After more than four years mapping Earth’s gravity with unrivalled precision, ESA’s GOCE mission will soon be over: In mid-October, the mission will come to a natural end when it runs out of fuel and the satellite begins its descent towards Earth from a height of about 224 km.
The satellite’s final days will be closely monitored by the mission control team at ESOC, ESA’s operations centre, Darmstadt, Germany.
Below, Spacecraft Operations Manager Christoph Steiger has provided an update on estimates of the craft’s final fuel run-out date.
GOCE is indeed not far from running out of fuel for its ion propulsion system. We expect to deplete fuel between now and end of October, probably in about two weeks from now.
We don’t have a more precise date due to uncertainties in
- Estimating the amount of fuel left
- The behaviour of the ion propulsion system once the tank starts getting empty
- The highly variable level of solar activity (impacting the atmospheric drag and hence the fuel consumption).
Once GOCE has run out of fuel, the orbit will start decaying. It will take about two to three weeks before the spacecraft re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
We will initially keep operating the spacecraft, switching it off when its subsystems stop working due to the harsh environmental conditions at lower altitudes. This marks the end of activities for the GOCE flight control team.
The descent and the final re-entry will be monitored closely by ESA’s Space Debris Office, in the frame of an international campaign of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC).
We have collected a wealth of science data over the last 4.5 years. GOCE has lasted much longer than the originally planned 20 months thanks to the low solar activity in the last few years. To get even more precise gravity measurements, in its last year of life, the orbit of GOCE was lowered from 255 km down to an extremely low altitude of only 224 km. The results are fantastic – we have obtained the most accurate gravity data ever available to scientists.
Personally, I feel sorry to see GOCE, a project on which I have spent seven intense years, come to end. Then again, it is also a good feeling to know that we have really gotten the most out of this mission before its natural end – much more than what we could have hoped for.
— Christoph Steiger


Only 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled
Most of the plastic waste that reaches the ocean comes from Asia
IN A paper published last year in Science Advances, Roland Geyer of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his colleagues put the cumulative amount of solid plastic waste produced since the 1950s that has not been burned or recycled at 4.9bn tonnes. It could all have been dumped in a landfill 70 metres deep and 57 square kilometres in area—roughly the size of Manhattan—if only it had remained on land.
Unfortunately, much of the world’s plastic has ended up in the ocean, where, dispersed by currents, the stuff becomes virtually irretrievable, especially once it has fragmented into microplastics. Computer models suggest that seas hold as many as 51trn microplastic particles. Some are the product of larger pieces breaking apart; others, like microbeads added to toothpaste or face scrubs, were designed to be tiny.
Even if the flow of plastic into the sea, totalling perhaps 10m tonnes a year, were instantly stanched, huge quantities would remain. But humans will not stop littering the oceans anytime soon. Most of the plastic in the seas today comes not from tidy Europe and America, but from countries in fast-developing East Asia, where waste-collection systems are flawed or non-existent. Last October scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, in Germany, found that ten rivers—two in Africa and the rest in Asia—discharge 90% of all plastic marine debris. The Yangtze alone carries 1.5m tonnes a year.
Read more in The known unknowns of plastic pollution.
Correction (March 12th 2018): The headline of this piece previously stated that only 7% of the world’s plastic is recycled. The correct figure is 9%. Sorry.


Various (integer) linear modeling tricks
This article was originally posted to the AIMMS Tech Blog.
Modeling problems with an (integer) linear program sometimes requires some experience to recognize certain structures in the problem description that can be formulated in a linear way.
On the website of the Naval Postgraduate School, you can find the document
Formulating Integer Linear Programs: A Rogues’ Gallery that tries to demystify the art of formulating linear and integer linear programs. They do this by introducing formulettes, which consist of a verbal description and the constraints and variables that model this verbal description.
The first simple example of a formulette they provide is the following:
For each unit of \(X_1\) , there must be at least 5 units of \(X_2\)
which can be modeled with
\(5X_1 \le X_2\)
The document contains a lot more of such formulettes of varying complexity.
Furthermore, in our book
Optimization Modeling you can also find various modeling tricks in the chapters
Linear Programming Tricks and
Integer Programming Tricks. The Optimization Modeling book can either be found online via the link above, or you can find it under the Help menu after you started AIMMS.


Hilário Franco Júnior
The close observation of a Brazilian popular pamphlet from the mid-20th century unveils mythic themes that cannot be credited to the Portuguese colonizers. In searching for its origins, the so-called regressive historiographic method allows us to identify five cultural layers whose features are interweaved in the text. At its deepest level lie unsounded medieval roots that permeated the Brazilian Northeast during the Dutch occupation. With these new colonizers came the mythical-literary motifs of the land of Cockaigne, whose dreamlike and cathartic function endured in that region of archaic features, later to be glossed by popular poets.
Literatura de cordel, string literature; archaism; escapism; Cockaigne
Hilário Franco Junior. “The Medieval Brazil of Sertão: The Escapist Utopia of the Country of Saint Saruê” Práticas da História, Journal on Theory, Historiography and Uses of the Past, n.º 10 (2020): 15-44.


Enter a grandparent's name to get started.
The Social Security Death Index provides birth date, death date, last known residence, and where the last payment was sent for persons who received benefits from the Social Security Administration. Approximately 98% of the people in this index died after 1962; the earliest date died in 1937. Those who held social security numbers but did not receive benefits or whose death was not reported to the administration, will not be listed. This index will help you pinpoint the date an ancestor died or at least narrow it to a month and year, making it easier to obtain the right death certificate from a county or state record office.
The Social Security Administration has a microfilmed copy of every individual’s Social Security application (Form SS-5), as well as claim files. These documents contain information not given in the index, including: Full name at birth, mailing address, age at last birthday, date of birth, place of birth, father’s full name, mother’s full name, sex, race, employer’s name and address, and date signed. Copies of Form SS-5 can be obtained from the Social Security Administration.
The Social Security Administration did not begin keeping records until November 1936. Many numident records of older individuals, primarily those born in 1910 or earlier, are abbreviated records that do not contain the names of the individual’s parents and may not contain the place of birth. Their records do not contain anyone born before 1865.
Search the Social Security Death Index
The Social Security Death Index appears online at several locations. We’ve ranked the websites (1 being the best) below in order of accessibility, meaning, if they’re free or paid, and if you can access them without having first to register, and how quickly they update their data.
- Fold3 Social Security Death Index
Hosted at Fold3, this database is updated monthly, is completely free, and requires no registration to view the records. They have also created memorials around these records, and users of Fold3 may have added additional information about the individual.
- United States Social Security Death Index
Hosted at Family Search, the genealogy site of the Church of Latter Day Saints, this database is updated on a monthly basis, is completely free, and requires no registration to view the records.
- Ancestry’s Social Security Death Index
Ancestry now hides their Social Security Index behind a paid wall. Users of Family Tree Maker or Ancestry’s Online Family Trees should use this if they’re paid members, due to its simplicity in adding records to your family tree.


Nitrogen-Fixing Trees Help Tropical Forests Make a Comeback
Nitrogen fixing trees can help tropical forests make a comeback, a new study has found. Researchers say that some species of trees can restore lost nutrients in deforested areas, helping other trees to grow.
The study was conducted by researchers at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and their colleagues at Princeton University, Wageningen University, the University of Copenhagen and Yale University. Their field study in Panama showed that denuded forests were efficiently restored in a few years, mostly with the help of leguminous plants that fix atmospheric nitrogen and pump it into the soil.
The tracts of land studied in the research were parts of a tropical forest in Panama and had been used for agriculture from five to 300 years ago. Researchers found that nitrogen-fixing trees helped secure a large amount of carbon in just 12 years. In just about a decade, the new forests had accumulated 40 percent of carbon found in old, mature tropical forests. Legume trees contributed to nearly half of the carbon "sink".
"This is the first solid case showing how nitrogen fixation by tropical trees directly affects the rate of carbon recovery after agricultural fields are abandoned. Trees turn nitrogen fixation on and off according to the need for nitrogen in the system," Jefferson Hall, STRI staff scientist and one of the study authors, said in a news release.
The study showed that legume trees accumulated carbon nine times faster than non nitrogen-fixers during the early stages of forests' comeback. These trees even provided enough nitrogen for other trees to grow.
The legume trees' secret lies in their relationship with a kind of bacteria known as rhizobia, which help the trees fix nitrogen. Tropical forest soil is often low in nitrogen, according to a news release from the Princeton University.
Leguminous trees are essential for a forests' recovery and so their loss could lead to long-term problems for many species of trees, researchers said.
"Diversity really matters. Each tree species fixes nitrogen and carbon differently so species important at 12 years drop out or become less common at 30 years. You can really see how different players contribute to the development of a mature tropical forest and the ecosystem services it provides," said Sarah Batterman, first author of the study.
The study is published in the journal Nature.


Exhibition of Samuel Doe's Body During the Civil War in Liberia
Liberian soldiers display the dead body of President Samuel Doe during the Liberian Civil War. Prince Yormie Johnson, leader of the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), tortured and murdered Doe after his capture by peacekeeping forces.
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There are several reasons you may need to melt honey. Fresh, raw honey has a thick consistency, but melting it can make the honey thinner and easier to use. Old honey crystallizes and becomes grainy, but melting it can remove those crystals and return it to a more palatable texture. There may also be times when you simply need to thin honey out to a more workable consistency without changing its chemical composition.
Choose a Method
Things You'll Need
- Glass jar
- Deep saucepan
- Microwave-safe container
- Airtight container
Thinning It Out
- Bowl or dish
- Airtight container
1Spoon the honey into a glass jar. Transfer all the honey you want to melt into a tall, room temperature glass jar with a lid. Loosely cover the jar.
- A glass jar is the ideal container since the glass can withstand hot temperatures while also allowing that heat to be transferred to the honey inside.
- Make sure that the jar you use is room temperature, though, and not cold. Glass can shatter under extreme changes in temperature.
- Using a lid will help prevent water from accidentally getting inside the jar and into the honey. A lid is not strictly necessary, though, especially if the jar is fairly tall.
2Boil a saucepan of water. Fill a deep saucepan roughly halfway with water. Place this saucepan on the stove over high heat, keeping it there until it reaches a rolling boil.
- Before boiling the water, make sure that you have enough water in your saucepan to melt the honey. Place the jar inside the saucepan and check the water level. The level of water should approximately match the level of honey inside the jar.
3Remove the pan from the heat. After the water reaches a steady boil, remove it from the stove and set it down on a heat-resistant surface.
- Alternatively, you can keep the water on the stove and reduce the heat to low. Before placing the jar of honey in the water, though, you need to make sure that all simmering stops. Hot temperatures will not make the honey inedible, but temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) can destroy some of the beneficial health properties of the honey.
4Lower the honey into the water. Sit the jar of honey directly on the bottom of the pan so that it is now surrounded on all sides by hot water.
- If you are using a lid, make sure that the lid is on very loose. You want to prevent water from getting inside while allowing air to escape. If you tighten the lid too much, pressure could build up inside of the jar and cause the glass to crack.
5Stir the honey. Periodically remove the lid and stir the honey while the jar is still sitting inside the hot water. This can help the honey melt more evenly and at a quicker pace.
- Continue doing this until the honey melts. If you are trying to melt crystallized granules out, keep at it until you no longer see any crystals left. If you are trying to melt thick, raw honey, continue melting it in the hot water until it thins to the consistency of store-bought honey.
- This process can take a long time depending on how much honey you have. Expect to wait anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes.
6Store at room temperature. When done, remove the jar from the water and dry it off with a clean dish towel. Tighten the lid on securely and store the honey at room temperature until you are ready to use it.
- The ideal storage temperature is 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 21 degrees Celsius). At colder temperatures, the honey will begin to crystallize. You should also keep the honey away from hot, moist conditions for similar reasons.
- Make sure that the lid is airtight. Otherwise, the honey can lose moisture and start to crystallize again.
1Place the honey in a microwave-safe container. A thick glass container, like a glass canning jar, is usually a safe choice. Spoon the honey you need to melt into the container.
- It is best to check the container to verify that it is microwave-safe before using it. Typically, this information is labeled on the bottom of the container.
- Never use a metal container.
- Plastic containers are debatable. Many are marked as being microwave-safe, but there is some evidence that chemicals from plastic can leech into the contents of the container when heated.
2Microwave on medium power. Place the container of honey in your microwave. Set the power to 50 percent, then microwave the honey for 30 to 40 seconds.
- The exact amount of time can vary based on how powerful your microwave is and how much honey you have inside the container.
- Keep an eye on the honey as it melts inside the microwave. If it appears fully melted before the full amount of time passes, stop the microwave and remove the container.
3Stir the honey. Carefully remove the container of honey from the microwave. Stir the honey with a spoon to distribute the heat. If some of the honey has not yet melted, return the container to the microwave and heat for another 20 seconds at medium power.
- Repeat this process as needed. Heat the honey in 20-second intervals at 50-percent power, stirring after each interval, until the honey melts.
- If you are trying to decrystallize honey, stop heating it once you can no longer spot any crystals. If you only want to melt honey to a thinner consistency, simply stop heating it once it has become thin enough for your liking.
4Store melted honey at room temperature. Pour the melted honey into an airtight storage container. Store that container in a dry, room temperature location until you need to use the honey.
- The ideal temperature range is between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (10 and 21 degrees Celsius). Colder and hotter temperatures can speed up the crystallization process. Moist conditions should also be avoided.
- The container must be an airtight one if you want to prevent moisture loss and crystallization.
Thinning It Out
1Mix a little water into the honey. Spoon some honey into a small jar or dish. Add fresh water to the honey, 1 Tbsp (15 ml) at a time, mixing after each addition. Continue until the honey reaches your desired consistency.
- No heat is required for this method.
- Since you aren't actually melting the honey in this process, you cannot use this method to decrystallize hardened honey.
- In addition to thinning out the honey, water will also dilute the taste.
- The exact amount of water you need will depend on how thin you want the honey to be and how strong you want the flavor to remain. Typically, though, you will not want to exceed a ratio of equal parts honey to water.
2Store in the refrigerator. While undiluted honey is best stored at room temperature, a honey syrup like this is best stored in the refrigerator. This thinned out honey will only last for about three weeks, though.
- After three weeks pass, the honey will start to lose its flavor and may show signs of crystallizing.
- Store this thin honey syrup in an airtight container to prevent moisture loss.
Sources and Citations
- ↑ http://suebee.com/frequently-asked-questions/#microwave
- ↑ http://www.realfoodrn.com/how-to-melt-raw-honey/
- ↑ http://www.spiciefoodie.com/2012/03/14/kitchen-know-how-how-to-decrystallize-honey/
- ↑ http://www.vintageamanda.com/2010/05/how-to-soften-hard-honey-vintage-vs-modern/
- ↑ http://everydayroots.com/honey-hair-treatment
- ↑ https://imbibemagazine.com/Elements-Honey
In other languages:
Deutsch: Honig schmelzen, Italiano: Fondere il Miele, Français: faire fondre du miel, Português: Derreter Mel, Español: derretir miel, Русский: можно растопить мед, Bahasa Indonesia: Mengencerkan Madu
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 50,330 times.


Zobacz katalogi, do których należy ta pozycja:Orient, Afryka, Ameryki | Literaturoznawstwo | Historia | Socjologia i Antropologia
Edited by B. Stoler Miller
The Project on Asia in the Core Curriculum began in 1984 to support the introduction of material on Asia into the core curricula of undergraduate institutions throughout the country. Three "Guides for Teaching" are the result of dialogue between Asian specialists and colleagues specializing in the Western tradition who most often teach the introductory, general education courses in the various academic isciplines. There was no attempt to stress Asia at the expense of the West. The purpose was to identify texts, themes, and comparative concepts that would provide avenues of entry for Asian material into core courses in literature, history, and the social sciences. The guides are entitled: Asia in Western and World History, Masterworks of Asian Literature in Comparative Perspective, and Asia: Case Studies in the Social Sciences. Each volume contains approximately forty essays by leading specialists that suggest a range of possibilities for introducing material on Asia. The essays are arranged to provide the widest choice of approaches to meet the reader's pedagogical needs. While the guides are discrete publications, they form a series that facilitates interdisciplinary teaching: An instructor who chooses, for example, to draw upon William Hauser's discussion of Tokugawa Japan in world history in this volume will also find material of interest in Donald Keene's essay on Chikamatsu's "Love Suicides at Sonezaki" (in
Masterworks of Asian Literature in Comparative Perspective), in William W. Kelly's article on "Rural Society in Japan: Past and Present," in Theodore Bestor's discussion of "Urban Life in Japan," and in Stephen R. Smith's essay on "The Family in Japan" (in Asian Case Studies in the Social Sciences).


Algae removal poses one serious challenge for any solids separation process. Traditionally, most solids separation processes are being done by separation that is dependent on the density difference between the water and the particles. Since algae are generally small and have low density difference from the water, gravity separation is relatively less efficient when considering algae separation process. Therefore, algae removal is typically being done by using high velocity centrifuges or by Dissolved Air flotation (DAF). However, these processes are expensive and consume large amount of energy.
Due to the Natica’s unique structure, it can remove a wide range of suspended solids as small as 2 microns from water with dirt load of up to 4000 PPM of TSS.


- Family and Parenting»
- Parenting Skills, Styles & Advice
How to Comfort a Grieving Child who has Lost a Parent
Comfort A Grieving Child
A child who has recently suffered a profound loss may have a great deal of difficulty fully grasping the concept and dealing with the realities they now face. To comfort a grieving child, we need an understanding of their feelings of anxiousness and possibly hopelessness. These feelings are far more intense than they have ever experienced before and it may take time for them to be able to express themselves.
A younger child (age 5 and under) may have only a vague concept of death, may regress to younger behaviors and feel anxious and clingy. An older child can understand more clearly and may even take on responsibility for a loved ones death. They too will experience heightened anxiety and may be unwilling to speak about the death.
Additionally, a grieving child may have a physical response to a death. Nightmares, headaches and stomachaches / nausea are common.
How To Comfort a Grieving Child and What to Avoid
Children need to grieve just like adults do. Their process may be a bit different, depending on their age, but it will be a long process just the same.
Understand that there is nothing you can do to fix their problem. There is no quick solution. There are no magic words that will make them feel better. All you can do is support them while they are learning to cope.
What you can do to comfort a grieving child:
- Acknowledge their pain.
- Actively listen and respond to them without judgement.
- If they don't want to talk, be comfortable with the silence.
- Relieve their anxiety. If you are close to the child, stay physically close. Reassure them of your love for them.
- Speak as openly as you can about what happened.
- Allow them to talk about the deceased. Share memories
Be honest. If you don't know the answer to their question tell them.
Grieving is a long process. Be patient. Be available. And be sensitive to the emotional roller-coaster ride that a grieving child may be experiencing.
What not to say to a grieving child:
Avoid cliches. "Time heals all wounds" will mean nothing to them and it is not honest. Their grieving will end eventually, but some wounds, unfortunately never fully heal. "Don't feel bad," and "Don't dwell on it," are to be avoided as well. If they feel bad, they need to feel bad and its okay. If they feel numb that's okay too. They are entitled to their feelings, whatever they are. And they can dwell on them if they need to.
The Mourning Star Center: Comforting a Grieving Child
Where to Find Help to Comfort a Grieving Child
A site for kids by kids, KidsAid helps children deal with grief and loss. There is an email support group, a question and answer section for parents and a section for children to share and view each others artwork and stories.
This is an informational site to aid in understanding the grieving process of children and teenagers.
Children's Grief Education Association- This site contains 800 numbers for emergency use. It also has sites specifically for military families, teenagers and children.


Jeannie Begg was born on 7 October 1886 at Port Chalmers, one of 10 children of Scottish parents Eliza Johnstone and her husband, John Begg, a tanner and rug-maker. Her close-knit Presbyterian family considered her the most dynamic and boisterous of the children (her mother put this down to her having been breast-fed by a local prostitute when her own milk failed). Usually known as Jean, she attended North-East Valley School (1893–99) and Otago Girls’ High School (1900–1904), then enrolled for a BA at the University of Otago.
In 1908, one year short of attaining her degree, Begg decided to become a missionary and enrolled at the Presbyterian Women’s Training Institute in Dunedin. In December 1910 she sailed to American Samoa, where she taught at Atauloma Girls’ School and ran a daily health clinic. She quickly had to learn how to deliver babies, working with an obstetrics manual by her side. She earned the love and respect of many Samoans and developed a keen understanding of cultural differences.
After nearly nine years at Atauloma, Begg was impatient for new challenges. Through her contact with Jane Addams of Hull House, a model settlement in the slums of Chicago, she studied at the School of Social Work associated with Columbia University, New York. Supporting herself by working as a waitress, English teacher and factory worker, she also studied sociology at the university. She completed a thesis on Inwood House, a bleak reformatory for delinquent young women, proposing that it be sold and the inmates rehabilitated within the community. She argued that girls should be taught to fight temptation where it occurs – in the community – rather than behind closed doors and walls. To her amazement the board of the house employed her to implement her progressive plan. She also spent time working with women police and probation officers in New York.
By 1923 physical exhaustion forced Jean Begg to return to New Zealand. She wrote a report on child welfare for the government, gave evidence to the 1924 Committee of Inquiry into Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders in New Zealand, and in 1929 was appointed to the Eugenics Board. Generally, she favoured segregation of the mentally ill, but urged that each case be treated individually, and maintained that those who did not display ‘anti-social tendencies’ could, if sterilised, lead useful lives in the community. She also arranged the women’s court at the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition in Dunedin in 1925–26.
In 1926 Begg was recruited to become general secretary of the Auckland YWCA, beginning a long association with the organisation both within New Zealand and internationally. Building on the work of her predecessor, Jean Stevenson, she transformed the YWCA into a focal point for many Auckland girls. She completed the fund-raising for a large hostel next to Myers Park and was instrumental in the purchase of the Holiday House at Blockhouse Bay, where working girls could vacation by the sea. Her story-telling ability, energy and willingness to treat everyone equally made her popular and even revered by those who came into contact with her.
A big woman, forthright but good humoured, she was never daunted by the size of any task. By 1928 Begg supervised a paid staff of 13, and the organisation had 150 volunteers and a paid membership of nearly 2,000. She also fostered the formation of women’s sports organisations, working with like-minded women to establish hockey, cricket and athletics clubs in the city and to obtain a sports ground for their use in Remuera.
Jean Begg championed feminist causes and challenged women to become involved in commerce, civic life and politics, chastising them for being ‘apathetic’. She became a vice president of the Auckland branch of the National Council of Women of New Zealand and attended a number of national conferences. In 1930 she led the New Zealand delegation to the Pan-Pacific Women’s Association conference in Honolulu, and on her return home initiated the formation of a New Zealand branch. Although many of her colleagues in women’s organisations were conservative, she was egalitarian in her approach. She believed that as New Zealand was a democratic society ‘anything that tends towards class distinction should be done away with’, and she spoke out against the privilege of private schools.
In 1931 Begg left New Zealand to take up the post of YWCA national general secretary for India, Burma and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). She travelled all over her territories and attended an All-India Women’s Conference at which 3,000 women united to oppose child marriage. In 1940 she was recruited by Clementine Churchill to take on the special position of director of the British YWCA’s war services. Her task was to provide recreational facilities for allied servicewomen and nurses serving in the Middle East and North Africa. She eventually developed a network of 65 clubs, stretching from Italy, Egypt, Palestine and Iraq to India, Burma and Japan. With her formidable organisational abilities she requisitioned some of the most luxurious hotels and palaces for YWCA clubs, although no alcohol was served. She recruited many of the women who ran the clubs from the New Zealand YWCA.
In 1945 Jean Begg was asked to set up welfare services in Singapore for internees being liberated from Japanese camps. She immediately took over the famed Raffles Hotel – much to the annoyance of some male military officers. In 1946 she turned down the position of national general secretary of the New Zealand YWCA, claiming that she was too old and ‘worn-out’. Instead she went to Japan to rebuild the YWCA there. In the wake of the war there was much anti-Japanese sentiment, but she called on her helpers to treat the Japanese people with respect and fairness. For her war services Begg was appointed an MBE (1943), OBE (1946) and CBE (1948).
Following her time in Japan she spent three years revitalising Helen Graham House, a large YWCA hostel in London with a multinational clientele of over 350. Begg returned to New Zealand in 1952, and two years later was appointed a justice of the peace. She worked first for the YWCA in Hamilton and then as a CORSO organiser in Wellington, retiring in 1956. She had never accumulated wealth, but Bernard Freyberg organised a war pension for her and she was bequeathed a house in Dunedin by her friend Ann Strong, a pioneer of home science in New Zealand. Jean, who never married, lived there with two elder sisters for the rest of her life.
In 1967 Jean Begg was delighted when the Auckland YWCA named a hostel for university students after her. Three years later she attended a reunion in her honour in Auckland and went on to Samoa to renew acquaintances there. She died in Dunedin on 15 February 1971. She was accorded a military funeral and her ashes were buried in the soldiers’ cemetery at Andersons Bay, Dunedin.


Kids play cricket, India’s most popular sport, on the banks of the Ganges River in Kanpur. Although significantly polluted, it is still the life-source for those who live along the river.
The Ganges, according to Rakesh Jaiswal of Eco Friends, is forecast to “die” in 30 to 50 years, meaning all available water flow will be allocated to different agricultural and industrial uses. This analysis doesn’t factor in the potentially negative effects of climate change on water sources in the Himalaya.
This is the first in a series of images titled “India, Water, and Sustainable Development” that was first published in Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development in Spring 2008. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be highlighting the best of these photos.


I don't know why our poor Semicolon is so misunderstood. Maybe it's because he sometimes gets used in sentences that are long and winding and difficult. But don't worry. I'm here to offer a brief (and simple!) guide to the use of this lovely punctuation mark.
You have two independent clauses (complete sentences) that are closely related. They're so closely related that using a period between them would be just a touch too much interruption. Well, use a semicolon instead!
These pears are too ripe for me; I like my pears crunchy.
The sun is shining; spring has arrived.
You have a list of three or more items. At least one item in the list contains commas. To avoid confusion, separate the list items with semicolons (you can think of it as if the higher-level commas are "graduating" and need a little hat on them).
They asked for apple juice, orange juice, and lemonade; blankets and pillows; and the Netflix password.
There is one last commonly accepted way to use a semicolon: When a sentence has a whole lotta commas and the meaning might get confusing, a comma might be graduated to a semicolon for clarity. You'll see it a lot more often in older literature. But please, unless you have mastered the use of the semicolon, pretend this last way to use it does not exist. I have a theory that it's what causes most people's confusion.
And that's it! Semicolon wants to help. Let him.


Causeway Bay: Heritages in the heart of the city
After more than a century of intense development, Causeway Bay has evolved from a rural village into a world-famous metropolitan area. It is now famous as a shopping and entertainment mecca and commercial hub, but heritage buildings with historic value still remain, including Christ the King Chapel and the Tin Hau Temple, demonstrating the unique historical landscape of Causeway Bay.
Despite the fact that many of Causeway Bay’s older landmarks have disappeared over the years in the face of rapid development, the street names hint at the area’s history. Matheson Street, Yee Wo Street and Jardine’s Crescent recall Causeway Bay’s relationship with Jardine Matheson, one of the earliest and most influential companies in Hong Kong’s history. As it expanded, the group bought large pieces of land in Causeway Bay to build warehouses and factories. Names such as Sugar Street and Cotton Path are remnants of the days when these addresses were home to a sugar refinery and a cotton mill.
Causeway Bay saw an influx of Japanese department stores in the 1960s, which changed the cultural landscape of the area. Although many of these department stores have since closed, the name of one of the most famous, Daimaru, is still in use as a terminus name for minibus routes to Causeway Bay.


- A study conducted by scientists from Malaysia and England looked at biodiversity in untouched and human-altered habitats on the island of Borneo.
- When the researchers looked at large areas, the biodiversity of big mammals in logged forests closely matched what they found in old-growth rainforest.
- They concluded that logged forests have substantial value in supporting biodiversity, and these areas should figure into conservation plans.
Ecologists have struggled to peg a value to logged forests for the plants and animals that call them home. They know, for example, that these altered landscapes don’t offer the rich habitats that old-growth forests do, but just how drastically and to what degree has remained a mystery.
Now, a study of mammal biodiversity in Malaysian rainforests published July in the journal Ecological Applications has added to our understanding of what’s happening when we thin a forest. And the conclusions reveal that we might not be giving these areas the credit they deserve.
“We still have a poor idea about the actual mechanisms of biodiversity change in logged forest,” said Oliver Wearn, an ecologist at Imperial College London and the Zoological Society of London and the lead author of the paper. “Is it due to changes in habitat, in resources, or something else?”
To learn more about how forest life responds to logging, Wearn and a team of scientists from England and Malaysia set off into the virgin rainforests, logged forests and oil palm plantations of Malaysian Borneo to see how many mammal species they could find in each of the three habitats. They installed camera traps to count the larger mammals and set live traps to get an idea of what small mammals were living in the different areas.
It’s a fairly common approach to studying human influences on biodiversity, but they also took their work a step further.
“Typically just the number of species is studied, which misses half the story,” Wearn said in an email to Mongabay.
To uncover the other half, Wearn’s team also compared the variety in the species they found at the different locations – that is, how the breakdown of different mammal species changed from one place to another. Ecologists call this type of measurement “beta-diversity.”
“Beta-diversity is really important because it can tell us something about the fundamental processes which generate biodiversity, and if they’re changing due to disturbance” to the forest habitat, Wearn explained. “It’s also really important to think about when we’re designing wildlife reserves.”
In the small, localized areas that had been logged, they found fewer big mammals than they did in old-growth rainforest. They anticipated this difference, as presumably the pared-down habitat is not as rich, as they did the drop-off they witnessed on oil palm plantations.
What was interesting is that they found a wider variety when they compared the communities of mammals found at different points in these logged areas than they did in old-growth forests. In other words, the beta-diversity of the logged forest was higher, at least when viewed at this smaller scale.
Wearn attributes this variability in logged forest to the hodge-podge of habitats that selective logging can create. That variation led to more eclectic groupings of mammals species.
“We don’t yet know what effects this might have in the long term, but it may mean we need to think carefully about how we manage these areas,” he said. “We also need to account for this when we’re thinking about how to arrange wildlife reserves.”
Then, when the team zoomed out and looked at these patchwork areas of habitat on a broader scale, the biodiversity variability values from the logged began to coincide with those from old-growth forests, each having around the same numbers of large mammal species.
That discovery led Wearn and his colleagues to postulate that, to protect the diversity of large animals, the specific location that’s protected in some way – whether through a formal protected area or through a mechanism like a high-conservation-value set-aside that’s part of an agricultural plantation – is less important than just having an area large enough to capture the diversity present in all of these smaller mammal communities. He said he hopes that future research will investigate this question in depth.
It also changes the way we should view logged forest, Wearn said.
“So-called ‘degraded’ forest is actually really valuable for biodiversity conservation,” he said, though he added that we don’t need to create more degraded forest.
“This doesn’t mean we are advocating new logging,” Wearn said. A lot of forested land globally has been touched by logging, and few places is that truer than the island of Borneo. A 2013 study figured that 80 percent had been logged in some way by 2009.
But that doesn’t mean they’re worthless, Wearn cautioned.
“If they’re properly managed – using sustainable logging techniques and by strictly controlling hunting – then these areas could continue to safeguard biodiversity and generate revenue from timber for years to come,” he said.
“If [forests are] converted to oil palm plantations, then these benefits are permanently lost.”
- Bryan, J. E., Shearman, P. L., Asner, G. P., Knapp, D. E., Aoro, G. and Lokes, B. (2013) Extreme Differences in Forest Degradation in Borneo: Comparing Practices in Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei. PLOS ONE.
- Wearn, O. R., Carbone, C., Rowcliffe, J. M., Bernard, H. and Ewers, R. M. (2016) Grain-dependent responses of mammalian diversity to land use and the implications for conservation set-aside. Ecological Applications.


Maternal and Child Health Mortality
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH MORTALITY CHALLENGE
In Nigeria, 54,000 women and girls die each year due to pregnancy-related complications. Numerous studies have identified several factors that are responsible for the high rate of maternal and child health mortality.
These include illiteracy, malnutrition, poor hygiene, poor access to quality health facilities and services, poor family planning and childhood diseases such as malaria, cholera, and diarrhea. According to UNICEF, Nigeria loses about 2,300 children under the age of 5 and 145 women of childbearing age daily.
These statistics are with rural and peri-urban areas accounting for over 70% of these numbers, making Nigeria the second largest contributor to maternal and child mortality in the world. Uninformed health behavior of women and use of untrained, unorthodox birth attendants contributes immensely to these rates.
OUR SOLUTION TO MATERNITY & CHILD HEALTH MORTALITY
We have continued to train Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) across Lagos and Ogun state on best practices to deliver quality healthcare services to pregnant women.
BCHDI has implemented numerous PMTCT projects focused on reducing the percentage incidence of mothers to newborn HIV transmission.
We want to effectively address maternal and child mortality in Nigeria by creating a linkage system between health workers and pregnant women in rural areas through technology based projects.
We will increase awareness among policy decision-makers about affordable, feasible, and scalable primary healthcare interventions to improve maternal and child health mortality delivery and outcomes.
Monitor the nutritional status of the mother and child
Provide ongoing counseling and educational support


If you often read food labels, chances are you have come across the ingredient maltodextrin many times.
It’s an incredibly common additive, and studies have found that approximately 60% of all packaged foods contain it (1).
Maltodextrin is made from starch and used for many reasons, mainly as a filler ingredient, a thickener or a preservative to extend shelf life.
Yet despite being labeled as safe by the FDA, maltodextrin is highly controversial. This article examines if it’s bad for your health and whether you should avoid it.
What Is Maltodextrin?
Maltodextrin is an artificial carb made from starch.
In the US, most maltodextrin is made from corn or potato starch, but some countries use rice or wheat starch. This often creates controversy, as 90% of corn in the US is genetically modified (2).
The starch goes through a process called partial hydrolysis, where water and enzymes are added to partly digest the starch. It’s then refined and dried to produce a fine white powder with a neutral or slightly sweet taste (3).
Maltodextrin is used as a food additive in many processed goods to create bulk, enhance texture and extend shelf life.
Some products that contain maltodextrin include:
- Instant puddings
- Low-fat yogurt
- Sports drinks
- Infant products
- Salad dressings
- Laundry detergent
Another kind of maltodextrin is resistant maltodextrin. Unlike regular maltodextrin, resistant maltodextrin is a type of artificial soluble fiber.
This article will only focus on regular maltodextrin, the common food additive.
Summary: Maltodextrin is an artificial carbohydrate made by processing starch into a fine white powder. It’s commonly used as an additive.
Why Do Manufacturers Use It?
Maltodextrin is versatile and cheap, which makes it appealing for manufacturers.
Some uses for maltodextrin include:
- Filler: As an ingredient in foods, it adds bulk without affecting taste. For example, the sweetener Splenda uses maltodextrin to add bulk and dilute the sweetness of its artificial sweetener sucralose, which is 600 times sweeter than sugar.
- Thickening agent: In products like low-fat yogurt, instant pudding, sauces, salad dressing and jelly, maltodextrin retains the thickening properties of starch.
- Improving mouthfeel: Maltodextrin is added to certain beers to improve body and smoothness without compromising taste or adding extra ingredients like alcohol or yeast.
- Binding agent: It is commonly used in pharmaceuticals to form tablets and pills.
- Preservative: Maltodextrin is used to extend shelf life, particularly in many infant formulas. It also dissolves easily without forming lumps, making it an ideal source of carbs.
- Creating a smooth texture: It can be found in many lotions and creams.
Summary: Maltodextrin is versatile. It’s most common uses are as a thickener, filler ingredient and preservative.
It May Have Benefits for Athletes
Many athletes seek ways to improve performance.
Supplements like sports drinks and energy gels are popular choices to help athletes train longer and recover from training sessions.
Maltodextrin is a common carb source in these supplements because it’s easily digested and absorbed by the body.
During exercise, the body breaks down its reserves of stored energy called glycogen into a usable form called glucose, also known as sugar.
Endurance athletes can deplete their stores of glycogen during intense training or competitions, so carb supplements replenish these stores and help the athlete train for longer (4).
For example, a study of eight healthy male cyclists compared the effects of taking a placebo versus a maltodextrin supplement on cycling performance.
They found that cyclists improved their average time to complete all laps by 26 seconds when taking the maltodextrin supplement, compared to the placebo (9).
Maltodextrin may also benefit resistance training athletes, as several studies show that consuming carbs like maltodextrin after training can help replenish the glycogen stores depleted during exercise (10, 11, 12).
Summary: Maltodextrin is a great source of easily absorbed carbs and can help improve performance and recovery in both endurance and resistance training.
It Has No Nutritional Value
Although maltodextrin has a use in sports, it’s a poor source of nutrients.
One teaspoon of maltodextrin is similar to sugar and contains 12 calories, 3.8 grams of carbs and almost no vitamins or minerals.
Starches are generally low in nutrients, but the processing required to make maltodextrin reduces its nutritional content even further.
Athletes may find its effect on performance and recovery outweighs its poor nutrient content, but for the average person, it provides no benefit.
It may also lead to excess weight gain if consumed without enough exercise, as it can easily add empty calories.
Summary: Maltodextrin has virtually no nutrients besides carbs and is a source of empty calories.
It Has a High Glycemic Index
The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how quickly foods raise blood sugar levels.
Low-GI foods have a GI value under 55, while medium-GI foods are between 51–69 and high-GI foods are over 70.
High-GI foods raise blood sugar quickly because they contain sugars that are easily absorbed by the gut.
Maltodextrin has an exceptionally high GI that ranges from 85 to 135, as it is highly processed and easily digested.
Athletes can tolerate high-GI foods like maltodextrin around exercise times since exercise makes the body more efficient at using and removing excess sugar for storage (14).
However, the average person can struggle to process the spikes in sugar from high-GI foods, which can have negative effects on overall health.
Summary: Maltodextrin has an incredibly high GI that ranges from 85 to 135. High-GI foods are linked with obesity and many other diseases.
It May Harm Gut Health
Did you know there are over 100 trillion helpful bacteria living in your lower gut? Known as your gut microbiota, they are incredibly important to your health.
Several studies on animals and humans with digestive diseases have found that a diet rich in maltodextrin may change the composition of the gut bacteria, making the body more susceptible to infections and disease (1, 26, 27, 28).
In one study, researchers found that exposing human intestinal cells to maltodextrin helped harmful bacteria like E.coli grow and develop features that damage the gut environment (28).
Another study found that exposing the intestinal cells of mice to maltodextrin decreased their antibacterial response, making them an easier target for Salmonella invasion (29).
Although several studies have discovered a link between maltodextrin and a higher risk of bacterial infection, more human-based studies in healthy individuals are needed to better understand how significant this link really is.
Summary: A high intake of maltodextrin may encourage the growth of harmful bacteria in the lower gut, increasing the risk of bacterial infection.
Some People May Experience Side Effects
Although there are no published studies linking maltodextrin to serious negative health effects, some people report side effects.
- Upset stomach
- Hives or rashes
Most reported side effects are similar to carb intolerance or malabsorption, so if you have either of these, then it’s best to avoid maltodextrin.
For most people, maltodextrin is considered safe and is FDA approved.
If you experience any allergic reactions or side effects after eating foods containing maltodextrin or taking supplements, you should stop immediately.
Summary: Maltodextrin is generally safe to eat, but if you suffer from a carb intolerance or malabsorption, it’s best to avoid it.
The Bottom Line
Maltodextrin from foods likely won’t have any negative effects. It’s widely used, and there have been no published studies linking it with serious side effects.
As a supplement, it only seems beneficial for athletes around exercise. It provides the average person no benefits and is low in nutrients.
People who should avoid maltodextrin are those at risk of or who currently have type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance, as it can dramatically spike blood sugar.


As part of a digital citizenship unit I do in my classes, I show a documentary called Digital Nation. It is a 2010 Front Line production that takes a look at the new “connected generation” and how they are faring in this new wired world.
A sign of the times, the February 2, 2010 production is only 5 years old, but it already looks dated. What is interesting however, is that the questions and the concerns this documentary posed in 2010, are still fresh and relevant today. We don’t seem to be working through the issues that the digital era has placed before us, yet advancements in technology soldier on. An ever-widening gap has developed between what we understand about technology and the technology itself, but I wondered if this is just a gap my generation just can’t traverse?
Some of the things we worry about and posed in this documentary include:
- Digital addiction
- Myth of multitasking
- Short attention spans
- Inability to think clearly
- Poor analytical thinking
- Disconnect between real and online worlds
Even as someone who endorses and supports the use of technology, I have my concerns about theses things. As a teacher I see unhealthy behaviors around the use of technology all the time and it isn’t just with the students. The funny thing is, there can be quite the double standard when it comes to tech and who is using it. One minute I can hear an adult complaining about kids and their dependence and misuse, the next minute that same adult is doing the very thing they were complaining about the kid doing.
To get a bit of a measure on what kids thought about their own use of technology in school, I did a bit of a survey after watching Digital Nation. I should have actually given the survey before and after to see if the documentary had some effect on the way they thought about their relationship with technology, but the post view survey yielded some interesting results just the same.
Just so everyone realizes that I realize the survey is not scientifically valid. I declare the data unscientific! Just fun to look at.
First concern any of us have about our digital device use is how much time we spend on these things, so the first question I asked was how much time do you THINK you are spending on a digital device over the course of a week. I thought the responses were quite reasonable until I referenced a recent study of college students published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions. It was concluded that.
…college students spent nearly nine hours daily on their cell-phones. As the functionality of cell-phones continues to expand, addiction to this seemingly indispensable piece of technology becomes an increasingly realistic possibility. Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis (2014)
Addiction issues aside, this number dwarfs the number I got in my little survey. What it is suggesting to me that my students are under estimating their time on-screen and that all of us probably spend much of our time blissfully unaware of time we are squandering on our devices.
The other concern, especially with educators, is that kids cannot focus on anything for more than a minute or two without checking their phone or gazing longingly into some type of screen. Again this is not just a student issue, I see plenty of adults who are compulsively checking their phones or sitting down at a computer terminal. “Oh! I am JUST checking my email… be off in a sec” Sustaining focus seems to be an issue and something that is quite important to some tasks in life.
My results seem to suggest that the majority of my students have at least some level of awareness about how their devices affect them and if they are aware of it, then there is hope they can change their behavior should it become problematic. However, if we are talking about addiction issues then changing the behavior won’t be a matter of a simple rational choice.
The next statement played with the idea of banning digital devices in schools all together and as you can see this idea was not all that warmly embraced. This statement got the highest number of NO FLIPPING WAY votes of any of the questions, but there were students who thought that it might be an idea. Why they voted for an outright ban… Who knows but it goes to show there is a segment of the student body who are willing to entertain the idea.
What I found most interesting was how well the next two questions were received. The suggestion of a more moderate stance, where devices were not banned but instead moderated or controlled was much more acceptable to the students. This would be more along the lines of how things play out in class now, but many educators (including myself) still struggle with issues around appropriate time and use of digital devices. It is very difficult to regulate device use in a classroom. You can have all the rules you want around when students can use a device, but there is ALWAYS at least one student in class trying to push those boundaries and this drives some teachers absolutely batty.
What surprised me was the support the students gave to the idea of having some classes where devices are not allowed. I would be curious which classes they would accept a device ban in but alas I didn’t ask that question. I am sure there could be arguments made for digital free zones in all subject areas, but I don’t think we could ever get to a place where one course was digital free and another not. I think time better spent would be working to create a school/classroom culture where appropriate time and use guidelines are respectfully followed by both students and the adults in the building.
Although there is nothing in my little unscientific survey to suggest that we have this digital device thing all figured out in our schools, I think there are more positives in these graphs than negatives. It would appear to me that my students are more than willing to take a critical look at their device use and are willing to accept situations where they don’t use their device for a period of time. It looks to me that they might actually understand that there is a balance to be had between living device free and being digitally dependant.
Life is undoubtedly different today than a scant twenty years ago but we are learning how best to manage this wired world we live in. We will undoubtedly make mistakes but I think we will eventually be able to bridge the gap between the two solitudes of Device free and all wired all the time.
Roberts, J. A., Yaya, L. H. P., & Manolis, C. (2014). The invisible addiction:
Cell-phone activities and addiction among male and female college students.Journal of behavioral addictions


This further divided the North and South as the North viewed the attack as vindictive and rather typical of the Southern slave movement, whilst the Southern belief that slavery was an issue worth fighting for was only strengthened by the attack. The repercussions of the aforementioned events meant that matters within Kansas were no longer merely contained to politics but had now leaked out of Congress to become a social matter on a national scale; causing extreme tensions in America during the 1850s and 1860s. Due to this it is fair to suggest that the ‘Bleeding Sumner’ incident was further confirmation of the immutable split that was occurring between the North and South. However, there is no doubt that these tensions were initially sparked by the events that were unravelling within Kansas, due to the issues which had arisen over settlement.
The tensions caused by the settlement of Kansas created not only national tensions, but also issues localised to the area of Kansas itself. Kansas became victim to mass migration as both pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups poured into the territory to participate in elections, to determine the slavery status that the territory would encompass. Douglas’ Kansas Nebraska Bill had been forwarded in the hope that popular sovereignty would determine the Government of state in a fair manner, an attitude purely based on the belief that the elections ‘...would not be destroyed or subverted by any intrusive or malign influence’. However, after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters rushed in to settle in Kansas so as to affect the outcome of the first election held there after the law went into effect. Pro-slavery settlers carried the election. However, when these elections had taken place there were only 2000 registered voters in Kansas and yet 5000 people voted during these elections. As a result the Northerners cried foul and the elections did not pass. However, the rejection of the bill was not the only cause of conflict within Kansas. People from both the North and South flooded into Kansas to pass the Bill in their favour. This was hugely significant as it meant that the population of Kansas became divided between Northern and Southern settlers, thus creating tensions on a social scale. Northern and Southern settlers came into the territory and with them they brought their own conflicting beliefs and ideals. As a consequence the population boomed and this influx of populates, from both North and South, resulted in hostility, violence and ... inevitably... war. Once again this shows the explicit significance of the settlement of Kansas and the tensions that would forever shadow the events that unfolded within Kansas.
Political tensions became ever more significant after the bill was rejected and two opposing constitutions formed. The anti-slavery settlers set up their government in Topeka whilst the pro-slavery settlers set up government in Lecompton, the territorial capital. These two opposing government increased regional tension to the point of breaking. The opposing governances brought in their own constitutions which brought in great conflict and prefigured the secession of the South and the inevitable American civil war. The short term significance of the settlement in Kansas during the 1850s and 1860s was essentially down to the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. That bill brought all the hostility that followed it, the splitting of governance and the bloody wars were effectively a result of the poor establishment of an effective bill that many Northerners had tried to prevent. ‘Whatever apologies may be offered for the toleration of slavery in the States, none can be offered for its extension in the Territories where it does not exist. Let us all protest loudly, by whatever was may seem suitable against this enormous crime.’ Had the Independent Democrats succeeded in preventing the bill and found a new method of dealing with Kansas they may have been successful in, at least, preventing the violence within Kansas and possibly even preventing the Civil war that followed. However, this was far from achieved. Douglas’ bill, that aimed to create a fair state, merely divided America further and created enormous tensions both politically and socially over the settlement of Kansas.
An event of serious significance caused by the settlement within Kansas was the bloodshed that came from the splitting of the governances and the conflict within the territory, the major bloodshed took place between 1854 and 1857, this was known as ‘Bleeding Kansas’. This was of such high significance as it showed that the American people were willing to kill for their cause. Bleeding Kansas was, in effect, a mirror image of the American Civil War that was to soon follow, only on a smaller scale. The violence and hatred that was displayed within Kansas ruined both the economy and what little hope there had been for political unification. Kansas was torn apart by the fierce fighting that took place within its borders. This war was a perfect example of how the people of America were more far more concerned with fighting for either the North or South and far less concerned with the issues of slavery. Kansas held great significance not for the freedom of slaves but for the control of advantageous territory, ‘...Kansas is the future seat of empire; she will yet give tone and law to the entire West; and they who are fighting there, in behalf of humanity and justice, do not fight for themselves alone but for a large posterity.’ This is proof that Kansas held greater significance than many realised, it was not simply a state to be claimed for the cause. Instead it was to be the deciding factor determining which side could get a foothold from which to grasp control and bring either anti-slavery or slaver to the whole of America. Thus proving how truly divided America had become. The South, who became renowned for being the more violent of the two sides, applauded those who crossed into Kansas from the South and who took the lives of many, these people were known as ‘Border Ruffians’ and were notorious for sacking the free-state town of Lawrence. In retaliation, John Brown, a radical abolitionist, carried out an attempted slave revolt in Virginia, on October 16th, 1859. The raid was a failure as Brown failed to create a slave uprising and was subsequently hanged for treason. The raid became ‘a cause for celebre’ in both the North and the South, with Brown vilified by Southerners as a bloodthirsty fanatic, but celebrated by Northern abolitionists as a martyr to the cause of freedom. ‘In the North the murders committed by Brown and his followers were ignored by most and lauded by a few.’ National reaction showed the significance of the violence within Kansas and showed how attitudes were changing towards violence as the Civil War became increasingly unavoidable. This was an attitude that was carried across the country and, once again, shows the enormous significance of the settlement within Kansas.
The settlement of Kansas was becoming increasingly significant politically as, with the war raging both with the territory of Kansas and within Congress, one of the most considerable parties collapsed. ‘The Whig collapse has often been seen as a direct result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which set Southern against Northern Whigs.’ From the downfall of the Whig party emerged the Republican Party who would become the major party within America. Their support came from many Northerners who were discontented with the actions within Kansas. It was this discontent for Southern actions within Kansas that won major Republican support. This, therefore, shows the great significance of the settlement within Congress. Furthermore, the divisions within Kansas had created a political system where a party could win support from the North by simply opposing the South. As a result of Northern support the Republican Party grew stronger and became the dominant party within Congress, the party was bolstered by tensions and the warfare within Kansas. From the Republican Party emerged Lincoln who proved to be the leader they needed to unite the party. Under Lincoln the Republican promised those of the North that they could, ‘...be sure that the glorious Principles of Popery, Fourierism, Free Love, woman’s rights, the Marine Law & above all the Equality of our Coloured brethren shall be maintained...’ Everyone recognised Lincoln as monumental figure who was, without doubt, the man to lead the Republicans. Even opposing parties saw Lincoln as their obvious leader. ‘Lincoln would represent better than any other individual the paradoxical political stance of his party. He was moderate enough to carry ever northern state in 1860, but radical enough for his election to signal the commencement of the secession movement.’ Lincoln’s election to president was hugely significant as he, without any Southern support, had still managed to win. This signified the splitting of the Union as clearly the nation was no longer united under one political system. Lincoln’s election to President brought attention to the failure of the Union and was considered an insult to the South, it is for this reason that it was a major influence of the American Civil War. However, his election was more due to his high profile and, more significantly, it was due to the events that were unfolding within Kansas. As it was these afflictions towards the Northern people and slaves that were taking place within Kansas that gained the Republican Party and Lincoln such fierce support from North America. It is therefore, safe to say that the events in Kansas were highly significant when it came to the fall of the Union, the rise of Republicans and the election of Lincoln to President.
The events that unfolded in Kansas were, without any doubt, enormously significant within American history. The settlement, or rather lack of settlement, of Kansas was extraordinarily significant both socially and politically. The Unions inability to create an effective means of implicating Kansas as a free or slave state led to the mass influx of outsiders into the area which flared the hatred of the Northerners and Southerners. Furthermore, it showed signs of America becoming sectionalised as two opposing constitutions were formed within the territory. The events also highlighted the fragility of the Union and consequently led to the collapse of it. Above all the events within Kansas were highly significant for foretelling what would soon unfold across America.
Taken from ‘The American Destiny volume 6 ‘A house divided’, page 91
Taken from ‘The Kansas-Nebraska Act: A Century of Historiography’Vol. 43, No. 2 (Sep., 1956), pp. 187
Sumner’s “The Barbarism of Slavery” Speech – June 4, 1860
Sumner’s “The Barbarism of Slavery” Speech – June 4, 1860
Transcript of Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) Located 02/03/11
From ‘The American Civil War and its Origins, 1848-65 Third edition’, page 76. Written by, Alan Farmer Hodder Murray.
From ‘The Atlantic Monthly Volume 0001 Issue 4 (February 1858)’ Title ‘Review of the Kansas Usurpation [pp. 492-500]
‘Bleeding Kansas’ Located 10/03/2011
Farmer, Alan ‘The American Civil War and its origins 1848-65’ page 55.
Picture from ‘The American Destiny’ volume 6 ‘A House Dividing’ page 103 Commager HS
Taken from ‘The American Destiny’ Volume 6 ‘A House Divided’, page 104


Not one of the hyper-scale data centres, where thousands of servers are hosted in the same place, in the US use waste heat in a significant way
- The issue: Growing numbers of data centres all produce large quantities of waste heat that in theory could be used to heat houses and offices
- The problem: With heat tricky and expensive to transport, reusing it is not a priority for data centres, which are typically located away from urban areas
- What’s happening: Countries in Northern Europe are starting to feed waste heat into district heating systems and more projects are planned, but change will take time
- Key quote: “Data centres need to become an in-between point for energy use, not an end-point. People then won’t see us as an evil industry that just consumes power.”
Data centres, the beating hearts of the digital age, have a voracious appetite for electricity. They also create vast quantities of waste heat, which is usually vented into the air and squandered. Northern Europe is making steady headway towards using this heat in district heating, but elsewhere little is being achieved beyond niche uses even though almost all electricity consumed by data centres becomes heat and could be captured and reused.
The number of data centres globally is growing exponentially as the cloud becomes ever present and computer devices, connected to the internet, become common in everyday objects. Worldwide they consumed around 194 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2014, about 1% of total demand, says the International Energy Agency. Data centre workload is forecast to triple by 2020, compared to 2016, though related energy demand is expected to grow by only 3% thanks to continued efficiency gains. ...
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Geothermal heating has plenty of potential as a long-term solution to decarbonise heating and cooling systems
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In an interview with FORESIGHT, Dominique Ristori, Director General for Energy in the European Commission, explains why Europe’s heating system is too old and dirty
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Technology choices and policies are available to create a zero-carbon energy system in Europe by 2050, keep the economy competitive and secure a favourable deal for citizens, concludes a podcast by EU scream produced in conjunction with FORESIGHT Climate & Energy.
Germany is testing whether a nitrate salt thermal storage system could aid the provision of process steam for industry while earning subsidies for capturing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and combusting it for energy supply


Mono Lake is a large, shallow saline soda lake in Mono County, California, in the Eastern Sierras. The lake formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake. These salts also make the lake water alkaline.
Mono Lake has two major islands, Negit Island and Paoha Island, plus numerous minor outcroppings. Among the most iconic features of Mono Lake are the columns of limestone that tower over the water surface. These limestone towers consist primarily of calcium carbonate minerals such as calcite (CaCO3). This type of limestone rock is referred to as tufa, which is a term used for limestone that forms in low to moderate temperatures.
This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp that thrive in its waters, and provides critical habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp and alkali flies. Historically, the native Kutzadika’a people derived nutrition from the Ephydra hians pupae, which live in the shallow waters around the edge of the lake.
When the city of Los Angeles diverted water from the freshwater streams flowing into the lake, it lowered the lake level, which imperiled the migratory birds. The Mono Lake Committee formed in response and won a legal battle that forced Los Angeles to partially replenish the lake level.
- Lithoid tufa – massive and porous with a rock-like appearance
- Dendritic tufa – branching structures that look similar to small shrubs
- Thinolitic tufa – large well-formed crystals of several centimeters
The tufa types vary interchangeably both between individual tufa towers but also within individual tufa towers. There can be multiple transitions between tufa morphologies within a single tufa tower.
The above is pieced together from Wikipedia.
Feature Image Details
The feature image is a panorama composite of five overlapping images stitched together shortly after sunset.
I used a Canon 16-35MM F4 L Lens at 17mm, ISO 100, for 3.2 seconds at F16 with a circular polarizer to increase the shutter time.
The polarizer was a purposeful error that took hours to correct in Lightroom and Photoshop. I should have used neutral density filters, and I have several, but I did not have them with me that evening. After considerable effort with Lightroom adjustments, I was able to get the look I wanted. The 3.2-second exposure did smoothe out the water as I wanted.
Polarizers have an uneven effect on blue skies and stitching multiple images together compounds the problem significantly.
People misuse polarizers. I generally do not use them on sunny days, especially if I have a lot of sky in the image. Why? The polarizer will darken the sky in a very non-uniform manner that is hard to correct even in Photoshop. I used them on this occasion as a last resort.
I often use polarizers on cloudy days and did so on these images. Here are more images from the glen.
Additional Images Before Sunset
The interesting thing about the above image is the Godbeams are in the opposite direction of the sun. You can verify my statement judging from the bright light hitting the distant background. Prior to this, I had only ever seen Godbeams looking towards the sun.
These Godbeams are actually called Anticrepuscular Rays. Looking towards the sun, they are called crepuscular rays.
There were two other photographers at this location before I arrived. It severely limited my composition choices. For the above image, one photographer agreed to move long enough for me to grab that shot.
I could not get as much foreground in the feature shot as I wanted because another photographer was in the way most of the time.
All of these images were taken within a 20-minute or so window.
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By Alfie Poynter, UK Editorial Board
Why is there a gender imbalance in the STEM field and how can equality be achieved?
The STEM field is heavily dominated by men; areas like engineering have only 9% female workers. But why is this? We are currently living in one of the most accepting and encouraging societies ever, with gay marriage being legal in the UK and many other countries and women being free to choose any career they want, unlike in the past when society was very sexist and prejudiced. However, many women still choose not to pursue a career in STEM even though they have the ability to do so. I believe this imbalance can be traced back to a few key issues.
“There is a lack of encouragement for girls and women to pursue STEM related careers.”
Firstly, there is a lack of encouragement for girls and women to pursue STEM related careers. This could be a lack of encouragement by schools, the media or even parents. At a primary level in education there is no imbalance as sciences and maths are compulsory; however, when you begin to look at secondary education and those taking STEM subjects forward to graduate courses, this is where the imbalance starts to make itself obvious. Therefore, there must be something happening between primary school and university that is discouraging girls to pursue a STEM career yet encouraging boys. I think this is the biggest reason why there is lack of women in the STEM field: a lack of encouragement. If girls aren’t encouraged to take up a STEM career, why would they? There is no incentive to carry on with these subjects, so it is understandable that there is an imbalance in gender in the STEM field. Therefore, in order to help achieve equality, girls need to be encouraged all the way through the education system. However, forcing girls into STEM is definitely not the answer. I think one of the main causes of the lack of encouragement is a lack of role models. It’s a vicious cycle: if there is a lack of female role models in STEM then fewer girls will be encouraged to go into STEM meaning there will carry on to be a lack of female role models in STEM. This cycle must be stopped in order for gender equality in the field of STEM to be achieved.
“The media tend to objectify women instead of telling the public about their achievements.”
Additionally, I believe the media has a big impact on the gender imbalance in the STEM field. Even in 2017, the media often portray women in an unpleasant way; they tend to objectify women instead of telling the public about their achievements. This is unacceptable and has a huge negative impact on girls growing up today who are constantly exposed to this.
By portraying women in this way, the media likely causes girls to feel they don’t have the ability to make incredible breakthroughs in science, technology, engineering or mathematics when they most certainly do. Therefore, in order to reduce the imbalance, the media must start to cover female and male achievements equally and eliminate the male bias that is currently present. Otherwise finding women in the STEM field will be a huge rarity and, if the world got to this point, this would be a very sad thing. Diversity is needed within the STEM field; diversity brings new and exciting perspectives which lead to big breakthroughs in STEM. Furthermore, diversity helps to represent the whole population, which is very diverse.
“Diversity brings new and exciting perspectives which lead to big breakthroughs in STEM.”
STEM helps to build our knowledge of everything: in my opinion, it encompasses the most exciting subjects to study. This is why I think everyone who wants to be should be included in the STEM field. Anyone could be the next Albert Einstein or Marie Curie so there should be nothing stopping them. If those in STEM want to push the boundaries of our understanding of the world then we must first accept those who live in it.


ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT DESIGNATION
NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE John Weir Foote Armoury, Hamilton, 1888 – 1908
A. DESIGNATION CRITERIA for Heritage Buildings: A property may be designated if it meets one or more of the following criteria:
The property has design value or physical value because it:
- is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method
- displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit, or demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement.
The property has historical value or associative value because it:
- has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community,
- yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture, or
- demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community.
The property has contextual value because it:
- is important in defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area,
- is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings, or
- is a landmark.
B. HERITAGE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
A Heritage Conservation District (HCD) is an area of the city that is protected by a municipal by-law passed under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA), by City Council.
The majority of Ontario’s designated HCDs comprise residential or commercial “main streets” districts. Once a heritage conservation district designation by-law is approved, property owners in the district will need a permit from the municipality for any alteration that’s not considered minor, as well as any demolition or new construction.
District designation enables the council of a municipality to manage and guide future change in the district, through adoption of a district plan with policies and guidelines for conservation, protection and enhancement of the area’s special character. A HCD may comprise an area with a group or complex of buildings, or a larger area with many buildings and properties.
Hamilton currently has 7 Heritage Conservation Districts. The designation of the Gore as a Heritage Conservation District is being proposed by the Municipal Heritage Council and being considered by Council.
C. HERITAGE PROPERTY STANDARDS
Recent revisions to the Ontario Heritage Act (the Act) permit Hamilton City Council to implement Heritage Property Standards to protect the heritage attributes of properties designated under the Act. Existing property standards apply to buildings, however this tool could give additional protection against the loss of heritage features on designated buildings through neglect and ensure repairs are made maintain the heritage character of the building.
HeritageWatch Hamilton will be lobbying to have the City of Hamilton amend the existing property standards bylaw to include enhanced property standards for heritage properties. These enhancements are in the areas of appearance and maintenance of heritage attributes.
The right of an owner to delay repairs during appeals of orders issued in the current system can frustrate the City’s attempts to require owners to maintain property. HeritageWatch Hamilton will encourage Staff to recommend a further report on the City’s power, under the City of Hamilton Act, to carry out emergency repairs to protect the structural integrity of heritage property.


She’ll be right. A new peer-reviewed shocker published in Science for the loons to ignore.
Climate change brings with it the increasing risk of extinction across species and systems. Marine species face particular risks related to water warming and oxygen depletion. Penn and Deutsch looked at extinction risk for marine species across climate warming and as related to ecophysiological limits (see the Perspective by Pinsky and Fredston). They found that under business-as-usual global temperature increases, marine systems are likely to experience mass extinctions on par with past great extinctions based on ecophysiological limits alone. Drastically reducing global emissions, however, offers substantial protection, which emphasizes a need for rapid action to prevent possibly catastrophic marine extinctions. —SNV
Global warming threatens marine biota with losses of unknown severity. Here, we quantify global and local extinction risks in the ocean across a range of climate futures on the basis of the ecophysiological limits of diverse animal species and calibration against the fossil record. With accelerating greenhouse gas emissions, species losses from warming and oxygen depletion alone become comparable to current direct human impacts within a century and culminate in a mass extinction rivaling those in Earth’s past. Polar species are at highest risk of extinction, but local biological richness declines more in the tropics. Reversing greenhouse gas emissions trends would diminish extinction risks by more than 70%, preserving marine biodiversity accumulated over the past ~50 million years of evolutionary history.


|April 2001 (19.708 Degrees, -155.074 Degrees) Wailoa River Arch Bridges|
However, Hilo is a tsunami magnet. Similar to Crescent City in California, earthquakes in the Pacific create waves that are amplified on reaching the Big Island's eastern shore. A railway with tracks and bridges used to hug the eastern coast but it was sold as scrap metal after being destroyed by a tsunami in 1946 that originated in the Aleutian Islands.
Hawaii's Bridges: Wailoa River Arch Bridges by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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Mortality from viral hepatitis is significantly higher than from HIV/AIDS across EU countries, according to results from The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010) which was announced for the first time today at the International Liver CongressTM 2014(1).
GBD 2010 is the most recent version of a large epidemiological study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
In the EU, in 2010, there were more than 10 times as many deaths due to viral hepatitis as there were HIV-attributable deaths. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) are estimated to have caused nearly 90,000 deaths that year in the EU (HCV nearly 57,000 deaths, HBV nearly 31,000 deaths), while there were just over 8,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS.
Presenting these thought-provoking figures, EASL's Vice-Secretary Dr. Laurent Castera from the department of Hepatology, Hôpital Beaujon in Paris said: "GBD 2010 is making a critical contribution to our understanding of present and future health priorities for countries and the global community. Although HIV/AIDS undeniably remains a key global health priority, the higher mortality from viral hepatitis than from HIV/AIDS in the EU means that hepatitis B and C must clearly now be counted among the top global and local priorities for health."
"Additional resources are needed to prevent, detect and treat hepatitis B and C in order to address these imbalances in major preventable causes of human death," Dr Castera added.
The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 is the largest ever systematic effort to describe the global distribution and causes of a wide array of major diseases, injuries, and health risk factors. GBD 2010 has collated estimates of 291 diseases and injuries and 1,160 sequelae to identify the causes of human death worldwide
Using country-level and regional causes of death, mortality attributed to HBV, HCV and HIV/AIDS between 1990 and 2010 has been compared across Europe, by region and for specific countries. These findings have then been compared to global trends.
Globally, deaths from both viral hepatitis and HIV increased from 1990-2010 with HIV/AIDS ranking 6th (1.47 million deaths) and viral hepatitis B and C combined ranking 9th, with 1.29 million deaths in 2010.
Whereas HIV-related deaths in the EU fell by more than half following the late 1990s, in Eastern Europe HIV mortality has risen sharply. "This goes some way to explaining why mortality from viral hepatitis does not appear to be higher than that of HIV/AIDS in other areas of Europe outside of the EU," concluded Dr Castera.
Disclaimer: the data referenced in this release is based on the submitted abstract. More recent data may be presented at the International Liver Congress™ 2014.
Notes to Editors
EASL is the leading European scientific society involved in promoting research and education in hepatology. EASL attracts the foremost hepatology experts and has an impressive track record in promoting research in liver disease, supporting wider education and promoting changes in European liver policy.
EASL's main focus on education and research is delivered through numerous events and initiatives, including:
About The International Liver CongressTM 2014
The International Liver Congress™ 2014, the 49th annual meeting of the European Association for the study of the Liver, is being held at ExCel London from April 9 – 13, 2014. The congress annually attracts in excess of 9000 clinicians and scientists from around the world and provides an opportunity to hear the latest research, perspectives and treatments of liver disease from principal experts in the field.
For further information on the studies, or to request an interview, please do not hesitate to contact the EASL Press Office on:
Helena Symeou +44 7976 562 430
Courtney Lock +44 7894 386 422
1. B.C. Cowie et al., EUROPEAN RESPONSES IN FOCUS: COMPARING VIRAL HEPATITIS AND HIV RELATED DEATHS IN EUROPE 1990-2010 IN THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE STUDY 2010. Abstract presented at International Liver CongressTM 2014
Courtney Lock | EurekAlert!
Nanoparticle versus cancer
21.07.2016 | Lomonosov Moscow State University
Titanium + gold = new gold standard for artificial joints
21.07.2016 | Rice University
Munich Physicists have developed a novel electron microscope that can visualize electromagnetic fields oscillating at frequencies of billions of cycles per second.
Temporally varying electromagnetic fields are the driving force behind the whole of electronics. Their polarities can change at mind-bogglingly fast rates, and...
Breakup of continents with two speed: Continents initially stretch very slowly along the future splitting zone, but then move apart very quickly before the onset of rupture. The final speed can be up to 20 times faster than in the first, slow extension phase.phases
Present-day continents were shaped hundreds of millions of years ago as the supercontinent Pangaea broke apart. Derived from Pangaea’s main fragments Gondwana...
Scaffolding and specialised workers help with the delivery – Heidelberg biochemists gain new insights into biogenesis
A type of scaffolding on which specialised workers ply their trade helps in the manufacturing process of the two subunits from which the ribosome – the protein...
Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have developed a new mass spectrometry imaging method which, for the first time, makes it possible to analyze hundreds of metabolites in fixed tissue samples. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Protocols, explain the new access to metabolic information, which will offer previously unexploited potential for tissue-based research and molecular diagnostics.
In biomedical research, working with tissue samples is indispensable because it permits insights into the biological reality of patients, for example, in...
Chemists at the University of Basel have succeeded in using computer simulations to elucidate transient structures in proteins. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, the researchers set out how computer simulations of details at the atomic level can be used to understand proteins’ modes of action.
Using computational chemistry, it is possible to characterize the motion of individual atoms of a molecule. Today, the latest simulation techniques allow...
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Congratulations to teacher-librarian Judith Comfort for a fabulous website and presentation at the BC Library Conference on her Open Access School Library.
Open access, open mind
Teacher-librarians are needed more than ever.
Open Access has exploded online and captured the imagination of librarians, scholars, and students on a global scale. But how much of this has filtered down to school-age children?
Push open the door of the bricks-and-mortar school library. The place is abuzz with kids packing so many batteries, screens & wires that the security gate screams in protest. Gone are the study carrels as teachers expect collaboration amongst students.
Comment: Judith Comfort points out that teacher librarians are needed more than ever in the internet age, and I agree. While there is more information readily available on the web than anyone could ever read on virtually any topic, students need skills to know what to do with this information - basic literacy, information literacy, and media literacy skills. How to read, interpret, and evaluate the information. In the knowledge age, we will need knowledge workers, and this includes teachers, and librarians, of all types.
Thanks to Convenor Janet Mumford. This post is part of the Canadian Leadership in the Open Access Movement series.


Efficient Heat Dissipation with SMD Heat Sinks Keeps You From Dropping PCBs
Surely nothing could go wrong with making a simple dinner like heating an instant pizza in the oven. As hunger get the best of me, I forgot to put on the baking gloves and tried to remove the scalding tray. In an instant, the pain registered and rushed to place my finger under the rushing cold water from the tap. The singe mark on my finger lasted for a few weeks after, but the warning will stay with me until the next time I get too hungry.
In electronics, things can get pretty hot on your PCB heat sink and could bring a rude shock to unsuspecting technicians. Not only that, but the extreme temperature that goes beyond the operating range of components can mean a shorter lifespan for your product. The heat-producer itself will be defective, and the performance of surrounding can be negatively affected as well. There are many things to consider when dealing with vias, thermal vias, thermal paste and SMD component. However, with the proper using and understanding of SMD heat sinks, you can save your designs (and your hands).
What Causes A PCB To Heat-Up and Need an SMD Heat Sink
Simple electronics like a digital calculator produces negligible heat. But when you are designing a high-end controller or a high-current power transistor circuit, it is inevitable that things get pretty hot on your PCB. For some components, like a voltage regulator, the rise of temperature as defined by its thermal resistance can be calculated by the value provided in the datasheet.
For example, the popular LM7805 in a TO-220 package will increase by 22°C at every 1 Watt of power dissipated without a heatsink. But that’s nothing compared to a power transistor, as some could even hit 100°C of increase per Watt dissipated. You’ll also find your microcontroller heating up when you’re turning on all its peripherals and running it at its maximum speed.
It doesn’t help when the demands on a smaller PCB size are increasing and causing heat to build up faster than it can dissipate. And when you are placing Printed Circuit Boards in an outdoor enclosure, the heat often increase to twice the temperature. Of course, ventilation opening and exhaust fans do help in keeping the temperature down. But such approach is only as effective as the heat dissipation techniques implemented on the PCB itself.
Designing for Effective Circuit Board Heat Distribution
The heat sink is an effective electronic component to increase the efficiency when used correctly. Like other electronic components, they are available in surface mount packages. High-power SMD components usually have a thermal tab or thermal pad where you would use solder paste to solder it against a heat spreading pattern on the Printed Circuit Board. An SMD heat sink is then soldered onto the other end of the copper to provide better dissipation.
Before you choose a heat sink for your high power component, there are two factors to take into consideration: the junction-to-case thermal conductivity and resistance of the component, and the heat sink itself. You’ll want to ensure that the temperature of the component does not exceed its safety limit and the heat sink is not too hot to cause serious injury to the skin.
It’s important to calculate the total junction temperature by dividing the dissipated power with the sum of the thermal resistance of the device, PCB thermal dissipation area, and the heat sink itself. You can also get the temperature of the heat sink itself by multiplying the thermal resistance of the heat sink with the dissipated power. The right design will result in the heat sink being much cooler than the high power component by itself.
It is a misconception to assume that using a heat sink will totally eliminate heat issues on your PCB heat sink. It merely prevents the accumulation of heat on one single point. You’ll still need to keep heat-sensitive components like sensors away from the heat sink. Proper airflow should also be part of the enclosure design to prevent the heat from eventually building-up.
An SMD heat sink is a great way to properly dissipate heat in high power components. As SMD heat sinks come in various sizes and shapes, you’ll want to ensure that the right footprint is created and that you have the proper PCB design software in place to use it. An intuitive tool for footprint creation in Altium Designer’s CircuitStudio® will be useful to guide you along.
If you’re still worried about your PCB getting burnt, then consider talking to the experts at Altium Designer now.