The structure and composition of the eggshell protects the egg against damage, microbial contamination, and desiccation (drying out). Small molecules can pass through it, so the shell allows gas exchange for the growing embryo. It also provides calcium for the embryo's skeleton.
While many reptiles lay eggs with flexible, calcified, eggshells, there are some that lay hard eggs. Eggs laid by snakes generally have leathery shells which often adhere to one another. Depending on the species, turtles and tortoises lay hard or soft eggs. Several species lay eggs which are nearly the same as bird eggs.
The normal bird egg is a fertilized egg sitting on the yolk surface and surrounded by albumen, or egg white. The albumen in turn is surrounded by two shell membranes (inner and outer membranes) and then the eggshell. The chicken eggshell is 95-97% calcium carbonate crystals, which are held together by a protein matrix.
While the bulk of eggshell is made of calcium carbonate, it is now thought that the protein matrix has an important role to play in eggshell strength. These proteins affect crystallization, which in turn affects the eggshell structure.
The average laying hen, takes about 20 hours to make the shell. Pigmentation is added to the shell by papillae lining the oviduct, coloring it any of a variety of colors and patterns depending on the species.
Pacheco, California
Pacheco is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, United States. At the 2010 census, 3,685 people lived there. Pacheco is north of Walnut Creek.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Pacheco has a total area of .
The town was started in 1857. There was a post office there from 1859 to 1913. In 1955, postal service started again.
For a short time, Pacheco had a lot of very successful businesses. During that time, ships from the Pacific Ocean were able to get to the town by going through Pacheco Slough. Then, during the 1860s, there were some fires, floods, and an earthquake. These destroyed the town and filled the slough with silt so that ships could not get there any more. Many people later left Pacheco to go to the nearby town of Todos Santos, which was later renamed to Concord.
In January 2011, the Martinez City Council voted to take over the parts of Pacheco that are north of California State Route 4. The government was expected to approve the takeover in the fall of 2011. In March 2012, enough people objected that an election would have to be held about the issue.
June 2011 Christchurch earthquake
The June 2011 Christchurch earthquake was responsible for causing additional damage to an already earthquake-devastated region. The earthquake took place around 1420 New Zealand Standard Time and was centered next to 3.8 miles deep, six miles from Christchurch. It had been preceded by another 5.9 tremor that struck at a slightly deeper 5.5 miles. The earthquake of June 2011 cut down telephone lines and caused numerous outages which left next to 54,000 houses without power. The tremor triggered the death of an elderly man and several injuries.
Bombyliidae
The Bombyliidae are a family of flies. Their common name is bee flies.
The Bombyliidae are a large family of flies. It has hundreds of genera, but the life cycles of most species are known poorly, or not at all. Some are very small (2 mm in length), but some can be very large for flies (wingspan of some 40 mm).
Adults normally feed on nectar and pollen. Those with a spectacularly long proboscis are adapted to plants (such as "Lapeirousia") which have long, narrow floral tubes.
The Bombyliidae include a large number of species, but for its size this is one of the least understood families of insects. There at least 4,500 described species, and certainly thousands still to be described. The adult flies usually feed on nectar and pollen, and some are important pollinators.
Many Bombyliidae look like bees and so a common name for the family is the bee flies. The reason is probably aposematic: the adults are safer from predators because they share the warning colours of bees. The adult females usually lay eggs near the nests of possible hosts, often in the burrows of solitary bees, wasps or beetles.
The larval stages are predators or parasitoids of the eggs and larvae of other insects. The eggs hatch into larvae which eat the eggs and larvae of the 'host' insect. Although most bee-flies usually are fairly or highly host-specific, some species do attack a number of hosts.
Gérard Feldzer
Gérard Paul Alain Feldzer, born the 10th of February 1944, is a consultant and aeronautical popularizer for media, journalist at "France Info" since 2009. Former French airline pilot, he was President of the "Aéro-Club de France" between 1995 and 2005, and head of the "Musée de l'Air" (French Air and Space Museum) between 2005 and August 2010.
The 1st of January 2012, he becomes Officiers of the Légion d'honneur.
Phototropism
Phototropism is growth in the direction of light. Phototropism is common in plants, but can also occur in other organisms such as fungi. The cells on the plant that are farthest from the light have a plant growth hormone called auxin, which causes phototropism to occur. It causes the plant to have elongated cells on the farthest side from the light.
Phototropism is one of the many plant tropisms or movements which respond to external stimuli. Growth towards a light source is a "positive phototropism", while growth away from light is called "negative phototropism". Most plant shoots have positive phototropism. Roots usually have negative phototropism, though gravitropism may play a larger role in root behavior and growth. Some vine shoot tips exhibit negative phototropism, which allows them to grow towards dark, solid objects and climb them.
Auxin collects mainly on the darker side of the stem and stimulates cell elongation. Thus, the cells on the side not directly exposed to light will grow faster than the opposing side, and the stem will curve towards the light source.
Phototropism in plants such as "Arabidopsis thaliana" is directed by blue light receptors called phototropins. Other photosensitive receptors in plants include phytochromes that sense red light, and cryptochromes that sense blue light.
Proboscis
A proboscis is a projection or elongated appendage at the front of the face. In vertebrates, the term is used to describe an elongated nose or snout. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking.
Tuckman's stages of group development
Tuckman's stages of group development is a model of group development made by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. It has four phases: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.
Tuckman believed that these stages are all necessary and always happen in order for a team:
This model has become the basis for later models.
More reading on this topic can be found here:
Clerks
Clerks is an 1994 American comedy movie directed by Kevin Smith. It takes place in and around a convenience store in New Jersey. "Clerks" was controversial. Due to graphic language it received an NC-17 rating, although the rating was later changed to R. "Clerks" was distributed from Miramax. It was released in October 1994.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
, also called Kuniyoshi, was a Japanese artist. He was a masters of the ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.
Kuniyoshi was part of the Utagawa school of artists.
The range of Kuniyoshi's subjects included landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known images of the battles of samurai and legendary heroes. His work was affected by Western art and caricature.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi was one of his students.
His work influenced Toyohara Chikanobu.
Takashi Murakami credits the influence of Kuniyoshi in his work.
Kuniyoshi made many images of cats.
Kuniyoshi made images which were caricatures.
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