Next Generation Stem Cell Science: The NeoGenesis Story + Science
Ingredients Matter: Dr. Maguire Ph.D., on The Philosophy of Ingredient Selection
The Power of Stem Cell Technology: Science-based Skin + Hair Results
What is Stem Cell Technology? How is it used in Skin Care?
Human Stem Cell Released Molecules for Compromised Skin
NeoGenesis Stem Cell Based Skin Care Products, Powered by Science
Webinar: An Introduction to Stem Cell Science and Skin Care
Educational Videos – Science
Welcome to the Learn section of the NeoGenesis site. Here you will find educational videos to find out more about the science behind NeoGenesis, what is stem cell technology and how it is used in skin care. Using breakthrough technology + modern science, NeoGenesis patented S²RM® technology provides safe and effective products to support your skin, naturally.
NeoGenesis provides science-based products that are safe and effective for everyone. Our patented S²RM® technology enables us to harvest an array of molecules from multiple adult stem cell types. NeoGenesis mimics the body’s natural process of healing and maintaining the skin, utilizing the stem cell molecules for more complete rejuvenation. These are the same molecules the skin produces in greater abundance when it is young and healthy. The molecules are naturally packaged in exosomes, which protect and deliver the molecules to the areas of skin that need them the most. Through the S²RM® technology, our products are able to return to the skin all of the nutrients available when the skin was young and healthy.
Do you want to learn more about what NeoGenesis products can do for you? Follow NeoGenesis on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.


Rivers of Sunlight: How the Sun Moves Water around the Earth by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm (9780545805414, Amazon, GoodReads)
This is the fourth picture book collaboration between Bang and Chisholm. All of the picture books done by Bang as author and illustrator and Chisholm, professor of Ecology at MIT have focused on the sun. This picture book is all about how the sun works to move water through the water cycle on earth. The role of the sun as it evaporates water to vapor. The way the sun heats and cools water. The way that water moves around the earth via ocean currents. It’s a book about the power of the sun and the value of water on earth with an emphasis on conservation and care.
Bang and Chisholm have created a group of picture books that celebrate our earth and the wonder of the sun. This book includes water, looking at the small amount of fresh water that actually exists on earth, the way that water cycles through our world, and the power of the sun in all of these systems. The book is told in the voice of the sun, speaking as the source of winds, the power of evaporation, the source of ocean currents.
Bang’s illustrations are lit by the sun. She rims trees in yellow, lights mountains in gold, and swirls lemon through the oceans. She shows the water in the atmosphere as a river of its own, dappled and bright but also subtle against the bolder parts of the illustrations. There is a delicacy to it that emphasizes how humans can damage water on our planet.
Another winner from this collaboration of art and science, this picture book shines. Appropriate for ages 5-7.
Reviewed from copy received from The Blue Sky Press.


Imagine this: It’s Monday morning. Over the weekend, one of your students, Gabe, challenged his classmates to post sexual images as a dare. Ana responded by posting an image of a faceless nude female to a group chat of 5 kids. The parent of a recipient in the group chat is calling the office looking for a response. What are you going to say?
I often use scenarios like this in workshops I facilitate for teachers demonstrating the need to proactively plan and implement a positive digital culture instead of just being reactive. Educators commonly respond to this scenario by stating they would talk to the students, call the families, involve counselors, and/or notify administrators. Some say they would involve law enforcement. When asked how long it will take to contain the drama and repair the impact of the student actions, nearly all raise eyebrows and shake their heads.
Offering technology in classrooms has given students and teachers new tools to help them learn in the classroom setting and has helped keep students and teachers connected during the pandemic.
One crucial element to using technology in the classroom is having up to date tech and operating systems. Unfortunately, one roadblock school districts face is how to recycle their used and outdated tech. And if your district is in rural Alaska with limited shipping options, repurposing outdated iPads or laptops can be more challenging.
In September and October of each school year, Fronteras Spanish Immersion Charter School students and staff research, study, and present the history, culture, and contributions of our ancestors from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced this observation in 1968. It was expanded to a 30-day period by President Ronald Reagan starting September 15th and concluding October 15th.


Library that is platform-specific via selective compilation?
The proposed library would sit alongside cross-platform libraries in Xamarin apps for iOS and Android. However, it would include files with names like
Each file would have platform-specific content, and all files would be visible in the solutions for each platform, i.e. in the solution for the Android app, under MyLibrary, you would also be able to see MyLibraryFile.ios.cs.
The contents of the library would be steered via the project file, which would have a structure as follows.
First, a list of target frameworks is set
<PropertyGroup> <TargetFrameworks>Xamarin.iOS10</TargetFrameworks> <TargetFrameworks Condition="'$(OS)' != 'Unix'">$(TargetFrameworks);MonoAndroid12.0</TargetFrameworks> </PropertyGroup>
Then, the project file selects which .cs files to build based on the TargetFramework set in the app project.
<ItemGroup Condition="$(TargetFramework.StartsWith('MonoAndroid'))"> <Compile Include="**\*.android.cs"/> </ItemGroup>
My question is, is this a recognised pattern?
I can't find anything about it.
The general mechanism you describe has been in use since there were cross-compilers and libraries that were meant to provide the same application interface on different platforms. Your specific example using XML is newer of course.
Any competent build system has the ability to switch include files and make other modifications based on the target platform. This is nothing new.
One of the earliest full build systems (and source code control too) that I am aware of was Apollo DSEE, developed in the early 1980s. In DSEE, you specified the target platform via selecting a "thread". The various build files could cause different files to be used and command line options changed based on state ultimately derived from the thread.
Before that, people used shell scripts to achieve the same thing, although not as elegantly as full-blown build systems.
This is an ancient concept, probably because it's an obvious solution when faced with the multi-platform build problem.
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Available online: https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_module.php?id=1260Published by: The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research ; 2017
This lesson is a follow-on to COMET’s Communicating Forecast Uncertainty lesson, which introduces research findings on the effective communication of uncertainty information and enables learners to apply them to a North American case. This lesson focuses on a European winter weather case and provides an additional opportunity to evaluate end-user needs and formulate effective responses to their questions based on the research findings. Learners are strongly encouraged to take Communicating Forecast Uncertainty before starting this lesson. The lesson is aimed at experienced forecasters with knowledge of mid-latitude weather regimes.
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Tags: Weather forecasting ; Numerical weather prediction ; Forecast uncertainty ; Lesson/ Tutorial ; NWP Skills and Knowledge for Operational Meteorologists Add tag


India building world’s highest railway bridge in Himalayas
KAURI: Indian engineers are toiling in the Himalayas to build the world’s highest railway bridge which is expected to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower when completed by 2016.
The arch-shaped steel structure is being constructed over the Chenab river to link sections of the spectacular mountainous region of Jammu and Kashmir.The bridge is expected to be 359 metres (1,177 feet) high when completed — surpassing the world’s current tallest railway bridge over the Beipanjiang river in China’s Guizhou province, which stands at 275 metres high. “It is an engineering marvel. We hope to get this bridge ready by December 2016,” a senior Indian railways official told AFP. “The design would ensure that it withstands seismic activities and high wind speeds,” he said on Wednesday. Work on the bridge started in 2002 but safety and feasibility concerns, including the area’s strong winds, saw the project halted in 2008 before being green-lighted again two years later. The estimated cost of the project, which is being handled by Konkan railway corporation, a subsidiary of state-owned Indian railways, is $92 million. The bridge will connect Baramulla to Jammu with a travel time of six-and-a-half hours, almost half the time it currently takes. The main arch is being erected using two cable cranes attached on either side of the river which are secured on enormous steel pylons, according to engineers of the project. The 1,315-metre long bridge will use up to 25,000 tonnes of steel with some material being transported by helicopters due to the tough terrain, they said. “One of the biggest challenges involved was constructing the bridge without obstructing the flow of the river,” the railways official said. “Approach roads had to be constructed to reach the foundations of the bridge,” he added.


It took about 12 hours, but an idea finally began to percolate. Yesterday afternoon I watched a TED talk about The Museum of Four in the Morning. I loved it; it did not serve the purpose I needed, so I moved on and kept searching for other texts that related to the lesson plan I was writing.
Then, at almost three this morning, I realized this talk was a perfect example of a full-circle ending. If you have fourteen minutes to devote to an interesting story of coincidence, it would be worth it to use this example of how connecting the introduction and the conclusion can tie up a speech/essay/story with the nice little bow of a full-circle ending.
But then, I thought about the reality of taking fourteen minutes to talk about one example of a strong introduction and conclusion; that’s too much time, not enough substance. So, I started thinking about the conclusion itself, and wondering, as I often do, would students even find this interesting, or does it just show what a nerd I am for loving the romantic gesture of the mixtape?
And that’s when it hit me that this might make a good introduction to a lesson of poetry pairings. It’s almost April and teachers are always looking for fresh projects to teach poetry, (spoiler alert), so why not introduce students to Paul Simon and Wislawa Szymborska and then let them go out and make their own mixtape or pair a poem with a visual text or a current event or another poem? So many options; such potential for deep thinking about the meaning of a poem and making connections across texts on the students’ own terms.
And so I leave you with this incomplete idea, to let it percolate in your own mind as we enter April…how will you pair poetry with another text (and this TED Talk) to help students think deeply about multiple texts?


Castle Trumps is the educational game that teaches all about British medieval castles and history. You’ll learn about their importance, and their major role in British history. You’ll learn about the age and size of Britain’s greatest castles, their defences and sieges, and how much of them remains today.
This site connects you to what is going on in England to preserve its historic castles and other buildings. The site also lists tours and events occurring during the year. Plan a trip there, you will never regret it!
Castle of Wales
The height of the English castle building era occurred in Wales. As a result, some of the best castles in the world can be found there. This site describes the castles in great detail.
Here is a site where you can buy rubber molds for building various castle parts. I have not tried any of them.
Castles of the World
Castles of Britain
This site is full of great castle information, historical data, castle legends, and lots of fun games to play.
This site is dedicated to the local history of the Medway area of Kent England. Featuring photographs of Rochester castle and cathedral, Dover castle and other sites of historical interest in southeast England.


Does it Matter When You Use Electricity, or Just How Much?
Currently, most residential electric customers in Illinois are on a standard fixed rate, meaning no matter when you use electricity, it costs the same amount.
But, prices actually vary significantly depending on the season and time of day. During the cooler months, for example, electricity prices often remain below the standard fixed rate. And, rates are often less during off-peak times, like at night. Across the country, dynamic pricing programs are providing consumers with an option to pay hourly electricity rates set in the wholesale market, rather than the standard fixed rate. Shifting electricity usage to lower priced hours helps lower bills.
CNT Energy has long been a leader helping residents reduce electricity use. In the 1990s, we explored local power generation and helped households benefit from emerging smart grid technology. In 2003, we launched the first program in the nation to allow residential customers to pay hourly electricity prices. Three years later, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation requiring major electric utilities to offer residential customers an hourly pricing option.
CNT Energy administers two robust dynamic pricing programs. These programs allow participants to adopt smarter energy use habits, save money, and reduce strain on the electric grid.
With ComEd Residential Real-Time Pricing (RRTP), the price you pay varies from hour to hour, giving you more power to control costs. Currently, more than 10,000 households participate in the RRTP program and have saved on average over 15 percent on electric supply costs compared with what they would have paid on the standard ComEd fixed-price rate. Participants can check prices online or by phone and receive high price alerts via email, phone, or text.
Power Smart Pricing is for residential customers in the Ameren Illinois territory. The price participants pay varies from hour to hour and day to day according to market prices, but generally follow seasonal price patterns making it easy plan electricity use. Participants save by taking simple actions to conserve energy during hours when prices are higher. More than 13,000 households participate and since the program started in 2007, participants have saved a total of $9.1 million on their electric bills. Participants receive alerts via Twitter, email, or phone and can follow tips on Facebook.
Photo from Flickr user lydia_shiningbrightly.


Reading a news story about an increase in the homeless population might make you feel sad for a moment but if we’re all being honest you’re probably going to totally forget about it a minute or so later. We’ve all become quite skilled at totally separating ourselves from the plight of our fellow humans, and that’s a problem that researchers from Stanford think they might be able to fix with virtual reality.
A new study by Stanford scientists focused on using VR to boost empathy by putting people in the shoes of someone who they might otherwise only read or hear about. Specifically, the used virtual reality to give everyday people a crash course in losing absolutely everything.
The team used a VR experience that they call Becoming Homeless to show people what it’s like to find your life in ruins. In the virtual world, the “player” experiences a range of hardships including losing their job and ultimately giving up their homes.
What they discovered is that people who can experience something first-hand, even in virtual reality, tend to have a lot more empathy for individuals who are actually experiencing those hardships here in the real world.
“Experiences are what define us as humans, so it’s not surprising that an intense experience in VR is more impactful than imagining something,” Jeremy Bailenson, Stanford professor and co-author of the paper published in PLOS One, said in a statement.
In the virtual experience, the player’s job loss forces them to sell off their possessions in order to have enough money to pay rent while they hunt fruitlessly for a cheaper place to live. It’s a scenario that is a reality for many people, but the researchers suggest that you can never truly understand what it’s like until you’ve experienced it. Becoming Homeless is a tiny taste of that tragedy, but the team says it’s enough to change how players feel about the topic.
“Taking the perspective of others in VR produces more empathy and prosocial behaviors in people immediately after going through the experience and over time in comparison to just imagining what it would be like to be in someone else’s shoes,” Fernanda Herrera, a gradual student and lead author of the study, said. “And that is an exciting finding.”


In the beginning…there was Reality
Reality refers to everything that exists and can be experienced, perceived, or measured, including physical objects, events, thoughts, and emotions.
We can make that definition more complicated (as philosophers, scientists, and others do) by adding…
Reality is the state of things as they actually are, independent of our beliefs or perceptions about them. Reality is the objective truth that exists regardless of our subjective experiences or interpretations of it.
Now…Augmented Reality is moving toward mainstream
Augmented Reality is an evolving technology that enhances our real-world environment by overlaying digital information and virtual objects onto it.
Augmented Reality is not virtual – it involves using a device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or a headset, to display computer-generated content that appears to coexist with the physical world. Since the 1990‘s, Augmented Reality has provided users with additional information about their surroundings. Now, it can also allow them to interact with virtual objects in a real-world environment, such envisioning furniture in their family rooms and playing games that use the physical space around them as a game board.
Who uses Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality technology is used by people of all ages and backgrounds, and its user base is expanding. Some of the “demographics” that have shown a particular interest in AR include:
- Gamers: Augmented Reality has been popular among gamers, who enjoy the immersive experience of interacting with virtual objects in a real-world environment.
- Students and educators: Augmented Reality has been increasingly used in education as a way to make learning more interactive and engaging. It can be used to create virtual simulations or bring historical events to life.
- Architects and engineers: Augmented Reality can be used in the fields of architecture and engineering to visualize building designs and prototypes in a real-world setting, providing a more accurate representation of the final product.
- Retail and marketing professionals: Augmented Reality can be used to create interactive and immersive experiences for customers, such as virtual try-ons or product demonstrations.
- Healthcare professionals: Augmented Reality can be used in healthcare to provide medical training and simulations, assist with surgeries, and help patients with rehabilitation and therapy.
If you are interested in exploring the boundaries of technology and enhancing your real-world (life and work) experiences then you may find Augmented Reality to be an exciting and useful tool.


Confidence in behaviour changes through serious games, hereinafter referred by its acronym eConfidence, is a project that aims to answer this question, by testing and researching how the use of serious game can have a positive impact in positive behavioural changes. As the core of the project is focusing on children, serious games and behavioural change, two such games will be developed and piloted in a school environment. The research results aim to increase the use of serious game in the classroom and mainly to reshape the ludic perception of games into a positive resource for young people, teachers, parents and carers. eConfidence is a 24 months project that started in November 2016 and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 732420. (http://www.econfidence.eu/about)
Within the project, the potential role of games to promote changes in these behaviours is investigated and we aim at testing 2 serious games in 10 schools (5 in Spain and 5 in European English-speaking countries), in the academy year 2017/2018, with students aged 12 to 14.
The Call for participation for school is now open!
Deadline for applications: 15 June 2017
- Call for participation in eConfidence pilots – Downalod here
- Invitation letter for schools – Download here
- Application form – Webform here
Contact and information on the Call – European Schoolnet
EUN Partnership AISBL, Rue de Trèves 61, B-1040 Brussels
t +32 (0)2 790 75 56 | t +32 (0)499 48 97 21


Kasserine, also known as Cillium, is a city in central Tunisia with several Ancient Roman monuments and ruins.
Founded in approximately the second century AD, Kasserine became a Roman colony known as Colonia Cillilana or just Cillium.
Under Roman Emperor Vespasian or Titus, it was elevated to the rank of municipium, and under the Severan dynasty (193-235) to that of colonia (Cillilana). It became Roman territory following the defeat of Carthage in 146 BC, belonging to the provinces of Africa, Africa Vetus, Africa Proconsularus, and finally Africa Byzacena following the reforms of Diocletian in 314 AD.
Kasserine Pass, to the northwest, was the scene of a decisive battle of the Tunisian campaign in World War Two, which contributed to the collapse of German resistance in northern Africa.
Just west of the main city of Kasserine, visitors can see the remains of this city, including a large ancient theatre which is carved out of the hillside, a triumphal arch and several fallen columns.
Set slightly further away from the rest of the ancient ruins, and just off the main road, is the impressive Mausoleum of the Flavii, a huge looming three-story tower-mausoleum.
Cillium is a quiet site with few people making the effort to visit the remains, particularly given the proximity of better-preserved Roman sites, such as Sbeïtla, nearby.
Getting to Kasserine
Kasserine is the capital city of the Kasserine Governorate, in west-central Tunisia. It is situated below Jebel ech Chambi, Tunisia’s highest mountain.
The nearest airport is Gafsa Ksar Airport, which is around a 2 hour drive away from the south via the P15 then P17.


The youths should be involved beyond passive consultation processes and encouraged to actively provide inputs to local and national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) accountability mechanisms.
But the voice of the young people, who make up more than a third of the country's population, is missing in the implementation of the SDGs.
Experts made the observations at the dialogue "Accountability for SDG Implementation: Local Perspectives and Youth" organised by Citizen's Platform for SDGs Bangladesh and ActionAid Bangladesh Sunday.
"Among the 122 indicators of SDGs, eight are directly focused on youth employment, various injustice, educational rights and others. Undoubtedly, we need to pay attention to the assessment, evaluation and voice of the youth," said Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of Citizen's Platform.
ActionAid Country Director Farah Kabir said: "Though Bangladesh prepared two voluntary national reviews in 2017 and 2020 respectively to assess the implementation status of the SDGs, youth and marginalised communities were not fully involved in the process."
"So, the voluntary local reviews need to be prepared through the district, sub-district and community levels, especially involving young men and young women below the age of 35 years and who have been left behind lately due to the pandemic."


Getting a visa means that you can legally enter the United States. Upgrading to a Green Card will let you stay here, possibly for the rest of your life. Becoming a naturalized citizen will offer you even more benefits than permanent residency.
Although there is an involved process and testing required for naturalization, the benefits outweigh the amount of effort required. What are some of the biggest benefits of becoming a naturalized citizen?
You can vote and run for political office
The United States of America holds regular elections for local, state and federal political offices. If you want to have a say in your government, you will need to become a citizen so that you can vote.
Some people, especially if they endure political persecution in their country of origin, may want to run for political office. Naturalization makes holding a political office a possibility.
You don’t have to worry about removal or restrict your travel
As a permanent resident, especially one that wants to become a citizen, you have to limit how much you travel in the years leading up to your naturalization. You also have to worry about anything from losing your job to a criminal arrest affecting your right to stay in the country.
Citizens have no restrictions on their travel rights and can obtain a United States passport. They also don’t have to worry about deportation.
You can help your loved ones enter the country more easily
People with visas or Green Cards can help family members enter the country, but citizens have the most options. Not only are there more programs available, but more of your relationships, like your sibling relationships, may be eligible for family-based immigration when you are a citizen.
Understanding the benefits that come from naturalized citizenship could motivate you to take the test and officially become a United States citizen.


Shariah Program Classical Arabic Literature 4,5/5 840votes
Oct 30, 2011. I am not a teacher or any member of the Shariah Program, although I have read and heard A LOT about them; I took their one-week trial and I must say, it is worth it, and is undoubtedly the best online teaching classical arabic program EVER! You can read the testimonies of many of those who have taken. Dec 18, 2015. Widely accepted as the finest Arab poet of all, Imrul Qays lived in Najd in the century before the arrival of Islam. His Golden Ode is considered the most brilliant example of the vibrant oral poetry of the desert Arabs – the Arabic at that time unadulterated by outside influence. (For comparison, consider the.
Alternative Titles: Islamic law, Sharia Sharīʿah, also spelled Sharia, the fundamental religious concept of Islam, namely its law, systematized during the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Muslim era (8th–9th centuries ce). Total and unqualified submission to the will of Allah (God) is the fundamental tenet of Islam: Islamic law is therefore the expression of Allah’s command for Muslim society and, in application, constitutes a system of duties that are incumbent upon a Muslim by virtue of his religious belief.
Known as the Sharīʿah (literally, “the path leading to the watering place”), the law constitutes a divinely ordained path of conduct that guides Muslims toward (100 of 6522 words).


Broadcast: February 19, 2004
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.
People who have unusual difficulty with skills like reading, writing, listening or working with numbers may have a learning disability. We talked last week about dyslexia, a reading disorder. Today we discuss a condition with writing, called dysgraphia.
Writing is not an easy skill. It is both mental and physical. A person must be able to move the muscles in the hands and fingers to form letters and numbers. Some people are not able to move these muscles easily.
Experts say teachers and parents should suspect dysgraphia if they see handwriting that is unusually difficult to understand. Letters may be formed or spaced incorrectly. Capital letters may be in the wrong places.
Children with dysgraphia often hold their writing tools in an unusual position. They may also place the paper in an odd position for writing. The disorder generally appears when they first learn to write. Children continue to write wrong or misspelled words even after their teacher tries to show them the correct way.
Experts at the National Institutes of Health say the cause of the disorder is not known. Some people with dysgraphia are able to improve their writing ability. But others are not. As with other disorders, the most important part of treatment is for someone to first identify the problem.
There are some simple interventions that can help students with dysgraphia. For example, schools can give them more time to complete writing activities and provide help taking notes. Students might be permitted to type their work instead of having to write by hand. Teachers can also permit students to take examinations by speaking the answers instead of writing them.
Dysgraphia often appears with other learning disabilities. Some students may not be able to organize their thoughts and think about how to write at the same time. So a teacher might advise them to type their ideas first, without thinking about writing skills.
Experts say people with dysgraphia may be able to write well if they work slowly and develop their skills. Technology can help. One way to avoid the problems of handwriting is to use a computer. Students can use the computer spell checker to help make sure every word is correct.
We continue our series about learning disabilities next week. Our programs are on the Internet at voaspecialenglish.com.
This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Steve Ember.


By Joseph Chamie, December 17, 2007
Clearly, population growth is an important aspect of environmental stress, as every man, woman, and child requires food, water, clothing, shelter, and energy. However, it isn’t necessarily the root cause of climate change.
In many places, population is growing slowly (much of Europe, for instance) and the population of some countries is actually declining (Japan and Russia come to mind); yet those populations continue to negatively impact Earth’s climate. Industrialized countries are responsible for approximately four-fifths of the world’s carbon dioxide buildup despite representing less than one-fifth of its population. On a per capita basis, the disparity is even more striking: For example, the average American contributes roughly five times the amount of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as the average Mexican citizen, and nearly twenty times as much as the average Indian citizen. Raising the living standards of populations in developing countries–certainly a desirable goal–is also likely to worsen climate change.
Furthermore, halting population growth would help, but not resolve the climate problem alone. Even if all countries instantly reached and remained at replacement fertility levels of two children per woman, world population would continue to grow to more than 8 billion by 2050. Avoiding unwanted pregnancies is laudable and would improve the lives of many couples and families, but its impact on future population growth is small. Crying wolf about the population bomb too often retards progress in finding sustainable climate solutions.
Yes, it’s important to reduce population growth, but safeguarding Earth’s atmosphere requires much more. New technologies need to be developed–along with pursuing significant reductions and reversals in damaging patterns of production and consumption. Both will no doubt prove costly and difficult. But the alternative is a disastrous tragedy for the world’s population.


21 April 2004
Recent global events have given greater prominence to the threat of chemical and biological agents being used malevolently against civil targets such as key landmarks, transport hubs and postal sorting offices. Science, engineering and technology are central to reducing this threat and so making the UK safer. The Royal Society has produced a report investigating how to detect when chemical or biological agents have been used and how to decontaminate people and buildings subjected to attack using such agents.
The report is aimed principally at three groups: national and local Government policy-makers involved in long-term planning to increase preparedness against a possible incident; emergency service staff (or first responders) who would be directly involved in dealing with the consequences of an incident; and scientists and engineers working in areas that could be applied to extending existing detection and decontamination capabilities, particularly those who are currently unaware of the potential of their work. Whilst the report has focused on UK expertise and preparedness, many of the conclusions and recommendations have wider international relevance. The report will also be of interest to anyone wishing to learn how science can contribute to reducing the threat from chemical and biological agents.
The report concludes that there is much related knowledge and expertise available in the UK, some of which has been acquired in a military context. However, no single Government Department appears to have full responsibility for determining how this expertise can best be utilised. While the establishment of the CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear) Team in the Home Office has improved coordination and awareness, considerably more organisation of the resources is required.
Our major recommendation is that the UK Government should establish a new centre to improve the UKs resilience and to minimise the impact of any civilian chemical or biological incident.
A media release was issued announcing the study on 21 April 2004:
New centre needed to improve ability to deal with chemical or biological attack
The Royal Society issued a press release on Thursday 13 March 2003 announcing the study:
Royal Society launches study to tackle threat from biological and chemical weapons
Related Royal Society publications
The Society has produced a number of statements and reports relating to biological weapons:


How can we develop artificial intelligence that learns to make sense of complex environments? That learns from others, including humans, how to interact with the world? That learns transferable skills throughout its existence, and applies them to solve new, challenging problems?
Project Malmo sets out to address these core research challenges, addressing them by integrating (deep) reinforcement learning, cognitive science, and many ideas from artificial intelligence.
The Malmo platform is a sophisticated AI experimentation platform built on top of Minecraft, and designed to support fundamental research in artificial intelligence.
The Project Malmo platform consists of a mod for the Java version, and code that helps artificial intelligence agents sense and act within the Minecraft environment. The two components can run on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS, and researchers can program their agents in any programming language they’re comfortable with.
Minecraft is ideal for artificial intelligence research for the same reason it is addictively appealing to the millions of fans who enter its virtual world every day. Unlike other computer games, Minecraft offers its users endless possibilities, ranging from simple tasks, like walking around looking for treasure, to complex ones, like building a structure with a group of teammates.
See what’s possible with Project Malmo using Minecraft to build intelligent technology >
Read about our open source release >
Are you interested in accelerating the path of innovation in AI? Then make the Malmo platform your choice.
Join the community Follow @Project_Malmo


Dr Laura Hutchison
Expanding our Acceptance & Knowledge: LGBTQ Resources
In the last couple of years I’ve found this trend that children are beginning to question and ask questions about their own gender and sexuality more often than ever before. I like to think of it as very encouraging that the world is changing to become more open and accepting so that children are able to explore and express themselves more freely. With this being the trend, I’ve wanted to increase my own knowledge and understanding, as well as have resources for my associates, supervisees, and most importantly my clients and their parents. Here’s a booklist I’ve compiled...
LGBTQ Book List:
(If you have books to add to the list, I’d love to include them! Leave a comment below!)
One book I’d like to highlight is, “LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guided Workbook to Support Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”, by Lee-Anne Gray. It is an amazing resource to aid clinicians in helping to educate and support youth & teens, as well as families and the communities. It is filled with over 75 tools, activities, and forms to use in treatment planning, school care, family therapy, and community advocacy (including downloadable worksheets & forms!) My associates and I have been finding it very helpful for clients in working on the challenges of coming out, understanding the different terms for sexuality and gender, and developing safety plans at school and in the community. I hope you find it a helpful resource too!!!


Laizhou Bay in the Bohai Sea Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency features Laizhou Bay, located on the southern shores of the Bohai Sea off the east coast of mainland China.
The bay is named after the city of Laizhou, which is visible to the east. The Yellow River carries large quantities of sediment to the bay, which makes the water appear turquoise.
The Yellow River rises in the Bayan Har Mountains in Western China and flows through nine provinces before reaching the Laizhou Bay. Each year, the river carries an estimated 1.6 billion tons of silt, most of which ends up in the sea. The Bohai Sea or Bo Sea, also known as Bohai Gulf, Bo Gulf or Pohai Ba is a marginal sea approximately 78,000 km 2 in area which is located just east coast of mainland China.
It is also the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, therefore it connects to the east of the Bohai Strait. Also Some of the major rivers draining into the gulf include the Yellow River, Xiaoqing River, Hai River, Luan River, Dai River, Daling River, Xiaoling River, Liao River and Daliao River There are not many important oil reserves in the vicinity of the gulf, including the Shengli Field. Therefore the Large amounts of sediment that have been carried by the Yellow River as seen you can notice the , discolouration of the waters of the bay and appear turquoise. Also the chemical industries using brine as raw materials are booming in the southern coast of the Laizhou Bay.
Video Credit: ESA
By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer


Two reports worth noting and posting:
Romy Zyngier: Australia has overshot three planetary boundaries based on how we use land (The Conversation, 6 June 2022) notes that: For the first time, we have taken the planetary boundaries framework – which can be hard to visualise on a global scale – and applied it to Australia. We found Australia has already overshot three of these: biodiversity, land-system change and nitrogen and phosphorus flows. We’re also approaching the boundaries for freshwater use and climate change.
And Warren Cornwall: How much land is needed to stop the biodiversity crisis? (Anthropocene, 8 June 2022) reports that: Environmentalists have been lobbying world leaders to commit to protecting 30% of Earth’s land for biodiversity at an international conference scheduled for later this year. That number, daunting as it seems, might not be high enough. Nearly half of the planet’s lands would need some kind of conservation to help ensure the survival of roughly 35,000 animal species, according to new research, including land occupied by around a quarter of all people.


One hundred years ago Hannah Shapiro, known as “Annie” to her fellow workers, rose up and stormed off her job as a garment worker in Chicago because her meager wages had just been cut even further. To her surprise, her fellow workers followed her out the door, and what resulted was the great Hart, Schaffner, and Marx strike of 1910 that eventually involved 40,000 workers. Annie’s story has been told in a new illustrated book for children (written, as Harry is quick to point out, by his sister). Targ discusses the importance of educating our children about the progressive history that is generally left out of their textbooks, and points out that children’s books have historically succeeded in addressing these subjects — even when writers in other fields were blacklisted or censored.
Thorne Webb Dreyer, Editor
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“I’m not comfortable with conflict.”
“My (boss, spouse, teammate…) is not comfortable with conflict.”
Which resonates with you? Does it change whether you are at home, in the workplace, or out in the community?
You may be more or less comfortable depending on the folks involved, issue at stake, or where you are. There is a reason for that…
You may identify conflict with the ways it is sometimes handled: silence, shutting down, withdrawal of attention or affection, yelling, screaming, hitting, shooting or something else. These represent some ways people deal with conflict. Conflict itself is not necessarily negative.
Different viewpoints, varying opinions, and feelings of discontent happen. Conflict itself is neutral. You choose what it means and becomes.
This does not mean you must dive right into a conversation you are not ready to have. Discussing issues with high emotions flying creates more tension.
What if you prefer to face conflict head-on? If you are more direct, it helps to show compassion, and ask what might help someone feel more comfortable. Establish you will provide a safe space for conversation.
What if you are not comfortable with conflict? If you need some time, be clear. Offer a specific date, place, and time to relieve concern that it will be delayed indefinitely.
Think about the needs at stake. Listen first. Acknowledge what you hear. Show empathy. Be open to sharing ideas that neither of you considered beforehand. After sharing your needs and wishes, consider asking, “what does this mean to you?” Remember, what someone hears, and what you want someone to understand, may be quite different.
Yes, the conversation may feel uncomfortable. Short term discomfort has a payoff. You gain peace of mind from getting things out in the open.
Beware: Conversations may increase understanding, generate creative solutions, and improve relationships.
What is your level of comfort with conflict?


I am working on an adding game for very young kids (2 to 4 year olds). It is based on counting on fingers. Children learn how to add quickly if they start to recognize their hand and finger positions. For instance, children that are good at adding don’t need to count if they see three fingers on one hand, they just know it’s three. Similarly, it is beneficial for a budding child’s faster math skills, for him or her to knows that a full hand of five fingers and the other hand with three is eight, without counting. This game is designed such that the child gets a lot of practice with associating finger positions with the appropriate numbers.
The game progressively gets harder: from basic up to five fingers recognition, then up to ten finger recognition with two hands, and then finally atypical finger positions on two hands (like two fingers on one hand and three fingers on the other hand makes 5). These last two levels are basically addition up to 10. I am planning to add more levels with the proper arithmetic symbol of “+”, and more levels with adding up to 20. but I wanted this out there for your testing and comments first.
When you let your child play this game, please don’t let him / her go to the next level before he is a master at the current level. And get him / her to try not to count, but rather recognize the finger positions. Once they are experts at recognizing the finger positions, they can move onto the next level.
Enjoy, and please let me know how your child’s experience has been with the game by leaving me a small note by using the contact page.


Australia’s northern tropical rivers are renowned for being crocodile-infested, so the appearance of migrating humpback whales in one waterway has baffled marine scientists, who assume they simply took a wrong turn and got stuck.
Marine ecologist Jason Fowler discovered three whales on a fishing trip with friends two weeks ago. He and five friends were sailing in the East Alligator River, some 26 kms (16 miles) inland in Kakadu National Park in the country’s remote north, when he saw a plume of water from the muddy river.
“I called out to my crewmates, ‘dolphin!’, but at the back of my mind I was thinking, ‘that’s not a dolphin, that’s huge’,” Fowler said.
“I knew they were humpbacks (but) I could not convince myself it was actually a whale so far up a tropical muddy river that was full of crocodiles.”
Humpbacks like to be in open sea at least 30 meters (10 feet) deep, but they appeared stuck in a 15-meter “hole” in a river that was otherwise 5-6 meters, Fowler said, adding it was the first known case of whales in the tropical inland habitat.
In a Facebook post, Parks Australia said it appeared some of the whales had since made their way out of the river and just one was left. It had put an exclusion zone around the area as experts decided whether to intervene.
“The last thing we want is a collision between a boat and whale in waters where crocodiles are prevalent and visibility underwater is zero,” the post said.
Fowler thought it unlikely the whales would be attacked by crocodiles due to their size.
“We would hope they would find their way out to sea again but you don’t really know what’s going to happen in this situation,” he said.
“The big question in my mind is: what happens at night? What happens when they want to rest and take it easy knowing that they’re flanked by these big crocodiles?”


A bot is a software application that is designed for the internet to run tasks automatically. It is a robot that works on its own under some specified, programmed instructions, normally present inside the messaging apps. A bot may be helpful in customer response centers and detects the message from the customer and sends the answer to the customer's query on its own.
An Internet bot, web robot, or robot is another name for it.
Some other bots used by cyber crooks to steal information or infect a host called Malicious bots.
The usage of CAPTCHA is the most extensively utilised anti-bot tool for such threads. Recaptcha, Minteye, Solve Media, and NuCaptcha are some of its suppliers.
What are different types of bots:
- Spider bots: formed to browse website pages across the internet. Search engines are an example of these bots.
- Scraper bots: designed to gain data from internet websites. These also can save the data offline.
- Scrap bots: used to index the information on the page
- Social bots: produce generate automatic messages in social media. There are around 15% social media bot accounts on Twitter.
- Discord bots: AIs (artificial intelligence) that can automate a variety of functions and issue bot commands on your server.
- Malicious bots or botnets:
- Spam bots : programmed to get email addresses from the spam folder of emails.
- Programs that use up bandwidth by downloading full webpages
- DDoS attacks
- Viruses and worms
- Botnets, zombies computers, etc
- Viewbots: fake views
What are the pros and cons of bots?
- Resource optimization
- Time saving
- Quick response
- Faster repetitions
- Onetime programming
- Pre-defined procedures
- Customer service
- Credential stealing
- Cracking passwords
- Scrapping & spamming
- Email acquisition
- Fraud click


Perennials, (30-)40-100(-150) cm, cespitose; short-rhizomatous. Stems 1-5+, ascending to erect, strigose, villous, or lanate, especially distally. Leaves (grayish green) thin to firm, margins entire, apices acute, faces strigose; basal withering by flowering, petiolate, blades narrowly oblanceolate, 50-100(-150) × 4-12(-15) mm, bases attenuate, margins scabrous to ciliate; proximalmost cauline often withering by flowering (often with tufts of leaves in axils), sessile, blades linear to narrowly oblong, 30-70(-100) × 4-8(-10) mm, bases attenuate or cuneate, apices acute; distal sessile, blades 15-80 × 2-8(-10) mm, bases cuneate, sometimes auriculate. Heads (3-50+) in narrowly paniculiform arrays, branches 2-10(-20) cm. Peduncles densely short-strigose, bracts 1-6, linear-oblong, strigose. Involucres campanulate, 4-7 mm. Phyllaries in 3-6 series, narrowly oblanceolate or linear (outer) to linear (inner), unequal, bases indurate, margins entire, narrowly scarious, ciliate, green zones obovate to elliptic, apices obtuse, mucronulate, faces usually strigose. Ray florets 15-40; corollas pale violet, laminae 8-12(-15) × 1-1.5(-2) mm. Disc florets 25-70+; corollas yellow, 4-6 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4-0.8 mm. Cypselae brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 1.5-3 mm, ribs 5-8, faces hairy; pappi whitish, 4-6 mm. 2n = 36. Flowering Aug-Nov. Dry open grasslands and meadows, often near springs; of conservation concern; 0-1700 m; Calif. Symphyotrichum defoliatum is known from the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, and from the Peninsular Ranges, southern California.


About this Book
This second edition is updated for and focused on the PostGIS 2.0 and 2.1 series and PostgreSQL 9.1–9.3 with highlights of PostgreSQL 9.4 and the upcoming PostGIS 2.2. This book isn’t a substitute for either the official PostGIS or PostgreSQL documentation. The official PostGIS documentation does a good job of introducing you to the myriad of functions available in PostGIS and provides examples on how to use each. But it won’t tell you how to combine all these functions into a recipe to solve your problems. That’s the purpose of our book. Although it doesn’t cover all the functions available in PostGIS, this book does cover the more commonly used and interesting ones and gives you the skills you need to combine them to solve classic and more esoteric but interesting problems in spatial analysis and modeling.
Although you can use this book as a reference source, we recommend that you also visit the official PostGIS site at http://postgis.net.
This book focuses on two- and three-dimensional non-curved Cartesian vector geometries, two-dimensional geodetic vector geometries, raster data, and network topologies.
Although the main purpose of this book is the use of PostGIS, we’d fall short of our mission if we neglected to provide some perspective on the landscape it lives in. PostGIS is not an island and rarely works alone. To complete the cycle, we also include the following:


Home | Advancing Technology Degrees | Data Science
Businesses depend on software and data systems to inform their processes and to provide a competitive edge. Data-forward software developers capture streams of information and make this information useful to people and companies. University of Advancing Technology's Data Science degree provides students the skills that are needed as more aspects of our world and environments are connected and generate real-time information in ways that can be captured and used. Human behavioral patterns, IoT, weather, nature, connected city infrastructures, biological, health and organizational operations are typical of systems generating data now and into the future.
Students in UAT’s Data Science program will learn to craft code that interacts with data and present it in a way that creates understanding and value to organizations, communities and individuals. They will work with large data sets that often are being created in real-time.
Graduates will be capable of working with dynamic data, understanding how to identify and focus on key elements of data, be able to draw conclusions from it and present discovered information to others in ways that are easily used and able to draw conclusions from.
UAT’s Data Science degree will help you enhance how data is used and analyze the future of data.
UAT’s Synchronic Learning model provides an education framework that prepares superior graduates to become tomorrow’s innovators. This model embodies UAT’s methodologies, curricula and community dedicated to fostering an environment of innovation that promotes demonstrated mastery and job readiness.
How does UAT prepare superior graduates? Students are required to participate in projects that solve real problems. UAT requires students to innovate and create a working proof of concept that’s never been done before. Students complete internships, community projects and apprenticeship experiences to cultivate their ability to succeed in the workplace.
Network Security curriculum certified by the US National Security Agency's Information Assurance Courseware Evaluation program


SHA-512, alternatively known as SHA-2, was published by the NSA in 2001 to be a successor to SHA-1. It was designed to have an even stricter security standard than its predecessor, with the hope being that it would be able to resist up to quantum computing attacks. It is an algorithm that is used alongside MD5 and is often used for hashing files.
The SHA-512 and MD5 hashes, collectively known as message digests, are used to protect data integrity. The SHA-512 hash is the more secure of the two due to its longer length and requires far less energy to compute. Even if a hacker managed to find a collision in the shorter MD5 hash, it would be difficult for them to apply that attack payload against the SHA-512 hash because of their vastly different sizes.
The SHA-512 algorithm is a stronger form of encryption than MD5, with the capability to process data at speeds of over 100-billion bits per second. Similar to MD5, SHA-512 uses a cryptographic hash algorithm, but with four times the hashing power. SHA-512 has been used for many purposes, with its most popular use being in cryptocurrency mining computations.
Clock With Stopwatch Countdown Timer
Random Numbers Generator
Nest Egg Simulator Calculator


HuBMAP scientists have developed a new strategy for “anchoring” different types of experimental data that each shed light on only part of a cell’s identity to enable a global view of activities in that cell. Scientists from the New York Genome Center and New York University have used this strategy to knit together data on the production of specific proteins with an atlas of which genes are active in different tissues. The method could transform the depth and breadth of information researchers use to understand organ function at the smallest scales.
While many new methods are allowing scientists to look at cellular function at the smallest levels, these methods do not measure all important factors in a comparable way. In one example highlighting the anchoring strategy, the New York team harmonized signals detected by two experimental methods called scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq. scRNA-seq measures the amount of mRNA molecules—the messengers that relay a gene’s instructions to the machinery that produces proteins—in a single cell. scATAC-seq measures what positions in the protein covering of a cell’s chromosomes have “opened up” to expose the DNA for specific genes to become active. By connecting the two, the scientists were able to leverage the unique characteristics of each method to gain a more comprehensive view of cellular states in the mouse brain. In addition to helping scientists draw information from these biological data accurately, the anchor strategy introduces a novel general framework that enables the transfer of information across distinct single-cell experiments.
This work was funded by award number 1OT2OD026673-01 through the NIH Common Fund HuBMAP initiative. You can find their June 2019 report in the journal Cell here.


Wide Spread Prevalence of β-Lactam Resistance among Bacterial Species Obtained from Non-Clinical Samples
Keywords:beta-lactamase, Non clinical samples, drug resistance
The potential threats of bacterial resistance, especially widespread multi-drug resistance, are of major concern. The scenario of a patient dying from an infection caused by a multi-drug resistant organism is now a reality. Infections caused by resistant strains of bacteria are related to higher morbidity and mortality. β-Lactam antibiotics are a broad class of antibiotics, consisting of penicillin, cephalosporin, Monobactam, and carbapenems. β-lactam antibiotics are used to treat various infections. β-lactamases are enzymes responsible to provide resistance to β-lactam antibiotics. Among Gram-negative bacteria, the emergence of resistance to expanded-spectrum cephalosporin has been a major concern. Initially a limited number of bacterial species that could mutate to hyper produce their chromosomal class C β-lactamase were found but now, resistance appeared in large number of bacterial species due to the production of TEM- or SHV-type ESBLs. In our study non clinical samples were selected to study the prevalence of drug resistance. After placing the various generations of β-lactam drugs we found that they were also resistant up to 4th generation of β-lactam drugs. This study confirms the growing incidences of β-lactam resistant strains in bacterial species of community origin.
Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 3(2): 248-255


Though it’s very much in the public consciousness this year, Juneteenth is not a new concept. The day commemorates the end of the Civil War and the freeing of enslaved black people throughout the Confederacy, and it has been celebrated for generations. Juneteenth is also not a “black holiday,” but an American holiday. Increasingly, corporations are now recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday and giving their employees the day off. Efforts are underway to have it declared a official federal holiday as well.
So, what is Juneteenth?
The video above will give you a brief history of Juneteeth in two minutes. But in short, the day commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, when enslaved black people in Galveston, Texas were informed by Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger that they were free. Although this is the date we celebrate, it is important to note that enslaved black people had already been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863—two and a half years prior.
The Emancipation Proclamation did not outlaw slavery in all states, just the Confederate ones. Some Union states—like Kentucky and Delaware—still had legal slavery until December of that year. Also, the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution still does not completely abolish slavery, because it is still allowed as punishment for a crime.
The General Order Number 3 that was read aloud by Major General Gordon Granger on that day in 1865 read:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
Juneteenth became an occasion for to rejoicing and connecting with the history of enslaved black people—those who survived and those who did not. Today, food, fun and fashion are all incorporated in the celebratory acts of Juneteenth, as slaves were always given the worst scraps of food, were not allowed many moments to celebrate and were outlawed from wearing certain garments and dressing in certain ways.
Whether Juneteenth is a familiar fixture on your calendar or this is the first time you’ve really been aware of it, make it a point to educate yourselves on the meaning behind it. It should never be looked at as just another day off of work.


Home environmental systems refer to the various systems and devices that are used to control and maintain the temperature, humidity, and air quality within a home. These systems can include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, air purifiers, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and thermostats.
HVAC systems are the most common type of home environmental system and are responsible for heating and cooling the air in a home. These systems typically consist of a furnace or boiler for heating, and an air conditioner for cooling. The air is circulated throughout the home using a network of ducts and vents.
Air purifiers and humidifiers are also commonly used in homes to improve air quality and comfort. Air purifiers remove pollutants and allergens from the air using filters, while humidifiers add moisture to the air to counteract dryness caused by heating systems. Dehumidifiers, on the other hand, remove excess moisture from the air to prevent mold and mildew growth.
Thermostats are also an important part of home environmental systems, as they allow homeowners to control the temperature within their homes. Modern thermostats can be controlled remotely using a smartphone or other device, and can also be programmed to adjust the temperature automatically based on the time of day or occupancy.
Overall, home environmental systems play a crucial role in ensuring a healthy home. By controlling temperature, humidity, and air quality, these systems can help prevent respiratory problems, allergies, and other health issues. Additionally, by reducing energy consumption and costs, home environmental systems can also help save money on utility bills.
It’s important to note that regular maintenance and cleaning of these systems is crucial in order to ensure they are working efficiently. This can include regular filter changes, cleaning or replacing air ducts, and having an HVAC technician perform an annual checkup.
Moreover, considering the use of smart home technologies and the integration of home environmental systems with smart home devices, it is possible to monitor and control these systems remotely, schedule maintenance and even be alerted of any issues.
Home environmental systems are essential for maintaining a comfortable and healthy living environment, and with the use of smart technology, they can be controlled and monitored easily. Regular maintenance and cleaning is crucial to ensure they are working efficiently and saving energy costs.
Category : Healthy Home , Home Maintenance , Lifestyle


The globalisation of agriculture is evident in the rising volumes and values of internationally traded agricultural products. Export growth has led to increasingly commercialised agricultural production, particularly in regions where a large share of produce is exported. However, the increasing share of exports in global agriculture has led to adverse environmental and societal outcomes that are of growing concern. We mapped the 12 most important export crops using a spatial allocation algorithm that combines global cropland maps with data on each crop’s suitability for export. The results reveal that export crops are concentrated in Latin America, the US, and Southeast Asia and show the growing focus on a few high-value crops. Anticipating the spatial imprint of export-oriented agriculture helps to pinpoint the telecoupled land-use footprints of global consumption patterns.
|Title of host publication||Telecoupling|
|Subtitle of host publication||Exploring Land-Use Change in a Globalised World|
|Editors||Cecilie Friis, Jonas Ø. Nielsen|
|Publisher||Springer International Publishing AG|
|Number of pages||25|
|Publication status||Published - 2019|


In the previous entry, we began examining the major themes of Ecclesiastes, beginning with the book’s roundabout emphasis on the goodness of the eternal God. This theme is seldom made explicit in the book itself; you arrive at the theme via proof of the opposite. A more explicit theme, one that is quite obvious in the book from start to finish, is the weight of living life under the curse of sin.
Solomon will have plenty of positive things to say about enjoying the life God has given you, provided one is focused on fearing the Lord and keeping his commandments. Solomon has far more to say about the painful vanity of our brief life, and how under the sun there is nothing lasting to be found and only painful vexation for those who seek to shepherd the wind. Who can relate to Solomon’s exasperation when he writes “all things are full of weariness” (1:7); who hasn’t felt Solomon’s despair when he says “I hated life, because what is done under the sun is grievous to me” (2:17); who has wondered whether or not “the dead who are already dead [are] more fortunate than the living who are still alive” (4:2)? If you cannot relate to these things, you are truly blessed; you are also not the norm.
In many circles of evangelicalism, Solomon’s bleak writing is frowned upon (or even seen as sinful). We have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ – we have nothing to complain about, and if Jesus is our joy we should always feel joy! This view is naive at best and dangerous at worst. The Lord has given us divinely inspired words of lament about the brokenness of the world, and we cannot be more holy than God in suppressing or downplaying the weight of the curse of the world we live in. In fact, it is only against the backdrop of this vain life that the Gospel can only truly be considered good news. Jesus Christ has won D-Day over Satan, sin, and death, and while Satan rages and roars against God’s creation, he does knowing Christ’s V-Day is coming. This is your time to repent and believe in Jesus’ victory over sin and everything it has broken, and to look forward to his coming kingdom when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead – and to make all things new.


Genus/species: Geotrichum Sp. (Trichosporon (obsolete)) most common species is G. candidum
- Cell: smooth, cylindrical arthroconidia
- Colony: Dextrose agar: flat, white, dry, fast-growing
- Spore: arthroconidia. conidiophores absent.
- Liquid Growth:
Arthroconidia germinate to form septate mycelium.
A very common fungus with worldwide distribution found in soil, water, sewers etc. as well as plants and plant products and is normal in human flora; also found in ripened cheese and other dairy products.
Microscopically, hyphae are septate and branch into chains of barrel-shaped arthroconidia. Macroscopically, colonies become slimy and cream colored when smeared.
Role in wine:
Can be found on the surface of grapes; no role in winemaking
- Heat: Sensitive


After a short tenure as a professor, Howell, an immunologist by training, decided to transition into a different role. During this period, he relied on mentors to ask him the tough questions that helped him identify the next direction in his career.
Howell suggested finding a mentor with a track record of training, someone who is committed to advancing the next generation of scientists, and who is a leader who recognizes you publicly and helps you advance your career.
"The most important part of your career is actually identifying a key mentor," Howell said.
According to Howell, changes in life situations are inevitable and having a good mentor is very important during these seasons of your life. But he advised science professionals to not get "locked in" to any given career track of profession.
"That's one of the joys of science," Howell commented. "Science is changing on a daily basis."
There will always be other options and ways to use your scientific interests for the greater good. Mentors can advise you during times when there are tough decisions to be made. They can also open professional doors that you might not have ever known existed. For this to be true, the mentor and mentee must have an open line of communication, with honest conversations.
This is what it takes to begin to process information about yourself and help you to make the right decision for your ever-evolving career, Howell said.


Material flows and resource productivity indicators are central to monitoring the changing patterns of resource use as global economies grow. They are essential for monitoring progress towards SDG targets 8.4 ‘Resource Productivity’ and 12.2 ‘Sustainable Use of Natural Resources’.
The Global Material Flows Database provides data to help governments, policy researchers and interested stakeholders understand and trace the linkages between economic growth and raw material usage. Such information is basic for the development of effectively targeted sustainable consumption and production strategies. It also builds a strong quantitative basis upon which the success or failure of those strategies in lowering resources use can subsequently be assessed.
The database is based on authoritative, publicly accessible international data sources wherever possible, combined with the most recent methodologies for establishing material flow accounts. It covers the period 1970-2019, for more than 200 countries and reports extraction and direct trade of raw materials, indirect trade flows (including material footprints), as well as intensities derived from these material measures.
Please refer to the technical annex for detailed descriptions of the data sources and methods used.
UN Environment Programme, Secretariat of the International Resource Panel (email@example.com)
CSIRO: Dr James West (firstname.lastname@example.org)
WU Vienna: Dr Stephan Lutter (email@example.com)
Join our mailing list to stay up to date on newly released publications, data and tools.


In our previous post, we examined the factors that lead up to the Gold King Mine environmental disaster. After machinery breached a retaining wall approximately 3 million gallons of toxic water spilled into a tributary leading to the 126 mile Animus River.
Oxidized iron and sulfide minerals in the wastewater dyed the water of the Animus bright orange. Despite the visual indicator, the EPA received criticism for taking longer than 24 hours to notify local residents of the danger. Governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, officially declared the incident a natural disaster. Shortly after, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency in her state after viewing the now-orange river from a helicopter. The Animas was closed and residents with wells in the area were told to have their water tested before drinking it or bathing in it. People were also told to avoid all contact with the river, including by their pets and farmed animals.
Within about seven days, the toxic plume of wastewater was diluted, the heavy metals sank into the sediment, and pollutant levels returned to pre-incident levels. Despite assurances of safety from both the U.S. EPA and the Navajo Nation EPA, famers of the Navajo Nation voted unanimously to refrain from using water from the Animas River for one year. While things appear to be back to normal, the long-term impacts of the spill are still unknown. As a result of the spill, the local government of Silverton finally decided (hopefully not too late) to accept Superfund money to fully remediate the mine.
Gold King was a very old mine that was closed and abandoned before environmental safety regulations were as stringent as they are today. Newer gold mines pose less environmental risk and adhere to mining standards to prevent these incidences from occurring in the future.


Liz P. Y. CheeFeb 9, 2022
Medicinal Animals and Modern China
Duke University Press 2021
Controversy over the medicinal uses of wild animals in China has erupted around the ethics and efficacy of animal-based drugs, the devastating effect of animal farming on wildlife conservation, and the propensity of these practices to foster zoonotic diseases. In Mao's Bestiary: Medicinal Animals and Modern China (Duke UP, 2021), Liz P. Y. Chee – Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute and Lecturer at Tembusu College, both at the National University of Singapore – traces the history of the use of medicinal animals in modern China. While animal parts and tissue have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries, Chee demonstrates that the early Communist state expanded and systematized their production and use to compensate for drug shortages, generate foreign investment in high-end animal medicines, and facilitate an ideological shift toward legitimating folk medicines. Among other topics, Chee investigates the craze for chicken blood therapy during the Cultural Revolution, the origins of deer antler farming under Mao and bear bile farming under Deng, and the crucial influence of the Soviet Union and North Korea on Chinese zootherapies. In the process, Chee shows Chinese medicine to be a realm of change rather than a timeless tradition, a hopeful conclusion given current efforts to reform its use of animals.
Rachel Pagones is an acupuncturist, educator, and author based in Cambridge, England. Her book, Acupuncture as Revolution: Suffering, Liberation, and Love (Brevis Press) was published in 2021.


Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2003 January 11
Explanation: Humans left the Moon over thirty years ago, but donning red-blue glasses (red for the left eye) you can share this excellent stereo perspective view of their last stomping ground. Recorded by Eugene Cernan, the scene depicts his fellow astronaut and geologist Harrison Schmitt next to a large split boulder on the floor of the narrow Taurus-Littrow valley located at the eastern edge of the lunar Mare Serenitatis. Parked nearby, their lunar rover is visible beyond the boulder at the right. During their stay the Apollo 17 astronauts explored the unusually dark terrain at the Taurus-Littrow landing site and deployed explosives to test the internal geology of the Moon. Apollo 17 returned the most lunar rocks and soil samples of any lunar mission.
Authors & editors:
Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& NASA SEU Edu. Forum
& Michigan Tech. U.


At the beginning of World War I, a group of Lutheran pacifists found their way to Santa Fe. Their objection to that war followed a long history of their Christian social consciousness based on the teachings of the gospel. In the fall of 1914, the first recorded Lutheran worship services in Santa Fe took place. Rev. Carl F. Schmid, the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, conducted the first services in the capitol city.
Regular weekly services for the Immanuel Lutheran church began in 1915. The Lutherans also provided religious services for inmates at the state penitentiary. Although the church began with great enthusiasm, services held between 1915 and1929 became intermittent. It wasn’t until the early 1930s that regular weekly services resumed. In 1938 the congregation incorporated and weekly services took place in the homes of the members. From 1940 to 1948, the congregation rented facilities for Sunday and midweek activities in Sena Plaza, on Palace Avenue. Finally, in February 1949 the Lutheran Immanuel church opened at 209 East Barcelona street.
Martin Luther Takes a Defiant Stance
The Lutheran Church is the third-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. During the 16th century Martin Luther, a German monk, began the Protestant Reformation. Luther took a defiant stance toward the Roman Catholic Church, contending that it was corrupt. Luther did not trust the Catholic hierarchy because of their tactic promising less time in purgatory by contributing money to the church. On October 31, 1517 Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the church door of the castle of Wittenberg, challenging the practices of the Catholic Church that led to the start of Protestant Reformation.


This book provides a strong multidisciplinary examination of the links between migration, remittances and sustainable development in Africa. It makes evidence-based policy recommendations on migration to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The key themes examined are migration and remittances, and their relations with the following issues: economic transformation, education and knowledge, corruption and conflict. Cross-cutting issues such as gender equality and youth are weaved throughout the chapters, and a rich range of country contexts are presented. The volume also discusses challenges in managing migration flows.
It will be of interest to advanced students, academics and policy makers in development economics and sustainable development.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|83 pages
Migration, remittances, and economic transformation in Africa
part II|80 pages
Migration, education, and knowledge in Africa
chapter 6|18 pages
Migration, remittances, and child education in Ghana
chapter 8|19 pages
Harnessing social remittances for Africa’s development
chapter 9|20 pages
The impact of mobile money on remittance recipients’ household welfare and education
part III|70 pages
Migration, remittances, corruption and conflicts
part IV|58 pages
Challenges in the management of migration flows


In Pictures: Mandela’s life
The South African leader rose from rural obscurity to become one of the world’s most respected and loved figures.
Nelson Mandela was born in the village of Mvezo, a descendant of the king of the Thembu people. Growing up as a shepherd boy, he said he inherited his father’s “stubborn sense of fairness”, drifting into political activism in the 1940s after earning his university degree.
He was arrested in 1956 for “high treason” against the state for his anti-apartheid activities with the African National Congress, but was later released. He went on to help found the armed wing of the political group, inspired in guerilla warfare by the writings of Che Guevara.
In 1961, the armed wing carried out 57 bombings. He was re-arrested the following year and was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people,” he said while on trial in 1963. “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.”
He was released on February 11, 1990, after lengthy negotiations with South Africa‘s leaders. He went on to tour the world, drumming up further international support for sanctions against the race-based apartheid regime. After a series of talks with then-president FW de Klerk, the pair agreed on an interim constitution – which led to a multiracial general election. Mandela won with 62 percent of the vote.
As president, Mandela led a campaign of national reconciliation and massively increased welfare spending. After his retirement in 1999, Mandela continued his social activism and philanthropy, becoming one of the world’s most respected and loved leaders.
He died at home on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95.
Mandela received a full state funeral. South African authorities ordered flags across the nation to be flown at half-mast.


The European Commission estimates grain maize production in Ukraine at 32 million tons.
That is 24% less than last year and 5% below the 5-year average. Ukraine is an important supplier of maize to the European animal feed industry. The hectare yields of maize are above average (+4% compared to the 5-year average), but remain 8% below the level of last year. More importantly, the acreage has decreased by 17% compared to last year. Compared to the 5-year average, cultivation has shrunk by 9% to 4.5 million hectares.
In the northern and eastern provinces such as Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava and Kharkov, the decline in acreage is the greatest. And although the hectare yields are generally higher in those regions, production is falling there. Poltavana is the province with the most corn; 529,000 hectares this year (-18% compared to 2021). Yields that are more than 10% higher are expected to result in a harvest that is 9% lower than last year at just under 4 million tons.
Wheat production in Ukraine is estimated at 26.24 million tons. That is 18% less than last year and 4% below the 5-year average. The decrease is mainly the result of lower revenues. Crops in the South and West in particular suffered from long-term precipitation shortages. Higher yields were realised in the middle and north of the country, because rain fell on time there. Relatively high temperatures in the East did not do too much damage to the crop.
The crop monitoring committee JRC has this time devoted a full MARS report to Ukraine. Based on regional forecasts, 22% of common wheat is believed to have been grown in areas where harvesting operations were most affected by the war in the country. For barley this concerns 20% of the acreage. Grain maize (4%), rapeseed (13%), sunflowers (10%) and soya (7%) are grown less in the areas where the war is most intense. In these regions, it is expected that the production of these crops will be lower as a result of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.


The USCGC Polar Sea (WAGB-11) played a critical role in researching and protecting American and humanitarian interests in the North Pole Region. A heavy icebreaker, she is tasked with supporting a wide range of research activities and re-supply missions.
In nautical history, Polar Sea holds several notable records. On 11 February 1981, Polar Sea made history when she became the first ship ever to reach Point Barrow, Alaska in the middle of winter. She is also just one of only three ships[clarification needed] that has ever completely transited the Arctic Ocean and circumnavigated North America. On 22 August 1994, Polar Sea was one of the first two North American surface vessels to reach the North Pole; she sailed together with CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.
The ship’s nicknames include: Building 11, Polar Roller, What a Great Boat, Wandering Arctic Garbage Barge, Red Tubs of Fun, We Always Go Bye-Bye.
This coin is struck in an antique-brass finish with high-relief details.
Each coin measures 1 3/4 inch (44mm) in diameter.
Officially Licensed Product of the U.S. Coast Guard


Moon Occultation: Three Planets Will Slide Behind the Moon
At the beginning of this week, the Moon will momentarily block Venus, Mars and then Mercury in the sky
The event is called a lunar occultation and it takes place whenever the Moon passes in front of a faraway celestial object. Solar eclipses are examples of the Moon occultatinng the Sun (however, it is riskier to your eyes).
These events can be noticed from Earth and are breathtaking, but they require special equipment, as long as a very good position.
The last time Moon slid past three planets in only 24 hours was on March 5th, 2008 (the planets were Mercury, Venus and Neptune), while the next event will take place in 2036. As a bonus, during this year’s event, the Moon will also interrupt the light from Regulus, which is the brightest star in the Leo constellation, just a few hours after it leaves Venus behind.
“It’s almost like it’s a dance in the sky,” said Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. “It’s going to pass its partners.”
The occultation will be visible to only certain parts of the world. To make things even tougher, they happen during daytime hours. So, if you are in one of the locations that will see an occultation, you are most likely to catch it with a small telescope.


Bonobo | Endangered Species Series
Bonobo (Pan paniscus)
Population: 10,000 - 50,000 individuals
Height: 28 - 35 in
Weight: 68 - 86 lbs
Range: Congo Basin
Diet: Frugivores - half their diet is fruit, supplemented with insects, worms, eggs, and small animals
The bonobo, also known as the pygmy chimpanzee, is smaller, leaner, and darker than the chimpanzee with pink lips and a smaller head and ears, though they both share 98% of their DNA with humans - making them our closest relatives. Socially, bonobos are more peaceful than chimpanzees and family groups are led by females. They settle disputes and maintain their relationships through sex. Though their group lives are peaceful, if two separate groups happen upon each other they may engage in violence.
Wild bonobos are found in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were not identified as a separate species until 1929 and much is still unknown about them - including the full extent of their range. Surveying the species has been difficult due to the remote nature of their habitat and the persistent civil unrest in the DRC.
Poaching for meat, trade, medicinal purposes and to keep them for pets, as well as deforestation are the leading threats to the bonobo population. The civil unrest and increasing poverty surrounding their forest homes have greatly contributed to these threats. Though the size of the bonobo population is largely unknown, it is believed that they have been in decline for 30 years and will continue to decline for the next 45 or 50 years. A low reproduction rate and growing threats to the species will greatly impact the rate of decline moving forward.
Sources: World Wildlife Fund and Bonobo Conservation Initiative
#endangeredspecies #artwork #scratchboard #awareness #bonobo #art #scratchboardartwork #wildlifeartwork #scratchboardwildlifeartwork #scratchart #animalart #primate #endangered #blog #blogpost #artblog #artistblog


Optimizing crop protection in open fields
As a result of global warming, there are more and more parts of the world that have become too hot for crop production inside a greenhouse. Increased temperatures also create a breeding ground for virus-carrying insects. So, farmers in these regions face a considerable challenge in protecting their crops in open fields.
Net coverings provide a solution: mesh nets, produced with HDPE monofilaments, encourage high light transmittance; shade nets, which are produced with either PE or PP tapes and may be combined with HDPE monofilaments for better mechanical properties, protect crops from the harsh effects of direct sun throughout a growing season or during particularly sunny periods. Our additives have been specially designed to meet the rigorous demands of this application.
Insect repellent MB
It is increasingly important to improve air flow in net houses, but in increasing the hole sizes to achieve this, the crops become vulnerable to insects. We have developed an optical insect repellent MB, which mainly affects whiteflies and thrips, to enable crop production at a lower mesh net, whilst providing protection from virus-carrying insects.
High chemical resistance UV
Shade and mesh nets are produced at very high extrusion temperatures at which the market’s benchmark for UV with high chemical resistant is not stable. We have developed a UV MB that is suitable for these process temperatures, while also giving good UV stability to the polymer when high levels of pesticides are used.


George Kipourgos , Stavros Papakonstantopoulos , Eleni Albani , Anastasios Tzenalis
Introduction: Early recognition of an in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest, as well as prompt support, are critical prognostic indicators, according to the European Resuscitation Council. Clinical nurses are the health professionals, who on the one hand are closely linked to the caring of patients, as they are present 24 hours per day near the patient, but on the other hand, they are the ones who will first recognize signs and symptoms of clinical deterioration, as well as confirmation of cardiopulmonary arrest. As first responders, they have a multi-dimensional role by which they mobilize life-saving interventions for the final outcome. Purpose: To describe the role of nurses when recognizing a worsening clinical condition, as well as during a cardiopulmonary arrest. Material and Method: Review of the international literature in the international electronic databases PubMed, Science Direct, Springer Link and Google Scholar was performed on the subject. Results: The early recognition of a clinical burden, as well as the immediate confirmation of a cardiopulmonary arrest, are crucial factors for the positive outcome of each incident. It is research-documented and non-negotiable that staff training, the ability to monitor vital functions, the recognition of dangerous situations, and the use of standardized structured communication and incident delivery tools are crucial factors. Conclusions: Nurses who have the knowledge and experience to recognize the early warning signs of a clinical deterioration usually catch a cardiopulmonary arrest. However, if the patient suffers an arrest, the same nurses recognize it in time, inform the corresponding team (according to the protocol of the nursing institution) and undertake to resuscitate the patient themselves, performing skills and using appropriate equipment.
Keywords: nurses., inhospital cardiac arrest, first responder


Welcome to Kindergarten
Welcome to Kindergarten is an event for families/caregivers with children four to five years old who will be entering kindergarten in the fall. Families will engage in fun, play-based activities led by their child’s new educator, and will have the opportunity to meet other school and community members. Each family will receive a resource bag with specially selected early learning materials and books. Parents/Caregivers will learn strategies on how to use these resources to support their child’s development through play-based learning and to prepare their child for a positive start to school.
A Welcome to Kindergarten Bag Resources page is also available so you can learn what's inside the WTK bag and how to utilize these resources through “Talk, Read, Create and Play” ideas.
All Vancouver schools will host a Welcome to Kindergarten session in April, May or June. Please contact your Neighbourhood School for more information.
What is “Welcome to Kindergarten”? It is a program built on a TALK, READ, CREATE, PLAY EVERYDAY model – experiential learning that helps develop children’s literacy, math, creativity, physical and social-emotional skills and competencies through these 4 ques:
Play-based learning is one of the most effective approaches to develop the foundational skills for success in school and in life.
For more play-based learning activities and ideas:
Welcome to Kindergarten Blog
Welcome to Kindergarten Learn to Play newsletter
Let’s Play Activities
View our Preparing for Kindergarten booklet:
- English - Preparing for Kindergarten
- Spanish - Preparación para el Kinder
- Chinese - 为上幼儿园做准备
- Vietnamese - Chuẩn Bị cho Lớp Mẫu Giáo
- Arabic - إعداد ا أ لطفال للروضة
Support the Transition to Kindergarten information is also available.


Nanosatellites like those developed by Clyde Space, a Scottish company, depend on brushless DC motors for aerospace from maxon motor. Nanosatellites, also known as CubeSats, are miniaturized satellites that are used primarily for space research. At 10 x 10 x 10 cm big and less than 1 kg in weight, these cost-effective miniature satellites have many applications within space research.
Triaxial Inclination Control System
Clyde Space and maxon worked together to improve the inclination control of these nanosatellites. Doing so would enable the CubeSats to be used for a number of new applications, such as:
- Observing Earth with high-resolution cameras
- Transmitting data with high bandwidth
- Applications within space science and astronomy
- Precision inspection of new technology in orbit
In order to do so, maxon and Clyde Space developed a triaxial inclination control system based on torque positioning via a reaction wheel. The wheel is driven by a brushless DC motor from maxon. When the speed of the wheel changes, a reaction moment is created and the CubeSat is rotated. In order to achieve complete inclination control on all three axes, several reaction wheels were needed.
Clyde Space wanted to use a cost-effective solution that they knew would be able to withstand the unique application demands. The brushless motor with diameter of about 20 mm was modified to suit the environment. Maxon installed the reaction wheel and ensured proper dynamic calibration of the subassembly.
The demands of the environment were crucial in determining a fit for the CubeSat. Maxon was chosen because their brushless motors for nanosatellites can handle not only the strong vibrations and impacts during rocket start, but the high cyclical thermal load and radiation in orbit.
Electromate supplies these brushless DC motors that can be used in a variety of different industries and applications. For more information, contact us today.


May 28, 2014 Prompt #28
Bonnets, boaters, and bowlers. Berets and beanies. Sombreros. Stetson’s. Stovepipes. Fedoras. Fezzes. Fisherman’s caps. Coal miner helmets. Army helmets. Bike helmets.
Yes, today’s prompt is all about hats. With their long and rich history, writing about hats can enrich characterization, provoke memories, and, again, ground your writing with specific, sensory details. Hat’s off and let’s go!
- Choose a hat–yours or someone else’s–for this exercise. While it is best to have a physical hat to hold and feel, you can, alternately, look at headgear on Wikipedia or check out The Hat Blog for inspiration.
- Have your hat? For five minutes, write a physical and factual description of its style, color, and condition. Write briefly about where, when and how you acquired it. If you are looking of a photo of the hat, you can imagine its history .
- Next, write the psychological and emotional history of the hat. Do you put it on for practical or stylish reasons? How do you feel wearing it? Do you associate the hat with a person, place, or stage of your life? Tell your story.
- Write a poem about your hat. Capture a small slice of time or a specific emotion associated with the hat. Include two or more of these words: mirror, door, sun, eyes, breeze, sturdy, light, other, tilt.
- Write about trying on the hat of someone who has died.
- Write about someone who is incomplete without their hat. Tell us how it transforms them.
Variations for Writing Groups
- Each member brings one or two hats to writing group. Take turns trying them on and snapping photos of each other with a digital camera. Choose one of the photos as your springboard and write from there.
- You are walking on a beach, on a city sidewalk, or in an open meadow. A stiff wind blows a hat your way and it lands two feet in front of you. What do you do (0r what does your character do?)? Include sensory details, such as texture, temperature, and sounds.
What did you think of this writing prompt? Share your thoughts.


The Global Water Crisis: How to Help
There’s nothing more essential to life on Earth than water. Therefore, our ability to overcome water scarcity is vital. Whether we’re talking about Australia’s central desert plains, Asian mega cities, or sub-Saharan Africa, water is scarce. We need clean water more than you may even realise. We do need it to drink just to survive, but we also need it to grow food, to clean ourselves and our dishes, and to cook with. We even need it for our plumbing, a luxury many people are living with out.
What is water scarcity?
Water scarcity is not just a lack of access to water. If you have access to water and it’s polluted, you’re trading long term health risks or disease for immediate hydration. I define water scarcity as a lack of safe, clean and sustainable clean water.
Unfortunately, as the population of the world continues to grow, and the environment is further affected by climate change, access to clean water sources continues to dwindle.
Almost 800 million lack access to clean drinking water, and every day 800 children die from dirty water. Conditions like Diarrhoea caused by poor water, sanitation or hygeine are all too commonly seen in communities that have to choose from dehydration or disease.
How foundations can help
Many humanitarian foundations are working to provide clean drinking water to millions. WorldVision, one of the leading providers of clean drinking water, helped over 4 million people in 2018.
Work is being done to reach the poorest populations and those with the greatest disease risk, but there are many more affected who need help.
The best organisations are the ones who provide permanent solutions. Look for those that work in and with communities to co-create solutions that last.
Look for organisations that invest long-term in a community, so after they’ve left the community still thrives.
Within our lifetimes
The world water crisis can be fixed within our lifetimes. With enough support and with the right efforts, the basic human right to hydration and sanitation can be met.
Efforts that can end world thirst include:
- Drilling wells with long term lifespans
- Teaching locals how to keep water sources clean and flowing
- Building latrines and hand-washing facilities
- Promoting hygiene practices