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Sharks are our seniors by about 450 million years. Yet in the last half century we’ve depleted some populations by 90%. Of the world’s 1,200 or so known shark and ray species (rays can be thought of as sharks whose pectoral fins have transformed to wings), 17% are deemed threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But the percentage is doubtless higher because data on almost half the 1,200 are lacking. Species like angel and daggernose sharks are listed as “critically endangered.” The pondicherry shark may already be extinct. Sharks can’t bounce back like other fish. Most give birth to dog-size litters, and those that lay eggs don’t spew big numbers. Sandbar sharks mature at age 16, then bear eight to 12 pups every other year at most. Embryos of the sand tiger swim around in each of two uteri, attacking and consuming siblings until only two survive. Duskies don’t mature until age 20, then deliver three to 16 pups every third year. The shark crisis began with the economic boom in China and other East Asian nations. Before that most Asians couldn’t afford shark fin soup. The slaughter has been staggering. Many countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East aren’t involved in global management treaties and, even if they were, lack resources to keep track of what shark species get killed in what quantity. Some countries with those resources are “playing games, cooking the books, and fishing illegally,” to borrow the words of shark biologist Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Shark depletion is dangerous in ways we can only begin to understand. It’s not just about sharks. Florida State University shark scientist Dean Grubbs notes that marine food webs are so complex that it’s hard to document “trophic cascades,” which occur when predator removal causes ecosystem parts to collapse like dominoes. But trophic cascades are surely happening. Among the better documented examples is the proliferation of midlevel predators following shark reduction. These predators then deplete algae-eating parrotfish, and algae then smothers the reef. And where tiger sharks have been depleted, dugongs and green sea turtles are foraging on wider, richer sea-grass beds, possibly damaging them and communities they sustain. In the 1980s and 90s some of the grossest and most wasteful shark carnage was happening in the US, which, having depleted species like cod, haddock, flounders, tunas, and swordfish, promoted exploitation of sharks as an “under-utilized resource.” Adding to the slaughter was a 1980 trade agreement with China and an obsession with sharks among anglers spawned by the 1975 movie “Jaws.” With the growing demand in Asia, fishing boats from other poorly regulated nations and illegal fishermen plundered shark populations in all oceans, especially the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific. More Asian diners shun shark-fin soup Recently, however, there’s been some good news about sharks. Peter Knights, director of WildAid — an international group committed to ending hurtful and illegal trafficking in wildlife — has gone so far as to proclaim that “the tide may at last be turning.” Global fin trade is declining. During the last two years China, Hong Kong and Malaysia have banned shark fin soup at government functions. Five hotel chains have promised not to serve shark fin soup, and 26 airlines have agreed not to transport fins. WildAid reports that at least 76,000 people in Malaysia and 70,000 people in Hong Kong have signed its “I’m FINished with Fins” pledge. In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, 85 percent of people who responded to a WildAid survey reported that they’d stopped eating shark fin soup. Demand has fallen so dramatically that according to fin traders in Guangzhou, “shark fin is the same price as squid now.” Trinidad-Tobago and New Zealand, huge shark fin exporters, banned finning in August and October respectively. United Arab Emirates imposed a ban in September. Australia, India, the U.S., the Dominican Republic, all of Central America, and the European Union have banned it, too. Now finning is illegal in about 100 countries. Some of these define the practice as slicing off fins and dumping sharks at sea, sometimes when they’re still alive. India, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, the EU, and the U.S., for example, permit removal of fins only if carcasses are first brought to shore. That creates difficulties in handling and storage, making fin sale far less profitable. Banning not just finning but trade in shark fins have been Cook Islands, Brunei, Bahamas, Northern Mariana Islands, Egypt, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, and the U.S. states of Massachusetts, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, California, Maryland, New York, and Delaware. In September the 180-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora protected the porbeagle shark, oceanic whitetip, great, smooth, and scalloped hammerheads, and all manta ray species by forbidding trade without certification that the take was legal and sustainable. In November the 120 member nations of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals extended “Appendix II protection” (a pledge to devise management strategies) to silky sharks, two species of hammerheads, and all three species of threshers. Granted the same or stronger protections were all 9 species of mobula rays and all species of sawfish. Shark Advocates International president, Sonja Fordham — a fierce shark defender and not one to gush over international shark and ray initiatives — announced that she was “elated by the overwhelming commitment.” The original version of this article appeared in Yale Environment 360 and can be accessed here.

Meeting people from other cultures is perhaps one of the most enriching ways to learn about the world; however, on many occasions, the language barrier represents an impediment for us to interact with those who speak other languages. No one should miss the opportunity to meet someone new only because this person speaks a different language. It is for this reason that we want to share some tips to socialize with people whose languages you do not handle. Tips to Share with People who Speak other Languages Keep in mind the place where you are: it is important to keep this in mind, because if you are in a place where your native language is not spoken, you will be forced to try to communicate in the language spoken, but if you are in a country whose language is your native language and you want to interact with a foreign person, things change. In the first situation, it is advisable to learn basic phrases of daily interaction, either to defend yourself during the days that you are there or as a first measure of learning in case you should be for a longer period of time. In case of that is necessary, you must expose in a basic way your “linguistic situation”, in this way, the people around you will know what happens and they will agree to help you in whatever you need. In the case of the second situation, you must be empathetic with the person who speaks other languages, because she or he may feel uncomfortable having to say basic sentences, due to ignorance of the language. However, do not be shy, come and try engage in a simple conversation, use technological tools such as an automatic translator, if it is necessary. Know a bit of the culture with which you plan to interact: either with many people or just one, it is very positive to know general features of their culture, such as greetings, proxemics (distance between people), metalanguage (gestures) or topics of interest. This will help you to lead a conversation more friendly and without fear of doing something that can be rude or of few manners, just because you do not know some aspects of the culture.It is always good to take it into account; other languages = other cultures. Do not be shy and be sure of yourself: if you have knowledge in the language in which you are looking to socialize, use it to the fullest and do not be afraid of making mistakes, as people appreciate that you try to speak their language and eventually they will correct you, which It is very good, because you will improve your level. On the other hand, it is also important that if you intend to communicate with a foreigner in a place where your mother tongue is spoken, in case you do not know a bit of the foreign language, or if interaction becomes difficult, propose to resort to an intermediate language in which both can understand and communicate in an easier way. Also take a look at this blog: The 5 most spoken languages in the world Be creative and do not miss the opportunity to meet someone who speaks other languages, it can mean losing a valuable and enriching experience. Today there are many technological aids in order to improve communication between people of different languages, one of them is Bilingual App, with which you can interact with people who speak several languages and can learn from them, practicing and making new friends. Digital Content Creator Learn and practice languages with Bilingua Learn with our Spanish course and practice any language by downloading Bilingual from App Store or Google Play. Get connected and inspired with more of our blogs Cultural exchanges: advantages and disadvantages A lot of students decide to complement their studies with an exchange, therefore if you are thinking about doing a cultural exchange, this entrance will be a great help for you. Here you’ll find some advantages and disadvantages to make this type of exchange. The cultural influence of reggae music in the worldwide Reggae music was popularized in different parts of the world thanks for its main musical exponent Bob Marley who promoted the Rastafarian love and peace from Jamaica culture through his songs. It has generated the acceptance and recognition of that culture in the worldwide. How to Study and Work at the Same Time and not to Fail in the Attempt When university studies are carried out, not everyone have the fortune to dedicate themselves totally to them. Since in some way, many people must contribute in their homes to cover certain economic expenses that studying implies; therefore, it is important to study and work at the same time.

Caryophyllus. U. S. (Br.) Clove. Caryoph. [Cloves] Preparation: Oil of Clove "The dried flower-buds of Eugenia aromatica. (Linne) O. Kuntze, Jambosa Caryophyllus (Sprengel) Niedenzu (Fam. Myrtaceae), without the presence or admixture of more than 5 per cent. of the peduncles, stems or other foreign matter." U. S. "Cloves are the dried flower-buds of Eugenia caryophyllata, Thunb." Br. Caryophyllum, Br.; Caryophylli Aromatici; Girofle, Fr. Cod.; Gerofle, Clous Aromatiques, Clous de Girofle, Fr.; Caryophylli, P. G.; Gewürznelken, Nagelein, G.; Garofani, It.; Clavo de especia, Sp.; Cravo da India, Portug.; Kruidnagel, Dutch; Kerunfel, Arab. Eugenia aromatica (L.), O. Kuntze, is a small tree inhabiting the Molucca Islands and Southern Philippines. It has a pyramidal form, is always green, and is adorned throughout the year with a succession of beautiful rosy flowers. The stem is of hard wood, and covered with a smooth, grayish bark. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, about four inches in length by two in breadth, obovate-oblong, acuminate at both ends, entire, sinuated, with many parallel veins on each side of the midrib. They have a firm consistence and a shining green color, and when bruised are highly fragrant. The flowers are disposed in terminal corymbose panicles, and exhale a strong, penetrating, and grateful odor. The natural geographical range of the clove is extremely limited, being confined to the Molucca or, as they were one time called, Clove Islands. According to Flückiger, cloves were known in Western Europe as early as the sixth century, long before the discovery of the Moluccas by the Portuguese. After the conquest of the Molucca Islands by the Dutch, the monopolizing policy of that commercial people led them to extirpate the trees in nearly all the islands except Amboyna and Temate, which were under their immediate inspection. Notwithstanding their jealous vigilance, a French governor of the Islands of France and Bourbon, named Poivre, succeeded, in the year 1770, in obtaining plants from the Moluccas and introducing them into the colonies under his control. Five years afterwards the clove-tree was introduced into Cayenne and the West Indies, in 1803 into Sumatra, and in 1818 into Zanzibar. At present the spice is cultivated both in the West and East Indies, in tropical Africa, and in Brazil. Approximately seven-eighths of the world's clove supply is grown in Zanzibar, the deliveries in 1911 totaled over 20,000,000 pounds. The amount imported in the United States is approximately 3,500,000 pounds annually. The unexpanded flower buds are the part of the plant employed under the ordinary name of cloves. They are first gathered when the tree is about six years old. The fruit has similar aromatic properties, but much weaker. The buds are at first white, then become green, and then bright red, when they must be at once collected, which is done by hand picking, or by beating the trees with bamboos and catching the falling buds. In the Moluccas they are said to be sometimes immersed in boiling water and afterwards exposed to smoke and artificial heat before being spread out in the sun. In Zanzibar, Cayenne, and the West Indies they are dried simply by solar heat. The stems of the flowers also enter commerce. They possess the odor and taste of the cloves, but they are worth only about one-fifth the price of the cloves, as they are deficient in volatile oil. They are largely used as an adulterant in ground cloves, and are used in the manufacture of oil of cloves. In France they are generally known by the name of griffes de girofle. Although it is stated that as early as 266 B.C., during the reign of the Han dynasty, the Chinese court officers were accustomed to hold cloves in their mouths before addressing the sovereign, that their breath might have an agreeable odor, the spice seems to have been first introduced into Europe in the fourth century, and became a great source of wealth to the enterprising merchants of mediaeval Venice, who obtained it from the Arabians. After the discovery of the southern passage to India, the trade in this spice passed into the hands of the Portuguese, but was subsequently wrested from them by the Dutch, by whom it was long monopolized. The United States derive much of their supply from the West Indies and Guiana; but the great sources of cloves have been recently the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, on the east coast of Africa. In 1872 the clove orchards in Zanzibar were nearly destroyed by a hurricane, but they have been replanted. (For detailed information as to method of growth, see P. J., June, 1890.) In commerce the varieties of cloves are known by the names of the localities of their growth, and so closely resemble one another as to be distinguished only by experts. The Penang cloves have been especially esteemed. The Bencoolen cloves from Sumatra are by many druggists deemed equal to them. The Amboyna and Molucca cloves are stated to be thicker, darker, heavier, more oily, and more highly aromatic than those cultivated elsewhere. Formerly cloves were frequently adulterated, but the comparatively low price of later times has discouraged this fraud. (See Kraemer, Proc. A. Ph. A., 1894, 159.) Properties.—Cloves resemble in shape a nail with a round head with four spreading points beneath it. "From 10 to 17.5 mm. in length, of a dark brown or brownish-black color, consisting of a stem-like, solid, inferior ovary, obscurely four-angled or somewhat compressed, terminated by four calyx teeth, and surmounted by a nearly globular head, consisting of four petals, which enclose numerous curved stamens and one style; odor strongly aromatic; taste pungent and aromatic, followed by slight numbness. When Clove is pressed strongly between the thumbnail and finger the volatile oil becomes visible. Stems either separate or attached to the flower-buds; sub-cylindrical or four-angled, attaining a length of 25 mm. and a diameter of 4 mm., either simple, branching or distinctly jointed, and less aromatic than the flower-buds. The powder varies from dark brown to reddish-brown and consists chiefly of cellular fragments showing the large oil reservoirs, spiral tracheae and a few somewhat thick-walled, slightly-lignified, spindle-shaped bast-fibers; calcium oxalate in rosette aggregates, from 0.01 to 0.015 mm. in diameter; pollen grains numerous, tetrahedral, somewhat ellipsoidal, from 0.015 to 0.02 nun. in diameter. The presence of stems in the powder is shown by stone cells of irregular, polygonal shape, 0.07 mm. in diameter, with thick porous walls and large lumina, the latter frequently filled with a yellowish-brown amorphous substance. Clove yields not less than 10 per cent. of volatile extractive soluble in ether. Clove yields not more than 8 per cent. of ash. The amount of ash, insoluble in hydrochloric acid, does not exceed 0.5 per cent. of the weight of clove taken." U. S. "About fifteen millimetres long, each consisting of a dark-brown, wrinkled, subcylindrical, somewhat angular calyx tube which tapers below and is surmounted by four thick, rigid, patent teeth, between which are four paler, imbricated petals enclosing numerous stamens and a single style. Odor strong, fragrant and spicy; taste very pungent and aromatic. Cloves emit oil when indented with the finger-nail. Ash not more than 7 per cent." Br. Their color is externally deep brown, internally reddish; their odor strong and fragrant; their taste hot, pungent, aromatic, and very permanent. The best cloves exude a small quantity of oil on being pressed or scraped with the nail. When light, soft, wrinkled, pale, and of feeble taste and odor, they are inferior. Those from which the essential oil has been distilled are sometimes fraudulently mixed with the genuine. For monograph on the microscopical structure of cloves, clove stems and clove fruit see Winton and Moeller, "The Microscopy of Vegetable Foods." Powdered cloves sometime contain an excess of clove stems, and may be adulterated with allspice, wheat middlings and powdered peas or beans. Occasionally clove stems alone are ground and sold as cloves. It is claimed that an enormous quantity of exhausted cloves are dishonestly marketed. The amount of volatile ether extract is the best criterion of the value of cloves. Trommsdorf obtained from 1000 parts of cloves 180 of volatile oil, 170 of a peculiar tannin, 130 of gum, 60 of resin, 280 of vegetable fiber, and 180 of water. Win. L. Peabody (1895) found the percentage of tannin in cloves to range from 10 to 13 per cent., and that it has the same chemical composition as gallo-tannic acid. Lodibert afterwards discovered a fixed oil, aromatic and of a green color, and a white resinous substance which crystallizes in fasciculi composed of very fine diverging silky needles, without taste or odor, soluble in ether and boiling alcohol, and exhibiting neither alkaline nor acid reaction. This substance, called by Bonastre caryophyllin, was found in the cloves of the Moluccas, of Bourbon, and of Barbados, but not in those of Cayenne, from which, however, it has since been procured. To obtain it, the ethereal extract of cloves is treated with water, and the white substance thrown down is separated by filtration, and treated repeatedly with ammonia to deprive it of impurities. The most recent determination of its formula by Mylius (Ber. d Chem. Ges., 1873, p. 1053) makes it C20H32O2. Theod. Martins obtains it cheaply by exposing cloves, previously deprived as far as possible of oil by distillation with water, to distillation at a higher temperature, redistilling the brown liquid obtained until the distillate nearly ceases to have the taste or odor of cloves, and then purifying the residue by washing with water, and treating it with boiling alcohol and animal charcoal repeatedly until the caryophyllin, which is deposited by the alcohol on cooling, is perfectly white. (See A. J. P., xxxii, 65.) Dumas has discovered another crystalline principle, which forms in the water distilled from cloves, and is gradually deposited. Like caryophyllin, it is soluble in alcohol and ether, but differs from that substance in becoming red when touched with nitric acid. Bonastre proposed for it the name of eugenin. (J. P. C., xx, 565.) It has the formula C10H32O6, and is isomeric with eugenol or eugenic acid, a constituent of oil of cloves. Water extracts the odor of cloves with comparatively little of their taste. All their sensible properties are imparted to alcohol; and the tincture when evaporated leaves an excessively fiery extract, which becomes insipid if deprived of the oil by distillation with water, while the oil which comes over is mild. Hence it has been inferred that the pungency of this aromatic depends on a union of the essential oil with the resin. Caryophyllic acid, C20H32O6, is obtained by gradually adding caryophyllin to fuming nitric acid, kept cool by immersing the vessel in water until crystals begin to separate; these are purified by dissolving them in ammonia, precipitating with hydrochloric acid, and redissolving in alcohol and crystallizing. For an account of the oil, see Oleum Caryophylli. The infusion and oil of cloves are reddened by nitric acid, and rendered blue by tincture of ferric chloride, facts of some interest, as morphine gives the same reactions. Uses.—Cloves are among the most stimulant of the aromatics, but, like others of this class, act less upon the system at large than on the part to which they are immediately applied. They are sometimes administered in substance or infusion to relieve nausea and vomiting, correct flatulence, and excite languid digestion; but their chief use is to assist or modify the action of other medicines. They enter into several official preparations. The French Codex directs a tincture of cloves to be prepared by digesting for ten days, and afterwards filtering, a mixture of three ounces of powdered cloves and sixteen of 80 per cent. alcohol. Dose, in substance, from five to ten grains (0.32 to 0.65 Gm.). Off. Prep.—Infusum Aurantii Compositum, Br.; Infusum Caryophylli, Br.; Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus, Br., N. F.; Tinctura Lavandulae Composita, U. S.; Cordiale Rubi Fructus, N. F.; Elixir Rubi Compositum, N. F.; Pulvis Aromaticus Rubifaciens, N. F.; Pulvis Cretae et Opii Aromaticus (from Aromatic Chalk Powder), N. F.; Pulvis Myricae Compositus, N. F.; Tinctura Aromatica, N. F. The Dispensatory of the United States of America, 1918, was edited by Joseph P. Remington, Horatio C. Wood and others.

Access test file results data sltest.testmanager.TestFileResult enable you to access the results from test execution performed by the Test Manager at a test-file sltest.testmanager.TestFileResult class is a For information on class attributes, see Class Attributes. sltest.testmanager.run creates a sltest.testmanager.ResultSet object, which contains the test file result object. You can also create a test file result directly if you use run to execute tests in an individual test file. Duration — Length of time the test ran, in seconds Length of time the test ran, in seconds, returned as a duration. NumDisabled — Number of disabled tests The number of test cases that were disabled in the test file result. NumFailed — Number of failed tests The number of failed tests contained in the test file result. NumIncomplete — Number of incomplete tests The number of test cases that did not execute in the test file result. NumPassed — Number of passed tests The number of passed tests contained in the test file result. NumTestCaseResults — Number of test case result children The number of test case results that are direct children of the test file result. NumTestSuiteResults — Number of test suite result children The number of test suite results that are direct children of the test file result. NumTotal — Total number of tests The total number of tests in the test file result. Parent — Parent of the result object Parent of the result. The parent of a test file result is a result set object. Release — Release in which the test was run Release in which the test was run, returned as a character vector. StartTime — Time the test began to run Time the test began to run, returned as a datetime. StopTime — Time the test completed Time the test completed, returned as a datetime. Tags — Tags to filter test file results Tags to filter the test file results. Use tags to view a subset of the test results. See Tags for more information. TestFileResultPath — Result hierarchy path The hierarchy path in the result set. TestFilePath — Test file path The path of the test file used to create the result. UserData — Custom data stored with test file results any data type Custom data stored with the test file results, specified as any type of data. Use this field to add custom information, such as the settings used to obtain the results. |Get test suite results object| |Get coverage results| |Get plots from cleanup callbacks| |Get plots from setup callbacks| Get Test File Result From Results Set % Run test file in Test Manager and output results set resultset = sltest.testmanager.run; % Get the test file result object tfr = getTestFileResults(resultset); Introduced in R2016a

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition - adj. Synchronous. - adj. Of or relating to the study of phenomena, such as linguistic features, or of events of a particular time, without reference to their historical context. Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia - Same as synchronical. - adj. occurring at a specific point in time. - adj. linguistics relating to the study of a language at only one point in its history. - adj. concerned with phenomena (especially language) at a particular period without considering historical antecedents - adj. occurring or existing at the same time or having the same period or phase - adj. (of taxa) occurring in the same period of geological time - From Ancient Greek σύν (sýn, "with, in company with, together with") + χρόνος (chrónos, "time") (Wiktionary) “That is, the events of the poem, hardly events at all in synchronic readings, do not share any sort of cause-effect relationship and do not cohere into any sort of continuous, temporal structure.” “In what one might call a synchronic wingnut collision, far-right American commentator Joseph Sobran turns out to be a Shakespeare authorer.” “The consensus, evident in the work of critics ranging from Minna Doskow and Joanne Witke to Vincent de Luca and Morton Paley, holds that Jerusalem has no narrative per se spanning its 100 plates, but rather exhibits what Morton Paley calls a "synchronic" structure. [” “synchronic" and contempt for the "diachronic": that is, he was interested in structures of thinking that endure over the very long term.” ““By making synchronic language the object of investigation, the messiness that comes from variation-induced language change is lessened”.” “In this way the Builders brilliantly capture the intersection of synchronic and diachronic axes while forcing us to interrogate our relationship with turkeys and technology.” “Depending on whether you stay in the green, red, blue or yellow rooms, if indeed you get the chance to stay in one of these rooms—"We've been completely full all summer," Ms. Perry explained this weekend—there are green, red, blue and yellow guest flip-flops and books in synchronic hues.” “Graham, since hospital is also originally an adjective with a morphological boundary between -it- and –al, I take you to be thinking in purely synchronic terms, i.e. the past century, as to be certain the original adjective hospital was dead, and any adjectival hospitals we were dealing with were derived from the noun hospital, we would have to go back at least a century.” “Maybe synchronic antinyms only occur in contexts of bad vs good practice or incorrect data.” “All these sounds play as synchronic kin, the accident of phonemic confluence that condenses new senses.” These user-created lists contain the word ‘synchronic’. Time~sphere phenomena, manipulations, fluctuations, processes, measurements, and oddities. For use in building my machine. Looking for tweets for synchronic.

While lubricants are a relatively minor cost for many production operations, the cost associated with unscheduled break down of equipment as a result of lubricant failure can be significant. For example, an unexpected outage of a power station due to malfunctioning of a hydraulic control system would be extremely costly. It is therefore necessary for users to ensure that the condition of the lubricants in the equipment is always within operational specifications. Like many industrial components, over 80% of lubricants are being disposed of prematurely. Adhering to some simple guidelines can significantly extend the useful life of most lubricants resulting in reduced consumption, extended machine life, and minimized unscheduled shutdown maintenance. The first step to extending the useful life of a lubricant is to understand the fundamental chemistry of its ageing process. This enables the equipment manufacturer to design equipment to minimize ageing and the user to operate his equipment for maximum fluid life. Measuring the ageing process: During normal usage, lubricants form decomposition (oxidation) products in small quantities. Total Acid number (TAN) measures the rate of decomposition by indicating the amount of acid present. It is expressed as the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide (KOH) necessary to neutralize 1 gram of lubricant. The standard Acid Number specification for most lubricants is less than 1 mg KOH/gm. Chemical breakdown of lubricants, known as hydrolysis, is greatly accelerated when moisture in the lubricants becomes too high or when the lubricant temperature becomes excessive. In other words, the main points to keep in mind about the lubricant breakdown process are: · Water is needed and will accelerate the process of hydrolysis · Heat accelerates the process, and · The acid produced and/or some introduced contaminants can catalyze further hydrolysis. Therefore the best way to prevent your lubricant from ageing is to keep the system as dry as possible, avoid unnecessary high temperature conditions and maintain a low acid number through a comprehensive fluid maintenance program. The operating temperature of many industrial lubricants can be kept low with good design considerations. Providing sufficient buffer fluid for example, will allow the heat to dissipate. In the case of mobile equipment where there is limited space, the use of an appropriate heat exchanger is recommended. Most functional fluids such as hydraulic oils are employed to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy. These fluids are not subjected to high heat stress and therefore will age very slowly. Heat can however be absorbed by the lubricant if the fluid has a high air content. The surging pressure experienced by the fluid will compress and expand the air, heating it, resulting in high lubricant temperature. As a general rule, every 10oC increase in operating temperature over the “nominal” level would reduce the useful life of the lubricant by half. Contamination in lubricants can either be introduced or self generated. The typical contaminants in lubricants include: All new systems will contain some contaminant left during manufacture and assembly. This usually consists of fibrous material from rags, casting sand, pipe-scale, cast iron and other metal particles, jointing material and loose paint. When a normal system has been run-in for a reasonable period, the majority of solid contaminants will be in the form of small platelets, created by bedding-in and the normal wear process, the bulk of which are between 5 and 15 microns in size. Because of their size and shape, they can take a long time to settle. The other common form of self-generated contaminant is that local cold welding microscopic surface particles will be torn off when they move in relation to each other releasing wear particles. Unless extreme care is taken in filling and topping up a system, considerable quantities of contaminant can be added during these processes. Many of these contaminants are likely to be abrasive. A lubricating system can also be contaminated by ingression through the oil film on seals. Worn seals will increase this possibility. Contamination will be introduced if all reservoir openings are not fitted with air breather filters. The other mechanisms that cause self-generating contaminants include: adhesive, abrasive, erosion, fatigue, de-lamination, corrosive, electro-corrosive, fretting corrosion, cavitation, electrical discharge and polishing wear. Each of these types of wear categories has its own mechanism and symptoms, however in practice they may occur singularly, combined or in sequence. Nearly all lubricants contain some dissolved gases, and at atmospheric pressure hydraulic oil normally contains 8% of its volume as dissolved air, which in this state causes no problem. However, the presence of air bubbles in a system will cause erratic operation, and air bubbles in suction lines can damage some types of pumps. It should be noted that entrained air in fluids, when compressed to 2000 psi or more, could become very hot locally. This generated heat causes the fluid surrounding the bubble to burn. As the products of combustion are both fluid and solid contaminants, more contamination can be generated reducing the life of the equipment. Moisture and Chemicals The detrimental effect that water and chemicals can have in hydraulic systems are, in certain systems, equal to or greater than operating a dirty hydraulic system. There are two distinct phases of water that can be present in oil - free and dissolved water. Free water can also be present in the form of an emulsion - microscopic droplets of water distributed throughout the fluid. Water, in excess of the oil’s saturation point, damages a system through accelerated abrasive wear, corrosion and fluid breakdown. Tests conducted at the Fluid Power Research Center at Oklahoma State University indicate that the presence of water significantly increases component sensitivity to abrasive wear from particulate contamination. Most components exhibit much greater deterioration in performance when both dirt and water are present compared to dirt alone. Excessive water can impact on the system performance and fluid chemistry, adversely resulting in numerous problems such as: · Accelerated corrosion · Reduced bearing life · Thinner load-bearing oil film · Material fatigue · Accelerated oil oxidation · Change in viscosity · Deterioration of oil additives · Bacterial problems Given the saturation point of water at 65oC is about 200ppm (0.02%), a moisture content exceeding 200 ppm will result in the formation of free water in the system - more free water in cooler regions of the system or when the system is not in operation. This free water can react with products of lubricant oxidation and additives to form organic acid compounds and “sludge” that will compromise hydraulic performance. MEASURING CONTAMINATION IN LUBRICANTS There are several tests that either measure or give an indication of the amount of contamination in a lubricant, depending on the type of oil tested and its functional requirements. Fluid Sampling and Analysis Long before a lubricant is ready to be analyzed, provisions must be made to obtain the samples from the lubricating system and minimize the chance of additional contamination getting into the system. While many sampling methods are available this is not included in the scope of this article. More information on this topic is available from the author. There have been several attempts to categorize degrees of contamination in fluids, including the ISO Cleanliness Code, SAE 749-1963, and the National Aerospace Contamination Limits NAS1638. These different cleanliness level indicators can be compared in a Cleanliness Level Correlation Table. The NAS-1638 classification shows the classification system issued by the National Aerospace Standards Committee. The system classes are numbered from 00 through 12. The particle contamination limits for new fluids and different type of hydraulic systems are also shown in the table below for comparative purposes. Class No.6 (approx. NAS Class 9) indicates the particulate levels of hydraulic fluid as received from the refinery or oil supplier. An SAE Class No. 3 level or lower is preferred. Class No.4 (approx. NAS Class 7) indicates the particulate level of hydraulic fluid required for most conventional hydraulic systems that do not include hydraulic pressure regulators or hydraulic servo-control valves. Class No.2 (approx. NAS Class 5) indicates the particulate level of hydraulic fluid required for hydraulic systems when there are hydraulic pressure regulating valves and hydraulic servo-valves. Maintenance of System Cleanliness A new lubricant fill in a machine is kept clean by the action of filters and by the chemical action of the additive package in the lubricant. The types of filters used in most instances remove solid or gelatinous particles to the limits of the filter. These filters do not generally remove the liquid or gaseous contaminants. Effective contamination control is not just a matter of filters. System planning, location of filters, heat exchanger capacity, etc. are but a few of the items that have been considered in a machine’s design to reduce the generation of particulate contamination. Barring isolated instances, it is generally recognized that by having clean lubricant, equipment will give better performance and more reliability. Changing filter elements at given regular time interval, is not desirable, nor necessary. If installed, filter elements should be changed whenever the differential pressure across the filter exceeds the suggested maximum differential. The degree of filtration (micron rating) will depend on the type of equipment and /or the manufacturers recommendations. Removing the contaminants present in a lubricant before they become a problem will prevent the fluid from deteriorating to the extent that it is rendered un-usable. This will extend the useful life of the lubricant and reduce its consumption. The process involves routine testing of the fluid to determine the condition of the fluid and the system, and taking corrective action before the contamination becomes unacceptable. The contaminants present can be removed from the fluid by various means. · Vacuum dehydration · Ion exchange filtration · Coalescing filtration · Water Absorbing Element filtration While removing solid contaminants can be done relatively easily and that most lubricating systems have filtration units installed to manage this aspect, very few systems have the capability of removing moisture, chemicals and gases. Methods of Water Removal The separation of moisture by means of centrifugation utilizes centrifugal force developed by rotating the oil at high speed. Solid particles and water are thrown outward and are continuously drained. Dry oil leaves the centrifuge from the center of the separation bowl. Whilst a centrifuge is an excellent piece of equipment for removal of bulk free water, it will not remove dissolved or emulsified water and is generally expensive to run with high maintenance and operating costs. This is a process through which tiny water droplets come together and form one large droplet. This form of water removal from oil uses special cartridges, which combine small dispersed water droplets into larger ones. The large water drops are retained within a separator screen and fall to the bottom of the filter while the dry oil passes through the screen. Coalescers are greatly affected by the properties of the carrier liquid, including interfacial tension and viscosity, but are a simple means of removing a small percentage of free water. Water Absorbing Elements Water absorbing filters are usually a non-woven polymeric medium containing an immobilizing water absorbing polymer. This polymer has been modified to retain its integrity as it chemically bonds water. The water retention capacity of these elements is dependent upon the oil viscosity and flow rate. These elements are an effective means of removing and retaining only small quantities of free and emulsified water, which are not considered economical for larger system or those that suffer continual water ingress. Vacuum dehydration purifiers employ the principles of mass transfer to achieve high efficiency removal of water and gases. To achieve an efficient mass transfer the processed fluid must have a large surface area. This is produced by a variety of techniques including spinning discs, distribution rings and spray nozzles. Free and dissolved water and gases are removed by exposing the contaminated fluid to a low relative humidity atmosphere, which is obtained by maintaining a chamber vacuum. When air is drawn into the vacuum chamber, it expands to about five times it former volume resulting in five times reduction in relative humidity. Water and gas molecules are attracted to the lower vapour pressure produced in the chamber and are exhausted along with the airflow. Vacuum dehydration will achieve reductions of up to 100 percent of free water and gases and most of the total dissolved water and gases - to approximately 100 parts per million. There are several options available to equipment owners to reprocess their lubricants. These include on-site and off-site reprocessing. There are many advantages in processing lubricants on-site. Some on-site oil reprocessing companies are able to provide this service while the equipment is still running. The advantages of this process include: 1) No machine down time There is no need to shut down the machine while the fluid is being reprocessed. There is therefore no loss in production. 2) No mess no fuss There is no need to arrange drums or suitable storage tanks, transfer pumps etc., and to organize the transferring of oil from the system tank into these storage facilities. Often, the transferring of fluid from the system tank to temporary storage facilities can cause spills resulting in massy clean up exercise. 3) Bonus System Flush Since the system will be running throughout the process, newly reprocessed fluid will flush out contaminants trapped in the pipe-works, the valves and other system components. This process can often produce a system that is cleaner than when it was newly installed. 4) Little disruption to operation There will be minimal disruption to customer operation. The only potential interference are hoses that run from and back to the reprocessing vehicle and the presence of the reprocessing vehicle. Oilclean on-site side-stream reprocessing offers: · State of the art dehydration facilities that are very effective in removing moisture from oil. · State of the art filtration systems. · Skilled operators backed up by engineers and laboratory support. · Allows your machine to continue operating while the fluid is being brought back to specification. · Flushes the system with cleaned fluid while it is running. · Extend its useful life of lubricants. · Reduce its cost associated with waste disposal. · Reduce its consumption of new oil. The oil is removed from site to a recycling facility for reprocessing. This option is becoming less attractive due to the continuous tightening of environmental regulations governing transportation of prescribed waste. The oil is removed from site to be disposed of as prescribed waste. Similar to the above, this option is becoming more costly due to the continuous tightening of environmental regulations governing both transportation and disposal methods.

Simply begin typing or use the editing tools above to add to this article. Once you are finished and click submit, your modifications will be sent to our editors for review. discoveries in Hattusas ...explorer Charles Texier, who saw Yazılıkaya and those remains of the ancient city that were above ground. After visits by British and German travellers, it was another Frenchman, Ernest Chantre, who in 1892–93 made the first soundings and found the first cuneiform tablets there. The language in which these texts were written was not known at the time, but its identity... What made you want to look up "Ernest Chantre"? Please share what surprised you most...

Start with a folded sheet of paper. To make sure the pieces come out symmetrical and not in two pieces, I tell them to point the FOLD toward their BODY. They then write their names on the paper (if they have a shorter name with extra space, have them use their last initial too). I then have them draw a contour line around the top of their name. They cut on that contour line. When they open up their "name", they have a unique organic shape that resembles an alien or monster body. I have them draw details in pencil, trace in black sharpie, then color in marker. I have students say they make entire "families" of aliens at home (using Mom's name, Dad's name, their dog's name, their brother's name, etc.) This is also great for a "rainy day" project at home or at school.

SLEEP APNEA IN AMERICA: THE UNITED STATES POPULATION PREVELANCE FOR OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA HAS RECENTLY BEEN ESTABLISHED. THIS ALLOWS A CONFIDENT ESTIMATE OF THE PROBLEM IN OUR NATION. THESE ESTIMATES ARE BASED ON THE US. 1990 CENSUS. THESE ARE: - 158,366,485 adults (age 25 and over) in the United States. - 10,293,822 men and women in the U. S. with untreated, undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (severity level: 15 or more stopped breathing episodes per hour). - 25,130,470 men and women in the U. S. with untreated, undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (if mild sleep apnea is included). - Approximately 1% of all obstructive sleep apnea patients are receiving treatment at the present time. HEART DISEASE AND OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA: - The 10.3 million individuals with obstructive sleep apnea at the moderate to severe level are 4.5 times as likely to have coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, and angina as are those without sleep apnea. - 23% of the morbidity of these heart diseases are associated with sleep apnea and could possibly be eliminated if the sleep apnea were eliminated. - This amounts to about 41,351 new cases of heart disease each year that can be attributed to sleep apnea. COST OF TREATING HEART DISEASE VS. SLEEP APNEA: - If someone has chest pain and has a successful angioplasty, the hospital stay and various tests could cost about $30,000. - If the angioplasty is not successful and myocardial infarction ensues, the costs rise way beyond this to $100,000 or more per patient. - Diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea costs between $1,000-2,000 at the present time. - Depending on the heart disease outcome, identifying and treating the aforementioned 41,351 new patients could save between 1.4 and more than 47 billion dollars annually. SLEEP APNEA AND SAFETY: - In addition, various studies have reported that moderate to severe untreated sleep apnea patients have between 4-10 times as many motor vehicle accidents as the general population. Go back to The Sleep Well Home Page

In his work “Ner Mitzva,” which purports to deal with Chanuka, the Maharal actually discusses this holiday very little. Rather, the significance of the book lies in the broad perspective which it affords us concerning the holiday, elucidating themes which remain meaningful to us today. The background of his analysis is the midrash regarding the four empires which ruled over the Jewish people (patterned after the vision of the four beasts in the Book of Daniel): Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome. At the heart of this discussion lies the question of the inner meaning of the miracle of Chanuka. The straightforward answer recounts the persecution of the Jewish people at the hands of their Greek overlords, the desecration of the Temple, and God’s miraculous intervention. Nevertheless, the essential question remains: in what way did the Jewish people become more enriched as a result of this trial and salvation? A similar question exists with respect to the exodus from Egypt, from whence God took us out with signs and wonders. It is true that God caused us to descend to Egypt because of our transgressions, but this explanation is certainly insufficient. The sojourn in Egypt, the struggle to be free, and the redemption from there are recalled as essential experiences which shaped and formed the Jewish nation. The Jewish people become a unified whole as a result of having passed through the proverbial crucible of suffering. If, however, we relate to the exodus from Egypt as simply a tale of suffering and redemption, we shall not have understood its profundity. For this very reason, our sages explained in various midrashim the additional dimension which accrued to the Jewish people as a result of the exodus. The Maharal discusses this same dimension, namely the spiritual enrichment of the Jewish nation, with respect to the salvation brought about by the Maccabees. The struggle with Greece has a particular meaning for us which is expressed in the midrashic reading of the verse (Bereishit 9:27): “Yaft Elokim li-Yefet” – may God beautify Yefet (Greece), “ve-yishkon be-ohalei Shem” – and cause that beauty to rest among the Jews. Every person contains hidden strengths and weaknesses. All of us pass years of our lives in routine and habit, which are punctuated by periods of challenge. During such testing times, many of one’s latent abilities are revealed. When a person faces the danger of death, for instance, hidden reserves of strength come to the fore. Insights and leadership talents are suddenly revealed which are not at all expressed during normal life. There are those who find God precisely at times of struggle, and during trials of faith. This applies to the individual as well as to the nation. One may witness exceptional spiritual strength and courage during the course of a battle waged against persecution and the imposition of alien values and ideas. When salvation does not occur at the end, however, there is a genuine danger that those spiritual gains will be ephemeral. Human beings need time to translate sudden insights and unexpected abilities into well-paved paths of living, and the repose of salvation affords us this opportunity. By relating to salvation in this light, we begin to understand how the messianic redemption can only come about after the Jewish people undergo a series of preparatory steps. The battles of Chanuka are not only great historical events but also important markers in the process of the building of the Jewish nation. They represent additional stages in the realization of our national destiny. According to the Maharal’s reading, the building of the Jewish people does not imply the relegation of other nations to the periphery of history, but on the contrary reflects the striving of all of humanity to eventually realize its latent spiritual potential. This explains the Maharal’s fundamental thesis in Ner Mitzva. The world was initially created lacking completion, and must therefore undergo a process to bring it to wholeness. The deficiency of the world finds expression in human history, in the development of four great empires each of which presents a worldview irreconcilable with the notion of God’s oneness. A midrash which the Maharal mentions at the beginning of his work amplifies this theme: Thus, the world is initially incomplete and becomes whole only at the time of the King Messiah. Between these two points in time is a lengthy historical process which brings eventual completion to the world. This process, however, involves conflicts between the four empires and the Jewish People. Each one of the four presents a culture, a set of values and a worldview which is antithetical to the desired state of completion. However, out of the struggle between these ideas and the Jewish People, the completed state can emerge. Thus, the events of Chanuka represent the advancement of the process of completion stemming from the confrontation between Israel and Greece. The Greek empire bequeathed values which transformed humanity, indicating the great spiritual vitality which they possessed. However, their spiritual underpinnings were incomplete, and only through confrontation with the Jewish People could they be integrated into their proper place in the service of God. With the removal of imperfection from the world, as represented by the downfall of the four empires and their flawed spiritual legacy, the world will finally achieve its unity and completion. In order to understand the miracle of the cruse of oil, we must consider the historical period in which the events occurred. In particular, we must examine the four empires which the Maharal (following Chazal) saw as focal points for historical development. Babylonia, the first of the four, represents the power of ruling and the unbridled desire to extend one’s rule over all. It is dominion for its own sake. Persia expresses the pursuit of materialism and worldly desire. Greece, in contrast to the first two, represents an intellectual and rational approach in which ideas overpower and conquer. Rome is the conglomeration of the other three, and therefore the struggle with the legacy of that empire is the most difficult. According to the Maharal, the Greek empire, which fought with its wisdom and ideas, was an outgrowth of Jewish influences. Much of Greek wisdom originated in Judaism and that is why the struggle against Greek cultural domination was particularly difficult. During the Babylonian and Persian periods, Judaism was still insular and had not yet begun to shed its light among the nations of the world. Its struggles with these empires were thus conducted against something external. Later, though, Judaism began to fulfill its purpose of radiating its teachings throughout the world, and the Greek empire grew out of this backdrop. This is why the struggle against Greece exacted many casualties: many were swayed by the attractions of Hellenism precisely because its philosophy was predicated upon some genuinely enlightened ideas. Many Jews felt that Greek culture was in fact superior to our own and therefore the ideal of spreading the light of Torah was abandoned. This is the unique meaning of the Chanuka miracle. The emphasis on tsingle cruse of oil that was sealed by the High Priest represents the remaining pure ideas which were not tainted by Hellenistic thought, and were thus the source of the eventual light which illumined the darkness of the world. A miracle was wrought and the laws of nature were suspended in order to demonstrate that the Jewish approach was both necessary and would eventually triumph. The halakha states that we must light the menora publicly until the marketplace empties of people (“ad she-tikhleh regel min ha-shuk”). Homiletically, we may interpret that to mean that the light must be kindled until “hergel,” namely spiritual rote and the malaise which it breeds, are expelled from the world and the holy light of God’s teaching takes its place. This light stems from an inner source which must be nurtured and then can radiate outwards. At a time of persecution, the halakha maintains, it is sufficient to place the lights on one’s table inside the home. Rabbi Zadok of Lublin explained this to mean that at a time of danger when the light cannot brighten the darkness of the world, it must at least brighten the interior of the soul. When the internal spiritual light is kindled and nurtured, it will eventually radiate outwards so that all will realize “that out of Zion shall teaching go forth, and the word of God from Jerusalem.”

Injection vulnerabilities refer to any type of security issue that allows an attacker to execute code on the target machine by crafting specific input data. The general pattern for these attacks is the following: Multiple defense mechanisms are needed against any security vulnerability. The defenses against the injection vulnerabilities include: The most known type of injection vulnerability is SQL injection. Imagine you use code as follows to search for a user: For a normal username and password, this query works fine. Let’s see the resulting query for username 'admin' and password 'strong password 123#": What if an attacker abuses the input to execute a different statement? For example username and empty password results in the following SQL statement: '--' marks the beginning of a commentary in SQL, the statement executed is actually: which returns the user with username "admin" without checking the password, thus enabling an attacker to login as the admin. Another common technique is to inject in a SQL query code of the form , that effectively disables any condition from the WHERE statement. In the above example, using username and password “admin123” results in the SQL query: This effectively runs the SQL statement: SELECT * FROM users thus allowing an attacker to potentially exfiltrate all the information from the users table, presumably including user names and (hopefully encrypted) passwords. Encrypted passwords can then be attacked with a dictionary attack, brute force etc. with a tool like John the Ripper, or just get sold at an auction. SQL Injection can be used in a lot of ways. Here are the most common ones: A simple test for a XSS vulnerability is to inject an For example, try introducing this value in a form field: Newer browser versions limit the calls to alert, so you may need to use Another example of a canonical XSS vulnerability check is to use HTML fields: XSS attacks can take advantage of encoding supported by HTML such as UTF-8 characters and base64. For example, a simple pattern matching validation for XSS can be avoided by using UTF-8 encoding of the letter ‘a’ as For more examples, check out the OWASP XSS Filter Evasion Cheatsheet. Three big types of XSS exist: The same principle applies to other injection attacks. For example, if a web application builds an OS command to execute locally, crafting a specific payload can result in the command being executed as the user running the web application process. This can result in the extraction of data like uploaded files stored on disk and accessible to the web application. Alternatively, the attacker might find ways to send emails to user asking for specific details, directing them to a login or payment form, or giving them false information that looks like it’s coming from a trusted source. Any user input can be exploited in this way. Image files for example can be eventually read by external libraries, for example for generating thumbnails. If the library has a vulnerability, a crafted image can be injected through an upload to a comment form for example, and install malwareMalware, or malicious software, is a type of computer program designed to damage or disrupt a computer system. It can be spread through email attachments, downloads from the internet, and even USB drives. Researchers tend to classify malware into one or more sub-types (i.e. computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, rogue software, wiper and keyloggers). or access data from memory. See for example CVE-2016-8332, a 2016 vulnerability allowing injection of code through a JPEG-2000 image processed by the OpenJpeg library. Same with sound files, email addresses, XML etc.

Botanical Name: Azadirachta indica. The scientific or Latin family name derives from the Persian word “azaddhirak” which means precious wood. Azadirachta indica is sometimes confused with Melia azedarach (Chinaberry). The two species are closely related and have a similar medicinal effect. Other Common Names: Margosa, azadirachta, bead tree, holy tree, Indian lilac tree, nim tree, pride of China, nim (Hindi), nimba (Sanskrit), neem des Indes (French), lila de la India (Spanish). Habitat: The neem tree is believed to be originally native to Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Burma. It is now cultivated and has become naturalized in many other tropical countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and West Africa. It’s not only grown for its medicinal applications but also as an ornamental tree, to provide shade and for fuel and timber. Neem is both drought resistant and can grow in poor soil, and it is highly resistant to pests and diseases. Description: Neem is a member of the Mahogany family or Meliaceae. It is a fast-growing evergreen tree that can grow up to 15 meters in height. It has long branches that form a broad crown. The bark is gray and rough and the leaves are pinnate, up to 30 cm long with 8-19 leaflets with saw-toothed edges. The flowers are small, yellowish-white and fragrant and form in clusters. The fruit is round, hard and yellow and contains one single seed. Plant Parts Used: The bark, leaves, seeds and the small branches are all used in herbal medicine. The oil obtained from the seeds (up to 50%) is also used medicinally. The oil from the seeds is often referred to as margosa oil. The leaves and bark have a bitter taste and are mostly used in tea form, often combined with other herbs such as spearmint and cinnamon. The flowers produce a nectar that can be used as a sweetener. Therapeutic Uses, Benefits and Claims of Neem Active Ingredient and Substances The healing properties of neem are mainly due to some bitter substances, known as triterpenes (limonoids), with azadirachtin as one of the main active ingredients. In addition, neem contains beta-sitosterol, tannins, polysaccharides, flavonoids and essential oil. Neem in Ayurvedic or Indian Medicine For centuries, the neem tree has played a big part in Ayurvedic medicine and Indian folk medicine and it is still one of the most commonly used medicinal plant in India as well as some other countries in East Asia. In India, it is still considered to this day, as a “cure-all” or a “miracle herb” that can heal most ailments. In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, it is known as “nimba”, which derives from the phrase “nimbati swastyamdadati”, meaning “to give good health”. The tree is also known in India as the “village pharmacy”, referring to its uses to treat a variety of ailments and diseases. Neem is known to have antipyretic properties and it has been used traditionally for a long time to lower high fever. It is used as a treatment for a high fever caused by malaria and often used in combination with black pepper (Piper nigrum) and gentian root (Gentiana lutea) in that regard.[adinserter block=”9″] An extract obtained from the leaves or bark has both antibacterial and antiviral effect, with little or no toxicity. The extract has been used internally as a treatment for asthma, sore throat, tuberculosis, eczema, jaundice, stomach ulcers, diabetes, arthritis, and rheumatism. The bark is bitter and has astringent properties and a decoction made from it can be used as a remedy for hemorrhoids. The herb has also been used to eliminate unwanted intestinal parasites, and as an anti-fungal agent for Candida. In addition, it is sometimes used to treat hepatitis A and B, and “mono” or “the kissing disease” (mononucleosis), caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. Studies have shown that the neem oil does have anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties and that it, at least to some extent, can be used to reduce high fever and lower high blood sugar. A volatile (unstable) portion of the oil has demonstrated, in laboratory experiments, a potent spermicidal activity and is now being studied as a possible contraceptive for men and women. External Use of Neem Neem is considered useful bacterial, viral and fungicidal agent mainly because of the presence of limonoids and the seed oil and extracts from the leaves are widely used as a treatment for a variety of skin related ailments. The oil has astringent and anti-inflammatory properties which can make it helpful in the healing of wounds and other minor skin injuries and to ease muscle and joint pain. A juice, or an extract from the leaves, can also be used externally on wounds, boils, rashes, acne, ringworm, chicken pox, herpes, eczema and psoriasis, and as eye drops it can be used to treat night blindness (Nyctalopia) and pink eye (conjunctivitis). The branches can be chewed on to clean the teeth, strengthen the gums and prevent gum inflammation. A variety of substances with non-toxic insecticidal effects are also found in the leaves and the seed oil of the neem tree. The oil is used as a mosquito repellent and to get rid of head lice, both in adults and children. Some studies have shown that neem can be used as a treatment for scabies, a skin condition causes by a specific mite (Sarcoptes scabie). In one trial, 98% of people suffering from scabies was cured by applying a preparation made from neem and turmeric on the afflicted areas. Since neem also helps to kill bacteria and fungi, it is often used as an ingredient in toothpaste, soaps and skin care products. Dosage and Administration As a herbal tea: Use one tablespoon of the dried leaves in half a liter of boiling water and steep for 5-10 minutes before straining. The usual recommended dosage is to drink two to three cups daily. As a tincture: 40 drops in water three times daily. As a commercial standardized extract, it is often recommended to take two 500 mg capsules three times a day. Otherwise, the manufacturer’s instruction should be followed. Potential Side Effects of Neem Most healthy adults can use the herb without any adverse side effects or interaction, but in large doses, it can cause breathing problems, seizures, and lethargy (drowsiness). The herb is considered unsuitable for young children, infants, the elderly or people suffering from debilitating diseases or conditions. For some reason not yet known, the neem oil of seems to be more toxic to children than to adults. Other Resources I like on Neem How I use herbs – Neem oil by Farmer Liz Atkins, Rosie, et al.: Herbs. The Essential Guide for a Modern World. London, Rodale International Ltd. 2006. Bown, Deni: The Royal Horticultural Society New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses. London, Dorling Kindersley 2002. Duke, James A.: The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook. Rodale / Reach 2000. Frawley, David & Vasant Lad: The Yoga of Herbs. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Lotus Press 2001. Tierra, Lesley: Healing with the Herbs of Life. Berkeley, Crossing Press 2003. Tierra, Michael: The Way of Herbs. New York, Pocket Books 1998. van Wyk, Ben-Erik & Michael Wink: Medicinal Plants of the World. Portland, Oregon, Timber Press 2004. Williamson, Elisabeth M.: Potter’s Herbal Cyclopaedia. Essex, Saffron Walden 2003. Latest posts by Thordur Sturluson (see all) - What is the Difference Between Hemp and Marijuana? - June 3, 2019 Leave a Reply

In the book and now movie, The Martian, the astronaut Mark Watney must survive alone on Mars for what could be up to three years. In an incredible stroke of luck, it turns out he’s a botanist. And that knowledge really comes in handy because it keeps him alive. I’m also a botanist. And I’m an indie game developer. And this is the story of my sci-fi game about plants, Solarium. (‘Mars, Melons and Mashed Potatoes’ was an alternative title, but that’s neither here nor there.) Let me ask you a question… are you plant blind? In all likelihood the answer is yes. Plant blindness is defined as the inability of people to notice plants in their environment. From a botanist’s point of view this is very unfortunate. It leads to a sense of apathy and detachment from the plant world and is a primary reason for the lack of appreciation of the importance of plants to life on earth. And I can tell you with absolute certainty that our survival on Earth is as dependent on plants as was Mark’s survival on Mars. So, what to do about plant blindness? The obvious answer is to make plants interesting. This I did in my visits to primary schools – the sheer joy on the faces of first-graders when plants and their associated fauna (insects, fungi, worms) are presented in a fun and interactive way is amazing. But with adults, it’s a harder sell, and not easy to do when things like sports, travel, movies, and video games seem so much more fun. Hmm… video games. In Solarium, you’re in a distant future in a distant galaxy. A race of aliens has cooperated with earthlings to explore the galaxies and document all forms of life for preservation, just in case their home worlds are destroyed. It’s called the Solarium Initiative. The DNA is taken to an intergalactic botanical study centre where each environment is painstakingly reconstructed. You are a botanist-in-training from earth, and you must visit the Earth environments to learn about their plants before setting out on an actual expedition. You answer skill-testing questions, earn points, overcome challenges, and then build your own custom garden of beautiful and strange plants. And in the process, hopefully reduce your plant blindness. Some points about the game: - A sci-fi setting was chosen to attract maximum attention. After all, who can resist sci-fi? - The player is not given a tutorial or a massive set of instructions. This is quite deliberate. Rather, players must explore the Botanical Study Centre and accompanying modules to gain an understanding of why they are there and what they must do. - Every effort is made to be gender- and race-inclusive. There is also CC for the hearing impaired. - The game has a unique and original music score. - Humour has been sprinkled throughout. - Voice-overs in the form of student narration are used here and there to help the story along. - We have made every effort to be botanically-correct in terms of environment, knowledge-testing questions, and plant models. However, with respect to the latter, a limited budget precluded the hiring of a graphic artist to custom-build 3D models. And some points of general interest… - This game is a family affair. I worked with the game engine and wrote the code, my son did the 2d artwork and helped with the story line, and my brother composed most of the music score (the rest was bought). - Although some 3d models came from TurboSquid, most are from the Unity Asset Store. What a godsend. Textures were from wherever I could get them. - In 2013, I attended the Unite conference in Vancouver. I learned in pretty short order that this was no botanical conference. It was a blast and it encouraged me to keep going on the game. So there you have it, the story of Solarium. I’d be grateful if you gave it a go. You might be too – perhaps you’ll end up stranded on Mars some day with only a few potatoes on hand.

Dialects—Spoken Style, Written Style Lecture no. 18 from the course: The Story of Human Language Taught by Professor John McWhorter | 30 min | Categories: The Great Courses Plus Online Literature & Language Courses We often see the written style of language as how it really "is" or "should be." But in fact, writing allows uses of language that are impossible when a language is only a spoken one.

Architectural symbols of international exhibitions can often also become the symbol of the city or indeed the nation. Nur Alem, the stunning sphere at the centre of Expo 2017 Astana, is the largest spherical building in the world with a diameter of 80 and height of 100 metres and was designed by prominent American architect duo Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill. The singularity of the construction is that it is the world’s first ‘complete sphere’ building, yet behind this apparently simplistic design lies a long and complicated process of creation. Double-laminated IGUs were chosen to create its facade, whilst the glass the designers opted for is Guardian SunGuard® SNX 50/23 HT, helping to protect the building from rapid temperature changes. This SunGuard coating boasts world class levels of selectivity, letting in the maximum amount of daylight, yet radically reducing the penetration of the sun’s heat. The German company Bischoff Glastechnik was in charge of fitting the glass. All in all, the Nur Alem is made with 4,600 glass panels. According to Andrey Rybin, architectural project manager, the glass sphere was the most complicated element to create: “Guardian perfectly met all key requirements. As an architectural object, the Nur Alem requires ideal solar protection and at the same time optimal light transmission. That is why the architects in charge used double-laminated IGUs, with one of the laminated glass panels, installed on the inner-side of the IGU, having the Guardian SunGuard® SNX 50/23 coating”. Where is this building?

Our overall focus for the next four weeks is Literal Comprehension (this is our division focus for my school). Each group also has a subfocus they are working on in their groups (vocabulary, phrasing, expression, accuracy, and conventions). I know conventions isn't a typical guided reading group focus, but for this particular group, it is a necessity! On Tuesday we built our Literal Comprehension Anchor chart - establishing our learning goal and building our success criteria. Each student copied this chart into their reading journals. This is one of my student's journals. I was WOWED by it - such attention to detail! (Now, if I can just get her to stop spelling summary with an 'e' I will be one happy teacher!). Each day after reading the students have two tasks. First, they need to answer literal comprehension questions from their reading. They can discuss their answers as a group, but each student is responsible for writing their own answers in their journals. The next task is something new I started this year. I created a Summary of Learning sheet for each group which I posted on my bulletin board. Each sheet has the novel name and the groups' subfocus written on it. After each day of reading, students are required to write one thing they learned from their reading each day on a special coloured sticky note. This should relate to their group's subfocus. They then post their notes on their sheets on the bulletin board.

Print this page. Home / Browse / Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were the nine African-American students involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. Their entrance into the school in 1957 sparked a nationwide crisis when Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, in defiance of a federal court order, called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the Nine from entering. President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded by federalizing the National Guard and sending in units of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division to escort the Nine into the school on September 25, 1957. The military presence remained for the duration of the school year. Before transferring to Central, the Nine attended segregated schools for black students in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Carlotta Walls, Jefferson Thomas, and Gloria Ray attended Paul Laurence Dunbar Junior High School, while Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Thelma Mothershed, Terrence Roberts, Minnijean Brown, and Melba Pattillo attended Horace Mann High School. On May 24, 1955, the Little Rock School Board adopted a plan for gradual integration, known as the Blossom Plan (also known as the Little Rock Phase Program). The plan called for desegregation to begin in the fall of 1957 at Central and filter down to the lower grades over the next six years. Under the plan, students would be permitted to transfer from any school where their race was in the minority, thus ensuring that the black schools would remain racially segregated, because many people believed that few, if any, white students would opt to attend predominantly black schools. Federal courts upheld the Blossom Plan in response to a lawsuit by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). On September 4, 1957, the Nine attempted to enter Central but were turned away by Arkansas National Guard troops called out by the governor. When Elizabeth Eckford arrived at the campus at the intersection of 14th and Park Streets, she was confronted by an angry mob of segregationist protestors. She attempted to enter at the front of the school but was directed back out to the street by the guardsmen. Walking alone, surrounded by the crowd, she eventually reached the south end of Park Street and sat down on a bench to wait for a city bus to take her to her mother’s workplace. Of her experience, Eckford later said, “I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the mob—someone who maybe would help. I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me.” Others of the Nine arrived the same day and gathered at the south, or 16th Street, corner where they and an integrated group of local ministers who were there to support them were also turned away by guardsmen. The Nine remained at home for more than two weeks, trying to keep up with their schoolwork as best they could. When the federal court ordered Gov. Faubus to stop interfering with the court’s order, Faubus removed the guardsmen from in front of the school. On September 23, the Nine entered the school for the first time. The crowd outside chanted, “Two, four, six, eight…We ain’t gonna integrate!” and chased and beat black reporters who were covering the events. The Little Rock police, fearful that they could not control the increasingly unruly mob in front of the school, removed the Nine later that morning. They once again returned home and waited for further information on when they would be able to attend school. Calling the mob’s actions “disgraceful,” Eisenhower called out 1,200 members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division—the “Screaming Eagles” of Fort Campbell, Kentucky—and placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal orders. On September 25, 1957, under federal troop escort, the Nine were escorted back into Central for their first full day of classes. Melba Pattillo later wrote, “After three full days inside Central, I know that integration is a much bigger word than I thought.” After the Nine suffered repeated harassment—such as kicking, shoving, and name calling—the military assigned guards to escort them to classes. The guards, however, could not go everywhere with the students, and harassment continued in places such as the restrooms and locker rooms. After the 101st Airborne soldiers returned to Ft. Campbell in November, leaving the National Guard troops in charge, segregationist students intensified their efforts to compel the Nine to leave Central. The Little Rock Nine did not have any classes together. They were not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities at Central. Nevertheless, they returned to school every day to persist in obtaining an equal education. Although all of the Nine endured verbal and physical harassment during their year at Central, Minnijean Brown was the only one to respond; she was first suspended and then expelled for retaliating against the daily torment by dropping her lunch tray with a bowl of chili on two white boys and, later, by referring to a white girl who hit her as “white trash.” Of her experience, she later said, “I just can’t take everything they throw at me without fighting back.” Brown moved to New York City and graduated from New Lincoln High School in 1959. The other eight students remained at Central until the end of the school year. On May 27, 1958, Ernest Green became Central’s first black graduate. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended his graduation ceremony. Green later told reporters, “It’s been an interesting year. I’ve had a course in human relations first hand.” The other eight, like their counterparts across the district, were forced to attend other schools or take correspondence classes the next year when voters opted to close all four of Little Rock’s high schools to prevent further desegregation efforts. For additional information:Beals, Melba Pattillo. Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High. New York: Washington Square Books, 1994. Bates, Daisy. The Long Shadow of Little Rock. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2000. “Fifty Years Later.” Special issue, Arkansas Times. September 20, 2007. Kirk, John Andrew. Redefining the Color Line: Black Activism in Little Rock, Arkansas 1940–1970. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002. LaNier, Carlotta Walls, and Lisa Frazier Page. A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School. New York: One World/Ballantine, 2009. Reed, Roy. Faubus: The Life and Times of an American Prodigal. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1997. Roberts, Terrence. Lessons from Little Rock. Little Rock: Butler Center Books, 2009. Roy, Beth. Bitters in the Honey: Tales of Hope and Disappointment across Divides of Race and Time. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999. National Park ServiceCentral High School National Historic Site Last Updated 9/9/2010 About this Entry: Contact the Encyclopedia / Submit a Comment / Submit a Narrative

New research suggests that for women with dense breasts, conventional mammography supplemented by an ultrasound scan is a costly addition unlikely to improve detection or reduce breast-cancer deaths significantly. But compared with conventional mammography alone, 3-D mammography -- also called tomosynthesis -- does increase the likelihood of detecting cancer in women with dense breasts. The new findings emerge from two separate studies. Collectively, they suggest that for women with dense breasts -- which both raises a woman’s risk of breast cancer and makes such malignancies harder to find on an imaging scan -- tomosynthesis might be a better cancer screening technique than standard mammography-plus-ultrasonography. But neither study compared the two screening techniques head-to-head, and debate over how best to catch breast cancers in such women is certain to continue. More than 4 in 10 women between the ages of 40 and 74 are thought to have dense breasts. In an article released Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, a team of preventive-care specialists from across the United States and the Netherlands joined forces to calculate the cost of and additional years of life gained by adding sonography to the mix of breast-cancer screening mechanisms. The study was commissioned by the National Cancer Institute. The team found that adding sonography for all dense-breasted women between 50 and 74 who come up clean on a standard mammogram drove costs up considerably, but yielded only marginal health benefits. Some 3,000 such women would have to get the additional sonogram for one breast-cancer death to be averted. (By comparison, the benefits of basic mammography screening for all women 50 to 74 are considerable: Models show that compared with a world in which no older women are screened for breast cancer, when all women in this age group get mammograms once every two years, 18 breast-cancer deaths for every 3,000 women are averted.) In the process, sonogram scans would frequently turn up false positives, prompting many women to undertake the risk, cost and inconvenience of having a breast biopsy when they either do not have breast cancer or have forms of cancer that will not ultimately threaten their lives. The new calculation comes as state and national legislatures debate whether to require that women with dense breasts be warned of their elevated cancer risk and offered the additional sonography screening. Many breast cancer experts had hoped that hand-held sonograms would offer a safe, easy and inexpensive way to improve screening for breast cancer for women with dense breasts. But this rigorous comparison found that it was neither inexpensive, effective or even particularly safe, owing to the false-positives it turned up. “Most people would be surprised by our result: that so few lives are saved and it’s at very high cost,” said Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt, an oncologist and cancer epidemiologist at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. “It remains possible that a better-performing technology with targeted application to women with dense breasts or women at higher than average risk would be useful,” the authors of the Annals study wrote. A second study, presented last week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, explored the potential benefits of digital breast tomosynthesis -- more commonly known as 3-D mammography -- in that role, and found the numbers promising. That study was funded by Hologic, Inc., a healthcare and diagnostics company that has aggressively promoted its 3-D imaging techniques. In a head-to-head comparison of mammography alone with 3-D mammography for women with dense breasts, the study found that digital tomosynthesis significantly increased the cancer detection rate. Researchers performed both types of scans on more than 25,000 women, ages 50 to 69, and categorized the women by the density of their breasts. Among women with dense breasts, researchers detected 80% of 132 breast cancers when they read the scan results generated by digital mammography-plus-tomosynthesis. When reading mammographic scans alone, researchers detected only 59% of those breast cancers. The higher-tech scan, which recomputes the digital information captured by a mammogram to create a three-dimensional image of the breast, was also superior at detecting cancer in women with breasts that were less dense but more fatty -- a direction in which many women move as they grow older. Of the 257 cancers found in the entire population of 25,547 women, 82% were detected by the 3-D technique, compared with 63% detected by mammography alone. “Tomosynthesis could be regarded as an improvement of mammography and would be much easier than MRI or ultrasound to implement in organized screening programs,” said the study’s senior investigator, Dr. Per Skaane of Oslo University Hospital’s Department of Radiology in Norway. “So the intention of our study was to see if tomosynthesis really would significantly increase the cancer detection rate in a population-based mammography screening program.” Georgetown’s Mandelblatt called the trial comparing mammography and 3-D tomography “a step in the right direction” in helping women with dense breasts address their increased risk. But she added that the true benefits of imaging techniques in detecting cancers must take into account how well they find the specific cancers that matter most -- those that will rise up to threaten a patient’s life. For that, she said, “you just need longer follow-up” of subjects in great numbers.

A pair of spin-1/2 particles can be combined to form one of three states of total spin 1 called the triplet, or a state of spin 0 which is called the singlet. In theoretical physics, a singlet usually refers to a one-dimensional representation (e.g. a particle with vanishing spin). It may also refer to two or more particles prepared in a correlated state, such that the total angular momentum of the state is zero. Singlets and other such representations frequently occur in atomic physics and nuclear physics, where one tries to determine the total spin from a collection of particles. A single electron has spin 1/2, and upon rotation its state transforms as a doublet, that is, as the fundamental representation of the Lie group SU(2). We can measure the spin of this electron's state by applying an operator to the state, and we will always obtain (or spin 1/2) since the spin-up and spin-down states are both eigenstates of this operator with the same eigenvalue. Likewise, if we have a system of two electrons, we can measure the total spin by applying , where acts on electron 1 and acts on electron 2. However, we can now have two possible spins, which is to say, two possible eigenvalues of the total spin operator, corresponding to spin-0 or spin-1. Each eigenvalue belongs to a set of eigenstates. The "spin-0" set is called the singlet, containing one state (see below), and the "spin-1" set is called the triplet, containing three possible eigenstates. In more mathematical language, we say the product of two doublet representations can be decomposed into the sum of the adjoint representation (the triplet) and the trivial representation, the singlet. The singlet state formed from a pair of electrons has many peculiar properties, and plays a fundamental role in the EPR paradox and quantum entanglement. In Dirac notation this EPR state is usually represented as: See also |This quantum mechanics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.|

Culture and History Crete seduces and captures the senses with its impressive and majestic landscape, but also with the spirit, the history and the Cretans themselves Discover its varied history through the centuries: In its Minoan palaces of Knossos, of Phaistos, Malia and Zakros. At the archaeological sites of ancient Gortyna, Eleftherna, Lyttos, Apteras, Falassarna, Spinalongas… In the Venetian ports of Chania, Heraklion and Rethymnon. In Ottoman monuments and architectures scattered throughout the island. In the historical monasteries of Arkadi, Preveli, Toplou, Agarathos, Chrysoskalitissa… In the numerous thematic museums, among them the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, one of the most important in the world. The greatest civilisation of Minoan Crete ruled almost 4,000 years ago and where Theseus killed the legendary Minotaur in King Minos’ labyrinth The Knosos was the most important city of Crete before the Roman era and, above all, the center of the first brilliant European palace culture, the Minoan Civilization. The palace of the city is the most visited archeological site of Crete with more than 1,000,000 visitors a year. The palace is located just 5 km south of Heraklion, on the hill Kefalas over the banks of Knossanou Gorge. Access is via Knossos Street, which joins the Heraklio with Skalani. Apart from the palace area, the wider area is full of archeological finds, which is logical if we consider that Knossos had at its peak more than 100,000 inhabitants. Royal courts, great staircases, theatre, storerooms and famous disk of Phaistos The Phaistos was a city in Minoan Crete, 55km south of Heraklion and close to Tympaki. The ruins of the city are located on a low hill in plain of Messara, with panoramic views of the surrounding area. It is the second largest palace center after palace of Knossos, as it occupies an area of 18 acres. The city has been inhabited since 6000 BC, while it flourished in parallel with city of Knossos, until the 1st century BC. One of the most striking scenery in Europe The Samaria Gorge is the most famous trekking gorge in Europe and a part of the European E4 hiking trail. Thousands of tourists flock here daily in the summer season to walk from the top to the bottom. For many visitors, it is the sole purpose of their visit to Crete. The length of the gorge reaches 14.5km and takes almost 5-7 hours to hike from Xyloskalo at Omalos plateau to Agia Roumeli beach, depending on the trekking pace. Surrounded by some of the most striking scenery in Europe, the Samaria Gorge trail, in Chania, includes abandoned villages and the rich wildlife of Crete’s White Mountains National Park. Venetian Fortezza Fortress A Venetian landmark in Crete The Venetian Fortezza fortress is built on the “Paleokastro” hill, located on the west side of the old Venetian Town of Rethymno and is one of the largest Venetian fortresses in Crete. On this hill was built the acropolis of ancient Rithymna and the temple of Rokkaia Artemis, which are not saved today. The majestic pentagonal fortress began to be built in 1573 and has a perimeter of 1300 meters. Along the wall there are 4 bastions (Saint Luke, St. Elias, Ag. Pavlou, Ag. Nikolaou), which served the defense to the enemy. Venetian Harbor of Rethymnon Rethymno, in Crete, is a rare combination of history and modern-day luxury, with its Venetian-era Fortezza fortress and multicultural Old old Towntown, tropical beaches and exquisite Cretan cuisine. The Venetian Port, next to the modern port, is one of the most picturesque places of the Old Town of Rethymno next to he most picturesque areas of it, Egyptian Lighthouse. It has existed since the Byzantine Period (after 961 AD), but flourished during the Venetian occupation. The Venetian Port no longer hosts Venetian galleys and Turkish warships, but the fishing boats rocking in its waters create a beautiful and serene image. The port is full of life in the summer, when the taverns take the tables outside and invite passers-by to sit down to enjoy their cuisine, Greek or international. Οld Venetian Town Of Rethymno Rethymnon retains the charm of the old town The old Venetian Town of Rethymno is a preserved Renaissance city with elements from both the Venetian and the Ottoman Empire. The city is full of picturesque streets, like Arkadiou str. and Antistaseos Str., but also a lot of graphics quietly narrow where life flows very smoothly. Above the old town rises the The Venetian Fortezza fortress. The picturesque alleys of the area also house taverns with traditional music. An ancient, sacred place The Melidoni Cave is located 1800m northwest of Melidoni’s Village in an altitude of 220m, on the west side of Kouloukonas. The Melidoni Cave, is of great interest because of its archaeological findings, the rich cave decoration, but also its tragic history with the massacre of the Cretans by the Ottomans in 1823. The cave is of great historical importance, as it is associated with one of the greatest tragedies in Cretan history.

Dec. 7, 2021 -- Real and artificial trees can trigger asthma and allergy flare-ups that make the holidays a misery for some people. Christmas tree allergies -- triggered by popular varieties like fir, hemlock, pine, or spruce -- are rare. But there are other allergens in the mix that can be triggering for people. That’s because real trees often travel long distances to reach your local tree lot. Before the journey, they’re sprayed down with water, allowing mold to grow along the way, says J. Allen Meadows, MD, past president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and an allergist at AllerVie Health in Alabama. Artificial trees, meanwhile, can release nasty chemicals that trigger allergy or asthma attacks right after they’re unwrapped, Meadows says. Each year after that, they can gather dust in storage that also causes symptoms to flare when they’re unpacked. Packing everything away in bags and boxes that are as airtight as possible may reduce dust but not eliminate it. “Whether it’s artificial or a live tree, I like to air it out outside before I set it up in my house,” Meadows says. A leaf blower comes in handy, too, for blasting mold or dust off the tree before you bring it indoors. Timing also matters. If you can hold off setting up a tree until after the first hard frost where you live, then you won’t risk pollen or ragweed getting on the tree when you put it outdoors to air out, he says. And with a real tree, you need to resist the urge to put it up right after Thanksgiving, says Sharmilee M. Nyenhuis, MD, an asthma, allergy, and immunology specialist at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. That’s because mold starts to build up after about a week inside your home. If you can’t stand the thought of waiting until mid-December to put up a real tree, you may also be able to cut down on mold by spraying it with a solution of half water, half vinegar, she suggests. A vinegar solution can also remove mold from fake trees. The same masks that people have been wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic can also come in handy for setting up and decorating the tree, Nyenhuis says. Wearing a mask to unpack ornaments, set up and decorate the tree, and handle any other seasonal decorations you take out of storage can help lessen symptom flares caused by mold and dust. And you can also take steps to prevent asthma and allergy attacks by working with your doctor to review and revise your medication as needed to address any exposure to mold or dust from the tree, Meadows says. “The bottom line is if your asthma and allergies are well controlled, you should be able to tolerate places with live trees,” he says.

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR Published: November 21, 2006 THE CLAIM -- Pricking a stroke victim's fingers can help delay symptoms. THE FACTS -- A recent, widely circulated e-mail message proposes an unusual way to help the victim of a stroke. ''Help the victim sit up to prevent him from falling over,'' the message states. ''Then sterilize a needle and use it to prick the tip of the person's finger. After a few minutes, the victim should regain consciousness.'' The message says that doing this somehow relieves blood pressure and eases symptoms. Like most medical advice dispensed in the form of a chain e-mail message, it has no scientific basis. In fact, following its advice can do harm. Forcing a stroke victim to sit up is never a good idea, because it can cause a drop in blood pressure, says Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, director of the Duke Stroke Center. It would be better to help the person lie down. Pricking the victim's finger is also a bad idea, not only because it is futile, but because doing so can delay medical treatment, which is the only thing that can help. THE BOTTOM LINE -- Only emergency medical treatment can help a stroke victim. ANAHAD O'CONNOR Drawing (Drawing by Leif Parsons)

Description - Principles and Applications of Powder Diffraction by Abraham Clearfield Powder diffraction is one of the primary techniques used to characterize materials, providing structural information even when the crystallite size is too small for single crystal x-ray diffraction methods. There has been a significant increase in the application of powder diffraction in recent years, both in research and manufacturing, fuelled by improved instrumentation, data processing and awareness of the information that can be obtained. Powder diffraction allows for rapid, non-destructive analysis of multi-component mixtures without the need for extensive sample preparation. This gives laboratories the ability to quickly analyse unknown materials and perform materials characterization in such fields as chemistry, materials science, geology, mineralogy, forensics, archaeology, and the biological and pharmaceutical sciences. This book provides a concise introduction to modern powder diffraction methods with particular emphasis on practical aspects. It covers the background theory of diffraction in a form approachable by those with an undergraduate degree. Whilst individual chapters are written as stand alone sections, the text is sufficiently focused so that it can be read in its entirety by the non-specialist who wants to gain a rapid overview of what they can do with modern powder diffraction methods. Buy Principles and Applications of Powder Diffraction by Abraham Clearfield from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, Boomerang Books. (253mm x 182mm x 26mm) Wiley-Blackwell (an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Ltd) Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd Country of Publication: Book Reviews - Principles and Applications of Powder Diffraction by Abraham Clearfield Author Biography - Abraham Clearfield Abraham Clearfield is Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Joseph Reibenspies and Nattamai Bhuvanesh are Senior Research Instrument Specialist and Research Instrument Specialist, respectively at the Department of Chemistry, Texas A & M University, USA. Contributors to the book: Dr Lachlan Cranswick Dr Natammai Bhuvanesh Dr Karen Chapman Dr Peter Chupas Professor Abraham Clearfiled Dr James Kadak Dr Arnt Kern Dr Armel LeBail Dr Lyndon Mitchell Dr E. Andrew Payzant Dr Joseph Reibenspies Dr Pamela Whitfield

Trees are one of my favorite things. They have many dimensions to them, but I did not know the following. Did you? Most people know that trees near buildings can raise property prices by an average of 14 percent in the U.K. and as much as up to 37 percent in the U.S. In northern temperate climates, moss will grow on the northern side of the tree trunk, where it is shadier. Failing that, if you find a tree that has been cut down, you can observe the rings of the tree to discover which direction north is. In the northern hemisphere, the rings of growth in a tree trunk are slightly thicker on the southern side, which receives more light. The converse is true in the southern hemisphere. As well as providing shade, a large tree can also transpire as much as 378.5 liters (100 gallons) of water into the air per day. This has a cooling effect roughly equivalent to 10 single room-sized air conditioning units operating 20 hours a day! The acorns of oak trees (which don’t usually appear until the tree is around 40 years old) are food for dozens of species, including wild boar (and now more commonly pigs), jays, pigeons, pheasants, ducks, squirrels, mice, badgers, and deer. Once a tree is attacked, it will “signal” to other nearby trees to also start their self-defense, before they are attacked! Methods of communication include releasing chemicals into the wind and possibly even sending chemical or electric signals through the michorizal network of roots (a network of shared fungus fibers).

|An Introduction to Islam|| The Birth of Mohammed: Mohammed was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, c572 A.D. His father, who died two months before his birth, was a poor man but belonged to the Koreish, one of the distinguished Arabian tribes. While still a young man, Mohammed married a wealthy widow and was thereby relieved of the necessity of daily labour. Mohammed found himself with enough leisure time to indulge in religious contemplation. At that time, although Judaism and Christianity had been adopted by certain Arabian tribes, idolatrous worship had supplanted most of their ancient rites. Mohammed would annually go to Mt. Hira to meditate and pray. One year, upon returning from the mountain, Mohammed declared himself a chosen prophet of God. Mohammed claimed that he had his first vision while in a cave on the mountain. On return to Mecca, he preached his message for nine years, and gained a number of adherents. As one might expect, this caused friction with other established beliefs. Finally, in 612 A.D. he was warned by his followers that his enemies intended to murder him and he was forced to flee. This flight marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar and is called 1A.H. (after Hejrat meaning "after the flight or migration"). His flight allowed him to gather his followers and in 630 A.D. he returned to wrest Mecca from the hands of the Koreish. He was then acknowledged "the prophet" by all Arabia. During his lifetime (Mohammed died two years after his return to Mecca), his followers carefully transcribed his words and visions, as he himself did not know how to write. In 645 A.D. (about ten years after his death, 'Ali (Mohammed's brother in law) and other leaders collected together all these transcriptions, collated them and created the book of the Qur'an, which has 114 chapters, and 6236 verses. This became the Holy Book for the followers of Islam. Mohammed's flight to Medina in September 622, marks the initiation of the Islamic era, and his death in June 632, succeeded in founding a state of considerable power and prestige according to Arabian standards of the time. During this short ten year period, most of the desert dwelling Bedouin tribes of Arabia had pledged their allegiance to the Prophet of Islam, who thus laid the foundation for the subsequent expansion of the new faith in Allah beyond the Arabian peninsula. However, the death of Mohammed presented the infant Islamic community with its first major crisis. The crisis of succession marks the beginning of what was eventually to develop into a permanent Sunni Shi'a division in the Islamic community. First Major Crisis: Consequently, amidst much debate, one of the earliest converts to Islam and a trusted companion of Mohammed, Abu Bakr, was elected as successor. He took the title of Khalifat Rasul Allah (Successor to the Messenger of God), a title which was soon simplified to Khalifa ("Caliph" in English). Thus by electing the first successor to the Prophet, the unique Islamic institution of the caliphate was also founded. From its very inception, the caliphate came to embody both the religious and the political leadership of the community. The early Muslims recognized neither distinction between religion and state, nor between religious and secular authorities and organizations. Indeed, a strictly theocratic conception of order, in which Islam is not merely a religion but a complete system ordained by God for the socio-political as well as the moral and spiritual governance of mankind, had been an integral part of Mohammed's message and practice. Abu Bakr's caliphate lasted just over two years, and before his death in 634, he personally selected 'Umar as his successor. 'Umar who was assassinated in 644, introduced a new procedure for the election of his successor; he had decided that a council of six of the early companions was to choose the new caliph from amongst themselves. In due time, 'Uthman b 'Affan, an member of the important Meccan clan was selected and became the third caliph. Beginnings of Shi'a Islam: The Shi'a believed that Mohammed did in fact appoint a successor, (or an imam as they have preferred to call the spiritual guide and leader), and that person was in fact 'Ali. As such, 'Ali and his friends became obliged to protest against the act of choosing the Prophet's successor through elective methods. It was this very protest which separated the Shi'a from the majority of the Muslims. Despite the contention over the rightful order, the first four caliphs (known as the al-khulafa' al-rashidun or "Rightly-Guided Caliphs") were considered to be the orthodox maintainers of the all embracing regulations of the message of Islam as expressed in the revelations contained in the Qur'an. (It was this orthodoxy that became known as Sunni Islam.) According to Shi'a doctrine the imams ('Ali and his direct descendants) were the only source of religious instruction and guidance, and the most important question regarded the elucidation of Islamic teachings and religious tenets. This was because they were aware that the teachings of the Qur'an and the sacred law of Islam (Shari'a) came from sources beyond man and therefore contained truths that could not be grasped through human reason. Therefore in order to understand the true meaning of the Islamic revelation, the Shi'a had realized the necessity for a religiously authoritative person, namely the imam. Although 'Ali eventually succeeded as the fourth caliph, the Shi'a believe he was really the first true caliph, followed by a succession of 11 others. In the eyes of the Shi'a, 'Ali's unique qualifications as successor held yet another important dimension in that he was believed to have been nominated by divine command as expressed through Mohammed's testimony. This meant that 'Ali was also divinely inspired and immune from error and sin, thus making him infallible both in his knowledge and as a teaching authority after the prophet. The Shia branch broke away after the killing of 'Alis's son Husayn at the battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Because of their beliefs, these Shi'a became known as the "twelvers" (based on the number of imams). When the twelfth imam mysteriously disappeared in 878 the Imamate came to an end and the collective body of Shi'ite religious scholars or ulema assumed his office, awaiting his return as the 'rightly guided one'. The present Ayatollahs (Signs of God) see themselves as joint caretakers of the office of the Imam, who is to return at the end of time. However, the succession was not totally agreed upon by all Shi'a and another group broke away and became known as the "seveners" or Ismaelis, because of their contention that the rightful seventh (and last imam) was not Musa al Kazim, but his elder brother Isma'il who died as a child. As a result of this aspect of the "division", it can generally be concluded that orthodox Sunni Islam basically believes that the Qur'an is the final authority and there is no further revelation. Shi'a Islam believes that the rightful Imam has both the divine inspiration and authority of Allah to add to the message of the Qur'an. Thus Shi'a Islam is seen as the more radical of the two main branches, and throughout the centuries many have claimed to be the next 'imam', attempting to rally Muslims to their particular cause which has unfortunately often been expressed as a Jihad (Holy war against infidels). Abandoning the physical comforts of the world and pursuing silence prayer and meditation, their ultimate goal was to transcend worldly life and reach an eternal celestial tranquillity in union with Allah. Others claim it comes from the Arabic word suf which literally means wool, referring to the material from which the simple robes of the early Muslim mystics were made. Despite problems with origins, the Sufis can generally be regarded as Muslim mystics, although many Sufis would argue that Sufism is in fact the real basis of orthodox Islam. The central doctrine of Sufism is wahdat al-wujud (the oneness of being), and they teach that the relative has no reality other than in the Absolute, and the finite had no reality other than in the Infinite. In Islam, man has access to the Absolute and Infinite through the Qur'an. They also hold the belief that, in addition to the guidance offered to them in the Qu'ran, they must receive instruction and help in their quest for spiritual purification from a wise and experienced "master" or guide. Calling for a life of love and pure devotion to Allah, the Sufis developed a spiritual path to Allah, consisting of various stages of piety (maqamat) and gnostic-psycholigical states (ahwal), through which each Sufi has to pass. This concept of stages of piety led to a concept of sainthood in Islam, along with the related belief that saints could perform miracles. While strict orthodox Islam frowns on any use of music in religious rituals, Sufi orders have developed a wide variety of ritual observances involving singing, drums and other musical instruments. These rituals often include some form of dance, the best known in the West being that of the Turkish Mevlevi order, often called the "whirling dervishes". Today there are many Sufi orders throughout the length and breadth of Islam, taking their name from both the school's teacher and its city of location. For example, you may have a Shi'a Sufi from the Oveyssi school at Karaj. Muslims live and die without any assurance that they will be saved, and they are driven to perform good deeds in hopes of outweighing their sins. Their God - Allah is far off and uninterested in their personal well being. They know very little of forgiveness. Perhaps Romans 10:2-3a aptly describes them: "For I bear them record that they have a zeal from God, but not according to knowledge. For they be ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted.." Major Muslim People Groups New York. 1994 Baron's Educational Series London. 1956 Penguin Books New York. 1971 Hamlyn Publishing London. 1978. Greenwood Press. Seattle. 1993. YWAM Publishing. |see also: Eid-al-Adha, religion, Eid-al-Fitr, Ramadan, islamic countries (Umma), summay, culture, images of mosques| |A to Z of Azerbaijan / A dan Z ye Azerbaycan||

Biodiversity is suffering dramatic declines across the globe, threatening the ability of ecosystems to provide the services on which humanity depends. Mainstreaming biodiversity into the plans, strategies and policies of different economic sectors is key to reversing these declines. The importance of this mainstreaming is recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Aichi targets. Individual countries can implement the goals of the CBD through their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which aim to, inter alia, support the mainstreaming of biodiversity into the policies of key economic sectors, such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries. This paper investigates the performance of countries at incorporating biodiversity mainstreaming into their post-2010 NBSAPs. We conduct a large-scale review of 144 NBSAPs against five criteria and calculate a national-level indicator for comparing levels of mainstreaming among countries. Our results show that developing countries, particularly those in Africa, have higher scores, indicating that they have a higher awareness of the importance of biodiversity mainstreaming. Developing nations were also more likely to involve a greater range of stakeholders in the NBSAP development process, whilst developed nations were less likely to give specific details about the monetary contributions of biodiversity to their economies. Overall, our findings suggest that biodiversity mainstreaming remains a challenge across much of the world, but that progress in some areas can provide direction and momentum in the future.

The Innovator is the committed owner of an idea who guides it through the Validation Phase and, when approved, through the Experimentation Phase(s). The Innovator, if needed and willing, may play a role in the Scaling Up phase and Embedding Phases of the innovation as well. An Innovator can be anyone within the organization who identifies a new technology, potential product or service which he/she believes has business value. Innovators are people who are determined to push their idea, with the help of Innovation Coaches, through the different phases of the Innovation Level. Regardless of their organizational function or role, Innovators are appointed as such by the Innovation Coaches at the moment when their idea is validated and accepted to enter the Portfolio Kanban. Being an Innovator is a temporary role and it is not an organizational function. After the Experimentation Phase, the role of the Innovator stops and is gradually transferred to the Business Owner. This transfer of ownership happens during the Scaling Phase. - Working on the Innovative Idea - Validating the business value of this idea using Validation Methods - Determining biggest fail factors - Formulating testable hypotheses - Assessing the requirements for a short cycled experiment - Pitching the suggested experiment to the Continuous Innovation Board to get resources, budget and expert support - Testing hypotheses with the Innovation Team in a real-life environment - Presenting the results of experiments to relevant stakeholders

Puppies do not come into this world understanding human language or house rules. Dogs are NOT small, furry human beings. They do NOT think like we do. They do NOT reason things out, but they are experts at recognizing patterns and they learn by repetition. Examples: - On Thursdays, Fluffy is especially excited when his owner gets off work because he knows he has agility class that evening. Fluffy doesn’t know or understand that it is Thursday, but he knows the cleaning lady comes in the morning of the class. It is a pattern he recognizes. - In agility training, Fluffy will NOT learn how to walk a teeter-totter by watching other dogs. His owner will have to guide him over it many times before he learns how to do it. - His owner teaches Fluffy to enter the right-hand side of a U-shaped tunnel. Then, the owner tries to get Fluffy to enter the left-hand side of the tunnel, but Fluffy won’t go in. To a human, a tunnel is a tunnel, but to Fluffy, this is a new obstacle. It is NOT enough to just love your dog, feed him well, and give him good medical care. A dog will NOT love you and behave just because you treat him kindly. Dogs are descended from wolves and still have many of their instincts. Wolf packs are tightly structured groups in which the alpha wolf is in charge and the other wolves take subordinate positions. If you want a happy, loving, well-behaved dog, you MUST take the place of the pack leader in your dog’s eyes. If you don’t take control, your dog will instinctively either try to take the alpha position and challenge you continually, or he will act out from the stress of not having a pack leader, probably destructively. Either way, he will be very difficult to live with. There are several easy things you can do to show your dog you are his boss: - If you see your dog doing something wrong, tell him “No” or “Stop” in a firm, not angry, tone. When he stops, immediately praise him for stopping: “Good stop,” or something similar. Don’t chatter at your dog. It’s just meaningless noise to him. Use short, consistent words and phrases. - Feed your dog after you and your family eat. - From the time he is a young puppy, make a game of turning him on his back and petting his tummy. This is a submissive position. (But keep it fun.) - Walk through doors and narrow passages before your dog. The leader goes first. - Periodically take toys and chew bones away from your puppy. Then you can give them back, if you want. You can make it a game, but your dog knows the pack leader can take what he wants whenever he wants. - A tired puppy is a good puppy. Make sure your puppy gets lots of exercise to burn off his puppy-energy. It helps to teach him to fetch, so you can toss a toy for him to bring back to you. Fetch doesn’t require a lot of energy from you, but will be fun and tiring for him. - Just the way babies put everything in their mouths, it is normal for a puppy to chew on anything within his reach. If he chews on something you don’t want him to, scold him, but remember, it is your fault for leaving it where he can get it. He doesn’t know any better and one or two scoldings probably won’t be enough for him to learn. Puppies have baby teeth, which are replaced by adult teeth, just like humans. They begin losing their puppy teeth when they’re about 2 months old and get their adult teeth by the time they’re about 9 to 10 months old. Chewing is part of the teething process, so expect your puppy to chew, especially during this time. - Begin training your puppy right away. If you can, take a puppy training class. Look for one that uses positive reinforcement. Clicker training also works very well. Your puppy should learn how to walk on a leash, and basic commands including come, sit, down (lie down), off (get off or don’t jump), and wait or stay. - “Come” is the most important command you can teach your dog. It can save his life. Call your dog to you, grab his fur while you praise him, and give him a treat. It’s a good idea to use a special treat just for “come.” Don’t be concerned about relying on treatsit is more important that your dog comes to you consistently. When he gets loose outside and it really matters, you want to be sure he’ll come when you call. And be sure to include grabbing/petting his fur as part of your training. You don’t want him just to take the treat and run away again. - If your puppy gets loose, don’t chase him. Call him to you. If he won’t come, jump up and down like you’re having a lot of fun, act like an idiot, make funny noises, get down on the ground and kick your feet in the air, anything to make you more interesting than whatever he sees around him. If you move toward him, he’ll just think it’s a game and run farther away. - Never call a puppy to you in order to scold him. You don’t want him to associate coming to you with punishment. You want to teach your puppy to always come when called, so always praise him as soon as he comes to you. Even if he ran out in the yard and you want to scold him, don’t. You can yell “no” or “stop” as he runs by, but once he is outside, cheerfully call him to come, and when he does, praise him. If necessary, show him the treat. Don’t worry that he will associate the praise with running outsidehe will associate it with the last thing he did, which was to come to you. After that, be very careful when you open the door so he doesn’t turn running outside into a game. Tell him “wait” or some other command so he learns not to run out the door uninvited. - Always praise your puppy for being good. Keeshonden are playful dogs, so approach a new command as a game you play together and you’ll get better results than if you treat the training session as a serious activity. Keeshonden are sensitive and usually respond to verbal discipline. It is rarely necessary to physically punish your Keeshond. If you do have to discipline him, show him that you love him shortly after. Puppies have extremely short attention spans, so he won’t understand if you are angry for more than a minute or so. It will just confuse him. - Be patient. Your puppy may seem to have learned a command, only to forget it the next day. He may also seem to know a command for a week or so, and then forget it. This is normal. Keep working at it and praise him whenever he gets it right. Eventually, he will learn it and not forget. - Be consistent. For example, when your puppy chews on your shoelaces, if you say “no” some of the time but not all the time, it will just confuse him. - Regardless of what you may have been told, your Keeshond does have a conscience and knows when he’s been bad. You may come home to find him looking guilty and then find the trashcan he emptied, or the toilet paper he’s pulled off the roll, for example. Don’t let him get away with anything or he’ll learn to manipulate you. - Keeshonden are extremely clever. Keeshonden have been known to open gates, refrigerator doors, cabinet doors, and sliding doors. Make sure your puppy can’t get to cleaning supplies or medicines. Use childproof latches, if necessary. Check your yard carefully for escape routes. If there’s a hole in your fence or a way to get over your wall, they will find it. - Barking: A good way to stop a puppy from barking is to squirt him in the face with a squirt gun or spray bottle. The water won’t hurt him but the surprise usually breaks his concentration. Use a command like “quiet,” or “no bark.” A citronella bark collar works well for training many dogs not to bark. Another useful tool is Direct Stop, citronella in a small, pepper-spray type can. Finally, it may take awhile for your puppy to learn the meaning of the words “no” or “good dog,” but he will respond to the tone of your voice, your body language, and even your mood. If you are in a bad mood, for example, your dog will know and respond to it, even while you say “good dog.” When you feel an emotion, the chemistry of your brain changes, and dogs most likely can sense it. (Dogs senses are extremely acute some dogs have been proven to detect cancer by smell, for example.) As you train your dog, try projecting feelings of happiness, calmness, etc. You may be surprised at the results.

fruits Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes etc. one of the most concentrated sources of vitamin C. Vitamin C increases the number of chemical messengers - specially interferon - which are vitally important in the process of fighting infection. - Antibiotics are powerless against cold which is caused by a virus. A three day high anti oxidant diet may help zap it out. - D - limonene, in citrous skin, can leach into the juice and may detoxify cancer promoters. - Carotenoids may also fight cancer which is present in the above foods. - Another phytochemical - flavonoids act as antioxidant and may inhibit blood clotting. - These fruits are rich in vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant) and fibre

Preserving the President: Abraham Lincoln, Grave Robbers, and an Excellent Embalmer After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, his body was taken from Washington, D.C., by train to be laid in a tomb in Springfield, Illinois. The funeral train carried the president, some 300 mourners, an honor guard, and the disinterred body of Lincoln’s son, Willie, which would be laid to rest near his father. The train made 11 stops along the way, loosely retracing the route Lincoln had taken to Washington for his first inauguration, so that his body could lay in state and the public could pay their respects. The 1654-mile journey took 13 days, during which the body was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. Perhaps one of the most important, and ghoulish, bits of logistics that had to be sorted out for the funeral was keeping the body preserved, and presentable, until it reached its destination. Funeral embalming was a relatively new development at that time, but had proven itself on the battlefields of the Civil War. Dr. Thomas Holmes, the "father of American embalming," claimed to have personally embalmed more than 4000 Union soldiers for shipment back home for burial, and had trained others to do the same work using his techniques. The task of embalming Lincoln fell to Drs. Charles Brown and Harry Cattell, using a form of the arterial embalming method developed in Europe, where an artery was opened and the body flushed of blood and filled with a chemical preservative. In their variation on the procedure, Brown and Cattell drained Lincoln's blood through his jugular and then pumped in Brown’s patented embalming fluid through an incision in his thigh. They shaved Lincoln’s face, leaving only a tuft of hair on the chin, set his mouth in a slight smile, and dressed him in a suit. Brown’s advertisements touted that the bodies he embalmed would “be kept in the most perfect and natural preservation,” a claim that would be put to the test on the funeral train. To keep the body in the condition that the embalmers had promised, Cattell even traveled with the funeral party, providing the president’s body with “touch-ups” along the way. Protecting the President A little more than 10 years after Lincoln was laid in the tomb, a group of counterfeiters attempted to steal his remains and hold them for ransom. As the grave robbers began to move the coffin, an undercover Secret Service agent that had infiltrated the gang called in police backup to chase them down and capture them. This attempted theft of Lincoln’s body helped spur his son Robert’s decision to have the coffin buried in a concrete-encased vault during a renovation of the tomb in 1901. Before the burial, the question came up as to whether or not someone should open the coffin and view the remains. Rumors that the grave robbing was actually successful had circulated for years, and this would be the last chance to put them to rest. The coffin was opened and 23 people inspected what lay in it. They all agreed it was the president and that he was in fine condition. His features were still recognizable and the wart on his cheek was still there. His chin whiskers remained and his hair was still thick (though his eyebrows had disappeared). Brown and Cattell had more than made good on their promises. J. C. Thompson, one of the men who viewed the body 36 years after Lincoln had died, later said, “Anyone who had ever seen his pictures would have known it was him. His features had not decayed. He looked just like a statue of himself lying there."

Why Set & Save? Just click "Add to Set & Save" when placing items in your cart. Pepper berries come from a woody climbing vine and grow in spike-like clusters. Immature berries are harvested, fermented and dried. In earlier times (1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.) Pepper was so valuable that it was used as a currency, like gold.

Gas welding of pipes Installation of piping systems does not do without welding work. The use of gas is widely used for pipes up to 150 mm in diameter, making triangles, elbows and other elements. The technology of work The work with the use of gas is based on heating up of pipe edges with a flame and filling of the gap with molten metal filler. The choice of flammable mixture is carried out according to the melting point of the processed material. The thickness of the butt weld depends on the wall thickness, and the bulge should not exceed 3 mm. Do not melt the pipe walls in the pipeline system, as the resulting overlaps create additional resistance to the movement of gases and liquids. To improve the quality of the connection of pipes with a thickness of more than 3.5 mm is made beveled edges at an angle of 35. 45 °. The weld is formed by making right and left hand welds. To avoid the ingress of molten metal inside, the sharp edge part is blunted. Joining of blanks with thickness less than 3 mm the joint is made with a gap up to ½ of the pipe wall without bevel. Depending on the purpose of the pipeline system, the following welding options may be used: Welding of pipes designed for transportation of gases and liquids is not allowed with the use of remaining trim rings. Workpieces with more than 5 mm thickness are joined by the right hand method, thin-walled. by the left hand method. Pipes are welded in the lower position and can be rotated. A non-swivel joint is created by a vertical or overhead joint. To do this, the lower half is welded first, and then the upper half in the opposite direction. If it is not possible to approach the area to be welded with a torch, welding with a cut-out of a visor is used. After completing the work on the hard-to-reach area on the inside, it is returned to its original position, and the remaining joints are welded. Manual gas welding is performed in one layer. Width of weld should not exceed the pipe wall thickness by more than 2.5 times. The machined surface is not allowed to have laps and rough scales. The described method of welding allows to keep the metal from burning through, gives a durable quality weld. It is suitable for welding thin-walled pipes. Gas flame treatment of metals is a series of technological processes involving the treatment of metals with a high-temperature gas flame. These processes include gas fusion welding. During such welding, edges of joined parts are heated by a flame of gases, which are burned at the outlet of a gas-welding torch. The gas flame is most often formed as a result of combustion (oxidation) of combustible gases with technically pure oxygen (purity of at least 98.5%). Acetylene, hydrogen, methane, propane, propane-butane mixture, gasoline, lighting kerosene are used as combustible gases. Gas welding flame zones Gas welding acetylene-oxygen normal flame is similar in shape to the diagram from figure 1. The gas mixture arriving from the nozzle is heated to ignition temperature in the inner part of the flame core 1. Partial decomposition of acetylene occurs in the outer shell of the core. The emitted carbon particles are red-hot, brightly glowing and clearly distinguish the outlines of the core shell The temperature of the gases in the core is low and does not exceed 1500 C. Zone 2 or welding zone is the most important part of the welding flame. Here, the first combustion stage of acetylene takes place, fed by oxygen from the cylinder into the nozzle. That is why the maximum temperature is reached here. Gases in the welding zone have reducing properties in respect to oxides of many metals, including iron oxides. That is why it can be called a reducing zone. the carbon in the weld metal changes insignificantly. In Zone 3 or the plume of flame, gases are afterburning due to oxygen in the air. The gases contained in the flare and their dissociation products oxidise the metals, t.е. the zone is an oxidizing zone. The type of acetylene-oxygen flame depends on the ratio of oxygen to acetylene in the gas mixture fed into the burner. This ratio is called the coefficient β. At β = 1.1 1.2 flame normal (cm. fig. 1). If this ratio t.е. As the relative amount of oxygen (oxidizing flame) increases, the shape and structure of the flame changes Oxidizing reactions are accelerated, and the core of the flame becomes paler, shorter, and conically pointed. Then the welding zone loses its reducing properties and becomes oxidizing, the carbon in the weld metal is reduced and burned out. As the coefficient decreases β т.е. Increasing the acetylene content in the gas mixture slows down oxidation reactions. The nucleus elongates, and its outline becomes blurred. The amount of free carbon increases, its particles appear in the welding zone. With a strong acetylene surplus, carbon particles also appear in the flame plume. In this case, the welding zone becomes carburized carbon in the weld metal increases. The flame of acetylene substitutes is fundamentally similar to the acetylene-oxygen flame and has three zones. Unlike hydrocarbon gases, a hydrogen-oxygen flame does not have a luminous core, because it does not contain luminous carbon particles. It includes several essential steps: preparation of parts, connection of electrodes, start-up of the torch and its heating, making the weld at the correct temperature and moving the torch to a new location, checking the readiness of the torch. The technology of plasma welding Parts are prepared in such a way that they are sorted beforehand or supplied to the workplace already sorted. If the parts are obtained by heat cutting or rough machining, the edges are machined to a clean metal finish and degreased to produce a quality seam. After that, the parts are brought into contact with the weld’s beveling line. In manufacturing, it is not done by hand, as in repairs, but with the help of fixtures. Hot seam from plasma welding If required, fluxes are applied to the weld line. These are usually strong reducing agents for high temperature applications (welding fluxes) mixed with fusible binders, which are themselves reducing agents, or give a minimum of hard-to-remove fouling (slag). The molten slag protects the bath from the action of oxygen, and the reducing agent takes it away from the oxides that have had time to form. Fluxes are not required for all metals or metal pairs. The torch is started by a high voltage pulse or a contact between nozzle and cathode for fractions of a second. The arc is ignited, the working and shielding gases are fed to the torch, and cooling water is supplied to the anode body (for high-powered long-term torches). The torch is heated up to plasma stabilization and the welding operation starts. The welding melts the joined edges of the part and a band or rod-shaped filler material is introduced into the molten material. In case of automatic welding, the feeding is mechanized. Welding is considered as a continuous process of melting and solidification of metal in the weld and must ensure the monolithicity of the weld, the same mechanical properties along the entire length, equal thickness of the weld, the complete absence of cavities, foreign inclusions and impurities. The molten weld is quite defenseless in relation to many factors, so you have to create special conditions for quality: before the bath, in it, and after, in the area of crystallization of the melt. These conditions are strongly dependent on the metals that are to be welded. Plasma cutter welding process After completing the weld check the readiness of the torch for the next operation, so that the weld did not have to stop in the process of welding without bringing it to an end. Any such interruption, if forced, creates unnecessary mechanical stress, which then will be difficult or impossible to remove. For this reason, welding of critical welds: vessels (tanks) for rocket equipment, hulls of ships, especially submarine vessels, vessels for nuclear equipment, etc.п. welding with continuous feeding of cathodes at torches with powerful nozzle cooling. Such technology is used in repair and construction works for dismantling metal structures, disassembly of old pipelines, rough cut of scrap metal. It is used when it is necessary to pierce holes or cut steel, cast iron products, base metal workpieces. Electric arc cutting is used when gas cutting is not possible, and when there is no necessary equipment for gas cutting metal. In addition to welding, thermal techniques are used for separating operations. metal cutting. Gas flame, plasma arc, electron beam and laser beams are used as heat sources. Oxygen cutting is used for cutting carbon steel blanks. The principle of oxygen cutting is burning of the metal in oxygen medium. In the first stage, the metal is heated with a heated oxyacetylene flame to its ignition temperature in oxygen (for steel 1000. 1200 °С). Then the metal itself starts burning through an exothermic reaction with release of a considerable quantity of heat (Q): This is realized with the help of a special cutting torch, which has separate channels for feeding the heating mixture and oxygen (Fig. 21.13). Metal 3 is heated at the starting point of the cut 2, then a jet of cutting oxygen is sent there 7. The heat from the combustion of iron, along with the heating flame, heats the underlying layers and extends to the entire thickness of the metal. The smaller is the thickness of the cut metal, the greater is the role of heating flame (at thickness of 5 mm. up to 80% of the total amount of heat emitted when cutting, at thickness over 50 mm. only 10%). Formed oxides 5, as well as partially molten metal, are removed from the cutting zone 4 with a stream of oxygen. A continuous supply of heat and cutting oxygen ensures a continuous process. A number of conditions must be met for the oxygen cutting process to work properly. - 1. The heat source must have the necessary power to heat the metal to the required temperature of the metal combustion reaction, and the amount of heat released by the combustion of metal in the oxygen jet must be sufficient to maintain a continuous cutting process. - 2. The melting temperature of the metal must be above the temperature of its oxidation (combustion) in oxygen, otherwise the metal when heated will melt, not burn. In this case there will be no additional heat generation due to combustion (oxidation), which is the main heat source. - 3. Metal melting point should be above the melting point of the oxides formed during cutting, otherwise refractory oxides isolate the metal from contact with oxygen and make the cutting process more difficult. - 4. The formed oxides and slag must be liquid and easily blown out by the cutting oxygen jet, otherwise the contact of oxygen with the liquid metal will be delayed or even impossible. Carbon steel satisfies all the above conditions and can be cut with oxygen. Copper does not meet the first condition for gas cutting because of its high thermal conductivity, which greatly complicates the beginning of the cutting process, and low heat release during oxidation. Therefore, gas torches are not powerful enough to cut copper, and copper can be cut using a more powerful thermal source. electric arc. Cast iron does not meet the second and fourth conditions. As the carbon content increases, the cutting gets much worse as the melting point decreases and the ignition temperature rises. Cast iron cannot be cut with oxygen. In addition, the viscosity of the slag increases significantly with increasing silicon content, which is necessarily contained in cast iron, which is also one of the reasons why it is impossible to oxyfuel cut cast iron. The third condition is not met when cutting aluminum, magnesium, alloys thereof and steels with large amounts of chromium and nickel. When these materials are heated, refractory oxide films are formed on the surface preventing oxygen from reaching the metal. Can You Cut Metal With a Stick Welder? A variation of oxyfuel cutting is oxyfuel flux cutting. This technology is used to cut chromium and chromium-nickel stainless steels, cast iron and non-ferrous metals. A special powdered flux, the main component of which is iron powder, is fed into the cutting zone together with oxygen. Combustion of iron generates additional heat and increases the temperature in the zone of the cut. In addition, the combustion products of flux, interacting with refractory oxides, produce a liquid slag that is easily removed from the cutting zone. Plasma cutting Based on melting of the metal and removal of molten metal from the cutting zone. Electron beam и laser cutting. Energy sources that provide powerful concentrated heating, in which the metal is vaporized. The result is high accuracy and purity of cut, a narrow asphalt zone. The limitations of these methods are complex equipment and high costs. Why welding with heated metal is needed The advantages of using preheated metal welding are: - Eliminates or reduces cracking of material with high surface humidity. Heating the product removes moisture, which reduces the likelihood of cracks. - Improving the processes of melting of the weld metals and their deposition, which occurs during basic welding. - Stress reduction of materials. Preheating helps the metals of the welded joint and workpiece expand and contract evenly. - Improved weld structure quality. Preheating of the metal slows down its subsequent cooling. Consequently, the joint hardens more uniformly, improving the mechanical properties of the material microstructure. Recommended articles on metalworking There are several ways of heat treatment of products, which are determined by their further application: - Preheating. even before welding, the craftsman sets the minimum temperature of the joint. This information can be obtained from the WPS (welding data sheet), which contains data on the temperature range. - Warming up between passes. when carrying out multipass welding, the welder must warm up the material as much as possible before starting a new stage. The heating temperature must not drop below the minimum machining temperature. - maintaining the welding temperature, below which the welding area should not cool down before the end of work. If the joining process is stopped, the heat must be maintained at a specified level. What electrodes are used for metal welding The use of these materials improves the quality of the cut. The composition of the coating makes the welding process more comfortable: - the transition of the arc to the side surfaces of the cut is prevented; - provides stability of arc combustion and excludes the possibility of arc extinction; - the gas pressure in the place of processing is created and the metal in the place of cutting is oxidized. Laser metal cutting Metal bending Metal powder coating Metal welding Keep in mind that the cutting process requires a lot of current power, the type of voltage is influenced by the brand of electrodes used. Consumables with special coating differ from conventional welding electrodes by higher thermal capacity of the arc, high heat resistance of the cladding, intense oxidation of liquid metal. Metal consumables can be used to effectively remove defective welds, tacking, rivets, bolts, repair cracks. In the absence of information on the packaging must be ignited welding consumables for one hour at a temperature of 170 ° C. Handheld metal welding allows the use of conventional welding electrodes, it is enough to increase the current intensity by 30-40%. The type of voltage is affected by the brand of electrodes used. However, conventional electrodes have certain disadvantages: - the consumption of electrodes and electricity increases; - coating of some rods does not allow to work in such modes, because the coating melts and flows into the working area, which makes it difficult to obtain a quality cut. That is why it is better to use special consumables for metal welding. Use of carbon (graphite) electrodes is virtually identical to cutting with metal rods. Metal is completely molten by the arc and flows down. The difference is that carbon consumables do not melt, but burn over time. Therefore, less molten metal and slag are formed in the process, which results in a cleaner cut. The advantage of carbon electrodes is also the ability to heat them to a high temperature, while the current intensity will be low. The melting point of the rods is over 3,800 °C, which makes them more durable and economical. Carbon (graphite) electrodes are suitable for manual arc and oxyfuel cutting. Direct polarity DC current is required for operation, cutting is performed “top-down”. However, it is possible to perform processing using alternating current. Oxygen-arc welding of metals is performed using tubular electrodes. They differ in that the fusing element is not a welding wire but a hollow, thick-walled tube. The process consists of several steps: - the arc occurs between the electrode and the workpiece; - Under the influence of the arc the metal melts; - The oxygen from the tube oxidizes the metal over the entire thickness and blows it out. The disadvantage of this cutting technique is that the oxygen has a negative effect on the stability of the arc. Shielded arc cutting and plasma arc cutting are performed using tungsten nonconsumable electrodes. In the first case, the metal is cut at a higher value of current (20-30% higher than necessary for welding), and it melts throughout the thickness. Plasma arc cutting produces an arc between the metal to be cut and the tungsten electrode. The peculiarity of this type of metal welding is the need for mastery of welding. This skill will help to perform the work easily. Knowing how to properly excite the arc, guide the weld and create quality joints will help in cutting metal competently. Once again, note that this technology will not achieve a neat cutting edge. It helps you quickly cut blanks that do not require high accuracy. Materials suitable for gas welding Gas welding is indispensable in industry, construction, agriculture. It allows a large number of metals to be bonded. Welding of cast iron is necessary to eliminate defects, cracks, disintegrated parts of the product. Gas torch in this case should be with a small flame to avoid graining of the weld. Bronze brazing involves the use of a reducing flame. The work uses a wire that is identical to the material to be welded. Processing of copper does not provide a gap between the edges. This is due to the fluidity of the material, which can hinder the gas-welding process. Carbon steels can be joined using various welding methods. Welds become coarse-grained due to the use of low-carbon steel wire. Gas welding technology Gas welding is used for all kinds of welds and most welds in various positions. penetration ability of gas flame is low, so joints with small thickness of edges (3-4 mm) are welded without edge cutting. The main parameters of gas welding are: thermal output of the flame, the ratio between oxygen and acetylene, and welding speed. Output of a welding torch is determined by the hourly consumption of acetylene. The filler wire used for gas welding is the same as used for arc welding electrodes. Sv-08, Sv-08A wires are used for gas welding of low-carbon steel. For welding cast iron, special cast iron rods with increased m carbon and silicon. When gas welding cast iron, non-ferrous metals and some special steels fluxes are used that are added to the weld pool to dissolve oxides and formation of fusible slag, floating to the surface. Fluxes are used in the form of powders and pastes applied to the base or filler metal. For welding copper and its alloys acid fluxes are used (borax, borax with boric acid) for welding aluminum alloys. oxygen-free fluxes based on fluorine, chloride salts of lithium, potassium, sodium and calcium. When welding brass they provide metered supply of gas flux (boric acid ether) into the welding pool through the acetylene channel of the torch. When flux burns in the flame boric anhydride is produced, which binds zinc oxides, resulting in slag build-up on the surface, preventing zinc burn-up. One of the main technological differences between gas welding and arc welding is a smoother and slower heating of the metal. In some cases, this is a disadvantage of gas welding, in others it is an advantage and determines the field of application. - steels of small thickness (0,2-5 mm); - non-ferrous metals; - metals that require gradual soft heating (e.g., tool steels); - metals that require heating during welding (cast iron and special steels). On the other hand, the relatively slow heating of the metal by the gas flame reduces the welding productivity with increasing metal thickness. In addition, during slow heating a large volume of the base metal surrounding the weld pool is heated, which causes significant deformation (warping) of the products. Delayed heating also causes a prolonged stay of the metal in a zone of high temperatures, which leads to overheating, grain enlargement and reduced mechanical properties of the metal. This limits the use of gas welding and makes it technically impractical for large building structures.

Database systems are useful for storing and retrieving records, but they can also summarize your data in more forms. Summaries are useful when you want the overall picture rather than the details. They're also typically more readily than a long list of records. Summary techniques enable you to answer questions such as "How many?" or "What is the total?" or "What is the range of values?" If you're running a business, you may want to know how many customers you have in each state, or how much sales volume you're generating each month. You could determine the per-state count by producing a list of customer records and counting them yourself, but that makes no sense when MySQL can count them for you. Similarly, to determine sales volume by month, a list of raw order information records is not useful if you have to add up the order amounts yourself. Let MySQL do it. The examples just mentioned two common summary types. The first (the number of customer records per state) is a counting summary. The content of each record is important only for purposes of placing it into the proper or category for counting. Such summaries are histograms, where you items into a set of and count the number of items in each bin. The second example (sales volume per month) is an instance of a summary that's based on the contents of recordssales totals are computed from sales values in individual order records. Yet another kind of summary produces counts nor sums, but simply a list of unique values. This is useful if you don't care how many instances of each value are present, but only values are present. If you want to know the states in which you have customers, you want a list of the distinct state contained in the records, not a list consisting of the state value from every record. Sometimes it's even useful to apply one summary technique to the result of another summary. For example, to determine how many states your customers live in, generate a list of unique customer states, and then count them. The type of summaries that you generate may depend on the kind of data you're working with. A counting summary can be generated from any kind of values, whether they be , strings, or dates. For summaries that involve sums or averages, only numeric values can be used. You can count instances of customer state names to produce a demographic analysis of your customer base, but you cannot add or average state namesthat doesn't make sense. Summary operations in MySQL involve the following SQL constructs: To compute a summary value from a set of individual values, use one of the functions known as . These are so called because they on aggregates (groups) of values. Aggregate functions include , which counts rows or values in a query result; , which find smallest and largest values; and , which produce sums and means of values. These functions can be used to compute a value for the entire result set, or with a clause to group the rows into and obtain an aggregate value for each one. To obtain a list of unique values, use To count how many distinct values there are, use The recipes in this chapter first illustrate basic summary techniques, and then show how to perform more complex summary operations. You'll find additional examples of summary in later chapters, particularly those that cover joins and statistical operations. (See Chapters Chapter 12 and Chapter 13.) Summary queries sometimes involve complex expressions. For summaries that you execute often, keep in mind that views can make queries easier to use. Section 3.12 the basic technique of creating a view. Section 8.1 shows how it applies to summary simplification, and you'll see easily how it can be used in later sections of the chapter as well. The primary tables used for examples in this chapter are the tables. These were also used heavily in Chapter 7, so they should look familiar. A third table used recurrently throughout the chapter is , which has rows containing a few of information for each of the United States: SELECT * FROM states ORDER BY name; name abbrev statehood pop Alabama AL 1819-12-14 4530182 Alaska AK 1959-01-03 655435 Arizona AZ 1912-02-14 5743834 Arkansas AR 1836-06-15 2752629 California CA 1850-09-09 35893799 Colorado CO 1876-08-01 4601403 Connecticut CT 1788-01-09 3503604 columns list the full state name and the corresponding abbreviation. The column indicates the day on which the state entered the Union. is the state population as of July, 2004, as by the U.S. Census Bureau. This chapter uses other tables occasionally as well. You can create most of them with the scripts found in the directory of the distribution. Section 5.15 describes the

These posters or anchor charts, are perfect for a math bulletin board that you can refer to daily and review: fractions, colors, patterns, telling time, fact families, money, tally marks, ordinal numbers, measurement with a ruler, +1 addition, sequencing numbers, counting groups and sets of objects, and using a ten frame for addition or subtraction. Make a few extra sets so that students can make puzzles and play games. I’ve included a blank puzzle grid to make this easier, as well as a tip list of other ways you can use the posters. There’s also greater and less than symbols, so you can cover yet another standard. Click on the link to get this fun FREEBIE: Anchor Chart Number Posters. From Diane, over at TeachWithMe.com Leave a Reply

White Mulberry, Morus alba China is well known for its silk and paper, and the country’s native white mulberry tree plays a key role in the development of each. Silk is produced by the larvae of the Bombyx mori moth, which depend on mulberry leaves as their only source of nutrition. Legend has it that Lady His-Ling-Shih, wife of the mythical Yellow Emperor, invented silkworm rearing (sericulture) around 3000 BC, yet archeological discoveries—such as 6,000-year-old pottery bearing silkworm designs—show that sericulture has been a part of Chinese culture for thousands of years prior to that. In 104 ce, Ts’ai Lun invented paper by combining the inner bark of a mulberry tree with bamboo fibers, adding water, and pounding the mixture with a wooden tool. He spread the mixture onto a flat woven cloth to let the water drain through. Once dry, he found he had made an easy and lightweight writing surface. Although paper today is made with a variety of different plants—from bamboo and hemp to rice—mulberry bark was the first fiber used. The mulberry tree also factors in Chinese medicine. The twigs, berries, and root bark of the mulberry are used to clear the liver and relieve “wind-heat syndromes” such as fever, cough, eye irritation, and headaches. It was through sericulture that the white mulberry tree was introduced to North America during the early colonial period. Over time, it hybridized with the red mulberry tree native to the eastern United States. Sen Traditional Chinese Medicine. “Mulberry Leaf.” Computersmiths.com. “History of Chinese Invention: The Invention of Paper.” California Rare Fruit Growers. “Mulberry.” The Silk Road Foundation: “The History of Silk.”

In a new study, researchers have concluded that the majority of circumbinary planets must have formed much further away from the central binary stars and then migrated to their current location. The researchers arrived at this conclusion after carrying out computer simulations of the early stages of planet formation around the binary stars. They used a model to calculate the effect of gravity and physical collisions on and between one million planetary building blocks. Read more in Astrophysical Journal Letters. S Lines et al., Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2014. DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/782/1/L11

In 2012, the Canadian government commissioned a new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, by artist Phil Richards, to celebrate her 60 year reign. As the features of Elizabeth II are revealed gradually under the brush of the artist, we discover who she is and what she represents for Canadians. Interviews with specialists allow us to discover the main workings of the Canadian Constitutional Monarchy, and the enduring bonds between the Queen and Canada. The film also highlights the 2011 royal tour with the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge and the last visit of Her Majesty the Queen in 2010. Elizabeth II and Canada, a Portrait is presented in its full length and in 4 thematic chapters that could be viewed individually: (4 x 13 min.) 1. Elizabeth II and the Royal Tours 2. From Queen Victoria to Elizabeth II: Traditions and Canadian Identity 3. Canada: a Consitutional Monarchy 4. Elizabeth II: 60 Years of Dedication Check out our advanced search for all our videos

Does a Car's A/C Freon Eventually Run Out?by Tom King Most car owners simply accept the fact that the Freon™ in their automobile's air-conditioning system will have to be recharged periodically, as though this were an inevitability. Many drivers assume their air-conditioning system consumes coolant oil much as the engine uses fuel. Actually, a car's air-conditioning system can run for years without recharging if properly maintained. Freon is the brand name of a type of air-conditioning refrigerant gas manufactured by DuPont Chemicals. Other brands of R-22 refrigerant gas are made by other manufacturers. Over the years the chemical structure of these refrigerant gases like R-12 or R-14 have been replaced in general usage in response to environmental regulations by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Your car's air-conditioning system compresses refrigerant gases into a liquid, then releases the gas through a radiator-like evaporator coil. The sudden expansion of the gas chills the evaporator coils. This draws heat from air passing over the coils and out through the air-conditioner vents inside the car, cooling the interior of the vehicle. Refrigerant gas does not “wear out” like oil nor is it used up like fuel. In a properly sealed system the gas can continue being compressed and released over and over, so long as it doesn't leak out. Causes of Gas Loss The inside of an engine compartment, where the air-conditioning system operates, subjects the hoses and connections of the system to extremes of temperature and vibration, as well as contact with pollution, road grime, fuel, oil, and abrasive and corrosive substances. Over time, these factors break down the hoses and connections, causing the pressurized refrigerant gas to leak out. Symptoms of Gas Loss You will likely first notice refrigerant gas loss when your air conditioner stops cooling as well as it should. At low levels, the evaporator coils can ice up. Refrigerant gas often has a dye tag that may show up around hoses and connections as a red fluid. Chronic low levels of refrigerant gas can cause the air-conditioner compressor to heat up and damage it permanently. A relatively small loss of refrigerant gas can reduce the efficiency of your air-conditioning system dramatically. A 10-percent loss of refrigerant gas can reduce the efficacy of your air conditioner by 20 percent or more. You can prevent this loss by having your system checked annually prior to the start of hot weather. Have lost refrigerant gas replaced by professionals. Overcharging the system can be as damaging as chronic refrigerant gas loss. Some auto AC professionals recommend evacuating the system and refilling it every three to four years in order to test for leaks. Bear in mind that federal -- and many state -- laws prohibit the knowing release of Freon into the atmosphere. If your car has a leak, you are legally obligated to have the leak repaired before recharging the system. - Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Last week important works of literature, history and philosophy by world-renowned writers and scholars such as Leslie Marmon Silko, Sherman Alexie, Ofelia Zepeda, Paulo Freire, Rodolfo Acuña, Carmen Tafolla and others were removed from classrooms and some libraries in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). The perspectives and insights about diverse ethnic, racial and gender communities contained in these works as well as the penetrating visions of human community they offer contribute in Arizona, as they do elsewhere, to cultivating in students appreciation for difference and diversity, knowledge of wide-ranging ideas and fearlessness in engaging with the ideas of others. The TUSD Board’s action in banning and removing these works, in contrast, promotes fear and suspicion about select ethnic and racial groups and fear of free and democratic discussion and debate. Such attitudes have no place in the public school system that serves ALL children. The Tucson Unified School District in compliance with the State of Arizona Revised Statutes Sections 15-111 and 15-112 (formerly House Bill 2281 that was signed into law May 11, 2010) eliminated its Mexican American Studies (MAS) Program, resulting in the subsequent removal of textbooks and books on the MAS Program Reading List. Some of the banned and removed books are allowed in other classrooms, but not ethnic studies, making this a highly discriminatory action about who gets to teach. Why is a Mexican American Studies teacher prevented from teaching The Tempest but an English teacher is not? The removal of books amounts to censorship that undermines the United States’ commitment to democracy. While the Board argues that the new legislation was intended to promote unity, the effect is to reject multiculturalism and pave a path back to Jim Crow practices of segregation and racism where the culture and values of ethnic groups go unrecognized in public education. Research has shown that multicultural education that addresses the history and identity of ethnic minorities in fact closes the achievement gap between white students and students of color.[i] Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS), a national professional association of Chicanas, Latinas, Native American and Indigenous women, calls on the Tucson Unified School District Board to reverse the decision to ban books from Tucson schools. MALCS encourages efforts to intervene through the use of non-violent tactics in order to guarantee democracy and freedom of expression. We appeal to all: - To send letters and email messages supporting Arizona State Rep. Sally Gonzales’ HB 2654 that would repeal the ban on ethnic studies in Arizona: [email protected] - Sign the petition on The National Black Education Agenda: https://signon.org/sign/repeal-the-arizona-governmen - Work to pass resolutions in your associations and organizations opposing the elimination of ethnic studies and censorship of Latin@ faculty and students in Arizona - Write to the Educational Opportunities Section of the U.S. Department of Civil Rights requesting that they investigate Arizona state superintendent of public instruction John Huppenthal, who has disregarded independent consultant reports on the value of the Mexican American Studies Program in Tucson. By e-mail to [email protected] By telephone at (202) 514-4092 or 1-877-292-3804 (toll-free) [i] University Relations and Marketing › News & Research Communications, “New Arizona Law Could Be Detrimental To Students, According To OSU Researchers,” 5-12-10 https://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2010/may/new-arizona-law-could-be-detrimental-students-according-osu-researchers

Glossary of Font & Type Terminology This page contains a collection of useful type and font related terms. ascender – The portion of lowercase letters which ascends above the x-height, as found in the letters b, d, f, h, k, l. ascent – The vertical space above the baseline within which glyphs can be rendered without clipping. baseline – The vertical origin upon which capital and non-descending lowercase letters sit. Big 5 – A de facto, Taiwanese character set used for Traditional Chinese. bitmap – An array of pixels which describe the shape of a glyph. bowl – The round or elliptical portion of letters such as C, D, O, a, b, e, o and p. cap height – The height of capital letters such as H, O and X. CFF – OpenType (.OTF) font compression / storage technology - used to store the font data within a .otf font file. character – The smallest component of written language which has semantic value. character set – A list of characters, typically expressed as Unicode values, which defines the required character support for a font in a particular environment. CID format – A Postscript-based font format which can support a large number (max 65,536) of characters. CJK – A collective term referring to the common features of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean writing systems. clipping – The truncation of a glyph on one or more sides because its shape exceeds some font-wide metric. code page – A defined set of characters typically associated with an operating system, and its locale. For example, CP1252 is the Windows Latin code page. counter – The negative space within a letter, surrounded by positive elements such as stems, bowls and serifs. descender – The portion of lowercase letters which descends below the baseline, as found in the letters g, j, p, q, y. descent – The vertical space below the baseline within which glyphs can be rendered without clipping. dingbat – A decorative pi character which is not a letter or mathematical symbol, but more likely a pictogram or icon. Common dingbats include decorative arrows, pointing hands, vehicles, etc,. display fonts – Display fonts are generally bolder or more 'extravagant' font designs for use in headlines or at larger point sizes. Generally speaking, Display fonts are those not suitable for large blocks of text (body text). em – A measurement which is equal to the point size of a font. In the days of lead type this was typically a square within which the uppercase “M” of a text face was designed to fit. The ‘em square’ is thus the theoretical design space within which a typeface is typically drawn. - Not allowed: May not be embedded within documents. - Print and Preview: May only be embedded within documents for the purpose of previewing and printing the document. No editing or adding of text within that font is allowed. - Editable: The font may be embedded within a document and the document text can then be edited in that same font. - Installable: Fonts with an installable embedding permission may be embedded in electronic documents for viewing, printing and editing - these fonts can also, however, be permanently installed on the computer that receives document containing the embedded font. en – Half the size of an em. encoding – A method of organizing a character set or glyph repertoire. See also code page. ePub (electronic publication) / eBooks – ePub is a free and open e-book standard. ePub files have the extension '.epub'. There are many revisions of the ePub standard, the most recent (as of May 2013) of which is 3.0. 3.0 is important to Monotype as it added the ability for ePub documents to contain custom embedded fonts using CSS @font-face (.woff and .otf). Previous to this, ePub documents were reliant on a set of pre-installed fonts on whatever device the book was being read. fleuron – A pi character which is typically based upon or suggestive of flowers or leaves. font – A collection of glyphs and other data which render a given typeface. Gaiji characters – In general, the term can be used for any symbols not supported by a particular Japanese character set. However, most often the term is used in reference to kanji characters. glyph – The graphical representation of one or more characters. Han characters – The characters of the Chinese writing system whose origin is directly traceable to pictographic symbols. Also known as ideographs. Hangul – The Korean alphabet. Hanja – The Korean name for Chinese characters. Hanzi – The Mandarin Chinese name for Chinese characters. Hei – The common Chinese name for Gothic style. hint – Any code or data which when interpreted by a font rasterizer will improve the resulting bitmap. hinting – The process by which hints are developed for a font. Hints can be developed manually, automatically or a combination of the two. Automatically generated hints generally only provide modest improvements, whereas manual editing can allow for significant improvements at small sizes. Hiragana – One of the syllabic alphabets used in writing Japanese. Hiragana is most commonly used for the variable grammatical elements in Japanese sentences, as well as for words which have no kanji symbols. See also katakana and kana. ideograph – A character which can symbolize whole words or concepts rather than just a sound. Ideographs are used in the Chinese, Japanese and Korean script systems. Kana – The collective name for the two syllabic alphabets (hiragana & katakana) used in writing Japanese. Kanji – The Japanese name for Chinese characters. Also written as 'kanzi'. Katakana – One of the syllabic alphabets used in writing Japanese. Katakana is most commonly used for foreign words and names. See also hiragana and kana. kern – The adjustment of horizontal space between two glyphs. In metal type, the portion of a letter which hangs over the edge of the type body. leading – The vertical distance between lines of text. Historically this was expressed as points of lead (white space) inserted bewteen lines of text, such as 12 point type with 2 points leading, or "12 on 14". In digital type, the default leading of a font is determined by one of several different sets of values known as "vertical metrics". ligature – Two or more characters represented on a single glyph. Common ligatures include “fi” and “fl”. linegap – A vertical metric which adds white space between the bottom of the descent and the top of the following ascent. lining figures – Numerals which have a common height, and thus align vertically with one another. metrics – The generic term for any font or glyph measurements used in the setting of text. Horizontal metrics include advance widths, side bearings and kerning. Vertical metrics include ascent, descent and line gap dimensions. metric compatibility – The concept of creating a font whose metrics may match an existing typeface for the purposes of preventing document reflow when changing fonts. mincho – Category of typefaces used to display Chinese characters that are used in the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. ming – A distinctive printed style of Chinese script that was developed during the Ming Dynasty. monospace – Monospace fonts are fonts where all letters and characters are the same width (see below). These are commonly used for programming interfaces and so on. Myeongjo – A common style in Korean fonts which is considered stylistically similar to serif fonts such as Times New Roman. oldstyle figures – Numerals which vary in height such that 6, 8 and 9 ascend above the x-height and 3, 4, 5, 7 descend below the baseline. OpenType – A scalable font format (ISO/IEC 14496-22) developed by Microsoft and Adobe, which brings together TrueType and Adobe’s CFF PostScript into a single standard, capable of rich and complex typography. OpenType Pro – The OpenType Pro category has an extended Latin character set. It contains all the language support found in the OpenType Std format plus additions for major Central European, Turkish and Baltic languages and some languages from elsewhere that use Latin characters. This information is specifically related to our Intellectual Property (Monotype, Linotype, ITC). outline – One or more contours which describe the resolution-independent, idealized shape of a glyph. pica – A typographical measurement equal to 12 points. There are 6 picas per inch. pi character – Any generic or decorative glyph or symbol which is not properly associated with a specific typeface, but rather could be used with most any typeface. pixel – A picture element. Previously thought to be the smallest controllable element on a screen or printer, this is no longer the case when considering ClearType™ or other sub-pixel rendering techniques. point – A typographic unit of measure. 72 points = 1 inch. point size – The size of a font measured in points. PostScript – A page description language. The term “PostScript font” is commonly used to describe Adobe’s Type 1 font format, or CFF (Compressed Font Format). ppem (Pixels Per Em) – The standard resolution-independent measure of type size. sans serif – A classification of typefaces which have no serifs. script – A set of graphical symbols and their rules for use to represent one or more languages. serif – A flare or spur at the end of a stroke. A category of typefaces which exhibit serifs. Simplified Chinese – The standardized set of characters and shape of characters in use within mainland China. See also “traditional Chinese.” song – A distinctive printed style of Chinese script that was developed during the Song Dynasty. sub-pixel – The smallest controllable element on a screen or printer. A typical RGB screen has each pixel made of 3 sub-pixels: red, blue & green. subsetting / dynamic subsetting– In the context of fonts, Subsetting is the process of removing characters from a font file to leave only the characters required. Dynamic Subsetting refers to this process being performed 'on the fly' using our webfont service. When a webpage with our font is loaded, our code analyses the page and receives a list of all unique characters used on the page - a font file is then generated which contains only these characters and is delivered to the browser. This can only be used for CJK (Chinese / Japanese / Korean) fonts where the file size can be up to 30MB. The typical file size after subsetting is usually around 30KB, resulting in a massive reduction in font download time. Sung – A common style in Chinese fonts which is considered stylistically similar to serif fonts such as Times New Roman. swash – A decorative terminus on a glyph, generally applied to make the shape more elegant or florid. symbol font – A pi font which typically uses a symbol encoding rather than a Unicode encoding. tabular figures – Numerals which are all designed to the same width to facilitate setting of tabular matter, or columns of figures. terminal – The name given to the end of strokes which have no serifs. Terminals generally fall into one of the following categories: ball, beak and teardrop. tracking – The amount of distance between characters on a line of text (a.k.a letter spacing). Not to be confused with 'Kerning', which deals with the spacing between individual characters (not the line of text as a whole). Traditional Chinese – The standardized set of characters and shape of characters in use within Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. See also “simplified Chinese.” TrueType – A common font format invented by Apple Computer for their System 7.0 and adopted by Microsoft in Windows 3.1. TrueType is now a part of OpenType. typeface – A collection of typographic characters (letters, numerals, punctuation, symbols) designed to be used together, and produced as one or more fonts. Unicode – The Unicode standard is an encoding scheme (ISO/IEC 10646) used to uniquely identify characters, independent of language, region or code page. W1G / WGL (WGL4) / Paneuropean Fonts (WGL4) – WGL and W1G have more or less the same language coverage but not the same character set. Significantly both WGL and W1G include Greek and Cyrillic which are not normally included in OT-Pro and OT-Com. Greek coverage is modern Greek but not Polytonic. Cyrillic coverage is Russian, Byelorussian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Macedonian plus a number of minor dialects but not other major Cyrillic languages such as Kazak, Uzbek etc. W1G is also referred to as Paneuropean in some font listings. - WOFF (Web Open Font Format): This is the most widely used and supported webfont format at present. It is essentially a container for the font data which means that it cannot be installed on a desktop PC and is only useable inside the web browser. - EOT (Embedded OpenType): This is a Microsoft font format used in Internet Explorer web browsers. This format is not supported by any other major web browser. - TTF (TrueType Font): This is a standard TrueType font, however, when providing these as webfonts, our webfonts service removes certain elements from within the font to ensure that the font cannot be installed on a desktop machine and only works within a web browser. - SVG (Scaleable Vector Graphic): This is not technically a font format, however, it is often used to store font outlines and is supplied with our webfonts service to support some older mobile web browsers. x-height – The height of lowercase letters which do not ascend, such as n, o and x.

This CD contains action songs and games. The activities are varied, balanced and flexible. They are educationally worthwhile experiences, involving a variety of learning strategies and including both fine and gross motor movements. Basic addition and subtraction facts are presented in a cheerful and lyrical style. Students will enjoy singing the songs and learning the basics. Musical response quizzes add to the participation and interactivity. Sums to 18. For Grade 1. This fun-filled sprightly album helps primary grade children and ESL students acquire essential vocabulary and make it their own through singing and total movement participation. This new recording features call and response songs, listening, opposites, counting, and color reinforcement. A rich assortment of songs about animals and how they move encourages children to explore a wide range of creative movements: from the slow turtle to the quick rabbit; from the light, delicate butterfly to the heavy hippopotamus. Update your Rhythm Instrument programs and movement activities with Hap's original music and guide. Activities are suggested for each selection. Brighten up old routines and create new ones with this easy-to-use musical assortment. These four Hap Palmer videos not only entertain and fascinate children but they also provide movement activities that are highly regarded by early childhood specialists! Each video has received many awards including the Parents Choice, Kids First, Cindy, NY Festivals, and others! Children explore basic motor skills in an enjoyable, relaxed way. These activities are easy enough for very young children while suggested challenges stimulate older children. Skills include: balance, locomotor and axial movements, eye-hand coordination, spatial and body awareness, and relaxation. Another delightful production from Hap Palmer. Sammy, has been delighting children for more than twenty years. Now Sammy and other favorites from Getting to Know Myself come to life in this movement participation video - featuring a rainbow of children stretching, jumping discovering the joy of movement! Great for all ages.

One of the topics we like to cover here at i-lawsuit is dangerous drugs and pharmaceuticals. Today the media world has been abuzz with notice from the FBI stating two letters addressed to Senator Roger Wicker (R) and President Obama from Memphis, TN tested positive for the poison Ricin. But what IS Ricin? Ricin is a naturally occuring protein from the castor oil plant Ricinus communis. The protein is found in the seeds of the plant and is protected by a thick, almost impervious shell. These beans are usually hidden inside the flesh of the red spiny fruit, with each one containing a single bean that drops when the fruit dies. In order to be toxic the protein must be ingested, injected or inhaled. Ricin causes death by inhibiting the production of protein, thus death is slow and occurs 3-5 days after ingestion. Signs of sickness will begin within a day, and include severe diarrhea and shock. Although antidotes exist for riacin poisoning, long-term organ damage is likely. To be most potent, Ricin must be directly injected in to skin. With direct blood and tissue contact only a few grains as big as a few pieces of salt can be lethal to an adult. When ingested several milligrams must be consumed. One of the most famous cases involving ricin poisoning was the assassination of Georgi Makov, aBulgarian born writer and journalist for the BBC World Service. He was targeted by the Bulgarian secret police for publicly voicing his dissatisfaction with the regime. Bulgarian officials enlisted the help of the KGB, the primary enforcement agency for the Soviet Union. Assassins loaded a manufactured shell filled with ricin in to the tip of an umbrella and fired the shell in to Makov’s leg while walking down a busy London street. The shell was the size of a pinhead, and was not found until an autopsy several days after the incident. The design was sophisticated, and had two holes covered with a “surgery substance” that melted at human body temperature. This kept the ricin inside the shell and allowed it to flow out in to the body once it had hit its target. Uses for Ricin Scientists are currently experimenting with ricin to see if it can be altered to kill cancer cells. Ricin, by nature, is a protein and as such it can be bonded to an antibody that recognizes and attacks malignant cells. Ricin has also been considered as a possible agent in chemical warfare. During WWI the United States considered dusting pellets with Ricin to make them especially toxic to enemies, but reconsidered the idea as it violated international treaties and laws of warfare established at the Hague Convention forbidding the use of, “poison or poisoned arms.”

With winter well underway, so is the potential for young adults to develop seasonal depression. Each year, seasonal depression affects around 5 percent of adults in the U.S., according to Sarah Longe, a behavioral health therapist with IU Health. “Typically, seasonal depression begins between the ages of 18 to 30,” Longe said. “Between seasonal and regular depression, it just depends on when the episodes happen. For people with regular depression, the seasonal aspect of depression can be part of it. However, seasonal depression isn’t typically diagnosed as regular depression.” Symptoms of seasonal depression are similar to “regular depression,” Longe said. Symptoms such as reclusion, lack of interest and general sadness that interferes with everyday life are tell-tale signs of depression. The difference between seasonal and “regular” depression is that the seasonal variation occurs through winter. “January and February tend to be the most difficult months for people,” Longe said. “There’s less sunlight, the days are gray, and it gets dark by 5:30 (p.m.). That can be rough for most people. I also think the excitement of the holidays is over, so there’s that post-holiday crash. Plus, it’s cold, so people tend to stay indoors and are less active.” A range of products, from artificial sunlight lamps to health supplements, can help as prevention tools. Longe recommends the former based on feedback from her patients. “There’s light therapy, which you can get one that’s called HappyLight on Amazon,” Longe said. “It projects bright, indirect light in a room, and it’s recommended that you do that for 20 to 30 minutes every day. I have patients that swear by it.” Longe also recommends that seasonal depression sufferers settle into a healthy daily routine. “A good diet and exercise can help, too,” Longe said. “Really, connecting to others is a great way to fight against seasonal depression. That’s something I’ll do with patients is talk about what they’ll be doing during the months and what they’re looking forward to – hobbies to do, friends to see.” For those whose depression is worsened by the season, Longe advises finding a therapist and keeping the suicide hotline number, 988, on hand. “If you’re struggling, find a good therapist, if needed,” Longe said. “You can find a list of providers on your insurance company’s website. And if you’re having thoughts of harming yourself, there’s also a crisis line by dialing 988.” For more, visit iuhealth.org.

Rabbi Sacks: Friend to the Educators BY DR. DANIEL ROSE It is hard to believe it has been a year already since we lost our Rav. The feelings of bereavement and loss without his guiding voice has hardly lessened. So many have and will continue to write about the impact he made on their lives and the wider world. I would like to focus on the impact of Rabbi Sacks on my profession, as a Jewish educator. Champion of Jewish education Jewish education as a core and central value in Judaism permeated all of his writings, from his weekly Covenant & Conversation to his most sophisticated and universal philosophical volumes.1 In Rabbi Sacks’ words, “for Jews, education is not just what we know. It’s who we are.”2 He was deeply proud of the role he played in the exponential growth in Jewish schools in Britain during his tenure as Chief Rabbi. Of all the titles he deservedly held, he was proudest of the title ‘Rabbi’, which he explained in its essence means simply ‘teacher.’ He wrote extensively on the role of Jewish education in history, which he noted was a universal right in Jewish civilization 18 centuries before Britain became the first country in the world to legislate universal compulsory education. He believed that this was the secret of Jewish survival and continuity. For Rabbi Sacks, educators are the heroes of the Jewish people: “The people who really shape our life.”3 It was always Rabbi Sacks’ sincere wish to be a resource to Jewish educators across the world, and his efforts on this front intensified during his last years when he commissioned several projects aimed at younger and broader audiences.4 A role model educator Rabbi Sacks was an exemplary role model to Jewish educators. As Gila, his daughter, noted on the occasion of his being awarded the Templeton Prize in 2016, he embodied the statement of Ben Zoma “Who is wise? He who learns from every person.”5 He found spiritual and religious relevance in all areas of knowledge and culture, from secular philosophy to behavioural economics, from Beethoven to Eminem, and from contemporary cinema to sports. Rabbi Sacks also modelled creative pedagogy, including masterful storytelling, the strategic use of humour, the communication of complex ideas in diverse ways for diverse audiences and the harnessing of the most up-to-date technology to spread his ideas. As any educator knows only too well, no one approach to religious development will fit all. Despite epitomising an intellectual approach to Judaism, Rabbi Sacks also advocated other more spiritual and emotional paths to G-d. For example, he often spoke of music as the language of the soul, taking us to places that words, as the language of the mind, are not able to. In the weeks and months since his death so many stories of Rabbi Sacks as a personal ethical role model have been shared, painting a picture of a true mensch who made himself available to anyone that sought him out. This may be the most important lesson he modelled for Jewish educators. Big picture Judaism For me, the most important contribution Rabbi Sacks made to my work was his thought itself. I often work with young Jews who struggle to find personal meaning in their Jewish education on offer to them; all too frequently they are only taught to see the trees, but not the forest. Rabbi Sacks’ thought presents a ‘big picture Judaism’ that gives a broader meaning to Jewish life. He dedicated many books and speeches to address the simple question “why be Jewish?” He gave us a philosophy of mitzvot that help us understand the bigger picture behind the minutiae of halachah. And he showed that Judaism is not only about building a personal relationship with G-d, but also about our national mission and our people’s contribution to the broader world. Rabbi Sacks has left us so many rich resources to help our work, as educators and parents. Now we must live up to his example, and continue his legacy. 1 For example, an entire chapter in his book The Dignity of Difference. 2 Letters to the Next Generation, Letter 4: Jewish Education. 3 From Optimism to Hope (Bloomsbury Continuum, 2004), p. 132. 4 Continuing this is a central element of the vision of the work of The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust. 5 Avot, 4:1. (See the transcript of Gila’s speech on page 18.) Dr. Daniel Rose is Director of Education at The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust.

While the mechanisms of evolution are still under investigation, scientists universally accept that the cosmos, our planet, and life evolved and continue to evolve. Yet the teaching of evolution to schoolchildren is still contentious. In Science and Creationism, The National Academy of Sciences states unequivocally that creationism has no place in any science curriculum at any level. Briefly and clearly, this booklet explores the nature of science, reviews the evidence for the origin of the universe and earth, and explains the current scientific understanding of biological evolution. This edition includes new insights from astronomy and molecular biology. Attractive in presentation and authoritative in content, Science and Creationism will be useful to anyone concerned about America's scientific literacy: education policymakers, school boards and administrators, curriculum designers, librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Table of Contents |The Origin of the Universe, Earth, and Life||3-8| |Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution||9-22| |Appendix: Frequently Asked Questions||27-30| The National Academies Press and the Transportation Research Board have partnered with Copyright Clearance Center to offer a variety of options for reusing our content. You may request permission to: For most Academic and Educational uses no royalties will be charged although you are required to obtain a license and comply with the license terms and conditions. For information on how to request permission to translate our work and for any other rights related query please click here. For questions about using the Copyright.com service, please contact: Copyright Clearance Center 22 Rosewood Drive Danvers, MA 01923 Tel (toll free): 855/239-3415 (select option 1) Loading stats for Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, Second Edition...

Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Cable Although single mode fiber (SMF) and multimode fiber (MMF) optic cable types are widely used in diverse applications, the differences between single mode fiber and multimode fiber optic cables are still confusing. This article will focus on the basic construction, fiber distance, cost, fiber color, etc., to make an in-depth comparison between single mode and multimode fiber types. Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Cable Single mode means the fiber enables one type of light mode to be propagated at a time. While multimode means the fiber can propagate multiple modes. The differences between single mode and multimode fiber optic cable mainly lie in fiber core diameter, wavelength & light source, bandwidth, color sheath, distance and cost. Single mode fiber core diameter is much smaller than multimode fiber. Its typical core diameter is 9 µm even if there are others available. And multimode fiber core diameter is 50 µm and 62.5 µm typically, which enables it to have higher “light gathering” ability and simplify connections. The cladding diameter of single mode and multimode fiber is 125 µm. The attenuation of multimode fiber is higher than SM fiber because of its larger core diameter. The fiber core of single mode cable is very narrow, so the light that passes through these fiber optical cables is not reflected too many times, which keeps the attenuation to a minimum. Wavelength & Light Source Due to the large core size of multimode fiber, some low-cost light sources like LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and VCSELs (vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers) that works at the 850nm and 1300nm wavelength are used in multimode fiber cables. While the single mode fiber often uses a laser or laser diodes to produce light injected into the cable. And the commonly used single mode fiber wavelength is 1310 nm and 1550 nm. Multimode fiber bandwidth is limited by its light mode and the maximum bandwidth at present is 28000MHz*km of OM5 fiber. While single mode fiber bandwidth is unlimited theoretically because it allows only one light mode to pass through at a time. According to the TIA-598C standard definition, for non-military applications, single mode cable is coated with yellow outer sheath, and multimode fiber is coated with orange or aqua jacket. Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Distance It’s known that single mode fiber is suitable for long-distance applications, while multimode optical fiber is designed for short-distance runs. Then when it comes to single mode vs multimode fiber distance, what’s the quantifiable differences? From the chart, we can see that single mode fiber distance is much longer than that of multimode fiber cables at the data rate from 1G to 10G, but OM3/OM4/OM5 multimode fiber supports a higher data rate. Because multimode optical fiber has a large core size and supports more than one light mode, its fiber distance is limited by modal dispersion which is a common phenomenon in multimode step-index fiber. While single mode fiber is not. That’s the essential difference between them. In addition, OS2 single mode fiber could support longer distances in 40G and 100G links, which is not listed in the table. Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Cost “Single mode vs multimode fiber cost” is a hot topic in some forums. Numbers of people have expressed their own opinions. Their views mainly focus on the optical transceiver cost, system cost and installation cost. Optical Transceiver Cost Compared to single-mode transceivers, the price of multimode transceivers is nearly two or three times lower. From the table, we can see that the price difference gains greatly with the speed increasing. To utilize the fundamental attributes of single mode fibers, which are generally geared towards longer distance applications, requires transceivers with lasers that operate at longer wavelengths with smaller spot-size and generally narrower spectral width. These transceiver characteristics combined with the need for higher-precision alignment and tighter connector tolerances to smaller core diameters result in significantly higher transceiver costs and overall higher interconnect costs for single mode fiber interconnects. Fabrication methods for VCSEL based transceivers that are optimized for use with multimode fibers are more easily manufactured into array devices and are lower cost than equivalent single-mode transceivers. Despite the use of multiple fiber lanes and multi-transceivers arrays, there are significant cost savings over single-mode technology employing single or multichannel operation over simplex-duplex connectivity. Multimode fiber system offers the lowest system cost and upgrade path to 100G for standard-based premises applications using parallel-optic based interconnects. Single-mode optical fiber often costs less than multimode fiber. When building a 1G fiber optic network that you want to be able to go to 10G or faster on eventually, the savings on the cost of fiber for single-mode saves about half-price. While the multimode OM3 or OM4 fiber increases 35% in cost for SFP modules. The single-mode optics are more expensive, but the labor costs of replacing the multimode are significantly higher, especially if that followed OM1—OM2—OM3—OM4. If you are willing to look at used ex-Fibre Channel SFPs, the price of single-mode 1G drops through the floor. If you have the budget and need for 10G short connections, the economics at last check still support multimode. Keep an eye on those economics though, as history suggests that the price premium for single-mode will drop. Frequently Asked Question about Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Optic Cable Q: What is better single mode or multimode fiber type? A: As has been mentioned above, single mode fiber and multimode fiber cable have their own advantages on cost and applications. There is no such thing that single mode optical fibers are better than multimode ones. Just choosing the best-fit one for your applications is ok. Q: Can I mix single mode and multimode fiber type? A: This answer for this question is “no”. Multimode fiber and single mode fiber have different core sizes, and the number of light modes that they transmit is also different. If you mix the two fibers, or connect them together directly, you’ll lose a large amount of optical loss, resulting in a link flapping or being down. Keep in mind that never mix different types of cabling randomly. Q: Can I use a multimode transceiver on single mode fiber optic cable? A: Generally speaking, the answer is “no”. Large optical loss will occur if a multimode transceiver is connected with single mode fiber. However, the opposite will work. For example, 1000BASE-LX single mode SFP can work on multimode fiber cable by using mode conditioning fiber cable. Sometimes, fiber media converters also can be used to solve such problems between single mode transceivers and multimode transceivers. Q: Single mode vs multimode fiber optic cable type: which should I choose? A: When making a decision between single mode and multimode fiber cables, the first factor to consider is the fiber distance which you need actually. For example, in a data center, multimode fiber cables are enough for the distance of 300-400 meters. While in applications that require distance up to several thousands of meters, the single mode fiber is the best choice. And in applications that can use single mode and multimode fiber, other factors like cost and future upgrade requirements should be taken into consideration for your choice. From the comparison between single mode vs multimode fiber optic cable, it can conclude that single-mode fiber cabling system is suitable for long-reach data transmission applications and widely deployed in carrier networks, MANs and PONs. Multimode fiber cabling system has a shorter reach and is widely deployed in enterprise, data centers and LANs. No matter which one you choose, on the basis of total fiber cost, choosing the one that best suits your network demands is an important task for every network designer. کابل فیبر نوری OBUC رفسنجان ۴۸ کور،(6*8)، سینگل مود خاکی، Armored-OBUC SGCC fiber optic cable 24 core (4*6) , singlemode ADSS-SPAN80

Researchers have identified a gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia, which could have a future impact on available treatments. The discovery has significant practical implications because the gene identified by the researchers is an especially attractive target for drug development. “In some ways, this is the kind of gene that the pharmaceutical industry has been waiting for,” said Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D., who led the international team of research scientists. “Its activity can be modulated by synthetic peptides; and some have already been created.” Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, with symptoms that include hallucinations, delusions and thought disorders. It is believed to be caused by environmental and genetic factors, most notably the latter: the illness occurs in 1 percent of the general population, or 10 percent of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder, such as a parent or sibling. In previous work, Sebat and collaborator Dr. Mary-Claire King, a professor of medical genetics at the University of Washington, discovered that rare mutations at many locations in the human genome resulted in significantly higher risk of schizophrenia. These mutations consisted of copy number variants or CNVs – a type of genetic variation in which the number of copies of a gene differs between individuals. The findings were the first conclusive evidence that rare mutations can cause schizophrenia, but they did not identify the specific genes involved. The latest study goes much further. Researchers scanned for CNVs in the genomes of 8,290 individuals with diagnosed cases of schizophrenia and 7,431 healthy controls. “We found very strong links to multiple sites in the genome,” said Sebat. “This discovery might be the best target yet to come out of genetic studies of mental illness.” said Sebat. “This is what genomic medicine is all about, finding the relevant genes and using this genetic information to come up with a possible strategy for treatment.” Sebat said the next step will be to test whether compounds like these have beneficial effects in mice and in cultured human cells that carry the specific gene mutation. The findings are published in the online issue of the journal Nature.

Elizabeth Blackwell's Fight to Become the First Female Doctor Elizabeth Blackwell Portrait Elizabeth Blackwell Born in England Elizabeth was born the daughter of Hannah Lane and Samuel Blackwell in 1821 their third child. She was born in Bristol, England. Her family enjoyed a prosperous lifestyle until riots broke out and they lost their business. Her father made the decision to move the family to America while she was still a young girl. Samuel Blackwell felt he would have more job opportunities in America and he wanted to support the anti slavery movement and women’s rights movement for his daughters. The Blackwell family settled in New York in 1832. Elizabeth’s father did not want his children educated by the church so they received their education through their parents and private tutors. Elizabeth could speak several languages including French and German as well as English. She also received education in music and literature. Elizabeth was fortunate that her father believed in education for his daughters as well as for his sons. This was a time when usually women did not have the same opportunities for education as men. In fact, it was rare for a woman to have access to higher education at all. To become a doctor, Elizabeth would have to fight long held views and preconceived ideas on the roles of women in society. First Work Experiences When Elizabeth was eighteen her father died unexpectedly, he left her mother Hannah, with nine young children to provide for. For some time, Elizabeth along with her two sisters and mother worked as teachers to support the family. Teaching was one of the few occupations that society accepted for women at that time. Together the Blackwell women opened a private academy for young women in Cincinnati, Ohio. Elizabeth also moved to Henderson, Kentucky to take a teaching position. However, her anti-slavery views seemed to be in contrast with the schools teachings and she left there after her first year. During this time period, Elizabeth had a close friend who was dying of a disease that affected women only. This friend was the person who most influenced Elizabeth to pursue a career in medicine. She confided to Elizabeth how embarrassing it was for her to let male doctors examine her. Her friend wished that females were allowed to enter the medical field and treat women like her. This was the first time that Elizabeth had ever considered the possibility of studying to become a doctor. She had never considered medicine as a career. In fact, she had found the study of the body, diseases and sickness to be appalling and disgusting. But now, in honor of her friend’s thoughts and wishes, Elizabeth set her sights on becoming the first world’s first woman doctor. It would not be an easy path to forge. The Fight For a Career As a Woman Doctor In the beginning of her quest to earn a medical degree, many of her friends were against the idea, and tried to discourage her. They didn’t feel she had any chance of becoming a doctor due to being a woman. Elizabeth persisted even though she had no idea how to begin. So she began by studying with private doctors John and Samuel Dickison, who were willing to teach her. She also spent a lot of time reading and studying on her own. From there, she began to apply to different medical schools but was always told that because she was a woman they would not accept her. Finally, one school did admit her to their medical program of study. It was the Geneva Medical College in New York. Although she was admitted to the college it was not going to be an easy road to her medical degree. The male students treated her as a sort of an oddity and a joke; some actually went so far as to bully her. Some professors refused to let her in their classrooms and demonstrations. Elizabeth refused to give up no matter how much abuse she received and just worked and studied even harder. In Jan 1849, it paid off and she received her medical degree and graduated first in her class. I wonder how chagrined and embarrassed those boys who had bullied her felt. After graduating with her medical degree, she moved to London and Paris where she continued studying. Here she took courses in mid wife studies. Unfortunately, it was here that she would encounter an eye infection from one of her patients. She lost her eye due to the infection and thus ended her ambition of becoming a surgeon. Doctoring in New York Upon returning to New York, she set about helping poor women and children. She opened several facilities for women and children to receive medical treatment. She also opened the first medical college for women in New York. Elizabeth’s younger sister Emily had followed her into the field of medicine and the two of them worked together in opening and operating these facilities for poor women and children, as well as many other causes. Doctor Rebecca Cole would be the first black woman doctor to work with Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell at her Infirmary for women and children. Civil War And President Lincoln During the Civil War, Elizabeth helped the Union effort with her knowledge of medical practices. This included advocating for clean sanitary conditions as well as proper personal hygiene in Union hospitals and army camps. She also worked with President Lincoln in establishing The US sanitary commission. She trained other nurses in proper sanitary procedures for war time. These trained nurses helped to reduce diseases from spreading though hospitals and among the men in the army camps. Elizabeth Blackwell Achievements - First woman to receive a medical degree - Worked and studied at Bartholomew’s Hospital in London - Opened a private practice when no one hospital would hire her - Opened the New York Dispensary for poor women and children - Opened the New York Infirmary for indigent women and children - First woman listed on the British Medical Register - Opened the first medical college for women - Worked with President Lincoln during the Civil War to establish the US sanitary Commission in 1861 - Lectured at the London School of Medicine for Women - Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame 1973 This is only a short list of the achievements of Elizabeth Blackwell. I am sure there are many others as well. Elizabeth Blackwell Medical Degree Books by Elizabeth Blackwell - The Religion of Health - Essays in Medical Sociology - The Human Element in Sex - Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women - Medicine as a Profession for Women - Address on the Medical Education of Women Again this is only a short list of books and articles written by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. I believe she also wrote many articles about women's health as well as articles about sanitation, cleanliness, and hygiene. Elizabeth Blackwell: A Lasting Legacy Elizabeth forged a path into the medical field for many other women to follow, including her sister Emily. The two of them together whether working together or separately brought about the acceptance of women in a field that had viewed women as inferior, ignorant, lacking sense and not having the mental attitude for the medical profession. Elizabeth proved them wrong Elizabeth Blackwell: Her Story Questions & Answers © 2019 L.M. Hosler

Taxonomy, systematics and classification are terms with similar meanings;they are all about the overwhelming diversity of living organisms, for there are more than 2,000,000 species (and 300,000 of them belong to plants2). Phyloge-netics is a more fashionable term; it emphasizes the evolutionary history (phy-logeny) of taxonomic groups (taxa). This taxonomic organization is hierarchical. Most scientists accept seven main levels of taxonomy (ranks): the highest is kingdom, followed by phylum, class, order, family, genus, and lastly, species. The highest rank, kingdoms are easy to understand as the pyramid of life (Fig. 1.4) which is divided into four levels—kingdoms. At the bottom is Monera, which consists of prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea). This is the first level of life: Mon-era have simplest cells without nucleus. The next level is Protista. These are eukaryotes (nuclear cells) without tissues; some examples are algae and fungi. The final level consists of two groups: Vegetabilia and Animalia. They both have tissues but have obtained them for completely different purposes. Animals have tissues to hunt and digest, while plants have tissues mainly to survive onland. Viri which are mentioned sideways, are not living things but merely piecesof DNA or RNA which “went astray” out of cells of living organisms of all four kingdoms. Despite of being non-living, viruses are capable of evolution. Plants2 (kingdom Vegetabilia) contain more than 300,000 species and divided in multiple subgroups (Fig. 1.5). Ranks are used to compare taxonomic groups (taxa) from different major groups. No precise definitions are available for particular ranks, but it is believed that they are associated with the time of divergence (separation) between taxa. In ad-dition to seven ranks mentioned above plant taxonomy uses intermediate ranks like subfamily, subclass or superorder—when taxonomic structure is too complicated. Below is and example of names used for different ranks. Please note that names used for some ranks have standardized endings (underlined): It is frequent when one species has several geographical races without clear bor-ders between them. The example might be the stinging nettle, Urtica dioica. In North America, many nettles have narrower leaves and are less stinging than in Eurasia. However, there are many intermediate forms between these races. To reflect this, taxonomists introduced two subspecies: in this case, Urtica diuica subsp. dioica (“Eurasian”) and U. dioica subsp. gracilis (“North American”). An-other frequently used under-species category which is cultivar. Cultivars arefrequently used in gardening. For example, many roses in cultivation belong to different cultivars of Rosa banksiae, and yellow roses are often Rosa banksiae cv. ‘Lutea’ where the last part of name is for the cultivar. Names of species are binomials which consist of the name of genus and speciesepithet: If one does not know the exact species, “sp.” shortcut is used instead of epithet, and “spp.” is used as a shortcut for multiple unknown species. It is required to use slanted font when one prints a name of species or genus. All scientific names are capitalized, but the second word in a species name (species epithet) always starts from lower case letter. It is a well-known fact that some species have a hybrid origin, and in these cases, botanists use a multiplication sign ( ). For example, common plum (Prunus domestica) is a hybrid between blackthorn and cherry plum: Prunus spinosa Prunus cerasifera. The group of plants or animals must have one and only one name. Ideally, the name should be a stable ID for all occasions. But since biology is a “science of exceptions”, some plant families are allowed to bear two names. As an ex-ample, legumes (Leguminosae) are frequently named “Fabaceae”, and grasses (Gramineae) have the second name “Poaceae”. Throughout the long history of taxonomy, too many names were given to the same taxa. At the moment, we have almost 20,000,000 names to describe 2,000,000 species. These 18,000,000 “excess names” are synonyms which should not be used in science. To regulate the use of names, nomenclature codes were cre-ated. These codes specify, for example, the rule of priority: when two namesare given for the same group, only earlier name is valid. Consequently, it is recom-mended to list the author and the year of description along with a name: “Homosapiens L. 1758”, which means that founder of taxonomy, Carolus Linnaeus (“L.”shortcut) described this species in 1758. Another important concept of nomenclature is the nomenclature type. Prac-tically, this means that every species name must be associated with the phys-ical museum specimen. In botany, these museums are collections of dried and pressed plants, called herbaria. Type specimens are of immense importance be-cause there are no labels in nature, and only these specimens will “tell” about real plants or animals associated with particular names. Names of taxa higher than species also have nomenclature types, but in these cases they are other names, not specimens. This example may clarify the use on nomenclature types. Initially, oleaster family (Elaeagnaceae) contained two genera, Elaeagnus (oleaster) and Hippophaë (sea-buckthorn). The second genus included Hippophaë rhamnoides (Siberian sea-buckthorn, type species) and Hip-pophaë canadensis (North American plant). Thomas Nuttall decided to split sea-buckthorns in two genera. Since one of them contains Hippophaë rhamnoides, the type species, it should keep the name Hippophaë. The second genus can be named arbitrarily. Nuttall gave it name “Shepherdia”. As a result, the species which had name Hippohaë canadensis L., became Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt. Plant taxonomy is a science. That means that our understanding of plant groups will always change. It also means that there always are different competing opinions, the taxonomic hypotheses which describe plant diversity in different ways. As a result, some groups of plants could be accepted in a broad sense, in-cluding as many subgroups as possible. For example, there might be an opinion of Homo sapiens s.l. (sensu lato = wide sense) including not only contemporary humans but also Neanderthal men. As a contrast, other opinions may accept groups in a strict sense, and Homo sapiens s.str. (sensu stricto = strict sense) in-cludes only contemporary humans. Copyright © 2018-2020 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai.

MRSA Boils, pus-filled bumps, or weird blisters, no matter what you call it. It just sounds painful. A boil under this context is referred to an infection in a hair follicle and the skin (tissue) surrounding that area. The bacteria may travel deep into the follicle tissue. In some cases, the boil can develop into a cyst being as large as a quarter and possibly bigger. When bacteria in the boil are staphylococcus aureus and the staph bacteria are resistant to methicillin related antibiotics, it is known as a MRSA boil. It is important to treat the infection promptly to avoid it from spreading to others or other parts of the body. What Are The Common Places? A boil can develop anywhere on the body; however, the most common places to be found are on the neck, face, armpits, buttocks, and thighs. Men who have more hair may be at a higher risk of developing a boil because it is an infection of a hair follicle. Preventing These Boils To prevent a boil, proper hygiene should be followed. Loose clothing may be helpful in prevent these boils by avoiding irritation and breaks in the skin that can allow bacteria to enter. A strong immune system will also help prevent this type of staph infection. Treatment with Antibiotics Antibiotics are used to treat MRSA boils. It may also need to be lanced and drained. A medical professional should perform this procedure to prevent the spread of the bacteria. Some boils may break open and drain on their own. A doctor should be consulted if there are symptoms of MRSA with a boil to determine if it is infected.

Since 1946, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation has been protecting our wild places and things and connecting people with the great outdoors. Always remember that Tennessee’s wildlife is YOUR wildlife. This is not just a catch phrase. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation was established in American case law of the 1860s when the creation of the “Seven Sisters of Conservation” (see the sidebar) by sportsmen and women began in earnest. Simply put, Tennessee’s wildlife is YOUR wildlife! It is the responsibility of ALL Tennesseans who love our state’s incredible natural resources and wild places to help keep them intact for the generations that come after us. TWF acts as the “tip of the spear” of conservation in the Volunteer State, but only together can we keep our wild places wild, our animal populations thriving, and our access to the Great Outdoors unimpeded. Be a part of this important mission. WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO TO LEARN WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO. The “Seven Sisters of Conservation” — Tenets of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation Click each “sister” to reveal an explanation. 1. Wildlife is held in the public trust In North American, natural resources and wildlife are managed by government agencies to ensure that current and future generations always have wildlife and wild places to enjoy. 2. Prohibition on commerce of dead wildlife Commercial hunting and the sale of wildlife is prohibited to ensure the sustainability of wildlife populations. 3. Democratic rule of law Hunting and fishing laws are created through the public process where everyone has the opportunity and responsibility to develop systems of wildlife conservation and use. 4. Hunting opportunity for ALL Every citizen has an opportunity, under the law, to hunt and fish in the United States and Canada. 5. Non-frivolous use of wildlife In North America, individuals may legally kill certain wild animals under strict guidelines for food and fur, self-defense and property protection. Laws restrict against the casual killing of wildlife merely for antlers, horns or feathers. 6. International resources Wildlife and fish migrate freely across boundaries between states, provinces and countries. Working together, the United States and Canada jointly coordinate wildlife and habitat management strategies. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 demonstrates this cooperation between countries to protect wildlife. The Act made it illegal to capture or kill migratory birds, except as allowed by specific hunting regulations. 7. Scientific management Sound science is essential to managing and sustaining North America’s wildlife and habitats. For example, researchers put radio collars on elk to track the animals’ movements to determine where elk give birth and how they react to motor vehicles on forest roads.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Brandon like this: BRANDON and BYSHOTTLES, a township in Brancepeth parish, Durham; near the Durham and Bishop-Auckland railway, 3 miles SW by W of Durham. It has a side-station, of the name of Brandon. Acres, 6,726. Real property, £11,230; of which £5,812 are in mines. Pop., 1,486. Houses, 270. Brandon hill here has an altitude of 875 feet; is crowned with a tumulus, 120 paces in circuit and 24 feet high; and commands an extensive view. A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Brandon has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of Durham. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Brandon and units named after it. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Brandon, in Durham and County Durham | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time. Date accessed: 24th May 2013 Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Brandon".

Butter Flavoring Linked To Alzheimer's If you've been looking for one more thing to worry about, here it is. If you're a fan of butter-flavored microwave popcorn, a new study finds a flavoring used in the product may trigger Alzheimer's disease. University of Minnesota drug-design expert Robert Vince, PhD, and colleagues found that diacetyl causes brain proteins to misfold into the Alzheimer's-linked form called beta amyloid. Vince's team also found that diacetyl has an architecture similar to a substance that makes beta-amyloid proteins clump together in the brain -- clumping being a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Even more, the popcorn butter flavorant can pass through the blood-brain barrier and can inhibit the brain's natural amyloid-clearing mechanisms. Diacetyl, already linked to lung damage in people who work in microwave popcorn factories, is also used to produce the distinctive buttery flavor and aroma of margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods, and even some chardonnays.(Tipped by JMG reader SIdan)

Current issue: 53(4) Fresh and herb-rich upland forest sites in the north-western part of the central boreal vegetation zone in Finland were studied with respect to vegetation structure and vegetation-environment relationships (soil, stand characteristics). Two fresh heath vegetation data sets, one from the northern boreal zone and the other from the central boreal zone, were compared with the data of this study using multivariate methods. The variation in heath forest vegetation within the climatically uniform area was mainly determined by the fertility of the soil (primarily Ca and Mg) and the stage of stand development. N, P and K content of the humus layer varied little between the vegetation classes. Fertile site types occurred, in general, on coarse-textured soils than infertile site types, may be due to the fact that the sample plots were located in various bedrock and glacial till areas, i.e. to sampling effects. The place of the vegetational units of the study area in the Finnish forest site type system is discussed. The vegetation of the area has features in common with the northern boreal zone as well as the southern part of the central boreal vegetation zone. The results lend some support to the occurrence of a northern Myrtillus type or at least that intermediate form of fresh and herb-rich mineral soil sites commonly occur in the studied area. It is argued that the older name Dryopteris-Myrtillus type is more suitable than Geranium-Oxalis-Myrtillus type for herb-rich heath sites in the study area. The article is a lectio praecursoria held on May 18, 1968 at the University of Helsinki. It deals with some aspects connected with the adaptation of mathematic-statistical methods and in particular with multivariate methods. Among these regression, factor, and principal-component analysis are mostly used by the Finnish forest economists. The PDF includes a summary in English. Biogeographical patterns of the Scolytidae in Fennoscandia and Denmark, based on species incidence data from the approximately 70 km x 70 km quadrats (n = 221) used by Lekander et al. (1977), were classified to environmental variables using multivariate methods (two-way indicator species analysis, detrended correspondence analysis, canonical correspondence analysis). The distributional patterns of scolytid species composition showed similar features to earlier presented zonations based on vegetation composition. One major difference, however, was that the region was more clearly divided in an east-west direction. Temperature variables associated with the location of the quadrat had the highest canonical coefficient values on the first axis of the CCA. Although these variables were the most important determinants of the biogeographical variation in the beetle species assemblages, annual precipitation and the distribution of Picea abies also improved the fit of the species data. Samples with the most deviant rarity and typicality indices for the scolytid species assempblages in each quadrat were concentrated in several southern Scandinavian quadrats, in some quadrats in northern Sweden, and especially on the Swedish islands (Öland, Gotland, Gotska Sandön) in the Baltic Sea. The use of rarity indices which do not take the number of species per quadrat, also resulted high values for areas near Stockholm and Helsinki with well-known faunas. Methodological tests in which the real changes in the distribution of Ips acuminatus and I. amitinus were used as indicators showed that the currently available multivariate methods are sensitive to small faunal shifts even, and thus permit analysis of the fauna in relation to environmental changes. However, this requires more detailed monitoring of the species’ distributions over longer time spans. Distribution of seven species (Scolytus intricatus, S. laevis, Hylurgops glabratus, Crypturgus cinereus, Pityogenes salasi, Ips typographus, and Cyleborus dispar) were predicted by logistic regression models using climatic variables. In spite of the deficiencies in the data and the environmental variables selected, the models were relatively good for several but not for all species. The potential effects of climate change on bark beetles are discussed. The PDF includes a summary in Finnish. Multivariate methods are used to classify pine mires on the basis of edaphic properties into fertility groups in order to estimate the effect of fertilization in relation to site fertility. The data is based on two field inventories of NPK fertilization experiment in which 2,624 sample trees on 164 sample plots from 19 experimental fields were measured on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominated stands. The edaphic properties (total contents of nutrients and related properties) are based on 1,350 volumetric sub-samples of fertilized and non-fertilized control plots. In a DECORANA ordination, based on standardised volumetric soil variables N-P and acid-base gradients jointly describing trophic status were distinguished. Mainly on the basis of these two gradients a TWINSPAN analysis divided the material into five edaphic groups. To independently allocate sample plots into fertility groups, discriminating multiple regressions were formed using the TS edaphic groups as class variable. The effect of N, P, K, NP, NK, PK, and NPK treatments on tree growth was estimated on the basis of change in relative basal area increment during two growth periods. During five-year period immediately after fertilization N and P treatments evoked the strongest increase in growth. On the nutrient poor sites, the effect was almost double that on the fertile sites. The effect of N was short lasting while the P treatment still affected growth after 5–11 years. Although K treatment had little influence on tree growth needle samples collected 11 years after fertilization indicated increased K uptake on fertilized plots. Generally, the effect of fertilization on absolute stand volume growth was small. During the 11-year study period the total increase in growth gained with NPK was some 3–4 m3/ha. Despite strong relative response of individual sample trees, due to low stand volume fertilization (and drainage) had practically no effect on volume growth on the sites of lowest fertility. The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

The following paragraphs will discuss: check fault in our stars essay Murdock (1949) defines a family as “a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It contains adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults” (p.1). Parents are the main influence in a child’s life and have the responsibility to be affectionate and nurturing towards their children. Conversely, dysfunctional parents with destructive influences tend to have troubled kids. Depending on the child’s social environment, there are some children in this world whom are not as fortunate enough to have a loving mother and father. The functionalist perspective focuses on keeping the family functioning regardless of the dysfunctions that can occur. (Bereska 10) A dysfunctional family is... ... middle of paper ... ... a nuclear family with the help and support of her friends and family. Fiona and her siblings work together to strive towards their ultimate goal of surviving. Even though, she struggles to keep a stable job she still manages to keep the family together as her siblings form/shape her into a parentified young adult (that she is). Fiona’s personality enables her to make ruthless decisions yet nevertheless/nonetheless always puts her siblings first. At the time when her siblings were taken away and put in the foster system, she did everything in her power to retrieve them even if it meant taking Frank to court. Meanwhile she goes back to high school to get her GED, which in the future will help her get an improved/sustainable job. The functionalist perspective views families as groups that perform vital roles for society – both internally and externally (Little, 2012). Need Writing Help? Get feedback on grammar, clarity, concision and logic instantly.Check your paper » - Over the years family violence has dominated the media where millions of families go through the devastating effects in the family structure. Many have attributed these forms of violence to the way society perceives women as well as their positions in the family. The women are perceived inferior and have a limited value at personal levels, which in most cases, leads to power conflicts between the man, as the head of the family, and the wife. It also leads a number of children and women to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by a member of the family (Rodriguez 173).... [tags: Family Dysfunction] 2050 words (5.9 pages) - “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the story of a dysfunctional family who is going on a vacation to Florida. The family consists of a man named Bailey who lives with his grandmother, his wife who is never named and their three kids, John Wesley, June Star, and the baby who was also never named. Little did the family know they would later be caught by the criminal that escaped from prison that they never thought twice about. It all starts with the grandmother, she wants to go to Tennessee because she knows there is a criminal on the loose in Florida, the Misfit, but nobody pays her thoughts any mind.... [tags: Family, Dysfunctional family, A Story] 724 words (2.1 pages) - A child 's family can really affect a person’s identity. The way which these families are dysfunctional they abuse or neglect their children. A children in a dysfunctional family often feel that child abuse and neglect is normal and there is nothing wrong with it at all. In a dysfunctional family it is often one parent that is doing the abuse. Then the child may be a bully or be really depressed or have a personality disorder when they get older. Then it is too late because their personal Identity is affected and they no longer trust anyone or they think neglect and abuse are the right thing.... [tags: Family, Family therapy, Dysfunctional family] 1269 words (3.6 pages) - True West a Dysfunctional Family In the play “True West” by Sam Shepard, there are two main characters Austin and Lee that are so different and similar due to their family culture of dysfunction. A dysfunctional family is one in which that shows conflict, hostile environments, inappropriate behaviors to not only upon them, but to those around them. In most dysfunctional families you will find children that have been neglected or abused by parents, to which most of these children tend to think that these such behaviors are normal.... [tags: Family, Dysfunctional family, Family therapy] 761 words (2.2 pages) - Organisations today face many challenges and threats in the rapidly changing and highly competitive global environment , one of these challenges is organisational conflict. Conflict is an inevitable and normal phenomenon between individuals and groups in each organization (OJO and ABOLADE,no date). There is growing recognition of the importance of conflict in the organization (Garcia-Prieto, Bellard, and Schneider, 2003) . According to Hocker and Wilmot in 1995,quoted by Henry(2008),said that not all conflicts can be easily regarded as good or bad.... [tags: Management, Conflict, Dispute resolution] 932 words (2.7 pages) - The movie shows the Hoover family a typical American dysfunctional family who are all at different stages of their lives. Each member of the family has their own odd quirk. The family includes Richard, the father, who gives motivational speeches on “The Steps to Being Successful” which is completely ironic because his motivational book is failing, the grandpa who is addicted to heroin, Dwayne, the son, who is slightly depressed and refuses to speak, Sheryl, the mother/wife, who is just trying to keep it all together for everyone and Frank, the uncle, had a failed suicide attempt.... [tags: Major depressive disorder, Suicide] 1031 words (2.9 pages) - Leadership Reflections: Aspects of Dysfunctional Leadership Based on assigned readings (ORG515 Module 3), this journal entry reflects on three prevalent forms of dysfunctional leadership (Vecchio, 2007) that potentially impact the author’s effectiveness as a leader – groupthink, aversive behavior, and destructive narcissism. Proceeding from a definitional overview, the discussion identifies aspects of these dysfunctional behaviors that are relevant to the author. This entry then considers appropriate remedial actions, including consideration of the relative effectiveness of a study partner’s strategies, for ameliorating deficiencies in the author’s leadership behaviors.... [tags: Leadership ] 1522 words (4.3 pages) - The Dysfunctional American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller In the American society, it is thought that if you work hard, no matter what circumstances, you can become rich and powerful. You can overcome deep poverty to become the richest man alive. This superhuman absurdity is what is referred to as the "American Dream." Day after day, Americans struggle to achieve fame and prosperity, only to find failure and heartbreak. The American Dream in today's society is dead and is proven several times through plays, poetry, and essays.... [tags: Death of a Salesman Essays] 1222 words (3.5 pages) - Comparing the Books, Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts About the Sixties and The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage The preface to Peter Collier and David Horowitz's Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts About the Sixties and the introduction to Todd Gitlin's The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage both try to explain the authors' reasons for writing their books. Both books, based on nostalgia, deal with the good and the bad which have come out of the sixties. However, while Collier and Horowitz describe the sixties more as a time of destruction, Gitlin places more emphasis on the spirited atmosphere which led to the destruction.... [tags: American America History] 776 words (2.2 pages) - The Dysfunctional Family of The Glass Menagerie Dysfunctional. Codependent. Enmeshed. Low self-esteem. Emotional problems of the modern twenty-first century or problems of the past. In his play, The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams portrays a southern family in the 1940's trying to deal with life's pressures, and their own fears after they are deserted by their husband and father. Although today, we have access to hundreds of psychoanalysis books and therapists, the family problems of the distant past continue to be the family problems of the present.... [tags: Glass Menagerie essays] 1074 words (3.1 pages)

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. The September date was chosen as Cleveland was concerned that aligning an American labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair. All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday. Read more And, for all you who hire us… you head hogs at the trough, you who do not reward merit, or loyalty, or timeliness and care. No man is an island, entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manner of thine own or of thine friend’s were. Each man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Early stages of child development include the toddler stage. This human development stage is where we begin to form a separate sense of self and also influences our initial attitudes and abilities regarding boundary-setting, independence, curiosity, imagination, and willingness to explore. In this stage the child experiences the initial development of a "mind of it's own" often referred to as the will. It's the child's first real attempt to pull away and separate from mother -- The reward is a sense of autonomy. Just as infancy involves a healthy co-dependence, entrance into the toddler and pre-schooler stages of child development marks the beginning of a healthy counter-dependence. Well-known as the "terrible two's", this is the time when the child discovers the abilities to say no and to use anger as a means getting what it wants. Allowing and even encouraging this bid for independence while maintaining a good balance with parental authority will be the major factor in the outcome of this stage. Knowing when to let them win and choosing your battles wisely are two skills that will come in handy. There is a strong feeling of ambivalence in this stage -- the toddler does not tolerate mother being out of sight for long, yet they desire more independence. As they move further away they will often turn around to make sure mom is still there. If a parent does not allow any exploration of the limits in an accepting and non-judgmental way the child begins to develop a sense of shame due to their frustrated need to separate. They then begin to experience excessive self-doubt, which is present to some degree anyway. Eventually they can give up trying to gain autonomy and remain needy. This can provide reassurance to the parent that needs to be needed and she can foster more of the same. On the other hand, if they are given blanket approval for everything they do the child can develop what's often referred to as "spoiled child syndrome". Later on these kids really have trouble hearing and accepting the word 'No'. In all stages of child development children are natural-born limit-testers. They will push... and push... and push the limits until someone steps in and says "No". Just as they will seek approval and attention, kids seek discipline when there is not enough of it -- If they don't get enough healthy discipline they can develop a false sense of entitlement. Many veteran parents can relate to a time when they have firmly said "No" and re-enforced it with a time out or other form of discipline. When this happens the toddler seems to instantly change from rebellious and defiant to warm and cuddly as if some need has been satisfied -- because it has. When children don't know where the limits are they can begin to feel unsafe. Testing the limits and experiencing the appropriate reaction of their parents they can feel safe again -- as if at some level they get the message "when I can't stop myself, someone will be there to stop me". Click on the following link to go to the The Iceberg Discussion Forum. Unmet needs in each of the stages of child development can be observed in present-day symptoms. For each of the following statements assign a rank between 10 (High) and 1 (Low).

The intermediate (hol) festival days (hamoed) — days three through six or two through six in Israel and for the Reform –have a special designation. Although they are not full festivals, they are still holy relative to ordinary days. Leviticus refers to them as mikra’ei kodesh, days of sanctity. Even though there are no biblical prohibitions against work or travel, the rabbis ruled that gainful work is forbidden (you can work if material loss would occur). This was to distinguish the time from normal weekdays and provide greater opportunity for Torah. We read the Torah in synagogue on each intermediate day, conduct the Musaf (additional) service ordained for Shabbat and festivals [except in the Reform tradition], and recite the partial Hallel [Psalms of praise]. Because only part is said on the seventh day, which is a full festival, we cannot elevate a semi-festival above it. Excerpted from Celebrate! The Complete Jewish Holiday Handbook (Jason Aronson Inc). Pronounced: shuh-BAHT or shah-BAHT, Origin: Hebrew, the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Pronunced: TORE-uh, Origin: Hebrew, the Five Books of Moses.

On August 15, 1942, the 82nd Airborne became the US Army's first airborne division. Commanded by Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, they trained exhaustively for their new role, which involved parachuting from C-47s and insertion by Waco CG-4A gliders. In April 1943 the 82nd was shipped overseas to Casablanca, North Africa, and on July 9 made its first combat drop as part of Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. A second operation-night parachute drops onto the Salerno beachhead on September 13 and 14-provided more experience, and in December the bulk of the division left for the United Kingdom and training for D-Day. Reorganized with two new parachute infantry regiments, the 507th and the 508th, joining the 505th, the division dropped onto the Cotentin peninsula between Ste-Mere-Eglise and Carentan on the night of June 5-6, in a mission codenamed Boston. Their glider-borne component, the 325th GIR, arrived the next day. Widely dispersed on landing, the division overcame its problems and strong German defenses to take the important town of Ste-Mere-Eglise. Further intense action along the Merderet River ensured that the Utah beachhead wasn't compromised, and subsequently the division fought on losing 5,245 troopers killed, wounded, or missing. When withdrawn after 33 days of action, the division could be satisfied it had performed heroically and helped establish the Allied forces' foothold in France. The Past& Present Series reconstructs historical battles by using photography, juxtaposing modern views with those of the past together with concise explanatory text. It shows how much infrastructure has remained and how much such as outfits, uniforms, and ephemera has changed, providing a coherent link between now and then. AUTHOR: Steven Smith has worked as a publisher for most of his life and founded the military history imprint Sarpedon Books. Today he works as an author and an editor living in New York City.

The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States is undoubtedly the central bank that the world watches. In a way, one could say that when the Fed sneezes, the global economy catches a cold. Or so the saying goes! But this shouldn’t come as a surprise. With the United States dollar as the world’s reserve currency, the Federal Reserve is at the very core. When the Federal Reserve or Fed for short takes a monetary policy decision, the world is attentive. This is because there is a snowball effect. Global economies and asset prices are influenced when the Federal Reserve changes the short-term interest rates. The average forex trader might not be that inclined to know what’s going on in the Federal funds rate. But you can expect to see a whole new world once you start to dig in. So, even though you might think that the Fed rates don’t affect the exchange rate of a currency as odd as the Australian dollar, it does! In this first part of a series of articles on the Federal fund rates, we take a look at this short-term interest rates are set and how it affects the global economy. Finally, we will take a macro approach to understand how this affects your day to day trading. What is the federal funds rate? The Federal funds rate is the rate set by the central bank of the United States, the Federal Reserve. The Fed sets the rate at which various institutions lend their reserve balances to each other. Another term to depict the Federal Funds rate is the short-term interest rate or the overnight lending rate. The lending is based on the reserves that banks must hold at the Federal Reserve Bank. Sometimes, banks can have excess reserves or fall short. This is when banks tend to lend money to each other at the rate set by the Federal Reserve Bank. If you think that the Fed funds rate is the rate at which banks lend overnight loans to each other, then you are wrong. There is something else known as the Prime rate. The prime rate Banks lend to each other on a rate called the prime rate. The prime rate is of course based on the federal funds rate. When the Fed raises the Federal funds rate, the prime rates also increase. On average, the prime rate is about 300 – 500 basis points above the Fed funds rate. Prime rates are also known as the most preferred rate. These rates are offered not just to other banks but to even some customers, depending on their credit standings. So, if the Fed funds rate is at 2.0%, then the prime rate is about 2.3% – 2.5%. For the rest, depending on their credit rating and history with the bank, the bank can add a spread on top of the prime interest rate. Prime rates and the Fed funds rates are important because this is where the change in interest rates starts to come in as it trickles down. Prime rates affect both fixed and variable rates and go on further to influence the interest rate on your credit card borrowing to mortgage and even student loans. As you can see, the Fed funds rate has a strong influence that drips down into affecting all forms of interest rates charged by the banks. The Federal Reserve and Fed funds rate The Fed funds rates are based on the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) decision. The central bank in the U.S. meets eight times a year to decide on the interest rates. Check out this infographic that shows the structure of the FOMC. The decision to raise or cut interest rates depends on the central bank’s monetary policy goals. The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of maintaining price stability and full employment. The decision to change interest rates depends on some factors. The ultimate goal is to facilitate price stability and full employment. For example, this article talks about how the Federal Reserve uses the Beige book to assess the economy. How are interest rates used to affect the economy? Interest rates are hiked when the economy is overheating. Overheating means merely when the GDP growth is rising sharply. When the economy strengthens, it creates more jobs. More jobs lead to a point when wages must increase. When wages increase, workers (consumers) have more money in their pockets. When you have more money, you spend more. And when you spend more, it creates demand for the goods and services. When the demand for goods and services increase, it raises the cost of these goods and services. To curb the excesses, the Federal Reserve controls the economy. In times of recession, i.e., when the economy is stagnating or declining, the Federal Reserve pumps money into the market. This is done by lowering interest rates. As the cost of borrowing declines, there is more liquidity in the market. When there is more liquidity, banks lend on lower interest rates. This is more attractive for businesses. Businesses can use the cheap lending rates to invest or finance their business activities. This, in turn, creates more investment and more jobs. As you can see, the cycle is interrelated and at the very center of this is the Federal funds rate. When the U.S. central bank raises interest rates, it affects not just the economy but a whole cauldron of other things as well. Why should you pay attention to the Fed funds rate? We talk from an average trader’s perspective. In most cases, when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, it is usually done in a cycle. It is very rare to see the central bank hike interest rate in one quarter and lower rates in the next. There are instances when the central bank can pause before the next rate hike. But typically, rate hikes and rate cuts come in cycles. To illustrate this example, we can see that the Reserve Bank of Australia or even the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is currently in a pause mode. After lowering interest rates, both the central banks have kept rates steady. When the Fed raises the fed funds rates, it affects almost every other currency. Of course, how these currencies react can change depending on numerous other factors. A direct example of the impact of the Fed funds rate can be seen in the emerging markets. The recent plunge in emerging market currencies such as the Turkish lira, the Indian rupee or the Argentine peso are standing examples. Higher borrowing cost for the U.S. dollar leaves economies vulnerable when they are reliant on foreign funding. But come back to a trading perspective, traders will notice how other major G7 currencies behave. The euro, yen, Swiss franc and the pound sterling are some examples where you can see the market reaction. So far, this article gave a brief introduction to the Federal funds rate and the prime rate. You should have a clear picture of how the Fed’s decision to change interest rates affects the global economy and price of assets as well. In the next section, we will explore the Fed funds futures markets. This is by far, one of the most valuable resources you can use to anticipate what is happening with interest rates.

Artificially created islands are a contemporary reality, created and used for military and nonmilitary purposes. Analysis of such islands has largely been limited to their status under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) regime. Their position under general international law, however, remains unclear. In particular, the question of whether artificial islands can constitute sovereign territory remains unanswered. This Article analyzes the concept of territory in international law in the context of artificial islands, and argues that neither the doctrine of territory nor the strictures of UNCLOS prevent artificial islands from constituting territory capable of sovereign appropriation. This is further confirmed by examining state practice relating to artificial islands. The Article argues that artificial islands can be considered territory if they meet certain criteria: albeit territory not generating a territorial sea. Understanding artificial islands as capable of constituting territory allows for a more comprehensive and consistent positioning of such islands in regards to other general international law doctrines. The Article demonstrates this through the application of the doctrine of the unlawful acquisition of territory to artificial islands. Imogen Saunders, Dr., Artificial Islands and Territory in International Law, 52 Vanderbilt Law Review Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vjtl/vol52/iss3/5

posted by Anonymous . Find the 25th and 75th percentiles. Within how many standard deviations of the mean is the value 102. Find the interquartile range. Find the mean first = sum of scores/number of scores Subtract each of the scores from the mean and square each difference. Find the sum of these squares. Divide that by the number of scores to get variance. Standard deviation = square root of variance Z = (score-mean)/SD Find table in the back of your statistics text labeled something like "areas under normal distribution" to find the proportion (.75 or .25) related to the Z score. Insert the values in the above equation. I'll let you do the calculations.

Can Medical Malpractice Cause Stevens-Johnson Syndrome? Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) are a continuum of severe skin conditions. Most cases are caused by prescription drugs like the anti-gout medication, Allopurinol, or anticonvulsants such as Lamictal. There is no doubt – SJS and TEN are painful, and if not treated properly, there are long-lasting effects, including vision problems, acute respiratory failure, and in severe cases can be fatal. It is critical to seek immediate medical attention if you show SJS symptoms. It is equally important for victims suffering from SJS/TEN to ensure they receive compensation if medical negligence caused the condition. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is diagnosed when up to ten percent of the skin is affected. Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis is when 30 percent or more of the skin is involved. Most patients are initially diagnosed with SJS, and then, as the disease progresses, they are diagnosed as having TEN. Signs You Are Suffering From Stevens-Johnson Syndrome The first symptoms of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis may be flu-like symptoms, including fever, sore throat, or fatigue. The symptoms can be followed within a few days by a rash, lesions, blisters, and/or ulcers in the mucus membranes – eyes, mouth, and genitalia. These symptoms do not always occur in this order and may occur in different areas of the body. SJS/TEN is evaluated by: A physical exam, including a review of clinical presentation and potentially causative medications. A skin biopsy can be used to rule out other possible causes (as well as confirm SJS). A skin or oral culture can determine whether or not there is an infection. What Causes Stevens-Johnson Syndrome? SJS/TEN is most commonly a reaction to a medication. Other causes are possible but much less likely, according to the current medical consensus. Some health factors can increase a person’s risk of SJS/TEN, such as a weakened immune system and viral or bacterial infections, including HIV, pneumonia, hepatitis, influenza, herpes, mumps, Epstein-Barr, strep, diphtheria, brucellosis, mycobacteria, and mycoplasma pneumoniae. Those with cancer, a family history of SJS/TEN, and someone with the HLA-B gene also have a higher risk. Medications cause approximately 75% of SJS and TEN cases, and while there are reports of many medications causing SJS, the prominent medications linked to SJS/TEN through the medical literature include: Allopurinol (Zyloprim), used to treat kidney stones and gout. Lamictal (lamotrigine), used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder. Nevirapine (Viramune), used to treat HIV infection. Antibiotics including macrolide, penicillin, quinolone, and sulfa The Role of Medical Malpractice in SJS/TEN Cases Unfortunately, medical errors can play a role in SJS/TEN cases. The errors resulting in medical negligence can occur at various levels. For instance, misinformation or lack of information could arise in a pharmacy dispensing a drug causing SJS/TEN. In most states, there are special laws applicable to pharmacists that require them to provide counseling to the consumer when purchasing prescriptions. Because SJS/TEN is a progressive disease, proper counseling is necessary to provide vital information to the patient to prevent further injury. If this is not done, the pharmacy could be held accountable. There also could be negligence by a drug manufacturer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) serves as a safety net between drug companies and consumers. In many cases, drug manufacturers have been told of associations between a particular drug they sell and SJS/TEN reactions. Yet, they have failed to apply warnings to their products or have chosen to decline an update of the drug’s warnings. In either case, the failure to properly alert the consumer is a legal issue, and the drug manufacturer could be responsible for your injuries. Medical malpractice by your medical provider could also play a part. The prescribing physician’s responsibility is to keep up-to-date on warnings, appropriate uses, and adverse effects of all drugs they prescribe. If a physician erroneously prescribes a medication for improper use or at the wrong dose, or if the physician fails to provide you adequate counseling regarding the drug’s potential to cause SJS/TEN, they are negligent in their duties. Also, at the onset of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a patient will show critical signs of the illness, which may not be apparent to the patient but should be apparent to a reasonable physician. If a physician is not thorough enough in their examination, he could misdiagnose the condition sending the patient home where the disease could worsen. SJS/TEN can be life-threatening, and early intervention is critical. All non-essential medications should be halted, and the patient should be taken immediately to an intensive care unit or burn center to receive specialty treatment. The time between the ingestion of a medication and an SJS/TEN reaction varies widely depending upon patient-specific and medication-specific factors but generally occurs within a few weeks of taking the medication. If your physician did not instruct you to stop taking the causative drug after your reaction had begun, or you were not promptly treated by an SJS specialist after your symptoms began, you could be the victim of medical malpractice. Treatment options for SJS/TEN may include: Fluid replacement and nutrition. For proper healing to occur and for new skin to grow, fluids in the body must be replaced. The patient may receive fluids and nutrients through a tube inserted in the nose and guided to the stomach (nasogastric tube). Wound care. The health care team typically uses cool, wet compresses to soothe blisters while they heal and gently remove dead skin to promote new skin to grow. It is also routine for affected areas also are dressed with either petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or a medicated dressing. Oral and Eye care. An eye specialist or an ENT specialist may be required for specialized treatment of the mouth and eyes. Medication: Medications used in the treatment of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome include pain medication, topical steroids to reduce inflammation of the eyes and mucous membranes and antibiotics. How an Attorney Can Help with SJS/TEN Cases SJS and TEN not only cause severe skin reactions and horrific pain but expensive, lengthy hospitalizations and a healing process that could take years to complete and result in permanent injuries. If your SJS/TEN was potentially caused due to medical negligence, a dangerous drug, or an inadequate warning, you should seek compensation for your injuries and suffering. To determine if your case was due to medical malpractice or product-related negligence, you need a law firm well-versed in SJS/TEN claims. Some questions you should ask any lawyer who you may be considering to handle your SJS/TEN case include: How many SJS/TEN claims have you handled in the last five years? Do you stay current on the medical issues related to SJS and TEN? If so, how? What is the standard of care for medical professionals treating SJS and TEN? What types of drugs are most likely to cause SJS and TEN? How will you prove in court that the drug I took caused my SJS or TEN injuries? Since 2016, Childers, Schlueter & Smith of Atlanta has been a national leader in SJS/TEN medical malpractice cases, resolving or obtaining jury verdicts with total settlements of over Thirty Million Dollars ($30,000,000.00). If you or someone you know is suffering from SJS/TEN and needs legal guidance, our firm can help you through the complex process of determining who is responsible for your SJS/TEN injuries. Call us at 1-800-641-0098 or contact us online for more information on how we can help. When it comes to medications, it’s important to remember that there can be risks associated with taking them. And, some of the risks can be serious and even life-threatening. For example, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), severe conditions affecting the skin and… Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (“SJS”) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (“TEN”) are among the most lethal and severe adverse cutaneous reactions, and, yet, very little is known to most people about these conditions. Even worse, medical professionals often mismanage the simple treatment of SJS/TEN and pharmaceutical companies deny… Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC is a preeminent law firm with personal injury and wrongful death lawyers devoted to helping victims in Atlanta—and throughout Georgia—receive compensation for their losses. Our personal injury attorneys take pride in representing innocent people injured through the negligence of others. We have the privilege of making sure injured victims receive justice and compensation. Our dedication to our clients and our trial experience ensure we achieve success.

A dozen forms of exotic wildlife in Iowa Stop, look, and listen: You might catch an unexpected glimpse of the natural world at Iowa's parks and wild spaces. Here's a field guide to a few species to look for during the state's warm-weather months. A common bird that's often ignored, the gray catbird, a relative of the mockingbird, is one of Polk County Conservation naturalist Joe Boyles' favorites. This migratory bird only visits in summertime, is smaller than a robin, and distinctive for the black cap on top of its gray body. As you're walking or biking along paths with wooded edges, listen for the catbird's distinctive call — similar to a cat meowing. The bird will also imitate the calls of a lot of other birds. "They fly around through the bushes eating a lot of insects in the summertime, especially when they are raising their young. They will eat some fruits and seeds as well," said Boyles. "They are a really fun bird to see and hear." The migratory Baltimore oriole is actually neotropical: It flies all the way to the tropics in South America once cold weather arrives. "It's gorgeous," said Boyles. "The males are phenomenal as far as markings, and it has a really melodious song." Look in parks and mowed areas around lakes. Particularly distinctive are the hanging-cup nests the birds make; created from plant fibers, the structures hang below branches and are easier to spot in autumn. At about three to four feet long, the fox snake is longer than a garter and has a gray body with black spots; it's also one of the state's most common snake species, said Stephanie Sheppard, a wildlife diversity biologist at the Boone Wildlife Research Station of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The harmless fox snake actually vibrates its tail, similar to a rattlesnake, as a defense mechanism; when they do this in tall vegetation, it sounds like a rattle. Pay attention to woodland edges and let the fox snake be; they are particularly beneficial to keeping the rodent populations in check. Common snapping turtle A prehistoric profile — spiky shells and long tail — give snapping turtles a distinctive appearance. Unlike many animals, the females are actually larger. You'll often see them in the landscape digging nests and laying eggs. Their jaws are powerful and their necks deceptively long. "You definitely want to view them from a distance," said Boyles. "They have a very unpleasant attitude and will definitely snap at you if you get close." Once threatened, bobcats are making a comeback. Although often mistaken for mountain lions, bobcats are easy to identify: They are about twice as big as a housecat — say, 15 to 20 pounds — and have a bobbed tail, which is how they get their name. "They're pretty secretive, but people do see them occasionally," said Boyles, adding that bobcats are very leery of people. Northern leopard frog and American toad American toads are the most common toad species, said Sheppard. "While they may have a warty and drab brown appearance, their song is a melodic, high-pitched trill," she said. Northern leopard frogs are larger spotted frogs that are usually fairly aquatic but do take treks to find new watering holes during the summer, she said. Open areas around wet spots — ponds, streams, creeks — and your ears are great clues to finding these two creatures. "You are more likely to hear frogs and toads than see them," said Sheppard. A common migratory bird, the house wren — a tiny speck of a thing, smaller than a goldfinch — makes an appearance only in the summer. You'll find them in your backyard or in wooded areas. "They make lots of noise, and sound a little like an old sewing machine when they sing," said Boyles. "If you get out on a trail, and get off the bike to look and get close, they'll give you a scolding call, and let you know they are not real happy about that." Males are particularly notable for their patchwork of brilliant color — iridescent hues on their heads. Females are less colorful and lay multiple eggs in a nest. Wet areas — wetlands, shallow lakes — are common spots to find this bird, which is also known as the cavity nesting duck, said Sheppard. When ducklings are ready to leave the nest in trees, they make dramatic plunges — up to 50 feet. Red foxes are more of an open country fox, while gray foxes are found more often in wooded areas. "Depending where you are at, you might see two types," said Boyles. "They look like tiny little dogs." People need not fear these animals, said Boyles; instead, look for them and keep quiet — you might catch little fox pups outside a den playing. "They are another one of these animals that help keep the rodent populations in check," he said. The beauties of the insect world, butterflies also play an important role in pollinating flowers. And they're in danger: Monarch populations alone have decreased by 90 percent. In addition to monarchs, there are swallowtail and tiger butterflies, fritillaries and red admirals. "All are important for flowers, fruits and vegetables," said Boyles. Red admirals — striking orange and black on the top, camouflaged with a bark-like pattern on the bottom — have had a big population boom this year, said Sheppard. The caterpillars eat nettle, and adult males will chase off other males to protect their territory. "In certain areas you could see thousands," she said. Monarchs in particular love milkweed. If you see them in the summer, you can tag them with small stickers (check monarchwatch.org), said Sheppard. Dragonflies and damselflies Not all dragonflies are the same: In fact, there are more than 50 kinds. "It's almost like bird watching to try and go out and try to identify them," said Boyles. Each has gorgeous markings and bright colors — and these harmless insects eat loads of mosquitoes. Green darners are one of Iowa's most common and largest of dragonflies and are frequently seen patrolling, looking for prey in grasslands quite a distance from water. "They are migratory in late summer and early fall or September when huge swarms can be seen," Sheppard said. If there's water, there are dragonflies, said Boyles. "They're acrobatic in the air — they hover, fly backward, forward, up, down," he said. "They are one of the few flying animals that can truly hover and fly backwards.

Extraordinary Talking Beluga Whales Beluga whales trained by biologists to retrieve experimental torpedoes in the 1970’s and 80’s in Arctic cold waters thought of themselves as family to the crew. They often formed deep bonds with their trainers and would stay with them even though they were able to swim freely. The whales, especially one, learned to express their devotion in a quite human-like way over the years! Biologist Sam Ridgeway was one of the bilogists working with the whales and had high praise for the mammals. “They come to think of us as family,” Ridgway said. “And that’s the reason they stay with us. We have no way of completely controlling them, and yet they do their job and come back. They kind of view themselves as part of a team.” One of the belugas was named Noc (pronounced no-see) and he was particularly bonded to the staff. One day a navy diver thought he heard a command from his supervisor over the intercom while diving but it wasn’t from him. it was actually Noc mimicking human voice after carefully observing the interactions and commands from his loyal crew. The diver thought he heard a voice order him to get out of the training tank. However his supervisor had not given any such order. Noc had over – inflated his nasal cavity in order to distort the sound he emitted. It was eerily human – like. Following this initial incident, Noc often attempted to communicate with his trainers and even did so on command. If you listen closely you will hear the underwater dialogue that closely resembles human speech. Many whales and dolphins have this incredible ability to communicate through language. Blue whales have been studied and found to communicate over a 1000 mile stretch of ocean. We have so much more to learn from these incredible animals in the realm of audible communication!

This is the second half of John P. Thomas' article about Biofield Tuning for HEALTH IMPACT NEWS. In the first article, Eileen McKusick, the researcher who originated biofield tuning, introduced us to the basics of how the sound from tuning forks can be used to discharge stuck energetic patterns in the biofield that surrounds the human body, so that physical and emotional health can be restored. You may wish to read the first article to learn about the techniques of biofield tuning. What is the Biofield? The answer to this question involves complex scientific principles of physics. This is a brief summary of the information Eileen McKusick presented in her book, Tuning the Human Biofield: Healing with Vibrational Sound Therapy, 2014. See the chapters on plasma and ether for the full details. Space is not Empty Most older people were taught that once a space craft exits the atmosphere of Earth, it enters into the nothingness of “outer space.” Many of us were taught that “space” is empty and void of everything except perhaps for a microscopic speck of dust or two. As it turns out, there has been intense scientific debate and exploration of the nature of space over the last hundred years or more, which has proven that space is not an empty vacuum, but it is completely filled with plasma. Plasma is the fourth state of matter that lies beyond solids, liquids, and gasses. Sometimes it is called hot gas, but that is an unfortunate misnomer. Plasma is thought to consist of matter out of which gasses, liquids, and solids are able to form. When you observe lightening, you are observing the activity of plasma. When you see the northern lights arcing across the northern skies, you are seeing plasma in motion. Plasma is actually used in medical applications to sterilize equipment and to promote wound healing. Plasma Obeys Its Own Laws of Physics Plasma does not just sit still, it moves and establishes waves and structures. It literally builds forms that are invisible to the eye and which persist over time. The plasma that physicists study is everywhere in the universe. We are surrounded by it. However, we are also surrounded by bioplasma. This is a unique form of plasma that is created by living organisms. It is built up through the processes of life that occur within us. It has qualities that reflect the electrical activity in the body, the magnetic activity in the body, and the sound activity of the body. Bioplasma Vibrates and Moves Bioplasma forms standing waves, structures, and pathways through which energy moves and flows into and around the human body. In the case of illness, the human bioplasma contains structures that impede the healthy flow of energy. These areas of turbulence and blockage can be thought of as chaotic wave forms, which drag us down, and if left unaddressed, will lead to serious illness. Bioplasma and Memories The biofield hypothesis that is being advanced by Eileen McKusick is that memories are stored in standing wave forms in the bioplasma that surrounds the human body. The official name for human bioplasma is the “biofield.” The size of the human biofield extends approximately 6 feet to the left and right of the body and 2 to 3 feet above the head and a similar distance below the feet. The limits of the biofield can be measured by the activity of a tuning fork. It is possible to detect the presence of the biofield by listening for changes in the sound produced by the tuning fork as it is moved into the biofield. It can also be sensed in the hand by feeling for changes in vibration. The Biofield Anatomy Map Eileen McKusick has developed a literal map of the human biofield, which shows where different types of memories are stored. When there is tension around a specific traumatic memory there will be impaired flow in the biofield. Impaired emotional and physical health are determined by these distorted and tension-filled memory regions. If there are many areas/memories where energy does not flow properly, then this weakens the health of the person. If these patterns persist for many decades, then physical illness will be driven deep into the body and life-threatening conditions result. Memories are Vibrationally and Magnetically Encoded This means that the distortions in the biofield that are linked to traumatic memories can be released through vibration. Biofield tuning brings the pure frequency vibration of sound from a tuning fork into the specific locations where traumatic memories are located in the biofield. This provides an opportunity for the body to re-establish coherence and flow, thus discharging the memory and its harmful effects on emotional and physical health. Interview with Eileen McKusick I interviewed Eileen McKusick at the end of 2018. The following quotation and the others in this article were all obtained from that interview. Eileen McKusick summarized the bigger picture of biofield tuning this way. She stated: Energy tends to flow along established pathways and that’s how we get stuck in our bodies and our minds. We can help the body and mind to establish new rhythms and patterns and flows, and this is the foundation of good health. For additional background information about the biofield and biofield tuning, Eileen McKusick recommends this presentation on the YouTube Thunderbolt Channel. Biofield Tuning and Addiction As was discussed in the previous article on biofield tuning, most of us acquired traumatic injuries during childhood resulting in memories that are marked by turbulence and dysfunction. These traumatic memories can result from physical/emotional/sexual abuse, emotional and physical neglect, accidents, frightening experiences, and various other kinds of injuries. Such turbulent memories produce a wide range of feelings that accompany us throughout the rest of our lives. These emotional patterns often appear to have a life of their own, which may be disconnected from the reality of current events in our lives. They distort our perceptions and cripple our relationships with people. They lead to distorted self-image. They are a fountainhead for undesired anger, fear, resentment, bitterness and other emotions. In part, the aggregation of our turbulent memories sets us up for developing addictions of various types. As young people, we develop strategies that will suppress the feelings that plague us, and that will help us forget the memories that produce those feelings. Of course these strategies will eventually fail, and we will turn to all manner of addictions to manage the unwanted feelings. Eileen McKusick gives us more details about using biofield tuning to overcome addictions. She stated: What I have found with addictions – it really isn’t so much about the substance – it is about the emotions that we are managing with the substance. I am a recovered sugar addict. I used to manage anger with sugar. In my late teens and early twenties I convinced myself, as a spiritual person, I didn’t get angry. Eventually, I ended up with a terrible case of candida, which happens to a lot of sugar addicts. In order to treat the candida, I needed to get off sugar. What I discovered was that every time I felt angry I had been interpreting that as a sugar craving. So all this anger started to come up and out of my system as I tried to quit sugar. Food is the Easiest Substance to use for Managing Unwanted Emotions Eileen McKusick explains: We can manage boredom. We can manage sadness. We can manage anger. We can manage all kinds of things if we put ourselves deep enough into a carb coma or sugar coma. The trouble with food is that you have to eat. You have to learn to master the nuances of food. You can’t just quit cold turkey like you can with pretty much anything else. And that is an extremely difficult thing to do. I have observed that a lot of people who are addicted to sugar were bottle-fed as infants. Many got Karo syrup and condensed milk and things like that – very sugary substances. We have learned to equate sugar with comfort – sugar with love – sugar with feeling good. But it’s a lie. Courage is Needed to Overcome Addiction Eileen McKusick stated: In order to heal addiction you have to be willing to ask, “What is really going on?” I might think I want a drink or I think I want a brownie, I think I want this or that. [As addicts, we have to ask], what emotion is underneath [the addictive desire] that is asking to be felt, that is asking to be expressed, that is asking to be validated. Once we settle down the emotions [by clearing the biofield] that are driving the addiction then the impulse to continue to use that substance starts to dissipate. But you have to be brave enough and courageous enough – and be willing to let the pain surface – and move through it. And that is not easy for folks to do. It is uncomfortable. But once you get through that and you come out the other side then you will have the experience of freedom that you have been craving. We want our actions to come from a place of pleasure and enjoyment not compulsion and suppression. Connecting with Your Life Purpose Some people feel like they are wandering aimlessly through life. For those who want to live differently, Eileen McKusick explains how biofield tuning can open people up to their life’s mission. I believe on some level everyone knows what their mission is. What I have observed is that the mission of most people is more grand and great than they feel worthy of owning. Most people are plagued with all kinds of mind viruses that tell them that they are not worthy – they are not good enough. It is important to understand that these are programs – we are very much like computers that get programmed with information and this becomes our operating system. What I have discovered is that everyone – without exception – and I have worked on thousands of people – that when you get the noise out of their signal, there is this beautiful pure tone – beautiful harmony – and there is greatness present. As we get the noise and the drag out of the system, we step into that sweet spot where we just naturally flow into whatever our mission is. We start to give ourselves permission to follow our natural inclination to speak our truth, to walk away from abusive situations, to honor the gift that we have been given, and to start to feel worthy to bring those gifts out into the world. If you are in a place where you don’t know what your mission is, then at least get your health meter up, because anytime you are going to go into a battle whatever that looks like – and certainly Planet Earth is a bit of a battle zone – we want to have our health meter high. Make a commitment to take care of yourself – to start feeling healthy and strong and to feel good about yourself. Once your health meter gets up to where it needs to be, then the mission will present itself. Building a Scientific Foundation for Biofield Tuning Eileen McKusick describes her commitment to science. She stated: Part of the reason we are doing scientific research is because I love science. A couple years ago I had the good fortune of doing an experiment with a photon counter in a faraday cage. [A faraday cage blocks energy from entering into a space so the outside environment doesn’t affect the measurement of phenomena.] I thought I was going to explode with joy because I was able to quantify the effects of my work. This was particularly satisfying. Since then, I have done work with a number of devices and different kinds of experiments. I am currently working with a team of PhD researchers who have already published peer-reviewed papers on the biofield. We have spent the last two years developing a study to test the hypothesis that memories are found in the biofield. I set up a non-profit institute to receive grants and donations to support the science. We are not taking all this on faith. We want hard science. We are making a paradigm shift. People are really getting it that everything is vibration – everything is just fields of energy and information. There is a dawning awareness about the therapeutic power of sound. The following link provides an update about biofield research: Biofield Tuning Institute Research Update Biofield Tuning Contraindications Biofield tuning is not for everyone. She explained: We found that biofield tuning is not good for people who were very, very ill or for people who are in palliative care or dying. It is just too strong. It is asking the body to detox, to release, to process, and to digest. If the detox pathways are all gummed up then illness has gone deep into the body and this creates a lot of discomfort without necessarily much release. Biofield tuning is helpful for mild to moderate anything. Mild to moderate pain, mild to moderate anxiety, depression, and even things such as MS, Parkinson’s, diabetes, and seizures. None of that is contraindicated. We have contraindications if people have implanted electronic devices – pacemakers or implanted pain devices. Anything with electronics can go haywire. It doesn’t always but it can. Biofield tuning is also contraindicated in pregnancy. It is contraindicated because we just don’t know what the effects are on people who are pregnant, and I feel it is unethical to experiment to figure that out. Biofield Tuning Center in Vermont Eileen McKusick described her new treatment center: We recently had space open up in the building where our headquarters are located and we opened a clinic. So now I have a number of practitioners who are working in the clinic seeing people in person and at a distance. Even my 17 year old son has been an apprentice and has gone through the training. He is now seeing people in the clinic and he is wonderful. So if anyone is in the Burlington, Vermont area, you can come by the clinic and get a session. I no longer work one on one. I switched to working on groups at a distance, as odd as that might seem. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I wouldn’t be doing group sound healing sessions at a distance if I hadn’t gotten tons of positive feedback. I sent out a survey this morning for the session I did last night that addressed pain. I have gotten testimonial after testimonial from people who listened to the session and now have less pain. So, I see ample evidence that these group sessions work. Book: Tuning the Human Biofield Eileen McKusick’s book is available from the biofield tuning website (among other places). Eileen McKusick described her book. She stated: My intention is to move our understanding of the biofield and the power of sound forward on many fronts. The book is full of scientific and historical references. It can be used by anybody who is writing academic papers on the field. It provides detailed information about the biofield anatomy map. The book has won a couple awards and it is selling really great. Biofield Tuning Demonstrations and Presentations Visit Eileen McKusick’s YouTube channel for additional information. List of Practitioners and Professional Training Courses Find a Practitioner: Biofield Tuning Home Study It is possible to learn the basics of biofield tuning with a home study kit. I have been developing my skills by using tuning forks on myself, my wife, and friends. This kit can be thought of as a first aid tool for helping people get out of pain and discomfort. The home study kit contains the set of 5 biofield tuning forks, the biofield tuning book, instructional DVDs, and other tools. Professionals with a practice can use the kit to integrate biofield tuning into their existing work. Another option for beginners is the Sonic Slider. This fork has a slightly longer handle, which is designed for self-use. The handle can be slid across the body or the stem of the fork can be set on places that have pain. I use the Sonic Slider to stimulate lymphatic drainage from the head and to treat neck and head pain. Eileen McKusick stated: People who receive biofield tuning feel lighter. They say they can breathe better. They say they are more relaxed. Biofield tuning improves your resilience and your ability to cope with stress. We can’t take stress out of your life but we can improve your ability to manage that stress. I have seen so many people get out of pain, I have seen so many people overcome anxiety. I have seen so many people step into their own power. So much of what we are burdened with is our story. It can be a story of victimhood, not being good enough, stuckness, or the story of being dealt a bad hand. These are just stories. They are just a perspective – they are just a pattern in your field. Biofield tuning is based on the premise that we are basically packets of wave forms – we are light and sound – vibration. So working with vibration makes sense. It is logical to treat vibration with vibration. In a more technical lecture on the Biofield Anatomy Hypothesis, Eileen McKusick connects biofield tuning back to its scientific roots. She stated: There is nothing about this work that is metaphysical, paranormal, or even quantum. This is just Newtonian physics – of resonance and entrainment. The tuning fork initially resonates with whatever perturbation [noise and resistance] that is present, and because it is producing a strong signal of coherence, it entrains the body into a coherent expression. When you add the ideas of plasma, bioplasma, and the standing wave to our model, then this all makes sense. * * “Eileen McKusick explains the premise of the Biofield Anatomy Hypothesis,” YouTube, About the Author John P. Thomas is a health writer for Health Impact News. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) from the School of Public Health, Department of Health Administration, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Click here to see the original article at the HEALTH IMPACT NEWS website.

Last week, world-renowned University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, lead author of several IPCC reports, shocked friends and enemies alike by publishing an article in Nature Climate Change in which he makes an unexpected claim. He and co-author Neil Swart (a UVIC PhD student) find that Alberta’s Athabasca tar sands have a surprisingly small impact on the Earth’s climate. According to the numbers they provide, burning all the oil from the tar sands (or “oil sands” to be polite) would increase global temperatures by 0.36 degrees Celsius — hardly an insignificant amount. However, the more pertinent measurement is of economically viable tar sands oil, which would raise temperatures by only 0.03 degrees Celsius. By contrast, burning all the world’s coal would warm the planet by 14.8 degrees Celsius. We have seen the true face of environmental villainy, crows Canada’s right-wing media echo chamber, and unconventional Albertan oil it ain’t! First, as Weaver says up front, these numbers take into consideration only the warming caused by burning tar sands oil, not that caused by the energy consumption needed to extract, transport, and refine it. This apparent oversight is actually a procedural necessity meant to avoid double-counting emissions, and is therefore fully defensible as a feature of the study. However, the energy intensity of tar sands production is a large part of why the resource is considered “dirty.” If such considerations are included, says Weaver, the global warming effect of tar sands oil increases by 20 percent. Second, why are we so surprised that the negative impact of one fossil fuel project in one province should pale in comparison to that of all the coal reserves in the world? The more appropriate comparison would be between the tar sands and another project of similar size. To his great credit, Weaver has been hard at work trying to put his results in context. He emphasizes that the tar sands are Canada’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions growth, that they are a symptom of a much larger problem, and that it is urgently important for us to wean ourselves off of all fossil fuels. He also acknowledges the profound ecological damage, measured by more than just climate impact, that is caused by tar sands exploitation. In the end, Weaver’s research represents all that is best in science — the unbiased pursuit of knowledge for its own sake regardless of what is uncovered. We should embrace his findings for what they are, and fight the attempts by fossil fuel apologists to twist them into something they’re not. If only polluters were to demonstrate so unshakable an allegiance to the truth as this, we would probably not find ourselves perched so close to the edge of ecological catastrophe in the first place.

The following ran in the April 17, 2013, edition of the New York Times Well Health blog. Biology professor Johannes Bauer provided expertise for this story. April 19, 2013 By Tara Parker-Pope When Ria Chhabra, a middle school student near Dallas, heard her parents arguing about the value of organic foods, she was inspired to create a science fair project to try to resolve the debate. Three years later, Ria’s exploration of fruit flies and organic foods has not only raised some provocative questions about the health benefits of organic eating, it has also earned the 16-year-old top honors in a national science competition, publication in a respected scientific journal and university laboratory privileges normally reserved for graduate students. The research, titled “Organically Grown Food Provides Health Benefits to Drosophila melanogaster,” tracked the effects of organic and conventional diets on the health of fruit flies. By nearly every measure, including fertility, stress resistance and longevity, flies that fed on organic bananas and potatoes fared better than those who dined on conventionally raised produce. While the results can’t be directly extrapolated to human health... She searched the Internet and decided a fruit fly model would be the best way to conduct her experiment. She e-mailed several professors who maintained fly laboratories asking for assistance. To her surprise, Johannes Bauer, an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, responded to her inquiry. “We are very interested in fly health, and her project was a perfect match for what we were doing,” Dr. Bauer said....

ALH84001Article Free Pass ALH84001, meteorite determined to have come from Mars and the subject of a contentious scientific claim that it contains the remains of ancient life indigenous to the planet. Recovered from the Allan Hills ice field of Antarctica in 1984, the 1.9-kg (4.2-pound) igneous rock is thought to have crystallized from magma on Mars 4.5 billion years ago and later to have been shocked and altered, perhaps by one or more nearby meteoroid or asteroid impacts. Still later, carbonate mineral grains were introduced into shock-induced fractures in the rock. Another large impact blasted the rock off the Martian surface and into solar orbit with a velocity greater than the planet’s escape velocity of 5 km per second (11,000 miles per hour). Over time the rock’s orbit was altered such that it approached Earth, eventually falling in Antarctica about 13,000 years ago. In 1996 NASA scientists who carried out microscopic and chemical analyses on ALH84001 touched off a controversy by suggesting that the carbonates in the meteorite had been produced by Martian microorganisms. The carbonate grains are associated with organic compounds, contain minute crystals of iron minerals similar in size and shape to those produced by bacteria, and exhibit elongated objects resembling microscopic fossils. In subsequent investigations, other scientists contested the interpretation of these lines of evidence, demonstrating that each could be adequately explained by nonbiological processes or was not entirely consistent with what is known about microfossils and living microorganisms on Earth. The hypothesis that ALH84001 contains evidence for extraterrestrial life has not found wide acceptance, although there are strong indications that Mars may once have been hospitable to life. What made you want to look up "ALH84001"? Please share what surprised you most...

Around 1911, the period of my novel in progress, women in factories generally earned 50-60% of men’s salaries. More than a century later, we are at 77% in factory and non-factory careers. Not much progress. Employers then often paid half of even these depressed wages for a season or more as women were “learning,” even if the job was so menial than little learning was required. Of course now we have unpaid “internships,” so that’s much, much different. . . A work in a New York cap factory stated: “By working hard we could make an average of about $5 a week. We would have made more but had to provide our own machines, which cost us $45. We are paying for them on the installment plan.” When the factory burned, which was common, those who had somehow paid for their machines had to start all over again. Prices for working women were further depressed by wages for “home work” done at slave wages. As most employers stated, since women “should” be married, there was no reason for pay equity. Besides, said one investigator, the typical worker “has no definite idea of the value of her services; the first place she goes to, if she is repulsed, she is willing to ask for less at the next.”

Flag Created by Pierre De Coubertin in 1914. “ The Olympic flag ... has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre: blue, yellow, black, green and red ... This design is symbolic ; it represents the five inhabited continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colors are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time. Olympic Games <ul><li>The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions . The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating, although they occur every four years within their respective seasonal games. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia , Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894. The IOC has since become the governing body of the Olympic Movement , whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter . </li></ul> The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Games for ice and winter sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with a physical disability, and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes. The IOC has had to adapt to the varying economic, political, and technological realities of the 20th century. As a result, the Olympics shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allow participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of the mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialization of the Games. World Wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games. Yuri Vardanian Yuri Vardanian is a former Olympic weightlifter for the USSR . He trained at Lokomotiv in Leninakan , Armenia. Vardanian won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics , becoming the world's first weightlifter to achieve a 400 kilogram total in the 82.5 kg weight category. During his career he set several world records. He earned the title Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1977 and was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1985. In 1994 he was elected member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame . 3 Since 1991 Vardanian lives in the United States . Senior world champion (1977–79, 1981, 1983, and 1985); Silver medalist in Senior World Championships (1982); Senior European champion (1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, and 1983); Silver medalist in Senior European Championships (1982 and 1984); All-time senior world record holder in total (405 kg competing at 82.5 kg); Multiple senior world record holder in total (1978–92); USSR champion (1977, 1979–82 ) Held the world record of 405 kg, in the total at 82.5 kg weight class before the reconstruction of the weight classes in 1992. Albert Azaryan Albert Azaryan is a Soviet Armenian artistic gymnast who competed internationally representing the Soviet Union . He is the 1956 and 1960 Olympic champion on the still rings . He was the first person to do one of the most famous exercises on the rings called the Iron Cross , Crucifix , or Azarian Cross in an international competition. He is the 1954 and 1958 World Champion on the rings and 1958 silver medalist on the horizontal bar . He is the father and former coach of Eduard Azarian , a 1980 Olympian in gymnastics. He is the head of the Yerevan School of Gymnastics. ChampionshipMedals and Disciplines : 1954 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2 gold medals (Teams and Rings)1955 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships 1 gold medal (Rings) 1956 Summer Olympics 2 gold medals (Teams and Rings) 1958 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2 gold medals (Teams and Rings) 1960 Summer Olympics 1 gold medal (Rings) 1 silver medal (Teams) Levon Julfalakyan Levon Julfalakyan is a former wrestler for the Soviet Union . He won a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics at 68 kg. He is of Armenian descent. <ul><li>On May 19, Levon Julfalakyan international Greco-Roman wrestling tournament kicked off in Dinamo sports hall of Yerevan. </li></ul><ul><li>The tournament brought together over 90 wrestlers from Armenia, Russia, Iran and Georgia. </li></ul><ul><li>Vice President of the Armenian National Olympic Committee Razmik Stepanyan greeted wrestlers and guests at the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, Vice President of the Russian Wrestling Federation Rafael Samurgashev arrived in Armenia with respect to the tournament. </li></ul> THE END School N 198 10 5 form Shahinyan Nadya

||This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2009)| In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure. Usually the payload is an artificial satellite placed into orbit, but some spaceflights are sub-orbital while others enable spacecraft to escape Earth orbit entirely. A launch vehicle which carries its payload on a suborbital trajectory is often called a sounding rocket. Launch vehicles, particularly orbital launch vehicles, have at least two stages, but sometimes up to 4 are employed. Types of launch vehicles Expendable launch vehicles are designed for one-time use. They usually separate from their payload, and may break up during atmospheric reentry. Reusable launch vehicles, on the other hand, are designed to be recovered intact and used again for subsequent launches. For orbital spaceflights, the Space Shuttle has been the only launch vehicle with components which have been used for multiple flights. SpaceX is currently developing a reusable rocket launching system slated for use on both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. A second-generation VTVL design was announced in 2011. The low-altitude flight test program of an experimental technology-demonstrator launch vehicle began in 2012, with more extensive high-altitude over-water flight testing planned to begin in mid-2013, and continue on each subsequent Falcon 9 flight. Non-rocket spacelaunch alternatives are at the planning stage. Launch vehicles are often characterized by the amount of mass they can lift into orbit. For example, a Proton rocket has a launch capacity of 22,000 kilograms (49,000 lb) into low Earth orbit (LEO). Launch vehicles are also characterized by the number of stages they employ. Rockets with as many as five stages have been successfully launched, and there have been designs for several single-stage-to-orbit vehicles. Additionally, launch vehicles are very often supplied with boosters, which supply high thrust early on in the flight, and normally in parallel with other engines on the vehicle. Boosters allow the remaining engines to be smaller, which reduces the burnout mass of later stages, and thus allows for larger payloads. Other frequently-reported characteristics of launch vehicles are the nation or space agency responsible for the launch, and the company or consortium that manufactures and launches the vehicle. For example, the European Space Agency is responsible for the Ariane V, and the United Launch Alliance manufactures and launches the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets. Many launch vehicles are considered part of an historical line of vehicles which share the same or similar names such as the Atlas V being the latest member of the Atlas rocket family. By launch platform - Land: Spaceport and fixed missile silo (Strela) for converted ICBMs - Sea: fixed platform (San Marco), mobile platform (Sea Launch), submarine (Shtil', Volna) for converted SLBMs - Air: aircraft (Pegasus, Virgin Galactic LauncherOne, Stratolaunch Systems), balloon (ARCASPACE), JP Aerospace Orbital Ascender, proposal for permanent Buoyant space port ||This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source. (May 2013)| ||The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (May 2013)| - A sounding rocket cannot reach orbit and is only capable of sub-orbital spaceflight - A small lift launch vehicle is capable of lofting up to 2,000kg (4,400lbs) of payload into low earth orbit (LEO) - A medium lift launch vehicle is capable of lofting between 2,000 to 20,000kg (4,400 to 44,000lbs) of payload into LEO - An heavy lift launch vehicle is capable of lofting between 20,000 to 50,000kg (44,000 to 110,200lbs) of payload into LEO - A super-heavy lift vehicle is capable of lofting more than 50,000kg (110,200lbs+) of payload into LEO Various methods are used to move an assembled launch vehicle onto its launch pad, each method with its own specialized equipment. These assembly activities take place as part of the overall launch campaign for the vehicle. In some launch systems, like the Delta II, the vehicle is assembled vertically on the pad, using a crane to hoist each stage into place. The Space Shuttle orbiter, including its external tank, and solid rocket boosters, are assembled vertically in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building, and then a special crawler-transporter moves the entire stack to the launch pad while it is in an upright position. In contrast, the launch vehicles such as the Soyuz rocket and the Falcon 9 are assembled horizontally in a processing hangar, transported horizontally, and then brought upright once at the pad. As an alternative, Project Vanguard provided a contraction of the phrase "Satellite Launching Vehicle" abbreviated to "SLV". This provided a term in the list of what the rockets were allocated for: flight test, or actually launching a satellite. The contraction would also apply to rockets which send probes to other worlds or the interplanetary medium. Orbital launch vehicles Sounding rockets are normally used for brief, inexpensive space and microgravity experiments. Current human-rated suborbital launch vehicles include SpaceShipOne and the upcoming SpaceShipTwo, among others (see space tourism). The delta-v needed for orbital launch using a rocket vehicle launching from the Earth's surface is at least 9300m/s. This delta-v is determined by a combination of air-drag, which is determined by ballistic coefficient as well as gravity losses, altitude gain and the horizontal speed necessary to give a suitable perigee. The delta-v required for altitude gain varies, but is around 2 kilometres per second (1.2 mi/s) for 200 kilometres (120 mi) altitude. Minimising air-drag entails having a reasonably high ballistic coefficient, which generally means having a launch vehicle that is at least 20 metres (66 ft) long, or a ratio of length to diameter greater than ten. Leaving the atmosphere as early on in the flight as possible provides an air drag of around 300 metres per second (980 ft/s). The horizontal speed necessary to achieve low earth orbit is around 7,800 metres per second (26,000 ft/s). The calculation of the total delta-v for launch is complicated, and in nearly all cases numerical integration is used; adding multiple delta-v values provides a pessimistic result, since the rocket can thrust while at an angle in order to reach orbit, thereby saving fuel as it can gain altitude and horizontal speed simultaneously. Under international law, the nationality of the owner of a launch vehicle determines which country is responsible for any damages resulting from that vehicle. Due to this, some[who?] countries require that rocket manufacturers and launchers adhere to specific regulations in order to indemnify and protect the safety of people and property that may be affected by a flight. In the US, any rocket launch that is not classified as amateur, and also is not "for and by the government," must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST), located in Washington, DC. Specific to launch vehicles ||This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (August 2009)| - See for example: "NASA Kills 'Wounded' Launch System Upgrade at KSC". Florida Today. - "SpaceX says 'reusable rocket' could help colonize Mars". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 4 October 2011. - "Elon Musk says SpaceX will attempt to develop fully reusable space launch vehicle". Washington Post. 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-10-11. "Both of the rocket’s stages would return to the launch site and touch down vertically, under rocket power, on landing gear after delivering a spacecraft to orbit." - Lindsey, Clark (2013-03-28). "SpaceX moving quickly towards fly-back first stage". NewSpace Watch. Retrieved 2013-03-29. - there are no Russian roadless terrain or railway car based mobile launchers converted for spacecraft launches. - NASA Space Technology Roadmaps - Launch Propulsion Systems, p.11: "Small: 0-2t payloads, Medium: 2-20t payloads, Heavy: 20-50t payloads, Super Heavy: >50t payloads" - HSF Final Report: Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation, October 2009, Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, p. 64-66: "5.2.1 The Need for Heavy Lift ... require a “super heavy-lift” launch vehicle ... range of 25 to 40 mt, setting a notional lower limit on the size of the super heavy-lift launch vehicle if refueling is available ... this strongly favors a minimum heavy-lift capacity of roughly 50 mt ..." - S. A. Kamal, A. Mirza: The Multi-Stage-Q System and the Inverse-Q System for Possible application in SLV, Proc. IBCAST 2005, Volume 3, Control and Simulation, Edited by Hussain SI, Munir A, Kiyani J, Samar R, Khan MA, National Center for Physics, Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2006, pp 27–33 Free Full Text - S. A. Kamal: Incorporating Cross-Range Error in the Lambert Scheme, Proc. 10th National Aeronautical Conf., Edited by Sheikh SR, Khan AM, Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur, KP, Pakistan, 2006, pp 255–263 Free Full Text - S. A. Kamal: The Multi-Stage-Lambert Scheme for Steering a Satellite-Launch Vehicle, Proc. 12th IEEE INMIC, Edited by Anis MK, Khan MK, Zaidi SJH, Bahria Univ., Karachi, Pakistan, 2008, pp 294–300 (invited paper) Free Full Text - S. A. Kamal: Incompleteness of Cross-Product Steering and a Mathematical Formulation of Extended-Cross-Product Steering, Proc. IBCAST 2002, Volume 1, Advanced Materials, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Control Engineering, Edited by Hoorani HR, Munir A, Samar R, Zahir S, National Center for Physics, Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2003, pp 167–177 Free Full Text - S. A. Kamal: Dot-Product Steering: A New Control Law for Satellites and Spacecrafts, Proc. IBCAST 2002, Volume 1, Advanced Materials, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Control Engineering, Edited by Hoorani HR, Munir A, Samar R, Zahir S, National Center for Physics, Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2003, pp 178–184 Free Full Text - S. A. Kamal: Ellipse-Orientation Steering: A Control Law for Spacecrafts and Satellite-Launch Vehicles, Space Science and the Challenges of the twenty-First Century, ISPA-SUPARCO Collaborative Seminar, Univ. of Karachi, 2005 (invited paper) - Christmas turns bad for ISRO, GSLV mission fails.

Willetts, H. T. Most widely held works by H. T Willetts One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn ( Book ) 20 editions published between 1990 and 2010 in English and Russian and held by 1,477 libraries worldwide One of the most chilling novels ever written about the oppression of totalitarian regimes--and the first to open Western eyes to the terrors of Stalin's prison camps, this book allowed Solzhenitsyn, who later became Russia's conscience in exile, to challenge the brutal might of the Soviet Union. November 1916 by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn ( Book ) 3 editions published between 1998 and 2000 in English and held by 1,215 libraries worldwide A novel on the 1917 Russian Revolution, chronicling the events which led up to it. The protagonists are its participants--from peasant to tsar. Part two of a multi-volume epic which began with August 1914. 1920 Diary by I Babelʹ ( Book ) 4 editions published between 1995 and 2002 in English and held by 810 libraries worldwide The Russian writer Isaac Babel (1894-1940) is widely acknowledged to be one of the great masters of twentieth-century literature, hailed as a genius by such critics as Lionel Trilling and Irving Howe. The work for which he is best known is a cycle of stories called Red Cavalry, which depicts the exploits of the Cossack cavalry during the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920 and is based on Babel's experiences as he rode with the Cossacks during the campaign. Throughout this period Babel kept a diary, in which he recorded the devastation of the war, the extreme cruelty of the Polish and Red armies alike toward the Jewish population in Ukraine and eastern Poland, and his own conflicted role as both Soviet revolutionary and Jew. The 1920 Diary, a vital source for Red Cavalry as well as a compelling narrative, is now published in English for the first time. In the first circle : a novel, the restored text by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn ( Book ) 3 editions published in 2009 in English and held by 720 libraries worldwide Moscow, Christmas Eve, 1949. The Soviet secret police intercept a call made to the American embassy by a Russian diplomat who promises to deliver secrets about the nascent Soviet Atomic Bomb program. On that same day, a brilliant mathematician is locked away inside a Moscow prison that houses the country's brightest minds. He and his fellow prisoners are charged with using their abilities to sleuth out the caller's identity, and they must choose whether to aid Joseph Stalin's repressive state -- or refuse and accept transfer to the Siberian Gulag camps and almost certain death. --from publisher description. The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956 : an experiment in literary investigation by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn ( Book ) 18 editions published between 1978 and 2007 in English and held by 466 libraries worldwide Drawing on his own experiences before, during, and after his 11 years of incarceration and exile, Solzhenitsyn reveals with torrential narrative and dramatic power the entire apparatus of Soviet repression. Through truly Shakespearean portraits of its victims, we encounter the secret police operations, the labor camps and prisons, the uprooting or extermination of whole populations. Yet we also witness astounding moral courage, the incorruptibility with which the occasional individual or a few scattered groups, all defenseless, endured brutality and degradation. Solzhenitsyn's genius has transmuted this grisly indictment into a literary miracle. A history of world communism by F. W Deakin ( Book ) 8 editions published in 1975 in English and held by 419 libraries worldwide Bread of exile : a Russian family by Dimitri Obolensky ( Book ) 1 edition published in 1999 in English and held by 196 libraries worldwide The red wheel : a narrative in discrete period of time by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn ( Book ) 5 editions published between 1988 and 2008 in English and held by 111 libraries worldwide Set at the outbreak of the First World War, this novel explores the responsibility for Russia's defeat at the Battle of Tannenberg. Lenin in Zürich : chapters by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn ( Book ) 7 editions published between 1975 and 1978 in English and Undetermined and held by 44 libraries worldwide The red wheel : a narrative in discrete periods of time by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn ( Book ) 3 editions published between 1989 and 1999 in English and held by 5 libraries worldwide Stalin by Ėdvard Radzinskiĭ ( Book ) 2 editions published in 1996 in English and held by 5 libraries worldwide The first circle : a novel by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzheni?t?syn ( Book ) 1 edition published in 2009 in English and held by 5 libraries worldwide Stalin : the first in-depth biography based on explosive new documents from Russia's secret archives by Ėdvard Stanislavovič [forme avant 2007 Radzinskij ( Book ) 1 edition published in 1996 in English and held by 4 libraries worldwide The Gulag Archipelago/ 3, V - VII / transl. from the Russian by Harry Willetts by Aleksandr Solženicyn ( Book ) 1 edition published in 1978 in English and held by 3 libraries worldwide Death and damnation of a hero by H. T Willetts ( Book ) 2 editions published in 1963 in English and held by 2 libraries worldwide Russian studies by Leonard Schapiro ( Book ) 1 edition published in 1986 in English and held by 2 libraries worldwide Tsvetaeva by Viktoria Schweitzer ( Book ) 1 edition published in 1995 in English and held by 2 libraries worldwide Lenin and the peasants by Harry Willetts ( Book ) 1 edition published in 1967 in English and held by 2 libraries worldwide Ten years after Stalin. [By] H. Lunghi, E. Crankshaw, L. Schapiro [and] H.[T.] Willetts ( Book ) 1 edition published in 1963 in Undetermined and held by 2 libraries worldwide Nineteen-century Russia by Norman Stone ( Recording ) 1 edition published in 1975 in English and held by 2 libraries worldwide Audiobooks Audio-visual materials Authors, Russian Babelʹ, I.--1894-1940 Biography Communism Communists Concentration camps Diaries Economic history Exiles Families Fiction Forced labor GULag NKVD Heads of state Historical fiction History International relations Lenin, Vladimir Ilʹich,--1870-1924 Nobility Obolensky, Dimitri,--1918- Obolensky family Peasant uprisings Personal narratives--Russian Poland Poland--Stębark Political persecution Political prisoners Political science Prisons Revolutions Russia Russian fiction Russian literature Russians--Foreign countries Social history Soldiers Solzhenit︠s︡yn, Aleksandr Isaevich,--1918-2008 Sound recordings Sources Soviet Union Stalin, Joseph,--1879-1953 Switzerland--Zurich Talking books Tannenberg, Battle of (Stębark, Poland : 1914) Translations War stories Willetts, H. T World politics Willetts, Harry Taylor

XmStringGetNextSegment man page XmStringGetNextSegment — A compound string function that fetches the bytes in the next segment of a compound string #include <Xm/Xm.h> Boolean XmStringGetNextSegment( XmStringContext context, char **text, XmStringTag *tag, XmStringDirection *direction, Boolean *separator); This routine is obsolete and exists for compatibility with previous releases. To read the contents of a compound string, read each component of the string with XmStringGetNextTriple. This XmString function returns the type, length, and value of the next component in the compound string. XmStringGetNextSegment fetches the bytes in the next segment; repeated calls fetch sequential segments. The text, tag, and direction of the fetched segment are returned each time. A Boolean status is returned to indicate whether a valid segment was successfully parsed. If the function returns True, then the function allocates space to hold the returned text and tag. The application is responsible for managing the allocated space. The application can recover the allocated space by calling XtFree. Specifies the string context structure which was allocated by the XmStringInitContext function Specifies a pointer to a NULL-terminated string Specifies a pointer to the font list element tag associated with the text Specifies a pointer to the direction of the text Specifies whether the next component of the compound string is a separator Returns True if a valid segment is found. XmStringCreate(3) and XmStringInitContext(3).

I went to the NYPD Museum in downtown Manhattan this past Friday. Imagine my surprise to have stumbled across the "Hall of Groggers." Apparently, the "Grogger Task Force" dates back to the days of Peter Stuyvesent, when the rattlers were the primary tool of law enforcement in New Amsterdam, and they persisted in New York for centuries. From 1609 to 1664, eight Dutch colonists carried lanterns and wooden rattles as they watched over the streets of their colony. The rattles were pre-whistle noisemakers that would alert members of the community to crime, fires or other threatening situations. The lanterns the men carried were made of green glass—this helped identify them to citizens. The green light became synonymous with aide and assistance and to this day, green lights are lit outside the entrances to Police Precincts in homage to the men of the Rattle Watch and to reassure citizens that the police are on duty. It would be over 150 years before the NYPD was officially created, but many of the traditions started by the Rattle Watch remain today. Additional true facts about the grogger and our noise-making tradition can be found here

The Ruminant Digestive System in the perspective of pharmacology The Ruminant Digestive System The parts of the ruminant GI tract are alike to those of monogastric mammals except the forestomachs that are rumen, reticulum, and omasum. The use of pharmacologic agents to treat diseases of the glandular stomach (abomasum) and intestine follows principles common to both monogastric and ruminant species. In Ruminants feed undergoes microbial predigestion in the forestomachs, chiefly in the rumen and reticulum. Ruminoreticular motility or fermentation is depressed in numerous conditions - improper feeding (overload or deficiency of specific nutrients), - lack of water, - infectious diseases, - lesions of any part of the upper GI tract - , metabolic states (eg, hypocalcemia), - reduced flow of alkaline saliva that allows pH to fall and the microbial population to be altered to an unsafe extent to the animal. The primary objectives of pharmacotherapy are to remove the cause and to help the return of normal digestive function by meeting or restoring the requirements for optimal ruminoreticular function This may include any of the following: - Ensuring an appropriate substrate for microbial fermentation; - Supplying any cofactors (eg, phosphorus, sulfur) necessary for microbial fermentative processes; - Removing any soluble end-products, undigested solid residues, and gas; - Maintaining continual flow culture of ruminal microorganisms; - Ensuring that the contents of the ruminoreticulum are fluid; - Maintaining optimal intraluminal pH (generally between 6 and 7); and - Promoting active ruminoreticular activity.

Rose Canyon Fault In San Diego Could Spark Massive Earthquake That Would ‘Liquefy’ The Ground The Rose Canyon Fault in San Diego could be far more dangerous than scientists previously thought. It could trigger an intense and enormous earthquake that would “liquefy” the ground. The Rose Canyon Fault line is believed to provoke tremors measuring up to 6.8 on the Richter Scale every 700 years. Previously, seismologists thought the San Diego fault would only produce such powerful and doomsday level earthquake tremors every 1,000 to 1,500 years. The fault line stretches for nearly 40 miles. It encompasses the San Diego Bay area in the south and then maneuvers offshore to La Jolla before veering as far north as Oceanside, California. “A powerful quake in the mid-to-upper 6s could cause liquefaction around San Diego and Mission bays and locally in Mission Valley, and cause the land to be offset across the fault, which would damage buildings,” seismologist Tom Rockwell said when detailing the magnitude of an earthquake along the Rose Canyon Fault, during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. San Diego State University scientific researchers have been digging in the Old Town area of the city to discover more about the powerful and potentially hugely destructive Rose Canyon Fault. If the fault line and the nearby Newport-Inglewood Fault trigger an earthquake at the same time, the magnitude of the tremors could reach a 7.4 magnitude. San Diego’s Rose Canyon fault is MORE dangerous than thought and could trigger a massive earthquakehttps://t.co/rpHHp3myTX via @MailOnline — Ann-Marie???????????? (@Ann_Marie1) June 2, 2017 A research report by the San Diego State University team released earlier this year revealed the Rose Canyon Fault and the Newport-Inglewood Fault are not two separate line systems are scientists previously thought. Their findings also stated an 1862 earthquake along the San Diego area fault lines registered a magnitude six on the Richter Scale. The researchers used layers of soil samples from a dig at the site to analyze the impact of the prior earthquake. After analyzing evidence recovered from the Rose Canyon Fault line dig, the university researchers were able to conclude two other earthquakes in the magnitude five and six range also happened in the region over the centuries, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. #Earthquakes News – Scientists revise Rose Canyon Fault earthquake forecast https://t.co/3yESrwEMUp — Dr. Carl Marx (@ERrisk) June 2, 2017 California is now 77.5 percent of the way through its current geological cycle, meaning a major earthquake is due to happen sometime in the next several years. Over the course of history, earthquakes have been almost impossible to forecast. A new prediction method unveiled late last month could determine the status of the fault system in the United States and reveal which line could be primed for an earthquake. University of California researchers developed the earthquake predicting method dubbed “nowcasting.” The detection system allows seismologists to calculate the risk to cities hit by earthquakes. The patterns of devastating earthquakes can occur with some type of regularity, with smaller tremors happening in between deadly quakes, according to the scientific researchers. Being able to calculate the number of small earthquakes that occurred in between powerful earthquakes makes the scientists believe they can determine which fault line cycle each city likely to be hit by a tremor is in. Small earthquakes generate additional stress on the tectonic plates and prompt large earthquakes to occur to release the energy churned up by the less powerful tremors along fault lines, the Daily Mail reports. The strength and make-up of tectonic plates vary greatly, and the differences were taken into account by the researchers involved in the nowcasting system. The magnitude of an earthquake depends upon the amount of stress that has amassed in the rock. Tectonic plates under the San Andreas Fault in California are less resilient than the fault lines under Tokyo. The Japanese fault line system is reportedly 90 percent through its current cycle, meaning a massive earthquake could soon hit the city. [Featured Image by SDubi/Shutterstock]

Parker, Charlie 1920–1955 Charlie Parker 1920–1955 Jazz saxophonist and composer When alto-saxophonist Charlie Parker made his first significant solo recordings with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in 1945, his music had a tremendous impact on a new generation of jazz musicians. In cities across the country, jazz instrumentalists sought to play in the Parker-style. Known to fellow musicians as Yardbird, Yard, or Bird, Parker expanded the musical horizons of jazz and influenced various instrumentalists with his unique phrasing and harmonic conception. Parker drew much of his inspiration from the blues, swing jazz standards, popular song forms, Afro-Cuban music, and modern European symphonic music. While Parker’s blues-based compositions elevated the form to a new creative level, his deep interest in the modern symphonic works of composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok inspired countless other jazzmen to study classical music. An avant-gardist of the bebop subculture, Parker’s heroin addiction elevated him to cult status among hipsters, poets, and intellectuals. Despite his self-destructive lifestyle and early death, Parker remains one of the twentieth century’s most innovative instrumentalists and composers. Parker was born on August 29, 1920, in Kansas City, Kansas. His father, Charlie Sr., was a stage entertainer and his mother, a domestic of Native American descent. Raised by his mother, Parker attended Catholic schools and, not long after, became a student at Charles Sumner Elementary. In 1931 Addie took her son to live in Kansas City, Missouri, a hotbed of swing jazz and home to Tom Pendegast’s political machine which, as a result of its widespread corruption, fostered the city’s musical night club scene. A follower of tenor saxophonist Lester Young, Parker took up alto horn. Having never received any formal musical instruction, he faced stiff competition at local jam sessions from more seasoned musicians. Although Parker experienced humiliation at the hands of more experienced players, he persevered by practicing relentlessly and using exercise books. Parker dropped out of school at age sixteen to pursue a career in music. His mother’s full-time employment at Western Union offered Parker plenty of opportunities to experience Kansas City’s nightlife and drug subculture At a Glance… Born Charles Christopher Parker August 29, 1920, in Kansas City, Missouri; son of Charles Parker (traveling entertainer and Pullman chef) and Addle (domestic); married Rebecca Ruffin July 25, 1936; children Francis Leon; Geraldine Marguerite Scott (dancer) April 10, 1943; Doris Snydor (hat check girl); Chan Richardson (model and dancer) July 1950; children Pree and Baird, also adopted Richardson’s daughter Kim. Died March 12, 1955 in New York City. Career: Left school to play music at sixteen; mid 1930s played in Kansas City bands; 1937 with Buster “Prof” Smith; with Jay McShann orchestra 1940–1942; performed with Earl Hines 1942–1943; joined Billy Eckstine big band 1944; 1945 made first solo recordings in a quintet with Dizzy Gillespie; performed in California 1945–1947; first performed with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic series; recorded for Dial label 1945–1948; returned to New York in April 1947; recorded for Savoy label 1948; signed with Norman Cranz’s Mercury label 1948 and subsequently with recorded with Cranz’s Verve label; played the Paris International Jazz Festival, May 1949; recorded with strings 1949–1952; visited Scandinavia 1950; performed with various side-men 1950–1955. Awards: Down Beat New Star Award, 1946; elected to Down Beat Hall of Fame 1955. alone. In 1937 Parker worked in Ozark mountain resort clubs, including a four-month stint with George E. Lee’s band. The job with Lee’s band afforded Parker ample time for private practice, and he spent hours trying to imitate the Lester Young tenor saxophone solos featured on recordings by the Count Basie Band. Back in Kansas City, he broadened his musical knowledge by performing with another influential saxophonist, Buster “Prof” Smith. In 1938 Parker performed for several months with pianist Jay McShann’s Sextet, and then moved on to New York City. On his way to New York, he stopped in Chicago where, at a breakfast dance, he sat-in with the band on saxophone. Despite his disheveled appearance, Parker’s saxophone lines astounded listeners. Unable to find musical work in New York City, he washed dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem. While working at Jimmy’s, Parker had the opportunity to hear the brilliant house pianist, Art Tatum. As Royal W. Stokes remarked in The Jazz Scene, Art Tatum “was an important transitional figure” in Parker’s musical education. Eventually, Parker performed at dime dance halls and jam sessions. At Don Walls’ Chili House, his interaction with guitarist Bill “Biddy” Fleet expanded his knowledge of harmony and chord substitutions. Parker also took part in jam sessions at Clark Monroe’s Uptown House in Harlem, where he worked out brilliant lines over the changes of pop standards such as his favorite showpiece, “Cherokee.” After returning to Kansas City in 1940, Parker joined Jay McShann’s big band and was put in charge of organizing the reed section. “But it was no question [Parker] had a profound effort on the band,” commented McShann in Talking Jazz, “… when Bird took a solo, he just lifted the band, lifted everybody.” In April of 1941, Parker made his first commercial recordings with McShann’s orchestra, including the Decca side “Hootie Blues.” His playing on this slow blues number, though ignored by critics at the time, made an immediate impression on many saxophonists. Parker’s appearance on McShann’s 1942 sides “Jumpin’ Blues,” “Lonely Boy Blues,” and “Sepian Bounce,” inspired Gunther Schuller to remark in The Swing Era, “Although the ‘cool’ timbre and linearization of musical ideas of Lester Young are clearly the base of [Parker’s] inspiration, he is also beginning to be very much his own man.” In January of 1942, Parker opened at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom. When he was not performing with McShann’s orchestra, he sat in at Harlem jam sessions held at Monroe’s and Minton’s Playhouse. At these impromptu performances, Parker joined other jazzmen in experimenting with small ensembles and playing extended solos over complex harmonic forms built upon standard song and compositional forms. Although Parker’s talent impressed his contemporaries at the jam sessions, his worsening drug habit forced McShann to fire him. Parker then bided his time between jam sessions and free lance work until December of 1942 when, through the intercession of Billy Eckstine and trumpeter Benny Harris, he found work as a tenor saxophonist in Earl “Fatha” Hines’ big band which included vocalist Sarah Vaughan. However, Parker’s erratic behavior forced Hines to fire him after only eight months with the band. In 1944, Parker joined Billy Eckstine’s innovative bebop big band. He often shared the bandstand with Dizzy Gillespie and several other former alumni of the Hines orchestra, including Sarah Vaughan. After a few months, Parker left Eckstine’s band and played on 52nd Street with saxophonist Ben Webster, and later worked with trumpeter Cootie Williams. In February of 1945, Parker collaborated with Gillespie on sessions for the Guild label which produced the numbers “Groovin’ High” and “Dizzy Atmosphere.” Three months later, a session for Guild yielded “Salt Peanuts,” “ShawNuff,” “Hot House,” and “Lover Man” with vocalist Sarah Vaughan. Not long after the first Guild sides were released, Parker’s music divided musicians and critics into warring camps. “With Parker’s emergence,” noted jazz trombonist Benny Green in The Reluctant Art, “the term [jazz] had no longer a precise meaning.” It forced jazz musicians to align themselves with “music that was pre-Charlie Parker or the music he was playing.” In the fall of 1945, Parker and Gillespie landed a job at the Three Deuces. Shortly thereafter, Parker’s irresponsibility and disregard for promptness caused Gillespie to quit the group. Parker subsequently hired trumpeter Miles Davis to perform in a quintet which included drummer Max Roach. As Davis enthusiastically recounted in his memoir Miles, “I was nineteen years old and playing with the baddest alto saxophone player in the history of music.” A month after opening at the Three Deuces, Parker debuted on the Savoy label. Under the name “Charlie Parker’s Reboppers,” Parker, Gillespie, Davis, Russell, and Roach recorded the classics “Ko Ko” and “Now’s the Time.” Gary Giddins stressed in Celebrating Bird that, “Ko Ko’ was the seminal point of departure for jazz in the postwar era. It’s effect paralleled that of [Louis] Armstrong’s ‘West End Blues’ in 1928.” As a member of the Dizzy Gillespie sextet, Parker traveled to Hollywood in December of 1945 to perform at Billy Berg’s, a one-story stucco building on Vine Street. “That little band was very skillfully assembled, recalled Gillespie in To Be or Not to Bop “Charlie Parker I hired, because he was undeniably a genius, musically, the other side of my heartbeat.” Billed with the popular acts Slim Gillard and Henry “The Hipster” Gibson, the sextet played to packed houses. With the exception of a small circle of followers, however, the reaction to the sextet’s modern sound was met with indifference. After finishing their stint at Berg’s, Parker and Gillespie recorded several sessions for Hollywood record store owner Ross Russell. As a result of poor organization and personnel problems, these first sessions for Russell’s newly formed Dial label yielded little material. When Gillespie’s band returned to New York, Parker stayed behind in Los Angeles and continued to record for Dial. Parker then took a job playing in Howard McGhee’s group at the Club Finale. He also attended several Dial recording sessions which produced a wealth of music including “Yardbird Suite,” “Moose the Mooche,” and “A Night in Tunisia.” As Ted Goia noted in West Coast Jazz, these sides “rank among the landmarks of jazz music. On a level with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Hot Sevens and Ellington’s work from the early 1940s, the Parker Dial sessions stand out as monumental achievements.” Despite the fine musicianship Parker displayed on the Dial recordings, his personal life was in shambles. He was living in poverty and suffering from drug withdrawal. On July 29, 1946, Parker attended a Dial recording session. Later that night a fire, presumably caused by careless smoking, destroyed his room at the Civic Hotel. Earlier that evening, Parker was seen wandering around the hotel lobby wearing only his socks. He was arrested and held in the psychiatric ward of the East Los Angeles Jail. Charged with arson, indecent exposure, and resisting arrest, Parker served a six-month term at the Camarillo State Hospital. He was released in January of 1947 and periodically experienced episodes of good health, only to succumb to eating binges and further drug abuse. Before returning to New York, Parker participated in recording sessions for Dial with pianist Erroll Garner, Howard McGhee and Wardell Gray. Between 1947 and 1948 Parker led a quintet which included, at various times, Miles Davis, pianists Duke Jordan and Al Haig, and Max Roach. Also, extended engagements at New York nightclubs such as the Three Deuces and the Royal Roost provided Parker with a relatively stable period of work. In September of 1948, Parker cut the Savoy side “Parker’s Mood.” Acclaimed as one of Parker’s finest blues numbers, “Parker’s Mood,” as Thomas Owens noted in Bebop: The Music and Its Players, “contains a number of [Parker’s] standard melodic figures, but the slow tempo gives him more time than usual to reshape and combine them, and to think of new phrases. In the process he creates a beautiful and poignant picture of the poetic meaning of the blues—he ‘tells his story’ as though he was a great blues singer.” In December of 1948 and January of 1949, Parker recorded with Machito’s Afro-Cuban orchestra for the Verve label. In May of 1949, Parker made his European debut at the Paris International Festival of Jazz. That same year, Parker hired trumpeter Red Rodney. Rodney told Ben Sidran in Talking Jazz, “Charlie Parker was very much like he played. He was beautiful. He was so proficient that the instrument was like a toy.” In November of 1949, Parker recorded with a string section conducted by Mitch Miller. The session yielded the smash hit, “Just Friends.” In 1950 and 1952, he continued to perform and record with string quartets and other small groups. In March of 1951 and January of 1952, Parker recorded his Latin-inspired album, South of the Border. This album, released on the Verve label, contained his popular number “My Little Suede Shoes.” In 1953 Parker joined Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, bassist Charles Mingus, and pianist Bud Powell for a performance at Toronto’s Massey Hall. Around this time, Parker’s constant drug use began to take its toll. Although he was still capable of delivering fine performances, his reputation for showing up in mid-performance or missing entire shows often forced club owners to hire Parker on a per set basis. After being admitted twice to Belle vue psychiatric hospital in 1954, Parker attempted suicide. On March 4, 1955, he made his final appearance at Birdland—the club named in his honor. During the performance, he exchanged harsh words onstage with Bud Powell and left the nightclub. Five days later, Parker traveled to New York City to visit his close friend and benefactor, Baroness “Nica” Ponnonica de Koenigswarter. Parker suffered an ulcer attack while visiting the baroness, but refused to be hospitalized. He died on March 12, 1955. Autopsy results attributed the cause of death to lobar pneumonia and the long-term effects of alcohol and heroin abuse. During his brief life, Charlie Parker inspired a school of jazz, a legion of followers, and helped to define a generation of post-war poets and writers. A few months after Parker’s death, Beat writer Jack Kerouac hailed him in his book of poems Mexico City Blues, as “the perfect musician … and a great creator of forms.” In recent decades, Parker has become the subject of books, film documentaries, and a feature motion picture. His music remains an internationally recognized source of musical inspiration and one of America’s highest artistic achievements. Charlie Parker, The Verve Years (1952–54), Verve, 1977. Charlie Parker at Storeyville, Blue Note, (recorded 1953) 1988. Charlie Parker The Legendary Dial Masters Vol. I, Stash, 1989. Charlie Parker Swedish Schnapps+, The Great Quintet Sessions 1919–1951. Charlie Parker, “Round Midnight and Other Gems,” Tel-Star, 1991. Bird at St. Nick’s, Original Jazz Classics, (recorded 1950) 1992. Charlie Parker, Jazz at the Philharmonic 1949, Verve, 1993. Bird on 52nd Street, Original Jazz Classics, (recorded 1948) 1994. Charlie Parker Plays Standards, Jazz Masters 28, Verve, 1994. Charlie Parker, South of the Border, (recorded 1951–1952), 1995. Charlie Parker, The Complete Dial Recordings, Rhino, 1996. Bird and Diz, (recorded 1948) Verve, 1997. Yardbird Suite, The Ultimate Charlie Parker, Rhino, 1997. Davis, Miles with Quincy Troupe. Miles, The Autobiography, Simon & Schuster, 1990. Giddins, Gary. Celebrating Bird, The Triumph of Charlie Parker, Beech Tree Books, 1987. Gillespie, Dizzy with Al Fraser. To Be, or not …To Bop, Memoirs, Doubleday &Co., 1979. Gioa, Ted. West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California 1945–1960, Oxford University Press, 1992. Gitler, Ira. Jazz Masters of the Forties, Collier Books, 1966. Green, Benny. The Reluctant Art: Five Studies in the Growth of Jazz, Da Capo, expanded edition, 1991. Hennessey, Mike. Klook: The Story of Kenny Clarke, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990. Kerouac, Jack. Mexico City Blues (242) Choruses, Grove Press, 1959. Owens, Thomas. Bebop: The Music and Its Players, Oxford University Press, 1995. Reisner, Robert, ed. Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker, Da Capo, 1962. Schuller, Gunther. The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz 1930–1945, Oxford University Press, 1989. Sidran, Ben. Talking Jazz: An Oral History, expanded edition, Da Capo, 1995. Stokes, Royal W. The Jazz Scene: An Informal History From New Orleans to 1990, Oxford University Press, 1990. "Parker, Charlie 1920–1955." Contemporary Black Biography. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 28, 2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-charlie-1920-1955 "Parker, Charlie 1920–1955." Contemporary Black Biography. . Retrieved June 28, 2017 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-charlie-1920-1955 Saxophonist, composer, arranger Proclaimed the “Mozart of Jazz” by prominent jazz critic Barry Ulanov, Charles “Yardbird” Parker represents one of the most influential figures in the history of American music. Like the great classical composer, Parker was a musical genius who died in his mid-thirties without widespread acclaim or national recognition. Despite his lack of popular audience, Yardbird—or Bird as he was more affectionately called—was idolized by many musicians, intellectuals, and enthusiasts. It was from these elite circles of disciples that Parker ascended to the height of deification after his death. “Music is your own experience, if you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn,” he lamented. Ironically, Parker’s life became a struggle to balance his often reckless and self-destructive personal experiences with the gift of musical vision. Charlie Parker was born on August 29, 1920, to Addie and Charles Parker in Kansas City, Kansas. At the age of seven he moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, a short distance from the nightclubs and dance halls where a new style of jazz was flourishing. Although Parker played baritone horn in the high school band, it wasn’t until he was fifteen that he displayed a strong interest in music and passion for the alto saxophone. Not long afterward he joined the Deans of Swing led by pianist Lawrence Keyes. Parker received his early musical tutelage in Kansas City nightclubs, listening to such saxophone giants as Lester Young, Johnny Hoges, and Leon “Chu” Berry. Around 1935 he decided to leave school in search of a full-time musical apprenticeship. In the year that followed, Parker faced humiliation at a jam session at the Reno Club, where Count Basie performed. After blowing a couple of faltering choruses, drummer Jo Jones signaled the end of the amateur performance by hurling his cymbal at Parker’s feet. (This incident was vividly portrayed in the 1988 Warner Bros, film Bird.) It was also in this period that the young altoist began to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Commenting years later, Parker attributed his later heroin addiction to “being introduced too early to nightclub life.” Between the years 1936 and 1937, Parker traveled to the Ozarks to work with the bands of Ernie Daniels, George E. Lee and “Professor” Buster Smith. In the Ozarks, Parker spent long hours woodshedding—memorizing two saxophone solos of Lester Young from phonograph records. It was from Lee’s rhythm guitarist, Efferge Ware, that he learned the cycle of fifths and advanced chord patterns. Returning to Kansas City, Parker re-emerged a much more confident, or in his words, “coordinated” musician. In 1938, he joined pianist Jay McShann’s band for a few months before his drug habit led to his dismissal. Full name, Charles Christopher Parker; born August 29, 1920, in Kansas City, Mo.; died of lobar pneumonia complicated by chronic alcoholism, March 12, 1955, in New York, N.Y.; son of Charles (a traveling entertainer and Pullman chef) and Addie (a maid-charwoman for Western Union) Parker; married Rebecca Ruffin, July 25, 1936; married Géraldine Scott (a dancer), April 10, 1943; married Doris Snyder (a hat-check girl), 1948; married Chan Richardson (a model and dancer), July 1950; children: (first marriage) Francis Leon; (fourth marriage) Pree (daughter), Baird; Parker also adopted Chan’s daughter, Kim. Religion: Roman Catholic. Performer (alto saxophone), arranger, composer. Left school to enter full-time musical apprenticeship at age 15; during late 1930s, played with numerous musical groups, member of musical group fronted by Jay McShann, 1938, and 1939-42; also played with Harlan Leonard’s Rockets, 1938; played with Earl Hines’s band, 1942-43; played with Billy Eckstíne’s band, 1944-46; fronted his own quintet, 1947-53; performed with numerous musicians in a variety of groups, 1953-55; last public performance, March 4, 1955. Awards: Recipient of New Star Award, 1946; elected to down beat Hall of Fame, 1955. A year later, he made his way to Chicago, where he astounded listeners with his fiery alto solos. At a club located on 55th Street, the bedraggled Parker sat in at a breakfast dance where Billy Eckstine was in attendance. “He blew so much,” recalled Eckstine, “until he upset everybody in the place.” Parker’s next destination was New York. Failing to find work with his horn, he washed dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, where the brilliant pianist Art Tatum performed in the front room. He befriended guitarist Biddy Fleet, whose musical instruction expanded Parker’s knowledge of harmonic theory. One evening while performing at the Chili House, he experienced a revelation. “I found by using high intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes. I could play the thing I’d been hearing. I came alive.” Shortly after Parker returned to Kansas City to attend the funeral of his father, he joined Harlan Leonard’s Rockets. During his five months with Leonard, he was introduced to the band’s extremely talented pianist and arranger, Tadd Dameron. He rejoined McShann in 1939, and was put in charge of the reed section. While not performing with McShann’s blues-based ensemble, Parker rehearsed and organized jam sessions. In his four years with McShann, he was a featured soloist on several recordings, including “Hootie Blues,” “Sepian Bounce” and the 1941 rhythm-and-blues hit, “Confessin’ the Blues.” “Bird had crying soul,” recalled McShann, who later designated the year’s alto saxophonist as the “greatest blues player in the world.” While on tour with McShann in New York in 1942, Parker performed at jam sessions held at Monroe’s and Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, where he attracted the notice of such modernists as trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and pianist Thelonious Monk. That same year his worsening drug addiction led to his final break with McShann. In December, Parker began an eight-month stint blowing tenor with Earl Hines—providing him with the opportunity to appear with he progressive talents of Gillespie, Benny Harris and singer Sarah Vaughan. Although he greatly admired Parker’s musicianship, Hines possessed little tolerance for his erratic lifestyle. “He was afine boy and there was nothing wrong with him when it came to character,” commented Hines, “all the harm he did he did to himself.” In 1944, Billy Eckstine brought together many of the veterans of the Hines ensemble to form one of the most innovative big bands of the period. Eckstine sent for Parker, who was in Chicago performing with Noble Sissle. Eckstine, like Hines, was astounded by Parker’s genius for improvisation and “photographic memory” for learning arrangements. “Bird was so full of spontaneity,” exclaimed Eckstine, “it just… Boqm!… came out!” After his short stay with Eckstine, Parker performed at the Three Deuces on 52nd Street with Dizzy and saxophonist Ben Webber as well as a group including nineteen-year-old Miles Davis. According to Gillespie, the Dizzy-Parker collaboration was a “meeting of the minds.” Their powerful unison work laid the foundation for modern jazz—or “be-bop” (a label that Parker greatly despised). Throughout 1945 Parker recorded with Clyde Hart and guitarist Tiny Grimes. Leading his own group on the Savoy label, Parker also recorded the compositions “Billie’s Bounce,” “Thriving from a Riff,” “Now’s the Time” and the furiously executed “Ko Ko.” A few weeks later, he appeared at Billy Berg’s in Hollywood. Save for a few devoted followers, their be-bop invasion of the west received a harsh reception from patrons and critics. Parker’s increasing absences prompted Gillespie to hire a replacement (Dizzy admitted years later that his decision did not effect his relationship with Parker). Soon afterward, Parker toured with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic series—an engagement that put him on the same bandstand with Gillespie and Lester Young. In March 1946, Parker recorded for Ross Russel’s newly founded Dial label, which included the arrangements “Yardbird Suite,” “Ornithology,” “Mouse the Mooche” and Gillespie’s “Night in Tunisia.” On the West Coast Parker’s life took a serious downturn. Years of drug abuse, artistic disillusionment and failed marriages drove him to near-collapse. Following the session of “Lover Man,” he suffered a nervous breakdown and was committed to Camarillo State Hospital, where he underwent psychiatric treatment for six months. Returning east in 1947, Parker began his most innovative, or “classic” period. For the next few years he retained a level of stability—touring the U.S. and Europe with his own quintet (that most often included Miles Davis, bassist Tommy Potter, drummer Max Roach and pianist Duke Jordan). His unique sense of melody and rhythmic accents had a immense impact on all the instruments of modern jazz. Max Roach explained that he began using new variations on the drums to keep up with Parker’s breakneck tempos. Although critics still scoffed at him, Parker emerged in the late 1940s as the most influential jazz musician in the country. Parker first traveled abroad in 1949 to perform at the Paris Jazz Festival, where he was hailed by crowds of enthusiastic followers. During the course of the year, he recorded “Bird with Strings”—an effort that fused his deep admiration for classical and modern composers with his blues and swing background. Although it became his biggest seller, it was not without its critics. “Some of my friends said … Bird is getting commercial. That wasn’t it at all,” asserted Parker, “I was looking for new sound combinations.” Between 1948 and 1950, his artistic search for new forms of expression inspired him to record several Afro-Cuban sides with Machito’s orchestra. Parker’s life, like his music, became unpredictable, often lacking the effusive spirit of his earlier work. In order to control his drug addiction he drank to excess—causing a severe ulcer attack that hospitalized him. Disputes, debts, absences and inconsistent performances often forced club owners to hire him to play one show or a single set. In 1953, Parker led his last significant recording session, which contained “Chi Chi,” “I Remember You,” “Now’s the Time” and “Confirmation.” Throughout the remainder of his career, Parker worked without a regular group—often performing with side-men of varying talent as well as pick-up bands that often failed to provide him with adequate accompaniment. Following a disastrous performance with strings at Birdland (the club named in his honor) in 1954, he attempted suicide and was admitted to Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. In October of that year, Parker recaptured a glimpse of his earlier prowess by performing brilliantly at the Town Hall Concert. In his final months, Parker lived in Greenwich Village, appearing occasionally at a club called the Open Door. Jazz writer Leonard Feather, who encountered Parker around this time, described him as “bloated” and “raggedly dressed,” possessing “desperately sad eyes.” In his last public appearance, on March 4, 1955, Parker took the stage with Charles Mingus, Bud Powell, Kenny Dorham and Art Blakey. After a bitter verbal exchange with Powell, Parker got drunk and left the club. On Wednesday of the following week he died in the apartment of jazz disciple Baroness Pannonica “Nica” de Koenigswarter. In his thirty-four years, Parker not only brought the art of improvisation to a new height, but helped found an entire modern school of jazz. His life became a model for a postwar subculture that envisaged him as a god-like figure who broke with social and artistic tradition. “As with Mozart, the facts of Charlie Parker’s life make little sense because they fail to explain his music,” wrote Gary Giddings. But Parker knew no boundaries in art or life—for Parker they were synonymous in his search for new avenues of expression and escape. His saxophone became the voice that delivered him from torment. “I was amazed how Bird changed the minute he put his horn in his mouth,” observed Miles Davis. “He went from looking real down and out to having all this power and beauty just bursting out of him.” Despite his personal travails, the power and beauty of his music remains. (With Jay McShann) First Recordings (contains broadcast, private, and studio recordings, 1940-45), Xanadu ORI 221. The Complete Savoy Sessions (studio recordings, 1944-48)), Savoy SJ5 5500. Bird at the Royal Roost (recorded 1944), Savoy SJL-1108. Charlie Parker on Dial, Vol. 1 (1946 studio recording), Spotlite. Charlie Parker on Dial, Vol. 2 (1947 studio recording), Spotlite. Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve (boxed set; contains 176 performances), Verve 837141-2. The Verve Years, 1952-54, Verve VE-2-2523. Bird with Strings, Columbia, 1951. The Essential Charlie Parker, Verve V-6 8409. Bird/The Savoy Recordings (master takes), Savoy SJ 2201. Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker, edited by Robert Reisner, Da Capo Press, 1962. Dance, Stanley, The World of Earl Hines: An Oral History, Scribner, 1977. Davis, Miles, with Quincy Troupe, The Autobiography of Miles Davis, Simon and Schuster, 1989. Feather, Leonard, Inside Be-Bop (second edition), Da Capo Press, 1980. Feather, Leonard, The Jazz Years: Eyewitness to an Era, Da Capo Press, 1987. Feather, Leonard, The New Encyclopedia of Jazz, Horizon Press, 1960. Koch, Lawrence, Yardbird Suite: A Compendium of the Music and Life of Charlie Parker, Green State University Popular Press, 1988. Giddins, Gary, Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker, Beech Tree Books, 1987. Gillespie, Dizzy, with Al Fraser, To Be or Not to Bop: Memoirs, Double. Gitler, Ira, Jazz Masters of the Forties, Cullier Books, 1966. Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya: The Story of Jazz as Told By the Men Who Made It, edited by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, Dover, 1966. down beat, April 20, 1953. The Essential Charlie Parker, written by Don Cerulli, Verve V6-8409. "Parker, Charlie." Contemporary Musicians. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 28, 2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-charlie "Parker, Charlie." Contemporary Musicians. . Retrieved June 28, 2017 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-charlie Charlie Parker, American musician, was one of the most widely influential soloists in jazz history and one of the creators of a new style of playing called bop, or bebop. Charles Christopher Parker Jr. was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on August 29, 1920, the only child of Charles and Addie Parker. The family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1927. His mother, who raised him by herself after his father left the family, bought him a saxophone in 1931, and he started taking lessons in school. In the following years he played with several well-known local big bands, and in 1935 he left high school to become a full-time musician. By the age of fifteen Parker, known as "Yardbird" or "Bird" because of his love of eating chicken, was married and had begun using drugs. In 1941 he became a member of pianist Jay McShann's (1916–) band, with which he made his first commercial recordings. Parker's earliest records reveal that he was already developing the more complicated musical approach that was characteristic of his mature work. This approach and his harsh tone made it difficult for the casual listener to follow the logic of his choruses. Also, with major changes taking place in the rhythm section, his music sometimes met with opposition or downright confusion. Parker played with extraordinary technical skill, which allowed him to express his ideas very clearly even at the most rapid tempo (the rate of speed of a musical piece). New style of playing At this time Parker also met and began performing with trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie (1917–1993), widely accepted as the cofounder with Parker of the jazz style that became known as bop or bebop (featuring complicated harmonies and quick tempos). In 1945 they recorded some of the greatest titles in the new style. Although younger musicians quickly realized Parker's genius, musicians who were older and more set in their ways did not approve of him or his playing. In 1946, as a result, Parker suffered a mental breakdown and was committed for six months to a sanitarium (an institution for rest and recovery). Upon his release he formed his own quintet (five-piece group) and performed with it for several years, mainly in the New York City area. He also toured with Norman Granz's "Jazz at the Philharmonic" and made trips to Paris, France, in 1949 and Scandinavia in 1950. Parker composed a number of tunes that became jazz classics, though these were usually casually assembled items based on chord sequences of popular tunes. In terms of melodic skill, his recordings of ballads such as "Embraceable You" and "How Deep Is the Ocean" are even more revealing than his songs in the bebop style. Many other musicians imitated his playing, but his own achievements were unique. In the last five years of Parker's life he was unable to work steadily as a result of physical and mental illness. On March 4, 1955, he made his final public appearance; he died eight days later in New York City. For More Information Giddins, Gary. Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker. New York: Beech Tree Books, 1987. Reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1998. Reisner, Robert George. Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker. New York: Citadel Press, 1962. Reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1975. Russell, Ross. Bird Lives: The High Life and Hard Times of Charlie (Yardbird) Parker. New York: Charterhouse, 1973. Reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. Woideck, Carl. Charlie Parker: His Music and Life. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996. "Parker, Charlie." UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 28, 2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parker-charlie-0 "Parker, Charlie." UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. . Retrieved June 28, 2017 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parker-charlie-0 "Parker, Charlie." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 28, 2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/parker-charlie "Parker, Charlie." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. . Retrieved June 28, 2017 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/parker-charlie Parker, Charlie Bird Charlie Bird Parker (Charles Christopher Parker, Jr.), 1920–55, American musician and composer, b. Kansas City, Kans. He began playing alto saxophone in 1933 and, shifting from one band to another, eventually met Dizzy Gillespie in New York City. Becoming friends and collaborators, they formed a quintet, which in 1945 made the first bop (or bebop) records. Their technique and style led the jazz world away from big-band swing music, and made them the leaders of the bop movement. Parker's brilliant improvisations, noted for their power and beauty, soon earned the admiration of innumerable musicians. He composed several instrumental quartets and made many recordings. For many years Parker was addicted to drugs, which hastened his death. See biographies by B. Priestley (2006), S. Crouch (Vol. 1, 2013), and C. Haddix (2013); studies by G. Giddens (1987, repr. 1998, 2013) and L. O. Koch (1988). "Parker, Charlie Bird." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 28, 2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parker-charlie-bird "Parker, Charlie Bird." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Retrieved June 28, 2017 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parker-charlie-bird "Parker, Charlie." World Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 28, 2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parker-charlie "Parker, Charlie." World Encyclopedia. . Retrieved June 28, 2017 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parker-charlie

OKAYAMA, Japan, July 1 (UPI) -- Genetic anomalies tied with marijuana-activated brain chemicals appear linked to schizophrenia, Japanese researchers report. "This result provides genetic evidence that marijuana use can result in schizophrenia or a significantly increased risk of schizophrenia," lead researcher Hiroshi Ujike, a clinical psychiatrist at Okayama University, told United Press International. Schizophrenia is one of the greatest mental health challenges in the world, affecting roughly one of every 100 people and filling about a quarter of all hospital beds in the United States. For years, clinical scientists have known that abusing marijuana, also known as cannabis, can trigger hallucinations and delusions similar to symptoms often found in schizophrenia. Prior studies also show that cannabis used before age 18 raises the risk of schizophrenia six-fold. The hallucinogenic properties of marijuana, the researchers explained, are linked to a biochemical found abundantly in the brain. The chemical, called cannabinoid receptor protein, studs the surfaces of brain cells and latches onto the active chemical within marijuana known as THC. "These sites are where marijuana acts on the brain," Ujike said. Ujike and his team examined the gene for the marijuana receptor in 121 Japanese patients with schizophrenia and an average age of 44. When they compared this gene in schizophrenics with the same gene in 148 normal men and woman of the same average age, they found distinct abnormalities in DNA sequences called nucleotides among the schizophrenics. Some of their nucleotides in the marijuana receptor gene appeared significantly more often than normal while others appeared less frequency. "This finding is the first to report a potential abnormality of the cannabinoid system in schizophrenia," said clinical neuroscientist Carol Tamminga at the University of Maryland in College Park. "The importance of a finding here cannot be overstated, in that it would form a tissue target for drug development and allow targeted treatments to emerge for the illness." It appears malfunctions in the brain's marijuana-linked circuitry may make one vulnerable to schizophrenia, Ujike said. This holds especially true for a condition called hebephrenic schizophrenia, which is marked by deterioration of personality, senseless laughter, disorganized thought and lack of motivation. These symptoms are similar to psychotic behavior sometimes triggered by severe cannabis abuse, which could mean the marijuana receptors in schizophrenics are far more active than they should be. Ujike stressed there is no evidence yet these genetic abnormalities can affect how the marijuana receptor actually acts in the brain. "We would also like to replicate our findings with different ethnic populations and more people," he added. The researchers described their findings in the scientific journal Molecular Psychiatry. (Reported by Charles Choi, UPI Science News, in New York) |Additional Science News Stories| WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) --The Senate Wednesday shot down Rand Paul's amendment to the U.S. immigration reform bill that would have tied immigrants' legal status to border security. LOS ANGELES, June 19 (UPI) --U.S. singer and actress Selena Gomez and British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran are now involved in a trans-Atlantic romance, Us Weekly reports. BALTIMORE, June 19 (UPI) --The U.S. arm of a Russian software firm says it's created a database to help Baltimore police track down private surveillance video that may help solve crimes.

The First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act, tabled in Parliament yesterday, is an attempt to create the illusion of First Nations control over education. At the same time it maintains — in the spirit of Canadian colonial lawmaking — an unfettered discretion accruing to the minister and granting him or her with sweeping power and control over a variety of educational matters. The FNCFNEA is selling enticements of "control" while perpetuating the denial and the existence of inherent and treaty rights (ie. jurisdiction) of indigenous peoples. - Aboriginal education bill meets First Nations conditions: Bernard Valcourt - OPINION: Shawn Atleo: First Nations Education Act 'must act as a bridge' by Chief Shawn Atleo - ANALYSIS: Is the First Nations education bill good for parents and kids? by Wab Kinew - Visit CBC Aboriginal The complicating factor in this case is that the illusion of First Nations control over education is being supported by Shawn Atleo, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and a handful of AFN member community leaders. Support for the bill by the national chief however is immaterial given the AFN does not hold decision-making powers that bind community decision-makers. Self-determination denied in bill's current form Indigenous peoples living in the successor state of Canada (with or without treaties), have rights of self-determination, recognized under international law and are blatantly denied in the current form of this bill. This is evidenced by the fact that the minister maintains an "Indian agent" role and can take control of a community education program based on performance outcomes that are not determined by our communities, but by standards developed within provincial education systems that we have historically had no input in developing. This is problematic if you believe, like me, that as self-determining indigenous peoples, we hold the right to design and implement opportunities to develop the potential of our children and young people based on our own criteria and based on the priorities of our unique societies and cultures. 'Only through the development of our own education systems based in our indigenous pedagogy and ways of being will our students thrive in a school system.' - Chief Derek Nepinak Some might say that this can be accomplished within the provisions of the bill. However, it is important to recognize that building an education system based on our languages and our cultural practices would not yield results that could be easily measured based on criteria and priorities identified by provincial education systems. There is evidence through multiple research studies and reports that western provincial school systems have failed our children. Only through the development of our own education systems based in our indigenous pedagogy and ways of being will our students thrive in a school system. A good life for our children is still the goal of our families as indigenous peoples. As such, benchmarks of success in western education systems are incidental to building a beautiful indigenous life experience. What does it really mean to address parity in funding? Much has been made of the $1.9-billion investment and the lifting of the "funding cap" that forms part of the enticement package of the bill. The pursuit of parity in education opportunity for our young people requires significantly more than a partial funding of a historical inequity that has existed for decades. Real commitment to addressing the funding gap would start with a quantification of the real and current deficit in investment to establish a starting point for discussions on investments needed. It would also include an immediate implementation of the decision, opposed to a delayed implementation. The current state of the funding mechanism as enticement to the bill is nothing more than a campaign promise — a campaign promise of the same nature that this government and its bureaucracy call "corruption" when local leadership make spending promises in Indian Act election campaigns. It is also quite possible, based on past practice, that the Conservatives are buying time to find other existing Indian Act programs or services to cut funding from in order to raise the capital to fund the promise. 'Man-made funding crisis' It should not be forgotten that successive generations of children from our communities have been subjected to a man-made funding crisis made all the more damaging by a failure to acknowledge the population boom that we are experiencing within our families and communities. The choice to enter into provincial agreements was not really a choice at all if communities wanted to provide our children with basic instruction and hire teachers at competitive wages. The new bill has been touted as an enhancement or strengthening of provincial agreements, when the reality is that many of our communities had no choice but to make a provincial agreement. 'The use of laws and policies to push outcomes on indigenous families and communities is part of an assimilation agenda that gave rise to the residential school and today's child welfare system.' - Derek Nepinak There is a long history of colonial lawmakers in Canada creating laws and policies in the pursuit of making indigenous peoples more like them. This is evidenced by those who say we need to "close the gap" on education outcomes because it demonstrates an effort to push our children towards only one marker of educational accomplishment as set by others. The use of laws and policies to push outcomes on indigenous families and communities is part of an assimilation agenda that gave rise to the residential school and today's child welfare system. The assimilation agenda finds its strength in discrimination and claims to racial superiority that are systemic problems in our relationship with Canadian governments. This new bill is not a departure from that age-old problem; it continues to affirm it.

North American Cooperation on Energy On February 12, 2016, energy leaders from Canada, Mexico and the United States met for the North American Energy Ministers Meeting. During the meeting, the energy leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Climate Change and Energy Collaboration. The MoU provides the framework for Canada, Mexico and the United States to collaborate and share information across six key areas: - Sharing experience and knowledge in the development of reliable, resilient and low-carbon electricity grids; - Modelling, deploying and accelerating the innovation of clean energy technologies, including renewables; - Exchanging information in order to improve energy efficiency for equipment, appliances, industries and buildings, including energy management systems; - Exchanging information and promoting joint action to advance the deployment of carbon capture, use and storage; - Identifying trilateral activities to further climate change adaptation and resilience; and, - Sharing best practices and seeking methods to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector, including methane and black carbon. Following the signing of this agreement in Winnipeg, the Ministers met again in Houston in late February to discuss a joint action plan of short- and long-term deliverables. Officials from the three countries were tasked at that time with launching short-term clean energy projects within the first 100 days. These include expanding clean electricity, improving industrial energy management systems such as ISO 50001 and working through the Mission Innovation initiative to accelerate the development of clean energy technologies. This work by Mexico, the United States and Canada will also support the North American Leaders’ Summit in Ottawa on June 29, 2016. Natural Resources Canada Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) Report a problem or mistake on this page - Date modified:

Professor Gabriel Sawma The United States severed diplomatic and consular relations with the Government of Iran on April 7, 1980 as a result of the events surrounding the seizure of our Embassy in Tehran, Iran on November 4, 1979. In April of 1980, the United States Government formally asked the Swiss Government if it would assume diplomatic and consular representation of the United States in Iran. The Swiss agreed to perform specific consular and administrative functions o behalf of the U.S. Government. One of the major problems facing the U.S. is parental kidnapping of American children to Iran. Iran is not signatory to The Hague Convention on Child Abduction, and the Iranian government has placed strict limits on the ability of Swiss diplomats to intervene in cases involving parental kidnaping of American children to Iran. The Iranian government placed restrictions because they do not recognize the concept of dual nationality and therefore, when one parent is an Iranian citizen, consider the children involved to be Iranian citizens only. Consequently, removing kidnaped children from Iran would be considered kidnapping under Iranian law. Fear of Potential Abduction In many instances, the wife fears that the Iranian husband may kidnap the children to Iran without her knowledge. One of the first steps is to notify the Department of State’s Office of Legal Assistance and Citizenship Appeals at (202) 326-6178. The Office can block the issuance of a U.S. passport in the child’s name upon submission of a court order giving the wife sole custody or prohibiting the child’s departure from the U.S. without permission of the court. That office can also tell whether the spouse has already applied for and obtained a passport for the child. However, if a passport has already been issued for the child, that office cannot revoke the passport or prevent its use. For more information, see this ink: http://www.passportsusa.com/family/abduction/country/country_498.html (accessed June 3, 2016). Iran Does Not Recognize Dual Citizenship A child born of an Iranian father is considered Iranian citizen according to Iranian law, and could travel abroad with Iranian passport without the consent of the mother. The U.S. State Department can do nothing to prevent the issuance of an Iranian passport by the Iranian Interests Section of the Embassy of Pakistan. The address and telephone number of the Iranian Interest Section of the Embassy of Pakistan, Tel. (202) 965-4990. See this link: http://www.daftar.org/Eng/default.asp?lang=eng (accessed June 3, 2016). American Women Marrying Iranian Men Need Permission to Leave Iran American women who marry Iranian nationals, gain Iranian nationality. The woman’s U.S. passport will be confiscated by the Iranian authorities. American women may not leave the country without permission from their husbands. The U.S. Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran can provide only very little assistance if an American married to an Iranian man face marital difficulties and/or encounters difficulty in leaving Iran. Iran Does Not Recognize U.S. Custody Orders Custody orders issued by U.S. courts are not recognized or enforced by the government of Iran. When a child is abducted to Iran, it becomes near impossible to bring him or her back to the United States without the full support and consent of the father. All cases involving marriage, divorce, and custody of children in Iran are governed under the jurisdiction of religious courts, which do not grant custody of children to a parent who lives outside of Iran and who will not raise them within the Islamic faith. Article 1169 of the Civil Code of Iran states that the mother has custody of a male child until he reaches the age of two, after which, custody goes to the father. As to girls, the mother retains custody of her daughter until she reaches the age of seven, after which the custody goes to the father. If the mother becomes insane or remarries another man during the time that she has custody to the children, the custody will go to the father. If the court determines that the father is unfit to raise the children, their custody may be granted to the paternal grandfather or to the mother, if the mother has not renounced her Iranian citizenship and is resident of Iran. If the court grants custody to the mother, she will need permission from the paternal grandfather or from the court to obtain exit visas for the children, under the age of eighteen, to leave the country. The Supremacy of Islamic Law in Iran The form of government of Iran is that of an Islamic republic, based on the “Qur’anic justice.” (Article 1 of the Iranian Constitution). The supremacy of Islamic law in Iran is confirmed in various provisions of the 1979 constitution. Article 4 states: “All civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulation must be based on Islamic criteria. This principle applies absolutely and generally to all articles of the constitution as well as to all other laws and regulations, and fuqaha’ of the Guardian Council are judges in this matter.” This means that the family law of Iran is based strictly on Islamic Shari’a for the Muslim community in that country. It also means that Islamic Shari’a is superior to any foreign or international law, including international human rights treaties. Article 21 of the Iranian constitution states: “The government must ensure the right of women in all respect in conformity with Islamic criteria [mawazin-e-eslami]”. This makes Islamic Shari’a superior to the freedom of women that are guaranteed by international treaties. Under Islamic Shari’a, girls could be married off against their will by male marriage guardians. Women are required to be monogamous, whereas men are allowed to have up to four wives at a time. Wives owed obedience to their husbands, who were entitled to keep them at home and to beat them and to withhold maintenance for disobedience. Husbands could terminate marriages at their discretion simply by stating a divorce formula such as “I divorce you”, or “I divorce my wife”, or “my wife is divorced”, whereas wives needed to overcome difficult hurdle to obtain a divorce over their husband’s objections. Men have superiority over women in the area of guardianship, in which they enjoy great power as guardians over minors. The government of Iran encourage early marriages for girls by lowering the minimum age for marriage from eighteen to nine. According to the Islamic Republic Civil Code, the legal age of marriage in Iran is thirteen years for girls and fifteen for boys. However, the Iranian parliament’s legal affairs committee made several statements arguing that the Islamic Republic is attempting to lower the girl marriage age to nine with a permission from the judge. So, even though the above-mentioned marriage is illegal based on Iran’s civil code, the religious authorities allowed it. In the area of succession, women got one-half the share of males who inherited in a similar capacity. Iran Did Not Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) CEDAW, or Treaty for the Rights of women, was adopted by the United Nations in 1979, and is the most comprehensive international agreement on the basic human rights of women. The treaty provides an international standard for protecting and promoting women’s human rights and is often referred to as a “Bill of Rights” for women. It is the only international instrument that comprehensively addresses women’s rights within political, civil, cultural, economic, and social life. Article 5 of CEDAW requires modifying social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of the sexes or stereotyped roles for men and women. As of December 2014, 188 countries ratified CEDAW. So far Iran is not a signatory to the CEDAW due to a resistance from the Guardian Council. In 2003 the Iranian parliament ratified the treaty, but then it was vetoed by the Guardian Council. Iran Entered Reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) The CRC is aimed at fostering improvement in the situation of children and protecting their interests. Upon signing the CRC, Iran had indicated that it would reserve to CRC articles and provisions “which may be contrary to the Islamic Shariah,” preserving the right to make such particular declaration upon ratification. Upon ratification on July 13, 1994, Iran entered a reservation saying: “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right not to apply any provisions or articles of the Convention that are incompatible with Islamic Laws and the international legislation in effect.” By entering reservations in this manner to CRC, Iran is left free to decide that any or all articles of the CRC should not be applied. The addition of an indication that Iran was reserving to the CRC in cases where it was incompatible with “the international legislation in effect” meant that Iran does not abide by international law but rather the Islamic documents that were put forward by the Organization of Islamic Conference and endorsed by Iran, such as the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights, which in essence subordinates international human rights to Islamic Shari’a. Gabriel Sawma is a lawyer with Middle East background, and a recognized authority on Islamic law of marriage, divorce and custody of children, Hindu marital disputes in U.S. courts, and Iran divorce in USA. · Professor: Middle East Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University. · Lawyer with Middle East Background; Graduated from the Lebanese University, school of law. · Admitted to the Lebanese Bar Association of Beirut. · Practiced law in Beirut. · Nominated to be a judge in Lebanon, Lebanese Judicial Studies. · Supervised contracts in Europe and the Middle East. · Travelled extensively to the Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates. · Worked in Saudi Arabia. · Expert consultant on Islamic law. · Expert consultant on Islamic divorce in USA. · Expert consultant on mahr agreements in Islamic marriage contracts. · Expert consultant on Islamic finance. Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University Taught the following courses: · Arabic 1001, Fall 2007, Spring 2008 · Arabic 1002, Spring 2008 · Arab Culture and Civilization, Fall 2009 · Arab-Islamic Culture and Civilization, Fall 2011 · Near East as Source of Western Culture · Middle East Constitutional Law – comparative study, including Islamic law of marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance Lecturer on Islamic Finance at the University of Liverpool: Course taught at Mercer Community College, West Windsor, New Jersey, Fall 2011. · Arabic 101 Professor of Arabic 101 at Princeton Adult School in Princeton, NJ (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) Lecturer on Islamic Shari’a and its sources. See my lecture at Fairleigh Dickinson University to students and faculty: Expert Consultant on Muslim family laws of the Middle East, Central and southeast Asia, Africa, and India. Expert Consultant of Islamic divorce in USA, see our website at: Featured on the BBC as, “Expert Consultant on Islamic divorce in USA.” The interview is posted on BBC’s website: Featured on CNN as “Professor and Expert Consultant on Islamic sharia law.” The interview is posted on CNN’s website: Editor in chief of a blog on International Law, mainly Islamic law of marriage, divorce and custody of children: Won A Landmark Case In New York Involving Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Judgment including custody, and securing a mahr of $250,000 for the client In 2012, the Supreme Court of Westchester County handed down a decision in favor of my client. The court recognized a divorce decree obtained from Abu Dhabi (UAE), including custody of children and recognizing a mahr agreement of $250,000. The entire court order is available on this link: http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2012/2012-ny-slip-op-51875-u.html The Appellate Division Affirms On January 20, 2015, the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, issued a ruling, in which the Court affirmed the decision of the lower Court. The decision of the Appellate Division is available on this link: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/calendar/webcal/decisions/2016/D47647.pdf Won A Landmark Case Involving Custody of Children Saudi Arabia’s Shari’a Court issued a custody order against a U.S. citizen woman who was married to a Saudi husband. The husband obtained a court judgment from Saudi Arabia granting him custody of his two daughters. The Court in Allegheny, Pennsylvanian agreed with our argument that Saudi Arabia does not have jurisdiction, and the custody order violates Pennsylvania public policy and that Saydi Arabia is in violation to international human rights treaties. The court order is not published yet, but I have a copy at request. Once published, I will post the link online. For more information on Abduction of children or fear of abduction to Muslim majority countries, please see our website at: www.gabrielsawma.blogspot.com Author of dozens of articles dealing with Islamic divorce in USA and on International Law: Most of these articles can be found on our website at, http://www.gabrielsawma.blogspot.com Following is a partial list of my articles on Islamic and Hindu Divorces: · Iraqi Divorce in U.S. Courts · Yemeni Divorce and U.S. Immigration · Egyptian Divorce and U.S. Immigration · Palestinian Islamic Divorce of West Bank in USA · Saudi Divorce in USA · Saudi Divorce and U.S. Immigration · Saudi Arabian Child Custody Cases in USA · Pakistani Divorce and U.S. Immigration · Muslim Divorce in Tunisia · Muslim Divorce in Bangladesh · Marriage of Minors in Islam · The Iddat of a Woman in Islam · Muslim Men Marrying Non-Muslim Women · The Law of Marriage and Divorce in the United Arab Emirates · Islamic Syrian Divorce in USA · Islamic Yemeni Divorce in USA · Islamic Jordanian Divorce in USA · Recognition of Hindu Divorces in New York State · Islamic Divorce in New York State · The Khul’ Divorce in Egypt · Islamic Women Divorce Laws in Egypt · Muslim Iranian Divorce in USA · Pakistani Islamic Divorce in U.S. Courts · Islamic Lebanese Divorce in USA · Islamic Marriage Over the Phone, an interview with BBC, (see above) · Islamic Sharia in Theory and Practice, a Lecture at FDU, (see above) · Divorce in Egypt, an interview with CNN, (see above) · Annulment of Islamic Marriages · The Wali (guardian) in Islamic Marriages According to Hanafi Jurisprudence · Islamic Marriage Contracts in the Hanafi Jurisprudence · The Jihaz in Islamic Marriages · The Nafaqa in Islamic Marriage · The Mahr in Islamic Marriage Contracts · Indian Divorce in US Courts · Application of Islamic Sharia in US Courts · Abduction of children to Muslim Majority Countries · Abduction of American children to Saudi Arabia · Abduction of American Children to Jordan · Abduction of American Children to Iran Wrote extensively on International law in the area of the European Union Law. Following are excerpts: § Supremacy of the European Union Law, http://gabrielsawma.blogspot.com/2005/03/supremacy-of-european-union-law.html § Limitations on the Effectiveness of Trademark Laws in the European Union, Case Study, http://gabrielsawma.blogspot.com/2005/04/limitations-on-effectiveness-of.html § Doing Business in the Arabian Gulf, http://gabrielsawma.blogspot.com/2005/05/doing-business-in-arabian-gulf-region.html § Islamic divorce in U.S. courts, http://www.phillyimc.org/en/islamic-divorce-us-courts § Prohibition of interest in Islamic banking and finance, http://searchwarp.com/swa615826-Prohibition-Of-Interest-In-Islamic-Banking-And-Finance.htm § the Scope of Immunity for Heads of States under International Law, http://searchwarp.com/swa65501.htm § Do sanctions on Iran Work, http://gabrielsawma.blogspot.com/search/label/Nuclear%20threat § The provision in Islamic marriage contract, http://searchwarp.com/swa521011-The-Mahr-Provision-In-Islamic-Marriage-Contracts.htm § Application of Islamic shari’a in U.S. courts, http://gabrielsawma.blogspot.com/2008/06/application-of-islamic-sharia-in-us.html § Muslim brotherhood and the Middle East Upheaval, http://miami.indymedia.org/news/2011/04/22114.php Partial List of my Articles on International Law: · The Shebaa Farms Under International Law · The Nigerian Scam and its Impact on Global Economy · Public International Law and Organizations Speak, read and write: Arabic, English, French, Syriac, Biblical and Talmudic Aramaic 1. Admitted to the Lebanese Bar Association of Beirut since 1970 2. Former Associate Member of the New York Bar Association, 1982 3. Former Associate Member of the American Bar Association, 2003 Gabriel M. Sawma Cell (609) 915-2237

of Harmful Algal Blooms A common theory is that humans have added nutrients to the water that produce harmful algal blooms. However, the causes are not that simple and there is no evidence in literature to prove that reducing fertilizer use or removing septic tanks have ever reduced the likelihood of the proliferation of an algal bloom. Surface waters reflect watershed condition but they are also subject to the considerable influence of the bottom sediment, where nutrients hide. Invasive plant and animal species, which include algae and microbes, are constantly being introduced to surface water and they also have a dramatic impact on the condition of surface water proliferate in warm temperatures and stagnant water but nuisance conditions are not limited by temperature and water flow. They’re opportunistic organisms, and extreme weather events like record high temperatures, drought, or flooding or man-made changes to the environment may exacerbate their growth. Increasingly, pets, livestock, wildlife, and crops are more at risk from exposure to algal blooms, but this can be avoided. Dr. John H. Rodgers, Director of the Ecotoxicology Program at Clemson University, and a pioneer in the study of harmful algal blooms says, “Having a plan to address algal blooms is the best way to protect pets, livestock, fish, wildlife, and humans. The “do nothing” solution is not an option and avoiding the water is a poor option.” Cyanobacteria and Health Effects Many harmful algal blooms are produced by cyanobacteria (aka “blue-green algae”), a photosynthetic bacteria that can produce toxins. Cyanobacteria can produce liver toxins, neurotoxins, and endotoxins. Fresh water diatoms, golden algae and some brown algae also produce toxins. Symptoms in humans and animals include muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, paralysis, cardiac or respiratory difficulty, and liver failure. Death for fish, wildlife or animals can occur within hours or days. to Pets and Livestock Drinking from ponds showing signs of a harmful algal bloom may prove fatal to pets, horses and livestock. Dr. Rodgers investigated an Angus cattle kill in North Georgia. Dr. Rodgers reports that the cattle were drinking from a farm pond and died from microcystins that were in the water. Unfortunately, cattle and dogs willingly drink water affected by harmful algal blooms and even eat algae mats. Dogs are also put at risk when exposed to cyanobacteria after licking their fur after swimming in the water. to Fish and Wildlife Fish can also be susceptible to harmful algal blooms, especially in aquaculture. Dr. Rodgers noted an aquaculture farmer in Mississippi who lost one million fish in a day due to a harmful algal bloom. The associated cost for the farmer was $1 million. Cyanotoxins can even affect marine mammals. Dr. Melissa Miller of California’s Department of Fish and Game was lead author of a paper documenting the death of 21 southern sea otters. Dr. Miller reported that the otters died of microcystin poisoning after eating shellfish with concentrated levels of the toxin. A freshwater lake a mile inland was affected by a blue-green algal bloom, and tributaries carried cyanobacteria to Monterey Bay. to Do in Case of Exposure For humans and domestic animals, get away from the water quickly. Get medical help as soon as possible. Preventing Exposure to Algal Toxins With early intervention and actively managing the situation, a potential algal bloom can be prevented altogether. Dr. Rodgers notes that “Dead algae don’t produce toxins.” Quickly - When a problem appears, early detection and rapid response are critical and water resource managers, including farmers and city officials, must be observant. A successful short-term response uses algaecides to kill the algae. Copper-based formulations such as Cutrine ® Ultra or Algimycin® Algaecides have been proven to kill algae and cyanobacteria by interfering with enzyme production. Non-copper formulations like Phycomycin® Algaecide are oxidizers, and quickly get to work, destroying the cell walls. A great way to determine which product to use is The Algal Challenge Test, which looks at the most effective algaecide to control algal concentration, while using the least amount, a prescriptive water management approach. Harmful Algae Blooms with a Registered Dye Aquashade® Aquatic Plant Growth Control is EPA registered to control cyanobacteria. |An Algal Challenge Test done on Pawnee Reservoir in Nebraskasuccessfully predicted a treatment of Cutrine® Ultra Algaecide ontoxin-producing algae. monitoring and treat early – Waters that are prone to harmful algal blooms require proactive management that includes post-treatment monitoring and follow-up treatments. A diligent lake and pond management program will help reduce the risk of future harmful algal blooms affecting pets

Civil War Tech This History Classroom documentary examines the improvements in weapons, sea power, transportation, troop conveyance, food processing, medical care, and telecommunications during the Civil War. 60-minute runtime; two-year copyright clearance. May 28 at 6:00 AM ET/PT Related Tools & Resources This History Classroom documentary examines the weapons, clothing, transportation, and tools employed on the Civil War's western front. Round-up of History resources on the Civil War includes video clips, articles, photo galleries, and more. This interactive from History.com commemorates the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and highlights the people, places, events, and technologies on both sides of the conflict. This History Classroom program examines the biggest and bloodiest battle of the Civil War and probes the war's impact on the citizens of Gettysburg. This episode of Modern Marvels explores the manufacturing process behind scary masks and candy corn as well as takes a look at extreme jack-o-lanterns.

A communication aid helps a person to communicate more effectively with those around them. These aids range from simple letter boards to sophisticated pieces of computer equipment. If you're absolutely new to the subject of communication aids, this article gives a brief and basic overview: Communication charts, books etc Effective communication for the non-speaker can often be achieved by pointing with a finger or the eyes to words, photos and symbols contained in communication books, charts and boards. A major plus is that they can be used in any environment. An example of a communication book, shown above, was created by a child's parents and carers. It consists of a number of pages containing words and symbols that have been grouped together in topics - toys, bathtime, meals etc. It takes careful planning for such a system to be really effective, so the ACE Centre have written a guide to developing communication books. Words and symbols It’s not essential for the user to be able to read text in order to use a communication aid. Many aids present the user with symbols which can relate a full range of spoken vocabulary. There are many types of symbol 'vocabularies' - some fairly pictorial (like the example here), and some fairly abstract. It's fairly common to use show the word along with it's related symbol in order to avoid ambiguity. Communication aids that speak These aids use two types of 'voice' - artificial or pre-recorded - to speak letters, words or phrases that the user has chosen. By artificial, we mean computer-generated speech which, thankfully, is nowhere near as robotic as it used to be. You can listen to samples of the sort of voices that are available at Sensory Software's website. Nearly all speaking communication aids can play back pre-recorded speech which, as it's name suggests, consists of single words or phrases that have been recorded by a human speaking into a microphone (usually on the aid itself). Types of speaking communication aid In theory, even a speaking birthday card is a form of communication aid, but in practice the simplest speaking aids are sturdy battery-powered devices whose single message lasts for a few seconds and can be re-recorded as many times as needed by speaking into a microphone built into the unit. These straightforward aids are invaluable for passing messages and teaching cause & effect. In the picture on the left, a child is using a single-message device to join in the reading of a book that has a repeated phrase in its text. More complex speaking aids tend to have their words and phrases stored in 'levels'. The aid on the left appears to have just four messages that are spoken by pressing the large touchpads. In fact it has 20 stored messages - the two small green arrow buttons at the top of the aid can jump between five 'levels', each containing four messages. Each time a new level is selected, a different paper overlay containing the relevant set of four symbols has to be inserted. When hundreds of words need to be available, paper overlays become impractical. This is where the more expensive high-tech communication aids step in - many display their message 'buttons' on touchscreens, rather than paper overlays. The screen can change at the press of a finger to reveal a new screen containing a different set of messages. These high-tech talking devices (an example is pictured on the left) have much more to offer than just a 'dynamic' screen, however. Some are modified notebook or handheld computers, and offer all the advantages and features that you would expect from such machines (internet, email, word processing etc). Others have been purposely built for the job. All, however, have three things in common - they offer hundreds (if not thousands) of spoken messages, they run specialised communication software, and they primarily use artificial speech. The example pictured here is typical of such aids in that it has a colour touchscreen, communication software to suit a wide range of abilities, onscreen 'keyboards' for literate users, plus the capability to control other equipment such as a mobile phone, a computer, and environmental devices (doors, TV, etc). Prices are generally in the thousands. Using a communication aid There are a suprising number of ways to operate these aids. The most obvious method to access the stored speech is by pressing buttons or a touchscreen on the aid to trigger a spoken word or message, but this might not be possible for individuals with physical disabilities. Switches and other specialised equipment are available that allow access through any controllable movement of the body. And that’s not just limb movement, it includes head control, sucking and blowing - even eye movement alone. But just how do you select a message with a switch? With single-message aids it's straightforward - plug in a switch, and press it. For aids with, say, four messages, there's usually a facility where the aid will automatically 'scan' the message buttons one-by-one, highlighting them in turn with a light above or around each button. When the indicator light for the required message is lit, the user hits the switch to select it. In the picture above, two switches are being used - the first switch moves the highlighter across the messages, and the second switch selects the message. These scanning methods also work with touchscreen-based communication aids, but here the messages, words or letters can be arranged in a grid. You can see this sort of scanning in action at www.switchscanning.org.uk. This opens up all sorts of scanning possibilities, especially if two switches are used. There's some great video clips of such 'alternative' access at www.assistiveware.com/videos.php Choosing a communication aid It's asolutely vital that an assessment is carried out before a communication aid is chosen, and we're not saying that to drum up business for ourselves! It's essential to build up an accurate picture of a person's abilities before trying to identify a suitable communication aid. We believe that this is best done through a multidisciplinary assessment, where variables such as seating, mobility, access, motivation, educational needs and cognitive levels are all taken into account. It also makes sense to try out a communication aid before making a decision about purchase. Sometimes the children that we assess trial quite a few aids from our extensive loan library of equipment before making a final decision. Their skills change over time too - as does technology - so the suitability of an aid needs to be regularly reviewed. Once a communication aid has been purchased, everyone involved with the children - teachers, carers, therapists - will need to know how to use the aid suitably and effectively, and here we can offer help through our training service. Communication aids of any flavour come under the umbrella term of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). You might also hear of talking communication aids being referred to as Speech Output Devices or sometimes as VOCAs (Voice Output Communication Aids).

Indiana Department of Education, Office of Special Education All students, including those with disabilities, are held to high expectations and have equitable access to educational opportunities that enrich their lives and prepare them for future success. Office of Special Education Website. The division provides leadership and support for public school gifted and talented K-12 programs and for students with disabilities from ages 3-21. The division ensures that Indiana is in compliance with the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act through monitoring of special education programs, oversight of community and residential programs, provision of mediation and due process rights, and sound fiscal management. Special Education Laws in Indiana - Article 7 English | Spanish - Navigating the Course: Help for Indiana’s Special Education Rules English | Spanish - Alternative Education - Instruction for Students Requiring Homebound Instruction - Accessibility and Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment Resource Guide and Toolkit Procedural Safeguards and Parent Rights - Indiana Compilation of School Discipline Laws and Regulations - Notice of Procedural Safeguards and Parent Rights in Special Education English | Spanish - Differences Between Certificate of Incapacity and Physician's Statement - Indiana Complaint, Hearing, and Mediation Process

If Alice wants to secure her home, she could buy high-quality locks and install several of them on her door. However, a clever burglar might simply unscrew the hinges, remove the door and walk away with all of Alice's valuables with minimal effort. This example of an indirect attack on household security is somewhat artificial but there exists a parallel in the world of encryption that is quite real. It is called the timing attack and it has been used to defeat some of the most popular encryption techniques. Do you think your computer system is secure because you use strong cryptography? Do you know attackers may be able to attack your cryptography in a completely unexpected direction without directly breaking the cryptographic algorithm? RSA is a public key cryptographic algorithm that is widely used today to secure electronic data transfer. It is included as part of the Web browsers from Microsoft and Netscape and is used by the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) which provides security and privacy over the internet. The RSA algorithm was invented by the team of Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman at MIT in 1978. Independently, Cliff Cocks discovered the same idea in the early 1970's . A public key cryptosystem uses a one way function that is easy to compute in one direction and hard to compute in the reverse direction. For example, it is relatively easy to generate two prime numbers p, q and compute their product N = pq. But given N it is difficult to find its factors p and q. Encryption uses a public value, or key, which is distributed and known to anyone who wants to send a message. Decryption involves a related private key which is kept secret by the intended recipient and cannot be deduced from the public key. Public key cryptography works without requiring both parties involved to keep an agreed upon secret; the private key never needs to be sent to the sender. RSA's public key includes a number N which is the product of two large prime numbers p, q. The strength of RSA comes from the fact that factoring large numbers is difficult. The best-known factoring methods are still very slow. For example, in a recent RSA challenge (August 1999), a 512-bit RSA challenge number was factored using 292 workstations and high-speed computers. The factoring took 35.7 CPU-years to accomplish which is equivalent to approximately 80,000 MIPS years. The feat required 3.7 months of calendar time . Because so many people have been trying to find efficient ways to factor large numbers, so far without great success, we can probably assume that RSA is safe from a factoring attack for a typical key N of 1024 bits in length. RSA can be made more secure against factoring by increasing the key length to 2048 bits or more. Despite this formidable mathematical strength, research has shown that it is feasible to recover RSA private keys without directly breaking RSA. This type of attack is known as a “timing attack” in which an attacker observes the running time of a cryptographic algorithm and thereby deduces the secret parameter involved in the operations. While it is generally agreed that RSA is secure from a direct attack, RSA’s vulnerability to timing attacks is not so well known and often overlooked. This paper explains the principles of timing attacks on RSA, summarizes the results of timing attacks implemented by various researchers, and discusses defenses against such attacks. Kocher was the first to discuss timing attacks. At the RSA Data Security and CRYPTO conferences in 1996, Kocher presented his preliminary result, warned vendors about his attack, and caught the attention of cryptographers including the inventors of the RSA cryptosystem. Timing attacks are a form of “side channel attack” where an attacker gains information from the implementation of a cryptosystem rather than from any inherent weakness in the mathematical properties of the system. Unintended channels of information arise due to the way an operation is performed or the media used. Side channel attacks exploit information about timing, power consumption, electromagnetic emanations or even sound to recover secret information about a cryptosystem . Timing attacks exploit the timing variations in cryptographic operations. Because of performance optimizations, computations performed by a cryptographic algorithm often take different amounts of time depending on the input and the value of the secret parameter. If RSA private key operations can be timed reasonably accurately, in some cases statistical analysis can be applied to recover the secret key involved in the computations. Before discussing timing attacks on RSA, we must first consider the mathematics of the cryptosystem. RSA is a public key cryptosystem that uses a public exponent e for encryption and a private exponent d for decryption. It uses a modulus N which is a product of two large prime numbers p and q , i.e., N = pq. The exponents e and d must be chosen to satisfy the condition ed = 1 mod (p - 1)(q - 1). Then the RSA key pair consists of the public key (N, e) and the private key d. For example, if we select two prime numbers p = 11 and q = 3, then N = 11 * 3 = 33. Now compute (p - 1)(q - 1) = 10 * 2 = 20 and choose a value e relatively prime to 20, say 3. Then d has to be chosen such that ed = 1 mod 20. One possible value for d is 7 since 3 * 7 = 21 = 1 mod 20. So we get the public key (N= 33, e= 3) and the corresponding private key d = 7. We discard the original factors p, q. Factoring breaks RSA because if an attacker can factor N into p and q, she can use the public value e to easily find the private value d. To encrypt a plaintext message M, we compute C = Me mod N, where C is the encoded message, or ciphertext. To decrypt the ciphertext C, we compute M = Cd mod N, which yields the original message M. Continue with our previous example where the public key (N= 33, e= 3) and the private key d = 7. Suppose we want to send a message M = 19. Encryption generates an encoded message C =Me mod N = 193 mod 33 = 28. The sender would send the encrypted message C = 28. To decrypt message C, the receiver uses the private key d and computes Cd mod N = 287 mod 33 = 19, which must be the original message M. The decryption works thanks to a result from number theory known as Euler’s Theorem . Another use of RSA is to generate digital signatures which serve to verify the source of the message. Signing uses the private key d and is the same mathematical operation as decrypting. The receiver uses the public key e and performs an encryption operation to verify the signature. The operation in RSA that involves the private key is thus the modular exponentiation M = Cd mod N, where N is the RSA modulus, C is the text to decrypt or sign, and d is the private key. The attacker’s goal is to find d. For a timing attack, the attacker needs to have the target system compute Cd mod N for several carefully selected values of C. By precisely measuring the amount of time required and analyzing the timing variations, the attacker can recover the private key d one bit at a time until the entire exponent is known. As Kocher explained, the attack is in essence a signal detection problem. The “signal” consists of the timing variation caused by the target exponent bit, while the “noise” consists of the inaccuracies in the timing measurements and the random fluctuations in timing, particularly over a network. The number of timing samples required is thus determined by the properties of the signal and noise. In any case, the required sample size is proportional to the number of bits in the exponent d . As there are only a limited number of bits in the private exponent d, the attack is computationally practical. x = C for j = 1 to n x = mod(x2, N) if dj == 1 then x = mod(xC, N) end if next j return x Figure 1: Square and multiply algorithm. The modular exponentiation in RSA consists of a large number raised to a large exponent which is a time consuming operation. A simple and efficient algorithm for computing Cd mod N is the square and multiply algorithm as shown in Figure 1, where d = d0d1…dn in binary, with d0 = 1. For example, an exponent value of 20 is 10100 in binary. Without leading zeros, d0 is always 1. Notice that 20 can be built up one bit at a time from the left to right as (0, 1, 10, 101, 1010, 10100) = (0, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20). In other words, the exponent 20 can be constructed by a series of steps, where in each step, we double the number by shifting one bit to the left, and add 1 if the next binary bit is 1. To build up 20, the steps are 1 = 0 * 2 + 1 2 = 1 * 2 5 = 2 * 2 + 1 10 = 5 * 2 20 = 10 * 2. Now suppose we want to compute 520 mod 33, an efficient way would involve squaring which in effect doubles the exponent, and multiplying which is equivalent to adding 1 to the exponent. This is how the square and multiply algorithm works. 51 = (50)2 * 51 = 5 mod 52 = (51)2 = 52 = 25 mod 33 55 = (52)2 * 51 = 252 * 5 = 3125 = 23 mod 33 510 = (55)2 = 232 = 529 = 1 mod 33 520 = (510)2 = 12 = 1 mod 33 Typical RSA implementations use the Montgomery algorithm to perform the multiplication and the square operations. With the Montgomery algorithm, multiplications take a constant amount of time, independent of the size of the factors. But if the intermediate result of the multiplication exceeds the modulus N, an additional subtraction, called an extra reduction, is performed . It is this extra reduction step that causes the timing difference for different inputs, and exposes information about the secret key. Another typical way to optimize the RSA implementation is to use the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) to perform the exponentiation. With CRT, the function M = Cd mod N is computed by first evaluating M1 = Cd1 mod N and M2 = Cd2 mod N, where d1 and d2 are precomputed from d. M1 and M2 are then combined to yield M . RSA with CRT makes the original attack by Kocher inoperative. Nevertheless, a timing attack can expose one of the factors of N, as illustrated by Brumley and Boneh . Here we give a simple illustration to show how a timing attack works. It is a generalization of the basic idea presented by Dhem et al. in . Let C be a message to decrypt, d be the private key to be recovered, denoted by d0d1…dn where d0 = 1. The computation to be performed is Cd mod N. Suppose the square and multiply algorithm (Figure 1) is used to compute this modular exponentiation, and the mod(x, N) operation is implemented as in Figure 2. mod(x, N) if x >= N x = x % N end if return x Figure 2: Pseudocode for the mod function Consider the square and multiply algorithm in Figure 1. If dj = 0 then x = mod(x2, N), but if dj = 1 then two operations, x = mod(x2, N) and x = mod(xC, N), occur. In other words, the computation time should be longer when dj = 1. Also notice in Figure 2 that the modular reduction, “%”, is only executed if the intermediate result of the multiplication is greater than the modulus N. Our attack exploits these two facts and uses two sets of messages, one for which the computation of mod(xC, N) would require a reduction and another for which it would not, to recover any bit dj. Assume we can get the system to decrypt the messages of our choice, which is often possible in real systems. We start attacking d1 by choosing two messages Y and Z, where Y3 < N and Z2 < N < Z3. Compare the operations of the square and multiply algorithm (Figure 1) on the two messages Y and Z when j = 1. If d1 is really 1, the operation x = mod(x · x2, N) will be performed. Since Y3 < N, the “%” operation does not occur for message Y. But since Z2 < N < Z3, the “%” operation occurs for message Z. On the other hand, if the actual value of d1 is 0, the operation x = mod(x · x2, N) will not be performed and the computations on Y and Z should take about the same time. In other words, the run time of the algorithm will be longer for Z only if d1 = 1. We can recover the bit d1 using this fact. But how much longer is a significant difference in run time? We’ll need to rely on statistics here. Instead of using a single message Y, we choose a set of messages Yi, for i = 0, 1, …, m-1, with Yi3 < N and let yi be the time required to compute Yid mod N. Similarly, we choose a set of messages Zi, for i = 0, 1, …, m-1, with Zi2 < N < Zi3 and let zi be the time required to compute Zid mod N. If d1 is actually 1, all the zi's should be greater than the yi's. Compute the average timing y = (y0 + y1 + … + ym-1) / m, and z = (z0 + z1 + … + zm-1) / m. If z > y + e, where e can be determined empirically, we conclude that d1 = 1; otherwise d1 = 0. Once d1 is known, we can attack d2 in an analogous process by choosing Y and Z values that satisfy different criteria. The private key d can be recovered bit by bit in this manner. The beauty of this attack lies in its simplicity. For the attack to work, we do not need to know the details of the implementation of the algorithm, and we do not need to know how to factor large numbers — all we need to know is that the exponentiation is done using square-and-multiply. Dhem et al. mounted a similar attack against an earlier version of the CASCADE smart card . A smart card is a kind of hardware security token. The fact that it is in the possession of the attacker makes it relatively easy to measure the running time of cryptographic operations and so smart cards are fairly vulnerable to timing attacks (as well as many other side channel attacks). Dhem’s implementation attacked the square rather than the multiply by observing the extra reduction at the square operation instead of the multiply operation. They reported breaking a 512-bit key in a few minutes with 350,000 timing measurements. A 128-bit key could be broken at a rate of 4 bits/sec using 10,000 samples. In cases where there are not enough samples to recover the complete key, the attack can still reveal a part of the key. Dhem et al. observed that with only half of the required number of samples, the attack was able to recover ¾ of the key . Systems using the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) are not vulnerable to Kocher’s original attack or Dhem’s attack. However, Brumley and Boneh devised a timing attack against OpenSSL, an open source cryptographic library used in web servers and other SSL applications , and successfully extracted a factor of the RSA modulus N and therefore, the private key d . Before this attack was publicized, it was generally believed that timing attacks would not work against general purpose servers because timing variations would mask the decryption times of the cryptographic algorithm. Nevertheless, Brumley and Boneh’s attack worked over a local network between machines separated by multiple routers. It was also effective between two processes running on the same machine and between two virtual machines on the same computer. They attacked three different OpenSSL-based RSA decryption applications: a simple RSA decryption oracle, Apache/mod_ssl, and Stunnel. They reported using about a million queries to remotely extract a 1024-bit key from an OpenSSL 0.9.7 server in about two hours . On networks with low variance in latency such as a LAN or corporate/campus network, their attack is feasible . In the case of a remote attack, the attacker must also account for variables other than network latency such as the load on the server. Thus, during periods of low activity, a server may be more vulnerable . These attacks illustrate that cryptosystems that rely on modular exponentiation may be vulnerable to timing attacks. One such example is the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm which establishes a shared secret to be used as a symmetric key. Brumley and Boneh’s attack on the Chinese remainder operation shows that RSA with CRT is also not secure against timing attacks. Any applications that perform RSA private key operations may be vulnerable. These applications include SSL/TLS-enabled network services, IPsec, Secure Shell (SSH1, ssh-agent), and TCPA/Palladium . Their attack is also relevant to trusted computing efforts such as Microsoft's Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB), which provides sealed storage for secret keys. By asking NGSCB to decrypt data in sealed storage, a user may learn the secret application key . There are defenses against these timing attacks. The most widely accepted method is RSA blinding. With RSA blinding, randomness is introduced into the RSA computations to make timing information unusable. Before decrypting the ciphertext C, we first compute X = reC mod N, where r is a random value and e is the public exponent. We decrypt X as usual, i.e., compute Xd mod N = red Cd mod N = r Cd mod N again by Euler’s Theorem . We then multiply the output by r-1 to obtain Cd mod N which is the plaintext we want. Since a different r is used for each message, the original message is changed in a random way before the exponentiation operation. Thus, blinding prevents an attacker from entering a known input to the exponentiation function and using the resulting timing information to reveal the key. Blinding incurs a small performance penalty in the range of 2% to 10% . Another possible defense is to make all private key operations not depend on the input. One possible way to accomplish this is to always carry out the extra reduction in the Montgomery algorithm even though the result may not be used. This modification should be relatively easy to implement and does not affect the performance by much . Care will need to be taken to ensure that the extra reduction is not optimized away by the compiler. One other alternative is to quantize all RSA computations, i.e. make them always a multiple of some predefined time quantum . The major drawback of this approach is that all computations must then take the longest of all computation times, eliminating the possibility of performance optimizations. Mozilla’s NSS crypto library uses blinding to defend against timing attacks. Most crypto acceleration cards also have implemented defenses against timing attacks . Before the publication of Boneh and Brumley’s paper, OpenSSL 0.9.7 included RSA blinding as an option, though it was generally not turned on. In March 2003, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) issued a vulnerability note (VU#997481) discussing the attack by Brumley and Boneh, its impact, and its prevention. At the same time, the OpenSSL Project issued a security advisory and included a patch to switch blinding on by default. Side channel attacks tell us that even if a cryptographic scheme is mathematically strong, it may not be secure in practice depending on the way it is implemented and on the design of the system as a whole. Cryptography should not be examined in isolation. The design of a secure system should encompass every aspect of the system, including the cryptographic and non-cryptographic aspects . Attackers are like cheaters in a game; they don’t play by the presumed rules and they attack in ways that are sneaky and "unfair". Security engineers should constantly be on the lookout for unusual or unexpected attacks and be ready to re-secure a system when such an attack appears. Cryptographic algorithms that rely on modular exponentiation such as RSA and Diffie-Hellman may be vulnerable to timing attacks. If the exponentiation operation that involves the secret key can be timed by an attacker with reasonable accuracy, the key can be recovered by using carefully selected input values, the number of which being proportional to the length of the key. Researchers have implemented timing attacks against an earlier version of the CASCADE smart card, and three different OpenSSL-based RSA decryption applications. They showed that it is feasible to recover the RSA private keys used in these systems. Defenses against such attacks are possible. Today, the most widely used method is RSA blinding which incurs a small performance penality of 2% to 10%. Timing attacks illustrate that attackers do not necessarily play by the presumed rules and they will always attack the weakest link in a system. Strong cryptography gives us security only if it is implemented and used in ways that complement its strength. The author thanks Dr. Mark Stamp and Dr. Oliver Shih for their valuable comments and editorial suggestions. Wing H. Wong is a graduate student at San José State University. Her research interests include network security and bioinformatics. She enjoys playing tennis in her spare time. 1. D.Brumley and D. Boneh, "Remote timing attacks are practical", at crypto.stanford.edu/~dabo/papers/ssl-timing.pdf 2. D.M. Burton, Elementary Number Theory , second edition, Wm. C. Brown Publishers,1989 3. J.F. Dhem, F. Koeune, P.-A. Leroux, P. Mestré, J.-J. Quisquater, and J.-L. Willems, "A practical implementation of the timing attack", at www.cs.jhu.edu/~fabian/courses/CS600.624/Timing-full.pdf 4. P.Kocher, "Timing attacks on implementations of Diffie-Hellman, RSA, DSS, and other systems", at www.cryptography.com/resources/whitepapers/TimingAttacks.pdf 5. S.Levy, "The open secret", Wired , issue 7.04, April 1999, at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.04/crypto.html 6. OpenSSL Project. http://www.openssl.org 7. R. L. Rivest, A. Shamir, L. Adleman, "A method for obtaining digital signatures and public-key cryptosystems". Comm. ACM 21 (1978) no. 2, 120-126. 8. RSA Laboratories. http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/node.asp?id=2098 9. B.Schneier, "Risks of relying on cryptography", Inside Risks 112, Communications of the ACM , vol. 42, no. 10, October 1999, at www.schneier.com/essay-021.html 10. US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#997481, at http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/997481

Future with 'Going to' for beginners Anything after now is the future, and in English, we have many ways and tenses to talk about the future. Some are more basic and some are more advanced. What Is Future with 'Going to'? 'Be going to' is a structure that is used to refer to the plans and intentions in the future. We can use going to in future tense to talk about: - Future predictions - Future plans Here, it is used to talk about prediction. Here, it is used to talk about future plans. Download LanGeek app for free

by Swami Krishnananda Meditation on Brahman leads to its realisation, as in the case of Samvadi-bhrama, or erroneous notion of a thing leading to a successful result in relation to that thing. Hence in the Upanishads various kinds of Upasanas, or meditations, are described. Take the instance of a person seeing from a distance the ray of a light, situated within the walls of a room. He sees a gleam of light passing through the window of a house and getting reflected outside, and mistakes the ray of the light seen outside for a gem shining. He commits this error in his mind because he has not seen the source of the light, but only its reflection outside. Suppose this person runs after that reflection thinking that it is a gem. We can imagine the mistake that he is making in cherishing that notion. But, suppose, at another place, there is a gem kept inside a room at a distance and the light emanating from it through an aperture is also reflected outside. If this reflection of light outside is mistaken for the gem itself, there is, naturally an erroneous perception, for the light of the gem is not the gem. In the two instances cited, where one person sees the gleam of the lamp and takes it for a gem, and another where one sees the ray of light emanating from a gem and thinks it is the gem itself, though there is similarity in so far as there is a mistaken notion regarding the gem, yet, there is a difference in the results that they would achieve in pursuing the objects of their quests. While the one who has mistaken the light of the lamp for the gem would not acquire the gem by approaching it, the other who has mistaken the light of the gem for the gem itself would, by going near it, obtain it. This is an illusion in perception called Samvadi, because, though initial perception is a mistake, the end reached is the desired one. Where the end reached is something quite different from the desired one, the mistaken perception is called Visamvadi-bhrama. We have also instances of Samvadi error in inference and also acts based on scriptural injunctions. It is likely that by seeing mist at some place we may mistake it for smoke emanating from fire and move towards it in search of fire, and by chance, find fire there, though what was perceived originally was not the smoke emanating from the fire. This is an instance where there is Samvadi in inference. If a person sprinkles some water over himself thinking that it is from the holy Ganga, and gets purified, but it so happens that the water is not of the Ganga but of the Godavari, which is also holy, it is again the mistake known as Samvadi, where the mind thinks something different from the actual fact and yet reaches the desired result. If one is affected by high fever and utters in a delirious mood the holy name of Narayana, and reaches spiritual exaltation in the higher planes of existence thereby, it should be considered as an instance of Samvadi error. And so on, there can be hundreds of instances of such errors in respect of perception, inference and scriptural testimony, which lead to the desired end, nevertheless. All types of meditation on images, such as those made of earth, or wood or stone, and also meditations on such concepts as prescribed in the Panchagni Vidya of the Chhandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads, come under Samvadi ideas, because, here, the desired object is attained even though the means employed is a knowledge which does not really and directly correspond to the whole nature of the object. As in the example of the Samvadi-bhrama cited, an incorrect knowledge leads to a proper realisation of the end; so Upasana, or meditational concepts on the reality of Brahman lead to the final liberation of the soul because of the intense habituation of the mind to the sublime concepts of universal Existence, Consciousness etc., by which the Vedanta texts describe Brahman. By acquiring such indirect knowledge, the aspirant begins to intensely feel within himself the communion of his innermost ‘I’ with Brahman and recognises the presence of Brahman in his innermost being. This is the highest type of meditation, whereby the highest Reality is asserted in each and everything in the universe, including one’s own Self, but as long as there is only an idea of Brahman in the mind, as Existence, and there is no direct inward realisation in one’s own experience, as in the case of indirect knowledge of the deities like Lord Vishnu gathered from scriptures, this general knowledge acquired has to be regarded as conceptual (Paroksha) alone, notwithstanding that by the study of scriptures one has a clear notion of the Divine Being, Vishnu. This is just indirect knowledge, because, here, the Divine Being is not directly seen, but only visualised; but because of this, it cannot be said that indirect knowledge is an illusion, for, what makes knowledge an illusion is not its indirectness but the absence of the object to which it relates. A Divinity like Lord Vishnu is not a non-existent being, because his existence is affirmed in the scriptures which are valid proofs of knowledge, though in the present state of knowledge we have no direct realisation of such a Divine Being. Similarly, though we hear from the scriptures that Brahman is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, etc., since this has not yet become an actual experience within, it cannot be equated with realisation or direct knowledge of Brahman. Yet, this knowledge of an indirect nature is not illusory, because it has a relevance to reality, though indirectly. Though there are instructions in the Upanishads such as, Tat-Tvam-Asi (That Thou Art), where direct experience of Brahman is indicated, yet, merely on hearing such sentences, no immediate realisation comes to the seekers because of the absence of proper discrimination, reflection and profound meditation subsequent to hearing or studying. So long as there is the strong erroneous feeling that one is only a body or an individual, and there is the consequent relationship with the objects of the world, no amount of force applied on the mind will ever succeed in coming to the realisation of the Oneness of the Atman with Brahman, because here, after all, the impurity of the mind still persists, which accounts for its dullness and incapacity to grasp deeper truths. The faithful disciple and the student who knows the true meaning of the scripture has an adequate indirect knowledge of Brahman, but this indirect knowledge is not opposed to the direct knowledge of the dualistic world which he sees simultaneously. There is no opposition between the indirect feeling of the Divinity in an image and the direct perception of an ordinary object in it; naturally, no one can prevent the mind from visualising Beings like Lord Vishnu in images, though to the ordinary mind the image is only a physical object. Here the instance of the faithless need not be brought in as an argument, because the faithful alone are competent to undertake these arduous processes of practice prescribed in the Vedas and the Upanishads. Once this faith is acquired, there is an immediate rising of devout knowledge of the objective of meditation by means of instruction from the Preceptor, and this instruction in regard to meditation does not need any argumentation. Due to a possible diversity likely to be seen in the instructions, and the variety of Karmas and Upasanas mentioned in the scriptures, which are hard to understand for the ordinary minds of mortals, sages have taken the trouble of bringing all these teachings together and collating them in a suitable manner in such works as the Kalpa-Sutras, Brahma-Sutras, etc. With the help of these guides, the faithful aspirant can, even without further rational investigation, undertake the practice directly, with confidence in the words of the teachers. The sages of yore have described the practice of various Upasanas (devout meditations) in their works, and those who have not the capacity to conduct self-enquiry and investigation for themselves can study these and grasp these under the instruction of a preceptor and then directly engage themselves in meditation. No doubt, a thorough investigation and enquiry may be required in the case of those who are aiming at ascertaining the true meaning of the scripture such as the Vedas, but the practice of Upasana does not require such arduous investigations. What is necessary is a mere implicit confidence in the words of the teacher and an immediate resorting to its practice. However, Brahma-Sakshatkara, or the realisation of Brahman, is not a question merely of faith or belief in what others say about it. It is a question of direct experience for oneself in one’s own deepest understanding and conscience. What prevents success in putting into practice all the indirect knowledge acquired through the scripture or the teacher is faithlessness, and the obstacle to direct realisation is non-discrimination. Though it may be that a person has practised self-enquiry for a very long time, if he has not yet realised Brahman, the duty here of the aspirant is not to discontinue meditation and enquiry, but proceed with it again till the attainment of direct experience. Sadhana (practice) concludes only in experience and never before. It is also possible that even though one practises enquiry and meditation till death, yet, the Atman has not been realised. But this should not be the cause for any dissatisfaction, because it only means that the obstructing Karmas have not yet come to an end, but it is certain that on their cessation realisation shall be attained in some future birth. In the Brahmasutras, too, it has been corroborated that one can attain knowledge either in this birth or in a future birth and it shall be attained the moment the obstacles have come to an end. This is also the reason why many people, though they have heard and studied much on the nature of the Atman, have no real knowledge of it. In the case of Sage Vamadeva, the obstacles to knowledge came to an end even while he was in the womb of his mother, and he had illumination then and there due to the force of the previous spiritual practices which he had undergone in past lives. As in the case of studying one may not be able to commit to memory a particular part of a text, for example, even after repeated reading of it, and it may be that on the next day the memory of it comes of its own accord, so in the case of knowledge, it reveals itself as a consequence of intense practice for a very protracted period, when the impediments are over. Knowledge matures gradually and not immediately, as in the case of the harvest. A child in the womb matures gradually, and Nature always goes by stages, and never by leaps and bounds. Yet, it is likely that on account of the threefold obstacles mentioned previously, knowledge may not dawn at all even after continued practice. These obstacles have to be overcome first in order that there may be final success on the path.

Miraculous Health Benefits of Clove and its Uses Cloves have been used for centuries as a food preservative as well as many medicinal purposes. It has been one of the most valuable spices for centuries. The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of cloves are higher than most vegetables, fruits and spices. The incredible health benefits of cloves make it a must-have for all of us. Read on to know more about the health benefits of clove! Cloves are flower buds of the Syzygium aromaticum that belongs to the Myrtaceae family. It is an evergreen tree, native to Indonesia that grows from eight to twelve meters in height. The buds are harvested and dried to form the cloves we use; brown, hard, and nail-like in shape. Cloves are known as ‘Laung’ in Hindi, ‘Lavangam’ in Telugu, ‘Kirambu’ in Tamil, ‘Grambu’ in Malayalam, ‘Lavangapattai’ in Kannada, ‘Labango’ in Bengali, ‘Laving’ in Gujarati and ‘Lavang’ in Marathi & Punjabi. Cloves are commonly used as a spice in Indian, African, Mexican and Middle Eastern cuisines. It is also used as a food preservative and as medicinal plants due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, antiseptic and antioxidant properties. Did You Know? – The name “clove” originates from the Latin word “clavus” which means “nail” – You can use cloves as an effective “remedy” against ants – Clove tree can live up to 400 years – Cloves were one of the most expensive spices during the Middle Ages in Europe Cloves are packed with antioxidants and are a good source of minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and vitamins. They might be tiny but these qualities make them giants in terms of nutrition and natural health. Minerals present in cloves include calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, and zinc. It also contains vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K. Health Benefits of Clove Clove is a common ingredient in perfume production and flavouring of food. Clove oil has both antiseptic and anaesthetic properties; for example, it has been used in treating toothache for centuries. There are numerous therapeutic uses for the spice. It adds a sweet and earthy flavour to stews, meats and desserts. Apart from its culinary uses, we can also use cloves as a treatment for numerous health conditions. Let’s have a look at some of the health benefits of clove. Mutagen chemicals are responsible for causing changes (mutations) in the DNA. Cloves contain biochemical compounds such as phenylpropanoids that have anti-mutagenic properties. Studies have shown that administering these compounds to mutagen-treated cells may help reduce the mutagenic effects to a significant rate. Thus, cloves can help prevent cancer, which is nothing but DNA mutations which occurs due to aging, environmental toxins, hormones and other factors. Cloves contain high amounts of antioxidants, which help in fighting off oxidative damage and free radicals, consequently strengthening the immune system. Cloves also contain high amounts of eugenol, kaempferol and rhamnetin that help in fighting off infections. Fights Inflammation & Infections Cloves contain high amounts of eugenol which help in reducing inflammation. It also contains kaempferol and rhamnetin that confers similar health benefits. As an expectorant, cloves thin and loosen mucus in the lungs, making it easier to cough up the mucus. Cloves reduce coughing fits by soothing the throat. Maintains Bone Health The hydro-alcoholic extracts of cloves contain compounds like eugenol and its derivatives, such as isoflavones, flavones and flavonoids. Studies have shown that these extracts help in the formation of bone cartilage, bone collagen as well as bone mineralization. Improves oral health Cloves can help prevent gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis. Clove bud extracts prevent the growth of oral pathogens, responsible for various oral diseases. Additionally, you can also use cloves for treating toothaches as they have pain-killing properties. Cloves promote the production of gastric acids and saliva that help in better digestion of food. It also reduces diarrhoea, indigestion and bloating. Furthermore, studies have shown that clove extract and clove oil can protect against stomach ulcers by increasing the production of gastric mucus. How to use cloves? You can easily incorporate ground cloves into many dishes to add a distinctive flavour to it. You can add it to curries, chutneys and even desserts. Some other ways of using cloves are: - You can prepare clove tea by simmering whole cloves in boiling water for 5–10 minutes. - Mix cloves with clove oil to prevent nausea. - To prevent morning sickness, drink a mixture of cloves, turmeric, sugar and water. So, do you think cloves are good? I bet you do! In fact, they are great, isn’t it? Let us know how you like to use cloves in the comment box below! Disclaimer: Excessive use of cloves may damage kidneys and intestines. People who suffer from bleeding disorders should not consume excess cloves. Allergic reactions can also occur in some people. 100g of Cloves provides 274 Calories, Carbs – 2.7g (Dietary Fibre – 34g, Sugar – 2.4g), Protein – 6g, Fat – 13g (saturated fat – 4g), Sodium – 277mg And a percentage daily value of Vitamin A – 3%, Vitamin C – 0%, Iron – 66%, Calcium – 63% (based on a 2000 Calorie diet).

Children can be troubled with nasal allergies. It is a common medical condition in young children. Some children are more prone to allergies than others. This could be linked to genetics or environmental factors to which they are predisposed. Unfortunately, parents don’t always have the power to control the entire surroundings which their kids are exposed to. The most sensible measure to follow is early identification and a focus on improving the troublesome symptoms. Missed school days can negatively impact your child. Nasal allergies although not life threatening, reduces your child’s quality of life. If your child is constantly struggling with a runny nose or sneezing frequently, it’s time to take control of the situation by consulting a good ENT doctor who has experience in paediatric ENT. A highly acclaimed medical facility in Singapore treating children with nasal allergies is The ENT Clinic. What is Paediatric allergic rhinitis ? Nasal allergy or hay fever, medically termed as allergic rhinitis, is when your child has an abnormal inflammatory reaction in the upper respiratory area involving the nose. Such episodes occur when your child is exposed to allergens or irritants, present in the air. These irritants over stimulate your child’s immune system, to produce pro-inflammatory factors called histamine and mast cells which induces an inflammatory action in the lining of the nasal cavity. Sensitive children when exposed to such allergens react within minutes showing signs and symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis in children is highly prevalent. A study conducted in Singapore indicated that children in the age group of 4 to 6 years had a prevalence of 25 .3 % with a cumulative prevalence of 42.7% . Singaporean school children in the age group 6 to 7 years also reported an incident rate of 25.5%. What are the types of allergic rhinitis faced by children ? Your child can face two types of nasal allergies: - Seasonal: Sensitised children when exposed to seasonal airborne allergens can have inflammatory reactions in their upper airways. For example pollen from weed, mold spores and grass in the Spring and early Fall - Perennial: Younger children may face nasal allergies round the year. This could be due to common allergens present in houses like dust mites, pet hair and cockroaches. Dust mite allergy is widely observed in Singapore. What are the symptoms of allergic rhinitis? The common symptoms which your child can encounter are: - Excessive nasal secretions - Sneezing and sniffing - Nasal congestion and obstruction - Itchiness in nose, throat, eyes and mouth - Watery eyes - Sinus congestion and fullness in ears What are the common irritants which can trigger allergic rhinitis in children? - House dust which includes mold and dust mites - Pollens from trees and weeds (seasonal) - Pets like cats, dogs and rabbits have allergens - Cigarette smoke and air pollutants like car exhaust - Laundry detergents and cleaning solutions - Hair sprays, cosmetics and perfumes with strong odours How is allergic rhinitis detected in your child? An ENT doctor is proficient in diagnosing your child’s allergic rhinitis. The physician will review your child’s symptoms and investigate through your family medical history. The purpose is to understand if symptoms intensify when exposed to certain irritants or if symptoms spike at a certain period of the year. Your ENT specialist will perform a nasal examination using an instrument called the auriscope to scan for the presence of swollen nasal tissues. Persistent rubbing on the nasal bridge due to itchiness can reveal a nasal crease on the exterior too. Dark circles under the eyes are another sign. To confirm which allergen is causing your child’s allergic rhinitis, your doctor might suggest the tests below: - Skin prick test: In this case a panel of allergens are placed on the child’s arm. With a needle these allergens are introduced to the child’s body through a small prick to the skin surface. If your child is allergic to any of the chosen allergens then the child will develop a small itchy spot. This test helps identify the allergens. - Blood test: Performing a blood test to check your child’s IgE antibody levels is another way. This antibody increases when it is exposed to a suspected allergen. Commercial allergen testing is not recommended as it is generally of a lower standard to that of an accredited medical setting. It is important to consult an ENT doctor who can relate the results to your child’s symptoms and medical history. How is allergic rhinitis treated in your child? The goal in treating nasal allergy is preventing allergen exposure or treating the symptoms. - Allergen avoidance: Staying away from seasonal allergens and manipulating the perennial allergens like dust mites is recommended. Advice to remove pets from homes is another. However, avoiding allergens may not always be practical. - Pharmacological treatment : Controlling allergy symptoms helps in improving the quality of life in your child. The doctor can prescribe oral antihistamines, nasal sprays with steroids, decongestants and topical antihistamines as first line agents to effectively manage the disease. - Allergen Immunotherapy (de-sensitisation) : While most kids find relief through allergen avoidance and pharmacotherapy therapy, a significant minority will still have trouble. These kids will benefit from immunotherapy where allergens are gradually introduced to their bodies helping the immune system to be less sensitive to such allergens. The ENT Clinic is one of the primary choices to address allergies in Singapore in both children and adults. The experienced ENT doctors of Dr Jeeve Kanagalingam, Dr Chris Hobbs and Dr Annabelle Leong practice evidence-based medicine at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Center and Gleneagles Hospital and can effectively manage your allergic rhinitis.

With input from NOAA’s Alan Mearns, Gary Shigenaka, and Marilyn Dahlheim. Does a killer whale instinctively know how to avoid oil spilled on the surface of its watery home? At the time of the Exxon Valdez oil spill twenty-three years ago, scientists and oil spill experts presumed that the answer was “yes.” They thought marine mammals were “smart” enough to steer clear of spilled oil, which possibly could harm their skin and eyes or irritate their lungs with hazardous vapors. Yet, within 24 hours of the tanker Exxon Valdez grounding on Bligh Reef, killer whales were photographed swimming through iridescent slicks of oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska. No one was quite sure then how this exposure to oil might affect the health of killer whales living there. For most oil spills, we don’t know how well individual species were faring before oil invaded their habitats, complicating our ability to understand health impacts after a spill. This time, however, was different. “Orcas (killer whales) have been particularly interesting because they have been so well studied and are one of the few critters for which pre-spill information was available,” NOAA biologist Gary Shigenaka says of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, which he has worked on extensively. The two killer whale pods unlucky enough to swim in or near Exxon oil were from two different eco-types of killer whales, known as “resident” and “transient.” Eco-types differ in several aspects of morphology (shape and structure), ecology, behavior, and genetics. For example, resident whales primarily feed on fish while transient killer whales feed on marine mammals. Since the 1989 oil spill, scientists have followed closely the killer whale populations of Southeast Alaska. They have examined both the two pods of whales exposed to the oil in Prince William Sound as well as the other resident and transient pods which were not in the oiled areas at the time. The differences are stark. In the year and a half after the Exxon Valdez spill, both groups of killer whales swimming through Prince William Sound at the time experienced an unprecedented high number of deaths. The pod of resident killer whales lost 33% and the pod of transients 41% of their populations, according to a 2008 study by researcher Craig Matkin [PDF]. In general, killer whales tend to have very stable populations, usually losing only very young or very old whales when they lose any. But in this case, the pods were losing a number of immature whales and breeding females as well. Missing these key members, the populations in the oiled areas were slow to bounce back, if they bounced at all. One pod of resident killer whales still hasn’t reached its pre-spill numbers, while the oil-exposed transient pod’s numbers have dropped so much that NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service has listed them as a “depleted stock” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Meanwhile, the other killer whale populations in Southeast Alaska have been growing since the mid-1980s. Still, because researchers were unable to examine either live or most of the dead whales after the spill (and thus confirm oil-related injuries), any direct link between the spill and killer whale health has been circumstantial. Even so, Shigenaka personally believes that this indirect evidence “stands the test of time.” The crux of it lies in the fact that two pods of very different killer whale groups crashed suddenly and simultaneously after only one obvious disturbance to their environment—the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Fast forward twenty-one years to April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. Taking these lessons about killer whales and oil from the Exxon Valdez, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration quickly partnered up with the NOAA Fisheries Service to do reconnaissance during the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, especially in oiled areas. Twenty-one species of marine mammals live in the Gulf, and bottlenose dolphins in particular potentially could be suffering some significant impacts from this spill. Since February 2010 (before the oil spill), nearly 700 bottlenose dolphins and other species of cetaceans (dolphins and whales) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico have been stranded. These marine mammals are experiencing what’s known as an “unusual mortality event,” defined as “a stranding that is unexpected, involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population, and demands immediate response.” Federal and state agencies have been investigating this large die-off and any possible connections to its overlap with the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. These investigations are ongoing and the possible role of infection in these dolphins adds a twist that leaves us with plenty of questions still to answer. Nevertheless, every piece of information we learn helps create a fuller picture of how oil spills affect marine mammals, whether we’re looking at killer whales in Prince William Sound or bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. For more information on killer whales and the Exxon Valdez oil spill, check out: Matkin, C.O., Saulitis, E.L., Ellis, G.M., Olesiuk, P., Rice, S.D. 2008. Ongoing population-level impacts on killer whales Orcinus orca following the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 356:269-281. Loughlin, T. R. Ed. Marine Mammals and the Exxon Valdez. Academic Press, San Diego, 1994.

State history project I am working on an idea for an inquiry project into the event or time period that had the most impact on our state. State history has been my students' least favorite topic for two years running. I need ideas for a big question to guide my planning. I want them to choose, investigate it, defend it, and create either a book or media project for the elementary students. Any help would be great!

Infant Advantages of Breastfeeding In This Article: Breastfeeding helps protect against serious lower respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis, as well as upper respiratory infections, including ear infections. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-the most common cause of serious respiratory illness in infants and young children-is responsible for ninety thousand infant hospitalizations and about forty-five hundred deaths each year in the United States. Breastfed infants have fewer RSV infections, and when they do get sick with RSV, they have less severe cases and fewer hospitalizations. Ear infections are the most common childhood illness, ac-counting for nearly thirty million pediatric office visits each year. Nearly half of all infants get at least one ear infection in their first year of life, and close to 20 percent of babies suffer from recurrent ear infections (three or more bouts in six months). Breastfed infants, especially those who nurse exclusively for four to six months, experience only half as many ear infections as formula-fed infants. Other Illnesses. Recent studies suggest that breastfeeding provides substantial protection against urinary tract infections in infancy and early childhood. Breastfed infants have a lower risk of blood-borne infections and spinal meningitis compared to bottle-fed babies. Breastfed infants also appear to be protected from the most severe form of infant botulism, a rare illness that results when Clostridia botulinum spores, present on agricultural products, including honey, are consumed by infants. (Honey should not be fed to infants under one year.) Breastfeeding protects against allergies in infancy and later childhood. A number of studies link breastfeeding with a lower incidence of food allergies, asthma, eczema, hayfever, and other allergic disease. As many as 15 percent of Americans and Europeans display one or more allergy symptoms in the first two decades of life. Infants who have a parent or sibling with known allergic disease are at greatest risk. Exclusive breastfeeding of such infants, especially when the mother eliminates certain allergenic foods from her diet during lactation (See "Common Problems Encountered by Breastfeeding Women"), has been shown to have a protective effect against the baby developing allergic symptoms. A recent long-term, follow-up study from infancy until early adulthood examined the link between infant-feeding method and subsequent allergic disease (food allergy, respiratory allergy, asthma, and eczema). The results showed that breastfeeding (preferably for six months or longer) provided significant protection from allergic disease throughout childhood and adolescence. Another study that followed more than four hundred children who had a close relative with allergic disease found that wheezing occurred twice as frequently in the first year of life in youngsters who were never breastfed compared to those who had received some breast milk. Breastfed infants have a lower risk of chronic immune system disorders, such as juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus, childhood cancers (especially lymphoma), and Crohn's disease. Several studies comparing possible causative factors associated with childhood cancers have found the duration of breastfeeding to have been significantly greater among healthy children than children with cancer. The findings are most prominent for cases of childhood lymphoma. Other studies suggest that breastfeeding may help protect against the development of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The destruction of the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas in individuals with IDDM is known to be an autoimmune process. Cow's milk has been implicated as a possible trigger of this autoimmune reaction in genetically susceptible persons. Some studies have shown a reduced risk of diabetes in breastfed children, especially those with a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Evidence is also accumulating to suggest that breastfeeding provides significant protection against inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis). These disorders can cause chronic diarrhea, fever, poor growth, and other symptoms. From Dr. Mom's Guide to Breastfeeding by Marianne R. Neifert. Copyright © 1998 by Marianne R. Neifert. Used by arrangement with Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. To order this book visit Amazon.

MundoAndino Home : Peru Andes Travel: Peru culture, lodging, travel, and tours Jose Pardo y Barreda Peruvian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Presidents of Peru Prime Ministers of Peru Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Forum Jose Simon Pardo y Barreda was a Peruvian politician who twice occupied the Presidency of Peru, from 1904 to 1908 and 1915 to 1919. Jose Pardo headed the Civilista Party and was Foreign Minister and then Prime Minister (1903-1904) during Eduardo Lopez de Romana's presidency. Both his presidential terms were marked by liberal politics. After Manuel Candamo's death, Serapio Calderon became the interim president and called for new elections. The Civilista Party named Jose Pardo as its candidate, while the Democratic Party presented the candidacy of Nicolas de Pierola, who retired early before the elections mentioning a "lack of guarantees." This fact led Pardo to become elected. His government was marked by pushing for better education for all Peruvians. The elementary education in Peru, according to the Law of 1876 proposed by his father, Manuel Pardo, was under the responsibility of the municipalities throughout the country. Jose Pardo, under his Secretary of Justice and instruction, decided to confront the problem. Need more information for your travel research or homework? Ask your questions at the forum about Peruvian Ministers of Foreign Affairs or help others to find answers. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Jose Pardo y Barreda

Unicef has already warned 1.4m children could starve to death this year. Mr O'Brien said $4.4bn (£3.6bn) was needed by July to avert disaster. "We stand at a critical point in history," Mr O'Brien told the Security Council on Friday. "Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the United Nations." "Now, more than 20 million people across four countries face starvation and famine. Without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death. Many more will suffer and die from disease. "Children stunted and out of school. Livelihoods, futures and hope will be lost. Communities' resilience rapidly wilting away. Development gains reversed. Many will be displaced and will continue to move in search for survival, creating ever more instability across entire regions." Mr O'Brien's comments follow on from a similar appeal made by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last month. At that time, he revealed the UN had only received $90m (£74m) so far in 2017, despite generous pledges. Like Mr O'Brien, he urged more financial support for the four countries. But why are they in such dire need? The pictures were among the most shocking of last year: emaciated children, clinging on to life with what little strength they had left. Four-year-olds not bigger than infants. And mothers unable to do anything to stop their children dying. It is thought a child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen from a preventable disease, while half a million children under five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. The UN estimates some 19 million people - or two thirds of Yemen's population - is in need of some sort of humanitarian help following two years of war between Houthi insurgents and the government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition. UN agencies say 100,000 people are facing starvation in South Sudan, while a further million are classified as being on the brink of famine. It is the most acute of the present food emergencies, and the most widespread nationally. Overall, says the UN, 4.9 million people - or 40% of South Sudan's population - are "in need of urgent food, agriculture and nutrition assistance". The UN has described the unfolding disaster in north-eastern Nigeria as the "greatest crisis on the continent" - the full extent of which has only been revealed as extremist militant group Boko Haram is pushed back. It was already known the Islamist group had killed 15,000 and pushed more than two million from their homes. But as they retreated, it became clear there were thousands more people living in famine-like conditions in urgent need of help. The UN estimated in December there were 75,000 children at risk of starving to death. Another 7.1 million people in Nigeria and the neighboring Lake Chad area are considered "severely food insecure". The last time a famine was declared in Somalia - just six years ago - nearly 260,000 people died. At the beginning of March, there were reports of 110 people dying in just one region in a 48-hour period. Humanitarian groups fear this could be just the beginning: a lack of water - blamed partially on the El Nino weather phenomenon - has killed off livestock and crops, leaving 6.2 million people in urgent need of help.

February - an overview soil that has not been dug over in the winter months needs to be finished off as soon as possible. This is a good time to get the soil ready for planting and sowing. Fork out any perennial weeds, removing all the root system to prevent re-growth. If you are growing potatoes, dig the trenches and line with manure. If you intend growing carrot, make sure the soil is dug well and no stones in the ground which can cause the vegetable to divide. It is worth adding sand to any heavy clay to help with this. If you have had problem with carrot fly, consider making a low barrier from clear plastic about a foot off the ground surrounding the area where the carrots will grow. to late February, sow seed such as Broad Bean indoors which will be ready to plant out under Cloche in March. Crops such as courgette, marrow, pumpkin; you can dig out a spade of soil, add some manure and replace the soil so you have a mound. It's also worth putting in a short length of pipe such as old plastic downpipe, about 6" - 1ft long, place some grit in the bottom of the soil, put pipe in and cover with remaining soil. If you get a dry spell then you can pour water down the tube which will go straight to the root system of the plant. You will need to consider adding fertilizer to the soil to ensure there is enough NPK (Nitrogen Phosphorus, Potassium) in the soil for the growing season. It's worth look for products that are organic, chicken manure and seaweed extract are popular choices. Add fertilizer to the ground as needed and rake the soil over to a fine tilth. If there are any warm spells watch out for annual weed seed germinating and hoe off. to end of February sow winter vegetables indoor, such as Sprout, kale, Cabbage, Leek, and keep inside ready for planting out in June/July, when space is available. They are a valuable winter crop as they will stand in the ground until the following spring when warmer weather will cause them to bolt. Sow summer cabbage and cauliflower indoors for planting out in If you have a greenhouse it's a good time to clean out ready for the new season. If you have any advice or tips about gardening relating to this month contact us and if suitable will add to the page - please local to Haworth and the surrounding area only.

DENVER (CBS4) – Hundreds of protestors gathered at the steps of the Colorado State Capitol on Saturday to protest the celebration of Columbus Day. Protestors, most of whom were of Native American descent, called for lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis to abolish Columbus Day and create Indigenous People’s Day instead. “It is time to abolish Columbus Day,” said Glenn Morris, a member of Leadership Council of the American Indian Movement of Colorado. “To celebrate Columbus, and to celebrate the acts of Columbus, is an affront to native people. But, it should be an affront to people of good conscience of any community.” Columbus Day was created in Denver in 1905, something many Native Americans in Colorado say is something to be embarrassed by. The holiday was created to celebrate Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas. However, as some pointed out at the protest, Columbus did not discover the Americas. Indigenous people were already inhabiting the land, many of whom were killed or displaced by those who followed Columbus. “We, as native people, welcomed newcomers. But, it wasn’t reciprocated,” Morris said. Many states have adopted laws which rid of the Columbus Day title. Instead, many have accepted Indigenous People’s Day instead. State Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, a Democrat, says she sponsored three bills in the past three years to do the same. However, they all fell short. She cited concerns from others that the abolishment of Columbus Day would be insulting to Italian-Americans. “(Columbus) never ever set foot in the United States,” Benavidez told CBS4’s Dillon Thomas. “What country celebrates a foreign person who never set foot in their country?” “I think (other states have abolished the holiday) because many people are recognizing that the veneration and the celebration of Columbus is anti-Indian, anti-black,” Morris said. “This march epitomizes that this city, this state and this country can have an example beyond Columbus Day that brings us together.” Benavidez said she will, for the fourth time, propose the bill in the next legislative session. Morris threatened Colorado Democrats with an ultimatum. With Democrats in control of the House, the Senate and the governorship in Colorado, Morris said there is no reason why they shouldn’t push the idea through quickly. Morris said he, and others, would remember a failed initiative and would go to the polls in the next election with that at the forefront of their memories.

Nature Center Notes: Play is important, even for animals Here at the WNC Nature Center, we take animal care seriously. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time, and the same goes for our critters! Our animals enjoy enrichment activities that keep them stimulated and give them something fun to do. Providing regular enrichment is a requirement for accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, but it’s also a chance to change up the animals’ daily routine and it’s just plain fun to watch. All our animals get enrichment, but some are more playful than others. Perhaps the most entertaining are the river otters, Olive and Obi Wan. Visitors are likely to see them swimming and playing any time of day, rain or shine, and they love toys. Enrichment given to the otters includes floating blocks to climb on, hollow containers they can manipulate to reach treats inside, and small tubes stuffed with their favorite snack — mountain trout. These items encourage natural behavior while entertaining the otters at the same time. Another playful pair is the gray wolf pups, Nova and Wayah. These siblings just celebrated their 1st birthday in April, and still act very puppy-like sometimes. Visitors can catch them chasing each other through their habitat, and splashing around in their pool. They also enjoy tearing things up (typical puppy behavior), like wool from our sheep and paper bags. When it comes to the importance of play, we want kids to get in on the fun, too. Make sure to check out all the nature play spaces, including the Arachnid Adventure climbing exhibit, the Paint with Water Wall and the brand new children’s play area above the Turtle Pond. Learn more at www.wncnaturecenter.com.

The Parson Russell Terrier was first bred in the south of England in the mid-1800’s to hunt European red fox, both over and under the ground. The Parson Russell ran with horse and hound as the hunt trailed the fox across the Devon countryside. When the hounds drove a fox to ground the terrier followed, baying to bolt his quarry so that the chase could continue. The Parson Russell Terrier was developed in the south of England in the 1800’s as a white terrier to work European red fox both above and below ground. The terrier was named for the Reverend John Russell, whose terriers trailed hounds and bolted foxes from dens so the hunt could ride on. To function as a working terrier, he must possess certain characteristics: a ready attitude, alert and confident; balance in height and length; medium in size and bone, suggesting strength and endurance. Important to breed type is a natural appearance: harsh, weatherproof coat with a compact construction and clean silhouette. The coat is broken or smooth. He has a small, flexible chest to enable him to pursue his quarry underground and sufficient length of leg to follow the hounds. Old scars and injuries, the result of honorable work or accident, should not be allowed to prejudice a terrier’s chance in the show ring, unless they interfere with movement or utility for work or breeding. Bold and friendly. Athletic and clever. At work he is a game hunter, tenacious, courageous, and single minded. At home he is playful, exuberant and overwhelmingly affectionate. He is an independent and energetic terrier and requires his due portion of attention. He should not be quarrelsome. Shyness should not be confused with submissiveness. Submissiveness is not a fault. The ideal height of a mature dog is 14 inches at the highest point of the shoulder blade, and bitches 13 inches. Smooth and Broken: Whether smooth or broken, a double coat of good sheen, naturally harsh, close and dense, straight with no suggestion of kink. There is a clear outline with only a hint of eyebrows and beard if natural to the coat. No sculptured furnishings. The terrier is shown in his natural appearance not excessively groomed. Sculpturing is to be severely penalized. Faults – Soft, silky, woolly, or curly topcoat. Lacking undercoat. White, white with black or tan markings, or a combination of these, tri-color. Colors are clear. As long as the terrier is predominantly white, moderate body markings are not to be faulted. Learn more at the Parson Russell Terrier Association of America.