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No. 24; Updated March 2011 Click here to download and print a PDF version of this document. Parents are usually the first to recognize that their child has a problem with emotions or behavior. Still, the decision to seek professional help can be difficult and painful for a parent. The first step is to gently try to talk to the child. An honest open talk about feelings can often help. Parents may choose to consult with the child's physicians, teachers, members of the clergy, or other adults who know the child well. These steps may resolve the problems for the child and family. Following are a few signs which may indicate that a child and adolescent psychiatric evaluation will be useful. - Marked fall in school performance - Poor grades in school despite trying very hard - Severe worry or anxiety, as shown by regular refusal to go to school, go to sleep or take part in activities that are normal for the child's age - Frequent physical complaints - Hyperactivity; fidgeting; constant movement beyond regular playing with or without difficulty paying attention - Persistent nightmares - Persistent disobedience or aggression (longer than 6 months) and provocative opposition to authority figures - Frequent, unexplainable temper tantrums - Threatens to harm or kill oneself - Marked decline in school performance - Inability to cope with problems and daily activities - Marked changes in sleeping and/or eating habits - Extreme difficulties in concentrating that get in the way at school or at home - Sexual acting out - Depression shown by sustained, prolonged negative mood and attitude, often accompanied by poor appetite, difficulty sleeping or thoughts of death - Severe mood swings - Strong worries or anxieties that get in the way of daily life, such as at school or socializing - Repeated use of alcohol and/or drugs - Intense fear of becoming obese with no relationship to actual body weight, excessive dieting, throwing up or using laxatives to loose weight - Persistent nightmares - Threats of self-harm or harm to others - Self-injury or self destructive behavior - Frequent outbursts of anger, aggression - Repeated threats to run away - Aggressive or non-aggressive consistent violation of rights of others; opposition to authority, truancy, thefts, or vandalism - Strange thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or unusual behaviors See other Facts for Families: #25 Where to Seek Help for Your Child #52 Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation #57 Normal Adolescent Development, Middle School, and Early High School Years #58 Normal Adolescent Development, Late High School Year and Beyond #00 Definition of a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) represents over 8,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists who are physicians with at least five years of additional training beyond medical school in general (adult) and child and adolescent psychiatry. Facts for Families© information sheets are developed, owned and distributed by AACAP. Hard copies of Facts sheets may be reproduced for personal or educational use without written permission, but cannot be included in material presented for sale or profit. All Facts can be viewed and printed from the AACAP website (www.aacap.org). Facts sheets may not be reproduced, duplicated or posted on any other website without written consent from AACAP. Organizations are permitted to create links to AACAP's website and specific Facts sheets. For all questions please contact the AACAP Communications & Marketing Coordinator, ext. 154. If you need immediate assistance, please dial 911. Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

adopt many methods to determine whether the unborn baby is a boy or a girl. The Chinese pregnancy calendar is an often used method to know about the gender of the new life in the mothers womb. is an ancient way for predicting the gender of the unborn baby It is also known as a Chinese conception chart, or the Chinese Conception Calendar. It is believed that this ancient method is highly accurate, although no clinical studies verify these chart is an ancient Chinese secret A Chinese scientist developed this calendar, 700 years ago. According to a legend, the Chinese is capable of predicting the baby gender based on two variables: the baby month of conception and the mothers age. chart was kept in a royal tomb, near the city of Peking in China in ancient times. Now this original Chinese chart is on display at the Beijing Institute of Science. Many people, especially the Chinese, believe that the original Chinese pregnancy calendar is almost 100% According to studies, the Chinese pregnancy calendar has been found to be 97% effective in predicting a baby gender. This accuracy is credited to the use of Chinese lunar calendar pregnancy calendar is dependent on the lunar calendar. It is based on the month a baby is conceived and not the birth month. The second factor is the mothers age at the time of conception, adding 9 months to her age to adjust the lunar calendar. conceived month from January to December is listed on the top row of the Chinese chart, and the left column of age during the conception. You need to follow the steps given below to get the most accurate result from the Chinese Pregnancy by the boy approaches more often , than pregnancy an girl. On statistical given beside young and sound parents more often birth boys, but beside of parents of more senior age on the contrary. 1. Note down your age at the time of conception. 2. Add 9 months to the age to adjust to the lunar calendar. 3. Also note down the month when the baby was conceived. 4. Now simply search for the conceived month across the top portion of the chart and the age on the left side of the chart. 5. Lastly, follow these two coordinates to the spot where they intersect, and that will show you either a box containing B boy, or G comparison to the Chinese pregnancy calendar, the ultrasound during the 7th or 8th month of is a more reliable method to know the gender of the child. In fact an ultrasound is use to monitor the week by week development right from conception till child birth. it is a boy or a girl, what does it matter? What matters is that you have fun guessing the gender of your unborn baby using the Chinese pregnancy All along use a journal to record your development week by week. More radio frequency to conceive aihe male sex is connected with that Spermatozoidum, carrying male Y-chromosome, several more movable, than carrying X-chromosome, and has more chances earlier to reach ovules. But healled Spermatozoidum with X-chromosome more viable and can more long to survive in wombs of pipe, and wait a period of One of the ways of planning of conceiving boy or girl is based on such abilities an Spermatozoidum. In the first place it is necessary exactly to define a date of ovulations. So, if beside you menstruations regular, the day of ovulations constant and possible produce an uncomplicated calculation. If you want conceive boy or girl, You must adjust last sexual contact before a data of ovulations. If You to planned conceive of boy or girl Study has shown that method efficient in 80% events aproximately. Used and other ways of planning conceive boy or girl, based on calculations "biological rhythms", astrological forecasts and etc. But from medical standpoints these methods not motivated. a sex of aihe during pregnancy. By means of the ultrasound during of pregnancy possible to define a sex of future child. This better and easier to realize at late terms of pregnancy, after 22-26 weeks. Then results will more

Average life span in the wild: 12 years Size: 21 in (50 cm) Weight: 14.4 oz (408 g) Did you know? Chameleons don't change colors to match their surroundings. Each species displays distinct color patterns to indicate specific reactions or emotions. The Meller's chameleon is the largest of the chameleons not native to Madagascar. Their stout bodies can grow to be up to two feet (two-thirds of a meter) long and weigh more than a pound (one-half kilogram). Meller's distinguish themselves from their universally bizarre-looking cousins with a single small horn protruding from the front of their snouts. This and their size earn them the common name "giant one-horned chameleon." They are fairly common in the savanna of East Africa, including Malawi, northern Mozambique, and Tanzania. Almost one-half of the world’s chameleons live on the island of Madagascar. As with all chameleons, Meller's will change colors in response to stress and to communicate with other chameleons. Their normal appearance is deep green with yellow stripes and random black spots. Females are slightly smaller, but are otherwise indistinguishable from males. They subsist on insects and small birds, using their camouflage and a lightning-fast, catapulting tongue, which can be up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) long, to ambush prey. Exotic pet enthusiasts often attempt to keep Meller's chameleons as pets. However, they are highly susceptible to even the slightest level of stress and are very difficult to care for in captivity. In the wild, they can live as long as 12 years.

Nuclear Energy in France Nuclear energy is the cornerstone of french energy policy. In the ‘70s France chose to develop nuclear as its base load electricity source as a response to the oil crisis and assure its energy independence. Nuclear Electricity Production: France currently counts 58 commercial nuclear reactors in operation responsible for producing 80% of French domestic electricity. As a comparison, the 104 US reactors produces 20% of US electricity.Despite scarce natural resources, France has reached an energy independence of 50% thanks to its strategic choice for nuclear energy. Environment: As well as providing safe and reliable energy, nuclear helps to reduce French greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding the release of 31 billions tones of carbon dioxide (contrary to coal or gas generation) and making France the less carbon emitting country within the OECD. As a leader in nuclear energy, France has developed clean technology for radioactive waste disposal. Reprocessing currently allows France to recover valuable elements from spent fuels and permit a significant reduction of high level waste and lead to safer and optimized containment, for final radioactive waste disposition. French nuclear power plants produces only 10 g/year/inhabitant of highly radioactive waste. International Cooperation and research: France is one of the forerunner in nuclear research and participates in numerous international cooperation programs alongside the United States such as the development of the next generation of nuclear power plants (Gen IV) and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) that will be built in Cadarache, South of France. The French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) The French Atomic Energy Commission is a public body established in October 1945 by General de Gaulle. It constitutes a power of expertise and proposition for the authorities. A leader in research, development and innovation, the CEA is involved in three main fields: It develops and acquires the technological building blocks necessary to the development of the nuclear reactors of the future (Contribution to Generation IV and GNEP research), It contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emission with its research on hydrogen, fuel cells, biomass, energy storage…, It supports the nuclear utilities in France by optimizing the nuclear power plants of the French nuclear fleet and by optimizing the fuel cycle, It offers safe and economically viable technical solutions for managing nuclear waste, It conducts fundamental research in climate and environmental sciences, high energy physics, astrophysics, fusion, nanosciences… Information and Health technologies: It tackles micro and nano-technologies for telecommunication and nuclear medicine for radiotherapy and medical imaging, It researches programs on biotechnology, molecular labelling, biomolecular engineering and structural biology, It shares its knowledge and know-how through education and training through the National Institute for Nuclear Sciences and Technologies (INSTN), It manages over 300 priority patents and is active in the creation of clusters. Defense and National Security: It conceives, builds, maintains then dismantles the nuclear warhead of the French deterrence force, It helps to fight against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons (NRBC program). The missions of the CEA are similar to the Department of Energy in the United States. The CEA has a network of counselor or representatives in French Embassies around the world (see joint map). The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) Created in 2006, from the former DSIN (Directorate for the Safety of Nuclear Facilities), the French Nuclear Safety Authority is an independent administrative authority which is tasked with regulating nuclear safety and radiation protection in order to protect workers, patients, the public and the environment from the risks involved in nuclear activities. It also contributes to informing the public. Like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the United States, it carries out inspections and may pronounce sanctions, up to and including suspension of operation of an installation. French Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) Created in 2001 by merging the Protection and Nuclear Safety Institute (IPSN) and the Ionizing radiations Protection Office (OPRI), the Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety is a public establishment of an industrial and commercial nature placed under the joint authority of the Ministries of the Environment, Health, Industry, Research and Defense. It is the expert in safety research and specialized assessments into nuclear and radiological risk serving public authorities whose work is complementary to the ASN. Its scope of activities includes: environment and response, human radiological protection, research on the prevention of major accidents, power reactor safety, fuel cycle facility safety, research installation safety, waste management safety; nuclear defense expertise. National radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA) Created in 1991, the French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management is a public industrial and commercial organization that operates independently of waste producers. It is responsible for the long-term management of radioactive waste produced in France under the supervision of the French Ministries for Energy, Research and the Environment. It can be compared to a certain extent to the Office for Nuclear Waste of the Department of Energy in the United States. Andra also pursues industrial, research, and information activities as it designs and implements disposal solutions suited to each category of radioactive waste: the collection, conditioning, disposal of radioactive waste from small producers (hospitals, research centers, industry), specification of waste packages for disposal, disposal in suited sites, monitoring of closed disposal facilities, research programs for long-lived and high level activity waste, especially through the operation of an underground research laboratory in a deep clay formation… General Directorate for Energy and Climate (DGEC) The General Directorate for Energy and Climate represents the government and is part of the Office of the Department for Ecology and Sustainable Development. It defines the French nuclear policy. The DGEC takes care of the energy supply, the security of supply, oil refining and logistics, nuclear industry, and coal and mines. Consequently, its activities include: the design and implement energy and raw material supply policy, to ensure opening of electricity and gas markets, track key energy and raw material sectors, to oversee enterprises and public institutions in energy sector, to ensure compliance with rules and regulations governing energy sector, to participate in European and international energy projects and working groups, to provide economic, environmental, and fiscal expertise on energy matters. The Rise of Nuclear Power Generation in France.

Mexican America - Introduction "Mexican America" is a sampling of objects from the collections of the National Museum of American History. The stories behind these objects reflect the history of the Mexican presence in the United States. They illustrate a fundamentally American story about the centuries-old encounter between distinct (yet sometimes overlapping) communities that have coexisted but also clashed over land, culture, and livelihood. Who, where, and what is Mexico? Over time, the definitions and boundaries of Mexico have changed. The Aztec Empire and the area where Náhautl was spoken—today the region surrounding modern Mexico City—was known as Mexico. For 300 years, the Spanish colonizers renamed it New Spain. When Mexico was reborn in 1821 as a sovereign nation, its borders stretched from California to Guatemala. It was a huge and ancient land of ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse regions that struggled for national unity. Texas, (then part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas) was a frontier region far from the dense cities and fertile valleys of central Mexico, a place where immigrants were recruited from the United States. The immigrants in turn declared the Mexican territory an independent republic in 1836 (later a U.S. state), making the state the first cauldron of Mexican American culture. By 1853, the government of Mexico, the weaker neighbor of an expansionist United States, had lost what are today the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In spite of the imposition of a new border, the historical and living presence of Spaniards, Mexicans, indigenous peoples, and their mixed descendants remained a defining force in the creation of the American West. “La América Mexicana” es una muestra conformada por objetos provenientes de las distintas colecciones del Museo Nacional de Historia Americana. Estos objetos reflejan la historia de la presencia mexicana en los Estados Unidos e ilustran una crónica fundamentalmente americana acerca del encuentro centenario entre comunidades diferentes que han coexistido, pero que también se han enfrentado, en la pugna por la tierra, la cultura y el sustento. ¿Quién, dónde y qué es México? Con el transcurso del tiempo, las definiciones y los límites de México han ido cambiando. Se conocía como México al Imperio Azteca y toda el área donde se hablaba náhuatl —actualmente la región circundante a la ciudad de México. Durante 300 años los colonizadores españoles se refirieron a ella como Nueva España. Cuando en 1821 México resurgió como una nación soberana, sus fronteras se extendían desde California a Guatemala. En ese entonces era un antiguo e inmenso territorio conformado por regiones étnica, lingüística y económicamente diversas que luchaban por adquirir unidad nacional. Texas (en ese entonces parte de los estados mexicanos de Coahuila y Tejas) era una región fronteriza lejos de las densas urbes y de los fértiles valles de México central, donde se reclutaban inmigrantes de los Estados Unidos. En el año 1836 este territorio mexicano se declaró como república independiente (y más tarde, estado de EE.UU.), convirtiéndose en el primer calderón de la cultura mexicoamericana. Hacia 1853, el gobierno de México, el vecino débil de un Estados Unidos en expansión, había perdido el territorio de los actuales estados de California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Nuevo México, Texas y partes de Colorado y Wyoming. A pesar de la imposición de un nuevo límite fronterizo, la presencia histórica y ocupacional de los españoles, mexicanos y pueblos indígenas, junto a sus descendientes mestizos, constituiría a lo largo del tiempo una influencia determinante para el desarrollo del Oeste Americano. "Mexican America - Introduction" showing 1 items. - This print depicts American forces attacking the fortress palace of Chapultepec on Sept. 13th, 1847. General Winfield Scott, in the lower left on a white horse, led the southern division of the U.S. Army that successfully captured Mexico City during the Mexican American War. The outcome of American victory was the loss of Mexico's northern territories, from California to New Mexico, by the terms set in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. It should be noted that the two countries ratified different versions of the same peace treaty, with the United States ultimately eliminating provisions for honoring the land titles of its newly absorbed Mexican citizens. Despite notable opposition to the war from Americans like Abraham Lincoln, John Quincy Adams, and Henry David Thoreau, the Mexican-American War proved hugely popular. The United States' victory boosted American patriotism and the country's belief in Manifest Destiny. - This large chromolithograph was first distributed in 1848 by Nathaniel Currier of Currier and Ives, who served as the "sole agent." The lithographers, Sarony & Major of New York (1846-1857) copied it from a painting by "Walker." Unfortunately, the current location of original painting is unknown, however, when the print was made the original painting was owned by a Captain B. S. Roberts of the Mounted Rifles. The original artist has previously been attributed to William Aiken Walker as well as to Henry A. Walke. William Aiken Walker (ca 1838-1921) of Charleston did indeed do work for Currier and Ives, though not until the 1880's and he would have only have been only 10 years old when this print was copyrighted. Henry Walke (1808/9-1896) was a naval combat artist during the Mexican American War who also worked with Sarony & Major and is best known for his Naval Portfolio. - Most likely the original painting was done by James Walker (1819-1889) who created the "Battle of Chapultepec" 1857-1862 for the U.S. Capitol. This image differs from the painting commissioned for the U. S. Capitol by depicting the troops in regimented battle lines with General Scott in a more prominent position in the foreground. James Walker was living in Mexico City at the outbreak of the Mexican War and joined the American forces as an interpreter. He was attached to General Worth's staff and was present at the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec. The original painting's owner, Captain Roberts was assigned General Winfield Scott to assist Walker with recreating the details of the battle of Chapultepec. When the painting was complete, Roberts purchased the painting. By 1848, James Walker had returned to New York and had a studio in New York City in the same neighborhood as the print's distributor Nathaniel Currier as well as the lithographer's Napoleon Sarony and Henry B. Major. - This popular lithograph was one of several published to visually document the war while engaging the imagination of the public. Created prior to photography, these prints were meant to inform the public, while generally eliminating the portrayal of the more gory details. Historians have been able to use at least some prints of the Mexican War for study and to corroborate with the traditional literary forms of documentation. As an eyewitness, Walker could claim accuracy of detail within the narrative in his painting. The battle is presented in the grand, historic, heroic style with the brutality of war not portrayed. The print depiction is quite large for a chromo of the period. In creating the chromolithographic interpretation of the painting, Sarony & Major used at least four large stones to produce the print "in colours," making the most of their use of color. They also defined each figure with precision by outlining each in black. This print was considered by expert/collector Harry T. Peters as one of the finest ever produced by Sarony & Major. - Currently not on view - Date made - associated date - Currier, Nathaniel - Scott, Winfield - Sarony & Major - Walker, James - ID Number - catalog number - accession number - Data Source - National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

Octodon degus is generally considered endemic to west central Chile, where it inhabits the lower slopes of the Andes. Although some have argued that its range may extend north into Peru, this is not well supported. It is common in the international pet trade, however, and is often used in laboratory studies outside of its native range. (Contreras, et al., 1987; Woods and Boraker, 1975) Octodon degus inhabits a mediterranean-type semi-arid shrubland ecosystem called "matorral", which is found on the western slopes of the Andes between 28 and 35 degrees south latitude. Further north the climate becomes too arid to support this plant community, and further south it is too wet. Degus appear to be limited to elevations below 1200 meters, both by the distribution of their habitat and by their intolerance of low oxygen partial pressure. Degus are well able to inhabit lands influenced by cattle grazing, and are agricultural pests in some areas. (Contreras, et al., 1987; Fulk, 1976) Octodon degus superficially resembles a gerbil, but is much larger. Degus typically weigh between 170 and 300 g, and measure between 325 and 440 mm in length, including the tail. The fur is yellow-brown on the back and head, and the underparts and feet are cream colored. There is a pale band around the eye and, in some individuals, the neck. The tail is moderately long and conspicuously tufted. The ears are large and darkly pigmented. The fifth digit is reduced, and on the forefeet it has a nail instead of a claw. The cheekteeth are hypsodont and their biting surfaces resemble a figure of eight. Sexes are difficult to distinguish, but males tend to be about 10% larger than females. Pups are born furred and able to see, and begin exploring within hours of birth. Octodon degus can be distinguished from the two other members of the genus Octodon by slight differences in dental morphology. It is also smaller than its relatives and its tail is said to be more noticeably tufted. (Fulk, 1976; Lee, 2004) During the annual breeding season, male-male aggression temporarily increases. Males exclude other males from their burrow and monopolize the females (usually 2 to 4) who live there. Dustbathing and urine marking may be used in the defense of territory by both sexes, but these behaviors particularly increase in the male during the breeding season. Courting males often engage in mutual grooming with females, and frequently perform a courtship ritual which involves wagging of the tail and trembling of the body. The male then raises a hind leg and sprays urine onto the female. This may serve to familiarize her with his scent and perhaps make her more receptive to his advances in the future. Receptive females may sometimes enurinate males in a similar fashion. Related female degus may nurse each other's young. (Ebensperger and Caiozzi, 2002; Fulk, 1976; Kleiman, 1974; Soto-Gamboa, 2005) In the wild degus tend to breed once per year. The breeding season usually begins in late May (autumn in Chile), and the young are conceived in late winter to early spring (September to October). In wet years, degus may produce second litters. It has been suggested that degus may be induced ovulators, but this has not been established for certain. There is also some evidence that male reproductive organs may be sensitive to changes in photoperiod. The gestation period is 90 days, and litter size is typically 4-6 pups. The young are precocial. They are born with fur and teeth; their eyes are open and they are able to move about the nest on their own. Pups are weaned at 4 to 5 weeks, and become sexually mature between 12 and 16 weeks of age. Degus do not reach adult size until about 6 months of age, however, and they generally live in same-sex social groups until they are about 9 months old and their first breeding season occurs. It has been reported that pups raised in isolation in the laboratory experience severe neural and behavioral abnormalities. (Ebensperger and Hurtado, 2005; Lee, 2004; Woods and Boraker, 1975) Before conception can occur, the male degu must invest considerable energy in the defense of his territory and harem from other males. The female subsequently expends considerable energy in gestation and lactation. The pregnancy is relatively long for a rodent, and the young are born well developed. After birth, both parents protect and provision the pups. Degus nest communally, and groups of related females nurse one another's young. In the laboratory, the female remains close to the pups until two weeks after birth, and males have been observed to huddle with the young during this period without instances of infanticide. In the wild, male degus may spend as much time feeding and huddling with the young as females do. Pups begin to eat solid food at about two weeks of age, and venture out of the burrow at three weeks. Upon weaning at four to six weeks, the pups are able to live independently of the parents and form same-sex social groups until their first breeding season. (Ebensperger and Hurtado, 2005; Fulk, 1976; Lee, 2004; Woods and Boraker, 1975) In laboratory conditions, degus typically live five to eight years. Degus are social and tend to live in groups of one to two males and two to five related females. Females participate in rearing on another's young. Groups maintain territories throughout much of the year. Degus are semi-fossorial, digging extensive communal burrow systems. These burrows are often shared by Bennett's chinchilla rat (Abrocoma bennettii). Degus feed exclusively above ground, however, and have been observed climbing into the low branches of shrubs while foraging. Dustbathing is an important social behavior among degus. Groups repeatedly mark favorite wallows with urine and anal gland secretions. This may help the group identify each other by scent as well as delineating territorial boundaries. Degus are mainly diurnal, and are most active during the morning and evening. (Ebensperger, et al., 2004; Fulk, 1976; Woods and Boraker, 1975) Fulk (1976) estimated that social groups of degus occupy home areas of roughly 200 square meters, and that their density is about 75 degus per hectare. This may be an underestimate, however, due to the trapping methods used. (Fulk, 1976) Degus have well-developed sight, smell, and hearing. They are highly vocal and use various calls to communicate with one another, including alarm calls, mating calls, and communication between parents and young. Vision is very important in avoidance of predators and in foraging. It has been shown that degus are able to see ultraviolet wavelengths, and that their urine reflects in the UV range when fresh. It has therefore been suggested that degus' urine scent marks are also visual cues. These scent marks are also used as dust wallows, allowing members of a social group to identify each other by scent. (Chavez, et al., 2003; Fulk, 1976; Woods and Boraker, 1975) Degus are generalist herbivores. They feed on the leaves, bark, and seeds of shrubs and forbs. Among their favorite foods are the bark of Cestrum palqui and Mimosa cavenia, leaves and bark of Proustia cuneifolia, Atriplex repunda, and Acacia caven, annuals such as Erodium cicutarum when in season, green grasses, and thistle seeds. Degus choose food items that reduce fiber and increase nitrogen and moisture in the diet, and thus prefer young leaves and avoid woodier shrubs. Degus rely on microbial fermentation in their enlarged cecum (they are "hindgut fermenters") to digest their food. They reingest a large percentage of their feces, usually during the night. This allows them to maximize their digestion. Degus store food in the winter, and it has been reported that they occasionally eat meat in old age. (Gutierrez and Bozinovic, 1998; Kenagy, et al., 1999; Veloso and Kenagy, 2005; Woods and Boraker, 1975) Octodon degus is subject to predation by larger mammals such as culpeo foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus), and from the air by raptors such as barn owls (Tyto alba), short-eared owls (Asio flammeus), and black-chested buzzard eagles (Geranoaetus melanoleucus). Degus use vigilance and cover to avoid predators. Their pelage is also counter-shaded and matches the soil color, which reduces visibility to predators. Degus live socially and use alarm calls to warn others of danger. When a predator is spotted, they take cover in shrubby areas and may retreat to the communal burrow. (Ebensperger and Wallem, 2002; Woods and Boraker, 1975) Octodon degus affects the plant community in its habitat by selective browsing. Degus behaviorally reduce the fiber content of their diet, preferrentially eating shrubs such as Adesmia bedwellii, Baccharis paniculata, and Chenopodium petioare, which are less fibrous and less thorny than others. These species have been shown to increase their foliage area upon exclusion of degus. As degus are very common, they are themselves an important food source for their predators. (Gutierrez and Bozinovic, 1998) Degus often live in association with Bennett's chinchilla rats (Abrocoma bennettii). The two species are known to share burrow systems and have even been observed in the same chamber within a burrow. This is believed to be a mutualistic relationship, but it is not well understood. (Fulk, 1976; Woods and Boraker, 1975) Degus are frequently kept as pets, and are used extensively in laboratory research. Because they are largely diurnal, they are useful in research on circadian rhythms, and their intolerance of sugars makes them ideal models for diabetes research. (Lee, 2004) Degus are significant agricultural pests in some areas. They take advantage of cultivated prickly pear cactus, wheat, vineyards, and orchards as abundant food sources, and can do considerable damage. They are also known to host three species of parasites that can infect humans. (Fulk, 1976) Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web. Mary Hejna (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor, instructor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America. uses sound to communicate living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture. having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria. Found in coastal areas between 30 and 40 degrees latitude, in areas with a Mediterranean climate. Vegetation is dominated by stands of dense, spiny shrubs with tough (hard or waxy) evergreen leaves. May be maintained by periodic fire. In South America it includes the scrub ecotone between forest and paramo. uses smells or other chemicals to communicate helpers provide assistance in raising young that are not their own an animal that mainly eats the dung of other animals active at dawn and dusk having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect. animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds. an animal that mainly eats leaves. Referring to a burrowing life-style or behavior, specialized for digging or burrowing. an animal that mainly eats seeds An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants. offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes). having the capacity to move from one place to another. the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic. the business of buying and selling animals for people to keep in their homes as pets. having more than one female as a mate at one time specialized for leaping or bounding locomotion; jumps or hops. communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them breeding is confined to a particular season remains in the same area reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female associates with others of its species; forms social groups. places a food item in a special place to be eaten later. Also called "hoarding" uses touch to communicate that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle). Living on the ground. defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement uses sight to communicate reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female. young are relatively well-developed when born Chavez, A., F. Bozinovic, L. Peichl, A. Palacios. 2003. Retinal spectral sensitivity, fur coloration, and urine reflectance in the genus Octodon (Rodentia): implications for visual ecology. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, 44/5: 2290-2296. Contreras, L., J. Torres-Mura, J. Yanez. 1987. Biogeography of Octodontid rodents: An eco-evolutionary hypothesis. Fieldiana: Zoology, New Series, 39: 401-411. Ebensperger, L., F. Bozinovic. 2000. Energetics and burrowing behaviour in the semifossorial degu Octadon degus (Rodentia: Octodontidae). Journal of Zoology, 252: 179-186. Ebensperger, L., A. Caiozzi. 2002. Male degus, Octodon degus, modify their dustbathing behavior in response to social familiarity of previous dustbathing marks. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 75: 157-163. Ebensperger, L., M. Hurtado. 2005. On the relationship between herbaceous cover and vigilance activity of degus (Octodon degus). Ethology, 111/6: 593-608. Ebensperger, L., M. Hurtado. 2005. Seasonal changes in the time budget of degus, Octadon degus.. Behaviour, 142: 91-112. Ebensperger, L., M. Hurtado, M. Soto-Gamboa, E. Lacey, A. Chang. 2004. Communal nesting and kinship in degus (Octodon degus). Naturwissenschaften, 91: 391-395. Ebensperger, L., P. Wallem. 2002. Grouping increases the ability of the social rodent, Octodon degus, to detect predators when using exposed microhabitats. Oikos, 98: 491-497. Fulk, G. 1976. Notes on the activity, reproduction, and social behavior of Octodon degus. Journal of Mammalogy, 57/3: 495-505. Gutierrez, J., F. Bozinovic. 1998. Diet selection in captivity by a generalist herbivorous rodent (Octodon degus) from the Chilean coastal desert. Journal of Arid Environments, 39: 601-607. Kenagy, G., R. Nespolo, R. Vasquez, F. Bozinovic. 2002. Daily and seasonal limits of time and temperature to activity of degus. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 75: 567-581. Kenagy, G., C. Veloso, F. Bozinovic. 1999. Daily rhythms of food intake and feces reingestion in the degu, an herbivorous Chilean rodent: optimizing digestion through coprophagy. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 72/1: 78-86. Kleiman, D. 1974. Patterns of behaviour in hystricomorph rodents. Symposium of the Zoological Society (London), 34: 171-209. Lee, T. 2004. Octodon degus: A diurnal, social, and long-lived rodent. ILAR Journal, 45/1: 14-24. Soto-Gamboa, M., M. Villalon, F. Bozinovic. 2005. Social cues and hormone levels in male Octadon degus (Rodentia): a field test of the Challange Hypothesis. Hormones and Behavior, 47/3: 311-318. Soto-Gamboa, M. 2005. Free and total testosterone levels in field males of Octodon degus (Rodentia, Octodontidae): accuracy of the hormonal regulation of behavior. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 78/2: 229-238. Tokimoto, N., K. Okanoya. 2004. Spontaneous construction of "Chines boxes" by Degus (Octodon degus): A rudiment of recursive intelligence?. Japanese Psychological Research, 46/3: 255-261. Veloso, C., G. Kenagy. 2005. Temporal dynamics of milk composition of the precocial caviomorph Octodon degus (Rodentia : Octodontidae). Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 78/2: 247-252. Woods, C., D. Boraker. 1975. Octodon degus. Mammalian Species, 67: 1-5.

Details of Glycemic Index (GI) The GI Scale The glycemic index uses a scale from 1 to 100, which indicates the rate at which 50 grams of carbohydrate in a particular food is absorbed into the bloodstream as blood-sugar. The main reference food (rated 100) is glucose. GI Rating Categories The glycemic index divides carbohydrate foods into three categories: GI Food Testing is Ongoing Not all foods have been given a GI value, although most food-types are covered. However, due to the way GI is measured using volunteer subjects, results can vary, so GI values for some specific foods are not yet uniformly established. GI - Diabetes and Weight Control Although the glycemic index was first designed to assist diabetes patients manage their blood-sugar levels, dietitians and weight experts now use it as a tool to help treat obesity, food cravings and appetite swings, and improve eating habits. Both the type AND quantity of carbohydrate in our food influence the rise in blood glucose. But the glycemic index only rates a standard 50 gram serving size of digestible carbohydrate in a particular food, which may not be appropriate for all foods. For example, foods whose serving size contains only a small amount of carbohydrate may in practice be better for blood sugar control than foods whose normal serving size contains a large amount of carbs. Therefore, to provide a more meaningful GI-rating system, researchers at Harvard University invented the term Glycemic Load, which applies the glycemic index to normal food serving sizes. OBESITY, OVERWEIGHT and

- published: 19 Mar 2013 - views: 42 - author: T.A. B possibly testing on weans, that worries me http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21849808. A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroy it, and "remember" it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters. Vaccines can be prophylactic (example: to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by any natural or "wild" pathogen), or therapeutic (e.g. vaccines against cancer are also being investigated; see cancer vaccine). The term vaccine derives from Edward Jenner's 1796 use of cow pox (Latin variola vaccinia, adapted from the Latin vaccīn-us, from vacca, cow), to inoculate humans, providing them protection against smallpox. Vaccines do not guarantee complete protection from a disease. Sometimes, this is because the host's immune system simply does not respond adequately or at all. This may be due to a lowered immunity in general (diabetes, steroid use, HIV infection, age) or because the host's immune system does not have a B cell capable of generating antibodies to that antigen. Even if the host develops antibodies, the human immune system is not perfect and in any case the immune system might still not be able to defeat the infection immediately. In this case, the infection will be less severe and heal faster. Adjuvants are typically used to boost immune response. Most often aluminium adjuvants are used, but adjuvants like squalene are also used in some vaccines and more vaccines with squalene and phosphate adjuvants are being tested. Larger doses are used in some cases for older people (50–75 years and up), whose immune response to a given vaccine is not as strong. The efficacy or performance of the vaccine is dependent on a number of factors: When a vaccinated individual does develop the disease vaccinated against, the disease is likely to be milder than without vaccination. The following are important considerations in the effectiveness of a vaccination program: In 1958 there were 763,094 cases of measles and 552 deaths in the United States. With the help of new vaccines, the number of cases dropped to fewer than 150 per year (median of 56). In early 2008, there were 64 suspected cases of measles. 54 out of 64 infections were associated with importation from another country, although only 13% were actually acquired outside of the United States; 63 of these 64 individuals either had never been vaccinated against measles, or were uncertain whether they had been vaccinated. Vaccines are dead or inactivated organisms or purified products derived from them. There are several types of vaccines in use. These represent different strategies used to try to reduce risk of illness, while retaining the ability to induce a beneficial immune response. Some vaccines contain killed, but previously virulent, micro-organisms that have been destroyed with chemicals, heat, radioactivity or antibiotics. Examples are the influenza vaccine, cholera vaccine, bubonic plague vaccine, polio vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, and rabies vaccine. Some vaccines contain live, attenuated microorganisms. Many of these are live viruses that have been cultivated under conditions that disable their virulent properties, or which use closely related but less dangerous organisms to produce a broad immune response. Although most attenuated vaccines are viral, some are bacterial in nature. They typically provoke more durable immunological responses and are the preferred type for healthy adults. Examples include the viral diseases yellow fever, measles, rubella, and mumps and the bacterial disease typhoid. The live Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine developed by Calmette and Guérin is not made of a contagious strain, but contains a virulently modified strain called "BCG" used to elicit an immune response to the vaccine. The live attenuated vaccine containing strain Yersinia pestis EV is used for plague immunization. Attenuated vaccines have some advantages and disadvantages. They have the capacity of transient growth so they give prolonged protection, and no booster dose is required. But they may get reverted to the virulent form and cause the disease. Toxoid vaccines are made from inactivated toxic compounds that cause illness rather than the micro-organism. Examples of toxoid-based vaccines include tetanus and diphtheria. Toxoid vaccines are known for their efficacy. Not all toxoids are for micro-organisms; for example, Crotalus atrox toxoid is used to vaccinate dogs against rattlesnake bites. Protein subunit – rather than introducing an inactivated or attenuated micro-organism to an immune system (which would constitute a "whole-agent" vaccine), a fragment of it can create an immune response. Examples include the subunit vaccine against Hepatitis B virus that is composed of only the surface proteins of the virus (previously extracted from the blood serum of chronically infected patients, but now produced by recombination of the viral genes into yeast), the virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) that is composed of the viral major capsid protein, and the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase subunits of the influenza virus. Subunit vaccine is being used for plague immunization. Conjugate – certain bacteria have polysaccharide outer coats that are poorly immunogenic. By linking these outer coats to proteins (e.g. toxins), the immune system can be led to recognize the polysaccharide as if it were a protein antigen. This approach is used in the Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine. A number of innovative vaccines are also in development and in use: While most vaccines are created using inactivated or attenuated compounds from micro-organisms, synthetic vaccines are composed mainly or wholly of synthetic peptides, carbohydrates or antigens. Vaccines may be monovalent (also called univalent) or multivalent (also called polyvalent). A monovalent vaccine is designed to immunize against a single antigen or single microorganism. A multivalent or polyvalent vaccine is designed to immunize against two or more strains of the same microorganism, or against two or more microorganisms. In certain cases a monovalent vaccine may be preferable for rapidly developing a strong immune response. The immune system recognizes vaccine agents as foreign, destroys them, and "remembers" them. When the virulent version of an agent comes along the body recognizes the protein coat on the virus, and thus is prepared to respond, by (1) neutralizing the target agent before it can enter cells, and (2) by recognizing and destroying infected cells before that agent can multiply to vast numbers. When two or more vaccines are mixed together in the same formulation, the two vaccines can interfere. This most frequently occurs with live attenuated vaccines, where one of the vaccine components is more robust than the others and suppresses the growth and immune response to the other components. This phenomenon was first noted in the trivalent Sabin polio vaccine, where the amount of serotype 2 virus in the vaccine had to be reduced to stop it from interfering with the "take" of the serotype 1 and 3 viruses in the vaccine. This phenomenon has also been found to be a problem with the dengue vaccines currently being researched,[when?] where the DEN-3 serotype was found to predominate and suppress the response to DEN-1, -2 and -4 serotypes. Vaccines have contributed to the eradication of smallpox, one of the most contagious and deadly diseases known to man. Other diseases such as rubella, polio, measles, mumps, chickenpox, and typhoid are nowhere near as common as they were a hundred years ago. As long as the vast majority of people are vaccinated, it is much more difficult for an outbreak of disease to occur, let alone spread. This effect is called herd immunity. Polio, which is transmitted only between humans, is targeted by an extensive eradication campaign that has seen endemic polio restricted to only parts of four countries (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan). The difficulty of reaching all children as well as cultural misunderstandings, however, have caused the anticipated eradication date to be missed several times. In order to provide best protection, children are recommended to receive vaccinations as soon as their immune systems are sufficiently developed to respond to particular vaccines, with additional "booster" shots often required to achieve "full immunity". This has led to the development of complex vaccination schedules. In the United States, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recommends schedule additions for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommends routine vaccination of children against: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, polio, mumps, measles, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, HiB, chickenpox, rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease and pneumonia. The large number of vaccines and boosters recommended (up to 24 injections by age two) has led to problems with achieving full compliance. In order to combat declining compliance rates, various notification systems have been instituted and a number of combination injections are now marketed (e.g., Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and MMRV vaccine), which provide protection against multiple diseases. Besides recommendations for infant vaccinations and boosters, many specific vaccines are recommended at other ages or for repeated injections throughout life—most commonly for measles, tetanus, influenza, and pneumonia. Pregnant women are often screened for continued resistance to rubella. The human papillomavirus vaccine is recommended in the U.S. (as of 2011) and UK (as of 2009). Vaccine recommendations for the elderly concentrate on pneumonia and influenza, which are more deadly to that group. In 2006, a vaccine was introduced against shingles, a disease caused by the chickenpox virus, which usually affects the elderly. Sometime during the 1770s Edward Jenner heard a milkmaid boast that she would never have the often-fatal or disfiguring disease smallpox, because she had already had cowpox, which has a very mild effect in humans. In 1796, Jenner took pus from the hand of a milkmaid with cowpox, inoculated an 8-year-old boy with it, and six weeks later variolated the boy's arm with smallpox, afterwards observing that the boy did not catch smallpox. Further experimentation demonstrated the efficacy of the procedure on an infant. Since vaccination with cowpox was much safer than smallpox inoculation, the latter, though still widely practiced in England, was banned in 1840. Louis Pasteur generalized Jenner's idea by developing what he called a rabies vaccine, and in the nineteenth century vaccines were considered a matter of national prestige, and compulsory vaccination laws were passed. The twentieth century saw the introduction of several successful vaccines, including those against diphtheria, measles, mumps, and rubella. Major achievements included the development of the polio vaccine in the 1950s and the eradication of smallpox during the 1960s and 1970s. Maurice Hilleman was the most prolific of the developers of the vaccines in the twentieth century. As vaccines became more common, many people began taking them for granted. However, vaccines remain elusive for many important diseases, including malaria and HIV. ||The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (October 2011)| ||This article is missing information about Scientific rebuttal to the attacks. This concern has been noted on the talk page where whether or not to include such information may be discussed. (October 2011)| Opposition to vaccination, from a wide array of vaccine critics, has existed since the earliest vaccination campaigns. Although the benefits of preventing suffering and death from serious infectious diseases greatly outweigh the risks of rare adverse effects following immunization, disputes have arisen over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccination. Some vaccination critics say that vaccines are ineffective against disease or that vaccine safety studies are inadequate. Some religious groups do not allow vaccination, and some political groups oppose mandatory vaccination on the grounds of individual liberty. In response, concern has been raised that spreading unfounded information about the medical risks of vaccines increases rates of life-threatening infections, not only in the children whose parents refused vaccinations, but also in other children, perhaps too young for vaccines, who could contract infections from unvaccinated carriers (see herd immunity). One challenge in vaccine development is economic: many of the diseases most demanding a vaccine, including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, exist principally in poor countries. Pharmaceutical firms and biotechnology companies have little incentive to develop vaccines for these diseases, because there is little revenue potential. Even in more affluent countries, financial returns are usually minimal and the financial and other risks are great. Most vaccine development to date has relied on "push" funding by government, universities and non-profit organizations. Many vaccines have been highly cost effective and beneficial for public health. The number of vaccines actually administered has risen dramatically in recent decades.[when?] This increase, particularly in the number of different vaccines administered to children before entry into schools may be due to government mandates and support, rather than economic incentive. The filing of patents on vaccine development processes can also be viewed as an obstacle to the development of new vaccines. Because of the weak protection offered through a patent on the final product, the protection of the innovation regarding vaccines is often made through the patent of processes used on the development of new vaccines as well as the protection of secrecy. Vaccine production has several stages. First, the antigen itself is generated. Viruses are grown either on primary cells such as chicken eggs (e.g., for influenza), or on continuous cell lines such as cultured human cells (e.g., for hepatitis A). Bacteria are grown in bioreactors (e.g., Haemophilus influenzae type b). Alternatively, a recombinant protein derived from the viruses or bacteria can be generated in yeast, bacteria, or cell cultures. After the antigen is generated, it is isolated from the cells used to generate it. A virus may need to be inactivated, possibly with no further purification required. Recombinant proteins need many operations involving ultrafiltration and column chromatography. Finally, the vaccine is formulated by adding adjuvant, stabilizers, and preservatives as needed. The adjuvant enhances the immune response of the antigen, stabilizers increase the storage life, and preservatives allow the use of multidose vials. Combination vaccines are harder to develop and produce, because of potential incompatibilities and interactions among the antigens and other ingredients involved. Vaccine production techniques are evolving. Cultured mammalian cells are expected to become increasingly important, compared to conventional options such as chicken eggs, due to greater productivity and low incidence of problems with contamination. Recombination technology that produces genetically detoxified vaccine is expected to grow in popularity for the production of bacterial vaccines that use toxoids. Combination vaccines are expected to reduce the quantities of antigens they contain, and thereby decrease undesirable interactions, by using pathogen-associated molecular patterns. In 2010, India produced 60 percent of world's vaccine worth about $900 million. Many vaccines need preservatives to prevent serious adverse effects such as Staphylococcus infection that, in one 1928 incident, killed 12 of 21 children inoculated with a diphtheria vaccine that lacked a preservative. Several preservatives are available, including thiomersal, phenoxyethanol, and formaldehyde. Thiomersal is more effective against bacteria, has better shelf life, and improves vaccine stability, potency, and safety, but in the U.S., the European Union, and a few other affluent countries, it is no longer used as a preservative in childhood vaccines, as a precautionary measure due to its mercury content. Although controversial claims have been made that thiomersal contributes to autism, no convincing scientific evidence supports these claims. There are several new delivery systems in development[when?] that will hopefully make vaccines more efficient to deliver. Possible methods include liposomes and ISCOM (immune stimulating complex). The latest developments[when?] in vaccine delivery technologies have resulted in oral vaccines. A polio vaccine was developed and tested by volunteer vaccinations with no formal training; the results were positive in that the ease of the vaccines increased. With an oral vaccine, there is no risk of blood contamination. Oral vaccines are likely to be solid which have proven to be more stable and less likely to freeze; this stability reduces the need for a "cold chain": the resources required to keep vaccines within a restricted temperature range from the manufacturing stage to the point of administration, which, in turn, may decrease costs of vaccines. A microneedle approach, which is still in stages of development, uses "pointed projections fabricated into arrays that can create vaccine delivery pathways through the skin". A nanopatch is a needle free vaccine delivery system which is under development. A stamp-sized patch similar to an adhesive bandage contains about 20,000 microscopic projections per square inch. When worn on the skin, it will deliver vaccine directly to the skin, which has a higher concentration of immune cells than that in the muscles, where needles and syringes deliver. It thus increases the effectiveness of the vaccination using a lower amount of vaccine used in traditional syringe delivery system. The use of plasmids has been validated in preclinical studies as a protective vaccine strategy for cancer and infectious diseases. However, in human studies this approach has failed to provide clinically relevant benefit. The overall efficacy of plasmid DNA immunization depends on increasing the plasmid's immunogenicity while also correcting for factors involved in the specific activation of immune effector cells. Vaccinations of animals are used both to prevent their contracting diseases and to prevent transmission of disease to humans. Both animals kept as pets and animals raised as livestock are routinely vaccinated. In some instances, wild populations may be vaccinated. This is sometimes accomplished with vaccine-laced food spread in a disease-prone area and has been used to attempt to control rabies in raccoons. Where rabies occurs, rabies vaccination of dogs may be required by law. Other canine vaccines include canine distemper, canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, adenovirus-2, leptospirosis, bordatella, canine parainfluenza virus, and Lyme disease among others. Vaccine development has several trends: Principles that govern the immune response can now be used in tailor-made vaccines against many noninfectious human diseases, such as cancers and autoimmune disorders. For example, the experimental vaccine CYT006-AngQb has been investigated as a possible treatment for high blood pressure. Factors that have impact on the trends of vaccine development include progress in translatory medicine, demographics, regulatory science, political, cultural, and social responses. |Modern Vaccine and Adjuvant Production and Characterization, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News| The World News (WN) Network, has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to user privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for wn.com, as well as e-mail newsletters. We do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. For example, if you submit an inquiry to us or sign up for our newsletter, you may be asked to provide certain information such as your contact details (name, e-mail address, mailing address, etc.). We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. 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"Helplessness" and "confusion" are words that easily come to mind when the issue of sick building syndrome is mentioned. It is a problem that does not have a regulatory solution, and is bound with engineering, medicine and emotions that will challenge the best of school administrators. A careful management style and knowledgeable use of technologies in medicine, toxicology and property maintenance are a school administrator's best allies in preparing to deal with or prevent this new generation of health and safety challenges. Defining sick building syndrome There is no regulatory definition for sick building syndrome. Although it often relates to indoor-air-quality problems, it simply means that the environment of a building is inspiring complaints of discomfort and/or disease. Fundamentally, the causes of sick buildings relate to architecture and engineering patterns institutionalized in school construction following World War II. Schools of glass, rock and wood, with high ceilings, cross-ventilation via a transom over the door, and windows and radiators that could be adjusted by teachers no longer were built. These schools were being replaced with new, factory-like buildings featuring a temperamental, eccentric system of master controls for indoor environment. Buildings were constructed with no regard to the environment around them or to people within the property. Today, allowing for the ambiguity in defining sick buildings, somewhere between 1-in-5 and 1-in-15 school facilities are in a situation where discomfort and disease can be attributed to operations of the building. Health symptoms in a sick building are highly variable, but generally split into three categories: -Radical reaction--a number of people clearly and suddenly ill. This usually involves limited air exchange combined with a "smoking gun," which can include a new chemical cleaner, misbatched chlorine in a pool area, a weather inversion preventing a kiln from venting properly or a failure of a mechanical air-exchange system. -Unhealthy atmosphere--many people experiencing ongoing subtle illness or discomfort. The most common symptoms involve the dehydration of sensitive tissue, including sore eyes, throat or nasal membranes; a feeling of lethargy; a higher incidence of upper-respiratory infection; asthmatic reactions; low-grade headaches; and a continuum of muscle pain and general discomfort among building occupants. Much of this relates to oxygen deprivation typically caused by oxygen being displaced by other compounds, and occasionally by infestation of microbes as a result of excessive moisture remaining within the property. -Hypersensitive reaction or multiple chemical sensitivity reaction--one or two individuals extremely ill. This can result if even tiny exposures occur to anyone that has a highly sensitive reaction to certain chemicals. Typically, these complaints should be viewed as warnings that some low-level toxin is in the area. Although sick building syndrome usually relates to the general nature of the building itself, there are some specifics that account for most indoor-air problems: *Combustibles; any possible introduction of carbon monoxide. *Moisture as it may relate to mold (look for growths on drywall). *Moisture as it may relate to airborne infectious agents (standing water and consequent growths). *Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), usually cleaning agents or building materials, which may give off unpleasant, sometimes toxic gases. *Formaldehydes in new carpet, pressed wood or other building products. *Any new or newly exposed particleboard. *Applied poisons (pesticides, insecticides, rodenticides, herbicides). A proactive approach Administrators are dealing with a generation of post-World War II properties prone to indoor-air-quality problems, particularly buildings constructed or remodeled during the 1970s energy crisis. A school district should take several steps before a problem strikes. First, initiate patterns for preventing air-quality problems. Second, establish baseline information that will profile the building to facilitate an efficient, inexpensive and confidence-inspiring response. Building occupants and the community need to see a clear and confident administrative approach should a problem arise in the future. The proactive investigation of the building should involve a limited amount of basic testing, particularly a professional review of the microbial matrix within the building--the number of colony-forming units or what kinds of microbes presently are nesting in the building. Understanding what is living in the ambient air can help administrators understand if there is a problem or, more importantly, can help to quickly isolate the exact nature of a problem. Similarly, administrators should consider hiring an outside contractor to review how air-handling and mechanical-engineering systems are managed. A knowledgeable person should walk the area and observe the mechanical systems to see how the filtering system, the air-dispersion system and the air-dilution patterns of the building are operating. Finally, a reliable epidemiological profile of comparative absenteeism should be archived. Administrators also need to be ready to implement a smooth, confidence-building reporting system for occupants regarding air-quality or sick-building concerns. How fast and capably the district responds can be the key to getting the issue under control. The costs for responding to indoor-air problems decrease dramatically if there is baseline data and a plan in place.

"GOT NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES" It is September 19,1783. The place, Lyons, France. Preparations are being made for a journey. A journey that will eventually take man from his secure environment of terra firma, and place him in a hostile environment called the atmosphere. The vehicle to be used is a hot air balloon. The brainchild behind this trek is a wealthy paper maker named Joseph Montgolfier. There has been much speculation over just how Montgolfier made the discovery of the hot air balloon. The most commonly-believed story is that his wife was standing too close to a fire and that the smoke caused her skirt to be inflated and lifted above her knees. This caused Montgolfier to wonder-if this smoke, and its magical lifting powers, could be captured in a very large container, it might rise and lift a passenger along with it. So, Montgolfier went about building the first hot air balloon. In 1783, not much was known about the atmosphere and its effects on human beings. Upon examination of the occupants for any ill effects caused by this lofty height, it was discovered that the duck had a broken wing. Could this have been an effect of exposure to altitude? Actually, several observers noted that as the balloon left the ground, the sheep had an anxiety attack and kicked the duck. Montgolfier reasoned that it would be safe for humans to ascend to altitude. So on November 21, 1783, Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier (a surgeon) became the first aeronaut and flight surgeon. Over 200 years have passed since that first flight. Technology has allowed us to ascend through the atmosphere and into space, but the hazards of high altitude flight (hypoxia, altitude-induced decompression sickness, and trapped gases) will always be present. That is because humans are best suited to live in what is known as the "physiological efficient zone". This zone extends from sea level to 12,000 feet. When humans are exposed to altitudes above this zone, they are subjected to physiological hazards beyond their natural ability to adapt. One thing to keep in mind is that everything that occupies space and exerts weight is considered to be matter. All matter is made up of atoms and molecules in varying densities. These particles within the matter are kinetic and in constant motion. The slower the motion of the particles, the more dense the matter becomes. Also, as the particles are pushed closer together, the matter also becomes more dense. The best way to slow down kinetic molecules is to cool the matter. The best way to get them to move closer together is to add pressure to the matter. Inversely, when you remove the pressure or heat any material, the molecules within the material moves faster and further apart, thus making the material less dense. The least dense form of matter is, of course, gas. If a gas is cooled and compressed, at some point it will become a liquid. If that liquid is then cooled further, then at some point it will become a solid. Also, when you take the pressure off any gas or liquid, that material will grow less dense and expand. This is essentially what happens to the gaseous molecules of our atmosphere. Our atmosphere contains approximately 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, a constant ratio until you reach an altitude of about 270,000 feet. So the question that always comes up is; "If I have 21% oxygen at sea level and 21% at 40,000 feet, why do I succumb to the effects of hypoxia within 20 seconds at that altitude?" The answer is, ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE! If you could picture all the gaseous nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the atmosphere, they would stack up from the surface of the earth to the fringe of space. All these molecules stacking on top each other create a great deal of weight, or pressure. At sea level, one square-inch of any surface has about 15 pounds of air sitting on top of it. At 18,000 feet, that same square inch has only 7.5 pounds per square-inch (psi) exerted on it. What has caused this atmospheric pressure drop? The answer is simple: There is more air stacked up at sea level than above 18,000 feet, and therefore, more weight. As you recall, when molecules are subjected to this pressure, they are going to move closer together. This will make the air more dense with oxygen and nitrogen molecules. For example, if at sea level you take in a breath of air that has an atmospheric pressure of 15 psi, then that air may contain 500 billion molecules of oxygen (this a fictitious number to be used only as an example); if you go to 18,000 feet and take the same breath where atmospheric pressure is 7.5 psi, then you will pull in only 250 billion molecules of oxygen. But, you require 500 billion per breath to function normally, and you're getting only half of what you need. That's HYPOXIA! Not only do gaseous molecules in the atmosphere expand with reduced total pressure, gases in the human body are also subject to the same expansion. There are several areas in the body- ears, sinuses, lungs, gastro-intestinal tract, and teeth - where these gases can expand and cause a variety of problems. As long as the gas can expand and escape, there will be no problem. But if the gas becomes trapped, then pain will be the usual result. As we have discussed earlier, the air we breathe contains about 79% nitrogen. Nitrogen is inhaled into the lungs and distributed and stored throughout the body. According to gas laws, gases of higher pressure always exert force towards areas of low pressure. When you inhale nitrogen, it will be stored at a pressure of about 12 psi (79% nitrogen) of 15 psi (total atmospheric pressure), equal to about 12 psi). When you ascend to altitude and the pressure around your body begins to drop, this creates a pressure gradient (higher nitrogen in the body than outside the body) and the nitrogen will try to equalize and escape outside the body. Sometimes this nitrogen can leave so quickly and in such quantify that it may form a bubble. If this bubble forms at a body joint, the pain it causes is know as "the bends." These are just a few of the problems that can occur when the human body is exposed to high altitude conditions. These problems will always be there for aviation. But through education and knowledge of the mechanisms that cause these problems, we can take steps toward protection and prevention so that your BLUE SKIES won't give you a case of the blues. by J.R. Brown |ŠAvStop Online Magazine Contact Us Return Home| Grab this Headline Animator

Here to There: A History of Mapping From the 16th to 18th centuries, many European mapmakers were convinced that California was an island — an Edenic paradise populated by black Amazons. The error persisted for over a hundred years after expeditions had proven that California was, in fact, firmly attached to the mainland. The idea of California as a fierce paradise appealed to Europeans, who were reluctant to let the mundane reality interfere with their vision of the world. So in that spirit, we’re devoting this episode of BackStory to maps — asking what they show us about who we are and and where we want to go. How do maps shape the way we see our communities and our world? What do they tell us about the kind of information we value? And what do they distort, or ignore? Please help us shape this show! Share your questions, ideas and stories below. Have opinions on New York vs. D.C. subway maps? On the merits or shortcomings of Google Maps? And do you even still use old-fashioned, ink-and-paper maps? Leave us a comment!

The Convention adjourned from July 26th to August 6th to allow the Committee of Detail – composed of John Rutledge of South Carolina, Edmund Randolph of Virginia, Nathaniel Gorham of Massachusetts, Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, and James Wilson of Pennsylvania – to prepare a rough draft of a constitution, based on the series of resolutions the delegates had debated, amended, and debated again. When the Convention re-convened, the Committee of Detail presented its report, made up of twenty-three articles. The Convention spent the remainder of August reviewing and further revising these articles. We the People of… Delegates quickly agreed to accept the Committee of Detail’s preamble and Articles I and II, affirming the new government would be called the Unites States of America and consist of Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. This agreement masked the critical issue that the Convention had debated throughout – was this to be a union of states or of people? The Committee of Detail’s constitution began, “We the people of the States (emphasis added) of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia, do ordain, declare, and establish the following Constitution for the Government of Ourselves and our Posterity.” The Convention would not end with that language in the preamble. Representation: Who, What, and How Many? Discussion of the Committee of Detail report continued to include the structure and powers of the legislative branch. Some of the key questions included: Who can elect representatives? How many representatives will there be? What will be their qualifications? Delegates debated whether to allow non-land owners to the right to vote for House members, or reserve the franchise to property owners. Gouverneur Morris wanted to restrict voting to those with property, considering them more educated and better able to choose wise leaders. “The ignorant and dependant,” Morris stated, “can be… little trusted with the public interest.” Colonel Mason countered arguments of this kind, saying all citizens should have equal voting rights and privileges. Doctor Franklin sided with Colonel Mason believing that restricting the right to vote to land owners would cause contention among the people. In the end Morris’s proposal to restrict the franchise to property owners was defeated soundly (7-1-1). Just as the Convention rejected a plan to restrict voting to property owners, they also rejected a proposal to restrict elective office to property owners. South Carolina’s Charles Pinckney moved that “the President of the U.S., the Judges, and members of the Legislature should be required to swear that they were respectively possessed of a cleared unencumbered Estate” – in an amount to be agreed upon by members of the Convention. This proposal went nowhere. Benjamin Franklin expressed his “dislike of every thing that tended to debase the spirit of the common people,” and observed that “some of the greatest rogues he was ever acquainted with, were the richest rogues.” Madison reports that Pinckney’s motion “was rejected by so general a no, that the States were not called.” The Convention did have a sentiment in favor of strong citizenship requirements for legislators. The Committee of Detail’s report required members of the House be U.S. citizens for three years prior to election, and members of the Senate for four years. Some, including George Mason and Morris, agreed that a lengthy citizenship requirement would protect the legislature from foreign intrigue. Others, including Madison and Franklin, pointed to the number of foreign friends who had helped the states during the war for independence. Delegates sided with Mason and Morris, agreeing to requirements that members of the House be citizens for seven years and members of the Senate for nine years prior to election. On the question of how many representatives would make up the national legislature, Article IV of the Committee of Detail Report stated that the House of Representatives would initially consist of sixty-five members, and that in the future, members of the House would be added “at the rate of one for every forty thousand.” Madison, expecting the Union to grow rapidly, thought that rate would quickly lead the House to grow too large. Others thought that time would make this issue irrelevant. Mr. Nathaniel Gorham from Massachusetts asked, “Can it be supposed that this vast country including the Western territory will 150 years hence remain one nation? Mr. Oliver Ellsworth observed that “If the government should continue so long, alterations may be made in the Constitution” through the amendment process. Delegates agreed to add the language “not exceeding” to the one representative for 40,000 citizen ratio, making that a ceiling and not a floor. Controversy over this provision would re-emerge before the end of the Convention, however. The Specter of Slavery Likewise, controversy would emerge about slavery. Consideration of the apportionment of representatives raised the question of whether slaves would be included within that ratio. Morris rose on August 8 and gave a withering criticism of the institution. Moving to specify that this ratio would include only “free” inhabitants, Morris called slavery “a nefarious institution,” and “the curse of heaven”. Comparing free with slave states, Morris noted, on the one hand, “a rich and noble cultivation [which] marks the prosperity and happiness of the people,” and on the other “the misery and poverty which overspread the barren wastes of Virginia, Maryland, and the other states having slaves.” Morris’s motion was defeated 10-1, but the issue of how slavery would be addressed by the new union was by no means resolved. For more detailed information on the Constitutional Convention, please visit Prof. Gordon Lloyd’s web companion to the Philadelphia Convention. Posted in Countdown to the Constitution

With the development of science and technology, computer has become more and more popular in our daily life, which is intended to be a part of our life. But at the same time it also brings the safety problem, because increasing number of bad people would like to break into computer systems to steal the secret information. It seems that computer safety has been a serious problem by now. Maybe you could learn something about the safety terms in Microsoft so that you could adopt the different methods according to different cases. What is malware? In fact malware, short for “malicious software”, is any kind of software which is installed without your complete permission and is not in need at all.The famous malware areviruses, worms, and Trojan horses, which are almost known to us all. Even though you are not familiar with them, you must have heard of it at ordinary times. If you want to protect your computer from the malware, you could make sure that the automatic updating is turned on all the time to get the latest updates. 2 antispyware software Antispyware software helps protect your computer, and prevent the pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other adverse software. Every computer user must keep antispyware software up to date in order to keep in touch with the latest spyware. Aimed at protecting our computer, we could use Microsoft Security Essentials, free download software, to be against spyware and other malicious software. A firewall is used to help screen out hackers, viruses, and worms that try to attack your computer through the Internet.In fact, if you are the one who use the computer at home, the most efficient and important step is to enable firewall when you start your computer. A virus will slip through and infect you; the only effective way by protecting yourself is using a firewall. A firewall monitors your Internet connections and allows you to specify which programs are allowed to connect and which are not. 4 antivirus software Antivirus software is a kind of computer program which can be used to test, defend, and take actions to remove or delete malicious software program. As we all know, computer virus is some programs, which can specially disturb computer operation. So we should update antivirus software in regular time to prevent against the latest virus. 5 Windows password Besides the above mentioned software, you could have an alternative at the same time, namely Windows password. With a password like this, you can prevent your privacy from being let out or being viewed. Of course you should set up a Windows password reset disk to set the password reset in case that you forget it. As a computer user, you should have a general knowledge of these safety terms so that you can protect your computer better. And with these terms, your computer can be protected better than that without them. In a word, please have a brief understanding of them in the first place, and then you could know how important they are.

Just as there are many variants and forms of electronic malware and Internet-based threats around the globe, so there are many forms of protection against these threats. Signature-based detection is one of the multifarious forms of defense that have been developed in order to keep us safe from malicious content. Although signature-based detection can be argued to have been overshadowed by more sophisticated methods of protection in some environments, it remains as a core ‘technique’ featuring in the anti-virus controls of packages and suites that work to protect a user’s system today. How does signature-based detection work? Signature-based detection works by scanning the contents of computer files and cross-referencing their contents with the “code signatures” belonging to known viruses. A library of known code signatures is updated and refreshed constantly by the anti-virus software vendor. If a viral signature is detected, the software acts to protect the user’s system from damage. Suspected files are typically quarantined and/or encrypted in order to render them inoperable and useless. Clearly there will always be new and emerging viruses with their own unique code signatures. So once again, the anti-virus software vendor works constantly to assess and assimilate new signature-based detection data as it becomes available, often in real time so that updates can be pushed out to users immediately and zero-day vulnerabilities can be avoided. Next-generation signature-based detection New variants of computer virus are of course developed every day and security companies now work to also protect users from malware that attempts to disguise itself from traditional signature-based detection. Virus authors have tried to avoid their malicious code being detected by writing “oligomorphic“, “polymorphic” and more recently “metamorphic” viruses with signatures that are either disguised or changed from those that might be held in a signature directory. Despite these developments, the Internet at large does of course still function on a daily basis. Populated as it is by users who not only have up to date security software installed, but also by those who have educated themselves as to the type of risks discussed here.

By Jason Kohn, Contributing Columnist Like many of us, scientific researchers tend to be creatures of habit. This includes research teams working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. government agency charged with measuring the behavior of oceans, atmosphere, and weather. Many of these climate scientists work with massive amounts of data – for example, the National Weather Service collecting up-to-the-minute temperature, humidity, and barometric readings from thousands of sites across the United States to help forecast weather. Research teams then rely on some the largest, most powerful high-performance computing (HPC) systems in the world to run models, forecasts, and other research computations. Given the reliance on HPC resources, NOAA climate researchers have traditionally worked onsite at major supercomputing facilities, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, where access to supercomputers are just steps away. As researchers crate ever more sophisticated models of ocean and atmospheric behavior, however, the HPC requirements have become truly staggering. Now, NOAA is using a super-high-speed network called “n-wave” to connect research sites across the United States with the computing resources they need. The network has been operating for several years, and today transports enough data to fill a 10-Gbps network to full capacity, all day, every day. NOAA is now upgrading this network to allow even more data traffic, with the goal of ultimately supporting 100-Gbps data rates. “Our scientists were really used to having a computer in their basement,” says Jerry Janssen, manager, n-wave Network, NOAA, in a video about the project. “When that computer moved a couple thousand miles away, we had to give them a lot of assurances that, one, the data would actually move at the speed they needed it to move, but also that they could rely on it to be there. The amount of data that will be generated under this model will exceed 80-100 Terabits per day.” The n-wave project means much more than just a massive new data pipe. It represents a fundamental shift in the way that scientists can conduct their research, allowing them to perform hugely demanding supercomputer runs of their data from dozens of remote locations. As a result, it gives NOAA climate scientists much more flexibility in where and how they work. “For the first time, NOAA scientists and engineers in completely separate parts of the country, all the way to places like Alaska and Hawaii and Puerto Rico, will have the bandwidth they need, without restriction,” says Janssen. “NOAA will now be able to do things it never thought it could do before.” In addition to providing fast, stable access to HPC resources, n-wave is also allowing NOAA climate scientists to share resources much more easily with scientists in the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies. Ideally, this level of collaboration and access to supercomputing resources will help climate scientists continue to develop more effective climate models, improve weather forecasts, and allow us to better understand our climate. Powering Vital Climate Research The high-speed nationwide HPC connectivity capability provided by n-wave is now enabling a broad range of NOAA basic science and research activities. Examples include: - Basic data dissemination, allowing research teams to collect up-to-the-minute data on ocean, atmosphere, and weather from across the country, and make that data available to other research teams and agencies nationwide. - Ensemble forecasting, where researchers run multiple HPC simulations using different initial conditions and modeling techniques, in order to refine their atmospheric forecasts and minimize errors. - Severe weather modeling, where scientists draw on HPC simulations, real-time atmospheric data, and archived storm data to better understand and predict the behavior of storms. - Advancing understanding of the environment to be able to better predict short-term and long-term environmental changes, mitigate threats, and provide the most accurate data to inform policy decisions. All of this work is important, and will help advance our understanding of Earth’s climate. And it is all a testament to the amazing networking technologies and infrastructure that scientists now have at their disposal, which puts the most powerful supercomputing resources in the world at their fingertips – even when they are thousands of miles away.

The bacterium Micavibrio aeruginosavorus (yellow), leeching on a Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium (purple). What’s the news: If bacteria had blood, the predatory microbe Micavibrio aeruginosavorus would essentially be a vampire: it subsists by hunting down other bugs, attaching to them, and sucking their life out. For the first time, researchers have sequenced the genome of this strange microorganism, which was first identified decades ago in sewage water. The sequence will help better understand the unique bacterium, which has potential to be used as a “living antibiotic” due to its ability to attack drug-resistant biofilms and its apparent fondness for dining on pathogens. Anatomy of a Vampire: - The bacterium has an interesting multi-stage life history. During its migratory phase it sprouts a single flagellum and goes hunting for prey. Once it find a delectable morsel of bacterium, it attacks and irreversibly attaches to the surface, and sucks out all of the good stuff: carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins, DNA, etc. - Sated, the cell divides in two via binary fission, and the now-depleted host is left for dead. Hungry for Pathogens: - M. aeruginosavorus cannot be grown by itself; it must be cultured along with another bacteria to feed upon. A 2006 study found that it only grew upon three bacterial species, all of which can cause pneumonia-like disease in humans. A more recent study showed that it can prey upon a wider variety of microbes, most of them potentially pathogenic, like E. coli. - These studies also found that M. aeruginosavorus has a knack for disrupting biofilms, the dense collection of bacteria that cause harmful plaques on teeth and medical implants alike, and can be up to 1,000 more resistant to antibiotics than free-swimming bugs. - The bacteria can also swim through viscous fluids like mucous and kills Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the bacterium that can colonize lungs of cystic fibrosis patients and form a glue-like film. - These qualities have caught the eye of researchers who think it could be used as a living antibiotic to treat biofilms and various types of drug-resistant bacteria, which are a growing problem in medicine. Sequencing the organism’s genome is an important step in understanding its biochemistry and how it preys on other microbes. Clues From the Vampire Code: - The new study found that each phase of life involves the use (or expression) of different sets of genes. The migratory/hunting phase involves many segments that code for flagellum formation and genes involved in quorum sensing. The attachment phase involves a wide variety of secreted chemicals and enzymes that facilitate the flow of materials from the host. - Micavibrio aeruginosavorus possesses no genes for amino acid transporters, a rather rare trait only seen in a few other bacterial species that depend heavily upon their host to help them shuttle these vital protein building-blocks. This absence helps explain the bacterium’s dependence on a narrow range of prey, from which it directly steals amino acids. Although it remains unclear exactly how the microbe attaches to and infiltrates other cells. The Future Holds: - The range of microbes upon which Micavibrio aeruginosavorus can survive is expanding; after being kept in laboratory conditions for years it has apparently evolved a more diverse diet. If this expansion continues, that could be a real problem for its use as an antibiotic; it could begin to eat beneficial gut bacteria, for example. - Researchers claim it is harmless to friendly gut microbes, but it hasn’t been tested on all the varieties of bacteria present in humans. - Several important steps must be taken before testing in people, like learning more about what traits makes another bacteria tasty to Micavibrio aeruginosavorus. Researchers speculate the bacterium may need to be genetically altered in order to go after specific pathogens, or to reduce the risk of it causing unforeseen complications. Reference: Zhang Wang, Daniel E Kadouri, Martin Wu. Genomic insights into an obligate epibiotic bacterial predator: Micavibrio aeruginosavorus ARL-13. BMC Genomics, 2011; 12 (1): 453 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-12-453 Image credit: University of Virginia

Correctly identifying what is causing a problem is the most important step in pest control. We do our best here to help you do that. Sometimes we can identify the cause accurately enough from your phone or e-mail description of what is happening and what you see. Sometimes we can do this from photographs you submit, either electronically or printed on paper. But sometimes word descriptions and photographs aren't quite good enough, and we ask you to submit a specimen of an arthropod you have found, or the damage it has caused. The information we give you is only as good as the information you give to us. I can't identify specimens that look like the one in the photograph above. Here are some hints that will help all of us: 1. Make sure any photographs are CLEAR and take several, from very close up to farther away. Make sure you have sufficient light, or that you compensate with your camera to make sure we can clearly see what you are trying to show us. Learn how to use the close up mode on your digital camera. 2. You have 20,000 of something flying around? Please give us at least - oh maybe - six of them. If it's something unusual, we need at least one full, intact set of key characteristics. If there are big individuals and little ones, try to submit a few of each size. Maybe they're different, maybe they're not, but we won't know for sure unless we see them. 3. Label your material. Where and when was it found? What does it seem to be doing? 4. You had 20,000 last week, but you can't find even one now? Maybe you don't have the problem anymore. Keep an eye on the situation and try not to worry. 5. That doesn't go for termites. If you think you had a termite swarm, worry! Keep a close eye on it, try to find a least one, even if it's only a wing, and submit it for identification. 6. You can kill most small pests by putting them in the freezer or by dropping them into alcohol. Any sort of alcohol will do. The alcohol not only kills them, it also preserves them. Never submit arthropod specimens in water (unless they are living aquatic animals). Moths and butterflies are easier to identify if they are not preserved in alcohol, so just freeze them and bring them in dry. We can also take live specimens. 7. Some insects and mites are most easily submitted on or in a piece of the plant they are living on. It's best if the sample is as fresh as possible. Don't bake it in a hot car. 8. A few creatures can't be identified from the sample you submit. Ants are most easily identified from the workers (the ones without the wings). Some spiders can only be identified to species if you have adults of both sexes. Small larvae, nymphs and eggs can be extremely difficult to identify. That's just the way it is. 9. Entomologists specialize. Sometimes we have to send things off. If they only have to go to the university, turn-around time can be quick. If they have to go further, it may be a long time before you hear back. This doesn't happen that often, though.

died Aug. 28, 1818, St. Charles, Mo., U.S. black pioneer trader and founder of the settlement that later became the city of Chicago. Du Sable, whose French father had moved to Haiti and married a black woman there, is believed to have been a freeborn. At some time in the 1770s he went to the Great Lakes area of North America, settling on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Chicago River, with his Potawatomi wife, Kittihawa (Catherine). His loyalty to the French and the Americans led to his arrest in 1779 by the British, who took him to Fort Mackinac. From 1780 to 1783 or 1784 he managed for his captors a trading post called the Pinery on the St. Clair River in present-day Michigan, after which he returned to the site of Chicago. By 1790 Du Sable's establishment there had become an important link in the region's fur and grain trade. In 1800 he sold out and moved to Missouri, where he continued as a farmer and trader until his death. But his 20-year residence on the shores of Lake Michigan had established his title as Father of Chicago.

Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative A national working group has begun the Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative (CCCII) to develop and disseminate resources and guidelines to assist Catholic elementary and secondary schools in integrating elements of Catholic identity (Catholic values, Scripture, Church social teachings, encyclicals, etc.) into curriculum and instruction based on the Common Core State Standards. The initial phase of CCCII focuses on K-8 English/Language Arts/ Literacy. Resources for other subjects and for 9-12 curriculum will be developed in later phases. Forty-six states have agreed to adopt the Common Core State Standards, a set of high quality K-12 learning standards that includes rigorous content and application of knowledge using higher-order thinking skills, leading students to college and career readiness. Currently, Catholic schools are assessing what the implications of the standards and accompanying assessments may be for them. While Catholic schools have their own local or diocesan standards, their ability to continue to provide high-quality education for their students is compelling them to consider adoption of the common core standards. Catholic schools will be impacted as curriculum resources and professional development opportunities become aligned with Common Core State Standards by producers of instructional materials, college teacher preparation programs, or regulations for participation in the federal programs that currently benefit their students and teachers. Within this environment, maintaining the uniqueness and integrity of the Catholic school will require integrating the demands of their mission and the academic expectations of their constituents and the wider education community. To assist Catholic schools with enhancing Catholic identity integrated into the curriculum, the Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative (CCCII) has been launched as a collaborative project involving Catholic universities, corporations and sponsors invested in Catholic education, and the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). The Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative has two goals: - to empower Catholic schools and dioceses to design and direct the implementation of the Common Core standards within the culture and context of a Catholic school curriculum - to infuse the Common Core standards with the faith/principles/values/social justice themes inherent in the mission and Catholic identity of the school. The CCCII project aims to accomplish its goals by creating a process and a product: Phase 1: Gather approximately 35 practitioners and curriculum and catechetics experts to pilot a CCCII ELA Unit development process to be shared with the larger Catholic educational community. (June 2012) Phase 2: Revise and refine the unit development process so that it can be replicated in dioceses around the country. Phase 3: Invite participation in development of additional CCCII ELA Units by Catholic educators around the country. Phase 1: Utilize the expertise and strength of experienced and innovative teachers to develop complete units/exemplars that join Catholic identify with the Common Core curriculum standards. Utilize the expertise of CCCII leaders to develop supporting resources and guidelines. (June 2012) Phase 2: Post exemplar units, guidelines, and resources developed in for the June 2012 launch for open access by Catholic educators on the Catholic School Standards Project Website www.catholicschoolsstandards.org) . (July 2012) Phase 3: Expand exemplar units and Catholic Identity resources available for use by local Catholic schools. Tailor the CCCII Unit development process for Catholic secondary schools. Expand CCCII to include additional subject areas. Meet the CCCII Leadership and Planning Teams

Instructors: Andrea Dykstra, Curt Van Dam, Kelli Ten Haken and Tami De Jong 1. Students will gain interest in the Unit on Alaska. 2. Students will be introduced to Alaska and the Iditarod race that takes place in Alaska every year. 3. Students will be able to appreciate the beauty of Godís creation in Alaska. 4. Students will be able to see Godís majesty and power in their personal experiences. In this lesson, the students will discuss what they know about Alaska. They will watch a movie and then discuss how God shows His power and majesty through creation. Next, they will be introduced to the Iditarod race by reading a story and then the teachers will explain the game the students will play about the Iditarod through the unit. At the end of class, students will have a chance to start work on their maps of Alaska and then the teachers will end in closing prayer. - Psalm 19:1- The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. - Other Scripture references that can be used through out the unit: The Creation story in Gen. 1 and 2 Alaska: Spirit of the Wild 2. DVD player 5. Learning center and trade books 6. Example of the Iditarod Game 7. Book: Iditarod Dream by Ted Wood 8. Overhead projector, overhead and pen 9. Construction paper 10. Markers, crayons, colored pencils 1. On the first day of this unit, teachers should enter the room dressed in parkas, snowshoes, scarves, mittens; anything that looks like what people in Alaska would wear. Motion for the student to sit down. Once they are quiet, ask them where they think the teachers are from and how they came to this conclusion. We would expect conclusions such as the Artic, Antarctica, and possibly Alaska. 2. Have students take out a sheet of paper and write five things down that come to their minds when they think of Alaska. Have them get into groups of three and share what they wrote with their group. The students will be encouraged to share the combined ideas from their group with the whole class. The teacher will write down these ideas on the overhead. 3. Explain to the students that they are going to be learning about all of these of these things and even more about Alaska in the upcoming unit. 4. Have each student write down one or two things about Alaska they would like to know more about. Suggest ideas such as: What sports do they play in Alaska? How many people live there? Is it really cold and snowy year round? Take these ideas into consideration when planning the rest of the unit. 1. Put in the DVD Alaska: Sprit of the Wild. Students will watch the movie. It is forty minutes long. Before they watch it, share with them the beauty that can be found in Alaska. Tell them to look specifically for how they can see God in the things that are shown on the film. 2. After the movie, discuss with the students what they thought of the movie. Ask them questions such as what surprised you about this film? What did you learn about Alaska that you didnít know before? What can we discover about God by watching this movie? How can we get to know God better by studying Alaska? 3. Read Psalm 19:1 aloud. Read it again, this time have the students say it after you. Ask them how this verse relates to Alaska. Hopefully they will make the connection that creation shouts Godís praise. Alaska is so beautiful; this reflects on Godís majesty, creativity and mercy. God loves us enough to give us beautiful creation simply so we can enjoy it. We can see his fingerprints in Alaska. 4. Read Psalm 8 aloud. Again, ask them how this verse relates to Alaska. They will probably have similar responses as above in step three. Share a personal experience of how he/ she has seen Godís power and majesty in His creation. - For example, this is my own experience; you could share something similar to it: One time I climbed the highpoint of Colorado with my dad. We started hiking before the sun was up. As we were walking along the ridge of the mountain, the sun began to rise; the colors were brilliant! We kept on hiking and hiking. I was getting tired and hungry but soon we came close to the top. As I climbed up the last little peak and the top of the mountain, I looked out and the view was breathtaking!!! I had never seen so many snow capped mountains before. Sitting up there on the mountaintop, I felt such a joy and peace. What a great God I serve! He created all of this; His creation alone is enough to tell of His majesty. 5. Ask the students if any of them have had an experience like this; encourage them to share if they would like. 6. Encourage them to find other verses that could relate to our study of Alaska and bring them to class tomorrow to share. 1. Introduce the Iditarod race the studentís will be learning about by reading the book Iditarod Dream by Ted Wood. As you are reading, stop periodically through out the book and ask them to jot down a few of their thoughts. At the end of the book ask them to share a few thoughts they wrote down about the book. 2. Introduce the game the students will be playing throughout the unit. Tell the students they will be having their own Iditarod race in the classroom. Each student will make a map of Alaska on construction paper. On this map, they will draw the trail of the Iditarod race. They will have to map out the different checkpoints of the race on their trails. It is their job to find out how many miles are between each checkpoint and how many miles they can travel in one day. 3. Each day the students will move their markers on their maps how ever many miles we decide as a class they can travel in one day. Every morning the students will receive a ďracerís fateĒ card. These cards will say various things such as, ďyour dog has broken a leg, move back twenty milesĒ, or ď you have found an extra bundle of food on the trail, move ahead twelve milesĒ. The students will have to keep track of where they are on the trail on their own maps and on a large map on the classroom bulletin board. 4. Each afternoon, students will have an opportunity to receive another card if they got their homework done on time that day. This card could be good or bad, but the students get to decide if they want to take it. 5. This activity will be incorporated into language arts. The students will be keeping a race journal. As they play this game they can write their feelings about the race in the journal as if they were an actual racer. 6. This game will also be incorporated into math. Students will need to do calculations to play the game correctly. They will also discover how to find median, mean and using the game. 1. The students will begin making their maps of Alaska for the Iditarod game. The outline of the map of Alaska will be projected on the overhead so the students have something to follow when they draw. Copies of the outline of this map will be available for students to trace if they do not want to draw the map freehand. 2. The students can use crayons or colored pencils to make their maps on. 3. The trail outline and check points will be labeled on the overhead map, but the students will need to research how many miles are in between each check point in a later class 1. Read Psalm 8 one more time and end in prayer, thanking God for His creativity that is evident in all of creation, especially as it has been seen in Alaska today. 1. Students can do more research about the real Iditarod race on the Internet. 2. Students can read one of the many books about Alaska set up in the learning center. 3. Students can complete any activity set up in the learning center, including: math story problems, language arts writing activities, and social studies and science 1. Observe how much students participate in the lesson. Have one teacher walk around with a checklist and put checks by the names of the students who are on task and participating by sharing, asking questions, diligently listening. 2. Observe how diligently students work on their maps. Check the next day to see if they have completed them. Give them a check if they are finished and are done Lesson Plans Unit Outline Home Page Trade Books Learning Center

Tornadoes are the most intense storms on the planet, and they’re never discussed without at least some mention of the term wind shear. Many of us sitting at home, though, have no idea what wind shear is, or if we do, how it affects tornado production. What is Wind Shear Wind shear, although it might sound complex, is a simple concept. Wind shear is merely the change in wind with height, in terms of wind direction and speed. I think that we all understand that the wind is generally stronger in the atmosphere over our heads than it is here on the ground, and if we think of the atmosphere in terms of the three dimensions that it has, it should not be surprising that the wind above us might also be blowing from a different direction than the wind at the ground. When that happens–the wind speed and direction vary with height–wind shear is occurring. Wind Shear and Supercell Thunderstorms This wind shear is an important part of the process in the development of a supercell thunderstorm, from which the vast majority of strong tornadoes form. All thunderstorms are produced by a powerful updraft–a surge of air that rises from the ground into the upper levels of the atmosphere, and when this updraft forms in an area where wind shear is present, the updraft is influence by this speed and different direction of the wind above, pushing the column of air in the updraft into a more vertical alignment. Rain’s Influence on Tornado Production Needless to say, thunderstorms typically produce very heavy rain, and rain-cooled air is much heavier than the warm air of the updraft, so the rain-cooled air, produces a compensating downdraft (what comes up, must come down). This downdraft pushes the part of the rotating air that was forced in its direction by the stronger wind aloft downward, and the result is a horizontal column of rotating air. That’s Not a Tornado! I know what you’re thinking that you’ve seen enough TLC or Discovery Channel shows to know that a horizontal column of air is NOT a tornado; you need a vertical column of air. This Can Be a Tornado You’re right, but remember the updraft that is driving the thunderstorm is still working, and it’s able to pull the horizontal, spinning column of air into the thunderstorm, resulting in a vertical column of spinning air. (NOAA image showing vertical column of air in a supercell thunderstorm) The result is a rotating thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado, and it would not be possible without wind shear. (NOAA image showing tornado formation in supercell thunderstorm)

Reversal of fortune To unlock the vast, untapped potential of the world’s drylands, we must learn from the people who live in them, says Dr Jonathan Davies. Drylands are a major global biome, home to a great diversity of species and some of our most treasured natural heritage. They are also home to over 2 billion people and in the developing world in particular they are associated with poverty and social inequity. Global development and environment goals are not being met in the drylands: by 2015 many dryland regions are set to fail to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, whilst progress towards the goals and objectives of the UN environmental conventions (the Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biological Diversity in particular) is generally poor. Recent experiences in the drylands of emerging countries, such as China and India, illustrate that economic development in drylands can outpace that in areas that are usually considered “high potential”. Although development is often associated with degradation, experiences in Sub Saharan Africa illustrate that economic development can be greatly enhanced through protection of biodiversity as a source of income. By taking an even broader, global view of drylands and examining industrialised dryland countries, it becomes clear that for every seemingly-insurmountable challenge we are able to find evidence of a viable solution somewhere in the world. To address the challenges of the drylands, we need to understand their unique features and how these have to be managed. Perhaps the most important of these is climate unpredictability: the amount of precipitation varies enormously between areas, between seasons and between years. The sheer magnitude of this uncertainty is hard to grasp, but in many drylands the normal range of rainfall, drought-years aside, can be plus or minus 50% of the average. Yet development in many water-deficit areas continues to favour agricultural practices that expose farmers to huge risks whilst simultaneously degrading the natural resource base on which they depend. Climate change is a cause for concern in dryland areas, but also an opportunity for new approaches and new learning that illustrate the value of dryland areas. Dryland ecosystems and people are highly adaptable and can survive in their uncertain climate.. Whether drylands become wetter or drier as a result of climate change, they will almost invariably become more unpredictable and their adaptive capacity will be vital to their future. Drylands more than any other ecosystem have the capacity to deal with that unpredictability and we have a great deal to learn from them. Contrary to popular perception, drylands are not necessarily poverty traps. Dryland ecosystems and their goods and services already contribute significantly to national and international economies. The vibrant tourism sector in Eastern and Southern Africa relies heavily on the biodiversity of drylands. Globally-important dryland commodities include grain, meat and milk and dryland goods like Gum Arabic, Henna, Aloe, and Frankincense. Recent years have seen the commercial development of natural medicines from drylands, and untold numbers of medicinal plants remain un-researched, known only to the dryland inhabitants who have used and conserved them for centuries. Local knowledge of the drylands is rich and is a powerful resource to be harnessed. There has been a tendency to dismiss this knowledge, because local dryland practices have been portrayed as backward or inappropriate and in need of replacing. The current emergency in the Horn of Africa graphically illustrates the outcome of this attitude: populations are exposed to insupportable risk as a result of losing their traditional strategies and being pushed into new ways of life that simply don’t work. Where people are driven towards catastrophe it is almost guaranteed that the environment will face similar consequences. Customs and cultures that are intimately connected to biodiversity become contorted into a system of pure survival where respect for the environment becomes an unaffordable luxury. The scientific explanation of the rationale behind traditional strategies has been known for long enough to develop innovative new approaches to sustainable drylands management. Development support has to enable management of the extreme climatic uncertainty of drylands and needs to be built on understanding of the drivers of continuous change in dryland ecosystems. These are dynamic ecosystems in which adaptation and flexibility are pre-requisites for survival. We need to learn from past failures and successes and ensure that development and humanitarian interventions recognize dryland characteristics and build on local knowledge and capacity to turn the existing opportunities into equitable and sustainable wealth creation. In particular we need to generate greater awareness of the tremendous opportunities for strengthening biodiversity-based livelihoods to diversify dryland economies and strengthen resilience. IUCN’s vision 2020 emphasizes the need to strengthen the Union’s work on conserving the diversity of life while also connecting nature conservation to wider societal objectives such as security and poverty reduction. This vision cannot be reached if we fail to understand and address the unique challenges of the drylands. IUCN, with its great diversity of members and commission members, has a vital role to play in securing effective global action to address dryland issues and in enabling dryland communities to develop their nature-based solutions to risk management and sustainable development. Dr Jonathan Davies is Coordinator of IUCN’s Global Drylands Initiative.

Is this bone a Neanderthal flute? Cave Bear femur fragment from Slovenia, 43+kya DOUBTS AIRED OVER NEANDERTHAL BONE 'FLUTE' (AND REPLY BY MUSICOLOGIST BOB FINK) Science News 153 (April 4, 1998): 215. By B. Bower Amid much media fanfare, a research team in 1996 trumpeted an ancient, hollowed out bear bone pierced on one side with four complete or partial holes as the earliest known musical instrument. The perforated bone, found in an Eastern European cave, represents a flute made and played by Neandertals at least 43,000 ye us ago, the scientists contended. Now it's time to stop the music, say two archaeologists who examined the purported flute last spring. On closer inspection, the bone appears to have been punctured and gnawed by the teeth of an animal -- perhaps a wolf -- as it stripped the limb of meat and marrow report, April Nowell and Philip G. Chase, both of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "The bone was heavily chewed by one or more carnivores, creating holes that became more rounded due to natural processes after burial," Nowell says. "It provides very weak evidence for the origins of [Stone Age] music." Nowell presented the new analysis at the annual meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society in Seattle last week. Nowell and Chase examined the bone with the permission of its discoverer, Ivan Turk of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences in Ljubljana (S.N.: 11/23/96, p. 328). Turk knows of their conclusion but still views the specimen as a flute. Both open ends of the thighbone contain clear signs of gnawing by carnivores, Nowell asserts. Wolves and other animals typically bite off nutrient-rich tissue at the ends of limb bones and extract available marrow. If Neandertals had hollowed out the bone and fashioned holes in it, animals would not have bothered to gnaw it, she says. Complete and partial holes on the bone's shaft were also made by carnivores, says Nowell. Carnivores typically break open bones with their scissor like cheek teeth. Uneven bone thickness and signs of wear along the borders of the holes, products of extended burial in the soil, indicate that openings made by cheek teeth were at first less rounded and slightly smaller, the researchers hold. Moreover, the simultaneous pressure of an upper and lower tooth produced a set of opposing holes, one partial and one complete, they maintain. Prehistoric, carnivore-chewed bear bones in two Spanish caves display circular punctures aligned in much the same way as those on the Slovenian find. In the March Antiquity, Francesco d'Errico of the Institute of Quaternary Prehistory and Geology in Talence, France, and his colleagues describe the Spanish bones. In a different twist, Bob Fink, an independent musicologist in Canada, has reported on the Internet (http://www.webster.sk.ca/greenwich/fl-compl.htm) that the spacing of the two complete and two partial holes on the back of the Slovenian bone conforms to musical notes on the diatonic (do, re, mi. . .) scale. The bone is too short to incorporate the diatonic scale's seven notes, counter Nowell and Chase. Working with Pennsylvania musicologist Robert Judd, they estimate that the find's 5.7-inch length is less than half that needed to cover the diatonic spectrum. The recent meeting presentation is "a most convincing analysis," comments J. Desmond Clark of the University of California, Berkeley, although it's possible that Neandertals blew single notes through carnivore-chewed holes in the bone. "We can't exclude that possibility," Nowell responds. "But it's a big leap of faith to conclude that this was an intentionally constructed flute." TO THE EDITOR, SCIENCE NEWS (REPLY BY BOB FINK, May 1998) (See an update of this discussion on Bob Fink's web site, November 2000) The doubts raised by Nowell and Chase (April 4th, DOUBTS AIRED OVER NEANDERTHAL BONE 'FLUTE') saying the Neanderthal Bone is not a flute have these weaknesses: The alignment of the holes -- all in a row, and all of equivalent diameter, appear to be contrary to most teeth marks, unless some holes were made independently by several animals. The latter case boggles the odds for the holes ending up being in line. It also would be strange that animals homed in on this one bone in a cave full of bones, where no reports of similarly chewed bones have been made. This claim is harder to believe when it is calculated that chances for holes to be arranged, by chance, in a pattern that matches the spacings of 4 notes of a diatonic flute, are only one in hundreds to occur . The analysis I made on the Internet (http://www.webster.sk.ca/greenwich/fl-compl.htm) regarding the bone being capable of matching 4 notes of the do, re, mi (diatonic) scale included the possibility that the bone was extended with another bone "mouthpiece" sufficiently long to make the notes sound fairly in tune. While Nowell says "it's a big leap of faith to conclude that this was an intentionally constructed flute," it's a bigger leap of faith to accept the immense coincidence that animals blindly created a hole-spacing pattern with holes all in line (in what clearly looks like so many other known bone flutes which are made to play notes in a step-wise scale) and blindly create a pattern that also could play a known acoustic scale if the bone was extended. That's too much coincidence for me to accept. It is more likely that it is an intentionally made flute, although admittedly with only the barest of clues regarding its original condition. The 5.7 inch figure your article quoted appears erroneous, as the centimeter scale provided by its discoverer, Ivan Turk, indicates the artifact is about 4.3 inches long. However, the unbroken femur would originally have been about 8.5 inches, and the possibility of an additional hole or two exists, to complete a full scale, perhaps aided by the possible thumbhole. However, the full diatonic spectrum is not required as indicated by Nowell and Chase: It could also have been a simpler (but still diatonic) 4 or 5 note scale. Such short-scale flutes are plentiful in homo sapiens history. Finally, a worn-out or broken flute bone can serve as a scoop for manipulation of food, explaining why animals might chew on its ends later. It is also well-known that dogs chase and maul even sticks, despite their non-nutritional nature. What appears "weak" is not the case for a flute, but the case against it by Nowell and Chase. Letter to the Editor: Antiquity Journal: "A Bone to Pick" By Bob Fink I have a bone to pick with Francesco d'Errico's viewpoint in the March issue of Antiquity (article too long to reproduce here) regarding the Neanderthal flute found in Slovenia by Ivan Turk. D'Errico argues the bone artifact is not a flute. D'Errico omits dealing with the best evidence that this bone find is a flute. Regarding the most important evidence, that of the holes being lined up, neither d'Errico nor Turk make mention of this. This line-up is remarkable especially if they were made by more than one carnivore, which apparently they'd have to be, based on Turk's analysis of the center-spans of the holes precluding their being made by a single carnivore or bite (Turk,* pp.171-175). To account for this possible difficulty, some doubters do mention "one or more" carnivores (Chase & Nowell, Science News 4/4/98). My arguments over the past year pointed out the mathematical odds of the lining up of the holes occurring by chance-chewing are too difficult to believe. The Appendix in my essay ("Neanderthal Flute --A Musicological Analysis") proves that the number of ways a set of 4 random holes could be differently spaced (to produce an audibly different set of tones) are 680 ways. The chances a random set would match the existing fragment's spacing [which also could produce a match to four diatonic notes of the scale] are therefore only one in hundreds. If, in calculating the odds, you also allowed the holes to be out of line, or to be less than 4 holes as well, then the chance of a line-up match is only one from many tens of thousands. And yet randomness and animal bites still are acceptable to account for holes being in line that could also play some notes of the scale? This is too much coincidence for me to believe occurred by chance. D'Errico mentions my essay in his article and what he thought it was about, but he overstates my case into being a less believable one. My case simply was that if the bone was long enough (or a shorter bone extended by a mouthpiece insert) then the 4 holes would be consistent and in tune with the sounds of Do, Re, Mi, Fa (or flat Mi, Fa, Sol, and flat La in a minor scale). In the 5 points I list below, extracted from Turk's monograph in support of this being a flute, d'Errico omits dealing with much of the first, and all of the second, fourth and sixth points. Turk & Co's monograph shows the presence on site of boring tools, and includes experiments made by Turk's colleague Guiliano Bastiani who successfully produced similar holes in fresh bone using tools of the type found at the site (pp. 176-78 Turk). They also wrote (pp. 171-75) that: 1. The center-to-center distances of the holes in the artifact are smaller than that of the tooth spans of most carnivores. The smallest tooth spans they found were 45mm, and the holes on the bone are 35mm (or less) apart; 2. Holes bitten are usually at the ends of bones rather than in the center of them; 3. There is an absence of dents, scratches and other signs of gnawing and counter-bites on the artifact; 4. The center-to-center distances do not correspond to the spans of carnivores which could pierce the bone; 5. The diameters of the holes are greater than that producible by a wolf exerting the greatest jaw pressure it had available -- it's doubtful that a wolf's jaws would be strong enough (like a hyena's) to have made the holes, especially in the thickest part of the wall of the artifact. 6. If you accept one or more carnivores, then why did they over-target one bone, when there were so many other bones in the cave site? Only about 4.5% of the juvenile bones were chewed or had holes, according to Turk (p. 117). * Turk, Ivan (ed.) (1997). Mousterian Bone Flute. Znanstvenoraziskovalni Center Sazu, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Maintained by Francis F. Steen, Communication Studies, University of California Los Angeles

My passion is studying early man, specifically how we became who we are. Is our violence an aberration or part and parcel of survival? No other mammal kills their own, but maybe–as the alpha on the planet–our greatest threat to our survival is our own species, so we’re forced to destroy each other. What was lacking in H. Habilis that led to their extinction, to be replaced by the big-brained, scrawny Homo erectus? Habilis was preyed upon by species with bigger claws, sharper teeth and thicker skin. Habilis (and my friend Lyta) scavenged their left-overs, in between hiding from the imposing mammals that dominated the Plio-Pleistocene African savanna. But, eventually hiding wasn’t enough and H. erectus took over (we don’t know if they fought with each other or if habilis left ‘with a whimper’). H. erectus, with his longer lower limbs for running and walking efficiency, his bigger brain especially in the areas for planning and forethought (and speech depending upon whose research you’re reading) was tall, thin, and barrel-chested, hardly daunting in a world of sabertooth cats, mammoth and giant sloths. Yet , it is he who spread from Africa to China, India, the Middle East, Java. It is he–not predator cats or alligators–who developed a highly adaptable culture allowing him to survive a wide range of climates and habitats. That is the first of their firsts. Want more? - first appearance of systematic hunting. - first use of fire (though arguably no control of it) - first indication of extended childhood (thanks to the helplessness of their infants) - first indication of the ability to lead a more complex life (their Acheulian tools were sophisticated, their hunting was planned) - first to wear clothing (how else to survive Georgia and China) - first to create complex tools and weapons Their faces were short but wide and the nose projected forward, hinting at the typical human external nose. They had a pronounced brow ridge. Their cranium was long and low and somewhat flattened at the front and back. The cranial bone was thicker than earlier hominids. Remnants show damage from being hit in the head by something like clubs or heavy rocks. Their arms and legs were also robust, with thicker bones and clear evidence of being heavily muscled. The suspicion is they were a more violent species than habilis. Is that why habilis disappeared? The tougher group survived and bred offspring with their thicker, more protective skulls. You probably remember my friend Lyta is a Homo habilis (see her page). I’ve lived her life through Otto‘s ability to ‘see’ into the past. Where other primates rest when they have enough to eat, she thinks and shares information with her band. Where most mammals sleep when they aren’t hunting, playing or resting, Lyta worked–knapped tools, collected food for a cache, planned. I have come to believe that her survival depended not so much on her physique (which was sorely lacking in that physical time) as what was inside of her: her courage, ability to plan ahead, strength of her convictions, what we call ‘morals’. These are very human traits that can’t be preserved in bones and teeth. I wouldn’t know they existed if not for Otto. I’ve posted an excerpt from that research on Scribd.com (Born in a Treacherous Time). My next project is to determine how man migrated throughout the world. Where did he get the courage? Was he forced out because he couldn’t defend his territory? Or was it wanderlust? Was he a seeker, wanting more for his life? Did he get bored and need to challenge his constantly-growing brain?

Xantusiidae is a clade of viviparous (live bearing) lizards that ranges from southwestern North America and Baja California (Xantusia) into Central America (Lepidophyma) and Cuba (Cricosaura). Xantusia magdalena occurs in Baja California. Xantusiidae is a relatively small clade, with 3 genera and approximately 30 living species. Lepidophyma is the most speciose (~17 species), whereas Cricosaura is monotypic. Xantusiids have a reasonably good fossil record extending from the mid-Paleocene onward in western North America. Xantusiids are fascinating lizards for several reasons. First, although they are almost uniformly diminuitive (Xantusia magdalena measures less than 4 cm snout-vent length, and the largest xantusiid species measure about 10 cm snout-vent length), xantusiids generally take several years to reach sexual maturity, and several species give birth to just 1 or 2 offspring. It is a more usual reproductive strategy for small lizards to mature quickly and produce large numbers of offspring, to increase their chances of survival. Despite this low reproductive potential, xantusiid neonates actually have a high life expectancy; this can be attributed at least in part to their secretive lifestyle, which leads to the second reason why xantusiids are particularly interesting -- microhabitat specialization. Microhabitat specialization is an ecological hallmark of Xantusiidae. Many populations are narrowly restricted to specific niches -- crevices (e.g., Xantusia henshawi in exfoliating granitic cap rocks), interstices in agaves and yuccas in dry climates (e.g., X. magdalena), decaying logs in wet climates (e.g., Lepidophyma flavimaculatum) -- and individuals may be found under the same patch of cover throughout their lives! These microhabitat restrictions result in extremely disjunct geographical distributions, and also may be responsible for some morphological convergence within the group (e.g., flattened skulls for crevice dwelling). Xantusiidae also includes two insular endemics: the Cuban Cricosaura typica is the only xantusiid found in the West Indies and is interpreted as one of the Caribbean's few ancient endemic vertebrate lineages; and Xantusia riversiana (formerly Klauberina riversiana) is limited to three of the Channel Islands off the coast of California. The phylogenetic relationships of Xantusiidae are problematic. Morphology and molecules produce different topologies within the clade: morphology recovers a Cricosaura + Lepidophyma clade, while mitochondrial genes recover a Lepidophyma + Xantusia clade. Lack of resolution of relationships within Xantusiidae has hindered the placement of this clade within the squamate tree. Xantusiidae is a "tree-changing" taxon: it causes homoplasy wherever it is placed, and its placement can tip the balance between the two primary competing hypotheses of scleroglossan relationships. Xantusiidae is traditionally placed within Scincomorpha, but some analyses have placed it near Gekkota. Thus, Xantusiidae is either a highly derived, or extremely basal, scleroglossan clade. Previous analyses of squamate phylogeny have almost certainly suffered in relying on species of the readily available -- but relatively derived -- genus Xantusia as exemplars for Xantusiidae. Cricosaura or a species of Lepidophyma would be more appropriate, but both are exceedingly rare in collections; indeed, some species of Lepidophyma are known from only 1 or 2 specimens. Whatever the placement of Xantusiidae within squamates, there is no doubt that xantusiids are monophyletic. The following are some of the hypothesized synapomorphies of the lineage (from Estes et al., 1988), most of which can be seen in the skull reconstructions above: supratemporal fenestra closed primarily by postorbital; parietals paired well into postembryonic ontogeny; parietal table extensive posteriorly, largely obscuring braincase in dorsal view, supratemporal process short; vomers fused; ectopterygoid contacts palatine anterolaterally, excluding maxilla from suborbital fenestra; ectopterygoid enlarged medially, restricting suborbital fenestra. About the Species This specimen was collected in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It was made available to the University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray CT Facility for scanning by Dr. Jessie Maisano of The University of Texas and Dr. Jacques Gauthier of Yale University. Funding for scanning was provided by an NSF grant (DEB-0132227) to Dr. Jack Sites of Brigham Young University. Funding for image processing was provided by a National Science Foundation Digital Libraries Initiative grant to Dr. Timothy Rowe of The University of Texas at Austin. About this Specimen The specimen was scanned by Matthew Colbert on 18 May 2005 along the coronal axis for a total of 615 1024x1024 pixel slices. Each slice is 0.0152 mm thick, with an interslice spacing of 0.0152 mm and a field of reconstruction of 7 mm. Bezy, R. L. 1982. Xantusia vigilis. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 302.1-302.4. Bezy, R. L. 1988. The natural history of the night lizards, family Xantusiidae, p. 1-12. In H. F. DeLisle et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on California Herpetology. Southwest Herpetological Society Special Publication 4. Bezy, R. L. 1989. Night lizards: the evolution of habitat specialists. Terra 28:29-34. Bezy, R. L., and J. L. Camarillo. 2002. Systematics of xantusiid lizards of the genus Lepidophyma. Los Angeles County Museum Contributions in Science 493:1-41. Crother, B. I., M. M. Miyamoto, and W. F. Presch. 1986. Phylogeny and biogeography of the lizard family Xantusiidae. Systematic Zoology 35:37-45. Estes, R. 1983. Sauria Terrestria, Amphisbaenia. Handbuch der Palaoherpetologie, Part 10A. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart. Estes, R., K. de Queiroz, and J. Gauthier. 1988. Phylogenetic relationships within Squamata, p. 119-281. In R. G. Estes and G. K. Pregill (eds.), Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families: Essays Commemorating Charles L. Camp. Stanford University Press, Stanford. Fellers, G. M., and C. A. Drost. 1991. Ecology of the island night lizard, Xantusia riversiana, on Santa Barbara Island, California. Herpetological Monographs 5:28-78. Hedges, S. B., R. L. Bezy, and L. B. Maxson. 1991. Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of xantusiid lizards, inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Biology and Evolution 8:767-780. Lee, M. S. Y. 1998. Convergent evolution and character correlation in burrowing reptiles: towards a resolution of squamte relationships. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 63:369-453. Macey, J. R., A. Larson, N. B. Ananjeva, and T. J. Papenfuss. 1997. Evolutionary shifts in three major structural features of the mitochondrial genome among iguanian lizards. Journal of Molecular Evolution 44:660-674. Savage, J. M. 1955. The lizard family Xantusiidae: an evolutionary study. Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University. Savage, J. M. 1963. Studies on the lizard family Xantusiidae. IV. The genera. Los Angeles County Museum Contributions in Science 71:3-38. Sinclair, E. A., Bezy, R. L., Bolles, K., Camarillo R., J. L., Crandall, K. A. and J. W. Sites Jr. 2004. Testing species boundaries in an ancient species complex with deep phylogeographic history: Genus Xantusia (Squamata: Xantusiidae). The American Naturalist 164:396-414. Van Denburgh, J. 1895. The species of the genus Xantusia . Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (Series 2) 5:523-534. Zweifel, R. G., and C. H. Lowe. 1966. The ecology of a population of Xantusia vigilis , the desert night lizard. American Museum Novitates 2247:1-57. Xantusiidae page on the EMBL Reptile Database Three-dimensional volumetric renderings of the skull with the scleral ossicles, hyoid and jaw removed, and of the isolated left mandible. All are 2mb or less.

Creator: Gust, Iris Description: The brochure promotes urban transportation policy to increase the use of renewable energy to 100%. Seen globally, transport is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet fossil fuels are becoming scarce, will become increasingly expensive and will eventually stop being viable as transport fuels. Before this happens, climate change will have begun to have a serious impact on human lives. The authors believe that it is crucial to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy as soon as possible, especially in the transport sector. Making urban transport independent of fossil fuel is a great challenge, but the authors cite growing evidence that it can be achieved. Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries

In some people, macular degeneration advances so slowly that it has little effect on their vision. But in others, the disease progresses faster and may lead to vision loss. Sometimes only one eye is affected, while the other eye remains free of problems for many years. People with dry macular degeneration in one eye often do not notice any changes in their vision. With one eye seeing clearly, they can still drive, read, and see fine details. Some people may notice changes in their vision only if macular degeneration affects both of their eyes. Both dry and wet macular degeneration cause no pain. Symptoms of macular degeneration include: Blurred vision —This is an early sign. An example of early findings is that you may need more light for reading and other tasks. Difficulty seeing details in front of you —You may have a difficult time seeing words in a book or faces. Blind spot —A small, growing blind spot will appear in the middle of your field of vision. This spot occurs because a group of cells in the macula have stopped working properly. Over time, the blurred spot may get bigger and darker, taking more of your central vision. Crooked lines —An early symptom of wet macular degeneration is straight lines that will appear crooked or wavy. This happens because the newly formed blood vessels leak fluid under the macula. The fluid raises the macula from its normal place at the back of the eye and distorts your vision. Lighting —Images appear more gray in color and colors are not as bright Contact your ophthalmologist immediately for an eye exam if you notice: - Visual distortions - Sudden decrease in central vision - A central blind spot - Any other visual problems - Reviewer: Christopher Cheyer, MD - Update Date: 09/01/2011 -

Although uncommon, an entirely different group of factors plays a role when an athlete suffers a stroke. Head and neck trauma are often factors in stroke during athletic competitions. Direct head trauma can result in leakage from blood vessels, depriving large regions of the brain of necessary nutrients. Violent forward and backward movement of the head can result in tearing the inner lining of vital arteries responsible for directing blood to the brain. This condition, known as arterial dissection, can form a clot within the affected blood vessel or become a source of small clots. These smaller clots often move toward the brain as emboli and block other arteries. Treatment for arterial dissection involves the use of blood thinning medications and avoiding violent collision sports. Another common risk factor for stroke in athletes is the existence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO). A PFO is a hole between the upper chambers of the heart, the right and left atria. The foramen ovale forms in the fourth week of embryonic development and should close in the first three months after birth. When it does not close, it is considered patent or open. This abnormal channel allows direct passage of blood clots to the brain. These clots often originate in the legs and may result from immobilized lower extremities. PFOs can be treated with equal success by surgical closure or blood thinning medications. Athletes appear to do better with surgical closure and usually make a full recovery to return to sports. While considered rare, strokes do occur in athletes and treatment requires a different approach.

A 2012 survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found 52.5 percent of dogs and 58.3 percent of cats to be overweight or obese by their veterinarian. This translates to nearly 80 million dogs and cats in America with a weight problem. Dr. George Banta, chair of the Veterinary Technology department at Brown Mackie College - Akron and Dr. Mary Jo Wagner, attending veterinarian at Argosy University, Twin Cities, offer useful information for pet owners. How can you tell if your pet is overweight? “It’s not the number of pounds, it’s how the animal carries the weight,” says Banta. “The number on the Body Condition Score is more important than pounds.” The Body Condition Score offers a way to assess the condition of an animal, usually on a scale from one to five, taking into account height, weight, and relative proportions of muscle and fat. With a little knowledge, you can use sight and touch to figure your pet’s general condition. “When looking down on a dog or cat from above,” says Banta, “the body should slim to a discernable waist. An animal is too thin if you can see the spine or ribs; however, you should be able to feel them beneath the fur.” An animal of ideal weight will also display a pelvic tuck when viewed from the side. “Just like humans, when animals overeat, they face increased risk for health problems like diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal problems and cancer,” continues Banta. In fact, these risks also include a shortened life expectancy. Many owners feed pets according to the manufacturer’s suggested amounts; however, this instruction may not be right for your pet. “These guidelines are meant to cover all animals of a certain weight range,” says Wagner. “An owner must consider the age and activity level of each pet. The more active they are, the more calories they will burn in a day.” Metabolism rates vary in animals the same way they do in people. Metabolism is the body process in which food is broken down for energy; another factor that affects the amount of food a pet needs. Wagner advises owners to keep an eye on body condition to judge whether a pet is eating properly. “If your pet shows signs of being overweight, simply cut back the amount of food given at each meal. Then weigh the pet in two or three weeks to see if it has made a difference,” she says. Choosing the right food for your pet is important as well. Different brands of pet food contain varying amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrates and calories. “As a general rule, young, active dogs need high protein food,” says Wagner. “Older dogs need higher fiber to keep the gastrointestinal (GI) tract moving.” Ingredients listed on the package appear in descending order of volume; the first item on the list is most abundant in the food. Most of us love to give treats, but many of us don’t realize how many we offer each day. “A 40-pound dog is one quarter the size of a 160-pound person,” Wagner says. “They have smaller stomachs. Look at calories in everything your pet eats. After that, it’s simple math.” “Table scraps are a definite no. Zip, zilch, nada,” says Banta. “They are not good for two reasons. First, foods like chocolate, caffeine, grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs. Second, the high fat content associated with table scraps, especially holiday trimmings, can lead to the onset of acute pancreatitis, which can be fatal.” He recommends offering a kibble of food or a carrot instead of a cookie. If you must give cookies, try breaking them in half. “Pets do enjoy treats as a reward; however, attention from you is also a reward. It’s important to praise animals. In some ways, spending time with them is better than a treat,” Wagner says.

On this day in 1951, more than six years after the end of World War II in Europe, President Harry S. Truman signed a proclamation officially ending U.S. hostilities with Germany. The official end to the war came nine years, 10 months and 13 days after Congress had declared war on Nazi Germany. The lawmakers had responded to a declaration of war issued by the Third Reich in the aftermath of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other U.S. bases in the Pacific. The president explained why he had waited so long after the fighting had ended to act: It had always been America’s hope, Truman wrote, to create a treaty of peace with the government of a united and free Germany, but the postwar policies pursued by the Soviet Union “made it impossible.” After the war, the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union divided Germany into four zones of occupation. Berlin, while located wholly within the Soviet zone, was jointly occupied by the wartime allies and also subdivided into four sectors because of its symbolic importance as the nation’s historic capital and seat of the former Nazi government. The three western zones were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949, and the Soviets followed suit in October 1949 with the establishment of the German Democratic Republic. The East German regime began to falter in May 1989, when the removal of Hungary’s border fences punched a hole in the Iron Curtain, allowing tens of thousands of East Germans to flee to the West. Despite the grants of general sovereignty to both German states in 1955, neither of the two German governments held unrestricted sovereignty under international law until after they were reunified in October 1990.

Fewer rare sea turtles will die on the swordfish industry's longlines in Hawaii under an agreement between environmental groups and the government. The agreement settles a lawsuit challenging the federal government's plans that would have dramatically increase the number of turtles that could be killed. The Turtle Island Restoration Network, Center for Biological Diversity and KAHEA sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for allowing 46 imperiled Pacific loggerhead turtles to be hooked last year. The new court-ordered settlement caps the number at 17 per year. Meanwhile the National Marine Fisheries Service is weighing whether loggerheads need more protection under the Endangered Species Act. "It made absolutely no sense to have one arm of the National Marine Fisheries Service increasing the lethal capture of loggerheads, while the other arm is in the process of determining whether loggerheads should be uplisted from threatened to endangered," said Todd Steiner, biologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network. "With extinction looming, these animals need more protection, not less." "With this decision, Hawaii's public-trust ocean resources can be better managed for our collective best interest, and not just the interests of this commercial fishery," said KAHEA program director Marti Townsend. "This is a victory not just for the turtles, but for Hawaii's people who rely on a healthy, functioning ocean ecosystem." Conservation groups represented by Earthjustice filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2009 rule allowing the swordfish fleet to catch nearly three times as many loggerhead sea turtles as previously permitted. This settlement freezes the number at the previous cap of 17 while the government conducts additional environmental studies and decides whether or not to classify the loggerhead as endangered, rather than its current, less-protective status of threatened. For leatherback turtles, the bycatch limit remains at 16 per year. In 2010, eight Pacific leatherbacks and seven loggerheads were caught in the longline fishery, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. There have already been 4 loggerheads captured in 2011, which has sea turtle conservationists concerned. "Sea turtles have been swimming the oceans since the time of dinosaurs. But without a change in management, they won't survive our voracious quest for swordfish and tuna," said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "If loggerheads are going to survive in the North Pacific, we need to stop killing them in our fisheries." "Pacific loggerhead sea turtles are nearly extinct, so this bycatch rollback helps right a serious wrong," said Teri Shore, program director at Turtle Island Restoration Network. "We can't allow these rare sea turtles to disappear for a plate of swordfish. It's tragic that it took a lawsuit to correct this fishery problem." Swordfish longline vessels trail up to 60 miles of fishing line suspended in the water with floats, with as many as 1,000 baited hooks deployed at regular intervals. Sea turtles become hooked while trying to take bait or become entangled while swimming through the nearly invisible lines. These encounters can drown the turtles or leave them with serious injuries. Sea birds such as albatross dive for the bait and become hooked; marine mammals, including endangered humpback whales and false killer whales, also sometimes become hooked when they swim through the floating lines.

Volume 4 Number 2 ©The Author(s) 2002 The Continuity Framework: A Tool for Building Home, School, and Community Partnerships AbstractWe will need to become savvy about how to build relationships, how to nurture growing, evolving things. All of us will need better skills in listening, communicating, and facilitating groups, because these are the talents that build strong relationships. (Wheatley, 1992, p. 38) In the face of today's challenging social and family issues, many new efforts are underway to help children and families. One solution that many communities have adopted is the establishment of a collaborative partnership that involves all the relevant partners—home, school, and community—in the planning and monitoring of services for children. Unfortunately, achieving a strong partnership with meaningful participation can often be difficult and time-consuming. This article focuses on a set of training materials that has been developed to assist community partnerships in their efforts. These materials highlight eight elements of continuity and successful partnerships: (1) families as partners, (2) shared leadership, (3) comprehensive/responsive services, (4) culture and home language, (5) communication, (6) knowledge and skill development, (7) appropriate care and education, and (8) evaluation of partnership success. Results from a field study that included more than 200 reviewers and 8 pilot sites are summarized. Results indicate that a majority of reviewers found the training materials easy to understand, relevant to their work, and up-to-date. In addition, data gathered from the pilot sites indicate that the partnerships found the materials practical and useful for addressing a variety of issues, including time constraints, communication gaps, differences in professional training, and funding limitations. Communities face a host of problems that threaten the health and well-being of their children and families. Poverty, unemployment, inadequate care/education, and poor health care are just a few of the difficult issues that communities must confront. What makes these issues particularly challenging is that children and families who experience one problem are often likely to experience other problems as well. Compounding the problem is that delivery of services to help children and families is typically fragmented and scattered. Even efforts designed to increase the quality and supply of services to children and families have, at times, created greater fragmentation and discontinuity. In previous years, those who sought to improve outcomes for children concentrated only on the child. Today, however, many service providers have come to understand that the best way to serve and preserve children is to serve and preserve the supportive networks that benefit children (Family Support America, 1996). An extensive body of research identifies the elements that contribute to children's well-being, beginning with those closest to the child and moving outward to encompass the family, early care/education, the neighborhood, the community, and beyond. This ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) has motivated a growing number of communities to focus more closely on the need for collaboration--engaging in a process that allows the community to address many problems at once rather than one at a time. One solution that many communities have adopted is the establishment of a collaborative partnership involving all the relevant partners--home, school, and service providers--in the planning and monitoring of services for children (Kagan, 1992; Hoffman, 1991). The goal of most of these collaboration initiatives is to improve child outcomes, recognizing that many of the child's needs are closely linked to needs of the family and the community. Challenges to Collaboration Community collaboratives/partnerships represent one of the most challenging--yet one of the most effective--efforts for creating a flexible, comprehensive system that meets the needs of children and families. They involve new relationships among service providers and the children and families they serve. They require time, resources, and the willingness of collaborating agencies to learn about and establish trust with each other. In short, they require change (Bruner, Kunesh, & Knuth, 1992). As a result of the new roles and responsibilities that service providers must assume, collaboratives/partnerships encounter many common difficulties, including (Melaville, Blank, & Asayesh, 1996): - staff or agency representatives who are resistant to relinquishing power; - policies and regulations within individual agencies that make it difficult to coordinate services, information, and resources; - differences in prior knowledge, training, or experience that make it difficult for members to communicate and work together; and - lack of time to meet and plan together. Many factors contribute to the success or failure of a community collaborative, and no two collaboratives operate in exactly the same way. However, certain guidelines seem to help smooth the way for a more successful partnership, including (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1993): - involve all key stakeholders; - establish a shared vision of how the partnership will operate and expected outcomes for the children and families served; - build in ownership at all levels; - establish communication and decision-making processes that are open and allow conflict to be addressed constructively; - institutionalize changes through established policies, procedures, and program mandates; - provide adequate time for partners to meet, plan, and carry out activities. The process of establishing and maintaining a collaborative partnership is not easy, and in the end, each partnership must find a way to proceed that is consistent with its community and unique set of circumstances. However, a number of resources and tools are available to help communities get started creating an effective system for delivering services. In this article, we describe one such tool that assembles elements essential to building a successful collaborative partnership. Development of Continuity Framework Materials For the past eight years, the 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) serving each region of the country have studied effective strategies for strengthening collaboration and increasing continuity among programs for young children and their families. The RELs are overseen by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement [now the Institute of Education Sciences], and their primary purpose is ensuring that those involved in educational improvement have access to the best information from research and practice. During the contract period of 1995-2000, the RELs established a program called the Laboratory Network Program (LNP), which convened representatives from each Laboratory as a national network working on common issues. In 1995, the Early Childhood LNP developed Continuity in Early Childhood: A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages (U.S. Department of Education, 1995), a document designed with two key purposes in mind: first, an emphasis on the need for children and families to receive comprehensive and responsive services, reflected in the eight elements of continuity outlined in the Framework (see Figure 1). Taken together, the elements are intended to promote a comprehensive understanding of continuity and transition during early childhood. Second, the Framework offered a set of guidelines that partnerships could use to compare and assess their current policies and practices, as well as identify areas in need of improvement. Figure 1. Elements of Continuity (U.S.Department of Education, 1995) An extensive field review of the Framework indicated that although the document was helpful and informative, many community partnerships continued to have difficulty "getting started." As a result, a Trainer's Guide was developed to support the use of the Framework and assist community partnerships in the first stages. These materials were developed by the Early Childhood LNP in collaboration with the National Center for Early Development & Learning. The Trainer's Guide provides an overview of the content and potential uses of the Framework and includes all activities and materials necessary to conduct training sessions. The Guide itself consists of four training sessions that are organized around the eight elements of continuity. The materials are designed so that a local partnership has everything needed to conduct the training: background information, scripts, handouts, transparencies, sample agendas, and checklists for additional equipment and supplies: - The first session, Understanding Continuity, is designed to introduce participants to the Framework document and help participants develop a greater understanding and appreciation for continuity. - The second session, Developing a Continuity Team, highlights the importance of broad representation and shared leadership among partnership members. - The third session, Planning for Continuity, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach to service delivery and encourages participants to examine their current partnership practices and policies. - The final session, Formalizing Continuity, focuses on the importance of effective communication among group members and provides participants with an opportunity to formulate action plans. The Guide is designed to be a flexible training tool, adaptable to meet the needs of a particular audience. The intended audience includes local partnerships for children and families (including Smart Start partnerships in North Carolina), Head Start Program representatives, public schools, and communities. The overall objectives of the training are (1) to enhance the collaborative's knowledge and understanding of continuity, (2) to strengthen and support collaborative groups in their efforts to work as partners, and (3) to maximize the benefit they might receive from using the Framework. What follows is a description of the field test that was designed to assess the use and effectiveness of the Trainer's Guide. The field test focused exclusively on the Framework materials--no other instructional sources were employed. We will present the major findings of the field test and summarize recommendations based on those findings. In addition, we will highlight the work of several collaborative partnerships that took part in the field study, and we will describe some of the problems they encountered, how they used the Framework materials to address those problems, and where they are today. Specifically, the evaluation will explore: - To what extent is the information contained in the Framework and Trainer's Guide relevant and useful to community partnerships? - What is the perceived impact of the training and Framework on partnership activities? - How do partnerships incorporate elements of the Framework into their ongoing activities? - Of the review sites that indicated interest in the training materials, what proportion actually conducted the training? The overall usefulness and effectiveness of the Trainer's Guide was studied in two phases. Phase One consisted of document review and feedback from individuals working in the early childhood field. In Phase Two of field testing, the training was actually piloted in eight partnership sites. Phase One: Document Review Reviewers for the Trainer's Guide were solicited through the Laboratory Network Program (LNP) and at conferences related to early childhood issues. Three hundred thirteen individuals/organizations requested a set of the Framework materials (participant manual, Trainer's Guide, and a sample color transparency) and feedback form. Feedback questions centered on four areas: (1) information's relevancy and accuracy, (2) format and organization of the Trainer's Guide, (3) specific training needs, and (4) possible barriers to conducting training. Of the 313 requesting materials, 215 (68.7%) reviewers returned feedback forms. Twenty-one percent (N = 45) of the respondents were members of a Smart Start partnership (North Carolina initiative), 19% (N = 40) worked in Head Start agencies, and 11% (N = 24) worked in family resource centers. Others included representatives from state agencies, school personnel, and university faculty. A majority (89%) of the respondents indicated that they are actively involved in a community partnership. Final Follow-up with Select Reviewer Sites. Of the original 215 organizations/individuals who reviewed the Framework materials, 80 indicated an interest in conducting the training in its entirety and requested a complete set of transparencies. (The original materials included one sample color transparency, and the REL offered a complete set of Framework transparencies to all organizations making the request.) Approximately one year after receiving the materials, interviews were conducted with representatives who received transparencies. The purpose of these follow-up telephone calls was to determine if the materials had been used and the degree to which outside support or assistance might be needed to conduct the training. Phase Two: Pilot Training During the second phase of the field testing, the training was piloted in eight collaborative partnerships from across the nation (see Table 1). These sites were recruited through the LNP and selected based on their interest in the project. To assist with logistical details, a liaison, identified at each site, coordinated training dates and assisted with data collection. Sites varied according to demographics, partnership maturity, and sponsoring or lead agency. |Site Location||Community Type||Sponsor/Lead Agency| |Beaufort, SC||Rural||Success by 6| |Dothan, AL||Urban||Family Resource Center| |Walnut Cove, NC||Rural||Smart Start| |Valdosta, GA||Rural||Family Connections/County Commission| |Wheeling, WV||Rural||Head Start| |Troy, NC||Rural||Smart Start| |Concord, WV||Rural||Family Resource Center| Five of the partnerships described themselves as existing collaboratives (two years or more), while the remaining three indicated that they were in the planning stages of building a collaborative partnership. Sponsors of the partnerships included Smart Start (2); Head Start, family resource centers (2); Success by 6; a public school system; and a county task force. Across the eight sites, a total of 160 individuals participated in the training. Approximately 64% of the attendees were White, 27% were African American, and the remainder were either Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, or multiracial. Several of the partnerships invited persons who were not part of the collaborative partnership to attend the training. As a result, slightly more than half (54%) of the participants reported that they were current members of the partnership. The majority of these had been members less than one year (53%). Early childhood specialists represented the largest group attending the training (29%), followed by program administrators (18%), teachers/caregivers (14%), and parents (10%). Other groups represented included policy makers, members of the business community, and university faculty. Each of the sites conducted the entire training course in the fall; however, there was some variability in delivery of training. For example, some partnerships conducted the training as described in the Trainer's Guide--two complete, consecutive days of training. Other partnerships modified the training schedule to meet the needs of its members and used other formats such as one day of training followed two weeks later by a second day of training. At the conclusion of training, participants were asked to provide feedback on specific elements of the training, including organization, training content, and materials/resources. In addition, participants were asked to comment on their satisfaction with the training and the overall usefulness of the training materials. This information, along with information gathered from the review sites, was used to revise the Trainer's Guide. In the six months following the training, partnership activities were studied to determine the degree to which the collaboratives incorporated content from the Framework into their regular activities. Materials studied included a record of stakeholder attendance and meeting minutes documenting partnership activities. At the end of this period, a follow-up survey was sent to participants at each pilot site. Survey questions focused on three major areas: (1) impact of the training, (2) impact of the Framework materials, and (3) overall familiarity with Framework materials. In addition to the final survey with individuals who participated in the training, a final interview was conducted with seven site liaisons (one liaison was unavailable for interview). Interview questions focused on the original goal of the partnership, reasons for participating in the field study, and impact of the training and Framework materials. The data were analyzed to determine general response patterns and to identify logical changes or improvements to the Trainer's Guide. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze data from the review sites and the pilot sites. Phase One: Document Review Analyses of data from reviewer sites were conducted on 215 surveys. Table 2 summarizes Trainer's Guide as easy to understand, relevant to their work, accurate, and up-to-date. |Survey Statement||Agreed or Strongly Agreed with Statement| |Information is accurate and up to date.||94.9% (4.54)| |Format is easy to understand and follow.||93.9% (4.49)| |Training materials were easy to understand and follow.||92.5% (4.46)| |Information is relevant to my work.||89.3% (4.41)| |I would be comfortable using the materials.||83.3% (4.29)| |*Note: According to the scale, 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. Mean scores are presented in parentheses.| A series of open-ended questions provided respondents with an opportunity to provide more specific information and feedback. When asked what parts of the training were most useful, of those who responded, approximately 30% reported that the materials were the most useful part of the training. Reviewers specifically mentioned handouts, transparencies, and checklists. Another 22% reported that the information focusing on the need to include families and share leadership responsibilities was most useful. Reviewers also were asked to identify the greatest training need within their partnerships. Of those who responded, more than one-third (34%) reported that they often need assistance identifying and including community stakeholders. Reviewers cited family members and members of the business community as groups that often are poorly represented at partnership meetings. Other topics representing challenges to partnerships included developing the team, sharing leadership responsibilities, and involving families in meaningful ways. In terms of barriers or factors that would influence the use of training, most of the respondents (75%) cited time as the greatest barrier to conducting training. This factor was followed by a lack of funding (68%), the unavailability of a trainer (45%), and lack of interest of collaborative partners (39%). Final Follow-up with Select Reviewer Sites. Of the 80 individuals/organizations who requested a complete set of transparencies, 68 were located for follow-up interviews (85%). For the remaining 12, attempts to contact the site were unsuccessful; either the person requesting the transparencies was no longer there, or the materials were never received. Interviews revealed that 23 of the respondents had conducted training using the Framework and accompanying materials. Of those who stated that they had conducted the training, only two (less than 10%) had used the training in its entirety. Most had conducted at least one part of the training, selecting the portions most useful for their work. "Families as Partners," "Shared Leadership," and "Comprehensive and Responsive Services" were the elements from the Framework most often used for training. An additional 17% said that although they had not conducted the training as designed, they had adapted the materials or used them in other circumstances. Examples of how they had adapted the materials included using the exercises, overheads, major concepts, and other information in training activities. Head Start agencies were the primary sponsors for half of the training events. Public schools, area education associations, state departments of education, local partnerships, child development centers, and related-type centers were listed as sponsors or lead agencies for the remaining training activities. Training participants included staff and administrators at Head Start agencies, preschool and child care providers, local education agencies, schools, school improvement teams, state departments of education staff, local family service agencies and boards of directors, and parents. All who said they had used the training materials were asked to comment on the usefulness of the training. The majority of respondents rated the training as "very useful" or "useful," and all said they would recommend the training to others. Particular aspects of the training that respondents liked included: - professional quality, clarity of materials, and sequencing of content of the Framework; - handouts, activities, and overheads; - content and the ability to present the material at multiple skill levels; and - ease of use of the Framework. There were suggestions for improving the training. Four respondents said the course was "too long," especially if used in school systems or with parents. Others maintained a need for greater emphasis on action planning and implementation, "more written support materials (research, position support, background), and additional copies of key pieces of materials that helped shape the Framework." Phase Two: Pilot Training In terms of the training quality and overall effectiveness, most of the participants rated the training sessions as either "good" or "excellent." Participants tended to rate the second day of training as higher in quality and more effective than the first day of training (M = 4.392 and M = 4.17, respectively, based on a 5-point scale). Participants also evaluated the effects of the training and estimated its impact on future partnership practices. Using a four-point Likert-type scale, participants rated the extent to which they agreed with each statement. Table 3 summarizes participants' appraisal of the training and reinforces the focus of the original training objectives. Objective 1: To enhance the collaborative's knowledge and understanding of continuity |As a result of the training, I believe that I am motivated to build and strengthen continuity efforts in my community.||3.44||.65| |As a result of the training, I believe that I have a better understanding of continuity and why it is important.||3.41||.65| |I believe that this training will have an impact on increasing awareness of new skills and knowledge for our team.||3.31||63| Objective 2: To strengthen and support collaborative groups in their efforts to works as partners |As a result of the training, I believe that I am better able to participate as a member of a home, school, and community partnership.||3.40||.65| |I believe that this training will have an impact on how decisions are made and the planning we do for services.||3.25||.59| |I believe that this training will have an impact on changing/enhancing the quality of community practices.||3.23||.58| Objective 3: To maximize the benefit the collaborative might receive from using the Framework |As a result of the training, I believe that I am better able to use the Framework as a tool for exploring continuity and transition||3.26||.63| |I believe that this training will have an impact on positively affecting outcomes for children and families.||3.31||.63| |*Note: According to the scale, 1 = strongly disagree and 4 = strongly agree.| In addition to participant ratings immediately following the training, data were collected on regular partnership activities after the training. Analysis of materials such as meeting minutes revealed that during the six months following completion of the training, five of the eight sites reported that they continued to use the Framework materials. Exactly how the materials were used varied from site to site. Two of the sites selected specific elements of the Framework as their priority concerns for the coming year. They then organized subcommittees to review the partnerships' practices with respect to those elements and make recommendations for improving existing services. Another partnership used the materials to provide training to other agencies and organizations not directly involved with the partnership. The remaining two partnerships used the Framework as a resource for improving transition practices with their communities. At the end of the six months, a final survey was distributed to participants at the last partnership meeting of the year, and surveys were mailed to those not in attendance at the final meeting. Approximately half of the individuals who participated in the training (81 of 160) responded to the survey. Participants were asked to rate the extent to which the Framework materials had had an impact on partnership practices. On a four-point scale (4 = "a great deal," 3 = "some," 2 = "very little," and 1 = "not at all"), the majority of respondents (88.6%) reported that the training had "impacted" their knowledge and skill development "some" or a "great deal." Respondents also thought that the Framework had at least "some" impact on the knowledge and skills development of their partnership (83%) and community (72%). The majority (97.4%) speculated that the Framework would have at least some future impact. Finally, participants were asked to indicate the single greatest impact they experienced as a result of the training. Approximately 41% reported that as a result of the training they felt more motivated to build or strengthen efforts to support continuity of services for children in their communities. Thirty-five percent of the respondents said they had a better understanding of continuity and its importance; 17% felt that the training prepared them to be better members of their partnership; and 7% said that the training gave them a greater understanding of the Framework as a tool. Stokes County Partnership for Children, King, NC An ongoing goal of the Stokes County Partnership for Children is to create a system that encourages service providers to work together and promotes continuity for children and their families. Members of the partnership began by using the Framework to build their own knowledge and skills about continuity; however, they soon recognized the need to inform others of the importance of continuity in children's lives. As a result, the Partnership conducted a series of focus groups and meetings among parents and family members within the community. They used information from Elements 3 (Comprehensive/Responsive Services) and 7 (Developmentally Appropriate Care/Education) to explain what was needed to support continuity and its potential benefits for children. These meetings were also an opportunity to inform families of the various resources and supports available within the community. Later, the focus groups were expanded to include all stakeholders (e.g., child care, kindergarten, Head Start, school administrators, special needs coordinators, etc). The information gathered from these meetings has been used to guide the development and implementation of policies and practices that promote continuity. Final Interview with Liaisons. In the final interview conducted with site liaisons, five of the seven liaisons reported that the overall goal of their partnership is to improve services for children and their families by connecting agencies and strengthening the collaborative bonds between those agencies. Three of the liaisons specifically mentioned the need to improve transitions and create a system of responsive and comprehensive services. In addition, liaisons were asked to talk about their reasons for participating in the field-test process. At least three of the liaisons cited low levels of collaboration across agencies and indicated that partnership meetings were used primarily as a time for sharing information. Others saw the training as an opportunity to invite additional partners to the table and begin a discussion of how they could better work together. Finally, liaisons were asked to rate the extent to which the Framework materials had been helpful in accomplishing their overall partnership goal. Using a five-point scale, five of the liaisons rated the Framework materials as either "helpful" (4) or "very helpful" (5). The remaining two liaisons rated the Framework materials as at least "somewhat helpful" (3). Developing and maintaining a community collaborative is hard work, and it is a challenge that requires a great deal of commitment and cooperation from those involved. Training and resource materials available to help community partnerships build a more responsive system must address such issues as time constraints, communication gaps, differences in professional training, and funding limitations. Given these challenges, the Continuity Framework and its Trainer's Guide seem to be important and useful tools for helping partnerships increase collaboration and involvement. Data gathered from participant ratings and key-informant interviews indicated that the training was helpful in a number of ways. A feature of the training mentioned by many of the participants was the fact that the experience helped "level the playing field." That is, it provided stakeholders with a common language to use as they worked together. As illustrated in the following example, stakeholders often come from a variety of agencies and backgrounds, which can be a major impediment when a community must begin to work together and coordinate its efforts. The case studies in the sidebars highlight the work of four collaborative partnerships that took part in the field study. These case studies discuss some of the problems they encountered, how they used the Framework materials to address those problems, and where they are today. Bovill, Idaho, Collaborative Bovill is a small town (population 310) located in the north central part of the state. Bovill has no resident doctor or dentist. At the time, there also was no child care center or preschool available to children. (The closest one was 35 miles away.) In 1998, various members of the community decided that they wanted to do something to help improve the situation for children. This group of citizens brought together parents and virtually every local organization to work on a plan that would support the learning needs of children and their families. Part of this effort was a proposal submitted to the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation that would help fund an early learning center. In 1999, they were awarded a grant, and they began the work to open the Bovill Early Childhood Community Learning Center. However, once the work began, members of the partnership found that they did not have a common vocabulary to talk about the issues of early childhood education. There were also difficulties associated with establishing a partnership, such as "Who else should be included?" and "How do you get started?" In an effort to "get started" and begin the planning process, the partnership elected to participate in the field testing of the Framework materials. Framework training was provided over two consecutive days and built into the inservice training schedule of the elementary school. In addition to staff and faculty from the elementary school, representatives from other agencies and organizations participated, including the health department, the Idaho Department of Disabilities, news media, schools, early childhood education, Even Start, parents, university students, attorneys, community leaders, and businesses. According the site liaison, the Framework materials were used: - To improve awareness of key issues in providing high-quality services. The Framework provides direction to help develop a program that really works. - To provide a common language and for internal communication enhancement. Now everyone "speaks the same language." - As an external communication tool. According to the liaison, "it is so much easier to talk with funding sources when you use the structure of the elements as a base." - To validate their progress toward providing the best practices in early childhood education. - As a piece of the Bovill Elementary School improvement plan. Positive impact on individual partnership members was cited as another basis for success of the training. Many indicated they had a better understanding of continuity and were more motivated to continue to work on the difficult issues that often arise as part of the collaborative process. An added value of the training was the opportunity to spend time together and develop relationships with persons from other agencies. Often, these individual relationships help form the basis for collaborative work within the partnership. Based on the sites that continued to use the materials, the Continuity Framework and its Trainer's Guide seem to be equally useful to both existing and newly established partnerships. A common experience in the maturation of partnerships is that they are prone to lose initial momentum, often stagnating into "easy" roles such as simple information sharing. A serendipitous discovery of this study is that such partnerships evidenced rejuvenation of their efforts after participating in the training (see the Valdosta, Georgia, example). Valdosta, Georgia, Collaborative The Lowndes County/Valdosta Commission for Children and Youth has been in existence for more than a decade, and during this time, the partnership has experienced various "ups and downs." According to site liaison Vickie Elliott, cycles are a normal part of the collaborative process, "They may be the result of staff turnover or changes in the board chair and/or board members." She reports that participation in the training provided members with practical, research-based information. This information served as a reminder to members that they were doing good work and that their work was important. Since the training, the partnership has continued to use Framework materials as a reference and resource. For example, during a recent meeting, members began a discussion regarding the evaluation of partnership activities. They used Element 8: Evaluation of Partnership Success to help shape and guide this discussion. In addition, the partnership has applied for and received a 21st Century Learning Community grant. Because of the knowledge and understanding they gained during the training, members requested funds for a case manager position to be based at each school and conducting home visits. It is hoped that this strategy will facilitate communication and create greater continuity of services for students and families. Finally, the data indicate that change takes place slowly. Participants reported that the training had had some impact on their community but felt that the greatest impact was yet to come. Bringing everyone to the table is not enough. True collaboration that produces continuity in services for children takes place over a long period of time, as agencies that have not previously worked together begin to get to know each other and slowly modify procedures and practices. Marshall County Tadpole Team, Wheeling, WV Efforts to collaborate are often driven by the realization that single agencies cannot solve problems alone. Partners must be willing to jointly plan and implement new ventures, as well as pool resources such as money and personnel. Nowhere is this need to collaborate and pool resources more crucial than in Marshall County, WV. Located in the northern part of West Virginia, Marshall County remains a predominantly rural county. With a population of approximately 36,000, Marshall County has seen a decline in the number of residents over the past two to three years, largely attributed to the economic hardships of the area. This part of West Virginia relies heavily on the coal and steel industries, and as these industries have fallen on hard times, so too have many families. As a result, many families have moved away to find other employment; however, many others have sought support from social services agencies within the community. In order to make the most of the limited resources and support available within the county, many of the local agencies (e.g., Northern Panhandle Head Start, Starting Points Center, Tadpoles Team) came together to form a community collaborative. Although their collaborative meetings began more as a time for sharing information, members soon realized that to be a true "working group," they would need to broaden the meeting agendas and formalize the collaborative relationships. Using the Framework materials as an assessment tool, members worked through each element identifying the gaps in services and generating ideas for possible programs and procedures to address those gaps. This shift encouraged members to devote meeting times to discussing specific issues facing the community. Moreover, it encouraged members to formalize the partnership with written agreements. These agreements have allowed members to make a solid commitment to the collaborative, as well as clarify specific roles and responsibilities for services. Beyond the content of the training and issues related to the collaborative process, the field study underscored the importance of training structure and design. Many study participants praised the Framework materials for flexibility and relevance to a variety of contexts. The training materials were designed so that particular attention was devoted to issues such as target audience attributes (e.g., varied educational and professional development backgrounds), which dictate the appropriate level of sophistication as well as the need for course module structure (i.e., overall organization and scripting) to be highly adaptable to local training needs. The field studies indicate that community partnerships benefit from training and technical assistance that help with the process of getting started, as well as recapturing momentum and focus. Additional research is needed to document the ongoing efforts of these communities and explore whether the Framework materials continue to have an impact on community practices and outcomes, as many of the participants predicted. Further study also is needed to determine what other kinds of training or technical assistance might be useful to these partnerships as they work to build capacity and expand or grow new programs. Bronfenbrenner, Urie. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bruner, Charles; Kunesh, Linda; & Knuth, Randy. (1992). What does research say about interagency collaboration? [Online]. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/stw_esys/8agcycol.htm [2002, October 22].Editor's Note: this url is no longer active. Family Support America. (1996). Making the case for family support [Online]. Chicago: Author. Available: http://www.familysupportamerica.org/content/pub_proddef.htm [2002, October 22]. Editor's Note: this url is no longer active. Hoffman, Stevie (Ed.). (1991). Educational partnerships: Home-school-community [Special issue]. Elementary School Journal, 91(3). Kagan, Sharon Lynn. (1992). The strategic importance of linkages and the transition between early childhood programs and early elementary school. In Sticking together: Strengthening linkages and the transition between early childhood education and early elementary school (Summary of a National Policy Forum). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. ED 351 152. Kunesh, Linda. (1994). Integrating community services for children, youth, and families. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Melaville, Atelia; Blank, Martin; & Asayesh, Gelareh. (1996). Together we can: A guide for crafting a profamily system of education and human services (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Available: http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/families/TWC/ Editor's Note: this url is no longer active.[2002, October 22]. ED 443 164. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (1993). NCREL's policy briefs: Integrating community services for young children and their families. Oak Brook, IL: Author. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/93-3toc.htm [2002, October 22]. U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1995). Continuity in early childhood: A framework for home, school, and community linkages [Online]. Washington, DC: Author. Available: http://www.sedl.org/prep/hsclinkages.pdf [2002, October 22]. ED 395 664. Wheatley, Margaret J. (1992). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Dr. Glyn Brown is a senior program specialist with SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory. She studied at the University of Alabama (B.S.), the University of Southern Mississippi (M.S.), and completed her Ph.D. in Family and Child Development at Auburn University. Prior to coming to SERVE, Dr. Brown worked as a children's therapist in a community mental health program. As a program specialist with SERVE, Dr. Brown provides training and direct consultation to school personnel, child care providers, and community partnerships. SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory 1203 Governor's Square Blvd., Suite 400 Tallahassee, FL 32301 Carolynn Amwake, a program specialist at the SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory, has extensive experience working with families, child care providers, teachers, administrators, and community partners. She received her B.S. from Radford University in early childhood education and special education and has taught children with special needs in elementary schools, children's homes, and child care centers. Her experiences as an educator and parent led to an interest in improving the quality and continuity of early childhood transitions for both children and families. SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory 1203 Governor's Square Blvd., Suite 400 Tallahassee, FL 32301 Timothy Speth is a research associate at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). He received his B.S. in psychology from South Dakota State University and his M.A. from San Diego State University. He has extensive training and experience in research design, statistics, and program evaluation. Mr. Speth is currently involved with several research and evaluation projects throughout the Northwest, as a Research Associate of NWREL's Child and Family Program. He is the primary external evaluator for six Alaska schools participating in the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Project (CSRD) and assists in CSRD-related activities throughout the Northwest. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory 101 S.W. Main Street, Suite 500 Portland, OR 97204-3297 Catherine Scott-Little, Ph.D., is director of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Project for SERVE. Dr. Little completed her graduate work in human development at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her undergraduate degree in child development and family relations is from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to joining SERVE, Dr. Little was deputy director of a large Head Start program in Fort Worth, Texas, and she has also served as director for a child development center serving homeless families in the Washington, DC, area. SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory P.O. Box 5367 Greensboro, NC 27435

How hot is it where you are? Tell your stories at CNN's iReport. (CNN) -- For many Americans, this summer has been miserably hot. Heat advisories and warnings have been issued from coast to coast, with high temperatures often reaching into the triple digits, and July went into the record books as the hottest month ever for the continental United States. But in certain parts of the world, this is the norm -- or maybe even on the cool side. Try Kuwait City, for instance. In July, its average high temperature is 116 degrees Fahrenheit. Or Timbuktu in Mali, where the highs average 108 in May and was once recorded at 130. 130! That ranks fifth on the all-time list. The highest temperature ever recorded on the planet was in 1922, when a thermometer in El Azizia, Libya, hit 136. Some dispute that mark, saying it was improperly measured. If that's true, the record would be the 134, reached nine years earlier in Death Valley, California. But the world's hottest place might not be any of these, according to a team of scientists from the University of Montana. It says the highest temperatures on Earth are found in areas that don't even have weather stations. "The Earth's hot deserts -- such as the Sahara, the Gobi, the Sonoran and the Lut -- are climatically harsh and so remote that access for routine measurements and maintenance of a weather station is impractical," said David Mildrexler, lead author of a recent study that used NASA satellites to detect the Earth's hottest surface temperatures. The satellites detect the infrared energy emitted by land. And over a seven-year period, from 2003 to 2009, they found Iran's Lut Desert to be the hottest place on Earth. The Lut Desert had the highest recorded surface temperature in five of the seven years, topping out at 159 degrees in 2005. Other notable annual highs came from Queensland, Australia (156 degrees in 2003) and China's Turpan Basin (152 degrees in 2008). It's important to stress that surface temperatures are naturally higher than the air temperatures measured by weather stations. Air temperatures have to be measured by thermometers placed off the ground and shielded from sunlight, according to global meteorological standards. But the study shows that today's modern records might not necessarily be the most accurate. "Most of the places that call themselves the hottest on Earth are not even serious contenders," co-author Steve Running said. The world's highest recorded air temperatures 1. El Azizia, Libya (136 degrees Fahrenheit) 2. Death Valley, California (134) 3. Ghadames, Libya (131) 3. Kebili, Tunisia (131) 5. Timbuktu, Mali (130) 5. Araouane, Mali (130) 7. Tirat Tsvi, Israel (129) 8. Ahwaz, Iran (128) 8. Agha Jari, Iran (128) 10. Wadi Halfa, Sudan (127) Highest recorded air temperature (by continent) Africa: El Azizia, Libya (136) North America: Death Valley, California (134) Asia: Tirat Tsvi, Israel (129) Australia: Cloncurry, Queensland (128*) Europe: Seville, Spain (122) South America: Rivadavia, Argentina (120) Antarctica: Vanda Station, Scott Coast (59) Sources: NOAA, World Meteorological Organization * This temperature was measured using the techniques available at the time of recording, which are different to the standard techniques currently used in Australia. The most likely Australian record using standard equipment is an observation of 123 degrees, recorded at Oodnadatta, South Australia.

Using the Moon as a High-Fidelity Analogue Environment to Study Biological and Behavioural Effects of Long-Duration Space Exploration Goswami, Nandu and Roma, Peter G. and De Boever, Patrick and Clément, Gilles and Hargens, Alan R. and Loeppky, Jack A. and Evans, Joyce M. and Stein, T. Peter and Blaber, Andrew P. and Van Loon, Jack J.W.A. and Mano, Tadaaki and Iwase, Satoshi and Reitz, Guenther and Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut G. (2012) Using the Moon as a High-Fidelity Analogue Environment to Study Biological and Behavioural Effects of Long-Duration Space Exploration. Planetary and Space Science, Epub ahead of print (in press). Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2012.07.030. Full text not available from this repository. Due to its proximity to Earth, the Moon is a promising candidate for the location of an extra-terrestrial human colony. In addition to being a high-fidelity platform for research on reduced gravity, radiation risk, and circadian disruption, the Moon qualifies as an isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environment suitable as an analogue for studying the psychosocial effects of long-duration human space exploration missions and understanding these processes. In contrast, the various Antarctic research outposts such as Concordia and McMurdo serve as valuable platforms for studying biobehavioral adaptations to ICE environments, but are still Earth-bound, and thus lack the low-gravity and radiation risks of space. The International Space Station (ISS), itself now considered an analogue environment for long-duration missions, better approximates the habitable infrastructure limitations of a lunar colony than most Antarctic settlements in an altered gravity setting. However, the ISS is still protected against cosmic radiation by the earth magnetic field, which prevents high exposures due to solar particle events and reduces exposures to galactic cosmic radiation. On Moon the ICE environments are strengthened, radiations of all energies are present capable of inducing performance degradation, as well as reduced gravity and lunar dust. The interaction of reduced gravity, radiation exposure, and ICE conditions may affect biology and behavior--and ultimately mission success--in ways the scientific and operational communities have yet to appreciate, therefore a long-term or permanent human presence on the Moon would ultimately provide invaluable high-fidelity opportunities for integrated multidisciplinary research and for preparations of a manned mission to Mars. |Title:||Using the Moon as a High-Fidelity Analogue Environment to Study Biological and Behavioural Effects of Long-Duration Space Exploration| |Journal or Publication Title:||Planetary and Space Science| |In Open Access:||No| |In ISI Web of Science:||Yes| |Volume:||Epub ahead of print (in press)| |Keywords:||Physiology, Orthostatic tolerance, Muscle deconditioning, Behavioural health, Psychosocial adaptation, Radiation, Lunar dust, Genes, Proteomics| |HGF - Research field:||Aeronautics, Space and Transport, Aeronautics, Space and Transport| |HGF - Program:||Space, Raumfahrt| |HGF - Program Themes:||W EW - Erforschung des Weltraums, R EW - Erforschung des Weltraums| |DLR - Research area:||Space, Raumfahrt| |DLR - Program:||W EW - Erforschung des Weltraums, R EW - Erforschung des Weltraums| |DLR - Research theme (Project):||W - Vorhaben MSL-Radiation (old), R - Vorhaben MSL-Radiation| |Institutes and Institutions:||Institute of Aerospace Medicine > Radiation Biology| |Deposited By:||Kerstin Kopp| |Deposited On:||27 Aug 2012 08:05| |Last Modified:||07 Feb 2013 20:40| Repository Staff Only: item control page

A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen (draught cattle). It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them. Used especially for carrying goods, the bullock cart is pulled by one or several oxen (bullocks). The cart (also known as a jinker) is attached to a bullock team by a special chain attached to yokes, but a rope may also be used for one or two animals. The driver and any other passengers sit on the front of the cart, while load is placed in the back. Traditionally the cargo was usually agrarian goods and lumber. Costa Rica In Costa Rica, ox carts (carretas in the Spanish language) were an important aspect of the daily life and commerce, especially between 1850 to 1935, developing a unique construction and decoration tradition that is still being developed. Costa Rican parades and traditional celebrations are not complete without a traditional ox cart parade. In 1988, the traditional ox cart was declared as National Symbol of Work by the Costa Rican government. In 2005, the "Oxherding and Oxcart Traditions in Costa Rica" were included in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Indonesia, Bullock Carts are commonly used in the rural parts of the country, where it is used for transporting goods and carriages and also people. But it is mostly common in Indonesia that there are Horse Car than Bullock Carts on the streets of Indonesia. Bullock carts were widely used in Malaysia before the introduction of automobiles, and many are still used today. These included passenger vehicles, now used especially for tourists. Passenger carts are usually equipped with awnings for protection against sun and rain, and are often gaily decorated. See also |Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ox-drawn carts|

Topography of Flores |Location||South East Asia| |Archipelago||Lesser Sunda Islands| |Area||13,540 km2 (5,228 sq mi)| |Highest elevation||2,370 m (7,780 ft)| |Highest point||Poco Mandasawu| |Province||East Nusa Tenggara| |Largest city||Maumere (pop. 70,000)| |Population||1,831,000 (as of 2010)| |Density||135 /km2 (350 /sq mi)| Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1,831,000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers". Flores is located east of Sumbawa and Komodo and west of Lembata and the Alor Archipelago. To the southeast is Timor. To the south, across the Sumba strait, is Sumba and to the north, beyond the Flores Sea, is Sulawesi. Homo floresiensis In September 2004, at Liang Bua Cave in western Flores, paleoanthropologists discovered small skeletons that they described as a previously unknown hominid species, Homo floresiensis. These are informally named hobbits and appear to have stood about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall. The most complete individual (LB1) is dated as 18,000 years old. The Dominican order was extremely important in this island, as well as in the neighbouring islands of Timor and Solor. When in 1613 the Dutch attacked the Fortres of Solor, the population of this fort, led by the Dominicans, moved to the harbor town of Larantuka, on the eastern coast of Flores. This population was mixed, of Portuguese and local islanders descent and Larantuqueiros, Topasses (people that wear heats) or, as Dutch knew them, the 'Black Portuguese' (Swarte Portugueezen). The Larantuqueiros or Topasses became the dominant sandalwood trading people of the region for the next 200 years. This group used Portuguese as the language for worship, Malay as the language of trade and a mixed dialect as mother tongue. This was observed by William Dampier, a British Brigadier visiting the Island in 1699: - These [the Topasses] have no Forts, but depend on their Alliance with the Natives: And indeed they are already so mixt, that it is hard to distinguish whether they are Portugueze or Indians. Their Language is Portugueze; and the religion they have, is Romish. They seem in Words to acknowledge the King of Portugal for their Sovereign; yet they will not accept any Officers sent by him. They speak indifferently the Malayan and their own native Languages, as well as Portugueze. In 1846, Dutch and Portuguese initiated negotiations towards delimiting the territories but these negotiations led to nowhere. In 1851 the new governor of Timor, Solor and Flores, Lima Lopes, faced with an impoverished administration, agreed to sell eastern Flores and the nearby islands to Dutch in return for a payment of 200,000 Florins. Lima Lopes did so without the consent of Lisbon and was dismissed in disgrace, but his agreement was not rescinded and in 1854 Portugal ceded all its historical claims on Flores. After this, Flores became part of the territory of Dutch East Indies. Flores is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province. The island along with smaller minor islands are split into eight regencies (local government districts); from west to east these are: Manggarai Barat (West Manggarai), Manggarai Tengah (Central Manggarai), Manggarai Timur (East Manggarai), Ngada, Nagekeo, Ende, Sikka and Flores Timur (East Flores). It has 39.1% of the provincial population as of 2010, and the most Indonesians of all islands in the province. However, Timor including the nation of East Timor is more populated. It is the island with the 9th most Indonesians. Among all islands containing Indonesian territory, it is the 10th most populous after Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Bali, Madura, Lombok, and Timor. |Manggarai Regency||Ruteng||1958||UU 69/1958||1,545.97||292,037| |Sikka Regency||Maumere||1958||UU 69/1958||1,731.92||300,301| |Ngada Regency||Bajawa||1958||UU 69/1958||1,620.92||142,254| |Ende Regency||Ende||1958||UU 69/1958||2,046.62||260,428| |East Flores Regency||Larantuka||1958||UU 69/1958||1,812.85||232,312| |West Manggarai Regency||Labuan Bajo||2003||UU 8/2003||2,947.50||221,430| |Nagekeo Regency||Mbay||2007||UU 2/2007||1,416.96||129,956| |East Manggarai Regency||Borong||2007||UU 36/2007||2,502.24||252,754| Flora and fauna The west coast of Flores is one of the few places, aside from the island of Komodo itself, where the Komodo dragon can be found in the wild, and is part of Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kelimutu National Park is the second national park designated on Flores to protect endangered species. The Flores giant rat is also endemic to the island, and Verhoeven's giant tree rat was formerly present. These giant rodents are considered examples of island gigantism. Flores was also the habitat of several extinct dwarf forms of the proboscidean Stegodon, the most recent (Stegodon florensis insularis) disappearing approximately 12 000 years ago. It is speculated by scientists that limited resources and an absence of advanced predators made the few megafaunal species that reached the island subject to insular dwarfism. There are many languages spoken on the island of Flores, all of them belonging to the Austronesian family. In the centre of the island in the districts of Ngada, Nagekeo, and Ende there is what is variously called the Central Flores Dialect Chain or the Central Flores Linkage. Within this area there are slight linguistic differences in almost every village. At least six separate languages are identifiable. These are from west to east: Ngadha, Nage, Keo, Ende, Lio and Palu'e, which is spoken on the island with the same name of the north coast of Flores. Locals would probably also add So'a and Bajawa to this list, which anthropologists have labeled dialects of Ngadha. Flores is almost entirely Roman Catholic and represents one of the "religious borders" created by the Catholic expansion in the Pacific and the spread of Islam from the west across Indonesia. In other places in Indonesia, such as in the Maluku Islands and Sulawesi, the divide is less rigid and has been the source of bloody sectarian clashes. The most famous tourist attraction in Flores is Kelimutu, a volcano containing three colored lakes, located in the district of Ende close to the town of Moni. These crater lakes are in the caldera of a volcano, and fed by a volcanic gas source, resulting in highly acidic water. The colored lakes change colors on an irregular basis, depending on the oxidation state of the lake from bright red through green and blue. There are snorkelling and diving locations along the north coast of Flores, most notably Maumere and Riung. However, due to the destructive practice of local fishermen using bombs to fish, and locals selling shells to tourists, combined with the after effects of a devastating tsunami in 1992, the reefs have slowly been destroyed. Labuan Bajo (on the western tip of Flores) is a town often used by tourists as a base to visit Komodo and Rinca. Labuanbajo also attracts scuba divers, as whale sharks inhabit the waters around Labuanbajo. In addition to tourism, the main economic activities on Flores are agriculture, fishing and seaweed production. The primary food crops being grown on Flores are rice, maize, sweet potato and cassava, while the main cash crops are coffee, coconut, candle nut and cashew. Flores is one of the newest origins for Indonesian coffee. Previously, most Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) from Flores was blended with other origins. Now, demand is growing for this coffee because of its heavy body and sweet chocolate, floral and woody notes. An ancient Ngada megalith See also - Monk, K.A.; Fretes, Y., Reksodiharjo-Lilley, G. (1996). The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions Ltd. p. 7. ISBN 962-593-076-0. - "Out of the Ashes - Chapter 1". Epress.anu.edu.au. 1914-06-25. Retrieved 2012-07-25. - L, Klemen (1999-2000). "The Lesser Sunda Islands 1941-1942". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942. - "Hasil Sensus Penduduk 2010". Ntt.bps.go.id. Retrieved 2012-07-25. - Van Den Bergh, G. D.; Rokhus Due Awe; Morwood, M. J.; Sutikna, T.; Jatmiko; Wahyu Saptomo, E. (May 2008). "The youngest Stegodon remains in Southeast Asia from the Late Pleistocene archaeological site Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia". Quaternary International 182 (1): 16–48. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2007.02.001. Retrieved 27 November 2011. - "Hobbits" Were Pygmy Ancestors, Not New Species, Study Says, National Geographic, 21 August 2006. - Pasternack. Keli Mutu Volcanic Lakes, University of California Davis. - East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Retrieved 8 August 2008. - Arabica Producing Regions of Indonesia, Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia. Retrieved 8 August 2008. |Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Flores, Indonesia| - L, Klemen (1999-2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942".

German destroyer Z11 Bernd von Arnim |Career (Nazi Germany)| |Name:||Z11 Bernd von Arnim| |Namesake:||Bernd von Arnim| |Ordered:||9 January 1935| |Laid down:||26 April 1935| |Launched:||8 July 1936| |Completed:||6 December 1938| |Fate:||Scuttled, 13 April 1940| |General characteristics as built| |Class & type:||Type 1934A-class destroyer| |Displacement:||2,171 long tons (2,206 t)| |Length:||119 m (390 ft 5 in) o/a 114 m (374 ft 0 in) w/l |Beam:||11.3 m (37 ft 1 in)| |Draft:||4.23 m (13 ft 11 in)| |Installed power:||70,000 shp (52,000 kW)| |Propulsion:||2 shafts, 2 × Wagner geared steam turbines 6 × water-tube boilers |Speed:||36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)| |Range:||1,825 nmi (3,380 km; 2,100 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)| |Armament:||5 × 1 - 12.7 cm (5 in) guns 2 × 2 - 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns 6 × 1 - 2 cm (0.79 in) guns 2 × 4 - 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 32–64 depth charges, 4 throwers and 6 individual racks Z11 Bernd von Arnim was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) in the late 1930s. At the beginning of World War II, the ship was initially deployed to blockade the Polish coast, but she was quickly transferred to the German Bight to lay minefields in German waters. In late 1939 the ship made one successful minelaying sortie off the English coast that claimed one British warship and seven merchant ships. During the early stages of the Norwegian Campaign, Bernd von Arnim fought the British destroyer Glowworm while transporting troops to the Narvik area in early April 1940, but neither ship was damaged during the action. The ship fought in both naval Battles of Narvik several days later and had to be scuttled after she exhausted her ammunition. Design and description Bernd von Arnim had an overall length of 119 meters (390 ft 5 in) and was 114 meters (374 ft 0 in) long at the waterline. The ship had a beam of 11.3 meters (37 ft 1 in), and a maximum draft of 4.23 meters (13 ft 11 in). She displaced 2,171 long tons (2,206 t) at standard load and 3,190 long tons (3,240 t) at deep load. The Wagner geared steam turbines were designed to produce 70,000 shaft horsepower (52,199 kW) which would propel the ship at 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Steam was provided to the turbines by six high-pressure Benson boilers with superheaters. Bernd von Arnim carried a maximum of 752 metric tons (740 long tons) of fuel oil which was intended to give a range of 4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km; 5,100 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), but the ship proved top-heavy in service and 30% of the fuel had to be retained as ballast low in the ship. The effective range proved to be only 1,530 nmi (2,830 km; 1,760 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Bernd von Arnim carried five 12.7 cm SK C/34 guns in single mounts with gun shields, two each superimposed, fore and aft. The fifth gun was carried on top of the rear deckhouse. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 3.7 cm SK C/30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear funnel and six 2 cm C/30 guns in single mounts. The ship carried eight above-water 53.3-centimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts. Four depth charge throwers were mounted on the sides of the rear deckhouse and they were supplemented by six racks for individual depth charges on the sides of the stern. Enough depth charges were carried for either two or four patterns of 16 charges each. Mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 60 mines. 'GHG' (Gruppenhorchgerät) passive hydrophones were fitted to detect submarines. The ship was ordered on 4 August 1934 and laid down at Germania, Kiel on 26 March 1935 as yard number G537. She was launched on 8 July 1936 and completed on 6 July 1938. When World War II began in September 1939, Bernd von Arnim was initially deployed in the Baltic to operate against the Polish Navy and to enforce a blockade of Poland, but she was soon transferred to the German Bight where she joined her sisters in laying defensive minefields. The ship also patrolled the Skagerrak to inspect neutral shipping for contraband goods. Bernd von Arnim joined the other destroyers in laying minefields off the British coast in November, when Bernd von Arnim, Hermann Künne and Wilhelm Heidkamp laid about 180 magnetic mines in the middle of the Thames Estuary on the night of 17/18 November. The destroyer HMS Gipsy, one trawler, and seven other ships totalling 27,565 Gross Register Tons (GRT) were sunk by this minefield. Four days later, she was one of the destroyers escorting the battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst through the North Sea to break out into the North Atlantic. Together with her sisters Hans Lody and Erich Giese, Bernd von Arnim was to lay a minefield off Cromer during the night of 6/7 December, but she had trouble with two of her boilers and had to shut them down. The ship was ordered to return to port while the other two destroyers continued their mission. Norwegian Campaign Bernd von Arnim was allocated to Group 1 for the Norwegian portion of Operation Weserübung in April 1940. The group's task was to transport the 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment (139. Gebirgsjäger Regiment) and the headquarters of the 3rd Mountain Division (3. Gebirgs-Division) to seize Narvik. The ships began loading troops on 6 April and set sail the next day. Bernd von Arnim was spotted by the British destroyer Glowworm in a storm on the morning of 8 April and the ship turned away to the north-west at full speed after laying a smoke screen. The German ship was suffering damage from the heavy seas at 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) and was forced to reduce speed to 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) after she had lost two men overboard. The British destroyer was better suited for the conditions and began to close on Bernd von Arnim. Lieutenant Commander (Korvettenkapitän) Curt Rechel, captain of von Arnim, turned his ship to the north-east, closer to the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. The ships exchanged fire without effect for an hour until Hipper came within range and sank Glowworm shortly afterward. The German destroyers reached the Ofotfjord on the morning of 9 April and Commodore Friedrich Bonte took his flagship Wilhelm Heidkamp, Bernd von Arnim and Georg Thiele down the fjord to Narvik. A heavy snowstorm allowed von Arnim and Thiele to enter the harbor without challenge and tie up at a pier. The mountain troops immediately began disembarking, but the ship was spotted by the coast defense ship Norge a few minutes later. The latter ship immediately opened fire and was able to fire approximately 13 shells at 600–800 meters (660–870 yd) range before von Arnim was able to fire seven torpedoes. Only two struck the Norwegian ship, but they detonated one or more of the ship's magazines and she immediately capsized and sank. None of the Norwegian shells hit either of the two German destroyers due to the darkness and falling snow, despite the short range. Von Arnim lowered boats to rescue the surviving Norwegian sailors and was able to pick up 96 men together with boats from the merchantmen in harbor. Von Arnim and Thiele were the first to refuel from the single tanker that had made it safely to Narvik and later moved to the Ballangenfjord, a southern arm of the Ofotfjord, closer to the entrance. Shortly before dawn on 10 April, the five destroyers of the British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla surprised the five German destroyers in Narvik harbor. They torpedoed two destroyers and badly damaged the other three while suffering only minor damage themselves. As they were beginning to withdraw they encountered the three destroyers of the 4th Flotilla which had been alerted in the Herjansfjord when the British began their attack. The Germans opened fire first, but the gunnery for both sides was not effective due to the mist and the smoke screen laid by the British as they retreated down the Ofotfjord. The German ships had to turn away to avoid a salvo of three torpedoes fired by one of the destroyers in Narvik, but von Arnim and Thiele had also been alerted and were coming up to engage the British. The two German destroyers crossed the T of the British flotilla and were able to fire full broadsides at a range of only 4,000 meters (13,000 ft). They first engaged the British flagship, HMS Hardy, and badly damaged her. Both of her forward guns were knocked out and the forward superstructure was set afire. Hardy was forced to beach herself lest she sink, and the German ships switched their fire to HMS Havock, the next ship in line. Their fire was relatively ineffective and both sides fired torpedoes without scoring any hits. Havock pulled out and dropped to the rear to fight off any pursuit by the ships of the 4th Flotilla. This placed HMS Hunter in the lead and she was quickly set on fire by the German ships. Thiele probably also hit her with a torpedo and she was rammed from behind by HMS Hotspur when the latter ship lost steering control. Hotspur was able to disengage, but Hunter capsized shortly afterward. The three remaining British ships were able to escape from the Germans under the cover of a smoke screen. Von Arnim had been hit by five British shells, which had knocked out one boiler. This was repaired by the morning of 13 April and she received six torpedoes from the badly damaged destroyers. On the night of 12 April, Commander Erich Bey, the senior surviving German officer, received word to expect an attack the following day by British capital ships escorted by a large number of destroyers and supported by carrier aircraft. The battleship Warspite and nine destroyers duly appeared on 13 April, although earlier than Commander Bey had expected, and caught the Germans out of position. The five operable destroyers, including Bernd von Arnim, charged out of Narvik harbor and engaged the British ships. Although no hits were scored, they did inflict splinter damage on several of the destroyers. The ship was able to make a torpedo attack on the British destroyers before being driven off, but her torpedoes all missed. Lack of ammunition forced the German ships to retreat to the Rombaksfjorden (the easternmost branch of the Ofotfjord), east of Narvik, where they might attempt to ambush pursuing British destroyers. Von Arnim had exhausted her ammunition and she was beached at the head of the fjord. Her crew placed demolition charges and abandoned the ship. By the time the British reached the ship she had rolled over onto her side. The ship's crew joined the German troops ashore and participated in the campaign until the British evacuated the area in June. - Groener, p. 199 - Whitley, p. 18 - Koop and Schmolke, p. 26 - Whitley, p. 215 - Whitley, pp. 71–72 - Whitley, p. 204 - Koop and Schmolke, p. 91 - Rohwer, pp. 2–3, 5, 7 - Rohwer, p. 9 - Whitley, p. 89 - Hervieux, p. 112 - Whitley, pp. 89–90 - Whitley, p. 96 - Haarr, pp. 91–93 - Haarr, p. 323 - Haarr, pp. 327 - Haarr, p. 334 - Whitley, p. 99 - Harr, pp. 339–43 - Haarr, pp. 344–47 - Whitley, p. 101 - Haarr, pp. 356–57, 362, 366 - Whitley, p. 103 - Haarr, pp. 368, 373–74 - Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Volume 1: Major Surface Warships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. - Hervieux, Pierre (1980). "German Destroyer Minelaying Operations Off the English Coast (1940–1941)". In Roberts, John. Warship IV. Greenwich, England: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 110–16. ISBN 0-87021-979-0. - Haarr, Geirr H. (2009). The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-310-9. - Koop, Gerhard; Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2003). German Destroyers of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-307-1. - Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2. - Whitley, M. J. (1991). German Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-302-8.

A jack-o'-lantern, one of the symbols of Halloween |Also called||All Hallows' Eve All Saints' Eve |Observed by||Western Christians & many non-Christians around the world| |Celebrations||Trick-or-treating/guising, costume parties, making jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, divination, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, fireworks displays| |Observances||Church services, prayer, fasting, and vigils| |Related to||Samhain, Hop-tu-Naa, Calan Gaeaf, Kalan Gwav, Day of the Dead, All Saints' Day (cf. vigils)| Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"), also known as All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints) and the day initiating the triduum of Hallowmas. According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianised feast originally influenced by western European harvest festivals, and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots, particularly the Celtic Samhain. Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots. Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films. The word Halloween was first used in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All Hallows' Eve ('evening'), that is, the night before All Hallows' Day. Although the phrase All Hallows' is found in Old English (ealra hālgena mæssedæg, mass-day of all saints), All Hallows' Eve is itself not seen until 1556. Celtic influences Though the origin of the word Halloween is Christian, the holiday is commonly thought to have pagan roots. Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain", which comes from the Old Irish for "summer's end". Samhain (pronounced SAH-win or SOW-in) was the first and most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Gaelic (Irish, Scottish and Manx) calendar. It was held on or about October 31 – November 1 and kindred festivals were held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands; for example the Brythonic Calan Gaeaf (in Wales), Kalan Gwav (in Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (in Brittany). Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. This was a time for stock-taking and preparing for the cold winter ahead; cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and livestock were slaughtered. In much of the Gaelic world, bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them. Some of these rituals hint that they may once have involved human sacrifice. Divination games or rituals were also done at Samhain. Samhain (like Beltane) was seen as a time when the 'door' to the Otherworld opened enough for the souls of the dead, and other beings such as fairies, to come into our world. The souls of the dead were said to revisit their homes on Samhain. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Lewis Spence described it as a "feast of the dead" and "festival of the fairies". However, harmful spirits and fairies were also thought to be active at Samhain. People took steps to allay or ward-off these harmful spirits/fairies, which is thought to have influenced today's Halloween customs. Before the 20th century, wearing costumes at Samhain was done in parts of Ireland, Mann, the Scottish Highlands and islands, and Wales. Wearing costumes may have originated as a means of disguising oneself from these harmful spirits/fairies, although some suggest that the custom comes from a Christian or Christianized belief (see below). In Ireland, people went about before nightfall collecting for Samhain feasts and sometimes wore costumes while doing so. In the 19th century on Ireland's southern coast, a man dressed as a white mare would lead youths door-to-door collecting food; by giving them food, the household could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'. In Moray during the 18th century, boys called at each house in their village asking for fuel for the Samhain bonfire. The modern custom of trick-or-treating may have come from these practices. Alternatively, it may come from the Christian custom of souling (see below). Making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween may also have sprung from Samhain and Celtic beliefs. Turnip lanterns, sometimes with faces carved into them, were made on Samhain in the 19th century in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. As well as being used to light one's way while outside on Samhain night, they may also have been used to represent the spirits/fairies and/or to protect oneself and one's home from them. Another legend is that a trickster named Jack decided one day to trick the Devil. He trapped the Devil in a pumpkin and paraded him around town. Eventually, Jack let the Devil out and the Devil put a curse on Jack and forever made him a spirit in hell. On Halloween, Jack is released to terrorize the country all night. To protect themselves, the Irish would place a pumpkin with a face outside to scare Jack into believing it was the Devil. However, a Christian origin has also been proposed. Christian influences Halloween is also thought to have been influenced by the Christian holy days of All Saints' Day (also known as All Hallows, Hallowmas or Hallowtide) on November 1 and All Souls' Day on November 2. They are a time for honoring the saints and praying for the recently departed who had yet to reach Heaven. All Saints was introduced in the year 609, but was originally celebrated on May 13. In 835, it was switched to November 1 (the same date as Samhain) at the behest of Pope Gregory IV. Some have suggested this was due to Celtic influence, while others suggest it was a Germanic idea. By the end of the 12th century they had become holy days of obligation across Europe and involved such traditions as ringing bells for the souls in purgatory. "Souling", the custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for "all crysten christened souls", has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating. Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door on All Saints/All Souls collecting soul cakes, originally as a means of praying for souls in purgatory. Similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas." The custom of wearing costumes has been linked to All Saints/All Souls by Prince Sorie Conteh, who wrote: "It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognised by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities". In Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Nicholas Rogers explained Halloween jack-o'-lanterns as originally being representations of souls in purgatory. In Brittany children would set candles in skulls in graveyards. In Britain, these customs came under attack during the Reformation as Protestants berated purgatory as a "popish" doctrine incompatible with the notion of predestination. The rising popularity of Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) from 1605 onward, saw many Halloween traditions appropriated by that holiday instead, and Halloween's popularity waned in Britain, with the noteworthy exception of Scotland. There and in Ireland, the rebellious Guy Fawkes was not viewed with the same criminality as in England, and they had been celebrating Samhain and Halloween since at least the early Middle Ages, and the Scottish kirk took a more pragmatic approach to Halloween, seeing it as important to the life cycle and rites of passage of communities and thus ensuring its survival in the country. Spread to North America North American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was celebrated there. The Puritans of New England, for example, maintained strong opposition to Halloween and it was not until the mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the 19th century that it was brought to North America in earnest. Confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was being celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds. Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. The turnip has traditionally been used in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween, but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger – making it easier to carve than a turnip. Subsequently, the mass marketing of various size pumpkins in autumn, in both the corporate and local markets, has made pumpkins universally available for this purpose. The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837 and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century. The modern imagery of Halloween comes from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as the novels Frankenstein and Dracula) and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein and The Mummy). One of the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish poet John Mayne, who, in 1780, made note of pranks at Halloween; "What fearfu' pranks ensue!", as well as the supernatural associated with the night, "Bogies" (ghosts), influencing Robert Burns' Halloween 1785. Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween. Trick-or-treating and guising Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In Scotland and Ireland, guising – children disguised in costume going from door to door for food or coins – is a traditional Halloween custom, and is recorded in Scotland at Halloween in 1895 where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit and money. The practice of Guising at Halloween in North America is first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood. American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of Halloween in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America": The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn's poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is out of fashion now. In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Halloween customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries". While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920. The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat" appears in 1927, from Blackie, Alberta, Canada: Hallowe'en provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc., much of which decorated the front street. The youthful tormentors were at back door and front demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat” to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing. The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but not trick-or-treating. The editor of a collection of over 3,000 vintage Halloween postcards writes, "There are cards which mention the custom [of trick-or-treating] or show children in costumes at the doors, but as far as we can tell they were printed later than the 1920s and more than likely even the 1930s. Tricksters of various sorts are shown on the early postcards, but not the means of appeasing them". Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearances of the term in 1934, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939. Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after supernatural figures such as monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Over time, in the United States the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses. Dressing up in costumes and going "guising" was prevalent in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween by the late 19th century. Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in the US in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s when trick-or-treating was becoming popular in the United States. Halloween costume parties generally fall on or around October 31, often on the Friday or Saturday before Halloween. "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" is a fundraising program to support UNICEF, a United Nations Programme that provides humanitarian aid to children in developing countries. Started as a local event in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood in 1950 and expanded nationally in 1952, the program involves the distribution of small boxes by schools (or in modern times, corporate sponsors like Hallmark, at their licensed stores) to trick-or-treaters, in which they can solicit small-change donations from the houses they visit. It is estimated that children have collected more than $118 million for UNICEF since its inception. In Canada, in 2006, UNICEF decided to discontinue their Halloween collection boxes, citing safety and administrative concerns; after consultation with schools, they instead redesigned the program. Games and other activities There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. One common game is dunking or apple bobbing, which may be called "dooking" in Scotland in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. The practice is thought by some to have derived from the Roman practices in celebration of Pomona. A variant of dunking involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drop the fork into an apple. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity that inevitably leads to a very sticky face. Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination. A traditional Scottish form of divining one's future spouse is to carve an apple in one long strip, then toss the peel over one's shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name. Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear. The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards from the late 19th century and early 20th century. Another game/superstition that was enjoyed in the early 1900s involved walnut shells. People would write fortunes in milk on white paper. After drying, the paper was folded and placed in walnut shells. When the shell was warmed, milk would turn brown therefore the writing would appear on what looked like blank paper. Folks would also play fortune teller. In order to play this game, symbols were cut out of paper and placed on a platter. Someone would enter a dark room and was ordered to put her hand on a piece of ice then lay it on a platter. Her "fortune" would stick to the hand. Paper symbols included: dollar sign-wealth, button-bachelorhood, thimble-spinsterhood, clothespin- poverty, rice-wedding, umbrella- journey, caldron-trouble, 4-leaf clover- good luck, penny-fortune, ring-early marriage, and key-fame. The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before Halloween, while new horror films are often released theatrically before Halloween to take advantage of the atmosphere. Haunted attractions Haunted attractions are entertainment venues designed to thrill and scare patrons. Most attractions are seasonal Halloween businesses. Origins of these paid scare venues are difficult to pinpoint, but it is generally accepted that they were first commonly used by the Junior Chamber International (Jaycees) for fundraising. They include haunted houses, corn mazes, and hayrides, and the level of sophistication of the effects has risen as the industry has grown. Haunted attractions in the United States bring in an estimate $300–500 million each year, and draw some 400,000 customers, although press sources writing in 2005 speculated that the industry had reached its peak at that time. This maturing and growth within the industry has led to technically more advanced special effects and costuming, comparable with that of Hollywood films. Because Halloween comes in the wake of the yearly apple harvest, candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts. At one time, candy apples were commonly given to children, but the practice rapidly waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the apples in the United States. While there is evidence of such incidents, they are quite rare and have never resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless, many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant because of the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered free X-rays of children's Halloween hauls in order to find evidence of tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning incidents involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy. One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of a barmbrack (Irish: báirín breac), which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany. List of foods associated with Halloween: - Barmbrack (Ireland) - Bonfire toffee (Great Britain) - Candy apples/toffee apples (Great Britain & Ireland) - Candy corn, candy pumpkins (North America) - Caramel apples - Caramel corn - Colcannon (Ireland) - Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc. - Pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread - Roasted pumpkin seeds - Roasted sweet corn - Soul cakes - Scary Faced Pizza Religious observances On Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve), in Poland, believers are taught to pray out loud as they walk through the forests in order that the souls of the dead might find comfort; in Spain, Christian priests toll their church bells in order to allow their congregants to remember the dead on All Hallows' Eve. The Christian Church traditionally observed Hallowe'en through a vigil "when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself." This church service is known as the Vigil of All Hallows or the Vigil of All Saints; an initiative known as Night of Light seeks to further spread the Vigil of All Hallows throughout Christendom. After the service, "suitable festivities and entertainments" often follow, as well as a visit to the graveyard or cemetery, where flowers and candles are often placed in preparation for All Hallows' Day. Christian attitudes towards Halloween are diverse. In the Anglican Church, some dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions associated with All Hallow's Eve. Some of these practises include praying, fasting and attending worship services. Father, All-Powerful and Ever-Living God, today we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place. May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. —All Hallow's Eve Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours Other Protestant Christians also celebrate All Hallows' Eve as Reformation Day, a day to remember the Protestant Reformation, alongside All Hallow's Eve or independently from it. Often, "Harvest Festivals" or "Reformation Festivals" are held as well, in which children dress up as Bible characters or Reformers. Father Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in Rome, has said, "if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that." In more recent years, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has organized a "Saint Fest" on Halloween. Similarly, many contemporary Protestant churches view Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy for free. Many Christians ascribe no negative significance to Halloween, treating it as a fun event devoted to "imaginary spooks" and handing out candy. To these Christians, Halloween holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage. In the Roman Catholic Church, Halloween's Christian connection is sometimes cited, and Halloween celebrations are common in Catholic parochial schools throughout North America and in Ireland. Some Christians feel concerned about the modern celebration of Halloween, and reject it because they feel it trivializes – or celebrates – paganism, the occult, or other practices and cultural phenomena deemed incompatible with their beliefs. A response among some fundamentalist and conservative evangelical churches in recent years has been the use of "Hell houses", themed pamphlets, or comic-style tracts such as those created by Jack T. Chick in order to make use of Halloween's popularity as an opportunity for evangelism. Some consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith, believing it to have originated as a pagan "Festival of the Dead". According to Alfred J. Kolatch in the Second Jewish Book of Why Halloween is not technically permitted by Jewish Halakha because it violate Leviticus 18:3 forbidding Jews from partaking in gentile customs. Nevertheless many American Jews celebrate it as a secular holiday, disconnected from its pagan and Christian origins. Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser, of the Central Conference of American Rabbis has said that “There is no religious reason why contemporary Jews should not celebrate Halloween as it is commonly observed" while Orthodox Rabbi Michael Broyde has argued against Jews sending their children trick or treating or otherwise observing the holiday. Around the world The traditions and importance of Halloween vary greatly among countries that observe it. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween customs include children dressing up in costume going "guising", holding parties, while other practices in Ireland include lighting bonfires, and having firework displays. Mass transatlantic immigration in the 19th century popularized Halloween in North America, and celebration in the United States and Canada has had a significant impact on how the event is observed in other nations. This larger North American influence, particularly in iconic and commercial elements, has extended to places such as South America, Australia, New Zealand, (most) continental Europe, Japan, and other parts of East Asia. See also - "BBC – Religions – Christianity: All Hallows' Eve". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011. "All Hallows' Eve falls on 31st October each year, and is the day before All Hallows' Day, also known as All Saints' Day in the Christian calendar. The Church traditionally held a vigil on All Hallows' Eve when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself. The name derives from the Old English 'hallowed' meaning holy or sanctified and is now usually contracted to the more familiar word Hallowe'en." - The Book of Occasional Services 2003. Church Publishing, Inc. 2004. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "Service for All Hallows' Eve: This service may be used on the evening of October 31, known as All Hallows' Eve. Suitable festivities and entertainments may take place before or after this service, and a visit may be made to a cemetery or burial place." - Anne E. Kitch (2004). The Anglican Family Prayer Book. Church Publishing, Inc. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "All Hallow's Eve, which later became known as Halloween, is celebrated on the night before All Saints' Day, November 1. Use this simple prayer service in conjunction with Halloween festivities to mark the Christian roots of this festival." - The Paulist Liturgy Planning Guide. Paulist Press. 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "Rather than compete, liturgy planners would do well to consider ways of including children in the celebration of these vigil Masses. For example, children might be encouraged to wear Halloween costumes representing their patron saint or their favorite saint, clearly adding a new level of meaning to the Halloween celebrations and the celebration of All Saints' Day." - Thomas Thomson, Charles Annandale (1896). A History of the Scottish People from the Earliest Times: From the Union of the kingdoms, 1706, to the present time. Blackie. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "Of the stated rustic festivals peculiar to Scotland the most important was Hallowe'en, a contraction for All-hallow Evening, or the evening of All-Saints Day, the annual return of which was a season for joy and festivity." - Merriam-Webster's Encyclopædia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. 1999. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "Halloween, also called All Hallows' Eve, holy or hallowed evening observed on October 31, the eve of All Saints' Day. The pre-Christian observances influenced the Christian festival of All Hallows' Eve, celebrated on the same date." - "BBC – Religions – Christianity: All Hallows' Eve". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011. "It is widely believed that many Hallowe'en traditions have evolved from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain which was Christianised by the early Church." - Nicholas Rogers (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "Halloween and the Day of the Dead share a common origin in the Christian commemoration of the dead on All Saints' and All Souls' Day. But both are thought to embody strong pre-Christian beliefs. In the case of Halloween, the Celtic celebration of Samhain is critical to its pagan legacy, a claim that has been foregrounded in recent years by both new-age enthusiasts and the evangelical Right." - Austrian information. 1965. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "The feasts of Hallowe'en, or All Hallows Eve and the devotions to the dead on All Saints' and All Souls' Day are both mixtures of old Celtic, Druid and other heathen customs intertwined with Christian practice." - "BBC – Religions – Christianity: All Hallows' Eve". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011. "The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions also claims that Hallowe'en "absorbed and adopted the Celtic new year festival, the eve and day of Samhain". However, there are supporters of the view that Hallowe'en, as the eve of All Saints' Day, originated entirely independently of Samhain and some question the existence of a specific pan-Celtic religious festival which took place on 31st October/1st November." - The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. 1989. ISBN 0-19-861186-2. - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). "Samhain and the Celtic Origins of Halloween". Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp. 11–21. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8. - Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996) - A Pocket Guide To Superstitions Of The British Isles (Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; Reprint edition: 4 November 2004) ISBN 0-14-051549-6 - All Hallows' Eve BBC. Retrieved 31 October 2011. - Monaghan, Patricia. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p.407 - Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Forgotten Books, 2008. pp.663–664 - Monaghan, p.41 - O'Halpin, Andy. Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford University Press, 2006. p.236 - "Halloween". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 21 September 2012. - McNeill, F. Marian. The Silver Bough, Vol. 3. William MacLellan. pp.11–46 - Spence, Lewis (1945). The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain. p.88. ISBN 0-09-474300-2 - Hutton, pp.380–382 - MacLeod, Sharon. Celtic Myth and Religion. McFarland, 2011. pp.61, 175 - Hutton, pp.365–368 - Hutton, p.382 - Hill, Christopher. Holidays and Holy Nights. Quest Books, 2003. p.56 - Rogers, p.57 - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp. 22, 27. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8. - Hutton, p.364 - Rogers, Nicholas (2001). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Oxford University Press. pp. 28–30. ISBN 0-19-514691-3. - "Halloween". Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 25 October 2012. - Hutton, pp.374–375 - "Ask Anne", Washington Post, 21 November 1948, p. S11. - The Two Gentlemen of Verona Act 2, Scene 1. - Prince Sorie Conteh (2009). Traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians in Africa: Interreligious Encounters and Dialogue. Cambria Press. Retrieved 31 October 2011. - "Kalan -Goañv ha Marv". Tartanplace.com. 12 July 2001. Retrieved 1 November 2012. - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp. 37–38. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8. - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp. 49–50. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8. - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, p. 74. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8. - The Oxford companion to American food and drink p.269. Oxford University Press, 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2011 - Frank Leslie's popular monthly, Volume 40, November 1895, p. 540-543. Books.google.com. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2011. - Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Great Carbuncle," in "Twice-Told Tales", 1837: Hide it [the great carbuncle] under thy cloak, say'st thou? Why, it will gleam through the holes, and make thee look like a jack-o'-lantern! - As late as 1900, an article on Thanksgiving entertaining recommended a lit jack-o'-lantern as part of the festivities. "The Day We Celebrate: Thanksgiving Treated Gastronomically and Socially," The New York Times, 24 November 1895, p. 27. "Odd Ornaments for Table," The New York Times, 21 October 1900, p. 12. - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). "Halloween Goes to Hollywood". Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp. 103–124. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8. - Thomas Crawford Burns: a study of the poems and songs Stanford University Press, 1960 - Simpson, Jacqueline All Saints' Day in Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, Howarth, G. and Leeman, O. (2001)London Routledge ISBN 0-415-18825-3, p.14 Halloween is closely associated in folklore with death and the supernatural. - Rogers, Nicholas. (2002) "Coming Over:Halloween in North America". Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. p.76. Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-19-514691-3 - Ruth Edna Kelley, The Book of Hallowe'en, Boston: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co., 1919, chapter 15, p.127. "Hallowe'en in America." - Kelley, Ruth Edna. "Hallowe'en in America". - Theo. E. Wright, "A Halloween Story," St. Nicholas, October 1915, p. 1144. Mae McGuire Telford, "What Shall We Do Halloween?" Ladies Home Journal, October 1920, p. 135. - "'Trick or Treat' Is Demand," Herald (Lethbridge, Alberta), November 4, 1927, p. 5, dateline Blackie, Alberta, Nov. 3. - For examples, see the websites Postcard & Greeting Card Museum: Halloween Gallery, Antique Hallowe'en Postcards, Vintage Halloween Postcards, and Morticia's Morgue Antique Halloween Postcards[dead link]. - E-mail from Louise and Gary Carpentier, 29 May 2007, editors of Halloween Postcards Catalog (CD-ROM), G & L Postcards. - "Halloween Pranks Keep Police on Hop," Oregon Journal (Portland, Oregon), 1 November 1934: Other young goblins and ghosts, employing modern shakedown methods, successfully worked the "trick or treat" system in all parts of the city. Pretty Boy John Doe rang the door bells and his gang waited his signal. It was his plan to proceed cautiously at first and give a citizen every opportunity to comply with his demands before pulling any rough stuff. "Madam, we are here for the usual purpose, 'trick or treat.'" This is the old demand of the little people who go out to have some innocent fun. Many women have some apples, cookies or doughnuts for them, but they call rather early and the "treat" is given out gladly. - Doris Hudson Moss, "A Victim of the Window-Soaping Brigade?" The American Home, November 1939, p. 48. Moss was a California-based writer. - Beauchemin, Genevieve; CTV.ca News Staff (31 May 2006). "UNICEF to end Halloween 'orange box' program". CTV. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2006. - "History of the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Campaign". UNICEF Canada. 2008. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2009. - Apple dookers make record attempt, BBC News, 2 October 2008 - McNeill, F. Marian (1961, 1990) The Silver Bough, Vol. 3. William MacLellan, Glasgow ISBN 0-948474-04-1 pp.11–46 - "Vintage Halloween Cards". Vintage Holiday Crafts. Retrieved 28 October 2009. - Green Bay Press Gazette, 27 October 1916 - Associated Press (30 October 2005). "Haunted house business getting frightfully hard". MSNBC.com. MSNBC. Retrieved 18 November 2008. - Greg Ryan (17 September 2008). "A Model of Mayhem". Hudson Valley Magazine. Retrieved 6 October 2008. - Wilson, Craig (12 October 2006). "Haunted houses get really scary". USAToday.com. - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). "Razor in the Apple: Struggle for Safe and Sane Halloween, c. 1920–1990," Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp. 78–102. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8. - "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Pins and Needles in Halloween Candy". Snopes.com. Retrieved 31 October 2008. - Nixon, Robin (27 October 2010). "Poisoned Halloween Candy: Trick, Treat or Myth? – LiveScience". LiveScience.com. Retrieved 23 January 2011. - "Halloween Food:Scary Faced Pizza". - Bannatyne, Lesley Pratt (1 August 1998). Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History. Pelican Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 1565543467. Retrieved 1 November 2012. "Polish Catholics taught their children to pray out loud as they walked through the woods so that the souls of the dead could hear them and be comforted. Priests in tiny Spanish villages still ring their church bells to remind parishioners to honor the dead on All Hallows Eve." - "BBC - Religions - Christianity: All Hallows' Eve". British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011. "All Hallows' Eve falls on 31st October each year, and is the day before All Hallows' Day, also known as All Saints' Day in the Christian calendar. The Church traditionally held a vigil on All Hallows' Eve when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself." - Dr. Andrew James Harvey (31 October 2012). "'All Hallows' Eve'". The Patriot Post. Retrieved 1 November 2011. ""The vigil of the hallows" refers to the prayer service the evening before the celebration of All Hallows or Saints Day. Or "Halloween" for short -- a fixture on the liturgical calendar of the Christian West since the seventh century." - "Vigil of All Saints". Catholic News Agency. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011. "The Vigil is based on the monastic office of Vigils (or Matins), when the monks would arise in the middle of the night to pray. On major feast days, they would have an extended service of readings (scriptural, patristic, and from lives of the saints) in addition to chanting the psalms. This all would be done in the dark, of course, and was an opportunity to listen carefully to the Word of God as well as the words of the Church Fathers and great saints. The Vigil of All Saints is an adaptation of this ancient practice, using the canonical office of Compline at the end." - "Night of Light Beginnings". Cor et Lumen Christi Community. Retrieved 2 November 2012. "In its first year - 2000 AD - over 1000 people participated from several countries. This included special All Saints Vigil masses, extended periods of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and parties for children. In our second year 10,000 participated. Since these modest beginnings, the Night of Light has been adopted in many countries around the world with vast numbers involved each year from a Cathedral in India to a convent in New Zealand; from Churches in the USA and Europe to Africa; in Schools, churches, homes and church halls all ages have got involved. Although it began in the Catholic Church it has been taken up be other Christians who while keeping it's essentials have adapted it to suit their own traditions." - "Here's to the Soulcakers going about their mysterious mummery". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 November 2012. "One that has grown over the past decade is the so-called Night of Light, on All Hallows’ Eve, October 31. It was invented in 2000, in leafy Chertsey, Surrey, when perhaps 1,000 people took part. Now it is a worldwide movement, popular in Africa and the United States. The heart of the Night of Light is an all-night vigil of prayer, but there is room for children’s fun too: sweets, perhaps a bonfire and dressing up as St George or St Lucy. The minimum gesture is to put a lighted candle in the window, which is in itself too exciting for some proponents of health and safety. The inventor of the Night of Light is Damian Stayne, the founder of a year-round religious community called Cor et Lumen Christi – heart and light of Christ. This new movement is Catholic, orthodox and charismatic – emphasising the work of the Holy Spirit." - Armentrout, Donald S.; Slocum, Robert Boak (1999). An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 7. ISBN 0898692113. Retrieved 1 November 2012. "The BOS notes that "suitable festivities and entertainments" may precede of follow the service, and there may be a visit to a cemetery or burial place." - Infeld, Joanna (1 December 2008). In-Formation. D & J Holdings LLC. p. 150. ISBN 0976051249. Retrieved 1 November 2012. "My folks are Polish and they celebrate Halloween in a different way. It is time to remember your dead and visit the cemetery and graves of your loved ones." - "Bishop Challenges Supermarkets to Lighten up Halloween". The Church of England. Retrieved 28 October 2009. "Christianity needs to make clear its positive message for young people. It's high time we reclaimed the Christian aspects of Halloween," says the Bishop, explaining the background to his letter." - "Halloween and All Saints Day". newadvent.org. n.d. Retrieved 22 October 2006. - "Halloween Prayers: Prayers and Collects for All Hallows Eve". Ancient and Future Catholics. 2001. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "Father, All-Powerful and Ever-Living God, today we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place. May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen." - "Reformation Day". Retrieved 22 October 2009 - "Reformation Day: What, Why, and Resources for Worship". The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. 21 October 2005. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2006. - Travis Allen (2011). "Christians and Halloween". John F. MacArthur. Retrieved 31 October 2011. "Other Christians will opt for Halloween alternatives called "Harvest Festivals", "Hallelujah Night" or "Reformation Festivals"--the kids dress up as farmers, Bible characters, or Reformation heroes." - Gyles Brandreth, "The Devil is gaining ground" Sunday Telegraph (London), 11 March 2000. - "Salem 'Saint Fest' restores Christian message to Halloween". www.rcab.org. n.d. Archived from the original on 29 September 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2006. - "Feast of Samhain/Celtic New Year/Celebration of All Celtic Saints 1 November". All Saints Parish. n.d. Retrieved 22 November 2006. - Halloween's Christian Roots AmericanCatholic.org. Retrieved on 24 October 2007. - Halloween: What's a Christian to Do? (1998) by Steve Russo. - "'Trick?' or 'Treat?' – Unmasking Halloween". The Restored Church of God. n.d. Retrieved 21 September 2007. - "Jews and Halloween". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2013-03-05. - Name (required) (2011-10-30). "Halloween and Judaism: a contradiction or a coalition?". Haamnews.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2013-03-05. - Halloween fire calls 'every 90 seconds' UTV News Retrieved 22 November 2010 - McCann, Chris (28 October 2010). "Halloween firework injuries are on the increase". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 22 November 2010. - Paul Kent (27 October 2010). "Calls for Halloween holiday in Australia". The Herald Sun. - Denton, Hannah (30 October 2010). "Safe treats for kids on year's scariest night". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 November 2010. - Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, p.164. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8 Further reading - Diane C. Arkins, Halloween: Romantic Art and Customs of Yesteryear, Pelican Publishing Company (2000). 96 pages. ISBN 1-56554-712-8 - Diane C. Arkins, Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration Of Fun, Food, And Frolics From Halloweens Past, Pelican Publishing Company (2004). 112 pages. ISBN 1-58980-113-X - Lesley Bannatyne, Halloween: An American Holiday, An American History, Facts on File (1990, Pelican Publishing Company, 1998). 180 pages. ISBN 1-56554-346-7 - Lesley Bannatyne, A Halloween Reader. Stories, Poems and Plays from Halloweens Past, Pelican Publishing Company (2004). 272 pages. ISBN 1-58980-176-8 - Phyllis Galembo, Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes and Masquerade, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (2002). 128 pages. ISBN 0-8109-3291-1 - Editha Hörandner (ed.), Halloween in der Steiermark und anderswo, Volkskunde (Münster in Westfalen), LIT Verlag Münster (2005). 308 pages. ISBN 3-8258-8889-4 - Lisa Morton, The Halloween Encyclopedia, McFarland & Company (2003). 240 pages. ISBN 0-7864-1524-X - Nicholas Rogers, Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Oxford University Press, USA (2002). ISBN 0-19-514691-3 - Jack Santino (ed.), Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life, University of Tennessee Press (1994). 280 pages. ISBN 0-87049-813-4 |Find more about Halloween at Wikipedia's sister projects| |Definitions and translations from Wiktionary| |Media from Commons| |News stories from Wikinews| |Source texts from Wikisource| |Travel information from Wikivoyage|

List of earthquakes in Haiti This is a list of earthquakes in Haiti. Some of them have been very destructive to the country. List of major earthquakes - 1564 quake destroyed of Concepción de la Vega and Santiago de los Caballeros. - 1701: On November 9, severe destruction occurred and "[p]art of the area along the north shore of the Tiburon Peninsula from Logane to Petit Goave sank into the sea". - 1751 Port-au-Prince earthquake (18 October): According to French historian Moreau de Saint-Méry, "only one masonry building had not collapsed" in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city. - 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake (3 June): The city was leveled in this magnitude 7.5 quake, which killed over 200 people. - 1783: A strong quake partially destroyed the church in Santiago. - 1842 Cap-Haitien earthquake (7 May): An earthquake destroyed the city of Cap-Haïtien and other towns in the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic; this earthquake also destroyed the Sans-Souci Palace. 10,000 people were killed. It has been estimated that its magnitude was 8.1. - 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake (4 August): This 8.0-magnitude quake in Samaná also shook Haiti horrifically, producing a tsunami that killed 1,600 people. - 2010 Haiti earthquake (12 January):. The epicentre of this magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake was near Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince. at a depth of 13 km (8.1 miles). The United States Geological Survey recorded a series of at least 33 aftershocks, 14 of which were between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9. The International Red Cross estimated that about three million people were affected by the quake; the Haitian Government reports that over 316,000 people had been identified as dead, an estimated 300,000 injured, and an estimated 1,000,000 homeless. 12 January 2010 earthquake Eric Calais, a geophysicist at Purdue University who has researched in the area for years, and Ross Stein of the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California, and colleagues have independently calculated that the earthquake has increased the risk on other segments of the Enriquillo fault and perhaps on other faults, although the quake probably did not increase the risk (which is already known to be high) of a major tremor on the Septentrional fault. Stein suggests that if the calculations are right—noting that they may well not be—something may be "fundamentally locked in some fashion, on pretty much all scales, and might be capable of popping off something large". Historical accounts, although not precise, suggest that there has been a sequence of quakes progressing westwards along the fault, starting with an earthquake in the Dominican Republic in 2010. There are concerns that the 12 January earthquake could be the beginning of a new long-term sequence of both earthquakes and tsunamis: "the whole region is fearful". See also - Enriquillo – Plantain Garden fault zone - List of earthquakes - Map of 'Earthquakes in Haiti', compiled from the list above. - Prepetit, Claude (9 October 2008), "Tremblements de terre en Haïti, mythe ou réalité ?[[Category:Articles containing French language text]]", Le Matin, N° 33082 Wikilink embedded in URL title (help), quoting Moreau de Saint-Méry, Médéric Louis Élie, Description topographique, physique, civile, politique et historique de la partie française de l'Ile Saint Domingue and J. M. Jan, bishop of Cap-Haïtien (1972), Documentation religieuse, Éditions Henri Deschamps. http://haitimega.com/Cap_Haitien-Cap_Haitian_Earthquake_of_May_7_1842/84144788150681600/article_84481504601309194.jsp - "What caused the devastating Haiti earthquake?". LiveScience.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-12. - "Major Caribbean Earthquakes And Tsunamis A Real Risk". Science Daily. Feb. 8, 2005. Retrieved 2010-09-12. - "USGS Magnitude 7.0 – HAITI REGION". Retrieved 13 January 2010. - Millar, Lisa (2010-01-17). "Tens of thousands isolated at quake epicentre". ABC News. Retrieved 2010-01-18. - Earthquake Center, USGS. "Latest Earthquakes M5.0+ in the World – Past 7 days". Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 13 January 2010. - "Red Cross: 3M Haitians Affected by Quake". CBS News. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010. - "Haitians recall 2010 quake "hell" as death toll raised. Many survivors of the earthquake were left with permanent disabilities including limb amputation, spinal cord injury and severe fractures. Traditionally disability was not well received in Haiti. [[Team Zaryen]], a Haitian Amputee Soccer Team has been challenging that negative association by showing their success on the pitch.". Rueters. 2011-01-12. Wikilink embedded in URL title (help) - New York Times: A Deadly Quake in a Seismic Hot Zone

|Regions with significant populations| |New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Louisiana, Ohio, Iowa, Texas| |Related ethnic groups| Syrian Americans are residents of the United States of Syrian ancestry or nationality. This group includes Americans of Syrian ancestry, Syrian first generation immigrants, or descendants of Syrians who emigrated to the United States. Syrian Americans may be members of a number of differing ethnicities, including Arabs, Assyrians/Syriacs, Antiochian Greeks, Kurds, Armenians and Circassians. It is believed that the first significant wave of Syrian immigrants to arrive in the United States was in 1880. Many of the earliest Syrian Americans settled in New York, Boston, and Detroit. Immigration from Syria to the United States suffered a long hiatus after the United States Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which restricted immigration. More than 40 years later, the Immigration Act of 1965, abolished the quotas and immigration from Syria to the United States saw a surge. An estimated 64,600 Syrians emigrated to the United States between 1961 and 2000. The overwhelming majority of Syrian immigrants to the US from 1880 to 1960 were Christian, a minority were Jewish, whereas Muslim Syrians arrived in the United States chiefly after 1965. According to the United States 2000 Census, there were 142,897 Americans of Syrian ancestry, about 12% of the Arab population in the United States. The first Syrian immigrants arrived in the United States from Ottoman Syria. Most of them came from Christian villages around Mount Lebanon, while around 5-10% were Muslims of different sects. A small number were also Palestinians. According to historian Philip Hitti, approximately 90,000 "Syrians" arrived in the United States between 1899 and 1919. An estimated 1,000 official entries per year came from the governorates of Damascus and Aleppo, which are governorates in modern-day Syria, in the period between 1900 and 1916. Early immigrants settled mainly in Eastern United States, in the cities of New York, Boston and Detroit and the Paterson, New Jersey area. In the 1920s, the majority of immigrants from Mount Lebanon began to refer themselves as "Lebanese" instead of "Syrians". Syrians, like most immigrants to the United States, were motivated to immigrate to the United States to pursue the American Dream of economic success. Many Christian Syrians had immigrated to the United States seeking religious freedom and an escape from Ottoman hegemony. Thousands of immigrants returned to Syria after making money in the United States; these immigrants told tales which inspired further waves of immigrants. Many settlers also sent for their relatives. Although the number of Syrian immigrants was not sizable, the Ottoman government set constraints on emigration in order to maintain its populace in Greater Syria. The United States Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which greatly reduced Syrian immigration to the United States. However, the quotas were annulled by the Immigration Act of 1965, which opened the doors again to Syrian immigrants. 4,600 Syrians immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s. Due to the Arab-Israeli and religious conflicts in Syria during this period, many Syrians immigrated to the United States seeking a democratic haven, where they could live in freedom without political suppression. An estimated 64,600 Syrians immigrated to the United States in the period between 1961 and 2000, of which ten percent have been admitted under the refugee acts. According to the United States 2000 Census, there are 142,897 Americans of Syrian ancestry living in the United States. New York City has the biggest concentration of Syrian Americans in the United States. Other urban areas, including Boston, Dearborn, New Orleans, Toledo, Cedar Rapids, and Houston have large Syrian populations. Syrian Americans are also numerous in Southern California (i.e. the Los Angeles and San Diego areas) and Arizona, many are descendants of farm laborers invited with their farm skills to irrigate the deserts in the early 20th century.. Many recent Syrian immigrants are medical doctors who studied at Damascus and Aleppo Universities and pursued their residencies and fellowships in the United States. The traditional clothing of the first Syrian immigrants in the United States, along with their occupation as peddlers, led to some xenophobia. Dr. A. J. McLaughlin, the United States health officer at Marine Hospital, described Syrians as "parasites in their peddling habits." However, Syrians reacted quickly to assimilate fully into their new culture. Immigrants Anglicized their names, adopted the English language and common Christian denominations. Syrians did not congregate in urban enclaves; many of the immigrants who had worked as peddlers were able to interact with Americans on a daily basis. This helped them to absorb and learn the language and customs of their new homeland. Additionally, military service during World War I and World War II helped accelerate assimilation. Assimilation of early Syrian immigrants was so successful that it has become difficult to recognize the ancestors of many families which have become completely Americanized. Post 1965 Immigration was mostly Muslim, and unlike their Christian counterparts they faced a somewhat greater difficulty in assimilating because of their Islamic faith and the "back to the roots" trend that gripped America in the 1960s and 1970s. Generally, they are not overly desirous of giving up their identity as Arabs, which might be a result of the bloom in multiculturalism to respect their Islamic religious customs and traditions in the United States. Christian Syrian Americans arrived in the United States in the late 19th century. Most Christian Syrian Americans are Greek Orthodox. There are also many Catholic Syrian Americans; most branches of Catholicism are of the Eastern rite, such as Maronite Catholics, Melkite Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics, Syrian Catholics, and Assyrian Chaldean Catholics. There are only few minor differences between the different branches of Catholicism; such differences include the language/s church services are conducted, and the belief in papal infallibility. A few Christian Syrian Americans are Protestant. There are also members of the Assyrian Church of the East and Ancient Church of the East. The first Syrian American church was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1895 by Saint Raphael of Brooklyn. There are currently hundreds of Eastern Orthodox churches and missions in the United States. Saint Nicholas and Saint George are popular saints for the Orthodox. Muslim Syrian Americans arrived chiefly after 1965. The largest sect in Islam is the Sunni sect, forming 74% of the Muslim Syrian population. The second largest sect in Islam in Syria is the Alawite sect, a religious sect that originated in Shia Islam but separated from other Shiite Islam groups in the ninth and tenth centuries. Most, if not all, Alawi Syrians come from the rural areas of Latakia Governorate. Muslim Syrian Americans have often found it difficult practicing their religion in the United States; For example, some Muslims, who are required to pray five times a day as part of Muslim rite, argue that there aren't enough mosques in the United States. Druzes form the third largest sect in Syria, which is a relatively small esoteric monotheistic religious sect. Early Syrian immigrants included Druze peddlers. Muslim Syrian Americans have often found it difficult practicing their religion in the United States; Syrian Jews first immigrated to the United States around 1908 and settled mostly in New York. Initially they lived on the Lower East Side; later settlements were in Bensonhurst and Ocean Parkway in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The Syrian Jewish community estimates its population at around 50,000. Early Syrian Americans were not involved politically. Business owners were usually Republican, meanwhile labor workers were usually Democrats. Second generation Syrian Americans were the first to be elected for political roles. In light of the Arab-Israeli conflict, many Syrian Americans tried to affect American foreign policy by joining Arab political groups in the United States. In the early 1970s, the National Association of Arab-Americans was formed to negate the stereotypes commonly associated with Arabs in American media. Syrian Americans were also part of the Arab American Institute, established in 1985, which supports and promotes Arab American candidates, or candidates commiserative with Arabs and Arab Americans, for office. Mitch Daniels, the current Governor of Indiana, is a descendant of Syrian immigrants with relatives in Homs. The majority of the early Syrian immigrants arrived in the United States seeking better jobs; they usually engaged in basic commerce, especially peddling. Syrian American peddlers found their jobs comfortable since peddling required little training and mediocre vocabulary. Syrian American peddlers served as the distribution medium for the products of small manufacturers. Syrian peddlers traded mostly in dry goods, primarily clothing. Networks of Syrian traders and peddlers across the United States aided the distribution of Syrian settlements; by 1902, Syrians could be found working in Seattle, Washington. Most of these peddlers were successful, and, with time, and after raising enough capital, some became importers and wholesalers, recruiting newcomers and supplying them with merchandise. By 1908, there were 3,000 Syrian-owned businesses in the United States. By 1910, the first Syrian millionaires had emerged. Syrian Americans gradually started to work in various métiers; many worked as physicians, lawyers, and engineers. Many Syrian Americans also worked in the bustling auto industry, bringing about large Syrian American gatherings in areas like Dearborn, Michigan. Later Syrian emigrants served in fields like banking, medicine, and computer science. Syrian Americans have a different occupational distribution than all Americans. According to the 2000 census, 42% of the Syrian Americans worked in management and professional occupations, compared with 34% of their counterparts in the total population; additionally, more Syrian Americans worked in sales than all American workers. However, Syrian Americans worked less in the other work domains like farming, transportation, construction, etc. than all American workers. According to the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) which represents the American health care provoiders of Syrian descent www.sams-usa.net there are estimated 4000 Syrian physicians practicing in the United States representing 0.4% of the health workforce and 1.6% of international medical graduates. However the reported number of Syrian American phyicians does not include the second and third generation of Syrian descent, therefore it is estimated that there are 10,000 Syrian American physicians practice in the United States. Arabi M, Sankri-Tarbichi AG. The metrics of Syrian physicians' brain drain to the United States. Avicenna J Med [serial online] 2012 [cited 2012 Oct 27];2:1-2. Available from: http://www.avicennajmed.com/text.asp?2012/2/1/1/94802. The median level of earnings for Syrian men and women is higher than the national earning median; employed Syrian men earned an average $46,058 per year, compared with $37,057 for all Americans and $41,687 for Arab Americans. Syrian American families also had a higher median income than all families and lower poverty rates than those of the general population. Syrians value strong family ties. Unlike young Americans, young Syrians find leaving their family unnecessary to set up their independence; the reason being, is that Syrian society just like Southwest Asia, North Africa and the wider Eastern world, places great emphasis on the group rather than the individual. In the West the individual is key and the group is secondary. Respect and social status are important in Syrian societies. Men are respected for their financial success or their honesty and sincerity. Syrians are characterized by their magnanimity and graciousness, ethics which are integral to Syrian life." However, much of the Syrian traditions have diminished with time, mainly due to the fast pace of life in America which encourages individual independence. Syrians consider eating an important aspect of social life. There are many Syrian dishes which have become popular in the United States. Unlike many Western foods, Syrian foods take more time to cook, are less expensive and usually more healthy. Pita bread (khubz), which is round flat bread, and hummus, a dip made of ground chickpeas, sesame tahini, lemon juice, and garlic, are two popular Syrian foods. Baba ghanoush, or eggplant spreads, is also a dish made by Syrians. Popular Syrian salads include tabbouleh and fattoush. The Syrian cuisine includes other dishes like stuffed zucchini (mahshe), dolma, kebab, kibbeh, kibbeh nayyeh, mujaddara, shawarma, and shanklish. Syrians often serve selections of appetizers, known as meze, before the main course. Za'atar, minced beef, and cheese manakish are popular hors d'œuvre. Syrians are also well known for their cheese. A popular Syrian drink is the arak beverage. One of the popular desserts made by Syrians is the baklava, which is made of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in honey. Syrian music includes several genres and styles of music ranging from Arab classical to Arabic pop music and from secular to sacred music. Syrian music is characterized by an emphasis on melody and rhythm, as opposed to harmony. There are some genres of Syrian music that are polyphonic, but typically, most Syrian and Arabic music is homophonic. Syrian music is also characterized by the predominance of vocal music. The prototypical Arabic music ensemble in Egypt and Syria is known as the takht, and relies on a number of musical instruments that represent a standardized tone system, and are played with generally standardized performance techniques, thus displaying similar details in construction and design. Such musical instruments include the oud, kanun, rabab, ney, violin, riq and tableh. The Jews of Syria sang pizmonim. Modern Syrian music has incorporated instruments from the West, including the electric guitar, cello, double bass and oboe, and incorporated influences from jazz and other foreign musical styles. Traditional clothing Traditional dress is not very common with Syrian Americans, and even native Syrians; modern Western clothing is conventional in both Syria and the United States. Ethnic dance performers wear a shirwal, which are loose, baggy pants with an elastic waist. Some Muslim Syrian women wear a hijab, which is a headscarf worn by Muslim women to cover their hair. There are various styles of hijab. Syrian Americans celebrate many religious holidays. Christian Syrian Americans celebrate most Christian holidays usually celebrated in the United States. They celebrate Christmas and Easter, but since most Syrians are Eastern Orthodox, they celebrate Easter on a different Sunday than most other Americans. Some Christians celebrate various Saints' days. Syrian American Jews celebrate the Jewish holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Purim, Passover and Shavuot. Few Syrians celebrate Syria's independence day, April 17. As American citizens, many Syrians celebrate American holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving Day. Muslim Syrian Americans celebrate three main Muslim holidays: Ramadan, Eid ul-Fitr (Lesser Bairam), and Eid ul-Adha (Greater Bairam). Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic year, during which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset; Muslims resort to self-discipline to cleanse themselves spiritually. After Ramadan is over, Muslims celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, when Muslims break their fasting and revel exuberantly. Muslims also celebrate Eid ul-Adha (which means The Festival of Sacrifice) 70 days after at the end of the Islamic year, a holiday which is held along with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Hajj. Dating and marriage Syrian Americans prefer traditional relationships and disfavor casual dating. Muslims can only date after completing their marriage contact, kitabt al-kitab (Arabic: كتابة الكتاب, which means "writing the book"), a period that ranges from a few months to a year or more to get used to living with one another. After this time period, a wedding takes place and fulfills the marriage. Muslims tend to marry other Muslims only. Unable to find other suitable Muslim Syrian Americans, many Muslim Syrian American have married other Muslim Americans. Syrian American marriages are usually very strong; this is reflected by the low divorce rates among Syrian Americans, which are below the average rates in the United States. Generally, Syrian American partners tend to have more children than average American partners; Syrian American partners also tend to have children at early stages of their marriages. According to the United States 2000 Census, almost 62% of Syrian American households were married-couple households. Syrian Americans, including the earliest immigrants, have always placed a high premium on education. Like many other Americans, Syrian Americans view education as a necessity. Generally, Syrian and other Arab Americans are more highly educated than the average American. In the 2000 census it was reported that the proportion of Syrian Americans to achieve a bachelor's degree or higher is one and a half times that of the total American population. Many Syrian Americans now work as engineers, scientists, pharmacists, and physicians. Syrians are mainly Arabic speakers. While some may speak the formal literary Arabic, many Syrians speak Syrian Arabic, a dialect which belongs to the Levantine Arabic family of dialects. There are also sub-dialects in Syrian Arabic; for example, people from Aleppo have a distinct and distinguishable accent, one that differs considerably from that of people from Homs or Al-Hasakah. Syrians can usually comprehend and understand the dialects of most Arabs, especially those who speak any form of Levantine Arabic. Many old Syrian American families have lost their linguistic traditions because many parents do not teach their children Arabic. Newer immigrants, however, maintain their language traditions. The 2000 census shows that 79.9% of Syrian Americans speak English "very well". Throughout the United States, there are schools which offer Arabic language classes; there are also some Eastern Orthodox churches which hold Arabic services. Notable people and contributions Sometimes some confusion occurs between Greater Syria and the modern Syria when determining the place of origin of the earliest Syrian Americans. However, the following list comprises notable Americans who are originally people of modern Syrian heritage. - Paula Abdul (born June 19, 1962), is a television personality, jewelry designer, multi-platinum Grammy-winning singer, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer. According to Abdul, she has sold over 53 million records to date. Abdul found renewed fame as a judge on the highly rated television series American Idol. - F. Murray Abraham (born October 24, 1939), is an actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in the 1984 film Amadeus. His career after Amadeus inspired the name of the phenomenon dubbed "F. Murray Abraham syndrome", attributed to actors who, after winning an Oscar, have difficulty obtaining comparable success and recognition despite having recognizable talent. - Moustapha Akkad (July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005), was a film director and producer originally from Aleppo; Akkad is best known for producing the series of Halloween films, and for directing the Lion of the Desert and Mohammad, Messenger of God films. - Malek Jandali (born December 25, 1972), is an award-winning composer and pianist originally from Homs; Jandali is best known for arranging the oldest music notation in the world of Ugarit in his album Echoes from Ugarit. - Tige Andrews (March 19, 1920 – January 27, 2007), was an Emmy-nominated character actor who was best known for his role as "Captain Adam Greer" on the television series The Mod Squad. - Paul Anka (born July 30, 1941), is a singer and song writer. Anka rose to fame after many successful 1950s songs, earning him the status of a teen idol. (Some sources, such as The Canadian Encyclopedia and Time magazine, suggest that Anka is of Syrian descent, while other sources, including Anka's official website, suggest that he is of Lebanese descent.) - Michael Ansara (born April 15, 1922), is a stage, screen and voice actor. - Rosemary Barkett (born 1939), was the first woman to serve on the Florida Supreme Court, and the first woman Chief Justice of that court. She currently serves as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. - Mitch Daniels (born April 7, 1949), is the current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. - Hala Gorani (born March 1, 1970), is a news anchor and correspondent for CNN International. - Dan Hedaya (born July 24, 1940), is a prolific character actor notable for his many Italian American film roles. - Robert M. Isaac (born January 27, 1928), is the former Republican Mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Elected in 1979, he was the first elected Mayor of the history of Colorado Springs, serving through 1997. - Alan Jabbour (born 1942), is a folklorist and a musician. - Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011), was the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, the largest Disney shareholder, and a member of Disney's Board of Directors. Jobs is considered a leading figure in both the computer and entertainment industries. - Mohja Kahf (born 1967), poet and author - Peter Lupus (born June 17, 1932), is a bodybuilder and actor, known primarily for "Mission: Impossible". - Kurtis Mantronik (born September 4, 1965), is a hip-hop, electro funk, and dance music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. Mantronik was the leader of the old-school band Mantronix. - Jack Marshall (born 1936), is an author and poet. - Louay M. Safi (born September 15, 1955), is a scholar and Human Rights activist, and a vocal critic of the Far Right. Author of numerous books and articles, Safi is active in the debate on nuclear race, social and political development, and Islam-West issues. He is the chairman of the Syrian American Congress. - Jerry Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954), is a comedian, actor, and writer, best known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the long-running sitcom Seinfeld, which he co-created and executively produced. - Teri Hatcher (born December 8, 1964), is an actress known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Hatcher is Syrian from her mother's side. - Yasser Seirawan (born March 24, 1960), is a chess grandmaster and 4-time US-champion. Seirawan is the 69th best chess player in the world and the 2nd in the United States. - Mona Simpson (born June 14, 1957), is a novelist and essayist; Simpson is also a sister of Steve Jobs. - Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972), is a successful professional surfer and an 11 time world champion. - Wafa Sultan (born 1958), is a well-known secular activist and vocal critic of Islam. In 2006, Sultan was chosen by Time Magazine to be on the Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in 2006. - Vic Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990), was an actor who won two Golden Globe Awards for his role in the television series Alice. - Fawwaz Ulaby, is the R. Jamieson and Betty Williams Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, and the former vice president for research. - M.Safwan Badr, is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Chief of Pulmonary/Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Wayne State University, and the president elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). See also - U.S. Census Bureau: Population by Selected Ancestry Group and Region: 2005[dead link] - "Lebanese and Syrian Americans". Utica College. Retrieved 2007-05-06. - "Immigrants, by Country of Birth: 1961 to 2005". United States Census. Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-04-29. - A Community of Many Worlds: Arab Americans in New York City, Museum of the City of New York/Syracuse University Press, 2002 - Naff (1993), p. 3 - Ernest McCarus (1992). The Development of Arab-American Identity (Hardcoover ed.). University of Michigan Press. pp. 24, 25. ISBN 0-472-10439-X. - Hitti, Philip (2005) . The Syrians in America. Gorgias Press. ISBN 1-59333-176-2. - "Syrian Americans". Everyculture.com. Retrieved 2007-05-21. - Samovar & Porter (1994), p. 83 - Suleiman (1999), pp. 1-21 - McCarus, Ernest (1994). The Development of Arab-American Identity. University of Michigan Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-472-10439-X. - Samovar & Porter (1994), p. 84 - "Religion in Syria - Christianity". About.com. Retrieved 2007-05-22. - "St. Raphael of Brooklyn". Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Retrieved 2007-05-22. - "Orthodox Churches (Parishes)". The Antiochian Orthodox Church. Retrieved 2007-05-30. - Williams, Raymond (1996). Christian Pluralism in the United States: The Indian Experience. Cambridge University Press. p. 11. ISBN 0-521-57016-6. - "Syria". The World Factbook. 2007. - "Religion in Syria - Alawi Islam". About.com. Retrieved 2007-05-22. - Zenner, Walter (2000). A Global Community: The Jews from Aleppo, Syria. Wayne State University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-8143-2791-5. - Kornfeld, Alana B. Elias. "Syrian Jews mark 100 years in U.S.". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - Samovar & Porter (1994), p. 85 - The Arab Americans: a history by Gregory Orfalea, pg 224 - Naff, Alixa (1993). Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience. Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-585-10809-4. - Levinson, David; Ember, Melvin (1997). American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation. Simon & Schuster Macmillan. p. 580. ISBN 0-02-897213-9. - Giggie, John; Winston, Diane (2002). Faith in the Market: Religion and the Rise of Urban Commercial Culture. Rutgers University Press. p. 204. ISBN 0-8135-3099-7. - "We the People of Arab Ancestry in the United States". United States Census. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - Davis, Scott (2002). The Road from Damascus: A Journey Through Syria. Cune Press. ISBN 978-1-885942-84-5. - Mahdi, Ali Akbar (2003). Teen Life in the Middle East. Greenwood Press. pp. 189–191. ISBN 0-313-31893-X. - Toumar, Habib Hassan (2003). The Music of the Arabs. Amadeus. ISBN 1-57467-081-6. - "Holidays". US Embassy in Damascus. Retrieved 2007-05-24. - Eichner, Itamar (2006-11-17). "Israeli minister, American Idol". YNetNew.com. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - Rocchio, Christopher (2007-03-14). "Paula Abdul dishes on Antonella Barba, 'Idol,' and her media portrayal". RealityTVWorld.com. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - Zeidler, Sue. "Is winning an Oscar a curse or a blessing?". Film.com. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - "Moustapaha Akkad". The Daily Telegraph (London). 2005-11-12. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - "Malek Jandali". National Public Radio (Houston). 2010-10-08. Retrieved 2010-10-08. - "'Mod Squad' actor Tige Andrews, 86, dies". USA Today. 2006-02-05. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - "Paul Anka". Historyofrock.com. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - "Anka, Paul". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-03-26. - "Paul the Comforter". Time. 1961-11-03. Retrieved 2007-03-26. - Leiby, Richard (2005-04-05). "Paul Anka's Deutsch Treat". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-03-26. - "FAQ". PaulAnka.com. Retrieved 2007-03-26. - "Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels". Official Indiana state site. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - Abbas, Faisal (2006-01-17). "Q&A with CNN’s Hala Gorani". Asharq Al-Awsat. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - "Dan Hedaya". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - "Steve Jobs' Magic Kingdom". BusinessWeek. 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2006-09-20. - Burrows, Peter (2004-11-04). "Steve Jobs: He Thinks Different". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2006-09-20. - "Jerry Seinfeld". Vividseats.com. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - "Yasser Seirawan". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - Abinader, Elmaz. "Children of al-Mahjar: Arab American Literature Spans a Century". USINFO. Archived from the original on 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - Campbell, Duncan (2004-06-18). "Steve Jobs". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2006-05-20. - "Surf for Peace". Surfer Magazine. Retrieved 2009-06-17. - Nomani, Asra (2006-04-30). "Wafa Sultan". Time. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - "The TIME 100, 2006". Time. Retrieved 2006-05-20. - Maslin, Janet. "Vic Tayback". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-05-20. - Abu-Laban, Baha; Suleiman, Michael (1989). Arab Americans: Continuity and Change. AAUG monograph series. Belmont, Massachusetts: Association of Arab-American University Graduates. ISBN 978-0-937694-82-4. - Kayal, Philip; Kayal, Joseph (1975). The Syrian Lebanese in America: A Study in Religion and Assimilation. The Immigrant Heritage of America series. [New York], Twayne Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8057-8412-1. - Naff, Alixa (1985). Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience. Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-585-10809-4. - Saliba, Najib (1992). Emigration from Syria and the Syrian-Lebanese Community of Worcester, MA. Ligonier, Pennsylvania: Antakya Press. ISBN 0-9624190-1-X. - Saliba Jerry Seinfeld Ticketsinventory.com Retrieved 2006-05-20. Missing or empty - Samovar, L. A.; Porter, R. E. (1994). Intercultural Communication: A Reader. Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-64440-6. - Suleiman, Michael (1999). Arabs in America: Building a New Future. NetLibrary. ISBN 0-585-36553-9. - Younis, Adele L. (1989). The Coming of the Arabic-Speaking People to the United States. Staten Island, New York: Center for Migration Studies. ISBN 978-0-934733-40-3. OCLC 31516579.

The significance of Alabama Unionists during the Civil War and Reconstruction has long been a subject of study among scholars. Largely centered in northern Alabama and to a lesser degree in the southeast region and in Montgomery and Mobile, Unionists were important both militarily and politically. Until recently, however, the details of this phenomenon have remained less well known, largely because the term Unionist (both then and now) has been used to refer to a range of different individuals and positions. In the broadest sense, Unionist has meant any white person who opposed secession (including those who later supported the Confederacy) and those who came to support the Union during the war despite having originally supported the Confederacy. This broad definition includes a very wide range of Alabamians—from the most well-to-do planters who ultimately become officers in the Confederate Army to the subsistence farmer who deserted the southern cause midway through the war. It is also possible to define Unionism more narrowly, confining the label to those individuals who resisted both secession and the Confederacy during the war. Such unconditional loyalists probably represented no more than 15 percent of Alabama's adult white population. They were mostly nonslaveholding farmers (though a small minority owned slaves) living in the northern third of the state. A few Unionists also lived in the piney woods and coastal plain further south. In many respects, these men and women were very much like their neighbors who supported the Confederate cause. The reasons they remained loyal to the Union were also quite diverse. Many saw secession as illegal, whereas others felt that it would dishonor the American Revolution and their own ancestors. Still others were certain that secession would end in political or military disaster. Many were influenced by the respected figures in their families or neighborhoods. Unionism in Alabama arose under the pressures of the presidential election of 1860. Nine months before, the state legislature had directed that, in the event of a Republican's election, a state secession convention would be called. By directly linking the presidential election to secession, the legislature fostered a political atmosphere that was particularly hostile to Unionists. Newspaper editorials and participants at community meetings condemned as traitors those who canvassed for Illinois senator Stephen Douglas, the nominee of the regular Democratic Party, rather than the southern-rights Democratic nominee, John Breckinridge. In the election, fully 80 percent of Alabama's eligible voters participated, giving Breckinridge a substantial victory, with 54 percent of the vote. John Bell, the Constitutional Union candidate who was supported by a number of Alabamians hostile to secession, received 31 percent of the vote. Douglas, the candidate most associated with a strongly Unionist position, polled slightly more than 15 percent. Republican Abraham Lincoln was not even on the ballot in Alabama. As promised, Alabama secessionists called a convention in the wake of Lincoln's election. The campaign for convention delegates provoked heated and sometimes violent debates among neighbors, forcing many to defend their positions in public. Of the 100 delegates elected, 53 were secessionists and 47 were cooperationists, a term that refers to the delegates' desire to secede only in "cooperation" with other southern states. In fact, the men elected on this platform represented a wide range of ideas about if, when, and under what circumstances to cooperate with secession and included a minority faction—probably less than one-third (the vast majority of them from the northern third of the state)—of unconditional Unionists who opposed secession outright. These delegates convened in Montgomery on January 7, 1861, and debated secession for four days. On January 11, 1861, the convention passed Alabama's Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 61 to 39. Many of those who voted against the ordinance, however, ultimately did support secession, and four immediately reversed themselves and signed with the majority. Among the opposition, 33 delegates subsequently signed the "Address to the People of Alabama," in which they pledged to consult with their supporters and then act on their wishes. Ten signatories of the address signed the ordinance to satisfy their constituents. Other delegates who rejected the ordinance eventually took active part in the war. Only three signers—Henry C. Sanford of Cherokee County, Elliot P. Jones of Fayette County, and Robert Guttery of Walker County—never signed the ordinance and maintained their Unionism throughout the war. Only two wartime Unionists—R. S. Watkins of Franklin County and Christopher C. Sheats of Winston County—signed neither the "Address" nor the Ordinance of Secession. Most of the men and women who supported the Union after Alabama's secession faced great difficulties. Many were ostracized and ridiculed by neighbors, called before community vigilance committees for questioning and intimidation, or actually harmed for endorsing the Union. Such treatment was most commonly meted out to those who publicly asserted their views; those who kept quiet and did not interfere with volunteering were often left alone during the first year of the war. After Confederate conscription began in April 1862, however, community tolerance of Unionists waned. Individuals who resisted the draft, for whatever reason, were subject to arrest and imprisonment. Family members who supported resisters were frequently threatened with violence or exile by conscript cavalry who hoped to pressure men to come in from the woods or mountains and surrender. In addition, it was not at all uncommon for the families of Unionists to be targeted for punitive foraging or arson by Confederate forces or local conscript cavalry. After the Union Army invaded Alabama in early 1862, Unionists had more opportunities to flee behind Union lines for safety and the possibility of employment as soldiers, spies, or laborers. Most well known of Alabama's Union troops was the First Alabama Cavalry, U.S.A., organized in late 1862 by Brig. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, stationed at Corinth, Mississippi. The regiment served mostly in northern Alabama, western Tennessee, and northeastern Mississippi, though it marched with Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman to Savannah in 1864. Alabama Unionists also joined other federal regiments, particularly those from Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. Those who remained at home, both within Union-occupied territory and behind Confederate lines, also actively assisted Union forces as spies and guides. In some cases, they collaborated with local African Americans (most often their own slaves) to aid and abet the Union Army or pro-Union men in their neighborhoods. Moreover, African Americans from Alabama also crossed the Union lines to serve as laborers and soldiers, and after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in 1863, many were inducted into United States Colored Troops regiments. Almost 5,000 African Americans, or 6 percent of Alabama's black male population between the ages of 18 and 45, volunteered in the Union ranks. As was the case throughout the South, by the midpoint of the war Alabama's original Unionists were increasingly joined in their dissent by deserters from the Confederate Army, mostly men whose families were struggling at home without their labor. Disillusioned by the realities of warfare, angered by the inequities of service under laws exempting slaveowners and selected professionals, such Alabamians generally wanted the war to end more than they desired Union victory, though some did cross lines and join the Union army rather than desert and avoid service altogether. A small peace movement also emerged at this time among men who had originally opposed secession but later supported the state. After the war, Unionists continued to struggle politically and socially, for their wartime activities had alienated them from their now-defeated neighbors. Most eagerly joined the Union League and the Republican Party. Some wartime Unionists helped reintroduce the Methodist-Episcopal Church (as contrasted with the Methodist-Episcopal Church, South) to northern Alabama, finding there a more hospitable environment for worship. Many campaigned strenuously to convince the president and Congress to limit the political rights of former Confederates. They also sought positions of local and state authority for others who had supported the Union during the war. At this point, a number of men who had originally opposed secession but supported the state in 1861, as well as citizens who had become disillusioned with the war, also moved to the fore of political life in Alabama. These moderates were, in general, encouraged by Pres. Andrew Johnson, who appointed such men to positions of political authority in the immediate post-war provisional governments he established. The Republican Party in Alabama was populated by such individuals, as well as core Unionists who had served in the Union Army or otherwise actively resisted the Confederacy. Both groups were referred to by their Democratic opponents as sc alawags. Under Congressional Reconstruction (1867-74) wartime loyalists gained greater political power than they had under Presidential Reconstruction, taking leading roles in the constitutional convention of 1867, the Freedmen's Bureau, and the Republican-dominated state legislature. Most also supported, though sometimes reluctantly, voting rights for African Americans as a means to gain political power over former Confederates. For their continued association with northern Republicans and support for African American equality, white Unionists were targeted for intimidation and physical violence by the Ku Klux Klan and other anti-Reconstruction vigilantes. As elsewhere in the South, Alabama Unionists and their Republican allies (white and black, northern and southern) received little in the way of federal assistance to defend against the onslaught of violence. As their party was overwhelmed by the Democratic opposition, Unionists retreated from the forefront of state politics, though those in communities with substantial loyalist populations continued in positions of local political leadership well into the late nineteenth century. Barney, William L. The Secessionist Impulse: Alabama and Mississippi in 1860. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974. Fitzgerald, Michael W. The Union League Movement in the Deep South: Politics and Agri cultural Change During Reconstruction. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989. Mills, Gary B. Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission. A Composite Directory of Case Files Created by the U.S. Commissioner of Claims, 1871-1880, including those appealed to the War Claims Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Court of Claims. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. 1994. Rogers, William Warren, Jr. The Confederate Home Front: Montgomery During the Civil War. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1999. Storey, Margaret M. Loyalty and Loss: Alabama's Unionists in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004. Margaret M. Storey Published December 14, 2007 Last updated October 3, 2011

The Chinook Arch November 14, 2001 The above photo was taken at evening twilight in Calgary, Alberta by Jeff McIntosh. On the lee (eastern) side of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and the province of Alberta in Canada, chinook winds occasionally bring respite from cold weather. Chinook is an Indian name meaning "snow eater." These warm, westerly winds result from downslope winds - air moving across the Rocky Mountains and down onto the prairies. During those cold, dull gray winter days, Albertans sometimes look toward the mountains for the Chinook Arch, a curved patch of blue sky (as shown above) that indicates that warm winds are approaching. Over this past weekend, a strong chinook was felt in Alberta and Montana. Chinooks typically occur from early November to late March.

Rodrigues, A.S.L., Andelman, S.J., Bakarr, M.I., Boitani, L., Brooks, T.M., Cowling, R.M., Fishpool, L.D.C., da Fonseca, G.A.B., Gaston, K.J., Hoffmann, M., Long, J.S., Marquet, P.A., Pilgrim, J.D., Pressey, R.L., Schipper, J., Sechrest, W., Stuart, S.N., Underhill, L.G., Waller, R.W., Watts, M.E.J. and Yan, X. (2004) Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity. Nature, 428 (6983). pp. 640-643. ISSN 0028-0836Full text available as: The Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, announced in September 2003 that the global network of protected areas now covers 11.5% of the planet's land surface. This surpasses the 10% target proposed a decade earlier, at the Caracas Congress, for 9 out of 14 major terrestrial biomes. Such uniform targets based on percentage of area have become deeply embedded into national and international conservation planning. Although politically expedient, the scientific basis and conservation value of these targets have been questioned. In practice, however, little is known of how to set appropriate targets, or of the extent to which the current global protected area network fulfils its goal of protecting biodiversity. Here, we combine five global data sets on the distribution of species and protected areas to provide the first global gap analysis assessing the effectiveness of protected areas in representing species diversity. We show that the global network is far from complete, and demonstrate the inadequacy of uniform—that is, 'one size fits all'—conservation targets. |Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:||© 2004 Nature Publishing Group| |Academic Units:||The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biological Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield)| |Depositing User:||Repository Officer| |Date Deposited:||12 Jan 2005| |Last Modified:||08 Feb 2013 16:47| Actions (login required)

Photo Courtesy of Steve Dewey, Utah State University, bugwood.org Thermopsis montana Nutt. Scientific Name Synonyms: Life Span: Perennial Growth Characteristics: Mountain goldenpea is an erect forb, growing up to 2 feet in height and spreading by rhizomes. It blooms between May and August, depending on the elevations. Flowers: Pea-like lemon-yellow colored flowers in a raceme. Flowers are ½ to ¾ inch long. There are five to fifty flowers which make up the inflorescence. The flower spikes arise from the leaf axils Fruits/Seeds: The seedpods are long, thin, blue/green and covered with downy hairy. They project vertically from the stem. The pods grow quickly in the late spring and early summer, and mature in late summer. There are two to five seeds per pod. Leaves: Leaves are alternate, palmate, with 3 leaflets, which are oval in shape. Stems: Multiple stems up to 2 feet tall. Mountain goldenpea is found in montane and subalpine zones. It is common in woodlands and meadows. Soils: Sandy, well-drained soils. Associated Species: Aspen, lupine, snowberry. Uses and Management: Mountain goldenpea is poisonous to cattle. The principle toxin has not been isolated, but is thought to be similar to quinolizidine alkaloids found in Lupines. The toxin causes acute muscle degeneration – cattle become weak, ataxic, and unable to stand. Animals die from hunger and thirst. Mountain Glodenpea will remain toxic in hay, especially if seed pods are present.

Uveitis is inflammation of the uvea, which is made up of the iris, ciliary body and choroid. Together, these form the middle layer of the eye between the retina and the sclera (white of the eye). The eye is shaped like a tennis ball, with three different layers of tissue surrounding the central gel-filled cavity, which is called the vitreous. The innermost layer is the retina, which senses light and helps to send images to your brain. The outermost layer is the sclera, the strong white wall of the eye. The middle layer between the sclera and retina is called the uvea. The uvea contains many blood vessels — the veins, arteries and capillaries — that carry blood to and from the eye. Because the uvea nourishes many important parts of the eye (such as the retina), inflammation of the uvea can damage your sight. There are several types of uveitis, defined by the part of the eye where it occurs. - Iritis affects the front of your eye. Also called anterior uveitis, this is the most common type of uveitis. Iritis usually develops suddenly and may last six to eight weeks. Some types of anterior uveitis can be chronic or recurrent. - If the uvea is inflamed in the middle or intermediate region of the eye, it is called pars planitis (or intermediate uveitis). Episodes of pars planitis can last between a few weeks to years. The disease goes through cycles of getting better, then worse. - Posterior uveitis affects the back parts of your eye. Posterior uveitis can develop slowly and often lasts for many years. - Panuveitis occurs when all layers of the uvea are inflamed. Next Page: Uveitis Causes

Basic Use To make a new number, a simple initialization suffices: var foo = 0; // or whatever number you want foo = 1; //foo = 1 foo += 2; //foo = 3 (the two gets added on) foo -= 2; //foo = 1 (the two gets removed) Number literals define the number value. In particular: They appear as a set of digits of varying length. Negative literal numbers have a minus sign before the set of digits. Floating point literal numbers contain one decimal point, and may optionally use the E notation with the character e. An integer literal may be prepended with "0", to indicate that a number is in base-8. (8 and 9 are not octal digits, and if found, cause the integer to be read in the normal base-10). An integer literal may also be found with "0x", to indicate a hexadecimal number. The Math Object Unlike strings, arrays, and dates, the numbers aren't objects. The Math object provides numeric functions and constants as methods and properties. The methods and properties of the Math object are referenced using the dot operator in the usual way, for example: var varOne = Math.ceil(8.5); var varPi = Math.PI; var sqrt3 = Math.sqrt(3); Methods random() Generates a pseudo-random number. var myInt = Math.random(); max(int1, int2) Returns the highest number from the two numbers passed as arguments. var myInt = Math.max(8, 9); document.write(myInt); //9 min(int1, int2) Returns the lowest number from the two numbers passed as arguments. var myInt = Math.min(8, 9); document.write(myInt); //8 floor(float) Returns the greatest integer less than the number passed as an argument. var myInt = Math.floor(90.8); document.write(myInt); //90; ceil(float) Returns the least integer greater than the number passed as an argument. var myInt = Math.ceil(90.8); document.write(myInt); //91; round(float) Returns the closest integer to the number passed as an argument. var myInt = Math.round(90.8); document.write(myInt); //91;

by +Richard Holbrooke – Schwann cells boost and amplify nerve growth in animal models, but their clinical use has been held back because they are difficult, time-consuming and costly to culture. A University of Sheffield team, led by Professor John Haycock, has developed a new technique with adult rat tissue which overcomes all these problems, producing Schwann cells in less than half the time and at much lower cost. “The ability of Schwann cells to boost nerve growth was proved many years ago in animals, but if you want to use this technique with patients, the problem is: where do you get enough cells from?” said Professor Haycock, from the University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “To reduce immune rejection, the cells have to be grown from the patient’s own tissue. Of course, you want to take the smallest amount of tissue necessary, so the technique must be efficient. It must also be fast, so treatment can begin as soon as possible after injury. For clinical use, it must also provide pure Schwann cells. And finally, to make it viable, it has to be at a reasonable cost.” Existing methods for growing Schwann cells from adult tissue promote the growth of another type of cell, called fibroblasts, which swamp the Schwann cells, reducing the speed they grow and their numbers. This means that large amounts of tissue are needed at the outset, to grow sufficient cells for therapeutic use. It also requires extra purification stages added to the process, making it slow and costly – taking up to 3 months to complete. Professor Haycock and his team have come up with a very simple solution: feed the Schwann cells but starve the fibroblasts. The research, published today in Nature Protocols, uses an amino acid that only the Schwann cells can break down and feed off, and are able to produce a 97 per cent pure population of Schwann cells in a much shorter space of time – just 19 days – from a small sample of adult tissue. Professor Haycock is confident the technique can be replicated in humans. His team are trialling the same method using human nerve tissue, with results expected within the next six months.

LANs to WANs(c) The Complete Management Guide Authors: Muller N.J. Published year: 2003 |< Day Day Up >| Depending on the situation facing network managers, bridges can be used to either extend or segment LANs. At one level, bridges can be used for segmenting LANs into smaller subnets to improve performance, control access, and facilitate fault isolation and testing without impacting the overall user population. At another level, they are used to create an extended network that greatly expands the number of devices that can be supported and the services available to each user . Bridges may even offer additional features such as data compression, which has the effect of providing greater throughput over low-speed lines. Compression ratios of 2:1 all the way down to 6:1 may be selected by the network manager, depending on what the vendor offers with a specific product. As noted, bridging occurs at the data link layer (see Figure 5.1), which provides physical addressing, manages access to the physical medium, controls data flow, and handles transmission errors. Bridges analyze incoming frames, make forwarding decisions based on the source and destination addresses of those frames, and then forward the frames to their destinations. Sometimes, as in source-route bridging, the frame contains the entire path to the destination. In other cases, as in transparent bridging, frames are forwarded one hop at a time toward the destination. Figure 5.1: Bridge functionality in reference to the OSI model. Bridges can be either local or remote. Local bridges provide direct connections between many LAN segments in the same area. Remote bridges connect LAN segments in different areas, usually over telecommunication lines. There are several kinds of bridging and all may be supported in the same device: Transparent bridging —used mostly in Ethernet environments that have the same media types, these bridges keep a table of destination addresses and outbound interfaces. Source-route bridging —used mostly in token-ring environments, these bridges only forward frames based on the routing indicator contained in the frame. End stations are responsible for determining and maintaining the table of destination addresses and routing indicators. Translation bridging —used to bridge data between different media types, these devices typically go between Ethernet and FDDI or token ring to Ethernet. Source-route translation bridging —this is a combination of source-route bridging and transparent bridging that allows communication in mixed Ethernet and token-ring environments. (Translation bridging without routing indicators between token ring and Ethernet is also called source-route transparent bridging.) The engine for transparent bridging is the spanning tree algorithm (STA), which dynamically discovers a loop-free subset of the network’s topology. The STA accomplishes this by placing active bridge ports that create loops into a standby or blocked condition. A blocked port can provide redundancy in that if the primary port fails, it can be activated to take the traffic load. The spanning tree calculation is triggered when the bridge is powered up and whenever a change in topology is detected . A topology change might occur when a forwarding port is going down (blocking) or when a port transitions to forwarding and the bridge has a designated port, which also indicates that the bridge is not standalone. Configuration messages known as bridge protocol data units (BPDUs) actually trigger the spanning tree calculation. These messages are exchanged between bridges at regular intervals set by the network manager, usually 1 to 4 seconds. Once a change in topology is detected, this information must be shared with all bridges on the network. This is a two-step process that starts when a bridge notifies the root bridge of the spanning tree by sending it a special BPDU known as a topology change notification (TCN). The bridge sends the TCN out over its root port. The root bridge acknowledges the message by sending back a normal configuration BPDU with the topology change acknowledgment (TCA) bit set. The second step in the topology update process entails the root bridge sending out configuration BPDUs with the topology change (TC) bit set. These BPDUs are relayed by every bridge, so they can become aware of the changed topology. There are some problems associated with spanning tree. The more hosts on the network, the higher the probability of topology changes. For example, a directly attached host, such as a client or server, will trigger a topology change when powered off, then go on to clear an operating system problem. In a large, flat network, the point can be reached when it is continually in topology change status. The resulting high level of flooding can lead to an unstable STP environment. To deal with this problem, vendors have come up with ways to avoid TCN generation for certain events. For example, the network manager can configure the bridge so that it issues a TCN when a server is power cycled, but not when client devices are power cycled. If a bridge port going up or down is not deemed an important event, this event too can be programmed not to issue a TCN. Source-route bridging (SRB) is used in the token-ring environment as the method by which a station establishes a route through a multiple-ring network to its destination. The first step for a station to reach another is to create a packet called an explorer. This packet is copied by all bridges in the network, with each of them adding information about itself before passing it on. The explorer packet’s routing information field (RIF) contains the information of where it has traversed through the network and within the RIF; a route descriptor stores the path it has taken through the network. As the explorer packet is constructed on its way through the network, the destination station will start receiving data packets from the originating station. Based on the contents of the explorer packet, the destination station will then decide which route to use to send data packets back to the originating station. Or it will send its own explorer packet so that the originating station can determine its own route. The explorer packet is limited in terms of how many rings it can hold in the routing information field. Although the RIF can hold a total of 14 rings, IBM long ago limited this to seven. Other vendors also adopted this limitation. Consequently, an explorer packet that has traversed seven rings will be dropped in the network. To control traffic in the network with more precision, parameters can be set in the bridge to decrease this number even further, so that packets that reach X number of rings (any number below seven) will be dropped. While explorers are limited to traversing only seven rings, in a meshed ring environment, one explorer can finish being copied by many bridges, which can cause too many explorers. Explorer storms can be prevented in redundant network topologies by setting the bridge to filter out explorers that have already been forwarded once. Since explorer traffic can be distinguished from regular source route traffic, the network manager can issue commands that check the bridge for various parameters, such as the number of explorers that were dropped outbound on that interface. While Ethernet has become the network of choice for new installations, there is still a good amount of token ring in use, making it necessary to mix the two environments for data exchange. Doing so is complicated because some very fundamental differences between Ethernet and token ring must be reconciled. Token ring has functional addresses, while Ethernet primarily relies on broadcasts. Furthermore, MAC addresses on the Ethernet are different from MAC addresses on the token ring. Ethernet does not have a source-route bridging capability and token ring has a routing information field. Finally, token ring and Ethernet use different methods to read the bits into their adapters. To unify the two environments, vendors have come up with various methods such as translation bridging. This is a type of bridging that is implemented on networks that use different MAC sublayer protocols, providing a method of resolving differences in header formats and protocol specifications. Since there are no real standards in how communication between two media types should occur, however, no single translation implementation can be called correct. The only consideration for network managers is to select a method of translation and implement it uniformly throughout the network. Essentially, the bridges reorder source and destination address bits when translating between Ethernet and token-ring frame formats. The problem of embedded MAC-addresses can be resolved by programming the bridge to look for various types of MAC addresses. Some translation-bridges simply check for the most popular embedded addresses. If others are used, the bridge must be programmed to look for them as well. But if translation-bridging software runs in a multi-protocol router, which is very common today, these protocols can be routed and the problem avoided entirely. Token ring’s RIF field has a component that indicates the largest frame size that can be accepted by a particular source-route bridging implementation. Translation bridges that send frames from the transparent-bridging domain to the SRB domain usually set the maximum transfer unit (MTU) field to 1,500 bytes to limit the size of token-ring frames entering the transparent-bridging domain, because this is the maximum size of Ethernet frames. Some hosts cannot process this field correctly, in which case translation bridges are forced to drop the frames that exceed Ethernet’s MTU size. Bits representing token-ring functions that are absent in Ethernet are discarded by translation bridges. For example, token ring’s priority, reservation, and monitor bits are discarded during translation. And token ring’s frame status bits are treated differently, depending on the bridge manufacturer; the products of some manufacturers may even ignore these bits. Sometimes, the bridge will have the C bit set, indicating that the frame has been copied, but not the A bit set, indicating that the destination station recognizes the address. In the former case, a token-ring source node determines if the frame it sent has become lost. Advocates of this approach claim that reliability mechanisms, such as the tracking of lost frames, are better left for implementation in Layer 4 of the OSI model. Advocates of setting the C bit argue that this bit must be set to track lost frames, but that the A bit cannot be set because the bridge is not the final destination. Translation bridges also can be used to create a software gateway between the token ring and Ethernet domains. To the SRB end stations, the translation bridge has a ring number and a bridge number associated with it, so it looks like a standard source-route bridge. In this case, the ring number reflects the entire transparent-bridging domain. To the transparent-bridging domain, the translation bridge is just another transparent bridge. When bridging from the SRB domain to the transparent-bridging domain, SRB information is removed. Token ring’s routing information fields usually are cached for use by any subsequent return traffic. When bridging from the transparent bridging to the SRB domain, the translation bridge checks the frame to see if it has a multicast or unicast destination. If the frame has a multicast or broadcast destination, it is sent into the SRB domain as a spanning-tree explorer. If the frame has a unicast address, the translation bridge looks up the destination in the RIF cache. If a path is found, it is used and the RIF information is added to the frame; otherwise , the frame is sent as a spanning-tree explorer. Another solution to unify the Ethernet and token-ring environments is source-route translation bridging (SRTLB). This entails the addition of bridge groups to the interfaces of both the token ring and Ethernet bridges to create a transparent bridge domain between the two environments. The bridges at each end are responsible for establishing the path through the network. When a bridge on a token ring receives a packet from an Ethernet, for example, path establishment is handled as follows (see Figure 5.2): Figure 5.2: Source-route translation bridging, from token ring to Ethernet. Bridge-1 receives a packet from the Ethernet. This is from PC-1 to the host. Bridge-1 needs a RIF to reach the host, so it creates an explorer to learn the path to reach the host. After Bridge-1 receives the response, it sends the response (without a RIF) to the Ethernet station. PC-1 sends an exchange identifier (XID) to the host MAC address. Bridge-1 gets the Ethernet packet, attaches the RIF to the host, and sends the packet on its way. As far as the host is concerned , the Ethernet is sitting on a pseudo ring. This is configured with the source-bridge transparent command on the bridge. The pseudo ring makes the host treat the Ethernet as if it were a token ring. |< Day Day Up >| LANs to WANs(c) The Complete Management Guide Authors: Muller N.J. Published year: 2003

Marion Levine teaches English, Literature and Film Production at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, Los Angeles, CA Measure for Measure, Act 4 or 5 What's On for Today and Why Students will choose a character from Measure for Measure and create a "back story" for that character. This will encourage students to read the text closely looking for clues regarding a specific character's history. Students will re-read a portion of the text and then write about what has happened to the character before the play begins. They will then create an artifact, such as a diary or journal entry, written by the charcacter they have selected. This will allow them the opportunity to think like the character and to view the events of the play from a specific point of view. This lesson will take two 40 minute class periods. What You Need Measure for Measure, Folger Edition What To Do 1. Explain the concept of a "back story" as the important events that occur to a character before the play begins. You may need to prompt students with questions such as: What was the character like as a child? In what situation did he/she grow up? Students will need to show how the script supports their choices. 2. Have the students write a one or two page back story in either the first or third person. 3. Divide students into small groups of 4 or 5 and have them re-read Act 4 or Act 5, combing throught the text for character details. 4. Have students write a letter, diary or journal entry from their selected characters point of view (first person). This artifact should concern one or more characters in the play. 5. For increased authenticity, appropriate for an "Extra-Extended" book, students could write their letter, diary entry using calligraphy, a handwriting font or on a piece of yellowed paper. 6. Allow students time to read their pieces and share their artifacts with the class. How Did It Go? Were students able to justify their choices with reference to the text? Did their artifacts accurately portray character traits that can be interpreted from the text? Were students able to convey a sense of the character's perspective through this activity? This lesson could be applied to any fictional text that the students read in class. Through close reading and attention to a specific character, students are able to identify with, and understand the concerns of a character on a deeper level. Possible choices could include Jay Gatsby, Hester Prynne,and Atticus Finch. If you used this lesson, we would like to hear how it went and about any adaptations you made to suit the needs of YOUR students.

Cancer Fighting Foods/Spices The National Cancer Institute estimates that roughly one-third of all cancer deaths may be diet related. What you eat can hurt you, but it can also help you. Many of the common foods found in grocery stores or organic markets contain cancer-fighting properties, from the antioxidants that neutralize the damage caused by free radicals to the powerful phytochemicals that scientists are just beginning to explore. There isn’t a single element in a particular food that does all the work: The best thing to do is eat a variety of foods. The following foods have the ability to help stave off cancer and some can even help inhibit cancer cell growth or reduce tumor size. Avocados are rich in glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that attacks free radicals in the body by blocking intestinal absorption of certain fats. They also supply even more potassium than bananas and are a strong source of beta-carotene. Scientists also believe that avocados may also be useful in treating viral hepatitis (a cause of liver cancer), as well as other sources of liver damage. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower have a chemical component called indole-3-carbinol that can combat breast cancer by converting a cancer-promoting estrogen into a more protective variety. Broccoli, especially sprouts, also have the phytochemical sulforaphane, a product of glucoraphanin – believed to aid in preventing some types of cancer, like colon and rectal cancer. Sulforaphane induces the production of certain enzymes that can deactivate free radicals and carcinogens. The enzymes have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumors in laboratory animals. However, be aware that the Agriculture Department studied 71 types of broccoli plants and found a 30-fold difference in the amounts of glucoraphanin. It appears that the more bitter the broccoli is, the more glucoraphanin it has. Broccoli sprouts have been developed under the trade name BroccoSprouts that have a consistent level of sulforaphane – as much as 20 times higher than the levels found in mature heads of broccoli. Carrots contain a lot of beta carotene, which may help reduce a wide range of cancers including lung, mouth, throat, stomach, intestine, bladder, prostate and breast. Some research indicated beta carotene may actually cause cancer, but this has not proven that eating carrots, unless in very large quantities – 2 to 3 kilos a day, can cause cancer. In fact, a substance called falcarinol that is found in carrots has been found to reduce the risk of cancer, according to researchers at Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences (DIAS). Kirsten Brandt, head of the research department, explained that isolated cancer cells grow more slowly when exposed to falcarinol. This substance is a polyacethylen, however, so it is important not to cook the carrots. Chili peppers and jalapenos contain a chemical, capsaicin, which may neutralize certain cancer-causing substances (nitrosamines) and may help prevent cancers such as stomach cancer. November 20, 2008 at 3:27 pm Maybe you should be eating more beets, left, or chopped cabbage. (Credit: Evan Sung for The New York Times, left Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice. - Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters. How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power. - Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes. How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches. - Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes. How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil. - Cinnamon: Helps control blood sugar and cholesterol. How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal. - Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants. How to eat: Just drink it. - Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but packed with cancer-fighting antioxidants. How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked. - Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death. How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad. - Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.’’ They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins. How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread. - Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,’’ it has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish. - Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies. How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds. - Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories. How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg. You can find more details and recipes on the Men’s Health Web site, which published the original version of the list last year. In my own house, I only have two of these items — pumpkin seeds, which I often roast and put on salads, and frozen blueberries, which I mix with milk, yogurt and other fruits for morning smoothies. How about you? Have any of these foods found their way into your shopping cart? Courtesy: New York Times July 1, 2008 at 9:06 am

Question from Amanda: Where and what acids are found in wine. Which wines have more acid (dry or sweet) and why due to the climate. Explain why and how titration can be used to determine the relative acid content of wine. If you could help answer my question i would be very grateful. Answer: Hi, Amanda! Thanks for your question! I’ll do my best…. The main grape acid is tartaric, a relatively strong acid, unlike most fruits. It’s followed by malic (found in lots of fruits and vegetables) and there are trace amounts of lots of different acids. We have an article on wine components, including acid, at goosecross.com. Generally, white wines are higher in acid than reds, for aesthetic reasons. Sweet wines should be the highest of all, to offset the sweetness, or the wine will be cloying. Cool climates usually produce wines of high acid compared to warm climates because heat causes the sugar to go up and the acid to go down. A Chardonnay from Burgundy, France is almost always higher in acid than a Napa Valley Chardonnay because of the difference in climate. Imagine trying to ripen tomatoes in a cold climate–they will be quite tart! Titration is a simple color-change test. I’ve paraphrased this from a wine text: Titration is the process of determining the concentration of a substance, such as acid, in a solution by adding a carefully measured standard reagent (usually sodium hydroxide) until a reaction (change in color) occurs due to the presence of an indicator (phenolphthalein). Most home winemakers buy inexpensive kits to do this. I hope this helps you. Are you studying wine making?

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith is perhaps the most notable expression in creedal form of the truths of the Bible. It was the work of that assembly of divines which was called together by Parliament and met in London, at Westminster Abbey, during the years 1643-1648. It was this assembly which also produced the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The Confession and the Catechisms are used by many churches as their doctrinal standards, subordinate to the Word of God. The text of the Confession as given in this document is in the form adopted by the Bible Presbyterian Church in 1938, and, except for a few revisions, which are largely concerned with eschatology, as well as with the relation of the civil magistrate to the church, it agrees with the text of the original manuscript of the Confession. A list of changes can be found here, together with the reading of the original.

Most of us know someone with a food allergy. I certainly do-two of my children have been labeled with life threatening food allergies; one to peanuts and tree nuts and the other to soy. Every time I head to the grocery store I spend a tremendous amount of time reading each and every label-including labels that I am familiar with to be sure they haven’t changed. This is a necessity to keep my family safe and healthy. In January, 2006, the new Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) took effect. The law requires food manufacturers to identify all ingredients in a food product containing one or more of the eight major allergens. The eight foods identified by the law are: - Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod) - Crustacean shellfish (e.g. crab, lobster, shrimp) - Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans) The law states that the name of the food source of a major food allergen must appear: - In parentheses following the name of the ingredient. Examples: “lecithin (soy),” “flour (wheat),” and “whey (milk)” – OR – - Immediately after or next to the list of ingredients in a “contains” statement. Example: “Contains Wheat, Milk, and Soy.” Most companies are very clear in their labeling and use the “contains” language in bold after their ingredient list. HERE’S WHERE IT GETS REALLY CONFUSING I have been scrutinizing food labels for years-I am noticing that I have to squint these days to read the fine print. Many labels contain language about cross-contamination-if the food was processed on shared equipment or shared processing lines with one of the 8 allergens. But not all manufacturers are listing cross-contamination information. The reason being- companies are not required to include this information. There are no particular regulations on whether they need to add statements such as “may contain traces of peanuts,” for example, for foods that aren’t supposed to contain such allergens. It is a company’s choice whether or not to include this information, and how to word it. How to decide if cross-contamination is an issue So the bottom line is YOU will need to determine what degree of risk you are comfortable with when purchasing foods. That is a lot of pressure when you are buying food for someone else. Here is my internal checklist for deciding whether or not to buy a product: - I first check the ingredients list for the 8 common allergens. - If there is no cross-contamination or “may contain” information I then look at the other same brand products on the shelf. If there are other products that have either nuts or soy I will more often than not assume there might be cross-contamination. - I might contact the manufacturer on occasion to ask specifically about a cross-contamination issue. Let me know how do you decide which products are safe to purchase? My Go-To Food Allergy Sites:

The basics of heat stress When the thermometer rises, it can-and often does-create a multitude of problems. Anyone, given the right (or wrong) conditions, can get heat stress. Some are lucky enough to suffer only from heat cramps, while those who are less fortunate may be laid up by heat exhaustion or devastated by heat stroke. As the long, hot days of summer approach, it is helpful to review the effects of warm weather on the human body, the illnesses that may result and what you can do. How the body stays cool Unknowingly, you constantly engage your body in the life-and-death struggle to disperse the heat it produces. If allowed to accumulate, this heat would quickly increase your body temperature beyond its comfortable 98.6oF. This does not normally happen because your body is able to lose enough heat to maintain a steady temperature. You become aware of this struggle for heat balance during hard labor or exercise in hot environments, when your body produces heat faster than it can lose it. Under certain conditions, your body may build up too much heat, your temperature may rise to life-threatening levels, and you may become delirious or lose consciousness. This is called heat stroke, and it is a serious medical emergency. If you do not rid your body of excess heat fast enough, it cooks the brain and other vital organs. It often is fatal, and those who survive may have permanent damage to their vital organs. Before your temperature reaches heat-stroke levels, however, you may suffer heat exhaustion with its flu-like symptoms, and while treating its symptoms you avoid heat stroke. How does your body dispose of excess heat? Humans lose heat largely through their skin, similar to how a car loses heat through its radiator. Exercising muscles warms the blood, just as a car's hot engine warms its radiator fluid. Warm blood travels through the skin's dilated blood vessels losing heat by evaporating sweat to the surrounding air, just like a car loses engine heat through its radiator. When blood delivers heat to the skin, two of the most important ways the body loses heat are radiation and evaporation (vaporization of sweat). When the temperature is 70oF or less, the body releases its heat by radiation. As environmental temperatures approach your body temperature, you lose less heat through radiation. In fact, people working on hot summer days actually gain heat through radiation from the sun. This leaves evaporation as the only way to effectively control body temperature. Water loss Your body is about half water. You lose about 2 quarts every day (breathing, urinating, bowel movements and sweat). A working adult can produce 2 quarts of sweat per hour for short periods and up to 15 quarts per day. Because the body's water absorption rate of 1.5 quarts per hour is less than the body's 2 quarts per hour sweat rate, dehydration results. This happens because you cannot drink enough water to keep up with your sweat losses. If you drink only when you are thirsty, you are dehydrated already. Thirst is not a good guide for when to drink water. In fact, in hot and humid conditions, you may be so dehydrated by the time you become thirsty that you will have trouble catching up with your fluid losses. One guideline regarding your water intake is to monitor your urine. You are getting enough water if you produce clear urine at least five times a day. Cloudy or dark urine, or urinating less than five times a day, means you should drink more. In the Gulf War, American armed forces followed the practice of the Israeli army: drinking a minimum of 1 quart of fluid per hour. This tactic resulted in zero deaths from heat illness. In contrast, during the Six Day War of 1967, more than 20,000 Egyptian soldiers died3/4with no visible wounds3/4most likely from dehydration and heat illness because they were restricted to 3 quarts daily. While working in hot weather, drink 8 ounces of water every 20 minutes. Generally, 16 ounces is the most a person can comfortably drink at once. You cannot "catch up" by drinking extra water later because only about 1 quart of water per hour can pass out of the stomach. Therefore, if possible, workers should begin drinking water before they start work. Cool water (50oF) is easier for the stomach to absorb than warm water, and a little flavoring may make the water more tasty. The best fluids are those that leave the stomach fast and contain little sodium and some sugar (less than 8 percent). You should avoid coffee and tea because they contain caffeine, which is a diuretic that increases water loss through urination. Alcoholic beverages also dehydrate by increasing urination. Soda pop contains about 10 percent sugar and, therefore, your body does not absorb it as well as water or commercial sports drinks. The sugar content of fruit juices ranges from 11 to 18 percent and has an even longer absorption time. Commercial sports drinks contain about 5 to 8 percent sugar. Electrolyte loss Sweat and urine contain potassium and sodium, which are essential electrolytes that control the movement of water in and out of the body's cells. Many everyday foods contain these electrolytes. Bananas and nuts are rich with potassium, and most American diets have up to 10 times as much sodium as the body needs. Getting enough salt is rarely a problem in the typical American diet. In fact, most Americans consume an excessive amount of sodium-averaging 5 to 10 grams of sodium per day-although we probably require only 1 to 3 grams. Therefore, sodium loss is seldom a problem, unless a person is sweating profusely for long periods and drinking large amounts of water. Commercial sports drinks can be useful if you are participating in vigorous physical activity for longer than 1 hour (some experts say longer than 4 hours). Most of the time, however, people merely require water to remain hydrated. The truth is that excessive sodium can draw water out of the body cells, accentuating the dehydration. In addition, drinking large amounts of water (more than 1 quart an hour) can cause water intoxication, a condition that flushes electrolytes from the body. Frequent urination and behavior changes (irrationality, combativeness, coma, seizures, etc.) are signs of water intoxication. Effects of humidity Sweat can only cool the body if it evaporates. In dry air, you will not notice sweat evaporating. However, sweat cannot evaporate in high-humidity conditions; it just drips off the skin. At about 70-percent humidity, sweating is ineffective in cooling the body. Because humidity can significantly reduce evaporative cooling, a highly humid but mildly warm day can be more stressful than a hot, dry one. Therefore, the higher the humidity, the lower the temperature at which heat risk begins, especially those who are generating heat with vigorous work. Who is at risk? Everyone is susceptible to heat illness if environmental conditions overwhelm the body's temperature-regulating mechanisms. Heat waves can set the stage for a rash of heat-stroke victims. For example, during the 1995 summer heat wave in Chicago, the death toll reached 590. People who are obese, chronically ill or alcoholics have an increased risk. The elderly are at higher risk because of impaired cardiac output and decreased ability to sweat. Infants and young children also are susceptible to heat stroke, as well. The fluid loss and dehydration resulting from physical activity puts outdoor laborers at particular risk. Certain medications predispose individuals to heat stroke, such as drugs that alter sweat production (antihistamines, antipsychotics, antidepressants) or interfere with thermoregulation. Heat illnesses Several disorders exist along the spectrum of heat illnesses. Heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are on the more serious side of the scale, whereas heat syncope, heat edema and prickly heat are less serious (see "Heat illnesses," page C 18). Only heat stroke is life-threatening. Untreated heat-stroke victims always die. * Heat cramps are painful muscular spasms that occur suddenly. They usually involve the muscles in the back of the leg or the abdominal muscles. They tend to occur immediately after exertion and are caused by salt depletion. Victims may be drinking water without adequate salt content. However, some experts disagree because the typical American diet is heavy with salt. * Heat exhaustion is characterized by heavy perspiration with normal or slightly above-normal body temperatures. A depletion of water or salt3/4or both3/4causes this condition. Some experts believe severe dehydration is a better term because it happens to workers who do not drink enough fluids while working in hot environments. Symptoms include severe thirst, fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The affected person often mistakenly believes he or she has the flu. Uncontrolled heat exhaustion can evolve into heat stroke. * Heat stroke is classified in two ways: classic and exertional. Classic heat stroke, also known as the "slow cooker," may take days to develop. This condition is prevalent during summer heat waves and typically affects poor, elderly, chronically ill, alcoholic or obese persons. Because the elderly often have medical problems, heat stroke exacerbates the problem, and more than 50 percent of elderly heat-stroke victims die3/4even with medical care. Death results from a combination of a hot environment and dehydration. Exertional heat stroke also is more common in the summer. You see it frequently in athletes, laborers and military personnel who sweat profusely. Known as the "fast cooker," this condition affects healthy, active individuals who strenuously work or play in a warm environment. Exertional heat-stroke victims usually are sweating when stricken, while the classic victims are not sweating. Its rapid onset does not allow enough time for severe dehydration to occur. Because uncontrolled heat exhaustion can evolve into heat stroke, you should know how to tell the difference between them. If the victim feels extremely hot when touched, suspect heat stroke. Another mark of heat stroke is that the victim's mental status (behavior) changes drastically3/4ranging from being slightly confused and disoriented to falling into a coma. In between these conditions, victims usually become irrational, agitated or even aggressive and may have seizures. In severe cases, the victim can go into a coma in less than 1 hour. The longer a coma lasts, the lower the chance for survival, so rescuers must be quick. A third way of distinguishing heat stroke from heat exhaustion is by rectal temperature. Obviously, this is not very practical because conscious heat-stroke victims may not cooperate. Taking a rectal temperature can be embarrassing to both victim and rescuer. Moreover, rectal thermometers are seldom available, and the whole procedure of finding the appropriate thermometer and then using it wastes time and distracts from important emergency care. In most cases, an ambulance arrives within 10 to 20 minutes. * Heat syncope, in which a person becomes dizzy or faints after exposure to high temperatures, is a self-limiting condition. Victims should lie down in a cool place when it occurs. Victims who are not nauseated can drink water. * Heat edema, which is also a self-limiting condition, causes ankles and feet to swell from heat exposure. It is more common in women unacclimated to a hot climate. It is related to salt and water retention and tends to disappear after acclimation. Wearing support stockings and elevating the legs often helps reduce swelling. * Prickly heat, also known as a heat rash, is an itchy rash that develops on skin that is wet from sweating. Dry and cool the skin. Cooling methods Sometimes the only way to stop possible damage is to cool the victim as quickly as possible. However, it is important to pay attention to both the cooling methods and cautions. * Ice baths cool a victim quickly but require a great deal of ice3/4at least 80 pounds3/4to be effective. Needing a big enough tub also limits this method. Cool-water baths3/4(less than 60oF)3/4can be successful if you stir the water to prevent a warm layer from forming around the body. This is the most effective method in highly humid conditions (greater than 75-percent humidity). * Spraying the victim with water combined with fanning is another method for cooling the body. The water droplets act as artificial sweat and cool the body through evaporation. However, this method is not effective in high humidity3/4greater than 75 percent. * Ice bags wrapped in wet towels and placed against the large veins in the groin, armpits and sides of the neck also cool the body, though not nearly as quickly as immersion. Cautions to remember when employing any cooling method include: * Do not delay the onset of cooling while waiting for an ambulance. Doing so increases the risk of tissue damage and prolonged hospitalization. * Stop cooling when the victim's mental status improves to avoid hypothermia. * Do not use rubbing alcohol to cool the skin. It can be absorbed into the blood, causing alcohol poisoning. Its vapors are a potential fire hazard. * Do not use aspirin or acetaminophen. They are not effective because the brain's control-center temperature is not elevated as it is with fever caused by diseases. Adjusting to heat Most heat illness occur during the first days of working in the heat. Therefore, acclimation (adjusting to the heat) is the main preventive measure. To better handle the heat, the body adjusts by decreasing the salt content in sweat and increases the sweating rate. Year-round exercise can help workers prepare for hot weather. Such activity raises the body's core temperature so it becomes accustomed to heat. Full acclimation, however, requires exercise in hot weather. You can do this by exercising a minimum of 60 to 90 minutes in the heat each day for 1 to 2 weeks. The acclimated heart pumps more blood with each stroke than a heart unused to working in the heat. Sweating earlier and doubles the amount of sweat per hour from 1.5 quarts to 3 quarts or more. When new workers are exposed to hot weather, team them with veterans of the heat who know how much water to drink. Heat illnesses are avoidable. With knowledge, preparation, fluid replacement and prompt emergency care, heat casualties need not be a factor for those working in warm weather. Dr. Alton Thygerson is a professor of health science at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. He also serves as the technical consultant for the National Safety Council's First Aid Institute. Want to use this article? Click here for options! © 2013 Penton Media Inc.

Harold Urey was the teacher of the American researcher Stanley Miler at Chicago University. Because of Urey’s contribution to Miller’s 1953 experiment on the origin of life, this is also known as the Urey-Miller Experiment. This experiment is the only “proof” used to supposedly confirm the molecular evolution thesis, which is put forward as the first stage in the evolutionary process. However, the experiment was never able to offer any findings to support evolutionist claims regarding the origin of life. (See The Miller Experiment.) —See Miller Experiment, The.

To learn more about cholesterol, browse any of the cholesterol topics below. About Cholesterol Cholesterol itself isn't bad. We all have and need this wax-like substance in our bodies. Learn about the so-called "good" and "bad" cholesterol, where it comes from, and why it's important for your health. Why Cholesterol Matters High cholesterol is one of the major risk factors leading to heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Discover the reasons to keep your cholesterol controlled. Understand Your Risk for Cholesterol High cholesterol levels can run in families, and women generally tend to have higher levels of HDL than men. Find out more about who has high cholesterol, and discover why managing cholesterol is important even for children. Prevention & Treatment of Cholesterol You can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Take responsibility for managing your cholesterol levels with healthy lifestyle choices and a sound medical treatment plan when prescribed. Cholesterol Tools & Resources Learn more with our online tracking resources, downloadable information pages and personal stories from people like you. Watch, Learn and Live Our Interactive Cardiovascular Library has informative illustrations and animations to help you learn about conditions, treatments and procedures related to heart disease and stroke.

Trees or shrubs; petiole eglandular; lamina mostly bearing several–many glands on abaxial surface. Inflorescence terminal, unbranched or branched near base, each axis a raceme of short 1–7-flowered cincinni; lowest bracteole and alternate subsequent bracteoles bearing 1 large eccentric abaxial gland. Sepals all biglandular, leaving outermost petal exposed in bud; petals glabrous or bearing a tuft of hairs abaxially at base of claw; posterior petal strongly differentiated from the lateral 4, with a thick erect claw and large marginal glands on proximal half of limb or at apex of claw; receptacle glabrous on both sides of stamens; stamens all fertile or the posterior (1–) 3 bearing rudimentary anthers; pollen radially symmetrical, colporate; carpels completely connate in ovary; styles 3, slender and subulate with the stigmas very small, apical or slightly internal. Fruit dry, indehiscent, a nut without a bony endocarp, containing only 1 seed. Distribution: South America. The Mcvaughia clade is strongly supported by both molecular and morphological evidence. The phylogenetic tree shown above, from Davis & Anderson (2010 [pdf]), shows bootstrap values above the branches. Especially noteworthy among the morphological characteristics shared by these three genera are the shrubby or arborescent habit, the abaxial leaf glands, the flowers often in several-flowered cincinni, the large abaxial gland on alternate bracteoles, and the dry, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit.

Hospitals across the country are diligently working to reduce infection rates. According to the World Health Organization, hospital-acquired infections affect as many as 1.7 million patients in the United States each year. These infections come at an annual cost of $6.5 billion and contribute to more than 90,000 deaths. Proper hand hygiene is essential in helping to prevent hospital-acquired infections. A recent study performed by French researchers examined three types of healthcare workers. The first type spent a large amount of time with a discreet group of patients like a nurse would. The second group saw more patients but spent less time with each one - similar to doctors. Group three consisted of healthcare workers who interacted with every patient every day like therapists. The study found that if a healthcare worker in group three failed to wash their hands, the spread of disease was three times worse than if someone from group one or two didn't. The study was published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To read more about the study, continue here. To read another take on hand hygiene and about the Joint Commission's national hand hygiene project, click here. Photo Credit: Jessica Flavin Almost two million patients hospitalized in the U.S. each year develop an infection. These infections occur in as many as one in every 10 patients, result in close to 100,000 deaths and cost upwards of $6 billion. The Wall Street Journal created a top 10 list of infection prevention strategies based on interviews with medical professionals, administrators a non profit company and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. - Undercover Operations - Dr. Philip Carling, an epidemiologist at Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Mass. developed a solution to uncover how well patient rooms are cleaned. His invisible solution contains fluorescent markers which glow in black light. After spraying patient rooms with the solution, cleaning crews were brought in to perform their normal routine. Later, rooms were examined with a black light and areas missed by the cleaners glowed fluorescent. Sharing results with cleaners helped boost compliance with proper cleaning techniques. - High-Tech Cleaning Systems - When hospital equipment is disinfected by hand, bacteria often remains. For more thorough disinfecting hospitals are utilizing machines such as Bioquell which sprays a disinfecting hydrogen-peroxide vapor. - Data Mining - Many hospitals are tracking data to determine how to prevent infections. Lee Memorial Health System in Florida tracks infection rates by surgeon and reports on the results. Low ranking surgeons can then make adjustments to lower their infection rates and improve their ranking. - Patient Hygiene - Research suggests a daily wash with mild antibacterial soap can dramatically reduce the rate of bloodstream infections. The recommended cleanser is chlorohexidine glutonate. - Reporting Crackdown - Numerous states have passed laws which require hospitals to report on infection rates. In many cases the reports are publicly available. In addition, Medicare is limiting reimbursement for treatment of hospital-acquired infections. - Clean hands - Hospitals that utilize strategically-placed dispensers of hand sanitizer have noticed an increase in hand hygiene compliance from less than 50% to more than 80%. - Embracing the Checklist - Incorporating checklists into bedside medical charts can help reduce rates of infection by requiring shift nurses to answer questions such as: Does this patient have a catheter? If so, is it still necessary? - Portable Kits - Utilizing all-inclusive kits for common procedures such as intravenous line insertions or dressing changes can limit the possibility for infection. Kits contain all the items needed for procedures and prevent the nurse from running in and out of the patient room during a procedure to find a forgotten item. - Mouth Maintenance - Regularly cleaning patients' mouths, gums and teeth can help prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia, a common infection found in intensive care units. - Infection ID - Quick diagnostic tests can identify infected patients in a matter of hours rather than days. This allows for a quick response when patients show symptoms, are tested and found to be infected. To read the complete article with expanded descriptions of the top 10, click here. Photo Credit: Presta Hospitals in Michigan lowered the rate of bloodstream infections in their patients by following a five-step checklist. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that implementing the checklist reduced the rate of bloodstream infections related to catheter use by 66%. Despite this success, utilization of the checklist remains limited. The checklist itself isn't complicated: - Wash hands - Clean patient's skin with chlorohexidine - Wear protective cap and gown and use a surgical drape during the procedure - Avoid catheter insertion through the groin if possible - Remove unnecessary catheters Peter Pronovost, the patient-safety expert who led the study, spoke with The Wall Street Journal to share insights on why more hospitals haven't benefited from using the checklist. To read excerpts from his interview, click here. Photo Credit: Adesigna A recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control examined the levels of bacteria on healthcare workers' lab coats. The study involved a cross section of medical and surgical grand rounds attendees at a large teaching hospital. Participants completed a survey and cultured their lab coat using a moistened swab on the lapels, pocket and cuffs. Of the 149 white coats in the study, 34 (23%) were contaminated with S aureus, of which 6 (18%) were methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA). Providers working with patients had higher contamination levels and the study suggests that white coats may contribute to patient-to-patient transmission of S aureus. Read the entire study in the March 2009 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Photo Credit: Estherase Central venous catheters (CVC) are essential for treating children with cancer. They reduce the need for multiple needlesticks and the associated pain and anxiety. In addition, they can be used to deliver chemotherapy, parenteral fluids, blood products and analgesics. Despite the positives, children with CVCs are at increased risk for bloodstream infections. Complications associated with CVCs include pneumothorax, air embolism, nerve injury, catheter malposition, infection and occlusion. A recent study had four objectives: 1. To decrease CVC-related bloodstream infection rates in children with cancer through a comprehensive educational intervention. 2. To determine if the frequency of catheter hub colonization of CVCs in children with cancer would decrease following the educational intervention. 3. To evaluate nurses' knowledge of CVC care. 4. To determine risk factors influencing CVC-related bloodstream infections in children with cancer. The study was conducted in the cancer center of a large children's hospital and included patients ranging in age from infancy to 18 years. A 45 minute educational program on CDC guidelines, most frequent guideline violations and information on catheter-related infections was presented to all caregivers. Following the educational presentation, catheter-related bloodstream infections were tracked for six months in order to determine the rate of infection. Study findings showed that the educational program increased nurses' knowledge and instances of catheter-related bloodstream infections decreased. You can read the full article in the March 2009 issue of Oncology Nursing Forum or purchase it online here. Photo Credit: Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center According to a 2009 study, approximately 5 million central venous catheters are placed each year. Implantable ports provide reliable venous, arterial, epidural and peritoneal access and can be used to administer IV fluids, medications and to obtain blood samples. However complications including occlusion, infection, catheter migration and catheter separation from portal body can frequently occur. A recent study conducted in a rural hematology-oncology clinic focused on infection. A port infection can present as local tenderness, pain, erythema, induration or edema at the insertion or exit site or over the port pocket. Patients may also have purulent or serous drainage, fever and chills. To prevent infection, aseptic technique should be utilized for dressing changes. In addition, clinicians should follow accessing and deaccessing procedures and keep the exit clear of potential sources of infection. The 62 patients included in the study were receiving a minimum of two complete cycles of chemotherapy after port insertion. Ports were accessed and deaccessed following outlined protocol. *Steps for Accessing Ports: - Wash hands. Assess the port site for erythema, warmth or drainage. - Palpate the outline of the portal body. - Wash hands. - Apply nonsterile gloves. Cleanse port site with chlorohexidine swab in a circular motion for 30 seconds. Allow to dry for 30 seconds. - Spray ethyl chloride. - Stabilize portal body with one hand. Insert Huber needle (link to EZ Huber product page) into septum with other hand. Ensure patency by blood return. If no blood return, use interventions to assess port's patency. - Stabilize port with gauze and tape or apply transparent dressing. *Steps for Deaccessing Ports: - Wash hands. Apply nonsterile gloves. - Inspect exit site. - Flush device with 20 ml normal saline followed by 5 ml heparin flush (100 units/ml). During final flush, clamp tubing to port. - Stabilize port and remove needle. - Apply bandage. Six of the 62 patients in the study experienced a port infection, with four of the six ports requiring removal. The total number of catheter days for the implanted ports was 7,277. Patient catheter days ranged from 32-288. The study concluded that consistent, routine care is the best preventative measure against port complications. The entire study can be found in the October 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. *The port access and de-access protocols are those that were used by the authors for this study. Please follow institutional policies and procedures regarding port access and de-access. Although many infection headlines are related to hospitals, individual doctor's offices are facing similar challenges. Almost 30 cases of hepatitis B were recently tied to one doctor's office in New Jersey. When health inspectors visited the office they found blood on the floor of a room where chemotherapy was administered, blood in a bin where blood vials were stored, unsterile saline and gauze as well as open medication vials. Inspectors also noticed cross-contamination of pens, refrigerators and countertops, use of contaminated gloves and misuse of antiseptics. Patients were sent a letter from state epidemiologist Dr. Christina Chan urging testing for hepatitis B. "Evidence gathered at this time suggests that since 2002, some clinic staff provided care in a manner that puts patients at risk for infection caused by bloodborne viruses, including hepatitis B," the letter told patients. "The investigation to date suggests that hepatitis B infections identified may be associated with the method by which medications were administered and procedures performed at the practice." Numerous checklists and recommendations have been published around infection control. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases and Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine offers these infection control musts: - Hand washing - Barrier precautions to prevent skin and mucous membrane exposure - Proper handling of sharps and contaminated waste - Appropriate cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and equipment - Aseptic technique for invasive procedures For the full recommendation on infection control in physician's offices, click here. To read more about the hepatitis B outbreak in New Jersey, continue reading here. Photo Credit: Hollywood Pimp The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare is working on its first improvement venture: The Hand Hygiene Project. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 2 million patients get a hospital-related infection every year and 90,000 die from their infection. Causes of Failure to Clean Hands - Ineffective placement of dispensers or sinks - Hand hygiene compliance data are not collected or reported accurately or frequently - Lack of accountability and just-in-time coaching - Safety culture does not stress hand hygiene at all levels - Ineffective or insufficient education - Hands full - Wearing gloves interferes with process - Perception that hand hygiene is not needed if wearing gloves - Healthcare workers forget Early results of the program found on average that caregivers washed their hands less than 50 percent of the time. "Demanding that healthcare workers try harder is not the answer. These healthcare organizations have the courage to step forward to tackle the problem of hand washing by digging deep to find out where the breakdowns take place so we can create targeted solutions that will work now and keep working in the future," said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P, M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission. By January, 2010, the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare plans to have data to demonstrate whether the proposed hand hygiene solutions can be sustained to achieve a 90+ percent compliance rate. Eight hospitals are participating in this project: - Cedars-Sinai Health System, Los Angeles, California - Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, Wheat Ridge, Colorado - Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, Baltimore, Maryland - Memorial Hermann Health Care System, Houston, Texas - Trinity Health, Novi, Michigan - Virtua, Marlton, New Jersey - Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina To read the full release from the Joint Commission for Transforming Healthcare, click here. Photo Credit: Mag3737 Healthcare providers are on alert due to an increase in a new strain of hospital-acquired infections. A recent study released by Arlington Medical Resources (AMR) and Decision Resources, found that recurrent Clostridium difficile is difficult to treat in a hospital setting. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that can cause symptoms as minor as diarrhea and as life threatening as severe inflammation of the colon. The elderly are most at risk and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services is considering adding Clostridium difficile to its list of "never events" or preventable hospital-acquired infections. Hospitals will receive reduced or no Medicare payments for infections on the "never events" list. Read more about how the study was conducted as well as more information on Clostridium difficile here. Photo Credit: Big Grey Mare Jeanne Hahne was working as a nurse in a burn ward when inspiration struck. Because the patients were so vulnerable to infection, Hahne and other healthcare providers had to wear full protective gear including a cap to cover her hair and a mask that covered the majority of her face. Even though she worked with many of the burn patients every day, most couldn't recognize her. Flash forward almost 30 years and Hahne has designed a face mask made of clear plastic so patients can see her smile. Hahne believes she can reassure patients with a smile and help decrease their anxiety. The masks also have utility for patients and healthcare providers with hearing loss since they allow for lip reading. In addition, the masks have helped improve communication between healthcare workers which can help decrease the chance for mistakes or misunderstanding. To read more and see pictures of the face mask, click here. Photo Credit: Christiana Care

There are many aspects to learning the creation of interactive fiction. Here we mostly undertake to explain approaches to using Inform, and leave the larger questions of craft and design for elsewhere. The two manuals There are two interlinked manuals built into every copy of the Inform application: if you've downloaded Inform, you already have them. But they are also available to read or download separately from this website. Writing with Inform is an overview of the language, beginning with the simplest kinds of construction (such as building a map of rooms, objects, and doors) and working its way up to more advanced tasks. It is meant to be read more or less sequentially, since later chapters build on the ideas in earlier ones; though some of the late chapters (such as those covering numbers, activities, or advanced text) might reasonably be read out of order. The Recipe Book approaches the problem of authorship from a different perspective. Instead of trying to teach the language from start to finish, it is organized for the author who wants to accomplish something specific, such as asking the player's name at the start of play or implementing a system of measured liquids. It shares the same set of examples that are keyed to Writing with Inform, but organizes them into a new order and accompanies them with text about design problems in creating interactive fiction, rather than explanation of language features. Following requests from partially sighted Inform users, we've also made two plain vanilla versions of the manual available - they have as little decoration or web design as possible, which means less clutter for screen-reading software to cope with. We offer a choice of: Minimally tagged HTML provides an archive containing the pages of the manuals and examples as vanilla-flavoured HTML files. Writing with Inform in plain text format is just what it claims to be - one single file containing only text, with no marking-up of any kind. This contains all of the examples, following the text in numerical order, but not the Recipe Book. (The whole idea of two interleaved manuals can't really be achieved in one flat text file.) We receive occasional questions about publishing a printed form of the manuals. The answer is that we intend to do exactly that, in due course, but that we expect the current text will be revised wholesale once the system is more mature. (The same thing happened with Inform 6, with the appearance of the printed Designer's Manual in 2001 essentially marking the end of its design cycle.)

Flickr as a Paintbrush [cartogrammar.com] reveals the recorded colors of our surrounding landscape, both in a physical and cultural sense. In short, Andy Woodruff created a set of geographic heatmaps that represent the average colors of images taken on locations surrounding a specific landmark. In other words, the resulting maps reveal the colors that people on the ground should be looking at. Technically, these maps are based on the most recent 2,000 photos uploaded to Flickr that were geotagged within a specified bounding box. These were then averaged by hue. As an emergent result, the color red reveals the dominance of brick, while green/yellow colors naturally denote grass and trees. However, some unexpected patterns appear as well, such as blue/purple in the map of Boston.

Chinese researchers have turned to the light absorbing properties of butterfly wings to significantly increase the efficiency of solar hydrogen cells, using biomimetics to copy the nanostructure that allows for incredible light and heat absorption. Butterflies are known to use heat from the sun to warm themselves beyond what their bodies can provide, and this new research takes a page from their evolution to improve hydrogen fuel generation. Analyzing the wings of Papilio helenus, the researchers found scales that are described as having: [...] Ridges running the length of the scale with very small holes on either side that opened up onto an underlying layer. The steep walls of the ridges help funnel light into the holes. The walls absorb longer wavelengths of light while allowing shorter wavelengths to reach a membrane below the scales. Using the images of the scales, the researchers created computer models to confirm this filtering effect. The nano-hole arrays change from wave guides for short wavelengths to barriers and absorbers for longer wavelengths, which act just like a high-pass filtering layer. So, what does this have to do with fuel cells? Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen takes energy, and is a drain on the amount you can get out of a cell. To split the water, the process uses a catalyst, and certain catalysts — say, titanium dioxide — function by exposure to light. The researchers synthesized a titanium dioxide catalyst using the pattern from the butterfly's wings, and paired it with platinum nanoparticles to make it more efficient at splitting water. The result? A 230% uptick in the amount of hydrogen produced. The structure of the butterfly's wing means that it's better at absorbing light — so who knows, you might also see the same technique on solar panels, too.

World’s poorest on front line in climate change fight 24 July 2008 | News story Climate change is already happening – and it hits poor people most. The effect of more frequent hurricanes, floods and droughts on developing countries is devastating, as this year’s cyclone Nagris proved again in southern Myanmar, leaving over 130,000 people dead or missing. To protect the world’s poor against today’s more frequent extreme weather events, some US$ 2 billion is required according to the Internacional relief agency Oxfam. However, commitments so far only total US$173. The need for innovative means to mitigate climate change impacts and help poor countries adapt is high on the agenda of the World Conservation Congress, held by IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature from 5-14 October in Barcelona. - In 2007, there were 950 natural catastrophes in 2007 compared with 850 in 2006, according to Munich Re, one of the world’s largest insurance companies. This is the highest number recorded since the company started compiling annual disaster reports in 1974. - The burden of the disasters fall on the poor who are least to blame for climate change. Benin, and Bangladesh, for example, are at particularly high risk from rising sea-levels and storm surges, yet their per capita contribution to greenhouse gas output is one eightieth that of the United States, according to the British Institute of Development Studies. - “What worries us the most is the impact on the poorest countries which have the least capacity to respond to the challenge,” said Yvo de Boer, secretary of the Convention on Climate Change. - A healthy environment can help people survive. Healthy mangrove forests and coral reefs, for example, can serve as barriers and prevent coastal erosion; a solid forest cover prevents flooding in times of heavy rainfall. - “There are positive examples of local level adaptation to the impacts of climate change, such as replanting mangrove forests that can serve as buffers against more frequent storms. But to implement these solutions on a larger scale, substantial financial support is required,” says Ninni Ikkala, Climate Change Officer at IUCN. Upcoming media products: 6 August – International Press Release – Primates Red List update 12 August – International Press Release – Cetacean Red List update Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN’s Director General. Ninni Ikkala, IUCN Climate Change Programme Brian Thomson, IUCN Global Communications, m +417972182326, e [email protected]. Carolin Wahnbaeck, IUCN Global Communications, m +41 79 85 87 593, e [email protected] World Conservation Congress, Barcelona (5-14 October) The World Conservation Congress (WCC) brings together 8,000 leaders from the public sector, government, business and non-governmental organizations for what is the premier summit on sustainable development in 2008. Over ten days they debate the best ways to tackle environmental and development challenges. They share pragmatic solutions to pressing issues. And they commit to collaborative action.

There's this kid who gets bullied a lot by everyone. What should I do? Hooray for the person who sent this question in to us! There are a lot more kids who witness bullying than there are victims of bullying. Often, people who see something happen are called bystanders. Wouldn't it be excellent if those bystanders would do something to help someone who's being bullied? But how exactly do you find your courage and do it? First, be sure to let an adult know what's going on. If it's happening at school, have a talk with a teacher or school counselor about it. If it happens at camp, the camp counselor is the one to talk to. Approach the adult and say you need to talk. Explain what's been going on the best you can. Give details. The adult can take steps to stop the bullying. Plus, once they know about bullying, adults can do things to help the kid who's been bullied feel better and stronger. Adults can also help the kid who bullies learn to treat others with respect, friendship, and kindness. After talking to an adult, here are some other things you can do. Be friendly to the kid who gets bullied. For example, say "hi" at the lockers or bus line, include that kid at your lunch table, or invite the kid to play at recess or to be in your group for a project. This helps for two reasons: Any kid who gets bullied is likely to feel left out and alone. Your friendship helps that kid feel included and welcome. Friendship also helps prevent bullying because bullies are less likely to pick on kids when they are with friends. And when you see the bully acting mean, you can say, "Hey, knock it off, that's not cool," and invite the kid who's being picked on to walk away with you. You can just say, "C'mon, let's go." This can work even better if you get a couple of your friends to join you in standing up for the kid. Tell your friends ahead of time: "I'm going to stick up for that kid. Will you do it with me?" Be sure to update the adult about what's going on until the problem is solved. This is also a very good thing to talk to parents about. Your parent will want to know about all this and can give you more advice and support. Plus, your mom or dad will be proud that you're the kind of kid who cares and who stands up for others and for what's right! Bullying makes kids feel terrible — and not just the kid who's being bullied. Just seeing someone else be bullied makes others feel bad. That's because meanness affects everyone in the environment. It's like meanness pollution, so let's all fight it!

You may associate pneumonia with the melodrama of a soap opera: prolonged hospital stays, oxygen tents, and family members whispering in bedside huddles. It's true that pneumonia can be serious. But more often pneumonia is an infection that can be easily treated at home without a hospital stay. What Is Pneumonia? Pneumonia (pronounced: noo-mow-nyuh) is an infection of the lungs. When someone has pneumonia, lung tissue can fill with pus and other fluid, which makes it difficult for oxygen in the lung's air sacs to reach the bloodstream. With pneumonia, a person may have difficulty breathing and have a cough and fever; occasionally, chest or abdominal pain and vomiting are symptoms, too. Pneumonia is commonly caused by viruses, such as the influenza virus(flu) and adenovirus. Other viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus(RSV), are common causes of pneumonia in young children and infants. Bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae can cause pneumonia, too. People with bacterial pneumonia are usually sicker than those with viral pneumonia, but can be effectively treated with antibiotic medications. You might have heard the terms "double pneumonia" or "walking pneumonia." Double pneumonia simply means that the infection is in both lungs. It's common for pneumonia to affect both lungs, so don't worry if your doctor says this is what you have — it doesn't mean you're twice as sick. Walking pneumonia refers to pneumonia that is mild enough that you may not even know you have it. Walking pneumonia (also called atypical pneumonia because it's different from the typical bacterial pneumonia) is common in teens and is often caused by a tiny microorganism, Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Like the typical bacterial pneumonia, walking pneumonia also can be treated with antibiotics. What Are the Signs and Symptoms? Many symptoms are associated with pneumonia; some of them, like a cough or a sore throat, are also common with other common infections. Often, people get pneumonia after they've had an upper respiratory tract infection like a cold. Symptoms of pneumonia can include: unusually rapid breathing chest or abdominal pain loss of appetite vomiting and dehydration Symptoms vary from person to person, and few people get all of them. When pneumonia is caused by bacteria, a person tends to become sick quickly and develops a high fever and has difficulty breathing. When it's caused by a virus, symptoms generally appear more gradually and might be less severe. Someone's symptoms can help the doctor identify the type of pneumonia. Mycoplasma pneumoniae, for example, often causes headaches, sore throats, and rash in addition to the symptoms listed above. The routine vaccinations that most people receive as kids help prevent certain types of pneumonia and other infections. If you have a chronic illness, such as sickle cell disease, you may have received additional vaccinations and disease-preventing antibiotics to help prevent pneumonia and other infections caused by bacteria. People with diseases that affect their immune system (like diabetes, HIV infection, or cancer), are 65 or older, or are in other high-risk groups should receive a pneumococcal vaccination. They also may receive antibiotics to prevent pneumonia that can be caused by organisms they're especially susceptible to. In some cases, antiviral medication might be used to prevent viral pneumonia or to lessen its effects. Doctors recommend that everyone 6 months and older gets a flu vaccine. That's because pneumonia often happens as a complication of the flu. Call your doctor's office to see when these vaccines are available. Because pneumonia is often caused by germs, a good way to prevent it is to keep your distance from anyone you know who has pneumonia or other respiratory infections. Use separate drinking glasses and eating utensils; wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water; and avoid touching used tissues and paper towels. You also can stay strong and help avoid some of the illnesses that might lead to pneumonia by eating as healthily as possible, getting a minimum of 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night, and not smoking. How Long Does It Last? The length of time between exposure and feeling sick (called the incubation period) depends on many factors, particularly the type of pneumonia involved. With influenza pneumonia, for example, someone may become sick as soon as 12 hours or as long as 3 days after exposure to the flu virus. But with walking pneumonia, a person may not have symptoms until 2 to 3 weeks after becoming infected. Most types of pneumonia resolve within a week or two, although a cough can linger for several weeks more. In severe cases, it may take longer to completely recover. If you think you may have pneumonia, tell a parent or other adult and be sure you see a doctor. Be especially aware of your breathing; if you have chest pain or trouble breathing or if your lips or fingers look blue, you should go to a doctor's office or to a hospital emergency department right away. How Is Pneumonia Treated? If pneumonia is suspected, the doctor will perform a physical exam and might order a chest X-ray and blood tests. People with bacterial or atypical pneumonia will probably be given antibiotics to take at home. The doctor also will recommend getting lots of rest and drinking plenty of fluids. Some people with pneumonia need to be hospitalized to get better — usually babies, young kids, and people older than 65. However, hospital care may be needed for a teen who: already has immune system problems has cystic fibrosis is dangerously dehydrated or is vomiting a lot and can't keep fluids and medicine down has had pneumonia frequently has skin that's blue or pale in color, which reflects a lack of oxygen When pneumonia patients are hospitalized, treatment might include intravenous (IV) antibiotics (delivered through a needle inserted into a vein) and respiratory therapy (breathing treatments). Antiviral medications approved for adults and teens can reduce the severity of flu infections if taken in the first 1 to 2 days after symptoms begin. They're usually prescribed for teens who have certain underlying illnesses such as asthma or who have pneumonia or breathing difficulty. If you have been exposed to influenza and you begin to develop symptoms of pneumonia, call a doctor. If your doctor has prescribed medicine, be sure to follow the directions carefully. You may feel better in a room with a humidifier, which increases the moisture in the air and soothes irritated lungs. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids, especially if you have a fever. If you have a fever and feel uncomfortable, ask the doctor whether you can take over-the-counter medicine such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to bring it down. But don't take any medicine without checking first with your doctor — a cough suppressant, for example, may not allow your lungs to clear themselves of mucus. And finally, be sure to rest. This is a good time to sleep, watch TV, read, and lay low. If you treat your body right, it will repair itself and you'll be back to normal in no time.

It's normal for parents to disagree and argue from time to time. Parents might disagree about money, home chores, or how to spend time. They might disagree about big things — like important decisions they need to make for the family. They might even disagree about little things that don't seem important at all — like what's for dinner or what time someone gets home. Sometimes parents can disagree with each other and still manage to talk about it in a calm way, where both people get a chance to listen and to talk. But many times when parents disagree, they argue. An argument is a fight using words. Most kids worry when their parents argue. Loud voices and angry words parents might use can make kids feel scared, sad, or upset. Even arguments that use silence — like when parents act angry and don't talk to each other at all — can be upsetting for kids. If the argument has anything to do with the kids, kids might think they have caused their parents to argue and fight. If kids think it's their fault, they might feel guilty or even more upset. But parents' behavior is never the fault of kids. What Does It Mean When Parents Fight? Kids often worry about what it means when parents fight. They might jump to conclusions and think arguments mean their parents don't love each other anymore. They might think it means their parents will get a divorce. But parents' arguments usually don't mean that they don't love each other or that they're getting a divorce. Most of the time the arguments are just a way to let off steam when parents have a bad day or feel stressed out over other things. Most people lose their cool now and then. Just like kids, when parents get upset they might cry, yell, or say things they don't really mean. Sometimes an argument might not mean anything except that one parent or both just lost their temper. Just like kids, parents might argue more if they're not feeling their best or are under a lot of stress from a job or other worries. Kids usually feel upset when they see or hear parents arguing. It's hard to hear the yelling and the unkind words. Seeing parents upset and out of control can make kids feel unprotected and scared. Kids might worry about one parent or the other during an argument. They might worry that one parent may feel especially sad or hurt because of being yelled at by the other parent. They might worry that one parent seems angry enough to lose control. They might worry that their parent might be angry with them, too, or that someone might get hurt. Sometimes parents' arguments make kids cry or give them a stomachache. Worry from arguments can even make it hard for a kid to go to sleep or go to school. What to Do When Parents Fight It's important to remember that the parents are arguing or fighting, not the kids. So the best thing to do is to stay out of the argument and go somewhere else in the house to get away from the fighting or arguing. So go to your room, close the door, find something else to do until it is over. It's not the kid's job to be a referee. When Parents' Fighting Goes Too Far When parents argue, there can be too much yelling and screaming, name calling, and too many unkind things said. Even though many parents may do this, it's never OK to treat people in your family with disrespect, use unkind words, or yell and scream at them. Sometimes parents' fighting may go too far, and include pushing and shoving, throwing things, or hitting. These things are never OK. When parents' fights get physical in these ways, the parents need to learn to get their anger under control. They might need the help of another adult to do this. Kids who live in families where the fighting goes too far can let someone know what's going on. Talking to other relatives, a teacher, a school counselor, or any adult you trust about the fighting can be important. Sometimes parents who fight can get so out of control that they hurt each other, and sometimes kids can get hurt, too. If this happens, kids can let an adult know, so that the family can be helped and protected from fighting in a way that hurts people. If fighting is out of control in a family, if people are getting hurt from fighting, or if people in the family are tired of too much fighting, there is help. Family counselors and therapists know how to help families work on problems, including fighting. They can help by teaching family members to listen to each other and talk about feelings without yelling and screaming. Though it may take some work, time, and practice, people in families can always learn to get along better. Is It OK for Parents to Argue Sometimes? Having arguments once in a while can be healthy if it helps people get feelings out in the open instead of bottling them up inside. It's important for people in a family to be able to tell each other how they feel and what they think, even when they disagree. The good news about disagreeing is that afterward people usually understand each other better and feel closer. Parents fight for different reasons. Maybe they had a bad day at work, or they're not feeling well, or they're really tired. Just like kids, when parents aren't feeling their best, they can get upset and might be more likely to argue. Most of the time, arguments are over quickly, parents apologize and make up, and everyone feels better again. Happy, Healthy Families No family is perfect. Even in the happiest home, problems pop up and people argue from time to time. Usually, the family members involved get what's bothering them out in the open and talk about it. Everyone feels better, and life can get back to normal. Being part of a family means everyone pitches in and tries to make life better for each other. Arguments happen and that's OK, but with love, understanding, and some work, families can solve almost any problem.

You Baby's Development After many weeks of anticipation and preparation, your baby is here! Or maybe not — only 5% of women deliver on their estimated due dates, and many first-time mothers find themselves waiting up to 2 weeks after their due date for their baby to arrive. A baby born at 40 weeks weighs, on average, about 7 pounds, 4 ounces (3,300 grams) and measures about 20 inches (51 cm). Don't expect your baby to look like the Gerber baby right off the bat — newborns often have heads temporarily misshapen from the birth canal and may be covered with vernix and blood. Your baby's skin may have skin discolorations, dry patches, and rashes — these many variations are completely normal. Because of the presence of your hormones in your baby's system, your baby's genitals (scrotum in boys and labia in girls) may appear enlarged. Your baby, whether a boy or a girl, may even secrete milk from the tiny nipples. This should disappear in a few days and is completely normal. Right after birth, your health care provider will suction mucus out of your baby's mouth and nose, and you'll hear that long-awaited first cry. Your baby may then be placed on your stomach, and the umbilical cord will be cut — often by the baby's dad, if he chooses to do the honors! A series of quick screening tests, such as the Apgar score, will be performed to assess your baby's responsiveness and vital signs, and he or she will be weighed and measured. If your pregnancy was high risk, or if a cesarean section was necessary, a neonatologist (a doctor who specializes in newborn intensive care) will be present at your delivery to take care of your baby right away. If your baby needs any special care to adjust to life outside the womb, it will be given — and then your newborn will be placed in your waiting arms. This week you'll experience the moment you've been anticipating — your introduction to your baby! Before you can meet your baby, though, you have to go through labor and delivery. You may have learned about the three stages of birth in your prenatal classes. The first stage of labor works to thin and stretch your cervix by contracting your uterus at regular intervals. The second stage of labor is when you push your baby into the vaginal canal and out of your body. The third and final stage of labor is when you deliver the placenta. If you don't go into labor within a week of your due date, your health care provider may recommend you receive a nonstress test, which monitors fetal heart rate and movement to be sure that the baby is receiving adequate oxygen and that the nervous system is responding. Talk to your health care provider to find out more about this test. Sometimes mother nature may need a little coaxing. If your labor isn't progressing, or if your health or your baby's health requires it, your health care provider may induce labor by artificially rupturing the membranes or by administering the hormone oxytocin or other medications. If your pregnancy is high risk, or if there are any other potential complications, you may require a cesarean section delivery. Some women know ahead of time that they will be delivering via cesarean section and are able to schedule their baby's "birth day" well in advance. If you're one of them, you've probably been able to prepare yourself emotionally and mentally for the birth — which can help to lessen the feelings of disappointment that many mothers who are unable to deliver vaginally experience. But even if you have to undergo a cesarean section that wasn't planned, rest assured that you'll still be able to bond with your baby. It might not be the birth experience you imagined, but your beautiful newborn has arrived nonetheless. The months of waiting are over! Good luck with your baby!

What Is It? Fertility awareness is a way to prevent pregnancy by not having sex around the time of ovulation (the release of an egg during a girl's monthly cycle). Couples who do want to have a baby can also use this method to have sex during the time that they are most likely to conceive. Fertility awareness can include methods such as natural family planning, periodic abstinence, and the rhythm method. How Does It Work? If a couple doesn't have sex around the time of ovulation, the girl is less likely to get pregnant. The trick is knowing when ovulation happens. Couples use a calendar, a thermometer to measure body temperature, the thickness of cervical mucus, or a kit that tests for ovulation. The ovulation kits are more useful for couples who are trying to get pregnant. The fertile period around ovulation lasts 6 to 9 days and during this time the couple using only fertility awareness for birth control who does not want to get pregnant should not have sex. How Well Does It Work? Fertility awareness is not a reliable way to prevent pregnancy for most teens. Over the course of 1 year, as many as 25 out of 100 typical couples who rely on fertility awareness to prevent pregnancy will have an accidental pregnancy. Of course, this is an average figure, and the chance of getting pregnant depends on whether a couple uses one or more of the fertility awareness methods correctly and consistently and does not have unprotected sex during the fertile period. In general, how well each type of birth control method works depends on a lot of things. These include whether a person has any health conditions, is taking any medications that might interfere with its use, whether the method chosen is convenient — and whether it is used correctly all the time. In the case of fertility awareness, it also depends on how consistent a woman's ovulatory cycle is, how accurately a couple keeps track of when she could be ovulating, and how reliably unprotected sex is avoided during the fertile period. Protection Against STDs Abstinence (not having sex) is the only method that always prevents pregnancy and STDs. Who Uses It? Fertility awareness is not a reliable way to prevent pregnancy for most teens. It is often very difficult to tell when a girl is fertile. Because teens often have irregular menstrual cycles, it makes predicting ovulation much more difficult. Even people who have previously had regular cycles can have irregular timing of ovulation when factors such as stress or illness are involved. Fertility awareness also requires a commitment to monitoring body changes, keeping daily records, and above all not having sex during the fertile period. How Do You Get It? For couples interested in this method, it is best to talk to a doctor or counselor who is trained in fertility awareness. He or she can then teach the couple the skills they need to know to practice this birth control method accurately. How Much Does It Cost? The tools needed for fertility awareness — such as ovulation detection kits and thermometers, for example — are available in drugstores. But they can be expensive. Again, it's best to talk to a doctor for advice on using this method. Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MD Date reviewed: April 2010 Share this page using: Note: All information on TeensHealth® is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor. © 1995- The Nemours Foundation. All rights reserved.

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Despite searing daytime temperatures, Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, has ice and frozen organic materials inside permanently shadowed craters in its north pole, NASA scientists said on Thursday. Earth-based telescopes have been compiling evidence for ice on Mercury for 20 years, but the finding of organics was a surprise, say researchers with NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, the first probe to orbit Mercury. Both ice and organic materials, which are similar to tar or coal, were believed to have been delivered millions of years ago by comets and asteroids crashing into the planet. "It's not something we expected to see, but then of course you realize it kind of makes sense because we see this in other places," such as icy bodies in the outer solar system and in the nuclei of comets, planetary scientist David Paige, with the University of California, Los Angeles, told Reuters. Unlike NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, which will be sampling rocks and soils to look for organic materials directly, the MESSENGER probe bounces laser beams, counts particles, measures gamma rays and collects other data remotely from orbit. The discoveries of ice and organics, painstakingly pieced together for more than a year, are based on computer models, laboratory experiments and deduction, not direct analysis. "The explanation that seems to fit all the data is that it's organic material," said lead MESSENGER scientist Sean Solomon, with Columbia University in New York. Added Paige, "It's not just a crazy hypothesis. No one has got anything else that seems to fit all the observations better." Scientists believe the organic material, which is about twice as dark as most of Mercury's surface, was mixed in with comet- or asteroid-delivered ice eons ago. The ice vaporized, then re-solidified where it was colder, leaving dark deposits on the surface. Radar imagery shows the dark patches subside at the coldest parts of the crater, where ice can exist on the surface. The areas where the dark patches are seen are not cold enough for surface ice without the overlying layer of what is believed to be organics. So remote was the idea of organics on Mercury that MESSENGER got a relatively easy pass by NASA's planetary protection protocols that were established to minimize the chance of contaminating any indigenous life-potential material with hitchhiking microbes from Earth. Scientists don't believe Mercury is or was suitable for ancient life, but the discovery of organics on an inner planet of the solar system may shed light on how life got started on Earth and how life may evolve on planets beyond the solar system. "Finding a place in the inner solar system where some of these same ingredients that may have led to life on Earth are preserved for us is really exciting," Paige said. MESSENGER, which stands for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging, is due to complete its two-year mission at Mercury in March. Scientists are seeking NASA funding to continue operations for at least part of a third year. The probe will remain in Mercury's orbit until the planet's gravity eventually causes it to crash onto the surface. Whether the discovery of organics now prompts NASA to select a crash zone rather than leave it up to chance remains to be seen. Microbes that may have hitched a ride on MESSENGER likely have been killed off by the harsh radiation environment at Mercury. The research is published in this week's edition of the journal Science. (Editing by Kevin Gray and Vicki Allen)

Even though the CNC machines require little human intervention in the development process of the end desired product, human intervention is still needed when it comes to the computer software programming for the CNC machines. A CNC machine programmer must understand the programming, so that they are capable of accurately telling the machine what to do. CNC machines a programmed through a sentence like structure that is written in a code that it understands. Each axes that the machine uses, requires instructions for the development of the final project. If you forget to program one of the axes, the product will not turn out; in the same terms, if you program wrong, the axes will do what the program tells them and not what you want them to do. A CNC machine operator helps on the other end. The programmer writes the code for the machine, but the operator is responsible for downloading the program into the machine and getting the machine set up to properly do the job. The operator may have to set up the tools in the tool holder for the machine, position the material that is needed for the job in the machine, and then start the machine. If the CNC machine operator is experienced, they will begin to learn the different sounds that the machine makes and will be able to tell just by the sound whether there is a problem with the machine. A more experienced CNC machine operator is required to do this type of work. Once the machine completes the program and the work progress is done, operators may be switched. At this point in time, a less experienced operator can take over from here. Usually CNC machine operators will start out at the lower level and gradually work their way up as they become more experienced in this type of machining. Experienced CNC machine operators can detect program flaws and can usually make the modifications to the program themselves. If they notice that the end product is not to the specifications needed, they can fix the problem in the program and continue on with the job. They will not have to take the time to contact the programmer and wait for the program to be fixed. Limited input from the operator is needed to operate a CNC machine. It is because of this reason that one operator may be able to watch multiple machines. The machines do all of the work and only one person is required to do the set up of the machines. This enables companies to employ fewer people and saves them in the payroll department. CNC machine operators must adhere to safety precautions just like they would in any other machine shop. Even though the CNC machines are usually completely enclosed and can limit the noise, debris and so on, there are still dangers and the operator will need to abide by the safety rules and precautions. Wearing safety goggles/glasses and ear plugs are a good idea and can help to protect the operator.

A nuzzle of the neck, a stroke of the wrist, a brush of the knee—these caresses often signal a loving touch, but can also feel highly aversive, depending on who is delivering the touch, and to whom. Interested in how the brain makes connections between touch and emotion, neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have discovered that the association begins in the brain’s primary somatosensory cortex, a region that, until now, was thought only to respond to basic touch, not to its emotional quality. “We demonstrated for the first time that the primary somatosensory cortex—the brain region encoding basic touch properties such as how rough or smooth an object is—also is sensitive to the social meaning of a touch,” explains Michael Spezio, a visiting associate at Caltech who is also an assistant professor of psychology at Scripps College in Claremont, California. “It was generally thought that there are separate brain pathways for how we process the physical aspects of touch on the skin and for how we interpret that touch emotionally—that is, whether we feel it as pleasant, unpleasant, desired, or repulsive. Our study shows that, to the contrary, emotion is involved at the primary stages of social touch.”

WE have in this chapter to consider why the females of many birds have not acquired the same ornaments as the male; and why, on the other hand, both sexes of many other birds are equally, or almost equally, ornamented? In the following chapter we shall consider the few cases in which the female is more conspicuously coloured than the male. In my Origin of Species* I briefly suggested that the long tail of the peacock would be inconvenient and the conspicuous black colour of the male capercailzie dangerous, to the female during the period of incubation: and consequently that the transmission of these characters from the male to the female offspring had been checked through natural selection. I still think that this may have occurred in some few instances: but after mature reflection on all the facts which I have been able to collect, I am now inclined to believe that when the sexes differ, the successive variations have generally been from the first limited in their transmission to the same sex in which they first arose. Since my remarks appeared, the subject of sexual colouration has been discussed in some very interesting papers by Mr. Wallace,*(2) who believes that in almost all cases the successive variations tended at first to be transmitted equally to both sexes; but that the female was saved, through natural selection, from acquiring the conspicuous colours of the male, owing to the danger which she would thus have incurred during incubation. * Fourth edition, 1866, p. 241. *(2) Westminster Review, July, 1867. Journal of Travel, vol. i., 1868, p. 73. This view necessitates a tedious discussion on a difficult point, namely, whether the transmission of a character, which is at first inherited by both sexes can be subsequently limited in its transmission to one sex alone by means of natural selection. We must bear in mind, as shewn in the preliminary chapter on sexual selection, that characters which are limited in their development to one sex are always latent in the other. An imaginary illustration will best aid us in seeing the difficulty of the case; we may suppose that a fancier wished to make a breed of pigeons, in which the males alone should be coloured of a pale blue, whilst the females retained their former slaty tint. As with pigeons characters of all kinds are usually transmitted to both sexes equally, the fancier would have to try to convert this latter form of inheritance into sexually-limited transmission. All that he could do would be to persevere in selecting every male pigeon which was in the least degree of a paler blue; and the natural result of this process, if steadily carried on for a long time, and if the pale variations were strongly inherited or often recurred, would be to make his whole stock of a lighter blue. But our fancier would be compelled to match, generation after generation, his pale blue males with slaty females, for he wishes to keep the latter of this colour. The result would generally be the production either of a mongrel piebald lot, or more probably the speedy and complete loss of the pale-blue tint; for the primordial slaty colour would be transmitted with prepotent force. Supposing, however, that some pale-blue males and slaty females were produced during each successive generation, and were always crossed together, then the slaty females would have, if I may use the expression, much blue blood in their veins, for their fathers, grandfathers, &c., will all have been blue birds. Under these circumstances it is conceivable (though I know of no distinct facts rendering it probable) that the slaty females might acquire so strong a latent tendency to pale-blueness, that they would not destroy this colour in their male offspring, their female offspring still inheriting the slaty tint. If so, the desired end of making a breed with the two sexes permanently different in colour might be gained. The extreme importance, or rather necessity in the above case of the desired character, namely, pale-blueness, being present though in a latent state in the female, so that the male offspring should not be deteriorated, will be best appreciated as follows: the male of Soemmerring's pheasant has a tail thirty-seven inches in length, whilst that of the female is only eight inches; the tail of the male common pheasant is about twenty inches, and that of the female twelve inches long. Now if the female Soemmerring pheasant with her short tail were crossed with the male common pheasant, there can be no doubt that the male hybrid offspring would have a much longer tail than that of the pure offspring of the common pheasant. On the other hand, if the female common pheasant, with a tail much longer than that of the female Soemmerring pheasant, were crossed with the male of the latter, the male hybrid offspring would have a much shorter tail than that of the pure offspring of Soemmerring's pheasant.* * Temminck says that the tail of the female Phasianus Soemmerringii is only six inches long, Planches coloriees, vol. v., 1838, pp. 487 and 488: the measurements above given were made for me by Mr. Sclater. For the common pheasant, see Macgillivray, History of British Birds, vol. i., pp. 118-121. Our fancier, in order to make his new breed with the males of a pale-blue tint, and the females unchanged, would have to continue selecting the males during many generations; and each stage of paleness would have to be fixed in the males, and rendered latent in the females. The task would be an extremely difficult one, and has never been tried, but might possibly be successfully carried out. The chief obstacle would be the early and complete loss of the pale-blue tint, from the necessity of reiterated crosses with the slaty female, the latter not having at first any latent tendency to produce pale-blue offspring. On the other hand, if one or two males were to vary ever so slightly in paleness, and the variations were from the first limited in their transmission to the male sex, the task of making a new breed of the desired kind would be easy, for such males would simply have to be selected and matched with ordinary females. An analogous case has actually occurred, for there are breeds of the pigeon in Belgium* in which the males alone are marked with black striae. So again Mr. Tegetmeier has recently shewn*(2) that dragons not rarely produce silver-coloured birds, which are almost always hens; and he himself has bred ten such females. It is on the other hand a very unusual event when a silver male is produced; so that nothing would be easier, if desired, than to make a breed of dragons with blue males and silver females. This tendency is indeed so strong that when Mr. Tegetmeier at last got a silver male and matched him with one of the silver females, he expected to get a breed with both sexes thus coloured; he was however disappointed, for the young male reverted to the blue colour of his grandfather, the young female alone being silver. No doubt with patience this tendency to reversion in the males, reared from an occasional silver male matched with a silver hen, might be eliminated, and then both sexes would be coloured alike; and this very process has been followed with success by Mr. Esquilant in the case of silver turbits. * Dr. Chapius, Le Pigeon Voyageur Belge, 1865, p. 87. *(2) The Field, Sept., 1872. With fowls, variations of colour, limited in their transmission to the male sex, habitually occur. When this form of inheritance prevails, it might well happen that some of the successive variations would be transferred to the female, who would then slightly resemble the male, as actually occurs in some breeds. Or again, the greater number, but not all, of the successive steps might be transferred to both sexes, and the female would then closely resemble the male. There can hardly be a doubt that this is the cause of the male pouter pigeon having a somewhat larger crop, and of the male carrier pigeon having somewhat larger wattles, than their respective females; for fanciers have not selected one sex more than the other, and have had no wish that these characters should be more strongly displayed in the male than in the female, yet this is the case with both breeds. The same process would have to be followed, and the same difficulties encountered, if it were desired to make a breed with the females alone of some new colour. Lastly, our fancier might wish to make a breed with the two sexes differing from each other, and both from the parent species. Here the difficulty would be extreme, unless the successive variations were from the first sexually limited on both sides, and then there would be no difficulty. We see this with the fowl; thus the two sexes of the pencilled Hamburghs differ greatly from each other, and from the two sexes of the aboriginal Gallus bankiva; and both are now kept constant to their standard of excellence by continued selection, which would be impossible unless the distinctive characters of both were limited in their transmission. The Spanish fowl offers a more curious case; the male has an immense comb, but some of the successive variations, by the accumulation of which it was acquired, appear to have been transferred to the female; for she has a comb many times larger than that of the females of the parent species. But the comb of the female differs in one respect from that of the male, for it is apt to lop over; and within a recent period it has been ordered by the fancy that this should always be the case, and success has quickly followed the order. Now the lopping of the comb must be sexually limited in its transmission, otherwise it would prevent the comb of the male from being perfectly upright, which would be abhorrent to every fancier. On the other hand, the uprightness of the comb in the male must likewise be a sexually-limited character, otherwise it would prevent the comb of the female from lopping over. From the foregoing illustrations, we see that even with almost unlimited time at command, it would be an extremely difficult and complex, perhaps an impossible process, to change one form of transmission into the other through selection. Therefore, without distinct evidence in each case, I am unwilling to admit that this has been effected in natural species. On the other hand, by means of successive variations, which were from the first sexually limited in their transmission, there would not be the least difficulty in rendering a male bird widely different in colour or in any other character from the female; the latter being left unaltered, or slightly altered, or specially modified for the sake of protection. As bright colours are of service to the males in their rivalry with other males, such colours would be selected whether or not they were transmitted exclusively to the same sex. Consequently the females might be expected often to partake of the brightness of the males to a greater or less degree; and this occurs with a host of species. If all the successive variations were transmitted equally to both sexes, the females would be indistinguishable from the males; and this likewise occurs with many birds. If, however, dull colours were of high importance for the safety of the female during incubation, as with many ground birds, the females which varied in brightness, or which received through inheritance from the males any marked accession of brightness, would sooner or later be destroyed. But the tendency in the males to continue for an indefinite period transmitting to their female offspring their own brightness, would have to be eliminated by a change in the form of inheritance; and this, as shewn by our previous illustration, would be extremely difficult. The more probable result of the long-continued destruction of the more brightly-coloured females, supposing the equal form of transmission to prevail would be the lessening or annihilation of the bright colours of the males, owing to their continual crossing with the duller females. It would be tedious to follow out all the other possible results; but I may remind the reader that if sexually limited variations in brightness occurred in the females, even if they were not in the least injurious to them and consequently were not eliminated, yet they would not be favoured or selected, for the male usually accepts any female, and does not select the more attractive individuals; consequently these variations would be liable to be lost, and would have little influence on the character of the race; and this will aid in accounting for the females being commonly duller-coloured than the males. In the eighth chapter instances were given, to which many might here be added, of variations occurring at various ages, and inherited at the corresponding age. It was also shewn that variations which occur late in life are commonly transmitted to the same sex in which they first appear; whilst variations occurring early in life are apt to be transmitted to both sexes; not that all the cases of sexually-limited transmission can thus be accounted for. It was further shewn that if a male bird varied by becoming brighter whilst young, such variations would be of no service until the age for reproduction had arrived, and there was competition between rival males. But in the case of birds living on the ground and commonly in need of the protection of dull colours, bright tints would be far more dangerous to the young and inexperienced than to the adult males. Consequently the males which varied in brightness whilst young would suffer much destruction and be eliminated through natural selection; on the other hand, the males which varied in this manner when nearly mature, notwithstanding that they were exposed to some additional danger, might survive, and from being favoured through sexual selection, would procreate their kind. As a relation often exists between the period of variation and the form of transmission, if the bright-coloured young males were destroyed and the mature ones were successful in their courtship, the males alone would acquire brilliant colours and would transmit them exclusively to their male offspring. But I by no means wish to maintain that the influence of age on the form of transmission, is the sole cause of the great difference in brilliancy between the sexes of many birds. When the sexes of birds differ in colour, it is interesting to determine whether the males alone have been modified by sexual selection, the females having been left unchanged, or only partially and indirectly thus changed; or whether the females have been specially modified through natural selection for the sake of protection. I will therefore discuss this question at some length, even more fully than its intrinsic importance deserves; for various curious collateral points may thus be conveniently considered. Before we enter on the subject of colour, more especially in reference to Mr. Wallace's conclusions, it may be useful to discuss some other sexual differences under a similar point of view. A breed of fowls formerly existed in Germany* in which the hens were furnished with spurs; they were good layers, but they so greatly disturbed their nests with their spurs that they could not be allowed to sit on their own eggs. Hence at one time it appeared to me probable that with the females of the wild Gallinaceae the development of spurs had been checked through natural selection, from the injury thus caused to their nests. This seemed all the more probable, as wing-spurs, which would not be injurious during incubation, are often as well developed in the female as in the male; though in not a few cases they are rather larger in the male. When the male is furnished with leg-spurs the female almost always exhibits rudiments of them,- the rudiment sometimes consisting of a mere scale, as in Gallus. Hence it might be argued that the females had aboriginally been furnished with well-developed spurs, but that these had subsequently been lost through disuse or natural selection. But if this view be admitted, it would have to be extended to innumerable other cases; and it implies that the female progenitors of the existing spur-bearing species were once encumbered with an injurious appendage. * Bechstein, Naturgeschichte Deutschlands, 1793, B. iii., 339. In some few genera and species, as in Galloperdix, Acomus, and the Javan peacock (Pavo muticus), the females, as well as the males, possess well-developed leg-spurs. Are we to infer from this fact that they construct a different sort of nest from that made by their nearest allies, and not liable to be injured by their spurs; so that the spurs have not been removed? Or are we to suppose that the females of these several species especially require spurs for their defence? It is a more probable conclusion that both the presence and absence of spurs in the females result from different laws of inheritance having prevailed, independently of natural selection. With the many females in which spurs appear as rudiments, we may conclude that some few of the successive variations, through which they were developed in the males, occurred very early in life, and were consequently transferred to the females. In the other and much rarer cases, in which the females possess fully developed spurs, we may conclude that all the successive variations were transferred to them; and that they gradually acquired and inherited the habit of not disturbing their nests. The vocal organs and the feathers variously modified for producing sound, as well as the proper instincts for using them, often differ in the two sexes, but are sometimes the same in both. Can such differences be accounted for by the males having acquired these organs and instincts, whilst the females have been saved from inheriting them, on account of the danger to which they would have been exposed by attracting the attention of birds or beasts of prey? This does not seem to me probable, when we think of the multitude of birds which with impunity gladden the country with their voices during the spring.* It is a safer conclusion that, as vocal and instrumental organs are of special service only to the males during their courtship, these organs were developed through sexual selection and their constant use in that sex alone- the successive variations and the effects of use having been from the first more or less limited in transmission to the male offspring. * Daines Barrington, however, thought it probable (Philosophical Transactions, 1773, p. 164) that few female birds sing, because the talent would have been dangerous to them during incubation. He adds, that a similar view may possibly account for the inferiority of the female to the male in plumage. Many analogous cases could be adduced; those for instance of the plumes on the head being generally longer in the male than in the female, sometimes of equal length in both sexes, and occasionally absent in the female,- these several cases occurring in the same group of birds. It would be difficult to account for such a difference between the sexes by the female having been benefited by possessing a slightly shorter crest than the male, and its consequent diminution or complete suppression through natural selection. But I will take a more favourable case, namely the length of the tail. The long train of the peacock would have been not only inconvenient but dangerous to the peahen during the period of incubation and whilst accompanying her young. Hence there is not the least a priori improbability in the development of her tail having been checked through natural selection. But the females of various pheasants, which apparently are exposed on their open nests to as much danger as the peahen, have tails of considerable length. The females as well as the males of the Menura superba have long tails, and they build a domed nest, which is a great anomaly in so large a bird. Naturalists have wondered how the female Menura could manage her tail during incubation; but it is now known* that she "enters the nest head first, and then turns round with her tail sometimes over her back, but more often bent round by her side. Thus in time the tail becomes quite askew, and is a tolerable guide to the length of time the bird has been sitting." Both sexes of an Australian kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia) have the middle tail-feathers greatly lengthened, and the female makes her nest in a hole; and as I am informed by Mr. R. B. Sharpe these feathers become much crumpled during incubation. * Mr. Ramsay, in Proc. Zoolog. Soc., 1868, p. 50. In these two latter cases the great length of the tail-feathers must be in some degree inconvenient to the female; and as in both species the tail-feathers of the female are somewhat shorter than those of the male, it might be argued that their full development had been prevented through natural selection. But if the development of the tail of the peahen had been checked only when it became inconveniently or dangerously great, she would have retained a much longer tail than she actually possesses; for her tail is not nearly so long, relatively to the size of her body, as that of many female pheasants, nor longer than that of the female turkey. It must also be borne in mind that, in accordance with this view, as soon as the tail of the peahen became dangerously long, and its development was consequently checked, she would have continually reacted on her male progeny, and thus have prevented the peacock from acquiring his present magnificent train. We may therefore infer that the length of the tail in the peacock and its shortness in the peahen are the result of the requisite variations in the male having been from the first transmitted to the male offspring alone. We are led to a nearly similar conclusion with respect to the length of the tail in the various species of pheasants. In the Eared pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum) the tail is of equal length in both sexes, namely sixteen or seventeen inches; in the common pheasant it is about twenty inches long in the male and twelve in the female; in Soemmerring's pheasant, thirty-seven inches in the male and only eight in the female; and lastly in Reeve's pheasant it is sometimes actually seventy-two inches long in the male and sixteen in the female. Thus in the several species, the tail of the female differs much in length, irrespectively of that of the male; and this can be accounted for, as it seems to me, with much more probability, by the laws of inheritance,- that is by the successive variations having been from the first more or less closely limited in their transmission to the male sex than by the agency of natural selection, resulting from the length of tail being more or less injurious to the females of these several allied species. We may now consider Mr. Wallace's arguments in regard to the sexual colouration of birds. He believes that the bright tints originally acquired through sexual selection by the males would in all, or almost all cases, have been transmitted to the females, unless the transference had been checked through natural selection. I may here remind the reader that various facts opposed to this view have already been given under reptiles, amphibians, fishes and lepidoptera. Mr. Wallace rests his belief chiefly, but not exclusively, as we shall see in the next chapter, on the following statement,* that when both sexes are coloured in a very conspicuous manner, the nest is of such a nature as to conceal the sitting bird; but when there is a marked contrast of colour between the sexes, the male being gay and the female dull-coloured, the nest is open and exposes the sitting bird to view. This coincidence, as far as it goes, certainly seems to favour the belief that the females which sit on open nests have been specially modified for the sake of protection; but we shall presently see that there is another and more probable explanation, namely, that conspicuous females have acquired the instinct of building domed nests oftener than dull-coloured birds. Mr. Wallace admits that there are, as might have been expected, some exceptions to his two rules, but it is a question whether the exceptions are not so numerous as seriously to invalidate them. * Journal of Travel, edited by A. Murray, vol. i., 1868, p. 78. There is in the first place much truth in the Duke of Argyll's remark* that a large domed nest is more conspicuous to an enemy, especially to all tree-haunting carnivorous animals, than a smaller open nest. Nor must we forget that with many birds which build open nests, the male sits on the eggs and aids the female in feeding the young: this is the case, for instance, with Pyranga aestiva,*(2) one of the most splendid birds in the United States, the male being vermilion, and the female light brownish-green. Now if brilliant colours had been extremely dangerous to birds whilst sitting on their open nests, the males in these cases would have suffered greatly. It might, however, be of such paramount importance to the male to be brilliantly coloured, in order to beat his rivals, that this may have more than compensated some additional danger. * Journal of Travel, edited by A. Murray, vol. i., 1868, p. 281. *(2) Audubon, Ornithological Biography, vol. i., p. 233. Mr. Wallace admits that with the king-crows (Dicrurus), orioles, and Pittidae, the females are conspicuously coloured, yet build open nests; but he urges that the birds of the first group are highly pugnacious and could defend themselves; that those of the second group take extreme care in concealing their open nests, but this does not invariably hold good;* and that with the birds of the third group the females are brightly coloured chiefly on the under surface. Besides these cases, pigeons which are sometimes brightly, and almost always conspicuously coloured, and which are notoriously liable to the attacks of birds of prey, offer a serious exception to the rule, for they almost always build open and exposed nests. In another large family, that of the humming-birds, all the species build open nests, yet with some of the most gorgeous species the sexes are alike; and in the majority, the females, though less brilliant than the males, are brightly coloured. Nor can it be maintained that all female humming-birds, which are brightly coloured, escape detection by their tints being green, for some display on their upper surfaces red, blue, and other colours.*(2) * Jerdon, Birds of India, vol. ii., p. 108. Gould's Handbook of the Birds of Australia, vol. i., p. 463. *(2) For instance, the female Eupetomena macroura has the head and tail dark blue with reddish loins; the female Lampornis porphyrurus is blackish-green on the upper surface, with the lores and sides of the throat crimson; the female Eulampis jugularis has the top of the head and back green, but the loins and the tail are crimson. Many other instances of highly conspicuous females could be given. See Mr. Gould's magnificent work on this family. In regard to birds which build in holes or construct domed nests, other advantages, as Mr. Wallace remarks, besides concealment are gained, such as shelter from the rain, greater warmth, and in hot countries protection from the sun;* so that it is no valid objection to his view that many birds having both sexes obscurely coloured build concealed nests.*(2) The female horn-bill (Buceros), for instance, of India and Africa is protected during incubation with extraordinary care, for she plasters up with her own excrement the orifice of the hole in which she sits on her eggs, leaving only a small orifice through which the male feeds her; she is thus kept a close prisoner during the whole period of incubation;*(3) yet female horn-bills are not more conspicuously coloured than many other birds of equal size which build open nests. It is a more serious objection to Mr. Wallace's view, as is admitted by him, that in some few groups the males are brilliantly coloured and the females obscure, and yet the latter hatch their eggs in domed nests. This is the case with the Grallinae of Australia, the superb warblers (Maluridae) of the same country, the sun-birds (Nectariniae), and with several of the Australian honey-suckers or Meliphagidae.*(4) * Mr. Salvin noticed in Guatemala (Ibis, 1864, p. 375) that humming-birds were much more unwilling to leave their nests during very hot weather, when the sun was shining brightly, as if their eggs would be thus injured, than during cool, cloudy, or rainy weather. *(2) I may specify, as instances of dull-coloured birds building concealed nests, the species belonging to eight Australian genera described in Gould's Handbook of the Birds of Australia, vol. i., pp. 340, 362, 365, 383, 387, 389, 391, 414. *(3) Mr. C. Horne, Proc. Zoolog. Soc., 1869. p. 243. *(4) On the nidification and colours of these latter species, see Gould's Handbook of the Birds of Australia, vol. i., pp. 504, 527. If we look to the birds of England we shall see that there is no close and general relation between the colours of the female and the nature of the nest which is constructed. About forty of our British birds (excluding those of large size which could defend themselves) build in holes in banks, rocks, or trees, or construct domed nests. If we take the colours of the female goldfinch, bullfinch, or black-bird, as a standard of the degree of conspicuousness, which is not highly dangerous to the sitting female, then out of the above forty birds the females of only twelve can be considered as conspicuous to a dangerous degree, the remaining twenty-eight being inconspicuous.* Nor is there any close relation within the same genus between a well-pronounced difference in colour between the sexes, and the nature of the nest constructed. Thus the male house sparrow (Passer domesticus) differs much from the female, the male tree-sparrow (P. montanus) hardly at all, and yet both build well-concealed nests. The two sexes of the common fly-catcher (Muscicapa grisola) can hardly be distinguished, whilst the sexes of the pied fly-catcher (M. luctuosa) differ considerably, and both species build in holes or conceal their nests. The female blackbird (Turdus merula) differs much, the female ring-ouzel (T. torquatus) differs less, and the female common thrush (T. musicus) hardly at all from their respective males; yet all build open nests. On the other hand, the not very distantly-allied water-ouzel (Cinclus aquaticus) builds a domed nest, and the sexes differ about as much as in the ring-ouzel. The black and red grouse (Tetrao tetrix and T. scoticus) build open nests in equally well-concealed spots, but in the one species the sexes differ greatly, and in the other very little. * I have consulted, on this subject, Macgillivray's British Birds, and though doubts may be entertained in some cases in regard to the degree of concealment of the nest, and to the degree of conspicuousness of the female, yet the following birds, which all lay their eggs in holes or in domed nests, can hardly be considered, by the above standard, as conspicuous: Passer, 2 species; Sturnus, of which the female is considerably less brilliant than the male; Cinclus; Motallica boarula (?); Erithacus (?); Fruticola, 2 sp.; Saxicola; Ruticilla, 2 sp.; Sylvia, 3 sp.; Parus, 3 sp.; Mecistura anorthura; Certhia; Sitta; Yunx; Muscicapa, 2 sp.; Hirundo, 3 sp.; and Cypselus. The females of the following 12 birds may be considered as conspicuous according to the same standard, viz., Pastor, Motacilla alba, Parus major and P. caeruleus, Upupa, Picus, 4 sp., Coracias, Alcedo, and Merops. Notwithstanding the foregoing objections, I cannot doubt, after reading Mr. Wallace's excellent essay, that looking to the birds of the world, a large majority of the species in which the females are conspicuously coloured (and in this case the males with rare exceptions are equally conspicuous), build concealed nests for the sake of protection. Mr. Wallace enumerates* a long series of groups in which this rule bolds good; but it will suffice here to give, as instances, the more familiar groups of kingfishers, toucans, trogons, puff-birds (Capitonidae), plantain-eaters (Musophagae, woodpeckers, and parrots. Mr. Wallace believes that in these groups, as the males gradually acquired through sexual selection their brilliant colours, these were transferred to the females and were not eliminated by natural selection, owing to the protection which they already enjoyed from their manner of nidification. According to this view, their present manner of nesting was acquired before their present colours. But it seems to me much more probable that in most cases, as the females were gradually rendered more and more brilliant from partaking of the colours of the male, they were gradually led to change their instincts (supposing that they originally built open nests), and to seek protection by building domed or concealed nests. No one who studies, for instance, Audubon's account of the differences in the nests of the same species in the northern and southern United States,*(2) will feel any great difficulty in admitting that birds, either by a change (in the strict sense of the word) of their habits, or through the natural selection of so-called spontaneous variations of instinct, might readily be led to modify their manner of nesting. * Journal of Travel, edited by A. Murray, vol. i., p. 78. *(2) See many statements in the Ornithological Biography. See also some curious observations on the nests of Italian birds by Eugenio Bettoni, in the Atti della Societa Italiana, vol. xi., 1869, p. 487. This way of viewing the relation, as far as it holds good, between the bright colours of female birds and their manner of nesting, receives some support from certain cases occurring in the Sahara Desert. Here, as in most other deserts, various birds, and many other animals, have had their colours adapted in a wonderful manner to the tints of the surrounding surface. Nevertheless there are, as I am informed by the Rev. Mr. Tristram, some curious exceptions to the rule; thus the male of the Monticola cyanea is conspicuous from his bright blue colour, and the female almost equally conspicuous from her mottled brown and white plumage; both sexes of two species of Dromolaea are of a lustrous black; so that these three species are far from receiving protection from their colours, yet they are able to survive, for they have acquired the habit of taking refuge from danger in holes or crevices in the rocks. With respect to the above groups in which the females are conspicuously coloured and build concealed nests, it is not necessary to suppose that each separate species had its nidifying instinct specially modified; but only that the early progenitors of each group were gradually led to build domed or concealed nests, and afterwards transmitted this instinct, together with their bright colours, to their modified descendants. As far as it can be trusted, the conclusion is interesting, that sexual selection together with equal or nearly equal inheritance by both sexes, have indirectly determined the manner of nidification of whole groups of birds. According to Mr. Wallace, even in the groups in which the females, from being protected in domed nests during incubation, have not had their bright colours eliminated through natural selection, the males often differ in a slight, and occasionally in a considerable degree from the females. This is a significant fact, for such differences in colour must be accounted for by some of the variations in the males having been from the first limited in transmission to the same sex; as it can hardly be maintained that these differences, especially when very slight, serve as a protection to the female. Thus all the species in the splendid group of the trogons build in holes; and Mr. Gould gives figures* of both sexes of twenty-five species, in all of which, with one partial exception, the sexes differ sometimes slightly, sometimes conspicuously, in colour,- the males being always finer than the females, though the latter are likewise beautiful. All the species of kingfishers build in holes, and with most of the species the sexes are equally brilliant, and thus far Mr. Wallace's rule holds good; but in some of the Australian species the colours of the females are rather less vivid than those of the male; and in one splendidly-coloured species, the sexes differ so much that they were at first thought to be specifically distinct.*(2) Mr. R. B. Sharpe, who has especially studied this group, has shewn me some American species (Ceryle) in which the breast of the male is belted with black. Again, in Carcineutes, the difference between the sexes is conspicuous: in the male the upper surface is dull-blue banded with black, the lower surface being partly fawn-coloured, and there is much red about the head; in the female the upper surface is reddish-brown banded with black, and the lower surface white with black markings It is an interesting fact, as shewing how the same peculiar style of sexual colouring often characterises allied forms, that in three species of Dacelo the male differs from the female only in the tail being dull-blue banded with black, whilst that of the female is brown with blackish bars; so that here the tail differs in colour in the two sexes in exactly the same manner as the whole upper surface in the two sexes of Carcineutes. * See his Monograph of the Trogonidae, 1st edition. *(2) Namely, Cyanalcyon. Gould's Handbook of the Birds of Australia, vol. i., p. 133; see, also, pp. 130, 136. With parrots, which likewise build in holes, we find analogous cases: in most of the species, both sexes are brilliantly coloured and indistinguishable, but in not a few species the males are coloured rather more vividly than the females, or even very differently from them. Thus, besides other strongly-marked differences, the whole under surface of the male king lory (Aprosmictus scapulatus) is scarlet, whilst the throat and chest of the female is green tinged with red: in the Euphema splendida there is a similar difference, the face and wing coverts moreover of the female being of a paler blue than in the male.* In the family of the tits (Parinae), which build concealed nests, the female of our common blue tomtit (Parus caeruleus), is "much less brightly coloured" than the male: and in the magnificent sultan yellow tit of India the difference is greater.*(2) * Every gradation of difference between the sexes may be followed in the parrots of Australia. See Gould, op. cit., vol. ii., pp. 14-102. *(2) Macgillivray's British Birds, vol. ii., p. 433. Jerdon, Birds of India, vol. ii., p. 282. Again, in the great group of the woodpeckers,* the sexes are generally nearly alike, but in the Megapicus validus all those parts of the head, neck, and breast, which are crimson in the male are pale brown in the female. As in several woodpeckers the head of the male is bright crimson, whilst that of the female is plain, it occurred to me that this colour might possibly make the female dangerously conspicuous, whenever she put her head out of the hole containing her nest, and consequently that this colour, in accordance with Mr. Wallace's belief, had been eliminated. This view is strengthened by what Malherbe states with respect to Indopicus carlotta; namely, that the young females, like the young males, have some crimson about their heads, but that this colour disappears in the adult female, whilst it is intensified in the adult male. Nevertheless the following considerations render this view extremely doubtful: the male takes a fair share in incubation,*(2) and would be thus almost equally exposed to danger; both sexes of many species have their heads of an equally bright crimson; in other species the difference between the sexes in the amount of scarlet is so slight that it can hardly make any appreciable difference in the danger incurred; and lastly, the colouring of the head in the two sexes often differs slightly in other ways. * All the following facts are taken from M. Malherbe's magnificent Monographie des Picidees, 1861. *(2) Audubon's Ornithological Biography, vol. ii., p. 75; see also the Ibis, vol. i., p. 268. The cases, as yet given, of slight and graduated differences in colour between the males and females in the groups, in which as a general rule the sexes resemble each other, all relate to species which build domed or concealed nests. But similar gradations may likewise be observed in groups in which the sexes as a general rule resemble each other, but which build open nests. As I have before instanced the Australian parrots, so I may here instance, without giving any details, the Australian pigeons.* It deserves especial notice that in all these cases the slight differences in plumage between the sexes are of the same general nature as the occasionally greater differences. A good illustration of this fact has already been afforded by those kingfishers in which either the tail alone or the whole upper surface of the plumage differs in the same manner in the two sexes. Similar cases may be observed with parrots and pigeons. The differences in colour between the sexes of the same species are, also, of the same general nature as the differences in colour between the distinct species of the same group. For when in a group in which the sexes are usually alike, the male differs considerably from the female, he is not coloured in a quite new style. Hence we may infer that within the same group the special colours of both sexes when they are alike, and the colours of the male, when he differs slightly or even considerably from the female, have been in most cases determined by the same general cause; this being sexual selection. * Gould's Handbook of the Birds of Australia, vol. ii., pp. 109-149. It is not probable, as has already been remarked, that differences in colour between the sexes, when very slight, can be of service to the female as a protection. Assuming, however, that they are of service, they might be thought to be cases of transition; but we have no reason to believe that many species at any one time are undergoing change. Therefore we can hardly admit that the numerous females which differ very slightly in colour from their males are now all commencing to become obscure for the sake of protection. Even if we consider somewhat more marked sexual differences, is it probable, for instance, that the head of the female chaffinch,- the crimson on the breast of the female bullfinch,- the green of the female greenfinch,- the crest of the female golden-crested wren, have all been rendered less bright by the slow process of selection for the sake of protection? I cannot think so; and still less with the slight differences between the sexes of those birds which build concealed nests. On the other hand, the differences in colour between the sexes, whether great or small, may to a large extent be explained on the principle of the successive variations, acquired by the males through sexual selection, having been from the first more or less limited in their transmission to the females. That the degree of limitation should differ in different species of the same group will not surprise any one who has studied the laws of inheritance, for they are so complex that they appear to us in our ignorance to be capricious in their action.* * See remarks to this effect in Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, vol. ii., chap. xii. As far as I can discover there are few large groups of birds in which all the species have both sexes alike and brilliantly coloured, but I hear from Mr. Sclater, that this appears to be the case with the Musophagae or plantain-eaters. Nor do I believe that any large group exists in which the sexes of all the species are widely dissimilar in colour: Mr. Wallace informs me that the chatterers of S. America (Cotingidae) offer one of the best instances; but with some of the species, in which the male has a splendid red breast, the female exhibits some red on her breast; and the females of other species shew traces of the green and other colours of the males. Nevertheless we have a near approach to close sexual similarity or dissimilarity throughout several groups: and this, from what has just been said of the fluctuating nature of inheritance, is a somewhat surprising circumstance. But that the same laws should largely prevail with allied animals is not surprising. The domestic fowl has produced a great number of breeds and sub-breeds, and in these the sexes generally differ in plumage; so that it has been noticed as an unusual circumstance when in certain sub-breeds they resemble each other. On the other hand, the domestic pigeon has likewise produced a vast number of distinct breeds and sub-breeds, and in these, with rare exceptions, the two sexes are identically alike. Therefore if other species of Gallus and Columba were domesticated and varied, it would not be rash to predict that similar rules of sexual similarity and dissimilarity, depending on the form of transmission, would hold good in both cases. In like manner the same form of transmission has generally prevailed under nature throughout the same groups, although marked exceptions to this rule occur. Thus within the same family or even genus, the sexes may be identically alike, or very different in colour. Instances have already been given in the same genus, as with sparrows, flycatchers, thrushes and grouse. In the family of pheasants the sexes of almost all the species are wonderfully dissimilar, but are quite alike in the eared pheasant or Crossoptilon auritum. In two species of Chloephaga, a genus of geese, the male cannot be distinguished from the females, except by size; whilst in two others, the sexes are so unlike that they might easily be mistaken for distinct species.* * The Ibis, vol. vi., 1864, p. 122. The laws of inheritance can alone account for the following cases, in which the female acquires, late in life, certain characters proper to the male, and ultimately comes to resemble him more or less completely. Here protection can hardly have come into play. Mr. Blyth informs me that the females of Oriolus melanocephalus and of some allied species, when sufficiently mature to breed, differ considerably in plumage from the adult males; but after the second or third moults they differ only in their beaks having a slight greenish tinge. In the dwarf bitterns (Ardetta), according to the same authority, "the male acquires his final livery at the first moult, the female not before the third or fourth moult; in the meanwhile she presents an intermediate garb, which is ultimately exchanged for the same livery as that of the male." So again the female Falco peregrinus acquires her blue plumage more slowly than the male. Mr. Swinhoe states that with one of the drongo shrikes (Dicrurus macrocercus) the male, whilst almost a nestling, moults his soft brown plumage and becomes of a uniform glossy greenish-black; but the female retains for a long time the white striae and spots on the axillary feathers; and does not completely assume the uniform black colour of the male for three years. The same excellent observer remarks that in the spring of the second year the female spoon-bill (Platalea) of China resembles the male of the first year, and that apparently it is not until the third spring that she acquires the same adult plumage as that possessed by the male at a much earlier age. The female Bombycilla carolinensis differs very little from the male, but the appendages, which like beads of red sealing-wax ornament the wing-feathers,* are not developed in her so early in life as in the male. In the male of an Indian parrakeet (Paloeornis javanicus) the upper mandible is coral-red from his earliest youth, but in the female, as Mr. Blyth has observed with caged and wild birds, it is at first black and does not become red until the bird is at least a year old, at which age the sexes resemble each other in all respects. Both sexes of the wild turkey are ultimately furnished with a tuft of bristles on the breast, but in two-year-old birds the tuft is about four inches long in the male and hardly apparent in the female; when, however, the latter has reached her fourth year, it is from four to five inches in length.*(2) * When the male courts the female, these ornaments are vibrated, and "are shewn off to great advantage," on the outstretched wings: A. Leith Adams, Field and Forest Rambles, 1873, p. 153. *(2) On Ardetta, Translation of Cuvier's Regne Animal, by Mr. Blyth, footnote, p. 159. On the peregrine falcon, Mr. Blyth, in Charlesworth's Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. i., 1837, p. 304. On Dicrurus, Ibis, 1863, p. 44. On the Platalea, Ibis, vol. vi., 1864, p. 366. On the Bombycilla, Audubon's Ornitholog. Biography, vol. i., p. 229. On the Palaeornis, see, also, Jerdon, Birds of India, vol. i., p. 263. On the wild turkey, Audubon, ibid., vol. i., p. 15; but I hear from Judge Caton that in Illinois the female very rarely acquires a tuft. Analogous cases with the females of Petrcocssyphus are given by Mr. R. Sharpe, Proeedings of the Zoological Society, 1872, p. 496. These cases must not be confounded with those where diseased or old females abnormally assume masculine characters, nor with those where fertile females, whilst young, acquire the characters of the male, through variation or some unknown cause.* But all these cases have so much in common that they depend, according to the hypothesis of pangenesis, on gemmules derived from each part of the male being present, though latent, in the female; their development following on some slight change in the elective affinities of her constituent tissues. * Of these latter cases Mr. Blyth has recorded (Translation of Cuvier's Regne Animal, p. 158) various instances with Lanius, Ruticilla, Linaria, and Anas. Audubon has also recorded a similar case (Ornitholog. Biography, vol. v., p. 519) with Pyranga aestiva. A few words must be added on changes of plumage in relation to the season of the year. From reasons formerly assigned there can be little doubt that the elegant plumes, long pendant feathers, crests, &c., of egrets, herons, and many other birds, which are developed and retained only during the summer, serve for ornamental and nuptial purposes, though common to both sexes. The female is thus rendered more conspicuous during the period of incubation than during the winter; but such birds as herons and egrets would be able to defend themselves. As, however, plumes would probably be inconvenient and certainly of no use during the winter, it is possible that the habit of moulting twice in the year may have been gradually acquired through natural selection for the sake of casting off inconvenient ornaments during the winter. But this view cannot be extended to the many waders, whose summer and winter plumages differ very little in colour. With defenceless species, in which both sexes, or the males alone, become extremely conspicuous during the breeding-season,- or when the males acquire at this season such long wing or tail-feathers as to impede their flight, as with Cosmetornis and Vidua,- it certainly at first appears highly probable that the second moult has been gained for the special purpose of throwing off these ornaments. We must, however, remember that many birds, such as some of the birds of paradise, the Argus pheasant and peacock, do not cast their plumes during the winter; and it can hardly be maintained that the constitution of these birds, at least of the Gallinaceae, renders a double moult impossible, for the ptarmigan moults thrice in the year.* Hence it must be considered as doubtful whether the many species which moult their ornamental plumes or lose their bright colours during the winter, have acquired this habit on account of the inconvenience or danger which they would otherwise have suffered. * See Gould's Birds of Great Britain. I conclude, therefore, that the habit of moulting twice in the year was in most or all cases first acquired for some distinct purpose, perhaps for gaining a warmer winter covering; and that variations in the plumage occurring during the summer were accumulated through sexual selection, and transmitted to the offspring at the same season of the year; that such variations were inherited either by both sexes or by the males alone, according to the form of inheritance which prevailed. This appears more probable than that the species in all cases originally tended to retain their ornamental plumage during the winter, but were saved from this through natural selection, resulting from the inconvenience or danger thus caused. I have endeavoured in this chapter to shew that the arguments are not trustworthy in favour of the view that weapons, bright colours, and various ornaments, are now confined to the males owing to the conversion, by natural selection, of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes, into transmission to the male sex alone. It is also doubtful whether the colours of many female birds are due to the preservation, for the sake of protection, of variations which were from the first limited in their transmission to the female sex. But it will be convenient to defer any further discussion on this subject until I treat, in the following chapter, of the differences in plumage between the young and old.

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Is this a - Probability of a Function Having Complex Roots [05/11/2000] What is the probability that the function f(x) = x^2 + px + q = 0 will have complex roots when p and q lie between 0 and 1? ...when p and q lie between 0 and 5? ...when p and q are greater than 0?

Welcome to MedLibrary.org. For best results, we recommend beginning with the navigation links at the top of the page, which can guide you through our collection of over 14,000 medication labels and package inserts. For additional information on other topics which are not covered by our database of medications, just enter your topic in the search box below: Chromatography [|krəʊmə|tɒgrəfi] (from Greek χρῶμα chroma "color" and γράφειν graphein "to write") is the collective term for a set of laboratory techniques for the separation of mixtures. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid called the mobile phase, which carries it through a structure holding another material called the stationary phase. The various constituents of the mixture travel at different speeds, causing them to separate. The separation is based on differential partitioning between the mobile and stationary phases. Subtle differences in a compound's partition coefficient result in differential retention on the stationary phase and thus changing the separation. Chromatography may be preparative or analytical. The purpose of preparative chromatography is to separate the components of a mixture for more advanced use (and is thus a form of purification). Analytical chromatography is done normally with smaller amounts of material and is for measuring the relative proportions of analytes in a mixture. The two are not mutually exclusive. Chromatography, literally "color writing", was first employed by Russian-Italian scientist Mikhail Tsvet in 1900. He continued to work with chromatography in the first decade of the 20th century, primarily for the separation of plant pigments such as chlorophyll, carotenes, and xanthophylls. Since these components have different colors (green, orange, and yellow, respectively) they gave the technique its name. New types of chromatography developed during the 1930s and 1940s made the technique useful for many separation processes. Chromatography technique developed substantially as a result of the work of Archer John Porter Martin and Richard Laurence Millington Synge during the 1940s and 1950s. They established the principles and basic techniques of partition chromatography, and their work encouraged the rapid development of several chromatographic methods: paper chromatography, gas chromatography, and what would become known as high performance liquid chromatography. Since then, the technology has advanced rapidly. Researchers found that the main principles of Tsvet's chromatography could be applied in many different ways, resulting in the different varieties of chromatography described below. Advances are continually improving the technical performance of chromatography, allowing the separation of increasingly similar molecules. Chromatography terms - The analyte is the substance to be separated during chromatography. - Analytical chromatography is used to determine the existence and possibly also the concentration of analyte(s) in a sample. - A bonded phase is a stationary phase that is covalently bonded to the support particles or to the inside wall of the column tubing. - A chromatogram is the visual output of the chromatograph. In the case of an optimal separation, different peaks or patterns on the chromatogram correspond to different components of the separated mixture. - Plotted on the x-axis is the retention time and plotted on the y-axis a signal (for example obtained by a spectrophotometer, mass spectrometer or a variety of other detectors) corresponding to the response created by the analytes exiting the system. In the case of an optimal system the signal is proportional to the concentration of the specific analyte separated. - A chromatograph is equipment that enables a sophisticated separation e.g. gas chromatographic or liquid chromatographic separation. - Chromatography is a physical method of separation that distributes components to separate between two phases, one stationary (stationary phase), while the other (the mobile phase) moves in a definite direction. - The eluate is the mobile phase leaving the column. - The eluent is the solvent that carries the analyte. - An eluotropic series is a list of solvents ranked according to their eluting power. - An immobilized phase is a stationary phase that is immobilized on the support particles, or on the inner wall of the column tubing. - The mobile phase is the phase that moves in a definite direction. It may be a liquid (LC and Capillary Electrochromatography (CEC)), a gas (GC), or a supercritical fluid (supercritical-fluid chromatography, SFC). The mobile phase consists of the sample being separated/analyzed and the solvent that moves the sample through the column. In the case of HPLC the mobile phase consists of a non-polar solvent(s) such as hexane in normal phase or polar solvents in reverse phase chromotagraphy and the sample being separated. The mobile phase moves through the chromatography column (the stationary phase) where the sample interacts with the stationary phase and is separated. - Preparative chromatography is used to purify sufficient quantities of a substance for further use, rather than analysis. - The retention time is the characteristic time it takes for a particular analyte to pass through the system (from the column inlet to the detector) under set conditions. See also: Kovats' retention index - The sample is the matter analyzed in chromatography. It may consist of a single component or it may be a mixture of components. When the sample is treated in the course of an analysis, the phase or the phases containing the analytes of interest is/are referred to as the sample whereas everything out of interest separated from the sample before or in the course of the analysis is referred to as waste. - The solute refers to the sample components in partition chromatography. - The solvent refers to any substance capable of solubilizing another substance, and especially the liquid mobile phase in liquid chromatography. - The stationary phase is the substance fixed in place for the chromatography procedure. Examples include the silica layer in thin layer chromatography Chromatography is based on the concept of partition coefficient. Any solute partitions between two immiscible solvents. When we make one solvent immobile (by adsorption on a solid support matrix) and another mobile it results in most common applications of chromatography. If matrix support is polar (e.g. paper, silica etc.) it is forward phase chromatography, and if it is non polar (C-18) it is reverse phase. Techniques by chromatographic bed shape Column chromatography Column chromatography is a separation technique in which the stationary bed is within a tube. The particles of the solid stationary phase or the support coated with a liquid stationary phase may fill the whole inside volume of the tube (packed column) or be concentrated on or along the inside tube wall leaving an open, unrestricted path for the mobile phase in the middle part of the tube (open tubular column). Differences in rates of movement through the medium are calculated to different retention times of the sample. In 1978, W. C. Still introduced a modified version of column chromatography called flash column chromatography (flash). The technique is very similar to the traditional column chromatography, except for that the solvent is driven through the column by applying positive pressure. This allowed most separations to be performed in less than 20 minutes, with improved separations compared to the old method. Modern flash chromatography systems are sold as pre-packed plastic cartridges, and the solvent is pumped through the cartridge. Systems may also be linked with detectors and fraction collectors providing automation. The introduction of gradient pumps resulted in quicker separations and less solvent usage. In expanded bed adsorption, a fluidized bed is used, rather than a solid phase made by a packed bed. This allows omission of initial clearing steps such as centrifugation and filtration, for culture broths or slurries of broken cells. Phosphocellulose chromatography utilizes the binding affinity of many DNA-binding proteins for phosphocellulose. The stronger a protein's interaction with DNA, the higher the salt concentration needed to elute that protein. Planar chromatography Planar chromatography is a separation technique in which the stationary phase is present as or on a plane. The plane can be a paper, serving as such or impregnated by a substance as the stationary bed (paper chromatography) or a layer of solid particles spread on a support such as a glass plate (thin layer chromatography). Different compounds in the sample mixture travel different distances according to how strongly they interact with the stationary phase as compared to the mobile phase. The specific Retention factor (Rf) of each chemical can be used to aid in the identification of an unknown substance. Paper chromatography Paper chromatography is a technique that involves placing a small dot or line of sample solution onto a strip of chromatography paper. The paper is placed in a jar containing a shallow layer of solvent and sealed. As the solvent rises through the paper, it meets the sample mixture, which starts to travel up the paper with the solvent. This paper is made of cellulose, a polar substance, and the compounds within the mixture travel farther if they are non-polar. More polar substances bond with the cellulose paper more quickly, and therefore do not travel as far. Thin layer chromatography Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is a widely employed laboratory technique and is similar to paper chromatography. However, instead of using a stationary phase of paper, it involves a stationary phase of a thin layer of adsorbent like silica gel, alumina, or cellulose on a flat, inert substrate. Compared to paper, it has the advantage of faster runs, better separations, and the choice between different adsorbents. For even better resolution and to allow for quantification, high-performance TLC can be used. Displacement chromatography The basic principle of displacement chromatography is: A molecule with a high affinity for the chromatography matrix (the displacer) competes effectively for binding sites, and thus displace all molecules with lesser affinities. There are distinct differences between displacement and elution chromatography. In elution mode, substances typically emerge from a column in narrow, Gaussian peaks. Wide separation of peaks, preferably to baseline, is desired for maximum purification. The speed at which any component of a mixture travels down the column in elution mode depends on many factors. But for two substances to travel at different speeds, and thereby be resolved, there must be substantial differences in some interaction between the biomolecules and the chromatography matrix. Operating parameters are adjusted to maximize the effect of this difference. In many cases, baseline separation of the peaks can be achieved only with gradient elution and low column loadings. Thus, two drawbacks to elution mode chromatography, especially at the preparative scale, are operational complexity, due to gradient solvent pumping, and low throughput, due to low column loadings. Displacement chromatography has advantages over elution chromatography in that components are resolved into consecutive zones of pure substances rather than “peaks”. Because the process takes advantage of the nonlinearity of the isotherms, a larger column feed can be separated on a given column with the purified components recovered at significantly higher concentrations. Techniques by physical state of mobile phase Gas chromatography Gas chromatography (GC), also sometimes known as gas-liquid chromatography, (GLC), is a separation technique in which the mobile phase is a gas. Gas chromatography is always carried out in a column, which is typically "packed" or "capillary" (see below). Gas chromatography is based on a partition equilibrium of analyte between a solid stationary phase (often a liquid silicone-based material) and a mobile gas (most often helium). The stationary phase is adhered to the inside of a small-diameter glass tube (a capillary column) or a solid matrix inside a larger metal tube (a packed column). It is widely used in analytical chemistry; though the high temperatures used in GC make it unsuitable for high molecular weight biopolymers or proteins (heat denatures them), frequently encountered in biochemistry, it is well suited for use in the petrochemical, environmental monitoring and remediation, and industrial chemical fields. It is also used extensively in chemistry research. Liquid chromatography Liquid chromatography (LC) is a separation technique in which the mobile phase is a liquid. Liquid chromatography can be carried out either in a column or a plane. Present day liquid chromatography that generally utilizes very small packing particles and a relatively high pressure is referred to as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In HPLC the sample is forced by a liquid at high pressure (the mobile phase) through a column that is packed with a stationary phase composed of irregularly or spherically shaped particles, a porous monolithic layer, or a porous membrane. HPLC is historically divided into two different sub-classes based on the polarity of the mobile and stationary phases. Methods in which the stationary phase is more polar than the mobile phase (e.g., toluene as the mobile phase, silica as the stationary phase) are termed normal phase liquid chromatography (NPLC) and the opposite (e.g., water-methanol mixture as the mobile phase and C18 = octadecylsilyl as the stationary phase) is termed reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC). Ironically the "normal phase" has fewer applications and RPLC is therefore used considerably more. Specific techniques under this broad heading are listed below. Affinity chromatography Affinity chromatography is based on selective non-covalent interaction between an analyte and specific molecules. It is very specific, but not very robust. It is often used in biochemistry in the purification of proteins bound to tags. These fusion proteins are labeled with compounds such as His-tags, biotin or antigens, which bind to the stationary phase specifically. After purification, some of these tags are usually removed and the pure protein is obtained. Affinity chromatography often utilizes a biomolecule's affinity for a metal (Zn, Cu, Fe, etc.). Columns are often manually prepared. Traditional affinity columns are used as a preparative step to flush out unwanted biomolecules. However, HPLC techniques exist that do utilize affinity chromatogaphy properties. Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC) is useful to separate aforementioned molecules based on the relative affinity for the metal (I.e. Dionex IMAC). Often these columns can be loaded with different metals to create a column with a targeted affinity. Supercritical fluid chromatography Supercritical fluid chromatography is a separation technique in which the mobile phase is a fluid above and relatively close to its critical temperature and pressure. Techniques by separation mechanism Ion exchange chromatography Ion exchange chromatography (usually referred to as ion chromatography) uses an ion exchange mechanism to separate analytes based on their respective charges. It is usually performed in columns but can also be useful in planar mode. Ion exchange chromatography uses a charged stationary phase to separate charged compounds including anions, cations, amino acids, peptides, and proteins. In conventional methods the stationary phase is an ion exchange resin that carries charged functional groups that interact with oppositely charged groups of the compound to retain. Ion exchange chromatography is commonly used to purify proteins using FPLC. Size-exclusion chromatography Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is also known as gel permeation chromatography (GPC) or gel filtration chromatography and separates molecules according to their size (or more accurately according to their hydrodynamic diameter or hydrodynamic volume). Smaller molecules are able to enter the pores of the media and, therefore, molecules are trapped and removed from the flow of the mobile phase. The average residence time in the pores depends upon the effective size of the analyte molecules. However, molecules that are larger than the average pore size of the packing are excluded and thus suffer essentially no retention; such species are the first to be eluted. It is generally a low-resolution chromatography technique and thus it is often reserved for the final, "polishing" step of a purification. It is also useful for determining the tertiary structure and quaternary structure of purified proteins, especially since it can be carried out under native solution conditions. Expanded Bed Adsorption (EBA) Chromatographic Separation Expanded Bed Adsorption (EBA) Chromatographic Separation captures a target protein from a crude feed stream when it passes through a chromatography column system containing adsorbent beads. With this technique the crude feedstock can be treated directly in the chromatographic column, avoiding the traditional clarification and pre-treatment steps. EBA Chromatographic Separation is highly scalable, from laboratory-based 1 cm diameter columns to large production columns up to 2 meter in diameter. These columns can typically handle feed stock throughput of more than 1,000,000 liter per day with a production capacity of 1000 MT protein per year. Special techniques Reversed-phase chromatography Reversed-phase chromatography (RPC) is any liquid chromatography procedure in which the mobile phase is significantly more polar than the stationary phase. It is so named because in normal-phase liquid chromatography, the mobile phase is significantly less polar than the stationary phase. Hydrophobic molecules in the mobile phase tend to adsorb to the relatively hydrophobic stationary phase. Hydrophilic molecules in the mobile phase will tend to elute first. Two-dimensional chromatography In some cases, the chemistry within a given column can be insufficient to separate some analytes. It is possible to direct a series of unresolved peaks onto a second column with different physico-chemical (Chemical classification) properties. Since the mechanism of retention on this new solid support is different from the first dimensional separation, it can be possible to separate compounds that are indistinguishable by one-dimensional chromatography. The sample is spotted at one corner of a square plate,developed, air-dried, then rotated by 90° and usually redeveloped in a second solvent system. Simulated moving-bed chromatography Pyrolysis gas chromatography Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry is a method of chemical analysis in which the sample is heated to decomposition to produce smaller molecules that are separated by gas chromatography and detected using mass spectrometry. Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials in an inert atmosphere or a vacuum. The sample is put into direct contact with a platinum wire, or placed in a quartz sample tube, and rapidly heated to 600–1000 °C. Depending on the application even higher temperatures are used. Three different heating techniques are used in actual pyrolyzers: Isothermal furnace, inductive heating (Curie Point filament), and resistive heating using platinum filaments. Large molecules cleave at their weakest points and produce smaller, more volatile fragments. These fragments can be separated by gas chromatography. Pyrolysis GC chromatograms are typically complex because a wide range of different decomposition products is formed. The data can either be used as fingerprint to prove material identity or the GC/MS data is used to identify individual fragments to obtain structural information. To increase the volatility of polar fragments, various methylating reagents can be added to a sample before pyrolysis. Besides the usage of dedicated pyrolyzers, pyrolysis GC of solid and liquid samples can be performed directly inside Programmable Temperature Vaporizer (PTV) injectors that provide quick heating (up to 30 °C/s) and high maximum temperatures of 600–650 °C. This is sufficient for some pyrolysis applications. The main advantage is that no dedicated instrument has to be purchased and pyrolysis can be performed as part of routine GC analysis. In this case quartz GC inlet liners have to be used. Quantitative data can be acquired, and good results of derivatization inside the PTV injector are published as well. Fast protein liquid chromatography Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) is a term applied to several chromatography techniques which are used to purify proteins. Many of these techniques are identical to those carried out under high performance liquid chromatography, however use of FPLC techniques are typically for preparing large scale batches of a purified product. Countercurrent chromatography Countercurrent chromatography (CCC) is a type of liquid-liquid chromatography, where both the stationary and mobile phases are liquids. The operating principle of CCC equipment requires a column consisting of an open tube coiled around a bobbin. The bobbin is rotated in a double-axis gyratory motion (a cardioid), which causes a variable gravity (G) field to act on the column during each rotation. This motion causes the column to see one partitioning step per revolution and components of the sample separate in the column due to their partitioning coefficient between the two immiscible liquid phases used. There are many types of CCC available today. These include HSCCC (High Speed CCC) and HPCCC (High Performance CCC). HPCCC is the latest and best performing version of the instrumentation available currently. Chiral chromatography Chiral chromatography involves the separation of stereoisomers. In the case of enantiomers, these have no chemical or physical differences apart from being three-dimensional mirror images. Conventional chromatography or other separation processes are incapable of separating them. To enable chiral separations to take place, either the mobile phase or the stationary phase must themselves be made chiral, giving differing affinities between the analytes. Chiral chromatography HPLC columns (with a chiral stationary phase) in both normal and reversed phase are commercially available. See also - IUPAC Nomenclature for Chromatography IUPAC Recommendations 1993, Pure & Appl. Chem., Vol. 65, No. 4, pp.819–872, 1993. - Still, W. C.; Kahn, M.; Mitra, A. J. Org. Chem. 1978, 43(14), 2923–2925. doi:10.1021/jo00408a041 - Laurence M. Harwood, Christopher J. Moody (13 June 1989). Experimental organic chemistry: Principles and Practice (Illustrated ed.). WileyBlackwell. pp. 180–185. ISBN 978-0-632-02017-1 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK]. - Christian B. Anfinsen, John Tileston Edsall, Frederic Middlebrook Richards Advances in Protein Chemistry. Science 1976, 6-7. - Displacement Chromatography 101. Sachem, Inc. Austin, TX 78737 - Pascal Bailon, George K. Ehrlich, Wen-Jian Fung and Wolfgang Berthold, An Overview of Affinity Chromatography, Humana Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-89603-694-9 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK], ISBN 978-1-60327-261-2 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK]. - IUPAC Nomenclature for Chromatography - Chromedia On line database and community for chromatography practitioners (paid subscription required) - Library 4 Science: Chrom-Ed Series - Overlapping Peaks Program – Learning by Simulations - Chromatography Videos – MIT OCW – Digital Lab Techniques Manual - Chromatography Equations Calculators – MicroSolv Technology Corporation

A Reference Resource Life Before the Presidency Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874. For the first nine years of his life, he lived in the small town of West Branch, Iowa, the place of his birth. His Quaker father, Jessie Clark Hoover, a blacksmith and farm equipment salesman, suffered a heart attack and died when Herbert was six years old. Three years later, the boy's mother, Huldah Minthorn Hoover, developed pneumonia and also passed away, orphaning Herbert, his older brother Theodore, and little sister Mary. Passed around among relatives for a few years, Hoover ended up with his uncle, Dr. John Minthorn, who lived in Oregon. The young Hoover was shy, sensitive, introverted, and somewhat suspicious, characteristics that developed, at least in part, in reaction to the loss of his parents at such a young age. He attended Friends Pacific Academy in Newberg, Oregon, earning average to failing grades in all subjects except math. Determined, nevertheless, to go to the newly established Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, Hoover studied hard and barely passed the university's entrance exam. He went on to major in geology and participated in a host of extracurricular activities, serving as class treasurer of the junior and senior student bodies and managing the school baseball and football teams. To pay his tuition, Hoover worked as a clerk in the registration office and showed considerable entrepreneurial skill by starting a student laundry service. Career and Monetary Success During the summers, Hoover worked as a student assistant on geological survey teams in Arkansas, California, and Nevada. After his graduation in 1895, he looked hard to find work as a surveyor but ended up laboring seventy hours a week at a gold mine near Nevada City, California, pushing ore carts. Luck came his way with an office job in San Francisco, putting him in touch with a firm in need of an engineer to inspect and evaluate mines for potential purchase. Hoover then moved to Australia in 1897 and China in 1899, where he worked as a mining engineer until 1902. A string of similar jobs took him all over the world and helped Hoover become a giant in his field. He opened his own mining consulting business in 1908; by 1914, Hoover was financially secure, earning his wealth from high-salaried positions, his ownership of profitable Burmese silver mines, and royalties from writing the leading textbook on mining engineering. His wife, Lou Henry Hoover, traveled with him everywhere he went. Herbert and Lou met in college, where she was the sole female geology major at Stanford. He proposed to her by cable from Australia as he prepared to move to China; she accepted by return wire and they married in 1899. The couple was in China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, a time when Lou helped nurse wounded Western diplomats and soldiers while Herbert assisted in the fighting to defend Tianjin, a city near the uprising. By the time the couple returned home to America in 1917, Lou had learned to shoot a gun and had mastered eight languages. Over the course of his career as a mining engineer and businessman, Hoover's intellect and understanding of the world matured considerably. Hoover was raised a Quaker and although he rarely went to Meeting as an adult, he internalized that faith's belief in the power of the individual, the importance of freedom, and the value of "conscientious work" and charity. Hoover also applied the ethos of engineering to the world in general, believing that scientific expertise, when employed thoughtfully and properly, led to human progress. Hoover worked comfortably in a capitalist economy but believed in labor's right to organize and hoped that cooperation (between labor and management and among competitors) might come to characterize economic relations. During these years, Hoover repeatedly made known to friends his desire for public service. Politically, Hoover identified with the progressive wing of the Republican Party, supporting Theodore Roosevelt's third-party bid in 1912. World War I brought Hoover to prominence in American politics and thrust him into the international spotlight. In London when the war broke out, he was asked by the U.S. consul to organize the evacuation of 120,000 Americans trapped in Europe. Germany's devastating invasion of Belgium led Hoover to pool his money with several wealthy friends to organize the Committee for the Relief of Belgium. Working without direct government support, Hoover raised millions of dollars for food and medicine to help desperate Belgians. In 1917, after the United States entered the war, President Woodrow Wilson asked Hoover to run the U.S. Food Administration. Hoover performed quite admirably, guiding the effort to conserve resources and supplies needed for the war and to feed America's European allies. Hoover even became a household name during the war; nearly all Americans knew that the verb "to Hooverize" meant the rationing of household materials. After the armistice treaty was signed in November 1918, officially ending World War I, Wilson appointed Hoover to head the European Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. In this capacity, Hoover channeled 34 million tons of American food, clothing, and supplies to war-torn Europe, aiding people in twenty nations. His service during World War I made Hoover one of the few Republicans trusted by Wilson. Because of Hoover's knowledge of world affairs, Wilson relied him at the Versailles Peace Conference and as director of the President's Supreme Economic Council in 1918. The following year, Hoover founded the Hoover Library on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University as an archive for the records of World War I. This privately endowed organization later became the Hoover Institution, devoted to the study of peace and war. No isolationist, Hoover supported American participation in the League of Nations. He believed, though, that Wilson's stubborn idealism led Congress to reject American participation in the League. Secretary of Commerce In 1920, Hoover emerged as a contender for the Republican presidential nomination. His run was blocked, however, by fellow a Californian, Senator Hiram Johnson, who objected to Hoover's support for the League. Republican Warren Harding won the White House in 1920 and appointed Hoover as his secretary of commerce, a position that Hoover retained under Harding's successor, President Calvin Coolidge. Under Hoover's leadership, the Department of Commerce became as influential and important a government agency as the Departments of State and Treasury. Hoover encouraged research into measures designed to counteract harmful business cycles. He supported government regulation of new industries like aviation and radio. He brought together more than one hundred different industries and convinced them to adopt standardized tools, hardware, building materials, and automobile parts. Finally, he aggressively pursued international trade opportunities for American business. To win these reforms, Hoover strengthened existing agencies in the Commerce Department, like the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, or simply established new ones, like the Bureau of Standards, for the standardization project. He also formed commissions that brought together government officials, experts, and leaders of the relevant economic sectors to work towards reform. The initiatives Hoover supported as commerce secretary—and the ways in which he pursued them—reveal his thinking about contemporary life in the United States and about the federal government's role in American society. Hoover hoped to create a more organized economy that would regularize the business cycle, eliminating damaging ebbs and flows and generating higher rates of economic growth. He believed that eradicating waste and improving efficiency would achieve some of these results— thus, his support for standardization and for statistical research into the workings of the economy. He also believed that the American economy would be healthier if business leaders worked together, and with government officials and experts from the social sciences, in a form of private-sector economic planning. This stance led him to support trade associations—industry-wide cooperative groups wherein information on prices, markets, and products could be exchanged among competitors—which Hoover saw as a middle way between competition and monopoly. He insisted, though, that participation in these associations remain voluntary and that the government merely promote and encourage, rather than require, their establishment. Hoover hoped that these innovations would strengthen what he saw as the central component of the American experience: individualism. In 1922, Hoover published a small book, entitled American Individualism, that examined the Western intellectual tradition's major social philosophies, including individualism, socialism, communism, capitalism, and autocracy. Hoover concluded that individualism was the superior principle around which to organize society. He rejected the laissez-faire capitalism of the Right and the socialism and communism of the Left because he believed that these ideologies hindered rather than helped the individual. Instead, Hoover sought a "balance of perspective" between Right and Left that theoretically would create and maintain opportunities for Americans to succeed. Through enterprises like those he championed as commerce secretary, Hoover believed the federal government could facilitate the creation of political, social, and economic conditions in which individual Americans could flourish. Hoover's positions and thinking placed him solidly in the progressive camp of the Republican Party. As secretary of commerce, Hoover emerged as a potential running-mate for Coolidge in the 1924 presidential election, though that effort fell short. Hoover's reputation with the American people reached its peak in 1927, when he took charge of relief efforts following disastrous floods along the Mississippi River. The episode displayed Hoover at his best: as a humanitarian and leader with the ability to solve problems. When Coolidge announced in 1927 that he would not seek reelection, Hoover became the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Deep-space communication improved with electromagnetic radiation antenna - Robert C. Dye - Technology Transfer - (505) 667-3404 Electromagnetic radiation antenna has potential for deep-space communication - Directed Energy - Long-range communications - Medicine (Oncology) - RADAR imaging applications are countermeasure-resistant - Communications can be spatially-encrypted - 4-dimensional volumes of energy can be aimed at a single space-time point for directed energy applications - Nonspherical decay of the cusp enables low-power communications and propagation over great distances Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) researchers have developed the Lightslinger, a completely new type of antenna that produces tightly-focused packets of electromagnetic radiation fundamentally different from the emissions of conventional transmitters. The device has potential applications in RADAR, directed-energy (non-kinetic kill), secure communications, ultra-long-range communications (e.g., deep-space), medicine (oncology) and astrophysics. The Lightslinger functions by producing a moving polarization pattern in a ring of alumina. By careful timing of voltages applied to electrodes that surround the alumina, the polarization pattern can be made to move superluminally, i.e., faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. Nobel laureate Vitaly Ginzberg showed both that such superluminal polarization patterns do not violate the principles of special relativity and that they emit electromagnetic radiation. Once a source travels faster than the waves that it emits, it can make contributions at multiple retarded times to a signal received instantaneously at a distance. This effect is already well known in acoustics; when a supersonic airplane accelerates through the speed of sound, a violent “sonic boom” is heard many miles away, even if the airplane itself is rather quiet. The Lightslinger enables the same thing to be done with electromagnetic radiation; i.e., a relatively low-power source can make an “electromagnetic boom”, an intense concentration of radiowaves at a great distance. The “electromagnetic boom” is due to temporal focusing, that is, focusing in the time domain. Because of this effect, part of the emitted radiation possesses an intensity that decays with distance r as 1/r rather than as the conventional inverse square law, 1/r2. These nonspherically-decaying wavepackets represent a game-changing technology in the applications of electromagnetic radiation. Development stage: Working prototype Patent status: Patent pending Licensing status: Available for exclusive or non-exclusive licensing

Historical Aerial Photographs Prior to the trial, Jan Schlichtmann, the plaintiffs attorney, hired a consulting firm to acquire and analyze historic aerial photographs of the Riley 15-acre property to estimate the times when the various drums, barrels, and debris piles first appeared. The consultants took this analysis and compared it to the 1985 field mapping of the debris piles, drums, and tanks on the 15-acre property by John Drobinski, a geologist hired by Schlichtmann. Drobinski's field map can be downloaded from the trial documents collection and excerpts of his deposition can be downloaded from the trial testimony collection. What Are Aerial Photographs and How Are They Used? Aerial photographs like the ones shown below routinely are taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Geological Survey to make topographic maps, record temporal changes in crop patterns, map geology and mineral resources, and evaluate floodplains. A specialized aircraft with sophisticated cameras is used to take photographs using black & white or color infrared film. The aircraft flies along flight lines that overlap slightly while the camera takes photographs at time intervals that allow the images to overlap. Because of the overlap is from two different positions in the sky, the overlapping portions of adjacent images can be viewed in 3-D. A stereoscope is needed to see the images in 3-D, which produces a static visual image that is similar to looking at a 3-D movie using red and blue glasses. Thus, tree tops and buildings appear to be higher than surrounding ground, whereas stream channels and wetlands appear to be lower. Aerial Photographs of the Woburn Wells G and H Area The collection below is a subset of those compiled by Maura Metheny for her dissertation research at Ohio State University. Four sets of photographs (May 1954, May 1969, April 1981, and March 1986) are suitable for 3-D viewing. To do this, print the images on high-quality paper or photographic paper and view them under a stereoscope. An inexpensive plastic 'pocket' stereoscope works well. The sequence of images below document changes in land use, construction of municipal wells G and H and other structures, changes in the wetland, and the appearance of drums and underground storage tanks along the access road between Salem Street and Olympia Avenue on the west side of the river. Detailed information about the dates, resolution, scales, and ordering numbers of the sets of aerial photographs shown below is available in this Excel file (Excel 19kB Jan22 07). - May 13, 1954 Photographs: 2414, 2415, 2416, 2417 northern image Full Resolution ( 28.5MB Mar14 07)north-central image Full Resolution ( 29.3MB Mar14 07)south-central image Full Resolution ( 28.3MB Mar14 07)southern image Full Resolution ( 28.5MB Mar14 07) - April 29, 1963 Photographs: 278, 279 western image Full Resolution ( 288kB Mar15 07)eastern image Full Resolution ( 208kB Mar15 07) - April 6, 1965 photograph: 233 Full Resolution ( 269kB Mar15 07) - May 1, 1969 photographs: 1684, 1685, 1686, 1687 south image Full Resolution ( 288kB Mar15 07)south-central image Full Resolution ( 284kB Mar15 07)north-central image Full Resolution ( 281kB Mar15 07)north image Full Resolution ( 273kB Mar15 07) - July 3, 1971 photograph: 126 Full Resolution ( 377kB Mar15 07) - April 23, 1978 photographs: 104 north and south north images Full Resolution ( 73kB Mar15 07)south image Full Resolution ( 77kB Mar15 07) - April 13, 1981 photographs: 19-5, 19-6, 19-7 south image Full Resolution ( 205kB Mar15 07)middle image Full Resolution ( 196kB Mar15 07)north image Full Resolution ( 196kB Mar15 07)

Schools and Students Private schools in 1999–2000 were located primarily in central cities (42 percent) and the urban fringe or large towns (40 percent) (table 2). About 18 percent of private schools were found in rural areas. In contrast, 24 percent of all public schools were in central city locations, 45 percent in the urban fringe or large towns, and 31 percent in rural areas. Most schools—61 percent of private and 71 percent of public—were elementary, but 10 percent of private schools and 25 percent of public schools were secondary. Finally, a much higher proportion of private schools (30 percent) were combined schools (usually grades K–12 or 1–12), compared with only 4 percent of public schools. Figures and Tables Table 2: Percentage distribution of schools according to community type and level, by sector and private school type: 1999-2000 Table S2: Standard errors for the percentage distribution of schools according to community type and level, by sector and private school type: 1999-2000

Jim Lake and Maria Rivera, at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), report their finding in the Sept. 9 issue of the journal Nature. Scientists refer to both bacteria and Archaea as "prokaryotes"--a cell type that has no distinct nucleus to contain the genetic material, DNA, and few other specialized components. More-complex cells, known as "eukaryotes," contain a well-defined nucleus as well as compartmentalized "organelles" that carry out metabolism and transport molecules throughout the cell. Yeast cells are some of the most-primitive eukaryotes, whereas the highly specialized cells of human beings and other mammals are among the most complex. "A major unsolved question in biology has been where eukaryotes came from, where we came from," Lake said. "The answer is that we have two parents, and we now know who those parents were." Further, he added, the results provide a new picture of evolutionary pathways. "At least 2 billion years ago, ancestors of these two diverse prokaryotic groups fused their genomes to form the first eukaryote, and in the processes two different branches of the tree of life were fused to form the ring of life," Lake said. The work is part of an effort supported by the National Science Foundation--the federal agency that supports research and education across all disciplines of science and engineering--to re-examine historical schemes for classifying Earth's living creatures, a process that was once based on easily observable traits. Microbes, plants or animals wer Contact: Leslie Fink National Science Foundation

The test team views the use of a pulley as an intermediate step only, and has planned to shift to a reliance on windlasses like those that apparently were used to hoist sails on Egyptian ships. "The whole approach has been to downgrade the technology," Gharib said. "We first wanted to show that a kite could raise a huge weight at all. Now that we're raising larger and larger stones, we're also preparing to replace the steel scaffolding with wooden poles and the steel pulleys with wooden pulleys like the ones they may have used on Egyptian ships." For Gharib, the idea of accomplishing heavy tasks with limited manpower is appealing from an engineer's standpoint because it makes more logistical sense. "You can imagine how hard it is to coordinate the activities of hundreds if not thousands of laborers to accomplish an intricate task," said Gharib. "It's one thing to send thousands of soldiers to attack another army on a battlefield. But an engineering project requires everything to be put precisely into place. "I prefer to think of the technology as simple, with relatively few people involved," he explained. Gharib and Graff came up with a way of building a simple structure around the obelisk, with a pulley system mounted in front of the stone. That way, the base of the obelisk would drag on the ground for a few feet as the kite lifted the stone, and the stone would be quite stable once it was pulled upright into a vertical position. If the obelisk were raised with the base as a pivot, the stone would tend to swing past the vertical position and fall the other way. The top of the obelisk is tied with ropes threaded through the pulleys and attached to the kite. The operation is guided by a couple of workers using ropes attached to the pulleys. No one has found any evidence that the ancient Egyptians moved stones or any other objects with kites and pulleys. But Clemmons has found some tantalizing hints that the project is on the right track. On a building frieze in a Cairo museum, there is a wing pattern in bas-relief that does not resemble any living bird. Directly below are several men standing near vertical objects that could be ropes. Gharib's interest in the project is mainly to demonstrate that the technique may be viable. "We're not Egyptologists," he said. "We're mainly interested in determining whether there is a possibility that the Egyptians were aware of wind power, and whether they used it to make their lives better." Now that Gharib and his team have successfully raised the four-ton concrete obelisk, they plan to further test the approach using a ten-ton stone, and perhaps an even heavier one after that. Eventually they hope to obtain permission to try using their technique to raise one of the obelisks that still lie in an Egyptian quarry. "In fact, we may not even need a kite. It could be we can get along with just a drag chute," Gharib said. An important question is: Was there enough wind in Egypt for a kite or a drag chute to fly? Probably so, as steady winds of up to 30 miles per hour are not unusual in the areas where pyramids and obelisks were found. (c) 2001 Caltech SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES

Refraction and Acceleration Name: Christopher S. Why is it that when light travels from a more dense to a less dense medium, its speed is higher? I've read answers to this question in your archives but, sadly, still don't get it. One answer (Jasjeet S Bagla) says that we must not ask the question because light is massless, hence questions of acceleration don't make sense. It does, however, seem to be OK to talk about different speeds of light. If you start at one speed and end at a higher one, why is one not allowed to talk about acceleration? Bagla goes on to say that it depends on how the em fields behave in a given medium. It begs the question: what is it about, say, Perspex and air that makes light accelerate, oops, travel at different speeds? If you're dealing with the same ray of light, one is forced to speak of acceleration, no? What other explanation is there for final velocity>initial velocity? Arthur Smith mentioned a very small "evanescent" component that travels ahead at c. Where can I learn more about this? Sorry for the long question. I understand that F=ma and if there is no m, you cannot talk about a, but, again, you have one velocity higher than another for the same thing. I need to know more than "that's just the way em fields are!" An explanation that satisfies me relates to travel through an interactive medium. When light interacts with an atom, the photon of light is absorbed and then emitted. For a moment, the energy of the light is within the atom. This causes a slight delay. Light travels at the standard speed of light until interacting with another atom. It is absorbed and emitted, causing another slight delay. The average effect is taking more time to travel a meter through glass than through air. This works like a slower speed. An individual photon does not actually slow down. It gets delayed repeatedly by the atoms of the medium. A more dense medium has more atoms per meter to Dr. Ken Mellendorf Illinois Central College Congratulations! on not being willing to accept "that is just the way em fields are!" The answer to your inquiry is not all that simple (my opinion), but I won't try to do so in the limited space allowed here, not to say my own limitations of knowledge. Like so many "simple" physics questions, I find the most lucid, but accurate, explanation in Richard Feynman's, "Lectures on Physics" which most libraries will have. Volume I, Chapter 31-1 through 31-6, which describes refraction, dispersion, diffraction. The "answer" has to do with how matter alters the electric field of incident radiation, but I won't pretend to be able to do a better job than Feynman. The answer is that you are not dealing with the same ray of light. In vacuum a photon just keeps going at the speed of light. In a medium, however, it interacts with the atoms, often being absorbed while bumping an atomic or molecular motion into a higher energy state. The excited atom/molecule then can jump to a lower energy state, emitting a photon while doing so. This can obviously make light appear to travel slower in a In detail, it is a very complicated question, requiring at least a graduate course in electromagnetism to begin to understand. Why, for example do the emitted photons tend to travel in the same direction? Best, Richard J. Plano Click here to return to the Physics Archives Update: June 2012

Giant Manta Ray Giant Manta Ray Manta birostris Divers often describe the experience of swimming beneath a manta ray as like being overtaken by a huge flying saucer. This ray is the biggest in the world, but like the biggest shark, the whale shark, it is a harmless consumer of plankton. When feeding, it swims along with its cavernous mouth wide open, beating its huge triangular wings slowly up and down. On either side of the mouth, which is at the front of the head, there are two long paddles, called cephalic lobes. These lobes help funnel plankton into the mouth. A stingerless whiplike tail trails behind. Giant manta rays tend to be found over high points like seamounts where currents bring plankton up to them. Small fish called remoras often travel attached to these giants, feeding on food scraps along the way. Giant mantas are ovoviviparous, so the eggs develop and hatch inside the mother. These rays can leap high out of the water, to escape predators, clean their skin of parasites or communicate.

Topics covered: Ideal solutions Instructor/speaker: Moungi Bawendi, Keith Nelson The following content is provided under a Creative Commons license. Your support will help MIT OpenCourseWare continue to offer high quality educational resources for free. To make a donation or view additional materials from hundreds of MIT courses, visit MIT OpenCourseWare at ocw.mit.edu. PROFESSOR: So. In the meantime, you've started looking at two phase equilibrium. So now we're starting to look at mixtures. And so now we have more than one constituent. And we have more than one phase present. Right? So you've started to look at things that look like this, where you've got, let's say, two components. Both in the gas phase. And now to try to figure out what the phase equilibria look like. Of course it's now a little bit more complicated than what you went through before, where you can get pressure temperature phase diagrams with just a single component. Now we want to worry about what's the composition. Of each of the components. In each of the phases. And what's the temperature and the pressure. Total and partial pressures and all of that. So you can really figure out everything about both phases. And there are all sorts of important reasons to do that, obviously lots of chemistry happens in liquid mixtures. Some in gas mixtures. Some where they're in equilibrium. All sorts of chemical processes. Distillation, for example, takes advantage of the properties of liquid and gas mixtures. Where one of them might be richer, will be richer, and the more volatile of the components. That can be used as a basis for purification. You mix ethanol and water together so you've got a liquid with a certain composition of each. The gas is going to be richer and the more volatile of the two, the ethanol. So in a distillation, where you put things up in the gas, more of the ethanol comes up. You could then collect that gas, right? And re-condense it, and make a new liquid. Which is much richer in ethanol than the original liquid was. Then you could make, then you could put some of them up into the gas phase. Where it will be still richer in ethanol. And then you could collect that and repeat the process. So the point is that properties of liquid gas, two-component or multi-component mixtures like this can be exploited. Basically, the different volatilities of the different components can be exploited for things like purification. Also if you want to calculate chemical equilibria in the liquid and gas phase, of course, now you've seen chemical equilibrium, so the amount of reaction depends on the composition. So of course if you want reactions to go, then this also can be exploited by looking at which phase might be richer in one reactant or another. And thereby pushing the equilibrium toward one direction or the other. OK. So. we've got some total temperature and pressure. And we have compositions. So in the gas phase, we've got mole fractions yA and yB. In the liquid phase we've got mole fractions xA and xB. So that's our system. One of the things that you established last time is that, so there are the total number of variables including the temperature and the pressure. And let's say the mole fraction of A in each of the liquid and gas phases, right? But then there are constraints. Because the chemical potentials have to be equal, right? Chemical potential of A has to be equal in the liquid and gas. Same with B. Those two constraints reduce the number of independent variables. So there'll be two in this case rather than four independent variables. If you control those, then everything else will follow. What that means is if you've got a, if you control, if you fix the temperature and the total pressure, everything else should be determinable. No more free variables. And then, what you saw is that in simple or ideal liquid mixtures, a result called Raoult's law would hold. Which just says that the partial pressure of A is equal to the mole fraction of A in the liquid times the pressure of pure A over the liquid. And so what this gives you is a diagram that looks like this. If we plot this versus xB, this is mole fraction of B in the liquid going from zero to one. Then we could construct a diagram of this sort. So this is the total pressure of A and B. The partial pressures are given by these lines. So this is our pA star and pB star. The pressures over the pure liquid A and B at the limits of mole fraction of B being zero and one. So in this situation, for example, A is the more volatile of the components. So it's partial pressure over its pure liquid. At this temperature. Is higher than the partial pressure of B over its pure liquid. A would be the ethanol, for example and B the water in that mixture. OK. Then you started looking at both the gas and the liquid phase in the same diagram. So this is the mole fraction of the liquid. If you look and see, well, OK now we should be able to determine the mole fraction in the gas as well. Again, if we note total temperature and pressure, everything else must follow. And so, you saw this worked out. Relation between p and yA, for example. The result was p is pA star times pB star over pA star plus pB star minus pA star times yA. And the point here is that unlike this case, where you have a linear relationship, the relationship between the pressure and the liquid mole fraction isn't linear. We can still plot it, of course. So if we do that, then we end up with a diagram that looks like the following. Now I'm going to keep both mole fractions, xB and yB, I've got some total pressure. I still have my linear relationship. And then I have a non-linear relationship between the pressure and the mole fraction in the gas phase. So let's just fill this in. Here is pA star still. Here's pB star. Of course, at the limits they're still, both mole fractions they're zero and one. OK. I believe this is this is where you ended up at the end of the last lecture. But it's probably not so clear exactly how you read something like this. And use it. It's extremely useful. You just have to kind of learn how to follow what happens in a diagram like this. And that's what I want to spend some of today doing. Is just, walking through what's happening physically, with a container with a mixture of the two. And how does that correspond to what gets read off the diagram under different conditions. So. Let's just start somewhere on a phase diagram like this. Let's start up here at some point one, so we're in the pure - well, not pure, you're in the all liquid phase. It's still a mixture. It's not a pure substance. pA star, pB star. There's the gas phase. So, if we start at one, and now there's some total pressure. And now we're going to reduce it. What happens? We start with a pure - with an all-liquid mixture. No gas. And now we're going to bring down the pressure. Allowing some of the liquid to go up into the gas phase. So, we can do that. And once we reach point two, then we find a coexistence curve. Now the liquid and gas are going to coexist. So this is the liquid phase. And that means that this must be xB. And it's xB at one, but it's also xB at two, and I want to emphasize that. So let's put our pressure for two. And if we go over here, this is telling us about the mole fraction in the gas phase. That's what these curves are, remember. So this is the one that's showing us the mole fraction in the liquid phase. This nonlinear one in the gas phase. So that means just reading off it, this is xB, that's the liquid mole fraction. Here's yB. The gas mole fraction. They're not the same, right, because of course the components have different volatility. A's more volatile. So that means that the mole fraction of B in the liquid phase is higher than the mole fraction of B in the gas phase. Because A is the more volatile component. So more, relatively more, of A, the mole fraction of A is going to be higher up in the gas phase. Which means the mole fraction of B is lower in the gas phase. So, yB less than xB if A is more volatile. OK, so now what's happening physically? Well, we started at a point where we only had the liquid present. So at our initial pressure, we just have all liquid. There's some xB at one. That's all there is, there isn't any gas yet. Now, what happened here? Well, now we lowered the pressure. So you could imagine, well, we made the box bigger. Now, if the liquid was under pressure, being squeezed by the box, right then you could make the box a little bit bigger. And there's still no gas. That's moving down like this. But then you get to a point where there's just barely any pressure on top of the liquid. And then you keep expanding the box. Now some gas is going to form. So now we're going to go to our case two. We've got a bigger box. And now, right around where this was, this is going to be liquid. And there's gas up here. So up here is yB at pressure two. Here's xB at pressure two. Liquid and gas. So that's where we are at point two here. Now, what happens if we keep going? Let's lower the pressure some more. Well, we can lower it and do this. But really if we want to see what's happening in each of the phases, we have to stay on the coexistence curves. Those are what tell us what the pressures are. What the partial pressure are going to be in each of the phases. In each of the two, in the liquid and the gas phases. So let's say we lower the pressure a little more. What's going to happen is, then we'll end up somewhere over here. In the liquid, and that'll correspond to something over here in the gas. So here's three. So now we're going to have, that's going to be xB at pressure three. And over here is going to be yB at pressure three. And all we've done, of course, is we've just expanded this further. So now we've got a still taller box. And the liquid is going to be a little lower because some of it has evaporated, formed the gas phase. So here's xB at three. Here's yB at three, here's our gas phase. Now we could decrease even further. And this is the sort of thing that you maybe can't do in real life. But I can do on a blackboard. I'm going to give myself more room on this curve, to finish this illustration. There. Beautiful. So now we can lower a little bit further, and what I want to illustrate is, if we keep going down, eventually we get to a pressure where now if we look over in the gas phase, we're at the same pressure, mole fraction that we had originally in the liquid phase. So let's make four even lower pressure. What does that mean? What it means is, we're running out of liquid. So what's supposed to happen is A is the more volatile component. So as we start opening up some room for gas to form, you get more of A in the gas phase. But of course, and the liquid is richer in B. But of course, eventually you run out of liquid. You make the box pretty big, and you run out, or you have the very last drop of liquid. So what's the mole fraction of B in the gas phase? It has to be the same as what it started in in the liquid phase. Because after all the total number of moles of A and B hasn't changed any. So if you take them all from the liquid and put them all up into the gas phase, it must be the same. So yB of four. Once you just have the last drop. So then yB of four is basically equal to xB of one. Because everything's now up in the gas phase. So in principle, there's still a tiny, tiny bit of xB at pressure four. Well, we could keep lowering the pressure. We could make the box a little bigger. Then the very last of the liquid is going to be gone. And what'll happen then is, we're all here. There's no more liquid. We're not going down on the coexistence curve any more. We don't have a liquid gas coexistence any more. We just have a gas phase. Of course, we can continue to lower the pressure. And then what we're doing is just going down here. So there's five. And five is the same as this only bigger. And so forth. OK, any questions about how this works? It's really important to just gain facility in reading these things and seeing, OK, what is it that this is telling you. And you can see it's not complicated to do it, but it takes a little bit of practice. OK. Now, of course, we could do exactly the same thing starting from the gas phase. And raising the pressure. And although you may anticipate that it's kind of pedantic, I really do want to illustrate something by it. So let me just imagine that we're going to do that. Let's start all in the gas phase. Up here's the liquid. pA star, pB star. And now let's start somewhere here. So we're down somewhere in the gas phase with some composition. So it's the same story, except now we're starting here. It's all gas. And we're going to start squeezing. We're increasing the pressure. And eventually here's one, will reach two, so of course here's our yB. We started with all gas, no liquid. So this is yB of one. It's the same as yB of two, I'm just raising the pressure enough to just reach the coexistence curve. And of course, out here tells us xB of two, right? So what is it saying? We've squeezed and started to form some liquid. And the liquid is richer in component B. Maybe it's ethanol water again. And we squeeze, and now we've got more water in the liquid phase than in the gas phase. Because water's the less volatile component. It's what's going to condense first. So the liquid is rich in the less volatile of the components. Now, obviously, we can continue in doing exactly the reverse of what I showed you. But all I want to really illustrate is, this is a strategy for purification of the less volatile component. Once you've done this, well now you've got some liquid. Now you could collect that liquid in a separate vessel. So let's collect the liquid mixture with xB of two. So it's got some mole fraction of B. So we've purified that. But now we're going to start, we've got pure liquid. Now let's make the vessel big. So it all goes into the gas phase. Then lower p. All gas. So we start with yB of three, which equals xB of two. In other words, it's the same mole fraction. So let's reconstruct that. So here's p of two. And now we're going to go to some new pressure. And the point is, now we're going to start, since the mole fraction in the gas phase that we're starting from is the same number as this was. So it's around here somewhere. That's yB of three equals xB of two. And we're down here. In other words, all we've done is make the container big enough so the pressure's low and it's all in the gas phase. That's all we have, is the gas. But the composition is whatever the composition is that we extracted here from the liquid. So this xB, which is the liquid mole fraction, is now yB, the gas mole fraction. Of course, the pressure is different. Lower than it was before. Great. Now let's increase. So here's three. And now let's increase the pressure to four. And of course what happens, now we've got coexistence. So here's liquid. Here's gas. So, now we're over here again. There's xB at pressure four. Pure still in component B. We can repeat the same procedure. Collect it. All liquid, put it in a new vessel. Expand it, lower the pressure, all goes back into the gas phase. Do it all again. And the point is, what you're doing is walking along here. Here to here. Then you start down here, and go from here to here. From here to here. And you can purify. Now, of course, the optimal procedure, you have to think a little bit. Because if you really do precisely what I said, you're going to have a mighty little bit of material each time you do that. So yes it'll be the little bit you've gotten at the end is going to be really pure, but there's not a whole lot of it. Because, remember, what we said is let's raise the pressure until we just start being on the coexistence curve. So we've still got mostly gas. Little bit of liquid. Now, I could raise the pressure a bit higher. So that in the interest of having more of the liquid, when I do that, though, the liquid that I have at this higher pressure won't be as enriched as it was down here. Now, I could still do this procedure. I could just do more of them. So it takes a little bit of judiciousness to figure out how to optimize that. In the end, though, you can continue to walk your way down through these coexistence curves and purify repeatedly the component B, the less volatile of them, and end up with some amount of it. And there'll be some balance between the amount that you feel like you need to end up with and how pure you need it to be. Any questions about how this works? So purification of less volatile components. Now, how much of each of these quantities in each of these phases? So, pertinent to this discussion, of course we need to know that. If you want to try to optimize a procedure like that, of course it's going to be crucial to be able to understand and calculate for any pressure that you decide to raise to, just how many moles do you have in each of the phases? So at the end of the day, you can figure out, OK, now when I reach a certain degree of purification, here's how much of the stuff I end up with. Well, that turns out to be reasonably straightforward to do. And so what I'll go through is a simple mathematical derivation. And it turns out that it allows you to just read right off the diagram how much of each material you're going to end up with. So, here's what happens. This is something called the lever rule. How much of each component is there in each phase? So let's consider a case like this. Let me draw yet once again, just to get the numbering consistent. With how we'll treat this. So we're going to start here. And I want to draw it right in the middle, so I've got plenty of room. And we're going to go up to some pressure. And somewhere out there, now I can go to my coexistence curves. Liquid. And gas. And I can read off my values. So this is the liquid xB. So I'm going to go up to some point two, here's xB of two. Here's yB of two. Great. Now let's get these written in. So let's just define terms a little bit. nA, nB. Or just our total number of moles. ng and n liquid, of course, total number of moles. In the gas and liquid phases. So let's just do the calculation for each of these two cases. We'll start with one. That's the easier case. Because then we have only the gas. So at one, all gas. It says pure gas in the notes, but of course that isn't the pure gas. It's the mixture of the two components. So. How many moles of A? Well it's the mole fraction of A in the gas. Times the total number of moles in the gas. Let me put one in here. Just to be clear. And since we have all gas, the number of moles in the gas is just the total number of moles. So this is just yA at one times n total. Let's just write that in. And of course n total is equal to nA plus nB. So now let's look at condition two. Now we have to look a little more carefully. Because we have a liquid gas mixture. So nA is equal to yA at pressure two. Times the number of moles of gas at pressure two. Plus xA, at pressure two, times the number of moles of liquid at pressure two. Now, of course, these things have to be equal. The total number of moles of A didn't change, right? So those are equal. Then yA of two times ng of two. Plus xA of two times n liquid of two, that's equal to yA of one times n total. Which is of course equal to yA of one times n gas at two plus n liquid at two. I suppose I could be, add that equality. Of course, it's an obvious one. But let me do it anyway. The total number of moles is equal to nA plus nB. But it's also equal to n liquid plus n gas. And that's all I'm taking advantage of here. And now I'm just going to rearrange the terms. So I'm going to write yA at one minus yA at two, times ng at two, is equal to, and I'm going to take the other terms, the xA term. xA of two minus yA of one times n liquid at two. So I've just rearranged the terms. And I've done that because now, I think I omitted something here. yA of one times ng. No, I forgot a bracket, is what I did. yA of one there. And I did this because now I want to do is look at the ratio of liquid to gas at pressure two. So, ratio of I'll put it gas to liquid, that's ng of two over n liquid at two. And that's just equal to xA of two minus yA at one minus yA at one minus yA at two. So what does it mean? It's the ratio of these lever arms. That's what it's telling me. I can look, so I raise the pressure up to two. And so here's xB at two, here's yB at two. And I'm here somewhere. And this little amount and this little amount, that's that difference. And it's just telling me that ratio of those arms is the ratio of the total number of moles of gas to liquid. And that's great. Because now when I go back to the problem that we were just looking at, where I say, well I'm going to purify the less volatile component by raising the pressure until I'm at coexistence starting in the gas phase. Raise the pressure, I've got some liquid. But I also want some finite amount of liquid. But I don't want to just, when I get the very, very first drop of liquid now collected, of course it's enriched in the less volatile component. But there may be a minuscule amount, right? So I'll raise the pressure a bit more. I'll go up in pressure. And now, of course, when I do that the amount of enrichment of the liquid isn't as big as it was if I just raised it up enough to barely have any liquid. Then I'd be out here. But I've got more material in the liquid phase to collect. And that's what this allows me to calculate. Is how much do I get in the end. So it's very handy. You can also see, if I go all the way to the limit where the mole fraction in the liquid at the end is equal to what it was in the gas when I started, what that says is that there's no more gas left any more. In other words, these two things are equal. If I go all the way to the point where I've got all the, this is the amount I started with, in the pure gas phase, now I keep raising it all the way. Until I've got the same mole fraction in the liquid. Of course, we know what that really means. That means that I've gone all the way from pure gas to pure liquid. And the mole fraction in that case has to be the same. And what this is just telling us mathematically is, when that happens this is zero. That means I don't have any gas left. Yeah. PROFESSOR: No. Because, so it's the mole fraction in the gas phase. But you've started with some amount that it's only going to go down from there. PROFESSOR: Yeah. Yeah. Any other questions? OK. Well, now what I want to do is just put up a slightly different kind of diagram, but different in an important way. Namely, instead of showing the mole fractions as a function of the pressure. And I haven't written it in, but all of these are at constant temperature, right? I've assumed the temperature is constant in all these things. Now let's consider the other possibility, the other simple possibility, which is, let's hold the pressure constant and vary the temperature. Of course, you know in the lab, that's usually what's easiest to do. Now, unfortunately, the arithmetic gets more complicated. It's not monumentally complicated, but here in this case, where you have one linear relationship, which is very convenient. From Raoult's law. And then you have one non-linear relationship there for the mole fraction of the gas. In the case of temperature, they're both, neither one is linear. Nevertheless, we can just sketch what the diagram looks like. And of course it's very useful to do that, and see how to read off it. And I should say the derivation of the curves isn't particularly complicated. It's not particularly more complicated than what I think you saw last time to derive this. There's no complicated math involved. But the point is, the derivation doesn't yield a linear relationship for either the gas or the liquid part of the coexistence curve. OK, so we're going to look at temperature and mole fraction phase diagrams. Again, a little more complicated mathematically but more practical in real use. And this is T. And here is the, sort of, form that these things take. So again, neither one is linear. Up here, now, of course if you raise the temperatures, that's where you end up with gas. If you lower the temperature, you condense and get the liquid. So, this is TA star. TB star. So now I want to stick with A as the more volatile component. At constant temperature, that meant that pA star is bigger than pB star. In other words, the vapor pressure over pure liquid A is higher than the vapor pressure over pure liquid B. Similarly, now I've got constant pressure and really what I'm looking at, let's say I'm at the limit where I've got the pure liquid. Or the pure A. And now I'm going to, let's say, raise the temperature until I'm at the liquid-gas equilibrium. That's just the boiling point. So if A is the more volatile component, it has the lower boiling point. And that's what this reflects. So higher pB star A corresponds to lower TA star A. Which is just the boiling point of pure A. So, this is called the bubble line. That's called the dew line. All that means is, let's say I'm at high temperature. I've got all gas. Right no coexistence, no liquid yet. And I start to cool things off. Just to where I just barely start to get liquid. What you see that as is, dew starts forming. A little bit of condensation. If you're outside, it means on the grass a little bit of dew is forming. Similarly, if I start at low temperature, all liquid now I start raising the temperature until I just start to boil. I just start to see the first bubbles forming. And so that's why these things have those names. So now let's just follow along what happens when I do the same sort of thing that I illustrated there. I want to start at one point in this phase diagram. And then start changing the conditions. So let's start here. So I'm going to start all in the liquid phase. That is, the temperature is low. Here's xB. And my original temperature. Now I'm going to raise it. So if I raise it a little bit, I reach a point at which I first start to boil. Start to find some gas above the liquid. And if I look right here, that'll be my composition. Let me raise it a little farther, now that we've already seen the lever rule and so forth. I'll raise it up to here. And that means that out here, I suppose I should do here. So, here is the liquid mole fraction at temperature two. xB at temperature two. This is yB at temperature two. The gas mole fraction. So as you should expect, what's going to happen here is that the gas, this is going to be lower in B. A, that means that the mole fraction of A must be higher in the gas phase. That's one minus yB. So xA is one minus -- yA, which is one minus yB higher in gas phase. Than xA, which is one minus xB. In other words, the less volatile component is enriched up in the gas phase. Now, what does that mean? That means I could follow the same sort of procedure that I indicated before when we looked at the pressure mole fraction phase diagram. Namely, I could do this and now I could take the gas phase. Which has less of B. It has more of A. And I can collect it. And then I can reduce the temperature. So it liquefies. So I can condense it, in other words. So now I'm going to start with, let's say I lower the temperature enough so I've got basically pure liquid. But its composition is the same as the gas here. Because of course that's what that liquid is formed from. I collected the gas and separated it. So now I could start all over again. Except instead of being here, I'll be down here. And then I can raise the temperature again. To some place where I choose. I could choose here, and go all the way to hear. A great amount of enrichment. But I know from the lever rule that if I do that, I'm going to have precious little material over here. So I might prefer to raise the temperature a little more. Still get a substantial amount of enrichment. And now I've got, in the gas phase, I'll further enriched in component A. And again I can collect the gas. Condense it. Now I'm out here somewhere, I've got all liquid and I'll raise the temperature again. And I can again keep walking my way over. And that's what happens during an ordinary distillation. Each step of the distillation walks along in the phase diagram at some selected point. And of course what you're doing is, you're always condensing the gas. And starting with fresh liquid that now is enriched in more volatile of the components. So of course if you're really purifying, say, ethanol from an ethanol water mixture, that's how you do it. Ethanol is the more volatile component. So a still is set up. It will boil the stuff and collect the gas and and condense it. And boil it again, and so forth. And the whole thing can be set up in a very efficient way. So you have essentially continuous distillation. Where you have a whole sequence of collection and condensation and reheating and so forth events. So then, in a practical way, it's possible to walk quite far along the distillation, the coexistence curve, and distill to really a high degree of purification. Any questions about how that works? OK. I'll leave till next time the discussion of the chemical potentials. But what we'll do, just to foreshadow a little bit, what I'll do at the beginning of the next lecture is what's at the end of your notes here. Which is just to say OK, now if we look at Raoult's law, it's straightforward to say what is the chemical potential for each of the substances in the liquid and the gas phase. Of course, it has to be equal. Given that, that's for an ideal solution. We can gain some insight from that. And then look at real solutions, non-ideal solutions, and understand a lot of their behavior as well. Just from starting from our understanding of what the chemical potential does even in a simple ideal mixture. So we'll look at the chemical potentials. And then we'll look at non-ideal solution mixtures next time. See you then.

Topics covered: Encapsulation, inheritance, shadowing Instructor: Prof. Eric Grimson, Prof. John Guttag OPERATOR: The following content is provided under a Creative Commons license. Your support will help MIT OpenCourseWare continue to offer high quality educational resources for free. To make a donation or view additional materials from hundreds of MIT courses, visit MIT OpenCourseWare at ocw.mit.edu. PROFESSOR: Last lecture we were talking about classes, and object-oriented programming, and we're going to come back to it today. I'm going to remind you, we were talking about it because we suggested it is a really powerful way of structuring systems, and that's really why we want to use it, It's a very common way of structuring systems. So today I'm going to pick up on a bunch of more nuanced, or more complex if you like, ways of leveraging the power of classes. But we're going to see a bunch of examples that are going to give us a sense. I'm going to talk about inheritance, we're going to talk about shadowing, we're going to talk about iterators. But before get to it, I want to start by just highlighting, sort of, what was the point of classes? So I'll remind you. A class, I said, was basically a template for an abstract data type. And this was really to drive home this idea of modularity. I want the ability to say, I've got a set of things that naturally belong together, I'm going to cluster them together, I want to treat it like it's a primitive, I want to treat it like it's a float or an int or a string. Is this going to be a point or a segment or something different like that. So it's really a way, as I said, of just trying to cluster data together. And this is a notion of modularity slash abstraction where I'm treating them as primitives. But the second thing we talked about is that we also have a set of methods, using the special name method because we're talking classes. But basically functions that are designed to deal with this data structure. We're trying to group those together as well. So we cluster data and methods. Second key thing we said was, in the ideal case, which unfortunately Python isn't, but we'll come back to that, in the ideal case, we would have data hiding, and by data hiding, which is sort of a version of encapsulation, what we meant was that you could only get to the internal pieces of that data structure through a proscribed method. Proscribed meaning it's something I set up. So data hiding saying, you would only access the parts through a method. And as we said, unfortunately Python does not enforce this. Meaning that I could create one of these data structures, ideally I'd have a method, that I'm going to see some examples of that I used to get the parts out, unfortunately in Python you could take the name the instance dot some internal variable you'll get it back. It is exposed. And this is actually just not a good idea. So I suggested in my very bad humor, that you practice computational hygiene and you only use appropriate methods to get the parts out. OK didn't laugh the joke last time, you're not going to laugh at it this time, I don't blame you. All right, and then the last piece of this is that we said the class is a template. When we call that class, it makes an instance. So class is used to make instances, meaning particular versions, of that structure, and we said inside the instances we have a set of attributes. Internal variables, methods, that are going to belong to that structure. OK, so with that in mind, here's what I want to do. I'm going to show you a set of examples, and I want to warn you ahead of time, the code handout today is a little longer than normal because we want to build essentially an extended example of a sequence of examples of classes. We're going to see the idea, of which we're gonna talk about, of inheritance or hierarchy, in which we can have classes that are specializations of other classes. We're gonna see how we can inherit methods, how we can shadow methods, how we can use methods in a variety of ways. So this is a way of suggesting you may find it more convenient to put notes on the code handout rather than in your own notes. Do whatever you like, but I just wanted to alert you, we're going to go through a little more code than normal. So, the little environment I'm going to build is an environment of people. I'll build a simple little simulation of people. So I'm going to start off with the first class, which I've got up on the screen, and it's on your handout as well, which is I'm going to build an instance, or a class rather, of persons. I'm going to draw a diagram, which I'm gonna try and see if I can do well, over here, of the different objects we're going to have. So I've got, a class, and by the way a class is an object. Instances are also objects, but classes are objects. We're gonna see why we want that in a second. Because I'm gonna build an object, sorry a class, called a person. Now, let's walk through some of the pieces here. The first one is, there's something a little different. Remember last time we had that keyword class and then a name, that name, in this case, person says this is the name for the class, and then we would have just had the semicolon and a bunch of internal things. Here I've got something in parens, and I want to stress this is not a variable. All right, this is not a def, this is a class. I'm going to come back to it, but what this is basically saying is that the person class is going to inherit from another class, which in this case is just the built-in Python object class. Hold on to that thought, it's going to make more sense when we look at a little more interesting example, but I want to highlight that. All right now, if we do this, as I said before, we can create a version of a person, let me just call it per, person. OK? And what we said last time is, when we wanted to create an instance inside of this class definition, we've got one of those built-in things called init. I'm gonna again remind you, some of the methods we have, Underbar underbar init is going to be the thing that creates the instance. Actually slightly misspeaking, actually Python creates the instance, but it's one thing that fills it in. So in this case, I'm going to give it 2 arguments: Frank Foobar Now, you might have said, wait a minute, init here has 3 arguments: self, family name, and first name. So again, just to remind you, what we said happens here is that when I call this class, person, I'm creating an instance. We'll draw a little instance diagram down here. I'm going to give it the name per. And I should have said inside of person, we've got a set of things. We've got our underbar underbar init, we've got, what else do I have up there? Family name. And a bunch of other methods, down to say. What happens inside of Python is, when we called the class definition, person, it creates an instance, there it is. Think of it as a pointer to a spot in memory, and then what we do is, we call, or find, that init method, up here, and we apply it. And the first argument self, points to the instance. So this object here is what self looks at. Now you can see what init's going to do. It says, oh, inside of self, which is pointing to here, let me bind a variable, which was, can read that very carefully, it's family underbar name, to the value I passed in, which was 4. Same thing with first name. OK, so the reason I'm stressing this is, self we do not supply explicitly, it is supplied as pointing to the instance, it's giving us that piece of memory. And that is what then gets created. So here's, now, the instance for per. OK, and I put a little label on there, I'm going to call that an isALink, because it is an instance of that class. God bless you. All right, so once we got this, let's look at what we can do with person. That's why I built person here. And as I said, I've already bound basically, those two pieces. If I want to get a value out, I can give person, or per, rather, this instance, a messaging. In this case I want to get family, what did I say, family name out, now, again I want to stress, what is happening here? per is an instance, it's this thing here. When I say per dot family name, I'm sending it a message, in essence what that does is, it says, from here it's going to go up the chain to this class object and find the appropriate method, which was family name. It is then going to apply that to self, which points to this instance. And that allows it, therefore, is you can see on the code, to look up under self, what's the binding for family name, and print it back up. So self is always going to point to the instance I want and I can use it. OK what else do we have in here? We can get the first name, that's not particularly interesting. We've got 2 other special methods: that's cmp and str. All right, cmp is our comparison method. And since I, I was about to say I blew it last time, I misspoke last time, a wonderful phrase that politicians like to use, I misspoke last time. Let me clarify again what cmp will do. Underbar underbar cmp is going to be the method you're going to use to compare two instances of an object. Now, let's back up for second. If I wanted to test equality, in fact I could use underbar underbar eq, under under. It's natural to think about an equality tester as returning a Boolean, it's either gonna be true or false, because something's either equal to or not. In many languages, comparisons also return Booleans, which is why I went down this slippery slope. For many languages, either it's greater than or it's not. But Python is different. Python use cmp, in fact it has a built in cmp, which is what we're relying on here. Where am I, right there. And what cmp returns is 1 of 3 values. Given 2 objects, it says if the first one is less than the second one, it returns -1, if it's equal it returns 0, if it's greater than, it returns 1. So it allows you this broader range of comparisons. And if you think about it, cmp, you could apply on integers, you could apply it on floats, apply it on strings. So it's overloaded, it has the ability to do all of those. And in this case what we're saying is, given 2 objects, let's create a tuple of the first, sorry, family and first name of ourselves, and other is another object, family and first name of that, and then just use cmp to compare them. All right, so it's going to use the base pieces. OK, so it gives me a way of doing comparisons. And str we saw last time as well, this is cmp does comparison, and str is our printed representation. OK. So what we've got now, is a simple little class. We've also got two methods there. I want to look at them, we're gonna come back to them, but they start to highlight things we can do with our classes. So I've built one simple version of it here, which is per. And notice I've got another method, right up here, called say. And say takes two arguments, for the moment the second argument, or the first argument's, not going to make a lot of sense, but say takes two arguments besides itself. It's going to take another object to which it's saying something and the thing to say. Since I only have one object here, I'm going to have person talk to himself. You may have met a few other undergraduates who have this behavior. I'll have him talk to himself and say, just some random message the faculty members occasionally worry about. OK, what does this thing do? Now you're going to see some of the power of this. Again, remember, I'm down here, I'm sending this the message say, it's going to go up the chain to find the say message in person. And what does say do, it says given another object and some string, it's going to return, oh, and interesting things, part of which you can't see on the screen. First what it does, is it gets first name of self. Remember self is pointing to this instance, so it's simply looks up that binding, which is Frank. It's going to create a string in which it adds to that the family name of self, and then another thing that says to, and then ah, I'm now going to send a message to the other object, saying give me your first name. Going to add that to the second piece, and you can see in this case it happens to be the same first and family name. And then at the end of it, which you can't see here but you can see in your handout, I just append the whole string, so it spits it out. What's the point of this, other than I can get it to say things? Notice, I can now reference values of the instance. But I can also get values of other instances, by sending in a message. And that's why we have that form right there. And then it glued all together. If you think about this for a second, you might say, wait a minute, actually you might have said wait a minute a while ago, why am I just using the variable name there in the function over here? Well in fact, I could've used the function here, first name open close, right? It would have done the same thing. But because I know I'm inside the instance, it's perfectly reasonable to just look up the value. OK, I could have, although I don't want you to do it, have done the same thing there and used underbar, sorry, first name underbar, sorry, first underbar name, but that's really breaking this contract that I want to happen. I should send the message to get the method back out. So again the standard practices is if you know you're inside the object, you can just access the values. If you're doing it with any other objects, send it a message to get it out. OK, now, that gives you an ability to say, let's look at one more example here, and then we're going to start building our hierarchy, which is, that this person can also sing. And we've got a little sing method here. And notice what it does, it's going to sing to somebody, I guess you're part of the Chorallaries. You're going to sing something, and notice what it does, it's simply going to use its say method, but add at the end of whatever's being said, just tra la la at the end. So this is now an example of a method using another method. Why would you want that? It's nice modularly. I have one method that's doing saying, I have another method that's just building on it. So if I have is person sing to themselves, not a highly recommended activity, it would help if I had it sing to itself, not sing to sing, sorry about that. Notice what it does. Looks like exactly like a say method, except it's got tra la la at the end. Don't worry I'm not going to sing to you. I'll simply say the words. Power of this, other than the silly examples. You see how I can access variables of the instance, how I can access variables of other instances, going to come back to that, and how I can use versions of my own methods to implement other methods. In this case sing is using say as part of what it wants to get out. OK, so we got a simple little example. Now, let's start adding some other pieces to this. OK, and what do I want to add. Find my spot here. OK, we're going to add an MIT person. Sorry, machine is -- do this, let's go down. OK so I'm going to add an MIT person. Look at the code for second. Aha! Notice what this says. MIT person says it inherits from person. That is, that's the first thing in parens up there. It says, you know, class of MIT person is person. What that is saying is, that this is a specialization of the person class. Or another way of saying it is, we have a super class, in this case it's person. And we have a subclass, in this case its MIT person. And we're going to walk through some examples, but what it says is that that subclass of MIT person can inherit the attributes of the person class. Can inherit the methods, it can inherit variables. OK, what does MIT person do? Well, here's 1 of the new things it does. It has a local variable called next id num, which is initially set to 0. See that up there. And then it's got some methods, it's got an init method, a get id method, a few other things. OK, let's run this. In particular, I go back down to this one. Let me just uncomment this and do it here. Assuming my machine will do what I want it to do, which it really doesn't seem to want to do today. Try one more time. Thank you, yep. Still not doing it for me, John. OK, we type it. No idea what Python doesn't like me today, but it doesn't. So we're gonna define p 1, I've lost my keyboard, indeed I have. Try one more time. p 1 MIT person, see how fast I can type here -- OK, now, let's look at what the code does, because again it's going to highlight some things. I called MIT person, push this up slightly, it's going to create an instance down here, I called p 1. And when I would do that, I'm gonna initialize it. So I've got, right up here, an initializer, init for MIT person, takes in the family name and the first name. Notice what it does. Huh. It says, if I'm sitting here at MIT person, I'm going to go up and inherit from person its init function and call it. And what am I calling it on? I'm calling it on self, which is pointing to this object, so I've still got it, and then I'm then going to apply the base initialization. And that does exactly what you'd expect, which is just going to create a binding for family name down here. As well as some other things. So this is an example of inheritance. MIT person inherits the init method from person, can get access to by simply referring to it, and I refer to it right there. And it's take the person class, get its init and apply it to my instance plus those things. So I'm just using the same piece of code Notice the second thing it does. It says inside of self, I'm going to bind the local variable id name to the value of next id name in MIT person. Self is down here, id num, sorry, not id name. I'm going to bind that to the value that I find my going up to here, which is 0, and having done that, I simply increment that value. OK? So what has this done? It says I now have captured in the class, a local variable that I can keep track of. And when I use it, every time I generate an example, let me build another one. I make p 2 another MIT person. OK, I can do things like saying, what is the id number for each of these. First one is 0, second one is 1, which makes sense, right? I'm just incrementing a global variable. Now, things I want you to see about this. Now that I've got a beginning of a hierarchy, I have this notion of inheritance. I can ask a function inside one class to use a function from a class that it can reach by going up the chain. I just did it there. I can ask it to go get values of variables, right, so that looks good. What else do we have in person or MIT person? Well, we can get the id number, we just did. We have a thing to do with this string. Notice it's going to print out something a little different. In fact, there's a kind of funky form there. Which just says, if I want to print it out, I'm gonna create, what this says to do is, I'm gonna create an output template that has that structure to it, but where I see that percent s I'm going to substitute this value for the first one, that value for the second. So if I say, what is p 1? It says ok, MIT person Fred Smith. On the other hand, if I said, what is per, which is that thing I build earlier, it had a different string method, which is just print out person, those pieces. All right, one last piece to this and we're going to add to it. Suppose I want Fred to say something. Say something to Jane. OK, he said it. Where's the say method? OK, Fred is an instance of an MIT person. where's the say method? Well, there isn't one there, but again, that's where the hierarchy comes in. Fred is this object here, I'm sending it the message say. That turns into going up the chain to this object, which is the class object, and saying find a say method and apply it to that instance. Fudge-knuckle, it ain't here. Don't worry about it, because it says if I can't find one there, I'm going to go up the chain to this method, sorry to this class, and look for a method there. Which there was one, I have a say method. It's going to use that say method. Apply to it. Well, you might say, OK, what happens if it isn't there? Well, that's where, remember I defined person to be an instance of an object, it will go up the chain one last time to the base object in Python to see is there a method there or not. Probably isn't a say method for an object, so at that point it's going to raise an exception or throw an error. But now you again see this idea that the inheritance lets you capture methods. Now you might say, why not just put a say method inside of MIT person? Well, if you wanted it to do something different, that would be the right thing to do. But the whole notion here's that I'm capturing modularity, I've got base methods up in my base class. If I just want to use them I'm just going to inherit them by following that chain, if you like, basically up the track. OK, so we've got an MIT person, we can use that. Let's add a little bit more to our hierarchy here. I'm going to create, if I can do this right, a specialization of an MIT person, which is an undergraduate. A special kind of MIT person. All right, so if I go back up here, even though my thing is not going to let me do it, let's build an undergraduate. OK, there's the class definition for an undergrad. We're just starting to see some of the pieces, right, so in an undergraduate, where am I here, an undergraduate. OK, it's also got an initialization function. So if I call undergrad, I'm gonna make an undergrad here, again let me go back down here, line ug 2 it's making undergrad, Jane Doe. Now, what happens when I do the initialization here? Notice what goes on. It simply calls the person initialization method. All right, so I'm down here. I'm going to call the person initialization method, what did do? Sorry, the MIT person method, it calls the person method. Just walking up the chain, that's going to do exactly what I did with all the other ones, so I now have a family name and a first name. So I can, for example, say family name and get it back out. All right? And then, other things that I can do, well I can set what year the person's in, I can figure out what year they're in, there's this unfortunate overflow error if you've hung around too long, but that's not going to happen to you. And I've now got a say method here, so let's look what happens if I ask the undergraduate to say something. OK, it's not a realistic dialogue I know, but, what did this method do? I asked this object to do a say. And notice what it does. It simply passes it back up to MIT person. There's that inheritance again. It's saying, I'm going to have my base say method say something. I'm going to say it to a person, but all I'm going to do because undergraduates in my experience, at least, are always very polite, I'm going to put "Excuse me but" at the front of it. OK, what am I trying to show you here? I know the jokes are awful, but what am I trying to show you here? That I can simply pass up the chain to get it. In fact, what method does the final say here? What class does it come from? Person class, yes, thank you. It goes all the way up to person, right, because MIT person didn't have a say. So I can simply walk up the chain until I find the method I want to have. Now this is an example of shadowing. Not a great example, but it's a beginning example of shadowing, in that this same method for an undergraduate, shadows the base say method, it happens to call it, but it changes it. It puts "Excuse me but" at the front, before it goes on to do something. Now again, I could have decided here to actually copy what the original say method did, stitch all the other things together. But again, that loses my modularity. I'd really to only have to change it in one place. So by putting my say method up in person, I can add these nuances to it, and it lets me have something that has that variation. If I decide I want to change what say does, I only have to change it in one place. It is in the person class definition, and everything else will follow through for free. OK, so now I've got an undergrad, right? Let's look at a couple of variations of what happens here. So first of all, I can -- yes? PROFESSOR 2: Shadowing here is often sometimes called overriding. PROFESSOR: Yes, thank you, because I'm going to do a pure example of shadowing in a second, John right. Also called overriding. Part of the reason I like the phrase shadow is, if you think about it as looking at it from this direction, you see this version of init before you see the other ones, or you see that version of say, but it is overriding the base say example. OK, so I can say, what does p 1, sorry, yes, what does undergrad look like? And I said wait a minute, MIT person, not undergrad, is that right? Well, where's the str method? I didn't define one in undergrad, so it again tracks up the chain and finds the str method here, so it's OK undergrads are MIT people most the time, so it's perfectly fine. OK, now, I have built into this also these cmp methods. So I've got two examples. I've got undergrad, or ug. And then I've got poor old Frank Foobar back there, per person. So suppose I want to compare them? What do you think happens here? Compare sounds weird, right, I compare an undergraduate to a person. I don't know what that's doing, some kind of weird psychological thing, but what do you think happens in terms of the code here if I run this. I know it's a little hard because you got a lot of code to look at. Do I have a cmp method defined somewhere? Yeah. So, it's hard to know what it's going to do, but let's look at it. Hmm. Now sometimes I type things and I got errors I don't expect, this one I did expect. So what happened here? Well let's talk about what happens if I do that comparison I was doing, what was I doing? Ug greater than per? What unwinds into is, I'm going to send to ug, that instance, a cmp method. This is really going to become something like ug dot under under cmp under under applied to per. I think that's close. What does that do? It says starting in ug, I'm going to look for the first cmp method I could find, which is actually sitting here. I had a cmp method in MIT person. If you look at your code, what does it do? It looks up the id numbers to compare them. Well the, ug has an id number because it was created along this chamber. Remember per over here was just created as a person. It doesn't have an id number, so that's why it complaints. Ok, happens if I do that? Compare per to ug. How many people think I get an error? Wow. How many people think I'm going to get either true or false out of this? A few brave hands. Why? Can I ask you, please? Why do you think I'm going to get a, doesn't matter whether it's true or false, why am I going to have something work this time that didn't work last time? PROFESSOR: Yeah, exactly. And in case you didn't hear it, thank you, great answer, sorry, terrible throw. In this case I'm using per, that's the first part, so it's not symmetric. It's gonna use per to do the look up. And as it was said there, per over here goes up and finds a cmp method here which it can apply. In that case, it simply looked at, remember, it took the tuples of first and last name which are both defined here, and did some comparison on that. So this is a way of again pointing out to you that the things are not always symmetric, and I have to be careful about where do I find the methods as I want to use them. Ok? All right. Let's add, I'm gonna do two more classes here. Let's add one more class, some people debate whether these are really people or not, but we're going to add a class called a professor. OK. Now what am I doing? I'm creating another version of class down here. Which again is an instance, or a subclass, sorry, not an instance, a subclass of an MIT person. I see that because I built it to be there. Again I've got an initialization that's going to call the person initialization, which we know is going to go up -- I keep saying that -- going to call the MIT person initialization, which is going to go up and call this one. So again I'm going to be able to find names. And I do a couple of other different things here. I'm gonna pass in a rank, full professor, associate professor, assistant professor, which I'm just going to bind locally. But I'm gonna add one other piece here, which is I'm gonna add a little dictionary on teaching. So when I create a professor, I'm gonna associate with it a dictionary that says, what have you been teaching? And then notice the methods I create. I've got a method here called add teaching, takes, obviously a pointer to the instance. A term, which will just be a string, and a subject. And let's look at what it does right here. OK. In fact the call I'm going to make, I'm not certain I'm going to be able to get away with it, my machine is still wonderfully broken, all right, it is, let me just show you what the calls would look like. As you can see here I'm not going to be able to do them. But I'm going to add teaching, as a method call with this with a string for term, and a subject number. What is this going to do? Yeah, I know I'm just worried if I restart Python, I may not be able to pull the thing back in, so I'm going to try and wing it, John, and see if I can make it happen. Right, what does that teaching do? It's got one of those try except methods. So what does it say it's going to do? It's going to go into the dictionary associated with teaching, under the value of term, and get out a list. And it's going to append to the end of the list the new subject. So it's going to be stored in there, is then going to be term, and a list of what I taught, in case I teach more than one thing each term. It's going to do that, but notice it's a try. If in fact there is no term currently in the dictionary, started out empty, it's going to throw an error, sorry, not throw an error, it's going to raise an exception. Which is a key error, in which case notice what I'm going to do, I'm not going to treat it as an error. I'm simply going to say, in that case, just start off with an empty, with an initial list with just that subject in and put it in the dictionary. As I add more things in, I'll just keep adding things to this dictionary under that term. And if I want to find out what I'm doing, well I can use get teaching, which says given the term, find the thing in the dictionary under that term and return it. If I get an error, I'm going to raise it, which says there is nothing for that term, and in that case I guess I'm just going to return none. OK? And then the other two pieces we're going to have here, and we want to look at a little more carefully, I just wanted to show you that example, is a professor can lecture, and a professor can say something. Look at the say method, because this now add one more nuance to what we want to do here. And I think in interest of making this go, let me actually, since I'm not going to get my machine to do this right, let me create a couple of professors. If I look at what that is, it's an MIT person because I didn't have any separate string thing there, and we will create a more important professor. What rank do you want, John? Do you want to stay full? PROFESSOR 2: Undergraduate. PROFESSOR: Undergraduate, right, a lot more fun I agree. Sorry about that, and we can again just see what that looks like. And that of course, we'll print out, he's also an MIT person. But now here's what I want to do. I want to say something to my good colleague Professor Guttag. Actually I'm going to start a separate -- I'm going to say something to a smart undergraduate. So if I say, remember we have ug defined as an undergraduate, let me do something a little different here. Well let, me do it that way. It says, I don't understand why you say you were enjoying 6.00. Not a good thing to say, right, but if I say to my good colleague Professor Guttag. I have to spell say right, I know, I need help with this, what can I say? We flatter each other all the time. It's part of what makes us feel good about ourselves. Why is the sky blue? I enjoyed your paper, but why is the sky blue? OK, terrible examples, but what's going on here? One more piece that I want to add. Here's my say method for professor, and now I'm actually taking advantage of to whom I am saying something. Notice again, what does it do? There's the self argument, that's just pointing to the instance of me. I'm passing in another argument, going to call it to who, in one case it was ug, in one case it was Guttag. And then the thing I want to say, ah, look what it does, it says, check the type. And the type is going to take that instance, I had an instance, for example, of a professor down here, and it's going to pick up what type of object it is. So if the type of the person I'm speaking to is undergrad, let's pause for second. Remember I started away back saying we're building abstract data types. Well, here's a great example of how I'm using exactly that, right? I've got int, I've got float, I now have ug, it's a type. So it's says if the object to whom I'm speaking is an undergrad, then use the same method from person where I'm going to put this on the front. On the other hand, if the object to whom I'm speaking is a professor, then I'm going to tag this on the front and use the underlying say method. On the other hand, if I'm speaking to somebody else, I'm just going to go lecture. All right, and when a professor lectures, they just put it's obvious on the end of things, as you may have noticed. What's the point I want you to see here? I'm now using the instances to help me to find what the code should do. I'm looking at the type. If the type is this, do that. If the type is this, do something different, ok? And I can now sort of build those pieces up. OK, I said one more class. Notice what we're doing. I know they're silly examples, but, sorry, they are cleverly designed examples to highlight key points. What I'm trying to do is show you how we have methods inherit methods, how have message shadow methods, how we have methods override methods, how we can use instances as types to define what the method should do. Let me show you one last class, because I'm gonna have one more piece that we want to use. And the last class is, sort of, once you've got a set of professors, you can have an aggregate of them. And I don't know, if a group of geese are gaggle, I don't know what a set of professors are, John. Flamers? I, you know, we've got to figure out what the right collective noun here is. We're going to call them a faculty for lack of a better term, right? Now the reason I want to show you this example is, this class, notice, it only is going to inherit from object. It actually makes sense. This is going to be a collection of things, but it's not a subclass of a particular kind of person. And what I want the faculty to do, is to be able to gather together a set of faculty. So if I go down here, grab this for second, and pull it down so you can see it. It looks like I'm not going to be able to run this because my machine is broken, but basically I'm gonna define a set of professors, and then I'm gonna create a new class called faculty. There's the definition of it. It's got an init. You can kind of see what it does. It's going to set up an internal variable called names, which is initially an empty list, internal variable called ids, which is empty, an internal variable called members, which is empty, and another special variable called place, which we're going to come back to in a second, initially bound to none. OK, I've got a method called add which I'm going to use down here to add professors to the course 6 faculty. Here's what I want to add to do. First of all, notice I'm going to check the type. If this is not a professor, I'm gonna raise an error, a type error, it's the wrong type of object to pass in. The second thing I'm gonna do is say, if that's okay, then let me go off and get the id number. Now remember, that's right up here, so I'm asking the instance of the professor to go up and get the id number. And I want to make sure I only have one instance of each professor in my faculty, so if the id number is in the list of ids already, I'm going to raise an error, sorry, raise an exception as well, saying I've got a duplicate id. OK? And the reason that's going to come up is, notice what I do now. Inside of the instant self, I take the variable names and I add to it the family name of the person I just added. OK, notice the form. I'm using the method, there's the parens to get the family name of the person. I'm just adding it to the list. I've got the id number, I've added the ids, and I add the object itself into members. So as I do this, what am I doing? I'm creating a list, actually several lists: a list of ids, a list of the actual instances, and a list of the family names. And as a cost I want to add, that's why I can check and see, is this in here already or not? Now, the last reason I want to do this is, I want to be able to support things like that. This is now different, right, this instance is a collection. I want to be able to do things like, for all the things in that collection, do something, like print out the family names. And to do that, I need two special forms: iter and next. OK, now let me see if I can say this cleanly. Whenever I use a for, in structure, even if it was on just a normal list you built, what Python is doing is returning an, what is called an iterator. Which is something that we talked earlier. It's keeping track of where are you in the list, and how do I get to the next thing in the list? I'm going to do the same thing here, and I'm going to create it for this particular structure. So this little thing iter, when I call a for something in, one of these instances, it calls iter, and notice what it does. It initializes place to 0. That was that variable I had up there. That's basically saying I'm at the beginning of the list. It's a pointer to the beginning of the list, and it returns self. Just gives me back a pointer to the instance. That now allows me at each step in that loop to call next. And what does next do? Next says, check to see if that value is too long, if it's longer than, for example, the list of names, raise an exception called stop iteration, which the for loop will use to say OK, I'm done. I'm going to break out of the for loop. Otherwise, what am I going to do? I'll increment place by 1, that's going to move me to the next place in the list, and then in this case I'll just return the instance itself, right? Members is a list of instances, place I've incremented by 1, I take 1 off of it, I get to it. So iter and next work together. Iter creates this method, that's going to give you a pointer to the place in the structure, and then next literally walks along the structure giving you the next element and returning elements in turn so you can do something with it. Right, so now what that says is, I can have classes that just have local variables. I can have classes that get methods from other variables, and I can also have classes that are collections. And I've supported that by adding in this last piece. OK once you have all of that, in principle we could start doing some fun things. So let's see what happens if we try and make all of this go. And let me, since I'm not going to be able to run it, let me simply do it this way. If I have my undergraduate, ug. I can -- sorry, let's not do it that way -- I can have undergraduate say things like -- all right, what did I just do wrong here? Do I not have undergrad defined? I do. Oh, I didn't have Grimson, sorry, it's me, isn't it? Thank you. The undergraduate very politely asks why he didn't understand, you can have the professor respond. Again, it simply puts a different thing into there. On the other hand, if Professor Guttag asks me something about understanding, I say I really like this paper on, you do not understand, it's a deep paper on programming languages 5, I think, John, isn't it? What else can you do with this thing, right? You can have an undergraduate talk to an undergraduate, in which case they're still polite. Or you could have -- sorry, let me do that the other way -- you could also have an undergraduate simply talk to a normal person. All right, but the good news is you know eventually you get it done, and when you're really done you can have the undergraduate be really happy about this, and so she sings to herself. OK it's a little silly, but notice what we've just illustrated. And this is where I want to pull it together. With a simple set of classes, and the following abilities, an ability to inherit methods from subclasses, sorry from superclasses, that is having this hierarchy of things. I can create a fairly complex kind of interaction. I can take advantage of the types of the objects to help me decide what to do. And if you think about that, I know it sounds very straightforward, but you would do exactly that if you were writing earlier code to deal with some numerical problem. All right, if the thing is an integer, do this, if it's a float, do that, if it's a string, do something else. I'm now giving you exactly the same ability, but the types now can be things that you could create. And what I've also got is now the ability to inherit those methods as they go up the chain. So another way of saying it is, things that you want to come away from here, are, in terms of these classes. We now have this idea of encapsulation. I'm gathering together data that naturally belongs as a unit, and I'm gathering together with it methods that apply to that unit. Just like we would have done with float or int. Ideally, we data hide, we don't happen to do it here, which is too bad. Basically we've got the idea of encapsulation. The second thing we've got is this idea of inheritance. Inheritance both meaning I can inherit attributes or field values. I can inherit methods by moving up the chain. I can also the shadow or override methods, so that I can specialise. And I do all of that with this nice hierarchy of classes. So what hopefully you've seen, between these two lectures, and we're going to come back to it in some subsequent lectures, is that this is now a different way of just structuring a computational system. Now, you'll also get arguments, polite arguments from faculty members or other experts about which is a better way of doing it. So I'll give you my bias, Professor Guttag will give you his bias next time around. My view, object-oriented system are great when you're trying to model systems that consist of a large number of units that interact in very specific ways. So, modeling a system of people's a great idea. Modeling a system of molecules is probably a great idea. Modeling a system where it is natural to associate things together and where the number of interactions between them is very controlled. These systems work really well. And we'll see some examples of that next week. Thanks.

Municipal bonds, often called munis, are debt obligations of U.S. states, cities, counties, or other political subdivisions of states. The two primary types of municipal bonds are general obligation and revenue. • A general obligation bond is used for general expenditures and is backed by the issuer’s full faith and credit (taxing and borrowing power). • A revenue bond is used to finance a specific public service project and is backed by the cash flow from that project. Examples are bonds to finance bridges, turnpikes, tunnels, water and sewer systems, schools, power plants, prisons, transportation systems, hospitals, sports complexes, and airports. This guide is not intended to provide investment advice, and you should not rely on statements in this guide when making investment decisions. Note: To return to the previous page, close this browser window.

Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep. The time period for which the breathing stops or decreases is usually between 10 and 30 seconds. When these episodes occur repeatedly, sleep apnea can seriously disrupt the quality of sleep. There are three types of respiratory events: - Obstructive apnea—caused by a temporary, partial, or complete blockage of the airway - Central apnea—caused by a temporary failure to make an effort to breathe - Mixed apnea—combination of the first two types These factors increase your chance of developing sleep apnea. Tell your doctor if you have any of these risk factors: - Sex: male - Large neck circumference - Age: middle to older age - Family history of apnea Structural abnormalities of the nose, throat, or other part of the respiratory tract. Examples include: - Severely enlarged tonsils - Deviated nasal septum - Medicines: sedatives and sleeping aids - Alcohol consumption - Fatigue and sleepiness during waking hours - Loud snoring - Breathing that stops during the night (noticed by the partner) - Repeated waking at night - Unrefreshing sleep - Morning headaches - Poor concentration or problems with memory - Irritability or short temper People with chronic untreated sleep apnea may be at risk for: An overnight sleep study is used to help diagnose sleep apnea. Overnight Sleep Study (Polysomnography) This test helps detect the presence and severity of sleep apnea. During sleep, it measures your: - Eye and muscle movements - Brain activity ( electroencephalogram ) - Heart rate - Breathing (pattern and depth) - Percent saturation of your red blood cells with oxygen There are a number of treatment options for sleep apnea, including: - Lose weight if you are overweight. - Avoid using sedatives, sleeping pills, alcohol, and nicotine, which tend to make the condition worse. - Try sleeping on your side instead of your back. - Place pillows strategically so you are as comfortable as possible. - For daytime sleepiness, practice safety measures, such as avoiding driving or operating potentially hazardous equipment. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) entails wearing a mask over your nose and/or mouth during sleep. An air blower forces enough constant and continuous air through your air passages to prevent the tissues from collapsing and blocking the airway. In some cases, dental appliances that help keep the tongue or jaw in a more forward position may help. In some cases, surgery may be recommended. It is most often beneficial in pediatric patients. Types of surgery that may be done to treat severe cases of sleep apnea include: - Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty—The doctor removes excess soft tissue from the nose and/or throat. - Maxillomandibular advancement—The jawbone is repositioned forward. - Tracheotomy —For life-threatening cases of sleep apnea, an opening is made in the windpipe to allow for normal breathing. Bariatric surgery may help with weight loss in some people who are obese . This surgery may reduce many of the complications that are related to obesity, including sleep apnea. Only used in central apnea, acetazolamide (Diamox) may help improve the ability to regulate breathing. Overall, there is not a lot of evidence to support the use of medicines to treat sleep apnea. Supplemental oxygen may be given if blood levels of oxygen fall too low during sleep, even after opening the airway. You may be able to prevent the onset of sleep apnea by maintaining a healthy weight . Avoid alcohol, nicotine, and sedatives, which may contribute to airway obstruction. - Reviewer: Rimas Lukas, MD - Review Date: 09/2012 - - Update Date: 00/93/2012 -

We had a running joke in science ed that kids get so overexposed to discrepant events involving density and air pressure that they tend to try to explain anything and everything they don't understand with respect to science in terms of those two concepts. Why do we have seasons? Ummm... air pressure? Why did Dr. Smith use that particular research design? Ummm... density? I think we need another catch-all explanation. I suggest index of refraction. To simplify greatly, index of refraction describes the amount of bending a light ray will undergo as it passes from one medium to another (it's also related to the velocity of light in both media, but I do want to keep this simple). If the two media have significantly different indices, light passing from one to the other at an angle (not perpendicularly, in which case there is no bending) will be bent more than if indices of the two are similar. The first four data points are from Hyperphysics, the final one from Wikipedia... glass has a wide range of compositions and thus indices of refraction. Water at 20 C: 1.33 Typical soda-lime glass: close to 1.5 Since glycerine and glass have similar IoR, light passing from one to the other isn't bent; as long as both are transparent and similarly colored, each will be effectively "invisible" against the other. So, why does it rain? Umm... index of refraction? A Bright Moon Impact 12 hours ago

An Introduction To 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 is an IP address utilized for a looplock network connection. What does this mean? If a user tries to connect to this IP address, they will be sent back to their computer. The address is also known as a localhost. The localhost is the computer. How the Localhost Works If the command is relayed to the localhost, you would be hooked up to the system where the commands were sent out. For instance, suppose the computer is called "Joker". If you telnet from the Joker computer to the localhost, a message will appear. It will attempt to hook up to The localhost is employed in lieu of the computer hostname to be linked to. This IP address is the most wisely used localhost address. However, you can actually use any IP address provided it starts with 127. This means 127.*.*.* can be used as a localhost. Establishing a connection with the loopback address is similar to creating a connection with remote network computers. The only difference is you don't have to deal with network For this reason it is widely utilized by software developers. It is also used by system administrators. It is often used for testing programs and apps. If the connection is IPv4, the computer's loopback address will be the 127.*.*.*. The subnet mask is typically 255.0.0.0. This IP addresses 127.*.*.*. are defined in RFC 330 as Special-Use IPv4 Addresses. The 127.0.0.0/8 block is defined as the Net host loopback address. If a higher level protocol sends a datagram anywhere in the block, it will be looped in the host. This is typically implemented with the 127.0.0.1 / 32 for looplock. However, addresses in the block must not be visible anywhere else in the network. There is also a localhost IPv6 version. In RFC 3513, it is defined as Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Addressing Architecture::1/128. More Information about the Localhost In simple terms, the localhost means the computer. It is the hostname allocated loopback network interface address. The name is likewise a domain name. This will help prevent confusion with the hostname definition. In IPv6, the loopback IP address is ::1. The localhost is stated when one would usually use the computer hostname. For instance, a browser using an HTTP server to http://localhost will show the local website home page. This will be possible if the server is set up properly to work the loopback interface. The loopback address can also be used for linking up to a game server. It can also be used for the various inter-process communications. This facts about 127.0.0.1 indicate how fundamental and basic the localhost is to a system. That's why it is so crucial for network

Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. Often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter. With the notable exception of the City of London Corporation, the term has fallen out of favour in the United Kingdom, but the concept remains central to local government in the United Kingdom, as well as former British colonies such as India and Canada. Municipal charters A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the middle ages and is considered to be a municipal version of a constitution. Traditionally the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system. Townspeople who lived in chartered towns were burghers, as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often "free", in the sense that they were directly protected by the king or emperor, and were not part of a feudal fief. Today the process for granting charters is determined by the type of government of the state in question. In monarchies, charters are still often a royal charter given by the Crown or the state authorities acting on behalf of the Crown. In federations, the granting of charters may be within the jurisdiction of the lower level of government such as a state or province. By country In Brazil, municipal corporations are called municípios and are created by means of local legislation at state level, or after passing a referendum vote of the affected population. All municipal corporations must also abide by an Organic Municipal Law which is passed and amended (when needed) at municipal level. In Canada charters are granted by provincial authorities. In Germany, municipal corporations existed since antiquity and through medieval times, until they became out of favour during the absolutism. In order to strengthen the public spirit the city law of Prussia dated 19 November 1808 picked up this concept. It is the basis of today's municipal law. In India a Municipal Corporation is a local government body that administers a city of population 10,00,000 or more. Under the panchayati raj system, it interacts directly with the state government, though it is administratively part of the district it is located in. The largest Municipal Corporations in India currently are Mumbai, followed by Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat and Pune. The Corporation of Chennai is the oldest Municipal Corporation in the world outside UK. The Municipal Corporation consists of members elected from the wards of the city. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected by the public. A Municipal Commissioner, who is from the Indian Administrative Service is appointed to head the administrative staff of the Municipal Corporation, implement the decisions of the Corporation and prepare its annual budget. The Municipal Corporation is responsible for roads, public transportation, water supply, records of births and deaths (delegated from central government Births and Deaths Registration Act), sanitation that includes waste management, sewage, drainage and flood control, public safety services like fire and ambulance services, gardens and maintenance of buildings. The sources of income of the Corporation are property tax, entertainment tax, octroi (now abolished from many cities) and usage fees for utilities. Republic of Ireland In Ireland, municipal corporations existed in boroughs since medieval times. The Corporation of Dublin, officially styled the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the City of Dublin had existed since the 13th century. Corporations were established under the royal charter establishing the city or borough. The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 abolished all but ten of the boroughs and their corporations. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 created two different types of borough, county boroughs had essentially equal status to counties - these comprised Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford (as well as Belfast and Derry, which are now in Northern Ireland). The other boroughs were non-county boroughs. The Local Government Act 2001 abolished the title of municipal corporation. Corporations of county boroughs (renamed cities) were renamed City Councils. Non county boroughs were abolished, but those towns which were previously non-county boroughs were allowed to use the title of Borough Council. Royal charters remain in force for ceremonial and civic purposes only. South Africa From the beginning of American colonial rule, Philippines cities were formally established through laws enacted by the various national legislatures in the country. The Philippine Commission gave the city of Manila its charter in 1901, while the city of Baguio was established by the Philippine Assembly which was composed by elected members instead of appointed ones. During the Commonwealth era, the National Assembly established an additional ten cities. Since achieving independence from the United States in 1946 the Philippine Congress has established 124 more cities (as of September 2007), the majority of which required the holding of a plebiscite within the proposed city's jurisdiction to ratify the city's charter. United Kingdom United States In the United States, such municipal corporations are established by charters that are granted either directly by a state legislature by means of local legislation, or indirectly under a general municipal corporation law, usually after the proposed charter has passed a referendum vote of the affected population.

|Gallium metal is silver-white and melts at approximately body temperature (Wikipedia image).| |Atomic Number:||31||Atomic Radius:||187 pm (Van der Waals)| |Atomic Symbol:||Ga||Melting Point:||29.76 °C| |Atomic Weight:||69.72||Boiling Point:||2204 °C| |Electron Configuration:||[Ar]4s23d104p1||Oxidation States:||3| From the Latin word Gallia, France; also from Latin, gallus, a translation of "Lecoq," a cock. Predicted and described by Mendeleev as ekaaluminum, and discovered spectroscopically by Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875, who in the same year obtained the free metal by electrolysis of a solution of the hydroxide in KOH. Gallium is often found as a trace element in diaspore, sphalerite, germanite, bauxite, and coal. Some flue dusts from burning coal have been shown to contain as much 1.5 percent gallium. It is one of four metals -- mercury, cesium, and rubidium -- which can be liquid near room temperature and, thus, can be used in high-temperature thermometers. It has one of the longest liquid ranges of any metal and has a low vapor pressure even at high temperatures. There is a strong tendency for gallium to supercool below its freezing point. Therefore, seeding may be necessary to initiate solidification. Ultra-pure gallium has a beautiful, silvery appearance, and the solid metal exhibits a conchoidal fracture similar to glass. The metal expands 3.1 percent on solidifying; therefore, it should not be stored in glass or metal containers, because they may break as the metal solidifies. High-purity gallium is attacked only slowly by mineral acids. Gallium wets glass or porcelain and forms a brilliant mirror when it is painted on glass. It is widely used in doping semiconductors and producing solid-state devices such as transistors. Magnesium gallate containing divalent impurities, such as Mn+2, is finding use in commercial ultraviolet-activated powder phosphors. Gallium arsenide is capable of converting electricity directly into coherent light. Gallium readily alloys with most metals, and has been used as a component in low-melting alloys. Its toxicity appears to be of a low order, but should be handled with care until more data is available.

From Oxford University Press: There is a broad consensus among scholars that the idea of human rights was a product of the Enlightenment but that a self-conscious and broad-based human rights movement focused on international law only began after World War II. In this narrative, the nineteenth century's absence is conspicuous--few have considered that era seriously, much less written books on it. But as Jenny Martinez shows in this novel interpretation of the roots of human rights law, the foundation of the movement that we know today was a product of one of the nineteenth century's central moral causes: the movement to ban the international slave trade. Originating in England in the late eighteenth century, abolitionism achieved remarkable success over the course of the nineteenth century. Martinez focuses in particular on the international admiralty courts, which tried the crews of captured slave ships. The courts, which were based in the Caribbean, West Africa, Cape Town, and Brazil, helped free at least 80,000 Africans from captured slavers between 1807 and 1871. Here then, buried in the dusty archives of admiralty courts, ships' logs, and the British foreign office, are the foundations of contemporary human rights law: international courts targeting states and non-state transnational actors while working on behalf the world's most persecuted peoples--captured West Africans bound for the slave plantations of the Americas. Fueled by a powerful thesis and novel evidence, Martinez's work will reshape the fields of human rights history and international human rights law. - Forces us to fundamentally rethink the origins of human rights activism - Filled with fascinating stories of captured slave ship crews brought to trial across the Atlantic world in the nineteenth century - Shows how the prosecution of the international slave trade was crucial to the development of modern international law

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that fluctuations in internal body temperature regulate the body's circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that controls metabolism, sleep and other bodily functions. A light-sensitive portion of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) remains the body's "master clock" that coordinates the daily cycle, but it does so indirectly, according to a study published by UT Southwestern researchers in the Oct. 15 issue of Science. The SCN responds to light entering the eye, and so is sensitive to cycles of day and night. While light may be the trigger, the UT Southwestern researchers determined that the SCN transforms that information into neural signals that set the body's temperature. These cyclic fluctuations in temperature then set the timing of cells, and ultimately tissues and organs, to be active or inactive, the study showed. Scientists have long known that body temperature fluctuates in warm-blooded animals throughout the day on a 24-hour, or circadian, rhythm, but the new study shows that temperature actually controls body cycles, said Dr. Joseph Takahashi, chairman of neuroscience at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study. "Small changes in body temperature can send a powerful signal to the clocks in our bodies," said Dr. Takahashi, an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "It takes only a small change in internal body temperature to synchronize cellular 'clocks' throughout the body." Daily changes in temperature span only a few degrees and stay within normal healthy ranges. This mechanism has nothing to do with fever or environmental temperature, Dr. Takahashi said. This system might be a modification of an ancient circadian control system that first developed in other organisms, including cold-blooded animals, whose daily biological cycles are affected by external temperature changes, Dr. Takahashi said. "Circadian rhythms in plants, simple organisms and cold-blooded animals are very sensitive to temperature, so it makes sense that over the course of evolution, this primordial mechanism could have been modified in warm-blooded animals," he said. In the current study, the researchers focused on cultured mouse cells and tissues, and found that genes related to circadian functions were controlled by temperature fluctuations. SCN cells were not temperature-sensitive, however. This finding makes sense, Dr. Takahashi said, because if the SCN, as the master control mechanism, responded to temperature cues, a disruptive feedback loop could result, he said. Explore further: Now we know why old scizophrenia medicine works on antibiotics-resistant bacteria

Outside of the academic environment, a harsh and seemingly ever-growing debate has appeared, concerning how mass media distorts the political agenda. Few would argue with the notion that the institutions of the mass media are important to contemporary politics. In the transition to liberal democratic politics in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe the media was a key battleground. In the West, elections increasingly focus around television, with the emphasis on spin and marketing. Democratic politics places emphasis on the mass media as a site for democratic demand and the formation of “public opinion”. The media are seen to empower citizens, and subject government to restraint and redress. Yet the media are not just neutral observers but are political actors themselves. The interaction of mass communication and political actors — politicians, interest groups, strategists, and others who play important roles — in the political process is apparent. Under this framework, the American political arena can be characterized as a dynamic environment in which communication, particularly journalism in all its forms, substantially influences and is influenced by it. According to the theory of democracy, people rule. The pluralism of different political parties provides the people with “alternatives,” and if and when one party loses their confidence, they can support another. The democratic principle of “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” would be nice if it were all so simple. But in a medium-to-large modern state things are not quite like that. Today, several elements contribute to the shaping of the public’s political discourse, including the goals and success of public relations and advertising strategies used by politically engaged individuals and the rising influence of new media technologies such as the Internet. A naive assumption of liberal democracy is that citizens have adequate knowledge of political events. But how do citizens acquire the information and knowledge necessary for them to use their votes other than by blind guesswork? They cannot possibly witness everything that is happening on the national scene, still less at the level of world events. The vast majority are not students of politics. They don’t really know what is happening, and even if they did they would need guidance as to how to interpret what they knew. Since the early twentieth century this has been fulfilled through the mass media. Few today in United States can say that they do not have access to at least one form of the mass media, yet political knowledge is remarkably low. Although political information is available through the proliferation of mass media, different critics support that events are shaped and packaged, frames are constructed by politicians and news casters, and ownership influences between political actors and the media provide important short hand cues to how to interpret and understand the news. One must not forget another interesting fact about the media. Their political influence extends far beyond newspaper reports and articles of a direct political nature, or television programs connected with current affairs that bear upon politics. In a much more subtle way, they can influence people’s thought patterns by other means, like “goodwill” stories, pages dealing with entertainment and popular culture, movies, TV “soaps”, “educational” programs. All these types of information form human values, concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, sense and nonsense, what is “fashionable” and “unfashionable,” and what is “acceptable” and “unacceptable”. These human value systems, in turn, shape people’s attitude to political issues, influence how they vote and therefore determine who holds political power.

May 16, 2011 If you fuel your truck with biodiesel made from palm oil grown on a patch of cleared rainforest, you could be putting into the atmosphere 10 times more greenhouse gasses than if you’d used conventional fossil fuels. It’s a scenario so ugly that, in its worst case, it makes even diesel created from coal (the “coal to liquids” fuel dreaded by climate campaigners the world over) look “green.” The biggest factor determining whether or not a biofuel ultimately leads to more greenhouse-gas emissions than conventional fossil fuels is the type of land used to grow it, says a new study from researchers at MIT. The carbon released when you clear a patch of rainforest is the reason that palm oil grown on that patch of land leads to 55 times the greenhouse-gas emissions of palm oil grown on land that had already been cleared or was not located in a rainforest, said the study’s lead author. The solution to this biofuels dilemma is more research. Unlike solar and wind, it’s truly an area in which the world is desperate for scientific breakthroughs, such as biofuels from algae or salt-tolerant salicornia.

Financial Accounting - CH 1 & 2 |Four Principal Activities of Business Firms:|| 1.Establishing goals and strategies| |What are the 2 sources Financing comes from?|| 1. Owners| |Investments are made in the following:|| 1. Land, buildings, equipment| 2. Patents, licenses, contractual rights 3. Stock and bonds of other organizations 5. Accounts Receivable |What are the 4 areas for conducting operations?|| 1. Purchasing| |What are the 4 commonly used conventions in financial statements?|| 1. The accounting period| 2. The number of reporting periods 3. The monetary amounts 4. The terminology and level of detail in the financial statements |Common Financial Reporting Conventions, Accounting Period||The length of time covered by the financial statements. (The most common interval for external reporting is the fiscal year).| |Common Financial Reporting Conventions, Number of reporting periods||The number of reporting periods included in a given financial statement presentation, Both U.S. GAAP and IFRS require firms to include results for multiple reporting periods in each report.| |Common Financial Reporting Conventions, Monetary amounts||This includes measuring units, like thousands, millions, or billions, and the currency, such as dollars ($), euros (€), or Swedish kronor (SEK)| |Common Financial Reporting Conventions, Terminology and level of detail in the financial statements||U.S. GAAP and IFRS contain broad guidance on what the financial statements must contain, but neither system completely specifies the level of detail or the names of accounts. Therefore, some variation occurs.| |Characteristics of a Balance Sheet||A Balance Sheet:| 1. is also known as a statement of financial position; 2. provides information at a point in time; 3. lists the firm's assets, liabilities, and shareholders' equity and provides totals and subtotals; and 4. can be represented as the Basic Accounting Equation. Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders' Equity |Accounting Equation Components|| 1. Assets| 3. Share Holder's Equity |Assets|| Assets are economic resources with the potential to provide future economic benefits to a firm. | Examples: Cash, Accounts Receivable, Inventories, Buildings, Equipment, intangible assets (like Patents) |Liabilities|| Liabilities are creditors' claims for funds, usually because they have provided funds, or goods and services, to the firm.| Examples: Accounts Payable, Unearned Income, Notes Payable, Buildings, Accrued Salaries |Shareholders' Equity|| Shareholders' Equity shows the amounts of funds owners have provided and, in parallel, their claims on the assets of a firm. | Examples: Common Stock, Contributed Capital, Retained Earnings |What are the separate sections on a Balance Sheet (Balance sheet classification)||1. Current assets represent assets that a firm expects to turn into cash, or sell, or consume within approximately one year from the date of the balance sheet (i.e., accounts receivable and inventory).| 2. Current liabilities represent obligations a firm expects to pay within one year (i.e., accounts payable and salaries payable). 3. Non-current assets are typically held and used for several years (i.e., land, buildings, equipment, patents, long-term security investments). 4. Noncurrent liabilities and shareholders' equity are sources of funds where the supplier of funds does not expect to receive them all back within the next year. |Income Statement||1. Sometimes called the statement of profit and loss by firms applying IFRS| 2. Provides information on profitability 3. May use the terms net income, earnings, and profit interchangeably 4. Reports amounts for a period of time 5. Typically one year 6. Is represented by the Basic Income Equation: Net Income = Revenues - Expenses |Revenues||(also known as sales, sales revenue, or turnover, a term used by some firms reporting under IFRS) measure the inflows of assets (or reductions in liabilities) from selling goods and providing services to customers.| |Expenses||measure the outflow of assets (or increases in liabilities) used in generating revenues.| |Relationship between the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement|| 1. The income statement links the balance sheet at the beginning of the period with the balance sheet at the end of the period.| 2. Retained Earnings is increased by net income and decreased by dividends. |Statement of Cash Flows|| The statement of cash flows (also called the| cash flow statement) reports information about cash generated from or used by: 2. investing, and 3. financing activities during specified time periods. The statement of cash flows shows where the firm obtains or generates cash and where it spends or uses cash. |Classification of Cash Flows|| 1. Operations: | cash from customers less cash paid in carrying out the firm's operating activities cash paid to acquire noncurrent assets less amounts from any sale of noncurrent assets cash from issues of long-term debt or new capital less dividends |Inflows and Outflows of Cash| |The Relationship of the Statement of Cash Flows to the Balance Sheet and Income Statement||-The statement of cash flows explains the change in cash between the beginning and the end of the period, and separately displays the changes in cash from operating, investing, and financing activities.| -In addition to sources and uses of cash, the statement of cash flows shows the relationship between net income and cash flow from operations. |Statement of Shareholders' Equity||This statement displays components of shareholders' equity, including common shares and retained earnings, and changes in those components.| |Other Items in Annual Reports||Financial reports provide additional explanatory material in the schedules and notes to the financial statements.| |Who are the 4 main groups of people involved with the Financial Reporting Process|| 1. Managers and governing boards of reporting entities.| 2. Accounting standard setters and regulatory bodies. 3. Independent external auditors. 4. Users of financial statements. |What is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)?||An agency of the federal government, that has the legal authority to set acceptable accounting standards and enforce securities laws.| |What is the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)?||a private-sector body comprising five voting members, to whom the SEC has delegated most tasks of U.S. financial accounting standard-setting.| |GAAP||1. Common terminology includes the pronouncements of the FASB (and its predecessors) in the compilation of accounting rules, procedures, and practices known as generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).| 2. Recently, the FASB launched its codification project which organizes all of U.S GAAP by topic (for example, revenues), eliminates duplications, and corrects inconsistencies. |FASB board members make standard-setting decisions guided by a conceptual framework that addresses:|| 1. Objectives of financial reporting.| 2. Qualitative characteristics of accounting information including the relevance, reliability, and comparability of data. 3. Elements of the financial statements. 4. Recognition and measurement issues. |Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.|| Concerns over the quality of financial reporting have led, and continue to lead, to government initiatives in the United States.| Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which is responsible for monitoring the quality of audits of SEC registrants. |International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)||-The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is an independent accounting standard-setting entity with 14 voting members from a number of countries. Standards set by the IASB are International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).| -The FASB and IASB Boards are working toward converging their standards, based on an agreement reached in 2002 and updated since then. |Auditor's Opinion||Firms whose common stock is publicly traded are required to get an opinion by an independent auditor who:| 1.Assesses the effectiveness of the firm's internal control system for measuring and reporting business transactions 2.Assesses whether the financial statements and notes present fairly a firm's financial position, results of operations, and cash flows in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles |Basic Accounting Conventions and Concepts||1. Materiality is the qualitative concept that financial reports need not include items that are so small as to be meaningless to users of the reports.| 2. The accounting period convention refers to the uniform length of accounting reporting periods. 3. Interim reports are often prepared for periods shorter than a year. However, preparing interim reports does not eliminate the need to prepare an annual report. |Cash vs. Accrual Accounting||Cash basis| A firm measures performance from selling goods and providing services as it receives cash from customers and makes cash expenditures to providers of goods and services. A firm recognizes revenue when it sells goods or renders services and recognizes expenses in the period when the firm recognizes the revenues that the costs helped produce. |What Is an Account? How Do You Name Accounts?||-An account represents an amount on a line of a balance sheet or income statement (i.e., cash, accounts receivable, etc.).| -There is not a master list to define these accounts since they are customized to fit each specific business's needs. -Accountants typically follow a conventional naming system for accounts, which increases communication. |What Accounts Make up the Typical Balance Sheet?| |Current assets and current liabilities (Balance Sheet Classifications)||Receipt or payment of assets that the firm expects will occur within one year or one operating cycle.| |Noncurrent assets and noncurrent liabilities (Balance Sheet Classifications)||Firm expects to collect or pay these more than one year after the balance sheet date.| |Duality Effects of the Balance Sheet Equation (Assets = Liabilites + Shareholders' Equity)||Any single event or transaction will have one of the following four effects or some combination of these effects:| 1.INCREASE an asset and INCREASE either a liability or shareholders' equity. 2.DECREASE an asset and DECREASE either a liability or shareholders' equity. 3.INCREASE one asset and DECREASE another asset. 4.INCREASE one liability or shareholders' equity and DECREASE another liability or shareholders' equity. A T-account is a device or convention for organizing and accumulating the accounting entries of transactions that affect an individual account, such as Cash, Accounts Receivable, Bonds Payable, or Additional Paid-in Capital. |T-Account Conventions: Assets| |T-Account Conventions: Liabilities| |T-Account Conventions: Shareholders' Equity| |Debit vs. Credit| While T-accounts are useful to help analyze how individual transactions flow and accumulate within various accounts, journal entries formalize the reasoning that supports the transaction. The attached standardized format indicates the accounts and amounts, with debits on the first line and credits (indented) on the second line: | Revenue or Sales:| (Common Income Statement Terms) |Assets received in exchange for goods sold and services rendered.| | Cost of Goods Sold:| (Common Income Statement Terms) |The cost of products sold.| | Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A):| (Common Income Statement Terms) |Costs incurred to sell products/services as well as costs of administration.| | Research and Development (R&D) Expense:| (Common Income Statement Terms) |Costs incurred to create/develop new products, processes, and services.| | Interest Income:| (Common Income Statement Terms) |Income earned on amounts lent to others or from investments in interest-yielding securities.| |Unique Relationships Exist Between the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement| |Important Account Differences||1. Balance sheet accounts are permanent accounts in the sense that they remain open, with nonzero balances, at the end of the reporting period.| 2. In contrast, income statement accounts are temporary accounts in the sense that they start a period with a zero balance, accumulate information during the reporting period, and have a zero balance at the end of the reporting period. |The Financial Statement Relationships can be summarized as:| -After preparing the end-of-period income statement, the accountant transfers the balance in each temporary revenue and expense account to the Retained Earnings account. -This procedure is called closing the revenue and expense accounts. After transferring to Retained Earnings, each revenue and expense account is ready to begin the next period with a zero balance. |Expense and Revenue Transactions| |Dividend Declaration and Payment| |Issues of Capital Stock| |Posting||1. After each transaction is recognized by a journal entry, the information is transferred in the accounting system via an activity known as posting.| 2. The balance sheet ledger accounts (or permanent accounts) where these are posted begin each period with a balance equal to the ending balance of the previous period. 3.The income statement ledger accounts (or temporary accounts) have zero beginning balances. |Adjusting Entries|| There are some journal entries that are not triggered by a transaction or exchange.| -Rather, journal entries known as adjusting entries, result from the passage of time at the end of an accounting period or are used to correct errors (more commonly known as correcting entries). |Four Basic Types of Adjusting Entries|| 1.Unearned Revenues| |Closing Process||1. After adjusting and correcting entries are made, the income statement can be prepared.| 2. Once completed, it is time to transfer the balance in each temporary revenue and expense account to the Retained Earnings account. This is known as the closing process. 3. Each revenue account is reduced to zero by debiting it and each expense account is reduced to zero by crediting it. 4. The offset account—Retained Earnings—is credited for the amount of total revenues and debited for the amount of total expenses. 5. Thus, the balance of ending Retained Earnings for a period shows the difference between total revenues and total expenses. |Preparation of the Balance Sheet||1. After the closing process is completed, the accounts with nonzero balances are all balance sheet accounts.| 2. We can use these accounts to prepare the balance sheet as at the end of the period. 3. The Retained Earnings account will appear with all other balance sheet accounts and now reflects the cumulative effect of transactions affecting that account. |Final Step in Preparing Financial Statements: The Cash Flow Statement||1. The statement of cash flows describes the sources and uses of cash during a period and classifies them into operating, investing, and financing activities.| 2. It provides a detailed explanation for the change in the balance of the Cash account during that period. 3. Two approaches can be used to prepare this statement: Direct and Indirect

A risk factor is something that increases your likelihood of getting a disease or condition. It is possible to develop melanoma with or without the risk factors listed below. However, the more risk factors you have, the greater your likelihood of developing melanoma. If you have a number of risk factors, ask your doctor what you can do to reduce your risk. Risk factors for melanoma include: The occurrence of melanoma has been linked with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Therefore, exposing your skin to UV rays from the sun or tanning lamps increases your odds of developing melanoma. People who live in sunny climates are exposed to more sunlight. People who live at high altitudes, where the sunlight is strongest, are exposed to more UV radiation. Blistering sunburns, even as a child, also increase the risk of developing melanoma. Having melanoma once increases your risk of developing it again. Having many moles or large moles increases your risk of melanoma. Also, irregular moles are more likely to turn into melanoma than normal moles. Irregular moles are characterized by: - Being larger than normal moles - Being variable in color - Having irregular borders - Any pigmented spot in the nail beds - Changing in size and/or shape Most melanomas are diagnosed in young adults and older adults. Family members of people with melanoma are at greater risk of developing the disease than people with no family history of the disease. People with a disease called xeroderma pigmentosa (XP) are at a very increased risk of developing melanoma. This rare disease does not allow patients to repair sun-damaged DNA, therefore any sun exposure will result in damage and mutations that become melanomatous. It is not unusual for these people to develop hundreds of melanomas on their skin. Similarly, people with hereditary dysplastic nevus syndrome or familial atypical multiple mole melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome are also at increased risk for developing melanoma. Caucasians are more likely than black, Hispanic and Asian people to develop melanoma. Most people who develop melanoma tend to burn rather than tan when exposed to sunlight. These people tend to have fair skin, freckles, red or blonde hair, or blue-colored eyes. - Reviewer: Brian Randall, MD - Review Date: 04/2013 - - Update Date: 04/08/2013 -

W hy is it important for scientists to contribute to science education? Our nation has failed to meet important educational challenges, and our children are ill prepared to respond to the demands of today?s world. Results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study ( TIMSS )--and its successor, TIMSS-R--show that the relatively strong international performance of U.S. 4th graders successively deteriorates across 8th- and 12th-grade cohorts. Related studies indicate that U.S. PreK-12 curricula lack coherence, depth, and continuity and cover too many topics superficially. By high school, unacceptably low numbers of students show motivation or interest in enrolling in physics (only one-quarter of all students) or chemistry (only one-half). We are rapidly approaching universal participation at the postsecondary level, but we still have critical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce needs and too few teachers who have studied science or mathematics. Science and engineering degrees as a percentage of the degrees conferred each year have remained relatively constant at about 5%. In this group, women and minorities are gravely underrepresented. The consequences of these conditions are serious. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 60% of the new jobs being created in our economy today will require technological literacy, yet only 22% of the young people entering the job market now actually possess those skills. By 2010, all jobs will require some form of technological literacy, and 80% of those jobs haven?t even been created yet. We must prepare our students for a world that we ourselves cannot completely anticipate. This will require the active involvement of scientists and engineers. How is NSF seeking to encourage scientists to work on educational issues? The NSF Strategic Plan includes two relevant goals: to develop "a diverse, internationally competitive, and globally engaged workforce of scientists, engineers, and well-prepared citizens" and to support "discovery across the frontiers of science and engineering, connected to learning, innovation, and service to society." To realize both of these goals, our nation?s scientists and engineers must care about the educational implications of their work and explore educational issues as seriously and knowledgeably as they do their research questions. The phrase "integration of research and education" conveys two ideas. First, good research generates an educational asset, and we must effectively use that asset. Second, we need to encourage more scientists and engineers to pursue research careers that focus on teaching and learning within their own disciplines. All proposals submitted to NSF for funding must address two merit criteria: intellectual merit and broader impacts. In everyday terms, our approach to evaluating the broader impact of proposals is built on the philosophy that scientists and engineers should pay attention to teaching and value it, and that their institutions should recognize, support, and reward faculty, as well as researchers in government and industry, who take their role as educators seriously and approach instruction as a scholarly act. We think of education very broadly, including formal education (K-graduate and postdoctoral study) and informal education (efforts to promote public understanding of science and research outside the traditional educational environment). What does it mean to take education seriously and explore it knowledgeably? Any scholarly approach to education must be intentional, be based on a valid body of knowledge, and be rigorously assessed. That is, our approach to educational questions must be a scholarly act. NSF actively invests in educational reform and models that encourage scientists and engineers to improve curriculum, teaching, and learning in science and mathematics at all levels of the educational system from elementary school to graduate study and postdoctoral work. We recognize that to interest faculty and practicing scientists and engineers in education, we must support research that generates convincing evidence that changing how we approach the teaching of science and mathematics will pay off in better learning and deeper interest in these fields. Here are a few of the most recent efforts to stimulate interest in education that might be of interest to Next Wave readers. (For more information, go to the NSF Education and Human Resources directorate's Web site .) The GK-12 program supports fellowships and training to enable STEM graduate students and advanced undergraduates to serve in K-12 schools as resources in STEM content and applications. Outcomes include improved communication and teaching skills for the Fellows, increased content knowledge for preK-12 teachers, enriched preK-12 student learning, and stronger partnerships between higher education and local schools. The Centers for Learning and Teaching ( CLT ) program is a "comprehensive, research-based effort that addresses critical issues and national needs of the STEM instructional workforce across the entire spectrum of formal and informal education." The goal of the CLT program is to support the development of new approaches to the assessment of learning, research on learning within the disciplines, the design and development of effective curricular materials, and research-based approaches to instruction--and through this work to increase the number of people who do research on education in the STEM fields. This year (FY 02) we are launching some prototype higher education centers to reform teaching and learning in our nation's colleges and universities through a mix of research, faculty development and exploration of instructional practices that can promote learning. Like other NSF efforts, the Centers incorporate a balanced strategy of attention to people, ideas and tools. We hope to encourage more science and engineering faculty to work on educational issues in both K-12 and in postsecondary education. If you are interested in these issues and want to pursue graduate or postdoctoral study, or want to develop a research agenda on learning in STEM fields, find the location and goals of the currently funded centers and also check later this summer to find out which higher education CLT prototypes are funded. The following solicitations all involve the integration of research and education as well as attention to broadening participation in STEM careers: The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program ( STEP ) program seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) pursuing and receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within STEM. The Faculty Early Career Development ( CAREER ) program recognizes and supports the early career development activities of those teacher-scholars who are most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. The Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program seeks to improve the quality of STEM education for all students and targets activities affecting learning environments, course content, curricula, and educational practices. CCLI offers three tracks: educational materials development , national dissemination , and adaptation and implementation . The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training ( IGERT ) program addresses the challenges of preparing Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences ( VIGRE ) program supports institutions with Ph.D.-granting departments in the mathematical sciences in carrying out innovative educational programs, at all levels, that are integrated with the department?s research activities. The Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE) program seeks to increase the participation of women in the scientific and engineering workforce through the increased representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers. The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Teacher Preparation ( STEMTP ) program involves partnerships among STEM and education faculty working with preK-12 schools to develop exemplary preK-12 teacher education models that will improve the science and mathematics preparation of future teachers. The Noyce Scholarship Supplements program supports scholarships and stipends for STEM majors and STEM professionals seeking to become preK-12 teachers. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

File compression is to perform some algorithm on the file that reduces it in size but the reverse of the algorithm will return it to its original form. In data files, the compression and decompression must be lossless which means that the data must be returned to its exact form. There are various methods to do this: some hardware implementations and some software. The most popular ones that are implemented in hardware usually use a Limpel-Ziv algorithm to look for repeating sequences over a set span of data (the run) and replace that with special identifying information. Compression does save space but may take extra time (latency). Video and music data are typically already compressed. The compression rates are usually very high because of the data and the fact that a lossy compression algorithm is used. It can be lossy (meaning that all bits may not be decompressed exactly) because it won't be noticeable with video or music. Zip files are the result of software compression. Another compression round on already compressed data will probably not yield any substantial gain. Evaluator Group, Inc. Editor's note: Do you agree with this expert's response? If you have more to share, post it in our Storage Networking forum at http://searchstorage.discussions.techtarget.com/WebX?50@@.ee83ce4 or e-mail us directly at [email protected]. This was first published in December 2001

Classroom Activities for Teaching Sedimentary GeologyThis collection of teaching materials allows for the sharing of ideas and activities within the community of geoscience teachers. Do you have a favorite teaching activity you'd like to share? Please help us expand this collection by contributing your own teaching materials. Subject: Sedimentary Geology Results 1 - 4 of 4 matches Chemical and Physical Weathering Field and Lab Experiment: Development and Testing of Hypotheses part of Activities Lisa Greer, Washington and Lee University This exercise combines an integrated field and laboratory experiment with a significant scientific writing assignment to address chemical and physical weathering processes via hypothesis development, experimental ... Demystifying the Equations of Sedimentary Geology part of Activities Larry Lemke, Wayne State University This activity includes three strategies to help students develop a deeper comfort level and stronger intuitive sense for understanding mathematical expressions commonly encountered in sedimentary geology. Each can ... Digital Sandstone Tutorial part of Activities Kitty Milliken, University of Texas at Austin, The The Tutorial Petrographic Image Atlas is designed to give students more exposure to petrographic features than they can get during organized laboratory periods. Red rock and concretion models from Earth to Mars: Teaching diagenesis part of Activities Margie Chan, University of Utah This activity teaches students concepts of terrestrial diagenesis (cementation, fluid flow, porosity and permeability, concretions) and encourages them to apply those concepts to new or unknown settings, including ...

- Exam wrappers. As David Thompson describes the process, "exam wrappers required students to reflect on their performance before and after seeing their graded tests." The first four questions, completed just prior to receiving their graded test, asked students to report the time they spent preparing for the test, their methods of preparation, and their predicted test grade. After reviewing their graded test, students completed the final three reflection questions, including a categorization of test mistakes and a list of changes to implement in preparation for the next test. Thompson then collected and made copies of the wrappers returned them to the students several days later, reminding them to consider what they planned to do differently or the same in preparation for the upcoming test. Thompson reports that each reflection exercise required only 8-10 minutes of class time. Clara Hardy and others also describes uses exam wrappers. - Reading Reflections. As Karl Wirth writes, reading reflections, effectively outlined by David Bressoud (2008), are designed to address some of the challenges students face with college-level reading assignments. Students submit online reading reflections (e.g., using Moodle or Blackboard) after completing each reading assignment and before coming to class. In each reflection, students summarize the important concepts of the reading and describe what was interesting, surprising, or confusing to them. The reading reflections not only encourage students to read regularly before class, but they also promote content mastery and foster student development of monitoring, self-evaluation, and reflection skills. For the instructor, reading reflections facilitate "just-in-time" teaching and provide invaluable insights into student thinking and learning. According to Wirth, expert readers are skilled at using a wide range of strategies during all phases of reading (e.g., setting goals for learning, monitoring comprehension during reading, checking comprehension, and self-reflection), but most college instruction simply assumes the mastery of such metacognitive skills. - Knowledge surveys. Many members of the group were influenced by Karl Wirth's work on "knowledge surveys" as a central strategy for helping students think about their thinking. Knowledge surveys involve simple self-reports from students about their knowledge of course concepts and content. In knowledge surveys, students are presented with different facets of course content and are asked to indicate whether they know the answer, know some of the answer, or don't know the answer. Faculty can use these reports to gauge how confident students feel in their understanding of course material at the beginning or end of a course, before exams or papers, or even as graduating seniors or alumni. Kristin Bonnie's report relates how her students completed a short knowledge survey (6-12 questions) online (via Google forms) on the material covered in class that week. Rather than providing the answer to each question, students indicated their confidence in their ability to answer the question correctly (I know; I think I know; I don't know). Students received a small amount of credit for completing the knowledge survey. She used the information to review material that students seemed to struggle with. In addition, a subset of these questions appeared on their exam – the knowledge survey therefore served as a review sheet.Wirth notes that the surveys need not take much class time and can be administered via paper or the web. The surveys can be significant for clarifying course objectives, structure, and design. For students, knowledge surveys achieve several purposes: they help make clear course objectives and expectations, are useful as study guides, can serve as a formative assessment tool, and, perhaps most critically, aid in their development of self-assessment and metacognitive skills. For instructors, the surveys help them assess learning gains, instructional practices, and course design.

Excerpts for Thames : The Biography The River as Fact It has a length of 215 miles, and is navigable for 191 miles. It is the longest river in England but not in Britain, where the Severn is longer by approximately 5 miles. Nevertheless it must be the shortest river in the world to acquire such a famous history. The Amazon and the Mississippi cover almost 4,000 miles, and the Yangtze almost 3,500 miles; but none of them has arrested the attention of the world in the manner of the Thames. It runs along the borders of nine English counties, thus reaffirming its identity as a boundary and as a defence. It divides Wiltshire from Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire from Berkshire; as it pursues its way it divides Surrey from Middlesex (or Greater London as it is inelegantly known) and Kent from Essex. It is also a border of Buckinghamshire. It guarded these once tribal lands in the distant past, and will preserve them into the imaginable future. There are 134 bridges along the length of the Thames, and forty-four locks above Teddington. There are approximately twenty major tributaries still flowing into the main river, while others such as the Fleet have now disappeared under the ground. Its "basin," the area from which it derives its water from rain and other natural forces, covers an area of some 5,264 square miles. And then there are the springs, many of them in the woods or close to the streams beside the Thames. There is one in the wood below Sinodun Hills in Oxfordshire, for example, which has been described as an "everlasting spring" always fresh and always renewed. The average flow of the river at Teddington, chosen because it marks the place where the tidal and non-tidal waters touch, has been calculated at 1,145 millions of gallons (5,205 millions of litres) each day or approximately 2,000 cubic feet (56.6 cubic metres) per second. The current moves at a velocity between 1Ú2 and 23Ú4 miles per hour. The main thrust of the river flow is known to hydrologists as the "thalweg"; it does not move in a straight and forward line but, mingling with the inner flow and the variegated flow of the surface and bottom waters, takes the form of a spiral or helix. More than 95 per cent of the river's energy is lost in turbulence and friction. The direction of the flow of the Thames is therefore quixotic. It might be assumed that it would move eastwards, but it defies any simple prediction. It flows north-west above Henley and at Teddington, west above Abingdon, south from Cookham and north above Marlow and Kingston. This has to do with the variegated curves of the river. It does not meander like the Euphrates, where according to Herodotus the voyager came upon the same village three times on three separate days, but it is circuitous. It specialises in loops. It will take the riparian traveller two or three times as long to cover the same distance as a companion on the high road. So the Thames teaches you to take time, and to view the world from a different vantage. The average "fall" or decline of the river from its beginning to its end is approximately 17 to 21 inches (432 to 533 mm) per mile. It follows gravity, and seeks out perpetually the simplest way to the sea. It falls some 600 feet (183 m) from source to sea, with a relatively precipitous decline of 300 feet (91.5 m) in the first 9 miles; it falls 100 (30.4 m) more in the next 11 miles, with a lower average for the rest of its course. Yet averages may not be so important. They mask the changeability and idiosyncrasy of the Thames. The mean width of the river is given as 1,000 feet (305 m), and a mean depth of 30 feet (9 m); but the width varies from 1 or 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 m) at Trewsbury to 51Ú2 miles at the Nore. The tide, in the words of Tennyson, is that which "moving seems asleep, too full for sound and foam." On its flood inward it can promise benefit or danger; on its ebb seaward it suggests separation or adventure. It is one general movement but it comprises a thousand different streams and eddies; there are opposing streams, and high water is not necessarily the same thing as high tide. The water will sometimes begin to fall before the tide is over. The average speed of the tide lies between 1 and 3 knots (1.15 and 3.45 miles per hour), but at times of very high flow it can reach 7 knots (8 miles per hour). At London Bridge the flood tide runs for almost six hours, while the ebb tide endures for six hours and thirty minutes. The tides are much higher now than at other times in the history of the Thames. There can now be a difference of some 24 feet (7.3 m) between high and low tides, although the average rise in the area of London Bridge is between 15 and 22 feet (4.5 and 6.7 m). In the period of the Roman occupation, it was a little over 3 feet (0.9 m). The high tide, in other words, has risen greatly over a period of two thousand years. The reason is simple. The south-east of England is sinking slowly into the water at the rate of approximately 12 inches (305 mm) per century. In 4000 BC the land beside the Thames was 46 feet (14 m) higher than it is now, and in 3000 BC it was some 31 feet (9.4 m) higher. When this is combined with the water issuing from the dissolution of the polar ice-caps, the tides moving up the lower reaches of the Thames are increasing at a rate of 2 feet (0.6 m) per century. That is why the recently erected Thames Barrier will not provide protection enough, and another barrier is being proposed. The tide of course changes in relation to the alignment of earth, moon and sun. Every two weeks the high "spring" tides reach their maximum two days after a full moon, while the low "neap" tides occur at the time of the half-moon. The highest tides occur at the times of equinox; this is the period of maximum danger for those who live and work by the river. The spring tides of late autumn and early spring are also hazardous. It is no wonder that the earliest people by the Thames venerated and propitiated the river. The general riverscape of the Thames is varied without being in any sense spectacular, the paraphernalia of life ancient and modern clustering around its banks. It is in large part now a domesticated river, having been tamed and controlled by many generations. It is in that sense a piece of artifice, with some of its landscape deliberately planned to blend with the course of the water. It would be possible to write the history of the Thames as a history of a work of art. It is a work still in slow progress. The Thames has taken the same course for ten thousand years, after it had been nudged southward by the glaciation of the last ice age. The British and Roman earthworks by the Sinodun Hills still border the river, as they did two thousand years before. Given the destructive power of the moving waters, this is a remarkable fact. Its level has varied over the millennia--there is a sudden and unexpected rise at the time of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, for example--and the discovery of submerged forests testifies to incidents of overwhelming flood. Its appearance has of course also altered, having only recently taken the form of a relatively deep and narrow channel, but its persistence and identity through time are an aspect of its power. Yet of course every stretch has its own character and atmosphere, and every zone has its own history. Out of oppositions comes energy, out of contrasts beauty. There is the overwhelming difference of water within it, varying from the pure freshwater of the source through the brackish zone of estuarial water to the salty water in proximity to the sea. Given the eddies of the current, in fact, there is rather more salt by the Essex shore than by the Kentish shore. There are manifest differences between the riverine landscapes of Lechlade and of Battersea, of Henley and of Gravesend; the upriver calm is in marked contrast to the turbulence of the long stretches known as River of London and then London River. After New Bridge the river becomes wider and deeper, in anticipation of its change. The rural landscape itself changes from flat to wooded in rapid succession, and there is a great alteration in the nature of the river from the cultivated fields of Dorchester to the thick woods of Cliveden. From Godstow the river becomes a place of recreation, breezy and jaunty with the skiffs and the punts, the sports in Port Meadow and the picnic parties on the banks by Binsey. But then by some change of light it becomes dark green, surrounded by vegetation like a jungle river; and then the traveller begins to see the dwellings of Oxford, and the river changes again. Oxford is a pivotal point. From there you can look upward and consider the quiet source; or you can look downstream and contemplate the coming immensity of London. In the reaches before Lechlade the water makes its way through isolated pastures; at Wapping and Rotherhithe the dwellings seem to drop into it, as if overwhelmed by numbers. The elements of rusticity and urbanity are nourished equally by the Thames. That is why parts of the river induce calm and forgetfulness, and others provoke anxiety and despair. It is the river of dreams, but it is also the river of suicide. It has been called liquid history because within itself it dissolves and carries all epochs and generations. They ebb and flow like water. The River as Metaphor The river runs through the language, and we speak of its influence in every conceivable context. It is employed to characterise life and death, time and destiny; it is used as a metaphor for continuity and dissolution, for intimacy and transitoriness, for art and history, for poetry itself. In The Principles of Psychology (1890) William James first coined the phrase "stream of consciousness" in which "every definite image of the mind is steeped . . . in the free water that flows around it." Thus "it flows" like the river itself. Yet the river is also a token of the unconscious, with its suggestion of depth and invisible life. The river is a symbol of eternity, in its unending cycle of movement and change. It is one of the few such symbols that can readily be understood, or appreciated, and in the continuing stream the mind or soul can begin to contemplate its own possible immortality. In the poetry of John Denham's "Cooper's Hill" (1642), the Thames is a metaphor for human life. How slight its beginning, how confident its continuing course, how ineluctable its destination within the great ocean: Hasting to pay his tribute to the sea, Like mortal life to meet eternity. The poetry of the Thames has always emphasised its affiliations with human purpose and with human realities. So the personality of the river changes in the course of its journey from the purity of its origins to the broad reaches of the commercial world. The river in its infancy is undefiled, innocent and clear. By the time it is closely pent in by the city, it has become dank and foul, defiled by greed and speculation. In this regress it is the paradigm of human life and of human history. Yet the river has one great advantage over its metaphoric companions. It returns to its source, and its corruption can be reversed. That is why baptism was once instinctively associated with the river. The Thames has been an emblem of redemption and of renewal, of the hope of escaping from time itself. When Wordsworth observed the river at low tide, with the vista of the "mighty heart" of London "lying still," he used the imagery of human circulation. It is the image of the river as blood, pulsing through the veins and arteries of its terrain, without which the life of London would seize up. Sir Walter Raleigh, contemplating the Thames from the walk by his cell in the Tower, remarked that the "blood which disperseth itself by the branches or veins through all the body, may be resembled to these waters which are carried by brooks and rivers overall the earth." He wrote his History of the World (1610) from his prison cell, and was deeply imbued with the current of the Thames as a model of human destiny. It has been used as the symbol for the unfolding of events in time, and carries the burden of past events upon its back. For Raleigh the freight of time grew ever more complex and wearisome as it proceeded from its source; human life had become darker and deeper, less pure and more susceptible to the tides of affairs. There was one difference Raleigh noticed in his history, when he declared that "for this tide of man's life, after it once turneth and declineth, ever runneth with a perpetual ebb and falling stream, but never floweth again." The Thames has also been understood as a mirror of morality. The bending rushes and the yielding willows afford lessons in humility and forbearance; the humble weeds along its banks have been praised for their lowliness and absence of ostentation. And who has ventured upon the river without learning the value of patience, of endurance, and of vigilance? John Denham makes the Thames the subject of native discourse in a further sense: Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull; Strong without rage; without o'erflowing, full. This suggests that the river represents an English measure, an aesthetic harmony to be sought or wished for, but in the same breath Denham seems to be adverting to some emblem of Englishness itself. The Thames is a metaphor for the country through which it runs. It is modest and moderate, calm and resourceful; it is powerful without being fierce. It is not flamboyantly impressive. It is large without being too vast. It eschews extremes. It weaves its own course without artificial diversions or interventions. It is useful for all manner of purposes. It is a practical river. When Robert Menzies, an erstwhile Australian prime minister, was taken to Runnymede he was moved to comment upon the "secret springs" of the "slow English character." This identification of the land with the people, the characteristics of the earth and water with the temperament of their inhabitants, remains a poignant one. There is an inward and intimate association between the river and those who live beside it, even if that association cannot readily be understood. From the Hardcover edition.