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Your toddler's lack of coordination is probably nothing to worry about. Toddlers fall down a lot and bump into things because they're learning to use their bodies in new ways – and the more active and adventurous your child is, the more likely

Your toddler's lack of coordination is probably nothing to worry about. Toddlers fall down a lot and bump into things because they're learning to use their bodies in new ways – and the more active and adventurous your child is, the more likely he is to have physical accidents. But if his mishaps seem more serious – like if he's bumping into walls or misstepping on stairs – you may have cause for concern. Marked clumsiness – like if your child misses the chair when he sits down or tries to put down a block on the kitchen table but drops it on the floor instead – is often normal in young children. However, it could signal a vision problem, such as nearsightedness or difficulty with depth perception. Weakness and poor motor control from muscles that are either stiff and spastic or limp and weak can be a sign of mild cerebral palsy. Clumsiness that's new or suddenly gets worse could be a sign of a degenerative or progressive disorder, such as muscular dystrophy or juvenile arthritis. And if your toddler recently took a tumble and suddenly seems unsteady on his feet, he might have a concussion. A child who is noticeably clumsier than his peers, has trouble holding onto objects, tends to run into other kids, and lags behind in other motor skills, may have developmental coordination disorder. Children with this condition are more likely to be overweight and may have other problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Getting plenty of exercise along with physical training can help kids with this condition. If you suspect that your child has something besides normal toddler klutziness, check with his doctor. If your toddler's clumsiness seems to have a physical or neurological cause, your doctor may recommend tests including an eye exam, MRI, or X-ray. Glasses, of course, will correct most vision problems. Next warning sign: Your Child Is Constantly Moving

Guest Author - Monica J. Foster Friction can be a dangerous thing to skin when you use a wheelchair, are on prolonged bed rest, use leg braces, crutches or anything that rubs against your skin. But, there are things

Guest Author - Monica J. Foster Friction can be a dangerous thing to skin when you use a wheelchair, are on prolonged bed rest, use leg braces, crutches or anything that rubs against your skin. But, there are things you can do to keep your skin dry, healthy and protected to avoid blisters and pressure sores. A friction blister is a soft pocket of raised skin caused by irritation from continuous rubbing or pressure. Friction blisters usually occur on the feet, where tight or poor-fitting shoes can rub and irritate delicate toes and heels for long periods, but can also happen on the backs of your legs and hips from rubbing against braces and other surfaces you are sitting or lying on. This type of irritation causes minor damage to the skin and the tissue just beneath the skin. If the skin looks raised and irritate, possibly with a raised pocket at the center, it is likely a blister. Friction blisters typically drain on their own within days and a fresh layer of skin forms beneath the blister so it can peel away with general skin wear and washing. However, if pressure or friction continues in the same area over a length time, the blister may last two weeks or even longer. Continued friction may rub away the delicate top skin layer, and the blister may break open, and the risk becoming infected or developing into a deeper wound is highly possible. If the irritation is mild, the blister may heal despite continued irritation, and eventually a callus will form. Prevention of friction blisters means wearing shoes, prosthetics and braces that fit you well. They must not be too tight anywhere and must not slide up and down your too much when you are moving around. Wear socks and protective dressing to protect delicate skin and prevent irritation. Also, try to keep your skin dry. If another activity is causing blisters -- for example, if your notice in physical therapy or rehabilitation that you are developing a sensitive sore area from a particular way you sit or stand, ask your therapist to point out other ways to perform the same activity in a way that is less irritating, and take advantage of protective devices, such as gloves, sleeves, under padding and other protective materials. After each bath, make sure your skin is clean and dry. Examine yourself or have a caregiver help you to make sure your skin is clear of any scrapes, bumps, bruises, etc. Keep skin moisturized with a good over the counter body lotion your doctor recommends to make sure that your skin doesnít become too dry and cracked. Consider, too, using talcum powder to keep your skin dry, particularly if you deal with incontinence or get hot and sweaty through the day. Make sure to wipe sweat from skin, keeping it clean and dry to ward off bacteria. Any bacteria, particularly if you have compromise immunity, could make your skin and you more vulnerable to infection and serious wounds. Repetitive blisters and breakdown in a particular area is especially vulnerable to infection and slower healing if not attended to properly. If you sit a lot, wear braces and prosthetics for a long period of time in the day, or are in bed a lot, consider something called offloading. Move around in your wheelchair or chair so your skin doesnít Ďsettleí too much in one area or another. Weight from the rest of your body can create more pressure in certain spots than others. Put your legs up to increase circulation, wiggle around and stretch as best you can or ask someone to help you. Rub the backs of your limbs gently to get the blood flow going and air circulating. Move around and raise up occasionally in your wheelchair or scooter seat, roll over in bed several times a day. Consider wearing gloves if you use crutches, a walker, or use a manual wheelchair. Also, repetitive transferring on your hands and arms can cause blisters and calluses, so gloves are a great way to protect your hands from the elements and strain. Because blisters typically get better on their own in just a few days if you have good circulation, generally no special treatment is required other than to keep the blister clean and dry. Your skin provides a natural protection against infection, so a blister should be left intact for as long as possible. Do not pick at the blister or try to purposely drain the blister, or cut away the overlying skin. That overlying skin is your bodyís protection from infection. Protect the blister with a sterile bandage if you canít avoid constant contact with that blister, like on the backs of your legs and thighs when youíre in your wheelchair or in braces. If the blister breaks on its own, wash the area with soap and water, and gently pat the area dry. Use an antibacterial ointment and cover it with a banda

If you cannot take a first aid course or cannot get a trained leader to help you, do not let that stop you from starting the Troop first aid program suggested in this chapter. Actually you will not need help if you will confine your

If you cannot take a first aid course or cannot get a trained leader to help you, do not let that stop you from starting the Troop first aid program suggested in this chapter. Actually you will not need help if you will confine your instructions to Handbook for Boys and the numerous illustrations in the Scout Field Book. First Class Scouts Will Help It is easy to teach first aid and related subjects in new Troops. In Troops having Scouts of all ranks it is suggested that the Tenderfoot and Second Class Scouts be separated. In most Troops, Scouts practice Merit Badges work in groups largely by themselves, either in or out of regular Troop meetings. Call upon those advanced Scouts for help. The holders of the First Aid Merit Badge should be more than willing to help. Secure Red Cross Aid Check with your local Red Cross leaders. They have, or can help you secure, excellent moving pictures and charts for instruction purposes. No subject is more worthy of a two-month program than first aid. Two programs are suggested, one for new Troops, another for Troops having Scouts of all ranks. Use Subject Matter in Handbook for Boys Let the men who help conduct Boards of Review know that you are confining your intensive instruction to the first eight pages of the First Aid Chapter in Handbook for Boys for Second Class, and to the entire chapter for First Class. First Month for New Troops Throughout the month review and practice the instruction given at the first meeting related to artificial respiration, shock, fainting and arterial bleeding, and add Second Class subjects which may be grouped as follows: If you have no Second or First Class Scouts, you can assign those seven subjects to your more studious Tenderfoot Scouts, with the understanding that they will read and learn all they can about their assignments and present their subjects to the entire Troop. Also let them know that they will be called upon to demonstrate treatments on both themselves and others. Suggest that they practice on buddies and on themselves whenever possible before they demonstrate to the Troop. You will, of course, supplement the instruction of the Scouts when and if necessary. Post Subjects and Dates Assign the subjects mentioned above to different Scouts at the close of the first meeting and post their names and subjects and dates on the Troop bulletin board. Ask all who have assignments to attend the TLC following the Troop Meeting. Let the Scouts know th

You are here: Home / Publication Information Title: Sampling to assess species diversity of herbaceous layer vegetation in Allegheny hardwood forests Author: Ristau, Todd E.; Horsley, Stephen B.; McCormick, Larry

You are here: Home / Publication Information Title: Sampling to assess species diversity of herbaceous layer vegetation in Allegheny hardwood forests Author: Ristau, Todd E.; Horsley, Stephen B.; McCormick, Larry H. Source: Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 128(2): 150-164. Description: The optimum frequency and time of sampling required to generate comprehensive diversity indices of herbaceous species in Allegheny hardwood forests was studied. Four 8-ha sites on the Allegheny National Forest were sampled monthly from May to August in 1992 and 1993 for herbaceous layer species composition and percent cover. Keywords: vegetation sampling, species diversity, diversity indices, herbaceous plants View or Print this Publication (434 KB) - We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information. - This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain. - This publication may be available in hard copy. Check the Northern Research Station web site to request a printed copy of this publication. - Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat. During the capture process some typographical errors may occur. Please contact Sharon Hobrla, [email protected] if you notice any errors which make this publication unusable. Ristau, Todd E.; Horsley, Stephen B.; McCormick, Larry H. 2001. Sampling to assess species diversity of herbaceous layer vegetation in Allegheny hardwood forests. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 128(2): 150-164. Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

David Farragut, in full David Glasgow Farragut (born July 5, 1801, near Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.—died Aug. 14, 1870, Portsmouth, N.H.), U.S.

David Farragut, in full David Glasgow Farragut (born July 5, 1801, near Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.—died Aug. 14, 1870, Portsmouth, N.H.), U.S. admiral who achieved fame for his outstanding Union naval victories during the American Civil War (1861–65). Farragut was befriended as a youth in New Orleans by Captain (later Commodore) David Porter (of the U.S. Navy), who adopted him. Farragut served under Porter aboard the frigate Essex in the War of 1812; this vessel captured so many British whaling vessels that Farragut, then age 12, was put in charge of one of the prize ships. By the age of 20 he was already an accomplished ship’s officer. In 1823 he served under Porter in a squadron that suppressed pirates in the Caribbean. He was given his first independent command in 1824. In December 1861, after many years of routine service, Farragut was assigned to command the Union blockading squadron in the western Gulf of Mexico with orders to enter the Mississippi River and capture New Orleans, a port through which the South was receiving much of its war supplies from abroad. Although the War Department had recommended that he first reduce the two forts that lay some distance downstream of the city by mortar fire, he successfully carried out his own, bolder plan of running past them with guns blazing in the dark (April 24, 1862). His naval force then destroyed most of the Confederate river squadron that was stationed just upstream of the forts. Troops from Union transports could then land almost under Farragut’s protecting batteries, resulting in the surrender of both forts and city. The following year, when General Ulysses S. Grant was advancing toward Vicksburg, Miss., Farragut greatly aided him by passing the heavy defensive works at Port Hudson below the Red River and stopping Confederate traffic below that tributary. Vicksburg fell in July 1863, and the entire Mississippi River was soon in Federal control. Farragut next turned his attention to Mobile Bay, Ala., which was defended by several forts, the largest of which was Fort Morgan. A line of mines (“torpedoes”) on one side of the bay’s channel obliged any attacking ships to pass close to Fort Morgan on the other side of the channel, and the Confederate ironclad Tennessee was also stationed in the bay. Farragut’s force entered the bay in two columns (Aug. 5, 1864), with armoured monitors leading and a fleet of wooden frigates following. When the l

The Suez Canal is a strategic waterway crossing the the isthmus of Suez in Egypt at the narrowest part of the Sinai Peninsula, and links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The completion of the canal eliminated the need to

The Suez Canal is a strategic waterway crossing the the isthmus of Suez in Egypt at the narrowest part of the Sinai Peninsula, and links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The completion of the canal eliminated the need to ships to travel around Africa in order to reach Asia and the East Indies from Europe. The canal was built by the French Suez Canal Company (Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez). Ferdinand de Lesseps completed the canal in 1869 after nearly 11 years work. Its strategic importance led to the British conquest of Egypt in 1882. The canal came under British protection after The Convention of Constantinople in 1888 as Egypt continued efforts to become independent from the British Empire. Egypt was emancipated by the British in 1922, but remained as a vassal state until after World War Two. Britain had retained a military force at Suez to secure and operate the canal under a 1935 treaty, but in 1951, facing intense internal pressure, the Egyptian King Farouk rescinded the treaty. Farouk was deposed the following year and after a period of instability replaced by Gamal Abdel Nasser. He demanded the full withdrawal of British troops, which began in 1954. The last British troops were removed on June 13, 1956. In the early 1950s, Nassar sought funding for the Aswan High Dam, a project which would dam the Nile preventing damaging seasonal flooding, and provide hydroelectric power. Initially, the United States had agreed to fund it, but given the expulsion of British troops, the United States was pressured to withdraw support. In retaliation for the United States reneging on their pledge of support, Nassar nationalized the canal in 1956 following the withdrawal of British troops and planned to use funds generated by the canal to fund the dam. He further declared the canal closed to Israeli ships and cargo. The British and French responded to this by secretly colluding with Isreal to retake the canal by force. It was agreed that the Israelis would invade the Sinai Peninsula, giving a pretext for British and French forces to "intervene" and bring about a "peace plan" that would require them to assume control of the canal, nominally as a buffer zone between Egyptian and Isreali forces. The plan failed when the United States, whom the United Kingdom was increasingly depend upon militarily but had intentionally kept in the dark about her plans, reacted furiously once the conflict began. Fearful of an escalation of the conflict involving the Soveit Union and Warsaw Pact, and angry that other NATO members had conspired againt NATO interests, the US demanded an immediate withdrawal, and led to the first United Nations peacekeeping force to be deployed to the Sinai, resulting in the withdrawal of Israeli troops back to prewar borders, and the exit of the British and French forces from the theater. Britain and France, who had vetoed two UNSC resolutions agreed to withdraw within one week only after President Eisenhower threatened to dump US reserves of the British pound and French franc, which would have ruined the fragile post-war economies of Britain and France. During the conlifct the canal was blocked by vessels scuppered by Egyptian forces. It reopened in 1957, still nationalised, and with relations between Egypt and west effectivly in deep freeze. The Soviet Union designed, funded and oversaw construction of the Aswan High Dam. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war Israeli forces captured the Sinai Peninsula and the canal was again closed to all shipping. The canal was recaptured, and sunsequently lost again, by the Egyptians during the Yom Kippur War. However, the Camp David Accords negotiated by Jimmy Carter, resulted in the return of the canal and all the Sinai to Egyptian control in return for Egypt formally recognizing Israel. The canal reopened in 1975 and in 1979 Egypt began allowing Israeli merchant vessels through the canal.

Coordinated Universal Time definition time, standard (UTC, World Time) The standard time common to every place in the world. UTC is derived from International Atomic Time (TAI) by the addition of a whole number of "leap seconds

Coordinated Universal Time definition time, standard (UTC, World Time) The standard time common to every place in the world. UTC is derived from International Atomic Time (TAI) by the addition of a whole number of "leap seconds" to synchronise it with Universal Time 1 (UT1), thus allowing for the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit, the rotational axis tilt (23.5 degrees), but still showing the Earth's irregular rotation, on which UT1 is based. Coordinated Universal Time is expressed using a 24-hour clock and uses the Gregorian calendar . It is used in aeroplane and ship navigation, where it also sometimes known by the military name, "Zulu time". "Zulu" in the phonetic alphabet stands for "Z" which stands for longitude zero. UTC was defined by the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR),

By Alicia Ratzlow Monticello Middle School Roughly five years ago, the Monticello Middle School introduced an after-school program designed to help students academically as well as to develop better organizational and social skills. This

By Alicia Ratzlow Monticello Middle School Roughly five years ago, the Monticello Middle School introduced an after-school program designed to help students academically as well as to develop better organizational and social skills. This program is called The Zone and, to this day, continues to focus on the academic success of sixth through eighth grade students at Monticello Middle School. Students may be referred for the program by parents, teachers or community agencies due to academic or social concerns. Students are supported by staff to meet goals as specified by an individualized Continual Learning Plan comprised of student-specific areas of need. Recently, one seventh grade student who attends The Zone regularly remarked on how much going to the Zone has helped her academically. She stated that “going to The Zone helps me keep up with my classes and, when I have a question, I can ask one of the teachers there.” Other students in the program have reported that having a quiet work environment with textbooks, computers, calculators, books and writing utensils available at The Zone is helpful in their continued success. In addition to the academic portion of The Zone, daily recreational activities are included which are designed to promote social skills and focus on good sportsmanship, being a team player, having fun and building friendships along the way. The overall concept of the program is to focus on student success and building relationships with others. Completing homework assignments helps students take responsibility for their education and be held accountable for their own success. The Zone staff work hard each week to provide students with an optimal learning environment that establishes routine and helps encourage motivation and success. Editor’s Note: This article was submitted by the Monticello Middle School Public Relations Committee. Alicia Ratzlow is a speech/language pathologist and past staff member of The Zone.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Have Little Effect on Global Warming My colleague Mark Wohar, and his co-author David McMillan, have used sophisticated econometrics to analyze a very long time-series dataset on carbon dioxide

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Have Little Effect on Global Warming My colleague Mark Wohar, and his co-author David McMillan, have used sophisticated econometrics to analyze a very long time-series dataset on carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature. They find that CO2 has little, if any, effect on temperature. Here is the abstract of their paper: (p. 3683) The debate regarding rising temperatures and CO2 emissions has attracted the attention of economists employing recent econometric techniques. This article extends the previous literature using a dataset that covers 800,000 years, as well as a shorter dataset, and examines the interaction between temperature and CO2 emissions. Unit root tests reveal a difference between the two datasets. For the long dataset, all tests support the view that both temperature and CO2 are stationary around a constant. For the short dataset, temperature exhibits trend-stationary behaviour, while CO2 contains a unit root. This result is robust to nonlinear trends or trend breaks. Modelling the long dataset reveals that while contemporaneous CO2 appears positive and significant in the temperature equation, including lags results in a joint effect that is near zero. This result is confirmed using a different lag structure and Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model. A Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach to account for en

Here you'll find the resources to make good driving decisions. Safety facts have been put together with you in mind and links to other Web sites with important information on why you should drive safely have been suggested. Listen to your parents, teachers, family

Here you'll find the resources to make good driving decisions. Safety facts have been put together with you in mind and links to other Web sites with important information on why you should drive safely have been suggested. Listen to your parents, teachers, family, friends and read the information

Broadcast 6.30pm on 21/06/2004 Not so long ago Gluepot Station was seen nothing but low grade farming land, and then Birds Australia took an interest. This large area of virgin scrub in the semi

Broadcast 6.30pm on 21/06/2004 Not so long ago Gluepot Station was seen nothing but low grade farming land, and then Birds Australia took an interest. This large area of virgin scrub in the semi-arid South Australian mallee turned out to contain no less than 6 nationally endangered bird species and a unique flora and fauna adapted to the harsh conditions. Purchased in 1997, Gluepot is rapidly becoming a centre for scientific research and is considered by many to be one of the crown jewels in the nation's reserve system. It is one of the few areas in Australia where birdwatchers can relatively easily observe otherwise hard-to-find species. For more information visit the website. GEORGE NEGUS: G'day. Welcome to another week here on GNT. And according to that sadly battered and bruised old saying, beauty, apparently, is still in the eye of the beholder. In a way, that's sort of our theme tonight. We'll be meeting a bunch of Australians who've busted a gut to transform their bit of this vast country into their own slice of paradise. Let's kick off with a place with an irresistible name - Gluepot Station. How co

Originally posted by StopComplaining All of the first six days of the Bible end with "and the evening and the morning were the X day" but there is no passage that says "And the evening and the morning were the seventh

Originally posted by StopComplaining All of the first six days of the Bible end with "and the evening and the morning were the X day" but there is no passage that says "And the evening and the morning were the seventh day". Could it be that when Jesus references the Morning Star at the end of the Bible he is talking about the New Dawn in the 8th day of the Lord. If God is all knowing and omnipotent I don't think his day and night would be determined by the Sun and the turning of the Earth. I think a day for God is an aeon in human terms. If I am correct then all of recorded history is within the 7th day when god is resting. This means that when Jesus comes back, God will come back Are we in in the seventh day? According to why or what? The eighth day is the Day of Resurrection....8 being the number that has no beginning and has no end. According to Church.. Pascha(easter) is celebrated as the Resurrection Day...always celebrated one week after the Jewish Passover Pascha~talk on the Eighth day and more Thus the Christian Pascha, which follows the Old Testament Pesach’s full moon, can never coincide with it or precede it. Today, in the era of the New Testament, whether the full moon corresponds with the present Hebrew Pesach or not, can have no bearing on the Christian As an example, let us note that if the first (Paschal) full moon following the vernal equinox does not correspond with the moon of the Hebrew Pesach, it means that the latter is based upon another full moon, either one which precedes or one that follows the first full moon. Neither of these would be of significance for the Christian Pascha since one of them is the second moon that follows the vernal equinox and the other one precedes it. More interesting info~ ''Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive... "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 and 55-57) A friend that I haven't seen in awhile has a big map of the world....on it shows that one day there will be an eighth day everyday...This is the Resurrection Day in which time never ends...of-course this happens after this world ends...the Present world as we know it. If I meet up with this friend, I will try and get a picture of the map. Christianity celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ every Sunday and it is for this reason that it is Sunday,and not Saturday, our Sabbath. more quotes///The number eight is the symbol of the Resurrection, for it was on the day after the Sabbath, and so the eighth day, that Christ rose from the tomb. Furthermore, the seven days of the week are the image of the time of this world, and the eighth day of the everlasting day. Sunday is the liturgical commemoration of the eighth day, at the same time a memorial of the Resurrection and a prophecy of the world to St Augustine in his Book 22 of “The City of God” writes: “an eighth day and eternal day, consecrated by the Resurrection of Christ… There we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise.” Hope that helps you out a little.

"When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." Before people had telescopes, comets were frightening objects of awe and wonder that seemed to appear out of nowhere, blazed brightly in the

"When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." Before people had telescopes, comets were frightening objects of awe and wonder that seemed to appear out of nowhere, blazed brightly in the sky, then vanished as quickly as they came. Older Than Dirt , the "falling stars " mentioned in the tale of Gilgamesh were possibly a reference to comets or meteor showers. For thousands (and perhaps tens of thousands) of years, they were seen by civilizations around the world as omens of good and ill, pronouncing the deaths of kings, horrible disasters, and military victories. Western civilizations have generally categorized them as harbingers of evil, but the universal consensus is that when a comet appears, something momentous is happening, enough so that the heavens themselves have taken notice. In 1705, astronomer Edmund Halley noticed that the comets of 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit and period. Suspecting that the three were actually the same comet, Halley predicted that it would appear again in 1758. It did, and Halley's Comet not only acquired a name, but put an end to the thought that a comet was some supernatural envoy of doom. Be that as it may, comets remain cool , and they are still used in media as the first, last and only suitable omen for truly world-shaking events. Such as said comet coming straight at you Subtrope of Portent of Doom and Bad Moon Rising open/close all folders Anime & Manga - In Space Carrier Blue Noah, the aliens rain down surveillance cameras disguised as meteors onto planet Earth, to scope out whether the planet is worth invading. - Lifeforce. The arrival of Halley's Comet foretells doom for London, as it contains an alien spaceship that carried space vampires. Discussed, as the characters mention that the appearance of Halley's Comet has been considered a warning of disaster for centuries, possibly because seeing it meant the alien ship within was near enough to allow the vampires to reach Earth and feed. - Night of the Comet. A comet's trail sweeps across the Earth, reducing almost the entire human race to reddish dust. - The romantic comedy Wimbledon actually has this: Paul Bettany's character seems to take on l33t tennis skills only while a comet is in the sky. And yes, he wins Wimbledon, because everyone knows it will take the intervention of God for an Englishman to ever win that tournament again. - In The Brainiac, a comet carries a magician who escaped execution by transporting himself there and who then returns to earth 300 years later as a monster with forked tongue which he uses to suck peoples brains out. - In Larry Niven's novel Lucifer's Hammer, pieces of a comet slam into the Earth and destroy civilization. - Ditto the book Comet Dis'aster, a book that incidentally has a lot of terror spre

posted on Sep, 7 2012 @ 05:41 AM Originally posted by seabhac-rua The sounds of the astronauts speaking were recorded separately and added to the film afterwards, or simply, as in a live

posted on Sep, 7 2012 @ 05:41 AM Originally posted by seabhac-rua The sounds of the astronauts speaking were recorded separately and added to the film afterwards, or simply, as in a live broadcast played Audio and visual feeds are generally sent as two different signals (vision/audio) to the reciever which then picks it up and plays both back. This can be to a tape or just a monitor or whatever. Even recording off the screen at NASA, broadcasters would be producing two feeds. Between early Apollo and later Apollo there was tonnes of changes to how the data was transmitted exactly, so the rest of that is a lot more reading but the info is available. I do know there was issues which caused interference in the early missions with multiple feeds at once. This has to do with how things were done in the editing room back in the 60's/70's and who was contracted to do the editing in the first place. I don't think that having 100% accurate continuity was high on the editors priority list back in those days, Been a while since I did film history but: Continuity is actually worse now than it ever has been. Saying that, 60's - 70s had the Cinéma vérité movement in France and mixing images with different audio to make a point or have an agenda was becoming much more common. Not that it was a first but WWII was mostly using a voice over to drive the images (propaganda style). From the 60s and 70s onwards it started to become much more common to actually present a reality as if it was entirely observational 'truth' but in fact heavily edited to support a film maker agenda. It's for another thread, because I suspect this one should die since the original question has been answered but... I imagine most of those changes have come about over the decades with production companies retiming the footage for segments, and also the communications delay was removed in later releases/restorations which caused some confusion.

Bahá'í Faith in Australia The Bahá'í Faith has a long history in Australia. The first known mention of events related to the history of the religion was several reports in Australian newspapers in 1846. After sporadic mentions

Bahá'í Faith in Australia The Bahá'í Faith has a long history in Australia. The first known mention of events related to the history of the religion was several reports in Australian newspapers in 1846. After sporadic mentions a turning point was a mention of Australia by `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, in 19161 following which United Kingdom/American emigrants John and Clara Dunn came to Australia in 1920.2 They found people willing to convert to the Bahá'í Faith in several cities while further immigrant Bahá'ís also arrived.3 The first Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in Melbourne4 followed by the first election of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1934.5 Iranian Bahá'ís had first tried to emigrate to Australia in 1948 but were rejected as "Asiatic" by Australia's White Australia policy.6 Though the situation was eased in the 1960s and 70s, on the eve of Iranian revolution, in 1978, there were approximately 50-60 Persian Bahá'í families in Australia. Persians, including Bahá'ís, arrived in number following the revolution. See persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran. Since the 1980s the Bahá'ís of Australia have become involved and spoken out on a number of civic issues - from interfaith initiative such as Soul Food7 to conferences on indigenous issues8 and national policies of equal rights and pay for work.9 The community was counted by census in 2001 to be about 11000 individuals10 and includes some well known people (see below - National exposure.) The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated some 17,700 Bahá'ís in 2005.11 - 1 Earliest history - 2 Establishment - 3 Expansion - 4 Multiplying interests - 5 National exposure - 6 Demographics - 7 See also - 8 Publications - 9 References - 10 External links The first known mention of events related to the history of the religion was several reports in Australian newspapers in 1846: - Morning Chronicle(later renamed) out of Sydney; 4 April12 - South Australian out of Adelaide; 7 April13 - South Australian Register out of Adelaide; 11 April14 These were reprints of an 1845 article in the London Times which relied on Muslim reactions to the new religion.15 The next known news story covering events in Bahá'í history was in The Argus, 4 November 1850 in Melbourne which briefly mentions it.16 In 1853 there was an event with caused great suffering among the Babís (whom Bahá'ís regard as spiritual precursors of their religion.) The Babís were blamed for an attempted assassination of the Shah of Persia. Recent scholarship has identified a fringe element distinct from all the major aspects of the religion, its community and leadership at the time, as actually being responsible.1718 Nevertheless coverage in newspapers at the time often echoed the Persian government's view blaming the Babís and Babís in large numbers were in fact executed as a result.19 `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled in Tablets of the Divine Plan. The seventh and eighth of the tablets was the first to mention taking the Bahá'í Faith to Australia and was written on 11 and 19 April 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 — after the end of World War I and the Spanish flu. These tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on 4 April 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on 12 December 1919.20 (Tablet 7) "The moment this divine Message is carried forward by the American believers from the shores of America and is propagated through the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion..., if some teachers go to other islands and other parts, such as the continent of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, also to Japan, Asiatic Russia, Korea, French Indochina, Siam, Straits Settlements, India, Ceylon and Afghanistan, most great results will be forthcoming."1 (Tablet 8) "The teachers traveling in different directions must know the language of the country in which they will enter.… In

Returns the smallest value for which the cumulative binomial distribution is greater than or equal to a criterion value. The BINOM.INV function syntax has the following arguments (argument: A value that provides information to an action, an event, a method

Returns the smallest value for which the cumulative binomial distribution is greater than or equal to a criterion value. The BINOM.INV function syntax has the following arguments (argument: A value that provides information to an action, an event, a method, a property, a function, or a procedure.): - Trials Required. The number of Bernoulli trials. - Probability_s Required. The probability of a success on each trial. - Alpha Required. The criterion value. - If any argument is nonnumeric, BINOM.INV returns the #VALUE! error value. - If trials is not an integer, it is truncated. - If trials < 0, BINOM.INV returns the #NUM! error value. - If probability_s is < 0 or probability_s > 1, BINOM.INV returns the #NUM! error value. - If alpha < 0 or alpha > 1, BINOM.INV returns the #NUM! error value. The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet. How do I copy an example? - Select the example in this article. If you are copying the example in Excel Web App, copy and paste one cell at a time.Important Do not select the row or column headers. Selecting an example from Help - Press

What Is Happening to America’s Children? A Look At The Widening Opportunity Gap for Today’s Youth Activity in the labor market picked up slightly last month, according to today's employment report. Payroll employment increased by just over 100

What Is Happening to America’s Children? A Look At The Widening Opportunity Gap for Today’s Youth Activity in the labor market picked up slightly last month, according to today's employment report. Payroll employment increased by just over 100,000 jobs in September, an increase that partially reflected the return to work of striking telecommunications workers. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 percent. Since April, payroll employment has increased by an average of 72,000 per month, compared with an average of 161,000 for the prior seven months. In previous postings, The Hamilton Project has explored the earnings of both men and women. For men, we found that earnings have been on the decline because of stagnant wages for those who work and declining employment rates. For women, earnings have increased as more women joined the labor force, entered higher-paying professions, and gained higher levels of education—all of which enable them to command higher salaries. We have also investigated the earnings of the typical American family with kids and explained how families are earning more, but only because they are working more. We focus this month on the family earnings devoted to the typical American child and how those earnings have evolved over the past 35 years. Our key finding is that there is a growing opportunity gap between children who are better off and those who are worse off, which is likely to lead to a more challenging future for many of today's youth. As in previous months, the Hamilton Project also continues to explore the “job gap,” or the number of jobs that the U.S. economy needs to create in order to return to pre-recession employment levels while also absorbing the roughly 125,000 people who enter the labor force each month. Family Earnings of the Median Child How we are raised and the resources available to us as children have long-term effects on our quality of life. There is mounting evidence to suggest that our parents’ education levels and employment situations have implications that extend far into adulthood. For example, research has shown that children with a parent who suffered a job loss as a result of a business closure are more likely to be unemployed and receive social assistance later in life and less likely to complete high school and attend college; these effects may be most severe for children whose parents’ income is already below the poverty line (Oreopoulos et al. 2008; Page et al. 2007). What is more, evidence suggests that family background and community influences may be more important determinants of the future earnings and opportunities of children today than it was in the 1970s (Mazumder and Levine 2004). Annual family earnings provide one important measure of the resources available to children. This measure takes into consideration the labor market opportunities and earnings of parents and whether the child is living with one or both parents. After adjustment for inflation, the family earnings of the median child have been more or less flat since 1975, with some fluctuation with the business cycle—most notably a recent dip resulting from the Great Recession. The median child in 2010 lived in a family that earned approximately $45,750 per year, down nearly 14 percent from 2006 and 7 percent from 1975. When we adjust family earnings for changes in family size (families are smaller today than they were thirty years ago), we find the median child is no better off today in terms of family earnings than she was in 1975. One reason that the median child has made little progress over the last 35 years is that more and more kids are being raised in single-parent households. In 1968, 12 percent of all children lived in single parent families, while today about 3 in 10 are in single parent or unmarried families. Therefore even though the earnings of the typical two-parent family have increased over time, those gains have been offset because fewer children benefit from the earnings of both parents. The Widening Opportunity Gap The fact that the typical American child is living in a family where resources have not increased in 35 years is alarming. Of greater concern is the fact that the stasis in the family earnings of the median child masks an increasing gap between children whose parents are at different ends of the earnings distribution. While the median child has been barely treading water for the last three decades, some children are doing much better and others much worse. In a nutshell, half of the children in the United States have experienced gains in their family earnings, with the most well-off enjoying a disproportionate share of those gains. However, the other half of America’s children are worse-off than their counterparts 35 years ago. Children at the 90th percentile of the distribution of family earnings experienced a 45 percent increase in their family earnings over the last 35 years. At the same time, children at the 25th percentile of the distribution have seen real declines in family earnings of over 20 percent. These trends are shown in the chart below: Part of this widening divide has to do with changes in the labor market that have disproportionately rewarded parents w

Tests and diagnosis Even with today's high-tech medical devices, the basic chest X-ray remains an important tool in diagnosing various conditions. Here's a look at how it works. Echocardiogram allows your doctor to see your heart

Tests and diagnosis Even with today's high-tech medical devices, the basic chest X-ray remains an important tool in diagnosing various conditions. Here's a look at how it works. Echocardiogram allows your doctor to see your heart in motion. Here's what you need to know about the test. An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a test that provides valuable clues about your heart health. Here's what you need to know about the test. Aug. 03, 2012 - Imazio M. The post-pericardiotomy syndrome. Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine. 2012;18:366. - Crawford MH, ed. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Cardiology. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3648061. Accessed June 4, 2012. - Hoit BD. Post-cardiac injury syndromes. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed June 4, 2012. - Dudzinski DM, et al. Pericardial diseases. Current Problems in Cardiology. 2012;37:75. - Imazio M, et al. Meta-analysis of randomized trials focusing on prevention of the postpericardiotomy syndrome. American Journal of Cardiology. 2011;108:575. - Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic

As its name suggests, Quicksort is one of the better sort algorithms; it is O(n · log(n)) (though it can be O(n2) in the worst case). In practice it is significantly faster than other algorithms. Qu

As its name suggests, Quicksort is one of the better sort algorithms; it is O(n · log(n)) (though it can be O(n2) in the worst case). In practice it is significantly faster than other algorithms. Quicksort is a divide-and-conquer algorithm that chooses a pivot value, then partitions the array into two sections with the pivot in its final position in the middle: |elements &le pivot||pivot||elements > pivot| The outside sections are then sorted recursively. The partitioning can be done in-place, making Quicksort an in-place sort. Since partitioning is done in-place by swapping elements, Quicksort is not stable. Contents    Page-10    Prev    Next    Page+10    Index

Disclosure: I wrote this post as an Ambassador for Dummies books through a Global Influence campaign. I received a copy of this book for review purposes, but as a fan of Dummies books, the opinions expressed are 100% my own and

Disclosure: I wrote this post as an Ambassador for Dummies books through a Global Influence campaign. I received a copy of this book for review purposes, but as a fan of Dummies books, the opinions expressed are 100% my own and no other compensation was received. To this day, I still remember the fist time I went to a planetarium. It was an amazing experience and changed the way that I viewed the night sky. Call me a geek, but I was fascinated with the constellations and the stories behind them. I was mesmerized with being able to see planets. Of course, I am going to date myself and note that a lot of this happened when Halley’s Comet came around in 1986. I even have a Girl Scout Badge thanks to this occasion. To date, I adore finding Orion in the winter night sky and searching for other constellations close to the great hunter. Fast forward to being a parent. Now I have a fourth grader that adores all things related to science, but especially the stars, planets, and space. When I saw that there was a new Stargazing For Dummies (Affiliate link to Amazon) book by Steve Owens, I knew this was something our family had to investigate. This would be a book to help us to get a better understand for stargazing at different times of years and what tools we would need. Oh and as a bonus, TechyDad could read up on night-sky photography tips. As with all For Dummies books, Stargazing for Dummies is broken into sections. There are four parts with 17 chapters that are filled with information to help people navigate the night sky, learn to use binoculars or telescopes, identify the 88 constellations and other celestial objects visible on Earth, and photograph the sky at night. Here is a breakdown of the book: Part 1: What’s Up? Getting Familiar with the Night Sky – This section begins with a lot of educational items including information about the sky during the day and night, moon, seasons, and more. After this, there are tips on preparing for your own stargazing experience. There are a lot of trouble shooting tips included in this, especially about lights (which is a huge factor for us). The section rounds out with two chapters on using binoculars and telescopes for viewing the night sky. I have to say I am intrigued and wonder if NHL would adore his own pair of binoculars now to go stargazing. Part 2: Joining the Dots: Learning Your Way Around the Night Sky – Once you are comfortable with viewing the night sky, Owens teaches us about fixed versus wandering stars. We learn how to identify things from planets to the International Space Station. Chapter 8 helps us to connect the star dots to see constellation pictures that are in the night sky. Owen explain how certain constellations like the Big Dipper and Orion can be used as signposts to guide you in locating others. There is also information that will help us to get an app with star maps that I know NHL will adore once we find a better viewing location. Part 3: Star Hopping – This section highlights all 88 constellations that are visible on Earth. Owen helps to break them down into sections based on what season they can be viewed. There are also star maps within each of the chapters to assist newbies in their search. Tables are also given with each of the constellations that include when they are best viewed and information about the brightest stars within them. Star geeks will be in their glory with all of this detail. Part 4: The Part of Tens – Two great lists round out this book. This first is a list of ten “targets” that new stargazers should be searching for. I think we may need to try this as a checklist for the boys as we try some more serious stargazing. The second list includes more items to look for under conditions that are more dark. The reality is that the city lights really do play a factor in a lot of what we will be able to see. After reading sections of this book, I can not wait to dive into it more with my son. I think this book could really get him excited about a new hobby that all of us can explore together. I am sure we will head to planetariums and also see what stargazing events are coming up locally at the many colleges in our area. If you are interested in seeing some of the cheat sheets from the book, you can view them on the Stargazing for Dummies page. Do you like to go stargazing? I would love to hear what tips and tricks you have found that work, especially if you are going out with younger children. Additional Disclosures: An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the Dummies book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to purchase it through that link. The Field of Stars photo above is from NASA and was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The snowy, wind-blown Scottish archipelago of St. Kilda may be inhospitable, but because it is inhospitable, it is an ideal natural laboratory. The last people left this place behind nearly a century ago, but

The snowy, wind-blown Scottish archipelago of St. Kilda may be inhospitable, but because it is inhospitable, it is an ideal natural laboratory. The last people left this place behind nearly a century ago, but the sheep stayed. And the in absence of human interference in their breeding, the sheep of St. Kilda have shown scientists something peculiar. It has to do with the relationship between the immune system and reproduction. Andrea Graham and colleagues have studied the islands’ Soay sheep for years and years, and found the average lifespan of the ewes to be about 6 years. However, there’s great variation in there: Some lived just a few years, and some as many as 15. The short-lived ewes had lower concentrations of antibodies than the longer-lived ones, which suggested why their lives were so short. But why was natural selection not weeding them out? Dr. Graham said the researchers found this to be a puzzle: “What are all these sheep doing with low antibody concentrations?” [The New York Times] A new study of 218 Chinese men found that even low levels of the controversial plastics chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can lower sperm quality and count. For the study, which was published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, researchers noted the pa

|How does robotic positioning work? |Old surveying principles are being used to guide modern machinery| A robot measures only three parameters: A vertical angle, a horizontal angle and the distance to a target. In our case, the target is mounted

|How does robotic positioning work? |Old surveying principles are being used to guide modern machinery| A robot measures only three parameters: A vertical angle, a horizontal angle and the distance to a target. In our case, the target is mounted on top of a mast that in turn is mounted on the moldboard. The target is mounted on a mast so that an optical line of sight to the robot can be maintained no matter the orientation of the grader. Both angles are measured by pointing the telescopic axis of the robot towards the target. This turns the two on-board angle sensors, enabling the angles to the target to be read. Now that the robot is pointed toward the target, it sends out infrared light that gets reflected from the target back to the robot. From this reflection, the robot can determine the distance to the target. The robot is set up over a known point in the job site's coordinate system. Because the control box in the grader knows the coordinates of the robot, it can calculate the Northing, Easting and Elevation of the target from the angles and slope distances it receives. After the angles and distances have been turned into coordinates, the 3D grade control system can commence generating cut/fill information to display to the operator or to drive the hydraulics. You can learn more about how a 3D grade control system does that HERE. At the time of this writing, Leica, Trimble and Topcon are the only companies offering robotic total stations specifically designed for 3D machine control application. However, some 3D machine control system from other manufacturers may be able to use one or more of the above-mentioned robots. How does GPS positioning work? How does Robotic positioning work? Inertial measurement units (IMU) Are two antennae better than one? GNSS, GPS, GLONASS and Galileo Wireless data transfer Robots with passive machine targets Robots with active machine targets RTK networks for 3D machine control Control unit docking stations Smart antennae vs modular receivers

Early 11th century: Cleric Eilmer Malmesbury, also known as Elmer the Flying Monk, builds a set of wings and jumps from the west tower of Malmesbury Abbey. He is crippled for life.

Early 11th century: Cleric Eilmer Malmesbury, also known as Elmer the Flying Monk, builds a set of wings and jumps from the west tower of Malmesbury Abbey. He is crippled for life. 1912: Franz Reichelt, also known as The Flying Tailor, leaps from the Eiffel Tower in a homemade wingsuit. To demonstrate his faith in his design, he foregoes a backup parachute. Mr. Reichelt plummets to his death in front of the assembled crowd. 1937: Clem Sohn, also known as The Michigan Icarus, dies making a wingsuit jump at a French air show. Mr. Sohn wows the crowd with his bat-like flight, but crashes to earth when both his main and reserve parachutes fail. 1966: Two California skydivers jump from El Capitan, a 3,000-foot rock wall in Yosemite Park. 1978: American skydiver and film maker Carl Boenish becomes the "father of BASE jumping" after shooting footage of himself jumping off cliffs, bridges, radio antennas and office buildings. BASE is an acronym for the launch platforms jumpers can use: Buildings, Antenna, Span, Earth. Mr. Boenish is killed in a 1984 jump from Norway's Troll Wall. 1998: Patrick de Gayardon dies during a wingsuit jump in Hawaii when an experimental rigging modification prevents his parachute from opening. In the mid-1900's, Mr. De Gayardon became the best known (and reputedly

Previous abstract Next abstract Session 44 - New Light on Supernova Remnants. Display session, Wednesday, June 11 South Main Hall, The Space Physics Group and the Space Science and Engineering Center of the University of Wisconsin have designed and

Previous abstract Next abstract Session 44 - New Light on Supernova Remnants. Display session, Wednesday, June 11 South Main Hall, The Space Physics Group and the Space Science and Engineering Center of the University of Wisconsin have designed and built a pair of novel detectors, the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS), for the spectroscopic study of the diffuse X-ray background. Each detector consists of a one foot by two foot, curved lead stearate crystal panel that reflects X-ray photons according Bragg's law into a large position-sensing proportional counter. The detectors, collecting X-ray photons between 42 Åand 83 Åwith \Delta\lambda (FWHM) \sim2.5 Åwere exposed to the X-ray background for about 40,000 seconds on Space Shuttle flight STS 54 in 1993. We present the DXS spectra and demonstrate the accuracy of the wavelength scale (0.3 Åflat-field response (corrected to better than 3%), absolute flux calibrations (\sim10%), and detailed agreement of the spectral shape of the instrument response to three mono-energetic input sources. The quality and accuracy of the in-flight spectra and response functions are more than adequate to place serious constraints on theories concerning the origin and nature of the diffuse X-ray background. Fits to several current models will

No pain, no gain. Right? Wrong. That 1970s approach to exercise has been traded in for the new millennium’s favored philosophies: “no pain, much gain” and “train, don’t strain.”1 The take

No pain, no gain. Right? Wrong. That 1970s approach to exercise has been traded in for the new millennium’s favored philosophies: “no pain, much gain” and “train, don’t strain.”1 The take-home message is that physical activity should be part of daily life; it doesn’t have to be high intensity or inconvenient, and it should be fun! Surveying the Hurdles The promise of thinner versions of themselves may motivate most people to start exercising, but that’s not all that physical activity has to offer. Numerous research studies conclude that regular physical activity and exercise decreases mortality, improves cardiovascular and respiratory function, reduces coronary heart disease risk factors, lowers the risk of colon cancer, improves immune function, and enhances a sense of well-being.1-4 In addition to smoking cessation, becoming more physically active is the best thing you can do for your health. Less than half (48%) of Americans meet the 2008 federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic activity.5 Statistics reveal that more than 50% of Americans do not exercise regularly and the growing incidence in obesity and overweight may be related.3,5 Inactivity tends to increase with age and is more common among women than men. It is of concern that less than three in 10 high school students get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.5 Inactivity is more prevalent among those with lower income and less education and is also more common among black and Hispanic adults than whites.3 In addition, the growing trend of obesity among Americans has been largely linked to a sedentary lifestyle. 2008 Age-Adjusted Estimates of the Percentage of Adults Who Are Physically Inactive Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although many people enthusiastically begin exercise programs at one time or another, only 50% sustain their participation for more than six months.6,7 It’s no wonder that people have trouble sticking to an exercise routine. Our high-tech society makes it convenient to remain sedentary but difficult to start and maintain physical activity. Figuring out how to get Americans out of their seats and away from their TVs and computers poses a real challenge. However, all healthcare professionals can help drive a shift toward a more active lifestyle by spreading the word public health officials have been preaching — a kinder, gentler philosophy of getting into shape. In fact, government guidelines actually encourage healthcare professionals to routinely talk to patients about incorporating physical activity into their daily lives.1,7-9 In well-defined terms, healthcare professionals may assess physical activity habits, suggest basic lifestyle changes, and monitor patients’ responses to these changes.4,6,10 Several health agencies have released guidelines to promote more participation in physical activity and encourage long-term adherence.8,11,12 Current recommendations have evolved from a structured program of vigorous exercise for cardiovascular fitness to more moderate levels of physical activity for health benefits — disease prevention, longevity and quality of life. To understand these guidelines, we need to understand the terms used in the exercise industry. Physical activity is any bodily movement produced by the contraction of the skeletal muscles that increases energy expenditure above a baseline level.13 Exercise — a subcategory of physical activity — is planned, structured and repetitive body movements performed to maintain or improve one or more components of physical fitness.4,8 Health-related aspects of physical fitness include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition or percentage of body fat.4,8,12 In 1992, the American Heart Association officially named physical inactivity — not lack of exercise — as a major independent risk factor for heart disease. This term was used because a broad array of health benefits accrue from regular intermittent physical activity as well as from regular continuous exercise.4,10 Men and women of all ages benefit from a moderate amount of physical activity. On October 7, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans .14 (Level C) These guidelines are based on a report submitted by the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, a group comprising 13 leading experts in the field of exercise science and public health. This committee conducted an extensive review of the scientific data relating physical activity to health published since the release of the 1996 Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health. The guidelines are intended to be a primary source of information for physical educators, health providers, policy makers, and the public on the amount, types, and intensity of physical activity needed to achieve many health benefits for Americans across the life span. The At-A-Glance Fact Sheet for Professionals is designed as a quick deskside reference to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. The good news is the guidelines were designed to be achievable and can be customized according to a person’s lifestyle, interests and goals. The content of these guidelines complements the Dietary Guidelines for Americans , a joint effort of HHS and the U.S. Department of Agri

Mysterious Mass Animal Die-Offs Over the last couple of years the mysterious mass deaths of birds, bees, fish and other wildlife has been raising alarm bells for many in the scientific community. While the reaction from those in the mainstream news

Mysterious Mass Animal Die-Offs Over the last couple of years the mysterious mass deaths of birds, bees, fish and other wildlife has been raising alarm bells for many in the scientific community. While the reaction from those in the mainstream news has been largely dismissive, it’s getting hard to ignore the numbers. For instance, did you know that there have been over 6.7 Million Bat deaths in the U.S. over the last 5 years? And what about all the strange die-offs this years? 2012 Wildlife Kill-Off Timeline: January 2, 2012 20 Tons of Dead Fish Wash up in Norway Residents in a small Norwegian town woke to find millions of dead fish on the shores of Kvaenes, in Nordreisa. The school of Herring literally blanketed the entire shoreline. 100 tons of Fish Die in Brazil An estimates 100 tons of sardines, croaker, and catfish have died off the shores of Paraná, Brazil. January 19, 2012 3 Tons of dead fish wash up in Somalia (TWICE) For the second time in less than a month Dead fish washed up on the Bossaso shores in Somalia. The first incident happened in January followed by a second die-off in February. Both incidents happened all along the coast of Puntland. February 18, 2012 52,000 Sea Urchins dead off Kaumakani Hawaii An estimated 52,000 sea urchins were found dead by divers near Kaumakani Hawaii. Scientists say that the death of these sea urchins should serve as an early warning sign indicating that large-scale changes are happening in our oceans. Hundreds of Dead Dolphins in the Atlantic Hundred of dead dolphins have been found dead on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, off the United States. A majority of the dead dolphins are being found on the shores of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. April 24, 2012 28,613 dead fish in Ohio The Ohio Division of Wildlife finds 28,613 fish and other aquatic species dead along a three-mile stretch of the Rocky River. The fish included bass, darters, a large variety of minnows, rainbow trout and white suckers. April 25, 2012 11,000 Dead Fish Kettering Ohio 11,000 Fish found dead at Little Beaver Creek in Kettering Ohio. Wildlife officials say it’s the third fish die-off in the last two weeks to hit the Dayton Ohio area. The dead aquatic species included bass, catfish, suckers, darters, salamanders, frogs and crayfish. 3000 Dead Dolphins Peru As many as 3000 Dead dolphins have been found near Peru and around 900 of them have washed up on the Shores of Peru since January 2012. April 29, 2012 1,200 Dead Pelicans Peru Almost 1,200 Dead pelicans were found on the shores of Peru. 600 of the dead birds were found on the same stretch of coast that the dead Dolphins were found earlier this month. The country’s health ministry ordered 1,500 miles of beaches closed. May 10, 2012 Thousands of dead sand eels New Jersey The New Jersey Environmental Department reported thousands of dead sand eels found washed up on New Jersey beaches in St Clement, Bonne Nuit, St Ouen and Ouaisne. 550 tons of dead farmed salmon Norwegian Fisheries are keeping a watchful eye on their fish, as a number of fishing facilities reported a large number of farmed salmon deaths. So far over 550 tons of dead salmon have been found in the last ten days. May 12, 2012 Thousands of Dead Birds found of the Shores of Chile Thousands of dead gray petrels, pelicans, gannets and cormorants were found on the beaches of cen

Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; photographAs a youth, Flaxman worked in his father’s plaster-casting studio in London while studying Classical literature, which was to be a continual source of inspiration. In 1770 he

Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; photographAs a youth, Flaxman worked in his father’s plaster-casting studio in London while studying Classical literature, which was to be a continual source of inspiration. In 1770 he entered the Royal Academy schools. After 1775 he began to work for the potter Josiah Wedgwood. The discipline of producing designs, usually based on antique models and executed in wax, which could be translated into the silhouette technique of Wedgwood’s jasperware, str

Finding Tryon County Ancestors Tryon County, existed from 1768 to 1779. It was named after William Tryon, governor of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771, and was formed from the western

Finding Tryon County Ancestors Tryon County, existed from 1768 to 1779. It was named after William Tryon, governor of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771, and was formed from the western portion of Mecklenburg. Many present day counties in both North and South Carolina were completely or partially included within the borders of Tryon County. The approximate boundaries of Tryon County can be seen at, http://jrshelby.com/rfotw/tryonmap.htm. Tryon County was divided in 1779 and Lincoln Countyand Rutherford County were created from it. Gaston County was formed from the southern portion of Lincoln County in 1846. Here's a list of some Tryon County resources. Also, search our library Catalog by Subject: Tryon County. - History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina, 1730-1936, by Clarence W. Griffin. 975.6 G NCC. - Marriage Bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, North Carolina, by Curtis Bynum. 929.3 BYN NCC. - Tryon County Documents, 1769-1779: a North Carolina County, by Kathy Gunter Sullivan. 233 p. 2000. 929.3 SUL NCC. - Deed Abstracts of Tryon, Lincoln, and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina, 1769-1786: Tryon County Wills and Estates, abstracted by Brent Holcomb. 206p. 1977. 975.6782 D NCC. - North Carolina Land Grants in South Carolina, Vol. 1: Tryon County 1768-1773, compiled by Brent Holcomb. 1975. 929.3 N NCC. - North Carolina Tryon County Court Docket. Reproduction of actual docket covers terms throughout 1771 to 1780. 929.3 NOR NCC. - Tryon County, North Carolina: Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1769-1779, by Brent H. Holcomb. 234p. 1994. 929.3756 HOL. - Tryon County, North Carolina Crown Docket July 1769-April 1776; Tryon County, North Carolina State Docket October 1777-January 1779; Lincoln County, North Carolina State Docket April 1779-April 1780. Reprinted from Bulletin of The Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County. 165p. 1994. 929.3756 TRY NCC at G; 929.3 TRY NCC. - Bulletin of the Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County, v.1 (1974) to date. 929.1 Bul NCC. County Records on Microfilm Many of these records have been transcribed or abstracted in the print publications listed above. - Tryon County Court Minutes, 1769-1782, 2 vols. (Second vol. contains Lincoln County.) 1 reel microfilm. 929.3 T. - Tryon County Record of Deeds, 1769-1778, 1770, 1771. 1 reel microfilm. 929.3 T NCC. - Tryon County Record of Deeds, 1771-1772, 1774, 1778-1779. 1 reel microfilm. 929.3 T NCC. - The North Carolina Archives filed and filmed surviving Tryon County records with those of Lincoln County. See Lincoln County records marked with dates from 1768 to 1779 for Tryon material. Purchasing books. The library does not have any books for sale. Some books relating to Tryon County may be purchased from: Email and mail requests for SPECIFIC information are welcome. We will be glad to try to answer a particular question for those who are unable to use the collection in person. Please contact: NCC Librarian, Reference Services, Lincoln County Public Library, 306 West Main Street, Lincolnton, NC 28092. ((704) 735-8044). Local researchers Because the Lincoln County Library System cannot conduct extensive research, we have available a list of researchers who will pursue larger projects for a fee. Please contact us for a copy of this list. Note: The Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library System is not able to recommend or take responsibility for any particular researcher. Note: These sites are provided for informational purposes. The Library assumes no responsibility for the content of sites maintained by other organizations or persons.

Bill George (1802–1881) was a Victorian era dog dealer and well-known character in London, England. George's first job was as a butcher's boy. A bareknuckle prizefighter, he later became an apprentice to Ben

Bill George (1802–1881) was a Victorian era dog dealer and well-known character in London, England. George's first job was as a butcher's boy. A bareknuckle prizefighter, he later became an apprentice to Ben White of 'May Tree Cottage', Kensal New Town, a dealer of Old English Bulldogs, the ancestral breed of Bulldog used for dog fighting. Kensal New Town was a rough working class area with many Irish immigrants and the scene of Protestant-Catholic conflicts. He was indirectly part of an incident in 1825, sponsored by Sam Wedgbury, who had bought a dog from White, and a menagerie owner called George Wombwell, involving lion-baiting by Bulldogs. George is said to have unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade the participants from continuing in this bloody enterprise. The outcome was that one of the lions was injured and several dogs were killed, leading to public outrage and a local ordinance banning the use of dogs for fighting. The practice continued in secret, however, and White's kennels remained in operation, with George continuing to work for him. In 1835, Parliament passed the Cruelty to Animals Act, banning dog fighting nationwide. In that same year, Ben White died, and George purchased the premises from his widow, renaming them 'Canine Castle'. Aware that for the business to continue, a new clientele would have to be cultivated, George shifted the focus on the Bulldog as a companion animal, giving the breed a fresh impetus. He also developed a new line of "Toy Bulldogs" which became a craze in France where he sent many specimens who are believed to have been major contributors to a new breed, the French Bulldog. The magazine Country Life, in 29 April 1899 recounts: "Some five-and-thirty years ago in fact, [i.e. about 1865], the small-sized or light-weight Bulldog was common in this country; so much so that dogs of the breed that scaled over 28 lbs were not encouraged at such shows as Birmingham, which was at that period the most important exhibition of its kind in England. Then by some freak of fashion the Toy Bulldog became all the rage in Paris, with the result that the celebrated Bill George, of Canine Castle, Kensal New Town, the most eminent dog dealer of his or any other day, received carte blanche commissions from French customers to procure them light-weight Bulldogs, and by this means England was denuded of all the best specimens." In 1840, George imported a Spanish Bulldog, a larger breed used for bull baiting in Spain. He was brindle pied, and known as "Big Headed Billy". George's famous white dog Dan, wh

Off the coast of New Jersey, the continental shelf becomes a rocky and violent terrain etched with deep canyons and scoured by fresh landslides. Now, geologists believe that an underground layer of highly pressurized fluid may be

Off the coast of New Jersey, the continental shelf becomes a rocky and violent terrain etched with deep canyons and scoured by fresh landslides. Now, geologists believe that an underground layer of highly pressurized fluid may be the source of the turmoil. The water in this layer could burst out suddenly, triggering submarine landslides and creating tidal waves that would endanger the Jersey shore. Such unstable situations are created when rivers dump layers of dense sediment on top of silt. The silt is squeezed so hard that it becomes fluid; oil drillers often strike such pockets of mud or silt that gush forth. But these trapped layers were not expected on the Atlantic seaboard, because the Hudson and other rivers don't dump as much sediment as delta-forming rivers such as the Mississippi. So it came as a surprise when geologist Peter Flemings of Pennsylvania State University, University Park, discovered unusually porous rock in a 1997 core taken by the JOIDES Resolution, the world's only drilling ship devoted to science. Flemings and graduate student Brandon Dugan used a mathematical model to calculate the stability of the trapped fluid layer. They estimate that the silty layer star

Jarrold, C., Phillips, C. and Baddeley, A.D. (2007) Binding of visual and spatial short-term memory in Williams syndrome and moderate learning disability. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 49 (

Jarrold, C., Phillips, C. and Baddeley, A.D. (2007) Binding of visual and spatial short-term memory in Williams syndrome and moderate learning disability. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 49 (4). pp. 270-273. ISSN 0012-1622Full text not available from this repository. main aim of this study was to test the claim that individuals with Williams syndrome have selectively impaired memory for spatial as opposed to visual information. The performance of 16 individuals with Williams syndrome (six males, 10 females; mean age 18y 7mo [SD 7y 6mo], range 9y 1mo-30y 7mo) on tests of short-term memory for item and location information was compared with that shown by individuals with moderate learning difficulties (12 males, four females; mean age 10y 3mo [SD 1y], range 8y 6mo-11y 7mo) and typically developing children (six males, 10 females; mean age 6y 8mo [SD 7mo], range 5y 10mo-7y 9mo) of an equivalent level of visuospatial ability. A second aim was to determine whether individuals had impaired ability to 'bind' visual spatial information when required to recall 'item in location' information. In contrast to previous findings, there was no evidence that individuals with Williams syndrome were more impaired in the spatial than the

Study Details Quake at San Andreas Fault LOS ANGELES — A powerful earthquake on the southern San Andreas fault, which hasn’t ruptured in over three centuries, is capable of producing prolonged periods of strong shaking in the greater Los Angeles region

Study Details Quake at San Andreas Fault LOS ANGELES — A powerful earthquake on the southern San Andreas fault, which hasn’t ruptured in over three centuries, is capable of producing prolonged periods of strong shaking in the greater Los Angeles region, a new study finds. The study offers one of the most detailed analyses yet of what would happen if a magnitude-7.7 temblor strikes along a 125-mile stretch of the fault between San Bernardino and Imperial counties. The southern San Andreas last snapped in 1690, unleashing a strong quake that caused relatively little damage because few people lived in the area. But as Los Angeles and neighboring cities have become populated and built up over the decades, scientists now say a Big One could be devastating. Computer simulations show the Los Angeles basin will experience some of the strongest ground shaking if the fault unzips from south to north. That’s because seismic waves fanning from the epicenter will have to travel through a chain of sedimentary basins between San Bernardino and downtown Los Angeles, trapping energy and channeling it toward the Los Angeles basin. The result will be strong and localized vibration. The basin could potentially experience several minutes of “roller coaster motion,” said lead researcher Kim Olsen of San Diego State University. “A large part of the Los Angeles area would definitely get a good shake,” he said. But Olsen said the shaking in the region likely won’t produce as much damage as areas near the epicenter because the traveling seismic waves will have weakened by the time they reach the greater Los Angeles region. If the San Andreas ruptures from north to south, the areas most at risk of violent shaking include the Imperial Valley and northern Mexico, the study found. The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters this month. Earlier this year, the U.S. Geological Survey received a $2 million federal grant to monitor the southern San Andreas fault, which has been building up stress that could lead to a big shaker. Scientists have said the southern segment, which is overdue, has a high chance of rupturing in the next few decades, producing a quake of magnitude-7.5 or greater. On the Net: U.S. Geological Survey: http://www.usgs.gov San Diego State University: http://www.sdsu.edu

Veterans For Peace Remembers the Nakba Remembering the Nakba About this time each year, millions of Israelis and Jews around the world celebrate Israel ’s independence in 1948. But what is a time of celebration for Jewish

Veterans For Peace Remembers the Nakba Remembering the Nakba About this time each year, millions of Israelis and Jews around the world celebrate Israel ’s independence in 1948. But what is a time of celebration for Jewish Israelis is a very different kind of anniversary for over one and a half million Palestinians in Israel, over four million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza - 40% of whom live in refugee camps, some 650,000 in refugee camps elsewhere in the middle east, and over 3 million around the world with UN-registered property claims against Israel who are now living in what is known as the Palestinian Diaspora. For them - the largest and longest-standing registered refugee population in the world - March 14 marks the remembrance of their greatest collective tragedy. Before May 1948, three Zionist militias had carried out a violent and ruthless ethnic cleansing campaign against a third of the Palestinian population. Those groups – the Haganah, Irgun and LEHI (known to the British as the Stern Gang) – were designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations in a comprehensive report and chronology issued in October 1948. From March through December 1948 these well-armed Zionist militias, which after May became armed forces of the new state of Israel, completed the violent expulsion of over 750,000 indigenous inhabitants of Palestine and the seizure of their land and properties. Most of these refugees were driven into 59 refugee camps hastily constructed to accommodate them by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). This is what Palestinians call “al Nakba” – their "catastrophe". By the end of the ethnic cleansing campaign, the Zionists had destroyed and/or dispossessed the populations of 531 Palestinian villages and eleven urban areas, and had committed 33 documented massacres, which killed some 13,000 largely defenseless Palestinians. Reports of these massacres terrorized other Palestinian villages into fleeing their homes in the path of approaching Jewish forces. (This has been used by Zionist

ITPA-3: Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities - Third Edition Ages: 5-0 through 12-11 Testing Time: 45 to 60 minutes The ITPA-3 is an effective

ITPA-3: Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities - Third Edition Ages: 5-0 through 12-11 Testing Time: 45 to 60 minutes The ITPA-3 is an effective measure of children's spoken and written language. All of the subtests measure some aspect of language, including oral language, writing, reading, and spelling. The content in this edition is consistent with Charles Osgood's original communication model and also with the adaptations of that model made by Samuel Kirk, James McCarthy, and Winifred Kirk. Chief among the assumptions underlying this model are: PRIMARY USES OF THE ITPA-3 - language is an important part of a child's development, - the essential components of language are measurable, - these language components can be improved through instruction, and - instruction in language is relevant to success in basic school subjects, particularly reading and writing. This test can help you: - determine children's specific strengths and weaknesses among linguistic abilities; - document children's development in language as a result of intervention programs; - identify children with general linguistic delays in the development of spoken and written language; - contribute to an accurate diagnosis of dyslexia (adequate spoken language with poor word identification and spelling skill), using the oral language/written language discrepancy score; - clarify the aspects of language that are difficult for a particular child (e.g., phonology, syntax, semantics); - identify specific strengths and weaknesses in language to assist with the development of appropriate instructional goals, and - differentiate between children with poor phonological coding (ability to read and spell phonically regular pseudowords) and those with poor orthographic coding (ability to read and spell words with an irregular element). Furthermore, the Sight-Symbol processing and Sound-Symbol processing scores help identify deficits in written symbol processing, which can aid in planning appropriate strategies and accommodations. - Spoken Analogies: The examiner says a four-part analogy, of which the last part is missing. The child then tells the examiner the missing part. For example, in response to "Birds fly, fish _____," the child might say, "swim." - Spoken Vocabulary: The examiner says a word that is actually an attribute of some noun. For example, the examiner may say, "I am thinking of something with a roof," to which the child might respond, "house." - Morphological Closure: The examiner says an oral prompt with the last part missing. For example, the examiner says, "big, bigger, ___," and the child completes the phrase by saying the missing part, "biggest." - Syntactic Sentences: The examiner says a sentence that is syntactically correct but semantically nonsensical (e.g., "Red flowers are smart"). The child repeats the sentence. - Sound Deletion: The examiner asks the child to delete words, syllables, and their phonemes from spoken words. For example, the examiner might ask the student to say "weekend" without the "end." - Rhyming Sequences: The examiner says strings of rhyming words that increase in length, and the child repeats them (e.g., "noon," "soon," "moon"). Written Language - Sentence Sequencing: The child reads a series of sentences silently and then orders them into a sequence to form a plausible paragraph. For example, if the following three sentences were rearranged in B, C, A order they would make sense: A. I go to school. B. I get up. C. I get dressed. - Written Vocabulary: After reading an adjective (e.g., "A broken ____"), the child responds by writing

Boiling down the hype Cancer prevention: A 2009 review of 51 green tea studies found that sipping three to five cups a day may lower the risks of ovarian, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, but not

Boiling down the hype Cancer prevention: A 2009 review of 51 green tea studies found that sipping three to five cups a day may lower the risks of ovarian, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, but not breast or other cancers, says lead author Katja Boehm, research fellow at the Center of Integrative Medicine at the University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany. As for black tea, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) deems it "possibly effective" for reducing the risk of ovarian cancer, and "possibly ineffective" for lowering the risk of stomach and colorectal cancers. Brain benefits: Downing from one to four cups of black or green tea a day has been linked with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease, according to the NIH. Heart help: "Drinking tea may be helpful in preventing or delaying certain risk factors of cardiovascular disease, and lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides," says McKay. One Japanese study found that adults who drank five or more cups of green tea per day had a 26% reduction in death from heart attack or stroke compared with those who had one cup or less; the effect was greater in women than in men. More research needs to be done on other potential benefits. One small study suggested that the catechins and caffeine in green tea may give dieters a small metabolic boost that could amount to burning a few dozen extra calories per day. There's also a slim file on how drinking tea may help ward off osteoporosis and reduce the incidence of cavities, due to the fluoride it contains. And EGCG, that green-tea antioxidant, has been found to increase the number of important immune-boosting cells (called regulatory T-cells)but only in one animal study. All this sounds pretty compelling. So why aren't major health organizations advising us to drink tea like crazy? It's a matter of needing more hard-core evidence. "There are pearls of real promise here, but they have yet to be strung," Dr. Katz says. "We don'have clinical trials in human patients showing that adding tea to one's routine changes health outcomes for the better." The vast majority of the research conducted has been observational, meaning scientists can't know if the medical boosts seen in tea drinkers are definitely a result of that habit, or some other factor that makes these people healthier. And many of the studies that have looked at specific compounds in tea have been conducted in labs or on animals, not on people. "These chemicals act as antioxidants in a test tube, but they may not do the same in your body," explains Emily Ho, PhD, associate professor in the department of nutrition and exercise science at the School of Biological and Population Health Sciences at Oregon State University. "You have to take the claims with a grain of salt." That said, experts agree that a daily cuppa, or five, won't hurt you, and may well help fight disease. (If you're trying to limit your caffeine intake, go for decafit has antioxidants too, though fewer than the caffeinated kind.) "Tea is probably better than a lot of other beverages," says Lona Sandon, RD, assistant professor in the department of clinical nutrition at UT South-western Medical Center and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "Just make sure you've got other healthy lifestyle habitsyou can't count on tea alone to prevent cancer."

Hayden and colleagues (Sept 20, p 863)1 raise the issue of percutaneous absorption of sunscreens. Cosmetic manufacturers increasingly promote their products as containing sunscreens with sun protection factors of 15 or more. Since these creams

Hayden and colleagues (Sept 20, p 863)1 raise the issue of percutaneous absorption of sunscreens. Cosmetic manufacturers increasingly promote their products as containing sunscreens with sun protection factors of 15 or more. Since these creams are used throughout the year, particularly on the face, and since percutaneous absorption through facial skin is 2—13 times that through the forearm2, 3, 4 (on which Hayden's study is based) a significant amount may be absorbed over time. However, the systemic effects of any drug depend on plasma concentration. Although we have information on urinary excretion, we know little about plasma concentration (which depends on the drug's pharmacokinetics), the accumulation of oxybenzone (absorption in excess of metabolism and excretion), and its long-term biological effects. Clearly, more research is needed because sunscreens have a proven role in protecting against sunlight's damaging effects. 2RougierA, LotteC, MaibachHI. In vi

Comment: 04:14 - 05:45 (01:31) Source: Annenberg/CPB Resources - Earth Revealed - 22. Wind, Dust and Deserts Keywords: orbit, Sun, tropic, Equ

Comment: 04:14 - 05:45 (01:31) Source: Annenberg/CPB Resources - Earth Revealed - 22. Wind, Dust and Deserts Keywords: orbit, Sun, tropic, Equator, evaporation, condensation, cloud, rainfall, air, humid Our transcription: As the Earth orbits the sun from season to season, the sun always shines directly overhead somewhere in the tropical latitudes. Therefore, the sun's rays strike the Equator more directly than that rest of the globe. As the air heats up, water evaporates. The warm, wet air rises, and as it rises it expands and cools. The vapor it contains condenses into clouds, many of which release rain. The cool air is now dry, but more and more warm air is rising up beneath it. This displaces the cool air away from the Equator pushing it north and south toward the subtropics. Because of Earth's spheroidal shape air currents begin to crowd together as they move into higher latitudes. This causes the air to grow dense and heavy, so that it descends earthward about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. The air is compressively heated upon reaching low altitudes. The result is a mass of warm, dry air, few clouds, and low humidity. This encourages evaporation. The result is the stark, parched landscape of most of the world's deserts. Geology School Keywords

Let (x(s), y(s)) be a plane curve parametrized by arclength. Show that the curvature is given by the formula: C = |x'y'' - x''y'| The standard formula for curvature is:

Let (x(s), y(s)) be a plane curve parametrized by arclength. Show that the curvature is given by the formula: C = |x'y'' - x''y'| The standard formula for curvature is: where T is the unit tangent vector and equal to: x'(t) / ||x'(t)|| I don't know where to start here, or even if these are the formulas needed to get to the first equation. Any help wou

Main page Foliage Sporocarps (flowers) Rhizoids (roots) Control The formation of sporocarps in late March and early April is important. Liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) are much more

Main page Foliage Sporocarps (flowers) Rhizoids (roots) Control The formation of sporocarps in late March and early April is important. Liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) are much more difficult to control chemically after sporocarp formation. Optimum time for control is before sporocarp formation in February or early March. Liverworts are unisexual. Each plant is either male or female, though I often see at least one of each sex growing in a container. Female sporocarps (above and below) originate from female plants and have finger-like projections that form on the end of 2 cm tall stalks (called gametophytic Male sporocarps originate from male plants and are flat (they appear Sporocarps originate from the middle of liverwort thalli (leaves). Return to the Weed Species Page Return to the Weed Management Homepage Mail comments to James

In a press statement of January 17, 2012, Hillary Clinton expressed concern about space debris and declared the need to join with the international community in addressing the “problem” with a set of principles “to develop an International Code of Conduct

In a press statement of January 17, 2012, Hillary Clinton expressed concern about space debris and declared the need to join with the international community in addressing the “problem” with a set of principles “to develop an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. “A Code of Conduct,” she states, “will help maintain the long-term sustainability, safety, stability, and security of space by establishing guidelines for the responsible use of space.” She further stated that we will not agree to anything that limits our national security-related activities in space or our ability to protect the United States and our allies. There is a lot of space junk with more than 500,000 pieces of space junk debris surrounding Earth, according to NASA, and about 22,000 of these pieces are as large as a softball. Space junk are objects left in space by the irresponsible. One of the irresponsible actors is China. A government report warns of a plan by the Chinese to disrupt or shoot down U.S. satellites. The idea of an outer space military is now being discussed but the international community – the U.N. – will be the governing body, which ironically includes all the bad actors. This code of conduct would come to us in the form of a treaty which would be permanent and which would supersede our constitution and, specifically Congress. The international community would take priority over our sovereign nation. Last week, the House of Representatives debated H.R.4310, which contains a provision, Section 913, that attempts to stop the implementation of a code of conduct for outer space activities. It would prohibit the Department of Defense from using funds to implement an international agreement on space activities that has not been ratified by the Senate or otherwise authorized by federal statute. The bill takes aim at the International Code of Conduct or its twin, the EU Code, and is the latest attempt by Congress to curtail the Obama Administration’s efforts to implement a code of conduct without the consent of Congress. Check out The Space Review for more information. It is unclear if the Senate will include a similar provision and, if they do, the President will veto it. This treaty will make Congress irrelevant in matters of space, which includes missiles, satellites, and any other object propelled into space. This is a very dangerous treaty without the safeguard of a Congress to keep it in check. This treaty with several others – Law of the Sea, International Criminal Court, Rights of the Child, and Small Arms endanger our sovereignty and our constitution. We have an administration which believes in neither.

In order to meet the educational needs of the students at TSBVI, curriculum content and methodology have been modified to meet the needs of different student populations. Modifications are embodied in these five curricular approaches. The Five Curricular Curricular Approaches

In order to meet the educational needs of the students at TSBVI, curriculum content and methodology have been modified to meet the needs of different student populations. Modifications are embodied in these five curricular approaches. The Five Curricular Curricular Approaches at TSBVI This curriculum is written for students younger than 12 years of age who have visual impairments and are not yet reading, writing, and doing math at a first grade level. Many of these students have mild to significant delays in areas such as cognition, motor, speech/language, and emotional development. These students may also have orthopedic, sensory, or other health impairments. Programming consists of thematic units that include meaningful experiences to help students build an effective framework for processing new information and understanding how it relates to their world. Basic self-help skills, such as eating, dressing, and housekeeping are taught within activity routines. Real objects are used whenever possible, unless specific skills in representation are being taught; and activities are meaningful and at the appropriate level of the student. Units with goals, objectives, and activities in areas related to the students’ lives based on the following themes: This curriculum is intended for students who are between the ages of 6 and 22 who have visual impairments combined with other disabilities, such as hearing impairments (deafblind) and significant developmental delays. It is particularly designed for students who learn best within highly structured routines and who have great difficulty generalizing what they learn to new situations. Social/emotional development and communication skills are a significant component of this program. The primary instructional approach uses consistent activity routines to teach those functional activities which parents, residential instructors and the educational team have identified as areas of need. Developmental skills are identified and taught within the context of these routines. This program is committed to community based instruction. Functional activities from the domestic, recreation/leisure, and vocational domains Developmental skills in: Senses and Motor Skills Tools for assessment and developing the IEP Information about assessment, planning instruction, and effective teaching strategies for career education, leisure and recreation, communication, calendars, social skills, and behavior management. This curriculum is intended for students who are 12 years of age or older. Generally the students have reading and math skills between the kindergarten and second grade levels and have demonstrated limited ability to learn within a developmental or academic approach. The focus of this program is teaching students how to use their academic skills in a variety of functional tasks and, whenever possible, to develop and improve those skills. Social skills and independent living skills are an important component of this program. Students may be taught in the classroom, residence, or community, depe

Being overweight may make asthmatic children more vulnerable to the effects of pollution Published Online: February 11, 2013 Minority and low income populations have high rates of both obesity and asthma morbidity. These same populations also have

Being overweight may make asthmatic children more vulnerable to the effects of pollution Published Online: February 11, 2013 Minority and low income populations have high rates of both obesity and asthma morbidity. These same populations also have a greater exposure to indoor pollutants, including microscopic airborne dust particles produced by cigarette smoke, cooking, sweeping, and traffic. This type of pollution is referred to as fine particulate matter (PM) and causes asthma symptoms. Another type of pollution, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), is produced by gas appliances, found in higher concentrations in urban homes, and also associated with asthma symptoms. Because overweight children breathe in higher volumes of air than normal weight children, their lungs may have more exposure to pollutants, thereby putting them at greater risk for asthma symptoms caused by pollutants. In a study recently published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), Lu et al examined relationships between weight status, indoor pollution, and asthma health in a population of urban, predominantly African American 5-17 year olds with asthma. The group included 148 children with persistent asthma who underwent repeated assessment of home pollutant exposure and asthma over 1 year. The researchers found that overweight and obese children had more asthma symptoms associated with fine PM exposure than normal weight children. They also found that overweight and obese participants had more asthma symptoms associated with NO2 exposure than normal weight participants, although this was not observed across all types of asthma symptoms. Relationships between indoor pollutant exposure and acute visits for asthma, lung function, and pulmonary inflammation did not differ by weight. The authors’ findings suggest that being overweight may increase an asthmatic child’s susceptibility to the pulmonary effects of indoor PM2.5 and NO2 and, further, that the combination of a high prevalence of overweight and high indoor pollutant exposure in urban children with asthma could explain some of the disproportionate asthma morbidity seen in this population. The authors suggest that weight loss may reduce susceptibility to these indoor pollutants, and that overweight asthmatic children may benefit from indoor pollutant reduction to a greater extent than normal weight children. The mechanisms underlying this interaction are not known but, in addition to overweight children potentially having greater deposition of pollutants in their lungs, it is also possible that the state of chronic oxidative stress and inflammation seen in obesity may increase susceptibility to pollutants. Obese asthmatics are also resistant to the anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids, the primary asthma controller medication, which may also make them more susceptible to the effects of indoor pollution. The effect of overweight on the relationships between indoor pollutant exposure and asthma health has not previously been examined and additional studies are needed to confirm these findings. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) is an official scientific journal of the AAAAI, and is the most-cited journal in the field of allergy and clinical immunology.

I am quite sure by now that you have watched The Dark Knight Rises, and the film should have left quite the impression on you. Hopefully, a good one at that, just like how the highly sought out Raspberry Pi mini computer has been

I am quite sure by now that you have watched The Dark Knight Rises, and the film should have left quite the impression on you. Hopefully, a good one at that, just like how the highly sought out Raspberry Pi mini computer has been transformed into what you see in the video above – The Dark Pi Rises. Aerospace engineer “algorhythmic” has cobbled together a remote controlled, roving surveillance vehicle that is equipped with a night-vision camera. Obviously, a Raspberry Pi mini computer runs at the heart of things to keep everything working fine and dandy. Considering how the Raspberry Pi itself costs approximately $25, this surveillance drone hack will see bits and pieces from all over the place, including a PlayStation 3 Eye camera and a Wi-Fi module, which is hooked it up to a remote control car while the system has been specially configured to stream video from the camera over the Internet. An Arduino component also sees action to control a motor which enables the camera to move.

Support Hoagies' Page! Shop Hoagies' Page before you visit your favorite on-line stores MindWare and many more, year-round and at the holidays. Thanks for your Your donations also help keep Hoagies' Gift

Support Hoagies' Page! Shop Hoagies' Page before you visit your favorite on-line stores MindWare and many more, year-round and at the holidays. Thanks for your Your donations also help keep Hoagies' Gifted Education Page on-line. Special Education Statistics (updated September 2003) Where can I find statistical data about children with disabilities? This file includes information about sources of statistical information on education, including - Center for Special Education Finance (CSEF) CSEF addresses fiscal policy questions and provides information on special - Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) The Council of Chief State School Officers is a nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who lead the departments responsible for elementary and secondary education in the states, the US extra-state jurisdictions, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools. In representing chief education administrators, CCSSO works on behalf of the state agencies that have primary authority for education in each state. - Disability Statistics Report The Disability Statistics RRTC Information Service provides in-depth statistical analyses of national survey and program databases. Reports examine specific topics relevant to current issues in disability research. Reports are mailed to several thousand libraries, information centers, and disability organizations. FedStats is a vast database of statistics from more than 100 U.S. Federal agencies. You can access statistics by the agency responsible for providing them, by topics, or by geographic region. - IDEA Data This website presents the most recent state-reported data available collected by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), as required under Section 618 of IDEA. - Louis Harris survey, published by: National Organization on Disability 910 16th Street, NW 1.800.240.4520 or 202.293.5960 This publication provides statistical information from a nationwide survey of 1,000 Americans with disabilities, aged 16 and older, that was conducted in April and May of 1998. It is designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date measures in a number of areas, including: (1) the nature and severity of the disability of people with disabilities; (2) the participation in important life activities, e.g., employment, socializing, financial status, and lifestyles of Americans with Disabilities and how they have changed over the last 12 years; (3) job discrimination and the presence of barriers and unfavorable attitudes in the workplace; (4) familiarity with the Americans with Disabilities Act; (5) special needs of those with disabilities, including equipment, technology, and personal assistance; (6) the sense of common identity shared by adults with disabilties and changes over the past four years; (7) access to health care and satisfaction with services; and (8) participation in religious services. - National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) The Center collects and reports "statistics and information showing the condition and progress of education in the United States and other nations in order to promote and accelerate the improvement of American education." 402(b) of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9001). This site provides most of the major statistical reports online. Digest of Education Statistics 2002 Provides a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of education from prekindergarten through graduate school. Topics in the Digest include: the number of schools and colleges; teachers; enrollments; graduates; educational attainment; finances; federal funds for education; employment and income of graduates; libraries; technology; and international comparisons. - School District Demographics Includes demographic data for all U.S. school districts derived from the Census 2000 P. L. 94-171 (Redistricting) File. - National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey on Disability - National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) NCEO offers information on assessments, accountability policy and practices, national and state data collection programs, and standards-setting for all students, including those with disabilities. - National Data Resource Center (NDRC) Established by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to broaden access to data and information from studies and surveys that NCES maintains. Among other services, NDRC will conduct special analysis on the NCES sets to provide tables and related information. Use of NDRC is most appropriate for well-defined questions that are likely to yield a few tables. This is a free service. - OSEP 24th Annual Rep

Definitions for keteneˈki tin This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word ketene Random House Webster's College Dictionary a colorless poisonous gas, C2H2O, used chiefly in the manufacture of ac

Definitions for keteneˈki tin This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word ketene Random House Webster's College Dictionary a colorless poisonous gas, C2H2O, used chiefly in the manufacture of acetic anhydride and aspirin. Origin of ketene: < G Keten (1905); see ketone, -ene any of a class of unsaturated ketones, having a general formula RRC=C=O, that react as if they were inner acid anhydrides the parent compound of this class, CH=C=O, an unstable, reactive colourless gas A ketene is an organic compound of the form R'R''C=C=O. The term is also used specifically to mean ethenone, the simplest ketene, where R' and R'' are hydrogen atoms. Ketenes were first studied as a class by Hermann Staudinger. Find a translation for the ketene definition in other languages: Select another language:

Louis Wescott Myers Louis Wescott Myers (September 6, 1872 – February 15, 1960) was the 20th Chief Justice of California. Born in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, Myers earned a bachelor

Louis Wescott Myers Louis Wescott Myers (September 6, 1872 – February 15, 1960) was the 20th Chief Justice of California. Born in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, Myers earned a bachelor's and a law degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He practiced law for several years in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles. From 1913-23 he was a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles. In 1923 he was appointed to the Supreme Court of California to fill a vacancy; the next year he was appointed Chief Justice and served as such until leaving the court in January 1926. Following his tenure as Chief Justice, Myers joined a Los Angeles law firm run by Henry W. O'Melveny. Myers' name was added to the firm, which eventually became known as O’Melveny & Myers. Curtis Dwight Wilbur |Chief Justice of California William H. Waste - http://files.usgwarchives.org/ca/losangeles/bios/myers1296nbs.txt transcription of bio from "Men of California" (1925) - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/lamyer.htm Transcription of bio from "American Blue Book California Lawyers" |This article about a California politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.|

Water: H2O=Life Educator's Guide By: Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, AMNH Education The Water: H2O = Life exhibition is designed to engage all learning styles through hands-on and digital interactives

Water: H2O=Life Educator's Guide By: Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, AMNH Education The Water: H2O = Life exhibition is designed to engage all learning styles through hands-on and digital interactives, videos, wall panels, models, specimens, and live animals. This guide divides the exhibition into eight numbered areas. Each area is supported by an overview, highlights to explore, and guiding questions. For more information and to download the guide,visit Water: H2O = Life.

The command form is also known as the imperative. “You” is the understood subject of a command and is, therefore, omitted as it is in English. ( Tu are the two ways to say “you” in French.) Use tu

The command form is also known as the imperative. “You” is the understood subject of a command and is, therefore, omitted as it is in English. ( Tu are the two ways to say “you” in French.) Use tu, the familiar command, when speaking to one friend or family member. Use vous, the polite command, when speaking formally or when directing the command to more than one person, no matter what their relationship to you. To form a command, simply drop the subject pronoun and use the proper verb form that would match the pronoun you are dropping, as shown in Table 1. - Regarde cette vue! (Look at that view!) - Choisis ton dessert! (Choose your dessert!) - Descendez du bus! (Get off the bus!) The nous form of the verb (without the subject) may be used to suggest “let's”: - Allons à la plage! (Let's go to the beach!). Note that the tu command of ‐er verbs (and verbs conjugated like ‐er verbs) drops the final ‐ s from the conjugated verb in both regular and irregular verbs, except when followed by the adverbial pronouns y (there) and en (some, of, about, from, it, or them). - Mange du pain. Manges‐en. (Eat some bread. Eat some.) - Va à l'école. Vas‐y. (Go to school. Go there.) - Offre‐lui une boisson. (Offer him/her a drink.) - Ouvre la porte. (Open the door.) Three common irregular verb commands are shown in Table 2. Here are examples of the irregular commands in sentences: - Aie confiance! (Have confidence!) - N'ayez pas peur! (Don't be afraid!) - Ne soyez pas méchant! (Don't

Avoiding the Fall - Ride a horse that matches your skill level. - Ride in a safe environment for your skill level. - Ride with awareness. Try to see the spookies before your horse does so you can divert its attention. -

Avoiding the Fall - Ride a horse that matches your skill level. - Ride in a safe environment for your skill level. - Ride with awareness. Try to see the spookies before your horse does so you can divert its attention. - Ride in control. - Keep proper position in the saddle. - Make sure that saddle fits you and the stirrups are adjusted to the right length. - Check that your girth or cinch are tightened so the saddle doesn't turn. Prepare for a Fall Protective equipment may help you avoid serious injury if you do take a tumble. - Wear an ASTM approved helmet. - Wear boots with a 1” heel, safety stirrups or cages on your stirrups. - A crash vest provides extra protection for your torso. - Gloves give you better purchase on the reins and protect your hands. - Learn to do an emergency dismount. - Learn to do an emergency stop. What to Do with the Reins If you get in a situation where a fall is inevitable you’ll have a split second to decide whether or not to hold on the reins. If you are in an enclosed area, it should be safe to let go of them. If you are out on trail, you might try to hold on to the reins. If your horse gets loose not only will you have a long walk home, you might be endangering your horse, anyone else on trail, or even drivers if you’ve crossed roads en route and your horse back tracks to get home. Obviously, there will be circumstances where it isn’t possible to make a decision. If your horse is bolting or bucking it is always better to release the reins to prevent being dragged or entangled. How to Fall If you k

Air Force sponsored camp provides materials needed to promote science Stars and Stripes WASHINGTON -- With a propane-fueled burner spewing out colorful flames inches from her face, Hope Sanders blew bubbles through a thin rod of glass. She was like

Air Force sponsored camp provides materials needed to promote science Stars and Stripes WASHINGTON -- With a propane-fueled burner spewing out colorful flames inches from her face, Hope Sanders blew bubbles through a thin rod of glass. She was like a kid at summer camp having a blast. Sanders, in fact, was at camp – an ASM Materials Camp held at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and sponsored by the U.S. Air Force. The retired Air Force master sergeant, who is a JROTC instructor at Space Coast High School in Florida, was one of 30 high school teachers who attended the five-day science camp, which wrapped up Friday at Howard. ASM Materials Education Foundation puts on the camps designed to train educators how to make science interesting to their students by using hands-on experiments that are simple to demonstrate, inexpensive and fun to do. “I came not knowing what to expect,” said Sanders who has four years of classroom experience. “It’s been a week of innovation and technology that I knew existed but did not know how it tied into our particular curriculum.” Part of her Air Force JROTC instruction, Sanders said, includes lessons on aerospace science. After a week at the science camp, Sanders said she’s learned how to use some of the lab experiments and to show how they relate to the science of flight. “I can’t wait to get back and share this with my counterparts at Space Coast,” she said. “My students will love it. It’s something they can do, that they can show how a process works, things that won’t take a long period of time but still give you the understanding of why things work the way they do.” Gary Strack is the director of the Air Force STEM Outreach Coordination Office. STEM stands for Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and Strack’s office exists to promote those four fields of study. Since 2008, the Air Force, in its efforts to promote STEM studies, has sponsored an ASM Materials Camp at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. “We’ve gotten great feedback from the teachers, good statistics about the amount of lessons they’re putting in their classrooms and the number of students going on to pursue STEM degrees in colleges and universities,” said Strack. Because the camp in Ohio has been so successful, Strack said the Air Force decided to sponsor four camps this year, one of which was at Howard. And, he added, the Air Force is planning to expand their sponsorship even further in coming years. Sponsoring a single materials camp costs the Air Force $30,000 the first year a program is set up and $15,000 per camp in subsequent years, Strack said. In all, the Air Force spends more than $40 million per year on STEM outreach activities, and officials estimate that more than 100,000 students and teachers are reached or affected by the 150 or so STEM outreach activities offered each year. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jocelyn Seng, who spoke at the close of the ASM Materials Camp at Howard, noted that the investment is

What’s Inside an Aqueous Hybrid Ion Battery? I initially developed the Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHITM) battery at Carnegie Mellon in 2008. Utilizing a water-based electrolyte and multiple functional active ions, AHI

What’s Inside an Aqueous Hybrid Ion Battery? I initially developed the Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHITM) battery at Carnegie Mellon in 2008. Utilizing a water-based electrolyte and multiple functional active ions, AHI batteries address the needs of the energy storage customers and deliver a system that is safe, reliable, and affordable. What’s in the AHI battery? AHI batteries use materials that, while relatively common and inexpensive, are unique to this battery chemistry. Aqueous Electrolyte: A battery’s electrolyte is the substance through which the active ions flow, from one electrode to the other. The AHI battery’s water-based electrolyte makes it truly unique, as this is unused in nearly all other battery chemistries. Multiple Functional Ions: When batteries are discharged, electrons flow from the anode to the cathode through the load, while the ions flow from cathode to anode through the electrolyte inside the battery. The opposite occurs during charging. In the case of AHI batteries, sodium, lithium, and hydrogen ions all work together inside the battery to store and release electrical energy. Activated Carbon Anode: Carbon, one of the most abundant materials on the planet, makes up the battery’s anode, or negative electrode. Activated carbon is simply carbon powder with a high surface area. This is important because when the battery is in use, a capacitive interaction takes place on the surface of the carbon. That means that as the battery is charged, electrons build up inside the carbon, and the surface becomes negatively charged. The active ions, which are positively charged and attracted to the carbon, fix themselves to the surface. Manganese Oxide Cathode: Found in some Lithium Ion batteries as well as common alkaline batteries, manganese oxide (MnO2) makes up the cathode, or positive electrode. At the molecular level, MnO2 looks like a repeating three-dimensional lattice, with alternating manganese and oxygen atoms. When the battery is discharged, sodium ions flow into the MnO2, and situate themselves between the manganese and oxygen atoms. This means that there is an “intercalation” reaction taking place, rather than an electrode surface reaction, which is typically more corrosive and results in loss o

Hydrology - SCWRC Report 158 Hydrogeology and Saltwater Contamination of the Floridan Aquifer in Beaufort and Jasper Counties, South Carolina W. Brian Hughes, Michael S. Crouch, and

Hydrology - SCWRC Report 158 Hydrogeology and Saltwater Contamination of the Floridan Aquifer in Beaufort and Jasper Counties, South Carolina W. Brian Hughes, Michael S. Crouch, and A. Drennan Park The upper unit of the Floridan aquifer is the primary source of ground water supplies in the Beaufort-Jasper Counties area, S. C., because of its good water quality and high productivity. Ground water can also be obtained from formations of Late Cretaceous through Holocene age in the area. Prior to 1880, the potentiometric surface of the Floridan aquifer was unaffected by pumping. Water levels were above or just below land surface and ground water flowed in an easterly direction, discharging in Port Royal Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Owing to heavy pumping at Savannah, Ga., water levels are now below sea level as far north as Port Royal Sound and are 150 feet below sea level in the center of the cone of depression. These changes in water level have reversed the direction of ground water flow in the area between Port Royal Sound and Savannah. Saltwater contamination occurs in many areas in the Floridan aquifer beneath eastern Beaufort and Jasper Counties, and present ground-water conditions could result in contamination on a regional scale. Saltwater contamination of the aquifer can occur where brackish water - enters through a poorly confining bed or where the confining bed is thin or absent, - upcones from the lower part of an aquifer as a result of pumping, - enters through improperly constructed wells, or - moves laterally through an aquifer in response to a reduction in freshwater head. Saltwater is present in the aquifer beneath Port Royal Sound between Hilton Head Island and Parris Island. The saltwater is moving with the regional flow toward Hilton Head Island and the Savannah pumping center. Interstate cooperation in ground-water management could prevent the contamination of the Floridan aquifer beneath Hilton Head Island. Copies of this report are available in the SCDNR's Columbia office.

FIGURE 3.2 Trends in per-capita property and crop losses (adjusted to $2010) from natural hazards, 1960-2010. According to Gall et al. (2012), per-capita losses appear to

FIGURE 3.2 Trends in per-capita property and crop losses (adjusted to $2010) from natural hazards, 1960-2010. According to Gall et al. (2012), per-capita losses appear to be escalating in the United States, even when normalized by population, and have more than tripled per person since the 1960s. Source: S. Cutter; compiled from SHELDUS. Another issue in analyzing loss data is that not all losses are counted and valued (Box 3.3). In the case of Munich RE, the NatCatSERVICE database provides property losses (total and insured) and insured business interruption losses, estimated from known insured losses. Because of the differences in loss estimation techniques, thresholds for inclusion in the database (large versus small events; insured versus uninsured losses), and data availability (public versus proprietary), natural-hazard loss databases are rarely comparable with one another. For example, comparisons among four publicly accessible databases show different total dollar loss estimates for the United States in 2010 attributed to weather perils such as winter storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding (Table 3.1). In the health arena, some losses of life and health may occur days or months after the disaster and thus may go uncounted. Geographic Variation in Economic Losses Long-term disaster loss data for specific geographic regions provide a baseline from which to measure improvements in resilience. The success of measures to reduce disaster risk and impacts are difficult to evaluate without this baseline information. A number of federal agencies compile separate data on disaster losses and costs including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), FEMA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Department of Agriculture. These data serve quite specific and useful purposes, but in aggregate are incomplete, often incompatible with one another, have limited economic impact information, and are less useful for mapping the

Long Valley Volcanic Center - Current Update, last updated Jan 12, 2012 17:46 PST: Fifteen earthquakes with magnitudes between M=1.0 and M=1.8 occurred in the Mam

Long Valley Volcanic Center - Current Update, last updated Jan 12, 2012 17:46 PST: Fifteen earthquakes with magnitudes between M=1.0 and M=1.8 occurred in the Mammoth Lakes-Long Valley region in the last seven days. The events were located in the Sierra Nevada, with the exception of three earthquakes in the caldera east of the town of Mammoth Lakes and one event in Round Valley. - Volcanic History Overview: The large 17 x 32 km Long Valley caldera east of the central Sierra Nevada Range formed as a result of the voluminous Bishop Tuff eruption about 760,000 years ago. Resurgent doming in the central part of the caldera occurred shortly afterwards, followed by rhyolitic eruptions from the caldera moat and the eruption of rhyodacite from outer ring fracture vents, with the last intracaldera eruptions about 50,000 years ago. During early resurgent doming the caldera was filled with a large lake that left strandlines on the caldera walls and the resurgent dome island; the lake eventually drained through the Owens River Gorge. The caldera remains thermally active, with many hot springs and fumaroles, and has had significant deformation, seismicity, and other unrest in recent years. The late-Pleistocene to Holocene Inyo Craters cut the NW topographic rim of the caldera in 1350 AD, and along with Mammoth Mountain on the SW topographic rim, are west of the structural caldera and are chemically and tectonically distinct from the Long Valley magmatic system. The most recent activity in the area was about 300 years ago in Mono Lake. - Location: Western US, CA Elevation: 2204 m Recent Eruption: 300 years ago in Mono Lake - Hazard Assessments: Miller, C. Dan; Mullineaux, D. R.; Crandell, D. R.; Bailey, R. A., 1982, Potential hazards from future volcanic eruptions in the Long Valley-Mono Lake area, east-central California and southwest Nevada; a preliminary assessment, USGS Circular 877, 10 p. :ill., maps. - Link to monitoring data: LVO Web Site Volcanic Alert Level: NORMAL Aviation Color Code: GREEN

|Last week I realised I was beginning to slip into paranoia. This week I read that one in three people in the UK regularly experience paranoid thoughts. This is nonsense.| They offer an example of a paranoid thought: Greg, 19,

|Last week I realised I was beginning to slip into paranoia. This week I read that one in three people in the UK regularly experience paranoid thoughts. This is nonsense.| They offer an example of a paranoid thought: Greg, 19, student: "If I'm with a friend and someone rings them on their mobile and they tell the caller they're with me, well if the caller then says something I can't hear and the friend I'm with laughs, I always think that the person on the other end of the phone said something horrible about me." Well, duh. Of course you do. If they laughed and didn’t go on to explain why they had laughed, they positively invited you to think that. Whether or not something horrible was being said about you, your friend has appalling manners and should be abandoned. We are all concerned about what other people think of us and we know that other people talk about us because we talk about other people. We are social animals; we confuse and fascinate one another. What people say about us behind our backs has to remain a mystery and the possibility that we are being laughed cannot ever be ruled out. We all know this, we all suspect this under certain circumstances and, in the above example, this is a fairly rational hypothesis. Of course, some people will care much more than others, but it wouldn't make them paranoid Paranoia is defined as a delusional way of thinking; para meaning beyond (noos: mind). Granted, we all use this word to apply to fairly minor niggles, just as we say we feel depressed because it is raining or that it has been manic in the supermarket. However, whilst psychologists need to make a living, using this word to refer to ordinary thought patterns, thus pathologising the entire human race, is somewhat irresponsible. Crucially, it means that when people are in serious trouble, other people are less likely to understand or appreciate the seriousness of the situation. Plus it supports the idea that all mental distress is an illness which needs to be (and can be) addressed and cured. Mental distress is part of the human situation. Now I am not a socially confident person at all. Much of the time, I get really very worried about causing offence to people or making people feel uncomfortable in some way shape or form. This is notparanoia; this is low confidence and general social ineptitude –

Genealogical Research for a Jamestown Ancestor Colonial National Historical Park - Historic Jamestowne does not do genealogical research. However, we do have recommendations for several sources which may assist you in your search for ancestors from Jame

Genealogical Research for a Jamestown Ancestor Colonial National Historical Park - Historic Jamestowne does not do genealogical research. However, we do have recommendations for several sources which may assist you in your search for ancestors from Jamestown. The following three sites may help you research your ancestor: The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Library of Virginia The following publications may also be helpful: Brown, Stuart E. and Lorraine F. Meyers and Eileen M. Chappel. Pocahontas' descendants. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1994. Hotten, John Camden, editor. Original Lists of Persons of Quality 1600-1700. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980. McGinnis, Carol. Virginia Genealogy: Sources and Resources. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1993. Meyer, Virginia M. Adventures of Purse and Person: Virginia 1607-1624/5. Richmond, Virginia

The Saint Patrick's Day Surprise It was March 17, 1631 in Ireland when they came. The fact that it was Saint Patrick's Day was not lost upon the raiders. They landed their ships off the village of Baltimore,

The Saint Patrick's Day Surprise It was March 17, 1631 in Ireland when they came. The fact that it was Saint Patrick's Day was not lost upon the raiders. They landed their ships off the village of Baltimore, in West Cork. They approached with assistance from a local fisherman, whom they had lied to and promised him freedom in exchange for his part in the raid. They attacked without warning, having crossed a long distance in the Atlantic to reach the Emerald Isle. They attacked with muskets and clubs, routing any resistance and snatching anyone they could find. Their cargo holds held enough room for plenty of captives, and by the end of the day, the foreigners sailed away with a hold full of Irish and English captives. In the raiders' homeland, some were kept in slavery, some were kept as consorts, and some eventually were liberated. However, many of the captured garrison and those who resisted met a different fate. They were rounded up with other prisoners of war, many from Spain and Portugal, and marched up to their capital city. One by one, they were marched up the stairs of the largest structure in town, and their hearts were removed by the high priest. In 1421, the Chinese had inadvertently given the Aztecs guns, metalworking, and immunity to Old World diseases, and better ship building techniques. Now, the garland wars were no longer limited to the New World.

Column chromatography is a commonly used purification technique in labs across the world. Done right it can simply and quickly isolate desired compounds from a mixture. But like many aspects of practical chemistry, the quick and efficient setting up and running of a column is

Column chromatography is a commonly used purification technique in labs across the world. Done right it can simply and quickly isolate desired compounds from a mixture. But like many aspects of practical chemistry, the quick and efficient setting up and running of a column is something that can take years to master. Here we present some of the tips and tricks of the trade to help you optimize all the experimental parameters to get the best separation of your compounds. Columns are generally used in organic and inorganic labs to remove unreacted starting material or isolate one desired product from a range of by-products after a reaction has been performed. To do this, the mixed sample is passed down a vertical glass tube packed with silica or alumina and collected in small portions, or fractions, at the end. The various components of the sample are separated into their different compound types through interaction with the solvent and the silica. Polar compounds will interact with the silica more strongly than non-polar ones so will come off the column, or elute, after non-polar compounds. When a sample contains compounds with similar polarity, the separation between then can be small and recovering all of your clean sample can become a challenge. While correctly packing your column is arguably the most important experimental factor, there remain several other factors that can be optimized to help you achieve the best separation possible in the shortest amount of time. Here we guide you through how to choose the best solvent system for your sample, and look at how much silica you will need and in which size column. This is the most difficult choice to make and the most important. In every organic chemistry lab there are a range of solvents to choose from. So where do you begin? Column chromatography, particularly flash chromatography, is normally carried out with a mixture of two solvents as the mobile phase: one polar, one non-polar. Occasionally, a single solvent can be used or a mixture of three solvents is needed. Many people have their favorite solvents systems and will automatically start with these and adjust the mix as needed. Common solvents and solvent systems are given in Tab. 1. Table 1. Common solvents and solvent systems for column and flash chromatography. To get a good separation between your product and any impurities and, where possible, to use as little solvent as possible, the key is to test potential solvent systems before setting up your column. To do this, you will need to run thin layer chromatography (TLC) using glass or aluminium sheets coated with silica (the aluminium sheets are cheaper, so are more common). To Run a Test TLC You will need: Scissors/Stanley knife/box cutter Glass container such as a small beaker with watch glass or petri dish as a lid Solvent(s) to be tested Capillary TLC spotter or micropipette (see: How to Make a Capillary TLC Spotter) UV lamp or potassium permanganate dip to visualize You can now determine whether your sample components will separate in the selected solvent. If you get poor separation, choose another solvent system and try again. What is Good Separation?/What Am I Looking For on my TLC? The end result should be a solvent system that moves the target compound about 1/3 of the total solvent path (Rf value between 0.25 and 0.35, Fig. 1). Figure 1. Typical TLC plate layout and definition of Rf value. A solvent system that gives an Rf between 0.25 and 0.35 is recommended as it gives the sample time to equilibrate on the column and thereby be fully resolved into all its component parts. Don't be tempted to use a solvent system with a higher Rf – especially if this is the only solvent system you have tested – as a fast elution can result in an impurity being masked by another spot (Fig. 2). Figure 2. Choice between fast elution (left) and missing a hidden impurity (right). While it is possible for a spot to have a Rf that is too high, the opposite is also true if the desired compound is one of the later-eluting spots. Here it is possible for the spot to be too slow-moving (low Rf). Fig. 3 shows the desired spot barely moves off the baseline while the impurities race ahead. You may be tempted to use this solvent system to avoid the potential contamination that comes with a worse separation but a higher Rf for your product. This will normally prove to be a mistake. The longer your compound spends on the column, the more chance it has to degrade and the less product you will recover. Trying to isolate a compound with a low Rf value will also take a long time and a lot of solvent. In this case, it is better to attempt a slightly messier separation and use more silica (see below). Figure 3. Clean separation (left) versus faster elution (right) when product is second spot. When you have found a solvent system that gives reasonable separation, you should take a few moments to look at the shape of the spots. Ideally, the spots should be round and distinct from each other (Fig. 4, 1). Spots with long tails on a TLC plate can translate to wide bands and possibly to overlapping compounds on the actual column. If you have tried several solvent systems and cannot find one that gives perfectly round spots, don't worry. As long as the separation between the spots is good (Fig. 4, 2), you will still get good separation on the column. In situation 3 i

Basic Concepts in Genetics First of all, just what is a gene, anyway? The answer is not as simple as you might think, even if you took genetics in school. Next, a more general look at molecular biology. Understanding the nature

Basic Concepts in Genetics First of all, just what is a gene, anyway? The answer is not as simple as you might think, even if you took genetics in school. Next, a more general look at molecular biology. Understanding the nature of information flow in genetics is important, but it seems to be changing by the day. You may be curious about how genes are sequenced. This short post gives a brief introduction. Or better yet, follow the links for some educational videos on modern gene sequencing and other bio-lab magic tricks. More links to this series are available here.

Interpreting the Geologic History of Canyon de Chelly This is a two-part lesson designed to give secondary Earth Science teachers an opportunity to experience what it is like to be a field geologist. Teachers will combine field observations with information given

Interpreting the Geologic History of Canyon de Chelly This is a two-part lesson designed to give secondary Earth Science teachers an opportunity to experience what it is like to be a field geologist. Teachers will combine field observations with information given in the lesson to interpret the geologic history of Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. Part one of the lesson occurs in the classroom with an overview of the regional geology and a review of some basic geologic concepts. Part two occurs in the field where teachers make observations about rock type, unconformities, structures, and erosion. The lesson concludes with a discussion about interpretation of data and multiple hypotheses. Higher-order Thinking Skills: Students will integrate several different geologic concepts with their observations to interpret the geologic history of the area. Students will think critically about multiple hypotheses and determine if they make sense given the available data. Other goal: To give teachers and students an opportunity to experience doing geologic field work and using the scientific method as it applies to the geosciences. Methods of Geoscience - Making detailed observations in the field. - Development of hypotheses based on observations. - Comparison of data and hypotheses to present knowledge base. Context for Use Description and Teaching Materials - Background and Instructional Procedures for Interpreting the Geologic History of Canyon de Chelly (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 132kB May10 12) Teaching Notes and Tips References and Resources - Stratigraphy of Canyon de Chelly National Monument. - National Park Service geology handout of Canyon de Chelly. - Overview of the geologic history of the Colorado Plateau. - National Park Service overview of Colorado P

Robert S. Dietz Robert Sinclair Dietz (September 14, 1914 – May 19, 1995) was a scientist with the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. Dietz was a marine geologist, ge

Robert S. Dietz Robert Sinclair Dietz (September 14, 1914 – May 19, 1995) was a scientist with the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. Dietz was a marine geologist, geophysicist and oceanographer who conducted pioneering research along with Harry Hammond Hess concerning seafloor spreading, published as early as 1960–1961. While at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography he observed the nature of the Emperor chain of seamounts that extended from the northwest end of the Hawaiian Island–Midway chain and speculated over lunch with Robert Fisher in 1953 that something must be carrying these old volcanic mountains northward like a conveyor belt. In later work he became interested in meteorite impacts, was the first to recognize the Sudbury Basin as an ancient impact event, and discovered a number of other impact craters. He championed the use of shatter cones as evidence for ancient impact structures. He received the Walter H. Bucher Medal from the American Geophysical Union in 1971, the Barringer Medal from the Meteoritical Society in 1985 and the Penrose Medal from the Geological Society of America in 1988. Dietz was an outspoken critic of creationism, and was the faculty advisor of two student groups at Arizona State University in 1985, Americans Promoting Evolution Science (APES) and the Phoenix Skeptics. Dietz spoke on evolution and creationism at meetings of these groups, and debated creationist Walter Brown and Christian apologist William Lane Craig at Arizona State University. Robert S. Dietz lectures The ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration sponsors annual Robert S. Dietz Memorial Public Lectures, which have been given by: - 2006 National Center for Science Education Executive Director Eugenie Scott - 2007 NASA Astronaut John M. Grumsfeld - 2011 John Grotzinger, Caltech - Dietz, Robert S. (1994). "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Life and Times of a Journeyman Geologist". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 22: 1–32. Bibcode:1994AREPS..22....1D. doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.22.050194.000245. - Dietz, Robert S.; John C. Holden (scientific illustrator) (1987). Creation/Evolution Satiricon: Creationism Bashed. Winthrop, WA: Bookmaker. - Dietz, Robert S. (Nov.-Dec. 1983). "In Defense of Drift". The Sciences 23: 26. - Dietz, Robert S. (1964). Sudbury Structure as an Astrobleme. University of Chicago. - Dietz, Robert S. (3 June 1961). "Continent and Ocean Basin Evolution by Spreading of the Sea Floor". Nature 190 (4779): 854–857. Bibcode:1961Natur.190..854D. doi:10.1038/190854a0. - Dietz, Robert S. (1954). "Marine geology of northwestern Pacific: description of Japanese bathymetric chart 6901". Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 65 (12): 1199. Bibcode:1954GSAB...65.1199D. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1954)65[1199:MGONPD]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0016-7606. - Menard, Henry W.; Dietz, Robert S. (May 1952). "Mendocino submarine escarpment". Journal of Geology 60 (3): 266–278. Bibcode:1952JG.....60..266M. doi:10.1086/625962. JSTOR 30058194. - Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "Robert Sinclair Diet

PARIS — King Richard I, the 12th century warrior whose bravery during the Third Crusade gained him the moniker Lionheart, ended up with a heart full of daisies, as well as myrtle, mint and frankinc

PARIS — King Richard I, the 12th century warrior whose bravery during the Third Crusade gained him the moniker Lionheart, ended up with a heart full of daisies, as well as myrtle, mint and frankincense. Those are among the findings of a French study, announced Thursday, that analyzed the embalmed heart of the English king who died in 1199. The biomedical analysis also uncovered less flowery and spicy elements like creosote, mercury and perhaps lime in the heart, which was kept in the city of Rouen. Despite the embalming ingredients, the heart turned to powder long ago, doubtless because the lead box cradling it wasn't airtight. Study leader Philippe Charlier suggests the flowers and spices were to give the king the "odor of sanctity." The study came out less than a month after British archeologists uncovered the long-lost remains of 15th century King Richard III — a relative but not a direct descendant of Richard I — under a parking lot in Leicester, England. Unlike that ignominious ending, Richard the Lionheart, leader of the Third Crusade, was ceremoniously laid to rest in three places. His entrails were interred in the central French town of Chalus, where he died in a skirmish with a rebellious baron; his body reposes at the Fontevraud Abbey, beside his father, Henry II, and later his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine; and his heart, wrapped in linen, pickled for posterity and placed in a lead box, was sent on to the Cathedral of Rouen. The study was published in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature Publishing Group.

Few things have lubricated the wheels of commerce better than the ability to have virtually any computer talk to any other. But mere connection is not enough. Without a common data-interchange language, programming can be as frustrating as the general contractor's job

Few things have lubricated the wheels of commerce better than the ability to have virtually any computer talk to any other. But mere connection is not enough. Without a common data-interchange language, programming can be as frustrating as the general contractor's job at the Tower of Babel. XML (eXtensible Markup Language) changes that: It completes the Internet. XML creates a universal standard for document and data exchange by describing the logical structure of a document and by creating tags that contain and define data. The XML tag teaches the receiving program how to read the data. As XML adds new tags to HTML, the tags define their content. An entire document can be described with a DTD (document type definition), so a program that has never seen a given document before knows what data to expect and whether it is complete. Increasingly, data is being stored in XML format in databases, because this format eliminates the overhead common to relational databases and creates complex schemas for multiple tables that can work across products and platforms. And there's the rub. When you package your data definitions along with your data, you're giving anyone who can access the data the keys to the castlethe content as well as the context. You're also extending the HTML, giving it new power, including opening potential security holes. Securing XML Data Data contained in XML tags needs to be secured in transit over the Internet, just like any other transaction. SSL and HTTPS are sufficient for most transactions, and companies routinely add their own further encryption for the stuff that really needs it. But crooks are far less likely to target packets in motion than the XML data residing on your servers. High-end database products have plenty of encryption and authorization tools. Factor in proper site security and data is reasonably safe. And raw data may not be all that useful without a schema. XML, by contrast, is usually much more exposed, often intermixed with HTML documents and other textlike files. Forum Systems (www.forumsys.com) has come up with an XML se

Origins and the first mail coach When a public postal service was first introduced in 1635, letters were carried between 'posts' by mounted post-boys and delivered to the local postmaster. The postmaster would then take out the

Origins and the first mail coach When a public postal service was first introduced in 1635, letters were carried between 'posts' by mounted post-boys and delivered to the local postmaster. The postmaster would then take out the letters for his area and hand the rest to another post-boy to carry them on to the next 'post'. This was a slow process and the post-boys were an easy target for robbers, but the system remained unchanged for almost 150 years. John Palmer, a theatre owner from Bath, had organised a rapid carriage service to transport actors and props between theatres and he believed that a similar scheme could improve the postal service. In 1782, Palmer sold his theatre interests, and went to London to lobby The Post Office. Despite resistance from senior Post Office staff, who believed the speed of the mail could not be improved, William Pitt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, accepted the idea. An experimental mail coach journey, undertaken at Palmer's expense, started from Bristol on 2 August 1784, at 4pm. It reached London at 8am the next day, exactly on schedule. A journey that had taken up to 38 hours now took just 16. Extension of the service The success of the trial led Pitt to authorise other mail coach routes and by spring 1785, coaches from London served Norwich, Liverpool and Leeds. By the end of that year there were services to Dover, Portsmouth, Poole, Exeter, Gloucester, Worcester, Holyhead and Carlisle, and by 1786, the service had also reached Edinburgh. That same year, Palmer was made Surveyor and Comptroller General of the Post Office. Method of operation The mail coach, horses and the driver were all provided by contractors. Competition for the contracts was fierce because it meant status and a regular income in addition to passenger fares. The first mail coaches were poorly built but an improved patented coach, designed by John Besant, was adopted by The Post Office in 1787. Besant, later in partnership with John Vidler of Millbank, enjoyed the monopoly of supplying the coaches. Every morning, when coaches reached London, they were taken to a constructor's works, usually Vidler’s, to be cleaned and oiled. In the afternoon, they were returned to the coaching inns, where horses were hitched up for journeys to all parts of the country. Outside London, coaches also made journeys between the main post towns. The average speed of the coaches was usually 7-8 mph in summer and about 5 mph in winter, but with improvements to the quality of the roads, it had risen to 10 mph by the time Queen Victoria came to the throne. Mail coach guards The only Post Office employee aboard the mail coach was the guard. He was heavily armed, carrying two pistols and a blunderbuss. He wore an official uniform of a black hat with a gold band and a scarlet coat with blue lapels and gold braid. He also had a timepiece, regulated in London to keep pace with the differences in local time, and recorded the coach’s arrival and departure times at each stage of the journey. The guard sounded a horn to warn other road users to keep out of the way and to signal to toll-keepers to let the coach through. As the coach travelled through towns or villages where it was not due to stop, the guard would throw out the bags of letters to the Letter Receiver or Postmaster. At the same time, the guard would snatch from him the outgoing bags of mail. One guard, Moses N

Why is this National Indicator important? Scotland's greatest asset is its people. Scotland's capacity to become a more successful country in the rapidly changing global, innovation driven economy will be significantly influenced by the skills of its people. Continuing to develop a highly

Why is this National Indicator important? Scotland's greatest asset is its people. Scotland's capacity to become a more successful country in the rapidly changing global, innovation driven economy will be significantly influenced by the skills of its people. Continuing to develop a highly, relevantly skilled population, whether in schools, colleges, universities, communities or workplaces, and ensuring this talent and ability is applied effectively in sustainable employment is essential to improving productivity and sustainable economic growth. It is recognised that a low skills level reduces an individual's opportunities and life chances. Improving skills is an effective way of promoting the health and well-being of individuals, improving the satisfaction and security of work and supporting the fabric of communities. As such, it is essential to provide opportunities and choices for people to develop their skills, helping them to be more successful individually and improving the opportunities for Scotland to realise its full economic potential through increased participation and productivity. It is important to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enhance their skills, particularly those most distant from the labour market, and enjoy levels of physical and mental health that allow them to maximise their individual potential. These enhancements are essential to achieving our cohesion, solidarity and sustainability ambitions for Scotland. What will influence this National Indicator? Four key priority themes, for action to improve the skills and employability of individuals, have been identified in the 2010 Skills for Scotland strategy refresh. These themes are: - empowering people to ensure they have the opportunity to access the right advice, support and opportunities to acquire the skills and attributes to both contribute to and benefit from future economic success - supporting employers by better understanding and assessing the skills they need for future success, and ensuring that the supply of skills, training and qualifications can be responsive to this - simplifying the skills system to ensure that it is more coherent and easy to understand for individuals and employers - strengthening partnerships and collective responsibility between public, private and third sectors to help improve skills and the contribution they make towards achieving Scotland's social and economic aspirations What is the Government's role? Through its Skills Strategy and the Curriculum for Excellence, the Government, Education Scotland and Skills Development Scotland supports local authorities, employers, colleges, adult learning and training providers and schools in providing a framework for learning and teaching. The Curriculum for Excellence encourages the development of knowledge, skills and attributes for learning, life and work for all pupils at school and establishes expectations that all school leavers have developed these skills and behaviours. A key priority is to support employers by better understanding and assessing the skills required for future success, and ensuring that the supply of skills, training and qualifications is sufficiently responsive. Skills Development Scotland has a key role to play in both delivering services that support individuals and employers, and working across the skills and learning system to respond to demand. Adult literacy and numeracy provision is offered by colleges, local authorities, third sector organisations and others. Education Scotland leads on the implementation of Adult Literacies in Scotland 2020: Strategic Guidance (Jan 2011), which provides the framework for adult literacy and numeracy provision in colleges, local authorities, third sector organisations and others. How is Scotland performing? The proportion of adults aged 16-64 with low or no qualifications (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Level 4 or below) shows an overall reduction since 2004. The latest figures also show a reduction in the proportion of adults aged 16-64 with low or no qualifications from 13.9% in 2011 to 13.0% in 2012. SCQF level 4 refers to qualifications at a level at or equivalent to Intermediate level 1 and General Standard Grade. The data for this chart is available at t

Parents and Education: Career Day in Preschools and Kindergarten Parents and education go hand-in-hand. Guardians and teachers should work together to educate children at home and at school. When parents actively participate at school, they act as good role

Parents and Education: Career Day in Preschools and Kindergarten Parents and education go hand-in-hand. Guardians and teachers should work together to educate children at home and at school. When parents actively participate at school, they act as good role models for their child and others. They show that volunteering and helping others can be rewarding for classrooms, teachers, and others. During preschool years, teachers sometimes work themes about occupations into classroom activities. Parents can help teach children about careers by sharing their knowledge and experiences. Teachers can set up times for a career fest, inviting parents to sign up and take part in the classroom. When parents come into school, they should wear their work attire. If they can, they should bring along any special work tools or equipment to show what they do at work. For example, a nurse might bring a stethoscope so children can listen to each other's heartbeats, or a beautician might bring rollers and clips to demonstrate how to set hair. It's all about the presentation. One-on-one experiences help preschoolers understand community service. This is where parents and education fit into the larger picture of volunteering. If a parent's work environment permits, a field trip can be a rewarding treat. If the parent is a pilot, for example, he may be able to invite the class to view the inside of an airplane and the control room. A veterinarian could let the class tour the animal hospital and see recuperating animals. Children absorb so much information through life experiences. Later, they can role-play what they learned in a class play. Parents and education are important to a community. There are numerous ways parents can help in their child's school through United Way programs. Parents with time to spare should think about becoming a mentor, volunteer reader, or tutor in their child's school. It's all about giving back! comments powered by Disqus

The figure above shows the WISE response per photon. It should be the quantum efficiency times the transmission of the optics, beamsplitters and filters. Data files containing the wavelength in microns, the response, and the uncertainty in the response in

The figure above shows the WISE response per photon. It should be the quantum efficiency times the transmission of the optics, beamsplitters and filters. Data files containing the wavelength in microns, the response, and the uncertainty in the response in parts per thousand are available for W1, W2, W3 and W4. These Relative Spectral Response curves were constructed from measurements of the whole system supplemented by component measurements and the expected value from the design. The latter two are assumed to have a relative error of 1000 parts per thousand, while the end-to-end measurements can have higher weight if there was adequate SNR in the calibration setup.

Charles III, byname Charles The Fat, French Charles Le Gros, German Karl Der Dicke (born 839, Bavaria?—died Jan. 13, 888, Neidingen), Frankish king and emperor,

Charles III, byname Charles The Fat, French Charles Le Gros, German Karl Der Dicke (born 839, Bavaria?—died Jan. 13, 888, Neidingen), Frankish king and emperor, whose fall in 887 marked the final disintegration of the empire of Charlemagne. (Although he controlled France briefly, he is usually not reckoned among the kings of France). The youngest son of Louis the German and great-grandson of Charlemagne, Charles became king of Swabia on his father’s death in 876; in 879, on the resignation of his sick brother Carloman (died 880), he took over the kingdom of Italy. He was crowned emperor by Pope John VIII in 881. Saxony fell to Charles on the death of his brother Louis the Younger (882), and Charles became king of all the East Franks. Then, on the deaths of the West Frankish kings Louis III (882) and Carloman (884), Charles reunited (885) under his rule the empire of Charlemagne with the exception of Provence, where the usurper Boso had set up a kingdom for himself. Charles, afflicted by illness, was listless in his du

Choosing an e-reader for your kids Friday, December 07, 2012 Q: Is an e-reader a good gift for a child? A: There are many educational benefits for kids who read on an electronic device-in fact thousands

Choosing an e-reader for your kids Friday, December 07, 2012 Q: Is an e-reader a good gift for a child? A: There are many educational benefits for kids who read on an electronic device-in fact thousands of schools across the country are using e-readers to help cultivate a love for reading and build literacy skills. Built-in dictionaries, read-aloud options, word games and access to a wide variety of reading materials online are just a few of the benefits. For really young kids, an electronic learning toy can be a good choice. The InnoTab2 from VTech, for instance, features kid-friendly e-reading programs, along with a video camera, MP3 player, calendar and games. Designed for kids as young as 3, tech learning toys mimic traditional tablets, have a touch screen and retail for about $80. Kids a little older may benefit from a basic e-reader like the Kindle or Nook. The Kindle Fire offers a scratch-resistant screen and games and apps from the Amazon AppStore for about $160. The Nook HD from Barnes & Noble costs about $200 and provides access to more than two million books, magazines and kids books. Other e-readers include the Sony Reader, Kobo Touch and Kobo Mini. The iPad and iPad Mini can also serve as e-readers. How can you choose which is right for you child? Take a close look at these considerations when comparing gadgets: - Color appeal. While the Nook and Kindle both offer less expensive black and white display models, younger children especially will be interested in color displays. Consider how picture books and literacy games will be affected when deciding between black and white and color displ

Introduction to Hyperbolic and Spherical Geometry Date: 06/01/2004 at 19:27:14 From: Alisha Subject: non-euclidian geometries I know that in hyperbolic geometry,

Introduction to Hyperbolic and Spherical Geometry Date: 06/01/2004 at 19:27:14 From: Alisha Subject: non-euclidian geometries I know that in hyperbolic geometry, the sum of the angle measures of a triangle is less than 180 degrees. But I don't understand why that is. Can you explain it in a way that a 9th grader can understand? Date: 06/01/2004 at 21:05:54 From: Doctor Tom Subject: Re: non-euclidian geometries Hello Alisha, I'll take a shot at explaining it to you. One way to think of hyperbolic geometry is as the geometry that you would see if you lived on a hyperbolic surface. Without being mathematically exact, think about the surface of a saddle for a horse: it slopes up in front and behind you and down where your legs go. The surface of a saddle is rougly the same as a hyperbolic surface. Now imagine that you are an ant on the saddle, and you want to walk between two points on the surface by the shortest possible route. Although we humans can see that the ant is not moving in a perfectly Euclidean straight line, it is moving along a curved path that is the shortest for it. That path will be called a "straight line" in hyperbolic geometry. This makes sense, since one way to think of a straight line is as the shortest distance between two points. Now imagine three points on the saddle A, B and C and imagine that the ant walks in hyperbolic straight lines from A to B, then from B to C and finally, from C back to A. This path will trace out a triangle in hyperbolic geometry. But if we as humans look at the path, to us, it will seem to be like a triangle with the middle parts of the lines bent in toward the center. Thus the angles at the tips will be less than what they are for our Euclidean triangles. Since each will be less than the Euclidean angle, if you add all three, the sum will be less than the sum on a Euclidean triangle, or less than 180 degrees. If you have trouble visualizing paths like this on a saddle, try doing it on a sphere (like the surface of the earth. This will be spherical geometry, which is sort of the opposite of hyperbolic geometry. In spherical geometry, the sum of the angles of a triangle will be more than 180 degrees. To see why, imagine the following route: Start at the north pole, and go south along the prime meridian through Greenwich, England down to the equator in or near Africa. Now take a 90 degree turn and go 1/4 of the way around the earth, about to the Galapagos islands off the coast of Ecuador. Turn 90 degrees and go due north to the north pole. You will arrive there and your arrival and departure paths from the pole will make a 90 degree angle. Thus you've traced out a "triangle" of three shortest paths, and each angle of that triangle is 90 degrees, for a total of 270 -- much more than 180 degrees. By choosing triangles carefully on the surface of the earth, you can make them have a sum of angles of any size less than 540 degrees total. On a hyperbolic surface, the sum of the three angles of a triangle can similarly be made quite small (with a very big saddle, of course). - Doctor Tom, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ Search the Dr. Math Library: Ask Dr. MathTM © 1994-2013 The Math Forum

Indira, the king of the Devas had Dwashta, son of Sukracharya (Venus planet- the Guru of the demons)) as his Guru. Indira came to know that Dwashta was performing a Yagna

Indira, the king of the Devas had Dwashta, son of Sukracharya (Venus planet- the Guru of the demons)) as his Guru. Indira came to know that Dwashta was performing a Yagna for the demons and killed him and thus incurred the sin called Brahmmahati dosha. In order to cleanse himself of the sin, Indira wandered among the various Shiva Kshetras worshipping the Lord for relief from the dosha. Guru, planet Jupiter advised him to go this place and worship Lord Shiva. Even as Indira was entering the borders of this place, he got relieved from his sin. Hence, the place came to be known as Papanasam – meaning destroying sins and the Lord as Papanasanathar. Land of Sun: Sage Romasa sought the advice of his Guru Agasthya to choose places on the banks of Tambiraparani for installing Shivalingas. The teacher told the disciple to throw flowers used for Shiva Puja on the river, and do the installations where the flowers reached the shores. Romasa threw lotus flowers as advised on the river, nine of which reached the bank at various places and Papanasam was the first. Planets are nine, therefore, they were named Nava (nine) Kailash each attributed to one planet. Sun being the first in the planets, Papanasam is attached to Sun known as Surya Kailash. Mukkila Lingam: Lord Papanasa Natha graces as Rudraksha in the sanctum sanctorum and also under the Mukkila tree in the corridor-prakara. It is said that three Vedas – Rig, Yajur and Sama – were the Kila trees offering shadow to the Lord and Atharvana Veda was the space. T

The Voynich Manuscript has been dubbed "The Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World". It is considered a Manuscript codex and dates to the early 15th century (1404-1438), possibly created in northern Italy

The Voynich Manuscript has been dubbed "The Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World". It is considered a Manuscript codex and dates to the early 15th century (1404-1438), possibly created in northern Italy. It is named after the book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in 1912. Some pages are missing, but there are now about 240 vellum pages, most with illustrations. It's size is 23.5 by 16.2 by 5 centimetres (9.3 by 6.4 by 2.0 in). Much of the manuscript resembles herbal manuscripts of the 1500s, seeming to present illustrations and information about plants and their possible uses for medical purposes. However, most of the plants do not match known species, and the manuscript's script and language remain unknown. Possibly some form of encrypted ciphertext, the Voynich manuscript has been studied by many professional and amateur cryptographers, including American and British codebreakers from both World War I and World War II. It has defied all decipherment attempts, becoming a famous case of historical cryptology. The mystery su

- According to the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) guidelines, currently the blood tests widely used, ELISA and Western Blot, are not always reliable to make a definitive diagnosis of Lyme disease. - The accuracy of testing to

- According to the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) guidelines, currently the blood tests widely used, ELISA and Western Blot, are not always reliable to make a definitive diagnosis of Lyme disease. - The accuracy of testing to support the Lyme diagnosis depends on a number of variables including the specificity and sensitivity of the tests and the types of tests used. - Most tests currently available are indirect detection tests (the immune system’s response to the disease), and look for antibodies to Lyme disease spirochetes, not the bacteria. - The diagnosis should be a clinical one based upon signs and symptoms, tick exposure and evaluation of test results. - Currently, no tests can rule out Lyme disease. A person can test negative, but still have Lyme disease. - Treatment protocols can vary due to duration of undetected infection, presence of co-infections, individual’s immune system response and genetic predisposition. - Oral, intravenous and intramuscular medications may be used in the treatment of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. - Prophylactic (preventive) treatment should be considered when bitten by a tick in a Lyme endemic area because left untreated the bacteria can cause severe, multi-system manifestations including cardiac, arthritic and neurologic abnormalities as well as meningitis. - It is important to note that: - Up to 40% of ticks tested in some areas of Connecticut are positive for Lyme disease (CT Agricultural Experiment Station—Tick Management Handbook, published 2004). - Because the nymph tick is difficult to detect due to its tiny size, most Lyme disease cases are associated with the bite of a nymphal stage of the blacklegged tick, of which 10-36% may be infected with Lyme disease spirochetes. Adult ticks are larger and thus easier to find, but do have a higher infection rate, up to 60% in Lyme endemic areas (CT Agricultural Experiment Station—Tick Management Handbook, published 2004). The enclosed information and materials are provided for information purposes only. The material (a) is not nor should be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor (b) does it necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of Time For Lyme, Inc. or any of its directors, officers, advisors or volunteers. Advice on the testing, treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient’s medical history.

24. Sphagnum atlanticum R. E. Andrus, Bryologist. 110: 274, figs. 2007. Plants robust and weak-stemmed; green, golden brown to dark brown;

24. Sphagnum atlanticum R. E. Andrus, Bryologist. 110: 274, figs. 2007. Plants robust and weak-stemmed; green, golden brown to dark brown; capitulum often flat-topped and with a visible terminal bud; flaccid and plumose in submerged forms to more compact in emergent or stranded forms. Stems green to brown; superficial cortex of 1-2 layers of moderately thick-walled and poorly differentiated cells. Stem leaves triangular, large, less than 1.7 mm, mostly appressed to stem, apex weakly apiculate to narrowly obtuse; hyaline cells efibrillose and seldom to often septate at base and sides. Branches unranked, long and tapering, leaves greatly elongate at distal end. Branch fascicles with 2 spreading and 2 pendent branches. Branch stem green, cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. Branch leaves ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate in aquatic forms, ovate to ovate-lanceolate in emergent forms, greater than 2.5 mm, often falcate-secund, especially in submerged forms, weakly undulate and recurved when dry; margin entire, hyaline cells on convex surface with 0-1 pores per cell, concave surface with round wall thinnings in the cell apices and angles; chlorophyllous cells narrowly triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on the concave surface. Sexual condition dioicous. Sporophytes not seen. Forming loose carpets in pools in weakly minerotrophic fens; low elevations; N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S.; Conn., Del., Maine, Md., Mass., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Pa., R.I., Vt., Va. Sporophytes of Sphagnum atlanticum are rare. The other large North American Atlantic coastal plain species of sect. Cuspidata, S. torreyanum, is typically more yellow, has a more rounded capitulum, and has straight rather than subsecund branch leaves.

Materialism is a dirty word. It also gets a bad rap in psychology. Studies consistently show that people who agree with statements like “You will buy things just because you want them,” tend to be: - Less satisfied with life, - Less

Materialism is a dirty word. It also gets a bad rap in psychology. Studies consistently show that people who agree with statements like “You will buy things just because you want them,” tend to be: - Less satisfied with life, - Less happy, - More likely to be depressed, - More likely to be paranoid, - More likely to be narcissistic. Not a pretty picture, right? But, just like studies examining the connection between success and happiness, many of the findings are correlational. As a result we can’t say for sure that materialism causes all these things, only that they’re associated. So, for better evidence, cue the experiment. Experiential versus material purchases Leaf Van Boven from the University of Colorado and Thomas Gilovich from Cornell University carried out an intriguing experiment that gets at this question of whether materialism results in less happiness (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003). They randomly divided students into two groups and gave each group slightly different instructions: - This group was asked to write a description of a material purchase that had made them happy. Material purchases include things like clothing, gadgets, computers and so on. This could be either something they had bought themselves or that had been bought for them. - The task this group had was only slightly different. They were asked to write a description of an experiential purchase that had given them pleasure. Examples of experiential purchases are meals out, admission tickets to concerts and travel. To see how they were feeling in the moment, participants were given surreptitious measures both before and after writing these short descriptions. Then, after about a week, the same participants were given back their own descriptions of their purchases and asked to reflect on it. Again, they were asked to report on their feelings in the moment. Comparing these two groups provided a way of comparing how participants felt about two different types of purchases. The results showed that participants felt better when they were contemplating their experiential purchases than their material purchases. Thinking about experience As a result of this experiment, Van Boven & Gilovich predicted that people spend more time overall contemplating their experiential rather than material purchases. To test this out they asked participants to think about experiential and material purchases they were particularly happy with. Then they were asked which they thought about more often. The results clearly showed it was the experiential purchases people thought about more often (83%). Why do experiences fare better than possessions? It seems, then, that at some level we understand that our experiential purchases give us more pleasure than our material purchases. But why is that? Van Boven (2005) suggests three reasons: 1. Experiences improve with time (possessions don’t). The reason why experiences improve with time may be because it is possible to think about experiences in a more abstract manner than possessions. For example if you think back to a fantastic summer from your youth, you might easily remember an abstract sense of warm sunshine and exuberance, but you’re less likely to remember exactly what you did day-by-day. On a moment-by-moment basis you might have been quite bored, although you’ll tend not to remember that. Material possessions are harder to think about in an abstract sense. The car you bought is still a car, that great new jacket you picked up cheap is still just a jacket. It’s more likely the experience of that summer has taken on a symbolic meaning that can live longer in your memory than a possession. 2. Experiences are resistant to unfavourable comparisons It’s well established that social comparisons can have a huge effect on how we view what might seem like positive events. One striking example is the finding that people prefer to earn $50,000 a year while everyone else earns $25,000, instead of earning $100,000 themselves and h

"Now if it happens again, we'll know what to do." That's the startling and sobering conclusion one student at P.S. 234 in New York City reached while reflecting on the chaos and terror of last September 11. When the

"Now if it happens again, we'll know what to do." That's the startling and sobering conclusion one student at P.S. 234 in New York City reached while reflecting on the chaos and terror of last September 11. When the first plane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45 a.m., it was the beginning of the day at the beginning of the academic year for a class of fourth-graders whose public school is just four blocks from ground zero. For many of these children, it was a day when they started learning lessons usually reserved for adults. National Geographic EXPLORER tells the story of that day through the eyes of these students in a prime-time TV documentary, Growing Up at Ground Zero. Reliving the Day The EXPLORER team and National Geographic Kids magazine spent six months in teacher Pat Carney's fourth-grade classroom capturing the memories and documenting the resilience of these young children. Amber Wong was late for school that day and saw the first plane hit the building. "I had to explain to my mom what happened," she relates. At that time, what had happened was still unknownwhether the gaping hole in the tower was the result of an explosion, an accident, or a deliberate act were all possibilities. As news gradually filtered through the school, and a second plane crashed into the south tower, the anxiety of not knowing what was happening escalated. Parents who were nearby raced to the school, described the situation to teacher Pat Carney, and grabbed their kids and fled as flames and smoke poured out of the gaping holes in the twin towers.

DIKE STRENGTH MONITORING SYSTEM A smart dike is a dike that continually checks autonomously whether it is under threat, informing various users accordingly. Various components have already been developed for this new type of water defence, both

DIKE STRENGTH MONITORING SYSTEM A smart dike is a dike that continually checks autonomously whether it is under threat, informing various users accordingly. Various components have already been developed for this new type of water defence, both as part of Flood Control 2015 and in other projects. This project will appraise the technical feasibility of developing these techniques further in an integrated ‘smart dikes concept’. The concrete objectives are the identification and implementation of the boundary conditions for the application of the concept, including the development of models for various failure mechanisms, real-time dike monitoring with reliability analysis and the integration of remote sensing methods. The five sub-projects are closely interrelated and they implement the concept in a modular and flexible ICT platform. In parallel with the project, the development is continuing of the monitoring system based on research at the Smart Dike, the Eemsdijk and the dike bordering the Juliana Canal. - Development of a Smart Dike concept - Model development for the slope stability and piping mechanism based on IJkdijk test data - Long-term sensor measurements at the Eemsdijk site - Full-surface measurements with Remote Sensing of the dike along the Juliana Canal - Platform and ICT innovations

The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, by Fabre d'Olivet,, at sacred-texts.com Lysis, after having indicated the route by which Pythagoras conducted his disciples to virtue, goes on to teach them the

The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, by Fabre d'Olivet,, at sacred-texts.com Lysis, after having indicated the route by which Pythagoras conducted his disciples to virtue, goes on to teach them the use that this philosopher wished them to make of this celestial gift, once they had mastered it. Up to this point it is confined in the purgative part of the doctrine of his teacher; he now passes to the unitive part, that is to say, to that which has as object the uniting of man to the Divinity, by rendering him more and more like unto the model of all perfection and of all wisdom, which is God. The sole instrument capable of operating this union has been placed at his disposition by means of the good usage that he has made of his will: it is virtue which must serve him at present to attain truth. Now, Truth is the ultimate goal of perfection: there is nothing beyond it and nothing this side of it but error; light springs from it; it is the soul of God, according to Pythagoras, a and God himself, according to the legislator of the Indians. b The first precept that Pythagoras gave to his disciples on entering the course of perfection tended to turn their thoughts upon themselves, to bring them to interrogate their actions, their thoughts, their discourse, to question the motives, to reflect in short upon their exterior movements and seek thus to know themselves. Knowledge of self was the most important knowledge of al(, that which must conduct them to all others. I will not weary my readers by adding anything to what I have already said pertaining to the importance of this knowledge, and the extreme value set upon it by the ancients. They know unquestionably that the morals of Socrates and the philosophy of Plato were only the development of it and that an inscription in the temple of Greece, that of Delphi, commended it, after that of the golden mean, as the very teaching of the God whom they worshipped there a: Nothing in excess, and know Thyself, contained in few words the doctrine of the sages, and presented for their meditation the principles upon which reposed virtue and wisdom which is its consequence. Nothing further was necessary to electrify the soul of Heraclitus and to develop the germs of genius, which until the moment when he read these two sentences were buried in a cold inertia. I will not pause therefore to pr

There are dozens of myths and stories about tornadoes. Unfortunately, not having the facts and acting on bad information can have deadly consequences. Here is a short list of popular myths about tornadoes, and the correct information (courtesy of NOAA and

There are dozens of myths and stories about tornadoes. Unfortunately, not having the facts and acting on bad information can have deadly consequences. Here is a short list of popular myths about tornadoes, and the correct information (courtesy of NOAA and Wikipedia): Using Highway Overpasses as Shelter Myth: Highway overpasses are adequate shelter if a tornado approaches while you are on a road. The Truth: Sensational footage taken by a television crew hiding from a tornado under an overpass during the 1991 Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak helped to convince some that bridges are good shelters when a tornado is nearby. The members of the television crew (and several other travelers) survived by huddling high underneath the bridge and bracing themselves against support columns while a weak tornado appeared to pass directly over the bridge. In reality, when directly hit by tornadoes, the confined spaces beneath overpasses increase the speed of the winds due to the Venturi effect, and thus make them potentially less safe (somewhat like being in a windtunnel). In the case of the Andover tornado footage, it was discovered that the tornado did not pass directly over the bridge, but instead over the ground slightly south of the bridge and camera crew, exposing them to much weaker winds. Tornado Behavior Myth: I don’t have to worry about skinny tornadoes, only the fat or big ones are strong. The Truth: A lethal myth. In the first place all tornadoes are dangerous, and should never be dissmissed as “not powerful”. Secondly, although large tornadoes are generally more powerful, this is not always the case. There have been many instances where “classic” funnels (normal size) or even skinny funnels were deadly F-4 or F-5 tornadoes, where-as a large 1/2 mile wide “wedge” tornado (which make up a lot of F-4 or F-5′s) might be an F-3. So the width of a tornado is not a good indicator of how powerful it is, and all tornadoes should be taken very seriously. Myth: Tornadoes don’t happen at night. The Truth: Not only is this a fatal myth, but tornadoes at night are among the most dangerous of all, since most people are asleep and don’t hear the warnings when they happen. It is true that the vast majority of tornadoes happen in the daytime, generally in the late afternoon during the high heating of the day, but tornadoes can and do happen at anytime of the day or night. Myth: Twisters are attracted to mobile homes and/or trailer parks. The Truth: Trailer parks consist of low-cost mobile homes with less structural integrity than traditional houses. A weak storm that leaves little damage to well-built structures might devastate a trailer park. Mobile homes do not attract tornadoes; they are just more susceptible to damage from them. Myth: Tornadoes cannot form near rivers or cross them, Tornadoes cannot follow terrain into steep valleys, Tornadoes cannot travel over steep hills or mountains. Some places like cities and downtown areas are safe from tornadoes. The Truth: Tornadoes can, do, and have struck all of the above. Among the many tornadoes that have crossed rivers is the most deadly tornado in US History: the Tri-State Tornado, which crossed the Mississippi River and strengthened into an F5. All of the tornadoes from the Super Outbreak that struck in NC struck in the mountains, including an F4 near Murphy, NC that crossed a 3,000 ft. ridge. Finally, there have been many tornadoes that struck downtown areas, including the F5 that devastated Moore, OK in 1999. Home Safety in a Tornado Myth: Most tornado damage is due to the low pressure in the tornado causing the house to explode. Opening your windows or doors while a tornado approaches will equalize atmospheric pressure and help prevent property damage. The Truth: Since windows are typically the most fragile external feature of a house, they are in more danger from flying debris. Opening them during an active tornado wastes time and effort that could be spent on other, more useful protective measures. Homes do not “explode” when hit by a tornado, though it often appears so. Commonly, a tornado will break the windows first, allowing strong winds to enter the home. These winds may then push on the underside of the roof upwards, blowing it off. Without the roof, the walls lose structural support and will often fall outwards. Observing the wreckage after the collapse may give the impression the house was pushed apart from the inside. Other ways a house may be perceived to have been “blown apart” is from the winds pushing up against the roof where it meets the walls, ripping the roof off, and causi

Trauma to the nasal septum may result in the development of a hematoma. The mucoperichondrium provides the vascular supply to the septal cartilage. Bleeding may lift the mucoperichondrium from the cartilage creating

Trauma to the nasal septum may result in the development of a hematoma. The mucoperichondrium provides the vascular supply to the septal cartilage. Bleeding may lift the mucoperichondrium from the cartilage creating a hematoma. Since the hematoma lifts the mucoperichondrium, the cartilage is deprived from blood supply. If left untreated it may result in cartilage necrosis with subsequent nasal dorsum depression (“saddle nose” deformity), or septal perforation. Treatment of septal hematoma is performed via small incisions through the mucoperichondrium to evacuate the blood. After the drainage the nose is packed or quilting stitches are put in. Silicone stents can also be used to prevent re-accumulation of the hematoma. The quilting stitch is a running absorbable suture that goes back and forth across the septum to assure that the mucoperichondrium is pressed against the cartilage, thereby preventing re-accumulation of blood. Nasal packing is optional. Alternative method: aspiration The hematoma may be aspirated in the office using a needle and a syringe. If adequate drainage is accomplished, the nose is packed for a few days and rechecked at the time of package removal. Note: The hematoma may re-accumulate in which case aspiration drainage can be repeated or a more formal drainage procedure with quilting stitches may be performed.

An alternative to current carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology turns emissions into useable byproducts through a process called carbon mineralization. According to the recent “International Energy Outlook 2011” report, only 15% of the energy

An alternative to current carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology turns emissions into useable byproducts through a process called carbon mineralization. According to the recent “International Energy Outlook 2011” report, only 15% of the energy produced globally is expected to come from renewable energy by 2035, including sources such as hydroelectric power, wind, and solar energy. This forecast echoes what the energy industry has known for some time – worldwide energy production will still rely heavily on fossil fuels. Oil and gas are critical pieces of the world’s energy mix, and governments worldwide are putting increased pressure on companies within the sector to reduce the amount of emissions created during the production process. In the U.S., for example, the Environmental Protection Agency is set to issue tighter emissions legislation over the course of the next year. The cost to comply with these new standards, in addition to other international emissions rules, is increasing the interest from oil and gas companies to explore new and effective clean technology processes that can viably reduce carbon emissions. Carbon Capture Today One meet-in-the-middle technique currently being researched and tested is carbon capture. Despite almost $3.4 billion in Department of Energy financial backing, the U.S. had the largest number of projects cancelled or put on hold in the last year, according to the Global CCS Institute. Eight projects, including ones funded by companies such as Shell and BP, have been delayed or cancelled. The reasons vary from lack of funding and/or going over budget to lack of governmental policy and public support. Despite this, there are promising projects currently in the works. Shell recently received funding from the government of Alberta, Canada, to begin construction on its Quest Project, a CCS plant near the Alberta oil sands. Chevron’s Gorgon Project is the only project in Australia currently in the execution stage. These projects have the potential to reduce the negative impact on the environment and allow for facilities to comply with government emissions mandates. M

little grass frog (Pseudacris ocularis) This species is very small with the males 11.5-15.5 mm and the females 12.0-17.5 mm. The general coloration is variable from

little grass frog (Pseudacris ocularis) This species is very small with the males 11.5-15.5 mm and the females 12.0-17.5 mm. The general coloration is variable from tan, brown, greenish, pink, to reddish, with a dark line passing through the eye and onto the side of the body. There is usually a narrow dark mid-dorsal stripe starting as a triangle between the eyes and extending to the anal region. This species breeds from January to September in shallow grassy ponds. About 100 individual brown and cream eggs are laid on the bottom of ponds and in vegetation in shallow water. Climbing is restricted to low vegetation, and the voice is a tinkling insect-like call, set-see, set-see. This frog is found in southeastern Virginia. It is most often found in moist grassy areas near ponds, bogs, pools or streams in hardwood forests and wooded swamps. Breeding sites are largely restricted to flooded grassy areas including roadside ditches, logged areas, meadows, emergent shrub wetlands, flooded pastures. This frog climbs on low vegetation near shallow ponds in search of insects.

pH Cell Mitigation and Field Trial of New Coatings * What are the problems in regards to repairing and preventing corrosion where exposed steel pipe (buried or above ground) enters or exits a concrete encasement? Need and Benefit

pH Cell Mitigation and Field Trial of New Coatings * What are the problems in regards to repairing and preventing corrosion where exposed steel pipe (buried or above ground) enters or exits a concrete encasement? Need and Benefit A main goal of Reclamation is the conveyance of water. Pipelines used for this purpose are often partially encased in concrete at some point along their length, particularly when near or part of the dam itself. It has been observed at multiple sites with a variety of environments that pipelines exhibit corrosion preferentially at the location where the pipeline enters or exits a concrete encasement. At the Reclamation Facilities Review in Colorado Springs (April 25th, 2006), it was agreed by all of the participants this is a Reclamation-wide problem, and has been observed both on buried and above-ground pipes. The corrosion is caused by a pH cell, because the pH inside the concrete is about 12-14, while the exposed pipe is in an environment with a pH of around 7. In addition, there could also be a gap between the concrete and the pipe at the interface which could lead to crevice corrosion and an oxygen concentration cell. In either case, there exists a difference in the potentials for each region; therefore, corrosion will occur at the interface. This is a common Reclamation-wide problem for which there is no specific solution other than the continual maintenance of the pipelines. Repairs or--in extreme cases--replacement of this area is difficult and expensive due to the concrete encasement, particularly if the pipe is buried. These costs include material and labor, but most importantly down time required to repair the corroded region. The benefit of this research will be to define the extent of the problem within Reclamation. At that point we can address the best methods to solve the problem, looking for inexpensive and simple solutions that can be applied Reclamation-wide. Contact the Principal Investigator for information about these documents. This information was last updated on March 16, 2014 Contact the Research and Development Office with questions or comments about this page

Vitamin B12 is essential to human life. The body cannot make its own supplies and without an adequate dietary supply from animal sources or enriched cereals, up to 20 million people can suffer anaemia, risk nerve damage and even death.

Vitamin B12 is essential to human life. The body cannot make its own supplies and without an adequate dietary supply from animal sources or enriched cereals, up to 20 million people can suffer anaemia, risk nerve damage and even death. Unfortunately, vitamin B12 deficiency can go undetected for several years, remaining invisible to doctors while the likelihood of irreversible cell damage increases. Under EUREKA project E! 2263 HOLOTC, Norwegian diagnostics company Axis Shield teamed up with Danish academics to find a way to pick up early warning signs of potentially harmful B12 deficits. The project pioneered a unique B12 detection system, which tracks concentrations of holotc (short for holo-transcobalamin), a biologically active complex of the vitamin plus a carrier protein. Although the holotc complex carries only 20% of the body's vitamin B12, the other 80% is not nearly as significant since it is effectively not available for uptake by the cells. Current diagnostic techniques measure the total amount of B12 in the blood. Because these tests do not discriminate between holotc and the inactive vitamin, they can misleadingly return a healthy result for patients with too little active B12. Lars Orning, the Project Manager from Axis Shield, says "current methods are technically good, but have low diagnostic sensitivity. The HOLOTC test isolates vitamin B12, enabling early identification of patients with B12 malabsorption." HOLOTC is well on the way to producing a simple, automated, adaptable radio immunoassay which the partners expect will take the largest share of the world market for vitamin B12 diagnostic tests. Ebba Nexo of University Hospital of Aarhus, Denmark, describes how until recently it has not been possible to develop suitable methods to measure holotc. "The early detection of this key indicator has allowed our laboratories to develop measurement prototypes." As a result, "HOLOTC is well on the road to producing simple, adaptable assays which should take the largest share of the world market for vitamin B12 diagnosis." The partners will share the fruits of their success. Axis Shield will market and sell the diagnostic test, while the University of Aarhus will benefit from royalties and sales of essential test materials. The project has received an enthusiastic response from the medical community. Nexo says "I've been invited to give lectures about HOLOTC at several international meetings, and we've received an EU grant to finish the work started under the project. EUREKA has been extremely helpful for us, since it allowed the important progression from pure research to the work needed to make the assay ready for clinical testing." Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009 Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. -- Sir Francis Bacon

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 22, 2012 -- As a producer of a renewable energy source, the Geothermal Electricity Plant Operation industry has lagged behind wind and solar power. According to IBISWorld industry analyst Josh

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 22, 2012 -- As a producer of a renewable energy source, the Geothermal Electricity Plant Operation industry has lagged behind wind and solar power. According to IBISWorld industry analyst Josh McBee, “even though geothermal exhibits a higher availability rate, the viability of this energy being produced on a commercial scale is limited by geography, as deposits of high-temperature subsurface water are required to produce geothermal electricity.” As such, the Geothermal Electricity Plant Operation industry is concentrated in the West region, where major companies like Calpine and Ormat have their operations. The region is led by California, where more than 80.0% of all US geothermal electricity is generated. Despite the geographic limitations of geothermal development, several positive trends have contributed to strong growth during the past five years. First and foremost, unprecedented fiscal stimulus on the part of the US government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created funding initiatives for companies seeking research and development opportunities in geothermal production. In turn, this funding has expanded the ability of industry firms to generate geothermal electricity from previously unavailable sources, which has expanded the geographic reach of development projects. At the same time, the US Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service agreed to open up 245.0 million acres of public lands to geothermal development, which makes it easier for firms in the Geothermal Electricity Plant Operation industry to secure leases for exploratory and construction activities. Last, the growing push for clean energy with regard to environmental protection has made geothermal energy, which is considered a renewable resource, a rising star among its solar- and wind-powered peers. “As renewable portfolio standards in several states mandate a certain ratio of overall energy production to come from renewable sources, industry operators are poised to benefit,” says McBee. Given these favorable operating conditions, IBISWorld estimates industry revenue has increased at an annualized rate of 17.1% during the five years to 2012. Data gathered by the Geothermal Energy Association indicate that the number of projects in the later stages of development will continue to create significant annual gains in overall g

Stomach Upsetting News:Eating Raw Fish and Undercooked Sea Food can Cause Severe Stomach Problems The researchers said that the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood containing Anisakis larvae raises a person's likelihood of getting An

Stomach Upsetting News:Eating Raw Fish and Undercooked Sea Food can Cause Severe Stomach Problems The researchers said that the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood containing Anisakis larvae raises a person's likelihood of getting Anisakiasis, a human parasitic infection. They said that consumers should be aware that while larvae for the parasitic worm Anisakis cannot survive in a human host, the ingested larvae could produce severe intestinal problems warranting a visit to the emergency room. According to them, ingested larvae attach themselves to the tissues lining the stomach and intestines, resulting in sudden abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. As the larvae cannot survive in humans and eventually die, intestinal anisakiasis usually resolves on its own, say the researchers. The two cases examined in Japan pertained to an obstruction of the small intestine. In each case, both patients, aged 64 and 70, were rushed to the emergency room with sudden abdominal pain and vomiting after eating raw sardines as sashimi two days earlier. While anisakiasis in the stomach can be easily diagnosed by endoscopy, it is very difficult to diagnose small intestinal ansakiasis. Upon using a multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT), the doctors examining the two Japanese cases obtained high quality images of the small bowel, and found the intestinal blockage was caused by the presence of Anisakis larvae. They said that fluid replacement and resting immediately relieved the patients' symptoms. Since the symptoms of anisakiasis can mimic other gastrointestinal diseases, it might potentially be misdiagnosed as appendicitis, acute abdomen (peritonitis) or stomach ulcers. "Anisakiasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of small intestinal obstruction," said Dr. Mashahiro Matshushita of Haibara General Hospital

Although you might not know it, your thinking and questioning can be the start of the scientific inquiry process. Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence they gather. If you have ever

Although you might not know it, your thinking and questioning can be the start of the scientific inquiry process. Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence they gather. If you have ever tried to figure out why a plant has wilted, then you have used scientific inquiry. Similarly, you could use scientific inquiry to find out whether there is a relationship between the air temperature and crickets’ chirping. Scientific inquiry often begins with a problem or question about an observation. In the case of the crickets, your question might be: Does the air temperature affect the chirping of crickets? Of course, questions don’t just come to you from nowhere. Instead, questions come from experiences that you have and from observations and inferences that you make. Curiosity plays a large role as well. Think of a time that you observed something unusual or unexpected. Chances are good that your curiosity sparked a number of questions. Some questions cannot be investigated by scientific inquiry. Think about the difference between the two questions below. Does my dog eat more food than my cat? Which makes a better pet—a cat or a dog? The first question is a scientific question because it can be answered by making observations and gathering evidence. For example, you could measure the amount of food your cat and dog each eat during a week. In contrast, the second question has to do with personal opinions or values. Scientific inquiry cannot answer questions about personal tastes or judgments. How could you explain your observation of noisy crickets on that summer night? “Perhaps crickets chirp more when the temperature is higher,” you think. In trying to answer the question, you are in fact developing a hypothesis. A hypothesis (plural: hypotheses) is a possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question. In this case, your hypothesis would be that cricket chirping increases at higher air temperatures. In science, a hypothesis must be testable. This means that researchers must be able to carry out investigations and gather evidence that will either support or disprove the hypothesis. Many trials will be needed before a hypothesis can be accepted as true. To test your hypothesis, you will need to observe crickets at different air temperatures. All other variables, or factors that can change in an experiment, must be exactly the same. Other variables include the kind of crickets, the type of container you test them in, and the type of thermometer you use. By keeping all of these variables the same, you will know that any difference in cricket chirping must be due to temperature alone. An experiment in which only one variable is manipulated at a time is called a controlled experiment. The one variable that is purposely changed to test a hypothesis is called the manipulated variable (also called the independent variable). In your cricket experiment, the manipulated variable is the air temperature. The factor that may change in response to the manipulated variable is called the responding variable (also called the dependent variable). The responding variable here is the number of cricket chirps. Suppose you are designing an experiment to determine whether birds eat a larger number of sunflower seeds or millet seeds. What is your manipulated variable? What is your responding variable? What other variables would you need to control? Another aspect of a well-designed experiment is having clear operational definitions. An operational definition is a statement that describes how to measure a variable or define a term. For example, in this experiment you would need to determine what sounds will count as a single “chirp.” For your experiment, you need a data table in which to record your data. Data are the facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through observations. A data table is an organized way to collect and record observations. After the data have been collected, they need to be interpreted. A graph can help you interpret data. Graphs can reveal patterns or trends in data. Figure 8A Controlled Experiment In their controlled experiment, these students are using the same kind of containers, thermometers, leaves, and crickets. The manipulated variable in this experiment is temperature. The responding variable is the number of cricket chirps per minute at each temperature. Controlling Variables What other variables must the students keep constant in this experiment? A conclusion is a summary of what you have learned from an experiment. In drawing your conclusion, you should ask yourself whether the data support the hypothesis. You also need to consider whether you collected enough data. After reviewing the data, you decide that the evidence supports your original hypothesis. You conclude that cricket chirping does increase with temperature. It’s no wonder that you have trouble sleeping on those warm summer nights! Scientific inquiry usually doesn’t end once a set of experiments is done. Often, a scientific inquiry raises new questions. These new questions can lead to new hypotheses and new experiments. Also, scientific inquiry is not a rigid sequence of steps. Instead, it is a process with many paths, as shown in Figure 9. An important part of the scientific inquiry process is communicating your results. Communicating is the sharing of ideas and experimental findings with others through writing and speaking. Scientists share their ideas in many ways. For example, they give talks at scientific meetings, exchange information on the Internet, and publish articles in scientific journals. When scientists communicate

Nervous breakdown and its indicators A nervous breakdown is a disorder that results out of a prolonged stressful situation, and is basically when one becomes unable to cope with the situation that one may be in. This situation may be financial or even social

Nervous breakdown and its indicators A nervous breakdown is a disorder that results out of a prolonged stressful situation, and is basically when one becomes unable to cope with the situation that one may be in. This situation may be financial or even social, and the prolonged anxiety over the situation may have an effect on the normal life of a person, usually causing one to lose the ability to carry out their daily chores. Is it a nervous breakdown? This may be the question on your mind and it is important to shed some light on this issue, as there are a few symptoms of a nervous breakdown that have been observed across the affected individuals. The first symptoms to occur are usually mental and they affect the normal behavior of a person to a great extent. They include the following: - Loss of sleep, where you may find yourself taking a long time to fall asleep and even when finally the sleep comes, it is not a deep one as the mind is unable to relax. - Constant loss of concentration is an indicator of a nervous breakdown. The mind keeps on wondering and thinking on the disturbing situation and this worsens the already bad situation. - Loss of appetite due to a disturbing issue may also be a symptom of a nervous breakdown, where one loses interest in their favorite delicacies. - A nervous breakdown may also be indicated by loss of the natural sexual desire and also low libido among the affected persons, where it may eventually lead to impotence. - Another key indicator of a nervous breakdown is usually a feeling of desperation and loss of hope in the situation that is affecting an individual. The situation seems like a mountain to the one facing it, and the loss of the will to solve it is usually eminent in the event of a nervous breakdown. Are the symptoms only mental? There are not only mental indicators but also physical indicators of suffering from a nervous breakdown, and these may include, among others, the following: - Uncontrollable shaking of the muscles may occur in some individuals, though many people try to hide it in a bid to evade embarrassment. - A nervous breakdown has an effect on the smooth functioning of the heart. The heartbeat increases due to anxiety or phobia and this may trigger other disorders like high blood pressure. - With a nervous breakdown, the victim usually feels tired most of the times. This is usually as a result on the strain caused by the situation at hand, which one is unable to cope with. - Other indicator of the nervous breakdown may be stomach upsets and indigestion as the body now concentrates on the disturbing issue and much energy goes into thinking, which disrupts even the digestion process. If these symptoms start appearing in your life due to an issue that is disturbing you, it is often important to speak it out and try as much as possible to relax, don’t let the situation control you!

Safety in Cyberspace One of the most effective strategies for keeping your child safe on the Internet is to place your computer in the family room or kitchen rather than in the child's bedroom. He'll be less tempted to access inappropriate material if

Safety in Cyberspace One of the most effective strategies for keeping your child safe on the Internet is to place your computer in the family room or kitchen rather than in the child's bedroom. He'll be less tempted to access inappropriate material if he knows another family member could walk by at any moment. Unfortunately, they also can be exposed to pornography, violent material, and hate messages. The biggest danger is that kids will communicate unknowingly with child predators who can lure them into dangerous situations. This is not a reason to prevent your children from enjoying the riches the Internet has to offer, but it does mean that you have to arm them with the knowledge of how to protect themselves from harm. It means you have to keep an eye on where your little Web surfer is surfing. You don't want to act like a spy, but you do want to know how he's spending his time on the Internet. Try this tactic: It's harder to control your children's Internet use outside the home. Libraries are struggling with how to restrict the Internet sites children can access on library computers while still providing full access for adults. Some are installing filters or requiring parents to provide written permission for children to use library Internet services. Ask about your library's policy and also that of your child's school. Since kids often are more adept at computer use than their parents, they love to play teacher to the grown-up. Ask your child to show you some of the tricks he's learned about using the Internet. Let him take you on a visit to his favorite chat rooms or Web sites. Check in periodically under the guise of perfecting your own skills. Online Safety Rules Teach your kids these safe-surfing rules: - Don't give out personal information without your parent's permission, including your full name, address, phone number, name of your school, or anything that would reveal your actual identity. Don't provide information about your family or friends, either. - Don't meet in person someone you met on-line unless your parents agree that it's okay and they or another adult can accompany you. - Don't respond to messages or comments in chat rooms that make you feel uncomfortable or threatened. If you respond, it just invites more of the same. Instead, tell your parents or a trusted adult. Set limits on the amount of time your kids may spend online and what areas on the Internet are appropriate for them to enter. Get their agreement to abide by the rules and to ask permission before venturing into other areas. More on: Childhood Safety Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Child Safety © 2000 by Miriam Bacher Settle, Ph.D., and Susan Crites Price. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. To order this book visit Amazon's web site or call 1-800-253-6476.

Epidemiology of Armillaria root disease in Douglas-fir plantations in the cedar-hemlock zone of the southern interior of British Columbia Author: Morrison, D. J. Source: Forest Pathology, Volume 41,

Epidemiology of Armillaria root disease in Douglas-fir plantations in the cedar-hemlock zone of the southern interior of British Columbia Author: Morrison, D. J. Source: Forest Pathology, Volume 41, Number 1, February 2011, pp. 31-40(10) Results are presented from several studies on the epidemiology of Armillaria ostoyae in Douglas-fir plantations in the interior cedar-hemlock (ICH) biogeoclimatic zone of British Columbia. Two plantations were monitored for mortality by A. ostoyae and other agents for 35 years after establishment. In these and other plantations ranging in age from 7 to 32 years, one or more of the following factors were determined: source of inoculum, mode of spread and characteristics of lesions on roots of excavated trees; symptom expression in relation to tree age and damage to the root system and years from initial infection to death on trees killed by the fungus. Mortality from A. ostoyae began in both plantations about 5 years after planting, reaching 30% in one and 11% in the other after 35 years. The spatial pattern of mor

As awareness of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species continues to grow, so does the demand for clear guidelines on how to use the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria at sub-global levels to prepare regional and national Red Lists.

As awareness of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species continues to grow, so does the demand for clear guidelines on how to use the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria at sub-global levels to prepare regional and national Red Lists. The First World Conservation Congress in Montreal in 1996 adopted a resolution calling for the development of coherent guidelines on the application of Red List Categories at regional levels, which refers to any sub-global area such as continent, country, state, or province. This led to the formation of the Regional Application Working Group (RAWG) under the auspices of the SSC Red List Programme. Membership of the RAWG included people with technical experience in the development of the IUCN Red List Criteria, as well as those with practical experience of producing Red Lists at regional levels. The group consulted many different regional and national groups, participated in regional Red List assessment workshops, published draft versions of the guidelines, and undertook a process of ongoing modification and improvement to the earlier drafts. IUCN adopted the guidelines resulting from the above process and these were published in 2003 (Version 3.0). In 2003, the National Red List Working Group (NRLWG) was formed to collate the experiences of countries using the regional guidelines and to use these experiences to inform a review process. The reviewed guidelines were published in 2012 (Version 4.0) and are available in IUCN’s three official languages: English, Français, Español

A dental crown, or cap, is a type of dental restoration device used to cover up a tooth or dental implant at and above the gum line. A crown is essentially the new outside covering of a tooth. Dental crowns are usually implemented to

A dental crown, or cap, is a type of dental restoration device used to cover up a tooth or dental implant at and above the gum line. A crown is essentially the new outside covering of a tooth. Dental crowns are usually implemented to strengthen a decaying tooth, restore a chipped tooth, or improve the overall appearance of a tooth. Preparing a dental crown for a patient is a long process that requires two separate appointments. During the first appointment, the dentist will numb the patient’s tooth and nearby gum tissue with anesthesia. Next, the dentist will reshape the tooth. This requires taking off a thin outside layer of the tooth. This thickness will match the thickness of the crown so that the tooth retains its size later on. The dentist may also have to shave off some areas more than others to make it fit comfortably inside the cap, or in situations where the patient has a chipped tooth, he may have to build up certain areas. Then, a putty material is used to make an impression of the tooth. This impression will be sent to a dental technician and used as a cast to create the actual crown. This process can take up to two weeks. During the second appointment when the crown is ready, the dentist will cement the crown in the patient’s mouth. There will then be a final inspection by both the dentist and patient to see if the crown is satisfactory. The two most popular types of crowns made of metal or ceramic. Metal crowns, such as those made of gold, are strong yet malleable. This means dentists have an easier time making a metal crown with the perfect fit, and patients feel more comfortable. They are also strong and last longer than ceramic caps, and they do not wear away enamel of other teeth it comes into contact with due to biting or chewing. However, metal caps are gold or silver, so they are usually only used for teeth that are not visible when smiling, such as molars. Ceramic or porcelain crowns, on the other hand, have t

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition - n. The line along which the surface of the earth and the sky appear to meet; the horizon. - n. The outline of a group of buildings or

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition - n. The line along which the surface of the earth and the sky appear to meet; the horizon. - n. The outline of a group of buildings or a mountain range seen against the sky. from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License - n. The line at which the earth and sky meet, horizon. - n. The horizontal silhouette of a city or building against the sky. - v. To outline something against the sky. from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. - n. the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet - n. the outline of objects seen against the sky In the Shanghai of last year, I'm sure the skyline is more developed then when you were there in 2004. The Los Angeles skyline is changing, and its going for gold – LEED Gold, that is. Also, winds in skyline cities such as NY only really change at intersections; if he jumped into a firly long straight street he probably would have had no trouble at all. da soc The latest proposed tower to sprout up among the ever-changing skyline is the Burj Al-Taqa Energy Tower for the Middle East. What's the point of going out to enjoy the world if the best bit of the skyline is completely invisible? The latest proposed tower to sprout up among the ever-changing skyline is [...] enKlosure » Blog Archive » Shades of Green Says: The skyline is brutally impressive in the way cathedrals must once have been when nothing was taller. The one that stares out the Manhattan skyline from the banks of the Navesink, the river that cuts through this town that lost more people on that day four years ago than any other place besides New York itself. Hang your stand 20 to 25 feet high or more if the leaves are already down or the skyline is bare, if you're positioned on a sidehill, or if deer will approach it from the front. They know it at the Garden Bowl on Woodward Avenue, built in 1913, where the city bus stops by the front door and the Detroit skyline is just down the street, beyond the blocks with boarded windows.

Modeling language change and language acquisition Consider the following two models of syntactic change, which we can call the drift model and the imperfect transmission model. Under the drift model, change is driven by a gradual shift in the frequencies with which linguistic

Modeling language change and language acquisition Consider the following two models of syntactic change, which we can call the drift model and the imperfect transmission model. Under the drift model, change is driven by a gradual shift in the frequencies with which linguistic forms are used. If, after some time, the frequency of some crucial form drops below the threshold of learnabil-ity, the grammar changes. The frequency changes are driven by factors like random variation, gradual bleaching of meaning, phonological erosion of weakly accented syl-lables or other properties of usage. This model is explicitly or implicitly assumed by many generative and non-generative linguists. Its advantage is that the cause of grammatical reanalysis is obvious: Once the frequency of a crucial grammatical form is low enough, language learners are no longer able to learn grammatical properties that depend on it. The problem with this approach is that the drift in frequencies that it requires has no obvious motivation. If we assume that frequencies are learned by children as part of their knowledge of the language, why should they be learned accurately in through a period of stability and then no longer so learned when a lan-guage starts to change? Similarly, if the frequencies are indirect reflections of other factors, as is more commonly believed, then why should these factors become unstable at certain times?

The original puppy training video and still…"the leader of the pack." Voted BEST VIDEO (every year) by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Even though efficient and effective feed-back is binary and comprises rewards and punishments, few trainers punish

The original puppy training video and still…"the leader of the pack." Voted BEST VIDEO (every year) by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Even though efficient and effective feed-back is binary and comprises rewards and punishments, few trainers punish. Some trainers do not want to punish at all because they think that punishments are unpleasant and inhumane and other trainers use aversive stimuli intended as punishment but all too often, ineffective. It is assumed that all punishments are aversive and that all aversive stimuli are punishing. However, neither of these assumptions is true. Once we realize that “punishment” and “aversive” are not necessarily synonymous, we realize we have four combinations. 1. Non-Aversive and Non-Punishing 2. Aversive and Non-Punishing 3. Aversive and Punishing 4. Non-Aversive and Punishing 1. Non-Aversive and Non-Punishing “feedback” is basically nagging — very common in dog training and interpersonal relationships. Not necessarily damaging to the dog’s psyche but certainly ineffective at changing behavior. 2. In sharp distinction, Aversive and Non-Punishing stimuli, literally cleave the dog’s brain and dismantle the dog/human relationship. It is assumed that all aversive stimuli are punishing. However, most are not. A punishment is defined as a stimulus that decreases the frequency of the immediately preceding behavior such that it is less likely to occur in the future. Frequent use of an aversive stimulus is proof that it is not working and therefore, cannot be defined as punishment. Instead, when aversive stimuli are not punishing, depending on their severity, they are either harassment or abuse. Without a doubt, the majority of reprimands (especially ugly-tone, shouted, non-instructive reprimands) and most aversive stimuli, such as leash-jerks, grabs, smacks and shocks are not punishment. Aversive yes, but not having the desired effect of reducing unwanted behavior, they cannot be defined as punishment. The two biggest clues that aversive stimuli are non-punishing are their frequent and continued use and that the trainer tries to compensate for ineffectiveness by increasing the severity of the aversive. 3. Although many people think that Aversive Punishments are used ubiquitously, it is actually untrue. When a trainer effectively uses aversive punishments, you only get to see the unwanted behavior and the aversive punishment just a couple of times and then the aversive punishment tool is quickly phased out. Punishment is no longer necessary because the dog no longer misbehaves. However, we see this very occasionally. Instead we see an abundance of grabs, smacks, jerks and shocks — aversive stimuli that are non-punishing. 4. Without a doubt, Non-Aversive Punishments are the way to go. Indeed, it is possible to effectively reduce unwanted behavior by using voice-only feedback AND by only using a soft and sweet tone. Gentle insistence is the name of the game. If a dog does not comply when asked to sit in a play session, for example, simply insist that she does so. Continually, repeat the command in a gentle, insistent voice, “Rover Sit, sit, sit, sit…” and when she eventually sits, say, “Thank you” and now that you have the dog’s attention, ask her to come-fore and sit once more. When the dog sits following a single command, profusely praise, offer a food reward and say, “Go Play”. The first sit, required five repetitions of the sit-command. However, with each repetition, the number of required commands progressively decreases with each trial until eventually, the dog sits promptly following a single command. The secret to success is to never give up. The dog learns that she has to sit following a single command before being allowed to play once more. This technique is extremely effective, works surprisingly quickly, and prevents the need for physical restraint or aversive punishment. The dog learns that she has to pay attention and follow our instructions to sit promptly following a single command before being allowed to resume playing. And once you have voice control, your dog can safely enjoy off-leash romps. Products from Dr. Ian Dunbar 1. Socialization & Training 2. Behavior Problems 3. Walking & Heeling 4. Recalls & Stays Day 3: Off-leash Verbal Control, Phasing out Food Lures and Motivating Your Dog to Perform Quickly and Reliably Day 2: Behavior Counseling Learn how to run a puppy class the SIRIUS way, using the off-leash, lure/reward, dog-friendly training methods that have made the SIRIUS philosophy the hallmark of pet dog training. Day 1: We Continue to Waste Puppyhood! Learn how to easily prevent the most common and predictable behavior problems.

Enter a synagogue. It seems like a simple thing to do to ease religious tensions, but between the first century and the 20th, no Catholic pope did it. John Paul II not only entered a Jewish house of worship, he also visited

Enter a synagogue. It seems like a simple thing to do to ease religious tensions, but between the first century and the 20th, no Catholic pope did it. John Paul II not only entered a Jewish house of worship, he also visited and formally recognized Israel and paid frequent homage to Holocaust victims. A new exhibition at the Holocaust Museum Houston, "A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People,"explores the relationship between the late pontiff and the Jewish people, from his childhood in Poland to his time at the Vatican, using photos, videos and artifacts, like the skullcap the pope wore during his 2000 visit to Israel. Okay, maybe a skullcap won't inspire any major strides in easing remaining religious tensions, but the legacy of the man who wore it might.9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Runs through January 3. 5401 Caroline. For information, call 713-942-8000 or visit www.hmh.org. Free. Thu., Aug. 27, 6-8 p.m.; Mondays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, 12-5 p.m. Starts: Aug. 27. Continues through Jan. 3, 2009

Polio is a disease that ravaged the world's population in the first half of the 20th century. Mostly children were struck with this highly contagious paralyzing disease. About 5 -10 percent of these children died from suffocation

Polio is a disease that ravaged the world's population in the first half of the 20th century. Mostly children were struck with this highly contagious paralyzing disease. About 5 -10 percent of these children died from suffocation when their breathing muscles became paralyzed. After the vaccine became available in 1962, the disease was eradicated in 99 percent of the world. However, there is still 1 percent of the world's population, which includes the poorest and most vulnerable areas in developing countries, where polio can still be transmitted. Polio mainly affects children under the age of five. It will cause irreversible paralysis in 1 out of every 200 cases. The numbers of people who are affected by polio have gone down significantly in the last few decades. The World Health Organization's statistics show the number of people affected are down 99 percent from 1988 when the Global Polio Eradication Fund was created. Back in 1988, over 350,000 people were affected each year. Due to collective efforts, over 2.5 billion children have been immunized in the last 20 years, but there are still pockets of the world where polio continues to have a stronghold. There are three countries where the transmission of polio cases have never stopped. Polio has a stronghold in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan because of a variety of issues including lack of vaccines, political insecurity, poor sanitation and weak health symptoms. These endemic countries can spread polio to children in neighboring countries, especially those with inadequate vaccination access and policies. The good news is that polio can be eradicated. It does not live outside the human body for very long and it hasn't mutated beyond the three strains of the disease. If the virus can't find an unvaccinated person to infect, it will die, as happened to the Type 2 strain, eradicated on 1999. Vaccinations are the key to finally eradicating this disease. The oral vaccine can be administered by volunteers so no doctors are needed, and it costs as little as 11 cents per dose.

“I don’t need a textbook in front of me to be able to learn,” says 15-year-old Sierra Goldstein, who dropped out of her Loveland, Colorado high school when she was 14. “I was always a 4.

“I don’t need a textbook in front of me to be able to learn,” says 15-year-old Sierra Goldstein, who dropped out of her Loveland, Colorado high school when she was 14. “I was always a 4.0 student, without even trying,” she says. “School was always easy. I felt like lazy, almost.” Shortly after Goldstein left school, with the approval of her parents, she joined a new experimental program called Be You Innovation Lab. The lab, which is a part of the Thompson Public School District in Colorado, encourages what Goldstein calls “learning per passion.” For Goldstein, "learning per passion" means pursuing her interests in yoga, nutrition, and acting. The Be You Lab's mission is to "(literally) redefine public education as a means to equity". As part of that "redefinition," Be You seeks to make learning as individualized, mobile, and accessible as possible. “It’s not a question of how do we figure out how to get math into kids better, but let’s question that prescription of whether kids need math," said Monika Hardy, a math teacher for 20 years and Be You Lab facilitator. “It’s no longer that a kid has to learn how to rationalize a denominator to be successful in society.” Nor do they have to sit in a classroom, according to Hardy. "[With mobile you] can learn whatever you want, wherever you want with whomever you want," Hardy says. Hardy, and the Lab, seek to develop a mobile app that will solve the problem of how to "shorten the time period between deciding what matters to students and connecting them with people who are already doing that." The philosophy behind Be You Lab is based on research which indicates that giving students a greater sense of authority could bring more self-discipline in learning and encourage them to think outside of the box. Be You Lab students are encouraged to build their own curriculum and schedules. They have to pick mentors who provide them guidance and advise them on better ways to learn about their passions. Students use social networks to accomplish this goal and take control of their own education from anywhere. Whether blogging, or exploring online resources, Goldstein spends around seven hours of her day online. Once a week, she teaches yoga at a local studio. And, with mobile apps that allow for easy social networking, she connects with educational mentors at anytime and from anywhere. As mobile technology becomes more deeply integrated into educational systems, Goldstein may be what high school teenager looks like in the future. But student ins programs like Be You Innovation Lab that encourage autonomy and mobile learning may face obstacles when attempting to enroll in more traditional programs. Goldstein has faced problems, as well. She recently applied to a nutrition college and because of her age, and the fact that she has not received a high school diploma, the college would not accept her. Goldstein is now taking different tests in order to prove that she is prepared to take college-level courses. However, as mobile learning becomes more commonplace, more educational systems are making a place for mobile in the classroom--and out. In 2012, the Los Altos school district in California launched a pilot program using Khan Academy's online lectures for a substantial portion of the learning in their public schools. According to the school district, "results of the pilot program were very positive" and the district will be expanding the use of Khan Academy to all Grade 5-6 students and some Grade 7 students. As a part of the Mobilizing series, we will be hosting Twitter chats (next one to be held next Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 7:30 pm EST), networking in our Facebook group and continuing the conversation at live salon events in New York City. Join in the conversation! And, if you know a woman who is mobilizing we would like to hear from you. Tell us about her here.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article |This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2012)| A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article |This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2012)| A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, or security token), by supplying secret information (such as a keycode or password), or by a combination thereof. The earliest known lock and key device was discovered in the ruins of Nineveh, the capital of ancient Assyria. Locks such as this were later developed into the Egyptian wooden pin lock, which consisted of a bolt, door fixture, and key. When the key was inserted, pins within the fixture were lifted out of drilled holes within the bolt, allowing it to move. When the key was removed, the pins fell part-way into the bolt, preventing movement. The warded lock was also present from antiquity and remains the most recognizable lock and key design in the Western world.The first all-metal lock appeared between the years 870 and 900, and are attributed to the English craftsmen. It is also said that the key was invented by Theodore of Samos in the 6th century BC. Affluent Romans often kept their valuables in secure boxes within their households, and wore the keys as rings on their fingers. The practice had two benefits: It kept the key handy at all times, while signaling that the wearer was wealthy and important enough to have money and jewelry worth securing. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century and the concomitant development of precision engineering and component standardisation, locks and keys were manufactured with increasing complexity and sophistication. The lever tumbler lock, which uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock, was perfected by Robert Barron in 1778. His double acting lever lock required the lever to be lifted to a certain height by having a slot cut in the lever, so lifting the lever too far was as bad as not lifting the lever far enough. This type of lock is still currently used today. The lever tumbler lock was greatly improved by Jeremiah Chubb in 1818. A burglary in Portsmouth Dockyard prompted the British Government to announce a competition to produce a lock that could be opened only with its own key. Chubb developed the Chubb detector lock, whic

Schools & Districts All of Shmoop Cite This Page Sir Walter Scott Best of the Web Table of Contents AP English Language AP English Literature SAT Test Prep ACT Exam Prep Literary Devices

Schools & Districts All of Shmoop Cite This Page Sir Walter Scott Best of the Web Table of Contents AP English Language AP English Literature SAT Test Prep ACT Exam Prep Literary Devices in Ivanhoe Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory Yorkshire, Rotherwood Hall, Ashby-de-la-Zouche Castle, Torquilstone, TemplestoweScott uses both real and made-up places to create the world of Ivanhoe. The general setting of South Yorkshire is rea... Narrator Point of View Ivanhoe is definitely narrated in the third person, since there is no "I" speaking directly to the reader. The narration is omniscient, or all-knowing: the narrator is aware of everything, from the... Ivanhoe is clearly an adventure. With its jousting, witchcraft trials, and daring rescues, how much more excitement can one book contain? There is also plenty of family drama: Cedric can't forgive... Ivanhoe's tone is pretty unusual. Even though there's a lot of realistic description of appearance and clothing to help the reader imagine the looks and manners of these medieval characters, every... You don't need us to tell you that Scott's style is deeply wordy. This is partly a matter of literary custom: if you look at a bookshelf of 19th century novels like Ivanhoe, you'll see that most of... What's Up With the Title? When you read the name "Ivanhoe," does it sound romantic and Old-English-y to you? We hope so, since that's what author Sir Walter Scott intended. In his 1830 introduction to a new edition of Ivanh... What's Up With the Epigraph? Scott attaches two lines of poetry to the beginning of Ivanhoe. The only thing he tells us about these lines is that they are written by "Prior." While there are lots of priors in Ivanhoe (a prior... What's Up With the Ending? In the final chapter of Ivanhoe, Scott wraps up the two major plot lines of the novel: the love triangle between Rowena, Rebecca, and Ivanhoe, and the political adventures of King Richard I. This i... First and foremost, Ivanhoe is entertainment – it's not supposed to be a brainteaser. It's the 19th century equivalent of beach reading. Think The Help or The Hunger Games and you'll be at about... Nothing is right with the world (or at least, with England).At the start of Ivanhoe, pretty much everything sucks. Cedric has disinherited his son Ivanhoe for going off on the Crusades without Cedr... Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis Anticipation Stage and 'Call'There are two related "monsters" that the characters in Ivanhoe have to defeat: family resentment and Norman-on-Saxon violence. The first couple chapters outline what o... Three-Act Plot Analysis Ivanhoe starts with a huge power imbalance. As the recent conquerors of England, the Normans have all the power, and they lord it over the Saxons as much as they can. Saxon Cedric of Rotherwood is... Sir Walter Scott didn’t come out publicly as the author of his enormously successful novels until 1827. What finally drove him out into the open was not excitement or pride but, sadly, financial... Ivanhoe is a family novel written in 1819, so you've come to the wrong place if you want to see people take their clothes off. There is some mention of sexual content (Bois-Guilbert's efforts to se... "Mr. Oldbuck of Monkbarns," see The Antiquary (1817) by Sir Walter Scott (Epistle.1, Epistle.7)"a second M'pherson," see James McPherson, "The Poems of Ossian," 1773 (Epistle.1)Lucan, Roman writer... Need help with College? © 2014 Shmoop University, Inc. All rights reserved. We love your brain and respect your privacy. | © 2014 Shmoop University, Inc. All rights reserved. We love your brain and respect your privacy.