective clinical care practices. To help in the translation and support the launch of an injectable adjunct therapy to insulin for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Amylin created its Diabetes Clinical Liaison (DCL) program in 2001. The initial team was comprised of seven registered nurses or dietitians, all of whom were Certified Diabetes Educators. (The team was later expanded to 15 field members.) With an average of 15 years of diabetes-specific experience as well as additional expertise in clinical management, clinical research, and education, these DCLs were able to discuss the science, clinical impact, and use of the drug with healthcare Amylin deployed DCLs to complement the medical science liaison team, with whom they worked in tandem. While MSLs focused on educating and cultivating KOL advocacy among physicians, DCLs focused on providing scientific and medical education to members of multidisciplinary diabetes care teams, with particular focus on diabetes educators and diabetes center staff. The primary objectives of DCLs were to ensure that these healthcare professionals gained clinical understanding of the therapy and understood how to integrate it into patients' regimens. They educated clinicians about when and how to use the drug, how to interpret therapeutic results, and what information to give patients—which promoted a better understanding of the drug and skills patients needed to safely employ this unique therapeutic. DCLs also supported KOL efforts among diabetes educators, and provided local, broad-based education to the clinical care community.

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http://www.pharmexec.com/pharmexec/Marketing/Spanning-the-Treatment-Gap/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/533837?contextCategoryId=43743

2013-06-18T23:25:19Z

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en

Q114 - The Qur'an "And certainly We have made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, but is there anyone who will mind?" Qur'an 54:17 The Qur'an may be seen as a metaphor of the journey of the human being over time, beginning with the foundation of Suratul Fatiha (01) and aspiring to reach the goal of Suratul Ikhlas (112); Unity of belief. After that the two suratayn of Suratul Falaq (113) and Suratun Naas (114) are known as Maudhatayn to prevent diversion. In order to understand the Qur'an better, we need to know the basic information. Q114 is a modular study of the Qur'an which aims to promote an understanding of the structure of the Qur'an, its content and importance in order to make it front and centre of daily existence. Amongst the Q114 modules are:

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http://www.qfatima.com/index.cfm?content=4&Menu=4

2013-06-18T23:06:11Z

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en

Madison County is located in the center of the state, and north of Jackson, the state capital. The county is sometimes called the Land Between Two Rivers, because of it's boundaries of the Pearl River on the east, and the Big Black River on the west. Created from Yazoo County, on 29 Jan 1828, Madison was at one time quite large, comprising an area of over 4,000 square miles. Eventually, portions were lost to other counties, bringing Madison, in 1859, to it's present-day size of 720 square miles. The first County Seat, after the Choctaw session, was Beatties Bluff. Later, Canton was selected, and remains the current County Seat. The population of Madison County grew considerably during the early to middle 1800's, after the Choctaw Treaty greatly lessened the threat from Indians. Many of the migrants, who eventually settled in Madison County, were South Carolinians, and most descendents of Madison County settlers can trace their ancestry back to South Carolina. Even today, Madison County bears earmarks of the South Carolina influence, in the names of some of it's towns, such as Camden Our parallel Madison County Archives site contains files that can be searched for genealogical records in your research. The records have been generously contributed by people like yourself. We are always looking for new record contributions to add to the value of contact me if you have any information to contribute to the Madison County Archives. The USGenWeb Project is a national volunteer effort to provide a WWW page for genealogical data for every county in the United States. Begun in March 1996 in Kentucky, the project is growing daily, and has already provided many genealogists with clues to finding their ancestors. Volunteers coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the individual county web pages. This Madison County page is part of the Mississippi GenWeb Project, thus part of the My name is Ann Allen Geoghegan. I am the volunteer County Coordinator for Madison County. I descend from the families of Allen and Braxton, as well as ties to Herrod, Turnage, Carson, Martin, and other allied families of Madison County from about 1830 to the late 1900's. The information found on this website is not limited to my own family lines. You may visit my other sites by going here: Annie's Place I would like to thank Sue Skay Abruscato, her husband, Tony Abruscato and her sister-in-law, Mary Abruscato Hara for all the hard work they put into this site over the years. They worked tirelessly for many hours on this project to make it what it is today. If credit is due, the credit is all theirs. I am only the grateful recipient and new caretaker. Ann Allen Geoghegan aka Assistant State Coordinators

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http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~msmadiso/

2013-06-18T23:26:25Z

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en

If you've ever bitten into a raw habanero, eaten a dish laced with Scotch Bonnets or skinned a basket of roasted New Mexico green chilies, you're familiar with a roster of physiological effects. These can include a burning mouth, inflamed hands, a runny nose, sweating, heartburn and, if you're really unlucky, an upset stomach. Why do chilies cause these symptoms? With the help of Paul Bosland, director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and Maged Rizk, M.D., gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic, here's an explanation. All the telltale symptoms are attributable to one molecule found in hot peppers called capsaicin. When you eat chilies or prepare them with your bare hands, cap-saicin binds to pain receptors in the nose, mouth and skin called TRPV1 receptors. TRPV1 receptors are usually activated by heat, but the capsaicin tricks them into reacting as though they're in the presence of something hot even though there's no actual rise in temperature. Once the TRPV1 receptors are activated by the capsaicin, the duplicitous "heat" stimulus is transmitted to the brain through a series of electrical impulses, and we feel a painful burning sensation. The body then reacts to cool itself down hence the sweating that often accompanies a spicy meal. Redness on your hands and face is another sign of your body attempting to cool off. (Capillaries below the skin dilate in response to the "heat," and blood rushes through them to move heat to the surface of your body, where it can more easily radiate away.) In addition to trying to cool itself down, your body does its best to expel the heat-causing element. Your mucous glands step up production to flush out the offensive substance, leading to a runny nose. Your mouth also produces more saliva to clear capsaicin out of your mouth by making you swallow more frequently. Similarly, if you touch your eyes after preparing chilies, your tear ducts go into overdrive. As chili-infused food makes its way down your throat, you may experience sensations such as heartburn. Usually, it's not a genuine episode of heartburn (which is typically caused by acid reflux), but the capsaicin binding to the TRPV1 receptors in the esophagus, which prompts a comparable visceral burning sensation. Less frequently, though, capsaicin can cause the lower esophageal sphincter, a muscular valve that opens and closes to allow food into the stomach, to stay open longer than usual. This allows acid to leak upward, causing actual heartburn. When capsaicin reaches the small intestine, pain receptors lining the intestinal walls can trigger the release of the neurotransmitter that stimulates strong rhythmic contractions in the gut which manifest themselves as painful cramps. This is another defense mechanism to clear out the "heat-causing" contents in the intestine by moving them as quickly as possible toward the colon. Glands along the gut wall also may secrete more fluids, which can sometimes lead to the most unpleasant outcome of chili consumption: diarrhea. How to mitigate the effects of touching and eating chilies? Capsaicin isn't water soluble, so washing your hands with water or chugging a glass of it will do little to ease chili-induced burn. Instead, drink cold milk or eat a spoonful of yogurt or sour cream. Dairy contains casein, a protein that pushes capsaicin away from pain receptors and binds to them in its place, bringing almost immediate relief. Additionally, capsaicin is fat-soluble, so if it's your hands that are burning, you can try soaking them in oil to dissolve the compound. You can also scrub your hands thoroughly with detergent, which will cut through and wash away the capsaicin.

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http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/08/4968097/peppers-a-hot-item-in-healthy.html?mi_rss=Living%20Here

2013-06-18T23:33:24Z

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Aging changes in vital signs Vital signs include body temperature, heart rate (pulse), breathing rate, and blood pressure. As you age, your vital signs may or may not change. This depends on how healthy you are. Some medical problems can cause changes in one or more vital signs. Checking your vital signs helps your health care provider monitor your health and any medical problems you may have. Normal body temperature does not change much with aging. But as you get older, it becomes harder for the body to control its temperature. Decrease in the amount of subcutaneous fat below the skin makes it harder to stay warm. You may need to wear layers of clothing to feel warm. Aging decreases your ability to sweat. You may have difficulty telling when you are becoming overheated. This puts you at high risk of overheating (hyperthermia or heat stroke). You can also be at risk of dangerous drops in body temperature (hypothermia). Fever is an important sign of illness in older persons. Fever is often the only symptom for several days of an illness. Any fever that is not explained by a known illness should be checked by a health care provider. During an infection, the body of an older person may not be able to produce a higher temperature. For this reason, it is important to check other vital signs as well as any symptoms and signs of infection. Heart Rate and Breathing Rate As you grow older, your pulse rate is about the same as before. But when exercising, it may take longer for your pulse to increase and longer to slow down afterward. Your highest heart rate with exercise is also lower than before. Breathing rate usually does not change with age. But lung function decreases slightly. Healthy older persons can usually breathe without effort. Older people may become dizzy when standing up too quickly. This is due to a sudden drop in blood pressure. This kind of drop in blood pressure upon standing is called orthostatic hypotension. Risk of having high blood pressure (hypertension) increases as you get older. Other heart-related problems common in older adults include: Effects of Medicines on Vital Signs Medicines that are used to treat health problems in older persons can affect the vital signs. For example, the medicine digitalis used for heart failure and blood pressure medicines called beta blockers may cause the pulse to slow. Diuretics (water pills) can cause low blood pressure, especially when changing body position too quickly. As You Grow Older, You Will Have Other Changes, Including: Duthie ER. History and physical examination. In: Duthie EH, Katz PR, Malone ML, eds. Practice of Geriatrics. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby; 2007:chap 1. Minaker KL. Common clinical sequelae of aging. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman’s Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 24. David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc., Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, David R. Eltz, Stephanie Slon, and Nissi Wang. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

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Researchers have found an isolated community on the coast of Turkey who speak a dialect of Greek very close to ancient Greek. Romeyka, a variety of Pontic Greek, has grammar and vocabulary that are otherwise only found in ancient forms of the language, but it has no alphabet. The community of 5,000 is extremely insular, with unique customs and music, and rarely intermarries with outsiders. Researchers do not know how the community got there or came to speak Romeyka. They may be the descendants of ancient colonists, or they may have been an indigenous tribe forced to learn the language.

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How to Teach More in Less Time - Grades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5, 6–8 Looking for a way to teach more core content each day? Take a tip from seasoned educators. Find as many ways as you can to integrate instruction by connecting one subject area to another. It's creative, meaningful, fun, and saves valuable teaching and learning time. The first year I did any full-time integrated instruction, my school went on double sessions from August to early March. I remember looking at my long-range plan for the year, wondering how I was going to teach everything that was required in a much shorter day. The answer was integrating curriculum. I realized that if I taught science during reading, social studies during writing, or health during math, I just might be able to get through all of the curriculum by the end of the year. The results were so exciting that I continued to integrate the subject areas even when my school stopped double sessions. I found that I enjoyed teaching language and math through filters of science, social studies, and health more than separating the disciplines. I noticed, too, that my students were highly motivated and, in general, seemed to be able to remember their lessons more readily. Integrated instruction has many faces: - A unit is a group of activities based on a common topic, such as weather or pets. - A theme is a grouping of activities based on a common concept, such as change or exploration. The Brainstorming Process I enjoyed designing integrated instruction with a partner. The ideas flowed freely, and the end product was much more instructionally solid than when I planned alone. Whichever way you go, here are the questions you should think through when trying to develop themes, topics, and concepts: - What science, social studies, or health topics are of interest to me and my students? - Which of these topics can be related to my state or district curriculum? - What is the big idea (concept) behind the topic I want to integrate? - What do I know about the topic I want to integrate? - What do the students already know or think they know about the topic? - What do I want the students to know and understand about the topic? - What do I want the students to be able to do by the end of the theme? - What resources are available for teaching about the topic? - Which skills can be drawn out of the available materials and which skills require additional resources? - What activities and experiences are appropriate for teaching the skills and exploring the concept? - In what order will I present the content and activities? - How will I help students collect and organize their work? - How will I assess the students' work? - How will I culminate the unit? If integrated instruction is new to you, you may want to start by developing an integrated day — one day that employs several subject areas to develop a single topic. My first integrated instructional days were one-day themes based on particular holidays. For these special days, I set aside my regular plans and substituted integrated activities. For instance, on Columbus Day, my first graders received reading, writing, math, science, and social studies instructions through the following combination of activities: - listening to the story of Columbus - estimating, then measuring the size of his ships - building a model of the ships - writing a short story about sailing with Columbus - trying out a surveyor's tools - building a class compass with a needle, a piece of Styrofoam, and a container of water - playing Weathervane, a game in which students practice jumping around in place to face each of the cardinal directions If you would like to test the waters by creating an integrated day, choose your topic. Once you have determined the day(s) you plan to integrate, search through your curriculum for objectives that can become a part of your day. Conscientiously teach those skills through the topic and remember to review and reinforce them in other contexts throughout the year to ensure retention and understanding. |Click the image above to see the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (PDF) web example.| You may also choose to develop an integrated unit around a piece of literature. A literature theme can be united by a concept, too, if you are ready for the next step. One of the first literature themes I created was based upon Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. I read the book and was immediately charmed by its humorous and fanciful content. Plus, the book could be connected to all content areas: literature, reading, math, language, science, health, social studies, art, music, and physical education. You can use this Teaching Guide to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Month-Long Themes and Concepts As you become more comfortable with integrated instruction, you may create a theme that will last a month or so. At this point, the theme must be grounded in a concept. Month-long themes based on a topic rather than a concept and rationale can become tiresome for students and teachers. In addition, they often fail to result in deep understanding of anything meaningful because they may focus on learning facts related to the topic rather than creating connections to be carried over into life. This article was adapted from The New Teacher's Complete Sourcebook Grades K–4 by Bonnie P. Murray, © 2002, published by Scholastic. This book is available in the Scholastic Teacher Store.

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http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/how-teach-more-less-time

2013-06-18T23:32:41Z

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en

July 30, 1998 AIKEN, S.C. -- On July 22 an agreement between the United States and the government of Ukraine was signed establishing a permanent international radioecology laboratory in the city of Chernobyl near the site of the 1986 nuclear accident. The object of the five-year agreement is to establish the scope of cooperation between the two governments in the conduct of field oriented research and state-of-the-art analysis on a year-round basis at a laboratory to be called the International Radioecology Laboratory (IRL) in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine. The agreement was signed during the summit meeting between U.S.-Ukraine Binational Commission headed by Vice President Gore and Ukrainian President Kuchma. The agreement calls for cooperation between the two countries -- laboratories and contractors through exchanges of scientific and technical information; exchanges of scientists and technical experts; the conduct of joint scientific research and the widest possible dissemination of research results. The joint project between Ukrainian and U.S. scientists is an outgrowth of research directed by Dr. Ron Chesser, a senior research scientist and genetics professor at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) in Aiken. SREL works under a cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy on the Savannah River Site. Chesser has studied the effects of the Chernobyl accident on wildlife since 1992. Chesser says, "The unfortunate accident at Chernobyl has created one of the world's most unique and vital experimental regions. We have involved nationally and internationally renowned scientists to evaluate the environmental and genetic impacts of the chernobyl accident. Researchers from the University of Georgia, Texas Tech University, Oklahoma State University, Illinois State Museum, Texas A&M, and Colorado State as well as Ukraine and Russia have been actively involved in our research programs there. This new laboratory will greatly consolidate our efforts and enable effective field and laboratory experiments to be conducted. "Hopefully, our work can dispel many myths associated with life in radioactive environments. When most people think of Chernobyl, they envision a nuclear desert with two headed frogs, giant worms, and creatures like Godzilla wandering about. We see none of that. There are no monsters. The Chernobyl zone is actually a very beautiful place with thriving wildlife communities. Without a Geiger-counter, you wouldn't know you were in a highly contaminated place. Thus far, our genetic studies have shown very few long-lasting impacts due to the high radiation. Most of the effects, however, are very subtle and require precise and intensive methods to uncover. While some effects are obvious, such as large tracts of dead pine trees, and over one hundred abandoned villages and towns, the legacy of environmental radiation, such as that released by Chernobyl, is definitely not a nuclear desert." The new International Radioecology Laboratory will consist of laboratories, analytical equipment, offices, and lodging for visiting scientists. The Ukrainian government is providing the buildings and paying for the renovation and utilities for the facility. The U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Operations Office, is providing the necessary equipment for the lab, its transport to Ukraine and much of the expertise to operate the lab throughout the year. Chesser says establishing laboratory facilities in Chernobyl is important to the continued success of the work now underway. "A permanent lab has been a dream of mine since 1993 when the idea was first raised," he said. "Our work there has suffered from not having a permanent facility from which to base our operations," he says. He points out that without laboratory equipment, a place to stay, or ready access to field sites, the work has been made more difficult. Chesser commends the Department of Energy for being proactive in learning as much as possible about radiation and its effects on the environment and humans. He said studies conducted at the lab are designed to have high relevance to the Department of Energy and to Ukraine. Some people think this is just their problem, Chesser says of the accident in the former Soviet Union, but, in fact, it is a global problem, whether we like it or not. Chesser notes that the radiation from the explosion at the nuclear reactor was dispersed all over the world and affected people in many European countries as well as in the former Soviet Union. "This lab is so exciting...we know so little about the chronic effects of high amounts of radiation," says Chesser. "At Chernobyl we can study the entire range of radiation doses, from the very low to the extraordinarily high, and learn how organisms may adapt to such challenges." Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above. Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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2013-06-18T23:39:18Z

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en

Apr. 2, 2001 HOUSTON--(March 29, 2001) -- An enzyme discovered by Baylor College of Medicine researchers is critical to the metabolic pathway that governs the body's ability to burn fat and could open a door into new ways to reduce obesity, diabetes and other fat-related human diseases. In an article in the March 30 issue of the journal Science, Dr. Salih Wakil described laboratory mice, whose genes were manipulated to make them deficient in the enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2, or ACC2, as being able to eat as much as 40 percent more than normal mice and weigh 10 to 15 percent less. ACC1 and ACC2 are involved in producing malonyl-CoA, which is key to the formation of fatty acids and to fat burning. Wakil, chairman of Baylor's department of biochemistry and molecular biology, and his colleagues found that there are two pools of malonyl-CoA in the cell. The one in which ACC1 is important is critical to the formation of the long carbon chain component of fatty acids. The other pool associated with ACC2 regulates the transfer of fatty acids to the mitochondria, the cell's powerhouse. Without AAC2, fat burns continuously in the mitochondria. ACC2 was identified in Wakil's laboratory in 1989 where researchers sequenced its DNA and located it on the chromosome. To determine the different effects of ACC1 and ACC2, Wakil and his colleagues created two forms of "knock-out" mice. The mice that lacked ACC1 died as embryos, demonstrating the value of fat in development. "However, the mice genetically engineered to lack ACC2 seem very happy, live and breed well," Wakil said. The difference was that they ate more, weighed less and accumulated less fat than the normal animals. Studies demonstrated that the ACC2-deficient mice had nearly one-half the fat of the normal mice. The fatty livers of normal mice looked pale compared to the bright red, virtually fat-free livers of the genetically engineered animals. In one study, the researchers gave the ACC2-deficient mice insulin, which is produced in response to eating carbohydrates. In a normal system, insulin stimulates production of an enzyme that activates ACC1 and ACC2, increasing the production of fatty acids and inhibiting the burning of fat. However, in the ACC2-deficient mouse, "fat oxidation continues in the presence of insulin," Wakil said. "This enzyme ACC2 could be a target for generating drugs that could regulate the burning of fat," Wakil said. "It could be important in the regulation of obesity, treatment of diabetes and eventually even the utilization and accumulation of fat, which could affect diseases such as atherosclerosis." Co-authors were Drs. Lutfi Abu-Elheiga and K.A.H. Abo-Hashema in collaboration with Martin M. Matzuk. Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above. Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/03/010330071754.htm

2013-06-18T23:19:51Z

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Apr. 7, 2005 A new method for navigation at sea, independent of GPS, is being put forward in a dissertation from Linköping University. Today merchant marine, military, and recreational boat traffic all rely on the global satellite system GPS to determine their position at sea. But sometimes information from the system is incorrect. Poor visibility or lax attention can then spell disaster. GPS can be jammed, either unintentionally or intentionally. Signals from the satellites can be interfered with by ice build-up on the vessel's antennas, by other communication equipment, or by physical obstacles. Submarines cannot usually use the system. Doctoral student Rickard Karlsson at the Center for Control and Communication describes in his thesis how modern, simulation-based methods of treating signals can be used to monitor and, if necessary, to take over the GPS function on a vessel. This technology, unique in the world, requires no external infrastructure and is not susceptible to interference. Instead, the vessel's own radar is used to measure the distance to surrounding shores, and this data is then compared with a digital sea chart. In a submarine, information from sonar equipment is compared with a digital depth chart. In combination with data about the movement of the vessel, the correct position can be calculated. The method is based on a mathematical algorithm, a so-called particle filter, which is installed as a program in the vessel's computer system. There is no need for any further hardware to be installed beyond what is already on board. Preliminary trials show that the method works just as well as GPS in navigating an archipelago. The dissertation Particle Filtering for Positioning and Tracking Applications deals with several other uses of the same principle: positioning industrial robots, tracking vehicles from another vehicle to avoid collisions, and tracking boats and ships from an airplane. Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Swedish Research Council. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above. Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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2013-06-18T23:19:13Z

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en

This illustration shows what a superflare might look like if seen from a planet orbiting a nearby sunlike star. The black regions represent starspots much bigger than those that are normally seen on the sun; the white blob at lower right depicts a superflare. Credit: H. Maehara/Kyoto Univ. Even if science can’t make life longer, perhaps a pill can make a long life better The gene patenting decision from a plaintiff’s point of view With everyday materials, two research teams conceal ordinary objects In mating display, male birds match moves to songs Coverage of the 2013 American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting The Year in Science 2012 Three-part series on the scientific struggle to explain the conscious self Tables of contents, columns and FAQs on SN Prime for iPad

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2013-06-18T23:06:27Z

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en

- Get Involved May 28, 2010 - December 5, 2010 Museum: American History Museum Location: Albert Small Documents Gallery, 2nd Floor, East Wing This exhibition features the oldest surviving Anglo-American star map. Hand-drawn in 1780 by Simeon De Witt (1756-1834), a surveyor for George Washington and the Continental army, the map shows the stars visible from De Witt's post in New Jersey. Drawing such a map, as De Witt himself later said, fostered an appreciation of "the ever shifting scenery of the skies and all the gorgeous drapery of heaven." During the Revolutionary War, when cut off from trade with Europe, colonists had to make their own maps; De Witt assisted military geographer and surveyor general Robert Erskine in drawing the maps needed by George Washington. Also on view are De Witt's drawing instruments and examples of European star maps and astrolabes.

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2013-06-18T23:17:16Z

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Time Line of the Franks Gauls defeat the early RomanEmpire and sack Rome. Vercingetorix defeats Julius Caesar Julius Caesar and the Romans defeat the Gauls. Franks were originally a confederation of Germanic tribes east of the Rhine Began to raid Roman territory Germanic tribes migrate all over western Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire Frankish tribe got permission by the emperor Julian to settle on Roman territory between the rivers Schelde and Meuse as foederati (ally) Roman coalition including the Gauls defeats Attilia the Hun |Clovis born to King Childric and Thuringian queen Basina| |481 AD||Clovis chosen king of Franks at age 16. Clovis is founder of the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings |486 AD||Defeats the Roman legions under Syagrius at Soissons. Ends Roman domination over Gaul. |493 AD||Marries Clotilda, niece of King of Burgandy| |Brought all Franks under one rule.| |Clovis and 3000 Frankish soldiers accept Catholic religion| |496 AD||Clovis defeats Alemanni. Frank border secured to Rhine Beginning of Middle Ages. |500 AD||Attacks Burgundians at Dijon| |507 AD||Attacks Visigoths under Alaric at Vouille'| |508 AD||Ostrogoths defeat the Franks.| |511 AD||Clovis extends rule to the areas France and Western Germany |531 AD||Franks defeat Thuringans.| |533 AD||Franks defeat Burgandians. Burgandy absorbed by Franks. |628 AD||Frankisk king Dagobert defeats heathen forces of Saxons and City of Utrecht falls to Franks. Dagobert builds a church and begins converting Frisians. |Under first Frisian King Eadgils Franks and Frisians live in peace.| |638-751 AD||"Do Nothings"| |679 AD-719 AD||King Redbad, the heathen king, is the greatest folk hero of the Attacked the Franks, conquered Utrecht, destroys the church. Christianity forcefully removed from Frisian |689 AD||Pepin II leads Franks against Frisians. |690-692 Ad||Pepin II takes Utrecht.| |711 AD||Muslims (Sacarens) conqured Spain.| |714 AD||Pepin II dies.| |716 AD||King Redbad defeats Franks and Charles Martel at Cologne. Wins bach Frisian Empire. |721 AD||Franks and Aquitanians defeat Arabs.| CHARLES THE HAMMER |732 AD||Charles "Hammer" Martel Defeates Muslims (Saracens) at Battle of Tours. Enables Christianity to survive in western Europe. |734 AD||Charles sends forces toFriesland. Defeats King Poppa, son of Redbad, |Pepin, Charles son, becomes first Frankish king annointed by Pope| |Pepin "The Short" defeats Lombards.| |Pepin gives Lombard land to Pope.| |768 AD||Pepin died.| |Pepin's sons, Carolman and Charles, share kingdom| |CHARLEMAGNE "Charles the Great"| |Charles "The Great", Charlemagne, Pepin's other son becomes king.| |773 AD||Charles defeats Lombards. Gives land to church.| |782 AD||He called in foreign scholars to restore the schools of France| |785 AD||Charles attacks and subdues the Saxons in what is now northern Germany.| |789 AD||Drives back advancing Slavs/ Urged schools to take care to make no difference between the sons of serfs and of freemen, so that they might come and sit on the same benches to study grammar, music, and arithmetic. |795 AD||Charles fights Muslims in Spain.| |800 AD||Charlemagne had created a large empire.| |800 AD||Christmas Day Pope proclaimed Charlemagne the new Roman Emperor. Pope Leo put a crown on Charlemagne's head. King of the Holy Roman Empire. |813 AD||Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son, becomes Emperor| |814 AD||Death of Charlemagne| |Louis the Pious, divides empire among his three sons| |Lothair gets title Emperor| |841 AD||Franks defeat Holy Roman Empire| |843 AD||Treaty of Verdun Lothair keeps title of Emperor. Louis got East Frankish Kingdom (Germany) Charles got West Frankish Kingdom (France) |United western Europe divided ito small territories.| Chew, Robin; Charlemagne King of the Franks and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, 15 October 2007 Durant, Will. "King Charlemagne", History of Civilization Vol III, The Age of Faith. Electronic version in the Knighthood, Tournaments & Chivalry Resource Library, Ed. Brian R. Price http://www.chronique.com/Library/MedHistory/charlemagne.htm Nosotoro, Tit. "Charlamegne." 15 October 2007. http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b2charlemagne.htm. Simply History 15 October 2007. Edited selections of mostly European history from the out-of-copyright book, A Pageant of History, by R.G. Ikin, MA, Kings' College, Cambridge, 1929. (1)

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2013-06-18T23:19:15Z

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Issue March, 2008 Niels Rosendahl Jensen and Ditte Sørensen,Kopenhagen (Denmark) Internationally Denmark is known as a welfare society, marked by a high degree of equality in living conditions. The equality is financed by high public taxation giving a basis to welfare services, usually and to a great extent delivered by public institutions. Among other things this goes for free access to culture, education and training, health, social services, etc. In a formula the public institutions should offer services to the Danish population aiming at every citizen’s possibility of living a good life in security and progress – what ever event might happen. This ideal picture of the Danish society has been scratched during the last years. Several surveys are pointing at an increasing inequality related to different social segments’ access to the societal resources (economy, labour, education and health). The National Council on Socially Exposed (a government committee) has documented that the living conditions of i.e. drug addicts, psychosocial impaired, homeless and further more are worsened. The National Union of Social Pedagogues (around 34.000 members and organizing nearly 90% of social workers/social pedagogues in Denmark) has concluded based on research that humans with handicaps are suffering under living conditions that are worse than the average. In Parliament more politicians have stressed that the inequality of today corresponds with the level of the early 1960’s. It seems that a number of indicators points at lower living conditions for some citizens in Denmark. Prolonging this general approach our contribution will focus upon the public efforts directed at citizens with handicaps, especially citizens with great and lasting physical and psychological reductions of capabilities. Seen from the perspective of equality of opportunity and of rights these humans need a broad support from public institutions in order to reach living conditions which are comparable to those of the majority. 2. Principles of Danish policy for handicapped people Since the start of 1990’es Danish policy on this matter has been built upon principles of equal treatment and equal opportunity aiming at a society for all enabling the individuals to get equal influence and equal participation in the societal community. Though the principles are not legally binding, but based upon a decision of Parliament and the Standard Rules of UNO 1993 on equal opportunities for handicapped. The principles are interpreted by guidance of the Ministries. Reading the guidance you will find 4 principles: the environmental-related concept of handicaps, solidarity, sector responsibility, and compensation. - The concept of handicap stems from conceptual decisions of UNO – The Standard Rules (1993) and The Convention on Handicap (2006) – and is understood as a loss or a reduction of opportunities to participate equally. The reduction of capability is the “hard” fact (related to the person) to which are added “soft” experiences (related to the environment). Reductions are to be interpreted as lacking expectations and/or prejudices concerning handicapped citizens, as reduced rights compared to other citizens, as lacking access to modern habitation, education, treatment of health services, culture, etc. - Solidarity means that each and everyone is responsible for his neighbour, and that persons in need receive the necessary services aiming at regenerating the former quality of life. The responsibility mentioned was until recently implemented by public institutions. Today that responsibility has been moved from society to individuals and/or families, except for the handicapped who are still backed up by a majority of the population. In spite of the general support this field has only limited political interest which leads to challenging the principle in the midst of political priorities. - The principle of sector responsibility means that public sectors offering services and products are responsible of meeting the citizens’ or clients’ needs. Therefore, this responsibility “rules” not only the social sector, but all sectors. The principle has never been implemented in Denmark, meaning that handicapped people are not treated as other citizens. - The principle of compensation implies that handicapped people are to be compensated for the consequences of their reduced capabilities. This principle is under hard pressure today, and evidence seems to point at rather big differences in municipal and regional administration of the principle. One might conclude that the four principles are signs of goodwill, but also that handicapped people are neither equally treated nor enjoying equal rights compared with other citizens. The outcome seems to be an increased inequality, and combined with the enormous, ongoing structural changes of the public sector this pattern might be even strengthened. 3. Reform of structures – the first reform of the public sector: new municipalities and regions On January 1st 2007 the then 254 municipalities were reduced to 98, and 13 counties to 5 regions. The decision was taken by a very narrow parliamentary majority in June 2004, although the responsible Minister kept talking about “the greatest reform in our lifetime”. The reform implies that the regions are responsible for hospitals, parts of the public traffic, and some very specialized social institutions. The responsibility on social services delivered to handicapped as a whole is now situated at municipality level. The reform opened for municipal decision whether or not to take over responsibility for former county organized special institutions for children, private homes for adult handicapped etc.; most of the municipalities decided to meet the challenges, resulting in that just about 1/5 of those institutions are now in the hands of the new regions. This seems quite simple, but has nothing to do with a tempest in a teacup, since the reform was carried out under unusual conditions, partly as an outcome of taxation stop and a reduced freedom of financial activity of the municipalities. The purpose was to get public institutions in shape to create and deliver cheaper, better and more individualised services to the citizens and to produce and deliver the services under increased democratic control and increased societal influence (Petersen (Ed.) 2007). During the discussions of Parliament the target group of this article was by and large absent. The important themes became hospitals, elderly people, and the free choice of services. This meant that the municipalities have taken over the responsibility of such citizens and institutions without having knowledge of the needs of the target group or the demands on professionalism and resources. Nowadays the institutions and services offered by the municipalities are run on market like conditions, implying that these services are competing with those of day care institutions, schools about resources in a reduced municipal economy. The municipalities were in principle compensated in advance of the extra costs bound for the services, but nevertheless many municipalities have been forced to reduce their costs (www.socialkortet.dk). Which implications concerning the quality of the services this might involve is at least for the moment being pure guesswork, but Olsen & Rieper (2007) point at the fact that the whole future of the field is surrounded by pretty much insecurity. The municipalities launched their takeover as an outstanding opportunity to develop the services. Market-like competition as well as the idea of evidence based practices and measurement of effects might not be the best tool to develop comparable conditions for handicapped people. Some recent “scandals” in social institutions have shown a picture not worthy of imitation. Just to mention a horrifying example: a Danish Television Company made “hidden camera” at an institution for handicapped people showing that the social pedagogues did not invest their time during their working hours in interaction with their clients or users, but rather used their time on private matters (looking television, ordering gifts from net shops, etc. When they did have contacts or relations with the users, then it seemed to have very less in common with pedagogical activities. The personal used to neglect, humiliate or punish the users. The broadcasting raised a public debate comparing the institutional work with that of a KZ-Camp in Hitler Germany, underlining the need for pedagogical ethics, pedagogical interventions and support directed at the users, etc. As a consequence of the scandal the Ministry of Social Affairs appointed a working committee to recommend how to avoid such mal functions from the side of professionally educated pedagogues. Since the most discussed scandal (dated February 2007) the Danish government has signed the new convention of handicap, improved by UNO (Council on Human Rights). The convention does not improve new rights, but underlines that handicapped people should enjoy equal rights with other people on self determination, respect of integrity, dignity as well as the right to become a part of the societal community. This fact is still a well-kept secret – except for exclusive circles. A follow up on the official signing did not yet occur neither as an outcome of the latest scandals nor very systematically in the work of the Ministry of Social Affairs. 4. Quality Reform – the second reform of the public sector In August 2006 the Government announced the need for increased quality of the public sector and (earlier mentioned in SocMag) did launch the process leading to a reform under the banner of “Better Service for Citizens” (August 2007). The content of the reform is a product of participation of workers of the public sector as well as different groups of interest with in the field (employers, experts, companies, etc.). Originally the reform should be cost neutral, which showed to be not possible. The whole subject changed into questions of education, wages, and prestige of public servants. In June 2007 the Government made a tripartite agreement with municipalities and regions (Kommunernes Landsforening – Local Government DK- and Danske Regioner), the National Union of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen I Danmark), the Central Organisation of Danish Academicians (Akademikernes Centralorganisation) and The Council of Public and Private Servants (FTF). Due to the agreement a number of quite large sums were prepared for the further development and modernisation of public institutions, for further education of the personal and for training of institutional managers. This has not been agreed upon in every detail, and insecurity remains whether and to what extent people with handicaps might get “a piece of the cake”. The competition in the field itself as well as related to other fields marked by more political favour explains the outcomes. Which are the intentions, and what is going to be the outcome? In August 2007 the Government published the reform of the public sector: Better Welfare and More Job Satisfaction – the Strategy of the Government aiming at High Quality of the Public Sector. “The purpose of the reform is to guarantee continuing renewal and development of the quality of day care institutions, institutions of elderly people and hospitals”. The total reform consists of 180 initiatives framing high quality of the public sector. Its content is divided into 8 smaller reforms: Consumer in centre; attractive working places marked by responsibility and professional development; reform of management (competent, professional, and visible managers) in order to develop innovation within institutions; Solid local self determination – de-bureaucratization; More hands for presence and care plus Investment in the welfare of the future. In spite of the broad public discussion on the above mentioned scandals the reform seems to be totally unaffected by the question of handicapped people. As already stated this area is a non-favoured field of politicians which means that the reform by no means is embracing disadvantaged people. In the framework of the Law on Social Service it has been mentioned that the whole purpose concerning handicapped might be changed. First – for the sake of the individuals opportunities and capabilities; second – for the sake of a better coherence between the many authorities involved (among other things a continuous person that follows the person in need due to reduction of capabilities). When the quality reform does not embrace handicapped people, then there might be suspicion beyond doubt that those people are not appreciated. But first of all it is symptomatic for the missing favour which this field has suffered from. One might add that the reform itself does not involve this sort of problems, since they are put on the agenda of a special working group in the Ministry of Social Affairs. 5. The working group In September 2007 the working group finished its work by disseminating a report: “Ways to a good life in your own home” (Not yet released October 2007 on the homepage of the Ministry as expected). The report consists of a number of recommendations plus a discussion on the rights of handicapped. In spite of the fact that institutions for handicapped were abolished or phased out nearly 10 years ago, the report problematizes the fact that private homes of handicapped people continuously are named and understood as institutions: “This depends on the fact that it has been difficult to change the character of the ‘residential homes’, among other things the basic understanding of the personal, the handicapped and the environment to characterize such homes as institutions. This understanding is thereby reflected in many such arrangements” (our translation; Report, p. 4). The report points at a number of milestones or bearings on which circumstances might be of importance in the life of the individual and his/her opportunities to live a good life in his/her own right. Those are concerned with self determination and influence; challenges; safety, confidence and spontaneity; communication and broadness plus culture at work, professionalism and political favour. The milestones are divided into 5 special areas of attention and intervention: - National campaign to develop focus of the population and a catalogue on methods, ethics and values in residential homes; - Developmental work in order to experience new ways of arranging the support to and the education of tenants in the field of citizen competencies; - Composition of a codex for good management and identification of needs for further education plus establishing a goal directed education; - Identification of needs for development of competencies for personal, funds set aside for supplementary training and for development of competencies in the job. Many of these activities demand a rather extensive sum of money. Whether the Minister of Social Affairs has the will and/or the opportunity to compete for such means, is insecure and at the same time it is insecure which initiatives the Minister will use as a follow up on the Report above mentioned. The general picture is that handicapped are a ‘forgotten’ or ‘overseen’ subject of public discussion – due to the fact that the overwhelming focus goes for children and their families, schools, elderly people, and waiting times before admission to a hospital or medical treatment. 6. The Parliamentary Debate The Government as well as the opposition succeeded in debating the general perspective of the coming year without even mentioning inequalities in living conditions of people with different forms of handicaps. In spite of more scandals and the work of the working group of the Ministry of Social Affairs such hard facts weren’t even mentioned. A very fresh research outcome at the School of Education (DUE) in Copenhagen points at the Danish position as a most lousy nation to take care of handicapped people which eventually means that the handicapped are creating a parallel society to the official one. The outcome of that new research is well known. The target group of this contribution lives in a parallel society, hasn’t got any political attention or favour, and suffers from bad living conditions. Many members of the group exclusively relates to “the normal world” via family or professionals. Evidence on how many of the 36.000 handicapped living a parallel life is not available. A qualified guess summarizes about 20.000 – comparable to the population of a minor municipality in Denmark – one of 98. Surprising? Perhaps not since many myths are still surviving concerning handicapped citizens. They are not like us; of course we should provide for them, but not in a way that will be too expensive; they should not have any rights since they are not producing or even capable of learning anything of value. The conclusion sounds: there is much will, but not much action in order to develop equality of rights. Olsen, Leif og Rieper, Olaf i Storm, John(red) 2007): Ledelse i en reformtid i velfærdsstatens maskinrum Petersen, Storm, John(red) 2007): Ledelse i en reformtid i velfærdsstatens maskinrum – 8 forskningsbaserede bidrag om institutionsledelse, Danmarks forvaltningshøjskole Regeringen (2007): Bedre velfærd og større arbejdsglæde – regeringens strategi for høj kvalitet i den offentlige service, august Ringsmose, Charlotte (2007): Nordisk inklusion. Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitetsskole, Aarhus Universitet Socialministeriet 2007(ikke offentliggjort): Veje til et godt liv i egen bolig, oktober, 2007 www.sl.dk/Essay: Udfordringer til den social pædagogiske indsats for mennesker med multiple udviklingshæmninger, Socialpædagogernes Landsforbund, 2006 www.sl.dk: Redskabsmappe om handicappolitik, Socialpædagogernes Landsforbund, 2006 www.napincl.dk: Fattigdom og social ulighed i sundhed - rapport om Den Danske Nationale Handlingsplan. Finn Kenneth Hansen og Henning Hansen. Oktober 2007 www.folketinget.dk/debat i folketingssalen, 2-4 oktober 2007 www.handicap.dk/rettigheder: FN’s standardregler for ligebehandling af handicappede www.handicap.dk/ rettigheder: FN’s konvention om handicappedes menenskerettigheder www.socialkortet.dk 2007): Rundspørge blandt ledere – september 2007 de kommunale lederes besvarelser, Socialpædagogerne Niels Rosendahl Jensen is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Educational Sociology at the Danish School of Education, Aarhus University. Ditte Sorensen is counsellor of the professional association of social workers in Denmark. March 24th, 2008 Greg Marston, St. Lucia (Australia) My last contribution to SocMag focused on social policy issues in the lead up to the Federal election. The November 2007 Federal Election in Australia resulted in the Federal Labor Party being swept into office with a huge majority. The Former Prime Minister, John Howard could not even retain his own seat. The election night was a cause for celebration for many Australian citizens, the trade unions and other social movements who had been compaigning for a fairer and greener Australia. As I write this article the new Labor Government, led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the first female Deputy Prime Minister in Australia, Julia Gillard, have just completed its first 100 days in office. So what is the social policy record so far? The first significant move made during the first sitting of the new parliament was a formal apology to the ‘Stolen Generations’ – tens of thousands of Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their families by state and territory governments during the early 1900s and as late as the 1970s. The children were removed and placed with white foster families. A national inquiry conducted into the consequences of this policy recommended a formal apology to the families affected. The former Prime Minister, John Howard refused to say sorry on the grounds that present generations and contemporary governments should not be held responsible for past actions. His refusal to apologise on behalf of governments and the nation was condemned by Indigenous leaders, state governments and a host of community leaders. In contrast, the national apology delivered by Prime Minister Rudd was broadcast around the country and people gathered in public spaces to witness the event. Cathy Freeman, an Indigeous Australian and former olympic good medallist said it best, when summing up the naton’s feelings, she declared it is simply ‘the right thing to do’. Many agreed. It was a powerful day and there is some hope that this will be the start of a new conversation between Indigenous Australia and non-Indigenous Australians along the path to genuine reconcialition. In making the apology the government has also committed itself to various policy targets for addressing the Indigenous Australians, such as increasing school attendenance and improving health and housing. Maybe these measures will start to make an impact on the socio-economic gap between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. In other areas of social policy the government has been heavily borrowing from the mantra of New Labour in the UK. It has been talking a lot about social inclusion and has recently established an Australian Social Inclusion Board to advise the new government on a range of ways to address social problems such as mental illness and unemployment. The case for adopting a social inclusion policy framwork was made by Julia Gillardin a speech she delivered to the Australian Council of Social Service conference in October 2007: “The concept of social inclusion in essence means replacing a welfarist approach to helping the underprivileged with one of investing in them and their communities to bring them into the mainstream market economy. It’s a modern and fresh approach that views everyone as a potential wealth creator and invests in their human capital. Including everyone in the economic, wealth-creating life of the nation is today the best way for Labor to meet its twin goals of raising national prosperity and creating a fair and decent society. This is a recognized policy ambition of social democratic parties around the world today”. Here we can see the evidence of third way governance, a world in which economic orthodoxy and progressive social policies can exist in a harmonious relationship. I have my doubts. I also have my concerns about the utility of a social inclusion discourse for clarifying the problems of our time and the best way to address them. Social inclusion is an attempt to join up social problems like crime, poverty, unemployment and mental illness. The problem is that the panacea for these problems in the various social indicators of inclusive societies often priveleges paid employment. Paid emploment is presented as the pathway out of social exlcusion. While this may be the case, we should have a genuine discussion about the options for people when employment isn’t the answer or even an option. And we should also be having a discussion about the the quality of the employment on offer for low-income Australians. Another major challenge facing the new government is a housing affordabilty crisis in capital cities that is affecting the low-income renters in the private rental sector and home purchasers. At the same time as the housing affordability crisis is deepening the economy is growing and inflation is going up. In response the Federal Reserve Bank has been lifting interest rates, which is pushing an increasing number of home buyers into mortgage default. And concerns about inflationary pressure have meant that the government has been looking to cut spending and reign in calls for increased wages. The Prime Minister’s message is that we all have to share the economic pain. Undoubtetedly, some people wll be feeling more pain than others. In this economic climate a number of commentators have been suggesting the government should abandon is planned tax cuts and redirect the money into less inflationary areas of the economy, such as employee superannuation. So far the government has refused to budge on this issue. The first budget of the new Labor Federal Government will be handed down in May this year. In my next contribution to Soc Mag I’ll bring you all the social policy highlights and lowlights from the budget. Greg Marston is senior lecturer and director of the social policy unit at the University of Queensland, Australia. March 24th, 2008 Ania Bustio Ramos, Pinar del Rio (Cuba) English Abstract: The current world needs new development models that orient themselves towards the quality of life of the persons. Humanity is in a crisis of paradigms, in a so-called crisis of the civilization. The persons carry even responsibility to change the course of the story. For that it is important that the persons learn to recognize the reality around it to confirm change. But to change the reality must be learned. Social working in Cuba plays a special role in the variation of the current reality and the execution of a persistent development. In this article we present the preceding histories and main basements theories of social work in Cuba, and its main tasks in the busqueda of the Cuban sustainable development. 1. Soziale Arbeit und nachhaltige Entwicklung In der Generalversammlung der International Federation of Social Work (IFSW) in Montreal im Jahr 2000 wurde Sozialarbeit als Profession definiert, die ermöglichen soll, soziale Veränderungen zu bewirken. Sie soll die menschlichen Beziehungen bei der Lösung der Probleme berücksichtigen und die Befreiung der Menschen von einer (entmündigenden) Fürsorge voran bringen und festigen. Indem Sozialarbeit Theorien über das Verhalten der Menschen und der sozialen Systeme nutzt, wird sie selbst Teil der unterschiedlichen Aspekte in denen die Menschen mit ihrer Umwelt in Beziehung stehen. Menschenrechte und soziale Gerechtigkeit werden als wichtige Handlungsprinzipien der Sozialarbeit benannt. Auf dieser Konferenz wurde ganz deutlich begriffen, dass Sozialarbeit ein System von Werten, Theorien und Praxis ist und dass die Essenz dieses Systems gerade in der Zusammenschau aller dieser Elemente liegt. Also hat Sozialarbeit wichtige Aufgaben in der heutigen Welt: - Entwicklung der menschlichen Fähigkeiten zur Anerkennung und Befriedigung der menschlichen Bedürfnisse, - Anwendung der Menschenrechte und der sozialen Gerechtigkeit als Grundprinzip und Fundament der Praxis der Sozialarbeit, - Solidarität mit den Menschen, die in der Entwicklung benachteiligt sind, - Beseitigung von Ausgrenzung und Förderung der Integration, - Entwicklung von Theorien aus der Systematisierung der praktischen Erfahrungen als Ergebnisse von Forschungsarbeiten, in denen die lokalen Kenntnisse und Erfahrungen eine besondere Rolle spielen, - Herausbildung von Theorien der sozialen Entwicklung und des menschlichen Verhaltens sowie der verschiedenen sozialen Systeme, - Nutzung solcher Theorien als Ausgangspunkt für die Analyse aller komplexer Situationen als Weg für die menschliche, organisatorische, soziale oder kulturelle Veränderung, - Leitung von Gremien, Organisation der Gemeinde und Teilnahme an sozialpolitischen Aktionen zur Veränderung der Sozialpolitik und der ökonomischen Entwicklung. Im Zentrum der praktischen Aufgaben der Sozialarbeit sollen also die psychosozialen Prozesse, die sich vor allem auf das Individuum konzentrieren ebenso stehen wie die Beteiligung an der Politik und an der Planung der sozialen Entwicklung. Im Allgemeinen wirkt Sozialarbeit in die gleiche Richtung wie die neuen Entwicklungsparadigmen, wonach die Entwicklung als ein kreativer Prozess der bewussten Veränderung der Realität hin zur Verbesserung der Lebensqualität der Menschen verstanden wird. Aber dieser Prozess ist vom Grad der Beteiligung der Bevölkerung an diesem Prozess ebenso abhängig wie davon, dass lokale Regierungen und die Gemeinde eine führende Rolle spielen. In diesem Zusammenhang haben Sozialarbeit und nachhaltige Entwicklung als neue Entwicklungsparadigmen viele gemeinsame Aspekte, sowohl im theoretischen als auch im praktischen Sinne. Wie Imelda Dodds (Präsidentin der Internationalen Föderation der Sozialarbeit) 2001 beim Internationalen Kongress für Sozialarbeiter in Santiago de Cuba sagte, hat Sozialarbeit eine globale Dimension, aber die praktischen Prioritäten sind von Land zu Land verschieden. Das bedeutet, dass die Theorien und die Methodologien der Sozialarbeit unbedingt von den kulturellen, historischen und sozial-ökonomischen Bedingungen abhängig sein werden. Dieser Gedanke steht in Zusammenhang mit dem, was auf der Konferenz von Río de Janeiro 1992 über nachhaltige Entwicklung gesagt wurde: „Global denken und lokal praktizieren“. Nachhaltige Entwicklung ist die Verbesserung der Lebensqualität der Menschen auf dem Fundament einer endogenen Entwicklung der menschlichen Gemeinde. Um diesen Gedanken zu verwirklichen, ist es notwendig, über das Verhältnis Mensch - Gesellschaft nachzudenken. Die Welt braucht neue Entwicklungsstile auf der Basis einer neuen sozialen Ethik und der Solidarität zwischen, wie innerhalb der Generationen. Natürlich sind die neuen Entwicklungsmodelle wie die nachhaltige Entwicklung als Ergebnisse der Krisenparadigmen der heutigen Zivilisation entstanden, im Zusammenhang mit der Krise der sozialen und ökonomischen Systeme (Bustio, 1997). Die Sozialarbeit existiert nicht abgehoben von solchen Situationen. Die Theorie und Praxis der Sozialarbeit muss deshalb auch überdacht und erneuert werden. Kuba als Mitglied der globalen Gemeinschaft steht nicht außerhalb der so genannten Krise. Das Entwicklungsmodell der kubanischen Gesellschaft ist nicht fehlerlos. Deshalb ist die Sozialarbeit in Kuba heute durch einen Expansionsprozess in professioneller und institutioneller Hinsicht charakterisiert. Dieser wird besonders durch eine Erneuerung der aktuellen Sozialarbeiterschulen auf dem Lande beeinflusst. 2. Die Sozialarbeit vor der Revolution von 1959 Früher wurde Sozialarbeit durch die Institutionen des Gesundheitswesens ausgeübt. Diese Institutionen bildeten technische Professionelle im Rahmen der Sozialarbeit eher technisch und pragmatisch aus. Schon vor dem Sieg der Revolution im Jahre 1959 wurde Sozialarbeit als eine besondere Aufgabe der Gesundheitsinstitutionen angesehen. Die soziale Unterstützung als Hilfe für einige Individuen oder Familien, sogar für Altersheime, Kinder oder alte Leute wurde praktisch durch private und vor allem religiöse Organisationen geleistet. Die ersten staatlichen Institutionen für Sozialarbeit wurden zwischen 1944 und 1959 gegründet. In diesen Organisationen bekamen die Menschen verschiedene soziale Hilfen, aber immer unter dem Einfluss von Politikern, die dies als Methode ansahen, die politischen Wahlen zu gewinnen. 1945 wurde die erste Schule für Sozialarbeit in Kuba gegründet. Sie gehörte zunächst zur Ausbildungsfakultät der Universität. Später, im Jahr 1950, gehörte sie dann zur sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät. Zu den verschiedenen Fächern der Sozialarbeit gehörten: Fallstudien, Grundlagen der Persönlichkeitspsychologie, Geschichte der Sozialfürsorge, Sozialmedizin, Sozialrecht, Störungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter, Gemeindeentwicklung. Die erste wichtige Maßnahme der Kubanischen Revolution war 1961 die Alphabetisierung der gesamten Bevölkerung. Seit jener Zeit bis heute befindet sich die Ausbildung in Kuba in einer konstanten Entwicklung. Nach 1959 leisteten verschiedene Massenorganisationen wie die kubanische Frauenorganisation oder das Komitee zur Verteidigung der Revolution aber auch das Gesundheitsministerium die Sozialarbeit im Lande. Sowohl vor als auch nach der Revolution waren die wichtigsten Merkmale der Sozialarbeit die soziale Intervention und die klassische Fürsorge. Es handelte sich immer und in erster Linie um soziale Unterstützung. In dieser Richtung wurden auch die Professionellen ausgebildet. Es gab und gibt auch heute, wenn auch in geringerem Maße, eine Trennung zwischen Theorie und Praxis. Die Sozialarbeit wurde mehr als ein praktischer Beruf gesehen. Das war natürlich eine große Gefahr für die Sozialarbeit als so genannte wissenschaftliche Disziplin. Es war eine Disziplin, die in theoretischer Hinsicht sehr beschränkt blieb. Gegen den wissenschaftlichen Status der Sozialarbeit wurde seit ihrer Entstehung am Ende des XIX. und Anfang des XX. Jahrhunderts sehr polemisiert, nicht nur in Kuba sondern allgemein in der Welt. Bei der Nennung in den verschiedenen Bibliographien wurde die Sozialarbeit auf verschiedene Weise bezeichnet: als Kunst, als Technologie, als eine Form der sozialen Aktion, als eine wissenschaftliche Disziplin oder als eine professionelle Aktivität. Viele Autoren haben die epistemologische Fokussierung der Sozialarbeit analysiert. Die verbreitete Betonung der praktischen Funktion der Sozialarbeit wurde in gewissem Sinne auch zu einer Behinderung für ihre theoretische Entwicklung, so dass für viele die Sozialarbeit keine echte Wissenschaft ist. Ezequiel Andre-Egg ist unter den Autoren einer der wichtigsten der oben genannten Position. Für ihn liegt die wichtigste Aufgabe der Sozialarbeit auf dem Praxisniveau. (Munnoz y Urrutia, 2004). Damit reduzierte er die Sozialarbeit auf ihren praktischen Beitrag. Ihre theoretischen Dimensionen wurden überhaupt nicht anerkannt. Die Entwicklung neuer Erkenntnisse wurde nicht als bedeutsame Aufgabe gesehen, sondern nur die praktische Anwendung. Deshalb wurde eine „re - conceptualización“, also ein Wieder - Aufgreifen der Theorien der Sozialarbeit in den sechziger Jahren in Lateinamerika notwendig. Natürlich darf man auch nicht den historischen Kontext vergessen, in dem die Schulen für Sozialarbeit gegründet wurden. Sowohl in Kuba als auch in Lateinamerika spielten in dieser Zeit soziale Unruhen eine bedeutende Rolle. Von vielen Autoren wurde, wie schon gesagt, die Sozialarbeit lediglich als eine Art von Sozialtechniken bezeichnet. Es würde den Rahmen dieser Arbeit sprengen, die verschiedenen Theorien zu erklären, jedoch soll erwähnt werden, dass die Entwicklung der Schule für Sozialarbeit in Kuba von allen diesen Theorien beeinflusst wurde. Aus diesem Grunde gilt heute Sozialarbeit als „eine wissenschaftliche Disziplin im Aufbau“ (Mun-noz y Urrutia, 2004). So ist die Sozialarbeit charakterisiert durch die Übernahme von Begriffen aus verschiedenen Wissenschaften, die inhaltlich mit ihr gewisse Übereinstimmungen haben. Es fehlt ihr als Disziplin eine eigene begriffliche Struktur. Von Anfang an stand die Lösung der praktischen Probleme im Zentrum der Diskussion und nicht der Aufbau einer schlüssigen Theorie. Jede Wissenschaft die die sukzessive Ansammlung von Theorien, in der die Praxis systematisiert wird, und jede Theorie kann durch die Praxis verbessert werden. Die Systematisierung der praktischen Erfahrungen und der Aufbau neuer Theorien auf der Basis solcher praktischer Erfahrungen ist meiner Meinung nach eine besonders wichtige Aufgabe der heutigen Sozialarbeit in Kuba. Das gilt besonders, wenn wir davon ausgehen, dass die Sozialarbeit ein theoretischer und praktischer Beruf für die Veränderung und integrale Entwicklung der Gesellschaft ist. In diesem Sinne sagte Mora (in Alayon, 1998), die Grundlage der Sozialarbeit sei die kritische soziale Ausbildung nach den Prinzipien von Freiheit und Gleichheit. Sie sei eine Praxis der Veränderung und der menschlichen Befreiung. 3. Soziale Arbeit für die nachhaltige Entwicklung in Kuba Die Geschichte ist reich an verschiedenen Entwicklungsmodellen, in der Literatur werden zwei für das Ziel dieser Arbeit wichtige genannt, nämlich das „absteigende“ und das „aufsteigende“ Modell. Das absteigende Modell ist von oben nach untern orientiert. In diesem Modell entscheidet die Regierung über den ganzen Entwicklungsprozess der Gesellschaft. Die Meinung der sozialen Akteure ist überhaupt nicht wichtig. Dies Modell ist typisch für anti-demokratische Regierungen, die die Bevölkerung als Objekt und nicht als Subjekt des Prozesses betrachtet. Im Gegensatz dazu wird im aufsteigenden Modell von unten nach oben angesetzt. Hier spielt die Bevölkerung vor Ort eine besondere Rolle bei den Entscheidungen der Regierung. Die Sozialakteure sind Subjekt und nicht Objekt des Prozesses. Ein wichtiges Merkmal dieses Modells ist die Beteiligung der wichtigsten sozialen Akteure am gesamten Prozess. Das aufsteigende Modell wäre das richtige Modell für den Weg zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung. Nachhaltige Entwicklung bedeutet die Veränderung von Wissen und Ansätzen, menschlichem Verhalten und Werten, die seit langer Zeit als Tradition entwickelt wurden. Einen Erziehungsprozess durchzuführen, in dem der Erwerb von Kenntnissen im Mittelpunkt steht, ist besonders wichtig. Es muss aber auch eine kritische Analyse der ausgeübten Praxis der Menschen geben. Das Endprodukt ist dabei nicht so wichtig wie der gesamte Prozess. Jede Phase dieses Erziehungsprozesses spielt eine besondere Rolle im Gesamtprozess. Deshalb ist die Partizipation der Menschen ein entscheidender Faktor. Normalerweise setzten Sozialarbeiter nur die Beobachtung als Instrument für die Ursachenforschung der Probleme ein. Beobachtung war immer und ist auch heute noch eine Form, Informationen zu sammeln und auf der Basis dieser Informationen eine mögliche Lösung zu finden. „Die traditionelle Sozialarbeit hat die Sozialarbeiter als Subjekt der Aktion angesehen und die Menschen, mit denen gearbeitet wird als Objekt derPraxis“ (Munnoz y Urrutia, 2004). In Kuba findet seit 1959 ein sozialer Prozess statt, der die Bedingungen für das aufsteigende Modell der Entwicklung schaffen will. Trotz aller wichtigen Ergebnisses dieses Prozesses in den verschiedenen Institutionellen Zusammenhängen wie z.B.Gesundheitswesen und Erziehung existiert noch immer eine Dominanz des absteigenden Modells, das auf die Sozialarbeit einen großen Einfluss hat. In der Sozialarbeit tragen die Professionellen selbst die Verantwortung dafür, den wissenschaftlich fundierten Weg für ein alternatives Entwicklungsmodell zu finden, in dem die Menschen auch wirklich als Subjekte der Geschichte betrachtet werden. Partizipation und Gemeinde sind zwei wichtige Elemente in diesem Prozess. Das neue Modell sollte unserer Meinung nach an folgenden Grundsätzen orientiert sein: Die Partizipation der Bevölkerung am gesamten Prozess ist möglich, angefangen von der Konzeption, über die Durchführung bis hin zur Evaluation und Systematisierung. Der Prozess orientiert sich am Verhältnis aller Aspekte der Realität zueinander. - Dezentralisierung und Selbstverwaltung: Autonomie der lokalen Regierungen, der Institutionen im Gebiet und der Gemeinde im Allgemeinen. Reale Partizipation setzt zuerst einmal voraus, über die Menschen nachzudenken. Sie bedeutet, an die Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten und Fähigkeiten der Menschen zu glauben. Eine soziale Arbeit mit den Gemeinden auf dieser Basis sollte davon ausgehen, dass die Menschen in der Lage sind, soziale Veränderungen zur Verbesserung der Lebensqualität durchzuführen. In diesem Sinne bedeutet Partizipation nicht nur bei einer Aktivität anwesend zu sein oder nur Teil einer Gruppe oder einer Gründung zu sein, sondern viel mehr Partizipation als einen Prozess mit zu gestalten, der die aktive und bewusste Beteiligung der Gemeindemitglieder an der gesamten Entwicklung ermöglicht. In einem anderen Sinne bedeutet Partizipation eine Form, Macht abzugeben. Sie ist eine Form, die Macht in den verschiedenen Etappen des Prozesses zu teilen, sowohl in der Ausführung als auch in den verschiedenen Entscheidungen, die im Entwicklungsprozess der Gemeinde zu fällen sind. Das bedeutet, dass die Gemeindemitglieder ein echter Teil des gesamten Prozesses sind, aktiv teilnehmen an der Identifizierung der Probleme und Bedürfnisse, an den Entscheidungen über verschiedene Schritte der Entwicklung, an der Formulierung von Strategien bis hin zu der Ausführung der Pläne und ihrer Kontrolle. Partizipation ist ein Prozess, der sehr viel mit der Vertiefung und Vermehrung der Beziehungen der Menschen untereinander, mit verschiedenen Wahrnehmungsformen und mit Strukturen zu tun hat. Das höchste Niveau der Partizipation liegt unserer Meinung nach in der Selbstverwaltung aller Prozesse. Wann ist eine solche Selbstverwaltung möglich? Wenn die Gemeinde ein so hohes Partizipationsniveau am Entwicklungsprozess erreicht hat, dass sie von sich aus die Entscheidung über Ziele, Strategien und Entwicklungsmechanismen ohne die Hilfe von externen Mediatoren fällen kann. Die Rolle der Sozialarbeiter in der Gemeinde ist nicht die eines externen Mediators, sondern sie sollen ein Teil der Gemeinde sein, unabhängig davon ob sie aus der Gemeinde stammen oder nicht. Das geht aber nur, wenn sie den gesamten Entwicklungsprozess miterleben. Eine so verstandene Sozialarbeit sieht die Menschen selbst als die wichtigsten Akteure und Manager des sozialen Prozesses. Aus diesem Grund ist es wichtig, den technischen und wissenschaftlichen Charakter der Sozialarbeit zu berücksichtigen. Sozialarbeit soll auch einen wissenschaftlichen Beitrag zum Entwurf der zukünftigen Aktionen leisten. In diesem Sinne soll sie partizipative, erziehende, interaktive und schöpferische Arbeit sein. Die Prozesse der Realität in ihrer systemischen Einbettung zu betrachten ist heutzutage prinzipiell von großer Bedeutung. Die Realität ist nicht einfach die Summe aller ihrer Teile, sondern die Integration aller ihrer Teile. Und diese systematische Vernetzung ist ein besonderes Merkmal der heutigen sozialen Arbeit vor allem in Kuba. Barrantes, C. (1999) Que es eso que llaman trabajo social?, Revista de servicio social, Vol1 N0 3 Bustio, A. (1997) “Desarrollo Sostenible. Concepto esquivo”, en Revista de Formación Ambiental, No 12. PNUMA, México Bustio, A. (2001) Balance entre Población y Recursos. Investigación interisciplinaria y manejo de Areas Costeras en el Gran Caribe.CBCRM-Programa IOI-CFU- Laval- IDRC. Costa Rica Bustio, A. (2004) Gestión Comunitaria y Planificación Integrada de Zonas Costeras. Tesis en opción al grado científico de Doctor en Ciencias, Alicante, España D’ Angelo, O. (2005) Autonomía integradora y transformación social: El desafío ético emancipatoria de la complejidad. Publicaciones Acuario. Centro Felix Varela. La Habana Dodds, I. (2001) Congreso Internacional de Trabajadores sociales. Santiago de Cuba Lane, P. (1995) Establishing, supporting and sustaining the legacy of José Marti, Conferencia “José Marti y los retos del siglo XXI, Santiago de Cuba International Federation of social workers. http://www.ifsw.org/en/p380003777.html, 08/10/2007 Moix, M. (1999) Introduccion al trabjo social, Ed. Trivium,Madrid Munoz, T y Urrutia, L. (2004) El Trabajo social en Cuba. Revista Caminos. No.31-32, Centro Memorial Martin Luther King Junior, La Habana Dr. Ania Bustio Ramos is former professor for social work at the University of Pinar del Rio in Cuba and works now in Italy. Picture: www.pixelio.de (Photographer: www.steffen-susanne.de) March 24th, 2008 Preliminary results of the sociological study in Leningrad Oblast, Russia Valentina Samoylova, Olga Borodkina, Anna Smirnova and Yulia Victorova, St. Petersburg (Russia) At the present time supporting family is one of the key issues of social policy in Russia. The government connects with the development of the institution of families the decision of many actual social problems, including demographic ones. The contemporary family policy is characterized by dynamism and the government takes measures on increased well-being of family and social service infrastructure for families with children. A state program for the stimulation of births is accepted. The regional programs of social support of families with children, improvement of conditions for children health, development and successful socialization are realized at a local level. A necessary component of the evaluation of the efficiency of the undertaken arrangements is the analysis of independent information from the population by getting a feedback. It allows to trace the influence of policy on the everyday life of people. The knowledge and the account of actual needs of various types of the families, parents and children should be taken as the basis of development of family policy at local level. In 2007-2008 St.Petersburg State University, The International Center of Social Service Studies with co-operation of the University of Helsinki realize the project “EMPATHOS RUSSIA - Preventive Work with Children and Families in the Russian and Finnish Border Region” in Leningrad Oblast. Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia (i.e. oblast). It was established on August 1st, 1927, although it was not until 1945 that the oblast’s borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad. The administrative center of the oblast is Saint Petersburg, although it constitutes a separate federal subject (a federal city) and is administratively separate from the oblast. Leningrad Oblast is bordered by Finland in the northwest, Estonia in the west, as well as five federal subjects of Russia. The oblast has an area of 84,500 km² and a population 1,669,205 (as of the 2002 Census). Leningrad Oblast is one of the most dynamically developing regions of Russia. The contemporary demographic situation in the region determinates the main direction of social work with children and families. The research aim of the project is to indicate direction and resources of primary preventive work with children and families that are characterized by many important advantages such as: - broad coverage of the population, - system impact on the quality of families’ lives, - limited intervention in private life, - higher probability of providing conditions for children’s well-being, - using the resources of families. In the framework of the project a sociological study was conducted, and data about situation of families with children and level and directions of social work with these client groups in the Russian border region were collected and analyzed. The study was conducted in three main border towns of Leningrad Oblast (Vyborg, Priozersk, Svetogorsk). There were 3 research stages including different methods of collected data. - Expert – Interviews to analyze the problem and perspectives of preventive social work (11 experts) - Surveying of social workers and clients (children and parents) concerning needs and demands in preventive social work (questioning of parents (122 respondents), questioning of social service specialists (69 respondents), questioning of adolescents (90 respondents)) - Conducting focus groups with clients (parents) for evaluation of resources for realization of innovative models (65 participants) In total 357 respondents took part in the research. In this article we would like to present the preliminary results of the interviews and surveys. In the centre of attention of social services are now families, who are not capable to solve problems without external help. Children in such families are in socially dangerous situations. Intensive efforts of social services workers and other specialists are required to improve the situation of the families and to protect the children’s rights. Despite of strong efforts of social workers, the situation does not change radically. Official statistical data show that tens of thousands of children and adolescents are escaping from the families annually. Social services put insufficient attention to primary prevention, first of all they have to much work with families, which are already in difficult situations. But the importance of primary preventive social work is realized by both experts and social workers who were taking part in the survey. The main characteristics of families The results of questioning the parents (122 respondents) show a very high percentage of families with single parents, which in fact means with single mothers (see diagram 1). Diagram 1: Typology of families in % Financial circumstances of families - “We have enough money, but for major purchase we have to borrow rather for a long time or buy on credit” - 55,7% - “We have enough money only for every day needs “ - 25,4% - “Sometimes we don’t have enough money for food and clothes” - 15,6% - “We can manage ourselves well” - 3,3% - Comfortable accommodation, but small (not enough) size - 41,0% - Comfortable accommodation - 32,8% - Uncomfortable accommodation (shared apartment, dormitory) or lack of accommodation - 26,2% 85,2 % of families have children, which are practically healthy, 9,8% - children have chronic diseases, 4,9% of families have handicapped children. The structural characteristics of families, who were involved in the research, reflect a typical average situation of the project participants who live in towns and differ from characteristics of families who are clients of social agencies. According to data of the experts’ interviewing among families in a difficult living situation and who are in the sphere of social services organizations activities 83,8% are poor families, 76,5 % are families with single parents and 63,8% are families with children with health problem. The main problems of families Despite the families involved in the study are considered by state social work system as socially well- being they have a lot of different problems, therefore they should be considered as targets for prevention. Accordingly of the parents survey, the typical family problems are follow: - Too much work, not enough time for rest - 78,0 - Financial problematic circumstances - 76,2 - Health problems among adult family members - 58,2 - Conflict between adults family members on questions of upbringing - 50,0 - Too much house work - 45,1 - There is no place for family rest in town - 44,3 - Lack of support from relatives - 35,3 - Bad living conditions - 35,2 - Difficulties on upbringing children - 30,3 - Health problems of children - 28,7 - Problem behavior of children in the school - 28,7 - Poor school advancement of children - 26,2 - Lack of understanding with teachers - 24,6 - Indifference - 23,8 - Unemployment - 18,8 - Ill parents in care - 12,3 - Problems with alcohol - 8,2 According to data of survey of children, we can see their perception of their everyday life and troubles. On the question “About what do you worry most of all?” the following answers were collected: - Health of relatives - 64,4% - Private life - 60,0% - Financial problems of family - 50,0% - Relations with parents - 50,0% - Relations with peers - 48,9% - Difficulties of school learning - 41,1% - How they are looked - 33,3% - Conflicts to teachers - 30,0% - No activities for leisure time - 24,4% - Relations between parents - 20,0%. A comparison of the results of the parents and children questionnaire shows, that there is a lot of differences, that means there is no effective communication between parents and children. Types of the help The mechanisms of blocking significant needs of the person, restriction or absence of opportunities of their satisfaction lay in the basis of the problem. Accordingly, widening these opportunities is considered as useful and desirable. The results of survey indicate those types and forms of the social help to families which are necessary to develop in the district where they live from the respondents’ point of view as well as types and forms of the social help in which the participants of research are personally interested. This data is presented in the following table. Kinds and forms of social help (survey participants regard it as necessary to develop / are personally interested in it) - Direct financial support: 81,1 / 48,4 - Help in employment: 75,4 / 26,2 - In-kind aid (food, clothes, etc): 58,2 / 16,4 - Support in an accomplishment, repair of accommodation: 63,1 / 27,9 - Support in cleaning of appartments: 32,8 / 4,1 - Increase of pedagogical and psychological competence of parents: 77,9 / 26,2 - Development of mutual support between families: 54,9 / 13,1 - Legal aid : 68,0 / 30,3 - Psychological help to children and parents:82,9 / 31,3 - Programs of preparation to be parents for young families: 79,5 / 14,8 - Empathy and understanding of social services organizations’ specialists: 58,2 / 16,4 - Developing charity, sponsoring: 66,4 / 14,8 - Drug and alcohol preventive programs for children: 87,7 / 30,3 - Organization of family leisure time (parents with children): 78,7 / 35,2 - Organization of leisure time for parents: 52,5 / 12,3 - Baby sitting in out-of-school time: 56,5 / 25,4 - Home care of ill members of family: 45,1 / 8,2 - Accessible hobby groups for children: 86,1 / 54,1 - Accessible literature about up-bringing, rights’protection, health: 60,7 / 28,7 “Accessible hobby groups for children” is the most interesting point for parents. In the questionnaire was the question: “What are children would like to go in for, but it is impossible for any reasons?”. The most frequently answers were: - sports – 29,5% - computer – 13,1% - dances – 13,1% - music – 11,5% - learning foreign languages – 11,5% and also drawing, theatre, driving, embroidery. As concerning the reasons, why it is impossible: - absence in the town – 16,4% - no money – 22,9% - no time – 13,1%. According to the children’s answers, 42,3% of them visit sport and hobby groups not less often than once a week, 31,1% are not interested in it. Children take interest in meeting with psychologists (54,5%) and 73,3 % of children think, that a helpline is necessary in the town. Pedagogical competence of the parents All participants evaluate the different needs connected with pedagogical competence in general much higher then personal needs. For example 77,9 % of parents participated in the study believe that it was necessary to increase the pedagogical and psychological competence level of parents, and only 26.2 % think that they themselves have such kind of need. - Need of accessible literature on questions of education, protection of rights, health in general supported 60,7% of respondents and personally 28,7% correspondingly - getting legal assistance - 68,0% and 30,3% correspondingly - psychological help to themselves and children 82,8% and 31,3% correspondingly A personal interest in training programs for teenagers to protect them from drugs and alcohol abuse have 30,3 % of the respondents. But 87,7 % would like to have such programs in town. Also programs of preparation for being parents for young families have got wide support with 79,5%, though personally interest is rather low: 14,8% (perhaps parents think that it is already late for them, and still early for their children). Parents’ interest in psychological consultations, lectures, trainings, conversations about education was showed while answering the open question on measures which would be useful to improvement of work with families. 26 (29,9%) parents from 87 persons have written suggestions which are related to these forms of work. Nowadays there are a lot of publications on questions of education. Educated and “advanced” parents turn to it and know how to communicate with children correctly, but in fact they could be inconsistent. Parents try to react not aggressively in case of children’s faults (60,4% from the general number of parents’ reaction on a child’s fault, marked by them in questionnaires, have no aggressive character), but only 24,4% consider that physical punishments are inadmissible, and 75,6 % of parents tolerate corporal punishments in various situations, for instance, «when the child behaves disrespectfully, rude» (32,6%). The application of corporal punishment by parents testifies their feebleness in questions of upbringing and limited methods of influence on the child. Participation of parents in education programs is the important and accessible tool to increase their social competence. The larger part of the interrogated parents would like to receive knowledge from literature on education, from experts at lectures, or «discussing and exchanging experience with other parents», and only 34,4% consider, that «know how to bring up the child» or «do not think of these questions». Satisfaction with city infrastructure Life of families depends in many respects on features of the district in which the family lives, on whether the environment is convenient and comfortable or not. This concerns especially families with children who have limited mobility and who “are adhered” to certain socialization institutes, use local establishments etc. The quality of the social environment influences whether it is difficult or not for parents to grow children, to carry out the parental duties and functions. This level of preventive work is pretty much in the competence of local authorities, and the satisfaction / dissatisfaction of the population is the important indicator of social policy’s success at a local level. The analysis of opinions on the condition of the city environment objects shows, that there are significant territorial distinctions. Respondents have expressed “dissatisfaction” towards - Public health services - 82,8% - School - 37.7% - Cleanliness of streets and yards - 56.6% - Children’s playgrounds - 57.4% - Teenage clubs and hobby groups - 50.8% - Stadiums, sports grounds - 52.1% - Kindergarten - 34.4% - Social services - 31.1% - Transport - 38.5% - Police - 52.5% - Libraries - 18.0% - Shops - 29.5% - Recreation centers - 34.4% - Cinemas - 29.7% - Cafe - 27.7% The results show that a significant number of participants are not satisfied with the conditions of the local infrastructure. Though the sample size on the different areas is not sufficient to consider the results as common, nevertheless, the high level of similarity in the opinions on certain points is a signal that it is necessary to understand the reasons of the existing situation. Participants of the questionnaire marked what exactly does not satisfy them. Thus the dissatisfaction with health services is caused by the following reasons: - «Bad equipment» - 43.6%; - «Malevolence of staff» - 25.7%; - «Incompetence of staff» - 25.7%; - «Limited services» - 23.8%; - «High price of services» - 21.8%; - «Far from home» - 10.9%; - «Inconvenient work time» - 5.9%. Social services activities Social work represents a field of activities characterized by the diversity problems to be solved, directions and methods of work, functions, criteria of estimation of efficiency etc. The data of this research show as well that social work with families and children is carried out on many directions and constantly extends due to the development of new directions and the introduction of new methods. The research with the experts’ answers a question «what functions are important in your work now?» testifies to multifunctionality. The following functions have been estimated as “extremely important”, (and as “rather important”) - Rehabilitation - 75,0% (25.0%) - Preventive - 61.7% (35.3%) - Psychological support - 61.5% (32.3%) - Diagnostic - 46.6% (41.4%) - Material support - 32.7% (30.9%) - Organizational - 32.2% (61.0%) - Educational - 28.3% (51.7%) - Prognostic - 13.0% (37.0%) - Empowerment - 12.5% (42.9%). By the received data empowerment is one of the intrinsic characteristics of preventive work and is perceived by the experts as important, but nevertheless a by-product of the work with the client. Empowerment, in that measure that the person has got the ability to cope with arising problems and better: to prevent their occurrence, is represented the most difficult purpose in work with many problem families, especially with alcohol abusing family members (according to experts interviews each second or third family with which social agencies deal with have alcohol abusing members). It once again confirms the value of primary prevention which helps to develop resources of the family to prevent the occurrence of problems or helps to cope with them more effectively. The analysis of the methods used by experts in the work with parents and children shows that the most useful methods for formation/intensification of the adaptable potential of a person, increasing his/her activity, independence, responsibility are used not enough. In the «minority of cases» or “never” used are the following methods in the work with parents: - Trainings - 60.4%; - Network therapy - 72.1%; - Club work with family - 60.0%; - Organization of mutual help groups - 65.9%; - Group therapy - 56.3%; - Education - 40.4%. In the work with children: - Trainings - 45.5% of answers; - Network therapy - 65.0%; - Club work with family - 59.1%. Specialists understand quite exactly what problems and needs are typical for the population and what directions of help are more claimed. As to the majority of points we can observe the similarity of opinions expressed by the specialists who work in different towns, but some types of help are estimated in different ways. So, the valuation of the necessity of help in employment assistance is higher in Priozersk (82,2% of responses of specialists), the valuation of the necessity of help with products and goods is higher in Vyborg (70,4%). But in Vyborg there is a lower value of the improvement and repairing of housing (25,9%) and of training programs for parenthood (59,3%) Resources for the preventive work with children and families According to the specialists the basic resources are infrastructure of government agencies, financing, professional training, activity of population, public organizations, mutual help of families, help of deputy, mass media. The above listed resources were estimated by the specialists with respect to their importance and sufficiency. The comparison of the received valuations shows that there is a imbalance between the importance of all types of resources and their sufficiency. The lack of financing is felt as the most sharp one: the majority evaluate it as an extremely important resource (81, 2%) and only 13 % as enough developed. The level of professional qualifications is extremely important for 87,0% and only about one-third of interviewees consider it as sufficient. In the opinion of the social workers the development of infrastructure falls behind. 58, 0% of the specialists think that it is extremely important and only 24,6 % evaluate it as enough developed. Financing and professional qualifications as resources have an universal character and refer to social work in common. Their deficit, especially a lack of finances, is felt in the work of social services and makes difficult to provide help for families. The development of activities in the direction of social services and active work of primary prevention has probably to be done mainly in the case of the increase of financing. It seems, local authorities when they define the priorities and articles of expenditure, have to draw attention on the primary prevention of families’ ill-being on their territory. Main problems of specialists in the work In this part the main goal is to know the main problems of specialists in their work, what they would like to change in the organization of work. The responses on these questions can give an overview on the situation with internal resources of social services, extract the main factors which have negative influence on their activity. According to the questioning following distribution is received: - low wages - 82,1% - financial domestic problems - 44,8% - big work stress - 40,3% - lack of professional knowledge - 28,4% - transportation problem - 23,9% - lack of mobile communication - 7,5% - lack of recognition by colleagues - 6,0% Among other problems were called: uncomfortable working hours, lack of qualified staff, incomplete software, no access to professional improvement and literature, absence of possibilities for career development, no possibility to use rationally finances for the institution, lack of exchange of experience and cooperation between same institutions, no wages for the specialists. On the opinion of 27,7 % of specialists, some juridical difficulties for efficient work exist on federal and regional levels. What could make the work more effective? Below we put suggestions of the specialists (as the specialists wrote them in the questionnaire): - decrease responsibilities, because a lot of tasks are imposed on one specialist or to increase number of specialists who work with families; - increase a number of specialists who work directly with children (psychologists, culture workers etc.); - raise salaries, because there is a direct disparity of the charge and salary of social worker; - involve public organizations for rendering assistance to concrete families; - involve parents in the problems of their children, more active participation of parents in the life of their children; - increase the financial support for the organization of leisure activities for children; - increase the time of rehabilitation for children and work with families; - enhance the duration of the psycho-pedagogical rehabilitation of children with disabilities and invalids, because 3 months per year are not sufficient; - get more power for the organization of the work of institutions; - create a flexible system of trainings for social workers and specialists of work with families who live in small towns and in the countryside. Among the specialists enough pessimistic minds exist: “we would like to change a lot, but hat we really want to change, is not in our competence”. The biggest part of propositions of social workers is about the material encouragement, the ptimization of the time sheet, the reduction of the level of bureaucratization, trainings of personnel and the attraction of new specialists, who work directly with families. Professional education of staff The lack of staff who is completely prepared for the social work, whatever direction we talk about, has evident explanations which are connected with the “youth” of the institution of social work in Russia. Social services were opening, but there were not graduated specialists of social work. That is why the formation of practical social work is realized by specialists-scholars from different fields, who need additional and more specific knowledge. The best part of staff of social work (according to the data of our previous studies in Saint-Petersburg more than 25%) consists of workers with technical education, who came in social work as a result of changes on the employment market. Data of the present research show the following distribution of specialists according to the factor of education. - 55,1% have an education for the work with families and children including: high pedagogical -18,8%, high psychological – 5,7%, specialized secondary education in pedagogy – 8,6%, specialized secondary education in psychology – 1,4%, courses of social work with family and children – 11,3%, and any information about level of education – 9,3%. - 28,8% of specialists have passed the further education programs on social work. - 44,9% of respondents don’t have any education for the social work with family and children and did not pass any trainings. Own practical experience as a source of knowledge has great significance, but it is more solid, when specialists rely on a fundamental basis. But the comprehension of the necessity of professional knowledge is caused by the fact that many specialists improve their qualifications themselves – 82,0% (do not improve – 7,2%, difficult to answer – 10,2%). Moreover, 80,3% receive their information from books by profession, 12,1% from magazines by profession, 6,1% during the discussions with colleagues, 1,5% from journals, radio and TV and nobody uses Internet. So, the availability of special literature is especially important. On the question, if there is any library or methodical cabinet in the organization, where it is possible to take actual literature, to have access to the Internet, 53,8% answer positive, 9,2% answer negative and that they do not need any additional professional information and further 36,9% tell that they do not have it, but would need it. The development of staff is considered as a key-task in modern management, the permanent education allows to have resources which are necessary for qualitative work. That is why the improvement of qualification has to have a regular character and has to be based on the analysis of needs of specialists in some knowledge. It is well-known that the professional development of staff is not only a necessary condition for effective work, but it is also an important motivational factor, which strengthens the interest and adherence towards work even in the case when the salary is not sufficient. At the present time 75,0% of interviewee specialists are going to continue to be occupied in social work, 22,1% have difficulties with that answer and 2,9% (1 person) want to change the work. The results of the study demonstrate that the families who are socially adaptive also have a lot of different problems which could lead to difficult situations in the future. Social service organizations, governmental as well as non-governmental, should pay attention on different types of families and primary prevention should develop as much as possible. - All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or utilized without permission in writing from authors. - The authors work at the International Center of Social Service Studies (ICASSS) at the Faculty of Sociology of the St. Petersburg State University. Correspond to [email protected] March 24th, 2008 Ulrike Wisser, Brussels (EU, Belgium) The 252 pages report “Child Poverty and Well-being in the EU, current status and way forward” from the Task-Force on child poverty indicator has finally been published on the website of the European Commission. The report is part of the implementation process of the European strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion of children in the EU. This issue being a common concern to all Member States, rapid and significant reduction of child poverty has proved to be a political priority of the EU at the beginning of the new century. In their 2006-2008 National Reports on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion (NRSSPSIs), the vast majority of the Member States prioritised the need to develop a strategic, integrated and long-term approach for preventing and alleviating poverty and social exclusion among children. For better monitoring of the different policies, a special task force was established by the Social Protection Committee (SPC), an advisory body of national ministries and the European Commission, supporting the implementation of the European strategy. The SPC has reserved a slot for an indicator on “child well-being” in the streamlined list of commonly agreed indicators for social inclusion that it adopted in June 2006. The task force followed up this process throughout the year 2007 and recently presented its report. Although the work hasn not yet resulted in a proposal of a concrete EU child well-being indicator, the report provides policy analysis at EU and Member States level. The report consists of three parts: a review of child poverty and social exclusion in the EU, an overview about policy monitoring and assessment of child poverty and well-being in the EU and its Member States and conclusions on recommendations for SPC aiming at improving monitoring and assessment of child poverty and well-being at the EU and national level. In its mandate, the task force agreed on seven dimensions of well-being and identified good examples of indicators within each of these dimensions: economic security and material situation; housing; local environment; health; education; social relationships and family environment, and exposure to risk and risk behaviour. The situation of vulnerable children (children in orphanages, disabled children, migrant children, children from minorities, children growing up in deprived areas, etc.) is being addressed as a “transversal” category. Based on questionnaires to all 28 Member States, the experts have published a summary of the most important data sources used by countries for monitoring their policies in the field of child poverty and child well-being. Furthermore, the report provides a description of the main types of indicators used in the policy monitoring systems and more detailed insight into monitoring arrangements in eight selected Member States, following different concepts (Denmark, Ireland, Finland, UK, Portugal, Italy, Romania and Germany). The table on page 71 gives an overview on the main items covered by existing administrative data sources: - recipients of child-related social allowances (BE, DK, DE, EE, ES, FR, IE, IT, LV, LT, HU,MT, AT, PL, PT, RO, SK, FI, SE); - health status of children (BE, DK, IT, HU, MT, FI, SK, SE); - income, taxes and transfers, poverty (DK, DE, IT, LT, HU, AT, PT, FI, SE); - housing (DK, IT); - childcare facilities (BE, DK, ES, IT, LT, LU, MT, AT, RO, SK, FI, SE); - employment (DK, DE, FR, SE); - education (BE, DK, FR, IE, IT, LV, HU, MT, AT, PL, PT, RO, SK, SE); - population (DK, IT, MT, AT, RO, SE); - justice (DK, IT, AT, LV, MT, PT, SK); - after-school care, leisure, sport (DK, IT, AT, SK, SE, UK). Besides, the report lists existing specific data sources, surveys on children (mostly longitudinal surveys implemented at national level) and presents a couple of “very innovative survey methods”, which are based on direct interviews with children. In the concluding chapter, the task force experts express their opinions on future policy shaping and monitoring of child poverty and well-being in a set of 15 recommendations. Recommendation 1 suggests that national overall quantified objectives for the reduction of child poverty and social exclusion need to be based on a diagnosis of the causes of poverty and social exclusion in each country. It also concludes that they have to be supplemented by specific objectives relating to the key factors identified by the diagnosis (e.g. jobless households, in-work poverty, social benefits, etc.). In order to improve the measurement of child well-being, the task force proposes to: - reflect on how the existing EU indicators can be complemented by derived indicators and statistics that better reflect the situation of households with children (e.g., labour market participation of parents and amended version of the “work intensity” variable for analysing poverty risk); - take account of the child dimension when developing indicators of material deprivation and housing; - develop one or several child well-being indicators to cover the important dimensions of child well-being that are still missing or not satisfactorily covered within the EU framework (health, exposure to risk and risk behaviour, education, social participation and family environment, local environment); - draw up suggestions on how to best monitor the living conditions of children in vulnerable situations (e.g., children in institutions, children in foster care, children with chronic health problems or disabilities, abused children, street children, children from a migrant or minority background, etc.). Those recommendations are, among other elements, addressed to Member States’ authorities that are setting up the national strategic plans for combating poverty and social exclusion in the period 2008 to 2011. The further development of child well-being indicators will be subject to further debate at EU level. Ulrike Wisser works as policy adviser in the field of EU youth, education and social politics at BBJ Servis gGmbH, Brussels office. March 24th, 2008 Report on the First Congress of the Swiss Society for Social Work (SSSW) in Lucerne, 6th -8th March 2008 Christian Reutlinger, St. Gallen (Switzerland) The First Congress of the Swiss Society for Social Work (SSSW) positioned questions and challenges related to the transformation of the social concerning the social work as science, practice and education. The main topics of discussion addressed the fast-moving changes of the society in the last 30 Years. “The changes which accompany the society pass through it as well as across each individual generation”, which separate those terms from each other. “In the centre of interest were the changes of the productive forces and in there the changes of the individual, meant structurally, as far as it concerns their requirements and also individually, understanding the changes in the demands of the individuals” - points the German sociologist Frigga Haug in her main paper. On the one hand a current discourse for defining the “Transformation of the social” was built up, which connected the three main fields of science, education and practice. On the other hand, a very specific atmosphere was created, where all so far separated discussions about social work from the three big language regions (Italian, French and German) could come together with their own stories and reports. This was very important for the special general conditions Switzerland provided with its multilingualism as well as geographically accepted as the center of Europe. The varying traditions in social work and the specific responses to the transformation of the social became visible through the created atmosphere. Furthermore, the question about the positioning of the social work as a discipline in a local and international context was raised. - Which developments, innovations, potentials and boundaries could social work, as part of the social, assert? - Which innovative thoughts / ideas and approaches of activity might social work, concerning the social, contribute? These questions were analyzed in the main reports, for example by the French sociologist Robert Castel in his paper “The impact of the activation policy on the social work”. Next to these famous names, the subject was pointed for discussion also by young researchers who presented and examined theoretically their empirical results. The theoretic-conceptual papers were predominant, while the practical orientated were rather less represented. The variety of local, mainly form the west and the German part of Switzerland, but also international participants (Germany, France, Belgium, Canada or Portugal) was a sign for the successful achievement of the goals on one hand. On the other hand a very important step towards the profiling of the social work in the Swiss context was done. The tradition for organizing an international Congress every second year was successfully initiated. The location of the congress – Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts-in the middle of a mountain hill and in the lake district, played for sure an important role in this decision. Geneva was chosen as a place for discussion for the next congress. Christian Reutlinger is professor for social work at the FHS St.Gallen, University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland). March 24th, 2008 The first international congress of the Swiss Association for Social Work (March 6th to 8th in Lucerne, Switzerland) ended with a political declaration. You find the declaration here. To sign it please got to this website. March 24th, 2008

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http://www.socmag.net/?m=200803

2013-06-18T23:05:47Z

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During Active Transport, molecules move from a low concentration to an area of high concentration. Molecules are moving the opposite direction than they would during the processes of osmosis and diffusion. Carrier proteins in the membrane of cells are able to transport specific molecules up the concentration gradient. Carrier proteins use energy in the form of ATP in order to carry out active transport. Sodium ions are expelled from cells up the concentration gradient. Potassium ions are pumped into the cell up the concentration gradient. Source: Concepts in Biology Twelfth Edition Eldon Enger, et al.

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http://www.sophia.org/active-transport/active-transport--2-tutorial?topic=moving-molecules

2013-06-18T23:38:51Z

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It is widely believed that sugar triggers hyperactivity in susceptible children. Careful research studies have failed to confirm this notion but have suggested that an apparent relationship between sugar and hyperactivity in children arises from what parents and carers choose to believe. Sugar and hyperactivity Children, especially young children, tend to become lively and energetic when playing with their friends, especially on special occasions, such as a birthday party. It is also common experience that they become more active after a meal. Sometimes, their behaviour is too energetic and almost disruptive for adults to accept. It has been suggested that these every day experiences may be attributed to something the children have eaten that triggers unacceptable behaviour. Among a number of suggested candidates is sugar. Studies attempting to test this hypothesis need to be conducted with care, since children’s behaviour is strongly modified by circumstance and by the presence of some adults. These complications can be addressed by appropriate study design, and a number of investigators have observed the behaviour of children, under suitably controlled conditions, following consumption of sugar-containing foods and drinks. These studies have included some of children whose parents believe they react adversely to sugar. The results of this research are illuminating. The studies have consistently shown that, when assessed by impartial observers, unaware of which children had consumed sugar and which had not, there was no deterioration in the behaviour of the children that can be ascribed to the consumption of sugar. More interestingly, when the parents assessments were examined, these showed that the children’s behaviour was perceived to deteriorate only when the parents believed the children had consumed sugar, irrespective of whether they had or not. This is a clear case of observer bias. The belief of the parents determined their perception of what they were observing in their children. It bore no relation to what was really happening. The evidence is therefore unusually clear. Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children. It is noteworthy that this conclusion is not based on the mere absence of evidence of any adverse effect of sugar on children’s behaviour but on concrete, controlled experiments showing no effect.

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http://www.sugarnutrition.org.uk/Hyperactivity.aspx

2013-06-18T23:05:57Z

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From discarded fishing gear to plastic bags to cigarette butts, a growing tide of marine litter is harming oceans and beaches worldwide, says a new report. The report, the first-ever attempt to take stock of the marine litter situation in the 12 major regional seas around the world, was launched on World Oceans Day by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Marine litter is symptomatic of a wider malaise: namely the wasteful use and persistent poor management of natural resources. The plastic bags, bottles and other debris piling up in the oceans and seas could be dramatically reduced by improved waste reduction, waste management and recycling initiatives." "Some of the litter, like thin film single use plastic bags which choke marine life, should be banned or phased-out rapidly everywhere-there is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere. Other waste can be cut by boosting public awareness, and proposing an array of economic incentives and smart market mechanisms that tip the balance in favor of recycling, reducing or re-use rather than dumping into the sea," he said. The report's findings indicate that despite several international, regional and national efforts to reverse marine pollution, alarming quantities of rubbish thrown out to sea continue to endanger people's safety and health, entrap wildlife, damage nautical equipment and deface coastal areas around the world. Plastics and cigarettes top the "Top Ten" of marine debris Plastic--especially plastic bags and PET bottles--is the most pervasive type of marine litter around the world, accounting for over 80% of all rubbish collected in several of the regional seas assessed. Plastic debris is accumulating in terrestrial and marine environments worldwide, slowly breaking down into tinier and tinier pieces that can be consumed by the smallest marine life at the base of the food web. Plastics collect toxic compounds that then can get into the bodies of organisms that eat the plastic. Smoking-related activities also receive top rankings when it comes to sources of marine litter. Cigarette filters, tobacco packets and cigar tips make up 40% of all marine litter in the Mediterranean, while in Ecuador smoking-related rubbish accounted for over half of the total coastal litter 'catch' in 2005. "The ocean is our life support system--it provides much of the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat and climate we need to survive-yet trash continues to threaten its health," said Vikki Spruill President and CEO of Ocean Conservancy. "The impact of marine debris is clear and dramatic; dead and injured wildlife, littered beaches that discourage tourism and choked ocean ecosystems. Marine debris is one of the most widespread pollution threats facing our ocean and it is completely Land-based activities are the largest source of marine litter. In Australia, surveys near cities indicate up to 80% of marine litter originating from land-based sources, with sea-based sources in the lead in more remote areas. The cost of rubbish Unsightly and unsafe, marine litter can cause serious economic losses through damaged boats, fishing gear, contamination of tourism and agriculture facilities. For example, the cost of cleaning the beaches in Bohuslän on the west coast of Sweden in just one year was at least 10 million SEK or $1,550,200. In the UK, Shetland fishermen had reported that 92% of them had recurring problems with debris in nets, and it has been estimated that each boat could lose between $10,500 and $53,300 per year due to the presence of marine litter. The cost to the local industry could then be as high as $4,300,000. The municipality of Ventanillas in Peru has calculated that it would have to invest around US$400,000 a year in order to clean its coastline, while its annual budget for cleaning all public areas is only half that amount. At the same time, flexible and economic incentives and deterrents need to be put in place to address the growing problem of At the moment, port authorities sometimes unwillingly discourage ships from bringing their galley waste back to shore--as seen in the East Asian Seas region where ships are charged on a fee-for-service (user pays) basis. Some vessel operators therefore opt to dispose of their garbage at sea--at no cost. Adopting a 'no special fee' approach to port waste reception facilities, as pioneered in the Baltic Sea region, can substantially decrease the number of operational and illegal discharges and help prevent pollution from ships to the marine environment. The level of fines for ocean dumping also needs to be reviewed to make them a sufficient deterrent. For example in the US the cruise ship Regal Princess was fined US$500,000 in 1993 for dumping 20 bags of garbage in to the sea. Fines of this level would act as a genuine deterrent to dumping of marine litter. Finally, income-generating opportunities linked to collecting and recycling marine litter can make a big difference in some of the world's poorer regions. For instance, in East Africa small-scale projects that create jobs and reduce the levels of marine rubbish need to be further promoted. SB.com editor Bart King recently wrote about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

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http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/18336

2013-06-18T23:39:03Z

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Ancient impact crater found in Greenland An international team of scientists has identified an ancient 100 kilometer-wide crater near the Maniitsoq region of West Greenland. According to Dr. Iain McDonald of Cardiff University, the 3-billion-year-old crater was formed as a result of a massive asteroid or comet impact at least a billion years before any other known collision on Earth. "The spectacular craters on the Moon formed from impacts with asteroids and comets between 3 and 4 billion years ago," explained McDonald. "The early Earth, with its far greater gravitational mass, must have experienced even more collisions at this time – but the evidence has been eroded away or covered by younger rocks." Indeed, a crater previously thought to be the oldest on Earth formed 2 billion years ago. The chances of finding an even older impact were believed to be, literally, astronomically low. "This single discovery means that we can study the effects of cratering on the Earth nearly a billion years further back in time than was possible before," McDonald confirmed. To be sure, locating the evidence was quite difficult as there was no obvious bowl-shaped crater left to find. Over the 3 billion years since the impact, the land has been eroded down to expose deeper crust 25 km below the original surface. All external parts of the impact structure have been removed, but the effects of the intense impact shock wave penetrated deep into the crust - far deeper than at any other known crater - and these remain visible. However, because the effects of impact at these depths have never been observed before it has taken nearly three years of painstaking work to assemble all the key evidence. "The process was rather like a Sherlock Holmes story," said McDonald. "We eliminated the impossible in terms of any conventional terrestrial processes, and were left with a giant impact as the only explanation for all of the facts." Only around 180 impact craters have ever been discovered on Earth and around 30% of them contain important natural resources of minerals or oil and gas. The largest and oldest known crater prior to this study, the 300 kilometer wide Vredefort crater in South Africa, is 2 billion years in age and heavily eroded. "It has taken us nearly three years to convince our peers in the scientific community of this but the mining industry was far more receptive. A Canadian exploration company has been using the impact model to explore for deposits of nickel and platinum metals at Maniitsoq since the autumn of 2011," he added.

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http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/64414-ancient-impact-crater-found-in-greenland

2013-06-18T23:40:34Z

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SHUNYU FAN / ISTOCKPHOTO.COM (INSIDE PROTEIN MOLECCells do what proteins tell them to do. But sequencing DNA or running microarrays won’t reveal a protein’s mandate. During and after translation, enzymes, lipids, proteins, and sugars decorate the amino acids of the newly synthesized protein. As a result of these alterations, proteins encoded by the same genetic sequence often diverge in function. Researchers have begun to get the lay of the land in terms of what types of modifications occur, and, broadly, their effects. For example, enzymes are activated or deactivated when a phosphate group latches onto an amino acid (phosphorylation). Metabolism can change when an acetyl group attaches to lysine in a mitochondrial protein (acetylation). The addition of a methyl group to histone peptides (methylation) regulates gene expression. And when SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) proteins attach to other proteins (SUMOylation), they affect cellular processes ranging from apoptosis to neurodegeneration. But there’s still scant knowledge of which peptides are modified and where, how modifications arise, and the effects they have on cells. Mass spectrometry analyses can assess simple modifications like phosphorylation ever more efficiently and accurately, but readily picking up the scent of modifiers like the SUMO proteins is technically challenging. Studies of modified-protein function are in their infancy, but new techniques to synthesize these molecules will pave the way by helping researchers tease out their effects, one modification at a time. The Scientist surveyed researchers about innovative approaches they’ve devised to answer stubborn questions about posttranslational modifications. Here’s what they said. Scientist Markus Aebi, Professor of Mycology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschle (ETH), Zürich QuestionHow to study proteins modified by polysaccharides? ProjectMany glycosylated proteins—proteins with attached sugar chains—defy study because carbohydrate modifications are wildly variable and difficult to synthesize. Aebi says, “We can sequence large chunks of DNA in a day, but to determine the structure of one carbohydrate we need weeks, if not months.” Yet these modifications are common, as well as vital for health, because mammalian cells use glycoproteins to detect pathogens. To model different types of glycosylation, Aebi found a way to mimic mammalian glycosylation with help from bacteria and a synthetic sugar (Nature Chemical Biology, 6:264-66, 2010). Technique Aebi and his colleagues cloned an enzymatic pathway involved in glycosylation from the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni, and transferred the sequence into E. coli. Using Campylobacter’s pathway, E. coli generated a variety of novel transgenic glycoproteins. The team then modified the glycoproteins in vitro by removing a terminal segment containing a bacterial sugar and attaching a sugar they had synthesized, a mimic of an N-type glycan common in mammals. “This is glycoengineering,” says Aebi, who has patented the E. coli portion of the protocol. ConsiderationsAlthough certain glycoproteins, like antibodies and those characterizing ABO blood types, are available commercially, most must be made from scratch. Aebi broadened the palette of glycoproteins for study by allowing researchers to add their own chemically synthesized sugars. The only tricky part now is synthesizing those sugars, says Aebi, adding that the approach “opens up totally new possibilities” by providing a means “to produce glycoproteins carrying natural, full-sized eukaryotic glycans.” With Aebi’s method, researchers may synthesize molecules for therapeutic as well as basic-research purposes, such as learning how some mammalian glycoproteins protect their host against specific infectious agents. Testing the functionality of engineered glycoproteins isn’t straightforward, however, and Aebi’s lab is in the process of developing a method to ensure that the engineered glycoproteins fold as they should. ScientistTill Bartke, Postdoc in molecular biology, Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, UK Question How do nuclear proteins react to modifications in histone peptides? ProjectDNA and the histone proteins it winds around form nucleosomes. Within the nucleus, bundles of nucleosomes relay information to the cell through proteins that recognize bits of the DNA and histones. Bartke wondered how posttranslational modifications of histone peptides altered the composition of such interacting proteins to generate “signals with biological meaning,” he says. TechniqueBartke’s approach was to make his own nucleosomes from modified histones and methylated DNA, and then observe which proteins stick (Cell, 143:470-484, 2010). To make a nucleosome, he and his colleagues first expressed human histone proteins and DNA separately in bacteria, then purified the histone and DNA products. Next, they methylated the DNA and linked methylated peptides to the histones. They then assembled the methylated histones and DNA into a nucleosome particle. Finally, they attached the prepared nucleosome to an agarose bead, soaked the complex in nuclear proteins extracted from human cells, and identified which proteins stuck. ConsiderationsBartke’s team homed in on one histone modification per histone and several DNA modifications within a single nucleosome, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They hope to extend the work to different combinations of histone modifications in multiple nucleosomes. But the technique isn’t for the faint of heart. Making nucleosomes takes time and biochemical expertise. Each step in the process requires a few purification steps of its own. Including the time needed to prepare the materials, such a project takes several months. “It’s necessary to plot out this experiment far ahead of time,” Bartke warns. Still, it may be well worth it. In the past, researchers have taken a simpler tack, assessing protein reactions to modified histone peptides alone instead of incorporating the modified peptides into whole histone proteins wrapped in DNA. Bartke says that looking at histones within a nucleosome reveals how three-dimensional structure alters the information passed on by interacting proteins—information you won’t glean from studies of lone peptides. Modification in Translation ScientistAnna Kashina, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia QuestionWhat determines a protein’s posttranslational state? ProjectCell morphology and cell migration rely on two different versions of actin. Although the nucleotide sequences of RNA encoding both versions are nearly identical, only one version of the protein tends to contain bound arginine (arginylation). Because nucleotide differences have been found to affect the rate of translation, Kashina’s group decided to see if the difference in posttranslational state was related to the speed of translation. TechniqueKashina relied on a thirty-year-old procedure to infer the rate of translation. Her team estimated the rate at which radioactively labeled amino acids became incorporated into peptides in the ribosome during actin translation. The more labeled amino acids incorporated, the faster the translation. They found that speedier translation meant faster protein folding, which resulted in a slightly different protein structure. The folded conformation of the actin that was translated faster was far more resistant to a type of degradation that can happen after arginylation. ConsiderationsKashina’s team used a commercial kit for estimating the rate of translation, simply adding a radiolabeled amino acid to those that came with the kit. Meanwhile, a biotech startup called ANIMA Cell Metrology in Bernardsville, New Jersey, cofounded by Kashina’s colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, is working on a more direct way to measure the rate of translation by simply timing the process. Scientist Patrick Pedrioli, Program leader, Scottish Institute for Cell Signaling, Dundee QuestionHow can mass spectrometry detect complex posttranslational modifications? ProjectResearchers can rapidly characterize simple posttranslational modifications like phosphorylation, acetylation, and methylation with the help of mass spectrometry: digesting the proteins and identifying the resulting peptides by the distribution of ions they emit upon fragmentation. But because SUMO and other ubiquitin-like modifiers are themselves proteins, rather than small compounds like phosphate, they break apart and send mixed messages to standard mass spec analytical software. So Pedrioli created software called SUMmOn, which employs a novel analytical strategy to search mass spec readings (Nature Methods, 3:533-39, 2006). TechniqueSUMOylated peptides (peptides with small ubiquitin-like molecules attached) tend to emit multiple mass-spec signatures as they fragment, unlike the single signature emitted by a phosphate group. Pedrioli programmed SUMmOn to compare spectra from a user’s experiment with results from a protein database of various spectra given off by SUMOylated peptides, and identify any matches. In doing so, it provides a score indicating the likelihood that each spectrum contains SUMO fragments and the likelihood that a peptide was SUMOylated. Pedrioli says, “SUMmOn understands the fragmentation of SUMO.” ConsiderationsHow SUMOylated proteins change throughout the cell cycle in response to hormones, nutrients, stress or disease are all questions this software could help answer. The method used in SUMmOn is theoretically applicable to any complicated modification, as long as it generates a unique fragment ion pattern, Pedrioli says. And, to improve the efficiency of the hunt, Pedrioli and others are developing techniques to filter out everything but SUMO and other ubiquitin-like modifiers from protein samples so that mass specs are more likely to catch these types of proteins. SUMmOn is freely available at http://summon.sourceforge.net, and interfaces with most mass specs. However, installing the software requires computer expertise. Users need access to UNIX operating systems and some basic knowledge of UNIX system administration. Pedrioli also says users should perform an independent form of validation, like Western blots, prior to publication, to experimentally ensure that SUMOylated peptides identified by SUMmOn are in fact SUMOylated. There are still aspects of SUMOylation that Pedrioli’s software (and other techniques) can’t handle well. For example, SUMO and other ubiquitin-like modifiers often form chains when they attach to proteins, but because proteins are digested into peptides prior to mass-spec analysis, these applications can’t detect what peptide the chains are conjugated to. Correction: Anna Kashina was incorrectly described as an Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. She is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry.The Scientist regrets this error, which has been corrected in the text of the article.

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http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/30834/title/Proteins-Adorned/flagPost/67451/

2013-06-18T23:26:31Z

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Consuming 200 milligrams or more of caffeine per day—roughly two cups of coffee—can affect women’s reproductive hormones, according to a study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. That could be important for the 89 percent of US women 18 to 34 years of age that consume roughly that amount each day, the authors wrote. In an analysis of 250 women aged 18 to 44 years, researchers found that 200 milligrams of caffeine per day elevated estrogen levels in Asian women, but decreased the hormone’s levels in white women. Black women who drank the same amount also demonstrated elevated estrogen levels, but the result was not statistically significant, the authors reported. However, when caffeine sources were examined individually, coffee intake mirrored the original trend but caffeinated soda or green tea consumption was associated with a higher estrogen levels in all three races. “The results indicate that caffeine consumption among women of child-bearing age influences estrogen levels,” co-author Enrique Schisterman of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said in a press release. Variations in estrogen levels have been associated with endometrial, breast, and ovarian cancers, she added. “Because long-term caffeine consumption has the potential to influence estrogen levels over a long period of time, it makes sense to take caffeine consumption into account when designing studies to understand these disorders.”

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http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/31672/title/Caffeine-Affects-Estrogen-Levels/

2013-06-18T23:33:01Z

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Calcium is one of the four major alkali minerals and is essential for the healthy functioning of the body. It is the mineral of structure and solidity, with approximately 99 per cent of the calcium in your body being stored in your teeth and bones. It's also vital for many of your bodily functions such as muscle contraction, nerve conduction, the regulation of enzyme activity and the formation of cell membranes. Good digestion, blood clotting, cardiovascular health and hormonal balance are also a part of calcium's repertoire because it boosts vitality. A calcium deficiency is most commonly linked to poor growth in children and osteoporosis in adults, especially menopausal women. The most common advice for counteracting a deficiency is to include more calcium-rich foods, and dairy is usually at the top of the list. There are, however, two problems with this advice. First, many people are lactose intolerant. The National Digestive Diseases Information Center in the US estimates that 40 million Americans are lactose intolerant and a reported 90 per cent of Asians are unable to digest lactose. Second, calcium absorption is dependent on vitamin D and magnesium. We need a specific calcium to magnesium ratio of 2:1 for optimum absorption. In dairy, this ratio is nonexistent, meaning it is not the best option for increasing calcium intake, according to a study published by the Harvard School of Public Health. In light of this, here are 10 non-dairy, calcium-rich foods: bok choy, kale, sea vegetables, broccoli, almonds, Brazil nuts, tofu, salmon, figs and sesame seeds. It is not necessary to completely avoid dairy unless it causes significant digestive problems, but it is important not to rely on dairy alone for our calcium intake. In many cases one cup of the above mentioned foods will have more calcium than one cup of milk. Laura Holland is a well-being consultant and nutritional therapist. For more information, visit www.BeUtifulYou.co.uk

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http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/food/food-for-thought-10-best-non-dairy-sources-of-calcium

2013-06-18T23:19:02Z

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en

Cloudy outlook for climate models More aerosols - the solution to global warming? Climate models appear to be missing an atmospheric ingredient, a new study suggests. December's issue of the International Journal of Climatology from the Royal Meteorlogical Society contains a study of computer models used in climate forecasting. The study is by joint authors Douglass, Christy, Pearson, and Singer - of whom only the third mentioned is not entitled to the prefix Professor. Their topic is the discrepancy between troposphere observations from 1979 and 2004, and what computer models have to say about the temperature trends over the same period. While focusing on tropical latitudes between 30 degrees north and south (mostly to 20 degrees N and S), because, they write - "much of the Earth's global mean temperature variability originates in the tropics" - the authors nevertheless crunched through an unprecedented amount of historical and computational data in making their comparison. For observational data they make use of ten different data sets, including ground and atmospheric readings at different heights. On the modelling side, they use the 22 computer models which participated in the IPCC-sponsored Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison. Some models were run several times, to produce a total of 67 realisations of temperature trends. The IPCC is the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and published their Fourth Assessment Report [PDF, 7.8MB] earlier this year. Their model comparison program uses a common set of forcing factors. Notable in the paper is a generosity when calculating a figure for statistical uncertainty for the data from the models. In aggregating the models, the uncertainty is derived from plugging the number 22 into the maths, rather than 67. The effect of using 67 would be to confine the latitude of error closer to the average trend - with the implication of making it harder to reconcile any discrepancy with the observations. In addition, when they plot and compare the observational and computed data, they also double this error interval. So to the burning question: on their analysis, does the uncertainty in the observations overlap with the results of the models? If yes, then the models are supported by the observations of the last 30 years, and they could be useful predictors of future temperature and climate trends. Unfortunately, the answer according to the study is no. Figure 1 in the published paper available here[PDF] pretty much tells the story. Douglass et al. Temperature time trends (degrees per decade) against pressure (altitutude) for 22 averaged models (shown in red) and 10 observational data sets (blue and green lines). Only at the surface are the mean of the models and the mean of observations seen to agree, within the uncertainties. While trends coincide at the surface, at all heights in the troposphere, the computer models indicate that higher trending temperatures should have occurred. And more significantly, there is no overlap between the uncertainty ranges of the observations and those of the models. In other words, the observations and the models seem to be telling quite different stories about the atmosphere, at least as far as the tropics are concerned. So can the disparities be reconciled? Disappointing responses from Mr. Chase Ten days have now elapsed since I invited Mr Chase to address two of the article's main points in 200 words or less. 1 - The study finds that the models are contradicted by empirical evidence ...tropospheric models only work at sea level 2 - The IPCC says it has only a "LOW" understanding of the role of particulate matter, and that the cooling effect of particulate matter is as large as the heating effect of greenhouse gas. Mr.Chase has now posted 30,000 words in response: almost all of it irrelevant to the points questioners have raised. Therefore I see nothing to contradict the Mr Wylie's conclusion that - "on both empirical and inferential grounds, then, the science of climate looks to be far from over." When I am called upon to mark student papers, I look for relevance and logic - there is very little of either from Mr Chase. I would mark this as a "fail". Water vapour sensitivity It doesn't matter if the earth takes a long time to respond to small increases in atmospheric water vapour. It has had a very long time to do so - more than enough if it was going to. Clearly it is held in check by delicate balances involving huge convection systems of both air and water; temperature, pressure and gravity gradients and cloud seeding factors. The resulting distribution of clouds and temperatures also affects the radiation balances. The critical question is whether these balances are sensitive to CO2 and if so to what extent. Despite your confidence the immediate historical record of temperature change is not a clear correlation with CO2 levels at all. The ending of the mini-iceage and the temperature decline for 3 decades after WW2 muddy the water considerably. The paleoclimate evidence requires even more circumspection regarding its assumptions, accuracy and consistency. Neither are the model predictions the unmitigated success you portray. There are a number of interesting papers here discussing important inconsistencies in the models compared with actual observations: Uncertainties about clouds, ice and circulation patterns play large roles according to these and other papers. The deviations from predicted temperatures are significant relative to the small size of the CO2 warming effect as are deviations between the various models themselves. Yes, there are reasons to believe CO2 may have a warming effect and that the earth is currently on a warming trend. Quantifying both is a different matter altogether. Consequently deciding what interventions if any are justified by the science is equally problematic. Re: Science vs spin Anonymous Coward wrote, "Science cannot predict because it can never be sure that all the factors have been accounted for or that new factors will not come to influence the situation. Science recognises that the past is no guide to the future and that the repetition of pairs of similar events in the same sequence does not entail any causal connection." Sounds like philosophy 101. Hume, perhaps -- Reader's Digest version. Doubt it would go over all that well with engineers, electricians, or probably even the guys that make computer chips. In fact, I doubt it would be all that popular with the fellows who make nuclear bombs. The people who build things, or in other cases blow things up. They want to know how things are going to behave - before they put them together. For that you need predictions. Not certainty, but a great deal of confidence. High probability. Close to 1 even. Or at the very least -- reliability. Especially with things that have a lot of pieces. Like that computer I presume you were sitting in front of when you typed on those keys. Science is fallibilistic. It makes mistakes. But it is also self-correcting. And a conclusion justified by multiple, independent lines of investigation is often justified to a far greater degree than it would be by any one line regarded in isolation. Science makes predictions based upon the best available evidence. When those predictions turn out to be wrong -- that's when scientists generally get excited -- because it means that there is something new to discover. Like a kid with a new toy. But for your predictions to fail you have to be making them in the first place. Then when a prediction in fact fails you modify your theory or come up with an entirely new one, but preferably it should explain everything the earlier one did, making all the predictions that turned out to be right -- and succeed where the old theory failed.

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/27/anton_wylie_climate_models/

2013-06-18T23:13:36Z

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en

Vocabulary: One State, Many Places Definitions and Context Adaptation: traits developed over time that help organisms meet their basic needs and survive. Context: The adaptation of thorns discourages animals from munching on juicy cactus. Aquifer: an underground layer that carries groundwater. Context: Wells draw water from the aquifer. Bay: an indentation in a shoreline, smaller than a gulf and larger than a cove. Context: A protected bay is a good place for a boat dock. Bayou: a slow moving tributary to a larger body of water. Context: Muddy, swampy bayous can be great alligator habitat. Canyon: a deep valley made by running water. Context: Palo Duro Canyon was formed by a fork of the Red River. Diversity: variety of plants and/or animals occurring in one place Context: The animal diversity in Texas includes both rare and common species. Ecosystem: the system of living and non-living components of an environment that interact with each other. Context: In a desert ecosystem the temperature and soil type influence what plants can live there. Endangered species: an animal or plant species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Context: Since there are only about 100 ocelots in Texas, they may become extinct in Texas; they are endangered. Estuary: a body of water that mixes fresh water from rivers with salt water from the ocean. Context: Drought upstream can cause an estuary to be saltier than usual. Inherited trait: an inborn characteristic or behavior that is passed from parent to offspring. Context: Adaptations are inherited traits. Marsh: low-lying grassy land that often is wet or flooded. Context: An inland marsh will be a freshwater environment, but one along the coast may be a salt marsh. Migrate: the act of an annual move from one region to another because of food, nesting needs or temperature. Context: Monarchs and songbirds migrate across the Gulf of Mexico to South America for the winter.

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http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/resources/keeptexaswild/onestate/vocabulary.phtml

2013-06-18T23:12:16Z

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en

Even with state-of-the-art treatment, survival rates for malignant brain tumors don't typically exceed 12 to 15 months. One of the primary reasons is that the invasive nature of these tumors makes it extremely difficult to medicate residual cancer after surgery. To address that challenge, a new trial led by Mitchel S. Berger, M.D., chair of the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, builds on studies that have indicated stem cells are naturally attracted to tumor activity. In principle, these cells can be modified to deliver an effective therapy against tumors while minimizing harm to surrounding, healthy tissue. David James, Ph.D., coordinator of the $19 million California Institute for Regenerative Medicine project, said, "We hope by focusing on 'smart' stem cell therapies, we will finally increase survival rates for brain tumor patients," which is investigating treatment of glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of primary brain tumor. The goal is to file an investigational new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within four years. The project began in early 2010 by looking at 12 possible approaches — three stem cell hosts, two drugs and two routes of administration. In the first nine months, possibilities have narrowed to four. To noninvasively track the cell migrations, the team loads the stem cells with small iron particles and uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to answer questions such as: Co-investigator Sabrina Ronen, Ph.D., from the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, said, "One key advantage of the MRI technique is that we can adapt it to human patients. So far, we have shown that the cells do migrate to the areas where we want them to migrate." Other advanced imaging could play a role later. "We might use MRSI [magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging] with hyperpolarized C-13, an innovative imaging method currently in clinical trials at UCSF, to track metabolic biomarkers that indicate whether the cell is responding to therapy," Ronen said. The team also will be watching carefully for any effect on surrounding normal tissue, any deleterious alteration of the stem cells, and the action of a "suicide gene" designed to cause each stem cell to self-destruct after it has delivered its payload."Our first concern is safety, and the amount of proof we will have to produce on that front is substantive," James said. And to move the work into a clinical trial in 2015, proof of safety will have to go hand in hand with proof of efficacy. "Improved survival of animal subjects receiving this therapy will be a critical determinant for deciding whether this novel treatment is evaluated in brain tumor patient clinical trials," James said. Another research avenue for finding more effective brain tumor treatments explores how tumors begin and function. The lab of Claudia Petritsch, Ph.D., is identifying which brain cells are most affected by mutations that give rise to tumors, and mechanisms by which a normal brain cell becomes a tumor cell. Petritsch said, "Our lab is the first to establish that asymmetric cell division is critical for the normal function of oligodendrocyte progenitors, and among those to establish that a switch to symmetric cell division is an important, early aspect of turning normal progenitor cells into cancer cells." She is studying both low-grade and high-grade brain tumors through this lens. For low-grade tumors, her lab uses primary tumor cells from surgical tissue to create preclinical mouse models that will help more precisely define how tumors form and grow. From this, Petritsch expects to identify a target and create a therapy that restores asymmetric cell division, and so instructs premalignant cells to develop into normal cells and prevent tumor regrowth after initial therapy. For aggressive, high-grade tumors, she and her colleagues are looking at how immature cells within the tumor hierarchically divide to generate a tumor with increased resistance to radiation and chemotherapy. They have found indications that hierarchical divisions — and how these hierarchical divisions are regulated — affect the tumor cells' response to conventional therapy. "These findings show that oligodendroglioma responds well to therapies because the tumor derives from progenitor cells, which nonhierarchically divide. Glioblastoma cells, on the other hand, appear to divide hierarchically to generate treatment-resistant cells," Petritsch said. "This work, therefore, gives cancer doctors and researchers new cellular pathways to target in developing therapies. Specifically, we’re seeking ways to interfere with the tumor cell hierarchy so that the tumor cells are more responsive to therapies." Researchers Developing Prosthetics Controlled by Thought Neuroscientists and engineers at UCSF and UC Berkeley are jointly developing devices that would allow patients with conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury and Lou Gehrig's disease to control prosthetics through thoughts alone.. Brain Surgeries Reduce Cervical Dystonia Pain, Spasms Implanting electrodes into a pea-sized part of the brain can dramatically improve life for people with severe cervical dystonia, a rare, debilitating condition.

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http://www.ucsfhealth.org/newsletters/neuroscience/spring_2011/brain_tumor/index.html

2013-06-18T23:32:55Z

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en

Dawn Levy writes that since 1960, biologist Paul Ehrlich and his research group have been conducting a study of the population of Jasper Ridge's Bay checkerspot butterflies. But now they won't be able to continue their study, because the last two Jasper Ridge populations went extinct in 1991 and 1998. After examining 70 years of rainfall and population data, the researchers conclude that extreme swings in regional climate hastened the extinction of the butterflies. "This is the first time anyone has documented the effects of weather variation linked to climate change on extinction of populations," says Ehrlich. Previous studies have looked at shifts in average conditions, such as whether the climate has become drier or wetter in general, or the effects of a single extreme climate event, such as a hard freeze. The Stanford study instead examined the effect of climate variability - swings in rainfall highs and lows - on extinction, and tied the extinctions to this. "People have long been aware of the problem of species extinctions, but are just beginning to realize the importance of population extinctions," Ehrlich says. "What we've done is develop a model describing how precipitation drives the changes in population numbers of the butterfly," says Carol Boggs, director of the Center for Conservation Biology. "We looked at how precipitation has changed locally in the last 70 years and found that the variability in precipitation had increased since 1971." The drastic differences in rainfall created pressures the checkerspots simply could not overcome, she says. "Population extinction in these insects can happen very fast - in a matter of decades - if you have high variation in rainfall." The Jasper Ridge checkerspots weren't the last checkerspots on Earth. Several other populations of the butterflies are known to exist, but many of these are under pressure as well. "Three hundred years ago, the checkerspots were almost certainly widespread in California," Ehrlich says. But when the Spaniards settled the state in the 1700s and 1800s, in the hay they fed their cattle they inadvertently imported Eurasian grasses that competed with the native plants upon which the butterflies fed. If populations become too small or isolated, fairly rapid extinction is inevitable. Small populations have trouble riding out the changes that can sharply reduce their numbers. Human population growth can bring urban sprawl and plant invasions that isolate one population "island" from another and create insurmountable barriers to migration and repopulation. Rainfall is the biggest factor in determining checkerspot numbers. Caterpillars hatch from eggs in April but will starve if they can't get big enough before the summer drought comes and their seasonal food plants perish. The longer those plants stay alive, the more time the caterpillars have to get fat enough to reach their fourth instar (the stage between molts). At that point, the caterpillars can go into a resting stage called diapause, when their metabolism shuts down for the summer. "The biggest source of mortality for the butterflies is failure to get big enough to go into diapause before the plant vanishes," Boggs says. When the rains come in November, the caterpillars begin feeding again. Now they are only half an inch long, but they must multiply their weight many times before they become chrysalids (pupae), the stage at which caterpillars metamorphose into butterflies. "This happens in late winter," Ehrlich says. "It takes about 10 days for the feeding-growing machine, the caterpillar, to be converted into the reproducing-dispersing machine, the adult." "Population extinctions, like species extinctions, have been going on ever since life first evolved," Ehrlich points out. "What's different now is the rate of extinction is higher than any time in the last 65 million years - since the dinosaurs went extinct." The Jasper Ridge checkerspots were going to go extinct anyway, according to Boggs and Ehrlich. But something happened in 1971 that increased the speed of the extinction: Annual rainfall began to vary wildly. Boggs says, "We have no data to indicate the cause." To learn more,click here. Global warming will wipe out wild polar bears within 60 years, according to a report from the Polar Bear Institute. By 2060, climate experts believe Arctic pack ice will have melted so much that all of the existing population of 22,000 polar bears will starve because the animals they feed on, such as seals, will be difficult to find. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) drew attention to the bears' plight in 1999, and says they are "living on borrowed time" and climate change is their main risk. Polar bears need the spring pack ice as support for their dens and to enable them to travel large distances in search of prey, particularly seals. But that ice has thinned by 40 per cent in 20 years, from an average thickness 16 feet to 9 feet, says Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at Cambridge University. As the pack ice thins it reduces the areas bears can hunt. Thin or broken ice is more tiring to walk over, so they have to travel further to get the same amount of food. For cubs, that can be the difference between life and death. To learn more,click here. Almost a quarter of the world's mammals face extinction within 30 years, according to a United Nations report on the state of the global environment. The destruction of habitats and the introduction of alien species from one part of the world to another are blamed for the threatened loss to biodiversity. The United Nations Environment Program (Unep) report identifies more than 11,000 endangered animal and plant species - including more than 1,000 mammals, nearly a quarter of the world's total. One in eight bird species is also in danger of extinction, and more than 5,000 different plants. The species that will vanish within three decades include well-publicized cases such as the black rhinoceros and the Siberian tiger, as well as less well-known animals such as the Philippine eagle and the Asian Amur leopard. Human settlement in wilderness regions, as well as rainforest and wetlands destruction and the impact of industry, have had a dramatic impact on the survival of animals and plants. What does our changing weather mean for the future? To find out, read ?The Coming Global Superstorm? by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, now only $9.95 for a hardcover signed by Whitley,click here. NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.

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http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/tough-times-butterflies-and-bears

2013-06-18T23:39:07Z

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Katla volcano, located near the southern end of Iceland's eastern volcanic zone, is hidden beneath the Myrdalsjökull icecap. Katla is one of Iceland's most active and most dangerous volcanoes, infamous for its large eruptions happening on average every 50-100 year, causing devastating glacial floods (jökullhlaups). In recent year, increased seismicity and inflation of Katla has been being measured. Katla, statistically due for a new eruption, is being very closely monitored and an eruption in a not too distant future would not come as a big surprise. subglacial volcano 1512 m / 4,961 ft Southern Iceland, 63.63°N / -19.06°W Katla volcano eruptions: 920 AD, 950 AD (?), 1150, 1177, 1245, 1262, 1311, 1357, 1416, 1440, 1450, 1500, 1580, 1612, 1625, 1660-61, 1721, 1755-56, 1823, 1860, 1918, 1955(?), 1999(?), 1918 Typical eruption style: Explosive basaltic and dacitic eruptions, voluminous lava flows Katla webcams / live data Last earthquakes nearby Depth and magnitude of quakes near Katla during August As can be seen from our new plots of recent nearby quakes, the number of earthquakes near Katla appears to have been gradually increasing during August. However, most quakes are very shallow and probably NOT caused by magmatic movements, but adjustments of the shallow hydrothermal system. A possibility is that this is a seasonal pattern caused by the warming and increased melting of ice during summer. ...more To watch out for, when trying to anticipate a new eruption, would be earthquake swarms at some depth (5-20 km) that become shallower. [less] Another seismic swarm has occurred at Katla volcano yesterday. About 30 small quakes at shallow depths mostly between 1 and 6 km in the central part of the caldera were recorded and could indicate another intrusion or changes in the hydrothermal system. Earthquake swarm at Katla volcano on 5-7 June 2012 (Icelandic Met Office) A new swarm of earthquakes has started Tuesday (5 June) evening at Katla volcano. Until now, 34 quakes up to magnitude 2 have been recorded beneath the volcano, at mostly shallow depths around 3-7 km. The quakes are clustered in the SE part of the caldera, and could indicate that a magmatic intrusion is taking place in this area. Whether this is a precursor to a possible eruption of the volcano remains speculation. Small earthquake swarm at Katla volcano during 28-29 May 2012 (Icelandic Met Office) A swarm of 14 small to very small mostly very shallow quakes occurred at Katla volcano yesterday and today. Epicenter depths were reported between 0.1 and 12.2 km. Judging from the depth and magnitude of the quakes, the most likely cause for the seismic swarm are adjustments of the hydrothermal system under the icecap, and probably not magmatic intrusions (which would be possible indicators of a future new eruption). ...more Earthquake swarm at Katla volcano on 15 May 2012 (Icelandic Met Office) Katla volcano continues to show signs of increased unrest. A small glacial flood occurred from under the volcano's icecap Katla around 28 April 2012 and possibly again around 7-8 May, both times accompanied by increased levels of harmonic tremor. This suggests that magma movements inside the volcano might be heating up the ground, causing increased melting. ...more A small seismic swarm at depths of 1-2 kim occurred yesterday 15 May. [less] Jón Frímann on his dedicated blog about Icelandic (and not only) volcanoes closely follows what is happening there: a cluster of minor earthquakes has been showing up under the Katla volcano caldera. This has been following a gradual increase in seismic activity under Katla during the past few weeks. It could be a signal of new volcanic activity to be expected on a timescale of few weeks to months. A new eruption would probably be heralded by a strong seismic swarm, and could start and build up rapidly. It did so in July 2011 when a sudden increase in earthquake activity occurred and there was an small eruption without warning. Volcanic tremor (a low frequency vibration often caused by magma rising to the surface) has been observed under Katla volcano in southern Iceland, Jón Frímann reports on his Iceland volcanoes blog (see below), closely following seismic activity in Iceland recorded both by national instruments and his own private geophone network. ...more According to Jón, there are 2 possible explanations: one could simply be an increase in hydrothermal activity in the northern part of Katla volcano. The second could be magma movements at depth although there have been no significant earthquakes that usually would accompany an intrusion or small (sub-glacial) eruption, although this still could occur in the near future as often observed in the past during similar episodes of tremor followed by earthquakes. [less] Recent earthquakes beneath Katla and Hekla volcanoes (Icelandic Met Office) Time and depth of recent quakes Two of Iceland's most known and active volcanoes are showing signs of unrest. Another seismic swarm (after the last one around 3 Feb) occurred at Katla volcano yesterday, although it was weaker than the previous ones. Most likely, the swarm was caused by another shallow dike injection (magma intrusion) beneath the crater, confirming the ongoing unrest at the volcano. ...more A small, but very shallow 1.2 magnitude quake happened beneath the summit of Hekla volcano at just 100 m. [less] Seismicity in Iceland during the past 2 days (Icelandic Met Office) Small seismic swarms have occurred near Katla volcano (S Iceland), Henggil volcano (SW Iceland) and a weaker swarm near Askja (N-Central Iceland) during the past 48 hours. The cause of the swarms is unclear and their intensity is not alarming. They are not necessarily volcanic, but could related to tectonic stress release around the main Icelandic rift zones. Signs of unrest beneath Katla, one of Iceland's most active volcanoes continue. A seismic swarm was recorded under the northern part of Katla volcano's caldera beneath the Mýrdalsjökull glacier in southern Iceland over the past 48 hours. 35 quakes of up to 3.2 magnitude, many at shallow depths, occrred mostly in the afternoon of 27 Oct. A mew seismic swarm is occurring at Katla volcano, with over 60 small earthquakes of magnitudes of up to 2.6 at 1-8 km depth beneath the caldera since Sunday. It could be a possibility that this swarm is caused by the injection of magma at depth, but could also be due to structural displacements. It is unclear whether the recent signs of unrest at Katla are the precursors of a new eruption in a near to medium future. Katla volcano, hidden under the large Mýrdalsjökull glacier in Southern Iceland, located just east of Eyafjallajökull volcano, is showing signs of unrest. In the past 48 hours, 8 earthquakes have occured under the ice cap, which could be a a sign towards a reawakening of the volcano which last erupted in 1918 and is considered overdue. Katla's eruptions are normally accompanied by large and extremely destructive glacier floods, so-called jökulhlaups. ...more Although too early to send an eruption warning, the Icelandic authorities are monitoring the activity under Katla carefully. [less] Copyrights:VolcanoDiscovery. Use of material: Text and images on this webpage are copyrighted. Further reproduction and use without authorization is not consented. If you need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.

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2013-06-18T23:32:40Z

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The OpenTextFile method opens a specified file and returns a TextStream object that can be used to access the file. |fname||Required. The name of the file to open| |mode||Optional. How to open the file 1=ForReading - Open a file for reading. You cannot write to this file. 2=ForWriting - Open a file for writing. 8=ForAppending - Open a file and write to the end of the file. |create||Optional. Sets whether a new file can be created if the filename does not exist. True indicates that a new file can be created, and False indicates that a new file will not be created. False is default| |format||Optional. The format of the file 0=TristateFalse - Open the file as ASCII. This is default. -1=TristateTrue - Open the file as Unicode. -2=TristateUseDefault - Open the file using the system default. Your message has been sent to W3Schools.

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2013-06-18T23:05:37Z

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en

Tobacco control for specific populations Evidence-based tobacco control measures that are targeted to the general population, including many of those contained in the MPOWER package, are generally a cost-effective way to reduce tobacco use. However, to ensure maximum impact, it is often necessary to consider the needs of specific populations. In particular, it is important to consider particular characteristics within certain groups that may lead them to initiate and continue to use tobacco, as well as the most effective interventions to promote cessation. For example, since most tobacco use starts before the age of 18, it is important to consider how specific policies and strategies will impact youth initiation. In many countries, women are increasingly targeted by the tobacco industry; therefore, it is important to ensure that particular strategies take into account gender differences when designing policies, anti-tobacco messages and other interventions. In many countries, tobacco takes a disproportionate toll on certain communities and groups, such as native populations, as well as people from low socio-economic classes. People in these groups may have specific tobacco-related health risks, and these also need to be considered in the design of tobacco control programmes and strategies.

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http://www.who.int/tobacco/control/populations/en/index.html

2013-06-18T23:32:58Z

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en

This is an infrared image of Jupiter showing regions which are hot. Click on image for full size The Source of Heat from Within Neptune The picture shows places on Jupiter which are hot. Jupiter is a very warm body in space, as shown in the picture, and this warmth is associated with the energy of Jupiter. Neptune has also been found to be a warm body in space. The energy that Neptune makes has been found to be very high. There are several ways in which astronomical objects make energy from inside. The first is by thermonuclear fusion, the way a star makes energy. Another method is by radioactive material within the ground, the way a planet makes energy. For the giant planets, the method which seems to be at work is the mere fact that energy is given off from when a planet is in the process of shrinking together, or collapsing on itself. The fact that Neptune is still collapsing together indicates that the process of planet formation is still going on. This process is providing the heat from within which causes the unusual motions in the atmosphere. Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store! Our online store on science education, ranging from evolution , classroom research , and the need for science and math literacy You might also be interested in: Some materials give off radiation. We call those materials "radioactive". Radioactive materials are often dangerous to people and other living things. There are many different kinds of radioactive materials....more Motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Neptune may be very different from the motions within the Earth. A second idea for the motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet is shown in this...more The picture shows places on Jupiter which are hot. Jupiter is a very warm body in space, as shown in the picture, and this warmth is associated with the energy of Jupiter. Neptune has also been found to...more Motions in the interior of a planet help carry heat from the inside to the outside. The drawing to the left illustrates a kind of global motion that is typical of motions in the atmosphere as well as interior...more This image shows the new Great Dark Spot of Neptune, which was discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope. The image shown here, shows a "hole" in the clouds of Neptune in pink, in the northern hemisphere,...more The giant planets have definitely changed since their formation. But how much remains to be seen. Most of the original air of the giant planets remains in place. (The earth-like planets lost most of their...more This image shows some clouds known as "cirrus" clouds, extending for many kilometers across the face of Neptune. These clouds are very high up, for they can be seen to cast shadows on the lower clouds,...more This image of Neptune uses false colors to show where the smog is. The smog of Neptune can be seen in red along the edge of the image. These hazes of smog are found at very high altitudes, over the clouds...more

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.windows2universe.org/neptune/interior/N_evolution_contraction.html

2013-06-18T23:19:20Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

5 entries found for cardinal. To select an entry, click on it. Main Entry: 1car·di·nal Pronunciation: kärd-nl, -n-l Etymology: Middle English cardinal "high church official," from Latin cardinalis (same meaning), from cardinalis (adjective) "principal, most important, of a hinge," from cardo "hinge" 1: a high official of the Roman Catholic Church ranking next below the pope 2: CARDINAL NUMBER 3: a North American finch of which the male is bright red with a black face and a pointed bunch of feathers on its head Word History Our word cardinal can be traced back to the Latin adjective cardinalis, which at first meant "serving as a hinge." The root of this word is the noun cardo, meaning "hinge." Since a hinge is the device on which a door turns, the noun cardo also came to be used for "something on which a development turns or depends," or in other words, "something very important." Following this, the adjective took on the meaning "very important, chief, principal." Later the Roman Catholic Church made use of this adjective in referring to principal churches and priests. By the late Middle Ages the word cardinalis had come to be used for "a clergyman of the highest rank, next to the pope." When borrowed into English, cardinalis became cardinal. Then other senses of the word developed. A cardinal's robes are a deep red color, and this color influenced the naming of a type of bird whose color was like that of a cardinal's robes.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=cardinal

2013-06-18T23:06:23Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

- Named by Nettie Stevens in 1905 using the next letter in sequence following the naming by Hermann Henking in 1890 of the X chromosome. The brief resemblance in the appearance of the X and Y chromosomes to the letters "X" and "Y" respectively during cell division is entirely coincidental. (Wiktionary) Sorry, no example sentences found. Looking for tweets for Y chromosome.

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http://www.wordnik.com/words/Y%20chromosome?suggested_from=y+chromosome

2013-06-18T23:33:41Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

An island is defined as a body of land surrounded by water.(noun) An example of an island is Ellis Island in New York City. The definition of an island is an area that is isolated or stands alone.(noun) See island in Webster's New World College Dictionary Origin: < ME iland (respelled by assoc. with unrelated isle) < OE igland, iegland, lit., island land & ealand, lit., water land < ig, ieg, isle (akin to Ger aue, ON ey < PGmc *aujo, akin to *ahwo) & ea, water < PGmc *ahwo, water < IE *akwa > L aqua: see land See island in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Origin: Alteration (influenced by isle) Origin: of Middle English ilond Origin: , from Old English īegland Origin: : īg, īeg; see akw-ā- in Indo-European roots Origin: + land, land; see lendh- in Indo-European roots. Word History: It may seem hard to believe, but Latin aqua, “water,” is related to island, which originally meant “watery land.” Aqua comes almost unchanged from Indo-European *akwā-, “water.” *Akwā- became *ahwō- in Germanic by Grimm's Law and other sound changes. To this was built the adjective *ahwjō-, “watery.” This then evolved to *awwjō- or *auwi-, which in pre-English became *ēaj-, and finally ēg or īeg in Old English. Island, spelled iland, first appears in Old English in King Alfred's translation of Boethius about A.D. 888; the spellings igland and ealond appear in contemporary documents. The s in island is due to a mistaken etymology, confusing the etymologically correct English iland with French isle. Isle comes ultimately from Latin īnsula “island,” a component of paenīnsula, “almost-island,” whence our peninsula. Learn more about island

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http://www.yourdictionary.com/island

2013-06-18T23:39:27Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

About the Program The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Program is committed to developing and deploying a portfolio of innovative technologies for clean, domestic power generation to support an ever-growing industry, targeted at producing 20% of our nation's electricity by 2030. What We Do The Program's activities are leading the nation's efforts to accelerate the deployment of wind power technologies through improved performance, lower costs, and reduced market barriers. The Program works with national laboratories, industry, universities, and other federal agencies to conduct research and development activities through competitively selected, directly funded, and cost-shared projects. Our efforts target both land-based and offshore wind power to fully support the clean energy economy. Why It Matters Greater use of the nation's abundant wind resources for electric power generation will help the nation reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants, diversify its energy supply, provide cost‐competitive electricity to key regions across the country, and reduce water usage for power generation. In addition, wind energy deployment will help stimulate the revitalization of key sectors of the economy by investing in infrastructure and creating long-term, sustainable skilled jobs. Reducing the Cost of Renewable Energy The Wind Program is committed to helping the nation secure cost-competitive sources of renewable energy through the development and deployment of innovative wind power technologies. By investing in improvements to wind plant design, technology development, and operation as well as developing tools to identify the highest quality wind resources, the Wind Program serves as a leader in making wind energy technologies more competitive with traditional sources of energy and a larger part of our nation's renewable energy portfolio. Securing Clean, Domestic Energy The Wind Program is contributing to the nation's role as a leader in renewable energy technology development by promoting domestic manufacturing of wind power technologies. Wind energy is a clean, domestic power source that requires little to no water and creates no air pollution when compared to more traditional energy sources. The Program works to ensure that wind energy technologies are environmentally responsible by analyzing the environmental impacts of wind energy, observing species' interactions with wind turbines, and researching opportunities to mitigate or eliminate any impacts where they may exist. Enabling the Renewable Energy Market By working with industry, federal and international partners, and national laboratories, the Wind Program seeks to understand and address market barriers such as environmental impacts, project siting and permitting processes, and wind's potential effects on our nation's air space and waterways. These efforts will help wind power continue on its trajectory to being a competitive, cost-effective part of our nation's renewable energy portfolio. Harnessing Energy Where our Nation Needs it Most Wind energy presents a unique opportunity to harness energy in areas where our country's populations need it most. This includes offshore wind's potential to provide power to population centers near coastlines, and land-based wind's ability to deliver electricity to rural communities with few other local sources of power. By working to deploy wind power in new areas on land and at sea and ensuring the stable, secure integration of this power to our nation's electrical grid, the Wind Program contributes to the delivery of clean, renewable energy throughout the nation. The Wind Program funds research and development activities at the following national laboratories:

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/about.html

2013-06-18T23:12:15Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Definition: A connected graph such that deleting any two vertices (and incident edges) results in a graph that is still connected. See also biconnected graph, k-connected graph, cut vertex. Note: After Tomas Rokicki <[email protected]>, 24 December 2002. Informally, there are at least three independent paths from any vertex to any other vertex. After Paul M. Sant, 6 Sep 2000. If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul E. Black. Entry modified 17 December 2004. HTML page formatted Fri Mar 25 16:20:35 2011. Cite this as: Paul E. Black, "triconnected graph", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed., U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. 17 December 2004. (accessed TODAY) Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/triconnectedGraph.html

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://xlinux.nist.gov/dads/HTML/triconnectedGraph.html

2013-06-18T23:31:29Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707436332/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123036-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Indians and Rusticators: Wabanakis and Summer Visitors on Mount Desert Island 1840s-1920s highlights the role that Mount Desert Island played in the cultural and economic survival of the Wabanaki, the collective name for the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Micmac in Maine. The seasonal interactions of Wabanakis and summer rusticators, summer residents from the large urban areas of the Northeast, are explored through photographs, artifacts, and hands-on interaction. The exhibit profiles various personalities—especially the iconic Penobscot Indian showman Frank "Big Thunder" Loring, whose unforgettable presence on Mount Desert Island spanned 60 years of the Rusticator Era, as well as noted Passamaquoddy guide and artist Tomah Joseph. Serving as guest curators for the project are Bunny McBride, MA and Dr. Harald Prins, highly regarded scholars and authors of Wabanaki history. The stories told, and research presented represent years of collective work with the four tribes in Maine, the Abbe Museum, and Acadia National Park. McBride and Prins have worked with the Abbe on a number of occasions; memorably, McBride curated The Four Mollys exhibit ten years ago when the Abbe first opened in downtown Bar Harbor. Through images, objects and stories, Abbe visitors will enjoy learning about a layer of Mount Desert Island history that few know about. The exhibit is designed to give the visitor a "you are there" immersive experience with a replica of a Wabanaki sale tent with living space, a reproduction of the Bar Harbor wharf and a wide array of "hands-on" components. Visual images, many recently discovered, help to create a time travel-like experience. Images to look for include historicphotographs, a rare placard for an 1880 Indian performance in Bar Harbor, local period maps of Bar Harbor showing the locations of Indian encampments, drawings and etchings. A great variety of cultural artifacts sold by Wabanakis to tourists and rusticators are also featured, including basketry, bark work, wood carvings, feather work, beadwork, and quillwork. These objects help to illustrate the historical depth of the role Wabanaki art played in the cultural and economic survival of the Wabanaki people, and in making Bar Harbor a unique destination for rusticators and today's visitors. The Abbe Museum worked with exhibition advisors James Eric Francis, Sr., Tribal Historian for the Penobscot Nation; Donald Soctomah, Tribal Historian for the Passamaquoddy Tribe; and Donna Loring, Penobscot Nation Tribal Council member and former State Legislator. Local organizations contributing to this project include the Bar Harbor Historical Society, the Mt. Desert Island Historical Society, and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. For more information call the Abbe Museum at 207-288-3519. Bangor Daily News Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Mr. & Mrs. Douglas and Ann Sharpe Maine Humanities Council Mr. & Mrs. Melville Hodder Rebecca J. MacQuinn Anne & Fred Stocking Ann Staples Waldron (in memory of Ed Blair) Mr. & Mrs. John W. Ingle, Jr. Allen Screen & Digital Acadia National Park Bangor Museum and Center for History Bar Harbor Historical Society Clark Point Gallery Jesup Memorial Library Maine Maritime Museum Mount Desert Island Historical Society Judy & Peter Obbard Page Farm & Home Museum Passamaquoddy Tribal Historic Preservation Office Penobscot Marine Museum Penobscot Nation Museum Harald Prins & Bunny McBride Jane K. Ryan Raymond Strout, Ahlblad's Frame Shop David Moses Bridges James Eric Francis, Sr. Maine Historic Preservation Commission Exhibit Design By: Dru Colbert, Betts Swanton and Danielle Meier Fabrication By: Mida's Touch

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://abbemuseum.org/exhibits/IRexhibit.html

2013-05-19T11:17:20Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

How to diagnose autism - 1Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust, Fleming Nuffield Unit, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK - 2School of Clinical Medical Sciences, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Sir James Spence Institute, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK - Correspondence to: Professor A Le Couteur Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust, Fleming Nuffield Unit, Burdon Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 3AE, UK; - Accepted 20 November 2006 Over the past two decades, there has been an explosion of interest in autism and autism spectrum disorders. Knowledge and awareness of the condition has grown exponentially at all levels among the general public, parents, health professionals, the research community and, more recently, at parliamentary level. Alongside the increased understanding of these complex and disabling conditions is the acknowledgment of a broadening of the diagnostic criteria away from a narrow definition of autism to the autism spectrum with less clear diagnostic boundaries. Growing evidence of the importance of early diagnosis and intervention demands knowledge and skills from all professionals working with young children and in particular those involved in recognising early concerns about a child’s development. This article outlines current clinical and research findings in relation to early diagnosis and considers the role of the paediatrician in this process. Reference is also made to the National Autism Plan for Children. - ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ASD, autism spectrum disorder - GFCF, gluten-free casein-free - MAA, multiagency assessment - NAPC, National Autism Plan for Children - PDD-NOS, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified Competing interests: None.

<urn:uuid:741afe09-9fe9-4a2c-880f-3fe796b2c7c7>

CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://adc.bmj.com/content/92/6/540.abstract

2013-05-19T11:08:11Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

American patriot, inventor, and first postmaster general Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) appears on the Fourth Bureau Issue's 1-cent stamp. An image of Franklin had appeared continually on the lowest value US stamp since 1847, when the US issued its first stamps. No new engraving was made for the vignette of this stamp. Rather, Marcus Baldwin's engraving for the Washington-Franklin Heads Series was reused. Baldwin modeled his work after a photograph of a plaster bust of Franklin created by French artist Jean Jacques Caffieri's in 1777. Caffieri was one of Louis XV's court sculptors and died in 1792. The stamp's frame was designed by Clair Aubrey Huston and engraved by Edward M. Hall and Joachim C. Benzing. The 1-cent Franklin Fourth Bureau, which patrons commonly used on postcards, first appeared in 1923. As early as 1899, the Post Office Department had considered marking stamps to help identify those stolen from post offices. Printing technology during the early years of the twentieth century, however, made implementation of the idea unfeasible. The development of the rotary press changed that. In 1929 a postal inspector again advanced the idea of marking stamps, stressing that $200,000 worth of stolen stamps had been "fenced" the previous year. His argument convinced postal officials, and a plan was formulated to overprint stamps with the names for all forty-eight states for distribution to all but the very largest post offices. Officials at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing objected to the plan as impractical. They agreed, however, to overprint stamps for Kansas and Nebraska (in the territory of the inspector who devised the plan). The Bureau overprinted eleven stamps for each state, the 1-cent through 10-cent values of the Fourth Bureau Issue, perforated 11x10.5. All post offices in Kansas and Nebraska received overprinted stamps except for Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita, Omaha, and Lincoln. Although the stamps went on sale at the Philatelic Sales Agency in Washington on May 1, 1929, known use in Kansas and Nebraska occurred as early as April 15. The overprinted stamps created mass confusion. Although the stamps were valid for use anywhere in the country, some postmasters thought they could be used only in Kansas and Nebraska. Others thought they were precancels. False reports of stolen stamps circulated. The failed experiment was cancelled in less than a year, and the Bureau never overprinted stamps for the other forty-six states. Stamps exist with counterfeit Kansas and Nebraska overprints. Genuine overprints have gum with only one gum breaker and striated ridges. This simple examination will help identify many counterfeits.

<urn:uuid:c9879fdb-72ab-4266-83e4-2daaae9f6c7d>

CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&img=&mode=&pg=1&tid=2040273

2013-05-19T11:26:07Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Carrots are good for your eyes now and in years to come. Carotenoids, the natural pigments in carrots (and other fruits and vegetables) appear to help ward off macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 65. Macular degeneration occurs when the macula, the small central part of the rretina, deteriorates, leading to loss of central vision. There is no known cure, but researchers at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary may have discovered a way to help prevent it. Their research, which included more than 800 subjects from five U.S. ophthalmology centers, revealed that people who ate the greatest amounts of foods high in carotenoids had a 43 percent lower risk of developing macular degeneration than people consuming the lowest levels of carotenoids.

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http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-04-26/entertainment/9504260217_1_macular-degeneration-lutein-and-zeaxanthin-carotenoids

2013-05-19T11:09:37Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Scientists pin down the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud Careful observations of a rare class of double stars have allowed a team of astronomers to deduce a more precise value for this neighboring dwarf galaxy — 163,000 light-years. March 7, 2013 After nearly a decade of careful observations, an international team of astronomers has measured the distance to our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), more accurately than ever before. This new measurement also improves our knowledge of the rate of expansion of the universe — the Hubble Constant — and is a crucial step toward understanding the nature of the mysterious dark energy that is causing the expansion to accelerate. The team used telescopes at the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) La Silla Observatory in Chile as well as others around the globe. This photograph shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighbouring galaxy to the Milky Way. The positions of eight faint and rare cool eclipsing binary stars are marked with crosses (these objects are too faint to appear directly in this picture). By studying how their light changes and other properties of these systems, astronomers can measure the distances to eclipsing binaries accurately. A long series of observations of these objects has now led to the most accurate determination so far of the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud — a crucial step in the determination of distances across the universe. //ESO/R. Gendler Astronomers survey the scale of the universe by first measuring the distances to close-by objects and then using them as standard candles to pin down distances farther and farther out into the cosmos. But this chain is only as accurate as its weakest link. Up to now, finding an accurate distance to the LMC, one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way, has proved elusive. As stars in this galaxy are used to fix the distance scale for more remote galaxies, it is crucially important. But careful observations of a rare class of double stars have now allowed a team of astronomers to deduce a more precise value for the LMC distance — 163,000 light-years. “I am very excited because astronomers have been trying for a hundred years to accurately measure the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud, and it has proved to be extremely difficult,” said Wolfgang Gieren from the University of Concepción in Chile. “Now, we have solved this problem by demonstrably having a result accurate to 2%.” The improvement in the measurement of the distance to the LMC also gives better distances for many Cepheid variable stars. These bright pulsating stars are used as standard candles to measure distances out to more remote galaxies and to determine the expansion rate of the universe. This, in turn, is the basis for surveying the universe out to the most distant galaxies that can be seen with current telescopes. So the more accurate distance to the LMC immediately reduces the inaccuracy in current measurements of cosmological distances. The astronomers worked out the distance to the LMC by observing rare close pairs of stars known as eclipsing binaries. As these stars orbit each other, they pass in front of each other. When this happens, as seen from Earth, the total brightness drops, both when one star passes in front of the other and when it passes behind. By carefully tracking these changes in brightness and measuring the stars’ orbital speeds, it is possible to work out how big the stars are, their masses, and other information about their orbits. When this is combined with careful measurements of the total brightness and colors of the stars, scientists can find remarkably accurate distances. This method has been used before, but with hot stars; however, certain assumptions have to be made in this case, and such distances are not as accurate as scientists would like. But now, for the first time, scientists have identified eight extremely rare eclipsing binaries where both stars are cooler red giant stars. These stars have yielded more accurate distance values — accurate to about 2%. “ESO provided the perfect suite of telescopes and instruments for the observations needed for this project — HARPS for extremely accurate radial velocities of relatively faint stars, and SOFI for precise measurements of how bright the stars appeared in the infrared,” said Grzegorz Pietrzynski from the University of Concepción in Chile and the Warsaw University Observatory in Poland. Look for this icon. This denotes premium subscriber content. Learn more »

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http://astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/News/2013/03/Measuring%20the%20universe%20more%20accurately%20than%20ever%20before.aspx

2013-05-19T11:01:25Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

[Editor's note: click on the map to turn on interactive features, other faults, zoom, etc. The Agua Blanca fault(shown passing through the Punta Banda peninsula that is my neighborhood) is a major, trans‐peninsular, right‐lateral fault located in northern Baja California. Its WNW‐ESE orientation is markedly different from the general trend of the San Andreas‐Gulf of California fault system. From a geological point of view, the Agua Blanca fault is considered active, but there has been little significant seismic activity directly associated with it. On October 9, 1981, the onset of an earthquake swarm was detected at the Ensenada seismic station (ENX), with a S‐P time average of 2 sec. Shortly after this, an array of up to seven portable seismic stations was installed by CICESE around Todos Santos Bay. More than 180 events were recorded during the following 10 days, after which the local seismicity decreased. A second swarm consisting of 100 microearthquakes was detected between November 28 and December 5, 1981. The epicentral locations of those events recorded at four or more local stations all lie inside Todos Santos Bay. The composite fault plane solution for both swarms indicates a right‐lateral strike‐slip vertical fault with a strike of N52°W. Geological observations allow us to conclude that the seismic activity reported here is associated with the Agua Blanca fault zone.] The interactive Google map on this page shows the most recent earthquakes recorded by the http://eqinfo.ucsd.edu/deployments/anza/”>Anza seismic network. Active stations in the network are plotted as yellow triangles, with the station code underneath. Earthquakes are colored by age from present, and scaled by magnitude (see the legend on the right of the map layer). Clicking the earthquake icon on the map displays a window containing information on the specific event. Move the map around by using the arrow keys in the top left of the map or click and drag the cursor in the map layer. Zoom in and out of the map by using the slider bar, or plus and minus buttons, or your mouse scroll wheel, in the map layer. Reset the map view by clicking the four arrow key in the center of the navigation console in the map layer. If you don’t wish to see the station names displayed, click the checkbox next to the ‘Show station codes’ in the “Event legend” STATIONS section. Click the checkbox again to show the names. Display fault zones Interactively show and hide faults in Southern & Central California, and Baja California Norte, Mexico by checking or unchecking the boxes next to each fault name in the “Fault Legend” layer on the left of the map. Fault traces are displayed in dark red. Clicking one of the region names in the Fault Legend layer will display a list of all the faults that can be shown in that region. A check box next to the fault name can be clicked to display a fault trace directly on the map layer. Clicking the trace will open a bubble window displaying the name of the selected fault zone. Note: Fault resolution drops off at ˜ 30ft. You can modify the time range of earthquakes plotted by moving the slider bar located in the top right of the map layer and clicking the “Replot” button. If the “Fault Legend” and “Event legend” layers are obscuring a feature of interest to you, they can be dragged around the map by clicking on the directional arrow in the top-right of the layer. Turning on all the faults and dragging the map takes a lot of web browser processing memory. It is highly recommended that you use this page only if you have a broadband connection to the internet.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://bajadock.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/ensenadas-earthquake-zone/

2013-05-19T11:00:15Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Understanding Network Address Translation, NAT Network Address Translation (NAT) is one of the basic functions of a circuit level gateway. The simple purpose of NAT is to hide the IP addresses of a private network from the outside world. Normally, when a router forwards a packet from one segment to another, the packet is unchanged. With NAT, as a packet crosses from a trusted segment of a circuit level gateway to an untrusted segment, the packet is rewritten so that the packet’s source address as it appears on the private segment is replaced by a translated source address. The translated source address is what the outside world sees. Thus, the private address remains hidden from the outside world. When a host on a public network transmits a packet to a host on the private network, the source host addresses the packet to the private host’s publicly translated address. The sender on the public side does not know the destination host’s true address. As the packet crosses the circuit level gateway, the gateway rewrites the packet so that the destination address is translated to the destination host’s private address. This image illustrates the changes in source and destination addresses as packets cross a circuit level gateway performing network address translation One to One Translation One form of NAT establishes a one to one translation between an equal number of private and public host addresses. For example, each host address on a Class C network on the private side of a circuit level gateway is uniquely mapped to a corresponding host address on a Class C network on the public side of the gateway. If 10.1.1.0/24 is the private network address and 172.19.19.0/24 is the public network address, then outbound packets with a source address of 10.1.1.5 can always be rewritten with a translated source address of 172.19.19.5, and inbound packets with a destination address of 172.19.19.5 can be rewritten with a translated destination address of 10.1.1.5. The mapping is persistent and bi-directional. Therefore, connections may be initiated from either side of the circuit level gateway unless a default deny policy is applied. Pool of Translated Addresses One form of NAT maps a large block of addresses from the private network to a small pool of addresses on the public segment. Multiple Class A addresses may be mapped to part of a Class C network block. If 10.0.0.0/4 is the private segment’s network address and 172.19.19.0/28 is the public pool of addresses, then an outbound packet with a source address of 10.1.1.5 may be rewritten to have a translated source address of any host address in the pool of 172.19.19.0/28. The NAT gateway will then create a temporary entry in its internal translation table to track the mapping. An inbound packet’s destination address cannot be translated unless a corresponding entry exists in the NAT table. If a current translation exists in the NAT table, the inbound packet’s destination address will be rewritten in accordance with the NAT table entry. The mapping is not persistent and is only temporarily bi-directional. An inbound connection may be accepted only until the NAT table entry expires. Single Translated Addresses The form of NAT commonly (but not exclusively) used in commercial circuit level gateways maps any number of addresses from the private network to a single address on the public segment. Given a private segment with the network address 10.0.0.0/8 and a NAT policy that sets 172.19.19.130 as the public address, all outbound packets from the private network will be rewritten to have a translated source address of 172.19.19.130. To correctly map replies to the private host that initiated the connection, the source port number of the outbound packet must also be translated. The NAT gateway will then create a temporary entry in its internal translation table to track the translated source address and port number. An inbound packet’s destination address and port number cannot be translated unless a corresponding entry exists in the NAT table. If a current translation exists in the NAT table, the inbound packet’s destination address and port number will be rewritten in accordance with the NAT table entry. The mapping is not persistent and is only temporarily bi-directional. An inbound connection may be accepted only until the NAT table entry expires. This image illustrates the changes in IP addresses and port numbers as packets cross a circuit level gateway performing network address and port translation. netfilter implements network address translation in the nat table. This pre-defined table consists of three built-in chains, the PREROUTING, OUTPUT and POSTROUTING chains. Rules in the PREROUTING chain apply to inbound packets (packets arriving at the gateway from any direction). Rules in the OUTPUT chain apply to locally generated packets (packets that are generated on the gateway itself). Rules in the POSTROUTING chain apply to outbound packets (packets leaving the gateway in any direction). The nat table includes the built-in targets MASQUERADE, SNAT, DNAT, NETMAP and REDIRECT. The MASQUERADE target is available in the POSTROUTING chain. MASQUERADE is intended to be used where a firewall’s public side IP address is dynamically assigned, such as where an ISP assigns IP addresses by DHCP. MASQUERADE translates all private network addresses to the single address of the external interface as illustrated, performing port translation as needed and rewriting the destination address and port of replies as needed. When the firewall’s external IP address is released or changed, all translations are dropped. The SNAT target is available in the POSTROUTING chain. SNAT may be used on a firewall with statically assigned IP addresses. SNAT provides outbound (more trusted to less trusted) network address translation to a pool of public side addresses such that the source address of each outbound packet is translated to an address from the pool, with port translation being performed as needed and the destination address and port of replies being rewritten as needed. SNAT can use a single public side address as an alternative to a pool of addresses, making SNAT comparable to MASQUERADE. However, SNAT should not be used with dynamically assigned public addresses. Conversely to SNAT, the DNAT target is available in the PREROUTING and OUTPUT chains and provides inbound (less trusted to more trusted) network address translation. When a connection is initiated from a less trusted network, the destination address is the address of the firewall interface that faces the originating network. DNAT translates the destination address to the address of a host on a more trusted segment. Optionally, the destination port may also be translated. The source address and port of replies from the more trusted segment will be rewritten as needed. DNAT can use a pool of destination addresses and ports, providing a simple circuit level method of performing load balancing across a number of hosts such as a farm of web servers. The NETMAP target provides static one to one translation between two network blocks of equal size. The REDIRECT target is available in the PREROUTING and OUTPUT chains. REDIRECT translates the destination IP address of each packet arriving on any interface to the IP address of the interface on which the packet arrived. For example, REDIRECT will translate the destination address of any packet arriving at eth2. Optionally, the destination port may also be translated. Among other uses, REDIRECT facilitates use of transparent proxies whereby client software such as web browsers may be automatically redirected through the firewall to a proxy server without reconfiguration on the client side.

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http://beginlinux.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/understanding-network-address-translation-nat/?like=1&_wpnonce=122935e828

2013-05-19T10:53:36Z

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en

On Genesis 2 and 3 In this video conversation, N.T. Wright talks about the story presented in Genesis 2 and 3 and offers some important insights on the functionality of the text that in many ways transcends its literal narrative. Wright begins by noting that while there are divergent views on the date of authorship of Genesis—with some scholars attributing its authorship to Moses, thus dating it c. 1500 B.C., and others dating it around the third century B.C.. Regardless of its actual date of composition, however, Wright is most interested in the way in which Jesus’ antecedents would have read the text in the period right before the New Testament. He asserts that any Jew from the period of the Babylonian exile to the life of Jesus reading the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden—and their ultimate expulsion after violating the terms of their covenant with God—would have identified with the story on a deep level. These readers would have thought “this is our story” because Israel had repeated this experience. In the Adam and Eve narrative, humankind was given a gift—a wonderful identity and a wonderful place in which to exist. Their failure to uphold the terms of their agreement with God results in their exile from the Garden. In kind, through Israel, God offers an opportunity to remake that human project. He gives them their land and identity—and in return, they are to follow his commandments. When they fail, like Adam and Eve, they are exiled from the land. Readers of Genesis who focus simply on the smaller, literal picture—that is, the number of days of creation and whether there is evidence in the text pointing to an old or new earth—are in effect not reading the complete text. To fully appreciate the richness of the text, we should think about the functionality and reception of the text as opposed to solely the words on the page. As you watch this, listen especially closely to the section beginning at 2:25. Here, Genesis 2 and 3 are placed in the context of not just the exile ("we blew it again"), but in the context of the answer to this problem as described in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the Acts, and by Paul. Has the unity of the Scriptural message ever been put more succinctly? This, perhaps, is N.T. Wright at his very best. For a related discussion, see our recent entry by Pete Enns: "Adam is Israel". Commentary written by the BioLogos editorial team. N.T. Wright is a leading biblical scholar, former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England, and current Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, University of St Andrews. He studied for the ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and was ordained at Merton College, Oxford. Wright holds a Doctor of Divinity from Oxford University in addition to several honorary doctorates. Wright has also written over fifty books, including the multi-volume work Christian Origins and the Question of God and his two most recent books Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters and How God Became King.

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http://biologos.org/blog/on-genesis-2-and-3

2013-05-19T11:26:06Z

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en

The London Olympics are well underway and Olympic fever is spreading. Riding waves of patriotism, millions throughout the world watch, riveted, as their countries’ athletes go up against the world’s best. Over the years this event has become one of unity, proving that mankind could be peaceful, working together for an event as spectacular as this. The displays on hand are awe-inspiring, as are the journeys most athletes have taken to attain their dreams. It is only with sheer determination and sacrifice that they can achieve the greatness of gold. As the Olympic festivities continue, many believe that this gathering of the world should be a platform for promoting good and peace everywhere. One movement clamoring for attention deserves all it can get and more; the go green environmentalists. If all the nations of the world would agree on lowering even a small amount of greenhouse gas emissions it would help alleviate the global warming crisis. Recycling rubber tires is one easy step every country should take to help preserve the planet. Rather than polluting oceans or burning holes in the atmosphere, recycled rubber can serve many fine purposes such as the manufacturing of rubber mulch, rubber bond, and rubber flooring. With many rubber mulch colors and options available the demand for recycled rubber mulch is growing, and it is the responsibility of nations of the world to meet the demand. Countries should follow the lead of the athletes representing them by working hard on causes that are important to mankind. Michael Phelps is one example of an athlete working tirelessly to promote an important cause as he travels the world, speaking to thousands of children to promote water safety in pools. Schools should teach the importance of caring for Planet Earth since children are the key to the future, and they will determine whether cheaper coal is a priority over decimating UV rays. Earth is expendable. Dinosaurs are extinct. Will mankind be next?

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http://blog.rubberecycle.com/tag/recycled-rubber-mulch/

2013-05-19T11:08:57Z

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en

In situ Carbon 13 and Oxygen 18 Ratios of Atmospheric CO2 from Cape Grim, Tasmania, Australia: 1982-1993 Francey R. J. and C. E. Allison Since 1982, a continuous program of sampling atmospheric CO2 to determine stable isotope ratios has been maintained at the Australian Baseline Air Pollution Station, Cape Grim, Tasmania (40°, 40'56"S, 144°, 41'18"E). The process of in situ extraction of CO2 from air, the preponderance of samples collected in conditions of strong wind from the marine boundary layer of the Southern Ocean, and the determination of all isotope ratios relative to a common high purity CO2 reference gas with isotopic δ13C close to atmospheric values, are a unique combination of factors with respect to obtaining a globally representative signal from a surface site. Air samples are collected during baseline condition episodes at a frequency of around one sample per week. Baseline conditions are characterized by wind direction in the sector 190°-280°, condensation nucleus concentration below 600 per cm-3, and steady continuous CO2 concentrations (variation ± 0.2 ppmv per hour). A vacuum pump draws air from either the 10 m or 70 m intakes and sampling alternates between the two intakes. The air from the intake is dried with a trap immersed in an alcohol bath at about -80°C. Mass spectrometer analyses for δ13C and δ18O are carried out by CSIRO's Division of Atmospheric Research in Aspendale, usually one to three weeks following collection. This record is possibly the most accurate representation of global atmospheric 13C behavior over the last decade and may be used to partition the uptake of fossil-fuel carbon emissions between ocean and terrestrial plant reservoirs. Using these data, Francey et al. (1995) observed a gradual decrease in δ13C from 1982 to 1993, but with a pronounced flattening from 1988 to 1990; a trend that appears to involve the terrestrial carbon cycle. The database consists of two files, a descriptive "readme" file (153 lines) and a data file ("isotope.cgo", 440 lines) that contains the in situ carbon 13 and oxygen 18 ratios of atmospheric CO2 from Cape Grim for 1982 through 1993. Each data record contains a decimal year value (e.g., 93.960), δ13C and δ18O values, and an indication of the air intake height (i.e., either the 10 m or 70 m intakes). Only samples measured on the older of the two mass spectrometers used have values reported for δ18O. This is pending completion of a study of varying differences observed on samples measured on both mass spectrometers during the eighteen month sample overlap period (no similar differences influenced the δ13C comparison). The decimal year does not carry diurnal information, it is the decimal equivalent of the date only. The δ13C and δ18O values are expressed in per mil (o/oo).

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http://cdiac.ornl.gov/ndps/db1014.html

2013-05-19T10:42:21Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Many people associate fireworks with Independence Day, but their original use was in New Year's celebrations. Do you know how fireworks were invented? Legend tells of a Chinese cook who accidentally spilled saltpeter into a cooking fire, producing an interesting flame. Saltpeter, an ingredient in gunpowder, was used as a flavoring salt sometimes. The other gunpowder ingredients, charcoal and sulfur, also were common in early fires. Though the mixture burned with a pretty flame in a fire, it exploded if it was enclosed in a bamboo tube. This serendipitous invention of gunpowder appears to have occurred about 2000 years ago, with exploding firecrackers produced later during the Song dynasty (960-1279) by a Chinese monk named Li Tian, who lived near the city of Liu Yang in Hunan Province. These firecrackers were bamboo shoots filled with gunpowder. They were exploded at the commencement of the new year to scare away evil spirits. Much of the modern focus of fireworks is on light and color, but loud noise (known as "gung pow" or "bian pao") was desirable in a religious firework, since that was what frightened the spirits. By the 15th century, fireworks were a traditional part of other celebrations, such as military victories and weddings. The Chinese story is well-known, though it's possible fireworks really were invented in India or Arabia. From Firecrackers to Rockets In addition to exploding gunpowder for firecrackers, the Chinese used gunpowder combustion for propulsion. Handcarved wooden rockets, shaped like dragons, shot rocket-powered arrows at the Mongol invaders in 1279. Explorers took knowledge of gunpowder, fireworks, and rockets back with them when they returned home. Arabians in the 7th century referred to rockets as Chinese arrows. Marco Polo is credited with bringing gunpowder to Europe in the 13th century. The crusaders also brought the information with them. Many fireworks are made in much the same way today as they were hundreds of years ago. However, some modifications have been made. Modern fireworks may include designer colors, like salmon, pink, and aqua, that weren't available in the past. In 2004, Disneyland in California starting launching fireworks using compressed air rather than gunpowder. Electronic timers were used to explode the shells. That was the first time the launch system was used commercially, allowing for increased accuracy in timing (so shows could be put to music) and reducing smoke and fumes from big displays.

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http://chemistry.about.com/od/historyofchemistry/a/fireworkhistory.htm

2013-05-19T10:42:28Z

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en

The scientific revolution of the 17th century was driven by countless discoveries in the workshop, in the observatory and in society at large. A dramatic increase in the amount of information gave rise to new knowledge. But how were new elements of knowledge disseminated and appropriated ? In short: how did knowledge circulate? In order to answer this question the CKCC project built a web application called ePistolarium. With this application researchers can browse and analyze around 20,000 letters that were written by and sent to 17th scholars who lived in the Dutch Republic. The second functionality of the ePistolarium is to visualize the outcome of the social network and co-citation inquiries.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://ckcc.huygens.knaw.nl/

2013-05-19T11:16:54Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697420704/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094340-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Endangered by New Threat Author: Nick Collins Source: Calgary Herald November 13, 2012 "Researchers are finding new species at unexplored depths - but the coral has a terrifying new enemy. Two years ago, the Australian state of Queensland was hit by the worst flooding in living memory. Since then homes have been rebuilt and life on shore is back to normal. But out to sea the legacy of the deluge is yet another threat to the Great Barrier Reef, one of Earth’s most important ecosystems. The floods spewed huge quantities of agricultural fertilisers into the Pacific and as a result millions of Crown of Thorns starfish have appeared in the central reef. The huge, carnivorous echinoderms, covered in poisonous spikes and measuring half a metre across, are capable of wiping out entire reef colonies in a horrific style. By forcing their stomachs out through their mouths they can digest a section of coral the size of a cushion in one gulp." To read the full text of this article, click here.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://coral.org/node/6097

2013-05-19T11:18:34Z

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en

The respiratory system consists of a conducting portion and a respiratory portion. The conducting portion provides a passageway for air and functions to condition the incoming air, by warming, moistening and cleaning it. It consists of the nasopharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and terminal bronchioles. (We omit the nasopharynx and larynx in this block.) The respiratory portion serves to rid the body of carbon dioxide and pick up oxygen. It consists of respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts and alveolar sacs. All of these structures bear alveoli, the tiny air sacs in which the gas exchange takes place. - Conducting Portion - Trachea: Low power view of human trachea - Low power view of rabbit trachea - High power view of epithelium of rabbit trachea - High power view of epithelium of human bronchus - High power view of submucosal mixed glands - Duct of submucosal gland - High power view of cartilage - Low power view of trachealis muscle and glands - Low power view of bronchus and artery in lung - Blood vessels in the lungs - Higher power view of wall of bronchus - Mucosa and muscularis of a large bronchus - Wall of a more distal bronchus - Section of wall of bronchiole - Low power view of bronchiole between two vessels - Terminal bronchioles - Longitudinal section of bronchiole from regular to terminal to respiratory - Respiratory bronchioles - High power view of respiratory bronchiole - Alveolar ducts, alveolar sacs and alveoli - High power view of alveolar duct - Low power view of alveolar duct and alveolar sacs - Low power view of a longitudinal section of the respiratory tree - Septa of the alveoli - Alveolar walls with septal cells - Capillaries in alveolar walls The conducting portion not only brings the air to the respiratory portion, but also cleanses, moistens and warms the incoming air. Hair and secretions of sebaceous glands in the nasal cavity trap particulate matter, and a countercurrent flow between the incoming air and the blood warms the air. [See pp 530-535 of Ross et al., 3rd edition for more details.] In the trachea and lower portions, secretions of mucous and serous glands moisten the air, which protects the alveoli from desiccation, and trap extraneous matter. These secretions are then directed toward the pharynx by the beating of cilia on epithelial cells. The vasculature in these structures also warms the incoming air. The trachea is a flexible tube that extends from the larynx into the thorax. Its main function is to act as a conduit for air, but it also helps condition the inspired air. The trachea consists of four layers: a mucosa (epithelium and lamina propria), a submucosa, a fibrocartilage layer and an adventitia. These four layers are shown in Figure 1 (human trachea, slide 15 in your collection). Figure 1 is to show illustrate the overall structure of the trachea, you will see the details in other figures. The mucosa consists of a pseudostratified, ciliated, columnar epithelium, (described below) with a very elastic lamina propria. Without special stains, the elastic fibres in the lamina propria (or anywhere else) are not identifiable. The basement membrane of the epithelium appears unusually thick because a large number of collagen fibres are found underneath the actual basement membrane. The submucosa consists of loose connective tissue with numerous mixed (serous and mucous) glands. Ducts from these glands open toward the lumen. Particles get entrapped in the mucus which floats on the serous secretions. The beating of cilia of epithelial cells directs the secretions toward the oral cavity, where they can be swallowed or spat out. The boundary between the mucosa and the submucosa is not obvious. Special stains would reveal an abundance of elastic fibres at this boundary. The fibrocartilage layer consists of a series (16-20) of C-shaped cartilage rings which prevent the trachea from collapsing. As is typical of cartilage, the rings are surrounded by a band of dense connective tissue called a perichondrium. The perichondrium merges with the submucosa and the adventitia (see below). At the back, the open ends of the C are joined by a band of smooth muscle called the trachealis muscle. Contraction of this muscle reduces the tracheal diameter and increases intrathoracic pressure during coughing. The area between the rings is occupied by fibroelastic connective tissue. The adventitia is a layer of connective tissue that binds the trachea to adjacent structures in the neck and mediastinum. It contains the largest blood vessels, nerves and lymphatics. A low power view of the rabbit trachea (slide 93) is shown in Figure 2. The layers are the same as those of the human trachea, but the rabbit has numerous blood vessels in its submucosa and mucosa rather than glands. The mucosa and submucosa blend indistinguishably into each other. There is a tear (artifact) that runs along most of the cartilage. The rabbit trachea is in your collection so you can look at the epithelium. (The epithelium on the human trachea slides is in very bad shape.) Figure 3 shows a high power view of the epithelium of the rabbit trachea. It is taken from the back of the trachea, and the trachealis muscle replaces the fibrocartilage layer. In this section, the thickness of the lamina propria and submucosa are reduced. The epithelium is pseudostratified. The base of every cell actually rests on the basement membrane, therefore it is simple, not stratified. However, the epithelial cells are of different heights, there are short basal cells and tall columnar cells, and their nuclei are seen at different levels. This gives the epithelium a stratified appearance. Because it contains tall cells, it is called a pseudostratified, columnar epithelium. There are five types of cells in the tracheal epithelium. The most abundant cell type is the ciliated columnar cell. These cells have about 300 cilia at their apical surface, and the cilia sweep in a coordinated fashion from the deepest passageways to the pharynx, to protect the lungs from particulate matter. The cilia appear as a fuzzy line along the top surface of the epithelium. The nuclei of ciliated cells are relatively pale and lie in about the middle of the cell. The next most abundant cell type is the goblet cell, which secretes mucus. Goblet cells are interspersed among the ciliated cells and also extend the full length of the epithelium. The mucinogen granules are found in the cytoplasm at the apical end. The thick mucus extends the apical end, rendering the cell wineglass-shaped (hence its name). The nucleus is flattened at the base of the mucus cup (not generally identifiable). With special preparation, the mucus can be seen; in standard sections it is washed out leaving a clear (white) area where the mucus had been. Your sections are cut thicker than the width of a single cell, therefore (i) you often just see the top (white) part of the goblet cell, and (ii) the cell might look like it is ciliated, as is the case in the goblet cells seen here. The cilia belong to ciliated cells lying below the goblet cell in the plane of focus. The best goblet cell in Figure 3 is about one-third of the way in from the left. (With the fine focus knob of your microscope, you can focus on cells at different levels and see that the section is quite thick. For this reason, it is also hard to make out the boundaries of any individual cell. ) The third most abundant cell type is the basal cell. Basal cells are short, rounded cells with densely staining nuclei which lie in a row close to the basement membrane. These cells are reserve cells that can differentiate into other cell types. There are two other cell types in the epithelium that you will not be able to distinguish in standard preparations. One is the small granule cell, which resembles the APUD (amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation) cells of the gut. The granules of these cells can only be seen with special techniques such as silver staining. They secrete catecholamines or polypeptide hormones and may function in regulating the caliber of airways or blood vessels, or be involved in regulating mucous and serous secretions. They resemble basal cells and are found in the same region. However, they are much less abundant, therefore most of the basal nuclei you see will belong to basal cells. The final cell type is the brush cell. Brush cells are columnar cells with short microvilli at their apical surface (hence name), and their basal surface is in contact with afferent nerve fibres. They are thought to be sensory receptors. Summary of epithelial cell types: You should be able to identify ciliated columnar cells, goblet cells and basal cells, and know about small granule cells and brush cells. Because of the poor condition of the epithelium in slide 15 (human trachea), the cell types of the epithelium shown in Figure 4 are from a human bronchus (slide 83). (Ignore the other layers for now.) The epithelium is similar to that of the trachea, but the columnar cells are not as tall, as the height of the epithelium decreases continuously as you travel down the respiratory tree. Ciliated columnar cells and goblet cells can be seen, as can some (probable) basal cell nuclei. While you can see good examples of the three identifiable cell types, is not possible to attribute every nucleus seen to a particular type of cell. Figure 5 shows a high power view of the serous and mucous glands in the submucosa of the trachea. The glands consist of secretory endpieces called acini (sing. acinus). The serous glands secrete a watery proteinaceous product, while the mucous glands secrete a viscous, heavier product called mucus. An ideal cross section of a serous acinus is more or less shaped like a pie cut into wedges. The rounded nuclei are located at the base of the cells (outer edge of pie), and the secretory product toward the apex of the cells. The secretory product empties into a central lumen, which is not identifiable in every cross-section. Serous cells stain purple-red. The mucous acini stain poorly because their mucinogen granules are lost in standard preparations. Their cells tend to have flattened nuclei (due to heavier mucus) and the acini are of more irregular shape than serous glands. Quite often, a mucous gland will bear a crescent-shaped band of serous cells, called a serous demilune. The ducts of the glands pass through the lamina propria and epithelium to empty into the lumen. Figure 6 shows the duct of a gland. The lumen is obscured as it approaches the epithelium. (This is a frequent phenomenon of sectioning.) It is not worth trying to identify the different epithelial cells in the figure (from slide 15, human trachea). However, you can note the abundance of lymphocytes (appear as purple dots) in the connective tissue of the lamina propria. A high power view of the cartilage in the fibrocartilage layer in the human trachea is shown in Figure 7. The matrix of cartilage typically stains a purplish color. Staining is most intense around the cartilage cells, which are called chondrocytes and sit in spaces called lacunae. Chondrocytes are often found in clusters (called isogenous groups). During life, the cells occupy the whole lacuna, but they frequently shrink during preparation, and the lacunae appear as spaces around cells (or as empty spaces if a cell is lost). The cells at the periphery of the cartilage are smaller and more elongated than centrally located cells. Cartilage is surrounded by a perichondrium, a band of dense connective tissue. The perichondrium blends with the connective tissue of surrounding structures (here the adventitia; the extensive spaces in the CT are artifacts of preparation). The details of the histology of cartilage are described in the Musculoskeletal Block. For the purposes of this block, you are only expected to recognize it. A lower power view of the human trachea at the area of the trachealis muscle is shown. The trachealis muscle consists of bands of smooth muscle whose fibres insert into the perichondrium of the cartilage and connect the two ends of the C. Contraction of this muscle reduces the tracheal diameter and raises intrathoracic pressure during coughing. Mixed glands are found interspersed within and around this muscle. The end of the trachea divides into two primary bronchi that enter the lungs. Histologically, the trachea and primary bronchi are very similar and you will not be expected to distinguish between them. Within the lung, the primary bronchi almost immediately divide into secondary (or lobar) bronchi that supply each lobe. Secondary bronchi divide into tertiary (or segmental) bronchi that supply the segments of each lobe. These bronchi continue to divide to give rise to many generations of bronchi, each smaller than the preceding one. You are not expected to distinguish different generations of bronchi, you are only expected to tell a bronchus from the trachea and from bronchioles (see below). In bronchi, the C-shaped cartilage of the trachea is replaced by separate plates of cartilage. These plates become smaller and farther apart the more distal the bronchus. (When no more cartilage is present, you have a bronchiole, not a bronchus). At the same time, the lamina propria becomes surrounded by a band of smooth muscle. The muscle fibres that appear in the bronchi are arranged spirally and criss-cross one another, so they do not appear as a continuous band in a cross-section. This band of smooth muscle becomes a more conspicuous feature as the cartilage diminishes. The smooth muscle can be considered as a separate layer, the muscularis, lying between the mucosa on the one side and the submucosa, fibrocartilage layer (with plates) and adventitia on the other. Going distally down the bronchial tree, the lamina propria becomes reduced and the smooth muscle of the muscularis comes to lie closer to the epithelium. Serous and mucous glands are present in the submucosa of bronchi, their numbers also decrease with each division into smaller orders of bronchi. (Like the cartilage, all glands are gone when bronchi branch into bronchioles.) The epithelium is similar to that of the trachea, but its height becomes reduced and goblet cells become less frequent. Figure 9 is a low power view of a bronchus next to a (pulmonary) artery in the perfused monkey lung (slide 60). The lung itself is airy-looking because of all the air sacs (alveoli) which are expanded. Here the bronchus is on the right and the artery on the left. In the bronchus, you can see the cartilage plates quite clearly. It is much more difficult at this magnification to distinguish the smooth muscle of the muscularis and the epithelium, which conveniently has come detached at the upper leader. (Sometimes even at low magnifications, it is possible to make out the general fuzziness of the ciliated epithelium to help distinguish components of the respiratory tree from blood vessels.) The tunica media of the artery next to the bronchus can be seen. Like all blood vessels, it would be lined by endothelial cells (which could not be seen at this magnification). Blood vessels are frequently seen next to components of the respiratory tree. That is because branches of the pulmonary artery travel along the respiratory tree to become distributed in a capillary network over the alveoli, where gas exchange occurs. In addition to branches of the pulmonary arteries, whose purpose is to bring deoxygenated blood to the lungs for oxygenation, bronchial arteries arising from the aorta are present. Bronchial arteries are nutrient vessels that supply the tissue of the lung with oxygen. They also accompany the respiratory tree, and at the level of respiratory bronchioles (described below), anastomose with pulmonary arteries. Veins arising from the capillary network around the alveoli can also be seen, they are extremely thin-walled. These veins travel independently of arteries, that is they will not follow the respiratory tree but are heading toward the intersegmental connective tissue where they will join to form the pulmonary veins. Most of the blood reaching the lungs via the bronchial arteries is drained by the pulmonary veins. Bronchial veins drain only the the connective tissue in the hilar region. Because the right side of the heart operates at a much lower pressure than the left, pulmonary arteries tend to have much less muscular walls than do typical arteries. However, they contain a great deal of elastic tissue and are considered elastic arteries. Bronchial arteries are smaller, but their structure is more typical of regular arteries, that is they have a relatively thicker tunica media. The branches of the pulmonary veins will have extremely thin walls. You will not be asked to distinguish different types of vessels in the lung, but you should be aware of the functions of the pulmonary and bronchial circulation. There are excellent illustrations of the branching of the respiratory tree, and its blood supply in Netter, 9th edition, 1997, Plates 192, 193 and 194. Figure 10 shows the structure of the bronchial wall at a higher power. The mucosa appears folded (probably as a result of contraction of the muscularis. Details of the epithelium cannot be seen, but the lamina propria is quite prominent with abundant lymphocytes (little purple dots). Smooth muscle bundles of the muscularis, which criss-cross along the respiratory tree, surround the lamina propria. In the submucosa, mixed glands can be seen. Part of a large cartilage plate is in the field of view. Figure 11, a rerun of Figure 4, shows a higher power view of the mucosa and muscularis of a large (=early) bronchus. Note that the lamina propria is quite prominent, that is the muscularis is some distance away from the epithelium (compare with next figure). As the bronchi branch and become smaller, the muscularis will become ever closer to the epithelium. Beyond the muscularis, you can see a hint of the submucosa. Neither the submucosa nor the cartilage plates of this bronchus are in the field of view. A higher magnification of a smaller, more distal bronchus can be seen in Figure 12. The epithelium is has become shorter (it is still pseudostratified, columnar ciliated) and goblet cells are less abundant. The muscularis has come to lie very close to the epithelium and the lamina propria is reduced to a thin band underneath the epithelium. The submucosa is also very scanty. A large cartilage plate lies almost directly under the muscularis. In this bronchus, there would be fewer cartilage plates and fewer glands in the submucosa. As the bronchi branch and become smaller, the cartilage plates become smaller and farther apart and the mixed glands become fewer. When the cartilage and glands have disappeared, you have entered the bronchioles. At this point, the muscularis is very close to the epithelium. The epithelium is still pseudostratified, ciliated columnar, although it becomes progressively less tall. Goblet cells are still quite common in large bronchioles, their numbers also progressively decrease. Figure 13 shows the wall of a fairly large (regular) bronchiole. You can still recognize the cell types of the epithelium, especially the ciliated and goblet cells. The lamina propria has become a thin band, with abundant elastic fibres (no special stain here, therefore they arent obvious). The muscularis, which appears as discontinuous bundles of smooth muscle, is relatively thick. Bronchiolar smooth muscle effectively controls the resistance to air flow in the lungs. Parasympathetic stimulation reduces the diameter of the bronchioles, while sympathetic stimulation increases it by relaxing the smooth muscle. Hence epinethrine and sympathomimetic drugs are used during asthma attacks. The adventitia blends in with the connective tissue of surrounding structures. Figure 14 shows a bronchiole such as it might appear when you scan your slide at low power. The folded mucosa is typical and is a result of the contraction of the muscularis during preparation. A particularly prominent bundle of smooth muscle, easily identifiable even at this magnification, is indicated by an asterisk. The bronchiole is lying between two arteries. Their most prominent feature is their tunica media. As the (regular) bronchioles branch into smaller and smaller bronchioles, they eventually give rise to terminal bronchioles. As their name implies, terminal bronchioles represent the last part of the conducting portion of the respiratory tree. In terminal bronchioles, the ciliated pseudostratified epithelium abruptly gives way to simple cuboidal epithelium consisting of Clara cells. Clara cells are secretory: the lipoprotein they secrete prevents luminal adhesion during expiration and inactivates harmful substances. [Details on the epithelium: In late regular bronchioles, the epithelium may appear simple low columnar (with cilia). It is considered pseudostratified because the odd basal cell is still present. In the terminal bronchioles, an occasional ciliated cell (or brush cell or granule cell) may be seen with the electron microscope (eg., see Fig 18.10 in Ross et al., third edition). For practical purposes though, terminal bronchioles are totally lined with Clara cells. The best way to recognize terminals is to look for the transition from the (usually at this point) low columnar-appearing ciliated epithelium of the late regular bronchiole to the cuboidal unciliated Clara cells.] Figure 15 shows a longitudinal section of a regular bronchiole with ciliated pseudostratified epithelium giving rise to a terminal bronchiole with non-ciliated Clara cells. The arrow is pointing at the last of the ciliated cells of the regular bronchiole. The terminal bronchiole shown here is very long, in many of the sections you will see, terminal bronchioles will only be the length of a few Clara cells. The section also shows the terminal bronchiole giving rise to a respiratory bronchiole, marking the beginning of the respiratory portion of the respiratory tree (discussed below). The dip in the respiratory bronchiole is an alveolus, one of the air sacs in which gas exchange occurs. Notice how the smooth muscle is also progressively reduced during the transition from regular bronchiole to terminal bronchiole to respiratory bronchiole. The purpose of the conducting part of the respiratory tree is to get the air to the millions of tiny air sacs, or alveoli (sing. alveolus) of the lungs, where the gas exchange occurs. The respiratory portion of the tree begins in the respiratory bronchioles when these alveoli first arise. Look again at Figure 15. The respiratory portion begins when an air sac appears as an outpocketing of the bronchiole. At this point, the terminal bronchiole has become a respiratory bronchiole. Figure 16 shows a higher power view of a respiratory bronchiole. Its wall is very similar to that of a terminal bronchiole, in that it has Clara cells lying almost directly over smooth muscle bundles. The arrow shows where these Clara cells can be seen most clearly. The alveoli which form outpocketings from the wall are lined by very squamous cells called alveolar type I cells (more on them below), not identifiable here. Other alveoli are seen at the right of the field of view. As the respiratory bronchioles continue and branch, the alveoli forming outpocketings from their walls become progressively more frequent and closer together. Eventually alveoli are so frequent that they are side by side separated only by their walls (alveolar septa). This marks the beginning of the alveolar ducts. At first, the ends of the septa facing into the lumen of the alveolar duct have prominent knobs of smooth muscle. These become progressively less prominent and eventually disappear. Figure 17 shows a high power view of an alveolar duct with prominent smooth muscle knobs at the luminal ends of the alveolar septa. To the left of the figure, other alveoli from the surrounding lung tissue can be seen. The alveolar ducts will branch and terminate in blind-ended alveolar sacs. Alveolar sacs consists of spaces (sometimes called atria) surrounded by alveoli. Figure 18 shows a low-power view of an alveolar duct progressing into two alveolar sacs. Other alveolar sacs can be seen in the surrounding tissue, one (at left) is labelled as such. A few of the numerous, individual alveoli are indicated by asterisks. Because many of the later passageways of the respiratory tree branch into the next section shortly after arising (eg., terminal branching into respiratory bronchioles), sections that are cut even slightly obliquely can show different passageways in one cross-section. For example, the top might be a respiratory bronchiole, while the bottom could be an alveolar duct. Also you will see the alveoli sectioned in various ways. Sometimes alveoli are sectioned such that they look free-standing, that is you cant see whether they arise from a respiratory bronchiole, alveolar duct or aleolar sac (see for example the alveoli at the left in Figure 17). The abundance of alveoli give the lungs a spongy appearance. Sometimes you will get a longitudinal section that nicely shows the progression and branching of the passageways. Figure 19 (not labelled) shows a low power view of such a longitudinal section. Remember that the branching occurs in three dimensions, therefore not all of the branches can be seen in one field of view. An artery is seen under the bronchus in Figure 19. The septa between alveoli are specialized for the diffusion of gases. The surfaces facing the air are lined by an epithelium made of two types of cells, type I and type II alveolar cells. Most of the surface (about 95%) is lined by type I alveolar cells (or type I pneumocytes). These cells are extremely squamous. The other type of epithelial cell is the type II alveolar cell (or type II pneumocyte, or great septal cell). Type II cells are found interspersed among the type I cells, singly or in clusters. They are often found in the angles of the alveolar walls. Type II cells secrete surfactant, a phospholipid that spreads over the alveolar surfaces to reduce surface tension. This prevents the alveoli from collapsing upon expiration. (Premature babies with insufficient surfactant suffer from hyaline membrane disease.) Surfactant also has a bacteriacidal effect. Type II cells are fairly large cuboidal cells that have a large nucleus and vacuolated cytoplasm. They are about as abundant as type I cells even though they cover only 5% of the surface area of the alveoli. Within the septal wall are found capillaries (the alveoli contain the richest capillary network of the body), elastic and collagen fibres, fibroblasts and macrophages called dust cells. The septal walls have thick portions and thin portions. The thick portions could contain any of the components listed above. The exchange of gases occurs in the thin portions of the septa, which contain only the following three components: (1) the cytoplasm of the type I cell, (2) the fused basement membranes of the type I cell and the endothelial cell, and (3) the cytoplasm of the endothelial cell of a capillary. When you look at the alveolar septa, you will be able to identify (some of the) type II cells, capillaries if well-sectioned, and (if they are filled with carbon particles or some other material) dust cells. You will not be able to tell the nuclei of type I cells from those of fibroblasts. There is no point in trying to identify every cell in the septal walls. Figure 20 shows two clusters of type II or septal cells in the alveolar walls. Note that one can see their nuclei, and that there is an identifiable amount of pale cytoplasm around the nuclei. A number of alveoli are seen at the left of the figure, part of an alveolar sac is seen at the right. Capillaries can be seen within the walls. Capillaries within the septal walls can be seen a bit more clearly in Figure 21. Note that nice endothelial cell nuclei can be seen in a few of them (especially the one near the centre of the field of view). Where the capillaries are located, the septal wall is very thin. A septal cell is also seen. Development & Homeostasis| Immunology | Cardiovascular | Respiratory Renal | Endocrine | Reproduction | Musculoskeletal | Gastrointestinal | Self-Study of BasicTissue

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This article examines the extent of food’s impact on children’s academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to summarize existing research concerning the food-learning correlation and to synthesize studies regarding nutritional needs of the brain, malnutrition during development, and overall diet quality as related to academic achievement. Data finds a fundamental link between nutrition and cognition. Results suggest to the extent the brains of many United States schoolchildren do not receive the nutrients needed for optimal cognition, that academic performance may be consequentially reduced. Finally, a discussion of related learning theory and current debate, and practical implications for educational settings is offered. Woodhouse, Allison and Lamport, Ph.D., Mark A. "The Relationship of Food and Academic Performance: A Preliminary Examination of the Factors of Nutritional Neuroscience, Malnutrition, and Diet Adequacy," Christian Perspectives in Education, 5(1). Available at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cpe/vol5/iss1/1

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Our curriculum includes over 3,000 lesson modules created by more than 200 writers, organized into over 20 subjects in Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies. The e-Tutor curriculum meets or exceeds state and national standards. There are no additional workbooks, texts, downloads or hardware required. Learn about our curriculum Created Exclusively for Online Learning Each of our lesson modules has been written exclusively for use in eTutor. We believe that in order for online education to succeed it must be different than what is offered in other schools and online programs today. Our curriculum has not been adapted from texts, workbooks, or CDs. Perspectives from around the World The eTutor curriculum includes lesson modules created by writers from around the world, resulting in rich and varied perspectives in their voice. eTutor editors add new lesson modules based on their quality and fit in the curriculum, resulting in a dynamic but cohesive whole. Sample Lesson Modules Math | High School Mathematics lesson for High School students: Science | Middle/Junior High School Science lesson for Middle/Junior High School students: Inside a Lesson Module Each lesson module includes eight sections, and generally takes students one to one and a half hours to complete: - Problem Statement - Study Guide - Extended Learning Take a Tour - Easy credit transfer - Quality assurance - Access to loans & scholarships The flexibility of eTutor accommodates open enrollment - get started immediately. Call Us with Questions Choosing an online school is an important decision. Call us toll-free (877) 687-7200 to make sure e-Tutor is your online school of choice. No call center operators, just us.

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