text
stringlengths 185
593k
| url
stringlengths 15
3.92k
| source
stringclasses 1
value | estimate_token_length
int64 103
593k
| score
float64 2.58
5.22
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lunar and solar halos are caused when light passes through ice crystals formed in clouds through the sky.
Credit: Shingo Takei
On a perfectly still winter night, the famous constellation Orion shone around a beautiful lunar halo in a photograph taken by a Japanese amateur astronomer.
The image shows the stars of Orion, the mighty hunter in the top right, along with the constellations Taurus (the bull) above it and Canis Major (the big dog) below it. The three constellations surround the glowing lunar halo in a stunning photo taken by astrophotographer Shingo Takei from Japan's Nagano prefecture.
Lunar and solar halos are caused when light passes through ice crystals formed in clouds in Earth's atmosphere. Ice crystals in a high, thin layer of cirrus clouds bend the light at a specific angle like a lens. Since each crystal has a similar hexagonal shape, light that enters typically refracts 22 degrees, creating the round halo shape. Such halos are fairly common in the night sky.
A beautiful but less common type of halo can occur when light is bent at 46 degrees. While the process is similar, it occurs when light enters one side of the crystal and exits from either the top or bottom of the crystal. The light is refracted twice, creating a larger halo around the sun or moon.
Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at [email protected]. | http://www.space.com/13867-lunar-halo-orion-skywatcher-photo.html | fineweb | 1,471 | 3.578125 |
There are nothing but opportunities for those students thinking about careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The field continues to shift, just as student perceptions do. That is why Destination Imagination, National Girls Collaborative, National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, and Educational Research Center of America (ERCA) are collaborating on a research project focused on high school students’ perceptions of STEM careers.
In previous research, the Student Research Foundation found that the majority of STEM students (51%) saw their STEM courses as “extremely” or “very important” to their future careers. The ultimate objective is to stimulate a dialogue on career pathways among parents, teachers and students.
By including your students as part of this important research project, you can help them:
- further consider their strengths, interests, and the career options open to them;
- receive targeted information from colleges, universities, career and technical schools, and other postsecondary institutions seeking to recruit students with their specific interests, talents, skill sets, and career goals; and
- gain more access to postsecondary scholarship opportunities.
Please watch your in-box during the back-to-school season for a package from The Research Consortium on STEM Career Pathways. If you want to make sure you receive this package, please fill out this simple online form or email us at [email protected] to make sure you’re on the list! Thank you for participating! | http://www.marylanddi.org/dihq/educator-survey-do-you-see-your-students-in-future-stem-careers/ | fineweb | 1,526 | 2.796875 |
An ingredient commonly found in curry powder could make the world a safer place as well as a spicier one, researchers say. Circumin, the main chemical in the spice turmeric, can be used to create a cheap way of spotting explosives, according to research presented to the American Physical Society. The chemical—already known for its anti-cancer properties—changes its light-emitting property as it encounters molecules of explosive material in the air, reports the BBC.
"If you have a gram of TNT, and you sample a billion air molecules from anywhere in the room, you'll find four or five molecules of TNT—that's the reason they're so hard to detect," the lead researcher told the conference. "The US State Department estimates there are up to 70 million land mines throughout the world. We need a very portable, field-deployable sensing device which is cheap, very sensitive, and easy to handle." | http://www.newser.com/story/114903/curry-spice-can-spot-explosives.html | fineweb | 897 | 2.890625 |
Real time means that responses occur in time, or on time. With non-real-time systems, there is no way to ensure that a response occurs within any time period, and operations may finish much later or earlier than expected. In other words, real-time systems are deterministic, which guarantees that operations occur within a given time. Real-time systems are predictable.
For a system to be a real-time system, all parts of it need to be real time. For instance, even though a program runs in a real-time operating system, it does not mean that the program behaves with real-time characteristics. The program may rely on something that does not behave in real-time such as file I/O, which then causes the program to not behave in real-time. | http://www.ni.com/documentation/en/ni-daqmx/latest/measfunds/realtime/ | fineweb | 738 | 3.21875 |
'Demon Reptile' Is Not a Missing Link
by Brian Thomas, M.S. *
The skull of a previously unknown dinosaur with interesting teeth and a unique head shape was uncovered in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. The technical description that appeared in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B claimed that this creature bridged a gap between fundamentally different kinds of dinosaurs.1 One news blog did not mince words: "New dinosaur species is a missing link."2
But is it really? How was its "missing link" status determined? Was it simply declared a missing link whether or not this was empirically established?
Named Daemonosaurus ("demon reptile"), the dog-size dinosaur was found in what was called a "Late Triassic" rock layer. The skull and first few vertebrae of this interesting creature had a handful of features in common with a group of dinosaurs called "neotheropods." Theropods had lizard-like hips—as opposed to the bird-like hips of other dinosaurs—and walked on two feet. Neotheropod specimens, often with fewer "fingers" than other theropods, are mostly found in the Jurassic and Cretaceous rock layers that lie above Triassic beds in many locations.
But other features of the Daemonosaurus skull were dissimilar to neotheropods, looking more like "basal theropods." This term refers to the belief that certain theropods evolved earlier, leading to their placement at the "base" or trunk of an evolutionary tree diagram.
The study examined 319 characteristics, such as tooth shape and size, skull height and length, and the sizes and shapes of various holes in the skulls called fossae and fenestrae. These characteristics were then fitted into a "most likely" evolutionary tree diagram, which ended up showing Daemonosaurus on its own "branch" that extended backward in evolutionary time to the supposed origin of the "first" theropod dinosaurs.
The researchers compared Daemonosaurus to Tawa hallae, another dinosaur discovered at Ghost Ranch a couple of years ago.3 According to its technical description, Tawa was supposed to clarify "early" dinosaur evolution. But if it did, then why did authors of this later Daemonosaurus study admit "that theropod dinosaurs had a more complex evolutionary history prior to the origin of Neotheropoda than previously inferred"?1
The study authors wrote, "Daemonosaurus is most closely related to the clade Tawa + Neotheropoda."1
They described three somewhat obscure characteristics shared by Daemonosaurus, Tawa, and neotheropods, including a depression on their vertebrae and a protrusion on their jawbone. But one could find three characteristics in common between any set of animals with similar body plans, illustrating why no ancestor-descendant relationship was established by such a comparison.
After all that work, the researchers did not name a dinosaur from which or to which Daemonosaurus evolved. What does it link to if it is a missing link? The report merely listed characteristics in common or not in common with other groups of dinosaurs, then force-fitted those characteristics into a preconceived evolutionary model.
Evolutionists quibble over which dinosaur belongs on which evolutionary branch, but there is still not one example of a continuous series of transitioning dinosaur forms, let alone one that ascends the geologic column to show that the transitions progressed with time. All the dinosaur data, however, fit easily in the creation model, which actually predicts what is observed—no transitional features, just fully formed creatures fossilized mostly in a cataclysmic global flood.
Daemonosaurus is not a missing link. Instead, it looks like a separately created dinosaur—or a variety thereof—with all its features well-integrated and none of its features in a state of transition.4
- Sues, H.-D. et al. A late-surviving basal theropod dinosaur from the latest Triassic of North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Published online before print April 13, 2011.
- Landau, E. New dinosaur species is a missing link. CNN news blog. Posted on news.blogs.cnn.com April 12, 2011, accessed April 19, 2011.
- Thomas, B. New Dinosaur Causes New Confusion. ICR News. Posted on icr.org December 18, 2009, accessed April 19, 2011.
- In fact, like the Tawa hallae discussed in the reference 3 article, Daemonosaurus was also described as having a "mosaic" of attributes. Sues et al wrote in their paper: "The differences in the form (fossae versus fenestrae), position (centrum versus centrum and neural arch) and number (one versus two) of pneumatic features among basal theropods show the mosaic acquisition of pneumatic features in the cervical vertebrae of these dinosaurs."
Image credit: Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holders.
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Article posted on April 27, 2011. | http://www.icr.org/articles/view/6063/268/ | fineweb | 4,955 | 3.390625 |
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
Cat food refers to either the slop you eat only because you're extremely hungry and nothing else is immediately available, or the kibbles and pulled bits that keep cats alive and allow them to reproduce and eventually take over the world. This article discusses the latter.
edit What is Cat Food?
Cat food comes from Cattus Stimualosis, a weather extreme-tolerant plant found in Africa. According to archaeologists, native tribes planted this throughout the continent for thousands of years so they wouldn't have to worry about feeding their cats as they migrated from place to place. Nowadays, megacorporations grow and harvest the plant on massive farms all over the world to meet global cat food demand. Most cat food sold in stores is flavored and/or mixed with various meats so cat owners won't have to hold their noses while feeding it to their cats.
edit Manufacturing Process
It all begins on the farm. Year-round, cat food seeds are planted in the ground by illegal aliens, women, children, and uneducated laborers who couldn't learn how to do anything else. After a few months of feeding, fertilizing, weeding, and applying pesticides to the field of cat food, combine harvesters sweep the mature stalks off the field and take the harvest to the on-site processing center. The machines at the processing center clean, rinse, roll, then press the stalks into the basic shape of cat kibbles. The kibbles then bake in a special oven for 24 hours. After baking, the batch of kibbles goes to a flavoring center located in the center of a city with at least one million residents so highly trained experts can add vitamins, minerals, flavors, and preservatives to help support a cat's overall health. If the intended product is plain old dry cat food, it is finished at this point, and the cat food is bagged and boxed for retail sale. If the cat food is meant for a wet mix, the flavored kibble goes to a meat tips addition line where copious amounts of fish, beef, chicken, pork, and venison are mixed with the dry cat food and then bagged, canned, and boxed to be sold at retailers worldwide.
edit How Cats Get Cat Food
Many people think cat food is simply given to cats, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Cats get their food in many different ways:
Since humans created cats and are the only ones who can make cat food, cats have an arsenal of tricks up their sleeves for getting it from them. One way is to beg their owners (people) for food when humans don't give it to them in a timely manner. Since not all cat owners actually feed their cats, cats often use something called "Telekeneedconsumablesplease", and any selfless and kind folk within 100 meters of the call epicenter will bring the cats some cat food. The most extreme method, however, is getting humans to worship them as gods. Since cats are the most ferocious killing machines on the face of the planet, they are able to extort cat food from fearful worshippers even when they don't really need it to survive. This method reached the height of its popularity among cats and people in ancient Egypt, but it is very rarely observed today.
edit The Wild
In the wild, cats eat Cattus Stimualosis to stay alive when humans aren't around to give them cat food. This is how big cats get their cat food: first, gazelle and antelope feed on Cattus Stimualosis. Second, the big cats eat the gazelle and antelope. The cat food the gazelle and antelope ate are what actually sustain big cats. Small cats use a similar method, except they get the cat food from smaller animals that eat Cattus Stimualosis and sometimes just consume the plant stalks themselves.
It has been noted that the bee population has been declining while the global population of feral cats has been increasing. One theory based on this information is that some cats subsist entirely on bees and eat human-manufactured cat food only to please their human owners so the cats will always have the luxury of someone serving them. | http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Cat_food | fineweb | 4,022 | 2.78125 |
This is the
second month for both Craftsman and Scientist so the ideas here are limited. Go
back to last month’s Baloo. There were a lot of ideas there. CD
Baltimore Area Council
Ask any boy what a scientist is and he can tell you.
A scientist is the guy who sends men to the moon, and who builds space ships
that travel to distant planets to send back pictures for them to study. A
scientist is a person who builds lasers and atom-smashers, and computers. A
scientist makes and designs all kinds of neat inventions.
Ask the same boy what makes the scientist any
different from anyone else and he may not be able to answer. Perhaps most people
wouldn’t be able to answer. The answer is that as a person the scientist is no
different from anyone else, but when he is working he questions everything and
makes tests and experiments to make sure things are true. If he can’t explain
something, he makes up a hypothesis. If one hypothesis doesn’t work, he looks
for another, until he finds one that can be proven over and over again by
Visit an eye specialist and find out
how the eye works.
Have a visiting scientist demonstrate
an experiment related to the badge requirements.
Visit an airport and ask an expert to
explain flight principles.
Have a slow-motion bicycle-riding
contest to demonstrate balancing skills.
Do some of the experiments found in the
Webelos Scout book.
Practice balance skills.
Make some optical illusions and show
how the eyes converge.
Discuss various branches of science and
how they differ.
Study fog and how it is formed.
Invite a weather expert to talk to the
Den or visit a weather station to learn about weather and air pressure.
Make Crystals You Can Eat
you’ve ever eaten rock candy or spooned sugar onto your morning cereal, then
you’ve come face-to-face with crystals. Ice, table salt, glassware and sugar are
just a few of the many substances that make up crystals. The best way for
Webelos Scouts to learn how crystals are formed in nature is to perform an
experiment to make crystals.
Pour one cup of water into a small pan. Cover and bring it to a boil. Turn off
the heat and add two cups of cane sugar. Stir until dissolved. Let cool. Pour
sugar solution into a tall glass. Tie a piece of clean white string to a pencil
or stick and place the stick across the glass so that the string hangs down into
the liquid. Put the glass in a cool place for a few days. In a short time small
crystals will form along the sides of the glass. Soon they will begin to cling
to the string. After several days, large crystals, hard as a rock, will have
formed around the string. Lift the string out of the glass and taste some
delicious homemade rock candy.
Unlike living things, crystals grow by adding layer upon layer of their own
substance to the exterior surface. In growing, tiny atoms in a crystal naturally
arrange themselves in planes or flat surfaces. They eventually form a geometric
pattern in space. Some crystals arrange themselves in a six-sided structure;
others in ten-sided or twelve-sided formations. It is impossible to see these
tiny atoms when you look closely at a crystal, but the sparkling light you do
see is caused by reflection from many inner surfaces of the crystal.
Many minerals found in the outdoors are crystals, too. Quartz, mica, gold,
silver, and graphite are some of these. If you are hiking in the woods and find
a shiny stone embedded in a duller one, then you’ve probably discovered quartz.
If the shiny stone peels in layers, then you’ve found mica. Take a good look at
all the crystals that you find. Examine them under a magnifying glass, and hold
them up to the light. You will have begun the exciting study of crystals.
Vinegar combined with baking soda produces carbon dioxide, a colorless, odorless
gas. This is what you breathe out when you exhale. It is also the gas that gives
soda pop its fizz. Try these experiments with distilled white vinegar.
Genie of the Bottle
a tablespoon of baking soda in a bottle. And vinegar and quickly fit a balloon
over the rim of the bottle while the mixture is fizzing. Use a balloon that has
been blown up before so that it will stretch easily. The carbon dioxide produced
will inflate the balloon.
Stir a teaspoon of soda in a glass of water. Drop in some buttons and pour in
vinegar to make the buttons bounce to the top. Bubbles of carbon dioxide that
have formed are lighter than water and these bubbles lift the buttons. They will
bounce up and down for quite a while. Add more vinegar when they slow down.
Boiling Water with Ice
show that the boiling point of a liquid depends on the atmospheric pressure. try
this experiment. Use a heatproof glass container (like a Pyrex coffee maker)
with a stopper Boil a half inch of water and when some of the steam has escaped,
stopper the container and turn it upside down. Now put an ice cube on top of the
inverted container. Presto! The water begins boiling again. Why? Because the
cold of the ice cube has lowered the air pressure by condensing the water vapor
left in the container. As the air pressure is reduced, the boiling point of the
still hot water drops and the water boils.
make a geyser, fill a shallow pan nearly full of water. Put an inverted glass
funnel in the water, with a nail under one side to raise it. Heat the water. As
the steam is generated, air bubbles force water out of the neck because the
water pressure becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure.
two matching drinking glasses. Light a candle in the bottom glass and place it
over a piece of thick, damp paper. Put the other glass on top. When the candle
flame goes out for the lack of oxygen, the glasses will be “welded” together.
The heat from the candle drives out enough air so that atmospheric pressure
holds the glasses together.
Tent Flattening Trick: Fold a 5” x 8”
piece of paper into a pup tent shape and place it on a table. Now blow through
the tent. Does it blow away? No? Why not? The moving air stream through the tent
brings down the air pressure. The greater pressure above the tent pushes it down
and prevents any horizontal movement.
Swinging Ping-Pong Ball
ping-pong ball, Adhesive tape,
foot of thread or string, Faucet
the string to the ping-pong ball with tape. Turn on the water to form a steady
stream. While holding the string, flip the ball into the water from a few inches
away. Not only will the ball stay with the string at an angle, but you can draw
the ball up the stream almost to the faucet.
What happens: The water, streaming around
one side of the ball, exerts less pressure than the air which surrounds the
other side. Even though you can feel the resistance of the water as you draw the
ball upward, the air pressure is still stronger, as the experiment proves.
straws, Pop bottle, Clay
When you drink something with a straw, do you suck up the liquid? No! To prove
this, fill a pop bottle with water, put a straw into the bottle, the seal the
top of the bottle with clay. Taking care that the straw is not bent or crimped.
Then let one of the boys try to suck the water out of the bottle. They can’t do
Remove the clay and have the boy put one straw into the bottle of water and the
other on the outside. Again, he’ll have no luck in sucking the water out of the
What happens: In the first experiment, the
air pressure inside the straw is reduced, so that the air outside the straw
forces the liquid up the straw. In the second experiment, the second straw
equalizes the air pressure in your mouth.
Air Cannon Hockey: This game will
demonstrate air pressure. Use round cardboard oatmeal boxes. Cut a hole the size
of a penny in the tops. Fasten the lid back to the box tightly. Use a table for
the field, with a goal at either end. Have a boy sit at each end of the “field”
with a cannon (box) and put a ping-pong ball in the middle of the table. By
tapping the back of the box and aiming it at the ball, try to score by putting
the ball through your opponent’s goal. The Webelos leader can demonstrate the
effectiveness of his oatmeal box cannon by using it to put out a candle. Fill
cannon with smoke, then aim at candle, tap back of box, and flame will be put
out. These cannons are effective up to about six feet.
Hot Air Balloon Power: Divide Cub Scouts
into two or more teams. Each player is given a balloon, which he blows up and
holds by the neck until his turn. A raceway is defined for each team and a
ping-pong ball is placed at the beginning of each raceway. Team players take
turns letting air escape from their balloons, blowing the their team’s ball down
the raceway. The winner is the team that blows the ping-pong ball the furthest
down the raceway. | http://usscouts.org/bbugle/bb0411/bbw2.html | fineweb | 8,648 | 3.28125 |
Sciatica is a common condition that affects the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. It is characterized by pain, numbness, and tingling in the lower back, buttocks, and legs. Sciatica can be caused by a variety of
Gout is a type of arthritis that is caused by the buildup of uric acid in the body. It is a painful condition that can affect any joint in the body, but is most commonly found in the big toe. Symptoms of gout include sudden
Seizures are a common neurological disorder that can affect people of all ages. Seizures can range from mild to severe and can be caused by a variety of factors. It is important to understand the causes of seizures in order to properly diagnose and treat
Rheumatism is a term used to describe a wide range of conditions that cause pain and inflammation in the joints, muscles, and other tissues. It is a chronic condition that can affect people of all ages, but is more common in adults. Symptoms of rheumatism
“Take Control of Your Mental Health: Unlock Your Potential with Tips and Strategies!” Mental health is an important part of overall health and wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system. It is characterized by recurrent seizures, which are episodes of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Epilepsy can affect people of all ages, but it is most commonly diagnosed in children and older adults.
“Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones: Understand What Viruses Are and How They Impact Human Health.” Exploring the Latest Research on Viruses and Their Impact on Human Health Understanding the Different Types of Viruses and Their Impact on Human Health The Basics of Viruses: What | https://tripint.com/category/news/health/ | fineweb | 1,823 | 2.828125 |
NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LEARNING KNOWLEDGE
Life is about learning and growth. If you thought learning is one aspect confined to humans, you cannot be more wrong. Even animals try to learn knowledge, in their own ways.
While humans and animals may learn somewhat similarly, the difference lies in our ability to grasp.
Animals, for instance, learn about surviving on their own. Their knowledge is limited to get food, space, and mate. While that’s a common trait even humans have, we follow a specific process to learn.
In short, we can describe the process as one which involves absorbing the information, processing it and then retaining it during training. In the absence of any one of these, we wouldn't be able to learn.
Learning language, for instance, involves understanding what others are saying, processing the signs and then retaining those specific sounds.
For a baby, they process and learn these sounds, and then try it out on their own - which is the training phase. It's how everybody learns a new language.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEACHING AND TRAINING
Yes, teaching and training are different. You could learn through teaching, but if you aren't training, you wouldn't know how to learn knowledge.
For instance, you can learn about buoyancy and swimming but unless you get to a pool to be trained by an instructor, you wouldn't know how to swim.
Motor learning, for instance, helps you to change and learn from experiences. It helps you to improve the accuracy of your movements and be more active on the tennis court.
This is also why you steadily improve your reflexes when playing tennis, as you develop your motor skills. If you want to learn knowledge, you need to take the right steps.
As motor learning is relatively permanent, you do not forget your skills, just like you can ride your bicycle even after years of riding one. Tennis players who practice hours on the tennis court every day can look to improve their reflexes, timing and organization abilities.
It also helps tennis players to improve their anticipation level, understand movements better and aid in preparation.
It's why we need active learning strategies. It helps us get problem-based learning, peer learning and group discussions which can give us the practical experience we need to deal with complex concepts.
Using strategies to ‘open up’, the classroom will also have some lively discussion and debate encouraging peer learning and helping foster engagement.
THE 3 THEORIES OF LEARNING
Let us take a look at the three in detail and what it takes to learn the language.
What is Behaviorism?
Most often, we continue to do a certain act, which we repeat till it becomes automatic. This observable change in our behavioral pattern is what we know as behaviorism.
So, when you learned the maths multiplier table in your school, it is a trait of behaviorism. You can only do that with the right amount of practice.
What is Cognitivism?
When you take into account your cognitive abilities to learn something new, it is known as cognitivism. For instance, learning your second language is a form of cognitivism.
It happens because of a conscious and reasoned effort on your part to understand something new.
What is Constructivism?
If you are looking to understand how knowledge is constructed, and obtain the information through your experiences, you can call it constructivism.
In short, you get to learn something after you try and apply it to your own life experience. For instance, you might not have got the physics problem taught in school.
However, when you managed to apply it to a real-life solution from your own life, you could grasp it quickly.
What is Knowledge management?
Knowledge and learning management is what we should be looking for. It's an integrated approach to help you learn knowledge faster, and here, grasp a new language quicker.
It helps to do this by creating situational awareness, and opening up smoother communication channels. The focus is on creating an environment that is conducive to learning, helping your brain process information better.
Students, after all, cannot be expected to leave colleges fully taught and trained, and ready to take on any work. Yes, it is possible but it is highly unlikely.
A knowledge learning center can help you learn knowledge quicker. For instance, they can help you download the right knowledge management strategy pdf.
knowledge management book pdf , With the right learning resources, getting hold of a new language will be quicker. And if you can practice it on others, you will find that you can start speaking it fluently too, before you know it | https://tutorroom.net/en/education-platforms/need-know-about-learning-knowledge/ | fineweb | 4,610 | 3.40625 |
Describes a kind of value.
To style your document, you need to work with values of different kinds: Lengths specifying the size of your elements, colors for your text and shapes, and more. Typst categorizes these into clearly defined types and tells you where it expects which type of value.
Apart from basic types for numeric values and typical types known from programming languages, Typst provides a special type for content. A value of this type can hold anything that you can enter into your document: Text, elements like headings and shapes, and style information.
#let x = 10 #if type(x) == int [ #x is an integer! ] else [ #x is another value... ] An image is of type #type(image("glacier.jpg")).
The type of
int. Now, what is the type of
int or even
#type(int) \ #type(type)
In Typst 0.7 and lower, the
type function returned a string instead of a type. Compatibility with the old way will remain for a while to give package authors time to upgrade, but it will be removed at some point.
- Checks like
int == "integer"evaluate to
- Adding/joining a type and string will yield a string
inoperator on a type and a dictionary will evaluate to
trueif the dictionary has a string key matching the type's name
ConstructorIf a type has a constructor, you can call it like a function to create a new value of the type.
Determines a value's type.
#type(12) \ #type(14.7) \ #type("hello") \ #type(<glacier>) \ #type([Hi]) \ #type(x => x + 1) \ #type(type)
valueanyRequiredPositionalPositional parameters are specified in order, without names.
The value whose type's to determine. | https://typst.app/docs/reference/foundations/type/ | fineweb | 1,578 | 2.609375 |
Article written by guest writer Rin Mitchell
What’s the Latest Development?
An international survey revealed that in developing countries nearly 50 percent of men and one in 10 women use tobacco. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), examined "smoking trends among people ages 15 and older from 16 countries, estimating that there are 852 million tobacco users in these countries." Reportedly, “the numbers call for urgent changes in tobacco policy and regulation in developing nations. While tobacco use is declining in industrialized countries, it remains strong — or is even increasing — in low- and middle-income countries, a trend the authors attribute to powerful pro-tobacco forces worldwide.”
What’s Big Idea?
In response to the results of the largest survey on global tobacco use, the World Health Organization is warning smokers of the reality of tobacco use. “Most tobacco users smoke cigarettes: 41% of men and 5% of women, but other popular forms of tobacco include cigars, chewing tobacco and water pipes. Already, nearly 6 million people die from tobacco-related causes each year.” | https://bigthink.com/ideafeed/biggest-survey-on-global-tobacco-use-gives-warnings | fineweb | 1,098 | 2.8125 |
Ghana’s economy is not able to support a robust research and development infrastructure. Scientific developments are modest and focus on the most critical practical concerns. The major research establishment is located in Ghana’s three universities and in government departments and public corporations. Research in the physical sciences is heavily focused on agriculture, particularly cocoa. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi concentrates on civil and industrial engineering and medicine. The Ministry of Health also has an active research agenda, which is complemented by World Health Organization activities. Social sciences focus on economic and development issues. The Institute for Statistical, Social, and Economic Research at the University of Ghana has conducted numerous surveys on rural and urban production and income patterns and on household economies and child welfare. The government statistical service carries out demographic and economic research into such areas as income distribution and poverty. Demographic issues are also investigated through the Population Impact Project at the University of Ghana. Education research and development forms another major concern and is the focus for activities at Ghana’s third higher education facility, the University of Cape Coast. | http://www.spyghana.com/ghana/the-state-of-the-physical-and-social-sciences/ | fineweb | 1,324 | 2.59375 |
Video:Learn Japanese: When to Write Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanjiwith Ayaka Hills
The Japanese language includes three different ways of writing: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Each of these Japanese scripts is appropriate at different times. Learn how to use and recognize Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji .See Transcript
Transcript:Learn Japanese: When to Write Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji
I’m Ayaka Hills of Hills Learning in New York for About.com. In this video, I am going to explain when Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji are used; and how to tell the difference between the 3 character sets.
Japanese Scripts Represent Different Parts of the LanguageJapanese is written in a combination of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Kanji represents ideas or objects. Hiragana typically expresses the grammatical concepts between them. Katakana is used for words of foreign origin or for emphasis. Unlike Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana characters represent one syllable and have no meaning other than the representation of sound.
Japanese Scripts Have Different Styles and ShapesIf you're a beginner of the Japanese language, you can easily tell the character sets apart. For example, Hiragana characters are more round and have less edges compared to Katakana. Kanji are more complex characters of Chinese origin.
Here is a set of Hiragana characters. Here is a set of Katakana characters. Here is a set of Kanji characters. Thanks for watching. To learn more information on Japanese, please visit About.com. | http://video.about.com/japanese/Learn-Japanese---When-to-Write-Hiragana--Katakana--or-Kanji.htm | fineweb | 1,495 | 3.96875 |
There are many natural ways to prevent constipation from your life. Every age group can have constipation in their life. In the USA, about 2.5 million people visit their doctor yearly due to constipation. Constipation develops due to the infrequent bowel movements or releasing of stools that remain for several weeks. In this article, you will see the easy treatment method to prevent constipation.
What is Constipation?
Constipation occurs due to the less movement of the bowel. It is one of the frequent gastrointestinal diseases. You find difficulty and pain in passing the stool when you feel an urge. It is because your feces (undigested food) becomes hard and dry. You always experience that your bowels remain left during defecation (discharge of feces from the bowels). Bowel movements depend from person to person. Some people have at least three bowel movements in a week. While others may have only one or two times a week or several times a day.
How does your digestive system work?
Constipation is related to how well your digestive system is working. So, You need to understand how the digestive system works. When you eat food, it goes into the small intestine. It absorbs all the necessary nutrients from the food. The undigested food moves to the colon (large intestine). The colon eliminates water from the undigested food and leaves a solid substance. The stool is a hard solid substance. When a person gets constipated, their stool takes a large amount of time to pass out from the large intestine. Since the colon absorbs water from the stool, it becomes dry and hard. So, you can feel difficulty and pain in releasing stool, which leads to constipation.
When to see a doctor if you are unable to prevent constipation?
A healthcare professional will ask about your lifestyle, eating habits, and other medical conditions. You may need to visit a doctor or consult with a doctor online if you see the signs and symptoms of constipation.
Symptoms of Constipation
Following are the symptoms of constipation includes:
- Having less than three bowel movements a week
- Hard or dry stools
- Having difficulty or pain in releasing stool.
- Pain or cramps in the stomach
- Nausea and feeling of bloating
- The sensation of an incomplete bowel movement.
- If you take help to empty your rectum, such as by applying pressure on your abdomen with your hands.
If you have two or more symptoms, you can work on the treatment to prevent constipation.
Causes of Constipation
Many causes can lead to constipation. Here are the most common reasons that people experience:
Lack of enough water in the body causes constipation. It is one of the most significant reasons. The intestines of the digestive system absorb the water from your body to fulfill the required level of liquids. Your stool becomes harder and harder as you avoid drinking recommended water according to your body’s needs.
- Lack of fiber in a diet:
Fiber is an essential nutrient for your body. It helps to maintain bowel movements. Low or no fiber amount in your diet can result in constipation.
- Gastrointestinal disease:
The difficulty of defecation (discharge of feces) is due to the problem in the gastrointestinal system. Fistulas, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), hiatal hernia, lactose intolerance, and celiac disease cause constipation.
- Lack of exercise:
Avoiding daily exercise can lead to constipation. Sitting on a seat for several hours without rest, lying in a bed, or not doing any physical activity can result in chronic constipation.
It reduces the working progress of bowel movements.
- Avoiding the urge to defecate:
Resisting and not allowing stool to pass when you feel an urge causes constipation. Generally, people ignore the signal of bowel movements when they are at work.
- Stress or Anxiety:
When you are feeling anxiety, stress, insomnia, and depression causes constipation.
- Thyroid gland disorder:
If the quantity of thyroid hormone in the body is low, it leads to digestive disease.
- Nerve or spinal cord injury:
When neuromuscular disease, Parkinson’s disease, spinal injuries, and sclerosis occur. The pelvic floor muscles contract. Thus, it develops the stool harder with time.
- Intestinal Blockage:
A blockage develops on any part of the large intestine. A blocked intestine can cause constipation.
Once the women become pregnant, their hormone level would increase. They can experience constipation. During pregnancy, around 16 to 39 % of people get constipated. It is because the fetus applies pressure on the bowel. Pregnant women may have constipation up to three months after the baby’s arrival.
Some medications show an adverse effect on your body that causes constipation. Narcotic pain medication, antidepressants, iron supplements, antacids, opioids, antihistamines, and overuse of laxatives lead to constipation.
Natural Ways To Prevent Constipation
Following are the natural ways to prevent constipation from your life:
1.Enough Water Intake
You should take the recommended (at least 8 to 10 glasses) amount of water daily to prevent constipation.
2. Intake of fiber in the diet
According to the research, men need around 30 to 38 grams of fiber. While for women, the daily intake would be 21 to 25 grams at least. It can also help to prevent constipation.
Do at least 30 minutes of regular exercise. Avoid long sitting. You can also walk in the park.
4. Add Fruits and Vegetables
Divide your eating time into four and take a small meal at a time. You can add fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet. The foods that have a good proportion of fiber that helps to prevent constipation include:
- Green leafy vegetables
- Beans, Lentil and peas
- Brown bread
- Citrus fruits
Following are the foods that you may need to avoid during constipation:
- Junk foods
- Red Meat
- Processed food
- Milk and dairy products
- White bread
5. Control Your Daily Life Stress & Anxiety
You can consult a professional provider if you have repeated stress or anxiety due to workload or other problems. Removing stress can help to prevent constipation.
6. Do not avoid the signal to pass stool:
You do not need to avoid the toilet when you feel the urge to pass stool.
7. Avoid using phones or tablets during bowel movements:
Focus and concentration are required when you try to release your stool. So, do not take phones into the toilet.
You can follow the above natural ways to prevent constipation. Some medications may be required if you have chronic constipation. You can schedule an online appointment with a doctor.
Constipation may develop for a short or long-term time frame. When you see a sign of trouble while passing stool for more than two to three days, you experience constipation. A healthcare professional will recommend specific medicine and ask you for changes in your daily lifestyle to prevent constipation. | https://umbrellamd.blog/7-natural-ways-to-prevent-constipation/ | fineweb | 6,834 | 2.890625 |
The latter portion of the Pleistocene Epoch in New England saw the creation of Buzzards Bay through the interplay of glacial and oceanic processes. Beginning approximately 50,000-70,000 years ago, the edges of the continental ice sheet covering much of northern North America began to fluctuate, leaving linear masses of gravel, sand, and silt (known as moraines) to mark former extents of the ice. One such moraine forms most of the eastern shoreline of Buzzards Bay visible in this astronaut photograph.
In addition to the moraines, the melting ice sheet produced extensive plains of outwash composed of mixed sediments and ice that bordered the bay to the northwest and west. Melting ice blocks in the outwash deposits formed distinctive circular features called kettle lakes (or holes). Numerous examples of kettle lakes are visible to the northwest of the Cape Cod Canal. Finally, waters released from the melting ice sheet raised sea level by 60-120 meters (198-396 feet) and drowned preexisting outwash channels (visible as linear embayments along the western shoreline). Buzzards Bay attained its broad current configuration approximately 15,000 years ago; the current sea level was present approximately 3,500 years ago.
The modern Buzzards Bay is approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) long by 12 kilometers (8 miles) wide and is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. The Cape Cod Canal allows for passage between Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay to the northeast (not visible); the wakes of numerous pleasure craft appear along the length of the Canal. The combination of shallow depth, tidal action and surface waves promotes mixing of the estuarine waters leading to a productive aquatic ecosystem. The dynamic nature of the Bay’s waters are visible in this astronaut photograph as surface wave reflectance patterns around Stoney Point Dike and in the kettle lakes. Like many estuaries, however, increasing development and land-use change by the surrounding communities are accompanied by nutrient runoff leading to eutrophication (an increase in nutrient levels leading to oxygen depletion) in the smaller embayments. Decreases in eelgrass, scallops, and herring have also been noted, but direct cause-and-effect relationships are not clear. Coordinated management efforts in Buzzards Bay have helped to decrease shellfish closures, conserve habitat for sea birds, and preserve open space. | http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=5792 | fineweb | 2,419 | 4.09375 |
The Guardian reports that a 33-foot (10-meter) long humpback whale was freed from a net off Australia’s Gold Coast on Wednesday morning. The animal had apparently gotten trapped in a net that is used to keep sharks from entering the region’s popular swimming beaches.
The marine mammal was rescued by crew members from the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation, a nonprofit supported by Sea World Gold Coast Australia, according to the insignia visible in the above video.
According to the institution’s website, “A team of highly skilled staff, headed by Director of Marine Sciences, Trevor Long, are on call 24 hours each and every day with resources and specialised equipment to ensure rescue operations can be initiated quickly and efficiently.”
Amanda Keledjian, a marine scientist at the nonprofit Oceana in the U.S., told Ocean Views that extracting whales from nets is difficult, dangerous work. “People have to be really careful to follow all protocols that they’ve been trained to do, to not create more problems for the animal,” she said.
Keledjian said such rescue efforts by trained handlers do tend to be successful the majority of the time, although sometimes they aren’t able to completely remove all of a net, which can weigh an animal down.
When it comes to rescuing whales stuck in nets or fishing gear, timing is critical. If a whale gets material wrapped around their tail, they could swim around for weeks, before falling too tired to feed itself, she said. If it had gear around its head, it might perish sooner.
“If it’s stuck in a net, as long as it can breathe at the surface it could hang out there for a long time,” said Keledjian. “If the net were anchored the whale would have to fight to stay on the surface, which would be similar to a human trying to swim with a huge weight attached.”
Keledjian said research shows that individuals from more than 2/3 of all large whale species have been entangled in nets or fishing gear around the world. The biggest culprit is not nets that protect beaches, but fishing equipment, she said, especially when active fisheries overlap with important whale habitats.
“Trap pot gear in Alaska and New England is especially problematic, and it can be especially dangerous for rescue crews given rough seas,” she said. “A lot of effort goes into such rescues.” | http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/15/humpback-whale-freed-from-shark-net/ | fineweb | 2,326 | 2.796875 |
Symmetry is all around us. Our eyes and minds are drawn to symmetrical objects, from the pyramid to the pentagon. Of fundamental significance to the way we interpret the world, this unique, pervasive phenomenon indicates a dynamic relationship between objects. In chemistry and physics, the concept of symmetry explains the structure of crystals or the theory of fundamental particles; in evolutionary biology, the natural world exploits symmetry in the fight for survival; and symmetry—and the breaking of it—is central to ideas in art, architecture, and music.
Combining a rich historical narrative with his own personal journey as a mathematician, Marcus du Sautoy takes a unique look into the mathematical mind as he explores deep conjectures about symmetry and brings us face-to-face with the oddball mathematicians, both past and present, who have battled to understand symmetry's elusive qualities. He explores what is perhaps the most exciting discovery to date—the summit of mathematicians' mastery in the field—the Monster, a huge snowflake that exists in 196,883-dimensional space with more symmetries than there are atoms in the sun.
What is it like to solve an ancient mathematical problem in a flash of inspiration? What is it like to be shown, ten minutes later, that you've made a mistake? What is it like to see the world in mathematical terms, and what can that tell us about life itself? In<em>Symmetry, Marcus du Sautoy investigates these questions and shows mathematical novices what it feels like to grapple with some of the most complex ideas the human mind can comprehend. | https://vdoc.pub/documents/symmetry-a-journey-into-the-patterns-of-nature-h1ch0uqi6nc0 | fineweb | 1,596 | 3.09375 |
Changing regex delimiters
Typically, when performing a substitution, you would use the
:s command followed by a regular expression that’s delimited by slashes
/ and followed by any flags, such as
g to replace all occurrences on the line. For example:
But did you know that the regular expression delimiter can be anything and is not limited to
/? This command is equivalent:
Whatever character you use after the
s is considered the delimiter. You can use almost any character except
|. Why would you care to use a different delimiter? Because then you don’t need to escape the slash.. For example, replacing a file path: Instead of:
You can use
# as your delimiter and skip escaping the
/ which makes for something far easier to parse:
We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!
Let us improve this post!
Tell us how we can improve this post? | https://vimtricks.com/p/changing-regex-delimiters/ | fineweb | 851 | 2.828125 |
Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust
Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust Shoes on the Danube embankment
For 14 years now, on the embankment of Budapest, right next to the magnificent Parliament building, there is a memorial, which the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper once called “the most poignant monument in the world.” On the very edge of the shore there are 60 pairs of cast-iron boots in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Arrow Cross Party
Budapest managed to avoid the mass execution of Jews until 1944 – this year the local Arrow Cross party came to power, supporting the views of Nazism, in particular, on the destruction of the Jewish nation.
Most members of the Arrow Cross party were ordinary Hungarian workers, but in total, all segments of the population were represented in this party – both officers and peasants, inclusive. In 1944, its founder, Ferenc Salashi, contacted the Nazi government directly and received support from him. Just yesterday, living as one people, after winning the elections (“Arrow Crossed” received 70% of the seats in parliament), Budapest changed instantly. The mass deportation of Jews and Gypsies to concentration camps in Germany and numerous massacres of civilians began.
Often Jews were brought from all over the country on trucks to the banks of the Danube.
They were asked to take off their shoes, leave their shoes, then loaded onto barges and taken away in an unknown direction. Often, bare-shod people were lined up along the river bank and shot in the back.
The shoes that the victims left behind were either used by the Nazis themselves or sent for sale – in the fifth year of the war, this was a valuable commodity that was always in demand.
In just the five months the Arrow Cross were in power, about 10,000 people were killed in the city in the course of the march and more than 80,000 were sent to concentration camps.
The idea of this memorial belongs to director Ken Togay. He invited the sculptor Gyula Power to cast iron 60 pairs of shoes – exact copies of those worn in the 1940s. These are men’s shoes, and women’s shoes, and children’s shoes – worn out, worn shoes that people left on the eve of their death.
Next to this exposition is a long 40-meter bench with commemorative plaques in three languages - Hungarian, English and Hebrew. | https://vsuete.com/memorial-to-the-victims-of-the-holocaust/ | fineweb | 2,314 | 3.21875 |
, Ohio State University
[Host: Chris Neu ]
The most energetic phenomena in the cosmos are often revealed through their gamma-ray emissions. Observing gamma-rays up to ~100 GeV requires a space-born observatory. The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope
(FGST) was launched in June 2008 and is beginning its third year of observation of a mission that will last at least 5 years. The primary instrument on FGST is the Large Area Telescope (LAT), which is sensitive to gamma rays from ~20 MeV to over 300 GeV. The current status of the Fermi mission will be discussed along with results from a variety of astrophysical topics including the search for indirect evidence of dark matter.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Physics Building, Room 204
Note special time.
Note special room.
To add a speaker, send an email to
Please include the seminar type (e.g. Colloquia), date, name of the speaker, title of talk, and an abstract (if available). | https://web.phys.virginia.edu/Announcements/talk-list.asp?SELECT=SID:1892 | fineweb | 925 | 3.015625 |
Dr. Vivek Goyal
, Boston University
[Host: MIller Eaton]
In conventional imaging systems, the results are poor unless there is a physical mechanism for producing a sharp image with high signal-to-noise ratio. In this talk, I will present two settings where computational methods enable imaging from very weak signals: range imaging and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging.
Lidar systems use single-photon detectors to enable long-range reflectivity and depth imaging. By exploiting an inhomogeneous Poisson process observation model and the typical structure of natural scenes, first-photon imaging demonstrates the possibility of accurate lidar with only 1 detected photon per pixel, where half of the detections are due to (uninformative) ambient light. I will explain the simple ideas behind first-photon imaging and lightly touch upon related subsequent works that mitigate the limitations of detector arrays, withstand 25-times more ambient light, allow for unknown ambient light levels, and capture multiple depths per pixel.
NLOS imaging has been an active research area for almost a decade, and remarkable results have been achieved with pulsed lasers and single-photon detectors. Our work shows that NLOS imaging is possible using only an ordinary digital camera. When light reaches a matte wall, it is scattered in all directions. Thus, to use a matte wall as if it were a mirror requires some mechanism for regaining the one-to-one spatial correspondences lost from the scattering. Our method is based on the separation of light paths created by occlusions and results in relatively simple computational algorithms.
Related paper DOIs:
Friday, April 12, 2019
Physics Building, Room 204
Note special room.
To add a speaker, send an email to
Please include the seminar type (e.g. Colloquia), date, name of the speaker, title of talk, and an abstract (if available). | https://web.phys.virginia.edu/Announcements/talk-list.asp?SELECT=SID:3593 | fineweb | 1,871 | 2.6875 |
Prepared by Elisabeth Lindsay.
is a tongue-in-cheek, colloquial term for mail sent via postal service, as opposed to e-mail sent over computer networks. The analogy, of course, refers to the comparatively slow delivery times of regular mail versus electronic mail. Although the term was not coined by genealogists, they certainly may share the sentiment.
In the past, regular mail was the only option available to genealogists, requiring a degree of patience. In today's digital age, many genealogists have become accustomed to conducting their correspondence via e-mail and requesting information online. When an individual or repository accepts submissions and requests only through regular mail, it can be disappointing and "snail mail" viewed as more than a slight inconvenience.
<< The Genealogy Guide
<< Archived Materials | https://wiki.genealogytoday.com/snail_mail.html | fineweb | 828 | 3.078125 |
12.1 Is the world ‘analog’?
In general, we can imagine representing information in terms of some form of analog or digital signal. The digital data stored on a CD will normally have been produced using analog to digital convertors which are fed with amplified signals from microphones. The original microphone signals are obviously ‘analog’ — or are they?. . .
Modern physics is largely based upon the concept that the world behaves according to the rules of Quantum Mechanics. One of the axioms of this is that all forms of energy behave as if quantised. This gives us the well-known (although not well understood!) ‘wave—particle duality’. Statistically, the behaviour of physical processes can be described in terms of things like waves and continuous functions. Yet, when we examine any process in enough detail we can expect to see behaviour which it is more convenient to describe in terms of distinct particles or ‘packets’ of energy, mass, etc.
When the Compact Disc system was originally launched some people criticised it on the grounds that, ‘Sound signals are inherently analog, i.e. sound is a smoothly varying (continuous) pattern of pressure changes. Converting sound information into digital form “chops it up”, ruining it forever.’ This view is based on the idea that — by its very nature — sound is inherently a wave phenomenon. These waves satisfy a set of Wave Equations. Hence we should always be able to represent a given soundfield by a suitable algebraic function whose value varies smoothly from place to place and from moment to moment. Since the voltage/current patterns emerging from our microphones vary in proportion to the sound pressure variations falling upon them it seems fairly natural to think of the sound waves themselves as having all the properties we associate with ‘analog’ signals, i.e. the sound itself is essentially an analog signal, carrying information from the sound sources to the microphones. But how can sound be ‘analog’ if the theories of quantum mechanics are correct?
The purpose of this section is to show that the real world isn't actually either ‘analog’ or ‘digital’. Analog and digital signals are no more than mathematical representations of reality, useful when we want to process information. In fact we could say the same thing about the ‘waves’ and ‘particles’ we use so much in physics. Although it's easy to forget the fact, both waves and particles are mental models or ‘pictures’ we use to help us grasp how the real world behaves. Although useful as concepts, they don't necessarily ‘really exist’. To illustrate this point, imagine a situation where we are given a working electronic circuit board without being told anything about it and asked, ‘Is this an analog or a digital circuit?’ How could we tell? Of course, we could probably decide by looking to see if the circuit contained any integrated circuits, reading their type numbers, and looking them up in a book! (We can also guess that if the circuit doesn't contain any integrated circuits, it's probably not digital) However for our purposes, this would be cheating. The real question is, ‘Can we tell just by looking at the kinds of electronic signals being passed around between components on the board?’
If we connect an oscilloscope we can watch how some of the voltage or current levels in the circuit vary with time. In most cases, the shapes of the waveforms we'd see on the oscilloscope would quickly show whether the signal was digital or analog.
Digital signals will often show ‘square’ shapes. The signal voltages tend to spend most of the time near one or the other of two particular levels, switching between them relatively quickly. Analog signals sometimes show no obvious patterns, although in some cases they show a simple recognisable shape like a sinewave. As a result we can sometimes form an opinion about the type of signal by seeing if we can recognise the waveforms. But is there a more ‘scientific’ — i.e. objective — way of deciding? Is their an algorithm or recipe which would always be able to tell us what form a signal is taking?
At first it might seem as if this problem is an easy one. When we look at them on an oscilloscope, digital signals can look nice and square, analog ones tend to look like bunches of sinewaves or noise. Unfortunately, when an information channel is being used to its limits the situation can be less clear. When a digital signal is transmitted at very high bit-rates, the rising and falling edges of each level change tend to become rounded by the finite channel bandwidth. As a result, the actual transmitted voltage fluctuations may not display an obviously digital pattern.
In a similar way, some analog waveforms may show fairly square patterns. For example, the output from a heavy rock band, compressed by studio equipment, can have a ‘clipped’ look similar to a stream of, slightly rounded, digital bits. Also, if an analog channel is being used efficiently every possible waveform shape will appear sometimes. As a result, the waveform will sometimes look just like a digital one.
We can't know with absolute certainty, just by examining a real signal pattern for a while, whether it carries information in either digital or analog form — although we can be fairly confident in many cases. We use voltage patterns (or currents, etc) to carry information in various ways, but the terms ‘digital’ or ‘analog’ really refer to the way we process information, not some inherent property of the voltage/current itself.
For most purposes this lack of absolute knowledge doesn't matter. But it serves to make the point that digital and analog signals are idealisations. Any real signal will have both analog and digital characteristics.
Content and pages maintained by: Jim Lesurf ([email protected])
using HTMLEdit and TechWriter on a StrongARM powered RISCOS machine.
University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, Scotland. | http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/iandm/part12/page1.html | fineweb | 5,938 | 3.828125 |
- 1 School Improvement Partners (SIPs) e-newsletter: Autumn 2009
- 2 Primary: Use of key mathematics materials
- 3 Primary: Supporting SIPs to challenge and support improvement in the EYFS and key stages of transition
- 4 Primary: Using CLLD resources to support self-evaluation
- 5 Primary: Launching 'priority learning' local authorities
- 6 Secondary: The role of the SIP in specialist school re-designation
- 7 Secondary: Assessing pupils' progress in ICT
- 8 Secondary: Delivering the behaviour challenge
- 9 Secondary: Modern Foreign Languages – the role of SIPS
- 10 Cross-phase: Addressing disproportionality in school attendance
- 11 Narrowing the Gaps for underachieving, disadvantaged children
- 12 What Works Well
- 13 SIPs and pupil referral units
- 14 RAISEonline: new reports to support the 2011 target setting process
- 15 Narrowing the Gaps: Targeting the underachievement of vulnerable groups
- 16 Masters in Teaching and Learning
- 17 Key events
- 18 Key resources
- 19 Information, advice and guidance
SIPs and pupil referral units
This guidance is primarily designed to assist School Improvement Partners (SIPs) deployed to pupil referral units (PRUs) in England. It may also serve as a useful prompt for discussion between SIPs, headteachers, management committees, parents and local authorities (LAs).
The National Strategies has been supporting SIPs deployed to PRUs through its programme of continuous professional development over the last two years. This guidance draws the focus of this work together and is presented in two parts.
- Part 1 includes prompts to be considered and addressed by the SIP when deployed to a PRU together with a sample SIP report for a PRU.
- Part 2 includes a DVD-ROM containing a range of resources, source materials and additional guidance which SIPs and others may find useful.
- When deployed to a PRU what are the some of the main areas that SIPs will need to focus on with PRUs in order to promote effective school improvement?
- How can the SIP best get behind the efforts of the PRU to improve their provision and raise standards of attainment and achievement?
- What are the issues I should pay particular attention to when deployed to a PRU?
- How should I report my judgements in the related SIP report? | http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110809101133/http:/www.nsonline.org.uk/node/251186?uc=force_uj | fineweb | 2,270 | 2.953125 |
FORMS OF STORY Flashcards
What are Myths?
Myths are stories that try to explain HOW OUR WORLD WORKS and HOW WE SHOULD TREAT EACH OTHER. They are usually set in times long ago, before history as we know it was written
- Traditional tales based on the traditions and beliefs of people
- Were originally told orally
- Usually teaches a lesson
- Often use animal characters to symbolize or represent human qualities
What are Legends?
Legends are also fictional stories, but they are different from myths.
Legends are BASED ON REAL PEOPLE who lived in more recent times and are mentioned in history. Legends are told for a purpose and are based on facts, but they are not completely true.
What’s a Fable?
A fable is another type of story, also passed down from generation to generation and told to teach a lesson about something. A fable usually ends with a moral, or a short sentence with a lesson about life.
What are Fables?
Fables are often about animals, plants, and natural forces, like thunder or wind, that can talk and act like people. The most famous fables were written by a man from ancient Greece called Aesop. We know them as Aesop’s Fables, and he wrote more than 600 of them, including “The Tortoise and the Hare.”
What are Fairy Tales?
Fairy Tales are stories written specially for children, often about magical characters such as elves, fairies, goblins and giants. Sometimes the characters are animals.
Most fairy tales were passed down orally before being written. Many of these stories were collected by Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm and written down for future generations.
- Includes gods and goddesses, super beings and heroes
- Explains natural events
- Magical creatures
- Teaches a lesson
- Based on real people who may have lived a long time ago
* Tells about their heroic actions or deeds
- Main character must solve a problem
- Superhuman ability
- Animals act like people
- 3 of fewer characters
- Ends with a lesson or moral
- Aesop wrote many fables
- Repetition of 3 and 7
- Magical elements
- Once upon a time
- Happily Ever After
- Often from Europe | https://www.brainscape.com/flashcards/forms-of-story-5795501/packs/7629728 | fineweb | 2,097 | 3.390625 |
Bristol Swifts website aims to provide a range of practical information and advice about swifts and what can be done to help them.
The Common Swift (Apus Apus) is the most aerial of all birds and spends most of its entire life on the wing, flying continuously day and night. In its lifetime a bird may fly a distance of some 4 million miles, which is equivalent to flying to the moon and back again eight times. A swift only lands after 2-3 years where it returns to the general location of its birth to find a mate and raise its own family.
For many the sound of a “screaming party” of swifts is the quintessential sign that summer has finally arrived. They can be quite frenetic at times, like screaming little black demons, hence their old-fashioned name ‘Devil Birds’. We might think of them as a British bird, but in fact they only spend about three months with us, arriving in late April or early May to raise their young and leaving by early August. The remaining nine months are spent in Central and Southern Africa.
After a 6000 mile journey back from Africa, they can be seen gathering first over Chew Valley and Blagdon Lakes near Bristol. There they feed up on the newly hatched flies that have emerged from the water in their millions. Once they have regained their strength after a few days they start to return to their traditional nesting locations. This is summed up beautifully in Ted Hughes poem ‘Swifts’
They’ve made it again,
Which means the globe’s still working, the Creation’s
Still waking refreshed, our summer’s
Still all to come
Swift breeding cycle
Clutch normally 2-3 white eggs (May-June)
Incubation period 19-21 days (mostly hatching mid June)
Fledging is 5-8 weeks (late July-early August)
One year old birds return in July to suss out colonies, but don’t stay long and never start nest building.
Two year old birds arrive from mid May onward to look for a suitable nest site, find a mate and begin nest building.
Three year old birds return in early May to breed for first time.
Swifts are almost entirely dependent on our buildings for their nesting sites, squeezing into small nooks and crannies generally under the roof tiles or soffits. Unfortunately when older buildings are refurbished these little openings are often inadvertently sealed up by the homeowner and the nest sites are lost forever. To make matters even worse virtually all new buildings are extremely wildlife “unfriendly” with no spaces available for birds to nest.
If a few nooks and crannies are left open or swift nest boxes installed, either internally or externally, swifts will have a place to nest. Swifts increase the colony size by moving to adjacent areas. So if there are no swifts spotted either nesting or in screaming parties in the area then it may be difficult to attract them. This is a major consideration when siting new nest boxes.
Swifts are extremely site faithful, so once they have found a suitable nest site they will continue to use it for the rest of their lives. Some colonies are very old indeed and have been used by successive swift generations for tens if not, hundreds of years. Their dependence on our buildings makes them very vulnerable to any sort of disturbance, so once a colony has been destroyed it makes it very difficult for them to find a new home and a whole breeding season can be lost forever.
Trying to find swift nest sites is not easy. They fly so quickly that they can be very difficult to locate. If you are trying to find an existing swift nest site then here is a link with a few tips.
Swifts numbers are declining for a variety of different reasons, but one that all the experts can agree on, is the lack of suitable nest sites available to them. Like so many other small birds, swift numbers have declined sharply in recent years. Between 1995 and 2018 their numbers have fallen by as much as 58%. Such a decline has led to the species being Red-listed in the fifth Birds of Conservation Concern report, and classified as Endangered in the second IUCN Red List assessment for Great Britain.
Perhaps you want to help maintain a local colony or maybe try to attract swifts to nest at your own property? Whatever it is we can offer you some advice and guidance. | https://www.bristolswifts.co.uk/swift-info/ | fineweb | 4,218 | 2.9375 |
heliostat, instrument used in solar telescopes to orient and focus sunlight along a fixed direction. A typical heliostat consists of a flat plane mirror and a curved parabolic mirror. The plane mirror is mounted along an axis parallel (i.e., equatorial) to Earth and rotated slowly by a motor to reflect light from the Sun. The parabolic mirror focuses the reflected rays into the telescope along a fixed direction while the Sun traverses the sky. Therefore, as the telescope’s field of view rotates, different celestial objects move quickly into view.
Portable heliostats are useful in studying solar eclipses because they eliminate the need to mount telescopes equatorially. Larger models, installed at permanent positions around the world, have also been employed to track both the Sun and the stars. See alsocoelostat; siderostat. | https://www.britannica.com/science/heliostat | fineweb | 834 | 3.796875 |
Jewish Synagogue - Kerala
Kerala's rich historical and cultural past makes the state a unique place to visit. Every step you take in the state instills in you a further sense of admiration for the abundant historical and cultural wealth of the state. The monuments of the Kerala include temples, churches, mosques, forts, palaces, houses and mansions. All these monument together help in reconstructing the bygone era.
Some Monuments of Kerala
Chottanikkara Temple - Dedicated to Goddess Bhagavathy, the Chottanikkara temple is believed to be an ideal destination for all those who are suffering from any kind of mental illness. The goddess here is worshipped in three forms - as Saraswati in the morning, as Bhadrakali at noon and as Durga in the evening. At each time, the goddess is draped in a different colour of attire. The image of goddess is not fixed in the ground, rather it stands on a mound of sand. The temple is located on the outskirts of Kochi.
Guruvayoor Temple - This is one of the most important religious monuments in Kerala and is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The image of the Lord here is believed to be around 5000 years old and the legend behind it invokes a mixed sense of mystery and devotion. The Guruvayur Temple of Kerala is known to have played host to the maximum number of marriages and rice feeding ceremonies. The highlight of the temple are the dhawjastambha, deepastambha and the Sree Kovil (where the main deity is placed). Images of Ganapathy, Ayyappa and Bhagavaty are also worshipped in this temple.
Sabarimala Temple- Unlike the Guruvayur Temple where only Hindus are allowed, the Sabarimala Temple gives access to devotees of all religion. Also, it is open for darshan for only specific period of time in the year. However, strict rules have to be followed in order to visit this temple which is located amidst wilderness atop a 950 m hill. The temple is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, son of Lord Shiva and Vishnu (in form of Mohini).
Vadakkumnathan Temple - This Shiva temple boasts of being built by none other than the creator of Kerala state itself, Parsurama. Another feather in the cap of this temple is that it is one of the largest temples in the state, spreading across in an area of 10 acres. The renovation work on the original structure was done by Shakhthan Thampuran, a faithful devotee of Lord Shiva. There are images of Ayyappa and Lord Rama along with Shiva here. Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have spent his last days in this temple. A unique feature of this temple is that the Mahalingam of Shiva is never visible since it is covered in huge mound of ghee which is as high as 11 feet. A portion of mound is considered around 1000 years old, still there is no stench emitting from it. This is despite Kerala's warm climate. Visit the temple which is located in the downtown Thrissur. The festival of Thrissur Pooram is also an attraction here.
Cheraman Juma Masjid - The Masjid is located in the Kodungallor and claims to be the oldest one in the country and second oldest one in the world. It was built in 628 AD, in Al Hijra 7, which means that the construction was done just seven years after Prophet Mohammed migrated to Medina. The architectural style of the mosque is typical Hindu style. This is so because at that point of time, there was no other architectural style in prevalence. The name of the mosque derives from the name of the king who converted to Islam after marrying the sister of Jeddah King. Before he died, he gave his brother in law the possession of a number of letters he had written to the kings of Kerala seeking their help to spread Islam in the state. The Jeddah king arrived in Kerala and with the assistance of the king of Kodungallor built this mosque. A recently conducted naval exercise revealed a startling discovery. The prayer room inside the mosque was the highest place in Kodungallor!
St. Sebastian Church - This church is located 22 km north of Alappuzha and is highly revered by the Christian population of the state. It was established by the Portuguese missionaries and is quiet well known for its 11 day festival of St Sebastian in the second week of January. Quiet a few peculiar practices mark this festival, for example, the devotees crawl on the knees from the church to the beach (Urulu nercha) to show their respect for the saint. Also the offering made include gold and silver replicas of human limbs, bows and arrows. Moreover, the pilgrims of Sabarimala consider a holy dip in the tank of the church extremely auspicious. A perfect example of religious unanimity.
The Churches at Muttuchira - The churches at Muttuchira in Kottayam district are a group of three churches located in the same compound but built during different times. They are symbolic of the evolution of the church architecture in Kerala. The oldest one depicts the Neo Boroque style of architecture.
Aranmula Temple- Located at a distance of 16 km from Tiruvalla, the Arnamula Temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The temple is believed to be built during the Mahabharata era. The annual snake boat race conducted here is not just a competition, rather it is a an attempt to recapture the cultural glory of the past.
Jewish Synagogue - The Jewish Synagogue is the oldest one in the entire common wealth nation. The structure was built in the year 1568 and later rebuilt by the Dutch. The synagogue has in its possession the scrolls of the Old Testament and the copper plates, which recorded the grants of privilege, given by the Kochi rulers. Moreover, there are several exquisitely wrought gold and silver crowns presented to the synagogue by the various patrons. Another attraction of the synagogue are the blue Chinese tile that make for an engrossing sight. The synagogue is open everyday barring Saturdays and Jewish holidays from 10 am to 12 noon and 3 pm to 5 pm
Forts & Palaces
Bolghatty Palace - This palace, which has now been converted into a KTDC hotel, was constructed by the Dutch in 1744 and served as the Governor's residence. The hotel stands comfortably on an Island by the same name and is a two storeyed structure with historical portraits adorning the walls. A ferry ride to the Boghatty Island is extremely enjoyable experience.
Alwaye palace - Standing on the banks of river Periyar, the Alwaye palace has now been converted into a Guest House. The circular verandah provides spectacular view of the surroundings along with the Periyar river.
Bekal Fort - Amongst the best preserved forts in Kerala, the Bekal Fort claims to be 300 year old. The fort was supposedly constructed in 1650s by Sivappa Naik of the Ikkeri dynasty. Later on, the fort also passed into the hands of Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and Britishers. The fort was primarily built as a defensive structure and therefore has no palace inside. There is an old mosque near the fort which is believed to have been constructed by the Mysore forces.
Krishnapuram Palace - Situated at a distance of 47 km from Alappuzha, the Krishnapuram palace was constructed by Marthanda Varma in the 18th century. The palace today serves as an archaeological museum displaying the largest mural panels of Kerala. Other items on display include antique bronze sculptures, paintings, ceremonial utensils, oil lamps, fine miniature figures and small stone columns carved with serpent deities. A recently erected Buddha mandapam houses a statue of Buddha.
Mattanchery Palace - This is also a Dutch Palace (though it was originally built by the Portuguese) located in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. The palace today houses rare regalia of the Raja of Kochi including coronation robes and palanquins. Another attraction of the palace are the mural depicting scenes from Ramayana and Krishna leela. The palace is open everyday for public except Fridays from 10 am to 5 pm.
Hill Palace Museum - Built in the year 1865, this was the official residence of the royal family of Kochi. Today, the palace is a Heritage Museum and displays all sorts of royal relics including the royal furniture and the 'simhasana' (the throne or the king's chair). Other articles on display include 19th century paintings, murals, sculptures in stone and plaster of Paris, manuscripts, inscriptions and coins. Moreover, there are also antique pieces of pottery and ceramic vases from China and Japan, rock cut caves from the early iron age, wooden temple models and models of objects from Mohanjodaro and Harappa. The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm every day except Mondays.
Arakkal Palace & Kannur Fort - Arakkal Palace, located 3 km from Kannur, holds the distinction of being the only royal residence of Muslims in Kerala. The Kannur Fort, also known by the name of St Angelo's Fort was constructed in 1505 by a Portuguese called Don Francisco De Almeida. Later, the Dutch conquered the fort and sold it to the king Ali Raja of Arakkal kingdom. The palace and the fort are close by and are under the care of ASI. It is also believed that the fort has a secret underground tunnel through the sea that leads to the Thalessery palace which is 21 km away.
Koyikkal Palace - This palace was built sometime around 15th century and housed the Perakom Thavazhi (the maternal lineage), particularly Umayamma Rani of the Venad royal family who ruled the land between 1677 AD and 1684 AD. Today, the two storeyed structure of the palace houses a Folklore Museum as well as the Numisamtics Museum. Items on display in the Folklore Museum include quaint musical instruments, occupational implements, household utensils, models of folk arts etc along with old manuscripts and dress material made of the bark of trees (Maravuri). The Numismatic Museum exhibits coins from different parts of the world as well as different eras. The palace is located at a convenient distance of 18 km from Thiruvanantpuram.
Houses, Bungalows & Memorials
Vasco House - This 16th century structure was supposedly the residence of the Portuguese sailor, Vasco da gama. It is located inside the Fort Kochi in Ernakulam. Highlight of the house include European glass paned windows and Balcony cum Verandas.
Thakur House - Originally the residence of the managers of National Bank of India during the British era, the Thakur House today is possessed by a respectable tea company. The house is a standing reminder of the architecture of the colonial era. The house was earlier known as Kunal or Hill Bungalow.
Pierce Leslie Bungalow - This 19th century bungalow initially belonged to Pierce Leslie & Co., the famous coffee merchants. The structure is a classic example of a combination of an architecture that is a mix of Portuguese, Dutch and local influences. The highlights of the house are wood panel roof of the ground floor, arched doorways, carved doors and spacious rooms. Water front verandas are also interesting to roam around.
Koder House - Named after its constructor, Samuel. S. Koder of the Cochin Electric Company, the Koder House was built in the year 1808 AD. The House is located in the Ernakulam district and is a wonderful example of the change of architectural style - from colonial to Indo-European architecture. The chess board pattern of floor, the red brick facade and the wooden bridge that joins the house to other structures across the street are some of the quiet interesting aspects of the house
Bishop's House - Constructed in the early 16th century, the Bishop's House served as the residence of the Portuguese Governor. It is perched over a small hillock and is marked by typical Gothic arches. Additionally, the circular garden path that leads upto the main entrance is another attraction. It was earlier known by the name of Dome Jos Gomes Ferreira who was the 27th Bishop of the Diocese of Cochin.
Bastion's Bungalow - This one is the official residence of the sub collector of Ernakulam. It was built in the middle of the 17th century and depicts the Indo European style of architecture. The name of the Bungalow is drawn from the site where it stands - the Stromberg Bastion of the old Dutch fort. This bungalow is believed to have secret tunnel, however, till date none of them has been discovered.
Gundert Bungalow - Gundert Bungalow was the residence of Dr. Hermann Gundert, a scholar who successfully compiled the first Malayalam dictionary, from 1839-59. Also, it was in this bungalow that Malayalam's oldest newspaper 'Paschimodayam' (also published by Gundert), developed. The bungalow is a typical colonial mansion with deep eaves, wide verandah and huge doors. Today, a technical training institute is being run in the Gundert Bungalow.
Mannadi - This is a memorial of the erstwhile diwan of the Travancore state, Veluthampi Dalawa, who gave up his life fighting for the freedom of his land against the mighty Britishers. The memorial, today reminds the visitors of the great courage shown by the diwan in face of extreme pressure.
Chittur Garumadam - This is yet another memorial that remembers a highly revered poet saint, Thunchath Ezhuthachan. He authored the well known 'Adhyatma Ramayana'. Thunchath Ezhuthachan is also credited for translating Mahabharata into Malayalam. The Garumadam displays items like a 'srichakra', some of the idols worshipped by him, wooden slippers used by him and a few old manuscripts are exhibited here. The day of Vijaydashmi sees hundreds of children being brought to the Gramudom for a ritualistic initiation of learning. The Gramodam is located on the banks of Solkanasini river (destroyer of sorrows) in the Pallakad district of Kerala. | http://www.indialine.com/travel/kerala/monuments.html | fineweb | 13,510 | 2.65625 |
5 Uses of Photorealistic Rendering
For creating a perfect image, photorealistic rendering is a practical option that has found use in several different fields. The first step in rendering is to building a wireframe model, then the outer layers, including texturing, shading, and shadows. This helps you build the image according to your own, particular design. Why would someone use photorealistic rendering rather than photography? Sometimes it’s not possible to get the shot you want or need. Some of the areas that use photorealistic rendering are architecture, entertainment, video games, simulators and design visualization.
In architecture, renderers were previously used to add the layers, to make a finished picture by hand. Now, it’s done on the computer, and generally it’s much more cost-efficient. Additionally, by building a 3D model and adding animation, clients have the opportunity to see their project from every angle, including overhead and inside. These ‘fly-by’s’ help visualize exactly what the client is in for, and it’s less expensive to make corrections on a rendering than an actual building.
2. Movie and Television Special Effects
There’s hardly a dramatic film or television show currently airing that doesn’t use some form of photorealistic rendering. Sometimes they’re more obvious, like scenes with cars that turn into gigantic robots or thousands of battling warriors. Other times, it’s more subtle, where the effects may simply add texture to the scene, like clouds and shadows. It’s also used for removing things from scenes that shouldn’t be there (like an airliner soaring through the sky behind a Roman period piece or an aluminum ladder from an ancient pirate ship).
3. Video Games
Rendering has made tremendous strides in the area of video gaming. In the last 10 years, the graphics in video games have gone from clunky and slow to smooth and extremely realistic. Driving emulates actual driving (only, generally faster.) The cars look much more like real cars, and the backgrounds often incorporate real backgrounds. Fantasy games display battles where characters and settings look real. Sports games, modeled after real moves and plays, look more and more starkly realistic.
Flight time can be costly, as it involves expensive airplanes, but potential pilots have a new option in that they can use a less costly simulator. The risks are minimized, too. Simulators don’t have accidents or catch dangerous up-drafts. Another potentially risky area that simulators have helped newcomers is in driving, in particular race driving. The other cars are virtual, as are the threats, and to roll a simulator is far less likely.
5. Design Visualization
One realm where photorealistic rendering seems to be exploding is in design visualization. Just as it’s more cost effective to change a virtual building than an actual one, when companies seek to bring out a new product, it just makes more sense to utilize a computer artist or designer who can give a perfect visual model, available for market testing or in-house research-and-development. This applies to things as small as food packaging to cars, or as large as popular theme parks and their rides. | http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/how-tos/video-software/5-uses-of-photorealistic-rendering.html | fineweb | 3,186 | 2.953125 |
University of Phoenix
Queanna Booth, Marilyn Lee,
Virginia Ortega, Shniqua Smith, Linda Van
Scholars note the important role that attachment plays in the development of an infant. Mary Ainsworth, a pioneer in the study of attachment describes attachment as an emotional bond between persons who binds them through space and time. Attachment is the basis for social skills. (As stated by Vaughn) According to Vaughn, through loving interactions between infants and parents and through parents understanding their infant's unique needs and temperament, attachment is developed. As infants interact with caregivers, they are building the foundation of their emotional and social abilities. The relationship between the parent and child is influences the infants' social abilities. How secure that relationship is will have a persuasion on the rest of the child's life.
The physical impact of neglect and bonding during the developmental stages of infancy and early childhood can be positive and negative. Neglect has a negative physical effect on childhood development in the event that the child is unable to form attachments. In order for attachment to develop normally, there are crucial periods during which bonding experiences must be present. The lack of attachment causes mild interpersonal discomfort to profound social and emotional problems. As stated by Perry, Runyan, and Sturges (1996).
Bonding has a positive effect on childhood development. According to Perry et al. (1996) Holding, gazing, smiling, kissing, singing and laughing all cause specific neurochemical activities in the brain. These neurochemical activities lead to normal organization of the brain systems, which are responsible for attachment. Problems with bonding and attachment can lead to a fragile biological and emotional foundation for future relationships. Neglect and bonding are particularly important focuses of attention for three reasons. First,... | http://www.studymode.com/essays/Infancy-And-Early-Childhood-193446.html | fineweb | 1,936 | 3.40625 |
Homegrown climate models 'set India's record straight'
[NEW DELHI] A set of climate models has challenged projections of runaway greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in India over the next few decades.
Although India's GHG emissions are projected to grow almost four-fold in the next decades they are likely to remain below the world average, according to the results of five models released last week (2 September).
Such projections are in contrast to international estimates suggesting alarming emissions increases as India develops, say Indian environment ministry officials.
For example, Nicholas Stern, director of the UK-based London School of Economics Asia Research Centre cited figures of eight tonnes per person and total emissions of 12 billion tonnes by 2030 for India in a recent (15 July) speech to the United Kingdom's Chatham House.
India's average emissions per person from all five new models is 2.1 tonnes in 2020 and 3.5 tonnes in 2030, nearly four times that of the current level of 1.5 tonnes but still below the current world average of 4.2 tonnes. Total GHG emissions in the new models are an average of 5.2 billion tonnes by 2030.
"So far, researchers from developed countries have been driving the climate change debate through models that do not capture national realities," Jairam Ramesh, India's minister for environment and forests, said at the launch of the models.
"The result has been several implausible estimates of India's future GHG emissions trajectory — leading to suggestions that the key to global climate stabilisation is legally binding restraints on India's GHG emissions," he added.
"We can no longer depend on derived science from the West."
Three models were developed by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), Integrated Research and Action for Development and Jadavpur University with funding from India's environment ministry.
Another model was developed by TERI based on India's submissions to the 2008 UN climate summit in Poznan, before the country had its own detailed studies. The fifth model was released by international consulting company McKinsey & Company in the same year.
All five models use India's greenhouse gas data up until 2006 and extrapolate figures until 2030/31. Four of the five models assume no new GHG mitigation policies.
"India's GHG emissions are not poised for runaway growth," the report concludes.
A separate report released by the Ministry of Environment and Forests last month (11 August) says India's forest cover is increasing every year and helping to neutralise 11 percent of the country's GHG emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide. Is there any other reason given for why the emissions will be lower than predicted, eg. greater than expected development of clean energy?
But Delhi-based nongovernmental organisation the Centre for Science and Environment says that some of the assumptions in the models are inaccurate, particularly projections in the McKinsey model that energy consumption will quadruple to 5.5 billion tonnes by 2030. Other energy consumption patterns do not predict such massive expansion, it says.
Link to full report[3.41MB] | https://www.scidev.net/global/climate-change/news/homegrown-climate-models-set-india-s-record-straig.html | fineweb | 3,178 | 3.03125 |
Hi! I’m Molly Ferrill, a National Geographic Explorer with a focus on documenting wildlife and environmental issues. This week I’ll be taking over Sigma’s Instagram account with some photos from my recent project in Myanmar.
People and elephants have had a unique relationship in Myanmar for generations. Elephants play a key role in daily life and several industries in Myanmar. Until very recently, timber elephants were used as a major part of the country’s extensive logging industry. Elephants also carry spiritual significance in Myanmar. Long ago, special white elephants were kept by royalty and worshipped as sacred. Even now, white elephants are seen as a symbol of peace and prosperity. This belief in the value of elephants also extends to wild elephants: In some places, people still refer to them as “respected elders”.
Recently, however, the traditional role of both wild and domesticated elephants in Burmese society has started to change. The timber industry is in decline, and elephants are beginning to have a new and controversial role in tourism. A rapid increase in development has begun to encroach on the natural habitat of the many wild elephants in the country, leading to a new issue of human-elephant conflict in some areas. Supported by a grant from National Geographic, I set out to document the relationship between people and elephants in Myanmar at this pivotal turning point in the country’s history.
Sigma sponsored this project with lenses that were invaluable in capturing the shots I envisioned. I used the Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART DG HSM | Art lens to shoot the above image of an elephant and oozie (elephant trainer) in a logging camp, which was published in National Geographic France last month.
I captured this image far out in the mountains surrounding Taungoo, Myanmar, a region where elephants have been used to log the forests for generations. Often times, elephants and children growing up in the timber camps will be paired at an early age, forming a bond that will continue until they both become old enough to work together logging the forest.
Since I took this photo, a logging ban has been agreed upon in Myanmar and this type of traditional logging work has almost entirely disappeared. The ban presents an economic challenge for the thousands of people and elephants that had been working in the logging industry, but it’s also is a very important step to reducing the unsustainable rate of deforestation in the country. I decided to use the Sigma 35mm ART series lens to capture this photo because I wanted to take advantage of its quick, sharp focus in order to show the details of the elephant and oozie as they worked. Although working with a prime lens can be more challenging than usual when your subject is a moving elephant, the 35mm is versatile on my full frame camera and allowed me to get both the closer detailed shots and some wider shots of the whole scene. | https://blog.sigmaphoto.com/2017/the-elephants-of-myanmar/ | fineweb | 2,922 | 2.578125 |
The U.N. Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, is in full swing now, aiming to reach consensus and agreements on addressing the climate challenge by its close on December 9. While there are high expectations, people also realize that this is not an easy issue to tackle. Uncontrolled, man-made carbon emissions, which climbed to a new record of 30 billion tons worldwide in 2010, are at the core of the climate change dilemma. Curbing this trend is not only a daunting multisectoral task that demands sophisticated technical solutions, but its complexity is intensified by disagreements among countries on the size of the problem and what to do about it.
Climate change should matter to all of us, since changing weather patterns, including more frequent extreme climate events (e.g., the 13 warmest years on record have been in the last 15 years) and natural disasters (e.g. in some regions the number of particularly large hurricanes has increased), negatively impact the lives and well being of ALL people—the raison d’être of development. In this context, climate change should be seen as a critical health challenge that demands increased attention and management. Why?
A landmark 2009 report by The Lancet Commission documented how climate change over the coming decades could have a disastrous effect on health conditions across the world. There are both direct and indirect health threats through changing patterns of disease, water and food insecurity, vulnerable shelter and human settlements, extreme climatic events, and population growth and migration.
But, as the report highlighted, while vector-borne diseases will expand their reach and death toll as a result of climate change, the indirect effects on potable water, food security, and extreme climatic events are likely to have the biggest negative effect on health conditions.
If the negative impacts of climate change are not mitigated, they will only exacerbate existing global health inequities, particularly affecting the poorest and less developed countries, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, these impacts on the social determinants of health have the potential to magnify vulnerability among the poorest African communities, which are already easy prey to a variety of shocks—economic, health-related, natural disasters and armed conflicts—which tend to perpetuate poverty across generations, increase ill health and disability, and cause premature mortality undermining competitiveness, employment and wealth creation.
Focusing on climate change and the potential negative health sequelae and mounting a preemptive and sustainable response to limit their damage is critical to reduce vulnerability, build resilience, and contribute to realizing the full potential of Africa’s economic and social transformation in the 21st Century.
The management of climate change impacts will require the adoption and adaptation of multisectoral approaches coupled with participation, collaboration, and consensus between governmental agencies, civil society, private sector, local governments, communities, and international organizations to formulate and implement policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions, particularly in fast-growing cities, which account for two-thirds of energy demands and emissions.
In the health sector, we need to transcend traditional biological and medical approaches by focusing on the social determinants of disease to better understand how climate change impacts health. This will enable us to define more effective responses—that can complement and maximize other efforts such as technical solutions to reduce emissions and measures to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on the population. In order to help reduce vulnerability and build resilience in countries, it is imperative we continue supporting countries to ensure that strengthened and well-operating public health systems (e.g. basic public health laboratories and epidemiological surveillance systems and epidemiological intelligence capacity) are developed and maintained to anticipate, prevent, and deal with adverse health outcomes associated with climate change. Although the task at hand is difficult, it can be accomplished if we start acting now.
Related blog post: http://blogs.worldbank.org/health/crying-wolf-contagion-is-a-real-threat | https://blogs.worldbank.org/nasikiliza/climate-change-and-health-does-it-matter | fineweb | 4,341 | 3.3125 |
OverviewRed Butte is the highpoint of the Red Buttes Wilderness, a relatively small wilderness of 20,000 acres that straddles the Oregon-Californa border in the Siskiyou Mountains. The peak is adjacent to a twin summit of nearly equal height, as a result the peaks are often known collectively as the Red Buttes. The jagged appearance of the two summits and their bright red color make them some of the most recognizable peaks in the Siskyous, and are easy to identify from many others peaks in the region.
The bright red color of the Red Buttes is a result of weathering. The Red Buttes are composed of peridotite, an ultramafic rock with a high olivine content. When exposed to the elements peridotite turns from its natural green color to bright red and orange.
As with most regions within the Siskiyous, the Red Buttes contain extraordinary biodiversity. This is due in part to the nature of the Siskiyou Mountains. A large portion of the crest of the range trends east to west, therefore the Siskiyous act as a natural land bridge for species to intermingle. Here vegetation native to the great basin can be found growing alongside ferns and other coastal species. This is also due to the unique soils found here, the soils in the Red Buttes wilderness are composed primarily of broken down serpentine and peridotite, which are toxic to most plants. The few plants that can survive here do not have to compete with other species, so are much more prevalent here than in other regions.
The original proposal for the Red Buttes wilderness included an additional one hundred thousand acres and would have extended from Grayback Mountain in Oregon to near the Klamath river on the far southern slopes of the Red Buttes. The proposal was shut down due to the value of the area's timber. Today this area is known as the Kangaroo Mountain Roadless Area and despite the lack of formal preservation, still retains many wilderness qualities. For this reason the Red Buttes region is a deceptively wild and vast wilderness with tremendous solitude potential, and not the small pocket wilderness it appears to be on the map.
Siskiyou Wilderness. The bright red peridotite and serpentine rock was sliced up by glaciers into many barren exposures and outcrops. The effects of glaciation are also evident in the numerous sub-alpine lakes in the region, the most scenic of which is Elk Lake located at the base of the north face of the Red Buttes.
Views from the summit are expansive. To the south the high peaks of the Marble Mountains stand out with Boulder Peak most obvious. Slightly east of the Marbles Mount Shasta is plainly visible. To the east the higher gentler peaks of the Siskiyous are visible in the foreground with Mount Mclouglin behind. To the west the Jagged crest of the Siskiyou Wilderness is visible with the awesome Preston Peak standing most prominent.
From the North:
From I-5 North or South near Medford follow signs West to the town of Jacksonville. Once heading in this direction for about 8 miles(highway 238) through the town of Jacksonville, you will reach the settlement of Ruch. Once in Ruch you will turn towards an Upper Applegate pointer for approximately 19 miles. At the end of Applegate Lake you will reach a T-shaped intersection. From here turn left onto Applegate Road for 1.2 miles to a gravel intersection. Continue straight on Road 1050 for 0.9 miles and then fork to the right onto Road 1055 for 10 more miles. This will put you at Cook and Green Pass with the Trailhead for the PCT. High Clearance would be helpful for this drive but a sedan could be driven with some skill.
From the South:
From Yreka head north on I-5 to the junction with Highway 96. Follow 96 for 43 miles to the town of Seiad Valley. In Siead Valley turn north on Seiad Creek road toward the Red Buttes. Stay on this road for 12 miles, the road has one turn off that some might mistake as the main drag, when in doubt head straight and do not make any right turns. Eventually the road becomes forest route 45N20. 12 miles will put you at Cook and Green Pass with the trailhead for the PCT. The road is well graded gravel and should be passable to any vehicle.
ApproachesFrom the PCT trailhead at Cook and Green Pass the first step in reaching the summit is to head west toward Bee Camp near the base of the mountain. There are two options for this.
PCT option: 3.4 miles and 2200 feet of elevation gain with 200 feet of loss to the summit. (3 miles and 1100 feet of elevation gain with 200 feet of loss to Bee Camp.)
The trail begins by climbing through a dense forest before rounding a corner into the more sparse peridotite region. At this corner is the first view of the peaks. The PCT continues to climb to the crest of the ridge to the turn off to Echo Lake. From the turnoff the trail descends 200 feet to Bee Camp at the base of the Red Buttes.
Road option: 3.7 miles and 2000 feet of elevation gain to the summit. (3.3 Miles and 900 feet of elevation gain with no significant loss to Bee Camp.)
From Cook and Green Pass an unmaintained road branches west toward the peaks. A sign states that the road is "not maintained for travel". Despite this warning the road is not as bad as advertised, a passenger car can make it about half a mile up the road without risking damage, and a high clearance vehicle can go quite a bit further, possibly to the base of the mountain depending on the skill of the driver. The road climbs a short distance to a corner where the first view of the peaks comes out, then becomes quite rough for a section traversing somewhat level before becoming smooth again near Bee Camp.
Middle Fork Applegate option:
In the early season before the road to Cook and Green Pass opens a third option may be possible from the Oregon side beginning from the Cook and Green Pass Trailhead (note: this is not the same thing as the PCT trailhead located at Cook and Green Pass, this trailhead is at a low elevation on the Middle fork of the Applegate River). The trail climbs 3500 feet from the Applegate River before merging with the PCT at the Echo Lake turnoff. Check out this map to get a rough idea of the route.
.4 miles with 1100 feet of elevation gain from Bee Camp to the East Summit
From Bee Camp begin heading toward the base of the east summit. The first section is very brushy and there does not appear to be any reasonable way around it, so simply pick a line and plow through. Once through the first section of brush, begin heading directly toward the base of the cliffs on the east summit. Skirt below the cliffs to avoid the worst of the manzanita, some bushwhacking will still be required but this is mostly boulder hopping. From here gain the east ridge and follow it to the east summit. A few moves of class 3 are required along the ridge.
On the summit is a summit register with paper scraps and no notebook, a wind break and a geocache about 15 feet to the west.
From the east summit, the west summit looks like it could be higher. Most maps show the summit as the east peak, but if attaining the true highpoint is your goal visiting both is worthwhile to remove any doubt. The traverse to the west summit involves descending and re-climbing about 200 feet along terrain similar to what was encountered along the east ridge. No significant brush should be encountered, when in doubt stick to the north side of the ridge. Some class 3 scrambling will be required on this traverse.
The Red Buttes are located partially within the Red Buttes Wilderness and partially within the Kangaroo Mountain Roadless Area. The wilderness area contains no special regulations other than standard wilderness ethics. Most of the approach described here is within the Kangaroo Mountain Roadless Area.
Wilderness permits are not required however campfire permits are required if you plan to have a campfire or use an open flame stove.
The roads on either side of Cook and Green Pass close during the snow season, consider the approach from the Middle Fork of the Applegate described above during this time.
Camping should be allowed anywhere on national forest land unless otherwise posted. Camping at Cook and Green Pass is an option, though no water is available. Bee Camp is a better option, and has several springs for water. The summit is also home to a wind break rock wall if one desires to camp up there.
Contact and links
Happy Camp Ranger District
63822 Highway 96
P.O. Box 377
Happy Camp,CA 96039
Klamath National Forest
1312 Fairlane Road
Yreka, CA 96097
Applegate Ranger District
6941 Upper Applegate Road
Phone: (541) 899-3800
Rogue River/Siskiyou National Forest
PO Box 520
Phone: (541) 858-2200
Additions and Corrections[ Post an Addition or Correction ] | http://www.summitpost.org/red-buttes/227772 | fineweb | 8,696 | 3.4375 |
Many countries around the world experience heat waves.
Temperatures can hit alarmingly high levels that are destructive to humans. This may continue on throughout a few days and nights.
Heat waves make us feel lethargic and tired, as well as affect our cognitive functioning. Have you ever wondered how your body manages extreme temperatures and why heat is so deadly? Let’s find out in this article.
How Temperature Affects Us
The typical temperature of our bodies usually swing between 36 and 38 degrees celsius. When our temperatures remain in this safe range, it allows biochemical reactions to operate normally.
This is essential for our cells and organs to function properly. When we experience extreme heat, causing our core temperature to shift away from the regular range, our body triggers physiological responses to return the temperature back to status quo.
Imagine how a thermostat works - when the indoor temperature deviates from the ideal level, the cooling system activates to bring it back to normal.
How Our Body Cools
Sweat is our body’s first response to rising temperatures. When this occurs, heat dissipates from our skin and extremities, like our hands and feet. Sweat produced evaporates on our skin and removes heat as a result.
Although this is an effective method, it also requires an immense amount of water per hour when there is extreme heat. We need to constantly refill our body’s water store in order to make sure that we can keep going safely. Think of it like a water tank that eventually runs dry if no water is replenished.
When we run out of water, we become unable to sweat and cool down. Gradually, our organs may overheat. We need to drink water and consume salts and electrolytes to maintain regular blood acidity that is necessary for our cells to work.
Each organ reacts differently to extreme heat.
Our heart is the core of our body. Blood needs to move from the central organs to the periphery in order to sweat and cool down, which may cause the red flushes in people who are overheated.
This leads to a dip in blood pressure in our core organs. In order to maintain blood flow to these key organs, our heart tries to make up for it by increasing our heart rate. If this is coupled with excessive water loss, our blood pressure will fall to dangerous levels and lead to fainting or heart failure.
Another key organ in our body, the brain, also suffers from temperature stress. A hike in temperature disrupts the communication between the nerve cells.
When you’re dehydrated, it also causes electrolyte imbalances that can disturb cell communication in the nerve and muscle cells. The effects are exacerbated over time. Eventually, it can lead to more headaches and anxiety.
Air conditioners are extremely helpful in helping our bodies to cool down. You can reduce temperature stress by staying in a cool air-conditioned room. If you're wondering about its importance - can you imagine if your aircon was not cold one day, or if they didn't exist? It would prove fatal. | https://www.81aircon.com/blogs/air-conditioners-a-life-saving-appliance | fineweb | 3,016 | 3.75 |
The Columbian ExpositionBy Frank Swanson
In 1890, Chicagoans scored a surprising coup when they beat out New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., for the privilege of hosting the World's Columbian Exposition. With this honor, citizens of this still-young city stepped into the global spotlight and accepted the challenge of organizing a world's fair that would outdo the immensely successful Paris Exposition of 1889, which premiered the Eiffel Tower among other modern wonders. At stake was not only Chicago's reputation, but that of the entire nation.
Envisioned as a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyages, the exposition was set to open in 1892, giving the fair's organizer's barely two years to turn swampy Jackson Park on Lake Michigan into a vast showplace for international commerce, culture, science and technology. The fair's Director of Works Daniel Burnham, architect of some of Chicago's first skyscrapers, enlisted a who's who of American architects and planners, including Frederick Law Olmstead, designer of New York's Central Park. Together they and an army of laborers and craftspeople transformed a desolate lakefront into a Beaux Arts wonderland destination with soaring columns, classical statuary and majestic domes.
The cavernous Manufacturers and Liberal Arts building, crowded with the latest products of an industrial society, was at the time the largest building ever constructed. Electric boats glided across a lagoon encircling a bucolic wooded island, and at night, a dazzling array of electric lights outlined each building and illuminated the grounds, a sight unlike anything most fairgoers—accustomed to kerosene lamps and natural gas flames—had ever encountered.
In contrast to the monumental architecture and edifying exhibits of the main fairgrounds, the exposition's Midway Plaisance was packed with fun things to do, including concessions designed to look like villages from exotic lands along with America's answer to the Eiffel Tower—the world's first Ferris wheel, an awesome, 260-foot-tall steel contraption with 36 cars, each one large enough to carry 60 passengers.
Today, few signs of the great fair remain. Most of its marvels were temporary steel-framed structures with wooden exteriors coated in staff, an easily molded stuccolike material. What's more, a period of labor unrest following the fair coincided with a suspicious fire that destroyed many of the fair's grandest buildings. Even the Ferris wheel's novelty faded, and it was eventually dynamited and sold for scrap.
The only major exposition building left behind in Jackson Park, the Palace of Fine Arts, now houses the Museum of Science and Industry . Olmstead's lagoon and wooded island remain, though somewhat altered, along with a one-third scale replica of “The Republic,” the 65-foot-tall gilded statue of a woman in robes and armor that presided over the exposition and came to symbolize its grandeur.
But the fair's legacy extends far beyond its scarce physical remnants. The Field Museum , then called the Columbian Museum of Chicago, was established to house the exposition's biological and anthropological exhibits, and the current Beaux Arts home of The Art Institute of Chicago in Grant Park was built for the exposition's scholarly meetings.
The exposition's influence can be seen in everything from electricity delivered via alternating current to modern theme parks. American companies debuted such now-familiar products as Cracker Jack, Cream of Wheat and Juicy Fruit gum at the fair. And what carnival would be complete today without a Ferris wheel or a ride-packed midway, a word that entered English courtesy of the exposition's Midway Plaisance?
With the fair's success, Chicago elevated itself among the world's great cities and thumbed its figurative nose at Eastern naysayers. The city pays tribute to this historic event within its municipal flag; of the four red stars prominently arrayed across the flag's center, one represents the World's Columbian Exposition.
AAA’s in-person hotel evaluations are unscheduled to ensure the inspector has an experience similar to that of members. To pass inspection, all hotels must meet the same rigorous standards for cleanliness, comfort and hospitality. These hotels receive a AAA Diamond designation that tells members what type of experience to expect.
Members save up to 10% and earn Honors points when booking AAA/CAA rates!Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
511 N Columbus Dr. Chicago, IL 60611
Illinois sales tax is 6.3 percent; cities and counties impose additional increments. The Chicago area has a lodging tax of 17.4 percent.
Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, (312) 567-2000; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, (312) 926-2000; Resurrection Medical Center, (773) 774-8000; Saint Anthony Hospital, (773) 484-1000; The University of Chicago Medicine, (773) 702-1000; University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, (866) 600-2273.
111 N. State St. (lower level) Chicago, IL 60602. Phone:(312)781-1000
O'Hare International Airport (ORD)—17 miles northwest of the city—is served by major domestic and foreign carriers. Midway International Airport (MDW), though smaller and serviced by far fewer carriers than O'Hare, is closer to the Loop—only 8 miles southwest of downtown.
Chicago is served by major car rental agencies. Arrangements should be made before you leave on your trip; your local AAA club can provide this assistance or additional information. Hertz, (312) 372-7600 or (800) 654-3080, offers discounts to AAA members.
Chicago Union Station, 225 S. Canal St., is the city's main train depot and Amtrak's local hub. Trains run to both coasts and well into the South, with stops at most major cities along the routes; phone (800) 872-7245.
Greyhound Lines Inc. has its station at 630 W. Harrison St.; phone (312) 408-5821 or (800) 231-2222.
Taxis are readily available in Chicago.
Transportation by train and bus is available in Chicago. | https://www.aaa.com/travelguides/chicago-il/the-columbian-exposition | fineweb | 5,992 | 3.328125 |
Over 20 million people in the US have diabetes mellitus. It is the leading cause of kidney failure, blindness, and adult amputations. Overall, it costs the nation over $100 billion annually. Diabetes Mellitus results from a deficiency of insulin which is required to remove sugar from the blood. Type 1 is due to a destruction of beta cells within the pancreas by an autoimmune reaction. Type II results from chronic resistance to the action of insulin and the pancreas’s inability to produce enough insulin. There are many causes of diabetes, many of them lifestyle related and new research is showing that early respiratory infections and cell signaling play a key role.
“Recent observations have suggested that common infections during the first year of life have a protective effect. A study of 58 insulin-dependent children was matched with 172 non-diabetic children. Analysis of both groups showed that respiratory infections had the most marked protective effect later in life. infections during the first year may protect by modifying the lymphomatic response to subsequent immunological challenge. A link with decreasing early exposure to common infectious disease could account for the rise in the incidence of diabetes over the past 30 years” – Archives of Diseases in Childhood
Recent advances in molecular biology and neuro-endocrinology have shown that insulin deficiency may be due to a breakdown in the communication and signaling mechanisms associated with the central nervous system and metabolism. Healthcare is now changing its focus from treatment of metabolic disorders with drugs and chemicals to shifting towards procedures that will restore and maintain the normal communication and control the systems of the body.
Your spinal cord acts as a river between your brain and all the other vital organs and tissues in your body. When your spine is perfectly inline, the nervous system pathways are protected and function optimally. When certain stresses act on the spine, vertebrae can lose their proper position, shift out of place, and cause a subluxation. This subluxation will turn down the energy and signals sent out to the vital organs and tissues including the pancreas. Spinal nerve interference has been documented by leading scientific researchers to be a contributing factor of endocrine and metabolic disorders including diabetes. Removing these subluxations and nerve interference can improve your pancreatic function and reduce the risk of diabetes. | https://carlson-chiropractic.com/vertebral-subluxation-and-diabetes/ | fineweb | 2,485 | 3.375 |
What Is Piezoelectricity: Part 1. Ear-Piercing Sounds Harvested for Energy. Engineers have figured how to harvest energy from sound; a neat physics trick that could soon lead to quieter jet engines, heavy construction equipment and factory machines, and perhaps a new way to generate wind power.
Separate teams of investigators have developed prototype devices that create small amounts of energy, just enough to run sensors inside noisy places. These sensors can then be used to actually dampen the sound of the noise itself, according to Stephen Horowitz, a research engineer at Ducommun Miltec, an aerospace contractor based in Huntsville, Ala. Market forces sap the power from electric utilities.
Two seemingly unrelated announcements drew much attention in the electric utility industry recently.
First, the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for the U.S. electric utility industry, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) jointly recommended (PDF) changing how utilities should be regulated. Second, Duke Energy announced it will sell 13 Midwest merchant power plants. These announcements are actually related because they both result from the same dramatic changes affecting the electric utility industry. As Bob Dylan aptly noted, "the times they are a-changin'. " Regulators and other stakeholders must be prepared to address these changes. Under the traditional business model, electricity usage grew steadily. But this traditional model is crumbling, due to several factors:
Search: piezoelectric. ESA - The Energy Saving Assocation - Bumpy Energy. Tuesday 3rd December 2013 Piezoelectric materials produce electricity from pressure or stress - as we have seen before it could be steps as people walk, or the weight of vehicles as they travel over the material.
Sounds good but it is costly to implement. Hence it is good news that a Mexican entrepreneur Héctor Ricardo Macías Hernández has shown ingenuity in creating his own system that generates electricity from traffic flow on the roads. The system uses small polymer tire-like ramps embedded into the road, rising about 2 inches (5cm) above the road. Air is forced through bellows attached to the underside of the ramp, and through a hose to be compressed in a storage tank. Passing vehicles could soon be lighting our cities. Innowattech breakthrough in alternative energy from road traffic. Aprovechan el tránsito vehicular para generar electricidad. New Inexpensive Technology Generates Electricity from Vehicle and Pedestrian Traffic.
Wallowing in traffic seems like an enormous waste of time and resources.
But what if you could generate a little power during your daily commute? A Mexican entrepreneur has developed technology that collects electricity from the movements of vehicles and pedestrians, and since the device works with existing roads and sidewalks, the system could be an excellent way to capture the forces of current transportation networks without great expense. Developed by Héctor Ricardo Macías Hernández, the system is comprised of a polymeric material that is elevated several centimeters above street level. As cars or walkers depress the ramp, pressure is exerted on a set of bellows below. The bellows contain air that is then forced through a hose and sent to a turbine.
Low-cost system uses passing vehicles to generate electricity. Over the years, various researchers have developed systems in which the weight transferred through cars' wheels onto the road – or through pedestrians' feet onto the sidewalk – is used to generate electricity.
These systems utilize piezoelectric materials, which convert mechanical stress into an electrical current. Such materials may be effective, but they're also too expensive for use in many parts of the world. That's why Mexican entrepreneur Héctor Ricardo Macías Hernández created his own rather ingenious alternative. In Macías Hernández' system, small ramps made from a tough, tire-like polymer are embedded in the road, protruding 5 cm (2 in) above the surface. Inicio - Investigación y Desarrollo. Electricity generated from weight of traffic and pedestrians. Mexican entrepreneurs developed a system capable of using the vehicular flow to generate electric energy.
This development has the potentiality to produce sufficient electricity to power up a household through a device that "catches" the force of the moving cars. "This is a technology that provides sustainable energy and could be implemented at low prices, since it's a complement of already existing infrastructure: the concrete of streets and avenues," Héctor Ricardo Macías Hernández, developer of the system, said. He added that at a global level there are no records of similar projects, with exception of an English patent, but with the difference that in the European country piezoelectric floors are used, which are too expensive for developing countries.
Manchester United's stadium gets a high tech upgrade. This article was taken from the November 2013 issue of Wired magazine.
Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online. In April this year, the Manchester Evening News reported that Manchester United had commissioned an acoustic engineer to survey Old Trafford, to find out why 75,000 football fans were producing so little noise. NASA Piezoelectric Autonomous Responsivness (Plane Flapping Like a Bird) Under Pressure: Piezoelectric Energy To Be Generated By Paris Marathoners. By Ryan Koronowski.
Energy from speed breakers using piezoelectric crystal. The Big Question: Will piezoelectricity ever become a viable source of electricity. September 7th, 2013 By Kelly The ever increasing demand for power has made us look out for alternate forms of renewable energy like solar power, hydro-electric power, geo-thermal power and wind power etc.
One such renewable source of energy that has been gaining popularity over the past few years is the Piezoelectric Technology that generates power from the electromagnetic properties of some minerals found on earth. The basic principle behind Piezoelectricity is simple. Certain electromagnetic materials can generate electric fields when subjected to mechanical stress. Take for instance a floor or staircase fitted with this technology to harness the pressure caused by footsteps and convert the same to electricity. Piezoelectric straw-covered skyscraper harvests energy.
Under Pressure: Piezoelectric Energy To Be Generated By Paris Marathoners. Generate Electricity as You Walk the City. Tokyo Train Station Testing Power-Generating Floor. Clean Power Published on December 4th, 2008 | by Ariel Schwartz Yesterday, we took a look at how piezoelectrics— crystals or ceramics that generate voltage when mechanical stress is applied— could allow cell phones to be powered by sound waves.
Energy-Generating Floors to Power Tokyo Subways japan east rail corporation, jr east, piezoelectric floors, energy generating floors, human powered motion, passengers power train station, – Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Gree. When the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) decided to invest in alternative energy sources, it only had to look to its users for the perfect source of energy.
Recently the company decided to update their Tokyo Station with a revolutionary new piezoelectric energy generating floor. The system will harvest the kinetic energy generated by crowds to power ticket gates and display systems! Piezoelectric flooring is a technology with a wide range of applications that is slowly being adopted in the race to develop alternative energy sources. Assemblyman Gatto wins funding for initial piezoelectric test. Interesting press release from Mike Gatto: After two years of work, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has found a new partner in the fight for green transportation and domestically produced alternative energy.
Building on an idea of Gatto’s, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced that it will fund preliminary research on the potential of using California’s roadways to generate green electricity. The research will focus on the large-scale energy-harvesting capabilities of piezoelectric materials, which are currently used in everything from lighters to smart phones. The research stems from a bill authored by Gatto, AB 306, which passed the legislature in 2011 with bipartisan support but was vetoed by Governor Brown because of a lack of funding for the project. In the veto message, the Governor encouraged Gatto to work through the CEC’s grant process to obtain funding for the project, and a year later, the assemblyman has successfully secured the funding. ENERGY HARVESTING FROM AIRPORT RUNWAY. Abstract: Systems: Introduction to Piezoelectric Transducers. Gatto's bill would tap roads for renewable energy - LA Canada. A bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) would take the power of the road for renewable energy.
The bill, one of many the Gov. Jerry Brown is wading through in the wake of the legislative recess, would require the California Energy Commission to explore the possibility of generating green electricity from passing cars, trucks and trains. The legislation centers on what’s called piezoelectric technology, where censors are placed under a roadway and the vibrations produced by vehicles are converted into electricity. Gatto said this technology is already being used in other countries.
Bill Finds An Unlikely Renewable Energy Source: Non-Hybrid Vehicles. Assemblyman Mike Gatto has introduced AB 306, the Roadway / Highway Electrification Act pilot. As of press time, the Sierra Club has taken no official position on it, but may be reviewing it in the coming months. New Bill Could Allow California to Harness Power Otherwise Lost as Cars Travel Over Pavement. New Piezoelectric Railways Harvest Energy From Passing Trains.
Piezoelectric Energy-Generating Roads Proposed for California Gatto. These Exercise Machines Turn Your Sweat Into Electricity. Walk into a spinning class at the New York Sports Clubs' facility on Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street in Manhattan and you'll find 20 sweaty people furiously pedaling their stationary bikes. Look closely and you'll notice something unusual about this workout: Each of the bikes is attached to a black box with wires running out of it. The box is a compact generator that converts the motion of the wheels into electricity, which is then fed into the power grid, offsetting some of the club's energy use. For these gym-goers, it's not just about their cardio fitness; their sweat is helping to make the planet a bit greener.
By adopting power-producing exercise machines in this way, gyms can promote themselves as environmentally friendly and also reduce their electric bills. At least three start-ups in the United States are now selling equipment to retrofit aerobic machines—stationary bicycles, elliptical trainers, and steppers—into electricity-generating gear. Boesel can't wait. Award-winning energy harvester brings practical applications closer. Making Piezoelectricity a Daily Part of Our Lives. » Energy Harvesting Pike Research. In the near future, energy harvesting (EH) technology will power an increasing number of consumer and industrial products that are untethered or need to become disconnected from the electrical outlet.
This technology, which converts ambient energy to useable electrical energy, represents an attractive alternative to battery power for portable devices. Already, consumers and industries alike consider the environmental and economic costs of changing and maintaining batteries for portable devices to be excessive. A retrofitted energy harvester for low frequency vibrations. California highways may soon produce their own power. For many people, the sight of Los Angeles freeways during rush hour is a striking reminder of how rampant our fuel consuming ways have become. Piezoelectric roads for California. Innowattech - Energy Harvesting Systems. Satellites Predict City Hot Spots - Space News. | http://www.pearltrees.com/shankargallery/piezoelectric-transportation/id5340530 | fineweb | 12,094 | 2.984375 |
Journal of Teacher Education 2014 Loughran 0022487114533386. What Is Digital Literacy? Ava reads at Indian Run Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio.
The school integrates iPads, laptops, and books into reading time. —Maddie McGarvey for Education Week Digital Literacy: An Evolving Definition While the word "literacy" alone generally refers to reading and writing skills, when you tack on the word "digital" before it, the term encompasses much, much more. Sure, reading and writing are still very much at the heart of digital literacy. Digital Literacy Definition and Resources. What is Digital Literacy?
The ability to use digital technology, communication tools or networks to locate, evaluate, use and create information. 1The ability to understand and use information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers. 2 A person’s ability to perform tasks effectively in a digital environment... Literacy includes the ability to read and interpret media, to reproduce data and images through digital manipulation, and to evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments. 3 What is a Digital Learning Librarian?
The Digital Learning Librarian at the University of Illinois works collaboratively with librarians and faculty to create tools that help to integrate the library into the teaching and learning process. One result is the creation of online resources that focus on infusing library and information skills with instructional technology to help individuals obtain digital literacy. Digital Literacy Fundamentals. Introduction Today’s youth are often called ‘digital natives’ by adults because of the seemingly effortless way they engage with all things digital.
It’s easy to see why: Canadian youth live in an interactive, “on demand” digital culture where they are used to accessing media whenever and wherever they want. Instant-messaging, photo sharing, texting, social networking, video-streaming, and mobile Internet use are all examples where youth have led the charge in new ways of engaging online. But this enthusiasm masks a potential problem: although young people don’t need coaxing to take up Internet technologies and their skills quickly improve relative to their elders, without guidance they remain amateur users of information and communications technology (ICT), which raises concerns about a generation of youth who are not fully digitally literate, yet are deeply immersed in cyberspace.
A basic question, then, is what exactly is digital literacy? What Digital Literacy Looks Like in a Classroom. Published Online: October 29, 2014 By Brianna Crowley If students are “glued” 24/7 to their mobile devices, why is it necessary for schools to teach digital literacy?
Communication Learning. 7 Reasons Why Digital Literacy is Important for Teachers - Blog. Share on social: The meaning of "digital literacy" has shifted over the years.
While there was a time when job candidates were encouraged to list "Proficient at Microsoft Word" on their resume, now such skills are considered standard. This shift toward a technologically savvy workforce has permeated the classroom as well. It makes sense to assume that the more digitally literate our teachers are, the more they'll employ these skills in the classroom, which will in turn foster a strong sense of digital citizenship in our students.
Developing Reflective Practice : Learning about Teaching ... John Hattie & His High Impact Strategies. John Hattie synthesized over 500,000+ studies related to student achievement in his book Visible Learning.
He showed that teachers can make a difference despite other circumstances that may impede learning. In fact, Hattie found that most teachers have some degree of impact on their students’ learning. Poutiatine et al 2012 New Directions for Teaching and Learning. Self Directed Learning Merriam Bierema. Mediabias. Alike short film. RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms. Ken Robinson - Do schools kill creativity/ TED Talks (English subtitles) Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve. APA Style Tereora College Media Studies by Tiffany Andrews on Prezi. News Quality.V5. | http://www.pearltrees.com/t/professional-identity/id17590825 | fineweb | 4,173 | 3.28125 |
Family : Dilleniaceae
Text © Pietro Puccio
English translation by Mario Beltramini
This plant is native to China (Yunnan), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, where it grows in the humid evergreen forests mainly along the banks of the rivers.
The genus is honoured to the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillen (Latinized in Dillenius), (1687-1747); the Latin name of the species “indica” = of India, refers to one of its origin places.
Common names: chulta, dillenia, elephant-apple, hondapare tree (English); chalta (Bengali); babau, graine bourrique, pomme d’éléphant (French); chilta, girnar, karambel, hondapara, outenga (Hindi); fruta-estrela, árvore-da-pataca, árvore-do-dinheiro, bolsa-de-pastor, dilênia, flor-de-abril, maçã-de-elefante (Portuguese); manzano de los ele- fantes (Spanish); Chalthafrucht, Elephanten- apfel, Indischer Rosenapfel (German).
The Dillenia indica L. (1753) is an evergreen or semi-evergreen tree with a roundish crown, tall up to about 25 m with a reddish brown smooth bark which tends to flake off; the young branches are tomentose.
It has intense green coloured leaves, glossy on the upper side, alternate, usually grouped at the apex of the branches, of elliptic-oblong or obovate-oblong shape, 15-40 cm long and 7-14 cm broad, with prominent parallel lateral nervations and indented margins; the 2-6 cm long petioles are grooved and pubescent at the base.
The flowers are solitary, terminal, hanging on an about 8 cm long peduncle, great up to about 20 cm of diameter, with five roundish sepals, concave, thick and fleshy, 4-6 cm long, of a pale green colour. The corolla, formed by five white obovate petals, 7-10 cm long and 6-8 cm broad, surrounds several yellow stamina which form a compact mass on which stand out the white lanceolate styles, radially placed and about 2,5 cm long.
The fruit is an aggregate fruit with a diameter of 5 to 15 cm which comes from the enlargement of more ovaries, 15-20, with persistent fleshy sepals, indehiscent (it does not open when ripe), with 5 or more, reniform, of brown colour, seeds per each ovary. It easily reproduces by seed, which germinates in about one month at 20-25 °C, and by cutting; when by seed, the first fructification takes place after 8-10 years.
Very ornamental plant for its foliage, the great and perfumed flowers and the globular fruits, it is often utilized as shade tree in parks and gardens. It may be cultivated in the tropical and subtropical climates zones, with low temperatures which are not to be less than +10 °C, even if it may survive, for a short time, at temperatures close to the -2 °C. It prefers sandy, neutral or acidic, maintained wet, soils; if kept dry in winter, it may loose the leaves.
The fleshy sepals, with a pleasant acidulous flavour, are consumed raw or cooked, or utilized for preparing preserves and jellies and for aromatizing the curry; also the fruits are consumed, even if in lower quantity and mostly cooked, as they have a decidedly acidulous taste; they are slightly laxative, so it is better not to abuse of them.
The leaves, the bark and the fruits are utilized in the traditional medicine especially as anti-inflammatory; the juice of the fruit is utilized for preparing cough syrups and, blended with water and sugar, for reducing the fever, the bark for poultices for the arthritis.
Laboratory studies have evidenced also an anti-leukaemic activity of extracts from the fruits, due probably by the presence of betulinic acid.
The wood is compact and durable and has a moderate utilization in the buildings and for fabricating cages, plywood and other objects.
Synonyms: Dillenia speciosa Thunb. (1791); Dillenia elongata Miq. (1858).
The photographic file of Giuseppe Mazza | http://www.photomazza.com/?Dillenia-indica&lang=en | fineweb | 3,744 | 2.984375 |
Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the freedom to read
Banned Books Week: Sept. 24–30
More than a book a day faces expulsion from free and open public access in U.S. schools and libraries every year. There have been more than 10,000 attempts since the American Library Association (ALA) began electronically compiling and publishing information on book challenges in 1990. Thirty-five years after the first observance of Banned Books Week there are still attempts to remove books from public library shelves.
In one case, the Plymouth-Canton school district in Michigan considered banning both Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” and Graham Swift’s “Waterland” after complaints from some parents of objectionable content.
Both books were eventually allowed to stay on school shelves after a review committee heard from teachers, students and parents in support of the books during public meetings.
But, unfortunately, even with the help of outspoken supporters, books are still being removed.
'The ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves ... is a right'"Forever" by Judy Blume was one of more than 70 titles a Fayetteville, Ark., mother requested be removed in 2012. Twenty-five years earlier, the book was restricted in the Park Hill (Mo.) South Junior High School library because the book promotes "the stranglehold of humanism on life in America."
"Throughout history, there always have been a few people who don’t want information to be freely available. And this is still true. We hope to remind Americans that the ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves freely is a right, not a privilege," said ALA President Jim Neal. "The reason more books aren’t banned is because community residents - with librarians, teachers and journalists - stand up and speak out for their freedom to read. Banned Books Week reminds us that we must remain vigilant."
The ALA and the Ramapo Catskill Library System are endorsing the observance of Banned Books Week Sept. 24–30, an annual celebration of our right to access books without censorship. This observance commemorates the most basic freedom in a democratic society – the freedom to read freely – and encourages us not to take this freedom for granted.
'Cornerstone of democracy'“Banned Books Week is about choice and respecting the rights of others to choose for themselves and their families what they wish to read,” said Robert Hubsher, executive director of the Ramapo Catskill Library System. “Book banning and challenging has a domino effect. If we stand by and let the first book come off the shelf, we run the risk they will all come tumbling down. American libraries are the cornerstones of our democracy. Libraries are for everyone, everywhere. Because libraries provide free access to a world of information, they bring opportunity to all people.”
Challenges and attempts to remove books during the past year are as strong as ever. Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.
About 70 percent of challenges take place in schools and school libraries.
According to James LaRue, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.
"We are as busy as we’ve ever been in fighting censorship attempts in schools and libraries," LaRue said. "Libraries are no longer simply about books - but also about DVDs, videogames and online information."
Young adult titles "Young Adult books are challenged more frequently than any other type of book," said Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week National Committee. "These are the books that speak most immediately to young people, dealing with many of the difficult issues that arise in their own lives, or in the lives of their friends. These are the books that give young readers the ability to safely explore the sometimes scary real world and allow them the freedom to read books that are relevant for them, and to be able to make their own reading choices.”
In recent years, the majority of the most frequently challenged books in libraries have been Young Adult (YA) titles. The top five most challenged books in 2016 reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:
1. "This One Summer" by Mariko Tamaki
2. "Drama" by Raina Telgemeier
3. "George" by Alex Gino
4. "I Am Jazz" by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
5. "Two Boys Kissing" by David Levithan
Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the ALA, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
Read onNow, more than ever, celebrate the freedom to read at your library. American libraries are the cornerstones of our democracy. Libraries are for everyone, everywhere.
Is your favorite book safe?
Don’t close the book on your freedom to read.
Because libraries provide free access to a world of information and they bring opportunity to all people.
Remember, think for yourself and let others do the same.
Elect to read an old favorite or a new banned book this week.
This article was provided by the the Ramapo Catskill Library System, which represents more than 50 library systems in Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster counties. These include the libaries in Chester, Florida, Goshen, Greenwood Lake, Monroe, Tuxedo Park, Warwick and Woodbury. | http://www.pikecountycourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20170923/OPINION02/170929984/0/11/Celebrating-the-35th-anniversary--of-the-freedom-to-read&template=printart | fineweb | 5,600 | 2.890625 |
Infrastructure, Social Structure and Superstructure of Ancient Sparta
$19.95 Buy and instantly download this paper now
The paper relates that Spartan culture is a great example of how a society's infrastructure will directly affect both its social structure and superstructure. Furthermore, the paper relates that Spartan culture also serves as a warning that any society that becomes too rigid in its structure and too static in its values will not last long when confronted with more agile and adaptable cultures. This paper explores why Sparta became the Hellenic army par excellence, how this worked to create a very specific social structure founded on martial values, and, finally, how that social structure would ultimately be the undoing of the culture.
From the Paper:"Like most Greek states of the Archaic and Classical Era, the Spartan city-state was a militaristic one. Sparta, however, took the idea to its extreme. In order to become the best soldiers, Spartan citizens had to dedicate their entire lives to the occupation. In fact to be a soldier - a hoplite - was the full infrastructure of Spartan society. While most Greek city-states looked down on labor, physical work, and even working for profit, they still had to work for a living, produce something. "The Spartans alone had no need to earn a living and devoted themselves exclusively to military training" (Kagan, 2004).
"Burckhardt describes the Greeks as a people who came to believe that competition and conflict - the struggle or agon- was one of the highest values in life. "This way of life was incompatible with any economic activity; the agon occupied the whole of existence" (Burckhardt, 1998). While this can be found in their love of sports like wrestling, and the Olympic Games in general, and even in the pride they took in outfitting triremes or their own armor, one citizen trying to outdo the other, these activities were all centered around the individual. But in Greek culture the individual was always subordinate to the state, and the agon between states is war."
Sample of Sources Used:
- Burckhardt, Jacob, The Greeks and Greek Civilization, St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10010, 1998.
- Kagan, Donald,The Peloponnesian War, Penguin Books, 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL, England, 2004.
- Prins, Harald& McBride, Bunny, Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge, www.amazon.com/Anthropology-Challenge...A.../113394132X
- Runciman, W.G.,Greek Hoplites, Warrior Culture, and Indirect Bias, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 4 No. 4, Dec. 1998.
- Talbert, Richard, The Role of the Helots in the Class Struggle at Sparta, Historia: ZeitschriftfurAlteGeschichte
Cite this Analytical Essay:
Infrastructure, Social Structure and Superstructure of Ancient Sparta (2013, December 16) Retrieved December 07, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/infrastructure-social-structure-and-superstructure-of-ancient-sparta-153770/
"Infrastructure, Social Structure and Superstructure of Ancient Sparta" 16 December 2013. Web. 07 December. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/infrastructure-social-structure-and-superstructure-of-ancient-sparta-153770/> | https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/infrastructure-social-structure-and-superstructure-of-ancient-sparta-153770/ | fineweb | 3,197 | 3.21875 |
Trade Association is an association of traders or producers engaged in the same line of trade whose major aim is to protect and safeguard the interest of their members as well as their business. Examples are M.O.A.L.S (Motorcycle Operators Association of Lagos State)
Table of Contents
FEATURES OF TRADE ASSOCIATION
- Membership is voluntary
- They are regionally based
- Its main aim is to protect or safeguard the interest of members
- It is financed from the subscriptions paid by members.
FUNCTIONS OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
- They assist needy members financially and morally.
- They ensure uniformity in the mode of operation of their trade
- Provision of information (i.e. trade/technical/credit information) for members.
- Settlement of dispute among members.
- Education of members about latest developments affecting their trade.
- Fixing of minimum prices for their goods/services.
- Promotion of research work for the benefit of all members.
- Ensuring the maintenance of high standard in the quality of goods/services.
- Regulation of the activities of members and maintenance of professional ethics.
- Safeguarding and advancing the common interest of members.
- Serving as trade referees, especially on home trade
- Liaising with the government on policies affecting their trade and their trade members e.g. by acting as pressure groups.
DISADVANTAGES OF TRADE ASSOCIATION
- They sometimes restrict entry into their trade.
- They reduce supply of goods in order to create artificial scarcity, thereby linking prices
- They can hold the community to ransom, thereby causing crises (eg transporters)
- State five functions of trade associations
- List four features of trade association.
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
A chamber of commerce is a voluntary association of businessmen, tradesmen and entrepreneurs from different commercial fields or various lines of business in a town, city or country who have come together to promote trade, commerce, industry, agriculture and mining in a particular town, city, area or country e.g. Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (LCCIMA).
A chamber of commerce is not restricted to a particular trade (i.e. it embraces all industrial commercial activities such as manufacturing trade, transport, banking etc.
FUNCTIONS OF CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
- They organize trade fairs and exhibitions
- They promote both home trade and foreign trade
- They co-operate with other chambers of commerce.
- Collection and dissemination of information to all members and the general public
- They settle disputes among members.
- They advise government on matters of trade.
- They issue certificate of origin.
- They act as pressure groups
- They act as watchdog in the administration of government laws
- Education of members through seminars conferences etc.
This is an association of producers that come together for the mutual economic and trade benefits of members.
AIMS AND FUNCTIONS OF MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
- They promote trade both local and foreign
- They act as a pressure group
- They attract foreign investors
- They ensure the production of standard goods
- They promote export of manufactured goods.
- State five functions of chamber of commerce.
- Give two differences between a trade association and a chamber of commerce.
GENERAL EVALUATION QUESTIONS
- List eight means of payment in business
- Give five reasons for the protection of consumers
- State five measures taken to protect consumers
- What is a channel of distribution
- Explain five advantages of home trade over foreign trade
- Which union is formed by the workers of firms of similar lines of business to cater for their interests (a) Co-operative (b) Firms (c) Employee’s (d) Trade
- A voluntary body formed by members of a particular branch of trade or industry to represent the interest of members is known as (a) Industrial association (b) Co-operative society (c) Manufacturers’ association (d) Trade association.
- Which of the following advises members on tariff and currency regulations of other countries (a) Employers association (b) Trade union (c) Consumer association (d) Chamber of commerce
- Which of the following is a voluntary association of businessmen and professionals formed for the purpose of promoting trade (a) Labour union (b) Employer’s Association (c) Chamber of Commerce (d) Wholesaler’s Association
- Which of the following is a duty of the Employers Association (A) Procuring raw materials at regular intervals (b) Establishing a uniform wage scale (c) Negotiating with the government on sales (d) Discharging workers when production is low.
- What is a trade association?
- State four features of a chamber of commerce | https://www.acadlly.com/trade-association-chambers-of-commerce/ | fineweb | 4,679 | 2.734375 |
Climate and soil in the region are ideal for grape growing and development of the wine industry particularly in the Tikves area where influences of the Continental and Mediterranean climate are colliding. Several interesting facts related to the climate:
Mixed influence of Continental and Mediterranean climate with warm days and cooler nights, combined with terroir rich in carbonates and minerals and small percentage of rainfall, leads to concentration of acids and sugars providing lush color and intense wine aroma. Number of sunny days in the year is 260
Average annual temperature is 13,6 degrees °C.
Temperatures in summer rise above 40 degrees °C.
Tikves region is the driest area in the Balkan Peninsula.
Povardarie winery does not own vineyards and is buying the grapes from individual producers – farmers, long term partners.
Macedonia has around 24.000 ha of vineyards. Its territory is divided to 16 wine districts.
Most frequent soil type is alluvial eroded carbonate soil, and flooded alluvium.
Macedonia produces around 245.000 tons of grape equaling to 220 million liters of wine and consumes around 10 million liters annually or around 5% of the production.
Grape and wine production represents 17-20% of GDP and is second ranked export product after tobacco.
This area is perfect for growing Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vranec and Pinot Noir of the red, and Chardonnay, Zilavka, Smederevka, Traminec. Riesling, Sauvignon Blank and other white varieties.
Of the indigenous varieties Macedonia has Stanushina which is characterized with dark red color with shades of orange. This variety produces light refreshing wines with aromas of strawberry, good acidity and weak tannins.
Most widespread varieties of wine grape in Macedonia are Smederevka and Vranec.
Smederevka is indigenous Balkan variety which gives easy to drink, refreshing and harmonic wines with specific taste and smell of the variety and greenish-yellow color.
Vranec is most famous and widespread red variety in Macedonia and constitutes 80% of the red varieties. It is indigenous Montenegrin variety that produces wine with dark ruby red color, characteristic mixed aroma of prunes, blackberries and raspberries, full body, soft tannins and unique long finish. | http://www.povardarie.com.mk/region | fineweb | 2,247 | 3 |
14. The Right to Seek a Safe Place to Live. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.
Some of these rights seem so basic one wonders why they were required to be stated at all. But 70 years after these rights were agreed to, we still need to be reminded. The Right to Asylum is a basic human right, which bestows upon us the right to be free of persecution. And it requires the signatories of the Declaration of Human Rights to duty to help provide a safe harbor for those that would be persecuted, harmed or killed from the place they are fleeing. | http://www.project1948.ngo/peace-journal/2016/2/12/30-days-of-human-rights-article-14-the-right-to-seek-a-safe-place-to-live | fineweb | 635 | 3.140625 |
Today there is a growing community of human rights activists in the U.S., around the world, and especially in Palestine-Israel whose behavior mirrors and extends King’s confrontation with injustice in their own efforts to break the silence on the injustice of the cruel, oppressive Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian people. They realize that by maintaining a deafening silence, mainstream U.S. media and political leadership keep large segments of the U.S. population ignorant about the true nature of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice, and human rights. Few Americans know that the Palestinian freedom struggle has been predominantly nonviolent for the vast majority of Palestinians, and has always been grounded in some of the same principles expounded by Martin Luther King, Jr.
In his “Letter,” King identifies four basic components of a nonviolent campaign: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.” So what are the facts of the Israeli injustices against the Palestinian people? For more than 62 years beginning in 1948, reminiscent of the ethnic cleansing experienced by Native Americans, Palestinian Muslims and Christians (the indigenous descendants of the first Christians) have suffered as the Israeli government expels them from their homelands, creating the state of Israel upon the 500-plus Arab-Palestinian towns and villages. The suffering continues under a 42-year Israeli occupation marked by land confiscations for settlement building and wall construction and by restrictions on movement: to work, markets and water; to agricultural land and olive trees; to health facilities and educational institutions; and to Christian and Muslim religious sites, all but destroying family ties – discrimination similar to America’s segregated past. The separation wall and Israeli-only roads and settlements in Palestine divide populations racially for the benefit of illegal Israeli settlers (echoes of apartheid South Africa). Israel’s apartheid system has caused thousands of civilian deaths, many of them children, and widespread human rights violations. While the injustices mount, Israel has defied rulings by the International Court of Justice, violating more than 65 UN Resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Americans have been led to believe that Palestinians have not been “honest partners for peace.” The truth is, however, negotiating for their freedom has been a daunting task. Palestinians have experienced the same broken promises, “blasted” hopes, and deep disappointments that King describes in his negotiations with Birmingham’s white leaders. President Clinton’s famed Oslo Peace Process began in 1993 with negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli leadership and the promise to end Israel’s occupation and the formation of a Palestinian state. Essential to these negotiations, however, was a blatant imbalance of power: on the stronger side, the nation of Israel, militarily superior and prosperous, supported by the wealth and power of the U.S., controlling more than 78% of original Palestine; on the weaker side, the Palestinians, barely surviving and holding on to the remaining 22% of land. Currently, Palestinian leadership has refused to return to negotiations due to Israel’s unwillingness to abide by past agreements and to cease expanding illegal settlements. Israel has scoffed at and dismissed longstanding U.S. policy of ending illegal Israeli settlement expansion in Palestine, a policy that President Obama attempted but failed to enforce upon Israel.
Surviving this imbalance and the suffering it causes has been traumatic for Palestinians, requiring unimaginable resources of strength and faith. King would have identified with their plight and their need to find ways to cope with and confront their circumstances in ways that enable them to sustain themselves. King describes the process of self-purification as self-analysis and a way of discovering the extent to which he and his fellow protesters were prepared to endure the ordeals of their nonviolent actions. For many Palestinians, their lives as devoted Muslims and Christians make self-purification through fasting and prayer a much-practiced tradition and surely one that has empowered them during nearly 100 years of suffering and injustice. One ultimate self-purifying act within Palestinian society is articulated in the recent Kairos Document by Palestine’s Christian leadership, a document that proclaims “that our Christian word in the midst of all [the tragedies in our lives], in the midst of our catastrophe, is a word of faith, hope and love.” http://www.voltairenet.org/article163282.html
While Americans know well the direct action tactics of the movement King led, little do they know about the decades of Palestinian engagement in nonviolent, civil resistance for justice and freedom. As far back as 1902, Palestinian villagers, in what is now Israel, staged peaceful protests against confiscation of their land by European Zionist settlers. From 1987 to 1993, during the largely nonviolent mass movement of the First Intifada, Palestinians were involved in mass public demonstrations, refusing to pay taxes, boycotting Israeli goods and facilities, and planting olive trees on land confiscated by Israelis. But the most effective resistance to Israeli expulsions, expansionism, and occupation has been their refusal to stop “living in their homes, going to school, eating and living.” According to Palestinian scholar and human rights activist Mazin Qumsiyeh, “this colonial occupation wants all Palestinians to give up and leave the country. . . . When Shepherds . . . go to their fields despite repeated attacks by settlers and even the attempted poisoning of their sheep, that is non-violent resistance. When Palestinians walk to school while being spat on, kicked and beaten by settlers and soldiers, that is non-violent resistance. When Palestinians spend hours at check points to get to hospital, their farm land, their work, their schools, or to visit their friends, that is non-violent resistance.” http://www.qumsiyeh.org/palestiniannonviolentresistance/
More recently, Palestinians, along with Israeli and international activists, are resisting by protesting the construction of the separation wall that is stealing more of their land. In February, demonstrators in the village of Bil’in cleverly invoked Hollywood, reenacting the film Avatar by dressing up as the blue Na’vi natives opposing the encroaching occupation of an Alien (human) corporate empire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chw32qG-M7E Israel’s typical response to these nonviolent protests and others by Palestinians against home expulsions in East Jerusalem includes shooting rubber bullets and live ammunition, tossing tear gas, and showering protesters with sewage – the Israeli equivalent of Alabama’s Bull Connor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC1xG4j5kdA&feature=related
While dozens of Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations are participants in this nonviolent, civil rights movement, the international community is also supporting the campaign by heeding the call of Palestinian Civil Society in 2005 for boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. This international campaign (inspired by the international BDS campaign against apartheid South Africa) is the most politically and morally sound civil resistance strategy for ending Israeli occupation of Palestine until Israel complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights. Closer to home, human rights activists here in Minnesota recently received extraordinary support at precinct caucuses for the “Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign: Divest for Justice in Palestine,” a campaign calling on the state of Minnesota to divest from Israel Bonds.
King’s appeal to the Birmingham clergy, pleading with them to break their silence and speak for justice, is equal to the pleas of the Palestinian Christian leadership of the Kairos Document as they call on Christians and Muslims, Palestinians and Israelis, and the world community for a serious commitment to justice and freedom for the Palestinian people. Furthermore, King is critical of the lax leadership of his fellow clergy and reminds them of the early Christians; they, too, struggled against injustices and endured criticisms but remained steadfast in their beliefs, thus, determined to transform “the mores of society.” How ironic that the descendants of the first Christians, the Palestinian Christian leadership, find themselves repeating the struggle for justice of their ancestors. Today this is their message to the world: “These days, everyone is speaking about peace in the Middle East and the peace process. So far, however, these are simply words; the reality is one of Israeli occupation . . . [and] deprivation of our freedom.”
Sanna Nimtz Towns, Ph.D., is a Retired Teacher and has traveled twice to Palestine-Israel, in 2005 on a research-related St. Paul Schools Travel Grant for teachers and this past summer. Much of her work on Palestine-Israel involves educating others and especially students about the conflict. | http://www.insightnews.com/commentary/5648-king-and-the-palestinian-struggle-for-freedom | fineweb | 9,204 | 3.1875 |
Author: Laura Devaney
Imagine the future
It is not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’ governments, industry and society will transform to a low carbon bioeconomy. Developments across research, policy and markets represent key steps in realising your future biobased morning routine.
In the bioeconomy, dependence on fossil-fuels is reduced, whilst still achieving economic growth. Therefore, renewable biological resources, such as plants and seaweed, are converted into food, feed and bio-based products. The future bio-economy also draws upon ideals of the ‘circular economy’ where the waste of one sector represents a valuable input to another: for example, forestry pulp is used to produce bio-energy. Innovation, knowledge and value addition represent essential building blocks of the future biobased society. “The transition to a sustainable low-carbon bioeconomy is just around the corner for Europe” says Dr. Laura Devaney from Teagasc in Ireland.
It’s 2050 and people managed to transform to a bioeconomy. Waking up, your house feels nice and warm as your home anaerobic digester heats your house using food waste and grass biomass resources. You consider your options for a delicious, healthy and sustainable breakfast, deciding on a protein shake derived from dairy by-products and a seaweed-based supplement for an extra boost of antioxidants. You brush your teeth with your trusty bioplastic toothbrush and shower using a range of biobased cosmetics derived from marine discards. You drive to work in the local biorefinery, a centre that processes waste and other biological materials to create food, bioenergy and many other products. Your car is of course also powered by biofuel, produced from recovered vegetable oil…
The above scenario may seem overly optimistic, but it may be closer than you think. More than 98% of the energy and chemicals used in the year 2000 were derived from fossil-fuel based resources. By 2100, more than 95% of chemicals and polymers can, and must, derive from renewable resources. As a society, we are facing escalating challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, resource scarcity, food security, economic sustainability and growing populations. The need to transition to more sustainable, low carbon ways of living is increasingly recognised.
The bioeconomy concept offers one possible way to address these challenges. It is not a matter of if, but when, society makes this transition. The bioeconomy is gaining traction worldwide, coming to the forefront in key policy documents at both global and EU scales. At the European level, the current bioeconomy is estimated to provide employment for over 22 million people, with a turnover of approximately €2 trillion (EC, 2012).
These lucrative markets producing biofuels, biofertilisers, biochemicals and bioplastics are only beginning to be exploited. The opportunities available are endless and exciting, including the use of agricultural by-product and even pest species for chemical biorefining. We can use side-streams of food production for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and bioenergy creations. The extraction of valuable proteins and bioactives from underutilised marine resources and fish processing discards can also be valorised.
This article was written by Dr. Laura Devaney, Dr. Áine Regan, and Dr. Maeve Henchion who are involved in bioeconomy research projects within Teagasc. Teagasc is the agriculture and food development authority in Ireland. Its mission is to support science-based innovation in the agri-food sector and the broader bioeconomy that will underpin profitability, competitiveness and sustainability. Fill out the ‘get in touch’ section below if you have any questions after reading this article.
O’Connor, K. (2015) Sustainable polymers for packaging, presentation at Food Processing Waste: Maximising Hidden Resources for Sustainable Food Processing Conference, University College Dublin, Dublin, 10th July 2015 [Online] Available at: http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/KOConnor.pdf (accessed: 14/10/15). Click here. | https://www.tasteofscience.com/articles/609/imagine-the-future.html | fineweb | 4,043 | 3.109375 |
Winter began with record low temperatures and ended on record highs.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research has released its climate summary for winter.
Climate scientist Georgina Griffiths says temperatures in May fell to 2 degrees celsius below average, June and July were 1°C below, but August was 1.7°C above average.
Freezing cold southerlies, snow and frost were felt across much of the country in June.
But northerly winds meant the second half of August was particularly warm, with Timaru recording the warmest temperature at 22.2°C .
NIWA says Gisborne had the highest one-day rainfall. A Civil Defence emergency was put in place when 205 millimetres fell in late June.
Tornadoes damaged properties in Kaitaia, Cromwell and Opunake, while high winds and heavy rain caused havoc in Gisborne, Northland, Wellington and Wairarapa in July.
Of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest and Christchurch was the coldest. | http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/15316/winter-a-season-of-extremes | fineweb | 946 | 2.8125 |
January 7, 2011
Circumcision Prevents HPV
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study reveals circumcision may prevent the spread of the human papillomavirus (HPV).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. There are more than 40 HPV types that can infect the genital areas of males and females. These HPV types can also infect the mouth and throat. In women, a high-risk HPV infection can be a precondition for cervical cancer.Previous studies have shown that male circumcision reduces the prevalence of high-risk HPV infection in men. For this study, researchers assessed participants who were enrolled in two randomized controlled trials in Rakai, Uganda. They found circumcision in HIV-negative men provides protection against the transmission of HPV to HIV-negative women.
The studies enrolled HIV-negative men and their female partners between 2003 and 2006. Men were assigned to undergo circumcision immediately (the intervention group) or after 24 months (the control group). HIV-negative female partners were tested for HPV at the beginning of the study, at 12 months and at 24 months.
Results showed women who were with a male partner who was circumcised (in the intervention group) had a 23-percent lower risk of being infected with high-risk HPV.
The study authors write, "Along with previous trial results in men, these findings indicate that male circumcision should now be accepted as an efficacious intervention for reducing heterosexually acquired high-risk and low-risk HPV infections in men who do not have HIV and in their female partners. However, our results indicate that protection is only partial; the promotion of safe sex practices is also important."
SOURCE: The Lancet, January 2011 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1975639/circumcision_prevents_hpv/ | fineweb | 1,775 | 2.765625 |
Figure 1.9. Changes in physical and biological systems and surface temperature. Background shading and the key at the bottom right show changes in gridded surface temperatures over the period 1970 to 2004 (from the GHCN-ERSST dataset). The 2*2 boxes show the total number of data series with significant changes (top row) and the percentage of those consistent with warming (bottom row) for (i) continental regions; North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Polar Regions; and (ii) global-scale: Terrestrial (TER), Marine and Freshwater (MFW), and Global (GLO). The numbers of studies from the seven regional boxes do not add up to the global totals because numbers from regions except Polar do not include the numbers related to Marine and Freshwater systems. White areas do not contain sufficient observational climate data to estimate a temperature trend. | http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/figure-1-9.html | fineweb | 899 | 3.46875 |
Incense has been used in the worship of God since the time of Moses, and its use is commanded by God (Exodus 30). Clouds of incense symbolise the glory of God that is present as we worship Him. When the Priest directs the incense towards the worshipers he is paying homage and respect to the image of God in each one of us. Let's learn about what incense is, how it is used in worship, and its historical significance.
What is incense?
It is a material consisting of aromatic gums and spices that produces a fragrant smoke when burned. The ingredients are usually frankincense (a fragrant gum resin chiefly from East African or Arabian trees), styrax (a resin from trees of the witch-hazel family), benzoin (a resin from trees in S.E. Asia), and cascarilla bark (a west Indian shrub) combined in various proportions. Other substances often used in incense include balsam, cinnamon, myrrh, sandalwood and musk.
Remember that ‘frankincense’ was one of the gifts brought to Jesus by the three wise men from the East (Matthew 2:11).
Incense is used by placing it in a censer with burning charcoal, which makes a beautiful fragrance waft up.
The censer is a small bowl or basin hanging from three chains. The chains have bells attached to them, so that when the censer is swung or rocked back-and-forth it creates a sweet sound as it fills the room with incense.
The basin represents the sacred womb of the Mother of Christ this bears the divine coal who is Christ, Who fills the whole universe with fragrance.
The twelve bells on the censer represent the twelve apostles proclaiming the joy of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and the three chains represent the Trinity.
The incense symbolises the rising of our prayers to God.
In Psalm 141:2 we read:
Let my prayer be set before You as incense.
The significance of ‘fragrance’
As a rose that is crushed produces a powerful fragrance, even more so, the Body of Jesus when broken on the cross for our salvation produced the sweetest fragrance this world has ever experienced. Ephesians 5:2 says:
Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
We should remember the words of 2 Corinthians 2:14-15:
God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance. For we are like a sweet smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost.
A prayer from the ancient liturgy of St. James says:
Receive from us, your unworthy servants, O Lord, this incense for a fragrant sacrifice, and make fragrant the stench of our soul and body.
John of Kronstadt once said:
The fragrance of incense reminds us by analogy of the fragrance of virtue, and by contrast of the evil odour of sins.
One supplicatory Canon has this prayer:
Jesus, sweet scented Flower, make me fragrant.
The concept of the fragrant offering has also been incorporated into the liturgy:
For the precious gifts here offered... let us pray... that our God who loves mankind, Who has received them into His holy and heavenly altar for a sweet-smelling savour of spiritual fragrance may send down upon us divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit
Incense is also used in the funeral service: the body of the deceased is censed to pay respect to the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Incense as a confession of faith
In the Roman Empire subjects of Caesar were required to throw a pinch of incense into a fire which burned in front of his statue acknowledging Caesar to be their true lord. The early Christians refused to do this and were thrown to the lions.
Burning incense before Jesus is a public confession of faith in Him as our true Lord.
Incense in the Bible
When God gave Moses instructions for the Tabernacle that was built in the wilderness, he was told to build an altar of incense immediately before the Holy of Holies. An offering was to burn continually on the coals of fire. Exodus 30 contains instructions for building an altar for the burning of incense. Exodus 30:7-8 reads:
Every morning when Aaron comes to get the lamps ready, he is to burn sweet-smelling incense on [the altar]. He must do the same when he lights the lamps in the evening. This offering of incense is to continue without interruption for all time to come.
There were regular times during the day when it was specifically attended. The continually rising smoke symbolized the prayers of God’s people. It was the custom in the Old Testament for one priest to be selected by lot each day to offer incense to God.
In Old Testament thought, the presence of God is regularly connected with a cloud, like when Moses met God in a cloud (Ex.19:16), and when a cloud overshadowed Christ at His Transfiguration, the voice of God spoke from the cloud (Mark 9:7).
Saint Symeon of Salonika writes:
Like a cloud also the incense is offered, symbolizing the Holy Spirit and the transmission of His divine grace and fragrance.
In Luke 1:8-23 we read the story of the Priest Zechariah — husband of Elizabeth — who was to be the father of John the Baptist. In the story it was the day when Zechariah had been selected to perform the incense offering. While he was attending to the incense in the Temple the Angel Gabriel appeared to him and foretold the birth of a son.
In the Revelation of John 8:3-4:
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer: and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.
We see here that incense represents the prayers of the saints, both those in heaven and those on earth, rising up to God as a fragrant offering of thanksgiving, as they sing the song, “Worthy is the Lamb.” | https://www.thegoodshepherd.org.au/incense | fineweb | 5,794 | 3 |
How to Manage Pests
UC Pest Management Guidelines
Darkling beetle adults are from 0.13 to 0.25 inch (3.5 to 6 mm) long and vary from black or bluish black to rusty brown. They may be hidden by dust or a thin veneer of soil. Larvae are cylindrical, wirewormlike, soil-inhabiting worms that are light yellow to dark brown and range from 0.03 to 0.33 inch (0.8 to 8 mm) in length. They are often referred to as false wireworms.
Development from egg to adult may require 50 days during summer. Eggs hatch in 3 to 6 days and there can be five larval instars. The pupal period lasts 8 days or longer. Beetles are frequently numerous in spring and early summer and may be seen running on the ground but are more frequently found under clods or organic debris during daylight hours.
Damage is often caused during the seedling stage of plant growth. Young plants may be girdled or cut off at or below the soil surface. After the plants reach a height of 5 to 6 inches, darkling beetles are usually not a problem.
Start inspecting plants for darkling beetle damage along with other pests and their damage when the crop emerges. Treat if darkling beetles are causing a reduction in stand of the young plants. Infestations are frequently spotty, and damage and treatment may be confined to field margins or specific portions of the field.
UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Dry | http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r52301311.html | fineweb | 1,365 | 3.265625 |
Let us explore what semiology is made of and see how we can connect these conclusions to music.
Semiology is broken into the signifier, the signified, and the sign. Roland Barthes describes their relationship in his essay “Myth Today”:
“For what we grasp is not at all one term after the other, but the correlation which unites them: there are, therefore, the signifier, the signified, and the sign, which is the associative total of the first two terms”.
The example Barthes uses is a bouquet of roses (signifier) conveying passion (signified) with the sign being the “associative total” of the roses and passion.
What adds another layer to this semiotic relationship is how the signifier and signified work to create a sign. If there are multiple signifieds for a signifier, a sign does not reveal itself. Put one signified in, however, and a sign arises.
Barthes makes note of this with an example: “…take a black pebble: I can make it signify in several ways, it is a mere signifier; but if I weigh it with a definite signified (a death sentence, for instance, in an anonymous vote), it will become a sign”.
Generally, musicians are not ones to label their music. They often defy such a prospect openly. If labeling were to happen semiotically speaking, the signifier would have one signified. A sign, then, would be present. Is this push to defy categorization a push against one’s music becoming a sign?
That would imply that a sign carries negative connotations; as if signs are used to propagate the profit of record executives. But are signs used exclusively for financial and marketing situations?
A band could signify a particular thought process that coincides with a scene of musical people that also signify the same thing. It opens happens vice versa as well. The sign works in a communal way, bringing like minded semiotic systems together.
And yet was not that what happened with the previous example? Even if it is under the guise of big business, at its base is the same musical-cultural semiotic event.
Nevertheless, music can and does have multiple interpretations. Does that mean that there is less of a sign? Maybe a music can exist as many signs because people settle with different signifieds for the same signifier. That would imply everyone is hearing the signified in the same way. Are we really?
This, along with semiology in general, begs to be explored. | https://cjeller.wordpress.com/2016/10/16/unlabeled-and-unsigned/ | fineweb | 2,384 | 2.890625 |
Coral Reefs are some of the most fascinating, important, and vulnerable ecosystems in the world. They hold a high environmental value due to species abundance and biodiversity, containing more species per unit area than any other marine environment. Healthy reefs also contribute to local economies through tourism and fishing. Over the past few decades, coral reefs have been degrading due to climate change and other anthropogenic causes such as overfishing and pollution. Hughes et al. (2012) evaluated the composition of assemblages in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef using multiscale sampling and analyses determined that the assembly rules, a set of ecological rules determining patterns of assemblage composition, of corals in the Great Barrier Reef are flexible, and do not change in response to latitudinal climatic drivers. Because the diverse pool of species they sampled are able to assemble in different configurations across a large range of environments, Hughes and colleagues support the hypothesis that coral reef assemblages will change extensively in the future, but not necessarily collapse due to climate change as long as greenhouse gas emissions are reduced sufficiently.—Kelsey Waite
Hughes, T.P., Baird, A.H., Dinsdale, E.A., Moltschaniwskyj, N.A., Pratchett, M.S., Tanner, J.E., Willis, B.L., 2012. Assembly rules of reef corals are flexible along a steep climatic gradient. Current Biology 22, 736-741.
Hughes and colleagues studied regional scale patterns in the composition of coral reef formations in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. They used a multiscale sampling approach in which 33 reefs, within five different regions, were sampled over a 12-month period. The coral composition, as well as the number of coral colonies and percent of coral coverage was taken at each reef. Over 35,000 colonies were categorized into 12 ecologically relevant groups (taxa) depending on their physiology, morphology, and life history. The variation in abundance of each of these 12 groups was then analyzed across the five regions.
Coral assemblages have two main habitats: reef crests (1–2m depth) and reef slopes (6–7m depth). The characteristic faunas of reef crests and reef slopes differ greatly. Hughes et al. suggest that assemblages do not show an increasing or decreasing trend with latitude or latitude-related temperature gradients since different taxa flourish while others decrease or remain constant in abundance as the environment changes. On crests, 9 of the 12 taxa varied among the five regions, while 7 out of 12 varied on the reef slopes. Only one of the 12 taxa was uniformly abundant on both the crests and slopes, the other 11 taxa showed significant spatial variation. Hughes and colleagues suggest that this spatial variation may be due to disturbance events such as cyclones, crown-of-thorn starfish predation, episodes of bleaching, or to pulses of recruitment by more dominant species. | https://climatevulture.com/2013/04/03/great-barrier-reef-corals-show-flexible-assembly-rules-across-a-steep-climatic-gradient/ | fineweb | 2,928 | 3.875 |
Podcast: Reconciliation and Health Reform
In this podcast, we will discuss a legislative tool called “reconciliation” and its role in health care reform. I’m Shannon Spillane and I’m joined by Paul Van de Water, a Senior Fellow at the Center.
1. Paul, reconciliation has gotten a lot of attention lately in relation to the health reform debate. Can you please explain briefly what reconciliation is and how it works?
Of course, Shannon. The Reconciliation process allows for expedited consideration of certain kinds of legislation. In particular, it prevents a minority of senators from thwarting the will of the majority by endlessly blocking a Senate vote on legislation that most members of the House and Senate support.
2. How would it be used in the health reform process?
In this case, reconciliation would be used to make a limited number of changes to the spending and tax policies in the health reform bill that the Senate already passed in late December.
3. Some opponents of health reform claim that using it in this way would be a misuse of reconciliation or would be unprecedented. Is that the case?
No, it isn’t. Some opponents of health reform claim that reconciliation has never been used for major policy changes. That’s just false.
For example, a Republican Congress used reconciliation for the sweeping welfare reform legislation it enacted in 1996.
Congress also used reconciliation to pass the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts.
4. Has reconciliation ever been used for health legislation?
Yes, it has. Congress has used reconciliation to establish entirely new health coverage programs and to substantially expand existing ones.
For example, Congress used reconciliation in 1997 to create the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which now provides subsidized coverage to 7 million children.
And in 1986, Congress used reconciliation to establish new rules that allow workers who leave a job with health insurance to remain enrolled in their employer’s health plan for a period of time if the worker pays the premiums. That’s now known as COBRA and the “R” in COBRA actually stands for reconciliation!
5. Is it true that any bill passed through reconciliation cannot add to the deficit?
Yes, that’s true. In 2007, the House and Senate adopted rules preventing Congress from using reconciliation to increase deficits and debt, as had been done with the passage of the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003.
If health reform is enacted in part through use of the reconciliation process, the reconciliation legislation will have to be designed so it does not add to the deficit.
This shouldn’t be a problem because both the House and Senate health reform bills that passed last year would reduce the deficit.
In fact, since rising health care costs are the largest single reason for projected long-run deficits, and health reform is designed to bring these costs under control, it’s entirely appropriate that health reform be considered through reconciliation.
6. So what’s the bottom line, Paul?
Congress should move forward with the reconciliation process so that we can finally achieve health reform that one: expands coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, two: brings needed reforms to the health insurance market, and three: reins in health care costs.
Thank you, Paul, for joining us. | https://www.cbpp.org/research/podcast-reconciliation-and-health-reform | fineweb | 3,303 | 2.578125 |
Fire breathing dragons and bombardier beetles
Most people believe dinosaurs became extinct before any humans existed, but many cultures have legends of creatures called dragons that closely resemble dinosaurs. This fact indicates that the extinction of dinosaurs must be very recent. (There are some who believe that there are still living dinosaurs. newanimal.org/ ) Some of these dragon legends speak of dragons that breath fire. Is it possible that such a creature actually existed? The best way to answer that question is to look at an animal that we know does exist, the bombardier beetle. Here is what Wikipedia says about it.
Bombardier beetles are ground beetles (Carabidae) in the tribes Brachinini, Paussini, Ozaenini, or Metriini—more than 500 species altogether—which are most notable for the defense mechanism that gives them their name: when disturbed, they eject a hot noxious chemical spray from the tip of their abdomen with a popping sound.
The spray is produced from a reaction between two chemical compounds, hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide, which are stored in two reservoirs in the beetle’s abdomen. When the aqueous solution of hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide reaches the vestibule, catalysts facilitate the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide and the oxidation of the hydroquinone. Heat from the reaction brings the mixture to near the boiling point of water and produces gas that drives the ejection. The damage caused can be fatal to attacking insects. Some bombardier beetles can direct the spray over a wide range of directions.
Bombardier beetles defend themselves by expelling a hot liquid from their bodies. What if some dinosaurs had this ability but expelled the liquid from its nose or mouth? Because dinosaurs are much larger than beetles the amount of liquid would be much greater and if it landed on something flammable it might even be capable of starting a fire. To an observer it would appear that the dinosaur or dragon was breathing fire. Fire breathing dragons might not be a product of human imagination but something that actually did exist at one time. | https://clydeherrin.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/fire-breathing-dragons-and-bombardier-beetles/ | fineweb | 2,108 | 3.359375 |
Following is everything you need to know about a career as a mining or geological engineer with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:
We are dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis; including race, creed, color, age, sex, religion, national origin or
Provides information to management by assembling and summarizing data
Work includes inspection at large residential and commercial projects, and may include inspections at various mines throughout Nevada. Candidates
This position will be a mix of office and field work. Knowledge of Microsoft Office
Agency-wide IT security program is dependent on the availability of highly trained and experienced senior computer security analyst and technical
The ideal candidate will have 2-5 years of experience in environmental consulting. The candidate should have direct experience and knowledge of
Mining and geological engineers design mines to safely and efficiently remove minerals such as coal and metals for use in manufacturing and utilities.
Mining and geological engineers typically do the following:
Geological engineers search for mineral deposits and evaluate possible sites. Once a site is identified, they plan how the metals or minerals will be extracted in efficient and environmentally sound ways.
Mining engineers often specialize in one particular mineral or metal, such as coal or gold. They typically design and develop mines and determine the best way to extract metal or minerals to get the most out of deposits.
Some mining engineers work with geoscientists and metallurgical engineers to find and evaluate ore deposits. Other mining engineers develop new equipment or direct mineral-processing operations to separate minerals from dirt, rock, and other materials.
Mining safety engineers use best practices and their knowledge of mine design to ensure workers' safety and to maintain compliance with state and federal safety regulations. They inspect the walls and roofs of mines, monitor the air quality, and examine mining equipment for possible hazards.
Engineers who hold a master's or a doctoral degree may teach engineering at colleges and universities. For more information, see the profile on postsecondary teachers.
Mining and geological engineers hold about 7,300 jobs. The largest employers of mining and geological engineers are as follows:
|Metal ore mining||12|
|Oil and gas extraction||12|
Many work where mining operations are located, such as mineral mines or sand-and-gravel quarries, in remote areas or near cities and towns. Others work in offices or onsite for oil and gas extraction firms or engineering services firms.
Most mining and geological engineers work full time, and about 2 in 5 work more than 40 hours a week. The remoteness of some mining locations gives rise to variable schedules and weeks during which they work more hours than usual.
Get the education you need: Find schools for Mining and Geological Engineers near you!
A bachelor's degree from an accredited engineering program is required to become a mining or geological engineer, including a mining safety engineer. Requirements for licensure vary by state but most states require applicants to pass two exams.
High school students interested in entering mining or geological engineering programs in college should take courses in mathematics and science.
Relatively few schools offer mining engineering or geological engineering programs. Typical bachelor's degree programs in mining engineering include courses in geology, physics, thermodynamics, mine design and safety, and mathematics. Bachelor's degree programs in geological engineering typically include courses in geology, chemistry, fluid mechanics, physics, and mathematics. Both types of programs also include laboratory and field work, as well as traditional classroom study.
A related degree, such as civil or environmental engineering or geoscience, may be acceptable for some positions as a mining or geological engineer.
Programs in mining and geological engineering are accredited by ABET, whose accreditation is based on a program's faculty, curriculum, facilities, and other factors.
Master's degree programs in mining and geological engineering typically are 2-year programs and include coursework in specialized subjects, such as mineral resource development and mining regulations. Some programs require a written thesis for graduation.
Analytical skills. Mining and geological engineers must take many factors into account when evaluating new mine locations and designing facilities. They must also plan for the restoration of the surrounding environment after operations end.
Decisionmaking skills. These engineers make decisions that influence many critical outcomes—from worker safety to mine production. The ability to anticipate problems and deal with them immediately is crucial.
Logical-thinking skills. In planning mines' operations, mineral processing, and environmental reclamation, these engineers have to put work plans into a coherent, logical sequence.
Math skills. Mining and geological engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work.
Problem-solving skills. Mining and geological engineers must explore for potential mines, plan their operations and mineral processing, and design environmental reclamation projects. These are all complex projects requiring an ability to identify and work toward goals, while solving problems along the way.
Writing skills. Mining and geological engineers must prepare reports and instructions for other workers. Therefore, they must be able to write clearly so that others can easily understand their ideas and plans.
Licensure is not required for entry-level positions as a mining or geological engineer. A Professional Engineering (PE) license, which allows for higher levels of leadership and independence, can be acquired later in one's career. Licensed engineers are called professional engineers (PEs). A PE can oversee the work of other engineers, sign off on projects, and provide services directly to the public. State licensure generally requires
The initial FE exam can be taken after one earns a bachelor's degree. Engineers who pass this exam are commonly called engineers in training (EITs) or engineer interns (EIs). After meeting work experience requirements, EITs and EIs can take the second exam, called the Principles and Practice of Engineering.
In several states, engineers must earn continuing education credits to keep their licenses. Most states recognize licenses from other states, provided that licensure requirements in the other states meet or exceed the first state's own requirements.
New mining and geological engineers usually work under the supervision of experienced engineers. In large companies, new engineers also may receive formal classroom or seminar-type training. As engineers gain knowledge and experience, they are assigned more difficult projects and they are given greater independence to develop designs, solve problems, and make decisions.
Engineers may advance to become technical specialists or supervise a staff or team of engineers and technicians. Some eventually become engineering managers or enter other managerial or sales jobs. In sales, an engineering background enables them to discuss a product's technical aspects and to assist in product planning, installation, and use. For more information, see the profiles on architectural and engineering managers and sales engineers.
The median annual wage for mining and geological engineers is $93,720. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $55,490, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $160,510.
The median annual wages for mining and geological engineers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
|Oil and gas extraction||$126,020|
|Metal ore mining||91,660|
Most mining and geological engineers work full time, and more than 2 in 5 work more than 40 hours a week. The remoteness of some mining locations gives rise to variable schedules and weeks during which they work more than usual.
Employment of mining and geological engineers is projected to grow 7 percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Employment growth for mining and geological engineers will depend upon demand for coal, metals, and minerals. These resources are used in many products, from construction materials and cars to cell phones and computers. More mining and geological engineers are expected to be employed by engineering services firms, which provide specialized mine exploration, design, and production services. As companies look for ways to cut costs, they are expected to contract more services with engineering services firms, rather than employ engineers directly.
|Occupational Title||Employment, 2016||Projected Employment, 2026||Change, 2016-26|
|Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers||7,300||7,900||7||500| | https://collegegrad.com/careers/mining-and-geological-engineers | fineweb | 9,422 | 2.96875 |
Find a mountain range, keep quiet, mimic the way the undead walk and NEVER fight
From a remote farmhouse to a shopping mall and even a bar, films are full of suggestions of where to hide out in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
But researchers have developed an apocalyptic simulator that suggests the best thing to do is literally run for the hills - if you live in the US at least.
Other advice from scientists-turned zombie experts, includes keeping silent and even mimicking zombie behaviour should you run into one of the fictional reanimated corpses with a taste for human flesh.
Use the simulator below to start a zombie apocalyse. Mobile users who cannot see the module can visit this website to play.
Researchers from Cornell have developed an apocalyptic simulator (shown above for web browsers) that suggests the best thing to do is literally run for the hills – if you live in the US at least.
Physicists Alexander Alemi, Matthew Bierbaum, Christopher Myers and James Sethna created a zombie simulator (screenshot shown of an uprising of the undead beginning in New York City) based on techniques used in in epidemiology – the study of how disease spreads and can be controlled – to work out how the apocalypse might play out in the US.
Physicists Alexander Alemi, Matthew Bierbaum, Christopher Myers and James Sethna of Cornell University, created a zombie simulator based on techniques used in in epidemiology – the study of how disease spreads – to work out how the apocalypse might play out in the US.
Their simulator allows users to choose the origin of where the zombies rise from the dead in the US, as well as change how quickly they can walk and bite, to infect humans.
Using the tool, they found cities would fall quickly, but it would take weeks for zombies to penetrate into less densely populated areas, and months to reach mountains in the northern states, meaning their advice is to head for the Rockies.
They worked on the basis there are four states a person can be in: human, infected, zombie, or slain zombie and these are dependent on possible interactions, including a zombie biting a human and a human killing a zombie, for example.
The simulator accommodates fluctuations in the ferocity of zombie attacks using a Gillespie algorithm - a probability tool from computational chemistry that's useful in situations where outcomes may depend on random events, the Institute of Physics' magazine, Physics World reported.
This means it can account for every single human–zombie interaction, making it possible, for example, for 'patient zero' or the first zombie to be killed and the whole plague nipped in the bud before it really begins.
The simulator accommodates fluctuations in the ferocity of zombie attacks using a Gillespie algorithm – a probability tool from computational chemistry that's useful in situations where outcomes may depend on random events.
The simulator treats each person and zombie as if they are a node on a lattice, allowing them to only interact with the next node, so the 'spread' of the undead is as realistic as it can be.
The experts also used first-order differential equations to take into the account the movement of zombies and humans in their tool.
'Given the dynamics of the disease, once the zombies invade more sparsely populated areas, the whole outbreak slows down - there are fewer humans to bite, so you start creating zombies at a slower rate,' Alemi told Phys.org.
The simulator revealed lots of interesting patterns, including that an outbreak takes on the same shape on both large and small scales, with the most populated areas being affected first.
While the experts advocate heading to remote, rural areas, their study pessimistically notes 'that for 'realistic' parameters, we are largely doomed.'
The researchers are not the first to use maths to model the spread of zombies. Robert Smith, a mathematician who studies infectious diseases at the University of Ottawa, in Canada, started the trend.
Neuroscientists analysed the behaviour of the walking dead to reveal the inner workings of their mind and coined a diagnosis of 'zombisim'. This diagram shows parts of the brain that are responsible for certain zombie behaviours, such as impulsive aggression and difficulty processing emotions.
Hungry: Zombie fanatics Timothy Verstynen, of Carnegie Mellon University and Bradley Voytek, of University of California, San Diego, summarised characteristic zombie behaviour seen in films, including Shaun of the Dead. A screenshot showing hungry, slow-moving zombies is pictured.
In a 2009 paper, he described the first modern zombie model, using popular films such as the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead to establish the biological characteristics of the slow-moving, cannibalistic creatures.
Since then interest in zombie modelling has exploded.
'Now we've got people reading math papers with equations in them - people who would never normally read such a thing and would run a million miles to get away. You add zombies, and suddenly it's interesting,' he said.
Two neuroscientists have also used zombies to reveal the inner workings of our brains as well as explaining the behaviour of the walking dead, to come up with a comprehensive diagnosis of 'zombiism'.
Timothy Verstynen, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Bradley Voytek, assistant professor of cognitive science and neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego, summarised characteristic zombie behaviour seen in films, which can be explained by looking at the structure of the brain.
There are two subtypes of the syndrome – CDHD-1, which affects 'slow' zombies with uncoordinated movements and CDHD-2, which is typical of 'fast' zombies that have no problem chasing humans in films, such as 28 Days Later (a screenshot is shown) and World War Z. They have dubbed the condition 'Conscious Deficit Hypoactivity Disorder', or CDHD, which they describe as an acquired syndrome in which infected people lack control over their actions.
In films, the undead display symptoms such as lethargic movement, loss of pleasure, language dysfunction, amnesia and the inability to suppress hunger and aggression.
'Zombies often have difficulty recognising familiar people and suffer chronic insomnia that results in a delirious state,' they write.
Undead individuals would also exhibit antisocial behaviour, such as biting and eating people, but they would be friendly to each other and swarm with other infected individuals, according to the scientists' book, 'Do zombies dream of undead sheep?'.
The neuroscientists have come up with two subtypes of the syndrome – CDHD-1, which affects 'slow' zombies with uncoordinated movements and CDHD-2, which is typical of 'fast' zombies that have no problem chasing humans in films.
This may be because at the moment of death, our circulatory systems stop, starving the brain of oxygen and glucose.
In zombie films, they resume at the point of infection - in a limited form - and the brain gets its nutrients by zombies feasting on human flesh.
The longer the brain is starved of oxygen, the more extensive the damage to zombies, the neuroscientists say.
CDHD-1 zombies can be seen in the TV series, The Walking Dead, while the zombies in Waord War Z are faster and typical of CDHD-2.
The brains of both types of zombies would change in different regions, from a combination of decreased activity and altered activity in multiple brain networks.
Lesions to the temporal lobe would partly cause zombies to act like they do in films.
Terror: The cerebellum, a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control, is likely to degenerate in CDH1-zombies, explaining their severe coordination difficulties in films, but CDHD-2 zombies (illustrated in the film, 28 Days Later) have less damage in this area of the brain, making them more agile.
Shortsighted: Zombies are known for their poor eyesight and visual impairment would come from damage to the parietal lobe. It perhaps explains why CDHD-1 zombies, such as those seen in the TV show, The Walking Dead (screenshot pictured), can only look straight ahead and see one object at a time in films.
Specifically, damage to the fusiform gyrus would impair the undead's ability to recognise faces, while damage to the superior temporal gyrus would hamper their ability to process emotional facial expressions, resulting in apathy to the feelings of others.
Professors Verstynen and Voytek say lesions in the temporal parietal junction - an area of the brain where the temporal and parietal lobes meet - would result in severe difficulties in understanding language and in speaking; making communication difficult and causing slurring, as seen in films.
Meanwhile, damage to the medial temporal lobe – especially the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and navigation - would mean that zombies couldn't form new memories and would find it hard to find their way around towns, giving humans a change of surviving an apocalypse.
Zombies are known for their poor eyesight and visual impairment would come from damage to the parietal lobe. It perhaps explains why CDHD-1 zombies can only look straight ahead and see one object at a time in films. Problems with spatial attention as a result of this injury, would also make general motor skills difficult.
CDHD-2 zombies, however, would not suffer as much damage to this brain region, according to the scientists.
But both types of zombie would have sustained 'extensive damage' to the frontal lobe, which is responsible for immediate tasks, planning, and motivation.
Hungry for emotion: Damage to the cingulate cortex would mean that individuals may feel conflicted about emotional attachment to people and eating them, but they would not be able to suppress the desire to eat. A zombie from the Resident Evil video game, which features zombies classified as type CDHD-2 type is pictured.
The inability to suppress inappropriate responses, such as the desire to eat people would be due to damage in the orbitofrontal cortex, while damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex would make decision making difficult.
Lesions to the interior frontal cortex, especially Broca's area,which is linked to speech production, would result in communication difficulties.
Damage to the cingulate cortex would mean that individuals may feel conflicted about emotional attachment to people and eating them, but they would not be able to suppress the desire to eat.
The cerebellum, a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control, would likely degenerate in CDHD-1 zombies, explaining their severe coordination difficulties in films.
'Individuals exhibit a wide stance and lumbering gait as well as difficulties reaching and grasping,' professors Verstynen and Voytek write.
Damage to this area of the brain would also lead to slurred speech, but CDHD-2 zombies would be spared extensive cerebellar damage, making them more eloquent.
Zombies' insomnia could be explained by lesions in the hypothalamus, which links the nervous system to the endocrine system.
In the mid-brain, lesions to the amygdalae - two almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep within the temporal lobes of the brain - may explain enhanced fight or flight behaviours in zombies on the silver screen, expressed as impulsive aggression.
However, primary sensory areas of the brain that allow humans to process sights, sound, smell, touch and taste signals would remain intact, meaning that zombies could use all sensory information, but wouldn't respond emotionally to it.
Some areas of the brain allowing basic movement, such as the thalamus - which is used to process neural signals - and the brainstem, would function as usual upon infection, the neuroscientists explain.
'In conclusion, the series of brain changes seen in CDHD, reflect a loss in so-called 'higher order' cognition areas and the neocortex the CDHD-1 subtype also reflects a degeneration of the cerebellum,' they say.
Eloquent: CDHD-2 zombies would be spared extensive cerebellar damage in the event of a zombie apocalypse, making them more eloquent and able to understand speech. The CDHD-2 type can be seen in the film, World War Z (a screenshot is pictured) which stars Brad Pitt as the hero.
In humans, tapeworms (shown in an MRI scan) can make its way into the brain to change our behaviour, but a microbe called Toxo plasma gondii (T.gondii) goes a step further. Found in cat faeces, it can infect humans and stop them fearing risky behaviour, with tragic results. | https://www.ancientcataclysms.net/post/how-to-survive-a-zombie-apocalypse | fineweb | 12,605 | 2.671875 |
These days, after what is often a long and difficult gestation, a new journal is born into a world full of uncertainties. First, the population explosion. A quick electronic search reveals more than 20 journals that deal with various aspects of ageing, not to mention the innumerable articles on this subject that appear in medical or science journals. And however healthy the infant is at birth, it faces a very insecure future.
Following a major period of discontent on the part of the scientific community with the costs and effectiveness of scientific publishing, there is a major drive to provide open access to the scientific literature, making it free for anybody who wishes to read it. Led by bodies such as the Public Library of Science, this admirable goal may well be achieved. But progress always has its downsides; future generations may never know the satisfaction of nursing a well-produced scientific journal or even, perish the thought, a book.
So what are the prospects for Aging Cell? Together with the neurosciences and developmental biology, an exploration of the mechanisms of ageing is likely to be one of the most exciting fields of research in the new millennium. Already, important insights into some of the broad mechanisms of ageing have been obtained from work on worms and fruit flies, and although it is a big evolutionary jump from geriatric flies to ageing humans, some of the basic principles may be the same.
Ageing, and the management of the aged, is going to pose major problems for those who deliver health services in the future. All the important killers of western society - ranging from heart attacks and stroke, through diabetes to cancer - reach their maximum frequency at a time when their pathogenesis must be tied up with the biological changes of ageing. Hence this topic offers a wide range of questions, ranging from the basic biology of ageing to our very limited knowledge about the pathology and sociology of increasing age. In short, if there was to be a right time for a multidisciplinary new journal in this field to be born, it is now.
The editors, in their introductory editorial, which, symbolic of their field, is to be found in issue two of the first volume, stress that the birth of this journal reflects the exciting developments in genetics and molecular and cell biology that have transformed the field of ageing research over the past ten years. They stress the enormous breadth of the field, describing how the editorial board has had to be divided over seven principal research areas, each led by a separate section editor. Wisely in such a rapidly expanding field, it appears that the journal is destined to carry a mix of up-to-date reviews, with a focus on particularly controversial areas, together with original articles. The lively "head-to-head" debate on the mitochondrial theory of ageing in an early issue is certainly a good start in this direction. And as well as the quality of the reviews, many of which will be easily accessible to non-specialists in the field, the journal also seems to have got off to a good start with the unusually high quality of its original articles, illustrations and overall appearance.
If the post-genomic era is going to live up to its medical expectations it will have to develop close ties between molecular and whole-organism biology, particularly in highly complex fields such as ageing. Certainly, as judged by the issues of this journal over its first year of life, its editors seem to have appreciated the importance of an interactive approach of this type. Already papers have appeared on almost every model system of ageing, including zebrafish, bats and fruit flies, and these are nicely balanced by some useful reviews on both the mechanisms and pathology of human ageing. A promising start indeed.
One minor carp. Considering that its aspirations seem to be much broader than the cell biology of ageing, the journal's title seems to be at odds with its objectives.
However, on the cover of every issue the words "ageing" and "cell" appear in different colours such that the word "cell" stands out and hits the reader (particularly those who are colour blind) in the eye. In this subliminal way, the infant journal almost appears to be the offspring of a venerable journal of the same name. Perhaps when it comes of age, and as judged by its early vigour this seems very likely, Aging Cell might emulate the world of Hollywood and change its name to something more in keeping with its breadth of appeal.
Sir David Weatherall was formerly regius professor of medicine, University of Oxford.
Editor - Tim Cowen, Marc Tatar and Simon Melov
Publisher - Blackwell, bi-monthly
Price - Institutions: £397.00 Individuals: £75.00
ISBN - 474 9718 (print)1474 9728 (online) www.blackwellpublishing.com/ace | https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/how-a-fruit-fly-could-help-you-in-old-age/185069.article | fineweb | 4,816 | 2.65625 |
8 Basics of Regular Expressions
Regular expressions have been something that I was scared of when I started coding as a serious stuff. The string literals puzzled me like anything. preg_match, preg_grep, preg_split, preg_replace etc have been something I always wanted to avoid. This is for you guys who find regular expressions tacky.
Searches a string that starts with tech.
Searches for strings that ends up in logy.
Looks for a string that has either zero or more a’s but exactly one b following a. (eg. b, ab, aab, aaab, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaab etc.).
Same as a*b but only difference is that atleast one a should be there in the string unlike a*b which can overlook a. (eg. ab, aab,aaaaaaaaab etc).
In this case string might have either zero or a single a (eg. ab or b) only these two possibilities are there.
QUANTIFYING THE CHARACTERS
To quantify the characters into certain sets and utilize them we can use paranthesis().
Matches a string which consists of pattern having abc either one or n times followed by def at the end.
LOGICAL OPERATORS [OR(|) & AND(.)]
A string of a and b that ends in a c.
To specify range of characters. For instance to match that in a password small-case character, you can specify the set as [a-z] or [A-Z] or [0-9].
Searches for a pattern having either small-case or capital letters. | https://www.articlediary.com/article/8-basics-of-regular-expressions-365.html | fineweb | 1,316 | 3.125 |
New Inscribed Properties (1990)
Map is loading.. please wait
The following cultural properties have been inscribed on the World Heritage List
After Christopher Columbus's arrival on the island in 1492, Santo Domingo became the site of the first cathedral, hospital, customs house and university in the Americas. This colonial town, founded in 1498, was laid out on a grid pattern that became the model for almost all town planners in the New World.
According to Greek mythology, Apollo was born on this tiny island in the Cyclades archipelago. Apollo's sanctuary attracted pilgrims from all over Greece and Delos was a prosperous trading port. The island bears traces of the succeeding civilizations in the Aegean world, from the 3rd millennium B.C. to the palaeochristian era. The archaeological site is exceptionally extensive and rich and conveys the image of a great cosmopolitan Mediterranean port.
The 'Venice of the North', with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage.
'San Gimignano delle belle Torri' is in Tuscany, 56 km south of Florence. It served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano has retained its feudal atmosphere and appearance. The town also has several masterpieces of 14th- and 15th-century Italian art.
Itchan Kala is the inner town (protected by brick walls some 10 m high) of the old Khiva oasis, which was the last resting-place of caravans before crossing the desert to Iran. Although few very old monuments still remain, it is a coherent and well-preserved example of the Muslim architecture of Central Asia. There are several outstanding structures such as the Djuma Mosque, the mausoleums and the madrasas and the two magnificent palaces built at the beginning of the 19th century by Alla-Kulli-Khan.
Between 1696 and 1760, six ensembles of reducciones (settlements of Christianized Indians) inspired by the ‘ideal cities’ of the 16th-century philosophers were founded by the Jesuits in a style that married Catholic architecture with local traditions. The six that remain – San Francisco Javier, Concepción, Santa Ana, San Miguel, San Rafael and San José – make up a living heritage on the former territory of the Chiquitos.
Designed to rival Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, Kiev's Saint-Sophia Cathedral symbolizes the 'new Constantinople', capital of the Christian principality of Kiev, which was created in the 11th century in a region evangelized after the baptism of St Vladimir in 988. The spiritual and intellectual influence of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra contributed to the spread of Orthodox thought and the Orthodox faith in the Russian world from the 17th to the 19th century.
The pogost of Kizhi (i.e. the Kizhi enclosure) is located on one of the many islands in Lake Onega, in Karelia. Two 18th-century wooden churches, and an octagonal clock tower, also in wood and built in 1862, can be seen there. These unusual constructions, in which carpenters created a bold visionary architecture, perpetuate an ancient model of parish space and are in harmony with the surrounding landscape.
Inextricably linked to all the most important historical and political events in Russia since the 13th century, the Kremlin (built between the 14th and 17th centuries by outstanding Russian and foreign architects) was the residence of the Great Prince and also a religious centre. At the foot of its ramparts, on Red Square, St Basil's Basilica is one of the most beautiful Russian Orthodox monuments.
Although geographically distant from each other, these three monasteries (the first is in Attica, near Athens, the second in Phocida near Delphi, and the third on an island in the Aegean Sea, near Asia Minor) belong to the same typological series and share the same aesthetic characteristics. The churches are built on a cross-in-square plan with a large dome supported by squinches defining an octagonal space. In the 11th and 12th centuries they were decorated with superb marble works as well as mosaics on a gold background, all characteristic of the 'second golden age of Byzantine art'.
With 500 ha of parks and 150 buildings constructed between 1730 and 1916, Potsdam's complex of palaces and parks forms an artistic whole, whose eclectic nature reinforces its sense of uniqueness. It extends into the district of Berlin-Zehlendorf, with the palaces and parks lining the banks of the River Havel and Lake Glienicke. Voltaire stayed at the Sans-Souci Palace, built under Frederick II between 1745 and 1747.
The following natural properties have been inscribed on the World Heritage List
The landscape in this park, situated in south-west New Zealand, has been shaped by successive glaciations into fjords, rocky coasts, towering cliffs, lakes and waterfalls. Two-thirds of the park is covered with southern beech and podocarps, some of which are over 800 years old. The kea, the only alpine parrot in the world, lives in the park, as does the rare and endangered takahe, a large flightless bird.
Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve comprises karstic landscapes and limestone uplands cut into impressive 'tsingy' peaks and a 'forest' of limestone needles, the spectacular canyon of the Manambolo river, rolling hills and high peaks. The undisturbed forests, lakes and mangrove swamps are the habitat for rare and endangered lemurs and birds.
The following mixed property has been inscribed
Huangshan, known as 'the loveliest mountain of China', was acclaimed through art and literature during a good part of Chinese history (e.g. the Shanshui 'mountain and water' style of the mid-16th century). Today it holds the same fascination for visitors, poets, painters and photographers who come on pilgrimage to the site, which is renowned for its magnificent scenery made up of many granite peaks and rocks emerging out of a sea of clouds.
The park was created in 1983 to protect the fauna and flora of the rainforests that are characteristic of this region of the Andes. There is a high level of endemism among the fauna and flora found in the park. The yellow-tailed woolly monkey, previously thought extinct, is found only in this area. Research undertaken since 1985 has already uncovered 36 previously unknown archaeological sites at altitudes of between 2,500 and 4,000 m, which give a good picture of pre-Inca society.
In 1993 Tongariro became the first property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria describing cultural landscapes. The mountains at the heart of the park have cultural and religious significance for the Maori people and symbolize the spiritual links between this community and its environment. The park has active and extinct volcanoes, a diverse range of ecosystems and some spectacular landscapes.
The Committee also approved extensions for the following sites
Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le MuraHoly See , Italy
Founded, according to legend, by Romulus and Remus in 753 BC, Rome was first the centre of the Roman Republic, then of the Roman Empire, and it became the capital of the Christian world in the 4th century. The World Heritage site, extended in 1990 to the walls of Urban VIII, includes some of the major monuments of antiquity such as the Forums, the Mausoleum of Augustus, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, the Pantheon, Trajan’s Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius, as well as the religious and public buildings of papal Rome.
The contiguous national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho, as well as the Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks, studded with mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, form a striking mountain landscape. The Burgess Shale fossil site, well known for its fossil remains of soft-bodied marine animals, is also found there.
The location of this unique site in Central America, where Quaternary glaciers have left their mark, has allowed the fauna and flora of North and South America to interbreed. Tropical rainforests cover most of the area. Four different Indian tribes inhabit this property, which benefits from close co-operation between Costa Rica and Panama.
In 1990, the World Heritage Committee added sites to the World Heritage List.
New in 1990
- Colonial City of Santo Domingo
- Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments
- Historic Centre of San Gimignano
- Itchan Kala
- Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
- Kiev: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
- Kizhi Pogost
- Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow
- Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios
- Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin
- Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand
- Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve
- Mount Huangshan
- Río Abiseo National Park
- Tongariro National Park
- Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
- Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park | http://whc.unesco.org/pg_friendly_print.cfm?date=1990&cid=277&mode=list | fineweb | 9,650 | 2.8125 |
Foundations of Music Education
Foundations of Music Education is part two of Dr. Whitwell’s three-part series, On Education.
This book traces the history of music education from the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome to the modern era. The reader will see the most natural concepts of the ancient music education as it then passes through the Dark Ages when the Church made music a branch of mathematics and then through the Renaissance when formal music education meant only theoretical teaching. The search for how music communicates emotion during the Baroque Period began the path back toward teaching music rather than teaching about music.
Buy the PDF version of the book — $24.20
8 x 10 inches, 400 pages, color
Softcover versions are available from Amazon.com. | http://whitwellbooks.com/2010/10/on-music-education/ | fineweb | 781 | 3.4375 |
By: Dr. Pathirage Kamal Perera (PhD)
Sri Lanka is a country with a very old civilization and Ayurveda has been a widely practiced medical system throughout the ages. Traditional medicine has been practiced in Sri Lanka for more than 3,000 years. At present, there are four systems of traditional medical systems in Sri Lanka are dominant viz. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Deshiya Chikitsa (Sri Lankan traditional medicine system ). About 60 to 70% of the rural population relies on traditional and natural medicine for their primary health care. Therefore Herbal drugs are essential components of traditional medical system in Sri Lanka. Number of Ayurveda physicians registered under the Sri Lanka Ayurveda Medical council is around 19,754 as at 31st December,2010 as per the statistics available. Out of the General physicians Ayurveda counts 84.6%; Siddha system 12.7% and Unani 2.7 %. Among the special physicians Ayurveda counts 96.5%; Siddha system 2.9% and Unani 0.6%. Apart from the above registered physicians at the Ayurveda Medical Council, there are more than 8000 Traditional Medical Practitioners practicing medicines who are decedents of reputed families with secret formulae to cure deceases engaged in Public Health Care.
There is a large traditional knowledge from Sri Lankan unique none formalized traditional medical system known as “Deshiya Chikitsa”. The community relies on this system for many treatments including for the treatment of eye diseases, fractures and dislocations, burns and scalds, boils and carbuncles and cancers. Some of the practitioners specializing in fractures and dislocations are of such high reputation that they are often the first choice for treatment even by sections of the community accustomed to allopathic (western) medicine. There are more traditional knowledge based on ola-leaf manuscripts and ancient books on traditional medical system. Still these texts traditional knowledge are uncovered for public health development. Sri Lanka need to develop a national project for preserves these manuscripts and ancient books on traditional medical system for future research to develop health products. There is urgency for digitalized these knowledge for research and developments. It will become easily accessible for this traditional knowledge for research and public health development. The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library launched by the Government of India, is an example of how ancient knowledge available in the ancient scriptures made digitally accessible.
Sri Lanka Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation which was incorporated in 1969 by the government extra ordinary gazette notification No. 14853/1 dated 11May 1969 under the provision of State Industrial Corporation Act. No. 49 of 1957 as the pioneer of manufacturing and marketing of Ayurvedic Drugs to the government hospitals, Ayurvedic physicians and private sector has been playing the major role in health sector in Sri Lanka for more than 40 years. As a policy, the Corporation is mainly focused on quality of medicines and service to the general public rather than operating as a business entity.
The Government Department of Ayurveda, Sri Lanka has documented the national formalized medicinal system in the three volumes of Part I of the Ayurveda Pharmacopoeia. The Pharmacopoeia identifies the raw materials used by physicians using the indigenous system, drugs that should be prescribed for various diseases, and methods of preparation for different drugs. Although the Pharmacopoeia claims to deal with all three formalized systems, it concentrates mainly on Ayurveda.
Plants used in the local Ayurveda system have been botanically described, and many of these have been investigated for their biological activities by scientists in the universities and research institutes. Bandaranayake Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute was established for the development of Ayurveda and Traditional Medicine in Sri Lanka through research on related fields including clinical research, drug research, community based research and literary research. There are two main University affiliated research and educational state Ayurveda Institutes in Sri Lanka. The Institute of Indigenous Medicine is the premier Higher Educational Institute in Sri Lanka that provides instructions in Ayurveda, Unani and Indigenous system of medicine at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The college of Ayurveda was first started in the Island (1929), subsequently upgraded and affiliated to the University of Colombo in the year 1977 as the Institute of Indigenous Medicine. Gampaha Wickramarachchi Ayurveda Institute is affiliated to the University of Kelaniya.
Introduction to “Sri Lankan Ayurveda”
The term “Ayurveda” is a combination of two Sanskirt words: “Ayur” (ayuh) meaning life and Veda meaning Science of Knowledge. Ayurveda could therefore be translated into English as “The science of life “. Thousands of years before modern medicine provided evidence for the mind – body relation; the traditional practitioners of Sri Lanka developed Sri Lankan Ayurveda which continues to be one of the sophisticated and powerful minds – body health systems.
The Ayurveda system of healing believes in treatment of not just the part affected by disease but the individual as a whole. It emphasizes on the harmony of mind, spirit and body in curing the body and focus is on prevention rather than cure. Ayurveda is a comprehensive and scientific system of medicine based on natural products, promoting a healthy & long life, and can coexist with modern medicine. Ayurveda has two main objectives:
- Roga Nivaranaya – To protect and maintain the health of a healthy person by strengthening of the immune system (Preventive and Social medicine)
- Roga Pratikara – To treat the root cause of the disease and disease and manage the disease where it has already occurred (Therapeutics)
Concept of “Ayurveda”
The universe includes human beings, animals and plants, and is made up of the Pancha Maha Bhuta (five great elements) – Apo, Thejo, Vayo, Pruthuvia and Akasha. The human body is also made of these five elements. Accordingly, the elements in the universe and the elements in the human body reveal a common origin. These common factors create a harmony between man and the universe and there is a co-relation between the universe and the human body. In the external universe there are three main causative factors – the sun, moon, and wind. In the human body there are three constituent elements – Vata, Pita and Kapha (Tri Dosha).
Every human being is made up of the 3 Dosha, namely Vata, Pita and Kapha. Tri Doshas are the main active forces in our body. They regulate all function of the organs in the body. The construction of our body, its maintenance and disintegration are mainly due to these Tri Dosha. When Vata, Pita, Kapha are in a state of equilibrium a human being will have a healthy state of body. An imbalance of the Tri Dosha may lead to diseases.
Kapha (Sem) – is the force of attraction and helps to prevent the disintegration of the human body. It has adhesive power and is responsible for the formation and maintenance of the body and regulates its temperature. The moon is responsible for cooling and regulating the temperature around the universe.
Vata (Va)- is the moving power or principle of movement in the human body. In the external universe the wind is the principle of the movement: but Vatha should not be compared with the wind, as it is a kind of energy, which is an internal force.
Pita (Pith) – controls the metabolic functions inside the body. The sun is the energy of conversion and is represented by fire: when anything comes in contact with heat it changes its appearance. Pitha Dosha inside the human body is said to have this conversion power.
Prakurti- Personalized medicine
The individual constitution of each person is called “Prakurthi.” The meaning of Prakurthi is “nature” or “the original form” (“the first creation”) every person acquires his own Prakurthi at the time of conception. When the sperm and the ovum unite inside the uterus, the predominant Dosha produce specific characteristics/ features. This Prakurthi remains constant throughout the person’s life. The predominant Dosha of a person is today commonly referred to as “body type”.
When we consider different individuals and their dietary requirements, their behavior and tolerance to the environment, we find that they have different needs to survive as healthy individuals. Even two people of the same age, weight, and height may have different needs and tolerance to different types and amounts of food, drink and activity. So it is clear that tolerance to food, environment, behavior, mental and physical activity etc. depends on the constitution of the person. For examples if an excess of Vata is present in an individual, his constitution will be Vata. In the same way Pita dominance leads to Pita constitution. Prakurthi usually represents the disease proneness of the person. For example, Kapha Prakurthi people tend to suffer from Kapha diseases like obesity, or colds. The correct determination of a person’s Prakurti requires a careful examination by a specialist. According to the personality type all the treatment protocols are made (Personalized Medicine/Pharmacogenomics). Therefore the Prakruti or body type has a strong influence in the determining of Sri Lankan Ayurveda Treatment.
Dhatu and Mala
Dhatu is a term for tissues. The human body consists of seven basic tissues known as “Sapta Dhatu”. Usually Dhatu gives support to the body or sustains it. When these Dhatu are defective they affect the maintenance and nutrition of the body and lead to diseases.
Mala is a term for waste products. The human body produces three main waste products that i.e. stools, urine and sweat. It is important that these waste products are expelled from the body regularly, or else they collect as toxins.
Agni and Ama
The other important principle governing the basic physiology of Ayurveda is Agni. Ayurveda believes that any disturbance in digestion and metabolism leads to the formation of toxins (Ama), which give rise to diseases. Agni governs this disturbance of digestion and metabolism.
When there is an imbalance of the Tri Dosha or Saptha Dhatu or Agni, the disease process begins. The balanced state of the things mentioned above is responsible for the natural immunity of the person. Therefore Ayurveda is a holistic medicine system that treats for enhance human cell immunity.
Ayurveda as a therapeutic system
Shamana Chikithsa (Curing of diseases) manages the symptoms of the disease and treats the cause of the disease with the help of various Ayurveda medicine and therapies. In Ayurveda there are thousands of medicines consisting of herbs, minerals, and biological products, which are used singly, or jointly to suppress and cure diseases, particularly when the disease is at an early stage. At another level of healing, Ayurveda prevents and eliminates disease before the symptoms manifest. To be able to do this, we have to consider our life style, environment, work and psychological conditions. We need to remove those factors of our lives that make us vulnerable to disease. Health then becomes a matter of continuing adjustment, and achieving a balanced life style.
Our modern life style is such that we invariably move away from our natural balanced state. The food we eat, the air and noise pollution we face, the stress at work, and balancing competing interest of work and family all add up to build toxin which collect in various parts of the body and lead to disease. So Ayurveda recommends a system of purification with natural ingredients and therapies to collect the toxins in specific parts of the body, and then expel them from the body. This purification process also includes a process of rejuvenation and strengthening of the immune system to prolong well-being. This life enhancement therapy aims at improving our vitality and enables us to delay the aging process and live longer. This aspect of Ayurveda is called “Shodana Chikitsa”.
Shodana chikithsa (Prevention of diseases) is one the most important and advanced techniques in Ayurveda and is an internal purification process. Purification can be used to cure diseases and at the same time to promote the healthy state of the body. It is thus a unique science. It is possible to successfully cure a number of difficult diseases like Arthritis, Paralysis etc with the help of Shodana Chikithsa. Shodana chikitsa removes the Ama and Mala (toxins) from the body and restores the balance of the Doshas. Shodana Chikitsa consists of a three-stage purification process as follows:
Purva Karma – preparatory purification prior to the main purification
Pradhana Karma – the main five purification methods (known as Panchakarma treatment)
Paschath Karma – post rejuvenation therapy.
Ayurveda Ingredients and Pharmaceutics
Ayurveda mentions many different methods of treatments to overcome the diseases and maintain a healthy state of the body and it uses many forms of herbal preparations. Ayurveda utilizes all the parts of the herbs, such as leaves, roots, flowers, fruits, stem, bark, in making of herbal preparations. Ayurveda herbal preparations are specially designed according to ancient authentic formulas (recipes), which have been using for hundreds of years with good clinical results.
KASHAYA /Decoctions – Herbs are usually administered in the form of a decoction to cure many diseases. Generally decoctions are prepared as follows. Place 60 grams of herbs in an earthen pot and put 8 cups of water (1920ml) , and boil the mixture over a low flame till the liquid reduced to one cup (240ml) . Kashaya is freshly prepared and the medicine is taken twelve hours gap.
SWARASA /Fresh Juice – The fresh juice of an herb is called Swarasa. It is made by crushing the fresh herb and finally straining the juice through a strainer.
KALKA / Paste – The paste of an herb is obtained by crushing the fresh plant until it becomes a soft mass. In this process we use fresh herbs or dried herbs, with water or other juices. These pastes can be given orally. The paste can also be used as an external application to reduce pain or inflammation.
PHANT / Hot infusions – Generally Phant is an instant decoction. Boiling water is added to the herbs and allowed to set for period of time (more than 30 minutes). The strained infusion is then used in many ways.
CHOORNA / Powders – Powders are common herbal preparations in Ayurveda. They are traditionally prepared with the help of mortar and pestle and then filter through a linen cloth. Choorna is usually taken with honey, milk, juice or hot water.
VATI / Pills – Herbal powders are triturated with juice or oils and prepared as little pills called “Vati”. They are also taken orally with honey, milk, juice or hot water.
ASAWA and ARISHTA / Herbal elixirs- Natural process of fermentation is used to prepare this. It contains fresh juices of herbs or raisins, juggery and a large number of herbal compounds and grapes. Spices are also included. The mixture is placed in special wooden barrels, and allowed to ferment for a period of 30 – 90 days. This method of preparation can be considered as the first biotechnological involvement in medicine.
MEDICATED OILS – Take purified oil (Example; Sesame oil) in a stainless steel vessel and heat it mildly. Add increments of herbal paste (Kalka). Stir thoroughly while adding decoction and boiled over a long period of time (sometime two weeks) until it reaches the perfect consistency.
Is Ayurveda medicine safe?
Ayurveda medicine uses a variety of products and practices. Some of these products—which may contain herbs, minerals, or metals—may be harmful, particularly if used improperly or without the direction of a trained practitioner. For example, some herbs can cause side effects or interact with conventional medicines (Botanical drug interactions). Also, ingesting some metals, such as lead, can be poisonous. Therefore in current system of practice patients need to visit educated Ayurveda practitioners who are qualified with accepted Ayurveda degree (Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery).These practitioners are experienced with Ayurveda and modern pharmacology. Ayurveda practice is not like a western/allopathic practice. In western medicine all the drugs are provided by importing as finished pharmaceuticals. But in Ayurveda drugs are prepared by the practitioners with their own capacity. So any one who practice Ayurveda in any specialty it is utmost important to learn Ayurveda and modern pharmacology.
Is Ayurvedic medicine effective?
Some research studies have shown Ayurveda medicine, including herbal products, for specific conditions are effective. However, there aren’t enough well-controlled clinical trials and systematic research reviews—the gold standard for Western medical research—to prove that the approaches are beneficial yet. Therefore it is necessary to conduct research for these medicines to popularize and develop as evidence based medicine.
We are pleased to inform that we will be carrying a series of articles on Ayurveda treatment for the benefit of tourist who visits Sri Lanka seeking Ayurvedic treatment.
Senior Lecturer | Department of Ayurveda Pharmacologyand Pharmaceutics | Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka | Consultant Physician at National Ayurveda Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka | Visiting Professor in Pharmacology | https://www.ceylondigest.com/traditional-medicine-systems-in-sri-lanka/ | fineweb | 17,517 | 3.09375 |
Berry virus is mildest of related group
Hepatitis A is primarily a food-borne illness
Symptoms include high temperature, nausea and loss of appetite. Abdominal pain also occurs, along with a sense of fatigue. Photograph: Getty Images
Hepatitis A is the mildest of the hepatitis viruses that affect humans. However, it can cause symptoms that last for several months in some people.
Unlike hepatitis B, which is transmitted via blood and sexual contact, hepatitis A is primarily a food-borne illness.
It can also be contracted directly from someone with the virus who does not wash their hands properly after being to the toilet.
Five of the 10 cases detected in the Republic to date have been linked to the consumption of frozen berries; the particular strain of the virus affecting people here is similar to that causing an outbreak in Italy.
The time from eating these infected strawberries, raspberries and blueberries until the onset of illness could be anything from 15 to 50 days.
Symptoms include high temperature, nausea and loss of appetite. Abdominal pain also occurs, along with a sense of fatigue.
These may be followed by jaundice, in which the skin and eyes go yellow due to excessive levels of a substance called bilirubin in the blood.
The virus attacks the liver, causing inflammation. As a result various liver enzymes are elevated; by measuring these through blood samples doctors can monitor the progress of the infection.
There is no treatment other than symptom management. There is a vaccine against the virus and this is recommended for people travelling to areas where it is endemic.
Almost everyone who gets hepatitis A recovers completely and does not develop any lasting liver damage, although they may feel sick for months.
In rare cases it can cause liver failure and death; this occurs more commonly in people over 50 and in those who already have other liver diseases such as hepatitis B or C. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/berry-virus-is-mildest-of-related-group-1.1469635 | fineweb | 1,925 | 3.765625 |
Inventor of the world wide web (WWW), Tim Berners-Lee highlighted the importance of standards at a recent event held in Sophia Antipolis, France. The ITU sent a representative of its telecommunication standardization bureau (TSB), Paolo Rosa.
Berners-Lee speaking at the tenth anniversary in Europe of the world wide web consortium (W3C) said that standards allow different layers such as hardware, operating systems, browsers, connectivity and search services to evolve independently and therefore faster and better.
As part of its desire for the more efficient production of international ICT standards and to avoid duplication of work, ITU-T is keen to foster closer relations with W3C, as well as other standards making organizations.
Berners-Lee said that businesses often faced two difficult choices: either, pursue standard, commit resources, transition products, work with competitors and then encourage it to all take-off; or continue working in isolation and keep proprietary control of customers. Berners-Lee said that he believes that participation in standards making carries less risk than not doing so. In response to a question by Rosa, of ITU he said that being part of the standards making process enables companies to better respond to market needs.
Measuring the cost of not using standards is, he said, difficult. How, for instance, can you measure the cost of the US still using feet and pounds or, of power sockets being different all over Europe? He used the example of the Gopher protocol versus WWW, backed-up by figures, to illustrate how a standardized solution can achieve more success. In the early nineties Gopher and WWW were alternative ways of accessing the Internet. However following the decision of the University of Minnesota to charge a license fee for the use of Gopher, its use stagnated while WWW, which remained free, became the success that we see today.
W3C10 Europe, gave attendees the opportunity to reflect on the progress of the web, its role as a unifying force in Europe, and the policies that shape the role of the web in the daily lives of Europeans.
Tim Berners-Lee’s presentation is here, use arrow in top right-hand corner for navigation).
Among other speakers were Berners-Lee’s CERN colleague Robert Cailliau, Keith Jaffrey who spoke about Grids and the worldwide Web. Also security, privacy and Internet rights were addressed by e-Government expert, Peter Brown (now working for the Austrian government) and Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, Chair of the Internet Rights Forum. | http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/newslog/default,date,2005-06-28.aspx | fineweb | 2,529 | 3.109375 |
Photo from: Healthline
What happens to your body when you get injured?
In the early days of the injury, your body goes into an inflammatory phase. Here’s what happens in this stage.
During the first 48 hours, the signs of inflammation are present; they are swelling, redness, heat, pain at rest, and loss of function. When testing the range of motion, movement is painful with muscle guarding which prevents the patient from moving the affected ankle to its usual range of motion.
The pain and impaired movement are the result of altered chemical state that irritates the nerve in the area.
- An increased tissue tension due to an edema or joint effusion,
- A muscle guarding, which is the body’s way of immobilizing a painful area.
This stage usually lasts 4 to 6 days unless the injury is perpetuated.
What to do to ease the pain and ensure recovery?
Depending on the part involved, protection with assistive devices for ambulation may be required. Injured persons may also be advised to ambulate with non weight bearing on the affected side.
Depending on the type and severity of the injury, manual methods of pain and edema control such as massage by gently stroking the Injured site by the tip of your thumb in an upward motion.
The information contained in this article is for general information purposes only. The indications provided are not a prescription and cannot substitute the recommendation of a health practitioner. We recommend that you seek the advice of your GP, physiotherapist or health practitioner before buying any item on Back To Sport. | https://www.backtosport.com.au/blogs/injuries/ankle-sprain-recovery-inflammatory-reaction | fineweb | 1,562 | 3.171875 |
Project Inception is a preliminary phase in most projects to explore the reason for starting a project, identify a solution for implementation, define benefits to be gained upon successful completion, estimate time required to do the project, and request for funds necessary for project execution. The purpose is to begin to define the overall project parameters and establish an appropriate management environment required to launch and manage the project.
Other names of the inception phase are Initiation, Exploration, Pre-project, Pre-planning, Startup. Regardless of what name is used, the phase carries out the following key processes:
- Perform an environmental analysis (e.g. SWOT, PERT) to identify internal and external factors that have a positive, negative or neutral impact to the company’s environment.
- Define the problem or what should be solved to reach a desired state of the business environment.
- Propose a solution to the problem.
- Analyze options or alternatives to the proposed solution.
- Perform feasibility analysis to prove the solution’s technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness.
- Assess risks that may jeopardize success.
- Develop a timeline that defines time required to implement the solution.
- Request for approval or develop a project proposal document that aims to request necessary funds and explain the problem to be addressed, the solution to be implemented, and the benefits to be gained from developing the project. | http://www.taskmanagementguide.com/glossary/what-is-project-inception-.php | fineweb | 1,464 | 2.90625 |
As the viewer’s gaze lingers on this central image, his/her eyes reluctantly and painfully follow the path of the crimson red blood that spurts out of Christ’s body and so naturally trickles down his arms into a pool at the base of the cross. The red bole that seeps through the cracked gold background seems to intensify this action. The pale grayish hue of Christ’s tortured skin morbidly conveys his lifelessness.
In the foreground of the painting, a crowd of people gather around the recently resurrected Lazarus. There are roughly fifteen individuals in the crowd in a variety of postures, many of which are contorted and turned away. Furthermore, their forms are painted with considerable emphasis on the way that their respective limbs are bent and twisted which consequently creates a peculiar confined space in which much of the content and action is contained. The outstretched arms and warped bodies of the figures create two diagonal lines which cross over each other in the center of the painting, leading the eye to the primary subject and the focal point, Lazarus. To the left of him is a younger woman looking outwards, contrasting with the focused inward gaze of the crowd. Additionally, the same women mentioned previously also dons a striking white garment similar to that of
One of the most effective principles Paolo de Matteis uses in this painting is his use of lines and invisible lines to direct the viewer’s attention to the child in his mother’s arms. The shepherds and their animals, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph are all instances of invisible lines in this painting, as their outstretched hands and lines of vision are all pointing to the baby Jesus. For example, the three women and the child kneeling to the bottom right side of the manger are all staring or pointing to the upper left, toward Jesus. Moving to the upper right corner of the painting, the ox and the donkey are directing their gaze to the bottom left, once again at Jesus. The two men to the right of the animals also point in that direction. In the top and center, Mary and Joseph watch their child, creating yet another invisible line pointing toward the point of emphasis, while the angels
from the true story and emphasized the faith they have for God. “Protestant art focused on humble depictions of biblical scenes and moralistic depictions of contemporary everyday
a Saint, which is a rarity in religious works of art. The saint who he
The painting has some bright colors on the clothes of the people. The colors of the clothes are mostly pink, blue or red. The background of the entire piece is gold as well as the frame it is in. The frame is very detailed in the spirals and branching off decorative pieces, it looks like the opening to a cathedral. The people are drawn out very well, 22 people in the entire painting. The painting is a 2D painting as well. The lines on the clothing make it look realistic as well as the facial expressions of those in the paintings. The lighting is very bright making it look almost regal. The entire background of the painting is entirely gold. There are also gold highlights in the shape of circles circling everyone's heads in the painting. The painting itself is not too big, not more than 1-2 feet in length and 3 feet in height with the frame included. In the picture there are a lot of objects, there are two musicians with a violin and a harp. Other objects include books, most likely Bibles, a cross, a crown, a huge cathedral like stage that Mary and Jesus sit upon, and possibly a sword.
A painting captures a single moment. Most of the time, the audience does not see what happens before and after the moment of the piece, but Rembrandt’s Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee is his depiction of Mark 4:35:39, a story that most children learn in Sunday School. Mark 4:35-36 tells the moments before the storm: “On that day, when evening had come, He told them, ‘Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.’ So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him” (The Bible). Rembrandt fabricates the scene of verse 37 and 38: “A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But He was in the stern, sleeping
When I see the painting the shape is symmetric in the sense that there are the same amount of people on both sides of Jesus. The genre of this painting is Christian art.There are also four panels on both sides of the walls. In my opinion, the target audience that this painting was intended for are those who are believers of Christ. I feel this way because I think that this painting portrays the event that is talked about in the bible in the scripture Matthew 26, verse 21 where Jesus says “…"Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.". He then continues in verse 23 saying, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me”. In the painting, you can clearly see the man two seats away from his right reaching for the bowl at the same time as Christ. This event lead to the Holy Eucharist, also known as communion or the Lord’s Supper where Christ takes the bread which was to symbolize his body and wine which was to symbolize his
Many artists have created visual interpretations of scriptures such as Reverand Mark Hewitt - Day of Pentecost. This painting is an accurate representation of Acts 2, as Reverand Mark Hewitt displays this through his use of colours whilst conveying strong emotions. 'Day of Pentecost' is most suited to the local Parish as this painting clearly represents the Holy Spirit.
In the painting titled “Post Apocalypse” by an unknown artist it falls under a landscape painting. There is no sort of balance in this painting, all of the colors look bland and boring and have no depth to them. The only thing that remotely catches my eyes when I look at the painting is the birds flying, but that’s really it. Looking at the painting it’s hard to tell if there is water in the distance or you’re looking at the blue sky. In this painting the main emphasis that I see is the dead two dead trees painted in the front that are almost identical. Another point of emphasis I see in the painting is the birds flying into the distance. The reason they can be a point of emphasis is because they are rather large for being far away and very
It shows the moment that Jesus tells Matthew to follow him and become one of his apostles. The main characters in this painting are Matthew, Jesus, and Peter. There are five young men seated counting money. They are all armed and dressed in fancy clothes. The room they are in almost looks like an old tavern.
The painting, “Baptism of Pocahontas” was commissioned in 1837. John Gadsby Chapman installed the painting in November of 1840. This painting was created during a time when the United States was forcefully expanding westward and had implemented a policy to remove the Indian tribes off their lands. One example of incorporating religious content and context includes Chapman’s focus on the religious ceremony of baptism. This inclusion illustrates the belief among white Americans of this period that Native Americans could be integrated into the white civilization. Pocahontas’ choosing to receive baptism exemplified the promises of this assimilation. Although the painting depicts Pocahontas’ noble acceptance of English religion and culture,
The art has various characters in it. Here, three characters are highlighted and made a little bigger that other where we can easily guess that the top person is Christ and the rest
The painted scene takes place moments after John the Baptist is decapitated. The background is tranquil, clean and organized. In the background there is a man casually walking in the near distance. Additionally, there is a sky of blue, a checkered ground and four more individuals. The individuals
Quentin Metsys was born in Louvain in 1466. He later settled in Antwerp, where he is mentioned in 1491 as a master, and where he died in 1530. At that time, the town was a major trading center and rapidly became the principal city for commerce between northern and southern Europe. Portuguese and Spanish merchants and powerful Italian bankers visited Antwerp for trade, making the bustling city the economic capital of Europe. One consequence of the presence of merchants from all over Europe using a variety of currencies was that large numbers of moneylenders and money changers set up shop in the towns where most of the foreigners traded, such as Bruges and, above all, Antwerp. This famous painting by Metsys, once owned by Rubens, is set in one of these cities.The two subjects are depicted half-length, seated behind a table. | https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Visual-Interpretation-Of-The-Painting-Day-Of-PJC5PTMBVQB | fineweb | 8,746 | 2.703125 |
Bats are protected and important, so it’s our job to take care of them! If you’re ready to learn more about the various bats species we have in Michigan, Bat Removal & Prevention is here to keep you informed! Check out these 9 species below.
Little Brown Bat
These little guys are known for their tiny size, small ears, and big feet. Their roosts are very large. It is also not uncommon for them to target warm attics to settle down in for hibernation and raising young. Keep an eye out for their brown coat and approximately 10 inch wingspan!
Northern Long-Eared Bat
As you can probably guess, these bats are easy to distinguish due to their big, round ears. They aren’t quite as social as other species and, while they commonly roost in trees and forested areas, many find them getting cozy in their attics.
Finding these guys anywhere in the state is rare as their numbers have decreased significantly… but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there! While their snout, wings, and tail are hairless, the rest of their body is covered in dark brown fur and their ears are completely black – very unique!
These critters get their name from their frosty appearance. They love moths and have been known to make appearances in Michigan homes from time to time. The good news is that they are typically solitary, so you should only have to deal with one at a time!
Big Brown Bat
Big brown bats are larger in size and maternal colonies can get pretty big! If you have a bat in your home, there’s a good chance that it’s one of these guys settling in and trying to stay warm.
These solitary bats are very small and can be hard to spot! They hunt at night and are not typically found in homes throughout the state, as they tend to hang out by the water or in caves.
Don’t let the name fool you… these bats are known for setting up camp in homes all throughout Michigan! They look similar to the little brown bat, but are much softer and have some extra cartilage in their foot that helps with wing stability.
These bats are completely black, except for their silvery tips. Their rounded ears and upturned snouts also help set them apart. It’s not super common to see these bats in the state, but they make appearances from time to time. They’re a solitary species, so if you spot one, they’re most likely alone!
These little guys come in all shades of red, from light to dark, but what really makes them distinct is their “frosted” appearance. They like to hang out in trees, where they are well-camouflaged, so finding them in your home would be a rare occurrence.
If you’re interested in learning more about the various species of bats in Michigan, visit us online or give us a call today. We’re here to help with any of your bat and wildlife removal needs! | https://www.batremovalandprevention.com/different-bat-species-found-in-michigan/ | fineweb | 2,746 | 2.859375 |
On February 1 2021, the Burmese junta launched a coup. The country’s military, the Tatmadaw, which imposed an authoritative regime until 2011, gradually eased power in the recent decade. The army’s political omnipresence was replaced by what the international community hoped to be slow democratisation. Nonetheless, the recent coup proved otherwise.
In November 2020, the famous pro-democratic opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her party won the election by a landslide. Dissatisfied by their poor result, the military’s proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), demanded an election re-run. Their claim of massive election fraud lacked evidence; the Electoral Commission denied their request. Shortly after, the junta seized power. Since, Myanmar has taken a sharp turn to darker days. Violence now reigns in the country; killing, arrests, displacement, lack of food, water, sanitation and healthcare gained a central place in people’s daily lives. The junta uses the terror and brutality they are notorious for to crush the widespread opposition. The organised, generalised and systematic repression is taking a heavy toll on children’s lives, too.
A bloody coup
Since the forceful seizure of power, the army’s crackdown on opposed armed groups and pro-democratic protestors has been deadly. The conflict revived the underlying ethnic tensions that had bedevilled the country for decades. Consequently, armed confrontations between ethnic rebel groups and national military forces have surged since the regime change. Additionally, the strong mobilisation among civilian-organised protest movements were met with extreme repression and claimed many lives. A year after the coup, the United Nations Human Rights spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, estimated that 1,500 Burmese perished during the protest alone. They projected the figure to be in the thousands when accounting for all the victims.
Children have also endured violence. Within the first six months of the conflict alone, the U.N. estimated that at least 75 children had been killed. The brutal conditions under which those young lives were taken demonstrate the degree of violence that has been perpetrated in the country. Children are not only collateral victims of armed confrontations but also targets, sometimes killed in their own homes—the place they should have been the safest.
Al Jazeera reported on eight of those tragic deaths, giving a glimpse of the atrocities occurring daily in Myanmar. Taang Lian Muan Sang, an 11-year-old boy, was on his way to rent a ninja film when he picked up an object he saw on the road. The item was an explosive made out of a motorbike battery; the deflagration killed him. Om Shal, 13 years old, was going to a nearby well to collect water when he stepped on a landmine. The boy died immediately. Kyal Sin Hein, 16 years old, was last seen at a protest. Witnesses reported that security forces loaded his body into a military truck after he was shot in the head. Still, officials never communicated with his parents about the circumstances of their child’s disappearance. Nyi Naing Phyo, 14 years old, was working with his parents on road construction. The military opened fire on civilians’ defence fighters. The young boy fled the area and sought refuge at a nearby railway station. The indiscriminate shooting continued nonetheless, and the boy was hit twice. Fourteen years of age, Sunday Aye was outside a friend’s house playing when 50 soldiers started to shoot. Sunday Aye succumbed.
Imprisonment and arbitrary detention as dissuasive levers
Imprisonment is another tool of deterrence and discipline used by the junta. Since the coup, mass arrests and detention have struck the population. According to AAPP (the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners), as of March 30, 9,991 were arrested, charged, or sentenced, and 1,974 were charged with a warrant but are evading arrest. Among these, numbers are minors. Per the AAPP report, at least 255 children have been arrested. Only 62 have been released; the vast majority (191) remain in jail, and two have been sentenced to death.
From as young as 9 months to 18 years old, kids are arbitrarily detained in police stations, prisons, and military detention centres. Children are jailed with their imprisoned families or used as hostages. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the authority to hold in police stations or detention centres the offspring of those who are wanted. The case of Min Zaw Oo, illustrates how the military uses family and children as a way to curb any form of opposition.
Last year, the army tried to arrest Min Zaw Oo for his participation in the civil disobedient protests. Unable to locate him, the security forces jailed his mother-in-law, wife, and daughter. The young girl has recently spent her third birthday in Yangon’s Insein Prison. The father, in despair, thought of turning himself in. Knowing that his detention by no way equated to the automatic release of his loved one, he is still escaping arrest.
The detention conditions are not only inherently traumatic experiences because children are punished for their parents’ political opinions, but also because of the abusive treatment they endure. Children are brutalised when arrested and while detained. Some have reported being forced to kneel, lie or stand in stressed positions. Su Htet Waing, daughter of political activist Soe Htay, was not even 5-year-old when she was arrested with her mom and older sister. The little girl was compelled to maintain a half-sitting, half-standing position during her 18 days of detention.
Such treatment is considered torture by the United Nations Committee Against Torture. A special U.N. rapporteur discussing the abuse described the atrocity of imprisonment: children are beaten, and some are found with iron rods burns on their legs. A teenager’s testimony to Human right Watch further described the mistreatment of arrested young people. The 17-year-old was beaten while blindfolded for days, hit with a bamboo stick filled with cement and burned with lit cigarettes. He was also buried alive in a mock burial.
Imprisonment of children is a particularly effective oppressive practice with long-lasting consequences. The traumatic experience is not limited solely to custody but instead scares children permanently. Parents of released victims have reported that their children suffer from severe trauma and anxiety and live in constant fear. So Htay’s daughter, released last summer, still screams for help in her sleep. Thus, the arrests of hundreds of children throughout the country are causing them lasting damage, a direct consequence of the junta’s terror campaign intended to spread fear.
Displaced population, durable consequences for future generations
The conflict has displaced a significant share of the Burmese population. Bombing, airstrikes, and military raids have indeed left no choice but for many to leave everything they have ever owned behind. They often leave in a rush at the sound of approaching gunfire, with hardly time to collect the bare necessities and run for their lives. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that nearly half a million have fled. At least 150,000 children have been forced from their homes within a year. Some seek refuge in neighbouring countries such as India or Thailand. Nevertheless, the adversity does not end when, after a harrowing journey, one successfully crosses the border. Rather often, unwelcoming governments and a lack of official recognition of refugee status await on the other side, putting their life in limbo. Others are hiding in the nearest jungle, living in particularly precarious conditions and makeshift shelters for protection against the torrential rains that hit the region during the monsoon. The army, blocking aid and attacking health workers, leaves the displaced population in life-threatening conditions.
For the displaced children, leaving is a synonym not only for losing their home and touch with their friends, relatives, and community but also lacking access to the most basic necessities. Food is scarce. Some families have been sharing a single meal among their members; some have reported having rice broth as their sole subsistence. Malnourishment is rampant. Clean water is scarce. Healthcare and hygiene are scarce. In the state of Rakhine, nine children have died of acute diarrhoea. In Chin, access to dirking water and lavatories is difficult. In the region of Maway, some of the youth populations are affected by skin disease. In Kayah State, four babies died last summer because of the military blocking medical aid. The situation for displaced people, particularly those who found refuge in the jungle, is so precarious that the U.N. warned that “mass deaths from starvation, disease, and exposure” are expected in Kayah, for instance.
Education is often inexistent. The testimony of a teenager for the Guardian exemplifies the impossibility for displaced children to pursue their education. With only one year left in high school, the girl’s family found refuge in the jungle after their house was razed in combat. The teen confides: “currently, my family doesn’t have a house to live in, and I have no chance to study. All of my dreams were reduced to ashes, just like the homes in Thantlang, including mine”. Youth on the move are also at more risk of abuse, trafficking, enrolment into an armed group, injury, and death. Indeed, fleeing violence does not correlate to escaping violence. On January 17, 2022, the Tatmadaw bombed Ree Khee Buu west of Hpruso. The camp hosted hundreds of internally displaced people who hoped to find a safe shelter. The explosion, only a few meters away from the building where many were shielding, took the lives of two young girls 12 and 15 years of age and an elderly man.
The state of education in Myanmar since the coup
The pre-existing lack of educational access among the Burmese youth furthered by the pandemic and the subsequent school closures was only reinforced by the coup. Indeed, the overthrown of Aung San Su Kyi’s government has had dramatic consequences on the country’s educational system and children’s school access. Firstly, the material damage to educational facilities due to bombing or nearby combat has impeded the prompt return of students behind their school desks. Save the Children estimated that more than 100 schools and academic buildings were attacked in the first few months of the conflict. Secondly, the military presence frightening children and their families alike have pushed many out of the education system. The Tatmadaw have occupied dozens of schools and universities. Soldiers are at school gates, in school buses, and even in classrooms.
Lastly, the broad civil involvement against the return of the military rules also impacts youth education. A significant portion of the disobedience movement or for professors have been suspended for their participation in the civil refusing to return to work. In May of last year, days before the new school year, the junta threatened to suspend 125,900 of the 430,000 teachers. Forced out of their classrooms or standing up to the army, professors have had to choose between their vocations and convictions. For many such as Dr Daw Shwe Pon, part of the ousted National Unity Government, the message is clear” “Do not forget: teachers that return to [military-run] schools are betraying their country”.
Students and families also have had to choose between education and political opinion. Parents fear not only the indoctrination of their children in the state-run schools, thus betraying their loyalty to the pro-democratic movement, but also the social implication the children’s return to school may have. Many defenders of democracy argue that sending children back to state-run schools is an act of treason. Khin Maung Shwe, a dad from Yangon, faced his family’s disapprobation when he sent his daughter back to school. In an interview, the dad stated his parents berated him and were afraid of the consequences if anyone were to discover the situation. As an example of the coup’s impact on education last May, 90% of students were not enrolled by two days before the end of school registration.
Help Children in Myanmar
Facing adversity, children in Myanmar need your support more than ever. Child sponsorship is a great way to offer Burmese youth a better future. Thanks to your generous donation, your sponsored child will be able to gain access to education. You will also allow them to be fed, dressed and schooled. Your contribution means that your sponsored child will be able to afford all they need to complete their education successfully. | https://www.childrenofthemekong.org/myanmar-the-youth-in-danger/ | fineweb | 12,726 | 2.75 |
IFRS means International Financial Reporting Standard. This standard deals with accounting for business combinations specially for treatment of goodwill and other intangible except goodwill. This standard deals with the brand value issues in business combinations except joint ventures. According to IFRS the goodwill is an assets acquired after acquisition. Its initial value is equal to the following :
Goodwill = Net Fair value of the Acquire (F – N) – Cost of Net Assets taken over by the acquire.
International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) – prohibits amortization of goodwill Instead of its amortization goodwill is tested for impairement i.e. For diminish in value every year and accounting is done according to IAS – 36. AS per IAS – 36, goodwill is recorded at cost less impairment charges (Loss in its value). International Accounting Standard -38 deals with the accounting issues of intangible which are not dealt with as goodwill. This standard states that an enterprises must report or disclose in the acquired intangibles separately in Balance Sheet. All identifiable intangible assets (other than goodwill) are to be recorded at Fair value. Only those intangibles are to be recorded which are separately identifiable and are controlled by an enterpris. Moreover, the future cash inflow accruing from the intangibles are also to be determined. Such intangible include, Trade Mark, Internet domain name, Brand Royalty, Franchise, Patented Technology, Software etc.
IAS – 36 deals with the goodwill and other intangible assets like brand. The impairement in intangible assets has to be least once in a year. It involves the following two steps –
1. Compare fair value of the Asset with its book value
When FV > BV, no impairement is done
When FV < BV, impairement of intangible assets has to be done 2. Compare implied fair value with book value and note the difference. If the difference is a loss, allocate the same to the unit of intangible asset. | https://www.bcsmjaipur.com/ifrs-and-brand-valuation/ | fineweb | 1,969 | 3.03125 |
If you are dealing with a soy allergy, you are probably well aware that soy seems to be in almost every single processed food. Whether in the form of soy flour, soybean oil or soy lecithin; soy is everywhere. How do you know which foods to avoid and which might be okay to consume? The answer is not as easy as you might think.
Many allergists tell their patients to avoid contact with any form of their allergen. However, some forms of food are so highly processed that no allergen protein remains. This can also be true of soy.
Lecithin is a term used to describe a fatty substance found in animal and plant tissue composed of phosphoric acid, choline, fatty acids, glycerol, glycolipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids. It is used in food manufacturing as an emulsifier.
In very simple terms, soy lecithin is a byproduct of soybean processing. It helps to bind ingredients together.
In food manufacturing you will typically see it listed as the last ingredient on the ingredient label.
From the US Food and Drug Administration:
“As noted, lecithin derived from soy contains very small amounts of soy protein and it is generally used in small amounts, whether for a functional or technical effect in the finished food or as an incidental additive. The proteins in soy lecithin have been found, in some cases, to be soy allergens, and there are a few case reports in the medical literature of allergic reactions to lecithin derived from soy. However, allergy to lecithin derived from soy has been neither definitively established nor definitively negated by oral food challenge studies. Despite its widespread use in the food supply, FDA is aware of only a few allergen-related complaints about FDA-regulated products containing lecithin derived from soy.(8) Also, FDA is aware that some clinicians believe that foods containing lecithin derived from soy present little or no allergic risk to soy-sensitive consumers, and these physicians do not advise their soy allergic patients to avoid lecithin derived from soy.”
If you are severely allergic to soy, you should avoid soy in all forms. However, it is possible that some allergic individuals can tolerate some levels of soy without reaction – especially soy lecithin. Discuss this information with your allergist. It might open up a variety of new foods for you to try making food shopping eaiser. | https://www.bestallergysites.com/soy-lecithin/ | fineweb | 2,353 | 2.953125 |
The symptoms can vary. It can begin with a spiking fever, an unexplained rash, or a swollen knuckle.
Whatever the symptoms may be, having your child diagnosed with “arthritis” can be daunting, confusing and, yes, unexpected.
What is arthritis?
Essentially, arthritis is an inflammation of the joints. When inflamed, the joints can get warm, swollen, stiff and painful. Approximately 1 in 1,000 children in the United States alone develops some type of arthritis.
In some cases, the condition can be short-term—lasting only a few weeks or months then disappearing forever—or it can be chronic and persists for months or years. The most common form of juvenile arthritis is juvenile idiopathic arthritis or JIA. It is also otherwise known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).
What is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis?
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is considered the most prevalent type of arthritis in children under 16 years of age. The condition is characterized by persistent joint swelling, pain and stiffness. Some types of JRA can result in serious complications like eye inflammation and growth problems like deformities.
What causes JRA?
The exact cause of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is not known. Some research, however, indicates it might be an autoimmune disease.
In people with autoimmune conditions, the immune system is unable to differentiate between the harmful substances (bacteria and viruses) and their own healthy cells. This can cause the immune system to attack harmless cells like they are foreign invaders.
In children afflicted with JRA, the immune system releases chemicals that damage healthy tissues like ligaments, cartilage and bone, resulting in pain and inflammation in the joints.
What are the different types of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis?
JRA can develop in children between 6 months and 16 years old.
There are seven types of JRA:
- Oligoarthritic – this condition often develops in only a few joints like the ankle or the knee. Symptoms can include joint swelling, stiffness, and pain. There are two types of oligoarthritis—extended and persistent. The type is determined by the number of joints affected.
- Psoriatic arthritis – children with this type of arthritis are also likely to suffer from the psoriasis rash (a red and scaly rash that often starts in the knees, scalp, elbows, eyelids, and behind the ears).
- Systemic JRA – this type affects the entire body. One of the most prevalent symptoms of the condition is high fever that often occurs in the evenings. At the onset of the fever, the child can feel very ill, develop a rash, and appear pale. The spleen and the lymph nodes might also become enlarged. Rashes can also appear and disappear—manifesting in one area and then moving to another.
- Polyarticular arthritis, rheumatoid factor positive – this kind behaves a lot like adult rheumatoid arthritis. Children with polyarticular arthritis either have anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP antibody) or a protein called rheumatoid factor (RF) in their blood. Those afflicted with the condition have a higher risk of suffering from joint damage with erosions compared to those afflicted with other types.
- Enthesitis-related arthritis – oftentimes, this kind of arthritis affects the spine and legs. Children affected can also have inflammation of the entheses (the area where the tendons join the bones). Enthesitis-related arthritis can also include juvenile ankylosing spondylitis (a condition characterized by inflammation of spinal joints) and arthritis linked with inflammatory bowel diseases (like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease).
- Polyarticular arthritis, rheumatoid factor negative – at least 1 in 4 children with JRA have polyarthritis. The condition is also more common in girls than in boys. Common symptoms include pain and swelling in five (or more) joints. In most cases, the weight-bearing joints like the hips, ankles, feet, neck, and knees are affected. Nodules or bumps, as well as low-grade fever, might also develop in children with the condition.
- Undifferentiated arthritis – this type includes arthritis that fits into more than one categories and those that do no not fit into any of the above categories at all.
How is the condition diagnosed?
To accurately diagnose the condition, a pediatric orthopaedics specialist will ask questions about the child’s symptoms and conduct a thorough physical exam.
Blood tests and X-rays may also be ordered to rule out other infections and conditions—like Lyme disease—that may share similar symptoms.
Other tests may include:
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
- Blood culture
- Complete blood count (CBC)
- Antinuclear antibody (ANA)
- C-reaction protein
- Rheumatoid Arthritis factor
What are the treatment options for JRA?
Usually, the management of JRA involves a combination of exercise, physical therapy, and medication. In some cases, a corticosteroid injection into the joint will be recommended. In very rare instances, surgery may be required.
Treatment goals include minimizing the inflammation, relieving the pain, preventing (or slowing down) damage to the joints, restoring function and use of the joints, and promoting physical activity, optimal growth, and emotional and social development.
To ease the pain and reduce the inflammation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like salicylates and ibuprofen may be prescribed. Dosage can vary depending on the child’s response to the medication.
If joint inflammation is not controlled by NSAIDs, other medications like methotrexate might be given. The treatment regime escalates according to severity, a scheme also known as DMARD (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs).
A physical therapy program is considered vital in the management of arthritis regardless of type. A physical therapist will recommend exercises tailored to the child’s specific condition. At times, splinting may be necessary to rest highly inflamed joints.
Exercises that will enhance endurance and strength and range-of-motion exercises that help restore flexibility will also be taught.
A regular exercise program is important to keep the muscles healthy and strong so it can protect and support the joints. Recommended activities can include swimming, walking, and bicycling.
To play safe, ask the doctor about likely sports restrictions. Keep in mind that some sports, especially the high impact ones can be hazardous to joints that are already deformed, weakened, or damaged. | https://www.bjios.sg/what-you-need-to-know-about-juvenile-rheumatoid-arthritis/ | fineweb | 6,459 | 3.40625 |
Bilingual education makes good use of different languages during the teaching process. It might be challenging to enrol in an English-speaking school when they speak French. If that happens, such individuals would have difficulties understanding what they study. As such, it becomes difficult to achieve good performance.
However, students can improve their English by engaging in various courses or shared units in a bilingual learning school. Parents who have traveled to a foreign country, probably an English-speaking region, should enrol their children in bilingual schools. And why is that so?
Here are some of the advantages of engaging in bilingual education:
1- Improved academic Grades
Students who have been to bilingual learning institutions or undertaken bilingual programs acquire more knowledge than those who only speak and understand one language. The best part about being bilingual is that it creates confidence, and one can talk with people from various races and backgrounds without feeling left out.
It is worthy for students to learn multi-languages at an early age as they progress rather than wait until they join higher education. Many college students would miss a chance of getting admission to some of the best universities because they offer courses in a different language besides what they know.
Individuals who take bilingual courses in high school or college can work for more prominent organizations requiring professionals who can speak multiple languages quickly. Don’t also forget to request writing help from essay writers that offer services in different languages. So, why not improve your academic performance by engaging in courses offered in other languages?
2- Creates Cultural awareness
Knowing norms and other people’s cultures can be more accessible if a student knows how to speak the different languages. Associating with students from other ethnic grounds gives one confidence and broadens the mind through learning and experiencing different cultures and environments.
Students engage through poems, songs, books, and other meaningful sources to expand their knowledge and learn about the second language in bilingual classrooms. It is possible to understand and appreciate different cultures without being educated on their tongue. Still, it is more advantageous to know the language to boost your confidence and gain that sense of belonging when you visit the native country.
3- Traveling is easier
How would it feel when you are super excited to visit a country, but everything is not like you expected when you get there because you can’t understand their language? Speaking multiple tongues allows individuals to communicate with the locals from other countries.
Learning a different language would heighten your experience and make it more enjoyable to visit other places. It might not be very comfortable to go to a hotel only to realize that you can’t read the menu before ordering. Or maybe you get lost and need directions, and the only language you speak is different from the natives’.
Such situations make it difficult to feel free or have a lifetime experience. You should familiarize yourself with multiple languages if you plan to visit travel.
4- Boosts the economy
When a country’s economy is at a fall or a particular company, bilingual individuals usually retain their jobs. Monolinguals tend to lose theirs faster because they are less advantaged. One advantage of being bilingual is that you are mobile and can travel to different countries to work or deliver particular services.
Most bilingual students acquire jobs more quickly than those who can only understand one language. Companies that need to grow and extend their services worldwide would hire candidates who can communicate in various languages.
A bilingual employee could be earning better than one who understands only one language because of their qualification and can communicate with a larger audience when marketing services. The advantage of being bilingual is tremendous, and maybe it could be an ideology that are people speaking more languages should be favored and intelligent?
Suppose everyone could embrace the fact that learning a new language is fun. Learning at an early age is essential, but it is never too late since you can also do so at an older age and excel if you put in so much focus. Bilingual individuals’ minds are always diverse and flexible since they hold so much information from various aspects of life and different cultures.
Learning a new language is great for students and can be fun if you plan your time well. You can opt for part-time classes if you have a lot of commitments. Through that, you can boost your understanding and excel in your careers with ease. | https://www.bourbonandboots.com/four-relevance-of-bilingual-education/ | fineweb | 4,737 | 3.1875 |
How Big Data Is Shaping The Future of IoT Technology
Big data existed way before the IoT technology started to get popular in the tech industry. Its main purpose back then was to perform analytics; wherein, information is considered to be big data when it has the 4 Vs.– Variety, volume, velocity, and veracity.
This collection of massive data which can either be structured or unstructured, while the veracity determines its uncertainty and velocity the speed of data. That said, allow us to discuss how big data is shaping the future of IoT technology.
1. The Collection of Digital Machine IoT Data
Most industry leaders would tell you that shortly, IoT would be one of the main focuses of most organizations. As a matter of fact, everyone is already thinking about it. Wherein, the industry goals would open doors to visions where original data are collected and entered manually, while the data coming from the machines would be collected and utilized.
This would change the way organizations carry out their day-to-day tasks. One good example of this would be the drone-hosted data; it’s combined with an array of sensory, as well as standard data for an operator to monitor how it functions. Big data and IoT vendors would be called to help companies regarding this.
2. Data Volume Will Keep on Growing
With big data, data volumes will keep on growing shortly, and there’s no question about that. It will continue to expand, generating massive quantities of data especially if we’ll think about the number of handheld devices, as well as Internet-connected devices used on a daily basis. This only proves that the growth would be exponential.
3. Computer World + Real World = New World
Most would say that this sounds like a science fiction, but the truth is, we already live in an era known as the “computer world, ” and the “real world” are slowly merging with this as well.
To support that, let’s have a look at a tiny sampling of databases that examine everything, ranging from your TV habits into something more personal, such as your love interest. This information is offers powerful options to companies to improve their Internet marketing strategies by personalizing their online content for each of their users.
Believe it or not, Netflix collects this kind of information on the movies and television shows you often tune in, together with the duration you spend on your flat-screen TV.
Even dating sites, such as eHarmony and Match.com collects and records the attributes you prefer in a mate, and education sites, such as Coursera and Udemy take note of what you want to study and learn.
Everything is recorded on a graph for the user to understand better and make future actions based on this. Then, social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook learn about their users’ personality based on the photos posted, pages being liked, and so on.
What we’re trying to say is that IoT technology is being utilized hand in hand with big data to know more about the users and use the information taken from them.
4. The Impact on Transportation and Safety
Big data would also affect the future of logistics, and we’re already experiencing the effects of these– such as in smart traffic safety cones. However, it doesn’t end with that. There’s still a lot of future possibilities to watch out for, and it’s important to understand how it’s going to affect you.
Obviously, there will be a lot going on, and one of which would be the smart cones capable of transmitting data. This would not only improve safety, but also a way to alert drivers, and traffic enforcers if there’s something that needs to be done.
Bringing the Two Together
Disruptive technology calls for new infrastructures, and this includes the software and hardware applications together with the operating systems. It’s important for the enterprises to be able to deal with the sudden surge of data and be able to analyze it in real time as it starts to grow.
This is where big data enters; the big data analytics tool will help you handle loads of data transmitted from IoT devices to produce the information you need at a steady rate. Though, just to differentiate the two, IoT will be delivering the information from which big data gather information to come up with insights necessary.
On the other hand, IoT brings data on a different scale; for that reason, it’s important that it would be able to accommodate the needs of rapid ingestion, as well as processing.
Chris is a Digital Media Strategy Consultant in Orlando, FL who provides small business owners with valuable content as a trusted freelance copywriter, PPC manager, and SEO strategist. Chris is also passionate about startup marketing, environmental issues, and emerging technologies. | https://sys-techs.com/how-big-data-is-shaping-the-future-of-iot-technology/ | fineweb | 4,732 | 2.671875 |
Every child is a gifted child. At Tabernacle we respect the unique giftedness of all children and work to help them discover and develop their gifts.
Because children are gifted in different ways, we offer a broad range of programs designed to help them develop their own unique strengths. We respect and work to develop the following universally recognized areas of giftedness.
Having the ability to use words effectively. A student with this gift will show great skill with written and/or spoken language. Political leaders, legal experts and writers have developed this ability to a high degree.
Having the ability to reason well. A child with this ability is interested in patterns and relationships among things and loves puzzles and brainteasers. Computer and financial specialists are especially gifted logically and mathematically.
Having a keen ear and sense of rhythm. Musically gifted children frequently sing, hum or whistle because they possess an innate sensitivity toward the musical elements of melody, tone, and rhythm. Many professional musicians first demonstrated musical potential at a very early age.
Having the ability to perceive and transform things visually. Children who are spatially oriented think in three dimensional terms. They not only “see” things clearly i the mind’s eye, but they can manipulate them in their imaginations. These children are mechanics artists, designers, surgeons, mechanics and scientific theorists.
Having grace or agility, using one’s body in a highly-skilled way. Kinesthetically gifted children are gifted with fine-motor skills used for sewing, crafts, typing, drawing and fixing machinery. Future athletes, dancers, swimmers, and sometimes inventors or actor are among this group.
Being gifted at understanding others. Children gifted with interpersonal skills have the ability to empathize and understand other people. They have the uncanny sense of saying or doing the right thing at just the right time. People in service professions such as teachers, therapists, and counselors exhibit this gift.
Having deep insight into oneself. Children who recognize their own strengths and weaknesses are gifted with intrapersonal skills. When these skills become highly developed, one is able to detect and to symbolize complex and highly differentiated sets of feelings. Poets are good representatives of this group.
Having the ability to take people where they would not go alone, love them and serve them. We believe this gift is God-given. The school’s staff readily embraces those students who have this intelligence. The students are encouraged and taught how to serve others. Teachers, pastors, presidents, and politicians exhibit this gift.
Having the faith to comprehend and love God’s creation a s a gift to mankind to prove His Existence. The creationist intelligence is connected to the cosmos and the belief in the truthful narrative of the creation of God. This narrative runs through the world view of our school. The student will absorb the truth of everything taught about the cosmos. Future farmers, scientists, and geologist often display the characteristics of this gift.
Having a desire to live ethically. Children who have a heart attitude and desire to conscientiously seek truth and justice are gifted with moral skills. They are able to delay self-gratification and make good decisions. Moral intelligence is the foundation upon which the gifts must be nurtured and developed. | https://tabernacle.school/gift-program/ | fineweb | 3,455 | 2.96875 |
History of Rwanda
On April 6, 1994, the airplane carrying President Habyarimana and the President of Burundi was shot down as it prepared to land at Kigali. Both presidents were killed. As though the shooting down was a signal, military and militia groups began rounding up and killing all Tutsis and political moderates, regardless of their ethnic background.
NOTE: The information regarding the Rwanda on this page is re-published from U.S. Department of State. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Rwanda History information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Rwandan History should be addressed to the U.S. Department of State | http://workmall.com/wfb2001/rwanda/rwanda_history_chaos_after_killing_the_president_habyarimana.html | fineweb | 671 | 3.109375 |
June in the West
June started out warm, turned cool, then returned to extreme and record warmth at month end, with little relief for most areas affected by ongoing drought.
Impressive high temperature records fell in the Southwest. Tucson, Arizona saw its first June on record (1895+) where all days logged triple digit highs. This was the warmest June in 119 years at both Tucson, with an average 89.5 F (31.9 C), and at Phoenix, with an average 94.8 F (34.8 C). On the 30th, Death Valley, California hit 129 F (53.9 C), the hottest June temperature ever at this station, and also equal to the highest June reading in United States history. On the same day, Las Vegas, Nevada tied its all-time hottest temperature for any month at 117 F (47.2 C), ending the warmest June in their 76-year record with an average 91.5 F (33.0 C). Reno, Nevada hit 100 F (37.8 C) on the 7th, the earliest century mark seen in their 76 year record, recorded their warmest June night (68 F / 20 C) on the 29th, capping their third warmest June at 71.8 F (22.1 C). Salt Lake City, Utah saw its highest June temperature on record (1874+) with 105 F (40.6 C) readings on both the 28th and 29th, to end their third warmest June, averaging 75.3 F (24.1 C). Elko, Nevada also tied its all-time June record high on the 30th at 104 F (40.0 C).
Not atypically, many locations in Southern California, southern Nevada, Utah, and Arizona reported no June precipitation. Precipitation totals for the last twelve months were a scant 5.85 in (149 mm) in Los Angeles, the 6th driest such period in 137 years and 39% of normal. Thunderstorms throughout the month brought much needed precipitation to isolated locations in the Great Basin, Arizona, eastern New Mexico and Colorado. However, Salt Lake City, Utah recorded no measurable precipitation for the second June in a row and only the 3rd June since 1948. Drought conditions worsened this month over Four Corners region, northern Great Basin, and Wyoming.
Near the Canadian border, conditions were cool as low pressure systems paraded past. These systems brought ample June precipitation to eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, the Idaho panhandle, and northern Montana. Sunnyside, in south-central Washington, logged its second wettest June in a 119-year record at 2.43 in (62 mm). Glasgow, in northeastern Montana, received 4.19 in (106 mm) precipitation, 180% of normal. An atmospheric river event, a feature more typical of December and January, doused parts of northern California near the end of the month. Santa Rosa, California, received 1.5 in (38 mm) for the month, 625% of the normal 0.24 in (6 mm).
After a cooler than normal spring, a mid-June heat wave brought record-breaking temperatures to South Central Alaska. McGrath hit 94 F (34.4 C) on June 17, shattering the previous all-time record at that location of 90 F (32.2 C) from June 15, 1969. Talkeetna hit 96 F (35.6 C), on the 17th as well, 5 F (2.8 C) above the standing record 91 F (32.8 C), and just 4 F (2.2 C) shy of the all-time annual Alaska record. Several other locations also saw all-time records tied or broken. Heat and continuing dryness greatly increased the incidence of fire in interior Alaska.
Significant Events for June 2013
June 7 and 16: Dust storms in Albuquerque, New Mexico: Strong outflow from thunderstorms churned up dust from the dry land surface twice this month, creating walls of dust that moved through the Albuquerque metro area. Though common in other parts of the Southwest, these dust storms are not frequently observed in Albuquerque.
June 10: Winnemucca dust storm: A dust storm caused 27 vehicles to crash and one fatality on Interstate 80 near Winnemucca, Nevada. High afternoon winds moved dust across the highway, reducing visibility.
June 11-20: Black Forest Fire, Colorado: The Black Forest Fire occurred within an urbanized area in central Colorado. The blaze charred 14,280 acres (5779 hectares), destroyed 502 structures and damaged 18, many of them homes.
Late June: Yarnell Hill fire, Arizona: 19 firefighter fatalities: A lightning strike ignited the Yarnell Hill wildfire southwest of Prescott, Arizona on June 28. The fire grew quickly on June 30 with hot, dry, and windy conditions. A change in winds and fire movement trapped the 19 firefighters on June 30. The fire had reached approximately 8,500 acres (3440 hectares) by the end of the month and threatened 250 structures.
June (all month) Fires in the West: At month’s end, there were 28 large fires burning in the West. Despite loss of life and property, for the year-to-date, 2013 is at approximately 60% of the 10-year average for both number of fires and acres burned in the nation. | http://wrcc.dri.edu/articles/45/ | fineweb | 4,685 | 3.28125 |
Showing all 10 results
Brittle Bones: A Density Problem
How does low bone density increase the risk for bone fractures?
How do bacteria turn on and turn off genes?
Why can some people taste PTC while others cannot?
Create a model to illustrate cell communication.
Modeling Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
Use snap beads to model the reactants and products.
Learn how stem cells can be used to treat diseases.
Cell Membranes: Diffusion and Osmosis
Create a model cell to observe diffusion through a membrane. | http://www.sciencetakeout.com/product-category/topic/cell-biology/ | fineweb | 515 | 3 |
The German space agency is reportedly preparing for a mission to the moon.
The head of the German Space Programme (DLR), Walter Doellinger, told the Financial Times Deutschland that it would be ready by 2013 to send an unmanned space shuttle to orbit the earth's only natural satellite.
"We want to show that Germany has the know-how," he said, after the DLR presented its plans for the mission to the German parliament.
Completing a moon mission would catapult the country into the league of nations which can send spacecraft into orbit.
Doellinger said the federal government was mulling the project.
A high-ranking official in the economy ministry, Helge Engelhard, said Berlin was "not negatively disposed" towards a moon mission.
He added that the mission should have clear scientific or technical goals.
It is estimated that sending a shuttle to orbit the moon would cost Germany between 300 and 400 million euros (396 million to 528 million dollars).
Italy and Britain are also currently looking at sending unmanned shuttles around the moon.
Germany became the first nation to launch a man-made object into space in the 1940s when it tested the V-2 ballistic missile which it used towards the end of World War II.
Originally posted by Royal76
We need a base there now. Before some one from China or France, Germany takes a dump on the flag that never moves. | http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread270425/pg | fineweb | 1,364 | 3.28125 |
One of the two Bible creation myths was probably derived from the much older Mesopotamian creation myth "Enuma Elish".
The six days of creation in the Genesis myth parallel the six generations of gods in the Enuma Elish myth in type of god in Enuma Elish that is created (i.e. god of the earth) to what is created or happens on the corresponding day in Genesis (i.e. the waters are gathered together to expose dry land).
Marduk the sixth generation god makes man as a slave so the other gods can rest.
God (Elohim) makes man on the sixth day and he himself rests.
The Enuma Elish six generations of gods:
Introduction to the Enuma Elish
Enuma elish, "when the skies above. . .", is one of the oldest written creation myths in existence. This Babylonian creation myth was found on seven tablets in the library of Assyrian emperor Ashubanipal (667 - 626 BC) in Ninevah. The Enuma Elish tells the tale of the creation of the universe, and of man himself. Often compared to the biblical creation account in Genesis, the earliest tablets date from around 2000 b.c., although scholars feel that it was an ancient oral tradition before then.
The Enuma Elish is often compared to the creation account in Genesis. For example, the Babylonian god finished his work within the span of 6 tablets of stone and Genesis reports six days of creation. In the Enuma, the last and 7th stone exalted the handiwork and greatness of the diety's work while Genesis reports the seventh day as Rest of God. Mankind formed on tablet 6 of the Enuma Elish and Adam and Eve are formed on day 6 in the Genesis account. Other similarities include the following: Earth and sky are formed on tablet four in Enuma Elish and earth and sky separated on day two of Genesis account; The sun and moon and stars are created in the sky to mark seasons on tablet 5 of Enuma Elish and on day four of Genesis account.
I believe genesis creation to be truth not a myth.
The fact that other storys similar existed in other cultures backs up the bible.
I should really stop advertising that site but its got really good informatin on it.
Most cultures around the world have the story of a worldwide flood. that supports noah.
Originally posted by ZeroDeep
Im not sure if other cultures worlwide have accumulated flood stories during the time of Noah's flood. Links?
Im sure some University courses could clear up all these answers for me ( Dropped Business, heading into Theology/Philosophy ) | http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread36806/pg1 | fineweb | 2,445 | 3.203125 |
GIRDLING PEACHES FOR PROFIT - A REVIEW OF THE PRACTICE
Girdling (removal of a strip of bark tissue) is a practice that has been used on fruit plants for centuries. California as well as the countries of Israel and South Africa utilize girdling as a regular part of their cultural program on peaches and nectarines. Following years of experience, growers in California have ably mastered the art of girdling to accomplish two primary goals, namely to increase fruit size and earliness of harvest. They presently girdle practically all early peach varieties through the Coronet season. Their early nectarine varieties are handled in a similar fashion. California's Marketing Order usually imposes a minimum 2 1/4 inch (88 count) size (for shipping) on their earliest peach varieties. Girdling is one of the main tools that enables California growers to ship such a large minimum size so early in the season.
Before 1979 no girdling was being done in the Southeast. As a result of some preliminary studies we conducted in 1978 and 1979 in south Georgia and north Florida, girdling became a recommended practice (on trial basis) in commercial plantings in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
To further determine how well girdling would work under southeastern conditions, studies were conducted in commercial plantings in Alabama from 1979 through 1984. The results of these studies were very promising and indicated that girdling of early peach varieties could prove safe and quite profitable for growers when the practice is properly used. After several years of girdling trees in commercial plantings (especially in Georgia and Alabama) during the early 80's, this practice has become well accepted and utilized across the southeastern peach belt.
Although an increase in fruit size (by 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter) and greater earliness of harvest are two of the most important benefits of girdling, several other valuable benefits may be gained from this practice. Among the most noteworthy are: (1) an increase in yield by 1/4 to 1/2 bushel per tree, (2) fewer pickings (usually 2 to 4 compared to the normal 3 to 5) and a greater percentage of crop is harvested during the first picking (an enhanced concentration of ripening), (3) an increase in red skin color (helps in meeting USDA color standards), (4) use of an outstanding variety to partially or completely replace (by moving harvest season forward) an earlier poorer performing variety, (5) where desirable, the harvesting period for a large block of a single variety may be split, and (6) provides a fruit sizing benefit generally equal or superior to that realized from extensive and costly bloom thinning of early varieties. This permits the grower to adequately size early peaches without risking an increased crop loss from freeze damage following bloom thinning. But with all practices, the bottom line is profit, and our demonstration studies in Alabama have shown that girdling can increase gross income per acre by several hundred dollars (about $250 to $800 per acre).
Girdling has primary value for early varieties which characteristically have smaller fruit size and lower yields than mid and late-season varieties. Varieties vary somewhat in their response to girdling (some give more fruit size and yield increase than others, etc.). However, all of the early varieties we have studied thus far have responded quite well to the treatment.
Earliness of harvest is very important to growers because prices usually
start high at the beginning of the season and steadily fall until they
"bottom out" in early to mid July. Some recovery in price usually occurs
after this date. Through the use of girdling we have been able to consistently
advance the first harvest date of very early varieties such as Camden and
Springold by at least 3 to 4 days, Rubired by 7 days, while harvest of
the later maturing Redhaven is advanced by nearly 10 days. It should be
obvious that the harvest dates of later maturing varieties are advanced
much more than for early varieties. In general, the following chart applies
to how much the harvest date can be advanced by girdling:
|Days Variety Ripens Before Elberta||Number of Days1 Ripening is Advanced|
|50 to 60||3 to 5|
|35 to 45||6 to 8|
|30 and earlier||9 to 12|
Definition of terms is very important in understanding the difference between girdling and scoring. Both of these practices have been evaluated in our demonstration work. Girdling refers to the cutting and removal of a strip of bark tissue from the trunk or scaffold branch (Figure 1). This is achieved with a specially designed girding knife (Figure 2). Scoring involves the severing of bark tissue (to the wood) with a knife, but no bark tissue is removed (Figure 3). A large-bladed knife of any type is satisfactory for scoring but a tile knife is ideal (Figure 4). For optimum results with the least detrimental effect, girdling (or scoring) must be done correctly. The following are suggestions for growers who wish to use the practice in their orchards:
Type of Trees and Varieties to Girdle
Generally only early season varieties need girdling (those ripening 30 or more days ahead of Elberta). This includes varieties ripening as early as Goldcrest and Camden and as late as the Maygold-Sentinel season. Girdling will work quite well on later maturing varieties but generally is not needed for adequate sizing. An exception would be a variety like Redhaven which has a sizing problem. Also, if there is a need to ripen part of a block of trees earlier, girdling could be used.
Girdle trees in their 5th leaf or older. Trees in 4th leaf may be girdled if they have attained good size and base of scaffold branches are at least 2 inches in diameter. Please note that trees in their 3rd and 4th leaf may be scored (preferably branches only) to enhance fruit size and earliness. Scoring is as good as girdling on some varieties but not as good on others. One of the main limiting factors in using scoring is the problem of growers being able to inspect trees to make certain cuts are being properly made (very difficult to see cuts and also know if they are deep enough).
Use only vigorous, healthy trees for girdling. Avoid girdling trees which appear weak and are under stress of any kind. This includes trees with gummosis or insect damage.
Only girdle trees which have full fruit crops. Girdling trees which have reduced crops because of poor set or damage by freezes and hail is not advisable. This could result in excessive sizing in some varieties and increased fractured or split pit problems.
Description of the Girdling/Scoring Process
There are at least three sizes of girdling knives available based on the width of cut, 1/8 inch, 3/16 inch and 1/4 inch. The 1/8 inch knife is recommended for younger, thinner barked trees (4th to 8th leaf) because complete healing of the cut area is realized quicker and with less difficulty. However, if properly used the 3/16 inch knife also works well. The use of a 3/16 inch knife should be restricted to 9th leaf trees and older having large scaffold limbs with thicker bark. It is easier to cut thicker bark with a wider blade. The wider the cut, the longer the time required for healing. In the case of very vigorous varieties such as Bicentennial and Springcrest, a wider cut might prove of value in allowing for more time for sizing of fruit. It is suggested, however, that growers learn the "art" of girdling first using the 1/8 inch knife. The 1/4 inch knife as used in California is not recommended.
Girdle the lower portions of the primary scaffold branches (Figure 5). Do not girdle trunks. Only girdle branches 2 inches in diameter and larger. The greater the diameter of the branch generally the more rapid and complete is the recovery process. Girdling of small branches can result in limited recovery and death. Girdling of trunks is not recommended.
Use an "S" (spiral) girdle rather than a complete girdle. A complete girdle is one in which the beginning and ending portions of the cut are brought together at the same point. An "S" girdle involves starting the cut at one point on the branch and ending the cut in line with the beginning cut but 1 to 2 inches above or below it (Figure 1). Thus the two ends of the cut forming the "S" girdle are separated by 1 to 2 inches of bark. Both types of girdling give the same results in terms of fruit size increase, etc., but the "S" girdle provides a higher degree of safety and recovery of the tree.
If scoring is used, it should be done at the recommended time for girdling. Two parallel cuts should be made about 1 inch apart on each scaffold branch with a tile knife (or equivalent) that has about 1/16 inch blade. Each of the two cuts should connect making a complete circle (Figures 3 & 4). It seems that the effectiveness of scoring may vary among varieties more so than girdling (scoring effect may not be as pronounced as girdling). For example, scoring has worked equally as well as girdling in sizing JuneGold fruits, but not quite as good as girdling with the Camden variety.
Proper Timing of Girdling
Girdling should be done approximately 4 to 8 weeks before normal harvest time. The final 10 to 20 days just ahead of complete pit hardening is ideal. For very early varieties such as Springold and Camden, this means girdling should be done about 4 weeks after bloom, which is about 4 weeks ahead of normal harvest. Where necessary these varieties may be girdled 2 1/2 to 3 weeks after bloom.
It is important that fruit thinning and girdling not be done at the same time because of the excessive shock to the tree and remaining fruit. This could cause an undesirable increase in the number of fruits with split pits. Ideally, trees should be thinned and then girdled several days later (allow at least 4 to 5 days between thinning and girdling). However, if it becomes necessary, trees may be girdled first and fruit thinning completed several days later. If a little follow up thinning is needed (after bulk of thinning is completed) this may be done within 2 days after girdling with no problem.
Girdling trees twice during the same season is not advised. Some growers have tried this approach because of serious problems in sizing fruits of certain varieties. Reportedly, some growers in California utilize this practice on one or more extremely vigorous varieties.
If a particular orchard is being girdled it is generally not necessary to bloom thin in order to produce adequate fruit size. However, with a real problem variety both practices could be combined to maximize fruit size. If this approach is followed the grower may observe some increase (though usually tolerable) in the level of visible split pits as compared to a tree that was bloom thinned only.
Callousing and complete healing of wounds normally takes only 3 to 4 weeks but may require another week or two in some cases (Figure 7). During the healing period, the girdling wounds are sometimes infested by lesser peach tree borer. Thus, during the period from girdling until harvest (4 to 7 weeks) attention should be given to directing the normal cover sprays to provide reasonable control of borers during this period. Once harvest is completed, a borer spray should be applied to lower portions of branches and trunk for season long control. This spray will normally be applied during June.
Trees under drought stress will fail to size their fruit adequately even if girdled. Irrigation (or rainfall) is essential in realizing the maximum effect from girdling. Where only periodic irrigation is being used, try to complete final irrigation no closer than 8 to 10 days before harvest.
Girdling does not replace the need for proper fruit thinning. Both practices are essential for developing optimum fruit size of early varieties.
Girdling places trees under considerable stress while they are maturing their crop. Therefore, it is recommended that mature, bearing trees receive at least 60 to 75 pounds of nitrogen per acre (such as 600 to 750 pounds of 10-0-10) during late January- February. Following harvest, girdled trees should receive an additional 20 to 40 pounds of nitrogen per acre such as 200 lbs./acre of calcium nitrate or 100 lbs./acre of ammonium nitrate (or other equivalent nitrogen source). A postharvest application of nitrogen is a part of the ten-point program for managing peach tree short life. The above fertilizer rates are provided as general guidelines and may be adjusted upward or downward based on previous fertilization experience, tree size, crop load and type soil involved. Maintaining good vigor is especially important for varieties susceptible to bacterial spot.
In result demonstration studies conducted since 1979, no problems with girdling the same trees in successive years were observed so long as good tree vigor was maintained and lesser borers were controlled. Thus, where proper nutrition and pest management are maintained, annual girdling of the same blocks works well.
Because of potential disease problems in all peach orchards, girdling knives should be dipped in a chlorine solution (9 parts water plus 1 part liquid chlorox) between blocks or rows of trees as conditions dictate. Although diseased trees should not be girdled, there is always the possibility a given block may have some diseased trees that are cut. If an area is free of gummosis, be certain all tools are treated before use in that block to avoid introducing the problem. After chlorine treatment, spray with an oil (such as WD-40 or equivalent) and wipe clean, otherwise the blade will corrode.
For growers who are interested in girdling but have never used the practice, it is suggested that only small blocks of trees of early varieties be used in initial testing. Only after having gained experience and confidence in using girdling on a few trees should growers consider extensive use of this practice.
Special Considerations at Harvest Time
Special attention should be paid to harvesting of blocks which have been girdled. Ripening of fruits on girdled trees occurs appreciably faster and must be more closely monitored by the grower. This greater speed of ripening is not as obvious in extremely early varieties such as Camden. However, it is definitely more noticeable with later ripening varieties such as Rubired and Redhaven (Figure 6).
The key in maintaining good firmness in fruit on girdled trees is to harvest at normal shipping maturity. Don't allow fruit to hang too long. Fruits do not have to be harvested every day but the grower should never allow more than one or two days between individual pickings. The grower who has a roadside market and wants to sell only tree-ripened fruit will have to harvest at least every other day.
Costs of Girdling Trees
Custom girdling costs usually vary from $.20 to $.75 per tree depending on difficulty of job. Young trees with only 3 to 5 properly arranged scaffold branches may only cost $.20 to $.30 per tree (Figure 8). Experienced workers can girdle about 100 trees or nearly an acre per 8-hour day. However, in some orchards workers may double this rate. Older, poorly trained trees are more difficult and costly to girdle (may cost $.50 to $.75 per tree).
Sources For Girdling Knives
The best and most economical source of girdling knives is VACA Shears, Fresno CA. This used to be part of Malaga Maid Manufacturing, the company that supplied knives in the past. Other companies such as Farmer's Buying Service, Fresno CA, Growers Supply, Reedley, CA and Michigan Orchard Supply Co., South Haven, MI, sell girdling knives to growers which they apparently purchase from VACA or other sources. For obvious reasons it is usually more economical for growers to obtain knives from a basic manufacturer than from a retailer, although they may be purchased from any of these companies.
It is recommended that growers purchase girdling knives without a scraper. These knives retail for around $24.00 each, but growers may be able to order them directly from the company at about a 40% discount. To order, growers should phone the company and ask about the shipping charge. Once this is determined they may forward their check for the total amount and the shipment should be received in a few days. The other method of ordering is to call the company, place the order and pay for the shipment C.O.D. | http://www.aces.edu/dept/peaches/peachgirdle.html | fineweb | 16,362 | 2.875 |
The Sacandaga Saga
How the creation of New York's eighth-largest lake left a flood of memories
by Frances Sigurdsson
IN SUMMER, BOATERS, ANGLERS AND SWIMMERS delight in Great Sacandaga Lake’s blue waters and 125 miles of shoreline. (“Lake George without the crowds!” tout real estate ads.) But old-timers will tell you this massive reservoir on the southern edge of the Adirondack Park—twenty-nine miles long, covering forty-one square miles—wasn’t always a water wonderland.
The rumors surfaced around the turn of the last century and swirled with the annual floodwaters. Rumors of a flat-lander scheme so earthshaking, literally and figuratively, that most Sacandaga Valley residents dismissed them altogether. After all, surveyors prowled the region more than once in the early 1900s, but nothing ensued.
Charlotte Russell of Northville grew up with the rumors. She recalls nightmares about a deluge of biblical proportions—or so it seemed to a little girl—that would inundate the whole area. “Back then, children didn’t ask questions,” says the ninety-six-year-old former historian for the Town of Northampton and Village of Northville. “They listened to elders and drew their own conclusions. I suffered with that feeling: that we’d be flooded, and everybody was going to die.”
Loggers and tanners here were familiar with the Sacandaga River’s capaciousness. Each spring, rising waters from North Country snowmelt floated logs from Northville and Day to paper- and sawmills at Corinth and Glens Falls. The same freshets, laden with ice and debris, wreaked havoc throughout the valley before the Sacandaga spilled into the Hudson at Hadley. Bridges collapsed, and mail-
men were forced to use rowboats.
Big cities on the Hudson fared worse. Streets bled canals. Factories suspended operation until the waters receded. Losses from property damage, disrupted transportation and unemployment ran into the millions.
Spurred to action by the great flood of March 1913, the state legislature authorized the creation of river management districts. In 1922 the new Hudson River Regulating District (HRRD) proposed a spate of reservoirs in the Hudson watershed, starting with the Sacandaga. (The Sacandaga reservoir, which controls nearly a quarter of the Hudson’s drainage area, was the only one built.) Stored water would be released in summer, when flow in the watershed declined and mills and factories dependent on water power shut down.
Bonds were sold to fund the twelve-million-dollar proect (around $115 million today). “No state or federal tax dollars were used to build the reservoir, [or] have ever been used to operate the system or maintain its facilities” the Hudson River–Black River Regulating District (HR–BRRD; the two districts merged in 1959) emphasizes in its handbook, issued to forty-five hundred access-permit holders whose property borders the lake. Instead, businesses and utilities on the Hudson that stood to gain from consistent waterpower agreed to shoulder ninety-five percent of the costs. Albany, Watervliet, Troy, Rensselaer and Green Island shared the remainder in exchange for flood protection.
Disbelief turned to outrage in the valley as plans got under way for a dam at Conklingville, where the river flowed deep through a gap six miles west of Hadley. Between 1925 and 1927, the HRRD bought twelve hundred parcels of land totaling twenty-nine thousand acres.
“There’s still a lot of older people in the town” who remember, says Town of Day historian Ruby Marcotte. “They never really understood the politics of the whole thing. What they saw was rich farmland being lost.”
Marcotte’s eighty-one-year-old mother, Frances White LaPier, recalls the walk past her grandparents farm in Day Center on the way to school. At sugaring time in spring, she and her siblings stopped by the farm for maple syrup on their way home. All that changed when LaPier was ten.
On March 27, 1930, the gates of the new dam were shut, and 283 billion gallons of water quietly flooded the lowlands. LaPier’s school, along with the homes of her aunts, friends and neighbors, the farm, stores, businesses—even cemeteries—were lost to the reservoir’s rising waters. Day Center was gone.
So were the communities of West Day, Osborn Bridge and Parkville. Most of Batchellerville, Edinburg, Munsonville, Fish House, Cranberry Creek, Conklingville and Sacandaga Park met the same fate. Parts of Broadalbin, Mayfield, Northville and Hope Valley were also leveled and submerged.
Two flooded Indian settlements live on in Don Bowman’s book Go Seek the Pow Wow on the Mountain (Greenfield Review Press, 1993), a collection of his letters to Joseph Bruchac edited by the late Adirondack folklorist Vaughn Ward. Native Americans roamed these parts long before the arrival of revolutionary war veterans and families from New England. Ten thousand years ago Paleo-Indians hunted mastodon on the shores of a glacial Sacandaga lake. The banks gradually filled in, leaving a fertile river bottom and a vast marsh thick with sedge. The “Longhouse People” of the Mohawk Valley twenty miles south came to hunt and fish in the Sacondog (“land of the waving grass”), which is now the large but shallow southwestern basin of the lake.
By the 1920s the marsh was known as the Vly (Dutch for “low, swampy ground”). Indians intermarried with Caucasians and blended into the work force. Native housewives sewed gloves at home for Johnstown and Gloversville factories. Braves in overalls and slouch hats worked as lumberjacks and teamsters, guides and trappers.
Like everyone else, “Barktown squatters,” whose ancestors held no deeds, received notice to vacate. Some went to Canada. Others took to the high country or settled in Greenfield, Corinth and Saratoga, where their descendants “keep a low profile,” notes Bruchac, an Abenaki storyteller in Greenfield Center. A few, though, stayed on to clear the valley.
They shared legends and traditions with “the Kid,” as Bowman was known, a seventeen-year-old runaway from Long Island who had signed on to help prepare for the reservoir. “Our demolition crew had gotten to Munsonville in 19 and 28,” Bowman wrote six decades later to Bruchac. “We had eighteen houses, plus barns and sheds to tear down, also Warren Perrego’s store and post office. As we sat around a campfire and ate our ‘noonin,’ the stories of panthers, wolves, Indians, the Vly and Munsonville were told.
“Not far from the village there was also a cluster of shacks, shanties and log cabins that we would do next that had been an Indian settlement on the edge of the Vly, toward Benedict. The Indians had all moved elsewhere when we got there, also the Munsonville folks. They were like two ghost towns under the skies.”
With a woodsman’s instinct, Bowman squirreled away details of the Abenaki settlement at West Day: “I was told it was left alone by whites and used by small bands of Indians that came to the river to hunt, fish and dry fish. They hunted herbs and went up river to the Big Vly to gather and save bullrush [sic] leaves and the cattails for weaving the rushes. Some Indian bands stayed long enough to plant, tend and grow corn.”
Wickiups here were the stuff of the Kid’s dreams: “They were sturdy, made out of second growth spring poles placed and bent over when green to dry. They were covered with canvas, bark from yellow birch or skins. These were real honest to goodness places of real grown-ups.” Along with shacks and shanties, the traditional Algonquian shelters fell before Bowman’s ax.
“[In all we cleared] nigh onto forty-two square miles of trees, brush, barns, houses, business places and such like, and had fires goin’ for almost two years,” he recalled.
Charlotte Russell was away at college in Albany when demolition crews were at work. On her weekends home in Northville, the family piled into their Tin Lizzie to tour the destruction. “It became a popular pasttime [sic] for ‘Sunday drivers’ to motor around the roads of the valley, for whole families to see the progress being made,” wrote Schenectady historian Larry Hart in The Sacandaga Story: A Valley of Yesteryear (1967). The lush landscape was a barren desert, the air thick with smoke and debris.
“It was pitiful,” says Russell. “Many buildings were burned, some moved, some partly moved, some torn down. I can think of all the people that lived in [Parkville].” A mile upriver from Northville, Parkville derived its name from the Park Tannery, built around 1850 on the river’s east bank. It was Fulton County’s largest tannery in 1874, the year it burned for the second and last time. By then the hemlock stands were shrinking. In an all too familiar Adirondack scenario, valley logging and mill towns fell on hard times. Parkville residents “had to move and make do,” says Russell. “They had no comeback; they had to take what was given to them. They were all cheated.” The HRRD wanted the land only. Homeowners could move boards or buildings beyond the “take line,” but few had the means to do so.
As a teenager, Harry “Bob” Van Arnam watched in awe as teams of horses inched a couple of buildings from Parkville down the riverbank to Bridge Street into Northville. “That day, they moved about fourteen feet,” recalls the eighty-eight-year-old Van Arnam, whose family goes back nine generations in Northville. “They blocked the roads. They wouldn’t stop with a house halfway through an intersection. The houses were on skids, and horses walked around a spindle held by chain to a tree. Somebody stood on the roof. They had ladders all over.”
In the Town of Day the Conklingville Community Church was moved to its present site on North Shore Road; the Day Country Store (today a private residence) was hauled up a steep bank to North Shore Road at the alarming rate of a foot a day. During the move, it remained open for business. “All they lost was one can of green beans,” says Marcotte.
In Cranberry Creek the summer kitchen and carriagehouse of the home built by village founder Samuel Gilbert were resetted. Today they form part of the lakeside home of Samuel’s great-great-granddaughter Agnes Gilbert.
From her window, Gilbert, eighty-four, can see across the bay to the new HR-BRRD Mayfield office—a reminder of the days when fires forced Cranberry Creek residents to stay indoors. “I can remember when [the HRRD was] buying up properties,” she says. “Some people had tears in their eyes. This was their home, but they had no choice. They had to go. Everyone got paid, but the regulating board didn’t pay great big prizes.”
IF HOMEOWNERS WERE ANGRY, stockholders of the Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad were steaming. The proposed reservoir would erase the lucrative Sacandaga line that crossed the valley from Mayfield to Northville. The FJ&G was a lifeline to local residents, especially in winter. “Back then, no roads were plowed,” says Dick Stewart of Mayfield. “We in the village were marooned. The only way out was the railroad.” On Saturdays, he hopped the one o’clock from Northville, along with a hundred or so other youngsters bound for Gloversville matinees. “We’d have a soda and come back on the six o’clock train.” Adults who imbibed stronger stuff burst into song on the ride home, says Stewert.
Stewart rode the train to high school in Gloversville. That’s how he met Margie Beeker, who boarded near her Cranberry Creek farm. (The couple celebrated their seventy-fifth wedding anniversary in September 2001.)
There were outings to the hugely popular Sacandaga Park, known as “the Coney Island of the North,” which the FJ&G built just below Northville on the west side of the river. “For a dollar on Children’s Day, they gave you a round trip ticket, and a ride on everything in the park” Stewart reminisces. Thousands flocked to the amusement park on weekends, many on excursion trains from New York City. But by the Roaring Twenties, the automobile was cutting into profits. Even so, the FJ&G rejected a district offer of a half-million dollars for eight miles of line, the Cranberry Creek and Mayfield stations, and most of Sacandaga Park.
When the HRRD tried to appropriate the lands, the railroad sued the district; the comptroller of the State of New York; Adirondack Power & Light, Schenectady; the Indian River Company; Finch, Pruyn & Company, in Glens Falls; and Union Bag and Paper, in Hudson Falls, on the grounds that the district “was not serving the public purpose of regulating the flow of the Hudson River to alleviate the flood conditions, but was in fact using as a subterfuge the provisions of the Conservation Law for the promotion of the private interests of certain power companies and individuals, by the creation of a huge potential water power,” according to HRRD documents from 1930.
The district initiated condemnation proceedings, but litigation stalled the project. After the court awarded FJ&G $1.5 million in damages in the spring of 1927, contracts flew. Construction began on the dam by the end of the year. The state, however, refused to pay for a new right-of-way around the lake. Grudgingly, the railroad handed over deeds in 1929 for $1.7 million in compensation.
A vintage photograph in The Fonda, Johnstown, & Gloversville Railroad: Sacandaga Route to the Adirondacks by Randy Decker (Arcadia, Images of America, 1998) shows the roller coaster and parts of the Sacandaga Park midway being set to the torch.
Engine #12 made its last freight run just nine days before the lake was flooded. Another photograph in Decker’s collection shows engine #8 apparently steaming across the lake in 1930. Actually, the water was only inches deep when the locomotive tried to retrieve some boxcars still on the line. The water rose so quickly that workers were unable to completely remove the rails.
THE EARTHEN DAM AT CONKLINGVILLE was an engineering marvel. A $1.6 million contract specified “a spillway weir 400 feet long, a logway, an outlet structure including two siphon spillways 8 feet by 18 feet, a control house, an arch bridge having a single span of 60 feet, three Dow valves each 8 feet in diameter, an approach and spillway channel, gaging [sic] stations, together with gravel highways adjacent to the dam site.”
Don Bowman was part of the “Dentist Gang” drilling the riverbed in preparation for the dam’s construction. He described the scene to John Bennis, author of Edinburg: A Town Divided (Edinburg Historical Society, 1998): “There were teams of horses working, motor trucks, steam shovels, and the new things called ‘Bulldozers,’ scraping off not just the topsoil but the earth itself down to the mother rock.”
Today’s scenic North Shore and South Shore Roads, dotted with summer homes, were built for transporting supplies to the dam. Forty-three miles of new road we made by 1930; seventy-five miles of existing roads were inundated.
Vandenburgh Road off Route 30 in Mayfield, for example, didn’t always end in a point of land jutting toward the Trap Islands. The 1905 Atlas of Montgomery and Fulton Counties shows Vlaie Street continuing past Perrego’s store and Frank Vandenburgh’s place in Munsonville. The road skirted the southern edge of the Vly, passing Summer House Point on the way to Fish House.
The Mohawks, Bowman wrote, believed a star fell into the Vly, creating a “Great Sky Hole” of mystical powers where fish grew to thirty-foot leviathans. These Adirondack “Jaws” snatched beaver, rabbits—even the white man’s cattle and horses—that drank at the pool.
A more prosaic explanation for the disappearances—aside from rustling—is that the animals drowned while crossing the marsh. In his memoirs, reprinted in Louis Decker’s Fulton County: A Pictorial History (Donning, 1989), the late Clarence Gorthey recalled that the Vly “resembled nothing so much as the Florida everglades on a smaller scale. Wild rice grew in the shallows. Pond lilies abounded as well as a host of other aquatic plants. There were ducks. geese, snipe, blackbirds and hundreds of other species of wild life — including deer and once in a while a bear. Some misguided people called this area worthless.”
Certainly, the sports who flocked to Harvey Benedict’s boardinghouse at Summer House Point didn’t think so. Magical or not, the fish in the Vly were legendary in size and number. (A forty-six-pound, two-ounce northern pike pulled from here in 1940 holds the North American record.)
The one-legged “Peg Leg” Ferguson, who lived in a shanty near the point, rented rowboats and guided anglers. “He could tell them whether it was best on a particular day to use slabs of pork or live bait to catch the 40-inch pike that lurked in the marshy grasses at the edges of the streams,” wrote Hart.
Benedict’s boardinghouse stood on the site of Sir William Johnson’s Castle Cumberland. Indian guides led Johnson through this region en route from the Mohawk Valley to Lake George during the French and Indian War of the 1750s. The British Superintendent of Indian Affairs liked the Vly enough to build a summer retreat where the Mayfield and Kenyetto Creeks converged to form Vly Creek. In 1762 Johnson added a lodge called Fish House where Vly Creek entered the Sacandaga.
The eponymous village sprang up around the lodge. Instead of ending at South Shore Road (Route 110), Fish House Road (the “Dyke Road”) ambled through pastures to a two-lane covered bridge. As the lake filled, villagers lashed the 380-foot structure with steel cable to stumps in hopes of enshrining it near the dam. (The bridge did become part of a museum, though not as envisioned. Wind and six-foot waves toppled the landmark off its piers; the arches were resurrected as part of a tavern at Old Sturbridge Village, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.)
The Dyke Road continued north along the river’s east bank. Past Ziny Cook’s log boom, a 250-foot covered bridge brought motorists into Osborn Bridge. (Another covered bridge spanned Vly Creek at Fish House; this old stage route paralleled the Sacandaga’s west bank to Cranberry Creek and Osborn Bridge.)
Gold was discovered in Osborn Bridge in 1892, but not enough to restore prosperity to the village. Once, river drivers pushed off a hundred rafts—each a thousand logs—in spring. Coopers kept Albany in barrels. “No occupation but farming is carried on here now,” Ethel Wilbur Edwards commented sadly in a 1915 high school paper. Edwards’s rather, George Wilbur, ran the general store and post office at the four corners. Fifteen years later, even the farmers were gone. Wilbur’s store was the last building standing before Osborn Bridge vanished beneath the lake.
New resting places were found for Abram Denton and Calvin Osborn, village founders who feuded over its name (Osborn prevailed with his log “floater” bridge chained to the river banks).
Across the valley, the “men in white coats” who haunt Frances White LaPier’s childhood memories—they were called the Bone Yard Gang—came to dig up graves. Between 1928 and 1930, 3,872 graves from twenty-two cemeteries were relocated. “Some remains were shoveled into burlap bags and then placed in a box,” Bowman wrote. “Most were just skull and bones. On some of the more recent burials, the bodied [sic] were ‘ripe’ and the workers would tie handkerchiefs over their faces.”
In a few cases, Bowman claimed, tannic acid from nearby trees preserved the dead. “The remains were found intact as when first interred, except that the skin was brown like saddle leather.” Other bones showed “teeth marks, not by so-called ‘vampires’ or ‘witches,’ but by rats, mice, woodchucks and such.
“I’m sure there are some unmarked graves at the bottom of the reservoir,” Bowman confided to Bennis. “Most of those buried in a church yard were listed in a book or chart of the cemetery. That is what often gave us the needed information. Farm graves, however, were another thing.”
Where names could not be deciphered on gravestones, the deceased were assigned numbers and reinterred with one-foot square stone markers. Indians with white spouses, said Bowman, were buried under their Christian names in church cemeteries. However, graves in the Indian burial ground across the river from the Abenaki settlement “had natural stones, unmarked—at the place where the head and feet would have been.”
But the bones of the “true people,” Tom Sly Fox Palmer informed his fellow gravediggers, lay in forest caves or the quagmires of the Vly where the rising waters would cover them forever.
CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE LAKE flared anew in 1930, this time over its name. An HRRD proposal of “Sargent Lake”—in honor of Edward Sargent, the dam’s chief engineer—met with letters of protest. In a newspaper ballot, the public voted overwhelmingly for “Sacandaga Lake.” But since Lake Sacandaga already existed near Speculator, the state Committee on Geographic Names settled on “Sacandaga Reservoir.”At the urging of local boat clubs, the reservoir was officially christened “Great Sacandaga Lake” in 1968.
Ethel Edwards, though, preferred another name. “Ma called it the ‘Lake of Destruction,’” says Guy Edwards of Edinburg, one of Ethel’s seven children. “How can words express the feeling of utter desolation and heartache which comes over you when you know that your home, the place where you were born, brought up and lived has been left for the last time & you can never return?” Ethel wrote in 1930.
“[The lake] was a sore subject,” agrees Edinburg town historian Priscilla Edwards, who married Guy’s brother, Jay. “My mother-in-law didn’t talk about it.” In fall 1991, when lake levels were exceptionally low, the Edwards clan headed out in four-wheel-drive vehicles for tailgate picnic at the site of Osborn Bridge. Ethel refused to go. | http://www.adirondacklifemag.com/blogs/2013/03/18/from-the-archives-the-sacandaga-saga/ | fineweb | 21,640 | 2.796875 |
According to research, a decrease as well as increase in your blood pressure throughout middle age could significantly affect your lifetime cardiovascular disease risk.
Researchers discovered that those that maintained or lowered blood pressure to normal blood pressure levels by 55 years old had the lowest lifetime cardiovascular disease risk of between 22% and 41%. In comparison, people who already had high blood pressure by 55 years old had a greater lifetime risk of between 42% and 69%.
Considering blood pressure changes could provide more exact estimates for lifetime cardiovascular disease risk, and it can also help estimate individualized risk, and as a result, individualized prevention approaches. Both avoiding high blood pressure throughout middle age or delaying the start of the development of high blood pressure seem to have a significant affect on a person’s remaining lifetime cardiovascular disease risk.
The study also found:
- Nearly 70% of all men that get hypertension during middle age will have a cardiovascular disease incident by 85 years old.
- Women that get hypertension by earlier middle age have a higher lifetime cardiovascular disease risk of 49.4% than those that have kept normal blood pressure until the age of 55.
- Women generally had higher increases in blood pressure throughout middle age.
- At an average of 55 years old, 40.8% of women and 25.7% of men had blood pressure levels that were normal; 47.5% of women and 49.4% of men had prehypertension.
- The overall lifetime cardiovascular disease risk for people aged 55 years or more was 39.9% for women and 52.5% for men, after factoring in all blood pressure levels.
- The lifetime cardiovascular disease risk was higher among Blacks in comparison to Whites of the same sex, and went up with increasing blood pressure at middle age. | http://www.ahealthblog.com/cardiovascular-disease-risk-affected-blood-pressure.html | fineweb | 1,833 | 2.578125 |
The right of children to an education is enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Recognizing that education is fundamental to helping each child achieve his or her full potential, UNRWA has worked for over 60 years to ensure that all Palestine refugee children have access to quality education.
One of our main aims, based on our commitment to Palestine refugees’ human development, is to help children and youth gain appropriate knowledge and skills by providing universal primary education. High-quality basic education provides young Palestine refugees with an understanding of their place in the world and a common set of key values, including dignity, tolerance, cultural identity, gender equality and human rights, and helps them develop the skills to thrive as adults in an evolving, challenging landscape.
UNRWA operates 677 elementary and preparatory schools in its five areas of operation, as well as eight secondary schools in Lebanon, providing free basic education for around half a million Palestine refugee children. In addition, vocational training and higher education is provided at eight Vocational Training Centers for 7,000 Palestine refugees in all fields and for 2,100 students in 2 educational science faculties and teacher training institutes (one in the West Bank and one in Jordan). UNRWA students’ literacy and levels of educational attainment are among the highest in the Middle East. Our programme has also been committed to maintaining gender parity, a benchmark we first achieved in the 1960s.
In 2011, the UNRWA education programme began a major four-year reform to help us meet the evolving demands of an education system in the twenty-first century. The reform will also lead to improved services for the Palestine refugee students in UNRWA schools, vocational training centres and educational faculties. This will be achieved through:
Schoolchildren in UNRWA schools follow the host authorities’ curricula and textbooks. UNRWA supplements these with its own materials on human rights. For more information about textbooks, visit:
Palestinian Curriculum Development Center (English and Arabic)
Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Arabic)
Lebanese Ministry of Education website (Arabic, French and English)
In the West Bank, UNRWA provides only preparatory education; secondary students matriculate into national schools. Nonetheless, we operate 97 educational facilities in the field, which reach over 50,000 students. The Agency also operates two vocational training centres, where over 1,000 students are trained in skilled trades and manufacturing.
The 2011/12 academic year saw a significant decrease in violence in and around UNRWA school premises. This was matched by an increase in achievement, with UNRWA West Bank schools outperforming Palestinian Authority (PA) schools in nationally...Read more
Young Palestine refugees, many of them students, have been especially vulnerable to the effects of the conflict in Syria. Because the majority of UNRWA schools are located within the Palestine refugee camps themselves – in areas that have suffered serious violence – one of the most pernicious of these effects has been a disruption in their education.
Before the outbreak of the conflict, all of the 118 UNRWA schools in Syria were running on double shifts to provide around 67,300 students with primary and secondary education, following the Syrian curriculum. Violence, damage,...Read more
Lebanon is the only field where we offer secondary education. In total, we serve 38,173 students at 68 schools throughout the country. UNRWA also operates one vocational training centres, which reach 1,143 students.
Our office has taken a special interest in inclusive education for students with disabilities. Around Saida, we are piloting the Special People Special Focus (SPSF) project, in coordination with other UNRWA departments as well as NGOs. The project includes awareness-raising campaigns for school staff, parents and community members; building teachers’ capacity to...Read more
In Jordan, UNRWA provides basic education to over 118,500 students at 174 UNRWA schools. Students in the fourth, eighth and tenth grades take national quality-control tests in the core subjects – Arabic, English, science and maths – and consistently achieve better results than students from private or government schools.
We are also excited to be able to provide university education in teaching, Arabic and English to about 1,200 students through the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Arts. We plan to add a fourth specialty, geography, in the 2013/14 academic year.
Based on...Read more | https://www.unrwa.org/what-we-do/education?qt-view__unrwa_activity__unrwa_activity_block=2 | fineweb | 4,752 | 2.78125 |
Posted Date: December 11, 2015
December 12th is National Poinsettia Day in honor of the popular holiday plant. Poinsettias, while beautiful, can be a hazard for our pets.
Everyone is familiar with seeing the striking red leaves of a Poinsettia around this time of year. Saturday, December 12th is National Poinsettia Day to celebrate the popular plant. However, dog owners should be aware that if ingested, Poinsettias can be an irritant to a dog's mucous membranes. If a dog eats the leaves of the plant, they should be treated right away. The ASPCA's Poison Control site provides some helpful tips on what to do if you find your dog has chewed a Poinsettia plant.
Photo credit: Poinsettia at the Conservatory via photopin (license) | https://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=3097 | fineweb | 733 | 2.734375 |
Comments: Ships same or next business day with delivery confirmation. Good condition. May or may not contain highlighting. Expedited shipping available.
30-day money back guarantee
Publication Date: 1998
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Soven, Margot Iris
This innovative text speaks directly to students preparing to teach writing and to practicing English teachers who want to improve their ability to teach writing. It includes a useful summary of the research and theory which form the basis of the writing revolution. Using practical explanations of teaching strategies and many examples of assignments and student writing, the text offers novel methods through which to teach the writing process and new techniques to effectively evaluate and respond to student writing.Soven, Margot Iris is the author of 'Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools Theory, Research, and Practice', published 1998 under ISBN 9780205188970 and ISBN 0205188974.
With our dedicated customer support team, 30-day no-questions-asked return policy, and our price match guarantee, you can rest easy knowing that we're doing everything we can to save you time, money, and stress.
Book condition guidelines
New (perfect condition)
Pages are clean and are not marked by notes, highlighting or fold.
Like new (excellent condition)
Pages are clean and are not marked by notes, highlighting or folds.
Very good (good condition)
Pages are intact and may have minimal notes and/or highlighting or folds.
Good (clean condition)
All pages and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages include notes and/or highlighting.
Acceptable (readable condition)
All pages and the cover is intact. Pages include considerable notes in pen or highlighter, but the text is not obscured.
How do rentals work?
Save up to 90% on the largest selection of textbook rentals in the business. We have the lowest prices - guaranteed.
Choose between standard or expedited shipping to make sure that your textbooks arrive in time for class.
Return for free!
When your books are due, just pack them up and ship them back. And don't worry about shipping - it's absolutely free! | https://www.valorebooks.com/textbooks/teaching-writing-in-middle-and-secondary-schools-theory-research-and-practice/9780205188970 | fineweb | 2,140 | 2.609375 |
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get the facts about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), including the different types and the most common symptoms.
- Type 2 Diabetes Basic facts about type 2 diabetes & risk factors to be aware of.
- Asthma More than 22 million Americans suffer from asthma. Get the facts.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Get the facts about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
- Childhood Asthma Childhood asthma facts, including causes, symptoms & complications.
- Diabetes Diabetes facts and the differences between the different types.
- Diabetic Hyperlipidemia Get all of the facts about diabetic hyperlipidemia.
- Diabetic Macular Edema Facts about diabetic macular edema, including the different types.
- Diabetic Neuropathy Facts about diabetic neuropathy, including the symptoms and doctors.
- Grass Pollen Allergy Get the facts about grass pollen Allergy.
- High Blood Pressure Facts about high blood pressure; its causes and complications.
- View All Care Guides Prepare for your next visit with our extensive library of Care Guides
Dr. Terry J Declue has the following 2 specialties
- Pediatric Endocrinology
Endocrinologists treat disorders related to our glands and the hormones they produce. Because hormones play a key role in the growth and development of children, these conditions often pose different threats to children than they do adults. That’s where a pediatric endocrinologist comes in.
They can diagnose and treat hormonal disorders such as abnormal thyroid function, growth complications and early or delayed puberty. Ambiguous genitals as well as ovarian and testicular dysfunction are also part of their expertise. Childhood obesity, diabetes and problems with low blood sugar also tie back to hormone function and may require consulting with a pediatric endocrinologist.
A pediatrician is a doctor who specializes in the regular care of children, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of illness in children. Young patients are often more complicated to treat because they are still growing and developing.
While pediatricians may sub-specialize in specific therapy areas like oncology, surgery, ophthalmology, and anesthesiology, in general, pediatricians provide services like vaccinations, health exams, and treatment of common ailments and injuries. In addition, pediatricians are trained to handle the complex emotional and behavioral issues faced by children, especially during puberty.
Pediatricians normally see their patients from birth until the age of 18, although some may agree to treat patients into their early 20s, if requested.
- Adrenal Gland Diseases
- Growth Disorders
See the board certifications this doctor has received. Board certifications provide confidence that this doctor meets the nationally recognized standards for education, knowledge and experience.
Showing 5 of 20
Dr DeClue is one of a kind! When a different/difficult diagnosis presents itself he LOOKS for the answer! He fights for your child like his own! Best of all he made my daughter feel confident that there was an answer, that she wasnt crazy and that he would continue to look for the right diagnosis and solution to her unique issue. Dr DeClue, Thank you!
I have never experienced such an unprofessional physicians office. Attempted for over one week to obtain a new patient appt for my son with no ability to talk with a live staff person. Directed to request via email with no ability to leave a voicemail. Recording disconnected me and stated "could not connect at this time. Try your call again later. " No email response for over a week until I resent my request. Their reply stated they would call me by 8:30am and I did not receive a call back all day until I re-emailed. This is the most inefficient and unprofessional dr office I have ever dealt with. Sadly, the staff and operations negatively influence the reputation of the physicians. Stay away from this practice!
My daughter, Allison, has been a patient of Dr. DeClue's for > 10 years. He is an exceptionally skilled doctor who REALLY cares about his patients! Allison enjoys going to see him, and APPRECIATES the fact that he is kind and understanding. We will never be able to thank Dr. DeClue enough for the OUTSTANDING care that he CONSISTENTLY provides!
I've been with Doctor Declue for 7 years. He is the best in my opion at what he does.
Compassionate Doctor Recognition (2014, 2012)
Compassionate Doctor certification is granted to physicians who treat their patients with the utmost kindness. The honor is granted based on a physician's overall and bedside manner scores.
On-Time Doctor Award (2014)
Vitals On-Time + Promptness Award recognizes doctors with consistent high ratings for timeliness of appointments. The honor is granted based on a physician's overall and promptness scores.
Patients' Choice Award (2012, 2014, 2016, 2015)
Patients' Choice recognition reflects the difference a particular physician has made in the lives of his/her patients. The honor is bestowed to physicians who have received near perfect scores, as voted by patients.
Regional Top Doctors
Castle Connolly is America's trusted source for the identification of Top Doctors. Their physician-led research team reviews and screens the credentials of tens of thousands of physicians who are nominated by their peers annually, via a nationwide online process, before selecting those physicians who are regionally or nationally among the very best in their medical specialties. Castle Connolly believes strongly that Top Doctors Make a Difference™.
University Of South Florida College Of Medicine
Dr. Terry J Declue accepts the following insurance providers.
- Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS Open Access
- Aetna Signature Administrators PPO
Ambetter Superior Health Plan
- Ambetter Superior Health Plan
- AvMed Empower
- AvMed Engage
- Avmed Choice
- BCBS Florida myBlue
- Florida Blue BlueCare HMO
- Florida Blue BlueOptions
- CIGNA HMO
- CIGNA LocalPlus
- CIGNA Open Access Plus
- CIGNA PPO
Coventry Health Care
- Coventry FL Employer Group HMO Open Access
- Coventry FL Employer Group PPO
- Humana ChoiceCare Network PPO
- Humana HMO
- Humana HMO Premier
- Humana HMO Select
- Humana National POS
- Humana Preferred PPO
- Multiplan PPO
- PHCS PPO
UHC of the River Valley
- Neighborhood Health Partnership Commercial
- UHC Choice Plus POS
- UHC Navigate HMO
- UHC Navigate POS
- UHC Options PPO
- View by Location
Locations & DirectionsSt Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa, 3001 W Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Tampa, FL
Take a minute to learn about Dr. Terry J Declue in this video.
Dr. Terry J Declue is similar to the following 3 Doctors near Tampa, FL. | https://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Terry_Declue.html | fineweb | 6,668 | 3.09375 |
According to its definition, a bridge is a construction that saves a geographical feature such as a river, a canyon, a valley, a highway, a road, a railroad, a body of water or any other physical obstacle. However, some of these constructions are known worldwide not only for their design but also for their history, becoming authentic symbols of a city, country or region. In this article, we will discover some of the most famous bridges in the world.
Tower Bridge is a Victorian-style drawbridge located in the city of London. It crosses the Thames and is located near the Tower of London, which gave it its name. Along with Big Ben, this magnificent bridge has become the symbol of the city. Like bridges such as the Brooklyn Bridge or the Golden Gate, the Tower Bridge has been featured in countless films, making it one of the most famous bridges in the world.
The Golden Gate has been ranked as the most photographed bridge in the world. Inaugurated in 1937, 2.7 kilometers long and 227 meters high, this magnificent structure is also one of the longest and highest suspension bridges in the world and, above all, the most beloved and representative symbol of the city of San Francisco.
The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval bridge over the Arno river in Florence (Italy). It is the oldest and most famous of the six bridges in the city. It is also known as the bridge of the goldsmiths or jewelers because of the jewelry shops that are located there. The Ponte Vecchio is the symbol of the romanticism that floods the whole of Florence, its image is the most known and the most representative of the city, a true emblem of the city and one of the most famous bridges in the world.
The Brooklyn Bridge has become one of the most famous and cinematic bridges in the world. Its appearance is essential in any film shot in New York. It connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was built between 1870 and 1883 and, at the time of its inauguration, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world at 1,825 meters. Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge at night, you get one of the most characteristic images of the city.
The magnificent Charles Bridge is Prague’s most famous landmark and connects the Old Town with the Small Town across the Vltava River. It is the second oldest existing bridge in the Czech Republic. Its construction began in 1357, with the approval of King Carlos IV, and was completed in the early 15th century. This beautiful bridge is decorated with 30 statues of saints and famous people located on both sides of the bridge.
The Rialto Bridge is the oldest of the four bridges that cross the Grand Canal in Venice. It is not only the most famous bridge in the city, but also one of the most famous in the world. It was built between 1588 and 1591 on a project by the architect Antonio da Ponteu. Its particular beauty lies in its single-arch structure with stores on either side of the ramps.
7.Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge, originally known as the Sydney Harbor Bridge, crosses Sydney Harbour, linking the city’s financial center to the north shore, a residential and commercial area. Built between 1924 and 1932, it has become, along with the nearby Opera House, one of the symbols not only of the city but of the entire country and one of the world’s most renowned bridges.
Which was the most beautiful bridge you’ve ever seen? Share your experience with us in the comment section below. | https://www.colorado-springs-vacation.com/7-of-the-most-mesmerizing-bridges-around-the-world/ | fineweb | 3,433 | 2.875 |
Although similar in looks, different soils do not have the same nutrient profiles. Therefore, soil testing will take away the guesswork in which nutrients thrive in the soil on your land.
This process gives valuable information on what the soil may lack. You can then determine the steps you should take to amend any deficiencies before starting a garden.
Learn about Soil Condition
If you want to grow healthy crops, then you want to start with fertile soil. When you decide on testing, you will inevitably gain knowledge about the soil. This information can help you determine the best ways to improve its condition.
Prevent Over-Fertilization of Soil
Once you know things such as chemical composition, pH level and nutrient content, you can avoid applying too much fertilizer. Excessive amounts are not only bad for your crops, but the environment will also suffer. Soil testing in Vernon County, WI, can help prevent irreversible damage.
Avoid the Threat of Degradation
The information gathered during testing can help you develop a soil management plan. Otherwise, you risk soil degradation and erosion. When you manage soil properly, you can apply the right type of fertilizer at the right time.
Not only does this contribute to a good yield, but you also save money and time that would be spent on trying to restore the soil.
Identify Soil Problems Before It’s Too Late!
Soil testing in Vernon County, WI, is the best way to understand your soil. Premier Cooperative can help with this important step to ensure you make the right choices. | https://www.contentfreelance.com/index.php/soil-testing-your-land-in-vernon-county-wi-is-an-important-first-step/ | fineweb | 1,545 | 2.921875 |
The Japanese strolling garden (Kaiyu-shiki-teien) is an Asian-style landscape design style. They feature a pathway that takes visitors along a journey to view changing vistas and constructed scenes of nature. If you’d like to learn more about Japanese garden design see this article.
Artificial hills, artificial ponds, broad winding streams, and waterfalls with islands, rocks, and topiary provide a rustic ideal. There are paths and bridges in great number and variety. You will usually find a tea garden tucked away in a small separate garden within the Japanese stroll garden.
In the realm of garden design, few styles capture the essence of tranquility as exquisitely as Japanese stroll gardens. These landscapes are masterpieces of artistry and harmony. They invite visitors to take a sensory journey through carefully orchestrated scenes of nature.
In this article, we’ll explore the essence and allure of Japanese stroll gardens. We’ll look at its history, discuss key design principles, and even provide insights for creating your very own serene oasis.
What is a Stroll Garden
At its core, a Japanese stroll garden is an immersive landscape. It beckons visitors to engage in a leisurely and contemplative walk, where they’ll experience the beauty of nature in a harmonious and balanced setting.
Unlike traditional Western gardens with formal structure and symmetry, strolling gardens deliver an evolving journey. It’s a seamless and moving blend of natural and man-made elements.
You’ll find Japanese stroll gardens around the world, offering glimpses of Japan’s rich cultural heritage and serene landscapes.
History and Evolution of Japanese Strolling Garden
We trace the origins of Japanese stroll gardens to the Heian period (794-1185). At that time, they were influenced by the Chinese-style gardens of the time.
These gardens evolved over the centuries and were refined to reflect the distinct cultural sensibilities of Japan.
The Zen Buddhist influence became prominent during the Muromachi period (1336-1573). This lead to the development of dry gardens and an emphasis on simplicity.
The Edo period (1603-1867) witnessed the rise of more expansive and intricate stroll gardens. These were built for samurai residences, tea ceremonies, or imperial retreats.
Key Elements and Design Principles of Japanese Strolling Garden
A Japanese strolling garden is characterized by a harmonious blend of key elements and design principles that create a serene atmosphere.
Let’s explore some of these essential components:
Balance and Harmony
The concept of balance, known as “wa,” lies at the heart of Japanese design. Stroll gardens achieve balance through the careful placement of all the elements. This ensures a sense of equilibrium between nature and human intervention.
Water is a fundamental element in Japanese gardens, symbolizing life and purity. Ponds, streams, waterfalls, and even miniature lakes are incorporated. These water features provide a sense of serenity and reflection.
Rocks and Stones
Rocks and stones are revered as the bones of the landscape. Placed thoughtfully, they represent mountains, islands, or concepts. They add a sense of permanence and texture to the garden.
Zen and Minimalism
Drawing inspiration from Zen Buddhism, Japanese stroll gardens embrace simplicity and minimalism. Empty space, known as “ma,” is as important as filled space.
Negative space is often represented by gravel or sand. This invites the meditative mind to find stillness in the garden.
Color and Texture
Carefully selected plantings provide seasonal color and textural variations. This highlights the ever-changing beauty of the garden.
Traditional choices include cherry trees, maple trees, moss, bamboo, and evergreen shrubs. Cherry blossoms (sakura) represent the transient beauty of life, while pines symbolize longevity. Bamboo is often associated with strength and flexibility, and moss is valued for its sense of tranquil peace.
Symbolism and Metaphor
Japanese stroll gardens often incorporate symbolic representations using natural elements.
Stones in a Japanese stroll garden often hold symbolic meanings. For example, three stones grouped together represent the three jewels of Buddhism: Buddha (the teacher), Dharma (the teachings), and Sangha (the monastery). A large upright stone symbolizes Mount Fuji, which connects heaven and earth.
Bridges connect different areas of the garden but also symbolize the transition from the mundane world to the spiritual one. Stone lanterns, known as tōrō, represent enlightenment. These act as guides throughout the landscape and through life’s journey.
The meandering paths found in Japanese stroll gardens represent life’s journey and the exploration of one’s inner self. As visitors follow these paths, they encounter different elements. This creates a story they can make up as they go. Alternatively, it’s an opportunity to empty the mind and simply be.
Embracing the beauty of the changing seasons is a vital aspect of Japanese garden design. From delicate cherry blossoms in spring to fiery maple leaves in autumn, the garden transforms throughout the year. This offers the visitor a new experience with each visit.
Lighting and Sound Effects
Nighttime illumination and carefully orchestrated soundscapes add layers to the sensory experience. These include rustling leaves or the trickle of water from a fountain, enhancing the experience.
Japanese architecture, such as wooden pavilions, tea houses, gates, and bridges, harmoniously integrates with the surrounding landscape, creating focal points within the garden.
Bridges can take several forms. The Steep Bridge is arched and usually painted red and black, but bridges are often simple planks laid across a narrow stretch of water. There may be stepping stones across the water as well as in the gravel or moss.
Typically, both plants and rocks are rounded bun shapes and vertical elements are provided by trees. The ponds are full of golden carp.
The gateway to the strolling garden is a pergola-like structure with a roof. The whole garden is dotted with trained and shaped conifers and miniature conifers. Ponds have many rocks and grass right up to the edges.
This sort of strolling garden can be bounded by bamboo screens or it can merge gradually into natural woodland. Clipped paths and interestingly shaped rocks can show up to advantage against a white-painted wall.
Types of Japanese Strolling Gardens
Japanese stroll gardens provide a diverse array of styles, each with its unique characteristics and purpose. Let’s explore some of the notable types:
Promenade gardens feature winding paths that take visitors on a leisurely stroll, offering changing views of the landscape.
Japanese promenade gardens, also known as kaiyū-shiki-teien gardens, focus on providing a scenic and leisurely walk for visitors. These gardens feature winding paths that lead through various areas. This framing allows visitors to appreciate different views of the garden.
The main feature of a Japanese promenade garden is its carefully designed pathways. These guide visitors through the landscape in a deliberate manner. The paths often provide an ever-changing environment as visitors move from one section to another.
Japanese promenade gardens also embrace the concept of borrowed scenery (shakkei), where the natural landscape beyond the garden is incorporated into the design, such as distant mountains or neighboring trees.
Pond gardens revolve around the central element of a large pond or lake. Some feature islands, bridges, and water-loving plants.
Some water plants you’ll find in a Japanese pond garden include water lilies, lotuses, irises, Japanese water irises, canna, Japanese sweet flag, rushes, and horsetail.
Tea gardens, typically adjacent to tea houses, provide a serene space for tea ceremonies. These gardens offer beauty and emphasize building a connection to nature.
Plants commonly used in tea gardens include evergreens, azaleas, rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias, wisteria, ferns, mosses, and stonecrop.
Hill gardens utilize the natural topography to create multi-level landscapes, incorporating slopes, terraces, and steps to guide visitors on an engaging ascent.
Dry Gardens (Karesansui)
Dry gardens are often referred to as Zen gardens. They were initially created by Zen monks as places for meditation. The abstract nature of these gardens reflects the core principles of Zen Buddhism. They focus on simplicity, mindfulness, and the pursuit of enlightenment.
Zen gardens, also known as karesansui gardens, feature meticulously raked gravel or sand. They typically have carefully arranged rocks, that symbolize mountains or islands.
Moss gardens celebrate the lushness and tranquility of mosses. They’re a velvety carpet that adds depth and serenity to the landscape.
Gateway gardens greet visitors at the entrance of temples, shrines, or estates. This structure entices them to embark on a symbolic journey through the garden.
Famous Japanese Stroll Gardens
Japan boasts numerous world-renowned stroll gardens. Each highlighting unique design elements, historical significance, and breathtaking beauty. Some notable examples include the Ryoan-ji Temple Garden, Katsura Imperial Villa, Kenroku-en Garden, and Adachi Museum of Art Garden.
While the most authentic and revered examples are located in Japan itself, many countries have embraced the beauty and design principles of Japanese gardens.
In North America, notable Japanese stroll gardens can be found in cities such as Portland, Oregon (Portland Japanese Garden), San Francisco, California (Japanese Tea Garden), and Delray Beach, Florida (Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens).
Europe also boasts several remarkable Japanese-inspired gardens, including the Kyoto Garden in London’s Holland Park and the Japanese Garden in Hasselt, Belgium. These gardens provide an opportunity to immerse yourself in the beauty and tranquility of Japanese design without leaving your own country.
Check out this video of the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden.
Creating Your Own Japanese Strolling Garden
Designing your own Japanese stroll garden is an exciting chance to embrace the principles of balance, harmony, and simplicity.
By considering elements such as layout, water features, stone arrangements, plant choices, and architectural elements, you can create a personal oasis of tranquility tailored to your space and preferences.
Creating a Japanese stroll garden is a meticulous process that involves careful planning and attention to detail.
Here are some key steps to consider when designing and creating your own Japanese stroll garden:
Research and Inspiration
Begin by immersing yourself in the rich history and principles of Japanese garden design. Study different garden elements and concepts to gain a deeper understanding of the aesthetics and philosophy behind Japanese gardens.
Site Selection and Analysis
Choose an appropriate location for your garden. Consider such factors such as sunlight exposure, soil conditions, and available space. Analyze the site’s natural features, including existing trees, topography, and water sources. You’ll want to incorporate them into your design.
Layout and Design
Sketch a layout of your garden, taking into account the desired features and elements. Consider the overall flow and circulation of the visitor. Carefully place pathways and focal points such as water features, rocks, and architectural elements. Strive for a sense of balance, harmony, and visual interest.
Pathways and Circulation
Design the pathways that will guide visitors through your garden. Paths should be gently curved and meandering, encouraging a slow and contemplative stroll. Incorporate various materials for pathways, such as gravel, stepping stones, or wooden decking, and ensure they are well-maintained and easily accessible.
Integrate water elements into your garden design, such as ponds, streams, or small waterfalls. Water represents purity, life, and tranquility in Japanese gardens. Consider the size, shape, and positioning of these features to create a sense of natural harmony.
Choose plants that are suitable for your climate and site conditions, while also considering traditional Japanese garden plants. Incorporate a variety of textures, colors, and seasonal interest. Common plant choices include maples, bamboo, cherry blossoms, moss, and evergreen shrubs. Group plants in clusters to create visual impact and replicate natural landscapes.
Rocks and Stones
Select and arrange rocks and stones strategically to create focal points, represent natural formations, and evoke a sense of stability and tranquility. Use different sizes, shapes, and textures to add interest and balance to your garden.
Consider incorporating traditional Japanese structures, such as a teahouse, pavilion, or gate, to add architectural interest and serve as destinations within the garden. These structures should harmonize with the overall design and provide places for rest and relaxation.
Symbolism and Meaning
Infuse your garden with symbolic elements and metaphors, such as stone arrangements representing mountains, lanterns symbolizing enlightenment, or bridges signifying transition. Incorporate elements that hold personal significance or reflect cultural traditions.
Stroll Garden Ideas on a Budget
Here are a few ideas to inspire your Japanese stroll garden design and provide your garden with an Asian-inspired feel without a complete garden renovation:
- Create a tranquil standalone pond with floating water lilies and graceful koi fish.
- Incorporate a raked gravel Zen garden area for contemplation and meditation.
- Design a stone path with carefully arranged lanterns leading to a tea house.
- Use bamboo screens or fences to enhance privacy and create a sense of enclosure.
- Plant a colorful maple tree for stunning autumn foliage.
Creating a Japanese strolling garden is a journey in itself, and it takes time for your garden to mature.
Enjoy the process while embracing the principles of balance and harmony. Allow your garden to evolve organically over time. This exercise in patience enhances your own connection with nature.
Maintenance and Care of Japanese Strolling Gardens
Japanese stroll gardens require regular maintenance to preserve their beauty and ensure their longevity. Tasks such as pruning, weeding, moss care, and water feature maintenance are vital to sustain the intended atmosphere and aesthetic appeal.
Japanese stroll gardens offer a remarkable journey into the beauty and serenity of nature, harmonizing the elements of balance, symbolism, and seasonal variations.
With their rich history, design principles, and diverse styles, these gardens provide a profound source of inspiration for those seeking tranquility in their outdoor spaces.
Embark on the path of creating your own Japanese strolling garden and experience the timeless allure of this extraordinary art form, where nature and humanity meet and find harmony.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Sep 13, 2020, at 16:33 and has been completely updated. | https://www.coolgarden.me/japanese-style-gardens-the-strolling-garden-6922/ | fineweb | 15,098 | 3.09375 |
What is Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal Disease is the inflammation of both the gum tissue and bones surrounding your teeth. The first stage is gingivitis. The bacterial plaque of the teeth produces toxins that irritate the gum tissue, causing inflammation and bleeding. If left untreated, this could lead to a more serious condition called periodontitis.
When bacterial plaque turns into hard tartar that accumulates below your gum line, it can create pocketing between your teeth and gums. These pockets will then trap bacterial toxins that could later attack the bone and tissues supporting the teeth. If not properly treated, this could lead to tooth loss.
What are the risks of having Periodontal Disease?
There are certain risks that can influence the severity of gum disease. Awareness could help in prevention and treatment. Risks include the following:
- Diabetes – Volatile blood sugar levels limit diabetic individuals from improving their gum disease.
- Certain medications – Reduction of saliva flow can cause dry mouth and this could keep the bacteria on your tongue and gums from washing away. HIV or cancer can also hinder speedy healing from gum disease.
- Hormonal changes in women – Inflammation from gum disease is possible due to women’s hormonal fluctuations as well as pregnancy. Women are prone to gingivitis when they are pregnant, so regular check-ups are necessary. Otherwise, it could lead to periodontitis.
- Smoking – mouth dryness, bad breath, staining, permanent discoloration, hyperplasia…it’s all bad, so stop smoking!
- Heredity – Gum disease can also be hereditary. To avoid it ahead of time, it’s best to trace your family history and consult your dentist immediately.
Signs and Symptoms of Periodontal Disease
If you experience any of these symptoms, contact your dentist immediately.
- Swelling of gums leading to redness, or gums that have pulled away from your teeth.
- Tender or bleeding gums, especially when you brush and floss.
- Bad taste and bad breath that don’t seem curable.
- Painful or loose teeth.
- Painful teeth when you bite.
- The way your partials fit together doesn’t seem right.
How do I Prevent Periodontal (Gum) Disease?
Prevent gum disease by taking care of your oral health because your oral health is in your hands! Brushing your teeth twice per day and floss properly once per day are both part of good oral hygiene that prevents any harmful bacteria from causing dental problems. Always use a toothpaste and mouthwash to lessen bacteria in your mouth. Have a regular check-up with your dentist to ensure that any hard tartar is removed. If you don’t have a dentist yet, contact us now for a periodontal consultation! | http://abrildentist.com/periodontal-gum-disease-prevent/ | fineweb | 2,684 | 3.484375 |
Worksheets are a very important part of studying English. Infants study in numerous ways and engaging them with coloring, drawing, exercises and puzzles really enables them grow their language skills.
Having a short worksheet time during your lesson enables students to have quiet time whilst doing some enjoyable person activities. The teacher can ask questions as students are doing their worksheets, the worksheets may be used as a evaluate aid, they are able to be wear the school room walls and be given for homework.
Worksheets are a good way to top off part of your kids’ homeschool day, and it’s top notch easy to make particular ones.
In the school room setting, worksheets usually seek advice from a free sheet of paper with questions or routines for college kids to finish and list answers. They’re used, to some degree, in most subjects, and feature general use within the math curriculum in which there are two major types. The first sort of math worksheet includes a selection of comparable math problems or exercises. Those are intended to assist a scholar come to be educated in a particular mathematical capability that changed into taught to them in class. They’re commonly given to scholars as homework. The second one type of math worksheet is intended to introduce new topics, and are usually completed in the classroom. They’re made of a progressive set of questions that ends up in an understanding of the subject to be learned.
Worksheets are significant because these are individual actions and parents additionally need it. They (parents) get to understand what the kid is doing within the school. With evolving curricula, mom and dad might not have the essential education to steer their students by way of homework or provide additional support at home. Having a worksheet template easily accessible can assist with furthering gaining knowledge of at home.
Overall, examine in early early life education suggests that worksheets are suggested chiefly for comparison purposes. Worksheets ought to not be used for coaching as this is not developmentally appropriate for the education of younger students.
As an comparison tool, worksheets may be used by teachers to recognize students’ previous knowledge, final results of learning, and the method of learning; at the identical time, they are able to be used to permit pupils to monitor the development of their very own learning.
Gallery of Diy 30 Explore Fractions Worksheets First Grade
Related Posts for Diy 30 Explore Fractions Worksheets First Grade
- Diy 30 Explore soft G Worksheet
- Diy 30 Effectively Diamond Worksheets for Preschool
- How to 30 Explore Language Arts Worksheets 8th Grade
- Create Your 30 Instantly ordered Pairs Worksheets
- Create Your 30 Explore Sequence Worksheets for Kids
- Create Your 30 Easily Coloring Math Worksheets 2nd Grade
- Practice 30 Instantly Communication Worksheets for Adults
- Tutorial 30 Professionally Cut and Paste Worksheets Free
- How to 30 Simply Sequencing Pictures Worksheets
- Practice 30 Simply Capacity Worksheets Kindergarten | https://teamiran.net/fractions-worksheets-first-grade/ | fineweb | 3,062 | 3.15625 |
Cornerstone science materials and lessons are used at HUNDREDS of Classical Conversations communities all around the United States.
Check our our CC Cycle 1 Materials page for the items you need for this year to make your activities a success!
Cornerstone's geology kits and materials are the perfect compliment to your science curriculum
Most science curricula do not include real rocks, minerals, and fossils when teaching about geology and Earth Science. Complete your child's education by putting real specimens in their hands. Our specimens and tools are expert-chosen and our lessons are both understandable AND in-depth!
Use our materials for:
Christian elementary and high school
Science fair experiments
Classical Conversations science activities
Boy Scouts / Girl Scouts (Geology Merit Badge)
Christian higher education
Starting your own personal collection
Sunday School lessons | https://cornerstone-edsupply.com/ | fineweb | 889 | 3.125 |
Soups and broths
Nourishing, warming soups have been the basis of much of Scottish cookery for centuries.
Fish and shellfish
Fish and shellfish have been of great importance in the Scottish diet for centuries, especially for those living by the coast and rivers.
Although today health-conscious Scots eat their 'five-a-day', until relatively recent times most ate few vegetables.
Jams and preserves
Most Scots only ate fruit in season. Until the 19th century, jams and preserves were generally made and eaten by the wealthy.
Oatmeal and bread
Many a Scot has been raised on oats. This nutritious, energy-giving cereal thrives in the soil and climate of Scotland.
Meat, game, poultry
While Scotland has a rich natural larder of meat and game, until the 1800s for most people meat was a luxury.
Desserts and baking
The Scots are renowned for their baking and puddings, but sweet foods were first eaten at a high social level.
Nowadays we take running water and fresh hot and cold drinks for granted. Our ancestors were not so fortunate. | https://digital.nls.uk/recipes/themes/ | fineweb | 1,034 | 2.859375 |
How to Make Cloud Computing Secure ? Keep an eye on the provider’s choice ! Here are a few tips to check while you are in need of Secure Cloud Computing. Users can now select from a growing number of cloud computing service offerings from the Internet. Previously we published various articles on Cloud Computing. This is a compiled and comprehensive article on How to Make Cloud Computing Secure.
How to Make Cloud Computing Secure : Know The Basics
The quick answer to the question How to Make Cloud Computing Secure is brief – know the basics of Cloud Computing. We elaborately discussed about Cloud Computing Models before in a separate article, again a brief recapitulation :
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides infrastructure such as virtual servers or storage space.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides execution and development environments.
- Software as a Service (SaaS) offers of a solution as provider, such as an office suite, in which the user will be operating via a web browser. Cloud services are publicly accessible and usually operate over browser.
How to Make Cloud Computing Secure : Theoretical and Practical Aspects
Thanks to the basic characteristics of cloud infrastructure used now – the quick and easy availability of new resources with a good network connection, the use of cloud resources is interesting to start, for example, denial of service (DoS) attacks or to host malware are not rare.
Cloud services and the providers provides the management interfaces with public cloud services over the Internet. Furthermore, there are APIs that users can use to control and configure the cloud services. Weaknesses in these interfaces may open the gates against the unauthorized access to customer data.
During the data generation or during data transfer to the cloud, the user should classify their data from “low” to “very high” risk, (while writing, I am thinking that possibly I have wrote it in any other article before in details). The concerns about the use of certain cryptographic methods arises for securing the rights to access certain information.
Encryption plays a central role for data storage in the cloud. Key management is a challenge for many users. A loss of key always means the loss of encrypted data, a compromise of the key means the threat to data security. Encryption and SSL both are important. For example, data can be integrated via an encrypted VPN into the IT infrastructure of the user. To secure management interfaces or to use the SaaS offerings via web browser, secure HTTPS connections are essential.
The access of information for cloud services and applications have to be protected. Encrypted transmission and regular changing of the log are recommended. Likewise, strong authentication mechanisms and individual assignment of access rights on a need-to-know principle. The roles and rights should be reviewed periodically.
How to Make Cloud Computing Secure : Our Recommendations
- Do not use Microsoft Windows to access any sensitive data that needs protection. It is a malware, virus prone Operating System. You at least need to install an antivirus and an antimalware plus update almost everyday. Use any Linux distribution (most are free, possibly most secure is OpenSUSE) or Mac OS X.
- Never Save Password in any SFTP/FTP softwares.
- Use the standard Cloud Provider like Rackspace, Amazon etc. Our preference openly is Rackspace. There is no promoted reason, we like Rackspace for various reasons. You might like Amazon. For specific need use SalesForce.
- Use SSL for login and administrative areas.
- Try to use Private Cloud for too sensitive content.
- Do not use Free Cloud Storages for serious backups. Frankly, there are ways to break encryption.
- Never use Free CDN.
- Try to stick with Open Source Free Softwares – the reason we mentioned before – Cloud Computing Security Means Opting For Open Source.
- Never use any cracked software. The reason is, the structure of software against malware get destroyed.
- Use strong and unique passwords. | https://thecustomizewindows.com/2012/12/how-to-make-cloud-computing-secure/ | fineweb | 4,036 | 3 |
Brushing our teeth is a very good thing for our oral hygiene and overall health, but what matters is the type of toothpaste we use daily as they conatin some toxins which are harmful like triclosan, fluoride and sodium lauryl sulfate.
How does these toxins affect our health
Fluoride affect the bones and pineal gland, and it can also affect the function of our brain.
Triclosan is known as endocine disruptor which causes the hormone regulation to be altered.
Sodium lauryl sulfate, can be used as foaming agent and is a possible carcinogen, and sodium lauryl sulfate causes gum inflammation and irritate the gums.
As discussed above the toothpaste we do buy from the markets are of no use since it alters our health in different ways and form, and if you would be taught how to make your own toothpaste at home it would be more convincing and true because you’ll know about every ingredient used as you’ll be making it yourself just with natural ingredients from you kitchen.
Benefits of Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil
It has good enough lauric acid which possesses the natural anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects.
It reduces plaque on your teeth.
In addition extra-virgin coconut oil helps in preventing problems like toothaches, bad breath (halitosis) and gum diseases.
In promoting and maintaining oral health, coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil are very effective preventive agents.
Also a study reveals that if coconut oil is used for oil swishing, the plaque formation is decreased.
Benefits of Turmeric
Turmeric is just another ingredient that is ver important and beneficial to our overall oral health.
It has the properties of antibacterial, anti-plaque and anti-inflammatory, which helps in keeping dental problems away.
Turmeric helps in whitening the teeth.
Plaque and gingivitis can be controlled by turmeric mouthwash.
Benefits of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
This is another abrasive agent which helps in brightening and whitening of the teeth.
It reduces the risk of bad breath through nuetralizing of acids in the mouth.
Making a paste or powder of baking soda is very effective in removing plaque more than other products of non-baking soda.
Benefits of Peppermint Extract
Powdered peppermint in ancient times is used to fight and prevent bad breath and also helps to whiten the teeth.
It also provide nice flavor.
It can inhibit the formation of biofilm which is directly linked to the cavities due to it therapeutic importance.
How To Make Toothpaste With Natural Ingredients At Home
Extra-virgin coconut oil
Baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
Peppermint Extract (This is optional, your may decide to use it or not)
Other things you’ll need:
Put in a bowl 2 tablespoon of extra-virgin coconut oil.
Now, add 2 tablespoon of baking soda into the bowl.
Next, add 10 to 15 drops of peppermint extract.
Again in the bowl add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon turmeric.
Use a rubber spoon or a spatula to mix the ingredients for few minutes till a smooth paste is obtained.
Now the homemade toothpaste is ready, and don’t forget to store it in an airtight container inside a fridge or a refrigerator.
Note: Do not use peppermint oil instead of the extract because no essential oil should be included in the paste
How To Use:
Use a spatula to take out a small amount of the homemade toothpaste. (Do not dip your toothbrush in the homemade toothpaste)
Use this spatual to speard the homemade toothpaste on your toothbrush.
Now, brush your teeth as usual (Note: This toothpaste does not foam because no soapy ingredient used in making it)
After brushing your teeth with the homemade toothpaste rinse your mouth with warm water.
To avoid turmeric stains make sure to wash your spatula or spoon and toothbrush.
Brush your teeth using tis toothpaste twice daily.
More Info: This homemade toothpaste can last for several months and if it begins to dry try and add a little coconut oil and mix thoroughly before use, and the turmeric used in this homemade toothpaste would not in any way stain your teeth instead it would make your teeth more white. | https://thedivest.com/how-to-make-natural-toothpaste-at-home/ | fineweb | 4,045 | 2.640625 |
|Gaelic name||Na h-Eileanan Siar|
|Meaning of name||Western Isles|
Outer Hebrides shown within Scotland
|OS grid reference|
|Area||3,059 km2 (1,181 sq mi)|
|Highest elevation||Clisham 799 m (2,621 ft)|
|Sovereign state||United Kingdom|
|Council area||Comhairle nan Eilean Siar|
|Population density||8 per km2|
The Outer Hebrides (//), also known as the Western Isles (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Siar [nə ˈhelanən ˈʃiəɾ] or Na h-Eileanan an Iar [nəˈhelanən əˈɲiəɾ]), Innse Gall ("islands of the strangers") or the Long Isle or the Long Island (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Fada), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland.[Note 1] The islands are geographically coextensive with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides. Scottish Gaelic is the predominant spoken language, although in a few areas English speakers form a majority.
Most of the islands have a bedrock formed from ancient metamorphic rocks and the climate is mild and oceanic. The 15 inhabited islands have a total population of 27,000 and there are more than 50 substantial uninhabited islands. From Barra Head to the Butt of Lewis is roughly 210 kilometres (130 mi).
There are various important prehistoric structures, many of which pre-date the first written references to the islands by Roman and Greek authors. The Western Isles became part of the Norse kingdom of the Suðreyjar, which lasted for over 400 years until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266. Control of the islands was then held by clan chiefs, principal of whom were the MacLeods, MacDonalds, Mackenzies and MacNeils. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century had a devastating effect on many communities and it is only in recent years that population levels have ceased to decline. Much of the land is now under local control and commercial activity is based on tourism, crofting, fishing, and weaving.
Sea transport is crucial and a variety of ferry services operate between the islands and to mainland Scotland. Modern navigation systems now minimise the dangers but in the past the stormy seas have claimed many ships. Religion, music and sport are important aspects of local culture, and there are numerous designated conservation areas to protect the natural environment.
The islands form an archipelago whose major islands are Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra. Lewis and Harris has an area of 217,898 hectares (841 sq mi) and is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British Isles, after Great Britain and Ireland. It incorporates Lewis in the north and Harris in the south, both of which are frequently referred to as individual islands, although they are connected by land. The island does not have a single name in either English or Gaelic, and is referred to as "Lewis and Harris", "Lewis with Harris", "Harris with Lewis" etc.
The largest islands are deeply indented by arms of the sea such as Loch Ròg, Loch Seaforth and Loch nam Madadh. There are also more than 7,500 freshwater lochs in the Outer Hebrides, about 24% of the total for the whole of Scotland. North and South Uist and Lewis in particular have landscapes with a high percentage of fresh water and a maze and complexity of loch shapes. Harris has fewer large bodies of water but has innumerable small lochans. Loch Langavat on Lewis is 11 kilometres (7 mi) long, and has several large islands in its midst, including Eilean Mòr. Although Loch Suaineabhal has only 25% of Loch Langavat's surface area, it has a mean depth of 33 metres (108 ft) and is the most voluminous on the island. Of Loch Sgadabhagh on North Uist it has been said that "there is probably no other loch in Britain which approaches Loch Scadavay in irregularity and complexity of outline." Loch Bì is South Uist's largest loch and at 8 kilometres (5 mi) long it all but cuts the island in two.
Much of the western coastline of the islands is machair, a fertile low-lying dune pastureland. Lewis is comparatively flat, and largely consists of treeless moors of blanket peat. The highest eminence is Mealisval at 574 m (1,883 ft) in the south west. Most of Harris is mountainous, with large areas of exposed rock and Clisham, the archipelago's only Corbett, reaches 799 m (2,621 ft) in height. North and South Uist and Benbecula (sometimes collectively referred to as The Uists) have sandy beaches and wide cultivated areas of machair to the west and virtually uninhabited mountainous areas to the east. The highest peak here is Beinn Mhòr at 620 metres (2,034 ft). The Uists and their immediate outliers have a combined area of 74,540 hectares (288 sq mi). This includes the Uists themselves and the islands linked to them by causeways and bridges. Barra is 5,875 hectares (23 sq mi) in extent and has a rugged interior, surrounded by machair and extensive beaches.
The scenic qualities of the islands are reflected in the fact that three of Scotland's forty national scenic areas (NSAs) are located here. The national scenic areas are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development, and are considered to represent the type of scenic beauty "popularly associated with Scotland and for which it is renowned". The three NSA within the Outer Hebridies are:
- South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area covers the mountainous south west of Lewis, all of Harris, the Sound of Harris and the northern part of North Uist.
- An area of the south west coast of South Uist is designated as the South Uist Machair National Scenic Area.
- The archipelago of St Kilda is also listed as an NSA, alongside many other conservation designations.
Flora and faunaEdit
Much of the archipelago is a protected habitat, including both the islands and the surrounding waters. There are 53 Sites of Special Scientific Interest of which the largest are Loch an Duin, North Uist (15,100 hectares (37,000 acres)) and North Harris (12,700 hectares (31,000 acres)). South Uist is considered the best place in the UK for the aquatic plant Slender Naiad, which is a European Protected Species.
There has been considerable controversy over hedgehogs on the Uists. Hedgehogs are not native to the islands, but were introduced in the 1970s to reduce garden pests. Their spread posed a threat to the eggs of ground nesting wading birds. In 2003 Scottish Natural Heritage undertook culls of hedgehogs in the area, but these were halted in 2007; trapped animals are now relocated to the mainland.
Nationally important populations of breeding waders are present in the Outer Hebrides, including common redshank, dunlin, lapwing and ringed plover. The islands also provide a habitat for other important species such as corncrake, hen harrier, golden eagle and otter. Offshore, basking shark and various species of whale and dolphin can often be seen, and the remoter islands' seabird populations are of international significance. St Kilda has 60,000 northern gannets, amounting to 24% of the world population; 49,000 breeding pairs of Leach's petrel, up to 90% of the European population; and 136,000 pairs of puffin and 67,000 northern fulmar pairs, about 30% and 13% of the respective UK totals. Mingulay is an important breeding ground for razorbills, with 9,514 pairs, 6.3% of the European population.
The bumblebee Bombus jonellus var. hebridensis is endemic to the Hebrides and there are local variants of the dark green fritillary and green-veined white butterflies. The St Kilda wren is a subspecies of wren whose range is confined to the islands whose name it bears.
The islands' total population was 26,502 at the 2001 census, and the 2011 figure was 27,684. During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. The largest settlement in the Outer Hebrides is Stornoway on Lewis, which has a population of about 8,100.
In addition to the major North Ford (Oitir Mhòr) and South Ford causeways that connect North Uist to Benbecula via the northern of the Grimsays, and another causeway from Benbecula to South Uist, several other islands are linked by smaller causeways or bridges. Great Bernera and Scalpay have bridge connections to Lewis and Harris respectively, with causeways linking Baleshare and Berneray to North Uist; Eriskay to South Uist; Flodaigh, Fraoch-Eilean and the southern Grimsay to Benbecula; and Vatersay to Barra. Thus means that all the inhabited islands are now connected to at least one other island by a land transport route.
|Island||Gaelic name||2011 population||2001 population||2011 Gaelic speakers|
|Lewis and Harris||Leòdhas||21,031||Lewis)18,500 (||
|Hearadh||Harris)1,916 (||60% (1,212)|
|South Uist||Uibhist a Deas||1,754||1,818||60% (1,888 incl. Benbecula)|
|North Uist||Uibhist a Tuath||1,254||1,271||61% (887)|
|Benbecula||Beinn nam Fadhla||1,303||1,219||60% (1,888 with South Uist)|
|Great Bernera||Beàrnaraigh Mòr||252||233|
There are more than fifty uninhabited islands greater in size than 40 hectares (99 acres) in the Outer Hebrides, including the Barra Isles, Flannan Isles, Monach Islands, the Shiant Isles and the islands of Loch Ròg. In common with the other main island chains of Scotland, many of the more remote islands were abandoned during the 19th and 20th centuries, in some cases after continuous habitation since the prehistoric period. More than 35 such islands have been identified in the Outer Hebrides alone. On Barra Head, for example, Historic Scotland have identified eighty-three archaeological sites on the island, the majority being of a pre-medieval date. In the 18th century the population was over fifty, but the last native islanders had left by 1931. The island became completely uninhabited by 1980 with the automation of the lighthouse.
Some of the smaller islands continue to contribute to modern culture. The "Mingulay Boat Song", although evocative of island life, was written after the abandonment of the island in 1938 and Taransay hosted the BBC television series Castaway 2000. Others have played a part in Scottish history. On 4 May 1746, the "Young Pretender" Charles Edward Stuart hid on Eilean Liubhaird with some of his men for four days whilst Royal Navy vessels patrolled the Minch.
Smaller isles and skerries and other island groups pepper the North Atlantic surrounding the main islands. Some are not geologically part of the Outer Hebrides, but are administratively and in most cases culturally, part of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. 73 kilometres (45 mi) to the west of Lewis lies St Kilda, now uninhabited except for a small military base. A similar distance to the north of Lewis are North Rona and Sula Sgeir, two small and remote islands. While Rona used to support a small population who grew grain and raised cattle, Sula Sgeir is an inhospitable rock. Thousands of northern gannets nest here, and by special arrangement some of their young, known as gugas are harvested annually by the men of Ness. The status of Rockall, which is 367 kilometres (228 mi) to the west of North Uist and which the Island of Rockall Act 1972 decreed to be a part of the Western Isles, remains a matter of international dispute.
Most of the islands have a bedrock formed from Lewisian gneiss. These are amongst the oldest rocks in Europe, having been formed in the Precambrian period up to three billion years ago. In addition to the Outer Hebrides, they form basement deposits on the Scottish mainland west of the Moine Thrust and on the islands of Coll and Tiree. These rocks are largely igneous in origin, mixed with metamorphosed marble, quartzite and mica schist and intruded by later basaltic dykes and granite magma. The gneiss's delicate pink colours are exposed throughout the islands and it is sometimes referred to by geologists as "The Old Boy".[Note 3]
Granite intrusions are found in the parish of Barvas in west Lewis, and another forms the summit plateau of the mountain Roineabhal in Harris. The granite here is anorthosite, and is similar in composition to rocks found in the mountains of the Moon. There are relatively small outcrops of Triassic sandstone at Broad Bay near Stornoway. The Shiant Isles and St Kilda are formed from much later tertiary basalt and basalt and gabbros respectively. The sandstone at Broad Bay was once thought to be Torridonian or Old Red Sandstone.
The Outer Hebrides have a cool temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude, due to the influence of the North Atlantic Current. The average temperature for the year is 6 °C (44 °F) in January and 14 °C (57 °F) in summer. The average annual rainfall in Lewis is 1,100 millimetres (43 in) and sunshine hours range from 1,100 to 1,200 per year. The summer days are relatively long and May to August is the driest period. Winds are a key feature of the climate and even in summer there are almost constant breezes. According to the writer W. H. Murray if a visitor asks an islander for a weather forecast "he will not, like a mainlander answer dry, wet or sunny, but quote you a figure from the Beaufort Scale." There are gales one day in six at the Butt of Lewis and small fish are blown onto the grass on top of 190 metre (620 ft) high cliffs at Barra Head during winter storms.
The Hebrides were originally settled in the Mesolithic era and have a diversity of important prehistoric sites. Eilean Dòmhnuill in Loch Olabhat on North Uist was constructed around 3200–2800 BC and may be Scotland's earliest crannog (a type of artificial island). The Callanish Stones, dating from about 2900 BC, are the finest example of a stone circle in Scotland, the 13 primary monoliths of between one and five metres high creating a circle about 13 metres (43 ft) in diameter. Cladh Hallan on South Uist, the only site in the UK where prehistoric mummies have been found, and the impressive ruins of Dun Carloway broch on Lewis both date from the Iron Age.
|Scots Gaelic:||A' Chomhairle|
|Pronunciation:||[ə ˈxõ.ərˠʎə] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||An t-Eilean Fada|
|Pronunciation:||[əɲ tʰʲelan fat̪ə] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||Comhairle nan Eilean Siar|
|Pronunciation:||[ˈkʰõ.ərˠʎə nə ˈɲelan ˈʃiəɾ] ( listen)|
|Pronunciation:||[ˈkukə] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||Innse Gall|
|Pronunciation:||[ˈĩːʃə ˈkaulˠ̪] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||Na h-Eileanan A-muigh|
|Pronunciation:||[nə ˈhelanən əˈmuj] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||Na h-Eileanan an Iar|
|Pronunciation:||[nə ˈhelanən ə ˈɲiəɾ] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||Na h-Eileanan Siar|
|Pronunciation:||[nə ˈhelanən ˈʃiəɾ] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||Oitir Mhòr|
|Pronunciation:||[ˈɔʰtʲɪɾʲ ˈvoːɾ] ( listen)|
|Scots Gaelic:||Sloc na Béiste|
|Pronunciation:||[ˈs̪lˠ̪ɔʰk nə ˈpeːʃtʲə] ( listen)|
The earliest written references that have survived relating to the islands were made by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, where he states that there are 30 Hebudes, and makes a separate reference to Dumna, which Watson (1926) concludes is unequivocally the Outer Hebrides. Writing about 80 years later, in 140–150 AD, Ptolemy, drawing on the earlier naval expeditions of Agricola, also distinguished between the Ebudes, of which he writes there were only five (and thus possibly meaning the Inner Hebrides) and Dumna. Dumna is cognate with the Early Celtic dumnos and means the "deep-sea isle". Pliny probably took his information from Pytheas of Massilia who visited Britain sometime between 322 and 285 BC. It is possible that Ptolemy did as well, as Agricola's information about the west coast of Scotland was of poor quality. Breeze also suggests that Dumna might be Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Outer Hebrides although he conflates this single island with the name "Long Island". Watson (1926) states that the meaning of Ptolemy's Eboudai is unknown and that the root may be pre-Celtic. Murray (1966) claims that Ptolemy's Ebudae was originally derived from the Old Norse Havbredey, meaning "isles on the edge of the sea". This idea is often repeated but no firm evidence of this derivation has emerged.
Other early written references include the flight of the Nemed people from Ireland to Domon, which is mentioned in the 12th-century Lebor Gabála Érenn and a 13th-century poem concerning Raghnall mac Gofraidh, then the heir to the throne of Mann and the Isles, who is said to have "broken the gate of Magh Domhna". Magh Domhna means "the plain of Domhna (or Domon)", but the precise meaning of the text is not clear.
In Irish mythology the islands were the home of the Fomorians, described as "huge and ugly" and "ship men of the sea". They were pirates, extracting tribute from the coasts of Ireland and one of their kings was Indech mac Dé Domnand (i.e. Indech, son of the goddess Domnu, who ruled over the deep seas).
In modern Gaelic the islands are sometimes referred to collectively as An t-Eilean Fada (the Long Island) or Na h-Eileanan a-Muigh (the Outer Isles). Innse Gall (islands of the foreigners or strangers) is also heard occasionally, a name that was originally used by mainland Highlanders when the islands were ruled by the Norse.
The individual island and place names in the Outer Hebrides have mixed Gaelic and Norse origins. Various Gaelic terms are used repeatedly:
|Gaelic root||Derived forms||Anglicised as||Origin and meaning|
|-aigh||-ay/-ey||generally from the Norse øy meaning "island"|
|beag||bheag, bige, bhige, beaga, bheaga||beg||small|
|dearg||dhearg, deirge, dheirge, deirg, dheirg, dearga, dhearga||derg||red|
|dubh||dhubh, duibh, dhuibh, duibhe, dhuibhe, dubha, dhubha||black; hidden|
|glas||ghlas, glais, ghlais, glaise, ghlaise, glasa, ghlasa||grey, green|
|eilean||eilein, eileanan||from the Norse eyland meaning "island"|
|mòr||mhòr, mòire, mhòire}, mòra, mhòra, mòir, mhòir||more||big, great|
|sgeir||sgeirean||skerry||skerry; often refers to a rock or rocks that lie submerged at high tide.|
In Scotland, the Celtic Iron Age way of life, often troubled but never extinguished by Rome, re-asserted itself when the legions abandoned any permanent occupation in 211 AD. Hanson (2003) writes: "For many years it has been almost axiomatic in studies of the period that the Roman conquest must have had some major medium or long-term impact on Scotland. On present evidence that cannot be substantiated either in terms of environment, economy, or, indeed, society. The impact appears to have been very limited. The general picture remains one of broad continuity, not of disruption ... The Roman presence in Scotland was little more than a series of brief interludes within a longer continuum of indigenous development." The Romans' direct impact on the Highlands and Islands was scant and there is no evidence that they ever actually landed in the Outer Hebrides.
The later Iron Age inhabitants of the northern and western Hebrides were probably Pictish, although the historical record is sparse. Hunter (2000) states that in relation to King Bridei I of the Picts in the sixth century AD: "As for Shetland, Orkney, Skye and the Western Isles, their inhabitants, most of whom appear to have been Pictish in culture and speech at this time, are likely to have regarded Bridei as a fairly distant presence." The island of Pabbay is the site of the Pabbay Stone, the only extant Pictish symbol stone in the Outer Hebrides. This 6th century stele shows a flower, V-rod and lunar crescent to which has been added a later and somewhat crude cross.
Viking raids began on Scottish shores towards the end of the 8th century AD and the Hebrides came under Norse control and settlement during the ensuing decades, especially following the success of Harald Fairhair at the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872. In the Western Isles Ketill Flatnose was the dominant figure of the mid 9th century, by which time he had amassed a substantial island realm and made a variety of alliances with other Norse leaders. These princelings nominally owed allegiance to the Norwegian crown, although in practice the latter's control was fairly limited. Norse control of the Hebrides was formalised in 1098 when Edgar, King of Scotland formally signed the islands over to Magnus III of Norway. The Scottish acceptance of Magnus III as King of the Isles came after the Norwegian king had conquered Orkney, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man in a swift campaign earlier the same year, directed against the local Norwegian leaders of the various islands petty kingdoms. By capturing the islands Magnus imposed a more direct royal control, although at a price. His skald Bjorn Cripplehand recorded that in Lewis "fire played high in the heaven" as "flame spouted from the houses" and that in the Uists "the king dyed his sword red in blood". Thompson (1968) provides a more literal translation: "Fire played in the fig-trees of Liodhus; it mounted up to heaven. Far and wide the people were driven to flight. The fire gushed out of the houses".
The Hebrides were now part of Kingdom of the Isles, whose rulers were themselves vassals of the Kings of Norway. The Kingdom had two parts: the Suðr-eyjar or South Isles encompassing the Hebrides and the Isle of Man; and the Norðr-eyjar or North Isles of Orkney and Shetland. This situation lasted until the partitioning of the Western Isles in 1156, at which time the Outer Hebrides remained under Norwegian control while the Inner Hebrides broke out under Somerled, the Norse-Celtic kinsman of the Manx royal house.
Following the ill-fated 1263 expedition of Haakon IV of Norway, the Outer Hebrides along with the Isle of Man, were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland a result of the 1266 Treaty of Perth. Although their contribution to the islands can still be found in personal and placenames, the archaeological record of the Norse period is very limited. The best known find from this time is the Lewis chessmen, which date from the mid 12th century.
As the Norse era drew to a close the Norse-speaking princes were gradually replaced by Gaelic-speaking clan chiefs including the MacLeods of Lewis and Harris, the MacDonalds of the Uists and MacNeil of Barra.[Note 4] This transition did little to relieve the islands of internecine strife although by the early 14th century the MacDonald Lords of the Isles, based on Islay, were in theory these chiefs' feudal superiors and managed to exert some control.
The growing threat that Clan Donald posed to the Scottish crown led to the forcible dissolution of the Lordship of the Isles by James IV in 1493, but although the king had the power to subdue the organised military might of the Hebrides, he and his immediate successors lacked the will or ability to provide an alternative form of governance. The House of Stuart's attempts to control the Outer Hebrides were then at first desultory and little more than punitive expeditions. In 1506 the Earl of Huntly besieged and captured Stornoway Castle using cannon. In 1540 James V himself conducted a royal tour, forcing the clan chiefs to accompany him. There followed a period of peace, but all too soon the clans were at loggerheads again.
In 1598 King James VI authorised some "Gentleman Adventurers" from Fife to civilise the "most barbarous Isle of Lewis". Initially successful, the colonists were driven out by local forces commanded by Murdoch and Neil MacLeod, who based their forces on Bearasaigh in Loch Ròg. The colonists tried again in 1605 with the same result but a third attempt in 1607 was more successful, and in due course Stornoway became a Burgh of Barony. By this time Lewis was held by the Mackenzies of Kintail, (later the Earls of Seaforth), who pursued a more enlightened approach, investing in fishing in particular. The historian W. C. MacKenzie was moved to write:
At the end of the 17th century, the picture we have of Lewis that of a people pursuing their avocation in peace, but not in plenty. The Seaforths ..., besides establishing orderly Government in the island.. had done a great deal to rescue the people from the slough of ignorance and incivility in which they found themselves immersed. But in the sphere of economics their policy apparently was of little service to the community.
The Seaforth's royalist inclinations led to Lewis becoming garrisoned during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by Cromwell's troops, who destroyed the old castle in Stornoway and in 1645 Lewismen fought on the royalist side at the Battle of Auldearn. A new era of Hebridean involvement in the affairs of the wider world was about to commence.
With the implementation of the Treaty of Union in 1707 the Hebrides became part of the new Kingdom of Great Britain, but the clan's loyalties to a distant monarch were not strong. A considerable number of islandmen "came out" in support of the Jacobite Earl of Mar in the "15" although the response to the 1745 rising was muted. Nonetheless the aftermath of the decisive Battle of Culloden, which effectively ended Jacobite hopes of a Stuart restoration, was widely felt. The British government's strategy was to estrange the clan chiefs from their kinsmen and turn their descendants into English-speaking landlords whose main concern was the revenues their estates brought rather than the welfare of those who lived on them. This may have brought peace to the islands, but in the following century it came at a terrible price.
The Highland Clearances of the 19th century destroyed communities throughout the Highlands and Islands as the human populations were evicted and replaced with sheep farms. For example, Colonel Gordon of Cluny, owner of Barra, South Uist and Benbecula evicted thousands of islanders using trickery and cruelty and even offered to sell Barra to the government as a penal colony. Islands such as Fuaigh Mòr were completely cleared of their populations and even today the subject is recalled with bitterness and resentment in some areas. The position was exacerbated by the failure of the islands' kelp industry, which thrived from the 18th century until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and large scale emigration became endemic. For example, hundreds left North Uist for Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The pre-clearance population of the island had been almost 5,000, although by 1841 it had fallen to 3,870 and was only 2,349 by 1931.
For those who remained new economic opportunities emerged through the export of cattle, commercial fishing and tourism. During the summer season in the 1860s and 1870s five thousand inhabitants of Lewis could be found in Wick on the mainland of Scotland, employed on the fishing boats and at the quaysides. Nonetheless emigration and military service became the choice of many and the archipelago's populations continued to dwindle throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. By 2001 the population of North Uist was only 1,271.
The work of the Napier Commission and the Congested Districts Board, and the passing of the Crofting Act of 1886 helped, but social unrest continued. In July 1906 grazing land on Vatersay was raided by landless men from Barra and its isles. Lady Gordon Cathcart took legal action against the "raiders" but the visiting judge took the view that she had neglected her duties as a landowner and that "long indifference to the necessities of the cottars had gone far to drive them to exasperation". Millennia of continuous occupation notwithstanding, many of the remoter islands were abandoned — Mingulay in 1912, Hirta in 1930, and Ceann Iar in 1942 among them. This process involved a transition from these places being perceived as relatively self-sufficient agricultural economies to a view becoming held by both island residents and outsiders alike that they lacked the essential services of a modern industrial economy.
There were gradual economic improvements, among the most visible of which was the replacement of the traditional thatched blackhouse with accommodation of a more modern design. The creation of the Highlands and Islands Development Board and the discovery of substantial deposits of North Sea oil in 1965, the establishment of a unitary local authority for the islands in 1975 and more recently the renewables sector have all contributed to a degree of economic stability in recent decades. The Arnish yard has had a chequered history but has been a significant employer in both the oil and renewables industries. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the local authority, employs 2,000 people, making it the largest employer in the Outer Hebrides. See also the "Innse Gall area plan 2010" and the Comhairle's "Factfile – Economy".
Modern commercial activities centre on tourism, crofting, fishing, and weaving including the manufacture of Harris tweed. Some of the larger islands have development trusts that support the local economy and, in striking contrast to the 19th and 20th century domination by absentee landlords, more than two thirds of the Western Isles population now lives on community-owned estates. However the economic position of the islands remains relatively precarious. The Western Isles, including Stornoway, are defined by Highlands and Islands Enterprise as an economically "Fragile Area" and they have an estimated trade deficit of some £163.4 million. Overall, the area is relatively reliant on primary industries and the public sector, and fishing and fish farming in particular are vulnerable to environmental impacts, changing market pressures, and European legislation.
There is some optimism about the possibility of future developments in, for example, renewable energy generation, tourism, and education, and after declines in the 20th century the population has stabilised since 2003, although it is ageing.
Politics and local governmentEdit
From the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 to 1975 Lewis formed part of the county of Ross and Cromarty and the rest of the archipelago, including Harris, was part of Inverness-shire.
The Outer Hebrides became a unitary council area in 1975, although in most of the rest of Scotland similar unitary councils were not established until 1996. Since then, the islands have formed one of the 32 unitary council areas that now cover the whole country, with the council officially known by its Gaelic name, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar under the terms of the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997. The council has its base in Stornoway on Lewis and is often known locally simply as "the Comhairle" or a' Chomhairle. The Comhairle is one of only three Councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. The other independent-run councils are Shetland and Orkney. Moray is run by a Conservative/Independent coalition.
The name for the British Parliament constituency covering this area is Na h-Eileanan an Iar, the seat being held by Angus MacNeil MP since 2005, while the Scottish Parliament constituency for the area is Na h-Eileanan an Iar, the incumbent being Alasdair Allan MSP.
Scottish Gaelic languageEdit
The Outer Hebrides have historically been a very strong Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) speaking area. Both the 1901 and 1921 census reported that all parishes were over 75% Gaelic speaking, including areas of high population density such as Stornoway. However, the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 mandated English-only education, and is now recognised as having dealt a major blow to the language. People still living can recall being beaten for speaking Gaelic in school. Nonetheless, by 1971 most areas were still more than 75% Gaelic speaking – with the exception of Stornoway, Benbecula and South Uist at 50-74%.
In the 2001 census, each island overall was over 50% Gaelic speaking – South Uist (71%), Harris (69%), Barra (68%), North Uist (67%), Lewis (56%) and Benbecula (56%). With 59.3% of Gaelic speakers or a total of 15,723 speakers, this made the Outer Hebrides the most strongly coherent Gaelic speaking area in Scotland.
Most areas were between 60-74% Gaelic speaking and the areas with the highest density of over 80% are Scalpay near Harris, Newtonferry and Kildonan, whilst Daliburgh, Linshader, Eriskay, Brue, Boisdale, West Harris, Ardveenish, Soval, Ness, and Bragar all have more than 75%. The areas with the lowest density of speakers are Stornoway (44%), Braigh (41%), Melbost (41%), and Balivanich (37%).
The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was enacted by the Scottish Parliament in 2005 to provide continuing support for the language. However, by 2011 the overall percentage of Gaelic speakers in the Outer Hebrides had fallen to 52%.
Scheduled ferry services between the Outer Hebrides and the Scottish Mainland and Inner Hebrides operate on the following routes:
- Oban to Castlebay on Barra and Lochboisdale on South Uist
- Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris
- Uig on Skye to Lochmaddy on North Uist
- Ullapool to Stornoway on Lewis
- Tiree to Castlebay, Barra (summer only).
Other ferries operate between some of the islands.
National Rail services are available for onward journeys, from stations at Oban, which has direct services to Glasgow. However, parliamentary approval notwithstanding, plans in the 1890s to lay a railway connection to Ullapool were unable to obtain sufficient funding.
There are scheduled flights from Stornoway, Benbecula and Barra airports both inter-island and to the mainland. Barra's airport is claimed to be the only one in the world to have scheduled flights landing on a beach. At high water the runways are under the sea so flight times vary with the tide.
Bus na ComhairleEdit
Bus na Comhairle (meaning "Bus of the Council") is the council-owned local bus company of the Western Isles of Scotland. The company serves Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay and Barra.
The archipelago is exposed to wind and tide, and lighthouses are sited as an aid to navigation at locations from Barra Head in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north. There are numerous sites of wrecked ships, and the Flannan Isles are the location of an enduring mystery that occurred in December 1900, when all three lighthouse keepers vanished without trace.
Annie Jane, a three-masted immigrant ship out of Liverpool bound for Montreal, Canada, struck rocks off the West Beach of Vatersay during a storm on Tuesday 28 September 1853. Within ten minutes the ship began to founder and break up casting 450 people into the raging sea. In spite of the conditions, islanders tried to rescue the passengers and crew. The remains of 350 men, women and children were buried in the dunes behind the beach and a small cairn and monument marks the site.
The tiny Beasts of Holm off the east coast of Lewis were the site of the sinking of HMS Iolaire during the first few hours of 1919, one of the worst maritime disasters in United Kingdom waters during the 20th century. Calvay in the Sound of Barra provided the inspiration for Compton Mackenzie's novel Whisky Galore after the SS Politician ran aground there with a cargo of single malt in 1941.
Religion, culture and sportEdit
Christianity has deep roots in the Western Isles, but owing mainly to the different allegiances of the clans in the past, the people in the northern islands (Lewis, Harris, North Uist) have historically been predominantly Presbyterian, and those of the southern islands (Benbecula, South Uist, Barra) predominantly Roman Catholic.
At the time of the 2001 Census, 42% of the population identified themselves as being affiliated with the Church of Scotland, with 13% Roman Catholic and 28% with other Christian churches. Many of this last group belong to the Free Church of Scotland, known for its strict observance of the Sabbath. 11% stated that they had no religion.[Note 5] This made the Western Isles the Scottish council area with the smallest percentage of non-religious in the population. There are also small Episcopalian congregations in Lewis and Harris and the Outer Hebrides are part of the Diocese of Argyll and The Isles in both the Episcopalian and Catholic traditions.
Gaelic music is popular in the islands and the Lewis and Harris Traditional Music Society plays an active role in promoting the genre. Fèis Bharraigh began in 1981 with the aim of developing the practice and study of the Gaelic language, literature, music, drama and culture on the islands of Barra and Vatersay. A two-week festival, it has inspired 43 other feisean throughout Scotland. The Lewis Pipe Band was founded in 1904 and the Lewis and Harris Piping Society in 1977.
Outdoor activities including rugby, football, golf, shinty, fishing, riding, canoeing, athletics, and multi-sports are popular in the Western Isles. The Hebridean Challenge is an adventure race run in five daily stages, which takes place along the length of the islands and includes hill and road running, road and mountain biking, short sea swims and demanding sea kayaking sections. There are four main sports centres: Ionad Spors Leodhais in Stornoway, which has a 25 m swimming pool; Harris Sports Centre; Lionacleit Sports Centre on Benbecula; and Castlebay Sports Centre on Barra. The Western Isles is a member of the International Island Games Association.
South Uist is home to the Askernish Golf Course. The oldest links in the Outer Hebrides, it was designed by Old Tom Morris. Although it was in use until the 1930s, its existence was largely forgotten until 2005 and it is now being restored to Morris's original design.
I Know Where I'm Going! is a 1945 British drama/romance film set mostly in the Outer Hebrides, depicting local lifestyles and speech.
- Hebridean Myths and Legends
- List of places in the Western Isles
- List of rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles
- List of islands of Scotland
- List of Category A listed buildings in the Western Isles
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election, 2012
- Virtual Hebrides
- Constitutional status of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles
- Solar eclipse of 1 May 1185
- Murray (1973) notes that "Western Isles" has tended to mean "Outer Hebrides" since the creation of the Na h-Eileanan an Iar or Western Isles parliamentary constituency in 1918. The phrase can also be used to refer to the Hebrides in general. Murray also notes that "Gneiss Islands"—a reference to the underlying geology – is another name used to refer to the Outer Hebrides but that its use is "confined to books".
- This tidal isle is at (grid reference and the evidence of both Ordnance Survey maps and photographs (e.g. "Houses on Seana Bhaile" Geograph. Retrieved 10 August 2009) indicates a resident population. There is even a name, Seana Bhaile (English: "Old Town") for the main settlement. However, neither the census nor the main reference work (Haswell-Smith 2004) refer to the island. Its population is presumably included in nearby Grimsay by the census.
- Lewisian gneiss is sometimes described as the oldest rock found in Europe, but trondhjemite gneiss recently measured at Siurua in Finland has been dated to 3.4–3.5 Ga.
- The transitional relationships between Norse and Gaelic-speaking rulers are complex. The Gall-Ghàidhels who dominated much of the Irish Sea region and western Scotland at this time were of joint Gaelic and Scandinavian origin. When Somerled wrested the southern Inner Hebrides from Godred the Black in 1156, this was the beginnings of a break with nominal Norse rule in the Hebrides. Godred remained the ruler of Mann and the Outer Hebrides, but two years later Somerled's invasion of the former caused him to flee to Norway. Norse control was further weakened in the ensuring century, but the Hebrides were not formally ceded by Norway until 1266. The transitions from one language to another are also complex. For example, many Scandinavian sources from this period of time typically refer to individuals as having a Scandinavian first name and a Gaelic by-name.
- The 2001 census statistics used are based on local authority areas but do not specifically identify Free Church or Episcopal adherents. 4% of the respondents did not answer this census question and the total for all other religions combined is 1 per cent.
- "Standard Area Measurements (2016) for Administrative Areas in the United Kingdom". Office for National Statistics. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- Thompson (1968) p. 14
- "Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Mid-2017". Office for National Statistics. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- Murray (1973) p. 32.
- Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 289
- Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 262
- Thompson (1968) p. 13
- "Botanical survey of Scottish freshwater lochs" SNH Information and Advisory Note Number 4. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of Lewis" Volume II, Part II p. 216. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of North Uist" Volume II, Part II p. 188. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
- "Get-a-map". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 1–15 August 2009.
- Murray (1966) pp. 171, 198
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 236–45
- Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 206
- Rotary Club (1995) p. 106
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 218–22
- "National Scenic Areas". Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- "Countryside and Landscape in Scotland - National Scenic Areas". Scottish Government. 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
- "South Lewis, Harris and North Uist NSA" (PDF). SNH. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- "South Uist Machair NSA 1:50,000 map" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- "Sitelink Map Search". Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
- "Western Isles Transitional Programme Strategy". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- Rotary Club (1995) p. 10
- "Higher plant species: 1833 Slender naiad" JNCC. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
- "Statutory Instrument 1994 No. 2716 " Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- "Campaign to stop the slaughter of over 5000 Hedgehogs on the Island of Uist". Epping Forest Hedgehog Rescue. Archived from the original on 8 August 2002. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
- Ross, John (21 February 2007). "Hedgehogs saved from the syringe as controversial Uist cull called off". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
- "Western Isles Biodiversity: Biodiversity Audit - Main report" Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- Benvie (2004) pp. 116, 121, 132–34
- "Mingulay birds". National Trust for Scotland. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
- Thompson (1968) p. 21
- Maclean (1972) p. 21
- "Statistical Bulletins". "2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland - Release 1C (Part Two)" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. 15 August 2013.
- Factfile - Population of Outer Hebrides
- Outer Hebrides Facts / [Fiosrachadh mu Innse Gall
- "Scotland's 2011 census: Island living on the rise". BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- "Factfile:Population". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- "Scotland's Census 2001 Statistics for Inhabited Islands" (PDF). General Register Office for Scotland. 28 November 2003. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 296
- "Fleet Histories" Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 205, 253
- "Crìonadh mòr sa Ghàidhlig anns na h-Eileanan" [A significant decline in Gaelic in the Outer Hebrides]. Naidheachdan [News] (in Scottish Gaelic). BBC. 15 November 2013.
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 206, 262
- Haswell-Smith (2004) various pages
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 207–209
- "Mingulay Boat Song" Cantaria. Retrieved 26 December 2006.
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 282–83
- Thompson (1968) pp. 187–89
- Thompson (1968) pp. 182–85
- "Oral Questions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs". Dáil Éireann. 1 November 1973. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
- MacDonald, Fraser (2006). "The last outpost of Empire: Rockall and the Cold War". Journal of Historical Geography. 32: 627–647. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2005.10.009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- Gillen (2003) p. 44
- McKirdy et al. (2007) p. 95
- Murray (1966) p. 2
- Lalli, Katja and Huhma, Hannu (2005). The oldes (sic) rock of Europe at Siurua (PDF). Fifth International Dyke Conference. Rovaniemi, Finland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- Gillen (2003) p. 42
- McKirdy et al. (2007) p. 94
- Thompson (1968) pp. 24–26
- Murray (1973) p. 79
- Murray (1973) pp. 79–81
- Armit (1998) p. 34
- Crone, B.A. (1993) "Crannogs and chronologies" Proceedings of the Society of Antiquarians of Scotland. 123 pp. 245–54
- Li (2005) p. 509
- Murray (1973) p. 122
- "Lewis, Callanish, 'tursachan'". CANMORE. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- "Lewis, Callanish, 'Tursachan'". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
- "Mummification in Bronze Age Britain" BBC History. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
- "The Prehistoric Village at Cladh Hallan". University of Sheffield. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- "AD 200 — Valtos: brochs and wheelhouses" archaeology.co.uk Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- Breeze, David J. "The ancient geography of Scotland" in Smith and Banks (2002) pp. 11–13
- Watson (1926) pp. 40–41
- Watson (1926) p. 38
- Murray (1966) p. 1
- Watson (1926) pp. 41–42 quoting Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster.
- "Welcome" IslayInfo. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- Hunter (2000) p. 104
- Mac an Tàilleir (2003) various pages.
- Hanson (2003) p. 198
- Hanson (2003) p. 216
- Hunter (2000) pp. 38–39
- Hunter (2000) pp. 44, 49
- Miers (2008) p. 367
- Hunter (2000) p. 74
- Rotary Club (1995) p. 12
- Hunter (2000) p. 78
- Hunter (2000) p. 102
- Thompson (1968) p 39
- "The Kingdom of Mann and the Isles" thevikingworld.com Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- Hunter (2000) pp. 109–111
- Thompson (1968) p. 37
- Rotary Club (1995) pp. 27, 30
- Gregory (1881) pp. 13–15, 20-21
- Downham (2007) pp. 174–75.
- Gammeltoft, Peder "Scandinavian Naming-Systems in the Hebrides: A Way of Understanding how the Scandinavians were in Contact with Gaels and Picts?" in Ballin Smith et al (2007) p. 480
- Hunter (2000) pp. 127, 166
- Hunter (2000) p. 143
- Thompson (1968) pp. 40–41
- Rotary Club (1995) pp. 12–13
- Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 312
- Thompson (1968) p. 41. It is not clear from the text which of MacKenzie's five books quoted in the bibliography spanning the years 1903–52 the quote is taken from.
- Thompson (1968) pp. 41–42
- Hunter (2000) p. 212
- Rotary Club (1995) p. 31
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 306–07
- Hunter (2000) pp. 247, 262
- Lawson, Bill (10 September 1999) "From The Outer Hebrides to Cape Breton - Part II". globalgenealogy.com. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
- Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 236
- "North Uist (Uibhist a Tuath)" Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- Hunter (2000) p. 292
- Hunter (2000) p. 343
- Hunter (2000) p. 320
- Buxton (1995) p. 125
- See for example Hunter (2000) pp. 152–158
- See for example Maclean (1977) Chapter 10: "Arcady Despoiled" pp. 125–35
- "Yard wins biggest wind tower job". BBC News Online. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- "Jobs and Careers". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- "Outer Hebrides/Innse Gall - area overview". Innse Gall area plan 2010 (pdf) HIE. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- "Factfile - Economy" Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- "Directory of Members". DTA Scotland. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
- "The quiet revolution". (19 January 2007) West Highland Free Press. Broadford, Skye.
- "Factfile - Population" Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- Keay and Keay (1994) pp. 542, 821
- "Areas of Scotland" ourscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- "Place-names of Scotland" scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- "Review of Educational Provision and the Comhairle's Future Strategy for the Schools Estate: Daliburgh School, Isle of South Uist" (PDF). Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Department of Education. January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- MacMahon, Peter and Walker, Helen (18 May 2007) "Winds of change sweep Scots town halls". Edinburgh. The Scotsman.
- "Political Groups" Shetland Islands Council. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- Wilson, Neil and Murphy, Alan "Destination Scotland". (pdf) Lonely Planet. p. 17. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2004) 1901–2001 Gaelic in the Census (PowerPoint) Linguae Celticae. Retrieved 1 June 2008
- "Census 2001 Scotland: Gaelic speakers by council area" Comunn na Gàidhlig. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
- "The Gaelic Language Act". Bòrd na Gàidhlig. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- "Statistical Bulletins". "2011 Census: Key Results on Population, Ethnicity, Identity, Language, Religion, Health, Housing and Accommodation in Scotland - Release 2A" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. 26 September 2013. p. 26. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- "Home". Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- "Garve and Ullapool Railway Bill" Hansard. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
- "Barra Airport". Highlands and Islands Airports Limited. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
- "Barra Airport". Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- "Lighthouse Library". Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 329–31
- "Annie Jane: Bagh Siar, Vatersay, Atlantic". Canmore. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- Thompson (1968) p. 76
- Clegg, E.J. "Fertility and Development in the Outer Hebrides; The Confounding Effcets of Religion" in Malhotra (1992) p. 88
- "Sunday ferry for Harris opposed by Lord's Day society" (19 January 2011) BBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
- Pacione, Michael (2005) "The Geography of Religious Affiliation in Scotland". The Professional Geographer 57(2). Oxford. Blackwell.
- "Diocese of Argyll and The Isles" argyllandtheisles.org.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- "RC Diocese of Argyll and the Isles" dioceseofargyllandtheisles.org Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- Rotary Club (1995) p. 39
- "History" Feis Bharraigh. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- "Member Profile: Western Isles" IIGA. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- "Sgoil Lionacleit". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- "Askernish Golf Course" Storas Uibhist. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- David Owen (20 April 2009). "The Ghost Course". New Yorker. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- Armit, Ian (1998) Scotland's Hidden History. Tempus (in association with Historic Scotland). ISBN 0-7486-6067-4
- Ballin Smith, B. and Banks, I. (eds) (2002) In the Shadow of the Brochs, the Iron Age in Scotland. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2517-X
- Ballin Smith, Beverley; Taylor, Simon; Williams, Gareth (eds) (2007) West Over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300. Leiden. Koninklijke Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15893-1
- Benvie, Neil (2004) Scotland's Wildlife. London. Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-978-2
- Buxton, Ben (1995) Mingulay: An Island and Its People. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-874744-24-6
- Downham, Clare (2007) Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014. Edinburgh. Dunedin Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-903765-89-0
- Gillen, Con (2003) Geology and landscapes of Scotland. Harpenden. Terra Publishing. ISBN 1-903544-09-2
- Gregory, Donald (1881) The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland 1493–1625. Edinburgh. Birlinn. 2008 reprint – originally published by Thomas D. Morrison. ISBN 1-904607-57-8
- Hanson, William S. "The Roman Presence: Brief Interludes", in Edwards, Kevin J. & Ralston, Ian B.M. (Eds) (2003) Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archaeology and History, 8000 BC – AD 1000. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press.
- Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate. ISBN 1-84195-454-3
- Hunter, James (2000) Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Edinburgh. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-376-4
- Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-255082-2
- Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003). "Ainmean-àite le buidheachas do dh' Iain Mac an Tailleir / Place-names collected by Iain Mac an Tailleir". The Scottish Parliament / Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012. "A'Chleit – Butt of Lewis" (PDF). "Cabaan – Eyre" (PDF). "Faddoch – Jura" (PDF). "Kallin – Ovie" (PDF). "Pabay – Yoker" (PDF).
- McKirdy, Alan Gordon, John & Crofts, Roger (2007) Land of Mountain and Flood: The Geology and Landforms of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 978-1-84158-357-0
- Maclean, Charles (1977) Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda. Edinburgh. Canongate. ISBN 0-903937-41-7
- Malhotra, R. (1992) Anthropology of Development: Commemoration Volume in Honour of Professor I.P. Singh. New Delhi. Mittal. ISBN 81-7099-328-8
- Li, Martin (2005) Adventure Guide to Scotland. Hunter Publishing. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- Miers, Mary (2008) The Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. The Rutland Press. ISBN 978-1-873190-29-6
- Murray, Sir John and Pullar, Laurence (1910). Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897–1909. National Library of Scotland. Edinburgh: Challenger Office. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- Murray, W.H. (1966) The Hebrides. London. Heinemann.
- Murray, W.H. (1973) The Islands of Western Scotland: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. London. Eyre Methuen. ISBN 0-413-30380-2
- Ross, David (2005) Scotland – History of a Nation. Lomond. ISBN 0-947782-58-3
- Rotary Club of Stornoway (1995) The Outer Hebrides Handbook and Guide. Machynlleth. Kittiwake. ISBN 0-9511003-5-1
- Thompson, Francis (1968) Harris and Lewis, Outer Hebrides. Newton Abbot. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4260-6
- Watson, W. J. (1994) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh; Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-323-5. First published 1926.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Outer Hebrides.|
|Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Outer Hebrides.|
- Western Isles at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
- Stornoway Port Authority
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
- 2001 Census Results for the Outer Hebrides
- Hebrides.com Photographic website from ex-Eolas Sam Maynard
- www.visithebrides.com Western Isles Tourist Board site from Reefnet
- Virtual Hebrides.com Content from the VH, which went its own way and became Virtual Scotland.
- hebrides.ca Home of the Quebec-Hebridean Scots who were cleared from Lewis to Quebec 1838–1920s | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Hebrides | fineweb | 54,709 | 3.53125 |
One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
A printed circuit board controlling output to a display screen.
- ‘The advanced properties will open and you should see a tab at the top listing the chipset of your video card.’
- ‘This occurred with a PCI video card too, so I would assume that the CPU is the bottleneck.’
- ‘As the video card displays one image, the opposing eye is blocked by the shutter.’
- ‘You do need to make certain that your system is equipped with a good-quality video card and a sound card.’
- ‘However the clock speed of the CPU matters much less then the video card at higher settings.’
- ‘This should prove to help with overclocking the video card beyond its default clock speeds.’
- ‘Choose the appropriate X server for the video card of the diskless workstation.’
- ‘When you first turn the computer on, the video card syncs in and out of frequencies during the boot stage.’
- ‘If you want to be able to play this game you will need to purchase a video card for your computer.’
- ‘Another minor surprise is that the opteron motherboard required a video card in order to boot.’
Top tips for CV writingRead more
In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV. | https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/video_card | fineweb | 1,226 | 3.125 |
Battle of Stono Ferry
The Battle of Stono Ferry was an American Revolutionary War battle, fought on June 20, 1779, near Charleston, South Carolina. The rear guard from a British expedition retreating from an aborted attempt to take Charleston held off an assault by poorly trained militia forces under American General Benjamin Lincoln.
The opening move in Britain's "southern strategy" to regain control of its rebellious colonies was Admiral Peter Parker and General Henry Clinton's ignominious defeat in June 1776 to a vastly smaller militia force at a partially-constructed palmetto palisade on Sullivan's Island off Charlestown (now Charleston), South Carolina, the Royal Navy's first repulse in a century. In December 1778, however, Savannah was captured and Charleston again exposed to danger. At the time, it was the site of the Continental Army's southern command under General Benjamin Lincoln. The British garrison at Savannah was about the same size as his own. Throughout the early months of 1779, Lincoln was reinforced by local militia as well as militia from North Carolina and Georgia. From a base at Purrysburg, South Carolina, Lincoln directed these forces to monitor key points on the Savannah River between the coast and Augusta, Georgia, which fell into British hands in late January. This buildup of forces prompted the British to withdraw their force from Augusta back to Ebenezer, Georgia, across the river from Purrysburg. During these maneuvers a Loyalist force was defeated in the Battle of Kettle Creek, and a North Carolina militia force was defeated in the Battle of Brier Creek.
By mid-April Lincoln felt strong enough to move in force with the goal of tightening the cordon around Savannah, cutting the British off from local resources. He marched from Purrysburg on April 23 toward Augusta. Lincoln was apparently unaware that the British supply situation was somewhat desperate, in part because American privateer activity had been successful in capturing British supply ships destined for Savannah and diverting them. His movement toward Augusta left the rich lands of coastal South Carolina protected by a minimal militia force. When British General Augustine Prevost learned of this movement, he decided to counterthrust against the militia forces at Purrysburg, marching 2,500 men out on April 29. The militia, about 1,000 men under the command of General William Moultrie, fell back toward Charleston rather than engaging Prevost, and Moultrie sent messengers to Lincoln warning him of the British movement. As Moultrie retreated, local men deserted his force in order to protect their homes and plantations. Prevost decided to pursue Moultrie, and chased him to the gates of Charleston.
On May 10, companies from the two forces skirmished near Ashley Ferry, about seven miles (11.3 km) from Charleston. Two days later Prevost intercepted a message from which he learned that Lincoln was rapidly marching back to Charleston, and decided to retreat. His army was slowed by having taken supplies en route, so he decided to leave a rear guard at Stono Ferry, between Johns Island and the mainland, removing most of his army to Savannah by boat on June 16. Prevost placed Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland in charge of the rear guard, which numbered about 900 men. A bridgehead was established on the north side of an area now known as New Cut Church Flats; this was meant to cover Stono Ferry. Three strong redoubts were built, circled by an abatis and manned by Highlanders from the 71st Foot, Hessians from the Regiment von Trumbach, and companies of Loyalists from North and South Carolina.
Lincoln, on his arrival in Charleston, decided to mount an attack on this outpost. Even though he commanded five to seven thousand men, he was only able to raise about 1,200 men, primarily from the poorly trained local militia, for the expedition. General Moultrie led a smaller secondary effort to the east against a small group of British soldiers on Johns Island.
Lincoln deployed his troops after a night march of eight miles (13 km) from the Ashley Ferry, located in the present village of Drayton Hall. Immediately upon their arrival at dawn, they began struggling through thick woods. The Americans advanced in two wings; General Jethro Sumner led his Carolina militia on the right, carrying two guns, while their right flank was covered by a company of light infantry, commanded by the Marquis de Malmady. Continental Army troops, under General Isaac Huger, made up the left wing; they carried four guns into battle. With Huger was a group of light infantry under John Henderson, and it was these troops who, shortly before sunrise, made first contact with the enemy.
The battle began well for the Patriots. They engaged the British positions with small arms and cannon fire for an hour, at which point they advanced to the abatis. Of the Highlanders, two companies resisted until only 11 men were left standing; a Hessian battalion finally broke. Here Maitland shifted his forces in an attempt to counter the larger threat posed by Huger's wing. The Hessians rallied and returned to the fight, and reserves were brought across the bridge. Lincoln chose this moment to order a withdrawal.
The American loss in the battle was 34 killed, 113 wounded and 155 missing. Among the dead was Hugh Jackson, elder brother of future President Andrew Jackson, who was felled by heat and exhaustion. Huger was severely wounded. The British casualties were 26 killed, 93 wounded and 1 missing.
Maitland had decided almost a week prior to the battle to withdraw from the site, but his movement was delayed by a lack of water transportation. He finally began moving on June 23 towards Beaufort, although with little prompting from Lincoln's attack.
- O'Kelley, p. 295
- O'Kelley, p. 296
- Mark M. Boatner III, Landmarks of the American Revolution, 1992 edition.
- Lipscomb, Terry; Jones, George Fenwick (October 1981). "A Hessian Map of the Stono Battlefield". The South Carolina Historical Magazine (Volume 82, No. 4). JSTOR 27567714. Contains a contemporary Hessian map of the battle
- O'Kelley, Patrick (2004). Nothing but Blood and Slaughter: Military Operations and Order of Battle of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, Volume One, 1771-1779. Press. ISBN 1-59113-458-7. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stono_Ferry | fineweb | 6,301 | 3.65625 |
Subsets and Splits