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Giving a vaccination injection shot 370 (R). (photo credit:Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters) The vaccination rate among Israeli children is among the highest and the country’s immunization baskets is among the broadest in the world, according to the Health Ministry. It issued this information on Thursday to mark World Immunization Week, taking place April 27 to May 3, which is coordinated by the World Health Organization. About 95 percent of babies and children are taken to well-baby clinics for their routine vaccinations, the ministry said. These include shots against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough plus hemophilus influenza B and polio (five together); measles, mumps and German measles plus chicken pox (four together); Prevnar against pneumococcus; hepatitis B; hepatitis A; and rotavirus. Vaccinations are “one of the most important and efficient interventions to prevent disease and to promote a healthy population,” the ministry said. Since 1994, for example, the vaccine to prevent hemophilus influenza B was included in the vaccination schedule for children. As a result, meningitis and other complications in this age group has become extremely rare. Since Prevnar shots were introduced in 2009, pneumococcal meningitis and sepsis have almost been unseen in this age group. The rotavirus vaccine, which began in 2010, has significantly cut down the number of children hospitalized for serious diarrhea. The ministry’s website, www.health.gov.il, has more information on childhood vaccination, as well as shots for adults, health system workers and those planning to travel abroad. The WHO said the special week “provides the opportunity to remind families and communities how effective vaccines can be, and to encourage people to take action to ensure that more children – and increasingly people in other age groups – are immunized against deadly and debilitating diseases.” One important driver of this progress, it said, has been the WHO’s Expanded Program on Immunization, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in May and has been established in all countries. Priority is given to 40 countries where routine immunization coverage is the lowest and to the districts within those countries where children are least protected. When the Expanded Program on Immunization was established, just 5% of the world’s children were receiving basic immunizations. Now this figure stands at more than 80%. Nevertheless, more than 22 million of the world’s children (about onefifth of infants) are still not being immunized with basic vaccines, the WHO said. The UN organization is now encouraging use of new mobile and Internet technologies to deliver information about vaccination directly to people’s mobile phones and social media accounts. Relevant to your professional network? Please share on Linkedin

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This week the UN will convene a climate summit where Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will ask leaders to bring “bold announcements and actions that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilize political will for a meaningful legal agreement in 2015.” For those who have marched in cities around the world this weekend demanding change, the Summit offers a new opportunity to finally set the world on a corrective path that will avert an imminent global disaster. This summit follows on the heels of previous UN conferences in Copenhagen, Cancun, Durban, and Doha, each of which had ambitious goals but which failed to prompt world leaders towards substantive action. Frustration and disappointment has become the norm. As Felipe Calderon, chairman of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate said, “If the evidence is so clear, why have we not acted?” This summit has little chance for success. Even if it did result in some agreement by leaders, the eventual successful implementation would be extremely unlikely. The simple reason is that the world is severely addicted to fossil fuels and because of that, even the recognition and acceptance of the problem is simply not sufficient to inspire coordinated action. A convincing argument can be made using an analogy between an individual’s addiction to cigarettes and fossil fuel usage by society. Smoking is commonly recognized as an addiction and it is important to note that smoking exhibits a similar pattern of costs and benefits over time as fossil fuel usage. Both cigarette and fossil fuel consumption generates immediate benefits to users; smoking causes the seductive effect of nicotine in the brain and social camaraderie among peers; fossil fuels provide affordable energy for transportation, heating and electrical needs – it is a part of everyone’s daily life. Both smoking and fossil fuels have the potential to cause long term damage in the future: with smoking comes the higher incidence of cancer, heart disease, and emphysema; with fossil fuels comes the potentially deleterious effects of super storms, droughts, and rising sea levels caused by climate change. Finally, both smoking and fossil fuel usage are difficult and costly to discontinue: smoking cessation causes sometimes severe withdrawal costs and continual urges for resumption; fossil fuel substitution requires costly replacements of energy systems and higher energy costs. In addition, the future effects of both smoking and fossil fuel usage are uncertain. Smoking does raise the probability of contracting a disease, but, as many as 50% of smokers never experience these negative effects. Fossil fuel consumption may certainly be raising global temperatures, but knowledge of who will be affected, to what degree, and when, remains speculative at best. It is the presence of withdrawal costs that makes smoking addictive. Because it is painful for smokers to quit, even those with full understanding of the potentially detrimental future effects, can become trapped in their current habits and smoke until it kills them. Similarly, high relative costs of energy substitutes will also make it difficult to kick the fossil fuel habit as well. Consider the campaign aimed at breaking the addiction to smoking, which began in earnest after the 1964 US Surgeon Generals report. Since then, anti smoking groups have initiated educational campaigns, advertising bans, higher taxes, and successful litigation against cigarette companies. The efforts were a success with a substantial reduction in adult smoking rates in the US from over 40% in the 1960s to around 20% today. In the early stages though, resistance to change was strong and many people simply denied that smoking was harmful. Today the vast majority of people, including smokers themselves, accept the dangers posed by smoking. Still, despite that knowledge, it may seem somewhat surprising that fully one-fifth of the US adult population continues to smoke. If we consider smoking around the world, noting that many similar regulatory programs and high taxes have been imposed in Europe and elsewhere, it is surprising that as much as 30% of the adult male population continues to smoke. Thus, despite many successes over more than a 50-year campaign, it has been grudgingly difficult to break peoples’ addiction to cigarettes. Now consider fossil fuel usage. As described above, fossil fuel usage displays a similar pattern of costs and benefits over time as cigarettes and thus can be thought of as an addictive process. However, fossil fuel usage is different from smoking in an important respect that will make breaking this addiction many times more difficult. To curtail smoking one has to convince an individual to change his or her behavior in order to have a long term positive effect directly upon him or herself. In contrast, with fossil fuels one must convince billions of people to change their behaviors in order to have a positive impact on future generations of people. Individual action on fossil fuel usage will have no meaningful impact on the future outcome for oneself, or the world. In fact, even if hundreds of millions of individuals in several large countries change their fossil fuel usage it will still have little effect on climate change if the rest of earth’s population maintains its current habits. This means that climate change mitigation is a collective action problem, on top of being an addictive process, and this is the reason the UN is convening regular summits to reach a collective agreement. But while collective action can work when the benefits of the actions will have immediate positive impacts, it is unlikely to work when the benefits are highly uncertain and in the distant future. Also, although world leaders may pay lip service to climate change mitigation and even implement policies to prompt modest reductions in fossil fuel use, significant reductions in carbon emissions in democratic countries will ultimately require the support by a majority of the national electorates. With respect to smoking abatement policies, such as higher taxes and strict regulations, the majority of the population are non-smokers who are perfectly willing to support such restrictive policies. In addition, the cigarette industry is a very small sector relative to the size of the entire economy so legal attacks against it provoked little resistance. In contrast, policies to restrict fossil fuel usage and carbon emissions will affect 100% of the world’s population and impact industries that are the largest companies in the world employing tens of millions of people. The supply chains for fossil fuels and the profits that flow from them are well understood and both directly and indirectly benefit everyone on the planet. Attempts to break these fossil fuel “habits” will be met with an indefatigable resistance that will include continuing propagation of climate change denials and intense lobbying against any policy change that threatens these well-established patterns. For these reasons, UN summits have virtually no chance for success. It won’t matter how many meetings are held or how many marches take place. All hope need not be lost though. There are several viable alternatives to collective action. However, one of these alternatives faces high uncertainty regarding its potential effectiveness. And although the second option has high potential to be effective, it faces substantial resistance even from those most concerned about climate change. The first option is a concentrated effort to reduce the cost of switching to low carbon alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and nuclear. If alternatives can satisfy consumer energy demands at a lower cost, then consumers will surely demand them. However, one additional requirement for this to work is that energy companies must be able to make greater profit supplying these alternatives than they can supplying fossil fuels. Only in this way will there be a rapid changeover sufficient to crowd out fossil fuel usage. Whether low cost and highly profitable alternatives can be found quickly enough is highly uncertain. The second possible solution is to use geo-engineering efforts to directly offset the greenhouse gas effect caused by rising carbon dioxide levels. Several potentially viable options have been proposed including carbon capture methods and use of atmospheric reflective materials, which could be implemented at a relatively modest cost. However, despite the fact that it was scientific discoveries that have motivated the demand for fossil fuels during the past two centuries in the first place, people nevertheless resist the application of science to mitigate the negative effects that are resulting from its use. Even if one accepts that there is a scientific consensus of the anthropogenic effects on climate change, that consensus does not imply that the only way to solve the problem is by forcing the reduction in fossil fuel use. For these reasons the world would do well to abandon its efforts to reach climate change agreements. These efforts will be fruitless and are likely to result in rising hostilities as climate policy advocates increasingly chastise world leaders for their inaction while demonizing the oil, coal and gas companies who are simply delivering the world’s energy needs in the most habitually, efficient way. The more effective approach is to use science to solve the problem caused by science. Better to pour collective efforts into the development of viable and profitable non-carbon energy sources and in the event that does not succeed, to be ready to act with effective science-based interventions that can help regulate and control the earth’s climate. For a more complete analysis see Suranovic, Steven (2013), “Fossil Fuel Addiction and the Implications for Climate Change Policy,” Global Environmental Change, 23(3) 598-608.

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Definition of crowned crane in English: An African crane with a yellowish bristly crest, a mainly black or dark gray body, much white on the wings, and pink and white cheeks. - Genus Balearica, family Gruidae: two species, in particular the (black) crowned crane (B. pavonina) - It houses over 50 individual birds made up of 12 different species including the sacred ibis, crowned cranes, hammerkop, white-cheeked touraco and lilac breasted roller. - We came across approximately 150 gray crowned cranes - Uganda's national bird - feeding in pastures. - In separate marsh habitats there are cranes too, the crowned crane from Africa, the Manchurian crane from the Orient and our own Sarus. Definition of crowned crane in: - British & World English dictionary What do you find interesting about this word or phrase? Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.

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For NASA’s Parker probe, grazing the sun will be no hotter than a summer day By Tom Risen|August 6, 2018 Engineers will block the sun’s heat with newer versions of technologies developed for the space shuttle fleet. Aug. 13 update: The Parker Solar Probe launched Aug. 12. NASA said that the spacecraft’s solar arrays deployed and the spacecraft is operating on its own power. Engineers worked for a decade designing heat shielding for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe that would be lightweight, reflective and durable enough for the spacecraft to become the first to fly into the sun’s outermost atmosphere, called the corona, and address the mystery of why this region is hotter than the region closer to the surface. Built at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Parker is scheduled to launch on Aug. 11 on a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Successive orbits around the sun will take Parker as close as 6.4 million kilometers from the surface, exposing its heat shield to temperatures of 1,377 Celsius. NASA first discussed the idea of sending a probe near the sun when the agency was founded in 1958. “Every couple of decades since then, NASA sat down and said, ‘OK, can we do this?’” said Adam Szabo, NASA’s mission scientist for the Parker Solar Probe. Parker’s instruments will gather data about magnetic fields and particles from the shadow of a 2.43-meter-diameter, 11.4-centimeter-thick heat shield that will protect the instruments from the searing sunlight. Autonomous navigation software will ensure hydrazine thrusters keep the shield pointed at the sun to maintain a tolerable operating temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. The shield consists of a carbon foam core sandwiched between two panels of a composite derived from the reinforced carbon-carbon that protected the leading edges of the space shuttle wings. The shield sits atop a truss made of titanium, a metal that can endure the 315-degree Celsius heat it is expected to face. Testing the heat shield for durability was “very difficult,” said Betsy Congdon, the lead engineer at the Applied Physics Laboratory for the thermal protection system. “The difficulty is testing for those high temperatures in vacuum, so we tested at a variety of facilities all over the [U.S.],” including at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s thermal vacuum chamber in Maryland. Designers simulated the temperature fluctuations the probe will face on each orbit, as it flies toward the sun and then away from it. In fact, Parker will fly by Venus seven times through 2024, a series of gravity assists whose momentum will send the probe deeper and deeper into the sun’s atmosphere. The shield’s carbon foam supplied by secondary contractor Ultramet of California is a stronger version of a foam the company has sold as a bone replacement material, though it is still 97 percent air. The shield panels, built by Texas-based secondary contractor Carbon-Carbon Advanced Technologies, are made from a “thinner, next generation version” of the shuttle’s reinforced carbon-carbon, Congdon said. To reflect as much light from the sun as possible, researchers at Johns Hopkins’ main campus created the recipe for a ceramic-based white coating that was sprayed evenly across the outer shield panel by Alabama-based aerospace materials contractor Plasma Processes. Designers also had to find a way to protect the probe’s electricity-generating solar arrays during the hottest part of each orbit. As Parker approaches the sun, the arrays will be folded to a shallow angle to reduce exposure to sunlight, “otherwise they could melt,” Szabo said. They will extend again as Parker heads away from the sun. Pipes beneath the solar arrays will also pump water back and forth from a radiator within the titanium truss to shed heat into space. “Space is dark, so you can keep the water cool if you keep it out of the sunshine,” Szabo said. Scientists hope to learn about the acceleration and origin of solar wind, charged particles that course through our solar system after emanating from the corona, and how to better predict more intense blasts of magnetic energy from the sun that could disrupt electronics on satellites. The probe’s namesake, heliophysicist Eugene Parker, 89, a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago, predicted the existence of the solar wind in 1958. Related TopicsSpace Science You can read a more detailed version of this article in the September print magazine.

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UCL researchers have created an artificial thymus organoid capable of producing specialised T-cellsThe small organ called the thymus plays a central role in the creation of T-cells to support the immune system. Unfortunately, we we age the thymus shrinks gradually and its ability to field these cells falters. T-cells can become specialised through the addition of different receptors on their membrane – each able to pick up and target different antigens. This ability did not go unnoticed by cancer researchers, who designed a treatment called CAR-T cell therapy; an immunotherapy strategy that involves engineering T-cells to express a specific chimeric receptor locked on to a certain antigen on cancer cells. The immunotherapy approaches can in some cases use a patient’s own cells, also called adoptive T-cell therapy. This involves editing a patient’s own cells before reinfusing them back into them. Understandably, this can be time consuming and many individuals simply don’t have a healthy enough immune system to supply enough cells for an effective treatment. An alternative approach is therefore to use a stem cell derived population or a donor supplied population – neither of which are perfectly matched to the patient which can in some cases cause severe complications. This means there is a sore need for greater production capacity alongside reduced risk of immunogenicity (harmful immune reaction). “We know that the key to creating a consistent and safe supply of cancer-fighting T cells would be to control the process in a way that deactivates all T cell receptors in the transplanted cells, except for the cancer-fighting receptors”An artificial thymus A team at UCLA was able to build a thymus organoid structure with an ability to form T-cells from blood stem cells. What’s more, the produced cells resembled natural T-cells, with a diverse range of receptor types. When the researchers added an additional gene for a specific, cancer targeting receptor they found many of the newly produced cells retained this receptor while shedding many of the other types. This means that they may be able to hone in on the cancer without causing collateral damage to healthy tissue too. Due to the success of the research, the team is looking to incorporate pluripotent stem cell technology to expand and optimise their approach, with the hope of providing a fresh source of T-cells for cancer patients in need. Read more at MedicalXpress

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Scripture Reading: Psalm 1 Thrust Statement: Every Christian should delight in God’s Law. Do you delight in God’s sacred writings? Do you meditate upon God’s law day and night? Do you ever read the Old Testament? Do you ever study the Psalms? How often do you glance over the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) or look at the prophets or even scan the poetic books? Is the Bible that Jesus cited an antiquated book? How did Jesus and the apostles look upon the writings of Moses and the Prophets? Before one embarks upon an examination of Psalm 1, a brief overview of Paul’s and Jesus’ reaction toward the “Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” should shed light upon how important these writings are in the daily lives of God’s people. These sixty-six books should set the tone for a much more meaningful study of this great chapter, or book, in the Psalms. What was Paul’s attitude toward the Old Testament? Just a perusal of Paul’s instructions to Timothy concerning his early training should convince anyone of the importance of the Old Testament in the life of Paul. He calls forth the testimony of two women in Timothy’s life who influenced and taught him the Old Testament from childhood: Timothy’s grandmother (Lois) and mother (Eunice) (see 2 Timothy 1:5). What is really significant about this mentioning of his relatives is highlighted toward the end of this short epistle in Paul’s charge to Timothy (3:10-17). Paul cogently expresses his attitude toward the relevancy of the thirty-nine books to Timothy in his final exhortation to this coworker: But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:14-17). The context indicates that Paul is calling attention to what Christians today call the Old Testament. Again, this is significant since this letter was written to Timothy during Paul’s final imprisonment (66-67 CE) under Emperor Nero (reign: 54-68 CE). Paul now languished in a cold dungeon (4:13) and in chains (1:16; 2:9). Paul was very much concerned about the persecution perpetrated upon the church and wanted to encourage Timothy to guard the gospel (1:14), to persevere in what his grandmother and mother had taught him from the Old Testament (3:14), and to continue to preach the gospel (4:2). Since Paul was an inspired man, one must take his advice seriously. For Paul the Scriptures are a powerful means of reformation (change for the better). Paul sets forth a number of benefits derived from the study of the Old Testament writings. For instance, he says that the Scriptures are “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” [3:15]. But Paul does not stop with that benefit; he enumerates four additional reasons for studying the Old Testament. This catalog of benefits may come as a surprise to many Christians; but one should weigh carefully the following details: “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (3:16). Again, in this same vein, one cannot help but reflect upon the words of Luke in his characterization of the Bereans: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). This statement by Luke concerning the conduct of the Bereans corroborates what Paul instructed Timothy to abide in (2 Timothy 3:14). Not only did Paul inform Timothy about the relevancy of the Old Testament, but he also speaks of the abiding validity of the Law to the Romans. Paul writes Romans probably in the early spring of 57 CE. This letter was written about twenty-four years after the resurrection of Christ. Thus, his comments in this epistle are quite revealing for the believer in seeking to understand the meaning of the Old Testament for the church. Following his discussion of righteousness by faith (Romans 3:21-26), he then responds to a question about the Law: “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law” (3:31). Even though one is “justified by faith apart from observing the law” (3:28), this fact, in and of itself, does not do away with the Law of God. This is why Paul tells Timothy to Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:14-15). This tutoring to Timothy reinforces a statement of Paul to the Christians at Rome: “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good” (Romans 7:12). For this reason, Paul could also say: “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law” (7:22). No Christian is “under” law, but all Christians are still “subject” to the law of God. All believers should appreciate the Old Testament writings. How do you feel about God’s instructions in His Holy word? Do you find happiness in the “law of the LORD”? DELIGHT IN THE INSTRUCTIONS OF GOD: PAUL AND THE PSALMIST The above comments about the authority of the Law help to prepare one for a more meaningful approach to the Psalms. Psalm 1 sets forth contrasting ideas—God-centered life versus self-centered life. For the believer, ultimate reality is a life that is God-centered. Is your life God-centered? Or is your life self-absorbed? Or are you thinking only about the present moment of time. What about eternity? The Psalmist speaks of reality that is God-centered, not man-centered. The Psalmist calls attention to two ways: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. One way exhibits dependence upon God, but the other way exhibits independence from God. As you reflect upon this Psalm, ask yourself the following question: Am I walking in the counsel of God or am I walking in the counsel of wicked men? Where is your enjoyment? Read and listen attentively to the words of the Psalmist: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Psalms 1). Upon reading Psalm 1, one cannot help but recall the words of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed (makavrioi, makarioi) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). This word blessed or happy is equivalent to the Hebrew word blessed (yrev]a', a~vr?). Jesus employs the main outline of Psalm 1 in His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ teachings develop the character, the influence, the conduct, and the destiny of the one who listens to the Word of God. On the other hand, Jesus graphically depicts, as did the Psalmist, the utter destruction of the man who ignores God. Just as the Psalmist contemplates two ways, so also Jesus speaks of two ways: (1) the narrow gate and road; and (2) the wide gate and road (Matthew 7:13-14). Psalm 1 begins with a beatitude—“Blessed is the man”—not with a prayer or a hymn. But rather, it starts with a statement about human life. Immediately the Psalmist calls upon individuals to consider the teaching about life and the consequences of not submitting one’s life to God. As this psalm is analyzed, hopefully each person, who is listening or reading this explanation of Psalm 1, will consider his/her own destiny—happiness or destruction. Which destination are you following? Are you like the righteous? Or, are you like the wicked? Which? One way to determine where you are is to consider your reaction to the instructions of God. If you do not joy in God’s instruction, then you are not happy, that is to say, you do not have the peace of God in you that is beyond the peace that the world gives. This psalm sets forth what it really means to be “happy” or “blessed,” that is, the peace with God that is beyond description, even in the face of catastrophe. Immediately, the writer lets one know what the happy man will not do (1:1). He commences with negatives: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers” (1:1). Verse 1 sharpens the contrast between the wicked and the righteous: “For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous” (1:6). As one observes “the way of the righteous,” one cannot help but reflect upon “the way of sinners” (1:1). This psalm offers two fundamentally different life styles. The compiler of the Book of Psalms lays out the final outcome from the beginning to end. The person who enjoys God’s instructions is the one who is “happy” (1:1), but the individual who does not take pleasure in God’s Word will “perish” (1:6). The word happy (yrev]a', a~vr?) begins this psalm and the last word perish concludes this Psalm. The word happy begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (a, a) and the word perish (db@aT) t)ab@d) begins with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet (t, t). This psalm is an all-embracing arrangement of what it means to be happy or blessed. The vocabulary of this Psalm sets forth the distinction between the wicked and the righteous. One perceives three distinctive words that characterize the ungodly: (1) wicked, (2) sinners, and (3) scoffers (1:1). The believer refuses to expose himself to the counsel of the wicked. He or she will not adopt the guidance of the ungodly; in other words, the one who takes pleasure in God’s Law will reject the ideas and attitudes of men and women who have no place for God in their lives. Have you adopted the ways of the world? Who is the blessed or happy man or woman? Is it not the person who avoids places where the atmosphere is not helpful to wholesome thinking and high ethical standards? Surely, the counsel of the wicked is out of bounds for the righteous. The Holy Spirit through Solomon says, “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil” (Proverbs 15:28). Again, Solomon issues the stern warning: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (16:25). The second negative is that the righteous individual will not “stand in the way of sinners.” In other words, this person refuses to stop and associate with the rebellious offenders. To reinforce the words of the Psalmist, one should call to mind the words of Paul: “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34). God’s people often times have to change their friends. Why? Remember the Holy Spirit says, “Bad company corrupts good character.” When one cuts the optic nerve of the soul, one becomes weak and it is difficult to make moral decisions. If one should take a poll of the individuals in the various congregations, one would find that there are untold stories of children who have lost their faith through “bad company.” For one to “stand in the way of sinners,” that is, adopt the rebellious life style of the wicked. When the believer does not shutter at unethical behavior of the ungodly, then the believer indicates he/she has lost some of his/her sensitivity to sin. This exhortation does not mean that one can have no contact with the unrighteous. If so, how can one reach sinners for Jesus? Perhaps, one of the most famous of all Jesus’ sayings is found in Matthew: As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:9-13). Sit: The Seat of the Mockers The third progression in this description of what the righteous person is not is associated with sitting. The righteous person will not “sit in the seat of the mockers.” In other words, he/she refuses to sit down with those who turn their noses up at God and make fun of the things of God. The three verbs—walk, stand, and sit—highlight the importance of how one positions himself/herself in his/her daily walk. The negatives set forth by the Psalmist describe the motion or wavering among the unrestrained. These three verbs with the negative, prepare one for the positive presentation of the happy or blessed person whose fruitfulness is made possible by a rootedness in a good setting (1:3). THE RIGHTEOUS DELIGHT IN THE TORAH Many tragedies can be avoided by the wise decision to get pleasure from the Law of God. Righteous persons decline the ways and attitudes of the wicked that do not accept the behavior that God’s Word demands. The Psalmist stated in denial terms what the righteous would not do. Now he sets forth the affirmative behavior of the righteous. He says, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). How can a man be strong enough to reject the way of the wicked? The Psalmist discloses the secret. He says that it is one’s thrill in the Law of the Lord. In other words, his heart and interests and affections are upon heavenly things, not earthly things. This is the same teaching that Paul issues to the Christians at Colossae: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1-2). As the upright man views the way of the wicked, he says, “that is not my life.” For every believer, his or her life is filled with ecstasy is in the torah (hr`oT, tor>) of the Lord. It is food for his hungry soul. It is as Jesus says to Satan: “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). It is also in this same respect that Paul could tell the Christians at Rome: “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law” (Romans 7:22). Paul recognizes that his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and, since this is so, then his enjoyment is to learn and think of God’s will for his life. If you are a Christian, you, too, are a temple of God. Is your satisfaction in reading and hearing and thinking the Word of God? How frequently do you read the Word? How often do you think about spiritual things? A classic example of what Jesus is talking about is found in the story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha. On this occasion Luke says that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39). Do you relish the words of God? Do you devote time to reflect upon Holy Scripture? How often do you read the Bible? Another example of studying the Word of God is found among the Bereans. Once more, Luke reveals the nature of study that is exemplary: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Do you take the time to examine the Scriptures on a daily basis? Have you examined the message of salvation concerning Jesus as God’s way of salvation? Do you examine the Scriptures daily to determine the kind of behavior that pleases God? Can you say as the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”? The ungodly man’s interest and affections are not on spiritual things. On the other hand, the godly man delights in God’s Torah or instructions. The Psalmist commends the conduct that is reflective and meditative on the Law of the Lord. When one is concerned with and delights in the instructions of God, this person will mull over the Holy Scriptures day and night. Again, can you say as the Psalmist says: “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” This Word torah is much more comprehensive than just the Law of Moses in the Pentateuch. It is in the written torah that one gains wisdom for living a life that is pleasing to God. The Psalmist invites and expects the “happy man” to receive and read the torah as Scripture. It is through the torah that the Lord is able to reach, touch, and shape the soul (see Psalm 19 and Psalm 119). David drives home various reasons for reflecting upon the law of God: 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11 By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:7-11). As explained above, this Psalm does not call those whose “delight is in the law of the Lord” to withdraw from society (see also 1 Corinthians 5:9-11). Rather, the call is to avoid the sinner’s influences and effects on his/her personal walk with God. What differentiates the wicked from the righteous is this: one’s response to the reality of God and one’s acceptance of God’s written Revelation. Psalm 1 teaches that life is a journey. This Psalm employs two similes to capture graphically the situation of the wicked versus the righteous. To do this, he uses the imagery of the tree (Ju@ u@J) and the chaff (Jm) m)J) to highlight two contrasting similes. These two nouns end in the same letter (J J), which appears to highlight the contrast between the two similes. He is like a tree (Ju@ u@J) planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff (Jm) m)J) that the wind blows away (Psalm 1:3-4). The water allows the tree to stand drought and to bear fruit. The Word of God allows the believer to stand drought and to bear fruit—even in the face of adversity. On the other hand, the wicked have no roots, no stability, and no place to stand. The ungodly are grounded and guided within themselves—no connection with the source of life. Each person has his/her own distinctive destiny. The believer can ride out the storms of life. Even in the face of sorrow, distress, misfortune, trials, and tribulations, God’s children simply dig deeper into the rich supply of peace that only God can give. Jesus warned His disciples about the troubles that lay ahead: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Earlier, in this same conversation with the disciples, our Lord spoke of peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (14:27). Even though one may experience trouble; nevertheless, every believer still experiences the inner peace that no one can take away. Paul expresses it this way: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39). for Comfort, Instruction, Hope, and Strength As one reflects upon these words of Paul, one cannot help but notice that Paul cites Psalms 44:22: “Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” Is it any wonder that he instructed the Christians at Ephesus and Colossae to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Is it not significant that he did not warn them against using instruments in the singing of their Psalms? Paul did not exclude Psalm 150 in his encouragement to sing psalms. This Psalm illustrates that God is a lover of music. Every Christian can rely upon this Psalm and all psalms for spiritual strength, but this is not so for the man who does not trust in God. The one who does not trust in God builds his house upon the sand, but the one who puts his trust in God builds his house upon a rock (See Matthew 7:24-27—The Wise and Foolish Builders). God’s Sovereignty Versus Antonymous Behavior Psalm 1 calls attention to antonymous behavior, that is, actions not under the umbrella of God’s Law. The effect of the wicked is to produce a society of isolated selves. Solomon again captures concisely the way of the wicked: “A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue” (Proverbs 17:4). The person who fails to make connection with God as the source of life cannot be happy; that is, he/she cannot enjoy the happiness or peace that is beyond this terrestrial world. Once more Solomon says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (16:25). One should read again the words of the Psalmist as he summarizes the ultimate end of those who desire self-directed, self-controlled, and self-governing behavior: “the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:1). The choice presented in Psalm 1 is always up to date. One may decide to be self-directed, or one may select to be open to the teachings of God. Where do you stand? Are you self-directed or God directed? Are you willing to give up self-sovereignty and to live under the sovereignty of God? Are you burdened with the cares of the world? Are you sinking under the hand of despair? Can your problems separate you from God? Have you taken your difficulties to God in prayer? What is the answer? Have you humbled yourselves under the mighty hand of God? Listen to Peter as he admonishes Christians “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1) of the coming calamities (destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE): “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). Can you say as Job, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10). For the Psalter as a whole, persecution is not incompatible with the happiness or peace that God gives that the world cannot give. From a positive viewpoint, Psalm 1 is a psalm that is God-centered for the righteous; on the other hand, Psalm 1, from a negative viewpoint, zeros in on the self-centered of the wicked. This Psalm, as well as the rest of the Psalter, portrays happiness as existing in one’s delight in the teachings of God; true happiness is not enjoying one’s self in self-centeredness, which is a way of destruction. True happiness is delight in God’s Law. It is in this same vein that Jesus speaks to Satan: “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” The goal of life is found not in self-fulfillment of one’s fleshly desires, but rather in praising God. For the righteous, prosperity consists not of material gains, but rather of spiritual gains. The believer knows that he/she lives for God and is secured by God, even in the face of persecutions or trials. The individual who delights is God’s Law is happy, but the individual who does not delight in God’s Law will perish. Is it any wonder that Paul writes: “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.” Even though one cannot be justified through God’s Law, nevertheless, one’s delight is still in God’s Law. One does not void the Law through faith, but rather one upholds God’s Law through faith. Listen once more to Paul as he explains Law and faith: “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” All Scripture citations are from The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984, unless stated otherwise. I am deeply indebted to J. Clinton McCann, Jr., Psalms, The New Interpreters Bible, Vol., 4 (Abingdon: Nashville, 1996), 683-687, for many helpful insights in making this sermon relevant to the lives of God’s people for today. Simile: A figure of speech that uses like, as, or as if to compare two essentially different objects, actions, or attributes that share some aspect of similarity. Once more, a simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses).

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Keypunch is a device used to enter data into punched cards by precisely punching holes at locations designated by the keys struck by the operator. Originating from the late 19th to mid-20th century, it was the primary means of manually inputting data into computers. The punched cards were then read by computer machines as a form of digital data. The phonetics of the word “Keypunch” are: /ˈkiːpʌntʃ/. Three Main Takeaways about Keypunch - Keypunch is a device used to precisely punch holes into stiff card stock for data storage. This was primarily used in older computing systems before the advent of more compact data storage mediums. - The use of keypunch machines revolutionized computing by providing a reliable, physical method of storing data. This paved the way for the development of more sophisticated data processing and storage technologies. - Despite being effectively obsolete in modern computing, the principles underpinning the use of keypunch machines continue to be relevant. Understanding its operations can provide insight into the early development of data storage technology. The technology term “keypunch” is important because it directly relates to the history and evolution of data entry and data processing. A keypunch is a device used to manually enter data into punch cards, which were then input into computers. This technology was significantly used in the early to mid-20th century, before the advent of personal computers and digitized data entry systems. Keypunch machines were the primary method of interacting with computers, and the punched cards were used to run programs and hold information. Though they are now obsolete, they played a vital role in the inception phase of modern computing and served as the precursor to contemporary keyboards and input devices. Their significance therefore, lies in their pivotal role in the origin and development of computer programming and data processing. Keypunch refers to a device which was used to input data into earlier types of computing and data processing systems. The keypunch served a crucial purpose in the era before digital interfaces, as it enabled the user to deliver instructions to a machine or computer in a language they could understand. This device was primarily used to punch a code, known as a punched card, which was used by early digital computers for input and store data. This coded data was crucial for various applications including but not limited to, data processing, computer programming, and telecommunications. A keypunch functioned by encoding data into cards through holes punched at specific positions, much like an elaborate stencil. The operator would utilize a keyboard to enter the desired information, which the device would then convert into a series of coded holes. These punched cards would then be fed into a computing system capable of reading the processed information. The keypunch played a critical role in computing history by bridging the gap between human users and machines, making it a significant milestone in our journey towards the advanced digital interfaces we enjoy today. 1. Voter Ballots: In some election systems, voters can use a punch card system to cast their votes. Each candidate or voting option is associated with a hole on the card. Voters then use a device known as a keypunch to punch the hole that corresponds with their chosen candidate. 2. Venetian Blinds Manufacturing: In the manufacturing of Venetian blinds, keypunch machines are used to punch holes in the blinds, through which the control cords are threaded. This application is somewhat less common now, as most manufacturers have switched to automatic machines, but keypunch is still used in some contexts. 3. Data Processing in the 1960s-70s: Keypunch machines were extensively used for data entry into computers before the age of personal computers. The user would punch holes into cards using the keypunch machine, with each hole representing a different piece of data. By encoding data in this way, large amounts of information could be inputted into computers long before the advent of keyboards or other input devices. IBM card punch machines were a popular example of this application. Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) Q1: What is a keypunch? A: A keypunch is a device for precisely punching holes into stiff paper cards at specific locations, representative of data, used as a method of data input for early computers. Q2: When was the keypunch device first used? A: Keypunch devices were first used at the beginning of the 20th century, especially for data processing, computation, and telecommunications. Q3: Are keypunch devices still in use today? A: No, keypunch devices have been largely obsolete since the mid-1980s due to the rise of new computing systems and data storage technologies. Q4: What is a punched card? A: A punched card, also known as a punch card or punched-card, is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Q5: What was the primary function of a keypunch device? A: The primary function of a keypunch device was to manually input data into a computer system by punching holes into punchcards, which the computer could then read as data. Q6: What replaced the use of keypunch devices? A: The use of keypunch devices was replaced by magnetic tape and disk storage systems, along with data input methods like keyboards and scanners. Q7: How accurate were keypunch devices? A: While the precision of keypunch devices depended on the operator’s accuracy, they were generally considered reliable for their time. Errors were common, but various tools and techniques were implemented to minimize them. Q8: Who typically operated keypunch machines? A: Keypunch machines were typically operated by keypunch operators, a common job position especially among women in the early and mid-20th century. Q9: Were keypunch cards reusable? A: No, once a hole was punched into a card, it could not be undone, making the cards generally non-reusable for changing data. However, they could be reformatted and reused if the entire set of data was to be changed. Q10: What was the keypunch machine’s impact on the computing world? A: Despite being an outdated technology, keypunch machines played a significant role in the early development and evolution of computing systems. They laid the groundwork for the principles of data input and storage. Related Tech Terms - Card Puncher - Data Processing - Punched Card - Hollerith code - IBM Keypunch Machines

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Being impulsive causes many mistakes and errors. Doing things impulsively will cause loss, damage, and harm. Saying things impulsively will cause you to say things better left unsaid. Thinking before you speak will enable you to think of the best way to say something. Thinking before you take action will enable you to consider whether you should do something, and how to do it if you should. The two words that will remind you to stop and think are, "Just pause." As you pause, think to yourself, "What is the wisest thing for me to say and do now?" Practice building the association in your mind between, "Just pause," and, "What is the wisest thing for me to say and do now?" How do you build the association? It's quite easy. You just repeat these two sentences together a number of times. Repeat them with an upbeat tone of voice, or sing them with your own tune. Enjoy the process. This way you will access positive feelings when you recall this association in "real life." (from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin's book: "Conversations With Yourself", p.150) [Artscroll.com])

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December 4, 2006 After killing nuclear energy and coal-fired power plants, Germany is now taking aim at its own green policies, says the Wall Street Journal. After building nearly 20,000 windmills, Germans are now regulating them well beyond economical sense: - Windmills must be built 40 to 80 kilometers from the coast, where the water is up to 40 meters deep, making the cost for foundations and maintenance massive. - In addition, every windmill must have a rescue area -- including the stipulation that each be equipped with a toilet; the additional costs come to some €100,000 (about U.S. $133,000) per windmill. In addition, the windmills are not generally where industry and consumers live. New high-tension power lines are urgently needed to transport the energy. But that, too, is a problem, says Maxeiner: - Thanks to the bureaucratic hurdles put in place to appease landscape and electrical smog environmentalists, it can take up to 15 years between applying for a permit and completing a new power grid. - The new power lines also must be laid underground, which makes them up to ten times more expensive and wind power even less economical. As a result, more and more people are turning away from green solutions, and back to fireplaces and multi-fuel stoves for their own living rooms: - Big-box stores are stocking stacks of briquettes made of pressed scrap wood or brown coal. - Almost nine million fireplaces, tile ovens and belly stoves are in use, and 200,000 are being added each year. - Over 500,000 tons of logs and more than a million tons of brown coal briquettes are sold annually. Source: Dirk Maxeiner, "Achtung, Killertomaten!," Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2006. Browse more articles on International Issues

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How to get a 7 in IB Chinese? giasuib.com – When you want to develop your Chinese skills and choose the IB Chinese program but still have a hard time getting the maximum score, you can refer to the following ways of how to get a 7 in IB Chinese. What is IB Chinese? IB Chinese includes 3 main courses: Chinese A, Chinese B, and Chinese ab initio. Students can choose from the following levels: Chinese A HL, Chinese B HL, Chinese B SL, and Chinese ab initio SL. In there: - Chinese A HL: Usually chosen by students who are native speakers or who have a serious research orientation about Literature in Chinese. - Chinese B HL: Usually chosen by a small group of local students, who specialize in Literature in Chinese. - Chinese B SL: Students who want to learn how to use the Chinese language, no Literature. - Chinese ab initio SL: For students with little or no experience of the language. One of the main reasons why many students choose IB Chinese is because of China’s booming economy. We all know that China is a huge country with many opportunities and room for improvement. Over the past 35 years, China has grown from an impoverished third-world country to the second-largest economy in the world. China encourages foreign investment and economic cooperation, so Chinese ranks among the top languages spoken by most people in the world. Therefore, the demand for learning Chinese is constantly increasing and appears in most international study programs. However, not everyone knows how to get a 7 in IB Chinese, the score that many students dream of. For more: Study IB Economics in HCMC IB Chinese is a challenging language that students encounter many obstacles. First and foremost, the writing system is extremely difficult for students who are using English (and other languages) because they are already familiar with the Latin alphabet. In addition to the usual challenges that come with learning any language from scratch, Chinese learners also have to memorize thousands of special characters, unlike anything seen in languages based on Latin. In addition, the tonal nature of Chinese also makes speaking skills more difficult. There are several Chinese dialects, including Cantonese – spoken mainly in southeastern China, as well as in Hong Kong and other parts of Southeast Asia, with different written characters and pronunciations, and also very difficult to learn. Many words can be pronounced in many different ways, and each pronunciation has a different meaning. Therefore, here are the learning ways to get the maximum IB Chinese score you can apply to your study method: - Take much time to listen to Chinese: Listening to a lot is never in vain, especially with a language with a distinctly harsh timbre like Chinese. Students can combine reading the content of the lesson and seeing how the words are transcribed to better follow the content. Enhance your listening by doing fill-in-the-blank exercises, which will not only help you focus more on listening, but also improve your handwriting. The number of blank spaces will be equivalent to your listening ability, the higher the score you want to achieve, the more space the listening lesson should have and the higher the difficulty level should be. - Spend time practicing Chinese characters: Learning Chinese characters is the most difficult step that almost every student goes through. However, once you have overcome this arduous obstacle, you will be able to safely spend more time honing your other skills. With a large number of Chinese characters, you need to practice every day. Regardless of the study method you use, you should set aside at least 30-60 minutes a day to focus on practicing. Simplify learning Chinese characters by combining known words to create new words, thereby supporting word memorization, learning one but knowing more words. One of the most effective learning methods is journaling. Writing a diary in Chinese, although it will be difficult at first, if you persist in this habit, your IB Chinese score will be noticeably different. - Practice reading with Chinese materials: Learning any foreign language requires us to have a lot of contact with letters, IB Chinese is no exception. If you are bored with books that are dry and uninteresting, focus on reading about what is short, simple, and entertaining first, combining semantic lookup and listening to the pronunciation. After a while, you gradually form the habit of reading words, recognize words faster and read a variety of documents, from which the volume of vocabulary and grammar also increases significantly. - Improve pronunciation: Reading and writing skills can help you increase your vocabulary and understand more content, however, only listening and speaking skills can help you associate the language and make it work. Learning becomes more interesting. One of the biggest difficulties in learning Chinese is tone. To be able to pronounce correctly and communicate naturally, you need to practice listening to native speakers speak a lot, to master the tone and rhythm when communicating in Chinese. At the same time, imitate the rhythm, pronunciation of the language, and emotions of the speaker to improve speaking ability, making the Chinese speaking tone become better.

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Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus are commonly known as the Pastoral Letters. In them Paul shows a deep concern for the personal responsibilities that he had entrusted to Timothy and Titus in the places where he had left them. They show the warm personal relationship that Paul had with his fellow workers. They also show how church life had developed over the years since Paul first set out on his missionary travels. Background to 2 Timothy Some time after writing 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul left northern Greece. The Bible gives no details of route he followed, but among the places he visited was Corinth in southern Greece (2 Tim 4:20). He also visited Miletus, a town near Ephesus in western Asia Minor (2 Tim 4:20), and Troas, a town farther north (2 Tim 4:13). It seems that soon after this, Paul was arrested and taken to Rome once more. From Rome he wrote his final letter, 2 Timothy (2 Tim 1:8; 2:9). When the government authorities in Rome laid their charges against Paul, former friends deserted him. This was a great disappointment to Paul, but God protected him from violence and gave him the opportunity to make known the gospel to his captors (2 Tim 4:16-17). Paul knew he had little chance of being released; he expected rather to be executed (2 Tim 4:6-8). He therefore urged Timothy to come to Rome as quickly as possible (2 Tim 4:9), and to bring Mark with him (2 Tim 4:11). (Mark was probably working in Colossae, a town not far from Ephesus; cf. Col 4:10.) Paul was lonely in prison. He had been visited by Onesiphorus of Ephesus (2 Tim 1:16-18) and by some of the local Roman Christians (2 Tim 4:21), but only Luke was able to stay with him (2 Tim 4:11). Various friends and fellow workers had gone to different places in the service of God, though Demas, who had been faithful to him during his previous imprisonment, had now left him for no good reason (2 Tim 4:10,12; cf. Col 4:14). Apart from giving Timothy details concerning his circumstances in Rome, Paul wanted to give him added encouragement concerning the church in Ephesus. The Ephesian church was still troubled by false teaching, and Paul wanted Timothy to stand firm in his defence of the gospel. Contents of 2 Timothy The letter opens with Paul’s encouraging Timothy to exercise his God-given gifts with boldness and to defend the gospel against all attacks (1:1-14). He mentions Onesiphorus as an example of wholehearted faithfulness (1:15-18), and impresses upon Timothy the need for endurance (2:1-13). Paul then deals specifically with the problem of the false teachers. He urges Timothy to concentrate on the main truths of the Christian faith and to avoid useless arguments (2:14-26). He warns that opposition to the truth of God will increase (3:1-9). In view of this, Timothy is to be an example to all, through enduring suffering patiently and preaching the Word constantly (3:10-4:5). Paul looks back on his own service for God with satisfaction (4:6-8), and concludes with details and advice in relation to his present circumstances in Rome (4:9-22).

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June is Indigenous History Month and, to honour its intent, Leddy Library’s Indigenous outreach librarian Jennifer Soutter has curated a short list of resources to help others get started on learning about Indigenous Allyship. “The list includes some of the resources that helped orient me and change my thinking as a settler who is undergoing this journey of reconciliation on the traditional lands of the Three Fires Confederacy,” said Soutter. “Many of the items included in this list reflect both my learnings to date and my limitations, as I feel I am at the front end of a journey full of waystations.” This list features six sections related to being on the land in this geographic and cultural area, each curated to educate and encourage others to reflect on learning about Indigenous communities, their history, and what it means to be an ally: - Local communities - Check yourself - Align values for the work - Approaches to start educating yourself - Settler history of the land - Continuing your journey The Leddy Library invites you to explore these resources and others to learn more during Indigenous History Month. To suggest additional readings or resources for the list, contact Soutter at firstname.lastname@example.org.

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The Washington Post reports on an nonpeer-reviewed NOAA study that found that 'freak chance' was the major reason for last month's US heat wave: ...The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration analyzed the causes and chances of what it nicknamed “meteorological March madness.” Meteorologist Martin Hoerling said the main cause was a persistent warm wind sending toasty air north from the Gulf of Mexico. The study is not peer-reviewed and some outside scientists say it is short-sighted.Look, in addition to climate there is always still weather. How else would an extreme weather event manifest itself except if it was driven to wherever it took place by meteorological pressure forces? “Climate change was certainly a factor, but it was certainly a minor factor,” Hoerling said. He said the bigger issue was wind patterns. Low pressure in the Pacific Northwest and high pressure in New England created a perfect funnel, like the gutter lane in a bowling alley, for warm air in the Gulf of Mexico to head north. That air is about 15 to 20 degrees warmer than the air in the Midwest. From time to time that air heads north, but what is unusual is that the wind pattern stayed that way for about two weeks. So meteorologists, who are educated in the tools of meteorology, are (it seems to me) going to look at events and see all their contours and arrows and find an explanation in the language their tools provide them. It was the same with the Russian heat wave, where some saw "blocking." Blocking isn't really an explanation, it's just a description in a certain language. Surely that wasn't the first time such blocking had ever occurred. So why did the temperature rise so high with this blocking and not previous blockings? The meteorologist above says, of the US heat wave (as paraphrased by the reporter), 'from time to time that air heads north, but what is unusual is that the wind pattern stayed that way for about two weeks.' Well, how unusual was it? Had it ever happened before? If so, had the temperature risen that high before? If not, why not? Because there is more energy in the atmosphere, because the Earth has an energy imbalance.

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One is always grateful to see attention paid to the quality and quantity of household data available to study poverty. It is a subject dear to my heart and to my colleagues in the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS ) in the World Bank. In sub-Saharan Africa, as a recent Global Dashboard post titled “What do we really know about poverty and inequality?” by Claire Melamed points out, there is still a dearth of data, even after years of government effort and international support. But there are data -- in some countries lots of data -- so it’s worth highlighting what is there. Today I wanted to add some nuance to the discussion of income and assets raised by Claire and, probably more importantly, steer people to some new data that will, we hope, excite the most blasé of you out there. There are, in sub-Saharan Africa, more household surveys with asset information than information on income or consumption. To some extent this will always be the case as most surveys that collect income or consumption data also collect asset information while the reverse is not true. But more importantly, many surveys collect only asset information given the cost (and complexity) of collecting a monetary measure of welfare. The original asset index is probably the unmet basic needs indicators formed from census data in the 1960s and 1970s. In the absence of good household surveys, these were helpful indicators to understand, a bit, how people lived. Then the era of household surveys rolled in and suddenly we were able to pick apart the poverty story, understand how poor some people really were and make clear comparisons across groups and across time. This is what we want, but we can’t always get it due to the costs. So, in recent years, the asset index has been put forth as a proxy for income or consumption. Better than nothing, it is argued and, in some cases, valuable in its own right. The problem with an asset index is that it is hard to use. Construction is easy. As Deon Filmer and I show in a forthcoming paper in Demography, it doesn’t appear that it matters tremendously how you add up your radios and beds. But the index only ranks households; it doesn’t tell you much about the distance between households and inequality in any way that one can really talk about. (Think for example, is having two beds better than two radios? Or is one bed, a radio and a wood floor better then two beds and a dirt floor?). Money makes life easier, both to spend and to measure welfare and talk about inequality. Having said that, Deon and I do find that the asset index works for some purposes: inferences about the importance of economic status in education, health and some labor outcomes are quite robust to the choice of per capita consumption or an asset index. But, consumption measures and asset indices are different measures: the rank correlation coefficient between per capita consumption and various asset indices averaged around .55 to .60 for the eight countries we looked at. So, while asset indices have their role, they are not a substitute for a good monetary measure of welfare. Back to the overall household data picture. There is good news and bad news. The good news is the increase in the number of national household surveys in the world, not least in Sub-Saharan Africa, that provide monetary measures of welfare and asset data. In 1979 Robert McNamara, then President of the World Bank, was supposedly shocked to see so many holes in the first World Development Report--- only 17 developing countries had micro, distributional data, yet macroeconomic variables were available for almost all. The need to rectify this situation was the impetus for the LSMS. The first LSMS surveys were done in 1985 in Peru and Côte d’Ivoire, the most recent are in the field as we speak, but I’ll come back to that. The advantage of LSMS, and other multi-topic, household surveys is that one can look at the causes and correlates of observed outcomes, and not be stuck just knowing that malnutrition is 12 percent without having a clue why that is so or the most efficient way to lower it. The bad news on the data front is that there are not enough countries that systematically collect comparable national data on anything, let alone poverty. ( Ethiopia, Ghana and South Africa stand out as exceptions) But more is needed to give rise to a culture of empirically-based policy making and create sustainable survey programs. It is not only about money --even DHS surveys which are typically more expensive than the LSMS surveys get done with some regularity—but instead a series of complex factors that will have to be the subject of another post. For those of us who want more data and better data in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is further good news. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have provided funding to the LSMS for a new initiative: the LSMS-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture or LSMS-ISA. Six countries are benefiting from this initiative as we collaborate closely with national data producers and users, particularly ministries of agriculture, to develop and implement panel LSMS surveys with a substantial agricultural module. The data sets will advance research and policy work on agriculture’s role in welfare and household activities. And need I go on about the fun of having that much panel data to work with? We have also built in rigorous validation of new techniques and methods to keep expanding knowledge of what works in data collection and what doesn’t. All of this data will be publicly available within a year of collection. The first data set is already available for Tanzania; Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda are soon to follow. Ethiopia and Niger will be in the field this year. The model is already being built on: USAID is now funding the inclusion of a seventh country—Mali-- in the project. So not all is completely bleak, good monetary measures of welfare will be available for another group of countries over the next few years in Africa. But, as in the rest of the world, further coordination and clever ideas on how to move us all closer to the goal of sustainable systems of data collection are still needed.

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In K-12 schools, communities composed of intricate webs of student-student, adult-student, and adult-adult social interactions, we tend to expend minimal energy designing or adopting programs that help students and adults navigate complex social interactions. When relationship problems do arise, we handle them in the moment usually with more reactive rather than proactive focus. Of course, some schools bring in social-emotional curriculum to help students learn to thrive in their school community. This is certainly an important first step. But in the end, do we hold ourselves accountable for defining the indicators and outcomes we want to achieve through our efforts? Do we place as much value on a student’s social-emotional growth as we do on their academic growth? Consider this, we eagerly assess a student on a scale of A-F or 100-0, hopefully not zero, with regard to their academic growth. Academic achievement or grading conversations consume considerable time and energy in a teacher’s, student’s or parent’s school experience. However, we spend little quality time discussing a student’s social-emotional growth, and we certainly don’t “grade it.” You’ve heard the saying, “what we assess is what we value!” In this post, I’m suggesting schools spend time thinking about, designing, and implementing programs, structures, and conversations centered on the social-emotional growth of students, and make use of research in neuroscience which confirms that social-emotional learning supports overall cognitive growth. Healthy social-emotional development in young children correlates with healthy cognitive development and therefore creates a strong foundation for future school achievement. (1) Neuroscientists are conducting research on different aspects of how a person navigates interpersonal relationships. The research is providing a window into how the decisions we make in relationships impact our overall emotional health and happiness. For example, Sabrina Strang and colleagues published a 2014 study, Neural Correlates of Receiving an Apology and Active Forgiveness, which illustrated that the act of apologizing and forgiving activate neural pathways that lead to the development of a stronger empathy response. The authors write: Activation in a network of frontal, temporal and parietal regions is often found in empathy processes. Empathy includes emotional as well as cognitive processes. By simulating the emotional experience of others we can intuitively understand what the other person feels. In schools, do we model for students the power of an apology? Do we design learning environments where students are taught how to work through complex interpersonal relationships? Do we encourage them to process their feelings, apologize when they hurt others, and forgive those who violate boundaries? As adults, do we model these healing behaviors for students as we navigate public adult-adult relationships? My experiences in a variety of schools has been that these programs or experiences are hit-and-miss, and generally only happen when a situation becomes a crisis. On March 30, 2017, Krista Tippett published her On Being interview with Layli Long Soldier, “a writer, a mother, a citizen of the U.S. and of the Oglala Lakota Nation.” She is the author of the book of poetry, Whereas. You can read an excerpt on the Poetry Foundation website (click here). In the interview, Long Soldier reflects on the impact of personal and national apologies on her psyche or our national psyche. She tells a power story about her father’s apology to her about not being there in her formative years. And when I was in my 20s, he came to visit one time and unexpectedly, he was sitting at breakfast with me and apologized for not being there. And I think there was something in the way he said it. He cried when he said it. And I could feel it, I could physically feel that he meant it. And really — and I can say this to this day — in that moment, all of it was gone. Like, all that stuff I’d been carrying around — it was gone. It was lifted. And I feel, in many ways, we started new from that point on. I really have not had the need to go back and rehash things with him and so on. We started from that place forward. We’ve known each other in a different way. She goes on to comment that: I think there has to be a kind of trust building in order for any kind of apology to be effective, whether it’s interpersonal or at a national level. In her interview, she references the United States congressional resolution of apology to Native Americans in 2009, which was enacted as part of the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act. The apology was not public, and was buried deep in the document (click here). Layli Long Soldier heard about the apology months after it was official, but never through any public forum. I had not heard of the apology because it was never part of our national dialogue. Former President Obama’s failed to understand how making this public was instrumental to the healing process. Here is a quote from the apology (click here for more details): To acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the federal government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States. An apology is only meaningful if it comes from the heart. The words, expressions, and sentiments have to resonate with those who are on the receiving end of the apology. If you listen to Layli Long Soldier’s interview, then it’s clear the US apology to Native Americans did not come from the collective heart of the American people. It was a legally crafted set of words, buried deep within another document, that we were afraid to share. I would conclude that our national psyche, our social-emotional health, was still unapologetic for all the hurt we caused Native Americans. A public apology by then President Obama, in the form of a ceremony at a sacred Native American site, would have been a more meaningful resolution to the long history of pain we caused. In our schools, we need to teach students how to give and accept apologies as a way to heal. Healing is a process and an art. It requires a strong inner voice and a moral grounding that allows for an expression of vulnerability. Being vulnerable is a quality that leads to establishing trusting relationships. (1) Ready 4 K, The Importance of Social and Emotional Development in Young Children, Megan Waltz (click here)

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Mafra National Palace The impressive Mafra National Palace from the 18th century is known by its Basilica with the carilons as well as the magnificent Library Mafra National Palace (Palácio Nacional de Mafra) raises majestic over Mafra and it seems like a giant looking down the small town at its feet. The monument is one of the most impressive examples of the Baroque style, showing also some of the Italianized Neoclassical traces. However its grandeur comes from the fact that Mafra National Palace, one of the biggest buildings constructed in Europe on the 18th century, is more than just a palace. To be accurate it is a complex that houses a monastery with a basilica as well. In fact it rivals with the Spanish Escorial and the Pope’s official residence. Mafra National Palace was built under the orders of king John V, who had made the promise to build a convent if the Queen Anne of Austria, his wife, gave him descendants. Therefore, when Princess Barbara of Bragança was born, the construction of the monument started on November 17, 1717, with a ceremony attended by the King and his court, as well as the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon. Photo by MulderMedia At first the monument was intended to be much smaller. In fact, the project was designed to be a modest convent of 13 Capuchin friars. However, the gold from Brazil began to arrive in abundance and the King inebriated with all that wealth, changed his mind and decided to have erected a sumptuous palace along with an enlarged monastery. So, thanks to the gold from Brazil the design was changed and the Palace was built symmetrically from a central axis, where the basilica is to be found, and it stretches lengthwise through the main façade ending in two identical towers. Behind the main façade are the convent infrastructures that where abandoned by the Franciscans after the dissolution of the religious orders commanded by Queen Mary II in 1834. Photo by MulderMedia Since 1849, the monastery area of the building is occupied by the militaries. The construction lasted for 13 years under the orientation of Johann Friedrich Ludwig, a German called João Frederico Ludovice by the Portuguese. Nevertheless, other architects intervened on the construction process, namely Carlos Baptista Garbo, Custódio Vieira, Manuel da Maia and even the son of Ludwig, António. To build a complex of 37,79m2, with a 220 meters long façade, more than 4,700 doors and windows, about 1,200 rooms and 156 stairways is an amazing achievement. It was only possible due to an unprecedented logistic that included a daily huge army of workers who reached the 45,000 men by the final phase of the project. To maintain peace and order on the construction site where assigned 7,000 soldiers. The basilica, dedicated to Our Lady and to Saint Anthony, patron of Lisbon, and the convent were inaugurated on October 22nd, 1730, the King’s birthday. Nevertheless works went on until 1755 when the working force had to be transferred to the recovery of Lisbon after the Great Earthquake that destroyed a large part of the city. The palace served mostly as a recreation accommodation for the royal court, whose members enjoyed hunting in the nearby Tapada de Mafra. King John VI, who lived in the palace for a year, ordered a partial renovation of the building, enriching it with sumptuous works of art of several renowned artists. Yet, following the French invasions, the Royal Family fled to Brazil taking with it some of the best art and furniture pieces. Therefore, many of the rooms were later on redecorated in the original style. The Palace was occupied by the French General Junot until he was driven out by Wellington and his men. This monument is a landmark of the transition into a Republican regime thus it was from here that Manuel II, the last Portuguese King, departure on October 5th 1910 to Ericeira on his way to the exile. In 1907 Mafra National Palace was declared a national monument. The highlights of Mafra National Palace The magnificent pieces of art and furniture exhibited on the Palace coming from all over the world and designed by famed artists, as well as its architectural sumptuous amaze the visitors. In fact, the distance between the King and Queen Chambers was such that when the King wanted to pay her a visit, his departure was announced by the sound of a hornet. Nevertheless, it is the richly decorated Basilica that enraptures the tourists, especially due to the six historical organs and two carillons, composed of 92 bells, founded in Antwerp. It is said that the bell-founders were so impressed by the size of the task that asked to be paid in advance. To assure them, the King doubled the amount offered for the work. The Mafra carillons are the world’s largest historical collection of this type. Sometimes concerts are held and listing to the music coming from these unique instruments is a heavenly experience no one should miss. The magnificent library is another ex libris of the monument. Richly decorated under the Rococo style is 88 meters long, 9.5 meters wide and 13 meters high. It houses over 35,000 leather-bound books, which contain a huge part of the western knowledge acquired between the 14th and 19th centuries. Some of these books are priceless bibliographical pieces such as incunabula, a book that was printed in Europe before 1501. This treasure is not only preserved by natural techniques of conservation that avoid humidity, but also by a few bats that inhabit the library and eat all the insects that might destroy this unique books collection. Photo by Xavi Llunell The legends of Mafra National Palace As any other self-respecting monument, Mafra National Palace has its own legends. In my opinion, the most bizarre states that there are giant rats living in the palace and that by night these huge animals come outside to hunt cats, dogs and even people. Probably this tale is due to the large sewer system of the palace. Another less terrifying legend speaks of a secret tunnel, linking Mafra to Ericeira. Some say that King Manuel II used it to avoid exile and remained in the country. 10 am – 5:30 pm (last admission: 4.30 pm) Closed on Tuesdays and in the following Holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, May Day, Ascension Day and Christmas Day. Basilica: Everyday, 10:00 – 13:00 and 14:00 – 17:00 Library (for readers): – Everyday, 10:00 – 12:30 and 14:00 – 17:00 Entry tickets: € 6 Estimated Visit Time: 1,5 hour (complete tour) Where is Mafra National Palace? Further information on Mafra National Palace - Mafra National Palace at Association of European & Royal Residences - Mafra National Palace at WikiPedia Main image credits - Photo by Xavi Llunell

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We develop and provide novel, innovative flow simulation tools and experimental methods for water management stakeholders. We perform field and laboratory measurements to describe water flow in porous and karstified rocks. We evaluate pumping tests in combination with numerical solutions to analyse groundwater flow from laboratory to regional scale. We are advancing field methods and protocols for measuring sediment transport in surface waters to be used in the daily work of authorities. A promising technology is the Particle Image Velocimetry for improving bedload transport sampling. We develop software for urban water systems. Our space-time failure models of water networks to support reconstruction strategies. Our sediment transport module is integrated into the EPA SWMM stormwater hydrodynamics software. We improve technologies for water and wastewater treatment, water reuse, sludge digestion and disposal, as well as micropollutants. Our research on Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MEC) may serve as a novel technology in water treatment and groundwater remediation. We contribute to national-scale water management projects. Our surveys help refine to the national emission model with improved estimation of the pollution of surface waters associated with urban road runoff. As part of the national flood management strategy, we have established a probabilistic modelling approach for the revision of design flood levels for all rivers in Hungary. Our model development and field surveys underpins Our research on Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MEC) may serve the planning of the national sediment monitoring network. as a novel technology in water treatment and groundwater remediation. Stochastic rainfall generator and downscaling Modell of the flood levels for all rivers in Hungary. methods are developed to urban rainfall runoff. We develop and provide novel, innovative inertial sensor-based measurement arrangement and track quality index for condition monitoring of tramway track. Development of a railway track and bridge interaction Development of a railway track and bridge interaction model includes model in respect of longitudinal effects. the longitudinal displacement of bridges due to braking forces (upper diagram) and the negative acceleration of the locomotives (lower diagram).

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Πειραματική μελέτη συμπεριφοράς θερμομονωτικών υλικών MetadataShow full item record Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία μελετά τη θερμική συμπεριφορά τεσσάρων θερμομονωτικών υλικών σε σχέση με τον προσανατολισμό τους.( συνέχεια στο pdf για ελληνικά ) Αγγλικά This thesis investigates the thermal behavior of four insulation materials in relation to their orientation. In addition it calculates the energy saving and reduction of CO2 emissions by applying insulation materials in buildings. The behavior of the materials was tested with an experimental procedure. The materials used were expanded polystyrene, graphite enhanced expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene and mineral wool. According to the results of the experiment, the tested materials have similar behavior with that of extruded polystyrene being slightly better than the rest. Extruded polystyrene has the lowest sensitivity to orientational shift, while expanded polystyrene has the greatest. After the orientation study, the materials were tested according to their application in building structures using the Thermocad TiSoft software. Energy saving in buildings is about 47% with the use of insulation materials. CO2 emissions are reduced by the same rate.

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Using Appreciative Inquiry to Advance Extension The Appreciative Inquiry philosophy challenges conventional problem solving methods of managing change. The Extension profession could benefit from utilizing this approach because organizations grow in the direction on which they focus and around the questions that they repeatedly ask. The principles of Appreciative Inquiry are applied using the 4-D cycle (Discover, Dream, Design, and Destiny). This article is written to be a practical approach on how to capitalize on the positive and to help create a positive environment for growth and development of Extension personnel and programs. Peutz, J., & Kroth, M. (2009). Using Appreciative Inquiry to Advance Extension. The Journal of Extension, 47(5), Article 45. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol47/iss5/45

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Safety First. Quality Always. Innovating for the Future. Sheep producers supply animals for slaughter for human consumption. Therefore, as food producers they have an important role to play in presenting clean sheep for slaughter. The 3 Category System classifies sheep cleanliness as the following: - Farmers, hauliers and processors all have a role to play in reducing the risk of food contamination following the transport of livestock. - It is important to minimise the food safety risk associated with soiling of fleeces with faecal material. - Good hygiene during sheep transport is important to food safety. Cleanliness of the transport vehicle is important to avoid cross-contamination from previous loads and/or from chemical cleaning agents. - Unsuitable conditions during transport may result in lambs being downgraded in the factory to a lower cleanliness category and costing the farmer money. - Harmful bacteria such as E. coli 0157, Salmonella and Campylobacter can live in sheep faecal matter. If contamination goes unnoticed it can cause sever, even fatal disease in humans. - Clean sheep at slaughter minimises the risk to human health, contributes to the production of safe meat, and improves the shelf life of product produced. - Wet fleeces can increase the spread of harmful bacteria onto the carcase. Harmful bacteria can spread from dirty bedding in a dirty housing environment. - We all have a part to play in producing a safe, quality product. - Harmful bacteria found on dirty fleeces such as Clostridium estertheticum and Clostridium gasigenes can be easily transferred to the carcase. These bacteria can easily cause food spoilage costing millions of euro. - Avoid unnecessary mixing of groups. - Ensure Sheep are clean and dry. - Avoid sudden changes to diet to avoid dietary upsets/scouring. - Crutch/dag dirty lambs before transport. - House on straw bedding or clean slats. - Withdraw feed for min 8 hours, max 12 hours before slaughter. Liaise with processor for delivery times. - Always have clean drinking water available. - Poor transport conditions may result in clean animals becoming contaminated. - Vehicles should be well ventilated and roofed where possible. - Ensure vehicle is clean, dry and disinfected before loaded. - Use absorbent materials on the floor such as straw, shavings or saw dust. - Where decks are in use, make sure urine/faeces from higher decks do not soil sheep on lower decks. - Ensure vehicles comply with relevant road safety laws and permissible weight limits. - For animals transported distances greater than 65 km, use DAFM authorised hauliers only.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDHitler with members of his general staff. At 04:40am on September 1, 1939, waves of Luftwaffe aircraft swept down to strike airfields all across Poland. Almost simultaneously, 44 German infantry divisions and 14 armored divisions surged across the frontier catching Poland’s thirty-odd infantry and cavalry divisions almost completely by surprise. Without bothering with the inconvenient formality of a declaration of war, Hitler had ordered the invasion and subjugation of his smaller neighbor to the east. England and France, although incapable of providing the Poles with any immediate direct assistance, quickly demonstrated their support for Poland by declaring war on Hitler’s Germany on 3 September. Seventeen days after the initial German onslaught, Soviet troops crossed a nearly-prostrate Poland’s eastern border to help the Germans complete the Polish nation’s final dismemberment. Poland was the first European nation to succumb through direct military conquest to Hitler’s dream of a modern German Empire, but it would not be the last. Winston Churchill examines a weapon in the field. In both London and Paris, British and French heads of state were confronted with the unthinkable: despite repeated concessions by the western democracies to Hitler’s never-ending territorial demands, all hope for preserving peace in Europe had evaporated. Churchill had been proven right: the German Führer’s ambitions were too great even for the most craven of appeasers to satisfy. Thus, for the second time in a generation, Europe’s Great Powers had stumbled into war. Tragically, the greatest military conflict in human history, seemingly almost by accident, had begun without any of its participants fully understanding its future geographical reach, its ultimate magnitude, or its unbelievable human and material cost. Over and above the standard body of rules governing regular turn-by-turn play, THIRD REICH also includes a collection of specialized rules that contribute important historical detail to the strategic flow and direction of the game. These special rules include, among other things: limitations on Anglo-French and German-Italian Cooperation; restrictions on Axis Forces in Africa and British Forces in Malta; rules for Allied Lend-Lease and Murmansk Convoys; special rules for Poland/East Europe; restrictions on Russo-Allied Cooperation; Airborne Operations; and the effects of the Russian Winter on Axis combat operations. In addition, other rules are included in the game which cover important issues such as: Switzerland and Swiss neutrality; Spain and Spanish Colonies; the effects of Axis control of the Suez Canal and/or Gibraltar; the creation of Vichy France and the operational limits on Vichy French units; and Partisans. THIRD REICH, as noted previously, can be played by two to six players; moreover, it also lends itself very well to solitaire play. Interestingly, regardless of whether the two-player or the multi-player version of the game is chosen, the players still have the option of beginning their contest at any of three critical junctures in World War II: 1939 (Fall of Poland); 1942 (Axis ‘High Water’ Mark); and 1944 (Germany at Bay). Moreover, in the case of all three of these Basic Scenarios, players have two additional game options: they can continue a particular game up to and including the last turn of the specific scenario, or, alternatively, players can continue to slug it out until either the Axis wins or until Berlin falls to the Allies. For those players who want to refight the entire war in Europe, the Campaign Game begins in the same fashion as the 1939 Scenario and continues through summer, 1945. In addition to the different ‘starting’ scenarios, the game also includes another intriguing design feature: randomly-chosen 'Variant' counters. Just before the start of play, both the German and the British players blindly select one numbered chit from an available pool of 10 different Variant counters. Also, the pool of available Variant counters can also be increased, at the players’ option, to include additional ‘experimental’ game variants. These secret (until played) game variants — because they can affect everything from starting BRP levels, to minor country alliances, to changes in national unit force pools — multiply the opposing players’ strategic options and, at the same time, also introduce the ‘fog of war’ into the game. Thus, between the different possible scenarios and the potentially significant effects of variant counters, it is no exaggeration to say that, given the many built-in strategic alternatives that the game design makes available to the two opposing coalitions, an individual player could start a hundred different THIRD REICH games and never see any two of them develop along exactly the same lines. A PERSONAL OBSERVATIONB-26 Marauder over Normandy on D-Day. When I reflect on the nearly half-century that I have been personally involved with conflict simulations, 1974 stands out as a watershed year for wargaming. During that heady, twelve month period, Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) published the First Edition of WAR IN THE EAST, and the Avalon Hill Game Company (TAHGC) published both PANZER LEADER and the first edition of the RISE AND DECLINE OF THE THIRD REICH. All three of these games — at least, in my view — were exciting new additions to a rapidly growing body of commercially-produced conflict simulations. However, as good as the first two titles were, THIRD REICH still stands out as the one truly “ground-breaking” game to appear in 1974 or, for that matter, in any other year. This is because, just like PANZERBLITZ (1970) before it, THIRD REICH truly rocked the hobby when it first burst onto the conflict simulation scene; and every gamer that I knew, myself included, literally rushed out to buy Avalon Hill’s new strategic game of World War II in Europe. Even more importantly, once all of us had purchased our own copies of THIRD REICH, we all played it — a lot. German casualties, Battle of Moscow, during the coldest winter in 40 years. The immediate success of THIRD REICH was, in some ways, a little surprising because, at first glance, it seemed to have three obvious shortcomings when it came to winning wide-spread acceptance among gamers. First, the rules — at least by the standards of 1974 — were very long and very complicated. Second, the heavy emphasis on the economic factors that drove events in World War II meant that players had no choice but to keep carefully-written records of their turn-by-turn expenditures of BRPs (and convenient, standardized forms for this record-keeping were not included with the game). Third, the simulation architecture of the game represented a major, even radical departure from virtually every other game system that was in the marketplace at the time. Despite these factors, however, THIRD REICH became an almost instantaneous hit: the game system was simply so richly-textured, so challenging, and so exciting that players, almost universally, accepted the game’s peculiar foibles without complaint. After all, it seemed to include almost everything a player could hope for; among the THIRD REICH game counters were air wings, fleets, infantry, armor, airborne, and partisans. But, there was more: there were German U-Boats and Allied escorts, Allied bombers and German fighters; there were Murmansk convoys and amphibious landings; and most importantly, there was a workable game system for simulating the effects of Blitzkrieg within the context of a strategic-level game. Italian anti-aircraft gun, North Africa. Interestingly, the real genius of the THIRD REICH game system was not that it combined air, ground and naval operations together in a single simulation platform: Larry Pinsky and Thomas Shaw, with BLITZKRIEG (1965); and Jim Dunnigan and company, with STRATEGY I and USN (both in 1971), had already done something at least somewhat similar. The design elements that really set THIRD REICH apart from its predecessors were two-fold: first, it offered a game system that seamlessly wove together the different actions of the various combat arms into a unified whole; second, it presented an economic ‘game-within-a-game’ that both emphasized the importance of industrial productivity to the conduct of modern (20th Century) military operations, and that also clearly illustrated the limits that the differing industrial capacities of the various Major Powers placed on their ability to wage war. Modern warfare is expensive and THIRD REICH showed this aspect of industrialized, total war as no other title had ever done before it. Armies, air forces, and fleets were destroyed and rebuilt as the game progressed; not once, but over and over again. In addition, besides the unavoidable costs of conventional combat, the economic effects of the German U-Boat campaign against England, and the Allied bomber offensive against Germany were also both finally incorporated into a conflict simulation in such a way that they made strategic sense and yet did not bog down the flow of the game. In terms of its overall conceptualization and design, THIRD REICH had all the earmarks of a masterpiece; in terms of the game’s pre-publication development and play-testing, however, it very quickly became apparent that everybody’s favorite new game had more than a few playability issues. German King Tiger tank and infantry at Kursk. Among my circle of friends, the first major problem with the game’s design surfaced in only our second or third outing, and it was a real jolt to all of us around the game table. What happened was that — once France was conquered and the B.E.F. had been driven from the Continent — instead of turning east to attack Russia in 1941, the German player instead launched a surprise airborne assault against London. The combination of the Italian Air Force and Luftwaffe allowed the Germans to swamp the London garrison and the badly-outnumbered, supporting RAF. Even worse was the realization by the Allied players that because London was now in German hands, there were no remaining Allied supply sources left from which to support a British counterattack against the German paratrooper in the English capital. This was a real (and non-trivial) defect in the game’s design, and it was not the only one. Because the game was so widely popular, the questions just kept coming. Not surprisingly, a steady stream of fixes and outright rules changes quickly began to flow back out of Baltimore. To solve the ‘London’ problem, English stacking (only) was adjusted to allow three British units to garrison the British capital, and the ‘rules editor’ at the General also imposed new limits on the number of air strength points that could be added in support of ground forces, both on attack and defense. Unfortunately, this was only the “tip of the ice berg.” THIRD REICH rules questions were rapidly turning into a ‘whack a mole’ situation for Avalon Hill; as soon as one problem was solved, another popped up to take its place. For example, in the first edition of the game, it turned out that the Germans could — with careful planning — actually win the U-Boat War against the Allies. And then there was the ‘Gibraltar’ problem: an early Axis conquest of Spain followed by the seizure of Gibraltar made possible a joint invasion of England by a massive combined force of Italian and German fleets and air wings. Even if the invasion failed, the air and naval battles that resulted from the Axis seaborne assault usually left the Royal Navy so weakened that an Allied return to the European mainland, even with American help, became highly problematical later in the war. And then there was the question of Sea Transport to and from small islands; and what happened if a Major Power’s BRP level was reduced by enemy action to below zero? The questions and rules disputes just kept cropping up. Thus, it steadily became more and more obvious that it was only a matter of time before the rule book would have to get a major facelift; and, sure enough, faced with a commercially successful but flawed product, Avalon Hill finally succumbed to popular pressure and published a Second Edition version of the rules. German Type VII U-boat goes to sea from its base on France's west coast. Unfortunately for the boys in Baltimore, the THIRD REICH rules odyssey didn’t end there; and as yet more rules problems came to light, a third and finally, a Fourth Edition version of the rules was brought out to, hopefully, clear away the last few bits of confusion that still surrounded the game. Interestingly, besides the game rules, the original game map also underwent a facelift; and even the Scenario Cards were modified two more times before Avalon Hill was finally satisfied with their third and final version. These final fixes seemed, at last, to solve most of the problems that had plagued earlier versions of the game. It had taken seven long years, and the input of thousands of dedicated players, but THIRD REICH had finally become the game that had been promised back in 1974. In the eyes of many of its fans, the wait was worth it. American soldiers on a forest road in the Ardennes. Of course, 1974 was a long time ago, and popular tastes inevitably change. In 1992, Avalon Hill brought out a ‘super-sized’, expanded replacement for the original game, ADVANCED THIRD REICH. And, although a number of diehard fans immediately moved on to the bigger, still more detailed game, a substantial number of us stayed with the 4th Edition of the original. Nowadays, a brief walk through the ‘open-gaming’ area of any of the major wargaming conventions will show that THIRD REICH, even after thirty-six years, still retains a loyal following within the hobby. In fact, in the eyes of many traditional, long-time players (myself, included), John Prados’ design is still the best ‘tabletop’, strategic-level treatment of the European Theater of World War II ever published. Doubtless, a number of contemporary players will disagree with this opinion, but it is, nonetheless, a tough proposition to refute: the game, in spite of its age, is still just that good. And whatever else one may think of this title, given its colorful history of modifications, rules changes and design tweaks, probably no other conflict simulation has gone through — or, ever will again — as thorough a game design process, based on post-publication feedback, as has THIRD REICH. Marching through the mountains, Sicily, 1943. This all leads to the obvious question: Who should own a copy of THIRD REICH, 4th Edition? After all, Prados’ design is not the only game to cover World War II in Europe; in fact, quite a few other strategic-level, normal-sized (non-monster) games have attempted to tackle the same subject over the years — WORLD WAR II (1973), HITLERS’S WAR (1981), WORLD WAR II: EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (1985), AXIS & ALLIES: EUROPE (1999) and WORLD WAR II: BARBAROSSA TO BERLIN (2002), just to name a few — and all of them, to varying degrees, are successful games. So, what really sets this aging Prados design apart from its many competitors? The short answer, I think, is that, as interesting and enjoyable as some of these other titles are, none of them — not even an exciting ‘card-driven game’ (CDG) like WORLD WAR II: BARBAROSSA TO BERLIN — can really match THIRD REICH when it comes to its historical sweep, the competing strategic options (both operational and economic) that the multi-layered simulation platform makes possible, or the tense, nail-biting action that this game produces, turn after turn, particularly when played by evenly-matched experts. Stuka dive bombers. Of course, the richness and density of the THIRD REICH game system, in spite of its many virtues, also pretty much guarantees that it will not be a suitable choice for every type of player. Thus, given the fact that the 4th Edition Rule Book — counting charts and designer’s notes — is thirty-six pages of small print, it is probably a good bet that most novice or casual gamers would find the simulation too detailed and much too complicated to really be engaging or enjoyable. In short, THIRD REICH is really not a game for dabblers. On the other hand, both for experienced players and for serious collectors, I believe that this title is absolutely a MUST OWN. There may be better ‘tabletop’ treatments of the Second World War in Europe and North Africa, but if there are, I have yet to encounter them; and until I do, THIRD REICH, despite its age, will remain my personal favorite. For those players with one of the earlier editions of THIRD REICH, the 4th edition rules are available for download, thanks to the yeoman efforts of Lewis Goldberg, at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/50134/error/expired/3r-4th-edition-rules. Please note, however, that the 4th edition rules should be used along with the 2nd edition map boards and the 3rd edition scenario cards. - Time Scale: 3 months (seasonal turns) - Map Scale: 100 kilometers per hex (estimated) - Unit Size: corps, fleet, air group - Unit Types: armor, infantry, airborne, replacement, partisan, fleet, air, air base, strategic warfare (SW) units, and information markers - Number of Players: two - six - Complexity: high/expert - Solitaire Suitability: high - Average Playing Time: 3-20+ hours (depending on scenario) - One (four section) 22” x 32” hexagonal grid 2nd Edition Map Board (with Turn Record Track, BRP Costs Chart, Combat Results Table, Attrition Results Table, Strategic Warfare Tables, Interception Table, Minor Country Forces Chart, SW Holding Boxes, and Off-Map Holding Boxes incorporated) - 560 ½” cardboard Counters - One 8” x 11” THIRD REICH, 4th Ed. Rules Booklet (with National Air and Naval DRM Charts, Air Attack on Naval Forces Table, Naval Advantage Chart and Intelligence Table incorporated) - Six 5½” x 8” back-printed 3rd Edition National Scenario Starting Forces Cards - One 5½” x 8” Avalon Hill ‘Silver Jubilee’ Catalog and Order Form Booklet - One 5½” x 8½” back-printed Avalon Hill the General Ad Slick - One 5½” x 7” Avalon Hill Customer Response Card - One six-sided Die - One 8½” x 11½” x 2” bookcase-style Game Box Recommended ReadingSee my blog post Book Reviews of these titles; all of which are strongly recommended for those readers interested in further historical background. THE WEST POINT ATLAS OF AMERICAN WARS (Complete 2-Volume Set); edited by Brigadier General Vincent J. Esposito; Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. (1959); ASIN: B000MTBTEU

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Congenital bladder anomalies The two most common congenital bladder abnormalities are exstrophy and congenital diverticula. An exstrophic bladder is one that is open to the outside and turned inside out, so that its inside is visible at birth, protruding from the lower abdomen. A diverticulum is an extension of a hollow organ, usually shaped like a pouch with a narrow opening. During fetal development, folds enclose tissues and organs and eventually fuse at the edges to form sealed compartments. Both in the front and the back, folds eventually become major body structures. In the back, the entire spinal column folds in like a pipe wrapped in a pillow. In the front, the entire lower urinary system is folded in. Exstrophy of the bladder represents a failure of this folding process to complete itself, so the organs form with more or less of their front side missing and remain open to the outside. At the same time, the front of the pelvic bone is widely separated. The abdominal wall is open, too. In fact, the defect often extends all the way to the penis in the male or splits the clitoris in the female. A congenital bladder diverticulum represents an area of weakness in the bladder wall through which extrudes some of the lining of the bladder. (A small balloon squeezed in a fist will create diverticula-like effect between the fingers.) Bladder diverticula may be multiple, and they often occur at the ureterovesical junction (the entrance of the upper urinary system into the bladder). In this location, they may cause urine to reflux into the ureter and kidney, leading to infection and possible kidney damage. Exstrophy is rare, occurring once in approximately 40,000 births. Causes and symptoms As with many birth defects, the causes are not well known. Lack of prenatal care and nutrition has been linked to many birth defects; however, beyond the avoidance of known teratogens (anything that can cause a birth defect), there is little prevention possible. Diverticula are more common and less serious. If left untreated, the person with bladder exstrophy will have no control over urination and is more likely than others to develop bladder cancer . Diverticula, particularly if it causes urine reflux, may lead to chronic infection and its subsequent consequences. A major consideration with congenital abnormalities is that they tend to be multiple. Further, each one is unique in its extent and severity. Exstrophy can involve the rectum and large bowel and coexist with hernias. The obvious bladder exstrophy seen at birth will prompt immediate action and a search for other anomalies. Diverticula are not visible and will be detected only if they cause trouble. They are usually found in an examination for the cause of recurring urinary infections. X rays of the urinary system or a cystoscopy (examination with a telescope-like instrument) will identify them. Often, the two procedures are done together: a urologist performs the cystoscopy, then a radiologist instills a contrast agent into the bladder and takes x rays. Surgery is necessary and can usually produce successful results. If possible, the surgery must be performed within 48 hours of birth. Prior to surgery, the exposed organs must be protected and all related defects identified and managed. Delay in the surgery leads to the frequent need to divert the urine into the bowel because the partially repaired bladder cannot control the flow. After surgery, the likelihood of infection requires monitoring. After surgery, ongoing precautions to reduce frequency of infection may have to be used. Cranberry juice has the ability to keep bacteria from adhering to the membranes and can help prevent infection whenever there is increased risk. There are botanical and homeopathic treatments available; however, consultation by a trained practitioner is recommended before treatment. With immediate surgery, three-fourths of all people can be successfully repaired. They will have control of their urine and no long-term consequences. The rate of infection is greater for those with congenital bladder anomalies, since any abnormality in the urinary system predisposes it to invasion by bacteria. Birth defects often have no precisely identified cause; therefore, prevention is limited to general measures such as early and continuous prenatal care, appropriate nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle. Parents must monitor the urinary output of their newborn children for the first few days of life. Parents of children with bladder diverticula should be aware of prevention and treatment practices for urinary tract infections. Congenital —Present at birth. Cystoscopy —A diagnostic procedure in which a hollow lighted tube (cystoscope) is used to look inside the bladder and the urethra. Diverticulum —Plural, diverticula; an outpouching in a tubular organ caused when the inner, lining layer bulges out (herniates) through the outer, muscular layer. Diverticula are present most often in the colon (large intestine), but are also found in the bladder. Exstrophy —A congenital condition in which a hollow organ, such as the bladder, is turned inside out, establishing contact between the organ and the outside of the body. Radiologist —A medical doctor specially trained in radiology, the branch of medicine concerned with radioactive substances and their use for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Teratogen —Any drug, chemical, maternal disease, or exposure that can cause physical or functional defects in an exposed embryo or fetus. Ureter —The tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder; each kidney has one ureter. Ureterovesical junction —The point where the ureter joins the bladder. Urologist —A physician who specializes in the anatomy, physiology, diseases, and care of the urinary tract (in men and women) and male reproductive tract. See also Cystitis . Asplin, John R., and Fredric L. Coe. "Hereditary Tubular Disorders." In Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine , 15th ed. Edited by Eugene Braunwald et al. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001, pp. 1598–1605. Elder, Jack S. "Anomalies of the Bladder." In Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics , 17th ed. Edited by Richard E. Behrman, et al. Philadelphia: Saunders, 2003, pp. 1804–5. Guay-Woodford, Lisa M. "Anomalies of the urinary tract." In Cecil Textbook of Medicine , 22nd ed. Edited by Lee Goldman et al. Philadelphia: Saunders, 2003, pp. 772–4. Tanagho, Emil A., and Jack W. McAnich. Smith's General Urology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Caire, J. T., et al. "MRI of fetal genitourinary anomalies." American Journal of Roentgenology 181, no. 5 (2003): 1381–5. Carr, M. C. "Prenatal management of urogenital disorders." Urology Clinics of North America 31, no. 3 (2004): 389–97. Greenwell, T. J., et al. "Pregnancy after lower urinary tract reconstruction for congenital abnormalities." British Journal of Urology International 92, no. 7 (2004): 773–7. Tsuchiya, M., et al. "Ultrasound screening for renal and urinary tract anomalies in healthy infants." Pediatrics International 45, no. 5 (2003): 617–23. American Academy of Family Physicians. 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Leawood, KS 66211–2672. Web site: http://www.aafp.org/. American Academy of Pediatrics. 141 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007–1098. Web site: http://www.aap.org/default.htm. American Foundation for Urologic Disease. 1128 North Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201. Web site: http://www.afud.org/. American Urological Association. 1000 Corporate Boulevard Linthicum, MD 21090. Web site: http://www.auanet.org. "Bladder Anomalies." eMedicine. Available online at http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1402.htm (accessed December 21, 2004). "Pediatric Urologic Problems>" Department of Urology/Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Available online at http://www.mssm.edu/urology/patient_care/pediatric_urologic_problems.shtml (accessed December 21, 2004). L. Fleming Fallon, Jr., MD, DrPH

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China's vast borders and unique geographical conditions predisposed it to a hierarchically arranged multi-state "zoning system," first instituted in the Chou dynasty's (13th-8th centuries B.C.) feudal network. "The Mandate from Heaven" embodied the moral implications and its "judging god" that the Chou incorporated into their political ethics of a system of a universal state. The Mandate essentially reflected the will of the people and stated that rulers could be removed if they failed to fulfill their prescribed Mandate. As the foundation for Confucian ethics, the Mandate was the guiding force of any political or social choice based on benevolence and humanism, jen and li, respectively. Drawing on the writings of two ancient Chinese philosophers, Motzu (ca. 479-390 B.C.) and Mencius (ca. 370-296 B.C.), Hsu shows how the Confucian virtues of governing emphasized that only a compassionate and just king would be supported by the people, would be able to avoid violence, and would promote moral values among the citizenry. According to Confucius, only moral individuals can create a moral order at every level of society and therefore a moral world with China at its center. The Confucian sino-centric concept of morality and ethics, which dictated both domestic and international policies, maintained that through good government and internal peace and prosperity, China would play a leadership role in the world and serve as a universal paradigm for other nations. To read or purchase the full text of this article, click here.

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As part of the ongoing exhibit of posters in Special Collections for Veterans Day, the students who created the exhibits also created entries for this blog. We will be posting these over the rest of the month of November. 1992.004.5.51 Help him win by Saving and Serving. Buy War Savings Stamps “Help Him Win By Saving and Serving” is a World War I poster designed to sell war savings stamps. The poster was produced in 1918 by the American Lithographic Co. Unlike many other posters in the Liberty Loan and War Stamps Campaigns, which were usually designed to appeal to older men and women, this poster was specifically designed for an audience of children. Since children did not have their own income to donate to the cause and were too young to go off and fight, the ways they could support the war effort were minimal and sometimes invisible. This poster was designed to bring to light one way in which children could help. The message it displays is simple: Purchase War Savings Stamps and you can play an important part in winning the war. This message is conveyed through the image on the poster of a young boy and girl each clasping a hand of a soldier. The solemn expression of the soldier and the admiring upward glances of the children insinuate that there is no better way to spend your money than by donating to the war effort. Doing so serves a much higher purpose than anything else a child could use their money for. Historically, the War Savings Stamps Campaign was designed for the collection of money in small amounts ranging from twenty-five cents to five dollars. These stamps were affixed to a certificate which could later be redeemed for the amount of money represented in the stamps, plus interest. The price of the stamps was significantly less than the price of a liberty bond, making it easier for lower-income members of society to contribute to the war effort by purchasing them. Because of this minimal cost, the stamps were often targeted to children as a way to get involved. Since children could only earn small amounts of money through chores and various odd jobs and usually did not have to provide for anyone with their earnings, they were the perfect target audience in the War Savings Stamps Campaign. This poster can be found in several collections, including: State Archives of North Carolina The Library of Congress University of Tulsa Special Collections “Boys and Girls! You can help Uncle Sam win the war!” “My Daddy Bought Me a Government Bond of the Third Liberty Loan. Did Yours?” 1. “Help Him Win by Saving and Serving–Buy War Savings Stamps.” Help Him Win by Saving and Serving–Buy War Savings Stamps. Accessed October 11, 2012. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002707405/. 2. “War Savings Stamps Issued by the United States Government.” 4 Minute Men 21 (January 2, 1918): 2-5. Accessed October 11, 2012. http://libcudl.colorado.edu/wwi/pdf/i71731829.pdf. 3. “Help him win by saving and serving. Buy War Savings Stamps”, Mars Number 505.1, World War I Poster Collection, General Liberty loan Posters, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC,USA. 4. “World War I Propaganda Posters.” Boys and Girls! You Can Help Your Uncle Sam Win the War -. 2009. Accessed October 11, 2012. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/ww1posters/5071. 5. World War I Collection. Coll No. 1992.005. McFarlin Library. Department of Special Collections and University Archives. University of Tulsa. — Guest post by Becky Rolseth

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War dogs suffer trauma just as soldiers New York: Dogs serving with the US army in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan are developing canine post-traumatic stress disorder, claims an animal behavioural specialist, setting aside the notion that only the soldiers suffered such traumas after being exposed to violence. By some estimates, more than 5 per cent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to Dr Walter F Burghardt Jr. Of those, about half are likely to be retired from service, he said. Burghardt is the chief of behavioural medicine at the Daniel E Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The doctor is among the first to recognise the condition in the dogs. Dogs serving with the American army are developing canine PTSD, the animal behavioural specialist claimed, The New York Times has reported. Although vets have long diagnosed behavioural problems in animals, the concept of canine PTSD is only about 18 months old, and is still the subject of debate. But it has gained popularity among military veterinarians, who have been seeing patterns of troubling behaviour among dogs exposed to explosions, gunfire and other combat related violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the daily said. Like humans with the disorder, different dogs show different symptoms. Some become hyper-vigilant. Others avoid buildings or work areas that they had previously been comfortable in, it said. The report added that some undergo sharp changes in temperament, becoming unusually aggressive with their handlers, or clingy and timid. Most crucially, many stop doing the tasks they were trained to perform. "If the dog is trained to find improvised explosives and it looks like it`s working, but isn`t, it`s not just the dog that’s at risk," Dr Burghardt was quoted as saying by the daily. "This is a human health issue as well". The war dogs have become an important tool in the fight against Talibans and other terrorists groups besides counter-insurgency operations. The trains dogs literally come across as fighting force on four legs that is able to parachute into combat, rappel into action and swim into a skirmish or an ambush. Back in India, the dogs have played a crucial role in counter-insurgency operations as well as against the Maoists. Indian security forces have recently deployed `Belgian Malinois` for infantry patrols in Naxal hotbeds of the country to help troops detect early warning of a possible ambush or While breeds like German Shepherds, Labradors and Cocker Spaniels have been used for a long time in battle-like situations, Belgian Malinois are now gaining popularity. Even the elite unit of US Navy Seals, that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan, had a specially trained explosives-sniffing dog for the surgical strike. More from India More from World More from Sports More from Entertaiment - BSP shrugs off Rita Bahuguna 's jump; says BJP will still face defeat in UP polls - Navjot Singh Sidhu out on zero to Waqar Younis in 1990 – The match Kapil Sharma keeps talking about - MS Dhoni reacts in astonishment as Axar Patel takes a stunning one-handed catch - VIDEO - Pierce Brosnan 'deeply shocked and saddened' because of Pan Masala brand ad - Sushant Singh Rajput’s former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande’s Karva Chauth photos will surprise you

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Facts About Belgrade Belgrade ( BEL-grayd; Serbian: Beograd / ???????, meaning "White city", Serbian pronunciation: [be??rad] ( listen); names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. The urban area of the City of Belgrade has a population of 1.23 million, while nearly 1.7 million people live within its administrative limits. One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vin?a culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city, naming it Singid?n. It was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times between the Byzantine Empire, Frankish Empire, Bulgarian Empire and Kingdom of Hungary before it became the capital of Serbian king Stephen Dragutin (1282–1316). In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841. Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed 44 times. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918. Belgrade has a special administrative status within Serbia and it is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each with its own local council. The city of Belgrade covers 3.6% of Serbia's territory, and around 24% of the country's population lives within its administrative limits. It is classified as a Beta-Global City.

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The following procedure shows how to allocate memory for a guest virtual machine. This allocation and assignment works only at boot time and any changes to any of the memory values will not take effect until the next reboot. The maximum memory that can be allocated per guest is 4 TiB, providing that this memory allocation is not more than what the host physical machine resources can provide. Valid memory units include: bytes for bytes KB for kilobytes (103 or blocks of 1,000 bytes) KiB for kibibytes (210 or blocks of 1024 bytes) MB for megabytes (106 or blocks of 1,000,000 bytes) MiB for mebibytes (220 or blocks of 1,048,576 bytes) GB for gigabytes (109 or blocks of 1,000,000,000 bytes) GiB for gibibytes (230 or blocks of 1,073,741,824 bytes) TB for terabytes (1012 or blocks of 1,000,000,000,000 bytes) TiB for tebibytes (240 or blocks of 1,099,511,627,776 bytes) Note that all values will be rounded up to the nearest kibibyte by libvirt, and may be further rounded to the granularity supported by the hypervisor. Some hypervisors also enforce a minimum, such as 4000KiB (or 4000 x 210 or 4,096,000 bytes). The units for this value are determined by the optional attribute memory unit, which defaults to the kibibytes (KiB) as a unit of measure where the value given is multiplied by 210 or blocks of 1024 bytes. In the cases where the guest virtual machine crashes the optional attribute dumpCore can be used to control whether the guest virtual machine's memory should be included in the generated coredump ( dumpCore='on') or not included ( dumpCore='off'). Note that the default setting is on so if the parameter is not set to off, the guest virtual machine memory will be included in the coredump file. currentMemory attribute determines the actual memory allocation for a guest virtual machine. This value can be less than the maximum allocation, to allow for ballooning up the guest virtual machines memory on the fly. If this is omitted, it defaults to the same value as the memory element. The unit attribute behaves the same as for memory. In all cases for this section, the domain XML needs to be altered as follows: <memory unit='KiB' dumpCore='off'>524288</memory> <!-- changes the memory unit to KiB and does not allow the guest virtual machine's memory to be included in the generated coredump file --> <!-- makes the current memory unit 524288 KiB -->

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Augusta County, VA – Environmental Literacy - by Bruce Dorries From kindergarten through college, many students struggle with basic lessons in "Nature 101." Yet, they earn gold stars in "Advanced Pop Culture." That needs to change. Teaching our kids environmental literacy with meaningful lessons connected to nature benefits learning across the curriculum -- while greening up the Valley's future. Fortunately, more schooling in sustainability, from understanding natural resources to the basics of agriculture, appears to be gaining ground. Calls for "nature across the curriculum" come from reaches near and far. Just down stream from the Valley, Maryland leads the nation in environmental ed. Public schools in the Chesapeake State must now include outdoor education when teaching the three Rs and subjects beyond. Water pollution ranks high in the new curriculum, as it should. Young and old, every one of us at the top of the food chain shares some culpability in the Chesapeake mess. Agriculture has tired of taking all of the blame for the Bay's demise. So, Maryland farmers are having their challenges heard in schools, too. The clich : "Kids today don't know where their daily bread comes from, or how it gets from farms and fisheries to plates," is justified. Ag education in the curriculum must stretch well beyond FFA classrooms. Each of us need to take responsibility for addressing the complexity of the problem from many perspectives. Teaching youngsters early the nature of the issues, and challenges that farmer face, may lead to better solutions rather than more finger pointing and polarization. The Commonwealth's kids need to keep pace with the neighbors' - Virginia educators and legislators -- take notes on how the Maryland lessons play out. Fortunately, a local environmental educator sees improvement in our children's nature-based education. Tamra Willis started the Shenandoah Valley Environmental Educators Association. She has spent much of her life developing and promoting nature-based learning. Willis notes that teachers who use nature-based lessons pass on critical thinking and problem solving skills as they address standards of learning. For example, students study the sciences while looking at stream quality. They learn social studies and economics by examining issues related to industry and the environment. Another sign of progress on a broader scale is the U.S. Department of Education's recent launch of the Green Ribbon Schools program. Awards will recognize schools for reducing environmental impact on communities, and offering high-quality environmental education. The program encourages energy and resource conservation measures that lead to cost savings and job creation. A greener curriculum clearly pays off in many more ways than one. Environmental literacy has roots here. We just have to help them sink deeper.

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In my last post, I wrote about how I began this year’s persuasive writing unit by using mentor texts to get kids to think about WHY people in this world write persausive pieces of writing. Once we had finished doing this work, the students began to choose a purpose for their own writing. Once they knew what they wanted to convince someone to do or believe, then they thought about who their target audience would be, and finally, they thought about the type of writing that could best reach that target audience. So while some students decided to write e-mails, others decided to write blog posts, others decided to write letters to mail, and others decided to write op-ed articles or letters to the editor to submit to local or national newspapers. Because we were all writing different types of writing, in slightly different genres, I knew that my mini-lessons had to be more than just, “How to write a persuasive letter” or “How to write an op-ed.” So, instead, a large chunk of my mini-lessons focused on, “How do author’s support their claims?” Instead of looking at a genre specific study, we spent most of our time studying the many specific strategies that authors used in order to support the claims they were making. Each time we read a new mentor text, we looked at one specific way that an author was able to back-up the points that he or she was making. After looking at how our authors did this, I was then able to model how I might use the same strategy in my own piece of persuasive writing (I happen to be working on crafting an email to our superintendent asking for 1:1 computing). And then, finally, I asked the kids to look at the plans that THEY had made so far and see if there was anywhere they might be able to try this new strategy out. The plans that the kids worked on before writing were webs that they created in their writer’s notebooks. I have mostly given up on using graphic organizer templates since I find that they often stifle my students’ writing instead of enhancing it. When I hand out ONE graphic organizer to every child, it seems to send the message that all of their writing should look the same and follow the same structure. This just doesn’t seem to work for us. When we look at our mentor texts, we analyze their structure and we always notice that writers write in many different ways and use many different structures. So instead of handing out a pre-made graphic organizer, I help my students to create their own graphic organizers that fit their needs and their writing topics. Along the way, we talked a lot about how I would NEVER expect a writer (including any of my students) to use every single strategy that we uncover in one piece of writing. Instead, they have the task at looking at their topics, thinking about their audiences and then looking for the strategies of support that would best work for them. This is what would stop a writer who was writing about gun violence from using a strategy like humor or sarcasm. The strategy MUST match the topic. So when I ask my students to look at their writing plans and think about if they could use a strategy or not, I really do mean that. I do not want them using a strategy because they feel that they have to. My expectation is that each writer is able to use a variety of strategies to support their claims based on which strategies work best for them. This provides each writer in my room with a lot of freedom and independence. Each time I point out a new strategy in a mentor text, this becomes another tool in my students’ writing toolboxes. They are in charge of selecting the right tool for the job each time they write. As we analyzed a variety of mentor texts, the students had already begun work on planning and drafting their first pieces of persuasive writing. This meant that we were learning new strategies as the kids were already writing. I used to wait until I had taught ALL of the strategies I wanted them to know before I allowed the kids to start writing their drafts. What this led to was a whole lot of time without the kids actually writing. This year, I really shifted my thinking on this and realized that I needed to let the kids start writing and then trust that they would add in the use of the new strategies as we learned them. And if a child finished his first piece of persuasive writing and didn’t use any of our new strategies to support his claims, then I had to trust that he would use the new strategies on his second piece of persuasive writing. And it was my job to help make sure that he would do that through conferences and small group work. Putting this trust in my students has given them more time to write and has given more meaning to our mini-lessons since they are learning new things AS they are needing to use them. Each time we read a new mentor text, we added it to our anchor chart along with the strategy that we saw the writer using to support his/her claim and evidence from the text that shows the writer using that specific strategy. Here are the finished charts: These charts then hang on our writing board so that they become visual reminders of all the ways that the kids can support the claims they are making as they are writing. So here are the mentor texts that I have used this year and the strategies that I focused on with each text. Some of the texts are pretty old, but they are also too good to give up! There is Only One Way to Stop a Bully — I used this op-ed to show how writers use examples to show how bad a problem is and also to show how much better the situation can become. We came back to this article when we were talkin about how writers use statistics to support their claims. Save Our Streams (This comes from a Time For Kids writing kit and I don’t have a link for it) — I used this letter to the editor to show how writers use details to paint a vivid picture in the mind of the reader to show how bad a problem is and then to show how much better it could be. Fifth Graders Defend Their South Shore Neighborhood — I used this op-ed to show how writers use specific examples to support the statements they are making. Technology: How much is too much? — I used this op-ed to show how writers use their own personal life examples to support the claims they are making. Too Much Homework, Too Little Play — I used this op-ed to show how writers use “if/then” statements in which they claim that IF you do what I want you to do, THEN these positive outcomes will occur or IF we continue to do things this way, THEN these negative outcomes will occur. I also come back and use this op-ed to show how writers use quotes to support their claims. The Value of Teachers — This is a pretty tough article to understand, but I use pieces of it with my students to show how writers use statistics to support what they are saying. Using these mentor texts allows me to show my students specific strategies that they can use in order to make their writing better and in order to better support their claims. In the past, I used to just tell my students that they had to back-up their claims, but I didn’t always give them specific ways to do that. I used to tell them that they needed more support or better support, but I didn’t always give them specific ways to do that. Now, they have a variety of ways that they can make their writing better and their arguments stronger. And the best part is, all of these strategies then become a part of our revision checklist. As I have explained before, I use checklists in order to support my students in the revision phase of the writing process. Here is what our current revision checklist looks like for this unit. When students are finished drafting, they are expected to complete TWO items from this revision checklist in order to make their writing better. I have also become more flexible with when my students use this checklist. In trying to honor each individual writer’s writing process, I now understand that many writers revise AS they write and so I no longer require that my students use their revision checklists only AFTER they are done drafting. They are now able to use them along their writing process to help those who like to revise as they go and not wait until the end. After spending so much time with our mentor texts, my students truly start to internalize the process of finding strategies that authors use and then using those strategies in their own writing. And because they start to understand this process so well, they are then ready to find their own mentor texts and discover their own strategies to teach to the class. But that process will have to wait for another blog post because this one has gone on long enough and I am certain no one wants to read any more right now!

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quantum chromodynamics (QCD) A quantum field theory that describes the properties of the strong interactions between quarks and between protons and neutrons in the framework of quantum theory and the special theory of relativity. Quarks have a distinctive property called color which governs their binding together to form other elementary particles. Analogous to electric charge in charged particles, color comes in three varieties, arbitrarily known as red, blue, and yellow, and – analogous to positive and negative charges – three anticolor varieties. Just as positively and negatively charged particles form electrically neutral atoms, colored quarks form particles with no net color. Quarks interact by emitting and absorbing massless particles called gluons, each of which carries a color-anticolor pair. Eight kinds of gluons are required to transmit the strong force between quarks, e.g., a blue quark might interact with a yellow quark by exchanging a blue-antiyellow gluon. The concept of color was proposed by the American physicist Oscar Greenberg and independently by the Japanese physicist Yoichiro Nambu in 1964. The theory was confirmed in 1979 when quarks were shown to emit gluons during studies of high-energy particle collisions at the German national laboratory in Hamburg. QCD is nearly identical in mathematical structure to quantum electrodynamics (QED) and to the unified theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions advanced by American physicist Steven Weinberg and Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam (see electroweak force). Related category PARTICLE PHYSICS Home • About • Copyright © The Worlds of David Darling • Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy • Contact

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Study: Asian Carp unlikely to enter Great Lakes from Mississippi River Photo: Image by Associated Press TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- A federal study of 18 potential aquatic links between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds says none of them are likely pathways to the lakes for Asian carp. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the study Friday. It's among reports the agency is producing as it develops recommendations for preventing Asian carp and other invasive species from crossing between the two watersheds. Experts say the easiest way for Asian carp to attack the lakes is through a navigational canal near Chicago that helps connect the Mississippi River with Lake Michigan. But the study analyzed 18 ditches, marshes and other spots along the aquatic boundary that could form links, especially during flooding. None posed a high risk as Asian carp passageways. Three posed a medium risk.

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from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition - n. A cellular component of the blood, especially of an invertebrate. from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License - n. a component of a blood cell, especially of an invertebrate from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia - n. Same as hematocyte. Sorry, no etymologies found. Our analysis included the construction of protein maps of the hemocyte cells and cells from fat bodies, the identification of the changed proteins, in response to infection, using LC-MS/MS, and the estimation of the trends in expression of these proteins at three time points (30 min, 6 hours and 22 hours) after infection.

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Papalo grows wild in Mexico. It is also cultivated. The herb must be used fresh as it does not dry well. The herb grows wild in Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas but is not typically used by the locals. In the U.S. look for papalo in Mexican markets. While some suggest substituting cilantro for papalo, Diana Kennedy considers there to be no substitute. Rinse fresh papalo in cool water. The thin portion of the stem can be chopped and used with the leaves but thicker stems should be removed and discarded. Chopping the herb enhances the flavor. Store fresh papalo, unwashed, wrapped in damp paper toweling. Refrigerate but use as quickly as possible. Alternately, you can stand the herb, stem side, down into a glass. Papaloquelite can be grown from seed and requires good drainage and full sun. As with most herbs plant after danger of frost has passed. Space plants about 1 1/2 to 2 feet apart. The plant grows quite tall, up to six feet and bears purple to bronze starburst flowers. The plant can take some shade but best in full sun The plant is sometimes used in parts of Bolivia for liver ailments as well as high blood pressure.

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Food addiction is a real issue in today’s society. I have seen many people in my life addicted to food and in each case has led to major health issues. My mother is addicted to food for emotional release, my dad is addicted to food because it tastes good, and I am addicted to food because mentally it makes me feel better. Food addiction can lead to people using food as an outlet, which can lead to weight gain, depression, low-self esteem, and more. Research has shown that food has the ability to cause hormones to release in the brain, causing you to feel better, but, as a result, eating becomes an addiction. This is similar to alcohol and drug addiction. They involve the same areas in the brain, the same neurotransmitters, and many of the symptoms are identical. Processed junk foods or foods that contain sugar or wheat, have a powerful effect on the “reward” centers in the brain involving brain neurotransmitters like dopamine. Food addiction is not about the lack of willpower, but caused by the intense dopamine signal “hijacking” the biochemistry of the brain. Some symptoms of food addiction: 1. you frequently get cravings for certain foods, despite feeling full and having just finished a healthy meal. 2. when you give in and start eating food you were craving, you often find yourself eating more than you intended. 3. when you eat food you were craving, you sometimes eat to the point of feeling stuffed 4. you often feel guilty after eating particular foods, but you continue to eat them soon after 5. you sometimes make excuses in your head about why you should eat something that you are craving 6. you have repeatedly tried to quit eating or set rules about certain foods but been unsuccessful 7. you often hide your consumption of unhealthy food from others 8.you feel unable to control your consumption of unhealthy foods, despite knowing that they are causing you physcial harm like gaining weight 1. slowly eliminate trigger foods from your diet: you don’t have to eliminate all foods at once, but take it one step at a time 2. replace bad foods with good food 3. cope with cravings- ask why you want to eat that food. Are you bored? upset? take some time before you make the decision. 4. Distractions are key:

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Six provides simple utilities for wrapping over differences between Python 2 and Python 3. It is intended to support codebases that work on both Python 2 and 3 without modification. six consists of only one Python file, so it is painless to copy into a project. The name, “six”, comes from the fact that 2*3 equals 6. Why not addition? Multiplication is more powerful, and, anyway, “five” has already been snatched away by the Zope Five project. A boolean indicating if the code is running on Python 2. A boolean indicating if the code is running on Python 3. Six provides constants that may differ between Python versions. Ones ending _types are mostly useful as the second argument to isinstance or issubclass. Possible class types. In Python 2, this encompasses old-style and new-style classes. In Python 3, this is just new-styles. Possible types for text data. This is basestring() in Python 2 and str in Python 3. Type for representing (Unicode) textual data. This is unicode() in Python 2 and str in Python 3. The maximum size of a container like list or dict. This is equivalent to sys.maxsize in Python 2.6 and later (including 3.x). Note, this is temptingly similar to, but not the same as sys.maxint in Python 2. There is no direct equivalent to sys.maxint in Python 3 because its integer type has no limits aside from memory. Here’s example usage of the module: import six def dispatch_types(value): if isinstance(value, six.integer_types): handle_integer(value) elif isinstance(value, six.class_types): handle_class(value) elif isinstance(value, six.string_types): handle_string(value) Python 3 renamed the attributes of several intepreter data structures. The following accessors are available. Note that the recommended way to inspect functions and methods is the stdlib inspect module. Get the function out of unbound method meth. In Python 3, unbound methods don’t exist, so this function just returns meth unchanged. Example usage: from six import get_unbound_function class X(object): def method(self): pass method_function = get_unbound_function(X.method) Get the function out of method object meth. Get the self of bound method meth. Get the closure (list of cells) associated with func. This is equivalent to func.__closure__ on Python 2.6+ and func.func_closure on Python 2.4 and 2.5. Get the code object associated with func. This is equivalent to func.__code__ on Python 2.6+ and func.func_code on Python 2.4 and 2.5. Get the defaults tuple associated with func. This is equivalent to func.__defaults__ on Python 2.6+ and func.func_defaults on Python 2.4 and 2.5. Get the globals of func. This is equivalent to func.__globals__ on Python 2.6+ and func.func_globals on Python 2.4 and 2.5. Get the next item of iterator it. StopIteration is raised if the iterator is exhausted. This is a replacement for calling it.next() in Python 2 and next(it) in Python 3. Check if obj can be called. Note callable has returned in Python 3.2, so using six’s version is only necessary when supporting Python 3.0 or 3.1. Returns an iterator over dictionary‘s keys. This replaces dictionary.iterkeys() on Python 2 and dictionary.keys() on Python 3. kwargs are passed through to the underlying method. Returns an iterator over dictionary‘s values. This replaces dictionary.itervalues() on Python 2 and dictionary.values() on Python 3. kwargs are passed through to the underlying method. Returns an iterator over dictionary‘s items. This replaces dictionary.iteritems() on Python 2 and dictionary.items() on Python 3. kwargs are passed through to the underlying method. Calls dictionary.iterlists() on Python 2 and dictionary.lists() on Python 3. No builtin Python mapping type has such a method; this method is intended for use with multi-valued dictionaries like Werkzeug’s. kwargs are passed through to the underlying method. Return a method object wrapping func and bound to obj. On both Python 2 and 3, this will return a types.MethodType object. The reason this wrapper exists is that on Python 2, the MethodType constructor requires the obj‘s class to be passed. A class for making portable iterators. The intention is that it be subclassed and subclasses provide a __next__ method. In Python 2, Iterator has one method: next. It simply delegates to __next__. An alternate way to do this would be to simply alias next to __next__. However, this interacts badly with subclasses that override __next__. Iterator is empty on Python 3. (In fact, it is just aliased to object.) These functions smooth over operations which have different syntaxes between Python 2 and 3. Execute code in the scope of globals and locals. code can be a string or a code object. If globals or locals are not given, they will default to the scope of the caller. If just globals is given, it will also be used as locals. Print args into file. Each argument will be separated with sep and end will be written to the file after the last argument is printed. In Python 2, this function imitates Python 3’s print() by not having softspace support. If you don’t know what that is, you’re probably ok. :) Reraise an exception, possibly with a different traceback. In the simple case, reraise(*sys.exc_info()) with an active exception (in an except block) reraises the current exception with the last traceback. A different traceback can be specified with the exc_traceback parameter. Create a new class with base classes bases and metaclass metaclass. This is designed to be used in class declarations like this: from six import with_metaclass class Meta(type): pass class Base(object): pass class MyClass(with_metaclass(Meta, Base)): pass Another way to set a metaclass on a class is with the add_metaclass() decorator. Class decorator that replaces a normally-constructed class with a metaclass-constructed one. Unlike with_metaclass(), add_metaclass() does not create an intermediate base class between the class being created and its bases. Example usage: @add_metaclass(Meta) class MyClass(object): pass That code produces a class equivalent to class MyClass(object, metaclass=Meta): pass on Python 3 or class MyClass(object): __metaclass__ = MyMeta on Python 2. Note that class decorators require Python 2.6. However, the effect of the decorator can be emulated on Python 2.4 and 2.5 like so: class MyClass(object): pass MyClass = add_metaclass(Meta)(MyClass) Python 3 enforces the distinction between byte strings and text strings far more rigoriously than Python 2 does; binary data cannot be automatically coerced to or from text data. six provides several functions to assist in classifying string data in all Python versions. A “fake” bytes literal. data should always be a normal string literal. In Python 2, b() returns a 8-bit string. In Python 3, data is encoded with the latin-1 encoding to bytes. A “fake” unicode literal. text should always be a normal string literal. In Python 2, u() returns unicode, and in Python 3, a string. Also, in Python 2, the string is decoded with the unicode-escape codec, which allows unicode escapes to be used in it. In Python 3.3, the u prefix has been reintroduced. Code that only supports Python 3 versions greater than 3.3 thus does not need u(). Converts i to a byte. i must be in range(0, 256). This is equivalent to chr() in Python 2 and bytes((i,)) in Python 3. Converts the first byte of bs to an integer. This is equivalent to ord(bs) on Python 2 and bs on Python 3. Return the byte at index i of buf as an integer. This is equivalent to indexing a bytes object in Python 3. Return an iterator over bytes in buf as integers. This is equivalent to a bytes object iterator in Python 3. Python 3 reorganized the standard library and moved several functions to different modules. Six provides a consistent interface to them through the fake six.moves module. For example, to load the module for parsing HTML on Python 2 or 3, write: from six.moves import html_parser Similarly, to get the function to reload modules, which was moved from the builtin module to the imp module, use: from six.moves import reload_module For the most part, six.moves aliases are the names of the modules in Python 3. When the new Python 3 name is a package, the components of the name are separated by underscores. For example, html.parser becomes html_parser. In some cases where several modules have been combined, the Python 2 name is retained. This is so the appropiate modules can be found when running on Python 2. For example, BaseHTTPServer which is in http.server in Python 3 is aliased as BaseHTTPServer. Some modules which had two implementations have been merged in Python 3. For example, cPickle no longer exists in Python 3; it was merged with pickle. In these cases, fetching the fast version will load the fast one on Python 2 and the merged module in Python 3. The urllib, urllib2, and urlparse modules have been combined in the urllib package in Python 3. The six.moves.urllib package is a version-independent location for this functionality; its structure mimics the structure of the Python 3 urllib package. |Name||Python 2 name||Python 3 name| Contains functions from Python 3’s urllib.parse and Python 2’s: Contains exceptions from Python 3’s urllib.error and Python 2’s: Contains items from Python 3’s urllib.request and Python 2’s: Contains classes from Python 3’s urllib.response and Python 2’s: It is possible to add additional names to the six.moves namespace. Instances of the following classes can be passed to add_move(). Neither have any public members. Create a mapping for six.moves called name that references different modules in Python 2 and 3. old_mod is the name of the Python 2 module. new_mod is the name of the Python 3 module. Create a mapping for six.moves called name that references different attributes in Python 2 and 3. old_mod is the name of the Python 2 module. new_mod is the name of the Python 3 module. If new_attr is not given, it defaults to old_attr. If neither is given, they both default to name.

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Study finds relationship between falls, car crashes in older adults Vera Demberg, Ph.D., a professor at Saarland University, and colleagues study how speech information affects steering in a driving simulator. (Photo: Oliver Dietze) Older adults who have fallen are 40% more likely to crash their cars than those who have not fallen, according to a new review of 15 studies of driving behavior involving almost 47,000 older adults. The research, conducted by a investigators at the University of Colorado and Columbia University, has been published online ahead of print by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Falls, or the factors that cause falls and crashes, accounted for more than 177,000 additional car crashes each year, the review found, based on estimates of car crashes involving older drivers and older adults who fall. And falls may be an independent factor impairing an older adult's ability to drive safely, they said, suggesting that some motor vehicle crashes might be caused by the falls themselves, regardless of the driver's underlying health and functioning. To help avoid falls and car crashes and live as independently as possible, the researchers recommend, older adults should exercise to improve physical and mental well-being, undertake efforts to improve mental function and address vision problems — for instance, with cataract surgery. When adults do fall, the researchers recommend rehabilitation afterward to help improve functional ability. Other new research, from Saarland University in Germany, suggests that older adults who drive may want to avoid using voice navigation systems in their cars. Seventy participants helped the researchers study how seniors reacted to complicated language commands while driving; 36 were older adults with an average age of 72, and 34 were members of a control group with an average age of 23. The researchers used sentences that would seem familiar to participants at first, but then took a surprising turn. The participants were given these sentences as well as simple statements, played through speakers, and then had to signal with a yes or no response whether the sentence was linguistically correct and made sense. At the same time, they had to “drive” along a street in a driving simulator. They were shown two vertical, colored bars, one of which was controlled by the computer. They were asked to control the second bar using the steering wheel, such that the distance between the two remained as small as possible. “While the younger participants showed stable behavior with both simple and more complex statements, seniors directed their full attention to resolving the linguistic inconsistencies and neglected the control of the vehicle,” the researchers said. This effect was particularly clear for seniors with low cognitive control, they added.

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Body Space Boundaries: Early Childhood Education 3-5 Year Olds Some Exercises – by MahaJyoti Glassman Conflicts and heartaches arise among young children due to perceived and actual violations of personal body space. It becomes abundantly clear when a student feels their “space” has been encroached upon, but often they do not yet possess the skills or proper language abilities to implement an appropriate and compassionate response. Frequently children do not have much control over who plays with them and when. Kids with differing abilities may require help with basic communication. These child-friendly, easy-to-use techniques can help kids to have a little more control and choices over their play. For a 3-5 year old to understand body space boundary concepts, it is necessary that the territory be well defined so that they can visually and tactilely perceive where it begins and where it ends. This must be concretely perceptible. This skill set will improve the young student’s emotional competence and smooth over many potential conflicts without excessive teacher intervention. The SECOND STEP is to be able to recognize others’ personal space or territory and to provide kids with the script and skills to respect these boundaries as well. This can be illustrated in a few ways as explained below. These exercises may be set up for each student or just 2-4 ‘nests’ can be made with a few pairs of students demonstrating the techniques with the whole class as the audience. Students love watching others implement the skills rightly or wrongly and talking about ‘How could this be done differently?’ HOW TO BUILD A NEST - Children can stand with their arms horizontal, parallel to the ground. Their bodies make the shape of the letter “T” form. Once in the “T” stance, kiddos can spin around while staying in one place, like a hurricane. This exercise shows everyone how big their nests are. Their nest may be marked by a small chalk or tape shape or dot on the ground. The shape should go around the child. This hurricane or tornado activity defines their individual nest. This is their personal territory or space. - If you have access to hula hoops, one child may occupy each hula hoop or nest. - A chalk circle may be drawn around each child so that each student may ‘see’ how big their nest (body space boundary) is. - A yarn or string circle may be constructed around each kiddo. - A circle may be drawn with a stick in the earth around each child. A few pairs of buddies may demonstrate the following techniques 3-5 times a day for a few weeks until everyone is fairly well practiced in nesting techniques. THE INVITATION: Exercise 1 Children need to ask to play physically close to another, i.e., before hugging, holding hands, playing together, etc. A child can be in one nest playing with blocks. Another child approaches and says, “Can I play in your nest?” The child may respond with a: - Maybe later. - I don’t want anyone in my nest right now. THE GRUMPY BIRD: Exercise 2 Like adults, kids can be grumpy or angry. Sometimes they just get out of the wrong side of the bed. If a kid is having a challenging day for whatever reason, they may choose not to play with anyone. This can be a time to cool down and not be physically close to others. Teachers may gently remind a student that they may inadvertently be getting near a nest where the occupant has indicated that they wish to be alone. “Amanda, you are getting close to Maria’s nest and she may not like that.” Students practice walking away. THE LONELY BIRD: Exercise 3 When an occupant says “No”. - They are encouraged to express it gently, not whining or yelling. - We explain to them they are to respect the wishes of others by simply walking away and finding another activity to do (re-direction). - This does not mean that the student no longer cares or loves us. - Student walks away. THE GENTLE BIRD: Exercise 4 Children who are learning how to deliver the “I message” may initially express their feelings and needs with a strong voice. - “I don’t want you in my nest right now”. - “I feel mad when you are here without asking.” - “I need alone time in my nest right now.” - “I don’t like that.” If a kid gets too loud or too assertive, such as yelling, teachers may say: “That hurts my ears.” Or “It hurts my heart when you yell so loudly.”, etc. Kids learn the difference between a strong voice and a loud voice. THE GROWN UP BIRD: Exercise 5 Even adults and teachers ask permission before coming into someone’s nest and can be told “no”. However, sometimes an adult may come into a nest to keep a student safe from one’s self, others or an environmental hazard (scissors, street, etc.) It is only when safety is threatened, that the adult violates a nest perimeter. Practising these techniques can help students to have more autonomy. Maintaining healthy boundaries can increase self-esteem and personal confidence. This is crucial to a child’s understanding of self and how to respond to others. With a few additional ground rules, kids can have a greater understanding and say, “I am a good friend.” Shrii P. R. Sarkar

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It’s World Trauma Day. Dr. David Wellman, Orthopedic Surgeon, explains what a compound fracture is and what you should do to treat this serious injury. “A ‘compound’ or ‘open’ fracture refers to a break in the bone with a laceration in the overlying skin, leaving the fracture fragments open to the outside environment. This is a very serious injury with potential long term consequences if not treated appropriately,” says Dr. Wellman. In the unfortunate event of a compound fracture, patients should remember the following tips: 1. A compound fracture is a true emergency, and appropriate care should be sought immediately. Usually, this involves calling the local emergency ambulance service to ensure that the patient is transferred safely to a hospital with an on-call orthopedic surgery team. In most situations, the patient will require an emergency surgical procedure to clean the wound and treat the fracture. 2. While waiting for care to arrive, the patient should not move around unnecessarily, because the fracture is open to the outside environment and could become infected. One of the major consequences of a compound fracture is an infection at the fracture site, which should be avoided at all costs. 3. One should not try to re-align the extremity where the bone is broken without the presence of trained medical personnel who have the proper splinting supplies. Improper handling could cause contamination of the wound and damage to the traumatized tissues. 4. Try to keep the extremity as clean as possible. Place moist sterile gauze over the wound if available. At a minimum, the wound should be protected from contact with the ground or unclean surfaces. 5. Pay attention to signs of compartment syndrome. This is a serious complication of extremity trauma that develops over time; it is caused when swelling increases pressure at the site of the injury. If the pressure from the swelling becomes greater than the incoming blood pressure, the extremity receives no blood. Immediate surgical intervention to release the pressure is required if this situation arises. In addition to swelling, warning signs include increasing pain, numbness, weakness, decreasing pulse, and a color change in the extremity. If not treated properly, compartment syndrome can lead to permanent muscle and nerve damage. Dr. David S. Wellman is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in the care of fractures and post-traumatic reconstruction. He has particular interests in articular fractures (bone breaks near major joints), injuries to the pelvis and acetabulum, and fracture non-union and mal-union. These interests also motivate his research work outside the operating room.

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Facts About Touch: How Human Contact Affects Your Health and Relationships The feel of your child's hand in yours, a back rub from your partner, a warm hug from an old friend — in whatever form, a welcome touch feels good. But why? What happens to your brain when someone touches you? What happens to your relationship with that person? And how can understanding the facts about touch make you happier and healthier? The Science of Touch Humans are social creatures. Of course, you don't really need proof of that — you know it instinctively. Positive interactions with other people make you feel happy, while loneliness feels bad. There's an evolutionary reason for that. Once upon a time, community was necessary for survival. In humanity's early days, when warring tribes and hungry predators were constant threats, there was safety in numbers. These days, community often means emotional security rather than physical safety, but people are still hardwired to connect — emotionally and physically — and your brain rewards you when you do it. Hugging and other forms of nonsexual touching cause your brain to release oxytocin, known as the "bonding hormone." This stimulates the release of other feel-good hormones, such as dopamine and serotonin, while reducing stress hormones, such as cortisol and norepinephrine. These neurochemical changes make you feel happier and less stressed. Research suggests that being touched can also lower your heart rate and blood pressure, lessen depression and anxiety, boost your immune system, and even relieve pain. Simply put, being touched boosts your mental and physical wellness. Facts About Touch and Your Relationships Oxytocin is self-perpetuating. It's how your body rewards you for making social connections, and it also makes you more successful at forming and maintaining those connections. Studies have shown that oxytocin makes you feel more generous, more empathetic and nurturing, more collaborative, and more grateful — all of which help make you a good partner, parent, friend, and co-worker. Gratitude, in particular, is such a powerful bonding emotion that many scientists have deemed it the psychological "glue" that keeps people close. Physical contact is just as important when building new relationships. For example, when strangers shake your hand, you're more likely to trust them, not only because it's a friendly gesture, but because their touch produces oxytocin that makes you trust them more. Touching is also a powerful and universal way to communicate distinct emotions. Just think about all the different reasons someone might squeeze your hand — to show support and sympathy during tough times, to convey love, to comfort you (and themselves) in frightening situations. Each of those squeezes says something different, and each one feels a bit different, even when it's coming from someone you don't know well. To prove this, researchers at Berkeley paired up strangers and separated them by a barrier with a small hole in it. One participant put an arm through the hole, while the other tried to communicate 12 unique emotions by briefly touching their partner's arms. Overall, the subjects who were touched could detect gratitude, sympathy, and love with about 55 to 60 percent accuracy. Science has provided many facts about touch, but perhaps the most important is this: Human beings were meant to touch and be touched, to spend time in the company of other people, and to make emotional connections. In today's digital world, it's easy to forget the importance of face-to-face communication, but you can't shake hands via email or give a hug via text. To get a dose of oxytocin, you'll have to get up close and personal. Posted in Personal Health More articles from this writer *This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute health care advice. You should always seek the advice of your doctor or physician before making health care decisions.

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Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Calhoun, John Caldwell CALHOUN, John C., statesman, b. in Ninety-six district, S. C., 18 March, 1782; d. in Washington, D. C., 31 March, 1850. His grandfather, James Calhoun, emigrated from Donegal, Ireland, to Pennsylvania in 1733, bringing with him a family of children, of whom Patrick Calhoun was one, a boy six years old. The family removed to western Virginia, again moved farther south, and in 1756 established the “Calhoun settlement” in the upper part of South Carolina. This was near the frontier of the Cherokee Indians; conflicts between them and the whites were frequent and bloody, and the Calhoun family suffered severe loss. Patrick Calhoun was distinguished for his undaunted courage and perseverance in these struggles, and was placed in command of provincial rangers raised for the defence of the frontier. His resolute and active character gave him credit among his people, and he was called to important service during the revolutionary war, in support of American independence. By profession he was a surveyor, and gained success by his skill. He was a man of studious and thoughtful habits, and well versed in English literature. His father was a Presbyterian, and he adhered to the religion of his fathers. In 1770 he married Martha Caldwell, a native of Virginia, daughter of an Irish Presbyterian immigrant, whose family was devoted to the American cause, and some of whom were badly treated by the tories. By heredity, John Caldwell Calhoun was therefore entitled to manhood from his race, to vigorous convictions in faith, and to patriotic devotion to liberty and right. He was early taught to read the Bible, and trained in Calvinistic doctrines; and it is said that he was also devoted to history and metaphysics, but was compelled to desist from study because of impaired health. His father was a member for many years, during and after the revolution, of the legislature of his state, and his counsels made a deep impression on his son, though he died when the latter was thirteen years of age. The son remembered hearing the father say that “that government was best which allowed the largest amount of individual liberty compatible with social order,” and that the improvements in political science would consist in throwing off many restraints then deemed necessary to an organized society. Until Mr. Calhoun was ready for college, he was under the instruction of his brother-in-law, the Rev. Dr. Waddell, a Presbyterian clergyman, and went to Yale in 1802. He evinced great originality of thought, devotion to study, and a lofty ambition, which won him the honors of his class, and the prophetic approval of President Dwight in the declaration, after an earnest dispute with him on the rightful source of political power, that he would reach the greatest eminence in life, and might attain the presidency. He studied law with H. W. Desaussure, of South Carolina, for a time, but was graduated at Litchfield, Conn., and was admitted to the bar in 1807. He took part in a meeting of the people denouncing the British outrage on the frigate “Chesapeake,” and was soon elected to the legislature, and entered the house of representatives in November, 1811, in his thirtieth year. Few men were better trained for the career before him. Simple and sincere in his tastes, habits, and manners, strict and pure in his morals, and incorruptible in his integrity, severe and logical in his style, analytic in his studies, and thorough in his investigations, with a genius to perceive and comprehend the mass of elements that entered into the solution of the problems of our political life, and with a capacity for philosophic generalization of principles unequalled by any contemporary, he began, continued, and ended his life, in the manifestation of the highest qualities for debate, for disquisitions upon constitutional government and free institutions, for discussions on foreign relations, for the investigation of political and social economy, and for the conduct with ability of the general affairs and even for the details of departmental administration. When Calhoun entered congress, war with Great Britain was imminent. He was a member of the committee on foreign affairs. He drew a report which placed before the country the issue of war, or submission to wrong. He urged a declaration of war, and upheld the cause of his country with an eloquence that inspired patriotic enthusiasm, and with a logical force that gave fortitude and zeal to the army and navy as well as to the people. At the close of the war in 1815 the country was confronted with questions of currency, finance, commercial policy, and internal development, which offered to the genius of Calhoun fruitful subjects for his original and patriotic study. He pressed upon congress the bank bill, the tariff of 1816, and a system of roads and canals. On these questions he afterward modified his views very greatly, but defended his real consistency of thought, under the appearance of inconsistency, by saying that the remedies proper for one condition of things were improper for others. A question arose in the discussion of the act to carry into effect the treaty of peace, as to the relation of the treaty-making authority to the powers of congress. He maintained the supremacy of the treaty power; that it prevailed over a law of congress; and that congress was bound to pass a law to carry a treaty into effect. The celebrated William Pinkney, then in the zenith of his fame, declared that Mr. Calhoun had brought into the debate “the strong power of genius from a higher sphere than that of argument.” Its power was undoubted, though the truth of his theory may well be questioned. In 1817 Mr. Monroe called Mr. Calhoun to the war department, which he filled until 1825. In this new field he won real fame; to this day the department, by the testimony of recent secretaries, feels the impress of his genius for organization and for the methodical adjustment of the functions of its various branches to each other and to its head. In his report to congress in 1823 he truly said that in a large disbursement of public money through a great number of disbursing agents, there had been no defalcation nor loss of a cent to the government; that he had reduced the expenses of the army from $451 to $287 per man, with no loss of efficiency or comfort. He organized the department by a bill that he drew for the purpose; and, under rules prescribed by him, introduced order and accountability in every branch of service, and established a system that has survived, in a large degree, to this day. Mr. Clay, in his eulogy on Mr. Calhoun, said: “Such was the high estimate I formed of his transcendent talents, that if, at the end of his service in the executive department under Mr. Monroe's administration, the duties of which he performed with such signal ability, he had been called to the highest office in the government, I should have felt perfectly assured that, under his auspices, the honor, the prosperity, and the glory of our country would have been safely placed.” During his service in the department, contention arose between him and Gen. Jackson as to the conduct of the latter in the Seminole war, which was the chief cause of the breach between them during Jackson's administration. In 1824 there were four candidates for the presidency, which resulted in the election of John Q. Adams by the house of representatives. Mr. Calhoun was elected vice-president by a large majority. His vice-presidency marks the beginning of Mr. Calhoun's life as a constitutional statesman. He said in 1837: “The station, from its leisure, gave me a good opportunity to study the genius of the prominent measure of the day, called then the American system, by which I profited.” From that time he by profound study mastered the principles of our constitutional system, and may be said to have founded a school of political philosophy, of which the doctrines are maintained in his speeches, reports, and public writings. Mr. Clay's American system, to which Mr. Calhoun referred, was in full success. The bank, the protective policy, the internal improvement system, and the “general welfare” rule for constitutional construction, composed this celebrated policy. In 1828 Gen. Jackson was elected president and Mr. Calhoun re-elected vice-president. The Jackson administration was the period during which the democratic party under Jackson and the whig party under Clay were organized for their great struggle for ascendency. Mr. Calhoun took from the beginning the most prominent part in the attitude assumed by South Carolina against the protective system, which had reached its climax in the tariff law of 1828. In December, 1828, he drew up the “Exposition,” which, with amendments, was adopted by the legislature of South Carolina; also an address, 26 July, 1831, on the relations of the states to the general government; also a report for the legislature in November, 1831; also an address to the people of the state at the close of that session; also a letter to Gov. Hamilton on state interposition, 28 Aug., 1832; also an address to the people of the United States by the convention of South Carolina in November, 1832. In these papers he maintained the doctrine of state interposition, or “nullification.” During Jackson's first term, the influence of Mr. Van Buren became paramount with the president, and the alienation between the latter and Mr. Calhoun became irreconcilable. Mr. Van Buren was elected vice-president in 1832. The South Carolina convention in November, 1832, passed the ordinance nullifying the tariff laws of 1828 and 1832, and Mr. Calhoun was elected to the senate and took his seat in December, having resigned the vice-presidency. He appeared as the champion of his state, and defender of its ordinance of nullification, standing alone, but firm and undaunted. Both parties were opposed to him, and the administration menacingly so. A man of less intellect or less courage would have shrunk from the conflict. But he was courageous in conviction, and fearless of personal consequences. He gave up the second and surrendered all hope of the first, office in the country, to defend his state in her solitary attitude of opposition to the protective policy. The president's proclamation of November, 1802, was followed by the proposed “force bill.” Mr. Calhoun, in February, 1833, made an elaborate speech against it. To this Mr. Webster replied with great fulness upon certain resolutions proposed by Mr. Calhoun on the general question, whereupon Mr. Calhoun called up his resolutions, and made, 26 Feb., 1833, a speech of extraordinary force, to which Mr. Webster never replied. The issue in this debate of the giants was on the first resolution, as follows: “That the people of the several states comprising these United States are united as parties to a constitutional compact, to which the people of each state acceded, as a separate and sovereign community, each binding itself by its own particular ratification; and that the union, of which the said compact is the bond, is a union between the states ratifying the same.” Mr. Webster denied the “compact” theory, and is said to have made use of much of the materials gathered by Judge Story in the preparation of the first volume of his commentaries on the constitution, published in 1833. Almost all of the democratic party, and many of the whigs, held that the constitution was a compact, but denied the right of nullification by a state; and some of these denied the right of secession to a state, holding the indissolubility of the union of these states because bound by a perpetual compact. They admitted Mr. Calhoun's premise of “compact,” but denied his conclusions. Mr. Webster denied his premise, and therefore his conclusion. Many, also, who believed in the right of secession, denied the right of nullification. Mr. Calhoun stood, therefore, alone in the senate, maintaining the premise of a “constitutional compact,” and his conclusion of the right of a state to nullify a law while remaining in the union, or to secede from the union entirely. The true nature of the doctrine of nullification was this: 1. It was claimed as a remedy within the union, reserved to the state according to the constitution; a remedy for evils in the union; and to save, but not to dissolve, it. 2. It was claimed for the state, as a party to the compact, to declare when it was violated, and to pronounce void an unconstitutional law; not to annul a valid law, but to declare void an unconstitutional law. 3. Its effect was (as claimed) to make wholly inoperative the law so declared void, because unconstitutional, within the state, and it seems that the United States should, according to the doctrine, thereupon suspend its operation elsewhere, and appeal to the states to amend the constitution by a new grant of power to make valid the law so declared void by the state. 4. This declaration of nullity of a law could not be made by the government of a state, but only by a convention of its people; that is, that the people of a state in convention, which had ratified in convention the constitution originally, should have power to declare unconstitutional an act done by the government created by that constitution. The genius of Mr. Calhoun was equal to the plausible and powerful support of this theory, which, however inconclusive from his premise of the constitutional compact, can not impair the truth of that premise, which, with transcendent ability and accurate historic research, he established on an impregnable foundation. The discussion had valuable results. Mr. Clay introduced his “compromise tariff” of 1833, which was passed before the session closed, with the support of Mr. Calhoun. It provided for a gradual reduction of duties during ten years, after which duties should be laid on a revenue basis. This issue ended, the re-charter of the bank of the United States, and the removal of the deposits therefrom by President Jackson, and the general question of currency, became prominent. Executive patronage also came into the debates of the last term of President Jackson. On all these questions Mr. Calhoun acted with the whig party. He preferred the bank of the United States to what was called the “pet bank system” of the executive. He condemned what he deemed executive usurpation, and denounced the influence of patronage as tending to the organization of parties upon the principle “of the cohesive power of public plunder.” He claimed to belong to neither party, but to lead the band of “state-rights” men, whose course was directed by principle, and not by the motives of party triumph or personal ambition. He took no part in the presidential election of 1836; but on the accession of Mr. Van Buren to the presidency, and in the extra session called by him in 1837, to consider the financial panic cf that year, he took ground for a total separation of the government from a bank or banks, favored the constitutional treasury plan, and acted generally with the democratic party, Gen. Harrison was elected president in 1840, but died 4 April, 1841, and was succeeded by Vice-President John Tyler. An extra session of congress was called in the summer of 1841, when the struggle of Mr. Clay for the restoration of his American system — including a bank, protective tariff, internal improvements, and a distribution of the proceeds of the public lands — brought on a memorable discussion, in which Mr. Calhoun was a leader, and facile princeps, of the democratic party. If the student of our history will consult the speeches of Mr. Calhoun in the senate, on the bank question generally, and on currency, from 1837 till 1842, he will find how thorough his analysis of these abstruse questions was, and how broad were his generalizations of principles. When the tariff question came up again in 1842, the compromise of 1833 was rudely overthrown, and the protective system placed in the ascendent. Mr. Calhoun discussed the question in several able speeches, but delivered one 5 Aug., 1842, of comprehensive force, in which he discriminated with analytic precision between a revenue and a protective duty, holding a tariff for revenue only to be constitutional and right. He discussed the question of wages, and closed his speech with an animation not to be forgotten by one, who heard him utter these sentences: “The great popular party is already rallied almost en masse around the banner which is leading the party to its final triumph. The few that still lag will soon be rallied under its ample folds. On that banner is inscribed: Free trade; low duties; no debt; separation from banks; economy; retrenchment, and strict adherence to the constitution. Victory in such a cause will be great and glorious; and long will it perpetuate the liberty and prosperity of the country.” The hostility of President Tyler to the American system made its restoration during his administration only partial; but questions of deeper import came before the country, from which results of great consequence have followed. Mr. Tyler had frequently resorted to the veto power to defeat Mr. Clay's measures. Mr. Clay proposed an amendment of the constitution for the abrogation of the veto power, and on 28 Feb., 1842, Mr. Calhoun delivered a speech against this proposition. He vindicated and sustained the veto as an essential part of “the beautiful and profound system established by the constitution.” The proposition never came to a vote. In February, 1844, the unfortunate explosion of a gun on the deck of the “Princeton,” near Washington, robbed the country of two members of President Tyler's cabinet. The vacancy in the state department occasioned by the death of Judge Upshur was filled by Mr. Calhoun, who had ceased to be senator, in March, 1843. Two questions of great importance were considered by the new secretary. At that time the union had no Pacific population, California had not been acquired, and Oregon was not yet within our grasp. Great Britain had an adverse claim to Oregon. Our title rested on discovery and the French treaty of 1803. Access to it there was none but by sea around Cape Horn or across the isthmus. Mr. Calhoun vindicated our rights in a diplomatic correspondence upon grounds on which it was finally adjusted by treaty in 1846. In his speech on the Oregon question, 16 March, 1846, he spoke of the physical elements of civilization steam and electricity. As to the latter (when the telegraph was in its infancy) with wonderful prevision he said: “Magic wires are stretching themselves in all directions over the earth, and, when their mystic meshes shall have been united and perfected, our globe itself will become endowed with sensitiveness, so that whatever touches on any one point will be instantly felt on every other.” Again: “Peace is preëminently our policy. . . . Providence has given us an inheritance stretching across the entire continent from ocean to ocean. . . . Our great mission, as a people, is to occupy this vast domain; to replenish it with an intelligent, virtuous, and industrious population; to convert the forests into cultivated fields; to drain the swamps and morasses, and cover them with rich harvests; to build up cities, towns, and villages in every direction, and to unite the whole by the most rapid intercourse between all the parts. . . . Secure peace, and time, under the guidance of a sagacious and cautious policy, 'a wise and masterly inactivity,' will speedily accomplish the whole. . . . War can make us great; but let it never be forgotten that peace only can make us both great and free.” Another question, the annexation of Texas, occupied his mind, and gave full scope to his fertile genius. To our internal concerns it was as important as to our foreign relations. It can only be fully comprehended by considering the slavery question, with which it became involved in the act of annexation and in its consequences. In the federal convention of 1787 the diversity of industries growing up in states where slavery did and did not exist was clearly foreseen. This difference was marked by the terms northern and southern, slaveholding and non-slaveholding, commercial and agricultural states. The well-known antipathy of people, among whom slavery does not exist, to that form of labor gave rise to strong feelings in the northern states for its abolition. Among southern people there was much of regret that it had ever been established; but how to deal with it was to them a practical question for their most serious consideration. As has been well said, “We had the wolf by the ears — to hold on, was a great evil; to let go, who could estimate the consequences?” It was important as a question of property, but of far greater moment as a social and political problem. What relations, social and political, should exist between these diverse races, when both were free and equal in citizenship? One thing the south felt most strongly. The solution of this difficult problem should be left to those who were personally interested in the continuance of slavery, and involved in the consequences of its abolition. Accordingly, the federal constitution left it for the states to deal with, threw around it interstate guarantees, and put it beyond the reach of the federal government. Without these guarantees, the union could not have been formed. The two sections watched their respective growth in population, and their settlement of our territories, as bearing on their related powers in the federal government. The north had a large majority in the house of representatives, and in the electoral college. In the senate, by a species of common law, an equilibrium was maintained between the sections, one free state being admitted with one slave state for nearly fifty years of our history. In 1820-'1 the Missouri agitation arose, which was quieted for the moment by an agreement that no state should be admitted north of lat. 36° 30' which allowed slavery, while south of that line they might be admitted with or without slavery, as the people of the state should decide. The constitutionality of this Missouri compromise was always denied by many constitutional lawyers, though it is said Mr. Calhoun admitted its constitutionality, when applied to the territories, but not as to a state. With a senate equally divided between the sections, the southern states felt secure against action hostile to slavery by the government. But the equilibrium of the sections in that body being overthrown, they would be subject to the will of a northern majority in both houses, limited only by its interpretation of its constitutional power over slavery. In 1835, Texas, peopled by emigrants from the union, but chiefly from the southern states, carrying their slaves with them, won its independence at San Jacinto, which was acknowledged by the United States in 1836. The territory had once been ours; its people were of our own flesh and blood; emigration pressed into its fields from the south; the government of Great Britain was threatening to keep Texas independent, and, by procuring the abolition of slavery there, to operate to stop slavery extension toward the southwest, and place an abolition frontier upon the borders of Louisiana and Arkansas. Mr. Calhoun was too sagacious not to see the hostile policy of England. In a series of papers he exposed the scheme, and negotiated a treaty with Texas for her incorporation into the union. The treaty failed, but the annexation of Texas became a pivotal question in the presidential election of 1844, and Mr. Polk was elected chiefly upon that issue. Many people looked upon it as an increase of the slave power in the union, but the admission of Texas was made subject, as to any new states to be formed out of it, to the provisions of the Missouri compromise. Mr. Calhoun was elected to the senate on retiring from the state department, and did all he could for the peaceable adjustment of the Oregon question, and also to prevent war with Mexico. He deprecated the war with Mexico, and in strong terms declared it was unnecessary. When it was finally determined on, he was greatly disturbed, and predicted evils, which even he could not see. He said: “It has dropped a curtain between the present and the future, which to me is impenetrable; and, for the first time since I have been in public life, I am unable to see the future. It has closed the first volume of our political history under the constitution, and opened the second, and no mortal can tell what will be written in it.” In his speech on the “three-million bill” (9 Feb., 1847) he explained that what constituted this “impenetrable curtain” was the acquisition of territory as the result of the war, and the slavery question, which would be involved in the legislation respecting it. The slavery question, during the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren, had been agitated in many forms. Abolition petitions had poured in upon congress, and the power of congress had been invoked to prevent the transmission through the mails of abolition documents. On this point Mr. Calhoun differed with President Jackson; the former maintaining in an able report (February, 1836) that the mail could not be the instrument for incendiary purposes against the laws of the states, but that congress had no power to decide what should be transmitted and what not, without state action. Soon after the Mexican war began, the acquisition of territory from Mexico was strongly insisted on; and at once the anti-slavery party proposed what was known as the Wilmot proviso, by which it was declared that slavery should never be allowed in any Mexican territory acquired by treaty. The agitation convulsed the country. On 19 Feb., 1847, Mr. Calhoun set forth his views in certain resolutions, of which the substance is in the first two: “That the territories of the United States belong to the several states composing the union, and are held by them as their joint and common property; that congress, as the joint agent and representative of the states of the union, has no right to make any law or do any act whatever that shall, directly or by its effects, make any discrimination between the states of this union by which any of them shall be deprived of its full and equal right in any territory of the United States acquired or to be acquired.” Chief-Justice Taney, delivering the opinion of the court, held the same doctrine in the Dred Scott decision in 1857, in which six of the nine judges concurred. The agitation continued until the session of 1849-'50, when the compromise measures were proposed and passed. Mr. Calhoun made his last speech (read for him by Senator Mason, of Virginia) upon this subject, 4 March, 1850. With the exception of a few remarks made afterward in reply to Mr. Foote and to Mr. Webster, he never again addressed the senate. In the last years of his life he prepared two works, the one “A Disquisition on Government,” and the other “A Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United States,” both comprehended in a volume of 400 pages. These methodical treatises on the science of government and the federal constitution place him in the highest position among original thinkers upon political philosophy. In estimating Mr. Calhoun's position absolutely and relatively, he is liable to a less favorable verdict than his merits demand. He represented a southern state, defended her slave institutions, belonged to a minority section, and his views have been condemned by the majority section of the country. The newspaper and periodical press, therefore, will deny him the pre-eminence which we claim for him as a broad and philosophic statesman, as a constitutional lawyer, and as a leader of thought in the field of political philosophy. His fame results from the possession of an ardent, sincere, and intense soul which gave impulse and motive to a mind endowed with extraordinary analytic force, acute and subtile in its insight, fertile in suggestion, full of resources, careful, laborious, and profound in research and comprehensive in its deduction of general principles. He had a largo imagination, though he displayed little fancy. His vigorous, compact, and clean-cleaving logic put the objects of his creative power into sharply defined shapes, arranged in perspicuous order, with a severe, trenchant, and condensed rhetoric. In his reply on 10 March, 1838, to Mr. Clay's personal attack he seems to have defined his own characteristics while he denied them to his great opponent. He said: “I cannot retort on the senator the charge of being metaphysical. I cannot accuse him of possessing the powers of analysis and generalization, those higher faculties of the mind (called metaphysical by those who do not possess them) which decompose and resolve into their elements the complex masses of ideas that exist in the world of mind, as chemistry does the bodies that surround us in the material world, and without which these deep and hidden causes which are in constant action and producing such mighty changes in the condition of society would operate unseen and undetected. . . . Throughout the whole of my service I have never followed events, but have taken my stand in advance, openly and freely avowing my opinions on all questions, and leaving it to time and experience to condemn or approve my course.” He believed the constitution to be a “beautiful and profound system,” and the union under it an inestimable blessing. His “Disquisition” and “Discourse” were devoted to showing how the true philosophy of government was realized in that constitution. An epitome of his philosophy may be attempted, though it will fail to do it justice. He believed in the rights of the individual man, for whose benefit society and government exist — “society being primary, to preserve and perfect our race; and government secondary and subordinate, to preserve and perfect society. Both are, however, necessary to the existence and well-being of our race and equally of divine ordination.” But government ordained to protect may, if not guarded, be made a means of oppression. “That by which this is prevented, by whatever name called, is what is meant by constitution. . . . Constitution stands to government as government stands to society. . . . Constitution is the contrivance of man, while government is of divine ordination. Man is left to perfect what the wisdom of the Infinite ordained as necessary to preserve the race.” He then takes up the question, How shall government be constituted so as by its own organism to resist the tendency to abuse of power? The first device is the responsibility of rulers through suffrage to the ruled under proper guards and with sufficient enlightenment of the voters to understand their rights and their duty. This secures those who elect against abuse by those who are elected. But this is far from all that is needed. When society is homogeneous in interests this may suffice, for it insures a control of no man's right by any other than himself and those who have common interest with him. But where, as is generally the case, society has diverse and inimical interests, then suffrage is no security, for each representative speaks the will of each constituency, and constituencies, through representation, may war on each other, and the majority interests may devour those of the minority through their representatives. Suffrage thus only transfers the propensity to abuse power from constituencies to representatives, and despotism is secured through that suffrage which was devised to prevent it. The remedy for this evil is to be found in such an organism as will give to each of the diverse interests a separate voice and permit the majority of each to speak in a separate branch of the organism, and not take the voice of the majority of the whole community as the only expression of the people's will. To do the last bases government on the numerical or absolute majority; to do the first is to base it on the “concurrent constitutional majority.” The latter is a government of the whole people; the former only of a majority of them. This principle is illustrated by all the so-called checks and balances in all constitutional governments, and by the concurrent majority of numbers in the house of representatives and of states in the senate in our own federal system. This principle, established with scientific precision, is the fruitful source of all of Mr. Calhoun's doctrines. His vindication of the veto power was against the claim for the numerical majority. His nullification was the requirement of the concurrent majority of the several states to a law of doubtful constitutionality. His proposed amendment of the constitution by a dual executive, through which each section would have a distinct representation, was an application of the same principle; and his intense opposition to the admission of California, by which the senate was to be controlled by a northern majority, was his protest against the overthrow of the concurrent consent of the south, through an equipoised senate, to the legislative action of congress. Mr. Calhoun saw the south in a minority in all branches of the government, and he desired, by giving to the south a concurrent and distinct voice in the organism of our system, to secure her against invasion of her rights by a hostile majority, and thus to make her safe in the union. When the abolition party was small in numbers and weak in organization, and public men treated its menaces with contempt, Mr. Calhoun saw the cloud like a man's hand which was to overspread our political heavens. His prophetic eye saw the danger and his voice proclaimed it. In looking at the growth of the abolition feeling in 1836, he predicted that Mr. Webster “would, however reluctant, be compelled to yield to that doctrine or be driven into obscurity.” He said, further: “Be assured that emancipation itself would not satisfy these fanatics. That gained, the next step would be to raise the negroes to a social and political equality with the whites.” In 1849 he wrote the “Address to the People of the South,” and, with a precision that is startling, drew the following picture of the results of abolition: “If it [emancipation] ever should be effected, it will be through the agency of the federal government, controlled by the dominant power of the northern states of the confederacy against the resistance and struggle of the southern. It can then only be effected by the prostration of the white race, and that would necessarily engender the bitterest feelings of hostility between them and the north; but the reverse would be the case between the blacks of the south and the people of the north. Owing their emancipation to them, they would regard them as friends, guardians, and patrons, and centre accordingly all their sympathy in them. The people of the north would not fail to reciprocate, and to favor them instead of the whites. Under the influence of such feelings, and impelled by fanaticism and love of power, they would not stop at emancipation. Another step would be taken, to raise them to a political and social equality with their former owners by giving them the right of voting and holding public offices under the federal government. . . . But when once raised to an equality they would become the fast political associates of the north, acting and voting with them on all questions, and by this political union between them holding the south in complete subjection. The blacks and the profligate whites that might unite with them would become the principal recipients of federal offices and patronage, and would in consequence be raised above the whites in the south in the political and social scale. We would, in a word, change conditions with them a degradation greater than has ever yet fallen to the lot of a free and enlightened people, and one from which we could not escape but by fleeing the homes of ourselves and ancestors, and by abandoning our country to our former slaves, to become the permanent abode of disorder, anarchy, poverty, misery, and wretchedness.” The estimate we have placed upon the genius of this remarkable man is confirmed by the touching tributes of his great rivals at the time of his death. Henry Clay, after paying a tribute to his private character and to his patriotism and public honor, said: “He possessed an elevated genius of the highest order. In felicity of generalization of the subjects of which his mind treated I have seen him surpassed by no one, and the charm and captivating influence of his colloquial powers have been felt by all who have conversed with him.” Daniel Webster, his chief competitor in constitutional debate, said: “He was a man of undoubted genius and of commanding talent. All the country and all the world admit that. . . . I think there is not one of us but felt, when he last addressed us from his seat in the senate, his form still erect, with clear tones, and an impressive and, I may say, an imposing manner, who did not feel that he might imagine that we saw before us a senator of Rome when Rome survived. . . . He had the basis, the indispensable basis of all high character, and that was unspotted integrity, unimpeached honor, and character. If he had aspirations, they were high and honorable and noble. . . . Firm in his purpose, perfectly patriotic and honest, aside from that large regard for that species of distinction that conducted him to eminent stations for the benefit of the republic, I do not believe he had a selfish motive or selfish feeling.” Mr. Everett once said: “Calhoun, Clay, Webster! I name them in alphabetical order. What other precedence can be assigned them?” Clay the great leader, Webster the great orator, Calhoun the great thinker. John Stuart Mill speaks of the great ability of his posthumous work, and of its author as “a man who has displayed powers as a speculative political thinker superior to any who has appeared in American politics since the authors of 'The Federalist.'” It has been said that Calhoun labored to destroy the Union, that he might be the chief of a southern confederacy because he could not be president of the Union. The writer remembers an interview that he witnessed between Calhoun and a friend within a month of his death, when the hopes and strifes of his ambition were soon, as he knew, to be laid in the grave. The friend asked him if nothing could be done to save the Union. “Will not the Missouri compromise do it?” He replied, the light in his great eyes expressing an intense solemnity of feeling that can never be forgotten, “With my constitutional objections I could not vote for it, but I would acquiesce in it to save this Union!” Mr. Calhoun in his private life as husband, father, friend, neighbor, and citizen, was pure, upright, sincere, honest, and beyond reproach. He was simple and unpretending in manners, rigid and strict in his morals, temperate and discreet in his habits; genial, earnest, and fascinating in conversation, and magnanimous in his public and private relations. He was beloved by his family and friends, honored and almost idolized by his state, and died as he had lived, respected and revered for his genius and his honorable life by his contemporaries of all parties. He was stainless in private and public life, as a man, a patriot, and a philosopher, and his fame is a noble heritage to his country and to mankind. The view on page 500 represents the summer residence and office of Mr. Calhoun at Fort Hill, to which during his career many men of distinction repaired to enjoy his society and his liberal hospitality. Calhoun's works were collected and edited by Richard K. Cralle (6 vols., New York, 1853-'4).

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As preparation for this problem, review Conceptual Example 10. From the top of a cliff overlooking a lake, a person throws two stones, as shown in the drawing. The cliff is 21.8 m high. The two stones described have identical initial speeds of v0 = 19.0 m/s and are thrown at an angle ? = 22.2 °, one below the horizontal and one above the horizontal. What is the distance between the points where the stones strike the water? Neglect air resistance.

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Lady Booby returns to Booby Hall, to the relief of the parish poor who depend on her charity. Mr. Abraham Adams receives a more heartfelt welcome, however, and Joseph Andrews and Fanny Goodwill enjoy a similarly kind reception. Adams takes his two companions to his home, where Mrs. Adams provides for them. Fielding gives a record of the emotional turbulence Lady Booby has endured since the departure of Joseph from London. She eventually resolved to retire to the country, on the theory that this change of scene would help her to conquer her passion for Joseph. On her first Sunday in the country, however, she goes to church and spends more time leering at Joseph than attending to Parson Adams. During the service, Adams announces the wedding banns of Joseph and Fanny, and later in the day Lady Booby summons the clergyman for a chat. Lady Booby criticizes Mr. Adams for associating with a footman whom Lady Booby dismissed from her service and for “run[ning] “about the Country with an idle Fellow and Wench.” She rebukes him for “endeavouring to procure a Match between these two People, which will be to the Ruin of them both.” Mr. Adams defends the couple, but Lady Booby takes offense at his emphasize on Fanny’s beauty and orders Adams to cease publishing their banns. (A couple’s wedding banns must be published three times before a marriage can take place.) When Adams demands a reason for this action, Lady Booby denounces Joseph as a “Vagabond” whom she will not allow to “settle” in her parish and “bring a Nest of Beggars” into it. Adams advises her, however, of what he has learned from Lawyer Scout, “that any Person who serves a Year, gains a Settlement [i.e. legal residence] in the Parish where he serves.” The clergyman indicates that he will marry the hopeful couple, in spite of Lady Booby’s threat to have him dismissed from his curacy, and that their “being poor is no Reason against their marrying.” Lady Booby tells him that she will never allow him in her house again, which punishment Mr. Adams accepts with relative calm. Lady Booby summons Lawyer Scout and demands that he supply the legal justification for her resolution “to have no discarded Servants of mine settled here.” In order to oblige her, Scout makes a hair-splitting distinction between settlement in law and settlement in fact, saying that if they can demonstrate that Joseph is not settled in fact, then Mr. Adams will have no standing to publish Joseph’s wedding banns. If, however, Joseph manages to get married, the situation would change: “When a Man is married, he is settled in Fact; and then he is not removable.” Scout promises to persuade Mr. Adams not to publish the banns, so that Lady Booby will, with the help of the obliging Justice Frolick, be able to remove both Joseph and Fanny from the parish. Fielding then reveals that Scout acts as a lawyer without having the proper qualifications. Lady Booby endures further emotional turbulence, and on Tuesday she goes to church and hears Mr. Adams publishing the second of Joseph and Fanny’s wedding banns. Upon returning home she learns from Mrs. Slipslop that Joseph and Fanny have been brought before the Justice. Lady Booby is not entirely pleased with this news, because “tho’ she wished Fanny far enough, she did not desire the Removal of Joseph, especially with her.” While Lady Booby is considering how to act, a coach and six drives up containing her nephew, Mr. Booby, and his wife, Pamela. Lady Booby is hearing of Mr. Booby’s marriage for the first time. The new-minted Mrs. Pamela Booby is, of course, the former Pamela Andrews. Mr. Booby’s servants soon begin to ask after Joseph, who has not corresponded with Pamela since his dismissal from Lady Booby’s. The servants soon apprise Mr. Booby of Joseph’s situation, and Mr. Booby resolves to intervene and liberate Joseph before Pamela finds out what has happened. He arrives on the scene just as Justice Frolick, an acquaintance of his, is about to send Joseph and Fanny to Bridewell Prison. Mr. Booby demands to know what crime they have committed; he reads the deposition and finds that Joseph and Fanny stand accused of having stolen a twig from Lawyer Scout’s property. When Mr. Booby objects, Justice Frolick takes him aside and explains that the Constable will probably let the prisoners escape but that the accusation of theft is the only way that Lady Booby can “prevent their bringing an Incumbrance on her own Parish.” Mr. Booby gives his word that Joseph and Fanny will never encumber the parish, and the Justice delivers the couple into Mr. Booby’s custody, burning the mittimus. While Joseph gets dressed in a suit of Mr. Booby’s clothes, the Justice invites Fanny to settle with Joseph in the Justice’s own parish. Mr. Booby then takes Joseph and Fanny in his own coach, and they drive back to Lady Booby’s; on the way they pick up Mr. Adams when they meet him walking in a field. Mr. Booby reveals that he has married Pamela, and everyone rejoices. Upon their arrival back at Booby Hall, Mr. Booby reintroduces Joseph to Lady Booby, explaining that he expects her to receive Joseph and treat him with respect as a member of the family. Lady Booby complies delightedly, but she refuses to receive Fanny. Joseph prepares to meet Pamela and Lady Booby, and Fanny goes with Mr. Adams to the latter’s home. Joseph and Pamela have a tearful reunion, and Joseph recounts all the adventures he had after leaving London. In the evening he reluctantly agrees to stay the night in Booby Hall rather than joining Fanny and Mr. Adams. Lady Booby retires to her room and, with help from Mrs. Slipslop, defames both Pamela and Fanny. They then discuss Joseph and whether Lady Booby degrades herself in being attracted to him. Slipslop defends Joseph passionately against the charge of being “coarse” and avers that she wishes she herself were a great lady so that she could make a gentleman of him and marry him. Lady Booby tells Mrs. Slipslop that she is “a comical Creature” and bids her good-night. In the morning Joseph visits Fanny at the Adams household, and they settle on Monday as their wedding date. Fielding explains why it is that women often discover in love “a small Inclination to Deceit”: from childhood, women are taught to fear and avoid the opposite sex, so that when as adults they begin to find him agreeable, they compensate by “counterfeit[ing] the Antipathy,” as Lady Booby has done with respect to Joseph. She “love[s] him much more than she suspect[s],” especially now that she has seen him “in the Dress and Character of a Gentleman,” and she has formed a plan to separate him from Fanny. She convinces Mr. Booby to dissuade Joseph from marrying Fanny on the grounds that the alliance would make it impossible for the Boobys to gentrify the Andrews family. Mr. Booby assents to this plan and approaches Joseph, who resists his brother-in-law’s suggestions even when Pamela joins the argument. Fanny walks in an avenue near Booby Hall and meets a Gentleman with his servants. The Gentleman attempts to force himself on Fanny and, when he fails, continues on to Booby Hall while leaving a Servant behind to persuade Fanny to go home with the Gentleman. This Pimp, failing in his office, makes an attempt on Fanny himself. Fortunately, Joseph intervenes before the Pimp can get very far and eventually beats him off. During the scuffle the Pimp tore at Fanny’s clothing, uncovering her “snowy” bosom, which entrances Joseph once he has time to notice it. He averts his eyes, however, once he perceives her embarrassment, and together they proceed to the Adams household. Just before the arrival of Joseph and Fanny, Mr. and Mrs. Adams conclude an argument about whether Mr. Adams should, for the sake of the family, have avoided offending Lady Booby. In Mrs. Adams’s opinion, the clergyman should oblige the Lady by ceasing to publish the banns; Adams, however, “persist[s] in doing his Duty without regarding the Consequence it might have on his worldly Interest.” Joseph and Fanny enter and sit down to breakfast. Joseph expresses his eagerness to be married, and Adams warns him to keep his intentions in marriage pure and not value Fanny above the divine will: “[N]o Christian ought so to set his Heart on any Person or Thing in this World, but that whenever it shall be required or taken from him in any manner by Divine Providence, he may be able, peaceably, quietly, and contentedly to resign it.” Just as Adams has finished saying this, someone enters and tells him that his youngest son has drowned. Joseph attempts to comfort Adams by employing many of the clergyman’s own arguments about the conquering of the passions by reason and grace, but Adams is in no mood to listen. Before long, however, the weeping Mr. Adams meets his young son running up to the house, not drowned after all. As it turns out, the child was rescued from the river by the same Pedlar who delivered the travelers from one of the inns where they could not pay their bill. Mr. Adams rejoices to have his son again and greets the Pedlar with genuine gratitude. Once things have calmed down, Adams takes Joseph aside to repeat his advice not to “give too much way to thy Passions, if thou dost expect Happiness,” but after all this Joseph has lost patience and objects that “it was easier to give Advice than to take it.” An argument ensues as to whether Joseph’s love for Fanny is of the same pure and elevating sort as Mr. Adams’s parental love for his son, or whether intense marital love “savours too much of the Flesh.” Mrs. Adams interrupts this conversation, objecting that Mr. Adams does not enact his own disparagement of marital love: not only has he been a loving husband, but “I declare if I had not been convinced you had loved me as well as you could, I can answer for myself I should have hated and despised you.” She concludes, “Don’t hearken to him, Mr. Joseph, be as good a Husband as you are able, and love your Wife with all your Body and Soul too.” The opening chapters of Book IV lay the groundwork for the novel’s final conflict and eventual resolution: the principal “good” characters have returned to the place of their origin, and their primary adversary, Lady Booby, arrives back on the scene as well (along with Slipslop, her subaltern and imitator). Book IV will turn out to be a more unified book than the preceding three, in terms of both the place and the time of the action, as Fielding confines the events to the Boobys’ parish and specifies the passage of a discrete number of days. The overall effect gives a sense of coherent dramatic conflict, rather different from the diffuse picaresque plotting of Books I through III. A burgeoning cast of secondary characters also lends heft to the building action: the family of Mr. Adams enters the story for the first time, as do the newly married Mr. Booby and Pamela. The Pedlar turns up again, a Lawyer and Justice materialize, and an embodiment of the vacuous fashionable world appears in the person of a would-be Bellarmine (whose name will turn out to be Beau Didapper). These secondary characters, whose ranks will swell in succeeding chapters, do more than fill out the stage; they also increase the tension between Lady Booby and the lovers, as Lady Booby schemes to get all of these originally neutral players on her side: Mr. Booby’s amiability, Pamela’s snobbery, Lawyer Scout’s unscrupulousness, and Mrs. Adams’s fear of poverty all present her with opportunities for driving apart the lovers and neutralizing their advocate, Mr. Adams; she even has plans for the selfish lust of Didapper. The Pedlar, of course, remains an instrument of providence, and he will continue to perform this role in the coming chapters. The episode in which Mr. Adams again counsels Joseph against passionate attachments and then, hearing of his own son’s supposed drowning, fails to practice what he has preached reveals another dimension of Adams’s fallibility, though whether his weakness makes him more or less sympathetic will be up to the eye of the beholder. This scene has had a precursor in Book III, Chapter XI, when Adams, bound with Joseph to a bedpost, “comforted” his young friend by urging him to give up the “Folly of Grief” and resign himself contentedly to the cosmic plan that is about to subject “the prettiest, kindest, loveliest, sweetest” Fanny to “the utmost Violence which Lust and Power can inflict”; the parson even construed the impending rape of Fanny as an act of divine justice, a punishment of Joseph for the sin of repining. The scene at the bedpost, then, revealed Adams as an inhuman sermonizer, failing to enact the spontaneous, sympathetic good nature that has generally distinguished him. He has a rationalistic side to his personality; it is the part of him that responds to the literature of classical stoicism with its injunction to transcend all human feelings and attachments. In the opposition between the sternly sententious clergyman and the warm and disconsolate lover, the former surely forfeits a great deal of the reader’s sympathy. In Book IV, Chapter VIII, however, Fielding revisits this opposition and may qualify it somewhat, depending on one’s interpretation. Here, Adams again admonishes his parishioner to “divest himself of all human Passion”; this time he is concerned that Joseph is too eager to get married, and he warns that if sexual avidity is the motivation then Joseph is sinning, while if anxiety for Fanny’s welfare is the motivation then Joseph ought to be putting his trust in providence. Adams instructs Joseph to prepare himself to accept even the loss of his beloved Fanny “peaceably, quietly, and contentedly,” “[a]t which Words one came hastily in, and acquainted Mr. Adams that his youngest Son was drowned.” Suddenly, the preacher who insisted that anyone who indulges in exorbitant grief is “not worthy the Name of a Christian” begins lamenting his own personal loss. Like the biblical Abraham, Mr. Abraham Adams has to confront the idea that the divine will has demanded the death of his beloved son; in both cases, the apparent necessity of the son’s death is a test of the father’s faith and resignation. Joseph urges the parson to follow his own advice, resign himself, and look forward to a reunion in heaven; Adams, with unconscious irony, refuses this counsel, so it is doubly fortunate that Dick eventually turns out not to have drowned at all. As usual, however, Adams fails to see when his weaknesses have been exposed, and he quickly snaps back to his formal sermonizing mode. Mr. Adams’s conspicuous failure by the lights of his own code has emboldened Joseph: the young man points out his mentor’s inconsistency and observes that it is “easier to give Advice than to take it.” Adams’s rather petulant response to this challenge of his authority sharpens the issue for the reader, who must decide whether the parson has revealed that all his supposed virtue is in fact just a hypocritical penchant for arrogating a position of moral authority. Despite how neatly this scene seems to fit into Fielding’s dominant theme of the exposure of pretense, however, few readers are likely to take the condemnation of Adams as far as this; Homer Goldberg articulates a sensible position when he observes that "[a]lthough the incident is similar in structure to Fielding's unmaskings of hypocrisy, the paradox of Adams's behavior is not that he is worse than he pretends to be but that he is better than he knows." Indeed, the passive-resignation brand of Christianity that Adams has recommended in his stoical sermonizing is by no means identical with the active charitable love of neighbor that he elsewhere advocates and consistently enacts; his extraordinary goodness takes its distinctive character not from his erudition or from his reason but rather from his natural and spontaneous affections, of the sort that he keeps censuring in Joseph. The proper attitude toward Mr. Adams is probably the one that Mrs. Adams espouses near the end of the scene when, after expressing at length her affection for the husband who is more generous that he will admit, she undercuts his teaching authority by saying, “Don’t hearken to him, Mr. Joseph.” As Maurice Johnson suggests, Fielding likely means for readers to follow Mrs. Adams in regarding the parson as thoroughly lovable but not always a reliable moral philosopher.

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This shot of the iconic clock at Grand Central Terminal was one of the first ever from my Panasonic LX-3. According to Wikipedia: The 18-sided main information booth — originally the “information bureau” — is in the center of the concourse. Its attendants provide train schedules and other information to the public; in 2015, they fielded more than 1,000 questions an hour, according to an MTA spokesman. A door within the marble and brass pagoda conceals a spiral staircase down to a similar booth on the station’s Dining Concourse. The booth is topped by a four-faced brass clock that may be Grand Central’s most recognizable icon. The clock was designed by Henry Edward Bedford and cast in Waterbury, Connecticut. Each 24-inch (61 cm) face is made from opalescent glass, now often called opal glass or milk glass. (Urban legend says the faces are actually opal, valued by Sotheby’s or Christie’s between $10 million and $20 million.) The clock was first stopped for repairs in 1954, after it was found to be losing a minute or two per day. Along with the rest of the New York Central Railroad system’s clocks, it was formerly set to a clock in the train dispatcher’s office at Grand Central. Through the 1980s, they were set to a master clock at a workshop in Grand Central. Since 2004, they have been set to the United States Naval Observatory’s atomic clock, accurate to a billionth of a second. For more information (e.g. including its use in movies) on the clock see New York’s Most Famous Clock.

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Wildlife SOS help nab a notorious tiger poacher Our friends at Wildlife SOS India have had a busy few weeks as they were part of a multi-organisational team that apprehended a notorious tiger poacher, Bheema Bawaria. After a chase through the streets of Delhi, Bawaria was caught with a tiger skin, tiger bones (an entire skeleton), two live turtles and ivory. The operation to catch the well known thief was conducted by NGO Wildlife SOS, NTCA, CBI, WCCB and the Haryana Police and Forest departments. Bawaria was previously arrested in 2009 and is a repeat offender, involved with other big name poachers. The joint forces have been on the lookout for Bawaria for several years and he has been under constant surveillance.He has spent time in jail previously but has always returned to a life of poaching. Wildlife SOS and their colleagues are now working to find out who his international links and routes are in order to target the gangs he works with. Tiger body parts are often used in Chinese medicines and as such sold in SE Asia and China. The arrest of Bawaria is a great achievement and one that could lead to capturing his known associates and suppliers. In turn preventing the mass poaching and sale of tiger parts and other endangered animals, such as elephants.This long winded capture of Bawaria highlights the growing need for cross-organisation communication and the ongoing problem of poaching worldwide. The Indian Government has recently made moves to protect the tiger population further by preventing tourism and access to several of India's most famous National Parks. The tiger tourism ban is currently being debated in the Indian Supreme Court. It is argued that ecotourism is not helping the Bengal tiger survive but damaging the habitat. The alternative argument is that tiger tourism actually brings in much needed funds to help protect the Bengal Tiger. The Travel Operators for Tigers argue that the highest density populations of tigers are in fact found in the most visited reserves and that poachers make up 95% of the reasons behind tiger population decrease. The anti-ban supporters also argue that removing tourism will only encourage poaching activity in the quiet reserves where currently a constant presence deters the poachers. The final decision will be made on the 22 August and we hope that the Indian Government and all other parties involved can work together to maintain ecotourism and protect the tiger population. And a final congratulations to Wildlife SOS for helping to stop Bawari. - Peru Holidays (301) - Family Activity Holidays (237) - Egypt Holidays (199) - Tanzania Holidays (194) - Trekking Holidays (193) - Nepal Holidays (164) - Morocco Holidays (111) - India Holidays (86) - South Africa Holidays (85) - Safari Holidays (73) - Jordan Holidays (62) - Walking Holidays (53) - Cuba Holidays (44) - Solo Holidays (9) - Winter Holidays (3)

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A staple of science fiction, fuel cells have long been touted as the ultimate clean and renewable energy source, powering everything from our mobile phones to cars, trains and buses. But despite the hype, fuel cells still haven't proved a viable alternative to combustion engines and battery power, so when can we actually expect fuel cells to become an everyday item? You might ask, why do we even need fuel cells? Well, whether you believe that we've already hit peak oil or not, relying on the liquefied remains of dead sea-creatures, which took millions of years to form, is clearly not a long-term sustainable strategy. Using hydrocarbons as fuel is also highly polluting, not just in terms of CO2, but other more noxious elements, too. Our portable gadgets and laptops have, of course, always relied on battery power, and while rechargeable batteries have undergone significant advances, from the old Nickel Cadmium, to Nickel metal hydride to today's Lithium polymers, they still have their drawbacks. While Lithium-based batteries have significantly better lifespans than previous rechargeable technologies and don't suffer from the so-called memory effect, they will eventually lose the ability to hold charge. Li-ion cells also require protection circuits to prevent them from being over-charged, which carries a potential fire or explosion risk, or over-discharged which can damage the cell and prevent it from ever being charged back up again. Lithium technology is not without its drawbacks, either. As with fossil fuels, Lithium is a finite resource and annual production is only around 34,000 tons. Electric cars require 2 to 3kg of Lithium per kWh battery capacity, with each car typically having 16kWh capacity. This means that at current production rates, it is estimated that there is only enough Lithium produced annually to power two or three million electric cars. Windows 8 review The UK alone sees almost two million new cars on the road each year. Fuel cells are devices which, like a battery, turn chemical energy into electrical energy. Unlike a battery though, the amount of electrical energy produced is constant, while there is sufficient fuel to power the cell. Rechargeable batteries suffer from voltage drop as the charge depletes and so voltage regulation circuits are required on the devices powered by them. Hydrogen the saviour? Hydrogen is one of the most common elements used in fuel cells. Up until recently, due to the volume required to store it and the need for it to be pressurised, hydrogen-powered cells were only found in static installations as a backup power source, or in large vehicles, such as buses. There's also the often overlooked issue that Hydrogen does not exist in its free state on this planet, so has to be extracted, most commonly by the electrolysis of water, which means it uses more power to produce than it actually generates. That's not to say that pocket-sized fuel cells for portable electronics don't exist though. At the tail-end of 2011, Apple filed several patents on Hydrogen fuel-cell related technology, which promises to drive its devices for days or weeks at a time. However, anyone familiar with patents will know that what the patent says the technology is capable of and what it can actually do, are often worlds apart. Horizon Fuel Cell technologies has created the MiniPAK, a Hydrogen-based, portable power unit. By using a metal hydride form of Hydrogen, Horizon has managed to produce a solid-state, refillable cartridge, the HYDROSTICK, with a battery-like form factor. Each cartridge produces the same power as ten AA-sized batteries, and can be refilled 100 times. There's even a desktop charger for the cartridges, which you simply fill with water, then plug into the mains, although it's preferable to use a solar charger so you can recharge for "free".

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In the 1630s as British colonists began occupying Massachusetts, the Native American population was exposed to several diseases for which they lacked immunity, contributing greatly to the population’s decline. Thomas Morton, one of the founders of present day Quincy, MA wrote, “For the natives, they are near all dead of the smallpox, so the Lord hath cleared our title to what we possess.” In 1721, a plague of smallpox hit Boston, infecting half of its estimated 11,000 residents. The infamous Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather learned from his African slave, Onesimus, that he had been inoculated with a small amount of smallpox before he was enslaved, which had given him immunity. Mather convinced Zabdiel Boylston, a Boston doctor, to begin inoculations; the first were Boylston’s young son Thomas, and two slaves. This practice already existed in the 17th century in Africa and Asia, and probably dates back much longer. The variola virus that causes smallpox multiplies rapidly and overwhelms the immune system after its usual entry through the nasal passages, but exposure through the skin gives the body enough time to mount an adequate defense. British writer and explorer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu had her son inoculated in Turkey, but her advocacy for the procedure upon returning to England was met with disdain by religious and medical professionals as primitive, foreign, Muslim, and unclean. News of Mather and Boylston’s procedure spread throughout the Boston populace, who “raised an horrid Clamour.” One person threw a bomb through Mather’s window, with a note reading, “Cotton Mather, you dog, dam you–I’ll inoculate you with this, with a Pox to you,” but Mather and Boylston persisted. By the time the epidemic had run its course, 844 people had died, but only 6 of the 242 people who had received the inoculation succumbed During the Black Death, which hit Europe in 1347, officials in the Venetian-controlled port city of Ragusa kept newly arrived sailors in isolation on their ships for 40 days, which became known in Venetian law as a “quarantino,” the origin of quarantining people during epidemics. In Colonial America, each town had a “pest house” (short for pestilence house) where persons afflicted with tuberculosis, diphtheria, cholera, and smallpox were quarantined. In 1764 a pest house was constructed in Ipswich for quarantining anyone afflicted with smallpox, measuring 24 x 30 feet, and a second pest house was maintained near the town Commons on Scott Hill. One of the most progressive citizens of Ipswich, Dr. John Manning opened a practice in 1760, and in 1771 went to England to finish his medical education. While in London, he became acquainted with Dr. Daniel Sutton’s improved method of treating smallpox, and was himself inoculated in London. He returned home a year later and began inoculating members of his family. The old Puritan town did not take well to this, and initiated an investigation The Town then voted to confine Dr. Manning to the Pest House: - January 21, 1774: The Report of the Committee chosen by the Town this Day to examine the by Laws Respecting the small Pox: “Recommend it to the Town to direct the selectmen to put a guard of two or more Persons in the Pest House to confine Doct. John Manning there, and in case Doct. Mannng should be absent himself from the House without License of the Select men, that a guard be directed forthwith to acquaint the Selectmen. And upon such Information, that the Selectmen be directed to apply to a Justice of the Peace for a warrant to take said Doct. Manning for communicating the Small Pox to two Persons in this Town, and also for trespassing on the Town’s Property, & him forthwith to Commit to the common gaol (*jail). Voted in the affirmative.“ Neither understanding nor appreciating the young Dr. Manning’s enlightened initiative, the town instead appointed 34 year old Dr. Samuel Rogers to care for the patients in the Pest House. He was the son of Dr. Samuel Rogers, who held the town office of Register, and grandson of Rev. John Rogers. The young Dr. Rogers at the age of 19 had been an assistant surgeon in 1759 in the battle at Louisburg, Canada. He settled in Gloucester, and became an officer in the company of minutemen. He died in Gloucester at the age of 37. - Feb 4th, 1774: “On a motion made & seconded, the vote being Put whether the Town will employ Doctor John Manning as a Physician at the Pest house, it passes in the Negative.” And on February 17:”Voted that the Selectmen, desire Doctor Samuel Rogers to tarry at the Pest House several days longer, until the Sick People there are in a good measure Recovered.” The issue became divisive in the town as it became increasingly evident that Dr. Manning’s treatments were effective. Yet the mindset of the Selectmen and the Freeholders voting at Town Meeting remained rigid: - April 11, 1774 “On a motion made & seconded wither the Town will choose a committee to settle all disputes with Doctor John Manning, and if said Committee cannot agree with said Manning, then the said Committee be empowered to choose a Committee of Persons out of Town to settle said affair, And if said Manning will not comply, then said committee be empowered to prosecute Said Manning in the Law.” As smallpox inoculations became more widely accepted, Dr. John Manning’s fortunes reversed. In April 1795, the now senior but unabashedly progressive doctor proposed to the town that he would undertake the maintenance of the poor, providing them with food, clothing, “and every kind of attendance in sickness & in health, for a fixed rate, on the condition that the Town would grant him the use of the pest house, purchase Mr. John Harris’s house and land for use as a Poor House, and pay him a set fee per annum. The expense of caring for the Ipswich poor was so controversial that residents in the affluent Hamlet section of town broke away in 1793 to create the town of Hamilton. By September 1774 , the issue with Dr. Manning seems to have subsided, and bigger issues were being debated on Sept. 21, 1774: “Voted that the Representatives now chosen be a Committee to meet with the Representatives of other Towns in this Province to form a Provincial Congress. Voted that the Town will choose a Committee to form Instructions to their Representatives.” Despite the growing acceptance of inoculation, a serious smallpox outbreak seized Boston in 1775, and continued to be a scourge throughout the Revolutionary War. On the day after the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, Dr. John Manning drove to Boston to bring his sister, Mrs. McKean, to Ipswich. When near Boston he was stopped by a British soldier who had been wounded, for whom he provided medical attention, for which kindness the officer enabled Dr. Manning to enter the city and depart with his sister. Upon arriving back at his home, Dr. Manning aroused his family to gather medical supplies, and hastened back to Boston to care for all persons wounded in battle. A smallpox epidemic raged during the British occupation of Boston, and when the British gave up the city in the spring of 1776, the outbreak spread into the countryside, continuing until the summer. In Captain Joseph Hodgkins ‘ letters to his wife Sarah Perkins, alone with their children on East St. in Ipswich, he wrote about an epidemic that was sweeping the camp at Prospect Hill, the American redoubt at the northern end of the siege lines in what is now Somerville: “Camp Prospect Hill, Jan. 7, 1776. I am sorry that I have the occasion to inform you that it is a good deal sickly among us. We buried Willeby Nason last Thursday. John Sweet is very sick in camp, & Josiah Persons of Cape Ann in our Company is just moved to the Hospital. Capt. Parker is a little better. Mr. Harden is sick in Camp. John Holladay died last Thursday night. There was five buried that day. We buried Mr. Nason from the hospital. Capt. William Wade has lost one man. He was buried Friday. We live in our tents yet, but the men are chiefly gone into barracks.” “Jan. Ye 8. Capt. Parker remains very sick. I am in hopes John Sweet is a little better. One of Capt. Dodge’s sergeants is very dangerously sick. It is a good deal sickly among us, and a great many die very sudden, but I hope God will spare for us and remove the Pestilence and the Sword.” “March ye 18, 1776. My Dear, I wrote a letter yesterday morning, and soon after I wrote there appeared a great movement among the Enemy, and we soon found that they had left Bunker Hill & Boston, and all gone on board the shipping & our army took possession of Bunker Hill and also of Boston, but none went to Boston but those that have had the small pox. Brother can inform you of matters better than I can by writing. All I can says is that we must move somewhere very soon, but I would not have you make yourself uneasy about that, for our enemy seems to be a fleeing before us, which seems to give a spring to our spirits.” After the British left the city in March of 1776, Washington sent in a force of 1,000 smallpox-immune American troops to occupy Boston in order to avoid further spread of the disease. General Washington ordered that no one in his army be inoculated, in order to not be incapacitated and be vulnerable British attack. In February 1777, Washington reversed course and ordered that all troops be inoculated., “Finding the smallpox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can prevent it from running through the whole of our army, I have determined that troops shall be inoculated….This expedient may be attended with some inconveniences and some disadvantages, but yet I trust in its consequences will have the most happy effects. For should the disorder infect the army in the natural way and rage with its virulence we should have more to dread from it than from the sword of the enemy.” The cowpox vaccination In 1799, Harvard professor Benjamin Waterhouse obtained a strain of the cowpox vaccine that was being used against smallpox by Dr. Edward Jenner of London, who is regarded as the founder of immunology, and successfully inoculated members of his household. After at first refusing requests from other doctors for samples of the vaccine, Waterhouse began providing the material to individual practitioners in return for a quarter of their profits. Dr. John Manning’s son Dr. Thomas Manning of Ipswich broke Waterhouse’s monopoly when he received a sample of “the matter” from his brother in London and began providing it to other practitioners without payment. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson declared vaccination with Jenner’s discovery to be one of the nation’s first public health priorities. By the mid-19th century, despite a persistent anti-vaccination movement, Jenner’s vaccine had replaced the earlier practice of inoculation with smallpox scabs, dramatically replacing mortality rates. In 1855 Massachusetts became the first state to require public school children to be vaccinated, and within a few decades, most of the other states followed. Yet, as late as the 1950s an estimated 50 million cases of smallpox were occurring world-wide each year, resulting in millions of fatalities. A massive global vaccination campaign put an end to Smallpox in 1977, and in December 1979, the WHO certified the global eradication of smallpox, making it the first disease ever eradicated. The only remaining cultures of the virus are in scientific laboratories in the United States and Russia. Sources and further reading: - Pest Houses and the Architecture of Quarantine (Archipedea New England) - History Channel: How 5 of History’s Worst Pandemics Finally Ended - Origins Magazine; Jim Harris: Rash Decisions: Anti-vaccination Movements in Historical Perspective - C. W. Dixon, “Smallpox“ - Aronson, Stanley and Newman, Lucile: “God Have Mercy on this House, Being a Brief Chronicle of smallpox in Colonial New England“ - An historical account of the small-pox inoculated in New-England by Boylston, Zabdiel, 1679-1766 - ‘‘Cotton Mather, you dog, dam you! I’ll inoculate you with this, with a pox to you’’: smallpox inoculation, Boston, 1721 by M Best, D Neuhauser, L Slavin - Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony by Thomas Franklin Waters - Town meeting records, 1738-1779; Town Clerk’s office - Manning family of Salem and Ipswich, Massachusetts - Manning Families Of New England

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1. Because/Since we read the book, we have learned a lot. 2. If we read the book, we would learn a lot. 3. We read the book; as a result / therefore / thus / hence / consequently / for this reason / because of this, we’ve learned a lot. 4. As a result of /Because of/Due to/Owing to reading the book, we’ve learned a lot. 5. The cause of/reason for/overweight is eating too much. 6. Overweight is caused by/due to/because of eating too much. 7. The effect/consequence/result of eating too much is overweight. 8. Eating too much causes/results in/leads to overweight.

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Dr. Sylvester Jefferson was an African-American dentist who practiced in Clarksville after 1915. Dr. Jefferson was a contemporary of Dr. Robert T. Burt, a respected African-American physician. Dr. Burt operated the Home Infirmary, Clarksville’s first hospital; and Dr. Jefferson assisted him there during the 1920s. In 1917, Dr. Jefferson’s office was recorded at 122 1/2 N. 3rd Street in Clarksville, across the street from the Courthouse. He may have moved his practice to his home at a later date, on the corner of Main Street and 5th Street (also known as Hooper’s Alley). Dr. Jefferson’s dental equipment is on display as part of the Museum’s permanent Memory Lane Gallery.

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Georgia Tech scientists test college freshmen by giving them increasingly longer segments of the SAT test. Interestingly, as the length of the test increased, so did the students’ scores: The average score on the three-and-a-half hour test was 1,209 out of 1,600. On the four-and-a-half-hour version it was 1,222; on the five-and-a-half-hour test it was 1,237. Virtually all of the students followed that pattern. The theory is that competitive students have learned to use stress and exhaustion to create concentration. Scientists refer to this phenomenon as achievement motivation.

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Biologists believe that the entire population of killer whales in the Prince WIlliam Sound will soon die off completely. While salmon, otters, and other animals in the area have experienced partial or full recoveries, this group of whales has struggled ever since the 11-million-gallon oil spill in 1989. At that point, the whales numbered 22. Today they’re down to just seven. “These are the unexpected things. In killer whales, not recovering for this long length of time is something that we certainly didn’t foresee or predict,” said Jeep Rice, senior scientist with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Auke Bay Laboratory. While 16,000 gallons of oil still remains in the sound 20 years later, scientists say that the spill is not the only culprit in the whales’ decline. Even before the spill the whales were struggling because their main prey, harbor seals, were becoming more scarce. The waters were filled with pesticides presumably floating over from Asia and some scientists believe the whales’ reproductive capabilities suffered. But one fact is clear: in the year after the spill, over a third of the 22 whales died. While this all may not surprise anyone, the problem is that Exxon denies that any of it is happening. According to them, every species in the area is recovered or recovering. So in case you had any doubt, Exxon’s not a nice company.Source: McClatchy Newspapers Photo Credit: kckellner on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

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So you had sex, whether you meant to or not and whether it was protected or unprotected. Now you're worried. Could you be pregnant? Most people think a missed period is the only warning sign that you might be pregnant. Not so. There are a number of things that occur very soon after a baby has been conceived - both to the mother and the baby! First of all, here are some things to think about. You could conceive a baby within one hour after having sex! And within the next few hours as the egg and sperm combine, everything about this new life is determined by the parents - When was your last period and when is your next one due? The greatest likelihood of becoming pregnant occurs just about mid-way between periods. Is that when you had sex? If conception has taken place, about 8 days later some women experience spotting (like a very light period but not) and some cramps. This doesn't happen to everybody, but it can be a sign that something is happening in your body. That "something" is actually the unborn child implanting itself in the uterine wall where it will grow for the next nine months. If you are pregnant, because of the changes taking place inside your body, as early as one week after conception, you may feel extremely tired at any time during the day. Sometimes as early as one to two weeks after conception, some women notice that their breasts are tender to touch or slightly swollen. Areolas are the skin around your nipples, and pregnancy causes this skin to darken. This is one of the most common indicators that conception may have taken place. However, some women still have "mini" periods even while pregnant, but this would be very light and for a very short time. Meanwhile, if you are pregnant, by about the time you've missed your period, your baby's heart has started beating. If you are pregnant, the sudden rise of hormones in your body may cause you to have headaches. If you are pregnant, nausea may occur between 2 and 8 weeks after conception. This can occur any time of day, not just mornings. Some women never experience this, and others do. It's during this time period that your baby has been growing rapidly. By about 6 weeks his/her brain waves can be recorded, and by 8 weeks his/her body is complete, right down to the fingerprints which will be carried throughout life. Dizziness or fainting. Pregnancy can cause low blood sugar and a change in your blood pressure, which can cause dizziness and even fainting. If you're pregnant, certain smells can suddenly make you gag. Changes in hormones during pregnancy can cause rapid shifts in moods. If you have several of these early pregnancy symptoms, the best thing to do now is have a pregnancy test to confirm or deny your suspicions. Do not wait! You don't have to come up with the money or sneak into a pharmacy to get a pregnancy test. If you think you might be pregnant, here's an easy way to find out. Click here to connect to Optionline.org where you can get help with a free pregnancy test and confidential information. You can have your questions and concerns answered by e-mail or phone, and they are there to help no matter where you are or what your circumstances. Tell Us Your Story, Thoughts or Send Us A Comment. We would love to hear from you. Rosetta Foundation - 93 Young Road - Augusta, ME 04330 - 617-849-8545

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Investigating the Cause of Dead Fish Washed Ashore on an Artificial Lake in South Texas Abstract: Hundreds of dead fish washed ashore were reported during the month of January 2018 on an artificial lake in South Texas. Locally referred as Bartlett Pond, the 4.5-acre waterbody is part of a soccer complex located near the Laredo International Airport. The purpose of this study was to determine a cause for the drastic decimation of the fish. Hypothesizing that water conditions were not suitable for aquatic life, water and soil samples and several fish carcasses were collected and subjected to analysis. Parameters of pH, temperature, electric conductivity, total dissolved solids (EC/TDS), and dissolved oxygen were taken in situ, but these measurements were found to be normal. High levels of phosphate and abundant algae in the area confirmed the phenomenon of eutrophication. However, normal levels of dissolved oxygen indicated that oxygen depletion was not responsible for the mass decimation of the fish. Spectroscopic data revealed the putative presence of microcystins, hepatotoxins produced by certain types of freshwater cyanobacteria. In parallel, results of heavy metal analysis indicated the presence of arsenic in extremely high concentrations in sediments and fish tissue. It is thought that the combination of these deleterious factors led to the mass decimation of fish. The eutrophic lake, with abundant algae, might have promoted the accumulation of microcystins. The fish, which were particularly debilitated by the extremely high levels of arsenic, became particularly susceptible to the hepatotoxicity of the microcystins, resulting in death. Current research focuses on confirming the presence of microcystins and their concentration in the fish. Erick U. Vazquez*, David I. Marquez, Virginia M. Morales, and Estefania Padilla Judging Forms – Official judges only

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The scientific theory behind global warming seems straightforward. Carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere reflect heat back to the Earth's surface. The more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat that is reflected. The revelation of a trove of damaging e-mails among leading scientists in the global warming community raises a troubling question in this regard: If the science is so straightforward, why on the warming Earth would scientists need to fudge the research to prove it? Or, to quote from some of the correspondence in the emerging Climategate controversy, why would there be any need to use a "trick" to "hide the decline" in temperatures suggested by some data? Why would there be an urgent need to "delete any e-mails you have had" about data for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or to orchestrate a response to deny information requests because "IPCC is an international organization, so is above any national FOI (freedom of information act)?" Why would the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, one of the world's premier institutions for climate research, purge the "original raw data" on which predictions of global warming are based and retain only the "value-added" — that is, the massaged — data? And why would scientists feel compelled to prevent publication of studies that cast doubt on the relationship between human activity and global warming, "even if we have to redefine what the peer review literature is?" These questions don't disprove global warming or man's contribution to it. But that turns the issue on its head. Science relies on objective, empirical and replicable evidence to assess the validity of a hypothesis. It uses a process of peer review to scrutinize the quality of scientific information. For years, Chicken Littles have warned of the ever-worsening, ever more impending doom of global warming whose source, out of a universe of variables, they have attributed to man. A scientific consensus exists about this theory. The issue, they claim, is settled. What Climategate suggests is that the consensus is contrived and that the issue, rather than being settled, has been steamrolled. George Monbiot, a leading figure in the global warming community, wrote on his blog, "There is a word for the apparent repeated attempts to prevent disclosure revealed in these e-mails: unscientific." In place of transparent, reputable science supporting man-made global warming, we encounter the dogma of global warmism. As with other dogmas, global warmism declares that doubters are deranged heretics and demands that non-believers, such as the more than 700 international scientists who dissent from the IPCC findings, be scourged. The high priests of global warmism are meeting in Copenhagen, devising a catechism to massively reduce carbon emissions at a cost of trillions of dollars. In a regulatory edict in support of the faith, the Obama administration's Environmental Protection Agency has declared carbon dioxide — which is as natural to the atmosphere as oxygen and is produced by every living creature — to be a threat to human health. Perhaps all of this is for the good. But to convince a skeptical world, global warming activists must rely on something more compelling than dogma and more convincing than the hocus pocus fear of carbon Armageddon. They must use science. No one should be more dismayed by the sullying of the scientific method and the adulteration of scientific research on global warming than scientists themselves. e-mail: [email protected]

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What does a farrier do? Farriers make and fit shoes for horses. They use some of the same skills as a blacksmith, but blacksmiths can only fit shoes to horses if they are registered as farriers. Typically, you would: - discuss and agree the horse’s shoeing requirements with the owner - check the horse's leg, foot and hoof, cutting away any excess hoof growth and making sure the horse is properly balanced - choose the most suitable type of shoe for the horse's size, foot condition, type of activity and working conditions - make horseshoes by hand or machine - adjust the shape of the shoes, using a hammer and anvil - fit the horseshoes You may also work with vets and equine hospitals to provide corrective shoeing and surgical farriery. Most farriers are self-employed, so you would need to organise your own bookings and order stock and tools. You also need to keep accounts and promote your business. What do I need to do to become a farrier? You need to be physically strong and have good practical skills. You also need to communicate well with horse owners and vets. To work as a farrier you must be registered with the Farriers’ Registration Council. The only way to register is to complete a four-year Apprenticeship with an Approved Training Farrier (ATF). - Four-year apprenticeship with an Approved Training Farrier (ATF) Where to find out more Where could I be working? You travel to customers' premises, for example farms, riding schools or stables. You would need a driving licence and a vehicle suitable for carrying around a mobile workshop, stock and tools. Farriery is very physical work. It involves a lot of bending and lifting, and sometimes working outdoors in all weather conditions. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

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Before Viewing: Questions and Activities - Eudora Welty's The Ponder Heart is the rambling, comic monologue of Edna Earle Ponder as she tells us about her Uncle Daniel and his exploits in a tiny Mississippi town in the late 1930s. What stories are told over and over in your family about people living now or characters from the past? (Topics might include the story of your birth, the origin of your name, stories about interesting relatives, hardships your family has endured, or memorable holidays or events.) Make a list of some of these stories. Then sit with a partner or in a small group and tell one of the stories in the same way it has been told to you. What do you think your stories say about your family and what is important to them? - The word "heart" is played upon continuously in this story. Before you watch the film, brainstorm all the ways this word can be used. (For instance, The American Heritage Dictionary lists eleven.) Write the results on a large piece of paper. As you watch the film, make a note of both how often "heart" is used, and which of your definitions each use fits. - The Ponder Heart explores both the advantages and the difficulties of being a member of a tight-knit family and the citizen of a very small community or town. What are the advantages of being part of a family, school, and/or small town in which everyone knows everything about you? What are the disadvantages? Would you prefer to live in such a small town or community or in a larger community, where you may be more anonymous? Explain your answer. - How do you think money affects relationships between people? In the book, Edna Earle reflects, "The worst thing you can give away is money -- I learned that, if Uncle Daniel didn't. You and them were both done for then, somehow; you can't go on after it, and still be you and them. Don't ever give me a million dollars! It'll come between us." Do you agree with this? Why or why not? - Imagine that you are a filmmaker who is interested in bringing The Ponder Heart to the screen. Read the first chapter. Then choose one or two scenes and describe how you might adapt them. Consider how the story is told and from whose perspective. What do you think you might lose by not using the monologue form? What might you gain? Plot Summary | Before Viewing | Viewing Strategies | After Viewing Novel into Film | Scene Study | Investigations and Extentions | Resources A Eudora Welty Timeline | One Writer's Place | Voices of Mississippi Martha Coolidge, Director | Novel to Film | Who's Who Story Synopsis | Teacher's Guide | The Forum | Links + Bibliography About The Series | The American Collection | Schedule & Season | Feature Library | Learning Resources |

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1 postsRe: Topic 4 DQ 1Independent variables are the ones that are manipulated by a researcher, whereas dependent variables are those that are impacted by the manipulation of the independent variables. Extraneous variables are those variables that have an undesirable impact in an experiment. Under ideal circumstances, manipulating the independent variable will cause a change in the dependent variable. All the other variables should not be effected. This, in turn, helps establish a causal relationship. However, sometimes other factors can have an impact on the dependent variables, in addition to the independent variable (Pourhoseingholi et al., 2016). Therefore, the extraneous variables lower the credibility of the experiment results by providing an alternative explanation, which in turn can make it difficult to establish a causal relationship which is often the goal of the researchers. It becomes even more problematic if the extraneous variables change along with the dependent variable, therefore becoming confounding variables. The major ways that researchers try to restrict the impact of extraneous variables are randomizing, restricting and matching. In randomizing, the subjects involved are all exposed to the extraneous variables, therefore creating consistent groups. In restricting, the variations in the extraneous variables are eliminated to prevent changes, and in matching, the subjects are selected in a way the extraneous factors are matched and they no longer remain extraneous factors (Kahlert et al., 2017)Using 200-300 APA format with at least two references to support the discussion What is Timelyhomework It is a custom writing service that is popular among students and has existed for over ten years. Thus, we have the right experience and skills to deliver ideal academic content for our clientele. +1 (916) 407-2506

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Crescent ♎ Libra Moon phase on 12 July 2005 Tuesday is Waxing Crescent, 5 days young Moon is in Virgo.Share this page: twitter facebook linkedin Previous main lunar phase is the New Moon before 5 days on 6 July 2005 at 12:03. Moon rises in the morning and sets in the evening. It is visible toward the southwest in early evening. Lunar disc appears visually 4.7% narrower than solar disc. Moon and Sun apparent angular diameters are ∠1800" and ∠1887". Next Full Moon is the Buck Moon of July 2005 after 8 days on 21 July 2005 at 11:00. There is low ocean tide on this date. Sun and Moon gravitational forces are not aligned, but meet at big angle, so their combined tidal force is weak. The Moon is 5 days young. Earth's natural satellite is moving from the beginning to the first part of current synodic month. This is lunation 68 of Meeus index or 1021 from Brown series. Length of current 68 lunation is 29 days, 15 hours and 2 minutes. It is 39 minutes shorter than next lunation 69 length. Length of current synodic month is 2 hours and 18 minutes longer than the mean length of synodic month, but it is still 4 hours and 45 minutes shorter, compared to 21st century longest. This lunation true anomaly is ∠158.8°. At the beginning of next synodic month true anomaly will be ∠181.9°. The length of upcoming synodic months will keep decreasing since the true anomaly gets closer to the value of New Moon at point of perigee (∠0° or ∠360°). 3 days after point of apogee on 8 July 2005 at 17:39 in ♌ Leo. The lunar orbit is getting closer, while the Moon is moving inward the Earth. It will keep this direction for the next 9 days, until it get to the point of next perigee on 21 July 2005 at 19:44 in ♑ Capricorn. Moon is 398 142 km (247 394 mi) away from Earth on this date. Moon moves closer next 9 days until perigee, when Earth-Moon distance will reach 357 160 km (221 929 mi). 12 days after its ascending node on 29 June 2005 at 16:29 in ♈ Aries, the Moon is following the northern part of its orbit for the next day, until it will cross the ecliptic from North to South in descending node on 14 July 2005 at 06:35 in ♎ Libra. 12 days after beginning of current draconic month in ♈ Aries, the Moon is moving from the beginning to the first part of it. 6 days after previous North standstill on 5 July 2005 at 13:08 in ♊ Gemini, when Moon has reached northern declination of ∠28.208°. Next 7 days the lunar orbit moves southward to face South declination of ∠-28.265° in the next southern standstill on 19 July 2005 at 17:52 in ♐ Sagittarius. After 8 days on 21 July 2005 at 11:00 in ♑ Capricorn, the Moon will be in Full Moon geocentric opposition with the Sun and this alignment forms next Sun-Earth-Moon syzygy.

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Hydroplaning occurs when a thin layer of water builds up between a car’s tires and the road. Since the tires lose contact with the road during a hydroplane, the car can skid, lose control, or crash. A car can become unpredictable when it begins to hydroplane, making it difficult for a driver to control the vehicle.Wet pavement contributes to almost 1.2 million crashes each year. Some drivers fail to adequately account for bad weather by failing to properly maintain lights, failing to drive at a safe speed, or failing to leave a safe distance between cars. Drivers can take precautions to prevent hydroplaning accidents by properly inflating their tires, replacing old tires, driving at a safe speed during bad weather, maintaining a safe distance, driving in a lower gear, and avoiding cruise control in bad weather. But even with all these precautions, the roads themselves can make conditions dangerous for drivers. Family Wins $9.7 Million After Crash Occurs on Georgia’s I-16 When Car Hydroplanes on Highway A jury in Twiggs County, Georgia awarded a family over $9.7 million after a man was killed on a Georgia highway. According to one news source, the man was a passenger in a car driven by his fiancée. According to the court’s opinion, they had been driving on I-16 on a rainy day in September 2007, when another driver came up from behind the couple’s car and hydroplaned. The man’s fiancée tried to move into the emergency lane, but before she could, the other car crashed into her vehicle, and both cars flew across the road. The man died soon after the accident from a brain hemorrhage. The man’s family sued the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) as well as the other driver. The family alleged that GDOT was negligent because it failed to properly maintain the highway. The family said that the stretch of highway where the crash occurred was not sloped sufficiently to keep water from pooling on the roadway. The case went to trial, and the jury found in favor of the man’s family. The jury found GDOT liable for $7.3 million and the other driver liable for $2.4 million. GDOT’s own documents showed that in that stretch of the highway and other stretches, the roadway did not meet the standard of a minimum slope of one-eighth inch per foot, which would have reduced the chance of vehicles hydroplaning. Have You Lost a Loved One in a Car Accident? If you have lost a loved one in a car accident, you should consult a car accident lawyer to determine what your rights may be. At the McAleer Law Firm, our attorneys diligently consider each matter and fight for what our clients are entitled to receive. We are willing to take our clients’ cases to trial, even the so-called low-speed or “low-impact” cases. This allows us to recover greater compensation for our clients because it is often only after a lawsuit is filed that accident victims get fair offers to settle their personal injury claims. Call the McAleer Law Firm at 404-622-5337 today for a free consultation. See More Posts: What You Need to Know About The Dangers of Running Off The Road, Georgia Injury Attorney Blog, August 8, 2016. Taser Death Case Lands at the Supreme Court Prematurely, Georgia Injury Attorney Blog, August 1, 2016.

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Semicentennial of LBJ’s War on Poverty by Phyllis Schlafly May 21, 2014 This year, the cheerleaders for big government are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the launching of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. This should be an occasion for mourning, not celebration, because that was the most expensive legislative failure in our history. Yes, failure. Today we have four million Americans who have been unemployed for more than six months, 49 million Americans living below the poverty line, and 100 million people receiving some form of food aid from the federal government. Johnson came into power in 1964 on the biggest landslide in U.S. history, and then he brought about the largest expansion of government in our history, surpassing even the expansion of government initiated by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s. Instead of lifting Americans out of poverty, LBJ’s 40 federal programs trapped millions of Americans in poverty and permanent dependency. Today’s legislative battles — raising the minimum wage, expanding and perpetuating government-financed health care for seniors and the poor, extending long-term unemployment benefits, and big appropriations to the education establishment are all about extending government spending for Johnson’s programs. LBJ announced his War on Poverty in his 1964 State of the Union address. He then expanded his goal to the Great Society, using the “great” concept 16 times in his commencement speech in May before a crowd of 70,000 at the University of Michigan. With his insufferable ego, LBJ declared that he planned “to move us not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.” Johnson summoned his young speechwriter, Richard N. Goodwin, and told him to use the unfinished John F. Kennedy program “as a springboard to take on Congress” and turn it into an “aggressive Johnson program.” With a super majority of Democrats in Congress and using his famous bullying tactics known as the “Johnson treatment,” LBJ pushed Congress to pass 200 expensive new laws. Key pieces of Great Society legislation were enacted by 1968 and Joseph A. Califano Jr. boasted that “This country is more the country of Lyndon Johnson than any other president.” These new spending bills included the start of Medicare, Medicaid, direct federal aid to public schools, bilingual education, Head Start, food stamps, vocational education through the Job Corps, urban renewal programs, new spending for the arts and humanities, a giant expansion of immigration, public housing, aid to college students, and handouts to non-commercial TV and radio including PBS and NPR. LBJ’s pie-in-the sky promises, followed by expansion of the taxpayer spending he rammed through Congress, gave us a dozen years of what we, with hindsight, can see was a massive change in the role of government. Charles Murray’s influential book “Losing Ground” showed that the Great Society’s changes actually made the problems of the poor and the disadvantaged worse, not better. The policy of channeling all welfare money to mothers made the father family-provider unnecessary, and thereby broke up millions of intact families. Unfortunately, most of LBJ’s spending programs survive to this day and continue to rise. The federal government is now five times as big in real dollars as it was in 1964. LBJ’s Great Society spending was not merely an Obama-style strategy to redistribute the wealth. Johnson’s purpose was to shift power from the states to the federal government, from Congress to executive-branch regulators, and from big-city political machines to Alinsky-style community groups so they could organize and make demands to increase federal control. For example, federal meddling in public school education, encrusted with lavish federal spending, started with LBJ’s Great Society. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act were both born in 1965. Prior to that, the federal powers-that-be never presumed to tell schools what to teach or to bribe them with federal money. The only pre-LBJ money that went to education was the GI bill to help World War II veterans attend college. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 scrapped our immigration system that had been in place since 1924 and replaced it with admitting large numbers of Latin Americans, Africans and Asians instead of Western Europeans. This greatly increased the number of immigrants with welfare and public education costs. When LBJ started to hand out the tax-paid goodies, polls reported that a big majority of Americans trusted the federal government to do what is right. But by 1966 the favorable view of Washington declined and kept going down. Reagan wrote in his diary: “I’m trying to undo the ‘Great Society.’ It was L.B.J.’s war on poverty that led to our present mess.”

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“Othering” is a term used to describe a process most people participate in. At the core of the practice of “othering” is a difficulty connecting to empathy. Empathy is the human quality which allows us to fully understand one another and share in the experience of another’s feelings. Though we cannot feel precisely what another person is feeling we can identify with the experience of that emotion to the best of our ability and recognize that all people experience things emotionally. Othering is the way we cut a tie in that precious human bond. Experiences happen to other people who have other problems. Addiction, for example, is something that most people assume happens in other households instead of their own. Coping with the shocking news of a loved one developing an addiction is hard for many family members because they cannot believe that thing of addiction which happens to other people is happening to them. Except, addiction isn’t happening to others it’s happening all over the place to people we all know and love. It is vital to understand that addiction doesn’t discriminate. Forty million Americans over the age of 12 years old can meet the clinical criteria for a substance use disorder. Millions of adolescents and teenagers in addition to adults are struggling with the symptoms of addiction. Their addictions vary from drugs to alcohol and nicotine. Death by drug overdose is now a leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50 and caused more deaths in 2015 than gun violence and car accidents combined. New data leaking in from 2016 suggest the number increased even higher. According to The New York Times, drug-related deaths increased 19 percent between 2015 and 2016. Though many statistics have indicated that the opioid “epidemic” is winding down, this jump is the largest increase the US has ever seen. Who are the people who are dying? One might never tell. Shame and stigma are pervasive when it comes to addiction. Shame, the painful feelings of humiliation about one’s behaviors, gets in the way of millions of people asking for the help they need. People are reluctant to talk about their substance abuse outside of the few people who know there is a problem. Despite family concerns, they won’t go to treatment or speak openly about their struggles. While some choose to be public and vocal, others continue to try recovering in the shadows. The ongoing shame gets in the way of understanding that addiction is happening to millions of people not just in America but all over the world. Men, women, teenagers, LGBTQ, all races, all cultures- addiction is happening to everyone. There is no shame in addiction because there is hope in recovery. If you are struggling with addiction, do not be ashamed. There is hope in recovery. Don’t give up. Call Cottonwood Tucson today for information on our residential treatment programs for addiction and co-occurring disorders. Our integrative approach to treatment will help you heal mind, body, and spirit. For information, call: (800) 877-4520

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We must first solve for the 1st lens. 1/p + 1/q = 1/f 1/15 + 1/q = 1/10 1/q = 1/10 - 1/15 = 5/150 q = 150/5 = 30 cm. The image formed by the 1st lens is 30 cm downstream (to right) from the Therefore it is 25 cm downstream from the 2nd lens. The image formed by the first lens becomes the object for the second lens. Is the object distance for the 2nd lens positive or negative?

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“Before, I couldn’t read the Bible. But now, my eyes have been opened, and I can read it!” A group of 34 women, most of whom had never attended school before, just finished the first Kamano-Kafe adult literacy class in the village of Kinkio. For six months, these mamas gathered together, hungry to learn how to read their language, so they in turn could read their recently translated New Testament. Several members of the Kamano-Kafe translation team were able to attend the graduation, as each of the participants received a copy of the Kamano-Kafe New Testament. The translators were able to share during the graduation about the process of translation, the vital role that the Kamano-Kafe churches had played in support, and about the ongoing work of Old Testament translation. Finally, Tuas stood in front of the crowd and held up one of the Kamano-Kafe New Testaments. He pointed to the cover, which looked like a banana leaf. “The banana leaf does lots of work in our villages. When it is raining, the banana leaf covers you and keeps you dry. It shelters over you when you sleep and can be your bed on the ground. It’s your plate for food and your pot for cooking. It can be bilas [decoration] for celebrations, and it’s your material for building houses. When it’s the hungry time and all the other food like kaukau [sweet potatoes] and kumu [greens] have dried up, the banana is still there and will give food to your family.” As he spoke, the crowd nodded and whispered in agreement. “The Bible is just like the banana,” Tuas continued, “God’s Word is everything to us—it covers us and shelters us and feeds us, even when everything else is gone. And so, that’s why there is a banana leaf on the cover of each New Testament that you are holding, to remind all of us of the important work the Word of God has in our daily lives.” The speakers of the Awa language in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea received a revision of the New Testament about 20 years ago. However, very few people could read it, and many unpurchased Bibles sat collecting dust and cobwebs. Many of the village women kept their NT in their bilum, carrying it with them to the garden, looking through it, desperately trying to read it. But no matter how much they tried, they couldn’t read. The Bibles eventually became a symbol of shame for them. They got together and put their books into a house, with plans to burn the house and Bibles, along with their shame, to the ground. But just as they struck the match to light the fire, it began to rain. It rained so hard that they began to think that this was a sign from God—God didn’t want them to burn the books! Later, they expressed their interest in learning to read. This woman came and taught literacy classes using the Awa New Testament, since that was the only literature in Awa. As they learned to read, the people got excited and began to buy the Bibles that had been sitting and collecting dust. When they opened the books, they expected them to be worn and frayed with age, but God had protected them, and the pages were as good as new. Eventually the Bibles sold out because everyone was so excited about getting their own. Now everyone in the village has a New Testament in their bilum and knows how to read it. “I have been a Sunday School teacher for 5 years and this training has given me many new thoughts and ideas for strengthening the Sunday School program at my church.” In Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, 76 men and women traveled to Arop village from the 10 language groups and 9 church denominations to participate in one of three Sunday School Teacher Training workshops. Participants worked hard, learning how to plan a lesson for children that not only would keep their attention with music, visual aids, games and more, but would communicate important truths from God’s Word. “This workshop was very important in that now I realize the most important thing is to find the truth to teach in the story and focus the lesson on this truth,” one teacher remarked. The lessons were taken from the recently translated Gospel of Luke, and so in addition to preparing lessons, the participants practiced reading the Bible in their own language—some for the very first time. “I was very happy to learn how to read my tok ples [own language] Bible!” one person rejoiced! Another said, “I heard many things in this course that spoke to my heart and this has changed my life”. Because many of the villages did not have Sunday School programs in their churches, participants left with excitement, resources, and training for how they could introduce Sunday school in their communities. One teacher commented, “This course was new for me, and I am very glad because now I have good ideas for starting Sunday School in my village.” For some, the vision grew beyond Sunday School. “I want to see change inside the church, the primary schools and the community,” a teacher said.” Pray for God’s help to strengthen the Sunday School [in our villages].” Author: from Arop report, as told to by Catherine Rivard It was an exciting day as the Kuni New Testaments arrived at the shipping dock. Roland and Irene Fumey have been working together with the Kuni people for 25 years to get this book into print. They included many colorful maps and pictures within the Bible that they hope will help with giving the Kuni people an idea of what it was like in Bible times. The Kuni language group is located in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, very close to the Indonesian border. The Bible Dedication is scheduled for January 2016 when the 2,500 speakers of the Kuni language will have the opportunity to buy the New Testament for the first time and read the Word of God in their very own language. Pray with the Fumeys and the Kuni people as they plan their dedication and work to get God’s Word into the hands of the people. The Anjam language group located close to Madang, Papua New Guinea had its revised Scripture and audio recording dedication on August 14, 2015. The first New Testament was dedicated in 2001 by Robert and Diane Rucker. The couple attended the second dedication with their two daughters, son-in-law and family friend Kris. The Anjam people were so excited to see them that they even built a brand new house painted bright yellow for them to stay in while they attended the dedication. As Robert and Diane’s family and Kris began to dress for the occasion, donning colorful leaves and red paint on their skin, laughter was heard in the air as the Ruckers remembered their work on the New Testament all those years ago. They first began the translation project in 1980 and began living in the village and learning the language. Then in 2001 they finished the New Testament and moved back to the U.S. with their family. Twelve years went by and they began to see that improvements could make the New Testament clearer and more precise, so they began to think about doing a revision. So in 2012 Robert came to the village with Kris for a couple of months and he worked with church leader Sobu Waga and others. At the dedication, Sobu urged his fellow Anjam speakers to step up and help him work on the Old Testament. He said, “This isn’t the end of the translation project! We still have to finish the Old Testament.” Many of the village men partnered with Sam Kenny of Faith Comes By Hearing to make an audio recording of the New Testament in the Anjam language. On dedication day Sam passed out “Proclaimers,” solar powered devices that contain the recorded New Testament, for free to many of the families with the promise that he would hear back about their use of these recorders. Sobu expressed his joy to have these audio recordings, “I was worried that many of the children who don’t yet know how to read won’t understand the full meaning of God’s Word. But now if their parents have these recorders they can hear the Word of God and know Him.” He said, “My stomach is happy that all of the Anjam people can now hear with their ears, look with their eyes and read the Word of God.”

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“If you’re feeling stressed out, lace up those running shoes and take them for a spin.” So goes the accumulated wisdom of studies on how running can reduce stress. But the other mental health benefits of this ancient sport may be less familiar—and potentially even stronger motivation to break in those running shoes. Mental wellbeing means feeling good, both about yourself and the world around you. Evidence shows that there is a link between being physically active and good mental wellbeing. Being active doesn’t necessarily mean you need to spend hours in the gym, you just need to find some physical activities that you enjoy and think about how you can fit them into your daily life. Scientists believe that physical activity helps maintain and improve our wellbeing in a variety of ways: 1) Reduced anxiety and happier moods – when you exercise, your brain chemistry changes through the release of endorphins (sometimes called ‘feel good’ hormones), which can calm anxiety and lift your mood. 2) Reduced feelings of stress – you may experience reductions in feelings of stress and tension as your body is better able to control cortisol levels. 3) Clearer thinking – some people find that exercise helps to break up racing thoughts. As your body tires so does your mind, leaving you calmer and better able to think clearly. 4) A greater sense of calm – simply taking time out to exercise can give you space to think things over and help your mind feel calmer. 5) Increased self-esteem – when you start to see your fitness levels increase and your body improve, it can give your self-esteem a big boost. The sense of achievement you get from learning new skills and achieving your goals can also help you feel better about yourself and lift your mood. Improved self-esteem also has a protective effect that increases life satisfaction and can make you more resilient to feeling stressed. The social and emotional benefits to participating in physical activity have equally important benefits on our mental wellbeing. Many studies site numerous benefits from being active, particularly in groups which is something we at West Kent Mind feel very passionate about. We like to think that… - Making friends and connecting with people is good for our mental health and social networks – plus you can maximize the benefits of exercising by doing it with other people. You may find that the social benefits are just as important as the physical ones. - Lots of us enjoy being active because it’s fun. Researchers have shown that there’s a link between the things we enjoy doing and improvements in our wellbeing overall. If you enjoy an activity you’re also more likely to keep doing it. - Challenging stigma and discrimination. Some people find that joining a sport programme helps reduce the stigma attached to their mental health problem. Getting involved in local projects with other people who share a common interest can be a great way to break down barriers and challenge discrimination. West Kent Mind Fun Run Passionate about sport and mental health, West Kent Mind is holding its very first fundraising Fun Run to mark World mental Health Day. Join us on Sunday 15th October in Knole Park for ‘The New Blue 5km Fun Run. Our fun day out for all the family aims to turn Knole Park a shade of blue for the day. It can be something old, something new, something borrowed but it absolutely must be something BLUE. The run is not timed but is open to all ages and all levels of fitness. You can walk and talk, mumble and stumble or sprint to the finish. Your support with our event will enable us to continue our work raising awareness around mental health and supporting people in our community who are experiencing mental health problems. We rely heavily on your support to continue with our work. To book your place visit: westkentmind.org.uk/new-blue-run Get Set To Go In conjunction with work on sport and mental health Mind launched ‘Get Set to Go’ in 2014. This programme is aimed at improving the lives of people with mental health problems through access to sport. The programme is supported by Sport England and the National Lottery. The course responded to demand from sport and physical activity sector to increase knowledge and understanding of mental health and how this might be applied in a sport or physical activity setting. The training is a 3 hour workshop aimed at coaches, sports administrators, front of house staff and volunteers. The feedback, support and response has been hugely positive and letting the local community be a part of this fantastic programme is just part of what we are offering in order to increase awareness and knowledge of sport and its positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing. Tamsyn Woodman, Football Development Officer at the Surrey Football Association said: “The training has been invaluable to both our staff members and other participants on the course, including club Welfare Officers, coaches and committee members. The delivery was excellent, and everyone left with a greater understanding of mental health and how to apply the knowledge and skills gained into a sporting environment. The first workshop was so popular we decided to run a second one, with more planned in the future!” For more information about the training course please contact lucy.adams@west kentmind.org.uk • For further information on our services please visit westkentmind.org.uk or call us on 01732 744950. • West Kent Mind is one of over 180 local Mind associations which are affiliated to the national charity Mind. It is an independent charitable organisation, which supports the overall values and vision of the national organisation and is subject to its quality standards.

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ADELAIDE, Australia, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A new study sheds more light on the evolutionary transition forged by theropods, the dinosaurs that eventually became birds. A paper published this week suggests these dinosaurs shrank for 50 million years as they assumed their new identities as feathered creatures of the sky. Researchers used a massive fossil database to plot and analyze over 1,500 anatomical traits and reconstruct a vast dino family tree. Their efforts showed theropods shrank in size 12 times over 50 million years leading up to the emergence of birds -- from giant meat-eater to smaller raptor and eventually to regal bird. Along the way, the dinosaurs not only became smaller but also got faster, and developed more pronounced feathers, as well as wishbones and wings. "Birds evolved through a unique phase of sustained miniaturization in dinosaurs," explained Professor Michael Lee, researcher at both the University of Adelaide's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the South Australian Museum. Lee is the lead author of the study, published in the journal Science. "Being smaller and lighter in the land of giants, with rapidly evolving anatomical adaptations, provided these bird ancestors with new ecological opportunities, such as the ability to climb trees, glide and fly," Lee added. "Ultimately, this evolutionary flexibility helped birds survive the deadly meteorite impact which killed off all their dinosaurian cousins." Ultimately, Lee says, theropods out-evolved other lineages of dinosaurs -- learning to climb, glide and forage trees for new food sources. "This evolutionary flexibility helped birds survive the deadly meteorite impact which killed off all their dinosaurian cousins."

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If you work with teenagers (or parent one) you’ve probably heard of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, a series based on Jay Asher’s book of the same title. It’s that show everyone seems to be talking about. The gist, if you haven’t seen the series or read the book, is this: A teenager, Hannah Baker, takes her own life. Before she dies, she records audio cassettes describing the 13 events that lead to her wanting to end her life. Each event is linked to a specific person, usually someone who mistreated Hannah. The series mainly follows Clay, a guy who had a complicated relationship with Hannah, listening to the tapes, unfolding the story of Hannah’s experience. The show is intense in a lot of ways. It depicts multiple incidents of rape. It demonstrates a harsh cruelty of school and teenage culture. And, the scene in which Hannah takes her own life is graphic. I recently set out to watch the series because (a.) I teach high schoolers (b.) I teach our peer-listener program, which trains teens to help peers who need help, and (c.) I have had countless incidents of having to identify and find support for students who are feeling suicidal. After just three days, I watched all thirteen episodes. But though I was engaged show, I was left unsettled, trying to pinpoint what bothered me most. Was it the graphic imagery? The portrayal of teachers as, at minimum oblivious, at worst incompetent contributors to the problem? Was it that I was conflicted: To what extent did the show urge viewers to be kinder versus portray suicide as an opportunity for revenge? I’m not alone in being unsettled. A number of articles have come out recently, expressing concerns, including mental health experts who see it as dangerous for teens to watch. I’ve also had many talks with colleagues and friends about whether teens should be watching it. But “Should’s” and “Are’s” are sometimes worlds apart. Like it or not, many of our high schoolers are watching the show and being influenced by it. I know even middle school students are watching it. I’ve had countless conversations with my students about the show in just the last week. These conversations led me to understand why I was so unsettled by the show: So many teens and adolescents are watching the show without opportunities to process, debrief, or better understand the complexity of mental illness. More importantly, the show ends with a “We need to do better” message without actions steps. What, exactly, should we do better? This is where educators have an opportunity. If you know your students (or children) are watching the show, find opportunities to engage dialogues. At minimum we can help students better understand the complexity of mental illness. Better yet, we can provide an outlet for students who really need help. Consider these questions as a starting point: 1. What was your takeaway from the series? Lead with this one. Most students mention that the show helped them understand how their actions affect others. Although this is a pretty “stock” response, I’ve been impressed with how clearly students are able to discuss their own examples on both the giving and receiving end of social adversity. Still, this question opens up deeper dialogue for the questions that follow. 2. How does the atmosphere and conduct of our school compare to the school depicted in the series? I was irritated by the depiction educators and adults as either aloof or antagonistic. I know adults and educators care. Nevertheless, students may still perceive adults as uncaring. That perception matters: If students don’t feel comfortable talking to adults about issues, then we will be oblivious to what is really happening in their world. This question creates a great space to talk about what is being done in our schools – and what could be done better to help kids in need. It also opens up conversation about how teens treat each other. 3. What about mental health do you think was accurate from the show? What do you think was missing? Although 13 Reasons Why expresses a multidimensional view of suicide – that it stems from more than just a single event – it also fails to address complexity of mental illness. Genetic history, self-concept, biochemistry, coping strategies, and access to support systems are just a few of the many other factors that play into mental illness. This is why there is critical need to help students understand mental health more completely. We, as teachers, can be the first line in that fight. 4. What about dating and relationships do you think was accurate from the show? What do you think was missing? The core of these questions is more than just “love gone wrong.” 13 Reasons Why is overt in its criticism of rape culture and sexual assault. While not every teacher will feel comfortable going into those topics with students, at bare minimum we can talk about how the culture of relationships affects well-being. 5. What do you think could have been done to get Hannah support or prevent her from taking her own life? Elicit more than just “people should be nicer to each other” as an answer. Segue into conversations about warning signs. For example, many adolescents (and adults) scoff at evidence of self-harm as “attention-seeking,” ironically failing to help these students get the healthy support and attention they need. For an overview of warning signs consult The Suicide Prevention Lifeline (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help-someone-else/) 6. What would you do if you knew one of your peers was struggling emotionally or psychologically? Beyond just knowing warning signs, teens need action steps. Again, The Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a great starting point. If your school has a peer counseling program, leverage it in this conversation. At bare minimum, students need to know the importance of reaching out to adults – parents, teachers, counselors, and even public safety in emergencies. We also have to help students rally beyond the “fear of snitching.” For example, many students don’t know that social media sites like Facebook have anonymous ways to report concerning posts. 7. What do you do when you are stressed or struggling? A major factor in maintaing mental health is having coping and stress management strategies. These include more than the pseudo-strategy of “think positive.” Learn what students are doing to manage stress. Then, if needed, help them identify other strategies. National Institute of Mental Health https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml National Alliance on Mental Health Critical to this conversation is iterating the importance of getting support externally if the stress is overwhelming, whether that is finding people in whom to confide or seeking professional help from a trained therapist. Some may mistakenly believe that talking about 13 Reasons Why with students is endorsing a controversial show. It’s not. Talking about the series is an opportunity to dispel the “controversy” around discussing mental illness. Absence of dialogue is dangerous – as this series and our history with mental health shows. Don’t ignore the fact that teenagers are drawn to this show. Be the safe, empathic outlet that students need for their voices to be heard. A version of this post originally appeared on www.WeAreTeachers.com

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Horta and potatoes are a Mediterranean diet recipe eaten every day in Crete. In the springtime, it’s a normal sight to see the older ladies of the village foraging on the side of the road for wild edible greens. All year long there are a wide variety of edible greens available at the farmer’s markets. Potatoes are a staple in the Cretan diet. The flavor of both Horta and potatoes are enhanced with fresh lemon juice. Citrus trees grow everywhere in Crete so it’s as simple as walking to the nearest lemon tree and picking them. Combine these greens, potatoes, and lemon with lots of fresh extra virgin olive oil and you have one of the healthiest, inexpensive, and fulfilling dishes from Crete. Horta and potatoes are a perfect example of why scientists believe the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle is so intertwined with longevity. Physical activity is a large part of this dish because whether you forage for the greens, grow and harvest the potatoes, or tend to the olive trees and pick the olives, there is some amount of physical activity needed to bring this dish from nature to your plate. Daily physical activity is definitely one of the reasons for the Cretan’s longevity. Another aspect is the daily intake of dark leafy greens. I see new scientific studies all the time finding health benefits from eating dark leafy greens. The most recent study shows the correlation between dementia and daily green intake. The most important part of this dish is the extra virgin olive oil. This dish shows how much extra virgin olive oil is used in Crete. Olive oil is at the heart of their diet and of the Mediterranean diet in general. Just like greens, new studies are coming out almost daily about all of the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil. Cretan people consume the most olive oil in the world and Horta and potatoes are always dripping in the liquid gold. Is it a coincidence that the place with the highest consumption of extra virgin olive oil in the world also has the lowest rates of heart disease in the world? This dish is much more than wild greens and potatoes. Thousands of years of tradition and knowledge have led the Cretan people to eat amazing foods like this. Koula Barydakis was born into a long tradition of eating and living Mediterranean on the Greek island of Crete. She is a chef who has worked in many of the top restaurants in Crete and in Greek Town in Toronto, Canada. Koula is the co-author of “Foods of Crete, Traditional Recipes of the Healthiest People in the World” and is currently completing her second cookbook. Koula teaches cooking classes to tourists in Crete and has been hired to teach classes in other countries as well.

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(Don't think the taste is super? Then it's on us! Pinky promise.) Pronounced “keen-whaa,” this ancient grain hails from Bolivia and Peru, where it was a major staple of the Incas (Incas actually considered it a sacred crop), and has been cultivated for over 5,000 years. While many people thing Quinoa is a grain, it’s really a seed, and is more closely related to beets, spinach, and chard! Even the greens can be eaten. Quinoa is incredibly nutrient-rich and a complete protein containing all 20 amino acids. Chia seeds are also not a true grain. Chia seeds are native to Mexico and Central America and were staple food for the ancient Aztec warriors. The chia seed is nutrient-dense and packs a punch of energy-boosting power. Aztec warriors said just one spoonful of chia could sustain them for 24 hours. Chia means “strength” in the Mayan language, and chia seeds were known as “runners’ food” because runners and warriors would use them as fuel while running long distances or during battle. Chia contains many natural antioxidants and is rich in minerals, fiber and the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Chia seeds are also high in protein.

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Bay leaves have a rich history entrenched in ancient Greece and Rome. The noble men of the time made their crowns out of the herbs. This meant that the person was either accomplished, a war hero, a king or sports star. A native of Asia Minor this strong musky herb was used during ancient times for health issues. Usage ranged from treating stomach probllems, liver problems, joint pain and kidney problems. It was steeped in hot water to make teas to also alleviate fevers. They were also crushed and added to soups and stews for flavor. Today bay leaves are just as beneficial as they can help fight colds, diabetes, digestion, boost the immune system and can improve the condition of the scalp. There are 5 different bay leaves: Mediterranean bay leaves, West Indian bay leaves, Indian bay leaves, California bay leaves and Indonesian bay leaves. People mostly stick to the Mediterranean for non-vegetarian meals and vegetarian meals. Here is how bay leaves may help what ails you.

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The First Information Report is in fact the information that is received first in point of time, which is either given in writing or is reduced to writing. It is not the substance of it, which is to be entered in the diary prescribed by the State Government. The term General Diary (also called as Station Diary or Daily Diary in some States) is maintained under the provisions of Section 44 of the Police Act, 1861 in the States to which it applies, or under the respective provisions of the Police Act(s) applicable to a State or under the Police Manual of a State, as the case may be. Section 44 of the Police Act, 1861 is reproduced below: – 44. Police-officers to keep diary It shall be the duty of every officer in charge of a police-station to keep a general diary in such form as shall, from time to time, be prescribed by the State Government and to record therein all complaints and charged preferred, the names of all persons arrested, the names of the complainants, the offences charged against them, the weapons or property that shall have been taken from their possession or otherwise, and the names of the witnesses who shall have been examined. The Magistrate of the district shall be at liberty to call for any inspect such diary. It is pertinent to note that during the year 1861, when the aforesaid Police Act, 1861 was passed, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1861 was also passed. Section 139 of that Code dealt with registration of FIR and this Section is also referred to the word diary, as can be seen from the language of this Section, as reproduced below: – 139. Every complaint or information preferred to an officer in charge of a Police Station, shall be reduced into writing, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a diary to be kept by such officer, in such form as shall be prescribed by the local government. Thus, Police Act, 1861 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1861, both of which were passed in the same year, used the same word diary. However, in the year 1872, a new Code came to be passed which was called the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1872. Section 112 of the Code dealt with the issue of registration of FIR and is reproduced below: – 112. Every complaint preferred to an officer in charge of a Police station shall be reduced into writing, and shall be signed, sealed, or marked by the person making it; and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in the form prescribed by the Local Government. It is, thus, clear that in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1872, a departure was made and the word book was used in place of diary. The word book clearly referred to FIR book to be maintained under the Code for registration of FIRs. The question that whether the FIR is to be recorded in the FIR Book or in General Diary, is no more res integra. This issue has already been decided authoritatively by the Court. In Madhu Bala vs. Suresh Kumar (1997) 8 SCC 476, the Court held that FIR must be registered in the FIR Register which shall be a book consisting of 200 pages. It is true that the substance of the information is also to be mentioned in the Daily diary (or the general diary). But, the basic requirement is to register the FIR in the FIR Book or Register. It is thus clear that registration of FIR is to be done in a book called FIR book or FIR Register. Of course, in addition, the gist of the FIR or the substance of the FIR may also be mentioned simultaneously in the General Diary as mandated in the respective Police Act or Rules, as the case may be, under the relevant State provisions. The General Diary is a record of all important transactions/events taking place in a police station, including departure and arrival of police staff, handing over or taking over of charge, arrest of a person, details of law and order duties, visit of senior officers etc. It is in this context that gist or substance of each FIR being registered in the police station is also mentioned in the General Diary since registration of FIR also happens to be a very important event in the police station. Since General Diary is a record that is maintained chronologically on day-to-day basis (on each day, starting with new number 1), the General Diary entry reference is also mentioned simultaneously in the FIR Book, while FIR number is mentioned in the General Diary entry since both of these are prepared simultaneously It is relevant to point out that FIR Book is maintained with its number given on an annual basis. This means that each FIR has a unique annual number given to it. This is on similar lines as the Case Numbers given in courts. Due to this reason, it is possible to keep a strict control and track over the registration of FIRs by the supervisory police officers and by the courts, wherever necessary. Copy of each FIR is sent to the superior officers and to the concerned Judicial Magistrate. On the other hand, General Diary contains a huge number of other details of the proceedings of each day. Copy of General Diary is not sent to the Judicial Magistrate having jurisdiction over the police station, though its copy is sent to a superior police officer. Thus, it is not possible to keep strict control of each and every FIR recorded in the General Diary by superior police officers and/or the court in view of enormous amount of other details mentioned therein and the numbers changing every day. The signature of the complainant is obtained in the FIR Book as and when the complaint is given to the police station. On the other hand, there is no such requirement of obtaining signature of the complainant in the general diary. Moreover, at times, the complaint given may consist of large number of pages, in which case it is only the gist of the complaint which is to be recorded in the General Diary and not the full complaint. This does not fit in with the suggestion that what is recorded in General Diary should be considered to be the fulfillment/compliance of the requirement of Section 154 of registration of FIR. In fact, the usual practice is to record the complete complaint in the FIR book (or annex it with the FIR form) but record only about one or two paragraphs (gist of the information) in the General Diary. FIR is to be recorded in the FIR Book, as mandated under Section 154 of the Code, and it is not correct to state that information will be first recorded in the General Diary and only after preliminary inquiry, if required, the information will be registered as FIR. However, this Court in CBI vs. Tapan Kumar Singh (2003) 6 SCC 175, held that a GD entry may be treated as First information in an appropriate case, where it discloses the commission of a cognizable offence. It was held as under: It is the correctness of this finding which is assailed before us by the appellants. They contend that the information recorded in the GD entry does disclose the commission of a cognizable offence. They submitted that even if their contention, that after recording the GD entry only a preliminary inquiry was made, is not accepted, they are still entitled to sustain the legality of the investigation on the basis that the GD entry may be treated as a first information report, since it disclosed the commission of a cognizable offence. It is thus unequivocally clear that registration of FIR is mandatory and also that it is to be recorded in the FIR Book by giving a unique annual number to each FIR to enable strict tracking of each and every registered FIR by the superior police officers as well as by the competent court to which copies of each FIR are required to be sent. Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of UP. (2013)

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3D and 4D printers A solution for the greenhouse effect ThereÕs no doubt that in the last few years technology has revolutionised the world in all terms. Fifty years ago we didnÕt expect that we could be able to transplant a heart for instance, or even reach the space and try to colonise Mars with our space robots, and so we have come up with the conclusion that we can solve any problem, independently how big it is, with technology. However, all these advances have brought many problems, especially one, which nowadays is preoccupying most MEDCÕs governments, the climate change. This climate change has been created over the years with our selfishness, as we have over used fossil fuels and other kind of resources that once were good for us, but now they are damaging our planet because the gases they produce when combusting, destroy our atmosphere by creating a layer that keeps the sun-rays and so increases the average EarthÕs temperature. Most of these emissions come out from big industries that produce many things that we use in our daily life, from a car to a simple toothbrush. Because of this, governments are trying to enforce new laws and policies that regulate these emissions. Nevertheless, the effects are too slow and so the scientific community is looking forward to find new possible solutions and they might have found a very viable one, 3D and 4D printers. Most of you would be asking yourself just right now how a printer can solve whatÕs known as the most difficult and serious problem human beings have come across. Well we find the answer to this question when looking on how this innovative device works. This kind of printers turns powder into any object you want. The process is a bit complex, but the final product is worth of it, as it is very accurate. First of all, you use a designing program to create the object you want to print. In addition to this, you can also choose from a large variety of items from the internet as we can find them already designed. After this, you just send the file to the printer and the device does all the work for you. The reason why what looks like a household item could be a solution for the green-house effect is that you can design whatever you want and print it, and the only needed source of energy is electricity, which can be produced in many renewable ways. With this, we could be able to reduce the amount of industries´ emissions to zero. It wouldnÕt be necessary to burn fossil fuels to create simple things such as plastic bottles or whatsoever. Although it seems to be a very good solution, the machine is causing controversy recently as you can design any type of weapon and print it whenever you want; something that disgusts many people because it can be dangerous if the machine ends up in the wrong hands. But fortunately, the machine is under development as there are many characteristics that need to be improved and so we don´t know if this machine turns to be the final solution for the climate change that is occurring in these days and eventually change the world as we know it. We would have to wait and see. By Vikesh Mahboobani Martínez (16) Student at CET Services Most adults nowadays believe that our youngsters are only interested in Social Networking and Playing computer games. Vikesh has shown us in this article that this is far from reality, his article shows us that our younger generation is worried and involved in the preservation of our resources as well as being conscious of the need to preserve our precious natural resources to allow our planet to recover and try and sort out the damage caused by previous generations. ItÕs good to see our youngsters so involved in these causes. Keith Appleby (Chief Editor) The Canary Express

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Pharmacovigilance: what does it mean to monitor drugs? THE SAFETY OF DRUGS FOR MENARINI Menarini monitors the safety of a drug even after it’s marketed, from the time a drug is prescribed by the physicians up to the time it’s used by the patient (and even later). This monitoring is done through an essential instrument, Pharmacovigilance, which takes care of identifying, evaluating, understanding and preventing any type of any safety problem that may occur following the use of a drug. In the Menarini Group, the Pharmacovigilance Department consists of more than 200 people, graduated in scientific matters in the majority of cases, often physicians. For all the drugs marketed by Menarini in the world, all possible information about any problem resulting from the use of a drug, identified as a possible adverse event, is collected through safety reports. These reports can be made by healthcare operators (physicians, nurses, pharmacists) or by the patients themselves. To give an example The patient takes a drug and has a problem. He/she can easily refer this to his/her doctor who in turn reports this to the Health Authorities or directly to us in the Company. The reports received by the Company are handled by the Pharmacovigilance Department and managed entering the information included in the report in a safety database in close correlation with the database of the European Medicines Agency. All the information contained in this database is constantly analysed in order to identify and prevent any problems regarding the that may occur following the use of a drug. We do all this to safeguard the patient’s health and safety.

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Burning trash-A A +A By Rox Peña Thursday, August 28, 2014 IN THE light of the current congestion at the Port of Manila, the environmental group Eco-waste coalition is calling on the government to send back to Canada the 50 containers loaded with garbage that were brought to the country last year. So andun pa pala sa pier ang basura? The unwanted cargo is eating up precious space at our heavily congested port. What seems to be the problem? According to a news report, the Bureau of Customs had already done their part in intercepting the shipment. The disposal of the containers, or their content, is the responsibility of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and probably the Department of Foreign Affairs since it involves another country. I wonder what’s keeping the concerned government agencies from disposing the waste. It cost a lot of money to keep the containers in the port. They are health hazards too. Republic Act 9003, or the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, prohibits the burning of waste. This practice however continues to the present. This is due to the lack of knowledge on the law and the lack of enforcement from the regulators. This problem however is not unique to the Philippines. It is also a problem in other countries. It is a global environmental concern. According to the news release of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), unregulated trash burning around the globe is pumping far more pollution into the atmosphere than shown by official records. UCAR is a consortium of more than 100 member colleges and universities focused on research and training in the atmospheric and related Earth system sciences The new study estimates that more than 40 percent of the world's garbage is burned in such fires, emitting gases and particles that can substantially affect human health and climate change. Pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide, and mercury that are emitted by the fires have been linked to serious medical issues. The countries that produce the most total waste, according to the study’s methods, are heavily populated countries with various levels of industrial development: China, the United States, India, Japan, Brazil, and Germany. But the study concluded that the nations with the greatest emissions from trash burning are populous developing countries: China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, and Turkey. The study concluded that as much as 29 percent of human-related global emissions of small particulates (less than 2.5 microns in diameter) come from the fires, as well as 10 percent of mercury and 40 percent of a group of gases known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These pollutants have been linked to such significant health impacts as decreased lung function, neurological disorders, cancer, and heart attacks. Trash burning in some countries accounts for particularly high quantities of certain types of pollutants. In China, for example, 22 percent of larger particles (those up to 10 microns in diameter) come from burning garbage. Published in the Sun.Star Pampanga newspaper on August 29, 2014.

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5. Perceiving Others - Describe how people use behaviors and traits to form initial perceptions of others. - Explore research about forming impressions from thin slices of information. - Summarize the role of nonverbal behaviors in person perception. - Review research about detecting deception. People are often very skilled at person perception—the process of learning about other people—and our brains are designed to help us judge others efficiently (Haselton & Funder, 2006; Macrae & Quadflieg, 2010). Infants prefer to look at faces of people more than they do other visual patterns, and children quickly learn to identify people and their emotional expressions (Turati, Cassia, Simion, & Leo, 2006). As adults, we are able to identify and remember a potentially unlimited number of people as we navigate our social environments (Haxby, Hoffman, & Gobbini, 2000), and we form impressions of those others quickly and without much effort (Carlston & Skowronski, 2005; Fletcher-Watson, Findlay, Leekam, & Benson, 2008). Furthermore, our first impressions are, at least in some cases, remarkably accurate (Ambady, Bernieri, & Richeson, 2000). Recent research is beginning to uncover the areas in our brain where person perception occurs. In one relevant study, Mason and Macrae (2004) used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to test whether people stored information about other people in a different location in the brain than where they stored information about animals, and they found that this was the case. Specific areas of the prefrontal cortex were found to be more active when people made judgments about people rather than dogs (Figure 5.2). Learning about people is a lot like learning about any other object in our environment, with one major exception. With an object, there is no interaction: we learn about the characteristics of a car or a cell phone, for example, without any concern that the car or the phone is learning about us. It is a one-way process. With people, in contrast, there is a two-way social process: just as we are learning about another person, that person is learning about us, or potentially attempting to keep us from accurately perceiving him or her. For instance, research has found that when other people are looking directly at us, we process their features more fully and faster, and we remember them better than when the same people are not looking at us (Hood & Macrae, 2007). In the social dynamic with others, then, we have two goals: first, we need to learn about them, and second, we want them to learn about us (and, we hope, like and respect us). Our focus here is on the former process—how we make sense of other people. But remember that just as you are judging them, they are judging you. We have seen in the chapter, “The Self”, that when people are asked to describe themselves, they generally do so in terms of their physical features (“I am really tall”), social category memberships (“I am a woman”), and traits (“I am friendly”). These characteristics well reflect the dimensions we use when we try to form impressions of others. In this section, we will review how we initially use the physical features and social category memberships of others (e.g., male or female, race, and ethnicity) to form judgments and then will focus on the role of personality traits in person perception. Forming Impressions from Thin Slices Although it might seem surprising, social psychological research has demonstrated that at least in some limited situations, people can draw remarkably accurate conclusions about others on the basis of very little data, and that they can do this very quickly (Rule & Ambady, 2010; Rule, Ambady, Adams, & Macrae, 2008; Rule, Ambady, & Hallett, 2009). Ambady and Rosenthal (1993) made videotapes of six female and seven male graduate students while they were teaching an undergraduate course. The courses covered diverse areas of the college curriculum, including humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. For each instructor, three 10-second video clips were taken—10 seconds from the first 10 minutes of the class, 10 seconds from the middle of the class, and 10 seconds from the last 10 minutes of the class. Nine female undergraduates were asked to rate the 39 clips of the instructors individually on 15 dimensions, such as “optimistic,” “confident,” “active,” and so on, as well as give an overall, global rating. Ambady and her colleagues then compared the ratings of the instructors made by the participants who had seen the instructors for only 30 seconds with the ratings of the same instructors that had been made by actual students who had spent a whole semester with the instructors and who had rated them at the end of the semester on dimensions such as “the quality of the course section” and “the section leader’s performance.” The researchers used the Pearson correlation coefficient to make the comparison (remember that correlations nearer +1.0 or –1.0 are stronger). As you can see in the following table, the ratings of the participants and the ratings of the students were highly positively correlated. Table 5.1 Forming Accurate Impressions in Only 30 Seconds |Correlations of Molar Nonverbal Behaviors with College Teacher Effectiveness Ratings (Student Ratings)| |*p<.05. **p<.01. ***p<.001. Data are from Ambady and Rosenthal (1993). Ambady, N., & Rosenthal, R. (1993). Half a minute: Predicting teacher evaluations from thin slices of nonverbal behavior and physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(3), 431–441.| If the finding that we can make accurate judgments about other people in only 30 seconds surprises you, then perhaps you will be even more surprised to learn that we do not even need that much time. Willis and Todorov (2006) found that even a tenth of a second was enough to make judgments that correlated highly with the same judgments made by other people who were given several minutes to make the judgments. Other research has found that we can make accurate judgments in seconds or even milliseconds about, for instance, the personalities of salespersons (Ambady, Krabbenhoft, & Hogan, 2006) and even whether or not a person is prejudiced (Richeson & Shelton, 2005). Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren, and Hall (2005) reported a demonstration of just how important such initial impressions can be. These researchers showed to participants pairs of political candidates who had run against each other in previous elections for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Participants saw only the faces of the candidates, and they saw them in some cases for only one second. Their task was to judge which person in of each pair was the most competent. Todorov and colleagues (2005) found that these judgments predicted the actual result of the election; in fact, 68% of the time the person judged to have the most competent face won. Rule and Ambady (2010) showed that perceivers were also able to accurately distinguish whether people were Democrats or Republicans based only on photos of their faces. Republicans were perceived as more powerful than Democrats, and Democrats were perceived as warmer than Republicans. Further, Rule, Ambady, Adams, and Macrae (2008) found that people could accurately determine the sexual orientation of faces presented in photos (gay or straight) based on their judgments of what they thought “most people” would say. These findings have since been replicated across different cultures varying in their average acceptance of homosexuality (Rule, Ishii, Ambady, Rosen, & Hallett, 2011). Taken together, these data confirm that we can form a wide variety of initial impressions of others quickly and, at least in some cases, quite accurately. Of course, in these situations, the people who were being observed were not trying to hide their personalities from the observers. As we saw in Chapter 3, people often use strategic self-presentation quite skillfully, which further complicates the person perception process. One way that the participants in the studies described above may have been able to form such accurate impressions of instructors on the basis of such little information was by viewing their nonverbal behavior. Nonverbal behavior is any type of communication that does not involve speaking, including facial expressions, body language, touching, voice patterns, and interpersonal distance. Nonverbal behaviors are used to reinforce spoken words (Hostetter, 2011) but also include such things as interpersonal distance (how far away from you the other person stands), tone of voice, eye gaze, and hand gestures and body positions (DePaulo et al., 2003). The ability to decode nonverbal behavior is learned early, even before the development of language (Walker-Andrews, 2008). We tend to like people who have a pleasant tone of voice and open posture, who stand an appropriate distance away from us, and who look at and touch us for the “right” amount of time—not too much or too little. And, of course, behavior matters; people who walk faster are perceived as happier and more powerful than those who walk more slowly (Montepare & Zebrowitz-McArthur, 1988). (For more insight into the relationship between nonverbal communication and success, see social psychologist Amy Cuddy’s fascinating TED Talk here: http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are). The importance of body movement has been demonstrated in studies in which people are viewed in point-light displays in dark rooms with only small lights at their joints. Research has found that observers are able to accurately recognize the behavior of others from these minimal displays (Clarke, Bradshaw, Field, Hampson, & Rose, 2005; Johnson, Gill, Reichman, & Tassinary, 2007; Heberlein, Adolphs, Tranel, & Damasio, 2004; Figure 5.4 “Point-Light Displays”). People can also determine personality by tone of voice provided by degraded and incomprehensible speech (Ambady, Krabbenhoft, & Hogan, 2006). People can accurately detect behaviors, emotions, and traits from point-light displays. You might want to try your skills here: http://astro.temple.edu/~tshipley/mocap/dotMovie.html. Although they may be pretty good at it in some cases, people are often not aware of their ability to make accurate judgments. Rule, Ambady, Adams, and Macrae (2008) found that even though the participants in their research were quite accurate in their perceptions, they could not articulate how they made their judgments. They claimed that they were “just guessing” and could hardly believe that they were getting the judgments right. These results suggest that they were made without any conscious awareness on the part of the judgers. Furthermore, the participants’ judgments of their own accuracy were not generally correlated with their actual accurate judgments. The particular nonverbal behaviors that we use, as well as their meanings, are determined by social norms, and these norms may vary across cultures. For example, people who live in warm climates nearer the equator use more nonverbal communication (e.g., talking with their hands or showing strong facial expressions) and are more likely to touch each other during conversations than people who live in colder climates nearer Earth’s poles (Manstead, 1991; Pennebaker, Rime, & Blankenship, 1996). And the appropriate amount of personal space to keep between ourselves and others also varies across cultures. In some cultures—for instance, those of South American countries—it is appropriate to stand very close to another person while talking to him or her; in other cultures—for example, in the United States and Western Europe—more interpersonal space is the norm (Knapp & Hall, 2006). The appropriate amount of eye contact with others is also determined by culture. In Latin America, it is appropriate to lock eyes with another person, whereas in Japan, people more often try to avoid eye contact. Although nonverbal behaviors can be informative during the initial stages of person perception, they are limited in what they can convey. In general, they communicate our own status or dominance (self-concern) as well as our interest in or liking of another (other-concern). If we notice that someone is smiling and making eye contact with us while leaning toward us in conversation, we can be pretty sure that he or she likes us. On the other hand, if someone frowns at us, touches us inappropriately, or moves away when we get close, we may naturally conclude that he or she does not like us. We may also use nonverbal behaviors to try out new situations: If we move a little closer and look at someone a bit longer, we communicate our interest. If these responses are reciprocated by the other person, that can indicate that he or she likes us, and we can move on to share other types of information. If the initial nonverbal behaviors are not reciprocated, then we may conclude that the relationship may not work out and we can withdraw before we go “too far.” Nonverbal behavior provides different information than verbal behavior because people frequently say one thing and do another. Perhaps you remember being really angry at someone but not wanting to let on that you were mad, so you tried to hide your emotions by not saying anything. But perhaps your nonverbal behavior eventually gave you away to the other person: although you were trying as hard as you could not to, you just looked angry. We frequently rely more on nonverbal than on verbal behavior when messages are contradictory. One reason for this is that we know that it is relatively easy to monitor our verbal behavior but harder to control the nonverbal. However, we expect that people who need to deceive others—for instance, good poker players—are able to monitor their nonverbal behavior better than most people, making it difficult to get a good read on them. Because we use nonverbal behaviors so frequently in our social interactions, we are fluent readers of them. We also realize that we can better communicate with others when we use them. Indeed, it is difficult to communicate accurately when we cannot express ourselves nonverbally (Krauss, Chen, & Chawla, 1996). You probably have noticed this yourself. If you e-mail or text a message to your friend, for instance, you need to be careful about using sarcasm because he or she might misinterpret your meaning. Because nonverbal information is so important, we quickly learned to incorporate it, in the form of emoticons, in our text messages (Figure 5.6 ). Detecting Danger by Focusing on Negative Information You may have noticed when you first looked at the images presented earlier in this chapter that you tended to like some of the people and to dislike others. It is not surprising that you had these emotions—these initial affective reactions are an essential and highly adaptive part of person perception. One of the things that we need to determine when we first perceive someone is whether that person poses any threat to our well-being. We may dislike or experience negative emotions about people because we feel that they are likely to harm us, just as we may like and feel positively about them if we feel that they can help us (Rozin & Royzman, 2001). Research has found that the threat and the trustworthiness of others are particularly quickly perceived, at least by people who are not trying to hide their intentions (Bar, Neta, & Linz, 2006; Todorov, Said, Engel, & Oosterhof, 2008). Most people with whom we interact are not dangerous, nor do they create problems for us. In fact, when we are asked to rate how much we like complete strangers, we generally rate them positively (Sears, 1986). Because we generally expect people to be positive, people who are negative or threatening are salient, likely to create strong emotional responses, and relatively easy to spot. Compared with positive information, negative information about a person tends to elicit more physiological arousal, draw greater attention, and exert greater impact on our judgments and impressions of the person. Hansen and Hansen (1988) had undergraduate students complete a series of trials in which they were shown, for very brief time periods, “crowds” of nine faces (Figure 5.7, “Faces”). On some of the trials, all the faces were happy or all the faces were angry. On other trials, the “crowd” was made up of eight happy faces and one angry face, or eight angry faces and one happy face. For each trial, the participants were instructed to say, as quickly as possible, whether the crowd contained a discrepant face or not. Hansen and Hansen found that the students were significantly faster at identifying the single angry face among the eight happy ones than they were at identifying the single happy face among the eight angry ones. They also made significantly fewer errors doing so. The researchers’ conclusion was that angry, and thus threatening, faces quickly popped out from the crowd. Similarly, Ackerman and colleagues (2006) found that people were better at recognizing the faces of other people when those faces had angry, rather than neutral, expressions, and Dijksterhuis and Aarts (2003) found that people could more quickly and more accurately recognize negative, rather than positive, words. Because negative faces are more salient and therefore more likely to grab our attention than are positive faces, people are faster at locating a single negative face in a display of positive faces than they are to locate a single positive face in a display of negative faces. Our brains seem to be hardwired to detect negative behaviors (Adams, Gordon, Baird, Ambady, & Kleck, 2003), and at an evolutionary level this makes sense. It is important to tell the “good guys” from the “bad guys” and to try to avoid interacting with the latter. In one study, Tiffany Ito and her colleagues (Ito, Larsen, Smith, & Cacioppo, 1998) showed college students a series of positive, negative, and neutral images while their event-related brain potentials were collected. The researchers found that different parts of the brain reacted to positive and negative images and that the response to negative images was greater overall. They concluded that “negative information weighs more heavily on the brain” (p. 887). In sum, the results of research in person perception are clear: when we are perceiving people, negative information is simply more influential than positive information (Pratto & John, 1991). Social Psychology in the Public Interest One important person perception task that we must all engage in sometimes is to try to determine whether other people are lying to us. We might wonder whether our poker opponent is bluffing, whether our partner is being honest when she tells us she loves us, or whether our boss is really planning to give us the promotion he has promised. This task is particularly important for members of courtroom juries, who are asked determine the truth or falsehood of the testimony given by witnesses. And detecting deception is perhaps even more important for those whose job is to provide public security. How good are professionals, such as airport security officers and police detectives at determining whether or not someone is telling the truth? It turns out that the average person is only moderately good at detecting deception and that experts do not seem to be much better. In a recent meta-analysis, researchers looked at over 200 studies that had tested the ability of almost 25,000 people to detect deception (Bond & DePaulo, 2006). The researchers found that people were better than chance at doing so but were not really that great. The participants in the studies were able to correctly identify lies and truths about 54% of the time (chance performance is 50%). This is not a big advantage, but it is one that could have at least some practical consequences and that suggests that we can at least detect some deception. However, the meta-analysis also found that experts—including police officers, detectives, judges, interrogators, criminals, customs officials, mental health professionals, polygraph examiners, job interviewers, federal agents, and auditors—were not significantly better at detecting deception than were nonexperts. Why is it so difficult for us to detect liars? One reason is that people do not expect to be lied to. Most people are good and honest folk, and we expect them to tell the truth, and we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt (Buller, Stiff, & Burgoon, 1996; Gilbert, Krull, & Malone, 1990). In fact, people are more likely to expect deception when they view someone on a videotape than when they are having an interpersonal interaction with the person. It’s as if we expect the people who are right around us to be truthful (Bond & DePaulo, 2006). A second reason is that most people are pretty good liars. The cues that liars give off are quite faint, particularly when the lies that they are telling are not all that important. Bella DePaulo and her colleagues (DePaulo et al., 2003) found that in most cases it was very difficult to tell if someone was lying, although it was easier when the liar was trying to cover up something important (e.g., a sexual transgression) than when he or she was lying about something less important. De Paulo and colleagues did find, however, that there were some reliable cues to deception. Compared with truth tellers, liars: - Made more negative statements overall - Appeared more tense - Provided fewer details in their stories - Gave accounts that were more indirect and less personal - Took longer to respond to questions and exhibited more silent pauses when they were not able to prepare their responses - Gave responses that were briefer and spoken in a higher pitch A third reason it is difficult for us to detect liars is that we tend to think we are better at catching lies than we actually are. This overconfidence may prevent us from working as hard as we should to try to uncover the truth. Finally, most of us do not really have a very good idea of how to detect deception; we tend to pay attention to the wrong things. Many people think that a person who is lying will avert his or her gaze or will not smile or that perhaps he or she will smile too much. But it turns out that faces are not that revealing. The problem is that liars can more easily control their facial expressions than they can control other parts of their bodies. In fact, Ekman and Friesen (1974) found that people were better able to detect other people’s true emotions when they could see their bodies but not their faces than when they could see their faces but not their bodies. Although we may think that deceivers do not smile when they are lying, it is actually common for them to mask their statements with false smiles—smiles that look very similar to the more natural smile that we make when we are really happy (Ekman & Davidson, 1993; Frank & Ekman, 1993). Recently, advances in technology have begun to provide new ways to assess deception. Some software analyzes the language of truth tellers, other software analyzes facial microexpressions that are linked with lying (Newman, Pennebaker, Berry, & Richards, 2003), and still other software uses neuroimaging techniques to try to catch liars (Langleben et al., 2005). Whether these techniques will be successful, however, remains to be seen. Judging People by Their Traits Although we can learn some things about others by observing their physical characteristics and their nonverbal behaviors, to really understand them we will eventually need to know their personality traits. Traits are important because they are the basic language by which we understand and communicate about people. When we talk about other people, we describe their traits. Our friends are “fun,” “creative,” and “crazy in a good way,” or “quiet,” “serious,” and “controlling.” The language of traits is a powerful one—indeed, there are over 18,000 trait terms in the English language. Combining Traits: Information Integration Let’s consider for a moment how people might use trait terms to form an overall evaluation of another person. Imagine that you have to describe two friends of yours, Amir and Connor, to another person, Rianna, who might be interested in dating one of them. You’ll probably describe the two men in terms of their physical features first, but then you’ll want to say something about their personalities. Let’s say that you want to make both Amir and Connor sound as good as possible to Rianna, but you also want to be honest and not influence her one way or the other. How would you do that? You would probably start by mentioning their positive traits: Amir is “intelligent” and “serious”; Connor is “fun” and “exciting.” But to be fair, you would also need to mention their negative traits: Amir sometimes seems “depressed,” and Connor can be “inconsiderate.” You might figure that Rianna will just combine whatever information you give her, perhaps in a mathematical way. For instance, she might listen to all the traits that you mention, decide how positive or negative each one is, and then add the traits together or average them. Research has found that people do exactly that, both for strangers and for people whom they know very well (Anderson, 1974; Falconi & Mullet, 2003). Consider what might happen if you gave Rianna the following information: - Amir is smart, serious, kind, and sad. - Connor is fun, happy, selfish, and inconsiderate. Rianna might decide to score each trait on a scale of +5 (very positive) to –5 (very negative). Once she has these numbers, she could then either add them together or average them to get an overall judgment. Based on this scoring, Rianna would probably decide that she likes Amir more than Connor. Of course, different people might weight the traits in somewhat different ways, and this would lead different people to draw different impressions about Amir and Connor. But there is pretty good agreement among most people about the meaning of traits, at least in terms of the overall positivity or negativity of each trait, and thus most people would be likely to draw similar conclusions. Now imagine that you later thought of some other new, moderately positive characteristics about Amir—that he was also “careful” and “helpful.” Whether you told Rianna about them might depend on how you thought they would affect her overall impression of Amir. Perhaps these new traits would make Rianna like Amir more (after all, they do add new positive information about him). But perhaps they might make her like him less (if the new, moderately positive information diluted the existing positive impression she has already formed about him). One way to think about this is to consider whether Rianna might be adding the traits together or averaging them. In our first example, it didn’t matter because the outcome was the same. But now it might—if she’s adding the traits together, then Rianna will probably like Amir more after she hears the new information, because new positive traits have been added to the existing sum score. If she is averaging the traits together, however, then Rianna will probably like him less than she did before, because the new, more moderate information tends to dilute the initial impressions. It turns out that in most cases, our judgments are better predicted by mental averaging than by mental adding (Mills, 2007). What this means is that when you are telling someone about another person and you are trying to get him or her to like the person, you should say the most positive things that you know but leave out the more moderate (although also positive) information. The moderate information is more likely to dilute, rather than enhance, the more extreme information. The Importance of the Central Traits Warm and Cold Although the averaging model is quite good at predicting final impressions, it is not perfect. This is because some traits are simply weighted more heavily than others. For one, negative information is more heavily weighted than is positive information (Rozin & Royzman, 2001). In addition to the heavy weight that we give to negative traits, we give a particular emphasis to the traits “warm” and “cold.” Imagine two men, Brad and Phil, who were described with these two sets of characteristics: - Brad is industrious, critical, warm, practical, and determined. - Phil is industrious, critical, cold, practical, and determined. As you can see, the descriptions are identical except for the presence of “warm” and “cold.” In a classic study, Solomon Asch (1946) found that people described with these two sets of traits were perceived very differently—the “warm” person very positively and the “cold” person very negatively. To test whether or not these differences would influence real behavior, Harold Kelley (1950) had students read about a professor who was described either as “rather cold” or as “very warm.” Then the professor came into the classroom and led a 20-minute discussion group with the students. Although the professor behaved in the same way for both groups, the students nevertheless reacted very differently to him. The students who were expecting the “warm” instructor were more likely to participate in the discussion, in comparison with those who were expecting him to be “cold.” And at the end of the discussion, the students also rated the professor who had been described as “warm” as being significantly more humorous, sociable, popular, and better natured than the “cold” professor. Moreover, the effects of warmth and coolness seem to be wired into our bodily responses. Research has found that even holding a cup of hot versus iced coffee, or making judgments in warm versus cold rooms leads people to judge others more positively (Ijzerman & Semin, 2009; Williams & Bargh, 2008). In short, the particular dimension warm versus cold makes a big difference in how we perceive people—much bigger than do other traits. As a result, the traits of warm and cold are known as central traits, which are characteristics that have a very strong influence on our impressions of others (Asch, 1946). The powerful influence of central traits is due to two things. One, they lead us to make inferences about other traits that might not have been mentioned. The students who heard that the professor was “warm” might also have assumed that he had other positive traits (maybe “nice” and “funny”), in comparison with those who heard that he was “cold.” Two, the important central traits also color our perceptions of the other traits that surround them. When a person is described as “warm” and “intelligent,” the meaning of “intelligent” seems a lot better than does the term “intelligent” in the context of a person who is also “cold.” Overall, the message is clear: if you want to get someone to like you, try to act in a warm manner toward them. Be friendly, nice, and interested in what they say. This attention you pay to the other will be more powerful than any other characteristics that you might try to display to them. The importance of perceptions of warmth-coldness has been confirmed in many other contexts. For example, in the field of psychotherapy, many studies have indicated that therapists’ warmth, empathy, and genuineness are the three most important traits in establishing a strong and trusting relationship with clients, which in turn leads to positive change (Shapiro, 1969). First Impressions Matter: The Primacy Effect It has frequently been said that “first impressions matter.” Social psychological research supports this idea. The primacy effect describes the tendency for information that we learn first to be weighted more heavily than is information that we learn later. One demonstration of the primacy effect was conducted by Solomon Asch (1946). In his research, participants learned some traits about a person and then made judgments about him. One half of the participants saw this list of traits: - Intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn, envious The other half of the participants saw this list: - Envious, stubborn, critical, impulsive, industrious, intelligent You may have noticed something interesting about these two lists—they contain exactly the same traits but in reverse order. Asch discovered something interesting in his study: because the traits were the same, we might have expected that both groups would form the same impression of the person, but this was not at all the case. Rather, Asch found that the participants who heard the first list, in which the positive traits came first, formed much more favorable impressions than did those who heard the second list, in which the negative traits came first. Similar findings were found by Edward Jones (1968), who had participants watch one of two videotapes of a woman taking an intelligence test. In each video, the woman correctly answered the same number of questions and got the same number wrong. However, when the woman got most of her correct answers in the beginning of the test but got more wrong near the end, she was seen as more intelligent than when she got the same number correct but got more correct at the end of the test. Primacy effects also show up in other domains, even in those that seem really important. For instance, Koppell and Steen (2004) found that in elections in New York City, the candidate who was listed first on the ballot was elected more than 70% of the time, and Miller and Krosnick (1998) found similar effects for candidate preferences in laboratory studies. This is not to say that it is always good to be first. In some cases, the information that comes last can be most influential. Recency effects, in which information that comes later is given more weight, although much less common than primacy effects, may sometimes occur. For example, de Bruin (2005) found that in competitions such as the Eurovision Song Contest and ice skating, higher marks were given to competitors who performed last. Considering the primacy effect in terms of the cognitive processes central to human information processing leads us to understand why it can be so powerful. One reason is that humans are cognitive misers. Because we desire to conserve our energy, we are more likely to pay more attention to the information that comes first and less likely to attend to information that comes later. In fact, when people read a series of statements about a person, the amount of time they spend reading the items declines with each new piece of information (Belmore & Hubbard, 1987). Not surprisingly, then, we are more likely to show the primacy effect when we are tired than when we are wide awake and when we are distracted than when we are paying attention (Webster, Richter, & Kruglanski, 1996). Another reason for the primacy effect is that the early traits lead us to form an initial expectancy about the person, and once that expectancy is formed, we tend to process information in ways that keep that expectancy intact. Thinking back to Chapter 2 and the discussion of social cognition, we can see that this of course is a classic case of assimilation—once we have developed a schema, it becomes difficult to change it. If we learn that a person is “intelligent” and “industrious,” those traits become cognitively accessible, which leads us to develop a positive expectancy about the person. When the information about the negative features comes later, these negatives will be assimilated into the existing knowledge more than the existing knowledge is accommodated to fit the new information. Once we have formed a positive impression, the new negative information just doesn’t seem as bad as it might have been had we learned it first. This is an important factor in explaining the halo effect, which is the influence of a global positive evaluation of a person on perceptions of their specific traits. Put simply, if we get an initially positive general impression of someone, we often see their specific traits more positively. The halo effect has been demonstrated in many social contexts, including a classic investigation by Bingham and Moore (1931) on job interviewing and a far more recent study of students’ evaluations of their professors (Keeley, English, Irons, & Hensley, 2013). You can be sure that it would be good to take advantage of the primacy and halo effects if you are trying to get someone you just met to like you. Begin with your positive characteristics, and only bring the negatives up later. This will create a much better outcome than beginning with the negatives. - Every day we must size up the people we interact with. The process of doing this is known as person perception. - We can form a wide variety of initial impressions of others quickly and often quite accurately. - Nonverbal behavior is communication that does not involve speaking, including facial expressions, body language, touching, voice patterns, and interpersonal distance. We rely on nonverbal behavior in our initial judgments of others. - The particular nonverbal behaviors that we use, as well as their meanings, are determined by social norms, and these may vary across cultures. - In comparison with positive information about people, negative information tends to elicit more physiological arousal, draw greater attention, and exert greater impact on our judgments and impressions of people. - People are only moderately good at detecting deception, and experts are not usually much better than the average person. - We integrate traits to form judgments of people primarily by averaging them. - Negative and central traits have a large effect on our impressions of others. - The primacy effect occurs because we pay more attention to information that comes first and also because initial information colors how we perceive information that comes later. - These processes also help to explain how the halo effect occurs. Exercises and Critical Thinking - Consider a case where you formed an impression of someone quickly and on only a little information. How accurate do you think your judgment was and why? What information did you take into account? What information might you have missed? - Consider some of the nonverbal behaviors that you and your friends use when you communicate. What information are you usually trying to communicate by using them? When do you find yourself using more vigorous gesturing and why? - Give an example of a situation in which you have noticed the effects of central traits on your perception of someone. Why do you think that this happened? - Describe a situation where you were influenced by either the primacy or the halo effect in your initial perceptions of someone. How accurate did those initial perceptions turn out to be and why? Ackerman, J. M., Shapiro, J. R., Neuberg, S. L., Kenrick, D. T., Becker, D. V., Griskevicius, V., Schaller, M. (2006). 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Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(4), 296–320. Rule, N. O., & Ambady, N. (2010). Democrats and Republicans can be differentiated from their faces. PLoS ONE, 5(1), e8733; Rule, N. O., Ambady, N., & Hallett, K. C. (2009). Female sexual orientation is perceived accurately, rapidly, and automatically from the face and its features. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(6), 1245–1251. Rule, N. O., Ambady, N., Adams, R. B., Jr., & Macrae, C. N. (2008). Accuracy and awareness in the perception and categorization of male sexual orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1019–1028; Rule, N. O., Ishii, K., Ambady, N., Rosen, K. S., & Hallett, K. C. (2011). Found in translation: Cross-cultural consensus in the accurate categorization of male sexual orientation. Personality And Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(11), 1499-1507. doi:10.1177/0146167211415630 Sears, D. O. (1986). College sophomores in the laboratory: Influences of a narrow data base on social psychology’s view of human nature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(3), 515–530. Shapiro, D. A. (1969). Empathy, warmth, and genuineness in psychotherapy. British Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology, 8(4), 350-361. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1969.tb00627.x Todorov, A., Mandisodza, A. N., Goren, A., & Hall, C. C. (2005). Inferences of competence from faces predict election outcomes. Science, 308(5728), 1623–1626. Todorov, A., Said, C. P., Engel, A. D., & Oosterhof, N. N. (2008). Understanding evaluation of faces on social dimensions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(12), 455–460. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.10.001 Turati, C., Cassia, V. M., Simion, F., & Leo, I. (2006). Newborns’ face recognition: Role of inner and outer facial features. Child Development, 77(2), 297–311. Walker-Andrews, A. S. (2008). Intermodal emotional processes in infancy. In M. Lewis, J. M. Haviland-Jones, & L. F. Barrett (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (3rd ed., pp. 364–375). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Webster, D. M., Richter, L., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1996). On leaping to conclusions when feeling tired: Mental fatigue effects on impressional primacy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 32(2), 181–195. Williams, L. E., & Bargh, J. A. (2008). Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth. Science, 322(5901), 606–607. Willis, J., & Todorov, A. (2006). First impressions: Making up your mind after a 100ms exposure to a face. Psychological Science, 17(7), 592–598.

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Focus: Polymer Pearl Necklaces Like beads on a necklace, microscopic spheres made from polymers can be strung together to form new materials with many possible uses. Researchers describe these three-dimensional networks in the 7 January print issue of PRL. These new materials may someday be fine tuned for applications in optoelectronic components or magnetic media. To a chemist, silicon can be hopelessly restrictive. Semiconductors and other inorganic crystals are the basis for electronics and other technologies, but–aside from small changes available by doping with impurities–their chemical properties are essentially fixed. Carbon-based polymers, on the other hand, have almost unlimited possibilities in the hands of a good chemist, who can modify the repeated chemical groups to suit whatever application she has in mind. Materials scientists are trying to exploit such chemically flexible, or “soft,” materials in many areas, including electronics. Chemists Mike Barnes and Don Noid and their colleagues at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee developed a technique for blending solutions of two different polymers that normally avoid one another. They force the water to evaporate so quickly that the molecules can’t separate and instead clump together into microscopic spheres. Now they’ve discovered that the individual microspheres can string themselves together in the process, forming branching structures and columns. The team believes that as the water evaporates, the ends of the polymer chain molecules sticking out from the surfaces of the growing microspheres can bond one sphere to another. The result of this process is a stable, three-dimensional, chain or network structure. The microspheres are smooth and transparent enough that light can bounce around inside them. “They act like miniature laser cavities,” Barnes explains. Light of the right wavelength “can travel around the microsphere for hundreds of round trips.” Because the microspheres are linked to each other, these optical resonances can pass between them and propagate through the chain structure. This effect could be useful in optical “wires” for sensors and other light pipe devices that could be tuned to a specific wavelength, the researchers believe. Beyond optoelectronics, the chains might also be useful as magnetic coatings. Trapping magnetic particles within the microspheres might offer a new way to coat magnetic storage media like hard disks: Simply paint on the magnetized chains. Mark Kuzyk of Washington State University in Pullman is impressed with the results and expects improvements in the technique. “In the future they will undoubtedly make more complex and better controlled geometries.” He adds that the researchers might be able to make a highly periodic, crystal-like structure, or “photonic crystal,” out of the microspheres, and thereby control light propagation in another way. David Bradley is a writer at sciencebase.com in Cambridge, UK.

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Exposure to iron pipes and steel rebar, such as the materials found in most hatcheries, affects the navigation ability of young steelhead trout by altering the important magnetic “map sense” they need for migration, according to new research from Oregon State University. The exposure to iron and steel distorts the magnetic field around the fish, affecting their ability to navigate, said Nathan Putman, who led the study while working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, part of OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Just last year Putman and other researchers presented evidence of a correlation between the oceanic migration patterns of salmon and drift of the Earth’s magnetic field. Earlier this year they confirmed the ability of salmon to navigate using the magnetic field in experiments at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center. Scientists for decades have studied how salmon find their way across vast stretches of ocean. “The better fish navigate, the higher their survival rate,” said Putman, who conducted the research at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center in the Alsea River basin last year. “When their magnetic field is altered, the fish get confused.” Subtle differences in the magnetic environment within hatcheries could help explain why some hatchery fish do better than others when they are released into the wild, Putman said. Stabilizing the magnetic field by using alternative forms of hatchery construction may be one way to produce a better yield of fish, he said. “It’s not a hopeless problem,” he said. “You can fix these kinds of things. Retrofitting hatcheries with non-magnetic materials might be worth doing if it leads to making better fish.” Putman’s findings were published this week in the journal Biology Letters. The research was funded by Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, with support from Oregon State University. Co-authors of the study are OSU’s David Noakes, senior scientist at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center, and Amanda Meinke of the Oregon Hatchery Research Center. The new findings follow earlier research by Putman and others that confirmed the connection between salmon and the Earth’s magnetic field. Researchers exposed hundreds of juvenile Chinook salmon to different magnetic fields that exist at the latitudinal extremes of their oceanic range. Fish responded to these “simulated magnetic displacements” by swimming in the direction that would bring them toward the center of their marine feeding grounds. In essence, the research confirmed that fish possess a map sense, determining where they are and which way to swim based on the magnetic fields they encounter. Putman repeated that experiment with the steelhead trout and achieved similar results. He then expanded the research to determine if changes to the magnetic field in which fish were reared would affect their map sense. One group of fish was maintained in a fiberglass tank, while the other group was raised in a similar tank but in the vicinity of iron pipes and a concrete floor with steel rebar, which produced a sharp gradient of magnetic field intensity within the tank. Iron pipes and steel reinforced concrete are common in fish hatcheries. The scientists monitored and photographed the juvenile steelhead, called parr, and tracked the direction in which they were swimming during simulated magnetic displacement experiments. The steelhead reared in a natural magnetic field adjusted their map sense and tended to swim in the same direction. But fish that were exposed to the iron pipes and steel-reinforced concrete failed to show the appropriate orientation and swam in random directions. More research is needed to determine exactly what that means for the fish. The loss of their map sense could be temporary and they could recalibrate their magnetic sense after a period of time, Putman said. Alternatively, if there is a critical window in which the steelhead’s map sense is imprinted, and it is exposed to an altered magnetic field then, the fish could remain confused forever, he said. “There is evidence in other animals, especially in birds, that either is possible,” said Putman, who now works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “We don’t know enough about fish yet to know which is which. We should be able to figure that out with some simple experiments.”

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Memes, like Rickrolling or LOLcats, are the invasive species of social network ecosystems such as Facebook and Twitter. “Viral hashtags are so interesting that even at first sight, you just start to use them,” says Yong-Yeol Ahn, assistant professor at Indiana University’s School of Informatics and Computing. Ahn and his coauthors have isolated the network properties of memes and turned them into a forecasting tool, enabling the prediction of which Twitter hashtags will go viral nearly two out of three times based on how the hashtag is shared in its early stages. Ahn says later this spring they’ll be publishing follow-up research that looks at predicting just how big a splash a viral meme will make. Circles represent communities—densely connected groups of users. Circle size represents the number of tweets with a given hashtag made per community. The color indicates when in the hashtag’s life span the most tweeting occurred in a community (darker is newer). Ahn’s group considered more than 10 million different Twitter hashtags generated during March and April 2012. #ProperBand was a nonviral example, never spreading beyond one degree of separation from the original community of users that created it. By contrast, #ThoughtsDuringSchool started in one community and, even in its early stages, rapidly spread to other communities, some distantly connected to the hashtag’s original source. This is a hallmark of virality, Ahn says. By the end of the rapid diffusion of #ThoughtsDuringSchool, it’s nearly impossible to discern which community originated the hashtag. But the cross-community behavior it displayed at its outset is still in evidence. Forecasting virality, then, is about identifying cross-community connectivity at its earliest stages and then betting that a given meme will keep behaving the same way, just on a larger scale. This article originally appeared in print as “Forecasting Virality.”

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Alternativo.mx | The largest radio telescope in the world entered into operation in a mountainous region of Guizhou, southwest China province, to help search for extraterrestrial life. Shortly after noon yesterday, in a karst valley located in the district of Pingtang, hundreds of astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts witnessed the official launch of the mission Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to explore space and look for extraterrestrial life, Xinhua news agency said. According to experts, the FAST will look for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies. The project began in 2011, 17 years after it was proposed by Chinese astronomers and with an investment around one thousand 200 million yuan (180 million dollars). The main installation of the structure of the telescope, a reflector composed of four thousand 450 panels with a size equivalent to 30 football fields, was completed in early July.

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February 27, 2012 Blinn College-run museum draws more than 30,000 visitors annually When the Texas Legislature approved the creation of the Star of the Republic Museum in 1970, the brand-new institution wasn’t unlike the early years of Texas itself – plenty of open space with the vast potential for innovation. The museum, located at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site and administered by Blinn College since it opened its doors, didn’t have a clearly defined mission when it was established. It was only after the museum was built in the unique configuration that makes it the only star-shaped museum in the world that the staff was tasked with finding items to exhibit. “The museum was going to have something to do with this historic site and early Texas, but there wasn’t a clear focus,” said Houston McGaugh, the museum’s director since 1987. “Once they focused on that, then the collection slowly developed.” Eventually, the museum found its niche telling the story of Texas’ years as an independent nation between 1836 and 1846. Its location at Washington-on-the-Brazos gave the museum the unique opportunity to tell that story, and the collection now features more than 8,000 items, including about 4,000 documents, 500 rare books and 300 maps. The collection includes what is believed to be the oldest known Texas flag, as well as The Reading of the Texas Declaration of Independence, a painting by Charles and Fanny Normann that was commissioned for the Texas centennial in 1936. That painting has been on loan from the Fultz family in Navasota since the museum opened. “There’s a copy of that painting in every Texas history text book that’s ever been printed,” McGaugh said. The two-story museum includes an auditorium that seats 80 and exhibits documenting the Native Americans who first inhabited Texas, the natural resources that drew settlers to the territory, the Mexican-American War and features numerous showcases describing the daily life of average Texans in the era. It is the only accredited museum in the state devoted exclusively to collecting and interpreting pre-1850 Texas history and material culture. This glimpse into Texas’ history allows us to better understand what it is that makes Texas – and Texans – unique. It’s a question that has been posed to McGaugh numerous times in his 24 years as the museum director. “Here’s this family in South Carolina, and all of a sudden they see this article in the newspaper that says if you go to Texas, a family can get 4,400 acres free,” McGaugh said. “A lot of people would jump all over that, but you’re forgetting that it’s a foreign country, it’s a long distance to travel and to get there you’ve got to swear allegiance to Mexico and you’ve got to at least say that you’re Catholic. “They would have to be very courageous and very adventurous.” The museum offers about 30,000 visitors each year the opportunity to better understand that uniquely Texan spirit, including roughly 10,000 students passing through the museum doors each year. More than half are first-time visitors and about 15 percent hail from a foreign country. “That blows my mind. I have no idea how they find us,” McGaugh said. The museum’s location at the birthplace of Texas’ independence allows its guests to make a full day out of their visit. The museum is situated beside Independence Hall, which marks the site where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed and the Republic of Texas was created, and the Barrington Living History Farm, where visitors can see what daily life was like for Texans during that era. “You can come out here and spend four or five hours really easily and get a very immersive education in early Texas history,” McGaugh said. To celebrate Texas Independence Day on Friday, the museum will debut its new exhibit, “A Slice of Life: Washington in the 19th Century.” The exhibit will focus on the people, businesses and events that influenced the fledgling village of Washington during the 1830s. Best known for the Convention of 1836 that declared Texas’ independence from Mexico, Washington was also a hub for medical practices, land offices, mercantile establishments, hotels and, of course, taverns. The exhibit will continue through December 31, 2012. Independence Hall, the Star of the Republic and the Barrington Living History Farm will all waive their admission fees throughout the weekend as part of a two-day festival celebrating the 176th anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The festival lasts from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, and admission is free. Re-enactors in period clothing and members of the Texas Army, along with skilled craftsmen and talented musicians, will fill the park and the Houston Area Blacksmithing Association will be at Barrington Farm doing demonstrations.

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American Inventor Thomas Edison (pictured) is the person usually credited with inventing the incandescent light bulb. However, the real story is a little more complicated than that , with several English scientists developing early versions of the bulb that Edison produced. In fact, when Edison went to patent his bulb design in 1879, Englishman Joseph Swan, who had publicly demonstrated his bulb just one year earlier, sued Edison for patent infringement. Edison moved to also sue Swan, but instead of fighting it out in court, they formed the ‘Ediswan’ lighting company in 1883. This company went onto become the massive ‘General Electric’ company that is still operating today. Read Dr Karl Kruszelnicki’s article on those who tackled the challenge of developing electric lighting, and the reasons why Edison got the credit. The light bulb is just one of many examples of a product or technology where there is a controversy over who actually invented it. The TV, telephone and tablet computers have been the subject of disputes and sometimes even lawsuits, over who should take the credit for its development.

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In a high school biology class, students are circulating the room, test tubes of clear liquid in hand. At a nod from their teacher, they exchange the contents of their test tubes with as many other students as they wish. Three minutes later, when the teacher stops them, she reveals that while all the test tubes looked identical, one originally contained an "infectious agent." Distributing a chemical that signals the presence of the agent by turning dark, she invites the students to test the liquids now in their test tubes. With a unanimous shudder of dismay, they watch more than half of their test tubes test "positive." The "infectious agent" is "fake"diluted horseradishbut the underlying scientific principles are incontrovertibly real, as is the ensuing discussion on HIV and other infectious diseases. This exercise grew out of a summer fellowship the teacher received from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the AAI awards stipends of $5000 to six science teachers annually and places them in state-of-the-art research labs alongside practicing immunologists. Inspired by similar efforts among biochemists and molecular biologists, David Scott of the AAI helped coordinate an immunology program, "not to get more people into immunology but to turn more kids onto science." Participating teachers report that prior to their fellowships, they didn’t cover immunology at all because they didn’t feel they had enough knowledge to teach it. Since their lab experiences, however, they have taught a range of related topics, including the lymphatic system, organ transplantation, blood typing, the structure of the AIDS virus, genetic engineering, biotechnology, and the mathematics of disease progressions. "Science took on a whole new life," for one teacher’s students, "you could see it in their eyes. They really liked the relevance." In addition to their lab experience, teaching fellows develop hands-on lab or classroom exercises that can be used by other teachers, leveraging their learning to reach a larger audience. Microbiologist and EDC curriculum developer Jackie Miller, who has worked with the AAI teaching fellows since the program’s inception, helps teachers ensure that the curriculum materials are scientifically accurate, that adequate background is provided for teachers who haven’t had lab experience, and that the material is relevant to students’ lives. "We want to generate kids’ interest, not just give them a cookbook lab experience," she says. For example, an Ohio teacher invented a murder mystery whose solution depended on DNA testing. The students subjected mouse DNA to PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assays, which amplify the copies of a DNA sample so there is enough to be tested. Then, using gel electrophoresis, they separated the DNA strands by size, and compared their samples. (They found the guilty mouse.) Most teachers are enthusiastic about the project, says EDC’s Kristin Metz, who is conducting an evaluation of the project. The experience of being in a lab, working with high tech equipment and hearing how scientists talk to each other and pursue their research, seems to reinforce the value of practices such as keeping lab notebooks and recording data carefully. “It really opens teachers’ eyes to a whole world of research they weren’t aware existed," she says. "Year after year they talk about how this opportunity gives them insight into how scientific research is done, an appreciation for the skills and perseverance required, and a determination to develop some of those skills in their students and pass on the excitement of being in the research community.” For the scientists, says AAI member John Schreiber, like David Scott a former mentor and strong advocate of the fellowship program, the relationship is "humbling." Teachers work under constraintsbudgetary, political, and healththat would cripple most scientists. "Scientists have incredible freedom," Schreiber says, "A teacher might have a $300 lab budget for the yearwe spend $300 in a day." Through her association with Dr. Elizabeth Didier, a research scientist with Tulane University, AAI fellow and 7th grade teacher Margie Keyes finally got to handle the kind of scientific equipment she had "seen pictures of but had never been able to touch." Didier also opened her lab to Keyes’s students, outfitting them in lab coats and letting them perform simulated procedures such as DNA electrophoresis, and examining specimens through high-powered stereo microscopes. But even without the gee whiz factor, "Immunology is a natural turn-on to students," says Keyes. She and Didier designed an elaborate game of tag to illustrate how vaccines work: they have students play the roles of antibodies and vaccine antigens, and send the antibodies out after the antigens. When the antigens have been captured, a student in a white lab coat, playing a macrophage, pretends to devour the antigens. "Once we do the immunology unit and they learn the actual mechanisms, they really tie their learning to their experience," Keyes says, "They all hate being sick and like knowing what makes them better." To date, AAI teaching fellows from both rural and urban areas in seven statesLouisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Maryland, Ohio, New York, and Californiahave participated in the program. "Obviously this is a drop in the bucket," says Schreiber, who would like to reach far more teachers and develop immunology resources for all science programs. "I wish this was a multimillion dollar effort," he says, "But we’re making progress." Finding mentors used to be a problem, he notes. This year they had to turn people away. Originally published on December 1, 2000

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Native American Cannibals – Are They Still Out There? American history is often considered lean on the topic of cannibalism. True, the University of Colorado’s Union Cafeteria is named after one, Alfred Packer (1842 – 1907) who ate, the story goes, two of the three Republicans in his county. A few of us may remember modern-day cannibals like the Stella Maris College Rugby Team (1972) or Jeffrey Dahmer (1960 – 1994), but North American folklore is actually filled with stories of human flesh eaters. In Southwestern Colorado, researchers have discovered the first clear evidence that Native Americans practiced cannibalism at a small Anasazi (ancient ones) settlement. Down south, early Spanish explorers took care to avoid the Karankawa of Southeast Texas who practiced ritual cannibalism. South of the U.S. border, Pre-Columbian Aztecs were notorious for eating their enemies. Upstate New York’s Mohawk were called man-eaters by their Algonquian enemies in colonial times. As proof of their abhorrence of these eating habits, Algonquian-speaking people (Mohegan, Cree, Arapaho, Blackfoot and Cheyenne, to name only a few) of the U.S. and Canada tell tales of the dire consequences of eating human flesh: transformation into a hideous monster called the Windigo (sometimes spelled Wendigo). The Windigo is described as a half-beast demon that possesses both human and monster characteristics. Descriptions of the beast vary, but generally it is said to be tall and lanky, have glowing eyes, long, yellowed fangs and extremely long tongues. Most have sallow skin sometimes matted with hair while some have scales. All Windigos are driven by an uncontrollable craving for human flesh. How does a person become a Windigo? According to lore, one is created whenever a human resorts to cannibalism for survival. Once the initial crises of starvation ebbs, cannibals, no matter how repentant, become victims themselves and find their cravings for human flesh never ending. It is unclear what kind of transformation a person undergoes to become a monster or how much he remains a human, but one point is clear: they are possessed by a condition they cannot control, an illness without cure or relief except in death. There are at least two Windigo-related cases on official record, both in Canada. One occurred in 1879 involving a Cree trapper named Swift Runner. The Northwest Mounted Police found evidence that he had killed and eaten his entire family. At trial, Swift Runner confessed and was hanged that summer. The most famous Windigo-hunter was a Cree as well, named Jack Fiddler, who claimed to have killed at least 14 of the creatures. His last murder resulted in his imprisonment at the age of 87. In 1907, Fiddler and his son, Joseph, were indicted for the murder of a Cree woman. They both pleaded guilty to the crime with the defense that the monster had to be killed before she murdered members of the tribe. Fiddler committed suicide before trial. His son died in prison. Some legends start for reasons lost to antiquity, but Windigo sightings are still reported. Some believe that these monsters are roaming the cold, dark wilderness of North America. Others would like to believe that legends are only that. The real question is: are Windigos phantoms of our past, or are they still out there? Sources & Bibliography: http://drvitelli.typepad.com/providentia/, https://www.prairieghosts.com/abtauthor, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendigo

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Meet Your Local Kidney Expert Register for a no-cost, 90-minute training session taught by a certified instructor. By DaVita® Dietitian Linda M. Harvey If you have Stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD), your nephrologist (kidney doctor) may advise you to make some changes in your diet. If you are not at a healthy weight, the doctor may suggest that you either gain or lose a few pounds, depending on your condition. Maintaining a healthy weight can help people with kidney disease control and prevent more health problems. When excess weight is lost, blood pressure and blood sugar usually improve. This may delay or prevent more kidney damage. When people need to add calories to their diet, they can halt malnourishment and muscle loss and can gain more energy for everyday activities. When making changes in diet or lifestyle, studies have shown that changing only one or two things at a time works best. Then, when they become habits, more changes can be made. Calories give us energy from the food we eat. There are calories in most foods, but there are higher amounts in fast or fried foods, desserts, and snacks like donuts, chips and sodas. Here are some guidelines to help limit calories: Reading labels helps. Look for these key words for foods that are lower in calories: On the other hand, if you need to gain weight, your doctor and dietitian may recommend that you: Below are cooking descriptions that are usually higher in calories: Ask your dietitian about the kidney-friendly ways you can add calories to your diet. For instance, gravy may be high in calories but the commercial kind is high in sodium. Your dietitian may recommend a kidney-friendly nutrition drink or bar to help provide extra calories. There are many recipes on DaVita.com for you to try. These recipes are all good for kidney diets, and they are coded for carbohydrate control, and renal and renal diabetic food choices. The Chicken Fruit Salad recipe is my personal favorite. Here are a few more recipe suggestions: Lower calorie kidney diet recipes Higher calorie kidney diet recipes Limiting or adding calories when you’re on the kidney diet can be challenging. But by using this guide, you can make the proper decisions for your kidney diet prescription. Your dietitian can also help you map out the number of calories you need per day so you can maintain a healthy diet with kidney disease. Get a free recipe collection from the DaVita® kitchen.Get the Cookbooks 325,403 Enjoyed So Far! Register for a no-cost, 90-minute training session taught by a certified instructor in your neighborhood.Find a Class Near Me Call 1-800-424-6589 now to talk to one of our placement specialists. Learn which DaVita service may best fit your lifestyle.Explore Options

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Health And Wellness Dangers of Vaping There are many misconceptions bordering the health risks of vaping, however the research is combined. The 2015 study, for instance, analyzed the impacts of flavored e-juices on lung cells of mice. Researchers discovered damaging effects of oxidation, poisoning, and inflammation. Nonetheless, this research study is hardly relevant to real-world use. An additional study, from 2018, examined the lung function of 10 healthy and balanced volunteers after breathing in fluids consisting of or without nicotine. Researchers wrapped up that vaping interferes with regular lung feature in healthy individuals. Yet this study is limited to a tiny sample size, so these results are not applicable to massive vaping areas. Addiction to vaping The occurrence of addiction to vaping has increased substantially amongst e-cigarette customers in Canada, the USA, as well as the UK, with the percentage of people experiencing solid urges to utilize increasing over time. A current research study reported that e-cigarette users in all three countries reported significantly higher prices of prompts to use (readjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.74, 1.34 to 2.26; p= 0.018) than non-users. A number of researches have actually confirmed that nicotine addicts undergo three stages of dependency, varying from drunkenness to abstinence. Anxiety, which triggers withdrawal signs, makes an addict very spontaneous and susceptible to regression. These cycles of dependence develop a vicious cycle that is virtually impossible to break. Although no accepted approaches of treatment for vape addiction exist, people that are attempting to quit ought to take into consideration strategies that have actually proven effective for offering up other nicotine delivery systems. Health risks of vaping While there are numerous dangers linked with vaping, one study in particular has actually attracted interest. A big study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine adhered to virtually 32,000 grownups from 2013 to 2016. The outcomes revealed that, compared to non-vapers, those who made use of e-cigarettes had a 30 percent greater threat of establishing lung condition in the lasting. The research study also revealed that the impacts of e-cigarette usage on the lungs were different than those seen in adolescents. The major concern is that the threats connected with EVALI are both acute and also long-term, and also the sector itself encounters a bleak future due to legal modifications. The EPA’s current choice to limit the sale of some flavorful cartridges is an example of exactly how these items can pose a danger. The LHSFNA pamphlet uses information regarding the dangers connected with smoking and other cigarette items. It additionally has info concerning the health and wellness dangers connected with vaping. Types of vapes Different sorts of vapes were introduced in the market to fulfill the requirements of different customers. Some individuals vape in the house while others vape in the office or on a stroll. All types of vapes have a typical element referred to as atomizers, which warm up the e-liquid to produce vapor. No matter the details type, atomizers function by making use of battery power to warm up the e-liquid, transforming it right into an electric substance understood as vapour. Each type has its own distinct attributes, and is usually categorized by generation or technical advancement. Nevertheless, the overall feature coincides, and also each gadget has one-of-a-kind functions. When choosing a vape tool, ensure to examine its features. If you’re a beginner, this can be complicated. The following will certainly assist you limit your alternatives. When you have actually tightened it down, you’ll have the ability to locate a tool that works ideal for your needs. Products having THC Regardless of the health and wellness threats related to vaporizing marijuana, many individuals proceed to make use of these gadgets. Officials at the Centers for Illness Control and Avoidance (CDC) are requiring youth to stop utilizing vaporizers. They are encouraging people to steer clear of from all e-cigarettes, despite their kind. Though many people that ended up being ill utilized items having THC, no single component has been determined as the root cause of the illness. Although the CDC is still investigating the cause of illnesses connected to vaping, they do recognize that some THC-containing products have active ingredients that can cause severe health problem. These include Vitamin E acetate, a skin-oil-derived compound, and some kinds of chemical. While the CDC does not recognize the accurate compound triggering the illnesses, it believes that components and also pollutants might be responsible. If you have any questions regarding the place and how to use just click the Next web Page, you can get in touch with us at our page. Carry on your pursuit for lots more linked posts:

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Editor's note:. Monday's original story appears below. Notre Dame fire: What we know - A major fire erupted at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Monday. - The cathedral, which was undergoing renovations, suffered extensive damage. - Authorities haven't determined the cause of the blaze. - The fire has been brought under control. - No deaths have been reported. - Notre Dame construction began in 1163 and was completed in 1345. The iconic spire at the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris collapsed after a major fire broke out Monday evening. Video showed part of the roof of the cathedral collapsing onto itself. The flames were under control but still not extinguished, French Junior Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told a Tuesday morning news conference, the Reuters news agency reports. Paris fire chief Jean-Claude Gallet told reporters Monday evening he believed firefighters had managed to save the cathedral's landmark rectangular towers from the blaze, Reuters said. There was still a risk that some of the interior structures could collapse, he said. A Paris deputy mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, said the cathedral had suffered "colossal damages." France's president vowed to rebuild the landmark. Parisian authorities said they were ruling out arson and possible terror-related motives as possible causes -- at least at the moment -- and treating the blaze as an accident, according to The Associated Press. Historian on Notre Dame Cathedral's significance Kevin Murphy, professor and chair of the art history department at Vanderbilt University, joined CBSN on Monday night to discuss the Notre Dame Cathedral's architecture and history. "It symbolizes the city of Paris, it's a cathedral of Paris, but it's also always been considered a cathedral of France," Murphy said. "Its symbolism really resonates through its religious significance and its civil and national significance." French newspapers release front pages of devastating blaze Many newspapers evoked strong emotion La Croix," proclaiming, "Le coeur in cendres," which translates to "heart in ashes" in English., such as the headline of the Roman Catholic newspaper, " Daily newspaper "20 Minutes" featured another heart-wrenching image of the cathedral ablaze with text, which translates to English as "Notre Dame Devastated." Another daily paper, "Le Parisien," will print the headline, "Our Lady of Tears" in French on their front page Tuesday. Billionaire says he'll help with cathedral's reconstruction French billionaire François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of the Kering luxury group, has pledged some $113 million toward rebuilding the Notre Dame Cathedral, according to a statement obtained by the AFP news agency. Kering owns the Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent fashion brands, according to BBC News. Cause under investigation Authorities have not yet released any information on the cause of the fire and said it would be investigated. The fire may potentially involve renovation work that was being carried out at the site, the fire service said. Extensive scaffolding covered a portion of the roof as part of the $6.8 million project before the fire broke out. The Paris prosecutors' office ruled out arson and possible terror-related motives, and said it was treating it as an accident, The Associated Press reports. French President Macron: "We will rebuild" French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation on Monday night. Macron called the fire a "terrible tragedy" and confirmed that the cathedral's stone facade and two main towers avoided collapsing amid the destruction. "I'm telling you all tonight -- we will rebuild this cathedral together. This is probably part of the French destiny. And we will do it in the next years. Starting tomorrow, a national donation scheme will be started that will extend beyond our borders," Macron said. First look inside the burning cathedral The first photos have been released showing the damage inside Notre Dame Cathedral caused by the fire Monday. One picture shows debris still smoldering around the altar, but the surrounding stonework appears intact. Another photo shows portions of the intricately carved vaulted ceiling collapsed as flames continue to burn above. Fire a "tragedy for the world" Christophe Girard, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of culture, said the massive fire at the historic Notre Dame Cathedral is a "tragedy for the world." He spoke with CBSN as the fire continued to burn, and said that some priceless paintings and other artifacts have been saved. Dramatic photos of fire's destruction Dramatic videos and photos spread across social media on Monday showing the roof and spire of the nearly 900-year-old cathedral engulfed in flames and massive amounts of smoke billowing up from its roof. The spire and roof collapsed, and the cathedral's world-famous stained glass windows were destroyed. The Ile de la Cité, the island in the Seine where the cathedral is located, was evacuated. Thousands of onlookers gathered along the banks of the river to watch the awful scene. Priceless art and artifacts inside Some of the treasures inside Notre Dame were reported saved, although officials have yet to release a full inventory of what was saved from the fire and what was lost. A centuries-old crown of thorns made from reeds and gold, and the tunic worn by Saint Louis, a 13th century king of France, were safely retrieved, Notre Dame's top administrative cleric, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet said, according to Reuters. But firefighters had struggled to take down some of the cathedral's large paintings in time, he said. Notre Dame, or Our Lady, is considered the most famous Gothic cathedral ever built. Its picturesque stained-glass rose windows were made of hundreds of panes, depicting various biblical images like apostles and angels. Gargoyles and statues surround the cathedral. Vatican expresses "great shock and sadness" The Vatican expressed "great shock and sadness" about the fire at Notre Dame, which occurred during Holy Week leading up to Good Friday and Easter. It called the cathedral "a symbol of Christianity in France and in the world." In a statement, the Vatican said, "We express closeness to the French Catholics and the people of Paris and we assure our prayers for the firefighters and those who are doing everything possible to face this dramatic situation." President Trump: "It's part of our culture" President Trump commented on the fire Monday afternoon as he attended a roundtable conference in Minnesota. He called it "a terrible sight to behold." "It's one of the great treasures of the world," he said. "It's part of our culture, it's part of our lives. That is a truly great cathedral and I've been there, I've seen it, and there is... no cathedral in the world like it. It is a terrible scene." The president added, "It looks like it's burning to the ground." Former President Obama on mourning and rebuilding Former President Barack Obama posted a photo of his family visiting Notre Dame along with a message that said, "Notre Dame is one of the world's great treasures, and we're thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It's in our nature to mourn when we see history lost - but it's also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can." Notre Dame Cathedral's epic history Notre Dame was constructed in 1163 during the reign of King Louis VII and was completed in 1345. The cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a worldwide Parisian icon and the location of some of the most important moments in the history of France. Henry VI of England was crowned inside the cathedral in 1431 and Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France inside the cathedral in 1804. The cathedral receives nearly 13 million visitors a year and is home to exquisite religious artifacts, paintings, sculptures and other priceless works of art. It had been undergoing renovations after cracks began to appear in the stone, sparking fears the structure could become unstable. CBS News' Roxana Saberi reported in March 2018 that years of rain, snow and pollution had eroded the flying buttresses that prop the cathedral up. James Shepherd, director of preservation and facilities at the Washington National Cathedral, spoke with CBSN on Monday about Notre Dame's epic history. "That's 800 years of history of people pilgrimaging there, and worshiping there, and the accumulation of culture," Shepherd said by phone. "All of that will have to be taken into consideration as they try to repair this church and save it after this devastating fire." Shepherd spoke of Notre Dame's "stunning and exclusive stained-glass windows," which appear to have been destroyed in the fire. He called them "absolutely priceless and some of the best examples of European stained-glass windows." "This is a culturally devastating moment for the city of Paris, the country and the world," Shepherd said.

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Type 2 diabetes is called the more preventable type of diabetes because it is so heavily affected by lifestyle choices - particularly obesity. These horrifying images of a stage-by-stage lesion on a man's foot - who was obese and didn't realise he had diabetes - paint the unflinchingly reality of what that entails. The man developed the lesions after he bought some new shoes that rubbed against his feet. It then developed lesions which grew into a full blown infection. The Daily Mail reported: "Within days his right foot was black, weeping pus and in urgent need of surgery." The man's case was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine which highlighted the effect the condition can have on the extremities - especially the feet. Diabetes UK also released some sobering statistics - every 30 seconds, a person loses a lower limb to the condition. Why is limb amputation common with diabetes? The Diabetes UK website states: "Disease of the foot is a complication of diabetes caused by damage to the nerves and blood vessels that serve the limbs, but worryingly one in three people with diabetes do not realise that having the condition puts them more at risk of having an amputation." The foot is a particularly vulnerable area because it can be prone to blisters, and if there is poor circulation, the foot can feel a bit numb, meaning that infections aren't picked up on as quickly. The man photographed his foot thinking it would heal - when it didn't he visit the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, said the patient arrived at hospital 10 days after the infection had begun. He was diagnosed with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy. The latter is used to describe damage to the nerves, which - in the case of diabetes - is caused by high sugar levels in the blood stream. 1 in 5 people with diabetes will have peripheral neuropathy. After surgery to remove the dead skin and antibiotics, the man made a recovery and did not require amputation. He has since lost weight to manage his condition.

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EDWARDS – A group of students at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center successfully flew a prototype of an aircraft that could one day fly in the Martian atmosphere and send its findings back to Earth. Called the Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars, or Prandtl-M, the small, remotely piloted glider aircraft flew Aug. 11. It continues an effort that began last year with a mostly different group of students. “The first successful flights felt like a huge relief,” said John Bodylski, a mechanical engineering student at Irvine Valley College. “While we still plan to perfect the design, it is a pretty exciting feeling to realize that the aircraft is working. At first I didn’t believe it and had to rewatch the footage from the flight.” Bodylski is participating in a NASA student program aimed at developing skills learned at school and applying those abilities to a research challenge. The NASA Flight Scholars activity, which focuses on giving community college students an early opportunity to perform research, and the Education Unmanned Aerial Systems activity, which provides college students an opportunity to work on NASA UAS projects, are key components of the Prandtl-M team. Bodylski worked on how to track the Prandtl-M last summer from Irvine, but this year he was accepted to come to Armstrong with the added responsibility of onboard avionics. “Being at Armstrong this year has allowed for me to take advantage of the engineering knowledge and fabrication abilities of the center,” he added. “Work at Armstrong is faster paced than working from a school and allows for designs to be created and tested in a more rapid fashion.” Those are some of the concepts of the program, said Dave Berger, a key driver and manager of the two Education activities. “What we like about small prototypes and this student program is this is real research, real cutting edge technology development,” he explained. “They can work on all the major areas of aerospace engineering, such as controls, aerodynamics, structures and instrumentation encapsulated in one project. The program is small enough that we can design and fabricate very fast and we can try something that no one has ever done before. It might not be successful the first time, or the second time.” That was the case with the Prandtl-M. It was through repeated challenge and learning that the aircraft flew successfully. Caitlin Kennedy, an undergraduate intern studying physics and astronomy from the University of Wyoming, said the Prandtl-M work has been a one-of-a-kind experience. “When I came here I had no idea what operations engineers did,” Kennedy said. “I absolutely love it because I had an overview and I was involved in every step of the project. It takes a while to get ready for a flight and we learn something from every flight.” Some students have had their career paths altered by the program already. “I was planning to be a teacher and changed my mind once I had an internship here and found out how fun engineering could be,” said Kirsten Fogg, who was an intern and now is an Armstrong operations engineer. “I am also currently in a master’s program for engineering.” Before the successful test flight, the student crew and their mentors devised a steel construction launcher and tested six different flight vehicle shapes to determine which worked best. “We could give them the answers, but we give them the room to make their own discoveries and their own mistakes,” said Robert “Red” Jensen, who is the Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems chief pilot and master technician for the Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Lab. With hard work and perseverance, the students believe the Prandtl-M and its systems will one day fly the skies of Mars.

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The Indian parliament is considered as a bicameral structure. It consists of Lok Sabha, president, and Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha represents the council of states and the upper house. While Lok Sabha represents the house of people and the lower house. Lok Sabha represents the Indian people while Rajya Sabha represents the union territories and states. To know more about the structure of the Indian parliament, you need to know more about the composition of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. The Composition of Lok Sabha The maximum number of people that can be elected in Lok Sabha is 552. Out of these 552 people, 530 are elected to be members of the states. While 20 are the members represented in the union territories. The remaining 2 people are from the Anglo-Indian community that is elected by the president of India. The current structure of Lok Sabha consists of 530 members. Also, the state representatives are directly elected by the people from their respective constituencies. Furthermore, under the constitutional amendment act of 1988, the voting age was reduced to 18 years from 21 years. Browse more Topics under Indian Constitution - Constitution of India: Historical Background - Features of the Indian Constitution - Union and Its Territory (Article 1 – 4) - Citizenship (Article 5-11) - Fundamental Rights – Right to Equality - Fundamental Rights – Right to Freedom - Fundamental Rights – Right against Exploitation (Very Short Article) - Fundamental Rights – Right to Freedom of Religion - Fundamental Rights – Cultural and Educational Rights - Fundamental Rights – Saving of Certain Laws - Fundamental Rights – Right to Constitutional Remedies - Directive Principles of State Policy - Emergency Provision and Special Provisions of the Indian Constitution - Indian Parliament – Functions of Indian Parliament The Composition of Rajya Sabha The maximum people that can be elected in Rajya Sabha is 250. Out of this, 238 are elected as the state representatives. While the remaining 12 are nominated by the president. The 238 people also consist of representatives from union territories. Currently, there are 245 members of Rajya members. Also, 229 of them are the state representatives. While 12 are nominated by the president and 4 are elected from union territories. For the allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha to states and union territories, the fourth schedule of the constitution is used. The elected members that are elected for the state legislative assemblies elect the state representatives in Rajya Sabha. Also, these seats are given in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of the population. For both the houses, the duration or tenure of their MP’s is different. Lok Sabha does not follow continuous members. The normal term in Lok Sabha is of 5 years. Thus, it is from the date of it’s first meeting to the general elections. The committee dissolves thereafter. While Rajya Sabha is considered as a permanent body. Thus, it is not subjected to dissolution. Also, 1/3rd members of the Rajya Sabha retire every 2nd year. These retiring members can stand for re-election as well as for re-nomination any number of times they want. Speaker and deputy speaker of Lok Sabha In Lok Sabha, the speaker is elected from amongst it’s elected members. Also, the date for the election of the speaker is fixed by the president. The speaker decides if a bill is a money bill or not. Also, the decision of the speaker is considered as final within any question. Like the election of the speaker, the deputy speaker is also elected by the members of Lok Sabha. However, the election date is fixed by the speaker. In the case of resignation, the deputy speaker offers his resignation to the speaker of Lok Sabha. Practice Questions on Indian Parliament and it’s structure Q. Which of the following member is authorized to decide about the disqualification of a member for the parliament C. Lok Sabha speaker D. Special committee Answer: B. President Q. In India, the upper of the people can be called A. Lok Sabha B. Rajya Sabha D. None of the above Answer: A. Lok Sabha

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Now, perhaps more than ever, engineers & scientists are taking inspiration from nature when developing new technologies. This is often also true for the smallest flying structure humans have built to date. Inspired by way trees like maples, disperse their seeds using little more than a stiff breeze, researchers developed many of small flying microchips, smallest one hardly bigger than a grain of sand. This flying microchip or ‘microflier’ catches wind & spins like of a helicopter towards the ground. The microfliers, designed by a team at the Northwestern University in Illinois, can be full of ultra-miniaturized technology, including sensors, power sources, antennas for wireless communication, and even embedded-memory for data storage. “Our goal was to add winged flight to small-scale electronic systems, with the idea that these capabilities would allow us to distribute highly functional, miniaturized electronic devices to sense the environment for contamination monitoring, population surveillance, or disease tracking,” says Northwestern’s John A. Rogers, who led the development of new device. The team of engineers wanted to design devices that might stay in the air for as long as possible, allowing them to maximize the collection of relevant data. When microflier falls through the air, its wings interact with the air to make a slow, stable rotational motion. “We think that we beat nature. At least in the narrow sense that we’ve been able to build structures that fall with more stable trajectories, and at slower terminal velocities than equivalent seeds that you would see from plants or trees,” says Rogers. “We were also ready to build these helicopter flying structures at sizes much smaller than those found in nature.” Rogers believes, these devices could potentially be dropped from the sky en masse and dispersed to monitor environmental remediation efforts, after an oil spill or to trace levels of pollution at the different altitudes. The irony of potentially-creating a new environmental pollutant, while trying to mitigate the consequences of another is not lost on Rogers & his team. In paper describing their work, authors relay these concerns: “Efficient methods for recovery & disposal must be carefully considered. One solution that bypasses these issues exploits devices constructed from materials that naturally resorb into environment through a reaction and/or physical disintegration to benign end products.” Fortunately, Rogers’ lab develops transient electronics that are capable of dissolving in water after they’re not useful. Using similar materials, he & his team aim to create fliers that would degrade & disappear in ground water over time. “We fabricate such physically transient electronics systems, using degradable polymers, compostable conductors & dissolvable integrated circuit chips that naturally vanish into environmentally benign-end products when exposed to water,” says Rogers. “We recognize that recovery of huge collections of microfliers could be difficult. To address this concern, these environmentally resorbable versions dissolve naturally & harmlessly.” The research was published in the journal Nature.

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The best way to know if your well water is safe is to get it tested! While many wells in Oregon provide clean water for many people, some wells do become contaminated due to natural and un-natural causes. This contamination can cause both short and long-term health effects. What contaminants can be present in well water? Both natural and un-natural contaminants can make their way into your water supply. Natural chemical or mineral contaminants may include arsenic and radon, while un-natural contaminants such as pesticides, chemicals, and bacteria can also be found in your water as a result of land use practices, storm water overflow, and other events happening near your well. Contaminants vary by location and all wells, despite a neighbor’s lack of contaminants or varying well depth, should be routinely monitored to ensure your and your family’s good health. In Oregon, routine testing for nitrates, coliform bacteria, and arsenic is recommended. If selling a property in Oregon, these tests are required by law. Can these contaminants make me and others sick? The short answer to this question is yes. While it may depend on the toxicity of a chemical, its concentration, and the duration of exposure, well water contaminants can lead to short and or long term health effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified the following to be the most common outbreaks in domestic well systems: While everyone in your household may not be affected, vulnerable populations (ie: children, the elderly, pregnant women, and autoimmune compromised individuals) are particularly susceptible. For other contaminants and their health effects, visit Drinking Water Services' list of chemicals. How do I know if there are contaminants in my well? Your well should be tested once a year by an accredited laboratory to monitor any contaminants present in your water supply. Several contaminants can be tested and what you choose to test for may depend on where your well is located on your property and whether you live in an urban or rural area. To help prevent contamination, visit our construction, testing, and resource section for more information. The National Groundwater Association also provides helpful tips on how to prevent contamination. What should I do if there are contaminants in my well? If you suspect your water may be contaminated, you should have your water tested. It is recommended that you test for nitrates and bacteria every year. Arsenic testing can be done once or every 3-5 years dependent on water quality. While you wait for results, if you suspect contamination it is recommended that you drink potable water from another source until notified of your results. Information on testing, how to read results, and treatment is available.

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The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over yearly parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The Orange Order (a Protestant, unionist organization) insists that it should be allowed to march its traditional route to-and-from Drumcree Church (see map). – Disclaimer – The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are soley intended to educate and provide background information to those interested in the Troubles of Northern Ireland. They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors. Drumcree Riots & Background However, most of this route is through the mainly Catholic/Irish nationalist part of town. The residents, who see the march as sectarian, triumphalist and supremacist, have sought to ban it from their area. The Orangemen see this as an attack on their traditions; they had marched the route since 1807, when the area was mostly farmland. The “Drumcree parade” is held on the Sunday before the Twelfth of July. There has been intermittent violence over the march since the 1800s. The onset of the Troubles led to the dispute intensifying in the 1970s and 1980s. At this time, the most contentious part of the route was the outward leg along Obins Street. After serious violence two years in a row, the march was banned from Obins Street in 1986. The focus then shifted to the march’s return leg along Garvaghy Road. Each July from 1995–2000, the dispute drew international attention as it sparked protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, prompted a massive police/British Army operation, and threatened to derail the peace process. The situation in Portadown was likened to a “war zone” and a “siege”. During this time, the dispute led to the killing of at least six Catholic civilians. In 1995 and 1996, residents succeeded in stopping the march. This led to a standoff at Drumcree between the security forces and thousands of Orangemen/loyalists. Following a wave of loyalist violence, the march was allowed through. In 1997, security forces locked-down the Catholic area and forced the march through, citing loyalist threats to kill Catholics. This sparked widespread protests and violence by nationalists. From 1998 onward the march was banned from Garvaghy Road and the Catholic area was sealed-off with large steel, concrete and barbed-wire barricades. Each year there was a major standoff at Drumcree and widespread loyalist violence. Since 2001 things have been relatively calm, but moves to get the two sides into face-to-face talks have failed Portadown has long been mainly Protestant and unionist/loyalist. At the height of the conflict in the 1990s, about 70% of the population were from a Protestant background and 30% from a Catholic background. The town’s Catholics and Irish nationalists, as in the rest of Northern Ireland, had long suffered discrimination, especially in employment. A loyalist arch is raised over the Garvaghy Road at the Corcrain River, just inside the Catholic district. This is to coincide with the “marching season”, when numerous Protestant/loyalist marches are held in the town. Each July there are five Protestant/loyalist parades that enter the mainly Catholic/Irish nationalist district: - The “Drumcree Sunday” parade from the town centre, to Drumcree Church, and back again. This is the biggest of the parades. Its traditional route was Obins Street→Corcrain Road→Dungannon Road→Drumcree Road→Garvaghy Road, but it is now banned from Obins Street and Garvaghy Road. - 12 July parade. This involves a morning march from Corcrain Orange Hall to the town centre. The marchers then travel to a bigger parade elsewhere, return to the town centre in the evening, and march back to Corcrain Orange Hall. Its traditional route was along Obins Street, but it is now along Corcrain Road. - 13 July parade. This follows the same format as the 12th parade. There is also a junior Orange parade each May along the lower Garvaghy Road at Victoria Terrace. The Orange Order was founded in 1795 in the village of Loughgall, a few miles from Drumcree, after the Battle of the Diamond. Its first ever marches were held on 12 July 1796 in Portadown, Lurgan and Waringstown. The area is thus seen as the birthplace of Orangeism. War Walks – The Boyne In July 1795, the year the Order formed, a Reverend Devine had held a Battle of the Boyne commemoration sermon at Drumcree Church. In his History of Ireland Vol I (published in 1809), historian Francis Plowden described what followed this sermon: [Reverend Devine] so worked up the minds of his audience, that upon retiring from service […] they gave full scope to the anti-papistical zeal, with which he had inspired them; falling upon every Catholic they met, beating and bruising them without provocation or distinction, breaking the doors and windows of their houses, and actually murdering two unoffending Catholics in a bog. The first official Orange parade to and from Drumcree Church was in July 1807. Originally and traditionally it was to celebrate the Battle of the Boyne, but the Order now claims that it commemorates the Battle of the Somme during World War I. See Battle of Somme Each July, the Orangemen have marched from the town centre to Drumcree via Obins Street/Dungannon Road and returned along Garvaghy Road. In the early 19th century, this area was mostly farmland. In 1835, Armagh magistrate William Hancock (a Protestant) wrote that “For some time past the peaceable inhabitants of the parish of Drumcree have been insulted and outraged by large bodies of Orangemen parading the highways, playing party tunes, firing shots and using the most opprobrious epithets they could invent”. He added that the Orangemen go “a considerable distance out of their way” to pass a Catholic chapel on their march to Drumcree. There was violence during the Drumcree parades in 1873, 1883, 1885, 1886, 1892, 1903, 1905, 1909 and 1917. After the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Northern Ireland Government‘s policy tended to favour Protestant and unionist parades. From 1922 to 1950, almost 100 parades and meetings were banned under the Special Powers Act – nearly all were Irish nationalist or republican. Although violence died down during this period, there were clashes at the 1931 and 1950 Drumcree parades. The Public Order Act 1951 exempted ‘traditional’ parades from having to ask police permission, but ‘non-traditional’ parades could be banned or re-routed without appeal. Again, the legislation tended to benefit Protestant parades. In the 1960s, housing estates were built along Garvaghy Road. In 1969, Northern Ireland was plunged into a conflict known as the Troubles. Portadown underwent major population shifts; these new estates became almost wholly Catholic, while the rest of the town’s estates became almost wholly Protestant. 1970s and 1980s: Obins Street In March 1972, thousands of loyalists attended an Ulster Vanguard rally in the town, which was addressed by Martin Smyth (‘Grand Master’ of the Orange Order) and the mayor of Portadown. After the rally, loyalists attacked the Catholic neighbourhood around Obins Street, known as “The Tunnel”.[ Following this, Catholic residents formed a protest group named the ‘Portadown Resistance Council’, which called for the upcoming marches to be re-routed away from Obins Street (see map). The Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a then-legal loyalist vigilante and paramilitary group, warned of consequences if anything was done to stop the march. The day before the march, Catholics sealed off Obins Street with makeshift barricades. On the morning of the march, Sunday 9 July, British troops and riot police moved in to secure the area. When they bulldozed the barricades they were stoned by Catholic protesters and responded by firing CS gas and rubber bullets. Once the area was secured, they allowed the 1,200 Orangemen to march along the road, which was lined by at least fifty masked and uniformed UDA members. The UDA men then made their way to Drumcree and escorted the Orangemen back into town along Garvaghy Road. With troops and police out in force, the march passed peacefully. However, on 12 July, three men were shot dead in Portadown. A Protestant, Paul Beattie, was shot in Churchill Park, a housing estate off Garvaghy Road. Hours later, a UDA member (and former police officer) entered McCabe’s Bar and shot the Catholic pub-owner, Jack McCabe, and a Protestant customer, William Cochrane. That day, under tight security, the Orangemen again marched along Obins Street, this time from Corcrain Orange Hall to the town centre. On 15 July, Catholic civilian Felix Hughes was kidnapped, beaten, tortured and shot dead by the UDA in a Protestant area of the town. He had been a long-time member of St Patrick’s Accordion Band based on Obins Street. Later in the month, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a bomb on Woodhouse Street, and loyalists bombed a Catholic church. In the Obins Street area there was also a gun battle involving the IRA, the UDA, and the security forces. The UDA’s involvement in the 1972 dispute made a lasting impression on Portadown’s Catholics and Irish nationalists. The IRA warned that the UDA would not be allowed to repeat such actions. On Saint Patrick’s Day 1985 the Saint Patrick’s Accordion Band (a local Catholic marching band) was given permission to parade a two-mile ‘circuit’ of the mainly Catholic area. However, a small part of the two-mile route (about 150 yards of Park Road) was lined with Protestant-owned houses. Arnold Hatch, the town’s Ulster Unionist Party mayor, demanded the march be banned. When the police let it go ahead, Hatch and a small group of loyalists staged a sit-down protest on Park Road. The police forced the band to turn around. That evening, the band again tried to march the route. Although the protesters had gone, police again stopped the band and there was a confrontation between police and residents. Following this incident, Portadown Catholics boosted their campaign to ban Orange marches from Obins Street. Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician Bríd Rodgers described this incident as “pivotal” in the escalation of the parade dispute. Among the 2,000 Orangemen were unionist politicians Martin Smyth (the Orange ‘Grand Master’), Harold McCusker and George Seawright. Riot police, armed with batons, forcefully removed the protesters and allowed the march to continue. At least one man was beaten unconscious by police and many were arrested. The whole length of Garvaghy Road was lined with British Army and police armoured vehicles for the march’s return leg.At one point stones were thrown at the marchers and an Orangeman was injured. Police announced that the 12 and 13 July marches would be re-routed away from Obins Street. On 12 July, eight Orange lodges and hundreds of loyalist bandsmen met at Corcrain Orange Hall and tried to march through Obins Street to the town centre. When they were blocked by police, hundreds of loyalists gathered at both ends of Obins Street and attacked police lines for several hours. These clashes resumed the following evening and loyalists attacked police with ball bearings fired from slingshots. In the two-day clashes, at least 52 police officers and 28 rioters were injured, 37 people were arrested (including two Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers) and about 50 Catholic-owned homes and businesses were attacked. After this, police erected a barrier at each end of Obins Street. In July 1985, residents of the Catholic district formed a group called People Against Injustice, later renamed the Drumcree Faith & Justice Group (DFJG). It quickly became the main group representing the residents. The DFJG sought to explain to Orangemen how residents felt about the marches and to improve cross-community relations. It organized peaceful protests, issued newsletters and held talks with police. It also tried, unsuccessfully, to hold talks with the Orangemen. One of the key figures in this group was a Jesuit priest who, during one of his Sunday sermons in Portadown, suggested that anyone who voted for Sinn Féin should consider themselves excommunicated. Apprentice Boys of Derry in Manchester – May 2008 The Apprentice Boys of Derry, a Protestant fraternity similar to the Orange Order, had planned to march along Garvaghy Road and through the town centre on the afternoon of 1 April (Easter Monday). On 31 March, police decided to ban the march as it believed loyalist paramilitaries were planning to hijack it. mThat evening, cars with loudspeakers toured Protestant areas and summoned people to gather in the town centre to contest the ban. At 1am, at least 3,000 loyalists gathered in the town centre, forced their way past a small group of police, and began marching along Garvaghy Road. Ian Paisley at Drumcree 1995 Among them was Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and Free Presbyterian Church. Residents claimed that some of the marchers were carrying guns and were known to be members of the police and UDR. Some of the marchers attacked houses along the route and residents claimed the police did little or nothing to stop this. There followed rioting between residents and the police, and residents set up barricades for fear of further attacks. There was a feeling among locals that police had “mutinied” and refused to enforce the ban. In the afternoon, Apprentice Boys bands tried to enter the town centre for their planned march. When police blocked them, a fierce riot erupted. After negotiations, the bands were allowed to march through the town centre with some restrictions. However, loyalists then attacked police who had sealed off Obins Street. One of the loyalists, Keith White, was shot in the face by a plastic bullet and died in hospital on 14 April. Police again decided that the Drumcree Sunday parade would be allowed along Obins Street with some restrictions, but that the 12 and 13 July parades would be re-routed. On 6 July 1985, an estimated 4,000 soldiers and police were deployed in the town for the Drumcree parade. Police said the Orange Order had allowed “known troublemakers” to take part in the march, contrary to a prior agreement. See George Seawright As the march entered the Catholic district, police seized Seawright and others. Orangemen then attacked the police and journalists. A Catholic priest was assaulted by loyalists and at Drumcree a police landrover was overturned. Catholic youths also threw missiles at the police and marchers. At least 27 officers were injured. The 12 July march into the town centre was blocked from Obins Street for the second year. Instead, police escorted the march along Garvaghy Road without any bands. Although there was no violence on Garvaghy Road, loyalists later rioted with police in the town centre and tried to smash through the barrier leading to Obins Street. 1987 and 1988 In 1987 the Public Order Act was repealed by the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, which removed the special status of ‘traditional’ parades. This meant that, after 1986, Orange marches were effectively banned from Obins Street indefinitely. The July 1987 march was re-routed and 3,000 soldiers and 1,000 police were sent to keep order. Orangemen believed that sacrificing the Obins Street leg meant they would be guaranteed the Garvaghy Road leg. Although the Garvaghy Road leg had caused trouble before, it was less populated than Obins Street at the time. In June 1988 the Drumcree Faith & Justice Group (DFJG)—the group representing the Catholic/Irish nationalist residents—planned a march to the town centre to highlight what it saw as “double-standards” in the police’s handling of nationalist and loyalist parades. It asked permission from police, saying there would be only 30 marchers and they would carry no flags or banners. They were denied permission. 1990s and 2000s: Garvaghy Road Although a few years passed without serious conflict over the Drumcree parades, both sides remained unhappy with the situation. Orangemen took the new route each year, but continued to apply for marches along Obins Street. Meanwhile, residents of Garvaghy Road and the surrounding Catholic district (see map) remained unhappy about what they viewed as “triumphalist” Orange marches through their area. They made their opposition known in a number of ways: through the tenants’ associations that represented each housing estate, through the Drumcree Faith & Justice Group (DFJG), and through local politicians. A 1993 survey of people living on Garvaghy Road found that 95% of them were against Orange marches in the area. Lead-up to July 1995 In 1994, the Provisional IRA and loyalist paramilitary groups called ceasefires. In May 1995 the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition (GRRC) was formed, comprising representatives from the DFJG and the tenants’ associations. Its main goal was to divert Orange marches away from Garvaghy Road through peaceful means. It held peaceful protests, petitioned the police and government ministers, and tried to draw media attention to the dispute. The GRRC held regular public meetings with residents. There were usually about 12 representatives on the committee at any one time . According to one of its members, Joanne Tennyson, “Although the GRRC could speak to anyone they wanted, at the end of the day no-one in the committee had the right to say we would do anything, not even […] the spokesman. The community had to agree as a whole and that was the purpose of holding public meetings”. The GRRC’s first secretary and spokesman was Father Eamon Stack, a Jesuit priest and DFJG member who had lived in the area since 1993. Stack emphasized that the GRRC was non-sectarian and was not connected to any political parties. He would remain its spokesman until after July 1997. By the mid-1990s, the population of Portadown was about 70% Protestant and 30% Catholic. There were three Orange halls in the town and an estimated 40 Protestant/loyalist marches each summer. On Sunday 9 July 1995, the Orangemen marched to Drumcree Church, held their church service, and then began marching towards the Garvaghy Road. However, hundreds of Catholic residents were holding a sit-down protest on Garvaghy Road to block the march. Although the march was legal and the protest was not, police stopped the march from continuing. The Orangemen refused to take an alternate route, announcing that they would stay at Drumcree until they were allowed to continue. The Orangemen refused to negotiate with the residents’ group, and the Mediation Network was called upon to intercede. The police and local politicians were also involved in trying to resolve the deadlock. Meanwhile, about 10,000 Orangemen and supporters had gathered at Drumcree and were engaged in a standoff with about 1,000 police. During this standoff, loyalists continuously threw missiles at the police and tried to break through the police blockade; police responded by firing 24 plastic bullets. In support of the Orangeman, loyalists blocked numerous roads across Northern Ireland, and sealed off the port of Larne. There was violence in some Protestant areas. On the evening of Monday 10 July, Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party leader) and David Trimble (Ulster Unionist Party leader) held a rally at Drumcree. Afterwards, they gathered a number of Orangemen and tried to push through the police line, but were taken away by officers. By the morning of Tuesday 11 July, a compromise was reached. The Orangemen would be allowed to march along Garvaghy Road on condition that they did so silently and without accompanying bands. Ronnie Flanagan (Deputy Chief Constable of the police) told the GRRC that residents should peacefully remove themselves from the road because “an angry scene between police and protesters could worsen the Ormeau marching dispute and even destabilise the ceasefires”. When GRRC member Breandán Mac Cionnaith asked protesters to clear the road, some heckled him and refused. Flanagan was told there would be a better chance of the protesters moving if they knew there would be no march there next year. Flanagan replied that “there was no question of marches going where there was no consent from the community”. The residents were then persuaded to clear the road. This was all confirmed by the Mediation Network. The Orangemen then marched along the road with Paisley and Trimble at the head of the march. As they reached the end of Garvaghy Road, Paisley and Trimble held their hands in the air in what appeared to be a gesture of triumph. Trimble claims that he only took Paisley’s hand to prevent the DUP leader from taking all the media attention. Both sides were deeply unhappy with the events of July 1995. Residents were angered that the parade had gone ahead and at what they saw as unionist triumphalism, while Orangemen and their supporters were angered that their parade had been held up by an illegal protest. Some Orangemen formed a group called Spirit of Drumcree (SoD) to defend their “right to march”. At a SoD meeting in Belfast’s Ulster Hall one of the platform speakers said, to applause: Sectarian means you belong to a particular sect or organisation. I belong to the Orange Institution. Bigot means you look after the people you belong to. That’s what I’m doing. I’m a sectarian bigot and proud of it. On Saturday 6 July 1996 the Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Annesley, stated that the parade would be banned from Garvaghy Road. Police checkpoints and barricades were set up on all routes into the nationalist area. On Sunday 7 July the march made its way to Drumcree Church and, after the church service, was again blocked by police barricades. At least 4,000 Orangemen and loyalist supporters began another standoff. That afternoon, Orange ‘Grand Master’ Martin Smyth arrived at Drumcree and announced that there could be no compromise. Over the next three days, buses full of Orangemen and their supporters arrived in Portadown, bringing traffic to a standstill. By Wednesday night the number of Orangemen and loyalists at Drumcree had risen to 10,000. Again, they pelted the police with missiles and tried to break through the blockade, while police responded with plastic bullets. Loyalists brought an armour-plated bulldozer to Drumcree, threatening to storm the police line. Throughout Northern Ireland, loyalists blocked hundreds of roads, clashed with the police, and attacked or intimidated Catholics and nationalists. Many towns and villages were blockaded, either completely or for much of the daytime. Several Catholic families were forced to flee their homes in Belfast due to loyalist intimidation. Human Rights Watch said that the police failed to remove these illegal roadblocks and had “abandoned its traditional policing function in some areas”. Loyalists also targeted the homes of police officers, mainly of those on duty at Drumcree. During the disorder, thousands of extra British troops were sent to Northern Ireland, bringing the total number of troops deployed to 18,500. On the night of 7 July, Catholic taxi-driver Michael McGoldrick was shot dead near Lurgan by the Mid Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. It is believed the killing was ordered by the brigade’s leader, Billy Wright, from Portadown. Wright was frequently seen at Drumcree in the company of Harold Gracey, head of the Portadown Orange Lodge. He also held a meeting with David Trimble, leader of the UUP. Members of the brigade smuggled homemade weaponry to Drumcree, apparently unhindered by the Orangemen. Allegedly, the brigade also had plans to drive petrol tankers into the Garvaghy area and blow them up. On Wednesday 10 July, the police reported that, over the previous four days of loyalist protests, there had been: - 100 incidents of intimidation - 758 attacks on the police - 90 civilians injured - 50 police injured - 662 plastic bullets fired by the police and - 156 arrests made Shortly before noon on Thursday 11 July, the Chief Constable reversed his decision and allowed the Orangemen to march along Garvaghy Road. The residents’ group had not been consulted on this and rioting erupted as police in armoured vehicles flooded the Garvaghy area and batoned hundreds of protesters off the Garvaghy Road. About 1,200 Orangemen then marched down the road while residents were hemmed into their estates by riot police.There was outrage among the Catholic/nationalist community, who believed that the police had “surrendered” to loyalist violence and the threat of violence. An article in the Irish News concluded that “the police did not have the will to impose the rule of law on the Orange Order and loyalists”. The Chief Constable said he believed the situation could no longer be contained. He claimed the crowd at Drumcree was expected to rise to 60,000 or 70,000 that night and would have broken through the defences and attacked the nationalist area. Nationalists argued that the police did nothing to stop the thousands of loyalists from gathering. Rioting erupted in nationalist areas of Lurgan, Armagh, Belfast and Derry. In Derry, 22 protesters were seriously injured and one, Dermot McShane, died after being run-over by a British Army armoured vehicle. Rioting continued throughout the week, during which time the police fired 6,000 plastic bullets, 5,000 of which were directed at nationalists. The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), who had sent members to observe the situation, condemned this “completely indiscriminate” use of plastic bullets. Human Rights Watch also accused the police of using “excessive force”. Following the events, leaders of Sinn Féin and the SDLP stated that nationalists had completely lost faith in the police as an impartial police force. In August 1996, Billy Wright and his Portadown unit of the UVF were ‘stood down’ by the UVF leadership for breaking the ceasefire. The UVF warned Wright to leave Northern Ireland. He ignored the warning, and a large rally was held in Portadown in support of him. Harold Gracey (head of the Portadown Orange Lodge) and William McCrea (a DUP politician) attended the rally and made speeches in support of Wright. Along with most of his Portadown unit, Wright then formed a splinter group called the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). Following the events of July 1996, many Catholics and nationalists began boycotting businesses run by Orangemen who had been involved in the standoff. In May 1997 a local Catholic, Robert Hamill, was kicked to death by a gang of loyalists on Portadown’s main street. He and his friends were attacked while walking home. Weeks before the July 1997 march, Secretary of State Mo Mowlam privately decided to let the march proceed along Garvaghy Road. However, in the days leading up to the march, she insisted that no decision had been made. Garvaghy Road residents applied to hold a festival on the day of the march. When this was banned by the police, local women set up a peace camp along the Garvaghy Road. On Thursday 3 July, the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) threatened to kill Catholic civilians if the march was blocked and the Ulster Unionist Party threatened to withdraw from the Northern Ireland peace process. The following day, sixty families had to be evacuated from their homes on Garvaghy Road after a loyalist bomb threat. In the days leading up to the march, thousands of British troops were flown to Northern Ireland. Less than twelve hours before the Sunday 6 July march, the authorities still did not say whether it would be blocked. Then, at 3:30 am that morning, 1500 police and soldiers swept into the nationalist area in armoured vehicles and took control of the Garvaghy Road. About 100 residents managed to get to the road and stage a sit-down protest. They were forcefully removed by the police, who were then pelted with stones and petrol bombs as they pushed residents further back from the road. Rosemary Nelson—a prominent human rights lawyer and the GRRC’s legal advisor—was physically and verbally abused by police officers. From this point onward, residents were prevented from leaving their housing estates and accessing the Garvaghy Road. As residents were also unable to reach the Catholic church, the local priests held an open-air mass in front of a line of soldiers and armoured personnel carriers. The Chief Constable said he had allowed the march to go ahead because of the threat to Catholic civilians by loyalist paramilitaries. About 1,200 Orangemen marched along Garvaghy Road at noon that day. After the march passed, the security forces began withdrawing from the area and severe rioting began. They were attacked by hundreds of nationalists with stones, bricks and petrol bombs. The security forces fired about 40 plastic bullets, and about 18 people were taken to hospital. As news from Portadown emerged, violence erupted in several nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. The Provisional IRA launched numerous gun and bomb attacks on the security forces. Nationalists also attacked the security forces and blocked roads with burning vehicles. There were protests against the police and Orange marches, and a number of Orange halls were burnt. The widespread violence lasted until 10 July, when the Orange Order decided unilaterally to re-route or cancel several marches. By the end of the violence, more than 100 civilians and 60 police officers had been injured, while 117 people had been arrested. There had been 815 attacks on the security forces, 1,506 petrol bombs thrown and 402 hijackings. The police had fired 2,500 plastic bullets. In 1997, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams told an RTÉ journalist of his party’s involvement in the dispute: Ask any activist in the north, ‘did Drumcree happen by accident?’, and he will tell you, ‘no’. Three years of work on the lower Ormeau Road, Portadown and parts of Fermanagh and Newry, Armagh and in Bellaghy and up in Derry. Three years of work went into creating that situation and fair play to those people who put the work in. They are the type of scene changes that we have to focus on and develop and exploit. After July 1997, GRRC member Brendan McKenna (Irish: Breandán Mac Cionnaith) replaced Eamon Stack as the group’s spokesman. Mac Cionnaith had been convicted and imprisoned for his involvement in a 1981 IRA bomb attack on Portadown’s Royal British Legion hall. He was released in 1984. This was the last time that the Orange Order was allowed to march on Garvaghy Road. Early in 1998 the Public Processions Act was passed, establishing the Parades Commission. The Commission was now responsible for deciding what route contentious marches should take. On 29 June 1998, the Parades Commission decided to ban the march from Garvaghy Road. On Friday 3 July about 1,000 soldiers and 1,000 police were deployed in Portadown. The soldiers built large barricades (made of steel, concrete and barbed wire) across all roads leading into the nationalist area. In the fields between Drumcree Church and the nationalist area they dug a trench, fourteen feet wide, which was then lined with rows of barbed wire. Soldiers also occupied the Catholic Drumcree College, St John the Baptist Primary School, and some properties near the barricades. On Sunday 5 July the Orangemen marched to Drumcree Church and stated that they would remain there until they were allowed to proceed. About 10,000 Orangemen and loyalists arrived at Drumcree from across Northern Ireland. A loyalist group calling itself “Portadown Action Command” issued a statement which read: As from midnight on Friday 10 July 1998, any driver of any vehicle supplying any goods of any kind to the Gavaghy Road will be summarily executed. Over the next ten days, there were loyalist protests and violence across Northern Ireland in response to the ban. Loyalists blocked roads and attacked the security forces as well as Catholic homes, businesses, schools and churches. On 7 July, the mainly-Catholic village of Dunloy was “besieged” by over 1,000 Orangemen. The County Antrim Grand Lodge said that its members had “taken up positions” and “held” the village. On 8 July, eight blast bombs were thrown at Catholic homes in the Collingwood area of Lurgan. There were also sustained attacks on the security forces at Drumcree and attempts to break through the blockade. On 9 July, the security forces at Drumcree were attacked with gunfire and blast bombs; they responded with plastic bullets. The police recorded 2,561 “public order incidents” throughout Northern Ireland, including: - 615 attacks on the security forces, which left 76 police offices injured - 24 shooting incidents - 45 blast bombs thrown - 632 petrol bombs thrown - 837 plastic bullets fired by the security forces - 144 houses and 165 other buildings attacked (the vast majority owned by Catholics/nationalists) - 467 vehicles damaged and 178 vehicles hijacked, and - 284 people arrested On Sunday 12 July, Jason (aged 8), Mark (aged 9) and Richard Quinn (aged 10) were burnt to death when their home was petrol bombed by loyalists. The boys’ mother was a Catholic, and their home was in a mainly-Protestant part of Ballymoney. Following the murders, William Bingham (County Grand Chaplain of Armagh and member of the Orange Order negotiating team) said that “walking down the Garvaghy Road would be a hollow victory, because it would be in the shadow of three coffins of little boys who wouldn’t even know what the Orange Order is about”. He said that the Order had lost control of the situation and that “no road is worth a life”. However he later apologized for implying that the Order was responsible for the deaths. The murders provoked widespread anger and calls for the Order to end its protest at Drumcree. Although the number of protesters at Drumcree dropped considerably, the Portadown lodges voted unanimously to continue their standoff. On Wednesday 15 July the police began a search operation in the fields at Drumcree. A number of loyalist weapons were found, including a homemade machine gun, spent and live ammunition, explosive devices, and two crossbows with more than a dozen homemade explosive arrows. In the year after July 1998, the Orange Order and GRRC tried to resolve the dispute through “proximity talks” using go-betweens, as the Orangemen refused to talk directly to the GRRC. Some senior Portadown Orangemen claim that they had been promised a parade on Garvaghy Road later that year if they could control things on the traditional parading dates. Throughout the year the Orangemen and supporters held scores of protest rallies and marches in Portadown. Following one protest in September 1998, a Catholic RUC officer was killed by a blast bomb thrown by loyalist rioters. A renegade loyalist group, the Orange Volunteers, also began carrying out attacks on Catholics and Irish nationalists. On 14 March 1999, the Parades Commission said the yearly march would again be banned from Garvaghy Road. The following day the GRRC’s legal advisor, Rosemary Nelson, was assassinated in Lurgan by loyalists. In April, Portadown loyalists threatened to picket St John’s Catholic Church at the top of Garvaghy Road. On 29 May a ‘junior’ Orange march passed near Garvaghy Road. There were clashes following the march with 13 police officers and four civilians hurt. The police fired 50 plastic bullets during the clashes. “If it is a matter of taking the law into our own hands then we are going to have to do it. That is a threat”. On 24 June, Orangemen began a ten-day ‘Long March’ from Derry to Drumcree in protest at the ban. The 1999 Drumcree march took place on Sunday 4 July. About 1,300 Orangemen marched to Drumcree and were met by several thousand supporters. The security forces had again blocked all roads leading into the nationalist area with large steel, concrete and barbed wire barricades. Rows of barbed wire were also stretched across the fields at Drumcree. There, loyalists threw missiles at police and soldiers, but there was less violence than the year before. On 5 July, police in Portadown arrested four Belfast loyalists after finding pickaxe handles, wire cutters, petrol and combat clothing in their car. Later that day, six officers were hurt in clashes with loyalists near Garvaghy Road. The barricades were eventually removed on 14 July. On 31 July, a drunken loyalist wielding an AK-47 and a handgun crossed the interface to Craigwell Avenue, a street of Catholic-owned houses. A resident wrestled him to the ground and disarmed him, but was shot and wounded while doing so. The loyalist was arrested and later convicted for attempted murder. In August, breeze blocks were thrown through the windows of houses on the street. Also that year, the GRRC published a book detailing the history of Orange parades in the area. The book was called Garvaghy: A Community Under Siege. In 1999, the Orange Order’s membership for the Portadown district, which had increased from 1995 through 1998, began a “catastrophic slump”. 2000 marching season In April 2000, a newspaper reported that Portadown Orangemen had threatened British Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying that if that year’s march was banned from Garvaghy Road it would prove to be his “Bloody Sunday“. The following month, almost 200 masked loyalists attacked Catholic-owned houses on Craigwell Avenue after assembling at Carlton Street Orange Hall. Allegedly, police landrovers were nearby but did not intervene. On 27 May, the nationalist area was sealed-off so that a ‘junior’ Orange parade could march along the lower end of Garvaghy Road. The march included men in paramilitary uniform. On 31 May, a children’s cross-community concert at St John’s Catholic Church was disrupted by Portadown Orangemen beating Lambeg drums, allegedly trying to drown it out. Present at the concert were Secretary of State Peter Mandelson and UUP leader (and Orangeman) David Trimble. After the concert, teachers, parents, children and guests held a reception at the Protestant Portadown College. A 300-strong loyalist mob hurled missiles and sectarian abuse while preventing families from leaving the College. The security forces were deployed but did not disperse the mob or make arrests. On 7 June, St John’s Catholic Church was set alight by arsonists. On 16 June, Catholic workers at Denny’s factory in Portadown walked-out after placards carrying sectarian slogans were erected near the main entrance. The week before, loyalists had thrown missiles at Catholics leaving the factory. The placards were removed shortly after. Later in the month, loyalists sent death threats to workers who were reinforcing the security barrier (or “peace line“) along Corcrain Road. The work stopped, leaving the nationalist area vulnerable to attack. In July, it was revealed that members of neo-Nazi group Combat 18 were travelling from England to join the Orangemen at Drumcree. They were given shelter by LVF members in Portadown and Tandragee. That month, Portadown Orangeman Ivan Hewitt (who sported neo-Nazi tattoos) warned in a TV documentary that it may be time for loyalists to “bring their war to Britain”. The 2000 Drumcree march took place on Sunday 2 July. It was again banned from Garvaghy Road and the nationalist area was sealed off with barricades. Speaking after the march was stopped, Orange ‘District Master’ Harold Gracey called for protests across Northern Ireland. A prominent leader of the protesters, Mark Harbinson, a Stoneyford Orangeman who was associated with the paramilitary Orange Volunteers, proclaimed that “the war begins today”. On Monday 3 July a crowd of over fifty loyalists, led by UDA commander Johnny Adair, appeared at Drumcree with a banner bearing “Shankill Road UFF” [Ulster Freedom Fighters]. In the Corcrain area, LVF gunmen fired a volley of shots in the air for Adair and a cheering crowd. On Tuesday 4 July, security forces used water cannon against loyalist protesters at the Drumcree barricade. This was their first deployment in Northern Ireland for over 30 years. In an interview on 7 July, Harold Gracey refused to condemn the violence linked to the protests, saying “Gerry Adams doesn’t condemn violence so I’ll not”. On 9 July, the police warned that loyalists had threatened to “kill a Catholic a day” until the Orangemen were allowed to march along Garvaghy Road. Two days later, a group of 150–200 loyalists ordered all shops in Portadown’s town centre to shut. Along with another group, they then tried to march on Garvaghy Road from both ends, but were held back by police. That night, 21 police officers were hurt during clashes with loyalists. On 14 July, Portadown Orangemen’s calls for another day of widespread protest went unheeded as the Armagh and Grand Lodges refused to support their calls. Businesses remained open and only a handful of roads were blocked for a short time. The security barriers were removed and soldiers returned to barracks. Since July 1998, the Orangemen have applied to march the traditional route every Sunday of the year – both the outward leg via Obins Street (which has been banned since 1986) and the return leg via Garvaghy Road.They have also held a small protest at Drumcree Church every Sunday. Their proposals have been rejected by the Parades Commission. In February 2001, loyalists held protests on the lower Garvaghy Road as part of the run-up to “day 1000” of the standoff. The GRRC said that up to 300 people, some masked and armed with clubs, intimidated people living on Garvaghy Road. Some protesters also attacked a car with four women inside.[ There was further violence in May 2001. On 5 May, 300 Orangemen and supporters tried to march on to Garvaghy Road but were stopped by police. There were some scuffles between Orangemen and police officers. District Master Harold Gracey drew controversy when he said to the police officers: “We all know where you come from…you come from the Protestant community, the vast majority of you come from the Protestant community and it is high time that you supported your own Protestant people”. On 12 May there were clashes between loyalists and nationalists on Woodhouse Street. On 27 May there were clashes between nationalists and police after a junior Orange march on the lower Garvaghy Road. Four days before the July 2001 Drumcree march, 200 supporters and members of the UDA rallied at Drumcree. The Portadown Orange Lodge claimed that it was powerless to stop such people from gathering and that they could not be held responsible for their actions. Nevertheless, David Jones (the Lodge’s spokesman) said that he welcomed any support. Bríd Rogers, a local SDLP politician, called this “a further example” of the Orangemen’s “double standards”. She said that the Orangemen would not speak to the GRRC because of Mac Cionnaith’s “terrorist past”, yet they are “quite happy to associate with people who have a terrorist present”. The march passed off peacefully under a heavy security presence. Since 2001 Drumcree has been relatively calm, with outside support for the Portadown lodges’ campaign declining and the violence lessening greatly. Mac Cionnaith said that he believes the conflict is essentially over. The Orange Order continues to campaign for the right to march on Garvaghy Road. Routes of the Protestant parades before they were banned from Obins Street (A) in 1986. Route taken by Orangemen on the Sunday before 12 July; from their Carlton Street Hall (D) under the railway bridge (C) along Obins Street (A) to Drumcree Church (F) and back along Garvaghy Road (B). Blue line: Route taken on 12 July; from Corcrain Hall (E) along Obins Street (A) and under the railway bridge (C). Green areas are largely nationalist/Catholic. Orange areas are largely unionist/Protestant. – Disclaimer – The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are soley intended to educate and provide background information to those interested in the Troubles of Northern Ireland. They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors.

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(dailyRx News) Both diabetes and obesity can raise the risk for heart disease and death. Fortunately, there are ways to help people manage their weight and diabetes, and one of those ways may be surgery. A recent study found that gastric bypass surgery — a weight loss surgery that reduces the size of the stomach — significantly lowered the risk of heart disease, stroke and other diabetes-related complications in obese diabetes patients. The researchers suggested that their findings can help educate the public about the benefits of gastric bypass surgery for obese people with diabetes. The lead author of this study was Ali Aminian, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The study included 131 obese people with diabetes and no heart disease. All of them had gastric bypass surgery between January 2004 and December 2007. The average age of the participants was 48.3 years old. They had all had had diabetes for an average of 6.4 years. The researchers determined risk for different conditions and complications related to diabetes at initial screening and after follow-up. The risk assessment involved coronary heart (blood flow to the heart area) disease, cerebrovascular (blood flow in the brain) disease, peripheral vascular (blood flow to legs and feet) disease, intermittent claudication (pain from bad circulation), heart attack, stroke and death from heart disease. After an average follow-up time of 6.4 years after surgery, the researchers found that they lost an average of 60 percent of their excess weight. There was also diabetes remission in 61 percent of the participants. The findings also showed that 85 percent of the participants had reached levels of HbA1c (measure of blood sugar over the past three months) that were within the recommended goals. In addition, 73 percent of the participants were able to lower their cholesterol to be within the recommended goals. A total of 61 percent of the participants reached recommended blood pressure levels as well. Overall, the surgery reduced the 10-year risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease by 27 percent. Individually, the researchers also found that gastric bypass surgery was associated with a 20 percent reduction of 10-year risk for CHD. The 10-year risk of heart attack and stroke was reduced by 40 percent and 42 percent, respectively. The researchers also found that there was a 45 percent reduced five-year risk of moderate to severe kidney disease. Lastly, the participants had lowered the five-year risk of dying from heart disease by 18 percent. The researchers concluded that gastric bypass surgery could significantly reduce complications associated with diabetes over the long term. The researchers suggested that these findings can help raise public awareness about the benefits of gastric bypass surgery. This study was presented at the 30th Annual Meeting for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery on November 13.

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Fate of Salmonella montevideo, Salmonella gaminara, and Salmonella poona in homemade unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices Cornwell, Claudia Maria MetadataShow full item record The effects of acid adaptation on the survival of Salmonella spp. in acidic unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices stored at 3 temperatures, and the survival of S. Poona in unpasteurized cantaloupe juice were studied. Juices with pH ranges of 3.0 to 4.3 were inoculated with 10^8 CFU/ml of acid adapted (grown in tryptic soy broth supplemented with 0.4% dextrose overnight) and non-adapted (grown in TSB overnight) cells, stored at 4, 10, and 20?C, and sampled every 24 h up to one week. Samples were enumerated on bismuth sulfite (BSA) and plate count agar supplemented with nalidixic acid. The same procedure was followed with cantaloupe juice except: only non-adapted cells were used and samples were enumerated only on BSA. Adapted and non-adapted cells had no significant difference on survival. The highest lethality of Salmonella occurred in the most acidic juice. In cantaloupe juice, S. Poona was able to multiply at 20?C. Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject. Salmonella harborage sites in infected poultry and influence of coccidiosis on the course of salmonella infection Rimet, Claire-Sophie Claude Yvette (uga, 2018-05)Salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne illness worldwide. The first objective of this research was to identify Salmonella harborage sites in tissues present in ground poultry. Experimental infection of turkeys ... Danyluk, Michelle Dawn (uga, 2002-12)108 fecal samples were obtained from calves, dairy and beef cows. Salmonella spp. was isolated from 9.25% of samples. Of 1097 bacterial isolates from cattle feces screened, 30 demonstrated anti- S. Typhimurium DT104 activity ... Haley, Bradd Joseph (uga, 2006-12)Salmonella is primarily considered a zoonotic foodborne disease. However, outbreaks from contaminated water and produce-associated foodborne salmonellosis have increasingly been reported. These waterborne disease outbreaks ...

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Bengaluru: India's maiden attempt to develop a New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (NGARM) has finally picked up momentum. Scientists with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are warming up to undertake the pending trials of this state-of-the-art missile without further delay. Its user - the Indian Air Force (IAF) - feels that the DRDO must fast-track the project. Early this year, the DRDO had claimed that the NGARM was successfully launched from a Sukhoi-30 MKI for the first time over Bay of Bengal. Parameters such as control guidance, aerodynamics and propulsion without a seeker were tested during this maiden trial held on January 18. This is the first time an indigenous anti-radiation missile system is being developed within the country. Story so far Feasibility studies on NGARM were initiated during 2012/13 period. Based on preliminary studies and design iterations, a missile configuration was evolved. The missile configuration was planned to be developed fully indigenously with an aim to provide tactical air superiority capability to the user. The crucial technologies to be mastered were development of a wide-band passive seeker, a milli-metric wave active seeker, radome for the seekers and development of dual-pulse propulsion system. The top-3 anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) in the world are AARGM (AGM-88E) of the United States, Kh-31P of Russia and MAR-1 of Brazil. All these missiles have a range in the order of 100 kms, while India’s NGARM too is in the same range. The IAF has Kh-31P in its weaponry and DRDO’s next-generation desi ARM promises to be better. What is NGARM? ARM is a specialized weapon and as the name suggests it is used to destroy or suppress radiation emitting sources like enemy surveillance radars or fire control radars. The missile is approx 5.5 m with a cruciform wing surfaces to meet the manoeuvrability requirements. The all-movable tail control surfaces provide control in pitch/yaw/roll planes. The weight of the missile is around 600kg and is powered by a dual-pulse solid rocket motor system. Mid-course guidance is accomplished through inertial navigation and PHH (passive homing head) seeker. The terminal guidance is through millimetre wave (MMW) active seeker. What is a seeker? Seeker is basically the eye of the missile. It transmits radio frequency pulses and receives the echo from the intended target object. Based on processing of the signal, the range of the target i.e. its position can be deduced. In the case of imaging seeker, we can literally see the image of the target. DRDO says the missile can be integrated on to fighter aircraft under different combinations and it is tailor-made to be flight-tested from Su-30 MkI. In future, the missile could be flying on board the Mirages and Tejas, as well. Currently, many home-grown weapons are under development with Su-30 MKI as the platform. How does it work? It is an air-to-ground weapon generally launched from a multi-role strike aircraft to provide tactical air superiority in warfare. The passive seeker in the missile is able to detect and lock on to a ground based radiation emitting source/radar. Key features of the radar and the direction of arrival of the RF (radio frequency) emission are processed by the seeker. This information along with range to target is provided to launch computer. Missile navigation and guidance towards the target during the midcourse is based on the continuous inputs from sensors like INS (inertial navigation system) and passive homing seeker. These are processed by an on-board computer to generate the autopilot commands and the control system steers the missile towards the target. During the terminal phase of the mission, the target location information is provided by MMW seeker. Role in war Anti-radiation missiles have come to play a crucial role in air-to-ground warfare against radar installations with the aim of achieving air superiority. Suppression of the radar systems enables the strike aircraft to perform their missions without the prospect of facing imminent threats from radar-guided surface-to-air missiles. Historically the first ARM, US AGM-45 Shrike entered combat during late 1960’s, wherein the weapon was integrated with a specialized aircraft that was capable of detecting threat emitters and launching the missile for a ‘hard’ kill. Subsequently, upgraded versions AGM-88 (HARM) have been widely used by the US Air Force during Operation Desert Storm against Iraqi radar installations. A young project team with an average age of 40-42 years have been hooked on to India’s NGARM mission since 2014, the time project started to pick up momentum. Hyderabad-based DRDL is the nodal agency for this missile project and its management, with DRDO’s sister labs including RCI, HEMRL, ARDE, TBRL and DLRL playing their respective roles in the development of the weapon. The software labs of IAF are the key brains behind the project ensuring the smooth marriage between the missile and the mean machine, Sukhoi. The modification on Sukhoi has been carried out by HAL’s Nasik division while Bengaluru-based National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities (NTAF) of National Aerospace Laboratories undertook extensive wind-tunnel tests. Several private industrial partners too have chipped in towards realisation of various hardware sub-systems. Trials so far Carriage flight trials in several phases have been carried out to prove the mechanical\electrical integration and software interfacing of the missile with the aircraft. Based on the successful completion of these activities, the maiden flight trial of NGARM was carried out in January. DRDO officials claim that the missile successfully impacted at the designated point with high accuracy. The point of impact was within 10 m of the circular error probability (CEP). In ballistic parlance, CEP is the measurement of the weapon’s precision. In the recent flight, mission aspects like auto-launch sequence, store separation, dual pulse propulsion system, guidance and inertial navigation, autopilot and control system, thermal batteries, aerodynamics and airframe were successfully proven. The January trial was for a range of 100 km and scientists say the NGARM can strike at distances ‘double the intended range’ depending upon the altitude. The missile will now be heading for a series of carriage and release flight trials. The carriage flight trials will be conducted to evaluate the performance of seekers against a wide range of targets. Subsequently, release flight missions will be planned to demonstrate the mid-course guidance and terminal guidance using seekers. Scientists tracking NGARM flightpath confirmed to Onmanorama that the next flight will be a ‘seeker performance evaluation’ one. A desi passive seeker will be onboard the missile during the next trial, while the test after that will have an active seeker as well. Trials of NGARM with both seekers together should be in July or August this year. Plans are also afoot to develop future variants of NGARM. It would mean upgrades with higher versions of software with capability to handle larger variety of targets under various operational scenarios. An IAF official tracking this mission says NGARM is essential for war-fighting and a home-grown one gives more options on different fighter assets. “But we need to get the missile on time. The DRDO getting into this is good news, but they have been at it for five years. They have not yet mastered the technology for the sensors, which is the most critical part,” the official said. He said the first carriage flight was a setback as the missile control fins failed in carriage itself before release. “The next carriage and release test without sensor was okay. The DRDO takes one year between each test, which is a cause of worry,” the official added. When missile scientists were confronted with IAF’s point of view, they refused to be pulled into a debate. “We are working closely with IAF. On sensors, the IAF wanted us to have a Plan-B, since developing a new system has its own challenges. This is not a standalone case of NGARM. Every Indian missile has gone through this phase. But in five years, we have come this far,” says a scientist. With the changing scenarios of war-fighting post Pulwama, IAF wants DRDO to apply logic to projects than emotions. And, DRDO says NGARM will add an inspiring story to India’s missile history. “We will be able to prove all major technologies this year,” said a scientist. (The writer is an independent aerospace and defence journalist, who blogs at Tarmak007 and tweets @writetake.)

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Dialysis technicians handle numerous duties related to dialysis treatment, from monitoring and maintaining dialysis equipment to acting as primary care givers for patients who are undergoing dialysis treatment. Many technical colleges offer programs to train those interested in becoming a dialysis technician. You’ll learn about anatomy and physiology, as well as blood chemistries, infectious diseases and dialysis systems and equipment. After just two years, you can find yourself earning a decent living in the health care industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups dialysis technicians under the broader job category of medical and clinical lab technicians. These workers averaged $38,960 a year as of May 2011, the BLS reports. The median salary was $36,950 a year. Neither figure, however, accounts for particular specialties. A cytotechnologist, for example, would earn a different pay scale than a dialysis technician. Other Salary Estimates ExploreMedicalCareers.com puts the median wage for dialysis technicians at $33,000 a year as of 2012. Technician Resource, a site devoted to medical techs, had a similar number, estimating the median wage at $32,500 a year. As with any career, experience plays a role in wages. At the start of your career, you might earn as little as $25,000 a year based on a 40-hour work week, according to Technician Resource. Seasoned dialysis techs are more likely to earn above $40,000 a year. Location also affects salaries for dialysis technicians. A salary survey of 10 major U.S. cities conducted by the Economic Research Institute found that dialysis technicians in New York City earned the highest average salaries, at $42,605 a year. Those working in Los Angeles ranked second, at nearly $41,000 a year. The lowest average salaries of the 10 cities surveyed were paid in Orlando, Fla., at $34,619 a year. The BLS expects the number of jobs for all medical lab techs to rise15 percent from 2010 to 2020. This is slightly faster than the projected growth rate for all U.S. occupations. Demand for jobs will be driven in part by the aging baby boomer generation, which will need increased medical care from dialysis technicians and other medical personnel. - Bureau of Labor Statistics: Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians - Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook – Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians - Explore Medical Careers: Dialysis Technician - Technician Resource: Dialysis Technician Salary - Economic Research Institute: Dialysis Technician Salary Survey Data - Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images

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Things to Know about Cataracts and Some Prevention Tips BY Jeffrey Meier Cataract is a condition in which the eye lens becomes progressively opaque. In the initial stage, the crystalline lens may be increased causing myopia and soon accumulation of brown pigment within the lens may reduce the perception of blue colors. Slowly the cataracts will cause loss of vision and one can become blind completely if it’s not given timely treatment. Another fatal cause is that the cataract cortex sometimes liquefies to form a milky white fluid in a morgagnian cataract, leading to severe inflammation when lens capsule ruptures and leaks, causing phacomorphic glaucoma. Varied reasons are given for the formation of cataracts. Some are caused due to exposure to ultraviolet rays, effects of diseases like diabetes, advanced age when the lens gets weakened, genetic factors and eye injuries. Types of cataracts • Age-related cataract • Immature Senile Cataract which leads to partially opaque lens and disc view is hazy. • Mature Senile Cataract has completely opaque lens. • Hyper mature Senile Cataract has liquefied cortical matter: • Congenital cataract • Sutural cataract • Lamellar cataract • Zonular cataract • Total cataract • Secondary cataract • Drug-induced cataract • Traumatic cataract and • Blunt trauma Penetrating trauma which has capsular rupture and leakage of lens material. Surgery is considered the most effective treatment for the removal of cataract. One type of cataract surgery is the Extra-capsular surgery which removes the affected lens only, leaving the majority of the lens capsule intact. The other surgical removal of the cataract is Intra-capsular surgery which removes the entire lens of the eye. This surgery replaces the cataractous lens with a permanent plastic lens. Due to its low cost and also its affinity, polymethylmethacrylate PMMA is widely used to replace the cataract lens. A softer and more expensive one is the silicon acrylate which can be folded and inserted into the eye through a smaller incision. It’s specially recommended for those with a history of uvetus or at risky stage of retinal detachment. There is also the latest approved multifocal intraocular lens implants which enables most post operative cataract patients the advantage of glass free vision and they are costly too, can rise up to $1500 per eye. But then one’s eye is very precious, it’s worth the amount spent indeed. For cataract operations, one needs only a day. In fact the patient can leave for home the same day itself. Although yes, risk cases arise only after the surgery’s done. Cases such as thickening and clouding of the lens capsule are common, though it can be quickly corrected using a laser. Well, retinal detachment is another complication of cataract surgery with those patients of extreme myopia. • Protecting the eye from ultra violet rays by using good sunglasses, which will to an extent reduce the development of cataracts. • Regular intake of antioxidants like vitamin C and E. • Stalin’s also have a stable ability to reduce lipids; especially its oxidative quality is useful in the development of nuclear cataracts, which is an age related cataract. Jeffrey Meier of Jam727 Enterprises at http://www.Jam727.com offers health information and articles on a wide variety of topics. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeffrey_Meier

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1st Ukrainian Front |1st Ukrainian Front| |Role||Co-ordination and conduct of Red Army Operations in Ukraine, Poland, and Germany| Siege of Breslau |General Nikolai F. Vatutin (October 1943 – March 1944)| Marshal Georgy K. Zhukov (March – May 1944) Marshal Ivan S. Konev (May 1944 – May 1945) The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. During the first months of the war, officers from 16 regions of Ukraine conscripted about 2.5 million people from military enlistment offices. 1.3 million militiamen from the left-bank and southern regions of Ukraine fought against the enemy. In 1941, about 3.185 million citizens of the Ukrainian SSR were sent to the Soviet Red Army and Navy. Replenishing mostly the units of the Southern and Southwestern fronts, the Ukrainian people formed the basis of the 37th, 38th, and 40th armies; and the 13th and 17th rifle divisions. Due to the conscription of civilians, the proportion of Ukrainian citizens fighting in south-west Ukraine reached 50%. This significantly exceeded the percentage of Ukrainians from the army as a whole. From 1943 to 1944, the Red Army recruited more than 3 million people, which was 10% of the total population of Ukraine, although in the Volyn region, this figure was 16%. Ukrainians accounted for 60–80% of Soviet Red Army soldiers in the 1st to 4th Ukrainian Fronts. The Ukrainian people were conscripted to join all four Ukrainian fronts, and this process lasted until the end of 1944. According to Vladislav Hrynevych, in the summer of 1943 in the Donetsk region 12,860 people were called up and conscripted by advancing units. In Sumy region - 24,031 people were recruited. Military enlistment offices were also established in liberated Ukrainian areas. This acted as a catch-22 - those who avoided conscription by the army were conscripted by the military enlistment offices. According to researchers, during 1943-1945 about 4.5 million Ukrainians became Red Army soldiers. After June 1944, almost 40% of the Soviet Red Army consisted of Ukrainians. The losses of the Ukrainian people during World War Two account for 40-44% of the total losses of the USSR. The Voronezh front was established at the end of June 1942 when tanks of the German Wehrmacht's 6th Army reached Voronezh during the early stages of Operation Blau. It was split off the earlier Bryansk Front in order to better defend the Voronezh region. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River. The Voronezh Front participated in the Battle of Voronezh, the defensive operations on the approaches to Stalingrad, and in the December 1942 Operation Saturn, the follow-on to the encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad where it destroyed the Hungarian Second Army. Following Operation Saturn, the front was involved in Operation Star, which included the Third Battle of Kharkov, which resulted in a long battle from 2 February to 23 March 1943, and the reversal of much of the Soviet gains by the Germans. During Zvezda the front included the 38th, 40th, 60th, and 69th Armies plus the 3rd Tank Army, resulting in the reorganisation of the 3rd Tank Army as the 57th Army due to its destruction. In the Battle of Kursk in August 1943, the front operated on the southern shoulder, during which it commanded the Battle of Prokhorovka on the Soviet side. During Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev, which began on August 3, 1943, the front included 38th, 40th, 27th Armies; the 6th and 5th Guards; and the 1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies. During this battle both the 1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies made their main effort in the 5th Guards Army sector, and succeeded eventually in liberating both Belgorod and Kharkov. One of the divisions in the 5th Guards Army was the 13th Guards Rifle Division. The front also fought in the subsequent liberation of eastern Ukraine. On October 20, 1943, the Voronezh Front was renamed to the 1st Ukrainian Front. This name change reflected the westward advance of the Red Army in its campaign against the German Wehrmacht, leaving Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic behind and moving into Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. During 1944, the front participated with other fronts in the battles of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyy, and the battle of Hube's Pocket in Ukraine. It conducted the Lviv-Sandomierz Offensive, during which the Front was controlling the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army, 3rd Guards Tank Army, 4th Tank Army, 3rd Guards, 5th Guards Army, 13th, 38th, and 60th Armies and 1st Guards Cavalry Corps. It then took part in the battle for Ternopil'. The front participated or conducted battles in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia during 1944 and 1945. The 1st Ukrainian often spearheaded the whole Eastern front. The 1st Ukrainian and the 1st Belorussian fronts were the largest and most powerful of all Soviet fronts as they had the objective of reaching Berlin and ending the war. In 1945 the front participated in the Vistula-Oder offensive, and conducted the Silesian and Prague Operations, and the siege of Breslau. It also participated in the Berlin operations in Germany and Poland. The front also conducted the major part of the Halbe Encirclement, in which most of the German 9th Army was destroyed south of Berlin. By this time the Polish Second Army was operating as part of the Front. Finally 1st Ukrainian Front provided the defence against the counter-attacks by Armee Wenck which aimed to relieve Berlin and the 9th Army, later uniting with the Americans on the Elbe River. The front then completed the Prague Offensive which became the final battle of World War II in Europe ,therefore ending the war. Following the war, the Front headquarters formed the Central Group of Forces of the Red Army in Austria and Hungary till 1955, and re-instituted in 1968 in Czechoslovakia as a legacy of the Prague Spring events. - Filipp Golikov (1942) - General Nikolai F. Vatutin (October 1943 – March 1944) - Marshal Georgy K. Zhukov (March – May 1944) - Marshal Ivan S. Konev (May 1944 – May 1945) The armies that were part of the 1st Ukrainian Front included: - 1st Guards Cavalry Corps (1943-1945) - 27th Army (1943–44) (2nd Ukrainian Front) - 38th Army (1943–44) (4th Ukrainian Front) - 40th Army (1943–44) (2nd Ukrainian Front) - 47th Army (1943-43) (2nd Belorussian Front) - 60th Army (1943–44) (4th Ukrainian Front) - 3rd Guards Tank Army (1943–45) (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany) - 13th Army (1943–45) (Carpathian Military District) - 2nd Air Army (1943–?) ? - "Ukrainians in the Second World War Igor Vityk, Candidate of Law, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor". Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. - Konev, I.S. Aufzeichnungen eines Frontbefehlshabers - Konev, I.S. Das Jahr 1945 - Ziemke, E.F. Stalingrad to Berlin - Tissier, Tony Slaughter at Halbe - Duffy, Christopher Red Storm on the Reich - Antill, P., Battle for Berlin: April – May 1945. - Erickson, John 'Road to Stalingrad' (1983, 1999) - Ericksson, John 'Road to Berlin' (1983, 1999) - Glantz, David 'From the Don to the Dnepr', Frank Cass (1991) - Nemeskürty, I. 'Untergang einer Armee' - Ziemke, E.F. 'Stalingrad to Berlin'

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With Thanksgiving approaching, many of us are preparing to express our thanks. Gratitude has been celebrated in essentially every culture and religion -- from Christianity and Judaism to Islam and Native American traditions. As positive psychologist Shawn Achor points out in his amazing TED talk, practicing gratitude helps us notice and appreciate the good in our lives. We all know that giving and receiving appreciation can feel good. Now, science confirms there are real physical and emotional benefits to cultivating this quality -- on Turkey Day and year round. As if you needed an excuse, here are eight reasons to love gratitude: 1. It can make you happier: In a study led by positive psychologist Martin Seligman, people who completed a simple gratitude exercise for six months had higher levels of happiness and less depression than members of the control group. Other studies have shown that gratitude can improve one's mood enough that spouses see the difference. 2. It can reduce blood pressure: Taking time to count your blessings may actually reduce your stress. People with high blood pressure who took time to count their blessings just once a week saw another blessing: a drop in their blood pressure. 3. It makes hearts healthier: Gratitude makes our hearts feel good, and now there's evidence it makes them healthier, too. Positive emotions such as appreciation were associated with higher heart rate variability, a physiologic indicator of good heart health. And, among people who had a suffered heart attack, gratitude practice decreased the likelihood of a second attack. 4. It's associated with better sleep: People who reported higher levels of gratitude fell asleep faster, reached a deeper level of rest, and slept longer, compared to people who were naturally less grateful. They also felt better and had less difficulty staying awake during the day. These findings were independent of other personality traits This skill can be trained: people who started a gratitude practice slept more and woke up feeling more refreshed than their counterparts without a gratitude practice. 5. It helps people exercise more: Will gratitude get you moving? Researchers found that people randomly assigned to keep a weekly gratitude journal exercised 90 minutes more per week than those who assigned to jot down their annoyances, or 40 minutes more than those with no journaling practice. 6. It helps make vets more resilient: Daily gratitude practice appears to improve psychological and emotional wellbeing among Vietnam Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. 7. It can help your relationship: Squabbles about who does more work around the house or in the office can lead to major conflicts. In addition to dividing the labor as fairly as possible, expressing thanks for a partner's actions is one of the most powerful ways to keep a relationship strong. 8. Even a little bit helps: Taking time to count one's blessings just once per week was shown to increase positive emotions, optimism and wellbeing. So, even if you can't incorporate gratitude every day, it's worth doing when you can. If you're inspired by these benefits to begin counting blessings more in your life, here are four ways to get started: 1. Start a gratitude ritual at home: Before beginning a family meal, including Thanksgiving feast, invite each family member to share one thing they're grateful for. Listen attentively as they share and "take in the good" from their life, as well as your own. 2. Journal your gratitude: Many of the aforementioned studies asked participants to write down three things they're grateful for each day. Why not buy a special journal or even start a word processing document on your computer, and begin to list three blessings each day. 3. Find a gratitude buddy: Social support can help us sustain any practice. One powerful way to build appreciation in your life is to exchange daily emails or texts with a "gratitude buddy" where you each list one to three things you're grateful for that day. 4. Write a thank-you letter (or email): There are often people who have helped us in different ways who may not realize the extent of their positive impact. Taking time to write a thank-you letter or email has several benefits: the writer feels better as they're building gratitude, and the recipient experiences the blessing of their appreciation. This can be one powerful way to cultivate thankfulness, and it's even more potent if you're able to deliver the letter in person. As you feast with family or friends, may you also give thanks, and experience the benefits of this practice. Please let me know how it goes in the comment section below. Happy Holidays! For free meditations and more from Jamie, please visit www.jamiez.tv

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The separate tribal units of Arabia, more or less impotent when divided and at war with one another, received for the first time an indissoluble bond of union from the prophet Mahomet, whose perfect knowledge of human nature (at least of Arab human nature) enabled him to formulate a religious system that was calculated. The reason for this is that in most cases the decretals did not formulate any law, but were merely solutions of particular cases, given as models; to arrive at the abstract law it was necessary to examine the solution in each case with regard to the circumstances and thus formulate a rule; this was the work of the canonists. Having accepted these two conclusions, we formulate the generalization that tracheae can be independently acquired by various branches of Arthropod descent in adaptation to a terrestrial as opposed to an aquatic mode of life. The latter view was held by Beza and other Calvinists, and, it is said, repelled Arminius from Calvinism, and led him to formulate the doctrine that as repentance and faith are the divinely decreed conditions of eternal life, God has determined to give that life to all whom He foresees as fulfilling these conditions. We are driven by the conclusions arrived at as to the derivation of the Arachnida from branchiate ancestors, independently of the other tracheate Arthropods, to formulate the conclusion that tracheae have been independently developed in the Arachnidan class. Ray was the first to formulate that definite conception of the species which was adopted by Linnaeus and emphasized by his binominal nomenclature. As regards Christian theology, it is not its business to formulate and establish a system of objective truth, but simply to present in a clear and connected form a given body of Christian faith as the contents of the Christian consciousness. Neoplatonic philosophy had been in the main content either to formulate the contradiction or to deny the reality of one of the opposing terms. And traces of Neoplatonic influence, more especially as regards their doctrine of the unreality of the material and sensible world, are to be found everywhere in the Christian philosophers of Alexandria, preventing or impeding their formulation of the problem of freedom in its full scope and urgency. Renouvier was the first Frenchman after Malebranche to formulate a complete idealistic system, and had a vast influence on the development of French thought. Reading the Ephesian doctrine with the eyes of a Cynic, and the Cynic ethics in the light of Heracliteanism, he came to formulate his distinctive theory of the universe far in advance of either.

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What evil could Medieval women do in relation to Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott"?? For example, what evil could Medieval women (5th century to 15th century) do to their husbands? What power did they have? Could they steal and run away with the wealth of their husbands, or is that not possible? I am trying to write a story about the Lady of Shalott's mother and how she could be the reason for why the Lady of Shalott is in the tower. I have no clue or any idea as to why since I lack information about Medieval women. I'll really appreciate it if I can get any ideas and a better understanding of possible evil things women in Medieval times could have done. 1 Answer | Add Yours The answer to this is a little different depending upon whether you are talking about peasant women, middle class women or upper class women in the Medieval period. While all evil that comes from the heart will be the same in nature regardless of social class, there are some opportunities for evil actions that are more available in various classes. For example, a peasant woman wouldn't have opportunity to squander her husband's wealth because he wouldn't have any to squander. Any money they earned would go to feeding themselves and their children. Tolstoy's short story, "What Men Live By," gives a good example of this kind of peasant life. The woman in this story commits the evil of a mean temper and ungracious personality, though. If you are speaking of an upper class woman, and in reference to "The Lady of Shalott," you would be, then the evil a woman can do there is considerable. (1) She can withhold food and material goods from the people who are dependent upon her. (2) She can overwork those who make up her household of servants and workers. Conan Doyle's novel, The White Company, gives a good picture of how this evil might be committed. (3) She might run away with or squander her husbands wealth. Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice gives a good idea about how this evil might be arranged and occur. (4) She can commit sexual sins of various kinds. Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale," in The Canterbury Tales gives some idea of what might be done given the opportunity (though of course a miller is not in the upper class). So, if you give the Lady of Shalott an upper class mother, as would be reasonable, doing evil by committing sexual sins is a logical possibility. Join to answer this question Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.Join eNotes

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Video games have become nothing short of ubiquitous, and try as we might, it is becoming harder and harder to keep them out of lil one's hands. While almost every toy company claims there are educational benefits to its games, some actually do help tots grow and develop necessary motor skills. Several elementary video game consoles, such as the V.Smile TV Learning System ($50) and the Leapster2 Learning Game System ($60) feature games that aid in developing math, spelling, and writing skills. Their handsets and styluses help develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination that will be used for a lifetime to come. Seeing the immediate cause and reaction is gratifying to kids and allows them learn how to adjust their actions in the future. As tots grow older, the games and systems grow more sophisticated in their ability to be customized to work on a child's learning needs and allow parents to track their progress. Before you know it, your lil gamer will need his or her own iPhone. Do you allow your wee ones to play video games, and if so, have you found them to be helpful?

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