text:
With The Story of Send, Google follows a single email as it travels through wires, under streets, through an ISP's high-rise, in and out of Google's various gear, including one of its vast data centers, and finally up a tower and out via a telco's data system into a smartphone. What happens in the data center is explained in a video that lasts more than seven minutes, with a sped-up voice-over like you hear in disclaimers at the ends of ads for car dealers and pharmaceuticals. There are lots of other promotional side-trips like that one, along the way.
What it doesn't tell is the real story of email as we use it today. That story starts with RFC 821, by Jon Postel, posted in August 1982. It begins,
The objective of Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is to transfer mail reliably and efficiently.SMTP is independent of the particular transmission subsystem and requires only a reliable ordered data stream channel.
What makes SMTP so useful and universal today is that it intentionally transcends any intermediator's silo or walled garden. It simply assumes a connection. So do the POP (RFC918 and IMAP (RFC1064) protocols (used at the receiving end), for which the relevant RFCs were issued in 1984 and 1988.
Those protocols ended up winning — for all of us — after it became clear that their simplicity, and their oblivity to the parochial interests of network owners and operators, were what we really needed. That was in 1995. In the meantime, a pile of proprietary and corporate email systems competed in a losing battle with each other. Compuserve, Prodigy, MCI Mail, AppleLink, and a host of others were all obsoleted by the obvious advantage of having nobody own the means by which we simply send electronic mail to each other.
The main intended message of The Story of Send is a green one: Google saves energy. A secondary message is that Google is a big nice company that treats your mail well and has good security practices. But the main unintended message — or at least the one that comes across — is that email is a big complicated business, and you need big complicated companies to do it right. It also ignores the real story, which is about a handful of simple protocols.
Two voices in the wilderness of corporate rah-rah that ought to be heard on this are Phil Windley and Bob Frankston.
Phil has a terrific blog post called Ways, not Places, in which he makes a good straightforward case for understanding the Internet in term of ways (protocols) rather than places (e.g. domains, with locations, addresses, and the rest). Because it's the ways that make everything else possible.
In his essay on Ambient Connectivity, Bob says, "The nuanced definition of Ambient Connectivity is that we can view connectivity as infrastructure but we need to take responsibility if we find ourselves disconnected. This is in contrast with today's telecom industry in which we've shifted responsibility to providers and can only assume connectivity where a third party has subscribed to a service and there is an unbroken chain of providers all the way to your destination." The latter is the case that Google makes. Its also the case argued by every bill we get from our phone and cable companies.
But we need to keep hearing the all-but-silent argument for the Net and its protocols. Because without those we wouldn't have the rest.


text:
State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2007
State Supplementation
Mandatory Minimum Supplementation
Administration: Social Security Administration.
Optional State Supplementation
State does not provide optional supplementation.
Interim assistance: State does not participate.
State Assistance for Special Needs
State does not provide assistance for special needs.
Criteria: SSI program guidelines (Title XVI).
Determined by: Social Security Administration.
Medically Needy Program
State provides a program for the aged, blind, and disabled medically needy.
Unpaid Medical Expenses
The Social Security Administration obtains this information.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Almost a third of Europe's city dwellers are exposed to excessive concentrations of airborne particulate matter (PM), one of the most important pollutants in terms of harm to human health as it penetrates sensitive parts of the respiratory system. The EU has made progress over the past decades to reduce the air pollutants which cause acidification, but a new report published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that many parts of Europe have persistent problems with outdoor concentrations of PM and ground level ozone.
Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "This report is a timely reminder of how important air quality is to the health of our citizens. This is why I want 2013 to be the Year of Air and why I will focus on strengthening our air quality laws to tackle the problems identified today."
Professor Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director, said: "European Union policy has reduced emissions of many pollutants over the last decade, but we can go further. In many countries, air pollutant concentrations are still above the legal and recommended limits that are set to protect the health of European citizens. In fact, air pollution reduces human life expectancy by around two years in the most polluted cities and regions."
The EEA's 'Air quality in Europe — 2012 report' examines citizens' exposure to air pollutants and provides a snapshot of air quality in Europe. The report is intended to support the development of more effective clean air policies.
Key findings
• Particulate matter (PM) is the most serious air pollution health risk in the EU, leading to premature mortality. The report estimates that in 2010, 21 % of the urban population in 2010 was exposed to PM10 concentration levels higher than the most stringent, daily, EU limit value designed to safeguard health. Up to 30 % of the urban population was exposed to finer PM2.5 concentration levels above the (less stringent) yearly EU limit values. According to the WHO reference levels, which are even tighter than those imposed by EU law, respectively up to 81 % and 95 % of urban dwellers were exposed to PM concentrations that exceed the reference values set for the protection of human health – underlining the urgency of the coming review of air legislation.
• Ozone (O3) can cause respiratory health problems and lead to premature mortality. Exposure in cities is very high – 97 % of EU urban inhabitants were exposed to O3concentrations above the WHO reference level in 2010. 17 % were exposed to concentrations above the EU target value for O3. In 2009, 22 % of arable land in Europe was exposed to damaging concentrations of O3, leading to agricultural losses.
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a major cause of eutrophication (excessive plant and algal growth in water) and acidification, and also contributes to the formation of PM and O3. In 2010, 7 % of Europeans living in cities were exposed to NO2 levels above the EU limit values. National emissions of nitrogen oxides in many European countries still exceed emission ceilings set by EU legislation and under United Nations agreements.
• Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a carcinogen. A considerable proportion of the urban population in the EU (20-29 % between 2008 and 2010) were exposed to concentrations exceeding the EU target value, which must be met by 2013. The increase in BaP emissions in Europe in recent years is therefore a matter of concern.
• Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is a big success story: emissions have been reduced significantly in recent years thanks to EU legislation requiring the use of emissions scrubbing technology and lower sulphur content in fuels. 2010 was the first year that the EU urban population was not exposed to SO2 concentrations above the EU limit value.
• Carbon monoxide, benzene and heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, nickel, lead) concentrations in outdoor air are generally low, localised and sporadic in the EU, with few exceedances of the limit and target values set by EU legislation.
Next Steps
In recent years, the EEA has published annual information on air pollutant emissions and exceedances of emission ceilings under the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive. Later this year, the EEA will publish a retrospective analysis of whether the health and environmental objectives of the NEC Directive for 2010 have been met.
The European Commission is preparing a review of EU air legislation in consultation with stakeholders and will put a particular emphasis on air pollution policies in 2013.
Poor air quality can cause heart disease, respiratory problems, lung cancer, breathing difficulties and other illnesses. Some pollutants can lead to eutrophication, reduced agricultural crop yields, decreased forest growth and have an impact on the climate. Emissions of several pollutants have fallen in recent years, resulting in improved air quality in some areas. However, they have not always resulted in a corresponding drop of atmospheric pollutant concentrations. The persistent air quality problems require further efforts in mitigating the emissions of several pollutants.
Source: www.eea.europa.eu
26 September, 2012.


text:
SGS's automotive supplier development service – one of our automotive supply chain solutions – ensures that quality standards are met.
Where lapses are noted, we provide auto supplier training to improve performance and further enhance your reputation.
We monitor your suppliers' compliance with industry standards, as well as your own specific requirements. Therefore, we can audit against accepted national and international regulations, plus ensure that suppliers are aligned with your business objectives, procedures and values – or any other criteria you specify. This aids efficiency by encouraging operational consistency throughout your entire supply chain.
Our auditors have the necessary commercial awareness and relevant industry knowledge to provide trusted – and independent – advice to your partners. And thanks to our worldwide network, we can deliver our service to your suppliers wherever they are.
Contact SGS now to find out how our supplier development services can raise quality standards throughout the value chain.
12FL, Chongryong Bldg., 257, Hangang-daero, Yongsan-gu,
, 04322,
Seoul, Korea, Republic of


text:
Last week, Microsoft made huge waves when it announced that its long-proprietary .Net application framework was now available as open source, completely rocking the Redmond, Wash., giant's cross-platform strategy and public image, all in one fell swoop.
It's the latest, and arguably the biggest shift in strategy for Microsoft as new CEO Satya Nadella steers the company away from its proprietary past toward a future as an open services platform.
This week is the TopCoder Open, which, for competitive coders, is like the World Series or the International, depending on how nerdy you are, with 1,400 developers in attendance and $260,000 worth of prizes on the line. Microsoft's developer evangelist Matt Thompson took the stage to talk about the kinder, gentler Microsoft and why students, startups and anybody with an interest in coding should take the company seriously.
"Nobody loves developers more than us," Thompson said to the packed crowd.
Thompson came to the TopCoder Open with the goal of getting developers to take Microsoft's platform at least as seriously as they do Amazon's, Google's and Salesforce's. The net result of Thompson's presentation: A pretty decent sales pitch for working on the Microsoft platform and a lot of un-Microsoft-like talk about the importance of sharing, working together and open source.
Thompson began his presentation with some of his personal history. He was an evangelist for Java at Sun Microsystems; a platform and API developer at early mobile startups General Magic and Taligent; and a mobile developer besides. If there's a trend he's noticed in his career, he says, it's that coding is getting easier thanks to modern development tools, and that code literacy is going to be more crucial than ever as a basic life skill.
As mobile and social experiences continue to dominate more of our daily lives, he says, opportunity is increasingly going to come in the form of new software. That's why hackers and makers are the vanguard of the new wave of developers, he says.
"Coding is the easiest way to express new ideas," Thompson says.
Which is why startups need to consider Microsoft. Thanks to the new Visual Studio Community Edition, teams of fewer than five can use Microsoft's development environment to build those new ideas together and have them work across platforms.
Because Microsoft is, you know, Microsoft, it has something for everybody. Deploy your .Net app on Microsoft Windows Azure and scale up (maybe even for free, if you qualify for the Microsoft BizSpark program). That app can run on iOS, Android or Windows Phone, which heaven knows needs apps (or euthanasia, depending who you ask). Given the entire terrible majesty of the Microsoft ecosystem, it's a path leading from a startup with a $1 billion idea to an enterprise with a $1 billion bottom line, Thompson says.
And the way to get there, he says, is with openness and open technologies -- a rising tide lifts all ships, and Microsoft wants to help all developers succeed no matter what technologies they use. Getting a billion-dollar idea to market is easier when you can stand on the shoulders of giants.
"It's no longer monolithic or proprietary," Thompson says. "It's about sharing."
Un-Microsoft-like, indeed. But maybe the surest sign yet that Microsoft is rethinking its relationships with developers. Which is a good thing, because if Microsoft is serious about this "platform," developers are going to be its most precious resource, and it has some image rehabilitation to do. In that light, having startups and independent coders at one of the premiere events for the same is a shrewd move.


text:
Getting started
Getting started
Most companies use chemicals in one way or another. They are essential for our way of life and our economy, but they have to be managed safely so as to protect human health and the environment.
Equal standards for the manufacturing, supply and safe use of chemicals apply across the entire European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. These standards apply to companies regardless of their position in the supply chain and the products they manufacture, import, export, supply or use.
This means that the legislation most likely applies to your business in some way. It:
- Covers all sectors manufacturing, importing, distributing or using chemicals as raw materials or finished products (not only the chemical industry)
- Applies to you regardless of your company size
- Makes you responsible for the safe use of the substances you place on the market or use
- Requires every actor in the supply chain to communicate information on the safe use of chemicals
- Gives consumers the right to ask about substances of very high concern contained in your articles
What you have to do depends on the type of products you place on the market or use:
- Substances on their own, including metals
- Mixtures, or
- Articles
You will have to comply with additional requirements if you place hazardous products on the market.
If this is new to you, start here. The first step is to identify your role in the supply chain for each product and then to check what is required of you. A single company may have more than one role.


text:
Diamond Way Buddhist Group Okanagan
c/o Carmen & Dennis Lenihan, 3879 Glen Canyon Drive
Westbank, British Columbia V4T 2P8
|Tibetan Karma Kagyu
|Click to contact via e-mail
|Center's Description
|The Diamond Way is the crown jewel of the Buddha's teachings. Working from the absolute level it employs methods of total identification with enlightenment for the quickest possible results. Since 1972, our Karma Kagyu centers around the world have been developing a modern approach to the Buddha's Diamond Way with great success. Modern western education, stressing self-reliance and independent thought, has proven to be an excellent basis for realizing one's mind. Through such capable groups the Buddha's most effective teachings are being passed on to the most idealistic and independent people around the world.
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Help Improve This Site
|Please contribute! Not money, just comments.
The Independent Meditation Center Guide is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


text:
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Visit Website
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300 Carnegie Center Drive Suite 150 Princeton, NJ 08540 United States
Cookies help us to provide you with an excellent service. By using our website, you declare yourself in agreement with our use of cookies. You can obtain detailed information about the use of cookies on our website by clicking on "More information". Got It
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The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.


text:
|/* itbl-lex.h
|Copyright (C) 2005-2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
|This file is part of GAS, the GNU Assembler.
|GAS is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
|it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
|the Free Software Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option)
|any later version.
|GAS is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
|but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
|MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
|GNU General Public License for more details.
|You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
|along with GAS; see the file COPYING. If not, write to the Free
|Software Foundation, 51 Franklin Street - Fifth Floor, Boston, MA
|extern int insntbl_line;
|extern int yyparse (void);
|extern int yylex (void);


text:
Barnes & Noble Announces CEO Termination
New York, NY (July 3, 2018)—The Board of Directors of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) today announced the termination of its Chief Executive Officer, Demos Parneros, for violations of the Company's policies. This action was taken by the Company's Board of Directors who were advised by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Mr. Parneros' termination is not due to any disagreement with the Company regarding its financial reporting, policies or practices or any potential fraud relating thereto. Mr. Parneros will not receive any severance payment and he is no longer a member of the Company's Board of Directors.
In order to ensure continuity going forward, the Company has appointed a leadership group to share the duties of the office of the CEO until a new leader is named. Those appointed include: Allen Lindstrom, Chief Financial Officer, Tim Mantel, Chief Merchandising Officer and Carl Hauch, Vice President, Stores. Leonard Riggio remains Executive Chairman of the Company and will be involved in its management.
The Company said it will begin an executive search for a new CEO and that no changes in its goals or objectives are planned. Additionally, the Company affirms its previously announced EBITDA guidance of $175 million to $200 million for fiscal 2019.
A reconciliation of the Company's EBITDA guidance to operating income is included in the press release issued by the Company on June 21, 2018. EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
All Contacts
About Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is the world's largest retail bookseller, and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 630 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web's premier e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). The Nook Digital business offers a lineup of popular NOOK® tablets and eReaders and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store®. The NOOK Store (www.nook.com) features digital books, periodicals and comics, and offers the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices through Free NOOK Reading Apps™ available for Android™, iOS® and Windows®.
General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the Company's corporate website at www.barnesandnobleinc.com.
Barnes & Noble®, Barnes & Noble Booksellers® and Barnes & Noble.com® are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates. NOOK® and the NOOK logos are trademarks of Nook Digital, LLC or its affiliates.
For more information on Barnes & Noble, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat (bnsnaps), and like us on Facebook. For more information on NOOK, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) and information relating to Barnes & Noble that are based on the beliefs of the management of Barnes & Noble as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the management of Barnes & Noble. When used in this communication, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "will," "forecasts," "projections," and similar expressions, as they relate to Barnes & Noble or the management of Barnes & Noble, identify forward-looking statements.
Such statements reflect the current views of Barnes & Noble with respect to future events, the outcome of which is subject to certain risks, including, among others, the general economic environment and consumer spending patterns, decreased consumer demand for Barnes & Noble's products, low growth or declining sales and net income due to various factors, including store closings, higher-than-anticipated or increasing costs, including with respect to store closings, relocation, occupancy (including in connection with lease renewals) and labor costs, the effects of competition, the risk of insufficient access to financing to implement future business initiatives, risks associated with data privacy and information security, risks associated with Barnes & Noble's supply chain, including possible delays and disruptions and increases in shipping rates, various risks associated with the digital business, including the possible loss of customers, declines in digital content sales, risks and costs associated with ongoing efforts to rationalize the digital business, risks associated with the eCommerce business, including the possible loss of eCommerce customers and declines in eCommerce sales, the risk that financial and operational forecasts and projections are not achieved, the performance of Barnes & Noble's initiatives including but not limited to new store concepts and eCommerce initiatives, unanticipated adverse litigation results or effects, potential infringement of Barnes & Noble's intellectual property by third parties or by Barnes & Noble of the intellectual property of third parties, and other factors, including those factors discussed in detail in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," in Barnes & Noble's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 28, 2018, and in Barnes & Noble's other filings made hereafter from time to time with the SEC.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those described as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or planned. Subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Barnes & Noble or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph. Barnes & Noble undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this communication.


text:
If you have high blood pressure, you can take steps to lower it by walking more every day, new research suggests.
In the study, researchers analyzed data from about 640 adults who participated in the Framingham Heart Study, which focuses on heart disease risk factors and has been ongoing for more than 70 years.
Participants were asked to wear smart watches that tracked the number of steps they took each day, and to record their blood pressure once a week.
During the experiment, participants' average systolic blood pressure was 122 mm Hg and average diastolic blood pressure was 76 mm Hg, levels considered normal to slightly elevated.
Systolic blood pressure, the top number in a reading, measures the force of blood against your arteries when your heart beats. Diastolic pressure is the level between beats.
Over about five months, participants averaged roughly 7,500 steps per day. Those with a higher daily step count had significantly lower blood pressure.
After accounting for other factors, the researchers found that systolic blood pressure was about 0.45 points lower for every 1,000 daily steps taken. That means someone logging 10,000 steps a day would have a systolic reading 2.25 points lower than someone averaging 5,000 steps.
This could make the difference between normal systolic blood pressure (less than 120 mm Hg) and an elevated reading, according to the study.
The link between daily step count and blood pressure was no longer significant when body mass index (BMI) was taken into account, however. The study authors said that suggests BMI -- an estimate of body fat based on weight and height -- may affect the association between daily steps and blood pressure.
"This study solidifies our understanding of the relationship between physical activity and blood pressure, and raises the possibility that obesity or body mass index accounts for a lot of that relationship," said lead author Dr. Mayank Sardana, a clinical fellow at the University of California, San Francisco.
"Going forward, it would be useful to look at how smart devices might be leveraged to promote physical activity, reduce the burden of obesity and potentially reduce blood pressure," Sardana said in a news release from the American College of Cardiology.
The findings are to be presented at an online meeting of the American College of Cardiology/World Congress of Cardiology, taking place March 28 to 30. Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines how to prevent high blood pressure.


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Apple's Beats Electronics and its cofounders have been sued in a U.S. court for allegedly easing out headphones developer Monster from a partnership ahead of the 2014 acquisition by the iPhone maker.
Describing a 2011 investment by HTC in Beats as a "sham transaction," Monster and its founder Noel Lee have alleged that the deal was used by Beats to invoke a clause in its contract with Monster to end the partnership while retaining all rights to the headphone technology.
HTC, which has also been named as a co-defendant in the complaint filed Tuesday in the Superior Court of California, San Mateo County, acquired a majority stake in Beats for about US$300 million, with the plan to use the headphones technology with its mobile phones.
By July 2012, Beat's founders bought back half that equity from HTC, making the earlier ending of the partnership with Monster by invoking a change of control provision a "complete sham," according to the complaint, which cites as evidence a conversation in May last year between Monster executives and a board member of HTC. By September, 2013 Beats had bought back the remaining equity held by HTC.
Apple declined to comment on the suit. HTC could not be immediately reached for comment.
Beats' cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young, popularly known as Dr. Dre, entered into a partnership in January 2008 with Monster to develop and promote Monster's "Beats By Dr. Dre" product line, a licensed marketing label for a line of Monster headphones, according to the complaint. Monster claims it handled all designing, engineering, manufacturing, production, marketing, and distribution of the headphones in return for a license to the Beats brand and celebrity marketing by Iovine and Dre.
"Simply put, Monster did all the work, financed the entire effort, and paid Iovine and Dre a royalty for their marketing efforts," according to the complaint. By 2009, Beats Electronics had been added to the license and promotion agreement as a party and Lee was offered a 5 percent stake in Beats' equity to cement ties between the two companies.
Citing the change of control provision in the agreement after the HTC investment, Beats acquired Monster's "Beats By Dr. Dre" product line, including all development, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, distributing, and retail rights.
If the partnership had expired on its own terms some months later, this transfer would not have happened, according to the complaint, which holds that as a result Monster and Lee lost millions of dollars.
Lee had also sold most of his 5 percent stake in Beats in September 2012, after HTC sold back half its stake to Beats, as he "was concerned that he was being kept in the dark by Beats about material aspects of the business." He was later persuaded to offload the remaining 1.25 percent share to Beats, resulting in a total loss of over $100 million if he was still a 5 percent stakeholder after the Apple acquisition was announced, according to the complaint.
Beats' founders have falsely claimed that Beats, through Iovine and Dre, successfully spearheaded all of the designing, engineering, manufacturing, production, marketing, and distributing of "Beats By Dr. Dre" products, the complaint added.
Monster has asked for damages including punitive damages, and a jury trial for all relevant issues.


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CHICAGO, IL – Another UFO sighting has fueled speculation that we are not alone!
A UFO sighting from 2007 has been re-ignited to top new today. The sighting took place at Chicago's O'Hare Airport and has been mired in controversy – as is the case with any UFO sighting. Whether real or not is debatable – but two items are helping the incident draw renewed news interest today.
An unedited pre-interview discussion of the sighting from 2007 has surfaced. The conversation is between Jon Hilkevitch (the Chicago Tribune transportation reporter who reported the Chicago UFO story) and Jim Wagner, a news anchor with CLTV, a 24 hour news channel in Oak Brook, Illinois.
The other item is the release of Leslie Kean's book "UFOS: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record." According to Kean, the Chicago O'Hare incident was addressed by officials, as have countless other UFO sightings around the world in the last half century.
More details on both are below.
CHICAGO, IL – Another UFO sighting has fueled speculation that we are not alone!


text:
FMO stands for "Fast Moving Object" and refers to asteroids moving so close to the Earth that the object appears as a trail in our image data. This event is created by the "close approach" of an NEA. The images below give a visual comparison of a distant asteroid versus an FMO. During a close approach, NEAs move so rapidly through the telescope's field of view during our exposure that their reflected sunlight blurs along a line (FMO). The two asteroids shown below are moving at similar absolute speeds in space (around 20 miles per second!), however the rate we perceive on Earth is very different. An analogy is an airplane observed at takeoff compared to a plane flying at 40,000 feet as seen from the ground. The farther away the aircraft is, the slower it appears to move.
The FMO pictured above is quite bright, but many FMOs appear as very faint trails. Faint trails of light are difficult to detect efficiently using software. In order to detect faint FMOs, the software must be tuned to see trails just above the background noise. Unfortunately, this tuning causes many image artifacts and electronic noise structures to be captured by the software as possible FMOs, leading to an enormous false detection rate - the observer must sift out the real FMOs from a multitude of fakes. Because of the high false detection rate, little or no time is saved by having software identify candidate FMOs. Combine this problem with the fact that the potential exists for the software to miss a real FMO and the advantages of using FMO detection software vanish. For SPACEWATCH® images, the most effective method of detecting FMOs is having the observer visually inspect all image data - a time intensive task.
SPACEWATCH® uses a 0.9m Kitt Peak telescope with a mosaic CCD system. This mosaic system increases the image data output to a degree that FMO inspections by the on-duty observer became impractical. Using funds provided by the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation, SPACEWATCH® used to conduct participation in the FMO review process by volunteers who wished to contribute to the scientific community's knowledge of small close-approaching NEAs. That program of participation is now closed: https://spacewatch.lpl.arizona.edu/fmo-members-page-closed


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Since they've become so incredibly popular, adult parties – especially ones that feature toys and other products – are being attended by more women than ever. If you've been thinking about going to one, but have held off because you just don't know what to expect, you can get a basic idea by reading through the information below. Chances are, you'll find that today's adult toy parties are a whole lot different than you'd think.
It's All About Fun
Firstly, although adult toys are often the main premise for throwing an adult party, the real reason that so many women enjoy these get togethers so much is because they are a lot of fun. Getting together with a lot of other women, nibbling on delicious appetizers and sipping on champagnes or cocktails are all a huge part of the allure of these parties. Being social is the main point of adult parties, so if you like being around other people and having a good time, you're bound to have a blast.
Let the Games Begin!
No two adult parties are alike, but games are usually a part of vacuum erectile pump the festivities. These games help those in attendance loosen up a bit, and allow them to get acquainted with one another. Usually, they are very silly and don't involve any actual competition. The end result of the typical adult toy party game is a whole lot of laughter – especially when a decent amount of alcohol is flowing.
The Main Event
Once the games are through and everyone has had a chance to enjoy some food and drinks, the hostess of the adult party will usually unveil the toys that are for sale. Most of the time, she will have a special table set up, and will present them one by one. This way, women can ask questions as needed and can even handle the merchandise if they'd like to. Although there are many different party ideas for adults, the toys are always going to make an appearance at these parties. After all, they are the inspiration for adult toy parties!
Bring Home Something Fun
Even if you walk into an adult toy party feeling reticent, nervous or reluctant about making any purchases, after all of the ice breaking and festivities, you may end up bringing something fun home with you. There is usually a broad array of products for sale, from relatively tame ones to more risque choices. Remember to keep an open mind, and try to get into the spirit of things. This is a prime opportunity to learn more about adult toys without having to walk into a strange store, so don't be afraid to pick something out and bring it home!


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Anatomy and Physiology of Animals/Reproductive System
Objectives[edit | edit source]
After completing this section, you should know:
- the role of mitosis and meiosis in the production of gametes (sperm and ova)
- that gametes are haploid cells
- that fertilization forms a diploid zygote
- the major parts of the male reproductive system and their functions
- the route sperm travel along the male reproductive tract to reach the penis
- the structure of a sperm and the difference between sperm and semen
- the difference between infertility and impotence
- the main parts of the female reproductive system and their functions
- the ovarian cycle and the roles of FSH, LH, oestrogen and progesterone
- the oestrous cycle and the signs of heat in rodents, dogs, cats and cattle
- the process of fertilization and where it occurs in the female tract
- what a morula and a blastocyst are
- what the placenta is and its functions
Reproductive System[edit | edit source]
In biological terms sexual reproduction involves the union of gametes - the sperm and the ovum - produced by two parents. Each gamete is formed by meiosis (see Chapter 3). This means each contains only half the chromosomes of the body cells (haploid). Fertilization results in the joining of the male and female gametes to form a zygote which contains the full number of chromosomes (diploid). The zygote then starts to divide by mitosis (see Chapter 3) to form a new animal with all its body cells containing chromosomes that are identical to those of the original zygote (see diagram 13.1).
Diagram 13.1 - Sexual reproduction
The offspring formed by sexual reproduction contain genes from both parents and show considerable variation. For example, kittens in a litter are all different although they (usually) have the same mother and father. In the wild this variation is important because it means that when the environment changes some individuals may be better adapted to survive than others. These survivors pass their "superior" genes on to their offspring. In this way the characteristics of a group of animals can gradually change over time to keep pace with the changing environment. This "survival of the fittest" or "natural selection" is the mechanism behind the theory of evolution.
Fertilization[edit | edit source]
In most fish and amphibia (frogs and toads) fertilization of the egg cells takes place outside the body. The female lays the eggs and then the male deposits his sperm on or at least near them.
In reptiles and birds, eggs are fertilized inside the body when the male deposits the sperm inside the egg duct of the female. The egg is then surrounded by a resistant shell, "laid" by the female and the embryo completes its development inside the egg.
In mammals the sperm are placed in the body of the female and the eggs are fertilized internally. They then develop to quite an advanced stage inside the body of the female. When they are born they are fed on milk excreted from the mammary glands and protected by their parents until they become independent.
Sexual Reproduction In Mammals[edit | edit source]
The reproductive organs of mammals produce the gametes (sperm and egg cells), help them fertilize and then support the developing embryo.
The Male Reproductive System[edit | edit source]
The male reproductive system consists of a pair of testes that produce sperm (or spermatozoa), ducts that transport the sperm to the penis and glands that add secretions to the sperm to make semen (see diagram 13.2).
The various parts of the male reproductive system with a summary of their functions are shown in diagram 13.3.
Diagram 13.2. The reproductive organs of a male dog
File:Anatomy and physiology of animals Diagram summarizing the functions of the male reproductive organs.jpg
Diagram 13.3 - Diagram summarizing the functions of the male reproductive organs
The Testicles[edit | edit source]
Sperm need temperatures between 2 and 10 degrees Centigrade lower than the body temperature to develop. This is the reason why the testes are located in a bag of skin called the scrotal sacs (or scrotum) that hangs below the body and where the evaporation of secretions from special glands can further reduce the temperature. In many animals (including humans) the testes descend into the scrotal sacs at birth but in some animals they do not descend until sexual maturity and in others they only descend temporarily during the breeding season. A mature animal in which one or both testes have not descended is called a cryptorchid and is usually infertile if both testicles have not descended.
The problem of keeping sperm at a low enough temperature is even greater in birds that have a higher body temperature than mammals. For this reason bird's sperm are usually produced at night when the body temperature is lower and the sperm themselves are more resistant to heat.
The testes consist of a mass of coiled tubes (the seminiferous or sperm producing tubules) in which the sperm are formed by meiosis (see diagram 13.4). Cells lying between the seminiferous tubules produce the male sex hormone testosterone.
When the sperm are mature they accumulate in the collecting ducts and then pass to the epididymisbefore moving to the sperm duct or vas deferens. The two sperm ducts join the urethra just below the bladder, which passes through the penis and transports both sperm and urine.
Ejaculation discharges the semen from the erect penis. It is brought about by the contraction of the epididymis, vas deferens, prostate gland and urethra.
Diagram 13.4 - The testis and a magnified seminiferous tubule
Semen[edit | edit source]
Semen consists of 10% sperm and 90% fluid and as sperm pass down the ducts from testis to penis, (accessory) glands add various secretion...
Accessory Glands[edit | edit source]
Three different glands may be involved in producing the secretions in which sperm are suspended, although the number and type of glands varies from species to species.
Seminal vesicles are important in rats, bulls, boars and stallions but are absent in cats and dogs. When present they produce secretions that make up much of the volume of the semen, and transport and provide nutrients for the sperm.
The prostate gland is important in dogs and humans. It produces an alkaline secretion that neutralizes the acidity of the male urethra and female vagina.
Cowper's glands (bulbourethral glands) have various functions in different species. The secretions may lubricate, flush out urine or form a gelatinous plug that traps the semen in the female reproductive system after copulation and prevents other males of the same species fertilizing an already mated female. Cowper's glands are absent in bears and aquatic mammals.
The Penis[edit | edit source]
The penis consists of connective tissue with numerous small blood spaces in it. These fill with blood during sexual excitement causing erection.
Penis Form And Shape[edit | edit source]
Dogs, bears, seals, bats and rodents have a special bone in the penis which helps maintain the erection (see diagram 13.2). In some animals (e.g. the bull, ram and boar) the penis has an "S" shaped bend that allows it to fold up when not in use. In many animals the shape of the penis is adapted to match that of the vagina. For example, the boar has a corkscrew shaped penis, there is a pronounced twist in bulls' and it is forked in marsupials like the opossum. Some have spines, warts or hooks on them to help keep them in the vagina and copulation may be extended to help retain the semen in the female system. Mating can last up to three hours in minks, and dogs may "knot" or "tie" during mating and can not separate until the erection has subsided.
Sperm[edit | edit source]
Sperm are made up of three parts: a head consisting mainly a prominent haploid nucleus which carries the genetic material and also an acrosome, a midpiece containing many mitochondria to provide the energy and a tail that provides propulsion (see diagram 13.5).
Diagram 13.5 - A sperm
A single ejaculation may contain 2-3 hundred million sperm but even in normal semen as many as 10% of these sperm may be abnormal and infertile. Some may be dead while others are inactive or deformed with double, giant or small heads or tails that are coiled or absent altogether.
When there are too many abnormal sperm or when the sperm concentration is low, the semen may not be able to fertilize an egg and the animal is infertile. Make sure you don't confuse infertility with impotence, which is the inability to copulate successfully.
Sperm do not live forever. They have a definite life span that varies from species to species. They survive for between 20 days (guinea pig) to 60 days (bull) in the epididymis but once ejaculated into the female tract they only live from 12 to 48 hours. When semen is used for artificial insemination, storage under the right conditions can extend the life span of some species.
Artificial Insemination[edit | edit source]
In many species the male can be artificially stimulated to ejaculate and the semen collected. It can then be diluted, stored and used to inseminate females. For example bull semen can be diluted and stored for up to 3 weeks at room temperature. If mixed with an antifreeze solution and stored in "straws" in liquid nitrogen at minus 79oC it will keep for much longer. Unfortunately the semen of chickens, stallions and boars can only be stored for up to 2 days.
Dilution of the semen means that one male can be used to fertilise many more females than would occur under natural conditions. There are also advantages in the male and female not having to make physical contact. It means that owners of females do not have to buy expensive males and the possibility of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases is reduced. Routine examination of the semen for sperm concentration, quality and activity allows only the highest quality semen to be used so a high success rate is ensured.
Since the lifespan of sperm in the female tract is so short and ova only survive from 8 to 10 hours the timing of the artificial insemination is critical. Successful conception depends upon detecting the time that the animal is "on heat" and when ovulation occurs.
The Female Reproductive Organs[edit | edit source]
The female reproductive system consists of a pair of ovaries that produce egg cells or ova and fallopian tubes where fertilisation occurs and which carry the fertilised ovum to the uterus. Growth of the foetus takes place here. The cervix separates the uterus from the vagina or birth canal, where the sperm are deposited (see diagram 13.6).
Diagram 13.6. - The reproductive system of a female rabbit
Note that primates like humans have a uterus with a single compartment but in most mammals the uterus is divided into two separate parts or horns as shown in diagram 13.6.
The Ovaries[edit | edit source]
Ovaries are small oval organs situated in the abdominal cavity just ventral to the kidneys. Most animals have a pair of ovaries but in birds only the left one is functional to reduce weight (see below).
The ovary consists of an inner region (medulla) and an outer region (cortex) containing egg cells or ova. These are formed in large numbers around the time of birth and start to develop after the animal becomes sexually mature. A cluster of cells called the follicle surrounds and nourishes each ovum.
The Ovarian Cycle[edit | edit source]
The ovarian cycle refers to the series of changes in the ovary during which the follicle matures, the ovum is shed and the corpus luteum develops (see diagram 13.7).
Numerous undeveloped ovarian follicles are present at birth but they start to mature after sexual maturity. In animals that normally have only one baby at a time only one ovum will mature at once but in litter animals several will. The mature follicle consists of outer cells that provide nourishment. Inside this is a fluid-filled space that contains the ovum.
A mature follicle can be quite large, ranging from a few millimetres in small mammals to the size of a golf ball in large animals. It bulges out from the surface of the ovary before eventually rupturing to release the ovum into the abdominal cavity. Once the ovum has been shed, a blood clot forms in the empty follicle. This develops into a tissue called the corpus luteum that produces the hormone progesterone (see diagram 13.9). If the animal becomes pregnant the corpus luteum persists, but if there is no pregnancy it degenerates and a new ovarian cycle usually.
Diagram 13.7 - The ovarian cycle showing from the top left clockwise: the maturation of the ovum over time, followed by ovulation and the development of the corpus luteum in the empty follicle
The Ovum[edit | edit source]
When the ovum is shed the nucleus is in the final stages of meiosis (cell division). It is surrounded by few layers of follicle cells and a tough membrane called the zona pellucida (see diagram 13.8).
Diagram 13.8 - An ovum
The Oestrous Cycle[edit | edit source]
The oestrous cycle is the sequence of hormonal changes that occurs through the ovarian cycle. These changes influence the behaviour and body changes of the female (see diagram 13.9).
Diagram 13.9 - The oestrous cycle
The first hormone involved in the oestrous cycle is follicle stimulating hormone (F.S.H.), secreted by the anterior pituitary gland (see chapter 16). It stimulates the follicle to develop. As the follicle matures the outer cells begin to secrete the hormone oestrogen and this stimulates the mammary glands to develop. It also prepares the lining of the uterus to receive a fertilised egg. Ovulation is initiated by a surge of another hormone from the anterior pituitary, luteinising hormone (L.H.). This hormone also influences the development of the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone, a hormone that prepares the lining of the uterus for the fertilised ovum and readies the mammary glands for milk production. If no pregnancy takes place the corpus luteum shrinks and the production of progesterone decreases. This causes FSH to be produced again and a new oestrous cycle begins.
For fertilisation of the ovum by the sperm to occur, the female must be receptive to the male at around the time of ovulation. This is when the hormones turn on the signs of "heat", and she is "in season" or "in oestrous". These signs are turned off again at the end of the oestrous cycle.
During the oestrous cycle the lining of the uterus (endometrium) thickens ready for the fertilised ovum to be implanted. If no pregnancy occurs this thickened tissue is absorbed and the next cycle starts. In humans and other higher primates, however, the endometrium is shed as a flow of blood and instead of an oestrous cycle there is a menstrual cycle.
The length of the oestrous cycle varies from species to species. In rats the cycle only lasts 4–5 days and they are sexually receptive for about 14 hours. Dogs have a cycle that lasts 60–70 days and heat lasts 7–9 days and horses have a 21-day cycle and heat lasts an average of 6 days.
Ovulation is spontaneous in most animals but in some, e.g. the cat, and the rabbit, ovulation is stimulated by mating. This is called induced ovulation.
Signs Of Oestrus Or Heat[edit | edit source]
- When on heat a bitch has a blood stained discharge from the vulva that changes a little later to a straw coloured one that attracts all the dogs in the neighbourhood.
- Female cats "call" at night, roll and tread the carpet and are generally restless but will "stand" firm when pressure is placed on the pelvic region (this is the lordosis response).
- A female rat shows the lordosis response when on heat. It will "mount" other females and be more active than normal.
- A cow mounts other cows (bulling), bellows, is restless and has a discharge from the vulva.
Breeding Seasons And Breeding Cycles[edit | edit source]
Only a few animals breed throughout the year. This includes the higher primates (humans, gorillas and chimpanzees etc.), pigs, mice and rabbits. These are known as continuous breeders.
Most other animals restrict reproduction to one or two seasons in the year-seasonal breeders (see diagram 13.10). There are several reasons for this. It means the young can be born at the time (usually spring) when feed is most abundant and temperatures are favourable. It is also sensible to restrict the breeding season because courtship, mating, gestation and the rearing of young can exhaust the energy resources of an animal as well as make them more vulnerable to predators.
Diagram 13.10 - Breeding cycles
The timing of the breeding cycle is often determined by day length. For example the shortening day length in autumn will bring sheep and cows into season so the foetus can gestate through the winter and be born in spring. In cats the increasing day length after the winter solstice (shortest day) stimulates breeding. The number of times an animal comes into season during the year varies, as does the number of oestrous cycles during each season. For example a dog usually has 2-3 seasons per year, each usually consisting of just one oestrous cycle. In contrast ewes usually restrict breeding to one season and can continue to cycle as many as 20 times if they fail to become pregnant.
Fertilisation and Implantation[edit | edit source]
Fertilization[edit | edit source]
The opening of the fallopian tube lies close to the ovary and after ovulation the ovum is swept into its funnel-like opening and is moved along it by the action of cilia and wave-like contractions of the wall.
Copulation deposits several hundred million sperm in the vagina. They swim through the cervix and uterus to the fallopian tubes moved along by whip-like movements of their tails and contractions of the uterus. During this journey the sperm undergo their final phase of maturation so they are ready to fertilize the ovum by the time they reach it in the upper fallopian tube.
High mortality means only a small proportion of those deposited actually reach the ovum. The sperm attach to the outer zona pellucida and enzymes secreted from a gland in the head of the sperm dissolve this membrane so it can enter. Once one sperm has entered, changes in the zona pellucida prevent further sperm from penetrating. The sperm loses its tail and the two nuclei fuse to form a zygote with the full set of paired chromosomes restored.
Development Of The Morula And Blastocyst[edit | edit source]
As the fertilised egg travels down the fallopian tube it starts to divide by mitosis. First two cells are formed and then four, eight, sixteen, etc. until there is a solid ball of cells. This is called a morula. As division continues a hollow ball of cells develops. This is a blastocyst (see diagram 13.11).
Implantation[edit | edit source]
Implantation involves the blastocyst attaching to, and in some species, completely sinking into the wall of the uterus.
Pregnancy[edit | edit source]
The Placenta And Fetal Membranes[edit | edit source]
As the embryo increases in size, the placenta, umbilical cord and fetal membranes (often known collectively as the placenta) develop to provide it with nutrients and remove waste products (see diagram 13.12). In later stages of development the embryo becomes known as a fetus.
The placenta is the organ that attaches the fetus to the wall of the uterus. In it the blood of the fetus and mother flow close to each other but never mix (see diagram 13.13). The closeness of the maternal and fetal blood systems allows diffusion between them. Oxygen and nutrients diffuse from the mother's blood into that of the fetus and carbon dioxide and excretory products diffuse in the other direction. Most maternal hormones (except adrenaline), antibodies, almost all drugs (including alcohol), lead and DDT also pass across the placenta. However, it protects the fetus from infection with bacteria and most viruses.
Diagram 13.11 - Development and implantation of the embryo
File:Anatomy and physiology of animals Fetus and placenta.jpg
Diagram 13.12. The fetus and placenta
The fetus is attached to the placenta by the umbilical cord. It contains arteries that carry blood to the placenta and a vein that returns blood to the fetus. The developing fetus becomes surrounded by membranes. These enclose the amniotic fluid that protects the fetus from knocks and other trauma (see diagram 13.12).
File:Anatomy and physiology of animals Maternal and fetal blood flow in the placenta.jpg
Diagram 13.13 - Maternal and fetal blood flow in the placenta
Hormones During Pregnancy[edit | edit source]
The corpus luteum continues to secrete progesterone and oestrogen during pregnancy. These maintain the lining of the uterus and prepare the mammary glands for milk secretion. Later in the pregnancy the placenta itself takes over the secretion of these hormones.
Chorionic gonadotrophin is another hormone secreted by the placenta and placental membranes. It prevents uterine contractions before labour and prepares the mammary glands for lactation. Towards the end of pregnancy the placenta and ovaries secrete relaxin, a hormone that eases the joint between the two parts of the pelvis and helps dilate the cervix ready for birth.
Pregnancy Testing[edit | edit source]
The easiest method of pregnancy detection is ultrasound which is noninvasive and very reliable Later in gestation pregnancy can be detected by taking x-rays.
In dogs and cats a blood test can be used to detect the hormone relaxin.
In mares and cows palpation of the uterus via the rectum is the classic way to determine pregnancy. It can also be done by detecting the hormones progesterone or equine chorionic gonagotrophin (eCG) in the urine. A new sensitive test measures the amount of the hormone, oestrone sulphate, present in a sample of faeces. The hormone is produced by the foal and placenta, and is only present when there is a living foal.
In most animals, once pregnancy is advanced, there is a window of time during which an experienced veterinarian can determine pregnancy by feeling the abdomen.
Gestation Period[edit | edit source]
The young of many animals (e.g. pigs, horses and elephants) are born at an advanced state of development, able to stand and even run to escape predators soon after they are born. These animals have a relatively long gestation period that varies with their size e.g. from 114 days in the pig to 640 days in the elephant.
In contrast, cats, dogs, mice, rabbits and higher primates are relatively immature when born and totally dependent on their parents for survival. Their gestation period is shorter and varies from 25 days in the mouse to 31 days in rabbits and 258 days in the gorilla.
The babies of marsupials are born at an extremely immature stage and migrate to the pouch where they attach to a teat to complete their development. Kangaroo joeys, for example, are born 33 days after conception and opossums after only 8 days.
Birth[edit | edit source]
Signs Of Imminent Birth[edit | edit source]
As the pregnancy continues, the mammary glands enlarge and may secrete a milky substance a few days before birth occurs. The vulva may swell and produce thick mucus and there is sometimes a visible change in the position of the foetus. Just before birth the mother often becomes restless, lying down and getting up frequently. Many animals seek a secluded place where they may build a nest in which to give birth.
Labour[edit | edit source]
Labour involves waves of uterine contractions that press the foetus against the cervix causing it to dilate. The foetus is then pushed through the cervix and along the vagina before being delivered. In the final stage of labour the placenta or "afterbirth" is expelled.
Adaptations Of The Fetus To Life Outside The Uterus[edit | edit source]
The fetus grows in the watery, protected environment of the uterus where the mother supplies oxygen and nutrients, and waste products pass to her blood circulation for excretion. Once the baby animal is born it must start to breathe for itself, digest food and excrete its own waste. To allow these functions to occur blood is re-routed to the lungs and the glands associated with the gut start to secrete. Note that newborn animals can not control their own body temperature. They need to be kept warm by the mother, litter mates and insulating nest materials.
Milk Production[edit | edit source]
Cows, manatees and primates have two mammary glands but animals like pigs that give birth to large litters may have as many as 12 pairs. Ducts from the gland lead to a nipple or teat and there may be a sinus where the milk collects before being suckled (see diagram 13.14).
Diagram 13.14 - A mammary gland
The hormones oestrogen and progesterone stimulate the mammary glands to develop and prolactin promotes the secretion of the milk. Oxytocin from the pituitary gland releases the milk when the baby suckles. The first milk is called colostrum. It is a rich in nutrients and contains protective antibodies from the mother. Milk contains fat, protein and milk sugar as well as vitamins and most minerals although it contains little iron. Its actual composition varies widely from species to species. For example whale's and seal's milk has twelve times more fat and four times more protein than cow's milk. Cow's milk has far less protein in it than cat's or dog's milk. This is why orphan kittens and puppies cannot be fed cow's milk.
Reproduction In Birds[edit | edit source]
Male birds have testes and sperm ducts and male swans, ducks, geese and ostriches have a penis. However, most birds make do with a small amount of erectile tissue known as a papilla. To reduce weight for flight most female birds only have one ovary - usually the left, which produces extremely yolky eggs. The eggs are fertilised in the upper part of the oviduct (equivalent to the fallopian tube and uterus of mammals) and as they pass down it albumin (the white of the egg), the membrane beneath the shell and the shell are laid down over the yolk. Finally the egg is covered in a layer of mucus to help the bird lay it (see diagram 13.15).
Most birds lay their eggs in a nest and the hen sits on them until they hatch. Ducklings and chicks are relatively well developed when they hatch and able to forage for their own food. Most other nestlings need their parents to keep them warm, clean and fed. Young birds grow rapidly and have voracious appetites that may involve the parents making up to 1000 trips a day to supply their need for food.
Diagram 13.15 - Female reproductive organs of a bird
Summary[edit | edit source]
- Haploid gametes (sperm and ova) are produced by meiosis in the gonads (testes and ovaries).
- Fertilization involves the fusing of the gametes to form a diploid zygote.
- The male reproductive system consists of a pair of testes that produce sperm (or spermatozoa), ducts that transport the sperm to the penis and glands that add secretions to the sperm to make semen.
- Sperm are produced in the seminiferous tubules, are stored in the epididymis and travel via the vas deferens or sperm duct to the junction of the bladder and the urethra where various accessory glands add secretions. The fluid is now called semen and is ejaculated into the female system down the urethra that runs down the centre of the penis.
- Sperm consist of a head, a midpiece and a tail.
- Infertility is the inability of sperm to fertilize an egg while impotence is the inability to copulate successfully.
- The female reproductive system consists of a pair of ovaries that produce ova and fallopian tubes where fertilization occurs and which carry the fertilized ovum to the uterus. Growth of the fetus takes place here. The cervix separates the uterus from the vagina, the birth canal and where the sperm are deposited.
- The ovarian cycle refers to the series of changes in the ovary during which the follicle matures, the ovum is shed and the corpus luteum develops.
- The oestrous cycle is the sequence of hormonal changes that occurs through the ovarian cycle. It is initiated by the secretion of follicle stimulating hormone (F.S.H.), by the anterior pituitary gland which stimulates the follicle to develop. The follicle secretes oestrogen which stimulates mammary gland development. luteinising hormone (L.H.) from the anterior pituitary initiates ovulation and stimulates the corpus luteum to develop. The corpus luteum produces progesterone that prepares the lining of the uterus for the fertilized ovum.
- Signs of oestrous or heat differ. A bitch has a blood stained discharge, female cats and rats are restless and show the lordosis response, while cows mount other cows, bellow and have a discharge from the vulva.
- After fertilization in the fallopian tube the zygote divides over and over by mitosis to become a ball of cells called a morula. Division continues to form a hollow ball of cells called the blastocyst. This is the stage that implants in the uterus.
- The placenta, umbilical cord and fetal membranes (known as the placenta) protect and provide the developing fetus with nutrients and remove waste products.
Worksheet[edit | edit source]
Test Yourself[edit | edit source]
1. Add the following labels to the diagram of the male reproductive organs below.
- testis | epididymis | vas deferens | urethra | penis | scrotal sac | prostate gland
Diagram of the Male Reproductive System
2. Match the following descriptions with the choices given in the list below.
- accessory glands | vas deferens or sperm duct | penis | scrotum | fallopian tube | testes | urethra | vagina | uterus | ovary | vulva
- a) Organ that delivers semen to the female vagina
- b) Where the sperm are produced
- c) Passage for sperm from the epididymis to the urethra
- d) Carries both sperm and urine down the penis
- e) Glands that produce secretions that make up most of the semen
- f) Bag of skin surrounding the testes
- g) Where the foetus develops
- h) This receives the penis during copulation
- i) Where fertilisation usually occurs
- j) Ova travel along this tube to reach the uterus
- k) Where the ova are produced
- l) The external opening of the vagina
3. Which hormone is described in each statement below?
- a) This hormone stimulates the growth of the follicles in the ovary
- b) This hormone converts the empty follicle into the corpus luteum and stimulates it to produce progesterone
- c) This hormone is produced by the cells of the follicle
- d) This hormone is produced by the corpus luteum
- e) This hormone causes the mammary glands to develop
- f) This hormone prepares the lining of the uterus to receive a fertilised ovum
4. State whether the following statements are true or false. If false write in the correct answer.
- a) Fertilisation of the egg occurs in the uterus
- b) The fertilised egg cell contains half the normal number of chromosomes
- c) The morula is a hollow ball of cells
- d) The mixing of the blood of the mother and foetus allows nutrients and oxygen to transfer easily to the foetus
- e) The morula implants in the wall of the uterus
- f) The placenta is the organ that supplies the foetus with oxygen and nutrients
- g) Colostrum is the first milk
- h) Young animals often have to be given calcium supplements because milk contains very little calcium
Websites[edit | edit source]
- http://www.anatomicaltravel.com/CB_site/Conception_to_birth3.htm Anatomical travel. Images of fertilisation and the development of the (human) embryo through to birth.
- http://www.uchsc.edu/ltc/fert.swf Fertilisation. A great animation of fertilisation, formation of the zygote and first mitotic division. A bit advanced but still worth watching.
- http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/health/nursing/sonic/scenarios/salfordanim/heart.swf Sonic. An animation showing the foetal blood circulation through the placenta to the changes allowing circulation through the lungs after birth.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrus Wikipedia. As always, good interesting information although some terms and concepts are beyond the requirements of this level.


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May 29, 2013
God is near (from my private diary)
noce w pełni
i coś jakby płacz,
który zastaje świat zawsze
nad ranem
4 comments
May 25, 2013
lea pradziński (maj, 2013)
36 comments
May 24, 2013
from my private diary
nie wracasz do domu
kwiaty od ciebie
uderzają w okno
3 comments
May 13, 2013
11 comments
May 07, 2013
It is a story of a woman, who was so frightened by loneliness that she devoured her son's life. She ate his body with calm and delight and hunger was even more burning.
You painful, suffering mother — dark and bitter light will soon reach bottom of your eyes.
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It was Senior week at my small-city university when I asked a very dashing fellow classmate why he was heading to medical school in the Fall. After all, wasn't that basically like starting school all over again?
We had just finished 4 years as undergraduates! When I pressed him to find if there were any other physicians in his family he replied no, and further fascinated, I asked why he wanted to become a doctor.
His chest puffed out, his chin tilted up, and he looked down his nose and sneered at me, "Money…"
I swallowed hard and realized there was something not quite right. Even though most of the kids on campus were from tiny farm towns and backwater cities scattered across 4 states, nearly everyone knew that a response like this was not polite. Sure, this was 1988 and quotes from the movie "Wall Street" were making their way into every pop culture conversation, but being rude to a swooning woman was still considered ill-mannered.
Walking on campus a couple days later, a small voice inside offered me some clarity: He said "money" but he actually meant 'class'. Ah, the age-old mistake of assuming the more money, the more class one necessarily has!
As he sneered at me that night, I certainly could have squared him six ways to the sun by informing him he had no idea who he was speaking to, or technically "at" since there was no misinterpreting his self-importance.
And here began his first mistake (so I have been told) over the past 3 decades of his newly found purchasing power where he has ceaselessly racked up tacky overpriced nouns with no signs of slowing down. Class reunions: Don't you just love the loaded chatter rife with sublime but deadly backhanded compliments? (wink, nod)
Here's what I should have told him in May of 1988 although a few high-end car salesmen would not be happy with me, at all.
Money has nothing to do with having class. Please read that sentence again. Now, once more, read it again.
Class is all about possessing an extremely heightened awareness of what is appropriate in any given situation. [italics mine, BGT] Class is reigning in the knee-jerk reactions of your ego in social settings and immediately shifting to the other person's state of mind, given the situation.
When someone exudes class, what a person is doing is authentically enjoying what others enjoy for the sake of their enjoyment; refined people truly love when others are happy and at peace with themselves because of an accomplishment or due to a pleasant change in their own environment.
The way in which you cultivate this heightened awareness is through flawless manners no matter what the situation. This is the ceaseless Zen practice of displaying good manners: it makes all social interactions as pleasant as possible and guarantees the person with whom you're engaging will feel good after you leave the conversation. What could be more refined than this?
What is the lynch pin in the this awareness if manners are the method? Restraint. For the way I was raised, there was no more key concept than that of restraint and, to my way of thinking, it is the one behavioral practice which may save you from nearly every disaster you can imagine.
Don't like the food at a large gathering where warmed up mediocre meals are brought out to tables of dozens and dozens of people? Restraint in your words and facial expressions works wonders. Instead of offering your opinion, restrain your comments to give only information that doesn't detract from others' experience.
When dinner companions complain the potatoes are not up to what they expect, instead add that this is the first meal you've had today and that with as hungry as you are, the potatoes taste fantastic (even if they taste exactly like you'd imagine a cardboard box left out in the rain).
Restraint in your eating habits, restraint in offering your opinion, restraint in talking on and on about the things you enjoy, restraint in expressing irritation with someone else's apparent failure(s), restraint in jumping to conclusions and acting upon flimsy evidence, restraint in wearing very fashionable clothes, restraint in purchasing new items (although one certainly has the means to do so at each whim), restraint in displaying expensive new acquisitions…these are observable in people who have class.
The irony is that in restraining oneself, one appears more refined and aware of their social surroundings and can adjust to any type of interaction, which is the entire point of enjoying other people's company.
Unwavering awareness and restraint, regardless of financial means, will always get you there when it comes to having class. Even if the Ferrari dealerships each wish this wasn't true.
And restraint comes without regret: I don't regret my restraint in offering to pay my crush's undergraduate student loans, his medical school tuition and fees, or to help with his living expenses during his very lengthy physician residency program. His one comment made my quietly writing each of these rather large checks ultimately pointless.
Funny how that works, isn't it?
- "Mary Louise Case"


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Wank! Wank! Wank!
There's nothing more upsetting than a game that believes, if it's wacky enough, it can get away with being crap. It's hard not to love a game that seeks refuge in audacity, as evidenced by the cult fanbase of such titles as Deadly Premonition and Earth Defense Force.
Tank! Tank! Tank! clearly seeks the same kind of cult success, as evidenced by its delightfully stupid name. It begins its first mission with the briefing, "Giant mechanical spiders are attacking the city," without context or reason, and the game is a non-stop, colorful, sense-addling marathon of tank-on-robot action. It sounds perfect.
That, unfortunately, is the tragic lure of the wacky game that exploits its silliness to try and get away with being rubbish. Such an endeavor ends up, like Tank! Tank! Tank!, as nothing more than a waste of deliciously dumb ideas.
Tank! Tank! Tank! (Wii U)
Developer: Namco Bandai
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Release: October 18, 2012
Giant mechanical spiders, robotic octopi with colossal artillery on their backs, armies of armor-plated centipedes and laser-spewing dinosaurs — Tank! Tank! Tank! pulls out a checklist of ridiculous monsters and throws them at the player, offering in return a small legion of playable tanks with which to take them out. In essence, it's a simple concept that is plenty capable of greatness, but lazy design and underwhelming controls undo all the genuine good that Tank! Tank! Tank! could have offered.
The core of the game is rock-solid. You're one of many tanks, and you skid around mid-sized arenas, picking up ammo drops and blasting a bizarre array of gigantic robots until you win. Tanks are unlocked with medals earned at the end of each mission, and each one boasts its own set of strengths, weaknesses, and unique weapons. They have an unlimited normal fire mode, though this is ineffective against bigger boss monsters, and two unique alternative weapons which are activated by rolling over ammo pickups — yellow pickups for weaker, more rapid attacks, and blue for rarer, but highly devastating missile launches.
Missions either charge players with defeating a large number of small enemies, or a small number of huge ones, within a matter of minutes at the very most. Creatures themselves are generally easy to fight, and even those that manage to kill you rarely do so before your lives run out. Most mission failures will result from the time limit concluding before the requisite opponents are defeated, and that can often depend on your having picked the wrong tank for the job (some of them are just plain unusable, with lackluster range and a worthless rate-of-fire).
A support tank aids the player in each challenge, which can either be controlled by the CPU or a human ally using a Pro Controller/Wii Remote. When a real-life partner is in attendance, the main player is relegated to viewing the action on the GamePad, thus avoiding any split-screens. Actual GamePad features are minor, outside of screen use and a few tappable menus — you can steer with the gyroscope, but I'd advise against it, as motion controls aren't so good for open-arena driving.
The essence of the concept is beautiful in its no-nonsense, all-action approach, but it's a real shame that the tanks themselves control awfully. Although you can move each vehicle's gun turret independent of its chassis, any attempt to move will bring gun and body back into line with each other, meaning you can't strafe and fire, which is a real pain in the backside when you're racing to ammo drops while attempting to defeat enemies within each mission's incredibly strict time limit. Even the more agile tanks are slow and unable to avoid most enemy attacks, and weapons tend to fire at sluggish, stuttering intervals that fail to satisfy. The less said about the auto-aim system — and its tendency to just have a seizure as you drive — the better.
Tank! Tank! Tank! is not without its charm, even with such an inept control scheme. Like Dynasty Warriors or EDF, it's still fun to race around and mindlessly blast stuff, while the rough presentation and overenthusiastic voice commentary add a sense of dorky charm. However, even if you can get used to the controls and enjoy the minimalist action, Tank! Tank! Tank! pulls something unquestionably vile from its bag of cheap tricks — it forces you to replay levels dozens upon dozens of times in order to desperately pad itself out.
As already mentioned, you get a combat medal every time you clear a mission with a particular tank. If you replay a mission with another tank, you get another medal. Sounds fair enough, until you learn that the system has been exploited to force players to go through the exact same levels many times over in order to beat the game. After clearing a set number of missions, subsequent levels will become gated behind an increasingly egregious pay wall of medals. The only way to get more medals and progress through the campaign is to — you guessed it — pick new tanks and play old levels. A lot.
I reached a point where I had 36 medals, and was informed that I couldn't unlock the next mission until I had 50. Bear in mind, this is after I'd already cleared two previous medal requirements, meaning I'd been retreading old ground more times than I care to remember before this. Missions don't change, and while the tanks all perform differently and can level up to boost their stats, nothing is compelling or deep enough to be worth all that repetition.
This is made even more insulting when, further into the game, missions start repeating themselves anyway, putting you up against recolored enemies you already fought with maybe a few new attack patterns. In a budget game of half the price, this would be annoying, but Tank! Tank! Tank! barely qualifies as budget, and the laziness on display is appalling. It runs counter to what this game even sets out to do — it's very hard to be mesmerized by something's inherent silliness when you're forcefully exposed to the same routine until you get sick of it.
Outside of the shockingly slapdash campaign, there are four multiplayer modes to choose from — local only. There's a free-for-all deathmatch, which isn't very fun, two-on-two team deathmatch, which is bland, a competitive four-player co-op mode, which is slightly fun, and a My Kong mode which, in all fairness, is pretty damn enjoyable.
My Kong allows one player, using the GamePad, to take control of a gigantic robotic ape while other players control tanks and attempt to take it down. For added amusement, the ape can be given its player's face thanks to the GamePad's camera. Getting to be one of the monsters and smack other players around the map is certainly gratifying, and while it's not quite clever or polished enough to be worth more than a few tries, it at least gives this game something of a highlight.
Tank! Tank! Tank! may be more fun in its original arcade form, but this Wii U release is clumsy, visually sub-par, and disrespectful of the player's time. While it revels in its own stupidity and hopes you'll do the same, it's one of those sad games that believes a ridiculous concept is enough to make for a worthwhile game, and in Tank! Tank! Tank!'s case, that's just not true. Indeed, there's nothing more upsetting than a game that believes, if it's wacky enough, it can get away with being crap.
This game does just that, and it's no less sad than it always is.


text:
A green sea turtle that lost three of its flippers can finally swim in a straight line, turtle rescuers said Wednesday.
Workers at Sea Turtle Inc. strapped Allison, a 5-year-old rescued turtle, on Wednesday into a neoprene "ninja" suit that holds a carbon-fiber fin in place on her back.
It looks like a wetsuit covering about three-quarters of the turtle's body.
The fin acts as a rudder, allowing her to propel herself forward with her sole fin. The turtle was able to gracefully glide across a 12-foot pool along with other turtles.
The success follows failed attempts last year to fit her with a prosthetic rear flipper.
Before Wednesday, Allison could only swim in tight circles with her one good flipper.
She arrived in 2005 as a hand-size, bloodied turtle with little chance of survival. She'd lost three flippers in an apparant shark attack.


text:
Torch of Light School was created by a team of young Afghans sharing the common belief that the greatest hope for peace, stability, development and lasting progress will come through a solid foundation of quality private education. Torch of Light School provides values-based, globally-relevant quality education, and instill in each student respect for people of all cultures and religion. Through education, teachers spread knowledge and promote tolerance for each other.
Torch of Light School provides special attention to student health.
Torch of Light School welcomes 300 students, 18 teachers and 9 administrative and facilities personnel.


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QS PDX Recap (October 30, 2012)
Steven Jonas
November 21, 2012
This guest post comes to us from one of our wonderful QS Meetup organizers, Steven Jonas. If you're a Meetup Organizer and want to post a recap of your meetup just let us know!
Quantified Self Portland Show & Tell Meetup Recap – October 30, 2012
Puppet Labs opened up their space and generously hosted our October Meetup. We had some amazing talks and discussion. Read on for more about each of the talks and our post show&tell discussion session.
David Gwilliam – Text Message Analytics
Brief: After getting dumped, David needed an excuse to read his old text messages. Exporting all of his SMS's out of Google Voice, he used a variety of tools to get them in a form that would allow for linguistic analysis and visualization. Doing so, he reconfirmed his belief that most of his communication was either to girls or about girls. As his project moves forward, he wants to improve the linguistic analysis by looking at significant phrases, rather than words, and tweak his D3 visualization so that it better represents clustering.
Tools and other things mentioned:-His GitHub page for his project – http://github.com/dhgwilliam/google-voice-stats -Twitter page – http://twitter.com/dhgwilliam -Google Voice – google.com/voice -Google Takeout – google.com/takeout -Data Liberation Front – www.dataliberation.org/takeout-products -Markdown – http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/ -Redis – http://redis.io -Ohm ORM – http://ohm.keyvalue.org -Sinatra – http://www.sinatrarb.com -Statistically Improbable Phrases – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistically_Improbable_Phrases -Rack Cache – http://github.com/rtomayko/rack-cache -Resque – http://github.com/defunkt/resque -Rake – http://rake.rubyforge.org -GCharts – http://mootools.net/forge/p/gcharts -Pandoc – http://johnmacfarlane.net/pandoc/ -D3 – http://d3js.org -jQuery –http://jquery.com -Linguistic analysis equation – http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/~paul/publications/rg_acl2000.pdf
Rob Shields – Search Your Life
Brief: Rob was interested in passively recording his life, so he rigged his phone to hang around his neck and take a picture nearly every minute. He dumped the photos into Picasa and with tagging and face recognition used them to start answering questions such as "When did I last have sushi?" and "What was the name of that guy I met at the QS Data Co-op?" Rob found that knowing that the phone was recording events, it allowed him to be more present in the moment, since he didn't have to worry about retrieving a camera to capture events. Going forward, he would like to have ways to add more metadata (like geotagging) to add context to the images that he captures, a wider lens, and be able to integrate it with other streams of data.
Tools and other things mentioned:-Gordon Bell's SenseCam – http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/cambridge/projects/sensecam/ -Autographer – http://www.autographer.com/ -Memoto – http://memoto.com -Project Glass – http://plus.google.com/+projectglass/posts -Google Goggles – http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/ -TagTime – http://messymatters.com/tagtime/ -Picasa –http://picasa.google.com -Vicon Revue – http://viconrevue.com/product.html
Steven Jonas – Stressing Out Loud
VIDEO* | SLIDES | TWITTER*from the QS Seattle meetup a week earlier
Brief: Steven discovered through an EEG assessment that he had a strong "freeze" response to stressful situations. This inspired him to use his emWave to monitor his stress levels, hack it to alert him whenever he got too stressed, and change his patterns at work. He found that keeping his stress levels in check allowed him to focus better and left him with more energy at the end of the day. Going forward, he would like to find a tool that allows him to annotate the data, and be able to track stress when he's not at his desk.
Tools and other things mentioned:-emWave2 – http://www.heartmathstore.com/item/6310/emwave2 -equanimity – http://www.meditate.mx/iphone
Daniel Reeves – Beeminder update
TWITTER**sorry, no video
Brief: Daniel gave us an update on Beeminder, highlighting new functionality for connecting the great project management tool, Trello, as well as using Beeminder to keep track of your progress during NaNoWriMo. He also talked about a Pomodoro Poker, a hack night where participants bet on how close they can complete a task to a time limit (without going over).
Tools and other things mentioned:-Beeminder – http://www.beeminder.com -Trello – http://blog.beeminder.com/trello/ -NaNoWriMo – http://blog.beeminder.com/nanowrimo/ -Pomodoro Poker – http://blog.beeminder.com/tv/#comment-691153967
Prompt: One of the interesting things about self-tracking is the heightened awareness that you'll gain. Noticing things that you could never perceive before. This could take different forms, sometimes like a sixth sense. For example, this is a device I built from a kit made by Sensebridge that attaches to your ankle and points in the direction of north. Over time, the wearers develop of sense of where North is that lasts even after they remove the device. Are these extra senses always good? Can they be negative?
Tools and other things mentioned:-Sensebridge's North Paw – http://sensebridge.net/projects/northpaw/ -Contour @USB – http://bayercontourusb.us -Zeo – http://www.myzeo.com/sleep/shop/zeo-sleep-manager-mobile.html
Drinks afterward at Deschutes Brewery
The night ended with a lively discussion where the main topic was productivity systems where everybody shared what they use, what failed for them and why.
What's Up Next?
All in all, it was a fantastic, invigorating evening. We hope to see you at the Data Co-op on November 27. What is a Data Co-op? It's a regular part of our QS PDX meetup series for people with data that they're working on, or people who want to see what data other people are working on, or people who want/have tips for working their QS-related data. If you track some kind of data about your life and are trying to make sense of it, join us during this open time and bring your data and a computer with you.
Topics that arose last time:D3 and data visualization (http://d3js.org/)
Wolfram Alpha and analysis of meditation data
Scraping Nike FuelBand data with Firefox
And, of course, people brought dozens of projects with them to work on, and many ideas were shared in small groups. We plan on hosting the next Show & Tell in January and hope to see you soon!
Pictures courtesy of Ryan Casey. See more here.


text:
|» Summary
|» License
|Send HTTP Downloads
|BSD, revised
|» Current Release
|» Bug Summary
|1.1.4 (stable) was released on 2010-10-15 by doconnor (Changelog)
Report a new bug to HTTP_Download
|» Description
|Provides an interface to easily send hidden files or any arbitrary data to
HTTP clients. HTTP_Download can gain its data from variables, files or
stream resources.
It features:
- Basic caching capabilities
- Basic throttling mechanism
- On-the-fly gzip-compression
- Ranges (partial downloads and resuming)
- Delivery of on-the-fly generated archives through Archive_Tar and Archive_Zip
- Sending of PgSQL LOBs without the need to read all data in prior to sending
|» Maintainers
|» More Information


text:
Demand for oil in developed nations peaked in 2005, and changing demographics and improved motor-vehicle efficiency guarantee that it won't hit those heights again, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates says in a new report.
Reduced petroleum demand in developed nations could make their economic growth less vulnerable to oil price shocks, the report states.
Nonetheless, global oil demand is still expected to grow, overall, driven by China and other developing nations as the world economy recovers.
But demand for oil that has fallen in recent years in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, nations won't be made up, the analysts say.
"The economic downturn has been masking a larger trend in the oil demand of developed countries," said Daniel Yergin, the company's chairman. "The fact is that OECD oil demand has been falling since late 2005, well before the Great Recession began."
The biggest reason, the group says, is that oil demand in the transportation sector -- which is the United States' dominant use of oil and accounts for 60 percent of OECD petroleum demand -- is flattening.
The trend has been noticed elsewhere, as well. Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson said this month that U.S. gasoline demand peaked in 2007.
The Cambridge Energy Research Associates, or CERA, analysis cites several reasons why demand in developed nations -- which accounts for slightly more than half the world's total -- won't recover. Among them: Car ownership rates have reached "saturation," while populations are aging and population growth ranges from low to negative.
Also, OECD governments, driven by global warming and energy security worries, have tightened fuel efficiency standards, while high prices in recent years have also pushed consumers away from gas guzzlers.
In the United States, the Obama administration plans to implement rules that push corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standards to a fleetwide average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, four years ahead of the schedule Congress laid out in a 2007 energy law.
Use of alternative fuels like ethanol has also grown.
"New technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and next-generation biofuels could also have a greater impact in the future," the report states.
Global demand will nonetheless grow, fueled mostly by developing nations, CERA finds. The company forecasts world demand to increase from 83.8 million barrels per day this year to 89.1 mbd in 2014.
"Just 900,000 bpd [barrels per day] of growth is expected to come from OECD countries, just a fraction of the 3.7 million bpd of demand lost over the course of 2005 to 2009," the report states.
But CERA cautions that developed nations will hardly be through with oil anytime soon. The demand reduction in OECD countries between the 2005 peak and 2030 is expected to be "fairly modest," it states.
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500