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Answers were Sorted based on User's Feedback Answer / zan A lock-out relay is generally placed in line before or after the e-stop switch so the power can be shut off at one central location. This relay is powered by the same electrical source as the control power and is operated by a key lock switch. The relay itself may have up to 24 contact points within the unit itself. This allows the control power for multiple machines to be locked out by the turn of a single key switch. |Is This Answer Correct ?||4 Yes||1 No| Answer / mohammad irfan Basically it is Master Trip Relay, it takes signal from all the relays and finally trips the breaker. |Is This Answer Correct ?||1 Yes||1 No| How a generator is positioned in a hydroelectric power plant? What is the IS standard for MCCB to be use (As per capacity of AMP)& for ACB also. Why CT secondary should not left open?????????? What are the advantages of speed control using thyrister? Why is reating of t/f in kva but for inverter in kw ? why number of stator and rotor slots are not equal in IM? how works inductive &capacitive sensors? in india are trains run by DC or AC? if DC , from where it receives negative potential? because pentograph receives singe potential only? How many 2 ton window A/c can runs on a 125 KVA generator? What are the advantage of free wheeling diode in a full wave rectifier? What is the direction of rotation of blades in a table fan and in a ceiling fan ? what is the rating of boiler?
Worship in Music Under the theocratic rule of the Lord, David became a great king. His rule became the standard for Israel’s kings of doing right in ways that pleased the Lord. In First Chronicles we find what may be the first implementation of special music used in worship. David appointed singers, Asaph and his brothers, to sing a thanksgiving song. What maybe more amazing was the importance of worship in the life of a national leader. Not only did David lead God’s people unto national prominence, he also used his musical talents and complemented the Ceremonial Law with worship in song, liturgy, and music. David formalized Israel’s worship. Music is a wonderful accompaniment to worship. Music has a way of expressing our sentiments in a manner very different from the spoken word. Just as the collection of Psalms contains a full array of emotional expressions – praise, thanksgiving, joy, pain, and even anger; likewise, our music should express the spirit of our theme in worship. We, too, must endeavor to keep our song service intentional. May we all join into every song service with the heart and spirt of the music. Have a wonderful thanksgiving. May it be filled with the spirit of gratitude towards our Lord. --E.C. Malone 11/29/14
I do a lot of hiking, mostly to observe native plants in their natural surroundings. I am surprised at the places I have found white turtlehead, in the Adirondacks, near a mountain lake and here in Springwater it was in the woods behind our first home. In western New York it is found in the inlets to lakes and in swampy areas by the side of the road. The common name turtlehead is self explanatory once you see this plant in flower. It resembles the shape of a turtle's head. It flowers in late summer into the fall. The flower colors vary from clear white to creamy white to white tinged with pink. The plant grows 2 to 3 feet tall and stands erect. The flowers open along the stem from bottom to top and flowers for quite a long period of time. Butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators use this plant. White turtlehead is also a larval host plant for the Baltimore checker spot butterfly. This makes it a great plant for the pollinator garden. White turtlehead is a wonderful plant to use around a pond or in a wet area that you no longer want to mow. It grows in full sun in a wet area or in shade in regular garden soil. white turtlehead is a long lived plant that stays nice looking throughout the summer. The leaves are dark green, elongated and sit opposite each other on the square stem of the plant. In a shady area in the late summer sometimes you see a little powdery mildew on the leaves. The plant forms clumps and adds beauty to the garden. White turtlehead is a great companion to red cardinal flower, great blue lobelia, green coneflower, turks cap lily, swamp milkweed and blue flag iris. In the wild you often see it with Joe-pye weed too. These plants will withstand moist soils, but will work in a garden setting where soils are drier too. They all make great pollinator plants. These plants grow together in nature. Use white turtlehead to help you achieve an ecologically sound and beautiful garden. Chelone glabra - White turtlehead
THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING Artificial intelligence is effortlessly driving the transformation of Learning health systems and the medical ecosphere collectively. The widespread acceptance of artificial intelligence technologies as the prodigy and the Learning Health System, two grand visions embedded into one, is generating the highest value for medical data. It is becoming increasingly clear that an LHS will be almost dependent on cutting-edge technologies like Artificial intelligence and machine learning. Health systems are applying Artificial Intelligence to certain traditional healthcare scenarios, improving efficiency in the hospital's diagnosis procedures and the patients' experience at each stage of the treatment process. However, there have been small but phenomenal implementations of AI in the medical field, showing the prowess of the fields it can cover. The first technical advancement is the EHR. It is an electronic medical record, which contains a systematized collection of patients, and population health information in a digital set-up. Medical representatives can share the patients' details and other health information in these records across specified healthcare platforms. Similar is HealthTap, which recently launched Dr. AI. It is an AI-powered personal physician that instantaneously decodes a person’s health symptoms into a medically recommended course of action. In addition, Chinese AI-powered robot Xiaoyi has already become the world’s first robot to pass the medical licensing exam. AI and Learning health system are two grand visions embedded into one constructing phenomenal element. Check out: Top Artificial Intelligence Companies
By Pat Holloway “Softwood shoots of M.9 and MM. 106 were banded with Velcro for up to 20 days before cuttings were propagated. Banding 10-20 days increased percent rooting and number of roots/cutting and the longer the banding the greater the effect. In M.9, banding resulted in a higher survival rate and increased new shoot growth of transplanted cuttings. Percent budbreak and new shoot growth were highly correlated with the number of roots per cutting of both rootstocks. From Sun and Bassak. NOTE: I have received several inquiries about vegetative propagation of apples. Many apples are difficult to root from cuttings. Timing of cutting collection is very important. The above excerpt identifies one method that has been used to help improve rooting success and promote growth on rooted cuttings. Banding is the process of excluding light from the base of the cutting while it is still attached to the mother plant. Choose young, actively growing shoot tips (softwood cuttings), and about 6” from the tip, wrap the stem with some type of light-excluding material. Originally, people used tape, especially electricians’ tape, but tape is sticky and messy. More recently, people have been using strips of Yelcro (2-4” wide) that are wrapped around the stem. Whatever is used the purpose is to exclude light. The reason you want to exclude light is to build up concentrations of a hormone auxin, in the plant tissues. Auxins are the most important hormones involved in rooting and therefore, high concentrations should produce greater rooting percentages. Auxins are destroyed by light so if you can exclude light you increase the level of auxins in the plant. The article quoted above recommends covering the base of the shoot up to 20 days before the cutting is made. The shoot continues to grow on the plant and auxins build up beneath the Velcro. Cuttings are made by snapping off the shoot just below the Velcro and rooting them like you would any other softwood cutting. This practice is certainly not new; the use of Velcro is a similar practice has been used for years to get stem cuttings of difficult- to-root plants, such as lilacs, to produce roots. Etiolation is a more elaborate method used to exclude light from the entire cutting. Entire branches or plants are cut back in spring to encourage shoot growth. A black bag encloses the entire branch or plant, and shoots grow in complete darkness. The resulting shoots are long, spindly, and usually a whitish-yellow color. These shoots are snapped off and rooted as normal softwood cuttings. They are very tender and susceptible to sunburn, but if handled properly, rooting successes can be high. Both methods are worth trying if you want to root your own apple or crabapple cuttings. This site lovingly hand-crafted by Northern Vista
Anxiety is a normal part of development, but research confirms that people with autism experience elevated levels of anxiety in comparison to their typically developing peers. An extensive review of the literature by White et al (2009) revealed that up to 84% of individuals with autism meet the criteria for clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders. Due to characteristic communication difficulties, an autistic person may have severe anxiety issues but have a decreased ability to express it. As noted by Howlin (1997), “…the inability of people with autism to communicate feelings of disturbance, anxiety or distress can also mean that it is often very difficult to diagnose depressive or anxiety states.” Anxiety may manifest in an autistic person through: - social phobia - excessive worry/rumination - obsessive compulsive behaviour - hyper-vigilance, or seeming “shell shocked” - avoidance behaviours - rigid routines and resistance to change - stimming and/or self-injurious behaviour - controlling behaviours – oppositional defiance - shut down Dealing with change People on the autism spectrum can find change very stressful. Due to the behavioural, information processing and sensory aspects of their diagnosis, many people on the autism spectrum often prefer familiar environments with a predictable routine. Restricted and repetitive interests, sensory processing differences and heightened anxiety can make even small changes stressful. Planning ahead and preparing for changes in everyday routines and activities is important: “Reality to an autistic person is a confusing, interacting mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights… Set routines, times, particular routes and rituals all help to get order into an unbearably chaotic life. Trying to keep everything the same reduces some of the terrible fear.” – Jollife, et al (1992) in Howlin (2004), ibid, p.137. Change is an inevitable part of every person’s life. Teaching a person strategies to cope with changes in their environments and routines helps to build resilience and independence. Preparing people on the spectrum for upcoming changes is referred to as “transition planning”. The purpose of transition planning is to enact change in a way that feels safe and predictable for the individual on the autism spectrum. Effective planning helps reduce stress and anxiety and helps prevent behavioural issues that may occur because of either expected or unexpected change. Everyday changes and “horizontal planning” Some everyday changes or new situations a person with autism may need preparation for might include: - leaving the house - having visitors at your house - going somewhere new, such as the dentist - switching between activities or tasks during play or learning - doing things in a different order from time to time – for example, having a bath/shower before dinner rather than afterwards - eating new foods These frequent changes that may occur on a daily basis are known as horizontal transitions. Many people on the spectrum have strong visual learning and thinking styles. Visual strategies can therefore be an effective way in which to communicate upcoming changes. Common visual strategies used in horizontal transition planning include Social Stories™, social scripts, task lists, schedules such as timetables, daily planners and calendars. The National Autistic Society (UK) have published a thorough guide on the various uses of visual supports. When visiting a new place, having photos to prepare the individual for what to expect can be helpful. Pictures can be obtained through websites or by exploring a location via the Google maps street view function. Requesting images may also be an option, for example, contacting the doctor’s practice and requesting a recent image of the doctor and the consult room in advance of the appointment. There are an ever-increasing number of apps that can help with autism-related challenges. The Autism Association of Western Australia has developed an online resource, Autism Apps, that offers reviews of a large number of available apps, as well as: - Guides on how to use an iPad effectively - Suggestions for how to support people with autism using technology - Tips for selecting a useful app - Information related to the National Curriculum and Evidence Based Practice for supporting individuals with autism. Longer term changes and “vertical planning” Progressions from one life phase to another are known as vertical transitions. The progression form primary school to high school is an example of a vertical transition experienced by children in the middle years. The Amaze/Autism Tasmania information sheet, Effectively Preparing Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder for Transitions, provides strategies to help individuals with autism transition to new environments. Research has revealed some good practice guidelines for preparing for major life transitions: - Gather information: What change is about to occur? When, where, and who with? How has the person reacted to previous transitions and changes? What transition strategies have helped in the past? - Develop a plan: Meet with all the key people who will support the person through the change to develop a plan to support the transition. - Create supports, such as visual sequences, social scripts, transition stories, sensory supports, and short movies. - Implement the plan. - Evaluate and review: Was the transition support plan effective? What should be changed for next time? Bullying can happen to people of all ages and abilities, but people with developmental differences or disabilities are especially vulnerable. Bullying involves an imbalance of power and takes physical or psychological form. Psychological bullying includes threatening, coercive and manipulative behaviour. Useful strategies to address bullying can be found in this information sheet.
Choudhury, Yong, & Round: The status and distribution of the Masked Finfoot Heliopais personatus—Asia’s next avian extinction? - December 2020 - Forktail 36:16-24 (PDF) The status and distribution of the Masked Finfoot Heliopais personatus—Asia’s next avian extinction? PDF | The Masked Finfoot Heliopais personatus is among Asia’s most threatened waterbirds. The species formerly ranged widely across north-east India,... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate The Masked Finfoot Heliopais personatus is among Asia’s most threatened waterbirds. The species formerly ranged widely across north-east India, Bangladesh and South-East Asia, but recent records are few. In this review, we aim to address the gaps in knowledge on the conservation status and ecology of the Masked Finfoot by (1) synthesizing recent information on its occurrence in all range states, (2) re-estimating the global population based on best guesses of national populations, and (3) identifying priority conservation actions. Based on a combination of our survey data (Bangladesh) and best-guess estimates from key sites, we estimate the current population at 108–304 individuals, far lower than the last estimate of 600–1,700 individuals in 2009. Our estimate of population size and rate of decline indicates that Masked Finfoot should be uplisted to Critically Endangered. Masked Finfoot may now breed only in Bangladesh and Cambodia, and there have been no records within the past five years in Malaysia and Thailand, where it once occurred regularly, despite a marked increase in observer effort. Habitat loss and disturbance is the single most important threat to the Masked Finfoot (and many riverine waterbird species), given that low-lying, forested wetlands across South-East Asia are increasingly encroached upon by human activities, or are cleared. There is an urgent need to re-survey areas where it was formerly known, especially in Myanmar. All remaining known breeding populations must be adequately protected or it may become Asia’s next avian extinction.
Sometimes students who are studying for foundation Maths still have problems with their times tables and basic arithmetic. Often their hearts sink when I suggest that they need to put time into doing things that they feel they should have left behind long ago herunterladen. Nevertheless, a solid grasp of these most basic topics is at the heart of everything else in Maths. Instant knowledge of the times tables and especially confidence with fractions and how to cross cancel will lead to fast progress with algebra and less basic errors while working through problems weihnachtslieder instrumental download kostenlos. Once a student understands the basic methods to solve the different types of problem, the only way to gain mastery is by repeated practice. I will give these students a different worksheet full of arithmetic problems to work on each week until they can do them without any stress or worry lied herunterladen iphone. Below you will find links to some of my sample worksheets and their answer sheets. The last two are more challenging than the first two because they use mixed numbers in the fraction problems outlook bilder nicht herunterladen. I hope you find them useful. If you want to make up alternative problems of a similar level of difficulty, one good way to do this is to buy some 10 sided dice and then roll them to generate random numbers that can be used to make up questions whatsapp media niet automatischen.
A new report by Australian climate experts warns that "climate change now represents a near- to mid-term existential threat" to human civilization. In this grim forecast — which was endorsed by the former chief of the Australian Defense Force — human civilization could end by 2050 due to the destabilizing societal and environmental factors caused by a rapidly warming planet. The report, entitled "Existential climate-related security risk: A scenario approach," lays out a future where society could collapse due to instability set off by migration patterns of billions of people affected by drought, rising sea levels, and environmental destruction. "Climate-change impacts on food and water systems, declining crop yields and rising food prices driven by drought,and harvest failures have already become catalysts for social breakdown and conflict across the Middle East, the Maghreb and the Sahel, contributing to the European migration crisis," the report said. The report was written by David Spratt, research director for Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration in Melbourne, and Ian T. Dunlop, formerly an international oil, gas and coal industry executive and chair of the Australian Coal Association. Retired Admiral Chris Barrie, former defense forces chief of Australia, endorsed the report and wrote a forward to it. "After nuclear war, human induced global warming is the greatest threat to human life on the planet," Barrie wrote. Using a worst-case scenario existential risk analysis, Spratt and Dunlop depict humanity falling into ruin under an additionalof warming — a threshold scientists say the world is heading towards if current trends continue. In their scenario, "tipping points" occur when humanity fails to institute carbon emission reforms in the 2020s and 2030s. This creates a "hothouse" effect on Earth, leading to rapidly rising sea levels set off by melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and "widespread permafrost loss and large-scale Amazon drought and dieback." In this scenario, the "hothouse Earth" effect causes "35 percent of the global land area, and 55 percent of the global population, (to be) subject to more than 20 days a year of lethal heat conditions, beyond the threshold of human survivability." Ecosystems collapse, including coral reef systems, the Amazon rainforest and the Arctic, along with a massive die-off of the insect population. As a result, the authors say, some of the world's most populated cities — Mumbai, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Lagos, Bangkok and Manila — would have to be abandoned due to their location in the tropical zone. The assessment ends with a harrowing conclusion: "More than a billion people may need to be relocated and in high-end scenarios, the scale of destruction is beyond our capacity to model, with a high likelihood of human civilization coming to an end." The report also paints a grim picture in terms of national security, with extreme climate conditions and the disruption of huge populations placing "the internal cohesion of nations ... under great stress." "Thearound the world, especially in the Netherlands, the United States, South Asia, and China, has the potential to challenge regional and even national identities," the report warns. "Armed conflict between nations over resources, such as the Nile and its tributaries, is likely and nuclear war is possible. The social consequences range from increased religious fervor to outright chaos." Spratt and Dunlop do offer some solutions. They point to the national security sectors of the world's major powers and argue they could pay a unique role in mobilizing society, similar in scale to the emergency response World War II required of people and governments in the 1940s. "To reduce such risks and to sustain human civilization, it is essential to build a zero emissions industrial system very quickly. This requires the global mobilization of resources on an emergency basis, akin to a wartime level of response," the report reads. "The national security sector has unrivaled experience and capacity in such mobilization, and can play a unique role in its development and implementation, as well as educating policymakers of the existential security risks in failing to do so."
Take global warming or government regulation as examples – these are all very complex topics, collections of variables where solving the problem cannot be achieved through solving one issue alone, but in fact the solution rests in addressing the eco-system tying together all the inter-linked variables. In fact, seeing things on purely the issue level may in fact be contributing to the problem. In the book Freakonomics the authors quote numerous examples of cases where seemingly complex phenomena have very simple origins, but often in an entirely different field and the eco-system magnifies the impact through all the inter-related variables and creates an impact on local, sometimes national and international levels. One of the striking examples is their analysis of crime figures in large cities in the US. The numbers were growing at epic proportions year-on year until sometime in the mid-eighties the trend suddenly stopped and began a steady decline. Experts tried to attribute this reversal to anything from an increase in spending on the police, a growth in numbers of staff, prisons, different governments, new laws etc. but the biggest impact came from the legalisation of abortion. How could this have anything to do with crime figures you may wonder? Here the eco-system comes in: the women most likely to have an abortion back in the 60s where women in low-income households with several children already and who before the legalisation either had to risk their lives to have an abortion by often unqualified people in unsafe conditions and risk prosecution or not have one at all. Many didn’t and subsequently struggled to look after their children, who often ended up in crime from a lack of opportunity in life. As abortion became legal in many states, the numbers of these ‘unwanted’ children dropped and the sheer numbers of disadvantaged youth decreased, thus decreasing the populace likely to commit crime. It’s not to say that the other measures had no impact at all, but collectively they helped solve the problem as the eco-system of ideal conditions leading to crime gradually became more untenable. Biofuels are another example of where eco-system thinking really needs to be applied on a much larger scale than today – touted as the solution to the West’s reliance on fossil fuels, the growth of crops destined for biofuels is now accelerating across the world, leading to an increased rate of rain forest destruction (these are our most efficient weapon in clearing CO2 from the atmosphere) as land is being cleared to grow palm oil – a crucial ingredient in biofuels. Much agricultural land previously home to food production is being converted to grow crops for biofuel, putting food production in danger. The biggest irony of all is that the process of producing biofuels has a greater negative impact on global warming than fossil fuel use – proving that there is no simple ‘solution’ to global warming, in fact simple solutions may in fact be aggravating it further, instead we need to think in eco-systems, not just locally, but nationally and internationally. Nancy Gibbs of Time, talks in her column about the Vatican reflecting on its mortal sins for the modern age (24th March 2008) of the fact that back in the past sloth, lust, greed, envy and anger accounted for virtually all the crimes of mankind, whereas today the issues that once were the clear culprits behind our follies and misfortunes are far more complex than the 7 deadly sins alone. Causes and consequences come together to form eco-systems, where one problem feeds another and addressing consequences is meaningless without understanding and addressing the causes. Contextualising what was once simple in our now increasingly interlinked world – Quoting Mohandas Gandhi’s version of the 7 deadly sins: Wealth without work Pleasure without conscience Science without humanity Knowledge without character Politics without principle Commerce without morality Worship without sacrifice The responsibility rests with the individual, but that includes the duty to take care of others as well as yourself.
Energy resources such as crude oil, natural gas and coal formed from the remains of prehistoric animals and plants. Fossil fuels are found below the Earth's surface. They consist mainly of hydrocarbons, i.e. hydrogen and carbon. When they are burned, water and carbon dioxide are produced. The use of fossil fuels have increased dramatically through the twentieth century, and the world is now very dependent on energy from fossil fuels. Today, they account for more than 80 percent of the world's energy consumption. Fossil fuels provide the energy for many human activities, such as transportation, manufactoring, electricity, heating (and cooling), etc. The fossil fuels, we use today, were formed from animals and plants that lived millions of years ago. The main factors needed for their formation are pressure, heat and time. When the marine organisms (mostly plankton) in the sea died, and fell to the bottom, they were buried under layers of mineral sediment (mud, sand etc.). The burial under layers of sediment created an environment with low oxygen content, which slowed the decay of the organic material. Together with an increase in pressure and temperature, caused by the weight of the layers above, the dead organisms were during millions of years transformed into crude oil. By heating crude oil and separating it into different types of gases and liquids (distilling), it can be used for a wide range of products. The primary products are fuel oil and gasoline, but many other chemical products are made from crude oil such as plastics and medication. Coal was formed in a similar way, but from dead land plants (for example trees), and it did not take as much time as the formation of oil. The plants grew in areas such as swamps or along coastlines, where dead plants could end up buried under many layers of sediment. The plant material was transformed into coal through different stages. Natural gas is mainly methane, but also includes several other hydrocarbons. In a process identical to the formation of crude oil, natural gas is formed from dead microorganisms, like plankton, buried under sediment. Oil and natural gas are often found in the same reservoirs, but there are also large reservoirs of natural gas without oil. The amount of pressure, heat, type of sediment and length of time determine weather oil or methane is formed. Methane is also released from the respiration of certain bacteria. The burning of natural gas releases less carbon dioxide (CO2) than other fossil fuels per energy unit. The formation of coal, crude oil and natural gas is in a sense just different stages in the same process of transforming organic matter into hydrocarbons. The process of forming fossil fuels is so slow (millions of years) that even though it happens naturally, fossil fuels are not a renewable energy source. Once all the available deposits have been used, it will not be replaced.
Have you ever wondered how a positive mental attitude affects your wellbeing? Try putting yourself in each of these scenarios and notice how you feel, react, and what thoughts come up for you: 1) Imagine that you have just lost everything you have in your life; your money, job, business, home, car, friends, family, loved ones, country of origin, everything. In one moment, everything you call dear, have built, take for granted has crumbled away to nothing. 2) Imagine now that your doctor has just told you that you have a terminal illness and you would have to live a restricted life for the rest of your life. 3) Now look at yourself in another scenario. You just got a text from someone you love, perhaps a life partner of many years, that goes somewhat like this: "it is over between us, never call or try to reach me again". No reasonable explanation for why they're leaving you, and they won’t respond to your calls or messages. It is truly over, and you may never know why. Now take a couple of deep breaths and let out a sigh to release some of the tension you may be holding. Perhaps stand up and move your body a little. Notice where you are right now. Notice what you can see hear and feel around you. The three examples above are extreme, but they could happen, and they do happen to people around the world often enough. So why did I ask you to consider these painful scenarios, since most people never bargain for such unpleasant situations or outcomes? The answer is simple – the way our mind reacts to the situations we find ourselves in has a massive impact on how we feel and how we survive and move forward. In other words, in difficult situations our wellbeing is greatly affected by our mind. However, this doesn’t mean that we should ignore reality and try to pretend that life is somehow different to how it is. Sticking our head in the sand or in the clouds is not the same as reacting with a positive attitude. We can, even in the midst of such things, chart a new course for our lives. We can live our best days, unleashing our full potential and surpass our past outcomes and become a great support to ourselves and to the people around us. What is a ‘positive mental attitude’? Positive mental attitude is a psychology concept that can easily be traced back to Aristotle (385-323 BC) and more recently to one of the original modern self-help authors, Napoleon Hill 1883 – 1970). A ‘positive mental attitude’ can be described as ‘how we see ourselves generally in life as well as our good disposition towards it when things don't go our way’. Viktor Frankl (1905 1997) is notable for showing how the way we think and react changes our world, for better or worse. His 1946 book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, written about his experiences in World War II concentration camps, explored how to bring the best of humanity in the worst of situations. Positive mental attitude recognizes the fact that things have gone awry, while also acknowledging the reality of: the broader scope of our life outside of this crisis; the potential bright side of the situation; those things that we still have; the potential for positive change moving forward. In essence, a positive mental attitude can be assessed by our thoughts, actions and the words we speak. Not just to ourselves or to our situation, but to people near and far when things go wrong. How does a positive mental attitude differ from wishful thinking? A positive mental attitude requires that we are ‘aware’ of what has happened, taking into account the facts, evidence and reality, but sees how things can still be changed for the good. This requires a broad assessment of the situation and life. This can involve imagining potential scenarios that fit with our values and desires for our life in the future, without holding any specific positive or negative outcome as the definitive truth. Wishful thinking on the other hand, indulges in unrealistic expectations and imagination. It distorts past or current realities and it builds unrealistic current or future scenarios. This means thoughts, actions and expression based on pleasant thoughts and purely on desires, without regards for what is obvious - facts, reality and evidence. Here are examples of different attitudes, positive attitude vs wishful thinking, to the same external reality: Positive attitude: I know I have failed in business; I will try again and build a business that lasts. Wishful thinking: Someone will bail me out, or I’ll just sleep in bed all day and wake up to see my business thrive again. What is mental wellbeing? In simple terms, mental wellbeing is the state of our mind. It can be thought about as the quality of the thoughts produced in the mind and the feelings that are generated in relation to these thoughts. There is a strong and inseparable link between thoughts and feeling, between the mind and the body. Thoughts are the precursor or the results of what we feel in our body (emotions, hunger, tiredness, pain, balance etc.) and what we perceive from the world around us (from seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling). For instance, what would you feel in your body if you were summoned to a meeting with your boss and HR first thing on a Monday morning? Why is a positive mental attitude important in wellbeing? Positive mental attitude has been shown to be important for both our mental and physical wellbeing. The state of our mind is reflected in our attitude towards life, ourselves and those around us. As mentioned earlier, our body affects our mind and our mind affects our body. This is true to the point where the two are virtually inseparable, a view that was held until René Descartes (1596 – 1650) promoted the idea of a separate mind, body and soul. The body-mind approach to psychology has now regained popularity and is now a key part of most modern psychological approaches. There is a great deal of research looking at the impact of the gut and the heart on the mind, and the impact of the mind and trauma on tension held in the body. Two important studies help us to understand the impact of our beliefs and thoughts on our wellbeing: Yoo, Miyamoto, Rigotti, & Ryff (2017) found that happier people live longer but only if they believe being happy is important. The study looks at the difference in life expectancy in the USA and Japan for people who rate themselves as happy. People in the US who rate themselves as happy live longer than those who rate themselves as unhappy. This difference was not seen in Japan. Importantly ‘being happy’ is more important culturally in the US compared to Japan. This also demonstrates that positive attitude (it’s okay if I’m happy or sad) is more important than positivity (being happy all the time). Keller, A et al. (2012) found that people who lived stressful lives only had a shorter life expectancy than those who lived stressful lives, if they believed that stress was bad for them. Again, the belief about whether their experience in life was much more important than the actual experience. If you can accept your situation and look forward with optimism and hope, you are much more likely to experience better mental and physical wellbeing. It is important to point out that physiological (body) processes cannot be separated from psychological (mental) processes. Having a positive mental attitude also benefits those around us. There is strong evidence that peoples’ mood is affected by those around them. Many findings, according to the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Fredrickson and other psychologists have discovered that positive mental states: Reduces stress, depression and stress levels. Enhances the body’s immune system by increasing resistance to common cold (even having a cold infrequently). Improves total physical and psychological well-being. Favours cardiovascular health by lowering risks of developing cardiovascular diseases like obesity, hypertension etc. Helps to boost coping skills required during trying times.. Produces a greater sense of overall happiness Since having a positive mental attitude has so much to offer, how can you cultivate a positive mental attitude to win any challenge in life? 15 options for cultivating a positive mental attitude Take a look through these ideas and see if you can find some that resonate for you: See yourself as work in progress every time you wake up. Face into your day with that feeling that life is a mystery and that you can grow into that mystery each day, no matter what has happened before. Set small short term goals that will eventually lead to a good outcome. As you start each day, look at those goals and positively affirm that you have all it takes to execute them. Goal setting will help you see and celebrate small victories in every good effort you make. See failures as lessons and most importantly as steppingstones. Notice your negative thoughts, and have a little mantra such as ‘ah, I see you negative thought’ or ‘I know this is a negative thought, and that’s okay, and I don’t have to believe it’. Find your own way to notice, accept and not completely buy into those thoughts. Move on from your past by actively forgiving yourself and others. It’s quite easy to get stuck in your past, either what you have or haven’t done, or what others have or haven’t done. However, this means continually looking backwards. If you did this while you were walking down the street, you would walk into a lamp post, or worse. So, live your life looking forward, and noticing where you do want to go rather than where you do not. Your future can be bright, whatever happens. Allow yourself to believe that. Surround yourself with realistic and positive-minded people at work, socialising and at home. Learn to find a sense of contentment and joy that comes from inside you, rather than from external sources. When we need material items, or praise all the time to feel happy, our mental wellbeing is dependent on others. When we learn that we are inherently safe, good and important, simply by being ourselves, we cultivate a powerful state of wellbeing, irrespective of whatever is happening around us. Notice the language you use. If you’re often using negative ways to describe yourself, experiences, situations, other people – become aware of this. Start to use more positive words and descriptions and you might find that you start to feel more uplifted about life. Practice gratitude: In everything and every situation, be grateful - for family, for health, for friends, for being able to move around, for the feeling of the ground against your feet and more. How can you do this effectively? Let your mind think and meditate on the good things in your life no matter how insignificant they may seem. You can even cast your mind back and appreciate some of those good old moments and victories, without getting stuck in the past. See challenges as a chance to grow with an extra boost. Guard your mind from fake and negative news. Our minds are impressionable, and we are much more likely to remember negative news than positive news. Limit (or stop) your exposure to news through the TV, internet, social media etc. Exercise is generally a plus to mental well-being and thus can help to maintain a positive state of mind. Prepare for the worst while you do your best to take charge of situations. Be proactive in having options - plan B’s. Try to focus on solutions rather than the problems. Notice the mood you wake up in and learn to attribute it to the emotions you felt while you were asleep, dreaming. Your mood in the morning can have a huge impact on your thoughts and feelings for the whole day. Since our dreams have such a big impact on how we feel first thing when we wake up, learn to let that feeling go rather than accepting it as your truth. Notice what is in your circle of concern vs your circle of ‘direct influence’ or control. Focus on what you can control and influence in your life, rather than what concerns you. You may find that it is very difficult for you to cultivate a positive mental attitude. If you do find that happening, try to allow that to be okay. By taking the time and space to regularly practice any or all of these 15 options, you will slowly be planting the seeds and watering them. Over time you are likely to start to notice a difference. Find which ones work best and most easily for you. Alternatively, you may feel guilty for feeling positive in difficult situations, and when others around you are feeling defeated, angry, negative, etc. Try to give yourself the time, space and permission to feel positive, and while holding compassion for how others are feeling, perhaps a little of your positive attitude will rub off on those around you. Remember, a positive mental attitude isn’t the same as denial or fake positivity in the face of real challenge. Yoo, Miyamoto, Rigotti, & Ryff (2017), Linking Positive Affect to Blood Lipids: A Cultural Perspective, Psychological Science, Vol 28, Issue 10, pp. 1468 – 1477, http://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617713309 Keller, A., Litzelman, K., Wisk, L. E., Maddox, T., Cheng, E. R., Creswell, P. D., & Witt, W. P. (2012). Does the Perception that Stress Affects Health Matter? The Association with Health and Mortality. Health Psychology : Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 31(5), 677–684. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0026743 Covery, S. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, USA: Simon & Schuster.
iNeuron is best for middle school teachers working on the Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI) of Information Processing for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). AP and IB Biology teachers and AP Psychology teachers may also find it useful as an introductory task. Students can get started independently with minimal support. Using the Andamio Dashboard, teachers can track student progress and group students appropriately. The group play mode provides a powerful collaborative opportunity. Each member of the group controls a different part, so they cannot complete the challenge unless they work together.Continue reading Show less iNeuron is an app that takes middle and high school students through both content and circuit-building challenges to help them learn about neuroscience. Content challenges ask students to click through slides and read about how nerve cells function and develop. Circuit-building challenges allow kids to apply their new knowledge. They might build a circuit and flex the arm by connecting it to the brain through different types of neurons. This can be done through individual or group play. If group play is selected, all students must participate and work together to complete the circuit. iNeuron was developed in partnership with the University of Minnesota. The developers made intentional efforts to connect with and motivate students. Initially, students are given the choice of being a basketball player, a violinist, or a chemist. Their selection continues as a theme throughout the game, with students observing the way their brain changes while learning their selected skill. Attempting to hook student interest, iNeuron poses initial multiple-choice questions for students to guess. Students earn points every time they click as directed. Students are also able to track their own progress. Periodically they're asked multiple-choice questions that check for understanding of the text they read previously, and kids receive immediate feedback on their selection. While most of the iNeuron game involves very directed challenges, the Free Play section lets kids get creative, inventing their own circuits. Key Standards Supported From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories. Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms. No one has reviewed this tool yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.Add your rating
New work from Freie Universität Berlin and the Center of Experimental and Applied Cutaneous Physiology explores how nanogels of a specific size can be designed to penetrate the hair follicle, then release a payload for delivery to viable cells. This research was published online in Nanoscale ahead of print. According to the Pubmed abstract, nanoparticles of several hundred nanometers can effectively penetrate the hair follicle and may serve as ingredient depots. However, they cannot overcome the hair follicle barrier to reach viable cells or adequately release the loaded drug. On the other hand, small drug molecules cannot penetrate deeply into the hair follicles. Researchers therefore concluded the most efficient delivery through hair follicles was to employ nanoparticles enabled to release the drug close to the target. Dendritic polyglycerol and N-isopropylacrylamide based thermoresponsive nanogels were the result. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy, the researchers discovered that, unlike smaller nanogels (< 100 nm), medium and larger-sized nanogels of 300-500 nm penetrated the most effectively, at depths proportional to the nanogel size. Hair follicles may seem of minor importance for the delivery of actives, since according to Wiechers, "they cover only 0.1% of the total surface area of human skin." However, he adds that "in places where hair density is much higher, such as the face, this local surface area can be much higher—as much as 10%." This, along with the fact that the skin barrier is not as strong in the hair follicle, makes it difficult to ignore this route of entry into the skin.
ANSI’s Z535.1 standard depicts safety colors that should be used in any kind of public or industrial area. ANSI’s standard colors exist to better the environment around employees and visitors who may come into contact with hazardous material or dangerous situations, and have the general need for clear communication. If properly utilized, these colors are lifesavers in these kinds of environments as they are capable of providing a visual representation of dangers that pose a risk to those nearby as well as alert them to exercise caution. ANSI Z535.1 regarding safety colors is the first out of six subcategories that explain safety symbols, signs, training material, etc. ANSI Z535 Colors - Red signifies danger or the need to stop. - Orange is mostly used on machines that pose a risk to the worker. This includes crushing, cutting, or general harm. - Yellow is used where any amount of caution is needed. This usually applies to common hazards like tripping, the potential of hearing loss, burn risks, etc. - Green appears in egress signs to alert people of emergency exits. Green also notates the location of first aid equipment and other safety implements. - Blue denotes information on a particular area or item. This color does not have to be safety related. - Black and White are often used to direct traffic or alert people about general housekeeping information on the facility. - Purple is popular as a radiation color, but that use has not been strictly defined by ANSI yet. - Gray does not have a standard use regarded by ANSI currently. The Z535 color standard is recognized by OSHA as a golden standard for use with hazards. However, OSHA hasn’t incorporated the updated ANSI Z535 standards into their mandated requirements just yet. Experts believe it’s only a matter of time until these standards become enforceable by OSHA due to incorporation by reference. - Can OSHA enforce ANSI standards? - How many ANSI standards are there? - What ANSI standards have been adopted by OSHA? - Who enforces ANSI standards? - Are ANSI standards mandatory? - Where do ANSI standards apply? - What are ANSI standards? - How often are ANSI standards updated?
The participants use their creative spirit and create their own design using the beginning of a drawing provided. - A sheet of paper for each participant; either with the beginning of a drawing or a blank sheet of paper. - Coloured crayons or markers Give each participant a sheet of paper and provide the colouring tools for the participants to use. - Distribute a sheet with a random line or the beginning of a drawing to each participant. - Or, if you do not have the drawing available, distribute a blank sheet of paper to each participant and design the beginning of a drawing on a table, or somewhere where the participants can see it and copy it on their sheet of paper. - Tell the participants that they must create their own design/drawing using the beginning of the image provided (which must be minimal) - Tell the participants that there is no good or bad drawing, it is just whatever they want it to be - be creative! - Give them time to colour their drawing. - Give the participants a theme, such as: physical activity, in the open air, space, aliens, pirates, etc., that they must follow with their drawing. - Encourage all participants to be creative and to think outside the box. - Try to provide a verbal description of the drawing to accommodate participants who are blind or visually impaired. - There are no foreseeable safety concerns for this activity. No wrap-up is required for this activity. Obtained from: http://activeafterschool.ca/activities/finish-drawing
Personal development refers to those activities that enhance an individual’s talents, potential, employability, consciousness in order to achieve one's greatest possibility. Personality development not only makes you appear presentable but also boosts your confidence to face the tough challenges of life. Personal development is an ongoing process of self-improvement either in your career, in your education, in your personal life, or in all of these areas. It turns you proactive and instead of letting things happen, you go out there and make things happen. As a person, you need to know about yourself first. You need to identify your merits, demerits, strong and weak points, and the qualities that you need to improve. One needs to start with taking a good look at themselves, analyzing their traits, the strengths and weaknesses and everything that needs to be worked upon. Don’t shy away from accepting your flaws and learn about yourself as much as you can. Closely following others who are better than you in terms of personality, communication, and dress-sense is a great way to enhance your personality. But the key point is don’t imitate others blindly, just try to take all the good qualities that may suit you properly, and leave the rest. If you can find a mentor or coach your task will be easier. There are many people out there who in spite of having better merit and capability, suffer from inferiority complex because of their physical appearance, caste, financial status etc. You should be confident about who you are and whatever you do. Your confidence reflects your character, attitude and passion. Dressing sensibly and smartly go a long way in honing one’s personality. Proper clothing is an essential element as it is the first thing others will notice about you. According to the experts, you don’t need to define yourself by wearing the highest fashion. It’s crucial that wear clothes that suit with your complexion, height, appearance and make you feel comfortable. There is no restriction in trying something new, but it should not be incongruous and bizarre. No matter where you go; be it a job interview or attending your college, your overall personality plays a very important role in determining your success. Apart from your educational qualifications, experience and job expertise, you need to have a fantastic personality that will differentiate you from others. Don’t let others to take the spotlight away from you, it’s your responsibility to increase your acceptability to the employers.
In these bulletin articles, we’ve been going through a list of questions and answers contained in the Westminster Larger Catechism, published in the 17th Century. We’ve been looking at the subject of sanctification, which is God making Christians holy. But if God has sanctified Christians, then why are Christians imperfect in their actions. Why do they still sin? The Bible teaches us that the remnants of sin continue to live in Christians while they are on earth. The Christian’s sinful nature struggles against the Holy Spirit, so that the Christian heeds temptations and falls into sin. The apostle Paul describes the battle with these words: ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members’ (Romans 7:14-23). This means that Christians are hindered by sin as they seek to serve the Lord. So the author of Hebrews encourages Christians to watch out for sin: ‘…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us’ (Hebrews 12:1). The struggle with sin also means that the best works of the Christians are defiled in the sight of God. Isaiah says: ‘All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away’ (Isaiah 64:6). Even the apostle Peter fell astray and had to be confronted by Paul for falling into serious sin, whilst a believer. We read in Galatians: ‘When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew’ (Galatians 2:11-14). So what is the Christian to do in his imperfect state? Right after he says to throw off sin, the author of Hebrews says: ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith’ (Hebrews 12:2). If you keep your eyes on Jesus, he will continue to cleanse you of your sin until you reach glory. Do you recognise you are imperfect? Do you keep your eyes on Jesus?
It can be awkward and even scary to approach someone you suspect of having an eating disorder. You never know how they might react — angry, dismissive, upset, disbelieving. But consider the fact that they might also be relieved. This training is perfect for leaders at councils, youth organisations and schools who wish to deliver the program to multiple locations in their local community. EDV have brought the internationally accredited Body Project Collaborative framework to Australia to prevent the onset of eating disorders in young women. Download fact sheets from Eating Disorders Victoria and other organisations on eating disorders, mental health and self-care. Commonly used abbreviations associated with eating disorders and mental health. Mental health workers such as psychologists and social workers can be a vital part of the treatment team. EDV has a team of qualified and experienced clinicians. Eating disorders can occur at any time: in childhood, during the teen years, during pregnancy and later in life. Exploring the relationship between eating disorders and other health conditions, such diabetes, anxiety and depression, and the autism spectrum.
What is the difference between a kaninchen & a miniature dachshund? Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images The dachshund is a popular hunting dog, pet and show dog characterised by a very long body and short, stubby legs. The name "dachshund" is of German origin and means "badger dog." In addition to the standard dachshund, the breed also comes in miniature and kaninchen sizes. The kaninchen is not recognised by all kennel clubs. The dachshund was originally bred as a hunting dog. Its long, wiry body made it very good at going down into the burrows of badgers and other prey and flushing them out. The miniature dachshund and kaninchen were bred to specialise in hunting small prey like rabbits. In fact, the name "kaninchen" is literally the German word for rabbit, and the breed is often referred to in English as the "rabbit dachshund." - The dachshund was originally bred as a hunting dog. - The miniature dachshund and kaninchen were bred to specialise in hunting small prey like rabbits. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (World Canine Federation) differentiates between the miniature dachshund and kaninchen based on two measurements taken when the dogs are 15 months old: chest width and weight. According to the World Canine Federation standard, miniature dachshunds can weigh up to 4 kgs (about 8.8lbs) and have a chest measurement of between 30 and 35cm (11.8 and 13.8 inches). The male kaninchen can weigh up to 3.5kg (7.7lbs) and the female 3kg (6.6lbs). Kaninchens must have a chest measurement of 30cm (11.8 inches) or less. America and the U.K. While the 83 countries of the World Canine Federation separate dachshunds into three classes (standard, miniature and kaninchen), the kaninchen is not recognised by the American Kennel Club or clubs in the United Kingdom. Clubs in these countries only recognise the larger standard dachshund, which it defines as dogs weighing between 7.26 and 14.5kg, and the miniature dachshund, which it defines as a dachshund weighing less than 4.99kg.
What does Incarnation mean? Incarnate means “invested with flesh or bodily nature and form, especially with human nature and form,” and is applicable in many different religions in which a god takes on an animal or a human form. What does Incarnation mean in the Bible? Incarnation , central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, that God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. Christ was truly God and truly man. What is the Catholic church view on reincarnation? The Catholic Church does not believe in reincarnation , which it regards as being incompatible with death. Nonetheless, the leaders of certain sects in the church have taught that they are reincarnations of Mary – for example, Marie-Paule Giguère of the Army of Mary and Maria Franciszka of the former Mariavites. What are the reasons for the incarnation? Terms in this set (5) To Reconcile Us with God through the Forgiveness of Sins. After the Fall human biengs were separated from full communion with God because of our sins. That we might know the depth of God’s love. To be our Model of Holiness. To make us Partakers of the Divine Nature. To destroy the power of the devil. What is the difference between incarnation and reincarnation? The “carn” in ” incarnation ” refers to flesh or meat (of the human body). Thus, ” incarnate ” means ” in the flesh”. = REINCARNATION is a word that means “to be born again ( in the flesh)”. It refers to being reborn, and is generally associated with the belief that, when people die, they will be born again into a new body. Who was God’s mother? Why is incarnation important in Christianity? A belief in the Doctrine of the Incarnation is important to Christians because it means that God, as Jesus, can understand what it means to be human. It also enables Christians to have, through Jesus, a personal relationship with God. Why did Jesus have to die to save us? For them the death of Jesus was part of a divine plan to save humanity. The death and resurrection of this one man is at the very heart of the Christian faith. For Christians it is through Jesus’s death that people’s broken relationship with God is restored. This is known as the Atonement. What day is Jesus birthday? Do Catholics believe in cremation? Rome (CNN) The Vatican announced Tuesday that Catholics may be cremated but should not have their ashes scattered at sea or kept in urns at home. According to new guidelines from the Vatican’s doctrinal office, cremated remains should be kept in a “sacred place” such as a church cemetery. What does the Catholic Church teach about life after death? Christian beliefs about life after death are based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection are part of God’s divine plan for humankind. Through his death on the cross, Jesus pays the penalty for humankind’s sin and humankind’s relationship with God is restored. Do Catholics believe in evolution? Today, the Church supports theistic evolution (ism), also known as evolutionary creation, although Catholics are free not to believe in any part of evolutionary theory. They teach the fact that evolution occurs and the modern evolutionary synthesis, which is the scientific theory that explains how evolution proceeds. Why did God choose to become human? God chooses a human to be an agent of God’s active liberation. God , in all God’s wisdom and power could have intervened. Instead, God chose to work through a flawed and fearful human being : Moses. What are two aspects of the paschal mystery? The Paschal mystery is one of the central concepts of Catholic faith relating to the history of salvation. Its main subject is the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ – the work that God the Father sent His Son to accomplish on earth. What are the two natures of Jesus? …that the unity of Jesus ‘ two natures , divine and human, meant that every statement about Jesus applied to both of his natures at once. Thus, God suffered and died on the cross, and the humanity of Jesus was omnipresent.
(For full story click here) If you are reading this magazine, there’s a good chance that you feel a special connection with water and the ocean. The sense of peace that we feel when we are in or near the ocean can be so deep that it feels fundamental to our being. But is it fundamental to our brains? That’s the claim of Stanford neuroscientist and co-founder of the Institute for Applied Neuroscience, Kevin Weiner. He’s a proponent ofBlue Mind, the recently published book by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols, that maintains water holds a special place in our minds. Seductive as this idea might be, and as important as water is for life, there’s little definitive evidence for it. An expert in how the brain processes vision, Weiner has been involved in several high-profile studies that uncovered interesting and previously overlooked sections of the brain that are involved in visual processing. He was also the captain of the Princeton swim team and is still an avid swimmer and surfer. He likes the notion that a brain can develop a special affinity for water and has come up with a few reasons why science might support that idea. Weiner shared some of his thoughts with Hakai Magazine. Erik Vance: You study visual perception in the brain. Why is that important for science? Kevin Weiner: Vision and perception come pretty effortlessly for people. You can categorize an image in one-tenth of a second. Yet most people don’t know that there is a whole cascade of dozens of visual areas [in the brain] that are actually allowing them to perceive their world that quickly. And so understanding all those transformations from area to area that allow that speed is really important. Visual neuroscience is one of the oldest fields in neuroscience and yet we still don’t know how that happens. EV: So is there something special about how humans perceive natural scenes? KW: There are focal networks [in the visual cortex at the back of the brain] that light up when someone views faces and then there are other networks that light up when people are viewing natural scenes. How and why, people are still debating. In terms of bits of information or which one is more important to the brain, [scientists] don’t know that yet.
What is Leptospermum scoparium Leptospermum scoparium or New Zealand teatree (scientific name:Leptospermum scoparium) is a hardy evergreen shrub of the Myrtaceae family. The blossom is similar toones of plum and fower-color is red, peach,or white, and many singlet or multi florets bloom on the branches in spring .The leeves of the flower are resembled tamarisk's leaves and the flowers resemble a flower of plum. It Is resistant to cold, however dose not to hot and dry. of the summer . As It is from the tea leaves used in New Zealand and is New Zealand's national flower, it is known as the New Zealand tea tree or Tea tree , broom tea tree. Common name: , Scientific name:Leptospermum scoparium, Also known as: New Zealand teatree, Tea tree ,bloom tea tree, Origin New Zealand, Australia, Peninsular, height: 2-3 m, color: red, white, peach, Flowers bloom better: Saki single and double-petaled, flower diameter: 1-2 cm, flowering period: March to May.
Anyone who has diabetes is at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy, but not all diabetics will be affected. In the early stages of diabetes, you may not notice any change in your vision. But by the time you notice vision changes from diabetes; your eyes may already be damaged by the disease. This is why routine eye exams in our Fort Lauderdale office are so important. At your comprehensive eye exam, the doctor will carefully view the retina through your dilated pupil. The doctor will look for any currently leaking blood vessels or evidence of past vessel leakage. These problems are often seen before you notice any visual symptoms. Early detection and treatment are critical to preventing vision loss. If a problem is seen during your exam done at our office in Fort Lauderdale the following tests may be recommended and done in our office for your convenience. - Fluorescein Angiography to detect the number & pattern of leaking blood vessels. - Digital Photos may be taken to document the retinal changes and make it easier to monitor future changes. - Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) to evaluate the vessel structure below the surface of the visible retina. People with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy may not need treatment. However, they should be closely followed-up by an eye doctor in our Fort Lauderdale office trained to treat diabetic retinopathy. For patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, treatment may be recommended and though treatment usually does not reverse damage that has already occurred, it can help keep the disease from getting worse. Once your eye doctor notices new blood vessels growing in your retina (neovascularization) or you develop macular edema, treatment is usually needed. - Laser eye surgery, called photocoagulation is generally used to treat diabetic retinopathy. It is used to keep vessels from leaking or to get rid of abnormal, fragile vessels. It creates small burns in the retina where there are abnormal blood vessels. - Focal laser photocoagulation is used to treat macular edema. - Scatter laser treatment or panretinal photocoagulation treats a large area of your retina. Often two or more sessions are needed. - Tight control of blood sugar (glucose), blood pressure, and cholesterol is important - Smoking cessation - A surgical procedure called vitrectomy is used when there is bleeding (hemorrhage) into the eye. - Medications such as Lucentis, Avastin and corticosteroids injected into the eye are being investigated as new treatments for diabetic retinopathy. They may help to prevent abnormal blood vessels from growing. For more information see:
Introduction to Data Science Have you ever wondered what data science is? Or how to become a data scientist? Join PhD Mike Hannon from Coding Dojo, who has real-life experience working in the field and has spent a lot of time thinking about how to work with large amounts of data. Start with an introductory look at the field of data science, including an overview of data organization, data visualization, and data analysis. Explore the basic tools and how they’re used. Learn what it takes to become a data scientist, and see a demonstration on how Microsoft Excel supports the art of data analytics. Plus, find out where to go from here. - Learn the basics of data science. - Learn about data organization. - Learn about data visualization. - Learn about data analysis. - Learn about becoming a data scientist. - Learn how to use Excel to support data analysis. - What is Data Science? - Data Organization - Data Visualization - Data Analysis - Becoming a Data Scientist - Using Excel to Support Data Analytics - Knowledge Development
COLORADO PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE STREAM FLOWS Colorado recently strengthened its instream flow program with the passage of House Bill 20-1037. Colorado’s instream flow program began in 1973 when the General Assembly authorized the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to appropriate “instream flows” – defined as such minimum flows on a natural stream as are required to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. Because the program began in 1973, many of the CWCB’s instream flow rights have relatively junior stream priorities. HB 20-1037 provides a process for the CWCB to decree a plan to augment stream flows using water rights that have previously been decreed for augmentation use. For example, water right owners who change the use of their water rights to augmentation are sometimes left with “excess consumptive use credits” – credits that exceed what is needed under the owner’s plan for augmentation. Under HB 20-1037, those excess consumptive use credits, which are already decreed for augmentation use, may be included in a new application by the CWCB for a plan to augment stream flows. The rate of flow for such augmented stream flows is not limited to what is needed to preserve the natural environment, but instead may be at rates the CWCB determines are appropriate to preserve or improve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. For more information about HB 20-1037 or water law generally, please contact Nicole Garrimone-Campagna (970-947-1936 x811 or ) or Mary Elizabeth Geiger (970-947-1936 or ).
Reports of an ongoing food crisis continue to plague the air of Venezuela. Food crisis, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2015) (FAO), exists when people do not have adequate physical, social, or economic access to food. Moreover, it’s visible when people are experiencing a sharp rise of hunger and malnutrition (Timmer, 2009), which is currently exhibited in Venezuela’s case. The majority of academic studies, media reports, and articles have attributed the food crisis to the Bolivarian Regime put in place by Hugo Chavez and continued by Nicolas Maduro. This is because food shortages occurred in the midst of Chavez’s administration and worsened during the term of Maduro. Despite the evidence, the government has played an almost passive stance on the subject. In 2017, El Pais reported research on the 2017 Survey on Life Conditions of Venezuelans, which began in 2014, conducted by researchers at the country’s three notable academic institutions: Simon Bolivar University, Andres Bello Catholic University, and the Central University of Venezuela (Singer, 2018). In their research, they stated that more than half of Venezuelans live below the poverty line, some in extreme poverty. Furthermore, food insecurity has affected 80% of Venezuelan families. For many families, going shopping for basic staples in the grocery feels as luxurious as it is to buy a car (Manetto, 2017). An 85% shortage of medicines has created an unprecedented public health crisis. Adding salt to the wound, most international aid agencies are prevented from working inside the country, leaving Venezuelans to fend for themselves (Human Rights Watch, 2019). This article addresses the food crisis in Venezuela.1 In order to uncover the causes of the food crisis in Venezuela, we present several matters that contextualize the problem. These include an overview of the food crisis, an introduction to the Bolivarian regime, the oil industry, and the Bolivarian Social Funding Policies. A qualitative research approach was used to identify the major cause of the Venezuelan food crisis and to explain how these causes led to the crisis. The researcher takes into account that some Latin American news agencies are biased against the government. However, they are used throughout this study, as news agencies have firsthand accounts of the development and timeline of the food crisis. To ensure that both the government and the opposition are covered, articles and reports on sources defending each side were carefully reviewed. The majority of the materials utilized through this study are secondary, including research papers, journal articles, and media reports. A few primary sources are used, including an excerpt from a speech and the Venezuelan constitution. Introducing the Bolivarian Regime Hugo Chavez was elected as the new president of Venezuela in 1998. He kicked off his regime by proclaiming his influential and mass-supported desire to overhaul the Puntofijista, the neoliberal regime before him. The Puntofijista system was criticized as highly oligopolistic in nature as it primarily benefited the elite (Levine, 2002). Elfenbein (2019) expounds this statement by concluding that the liberal structure of the state meant that the government redirected the national budget from social protection and economic development programs to debt payment. This meant that policies shifted and reduced the state’s role in social protection, spurring weakened organized labor, increased prices, and social and income inequality (Ellner, 2008). Chavez became the face of transformative hope in Venezuela as he coined his new regime, “The Bolivarian Revolution”. The term “Bolivarian Revolution” was inspired by the revolutionary spirit of 19th-century Venezuelan leader Simon Bolivar, who fought Spanish colonialism (TRT World, 2019). With the Bolivarian Ideal in place, Chavez brought forward policies that he believed were needed to transform the society from a bottom-up process (Azzellini, 2013). Misiones, which were heavily funded by oil were the central policies in the Bolivarian regime. Chavez’s vice president, Nicolas Maduro, took his place after his death in March of 2012, and continued to expand the misiones in pursuit of Chavez’s Bolivarian ideal. The Powerhouse of the Bolivarian Regime: Oil Industry Venezuela possesses the largest oil reserves in the world (OPEC, 2018; Richter, 2019), setting a foundation to its economy. Venezuela is one of the founding members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and is a key player in the global oil market (OPEC, 2018). According to the CIA World Factbook (2020), Venezuela remains dependent on oil revenues, accounting for 98% of export earnings and half of the government’s income. This dependency on oil is reflected on the country’s 1999 constitution through the state-owned oil company: Article 303: “For reasons of economic and political sovereignty and national strategy, the State shall retain all shares of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. or the organ created to manage the petroleum industry, with the exception of subsidiaries, strategic joint ventures, business enterprises and any other venture established or coming in the future to be established as a consequence of the carrying on of the business of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.” With a staggering amount of revenues amounting to US$60 billion (Rodriguez et al., 2012) in 2011 alone, oil has become the most influential and important asset in the regimes of Chavez and Maduro. The oil industry has been used for the establishment of the domestic agenda, providing the country with the foreign exchange it needs to support and manage the important consumer goods, providing fuel to the Bolivarian Revolution (Nelson, 2018). The Bolivarian Social Funding Policies Venezuela’s national income increased during the oil boom in the 2000s. The oil prices ranged from $10 a barrel during 1999 to $133 per barrel in 2008 (Nelson, 2018). The government of Venezuela seized this opportunity to allocate their oil earnings to social programs and the expansion of subsidies for food and energy. Chavez’s earliest socialist funding policy implementation was the misiones or the “missions to save the people” (Penfold-Becerra, 2007). The misiones were crafted to serve the poor areas of the country, alleviate existing socio-economic problems, and encourage participation amongst communities. Rajagopal (2017) stated that misiones consist of more than thirty social programs, covering a wide variety of subsidized aid. These ranged from literacy programs, provision of access to education in rural and urban areas (Mision Robinsons & Mision Ribas), free community health and medical care (Mision Barrio Adentro), low-income housing construction, jobs, and opportunities through the promotion of cooperatives (Mision Vuelvan Caracas), and subsidizing food and other consumer goods for the poorest areas in the country (Mision Mercal). The misiones are financed through opaque and non-budgetary mechanisms. The president and his cabinet manage a special fund that receives the oil revenues directly from the state-owned oil enterprise, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). This dependent relationship signifies that any movement or change from the oil sector will affect the programs’ activities. The misiones have become the cornerstone of Chavez’s popular support and his campaign strategy for winning subsequent elections at the regional and local levels in late 2004, as well as his re-election as president in December 2006. The misiones act was also surrounded by the following major social funding policies. Mercales Mision: The State-Subsidized Food Market The establishment of state-subsidized food markets, or the Mercales, is Chavez’s most important program promoting food security (Clark, 2010). Also termed as “national food”, this policy consisted of hundreds of cheap and subsidized foods directly distributed to the poor through the creation of discount stores throughout the country (Penfold-Becerra, 2007). The Mission Mercal was passed through a presidential decree and created under Article 305 of the 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ensuring that the people to have access to basic food products at low prices (Embassy of Venezuela to the U.S., 2009). Chavez’s attempt to shift from neoliberalism was further embodied when he formed bilateral agreements with neighbors Brazil and Argentina. By 2006, almost 16,000 stores in Venezuela were selling subsidized food at about 25%–40% cheaper than market prices. In this agreement, Venezuela offered them oil and the former two offered food in return. Mercal offers milk, tomato sauce, bread, fish, fruit, meats, flours, seafood, bread, cheese, cereal, eggs, pasta, coffee, margarine, sugar, oatmeal, raisins, cooking oil, chicken, salt, and rice, all priced between 25%–50% below traditional supermarket prices (Wagner, 2005).2 The government was deeply committed to sustaining the Mercal market’s prices through $24 million monthly subsidies from their own country’s oil revenues. These subsidies also came in the form of price controls imposed by Chavez’s government on the imported goods. These price controls have generated ongoing conflict with the private sector and is often blamed for the ballooning rates of inflation in Venezuela (Mars, 2016). The “Agro-Food” Policy of Chavez: Reinventing Agricultural Production More than oil, Venezuela is also abundant in agricultural resources, particularly cacao and coffee. Agrarian reform was not a policy pursued by Chavez’s predecessors, despite the country having agrarian roots. On the contrary, they were more focused on maximizing agricultural outputs rather than the conditions of the grassroots farmers. By year 1998, small- and large-scale farms made up 75% of the country’s landholders, but the majority of the farmers only held 6% of the land, while 5% of landowners controlled 75% (Delahaye, 2001). Chavez believed that this system would not yield optimal results for production, and a land reform must be instituted. In 2001, Chavez implemented a 2001 Land Law, with the aim to distribute underutilized rural land property in favor of peasant or farmer-led drive (Purcell, 2017). For Chavez, allowing the farmers to lead agricultural production and distribution with no government oversight would ensure that the land would be put into productive use. He did not believe in letting the “invisible economic hand” gain control. A non-believer and a constant critic of free-market policies, Chavez constantly voiced his opposition to neoliberalism, especially in his speeches. This further establishes his ideology and the reason behind his Bolivarian policies, which is a stark shift from neoliberalism. Among the most notable is his speech at the opening of the 2004 XII G-15 Summit (Chavez, 2004): This is the harsh and hard face of the work economic order dominated by the Neoliberalism and seen every year in the south, the death of over 11 million boys and girls below 5 years of age caused by illnesses that are practically always preventable and curable and who die at the appalling rate of over 30 thousand every day, 21 every minute, 10 each 30 seconds… The great possibilities that a globalization of solidarity and true cooperation could bring to all people in the world through the scientific-technical wonders has been reduced by the neo-liberal model to this grotesque caricature full of exploitation and social injustice. Adhering to this mindset, Chavez assigned the Ministry of Popular Power for Agriculture, the main coordinator of the policies promoting food security, to offer services such as credits, expertise, and agricultural inputs at low costs to farmers. The government also worked with Cuba, exchanging oil, once more, for Cuban expertise (Wilpert, 2006). Since this land reform, the government has distributed over a third of the land holdings, largely benefitting 180,000 peasant farmers (Schiavoni & Camacaro, 2009). However, during this process, around 200 farmers were assassinated by mercenaries hired by local landowners who were bitter about the Land Act (Clark, 2010). The core of the Agro-Food policy is the Production Enterprises or Empreses de Produccion Social (EPS) that are led by farmers instead of private capital. An EPS is a food processing facility that purchases goods from farmers at a minimum price. Consequently, the final products are distributed and sold through food processing facilities that purchase produce from farmers at a fair minimum price. The output products are sold relatively cheaper through the government’s Mercal markets. However, it is worth noting that the bureaucratic state members were responsible for the creation of the EPS, thus also being responsible for the implementation of its processes. This meant that it veered away from the idea of being farmer driven. Because the bureaucratic state members were responsible for its creation, they also led the implementation of the processes of the enterprises, veering away from being farmer driven. For basic smaller entities than the EPS, another strategy centered in the agricultural policy is the establishment of the Unidades de Produccion Social (UPS). UPS operates as a state marketing board that presents where farmers can market their products at a regulated floor price (Purcell, 2017). The strategy’s intent is to provide consumers with cheaper goods and market price stability. The government also made ambitious investments in the Agro-Food policy’s Plan Café. This policy aims to help small and medium scale farmers sell their coffee products to the UPS. As previously stated, because of the floor price under the UPS board, the final products are sold to consumers for very low prices. It was set up by Chavez to mitigate the decline in coffee production and encourage new production. Maduro’s social funding policies still dependent on oil PDVSA is Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. PDVSA, under Maduro’s regime, remained to be the financial engine of social spending for Venezuela. The government also maintained close ties and relied on deals with Russia and China as an exporter of cheap oil and gas. During Maduro’s regime, his government maintained close ties and relied on deal with China, United States, India, and Singapore as expected as an exporter of cheap oil and gas. However, as they continue to rely heavily on oil revenues, global oil prices started dropping in 2014 (Cara Labrador, 2019). The fall in oil prices resulted to sluggish economy led by commodity price shocks, local currency devaluation, and necessities in short supply, which created serious unrest and unease among society (Mu & Hu, 2018). Maduro’s CLAP Policy To address the country’s economic crisis, doubling inflation rates, and food shortages that resulted from the drop in global oil prices, Maduro introduced another program in 2016 called “CLAP” or the “Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción (Local Committee for Production and Supply” (Jimenez, 2016). Jimenez further states in his article that CLAP aims to strengthen the subsidized food distribution system and provide direct house to house food distribution to communities based on the evaluate needs. Under this system, the government directly purchases foods from both the public and the private suppliers and arranges them in packages. Through the coordination with community organizations, the mixed food packages are being distributed among individual households. CLAP is delivered in medium-sized boxes composed of imported basic food items – rice, flour, sugar, etc. – which Venezuelan families are now dependent upon (Rendon, 2018). The role of CLAP boxes in contributing to the food crisis is discussed in the appropriate section below. Although not all social funding policies of Chavez and Maduro’s regime were mentioned, the researcher chose the most oil-reliant, globally recognized, and widely used policies of Venezuelans (Rajagopal, 2017). The policies and programs implemented displayed various enacted measures to attain food security grounded by endogenous development and participatory democracy – the two tenets of the Bolivarian ideal. These policies have been realized through state patronage, subsidies, price controls, and oil trade-offs, as well as an increased social role. As O’Brien (2016) acutely puts it, “Never has a country that should have been so rich been so poor”. The succeeding section will discuss how Chavez and Maduro’s social policies, along with two other major causes, led to the Venezuelan food crisis. Causes of the Food Crisis Food Crisis Cause #1: Dependency on Oil The near-decade-long rise in oil prices allowed the Bolivarian regime, specifically under Chavez, to increase both spending and borrowing. Friesen (2018) stated that with the global oil boom, Chavez continued to implement his social funding programs and subsidized almost all goods and services for consumers to purchase at a relatively low price. He also introduced nationalization of more private industries to ensure price controls. However, in the same article, Friesen adds that these actions sowed the seeds for the future inflation crisis. Hugo Chavez, make good on his pledge to harness the nation’s oil wealth to fund welfare programs aimed at redressing inequality and poverty. Chavez utilized the nation’s oil resource wealth to fund social programs, notably the misiones, and address class inequality. From subsidies for numerous projects on health, food, housing, and agriculture, the government’s spending obligations were high. Then, the global price of oil dropped. As the currency’s value fell, the cost of imported goods rose (Morgenstern, & Polga–Hecimovich, 2019). Chavez’s regime left no hope for an independent recovery of the resource-rich nation, provided that Chavez’s social policies and numerous price controls remain rampant even in Maduro’s administration (Rajagopal, 2017). Like many petrostates,3 Venezuela has struggled to diversify its economy, leaving it vulnerable to boom-bust cycles. Venezuela failed to diversify their economy, relying only on oil production to fund its policies and keep the economy moving (Sabga, 2019). This has left Venezuela vulnerable to boom-bust cycles of oil prices. Food Crisis Cause #2: Poor Political Infrastructure The second cause of the food crisis in Venezuela is the poor policy infrastructure, particularly for the Land Act and the Agro-Food policy. When the Land Act was implemented in 2001 as an important component of the Agro-Food policy, Chavez hoped that distributing land amongst farmers would result in maximum production of agricultural goods at a lower cost. However, Chavez did not anticipate that the immediate distribution of land would cause a conflict between landowners and peasant farmers. This conflict eventually led to the death of 200 farmers. Previous landowners hired mercenaries to assassinate the peasant farmers after seeing the act as a sudden attack against private property. In regards to the land redistribution process, Greg Wilpert (2006), founder of a Venezuelan news agency, argued that “…problems with the legal framework, general insecurity, and impunity, weak peasant organization, poor infrastructure and support, and economic problems” have prevented progress. In addition to the weak process of implementation of the Land Act, there has been difficulty in depopulating the urban areas to replace the farmers in the rural areas. This is because a majority of Venezuelans fled to the urban centers where they could easily get a hold of cheaper and subsidized goods, as well as acquire employment. In fact, Lavelle (2014), stated that oil-producing regions in Venezuela experience higher local wages, further eroding agriculture profitability. Because of the diminished productive capacity, a shortage of agricultural goods in the market took place. Chavez was also in pursuit of the Agro-Food policy that sought to offer generous amounts of credits from oil revenues to smallholder farmers to start cooperatives (Pineiro-Harnecker, 2005). With this Agro-Food policy, Chavez sought to revive the agricultural sector and offer incentives for farmers. Further, he aimed to sell agricultural goods at a lower cost in his mercals. As a result, there has been an exponential rise in the number of cooperatives, from 877 in 1998 to 69,231 in 2006 (SISOV, 2010). Regardless, a year later, it was discovered that many, if not the majority, of these cooperatives were actually small businesses disguised as such, in order to milk their government’s assistance. Because of this, many of the cooperatives did not become economically viable and sustainable (Lavelle, 2014). Isaacs et al. (2009) argue that cooperatives failed due to lack of peasant and farmer training and a more efficient system that monitors the cooperatives being started. Ultimately, the fall of the agricultural sector could be attributed to the government’s weak oversight and their mere offers of generous credit to poorly trained and inexperienced farmers. The collapse of these cooperatives resulted to a loss of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, accompanied by market shortages (Pineiro-Harnecker, 2009). Food Crisis Cause #3 Political Power over Welfare – Carnet de la Patria Policy and CLAP Policy The third cause of the food crisis in Venezuela is the political use of welfare. Despite Maduro’s proposed premise that Carnet del la Patria and the CLAP policy would alleviate scarcity and starvation, many news and academic articles have condemned these policies as weaponizing hunger and prioritizing a political agenda of power maintenance. Researchers and news writers have labeled ID cards as government surveillance (Ragas, 2017). Because CLAP boxes are only given to people who vote for the government through their ID cards, it becomes an ultimatum that restricts their liberty to vote in place of receiving food. Since majority of the goods in the CLAP boxes are from neighboring countries, this exacerbates the country’s dependence on industrialized foods, instead of focusing on a strategic and transformative food policies. In fact, CLAP deliveries have even become avenues for corruption. Findings and investigations have suggested that those overseeing the program are making profits by increasing the price of the CLAP boxes sold. What was once a $12 CLAP box would become $35, a change made by the facilitators of the programs themselves (Aponte & Martinez, 2018; Rendon, 2017). Although it was Maduro’s objective to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign food, this hasn’t been actualized through the existence of CLAP. In reality, 90% of products inside the box were goods imported from Mexico and neighboring Colombia. In the same way, this also raises the concern on health, because there have been assertions that the distributed food often fails the basic health quality standards, which involves spoilage and unsanitary conditions (Rendon, 2018). The Economic War: Added Pressure from Internal and External Opposition The fourth and fifth causes of the food crisis stem from the economic war between Venezuela and the opposition. As with any radical shift from neo-liberalism, the Bolivarian Regime of Chavez and Maduro was bound to receive criticism against internal and external liberal opposition. The private entities benefiting from the puntofijista regime responded negatively to the social funding policies of Chavez and even Maduro. The pro-government groups argue that the food crisis can be explained in terms of the social and economic dynamics that come to play outside government policies. This argument is coined as the “economic war”. It holds that business sectors friendly to the opposition are waging an aggressive and protracted campaign of economic sabotage to deliberately stir up social unrest to destabilize and discredit the governing Chavista regimes (Bolton, 2016). In her book, “The Visible Hand” (2017), Pasqualina Curcio-Curcio explains that the shortages were not to be blamed entirely on the government but were manufactured by the private sector too. As much as the opposition denies this case, evidence still exists that while they are not wholly to blame, the opposition has had a hand in aggravating the food crisis. The Oil Lock-Out One of the earliest displays of the opposition against the Bolivarian regime was the violent oil lock-out strike in 2002. Workers at PDVSA rallied to force a new presidential election to get rid of Chavez. To enhance their collective force, PDVSA stopped its oil production for two months, which caused an almost $14 billion loss in oil revenue. (Kozloff, 2006). Furthermore, the oil lockout resulted to the Chavez administration’s reduced capacity to push for their social programs or misiones, as these were heavily funded by oil revenues. This also caused a scarcity outbreak in regards with the delivery of goods, especially food, which were left to rot unattended in warehouses. Because petroleum wasn’t available, transportation of goods from the production centers to the shops or markets were halted. In the aftermath of the strike, the government fired 18,000 PDVSA employees, 40% of the company’s workforce, for “dereliction of duty” during the strike. The oil lockout strike collapsed in February 2003, and Chavez remained seated as president. This event is considered as one of major catalysts of the Chavez opposition (Vera, 2014). Food Crisis Cause #4 Hoarding and Re-selling of Goods in the Black Market The Bolivarian government’s price controls for goods and services has wounded the profit gains of producers. This has created a disincentive for the private industry to 1) invest in production and 2) produce goods. Underproduction became a phenomenon in Venezuela until little to no food was left. Instead of selling their products in mercal stores, many producers hoard their products and resort to selling them in the black market where prices are controlled by the producers (Kaplan, 2016). Francisco Luzon, a Venezuelan working class, said in an interview with Al Jazeera (Arsenault, 2014): There is some truth about the economic war from private entities, as they want to increase profits. Distributors buy large quantities of products here and sell them in Colombia. Selling contraband is a serious problem. People here are taking large quantities of products meant for Venezuelans and selling them in Colombia. The disproportionate prices in the Venezuelan market due to strong state and exchange-rate issues has enticed black-marketers and hoarders to smuggle them across neighboring borders, particularly Colombia. While black markets were artificially made to raise exchange rates and promote capital flights to reduce production (Nakatani & Herrera, 2008), producers now rely on black markets to receive dollars. However, what the Bolivarian government refers to as hoarding, speculation, and sabotage is referred to simply as disinvestment by liberal economic analysts. According to the liberal economic analysts, the producers who hoard are simply rational actors responding to the opportunities for arbitrage offered by the isolated application of price controls (Levingston, 2014). Food Crisis Cause #5: U.S. Sanctions and Their Impact on the Venezuelan Economy The fifth cause of the food crisis in Venezuela is U.S. imposed sanctions. Among Venezuela’s major challenges is its tension with the United States, a well-known champion of neoliberalism and democracy. Ever since Chavez’s administration, the U.S. has been determined for a regime change in Venezuela. Qg: Divya Malhotra from the Centre of Air Power Studies (2017) foresaw that the U.S. would soon use the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela as proof of the failure of Venezuela’s socialist regime. The paper stated that given that the West has labelled the current situation in Venezuela a “humanitarian disaster,” further sanctions would reduce the petro-dollars coming into the country. Given that the U.S. is one of Venezuela’s major importers, this has negatively affected the implementation of social programs because of inadequate funds to support such initiatives. In August 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration levied financial sanctions on the Venezuelan government and the state-owned oil and gas company, PDVSA, limiting their access to U.S. financial markets and their ability to remit or even service outstanding debt obligations (O’Neil, 2018). The sanctions were one of Trump’s bids to pressure Maduro out of presidency (Eaton, 2019; Macias & Imbert, 2020). In addition, President Trump announced a full embargo against the Venezuelan government, blocking all transactions with some exceptions for humanitarian aid (Rendon, 2019). Because oil is the sole driving force of the economy, imposing sanctions on PDVSA drove down the country’s economy further, exacerbating the crisis. Venezuelans, even those who supported the government opposition have expressed their dislike for the U.S. sanctions as these terribly affect the government’s ability to earn oil revenues that could import food. These actions could cause further hardship for Venezuelans if the regime does not fall quickly (which has been the experience with other sanctioned regimes), resulting in more refugees (O’Neil, 2018). Venezuela continues to suffer a food crisis and the “blame war” between the government and the opposition helps no one. While a majority of the media, journal articles, and reports attribute the crisis to the supposed failure of the Venezuelan government under Chavez and Maduro, this article sought out and studied both sides of the debate to uncover the truth. This article tackles the five major causes of the food crisis while taking into account the faults of both the Chavez and Maduro administration, as well as external and internal opposition. The first major cause of the food crisis is the administration’s dependence on oil, a volatile resource, to support its social programs and policies. As soon as revenues from oil dried out, there was no more fuel to keep the programs running. The second cause is poor political infrastructure over Venezuela’s agricultural policies. Distributing land and loans for farmer cooperatives who were poorly trained and inexperienced led to a loss of a million dollars and the fall of the agricultural industry, creating market shortages (Piñeiro Harnecker, 2009). Prioritizing political power over welfare is the third cause of the food crisis. Majority of the goods in the CLAP boxes are from neighboring countries, exacerbating the country’s dependence on industrialized foods, instead of focusing on a strategic and transformative food policies. In addition to that, CLAP boxes have also become avenues to corruption. The fourth and fifth major causes of the Venezuelan food crisis relate to the economic war. Activities of external and internal opposition contributed largely to the food crisis. The hoarding and re-selling of goods in the black market (fourth cause) by the opposition to make a profit led to food shortages in the mercals. Private industries despised the nationalization of companies, feeling as it is an attack on private property. This was followed by price controls, wherein producers lost the incentive to produce due to poor profit earnings. The fifth and final major cause of the food crisis is the U.S. sanctions. A major player in the economy and a key exporter of Venezuela’s oil, the U.S. sanctions largely affected the food crisis. U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil has inspired countries like Canada and the EU to do the same (Sabga, 2019). In addition, Al Jazeera (2019) reported Bachelet stating that sanctions will worsen the crisis in Venezuela given that most of the earnings derive from a large share of U.S. exports, directly affecting Venezuela’s purchasing power of imported goods. The main objective of this article was to discuss the causes of the food crisis in Venezuela. Solutions to this food crisis were not the focus of this article. Other papers could fill the gap by exploring recommendations to resolve the food crisis. Some possible solutions include (1) cooperation between the pro-government and the anti-government forces; (2) reforms in the Maduro government; (3) toppling the Maduro government; or (4) support of international organizations to provide humanitarian and other assistance.
Stone lines are stones grouped in the shape of a line and placed along the contours. The stones can be of different sizes. The goal of these lines is soil conservation and runoff reduction, as they are used to slow down runoff water and break its velocity. Hence, they increase infiltration and retain sediment and seeds to make water and nutrients available for crops. Stone lines are most suitable for water harvesting on slightly sloping plains (up to 5%) in semi-arid regions. For slopes starting from 5%, stone bunds can be used (see eyebrow terraces). A stone line is usually 25 cm high and 35-40 cm wide. Both small and big stones are used to build a stone line and they are placed along the contour lines. Smaller stones are placed upslope whereas the larger ones face downslope in order to slow down the runoff, hold nutrient-rich soil sediments and improve water infiltration. The distance between the lines can vary according to the slope and the amount of material available. However, it is recommended to keep the lines 20 m apart from each other for slope less than 1% and 15 m for slopes between 1-2%. Stone lines are an easy and cheap intervention if stones are available in the immediate surroundings. This intervention is widely used in Africa, both in dry and humid areas. Moreover, stone lines are often used in combination with planting pits intervention for the rehabilitation of degraded and crusted lands. It is applied in semi-arid areas, on sandy and loamy soils where the slope is lower than 5%. A great example occurs in Niger, where the combination of the two techniques is applied in order to capture runoff, making infiltration more efficient and improving nutrient availability. The pits have a diameter of 20-30 cm, a depth of 20-25 cm and are spaced about 1 m apart in each direction. Stone lines are spaced 20-25 m apart on slopes of 2-5%. With this layout stone lines are quite small, usually, three stones wide and only one stone high and they are placed, along the contour lines, by hand. Very often grass grows between the stones leading to a greater infiltration and helping the accumulation of fertile sediments. Maintenance wise, stone lines need to be repaired annually, in particular after heavy precipitation events. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1991, Chritchley & Siegert, Water harvesting, http://www.fao.org/3/u3160e/u3160e00.htm. Reproduced with permission WOCAT, 2012, Schwilch, Hessel & Verzandvoort, Desire for Greener Land, https://edepot.wur.nl/212528. Reproduced with permission.
The most important of the Balinese ritual is that includes funeral rites and cremation or Ngaben. To maintain and preserve every aspect of the Balinese’s cultural life, A cremation or Ngaben is a superb study of all the most important symbols of Balinese ceremonial life, what anthropologist James Boon calls “a vast historical and ethnographic musing on the inevitability of death.” The Balinese believe a person’s sojourn on earth is but a short interlude in the long evolutionary process of the soul. Death occurs when the soul escapes from the body, but out of habit it continues to hover around the corpse. The soul cannot be freed as long as there is a body; only when the corporeal container is destroyed by the elements can the soul be liberated FROM all worldly ties. Because the Balinese perceive death not as an end but as a new beginning, a cremation or Ngaben is a time of joyous celebration, the greatest day in a person’s life. The ‘Ngaben’ ritual is the last and most important rite a family can perform for a loved one. Failure to free the soul by neglecting a cremation, or by incomplete or improper rites, renders the soul into a ghost who will wreak havoc on its neglectful descendants. For hundreds of years, cremation was a privilege of the noble classes, but today it is estimated 10-30% of all Hindu Balinese cremates their dead. Except for the disappearance of suttee, the practice of widows immolating themselves on the funeral pyres of their husbands (the last occurred in 1903), and Balinese ‘Ngaben’ rites haven’t changed significantly in well over 300 years. However, the quality and elaborate nature of ceremonies performed today are more determined by the underwriting of overseas film units than by the fees paid to high priests. A priest’s main job is to consecrate the deceased and his effigy with holy water, cleanse the body before cremation, and write letters of introduction (Ratnyadana) to open the doors of heaven for the soul. Only high Brahman priests may officiate at cremations of the highborn, and only the poor would hire a lesser ranking ‘Pemangku’. PRE-BURIAL AND PREPARATION The signal of death in a house is a coconut-oil lamp hung from a long bamboo pole high over the roof. During the period before cremation, the soul of the deceased is thought to be agitated, longing for release, and the lamp enables the wandering spirit to find its way home in the dark. On the first auspicious day after death, the body is prepared for purification and pre-burial. If the cremation is to take place quickly and the body to remain in the house, it may be mummified. If necessary, the teeth are filed. While prayers and mantras are recited, the corpse is rubbed with a mixture of sandalwood powder, salt, turmeric, rice-flour, and vinegar. The hands are bound and folded over on the breast in the gesture of prayer. Mirror-glass is placed on the eyelids, slivers of steel on the teeth, a gold ring in the mouth, jasmine flowers in the nostrils, and iron nails on the limbs, all to ensure a more perfect rebirth with “eyes as bright as mirrors, teeth like steel, breath as fragrant as flowers, and bones of iron.” An egg is rolled over the body, and the corpse then wrapped in many meters of white cloth. If the cremation will be postponed and it’s decided the cadaver will be buried and not mummified, the corpse is carried to the graveyard accompanied by chanting relatives bearing offerings. The body is then buried, often simply wrapped in cloth and placed directly on the earth. Open mourning is forbidden; a weeping child is sent out of the cemetery. The body will lie buried until it is burned. A small bamboo altar is erected next to the grave and offerings brought to it daily for 12 days. Forty-two days after death more offerings are placed, at which time it’s believed the soul has fled the body. The expense of a cremation ceremony can be staggering. With hundreds of callers to feed, entertain, and keep supplied with cigarettes for as long as a week, a special ‘gamelan’ ensemble required, and priest’s and assistant’s fees, an elaborate mass cremation can easily cost eight to 12 million Rupiah. It takes 2 million rupiah alone to take down power lines so that cremation towers can pass underneath. But for this spectacular send-off – the life goal of every Balinese – a family is prepared to make sacrifices. One of the kings of southern Bali killed in the mass suicide in Denpasar in 1906 wasn’t officially cremated until 28 years after his death. Only then was the family at last able to accumulate enough wealth to give him a proper departure befitting his high rank. Among people of the lower castes, the extravagant cost has produced a tendency to forget to open the grave of long-dead relatives and perform the overdue cremation. Apparently, the risk of the deceased soul haunting the living, requiring constant appeasement with offerings, just doesn’t frighten the survivors the way it used to. Days before the cremation, relatives “reawaken” the deceased by opening the grave. The remains are cleaned and wrapped in a white sacral cloth and taken to the cremation grounds to await the arrival of the coffin containing the effigy, which takes the place of the actual bones. Bones buried in unclean ground may never enter the family compound. On the morning of the cremation, relatives and friends visit the house to pay their respects. When all the guests have partaken of a lavish banquet, the village ‘Kulkul’ is sounded to begin the final march to the cremation grounds. Incited by the climactic rhythms of the ‘gamelan’, members of the dead man’s ‘Banjar’ rush into the home and lift the corpse from its stretcher and hoist it, by way of an elaborate decorated stairway (Raren), onto a soaring decorated wood and bamboo tower (bade) supported on a bamboo substructure. The tall bade is a fantastic Christmas tree-like creation beautifully decorated with tinsel, paper ornaments, flowers, glittering mirrors, and expensive fabrics. Since height is considered holy, the higher the tower, the higher the rank of the deceased. Towers for wealthy Ksatriya may attain heights of 20 or more meters, though the pervasive power lines of the island mean the really tall towers of the past are seldom seen today. For the more elaborate funeral, such as one for a prince, as many as three shifts of 100 men may be required to carry the heavily decorated funeral tower in a tumultuous, setting parade for two or three kilometers to the burning site. A venerable high priest may ride in a sedan chair at the top of the tower, accompanying the mummy; there may even be space provided in front for a small ‘Angklung’ orchestra. The villagers line up, each with something to carry holy water, ritual accessories, and pyramids of food offerings piled high on their heads. A single, smoothly flowing line of colorfully dressed women leads the parade, carrying a long white cloth attached to the coffin; this “towrope” symbolizes their assistance in transporting the coffin. Men follow, carrying roasted quail and rabbits on sticks the procession moves boisterously amid clouds of dust and fireworks, in an uproar of music, yelling, and hooting, handfuls of old Chinese coins scattered at the participants’ feet. It’s important the parade be bustling, crowded, and noisy-this shows the funeral has achieved large-scale public recognition. Chaos reigns especially around the tower, as relatives struggle to carry the body, each striving to prove loyalty to the deceased. The tower is spun on top of the bearers’ shoulders to confuse the soul and prevent it form finding its way back to its house, where it might make mischief for the living. Since evil spirits may be following, seeking to pilfer the soul, the procession might cross a stream, because spirits hate to get their feet wet, or zigzag down the main street, to confuse the corner-impaired creatures. Finally, the near-stampede streams onto the cremation grounds. The cremation grounds are usually located near the temple of the dead in the cemetery just outside the village. In the center of the grounds stands an animal-shaped sarcophagus, the appropriate figure determined by the caste of the deceased: a bull for a Brahman male, a cow for a Brahman woman, a winged lion for the Ksatriya class, a mythological half-elephant, half-fish (Gadjamina) for a lower-class Sudra. Once hewn of tree trunks, these coffins are now constructed of bamboo and plaster. Access is gained through a lid in the back. The entire coffin is draped with velvet or other expensive cloth and decorated with gold leaf, silk scarves, and cotton wool. Sometimes the Balinese rig the bull-shaped sarcophagus so its sexual organs become distended and red with bloods when someone pulls a hidden string. When the cremation tower reaches the burning site, a lengthy white shroud (Kajang) is attached to the body. Held over everyone’s heads, the corpse is led by the ‘kajang’ down from the tower and placed inside the coffin. The fragile, pagoda-like tower, no longer of any use, is tipped over and stripped of all valuables. A sea of fingers then passes ritual items up to be placed on the coffin. Family members huddle together to take one last look at their loved one, then a high priest climbs up on the platform to recite prayers over the body. Pots of holy water are poured over the corpse, then shattered on the ground. Hundreds of old Chinese coins are showered over the body as ransom to Yama, the Lord of the Underworld. After all the precious materials are piled on top, the high priest ignites the fuel under the pyre. In the span of a few seconds, the splendid tower-coffin, offerings, decorations-is engulfed in flames, hundreds of thousands of Rupiah going up in smoke in one last wild extravagant gesture. The Balinese believe that the soul is lifted to heaven on the column of smoke. Westerners find it curious how the Balinese treat the body of a dead relative. While the soul is regarded as all-important, the body is considered a foul, contaminated object to be dispensed with at the first opportunity. At cremations men clobber burning bodies with bamboo poles in order to break them up so they burn better. Corpses are unceremoniously prodded by relatives who make raucous jokes, mocking the body for not burning fast enough so they can all go home. As the fire subsides, the ‘Pedanda’ climbs the elevated platform and utters a few ‘mantra’, ringing a bell to hasten the soul’s journey to heaven. The eldest son rakes the ashes to make sure all the flesh is burned. Water is poured over the embers, and children are allowed to poke through the hot muddy ashes for coins and trinkets. The white bone ash is carefully separated from the wood ash. Sometimes the remaining, blackened bones are piled into a small mound, and then placed in a clay vessel or coconut shell. Carried on a richly decorated sedan chair, the ashes will eventually be borne in another disorderly, laughing procession to the sea or to a nearby seagoing river, where they are set adrift, finally freeing the soul. A small ‘Prahu’ is sometimes used to carry ashes out past the reefs so they won’t wash ashore. This act represents the final purification and disposal of the material body, the ultimate purification of the triple cleansing cycle of earth, fire, and water. Later, there are private, often quite elaborate ceremonies for the care of the soul. In these rites the soul takes its rightful, honored place as one of the family ancestral deities installed in a special shrine in the family temple. Twelve to 42 days after the burning, offerings and powerful incantations are made on the soul’s behalf. Wealthier families even construct a second tower at this time, nearly as elaborate as the cremation tower.
The Vikings Invade Year Five Year Five learn all about the Vikings in their learning quest. To end our learning quest on the Vikings, we had a Viking workshop which was a blast! Peter the Merciless taught us a lot of interesting things that we didn't know about and we had the opportunity to try on real Viking clothing, investigate Viking artefacts, and play with Viking toys. We were also taught how to spin wool and write our names using feather quill pens, which was how Vikings used to write. One of the most unforgettable moments was when I was able to strike my own silver coin in exactly the same method that the Vikings used, which we then took home to show our parents! Shannaye and Leahmost, Lowry
With rules about pregnancy medications constantly changing, it can feel overwhelming to know what to do when you’re feeling sick. It usually comes down to weighing the benefits for a mother with a health condition — even one as simple as a headache — against potential risks to her developing baby. The problem: Scientists can’t ethically perform drug testing on a pregnant woman. It’s not accurate to say a medication is 100 percent safe for a pregnant woman (simply because it’s never been studied or tested). In the past, medications were assigned to In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started to implement a new labeling system for drugs. Below is a sampling of a few of the drugs that we know pregnant women should avoid. Did you know? Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and levofloxacin are also types of antibiotics. These drugs could cause problems with the baby’s muscle and skeletal growth as well as joint pain and potential nerve damage in the mother. Ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin are both fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Primaquine is a drug that’s used to treat malaria. There isn’t a lot of data on humans who’ve taken this drug during pregnancy, but animal studies suggest it’s harmful to developing fetuses. It can damage blood cells in a fetus. Sulfonamides are a group of antibiotic medications. They’re also known as sulfa drugs. Codeine is a prescription drug used to relieve pain. In some states, codeine can be purchased without a prescription as a cough medicine. The drug has the potential to become habit-forming. It can lead to withdrawal symptoms in newborns. High doses of this OTC pain reliever can cause many serious problems, including: - delayed onset of labor - premature closing of the fetal ductus arteriosus, an important artery - hemorrhaging for both mother and baby - necrotizing enterocolitis, or damage to the lining of the intestines - oligohydramnios, or low levels of amniotic fluid - fetal kernicterus, a type of brain damage - abnormal vitamin K levels Most experts agree that ibuprofen is probably safe to use in small to moderate doses in early pregnancy. It should be avoided during pregnancy unless the risk of a blood clot is more dangerous than the risk of harm to the baby. Taking clonazepam during pregnancy can lead to withdrawal symptoms in newborns. Drug labels listing pregnancy letter categories will be completely phased out One important note about the new labeling system is that it doesn’t affect over-the-counter (OTC) medications at all. It’s only used for prescription drugs. The first subsection of the new label is titled “Pregnancy.” This subsection includes relevant data about the drug, information on risks, and information on how the drug may affect labor or delivery. If a Pregnancy exposure registries are studies that collect information about different medications and their possible effects on pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and their babies. These registries aren’t conducted by the FDA. Women who are interested in participating in a pregnancy exposure registry can volunteer, but participation isn’t required. The second subsection of the new label is titled “Lactation.” This part of the label includes information for women who are breastfeeding. Information such as the amount of the drug that will be present in breast milk and the drug’s potential effects on a breastfeeding infant is provided in this section. Relevant data is also included. Females and males of reproductive potential The third subsection of the new label is titled “Females and males of reproductive potential.” This section includes information on whether women using the drug should undergo pregnancy testing or use specific methods of contraception. It also includes information about the drug’s effect on fertility. If you’re not sure whether or not a medication is safe to take during pregnancy, ask your doctor. Also, ask about updated studies, as pregnancy drug labels can change with new research. Chaunie Brusie, BSN, is a registered nurse in labor and delivery, critical care, and long-term care nursing. She lives in Michigan with her husband and four young children and is the author of “Tiny Blue Lines.”
The term colorectal carcinoma refers to bowel cancer of the colon and the rectum. Bowel cancer is the third most common type of cancer and primarily affects people aged 50 and over. Altered bowel movements and blood in the stool are the most common symptoms of bowel tumours. It is treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. - How does bowel cancer develop? - Risk factors for bowel cancer - Symptoms of bowel cancer - Treatment of bowel cancer The small intestine is less frequently affected by the disease, which is why bowel cancer is known in layman’s terms as colon cancer. The number of men and women diagnosed with this type of cancer is more or less the same. The risk of developing the disease increases significantly from the age of 50 onwards. Colon cancer almost always presents as small polyps, known as colorectal polyps. Preventative examinations are therefore incredibly important for people who face an increased risk. Such check-ups make it possible to identify and remove these polyps at an early stage. The following risk factors make a person more likely to develop colon cancer: - Other family members who have suffered from bowel cancer - Polyps in the colon - Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) - Very little exercise Bowel cancer does not cause symptoms or pain for a long time. Important indicators for possible bowel cancer are: - Changes in bowel habits - Urge to defecate without a bowel movement - Switch between constipation and diarrhoea - Blood in the stool More general symptoms such as weight loss and tiredness can also point to a bowel tumour. Colon cancer very rarely causes stomach pains. Patients suffering these symptoms should go to a doctor. A colonoscopy is carried out to diagnose bowel cancer. Tissue samples can be taken from any areas that exhibit suspicious changes, so it is possible to make a definitive cancer diagnosis. Smaller colorectal polyps can be removed during the colonoscopy. Check-ups involving a colonoscopy or stool examination (blood) are important for the early detection of the disease. The choice of treatment depends on how far the cancer has progressed. If detected early, bowel cancer can be effectively treated by surgically removing the tumour. However, this is only the case if the tumour has not yet grown into the colon and has not yet formed any other tumours (metastases). In its advanced state, bowel cancer is treated with surgery combined with radiotherapy or chemotherapy. You can find out more about the surgical treatment options in the colon surgery section. Why choose Hirslanden The specialists at Hirslanden, the largest private hospital group in Switzerland, are renowned for their expertise and many years of experience in treating your illness. You can expect comfortable rooms and a modern infrastructure as well as the highest standards in medicine and care. We will help you throughout your entire stay, organising additional services such as translators and interpreters, transport, and overnight hotel stays for you and your relatives, and addressing all your administrative questions. A personal contact from the Hirslanden International team will take care of your needs from the time that you first contact us to arrange an appointment through to the end of your treatment. Contact us – we are happy to help you!
Things You'll Need Mango trees are tropical trees and prefer a frost-free environment. The fruit from the mango tree is very popular for its flavor and versatility in cooking. Mango trees can be grown in Texas, but only certain types are preferred. They are Haden, Irwin, Tommy Atkins, Kent and Keitt. Haden, Irwin and Tommy Atkins produce mature fruit in June; Kent produces fruit in July; and Keitt produces fruit in August. Choose a sunny location on the south or east side of the home and within 12 feet of the structure for protection in the winter. This site will require full sun in order to bear fruit and needs soil that drains well. Space the mango trees 12 to 15 feet from each other and other trees. Mango trees grown in Texas may not reach full height due to occasional freezing conditions. Remove all planting material from the root ball with water prior to planting until all roots are exposed. This enables the mango tree to establish itself in the ground. Dig a hole in the ground one size larger than the root ball. For example: if the root ball is 4 inches around, dig a hole that is 5 inches around. Replace the soil around the root ball. Using extra soil, build a dam around the hole. This holds the water around the tree. Fill the dam with water and after it soaks in, add any soil that is needed to finish filling the original hole around the tree. Water the tree three times in the first week by filling the dam with water and letting it soak in. Repeat the next week except only two times. Continue this watering technique until the dam erodes away. The mango trees will then be established and will continue to grow without additional watering. Remove any grass or weeds for several feet around the tree as these will divert water away from the mango tree. As the tree grows, keep the ground free from grass and weeds under the tree branch line. Add organic mulch around the base of the tree. Pruning is necessary only to remove any dead branches or limbs. Fertilize yearly. Cover any young trees with a cloth covering, which should be anchored to the ground, to protect the trees from temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Mango trees should bear fruit in the third year of growth. If your area of Texas experiences freezes and frosts during the winter, plant your mango trees in large pots approximately 30 to 40 inches in circumference so they can be brought indoors when needed. There are dwarf varieties, which do not grow very tall, that are ideal for growing in containers. Cathy Conrad has more than five years of newsprint experience as an assistant editor and is a professional writer. She has worked as a virtual assistant and email support specialist, and has more than 20 years of experience working in the medical field. Conrad is currently licensed as a Texas insurance representative and has many years in home improvement and gardening.
How’s this for a road trip? A young Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) has trekked across the ice from Norway to Canada in a mammoth 3,506-kilometer (2,176-mile) journey in record time. Scientists from the Norwegian Polar Institute used a GPS tracker attached to a collar to follow her as she left the Svalbard Archipelago on March 26, 2018 and reached Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada just over 2 months later. She made the journey in just 76 days, meaning she was traveling at an average rate of 46.3 kilometers (28.7 miles) a day – that’s more than a marathon every day for over 10 weeks. Reported in the journal Polar Research, the researchers write that this is “among the longest dispersal events ever recorded for an Arctic fox.” It’s also the fastest movement rate recorded for this species, 1.4 times faster than the previous record-holder, an adult male that was tracked in Alaska. Unfortunately, the GPS collar stopped working on February 6, 2019, so the team no longer know where the intrepid fox is. Nevertheless, the research team managed to gather enough data over the course of 2018 to detail its incredible Arctic hike. "We didn't think it was true at first. Could the fox have been found dead and now onboard a boat? But no, there are no boats that go so far up in the ice, so we just had to keep up with what the fox did,” Eva Fuglei, study author from the Norwegian Polar Institute, said in a statement. The study notes that this individual will have to adjust to some big dietary changes now they are in the Canadian Arctic, as the population there tend to eat lemmings and small mammals, rather than the marine-based diet they eat in Svalbard. While this might sound like a feel-good story of an adventurous fox, the story also unpins the importance of addressing the effects climate change, and the shrinking of the polar ice caps, is having on animals. Ice is vital for foxes and other creatures to venture around the Arctic and between continents. Arctic foxes have already become marooned on Iceland due to the demise of the polar ice and if things continue as they are, the population in Svalbard could become completely isolated too. “If the sea ice disappears, the archipelago of Svalbard will be isolated,” confirmed Fuglei. “This is another example of how important sea ice is to wildlife in the Arctic," added Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen. "The warming in the north is frighteningly fast. We must cut emissions quickly to prevent the sea ice from disappearing all summer.” Arnaud Tarroux, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research CC BY 4.0
What is a zoo? A zoo is defined by the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 (as amended) as “an establishment where wild animals are kept for exhibition to the public otherwise than for the purposes of a circus and otherwise than in a pet shop”. This applies to any zoo to which members of the public have access on more than seven days in any period of 12 consecutive months, whether or not a fee is charged. The Act also applies to any zoo to which members of the public do not have access if a licence is already in force in respect of it. What is a “wild animal”? The Act defines “wild animals” as “animals not normally domesticated in Great Britain” and, therefore, is not restricted to animals which are savage by nature. No further guidance is given in the Act, therefore, it will ultimately be for the courts to interpret the definition as to what a wild animal is. If the issue was to come before the courts, the courts will consider their ordinary and natural meaning, applying the usual rules of statutory interpretation. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has recognised the problems in defining what is a wild animal and has issued guidance as to what animals it considers to be covered by the Act. However, this guidance is not legally binding. What amounts to an “exhibition to the public”? The Act does not define what amounts to an “exhibition” or what “public” means. Again, this will be for the Courts to interpret if necessary and, again, there is DEFRA guidance on these definitions. For the purpose of defining “exhibition”, DEFRA’s view is that it is important to consider the reason for keeping the animals: if the purpose, or one of the purposes, of keeping the animals is so that other people should see them, then the animals are “kept for exhibition”. DEFRA also take the view that the Act does not apply where “animals merely can be seen by the public”, for example, from a highway. For the purpose of defining “public”, DEFRA’s view is that it is appropriate to adopt the meaning given in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary – that if a zoo is only open to members of a private club or organisation, it may fall outside of the Act. Are there any exemptions to the Act? Circuses and pet shops are excluded from the definition of a zoo. A circus is defined “as a place where animals are kept or introduced wholly or mainly for the purpose of performing tricks or manoeuvres at that place”. A pet shop is defined as “premises holding a licence or requiring a licence under the Pet Animals Act 1951”. These are the only exemptions. However, a person can apply to the Secretary of State for a “dispensation” under the Act. The Act provides that dispensations can be granted in relation to small zoos or where only a small number of animals are kept. The Act gives no guidance, however, as to what amounts to a small zoo or what amounts to a small number of animals, and again this will be for the courts to interpret. DEFRA has indicated that whilst each case is considered on its merits, dispensations will normally be made in relation to traditional deer parks; very small collections of llamas and alpacas; and small collections of small, non-hazardous and non-conservation sensitive wild species, excluding mammals. What are the legal implications of keeping a zoo? A zoo-keeper must obtain a licence from the local authority under the Act. All conditions of the zoo licence must be complied with. If no license is obtained, the local authority has the power to close down the zoo. Furthermore, it is a criminal offence to run a zoo without a licence and, on conviction in the Magistrates Court, a fine of up to £2,500 may be imposed. The licence must be displayed at the zoo entrance. If it is not, a fine of up to £1,000 may be imposed. The Act requires various conservation measures to be implemented in zoos, including that the zoo participates in at least one activity as set out in the Act. These are the participation in research from which conservation benefits accrue to species of wild animals; training in relevant conservation skills; the exchange of information relating to the conservation of species of wild animals; where appropriate, the breeding of wild animals in captivity; and where appropriate, the repopulation of an area with, or the reintroduction into the wild of, wild animals. The Act also requires zoos to promote public education and awareness in relation to the conservation of biodiversity. Generally, this will be achieved by a zoo providing information about the species of wild animals kept by them and their natural habitats. Zoos are also required to accommodate their animals under conditions which aim to satisfy the biological and conservation requirements of the species to which they belong. Zoos must implement measures to prevent the escape of animals, and measures to be taken in the event of any escape or unauthorised release. They must also take measures to prevent the intrusion of pests and vermin into the zoo, and to keep up-to-date records of the zoo’s collection. Under the Act, local authorities are required to carry out periodic inspections of licensed zoos.
Investigations into foodborne illness are being radically transformed by whole genome sequencing, which federal officials say is enabling them to identify the source of an outbreak far more quickly and prevent additional cases. Previously, samples from sick patients were sent to state and federal labs, where disease detectives ran tests to see if the infections were caused by the same bug. When enough matches emerged, typically a dozen or so, epidemiologists interviewed sick people, looking for a common food that was causing the outbreak. But the testing wasn’t definitive, and linking one case to another took time. “While all of this was going on, more contaminated product was getting out into the public,” said Dr. Steven Musser, deputy director for scientific operations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Now, the FDA is building a network of state and federal labs equipped to map out the exact DNA sequence of strains of Listeria, Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens found in sick patients. These sequences are then uploaded to a public database housed at the National Institutes of Health. The technology can not only differentiate a pathogen from multiple related species, but can also show slight mutations within the same strain. At the same time, the FDA has begun sequencing pathogens found during routine plant inspections and adding those to the database. One benefit of that, they say, is being able to quickly connect patients within an outbreak. Another is the potential to identify the source of an outbreak after just a few patients fall ill, shortening the time it takes to get tainted food off store shelves. To increase the odds of a match, the FDA wants manufacturers to contribute samples of pathogens found during their own plant inspections. Some contamination is common in food plants. When it is found in the manufacturing facility, but not in food products, companies generally are required only to clean it up without recalling products. But eliminating pathogens is tough, and convincing companies to offer up potentially incriminating evidence has been a hard sell, according to interviews with public health officials, food manufacturers and experts on recalls. “That is not something that we’ve solved yet,” said Ruth Timme, an FDA microbiologist who has talked to 10-15 companies over the past year about the benefits of sequencing. ‘You’ve Got ‘Em’ The FDA became convinced of the superiority of the new approach during a 2014 outbreak of salmonella affecting peanut butter made by nSpired Natural Foods of Oregon. The FDA had just activated a network of state, federal and academic laboratories to do whole genome sequencing, and the agency had also begun sequencing pathogens it collected from swabbing surfaces during factory inspections. All of these codes were uploaded to the database, known as GenomeTrakr. When people started getting sick, FDA scientists and partners searched GenomeTrakr, looking for matches with inspection samples. They found the DNA of bugs taken from two sick patients were “almost indistinguishable” from salmonella the FDA had found at nSpired Foods, said Dr. Eric Brown, director of FDA’s Division of Microbiology. The match allowed officials to quickly recall tainted peanut butter. Only six people got sick. “You catch things far earlier” with sequencing, said Dr. David Lipman, director of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. “It can be two cases. If you see a match, Bam! You’ve got em.” More Precise Tool Since the start of GenomeTrakr in 2012, 25,000 genomes from a variety of pathogens have been added to the database, and several state and federal partners, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have signed on. The participants agree that sequencing offers huge advantages over the 20-year-old genetic fingerprinting technique used previously, known as PFGE. David Acheson, a former official at both the USDA and the FDA, who now advises companies on food safety, likens the difference to a witness in a hit and run accident. While PFGE might identify the vehicle as a brown Toyota Corolla, whole genome sequencing provides the license number and even the vehicle identification number. “They both help identify the culprit,” he said, but one identifies the specific bug implicated. The CDC began experimenting with whole genome sequencing in the fall of 2013, joining the FDA and USDA in a pilot project to sequence all reported cases of Listeriosis in patients and upload those sequences on the GenomeTrakr database. For the pilot, CDC compared whole genome sequencing to PFGE, and found that sequencing reduced the number of red herrings – cases that look similar but aren’t. In the first year of the Listeria project, whole genome sequencing identified 19 Listeria clusters and solved four outbreaks. That compared with identifying 14 dusters and solving one outbreak the year earlier. For the food industry, the ability to more quickly match bacteria from a patient sample with their plants is a mixed blessing. FDA’s Musser thinks the technology will ultimately be embraced by industry, which could use sequencing to see if suppliers are bringing contamination into their plants or if bacteria has taken up residence in a corner of the plant. “These are things industry could just never get to before,” Musser said. Bernie Steves of Aon Risk Solutions Crisis Management Practice, who advises companies on product recalls, said sequencing is tying illnesses in people to the source “faster than we’ve seen before,” allowing companies to “nip things in the bud.” Conversely, he said, “it gives regulators another tool to find out where a potential problem is being sourced from.” That could mean more recalls. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, only about 40 percent of reported foodborne disease outbreaks from 2002-2011 were ever solved, letting many manufacturers off the hook. To allay some of those concerns and still get more samples, the FDA and its partners are working on ways to allow companies to provide blind samples through a third party. One such program called VoluntaryNet at the University of Georgia would allow companies to provide samples anonymously. For companies, the program could alert them pathogens residing in their plants. If a submitted pathogen starts making people sick, public health officials could alert companies about the problem, and possibly pull food off market shelves more quickly. FDA statistician Errol Strain said several companies have agreed in principle to supply samples and they are working out details on how to participate anonymously. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Sue Horton) Was this article valuable? Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Elaiussa Sebaste an Archaeological Guide The archaeological guides are written by well known archaeologists with the thought that they might evoke the spirit of these places for those are intersted in remains of Anatolian civilizations. Illıstrated with beauitiful photographs, equipped with helpful plans and drawings, they are essential to travellers to Turkey. The ancient city of Elaiussa Sebaste (today Ayaş) lies on the south - eastern coast of Turkey. The birth and the development of the settlement were granted by the favourable geographical position of the city, situated along the important coastal road connecting Asia Minor to Syria and projected in the intense commericial traffic of the eastern Mediterranean and, secondly, to the aboundant natural resources of the hinterland - timber from the Touro forests, vineyards and olive trees (elaion) to which the name Elaiussa itself alludes. The site was, during the Roman age, one of the most important cities of the Roman province of Cilicia, which developed considerably in the 2 and 3 century AD; it maintained its prestigious role as significant trading port until the Late Empire and the first Byzantine age. Thanks to its long and continuous life, Elaiussa can be indeed aechaeological knowledge on the dynamics of the development and evolution of urban centres in the Eastern Mediterranean area.
Logs sit in a pile in a lumber yard in Sonora, California on Friday August 23, 2019. (Lindsey Moore/KQED) California’s cornerstone climate law for reducing planet warming emissions is coming under fire from a group of high-profile researchers. The legal and policy experts are challenging California’s top regulators to strengthen oversight of the state’s cap-and-trade law and to adopt changes to ensure that the state’s marketplace is reducing greenhouse gas pollution at the rate it claims. Authors from Stanford Law School, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, among other institutions released a paper today pressing the California Air Resources Board to strengthen accounting reviews and ensure the state’s landmark climate change law is achieving its goals. The board monitors the cap-and-trade program, and agency leadership are vigorously defending it. The researchers — many of whom have been active in the program’s rule making and have challenged the agency before — argue in the working paper that the emissions reductions in California’s offset program are inherently uncertain. In some cases, they wrote, the rules create “perverse incentives” toward increasing planet-warming gases. The California law is at the center of the state’s plans to fight climate change and the state is counting on the initiative to reduce its total emissions by 40% by 2030. “So far, cap-and-trade programs have relied heavily on carbon offsets, as a way to meet the cap,” said lead author Barbara Haya, a UC Berkeley research fellow. “But carbon offsets have not worked very well.” In May, Haya examined the board’s assumptions around its offset program for forests in the U.S. (the agency refers to it as the U.S. Forest Projects protocol). She estimates landowners earn millions for reductions in planet warming emissions that might not be real. She argues that California overestimated carbon dioxide emissions reductions by 80 million tons, and the program may only have accomplished 18% of the emission reductions it claims to have made. When you consider that U.S. forests comprise the vast majority of the credits the agency has issued to date, that’s a big discrepancy. The analysis raises questions about how well the state’s landmark climate program — a model for other states and even countries — is working. But the agency is aggressively defending its cap-and-trade program saying it’s a model for the international community and the forest initiative is the product of years of policy making, hearings, and stakeholder input. Mary Nichols, the Air Resource Board’s chair and top official, said in a letter to members of the Legislature that the agency reviewed Haya’s forest study and strongly disagreed with her analysis because it “contains errors and misunderstandings of the Forest Protocol.” Rajinder Sahota, who manages the cap-and-trade program for the agency, said she’s fully confident that the program is working. “We categorically disagree with these assertions,” she said. She vigorously defended the forest program calling it the “global gold standard” and saying that it was designed over many years, thousands of review comments, and dozens of public meetings. Also, Sahota categorized Haya’s studies as representing “old arguments” and pointed to the fact that in 2015 the First District Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit from environmental groups that charged the offset program could not be ensured. “They brought the assertion that the offset program didn’t meet the requirements for being real, quantifiable emissions reductions,” Sahota said. “We litigated that and we prevailed in the lawsuit.” Strengthening the Program California cap-and-trade works in two ways. It places a limit on industrial emissions — a “cap” that is lowered over time — and it creates a marketplace for companies to buy emissions offset credits from forest managers, dairy farmers, or others who are taking steps to remove carbon from the atmosphere or prevent its release. Carbon offsets are central to California’s landmark climate change policy, and are organized into different areas the agency calls “protocols.” Rather than reduce its own pollution, for example, an oil refinery can buy an offset that represents a ton of carbon emissions reductions from sustainable practices in another industry. “Our goal was to explore how can an offset program be designed,” Haya said, “so that we can trust that the credits generated represent real emissions reductions and don’t undermine the effectiveness of our cap-and-trade programs.” The key issue, she added, has to do with California’s marketplace for “trading” emissions. State law requires that all of the offset credits be “real, permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, and enforceable.” Haya’s research found something different. “What we saw really clearly looking at California’s program is that the reductions from offsets are inherently uncertain,” she said. “We know how to measure emissions under a cap, but it is much harder to measure emissions reductions.” Danny Cullenward, an energy economist and co-author of the paper, said that California doesn’t maintain an ongoing, formal structure to monitor how well the program is working. “People think that these protocols can be used and used well, and we rely heavily on them, and invoke the idea that they’re high quality,” he said, adding that the California approach to ensuring quality with its offsets is “ad hoc.” Sahota disagrees, saying that all of the emissions offsets are verified by a third party; if any fraud is detected, the offsets are invalidated; and all of the underlying reports are made available to the public. Also, since the forest program was first adopted, the agency has updated its rules on different occasions after a review of the latest science. When researchers examined California’s recent initiatives that allow regulated industries to trade emissions, they found that, in some cases, they create what Haya calls “perverse incentives” that can lead to more emissions. For example, with one of its new initiatives, coal mines can make money by burning off the methane gas that leaks during production. While burning methane releases carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas driving climate change — methane gas is 84 times more potent in terms of global warming over the first 20 years it is released. Burning the methane, even though it increases the carbon wafting in the air, is a net positive. But the researchers identified a problem. By destroying methane, the gassiest mines in the U.S. could earn enough money to remain open for longer than they would have at a moment when coal and natural gas are competing and mines closing. “Those profits can be substantial for those mines,” Haya said. Also, California’s marketplace for emissions can deter governments from instituting other climate change regulations. Once an agency requires coal mines to flare their leaky gas, for example, the mines can no longer sell methane offsets. “Someone can’t pay someone else to reduce emissions because they are already required by law,” Haya said. Sahota disagrees, and points to the fact that before California adopted the coal mine program in 2014, agency staff estimated its potential impacts and found the potential revenue for the industry was minimal, a half a percent of the value of overall domestic coal production. “The protocol does not make any financial impact on bottom line decisions,” she said. Also, Sahota pushed back on the notion that the cap-and-trade program could deter other agencies away from regulations calling it “another falsehood.” She pointed to the fact that after the board adopted a market for capturing methane from dairy farms, California passed a bill regulating heat-trapping gases from livestock operations and landfills (when cows belch, pass gas and make manure they release methane). But, she acknowledged that other agencies might use California’s cap-and-trade law as an excuse not to pass regulations that they don’t want. “Regulation is the best way to achieve these emissions reductions because it guarantees action,” she said. “But until such time that regulations can be formulated, offset protocols incentivize early action and actually get people doing something.” Basically, it’s a carrot rather than the stick way to produce emissions reductions. U.S. Forests and Amazon Fires One reason that the quality of the program is so important is because California is a testing ground for climate policy, and the state exports its ideas to other countries, and also states like Oregon, which was poised to pass a similar law this year (until 11 Republican senators revolted, fled the state in protest, and killed the bill). The quality of the state’s landmark climate law is all the more important because the board will meet next month to consider framework rules for a new tropical forest program. While the agency is not yet considering adopting a program for international rainforest -- that would require years of environmental review and public comment -- the board will consider a methodology for what such a program might look like, a precursor to adoption. This is important because fires are ripping across the Brazilian Amazon after a surge in deforestation, and supporters of expanding California’s market argue that the state can fight climate change while saving tropical forests throughout the globe. If California approved a new program, forest managers in Brazil could earn money by sustainably managing their forests. But ensuring the quality of the program in other countries with different types of governments is a difficult challenge, Cullenward said. “If California will be overseeing the program, who’s going to do that?” he said. “If you think it’s challenging to manage a forest protocol in the continental United States and Alaska, how about operating in Acre, Brazil, right now?” Germany, Norway, and other governments invested in a fund to support sustainable forestry in this part of Brazil. But recently, they withdrew their investment because Brazil’s right-of-center president, Jair Bolsonaro, encourages deforestation. NPR reporting has Bolsonaro on the record saying he wants the Amazon open to development and describing rainforest protection measures as “obstacles” to the economy. California’s cap-and-trade law is a second generation carbon offset program. European leaders promoted the first generation program following the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, when an international coalition of countries promised to reduce emissions. The Kyoto’s offsets didn’t work very well. One study found that only 2% of the projects have a “high likelihood” of ensuring that emission reductions were additional and not over-estimated. Reporting in ProPublica revealed that the program subsidized thousands of projects, including coal plants, that claimed credits for being more efficient than they would have been. The European Union stopped accepting the credits after the program became mired in technical and human rights scandals. California's market is meant to respond to some of the criticisms of the dysfunctional first generation program created under the United Nations climate trading regime and is different in a few key ways. Kyoto’s initiative was voluntary and underfunded. But California's program allows companies to offset a small percentage of their carbon output and only recognizes forests in the U.S., where the state can presumably have more oversight. “The offset program is one of the most transparent parts of the cap-and-trade program," Sahota said. "We were sensitive to the concerns about distrust of offsets when we were designing it.” But from the get-go, environmental justice groups like the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability debated whether California’s cap-and-trade offsets would improve on the old model. They argue it allows industry to pay to pollute in areas already suffering from toxic pollution. Even so, they’ve recently eased back on their protests as long as the revenue from the market be used to meet the needs of neighborhoods most prone to dirty air; as, they hope, will be the case with California’s plan to use cap-and-trade money to clean dirty drinking water. Get the best of KQED’s science coverage in your inbox weekly.
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Historically, people have done some pretty weird things with sheep. The latest oddity to arise from our relationship with the woolly creatures is fitness trackers. For sheep. At first glance this idea sounds like something along the lines of handbags and sunglasses for dogs. Cute, yes. Practical? Not so much. But the thinking behind activity trackers for sheep extends beyond a simple business idea to profit from people with a questionable money to brain-cell ratio. Equipping farmers with real-time data on the health, activity, movements and behaviour of their sheep isn’t such a crazy idea. The science behind this (not so) oddball concept Developed by the CSIRO, the technology itself is exactly like a people fitbit, using accelerometers and GPS to track the creature’s movements within a 3D environment. The part that’s most interesting about the sheep fitbit, scientifically speaking, is how the collected data can be put to use. According to senior researcher for the project, Dr Dean Thomas: “Farmers generally rely on gut feel, rules of thumb and visual observations to manage their livestock. We feel we can increase productivity and improve animal wellbeing by developing scientifically-based monitoring products that alert and keep farmers up to date with the wellbeing of their flocks.” Using the animals to gain insight into the property The devices activate a whole new purpose for the sheep, making them like living, land-dwelling drones, capable of sending valuable data to farmers about the state of their properties. With around 74 million sheep in Australia alone, that’s a lot of information to unlock. The animals’ movements can tell farmers a lot about water supply, pasture quality and land erosion. The CSIRO is confident that, as development continues and more farmers take up the technology, the uses it can be put to will continue to expand. Monitoring the animals themselves Managing stock welfare is logistically challenging for farmers; particularly when it comes to sheep. The animals are flighty and unpredictable and trying to keep them in any kind of order is a maddening enterprise. The CSIRO’s trackers allow farmers to monitor flock movements and keep an eye on the growth and health of their animals. They can gain insight into the patterns that emerge under certain conditions and will be able to test out new methods and ideas and monitor their efficacy. Farmers will be able to see immediately if any sheep have escaped and, in case of emergencies, like fires or floods, will be able to instantly track where their animals have scattered to. Predation and theft will also be far more monitorable. Dr Thomas sees it as an opportunity for Aussie breeders to detect desirable qualities in their flock. “It’s previously been incredibly difficult to answer questions such as, ‘are more active sheep actually healthier and growing faster, or is this an inefficient use of their energy with no productive gain?’ Like a team of football players wearing GPS trackers, the individual performance of sheep could be evaluated.” With the CSIRO activity trackers hooked up, perhaps sheep racing could serve more of a purpose than mere entertainment.
Mrs Johns and Mrs Clarke The children in Owls continued to work hard on returning in March and have continued to make pleasing progress. They approach all of their learning with positivity and curiosity and the work they produce is always indicative of a sound understanding. They are independent and reflective learners – keen to always improve upon their learning. Owls have enjoyed learning about climate change and researched Greta Thunberg – the discursive pieces they wrote showed such maturity. They enjoyed their Science themed day – I hope the cress they planted and brought home grew! In English, they have pushed themselves to make their writing the best that it can be and are becoming proficient at refining their work. In Maths, we have consolidated our work in number and calculation as well as carrying out work on fractions of numbers. We continue to be good at problem solving and reasoning and are confident in explaining our learning. During the Summer term, Owls will be learning about a variety of genres of texts, including narratives, non-chronological reports, instructions and poetry. All our learning will be linked to our class readers and will share the theme of our enquiry question for the term. Our Summer Maths will be a focus on multiplication, division, fractions, statistics and measure. Our new topic for the Summer term is ‘Around the world in 80 days’. Our enquiry question will be ‘Areall landscapes he same?’ We will be looking at geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a range of landscapes – mountains, rivers, coasts. We will look in particular atan area of India, comparing it to our own locality. As the Spring Term in school was shortened and the children have requested it, we will continue to think about the environment and ways in which we can be more ecologically minded. In Science, we will look at living things and their habitats, describing how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other. We will also look at nutrition, food chains and sources. We will learn about plants, observing and describing how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants and exploring the requirements of plants for life and growth. The children will continue to enjoy learning Portuguese with Mrs. Gomes and Art with Mrs. Morton. They will also have RE lessons with Mrs. Stoodley. They will also be benefitting from PE and Health themed lessons from SASP. The children will have their weekly PE lesson on a Tuesday and Friday afternoon, so will need the appropriate clothing for these days each week. Please continue to support your child at home with reading – it is much appreciated. Homework will continue to be sent home weekly as well. If you have any enquiries or need support, please do not hesitate to contact us via the year group email; these emails are checked daily. We look forward to another term with your children. Ms. Johns and Miss. Clarke
Student Support (24/7) Crisis Text Line Coronavirus (COVID-19) Mental Health Support Line Suicide Prevention Lifeline Trevor Lifeline - Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention National Domestic Violence Hotline Rape Crisis and Victim Services You may also wish to visit the links below for additional resources and avenues for assistance: - Anti-Bullying and the MISD Bullying Report Form - Districts that implement social-emotional learning structures create an anti-bullying environment for all students. For more information on anti-bullying and how to report incidences, please visit the MISD Anti-Bullying webpage. - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Mental Health Support Line and Guidance - The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) launched a statewide mental health support line to help all Texans experiencing anxiety, stress or other emotional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD operate the line, which is available 24/7 at 833-986-1919. Counseling services are confidential and free of charge. - Emotional Wellness During COVID-19 - The constant coverage of COVID-19 can cause stress, fear and anxiety in students and families. To help lessen anxiety and provide reassurance, the Guidance & Counseling Department has developed a helpful list of resources. Download it here. - Friend for Life Hotline - Friends for Life works in conjunction with Crime Stoppers to allow students to make anonymous calls regarding problems that their friends are having that could be harmful to their health and safety. When a student makes a report, it is sent to the police, Student Services and Guidance & Counseling departments within the District for follow-up during regular school hours. You can call 817-469-TIPS (8477), text "TIP117 Plus Your Message" to 274637, or live chat at www.469tips.com. - National Suicide Prevention Hotline - We can all help prevent suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. - Crisis Text Line - Through Crisis Text Line, individuals who need support from a trained crisis counselor can text 741741 to connect with a "real-life human being" that will help ease your anxieties. - Tarrant Cares - Tarrant Cares is an online information service for individuals, families, caregivers and agencies. This resource hub will provide you with countless solutions for issues you and your family may be facing. - Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids about Being Online - Net Cetera is a guide for parents, teachers and other mentors with practical tips to help kids navigate the online world safely. Net Cetera covers a variety of topics – from cyberbullying to file-sharing – as well as where to go for more information and issues to raise with kids about living their lives online. - Talk early. Talk often. Get others involved – An Underage drinking prevention campaign - Sponsored by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, the campaign’s main focus is to help parents have open and ongoing conversations with their preteen and teen children about the dangers of underage alcohol use. The campaign includes public service announcements and a web site with additional materials. Access www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov. - See It and Stop It: Teen Action Campaign – Created by teens to help prevent relationship violence, the See It, Stop It website offers information on recognizing and stopping abuse. The campaign's main premise is to help those who may be aware of domestic violence help victims of abuse. - Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) | The Power of Parents and the Power of You(th) programs - Parents are a youth’s leading resource when it comes to making healthy choices. Youth also can play a pivotal role in underage prevention because they can stand up as the leaders who make it “ok” to say no to alcohol. The Power of Parents helps use the power they have to keep their kids safe through ongoing, critical conversations with their children about alcohol and other drugs. Through The Power of You(th), young adults not only learn why it is important to stay away from alcohol and other drugs, but they also learn real life strategies. - Military OneSource (www.MilitaryOneSource.com), a Department of Defense program, provides free help and information, 24/7, to service members and their families on issues that affect them, including parenting and child care, the concerns of families of children with special needs, budgeting and finances, consumer purchases, education, relationships, the cycle of deployment, and overall health and well-being. - Underage Drinking Prevention and Awareness - The Too Smart To Start website, keeps individuals and organizations informed with the latest news on underage drinking. Too Smart to Start (TSTS) is a public education initiative that provides research-based strategies and materials to professionals and volunteers at the community level to help implement an underage alcohol use prevention program. The goal of TSTS is to decrease the risk of underage alcohol use by increasing the knowledge and skills of 9-13 year-olds and their parents and caregivers so they can positively address underage alcohol use issues. - The Dangers of Prescription Drugs - As communities around the country renew their focus on the dangers of prescription drugs, parents are not alone and there are many free resources available. Learn why teens are abusing prescription drugs, the signs and symptoms of abuse, and which drugs are more frequently abused here. - 5 Drugs Kids Steal Most Often From Parents (CBS Early Show 5/7/09)
Inclusion is not a place. To be included is to feel a sense of belonging and to participate in activities available to all others in our community. The result of inclusion is motivation, engagement, and achievement. In cooperation with the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Roots of Inclusion, this is the PowerPoint for Dr. Quirk's 90-minute presentation about building a culture of inclusion and belonging in the state of Washington and beyond. This is MCIE's tool for educators to be effective and efficient when working as a team. See the School Transformation page for more collaboration resources! This is a district-level self-assessment of secondary transition services with an action planning process to improve services over time published in cooperation with the Maryland State Department of Education. It describes research and national work to identify the practices that lead to post-school success. For training or information on the application of the ETP Self-Assessment, contact Betsy Tornquist at [email protected]. This document describes the vast body of quantitative and qualitative research demonstrating the positive impact of inclusion in general education classrooms. Look for an update, coming soon! This 25-item survey is a tool for assessing staff attitudes and beliefs about including students with disabilities in general education classes in their neighborhood school. If you would like MCIE to send a link for an electronic survey to take online, contact Nolan Taylor at [email protected]. This guide provides principals a general overview of their role as they develop a culture of collaboration and support the changing roles of educators. Focusing on a school-wide approach to PBIS, this guide describes the tiers of successful intervention and provides evidence of its impact on student performance. If you have followed the MAPs process (see Student-Centered Planning below) to set the stage for inclusion, you will be ready to use these planning forms for ensuring specially designed instruction and participation in general education classes. For more information on how to use these forms, contact Barb Gruber at [email protected]. When students have been in separate special education classes, are moving from elementary to middle or high school, or are finding success in general education settings to be a challenge, this document provides a process that helps create vision, identify support needs, and rally the team to take action.
Moya Cahill didn’t have this kind of boom in mind 12 years ago when she co-founded PanGeo Subsea, an ocean technology company, in St. John’s. Back then, as the province approached the peak of the offshore oil boom, she imagined PanGeo’s remotely operated vehicles would be used by oil companies to scan the ocean floor off the coast of Newfoundland. But these days, they’re in the North Sea, off the coast of Germany and the Netherlands, helping locate live explosives left on the bottom of the ocean after the Second World War, so they can be dug up and detonated to make way for wind farms. “The oil and gas runs through my — well, used to run through my veins,” Cahill said. “And now I’m glad to say that we’ve really switched over to this offshore renewable sector.” That explosion footage above shows a mine found by a PanGeo ROV being detonated off the coast of Denmark with the help of the Danish Navy. Past weapons in the way of future energy More than 50 million bombs, shells and detonators from World War II litter the floors of the Baltic and North Seas, according to official estimates. Those seas are also home to increasing offshore wind energy interests. The unexploded ordnances, or UXOs, have injured fishermen in the area, getting snagged in fishing nets and brought to the surface and then exploding or leaking toxic substances. They’re now also a major safety hazard for workers building offshore wind turbines. PanGeo uses acoustics to generate rough maps of the sea floor five to eight metres deep, Cahill said. The companies and organizations PanGeo works for — they just wrapped up a stint with the Danish Navy — use those images as guides, sending down equipment that can dig things out of the muck and see what they are. Sometimes they’re nothing: they’ve found an anchor, even a relaxing seal. But more often than not, they’re dangerous pieces of decades-old weaponry left over from a gruesome war, and the safest way to get rid of them is a controlled explosion far from shore, she said. Picking up luftmines Their acoustic scans let them pick out more mines than a traditional magnetic scan, including the tough-to-detect LMB mines, or luftmines, used by the Germans, said geoscientist Alison Brown. She interprets the data coming up from the ROVs. The Luftwaffe dropped these massive, 1,000-kilogram sea mines from planes high above the water. They’re often called parachute mines, because they had parachutes attached to their tail ends. “The reason why this mine is so elusive is because of the aluminum casing,” Brown said. “It doesn’t have much of a magnetic signature.” Working with history Brown, like Cahill and much of PanGeo’s young staff, never imagined she’d be using her geophysics degree to help build wind farms. “I thought it was going to be working in mining exploration or offshore oil and gas exploration,” she said. But instead of meetings with oil executives and engineers, she’s getting training from experts in the weapons and history of the Second World War. “The Germans kept excellent records of where they left all their mines and their bombs,” she said. “So they look at those records and they say, ‘Yeah in this area, you’re going to find this type of bomb, which is so large,’ and we know what to look for.” “I find it interesting that I get to clean up after World War II,” said Meghan Tucker, an ROV operator who also assumed she’d be in the oil industry. “It makes me feel good to be a part of that.” Wind energy in Newfoundland? Cahill says the company also gets a lot of work surveying sea floors for companies to lay the giant cables needed by the massive wind turbines offshore. As interest in wind power spreads across the globe — lately, PanGeo has had bites from companies in Taiwan and China, she said — she sees a good future for the company in renewable energy. She believes part of that future is in Newfoundland and Labrador. “There’s a lot of talk about offshore wind, and it balances out the other energy sectors — our hydro electric as well as our oil and gas sector,” she said. “I’m quite confident that with time we will see offshore wind firms here off the coast of Newfoundland.”
Finance stuff you should know Many of us leave school having learned how Pythagoras measured the area of a triangle but don’t know anything about compound interest, superannuation or how to invest. With this in mind, Miss Money Box is going to drop a few little knowledge bombs on you. Understanding compound interest from an early age, when we are best placed to make the most of its benefits, can have a huge impact on our financial future. Compound interest is basically interest that you earn on interest. Money that is compounded over a long period of time can end up being worth a fair bit. If children and teenagers had a better understanding of compound interest, they could use the one thing that they have over the rest of us – more time to build wealth. It’s never too late to become more financially literate. If you grasp the concept of compound interest, it will pay off big time in your future. Measuring the angles of this triangle will help you secure a comfortable retirement, right? Having at least a basic understanding of the stock market, how it works and the importance of investing could make a huge difference in the financial futures of many Australians. The stock market is seen as confusing by many, with women in particular feeling locked out of possible investment returns due to a financial services industry targeted towards, and dominated by men. Investing in the stock market is something you can do as a way to build wealth that has a much lower barrier to entry than property. The superannuation guarantee means that every wage-earning Australian sees 9.5 percent of their salary placed into their nominated super fund. However, with people living longer and the cost of living going up, this amount may not be enough. Salary sacrificing extra money into your super account will not only see you enjoy a comfortable retirement, the tax benefits (a low rate of 15 percent) make it a great way to invest. Both low and high-income earners have great reasons to make extra contributions. The Australian government has incentivised additional super contributions for low-income earners. This means that if your annual income is less than around $50k per year and you contribute additional after-tax $$$ into your superannuation, the government will make a co-contribution payment. For those on higher salaries, there’s the possibility of paying less income tax if you salary sacrifice into your super as contributions – up to certain limits – are not counted as assessable income for tax purposes. That’s it. Three little tips that could make a big difference to your finances.
Erasing Your Tracks Internet browsers are designed to leave traces behind that indicate where you have been and what you have been looking at on the internet. You cannot 100 percent guarantee that your activity cannot be traced on the internet, however, there are some things can you can do to reduce the chances. Many browsers have the option of PRIVATE BROWSING, on Google Chrome this is called "Incognito Mode". If you use this option, your current browsing session will not be saved and nor will files be cached or cookies saved. You need to choose this option every time you begin a browsing session by selecting File | New Incognito Window or similar. To erase history, you need to erase two things: YOUR CACHE and YOUR HISTORY LIST. To erase browser history follow the following instructions: If using Internet Explorer or Firefox please click on this link and follow the instructions: If using Google Chrome: Copy and paste this link: chrome://settings/clearBrowserData Next you can choose how much data you would like to erase by using the drop-down menu. You can choose to delete all your history by choosing “THE BEGINNING OF TIME”. Or you can choose to delete your internet history for the day by choosing “THE PAST DAY” on the drop-down menu. If you share the computer with others they will be able to see that you have deleted your history, if you are worried about this, the best option may be to choose “THE PAST HOUR” on the drop-down menu. It will only delete your searching history for the past hour. Make sure that the following boxes are checked: “BROWSING HISTORY”, “CACHED IMAGES AND FILES” AND “DOWNLOAD HISTORY”. Then click “CLEAR BROWSING DATA” at the bottom of the box. Then close your browser. If using Safari: Then choose CLEAR HISTORY. Then click CLEAR. One additional but important tip! When you clear the cache and the history list, you erase not only the information on where you’ve been but any other information that had been previously stored there. So, if your partner or someone else checks and sees that the cache and the history list have been completely emptied, they will know that you know how to do this. They may also guess that you’re trying to hide something.
The myth about America is that it has solely been defined by a set of propositions; the truth is that it has been crucially defined by its culture — from the very beginning. In my new book, The Case for Nationalism, I discuss the distinction writers on nationalism sometimes make between civic nationalism, which they often consider roughly another term for patriotism, and ethnic nationalism. The liberal writer Michael Ignatieff calls the civic nation “a community of equal, rights-bearing citizens, united in patriotic attachment to a shared set of political practices and values.” Ethnic nationalism, in contrast, entails “that an individual’s deepest attachments are inherited, not chosen,” and “it is the national community that defines the individual, not the individuals who define the national community.” It is certainly true that different forms of nationalism can be more or less inclusive and democratic. But no nation has ever been entirely civic in this sense, and it’s foolish to consider the United States any different. Our cultural nation was extremely important at the outset, and remains so today. At the time of the Revolution, the colonists were 80 percent British and almost entirely Protestant. As John Jay wrote in the Federalist No. 2, “Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people — a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs.” The fact is that culture is seeded with ideas. Would America be the same if its people spoke Russian — the language of a country that has never effectively supported property rights, the rule of law, or limited government — rather than English? Would our political culture as we know it have emerged if practically every home in America a couple of hundred years ago had had a Koran on the nightstand rather than a King James Bible? Of course not. At the beginning, this was a country not necessarily for Englishmen but by Englishmen, including their notions of liberty, which defined the American experience from the outset. Tocqueville famously wrote that the American was the Englishman left alone. If the eastern seaboard had been settled by Spaniards, you could have “left them alone” for a very long time and marinated them in all the Enlightenment philosophers, and they still never would have come up with the American founding. Even today, when America largely fulfills the standard of a civic nation, it still has a cultural basis. The English language remains a pillar of our national identity (language is often considered a foundation of exclusive ethnic nationalist states). Our rituals and holidays reflect the dominant culture. Christmas is a national holiday; Yom Kippur is not. And they reflect our national identity. Independence Day is a holiday; Cinco de Mayo is not. Our national heroes, our ancestors, are afforded a prized place of honor in our collective life. The ascension of George Washington to a quasi-sacred status in our country began almost immediately. Today, he’s still visible in a fresco inside the U.S. Capitol dome, dressed in purple, and surrounded by the gods of mythology. We bear the stamp of our national character wherever we go. “The Americanism of American culture,” Azar Gat writes, “is deeply felt around the world, regarded either with approval or disapproval, and Americans become very conscious of it whenever they encounter the outside world. This common American culture far transcends the political-civic culture that many theorists have posited, naively, as the exclusive binding element of the American nation.” The devotees of the idea of civic nationalism, at the extreme, make it sound as if a country is a voluntary association of individuals who have decided to live together under a certain set of political institutions and ideas. This is a fantasy. Nations are thicker than that. They are homelands that are felt as such by the people who live there and are connected by a web of associations and memories. If political institutions were all that mattered, Americans would be just as comfortable living in any major English-speaking country. Canada or Australia don’t have our Constitution, but they are liberal societies with ample protections for the freedom of the individual. Yet after every election, when famous people on both sides of the political divide threaten to move to Canada if the result goes the wrong way, no one actually moves. The French intellectual Ernest Renan gave expression to the voluntarist idea of the nation in his oft-quoted 1882 lecture: “A nation’s existence is, if you will pardon the metaphor, a daily plebiscite, just as an individual’s existence is a perpetual affirmation of life.” But Renan also cited the importance of “a rich legacy of memories” and thought that “the nation, like the individual, is the culmination of a long past of endeavours, sacrifice, and devotion.” Just so. Without these accretions, which all play a central role in our culture, America wouldn’t be as great or free as it is today. This essay is excerpted from The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free, out Tuesday from Broadside Books.
Just over a century ago, Einstein proposed the existence of waves in the spacetime continuum – the logical deduction from his Theory of General Relativity. In February 2016, scientists finally announced the detection of those “ripples” in gravity, using the technique of laser interferometry. Apart from the spectacular confirmation of Albert Einstein’s ideas, this cutting-edge discovery of gravitational waves provided the direct confirmation of the existence of black holes, since the cosmic commotion had likely resulted from the distant merging of two of those colliding space oddities. The discovery opened up an entirely new field of astronomical research – a way of probing cosmic phenomena that were once thought to be off-limits to any kind of scientific inquiry. A more complete understanding of the Universe, and the manner in which it all started with the Big Bang, finally got within the reach of physicists. Towards the end of 2015, Tim Peake became the first “official” UK astronaut to set foot on the International Space Station. In January 2016, Major Peake boldly stepped outside the I.S.S. to repair a faulty voltage regulator, becoming the first crew member to sport the Union Flag on a spacewalk. Although the main objective was achieved, the British astronaut had to cut his space outing short after water began leaking into the helmet of his colleague Tim Kopra’s spacesuit. What’s more this year? Astronomers confirmed the existence of ever another rocky exoplanet orbiting the nearest star to our Solar System. Proxima Centauri belongs to a class of small, cool stars, known as M dwarfs. Much different from the mid-sized yellow category that our Sun belongs to, they are cooler, and the habitable zones around such dwarf stars are located further in, which also exposes this rocky world – Proxima b – to harsher radiation. Flat Lenses and Meta-Materials The search for a more compact, thinner lens that performs as well, if not better, than the bulkier, traditional curved types used in cameras and telescopes, got a massive boost this year. A new flat lens made of paint whitener on a sliver of glass was heralded as a “game-changer” by its inventors. Few astrophysicists have been as influential on the progress of Cosmology as Vera Rubin. In 1974, Rubin discovered that the stars at the edges of galaxies moved faster than expected. Gravity calculations using only visible matter in galaxies showed that the outer stars should have been moving more slowly. To reconcile her observations with the law of gravity, scientists proposed the existence of a type of exotic matter that does not interact with electromagnetic radiation, and as a result cannot be seen. They decided to call it dark matter. This month, we say goodbye to that great lady of Science who should have won a Nobel Prize. Scientists also discovered the missing elements 113, 115, 117 and 118. They are formally named: nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts), and oganesson (Og), thereby completing Mendeleev’s Elementary Periodic Table. Time to rewrite the science books!
cheaper method of manufacturing fuel cells. A noble metal nanoparticle catalyst for fuel cells is prepared using atomic layer deposition (ALD).This ALD method for manufacturing fuel cells requires 60 per cent less of the costly catalyst than current methods. This is a significant discovery, because researchers have not been able to achieve savings of this magnitude before with materials that are commercially available, says Docent Tanja Kallio of Aalto University. In the future, when production costs can be lowered, fuel cells are expected to power electric vehicles and replace batteries, among other things. Despite their high price, fuel cells have already been used for a long time to produce energy in isolated environments, such as space crafts. These results are based on preliminary testing with fuel cell anodes using a palladium catalyst. Commercial production could start in 5-10 years The most commonly used fuel cells cover anode with expensive noble metal powder which reacts well with the fuel. By using the Aalto University researchers’ ALD method, this cover can be much thinner and more even than before which lowers costs and increases quality. With this study, researchers are developing better alcohol fuel cells using methanol or ethanol as their fuel. It is easier to handle and store alcohols than commonly used hydrogen. In alcohol fuel cells, it is also possible to use palladium as a catalyst. The most common catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells is platinum, which is twice as expensive as palladium. This means that alcohol fuel cells and palladium will bring a more economical product to the market. Fuel cells can create electricity that produces very little or even no pollution. They are highly efficient, making more energy and requiring less fuel than other devices of equal size. They are also quiet and require low maintenance, because there are no moving parts. To reduce the loading of noble metals on fuel cell catalysts a synthesis method providing evenly distributed nanoparticles on the support surface is needed. Narrow size distribution palladium nanoparticles were prepared on a porous carbon support by atomic layer deposition (ALD), and their activity for ethanol and isopropanol oxidation was studied electrochemically in alkaline media. Palladium particles had smaller average particle sizes on the support material resulting in 50 mV lower onset potential and 2.5 times higher mass activity for alcohol oxidation compared with a commercial catalyst. The results indicate that the use of ALD allows the preparation of a noble metal nanoparticle catalyst, and this catalyst can provide similar mass activity with lower catalyst loading than current commercial fuel cell catalysts. This would significantly reduce the cost of the cell and provide a competitive advantage compared with other power sources. Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels. A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
The researchers found that a mixture of human liver precursor cells and two other cell types can spontaneously form three-dimensional structures dubbed “liver buds.” In the mice, these liver buds formed functional connections with natural blood vessels and perform some liver-specific functions such as breaking down drugs in the bloodstream. It’s possible the technique will work with other organ types, including the pancreas, kidney, or lungs, lead author Takanori Takebe, a scientist at Yokohama City University in Japan. This is the first demonstration that a rudimentary human organ can be produced using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Generation of human liver with functional vascular networks in vivo. Takebe said that one potential therapeutic use of the method could involve delivering microscopic liver buds to human patients through a large vein that connects to the liver to improve survival after liver failure. He said he was optimistic that as much as 30 percent of liver function could be restored through this method. But Takebe estimated that such a treatment is at least 10 years away. In the meantime, the method must be improved so that the liver buds can be produced much more efficiently. “The problem is to create enough liver buds, in sufficient quantity, to make it a viable therapy,” he said. “The potential of pluripotent stem cell therapy is great,” says Jang, who cautions that, “much more work needs to be done to demonstrate their true value in the clinic,” including long-term evaluation of their safety. A more immediate use for iPS cells could be for screening candidate drugs. “Research using patient-relevant models of complex diseases such as liver cirrhosis and cancer would help in the discovery of better cellular and molecular targets for drug development,” Jang says. A critical shortage of donor organs for treating end-stage organ failure highlights the urgent need for generating organs from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Despite many reports describing functional cell differentiation no studies have succeeded in generating a three-dimensional vascularized organ such as liver. Here we show the generation of vascularized and functional human liver from human iPSCs by transplantation of liver buds created in vitro (iPSC-LBs). Specified hepatic cells (immature endodermal cells destined to track the hepatic cell fate) self-organized into three-dimensional iPSC-LBs by recapitulating organogenetic interactions between endothelial and mesenchymal cells. Immunostaining and gene-expression analyses revealed a resemblance between in vitro grown iPSC-LBs and in vivo liver buds. Human vasculatures in iPSC-LB transplants became functional by connecting to the host vessels within 48 hours. The formation of functional vasculatures stimulated the maturation of iPSC-LBs into tissue resembling the adult liver. Highly metabolic iPSC-derived tissue performed liver-specific functions such as protein production and human-specific drug metabolism without recipient liver replacement. Furthermore, mesenteric transplantation of iPSC-LBs rescued the drug-induced lethal liver failure model. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the generation of a functional human organ from pluripotent stem cells. Although efforts must ensue to translate these techniques to treatments for patients, this proof-of-concept demonstration of organ-bud transplantation provides a promising new approach to study regenerative medicine. Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels. A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
Measuring brain activity with precision is essential to developing further understanding of diseases such as epilepsy and disorders that affect brain function and motor control. Neural probes with high spatial resolution are needed for both recording and stimulating specific functional areas of the brain. Now, researchers from the Graphene Flagship have developed a new device for recording brain activity in high resolution while maintaining excellent signal to noise ratio (SNR). Based on graphene field-effect transistors, the flexible devices open up new possibilities for the development of functional implants and interfaces. The Graphene Flagship’s Biomedical Technologies Work Package explores the use of graphene and related materials in biomedical implant devices such as neural implants for recording and stimulating electrical activity, and targeted drug delivery. Graphene’s biocompatibility, chemical stability and flexibility – alongside its excellent electrical properties – make it attractive for use in medical devices. “Mechanical compliance is an important requirement for safe neural probes and interfaces,” said Jose Antonio Garrido, who led the research at ICN2. “Currently, the focus is on ultra-soft materials that can adapt conformally to the brain surface.” Measuring brain activity The devices were used to record the large signals generated by pre-epileptic activity in rats, as well as the smaller levels of brain activity during sleep and in response to visual light stimulation. These types of activities lead to much smaller electrical signals, and are at the level of typical brain activity. The graphene transistor probes showed excellent performance, with a high SNR and good spatial discrimination of the brain activity. Neural activity is detected through the electric fields generated when neurons fire. These fields are highly localised, so having ultra-small measuring devices that can be densely packed is important for accurate brain readings. The graphene-based probes are competitive with state-of-the-art platinum electrode arrays and have the benefits of intrinsic signal amplification and a better signal-to-noise performance when scaled down to very small sizes. This will allow for more densely packed and higher resolution probes, vital for precision mapping of brain activity. The inherent amplification property of the transistor also removes the need for a preamplification close to the probe – a requirement for metal electrodes. Graphene neural probes The neural probes are placed directly on the surface of the brain, so safety is of paramount importance for the development of graphene-based neural implant devices. “Graphene is one of the few materials that allows recording in a transistor configuration and simultaneously complies with all other requirements for neural probes such as flexibility, biocompability and chemical stability.” said Benno Blaschke of TU Munich, first author of the research. Importantly, the researchers determined that the graphene-based probes are non-toxic, and did not induce any significant inflammation. Graphene-containing implants should be long-lasting and safe – key characteristics of long-term therapeutic devices. An array of 16 graphene-based transistors, each with an active area less than the cross section of a human hair, are arranged on a flexible substrate to form the probe. “Although graphene is ideally suited for flexible electronics, it was a great challenge to transfer our fabrication process from rigid substrates to flexible ones,” said Blaschke. “The next step is to optimize the wafer-scale fabrication process and improve device flexibility and stability.” Future implant technology This work represents a first step towards the use of graphene in research as well as clinical neural devices, showing that graphene-based technologies can deliver the high resolution and high SNR needed for these applications. “Graphene neural interfaces have shown already a great potential, but we have to improve on the yield and homogeneity of the device production in order to advance towards a real technology,” said Garrido, who is also the Deputy of the Graphene Flagship Biomedical Technologies work package. “Once we have demonstrated the proof of concept in animal studies, the next goal will be to work towards the first human clinical trial with graphene devices during intraoperative mapping of the brain. This means addressing all regulatory issues associated to medical devices such as safety, biocompatibility, etc.” Devices implanted in the brain as neural prosthesis for therapeutic brain stimulation technologies and interfaces for sensory and motor devices, such as artificial limbs, are an important goal for improving quality of life for patients. Andrea Ferrari, Science and Technology Officer and Chair of the Management Panel of the Graphene Flagship, added “We are pleased to see this promising result from the newly formed work-package on Biomedical Technologies. This was created to exploit the short and long term potential of graphene and related materials in this high growth area, with great potential benefits for society.” Establishing a reliable communication interface between the brain and electronic devices is of paramount importance for exploiting the full potential of neural prostheses. Current microelectrode technologies for recording electrical activity, however, evidence important shortcomings, e.g. challenging high density integration. Solution-gated field-effect transistors (SGFETs), on the other hand, could overcome these shortcomings if a suitable transistor material were available. Graphene is particularly attractive due to its biocompatibility, chemical stability, flexibility, low intrinsic electronic noise and high charge carrier mobilities. Here, we report on the use of an array of flexible graphene SGFETs for recording spontaneous slow waves, as well as visually evoked and also pre-epileptic activity in vivo in rats. The flexible array of graphene SGFETs allows mapping brain electrical activity with excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), suggesting that this technology could lay the foundation for a future generation of in vivo recording implants. Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels. A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
OSRL’s response specialist, Bjørnar Andrè Fonn, participated in a pilot course on spill response in cold climates and ice infested waters, a project by the Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO), lead and facilitated by the Norwegian Fire Academy. This course is a pilot for a course which is undergoing development, and will be finalised in 2017. The course aims to help participants understand the challenges of working in cold climates, the fate and effect of oil in cold climates, knowledge of preventive measures to avoid harm to personnel and damage to equipment, and the ability to utilise relevant resources during a response. Bjørnar answers some of our questions about the course and cold weather response. During a response in cold climate, what is most notable from a Health, Safety and the Environment (HSE) perspective? We must remember the environment plays a dominant influence. The cold climate can influence your work attitude, level of vigilance for yourself and your team members, and affect the equipment, all of which affects how we can work safely. When the ice and snow moves, it influences the response effort – oil may be naturally contained, or weathering may be slower, or response plans may change. As we work safely towards an end goal, we need to take into consideration our own vulnerabilities. We need to keep alert, quickly identify new risks and mitigate them – make continuous risk assessments as we work! Experience helps reduce reaction time during critical incidents, e.g. when a team member falls into water. The course also covered the basics of Personal Protective Equipment, focusing on a personal kit, including sharing by the Norwegian Civil Defense and Special Forces. Knowledge of layering is important, and for many situations, we found that the headlamp is an essential item. What happens when someone falls in the water? We had ice rescue training, which is valuable when working near or on ice. You have limited time to react before the situation becomes critical. We learnt how to use the Rapid Deployment Craft, how to quickly secure rope and rig climbing gear, and also went into water wearing a thick thermal suit, work suit (dry suit) and buoyancy vest, which kept us warm even after a few minutes in the water. With this practical experience, we can reduce our reaction time should such an incident occur, and bring that person to safety as fast as possible. How does the weather impact response? In a cold climate, we have to understand that not only is the weather severe, it is also highly variable. The weather changes also occur quickly. The changes influence how we allocate resources and adjust activities. We need to understand which locations are more vulnerable. Besides dealing with heavy snowfall and rain, wind can also affect our response efforts (mostly onshore at summertime and offshore at wintertime). The distribution of snow and ice is also dependent on air and sea surface temperatures, as well as the sea current. I think this course could have covered more on meteorology because the changes in the environment affect each other, and it is important we learn how to read the signs and predict changing weather in order to respond efficiently and safely. I understand NOFO has another separate course in meteorology, which may complement this course. What works in icy conditions? The course provided a lot of practical experience with equipment, and we could use the equipment on the Norwegian Fire Academy’s test pool, which had oil on good thick ice. We used the Brush Skimmer, Foxtail Mini, and had the opportunity to attempt a full in-situ burn on site. We also used a UAV for reconnaissance. We learnt the Foxtail Mini is very versatile and a good choice for ice-infested waters. It is smaller and useful for a first response. Out in the field it’s important to establish a good base, and provide good facilities. We put up the command tent, heating unit, working lights and toilet facilities. Heated shelter with available food and drinks will be vital during a response effort. This means we can rotate people in and out of the operation, and keep personnel safe and healthy. The base was also used for equipment storage, launch and recovery. Boom was to be pulled directly from the pallet and out at sea. This reduced response time and the need for cranes and other facilities. Snow is beneficial in some situations. For example, it makes a good slipway to drag boom down to sea, and reduces wear on equipment during launch and recovery. How can we use a UAV? We conducted a reconnaissance of two areas, one for a field base and then the exercise “incident” area. We got familiar with the use of UAV`s as a tool for site surveys and mapping. The Norwegian Fire Academy has trained a few drone pilots, and had purchased one UAV for trial use. The UAV chosen was the DJI Phantom 3, which turned out to be more than capable for the general tasks we needed. This UAV was able to perform in heavy rain, and keep its battery life in -10 degrees celsius. For upcoming courses, the Fire Academy wants to attempt a live stream directly from location, and do a “real-time” site survey with the class. This will allow them to both demonstrate the practical usage, and to get a sense of how the incident command will work, getting data and surveys back from the field. Knowing the possibilities and improvements is important. Safer and more efficient tools can be used, minimizing risk to personnel. We can plan the area layout, zoning and do a preliminary risk assessment, all without being on site. What did you learn about burning oil on ice? During the in-situ burn exercise, we managed to get a fire going at two places simultaneously. Ideally, slick thickness needs to be maintained at two to five millimeters. If we had another chance to plan a burn, we would need to get a boom across the pool to pull the oil and ice mass into a more concentrated area. The use of herders has also been considered for in-situ burning, and would help us create that slick thickness. How can we improve our response in cold climates? Adopting industry best practices, utilising emerging technology like UAVs to provide us with essential data and staying abreast of new developments maintains and improves capability, and prevents complacency. We need to be able to adjust our resources, adapt to the dynamic environment as well as know what we can do, including our limitations. It is important we maintain focus on exercises in cold climate and remote locations. This will allow us to strengthen our logistical capabilities, as well as overall preparedness. One thing we really need to consider is having some exercises in dark conditions. During the winter months, we may only experience a brief period of dusk lighting and than it is darkness again. We had some of the course days extend into the evening, and got to operate skimmers in the test pool in dark conditions. But we have yet to run coastal operations or offshore operations in the dark. This will train us in how we communicate during a response, how we manage people and teams and plan for additional resources.
Families are complex. Every family member is unique and has different developmental concerns, needs, perceptions, and aspirations. Family members’ ways of experiencing their environment, social engagement, and physical and psychological conditions compound their differences. Despite these disparities, families do function! Typical of complex systems, families function when they can regulate themselves. Absent self-regulation, a family becomes more chaotic as the differences between the members increase. Every member has a unique role in the regulation of the family. Problems in the family arise when one or more members cannot play their appropriate role. I work with family members to clarify the cause of distress. Members can influence each other’s engagement with the family; therefore, I work with the whole family to develop responses that enhance engagement. Then I help the distressed members build skills and resources to manage their situations to play their roles to improve family function. Areas of focus in helping families regain and improve family function include: - Development of beliefs that value and acknowledge the benefit of individual differences, uniqueness, and worth among family members, - Development of attitudes and behaviours that honour, support, and celebrate individual differences and uniqueness among family members, - Facilitate understanding, appreciation, and implications of the individual-specific developmental demands on the family members, - Facilitate understanding of the difficulties as personal responses to demands. - Frame difficulties family members experience within the intersection of demands and resources (i.e., health, skills, supports), - Development of resources - improvement of physical, mental, and emotional health, - development of skills for managing demands, and - development of social supports among family members (i.e., empathy, kindness, unconditional positive regard, compassion), - Support the development of personal responsibility for family functioning in family members.
Protocol - School Attendance - Child This single proxy-administered question from the National Survey of Childrens Health (NSCH) measures impact of health problems on school attendance over the past 12 months. 2016 National Survey of Childrens Health Indicator 5.4: Missed School Days, Age 6-17 Years During the past 12 months, about how many days did this child miss school because of illness or injury? Personnel and Training Required |Specialized requirements for biospecimen collection||No| |Average time of greater than 15 minutes in an unaffected individual||No| Mode of Administration Children age 6–17 years This proxy-administered question from National Survey of Childrens Health (NSCH) is short and easy to complete and interpret. |caDSR Common Data Elements (CDE)||Child Missing School Day Count Ê||6706613||CDE Browser| Process and Review Protocol Name from Source National Survey of Childrens Health (NSCH), 2016 United States Census Bureau, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, National Survey of Childrens Health, 2016, Indicator 5.4: Missed School Days, Age 6-17 years. Summary statistics for this question from the 2016 National Survey of Childrens Health (NSCH) can be found here: http://childhealthdata.org/browse/survey/results?q=4844&r=1 Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health. (2018). 2016 National Survey of Childrens Health (NSCH) data query. Retrieved from www.childhealthdata.org. CAHMI: www.cahmi.org. |Variable Name||Variable ID||Variable Description||dbGaP Mapping| |PX910601000000||During the past 12 months, about how many more||N/A| School and Work Attendance May 7, 2019 Chronic illness can contribute to excessive missed work or school days. This a quantitative measure of health-related loss of productivity in school and work. Missing work has the potential to compromise productivity and lead to economic implications. Excessive school absenteeism can negatively impact a child’s education as well as physical and psychosocial health-related quality of life. School, daily activities, work
Belforte with Radicondoli in the background Church of Santa Croce in Belforte Belforte is the ancestral home of the powerful Belforti family of Volterra. The castle is first mentioned during the 12 C and in a document of 1208 it is cited in the will of Ildebrando Aldobrandesco where he bequeaths it to his son Ildebrandino together with other territory and castles. In 1221, Belforte numbered 260 heads of the family and, together with Radicondoli, swore fealty to the Republic of Sienna. Despite this, Sienna and the Aldobrandeschi continued to contend for possession of Belforte, but in 1301 it became definitively the property of Sienna. From then on, Belforte shared the destiny of Radicondoli and in 1555 it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of the Medici . In 1676, the auditor Gherardini notes that Belforte had a main street paved partly in brick and partly in stone, running from one town gate to the other. Among the public buildings were the Palace of Justice, a reservoir, a fountain including a public washhouse and an animal trough, a kiln, the schoolmaster's house, a pilgrims' hospice, the parish church and the Church of Santa Croce. Radicondoli © ammonet InfoTech 2007 - 2015. All rights reserved.
Genetics, lifestyle & diet all influence circulation & vessel health, but if you’re looking to give your blood flow an extra boost, try incorporating these vessel-friendly foods into your diet. Exercise and diet are critical factors for improved blood flow, but did you know there are certain foods specifically linked to better vascular health? Today we share five foods from our friends over at MindBodyGreen that vascular biologist William Li, M.D. links to better circulation and blood flow. - Tea. Green tea helps protect the endothelial lining of blood vessels and has been associated with lower rates of coronary heart disease. Black tea has also been shown to improve blood vessel health. - Omega-3s. These healthy fatty acids serve to protect blood vessel linings and reduce platelet aggregation which can lead to blood clots. - Cruciferous vegetables. Among their many benefits, these veggies help to protect the lining of blood vessels and spinach releases nitric oxide which reduces blood pressure, improves flow, and relaxes blood vessels. Other great cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, and arugula. - Beets. This red earthy root is rich in natural nitrates and in one study, drinking just 16 ounces of fresh beet juice each day significantly reduced blood pressure in healthy participants. - Dark chocolate. This delicious treat not only tastes great but also has polyphenols that improve your circulation. It also helps release nitric oxide to lower blood pressure. Genetics, lifestyle, and diet all influence circulation and vessel health, but if you’re looking to give your blood flow an extra boost, try incorporating these vessel-friendly foods into your diet.
Free sources for lecturers, educational ideas and tips, educational topics, Personal Learning Networks, Project Based mostly Studying, Google, Evernote, Discovery Training, SQL performance and more. To, mention a few, corded phone remodeled into the cordless phone, pay phones have been significantly diminished in most areas: a causation from the cell phone invention, or generally known as a cell phone, local TV programming morphed into satellite or cable providing one hundred eighty or more channels, private laptop with Internet, snail mail has been almost replaced with e-mail, and printed newspapers nonetheless exist but many people receive their information on-line. The question remains to be being debated immediately as global conglomerates make investments the technology of producing in less developed international locations for access of cheap raw supplies and low cost labor for the event of finished products which might be bought to US and Western European markets with none of the profits benefiting the population of the less developed international locations. I rarely watch TELEVISION myself, but I do have family members whom I’m positive would like to get a 3D TELEVISION after the costs drop and the technology improves! I’ll add that as an legal professional, you need to have the ability to try your case in the identical manner, no matter whether or not technology is used to current your evidence to the choose and jury. Many authors and journals have outlined technology in their own understanding, but for use is few among the many definitions. I have been working w/ technology and education for over 14 years in a school setting. In particular some key latest technology points which have change into vital in India’s overseas relations are analyzed. By way of a collection of questions I’m going to not solely ask you to reflect on what you did, but in addition in the course of problem some firmly entrenched assumptions regarding technology. It is not that technology is bad…as you say, it’s the power to apply that technology in a method that’s helpful that’s wanting. Some say only entry to superior technology would have allowed them to create stone buildings, some with blocks weighing within the neighborhood of 70 tons, with such good mathematical alignment. Yes, Nell, and I see a huge chasm being created by people who own and perceive the latest technology, and those that don’t,(me), but I believe that we were actually prepared mentally but not emotionally, and I really feel that technology is separating us from reality increasingly more. Tablets and laptops for every youngster in the classroom, and used all through the curriculum in every topic area, may very well be a breath of contemporary air for the training system and something that I personally assume needs to occur. It seems that the extra time goes on the more built-in we are becoming with the technology.
The South China Morning Post today introduces the use of Chinese characters as an aid to the majority of our readers who are Chinese. The characters will appear where they are likely to be of most use - for the names of people from the mainland. These names are rendered in the Western alphabet using the pinyin system of transliteration, which has not been officially adopted in Hong Kong and is unfamiliar to many Hong Kong Chinese people. The addition of the characters for mainland names provides a more precise form of identification. The move is another step aimed at making the newspaper more accessible and useful to readers.
The rotor consists mainly of 3 blades and is one of the main components of a wind energy converter. A rotor blade is made from fibre reinforced plastic, abbr. FRP. Mainly produced in a sandwich construction with aerodynamic shells and spars or ribs as reinforcing elements. The standard design of a wind turbine is a conical steel tubular tower. Modern variants for high towers are hybrid towers, consisting from concrete elements and steel parts. Other forms are lattice towers or wood towers. The mechanical drive train consisting of hub, drive shaft, transmission, brake and generator are located in or at the nacelle. The board crane usually placed at the end of the nacelle. Platforms, power rails, signal lights, service lift, ladder and safety fall protection are in or on the turbine tower. Necessary onshore and offshore qualifications in the wind energy are very extensive. These are divided into national and international norms and standards, according FISAT, GWO, DNV GL and ISO.
This Introduction to Mechanics Specialization offered by Coursera in partnership with Rice University is for learners who are interested in first-year, university-level physics. Through three courses, you will gain a foundation in mechanics including motion, forces, energy, momentum, rotational motion, and gravitation. With 100 brief lectures and over 100 problems, this comprehensive specialization is similar in detail and rigor to what is taught in on-campus courses. It will thoroughly prepare learners for their upcoming introductory physics courses, or more advanced studies. Applied Learning Project The courses include conceptual lecture questions, computational homework problems, and comprehensive exams. These will build your skills in using mathematical tools (trigonometry, vector analysis, and calculus) to calculate and/or estimate needed parameters in real-world problems. Get more detailsVisit official programme website - Physics 101 - Forces and Kinematics - Physics 101 - Energy and Momentum - Physics 101 - Rotational Motion and Gravitation Check out the full curriculumVisit official programme website - 3 months - 7 hrs/week Start dates & application deadlines DisciplinesMechanical Engineering General Engineering & Technology Mechatronics View 69 other Masters in General Engineering & Technology in United States Explore more key informationVisit official programme website We are not aware of any academic requirements for this programme. We are not aware of any English requirements for this programme. - Learners need a good understanding of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Familiarity with basic calculus is helpful, but not required. Make sure you meet all requirementsVisit official programme website Tuition FeeVisit official programme website Coursera provides financial aid to learners who cannot afford the fee. Apply for it by clicking on the Financial Aid link beneath the "Enroll" button on the left. You'll be prompted to complete an application and will be notified if you are approved. You'll need to complete this step for each course in the Specialization, including the Capstone Project. Studyportals Tip: Students can search online for independent or external scholarships that can help fund their studies. Check the scholarships to see whether you are eligible to apply. Many scholarships are either merit-based or needs-based. Double-check all feesVisit official programme website Apply and win up to €10000 to cover your tuition fees.
In the last week of the half term, we held our Harvest Coffee Morning at Skelton Village Hall. Lots of mums, dads, grandparents and family came along and we entertained them with songs while serving them with tea, coffee and cakes...lots of cakes! We were raising money for Denis Morley School in Tanzania and also for Oxfam and Fairtrade. The morning was a huge success and was enjoyed by all. We recently played in the Penrith area inter-school football tournament held at Newton Rigg. We did really well and qualified for the next round which was the Eden area final. We didn't win that but we had a great day and played really well as a team so are very proud of ourselves. We had a wonderful day on our Year 1/2 visit to the New Lanark World Heritage Site. We have been studying the Industrial Revolution in our history lessons so it was brilliant to see how people lived and worked in the old cotton mills. We have also been studying 'Materials' in our Science lessons so we also had a workshop about toys from the past. We compared them to our toys today and were able to learn about the different materials that were used back in Victorian times. What a lovely Autumn evening for our After School Netball Club! In today’s lesson, we were trying to gain an understanding of where in history The Tudor period lies in relation to other significant periods of history. We were asked to create a list of all the significant periods of history that we were aware of (Romans, Ancient Egypt, Victorians etc). Miss Wilson wrote all our suggestions on separate pieces of paper. We were then asked as a class to place them in chronological order on a huge timeline across the classroom floor. To help us decide where each period of history was to be placed, we had to ask ourselves questions, such as, ‘Which periods would be placed BC (BCE) and which ones would be placed AD (CE)? Which periods of history do I know existed before the Vikings? Can our knowledge of any famous events from certain periods of history help us decide on the order that these periods should be placed in? Miss Wilson then told us the names of some other periods of history and we discussed whether we had heard of them before. We then placed them into the existing timeline. We looked very carefully at where the Tudor era lay in relation to all of the other periods of history. We discussed the fact that in terms of history, this period of time is close to Modern day Britain. After completing this class activity, we worked in pairs to create timelines of some of the significant periods of history. Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips. Our cookies ensure you get the best experience on our website. Please make your choice! Some cookies are necessary in order to make this website function correctly. These are set by default and whilst you can block or delete them by changing your browser settings, some functionality such as being able to log in to the website will not work if you do this. The necessary cookies set on this website are as follows: A 'sessionid' token is required for logging in to the website and a 'crfstoken' token is used to prevent cross site request forgery. An 'alertDismissed' token is used to prevent certain alerts from re-appearing if they have been dismissed. to improve the website performance by capturing information such as browser and device types. The data from this cookie is anonymised. Cookies are used to help distinguish between humans and bots on contact forms on this A cookie is used to store your cookie preferences for this website. Cookies that are not necessary to make the website work, but which enable additional functionality, can also be set. By default these cookies are disabled, but you can choose to enable them below:
Download here your action plan against climate change!. ... Student Loan Refinance Calculator. Here are … A student's guide to Global Climate Change Students and young people should have a major role in shaping the conversation about climate change, as they’re the ones who will have to live with so many of the consequences. At the last count 2052 demonstrations took place in 123 countries. Some ways of cutting emissions are so obscure and go after such entrenched habits that it’s hard to see how they can be carried out on a global scale. The site also provides videos, animations, and interactive expeditions where students can explore and learn how climate change will affect places around the world. Climate change has the potential to be pretty bad, but addressing it might be easier than you think. This page provides a portal to learn more about simple steps you, your friends, and your family can take to help reduce climate change. Tips For Teaching Your Students About Climate Change And Global Warming In an NPR/Ipsos poll, 65% of teachers said they don't talk about climate change because it's … An open-talk/lecture by Professor Kim Connolly, Director of Clinical Legal Education at the University of Buffalo School of Law concering the role of student scholarship in the area of climate change particularly with respect to the example of the 'warming arctic'. Climate change awareness is spreading rapidly around the world. Jump to main content. In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a leading international body on climate change researchers, released an alarming … With a debate raging about whether pupils are taught enough about climate change at school, Fiona Carnie offers some simple suggestions of steps schools can take to address the issues for themselves “There is no Planet B” is a regular refrain heard on the now weekly school climate strikes across the globe. Protests and strikes spurred by the Greta Thunberg movement are also creating more awareness among the youth. So-called geoengineering, radical interventions to either block sunlight or reduce greenhouse gases, is a potential last resort for addressing the challenge of climate change. Hundreds of fundamental changes have to be made to human society for global emissions to be reined in enough to avert the calamities of climate change. Chilling photos, such as the widely-circulated image by National Geographic of the whale found dead with 88 pounds of plastic in its belly are giving people stark visuals of the dire situation our planet is in.. Climate change is a proven fact.Global warming has caused serious changes to the planet, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, deforestation, disappearance of species...But, as individuals we can slow down global warming by implementing small more sustainable actions within our community. Middle school students: Explore climate science Explore A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change to learn more about the science and impacts of climate change. ... How Can We Address Climate Change? Head 2 1949, The Spearman Mod Apk, Slang For Jewelry, Kalimpong District Recruitment, Spin To Win Wheel Game, Bella Napoli Bronx Menu, Diy Coaxial Speaker, Siesta Key Beachside Villas Reviews, Booba - Cartoon 2020, Fujitsu Authorized Technician, Columbia Resident Salary, Blood Pressure After Standing For 3 Minutes, Least Worthy In Tagalog,
The atmosphere of Mars has a distinct green glow, just like Earth's. The European Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spotted an emerald glow in Mars' wispy atmosphere, marking the first time the phenomenon has been spotted on a world beyond Earth, a new study reports. "One of the brightest emissions seen on Earth stems from night glow. More specifically, from oxygen atoms emitting a particular wavelength of light that has never been seen around another planet," study lead author Jean-Claude Gérard, of the Université de Liège in Belgium, said in a statement. "However, this emission has been predicted to exist at Mars for around 40 years — and, thanks to TGO, we’ve found it," Gérard said. Related: The 7 biggest mysteries of Mars As Gérard noted, the green emission is characteristic of oxygen. Skywatchers at high latitudes here on Earth can see this signature in the ethereal, multicolored displays known as the auroras, which are generated by charged particles from the sun slamming into molecules high up in the atmosphere. But night glow is different. It's caused by the interaction of sunlight with atoms and molecules in the air, which generates a subtle but continuous light. This emission is hard to see, even here on Earth; observers often need an edge-on perspective to make it out, which is why some of the best images of our planet's green night glow come courtesy of astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Day glow, the diurnal component of this constant emission, is even harder to spot. And it's driven by a slightly different mechanism. "Night glow occurs as broken-apart molecules recombine, whereas day glow arises when the sun's light directly excites atoms and molecules such as nitrogen and oxygen," European Space Agency (ESA) officials wrote in the same statement. Gérard and his colleagues used TGO's Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD) instrument suite, which includes the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVIS), to study the Red Planet's air in a special observing mode from April through December of last year. "Previous observations hadn't captured any kind of green glow at Mars, so we decided to reorient the UVIS nadir channel to point at the 'edge' of Mars, similar to the perspective you see in images of Earth taken from the ISS," study co-author and NOMAD principal investigator Ann Carine Vandaele, of the Institut Royal d'Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique in Belgium, said in the same statement. The team scanned the Martian atmosphere at altitudes between 12 miles and 250 miles (20 to 400 kilometers). They found the green oxygen glow at all heights, though it was strongest around 50 miles (80 km) up and varied with the Red Planet's distance from the sun. The researchers also performed modeling work to better understand what's driving the glow. Those calculations suggested the light is driven mainly by the breakup of carbon dioxide, which makes up 95% of Mars' thin atmosphere, into carbon monoxide and oxygen. TGO saw these stripped oxygen atoms glowing in both visible and ultraviolet light, with the visible emission about 16.5 times more intense than the UV. "The observations at Mars agree with previous theoretical models, but not with the actual glowing we've spotted around Earth, where the visible emission is far weaker," Gérard said. "This suggests we have more to learn about how oxygen atoms behave, which is hugely important for our understanding of atomic and quantum physics." TGO has been circling Mars since October 2016. The orbiter is part of the two-phase European-Russian ExoMars program, which plans to launch a life-hunting rover called Rosalind Franklin toward the Red Planet in 2022. (The Rosalind Franklin was originally supposed to lift off this summer, but technical issues with the spacecraft's parachute and other systems caused the mission to miss that window.) The new TGO results, which were published online today (June 15) in the journal Nature Astronomy, will be helpful to the Rosalind Franklin team, ESA officials said. "This type of remote-sensing observation, coupled with in situ measurements at higher altitudes, helps us to predict how the Martian atmosphere will respond to seasonal changes and variations in solar activity," Håkan Svedhem, ESA's TGO project scientist, said in the same statement. "Predicting changes in atmospheric density is especially important for forthcoming missions, including the ExoMars 2022 mission that will send a rover and surface science platform to explore the surface of the Red Planet," said Svedhem, who is not a co-author of the new study. - Europe's ExoMars missions to Mars in pictures - Auroras over Earth: Amazing northern lights photos from space - Mars' atmosphere: Composition, climate & weather Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
In the late 1990s, cosmologists made a prediction about how much ordinary matter there should be in the universe. About 5%, they estimated, should be regular stuff with the rest a mixture of dark matter and dark energy. But when cosmologists counted up everything they could see or measure at the time, they came up short. By a lot. The sum of all the ordinary matter that cosmologists measured only added up to about half of the 5% what was supposed to be in the universe. It took the discovery of a new celestial phenomenon and entirely new telescope technology, but earlier this year, our team finally found the missing matter. Origin of the problem Baryon is a classification for types of particles — sort of an umbrella term — that encompasses protons and neutrons, the building blocks of all the ordinary matter in the universe. Everything on the periodic table and pretty much anything that you think of as "stuff" is made of baryons. Since the late 1970s, cosmologists have suspected that dark matter — an as of yet unknown type of matter that must exist to explain the gravitational patterns in space — makes up most of the matter of the universe with the rest being baryonic matter, but they didn't know the exact ratios. In 1997, three scientists from the University of California, San Diego, used the ratio of heavy hydrogen nuclei — hydrogen with an extra neutron — to normal hydrogen to estimate that baryons should make up about 5% of the mass-energy budget of the universe. Yet while the ink was still drying on the publication, another trio of cosmologists raised a bright red flag. They reported that a direct measure of baryons in our present universe — determined through a census of stars, galaxies, and the gas within and around them — added up to only half of the predicted 5%. This sparked the missing baryon problem. Provided the law of nature held that matter can be neither created nor destroyed, there were two possible explanations: Either the matter didn't exist and the math was wrong, or, the matter was out there hiding somewhere. Astronomers across the globe took up the search and the first clue came a year later from theoretical cosmologists. Their computer simulations predicted that the majority of the missing matter was hiding in a low-density, million-degree hot plasma that permeated the universe. This was termed the "warm-hot intergalactic medium" and nicknamed "the WHIM." The WHIM, if it existed, would solve the missing baryon problem but at the time there was no way to confirm its existence. In 2001, another piece of evidence in favor of the WHIM emerged. A second team confirmed the initial prediction of baryons making up 5% of the universe by looking at tiny temperature fluctuations in the universe's cosmic microwave background — essentially the leftover radiation from the Big Bang. With two separate confirmations of this number, the math had to be right and the WHIM seemed to be the answer. Now cosmologists just had to find this invisible plasma. Over the past 20 years, we and many other teams of cosmologists and astronomers have brought nearly all of the Earth's greatest observatories to the hunt. There were some false alarms and tentative detections of warm-hot gas, but one of our teams eventually linked those to gas around galaxies. If the WHIM existed, it was too faint and diffuse to detect. An unexpected solution in fast radio bursts) In 2007, an entirely unanticipated opportunity appeared. Duncan Lorimer, an astronomer at the University of West Virginia, reported the serendipitous discovery of a cosmological phenomenon known as a fast radio burst (FRB). FRBs are extremely brief, highly energetic pulses of radio emissions. Cosmologists and astronomers still don't know what creates them, but they seem to come from galaxies far, far away. As these bursts of radiation traverse the universe and pass through gasses and the theorized WHIM, they undergo something called dispersion. The initial mysterious cause of these FRBs lasts for less a thousandth of a second and all the wavelengths start out in a tight clump. If someone was lucky enough — or unlucky enough — to be near the spot where an FRB was produced, all the wavelengths would hit them simultaneously. But when radio waves pass through matter, they are briefly slowed down. The longer the wavelength, the more a radio wave "feels" the matter. Think of it like wind resistance. A bigger car feels more wind resistance than a smaller car. The "wind resistance" effect on radio waves is incredibly small, but space is big. By the time an FRB has traveled millions or billions of light-years to reach Earth, dispersion has slowed the longer wavelengths so much that they arrive nearly a second later than the shorter wavelengths. Therein lay the potential of FRBs to weigh the universe's baryons, an opportunity we recognized on the spot. By measuring the spread of different wavelengths within one FRB, we could calculate exactly how much matter — how many baryons — the radio waves passed through on their way to Earth. At this point we were so close, but there was one final piece of information we needed. To precisely measure the baryon density, we needed to know where in the sky an FRB came from. If we knew the source galaxy, we would know how far the radio waves traveled. With that and the amount of dispersion they experienced, perhaps we could calculate how much matter they passed through on the way to Earth? Unfortunately, the telescopes in 2007 weren't good enough to pinpoint exactly which galaxy — and therefore how far away — an FRB came from. We knew what information would allow us to solve the problem, now we just had to wait for technology to develop enough to give us that data. It was 11 years until we were able to place — or localize — our first FRB. In August 2018, our collaborative project called CRAFT began using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in the outback of Western Australia to look for FRBs. This new telescope — which is run by Australia's national science agency, CSIRO — can watch huge portions of the sky, about 60 times the size of a full Moon, and it can simultaneously detect FRBs and pinpoint where in the sky they come from. ASKAP captured its first FRB one month later. Once we knew the precise part of the sky the radio waves came from, we quickly used the Keck telescope in Hawaii to identify which galaxy the FRB came from and how far away that galaxy was. The first FRB we detected came from a galaxy named DES J214425.25–405400.81 that is about 4 billion light-years away from Earth, in case you were wondering. The technology and technique worked. We had measured the dispersion from an FRB and knew where it came from. But we needed to catch a few more of them in order to attain a statistically significant count of the baryons. So we waited and hoped space would send us some more FRBs. By mid-July 2019, we had detected five more events — enough to perform the first search for the missing matter. Using the dispersion measures of these six FRBs, we were able to make a rough calculation of how much matter the radio waves passed through before reaching earth. We were overcome by both amazement and reassurance the moment we saw the data fall right on the curve predicted by the 5% estimate. We had detected the missing baryons in full, solving this cosmological riddle and putting to rest two decades of searching. This result, however, is only the first step. We were able to estimate the amount of baryons, but with only six data points, we can't yet build a comprehensive map of the missing baryons. We have proof the WHIM likely exists and have confirmed how much there is, but we don't know exactly how it is distributed. It is believed to be part of a vast filamentary network of gas that connects galaxies termed "the cosmic web," but with about 100 fast radio bursts cosmologists could start building an accurate map of this web. This article was updated to indicate that Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, operates the new telescope. [Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversation's email newsletter.] - Cosmic record holders: The 12 biggest objects in the universe - 15 amazing images of stars - The 18 biggest unsolved mysteries in physics
Astronomers have discovered an activity cycle in another fast radio burst, potentially unearthing a significant clue about these mysterious deep-space phenomena. Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are extragalactic flashes of light that pack a serious wallop, unleashing in a few milliseconds as much energy as Earth's sun does in a century. Scientists first spotted an FRB in 2007, and the cause of these eruptions remains elusive nearly a decade and a half later; potential explanations range from merging superdense neutron stars to advanced alien civilizations. More than 100 FRBs have been discovered to date, and most of them are one-offs, flaring up just a single time (as far as we know). In January of this year, astronomers reported that one member of the "repeater" class, called FRB 180916.J0158+65, appears to exhibit a 16-day activity cycle: It fires off bursts for a four-day stretch, goes quiet for 12 days and then starts all over again. Related: 8 baffling astronomy mysteries The FRB 180916 was the first known to erupt in such a periodic way. And now scientists have spotted another. Researchers monitored the known repeater FRB 121102 with the Lovell Telescope, a 250-foot-wide (76 meters) radio dish at Jodrell Bank Observatory in England, over the course of five years. They found strong indications of a 157-day activity cycle; 121102 seems to flare up for 90 days and then go silent for 67, the team reported in a new study. It's unclear what's behind such cyclic activity, though scientists do have a few ideas. For example, periodic flare-ups could be caused by a wobble in the rotational axis of a highly magnetized neutron star known as a magnetar. Or they could be linked to the orbital motions of a neutron star in a binary system. The wobble effects are expected to manifest over the span of a few weeks, study team members said. So they seem compatible with FRB 180916's 16-day cycle but not with that of FRB 121102, which is 10 times longer. But who knows? And there's also no guarantee that the same phenomenon is driving the periodicity of both repeating FRBs. “This exciting discovery highlights how little we know about the origin of FRBs," study co-author Duncan Lorimer, the associate dean for research at West Virginia University, said in a statement. "Further observations of a larger number of FRBs will be needed in order to obtain a clearer picture about these periodic sources and elucidate their origin." The new study, which was led by Kaustubh Rajwade of the University of Manchester in England, was published online this evening (June 7; June 8 United Kingdom time) in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. You can read a preprint of it for free at arXiv.org. - Mysterious light flashes are coming from deep space, and AI just found more of them - Where do baby magnetars come from? Mysterious 'fast radio bursts' may provide clues. - The 12 strangest objects in the universe Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
Introduced in the late 80s, caller ID was a way for people to screen nuisance calls. It’s now become a way for scammers to make them. Find out how call spoofing works and how to recognize it. Chances are, you’ve received a phone call in which the caller ID displays the legitimate number of a local business or someone from your neighborhood. But when you answer, the person on the other end of the line is not who you were expecting. Or, the caller may try to convince you they are someone you do business with, a legitimate organization or a government agency like the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). How are calls spoofed? Scam callers often use call spoofing technology to disguise the number they are calling from so the call appears to be from a local area code or a legitimate phone number. They know you’re more likely to answer and when you do, they ask for your personal information to try to steal your identity or your money. How can I recognize a spoofed call? You may not be able to tell right away if the number displayed on your caller ID is a spoofed number, so always be suspicious of unexpected callers. Con artists can be convincing — some can sound kind while others sound threatening. Follow these tips from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect yourself and your information from phony callers. - Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately. - If you answer the phone and the caller — or a recording — asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets. - Don’t answer any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No." - Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden name, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious. - If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment. - Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately. - If you have a voicemail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voicemail if you do not set a password. - Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device. The FCC allows phone companies to block robocalls by default based on reasonable analytics. More information about robocall blocking is available at fcc.gov/robocalls. If you think you've been the victim of a spoofing scam, you can file a complaint with the FCC. Business and organizations are sometimes aware their numbers are being spoofed. Check their websites to see if they’re alerting customers of current call spoofing scams. State Farm® posts information about call spoofing and other known fraudulent activity on this Alerts page. What can I do if my number is being spoofed? If someone calls you and tells you that you called them but didn’t, your number was likely being spoofed. The FCC advises to inform the person who received a spoofed call from your number that it wasn’t you. Fortunately, according to the FCC, scammers usually switch numbers frequently so it’s likely your number will be replaced by someone else’s number within hours.
As the nation’s capital, perhaps it is unsurprising that London is the most linguistically multicultural part of the United Kingdom, with 22.1 percent of its residents having a main language other than English. The second most diverse region is the East Midlands, which is home to the most linguistically diverse local authority: Leicester UA. At the other end of the spectrum, 97.2 percent of the population in the North East have English as their native language, reaching 99.3 percent in Redcar and Cleveland UA. Speaking the English language has been suggested to be the most important factor in the integration of migrants into British society; of the 7.7 percent of the population in England and Wales whose main language was not English or Welsh in Wales, 6.1 percent are proficient in English, leaving 1.3 percent speaking English not well, and 0.3 percent not at all. Welsh, Gaelic and Irish are all officially recognized amongst others as Minority Languages in the United Kingdom, and as such are protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, ratified by the UK government in 2001. Welsh, as the de jure language in Wales, as far more speakers than any of the other regional or minority languages. In Northern Ireland nearly a fifth have some skills in Irish, and in Scotland 1.7 percent of the population have some skills in Gaelic. In the academic year 2013/2014, 24 percent of primary school pupils in Wales were taught in Welsh, compared with 1.9 percent in Irish in Northern Ireland, and 0.6 percent in Gaelic in the Scottish academic year 2013.
Our school Science vision and principles Above you will be able to read our science vision, it is made up of the principles on how the children and staff feel that science should be learnt and taught here at Stella Maris. There are two main strands to the teaching of Science in our school. The first is to ensure that the children are taught the specific scientific knowledge set out in the National Curriculum, and covering topics including: - animals including humans - evolution and inheritance - living things and their habitats - Earth and space - the seasons - light and sound The second is to encourage a spirit of curiosity about the world around them and to develop the skills of scientific enquiry: to be able to predict what will happen in a practical activity, to conduct a fair or comparative tests and to record their results accurately, describing clearly what they have discovered. As part of this, children become increasingly aware of the type of scientific enquiry that they are carrying out or need to carry out to answer their scientific questions. The types of scientific enquiry are: - Observation over time - Pattern Seeking - Comparative and Fair testing - Classifying and sorting - Problem solving In the process of learning about Science we also try to teach the children to appreciate the magnificence of the created world and to develop an appropriate respect for it and an awareness of issues concerning pollution, the environment and sustainability. We use the PLAN (Pan-London Assessment Network) assessment resources that support schools to plan and assess effectively the science National Curriculum for England. More detail can be found here: https://www.planassessment.com/introduction-to-plan We use the progression of skills documents that have been created by PLAN. We also use the PLAN knowledge matrices to support teaching and learning in science. This enables us to have a better understanding of the prior and future learning needs in each area of the curriculum. It also provides possible misconceptions that may be encountered as well as subject specific vocabulary and learning outcomes.
Griekenland: Wifi beďnvloedt hersenactiviteit bij jonge volwassenen. dinsdag, 19 juli 2011 - Categorie: Onderzoeken Gertelateerd artikel: Onderzoeken/5890 Wi-Fi alters brain activity in young adults Two new studies have found that electromagnetic fields from Wi-Fi transmitters can alter electrical brain activity and decrease a measure of attention in young adults when performing a memory task. These are the first reports to look at the effects of Wi-Fi on Previously, changes in learning and memory, reaction times and altered EEG brain activity have been associated with exposures to mobile phones and other microwave electromagnetic fields. These new results show that Wi-Fi can also have a detrimental effect on attention and mental activity, as well as potentially affecting brain development in children and young people (which is dependent upon electrical brain activity). The attractiveness of Wi-Fi as a learning tool in schools is significantly decreased if it could be damaging the cognitive abilities and brain development of pupils. Papageorgiou and colleagues published in the Journal of Integrative Neuroscience in June 2011 that Wi-Fi signals decrease a measure of attention in young men whilst using their working memory. Working memory is keeping information readily available in the brain, to be used whilst carrying out a task. It is used in activities such as problem solving, decision making, planning, reasoning and monitoring. The group measured electrical activity on the surface of the brain of young men and women in their early 20s whilst performing a task designed to stimulate working memory. They used a version of the Hayling Sentence Completion test. At a set point after hearing the sentence, a peak voltage was recorded on the scalp, called the P300 (part of an eventrelated potential). P300 amplitude is thought to be an index of mental activity and attention. The amplitude of the P300 peaks were greatly decreased in the young men and slightly increased in the young women when a Wi-Fi access point, positioned 1.5m away, was switched on. In the presence of a Wi-Fi signal the men’s p300s were significantly lower than the women’s. Exposures were carried out blind, meaning that the participants did not know whether the Wi-Fi was on or not. Microwave electrical fields were 0.49V/m at head position (2.4GHz), well within the range of exposures experienced by someone using a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a wireless laptop or tablet computer. 1. Papageorgiou C. C., Hountala C. D., Maganioti a. E., Kyprianou M. A., Rabavilas A. D., Papadimitriou G. N., Capsalis C. N. 2011. Effects of Wi-Fi signals on the p300 component of event-related potentials during an auditory hayling task. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience 10(2):189–202. Maganioti and colleagues (2010) found that Wi-Fi signals significantly decreased EEG electrical activity (alpha and beta frequencies) in cortical brain areas of young women whilst they were performing a short memory task (Wechslet test). EEG signals, measured with electrodes on the scalp, contain a range of activity frequencies which are divided into the bands delta (0-4Hz), theta (5-7Hz), alpha (8-13Hz) and beta (14-30Hz). In the Wechslet test the subjects repeated a series of numbers, either in the same or opposite orders to the ones presented. This study found that the EEG activities of young women were changed, but men were not affected. Wi-Fi signals were as described in study 1: 1.5m from a Wi-Fi access point; microwave electric fields of 0.49V/m (2.4GHz); carried out under blind conditions, so that the participants were not aware of when the Wi-Fi was switched on or off. Altering the brain activity of children and young people by the presence of a Wi-Fi signal for prolonged periods of time may affect brain development. Wi-Fi exposes users to lower electromagnetic field strengths than mobile phones do. But the studies described above demonstrate that signals from Wi-Fi transmitters are still able to influence normal human physiology, with changes in gender-related brain activity. Wi-Fi-enabled laptops have previously been found to damage human sperm DNA and decrease sperm motility 3. A Wi-Fi router was shown to stimulate irregular and fast heart rates in some people 4. (unpublished), as has been reported for DECT cordless telephones 5. 3. Avendano C. et al., 2010. American Society for Reproductive Medicine 66th Annual Meeting: O-249. 4. Havas 2010. www.youtube.com/safeschool#p/u/3/KN7VetsCR21 5. Havas M. et al., 2010. European Journal of Oncology Library Vol. 5: 273-300. www.icems.eu/papers.htm?f=/c/a/2009/12/15/MNHJ1B49KH.DTL part 2 . Voor het originele artikel met afbeeldingen zie: Lees verder in de categorie Onderzoeken | Terug naar homepage | Lees de introductie
Amniocentesis is a test that can be done during pregnancy to look for these problems in the developing baby: - Birth defects - Genetic problems - Lung development Culture - amniotic fluid; Culture - amniotic cells; Alpha-fetoprotein - amniocentesis How the Test is Performed Amniocentesis removes a small amount of fluid from the sac around the baby in the womb (uterus). It is most often done in a doctor's office or medical center. You do not need to stay in the hospital. You will have a pregnancy ultrasound first. This helps your health care provider see where the baby is in your womb. Numbing medicine is then rubbed onto part of your belly. Sometimes, the medicine is given through a shot in the skin on the belly area. Your health care provider inserts a long, thin needle through your belly and into your womb. A small amount of fluid (about 4 teaspoons or 20 milliliters) is removed from the sac surrounding the baby. The fluid is sent to a laboratory. Testing may include: - Genetic studies - Measurement of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels (a substance produced in the liver of the developing baby) - Culture for infection Results of genetic testing usually take about 2 weeks. Other test results come back in 1 to 3 days. Sometimes amniocentesis is also used later in pregnancy to: - Diagnose infection - Check whether the baby's lungs are developed and ready for delivery - Remove excess fluid from around the baby if there is too much amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios)
AI is by all accounts extremely popular nowadays. Be that as it may, what is it precisely? Comprehensively, AI (ML) is a subset of man-made brainpower that enables frameworks to gain from information, distinguish rehashing examples and settle on choices without unequivocal directions or human mediation. In this way, ML empowers organizations to spare time and assets on a wide scope of assignments while accomplishing better business results. All things considered, just about a portion of endeavors are really utilizing AI. You may expect this is on the grounds that just the biggest or most imaginative organizations have groups of information researchers who are set up to work with ML. While information researchers are important to create ML models, in my experience there are a few different elements counteracting ML appropriation. Organizations ought to comprehend what these components are and ought to have an arrangement for tending to them before they put resources into ML. Information is regularly the slowest and most costly part of the ML displaying process. So as to maintain a strategic distance from "waste in, trash out," it's useful to guarantee that you approach strong information that is marked legitimately. With strong information and appropriate naming, a model can be precisely prepared to distinguish designs, for example, qualities of a deceitful Visa exchange, or to make a compelling advertising offer or item proposal. This expects organizations to comprehend their very own information as well as to have the foundation to effectively incorporate first-party information with outsider information. Image Source - Github.com Reasonableness is a novel test of ML models. Without extra advancement or information, an ML model is basically a "black box" that settles on a choice dependent on a perplexing arrangement of weighted data sources. There are frequently lawful ramifications identified with not knowing why a model settles on a specific choice or what triggers a specific result — who is to be faulted if something turns out badly? Or on the other hand, how would we guarantee that the model is fair and consistent? To address straightforwardness, procedures including Shapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) and Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) are being created. Despite what strategy is being utilized, guarantee that clarifications are being caught and put away with each choice. Logic is important to beat another test: inclination. There are a few sorts of predisposition that can impact AI. One model is tested predisposition, where the example utilized for preparing isn't precisely speaking to the populace. Another is a biased inclination, where the preparation informational collection is impacted by preference inside the populace. Despite the sort of inclination, the result is the equivalent. You'll get off base forecasts and, in the most pessimistic scenario, separation towards secured classes. Faultfinders have been referring to instances of deliberate separation to present a defense against AI. Be that as it may, the inclination isn't inalienable in AI. Or maybe, it is structured. Along these lines, appropriate ML model preparing and advancement, straightforwardness and progressing observing will counteract predisposition. The Dreaded Un-Deployment Line Image Source - http://www1.semi.org Regardless of whether organizations can defeat the above difficulties, the brutal truth is that not many models created by information researchers ever get conveyed into generation. With fruitful arrangement rates at under 10%, it is uncommon for an organization to "have really conveyed AI at big business scale," as clarified in a 2019 report (information exchange required) by the International Institute for Analytics. One purpose behind this absence of arrangement is that it is hard to assemble an information science group that has both handy programming advancement and model-building background. Numerous individuals who call themselves "information researchers" just have scholarly involvement in structure ML models and need handy involvement in conveying them. Sending ML models requires incorporating numerous product stages with various programming dialects and a few GPU processors. Along these lines, executing an ML model is troublesome for even the most experienced engineers. What's more, organizations need an IT foundation that can keep up high accessibility so as to suit spikes sought after for the ML model. Actually, as indicated by IIA, "There is no financial incentive to an expository model that isn't sent." Unless organizations increment their arrangement rates, their interests in the examination "won't be supportable." Conveying Machine Learning Requires Taking A Step Back While considering AI, it is basic to survey your current plans of action and basic leadership necessities before contracting a solitary information researcher or putting resources into processing assets and foundation. There are numerous arrangements that empower organizations to both streamline the construct and sending of ML models just as computerize the basic leadership the procedure, all without requiring critical forthright venture or a huge information science group. While assessing arrangements suppliers, it's essential to evaluate how well they address reasonableness, inclination, and consistency. A careful exertion to comprehend your very own one of a kind ML and choice needs to be joined with an audit of current arrangements will get you on a way to fruitful ML selection.
The course covers the basic statistical methods for describing data, linear regression and correlation, sampling, experimental design, probability and probability distributions, confidence intervals, and tests of hypotheses. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: - Define and use statistical terms and methods accurately. - Understand and use basic statistical methods for describing data. - Use linear regression and correlation to depict relationships. - Collect representative samples from population data. - Design reliable experiments and observational studies. - Understand basic probability distributions and the sampling distribution. - Apply inferential statistical methods including estimation techniques (confidence intervals) and hypothesis testing for one proportion, two proportions, one mean, two means, paired comparisons, and Chi-square relationships. - Develop statistical thinking – using data to make decisions. In connection with the Taylor University foundational core, this course will enhance communication fluency by adding statistical tools and reasoning, develop critical thinking skills using data and probability to inform decisions, increase quantitative literacy with new concepts and procedures, and contribute to spiritual maturity as students use statistical tools to inform their faith. This course uses an eText (Discovering Statistics, 3rd Edition) as part of Hawkes Learning System. You will purchase access to both Hawkes Learning and the eText once you've been enrolled. Details are posted in Blackboard. For those that prefer a hard copy, there is also an option within the course to purchase the printed materials at a discount. Please be sure to order the 3RD EDITION of the text. A Graphing Calculator is needed – TI-83/84 recommended There are 4 unit/chapter tests, 8 application assignments, 4 sets of practice problems, and a final cumulative exam. The practice problems are worth 20% of the final grade, the application assignments are worth 15%, the chapter tests are worth 50%, and the final exam is worth 15%. Dr. Patrick Eggleton PhD, University of Georgia, 1995 MEd, University of South Florida, 1991 BS, University of South Florida, 1987
Publication Date: April 17, 2015 Teaching in the Flat World will help school systems improve their teacher workforce by drawing important lessons from nations with high-performing educational systems, as well as from successful state experiments in the United States. The authors examine common features and differences in the approaches of high-performing systems that made education a top priority and developed high-leverage strategies to meet their goals. Their varied solutions offer valuable ideas for how to create a strong teacher and school administrator corps from recruitment and preparation through induction, professional development, evaluation, and career advancement into leadership roles. Chapters focusing on systems in Finland, Ontario, and Singapore are coauthored by local scholars with extensive knowledge of the history and current status of policy and practice in their nation. A final chapter highlights attributes that are absolutely necessary for any education system to flourish. The book will be useful to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers interested in strengthening the quality of teaching. Linda Darling-Hammond is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University. Her books include Getting Teacher Evaluation Right and The Flat World and Education, which won the 2012 Grawemeyer Award in Education. Robert Rothman is senior fellow at the Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington, DC. He is the author of Something in Common: The Common Core Standards and the Next Chapter in American Education. "In Teaching in the Flat World, Linda Darling-Hammond and Robert Rothman veer away from the one-shot, haphazard processes and tired, unimaginative policies such as the over reliance on high-stakes tests and other punitive approaches that have defined educational reform in the past two decades. The authors propose instead a stunningly simple idea: By searching globally, the United States can learn from nations that have been more successful in creating equitable systems that respect teachers and support students. Darling-Hammond and her co-authors propose a systemic and comprehensive approach to put flesh on the American dream of a high-quality, excellent education for students of all backgrounds. School systems, colleges of education, and policymakers can all learn from these approaches." —Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita, Language, Literacy and Culture, College of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst "I do not believe that other nations have smarter students then we do. But it is clear that some nations have better systems of education than we do. This book is filled with ideas that will change that!" —David Berliner, author of 50 Myths and Lies That Threaten America's Public Schools "Teaching in the Flat World is without a doubt the best single collection you will find on the topic of improving the teaching profession. It's got everything, including six great lessons from successful systems that you will not want to miss." — Michael Fullan, professor emeritus, OISE, University of Toronto “Teachers remain the single-greatest hope for ensuring high-performing public schools. The lessons learned and shared by the authors of best practices from around the world are a powerful example for policymakers, leaders, and teachers of how to create and sustain high-achieving systems that empower our professionals in the classroom.” —Richard A. Carranza, Superintendent of Schools, San Francisco Unified School District
GRAB OUR HERITAGE HAWKER DELIGHTS COOKBOOK + EBOOK BUNDLED DEAL FOR JUST $44.85 (U.P. $54.80) - Take the squid head in one hand and the squid body in another hand. Gently tug it apart to separate the squid head from the body tube. - It should separate easily if the squid is fresh. You can also insert a finger into the body tube to loosen it a little. The squid head and innards should remain intact. - Take up the squid head and locate the ink sac which looks like a large blackish vein. Carefully pinch the whitish membrane at the top of the ink sac without breaking it, and pull it apart from the squid head to remove it. Set it aside for later use in any recipe that requires squid ink! - Next remove the whitish jelly-like innards located just below where the ink sac was located, and discard. This part of the innards includes a small organ that typically containing lots of dirt and grit. If you do not remove the innards, the squid will taste very gritty and sandy. - Turn the squid head over so you can see the bottom of the tentacles. Right in the middle of the tentacles you will see the hard beak or mouth of the squid. With one hand, press firmly at the base of the beak to push it out, while pulling it out with the other hand. - To remove the eyes, use a sharp knife to cut directly across the eyes. Be careful not to squeeze or apply pressure while cutting, otherwise the pressure will cause the eye liquid to shoot out and make a huge mess! - Once the slits in the eyes have been made, apply light pressure to squeeze out the eye jelly and discard. - Now take up the squid body and remove the cuttle bone that looks like a shard of glass. - It is quite common for people remove the purple membrane that covers the squid because it looks nicer, but its not a must. The membrane should peel off easily. - Next, use a chopstick or spoon to remove any remnant innards from inside the tube body. Now just give the squid head and body a quick rinse and you are done! Congratulations, you made it to the end of the tutorial! Now if you are game, why not try out our Basque Country -inspired Warm Squid and Potato Salad recipe? If you enjoyed this tutorial on How to Clean Squid, do check out our growing collection of How To Tutorials! 100: Marketing Survival Skills - Every Foodie’s MUST-HAVE Guide to the 10 Most Common Local Fishes - The 10 Things You MUST Know About Choosing the Freshest Fish - How to Choose Broccoli - How to Choose Shiitake Mushrooms - How to Choose Bitter Gourd 200: Kitchen Survival Skills - How to Clean and Prepare Prawns - How to Pack and Store Prawns - 6 Simple Steps to Scale and Clean Your Fish Like A Pro - How to Clean Squid - How to Slice Gourds (And Other Tubular Vegetables) Into Strips
Illinois residents who suffer from disabling conditions may feel like they are alone in living with their conditions. However, recent data reveals that a large number of Americans currently experience disabilities. The effects of these conditions can range from inconvenient to fully debilitating. Unfortunately, statistics also suggest many victims may not receive the financial support they need. Report findings More than 37 million Americans report experiencing at least one disability, according to the 2012 Disability Status Report. These individuals represent about 12.1 percent of the American population. In this report, disability refers to any condition that results in one of the following categories of impairments: - Blindness or difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses - Deafness or difficulty hearing - Difficulty focusing, making choices or remembering things - Difficulty ambulating or walking up stairs - Difficulty performing self-care - Difficulty completing activities of independent living The three most common disabilities reported were ambulatory disabilities, affecting over 20 million people; cognitive disabilities, afflicting at least 14 million people; and disabilities impeding independent living, reported among over 13 million people. Over one-quarter of working-age Americans with disabilities live at poverty level, according to the same report. Only 20.9 percent of Americans with disabilities can work full-time. Just 33.5 percent of disabled Americans between ages 21 and 64 are employed in any capacity. Many people cannot work at all a result of their conditions. These individuals may be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits. However, with so many Americans facing disabilities and potentially needing help, successfully filing for SSD benefits can be a challenge. Applying for benefits Someone with a disabling condition may qualify for SSD benefits in a few ways. First, the individual’s condition may meet Social Security Administration criteria for a listed impairment. In this case, the individual would only need to provide sufficient medical evidence of the condition. Some conditions may even qualify for expedited processing. If a condition does not meet the SSA’s checklist of criteria, the afflicted individual may request a medical vocational allowance. The SSA then determines whether to grant benefits based on the condition and the functional impairments it causes. Usually, an applicant’s work history, education and ability to switch occupations are weighed before a medical vocational allowance is granted. The SSA is known to deny claims at a high rate, based on technical details, medical documentation or non-medical criteria, such as earnings history. Considering the high number of potential applicants, people who live with disabling conditions should consider seeking professional help when seeking SSD benefits.
Trigger Warnings: Discriminatory attitudes to disability, discussion of asylum treatment methods, discussion of mental health, historic offensive language describing seizures Author’s note: Some of the language used is now considered to be offensive, similarly they mention historical treatments which are also considered offensive and awful now. The language used is quoting what is used in the video – and it is important to use these quotes fully. It was ‘Epilepsy Awareness Day’ or ‘Purple Day’ on 26th March, where people wear purple to raise awareness about the realities of epilepsy. During the promotional build-up, UK-based charity ‘Epilepsy Action’ tweeted a video from 1957 highlighting historic attitudes to epilepsy. They asked, “Do you think attitudes have changed?” As I watched the video with horror and sadness at the stigma people lived with, my initial reaction was a resounding, YES.
This inspiring infographic outlines the major goals that have been created by the United Nations to achieve global sustainability through the #GlobalGoals campaign. The chart is titled ‘Change Where You Are. Change the World.’ The Infographic lays out the goals across an illustrated map of the world that shows the positive work that is already being conducted. In order to support the #GlobalGoals campaign, the United Nations aims to stand by this list of objectives over the next fifteen years in order to combat the world’s largest issues. Overall, the United Nations aims to “eradicate poverty, stop climate change and undo inequality and injustice.” This infographic is a positive reinforcement to the campaign by outlining the positive work being conducted, which will motivate people on a global scale to reach a better future together.
having or promoting an open, tolerant, or progressive attitude towards sex and sexuality. The sex-positive movement is a social and philosophical movement that promotes and embraces sexuality and sexual expression, with an emphasis on safe and consensual sex. sex positivity is an ideology that promotes, with respect to gender and sexuality, being open-minded, non-judgemental and respectful of personal autonomy, given that there is consent. Further, sex positivity advocates for continuous, age appropriate learning and access to comprehensive sexual health information and treatments. Being Sex-Positive means expanding your sexual consciousness - as an individual (how you choose to self-identify or not; your sexual liberation and sexual empowerment; your sexual health; and your sexual healing) - as a member of a community (your acceptance of how others’ identify themselves; your respect for others’ sexual freedom and empowerment; your sexual honesty to ensure that others are safe and protected; and your empathy for others’ sexual healing) - as a human being born free and equal in dignity and rights; and as a human being responsible for ensuring the freedom and equality of all humans by not taking any action that would hinder or withhold these basic human rights from any individual irrespective of biological sex, gender-identity, gender-expression, sexual-orientation, sexual attraction or romantic attraction. The image below is a creative representation of breaking through the gender binary. Image courtesy of itspronouncedmetrosexual.com
Last month I reported Hobbyists Plan to Reboot NASA Spacecraft, outlining their efforts to contact ISEE-3 and change its course. With assistance from volunteers, the Arecibo Radio Astronomy Observatory's 305-meter antenna and NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) they have made great progress. Since early June, they've been able to send commands to the satellite. An analysis of telemetry from the ISEE-3 showed it is in great shape for a satellite launched 36 years ago—it has a power margin of 28 Watts using only the solar array. The battery died decades ago. Before the group can fire the thrusters on ISEE-3 to change its course, they need to define its present orbit as accurately as possible. The plan is to use NASA's DSN for ranging. The group wasn't able to establish communications with ISEE-3 this Wednesday, but will try again on Sunday, according to the Space College ISEE-3 Project page. Once ranging is complete, they plan to briefly fire two thrusters to spin ISEE-3 up from its current 19.16 rpm to 19.733 rpm. A software-defined radio built on an Ettus N200 and SBX motherboard is being using to communicate with the satellite. John Malsbury describes How to Talk to a 36-year-old Space Probe (ISEE-3) with GNU Radio, a USRP, and a Big Dish on his webpage. He included a shot of the GNU Radio Companion (GRC) modulator using to talk to ISEE-3. See my article Software-Defined Radios Help Explore RF Spectrum for guidance on how to get started with GNU Radio. It doesn't take a huge antenna to receive ISEE-3. The transponder signals on 2217.5 MHz (LHCP) and 2270.4 MHz (RHCP) have been detected with dishes as small as four feet in diameter. From the posting Detection of ISEE-3 With a 4.5 Meter Dish in Estonia, it looks as if Viljo Allik, ES5PC, was using the HDSDR software and an Ettus N210 to receive the signals. While the big dishes of NASA's DSN are still needed to communicate with ISEE-3, it’s amazing what can be done with off-the-shelf hardware and open-source software today. While it's unlikely anyone will ever pick up ISEE-3 using one of the inexpensive RTL-SDR dongles, the three low-cost software-defined radio boards Taylor Killian described in his August 2013 article SDR Showdown: HackRF vs. bladeRF vs. USRP are all capable of tuning to the ISEE-3 frequencies. Future US's leading brands bring the most important, up-to-date information right to your inbox Thank you for signing up to TV Tech. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Smart cities is one of the buzzphrases of the age. But what does it mean? A new set of British Standards, developed in cooperation with Birmingham City council and central government, aims to provide a common language for describing initiatives. The Department for Business, Innovations & Skills has worked with BSI, the company responsible for British Standards, "to develop and launch an agenda around the smart city standards". The result is "Publicly Available Specifications PAS 180 and PAS 181", which provide a common language and guidance framework. The vocabulary standard was developed to improve communication and understanding by providing a tool to ensure developers, designers, manufacturers and clients use a common language when talking about smart cities helping the industry to work more efficiently and effectively. The vocabulary aims to provide an agreed set of working terms to enable practitioners to better share a common understanding. The guide to establishing strategies for smart cities and communities was developed to guide decision-makers and assist them to develop, agree and deliver smart city strategies. It does not describe a one-size-fits-all model for the future of UK cities but focusses on enabling processes. Scott Steedman, director of standards at BSI said: "Smart cities need standards. The UK leads the world in shaping business standards. If we are to make the most of the global opportunities from smart cities, we need to work fast to structure the knowledge that can help city leaders, communities, innovators and technology providers recognize what good looks like and how these concepts can bring benefits for all." Universities and science minister David Willetts said: "There is huge potential for the UK to be the world leader in smart cities and to achieve a strategic advantage for UK cities and industry as international markets develop. These standards will help to address barriers to implementing smart city concepts and promote uptake of smart city solutions at scale."
When the first automobiles were developed, they certainly were easy machines. When an earlier vehicle could break up, you didn’t desire a vehicle reader, all that could be required is knowledge and a couple of easy instruments to execute the required repairs. The basic principles of any central combustion motor were simple. The motor needed air, gas and time to make a easy surge within the motors cylinders which will be called combustion. This combustion is what generates power for the motor to go the vehicle. If any engine didn’t have one of these, it wouldn’t run and therefore by knowing why it did not have an essential component, you could repair that certain object and the engine could be working smoothly after again. These fundamentals of an inside combustion motor remain the same. The big difference with the sooner motors and today’s engines can be summed up by expressing that today’s motor are simply just more advanced. Having the knowledge and several easy hand methods may possibly not be enough to get a motor running easily again. The necessity for better energy economy, less emissions and the comforts of today’s automobiles requires more computer parts than ever before. For these factors, a car reader is an essential and utilized tool in the present aspects tool inventory. A vehicle reader may merely be connected to a vehicles computer jack that’s commonly located underneath the rush on the driver’s area of the vehicle. After that software is rocked in and operating, it communicates with the car’s pc program and relays data back once again to the mechanic. These details is transformed inside of the scanner to exhibit an “error code” that then could be determined to the technician what is malfunctioning within the vehicle. Without this crucial instrument, a technician could be just “guessing” at the issue with the vehicle. This software recognizes the issue and tells the technician the pieces that need to be replaced. The engine may be the part that is mainly suffering from problems, and these problems are manifested in several ways. One is by the flashing and dimming of the engine light. This really is as a result of trouble with the engine that really must be detected. Yet another indicator that an motor features a issue is once the light gradually glows. This means that the predicament might be both an oxygen indicator or an emission problem. Indefinite blinking is still another sign of a concern with the engine. Most of these manifestations should fast you to test your vehicle. All you want to accomplish is put within an OBD scanner which will establish the issue of one’s automobile. You will require a laptop, where the data is going to be transferred. While applying this reader does not provide total promise that the issue will be noticed, there is a good chance so it may green place the problem. There are various scanning resources on the market, and selecting the most appropriate software can be confusing. Car owners should choose a scanner centered how they’ll use it https://www.totalcardiagnostics.com/learn. It’s likely you have been aware of the Snap On Resources, which is often plugged into your automobile’s OBD II port. These tools can scan the entire vehicle for issues, and numerous about them is that they’ll be combined with a big amount of automobiles. Extra plugs do include the tools. These plugs are helpful for these vehicles created and created following 1980. Because new vehicles are being produced each year, Snap On tools must be updated annually as properly, to allow individuals and owners to have the newest features. Usually, just qualified technicians consider purchasing Click On methods, since they are expensive. Such diagnostic tools have prices running over one thousand dollars. These are qualified vehicle scanning resources, Matco is another contender. It’s equally priced while the Take On tools. Both are basically the same. Although this instrument takes a lot of the guess-work out of car repairs, it still needs much understanding of the vehicle being work on. The reader with thumb the code which can differ from design to product and the mechanic must understand what the code really identifies. Exactly the same signal could flash on two various design vehicles and necessary maybe not suggest exactly the same malfunction. This is the sort of information that the technician needs to have a comprehensive knowledge of.
Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by b from CO. b Wonders, “How do sensors work in the internet of things?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, b! Picture it: It’s the year 3000. Planet Earth is a desolate wasteland. You’re roaming through what used to be a major city, looking for food, when suddenly, you hear it. The whir-whir-whirrrrr of wheels warns you one of them is coming. You dart behind a dumpster just in time. Peeking around the corner, you watch as one of mankind’s robot overlords disappears down the alley. You heave a sigh of relief. Life has been hard since machines took over the world. Science fiction has imagined this future for decades. But luckily, no technological advances have resulted in a world ruled by robots—yet. Still, machines seem to be getting smarter all the time. Today, many devices even communicate with each other over the Internet, both with and without human control. These devices make up a web-like community called the Internet of Things (IoT). Have you ever heard of the IoT? It’s a term that’s being used more and more often lately. But what does it actually mean? Basically, any device with an on/off switch that connects to the Internet is part of the IoT. In many cases, these devices share data with each other. Based on that definition, what items might be part of the IoT? Look around you. Are any devices in your home or classroom part of the IoT? Their prevalence might surprise you. Your friend’s smartphone? Your teacher’s Fitbit? How about those smart headphones you want for your birthday? These are all part of the IoT. By sharing data, devices on the IoT work together to make some parts of life easier. For example, consider the devices in a smart home. There might be a smart thermostat, smart speaker, and a smart oven. Now, picture a person walking home with a smartphone in their pocket. That smartphone is connected to the IoT—and all the devices in the smart home. If the smartphone’s GPS knows the person will be home soon, it can send that information to the other IoT devices. The thermostat can adjust to the person’s preferred temperature. The smart speaker can play their favorite album. The smart oven can heat up for their favorite after-school snack. All these things are done before the person walks through the door—and without them lifting a finger. But that’s not all! What about a restaurant with a smart refrigerator? When it notices it’s low on important ingredients, it can order more, all on its own. A smart coffeemaker? It can sync up with a smartphone’s alarm to know when to brew coffee. A smart car? It can identify problems and send data straight to a mechanic, ensuring they’ll have the parts needed for a speedier fix. Exactly how big is the IoT? In 2020, it’s estimated that about 34 billion devices will be connected. Just think of all the ways those devices can work together to make life easier! But of course, there are drawbacks. With the threat of hackers stealing data from devices in homes, cars, and businesses, security is now more important than ever. It’s unlikely that the IoT will take over the world—we hope. How often do you use the IoT? Are there any other ways you think it could make life easier? Standards: CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.W.4, NCAS.A.1, NGSS.PS4.C
Generating clean water from cow waste using nanofiltration & reverse osmosis A strong stewardship ethic exists in the dairy industry, where farms often are passed down from generation to generation. When dairy farmers say they want to leave their land better for future generations, they are talking about their children and grandchildren, whom they hope will continue their legacy. Sustainability is not a new fad for these farmers. It is common sense to reuse everything and leave nothing to waste. Ask dairy farmers what one of their most costly issues is and they will say managing their manure. Ask them what one of their greatest worries is—other than milk prices—and they will say cost effectively managing manure in a sustainable and agronomic manner. These worries center on two aspects of manure management: long-term winter manure storage and later application to the crops. During the storage season, the slurry is mixed with precipitation and held in open-air tanks or lagoons. Many of America’s dairy-producing areas are in the northern half of the country, and as such receive significant amounts of precipitation. This precipitation adds volume to manure stored in the open tanks or lagoons. Building new storage facilities is costly, in the range of 11 to 14 cents per gal, or roughly a $500,000 for a 2,000-cow dairy farm producing 60,000 gal of manure daily. Once the ground thaws in spring and becomes absorbent, applying this large and dilute volume of manure to fields is costly. Because soil and crops can uptake only so much nutrient, farmers are forced to truck the heavy liquid manure to distant fields at costs of around 1.5 cents per gal. Treating wastewater has been commonplace for decades. Every municipality in America has a wastewater treatment system, as do industrial food producers and power generators. However, dairy farms have not been able to benefit to the same degree from those technologies. The reasons are both technological and economic. From a technical perspective, normal municipal treatment processes are designed to treat extremely high flows with dilute concentrations of nutrient to achieve high treatment reductions. Economically, such design parameters lead to high capital and operating costs that are offset by taxpayers or high value processed food sales. Conversely, dairy manure is much more concentrated, requiring necessary modifications to the technologies. Dairy capital asset acquisitions entail more upfront risk, too, because dairies cannot rely on financing underwritten by taxpayer dollars or produce a price-controlled essential commodity. The combination of these factors is creating a vicious cycle for family farms already at lagoon storage capacity or that have limited acreage to spread their manure, as market forces in the industry necessitate larger-scale operations, which in turn creates more manure to process. Clean Water Solution This new technical approach designed for livestock manure solves these expensive and environmentally sensitive issues through a two-step process. The first stage receives manure that has had coarse solids removed via screw presses or screens, a common practice at all dairies. Upon receipt of this manure, the first stage goal is to remove the remaining fine or suspended solids through a flocculation process that uses polymer to bind fine solids into larger solids that can be separated from the liquid and dewatered. These fine solids are associated with nearly 30% to 40% of the nitrogen and 80% to 90% of the phosphorus, allowing this stage to concentrate these essential nutrients into a dense, solid form. In turn, this solid and its nutrients can be more economically transported to distant fields, reducing both the cost and the agronomic burden. The resulting liquid is reduced both in these critical nutrients and solids, producing a more clarified liquid, referred to as tea water. This thin tea water can be readily applied via irrigation systems, such as pivots, to local fields, again lowering costs and significantly reducing nutrient concentration. The first stage can be stand-alone, while a second stage further treats the tea water. The goal of the second stage is to use a series of pressure-driven membranes to further concentrate the remaining nutrients, ultimately leading to a liquid concentrate and clean water. Pressure-driven membranes work on the principle of pushing a dirty liquid through tiny pore-sized openings capable of blocking different nutrients and even bacteria and viruses. Particles of larger size than the pore opening are shunted out of the membrane, producing the concentrate, while particles of suitably small size continue, yielding the permeate or clean water. One of the keys to unlocking successful membrane treatment for particularly dirty liquids such as manure is to minimize the high salt-induced pressure gradient between the inlets and outlets of the membranes. Like your eardrum on a descending aircraft, pressure differential causes undue stress on the system, eventually leading to costly membrane failure. The Regenis Even Flow approach uses a particular sequencing of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes to reduce and control salt-induced pressure gradients, and as a result generates highly purified water. Coldstream Case Study Coldstream Farms is a second-generation family dairy located in Whatcom County, Wash., with 1,650 mature milking cows and 1,374 acres of owned and rented land near the South Fork of the Nooksack River. The valley averages 61 in. of precipitation per year, the majority of which occurs during winter months. Paradoxically, low water flows in local streams during the summer are a significant concern and have caused heightened tensions between farmers, landowners, homebuilders, environmentalists and tribal governments. Local building codes require a 100-year water supply, stifling growth in an exurban area where young couples and seniors often move looking for more affordable home prices. Federal regulations in place to ensure adequate stream flows for endangered salmon runs compound the problem. As a result, the local public utility district, which oversees the area’s water management, has been eager to find additional water resources. Coincidentally, Coldstream Farm has a desire to remove excess wastewater from its system. The confluence of a win-win for water users was in sight. Regenis, its partners at the Whatcom Public Utility District No. 1, and the owner of Coldstream Farm, Galen Smith, submitted a grant application to the Washington State Clean Energy Fund in late 2017 to underwrite a significant portion of the system. The Washington State Conservation Commission approved the grant in June 2018. Launched in October 2018, the system was designed to operate around the clock to treat 22,000 gal of manure daily, but could eventually be expanded to process the entirety of Coldstream Farms 60,000-gal capacity. The FSS/Even Flow clean water system will release a projected 4.3 million gal of freshwater back into the Nooksack River over the next year. Beyond the clean water, the system will create nearly 3 million gal of nitrogen and potassium-rich concentrate. Nothing from the daily 22,000 gal of manure is left to waste because even the phosphorous captured in the fine solid separation system can be used or sold as a solid organic nutrient. Coldstream offsets its upfront capital costs by comparing them to yearly savings related to pumping and hauling manure. Worth noting also are significant savings from avoiding the cost of renting more acreage or having to permit and build a new lagoon storage tank estimated at $550,000 to hold 5 million gal of manure. Currently, Coldstream is at 93% of its lagoon capacity in an average rainfall year. With the clean water system treating 22,000 gal of manure daily, Coldstream’s storage needs are reduced by 20%. The upshot of removing nearly 4.3 million gal of manure from its storage facilities is that the dairy now has the ability to expand its herd by as much as 341 milking cows without having to invest in new storage or purchase additional water rights, a significant factor in improving the farm’s long-term economic prospects. The Regenis two-stage system also creates additional revenue streams not calculated into the cost analysis, including: - Gains in crop yields from the remaining nitrogen concentrate nutrient; - Sale of phosphorus-rich solid nutrient; and - Revenue sharing from water with neighboring farms or local utilities. There are a host of non-quantifiable benefits for farmers, such as reduced phosphorus loading of the soil, less soil compaction, better agronomic timing and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. From the above analysis, flocculating fine solids in manure followed by the nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane treatment system shows promise for specific farm cases, including: - Farms experiencing significant pressures related to lagoon storage capacity; - Farms with finite availability of acres for nutrient management; - Farms with hefty manure hauling charges; - Farms looking to expand their herd size without corresponding water rights; and - Farms needing new sources of fresh drinking water, especially in states facing drought restrictions.
WASHINGTON — It took only a few hours for internet sleuths to crack the code hidden in the parachute that helped bring NASA's Perseverance rover to the surface of Mars. On Monday, the space agency released a high-quality video of the spacecraft safely landing on the red planet. While discussing the patterns on the spacecraft's massive parachute, the team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California teased there could very well be a hidden message in the unusual design. “In addition to enabling incredible science, we hope our efforts in engineering can inspire others," said Al Chen, who was in charge of the rover's landing team. "Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose. So we invite you all to give it a shot and show your work.” It took less than half a day for someone to crack the code. Here's a photo of the parachute, if you want to try and figure it out yourself...otherwise, keep reading and we'll reveal the hidden message. Maxence Abela, a student at French computer science school Epitech, said he and his dad cracked the code hidden in the patterns. He figured out the message reads "Dare mighty things," a slogan that's prominently displayed at the entrance to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JPL's Paul Ramirez added that the outer rim of the parachute's pattern signified the GPS coordinates for JPL. Abela posted the explanation on Twitter Monday afternoon, which scientist Emily Calandrelli detailed in a TikTok video. The Perseverance rover's mission is just now beginning. NASA's biggest and most sophisticated rover yet will spend the next two years exploring the surface and drilling into rocks that may hold evidence of life 3 billion to 4 billion years ago.
Mathew Brady (1823-1896) was one of the most prolific photographers of the nineteenth century, creating a visual documentation of the Civil War period (1860-1865). During the Civil War, Brady and his associates traveled throughout the eastern part of the country, capturing the effects of the War through photographs of people, towns, and battlefields. Additionally, Brady kept studios in Washington, DC and New York City, where many influential politicians and war heroes sat for portraits. Mathew Brady photographed many subjects in the time of the Civil War, including various portraits of women. The U.S. National Archives has digitized over 6,000 images from the series Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, and here are some young ladies from the collection that he shot around 1863. (Photos by Mathew Brady)
Remember the “mysterious” craters in Siberia? You know, the ones which “no one could explain”? Well, geologists had a pretty good idea what was happening, and the studies they recently conducted confirmed their theories. The craters are caused by methane seeping from the melting permafrost. Air near the bottom of the crater contained very high concentrations of methane – about 9.6%. In case you’re wondering, the normal concentration of methane in air is somewhere at 0.000179%. So, sorry to burst your bubble guys, but there was never any serious talk about meteorite crashes, missile explosions or aliens. If you’ve read that somewhere, you can just cross it off your list of serious science journalism. The Russian researchers from the Scientific Centre of Arctic Studies in Salekhard working in the area attribute the hole formation to the abnormally hot Yamal summers of 2012 and 2013, which were warmer than usual by an average of about 5°C. What does global warming have to do with this? Well, the permafrost has huge quantities of methane and carbon dioxide trapped in it. If it starts to melts, it starts to release those gases and dramatically exacerbates global warming. The only questions is if this warming was caused by the two abnormally hot winters, or, as Hans-Wolfgang Hubberten, a geochemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, Germany believes, by a slow and steady thaw in the region. The depths of the craters (there are quite many) are not known, but when Russian scientists lowered a 50 meter cable with a camera to it, they couldn’t even see the bottom – so it’s much deeper than that. They believe there is a pool of water somewhere between 70 and 80 meters, but its impossible at the moment to say how deep that pool really is. “Its rims are slowly melting and falling into the crater,” says Andrei Plekhanov, one of the scientists working in the area. “You can hear the ground falling, you can hear the water running, it’s rather spooky.” There are several risks associated with this phenomenon. The most obvious would be of someone actually falling in such a crater, but in the remote areas of Siberia, the risk is fairly small. Much more concerning is the risk of trapped methane threatening local communities and industries. “If [a release] happens at the Bovanenkovskoye gas field that is only 30 km away, it could lead to an accident, and the same if it happens in a village,” says Plekhanov. However, in the long run, the risk remains global warming. If you look at a satellite picture of the area, you see countless rather similar holes, and though there’s not yet an official explanation as to how they came to be, it seems safe to say that permafrost methane leakage is also responsible. The accelerated effect this phenomenon will lead has not yet been studied.
How many of you have heard of the word “autophagy”? What does it mean? If you have ever done a fasting program it is possible you would have heard of this. Basically, the word autophagy is derived from the Greek words ‘auto’ – meaning ‘self’ and ‘phagein’ – meaning ‘to eat’. So, the word literally means to eat oneself. Say what? Autophagy is simply a natural process by which our cells disassemble and remove their waste products. When you trigger autophagy, you allow components of your healthy cells to hunt out dead or diseased cells and then eat them. It is a regulated, orderly process to degrade and recycle cellular components by ‘lysosomes’ (the part of the cell that destroys stuff). It’s like taking out the garbage. This is actually very similar to what is called ‘apoptosis’ also known as ‘programmed cell death’. Cells divide over and over however after a certain number of divisions the cells become old and are not able to do their jobs any more so they are then programmed to die. This is an essential part of life to maintain good health. What activates autophagy? Nutrient deprivation is the key activator of autophagy. When we fast, our insulin level goes down and our glucagon level goes up which stimulates the process of autophagy. During sleep, we are essentially fasting which is a huge boost to autophagy. When we wake up and eat, especially sugar (glucose), we turn off autophagy, so the process of autophagy is unique to fasting. Of course, as with anything, there needs to be a balance. Too much autophagy is just as bad as too little and will make you sick. This brings us back to the natural cycle of life – feast and fast. This allows for cell growth during eating, and cellular cleansing during the fasting times. It’s all about balance. Keep in mind, when I am referring to ‘fasting’ I am referring to the times in which we are not eating, such as when we are sleeping. Doing an intermittent fast has been shown to be very helpful to stimulate autophagy. You would be better off consuming no calories at all and doing an intermittent fast, rather than breaking your fast with a small number of calories and stopping autophagy. For example; let’s say you eat dinner around 6 p.m. You go to bed and get up at 6 a.m. So, you haven’t eaten anything for 12 hours, however it takes 6-8 hours for your body to digest the dinner you had the night before. Only after that 6-8 hours is when you start your fasting time. Technically, you’ve only had 4-6 hours of fasting which is why they recommend that you do intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting typically lasts 24-48 hours and is done once per week but there are many different variations of it. Also, know that exercise helps to stimulate autophagy so whether you do an intermittent fast or not, keep up your exercise regime. The benefits of autophagy include: reduces inflammation, strengthens immune system, slows down the aging process, eats up cancerous cells and tumors, and kills toxins and infectious agents, basically cleaning out the bad stuff from your body (the garbage) and helping the protecting agents (our bodies soldiers) to keep us healthy.
Until very recently few had ever heard of Yellowism, an art movement that gained some notoriety in October 2012, when self-proclaimed Yellowist Vladimir Umanets wrote on one of Mark Rothko's paintings at the Tate Modern. Umanets signed his name on Rothko's "Black on Maroon" and also wrote the phrase “A potential piece of yellowism." It is difficult to discern exactly what Yellowism is, though there is a website for the movement as well as a YouTube channel. Blouin ArtInfo gives a critical, but thoughtful analysis of Yellowism here. Marcin Lodyga, Umanets' partner in Yellowism wrote that Rothko's painting at the Tate, signed by Umanets was still a work of art. He felt it would not be Yellowism, only potential Yellowism, until the work was placed in "yellowistic chamber," at which point it would express only the color yellow and cease to be a work of art. Umanets told the BBC, "Art allows us to take what someone's done and put a new message on it." Rhetoric aside, appropriation within the art world is not new. Marcel Duchamp signed a urinal and transformed an industrial design into a work of art. Artists like Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns incorporated images (trademarks included) from modern culture into their works as if casting a mirror out onto modern society. However, at some point in the 1970s and continuing until today art began appropriating itself, in the form of physical "attacks" on existing works displayed in galleries and museums. These "attacks" present some very unique legal questions. When someone writes on a Rothko painting or dumps a bottle of ink into Damien Hirst's pickled sheep or draws a clown face on a Goya print, does this act of destruction create a new work of art and with it new copyrights in another author? Copyright protects original works of authorship, giving the author exclusive rights and the ability to prevent unauthorized copies or otherwise derivative works. As for art attacks, it would seem that the question comes down to whether the new work would be seen as an unauthorized derivative, or whether the work was transformative enough, and accordingly leaning in favor of fair use. Still, transformative use is an incredibly difficult question, and often it leaves much to the eye of the beholder. One must also consider the moral rights attached to certain works. In most civil law jurisdictions and some common law jurisdictions, moral rights attach to works of art during an artist's lifetime. Among other issues, moral rights protect the integrity of the work, barring alteration, distortion, or mutilation of the work even after it leaves the artist's possession or ownership, and even if the artist has assigned the copyrights to another. While moral rights may not present an issue in the case of long-since deceased artists, they could certainly play an important role in attacks on the works of living artists. Further, it seems that in most cases those who "attack" works of art are not the legal owners of the physical work of art, thus their acts constitute crimes as well as civil torts. Even if a new copyright existed, it would likely be rendered worthless as proceeds from the copyright would be viewed as proceeds of a crime. (In case anyone is still wondering, Umanets was arrested for what he did to Rothko's painting.) While art attacks might serve as an end run into the limelight for new artists, the social and legal consequences are considerable.
Blacky had made his house out of bricks so when the fox 856 Words 3 Pages recreated the classic tale of the three little pigs, a story of about three brother pigs and a hungry wolf. Wolf aka the Big Bad Wolf is accused of deplorable crimes. In many of his books, including The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. But I've been reading -uh-. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama. Such forms of this can be seen on bumper stickers, in speeches, in poems or even in many different forms of advertisements, as discussed in Text Book on pages 130-133. This freedom makes communication of meaning impossible but increases the number of words endlessly. Exposed now to claw and fang, piglet one made haste, wolf in pursuit, to the stick festooned sanctum of peccary secondary. Blaming the Prince of the Fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. Greed and laziness are undesirable characteristics to possess, while hard work and careful planning are very positive characteristics. Soon there happened along, as is frequently the scenario of classic protagonist pig or red hooded child — a wolf. No animals were harmed in the making or transmission of this material. The audience decides the ending of this play - guilty or not guilty? Shakespeare had a vocabulary of 54k, we, on average, 3k. It has a total of 13 chapters. The animal I really dig, Above all others is the pig. Forthwith shall I endeavor employing means both huffing and puffing to dismantle yon flaxen fortress! From Doug Comedian John Branyan tells the story of The Three Little Pigs as it would have sounded if written by Shakespeare in this hilarious stand-up performance. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Once more she hits the vital spot, And kills him with a single shot. I hope you enjoy The Three Little Pigs. The Three Little Pigs is a prime example of the morals and lessons that children were taught while reading a fairy tale. Please be more careful in the future. You probably know the rest. However, the third little pig builds his house out of bricks and is able to resist and eventually vanquish the wolf and fox. Who's in charge of this story? Meanwhile, unique in his imaginings, pig numbered three did erectus his domicile star-ward and garish structure made from brick entirely. There is nothing implied; it is exactly what it appears to be. This poem was published in Revolting Rhymes, a collection of six Roald Dahl poems published in 1982. Not by wit or whiskered jowl! The Germans the foolish pigs did not take the time to move enough troops to defend Normandy the straw and stick houses from the Allies the wolf. Pig numbered one did construct his house of straw. Any pictures, opinions, creative expressions or compositions in the material you are about to view may be intentionally satirical, sometimes sarcastic and might be considered offensive and inappropriate for some people who lack a sense of humour or have irrational religious beliefs. Am I to curtail my vocabulary for the ease of those less educated as not to possibly insult or bother, or hope amongst them is a mind hungry to learn? At the surface these stories appear to be trying to teach young children the value of hard work. Such as the resent movie remake of the William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew called 10 Things I Hate About You. Unauthorized use of this material either explicitly or implicitly constitutes an irritating social faux pas. It's an old story, and every time someone tells it the same thing happens. Meanwhile, unique in his imaginings, pig numbered three did erectus his domicile star-ward and garish structure made from brick entirely. To look deeper in to the fairy tale the first two pigs run to the next brother's house to avoid getting eaten. Gordon Related Articles View More Orlando. When reading Text Book we learn about Intertextuality, which is the technical term for a relationship between any form of literature that produces another in relation to its original. I've just begun to wash my hair. How have you been challenged in regards to your vocabulary and story telling by this video clip? This book was published in 2008. During that decade, she resided in 14 different foster homes along with her brother. An autograph session will take place after each weekend performance. Good news for you, pig fans. Pig numbered two did likewise, though rather not from straw but instead from sticks. I read once where most newspapers are written at a sixth grade reading level so that the majority of their subscribers can understand it. Has anyone asked the pigs? But that is what makes him scary, we did this, we the people. Putting on airs is to use those words that most accurately describe a situation or event but is not in the common vernacular. Three Little Words is organized in chapters. Reading the classics is hard! The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. In contrast, the Chinese the wise… 926 Words 4 Pages killing and eating The First Little Pig, and The Second Little Pig.
Sprague watched silently from the Tangier's bridge, a characteristically unemotional look on his face as the Japanese planes streaked over the Tangier's port side, attacking the Ford Island Naval Air Station. Plumes of fire and smoke filled the air. A string of bombs hit a hangar packed with American PBY patrol planes, extinguishing it in a pyre of fire and smoke. Sprague estimated that about forty or fifty planes had attacked Ford Island and the ships anchored in the surrounding water. As Sprague's crew filled the sky with antiaircraft fire, Japanese torpedo bombers released a rain of destruction. Two torpedoes slammed against the side of the old battleship Utah, sinking it in just eight minutes. Shortly after that, the cruisers' Raleigh and Detroit were hit. The Raleigh soon sank by its stern. Then, as if a torrent of turmoil had been turned off abruptly, the attacking airplanes, their cargo of torpedoes spent, wheeled away northeastward toward Pearl City, flying over the nearby mountains, and returning to their carriers some 200 miles to the north. On the southeastern side of Ford Island, the same spell of destruction reigned. A pillar of black-red smoke shot into the air directly above the mortally-wounded Arizona. This once-proud queen of the American Pacific Fleet lay now in the oil-covered, flaming water - a twisted mass of red-hot steel. More than 1,000 men had perished in her decks below. The battleships Utah andOklahoma were also total losses. Meanwhile, smoke enveloped the Tangier in a cloak of invisibility, and this invisibility became a shield, helping her escape any significant damage. Had she been hit, the inevitable explosions from the many stored torpedoes below her main deck could have wiped out half of Ford Island. Columns of black smoke meanwhile rushed skyward from the other battleships lining Battleship Row, and in this massive stockpile of destruction lay the demise of the American Pacific Fleet's battle line. It now lay on Pearl Harbor's muddy bottom. Cliff Sprague issued few orders on that fateful day. Instead, he watched quietly as his crew went about their duties. One crewman remembered, "But then, he always was cool. At Pearl Harbor, he acted like he'd thought everything out. Sprague knew just what to do, like he was born to command during a crisis." Another reason also kept Sprague on the bridge. His inexperienced crew had never been through an enemy attack, and since they were not battle tested, they needed to see their commander facing the enemy along with them. An officer on the Tangier remembers, "All those men on the main deck and above it, at one time or another as they fought, could see Sprague calmly standing there throughout the battle. That impressed us officers and encouraged the men." During a lull in the bombing, between 8:25 and 8:40 a.m., the Tangier's crew had time to check the watertight doors, hatches, ports, ammunition supplies, and hoses. As they moved about the ship with calmness and efficiency, their demanding training schedules reaped enormous rewards.
J. Pierpoint Morgan used to say that a man always has two reasons for everything that he does: a good reason and the real reason. The same, by all accounts, must be true for women. So now we come to the nub of the question: What is a good reason for your child passing the Eleven Plus and is it different to the true reason? The object of the following assessment is tried to bring truth to the surface. A low score does not mean that there is a problem and equally a high score does not mean that all is well. 1. Do you realise that your child is a separate individual and may not have the same attitude towards the Eleven Plus as you have? 2. Are you quite certain that you really listen to your child? 3. Do you exercise control over your bright eleven year old child or do you allow dialogue? 4. Do you allow your child a full and free opportunity to be able to offer an opinion – or are you most often correct? 5. Have you recently praised anything your child has done? 6. Do you refrain from criticising your child in front of others? 7. Are you deeply concerned that your child should have a good opinion of you? 8. Can you talk frankly with your child or do you do you pass over the opportunity? 9. Do you try to have some form of recreation that you and your child enjoy? 10. Are you willing to allow your child some freedom? Give yourself a score from 0 to 10 on each question. If you reach 100 then you may need to think again. If you only reach 10 you may be too hard on yourself. When you have completed your sums ask your Eleven Plus child to give you a score on the questions. Be kind to each other!
If you've ever taken our tour of Union Square and environs, you may be familiar with the above picture. It depicts the very first Labor Day parade on September 5, 1882. Though the parade wended its way from City Hall to Union Square and finally up to 42nd Street, it's Union Square that is most associated with the events of that day, perhaps because of this image. (Union Square became so connected to the American labor movement that you will sometimes hear that the "union" the square is named after is a labor union. That's not true: the small square marked the place where Broadway and the Bowery met on the original 1811 grid plan of the city.) The history of Labor Day in America is muddled. Many -- including the AFLCIO -- claim the holiday was the brainchild of Peter J. McGuire, the founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Others claim Matthew Maguire of Paterson, New Jersey, was instrumental in getting the holiday adopted. Certainly Maguire led the parade in 1822, sitting beside noted abolitionist preacher Henry Ward Beecher of Brooklyn in the lead carriage. By 1894, Labor Day was a national holiday, despite the fact that May Day was associated with labor in many parts of the world. Eight years earlier, on May 4, 1886, in Chicago, a rally to support striking workers turned into a riot when someone threw dynamite at the police. Quickly dubbed the "Haymarket Affair," the events became the catalyst for turning May 1 into an International Workers' Day -- a day often marked by protest. To distinguish the new Labor Day holiday from the violence of Haymarket -- and divorce it from any questions of labor unrest -- the Cleveland administration instead picked the early September date of New York's commemoration. Within a few decades, it would come to signal the unofficial end of summer. * * * AND NOW THAT FALL IS HERE, it's the perfect time for a walking tour! Check out our full menu of options at www.walknyc.com. * * *
The latest research shows diet plays a huge role in our cognitive health, and the MIND Diet is associated with a reduction in Alzheimer’s risk. Neurotrack sat down with Dr. Martha Clare Morris, the scientist behind the MIND Diet to learn more about the potent effects of nuts, berries and green leafy veg on our brains: NT: The MIND Diet has a very specific list of healthy foods. How did you choose them? Dr. Morris: The MIND Diet reflects years of research into the scientific literature on nutrition and cognition. It is a hybrid of two well-established cardiovascular diets: the Mediterranean and the DASH but with modifications based on the most compelling scientific evidence on nutrition and the brain. All three diets are associated with slower decline in cognitive abilities with older age and with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The MIND diet is new and so has not had much study as yet. In the Rush Memory and Aging Project, the MIND diet outperformed both the Mediterranean and DASH diets in studies of dementia prevention. NT: Why does food have such a big impact on memory loss? Dr. Morris: Our brains require nutrients to function and also to protect against oxidative stress and injury to neurons. Other dietary components, for example, saturated and trans fats, can cause harm to the brain when consumed in excess. The healthy food list of the MIND Diet emphasizes a variety of nutrients that have been demonstrated to protect the brain in a number of ways, including reducing oxidative stress, inflammation and the accumulation of amyloid plaques. These are just some of the ways that nutrition is thought to impact the brain and help to retain memory function. NT: Do the foods interact with each other or work on different things? Dr. Morris: That’s a tough question. We know that there’s a biochemical reaction between different nutrients but that the interactions can be very complex. Some of these interactions we understand, others we don’t. For example, we know that many vegetable nutrients are fat-soluble – they’re better absorbed by our bodies when consumed with fats. So, if you drizzle some olive oil on your spinach, the fat-soluble nutrients will be better absorbed than if you eat it plain. NT: Will following a healthy diet have the same effects on my brain health? Dr. Morris: The answer to this question is not clear. The MIND diet was developed based on the best scientific evidence on nutrition and the brain from many different types of studies. Presumably, this would result in the best protection of the brain. But to be certain would require very expensive and long-term randomized trials that are not likely to be completed. NT: What’s your favorite MIND Diet recipe? Dr. Morris: Fortunately, I genuinely love the foods included in the diet. Blueberries and spinach are two of my favorite foods to eat. I often eat a bowl of whole grain cereal such as oatmeal with fresh blueberries. Another breakfast favorite is a slice of whole-wheat toast layered with sliced avocado and a poached egg, and topped with sautéed spinach with a squirt of lemon juice. These are very quick, delicious and nutritious meals. NT: Are you on the MIND Diet? Dr. Morris: I try! But like everyone I don’t have a perfect score! There are also periods in life that are particularly busy and/or stressful and my diet and physical exercise routines suffer. The most important thing is to get back to a healthier lifestyle as soon as one can. This is just a fact of life and we can’t be too hard on ourselves when these more difficult times interfere with healthy behaviors.
I have discussed mutual funds on this site before, but the term "bond" often appears. Most mutual funds have a combination of cash, stocks and bonds. Some funds specialize only in bonds. In order to be confident that you invest wisely, you should know the basics of bonds. When a person wishes to purchase a house or car, the bank loans the money for the acquisition in return for an agreed interest rate and payment schedule. Just as people need money; so do companies and governments. A company needs funds to expand into new markets, while governments need money for everything from infrastructure to social programs. These large organizations typically require far more money than the average bank can provide at a reasonable cost as a loan. The solution is to raise capital by issuing bonds that are sold on a public market. Thousands of investors buy bonds to lend a portion of the capital needed. Buying a bond is just like being a bank or a credit union and loaning money to someone. A bond is similar to an I.O.U. When you purchase a bond, you are the lender of money to a government, municipality, corporation, federal agency or some other entity. The organization receiving the money is known as the issuer. In return for the loan, you are promised an interest rate and repayment period for the principal. Among the types of bonds you can choose from are: - U.S. government securities - municipal bonds - corporate bonds - mortgage or asset-backed securities - federal agency securities - foreign government bonds You should maintain a portfolio that consists of bonds, stocks, and cash. Bonds typically have a predictable stream of payments and repayment of principal. Investing in bonds can provide reliable interest income. Since a mutual fund may often have a portion of its holdings in bonds, you are taking advantage of this "loaning" of money. The precise blend of cash, bonds, and stocks that would be most optimal for you cannot be advised in a book or a website. I discuss this more in the last chapter of my book, The Confident Investor, where I talk about other things that you may want to research. In general, a bond will provide a more stable but smaller return than an investment in individual stocks.
What are school physicals? School physical exams are a common requirement in most school districts. Children pick up germs and diseases at school and could potentially spread them to their parents, siblings, coaches and teachers. Many diseases can be found out from symptoms like sneezes, coughs, sniffles and such but many others so not exhibit immediate symptoms. This is the reason why physicals are so important. Why is it so important? • There are medical problems that make it hard for the child to concentrate and can negatively impact the child’s performance at school. • A physical will identify any acute or chronic illness that your child may have and would help you take immediate actions to remedy it.’ • The Physical provides you with an opportunity to talk to the healthcare provider about any eating disorders, behavioral problems or sleeping difficulties your child may have • Many illness can be treated if caught early. Who needs a school physical? • A child who has illnesses like asthma, diabetes or other diseases must have a physical done every year. It is of more importance if your child takes any medications for chronic illnesses. • A healthy child needs to undergo physicals every 1 or 2 years. What to expect during a physical? • Like any other medical exam, the healthcare provider will weigh, measure and check the vital signs of your child. • They will also examine the the child’s heart,lungs, abdomen,eyes,ears,nose and throat. • Your child will be examined for strength and flexibility if he/she needs to participate in sports. • It is important to follow up any medications or injury treatment with the healthcare provider. What you can expect when you visit our clinics 1. Stop by our front desk to visit a certified Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant. No appointment is required. 2. Your medical practitioner will examine your medical background, go over your medical issues, perform an examination and supply you with an individualized plan for treatment. This might consist of non-prescription items or a medical prescription. 3. Towards the end of your visit to our clinic, your medical attendant will give you an overview, an invoice and some instructional material may be given. 4. The overview of your clinic visit can be forwarded to your primary health care provider with your authorization. Insurance is not accepted for physicals or TB testing and payment is due at the time of visit.
Stephen Hawking, in his recent book, The Grand Design, breaks the news, bitter to some, that God was not needed to create the universe. Whether God was needed or necessary to facilitate the creation the universe is a question very different from was it God that created the universe. The latter relates to verifying a fact. The former relates to analyzing potentially different options for the act of creation. My take on Hawking is that he goes for the first: God was not needed to create a universe, at least according to the laws of nature as we understand them. As a lecturer at an orthodox yeshiva, and thank God having both a Torah and science (MIT) background, I totally agree with Professor Hawking. To create a universe from absolute nothing God is not necessary. All that is needed are the laws of nature. That God might have used the laws of nature to create the universe is fully consistent in relationship to the Biblical accounts of God’s actions. The only name for God in the creation chapter, Genesis chapter one, is Elokiim, God as made manifest in nature. Maimonides in his monumental Guide for the Perplexed (1190; part 2, chapter 6)) wrote that God acts at times via the forces of nature. An example of God using nature to accomplish a goal is in the Exodus account. After our leaving Egypt, God led us to the banks of the Sea of Reeds (or the Red Sea depending upon translations; see the First book of Kings chapter 9 verse 26 for the location of the Sea of Reeds.). There trapped by the sea, God saves us from the pursuing Egyptian army by splitting the sea with a strong east wind that blew all night (Exodus 14:21). That detailed description of the wind was given to let us realize that it may have seemed as possibly natural. How natural? After the Israelites pass through the opened sea, the pursuing Egyptian soldiers follow right on in. After all it is just a lucky wind. (See D. Nof and N. Paldor; Are there oceanographic explanations for the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea; published in the esteemed, peer-reviewed scientific journal The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 73; no. 3; March 1992, for a peer-reviewed account of the possibility of the wind actually opening the sea.) If the wind had seemed super-natural, the army would have fled back home. So natural-seeming was the wind that the Bible had to tell us that it was God that made the wind blow at that time. So we see that the laws of nature instilled by God at the creation are a part of God’s tools in this world, and as we will see also possibly for creating this world. In 1973, Edward Tryon, professor of physics, published an article in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal, Nature, describing the possibility of how the creation of the universe might be the result of a vacuum fluctuation (Tryon; “Is the Universe a Vacuum Fluctuation?” Nature, 246(1973), pp. 396-397). For those persons interested in the details of the quantum mechanics that make this a possibility, Tryon’s paper is the correct place to start. The physics is complex, but it is consistent with our understanding of the laws of nature. Try to imagine nothing. Not an empty vacuum. Space is something and a vacuum is empty space. Humans can not envision “absolute nothing” but at least internalize that concept. The vacuum fluctuation occurs not in a conventional vacuum but in a “virtual vacuum.” Now quantum theory holds that probability is the fundamental mathematical structure of the physical world, not absolutes, but “likelihoods,” probabilities. Quantum theory holds that nothingness is also subject to this uncertainty, this probability. Ultimately what this means is that the “nothing” might become “something” popping into existence and then immediately disappearing. The smaller the something is, the greater the possibility, probability, that it can happen. The probability is never very large, but at the dimensions of a fraction of a fraction of a proton, statistics give it a fighting chance. And then rather than having this newly created mass / energy disappear, if this speck of space and energy undergoes a sudden massive expansion, what the Russian scientist Alex Starbolinski and the American scientist Alan Guth suggested and has been termed as inflation, the universe is on its way to becoming a home for life. Such a vacuum fluctuation allows the creation of something from a potential nothing provided that the laws of nature are in existence prior to the existence of the universe. Nature is not in existence, but the laws of nature. Though Tryon’s suggestion was largely neglected for several decades, it has become one of the main conjectures for the creation of our universe from absolute nothing. What this means is that there can have been a big bang creation without the help of God, provided the laws of nature pre-date the universe. Our concept of time begins with the creation of the universe. Therefore if the laws of nature created the universe, these laws must have existed prior to time; that is the laws of nature would be outside of time. What we have then is totally non-physical laws, outside of time, creating a universe. Now that description might sound somewhat familiar. Very much like the biblical concept of God: not physical, outside of time, able to create a universe. The only differentiation would be whether the universe once created functioned in a fashion subject only to the laws of nature or if, as the universe developed, the events seem to have had some hints of a teleological direction. Moses claimed that we could glean from the development of the universe the clue as to whether it is the laws of nature or God, perhaps using the laws of nature, that created the universe. Moses in Deuteronomy 32:7, urges us to “Remember the days of old, consider the years generation by generation.” Within those two time frames lays the answer as to the Creator and Governor of our magnificent universe. “Remember the days of old,” the 13th century kabalist Nahmanides tells us that in this phrase Moses was referring to the six days of creation. Whether six days or 14 billion years, the wonder of life is not in the amount of time it took to derive life from the energy of the big bang creation. The wonder is that the seemingly inert, lifeless energy of the big bang creation metamorphosed and became alive and sentient. But if that piece of nature is not impressive, then Moses tells us to “consider the years generation by generation,” to look at history, the flow of generation to generation. We don’t have to go back millennia. Events of the past 100 years are so bizarre as to make even an atheist wonder. The Bible claims that we Jews are neither better nor worse than other peoples. But the Bible guarantees that we will stand out as a marker in history. And that cannot be denied. Read any newspaper, even from places that have never seen a Jew, and you’ll find Jews or Israel written about within the opening pages. When an experiment is conducted, a control or maker is needed for comparison. In the great pageant of life on earth, for better or for worse, we are the marker. We are the marker that there is in deed a God active in history affecting all nations. Well, goes the conventional argument, if God is in charge, then why isn’t the world perfect? Why tragedy to innocent persons, wealth to the evil persons? Certainly the Bible makes no claim that the world created by God would be perfect, that is perfect from our human view point of perfection. The revamping of the world via the Flood at the time of Noah is but one biblical example of an imperfect world (persons living to 900 years) needing a re-working (following the Flood life spans gradually drop to numbers we know today). Whether the Flood and its related events are literal or metaphor is irrelevant to the Biblical lesson that it teaches. A world created by God is not a perfect world and God “admits” its imperfection. Ishak Ibrahimzade, the innovative engineer from Istanbul, has said that the world is perfectly imperfect. How so? We are then obligated to work with God to perfect the creation. That is one meaning of our name, Israel.
RELIVING A 1969 RACIAL CLASH| The Black Students Who Changed Rutgers Feb. 12, 2001 By Hoag Levins CAMDEN, N.J. -- The 1960s were a historical watershed for African Americans and Marie M. Downes appeared at the Camden County Historical Society yesterday to help a standing-room-only audience remember that era of turmoil and trauma. Now Director of the West Deptford Public Library, her presentation about the county's civil rights movement was part of a series of events sponsored by the Society to mark Black History Month. |Photo: Hoag Levins.| ||Marie Downes displays a 1968 student newsletter during her talk. Downes grew up in Camden and graduated from Camden High in 1965 before going on to Rutgers-Camden. There, she was one of only 17 blacks in a student population of 1,100 on a campus located in the heart of what had become a predominantly black city. Decade of confrontations She had come of age in a decade of constant confrontations between blacks and the white political establishment. Activist leaders like Stokley Carmichael and H. Rap Brown were openly calling for a black revolution. And, in the 1968 event that set fire to hearts and inner cities from coast to coast, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. As a student at Rutgers-Camden, Downes became a follower of the charismatic Charles Poppy Sharp, a firebrand who in 1968 founded the Black People's Unity Movement (BPUM) and became Camden's version of H. Rap Brown. One of the neighborhood spin-offs of the BPUM was the BSUM, the Black Students Unity Movement organized by students at both Rutgers-Camden and what was then known as Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). "We were very vocal against injustice in the black community. We wore our Afros, we wore our daishikies and we picketed businesses that discriminated against black people." 'The Black Observer' "We wanted to educate and motivate people so we formed a newsletter called The Black Observer," she explained. The publication was produced by mimeograph; its larger headlines were drawn by hand for lack of typesetting facilities. She displayed one the of the early issues, tapping on the headline, "And You Eat It?" "We were concerned about local issues, like supermarkets," shesaid, reading the 1968 article aloud: "Those of us who live in South Camden usually shop in the white-owned markets located on Broadway. There was once a day when we would go to one market rather than another because it was cleaner. Displays were interesting and neat and the quality of food was better. But now our choices are gradually being eliminated because it seems the markets are competing with each other to see which can be the dirtiest, untidiest one offering the rottenest food at the highest prices to black buyers." On a larger stage in 1969, Downes and the 23 others in the BSUM submitted a list of 24 demands to the administration at Rutgers-Camden. The demands included the removal of racist faculty members, establishment of an urban education department, the hiring of more blacks, selection of a suitable African American to fill a new position as admissions director for minority students, creation of a program to recruit minority students, creation of a black dormitory and recreation building, the opening of campus facilities to members of the surrounding Camden community, and a change in the name of a new university library addition to honor Paul Robeson. ||Students demanded sweeping changes at Rutgers' Camden campus. Seized university building When it seemed that BSUM demands weren't being taken seriously, Downes and the other students seized control of a university building. The action put them on the front page of the Feb. 10, 1969, Courier Post. "My mother was horrified," Downes told the audience, smiling broadly. Ultimately, the university agreed to 18 of the demands and today, 32 years later, Rutgers' broad program of ethinic studies and minority scholarships help make its Camden campus a model of racial and cultural diversity. Even more telling is the fact that, three decades later, the Rutgers University Web site maintains a section about the BSUM's protests as well as the group's original list of demands. The historical archive is used as a teaching aid in various ethnic studies courses. In attached forums, contemporary students debate the events of 1969. "That was our biggest accomplishment as members of the BSUM -- being the catalyst for change," Downes said. "Then, as now, it's important for individuals to take a stand in order to make things change for the better. If you don't tell institutional, society and commercial leaders what's wrong, they have no reason to reassess their actions or change. When people get complacent and just go along with whatever is done to them, they become part of the problem. It's easy for the establishment to tell itself 'everything must be OK -- because nobody is complaining.'" Look back proudly Downes indicated that the many people across the country who took part in civil rights protests in the 1960s and 1970s can now look back with pride on what they helped achieve. The career librarian also noted some quieter, less obvious triumphs. As a college student in the 1960s, she pointed out, it was particularly hurtful not to be able to find many books written by black authors or books about black subjects. "Today, however," she said, "we are blessed with so manyn books by African American writers and books about African American themes. It's amazing to go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble on the Internet and see how many titles come up for the topic, 'civil rights.' It is a good measure of how much has changed and how far our country has come." A children's story for the ages She ended her presentation by reading a children's story that contained a larger message for all. It was the tale of a small black girl in the deep South on the eve of the social explosions of the 1960s. The little girl took her first walk to town alone and, with the naievete of the young, didn't understand the meaning of the water fountain sign, "Whites Only." Assuming it meant she could only tread on the wooden step and drink if she were wearing white socks, she removed her shoes, stepped up in her white socks and drank. The act precipitated a tense racial showdown in the crowded town square. Inspired by the little girl, a long line of black adults removed their shoes, stepped up and, for the first time, drank water from the public fountain in the center of their own community. "Three decades ago as university students, and much like the little girl in the story," said Downes, " we learned that if the individual doesn't summon the courage and step forward and take action when action is needed, then nothing will change."
Stamp painting, knitting, playing with basketball or collecting: these are the specific things that come to mind when people think of hobbies. Make an effort to think of beekeeping as a hobby. Keeping bees is an unique pastime, it can be entertaining and educational; it may also be a lucrative avocation. Beekeeping or apiculture is the preservation of honey bee colonies. Apiary is where the bees are kept. Apiarist or a beekeeper is someone who keeps honey bees for the intent of raising bees and queens to sell to other farmers, and fastening products such as honey, beeswax, pollen. There are commercial beekeeping: residential, hobby beekeepers or hobby beekeeping, sideliners, or different types of beekeepers. Residential beekeeping is normally kept bees in the most busy area in urban surroundings. Be sure you know the laws, regulations and requirements because some places don’t enable beekeeping before keeping bees in residential area. Most beekeepers are hobby beekeepers; they keep bees as a hobby but they have another day job, and simply find beekeeping gratifying. Only a couple of hives are typically owned by these folks. They have interest in ecology. A sideline beekeeper desires to make a profit keeping bee but relies on an additional source of income; it usually occurs when a hobby gets out of control or when they’ve decided to widen beekeeping in time that is full. Sidelines beekeeping can handle up to 300 colonies of bees. And finally, Commercial beekeepers control hundreds or thousands of colonies of bees. The broadest beekeeping kind can handle up to 50,000 colonies of bees and make millions of pounds of honey. Beekeeping lessons are essential for an aspiring beekeeper you should wear protective clothing to protect skin. Gloves must be worn by beekeepers and veil to protect your face and especially the eyes. Occasionally they do not to use gloves because they have this expertise in beekeeping and in handling bees. The face and neck are the most important areas to protect why most beekeepers will wear a veil that’s. Rinsing glove hands in vinegar and washing suits frequently will minimise interest. Beekeeping can readily be learned over time. Hands-on expertise is the best way to learn. You may understand how you can approach properly work and the hive with the bees. Beekeepers need to use all their senses and always keep an open mind. Start look for what inquire and you should learn some experiences, with a good start beekeepers seek for his or her advice. But it’s important at all times the safety of the beekeeper. Remember that whatever you desire to execute, anything you would like to do or what profession or business you want to enter just follow what your heart says and go for what makes you will joyful. Some individuals who are interested in honey bee farming get their training from how to raise bees classes in Kincaid West Virginia but it may be very expensive. The good news is there are less expensive ways to master the art of successful beekeeping in WV.
It’s no secret that our planet is experiencing a global climate crisis. Report after report shows that greenhouse gas emissions are disrupting our planet’s protective ozone layer. Greenhouse gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane are in our atmosphere. This blanket of gasses traps the heat we get from the sun and keeps the climate warm and sustainable for current human life. Without this protective layer, the planet would be about 60 degrees cooler, which is too cold. The fact that we live inside a greenhouse is good. The problem is that we are thickening the protective blanket by emitting too many greenhouse gases. Our greenhouse is getting hotter.