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Kindergarten backpacks - design - bunny
Children's backpacks and backpacks for preschoolers
Children can wear them to kindergarten, but also on trips to nature. The child can pack his favorite toys, spare clothes or tenth in his backpack and carry them with him at all times. Backpacks for kindergarten are very light and comfortable and are made in cheerful color motifs. They are usually equipped with one main zip pocket. They have a reinforced back and almost all have a chest strap so that they do not fall off the shoulders of children.
Animal motifs are very popular. These are intended for the youngest children from the age of 1 year.
The medium size of backpacks is intended for children aged 2 - 4 years. This is the 305-9 Mini Kiddy model.
Preschoolers aged 3 - 6 years can choose from larger backpacks from the 305-4/A Kiddy Plus with a chest strap and side pockets.
It is possible to filter only children's backpacks for boys or girls, stock products, or filter by other parameters.


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Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
35 Years and Just Getting Started: The J. Gordon Holt Interview
September 1997 saw the 35th anniversary of Stereophile magazine, founded by J. Gordon Holt back in 1962. If any interview needs no introduction, this is it. My interview with Gordon was conducted around the kitchen table in Gordon's Boulder, Colorado home over a couple of cold beers. It seemed appropriate to start at the very beginning...
J. Gordon Holt: I don't remember when that was.
J. Gordon Holt: I don't remember when that was.
Steven Stone: [laughs] You don't remember when you were born?
Holt: It was 1930.
Stone: And your parents were...
Holt: Older than I was...
Stone: I would hope.
Holt: Justin Gordon Holt and Katherine Holt. My father was a chemical engineer with an American textile firm. I was born in North Carolina, and lived there until I was five. We moved to Melbourne, Australia until I was 17. Then my father dropped dead and my mother and I came back here. She bought a house in Pennsylvania, and since then I haven't lived in any one place longer than 10 years.
Stone: Did you grow up in a household that had a lot of music?
Holt: My parents were not musical as far as I know. They didn't play instruments. They used to listen to music---mainly pop. It wasn't really the center of their life. I used to buy occasional pop records in my early teens. When I was 15 I took one of these stupid music-education courses in school, where they teach you about music. It's a historical approach---you start with the dullest music imaginable, then you move with snail-like speed to stuff that's more and more interesting. I sat through the whole thing, having great difficulty staying awake. They played them on a very ambitious---for the time---phonograph. The loudspeaker was about 5' high and had been donated to the school by the Carnegie Foundation.
The classes were held in the chapel, which had fairly good acoustics---it wasn't one of those places with bare walls that sounded like a bathroom. The teacher would wheel this big loudspeaker to center-stage, play the records, and they sounded pretty good. One time while I was dozing he got talking about Wagner, and he pulled out a piece of music---the Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin, or something like that. All of a sudden I woke up. It stood my hair on end. I'd never heard anything like this. So I went out the next weekend to the record store and bought that record, brought it home, and listened to it on my parent's phonograph. It was a little wind-up acoustical Victrola, and it didn't sound the same! [laughs] That was when I first realized that all phonographs were not created equal.
One of my hobbies became trying to modify that phonograph so it would sound better. And one of the things I did was take half of a pair of dynamic earphones---actually, they were moving-iron earphones---and I removed the mica disc from the record player's acoustical tonearm and substituted the headphone instead. I soldered the thing via an outside input to a big table radio and had a component system. It had more bass, it would play louder....That was the beginning of it.
Stone: What did your parents think about that modification?
Holt: They were amused. [laughs] They took sort of a patronizing interest in what I was doing, but most of the time they weren't that fascinated.
Stone: When did you first begin doing recordings?
Holt: In high school. I went into a store in town and I heard what I think was the first consumer tape deck. It was something called the Soundmirror BK401, made by a firm called Brush, who prior to that time had been noted only for making crystal headphones. I heard the thing in a store and they were playing an opera recording. You wouldn't believe it. The tape the thing was playing looked as if the backing had been made from old brown paper bags, and the coating on it was black and had about as much surface polish as slate. But the sound that was coming out of that one little 8" loudspeaker had such a sense of immediacy and depth. I was standing about 2' away from it and I had the feeling I was listening right through the speaker to what was going on. I was hooked.
My mother bought the thing for me for Christmas. Then I started recording concerts at my high school. I recorded the high-school play, The Importance of being Ernest. [laughs] I don't think the school had an orchestra, but I did several recordings of the band. As a matter of fact, in response to the first Stereophile Test CD, which came out in 1990 and had a 1948 mono recording of my school band on it, I got a letter from one of the people who used to play in that band. Through college, I recorded the orchestra there, the choruses, and the concert band---just about anything I could aim my microphone at.
I had gone to Lehigh University with the idea of being an electrical engineer because I'd gotten heavily into electronics and audio and building stuff from scratch and all that kind of thing. When I was about 16, I built a little, very simple, battery-operated portable radio. Really jerry-built. I mean, the antenna was a thin bamboo stick with a wire wrapped around it. I wrote an article about its construction and sold it to an Australian magazine called Radio and Hobbies. That was my first published piece. About a week after that issue of the magazine came out, I got a phone call from someone who was thinking of building it, and he needed some additional details. As soon as he heard my voice---I guess it was my voice, how young I was---all of a sudden he backed off. He wasn't interested anymore! [laughs] I don't blame him. But anyway, yeah, that was the first one.
The math at college killed me. I had the choice of either switching majors after the second year or flunking out. So I switched to journalism, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and worked with the school paper. One of the courses I was required to take was in magazine article writing. The rules of the game were, regardless of what grade you got for an assignment, if you sold the thing, you'd get an A. I wrote two articles and sold them both to High Fidelity. This was in 1953. After I graduated, the editor invited me to come up to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and visit.
I came up and met all the staff members. A whole bunch of us went out to dinner and got absolutely bombed. A good time was had by all. They enjoyed my scintillating personality so much they invited me to join the staff. I moved to Great Barrington and was there for five years.
That was 1955. I started off writing equipment reports. While I was there they started up a new magazine called Audiocraft. I used to do a column about tape recording for it. Apparently Audiocraft was getting very successful, and there was some sort of a problem. I was never really told what it was, but the story I heard was that even though it didn't have as high a circulation as High Fidelity, it seemed to have more appeal to advertisers. It was drawing a lot of High Fidelity's advertisers, who would then move to Audiocraft and not pay as much money for ads because Audiocraft didn't have as high a circulation. The publisher decided it was a threat and folded it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Table of Contents
Time-reversal invariance and the CP violation are connected to another asymmetry of the universe, the imbalance between matter and antimatter. At the microscopic level, matter and antimatter are always created together in 1:1 correspondence. High energy collisions produce equal numbers of quarks and antiquarks. And yet, our universe has a conspicuous surplus of matter, of which we and our surroundings are made. How did this happen?
A clue to this deep mystery is provided by the CP violation in the Ko meson, which shows decay modes having a preference for matter over antimatter. The Ko does not have enough mass for its decay to produce protons, but its decay asymmetry suggests that some more massive particle, perhaps a Bo meson containing a bottom quark, might in the early universe have decayed preferentially into protons rather than antiprotons, leading to the present day dominance of matter. Future experiments using the B-Factory, presently under construction at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), will investigate this problem.
Antimatter exists in nature only in the form of antiprotons present in very small numbers in cosmic rays and in positrons (antimatter electrons) produced in some radioactive decays. Recently, evidence has also been found for a "fountain" of positrons ejected from some object near the center of our galaxy, presumably a black hole.
However, we are getting better and better at producing and storing antimatter in the laboratory. Antiprotons, antineutrons, and even antideuterons (a nucleus consisting of an antineutron and an antiproton) are routinely produced using high energy particle accelerators at Fermilab in Illinois and CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Positrons and antiprotons have been trapped in electric and magnetic fields and held under high vacuum for several months. Recently, "antihydrogen" atoms having a positron orbiting an antiproton have been formed in laboratory experiments. These researchers are looking for any indication that trapped positrons, antiprotons, and antihydrogen atoms show a behavior that differs in any way from that of their normal matter counterparts, because any such difference would represent a violation of CPT symmetry.
Antimatter nuclei are also interesting for other reasons. Special facilities at CERN and Fermilab provide beams of low energy antiprotons and permit nuclear scientists to study the interactions of antiprotons with matter. While a positron and an electron usually annihilate to form a pair of gamma-ray photons traveling in opposite directions, the annihilation of an antiproton with a proton is more complicated. Several p mesons are usually produced. About a third of the mass energy of the proton-antiproton pair becomes inaccessible in the form of energetic neutrinos.
Nevertheless, antimatter can be viewed as an extremely compact form of stored energy that can be released at will by annihilation with matter. The US Air Force has commissioned design studies of antimatter-powered space vehicles that, given a supply of antimatter, look quite feasible. The problem with such schemes is that production of any significant quantity of antimatter would cost far too much right now to be economically feasible.


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Annual Fund Becomes Student Fund
September 11, 2013
One hundred percent of all annual gifts now go directly to student scholarships. To reflect this, the Annual Fund has changed its name to the Student Fund. Find out how you can make a gift to the Student Fund. Every gift matters!


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The Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development (NDIGD) and Professor Marya Lieberman have won a USAID Development Innovation Ventures award to improve global health. Lieberman, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, will expand her Paper Analytical Device research in Kenya.
The Paper Analytical Device project (PAD), supported by the College of Science and the Eck Institute for Global Health, allows a user to quickly determine whether a drug tablet contains the correct medicines. The PAD innovations could have a significant impact on the many countries that USAID serves, including Kenya. Many pharmaceuticals, particularly those purchased in the developing world, are of poor quality or fake. PADs are cheap, easy to use, and do not require power, chemicals, solvents, or any expensive instruments. These factors make them easy to implement in developing countries.
This newest award from USAID will allow Lieberman and the Purdue University College of Pharmacy AMPATH program to expand the PAD Project in Kenya. Over a twelve-month period, Lieberman will develop a manufacturing process to scale up making the PADs, and test a cell-phone based image analysis system to make them easier to use. Over a thousand PADs will be used as part of a large-scale post-market surveillance of pharmaceuticals in western Kenya. The surveillance of drug quality will also be integrated into the pharmacovigilance program and the drug purchasing process at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, which is a large purchaser of pharmaceuticals in Kenya. Screening large numbers of medications at different points in the pharmaceutical supply-chain will help the team to uncover falsified products that harm people in Kenya and neighboring countries.
USAID Development Innovation Ventures is an open competition supporting breakthrough solutions to the world's most intractable development challenges—interventions that could change millions of lives at a fraction of the usual cost.
An integral part of the University of Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, NDIGD works to promote human dignity through global partnerships and applied research, assessment, monitoring, evaluation, and training. The Keough School, scheduled to open in August 2017, will prepare students for effective and ethically grounded professional leadership in government, the private sector and global civil society, engaging them in worldwide effort to address the greatest challenges of our century.
Originally published by Meg McDermott at ndigd.nd.edu on November 03, 2015.


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1:72 - Pak 40, Zvezda
by Massive Voodoo
Roman is painting up stuff and really enjoying his personal studies on different topics of miniature painting lately. Once again he decided to paint up some 1:72 stuff as it is always a great practice to learn to paint small and tiny stuff, move the brush in small areas and so on.
He recently bought this 1:72 Pak (Anti-Tank-Gun) from Zvezda.
The quality of the piece is just amazing for this scale and it was rather cheap. His paintjob is far from a historical traditional paintjob, but that is what he aimed for. Nonetheless he plans to add it to his Historical Master display at the Duke of Bavaria - yeah why not?
It is the usual kit, scratchbuild base and Roman added a german officer from another Zvezda set to the crew of the gun (standing guy with googles):
The piece is really small, here you can see a photo of it on Roman's desk beside a pencil:
Pure athmospheric painting and study of colors by Roman here. Roman enjoyed to paint the small puddles the most, reflecting the burning sky. He hopes you like the piece too?
Keep on happy painting!
Best Wishes


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Immolate. Benjamin Clemens. 1912. Location Unknown. [Return to "Margaret M. Giles's Hero and the Sublime Female Nude"]
[You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and the University of Toronto Libraries and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Academy Architecture and Architectural Review. Ed. Alexander Koch. London: Academy Architecture, 1912. Internet Archive copy from University of Toronto Libraries.
Last modified 17 August 2011


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How to Make Your Sunset Photos Shine
Summer sunsets are unforgettable, but automatic camera settings hardly do the rich pink and golden tones justice. Take a look at three common sunset photography problems and the easy adjustments you can make to solve them.
- The picture looks boring: Photos need a point of interest, and dark silhouettes like people, palm trees, mountains, birds, or boats add a breakaway contrast to the vibrant sunset backdrop. Remember the rule of thirds, and keep all lines, subjects, and the sunset itself slightly off center.
- The colors are washed out: First, set the white balance to cloudy mode, so the camera will automatically bring out the warm, orange-pink hues of the sunset. Then set the camera to aperture or shutter priority mode. Shoot a little above and below the exposure bracket to experiment. Start with quicker shutter speeds and smaller aperture settings (larger number), and slowly work toward slower shutters speeds and larger aperture settings to bring in more light. If the camera struggles to focus automatically, thus preventing you from snapping the photo, then switch to manual focus.
- The photos are blurry: Bring a tripod. Slow shutter speeds and large aperture settings (smaller numbers) will turn out blurry when you're holding the camera in your hand. The tripod stabilizes the camera, allowing it to soak up all the glorious golden light.


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February 19, 2013
Cinnamon Raisin is one of three terrific new peanut butters from Planters. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
NUT-rition peanut butter debuted in three delicious flavors: Banana Granola Nut, Berry Nut and Cinnamon Raisin. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
Jump to the article index below
Peanut butter is a nutritious food: It was invented by a physician to provide protein for people who could not chew meat (see the history of peanut butter).
While delicious flavored peanut butter has been produced by artisan manufacturers for more than a decade, Planters is the first national producer to take on mix-ins.
They're marketing Planters NUT-rition as a peanut butter "Energy Mix" for adults. The message might be stated as: Instead of an energy bar, dig into a spoonful of delicious, flavored PB. The open jar doesn't need refrigeration, and is easy to keep in desk drawers, lockers or tote bags.
Three NUT-rition flavors debuted in September, with inclusions (popularly called mix-ins) that create a delightful texture as well as added flavor—we'd classify them as "gourmet" PB:
Planters NUT-rition Energy Mix peanut butters are packed with nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and six or seven grams of protein per serving. You can see all the nutritional information on the Planters.com website.
We've been hooked, and are on our third re-stocking of all three flavors. The 12-ounce jars, have a suggested retail price of $3.49-$3.99.
It would be nice to think that you could simply mix in your own favorites into a jar of plain peanut butter. But store-bought peanut butter is too thick to do that successfully. There may be an ultra-creamy style out there that would ease the process. Otherwise, we're happy to let the machinery of Kraft Foods do the mixing for us.
Yes, you can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the NUT-rition flavors.
Yes, you can turn it into peanut butter ice cream topping. See the recipe below.
You can spread it on cookies, on toast and other breakfast breads, on apple or pear slices and as a pretzel dip.
Or you can simply enjoy it from the spoon.
— Karen Hochman
In a 1-1/2 quart microwave-safe dish, combine 1 cup brown sugar (packed), 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter and a pinch of salt. Cover and microwave on high for 2-1/2 minutes or until the mixture bubbles, stirring at one minute intervals. Stir in 1 cup peanut butter until smooth, then add 1/2 cup evaporated milk. Spoon over ice cream, pound cake or pudding.
© Copyright 2004- 2024 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. All information contained herein is subject to change at any time without notice. All details must be directly confirmed with manufacturers, service establishments and other third parties. The material in this webzine may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Lifestyle Direct, Inc.


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Don't give a dog a bone, vets tell pet owners
The UK's leading veterinary charity the PDSA has taken to instructing owners not to give their dogs either cooked or raw bones, which it says can become lodged in their throats or splinter, damaging their stomach or intestines and sometimes killing them.
Its spokesman said: "We don't recommend bones as treats because we often see dogs with digestive tract damage and blockages caused by splinters or larger pieces of bone becoming stuck.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"Surgery is usually needed to remove any blockage and, in some cases, the damage is so serious that it can be fatal.
"Similarly, if they swallow a large piece of rawhide chew this can become stuck and cause serious problems."
The warning runs contrary to widely-held beliefs about the benefits to the animals' dental health and digestion of chewing on a bone.
A lobby group called the Raw Meaty Bones Action Group claims vets are biased in favour of prepared commercial food.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMeanwhile, The Dog's Trust states in a factsheet about feeding that while cooked bones are "very dangerous", large meaty bones have benefits and can even reduce some dogs' anxiety by causing particular chemicals to be released in their brains.
The British Veterinary Association has said there is no scientific evidence to demonstrate any benefits of feeding dogs raw meat and bones, however, and has highlighted further risks including salmonella.
Three years ago Tesco withdrew a type of ham bone dog treat from sale after a miniature schnauzer died when it splintered, rupturing his stomach.
The PDSA earlier this year said stones, babies' dummies, socks and kebab sticks were among hundreds of items its vets had surgically removed the stomachs of dogs over 12 months.


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If you frequently use some code that is normally supplied as separate modules, you can load them at start-up time from your initialization file. This file is called
by default, but can be changed to be any other filename. See "Setting global preferences" in the
Common LispWorks User Guide
for details.
For example, to load the dynamic-completion code every time you start LispWorks, include the following in your initialization file.
(require "dynamic-complete")


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Note: This section applies only to Unix/Linux systems.
A database directory environment variable specifies the root of the database directories. This variable is checked by LispWorks when you initialize a database type, and the libraries loaded are dependent on its value. The details of foreign code loading are described in the LispWorks Foreign Language Interface User Guide and Reference Manual
Note that most users only need to set the appropriate environment variable for their specific database vendor.
In order to override the default loading of database library code, you may set
. To control messages while loading the libraries, set
In LispWorks for UNIX only (not LispWorks for Linux, FreeBSD or Macintosh), the list of library modules is added to
is called to do the loading. If you need to load a different set of library modules, add your list of library modules to
before loading.


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Lyrics Depot is your source of lyrics to Come To Me by Diddy. Please check back for more Diddy lyrics.
Come To Me Lyrics
Artist: Diddy
Album: Press Play
(feat. Nicole Scherzinger)
[Nicole (Diddy)]
It's Bad Boy bitch
Do it do it do it do it
Do it do it do it do it
(It feels good to be back, I missed ya)
Relax your mind, let your conscience be free
And I roll with the sounds of BBE
Do it do it do it do it
Do it do it do it do it
(You know what time it is)
(Report to the dance floor)
It's bad boy bitch
(Talk to 'em)
See you out the corner of my eye
Leaning on the wall, looking fly
I want you to come be with me
You're the only one I wanna talk to
But I don't wanna rush
[Chorus - Nicole:]
I'm here when will you make your move?
I see you, I am me, I want cha, why don't cha
Come to me, I can be, what you need, uh baby
I'm standing, been waiting, I'm yearning, I'm burning
Get to know me, come and get to know me
Come to show me, that you wanna know me
You know who it is, I'm back in the building
Security strapped, still stacking a million
It's doubt with the stallion, somethin' Italian
Or maybe Puerto Rican, you can catch me in Paris
I'm in it to win it but willing to carry
The game, if you think I'm not look at the carats
I buck clean about in a Phantom
The people go screaming like an opera anthem
I did it before, do it again
I got to blow, gotta to spin
Lies before, cool as the wind
Got hits go back like juice and gin
Shine the best and diamond necklace
My extravagant taste, the style perplexes
They know I'm the ish, they wanna get next
That's why she had to fit cause she wanted to get next
[Diddy (Nicole)]
Anywhere I appear, they all stop and stare
Admire your body language speaking loud and clear like
(I want you to come be with me)
She be waiting anticipating for oh so long
Fantasising wild thoughts of me coming on like
(I'm here when will you make your move)
She digging my style, my swag, my suede, my swerve
My way with words, the Boys absurd for sure
You can't fall 'til my aura called
I make miracles like I walk on water
What you want mama order, it's on my tab
I'm so bad with the cash, I dropped the whole bag
Where you at girl?
I'm here right now, can't wait no more no
You were the one who stole my heart
Can't you see the wait is over
I need you to come closer
Please believe is getting stormy
You really got me hot
[Diddy and Nicole]
Do it do it do it do it
Do it do it do it do it
Why don't cha come to me
I can be, what you need uh baby
I'm here, you're here, let's make it happen
Do it do it do it do it
Do it do it do it do it
Relax your mind, let your conscience be free
And I roll with the sounds of BBE (Bad Boy Entertainment)
Do it, do it
You know what this is
It's Bad Boy bitch
Press Play!
Diddy Lyrics
Diddy Press Play Lyrics
More Diddy Music Lyrics:
Diddy - Bad Boy For Life Lyrics
Diddy - Best Friend Lyrics
Diddy - Do You Like It, Do You Want It Lyrics
Diddy - I Need A Girl (Part One) Lyrics
Diddy - Smoke (Interlude) Lyrics
Diddy - Tell Me Lyrics
Diddy - Where's Sean? Lyrics


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There was an interesting article in the Guardian newspaper last Friday, accusing the Foreign Office of hoarding more than a million historic files at a facility in Buckinghamshire. Many of the documents apparently date back to the 19th century. According to the article they "document in fine detail British foreign relations throughout two world wars, the cold war, withdrawal from empire and entry into the common market". The article states that under the Public Records Acts, they should have been transferred to the National Archives at Kew and made public after 30 years. The full article is at www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/18/foreign-office-historic-files-secret-archive.
The Guardian has previously disclosed that over 66,000 Ministry of Defence files are also being held at a warehouse in Derbyshire, some from Northern Ireland - that article is at www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/06/ministry-of-defence-files-archive.
Amongst the Foreign Office files believed to be held in Buckinghamshire are:
Files on Rhodesia
Files about KGB spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean
Files on Hong Kong
Nazi persecution case files
The United States
Cold war files
Papers on The treaty of Paris, which concluded the Crimean War (1856)
The full inventory of Foreign Office files held in Buckinghamshire is listed at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/36037/archive-inventory.pdf.
Of specific interest to the family history community will be a vaguely described collection in Bay 22 of the facility: "Birth, death and marriage registers" - a collection taking up 20.88 metres of shelf space.
From where?
Someone at the Foreign Office not only has some explaining to do, but it looks like some kind of plan is in place to get these documents to the National Archives asap, which now has a mammoth task ahead to work out what to do with it all.
My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/. My next Pharos Scottish course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs, starts Nov 13th - see http://pharostutors.com.
The GENES Blog (GEnealogy News and EventS) ceased publication on 14 FEB 2020. You will now find all the latest genealogy news and views on Scottish GENES at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com. The GENES Blog archive will remain live, with a record of the genealogy news for Britain and Ireland from 2013-2020. Thank you!
Wednesday 23 October 2013
Foreign Office hoarding historic files in secret archive
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"Chapter 17: Priesthood—'for the Salvation of the Human Family'" Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow (2011)
"Chapter 17," Teachings: Lorenzo Snow
Chapter 17
Priesthood—"for the Salvation of the Human Family"
"The priesthood we hold has been revealed for the salvation of the human family. We must be lively in our minds in reference to it."
From the Life of Lorenzo Snow
Elder Lorenzo Snow was ordained an Apostle on February 12, 1849. Eight months later he was called to establish a mission in Italy. With other brethren who had been called to serve, he left for this mission on October 19, 1849. He and his companions made the long journey by foot, on horseback, and by boat.
Arriving in Italy in June 1850, he and his companions found that the people in the major Italian cities were not yet ready to receive the gospel. But a people known as the Waldenses attracted his attention, and he felt inspired to work among them. The Waldenses had lived for centuries in the secluded Piedmont region—a mountain valley just south of the Italy-Switzerland border and east of the Italy-France border. Having formed their society because of a desire for religious reform, they were dedicated to studying the Bible and following the example of the Savior's Apostles.
Elder Snow said that when he considered preaching the gospel among the Waldenses, "a flood of light seemed to burst upon my mind."1 But despite these assurances, he felt that it was unwise to begin active missionary work immediately because enemies of the Church had distributed publications among the people, spreading lies about the Church.2 Elder Snow reported, "As I felt it was the mind of the Spirit that we should proceed at first, by slow and cautious steps, I submitted to the will of heaven."3
Although the missionaries did not begin preaching right away, Elder Snow oversaw the publication of pamphlets in Italian and French. In addition, he and his companions befriended the people around them. "We endeavoured to lay a foundation for future usefulness," he said, "in silently preparing the minds of the people for the reception of the Gospel, by cultivating friendly feelings in the bosoms of those by whom we were surrounded. Yet I felt it rather singular, and no small tax upon patience, to be weeks, and months, in the midst of an interesting people, without being actively and publicly engaged in communicating the great principles which I had come to promulgate."4
The Waldenses' feelings about the Church began to change significantly after Elder Snow administered a priesthood blessing to a boy who had become very ill. Elder Snow wrote the following in his journal:
"Sept. 6th.—This morning my attention was directed to Joseph Guy, a boy three years of age, the youngest child of our host. Many friends had been to see the child, as to all human appearance, his end was nigh at hand. I went to see him in the afternoon: death was making havoc of his body; his former healthy frame was now reduced to a skeleton, and it was only by close observation we could discern he was alive."
Troubled by the opposition to the preaching of the gospel and concerned about little Joseph Guy, Elder Snow turned to the Lord for help that evening. He later recalled: "For some hours before I retired to rest, I called upon the Lord to assist us at this time. My feelings on this occasion will not be easily erased from memory.
"Sept. 7th.—This morning, I proposed … that we should fast, and retire to the mountains, and pray. As we departed, we called and saw the child; his eyeballs turned upwards: his eyelids fell and closed: his face and ears were thin, and wore the pale marble hue, indicative of approaching dissolution. The cold perspiration of death covered his body, and the principle of life was nearly exhausted. Madame Guy and other females were sobbing, while Monsieur Guy hung his head." Whispering to Elder Snow and the other missionaries, Monsieur Guy said, "He dies. He dies."
Elder Snow continued: "After a little rest upon the mountains, aside from any likelihood of interruption, we there called upon the Lord in solemn prayer, to spare the life of the child. As I contemplated the course we wished to pursue and the claims we should soon advance to the world, I regarded this circumstance as one of vast importance. I know not any sacrifice which I could possibly make, that I was not willing to offer that the Lord might grant our requests."
When they returned to the Guy family that afternoon, Elder Snow gave Joseph a priesthood blessing. They went to see the family a few hours later, and Joseph's father, "with a smile of thankfulness," told them the boy was much better.
"Sept. 8.—The child had been so well, the parents were enabled to betake themselves to rest, which they had not done for some time previous. To-day, they were enabled to leave him, and attend to their business." When Joseph's mother expressed her joy at the boy's recovery, Elder Snow responded, "The God of heaven has done this for you."
"From that hour he began to amend," recounted Elder Snow, "and with a heart filled with gratitude to our heavenly Father, I am happy to say, that in a few days he left his bed, and joined his little companions."5
After this experience, Elder Snow felt that circumstances were "as favourable as could be expected" for the work of the Lord to progress among the people. On September 19, 1850, exactly 11 months after he had left home to serve in Italy, he told his companions that they should "commence [their] public business." They again ascended a mountain, where Elder Snow dedicated the land for the preaching of the restored gospel.6
Elder Snow's words to Madame Guy—"the God of heaven has done this for you"—reflected his lifelong teachings about the priesthood. He reminded the Saints that through the work of priesthood holders, "the glory and power of God [is] made manifest" for the benefit of others.7 [See suggestion 1 on page 213.]
Teachings of Lorenzo Snow
Priesthood bearers are messengers of the Almighty, with authority delegated from heaven to administer holy ordinances.
We, the Latter-day Saints, profess to have received from God the fulness of the everlasting gospel; we profess to be in possession of the holy Priesthood—the delegated authority of God to man, by virtue of which we administer in its ordinances acceptably to him.8
Any man who will humble himself before God and will be immersed in water, after repentance, for the remission of his sins, shall receive, through the laying on of hands, the gift of the Holy Ghost. Can I give this to him? No, I, simply as a messenger of the Almighty to whom has been delegated authority, administer immersion for the remission of sins; I simply immerse him in water, having authority so to do. I simply lay my hands upon him for the reception of the Holy Ghost, then God, from his presence, acknowledges my authority, acknowledges that I am his messenger, and confers the Holy Ghost upon the individual.9
When [I have] baptiz[ed] people and administer[ed] the ordinances of this holy priesthood, God has confirmed those administrations by imparting the Holy Ghost, giving a knowledge to the individuals to whom I administered, convincing them that the authority was delegated from heaven. And every Elder who has gone forth to preach this everlasting Gospel, and acted in the spirit of his calling, can bear the same testimony, that through their administrations in these holy ordinances the glory and power of God has been made manifest in a convincing manner upon the heads of those to whom they have administered. This is our testimony; this was the testimony [in 1830] of a certain individual who stood forth and claimed that God had authorized him to baptize people for the remission of sins, and lay hands upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, which should impart unto them a knowledge from the eternal worlds that he had this authority. This person was Joseph Smith; and he conferred this authority, which was given unto him by holy angels, upon others who were sent forth to bear testimony to the world that those who would receive those holy ordinances, should receive the testimony from the Almighty that they were thus authorized to so administer. And this is our testimony; and this is my testimony before this people and before the world.10
Where in all the world can you find a class of ministers that dare take the position our Elders do? Where is the man or the set of men that can be found that dare to present themselves before the world and say that they have been authorized of God to administer certain ordinances to the people through which they may receive revelation from God? Any one announcing a doctrine of this kind would soon be found out if he was an impostor—he would place himself in a very dangerous position, and would soon be discovered if he held no such authority. Our Elders, however, dare take this position. … God has sent his holy angels from heaven and restored the authority to man to administer the ordinance[s] of the gospel.11 [See suggestion 2 on page 213.]
The priesthood helps us find happiness in this life and throughout eternity.
The Priesthood has been restored; it has been bestowed upon man that through that medium, all who would like to be good and happy, might have the privilege. The gospel tells us how to be great, good and happy. The spirit of the gospel of Christ teaches all things that are necessary for our present and future welfare.
We have these objects in view today, and we should continually keep them before us. Look back for twenty-five years, or look back ten years only, and a great many have been in the church that length of time, and see what we have accomplished. We see farther and comprehend things better, hence we are better prepared for the things that are coming on the earth than we were ten, fifteen, twenty or twenty-five years ago to know how to be useful, to know how to do things as they should be done. …
… The object of the priesthood is to make all [people] happy, to diffuse information, to make all partakers of the same blessings in their turn.12
For this very purpose the Holy Priesthood has been bestowed in this our day, to guide and perfect the saints of God here, and just in proportion as we attain to intelligence in this world and to integrity and faithfulness … , so will be the exalted condition in which we shall appear behind the veil.13
The Lord has said that He will give us all that He hath—and this according to the oath and covenant which belongs to the Priesthood [see D&C 84:33–44]. Nobody ought to doubt what Jesus says, and He declares, as recorded in the Revelations of St. John, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne." [Revelation 3:21.] Can anything be said greater than that? Does not that comprehend everything?14
This gospel we have received has been revealed from heaven, and the priesthood we hold has been revealed for the salvation of the human family. We must be lively in our minds in reference to it.15 [See suggestion 3 on page 213.]
Righteous priesthood holders seek diligently and energetically for spiritual gifts to help them serve others.
To my brethren in the Priesthood I beg to offer a few words of counsel, instruction and exhortation. Upon you rest high and sacred responsibilities, which relate not only to the salvation of this generation, but of many past generations, and many to come. The glorious ensign of Emanuel's kingdom once again established in the world must be unfurled in every nation, kingdom, and empire; the voice of warning … must be carried forth unto all people; you are the ones whom the Lord has selected for this purpose, even the horn of Joseph, to push together the people [see Deuteronomy 33:13–17]. Surely you cannot be too anxiously, nor too industriously engaged, seeking how best, the manner most useful to yourselves and mankind, to magnify your holy and sacred offices.16
There are men in this Church who are as good in their hearts and feelings as men ever were, but lack faith and energy, and do not obtain really what is their privilege to receive. If their faith, their energy and determination were equal to their good feelings and desires, their honesty and goodness, they would indeed be mighty men in Israel; and sickness and disease and the power of the evil one would flee before them as chaff before the wind. Yet, we say we are a good people and that we are not only holding our own but making great advances in righteousness before God; and no doubt, we are. But I wish to impress upon you, my brethren and sisters that there are Elders among us endowed with spiritual gifts that may be brought into exercise through the aid of the Holy Ghost. The gifts of the Gospel must be cultivated by diligence and perseverance. The ancient Prophets when desiring some peculiar blessing, or important knowledge, revelation or vision, would sometimes fast and pray for days and even weeks for that purpose.17
My young brethren, when things go against you, when everything seems black, do your duty and you will become strong men, powerful men; the sick will be healed under your ministrations; devils will flee from you; the dead will rise; and everything that was ever done by man since the days of Adam, you will be able to do through the power of God and through a proper ambition.18
Purity, virtue, fidelity, godliness must be sought ambitiously, or the crown cannot be won. Those principles must be incorporated with[in] ourselves, woven into our constitutions, becoming a part of us, making us a centre, a fountain of truth, of equity, justice, and mercy, of all that is good and great, that from us may proceed the light, the life, the power, and the law to direct, to govern and assist to save a wandering world; acting as the sons of God, for and in behalf of our Father in heaven. We expect in the resurrection to exercise the powers of our priesthood—we can exercise them only in proportion as we secure its righteousness and perfections; these qualifications can be had only as they are sought and obtained, so that in the morning of the resurrection we will possess those acquisitions only which we secured in this world! Godliness cannot be conferred but must be acquired, a fact of which the religious world seem[s] strangely and lamentably unconscious. Seek to benefit others, and others will seek to benefit you; and he that would be great, let him be good, studying the interests of the whole, becoming the servant of all.19
As Saints of God, Elders of Israel, we should be willing to devote time and labor, making every necessary sacrifice in order to obtain the proper spiritual qualifications to be highly useful in our several callings. And may the Lord inspire every heart with the importance of these matters that we may seek diligently and energetically for the gifts and powers promised in the Gospel we have obeyed.20 [See suggestion 4 below.]
Suggestions for Study and Teaching
Consider these ideas as you study the chapter or as you prepare to teach. For additional help, see pages v–vii.
Review the account on pages 205–7. In what ways can Melchi-zedek Priesthood holders prepare themselves to give priesthood blessings? What can we all do to prepare ourselves to receive priesthood blessings?
Read the paragraph at the bottom of page 208. In what ways do priesthood ordinances manifest the power of God in our lives?
In what ways do priesthood ordinances and blessings help us all find happiness in this life? How do they help us secure eternal happiness? In connection with these questions, ponder President Snow's teachings on page 210.
On pages 211–13, examine the spiritual gifts that President Snow encouraged priesthood holders to cultivate. What do you think it means to cultivate a spiritual gift? How does this counsel relate to the efforts of all members of the Church?
Related Scriptures: James 5:14–15; Alma 13:2–16; D&C 84:19–22; 128:8–14; Articles of Faith 1:3, 5


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In many cases, there seems to be a tendency to water down expectations when it comes to integrating technology.
During a recent presentation on digital pedagogy for deeper learning I asked attendees to discuss then share out on TodaysMeet how they were effectively integrating technology in their classroom, school, or district. There was an emphasis on describing in detail what effective use of technology meant to them. As the results poured in there were a few consistent responses that stood out. Most attendees flat out stated that they or their schools/districts were not effectively integrating technology. Others confessed that they weren't sure what effective use constituted. Many of the remaining responses centered on just a listing of tools that were being used as a measure of effectiveness.
The question about effective use provides a great opportunity for all of us to critically reflect upon the current role technology plays in education. There is a great deal of potential in the numerous tools now available to support or enhance learning, but we must be mindful of how they are being used. Take Kahoot for example. This tool is used in so many classrooms across the world to get students more engaged and add a level of fun and excitement to the learning process. However, most of the time the questions that students are asked to answer in a Kahoot are focused on the lowest cognitive domains and mostly multiple choice. I have nothing against Kahoot and think it is a great tool that has a great deal of promise. My issue is how this tool, and many others, are utilized in the classroom.
The burden of responsibility here lies with both teachers and administrators. In many cases the engagement factor is emphasized over learning outcomes and actual evidence of improvement aligned to standards. I get that this is not the end all be all, but nevertheless it is important. It goes without saying that effective technology integration should inform instruction and provide feedback as to the level of conceptual mastery students demonstrate. Then there is the unfortunate practice of putting the cart before the horse where acquiring technology and getting it into classrooms takes precedence over improving instructional design. In either case, for technology to ever live up to the lofty, and at times baseless, expectations that have been established we must take a more critical look at pedagogy.
For many educators SAMR is the preferred model often associated with technology integration. It's a catchy model and does have some value mostly in the form of what we shouldn't be doing (substitution). Take a close look at the tech-centric language used in each category and ask yourself what does the SAMR model really tell you about the level of student learning? This is why I love the Rigor Relevance Framework as a means to ensure that technology is integrated effectively. It provides a common language, constitutes the lens through which to examine all aspects of a learning culture (curriculum, instruction, assessment), and helps to create a culture around a common vision.
Technology should be integrated in a way that increases engagement through relevance. As students are utilizing technology are they just applying it in one discipline? I am not saying this is a bad thing, but we must eventually move beyond this typical comfort zone when it comes to tool use. When integrating technology does the task allow students:
- to make connections across various disciplines and content areas?
- to solve real-world predictable problems?
- to solve real-world unpredictable problems?
The other aspect of this framework is the most important. Are students working, thinking, or both? Successful technology integration is totally dependent on the level of questioning that is asked of our students. This is why I always say that pedagogy trumps technology. Think about the formative and summative assessments you either use or see in your respective role. Are students demonstrating high levels of cognitive thought? How do you know whether students have learned or not when integrating technology? What does the feedback loop look like? These are extremely important questions to ask as a teacher or administrator to determine the level of effectiveness. Check out this example to see how all the pieces (rigor, relevance, tech, assessment) come together to create a powerful learning experience).
- anticipatory set/do-now
- review of prior learning
- checking for understanding (formative and summative)
- closure
The most important aspects of pedagogy are assessment and feedback. If technology (and innovation in general) is going to have a positive impact on learning, let's ensure these areas are improved first. Then going forward always lend a critical eye to how technology is being used to address standards and inform instruction.
This post first appeared on my blog here.


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JUPITER, Fla., May 16 (UPI) — A Florida man carrying a revolver in the pocket of his shorts accidentally shot himself while bowling, witnesses said.
Police said the man, whose name was not released, was bowling at Jupiter Lanes in Jupiter around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday when he incurred the gunshot wound to his leg, WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, reported Thursday.
Witnesses said the man was carrying a revolver in the pocket of his shorts and the weapon fired off a round when he struck himself in the leg with his bowling ball.
The man's injuries were not considered life-threatening, but he was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center as a precaution, police said.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).


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Latino constituent education campaign begins as House Republicans considertiming for votes on E-Verify, guest worker proposals
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As House Republican leaders weigh the timing for a floor vote on a flawed mandatory E-Verify bill, America's Voice Education Fund and Service Employees International Union launched a five-figure Spanish-language media campaign to educate constituents about the pending legislation.
The ads will run in heavy rotation this week on top Spanish language radio stations and on Friday in the newspaper La Opinión, with the message that "once again, Republicans are pushing a terrible immigration plan that will hurt Latino workers in California and around the country." The campaign highlights Republican hypocrisy for claiming that E-verify will weed out undocumented workers to create jobs for Americans, when errors in the database will actually lead to the firing of hundreds of thousands of authorized workers. Taking the message to Spanish-language media is particularly important, because naturalized citizens are at least 30 times more likely to be falsely identified as "unauthorized" than native-born citizens.
The Republicans' E-Verify plan is facing massive resistance from labor unions, small business owners, conservatives, and farmers worried about the longevity of their industry, which everyone knows is heavily reliable upon undocumented workers. To appease growers, House Republicans are also considering a massive new guest worker program. The plan would allow agriculture interests to replace existing, experienced farmworkers with hundreds of thousands of new temporary workers with no rights and no protections. The radio ads feature an Oxnard farmworker, an American citizen, who objects to the Republicans' E-Verify and guest worker plans because they treat farm workers like "disposable machines" rather than human beings.
The ads will run in districts represented by key advocates for mandatory E-Verify: House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Elton Gallegly (R-Camarillo) and House Judiciary Committee Member Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Sacramento). Gallegly is a cosponsor of the E-Verify measure and Lungren voted in favor of it last week when it passed the House Judiciary Committee. Lungren is also one of the leading advocates for adding an agriculture guest worker program to the E-Verify bill.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America's Voice Education Fund: "Reps. Gallegly and Lungren have sizable Latino populations in their districts, and their constituents deserve to know the truth. The Republicans' master plan would endanger the jobs of millions of Latinos—including U.S. citizens wrongly flagged by the government's database—and import hundreds of thousands of new guest workers to replace them. It would push more jobs and workers into the underground economy, grow the deficit, and expand red tape and costs for small businesses. That's no solution to our broken immigration system. We're launching this campaign to make sure California Latinos know what their 'leaders' in Washington are up to."
Other Republican members of the California delegation are supportive of making E-Verify mandatory, despite the very real consequences they will have on California workers, industries, and taxpayers, while Democrats like Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Howard Berman are leading the charge to defeat them. In addition to running in Gallegly and Lungren's districts, the ads will also run in Los Angeles, criticizing California Republicans in general for their role pushing a mandatory E-verify and guest worker package in Congress.
Eliseo Medina, SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer, said, "When it comes to immigration policy, no tactic is too extreme for Republicans. In their desperate attempt to carry out a right-wing, strident, nativist agenda, they are happy to cripple our economy and jeopardize the future of key industries like agriculture that rely on immigrant workers. We cannot allow this sort of extreme behavior to go unchecked. Constituents need to understand just how entrenched Republicans are in this anti-immigrant rhetoric and deserve the opportunity to hold them accountable for their reckless behavior."
Mike Garcia, SEIU-USWW President, explained, "Let there be no mistake: Latino constituents understand the devastation of this policy. Janitors, security guards, farm workers and others have all seen it in their communities and they refuse to standby and allow Republicans to wreak further havoc," explained Mike Garcia, President of SEIU-USWW. "Republicans talk endlessly about job creation and never take action. We are taking on this public education campaign because constituents and workers need to know exactly what their elected leaders are doing in Washington, because it certainly is not creating jobs."
Arturo Rodriguez, President of the United Farm Workers of America, commented, "The current labor force is comprised of professional farm workers who possess essential skills needed to maintain the viability of the agricultural industry. We know that it will be impossible to replace the million unauthorized workers who are currently working in agriculture with US workers who have no experience in agriculture. The UFW strongly opposes a new guest worker program with little government oversight because a new guestworker program creates two new problems – even more people looking for work and less protections for farm workers. The UFW has fought for decades to improve the working conditions of farm workers and the proposed guest worker program would come and destroy all that work."
Text of the radio ad (English and Spanish):
Once again, Republican Congressmen are promoting a terrible immigration plan that would harm Latino workers in California and across the country.
The plan forces companies to use the federal E-Verify system to verify that their workers have authorization (to work). But the program uses a database full of errors that may leave thousands of Latinos out of work.
To make matters worse, they want to bring in half a million new temporary agricultural workers without rights or protections.
My name is Reynaldo Arevalo. I'm a citizen of this country and I've worked as a mushroom picker for more than 20 years. This plan treats me and my co-workers like we're disposable. We are human beings and we should be treated as such.
Tell these Republican Congressmen that their plan will NOT resolve unemployment nor fix the problems with our immigration system.
Text "ENOUGH" to the number "69866". Text messaging charges may apply.
A message from SEIU and America's Voice Education Fund
Otra vez, congresistas republicanos promueven un terrible plan migratorio que lastimará a trabajadores latinos en California y en todo el país.
El plan obliga a las empresas a usar el sistema federal E-Verify para verificar que sus trabajadores estén autorizados. Pero el programa usa bancos de datos llenos de errores que pueden dejar sin trabajo a miles de latinos.
Para empeorar las cosas, quieren traer a medio millón de nuevos trabajadores agrícolas temporales sin derechos ni protecciones.
Mi nombre es Reynaldo Arevalo. Soy ciudadano de este país, y he trabajado en la cosecha de los hongos por más de 20 años. Este plan me trata a mí y a mis compañeros como si fuéramos desechables. Somos seres humanos y queremos ser tratados como tal.
Dígales a los congresistas republicanos que su plan NO resolverá el desempleo ni arreglará los problemas del sistema migratorio.
Envíe el texto "BASTA" al número "69866". Pueden aplicar cargos por mensajes de texto.
Un mensaje de SEIU y el Fondo Educativo de America's Voice.
For more information on the E-Verify and guest worker plan, see:
America's Voice Report on the Impacts of this Plan on California (America's Voice)
Summary of Smith's E-Verify Bill (National Immigration Law Center)
Summary of Pending Guest Worker Bills, Other Resources (Farmworker Justice)
Costs of E-Verify (Center for American Progress)
Small Business Opposition to E-Verify (quotes compiled by National Immigration Law Center)
Labor Perspective on E-Verify (Service Employees International Union)
Conservative Perspective on E-Verify (National Foundation for American Policy)
Farmworker Justice Report on Abuses in the H-2A Guest Worker Program (Farmworker Justice)


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Leica S is the new medium format camera from Leica Camera AG. As expected, the camera uses the same 37.5MP sensor and has several improvements. See the press release below for more details. The Leica S is priced at $21,950.
The synthesis of optimum imaging quality, perfect handling and outstanding speed
Solms, Germany (September 17, 2012) – Leica Camera presents a new camera in the Leica S-System portfolio, a revolutionary digital camera concept to meet supreme professional requirements. The next generation in the successful line, the Leica S offers increased imaging quality and sensor sensitivity, predictive autofocus, higher speed and improved handling. Numerous enhanced functions contribute to the camera's further acceleration and greater security of the professional photographic workflow. In addition to the new camera body, three lenses have been added to the S-System portfolio, significantly expanding the capabilities of the system: the Leica Super-Elmar-S 24 mm f/3.5 ASPH. super-wide, the Leica Vario-Elmar-S 30-90 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH. and the Leica TS-APO-Elmar-S 120 mm f/5.6 ASPH. tilt/shift lens.
"This expansion of the system is further confirmation that the dedicated digital concept of the S-System sets new standards in the world of medium format photography while providing the speed and handling of a 35 mm SLR," said Stephan Schulz, Head of Professional Imaging at Leica Camera AG. "In terms of its rugged resilience, reliability and versatility, the new Leica S is the first choice for photographers who refuse to make compromises."
New Image And Sensor Board For More Quality And Higher Speed
One of the most remarkable innovations in the Leica S is its new image and sensor board. The upgrade of these electronic components has led to the increased imaging quality of the Leica S, as well as the improvement of noise characteristics, natural color rendition and the precision of its white balance. The latter function has now been extended to include a 'Grey Card' option that allows photographers to shoot a subject with a neutral grey area, such as a grey card, and define the white balance determined as a reference for all following photos to ensure a consistently precise color mood from beginning to end of a shoot. The extended sensitivity range of the sensor at both ends gives photographers more freedom of choice in the selection of exposure parameters. For example, the lower basic ISO setting of 100 allows longer working at maximum aperture in extremely bright conditions, while the maximum sensitivity of ISO 1600 enables them to capture noise-free images even under difficult lighting conditions. In addition, the double buffer memory of 2 GB and support of transfer rates up to 166 MB/s enables photographers to shoot continuous sequences of more than twice as many (up to 32) consecutive images in RAW format, at a full resolution of 37.5 MP. There is no limit to the number of consecutive images that may be captured in JPEG format. Images can be
saved parallel to the original files in a choice of 37.5, 9.3 and 2.3 megapixels to provide photographers with a preview of the work in progress straight from the camera at the desired resolution.
Fast, Predictive Autofocus Module For Subjects In Motion
The upgraded autofocus module not only increases the speed, but also enhances focusing precision. In combination with its fascinating imaging quality, the Leica S sets new standards for professional action photography. To ensure that moving subjects remain sharp and can be swiftly tracked, the Leica S features a predictive autofocus. The camera compares past movements of the subject and computes the location of the subject at the time of exposure. The autofocus locks on to this computed point before the shutter release is pressed.
GPS System And Leveling Aid For Precision And Uncomplicated Workflows
The Leica S is the only professional camera to feature an integrated GPS module that can add the geographical positioning data of the exposure location to the Exif data of an image whenever necessary. This function allows the precise synchronization of the system time (internal clock) for any worldwide location where satellite signals can be received. With software (the professional image administration and processing tool, Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 4 is supplied with the camera), every image can be shown on a map and tagged with a location name that can be used to locate the image in the future. The new dual-axis leveling aid (spirit level) displays its readout in the viewfinder to allow photographers to align the subject with absolute precision in the horizontal and vertical plane without the need for external aids.
Optimized Handling
The monitor screen offers a resolution of 920,000 pixels, a 3″ diagonal and full sRGB color space, as well as increased contrast and brightness to allow for greater precision when assessing images. The glass covering plate of the monitor screen is manufactured from tough, scratch-resistant Corning®Gorilla®Glass. The increased viewfinder coverage of 98 percent, additional information displayed in the viewfinder, optimization of the camera menu and a softer rubber coating for better grip all make the new camera easy to handle. Significantly faster navigation in the camera menu is now possible with the new integrated joystick control located on the back. Greater security in the control of studio flash systems is afforded by the new LEMO flash sync socket.
Advantages Of The S-System
The new Leica S possesses all the standard quality characteristics of the S-System including the large (30 x 45 mm) Leica Pro Format sensor and its microlens layer that guarantees consistently uniform brightness from corner to corner. Resembling all S-Lenses, the camera is extremely rugged and sealed against environmental influences such as dust and rain. The unique dual shutter concept offers photographers the choice of using the camera's fast focal plane shutter or the central shutter of CS-version lenses that allows flash sync at shutter speeds up to 1/1000th of a second. The eight Leica S-System lenses currently available (five of which will also be available with a central shutter) offer photographers all focal lengths and a first-class tilt/shift lens. Furthermore, a wide range of medium format lenses from a number of other manufacturers can easily be mounted on the Leica S using adapters such as the S-Adapter H, which allows the use of Hasselblad H-Lenses with full support of all functions including autofocus, central shutter control and automatic aperture control.
Photographers never face compromises when they choose a Leica S due to details such as secure cable connections, multifunctional memory card slots, further improved energy efficiency and scratch resistant monitor glass. The Leica S stands alone as an ideal and extremely reliable tool for achieving maximum quality results both in the studio and on location, under even the most unfavorable conditions.
Together with the new Leica M, the Leica S marks the beginning of a new era in Leica's product naming policy. In future, Leica M and S model names will omit the number suffix to emphasize the long-term significance and enduring value of the respective systems.
Purchase of the Leica S includes the Leica Protection Plan, offering photographers an extended warranty for a period of three years, as well as a replacement camera during repair. The Leica S will be available from select Leica dealers, including the Leica Store Washington DC, beginning in December 2012.
Camera type: | Digital medium-format single lens reflex camera for use with Leica S-Lenses. |
Image sensor | |
Type: | Low Noise CCD-Sensor with microlenses and microlens shift |
Size: | 30 . 45 mm (Leica Pro Format) |
Aspect ratio: | 2:3 |
Resolution: | 37.5 megapixels |
Pixel pitch: | 6 μm |
Dynamic range: | 12 stops |
Color depth: | 16 bits per pixel |
Color spaces: | sRGB, Adobe RGB, ECI RGB 2.0. |
White balance: | Presets: Daylight, cloudy, shade, incandescent, HMI, fluorescent warm, fluorescent cool, flash, grey card (determined from image) / automatic / color temperature (Kelvin) |
Low-pass filter / IR filter: | No / on sensor |
Moiré suppression: | In external image processing software (e.g. with the Adobe® Lightroom® software provided with the camera) |
Sensitivity range: | ISO 100 to ISO 1600 (manually or automatically controlled) |
Lenses | |
Lens mount: | Leica S-Bayonet for Leica S-Lenses |
Focal length: | Dependent on Leica S-Lens attached, conversion factor to 35 mm film equivalent 0.8. |
Focusing | |
Type: | Predictive AF with center cross-sensor defined by cross-hairs on the focusing screen, focusing drive integrated in lenses |
AF modes: | Selectable modes AF s (single) = focus priority, AF c (continuous) = release priority, MF (manual), manual override of AF settings possible at all times |
AF memory: | Second resistance point hold on shutter release, lock for single exposure or constant by setting with 5-way control |
Manual focus: | With lens focusing ring |
Exposure setting | |
Exposure metering: | Exposure metering through the lens (TTL) |
Metering modes: | Multi-segment metering (5 fields), center-weighted integral metering, selective (spot) metering (3.5% of image frame) |
AE lock: | Second resistance point hold on shutter release, lock for single exposure or constant by setting with 5-way control |


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Deliberate omissions
The universal reaction to book lists is annoyance over what has been left out. Everyone remembers the uproar at this time last year when Publishers Weekly named the Top Ten Books of 2009, and not one by a woman. It was assumed that women had been intentionally excluded, even though the list's compilers said their intention was to "ignore[] gender and genre and who had the buzz." If someone has offended you, though, you are entitled to dismiss his explanations. "[W]hen PW's editors tell us they're not worried about 'political correctness,' " said the poet Erin Belieu, "that's code for 'your concerns as a feminist aren't legitimate.' "
Naturally, then, my roster of the year's best Jewish books provoked two local variations of the universal reaction. One commentator, noting the absence of David Grossman's To the End of the Land (a novel that was originally published in 2008), assumed the only possible explanation is that I am an American Jew who doesn't like Israeli books. Another commentator, noting the absence of "Jewish books that are marketed to the Orthodox Jewish community," asked why the Orthodox are "always omitted by the non-Orthodox."
Since I myself am an Orthodox Jew, that could hardly have been my intention. And in fact, my list contained at least two volumes by Orthodox Jews—Shaul Stampfer's Families, Rabbis, and Education and Cynthia Ozick's Foreign Bodies. But neither of these belong to the special class of books that, as my commentator put it, are "marketed to the Orthodox Jewish community."
Jeremy Stolow's scholarly study Orthodox by Design: Judaism, Print Politics, and the ArtScroll Revolution examines this market. Published in April by the University of California Press, Stolow's book might easily have been included in my list of the year's best Jewish books, except that I am suspicious of its subtle hostility to Orthodox publishing. (Here is a deliberate omission that correctly fingers my ideology!) But it is also true that I don't exactly read the titles published by ArtScroll, the imprint of Mesorah Publications in Brooklyn.
All of my liturgical editions—my prayerbooks, my mahzorim, my Passover haggadot—are ArtScroll books. But novels like Yael Mermelstein's Second Chances, published by the Shaar Press in November, about "an 'older single' who longs to be married yet can hardly remember the name of her latest shidduch date," or memoirs like Abraham Twerski's Gevurah: My Life, Our World, and the Adventure of Reaching 80, which is "[m]ore than an autobiography" and "offers Rabbi Dr. Twerski's wide-ranging perspective on our own concerns," frankly do not occur to me.
But then neither do Jewish mysteries nor Jewish science fiction. I couldn't name two figures in those publishing markets. Now, I am ready to admit that these are blindspots, huge omissions in my literary education and experience. The reason for the omission, however, is not that I disdain niche markets, but that I am not particularly interested in them as markets. My only concern is literature, by which I mean good writing. The simple fact that a book is written by a women or an Israeli or an Orthodox Jew is insufficient reason to recommend it. Nor is it enough to demand books by women or Israelis or Orthodox Jews if none is any good.


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CSS has experienced a colourful and unusual history. From historic slow adoption to the current slow rate of development, ugly hacks have meant filling in the gaps is par for the course.
With CSS1, we had a simple and elegant styling language that was supposed to be friendly to even non-programmers. Hence decisions like, say, lack of variables and constants, or conditional logic. (My kingdom for an "if" statement!)
Then CSS2 came along and provided us with some powerful layout tools. Except some browsers completely disagreed on how to implement them (the box model and floats are two examples that come to mind). Us web designers took care of that problem however, thanks to our lovely CSS hacks and filters. Using perfectly valid CSS, we were able to exploit a browser's parsing error and specifically serve (or hide) our CSS to it. Problem solved. Lucky us.
But now that Internet Explorer 7 is looming, we're getting ready to deal with the first really major upgrade to a browser's rendering engine since we've started using CSS-based layouts in earnest. (The launch of Safari didn't really count, since it was so capable right out of the gate.) The truth is that when IE 7 comes most of our usual hacking methods are going to fail. Afraid yet?
Here's the nasty little secret of CSS-based development over the past few years: we've had a stable target. Because of IE6's limitations, we've been fairly conservative in our usage. There's really no such thing as cutting-edge CSS, since the CSS2 spec has been final since the late 90's and CSS3 is off somewhere in the future. Anything we've done to date has been able to degrade as gracefully as possible in IE, so we've held back on even the more interesting bits of CSS2.
Sure, there are great advanced demos in the form of the CSS Playground, or CSS/edge, or even various CSS Zen Garden designs. But for production-based sites that we create for clients? Conservative CSS use has reigned supreme.
Except … some of us have been a little more than liberal in our hack usage, haven't we? You might argue that those hacks were necessary to make any sense of the messy browser landscape we were presented with. At the end of a long day of coding, loading that beautiful new site in Internet Explorer has always been a soul-crushing experience. Almost none of us want to spend the time necessary to wrap our minds around just how on earth IE has decided to mangle our code. A few dashes of "html" or "width" there and the problem goes away. The short term fix we applied three years ago, however, now threatens to come back and bite us in the rear.
Conditional Comments
IE7 will fix a lot of traditional CSS hacks. The Internet Explorer team has publicly expressed disapproval of the whole idea of hacks, in favour of an IE-proprietary method known as conditional comments. Instead of code like this to filter a rule to Win/IE:
* html #selector {
width: 100px;
We should instead be using an HTML comment syntax to selectively serve up a link to an external CSS file, which will contain a similar rule. The syntax looks like so
<!--[if IE]>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="ie-specific-file.css" />
And then the IE-specific CSS file in question might contain the following rule:
#selector {
width: 100px;
In theory, this system works much better than CSS hacks ever did. Instead of specifically exploiting bugs in a browser, bugs that will obviously one day get fixed, conditional comments are an officially-sanctioned feature of the browser that won't ever go away. They validate, and even though they're proprietary, when used with discretion they allow us to accomplish exactly the same thing as CSS hacks.
The question is begged, of course: why are conditional comments implemented only in HTML, and not in CSS? I have it on good word this is something the IE team may look into for future releases. For now, we must place our conditional comments in our HTML files.
Future Updates
But this is simply one single browser updating, and there's a larger issue here which we're going to have to start thinking about sooner or later. I'd prefer sooner.
All popular browsers are improving at a frequent clip again. We're not stagnating anymore; the improvements are going to keep coming. CSS3 isn't finished yet, but various modules of it are being implemented already. The future is just around the corner.
As the modern browsers update, in what other interesting and creative ways will our code break? How are we going to test them? How are we going to selectively serve up code to various versions?
Take Safari. Version 2.0 was recently released. Apple has no provision for installing and running multiple versions side by side however, much the same as Microsoft has always done with Internet Explorer.
The practical implication here is that I simply can't test my work in Safari 1.0 any longer. How do we test now, without needing to own a separate computer for each individual version of a browser? Microsoft suggests we buy Virtual PC and multiple Windows licenses to maintain multiple versions of IE, an expensive proposition. Apple hasn't suggested anything.
Causing web developers to buy more software and hardware simply to test seems an unlikely scenario; but somehow, test we must.
And the problem will amplify over time, as more incremental updates are released, and the browser share fragments. In one sense this won't be 1998 all over again with its 85 different versions of Netscape 4, thanks to browser auto-updating keeping most users current. But, not every user will keep up to date. I can't count how many times I ignore the update nag message on my own machine, so they can hardly be blamed.
What are the odds that all those early adopters of Firefox 1.0 or 1.2 have kept updating, and made it to version 1.5? Likely not as high as we'd hope. Are we going to continue testing in each of them? How will we fix rendering issues that affect 1.0 and 1.2, but not 1.5? No CSS hack I'm aware of can address that discrepency.
Now, let's be clear. Ever since CSS1, there's been a very simple versioning control built into the language. If a browser can't understand a selector or a rule, it simply ignores it. The theory being, as browsers add new support for a particular CSS property or selector, they'll simply start rendering the rule they previously ignored all along.
Hasn't worked out so well, has it? One fatal flaw of this method is that it assumes that support for new selectors and properties will be perfect from the start. Need I even get into the problems that have resulted in browser implementation errors? Box model, anyone?
The other, more subtle flaw in this method is that it assumes the fallback is good enough. Simply not rendering a rule due to lack of support, however, causes adverse side effects in styles that depend on that rule. Side effects that can translate into major usability problems for your site's visitors.
The most obvious example I can give you lies within the CSS3 "text-shadow" property, which is supported only by Safari at the moment. By using the drop shadow as an outline, we can do things previously impossible, like set white text on a white background.
Text Shadow Demo
To the left, you see the results in Safari; a perfectly legible pairing. To the right, you see almost nothing at all. This is what the text looks like in every other major browser, since they ignore the "text-shadow" property.
Is just ignoring the unsupported property a good enough fallback? Not in this case, and there are other potential problems in this vein. Point being, this all-or-nothing method of managing change simply doesn't cut it. We need browser-specific filtration, to account for scenarios where the fallback causes more harm than good.
"A standard is a standard – you should be able to render the same code consistently in every browser," I hear some cry. "Browser-specific authoring is a dead end." And they have my emphatic agreement. I'd love it if the real world proved that were the case. But it's not.
Legitimate Hack Use
No matter how browsers evolve over the next few years, one thing seems relatively safe to predict – there will always be differing levels of support for web standards, whether it be a difference in rendering between major browsers, or even between various versions of the same browser.
The legitimate need for hacks arose as we discovered major browser bugs that prevented us from adopting CSS in the first place; through the use of hacks, we were able to specifically target versions of browsers and force them to comply. Even those on the W3C CSS working group recognize the need for page authors to work around these bugs; wasn't it Tantek Çelik who gave us the Box Model Hack, after all?
But our CSS hacks are meant for an older set of browsers that will become less relevant in the near future; we don't have any new mechanisms for filtering the current stable of browsers. How will we deal with browser discrepancies going forward, in light of potential usability problems?
I see a few ways.
- Limit yourself to only those CSS properties and selectors that you know will work across all browsers without fail. In fact, you don't even have to wait for this, you can start today. Sure, it's frustrating when all browsers but a single one render on your intended effect, but we've pretty well gotten used to that with things like ":hover" support on non-anchor elements. So, hang on to that patience, because you'll need it.
- Perhaps this may not even be an issue. If all browsers continually improve, and we never see another repeat of Internet Explorer's stagnation over the past 5 years, then we simply need to be patient until the effects we seek become practical, and with any luck that won't be long.
- We could discover a whole new bag of hacks and filters. With the number of people hacking away at CSS these days, the chances aren't small that sooner or later we'll be able to exploit other bugs in other browsers, and get ourselves right back into this situation. I think a lot of people would prefer we didn't go this route again, but it's almost inevitable that sooner or later, the first IE7 and Firefox 1.0 hacks will rear their heads.
- Let's think pie-in-the-sky here: we could get a bit of recognition that this problem is legitimate, and an official W3C-sanctioned method of browser filtration. I suspect the browser manufacturers are well aware that this is a problem; the IE team has given us a method for filtering out their own browser in the form of conditional comments, after all. Suggestions for codifying a similar method within CSS have been made to the CSS working group many times over the years, and I have it on good authority that there has been at least one formal proposal made in the past on the subject, but as far as I know, nothing has developed from either.
The danger in going this route echos what we learned about HTTP user agent strings in the late 90's, of course. Crappy browsers will force page authors to filter them somehow. Crappy filtering will cause browsers to pose as each other. Maybe it would be better this time around, since the base technologies have matured a little bit. Maybe it wouldn't.
The Reality
So what do I think is actually going to happen moving forward? Quite likely, a bit of everything.
Many will certainly follow the path of least resistance and simply limit themselves to code that works cross-browser. Others won't settle for the status quo, and instead will look high and low for new hacks that target specific versions of specific browsers.
And maybe, just maybe, we'll get a reliable method of filtering on a per-browser basis. I'm not holding my breath on that last one, but stranger things have happened.
- The Tan Hack, or * html bug as it's also known, causes only IE to parse the CSS within the selector to which it's applied. It will be fixed in IE7.
- The underscore hack causes only IE to parse the CSS within the rule to which it's applied. It also will be fixed in IE7.


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System Functions
System functions cover the configuration, status and control of a number of miscellaneous and loosely coupled features. These are managed by the system variables and other commands and variables, as follows:
Configuring ZentriOS Command Mode and Response
ZentriOS commands can be entered manually via a ZentriOS terminal or by a host MCU system.
There are optimizations for human and machine control.
- system.cmd.buffered
- system.cmd.echo
- system.cmd.header_enabled
- system.cmd.mode
- system.cmd.prompt_enabled
- system.cmd.timestamp
- system.print_level
- system.msg
Power management
Power consumption can be minimized, and battery life extended, by a number of strategies.
Commands and variables:
See also Wi-Fi power management variables:
Sleeping and Waking
When the module is not required to be active, you can put it into a low-power sleep mode with the sleep command, but don't forget to configure a wake mechanism before putting the module in a sleep state. This wake can be either a timeout (system.wakeup.timeout) or a GPIO level change event (system.wakeup.events). .
The module may also be awoken from sleep with a power cycle.
It is also possible to set the module to go to sleep after a specified time by setting system.gotosleep.timeout.
Powersave Mode
System powersave mode allows the module to power down when idle, with a rapid power up in response to activity. See system.powersave.mode. Powersave mode is on by default.
Monitoring System State
System state can be monitored via visual indication by LED, system messages and GPIO level indication.
State monitoring variables:
Sub-system states can also be associated with GPIOs. See Peripherals.
For a detailed snapshot of system state get the values of all the ZentriOS variables:
get all
Controlling the Boot Image
Boot image commands and variables:
See also:
The boot image is by default services.bin
, but may be changed for various reasons.
If exceptions occur due to misconfiguration, the module may switch to safe mode, changing the boot image to kernel.bin
System Identification and Version
Commands and variables:
- version command - this gives the same result as
get system.version
- system.uuid
- system.version


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Alendronate is used to treat and prevent osteoporosis (a condition in which the bones become thin and weak and break easily) in women who have undergone menopause (''change of life,'' end of menstrual periods) and to treat osteoporosis in men. Alendronate is also used to treat osteoporosis in men and women who are taking corticosteroids (a type of medication that may cause osteoporosis in some patients). Alendronate is also used to treat Paget's disease of bone (a condition in which the bones are soft and weak and may be deformed, painful, or easily broken). Alendronate is in a class of medications called bisphosphonates. It works by preventing bone breakdown and increasing bone density (thickness).
Alendronate comes as a tablet and a solution (liquid) to take by mouth. The solution is usually taken on an empty stomach once a week in the morning. The 5-mg and 10-mg tablets are usually taken on an empty stomach once a day in the morning, and the 35-mg and 70-mg tablets are usually taken on an empty stomach once a week in the morning. The 40-mg tablets are usually taken once a day in the morning for six months to treat Paget's disease of bone. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take alendronate exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.
Alendronate may not work properly and may damage the esophagus (tube between the mouth and stomach) or cause sores in the mouth if it is not taken according to the following instructions. Tell your doctor if you do not understand, you do not think you will remember, or you are unable to follow these instructions:
Alendronate controls osteoporosis and Paget's disease of bone but does not cure these conditions. It may take 3 months or longer before your bone density begins to increase. Alendronate helps to treat and prevent osteoporosis only as long as it is taken regularly. Continue to take alendronate even if you feel well. Do not stop taking alendronate without talking to your doctor, but talk to your doctor from time to time about whether you still need to take alendronate.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer's information for the patient.
This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
Before taking alendronate,
You should eat and drink plenty of foods and drinks that are rich in calcium and vitamin D while you are taking alendronate. Your doctor will tell you which foods and drinks are good sources of these nutrients and how many servings you need each day. If you find it difficult to eat enough of these foods, tell your doctor. In that case, your doctor can prescribe or recommend a supplement.
If you miss a dose of once-daily alendronate, do not take it later in the day. Skip the missed dose and take one dose the next morning as usual. If you miss a dose of once-weekly alendronate, take one dose the morning after you remember. Then return to taking one dose once each week on your regularly scheduled day. Never take a double dose to make up for a missed one, and never take more than one dose in one day.
Alendronate may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately before you take any more alendronate:
Taking a bisphosphonate medication such as alendronate for osteoporosis may increase the risk that you will break your thigh bone(s). You may feel pain in your hips, groin, or thighs for several weeks or months before the bone(s) break, and you may find that one or both of your thigh bones have broken even though you have not fallen or experienced other trauma. It is unusual for the thigh bone to break in healthy people, but people who have osteoporosis may break this bone even if they do not take alendronate. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking alendronate.
Alendronate may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.
If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online ( Web Site ) or by phone (1-800-332-1088).
Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom). Do not freeze alendronate solution.
Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in your community. See the FDA's Safe Disposal of Medicines website ( Web Site) for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.
It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location – one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. Web Site
In case of overdose, give the victim a full glass of milk and call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911. Do not allow the victim to lie down and do not try to make the victim vomit.
Symptoms of overdose may include the following:
Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor may order certain lab tests to check your body's response to alendronate.
Do not let anyone else take your medication. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription.
It is important for you to keep a written list of all of the prescription and nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements. You should bring this list with you each time you visit a doctor or if you are admitted to a hospital. It is also important information to carry with you in case of emergencies.
AHFS® Consumer Medication Information. © Copyright, The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc., 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland. All Rights Reserved. Duplication for commercial use must be authorized by ASHP.
Selected Revisions: August 15, 2015.


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Hurricane Anatomy
In this investigation, you'll look at a number of videos, animations, and images in order to gain a better understanding of how hurricanes work. You'll also learn a lot about how we know how they work. In the first part, you'll learn about some of the satellites that researchers use to study and make forecasts about hurricanes. Then you'll get a chance to look "under the hood" of a hurricane to see how these storms develop. Finally, you'll spend some time exploring differences between storms in the Northern Hemisphere and storms in the Southern Hemisphere.
Keeping Track of What You Learn
Throughout these labs, you will find two kinds of questions.- Checking In questions are intended to keep you engaged and focused on key concepts and to allow you to periodically check if the material is making sense. These questions are often accompanied by hints or answers to let you know if you are on the right track.
- Stop and Think questions are intended to help your teacher assess your understanding of the key concepts and skills you should be learning from the lab activities and readings.


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Study Reveals New Clues to Help Understand
In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about all links, posts, photos and other material on this website: (...)
For people who suffer from various psychiatric and neurological conditions, brain stimulation has become an increasingly important treatment option in the recent decades.
Brain simulation techniques can be divided into two broad categories, invasive and noninvasive. Both of them work by targeting specific sites in the brain to adjust the overall brain activity. Among the most well-known invasive techniques is the deep brain stimulation (DBS) which requires a brain surgery and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This process is typically used for treated Parkinson's disease and this process requires an electrode to be inserted in the brain. Among the noninvasive techniques is the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which can be administered from outside the head. This treatment is currently approved for treating depression.
Brain stimulation has resulted in dramatic benefits to patients with such disorders, which has motivated researchers to test if it can be useful in treated patients suffering from other diseases. The problem is that doctors have been unable to pinpoint which are the ideal sites to administer simulation in a given patient for a given condition.
A new study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggest that brain networks which consists of the interconnected pathways that link brain circuits to one another can assist in selection of ideal spot for brain stimulation therapies.
Michael D. Fox, MD, PhD, First author of the study, an investigator in the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation and in the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at BIDMC remarked that although different types of brain stimulation are currently applied in different locations, it has been found that the targets used to treat the same disease are nodes in the same connected brain network. This can have a direct implication on how brain stimulations are administered to treat diseases.
For example, in order use brain stimulation to treat Parkinson's disease or tremor an electrode need to be inserted deep in the brain. Getting the same effect with noninvasive stimulation is difficult, as the spot is deep in the brain. However, by looking at the brain's network connectivity, sites can be identified on the surface of the brain that is connected with the deep spot site. Hence, that deep spot can also be stimulated noninvasively.
For this study Fox's team conducted a large-scale literature search to find out all neurological and psychiatric diseases where brain stimulation via both invasive and non-invasive techniques had shown improvement. The search found 14 such conditions namely addiction, Alzheimer's disease, anorexia, depression, dystonia, epilepsy, essential tremor, gait dysfunction, Huntington's disease, minimally conscious state, obsessive compulsive disorder, pain, Parkinson disease and Tourette syndrome. In the next step, they listed the stimulation sites, both deep in the brain or on the surface of the brain that was found to have been effective for the treatment of each of the 14 diseases.
In order to test the hypothesis that the various stimulation sites in the brain are different spots within the same brain network, Fox's team used a data base of functional MRI images and a technique that enabled them to see correlations in spontaneous brain activity. These correlations helped the investigators in creating a map of connections from deep brain stimulation sites to the surface of the brain. When this map was compared to sites for noninvasive brain stimulation on the brain surface, the two matched.
The study suggest that understanding the brain networks can help in understanding why brain stimulation works and how these therapies can be improved by identifying the best place to stimulate the brain for a given patient suffering from a given disease. These findings also suggest that resting-state functional connectivity can be useful for translating therapy between treatment modalities, optimizing treatment and identifying new stimulation targets.


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