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United Church of Christ \|United Church of Christ\| \|The official logo of the United Church of Christ.\| \|Associations\|\|Churches Uniting In Christ National Council of Churches World Communion of Reformed Churches World Council of Churches \|Geographical areas\|\|United States\| \|Merge of\|\|Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches\| \|Members\|\|1,080,198 (last published data in 2008); probably under 1,000,000 by 2013\| The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition, in "historical continuation of the Congregational churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism." The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC. These two denominations, which were themselves the result of earlier unions, had their roots in Congregational, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. The UCC's 5,287 congregations claim 1,080,198 members, primarily in the United States. The UCC maintains full communion with other mainline Protestant denominations. Many of its congregations choose to practice open communion. The denomination places high emphasis on participation in worldwide interfaith and ecumenical efforts. The national settings of the UCC have historically favored liberal views on social issues, such as civil rights, gay rights, women's rights and abortion rights. However, United Church of Christ congregations are independent in matters of doctrine and ministry and may not necessarily support the national body's theological or moral stances. It is self-described as "an extremely pluralistic and diverse denomination". The United Church of Christ was formed when two Protestant churches, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957. This union adopted an earlier general statement of unity between the two denominations, the 1943 "Basis of Union". At this time, the UCC claimed about two million members. In 1959, in its General Synod, the UCC adopted a broad "Statement of Faith". The UCC adopted its constitution and by-laws in 1961. There is no UCC hierarchy or body that can impose any doctrine or worship format onto the individual congregations within the UCC. While individual congregations are supposed to hold guidance from the general synod "in the highest regard", the UCC's constitution requires that the "autonomy of the Local Church is inherent and modifiable only by its own action". Within this locally focused structure, however, there are central beliefs common to the UCC. The UCC often uses four words to describe itself: "Christian, Reformed, Congregational and Evangelical". While the UCC refers to its evangelical characteristics, it springs from (and is considered part of) mainline Protestantism as opposed to Evangelicalism. The UCC is generally theologically liberal, and the denomination notes that the "Bible, though written in specific historical times and places, still speaks to us in our present condition". The motto of the United Church of Christ comes from John 17:21: "That they may all be one". The denomination's official literature uses broad doctrinal parameters, emphasizing freedom of individual conscience and local church autonomy. Historic confessions In the United Church of Christ, creeds, confessions, and affirmations of faith function as "testimonies of faith" around which the church gathers rather than as "tests of faith" rigidly prescribing required doctrinal consent. As expressed in the United Church of Christ constitution: The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole Head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession. It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. It claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God. In accordance with the teaching of our Lord and the practice prevailing among evangelical Christians, it recognizes two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion. The denomination, therefore, looks to a number of historic confessions as expressing the common faith around which the church gathers, including: - The Apostles' Creed, - The Nicene Creed, - The Heidelberg Catechism (inherited from both the German Reformed and German Evangelical heritages), - Luther's Small Catechism (inherited from the German Evangelical heritage), - The Kansas City Statement of Faith (a 1913 statement in the Congregationalist tradition), - The Evangelical Catechism (a 1927 catechism in the German Evangelical tradition), and - The Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ (written at the founding of the denomination). Studies and surveys of beliefs In 2001, Hartford Institute for Religion Research did a "Faith Communities Today" (FACT) study that included a survey of United Church of Christ beliefs. Among the results of this were findings that in the UCC, 5.6% of the churches responding to the survey described their members as "very liberal or progressive," 3.4% as "very conservative," 22.4% as "somewhat liberal or progressive," and 23.6% as "somewhat conservative." Those results suggested a nearly equal balance between liberal and conservative congregations. The self-described "moderate" group, however, was the largest at 45%. Other statistics found by the Hartford Institute show that 53.2% of members say "the Bible" is the highest source of authority, 16.1% say the "Holy Spirit," 9.2% say "Reason," 6.3% say "Experience," and 6.1% say "Creeds." David Roozen, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research who has studied the United Church of Christ, said surveys show the national church's pronouncements are often more liberal than the views in the pews but that its governing structure is set up to allow such disagreements. Starting in 2003, a task force commissioned by General Synod 24 studied the diverse worship habits of UCC churches. The study can be found online and reflects statistics on attitudes toward worship, baptism, and communion, such as "Laity (70%) and clergy (90%) alike overwhelmingly describe worship 'as an encounter with God that leads to doing God’s work in the world.'" "95 percent of our congregations use the Revised Common Lectionary in some way in planning or actual worship and preaching" and "96 percent always or almost always have a sermon, 86 percent have a time with children, 95 percent have a time of sharing joys and concerns, and 98 percent include the Prayer of Our Savior/Lord’s Prayer." Clergy and laity were invited to select two meanings of baptism that they emphasize. They were also to suggest the meaning that they thought their entire church emphasized. Baptism as an “entry into the Church Universal” was the most frequent response. Clergy and laity were invited to identify two meanings of Holy Communion that they emphasize. While clergy emphasized Holy Communion as “a meal in which we encounter God’s living presence,” laity emphasized “a remembrance of Jesus’ last supper, death, and resurrection.” Relationships with other denominations One of the UCC's central beliefs is that it is "called to be a united and uniting church." Because of this, the UCC is involved in Churches Uniting in Christ, an organization seeking to establish full communion among nine Protestant denominations in America. Currently, the UCC has entered into an ecumenical partnership with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Reformed Church in America. In 1982 the World Council of Churches published "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry", a document that has served as a foundation for many ecumenical recognition agreements. As a WCC member church, the United Church of Christ issued a response as part of the process to work toward a statement of common theological perspectives. Relationships with other religions The United Church of Christ facilitates bilateral dialogues with many faith groups, including members of the Jewish and Muslim communities. This includes membership in the National Muslim-Christian Initiative. Quoting the United Church of Christ Constitution, "The basic unit of the life and organization of the United Church of Christ is the local church." An interplay of wider interdependence with local autonomy characterizes the organization of the UCC. Each "setting" of the United Church of Christ relates covenantally with other settings, their actions speaking "to but not for" each other. The ethos of United Church of Christ organization is considered "covenantal." The structure of UCC organization is a mixture of the congregational and presbyterian polities of its predecessor denominations. With ultimate authority on most matters given to the local church, many see United Church of Christ polity as closer to congregationalism; however, with ordination and pastoral oversight conducted by Associations, and General Synod representation given to Conferences instead of congregational delegates, certain presbyterian similarities are also visible. Local churches The basic unit of the United Church of Christ is the local church (also often called the congregation). Local churches have the freedom to govern themselves, establishing their own internal organizational structures and theological positions. Thus, local church governance varies widely throughout the denomination. Some congregations, mainly of Congregational or Christian origin, have numerous relatively independent "boards" that oversee different aspects of church life, with annual or more frequent meetings (often conducted after a worship service on a Sunday afternoon) of the entire congregation to elect officers, approve budgets and set congregational policy. Other churches, mainly of Evangelical and Reformed descent, have one central "church council" or "consistory" that handles most or all affairs in a manner somewhat akin to a Presbyterian session, while still holding an annual congregational meeting for the purpose of electing officers and/or ratifying annual budgets. Still others, probably those congregations started after the 1957 merger, have structures incorporating aspects of both, or other alternative organizational structures entirely. In almost all cases, though, the selection of a minister for the congregation is, in keeping with the Reformed tradition of the "priesthood of all believers," vested in a congregational meeting, held usually after a special ad hoc committee searches on the congregation's behalf for a candidate. Members of the congregation vote for or against the committee's recommended candidate for the pastorate, usually immediately after the candidate has preached a "trial sermon;" candidates are usually presented one at a time and not as a field of several to be selected from. Typically the candidate must secure anywhere from 60 to 90 percent affirmative votes from the membership before the congregation issues a formal call to the candidate; this depends on the provisions in the congregation's particular constitution and/or by-laws. Local churches have, in addition to the freedom to hire ministers and lay staff, the sole power to dismiss them also. However, unlike purely congregational polities, the association has the main authority to ordain clergy and grant standing to clergy coming to a church from another association or another denomination (this authority is exercised "in cooperation with" the person being ordained/called and the local church that is calling them). Such standing, among other things, permits a minister to participate in the UCC clergy pension and insurance plans. Local churches are usually aided in searching for and calling ordained clergy through a denominationally coordinated "search-and-call" system, usually facilitated by staff at the conference level. However, the local church may, for various reasons, opt not to avail itself of the conference placement system, and is free to do so without fear of retaliation, which would likely occur in synodical or presbyterian polities. Participation in the process, though, is usually a sign of the congregation's loyalty to the larger denomination and its work. At the end of 2008, 5,320 churches were reported to be within the UCC, averaging 210 members. Sixteen churches were reported to have over 2,000 members, but 64% had fewer than 200 members. The latter statistic probably indicates where most of the denomination's declining membership has occurred, in formerly mid-sized congregations between 200 and 500 members or so. The reduction in a typical church's size has also meant that, increasingly, many congregations are no longer able, as they once were, to afford a full-time, seminary-educated pastor, and that some of them have to rely on alternatives such as one of their members serving the church under a license, the use of recently retired clergy on a short-term basis, or ordained ministers serving the church on a half-time (or less) basis while earning their primary income from chaplaincies or other occupations. While this has been occurring to a lesser degree in other mainline denominations as well, the UCC's congregational polity allows for churches to adopt such approaches without ecclesiological restraint, as might happen in a more hierarchical denominational structure. Larger organizations Local churches are typically gathered together in regional bodies called Associations. Local churches often give financial support to the association to support its activities. The official delegates of an association are all ordained clergy within the bounds of the association together with lay delegates sent from each local church. The association's main ecclesiastical function is to provide primary oversight and authorization of ordained and other authorized ministers; it also is the ecclesiastical link between the local congregation and the larger UCC. The association ordains new ministers, holds ministers' standing in covenant with local churches, and is responsible for disciplinary action; typically a specific ministerial committee handles these duties. Also, an association, again with the assistance of the ministerial committee, admits and removes local congregations from membership in the UCC. Associations meet at least once annually to elect officers and board members and set budgets for the association's work; fellowship and informational workshops are often conducted during those meetings, which may take place more frequently according to local custom. In a few instances where there is only one association within a conference, or where the associations within a conference have agreed to dissolve, the Conference (below) assumes the association's functions. Local churches also are members of larger Conferences, of which there are 38 in the United Church of Christ. A conference typically contains multiple associations; if no associations exist within its boundaries, the conference exercises the functions of the association as well. Conferences are supported financially through local churches' contribution to "Our Church's Wider Mission" (formerly "Our Christian World Mission"), the United Church of Christ's denominational support system; unlike most associations, they usually have permanent headquarters and professional staff. The primary ecclesiastical function of a conference is to provide the primary support for the search-and-call process by which churches select ordained leadership; the conference minister and/or his or her associates perform this task in coordination with the congregation's pulpit search committee (see above) and the association to which the congregation belongs (particularly its ministerial committee). Conferences also provide significant programming resources for their constituent churches, such as Christian education resources and support, interpretation of the larger UCC's mission work, and church extension within their bounds (the latter usually conducted in conjunction with the national Local Church Ministries division). Conferences, like associations, are congregationally representative bodies, with each local church sending ordained and lay delegates. Most current UCC conferences were formed in the several years following the consummation of the national merger in 1961, and in some instances were the unions of former Congregational Christian conferences (led by superintendents) and Evangelical and Reformed synods (led by presidents, some of whom served only on a part-time basis). A few have had territorial adjustments since then; only one conference, the Calvin Synod, composed of Hungarian-heritage Reformed congregations, received exemption from the geographical alignments, with its churches scattered from Connecticut westward to California and southward to Florida. Only one conference has ever withdrawn completely from the denomination: Puerto Rico, expressing disapproval of national UCC tolerance of homosexuality (as well as that of a large number of mainland congregations), departed the denomination in 2006, taking all of its churches. General Synod The denomination's churchwide deliberative body is the General Synod, which meets every two years. The General Synod consists of delegates elected from the Conferences (distributed proportionally by conference size) together with the boards of directors of each of the four covenanted ministries (see below, under National Offices). While General Synod provides the most visible voice of the "stance of the denomination" on any particular issue, the covenantal polity of the denomination means that General Synod speaks to local churches, associations, and conferences, but not for them. Thus, the other settings of the church are allowed to hold differing views and practices on all non-constitutional matters. General Synod considers three kinds of resolutions: - Pronouncements: A Pronouncement is a statement of Christian conviction on a matter of moral or social principle and has been adopted by a two-thirds vote of a General Synod. - Proposals for Action: A Proposal for Action is a recommendation for specific directional statements and goals implementing a Pronouncement. A Proposal for Action normally accompanies a Pronouncement. (See link above regarding Pronouncements.) - Resolutions and Other Formal Motions Which may consist of the following three types: - Resolutions of Witness: A Resolution of Witness is an expression of the General Synod concerning a moral, ethical, or religious matter confronting the church, the nation, or the world, adopted for the guidance of the officers, Associated, or Affiliated Ministries, or other bodies as defined in Article VI of the Bylaws of the United Church of Christ; the consideration of local churches, Associations, Conferences, and other bodies related to the United Church of Christ; and for a Christian witness to the world. It represents agreement by at least two-thirds of the delegates voting that the view expressed is based on Christian conviction and is a part of their witness to Jesus Christ. - Prudential Resolutions: A Prudential Resolution establishes policy, institutes or revises structure or procedures, authorizes programs, approves directions, or requests actions by a majority vote. - Other Formal Motions National offices: covenanted, affiliated, and associated ministries As agents of the General Synod, the denomination maintains national offices comprising four "covenanted ministries", one "associated ministry", and one "affiliated ministry". The current system of national governance was adopted in 1999 as a restructure of the national setting, consolidating numerous agencies, boards, and "instrumentalities" that the UCC, in the main, had inherited from the Congregational Christian Churches at the time of merger, along with several created during the denomination's earlier years. Covenanted ministries These structures carry out the work of the General Synod and support the local churches, associations, and conferences. The head executives of these ministries comprise the five member Collegium of Officers, which are the non-hierarchical official officers of the denomination. (The Office of General Ministries is represented by both the General Minister, who serves as President of the denomination, and the Associate General minister). According the UCC office of communication press release at the time of restructure, "In the new executive arrangement, the five will work together in a Collegium of Officers, meeting as peers. This setting is designed to provide an opportunity for mutual responsibility and reporting, as well as ongoing assessment of UCC programs." The main offices of the Covenanted ministries are at the "Church House", the United Church of Christ national headquarters at 700 Prospect Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. - The Office of General Ministries (OGM) is responsible for administration, common services (technology, physical plant, etc.), covenantal relations (ecumenical relations, formal relations to other settings of the church), financial development, and "proclamation, identity and communication". The current General Minister and President is the Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Black and the current Associate General Minister is Mr. W. Mark Clark. - Local Church Ministries (LCM) is responsible for evangelism, stewardship and church finance, worship and education, Pilgrim Press and United Church Resources (the publishing house of the United Church of Christ), and parish life and leadership (authorization, clergy development, seminary relations, parish leadership, etc.). The current Executive Minister of Local Church Ministries is the Rev. J. Bennett Guess. - Wider Church Ministries (WCM) is responsible for partner relations* (relations with churches around the world, missionary work, etc.), local church relations* (as relates to world ministries and missions), global sharing of resources, health and wholeness ministry, and global education and advocacy. The starred '' ministries are carried out through the Common Global Ministries Board, a joint instrumentality of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The current Executive Minister for Wider Church Ministries is the Rev. Rev. Jim Moos. - Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) is responsible for ministries related to economic justice, human rights, justice for women and transformation, public life and social policy, and racial justice. In addition to its offices in Cleveland, JWM also maintains an office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The current Executive Minister for Justice and Witness Ministries is Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo. JWM also maintains an office called "Minister for Children, Families and Human Sexuality Advocacy" that promotes the Our Whole Lives sex education curriculum. Affiliated ministry The Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ (PB-UCC) operates the employee benefits systems for all settings of the United Church of Christ, including health, dental, and optical insurance, retirement annuity/pension systems, disability and life insurance, and ministerial assistance programs. The Pension Boards offices are located in New York City, where the headquarters of all UCC national bodies had been located prior to their move to Ohio in the early 1990s. Associated ministry United Church Funds (UCF), formerly known as The United Church Foundation, provides low cost, socially responsible, professionally managed Common Investment Funds (CIFs) and other trustee services to any setting of the United Church of Christ. United Church Funds' offices are also located in New York City. The Insurance Board is a nonprofit corporation collectively "owned" by the Conferences of the United Church of Christ. It is run by a president/CEO and a 19-member Board, with the full corporate board consisting of participating Conference ministers. The IB administers a property insurance, liability insurance, and risk management program serving the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) churches and related entities. U.S. Civil Rights Everett Parker of the United Church of Christ Office of Communication --- at the request of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. --- organized UCC churches during 1959 against television stations in the southern United States that were imposing news blackouts of information pertaining to the then growing U.S. civil rights movement. The UCC later won a lawsuit that resulted in the federal court decision that the broadcast air waves are public, not private, property, a decision leading toward the proliferation of people of color in television studios and newsrooms. Social activism The UCC national body has been active in numerous traditionally liberal social causes, including support for abortion rights, the United Farm Workers, and the Wilmington Ten. The pro-life ministry in the UCC is done by the United Church of Christ Friends for Life group. Same-sex marriage Churches in the UCC can sanctify same-sex unions. The resolution "In support of equal marriage rights for all", supported by an estimated 80% of the UCC's 2005 general synod delegates, made the United Church of Christ the first major Christian deliberative body in the U.S. to make a statement of support for "equal marriage rights for all people, regardless of gender," and is hitherto the largest Christian denominational entity in the U.S. supporting same-sex marriage. This resolution (and the sanctification of same-sex marriages), however, is not supported by some congregations. Of particular note, the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico, a long-standing conference within the UCC, voted by a 3–1 margin to withdraw its affiliation with the UCC over the same-sex marriage issue. And the Biblical Witness Fellowship, a conservative evangelical organization that is a small but vocal voice within the denomination, accepts only heterosexual marriage. Apology Resolution United Church of Christ was recognized in the Apology Resolution to Native Hawaiians. In the Resolution, Congress recognized the reconciliation made by the UCC in the Eighteenth General Synod for their actions in overthrowing the Kingdom of Hawaii. Statement on the relationship between Israel and Palestinians United Church of Christ General Synod XXV also passed two resolutions concerning the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East. One calls for the use of economic leverage to promote peace in the Middle East, which can include measures such as government lobbying, selective investment, shareholder lobbying, and selective divestment from companies which profit from the continuing Israel-Palestine conflict. The other resolution, named "Tear Down the Wall", calls upon Israel to remove the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank. Opponents of the "Tear Down the Wall" resolution have noted that the wall's purpose is to prevent terrorist attacks, and that the resolution does not call for a stop to these attacks. The Simon Wiesenthal Center stated that the July 2005 UCC resolutions on divestment from Israel were "functionally anti-Semitic". The Anti-Defamation League stated that those same resolutions are "disappointing and disturbing" and "deeply troubling". In addition to the concerns raised about the merits of the "economic leverage" resolution, additional concerns were raised about the process in which the General Synod approved the resolution. Michael Downs of the United Church of Christ Pension Boards (who would be charged with implementing any divestment of the UCC's Pension Board investments) wrote a letter to UCC President John H. Thomas expressing concern "with the precedent-setting implications of voted actions, integrity of process and trust." Sex education The United Church of Christ, along with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, created several sexual education classes, which were designed for many different age groups. These courses were called Our Whole Lives, or OWL, and aim to provide scientific and unbiased information regarding sexuality, birth control and condoms, and physical biology. "God Is Still Speaking," identity campaign At the 2003 General Synod, the United Church of Christ began a campaign with "emphasis on expanding the UCC's name-brand identity through modern advertising and marketing." that was formally launched Advent 2004. The campaign included coordinated program of evangelism and hospitality training for congregations paired with national and local television "brand" advertising, known as the "God is Still Speaking" campaign or "The Stillspeaking Initiative." The initiative was themed around the quotation "Never place a period where God has placed a comma," and campaign materials, including print and broadcast advertising as well as merchandise, featured the quote and a large "comma," with a visual theme in red and black. United Church of Christ congregations were asked to "opt in" to the campaign, signifying their support as well as their willingness to receive training on hospitality and evangelism. An evangelism event was held in Atlanta in August 2005 to promote the campaign. Several renewal groups panned the ad campaign for its efforts to create an ONA/progressive perception of the UCC identity despite its actual majority in centrist/moderate viewpoints. According to John Evans, associate professor of sociology at University of California, San Diego, "The UCC is clearly going after a certain niche in American society who are very progressive and have a particular religious vision that includes inclusiveness... They are becoming the religious brand that is known for this." The church's diversity and adherence to covenantal polity (rather than government by regional elders or bishops) give individual congregations a great deal of freedom in the areas of worship, congregational life, and doctrine. Nonetheless, some critics, mainly social and theological conservatives, are vocal about the UCC's theology, political identity, and cultural milieu. Theological criticism More conservative members of the UCC have complained that the UCC has lost members because of its "theological surrender to the moral and spiritual confusion of contemporary culture." This movement has focused its complaints on the "often radically liberal political agenda" of the UCC. Social criticism Conservatives have complained that UCC members are "probably the most left-leaning of all major U.S. denominations." These critics have complained that the UCC attempts to control "how liberal Christians should think in politically correct terms about climate controversies, socialized medicine, the U.S. presence in Iraq, immigration and the Welfare State." Criticism over same-sex marriage The UCC has been severely criticized for its stand on same-sex marriage. In fact, citing differences over "the membership and ministry of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians," the UCC's Puerto Rico Conference left the church in 2006. Criticism of sex education Critics have complained that the UCC's focus on sex education, including the distribution of condoms, does not provide appropriate moral context for sex and has failed in "reinforcing the traditional Christian ethic reserving sex for marriage." Sources of criticism The Institute on Religion and Democracy has been consistently critical of the UCC, complaining that the denomination "is stuck in the liberal theology and politics of the 1960s" and makes conservatives feel unwelcome. Internal critics have also complained that the UCC has "set on a course of dishonest political activism" without the knowledge of the local congregations. Outcries have been so strong among conservative congregations that they have ended their affiliations with the denomination, in many cases terminating decades of association with one of the UCC's four major traditions. This became especially pronounced in the months following the decision of General Synod 25 to endorse same-sex marriage. Three denominations have in particular been beneficiaries of their decisions: the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (founded in the late 1950s in opposition to the UCC merger), the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (founded in the 1940s as a more conservative alternative), and the Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches (founded in the 1990s, mostly by E&R-heritage churches). However, quite a number of withdrawing congregations have decided to operate independently, influenced perhaps by the recent growth and success of non-denominational fellowships throughout the U.S. Still other congregations have decided to remain in the denomination but withhold financial support for "Our Church's Wider Mission" (OCWM). They say their goal is to avoid funding conference and national programs and policies they find objectionable. Many of those churches are openly affiliated with two conservative "renewal" organizations, the Biblical Witness Fellowship and the North Carolina-based Faithful and Welcoming group, both of which have tried, largely unsuccessfully, to lobby the General Synod (and some conferences) to renounce politically and theologically liberal stances on a number of issues. Barack Obama and the UCC A controversy arose over Obama speaking at UCC gatherings, but the IRS found that the UCC had adhered to the prohibition against churches campaigning for political candidates. In 2007, US Presidential candidate and longtime UCC member Barack Obama spoke at the UCC's Iowa Conference meeting and at the General Synod 26. A complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service alleged that the UCC promoted Obama's candidacy by having him speak at those meetings. Barry Lynn, an ordained UCC minister and the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, stated that although he personally would not have invited a Presidential candidate to speak at the meetings, he believed "the Internal Revenue Service permits this to happen." The church had consulted lawyers prior to the event to make sure they were following the law and had instructed those in attendance that no Obama campaign material would be allowed in the meeting. Nevertheless, in February 2008, the IRS sent a letter to the church stating that it was launching an inquiry into the matter. On February 27, 2008, in an open letter to UCC members, Rev. John H. Thomas announced the creation of The UCC Legal Fund, to aid in the denomination's defense against the IRS. While the denomination expected legal expenses to surpass six figures, it halted donations after raising $59,564 in less than a week. In May 2008, the IRS issued a letter which states that the UCC had taken appropriate steps and that the denomination's tax status was not in jeopardy. At the time of its formation, the UCC had over 2 million members in nearly 7,000 churches. The denomination has suffered a 44 percent loss in membership since the mid-1960s. By 1980, membership was at about 1.7 million and by the turn of the century had dropped to 1.3 million. In 2006, the UCC had roughly 1.2 million members in 5,452 churches. According to its 2008 annual report, the United Church of Christ has about 1.1 million members in about 5,300 local congregations. However the 2010 annual report showed a decline of 31,000 members and a loss of 33 congregations since then. The decline in number of congregations continued through 2011, as the 2011 Annual Report shows 5100 member churches. The UCC has not published membership numbers since 2008. Membership is concentrated primarily in the Northeast and Midwest. Pennsylvania, a bastion of the German Reformed tradition, has the largest number of members and churches. As of 2000, the state had over 700 congregations and over 200,000 members. The highest membership rates are in the states of Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, situated in the heartland of the American Congregationalist movement. United Church of Christ institutions - Andover Newton Theological School (Newton Centre, Massachusetts) - Bangor Theological Seminary (Bangor, Maine) - Chicago Theological Seminary (Chicago, Illinois) - Eden Theological Seminary (Webster Groves and St. Louis, MO) - Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) - Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley, California) - United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (New Brighton, Minnesota) Colleges and universities These 18 schools have affirmed the purposes of the United Church of Christ Council for Higher Education by official action and are full members of the Council. - Catawba College (Salisbury, North Carolina) - Chapman University (Orange, California) - Defiance College (Defiance, Ohio) - Dillard University (New Orleans, Louisiana) - Doane College (Crete, Nebraska) - Drury University (Springfield, Missouri) - Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, Illinois) - Elon University (Elon, North Carolina) - Heidelberg University (Ohio) (Tiffin, Ohio) - Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, Texas) - Illinois College (Jacksonville, Illinois) - Lakeland College (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) - LeMoyne-Owen College (Memphis, Tennessee) - Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin) - Olivet College (Olivet, Michigan) - Pacific University (Forest Grove, Oregon) - Piedmont College (Demorest, Georgia) - Rocky Mountain College (Billings, Montana) - Talladega College (Talladega, Alabama) - Tougaloo College (Tougaloo, Mississippi) Secondary academies - Hartford Seminary (Hartford, Connecticut) - Harvard Divinity School (Cambridge, Massachusetts) - Howard University School of Divinity (Washington, DC) - Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, Georgia) - Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - Union Theological Seminary (New York, New York) - Vanderbilt University Divinity School (Nashville, Tennessee) - Yale Divinity School (New Haven, Connecticut) "These colleges continue to relate to the United Church of Christ through the Council for Higher Education, but chose not to affirm the purposes of the Council. Though in many respects similar to the colleges and universities that have full membership in the Council, these institutions tend to be less intentional about their relationships with the United Church of Christ." (from the United Church of Christ website) - Beloit College (Beloit, Wisconsin) - Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) - Cedar Crest College (Allentown, Pennsylvania) - Fisk University (Nashville, Tennessee) - Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) - Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa) - Hood College (Frederick, Maryland) - Ripon College (Ripon, Wisconsin) - Ursinus College (Collegeville, Pennsylvania) - Westminster College of Salt Lake City (Salt Lake City, Utah) These colleges and universities were founded by or are otherwise related historically to the denomination or its predecessors, but no longer maintain any direct relationship. - Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire) - Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) — was founded by Congregationalists, but sided with the Unitarians in their 1825 breakaway. - Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) - was founded by Congregational ministers in 1701 and its chapel was officially affiliated with the UCC in 1961, but discontinued the affiliation in 2005 to be more welcoming to other faiths - Chamberlain College of Nursing, formerly Deaconess College of Nursing (St. Louis, Missouri) - Rollins College (Winter Park, Florida) - New College Florida (Sarasota, Florida) - Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio) - Pomona College (Claremont, California) - Tohoku Gakuin University (Sendai, Japan) - Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington) — briefly associated with the Congregational Church in the early 1900s List of prominent UCC churches - Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago - a predominantly black church located in south Chicago. With upwards of 10,000 members, it is the largest church affiliated with UCC. It was pastored by Rev. Jeremiah Wright until early 2008. It is now pastored by The Rev. Otis Moss III. - Cathedral of Hope (Dallas) - the largest church in the United States with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Local membership exceeds 4,000 people though the church claims over 52,000 worldwide constituents. - Riverside Church - an interdenominational American Baptist and UCC church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture and its history of social justice. It was built between 1927 and 1930 with support from John D. Rockefeller. Harry Emerson Fosdick was its first minister. Other famous former ministers include William Sloane Coffin and James A. Forbes. - Plymouth Church Seattle - is an historic congregation located in downtown Seattle. Plymouth is known for its history of advocacy for social justice, its music program and its creation of programs to serve the homeless, such as Plymouth Healing Communities and Plymouth Housing Group. List of famous UCC members This section lists notable people known to have been past or present members or raised in the United Church of Christ or its predecessor denominations. - Daniel Akaka — Former U.S. Senator from Hawaii (Democrat) - Max Baucus — U.S. Senator from Montana (Democrat) - Jon Corzine — Former Governor of New Jersey (Democrat) - Howard Dean — Former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, former Governor of Vermont (Democrat) - Jim Douglas - Former Governor of Vermont (Republican) - Mark Fernald — Former New Hampshire State senator - Mills Godwin — Former Governor of Virginia - Bob Graham — Former Governor and U.S. Senator from Florida (Democrat) - Judd Gregg — U.S. Senator from New Hampshire (Republican) - Hubert Humphrey — Former Vice President of the United States - Jim Jeffords — Former U.S. Senator from Vermont (Independent) - Bob Kerrey- Former Governor and U.S senator from Nebraska (Democrat) - Mark Kirk - U.S. Senator from Illinois (Republican) - Barack Obama — President of the United States of America (2009-Present) - Robert Orr — Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations - Sally Pederson — Former Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (Democrat) - William Proxmire — Former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (Democrat) - Kwame Raoul — Senator in Illinois State Senate (Democrat) - George Smathers — Democratic Senator from Florida - Washington Gladden — early leader in the Social Gospel and Progressive movements - Julian Bond — Chair NAACP (2004–2008) - Barry W. Lynn — UCC minister and executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State - Walter Brueggemann — contemporary theologian, poet, and UCC minister, retired professor at Columbia Theological Seminary - William Sloane Coffin — Late Presbyterian/UCC minister and activist; 'pastor, prophet, poet'; former Chaplain at Yale University and Senior Pastor of Riverside Church, New York City - Common — Rapper, recording artist, member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. - Donald Hall — United States US Poet Laureate - George Heartwell - Mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan. - Roger Johnson - CEO of Western Digital and head of the General Services Administration under President Bill Clinton - Dean Koontz — American writer and author. Raised UCC, now is Catholic. - William "Bill" McKinney — President of Pacific School of Religion, since 1996 - Bill Moyers - Journalist and host of PBS current affairs program Bill Moyers' Journal - John Williamson Nevin — notable 19th-century theologian - H. Richard Niebuhr — notable 20th-century theologian - Reinhold Niebuhr — notable 20th-century theologian - Leonard Pitts — Nationally syndicated Pulitzer prize–winning (2004) columnist - Jackie Robinson — Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and first African-American to break baseball's "color barrier". - Marilynne Robinson — Pulitzer prize-winning (2005) author of the novel Gilead - Alex Ross - Comic book writer and artist. Son of UCC minister Clark Norman Ross. - Philip Schaff — notable 19th-century theologian - Max L. Stackhouse — public theologian and professor at Princeton Theological Seminary - Jeri Kehn Thompson - wife of Law & Order star and former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson - Paul Tillich — notable 20th-century theologian - Andrew Young — Civil rights leader, ordained UCC pastor, and former member of Congress, UN ambassador, and mayor of Atlanta, Georgia See also - Rice, Howard L. (1991). Reformed Spirituality. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780664252304. Retrieved 31 October 2012. "The denominations in the United States usually considered to be part of the Reformed tradition include the Presbyterians, the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, the Christian Reformed Church, and, though it can be debated, the Disciples of Christ." - Queen, Edward L.; Prothero, Stephen R.; Shattuck, Gardiner H. (1 January 2009). Encyclopedia of American Religious History (in English). Infobase Publishing. p. 818. ISBN 9780816066605. Retrieved 31 October 2012. "Next in size and historical importance is the United Church of Christ, which is the historic continuation of the Congregational churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism. The United Church of Christ also subsumed the third major Reformed group, the German Reformed, which (then known as the Evangelical and Reformed Church) merged with the Congregationalists in 1957." - "2010 Annual Report". Retrieved 2011-05-23. - "Ecumenical partnerships and relationships of full communion". Ucc.org. Retrieved 2012-03-12. - "Interfaith relations". Ucc.org. Retrieved 2012-03-12. - "Ecumenical and Interfaith Partners". Ucc.org. Retrieved 2012-03-12. - Zikmund, Barbara B. Hidden Histories in the United Church of Christ - Volume I. 1987, ISBN 0-8298-0753-5. Web: 16 December 2009 - "What is the United Church of Christ". ucc.org. Retrieved 2010-01-16. - "The United Church of Christ". ucc.org. Retrieved 2010-01-16. - "Basis of Union" - "Statement of Faith" - "Testimonies, not Tests". UCC. Retrieved 2010-01-22.[dead link] - "Constitution and Bylaws of the United Church of Christ". UCC. Retrieved 2010-01-22. - "What is the United Church of Christ? A brief history". UCC. Retrieved 2010-01-22.[dead link] - Lang, Andy (April 2001). "Denominational identity still important". ucc.org. Archived from the original on 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2006-12-24. - Smith, Peter (2006-11-05). "United Church of Christ Divided". courier-journal.com. Retrieved 2006-12-24. - Fowler, Sidney D.; Marjorie H. Royle (2005-06-27). "Worshiping into God's Future: Summaries and Strategies 2005" (PDF). ucc.org. Archived from the original on 2006-12-26. Retrieved 2006-12-27. - "What we believe". UCC. Retrieved 2010-01-22. - "Ecumenical partnerships and relationships of full communion". UCC. Retrieved 2010-01-22. - World Council of Churches (1982). "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (Faith and Order Paper No. 111, the "Lima Text")". - "A United Church OF Christ Response to Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry". ucc.org. Retrieved 2006-12-26. - "Research Services". ucc.org. Retrieved 2010-05-19. - United Church of Christ Insurance Board Who We Are - "UCC Firsts (1959). - Guess, J. Bennett (2009-09-25). "NARAL honors UCC leader as 'champion of choice'". UCC. Retrieved 2010-01-22. - United Church of Christ Friends for Life Website - Goodstein, LAURIE (2009-07-15), "Episcopal Bishops Give Ground on Gay Marriage", NY Times, retrieved 2010-01-22 - "Stances of Faiths on LGBT Issues: United Church of Christ". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 2011-11-30. - [dead link] - "An Introduction to the Biblical Witness Fellowship". 1983. Retrieved 2010-01-22. - Simon WIESENTHAL Center[dead link]. - Winslow, William (July–August 2003). "UCC leader asks for $1 billion in annual giving by 2007". ucc.org. Archived from the original on 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2006-12-25. - Thomas, John. "National Evangelism Event". ucc.org. Archived from the original on 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2006-12-25. - December 2004 Archive - Witness 2005 - Winter - name = "Evans"[dead link] - Tooley, Mark (2008-09-16). "Religious Left Voter Guides". Institute on Religion & Democracy. Retrieved 2010-01-23. - "Puerto Rico Church Leaves UCC Over Gay Policies". Christian Post. Associated Press. 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2010-01-23. - "United Church of Christ Ad Masks Decline" (Press release). Institute on Religion & Democracy. 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2010-01-23. - "Pass the Offering Plate, Take a Condom United Church of Christ Promotes Contraceptive Distribution in the Sanctuary" (Press release). Institute on Religion & Democracy. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2010-01-23. - Hutchins, James. "The Point". Retrieved 2010-01-23. - One week before Synod speech, Obama addresses UCC's Iowa Conference - The American Spectator - OneNewsNow.com - Your News Right Now[dead link] - The Associated Press: IRS Investigates Obama's Denomination[dead link] - The United Church of Christ: Support the UCC's legal defense against the IRS[dead link] - The United Church of Christ: Search results for 59,564 - "Historic Archive CD and Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches". The National Council of Churches. Retrieved 2009-12-18. - Minicy Catom Software Engineering Ltd. www.catom.com. "Institute for Global Jewish Affairs – Global Antisemitism, Anti-Israelism, Jewish Studies". Jcpa.org. Retrieved 2012-03-12. - "2008 Annual Report". ucc.org. Retrieved 2009-07-05. - "2010 Annual Report". ucc.org. - "2000 Religious Congregations and Membership Study". Glenmary Research Center. Retrieved 2009-12-18. - In Quest to Be More Welcoming, Yale Is Severing Ties to a Church NY Times, April 12, 2005 - A Brief History - New College of Florida, The public liberal arts honors college for the state of Florida[dead link] - pg 10[dead link] - On Eagle Pond Farm The new poet laureate on politics, grief—and Poetry TV - Chatting With Koontz About Faith
Large and intensifying Hurricane Alex bears down on northeastern Mexico, South Texas Hurricane Alex continues to intensify as it slowly bears down on the coast of northeastern Mexico. Brownsville long-range radar shows the spiral bands of Alex, which has dumped heavy rains of up to four inches in northeastern Mexico and near Brownsville, according to satellite estimates of rainfall. The Brownsville airport received 0.78" of rain in the hour ending at 8am CDT, and 0.61" in the hour ending at 9am CDT. Floods from Alex have already killed ten people--six in Nicaragua, and two each in El Salvador and Guatemala. Figure 1. Snapshot of the Brownsville long-range radar showing Hurricane Alex approaching the coast. The 7:12am CDT eye penetration of the Hurricane Hunters found a central pressure of 959 mb, a modest 2 mb drop from the reading four hours previous to that. They noted a very tiny eye, ten miles in diameter, with a gap in the northwest side. Tiny eyes like this tend to be unstable, and in the 9:05am CDT eye penetration, the Hurricane Hunters found that the inner eyewall had collapsed, and the pressure had risen 2 mb, to 961 mb. A new, much larger eye will form today as the day progresses. During these "eyewall replacement cycles", a hurricane will typically weaken a few millibars , and the strongest winds will spread out over a larger area as the hurricane conserves angular momentum. Thus, the hurricane still has about the same amount of destructive power, it is just spread out over a larger area. This tends to increase the hurricane's storm surge, but lessens the wind damage, since the extreme winds of the inner eyewall are no longer present. Satellite loops show a large, well-organized storm with increasing amounts of low-level spiral bands forming, and improving upper-level outflow. Data from last night's flight of the NOAA jet showed an unusually moist atmosphere surrounds Alex, so dry air is no longer a problem for it. It's a good thing Alex has less than a day before making landfall, or else is would be a large and very powerful major hurricane. Figure 2. Visible light image of Tropical Storm Alex taken at 19:35 UTC (2:35 pm CDT) on June 29, 2010, by NASA's Aqua satellite. At the time, Alex was a tropical storm with 70 mph winds. Image credit: NASA. Traditionally, a storm's ranking on the Saffir-Simpson Scale--the familiar Category 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 rankings we always talk about--have also been used to quantify storm surge threat. However, large, weaker storms that cover a huge area of the Gulf of Mexico, like Alex, can generate a larger storm surge than a smaller but more intense hurricane with a higher Saffir-Simpson rating. Thus, the National Hurricane Center has formally discontinued use of the Saffir-Simpson scale to characterize storm surge, and is studying the possibility of issuing separate Storm Surge Warnings a few years from now. These would be in addition to their traditional Hurricane Warnings. To give us a better idea of a storm's surge potential, Dr. Mark Powell of NOAA's Hurricane Research Division has developed the Integrated Kinetic Energy scale to rank storms. The scale ranges from 0 to 6, and a parallel wind damage scale that runs from 0 to 6 is also generated. Alex had an Integrated Kinetic Energy of 2.6 on the 0 to 6 scale at 1:30pm CDT yesterday, and its destructive potential rating for winds was just 1.2. Thus, Alex's surge ranked alomst one-and-a-half categories higher in destructive potential than its wind. These numbers have probably increased by a full category since yesterday afternoon. NHC is giving a 40% - 60% chance of a storm surge of at least 3 feet affecting the Brownsville area, and 10% - 30% chance the surge will exceed 5 feet. In theory, a Category 2 hurricane moving WNW at 5 mph can bring a storm surge of up to 8 - 9 feet to the South Texas and northern Mexican coast. Alex is bringing bands of heavy rain to the coasts of Texas and Mexico, as seen on the Brownsville, Texas radar. Hurricane local statements with projections for how Alex will affect the coast are now being issued by the National Weather Service in Brownsville and Corpus Christi. Flooding damage from the expected 6 - 12 inches of rain from Alex will be the main concern. Wind damage is a lesser concern, since the core of Alex is making landfall in a swampy, sparsely populated region of Mexico. The combined wind, surge, and flooding damage from Alex may be similar to 2008's Hurricane Dolly, which hit near Brownsville. Dolly was a Category 2 hurricane offshore that weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds when it made landfall, and did about $1 billion in damage. Dolly also generated two weak EF-0 tornadoes, and Alex is capable of generating a few tornadoes as well, according to the latest discussion from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. The atmosphere is moderately unstable, there is plenty of moisture, and wind shear at low levels has been increasing this morning. The greatest threat for tornadoes will occur late this afternoon, on the right side of where the storm makes landfall. Alex in historical context Alex is the first June hurricane since Hurricane Allison of 1995. Allison briefly became a minimal 75 mph hurricane before weakening and hitting the Florida Panhandle as a tropical storm. Alex is the strongest June hurricane since Hurricane Bonnie of 1986, which had 85 mph winds. Bonnie was the first hurricane I flew into as a member of the Hurricane Hunters. Bonnie made landfall along the upper Texas coast, and caused less than $20 million in damage. If Alex strengthens to 90 mph winds, it will be the strongest June hurricane since Hurricane Alma of 1966, which had 125 mph winds as it skirted the Florida Keys. There have been only ten hurricanes in May or June since 1945; only four of these were major Category 3 or higher storms. Track forecast for Alex All of the models take Alex to the west or west-northwest into northern Mexico by early Thursday morning. However, the steering currents are fairly weak, and Alex could stall and move erratically at times today. I don't anticipate that this weakness in the steering currents will allow Alex to move northward and make landfall in Texas. After landfall, the ridge of high pressure forcing Alex westward should remain in place and strengthen, keeping Alex's remnants over northern Mexico for several days. Intensity forecast for Alex Alex is over a region of ocean with moderately high total ocean heat content . Wind shear has fallen to a low 5 knots, and is projected by the SHIPS model to remain in the low range, below 10 knots, through landfall. The combination of low wind shear, moderately high ocean heat content, and plenty of moisture should allow Alex to continue to intensify today. Alex's pressure is already characteristic of a Category 3 hurricane, but the storm is so large that it is taking time for the winds to catch up to the pressure falls. It is unlikely that Alex's winds will be at Category 3 strength at landfall, since the storm is undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle, and does not have time to build a tight inner eyewall with strong winds before landfall. A Category 2 storm at landfall looks more likely. Elsewhere in the tropics The latest run of the NOGAPS model predicts the formation of a tropical disturbance in the Western Caribbean on Monday. None of the other models is showing anything brewing over the coming seven days. Wind and ocean current forecast for the BP oil disaster Alex is generating very rough conditions over the Deepwater Horizon blowout location, with 6 - 8 foot waves and 3 - 4 foot swells. Strong southeast to south winds of 15 - 25 knots will blow over the oil slick region today through Thursday, according to the latest marine forecast from NOAA. The resulting currents will push oil to many protected bays and estuaries that haven't seen oil yet. In addition, the 1 - 2 foot storm surge Alex is generating along the Louisiana coast will act to push oil deep into some low-lying marshlands. While this oil will be diluted some by the wave action, the impact of the oil and accompanying toxic dispersants on the marshlands is of concern. The latest trajectory forecasts from NOAA and the State of Louisiana show oil will also move westward along the central Louisiana coast towards the Texas border. Winds will decrease to 10 - 15 knots Friday through Monday but remain out of the southeast, keeping the pressure on the regions of coast in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi that are seeing oil hit their shores this week. Resources for the BP oil disaster Map of oil spill location from the NOAA Satellite Services Division My post, What a hurricane would do the Deepwater Horizon oil spill My post on the Southwest Florida "Forbidden Zone" where surface oil will rarely go My post on what oil might do to a hurricane NOAA's interactive mapping tool to overlay wind and ocean current forecasts, oil locations, etc. Gulf Oil Blog from the UGA Department of Marine Sciences Oil Spill Academic Task Force University of South Florida Ocean Circulation Group oil spill forecasts ROFFS Deepwater Horizon page Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery from the University of Miami Either Rob Carver or myself will do an update late this afternoon or this evening. Weather inbound to Hurricane Alex. Weather inbound to Hurricane Alex. Flight deck view from a WC-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft
Less snowmelt in Antarctica Climatic change in Antarctica is complicated. The northernmost part of the continent, the Antarctic Peninsula, is warming at extreme rates, while elsewhere the pattern is mixed and in some parts there appears to be little or no warming. Up to a point, we glaciologists don’t mind whether Antarctica is warming or not. It is so cold that even an implausible temperature increase wouldn’t come close enough to the melting point to affect the mass balance. Indeed, there is a plausible argument that warming would make the mass balance more positive. The Antarctic interior is extremely dry because the capacity of the intensely cold atmosphere to deliver water vapour, and therefore snow, is minimal. Warmer air can carry more water vapour, so snowfall should increase in a warmer Antarctica. The evolving mass balance of Antarctica is most interesting around the edges, though. Warmer ocean water is increasing melting at the bases of ice shelves and pulling grounded ice across the grounding lines at increasingly scary rates. A modest increase in interior snowfall would not make this picture less scary. Ice-stream dynamics is not the only interesting thing about the periphery of Antarctica. Here, in the least cold latitudes, we observe what little melting does happen. Spread over the continent, it amounts to a few mm of water-equivalent loss per year, against gains by snowfall of about 150 mm/yr. Losses by discharge across the grounding line are much greater. But melting, if negligible in the big picture, is still interesting. In a recent paper, Tedesco and Monaghan update a standard measure of melt intensity in Antarctica, the so-called melting index. They watch the ice sheet’s emission at microwave wavelengths (8 to 16 mm) and exploit one of the most useful radiative attributes of water. At these wavelengths, the emissivity of frozen water is low, and as conventionally presented in imagery it looks bright, but when it melts its emissivity rises dramatically and it looks black. An intermittently wet snow surface flickers between bright and dark, and we can keep track of melting by noting, in twice-daily overpasses by the imaging satellites, whether the image pixels are bright (cold) or black (warm). The melting index, summed over a glacierized region for a span of time, is measured in square-kilometre-days, an odd-sounding unit but one that captures what we want to know. For each pixel it is just the number of days on which the pixel was black times the area of the pixel. For the whole region it is the sum of these pixel counts. The Antarctic melting index has averaged about 35 million km2 days per year (October to September, to be sure of keeping the austral summer months together) between 1980 and 2008. Here comes the intriguing feature: in 2009 it was only 17.8 million km2 days, which is not only a record low but also continues a trend towards lesser annual indices that began in 2005. The melt extent (the area experiencing at least one day of melting) was the second lowest recorded, reaching only half the average of 1.3 million km2. Tedesco and Monaghan account for this oddity in terms of slow organized variability in how the atmosphere behaves. Two patterns of multi-annual variation in the circulation of the southern atmosphere, the Southern Oscillation and the Southern Annular Mode, together correlate rather well with the melting index. But the authors acknowledge that the correlation breaks down in some Antarctic regions, and that the common variance does not point to a clear-cut physical explanation. (Translation: we don’t understand what is happening.) Antarctica is a happy hunting ground for climate denialists, but they need to be ignored because they are on a wild goose chase. In the first place, anomalous patterns of temperature change haven’t stopped melting rates from accelerating, and ice shelves from disintegrating, in the warmest part of the continent. Second, global warming is global. Regional non-warming, and even regional cooling, don’t invalidate the main conclusion. The fact that we don’t understand why Antarctica is anomalous doesn’t invalidate it either. Finally, when it comes to Antarctic change it’s the ocean that we need to worry about. From the glaciological standpoint, warmer water is the problem, not warmer air. TrackBack URL for this entry:
This mammal is found in open and semi-open habitats, especially grasslands with scattered bushes and trees, in south-eastern Brazil (Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Goiás,Central North America and São Paulo), Paraguay, northern Argentina, Bolivia east and north of the Andes, and far south-eastern Peru (Pampas del Heath only). It is very rare in Uruguay. IUCN lists it as near threatened, while it is considered vulnerable by the Brazilian government (IBAMA). It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon. It is locally known as aguará guazú (meaning “large fox”) in the Guarani language, as "lobo guará" in Portuguese and as "lobo de crin" in Spanish. The Maned Wolf has often been described as "a Red Fox on stilts" owing to its similar coloration and overall appearance, though it is much larger than a Red Fox and belongs to a different genus. The adult animal stands almost 1 m (3.3 ft) tall at the shoulder, and weighs 20 to 25 kg (44 to 55 lb). The maned wolf is the tallest of the wild canids. The long legs are probably an adaptation to the tall grasslands of its native habitat. (Because of these long legs the Maned Wolf isn't really considered to be a true wolf, for wolves' legs are not longer than their bodies, yet the Maned Wolf's are.) Fur of the Maned Wolf maybe reddish brown to golden orange on the sides with long, black legs and a distinctive black mane. The coat is further marked with a whitish tuft at the tip of the tail and a white "bib" beneath the throat. The mane is erectile, and is typically used to enlarge the wolf's profile when threatened or when displaying aggression. The maned wolf is also known for its distinctive odor, which has earned it the nickname "Skunk Wolf." Hunting and territoriality Unlike other large canids (such as the Gray Wolf, the African Hunting Dog, or the Dhole) the Maned Wolf does not form packs. It hunts alone, usually between sundown and midnight. It kills its prey by biting on the neck or back, and shaking it violently if necessary. Monogamous pairs may defend a shared territory of about 30 km2 (11.6 sq mi), though the wolves themselves may seldom meet, outside of mating. The territory is crisscrossed by paths that the wolves create as they patrol at night. Several adults may congregate in the presence of a plentiful food source; a fire-cleared patch of grassland, for example, which would leave small vertebrate prey exposed to foraging. Both male and female Maned Wolves use their urine to communicate, e.g. to mark their hunting paths, or the places where they have buried hunted prey. The urine has a very distinctive smell, which some people liken to hops or cannabis. The responsible substance is very likely a pyrazine, which occurs in both plants. (In the Rotterdam Zoo, this smell once set the police on a hunt for cannabis smokers.) The mating season ranges from November to February. Gestation lasts 60 to 65 days, and a litter may have up to 2 to 6 black-furred pups, each weighing about 450 g (16 oz). These pups are fully grown in about one year. The Maned Wolf specializes in small and medium-sized prey, including small mammals (typically rodents and hares), birds, and even fish. A large fraction of its diet (over 50%, according to some studies) is vegetable matter, including sugarcane, tubers, and fruit (especially the Wolf Apple (Solanum lycocarpum). Captive Maned Wolves were traditionally fed meat-heavy diets and developed bladder stones. Zoo diets now feature fruits and vegetables, as well as meat and dog chow. Relations with other species The Maned Wolf participates in symbiotic relationships with the plants that it feeds on, as it carries the seeds of various plants, and often defecates on the nests of leafcutter ants. The ants then use the dung to fertilize their fungus gardens, and later discard the seeds onto refuse piles just outside their nest. This process significantly increases the germination rate of the seeds. The wolf is particularly susceptible to infection by the giant kidney worm, a potentially fatal parasite that may also infect domestic dogs. The Maned Wolf is not a true, common prey species for any other predator, though it may be attacked or killed by feral domestic dogs. Relations with humans The Maned Wolf is said to be a potential chicken thief; it was once also considered a threat to cattle and sheep, though this is now known to be false. In Brazil, the animal was historically hunted down for some body parts, notably the eyes, that were believed to be good luck charms. However, as it is now classified as vulnerable by the Brazilian government, it is afforded protection from poachers. Wolves are also threatened by habitat loss and being run over by cars. Wolves risk both physical harm and catching diseases from domestic dogs. The Maned Wolf is generally shy and flees when alarmed, and it poses little direct threat to humans. It occurs in several protected areas, including the national parks of Caraça and Emas in Brazil. The Maned Wolf is well represented in captivity, and has been bred successfully at a number of zoos, particularly in Argentina. The Maned Wolf is not closely related to any other living canid. It is apparently a survivor from the Pleistocene fauna of large South American mammals; its closest living relative is the Bush Dog (genus Speothos), with a more distant relationship to other South American canines (the Short-eared Dog, the Crab-eating Fox and the 'false foxes' or Pseudalopex). A study published in 2009 based on DNA evidence, showed that the extinct Falkland Islands Wolf was most closely related to the Maned Wolf, and shared a common ancestor with it about 6 million years ago. An earlier study, published in 2003, on the brain anatomy of several canids placed the Maned Wolf indeed together with the Falkland Islands Wolf, though with pseudo-foxes of the genus Pseudalopex as well. - ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000790. - ^ a b Rodden, M., Rodrigues , F. & Bestelmeyer, S. (2008). Chrysocyon brachyurus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 22 March 2009. Database entry includes justification for why this species is near threatened. - ^ Langguth, A. (1975). "Ecology and evolution in the South American canids". in M. W. Fox, ed.. The wild canids: their systematics, behavioral ecology and evolution. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. pp. 192–206. - ^ Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffmann, & Macdonald (eds). 2004.Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs - 2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. - ^ a b Dietz, J. M. (1984). "Ecology and social organization of the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)". Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 392: 1–51. - ^ Dietz, James (1984). Macdonald, D.. ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 31. ISBN 0-87196-871-1. - ^ a b c d Cristian Frers. "Un lobo de crin llamado Aguará Guazú". http://www.internatura.org/estudios/informes/lobo.html. Retrieved 2007-04-23. - ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2006-09-02, p3 - ^ Juarez, Keila Macfadem; Jader Marinho-Filho (November 2002). "Diet, habitat use, and home ranges of sympatric canids in central Brazil". Journal of Mammalogy 83 (4): 925–934. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0925:DHUAHR>2.0.CO;2. - ^ Motta-Junior, J. C., S. A. Talamon, J. A. Lombardi, AND K. Simokomaki (1996). "Diet of maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus, in central Brazil". Journal of Zoology (London) 240: 277–284. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05284.x. - ^ O. Courtenay. "Conservation of the Maned Wolf: fruitful relationships in a changing environment". Canid News, Vol. 2, 1994. http://www.canids.org/PUBLICAT/CNDNEWS2/manedwf2.htm. - ^ Kerstin, Lindblad-Toh; Claire M Wade, Tarjei S. Mikkelsen, Elinor K. Karlsson, David B. Jaffe, Michael Kamal, Michele Clamp, Jean L. Chang, Edward J. Kulbokas III, Michael C. Zody, Evan Mauceli, Xiaohui Xie, Matthew Breen, Robert K. Wayne, Elaine A. Ostrander, Chris P. Ponting, Francis Galibert, Douglas R. Smith, Pieter J. deJong, Ewen Kirkness, Pablo Alvarez, Tara Biagi, William Brockman, Jonathan Butler, Chee-Wye Chin, April Cook, James Cuff, Mark J. Daly, David DeCaprio, Sante Gnerre, Manfred Grabherr, Manolis Kellis, Michael Kleber, Carolyne Bardeleben, Leo Goodstadt, Andreas Heger, Christophe Hitte, Lisa Kim, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Heidi G. Parker, John P. Pollinger, Stephen M. J. Searle, Nathan B. Sutter, Rachael Thomas, Caleb Webber (2005-12-08). "Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog". Nature 438: 803–819. doi:10.1038/nature04338. - ^ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121449.htm - ^ Lyras, G.A., Van der Geer, A.A.E. 2003. External brain anatomy of the Canidae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 138: 505-522. London. doi: 10.1046/j.1096-3642.2003.00067.x
A powerful digger (3), the large hairy armadillo either builds simple burrows for temporary shelter or more complex branching burrows where it resides for longer periods (4). Activity varies between the seasons, being mostly nocturnal in the summer to avoid the heat of the day, but changing to diurnal during the winter. A variety of prey is taken, using a range of unusual foraging techniques including forcing its head into the ground and turning its body to make a conical hole, thereby exposing subterranean invertebrates. It has also been observed to pounce upon small snakes, slicing them with the bottom edge of the body shell. When threatened, the large hairy armadillo will run towards the nearest hole, or attempt to burrow into the ground. If, however, it is unable to escape, this species will draw up its feet, so that the bottom of the shell is level with the ground. When pursued into its burrow, the large hairy armadillo will wedge itself tightly against the walls, by bending its back and thrusting out its feet (3). Although the large hairy armadillo is known to breed during September in Argentina (3), most information about its reproductive biology currently comes from observations of captive animals (4). After a gestation period of 60 to 75 days, the female usually gives birth to two young, which are suckled for a further 50 to 60 days (3) (4). The large hairy armadillo reaches sexual maturity at around 9 months old, and has been known to live for over 23 years in captivity (3). No one has provided updates yet.
parryi’s range there are two other species of Cheirotonus which look very similar and can often be difficult to identify: At first glance, all three species look identical apart from the marbling on the elytra being slightly different. But on closer inspection, the forelegs of the males are all very different: C gestroi and C. macleayi do not occur together at all.The females can be identified by looking at the pygidium - the tip of the abdomen - as the hair structures differ: With the elongated forelegs of the males, Cheirotonus parryi is one of the most charismatic of all beetle species. John Edward Gray first described Cheirotonus parryi in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London in 1848.Today marks the 200th birthday of an important English entomologist, Major Frederick John Sidney Parry (28th October 1810 – 1st February 1885), after whom the beetle is named.Parry joined the 17th Lancers in 1831 and went on to become a major in the British Army. He became a Fellow of both the Entomological Society of London in 1840 and the Linnean Society in 1842. He published on all families of Coleoptera but it is his work on the Lucanidae or stag beetles that he will be remembered for, with a large part of his extensive collection residing here at the Natural History Museum.Parry has many other species of beetle named in his honour by revered contemporaries including Wallace, Bates and Hope. Adult Cheirotonus parryi , like all other species in the genus, have a green pronotum and dark, orange-spotted elytra.The adult male reaches a body length of 6.5cm (the female, 6cm). The outstretched forelegs of the male can be an additional 8cm.The male and females look alike except for the very long legs which are only found in the males. The different appearance of the male and female, known as sexual dimorphism, is common in many other scarab beetle species.It is unclear why these beetles have developed such incredibly long legs, though it is thought they are used to hold the female during mating.The female lays eggs in decomposing wood and the larvae develop by feeding on this substrate. The larvae play an important ecological role in recycling nutrients and dead matter.The life cycle is thought to take 3--4 years in the wild though this is shorter in captivity. is distributed from the Himalayan foothills of India in the east through to Burma, Laos and Thailand.The type specimen was collected by Major Parry in Sylhet - modern day Bangladesh. This specimen is in the Natural History Museum collections.Its habitat is the verdant forests of the highland regions, where at least 1,000mm of rain falls a year.The larvae of the beetle develop in rotting wood of large trees and are often found in standing dead trees. The survival of the species is therefore restricted to large stands of primary forest which have not been deforested.
Ennals, Richard (1986) Teaching logic as a computer language in schools. In: Van Caneghem, Michel and Warren, David H.D., (eds.) Logic Programming and Its Applications. Norwood, N.J : Ablex Publishing Corporation. pp. 129-144. (Ablex Series in Artificial Intelligence)Full text not available from this archive. In a book devoted to applications of logic programming, this chapter describes case study experience of teaching in schools, based on a project led from Imperial College London and funded by SERC. \|Item Type:\|\|Book Section\| \|Physical Location:\|\|This book is held in stock at Kingston University Library\| Computer science and informatics \|Faculty, School or Research Centre:\|\|Faculty of Business and Law Faculty of Business and Law > Kingston Business School (Informatics and Operations Management) \|Depositing User:\|\|Richard Ennals\| \|Date Deposited:\|\|06 Jan 2009 12:30\| \|Last Modified:\|\|06 Sep 2010 11:29\| Actions (Repository Editors) \|Item Control Page\|
Texas drought visible in new national groundwater maps The record-breaking drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, decimated crops and forced cattle sales has also reduced levels of groundwater in much of the state to the lowest levels seen in more than 60 years, according to new national maps produced by NASA and distributed by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The latest groundwater map, released on Nov. 29, shows large patches of maroon over eastern Texas, indicating severely depressed groundwater levels. The maps, generated weekly by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., are publicly available on the Drought Center's website. "Texas groundwater will take months or longer to recharge," said Matt Rodell, a hydrologist based at Goddard. "Even if we have a major rainfall event, most of the water runs off. It takes a longer period of sustained greater-than-average precipitation to recharge aquifers significantly." The maps are based on data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, which detect small changes in Earth's gravity field caused primarily by the redistribution of water on and beneath the land surface. The paired satellites travel about 137 miles (220 km) apart and record small changes in the distance separating them as they encounter variations in Earth's gravitational field. To make the maps, scientists used a sophisticated computer model that combines measurements of water storage from GRACE with a long-term meteorological dataset to generate a continuous record of soil moisture and groundwater that stretches back to 1948. GRACE data goes back to 2002. The meteorological data include precipitation, temperature, solar radiation and other ground- and space-based measurements. The color-coded maps show how much water is stored now as a probability of occurrence in the 63-year record. The maroon shading over eastern Texas, for example, shows that the level of dryness over the last week occurred less than two percent of the time between 1948 and the present. The groundwater maps aren't the only maps based on GRACE data that the Drought Center publishes each week. The Drought Center also distributes soil moisture maps that show moisture changes in the root zone down to about 3 feet (1 meter) below the surface, as well as surface soil moisture maps that show changes within the top inch (2 cm) of the land. "All of these maps offer policymakers new information into subsurface water fluctuations at regional to national scales that has not been available in the past," said the Drought Center's Brian Wardlow. The maps provide finer resolution or are more consistently available than other similar sources of information, and having the maps for the three different levels should help decision makers distinguish between short-term and long-term droughts. "These maps would be impossible to generate using only ground-based observations," said Rodell. "There are groundwater wells all around the United States and the U.S. Geological Survey does keep records from some of those wells, but it's not spatially continuous and there are some big gaps." The maps also offer farmers, ranchers, water resource managers and even individual homeowners a new tool to monitor the health of critical groundwater resources. "People rely on groundwater for irrigation, for domestic water supply, and for industrial uses, but there's little information available on regional to national scales on groundwater storage variability and how that has responded to a drought," Rodell said. "Over a long-term dry period there will be an effect on groundwater storage and groundwater levels. It's going to drop quite a bit, people's wells could dry out, and it takes time to recover." The maps are the result of a NASA-funded project at the Drought Center and NASA Goddard to make it easier for the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor to incorporate data from the GRACE satellites. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., developed GRACE and manages the mission for NASA. The groundwater and soil moisture maps are updated each Tuesday. Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center - US Drought Monitor shows record-breaking expanse of drought across USThu, 5 Jul 2012, 17:04:57 EDT - Satellites show effect of 2010 drought on Amazon forestsTue, 29 Mar 2011, 12:34:48 EDT - US sets drought monitor's 'exceptional drought' record in JulyMon, 1 Aug 2011, 12:36:08 EDT - Drought may threaten much of globe within decadesTue, 19 Oct 2010, 15:02:37 EDT - Uvalde Center water research could have national, international applicationsWed, 25 Mar 2009, 10:13:10 EDT - Texas drought visible in new national groundwater mapsfrom Science DailyWed, 30 Nov 2011, 22:30:21 EST - NASA's Grace Helps Monitor U.S. Droughtfrom NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryWed, 30 Nov 2011, 18:00:45 EST - Texas drought visible in new national groundwater mapsfrom PhysorgWed, 30 Nov 2011, 18:00:25 EST Latest Science NewsletterGet the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free! 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SURFRAD includes ancillary data (e.g., cloud cover, moisture) that affect the transfer of solar and thermal infrared radiation to and from the surface. An aerosol optical depth product has been recently added. Aerosol optical depth is a measure of the extinction of the solar beam by dust and haze. In other words, particles in the atmosphere (dust, smoke, pollution) can block sunlight by absorbing or by scattering light. AOD tells us how much direct sunlight is prevented from reaching the ground by these aerosol particles. It is a dimensionless number that is related to the amount of aerosol in the vertical column of atmosphere over the observation location. A value of 0.01 corresponds to an extremely clean atmosphere, and a value of 0.4 would correspond to a very hazy condition. An average aerosol optical depth for the U.S. is 0.1 to 0.15.
Rob recently discussed writing faster MATLAB code (i.e., code that takes less time to run) (slides). Answers to “why should I care,” include that you don’t want to wait for results and your labmates don’t want to wait for your results. I think that faster code also allows you to do more. For example, faster code might allow you to search a larger portion of a space, or might be required in order for you search it at all. The first focus should be on readability (style guidelines), meaning fewer errors and more reusability. Rob’s quote from Donald Knuth makes the point: “Premature optimization is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming.” The idea is to only optimize bottlenecks. Things to use for optimizing bottlenecks include the MATLAB profiler (blog post), which will tell which lines take the longest to run, and will give you M-Lint messages, which you can use to improve the code. The M-Lint messages might be for things like a function return value might be unset or a variable is changing size on every loop iteration, and therefore you should consider preallocating. You should vectorize wherever possible since loops are slow. If you need a loop, preallocate if you can. You may also be able to take advantage of in-place operation (e.g., “x = myfunction(x)”). You should also consider whether you need double precision. Going to single may significantly reduce execution time. Other ways to get faster code involve parallelization and or rewriting the code in other languages. Recent versions of MATLAB allow you to take advantage of CPU or GPU multithreading. An example is independent iterations of a for loop, where each job can be sent to its own processing core (CPU or GPU). parfor (blog post) can be used to do a loop in parallel. Another option is to rewrite the code, or parts of it, as a MEX file. A MEX file is a way of interfacing with subroutines written in C, C++, or Fortran. If MEX files don’t get you where you want to go, consider CUDA, a parallel computing architecture developed by Nvidia.A decision tree for optimizing your code (original image). Non-local means implemented with MATLAB, MATLAB with parfor, MATLAB with MEX files, and CUDA. Log-log plot of image size in pixels vs. execution time in seconds (original image).
, according to the State Department, is a policy of preventing the spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction , and their means of delivery. At the close of World War II, the nations of the world began a series of attempts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. These efforts were largely unsuccessful, leading up to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. During the sixties, efforts through the UN at creating an international nonproliferation treaty were blocked by Soviet objection to a multilateral nuclear force within the NATO nations and American insistence on these "collective defense arrangements". The Soviet Union eventually agreed to provisions that allowed U.S. missiles to be placed on the territory of non-nuclear NATO members. In 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (aka NPT) was signed by the US, the USSR, the UK, and 59 other countries. It finally entered into force in 1970. It provided provisions to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, with monitoring provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As of 2002, the treaty had 187 signatory nations, with the notable exceptions of India, Pakistan and Israel. The doctrine of nonproliferation has served the world well for the past half century, but as demonstrated by the crises in Iraq and Korea, its limits are being reached. 1945 United States 1949 Soviet Union 1952 United Kingdom 1979 South Africa (dismantled in 1991) 2002 North Korea? "Non-Proliferation Treaty" from the U.S. Department of State at http://www.state.gov/t/np/trty/16281.htm "Non-Proliferation treaty explained", BBC News, 10 January, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2645379.stm Center for Defense Information http://www.cdi.org/ The Carnegie Endowment for Peace at http://www.ceip.org/files/nonprolif/default.asp "The State of Nuclear Proliferation 2001", from the Arms Control Association at http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/statefct.asp
Browsing 10 - 20 results of 255 programs for subject - Life Science/Biology There are green sea turtles in San Diego Bay? Where did they come from? Do they really live over 100 years? Why is it important for scientists to keep track of these giant creatures, and how on earth do they do it? In this interview with ecologist Tomoharu Eguchi (NOAA Marine Fisheries Service) and ecology graduate student Sheila Madrak, we meet the sea turtles and explore these 'big' questions. Join the Exploratorium for our final webcast with researchers on board the Nautilus. We discuss the highlights of their three month expedition to the Mediterranean and Black Seas, as well as to the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Learn about hydrothermal vents, organisms living in extreme environments and ancient shipwrecks. Best known for his discovery of the wreck of the RMS Titanic, Nautilus expedition leader Dr. Robert Ballard is one of the world's most famous ocean explorers. In this webcast, we talk live with Dr. Ballard as he explores the Mediterranean's Straits of Sicily. Learn about the Nautilus' latest discoveries and the history of ocean exploration. The Nautilus has discovered several well-preserved shipwrecks on their mission, from ancient Greek trading vessels to modern sailboats. Join us as we talk with chief scientist Katy Croff Bell live aboard the Nautilus and see the latest video of their discoveries. Located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, the seamounts of Gorringe Bank rise nearly 5000 meters from the sea floor -- as tall as Europe's Alps. Join us as we talk live with scientists aboard the Nautilus as they explore these geologically active and biologically rich submarine mountains. In this audio slideshow, meet the exploration vessel Nautilus and learn about its 2011 mission in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. (Images copyright Institute for Exploration / Ocean Exploration Trust.) In this program we meet Elizabeth Young, pigeon rescue expert and head of the pigeon rescue organization MickCoo (http://www.mickacoo.org), for a personal introduction to pigeons-their history, their accomplishments, their contributions to research in animal behavior/memory/learning/and how they navigate long distances-as well as their plight in the city. For more information visit: www.RescueReport.org Just outside the hum and buzz of San Francisco, there's a hum and buzz of a different sort. It's the sound of thousands of acres of almond crops being pollinated by bees—bees in such demand that they must be trucked in from as far as Texas. Almond grower Dave Phippen explains why. keeping this winged labor force happy and healthy is a vital but tricky business. Every night at Fort Funston, after all the people and dogs have left for the day, the bats come out to play. Dr. Gary Fellers of the U.S. Geological Survey tells us about bat vocalizations, the audio recordings he uses to monitor their travels, and the various species of bats that frequent this Golden Gate National Park. If you sink it, they will come. That’s what Exploratorium biologist Karen Kalumuck learned when she decided to experiment by submerging PVC plates under the piers at Marina Harbor. In this program, you'll meet the bizarre aquatic life forms that inhabit our Bay.
The best evidence of this was shown in the nature of Soviet aviation. Moscow never really thought of developing a long-range bomber – the Spanish Civil War teaching it all the wrong lessons about modern warfare – and civil aviation suffered because of it since all the USSR’s immediate enemies, the Poles, Germans, Baltics, and Scandinavians were close at hand. Even Soviet intelligence was much more interested in recruiting like-minded foreigners, and what their governments were planning on doing rather than how they planned to do it in terms of men and equipment. Stalin concentrated upon the Soviets obtaining Western aviation technology openly rather than developing their own as he did not have that much trust in his scientists. As a result, Moscow was still well behind when the Germans finally attacked in 1941 – its fighters, dive and medium-range bombers, though incredibly great in number, were hardly a match for the Luftwaffe’s latest creations. The Soviets had not benefitted either by the alleged treason of Red Army’s Chief of Armament’s Marshal M. N. Tukhachevskii with the Nazis.Their joint testing of weapons contrary to the terms of the Versailles Treaty had given Moscow all the wrong ideas about what Berlin was planning. While Tukhachevskii was a big advocate of developing rockets, his followers – i. e., Tupolev, Sergei Korolev, and Valentin Glushko - were the core of designers for Soviet aviation, and paid accordingly for their alleged disaffection. (David Holloway, Stalin and the Bomb, p. 146) Korolev worked for Tupolev’s design section of prisoner scientists after a spell in the Kolyma gulag. Tupolev was still in the doghouse for having pushed the development of the TB-3 strategic bomber which had set some distance records but had proven of little value in Spain. Little wonder that after the war, the Soviets were still playing catch-up, especially thanks to Western help of an official or covert nature, when it came to aviation. Again Moscow imitated Western technology with mixed results. For example, Stalin rejected People’s Commissar A. I. Sakhurin’s proposal that Soviet scientists should develop their own jets. “On April 24, 1946 the Lak (Lavochin) -15 and the MiG-9 fighters, using German JUMO-004 and BMW-003 jet engines,” Holloway wrote, “made their first flight. Shakhurin was soon replaced and sent to prison.” (p. 147) The Mikoyan MiG-15 and the Yakolev-15 were even powered by Soviet modified Rolls-Royce Derwent and Nene engines – what allegedly produced this surprised response from the Soviet leader. – “What kind of fool would be willing to sell his secrets.” (Quoted from p. 235.) It was only during the ‘fifties – while Stalin was disappearing from the scene – that Soviet aeronautical engineers were able to design and build the latest jet interceptors, the MiG-19 and the Yak-25. The same problem plagued the design of a long-range bomber – the prerequisite for a viable international commercial aviation – as Stalin was always sticking his nose in it. The best one it had was the Tupolev Tu-4 – named in honor of the rehabilitated Tupolev – based upon captured American B-29s, and really obsolete by the time it appeared in any numbers. It had taken too long a time for Tupolev to find the right engine for it, the Mikulin AM-03. Piston engines, though, could just not produce enough speed to outrun enemy interceptors. What was required was similar jet engines for the bombers, but Stalin was hooked on the idea of turbo jets which Tupolev would not accept, though the Soviet leader ordered him to do so but this time without any backing down. A four-engine turbojet bomber required too much fuel to be an effective long-range one. Stalin still got his way with V. M. Miasishchev building the plane (aka the “Bison” by NATO), but it never overcome its refueling problems. Ultimately, Tupolev too built his four-engine, turbopropeller bomber, the Tu-95 aka the “Bear” by NATO. The biggest trouble with these planes was that neither had a prospect of becoming a viable commercial airliner for the isolated USSR. The “Bear” could fly at the speed of sound, and had a range of over 12,000 kilometers, but it only had a payload of 11 metric tons – hardly the making of a commercial airliner,. The “Bison” was even faster, but it had a much shorter range, and could carry hardly more when it come to payload. It was only because nuclear devices became much lighter and versatile that the planes had even any military value. It was about this time that the Soviet rocket scientists took over the main strategic needs of the country, and aviation, except for the building of better interceptors and cargo planes, became a backwater in the field. The most amusing illustration of this occurred when Miasishchev claimed that his 201M bomber was really an intercontinental one since the refueling problem could be solved by having it land in Mexico after dropping its nukes rather than returning to the USSR. Khrushchev snapped back: “What do you think Mexico is – our mother-in-law? You think we can simply go calling any time we want? The Mexicans would never let us have the plane back.” (Quoted from Khrushchev Remembers, p. 71.) What little prospect large Soviet planes had for either military or civilian purposes dried up essentially with détente – Moscow agreeing to the ABM Treaty and the Strategic Limitation Arms Treaties (SALT-1 and II)). By setting the number of strategic missiles a country could have, the number of strategic bombers it had too became essentially an unimportant issue. While Bears and Bison took part in Moscow’s traditional May Day parades – showing their ability to deliver the bombs along with the massive missiles on display – they were considered irrelevant by the Reagan administration when it and Thatcher’s government decided to end the Cold War with Moscow at Olof Palme’s expense on February 28, 1986. While the plan was to be kicked off by US and Nato submarines sinking Soviet boomers as they hurriedly went on station in reaction to the surprise, the National Reconnaissance Office’s Keyhole radar satellite was to prevent any Soviet ICBMs from becoming airborne by destroying them while they were still on the ground being fueled. As for Soviet strategic bombers, they were to be deposed of, like the Wehrmacht accomplished in the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, while still on the ground when Nato’s Anchor Express Exercise was mopping up on the Kola peninsula what was left of Soviet resistance. Fortunately, Soviet counterintelligence and countermeasures, the failure of the Space Shuttle Challenger to put the satellite into space, mutinies by the crucial Atlantic Fleet Commander Admiral Carl Trost, and avalanches in Norway’s’ Vassdalen which killed many of its engineers prevented this all from happening. For more, see this link: http://codshit.blogspot.se/2004/06/olof-palmes-assassination-operation.html Tupolev’s son Alexei tried to bridge the gaps between Soviet aviation and the West by designing and building the Tu-144, a competitor of the British-French built Concorde, but it was sabotaged at the 1973 Le Bourget Air Show when it was taking off by an unannounced small plane, allegedly involved in photographing it, getting in its way. It forced the Tu-144 into a drastic maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision, but in swerving out of the way, it engaged in maneuvers which the plane could not withstand, breaking up and then exploding when it hit the ground, killing the crew, and several people on the ground. Instead of becoming the Concorde’s real competitor, it was soon cast aside by anyone interested. For more, see this link: http://indrus.in/articles/2012/05/12/did_sabotage_crash_the_sukhoi_superjet_15732.html The sad state of Soviet aviation and international transport, especially of a long-range nature, was well on display when the Berlin Wall came down and USSR finally collapsed. The only international carrier was Aeroflot, and its fleet was almost totally made up of Boeing and Airbus planes, thanks considerably to the sabotaging of the Tupolev Tu-144. As Roderic Braithwaite noted in Across The Moscow River when he returned to Russia as Britain’s Ambassador: “Moscow was a patently run-down city. Apart from one huge placard high on the Moscow skyline which exhorted the citizens to ‘FLY AEROFLOT’ (an unnecessay injunction in a country with huge distances and only one airline)…” (p. 46) Of course, all the old designers of planes for limited travel were still around – e. g., Ilyushin, Irkut, and Sukhoi - but they did not have the resources and clientele to produce anything much better. Moreover, conditions only became worse during the Boris Yeltsin years. The worst thing that happened was the 5th Congress of People’s Deputies giving Yeltsin the power to rule by decree and to implement economic reform in the fall of 1991 before a constitution had been adopted, and the state rebuilt. “It was Yeltsin,” Lilia Shevtsova wrote in Russia: Lost in Translation, “who could not stop infighting among the elite, and handed power to his favorites, enabled cliques to help themselves to state property, and allowed Russia to drift back toward authoritarianism.” (p. 32) The stealing was the price that Yeltsin had to pay to get re-elected as President. and once the oligarchs were in power, their “natural monopolies” were assisted in impoverishing Russia by outside developers, IMF and World Bank credits, and NATO’s enragement. LIttle wonder that the new President, Vladimir Putin, tried to regain control of its assets, organizations and potential. While oligarchs like Boris Berezovski. Roman Abramovich, and Vladimir Potamin were being pushed aside, Putin appointed a new set of oligarchs to take back what was in Russia’s national interest. “The creation of national champion companies is proceeding apace,” Shevtsova wrote, “with Gazprom and Rosneft swallowing smaller companies, Aeroflot buying up regional airlines, and companies that design and construct aircraft (Sukhoy, Mig, Irkut, Tupolev, and IIlyushin) merging.” (p. 123) To stop the continuing purchasing of Airbus and Boeing planes – what Aeroflot was still buying in quantity as late as the spring of 2007 – Sukhoi built and perfected Super Jet 100 in the hope of finally breaking the habit. For more about the plane, see this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Superjet_100 The possibilities of the Sukhoi plane at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport were obvious. The airport, built by Boeing’s holding company back in 1928, and maintained by Lockheed-Martin recently, needed an addition like the Super Jet 100 to its fleet of planes which used its runways often but with some risk because they were quite short, and had been the scene of too many accidents. Also, the airport is having trouble expanding because of opposition by residents, and their complaints about its noise and emissions. The performance of the Sukhoi plane seemed an ideal solution, if purchased by its ten or so carriers, to the complaints, and some of them were investigating possible purchases, once it was fully approved by the authorities on February 3, 2012. What was developing could not have missed the attention of the resident FBI agent Steven Ivens who had worked for the Los Angeles Police Department in counterterrorism for many years before joining the Bureau three years ago in Burbank, especially since the airport had its own police force which needed to be informed about what was afoot, and what its feedback was. Seems Ivens was well informed about the airport’s problems, and the potential that Sukhoi sales had in solving them. Ivens may have even heard about this from licensed pilot, and sales consultant Peter Adler who, though he lived in central California’s Oakley, was often on the scene for flights and possible purchases. Adler was a most affable fellow who made friends most easily, and would talk their ears off about what he was doing. Of course, Boeing was quite aware of what was going on, and took steps to stop it. As Britain and France had helped it and themselves in the crash of the Tupolev Tu-144, it was now Washington’s turn to put Russian aviation back in its place. Seems that the plane’s air conditioning system was sabotaged, either to break down while in flight or start emitting smoke which would understandably alarm any potential buyers on a demonstration flight - what Adler was scheduled to do on May 9th for Indonesian Sriwinjaya Airlines as a pilot and consultant. As with most plots though, things did not happen just as planned. When the cabin started smoking up, the pilot asked immediately the air traffic controllers to descend from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet, and they simply left the decision up to him. He continued the flight plan at that attitude until the plane crashed into the volcano, Mount Salak - a notorious danger, and in an almost impenetrable environment – killing all 45 passengers on board. When the full passenger manifest was released the next day, Agent Ivens, who had been becoming increasingly depressed about what might occur, was shocked to see that Adler was one of the victims.The news made Ivens recall some of the rumors that had been flying around about the demonstrations, and since Adler was an innocent American, Ivens decided to contact former Bureau agent Donald Sachtleben about what he thought about the alleged accident. Sachtleben had a long history of investigating such incidents, going all the way back to the Unibomber’s smoke bomb attacks on American carriers, and culminating with the 9/11 attacks in which thousands of Americans were needlessly killed. They arranged to meet on the morning of May 11th to discuss the matter further. The only trouble was that the National Security Agency (NSA) picked up the conversation, and its Special Collection Services (SPS) apparently arranged the fixing of the problem. It is the continuing service that William King Harvey started for the CIA’s Division D to carry out assassinations, and the only real change is that it has much more sophisticated electronic equipment for locating targets. In this case, SPS agents seem to have kidnapped Ivens while on his way to meet Sachtleben, and then took him to the mountains nearby where he was kept until he could be killed, and his body placed where it could finally be found – what occurred about three weeks ago. Sachtleben, not knowing what had happened to Ivens, finally made his way back to Indianapolis where he was arrested by police when he returned home for possessing child pornography on his computers – what NSA had also located. To put the icing on the cake, The Bureau and agents of the Diplomatic Service played a charade where stand-ins for Ivens and Sachtleben acted out a little scene for the benefit of the Russians’ Chief Consul in San Francisco Vladimir Vinokuro while he was staying in an L.A. hotel. The stand-ins acted as if they were reporting a domestic act of terrorism in which the perpetrators were “all insane”, and then the alleged Ivens ran off to the hills where the authorities were warning the public that he is armed, and possibly dangerous. The stand-in for Sachtleben simply disappeared, along with all the evidence about what really happened to the Sukhoi Super Jet 100. For more about the incident, see this link but be careful about selecting fact for fancy: http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=52190
Thermoforming with 5Axis trimming Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific part shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet is heated in an oven to a high-enough temperature that it can be stretched into or onto a mold and cooled to a finished shape. Vacuum forming, commonly known as vacuuforming, is a simplified version of thermoforming, whereby a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto or into a single-surface mold, and held against the mold by applying vacuum between the mold surface and the sheet. Specs - Forming Max Size 8 x 4 feet Trimming\Milling max Size 70" x 55" x 28"
<storage, hardware, standard> (ATA, AT Attachment or "Integrated Drive Electronics", IDE) A disk drive interface standard based on the IBM PC ISA 16-bit bus but also used on other personal computers. ATA specifies the power and data signal interfaces between the motherboard and the integrated disk controller and drive. The ATA "bus" only supports two devices - master and slave. ATA drives may in fact use any physical interface the manufacturer desires, so long as an embedded translator is included with the proper ATA interface. ATA "controllers" are actually direct connections to the ISA bus. Originally called IDE, the ATA interface was invented by Compaq around 1986, and was developed with the help of Western Digital, Imprimis, and then-upstart Conner Peripherals. Efforts to standardise the interface started in 1988; the first draft appeared in March 1989, and a finished version was sent to ANSI group X3T10 (who named it "Advanced Technology Attachment" (ATA)) for ratification in November 1990. X3T10 later extended ATA to Advanced Technology Attachment Interface with Extensions (ATA-2), followed by ATA-3 and ATA-4. Try this search on Wikipedia, OneLook, Google Nearby terms: Advanced SCSI Peripheral Interface « Advanced Software Environment « Advanced STatistical Analysis Program « Advanced Technology Attachment » Advanced Technology Attachment Interface with Extensions » Advanced Video Coding » Advanced WavEffect
An annual report by the U.S. Department of State on human rights in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza paints a stark picture of human rights conditions among minority populations in Israel, and Palestinian populations in the West Bank and Gaza. “Principal human rights problems were institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against Arab citizens, Palestinian residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip… non-Orthodox Jews, and other religious groups,” begins the segment dealing with Israel and the Golan Heights. The 100-page document, one of 194 country reports that the department issued on April 8, provides a detailed review of findings and complaints by human rights organizations, NGOs, government agencies and other groups. Its review of the human rights practices of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which controls Gaza, also details numerous abuses. Just under half the report is dedicated to conditions in Israel and the Golan Heights, the balance to conditions in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Among other things, the report highlights allegations of abuse of foreign laborers and asylum seekers, and discrimination against Arab citizens in Israel; excessive use of force by Israeli military and police in the West Bank; poor treatment of prisoners by the Palestinian Authority, and, in Gaza, abuses by Hamas forces and strict restrictions on speech and religion. The Embassy of Israel in Washington did not have a prepared response to the report. A P.A. representative reached after hours in Ramallah could offer no immediate comment. The State Department reports include no recommendations or analysis, but instead note specific instances and general trends. NGOs and other groups are cited as sources in many, though not all, of the instances reported. Michael Posner, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which produced the documents, noted that the reports are not policy papers. “It’s a document to give us a clear and honest picture of what’s going on and a basis for a range of decisions by this government and others in terms of how to address human rights challenges we face in the world,” Posner said at a press conference announcing the release of the country reports. The State Department’s annual human rights report, first issued in 1977 under congressional mandate, has over time become a highly regarded publication among human rights experts. It is an evolution in which Posner had a role. As executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, now known as Human Rights First, Posner was a prominent critic of the early annual reports. Starting in the late 1970s, Posner’s group would publish annual extended critiques of the department’s assessments. Critics alleged that reports in those years were often politicized and ideological. Eventually, however, changes made by the department led human rights groups to drop their objections. Posner’s group ceased publishing its critiques in the mid-1990s. “It has become the authoritative report on human rights on an annual basis to which people can refer,” said Peter Rosenblum, a professor of human rights law at Columbia Law School. “There is no other systematic update of human rights practices country by country. It really is true that the quality, overall, of these reports has improved greatly.” The newly issued 2010 report on Israel notes multiple human rights issues facing foreign workers and asylum seekers in the country. Citing outside sources in some instances, the report states that: • Some foreign workers were forced to live in conditions “that constituted involuntary servitude.” • Laws regarding employment conditions were not enforced for foreign workers. • The board that processes applications for asylum by refugees recommended granting asylum in just three of 3,211 cases before it between 2008 and 2009. • Refugees living in Israel were targeted in violent attacks, including a beating in December of three young daughters of African refugees in Tel Aviv. • Government officials referred routinely to asylum seekers as “infiltrators” in public statements in an atmosphere of increasing public protest against refugees. [In a speech last January, subsequent to the period the report covers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, referring to asylum seekers, “The infiltrators conquered Eilat and Arad, and they are conquering Tel Aviv from north to south.”] The report also notes instances of discrimination against non-Orthodox Jews. “Many Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox rabbinic control over aspects of their personal lives,” the report states. But the report pays particular attention to discrimination against Israel’s Arab citizens and residents, stating that “citizens of Arab origin and Palestinian residents of the West Bank and East Jerusalem living in the country faced discrimination in public and private life.” Among other instances, the report notes that: • Spending on public education for Arab children was substantially lower than for Jewish children. The average Arab classroom had four more students than the average Jewish classroom. • Only 70 students from the West Bank may attend graduate school in Israel at any one time. • Arab citizens “regularly complained of discrimination and degrading treatment” at airports. • Despite a law requiring representation of minorities in the civil service, the numbers of Arab citizens in civil service jobs were disproportionately low. • The unrecognized Bedouin town of al-Arakib was demolished eight times during 2010 in what advocacy groups said was an expropriation of land that historically belonged to the clan that lived there. A separate section of the Israel report, on conditions in the occupied territories, discusses policies and practices there under Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The report takes note of torture practiced in Gaza by Hamas. It reports that in Gaza, the Hamas Executive Force tortured security detainees, individuals associated with the P.A.’s rival Fatah faction, suspected collaborators with Israel and those “considered to engage in immoral activity.” Gunmen associated with Hamas committed 32 unlawful executions in 2010, and Hamas “carried out extrajudicial detentions based on political affiliation.” Treatment of detainees by the P.A. was also a concern. Claims of mistreatment of P.A. prisoners were “common,” the review stated, citing one human rights group as its source. Another group reported 163 complaints of torture of P.A. detainees during the year. Other accounts the State Department deemed credible told of harassment and prosecution of journalists for their reporting, and of severe overcrowding in P.A. prisons for civil prisoners. The report noted that P.A. forces disrupted a political meeting of activists and others discussing negotiations with Israel, though Prime Minister Salam Fayyad later apologized. Finally, the report spends significant time on the activities of Israel in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. “Palestinians faced violence and discrimination in the occupied territories” from Israel, the report states. Its findings, some of which cite outside sources, include: • Reports of killings of civilians by Israeli forces in the occupied territories. • Concerns about the handling of 147 investigations by the Israeli military police of killings or injuries of Palestinians by Israeli security forces in the occupied territories. Few ended in convictions, the report noted. And human rights groups reported that many investigations began long after the incidents took place. • A report that Israeli security forces had tortured children in detention, according to one NGO. The NGO found 28 children who were beaten and kicked by Israeli forces in the second half of 2010, and three who said that electric shocks had been applied to their bodies. • Accounts of civilians, including three children, who were allegedly used as human shields by Israeli forces. • Claims that Israeli forces did not respond sufficiently to settler violence against West Bank Palestinians. The State Department review also noted that, in 2010: • Israel performed 353 demolitions of buildings in the West Bank, up from 191 in 2009. • Palestinians accused of security offenses were tried in military courts, where they were “rarely acquitted.” • Israeli civil courts “generally” ruled against Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. • The display of Palestinian political symbols in East Jerusalem was illegal and could be punished by fines or jail time. • Only individuals with humanitarian cases were allowed out of Gaza, and many Gazans were denied requests to leave for medical treatment outside Gaza.
By William Bond Hughes Owls are a family of birds known to everyone. Of the eighteen species of owls that breed in North America, eight species have been recorded at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. The three species that nest within the refuge, eastern screech, great horned and barred, are the owls most likely to be seen at the refuge. \|Barred Owl at Hagerman NWR, by Nancy Miles Miller\| Owls are birds of prey but are not closely related to other birds of prey such as hawks, eagles and falcons. Biochemical evidence shows that the closest relatives of owls are the nighthawks (common nighthawk) and nightjars (chuck-wills-widow and eastern whip-poor-will). Both owls and nighthawks/nightjars rest during the day and hunt at night. Owls are superbly adapted for their nocturnal mode of hunting. Their proportionately large eyes enable them to see under very low light conditions. The ear openings of many owls are larger than usual among birds, and the opening on one side of the head is higher than on the other side. Together, these two adaptations enable owls to locate prey by sound even in the dark. The flight feathers of owls are modified so that the sound of air passing over the feathers during flight is greatly reduced thus allowing a silent, undetected approach to prey. Populations of many tree cavity-nesting owls declined during the early history of the United States from intensive logging operations that deprived them of their nesting sites. Fortunately, the ready acceptance of nest boxes as breeding sites has resulted in the rebound of these populations. I know from personal experience that the eastern screech owl readily accepts a box, and I know of a case where two screech owls occupied boxes within the same yard! Plans for building owl boxes can easily be found on the internet. Their distinctive appearance and behavior has led to the creation of many myths and legends regarding owls which fall into two main categories: owls are associated with wisdom and owls are associated with death. An example of the wise owl can be found in the fables of Aesop which originated in the sixth century B.C. In the fable of the owl and the other birds, the owl advises the other birds that flax seeds should not be allowed to grow as the resulting plants could be made into fibers which could be woven into nets to trap the birds. The Greek goddess Athena, patron goddess of Athens and the goddess of wisdom, had the owl as a symbol. Coins of ancient Athens portrayed Athena on one side and an owl on the other. The Zuni, a pueblo tribe of the American Southwest, have a story about the wisdom of the burrowing owl which lives in prairie dog towns. When heavy rainfall threatened to drown their sources of food, the prairie dogs asked the burrowing owl what should be done. In response, the owl began to beat a bag which contained the foul-smelling secretion of a particular beetle. At each stroke, the rain clouds moved farther off, and with a final blow the sky became perfectly clear. The prairie dogs came out of their burrows and loudly praised their “great priest, the grandfather burrowing owl”. In current usage, a group of owls is called “a wisdom of owls”. The association of owls with death is very widespread in folklore. Among the Kikuyu of Kenya it is still widely believed that owls are harbingers of death. If one sees an owl or hears its hoot, someone was going to die. An old saying in Mexico still used today is "When the owl cries, the Indian dies". ED Note: Woo Hoo for Owls will be the topic at Second Saturday for Youth, led by Katie Palmer, on November 10, 2012, and Owls will be Dr. Wayne Meyer's topic for Second Saturday, February 9, 2013, at the Refuge.
It's the official name of the global positioning system (GPS). Contrary to what people might think, NAVSTAR is not an acronym, but actually the name given to this system by one of the most important persons from the history of GPS, John Walsh, a key decision factor when this system was first developed. Neodymium magnets have been used in many industry branches for a very long time. Basically, neodymium (or neo) magnets are referred to as rare-earth magnets and are manufactured from a combination of three chemical elements: neodymium, iron and boron, in the Nd2Fe14B formula. The most important characteristics of neo magnets is their superior magnetic field strength; for example, a ceramic magnet should sport 18 times the size of a neo one in order to have the same power. In the audio industry, neodymium magnets are being used to increase the overall power of high-volume PA loudspeakers as well as in headphones, especially because their strength allows for miniaturization. Abbreviation for National Television Standards Committee standard. The North American standard (525-line interlaced raster-scanned video) for the generation, transmission, and reception of television signals.
OpenGL has some 'Object' concepts in it already. For example anything with an id can be through of as an object (There are also things specifically named 'Objects'). Buffers, Textures, Vertex Buffer Objects, Vertex Array Objects, Frame Buffer Objects and so on. With a little work you can wrap classes around them. It also give you a easy way to fall back to old deprecated OpenGL functions if your context doesn't support the extensions. For example a VertexBufferObject could fall back to using glBegin(), glVertex3f(), and so on. There are a few ways you might need to move away from the traditional OpenGL concepts, for example you probably want to store metadata about the buffers in the buffer objects. For example if the buffer stores vertices. What is the format of the vertices (ie position, normals, texcoords and so on). What primitives it uses (GL_TRIANGLES, GL_TRIANGLESTRIP, etc...), size information (how many floats are stored, how many triangles they represent, etc...). Just to make it easy to plug them into the draw arrays commands. I recommend you look at OGLplus. It's C++ bindings for OpenGL. Also glxx, that's only for extension loading though. In addition to wrapping the OpenGL API, you should look at making a slightly higher level one build on top of it. For example a material manager class that is responsible for all your shaders, loading and using them. Also it would be responsible for transferring properties to them. That way you can just call: materials.usePhong(); material.setTexture(sometexture); material.setColor(). This allows fore more flexibility since you can use newer things like shared uniform buffer objects to just have 1 big buffer containing all the properties your shaders use in 1 block but if its not supported you an fall back to uploading to each shader program. You can have 1 big monolithic shader and swap between different shader models using uniform routines if it's supported or you can fall back to using a bunch of different small shaders. You can also look at expending on from the GLSL specs for writing your shader code. For example the #include would be incredibly useful and very easy to implement in your shader loading code (there is also an ARB extension for it). You can also generate your code on the fly based on what extensions are supported, for example use a shared uniform object or fall back to using normal uniforms. Finally you will want a higher level rendering pipeline API that does things like scene graphs, special effects (blur, glow), things that require multiple rendering passes like shadows, lighting and such. And then on top of that a game API that has nothing to do with the graphics API but just deals with objects in a world.
Eritrea, a country in northeastern Africa. It is bounded by Sudan, the Red Sea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Eritrea has an area of 48,263 square miles (125,000 km 2), about the same as that of Mississippi. Highlands stretch from the south-central part of the country northwest toward the border with Sudan. Elevations here average about 6,500 feet (2,000 m). To the west are plains, which are crossed by lowland river valleys. Along Eritrea's coast is a narrow strip of scrubland and desert. The climate is temperate in the higher elevations and hot in the lowlands: Droughts occur often. Eritrea's economy, which is based mainly on agriculture, suffered as a result of civil war during 1961–91. About 80 per cent of the people are engaged in agriculture, most of them living at the subsistence level. The chief crops include lentils, wheat, and corn. The raising of livestock is important, especially in the highland areas. There is some coastal fishing. Manufacturing is concentrated largely in Asmara and Massawa. Products include textiles, cement, beverages, and processed foods. Salt and limestone are the chief minerals produced. Many of Eritrea's roads were destroyed or badly damaged during the civil war. A railway links Asmara to the country's chief port at Massawa. Asmara has Eritrea's main airport. \|Facts in brief about Eritrea\| \|Principal language: Tigrinya.\| \|Area: 45,406 mi2 (117,600 km2). Greatest distances—northwest-southeast, 510 mi (821 km); northeast-southwest, 290 mi (467 km). Coastline—620 mi (1,000 km).\| \|Elevation: Highest—Mount Soira, 9,885 ft (3,013 m) above sea level. Lowest—Denakil Depression, about 360 ft (110 m) below sea level.\| \|Population: Current estimate—4,886,000; density, 108 per mi2 (42 per km2); distribution, 81 percent rural, 19 percent urban. 1984 census—2,748,304.\| \|Chief products: Agriculture—barley, dairy products, lentils, millet, sorghum, teff, wheat. Manufacturing—construction materials, leather goods, processed foods, salt.\| \|Flag: Eritrea's flag, adopted in 1993, has a red triangle across the middle, bearing a yellow wreath and olive branch; a green triangle at the top; and a light blue triangle at the bottom.\| \|Money: Basic unit—nakfa. One hundred cents equal one nakfa.\| The population of Eritrea is about 3,500,000; of Asmara, the capital, 358,100. Tigreans, a Semitic-speaking people, make up Eritrea's principal ethnic group. There are also various Cushitic-speaking peoples, mainly the Saho and the Afars. Most Eritreans are Muslims. Primary schooling begins at age six and lasts seven years; secondary schooling lasts six years. The leading institution of higher learning is the University of Eritrea at Asmara. Pending adoption of a constitution, Eritrea is ruled by a provisional government. Executive authority is exercised by the Advisory Council, headed by a secretary-general. The legislative body is the Central Committee of the ruling party, Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).
As the world seeks low-carbon forms of energy production to reduce the emissions blamed for global warming, the champions of nuclear power have been re-branding the industry as one of the world’s greenest. Last month, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency said “nuclear energy is virtually carbon-free” across its life cycle and “the only carbon-mitigating technology with a proven track record on the scale required.” Now, more than two decades after accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, some people in the industry are backing a makeover for nuclear power stations in an effort to transform the industry from an industrial pariah to an environmental savior. EDF Energy, a French nuclear operator, has arranged for presentations by architectural firms to improve the visual impact of plants, World Nuclear News, a news service for the industry, reported in September. That move “lit hopes that improving the appearance of new nuclear power plants could perhaps help to recreate some of the excitement that surrounded nuclear technology in the 1950s,” W.N.N. said. At the same time, W.N.N. started a competition called “Be a nuclear architect” to encourage readers to submit designs of the future that “change the face of nuclear power.” Some of the results, published this week, seek to replace boxy looking reactor housings and brutalist concrete cooling towers with sunken structures and new “skins” that are translucent or are covered in vegetation and shroud the facilities. Of course, it still is early days for the so-called nuclear renaissance. Even so, if nuclear power is about to soar in popularity, that could mean plenty of work for architects. In its recent report, the Nuclear Energy Agency said it foresaw the possibility of almost four times the current supply of nuclear-generated electricity on tap by 2050.
Near by is the site of the first iron blast furace in the northern new york. It was built in 1813 to smelt the ore from Caledonia iron mine at Spragueville. For many years all of this ore was hauled to Rossie, usually by Mr Parish's tenants. It was drawn up the hill & dumped into the top of the furnace. In 1817 James Monroe, who was on a tour of northern New York, stopped at Rossie to inspect the furnace & the iron mine as a guess of David Parish. His vist was a great event in the lives of the early inhabitants, all of whom turned out to get a look at the president. Near the blast furnace is located also the foundry which was built in 1848-49. It was the pioneer of the northland. Probably the first business was the making of potash & cauldron kettles. Then came the making of box stoves, mill machinery,plows,& waterweels. The first casting for the northern railroad were also made here. Very little is now left of the machine shop which stood on the bank of the river next to the foundry. Across the river is a grist mill which was built in 1850, & at the right of the grist mill stood a large sawmill where the last of the lake boats, the "Oswegatchie" was built in 1904 by Arthur Storie. Situated near the foundry is the former Parish land office, which had a special window for the easy dispensing of money & a brick vault in the basement. Across the bridge & outside the village toward Oxbow was the former David Parish farm. The brick house was built in 1812. The barn, which housed many many valuable race horses, was built in 1815. The Rossie Hotel, a large rambling red bick building, was built by David Parish in 1811. In 1813 Rossie village was captured by the British, who stayed at the hotel over night. A gang of horse thieves, deserters from both sides of the St. Lawrence made there headquarters at Rossie, making raids in varous directions but chiefly into canada. They stole horses & hid them in the rocky ravines of Rossie area until they could sell them. There raids became so frequent to put a stop to them. With that in mind Colonel Frazier & a company of british regulars came over by way of Morristown. The "invading army" surrounded Rossie village & captured it, but because no horses could be found, the solders marched back the next day. In 1868 a circus troupe stayed at the Rossie Hotel. The agreement provided for 75 people to sleep two to a bed at 50 cents each, cover for 160 horses with 3 pecks of oats for each horse, 400 pounds of hay for the elephants at 75 cents per hundredweight & 100 pounds of fresh beef at 4 cents a pound. On the hill is the Parish cottage behind which was a large coach house. Here George Parish stayed over night & changed horses on his way from Ogdensburg to antwerp. Madame Vespucci was often his guest at the cottage. There love affair has been told by Walter Guest Kellogg in his novel "parish's Fancy." A short distance toward hammond is the Laidlaw House, built in the early 1870's & the lscene of the famous Burns Festivas which were originated by the scotch settlers of Rossie. The festivals were held each year on jan. 25 in the honor of the scotch poet,Robert Burns. Among the names on the registers of the Laidlaw House were President Grover Cleveland,General Newton Martin Curtis, Famous hero of ft.Fisher,& Jay Gould of New York City. About a mile from Rossie toward oxbow stands the Victoria Lead Mine Chimney, where lead was discovered by the nine-year old Eliza Jepson in 1830. She received a calico dress for her rich discovery & her father, Joel Jepson, was given 40 acres Of land, A team of oxen, & a barrel of salt pork. There were other lead mines, & the hills throughout the region today are honeycombed with shafts & prospect holes. Because of the lead mining & the ofter industries there came to Rossie a wave of building which created much work & brought in many skilled labors. Rossie was the center of many activties & the village grew with the certainly of becoming a city. In the Rossie of that period there were select schools, milliners, doctors, dentists, coopers, blacksmiths, casket makers, slaughter houses, bowling alleys,& a chair factory. But in 1865 the connection of the Parish family with the North Country ended, & with the closing of the mines, which had been thought to be inexhaustible, ran out. The little village of Rossie had had its days of glory.
A Conclusive History of the United Nations Space Command: Chapter Three Posted By: witelancer<[email protected]> Date: 14 December 2003, 7:18 PM Chapter Three: The SPARTAN II Program Part One: The Selection and the Early Years The brushfire conflicts of the late 25th century did not go unnoticed. The Office of Naval Intelligence, Section Three, noticed that the power of the UNSC's mighty space fleet was too powerful and reliant on brute force to settle minor conflicts, and that the starships used by the UNSC were too valuable to risk in fighting guerrilla actions. Thus, in reaction to this new threat posed by insurgents, rebels, and pirates, the UNSC began work on devising a solution. In association with the Colonial Military Administration (CMA), Project ORION began in 2491. This research project is kept obscure by ONI blackouts and the lack of official sources, but one can only surmise that the results of ORION was to produce the SPARTAN program. There were several people involved in the SPARTAN program itself, but Dr. Catherine Halsey was the most prominent of them all. Dr. Catherine Halsey, a prominent ONI researcher, began the SPARTAN-I program at an unknown date. The SPARTAN program was the UNSC's response to the rebel incursions of the early 2500's, an era in which lawlessness pervaded many of the Outer Colonies. Official sources do not document either the beginning or the end of the SPARTAN-I program. All one could do is realize that it was a success, or at least showed progress, because the selection process for the SPARTAN II project began in 2517. On August 17, 2517, Halsey visited the Eridanus Secundus system, in search of John, a six year old boy—and a SPARTAN candidate. She administered a simple test—and the boy passed. John's induction into the SPARTAN program was the first of seventy-five tests. ONI only had funding for half of the 150-candidate field that Dr. Halsey selected. Throughout the rest of 2517, Halsey tested her juvenile candidates, with the testing culminating in the selection of seventy-five six-year old candidates. These seventy-five children became the targets of an ONI mass kidnapping. They were stolen from their homes, injected with tranquilizers, and then were flash-cloned, leaving their parents with pale copies of their original children. The candidates were then taken to the REACH military facility. Upon arrival on September 23, 2517, the children were officially conscripted into the SPARTAN-II program. Their reaction was not typical of many six-year olds taken from their homes—nearly all of the SPARTANS were able to cope with their newfound captors. The extensive training program began the next day. The SPARTAN trainees were put through courses of morning calisthenics, advanced academic courses, and many other extensive educational programs for the first two years of their training. By 2519, the eight-year old SPARTAN trainees were able to successfully outwit the trainers under the command of Chief Petty Officer Mendez, their father figure. JOHN-117, the Spartan who would later become known as the "Master Chief" achieved the rank of Squad Leader on this mission by heroically appropriating a Pelican dropship. Throughout the next eight years, the Spartan trainees continued to advance in their education and training, becoming not only fearsome fighters but also skilled and intelligent officers. Finally, on March 9, 2525, eight years after the beginning of the program, Dr. Halsey put the next phase of project SPARTAN-II into action. Using advanced techniques and technology, Halsey installed bone grafts, neuromuscular enhancements, ocular implants, and many other experimental cybernetic upgrades onto the Spartans' bodies. The Spartans did not fare well, with thirty-one of the trainees dying from complications from their surgery. Twelve others were too severely damaged by the implants to be of any use militarily. They were re-assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence, where they made many strides in quantum physics research(for example, Fhajad-034 made a discovery that helped Captain Jacob Keyes save Sigma Octanus). Thus, the Spartans emerged from their training program with not only new bodies, but sharp minds that would help them fight against their enemies. Part Two: MJOLNIR and the Covenant The insurgency in the Eridanus system in 2513 did not go unnoticed by the UNSC. Colonel Robert Watts, a prominent Naval officer, had defected to the side of the rebels and was now their de facto leader, running a secret base concealed in the side of an asteroid. On September 12, 2525, the Spartans were assigned their first real combat mission from the UNSC destroyer Pioneer. Their objective was to abduct Watts from the asteroid base, allowing the UNSC to interrogate him. The mission went off without a hitch, showing the Spartans' near-invincibility in ground combat. On November 2, 2525, Chief Petty Officer Mendez left the SPARTAN-II program. Also, on this day the Spartans were introduced to their new enemy—the Covenant. They were briefed on the events that had taken place during 2525—the destruction of Harvest. As time passed, the missions of the Spartans brought them closer and closer to Chi Ceti 4 and the Damascus testing facility. The Commonwealth, a UNSC frigate, ferried the Spartans and Halsey to Chi Ceti 4, where they came upon an unexpected contact: a Covenant frigate. As Captain Wallace of the Commonwealth held the Covenant off in orbit, Halsey led the Spartans down to the surface of Chi Ceti 4, where they were outfitted with the fruits of Halsey's labors—the MJOLNIR armor. MJOLNIR was a culmination of many hard years of work, giving the Spartans the best armor that the UNSC could afford—and the armor would save all of their lives. It was based off the early exoskeleton research of the UNSC, but it greatly improved upon the technology used for those weapons—the exoskeletons were inefficient and greatly wasteful of broadcast power. MJOLNIR rectified these shortfalls and improved upon the exoskeleton concept. The Commonwealth was crippled by the Covenant ship's plasma weaponry, but John-117, Samuel-034, and Kelly-087 stopped the Covenant ship by planting warheads in the ship's reactor. The Spartans took their first combat casualty in this action; Samuel-034 sacrificed himself in order to destroy the Covenant ship. The rest of the Spartans and Dr. Halsey escaped to parts unknown. With their new MJOLNIR armor and a new enemy to fight, the Spartans leapt into furious battle, slaughtering the Covenant in ground combat. However, no matter how many Covenant they killed on the ground, the Spartans never made a significant difference in space battles—so the Covenant continued their inexorable advance. Twenty-five years of the Human-Covenant War passed (see Chapter Four), and the Spartans continued their vicious attacks against Covenant ground forces. On August 27, 2552, the Spartans were gathered on Reach, where they received their newest mission orders—to capture a Covenant ship and to capture a Prophet. The mission was considered high-risk enough that the UNSC HighCom did not order the Spartans on the mission, but rather asked for volunteers. However brave and noble the mission plan was, the future was shattered when the Covenant attacked Reach. The mission was scrubbed in favor of defending Reach—the Spartans split into two groups. Blue Team, led by John, was assigned to a space operation to enforce the Cole Protocol (once again see Chapter Four), while Red Team was assigned to defend the broadcast power generators on Reach's surface. When Reach later fell, Red Team was stuck on the planet, while John, the only survivor of Blue Team, went to Halo-04, where he discovered the Flood and the Forerunners, bringing Cortana along with him. He later returned to Reach with a captured Covenant ship and the survivors of Halo's detonation. In the aftermath of the battle for Reach, and the incidents on Halo, the Spartans were reunited, claiming a Forerunner artifact and destroying the Covenant space station Unyielding Hierophant. Many Spartans died along the way—by the end of September 2552, there were only four Spartans left—John, Linda, Will, and Fred. Kelly-087 was kidnapped by Dr. Halsey. Her fate is unknown at this time. The Spartans returned to Earth, knowing that the Covenant hammer was about to fall, and that they would have to sacrifice everything for the good of humanity. The United Nations Space Command looked to the stars, waiting for the first signs of the inevitable.
Eco-Wheels: Five Winning Reasons to Buy a Hybrid Car Toyota, Honda, and Ford all make hybrid gas-electric cars. Here are five compelling reasons why you should buy one: 1. By using less gasoline, your car will emit fewer substances that contribute to global warming. 2. Hybrid cars emit less carcinogenic fuel additives such as MTBE, which according to the EPA website (epa.gov), is omnipresent in the U.S. water supply. (No one knows if there is a safe level of MTBE for human consumption.) 3. Your fuel-efficient car will save money because you will be buying less gasoline. According to the EPA website, fueleconomy.gov, the Toyota Prius (60 mpg for city, 51 highway mpg) and the Honda Civic Hybrid Compact (49 mpg for city, 51 highway mpg) have the most efficient mileage stats for midsize hybrids . 4. According to a study by automotive research website Edmunds.com, owning the Toyota Prius can save you money. Compared with the similarly sized Toyota Camry LE, over the first five years of ownership, the Camry costs its owner $81 more than a Prius. 5. You will be modeling ecologically responsible behavior that may inspire others to buy hybrids.
May 17, 2013 Autosomal recessive is one of several ways that a trait, disorder, or disease can be passed down through families. An autosomal recessive disorder means two copies of an abnormal gene must be present in order for the disease or trait to develop. Back to TopAlternative Names Genetics - autosomal recessive; Inheritance - autosomal recessive Back to TopInformation Inheritance of a specific disease, condition, or trait depends on the type of chromosome affected (autosomal or sex chromosome) whether the trait is is dominant or recessive. Genes come in pairs. Recessive inheritance means BOTH genes in a pair must be defective to cause disease. If a person only has one defective gene in the pair, they are considered a carrier. However, they can pass the abnormal gene to their children. CHANCES OF INHERITING A TRAIT For example, if you are born to parents who both carry the autosomal recessive gene, you have a one in four chance of getting the genes from both parents and developing the disease. You have a 50% chance of inheriting one abnormal gene, which makes you a carrier. In other words, if four children are born to a couple who both carry the gene (but do not have signs of disease), the STATISTICAL expectation is as follows: - 1 child is born with 2 normal chromosomes (normal) - 2 children are born with 1 normal and 1 abnormal chromosome (carriers, without disease) - 1 child is born with 2 abnormal chromosomes (has the disease) Note: This does not mean that children WILL necessarily be affected. MOST POPULAR - HEALTH - Well: The Scientific 7-Minute Workout - For Gay Men, a Fear That Feels Familiar - The Health Toll of Immigration - No Benefit Seen in Sharp Limits on Salt in Diet - The New Old Age: After the Denial Letter Arrives - Well: Flu in Pregnancy Is Linked to Bipolar Disorder - Well: Focaccia Five Ways - Well: Smoke Permeates Nonsmoking Hotel Rooms - Well: Marathon Training, Minus the Long Run - Single Yellow Fever Shot Offers Lifetime Protection, W.H.O. Says
Not many would take issue with President Obama’s recent call to make high-quality preschool a reality for more U.S. kids. Even before Obama announced his intentions, both Democrats and Republicans had already lined up in their home states to push preschool programs, with more than a dozen states considering bolstering early education. What’s bound to be more controversial is the nature of the still-to-be-created “universal preschool” program. Should academics take front and center, with toddlers getting drills on the nuances of upper- and lower-case letters? Or should they more subtly absorb the concept that 2 + 2 makes 4 by building with blocks or playing sorting games? Early-childhood experts say that play is the best way for little ones to learn. But, points out Barbara Willer, deputy executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), comparing play-based preschool to a more academic approach is a “false dichotomy.” Good preschool teachers incorporate both, but in such a way that kids aren’t anchored to a desk. “When you have teachers who understand child development, you find that play is a major component of the day,” says Willer. “But play is very carefully organized so that teachers are very intentional.” What may look like a play grocery store to the untrained eye can offer children an opportunity to draw up shopping lists and identify letters on the labels of cereal boxes. Teachers can lead the class in constructing graphs (a way to understand numbers) about who likes Raisin Bran and who prefers Cheerios and hone math skills as they classify products by size and shape. “Behind the play is a very careful plan on the part of the teacher in terms of specific curriculum goals,” says Willer. The nitty-gritty of Obama’s plan has yet to be divulged, but the basics involve rolling out pre-kindergarten to families earning less than 200% of the poverty level — about $40,000 for a family of three — with the potential to expand the program to more families. While preschool is often perceived as a luxury for well-to-do parents, research shows it’s anything but. Sure, it gives weary parents a break from the rigors of child-rearing, but studies show that the early boost in learning skills also helps kids to perform better in elementary school and improves high school graduation rates. Less than half of U.S. 4-year-olds are currently registered in a pre-kindergarten program, however, and enrollment figures increase along with family income — 43% of children in families earning less than $20,000 attend preschool compared to 65% of those in families earning at least $75,000. “It’s so important because the early years lay the foundation for future success in school,” says Helen Blank, director of child care and early education for the National Women’s Law Center. If all 4-year-olds, regardless of income, reap the benefits of a pre-K year, “at least when you come to the starting gate, you’re starting from the same place.” Curriculum, of course, wouldn’t be the only concern in implementing a universal preschool program. Ensuring that each child receives the attention he needs, especially at that young age, is critical to laying a strong foundation for learning. Low child-to-staff ratios, as well as a manageable class size, should be priorities. And teachers have to be well-trained. Being a preschool teacher requires not just training in early childhood development, but an uncommon mix of creativity, patience and energy. “Being a good preschool teacher is not like being a good babysitter,” says Blank. Nor is it about insisting that 4-year-olds painstakingly write their ABCs. “It’s very different than what we sometimes think of as a classroom with children sitting at desks filling out worksheets,” says Willer. But while giving children as much help as they need to excel academically can certainly help students to learn faster, some experts question the value of the increasing emphasis on academics that universal preschool implies. Last month on Time’s Ideas blog, Erika Christakis worried that the academic focus in kindergarten will filter down to preschool. Kindergarten classrooms today have been scrubbed of many of the essential ingredients including freedom for dramatic play, creativity, and conversation…Artwork has been replaced with word walls promising a “print-rich” environment that few five year-olds can, in reality, actually understand. Drill and kill worksheets are the norm. Many kids can’t handle the pressure: suspensions in the early years have increased dramatically since the 1970s, even trickling down to preschools where children are expected to be “ready” for a kindergarten curriculum that would have been more appropriate to a 1st or second grade classroom 20 years ago… If states continue of this wrong-headed path, there’s no reason to believe President Obama’s laudable proposal won’t inflict the same high-stakes testing climate on even younger kids. Instead of drill and kill, kids need help developing the “soft skills” of success — persevering even when tasks are challenging, being able to focus, finding creative ways to solve problems, getting along with others, dealing with anger and frustration. These are equally important in preparing kids for the rigors of kindergarten, which now looks nothing like it did a generation ago. My kindergartener, for example, writes weekly essays and recently started receiving homework assignments. When I was in kindergarten, learning to tie my own shoes was my crowning achievement. “We’ve got it turned around,” says David Elkind, author of The Power of Play and a professor emeritus of child development at Tufts University. “We’ve gotten so focused on the academic part when we need to be focused on the social part.” Perhaps with more accessible preschool programs, toddlers would get a chance to focus on some of these social skills — sharing, cooperating, waiting their turn — that kindergartners seem to be too busy to learn.
About this paper-presentations : (Witricity) The Transfer of Electricity from one place to another without wires is known as “WiTricity”. Samples of the main paper: through a wire, it generates a magnetic field perpendicular to the wire. This effect can be magnified through coiling the wire.When a wire is in proximity to a magnetic field, it generates a current in that wire. Transferring energy between wires through magnetic fields is inductive coupling. Magnetic fields decay quickly , making inductive coupling effective only at very short ranges .
Led by Kevin Eggan at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Christopher Henderson at Columbia University, the 13-person team reported online today in Science Express that they had generated motor neurons from the skin cells of two elderly patients with a rare form of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative condition. The new study marks an important first step on the road toward real stem-cell-based therapies, and also answers several plaguing questions about the pioneering stem-cell technique known as induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPS, generation. IPS was first described by Japanese biologist Shinya Yamanaka, who, in 2007, showed that the introduction of four genes into an adult human skin cell could reprogram it back to an embryonic state (Yamanaka had reported the same achievement in mice the previous year). Like embryonic stem cells, these reprogrammed adult cells could be coaxed into becoming any other type of cell — from skin to nerve to muscle. But researchers questioned whether the new stem cells would behave as predictably or as safely as embryonic stem cells, or whether iPS would consistently yield usable cells. "Our work shows that the original method developed by Yamanaka works great," says Eggan. Researchers also questioned whether iPS would work with delicate cells from older people or with cells taken from patients with disease (Yamanaka used skin cells from healthy middle-aged people in his study). Eggan and Henderson tackled both issues at once, by working with cells from two siblings, ages 82 and 89, who both had ALS. It turned out that generating iPS cells from older patients proved no more difficult than growing them from younger ones, says Eggan. "This study puts those issues definitively to rest," he says. "It opens the door to being able to make patient-specific stem-cell lines [to treat] diseases that affect people very late in life, like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease." In the lab, Eggan's group has successfully turned stem cells into motor neurons, the cells that connect the spinal cord to the body's muscles and which degenerate in ALS. But researchers have not been able to prove that these cells will be clinically useful — that is, whether the new nerve cells will work as well as healthy ones in the spinal cord of a patient. Testing the viability of cells made from iPS stem cells is still a long way off, mostly because iPS requires the use of viruses to deliver the time-reversing genes into adult cells — that works in the lab, but it is not yet safe for patients. To use iPS cells in patients, researchers would have to find a way to reprogram adult cells using chemicals, rather than genes. There are other, more immediate payoffs of the new study. For one thing, it gives researchers a better understanding of how ALS progresses. Because the new nerve cells have the same genetic makeup as the patients' own diseased cells, Henderson says, they may very well develop signs of the disease in culture, allowing researchers to watch ALS unfold before they eyes. "Our lack of understanding of the disease process is preventing us from developing more efficient cures," says Henderson. "Because the disease is happening in the spinal cord, we don't have access to living samples of neurons undergoing the disease process. But now we have in the culture dish the very cells affected by the disease." One theory about the cause of ALS is that motor nerves die after exposure to a toxic compound released by other nerve cells in the spinal cord. The Harvard and Columbia groups are hoping to test that idea in the lab: if the cells in culture release the same agent, then finding drug compounds that block the damaging effects of the toxin could preserve neurons and hold off the paralyzing effects of the disease. The answers to those questions, says Eggan, may come in a matter of "months, not years." It's still unclear whether the new iPS nerve cells can live up to the gold standard of cells created from human embryonic stem cells, but Eggan, Henderson and their colleagues are confident that their current achievement brings stem-cell science one step closer to the original and ultimate goal: cures for diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer's and diabetes.
The two giants of religious tolerance - Buddhism and Hinduism - are locking horns over custodianship of the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar. Fundamentalist factions from both faiths are playing tug-of-war with a shrine where devotees of both faiths have worshipped side-by-side for decades. The problem erupted when the state government tried to tried to change the management - now half Hindu and half Buddhist - to all-Buddhist. State Minister Yadav stood to gain a large Buddhist voting bloc if the law passed. A near-violent Hindu objection surprised him. Historically, this Buddhist wealthy shrine is where Gautama achieved enlightenment 2,500 years ago. It is for Buddhists their Mecca, their Ayodhya. Hindus base their claim on a Siva lingam nestled into the temple in 602 CE and still worshipped. Others claim the Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi performed final rites there for kinsmen lost in the Mahabharata war. In 1590, Mahant Gossain Ghamandi Giri established a Hindu mutt there and gradually took control of the shrine. But by 1877, it was in disrepair. The king of Burma, a Buddhist, sent a team to repair it but they were blocked by Hindus. In 1903, the British Viceroy proposed a compromise where Buddhist and Hindu priests jointly manage. This became law in 1949 as the Bodhgaya Temple Act with an 8-member, half-Buddhist, half-Hindu committee, overseen by the local magistrate. But he was usually Hindu which tilted justice and tested Buddhist emotions. District authorities fear clashes between the militants among both the Buddhist and the Hindus during the winter months, when Buddhists from all over the world visit on pilgrimage. Article copyright Himalayan Academy.
The Period of Expansion The group of Turks that became known as Ottomans, after their tribal chief Osman, settled in northwest Asia Minor, near the boundary of the Byzantine Empire, in the 13th century. (For the earlier history of the region, Soon the Ottomans began pushing the Byzantines back toward Europe. They were joined by many ghazis (Muslim warriors especially dedicated to fighting infidels, or nonbelievers) from other Turkish groups. The Ottomans extended their rule to the Sea of Marmara by defeating the Byzantines at Nicaea (Iznik) in 1301.Ottoman Empire: The Beginnings The Ottoman Empire started as a small state around Bursa in Anatolia (now Turkey). By the end of the 15th century, the empire had expanded into eastern Europe. During the 15th century, elite military units made up of soldiers called Janissaries were created. The Ottomans crossed into Europe and continued their conquests. Efforts by the Serbians and Bulgars to stop the Turks failed, Tamerlane, a Tatar chieftain, led an invasion of Asia Minor and defeated the Ottomans at Angora (Ankara) in 1402, but soon withdrew. In 1453 the Ottoman sultan Mohammed II captured Constantinople (Istanbul)—bringing the Byzantine Empire to an end—and made it his capital. At his death in 1481 the Ottoman Empire included most of the Balkan Peninsula, most of Anatolia (Asia Minor), and the Crimea. Under Selim I (ruled 1512–20) and his son Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–66), the Ottomans took Syria, Palestine, and Egypt from the Mamelukes and Mesopotamia from the Persians. They also conquered much of North Africa. In Europe they held territory extending into northwestern Hungary. An attack in 1529 on Vienna, capital of the Austrian Hapsburg domain, was repulsed. The Turkish fleet, however, gained control of the Mediterranean.
36,779 shoes collected since inception 974 pairs of shoes collected in the 2012/2013 school year From 1933-1945, more than 11 million people perished at Nazi concentration, extermination, and slave labor camps, and by ethnic cleansing (ghetto elimination). The 11 million include: 1.5 million children, 200,000 handicapped civilians, countless millions of Russian, Serbian, and Polish citizens, 10,000 to 15,000 homosexuals, 1,500 Roman Catholic clergy, 1,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses, more than 500,000 Romanis (Gypsies), and more than 6,000,000 Jews. When Allied troops liberated Nazi Germany’s concentration camps, the soldiers found thousands of shoes in huge piles. The shoes belonged to the men, women, and children who had lost their lives in those death camps. The Holocaust Shoe Project's genesis came from those images. We are a grassroots campaign that focuses on Holocaust awareness and provides a lesson for turning human cruelty into redemptive acts of kindness. Visit us onFacebook Founded by Alan Morawiec in 2000
How to write a prescription In modern society, only qualified physicians and nurses are legally allowed to write a prescription. Very strict laws and safety guards are in place to prevent the forging of prescriptions. While forgeries still occur, they are becoming less prevalent with the government-regulated prescription pad changes made in 2007 by Medicaid. Companies that sell Rx pads and printer paper require proof that a medical practitioner is ordering the product by law. Components of Tamper Resistant Prescription Pads There are three levels of security features pre-printed on prescription pads used by almost all doctors. Because Medicaid has specific requirements for all prescriptions written for Medicaid patients, most doctors have adopted these high security pads for their entire practice rather than having two types of prescription pads. Security measures to prevent copying of blank pads: - Anti-copy Watermark. By tipping the paper towards the light, a picture appears to verify that the prescription is an original. Usually a Rx appears. - Anti-Coy Coin Rub. By rubbing a penny across the back of the prescription the words “Secure Prescription Paper” appears. - Hidden Message Technology. The word Void appears if a copy is made. Security measures to prevent modification of a prescription: - Toner Bond Security. The paper is treated with a compound that fuses with any ink used on it (including toner from printers). - Blue Security Background. Prevents erasing of prescription. Security measures to prevent counterfeiting of prescription forms: - Unique Production Batch Numbers. Unique numbers are assigned to every printed batch by the manufacturer. - Security Warning Band. Visible warning band provides warning of security measures on paper to prevent counterfeiting - UV Fiber Secure. Invisible fluorescent fibers and threads that can only be seen under blacklight While some physicians use printers and a specific program to write their prescriptions, the same strict guidelines are used in the design of the printer paper used for prescriptions as well. Latin Terms on a Prescription There are several components to writing prescriptions, one of which is the writing of specific keywords in Latin. However, in a modern world, many pharmacists are questioning the validity of writing prescriptions in both Latin and English terms and are taking steps to eradicate the use of Latin altogether. Latin abbreviations used in prescription writing: - bid – take twice a day - IM – in the muscle - IV – intravenous - pc – take after meals - po – orally - pr – suppository - prn – take as needed - sl – under the tongue - sq – under the skin - tid – take three times a day - qd – take every day - qhs – take at bedtime - qid – take four times a day Drug Enforcement Administration Role in Prescription Writing All medical prescribers are required to request and receive a DEA number, which contains two letters, six numbers, and one check digit (explained below) before a single narcotic prescription can be dispensed by the practitioner. This is a precaution taken by the Drug Enforcement Administration to ensure that controlled substances are being prescribed by only qualified professionals. Because most practitioners dispense narcotics at one time or another, it is very rare for a physician not to have this type of identifier. Most physicians include the number an all prescriptions as a tracking device for the prescriptions they write. The first letter in the code is the type of practice: - A – Deprecated - B –Hospital/Clinic - C – Practitioner - D – Teaching Institution - E – Manufacturer - F – Distributor - G – Researcher - H – Analytical Lab - J – Importer - K – Exporter - L – Reverse Distributor - P- Narcotic Treatment Program - R – Narcotic Treatment Program - S – Narcotic Treatment Program - T- Narcotic Treatment Program - U – Narcotic Treatment Program - X – Suboxone/Subutex Prescribing Program The second letter is the initial of the practitioners last name. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth numbers are randomly selected by a computer. The check digit is a calculation of the following: - Addition of the first, third and fifth digits - Addition of the second fourth and sixth digits times two - Add the sums of the two numbers - The sum is the last digit What a Practitioner Writes on a Prescription The body of a prescription is the same regardless of the field or specialty of medicine the prescription comes from. Pharmacists require certain information be included on a prescription, and a prescription is not legally allowed to be altered by any person, even a physician after it is written. If a doctor makes a mistake, he is required to re-write the prescription from a new page. Some of the information contained on a prescription pad must be put in place by the pad manufacturer, such as: - The name, address, and phone number of the practitioner - Lines for the patient name, age, address, and the current date - Line for refill amount - Line for the physicians signature - Line for the DEA number - The letters Rx All other information will be handwritten: - The patients name, address, phone number and date of birth. - The date the prescription is written. - The name of the medication. This usually consists of the brand name of generic name of a medication, however occasional the antigen or compound is used when in doubt. - Whether the brand name medication is medically required. If it is not required the doctor puts nothing and a generic is always used in place of a brand name. - The dosage of a medication. For example a birth control pill might be 20 micrograms. - How many doses can be taken at one time. I.e., Take two every two hours. - How the medicine will be taken. Orally, rectally, injections, etc. - How many times a day the medication should be taken. - What time of day the medication should be taken. Morning, on an empty stomach, with food, etc. - How much medication at once. I.e. one month worth, three months worth, etc. - Number of refills. Narcotics, by law, cannot be refilled, a doctor must write a prescription ever time. - DEA number. - Doctor’s signature. The Pharmacist's Role Once a prescription is taken to the pharmacy, it is up to the pharmacist to check the security features on the prescription to ensure its validity. This check is supposed to occur with every narcotic prescription written to a pharmacy; however, some bigger pharmacies find they are filling too many prescriptions to be as detailed as necessary. However, without the DEA number no pharmacist would fill a prescription for a controlled substance, as they can be held accountable for the illegal disbursement of a controlled substance. Furthermore, the DEA number on the prescription is entered into the computer and verified by the DEA before the prescription is filled to ensure that the prescription is from a legal source. Most pharmacy’s support the notion of calling the writing physician if there is even the smallest doubt about a prescription. Penalties for Forging Prescriptions The penalties for forging prescriptions vary from state to state. However, most states file the same charges against those forging prescriptions. Fraud, because they perpetuate fraud by presenting a fake prescription as a real one, and possession with intent to sell. Other charges can be brought against the offenders as well, but these are the two standard ones. The prosecutor can choose any class of felony or misdemeanor he or she chooses to bring against the forger. However, in most cases felony charges are filed and the class chosen (A, B, or C) is based on the criminal background of the defendant. Sentences vary from state to state as well, however, in most state the jail time can range from five years to life, with states like Florida and Texas averaging 30-year sentences for these crimes. This conviction also comes with a hefty fine, with fines starting at $10,000 and going up, making forging prescriptions a very expensive proposition.
Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that consists of cellulose, pectin, gum, mucilage, hemicellulose, and lignin. You don’t completely digest and absorb fiber, because you don’t have the enzymes required to disassemble it. For that reason, fiber accounts for less than the four Calories per gram of other carbohydrates. Fiber helps you maintain an ideal weight by absorbing water, slowing the emptying of your stomach, and adding volume to food so that you feel full longer. Foods high in fiber often require more chewing, so it takes more time to eat, and you can’t eat a large number of calories in a short amount of time. It helps to prevent diabetes by slowing the entrance of glucose into the bloodstream, reducing glucose and insulin spikes after meals. Fiber helps prevent deaths from coronary heart disease. Fermentation of fiber and resistant starch by bacteria in the large intestine helps to prevent colorectal cancers. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Fiber in cell walls is insoluble in water. These include cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Insoluble fiber binds water as it passes through the digestive tract, making stools softer and bulkier. It also stimulates peristalsis—the rhythmic contractions that move food along the digestive tract, preventing constipation and hemmorhoids. Insoluble fiber also prevents irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis, a painful inflammation of the diverticula, which are pouches of the intestinal wall. Because fiber accelerates the transit of carcinogens in the gastrointestinal tract, colon cells are exposed for a shorter time to these toxins, and the likelihood of colon cancer is reduced. Insoluble fiber also helps to prevent gallstones in women. Soluble fiber, also called viscous fiber, is found inside plant cells. Pectin, gum, and beta-glucan are soluble fibers. Soluble fiber increases the viscosity of food, which slows the movement of food through the intestines, preventing diarrhea. Your body uses cholesterol to produce bile acids, some of which are excreted daily. Soluble fiber binds to bile acids, reducing the amount of bile reabsorbed in the intestines, and increasing the amount of bile that is excreted in the feces. To make up for this loss of bile, the liver makes more bile salts, using more cholesterol to make them. In order to obtain the cholesterol necessary to make more bile salts, the liver increases its production of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors. These receptors pull cholesterol out of LDL molecules in the bloodstream. Therefore, the more bile salts the liver makes, the more LDL cholesterol is pulled from the blood. One of the short-chain fatty acids produced by the fermentation of soluble fiber in the large intestines may also inhibit the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver. A high-fiber diet reduces total cholesterol, triglycerides, and Very Low Density Lipoprotein–the most dangerous form of cholesterol. This prevents the buildup of plaque in the arteries and improves cardiovascular health. It also lowers the risk of heart disease. In addition to its beneficial effects on the digestive and cardiovascular systems, soluble fiber helps stabilize blood sugar levels by preventing blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. If you have insulin resistance, hypoglycemia, or diabetes, the soluble fiber in foods like lentils can help balance blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy. Researchers compared two groups of people with type 2 diabetes who ate different amounts of high-fiber foods. People who consume 50 grams of fiber per day versus the standard 25 grams of fiber per day had significant improvements in glycemic control and lipid panels. Soluble fiber also provides a feeling of fullness, so it can potentially help with weight loss. In addition, probiotic bacteria thrive on soluble fibers, including oligofructose and inulin. Oligofructose is a fructooligosaccharide, which refers to a short chain of fructose molecules. Inulins are a group of polysaccharides, which means a long chain of sugar molecules. The probiotic bacteria in your colon can metabolize these soluble fibers through fermentation, releasing significant quantities of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane. This process can sometimes cause intestinal gas; however, if you eat these soluble fibers regularly, your body grows accustomed to them, and you experience fewer problems with gas. The probiotic intestinal bacteria can metabolize the soluble fiber into short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). This process not only helps support healthy populations of friendly bacteria in your large intestine, but also provides a direct supply of energy (in the form of SCFAs) to the cells that line your large intestine. With this benefit of this extra SCFA energy supply, your intestinal cells can stay healthier and function at a lower risk of becoming cancerous. Inulin and oligofructose are naturally present in many plant foods, and may help prevent constipation, promote enzyme activity and improve the pH levels in your colon. In addition, inulin promotes Lactobacillus acidophilus to produce butyrate, a beneficial short-chain fatty acid that helps inhibit inflammation in the intestinal tract. Beans, peas, and lentils contain the oligosaccharides, raffinose and stachyose, that feed bifidobacteria, which suppress the activity of putrefactive bacteria, such as Clostridium in the colon. Beta glucans are sugars that are found in the cell walls of baker’s yeast, shiitake mushrooms, and cereal grains, like barley, oats, rye, and wheat. They increase the number of probiotic bacteria in the intestines, especially in people over the age of fifty. Beta glucans stimulate the activity of macrophages, which are immune cells that ingest and demolish invading pathogens and stimulate other immune cells to attack. Macrophages also release cytokines, chemicals that enable the immune cells to communicate with one another. In addition, beta glucans stimulate lymphocytes (white blood cells) that bind to tumors or viruses, and release chemicals to destroy it. Beta glucans also help to lower total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol. Lentinan, a type of beta glucan found in shiitake mushrooms, is believed to reduce tumor activity and lessen the side effects of cancer treatment. Beta glucans also help your body fight bacteria resistant to antibiotic treatment and viruses that cause upper respiratory infections. They fight a form of Escherichia coli (ETEC), which cause traveler’s diarrhea. They also fight upper respiratory infections from colds and flu. Lentinan strengthens the immune system and helps combat illnesses that attack the immune system like AIDS. The best sources of soluble fiber are oats, especially oat bran, barley, dried beans, soybeans, sweet potato and white potato, broccoli, asparagus, carrot, apple, pear, citrus fruits, berries, banana, almonds, psyllium, and flax seeds. In fact, all dietary fiber is found only in plant foods: fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. Meat, milk, and eggs do not contain fiber. Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables contain just as much fiber as raw ones. Drying and crushing, however, destroy the water-holding qualities of fiber. Removing seeds, peels, or hulls also reduces fiber content. Whole tomatoes have more fiber than peeled tomatoes, which have more than tomato juice. Likewise, whole wheat bread contains more fiber than white bread.
The Chaos Hypertextbook™ © 1995-2007 by Glenn Elert All Rights Reserved -- Fair Use Encouraged prev \| index \| next Bifurcation diagram rendered with 1-D Chaos Explorer The simple logistic equation is a formula for approximating the evolution of an animal population over time. Many animal species are fertile only for a brief period during the year and the young are born in a particular season so that by the time they are ready to eat solid food it will be plentiful. For this reason, the system might be better described by a discrete difference equation than a continuous differential equation. Since not every existing animal will reproduce (a portion of them are male after all), not every female will be fertile, not every conception will be successful, and not every pregnancy will be successfully carried to term; the population increase will be some fraction of the present population. Therefore, if "An" is the number of animals this year and "An+1" is the number next year, then An+1 = rAn where "r" is the growth rate or fecundity, will approximate the evolution of the population. This model produces exponential growth without limit. Since every population is bound by the physical limitations of its surrounding, some allowance must be made to restrict this growth. If there is a carrying-capacity of the environment then the population may not exceed that capacity. If it does, the population would become extinct. This can be modeled by multiplying the population by a number that approaches zero as the population approaches its limit. If we normalize the "An" to this capacity then the multiplier (1 − An) will suffice and the resulting logistic equation becomes An+1 = rAn(1 − An) or in functional form ƒ(x) = rx (1 − x). The logistic equation is parabolic like the quadratic mapping with ƒ(0) = ƒ(1) = 0 and a maximum of ¼r at ½. Varying the parameter changes the height of the parabola but leaves the width unchanged. (This is different from the quadratic mapping which kept its overall shape and shifted up or down.) The behavior of the system is determined by following the orbit of the initial seed value. All initial conditions eventually settle into one of three different types of behavior. The behavior of the logistic equation is more complex than that of the simple harmonic oscillator. The type of orbit depends on the growth rate parameter, but in a manner that does not lend itself to "less than", "greater than", "equal to" statements. The best way to visualize the behavior of the orbits as a function of the growth rate is with a bifurcation diagram. Pick a convenient seed value, generate a large number of iterations, discard the first few and plot the rest as a function of the growth factor. For parameter values where the orbit is fixed, the bifurcation diagram will reduce to a single line; for periodic values, a series of lines; and for chaotic values, a gray wash of dots. Since the first two chapters of this work were filled will bifurcation diagrams and commentary on them, I won't go much into the structure of the diagram other than to locate the most prominent features. There are two fixed points for this function: 0 and 1 − 1/r, the former being stable on the interval (−1, +1) and the latter on (1, 3). A stable 2-cycle begins at r = 3 followed by a stable 4-cycle at r = 1 + √6. The period continues doubling over ever shorter intervals until around r = 3.5699457… where the chaotic regime takes over. Within the chaotic regime there are interspersed various windows with periods other than powers of 2, most notably a large 3-cycle window beginning at r = 1 + √8. When the growth rate exceeds 4, all orbits zoom to infinity and the modeling aspects of this function become useless. \|Bifurcation Diagram of the Logistic Equation\| prev \| index \| next \|Another quality webpage by \|home \| contact bent \| chaos \| eworld \| facts \| physics
Louis L Sorenson wrote: For those who are interested in pedagogy in the classical Greek and Latin theater, you can look at the following publication.http://camws.org/tcl/ TCL: Teaching Classical Languages Welcome to Teaching Classical Languages (TCL). TCL is the peer-reviewed, online journal dedicated to exploring how we teach (and how we learn) Greek and Latin. TCL is sponsored by the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS). Thank you very much! It appears to be useful even for those who don't teach others. For example, by quick browsing I found two interesting articles. (http://www.camws.org/cpl/cplonline/volu ... er2008.htm ) Wilfred E. Major: It's Not the Size, It's the Frequency: The Value of Using a Core Vocabulary in Beginning and Intermediate Greek. BTW, It happens to refer to the article by Anne Mahoney mentioned in another thread at the same time (http://www.camws.org/cpl/cplonline/volu ... ll2006.htm ) DEXTER HOYOS: Translating: Facts, Illusions, Alternatives. It's about teaching Latin, but shows that teachers and students of Koine are not alone with their problems. Hoyos wrote:The second drawback is still more damaging. Translating-to-understand encourages learners to assume—and encourages them, to the point of making it a fixed reflex—that the proper medium for understanding and absorbing Roman literature is English. Mature and responsible minds may slowly grow out of this, but when it is the implicit message from the beginning, and then is reinforced at every further level, it is a reflex that most find themselves indoctrinated in forever. This is killing to any in-depth comprehension of a text. Words and, still more important, word-groups are scanned to work out how they can be restated in English (or whatever the translator’s language is), rather than for their interrelationships, implications and allusions. For seeing Latin texts sub specie Anglicitatis automatically means rearranging words and word-groups—mentally at least, often explicitly—to conform to English usages.
On this episode of ID the Future , David Boze and Casey Luskin discuss the recent findings of the ENCODE Project , which has declared so-called “junk” DNA to be anything but. Much of the DNA that was previously supposed to be useless genetic material, left over from random mutations that have been acted upon by natural selection, has now been found to perform several vital functions—just as intelligent design proponents have been predicting for years . What does this mean for intelligent design, and for Darwinian evolution? To learn more, pick up a copy of Jonathan Wells’ Myth of Junk DNA
When someone has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it changes family life. The person with PTSD may act differently and get angry easily. He or she may not want to do things you used to enjoy together. may feel scared and frustrated about the changes you see in your loved one. You also may feel angry about what's happening to your family, or wonder if things will ever go back to the way they were. These feelings and worries are common in people who have a family member with PTSD. It is important to learn about PTSD so you can understand why it happened, how it is treated, and what you can do to help. But you also need to take care of yourself. Changes in family life are stressful, and taking care of yourself will make it easier to You may feel helpless, but there are many things you can do. Nobody expects you to have all the answers. Here are ways you can help: Your family member may not want your help. If this happens, keep in mind that withdrawal can be a symptom of PTSD. A person who withdraws may not feel like talking, taking part in group activities, or being around other people. Give your loved one space, but tell him or her that you will always be ready to help. Your family member may feel angry about many things. Anger is a normal reaction to trauma, but it can hurt relationships and make it hard to think clearly. Anger also can be frightening. If anger leads to violent behavior or abuse, it's dangerous. Go to a safe place and call for help right away. Make sure children are in a safe place as well. It's hard to talk to someone who is angry. One thing you can do is set up a time-out system. This helps you find a way to talk even while angry. Here's one way to do this. While you are taking a time-out, don't focus on how angry you feel. Instead, think calmly about how you will talk things over and solve After you come back: You and your family may have trouble talking about feelings, worries, and everyday problems. Here are some ways to communicate better: If your family is having a lot of trouble talking things over, consider trying family therapy. Family therapy is a type of counseling that involves your whole family. A therapist helps you and your family communicate, maintain good relationships, and cope with tough emotions. During therapy, each person can talk about how a problem is affecting the family. Family therapy can help family members understand and cope with PTSD. Your health professional or a religious or social services organization can help you find a family therapist who specializes in Helping a person with PTSD can be hard on you. You may have your own feelings of fear and anger about the trauma. You may feel guilty because you wish your family member would just forget his or her problems and get on with life. You may feel confused or frustrated because your loved one has changed, and you may worry that your family life will never get back to normal. All of this can drain you. It can affect your health and make it hard for you to help your loved one. If you're not careful, you may get sick yourself, become depressed, or burn out and stop helping your loved one. To help yourself, you need to take care of yourself and have other people help you. Care for yourself difficult times, it is important to have people in your life who you can depend on. These people are your support network. They can help you with everyday jobs, like taking a child to school, or by giving you love and understanding. You may get support from: For more information, see the topic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. January 13, 2011 Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & Jessica Hamblen, PhD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions. To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2013 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Umm al Quwain: Oldest Pearl in the World The oldest pearl in the world is found in the United Arab Emirates, according to AOL news/Huffpost this morning: French researchers are flashing their pearly whites after a historic discovery: what’s believed to be the oldest pearl in the history of the human world. Discovered in a grave, the Umm al Quwain pearl — named for the location in the United Arab Emirates where it was found — has been carbon-dated back to the 5500 B.C., during the Neolithic Period, which makes it more than 7,500 years old, Press Trust of India reports. Previously, the oldest known pearl was just over 5,000 years old. According to Discovery News, the pearl is 0.07 inches in diameter and remains fully intact. Pearls buried with the deceased were typically either half-drilled for a man or fully drilled for a woman, though unpierced pearls were often placed on the deceased’s upper lip. The discovery provides insight into the origins of pearl oyster hunting, suggesting the practice began in Arabia and not in Japan, as researchers originally thought. The Neolithic period, also known as the New Stone Age, was marked by the change in humans from hunter-gatherers to farmers. The recent discovery has proved that while dangerous, pearl oyster diving became an important part of society in ancient Arab cultures, according to Indian Express. Discovery News notes that 101 Neolithic pearls have been unearthed from large pearl oysters over the years. No comments yet.
Just like our Sun will five billion years from now, KIC 05807616 ran out of hydrogen and expanded into a massive red giant, wreaking havoc on its solar system. The results might just be the planetary equivalent of cell division. We first noted the discovery of planets KOI 55.01 and KOI 55.02 back in December. They are the first known exoplanets that are smaller than Earth, and their position close to the dying KIC 05807616 means they were once actually inside the outer shell of the red giant. The initial explanation for this was that these two stars were remnants of gas giants that had had their outer layers burned away by their star's blast furnace, leaving behind these tiny cores as essentially brand new planets. But now there's another explanation to consider. As New Scientist reports, it's conceivable these two worlds weren't the result of a pair of gas giants burning away. They might actually have come from the same gas giant: One planet, a gas giant about five times the mass of Jupiter, held on for dear life. As the red giant engulfed it, it lost energy through friction, spiralling ever closer to the star's dense, million-degree core. If it could just hang on until the star's outer layers swept back over it as they collapsed onto the star again, triggering helium fusion, maybe it would make it. But it spiralled too close, and got pulled apart by the star's gravity, splitting into daughter worlds in a process reminiscent of cell division. That's the explanation favored by Noam Soker and Ealeal Bear of the Israel Institute of Technology. So why do they argue for an unprecedented phenomenon as the most likely explanation for what's going on around KIC 05807616? The smoking gun, they say, is the synchronized nature of the two planets' orbits, which would be difficult to explain as the aftermath of two separate planets being chaotically ripped apart inside a red giant. What's more, this massive giant's destruction and splitting would have caused the star's gas to evaporate and reduce the size of the red giant, which neatly explains the diminished sized of KIC 05807616. For more, check out New Scientist's Astrophile page. Original paper at Astrophysical Journal Letters. Illustration by Stéphane Charpinet/Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in Toulouse, France.
Scottish inventor George Bennie had a dream. Where trains couldn't link destinations separated by water, grand railways would stretch through the skies, guiding propeller-powered planes from city to city. Technically, the Bennie Railplane isn't actually a monorail; to the contrary, it requires both a top and bottom rail to guide its propeller-powered planes. But like a monorail, the Railplane was meant to be a transit system deliberately separated from the ground-based one. Feeling that carrying freight and passengers along the same rails was inefficient, Bennie proposed these suspended rails that would carry passenger-only planes. He also thought it would be a brilliant way to carry passengers across the English Channel, making commutes from London to Paris fast and easy. Bennie constructed a protype rail in Milngavie near Glasgow, in 1930. The 130-yard track wasn't long enough to allow the Railplane to achieve its optimal speed of 150 miles per hour, instead only allowing for 50 miles per hour. Despite this, the track was met with much acclaim, and Bennie, who financed the original track himself, hoped to secure funding for a larger project. Unfortunately, Bennie went bankrupt in 1937, and his Railplane dreams were shattered. The track was scrapped in 1956, a year before Bennie's death.
Vitamin D could be a miracle worker, when it comes to treating some of the most common ailments that afflict Americans, such as depression and diabetes. But it could also cause some serious problems, if you get too much of it. A huge number of papers about Vitamin D are being presented at this year's meeting of the Endocrine Society — showing that it's a huge topic among endocrinologists. But it's hard to know what conclusions to draw. Top image: Bradley Stemke/Flickr On the plus side: A handful of women all saw significant improvements in their depression when they were treated for concurrent vitamin D deficiency. "Vitamin D may have an as-yet-unproven effect on mood, and its deficiency may exacerbate depression," said author Sonal Pathak, MD, "If this association is confirmed, it may improve how we treat depression." Not to mention, vitamin supplements could be a far less expensive treatment than anti-depressants. Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. And low levels of Vitamin D are also common amongst teens who are being evaluated for weight loss surgery. More than half these teens were vitamin D deficient, especially among the African American population. And in the adults at risk of diabetes, vitamin D supplements improved their triglycerides, triglyceride-HDL ratio and E-selectin levels, in the short term. So, if it's such a big deal, shouldn't we all get tested for vitamin D deficiency? Unfortunately, it also turns out that two of the newest FDA approved ways of testing for vitamin D deficiency are inaccurate. Both the Abbott Architect (ARC) and the Siemens Centaur2 (CT2) immunoassays are described by the authors as: characterized by high degrees of random variability and significant constant biases relative to an established [method], inaccurate measurement of [vitamin D levels], and a failure to meet even a minimum quality standard for analytical bias for many of the clinical specimens we tested. Okay, fine, so we should all just go out and by enormous tubs of vitamin D gummies, right? While many doctors will tell you that supplements are a good idea, especially when paired with calcium, it looks like that duo might also lead to trouble. In fact, combining vitamin D and calcium could lead to increased risk of hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria, which means more calcium in the blood and urine, plus kidney stones. In a group of 163 post-menopausal women on combined supplements, 33% had hypercalciuria, and around 10% had hypercalcemia — and while none actually got kidney stones, it was enough for the researchers to recommend that people stay at the FDA-recommended dose of 800 international units of vitamin D, and 800-1,200 milligrams per day of calcium. Which is far less than many doctors recommend. So, vitamin D: it's both saving us and making our lives miserable. Yay!
Ricor’s Yoav Zur holding a K508 cryocooler, the same one used in the Curiosity’s CheMin instrument shown on his computer screen. Seven years ago, a buyer from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California – which manages US space agency assignments — called Yoav Zur to inquire about a miniature cryogenic cooler made by Ricor Cryogenic and Vacuum Systems at Kibbutz Ein Harod Ihud in northern Israel. Zur, the marketing manager for the company, was told that the cryogenic cooler was needed for a future Mars mission to keep the CheMin chemical mineral detector, critical to the analysis of the soil on the Red Planet, chilled to minus 173 degrees Celsius. • Email this article to friends or colleagues • Share this article on Facebook or Twitter • Write about and link to this article on your blog • Local relevancy? Send this article to your local press It was not the first time Ricor cryocoolers had been purchased for space missions, so Zur facilitated the order without asking too many questions. “We knew the K508 [cryocooler] would be part of a CheMin system in a space laboratory, but we didn’t know the mission name or the vehicle,” he says. However, he was pretty sure the small Israeli-made cooler was among the instruments aboard the Curiosity rover on NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, which lifted off from Florida on November 26, 2011. On August 6, 2012, after Curiosity touched down on Mars, the 170 workers at Ricor broke out in cheers. “When we heard Curiosity had successfully landed, I called my contact at JPL and he confirmed they really used our cooler,” Zur tells ISRAEL21c. The Curiosity rover will be on Mars for two years with a full agenda of scientific experiments to complete in addition to the soil analysis performed by CheMin. Cooler in space Model K508, like Ricor’s other cryocoolers manufactured since 1977, is normally purchased to maintain frigid temperatures on infrared detectors used in thermal imaging, Zur explains. “It’s primarily a military product tested for very harsh conditions such as extreme temperature, radiation and vibration.” In business since 1967, Ricor has long done business with NASA and other space agencies. An Israeli cryocooler has not made it to Mars before, but one was aboard the MESSENGER discovery mission that orbited Mercury from March 2011 to March 2012. This mission employed the most sensitive detector available — a high-purity germanium semiconductor crystal — to help measure the planet’s surface gamma rays from long distances. The crystal must operate at cryogenic temperatures, so the detector had to be protected from the heat as it moved through one of the solar system’s hottest environments. This was accomplished by suspending it on thin Kevlar strings inside a high-tech thermos bottle cooled to a frosty -183° C by the Ricor cryocooler. Ricor was already quite familiar with the needs of the US space program. “Way back in 1994, our first model, K506, was launched in the Clementine program,” says Zur. This NASA mission was intended to test sensors and spacecraft components under extended exposure to the space environment. “In 2001, we launched several cryocoolers in the European Space Agency’s Rosetta [comet chaser], and later sold our products to the Brazilian Space Agency for a program having to do with weather control,” Zur adds. Ricor is not the only company that makes cryocoolers. However, Zur explains, “Ours are the smallest with the highest cooling power for the lowest price in the world. For NASA, the price was not the issue, but JPL chose our products for their performance and weight.”
updated Aug 18, 2008 8:55 pm \| 6,384 views Revision as of 19:50, 24 July 2007 Spyware is defined as a program that secretly monitors your actions on your computer. Any data collection program that gathers information about you and relays it to advertisers and/or other interested parties falls under this Internet jargon. Spyware is any software that employs a user's Internet connection in the background (the so-called "backchannel") without their knowledge or explicit permission. In order to not be considered spyware, silent background use of an Internet "backchannel" connection must be preceded by a complete and truthful disclosure of proposed backchannel usage, followed by the receipt of explicit and informed consent for such use. Any software communicating across the Internet without these key elements is guilty of information theft and is properly and rightfully termed: Spyware. The effects of spyware are varied and depend a lot on your system. The most common effects include: The list could go on and on but I think you get the idea. So, do not just assume it is a virus when your system crashes, behaves strangely, or acts erratically. Here are the main players in the defense against Spyware (in no particular order): Spybot (Freeware), AdAware (comes in a variety of flavours; all with increasing levels of defense, control and cost), Pest Patrol (again, like Adaware it has a variety of Flavours), Spy Sweeper, Ewido, and A2Squared. Spyware is software that gathers information about your Web-surfing habits for marketing purposes. Spyware "piggybacks" on programs you choose to download. Tucked away in the fine print of user agreements for many "free" downloads and services is a stipulation that the company will use spyware to monitor your web habits for business research purposes. Spyware takes up memory and space on your computer. It can slow down your machine, transmit information without your knowledge, and lead to general computer malfunction. One of the most widely-used Web browsers, Internet Explorer is especially susceptible to spyware-related problems. You may choose to keep certain spyware programs on your computer in exchange for the free services that accompany them, but you should be aware of how that might affect your computer.
Civilians were often the casualties of fighting during the recent Liberian civil conflict. Liberian health care workers played a crucial role in documenting violence against women by soliders and fighters during the war. To document women's experiences of violence, including rape and sexual coercion, from a soldier or fighter during 5 years of the Liberian civil war from 1989 through 1994. Interview and survey. High schools, markets, displaced persons camps, and urban communities in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1994. A random sample of 205 women and girls between the ages of 15 and 70 years (88% participation rate). One hundred (49%) of 205 participants reported experiencing at least 1 act of physical or sexual violence by a soldier or fighter. Survey participants reported being beaten, tied up, or detained in a room under armed guard (17%); strip-searched 1 or more times (32%); and raped, subjected to attempted rape, or sexually coerced (15%). Women who were accused of belonging to a particular ethnic group or fighting faction or who were forced to cook for a soldier or fighter were at increased risk for physical and sexual violence. Of the 106 women and girls accused of belonging to an ethnic group or faction, 65 (61%) reported that they were beaten, locked up, strip-searched, or subjected to attempted rape, compared with 27 (27%) of the 99 women who were not accused (P≤.02, .07, .001, and .06, respectively). Women and girls who were forced to cook for a soldier or fighter were more likely to report experiencing rape, attempted rape, or sexual coercion than those who were not forced to cook (55% vs 10%; P≤.001, .06, and .001, respectively). Young women (those younger than 25 years) were more likely than women 25 years or older to report experiencing attempted rape and sexual coercion (18% vs 4%, P=.02 and .04, This collaborative research allowed Liberian women to document wartime violence against women in their own communities and to develop a unique program to address violence against women in Liberia.
Small businesses are starting smaller and staying smaller. That’s the conclusion of a study released by entrepreneurship advocate Kauffman Foundation. “Starting Smaller; Staying Smaller: America’s Slow Leak in Job Creation” said its analysis of government data shows that since the middle of the last decade and perhaps longer, the growth path and survival rate of new businesses means they are generating fewer new jobs. The businesses that started in 2009, for example, are on course to create 1 million fewer jobs in the next decade than historical averages would predict, the study says. The trend started long before the Great Recession and is likely to continue into the future, the study says. That trend signals an important shift for the U.S. economy, which needs to create a minimum of 125,000 new jobs a month merely to keep up with adult population growth. The Kauffman research distinguishes between numbers of businesses and numbers of businesses that have employees. Citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the study found that the number of new employer businesses has fallen 27% since 2006. The total number of startups (employer businesses and self-employed) has increased since the recession, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. But “firms that support only the self-employed owner do not scale to generate the new jobs needed to support overall economic growth.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics says startups created about 4.65 million new jobs annually from 1997 to 2000 compared to 2.5 million in 2010, the study notes. The Census sets the drop off from 7 million jobs in 2006 to 4.5 million in 2009. Part of the decline is that about 27% fewer businesses with employees are being started, the study says. A second significant factor is that new small-business survival has declined. Before the recession, 45% to 50% of new businesses survived five years, the study says. Now fewer than 45% of businesses started in 2004 were still in business in 2009. And a third factor is that new businesses are hiring fewer employees than in the past. In the 1990s, new establishments opened with an average of 7.5 jobs. By 2010, the number of jobs at the average startup was 4.9 jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. And those businesses that survive never accelerate their hiring to make up for their smaller initial staffs, the study says. So over their lifetimes, these businesses created fewer jobs. The study does not address why businesses are making do with fewer workers. Are they using technology instead of human labor? Are they doing work that requires fewer employees? Do minimum wage laws and health insurance mandates affect staffing levels? The study concludes: “In many cases, companies or individuals that once would have been hired as employees of a business now are performing the work on a temporary basis as contractors through other professional service organizations or under their own self-employment contracts. … No matter how laudable their individual efforts, these sole proprietors… are not likely ever to be major employers. “The clear challenge for the U.S. economy instead is to start more employer businesses, ensure that they are starting larger, and nurture their growth.” The study doesn’t suggest how. Click here to read the entire report. Want the latest on small business? Text OCRSMALLBIZ to 56654 to get free news alerts for small businesses. Other business stories…
As a child I remember a class of women who always covered their hair, were deeply devout and whose dress and deportment set them apart from the rest of society. Despite their unusual dress and their life of devotion they participated fully in Canadian life - indeed, some of them were my teachers as a child and they deal with the broader culture on a daily basis. While the number of nuns in Canada has dramatically fallen since I was a child there is no question that they are fully accepted as part of Canadian society. It is inconceivable that anyone would consider a nun less worthy of belief because of her habit. Yet only a few generations nuns in Ontario faced widespread hostility and were defamed in popular accounts as being depraved, untrustworthy and of loose morals. I have family who recall actual anti-Catholic rioting as late as the 1930s. Today there is a class of women who cover their hair and face are deeply devout and whose dress and deportment set them apart from the rest of society. The class too faces significant hostility and is often defamed although usually in different terms than the nuns of the early Twentieth Century. These women are devout Muslims who wear various different items the commonality of which is that their hair and often their face is covered. In general such clothing choices have no legal ramifications. However, when a woman wearing, for example, a niqab is to testify in Court must she remove the niqab and show her full face? Broadly put, the debate over religious garb is over and decided. Turbans and other headgear are allowed in Court without question. Indeed, most Courthouses in Canada have a "decorum" sign somewhere in the lobby explaining that religious headgear need not be removed. But covering the face is different. The Common Law has a long history holding an accuse must be allowed to look their accuser squarely in the face. How does that history square with a sincere wearing of a niqab? This is especially so as women wearing facial covering for religious reasons are often subject to prejudice any order requiring them to bare their face must take into account a genuine need and not mere bias or societal inclination. The Supreme Court considered the issue this week and decided that a simple answer requiring the baring of the face or not is not sufficient. Women wearing facial covering for religious reasons are entitled to protection for they are exercising their constitutionally protected freedom of religion. But persons accused of crimes are entitled also to a fair trial and sometimes that right trumps freedom of religion. A balance is needed. Writing for the majority the Chief Justice of Canada held the need to accommodate and balance sincerely held religious beliefs against other interests is requires someone to remove religious garb only where necessary. If evidence is contentious and there is a real reason to watch the witness's reaction to questions then removal is proper and necessary. Someone, for example, charged with a serious criminal offence is entitled to full protection of the law and to challenge fully a witness. Accordingly, a witness who for sincere religious reasons wishes to wear the a facial covering while testifying will be required to remove it if (a) this is necessary to prevent a serious risk to the fairness of the trial, because reasonably available alternative measures will not prevent the risk; and (b) the salutary effects of requiring her to remove the facial covering outweigh the deleterious effects of doing so. In effect, there must be a balancing and accommodation. The right to practice religion freely must not lead to wrongful convictions. But, at the same time, sincerely held religious belief must not be ignored. Eventually women who wear the niqab will be seen as integral to Canadian society as nuns. They will face no prejudice and need no special protection - they will be witnesses in Court like all others and express protection for them will no longer be required. Until then they are protected by the balancing required by the Supreme Court.
jQuery Mobile: The Concept of Linking Mobile Pages (1) - a jQM page is bounded by a <div> box with data-role=’page’ attribute (based on custom data attributes - HTML 5 standard) - more than one jQM page can be defined in a HTML document - the first jQM page is always loaded and rendered if the HTML document is loaded through sync. HTTP request, i.e not Ajax (async) - a jQM page can be loaded via HTTP request or Ajax (xmlHttpRequest) request - by default, jQM loads a mobile page (referenced from another mobile page) via Ajax unless special attribute is specified Scenario 1: Multiple jQM pages in a HTML document This is the most simple and common scenario; multiple jQM pages within a document. The following diagram shows how a document is initially loaded and how a mobile page is retrieved from an user interaction: Mobile browser retrieves the whole document from the server and loads it. Since it is HTTP document request, any code within <script> tags are executed, the first mobile page is automatically initialised, pageinit event triggered and rendered (Definition 3). Then the user clicks on menu #B, jQM interprets href=’#B’. Since this is an anchor reference, it indicates that the target mobile page is from the same document. The framework locates the mobile page from the current DOM by matching id value, then the page is initialised and rendered which also triggers #B pageinit event. Finally, once the page is rendered, jQM performs animated page transition for page B. Scenario 2: Multiple jQM pages in separate HTML documents This is another common scenario for linking pages in separate HTML documents. The index.html document contains a mobile page with 2 menus pointing to A.html and B.html. When the mobile browser loads it, it executes the code within <script> tag and automatically displays the first and only mobile page. Then the user clicks on menu B which refers to B.html (href=’B.html’). Since we are building a mobile page referring to another mobile page in separate HTML document, we need to add an extra attribute ‘data-ajax=false’ (or data-rel=’external’ if cross domain) inside the menu page header. This attribute tells jQM to issue a normal HTTP request to load B.html. At this point, the user has no control over the web interface. It’s just a loading busy icon waiting for B.html to arrive. When the document arrives, browser load the HTML file as normal; <script> is executed, B1 page is automatically initialised and rendered for display and also #B1 pageinit event is triggered. Since the DOM tree is completely rebuilt from HTTP request, there is no page transition. In the next part, we use this concept to extend to different scenarios.
Earlier in the week, I pointed to a news story about upcoming research that substantiates some amount of gene flow among Pleistocene groups, persisting into living populations ("Multiregional evolution lives!"). That scenario made a bit of a splash in the news, but the result is not unprecedented. Last year around this time, I noted a study by Wall, Lohmueller and Plagnol that came to a similar result -- estimating that around 5 percent of the gene pool of today's people outside Africa derived from ancestral non-Africans. That followed on earlier work by Plagnol and Wall from 2006 with essentially the same result. Looking back at the blog, this has been a recurring topic since the beginning. For example, back in 2005 when I was still doing a meetings update, I posted about several conference presentations on the topic ("Genetics and multiregional evolution, meetings 2005"). At that time the new results were from Alan Rogers, Jody Hey, and Mike Hammer's lab, all suggesting that ancestral diversity either suggested some ancestral population structure outside Africa, or at least didn't reject it. A key finding was published by Garrigan and colleagues (2005), who found a pseudogene on the X chromosome with an unusually deep gene tree in East Asia ("Modern human origins: X marks the spot?"). But there's a lot of literature out there that contradicts this line of research. Some of it is still being published. A case in point is the paper released in PLoS ONE this week by Guillaume Laval and colleagues (2010). The key part of the abstract: Our results support a model in which modern humans left Africa through a single major dispersal event occurring ~60,000 years ago, corresponding to a drastic reduction of ~5 times the effective population size of the ancestral African population of ~13,800 individuals. Subsequently, the ancestors of modern Europeans and East Asians diverged much later, ~22,500 years ago, from the population of ancestral migrants. This late diversification of Eurasians after the African exodus points to the occurrence of a long maturation phase in which the ancestral Eurasian population was not yet diversified. That seems to directly contradict all the research suggesting some component of intermixture among pre-modern populations outside Africa. So what's the deal? I have a good idea what's going on now with these apparent contradictions, thanks to a recent paper by Alan Templeton (2010). I'll discuss that paper in detail later this week, as I'm covering these issues now in my graduate seminar. In the meantime, I want to give a little thought to the new paper by Laval and colleagues. Following through their simulation methods may give us some ideas about how we can resolve the discrepancies among these tests of human population history. I also want to explore some of the ways that paleontology and paleogenomics may help to inform our tests about these issues. Here's a nice paragraph from the results section of the paper that outlines many of the simulation methods. I'd like to have seen some issues laid out more clearly, as some of the parameter combinations are hidden in the supplements and not clearly explained there. It means that as I discuss these, I may not quite have understood everything correctly. First, we determined the evolutionary scenario that took place in the ancestral lineage that culminated in the emergence of modern humans (for a complete list of parameter symbols used along the manuscript, see Tables 2 and S4). We tested different evolutionary models , , , , – that allow different levels of introgression of archaic hominids to modern human populations. We assumed an early diffusion of archaic hominids (Homo erectus) out of Africa ~1.25 and ~2.25 million years ago , various ancestral migration rate intensities (m0, ancestral migration rate is the proportion of migrants before the Out-of-Africa exodus) and an African exodus of modern humans between ~40,000–100,000 years ago . By tuning the replacement rate δ, we then simulated scenarios that consider different levels of replacement of archaic hominids by modern humans (i.e. different levels of introgression of archaic material into the modern gene pool), including the most extreme cases of complete (δ = 1) and no replacement (δ = 0) as well as several scenarios with varying intermediate levels of replacement (Figures 3A and S2, Table S4). The summary statistics were calculated by merging all population samples (except for global FST) in order to minimize the effects of recent demographic events related to the continental populations. We thus considered in all models a constant size for the three modern human populations. The model with residual ancestral migration rate (m0~10−10) and full replacement (δ = 1) clearly better fitted our data than any other model (Figure 3A, highest ψ1, the ψ1 of this model is significantly higher after correction for multiple testing when compared with the other ψ1 values, P For a long time, I've been bothered in the back of my mind about the outcomes of these analyses based on simulations and "approximate Bayesian computation" (ABC). I learned a long time ago never to argue statistics with a Bayesian. It's not that the approach is infallible, it's just that if someone is clever enough to use Bayesian statistics, it's going to turn into a long argument. By my count the model has 18 parameters, and we could reshuffle them in lots of ways. Can it really be that no combination of the parameters provides a better fit than zero admixture? Intuitively, it seems wrong -- because it would mean that one combination of the other 17 parameters gave a near-perfect fit to the data. Perfect fits don't happen, not with genetic data as messy as in humans. The conceptual scheme of the paper is an island model with migration, growth, and replacement as possibilities, between the three populations -- Africa, Europe and East Asia. Since any of the parameters could in concept vary from zero to infinity, each specific model ought to be a proper subset of the general island model, and they ought to grade continuously into each other. In other words, an out-of-Africa replacement is just one extreme of the general multiregional/admixture/introgression model. That has some predictable consequences. A nonzero migration rate before a complete replacement ought to behave very much like a structured population within Africa before a replacement. An analysis that prefers the second really shouldn't be distinguishable from the first. Likewise, a very small population outside Africa before a slight replacement should look very much like a larger population with a more complete replacement. These options aren't identical, but they ought to grade continuously into each other. But in the paper, the authors bounded the parameters in ways that make these different specific models discontinuous. For example, consider the parameter that defines the time of the initial population spread out of Africa: We assumed an early diffusion of archaic hominids (Homo erectus) out of Africa ~1.25 and ~2.25 million years ago If the time of founding of these populations could vary down toward the time of possible replacement (in the last 100,000 years), the continuity and replacement models would grade continuously. This would be the logical connection implied by the island model, but by limiting the range of times, the authors have generated an artificial difference between the models. In principle, we could have a good reason for separating the models in this way. For example, we know that Europe and Asia were occupied by hominids before 1.25 million years ago, and we might specifically be interested in those people. But in reality, we know that a 1.25-million-year old split between European and African populations is in conflict with paleogenomics. The Neandertal genome shows that we shared a small common ancestral population with Neandertal ancestors at most around 300,000 years ago, and possibly much more recently. If the human-Neandertal ancestral population was dispersed across Eurasia and Africa at that time, it must have had relatively high gene flow, enough so to behave as a single population with a small effective size. So this is a possible problem. None of the "admixture" models included in the paper have a feature which the paleogenomic evidence says is necessary. My point is that the authors have generated a "rugged landscape" of models by eliminating the continuity between them. It may not be surprising that one choice of parameters fits the data much more strongly than alternatives, because the intermediates have not been examined. There are other parameters for which uncertainty might be substantially reduced by using other evidence. For example, the authors consider a range of migration rates varying over three orders of magnitude between recent (modern) populations on different continents. The actual value of this rate has a large effect on the appearance of admixture, because it determines the likelihood that ancestral African variation has recently dispersed out of Africa into Eurasia. But we can probably obtain a good estimate of this rate of recent gene flow from other data, since we have large datasets of genome-wide SNP and microsatellite polymorphisms from these regions. These data could also provide a better test of the proposed Europe-Asia "split". Why are these aspects important? Because recent events will disturb or cover up the evidence for earlier dispersals and interactions. If we can constrain the recent events using other evidence, we can increase our power to test hypotheses about earlier events. Although many possible intermediate models are excluded in the study, the authors in the end find an overlap in results between two apparently very different parameter combinations: Among the 24 models tested, the model assuming a complete replacement rate of archaic hominids (δ = 1) and a residual ancestral migration (m0~10−10) exhibited the significantly highest ψ1 except when compared with the model assuming an almost complete replacement rate of archaic hominids (δ≥0.99). That result might seem paradoxical. At face value, it means that ancestral humans outside Africa did contribute genes to living populations, but only by means of very rare gene flow from Eurasia back into Africa before a subsequent replacement. In other words, the first modern humans in Africa would have been descendants of Africans and of Eurasian people. It's not surprising that the outcome is close to a model with very slight survival of Eurasian populations. As we think of ways to improve these tests, I think we need to introduce independent tests of each parameter. This won't always be possible, and there will be cases where changing one parameter will impose a trade-off with one or more others. But that's the nature of these models -- each parameter is a dial, and twisting one of them may be corrected by turning others. The important point is that we can already falsify many of the conceivable possibilities. Until we have a model in which paleontology, archaeology, paleogenomics and the genetics of living people all form a single consistent picture, our work isn't done. (see also, Gene Expression) Garrigan D, Kingan SB. 2006. Archaic human admixture: A view from the genome. Curr Anthropol 48:895-902. doi:10.1086/523014 Garrigan, D., Mobasher, Z., Severson, T., Wilder, J. A., Hammer, M. F. 2005. Evidence for archaic Asian ancestry on the human X chromosome. Mol. Biol. Evol. 22:189-192. doi:10.1093/molbev/msi013 Hawks J, Cochran G. 2006. Dynamics of adaptive introgression from archaic to modern humans. PaleoAnthropology 2006:101-115. Open access Hawks J, Cochran G, Harpending HC, Lahn BT. 2007. A genetic legacy from archaic Homo. Trends Genet doi:10.1016/j.tig.2007.10.003 Laval G, Patin E, Barreiro LB, Quintana-Murci L (2010) Formulating a Historical and Demographic Model of Recent Human Evolution Based on Resequencing Data from Noncoding Regions. PLoS ONE 5(4): e10284. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010284 Plagnol, V., Wall, J. D. 2006. Possible ancestral structure in human populations. PLoS Genet. 2:e105. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0020105 Templeton AR. 2010. Coherent and incoherent inference in phylogeography and human evolution. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 107:6376-6381. doi:www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0910647107 Wall JD, Lohmueller KE, Plagnol V. 2009. Detecting ancient admixture and estimating demographic parameters in multiple human populations. Mol Biol Evol (early online) doi:10.1093/molbev/msp096
“According to “firesafety.gov more than 4,000 Americans die each year in fires and approximately 20,000 are injured”. The key to fire safety is to be prepared! - Install a smoke detector ( and check it regularly – replace batteries when you set the clocks ahead or back) - Make an escape plan - Practice fire safety - If you own a 2 story house, keep an escape ladder handy Here are a few safety tips when it comes to Fire Safety: - Have a smoke alarm on every level of your home as well as in every bedroom - Be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions on how to install your new smoke detector - Never leave candles lit when you are not home - Never empty ashes from the BBQ or fireplace until they have sat for a day and are completely out. - Keep a fire extinguisher near the kitchen Now go, be safe and know that you are doing everything you can to keep your little one safe! Thanks from the staff at Kidsafe
Rabies infections in people are rare in the United States. However, worldwide about 50,000 people die from rabies each year, mostly in developing countries where programs for vaccinating dogs against rabies don't exist. But the good news is that problems can be prevented if the exposed person receives treatment before symptoms of the infection develop. Rabies is a virus that in the U.S. is usually transmitted by a bite from a wild infected animal, such as a bat, raccoon, skunk, or fox. If a bite from a rabid animal goes untreated and rabies develops, it is almost always fatal. If you suspect that your child has been bitten by a rabid animal, go to the emergency department immediately. Any animal bites — even those that don't involve rabies — can lead to infections and other medical problems. As a precaution, call your doctor any time your child has been bitten. About 7,000 cases of rabies in animals are reported each year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Raccoons are the most common carriers of rabies in the United States, but bats are most likely to infect people. Almost three quarters of rabies cases between 1990 and 2001 came from contact with bats. Skunks and foxes also can be infected with rabies, and a few cases have been reported in wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and ferrets. Small rodents such as hamsters, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and rabbits are very rarely infected with the virus. Because of widespread vaccination programs in the United States, transmission from dogs to people is very rare. Outside the United States, exposure to rabid dogs is the most common cause of transmission to humans. An infected animal has the rabies virus in its saliva and can transmit it to a person through biting. In rarer cases, an animal can spread the virus when its saliva comes in contact with a person's mucous membranes (moist skin surfaces, like the mouth or inner eyelids) or broken skin such as a cut, scratch, bruise, or open wound. After a bite, the rabies virus can spread into surrounding muscle, then travel up nearby nerves to the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain, the infection is fatal in almost all cases. The first symptoms can appear from a few days to more than a year after the bite occurs. One of the most distinctive signs of a rabies infection is a tingling or twitching sensation around the area of the animal bite. It is often accompanied by a fever, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, nausea, and fatigue. As the infection progresses, someone infected with rabies may develop any of these symptoms: excessive movements or agitation bizarre or abnormal thoughts weakness or paralysis (when a person cannot move some part of the body) extreme sensitivity to bright lights, sounds, or touch increased production of saliva or tears In the advanced stage of the infection, as it spreads to other parts of the nervous system, these symptoms may develop: problems moving facial muscles abnormal movements of the diaphragm and muscles that control breathing difficulty swallowing and increased production of saliva, causing the "foaming at the mouth" usually associated with a rabies infection If your child has been bitten by an animal, take the following steps right away: Wash the bite area with soap and water for 10 minutes and cover the bite with a clean bandage. Immediately call your doctor and go to a nearby emergency department. Anyone with a possible rabies infection must be treated in a hospital. Call local animal-control authorities to help find the animal that caused the bite. The animal may need to be detained and observed for signs of rabies. If you know the owner of the animal that has bitten your child, get all the information about the animal, including vaccination status and the owner's name and address. Notify your local health department, particularly if the animal hasn't been vaccinated. If you suspect that your child has been bitten by an unknown dog, bat, rat, or other animal, contact your doctor immediately or take your child to the emergency department. At the hospital, it is likely that the doctor will first clean the wound thoroughly and make sure that your child's tetanus immunizations are current. To keep any potential infection from spreading, the doctor may decide to start treating your child right away with shots of human rabies immune globulin to the wound site and vaccine shots in the arm. This decision is usually based on the circumstances of the bite (provoked or unprovoked), the type of animal (species, wild or domestic), the animal's health history (vaccinated or not), and the recommendations of local health authorities. You can reduce the chances that your family is exposed to rabies. Vaccinate your pets — dogs, cats, and ferrets can be infected by rabies. Report any stray animals to your local health authorities or animal-control officer. Remind kids that animals can be "strangers," too. They should never touch or feed stray cats or dogs wandering in the neighborhood or elsewhere. As a precaution against rabies, call your doctor if: your child has been exposed to an animal that might have rabies, but is too young to describe the contact with the animal your child has been exposed to bats, even if there is no bite you plan to travel abroad and may come into contact with rabid animals, particularly if you're traveling to an area where you might not have access to health care
Most Active Stories KRWG.ORG-The Region's Home Page Shots - Health Blog Sun February 19, 2012 Does Tylenol Worsen Asthma For Kids? Parents and doctors around the world have been alarmed by the dramatic increase in childhood asthma. One factor in the upswing is better detection by doctors, but at least one doctor thinks a common over-the-counter drug also has something to do with it. Dr. John McBride sees lots of kids with asthma. He's a pediatric pulmonologist at Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio. He knew of studies that raised concern about the safety of acetaminophen — brand name Tylenol — to treat colds and fever in kids with asthma. So he decided to look more closely at the research. "I was stunned," he says. All the studies he looked at showed a link between asthma and acetaminophen. "The more acetaminophen somebody takes, the more likely it is that they have asthma," he says. "Also, there's an incredible consistency. Everybody around the world who's looked for this association has been able to find it." In asthma, the airways of the lungs get blocked by mucous and narrow. That leads to wheezing and shortness of breath. The rise in asthma has closely paralleled the increased use of acetaminophen. There are no scientific studies proving the medication causes asthma, but McBride says it may make asthma worse in kids who already have it. Nine-month-old Martez coughs and wheezes as McBride examines him and talks with his mom, Ceasha Moorer, about his asthma. "He coughs. He wheezes. There are multiple symptoms," she says. "He works very hard to breathe. When he's excited from crawling or even laughing, then he breathes really hard." In the past when Martez got a cold, Moorer gave him Tylenol. But that seemed to make his symptoms worse. At McBride's suggestion, she stopped using it. Then one day, her aunt was looking after Martez when he had a cold. "I told her don't give him Tylenol," Moorer says. "I didn't specify that it was acetaminophen. She actually gave him a cold medicine, but it seemed to make him kind of worse. I looked at the active ingredients and acetaminophen was in the active ingredients." In fact, acetaminophen is an ingredient in many cough and cold products — including NyQuil, Robitussin and Theraflu. It might exacerbate the asthma because it decreases levels of a molecule called glutathione, which protects the lungs. "So removing the beneficial effect of glutathione exactly at a time children's lungs are being irritated might end up being just one factor that contributes to the onset of an asthma attack," McBride says. McBride's recommendation? Don't give acetaminophen to a child who has asthma. Other doctors say it's too soon for that advice. Many other factors could play a role in the rise of asthma, according to Dr. Stanley Szefler, head of pediatric pharmacology at National Jewish Health in Denver. "Vitamin D insufficiency, dietary changes, air pollution or better control of infections are perhaps all related to the increasing prevalence of asthma," he says. Johnson & Johnson, maker of Tylenol, said in a statement that the medicine has been used safely and effectively for more than 50 years. "There are no prospective, randomized controlled studies that show a causal link between acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and asthma," the company said. It's important to control a child's fever, Szefler says. McBride agrees but says ibuprofen is a safer bet — at least until ongoing studies provide answers about the safety of acetaminophen for kids with asthma.
At a Glance Why Get Tested? To determine the number of platelets in a sample of your blood as part of a health exam; to screen for, diagnose, or monitor conditions that affect the number of platelets, such as a bleeding disorder, a bone marrow disease, or other underlying condition When to Get Tested? As part of a routine complete blood count (CBC); when you have episodes of unexplained or prolonged bleeding or other symptoms that may be due to a platelet disorder A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm or by a fingerstick (children and adults) or heelstick (newborns) Test Preparation Needed? The Test Sample What is being tested? Platelets, also called thrombocytes, are tiny cytoplasm fragments of very large cells called megakaryocytes. Platelets, formed from these large cells in the bone marrow and released into the blood to circulate, are essential for normal blood clotting. The platelet count is a test that determines the number of platelets in a person's sample of blood. When there is an injury to a blood vessel or tissue and bleeding begins, platelets help to stop bleeding in three ways: they adhere to the injury site, clump together (aggregate) with other platelets, and release chemical compounds that stimulate further aggregation of other platelets. These steps result in the formation of a loose platelet plug at the site of the injury in a process called primary hemostasis. At the same time, activated platelets support the coagulation cascade, a series of steps that involves the sequential activation of proteins called clotting factors. This secondary hemostasis process results in the formation of strands of fibrin that weave through the loose platelet plug, form a fibrin net, and compress to form a stable clot that remains in place until the injury has healed. When the clot is no longer needed, other factors break the clot down and remove it. Each component of primary and secondary hemostasis must be present, activated at the right time, and functioning properly for adequate clotting. If there are insufficient platelets, or if platelets are not functioning normally, a stable clot may not form and a person may be at an increased risk of excessive bleeding. Platelets survive in the circulation about 8 to 10 days and the bone marrow must continually produce new platelets to replace those that degrade, are used up, and/or are lost through bleeding. Determining the number of platelets in blood with a platelet count can help diagnose a range of disorders having to do with too few or too many platelets. How is the sample collected for testing? A blood sample is drawn though a needle placed in a vein in the arm or by a fingerstick (children and adults) or heelstick (newborns). NOTE: If undergoing medical tests makes you or someone you care for anxious, embarrassed, or even difficult to manage, you might consider reading one or more of the following articles: Coping with Test Pain, Discomfort, and Anxiety, Tips on Blood Testing, Tips to Help Children through Their Medical Tests, and Tips to Help the Elderly through Their Medical Tests. Another article, Follow That Sample, provides a glimpse at the collection and processing of a blood sample and throat culture. Is any test preparation needed to ensure the quality of the sample? No test preparation is needed. Ask a Laboratory Scientist Form temporarily unavailable Due to a dramatic increase in the number of questions submitted to the volunteer laboratory scientists who respond to our users, we have had to limit the number of questions that can be submitted each day. Unfortunately, we have reached that limit today and are unable to accept your inquiry now. We understand that your questions are vital to your health and peace of mind, and recommend instead that you speak with your doctor or another healthcare professional. We apologize for this inconvenience. This was not an easy step for us to take, as the volunteers on the response team are dedicated to the work they do and are often inspired by the help they can provide. We are actively seeking to expand our capability so that we can again accept and answer all user questions. We will accept and respond to the same limited number of questions tomorrow, but expect to resume the service, 24/7, as soon as possible. NOTE: This article is based on research that utilizes the sources cited here as well as the collective experience of the Lab Tests Online Editorial Review Board. This article is periodically reviewed by the Editorial Board and may be updated as a result of the review. Any new sources cited will be added to the list and distinguished from the original sources used. Sources Used in Current Review Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 21st ed. McPherson R, Pincus M, eds. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier: 2007, Pp 477-478, 730, 754-757. Harmening D. Clinical Hematology and Fundamentals of Hemostasis, Fifth Edition, F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, Pp 578-589. (October 1, 2010) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What is aplastic anemia? Available online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/aplastic/ through http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Accessed Feb 2012. (August 1, 2010) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What are thrombocythemia and thrombocytosis? Available online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/thrm/ through http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Accessed Feb 2012. (Aug 1, 2010) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What is thrombocytopenia? Available online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/thcp/ through http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Accessed Feb 2012. (June 1, 2011) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What is Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura? Available online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/itp/ through http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Accessed Feb 2012. Riley R, et.al. Automated Hematologic Evaluation. Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University. Available online at http://www.pathology.vcu.edu/education/PathLab/pages/hematopath/pbs.html#Anchor-Automated-47857 through http://www.pathology.vcu.edu. Accessed Feb 2012. Kasper DL, Braunwald E, Fauci AS, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Jameson JL eds, (2005). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th Edition, McGraw Hill, Pp 340-341, 673-675. Pagana K, Pagana T. Mosby's Manual of Diagnostic and Laboratory Tests. 3rd Edition, St. Louis: Mosby Elsevier; 2006, Pp 409-412. (July 17, 2010) Mayo Clinic. Diseases and Conditions, Essential Thrombocythemia. Available online at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/thrombocythemia/DS01087/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis through http://www.mayoclinic.com. Accessed Feb 2012. (July 16, 2010) Mayo Clinic. Diseases and Conditions, Thrombocytosis. Available online at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/thrombocytosis/DS01088 through http://www.mayoclinic.com. Accessed Feb 2012. (March 29, 2011) Thiagarajan P. Overview of Platelet Disorders. Medscape Medical Reference article. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/201722-overview#aw2aab6c11 through http://emedicine.medscape.com. Accessed Feb 2012. Sources Used in Previous Reviews Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods, 21st. Saunders. 2007. Pg. 1414. Pagana, Kathleen D. & Pagana, Timothy J. (© 2007). Mosby's Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference 8th Edition: Mosby, Inc., Saint Louis, MO. Pp 732-734. George JN, Raskob GE, Shah SR. Drug-induced thrombocytopenia: A systematic review of published case reports. Ann Intern Med 129(11):886-890, 1998. Pagana, Kathleen D. & Pagana, Timothy J. (2001). Mosby's Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference 5th Edition: Mosby, Inc., Saint Louis, MO. Thomas, Clayton L., Editor (1997). Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, PA [18th Edition].
Prevention through Education and Certification: A National Model Prevention efforts will lead to a new health-care specialist — Certified Bariatric Counselor (CBC) — trained to treat families and children in preventing or overcoming childhood obesity. The Children's Health Education Foundation is leading the way to help educators and families understand the biological, psychological, and social implications of obesity in order to guide children’s behavior toward a life of physical and mental wellbeing. CHEF’s unique three-step approach to ameliorate the epidemic of childhood obesity has been designed for use by colleges, universities, public school systems, parent groups, community-based service organizations, and health-care organizations throughout the United States It will serve as a national model. A campaign to build awareness will include the use of printed, electronic, and broadcast messages and materials. Informative literature is being developed for educators, health professionals, parents and families. A children’s comic book, featuring well-known cartoon characters and super heroes who have joined the fight against childhood obesity, will be developed. The Foundation’s web site will provide educators, parents and children with the latest research and strategies for combating childhood obesity. The Foundation will also actively seek endorsements from sports and entertainment celebrities, sponsor special events, write articles and feature stories for publication in newspapers and magazines, make Public Service Announcements, and work with children’s television programs like Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues and Sponge Bob to get the message across that childhood obesity is a national health crisis that must be addressed.
ommunication is the transfer of any thought, idea, or belief. We communicate everyday, spreading ideas to people around us whether verbally, on paper, or electronically. And whether realized or not, it's a necessity in any community no matter how primitive or advanced. Why? Well, without communication, how would we share ideas, knowledge, etc.? Everyone would have to reinvent the wheel and technological advancements would be impossible. However, the ability to transfer facts and ideas enables us to work together for a common goal, and more importantly to pass down knowledge for application inthe future. The very reason why technology is advancing at such of fast rate is because of the fact that knowledge and ideas can be transferred and accessed so fast today, that a single person can have access to a wealth of information, and then apply it to his own goal. However, though the need for communication will never change the few things that are constantly changing and improving are the forms of communication. ethods of communicating vary greatly, however, all more or less convey a complete thought. At its most primitive form lies body language and verbal,then writing, the telegram, the telephone and television, the radio, and more advanced is the computer. rom age-old methods of oral messengers to the modern forms of satellites and fiber optics, communicating has come a long way. What used to take weeks on horseback in ancient Mongolia only takes a few seconds to transfer on a computer via the Internet. And faster yet will be the transfer of information through such inventions such as cable modems. However, this evolution of communication hasn't occurred over night, it's taken thousands of years to evolve into what it is today; and there's no telling what may exist tomorrow. Still, as we move into the next millennia, faster and more efficient methods will be sought.
In diachronic comparison of languages, say PIE to Latin to Romance, it is a classic recognition that the later languages strictly lose some of the morphologically marked categories. PIE had 8 noun cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, etc), Latin 5, Romance 2 or even 1. Pick a morphological category and pretty much always the complexity is reduced: past participles in English are more likely to become weak rather than strong, the subjunctive is disappearing, there's no grammatical gender at all. Presumably those forms (that were later lost) came from somewhere, those categories and phonological markers were created. I can imagine a cycle of inflected to isolating (a period of loss) and then back to inflectional where the grammatical markers get phonologically assimilated (fused onto the root), but i have no data to support this. I feel like I heard a long time ago that Finnish/Hungarian/Turkish might be gaining distinctions or that the word initial inflections in verbs in Irish came from phonological interaction between a pronoun and the following verb, but those are just vague intimations. I am looking for more substantively presented examples. Is there any definitive data of a language moving from isolating to inflected? Present day examples are best, but attested versions (not theoretical) from the past would be good too.
This book provides a social and educational perspective on contemporary English language learners, especially those large, fast-growing Hispanic and Asian groups whose presence is felt strongly in the schools. It is addressed to preservice and in-service teachers of English, whether in language arts, bilingual education, or English as a second language classrooms. Part I describes the makeup of previous generations of English language learners in the US and provides current demographics on English language learners. It also examines the process whereby immigrants come to adopt English. Part II provides teachers with information on the immigration background, language characteristics, and language use patterns of the most numerous groups of present-day English language learners. Part III explores three types of investment necessary for successful language learning - individual investment, legal and policy investment, and educational investment.
Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639 Public contact: Science, Technology and Business Division (202) 707-5664; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (301) 614-6627 March 28, 2008 "Gardening for Ozone Air Quality" To Be Topic of Lecture at Library, April 8 Air quality continues to be a public-health concern. Some of the nation’s worst ozone pollution occurs in suburbs and even in parks that are downwind from sources of pollution. Ozone amounts can vary widely from one neighborhood to the next, and government ozone-monitoring stations cannot cover all of them. Experts are finding that gardeners can play an important role in monitoring ozone-related air quality. Anne Douglass and Jeannie Allen from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will present a program at the Library of Congress titled "Gardening for Ozone Air Quality (Citizen Science)" at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 8, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The lecture is part of a series of programs about cutting-edge science presented through a partnership between the Library’s Science, Technology and Business Division and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required. Gardeners or others who are curious about ozone levels where they live or work, and are willing to make careful observations over time, can become involved in ozone monitoring. Some common and easily-grown plants show overexposure to ozone by characteristic tiny, evenly-spaced spots (stippling) on the upper sides of their leaves. Scientists and educators at NASA Langley Research Center collaborated with plant pathologists and the U.S. National Park Service to develop a protocol for citizen scientists and students to monitor ozone air quality by using a hand-held instrument called the ZikuaTM and observing ozone-sensitive plants. Douglass and Allen will explain what NASA’s Aura satellite is showing us about air quality on global and regional scales; how the ozone forms and how it affects people and plants; how certain species of common plants can show when ozone levels are high; how to use a ZikuaTM; and what’s involved in making an ozone monitoring garden. They will also show how gardeners can link to other citizen scientists and students engaged in ozone monitoring, and how people can learn more about the Aura satellite. Douglass is an atmospheric scientist who specializes in stratospheric chemistry and transport. Her research emphasizes the development and analysis of predictive models and the quantitative use of satellite, aircraft and ground-based observations. Douglass has worked for NASA since the early 1980s and has been the deputy project scientist for both the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and the Earth Observing System Aura. In 2002, she shared the William T. Pecora Award for understanding the earth through remote sensing. Allen is a senior education specialist for Earth-observing satellite missions with Science Systems and Applications, Inc., at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She has a master’s degree in bio-geography, and brings cutting-edge Earth-system science research to the public, classroom teachers, students and visitors at informal learning centers such as parks and museums. She often works in partnership with other federal agencies and national education and research institutions. Allen’s current focus is on land-cover change over time, climate change, stratospheric ozone and air quality. The Library of Congress maintains one of the largest and most diverse collections of scientific and technical information in the world. The Science, Technology and Business Division provides reference and bibliographic services and develops the general collections of the Library in all areas of science, technology, business and economics. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/. # # #
The online center for public involvement in the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the National Park Service (NPS), will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the adoption of a long-term experimental and management plan (LTEMP) for the operation of Glen Canyon Dam. The EIS will fully evaluate dam operations and will provide the basis for decisions that identify management actions and experimental options that will provide a framework for adaptively managing Glen Canyon Dam over the next 15 to 20 years. Information and Services for Public Participation Learn about the EIS: why it's needed, what will be in it, where the EIS project area is located, when it will be completed. A public meeting to discuss preliminary alternative concepts for the LTEMP EIS was held on April 4 and 5, 2012. Two Web-based public meetings summarizing the Scoping Report were held on March 27, 2012. See the Public Meetings page for more information. The public scoping comment period ended on January 31, 2012. The Scoping Report is available on the Documents page. Future public involvement opportunities will be announced on this website.
Is Obama hesitating to send humans to the moon, and then perhaps to Mars? He shouldn't. President Obama isn't exactly howling for an existing government goal to land Americans back on the moon by 2020. Instead, he has set up a 10-member panel of space experts to advise him by September if human exploration beyond Earth's orbit is worth the money from a federal budget mired in red ink. President Bush laid out plans in 2004 for the United States to build a lunar base that could tap the moon's resources and create a launching pad for a mission to Mars, taking advantage of the moon's weak gravity. Congress has twice endorsed the project. And other nations, especially China, Japan, and Russia, are also eagerly working on their own moon projects. This cold-war-style competition is one reason the US is trying for a more substantial venture to the moon than the Apollo landings that began 40 years ago this month. No country has sent a human beyond Earth's low orbit since 1972.
Telemonitoring is offered to high-risk patients in an effort to easily monitor their health and key vital signs. The equipment is simple for patients to use, and readings are automatically transmitted through telephone lines. Telehealth is a device installed in the homes of patients with chronic health conditions. It automatically measures and transmits vital-sign readings daily. The service is effective for those with congestive heart failure, diabetes, or high blood pressure. A visiting nurse will set up the equipment in the home and explain its use. The machine is pre-programmed with information about each person. Daily monitoring is painless and takes only a few minutes. It requires the person to step onto a scale and attach a monitoring cuff to the arm. Daily readings will be compared to standards for such variables as weight, blood pressure, or pulse. If there is a problem, the current day’s readings will automatically be transmitted to the nurse and primary care physician for action. The nurse will coordinate the necessary care with the primary care physician.
See also the Dr. Math FAQ: 3D and higher Browse Elementary Number Sense/About Numbers Stars indicate particularly interesting answers or good places to begin browsing. Selected answers to common questions: Multiplying by zero. Casting out nines. Number facts from the Web. - Hexadecimal Division and Addition [07/06/2003] Could you provide a few examples of how to solve hexadecimal addition and division problems? - The Highest Exponent [10/23/1995] What is the highest exponent ever known? - History of Numerals and Counting: Bibliography [11/18/1996] Where do I find information on different systems of measurements? - History of Writing Decimals and Number Lines [10/28/1998] Why, on a number line, are the negative numbers are on the left? When you deal with decimals, why are the whole numbers are on the left? - 'Honest' Numbers [11/11/2002] My teacher asked the class: What is the only 'honest' number? - How Does This Multiplication Method Work? [11/12/2003] I've just learned a new way to multiply, where all you have to do is double, split in half, and add. Why does this work? Could you extend this to division, where all you have to do is double, halve, and add? - How Far Can You Count? [1/6/1995] How far can you count after millions, billions, and trillions? In other words, what is the highest point you can count to? - How Long is 1000 Seconds? [02/18/2005] How long does it take to count to one thousand counting one number per - How many prime numbers are squares? [01/09/1997] Can a prime number be a square? - How Pi Was Derived and Relates to Area of a Circle [03/04/1998] Using inscribed and circumscribed polygons to derive Pi and circle area. - Identity Element [10/12/2001] What is an "identity element"? - The Importance of Number Sense and Estimating Answers [04/28/2004] I don't understand how to solve problems using number sense. For example, if an employee at the deli counter slices a 2 foot long salami, about how many slices will he get? How can I figure that out? Why is it important? - Importance of Zero [12/19/1995] Has anyone developed an inquiry-based activity for the classroom in which students in grade 5 can explore the importance of zero? - Infinity [5/24/1996] Is infinity positive or negative? - Infinity times Infinity [10/15/1998] What is infinity multiplied by infinity? - Integers in Everyday Life [01/16/2002] How do we use integers in everyday life? - Invented Strategies for Subtraction [09/18/2002] I need some help understanding two students' ways of understanding - Is 0 a whole number? [7/17/1996] Is 0 a whole number? - Is K a Roman numeral? [07/19/1998] A car ad shows 40K miles. Is this equal to a thousand? - Is Pi Infinite? [01/29/1998] How can we know that pi is infinite? Does it ever turn into a pattern of zeros and ones, like a computer code? - Is Zero a Digit? [9/3/1995] Is zero considered a digit? I think so, but there has been much discussion in my class! - Is Zero a Multiple of Every Number? [07/06/2002] Is zero a multiple of every number? I have some books that say it is, and others that say it isn't. - Is Zero a Number? [07/05/2003] If infinity is not a number, then is zero really a number? - Is Zero a Square Number? [02/16/2000] Is zero considered to be a square number? I have found some sources that say it is, and others that say it isn't. - Is Zero Even? [03/28/2001] The justification that 0 is an even number is based on the fact that 0 is divisible by 2. But how many times does 2 go into 0? Answer: no times; or to rephrase, 2 doesn't go into 0. Can you explain this? - Is Zero Even, Odd, or Neither? [03/31/1997] Two students bet on whether zero is even, or neither even nor odd. - Is Zero Odd or Even? [06/17/1998] My 4th grade students are not satisfied with any explanation I can offer. - Is Zero Positive or Negative? [01/26/2001] Is zero a positive or a negative number? - The Last Finite Number? [02/01/2004] I just read an article about the "last finite number", and I was wondering whether such a number could possibly exist. - Letters Used to Name Integers and Irrational Numbers [1/13/1996] My students wonder why the set of integers is referred to as J, and what letter is used to name the set of irrational numbers. - Line under Greater or Less Than Symbol [01/26/2001] What does it mean when there is a line under the greater or less than - Mathematical Palindromes [01/17/1997] Can you tell me about number palindromes? - MathLands [6/18/1996] I'm trying to find information about a math program called MathLands. - Meaning of Greater Than, Less Than Symbols [11/07/2002] Does the meaning of less than and greater than signs depend on - The Meaning of Powers, such as Squares and Cubes [3/14/1996] What does the power mean? Like 5 to the power of 2? - Memory Aid for Roman Numerals [05/10/2000] What number is XLIII? Do you have a way of remembering what letter equals - Mental Math [07/25/2003] I would like to find a trick for multiplying by 3367. - Meters Squared vs. Square Meters [11/18/2001] Is 12 m^2 better read as 12 square meters or 12 meters squared? - Mnemonic for Less Than and Greater Than [08/11/1999] What was the old adage for telling how to read the less than and greater than symbols correctly? - Most Frequently Used Digit [6/13/1996] Which is the most frequent digit in our number system?
The hygienist is responsible not only for prevention, detection and treatment of periodontal disease, but also for educating patients about the disease and teaching proper home care techniques. During treatment, your hygienist removes plaque, calculus, and stain deposits from your teeth. Her formal education of two or more years also prepares her to recognize other dental problems such as decay. Smooth_function in the operatories can be attributed to the conscientious planning and preparation by the dental assistant. Prior to your arrival, she organizes the appropriate material and instruments needed for your procedure. During your visit she will assist the dentist while also attending to your comfort and needs. Her training typically involves a six-month to two-year program, extensive on the job training, and continuing education.
(HealthDay)—A new report shows that a deadly swine flu virus can infect ferrets, highlighting the importance of continuous surveillance of emerging flu strains. Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sep 10, 2012 \| 5 / 5 (2) \| 0 National Institutes of Health scientists have identified how a kind of immature immune cell responds to a part of influenza virus and have traced the path those cells take to generate antibodies that can neutralize a wide ... Medical research Aug 29, 2012 \| not rated yet \| 0 \| Toward 'universal' vaccine: Scientists describe antibodies that protect against large variety of flu viruses A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and Crucell Vaccine Institute in the Netherlands describes three human antibodies that provide broad protection against Influenza B virus strains. ... Medical research Aug 09, 2012 \| 5 / 5 (5) \| 0 \| (Phys.org) -- A group of scientists in Singapore and the UK have isolated a human antibody capable of effectively neutralizing the mosquito-borne dengue virus. Dengue fever is currently incurable and infects ... Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Jun 22, 2012 \| 5 / 5 (5) \| 1 \| It might be possible for human-to-human airborne transmissible avian H5N1 influenza viruses to evolve in nature, new research has found. The findings, from research led by Professor Derek Smith and Dr Colin Russell at the ... Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Jun 21, 2012 \| not rated yet \| 2 \| Herpes and other viruses that attack the nervous system may thrive by disrupting cell function in order to hijack a neuron's internal transportation network and spread to other cells. Medical research May 30, 2012 \| 5 / 5 (3) \| 0 \| The pandemic 2009 H1N1 vaccine can generate antibodies in vaccinated individuals not only against the H1N1 virus, but also against other influenza virus strains including H5N1 and H3N2. This discovery adds an important new ... Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes May 21, 2012 \| 5 / 5 (1) \| 0 \| (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers in Chile have successfully tested a vaccine against meningococcus B, a strain of bacteria that causes meningococcal diseases, including one of the commonest forms of meningitis, a disease in ... Medications Jan 20, 2012 \| 4.7 / 5 (6) \| 0 \| Scientists at the University of California, Davis, detected the H1N1 (2009) virus in free-ranging northern elephant seals off the central California coast a year after the human pandemic began, according ... Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes May 15, 2013 \| not rated yet \| 1 \| Two respiratory viruses in different parts of the world have captured the attention of global health officials—a novel coronavirus in the Middle East and a new bird flu spreading in China. Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes May 13, 2013 \| 5 / 5 (2) \| 0 In the summer of 1968, a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong Kong. This strain, known as H3N2, spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people. Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes May 10, 2013 \| not rated yet \| 0 \| A team of NIH scientists has developed a new tool to identify broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) capable of preventing infection by the majority of HIV strains found around the globe, an advance that could help speed ... HIV & AIDS May 09, 2013 \| not rated yet \| 0 \| Scientists said Wednesday that flu infections were rising among pigs raised for slaughter on farms in south and southeastern China, also plagued by bird flu. Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes May 07, 2013 \| 5 / 5 (2) \| 0 Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus' most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system. Medical research May 02, 2013 \| 5 / 5 (5) \| 0 \| An experimental drug has shown promise in treating influenza, preventing lung injury and death from the virus in preclinical studies, according to University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers publishing in the journal ... Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes May 01, 2013 \| 4.3 / 5 (3) \| 0 \|
Why Is the Sound of Nails on a Chalkboard So Unpleasant? The act of scraping nails down a chalkboard creates a sound so awful that most people have an instantaneous reaction: A shiver runs up the spine, and they slap their hands over their ears. Anything to block out that noise! But why do unpleasant sounds affect us like this? Newcastle University scientists think they’ve pinpointed why. For a new study , the researchers placed 13 subjects inside functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) machines, which measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. As they played a range of 74 sounds, the scientists watched what happened in the brain. They found we recoil from unpleasant sounds because of the interaction between two areas of the brain: The auditory cortex, which processes sound, and the amygdala, which is active when we process negative emotions. So when someone screams, or a baby cries, the amygdala takes over, heightening the activity in the auditory complex and creating a negative reaction. This activity is not as heightened when listening to a soothing sound. Based on acoustic analysis, the scientists determined that all sounds from 2000 to 5000 Hertz were unpleasant to the subjects of the study. They hope that a better understanding of how the brain reacts to noise will help people sensitive to loud sounds, like those with some forms of autism, and people who suffer from tinnitus and migraines. But perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of this study is that the subjects rated nails on a chalkboard the fifth most irritating sound—knife on a bottle, fork on a glass, chalk on a blackboard and ruler on a bottle all come before it.
What Is a ‘Supermoon’ and Why Should You Care It’s Coming Out This Weekend? [VIDEO] Amateur astronomers may want to dust off their telescopes, because a massive full moon — aka a “supermoon” — will arrive this weekend and it’ll be the year’s biggest. The moon will become full on Saturday at 11:35 pm EDT and orbit the Earth at a distance of only 221,802 miles, giving amazing views of a gigantic, extra-bright moon. In fact, skywatchers can look forward to a moon that’s about 16 percent brighter than usual. But despite its extra-large appearance in the sky, there’s no need to worry about the moon causing disaster here on terra firma, according to experts. Scientists don’t expect earthquakes or catastrophic tidal forces as a result. To get the best view, check out the supermoon when it’s close to the horizon. View the moon either just after it rises or before it sets with an object (a tree or building, for example) in the foreground. The resulting optical illusion will make it seem even larger.
By Pauline Askin SYDNEY (Reuters) - Seven hundred million pigs produce a lot of poo. China's love of pork presents a mountain of a problem for the environment, 1.4 million metric tons (1.5 million tons) of pig poo a year to be precise, but an Australian company believes it has part of the answer. Why not turn the pig poo into power? Using a bioreactor called "PooCareTM" and other technology, the pig manure is converted into biofuel for cooking and heating while the residual goes to farmers as nutrient-rich fertilizers. "The benefits are energy and fuel for farmers as well as preventing further contamination of the environment," said Ravi Naidu, chief scientist at CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC Care), a South Australian-based firm involved in drawing up the technology. "So it's really a green technology from that perspective," Naidu, a University of South Australia professor, told Reuters. The process involves a bioreactor 30 m (98 ft) long, 10 m (33 ft) high and 4 m (13 ft) wide. It is set below ground and waste is fed through it slowly at a pre-determined temperature. This converts solid waste into a biogas that is then pumped through gas tanks that can be delivered to the local community. The entire process takes about a month, with the first biogenerator already running at a farm in Wuhan, central China. China has an estimated 700 million pigs, producing some two-thirds of the meat consumed there annually, so the scale of the problem can't be underestimated. Only one tenth of pig waste is used now as manure. It is estimated the nutrients lost in the waste of one pig alone are worth about A$50 ($52) per year. There is a vast disparity in rural and urban incomes with farmers earning around $75 per month. The potential health hazards are worse. "Pig waste contains a high level of nitrate, which in liquid form can contaminate ground water and in flake form can contaminate lakes, posing human health risks," Naidu said. Chinese scientists and Hong Kong-based technology firm HLM Asia Ltd also took part in developing the technology, which costs roughly A$35,000 ($36,400) for one bioreactor. Mass production would bring costs down, Naidu said. (Editing by Elaine Lies and Paul Tait)
Despite considerable advances in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, current drugs are only partially effective. Most patients show reduced disease activity with therapy, but still experience relapses, increasing disability, and new brain lesions. Since there are no reliable clinical or biological markers of disease progression, long-term outcome is difficult to predict for individual patients. We identified 18 studies that suggested genes expressed in blood as predictive biomarkers. We validated the prognostic value of those genes with three different microarray data sets comprising 148 patients in total. Using these data, we tested whether the genes were significantly differentially expressed between patients with good and poor courses of the disease. Poor progression was defined by relapses and/or increase of disability during a two-year follow-up, independent of the administered therapy. RESULTS: Of 110 genes that have been proposed as predictive biomarkers, most could not be confirmed in our analysis. However, the G protein-coupled membrane receptor GPR3 was expressed at significantly lower levels in patients with poor disease progression in all data sets. GPR3 has therefore a high potential to be a biomarker for predicting future disease activity. In addition, we examined the IL17 cytokines and receptors in more detail and propose IL17RC as a new, promising, transcript-based biomarker candidate. Further studies are needed to better understand the roles of these receptors in multiple sclerosis and its treatment and to clarify the utility of GPR3 and IL17RC expression levels in the blood as markers of long-term prognosis. Levels of GPR3 and IL-17RC in MSers. Some had a favourable disease course compared to others As is often the case much research can not be reproduced and most biomarkers (indicators of a biological function) previously reported have not been reproduced in this study, whilst this is perhaps wasteful, through repetition a consensus is achieved and progress is then moved forward. However, I am not yet convinced that GPR3 or IL17RC are going to prove useful of a biomarker either, because there is too much overlap between the levels found in people with a good outcome compared to those with a bad outcome (see above). So the search will continue
A Strange and Formidable Weapon British Responses to World War I Poison Gas Publication Year: 2008 Published by: University of Nebraska Press Download PDF (57.1 KB) List of Illustrations Download PDF (57.9 KB) Download PDF (86.0 KB) Download PDF (480.7 KB) On May 24,1915--Whit Monday and a month after the first gas attack of World War I--Sgt. Elmer Wilgrid Cotton of the Fifth Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, woke up when a gas alarm sounded. He described the scene in vivid terms: I got out of my dugout very quickly... 1. The Political Challenge: Descent to Atrocities? Download PDF (348.5 KB) Britain had long viewed herself as enlightened, ethical, and law-abiding in her actions abroad and at home. In the nineteenth century alone, the British abolished slavery, instituted reform legislation without revolution, and enjoyed Queen Victoria's reputation for rectitude. They had reason to be proud... 2. The Army's Experience: New Weapons, New Soldiers Download PDF (492.2 KB) The politicians were not the only ones surprised by the events of World War I. The conflict shocked the military long before gas appeared. The drawn-out war filled with novel weapons, enormous casualties, and global combatants did not match the popular vision of a war in which offensive spirit and Úlan... 3. The Scientific Divide: Chemists versus Physicians Download PDF (367.7 KB) Two other groups that became inured to many of the horrors of gas warfare were research chemists and army clinical physicians; they provided scientific expertise necessary to wage World War I, but their experiences with the weapon and its effects allowed them to see its dangers without becoming... 4. Whose Business Is It?: Dilemmas in the Gas Industry Download PDF (347.3 KB) On the home front, British chemical industrialists immersed themselves in the gas war by manufacturing toxins and respirators developed by scientists. Intimately involved in the specialized work, businessmen in this field, like the research chemists and physicians, developed a respect for the dangers of gas... 5. Gas as a Symbol: Visual Images of Chemical Weapons in the Popular Press Download PDF (1.2 MB) From the beginning of the chemical war in 1915, gas invaded Britain's home front. By word and image it appeared in the press, frequently bombarding the public with reminders of its existence and forcing the general population to confront the threats and implications of the new weapon... 6. The Reestablishment of the Gas Taboo and the Public Debate: Will Gas Destroy the World? Download PDF (514.9 KB) The chief of the Imperial General Staff, Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, although frustrated that Britain's chemical warfare service was deteriorating because of lack of funding and support after World War I, indicated to the government that he understood some of its reluctance. He wrote to the cabinet... Download PDF (157.1 KB) Chemical weapons have posed a menace to soldiers and civilians since their inception. The popular dislike of gas in Britain and other countries, which had subsided occasionally during World War I, grew during the interwar period and led to attempts to eradicate the danger from chemical weapons... Download PDF (47.3 KB) Download PDF (695.6 KB) Download PDF (219.1 KB) Download PDF (263.8 KB) Page Count: 400 Illustrations: 18 photographs Publication Year: 2008 Series Title: Studies in War, Society, and the Militar
Creating natural smiles beyond compare! Preventive, Restorative, Cosmetic & Implant Family Dentistry A preventive program is a cooperative effort by the patient, dentist, and dental staff to preserve the natural dentition and supporting structures by preventing the onset, progress, and recurrence of dental diseases and conditions. Preventing dental disease starts at home with good oral hygiene and a balanced diet. It is continued in the dental office by the efforts of your dentist and dental hygienist to promote, restore, and maintain your oral health. Prevention also includes regular dental exams, cleanings, and x-rays. Sealants and fluoride are also great preventive treatments that help protect the teeth. Prevention helps avoid serious and costly dental problems and is the key to having a healthy, confident, beautiful smile.
Panic disorder is characterized by attacks of panic (or anxiety attacks) recurrent unexpected. It can be combined or not with agoraphobia. During a panic attack, the fear response is out of proportion to the situation that often is not threatening. Over time, a person who suffers from this disorder develops a constant fear of making seizures, which can affect daily life and bring such to avoid places or situations where an attack has occurred or where it believes an attack might occur. A panic attack is a discrete period marked by the sudden occurrence of intense apprehension or fear often associated with a feeling of impending doom. During these attacks are present symptoms such as feeling of breath, palpitations, chest pain, or a gene, a feeling of choking or a feeling of suffocation and fear of going crazy or losing control of oneself. How to control a panic attack? The more one understands how the arising of panic attacks (also called Panic attacks, anxiety attacks or anxiety attacks), the more may be able to control them. First, he must know that the body’s natural reaction to anxiety is to accelerate the breathing also becomes very superficial. This increases the oxygen level in the blood. When this level exceeds a certain threshold, anxiety symptoms settle. His symptoms contribute back to increase anxiety or distress. Can mitigate this by taking the time to focus on breathing to make deeper and more particularly slow. This requires several minutes of concentration because at this moment, it is against nature to breathe calmly as we are anxious. But to put a little anxious thoughts aside and focus on breathing also helps that this method works because it is these thoughts that put us in this state. Also, be aware that in emotional states such as anxiety, anguish, depression, anger, etc.., thoughts are influenced by these statements. They become biased (less rational) and help to maintain and amplify the emotional states. In these moments, for example, the person will think the worst that can happen when the facts do not justify believing that the worst is most likely. Or if the person is dead, the challenges it faces he may see the mountains. There is no time to think about problems when anxiety is too strong or too much fatigue. In these moments, it is often preferable to postpone the discussion and agreement rather a moment of relaxation and recreation, entertainment and make some nice things.
The Asháninka communities rely on the river. Photo: Pedro França/MinC, reproduced under a CC license from Ministério da Cultura. Brazil and Peru have jumped on the bandwagon of hydroelectricity, signing energy agreements to construct 15 plants in the Peruvian rainforests. These include Pakitzapango and Tambo 40, situated along the river Ene in the Central Rainforest. Renewable sources they may be, but with the devastation they would bring, the energy would by no means be ‘clean’. On the Ene live 17 Asháninka communities, an indigenous group still recovering from decades of terrorization. The dams would flood the river, killing the fish, the plants, and the animals and destroying the homes. Around 10,000 Asháninka people could be left without food or shelter and as a result forced out of their communities. From the word go, Central Asháninka del Río Ene (CARE ) the legal voice of the Asháninka, have campaigned and protested ruthlessly and to their great credit in October 2011, the dams were announced ‘retired’. I am a British girl volunteering with CARE on my gap year, and it’s clear that, in their eyes, this is not the end. ‘We are just waiting, it is just a matter of time before MINEM [the government agency dealing with energy] and [Brazilian dam-builder] Obedrecht1 reintroduce Pakitzapango.’ claimed Ruth Buendía, president of CARE. Between 1989 and 1996 the Asháninka living along the river Ene were kidnapped, tortured, and sent to concentration camps in the mountains by Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorists. Olinda García López tells a harrowing tale: ‘we were going to the river and they grabbed us…they killed my mum... they took us to the mountains without food or clothes…my brothers and sisters died there.’ I can see the lasting effects of these invasions. The underlying purpose of all of CAREs projects is to rebuild the lives of Asháninka people, allowing them to live once again as their ancestors did. Given that this siege ended only 16 years ago, the majority of Asháninkas are living victims – their wounds are fresh and deep. ‘The Asháninkas hate the Andeans,’ Leo Almoacid, survivor of the massacre passionately proclaimed. They were terrorized by Sendero and betrayed by the soldiers, and for this, there is a complete mistrust of outsiders. ‘Each community does their rounds, with weapons, watching out for anyone…the majority changed their names.’ Antonio Sancho Ferrer, CARE employee, mentioned casually. So what is the government doing, rubbing salt in the wound? If it wants a better relationship with its indigenous citizens, proposing to displace 10,000 Asháninka people just won’t cut it. ‘They didn’t consult us; they didn’t think about us as people, as Peruvians. The don’t have any respect for us. Because of this we cannot trust them.’ Buendía confided, bitterly. Around the town of Satipo you can easily encounter feelings of hostility towards Asháninka people. I was talking to a girl, about 12-years-old whose mother owns the café where I usually enjoy a tortilla sandwich. Her parents are Andeans now living in the rainforest. I asked her whether she preferred the mountains or the rainforest. ‘Mountains’, she replied. ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘I don’t like the Asháninkas,’ she came back at me. ‘People think the dam will bring money and Asháninka people are stopping this from happening,’ explained Ferrer. I am not claiming that resentment of many Satipo town-dwellers is a result of the dams, but as long as the government keeps such development projects going, albeit on a backburner, the cold war between the town and the country will remain. According to Ruth Buendía, experts have located many unpopulated areas along the coast that are suitable for development. So, why not consider these alternatives and give the Asháninka people a break and a reason to drop their arms and mistrust? New Internationalist co-editor Vanessa Baird won an Amnesty Human Rights Media Award for her magazine ‘Nature’s defenders’ published in October 2011 where she reported on how indigenous peoples in Peru are resisting dams and mining companies.
"We're pretty convinced that this has an influence on the surface temperatures," said Richard Wood of the Met Office Hadley Centre in Exeter in the United Kingdom. "We don't expect climate change to be just a smooth warming of the climate, each year after the next. It's superimposed on natural variations of the climate," added Wood, who penned a Nature commentary on the study. "Especially if you are interested in things that are going to happen on the scale of a decade or two, those natural variations in the climate could be just as important on those time scales as the global warming signal," he said. Wood also stressed that our understanding of ocean fluctuations—and thus our ability to include them in climate models—is currently in its infancy. New ocean monitoring technologies—such as a network of automated sensor buoys—are only beginning to deliver the data that will help scientists to understand the ocean climate's intricacies and to better forecast climate on the decadal level. Meanwhile, Keenlyside cautioned the effect he describes is a baseline natural fluctuation that will not deter larger global warming trends. "We want to make very clear that we don't want to say that [anthropogenic] global warming is not here," he said. SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
St. Catherine University partners with University of Minnesota to launch high-altitude weather balloon During Minnesota Aerospace and Aviation Week, students and faculty from St. Catherine University teamed up with students and faculty from the University of Minnesota to launch a high-altitude weather balloon on Flight Day. The goal of the flight was to use a helium-filled latex weather balloon to lift scientific payloads into “near space.” Students and faculty would then recover the units, retrieving data that would later be used for scientific research. Though the weather balloon did not reach its anticipated height on this particular day, the students conducted a successful launch. For more information about liberal arts at St. Catherine University, visit the School of Humanities, Arts and Sciences website.
What to do about childhood obesity? Lead by example. One group, The Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreations and Dance (PSAHPERD) is doing just that by encouraging active healthy lifestyles for families in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PSAHPERD is made up primarily of educators in Pennsylvania with the goal to raise awareness, legislative changes and funds for childhood obesity in order to promote lifelong wellness for education programs. As members of the health and physical education profession, these educators understand the long term implications of childhood obesity on lifelong wellness. They stress that the K-12 years are an important time to establish good attitudes and behavior regarding personal health. Physical inactivity and poor nutrition are two of six risk factors identified by the CDC which lead to premature death but are preventable.This summer, the organization coordinated a three-day bicycle event. Aptly named “Capital to Capitol- ONE Ride,” the purpose of the bike ride which extended from Harrisburg, PA (the Commonwealth Capital) to the Capitol in Washington, D.C. was primarily to raise awareness of the impact of childhood obesity on lifetime wellness and advocate for positive legislative attention toward childhood obesity. Funds garnered from the event were earmarked for educational programs within schools. Exercise and Sport Science professors, Del Engstrom and Laura Borsdorf participated in the premier PSAHPERD bike event that ended on Capitol Hill, where the group met with Congressman Jim Gerlach, a strong physical education advocate and requested he pass on the message of taking a preventative approach when confronting this issue to his fellow lawmakers. Dr. Engstrom and Dr. Borsdorf take an active leadership role in wellness, both on campus and off campus. Their passion for wellness and the importance of developing a lifelong commitment to healthy choices, including healthy eating, physical activity and balance in life is always apparent to the student body and part of the excitement that surrounds the Exercise and Sports Science Department.
Bilingualism delays onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto have found that people who speak more than one language don’t exhibit symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease until they have twice as much brain damage as unilingual people. It's the first physical evidence that bilingualism delays the onset of the disease. “This is unheard of – no medicine comes close to delaying the onset of symptoms and now we have the evidence to prove this at the neuroanatomical level,” said Professor Tom Schweizer, a neuroscientist who headed the research. Schweizer’s team studied CT scans of patients who had been diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease and who had similar levels of education and cognitive skills, such as attention, memory, planning and organization. Half were fluently bilingual; the other half unilingual. Despite the fact that both groups performed equivalently on all measures of cognitive performance, the scans of the bilingual patients showed twice as much atrophy in areas of the brain known to be affected by Alzheimer’s. The findings have been published on-line in the journal Cortex. Schweizer, a professor of surgery who is cross-appointed to the Institute for Biomechanical and Biomedical Engineering, said that bilingual people are constantly using their brain and keeping it active, which may contribute to overall brain health. That’s why many physicians encourage older people to do crossword puzzles or Sudoku. Schweizer notedd that because bilingual people constantly switch from one language to another or suppress one language to speak in the other, their brains may be better prepared to compensate through enhanced brain networks or pathways when Alzheimer’s sets in. Previous observational studies have found that bilingualism delays the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms by up to five years, but this is the first to find physical proof through CT scans. Schweizer said the results are especially important in Canada, which is officially bilingual and has large numbers of immigrants for whom French and English are at least second languages. His study was conducted in Toronto, where the second language of many study participants was French, English or Chinese. He noted that bilingualism does not prevent Alzheimer’s. Once Alzheimer’s symptoms appear in bilingual people, it is not clear whether the disease progresses at an accelerated rate. He said the next steps would be to repeat the study in a larger sample of patients followed over time using more sophisticated MRIs and noted it wasn’t clear from this study whether a second language had to be learned early in life to provide maximum benefit.
Kite Gen Research 3 megawatt prototype of a wind-kite operates at an altitude of 10,000 meters. Nine Kitegen generators would produce 27 megawatts of peak power. Wikipedia on Kitegen. There are two wind flow bands that envelope the Earth globe. One passes over the southern hemisphere at the latitude of Patagonia, while the other passes over the northern hemisphere, over Europe. The flow height ranges from 800 meters up to 10,000 meters of altitude, while the width is 4,000 or 5,000 km. The average power of the wind is about 2 kW per square meter. High altitude wind is much more powerful and constant when compared to that at earth level, which is intense in very few places, and at full speed for only about 1,700-1,800 hours per year, which limits the annual production of energy. The wind which is planned to be used is around 800 meters height with average speeds of 7 m/s and specific power of 200 W/m2. For example, a section of wind width of 1,000 meters at an altitude between 600 and 1,000 meters has a power equal to 4001000200 = 80 MW. The prototype in the Province of Asti which works with 9 generators and up to 10,000m generates a peak power of 27 MW. A park of Kitegens with 100 MW peak power should produce 500 GWh/year; enough for 86,000 households. The Kitegen can generate about 6000 hours / year. Links at Kitegen to various european (german, italian, french language documentaries and interviews) If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks
Jules Laurens undertook an incredible three-year journey throughout the Middle East and Asia Minor to Persia in the late 1840s, as part of a scientific and geographical expedition. Despite incredible hardship, Laurens drew every day. These drawings and the journey provided the basis for a significant career as an Orientalist painter and illustrator, and as a commentator on Middle Eastern affairs. This work was painted almost twenty-five years after the journey. Based on his meticulous drawings, the painting depicts a mosque near Tabriz in present-day Iran. The imposing building stands in an austere, snow-covered landscape. The painting depicts the desolate conditions of a journey marked by weather extremes and ever-present danger. The snow, while beautiful in the painting, made the journey extremely treacherous and the expedition’s leader was temporarily snow-blind.
Long-term variations in waterfowl populations in Loch Leven: identifying discontinuities between local and national trends Carss, D.; Spears, B.M.; Quinn, L.; Cooper, R.. 2012 Long-term variations in waterfowl populations in Loch Leven: identifying discontinuities between local and national trends. Hydrobiologia, 681 (1). 85-104. 10.1007/s10750-011-0927-6Full text not available from this repository. Loch Leven has been designated as a UK Ramsar Site (1976), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (1985) and a Special Protection Area (2000) due to its importance as a site for overwintering waterfowl. However, no comprehensive assessment of trends in waterfowl at the local versus national scale has been conducted at the site. Coherence between trends in 5-year mean species abundance for Loch Leven and Underhill Indexing Method values for Scotland (or GB in the case of geese) were assessed using principal components analysis for ten study species between 1968 and 2006. Five species showed trends at Loch Leven that were coherent with those at the Scottish scale (Eurasian Teal, Mute Swan, Great Cormorant, Pink-footed and Greylag geese). These species may not respond positively to local scale management. However, the other five species (Mallard, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck and Pochard) showed distinct differences between local and national trends. A study of the feeding ecology for these species, the re-establishment of ringing effort and an assessment of waterfowl–wetland relationships are recommended to determine how changes in local food resources and habitat quality interact with macro-scale population dynamics to influence local and regional patterns of abundance. \|Programmes:\|\|CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 onwards > Biodiversity > BD Topic 3 - Managing Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Environment > BD - 3.1 - Develop methods to quantify the link between biodiversity ..\| \|Additional Keywords:\|\|waterfowl, Loch Leven, trend comparison, local scale, national scale\| \|NORA Subject Terms:\|\|Ecology and Environment\| \|Date made live:\|\|21 Dec 2011 15:33\| Actions (login required)
Where are DEC’s environmental education summer camps located? The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation runs four environmental education camps for youths. Pack Forest, runs two different sessions for ages 12 to 14 and 15 to 17, and is located in the southern Adirondacks, north of Warrensburg. Camp Colby, for 12 to 14 year olds, is in Franklin County near Saranac Lake. Camp Rushford, for ages 12 to 14, is in Allegany County, and Camp DeBruce, also for ages 12 to 14, is in the southern Catskills, near the village of Livingston Manor. For more information about these camps, please visit DEC’s website or e-mail the DEC environmental education camps at [email protected] Environmental Education Camps Names and locations of DEC's summer camps for youths
The thermal performance of each test cells will be monitored continually from this winter until autumn 2007. The cells will be heated. So, sensors will be used to - control and measuring the heating, - determine temperature variation in various parts of the room; - measure heat movement through the cells' fabric; and - Monitor air movement in the roof and sub-floor spaces. In addition, local weather conditions will be monitored and recorded. Controlling the heating The regulatory modelling program, AccuRate, estimates the amount of energy required to keep specific rooms at a comfortable temperature during different times of the day. To replicate this, the heater in each cell will be controlled by internal temperature sensor. Running time and energy use will be measured and recorded. Temperature in a room is not consistent. It is influenced by height in the room, proximity of hot and cold surfaces such as walls, and draughts and other air movement. Temperature will be measured at three heights (0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 m high) at each of nine points in the cells. This is shown in Image 3 below. Heat movement through the fabric Heat moves through each surface of the cells, ceiling and roof, walls and floor. To measure this heat flow and the thermal performance of the construction systems, temperature sensors are positioned: - At each material surface in the centre of the north and south walls; - At each material surface in the centre of the ceiling and across the roof sheet on the centre of the north facing roof segment; and - At each material surface in the centre of the floor. As the slab may use the ground under it as a heat sink, temperature is also measured one meter under ground in the centre of each cell. Air movement under the timber sub-floors and in the roof spaces influences the flow of heat through the floor and the ceiling. Air movement sensors will be positioned in the centre of the floor and ceiling space of each module. The collected data will be analysed to compare actual thermal performance to that predicted by AccuRate. This will provide a critical but objective comparison between the performance accessed by the rating software and the measured performance of three similar test cells.
Oceana’s new report, Ocean-Based Food Security Threatened in a High CO2 World ranks nations to show which are most vulnerable to reductions in seafood production as a result of climate change and ocean acidification. While seafood is currently a primary source of protein for more than a billion of the poorest people in the world, carbon dioxide emissions are causing the oceans to warm and become more acidic, threatening fisheries and the people who depend on them. Rising ocean temperatures are pushing many fish species into deeper and colder waters towards the poles and away from the tropics, while increased acidity is threatening important habitats such as coral reefs and the future of shellfish like oysters, clams and mussels. Many coastal and island developing nations, such as Togo, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Madagascar and Thailand depend more heavily on seafood for protein and could suffer the greatest hardships because they have fewer resources to replace what is lost from the sea. For many developing countries, seafood is often the cheapest and most readily available source of protein, losing this resource could have serious impacts on livelihoods and food security. The only way to address global ocean acidification and the primary path to ending climate change is by dramatically reducing carbon dioxide emissions. One of the first steps in this process should be to phase out all fossil fuel subsidies. Some local measures may help make marine resources more resilient to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification such as stopping overfishing, bycatch and destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling, as well as establishing no take marine protected areas and limiting local pollution. But reducing carbon dioxide emissions is essential to make sure the oceans stay vibrant and productive for future generations. To find the full ranking of nations’ vulnerability to climate change and ocean acidification check out our report: http://oceana.org/en/HighCO2World
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session This course examines the problems and issues confronting American national security policymakers and the many factors that influence the policies that emerge. But this is not a course about "threats," military strategies, or the exercise of military power. What threatens those interests? How should the U.S. defend those interests? What kind of military should we build? Should the U.S. enter into alliances with other countries? Do we need a larger Navy? How much should we spend on weapons procurement? The course has four broad goals: The course is organized along an historical time line. Beginning with the final days of World War II we follow American national security policy from the first stirrings of confrontation with the Soviet Union and China, into two hot wars in Asia that cost over 100,000 American lives and spawned social upheavals, through a close encounter with nuclear war, stumbling into the era of arms control, and conclude with the collapse of the communism. Selective case studies, memoirs, and original documents act as windows into each period. What were US national security decision makers thinking? What were they worried about? How did they see their options? The course is organized into two weekly lectures and one-hour weekly recitation sections. Students are required to attend both the weekly lecture and a weekly recitation. Failure to attend class without a valid excuse will result in a failing grade for the class. The lectures will delve into the primary topic for the week but they will not regurgitate the reading assignment. Lectures will cover theoretical and analytical issues as well as the substantive questions at hand with the expectation that all students have completed the reading for that week. The lectures will emphasize the historical flow of events and alternative ways of interpreting events and decisions. The recitation sections will explore lecture topics in greater detail and provide the opportunity for broad discussion among the students. Some recitation sessions will focus more explicitly on topics implied, but not directly covered, in the lectures. In particular, the recitation sessions will use current items in the press as a take-off point for class discussion. (One of the requirements for this course is reading of the daily press.) Student discussion should occupy the bulk of the recitation period. John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment, Oxford University Press, 1982. Peter Hays, Brenda Vallance, and Alan Van Tassel, American Defense Policy, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins, 1997. The remainder of the readings for this course can be found in the CLASS NOTES PACKAGE. Students are also required to read the daily press. Students may choose from among: The Boston Globe, The New York Times, or The Wall Street Journal. Each week’s reading assignments should be completed prior to lecture class for that week. Criteria for HASS CI Subjects: Communication intensive subjects in the humanities, arts, and social sciences should require at least 20 pages of writing divided among 3-5 assignments. Of these 3-5 assignments, at least one should be revised and resubmitted. HASS CI subjects should further offer students substantial opportunity for oral expression, through presentations, student-led discussion, or class participation. In order to guarantee sufficient attention to student writing and substantial opportunity for oral expression, the maximum number of students per section in a HASS CI subject is 18, except in the case of a subject taught without sections (where the faculty member in charge is the only instructor). In that case, enrollments can rise to 25, if a writing fellow is attached to the subject. Grades will be determined by student performance on all of the following: To summarize, students are required to: WARNING: Students who miss more than two lectures and one recitation section without prior approval or an accepted medical excuse or who fail to do the reading or fail to turn in well thought out assignments will receive a failing grade for the class. There will be no exceptions.
Spending in each state budget is only achieved thanks to money that comes to the State in the form of revenue. State revenue can include taxes paid, fees collected, and grants from the federal government. When talking about state funds, we typically refer to General Revenue Funds. While this only makes up just under half of the money the state spends, it represents those funds which are most flexible, in most cases not designated for a specific purpose. Major sources of general revenue include: Federal grants & reimbursements Federal stimulus (in the 2011-2012 budget) Corporate Franchise tax Public Utility/Kilowatt-hour tax The global recession has caused state tax collections to decline dramatically. In addition to recessionary pressures, Ohio budgets continue to be impacted by changes made in the budget passed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly in 2005. That budget cut income taxes, eliminated the tangible personal property tax and corporate franchise tax, and created the new commercial activities tax for businesses. The result was dramatically less revenue for the state, coupled with a need to reimburse local governments and schools districts for revenue lost from the tangible personal property tax. The 2012-2013 budget will be no different. Revenue will continue to decline as the final reduction in the income tax takes effect, and the general revenues of the state will be on the hook to reimburse local government and school districts. In fiscal 2011, the State anticipated general revenues of $29.2 billion. Of this amount, $1.7 billion came from federal stimulus, a one-time source of money. Many estimate that the 2010-2011 budget included a total of over $8 billion in one-time sources, money that will not be available again for the next budget. All budgets use one-time sources, but 2010-2011 used more than is typical, resulting in some uncertainty about whether spending levels can be maintained without another influx of one-time money.
Father Anthony Salzman sits on a scaffold in the dilapidated 102-year-old school building that houses his studio and paints details of one of the Twelve Apostles’ hair. Across the room, his son, Maximos, paints in the details of the bench on which the Twelve Apostles sit. A canvas painted with the likeness of St. John the Baptist hangs on a center wall. The walls of the studio are covered with canvases that, once pieced together, will form a 10-foot-high, 37-foot-long painting — the first phase of a larger work to be installed on the ceiling of St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox Church in New London, Conn. Salzman, the priest at St. Philothea Greek Orthodox Church in Watkinsville, is a specialist in Byzantine iconography — art comprising sacred images of saints, Christ and the Virgin Mary, and including narrative scenes such as Christ’s crucifixion. “(Iconography) is an expressive art form that shows the kingdom of God and makes it visibly present to people,” Salzman explained. “It’s just another way of communicating his interaction with us so we can experience it in a different way, just the way the Bible tells the story of God through words, through characters on paper.” Iconography, the art of the early church, traces its beginnings to the year 315 and the issuance of the Edict of Toleration from the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. The edict freed the church to express the Christian message in art. Centuries later, during the Middle Ages, icons were called “the Bible of the illiterate” because not everyone could read, but everyone could understand the message of Christian salvation as expressed through paintings. As an art form, iconography is very creative, despite the fact that it has defined parameters. In Salzman’s studio, examples of great works by other iconographers hang everywhere, both to inspire him and to remind him that, while the subjects of his work have been addressed by many other iconographers, he’s not just copying a rigid style. “The content doesn’t change, but the style in every generation changes because you are there to speak to each generation. You’re addressing the needs in their times,” Salzman explained. “For instance, in the 11th century we have what is known as the Comeimnon period which showed a very severe image of God, but it was there to show his power. As the (Byzantine) Empire was crumbling, the face of Christ became more compassionate, merciful and more human.” In short, Salzman said, iconography “is able to reflect and communicate the society of the times.” Salzman studied art and design in college, and took printmaking and painting courses at the University of Minnesota as an abstract expressionist. “I had a studio on the Mississippi,” he said. “I was starting an exhibit to sell work, and then I became Orthodox and decided to go into seminary, so I left that all behind. But God baptized it and gave it back to me in a way that I never expected.” Salzman continued his art studies by becoming an assistant to Father Paul Politis, a monk and iconographer in Boston. Subsequently, he studied under Politis’ teacher, Kosta Photiadeis. He also followed the Byzantine art history course in Greece at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He and his wife, Christine, traveled to Thessaloniki in 1989 and lived there until 1995 as he studied art and Greek. Now, Salzman’s iconography adorns part of St. Philothea. “I painted the icons on the back wall of the church,” he said, “and that’s as far as we’ve gone up to this point. Hopefully going forward we’ll add more icons.” The first phase of Salzman’s installation for the Connecticut church will be open to the public for viewing from 7-9 p.m. Friday at Salzman’s studio at 135 Townes Grocery Road, off Whitehall Road near South Milledge Avenue in eastern Athens-Clarke County. Music will accompany the showing, and there will be baked goods from Jittery Joe’s and works from Imagine That, a woodworking shop. It took Salzman roughly six months to paint the three prophets, Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, the four evangelists, and the Twelve Apostles that will be on display at the open house. It will take another year and a half to finish all of the pieces that will be installed on the ceiling at St. Sophia. “We’re having an open house to share this with the community,” he said. “An iconographer is not a Picasso or Matisse, trying to express themselves,” he continued. “They are a servant trying to make the invisible visible for the faithful of the church. If an icon moves you in your spirit to glorify God, then it has done its work. If it brings you to repentance then you have become sensitive to its reality.”
Train accidents often occur because of human error, problems with the track, equipment, and/or signal. Oftentimes many people are injured because of train accidents. There are many factors that lead to a railroad accident and there are many people who may be liable. It is the responsibility of the railroad company to maintain the tracks and the train. But truck and car drivers are responsible if they do not follow laws that are intended to protect against accidents. People who are injured in train accidents may be compensated for their injury, lost income, and pain and suffering.
This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines. Contributors:Allen Brizee, Kate Bouwens Last Edited: 2010-04-17 06:14:45 The pages in this area will help researchers and writers find information on the Internet. You may also use the OWL's Evaluating Sources of Information to determine the credibility of resources found on the Web.
If you've been a victim of any type of sexual violence, you belong here. What you see below represents just a fraction of the resources and survivor support available. Register now to join our community and take full advantage of what this online support group has to offer you as you heal and recover, or sign in to remove this message. You are not alone, we can support you as you heal, and you've made an important step toward recovery by reaching out. If you are unable to register or have any questions, please contact the staff or view our home page. The Invisible Epidemic: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Memory and the Brain PTSD is not just psychological! Posted 18 January 2007 - 01:51 PM The Invisible Epidemic: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Memory and the Brain By: J. Douglas Bremner, M.D. Dr. Bremner is a faculty member of the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Yale Psychiatric Institute, and National Center for PTSD-VA Connecticut Healthcare System. The research reviewed in this article was supported by an NIH-sponsored General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) Clinical Associate Physician (CAP) Award and a VA Research Career Development Award to Dr. Bremner, and the National Center for PTSD Grant. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is something of an invisible epidemic. The events underlying it are often mysterious and always unpleasant. It is certainly far more widespread than most people realize. For example, a prime cause of PTSD is childhood sexual abuse. About 16% of American women (about 40 million) are sexually abused (including rape, attempted rape, or other form of molestation) before they reach their 18th birthday.1 Childhood abuse may be the most common cause of PTSD in American women, 10% of whom suffer from PTSD (compared to 5% for men) at some time in their lives,2 but many other types of psychological trauma can cause the disorder -- car accidents, military combat, rape and assault. Symptoms of PTSD include intrusive memories, nightmares, flashbacks, increased vigilance, social impairment and problems with memory and concentration. It's Not Just Psychological While such symptoms are commonly understood to be psychological problems, some or all of them may well be related to the physical effects of extreme stress on the brain.3,4 Recent studies have shown that victims of childhood abuse and combat veterans actually experience physical changes to the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in learning and memory, as well as in the handling of stress.5 The hippocampus also works closely with the medial prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that regulates our emotional response to fear and stress. PTSD sufferers often have impairments in one or both of these brain regions. Studies of children have found that these impairments can lead to problems with learning and academic achievement. Other typical symptoms of PTSD in children, including fragmentation of memory, intrusive memories, flashbacks, dissociation (or the unconscious separation of some mental processes from the others, e.g., a mismatch between facial expression and thought or mood), and pathological ("sick") emotions, may also be related to impairment of the hippocampus.6 Damage to the hippocampus, which processes memory, may explain why victims of childhood abuse often seem to have incomplete or delayed recall of their abusive experiences.7 A Disease of Memory Memory problems play a large part in PTSD. PTSD patients report deficits in declarative memory (remembering facts or lists -- see below), fragmentation of memory and dissociative amnesia (gaps in memory lasting from minutes to days that are not caused by ordinary forgetting). Psychiatric Symptoms Associated with Childhood Abuse * Memory and concentration problems * Intrusive memories * Abnormal startle reponses * Feeling worse when reminded of trauma * Out-of-body experiences * Fragmented sense of self and identity * Panic attacks * Drug addiction Many abuse victims report that they remember seemingly random or minor details of the abuse event, while forgetting central events. For instance, one woman who had been locked in a closet had an isolated memory of the smell of old clothes and the sound of a clock ticking. Later, she connected these details with feelings of intense fear; only then was she able to recall the whole picture of what had happened to her. PTSD also causes problems with non-declarative memory (subconscious or motor memory, such as remembering how to ride a bicycle). This can show up as abnormal conditioned responses and the reliving of traumatic experiences when something happens to remind the sufferer of past abuse. These types of memory disturbance may also be related to physical changes in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. How Psychological Trauma Affects the Hippocampus and Memory Childhood abuse and other sources of extreme stress can have lasting effects on the parts of the brain that are involved in memory and emotion. The hippocampus, in particular, seems to be very sensitive to stress.8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Damage to the hippocampus from stress can not only cause problems in dealing with memories and other effects of past stressful experiences, it can also impair new learning.17,18 Exciting recent research has shown that the hippocampus has the capacity to regenerate nerve cells ("neurons") as part of its normal functioning, and that stress impairs that functioning by stopping or slowing down neuron regeneration.19,20 We recently conducted a study to try to see if PTSD symptoms matched up with a measurable loss of neurons in the hippocampus. We first tested Vietnam combat veterans with declaratory memory problems caused by PTSD.21 Using brain imaging, these combat veterans were found to have an 8% reduction in right hippocampal volume (i.e., the size of the hippocampus), measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while no differences were found in other areas of the brain (Figure 1). Our study showed that diminished right hippocampal volume in the PTSD patients was associated with short-term memory loss.22 Similar results were found when we looked at PTSD sufferers who were victims of childhood physical or sexual abuse.23,24 More recent studies have since confirmed hippocampal volume reduction in PTSD25,26 These studies also show that hippocampal volume reduction is specific to PTSD and is not associated with disorders such as anxiety or panic disorders.27 Further study on the question of memory and the hippocampus may some day shed light on the controversy surrounding delayed recall, or so-called "recovered memories" of childhood abuse. The hippocampus plays an important role in connecting and organizing different aspects of a memory and is thought to be responsible for locating the memory of an event in its proper time, place and context. We suspect that damage to the hippocampus following exposure to the stress brought on by childhood abuse leads to distortion and fragmentation of memories. For instance, in the case of the PTSD sufferer who was locked in a closet as a child, she had a memory of the smell of old clothes but other parts of her memory of the experience, such as a visual memory of being in the closet or a memory of the feeling of fear, are difficult to retrieve or completely lost. In cases like this, psychotherapy or an event that triggers similar emotions may help the patient restore associations and bring all aspects of the memory together. This new understanding of the way childhood trauma affects memory and the brain has important implications for public health policy. One example would be the case of inner-city children who have witnessed violent crimes in their neighborhoods and families. If this kind of stress can cause damage to brain areas involved in learning and memory, it would put these children at a serious academic disadvantage in ways and for reasons that programs such as Head Start may be unable to address. Studies confirm this: in war-torn Beirut, traumatized adolescents with PTSD, as compared to non-traumatized adolescents who were without PTSD, lagged behind in academic achievement.28 PTSD and Other Brain Areas Besides the hippocampus, abnormalities of other brain areas, including medial prefrontal cortex, are also associated with PTSD. The medial prefrontal cortex regulates emotional and fear responses.29 The medial prefrontal cortex is closely linked to the hippocampus. In several studies we have found dysfunction of both the medial prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus at times when patients were suffering from PTSD symptoms.31 We believe that dysfunction in these medial prefrontal regions may underlie pathological emotional responses in patients with PTSD.30 For example, we sometimes see a failure of extinction of fear responses -- a rape victim who was raped in a dark alley will have fear reactions to dark places for years after the original event, even though there is no threat associated with a particular dark place. In a study using combat-related slides and sounds to provoke PTSD symptoms, combat veterans with PTSD had decreased blood flow in the area of the medial prefrontal cortex. Significantly, this did not occur in combat veterans without PTSD32 We saw similar results when we compared women with PTSD and a history of childhood sexual abuse to women with a history of abuse but no PTSD. Traumatic stress, such as that caused by childhood sexual abuse, can have far-reaching effects on the brain and its functions. Recent studies indicate that extreme stress can cause measurable physical changes in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex, two areas of the brain involved in memory and emotional response. These changes can, in turn, lead not only to classic PTSD symptoms, such as loss and distortion of memory of events surrounding the abuse, but also to ongoing problems with learning and remembering new information. These findings may help explain the controversial phenomenon of "recovered" or delayed memories. They also suggest that how we educate, rehabilitate and treat PTSD sufferers may need to be reconsidered. 1. McCauley J, Kern DE, Kolodner K, Dill L, Schroeder AF, DeChant HK, Ryden J, Derogatis LR, Bass EG (1997). Clinical characteristics of women with a history of childhood abuse: Unhealed wounds. JAMA 277:1362-1368. return 2. Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson CB (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder in the national comorbidity survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 52:1048-1060. return 3. Bremner JD, Marmar C (eds.) (1998): Trauma, Memory and Dissociation, APA Press, Washington DC. return 4. Saigh PA, Bremner JD (Eds.) (1999). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Comprehensive Text, Allyn & Bacon, New York. return 5. Bremner JD, Narayan M (1998): The effects of stress on memory and the hippocampus throughout the life cycle: Implications for childhood development and aging. Develop Psychopath 10:871-886. return 6. Bremner JD, Southwick SM, Charney DS (1999): The neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder: An integration of animal and human research. In: Saigh, P., Bremner, J.D. (Eds.): Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Comprehensive Text, Allyn & Bacon, New York, pp. 103-143. return 7. Bremner JD, Krystal JH, Charney DS, Southwick SM (1996): Neural mechanisms in dissociative amnesia for childhood abuse: Relevance to the current controversy surrounding the "False Memory Syndrome". Am J Psychiatry 153(7):FS71-82. return 8. McEwen BS, Angulo J, Cameron H, Chao HM, Daniels D, Gannon MN, Gould E, Mendelson S, Sakai R, Spencer R, Woolley C (1992): Paradoxical effects of adrenal steroids on the brain: Protection versus degeneration. Biol Psychiatry 31:177-199. return 9. Sapolsky RM (1996). Why stress is bad for your brain. Science 273:749-750. return 10. Uno H, Tarara R, Else JG, Suleman MA, Sapolsky RM (1989): Hippocampal damage associated with prolonged and fatal stress in primates. J Neurosci 9:1705-1711. return 11. Sapolsky RM, Uno H, Rebert CS, Finch CE (1990): Hippocampal damage associated with prolonged glucocorticoid exposure in primates. J Neurosci 10:2897-2902. return 12. Woolley CS, Gould E, McEwen BS: Exposure to excess glucocorticoids alters dendritic morphology of adult hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Brain Res 1990; 531:225-231. return 13. Virgin CE, Taryn PTH, Packan DR, Tombaugh GC, Yang SH, Horner HC, Sapolsky RM (1991). Glucocorticoids inhibit glucose transport and glutamate uptake in hippocampal astrocytes: implications for glucocorticoid neurotoxicity. J Neurochem 57:1422-1428. return 14. McEwen BS, Conrad CD, Kuroda Y, Frankfurt M, Magarinos AM, McKittrick C (1997). Prevention of stress-induced morphological and cognitive consequences. Eur Neuropsychopharm 7:(suppl)3:S322-328. return 15. Smith MA, Makino S, Kvetnansky R, Post RM (1995). Stress and glucocorticoids affect the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-3 mRNA in the hippocampus. J Neurosci 15:1768-1777. return 16. Nibuya M, Morinobu S, Duman RS (1995). Regulation of BDNF and trkB mRNA in rat brain by chronic electroconvulsive seizure and antidepressant drug treatments. J Neurosci 15:7539-7547. return 17. Luine V, Villages M, Martinex C, McEwen BS (1994): Repeated stress causes reversible impairments of spatial memory performance. Brain Res 639:167-170. return 18. Bodnoff SR, Humphreys AG, Lehman JC, Diamond DM, Rose GM, Meaney MJ (1995): Enduring effects of chronic corticosterone treatment on spatial learning, synaptic plasticity, and hippocampal neuropathology in young and mid-aged rats. J Neurosci 15:61-69. return 19. Gould E, Tanapat P, McEwen BS, Flugge G, Fuchs E (1998) Proliferation of granule cell precursors in the dentate gyrus of adult monkeys is diminished by stress. PNAS 95:3168-3171. return 20. Sass KJ, Spencer DD, Kim JH, Westerveld M, Novelly RA, Lencz T (1990). Verbal memory impairment correlates with hippocampal pyramidal cell density. Neurology 40:1694-1697. return 21. Bremner JD, Scott TM, Delaney RC, Southwick SM, Mason JW, Johnson DR, Innis RB, McCarthy G, Charney DS (1993): Deficits in short-term memory in post-traumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry 150:1015-1019. return 22. Bremner JD, Randall PR, Scott TM, Bronen RA, Delaney RC, Seibyl JP, Southwick SM, McCarthy G, Charney DS, Innis RB (1995): MRI-based measurement of hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry 152:973-981. return 23. Bremner JD, Randall PR, Capelli S, Scott T, McCarthy G, Charney DS (1995): Deficits in short-term memory in adult survivors of childhood abuse. Psych Res 59:97-107. return 24. Bremner JD, Randall P, Vermetten E, Staib L, Bronen RA, Mazure CM, Capelli S, McCarthy G, Innis RB, Charney DS (1997): MRI-based measurement of hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood physical and sexual abuse: A preliminary report. Biol Psychiatry 41:23-32. return 25. Stein MB, Koverola C, Hanna C, Torchia MG, McClarty B (1997): Hippocampal volume in women victimized by childhood sexual abuse. Psychol Medicine 27:951-959. return 26. Gurvits TG, Shenton MR, Hokama H, Ohta H, Lasko NB, Gilberson MW, Orr SP, Kikinis R, Lolesz FA, McCarley RW, Pitman RK (1996): Magnetic resonance imaging study of hippocampal volume in chronic combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry 40:192-199. return 27. Bremner JD, Licinio J, Darnell A, Krystal JH, Owens M, Southwick SM, Nemeroff CB, Charney DS (1997): Elevated CSF corticotropin-releasing factor concentrations in posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry 154:624-629. return 28. Saigh PA, Mroweh M, Bremner JD (1997) Scholastic impairments among traumatized adolescents. Beh Res Ther 35:429-436. return 29. Morgan MA, LeDoux JE (1995): Differential contribution of dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortex to the acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear in rats. Behav Neurosci 109:681-688. return 30. Bremner JD, Krystal JH, Southwick SM, Charney DS (1995) Functional neuroanatomical correlates of the effects of stress on memory. J Trauma Stress 8:527-554. return 31. Bremner JD, Innis RB, Ng CK, Staib L, Duncan J, Bronen R, Zubal G, Rich D, Krystal JH, Dey H, Soufer R, Charney DS (1997): PET measurement of central metabolic correlates of yohimbine administration in posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 54:246-256. return 32. Bremner JD, Staib L, Kaloupek D, Southwick SM, Soufer R, Charney DS (1999): Positron emission tomographic (PET)-based measurement of cerebral blood flow correlates of traumatic reminders in Vietnam combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry (In press). return Posted 02 February 2007 - 09:48 PM 1. SCARS THAT WON'T HEAL: THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF CHILD ABUSE Maltreatment at an early age can have enduring negative effects on a child's brain development and function Scientific American, Mar2002, Vol. 286 Issue 3,p68, 8p, 7c. By Martin H. Teicher Quote: It is hardly surprising to us that research reveals a strong link between physical, sexual and emotional mistreatment of children and the development of psychiatric problems. But in the early 1990s mental health professionals believed that emotional and social difficulties occurred mainly through psychological means. Childhood maltreatment was understood either to foster the development of intrapsychic defense mechanisms that proved to be self-defeating in adulthood or to arrest psychosocial development, leaving a "wounded child" within. Researchers thought of the damage as basically a software problem amenable to reprogramming via therapy or simply erasable through the exhortation "Get over it." Click here for the full pdf article: http://www.annafoundation.org/stwh.pdf or click here for the article with full illustrations: http://www.snoqualmievalleycommunitynetwor...atwon_theal.pdf here is the article that he presented in 2000: http://www.dana.org/...v2n4teicher.pdf 2. The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences to Adult Health: Turning gold into lead by Vincent J. Felitti, MD Quote: The ACE Study reveals a powerful relationship between our emotional experiences as children and our physical and mental health as adults, as well as the major causes of adult mortality in the United States. It documents the conversion of traumatic emotional experiences in childhood into organic disease later in life. How does this happen, this reverse alchemy, turning the gold of a newborn infant into the lead of a depressed, diseased adult? The Study makes it clear that time does not heal some of the adverse experiences we found so common in the childhoods of a large population of middle-aged, middle class Americans. One does not ‘just get over’ some things, not even fifty years later3. Click here for the full pdf article: http://www.acestudy....oldintoLead.pdf
Diplomas Now identifies effective interventions for each of four risk factors and weaves these interventions into the School Improvement Plan. Each risk factor requires a coordinated weave of interventions at three tiers: - School-wide interventions are part of the daily whole-school and classroom programs. When planned and implemented effectively, whole-school interventions keep 70–80% of students on track. The remaining 20–30% of students require additional supports, either targeted or intensive. - Targeted interventions, serving 10-20% of students, are defined as having a 1:15 to 1:20 adult-student ratio, with moderate levels concentrated help from the teacher or program provider. - Intensive interventions, serving up to 10% of students, are defined as having a maximum 1:5 adult-student ratio with high levels of concentrated help from the teacher or program provider.
East Asian Art Ceremonial Teahouse: Sunkaraku (Evanescent Joys)Made in Tokyo, Japan, Asia Designed by Ōgi Rodō, Japanese, 1863 - 1941 Wood, bamboo, stone, metal, rush, plaster, paper, ceramic, fabric, and mulberry bast cord 1928-114-1Purchased with Museum funds, 1928 This ceremonial teahouse was built in about 1917 by the Japanese architect Ögi Rodö. Designed in the rustic tradition or "artless style" of the fifteenth-century artist Oguri Sotan, it also incorporates eighteenth-century elements. The Sunkaraku teahouse originally stood on the grounds of Rodö's private residence in Tokyo. He sold it to the Museum in 1928, and in 1957 it was installed at the Museum, making it the only work by Rodö outside Japan. The garden setting you see now was planned by one of Japan's foremost contemporary garden designers, Matsunosuke Tatsui. The apparent artlessness of the teahouse in fact conceals acute attention to detail and to aesthetic pleasure. The architecture of both the waiting room and the tearoom reveals a special delight in natural materials such as cypress shingles (for the roof) and bamboo. Proximity to nature is also emphasized by the garden, visible from both buildings. Everything inside the tearoom has been planned to stimulate the mind and to delight the eye. Rough, unfinished vertical posts remind guests of their imperfections and their oneness with nature, and the tea utensils enhance their sensitivity to natural textures and artistic creativity. The tea ceremony offers a temporary respite from the complexities of daily life. This mood perhaps inspired a famous devotee of the tea cult, Lord Fumai Matsudaira (1750-1818), when he autographed the tablet over the teahouse with the inscription "Sun Ka Raku," or Evanescent Joys. Social Tags [?]evanescent joys [x] japan [x] japanese teahouse [x] sunkaraku [x] tea [x] [Add Your Own Tags] * Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.
Home : Travel : Costa Rica : CR Handbook : One Article When Spanish explorers arrived in what is now Costa Rica at the dawn of the 16th century, they found the region populated by several poorly organized, autonomous tribes. In all, there were probably no more than 20,000 indigenous peoples on 18 September 1502, when Columbus put ashore near current-day Puerto Limón. Although human habitation can be traced back at least 10,000 years, the region had remained a sparsely populated backwater separating the two areas of high civilization: Mesoamerica and the Andes. High mountains and swampy lowlands had impeded the migration of the advanced cultures. There are few signs of large organized communities, no monumental stone architecture lying half-buried in the luxurious undergrowth or planned ceremonial centers of comparable significance to those elsewhere in the isthmus. The region was a potpourri of distinct cultures. In the east along the Caribbean seaboard and along the southern Pacific shores, the peoples shared distinctly South American cultural traits. These groups--the Caribs on the Caribbean and the Borucas and Chibchas in the southwest--were seminomadic hunters and fishermen who raised yucca, squash, and tubers, chewed coca, and lived in communal village huts surrounded by fortified palisades. The matriarchal Chibchas had a highly developed slave system and were accomplished goldsmiths. They were also responsible for the fascinating, perfectly spherical granite "balls" of unknown purpose found in large numbers at burial sites in the Río Terraba valley, Caño Island, and the Golfito region. They had no written language. The largest of Costa Rica's archaeological sites is at Guayabo, on the slopes of Turrialba, 56 km east of San José, where an ancient city is currently being excavated. Dating from perhaps as early as 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1400, Guayabo is thought to have housed as many as 10,000 inhabitants. The most interesting archaeological finds throughout the nation relate to pottery and metalworking. The art of gold working was practiced throughout Costa Rica for perhaps one thousand years before the Spanish conquest, and in the highlands was in fact more advanced than in the rest of the isthmus. The tribes here were the Corobicís, who lived in small bands in the highland valleys, and the Nahuatl, who had recently arrived from Mexico at the time that Columbus stepped ashore. In late prehistoric times, trade in pottery from the Nicoya Peninsula brought this area into the Mesoamerican cultural sphere, and a culture developed among the Chorotegas--the most numerous of the region's indigenous groups--that in many ways resembled the more advanced cultures farther north. In fact, the Chorotegas had originated in southern Mexico before settling in Nicoya early in the 14th century (their name means "Fleeing People"). They developed towns with central plazas; brought with them an accomplished agricultural system based on beans, corns, squash, and gourds; had a calendar, wrote books on deerskin parchment, and produced highly developed ceramics and stylized jade figures (much of it now in the Jade Museum in San José). Like the Mayans and Aztecs, too, the militaristic Chorotegas had slaves and a rigid class hierarchy dominated by high priests and nobles. The First Arrivals When Columbus anchored his storm-damaged vessel in the Bay of Cariari on his fourth voyage to the New World, he was welcomed and treated with great hospitality. The coastal Indians sent out two girls, "the one about eight, the other about 14 years of age," Columbus's son Ferdinand recorded. "The girls . . . always looked cheerful and modest. So the Admiral gave them good usage. . ." In his Lettera Rarissima to the Spanish king, Columbus gave a different tale of events: "As soon as I got there they sent right out two girls, all dressed up; the elder was hardly eleven, the other seven, both behaving with such lack of modesty as to be no better than whores. As soon as they arrived, I gave orders that they be presented with some of our trading truck and sent them directly ashore." The Indians also gave Columbus gold. "I saw more signs of gold in the first two days than I saw in Española during four years," his journal records. He called the region La Huerta ("The Garden"). The prospect of loot drew adventurers whose numbers were reinforced after Balboa's discovery of the Pacific in 1513. To these explorers the name Costa Rica must have seemed a cruel hoax. Floods, swamps, and tropical diseases stalked them in the sweltering lowlands. Fierce, elusive Indians harassed them maddeningly. And, with few exceptions, there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In 1506, Ferdinand of Spain sent a governor, Diego de Nicuesa, to colonize the Atlantic coast of Veragua. He got off to a bad start by running aground off the coast of Panama and was forced to march north, enduring a welcome that was less hospitable than that of Columbus. Antagonized Indian bands used guerrilla tactics to slay the strangers and willingly burnt their own crops to deny them food. Nicuesa set the tone for future expeditions by foreshortening his own cultural lessons with the musket ball. Things seemed more promising when an expedition under Gil Gonzalez Davila set off from Panama in 1522 to settle the region. It was Davila's expedition, given quantities of gold, that nicknamed the land Costa Rica, the "Rich Coast." Davila's Catholic priests also supposedly managed to convert many Indians to Christianity. But once again, sickness and starvation were the price: the expedition reportedly lost more than 1,000 men. Later colonizing expeditions on the Caribbean similarly failed miserably; the coastal settlements dissolved amidst internal acrimony, the taunts of Indians, and the debilitating impact of pirate raids. Two years later, Francisco Fernandez de Cordova founded the first Spanish settlement on the Pacific, at Bruselas, near present-day Puntarenas. It lasted less than two years. For the next four decades Costa Rica was virtually left alone. The conquest of Peru by Pizarro in 1532 and the first of the great silver strikes in Mexico in the 1540s turned eyes away from southern Central America. Guatemala became the administrative center for the Spanish main in 1543, when the captaincy-general of Guatemala, answerable to the viceroy of New Spain (Mexico), was created with jurisdiction from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the empty lands of Costa Rica. By the 1560s several Spanish cities had consolidated their position farther north and, prompted by Philip II of Spain, the representatives in Guatemala thought it time to settle Costa Rica and Christianize the natives. By then it was too late for the latter. Barbaric treatment and European epidemics--opthalmia, smallpox, and tuberculosis--had already reaped the Indians like a scythe, and had so antagonized the survivors that they took to the forests and eventually found refuge amid the remote valleys of the Talamanca Mountains. Only in the Nicoya Peninsula did there remain any significant Indian population, the Chorotegas, who soon found themselves chattel on Spanish land. In 1562, Juan Vásquez de Coronado--the true conquistador of Costa Rica--arrived as governor. He treated the surviving Indians more humanely and moved the existing Spanish settlers into the Cartago Valley, where the temperate climate and rich volcanic soils offered the promise of crop cultivation. Cartago was established as the national capital in 1563. The economic and social development of the Spanish provinces was traditionally the work of the soldiers, who were granted encomiendas, land holdings which allowed for rights to the use of indigenous serfs. In the highlands, land was readily available, but there was no Indian labor to work it. Without native slave labor or the resources to import slaves, the colonists were forced to work the land themselves (even Coronado had to work his own plot of land to survive). Without gold or export crops, trade with other colonies was infrequent at best. Money in fact became so scarce that the settlers eventually reverted to the Indian method of using cacao beans as currency. After the initial impetus given by the discovery, Costa Rica lapsed into being a lowly Cinderella of the Spanish empire. Thus, the early economy evolved slowly under conditions that didn't favor the development of the large colonial-style hacienda and feudal system of other Spanish enclaves. The settlers had to make do with clearing and tilling primitive plots for basic subsistence. A full century after its founding, Cartago could boast little more than a few score adobe houses and a single church, which all perished when Volcán Irazú erupted in 1723. Gradually, however, prompted by an ecclesiastical edict that ordered the populace to resettle near churches, towns took shape around churches. Heredia (Cubujuquie) was founded in 1717, San José (Villaneuva de la Boca del Monte) in 1737, and Alajuela (Villa Hermosa) in 1782. Later, exports of wheat and tobacco placed the colonial economy on a sounder economic basis and encouraged the intensive settlement that characterizes the Meseta Central today. Intermixing with the native population was not a common practice. In other colonies, Spaniard married native and a distinct class system arose, but mixed-bloods and ladinos (mestizos) represent a much smaller element in Costa Rica than they do elsewhere in the isthmus. All this had a leveling effect on colonial society. As the population grew, so did the number of poor families who had never benefited from the labor of encomienda Indians or suffered the despotic arrogance of criollo landowners. Costa Rica, in the traditional view, became a "rural democracy," with no oppressed mestizo class resentful of the maltreatment and scorn of the Creoles. Removed from the mainstream of Spanish culture, the Costa Ricans became very individualistic and egalitarian. Not all areas of the country, however, fit the model of rural democracy. Nicoya and Guanacaste on the Pacific side offered an easy overland route from Nicaragua to Panama and were administered quite separately in colonial times from the rest of present-day Costa Rica. They fell within the Nicaraguan sphere of influence, and large cattle ranches or haciendas arose. Revisions to the encomienda laws in 1542, however, limited the amount of time that Indians were obliged to provide their labor; Indians were also rounded up and forcibly concentrated into settlements distant from the haciendas. The large estate owners thus began to import African slaves, who became an important part of the labor force on the cattle ranches that were established in the Pacific northwest. The cattle-ranching economy and the more traditional class-based society that arose persist today. Some three centuries of English associations and of neglect by the Spanish authorities have also created a very different cultural milieu all along the Caribbean coast of Central America. On the Caribbean of Costa Rica, cacao plantations--the most profitable activity of the colonial period--became well established. Eventually large-scale cacao production gave way to small-scale sharecropping, and then to tobacco as the cacao industry went into decline. Spain closed the Costa Rican ports in 1665 in response to piracy, thereby cutting off seaborne sources of legal trade. Such artificial difficulties to economic development compounded those created by nature. Smuggling flourished, however, for the largely unincorporated Caribbean coast provided a safe haven to buccaneers and smugglers, whose strongholds became 18th-century shipping points for logwood and mahogany. The illicit trade helped weaken central authority. The illusion of Central American colonial unity was also weakened in the waning stages of the Spanish empire as interest in, and the ability to maintain, the rigid administrative structure declined. THE EMERGENCE OF A NATION Independence of Central America from Spain on 15 September 1821 came on the coattails of Mexico's declaration earlier in the same year. Independence had little immediate effect, however, for Costa Rica had required only minimal government during the colonial era and had long gone its own way. In fact, the country was so out of touch that the news that independence had been granted reached Costa Rica a full month after the event. A hastily convened provincial council voted for accession to Mexico; in 1823, the other Central American nations proclaimed the United Provinces of Central America, with their capital in Guatemala City. After the declaration, effective power lay in the hands of the separate towns of the isthmus, and it took several years for a stable pattern of political alignment to emerge. The four leading cities of Costa Rica felt as independent as had the city-states of ancient Greece, and the conservative and aristocratic leaders of Cartago and Heredia soon found themselves at odds with the more progressive republican leaders of San José and Alajuela. The local quarrels quickly developed into civic unrest and, in 1823, to civil war. After a brief battle in the Ochomogo Hills, the republican forces of San José were victorious. They rejected Mexico, and Costa Rica joined the federation with full autonomy for its own affairs. Guanacaste voted to secede from Nicaragua and join Costa Rica the following year. From this moment on, liberalism in Costa Rica had the upper hand. Elsewhere in Central America, conservative groups tied to the Church and the erstwhile colonial bureaucracy spent generations at war with anticlerical and laissez-faire liberals, and a cycle of civil wars came to dominate the region. By contrast, in Costa Rica colonial institutions had been relatively weak and early modernization of the economy propelled the nation out of poverty and lay the foundations of democracy far earlier than elsewhere in the isthmus. While other countries turned to repression to deal with social tensions, Costa Rica turned toward reform. Military plots and coups weren't unknown--they played a large part in determining who came to rule throughout the next century--but the generals usually were puppets used as tools to install favored individuals (usually surprisingly progressive civilian allies) representing the interests of particular cliques. Juan Mora Fernandez, elected the nation's first chief of state in 1824, set the tone by ushering in a nine-year period of progressive stability. He established a sound judicial system, founded the nation's first newspaper, and expanded public education. He also encouraged coffee cultivation and gave free land grants to would-be coffee growers. The nation, however, was still riven by rivalry, and in September 1835 the War of the League broke out when San José was attacked by the three other towns. They were unsuccessful and the national flag was planted firmly in San José (see "San José--History" for more details). Braulio Carrillo, who had taken power as a benevolent dictator, established an orderly public administration and new legal codes to replace colonial Spanish law. In 1838, he withdrew Costa Rica from the Central American federation and proclaimed complete independence. In a final show of federalist strength, the Honduran general Francisco Morazan toppled Carrillo in 1842. It was too late. The seeds of independence had taken firm root. Morazan's extranational ambitions and the military draft and direct taxes he imposed soon inspired his overthrow. He was executed within the year. Coffee Is King By now, the reins of power had been taken up by a nouveau elite: the coffee barons, whose growing prosperity led to rivalries between the wealthiest family factions, who vied with each other for political dominance. In 1849, the cafetaleros announced their ascendancy by conspiring to overthrow the nation's first president, José María Castro, an enlightened man who initiated his administration by founding a high school for girls and sponsoring freedom of the press. They chose as Castro's successor Juan Rafael Mora, one of the most powerful personalities among the new coffee aristocracy. Mora is remembered for the remarkable economic growth that marked his first term, and for "saving" the nation from the imperial ambitions of the American adventurer William Walker during his second term (which Mora gained by manipulating the elections). In a display of ingratitude, his countryfolk ousted him from power in 1859; the masses blamed him for the cholera epidemic which claimed the lives of one in every 10 Costa Ricans in the wake of the Walker saga, while the elites were horrified when Mora moved to establish a national bank, which would have undermined their control of credit to the coffee producers. After failing in his own coup against his successor, he was executed . . . a prelude to a second cycle of militarism, for the war of 1856 had introduced Costa Rica to the buying and selling of generals and the establishment of a corps of officers possessing an inflated aura of legitimacy. The Guardia Legacy The 1860s were marred by power struggles among the ever-powerful coffee elite supported by their respective military cronies. General Tomás Guardia, however, was his own man. In April 1870, he overthrew the government and ruled for 12 years as an iron-willed military strongman backed up by a powerful centralized government of his own making. True to Costa Rican tradition, Guardia proved himself a progressive thinker and a benefactor of the people. His towering reign set in motion forces that shaped the modern liberal-democratic state. Hardly characteristic of 19th-century despots, he abolished capital punishment, managed to curb the power of the coffee barons, and tamed the use of the army for political means. He utilized coffee earnings and taxation to finance roads and public buildings. And in a landmark revision to the Constitution in 1869, he made "primary education for both sexes obligatory, free, and at the cost of the Nation." Guardia had a dream: to make the transport of coffee more efficient and more profitable by forging a railroad linking the Central Valley with the Atlantic coast, and thus with America and Europe. The terrain through which he proposed to build his railroad was so forbidding that it gave rise to a saying: "He who once makes the trip to the Caribbean coast is a hero; he who makes it a second time is a fool." Fulfillment of Guardia's dream was the triumph of one man--Minor Keith of Brooklyn, New York--over a world of risks and logistical nightmares (see opposite page). Guardia's enlightened administration was a watershed for the nation. The aristocrats gradually came to understand that liberal, orderly, and stable regimes profited their business interests while the instability inherent in reliance on militarism was damaging to it. And the extension of education to every citizen (and the espousal in the free press of European notions of liberalism) raised the consciousness of the masses and made it increasingly difficult for the patrimonial elite to exclude the population from the political process. The shift to democracy was witnessed in the election called by President Bernardo Soto in 1889--commonly referred to as the first "honest" election, with popular participation; women and blacks, however, were still excluded from voting. To Soto's surprise, his opponent José Joaquin Rodriguez won. The masses rose and marched in the streets to support their chosen leader after the Soto government decided not to recognize the new president. The Costa Ricans had spoken, and Soto stepped down. During the course of the next two generations, militarism gave way to peaceful transitions to power. Presidents, however, attempted to amend the Constitution to continue their rule and even dismissed uncooperative legislatures. Both Rodriguez and his hand-picked successor, Rafael Iglesias, for example, turned dictatorial while sponsoring material progress. Iglesias's successor, Ascension Esquivel, who took office in 1902, even exiled three contenders for the 1906 elections and imposed his own choice for president: Gonzalez Visquez. And Congress declared the winner of the 1914 plebiscite ineligible and named its own choice, noncontender Alfredo Gonzalez Flores, as president. Throughout all this the country had been at peace, the army in its barracks. In 1917, democracy faced its first major challenge. At that time, the state collected the majority of its revenue from the less wealthy. Flores's bill to establish direct, progressive taxation based on income and his espousal of state involvement in the economy had earned the wrath of the elites. They decreed his removal. Minister of War Federico Tinoco Granados seized power. Tinoco ruled as an iron-fisted dictator and soon squandered the support of U.S. business interests. More importantly, Costa Ricans had come to accept liberty as their due; they were no longer prepared to acquiesce in oligarchic restrictions. Women and high-school students led a demonstration which called for his ouster, and Flores stepped down. There followed a series of unmemorable administrations culminating in the return of two previous leaders, Ricardo Jimenez and Gonzalez Visquez, who alternated power for 12 years through the 1920s and '30s. The apparent tranquility was shattered by the Depression and the social unrest which it engendered. Old-fashioned paternalistic liberalism had failed to resolve social ills such as malnutrition, unemployment, low pay, and poor working conditions. The Depression distilled all these issues, especially after a dramatic communist-led strike against the United Fruit Company brought tangible gains. Calls grew shrill for reforms. REFORMISM AND CIVIL WAR The decade of the 1940s and its climax, the civil war, mark a turning point in Costa Rican history: from paternalistic government by traditional rural elites to modernistic, urban-focused statecraft controlled by bureaucrats, professionals, and small entrepreneurs. The dawn of the new era was spawned by Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia, a profoundly religious physician and a president (1940-44) with a social conscience. In a period when neighboring Central American nations were under the yoke of tyrannical dictators, Calderón promulgated a series of farsighted reforms. His legacy included a stab at land "reform" (the landless could gain title to unused land by cultivating it), establishment of a guaranteed minimum wage, paid vacations, unemployment compensation, progressive taxation, plus a series of constitutional amendments codifying workers' rights. Calderón also founded the University of Costa Rica. Calderón's social agenda was hailed by the urban poor and leftists and despised by the upper classes, his original base of support. His early declaration of war on Germany, seizure of German property, and imprisonment of Germans further upset his conservative patrons, many of whom were of German descent. World War II stalled economic growth at a time when Calderón's social programs called for vastly increased public spending. The result was rampant inflation, which eroded his support among the middle and working classes. Abandoned, Calderón crawled into bed with two unlikely partners: the Catholic Church and the communists (Popular Vanguard Party). Together they formed the United Social Christian Party. The Prelude To Civil War In 1944, Calderón was replaced by his puppet, Teodoro Picado, in an election widely regarded as fraudulent. Picado's uninspired administration failed to address rising discontent throughout the nation. Intellectuals, distrustful of Calderón's "unholy" alliance, joined with businessmen, campesinos, and labor activists and formed the Social Democratic Party, dominated by the emergent professional middle classes eager for economic diversification and modernization. In its own strange amalgam, the SDP allied itself with the traditional oligarchic elite. The country was thus polarized. Tensions mounted. Street violence finally erupted in the run-up to the 1948 election, with Calderón on the ballot for a second presidential term. When he lost to his opponent Otilio Ulate by a small margin, the government claimed fraud. Next day, the building holding many of the ballot papers went up in flames, and the calderonista-dominated legislature annulled the election results. Ten days later, on 10 March 1948, the "War of National Liberation" plunged Costa Rica into civil war. "Don Pepe"--Savior Of The Nation The popular myth suggests that José María ("Don Pepe") Figueres Ferrer--42-year-old coffee farmer, engineer, economist, and philosopher--raised a "ragtag army of university students and intellectuals" and stepped forward to topple the government that had refused to step aside for its democratically elected successor. In actuality, Don Pepe's revolution had been long in the planning; the 1948 election merely provided a good excuse. Don Pepe had been exiled to Mexico in 1942--the first political outcast since the Tinoco era--after being seized halfway through a radio broadcast denouncing Calderón. Figueres formed an alliance with other exiles, returned to Costa Rica in 1944, began calling for an armed uprising, and arranged for foreign arms to be airlifted in to groups being trained by Guatemalan military advisors. Supported by the governments of Guatemala and Cuba, Don Pepe's insurrectionists captured the cities of Cartago and Puerto Limón and were poised to pounce on San José when Calderón, who had little heart for the conflict, capitulated. (The government's pathetically trained soldiers--aided and armed by the Somoza regime in Nicaragua--included communist banana workers from the lowlands; they wore blankets over their shoulders against the cold of the highlands, earning Calderon supporters the nickname mariachis.) The 40-day civil war claimed over 2,000 lives, most of them civilians. THE MODERN ERA Foundation Of The Modern State Don Pepe became head of the Founding Junta of the Second Republic of Costa Rica. As leader of the revolutionary junta, he consolidated Calderón's progressive social reform program and added his own landmark reforms: he banned the press and Communist Party, introduced suffrage for women and full citizenship for blacks, revised the Constitution to outlaw a standing army (including his own), established a presidential term limit, and created an independent Electoral Tribunal to oversee future elections. Figueres also shocked the elites by nationalizing the banks and insurance companies, a move that paved the way for state intervention in the economy. On a darker note, Don Pepe reneged on the peace terms that guaranteed the safety of the calderonistas: Calderón and many of his followers were exiled to Mexico, special tribunals confiscated their property, and, in a sordid episode, many prominent left-wing officials and activists were abducted and murdered. (Supported by Nicaragua, Calderón twice attempted to invade Costa Rica and topple his nemesis, but was each time repelled. Incredibly, he was allowed to return, and even ran for president unsuccessfully in 1962!) Then, by a prior agreement which established the interim junta for 18 months, Figueres returned the reins of power to Otilio Ulate, the actual winner of the '48 election and a man not even of Don Pepe's own party. Costa Ricans later rewarded Figueres with two terms as president, in 1953-57 and 1970-74. Figueres dominated politics for the next two decades. A socialist, he used his popularity to build his own electoral base and founded the Partido de Liberacion Nacional (PLN), which became the principal advocate of state-sponsored development and reform. He died on 8 June 1990, a national hero. The Contemporary Scene Social and economic progress since 1948 has helped return the country to stability, and though post-civil war politics have reflected the play of old loyalties and antagonisms, elections have been free and fair. With only two exceptions, the country has ritualistically alternated its presidents between the PLN and the opposition Social Christians. Successive PLN governments have built on the reforms of the calderonista era, and the 1950s and '60s saw a substantial expansion of the welfare state and public school system, funded by economic growth. The intervening conservative governments have encouraged private enterprise and economic self-reliance through tax breaks, protectionism, subsidized credits, and other macroeconomic policies. The combined results were a generally vigorous economic growth (see "Economy," below) and the creation of a welfare state which had grown by 1981 to serve 90% of the population, absorbing 40% of the national budget in the process and granting the government the dubious distinction of being the nation's biggest employer. By 1980, the bubble had burst. Costa Rica was mired in an economic crisis: epidemic inflation, crippling currency devaluation, soaring oil bills and social welfare costs, plummeting coffee, banana, and sugar prices, and the disruptions to trade caused by the Nicaraguan war (Costa Rica became a base first for Sandinista and then for contra activities, as its war-torn northern neighbor swung from rightist to leftist regimes). When large international loans then came due, Costa Rica found itself burdened overnight with world's the greatest per-capita debt. In February 1986, Costa Ricans elected as their president a relatively young sociologist and economist-lawyer called Oscar Arias Sanchez. Arias's electoral promise had been to work for peace. Immediately, he put his energies into resolving Central America's regional conflicts. He attempted to expel the contras from Costa Rica and enforce the nation's official proclamation of neutrality made in 1983 (much to the chagrin of the U.S. government; see "Costa Rica And The Nicaraguan Revolution"). Arias's tireless efforts were rewarded in 1987, when his Central American peace plan was signed by the five Central American presidents in Guatemala City--an achievement that earned the Costa Rican president the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize, and for which the whole nation is justly proud. In February 1990, Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier, a conservative lawyer and candidate for the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), won a narrow victory with 51% of the vote. He was inaugurated 50 years to the day after his father, the great reformer, was named president. Restoring Costa Rica's economy to sound health in the face of a debilitating national debt remains Calderón's paramount goal. Under the aegis of pressure from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Calderón has initiated a series of austerity measures aimed at redressing the country's huge deficit and national debt (see "Economy," below).
Sharpness is a factor intensely related to viewing context. To use more laymans terms, how sharp a photograph looks greatly depends on how large it is viewed, how closely it is being viewed, how well it is lit (if not on a computer screen), and the visual acuity of the viewer. As such, it is very difficult to judge sharpness without a proper context. First and foremost, be keenly aware of the differences of viewing a photograph at 100% scaling on a computer screen (especially a nice, large, professional grade screen that is properly calibrated!) The act of examining the image quality of a photo at 100% scaling (usually referred to as 100% crop) is called pixel peeping. Pixel peeping, amongst other things like eye fatigue and neck pain, is one that will lead down the deep, dark, endless rabbit hole of IQ Worry! Humor aside, there is a very big difference between IQ (image quality) at 100% crop and IQ of a fully processed photograph that has been cropped, scaled, de-noised, and sharpened to your liking for your desired presentation medium. Pixel peeping has its place, and when used properly, is an extremely valuable technique in the digital photographers post-processing toolbox. Its helpful to view a photograph at 100% when removing noise, as noise tends to be "absorbed" by downscaling (i.e. viewing a photograph at less than 100%). It is also helpful when analyzing a photograph for lens aberrations or other defects that might affect IQ, such as spots from dust on the sensor, etc. The Reality of Image Quality Image quality, of a landscape, macro shot, or anything else that depends on high detail definition and sharpness is a bit of a chimera, a highly subjective thing that has real-world, mathematically definable bounds. (Contrasted with say portraiture, wherein a little softness and thinner DOF is actually a very desirable thing.) Image quality is dependent upon intrinsic factors, such as sensor resolution, focus, camera shake, as well as extrinsic factors such as presentation medium, viewing distance, and the visual acuity of the viewer. Intrinsic factors definitely play a role, however how much they affect IQ outside of the realm of pixel peeping can be affected by extrinsic factors. A lower resolution sensor will be less capable than a higher resolution sensor at capturing all the detail in an image that has fine detail...such as a landscape shot containing lots of trees and other flora. The resolution of the lens used at the aperture shot at will also play a role, imposing diffraction limits on the maximum amount of detail that can be physically resolved. The presence or lack thereof of image stabilization technology, or the steadieness of the photographers hands if handheld, can also play a role in sharpness. How well the photo is focused will most certainly play a role, however it is entirely in the hands of the photographer, and is thus a controllable factor. These all impose a physical limit on how much intrinsic sharpness exists in a photograph. Extrinsic factors can determine whether the intrinsic sharpness of a photograph will affect the final presentation format or not. In the most common cases, intrinsic factors like resolution, camera shake or defocus rarely have an impact unless they are fairly severe. In less common cases, usually in the case of prints blown up more than two times the native size of the photograph, small factors can be enhanced and become more apparent. Common Presentation Formats and Relative Sharpness In the general case, most images are viewed at significantly reduced size relative to their native size (100% crop size). This is true for both print and digital viewing mediums. When published to the internet, the most common presentation size for the largest image dimension ranges between 500 to 900 pixels. With the average image size for modern high megapixel cameras ranging from 4000 to nearly 6000 pixels in the largest dimension, that makes the common internet presentation format about 5-12 times smaller! Sharpness when scaling down so significantly is rarely a problem, and what may be observed as marked softness or blurrieness when pixel peeping will most likely be entirely absorbed when downscaling. Additionally, when downscaling by such a large degree, a significant amount of noise will usually be absorbed, entirely nullifying what may appear to be detrimental degradation of IQ at 100% crop. When publishing to printed mediums, the more common presentation sizes tend to be smaller than how large the image may be at 100% crop on a computer screen. With the highest megapixel cameras today, native print size is as large as or slightly larger than 13x19" at 300ppi. On top of that, print resolution tends to be 3-4 times higher (more dense) than computer screens. This is where human visual acuity comes into play, which clocks in at around 300-360ppi for an average print (say 8x10 - 13x19) viewed at a proper viewing distance (say a foot and a half). At such resolution, what may appear to be intrusive noise, problematic optical aberrations, or detrimental diffraction softening will generally be beyond the ability of human sight to recognize. Less common presentation sizes include enlargements. Unlike reductions or prints at native size, enlargements can exacerbate IQ problems visible when pixel peeping. Keeping in mind that the average printer resolution is 3-4 times higher than a computer screen, it usually takes about a 3-fold enlargement for a printed pixel to approach the size of a computer screen pixel. Enlargements up to around 2x or so are usually devoid of any noticeable issues with sharpness or problematic enhancements to optical aberrations or noise. Enlarging a photo beyond 2x, however, will most likely make all the defects visible at 100% crop visible in the print, and put more pressure on the photographer to capture a sharper photo on site. What is Sharp Enough? The enhancement of IQ detractors when enlarging doesn't spell the end of the world, however. Scaling for enlargements greater than 2x is usually done with a fair amount of care, with meticulous attention paid to noise and finely tuned sharpening adjustments added. Enlargements do put greater pressure on the photographer at the time the photograph is taken to maximize sharpness. If you do not intend to enlarge, then the diffraction softening from an f/16 aperture on an APS-C camera is most likely a non-issue. I've often shot landscapes at f/22 on a relatively lower resolution Canon 450D, where I know for a fact that diffraction is affecting IQ, and its never been a problem in prints up to 17x22. Diffraction at f/16 for a modern DSLR (APS-C or FF) is probably of least concern, as achieving perfect focus and ensuring no camera shake are both likely to be the primary detractors to sharpness. Minor effects of chromatic aberration are also usually a non-issue for most presentation formats, however they do have the tendency to make post-process exposure tuning and sharpening adjustments produce funky double-edges to finer details like tree branches, mountain/sky borders, etc. Scaling for internet publication will usually absorb it, however medium sized prints may exhibit issues. If you do wish to enlarge your photos in print, the camera might already be outresolving the lenses. More important to improving image sharpness in the camera is high quality glass that is capable of resolving fine detail throughout its focal range. A higher resolution sensor will also help, and finding one in a larger format will help even more. A staple of many landscape photographers is the Canon 5D Mark II with either the 17-40mm L or 16-35mm L lens. That combination ensures that the lens is resolving enough detail for the sensor, and that the sensor is large enough to support a high resolution (in this case, 21.1mp). The issue is that the 5D II + L series lens is about a US $3200-$4200 investment. A top of the line 5DII with an L-series lens is not necessary to get sharp landscape photographs. A canon 550D, 600D, 60D, or 7D with the EF-S 10-22mm lens will also do the job quite well. You won't have the ability to create huge enlargements that can be viewed within a few feet like you might with the 5DII and a 16-35mm lens, but you should be able to produce prints up to 17x22, or any size smaller than that, as well as any format for presentation on the web, without any need for concern about sharpness beyond the factors you can control in-camera. UPDATE: What Details Matter? In response to the updated question about whether small details matter. That is really a matter of composition. When it comes to landscapes, whether you see bark on a tree trunk or not, or the veins in the leaves, is entirely about how the scene is composed. Most landscapes are about capturing, in breadth and depth, an amazing landscape. Landscapes, given their expanse, usually do not contain much room for finer detail like bark or leaf veins. In some cases, particularly with ultra wide angle lenses, you can compose such that you get very close to and capture a lot of detail in the very near foreground (rocks, the shore of a lake, a tree stump or fallen tree, etc), while still capturing the greater expanse of a landscape in the background. In such a composition, it would be important that foreground detail is sharp and clear. That is all about focus, and in many cases you can focus such that the foreground is crisp and clear, and the backdrop of the landscape is just on the edge of sharp, but still within DOF enough that the average observer won't notice the slight softness of details way off in the distance. There is no simple rule you can follow regarding what details matter in a landscape. Generally speaking, fine details are not as important as the whole scene, however when photographing with wide angle, near objects and their detail may be important...its ultimately a matter of choice on the part of the photographer.
Researchers need enormous computer power to forecast changes in the Earth’s climate, but they can predict the speed of a ball rolling down a ramp with pencil and paper. Stephen Wolfram claimed in his 2002 best seller, A New Kind of Science, that there is a clear dividing line between complex problems that require computer crunching and those for which equations alone will do. He argued that many important problems are more like the climate than the ball. But according to the 20 February PRL, his definition of complexity is imperfect because many of the problems he classified as complex are easily solved, as long as you can accept approximate answers. The results suggest that the traditional approach of physics–the equivalent of pencil and paper–is more widely applicable than Wolfram’s analysis implies. Wolfram’s book describes checkerboard-like arrays of colored squares (“cells”), called cellular automata, which are generated by following simple rules. For example, the Game of Life, described in 1970 follows the rule that if two or three of the neighbors of a black cell are currently black, it will remain black in the next update of the picture; if it is currently white, it will become black if it has three black neighbors. The rule runs over and over, continually changing the picture in surprisingly complex ways. Many rules quickly settle into simple patterns, such as unchanging, oscillating, or random. But some rules generate complex patterns that are “computationally irreducible,” meaning there are no shortcuts to predict what they will do. Unlike electric circuits or cannon balls, you can’t find the result by plugging numbers into equations; you have to run the program to see what happens. Wolfram suggests that rules like these govern much of the natural world, such as the climate or highway traffic, so precise mathematical predictions are impossible for most of the important phenomena. “It is tempting to conclude from this that the enterprise of physics is doomed from the outset,” write Navot Israeli and Nigel Goldenfeld, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But precise predictions aren’t always necessary. For example, the temperature and pressure of a gas can be accurately described without knowing about the motion of every molecule. “We tried to see what would happen if you asked only approximate questions,” says Goldenfeld. So Israeli and Goldenfeld sought ways to replace several cells of an automaton with a single cell, “fuzzing out” the details of the picture–like making a low-resolution digital image from a higher-resolution version. The team also devised a new rule for the low-resolution automaton that would lead to the same long-term behavior as the original automaton if it were fuzzed at the end. The researchers found that for some rules, the low-res version behaved simply and predictably, even when the high-res version was computationally irreducible and therefore unpredictable. In other words, the complexity was only in the unimportant details. Goldenfeld concludes that if you only need approximate results, they are predictable in many complex problems, and “computational irreducibility is not the right way to measure complexity.” Wolfram says the “nice, small paper” is useful, if not very surprising. The interesting issue, he says, is “under what circumstances will large-scale rules emerge” that allow a simple, predictable description of a complex phenomenon. - M. Gardner, Scientific American 223, 120 (October 1970); Martin Gardner’s “Mathematical Games” http://ddi.cs.uni-potsdam.de/HyFISCH/Produzieren/lis_projekt/proj_gamelife/ConwayScientificAmerican.htm column described the Game of Life, invented by John Horton Conway of the University of Cambridge, UK.
tis a ``symbol'' and 3 is an ``integer.'' Roughly speaking the objects of ACL2 can be partitioned into the following types: 3, -22/7, #c(3 5/2)Characters #\A, #\a, #\SpaceStrings "This is a string."Symbols 'abc, 'smith::abcConses (or Ordered Pairs) '((a . 1) (b . 2)) When proving theorems it is important to know the types of object returned by a term. ACL2 uses a complicated heuristic algorithm, type-set , to determine what types of objects a term may produce. The user can more or less program the type-set algorithm by proving ACL2 is an ``untyped'' logic in the sense that the syntax is not typed: It is legal to apply a function symbol of n arguments to any n terms, regardless of the types of the argument terms. Thus, it is permitted to write such odd expressions as (+ t 3) which sums the t and the integer 3. Common Lisp does not prohibit such expressions. We like untyped languages because they are simple to describe, though proving theorems about them can be awkward because, unless one is careful in the way one defines or states things, unusual cases (like (+ t 3)) can arise. To make theorem proving easier in ACL2, the axioms actually define a value for such terms. The value of (+ t 3) is 3; under the ACL2 axioms, non-numeric arguments to + are treated as though they You might immediately wonder about our claim that ACL2 is Common (+ t 3) is ``an error'' (and will sometimes even ``signal an error'') in Common Lisp. It is to handle this problem that ACL2 has guards. We will discuss guards later in the Walking Tour. However, many new users simply ignore the issue of guards entirely. You should now return to the Walking Tour.
The 283rd Regiment of Her Majesty’s Riflemen was legendary for obvious reasons. Late in the 7th year of World War 1, the entire unit was captured by Germans and beheaded. But back in those days when men were men and gender roles were socially acceptable metaphors for physical strength, it took more than that to kill a fighting man. The unit survived by forcing food down their severed gullets and piping blood to their brains using retrofitted bilge pumps they stole from the German Navy. The Regiment continued to fight, taking the Hills of Meinkopffiel, defeating the Cossacks at Verdun, capturing the 2nd Mini-Kaiser and more. When the war ended they were hailed as heroes and all the doctors in England pursued study of their case, learning incalculably important techniques that would later be used for kidney dialysis, head transplantation and more. Their case also lead France to discontinue the use of the guillotine as decapitation was no longer the most certain method of execution.
An anonymous reader sends this quote from an article at Txchnologist: “The spectacle of a booster rocket lifting off a launch pad atop a mass of brilliant flames and billowing smoke is an iconic image of the Space Age. Such powerful chemical rockets are needed to break the bonds of Earth’s gravity and send spacecraft into orbit. But once a vehicle has progressed beyond low-earth orbit chemical rockets are not necessarily the best way to get around outer space. That’s because chemical propulsion systems require such large quantities of fuel to generate high speeds, there is little room for payload. As a result rocket scientists are increasingly turning to electric rockets, which accelerate propellants out the back end using solar-powered electromagnetic fields rather than chemical reactions. The electric rockets use so much less propellant that the entire spacecraft can be much more compact, which enables them to scale down the original launch boosters.” Read more of this story at Slashdot. Read the whole story on Slashdot
- High School - Number & Quantity - Statistics & Probability - Language Arts - Social Studies - Art & Music - World Languages - Your Life Convert Like Measurement Units Within A Given Measurement System. 5.MD.1Convert among different-sized standa...more Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems. Represent And Interpret Data. 5.MD.2Make a line plot to display a data s...more Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving information presented in line plots. For example, given different measurements of liquid in identical beakers, find the amount of liquid each beaker would contain if the total amount in all the beakers were redistributed equally. Geometric Measurement: Understand Concepts Of Volume And Relate Volume To Multiplication And To Addition. 5.MD.3Recognize volume as an attribute of ...more Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement. 5.MD.3.aA cube with side length 1 unit, call...more A cube with side length 1 unit, called a “unit cube,” is said to have “one cubic unit” of volume, and can be used to measure volume. 5.MD.3.bA solid figure which can be packed w...more A solid figure which can be packed without gaps or overlaps using n unit cubes is said to have a volume of n cubic units. 5.MD.4Measure volumes by counting unit cub...more Measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units. 5.MD.5Relate volume to the operations of m...more Relate volume to the operations of multiplication and addition and solve real world and mathematical problems involving volume. 5.MD.5.aFind the volume of a right rectangul...more Find the volume of a right rectangular prism with whole-number side lengths by packing it with unit cubes, and show that the volume is the same as would be found by multiplying the edge lengths, equivalently by multiplying the height by the area of the base. Represent threefold whole-number products as volumes, e.g., to represent the associative property of multiplication. 5.MD.5.bApply the formulas V=l×w×h and V=b...more Apply the formulas V=l×w×h and V=b×h for rectangular prisms to find volumes of right rectangular prisms with whole- number edge lengths in the context of solving real world and mathematical problems. 5.MD.5.cRecognize volume as additive. Find v...more Recognize volume as additive. Find volumes of solid figures composed of two non-overlapping right rectangular prisms by adding the volumes of the non-overlapping parts, applying this technique to solve real world problems. Major cluster will be a majority of the assessment, Supporting clusters will be assessed through their success at supporting the Major Clusters and Additional Clusters will be assessed as well. The assessments will strongly focus where the standards strongly focus. Now Creating a New Plan You'll be able to add text, files and other info to meet your student's needs. You'll be redirected to your new page in just a second. Moving Games. Just a moment...
- High School - Number & Quantity - Statistics & Probability - Language Arts - Social Studies - Art & Music - World Languages - Your Life Reason With Shapes And Their Attributes. 3.G.1Understand that shapes in different ...more Understand that shapes in different categories (e.g., rhombuses, rectangles, and others) may share attributes (e.g., having four sides), and that the shared attributes can define a larger category (e.g., quadrilaterals). Recognize rhombuses, rectangles, and squares as examples of quadrilaterals, and draw examples of quadrilaterals that do not belong to any of these subcategories. 3.G.2Partition shapes into parts with equ...more Partition shapes into parts with equal areas. Express the area of each part as a unit fraction of the whole. For example, partition a shape into 4 parts with equal area, and describe the area of each part as 1/4 of the area of the shape. Major cluster will be a majority of the assessment, Supporting clusters will be assessed through their success at supporting the Major Clusters and Additional Clusters will be assessed as well. The assessments will strongly focus where the standards strongly focus. Now Creating a New Plan You'll be able to add text, files and other info to meet your student's needs. You'll be redirected to your new page in just a second. Moving Games. Just a moment...
Inside the uterus your baby has developed a strong grasp reflex. The grip is so strong after birth that it could support your baby's weight. This grasp reflex persists until your baby is about six months old; she will then have more choice over whether to grasp an object or not. Interestingly, your baby also has a similar reflex in the foot. This is the "plantar reflex" and it causes the toes to attempt to curl around your finger if the sole of the foot is stroked. The plantar reflex takes slightly longer to disappear after birth, typically persisting until 12 months of age. Another reflex action causes the toes to spread out if the side of the foot is stroked. These reflexes and others seem to be quite primitive in nature and although they are thought to protect the baby, the precise function of each reflex is not fully understood. Could owls give us an insight into pregnancy and birth? It's doubtful, but these myths are entertaining! Second labors are usually shorter in duration than first labors. This usually means an easier labor, but a second baby could be bigger than a first, or positioned differently. There are many factors to consider. Most childbirth experts would agree that a straightforward vaginal birth is the safest form of birth for both mother and baby. It is also generally considered safe to use water as a method of relieving the pain in uncomplicated labors. However, it is sometimes not possible to achieve a straightforward vaginal delivery due to certain situations that can arise during, labor and birth. If a problem with either the mother or baby occurs, the medical team will advise you on the safest way of delivering the baby. It's important to think about the type of birth you would prefer and are comfortable with, but be prepared to be flexible and to see how labor unfolds. Speak to your doctor to find out if there's a birthing pool you can use at your hospital. Excerpted from Pregnancy Day by Day. Copyright Â© 2009 Dorling Kindersley Limited. Buy this book now! © 2000-2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The aim of the course is to extend the students knowledge of basic fluid dynamics, to introduce the student to solution methodologies including Computational Fluid Dynamics, and to relate all this to design methods for common aerodynamic and hydraulic systems. At the end of the course the student should be able to \|Explain basic physical principles of fluid flow and illustrate with reference to important building-block flows. \|\|Identify the various terms in the Navier-Stokes equations, and apply them to derive solutions for particular flow problems. \|\|Compute basic parameters of engineering systems (eg. lift of aerofoils, efficiency of pumps). \|\|Combine solution techniques (experimental, analytical and computational) to solve engineering problems.\| Both groups of students will sit a 1 hour test at the end of the autumn term. This will assess their abilities with basic computations such as evaluating lift and drag, and will comprise 15% of the marks available. 70% of the marks will be awarded on the basis of a 2 hour exam at the end of the semester. This will stress understanding of the subject and problem solving abilities. The exam will be divided into sections A and B, with section B including material from the advanced section of the course. B.Eng students will have a free choice of questions to answer on the exam paper. M.Eng students are constrained to attempt at least 2 questions from section B of the exam. BEng students (SOE3152) follow the core sylabus, divided into A:Threshold level (left column) and B:Good to Excellent level (right column). MEng students (SOE3153) are also required to learn the material in the Advanced sylabus. For these students the material in the Advanced sylabus represents the A:Threshold level for the MEng course. \|Foundations of Fluid Mechanics\|\|Concept of fluid, viscosity, ideal/laminar /turbulent flow. Bernoulli (revision)\|\|Balance equations in integral formulation, von Karman integral method. Analytic and computational (CFD) solution. Navier-Stokes equations in 2d cartesian coordinates\|\|Navier-Stokes equations in 3d vector notation. Derivation of NSE\| \|Importance of dimensionless groups (Re, Fr) in fluid flow\|\|Use of dimensional analysis in experiment and theory\| \|Turbulence and external flows\|\|Characteristics of laminar flow over a flat plate\|\|Outline of boundary layer flow.\|\|Blasius solution of laminar boundary layer\| \|Physical picture of turbulence and its engineering importance\|\|Energy spectrum. Concept of time averaging. Turbulent kinetic energy and length scales. Turbulence modelling\|\|Prandtl mixing length model of turbulence. k-epsilon turbulence model in CFD.\| \|Turbulent boundary layer, structure of turbulent flow over flat plate\|\|Law of the wall\| \|External turbulent flows around cylinders and spheres. Drag coefficients\|\|Control of turbulent boundary layers, swing in cricket balls\| \|Engineering applications of fluid mechanics\|\|Internal turbulent flows in pipes\|\|Frictional power loss in pipes\|\|Pipe networks. Non-circular pipes. Water hammer\| \|Impellers, axial/centrifugal types. Inlet/outlet triangles. Efficiency issues\|\|Euler analysis of impellers. Pump/pipework systems\| \|Physics of lift and aerofoils. Coefficients of Lift and Drag\|\|Elementary potential flow analysis of lift. Computer modelling of aerofoils\|\|Further study of potential flow theory\|
Introduction \| Psychotherapies \| Pharmacotherapy \| Residential Therapies \| Conclusion \| References Our understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD) continue to evolve. These patients were originally conceptualized as having a particular type of intrapsychic organization. The prospect of being able to understand the internal organization of such patients helped encourage the enormous rise in therapeutic enthusiasm for long-term, intensive, psychoanalytically informed treatments for these patients. The construct was modified when it was redefined as a syndrome with reliably identifiable and discriminating criteria (see Table 53–1 for the DSM-IV-TR criteria). After the adoption of BPD in DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association 1980), the disorder became the subject of empirical study. The research showed that borderline patients frequently recover from the disorder and that such recovery usually involves multiple forms and episodes of treatment. Investigators repeatedly found that borderline patients have significant deficits in their ability to tolerate affects, impulses, and aloneness. From these observations, as well as more general changes in mental health services, the treatment approach of the earlier era, in which long-term intensive psychoanalytic therapies were considered necessary, has been greatly modified.

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